Harvest Moon: The Gift

[Rozewater]

I'm having a lot of fun reading this at FanFiction.Net as well, but it's cool to see updates here too. (BTW, my pen name there is Just Your Echo; I've left you reviews!)

And I agree with May. I think Choco is gonna go bye bye. v v

But I think Yuki at this point is fonder of the little pest than he thinks! *chuckle* I think he'd fight for her...in a figurative sense and otherwise. 0.o

[Juxapose]

In memory of the loved ones that are no longer with us.

Chapter 12

Fall 3, 2003

Choco wakes up in the morning to greet the crisp Fall morning air. She stretches her arms, then gets ready for breakfast. She grabs Uma-Kun, and walks out of the bedroom to see her father cooking in the kitchen. Yuki is still injured, so he is cooking with only one arm. However, something is different about today. Yuki is already done preparing breakfast, but he is still cooking. The smell of the dish Yuki is making is cabbage rolls, she only hopes that it's not for her since she hates vegetables.

“Daddy, what are you doing?” asked Choco.

“Oh Choco. Good your awake. Go ahead and eat breakfast, then take a bath. I left you some clothes in the bathroom, so get changed. Today is a very important day. We are going to see your grandfather today.”

Choco became excited to hear that she will meet another member of her family. She sits on the table, and eats the chocolate pancakes that are on the table. She then rushes to the bathroom to take a bath and brush her teeth. However, the clothes Yuki left out are different than her usual clothes. Choco finds a black dress, black stockings, and black shoes. She didn't know why she has to wear such dark and creepy clothing, but she puts them on anyway.

She walks out of the bathroom, and finds her father also wearing all black as well. The cabbage rolls are packed to go, Choco is confused, but relieved that the rolls are not for her. Yuki then brushes Choco's hair, and uses a black ribbon to make a small ponytail, like the way Choco always has it. After he is done, Yuki grabs Choco's hand and walks with her out of the farm. This is the first time that Choco has known Yuki to not wear his blue hat outside the house.

They take a very familiar path outside of Forget-Me-Not Valley. Choco notices that Yuki has a serious face, but not an angry or upset kind of look. Almost a proud look on his face, like if he has accomplished something. They keep walking down that path until they reach a lonely grave. Yuki lets go of Choco's hand, and walk up to the grave alone. He rests his rucksack on the ground, and takes out the cabbage rolls to rest them in front of the grave stone. He then takes out some incense out of the rucksack, and leaves them on top of the gravestone. It's hard for him to light the incense with only one arm, but he is able to manage. Yuki finally kneels down, closes his eyes, and starts to pray silently.

Choco looks around looking for her grandfather, but finds nobody else but them. She then walks up to Yuki and asks, “Daddy, where is grandpa?”

Yuki opens his eyes and answers, “He's right here. He's resting in peace right now.”

Choco looks at the grave, and notices the name carved into it. The last name matches Yuki's and her own. “You mean, grandpa died?” she asked.

“Sadly yes. He built the farm that we live in right now. It's like a gift that he left us.” Yuki looks at Choco and says, “Why don't you pray with me?”

“How do I pray?” asked Choco.

“Just put your hands together, and close your eyes. Speak with your heart, and he will hear you. At least that's what he told me when I was younger.”

Choco closes her eyes, and starts to pray for her grandfather. As she prays, a tear moistens her cheek. She was looking forward to seeing her grandfather, but now she knows that she can't. After a few minutes, Yuki and Choco are done praying. Yuki stands up, and takes a long look at the grave.

“You know, I sometimes wonder what would it be like if he was still alive. I mean he would kill me if he found out that I have a daughter at my age, but I'm sure he would have had a lot of fun with you. After all, you are a member of the family.”

A tear fell from Yuki's face. Choco looks up at him and asks, “Daddy, what's wrong?”

Yuki sighs and says, “Choco, you know the other girls like me and everything. They want to go out with me, probably marry me. And start a family with me. But I never wanted to have a family of my own. I never told anyone why, do you want to know?” Choco nods. “It's because you can't lose something you don't have.”

Choco looks at Yuki again, his face looks very sad, almost like if he's going to cry. Yuki continues, “Choco, let me tell you s story. When I was your age, I used to have a happy family. I had a loving mother, and a hard working father. They were the greatest parents anyone could ever have. I always thought they were going to be with me forever. But that happiness ended too quickly.
Atland fell in a recession, and dad lost his job. Since then, mom and dad argued a lot. Dad tried his best to get another job, but it was just too hard. Mom eventually found a job, but that only made the problems worse. Mom was working, but dad didn't know how to cook or clean. Mom would come home, and complain that the house was not clean, or that the food was burnt. Eventually, it lead to a divorce.
Dad still needed to find a job, so he asked a friend for help. Takakura told him about an empty lot in Forget-Me-Not Valley that he could use to build a farm. So dad got a loan, and he built the farm. The problem is that Atland is too far away from Forget-Me-Not Valley. If he left, we would never get to see him again. But he needed to work, so he had no choice but to leave.
I thought that things would get better from that moment, but it didn't. Mom started to miss dad too much. Even the letters we got every week was not enough to make mom happy. She begged and pleaded for him to come back to Atland, and work out their problems. But dad needed to work. Mom was always so sad, that she eventually fell ill. She died when I was only 14 years old.
Dad came to Atland to attend the funeral. He cried so much that day, he felt responsible for her death. But even then, he couldn't stay in Atland, he still needed to work. Luckily, I was old enough to live on my own. Dad sent me enough money to live and study. But as the years passed, the amount of money dad was sending me grew and grew. I thought the farm was doing good, and that he was making a lot of money. Well, technically that was true, but not exactly. Dad was so stressed from mom's death that he worked harder every year to take his mind off of the guilt. Because he worked harder, he made a lot of money off crops and animals.
But then the accident happened, dad didn't survive. That's when I came to Forget-Me-Not Valley for the first time. It was early Spring, and a lot of people cried at dad's funeral. I remember it like it was only yesterday. After the funeral, I decided to run the farm in his place. But being here always reminded me of what I no longer have. I lost the only family I'll ever have. It just hurts too much to lose everything, and there was nothing that I could have done about it. So I made the ultimate decision, I decided not to start a family, and remain single forever.
I've been terrified that one day, my wife would die on me. Or maybe something might happen to my child. Or even worse, something were to happen to me, and I pass that hurt to someone else. Instead of going through all of that, I decided the best thing was to be alone forever. I chose that path because I know that if I lose another family, I'm going to lose my mind.
Choco, I don't know how you came to me. I have no idea who gave birth to you. And I have no idea what happened to your mother. But what matters is that you are here now. I may not be the best father for you, but I will do my best for you.”

Choco begins to cry uncontrollably. Yuki kneels down and asks, “What's wrong, why are you crying?”

Choco runs up to Yuki and embraces him. As she cries, she yells, “Daddy! Please promise that you won't die! I don't want you to go away! Please, you are the only one I have left! Please promise me that you will stay with me forever! I don't want to lose you!”

Yuki pushes Choco back, and looks at her. He wipes the tears from her eyes and says, “Choco. . . I am sorry, but that is a promise I cannot make. I can't decide when I am going to live or die, it's just a part of life.” Choco continues to cry. Yuki thinks for a moment and says, “Hey, please don't be upset. How about I'll make you two promises instead, would you like that?” Choco stops crying, but tears still falls from her eyes. She then nods, and Yuki says, “Okay, this is my first promise. I promise to take care of myself better. I won't eat chocolates anymore, I'll eat healthy foods. I'll work out, and keep in shape. I'll do my best to live long enough to be a very old man. What do you say?”

Choco nods, and embraces Yuki once again. As he holds her in his arms he says, “Now for the second promise. I promise I will never let anything happen to you. I will protect you until the day that I die. Just please don't do anything dangerous again.”

Yuki and Choco continues to weep in front of the grave. Little did they know, the Witch Princess is watching them from her hut in her crystal ball. As she watched them share tender moments, she remembers a story of her own that makes her shed some tears. A story about the time she lost everything that mattered to her.

The Witch Princess remembers a time when she was a 10 year old child. Her mother and father were both still alive in those days. During those days, her name was just Princess. Her parents named her that because she was the only child they are allowed to have, so she was their little princess. Forget-Me-Not Valley did not exist yet. Instead, there was a town where hundreds of people used to live.

The witch Princess lived in the same hut that she lives in now. One day, she was just lying on the floor reading one of her father's books on alchemy. Then her came into the house after a long day of work, and found her in her room reading. Curious to know what she was reading, he walked up to her, and sat down. He then asked, “What are you reading Princess?”

“It's a book about alchemy. It's very interesting.” said Princess.

Her father caressed her dirty blond hair with his left hand and says, “I'm impressed that you can even understand it. Alchemy is not something anyone can just pick up.”

Princess looked up at her father and says, “Dad, what's alchemy?”

“Alchemy is an art where you use spiritual energy and transmutation circles to break down matter, and turn it into something else.” said her father. “I used to be a master alchemist before you were born.”

“You can't use alchemy anymore?” asked Princess.

Her father raises his right arm, but his right hand was missing. As he looks at it, he said, “Alchemy may be a blessing, but it's also a curse. Because people fear something they do not understand, people who use alchemy are labeled as witches and warlocks. I wanted to have a child, but your mother couldn't have one. I gave up my right hand so that your mother could have a child. Without my right hand, I cannot use alchemy. But I feel that it's a fair trade. Your mother and I now have a beautiful daughter.”

Princess stands up and announces, “Well, I want to learn alchemy! That way, I can be just like you dad!”

Her father embraces her and begs, “Please, promise me that you will not practice alchemy.”

“But why?” she asked confused by his reaction.

“Because I love you. I gave up alchemy to have a child. I don't want anything happening to you because of that. Just promise me, okay?”

Princess looked at her father's serious face. She is not sure why he is acting that way, but she nods and says, “Okay dad, I promise.”

Even though she promised not to practice alchemy, she continued to read the books. But several days after that, something terrible happened. It was the middle of the night, and Princess was sleeping on her bed. Her mother rushed into the room, and woke her up. She wanted to ask what is going on, but her mother just silenced her, and carried her into a hidden room. She begged her to be quiet, and closes the room shut.

Suddenly, Princess hears a ponding at the front door. It wasn't long until it broke down, and a rush of people stormed in. A voice of a stranger demands, “Alchemist Richard! You are charged with the practice of forbidden alchemy!You know what the penalty is for this sort of crime!”

“I don't know what you're talking about!” said the voice of Princess' father. “I have not practiced any alchemy in ten years!”

The stranger continues, “Where is the demon child. We know she is here!”

“There is no demon child in our home, please leave!” yelled Princess' mother.

The stranger is not convinced. “Search the house! I want every square inch of this place searched!”

Princess could not see anything, but she could hear things being thrown around, glass breaking, and metals clashing. Luckily, Princess could not be found, the room was too hidden. One of the man's soldiers returned to the stranger and said, “We cannot find the child sir!”

“Looks like it escaped before we got here. I want a full search performed around the town!” said the stranger.

“What about the alchemist and his wife?” said the soldier.

“Kill them!” said the stranger. Suddenly, gunshots are heard from outside the hidden room. Princess wanted to burst out, but she promised that she would stay still. As soon as she knows that the coast was clear, she bursts out of the room to see what had happened. But sadly, all she could find is her parents dead on the floor. She cries and mourns for their death, but she couldn't stay there for long. The people who murdered her parents are looking for her, and she needs to escape and hide.

She runs into the forest to hide. It took a few days before the people stops looking for her. Even though she escaped alive, she could no longer remember how to get back to the town where she grew up in. So she she had no choice but to live in the woods. Times were tough for Princess, as she grew older, she had no clothes to wear. She had no choice but to make a cape and boots from animal skins to cover her naked body. She also had to live off of anything that she could find in the wild for food. Mainly herbs, berries, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, and any animals she could catch.

Ten years after the incident, Princess grew up into a young woman. By random chance, she found the town where she grew up again. But she was not happy to see it. The village was in the middle of a festival when she got there. The happy smiles she saw on the villager's faces made her blood boil in anger. She blamed everyone for the death of her parents. Since she feels that everyone has robbed her of her happiness, it was fair to take theirs away.

The old hut where she used to live was still standing when she arrived at the town. It was abandoned, and nothing inside was taken. So she grabbed some of her mother's old clothing, and wears them. She then gathered all of her father's alchemy books, and started looking for something she can use to get her revenge.

She found a pyro technique that she can use to destroy the town. She practiced the alchemic spell until she mastered it several hours later. That night while the town was asleep, Princess drew a large transmutation circle just like the one in the book she read. She then starts a small fire in the middle of the circle, and chants the words she memorized from the book. The circle started to glow, and a huge explosion engulfs the entire village into flames.

Everyone escaped the village alive, but they all no longer had a home to live. Only a few people ever saw the angry look on Princess' face. Ever since then, she changed her name from Princess to Witch Princess. The only building left standing after the fire is the hut, so she decided to live there for the rest of her life.

Recalling such a horrible memory causes tears to drip from Witch Princess' eyes. She wipes her face and says, “Yuki, I am going to make you suffer. Just you wait, the time is drawing near.”

To be continued.

[May]

Ahhh, don't do ittttt!

[Sunberry]

() T-that... that... is an incredible back-story for the Witch Princess. I could never imagined something so terrible (mostly because I don't practice).
At this point, my wish is that, even if Choco disappears, the Witch Princess and Yuki will fall in love in the end and create new happiness in life together as a family.

[Coco]

Do you really think the Witch Princess will fall in love with Yuki? Personally, Muffy seems like the more talked about girl. But I agree with Sunberry, that was a very detailed and excellent story of her past. So creative ^_^

[Sunberry]

Oy, I almost forgot about Muffy in this one. (n_n) I suppose it would be alright if Yuki ended up with Muffy, too . But wait- if Yuki chooses the Witch Princess, they would have a chance at reproducing cute little Choco. She does have half of the witch's DNA after all...
Agh- now, I'm a bit torn between the two! I really hope everyone finds happiness in the end.

[Juxapose]

Muffy was mostly talked about because she is the most aggrressive girl out of the five. We'll see more of her as the story continues along with the other four.

[Pickle]

BRAVO. I mean, wow. Emotion. There are so many great points I can pick out in the chapter. About the funearl, and the Witch Princess and her name and the tears. Lots of those. Wow.

What was a saying? Oh yah. I am readying for more, you silly little Jux.

[Juxapose]

It's now time for Juxapose's pointless yet interesting Harvest Moon Fanfiction facts.

When I wrote Chapter 12, I chose Fall 3 to be the date when Yuki visits his father's grave again because it's his birthday (Yuki's father, not Yuki). Spring 5 doubles as Yuki's birthday, and the day he first arrived in Forget-Me-Not Valley. I forgot to add that somewhere in the chapter, I may just mention that in the website version.

(LOL, I haven't written one of these since Harvest Moon: Miracle of Life.)

[Juxapose]

Chapter 13

Fall 5, 2003

It's a quiet Fall day in Romana's Villa. Lumina had already finished her daily practice, so she heads over to her library of books to find something to read. Her library may not be very large, but she still has plenty of books that she could read. In the many years that she has lived in the Villa, Lumina has already read all the books that she owns. Van is not in town today, so she'll need to wait until he comes around to buy some new books.

As she is searching through the titles, Romana enters Lumina's room. Curious to know what she is doing, Romana walks up to her and asks, “Lumina dear, what are you looking for?”

Lumina looks back at Romana and smiles. “Hi there. I was looking for a book to read. But I am not sure what I want to read today.”

Romana walks over to Lumina's collection of books, and scans through the titles. She then pulls a book out of the shelf and hands it to Lumina. “Why don't you read this one? I'm sure the last time you read it was when you first arrived here so many years ago.”

Lumina takes a good look at the book titled 'The Snow of Spring'. “I remember this book! It's a romance about a kind and gentle man who fell in love with a lonely woman.” Lumina places her hand on the gold colored words written on the cover, and takes a deep sigh. “Wow, the title kind of reminds me of Yuki.”

“How so?” asked Romana.

“Well, think about it. Yuki means snow, and he was born in Spring. So he is like the snow of Spring. He is the kind and gentle man, and I am the lonely girl. I only wish that he would fall in love with me just like the main character in this book.” Lumina sighs again, and embraces the book joyfully.

Romana looks at Lumina and asks, “You really like that boy, don't you?” Lumina nods as she continues to embrace the book. “What is so special about him? I mean, he is a handsome young man, but just about every girl in Forget-Me-Not Valley likes him as well. There are other single and handsome men in the valley you know.”

“Yuki is not an ordinary person, he is special. We all may like him, but we have our own unique reasons.” answered Lumina. “Muffy likes him because he is young, and she feels that Yuki will not leave her for any other girl. Celia likes him because he is hard working, and they have a lot in common. Nami is not very feminine and guys don't take her seriously, but Yuki is the only one who sees her as a woman. Flora likes him because Yuki can eat her food without getting sick, not to mention that Carter doesn't even notice her.”

Romana nods and asks, “What about you? Why do you care about him so much?”

“It's because we understand each other.” answered Lumina. “When I first arrived here a long time ago, I used to be very sad and lonely because mom and dad died. I felt that nobody could understand how lonely I was without them. But then I met Yuki, he went through the same thing I did. His mother died from an illness, and his father died in the farm that he lives in. He noticed how sad and lonely I was, so he asked me to talk about it. I remember those words he told me that day, 'Don't worry, even though your mother and father are gone, they will always be watching over you. I promise.' I believe in those words, I know mother and father are watching over me.”

Romana smiles after hearing Lumina confess about how she feels. She then looks at Lumina's dress and asks, “Lately since last Christmas, you've been wearing that brown and olive dress a lot. What made you change?”

Lumina giggles and says, “I thought that if I show Yuki my feminine side a bit more, he would like me. I used to be such a tomboy, wearing jeans, shirts, and pink sneakers. Yuki has noticed me more since I've been wearing this dress and cut my hair a little bit shorter, but nothing has changed yet between us. I just hope that Yuki will understand how I truly feel about him, and he would one day he would feel the same about me.”

“I see. Well, I need to take a nap. Have fun reading.” said Romana.

Lumina nods, and jumps on her bed where she can read in peace. The book is heavy, and will take several days to read from start to finish. She opens the book, and begins to read to herself out loud. As soon as she gets to the introduction of the main character, she couldn't help but to smile and think of Yuki.

Fall 8, 2003

Choco is in the kitchen cooking breakfast for her father. After the last pancake is done, she carefully takes it to the table, and gently places it on the others making a stack of three. She then places all the dishes she used in the sink so that they can be washed later. Seeing that her surprise is going as planned, she runs over to Yuki's room and bursts in.

Choco Climbs on Yuki's bed, and begins to jump yelling, “Dad! Dad! Wake up! Wake up! It's breakfast time! Let's eat!”

Yuki opens his eyes and says, “Choco, please be quiet. I had a hard day last night, and I want to sleep in today.”

“Aww, but I made you breakfast. Can you please wake up and have some?” whined Choco.

“I'll have some later, now let me sleep.” answered Yuki. He closes his eyes, and tries to go back to sleep. But only a second later, he wakes up again and jumps out of bed. He then looks at Choco with a shocked and confused look on his face asking, “You did what?!”

“I made you breakfast.” answered Choco.

“No!! My kitchen!!” yelled Yuki fearing the worst. He runs over to the kitchen to see what sort of disaster had Choco caused. But he stopped running as soon as he stepped out of the room. His jaw dropped as soon as he sees the kitchen unharmed. Not only that, but the kitchen is cleaner than it was last night. Yuki sees the chocolate pancakes neatly stacked on the table, he couldn't believe what he is seeing.

Choco follows Yuki out of the room and yells, “Surprise dad!”

Yuki looks at Choco and asks, “Choco, you did all this? You actually woke up earlier than me to cook breakfast, and clean the kitchen?”

Choco nods and answers, “You're always taking such good care of me, so I thought I'd help out.”

Yuki walks over to the table, and closely examines the pancakes. Not even a single trace of burn or undercooking could be seen on the chocolate flavored flap jacks. He looks over at Choco and says, “I appreciate the breakfast Choco, but I promised that I wouldn't eat any more chocolates, remember?”

Choco puts a fork in Yuki's hand and pulls Yuki's chair out saying, “Come on dad, I think you deserve some chocolates. Now sit and have some.”

Yuki nods and takes a seat. He pours some chocolate syrup on his pancakes and has a bite. His eyes jerk open in delight as he yells, “It's great! Choco, this is incredible! Where did you learn to make pancakes just as well as I do?”

“I watch you do it every day. I memorized the recipe, and I felt confident that I could do it. I know that I should have asked first, but I really wanted to surprise you. I hope you're not mad at me dad.”

Yuki then looks at Choco awkwardly and asks, “Choco, when did you start calling me 'Dad' instead of 'Daddy'?”

“Just today.” answered Choco. “I'm a big girl now, so I'm going to call you dad from now on. Is that okay?”

Yuki nods, and continues to eat. After breakfast, Yuki and Choco both start to get ready for another day. Yuki heads over to the fields to water the plants, and Choco heads out with her mini rucksack full of stuff.

Several hours later, Yuki finally finishes watering the huge field of crops. He walks over to the carrots to check on them. According to what Vesta told him earlier, the carrots should ripen the next day. But Yuki sees that the carrots still need a little bit more time to ripen.

He stands up and says, “Looks like the harvest will be a little late. I wonder why the crops are growing a bit slower this year? Maybe they need fertilizer, I should think about getting some this Spring and fertilize the field before I plant the crops.” Yuki stretches his arms and continues, “Well, it's time to gather the milk and eggs!”

Yuki walks over to the shipping bin where he left his basket to start collecting the animal produce. But he notices that it's missing as soon as he gets there. He checks all around the bin, near the lumber sheds, and near the stable in case that he has misplaced it. But no matter how hard he looks, he cannot find it.

He scratches his head and says, “Don't tell me that the hobo took it again? That's the third time that he took it since I came to live here.”

“Dad!!” cried Choco from a distance. “Can you help me please?”

Yuki turns around and says, “Sure Choco, what do you-” Yuki's eyes popped open as soon as he saw Choco with his missing basket. Choco is dragging it into the farm overflowing with random fall crops.

Yuki runs to her side and yells, “Choco! What is all that?! Please don't tell me that you went to Vesta's farm, and picked her crops!”

Choco shakes her head no and says, “Nope, these are mine.”

Yuki tilts his head in confusion and asks, “Yours? What do you mean?”

“Remember the allowance you've been giving me? Well, I used it to buy seeds and planted them in my secret crop field.” answered Choco.

“You have a 'secret crop field'? Where?” asked Yuki.

Choco pulls the heavy basket once more and says, “Help me ship these, and I'll show you.”

Yuki carries the basket over to the shipping bin, and dumps them inside. Choco takes a deep breath of relief, and wipes the sweat off her forehead. She then grabs Yuki's shirt, and takes him out of the farm. They move to the east, and then walk north up the path next to Yuki's farm. At the end of the path is a small garden where wild flowers grow next to a lake. In the corner of the field, there is an enormous rock that nobody could break. Choco climbs over the rock, and moves along the hidden path behind it. Yuki has a harder time getting over the rock, but he is able to manage.

At the end of the path, Yuki finds himself in a hidden field in the middle of the forest. Clear from trees, there is more than enough light to support the enormous field. In the field, Yuki sees many crop plants that has been growing and bearing fruit. Eggplant crops, spinach crops, carrots, yams and peppers grew healthier than the ones in Yuki's farm. Some of the crops has already been picked by Choco, but there is still a lot more to pick.

Yuki gasps in amazement as he looks at Choco's field of crops. “Choco, you did all of this all by yourself?”

Choco answers, “Not by myself. Hugh and Kate helps me out whenever they can. I found this field when we were playing hide and seek during the Summer. Since nobody was using it, I cleared out whatever I could, and used my allowance to buy seeds. I thought that if I tried doing what you do, I would be just like you.”

Yuki scratches his head and asks, “But Choco, where did you learn how to farm? I didn't teach you how to do this.”

Choco pulls a notebook out of her rucksack and hands it to Yuki. “I found it back at home. I learned how to farm from that.”

Yuki opens the notebook, and nearly faints from shock. “Choco, these are dad's notes! You actually understand this stuff? Even I don't get half the things dad wrote here!”

Choco raises her index finger and says, “It's easy dad, all I need to do is plant the crops in a square pattern leaving just enough room to walk around without harming the plants. Since the earth here has not been used in a long time, it's very fertile, and rich in nutrients to allow crops to grow at a rapid pace. the crops back at home cannot grow well because you used too much space making a pasture for the animals. The grass is stealing nutrients from the earth which slows down the growth rate of the other crops.”

As Choco continues to talk like an over-educated young lady, Yuki just stands there watching her in shock. He then whispers in his mind, “What the. . . Am I really talking to Choco? Just a little while ago, she was a pretty naive little girl. Now she's cooking, cleaning, and knows more about farming than I do.” Yuki thinks for a moment and continues to whisper to himself, “Now that I think about it, Choco does have a fast learning pace. Like when I gave her the art pad and crayons, she didn't know how to draw anything at first. But in only a few days, she was able to draw so well, that even though she drew on my walls, I actually complimented it. Her language is developing pretty quickly too, when she first came here, she was talking in baby mode. Now she is using bigger and more complicated words. And when we went to the circus, Choco was able to learn how to tame lions just by watching cartoons. It takes a normal person years to master something like that. Choco can read and write pretty good now, I don't think she knew how to do that when she came to live with me. It took me years of practice to learn how to cook. But Choco only watches me, and she is able to do it as good as I can. I remember when she tried to cook for the first time, she blew up my kitchen. Now this, she learned how to farm better than I can just by reading my father's notes.”

Choco notices Yuki lost in though, so she stops her explanation and asks, “Dad, is everything okay?”

Yuki snaps out of his daydream and says, “I'm find Choco.” Yuki looks around and asks, “What tools do you use to care for these crops?”

“Those!” Choco points at the rusted old tools in a corner. Yuki sees his old watering can, his old sickle, and an old hand trowel which is the only thing that didn't belong to him. “Carter gave me the trowel because he wasn't using it anymore. Your hoe was too heavy for me to use. I got the watering can and the sickle from your tool shed. I noticed that you never use them anymore, so I borrowed them.”

“I see.” said Yuki. He then continues to examine the field, and sees that there is still a lot of tree stumps and boulders in the field. “Why didn't you clear everything out Choco?” he asked.

“Well, I need a hammer and an axe to clear out the rest. But they are too heavy for me to carry so I just planted around them.” answered Choco.

Yuki kneels down and pats Choco on the head saying, “You did a great job on this field. Mind if I help you clear out the heavy stuff?”

Choco nods, and Yuki grabs his tools to clear out the stumps and boulders for Choco. They went back home carrying the lumber to be placed into the sheds. Yuki then takes Choco over to the barns and coops where he could teach her how to care for animals. Just as Yuki suspected, Choco learned how to do his work very quickly, and is able to do everything he could after only a few tries.

Yuki and Choco finished working on the animals very quickly, and it was only noon by the time they finish. Yuki was feeling quite happy, so he pats Choco on the head and says, “Hey, you want to come to Mineral Town with me? I want to introduce you to all my friends over there.”

Choco looks up at Yuki, and nods cheerfully. They catch a boat, and lands in Mineral Town. Since Summer is over, Kai is no longer in Mineral Town until the next Summer. But he is still able to introduce Choco properly to the other villagers. They were all confused about how did Yuki have a 10 year old kid at his age. But Choco is so cute, nobody really cared too much. Whether it made sense or not, Choco is his daughter, and they must accept that.

Yuki and Choco returns to Forget-Me-Not Valley that evening. Yuki's pay was already left in his mailbox, and he takes Choco's share of the money and gives it to her. Strangely, Choco's crops made far more money than Yuki's crops ever did. Her crops are by far better quality than the crops that Yuki grew which fetched a higher price. Yuki then decides to let Choco help in the farm in exchange for more play time, and a bigger allowance.

That night, Choco was put to bed, and she fell asleep quickly. Yuki went back to his own room, and starts to write in his diary. He writes:

Fall 8, 2003

Today, I learned a lot about Choco that I never thought possible. I seems that she can learn things very quickly, and she can even surpass me who is double her age. I find that to be quite amazing, she even has her own crop field that is healthier than my own. I can't stop but to feel a bit jealous because a kid is doing better than I am. In the same time, I am proud of her. I guess I never noticed because I never gave her a chance to show me what she can do. I even took her to Mineral Town where she could meet my friends over there. I was freaked out at first because I had no idea how they would react. But they were pretty cool about it. I guess that they needed a bit of time to accept Choco, just like the people in Forget-Me-Not Valley. I am so lucky to have such good dependable friends.

Yuki starts to think for a moment, and concludes.

But I wonder. . . Choco is supposed to be really fast at learning, but why did she come to me with the mentality of a 5-year old? Did her mother just ignore her for 10 whole years without giving her a chance? It just doesn't make any sense. But I still need to remember that nothing about Choco made any sense before. I wonder, who is her mother?

To be continued.

[Coco]

Tun Tun Tun.

Really entertaining chapter. Choco seems smarter then me! Lol.

I wonder if Yuki will ever find out who her mother is?

[Pickle]

Oh I bet he will. And won't things start happening. Oh the drama

I love how you show the change in Choco's personaity. She's growing more to the age she needs to be. And how baby she acted because she actually was more of that age.

[Juxapose]

Chapter 14

Fall 12, 2003

It's early evening in Romana's Villa. Lumina has just finished reading the book “The Snow of Spring”, and is now down to the last page. Feeling proud that she has finally read the entire book from front to back, she smiles and recalls all the romantic and touching moments between the main character, and the heroine.

She turns the page, and reads the epilogue of the story which tells what happened to the characters after the story is over. The last page reads:

Epilogue:
Several years has passed since Tom and Marla has said their vows in holy matrimony. They are now living in a peaceful country village sharing eternal love for one another. Their daughter is born not too long after they got married, She is now 5 years old living cheerfully with both her loving parents. Together, they made a family tradition of eating strawberry shortcake below a huge cherry blossom tree in a peaceful park together. And they lived happily ever after.
The end.

As Lumina closes the book, she smiles at the touching ending that fit the story so well. She closes the book, and places it back on her book shelf. She then sighs deeply and says, “Wow, that was such a great story. I only wish that Yuki can sweep me off my feet like the main character did in that story.”

She then turns around, and starts walking to her easel so that she can start practicing her art. But just before she takes a seat on her stool, she stops to think for a moment. She places a finger on her chin and says, “Now that I think about it, where have I heard a similar story as the epilogue to 'The Spring of Snow'?”

She then remembers that Spring day when Choco mentioned that she, Yuki, and her mother used to spend time below a cherry blossom. “Oh yeah, Choco did mention that she wanted to go back to the park and have fun at that tree. How strange, Yuki lived in a city, there shouldn't be any trees like that in a big city like that.”

“Lumina!” yelled the voice of Romana. Her concentration on the subject suddenly breaks, and she runs out to see what Romana wants.

“Yes auntie, what is it?” replied Lumina as she looks down from the second floor.

Romana answers, “Van just came over, and dropped off these chocolates. He said something about that you asked him to get them for you.” Lumina rushes down the steps to pick up the chocolates that she ordered. Romana stares at her holding the chocolates and asks, “What are they for? You're not that big of a chocolate fan.”

“It's not for me.” answered Lumina. “I think I have a plan to get Choco to like me. These are special imported chocolates that are supposed to be the best in the whole world. With this, Choco may like me enough to make Yuki like me more than just friends. I can already imagine Yuki offering me the blue feather already.”

“I see that you are still thinking about that boy.” commented Romana. “But please remember that you cannot force him to like you. Trying too hard will only push him away in the end. Remember that.”

After her lecture, Romana walks back into her room where she can rest. Lumina runs back into her own room, and gets prepared to rest as well. That night, she dreams that she is below the cherry blossom tree with Yuki and Choco like a perfect family.

Fall 15, 2003

At noon, Lumina walks to Yuki's farm to get Choco. She walks up to his door, and knocks on it. She stood there waiting for an answer. It didn't take long before Yuki opens the door, and finds Lumina standing there. He smiles and greets, “Hi there Lumina. What can I do for you?”

Lumina smiles back and says, “Hi, I was wondering if Choco can play with me. Is she home?”

“Yeah, she's in her room playing with her toys. Let me call her for you.” Yuki then goes over to Choco's room, and tells her that she has a visitor.

Choco runs over to the front door, and finds Lumina. She smiles and says, “Hi lady!”

Lumina squats down to Choco's height and says, “Hi there Choco. Would you like to come to my house, and play with me? I have some new chocolates that you might want to try.”

Choco jumps up and down as she yells, “Okay!!” Lumina giggles at how cute Choco is behaving, then she holds her hand to walk with her back to the mansion. They sit in the patio with two kettles on the table. One of them has hot chocolate that Sebastian made with the chocolates Lumina received last night. The other had relaxation tea, Lumina's favorite flavored tea.

Lumina poured the chocolate in a tea cup for Choco, and relaxation tea for herself. Choco takes a sip and beamed, “Wow! It's great!”

Lumina laughed and commented, “I knew you would like it. It's chocolate from Italy, made from some of the finest chocolate makers in the world.” She then took a sip of her tea, and watched her enjoy the chocolate in delight.

As she sat there with Choco, she feels that just having a drink is not enough to seal the deal. She needs to have a nice conversation with her as well. Getting to know Choco better, and getting her to know herself is vital for her plans. She then thinks about what she was thinking about last night, so she puts her tea cup down and says, “So Choco, tell me more about your past.”

“My past?” asked Choco.

“Yeah. A while ago, you mentioned that you and Yuki used to play around a Cherry Blossom. Tell me more about that.” She then continues to drink her tea as she waits for an answer.

Choco things very hard before answering, “Let's see. Mom and dad would take me to the cherry blossom tree in the park after I was born. . . And we used to eat strawberry shortcake all the time!”

Hearing Choco say that makes Lumina gasp. But she was drinking tea, so she spits it out all over the table coughing. Choco looks at Lumina and yells, “Eww, that's nasty! Why did you do that!?”

“I'm sorry, I was just shocked.” After she has calmed down, she asks her, “But Choco, did you say that you used to eat strawberry shortcake?”

“Yes I did.”

“With Yuki?”

“Yeah, dad, mom, and I ate strawberry shortcake. It was our little tradition.” answered Choco.

Lumina thought for a moment and says in her head, “Wow, thats an amazing coincidence, it's almost exactly like my story. But something seems strange here. Yuki can't eat strawberry shortcake!”

“Is something wrong?” asked Choco.

Lumina looks at Choco and says, “Nothing, I was just lost in thought.” She stands up and continues, “I have to go do something quickly, wait for me right here.”

Choco nods, and Lumina goes inside the mansion calling for Sebastian. He walks out of the kitchen ans says, “Yes Miss Lumina, did you need me?”

“I need you to do me a little favor. Can you please bake me a strawberry short cake?” asked Lumina.

“Yes, I can do that. But why do you need me to do that so suddenly?”

“I just need to confirm something.” answered Lumina. Sebastian is not sure what she meant, but it's not his place to ask questions. So he heads back to the kitchen to start making the cake.

Choco waits outside, but gets bored too quickly. She looks around, and notices something odd next to the mansion. A small old wooden hut stands close to the mansion. She is not sure why, but she is drawn to the old hut. She stands up, and slowly walks up to it. The old worn door doesn't seem locked, so she reaches out to see what's inside. Just then, Lumina walks out, and sees Choco near the hut.

“Choco!” called Lumina. Choco pulled her hand away from the door, and turns back to look at Lumina. “Please stay away from that hut.”

“Why? What's inside?” asked Choco.

“I don't know to tell you the truth.” answered Lumina. “But auntie Romana tells me that nobody should go near that hut. It's cursed or something like that. Why don't we go into my room? I have lots of things I want to show you.”

Choco takes a second look at the hut before she runs off to join Lumina. Inside her room, Lumina shows Choco lots of portraits that she has painted over the many years she has been living in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Choco is impressed at how well Lumina can paint, and wishes that she can do art as well as she can. Lumina then shows Choco several photographs of when she was younger. Many of the photographs are of her either painting, or playing the piano.

Choco did not recognize Lumina in the older Photographs. Unlike now, Lumina is wearing more tomboyish clothes like jeans, shirts, and sneakers. Her hair was longer when she was younger as well. As she turns the pages in the photo album, Choco starts to find Yuki in some of the photos. In those photographs, Lumina is smiling more than in the older ones.

Several hours later, Sebastian is done baking the cake, and he calls Lumina over to get it. Before giving the cake to Lumina, she requests that he places it into a small gift box. She then takes the cake to Choco, and gives it to her. Choco looks at the gift box and says, “What is this?”

“It's a present for Yuki.” answered Lumina. “But don't tell him that it's from me. Tell him that it's a gift from you.”

“Okay!!” cheered Choco. Then she said her goodbyes, and walks home carrying the package for Yuki. Just as she leaves, Lumina follows her unnoticed back to the farm. Choco walks into her house without a clue that Lumina is following her. Lumina sneaks into the side of the house, and looks through a window where she can watch Yuki's reaction to the gift.

Choco walks up to Yuki and says, “Hi dad! I have a gift for you!”

“Really for me?” answered Yuki. Choco then opened the package to reveal the strawberry shortcake to him. As soon as Yuki sees it, he screams, and falls on his behind. Choco walks up to him, and he crawls away yelling, “Choco, get that thing away from me!”

“Huh? But why?” Choco looks into the package and says, “Oh wow! Strawberry shortcake! Dad, let's have some!”

“No way! Are you crazy?! Are you trying to kill me!?” yelled Yuki.

Lumina watches Yuki continue to freak out for a while. She then looks away from the window and says, “I knew it! Yuki couldn't possibly be eating strawberry short cake when he was younger. Yuki is allergic to strawberries! I once gave him some chocolate covered strawberries a long time ago, and I sent him to the clinic. As far as Choco's past resembling the story in my book is odd enough. But this alone proves that Yuki isn't Choco's father after all.”

Lumina left the farm, and walks back to the mansion. On the way back, she says to herself, “Choco clearly remembers eating strawberry cake with Yuki, but Yuki cannot eat strawberries. Could Choco have confused Yuki with someone else? Someone who actually likes strawberries, but looks very alike to Yuki?” She continues to think about the situation, and then continues, “But then what about the paternity test? That test said that Yuki really is her father. . . But, the test is not 100% accurate. Even if the test is 99.9% accurate, there is still a 1/1000 chance that it could be wrong.” Lumina sighs and concludes, “What do I do? Should I tell Yuki that he really isn't Choco's father after all? What would happen if I did tell him?”

Fall 16, 2003

Early in the day, Lumina pays a visit to Yuki's farm. She knocks on the door, and Yuki answers it quickly. He is surprised to see Lumina over a second day in a row, but he is more surprised that Lumina is not as cheerful as usual. He invites her in, and makes tea for her. Lumina just sits in the table with something that weighs heavily on her mind.

Yuki serves Lumina some tea, but she still looks worried. Yuki sits down and says, “Is everything OK Lumina? Is something bothering you?”

“Nothing is bothering me, I just thought I could talk to you, that's all.” Yuki doesn't understand why is Lumina acting the way she is, so he just serves himself some tea, and waits patiently for her to say something. After a while she finally says, “Is Choco here?”

“No, she's out playing with Kate and Hugh. She's really become close friends with them.” Yuki then takes another sip of his tea.

She takes a deep breath and asks, “Yuki, what if you were to find out that Choco really isn't your daughter?”

Yuki puts his tea down and asks, “What's with the sudden strange question?”

“I'm just curious. Not many things actually make sense about Choco, and there still may be a chance that she may not be your child after all. I'm just wondering how would you react if that was the case.”

Yuki looks out the window for a moment. Remembering all the hard times that he had with Choco along with the good times flood his mind. He then answers, “You know, I don't think it would matter anymore.” Lumina looks at Yuki with a shocked look on her face. “I've been thinking about the same thing every once in a while. What if Choco really isn't my daughter, what will I do with her. But after a while, I remember Choco's situation. She doesn't have a mother, and if I am not her father, then she is just an orphan. But even so, Choco has been living with me for a while, she practically is family anyway. She may be troublesome, energetic, and a pain in the neck sometimes, but everyone loves her. I even took her to Mineral Town the other day, and everyone was more than willing to accept her. Once you think about it for a while, she is a member of our little community known as Forget-Me-Not Valley. So if I do find out that Choco is not my daughter, I'll still raise her as my own. After all, she still needs a father, don't you agree Lumina?”

Lumina smile and nods in agreement. Just then, Choco walks into the house and yells, “Dad, I'm Home!” She then notices Lumina in the house and says, “It's the lady from yesterday! Did you come to play?”

“Yes, I did come to play.” answered Lumina. Lumina then had an idea and says, “I still have some of that chocolate back in the mansion. Why don't you come over and finish it?” Choco then cheered loudly, and left the farm with Lumina.

Back at the mansion, Lumina thought she was going to have another peaceful day to get to know Choco a bit better. But Romana has other plans for Lumina. She waited for Lumina to return to the mansion with an upset look on her face.

Romana lifts her cane and yells, “Lumina, where have you been young lady! You know you have to practice the piano before leaving the Mansion!”

Lumina forgot all about her practice that day, but since she already brought Choco with her, she thought that she can excuse herself for today. “I'm sorry auntie Romana, I forgot all about it. Can I practice tomorrow instead? I brought Choco over to play.”

Romana lifts her cane again and exclaims, “I don't care if the prince of London came over, you're still going to practice!”

Lumina sighs and says, “Okay, I'll practice right now.” Romana then goes back inside the mansion. Lumina looks down at Choco and says, “I'm sorry Choco, but I need to practice the piano right now. Please go home on your own, we'll have that chocolate tomorrow.”

Choco looks back at Lumina and asks, “Can I watch you practice?”

“Umm, sure if you want to.” said Lumina surprised to hear Choco ask to keep her company while she plays. So they both enter the mansion, and they sit side by side in front of the piano. Lumina then sets the score sheet, and begins to play the beautiful melody on the piano.

Choco sits next to her, and listens to the blissful music rocking her head side by side. Somewhere in the middle of the song, she misses a key and stops. Choco then looks at Lumina and says, “Lady, why did you stop?”

Lumina sighs and says, “Sorry, but I missed a note, and I have to start over.”

“How do you know when you miss a note?” asked Choco.

Lumina points to the score and says, “I use this to tell me what keys I have to push in order to make the music I want. When the score says to play E flat, I have to push the E flat key.” Lumina then presses the key on the piano to demonstrate what she's talking about.

Choco nods. Just then, Romana's voice calls, “Lumina, can you come here a moment? I dropped my medicine, and I can't bend down to get it!”

Lumina huffs and tells Choco, “Please wait right here. I have to help my auntie for a moment. I will be right back.”

“Okay!” said Choco. Lumina then runs over to Romana's room to help her with her problem. While Lumina is away, Choco stares at the score for a moment. She compares the notes Lumina was playing earlier to the score sheet in front of her. Using her memory, Choco begins to touch the keys one by one playing the music Lumina had just played.

In Romana's room, Lumina picks up the medicine her aunt dropped, and hands it to her. Romana then says, “Thank you dear. How is the practice going?”

“I missed one note, but I'm sure that I'll be able to get it by tonight.” answered Lumina.

Romana smiles and says, “That's great. You're really getting better that that piano Lumina. I'm sure if your mother was here, she would be proud, and-” Romana then hears someone playing the piano. “Is my hearing going, or is someone playing on the piano?”

Lumina pricks her ears, and hears the piano as well. “That's odd. There was nobody else in the piano room other than me and. . . No way!” They both then rushes over to the den to see who is playing on the piano. They both gasp to see Choco playing the same exact melody that Lumina was playing. Lumina is also shocked to see her playing past the point where Lumina stopped earlier. She is also not making any mistakes either.

“My god! That's amazing!” yelled Romana.

Choco suddenly stops after hearing Romana's voice. She looks back and sees the shocked expression on their faces. Choco panics and says, “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to touch the piano! Please don't tell dad!”

“No! It's okay! You didn't do anything wrong!” yelled Lumina. She then walked up to her, and patted on her head to show that she is not in trouble. “But Choco, where did you learn how to play the piano?”

“You taught me.” answered Choco.

“I did?”

“Yeah, remember?” Choco points at the score sheet and says, “You told me that if I follow the paper here, I can play the music. You showed me that this button is E flat.” Choco then pushed the key that Lumina showed her. “Then I just remembered what buttons you pressed, and matched the dots on the paper. Using what I learned from you, I just played the song.”

Lumina couldn't believe what she is hearing. In only a few moments, Choco has mastered a skill that Lumina spend half her life trying to learn. She thought for a moment, and ran to her bedroom to find several score sheets for different songs. She brought them back to the piano and placed one of them on the piano. She then asked Choco, “Can you play this one?”

Choco stared at the sheet, but the notes are not familiar to her. She shook her head no, so Lumina started playing the first half of the melody. Choco is able to memorize it, and starts to play the song along side with Lumina. After several songs are played, Choco is then able to play any song that Lumina can put out for her.

Several hours later, it's becoming dark, and Choco needs to return home. Neither Lumina or Romana has seen anything so amazing as a child who can master the piano in a single day's worth of practice. Choco had a lot of fun playing the piano, and she asked Lumina if she could be her instructor from then on. Choco's talent inspires her to practice a little harder so that she can be the best instructor for Choco.

Fall 17, 2003

That afternoon, Lumina takes the book titled “The Spring of Snow”, and walks to Yuki's house carrying it. As she walks, she says to herself, “I'm sorry Choco. But even if you're going to hate me for this, Yuki still has to know the truth. Yuki is not your father, and only I can prove that. But even so, everything is going to be okay. Yuki told me that his feelings are not going to change. But I still have to let him know.”

When he arrives at his house, she finds a note on his door saying that they have gone fishing. Lumina knows that the only place Yuki likes to fish is at the beach. So she turns around and starts heading to the beach.

Meanwhile, The Witch Princess has a free moment, so she decides to check on Choco. She waves her hand over the crystal ball, and sees that Choco is at the beach with Yuki. She smiles knowing that Yuki and Choco are bonding. But on the edge of the crystal ball, she notices Lumina hiding behind them.

She moves her attention to Lumina to see what she's doing. She panics as soon as she sees the book hidden behind her back. “No! Not that book! If Yuki reads that book, my plans will be ruined!”

Lumina remains hidden for a while watching Choco and Yuki fishing together like a father and daughter activity. Just before she decides to move closer, Choco's line catches a bite. The catch was too big for Choco to reel in alone, so Yuki grabs her rod, and helps her pull the fish in. A huge dorado measuring over a meter in length flies out of the water, and into the land where Yuki and Choco were sitting.

Yuki pats Choco on the head and says, “Great job! This will make an excellent dinner tonight!”

Yuki and Choco laugh cheerfully. At that moment, Lumina completely changes her mind about telling Yuki the truth about Choco. Even if Choco is not Yuki's daughter, Lumina has no right to take their happiness away.

Choco looks back, and notices Lumina standing there. She waves at her and says, “Lady! You came!”

Yuki looks back, and sees Lumina as well. “Hi there! You looking for us?”

Lumina holds the book tightly behind her and says, “No, I was just taking a walk. This was just a coincidence.”

Choco runs up to Lumina, and notices that she is hiding something behind her back. She quickly takes a peek and asks, “Is that a book you have there? Is it a good book? Can I read it?”

Lumina laughs and says, “No, it's just a boring old book. If you want, I can show you a really good book back at my home.”

Choco looks back at Yuki and says, “Dad, can I?”

“Sure you can.” answered Yuki trying to wrestle with the fish.. “I need to get this big fish home and cook it. Make sure you're home for dinner.”

“Okay!” cheered Choco, and then she walked off with Lumina back to the mansion.

Back in the Witch Princess' hut, she lets out a sigh of relief after seeing that Lumina is not going to show Yuki the book. She sits on her bed and says, “That was a close one. Who would have ever guessed that after all that time, Lumina would read that book again. But as long as Yuki is still clueless, I'm still satisfied.” She then takes a moment to think, and continues, “But I wonder what's taking that kid so long? Yuki should be suffering by now. . . I think I should check on things just in case.”

The Witch Princess walks over to her library of books, and pulls out a book labeled “Arcane Alchemy”, better known as “Black Magic”. She reads the incantation she needs to perform, and starts to set everything up. Using red chalk, she draws a demonic looking pattern inside a large circle. She then walks over to a caged rat, and pulls it out. Using a knife, she stabs the rat in it's belly, and allows the blood to drip in the center of the circle. She drops the dead rat after the blood stops flowing, and reads the spell out loud:

“Oh Haljia, master of darkness and the realm of the dead. I call upon you to appear, and answer my question. I offer you this small sacrifice, so appear now!”

The center of the circle starts to radiate a dark cloud that consumes the dead rat. Slowly, a shadow figure that takes the shape of a huge cloak appears. In the hood, a skull appears, and skeleton hands appear from the sleeves. A giant sized dark colored sickle appears in it's right skeletal fist. No matter how frightening the shadowy master of death appears, Witch Princess is not afraid.

Two crimson colored glowing spheres appears in the eye sockets of the skull. The shadow figure looks at Witch Princess, and says, “Well, well. High alchemist Witch Princess, it's been a long time since we last met. What can I do for you?”

“Haljia, master of death. I have summoned you to answer a question.” said Witch Princess.

“I see. But I must remind you that there are several questions that I cannot answer. First of all, I cannot tell you the lifespan of humans and. . .”

The Witch Princess becomes annoyed with his disclaimers, and yells, “That's enough! I already know the rules from last time you were here. Now stop wasting my time, and tell me what I need to know!”

There was a pause for a moment, then the shadow figure says, “Very well then. What is your question?”

Witch Princess smirks and says, “The homunculus named Choco. I wish to know her remaining lifespan.”

The shadow takes a moment to think. It then answers, “The homunculus named Choco can only live a maximum of only 38 more days.”

Witch Princess nods and asks, “What about the minimum?”

“The minimum number of days that the homunculus named Choco has left to live. . . Has already expired.”

To be continued.

[rachel]

=O Bad Witchy! poor Choco's gonna die?! argg!! *hits computer*


good chapter by the way

[Pickle]

I did not see that. There goes one of my theories out of the window. *throws it*