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Post by jesseleon on May 14, 2008 17:27:20 GMT -5
Yo It Hako long time no see, what go on with HM farm forum?
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Post by Juxapose on May 14, 2008 19:37:58 GMT -5
No idea. Looks like it's offline, no clue when or if it's coming back online. But welcome to this forum.
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Post by jesseleon on May 14, 2008 21:42:09 GMT -5
thank Juxapose
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Post by Juxapose on Jun 10, 2008 21:06:28 GMT -5
Before the chapter, I would like to apologize to the community for the long pause between chapters. I have not been feeling well for the past couple of weeks, and writing is a bit difficult. But I have been feeling better, and I will continue my work. Now on with the chapter!
Chapter 15
Fall 22, 2003
As the Witch princess sleeps, she has a dream. Or rather, another painful memory of her past. In her dream, she sees a small group of children playing in a field. She can also see a smaller version of herself hiding behind a tree at the young age of 10 years old. During this time, her mother and father are still alive. Even though her parents told her many times to stay indoors where it's safe, she doesn't listen. She only wants to make friends like the other children.
Watching them laugh and play makes her feel envious of them. Since birth, Princess' only friends were the books of alchemy that her father no longer uses. She knows what will happen if she leaves the house without her mother and father knowing. She knows that she is different than the other children, and it has nothing to do with her blond hair or reddish eyes. But still, she hopes that the others will accept her anyway.
She's trembling, but she slowly walks up to them, hoping that she could join in on their game. It doesn't take long before the group of children notice her approaching them. They quickly stop playing, and stare at her with a awkward glare. From the look on their faces, they are almost offended by her presence.
Princess stops about 15 feet away from the other children. There are four of them, three boys and a single girl. Normally they are good children, but their parents have taught them to hate Princess. She has done nothing wrong, but she is still the most hated person in the entire village.
Everyone knew that Princess' parents could not have children. But with little to no explanation, her mother gave birth to a healthy little girl. Her father also lost his right hand right before the villagers found out she was pregnant. Before long, the villagers started spreading rumors that witchcraft had a hand in Princess' birth, and she was labeled a demon.
“Hi there. . .” said Princess with a nervous tone. She was nervous, but she still wanted to be accepted by the other children.
One of the young boys crossed his arms and says, “Well, well. If it isn't the little Princess. What the the demon girl want with us?”
Princess remained quiet for a moment. She knew that she had to run before things becomes ugly, but she still wants to try. So she gathered up her courage and says, “I noticed you were playing. I was wondering if I could play with you. Maybe we could be friends?”
The expression on the children's faces does not change. They just remain silent looking at her waiting for her to do something. Princess believes that she might be making some progress with them, so she takes a step forward to join them. However, the children frowns angrily which frighten her enough to take two steps back. They quickly grab any nearby stones, and start throwing them at her. She tries to shield herself, but they were throwing them so hard, that the stones would injure her arms. Some of the stones miss her, but the ones that didn't leaves horrible bruises on her arms and face.
“Stay away from us you monster!” screamed one of the boys.
“We don't want to get cursed by the likes of you!” yelled the little girl.
“Why don't you just drop dead and die!” cried another boy.
Princess has no choice but to give up and go home. She covers one of bleeding wounds on her arm as she returns to her home on the top of the hill. On the way there, she sees the other villagers stare at her with malice in their eyes. She can also hear them whisper horrible things about her, calling her names and starting new false rumors Every now and then, someone would throw something at her reminding her that she is not welcome in the village where she was born.
The Witch Princess wakes up in the morning. She places a hand on her face trying to forget the memories of the past. These memories may be centuries old, but no matter how much time passes, they still haunt her. A constant reminder that she will never be accepted within a group of normal people.
Later that day, the five young bachelorettes Celia, Muffy, Nami, Lumina, and Flora pays a visit to Yuki's farm. This time, they are not visiting to put another one of their devious plan into motion. The girls decided that they want to take a trip together, and they wish to take the sixth member of their club along. Yuki's daughter Choco.
They arrive in front of his house, and knock on the door. It only takes a moment before Yuki opens the door and looks at the five girls waiting. He smiles and says, “Hi there, what can I do for you all?”
Everyone giggles for a moment after looking at Yuki's face. After they've settled down, Muffy steps forward and says, “Hi Yuki! We are wondering if Choco wants to hang out with us today! It'll be a girl's day off!”
“Hang out? Where?” asked Yuki.
“We're gong to the hot springs together as a group.” answered Celia.
“Oh sure! I'll call Choco, and you can ask her yourselves.” said Yuki. He then steps back in the house to call Choco over to the front door.
After a minute, Choco walks out the door carrying her favorite toy Uma-Kun. She looks up at the five women curiously and says, “Hi. You need to talk to me?”
Lumina kneels down and pats her head saying, “We want to invite you to go to the hot springs with us. Want to come?”
Choco's face beamed with excitement. Even though she has busted into the hot springs once while Yuki was inside one time, but she never had the chance to enjoy a visit yet. She quickly runs in, and runs back out in her favorite swimsuit. Choco shivers from the cold Fall air, but she knows that the hot springs is warm enough to bathe, even in Winter.
Everyone laughs. Then Nami says, “Choco, you cannot wear your swimsuit to the hot springs! Everyone is taking a bath, so we won't be wearing anything.”
“Oh, I see.” said Choco just before she runs back in, and changes into something warmer. After grabbing her jacket, she joins the group of single women, and starts walking towards the hot springs.
After Choco leaves, Yuki takes a deep breath of relief. This is the first time that Choco will be out in several days. Since Yuki is rarely alone, he tries to relax as much as he can when he is. He throws himself on the couch in front of the television set, and opens a book to read. But after a few minutes of reading, Yuki realizes something.
He puts the book down and says, “It's far too quiet without Choco. I wonder when she will get back home. . .”
Inside the hot springs, Choco runs out of the changing room wearing nothing but a towel to take a look around. Her eyes glow with excitement. The view of the autumn leaves, and the old fashioned hot springs compliment each other very well. It may be getting close to winter, but the spring warms the air enough to walk around comfortably.
The other girls walk out of the changing room also wrapped in towels. They find Choco running around like an excited schoolgirl who has taken a field trip for the first time. “Choco, the floor is a bit slippery. Stop running, or you might hurt yourself.” said Flora.
Choco stops running and says, “Sorry about that. I was just so excited.”
“This is not the first time you've been here you know.” said Celia. “The last time, Yuki was here as well.”
Choco cheered and yells, “I remember!” She then thought for a moment and says, “But dad didn't want to stay, and the lady who lives in the big house passed out.”
Lumina's face turns red remembering the embarrassing vision from that Spring day. Rather than talking about the past, they dip inside the hot springs one by one. They all tied up their hair, and placed their towels on their heads. Their stress that they've built up over the year quickly melt away into the hot spring water.
Muffy stretches her arms and says, “Wow! This feels great! I'm so glad I came, my back was killing me!”
Nami looks at Muffy with envy and says, “Yeah, I bet it's because of that full feminine figure. Standing around serving drinks all day with extra weight up front must be a burden on your back.”
Muffy waves her index finger left and right saying, “Do I sense a little jealousy?”
“Not really.” said Nami crossing her arms and looking away. “I was just thinking of what's the point of a body like that without a man to enjoy it. You're just going to grow old and pruney complaining that you're still single.”
“You don't know what you're talking about!” yelled Muffy angrily. “Someday this body is going to belong to Yuki, and we will have a lot of children!”
Nami then looks at Muffy angrily. And Muffy snarls at Nami back. Even though they are friends, they are also polar opposites and rivals. The only thing that they have in common is their love for Yuki. The same goes for the other girls, their common interests brings them together as good friends, and friendly rivals as well. They sometimes fight and argue, but they all make up in the end.
“Hey, has anyone seen Choco?” asked Celia after noticing that she is not in the spring water.
“Wheeeee!” screamed Choco as she jumps in the hot spring. She crashes into the water, and slashes it all over the place soaking everyone else. They all are peeved, but they remember that she is still just a kid trying to have fun. Choco starts walking out of the water and says, “I want to do that again! That was so much fun!”
“Choco!” called Muffy. “You're in a hot spring, not a pool. Please don't jump in the water.”
Choco tilts her head to the side and asks, “I can't jump in the water? Then what can I do in a hot spring?”
“Everyone sits down, and relaxes. The hot spring is to relieve stress and muscle aches, not for jumping and playing. If you do play in the hot springs, the hot water may cause fatigue and you might pass out. Do you understand?”
Choco nods. After everything has settled, everyone sits and breathes heavily trying to relax. Choco is much shorter than the other women, so she needs to sit in the shallow end of the springs. It doesn't take long before Choco becomes very bored just sitting still. So she stands up and walks up to Muffy.
Choco nudges on Muffy's arm and says, “Lady, I'm bored. Can we do something fun? Can you please tell me a story?”
Muffy sighs and says, “I know that we should have said something sooner, but please don't call me 'Lady'. It's impolite. I do have a name you know.”
Choco stares at Muffy and says, “So, what is your name?”
Everyone stares at Choco awkwardly. Muffy then says, “Are you serious? You don't know my name?”
Choco places her index finger in her lip and says, “I never really paid attention. I've been calling everyone 'Lady' or 'Mister' ever since I came to live here. But I really don't know anyone's name.”
Muffy sighs again,she then places her arm around Choco, and pulls her close. She points at Celia and says, “Okay, let's start learning everyone's names. She is Celia, can you remember that?” Choco nods. Muffy moves her fingers at the other girls one by one saying, “She is Nami, then Flora, and finally Lumina.”
Muffy then points at herself saying, “You can just call me your future step-mother. After all, I'm going to marry your father, so start practicing that.”
Choco puts her finger on her lip again and says, “Step-mother? I don't know. . .” She then points at Muffy saying, “You look more like an auntie than a mother.”
Muffy becomes furious. She grabs Choco, and places her in front of herself. She then starts drilling both her knuckles into Choco's skull yelling, “Auntie!? How dare you call me that!? That's something you call an old lady! I'll have you know that I am young enough to be a mother! And I am damn sure that I am young enough to YOUR mother!”
Celia pulls Choco away and says, “Stop doing that! You're hurting her!”
Muffy crosses her arms and looks away saying, “Brat!”
Celia pats Choco's head trying to relieve the pain caused by Muffy. Choco looks up, and she couldn't help but smile at her kind and caring face. “Don't worry, I won't let Muffy hurt you any longer.” She then points at herself and asks, “By the way. If Muffy is like an auntie, then what am I?”
Choco thinks for a moment and says, “You're like a big sister!”
Celia blushes and says, “Oh my, a big sister. How cute!”
Nami then approaches Choco and asks, “What about me? What am I to you?”
Choco stares into Nami's face for a moment, then says, “You look more like a big brother!”
A vein suddenly bulges on Nami's forehead. She then starts running after Choco yelling, “Come back here and get your spanking kid!”
Choco runs around yelling, “Why are you so mad? You wanted to know so I told you!”
The other girls laugh at both Nami and Choco as they run around in the hot spring. It doesn't take long before Nami tires out from fighting against the hot water, and nearly passes out. But as Choco is running, Celia sees something unusual in her hand. Between Choco's fingers, she can see a small round amber colored crystal with a leather rope tied around it.
Celia waits until the commotion subsides before asking, “Hey Choco, what's that in your hand?”
Choco stops moving, and opens her hand to reveal the crystal. “You mean this? This is my pendant.”
“Can I see it?” asked Celia. Choco places the crystal in her hand, and Celia takes a good look at it. “Wow, it's so pretty. Did Yuki give this to you?”
Choco shakes her head and says, “No, I've always had it.”
“Can I have a look?” asked Nami. She takes a close look at the crystal in Celia's hand, and then continues, “Oh, I've seen that before. That day when Yuki and Choco were staying in the Inn last Spring, Choco was wearing it. I guess that she wears it under her clothes.”
Celia gasps and asks, “Choco, did you get this from your mother?”
Choco takes a moment to think hard about her answer before saying, “I don't remember how I got it. I think I've had it since the day I was born. I don't remember at all.”
Everyone sighs. They all believed that it was a clue to Choco's mother, but now they are not sure anymore. Flora stares hard at it and says, “Can I examine it a moment?” Celia places the crystal in Flora's hands so she can examine it. She plays around with the crystal checking it's density, clarity, and texture. She raises the crystal in the air, and looks through it toward the sun. She then says, “How unusual. It looks like a piece of amber, but it's definitely not. Amber is much more clearer, and this rock is as hard as diamond. But at the same time, it feels like it weighs nothing. In the many years I've studied rocks, crystals, and minerals, I have never seen anything like this.”
All the other girls stare at it in awe. But Lumina sees something else unusual yet familiar on the crystal. “Can I see it?” she asked. Flora gives the crystal to Lumina to take a good look at the small circular engraving somewhere close to the bottom of the crystal. It's hard to see, but Lumina can see a double helix pattern and strange characters that resemble an ancient language inside the circle.
Everyone else notices the tiny strange circular engraving. They stare at it for a while trying to make some sense out of it. “What do you think that is?” asked Muffy ending the long silence.
“It's a transmutation circle.” answered Lumina.
“And what exactly is that?” asked Flora.
“Not exactly sure. But I do know that it has something to do with alchemy.”
“Alchemy? Like in the periodic table, and the elements?”
“No, that's chemistry. Alchemy is something like chemistry, but much more advanced. Alchemy is the process of breaking down matter, and rebuilding it into something different using spiritual energy.”
“Spiritual energy?” asked Muffy. “That sounds more like witchcraft than science.”
“How do you know about this stuff?” asked Flora.
“I read it in a book when I was younger. I was kinda interested in wizards and witches when I was a kid, so I did a little research on it.” answered Lumina. “You see, many things that we call folklore or fairytales usually is based on something that is true. A long time ago, witchcraft was something we all called something that we did not understand. When something happens, but science cannot explain how it happens, we usually think it's magic.”
“I don't get it.” said Celia.
“How can you not get it? It's so easy to understand.” said Nami. “Look, when a magician pulls a bunny out of his hat, we all think it's magic because we do not know how they do it. But after we learn that there is some sort of hole or some other trick, it's no longer magic because we know how the magician performed the trick.”
“That's correct.” said Lumina. “However, alchemy is different. This practice was the closest thing to magic than anything else people has been able to achieve.”
“How so?” asked Flora curiously.
“It's quite complicated how alchemy works. To even perform the basics of alchemy, you need to be gifted enough to tap into the essence of your soul, channel it onto a transmutation circle, and use that energy to change something into something different. Only one out of every ten thousand people are born able to practice alchemy.”
“I don't quite get it.” said Muffy.
Lumina continues with her explanation, “Imagine this. What if you could take sand, draw a circle around it, make a pattern and write some sort of incantation around it. Then you touch the circle, and turn that sand into a glass statue. The funny thing about alchemy is that you don't need to use fire, or any tools to do it.”
Celia shivers and says, “Wow, that does sound like witchcraft. That's so spooky!”
“Alchemy is not all that bad.” continued Lumina. “Alchemists can do a lot of good things for people. Like make medicine using herbs. Make lumber out of straw. Some people even believed that the pyramids were built using alchemy!”
“That's really interesting.” said Flora cheerfully. “But if alchemy is that useful, why doesn't anyone ever practice it anymore?”
“Just like there is good alchemy, there is also forbidden alchemy. Also known as 'Black Magic'.” answered Lumina.
“What kind of Black Magic?” asked Celia nervously.
“Just like the things that we believe the witches do. Like make poisons, or burn villages to the ground. Some alchemists were believed to be able to open up gates to the netherworld, and speak to demons. Some alchemists actually know how to break their own bodies down, and reconstruct themselves elsewhere making them look like the can teleport through walls. And some alchemist want to play god, and try to create life.”
“Wow, that does sound scary!” yelled Muffy.
Lumina nods and continues, “After a while, the common people decided that alchemists were becoming too powerful. So they started the 'Witch Hunt', and labeled any alchemists into witches or warlocks. They were all killed, even if they didn't do anything wrong.”
“That's so sad once you think about it. Why would they do that to innocent people?” asked Celia.
“It's because the people were scared.” answered Nami. “Every time we feel that something is too strong or scary, we usually destroy it. It's what humans do to protect themselves.”
“That can't be right!” said Muffy.
Nami looks at Muffy and asks, “Okay, let's put that to the test. When you see a bug in the bar, what do you usually do?”
“I'd kill it of course!” said Muffy. “Bugs are so ugly and scary. . .” After that, she finally understands what Nami was trying to say.
“Maybe it's about time we change the subject.” said Flora.
Everyone nods in agreement, and starts to think about a new subject to chat about. For a while, everyone remains quiet as they think about what to say. Muffy looks down at Choco, and notices that she seems like she wants to say something. Muffy then smiles at her and says, “Sorry, did you wanted to say something?”
“Actually, I have a question. I asked dad a few times, but he tells me that he'll answer me when I'm older.”
Muffy pats Choco on the head and says, “Go ahead, you can tell us what's on your mind.”
Choco hesitates for a moment, then asks, “Where do babies come from?”
Everyone sweats nervously at her question. It's not the question that make them feel uneasy, but it's her situation that makes things complicated. With the exception of Nami, everyone looks at one another wondering what to tell her without making her feel bad about herself.
Nami is the only one who tries to give an explanation. “Let me tell you how it's done. Have you ever seen your dad make the cows give milk? First he needs a bull to-”
Muffy and Flora quickly covers Nami's mouth tightly. Muffy then yells, “Are you insane?! You can't explain it that way!”
“So then where do babies come from?” Choco asked again.
“Well, you see. . .” said Muffy sheepishly. “When a man and a woman love one another, they are supposed to get married. After living with each other for a while, a little baby grows inside the mother for a while, and gives birth to a baby.”
Choco thinks hard about Muffy's vague explanation, and asks, “So, does my dad loves my mom?”
They all start to look at one another once again. Everyone knows that what Choco wants more than anything in the world is a complete family. She has Yuki as a father, but no mother. Any of the girls would be more than happy to become Choco's mother, but Yuki still has no interest in marriage.
Flora walks up to Choco and pats her head. She lifts her chin up and tells her, “Choco, what Muffy said only refers to what is 'supposed' to happen. But sadly, this is not always the case. Yuki doesn't remember your mother, but we all know that he cares deeply about you. Just remember that, and everything will be okay. After all, we are not related, but you are like family to all of us as well.” Flora then looks at the other girls and says, “Am I right?”
Everyone smiles and nods cheerfully. This makes Choco feel very happy. When she arrived in Forget-Me-Not Valley, she only wanted to find her father. But she found an entire village who are willing to care and protect her as family. She still wishes she knew who her mother is, but she is content with what she has right now.
They continued to talk for a while. Before they pass out in the hot spring, they all leave, and deliver Choco safely to the farm. Then they all part ways to their own homes. It's still early in the day, so they have a lot to do before the day ends.
However, in the villa Lumina looks through her collection of books. After what they talked about in the hot spring, she feels that she needs to check on something. She takes a book titled “History Of Alchemy” out of the shelf, and opens the page about transmutation circles. She remembers the pattern on Choco's pendant clearly. The book lists many different patterns used for different types of alchemy. However, none of the circles illustrated in the book resembles a double helix like the one Choco's pendant has engraved on it.
She flips the pages looking for any information on that transmutation circle, but she doesn't find anything. She then shuts the book, and says to herself, “How strange, this book says nothing about this type of alchemy. But I shouldn't be surprised, nothing that has anything to do with Choco had ever made any sense. I don't know why, but I can't hep but to worry. What does this all mean?”
To Be Continued.
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Post by Pickle on Jun 20, 2008 3:27:41 GMT -5
Well Lumnia, maybe if you picked up a science book, you'd realize what a double helix is.
Not angry. Wonderful chapter.
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Post by Juxapose on Jun 23, 2008 9:26:49 GMT -5
The next chapter is a bit late. I promised a friend I would update my first Fanfic Harvest Moon: Forever (Which I haven't done in about 6 months). I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can.
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Post by Pickle on Jun 27, 2008 16:48:07 GMT -5
Don't worry. I am so behind with Pen-pal. I've been writing a bio and some OT3 stuff. So trust me, as long as you are still trying, it is what counts.
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Post by Juxapose on Jun 29, 2008 12:15:43 GMT -5
Chapter 16 Fall 30, 2003Today is the Pumpkin Festival. But in the city, this day is better known as Halloween. A day when children dress up in costumes, and go from door to door collecting treats from their neighbors. Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town also celebrate this day meant for children. Now that Yuki has a daughter of his own, he allows his own to participate in the festival. Sometime in the late afternoon, Choco bursts out of her home impatiently to start the festival. Today she is dressed up in a witch costume, wearing a maroon colored cape and a pointed maroon colored hat. In one hand, she carries a bag used to collect treats, and a broom in the other. Choco takes a deep breath of the cold Fall air. Winter is coming soon, so she needs to be careful not to catch a cold. But still, she is happy that the weather is fair. Yuki comes out of the house soon afterwards, since this is a festival dedicated for children, he will stay home like all the other adults. Choco turns around and says to Yuki, “Okay, I'm off to go get some candy! Bye bye dad!”Just before Choco runs off, the words, “Wait a second Choco!” stops her. Choco takes a deep stressful sigh knowing full well what her father is going to say to her. He walks up to her and kneels down to her height. Choco knows that when Yuki does this, he is going to tell her something serious. “Okay Choco, before you leave to go collect candy, let's review the rules. Okay, first-”
“Stay on the path that we planned.” said Choco interrupting Yuki. She knows the rules by heart, so she recites them in his place. “Don't wander off with strangers, don't cause trouble for the other villagers, make sure I say 'Thank You' every time I get a treat, always stay in a group, I'm only allowed to collect treats in Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town, and don't eat any candy until I get home.” Choco sighs and says, “I know, we've been though this a million times already. Can I go now?”Yuki raises his index finger and asks, “What about the most important rule?”Choco rolls her eyes and answers, “Make sure I come home by 7 O'clock.”Yuki smiles, and nods sending Choco off to hunt for treats. She then hugs Yuki thanking him for allowing her to go. At first, Yuki was against sending her off alone, but it's a festival, and she needs to enjoy it with the other children. As Choco runs out of the farm to join with her group, she passes Muffy who is on her way to visit Yuki. Muffy is planning to take advantage of the fact that Yuki is alone to make a move on him. She has even brought a small bag with her filled with the tools she needs to accomplish her goal. But as Choco passes her, Muffy stops to take a long look at Choco's costume. She doesn't say anything, only stands there wondering. After a few seconds, she moves ahead to meet up with Yuki who is still waving at Choco. After greeting one another as usual, Muffy asks curiously, “Hey Yuki, what's up with Choco's costume? I know that it's Pumpkin Day, but why a witch? Couldn't you choose something cuter, like a panda or a rabbit?”“I wanted to.” answered Yuki. “But at the costume store, Choco wanted that costume, and nothing else. She wouldn't stop crying until I agreed to buy it for her. She may be changing, but deep inside, she's still a kid. Rather than fight with her, I just let her choose what she wanted to wear.”
“I see.” said Muffy. She then presents Yuki with the small bag she brought with her and continues, “Hey, I thought that you would be alone today. So how about we watch some movies?”
“Movies?” asked Yuki. He then takes the bag, and checks what titles that Muffy has brought with her. They are all older titles like “Friday the 13th”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Halloween”, and “Jaws”. All horror movies from the 1970's and 1980's era. “It's a tradition in my hometown to watch horror movies during Halloween. Even though we are not in the city anymore, I thought that we would watch them anyway. After all, you're not doing anything but waiting for Choco to come back home.”Yuki takes a good look at Muffy's suspiciously smiling face. He catches on quickly what she has planned. After several years of knowing her tactics, Yuki has already come up with countermeasures to all her plans. Yuki returns the videos and says, “That sounds like a good idea! But my living room is a bit messy, so let me clean up first, okay?” Before Muffy answers, Yuki jets back in his house to prepare. Muffy waits outside several minutes until she gets invited inside. She becomes suspicious that she doesn't hear Yuki cleaning or moving anything around. Curious to what Yuki is really doing, she tries to press her ear to hear what's going on. But before she has a chance, Yuki opens his door. “Sorry about that, all clean! Come inside, and we'll put something on!”As Yuki walks inside to prepare some popcorn, Muffy leers at him awkwardly. She knows that Yuki did not do any cleaning, but she ignores that fact now that she is finally invited into the house. After the popcorn and drinks are ready, they start with the first title, Halloween. Meanwhile, Choco meets up with her group, Kate and Hugh. Kate is dressed up as a pink princess complete with dress and tiara. Her hair is let down as opposed to the pigtail braids that she normally has it done. Hugh is dressed up as the Hulk. Tattered shorts are the only clothing that he is wearing, and his skin is covered in green dye. For a kid his age, he is naturally buff, so there is no need for any more make up. “Hi there!” Yelled Choco as she approaches her friends. “Kate! you look so cute! Hugh. . . Who are you supposed to be?”Hugh plays his role and yells, “You're asking Hulk? What Hulk look like, Einstein? Hulk just get big! Hulk strongest there is! Hulk not puny human! Hulk will smash!” As he says his lines, he tries his best to flex his muscles to impress Choco. Both Kate and Choco then laugh at how silly Hugh is acting. “So Choco, what are you dressed as? A witch?” asked Kate. Choco nods and answers, “Yeah! Witches are so cool! They get to use magic, fly on brooms, and say lots of crazy things. Wouldn't it be nice if I was a real witch!”Hugh and Kate then laugh at Choco. Hugh then beats his chest with his fists, and yells, “Hulk wants some candy! Hulk will get everyone to give treats, or Hulk will smash!” Everyone laughs again, and they all move to the first place on their list, the blue bar. Choco knocks on the door of the bar, and waits patiently for someone to answer. Griffin comes out of the bar carrying a dish full of chocolate bars. Just the sight of the chocolates makes Choco drool with excitement. Everyone opens their bags to get some chocolates, and Griffin drops a bar in each of their bags. But as they're are getting their treats Choco notices that Muffy is not inside. Since she was so excited about Pumpkin Day, she failed to notice that she passed her at the farm. Choco looks up at Griffin and says, “Hey mister, where's Muffy.” By now Choco has Muffy, Celia, Nami, Lumina, and Flora's name. But she still has not memorized many of the other villager's names, including Griffin. “Muffy went out for the evening. But you don't have to worry, I'll be here to hand out treats.”
“But we're the only ones who live here.” commented Choco. “Who else are you giving out chocolates to?”Griffin smiled and says, “Sometimes, children from other villages and towns nearby drops by to visit the valley.” He then drops another chocolate bar in the bags and continues, “I usually have leftovers anyway, so I'll give you all a special treat!”Choco and her friends then dance happily knowing that they all got extra treats. They thank Griffin for the candies, then moved to the Inn. On the way to the inn, Choco desperately tries not to eat any chocolates. She sometimes finds herself reaching in the bag, but she did promise Yuki that she will hold out until she gets home. Back at the farm, Yuki and Muffy are watching the movie. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Muffy takes her attention off the movie, and pays more attention to Yuki. She feels that it's a perfect opportunity to make some advances in her relationship. She notices that Yuki's hand is resting on the couch, so she moves her hand to meet his. But just before she touches his hand, Yuki pulls it out of the way to get some popcorn. Muffy's first attempt fails, but she is far from giving up. She returns her attention to the movie, and waits for a good opportunity. She plans to wait for a horrifying moment to jump at Yuki and embrace him. As soon as a good moment arrives, she closes her eyes, and lounges at Yuki. But she soon realizes that her arms are still empty. She opens her eyes, and sees that Yuki had bent down to tie his shoe laces. Muff is getting impatient, but she is far from giving in. She resorts to plan C, which she thought was fool-proof. She continues to watch the movie, and waits for an open moment when Yuki's full attention is on the movie. As soon as she feels that he is, she climbs on the couch slowly and quietly. She gets into position to pounce at him, and crash on the couch cushions. At that moment, she plans to kiss Yuki in the lips, and make out with him. As soon as she was ready, she jumps! But before she lands, Yuki stands up from the couch, causing Muffy to crash on the cushions alone. Yuki turns around and says, “Sorry, I need to use the bathroom a second. You don't have to push pause, I seen this movie a dozen times.”Muffy quickly stands up and yells, “Yuki! What is the matter with you!? Can't you be a little bit more romantic at a time like this?”“Romantic? What are you talking about? We are just friends, not dating.”
“Oh come on!” complained Muffy. “You're a single man, I'm a lonely girl alone in a big house. We should be doing unspeakable things to each other by now!”
“And that's where you're wrong!” yelled Nami. “You're not alone in this house.”“What the hell are you doing here!?” demanded Muffy who was so preoccupied with the movie, that she never realized that someone else came into the house. “What are you talking about? I'm here for the party.” answered Nami. “Party? What party?” asked Muffy. Just then, the front door opens, and the other three girls start walking in Each of them carrying potato chips, candy, drinks, and other party favors. As each of them march into the house, they all chant, “Movie Party! Movie Party!”At that moment, Muffy looks at Yuki. Yuki smiles back at Muffy while making a victory sign with his hands. She then realized that instead of cleaning the house like he said he was going to do, he invited the other four girls over to watch movies with them. That way, there is nothing that Muffy could do to him while everyone is present. Muffy then stamps her feet yelling, “Yuki, this is so not fair!”A couple of hours later, Choco and her friends finally finished raiding the village for treats. They are now on their way across the valley heading toward the dock. A boat waits for passengers at the beach for people heading to Mineral Town. Choco gets on the dock, she then turns around and waves at her friends yelling, “Come on! Lets go to Mineral Town! I wanna get more candy, so lets go!”Kate and Hugh look at one another. The idea is tempting, but they know they can't. Kate then looks at Choco, and says, “Sorry, but mom and dad said I can't go to Mineral Town.”Hugh flexes his muscles and yells, “Hulk can't go! Hulk gets mad! You don't want to see Hulk when he gets mad!”Kate then pulls Hugh's ear and drags him away saying, “Come on, stop being a ham. We have to go home, and show our parents our candy.”“Ouch, okay, I get it! Stop pulling my ear!” said Hugh dropping the Hulk act. Choco laughs, and waves goodbye at her friends. She then boards the boat, and takes off to Mineral Town. Yuki did say that she can't go alone, but she has friends waiting in Mineral Town, so she'll be fine. She hasn't been there very often, but she became friends with the locals quickly. At the Mineral Town dock, she meets up with two other children about her same age. One of them is Stu, a young boy with jet black hair. For pumpkin day, he is dressed up in a bear costume. He feels embarrassed wearing the childish plush outfit, but Choco finds it very cute. The other new friend is a little girl named May. She is a year younger with black hair as well. However, she is dressed up as a fairy princess. Complete with a green frilly dress, butterfly wings, and a hair band with bug antennae. “Hi Stu, Hi May!” greeted Choco to her new friends. “I love your outfits! They are so cute!”Stu's face turns red. “Thanks, I like your costume too.” he said. Like Hugh, Stu also has a small crush on Choco, but he has yet to say anything. Choco grabbed their hands and ran into town yelling, “Come on! I want to get some candies now!” Then they all follow Choco through town collecting goodies. Back at the farm, Yuki is having a good time watching movies with his own friends. Everyone yells, cheers, and jumps at every exciting moment the movies brings. The only person who is not enjoying the party is Muffy who is sulking on the couch. She was looking forward to spending the afternoon alone with Yuki. But Yuki still refuses to go out with any of the girls, so Muffy is out of luck. One of the last places that Choco, Stu and May visits is the Chicken Farm where Popuri lives. They knock on her door, and Popuri comes out. She becomes excited as soon as she sees Choco's face. She then turns around to call the rest of her family over to greet Choco. “Hi there Choco!” cheered Popuri and Rick. “Welcome Choco, you are just so adorable!” said Lillia. The other two feel slightly left out, but they don't play too much mind to it. They are more interested in candies than attention. “Hi there! It's Pumpkin Day, can we have some treats?” said Choco. “Of course you can!” said Popuri cheerfully. She then runs into the house, and returns placing a treat in each of the bags. Everyone checks the treats Popuri placed into their bags. But none of them are satisfied with what they got. Everyone pulls out the egg Popuri put in their bags, and Choco said, “This is not candy. . .”Popuri then answers, “What? But eggs are so good for you!”She was only kidding with them. Rick then came out with a tray of real treats, and he put some chocolates in their bags. After that, they went over to the Yodel ranch, and the treat hunt was then officially over. Choco says goodbye to her friends in Mineral Town, and take a boat back to Forget-Me-Not Valley. On the way back home, Choco stopped by the pond where she takes a break. She then checks the time, it is now 6:20pm. Plenty of time before Choco needs to go home. She had so much fun at the festival, she doesn't want to go home just yet. Without thinking, Choco reaches for a chocolate, and unwraps it. Just before eating it, she stops herself and says, “Wait, dad said that I should wait until I get home before I eat any chocolates. Dad trust me to follow his rules, so I better put this away.” But as she rewraps the chocolaty treat, the chocolate smell in the air makes her change her mind. She knows that she shouldn't, but the temptation is just too great. “I'll just have one, dad won't notice.”So she eats the chocolate bar without hesitation. After gobbling down the milk chocolate treat, she then licks her fingers to remove any evidence that she was eating candy before she returned home. But then, something unusual happened to Choco. A huge jolt of pain ran through her body, she started feeling hot and cold flashes in her head. She becomes dizzy, and standing up becomes difficult. Soon afterwards, her body becomes numb, and she collapses on the ground. “It's about time!” said the Witch Princess who is watching Choco from her crystal ball. At 8:00pm, Yuki is pacing around the house nervously. All the girls stands by watching Yuki as he walks in circles wearing a hole in the ground. They all know who he is waiting for. They all know that Choco promised to be at home an hour ago. At this point, everyone thinks that Choco is playing hookie, and decided on her own to get more candy. They have no idea what is really happening. “Hey Yuki, are you okay?” asked Lumina. “No, I am not okay.” snapped Yuki. “Choco is late, she promised to be here already, where in the world is she!”“I'm sure she's fine.” said Nami who is laid back on the couch. “I bet she is still in Mineral Town hanging out with the folk down there. It's not often that they get to see your daughter, so someone down there might have invited her to a party. She's a kid, and kids always make their parents worry.”Yuki stops for a moment to say, “Even so, she should have called. I tell you, when she gets back, she is grounded for a week. No TV, no chocolate, and no hanging out with Kate and Hugh. And this time, I mean it!”Everyone looks at one another, and giggle at Yuki's comment. Yuki then look sat them and asks, “What's so funny?”Muffy chuckles a bit longer before saying, “Nothing. But you're starting to sound like a real parent these days. I don't know about the rest, but I'm impressed.”Yuki ignores them, and start to walk around the room again. Several hours later, Yuki starts to become scared. All the other girls also start to worry. It's already 11:00pm, and it's pitch black outside. Everyone should have returned home, but everyone refuses to budge until Choco gets home. “Where is she?” asked Yuki. “Being late is one thing, but this is too much!”
“I agree that it is rather late. It's already past Choco's bedtime, and she is till not home.” said Celia. Everyone continues to wait, but then Yuki looks out the window, and realizes that it has already started to snow. Yuki couldn't wait around any longer. He knows that he should have been looking for Choco much sooner, but he thought he could at least trust her enough to come home on her own. So he runs over to the front door, and puts his jacket on. “Yuki, are you going out to look for her?” asked Flora. “Yeah I have no idea what happened to her, but she would never come home this late!”
“Is there anything we can do?” asked Muffy. “Call someone! Get the Mineral Town police here now, and have a search party formed! Get as many people involved as possible! Also, call Grant and Chris, make sure that their kids are home!” Yuki then stormed out and ran around the valley looking for Choco. He first checks all of Choco's favorite places, but he cannot find her. He then pays a visit to Kate and Hugh's home. Everyone is safe and sound, but none of them has seen Choco since she left to Mineral Town. Since Yuki knows that Choco has at least gone to Mineral Town, he decides to check there next. He is not sure if there is a boat that will take him there at that hour, but he still wants to check anyway. He cuts through Patrick and Cassey's home, then went by Cody's trailer. On the way to the beach, Yuki found himself at the pond. There he noticed the body of a little girl lying on the ground. He knew immediately that it was Choco. Panicked and frantic, Yuki ran to Choco. She did not move when Yuki calls her name which only makes him even more frightened. As soon as he reaches her, he picks her up, and carries her like a baby. He then shouts, “CHOCO!!! ARE YOU OKAY!!!”Choco opens her eyes a little bit, and struggles an answer, “. . . Dad?”“Choco, what's wrong with you!? Speak to me!”
“Dad. . . I don't feel so good. . . I can't move. . . My body.”Yuki embraces Choco tightly wiping off the snow off of her saying, “Don't worry Choco, I'm here now. I'm going to get some help, please hang on!”Yuki hurries back home. He is frightened and severely upset. He wants to cry, but he needs to be strong. Choco is in trouble, and he has no idea what is happening to her. All he wants to do now is get her out of the cold. In the farm, Muffy is on the phone contacting police from Mineral Town. Not so long afterwards, Yuki bursts in carrying Choco in his arms. Everyone is shocked to see Choco in this state. They all circle around Yuki saying, “What happened?” “What's wrong with Choco?”
“I DON'T KNOW DAMMIT!!!” the sudden burst of Yuki's voice forces everyone to step away from him. Yuki takes several deep breaths, but he does not calm down. “Please! Call the doctor! Get the doctor here right now! Choco is not feeling well, and we need a doctor to take a look at her!”Everyone nods, and they run out to bring the doctor. Since it's so late, they know that Doctor Hardy will not answer his phone. So the easiest thing to do is drag him back to the farm. As they all left to retrieve the doctor, Yuki brings Choco to her room. He covers her so that she could be warm, but Choco's condition does not improve. He just kneels down before her, and prays that nothing happens to her until the doctor arrives. To Be Continued.
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rachel
Large Milk
[M:2]
Kindness isn't something you have to do, it's something you should want to do.
Posts: 123
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Post by rachel on Jul 6, 2008 17:37:46 GMT -5
*gasp* Is Choco going to die??
(good chapter by the way)
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Post by Pickle on Jul 10, 2008 22:07:35 GMT -5
The tragedy, the horror.
It's so great.
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Post by Juxapose on Jul 22, 2008 11:47:13 GMT -5
Chapter 17 Fall 30, 2003 (Continued from Chapter 16)Yuki and the other women wait outside Choco's room as Doctor Hardy examines her. Sitting in the couch, Yuki trembles in fear nearly breaking down emotionally. He deeply regrets allowing her to venture alone during the Pumpkin Festival. He feels that if he didn't, then there might have been something he could have done sooner. It is now late in the evening, Choco has a bad fever, and the doctor is doing all he can to see if he can help her. Winter 1, 2003Sometime after midnight, Doctor Hardy finally walks out of Choco's room. Everyone wants to know if little Choco is going to be okay, and nobody wants to know more than Yuki. So they gather around the doctor, and Yuki asks, “Is she going to be okay? What's wrong with her? Why is this happening?”Hardy tilts his head down in shame and shakes his head no. This only causes Yuki to panic even more. The look in his eye resembles the day when Yuki's mother was ill, and the doctor knew that she was not going to make it. Even though Yuki may not like the answer that he is going to hear, he still needs to know what's happening to her. Even if it's only going to cause him pain. Doctor Hardy lifts his head up and says, “She has a terrible fever. I tried giving her medicine, but the fever will not go down. Anything else I do only makes it worse. I'm sorry, I don't have the equipment to help her.”Yuki clenches a fist in order to try to keep his feeling in check. He feels upset hearing that a doctor cannot help someone, especially a little girl. However, nothing that is happening is Hardy's fault, so he needs to make sure that he does not take his anger out of him. Instead, he takes a deep breath and says, “Doctor please. I know that when she first arrived, I had a tough time believing that she is my daughter. But whether I want to believe it or not, she is my responsibility. She is my family. And I promised her that I would not let anything happen to her. So, if there is anything I can do for her, please tell me.”All five girls look at one another. They all are amazed at how fast Yuki transformed from an available bachelor to a father. But at the same time, they feel sad that Yuki has to go through this. They all wish that they can do something to help him, but they all are clueless at what to do. Doctor Hardy takes a deep breath and says, “The only thing I can think of is going to the clinic in Mineral Town. Doctor Trent may not be as experienced as I am, but at least his equipment may determine the cause of her illness.”“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Yuki. “Lets go to Mineral Town right now!”Hardy shakes his head no and continues, “We can't just rush over right away. First of all, there is no boat that will take anyone to Mineral Town at this hour. Second of all, Choco is suffering a high fever and it's snowing. If we take her outside in this cold weather, she may die.”Yuki feels that the doctor is right. It's not the best idea to leave the house with an ill child while it's cold. But still, Yuki does not want to sit around and do nothing. He runs into Choco's room, and grabs some of the warm clothing that he had bought for her in preparation for the Winter days. As Yuki gathers her clothes, Choco looks at him and says, “Dad? What's going on?”Yuki carries her coat, snow pants, hat and boots over to her and says, “Don't worry Choco. I'm going to take you to a clinic where you'll get the treatment you need. Just be strong for me, okay?”Choco nods. After patting her on the head, he changes her into the clothes to prepare for the journey to Mineral Town. Even if Hardy said not to take her outside, Yuki feels that waiting any longer may be just as risky. After Choco is fully dressed for the cold, Yuki carries her on his back. He hopes that carrying her like this will keep her body warm. He wraps her arms around his neck, and he holds on to her legs around his waist. Before they start heading off, he says, “Okay Choco, this is going to be a long walk. But I need you to hold on tight, and don't let go. Think you can do that for me?”Choco nods again. Seeing that he is ready to go, he walks out of Choco's room carrying her. As the door opens, everyone gasps realizing what is Yuki planning to do. The five women wants to say something, but they know that once Yuki makes up his mind, there is no way to change his mind. Doctor Hardy on the other hand wants to stop him. He walks in front of him blocking his path saying, “Yuki! Where do you think you're going with that child? Not only will you be putting her health at risk, but you'll be risking yours as well. As the doctor of Forget-Me-Not Valley, I cannot allow you to take her outside!”“Move out of the way Hardy! I'm taking her to Mineral Town, even if I have to do it by force!” The look in Yuki's eye was serious and determined. Doctor Hardy couldn't help but cringe fearing that Yuki may get violent. Seeing that he said too much, Yuki takes a deep breath and says, “Listen, I already lost most of my family already. I don't want to lose any more. Just please, let me go.”Doctor Hardy nods and moves out of the way. He wants to stop him, but he can see now that it's no use. Yuki is not a child anymore, he is a grown adult with a kid of his own. All anyone can do right now is pray for him, and hopes that Choco will be okay. Since there is no way to travel to Mineral Town by boat, the only other way is the long way through the path on the eastern side of Forget-Me-Not Valley The walk will take many hours, but Choco will at least get to the clinic sooner than waiting for the next day. As he walks through the cold roads in the middle of darkness, Choco has fallen asleep on Yuki's back, but she is still alive. As they are traveling, the Witch Princess watches them in her crystal ball. She feels that her plan is a complete success, and she is enjoying every single moment of Yuki's torment. As she watches them head to Mineral town, she says to herself, “Go ahead, run to Mineral Town! It's pointless, cause in a few days, Choco will run out of life. I can't wait to see the look on your face when that happens!”Yuki arrives in Mineral Town at five in the morning. Choco is still asleep, and her condition has not changed. He rushes over to the clinic as quickly as he could. He is exhausted, but he cannot stop now. At the clinic, he pounds at the door forcing Doctor Trent to wake up and open his doors. Trent was upset that he was forced to wake up early, but he quickly gets over it seeing that a child needs help. Trent takes Choco in his care, and allows Yuki to rest. Even though he is lying on the sofa, he is far too worried about Choco to sleep. At nine in the morning, Nurse Elli arrives at the clinic to help Trent. They both run a lot of tests to find out what is wrong with her, but they both have very little luck. Eventually, Hardy also joins them in the search for the cause of Choco's illness. At around three in the afternoon, Doctor Trent finally goes over to Yuki to deliver the news. Yuki gets up desperate for answers and approaches him yelling, “How is Choco?! Is she going to be okay?”Doctor Trent remains silent for a moment. His silence only makes Yuki worry even more. After taking a deep breath, Trent finally says, “Yuki, what I'm going to tell you may not make sense. But I want you to keep calm, and listen carefully.”
“SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!!!” screamed Yuki desperate for answer. After sighing, Trent says as calmly as possible, “Choco is dying.”
“I can see that! But from what?!”
“Old age.” answered doctor Trent. His disturbing answer angers Yuki. At first he trembles unsure how to react. Then all of his anger bursts out causing him to grab Doctor Trent by his collar. As he is shaking him, he yells, “Old age?! What the hell are you talking about?! She's only 10 years old!!”Using all of his might, Doctor Trent forces Yuki to release him. Fixing his collar, he answers, “I know it sounds impossible. As a doctor, the mere thought that a child may be passing from old age seems ridiculous. But we examined her for hours, and what we found cannot be explained by mere logic. She may look like a child from the outside, but she is rapidly aging on the inside. Possibly a couple of years every day. I have no idea if she knew about this strange condition of hers or not. All I do know is that there is no way we can stop it.”
“So you mean. . . You can't save her?” asked Yuki fearing the worst. “I'm sorry, but Choco's lifespan was always short since the day she was born. Based on her condition, I can only assume she will only live a few more days. I wish there was something I can do.”Yuki feels devastated hearing those words. The only people that should be able to help Choco had already given up. And if they could not do anything, there is even less that Yuki could do at this point. Moving Doctor Trent out of the way, he walks over to Choco ignoring Doctor Hardy and the nurse. He takes a blanket, and wraps Choco so that she could stay warm on the trip back to Forget-Me-Not Valley. Yuki carries Choco like a newborn infant wrapped in a blanket as he heads to the exit. As he leaves, Doctor Trent asks, “Yuki, where do you think you're going? I understand that you're upset, but you should leave her here!”Yuki stops for a moment to respond, “You said yourself that there isn't anything you can do for her. In that case, there is no point of her being here. I want to care for her myself. Goodbye.” And with that, Yuki leaves the clinic, and heads to the beach where he takes a boat back home. Winter 2, 2003After Choco was brought back home, Yuki has been taking special care of her. At this point, he has not been paying as much attention to the farm as he usually does. Luckily, nothing grows in the Winter season, so he spends a lot of time caring for little Choco. Around noon, Yuki walks into Choco's room carrying some chocolates. He knows that sweets is not the best thing for her to eat at this point, but he wants to make her as happy as possible. Choco is resting on her bed when he walks in, but she is still awake. She looks over at Yuki, and smiles. Being bedridden is very boring, but Choco is very happy when her father spends time with her. At this point, Choco is still unaware that the doctors said that there is a good chance that she may not make it. She feels that she just has a simple fever, that's all. Yuki doesn't want to tell her either, mainly because he doesn't want her to panic. But if he has to tell her, he cannot deny her the truth. He sits on her bed, and pats her on the head. He smiles at her and says, “Hi there, how are you feeling today?” Choco nods, letting Yuki know that she doesn't feel any worse than the last time he checked. This at least make Yuki feel a bit relieved. “I got you some chocolates. Have some.” Choco nods once again, and sits up to eat the chocolate. However, eating is not as easy for her as Yuki believes. Choco has become so weak from her illness that she cannot bite down as hard as she normally could. Yuki watches her sadly as she struggles with her chocolate trying hard to break off a bite sized piece. After a minute, Choco finally chips a corner of the chocolate and begins gnawing at it. But the chocolate was still a bit hard, so Choco needs to wait till it softens to eat it. Yuki could not stand just watching as Choco has a hard time with her favorite food. He takes the rest of the chocolate bar into the kitchen, and puts it into a blender. After pouring milk, he blends the chocolate to make chocolate milk. Choco prefers straight chocolate, but chocolate milk is easier to consume in her state. Yuki returns to Choco's bedroom, and gives her the chocolate milk. Choco smiles at her father as she sips the milk chocolate drink. Yuki smiles back as he pats her in the head, giving her the feeling of comfort. Halfway through the drink, Choco says, “Dad. . . Can I say something to you?”
“What is it Choco?”Choco remains quiet. She feels nervous saying it to him. She has never told him before knowing full well she should have earlier. But since she has been feeling ill for some time, and she knows deep inside what may happen to her, she feels that she has to say it now. So she says, “. . . I love you dad.”Those simple words pierced Yuki's heart like a knife. The words he has heard over and over from the other girls before, but it feels different hearing them from a child that is supposed to be his own. No words can describe how he feels at that moment. But this only means that when her time is up, it will only hurt even more. He wished that he never heard them, but at the same time, he is happy to hear them. Such conflicting emotions he had never felt before. Emotions that he thought he could avoid. Choco fell asleep about an hour later. Yuki leaves her room to allow her to rest. As soon as he leaves, he finds Nami in the living room waiting. Yuki's wipes his tear filled eyes as he walks up to Nami with a straight face. The last thing he wants to do is show weakness to others. “How is she doing?” asked Nami worried about Choco's health. Yuki shakes his head no as he responds, “I don't know. She doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but she's not getting any better either.”He turns around, and faces Choco's closed door. The words the doctor told him yesterday is floating in his mind, he cannot stop the tears from building on his face. “I was so afraid of something like this may happen someday. I didn't ever want to lose anyone this important to me. I'm scared, I don't know what to do.”Nami's arms wraps around Yuki's waist. She is embracing him from behind trying to comfort him. Normally, Yuki would avoid this type of contact, but he wants to be held at that moment. “I see.” said Nami. “So this is why you never wanted to marry anyone. All this time, I thought you were just being stubborn. I'm so sorry.”“It's okay. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from everyone. I didn't mean to be so stubborn, but I didn't want people to think I was weak or a coward.”Yuki can feel his back getting a bit wet. As Nami is rubbing her face against his back, her tears are collecting on his shirt. Nami also feels the same as Yuki. She always tried her best to put up a strong face. But now that Choco is ill, she finds it hard to hide her feelings. Yuki couldn't help but smile and say, “You know, you've changed so much since we first met. You used to be so quiet and cold, it was hard for anyone to talk to you. But now you're like a normal girl. You smile, you're showing off your other feelings, and you're more open.”
“You've changed too. Ever since Choco came into our lives, you have changed so much. You're a much better person than you have ever been before.” Nami tightens her embrace as she continues, “Choco will be okay right? Please tell me she'll be okay.”“All we can do is pray.” said Yuki. He wants to tell her that she will be okay, but this is something that he cannot promise her. Nami already knows that if Yuki loses Choco, he will change drastically. He may never recover from the shock of losing a daughter. So as she embraces him, she prays silently for Choco's health. Winter 3, 2003Choco did not wake up the next day. Her fever has gotten worse overnight. Doctor Hardy came over to see if he can help. Lumina also came over for emotional support. Yuki sits on his couch terrified of what the results may be. Lumina holds his trembling hand as she waits with him. Nami had already told all the girls why Yuki never wanted to get married. Everyone is saddened by the news, but they all decided to support Yuki until the end. As the doctor walks out the door, Lumina goes into the room to see Choco. Hardy walks up to Yuki with a sad look on his face. He doesn't want to hear the news, but he knows he has to. So he takes a deep breath and says, “How is she? Could you do something?”Doctor Hardy shakes his head no, and then answers, “Her fever has reached critical levels. She may die as early as tomorrow. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do.”Tears starts to fall from Yuki's eyes. He knew the news will hurt him, but he had to hear it anyway. No amount of preparation could ever help him deal with what he is about to lose. Since the doctor cannot do anything for her, he leaves the farm. Yuki sits back on the couch placing his hands on his face. As he remains seated alone, the tears start to seep through his fingers. He only had Choco with him less than a year, and he is already losing her quickly. At this point, he is too depressed to think about much else. “Yuki?” said Lumina's voice coming from Choco's bedroom. Yuki tries to wipe the tears using his sleeve, and goes over to see what does Lumina want. Even though Yuki is still trying to hide his sorrow, Yuki's eyes were too puffy from the tears to hide. Rather than worrying about that, Lumina says, “I think I may know what's happening to Choco.”Yuki gasps and runs over to to see what Lumina has to show him. He is too sad and emotional, that words cannot come out of his lips at that moment. Lumina then opens her hands, and shows Yuki Choco's pendant that she always hides under her shirt. When Lumina last saw it, it was bright amber colored, now it has lost most of it's color. Yuki picks takes the pendant, and takes a long look at it. He then looks at Lumina and asks, “I guess this is strange. But what does this have to do with Choco's condition?” After asking, the pendant suddenly loses a bit more color. As it does, Choco cringes with pain sending Yuki into a panic. Lumina then takes her temperature, and sees that it has gone up to 102 degrees. At this point, Choco may lose her life any minute. But at least this tells Yuki that the pendant she always carries around has something to do with her health. So he looks at Lumina and asks, “So, you think that this is why she is ill? This stone is making her feel sick?”Lumina shakes her head no and says, “I don't know why, but I think that her pendant was keeping her alive the whole time she was living with you. But it seems to be wearing out little by little.”“Is there a way how we can keep this thing from running out of energy?” asked Yuki. “I'm sorry. But if there was a way, then the only person who would know that is her mother.” Yuki looks down sadly. The only person in the whole world who can save Choco is the person Yuki does not know. He had already tried back in Spring to find out who might have been Choco's mother, but he came up with no answers. So in Summer, he gave up the search, and accepted the responsibilities of a father figure. He is now wishing that he had never given up the search for her mother. Lumina pats Choco on her head and says, “I'm sorry Choco. I wish there was something I could do. If only I was your mother, I would be able to help you. I'm so sorry.”After a few minutes, Lumina had to return home. She wants to stay, but Romana only allowed her a short while to visit Yuki and Choco. Yuki sits in his couch lost in thought. So many confusing things are running through his head as he sat. Who is Choco's mother? How did Choco find him? Is there some way to help her? What will he do if he cannot help her? And most importantly, will he be able to handle living in the farm where both his father and Choco had passed away? He is so frustrated and upset that he just wants to pull his hair out. About 30 minutes after Lumina had left, Muffy, Celia, and Flora drops by. The door was unlocked, so they let themselves in. They didn't get a warm greeting like they usually did. Instead, they found Yuki sitting next to Choco still hoping that she may recover. “Yuki?” Muffy's sudden voice has gotten his attention. Everyone felt sad to see Yuki's face so puffy from crying so long. They feel sad as well, but they need to be strong for Yuki's sake. “Um, you have some visitors.”Yuki's expression does not change. The girls move to aside to allow the visitors to pass through. One by one, the visitors of Mineral Town passes through Choco's bedroom door carrying flowers, “Get Well Soon” cards, and other gifts to her bed. Yuki is surprised to see them come in so suddenly. As Popuri passes by, Yuki asks, “Hey, what's going on?”“We heard from Doctor Trent.” answered Popuri. “We're all praying for Choco's health. I know that we all don't know her very well, but she is your daughter. You're like family to us, that makes her family too.”Yuki was moved by everyone's kindness. Soon after the villagers from Mineral Town left, The villagers of Forget-Me-Not Valley came over. They all brought candles and said a prayer hoping that she can recover. The odds are slim to none, but they still have hope. Winter 4, 2003Choco's pendant has lost mist of what color it already had around noon. Choco's life hangs on a single thread that may break any second. All five girls sit by Choco's bed, and continues to pray. Even if praying is hopeless at that moment, they still want to be there for her. Yuki holds the pendant in his hands watching the last of the amber color fade slowly away. At that point, he wishes that he had just a little more time. He feels that if he did, he would have known that this may happen, and he might have prevented it. Choco's life is slipping away at his fingertips, and he is clueless on how to help her. As he hold the stone in his hand with the leather string hanging, he prays, “God, please. If you're listening to me, I need a miracle. I know I'm not the most religious person in the world, but I need your help. Please, if there is a way I can save Choco, please tell me. We've been through so much since she came here, I can't lose her now. So god please, if you're listening, help me.”He opens his hands, and takes a look at the pendant. The stone has not gotten any better, which means that Choco has not gotten any better either. Seeing that a miracle is out of the question, he shuts his eyes says to himself, “Dad, please help me.”A teardrop fell on the stone. A moment later, the stone glows with a mysterious light. Yuki opens his eyes and stares at the stone. He has no idea what is going on, whether it's good or bad. Even the Witch Princess who is watching from her hut is surprised to see the light. As she watches she yells, “What's going on!? Why is this happening!?”The light continues to shine for a minute longer. After the light fades, the stone on the pendant regains not only all of it's color, but the amber color was deeper and brighter than it has ever been before. Yuki was too scared to check if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Is Choco alive or dead? At that moment, he couldn't move his own body. “Yuki!!” cried the voices of all five girls. “Choco's fever is gone!!”After hearing that, Yuki rushes over to Choco's bedroom to see what's going on. Choco is still breathing. Yuki feels her forehead, and she is no longer burning with a fever. Soon after that, Choco opens her eyes, and stares at Yuki. She then opened her moth, and says, “Dad?”Yuki strokes her hair and says, “Choco, are you okay? Are you still feeling sick?”Choco smiles and says, “I feel fine dad. But I'm hungry, can I have some chocolate?”Feeling overjoyed, Yuki picks Choco up, and hugs her tightly. The other girls try to calm him down. They are unsure if moving Choco so soon was a good idea. But Choco laughs cheerfully which is a sign that she is healthy. Back at the hut, the Witch Princess stamps her feet angrily yelling, “How, how, how!? How is she still alive!? I made sure that I only gave her enough life to last this long, there should be no way that she could be revived!. . . Unless. . .”After thinking for a moment, she rushes over to her shelf where she stores many of her ingredients. She takes a small pouch, and rushes over to the crystal ball. She opens the pouch and pours some golden sand on the crystal ball. She then uses her finger to draw a pentagram on the ball, causing it to glow. Staring hard into the crystal ball, she replays the moment when the stone was shining brightly. With the help of the golden sand, she could see another person in the room with Yuki. A person that cannot see with the naked eye, a spirit. “IT'S YOU!!!” the Witch Princess screamed to the top of her lungs. She picks up the crystal ball and begins to shake it furiously yelling, “How dare you interfere with my plans you little bastard! Why the hell are you here?! Why you. . .” She then throws the crystal ball across the room screaming with all her might, “YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE!!!”The crystal ball shatters against the wall. She takes a few minutes to calm herself before rushing over to the bookshelf. She grabs the “Arcane Alchemy” book out of the shelf, and recalls the shadow spirit she summoned earlier. The spirit looks at her and says, “Well well, looks like High Alchemist Witch Princess has summoned me once again. So, what can I do for you?”“Just can it Haljia!” yelled Witch Princess. “You know damn well why I summoned you. The lifespan of the Homunculus named Choco has changed, I want to know by how much?”The shadow spirit took a moment to think, then responds, “The Homunculus named Choco's minimum lifespan is now 69 years, 21 days, and 9 hours.” After hearing the news, the Witch Princess screams to the top of her lungs and starts tugging on her own hair. The shadow spirit laughs out loud, and goes back into the darkness where it came from. After calming herself a few minutes later, she takes a few deep breaths and says, “Well, at least I know why my magic never worked on Yuki before. He has a guardian angel! Well, I can fix that!”She grabs her “Arcane Alchemy” book once again, and starts flipping through the pages looking for an alchemic spell. She stops after seeing a spell called “Soul Siphon” somewhere in the back. The spell is highly forbidden, but at this point she doesn't care. As she reads the requirements of the spell, she says, “I'll make that Yuki suffer even if I'll have to send Choco back to the abyss where she came from myself. . . By force!”To be continued.
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rachel
Large Milk
[M:2]
Kindness isn't something you have to do, it's something you should want to do.
Posts: 123
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Post by rachel on Jul 23, 2008 2:28:07 GMT -5
Choco's alive! but Witchy is so mean and evil... )= MORE PLEASE.
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Post by Pickle on Jul 30, 2008 20:47:44 GMT -5
It's the power of love, baby.
Or Pinesol.
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Post by Juxapose on Sept 6, 2008 14:07:47 GMT -5
Chapter 18
Winter 8, 2003
Several days has passed since Choco suddenly recovered from her illness. To everyone's surprise, Choco has made a full recovery, even though she was at the brink of losing her life. Yuki still has no clue as to what happened to her, or why did it happen in the first place. Fearing that she may suddenly fall ill once again, he has not taken an eye off of Choco since then.
It is now 9:00pm, Yuki has just tucked Choco in bed for the evening. But before he leaves her alone, he checks her temperature, asks several health related questions, and makes her take some vitamins. Choco feels happy that Yuki is paying more attention to her, but the constant smothering is making her feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Dad, come on! I'm telling you, I'm fine!” said Choco trying to get Yuki to calm down.
“Hey, I'm sorry. I'm just making sure. You know, I do get worried about you!” replied Yuki. He then continues to examine Choco for a while longer until he is completely satisfied. He then pats Choco on the head and says, “Okay, I'm going to bed now. If you suddenly feel ill, or anything happens, just yell.”
Choco nods, and then places her head on her pillow and falls asleep quickly. Even though Yuki said that he was going to his room, he remains next to her door for a bit longer in case something happens. But after 10 minutes without incident, he finally returns to his room, and throws himself on his bed.
Even though Choco seems healthy, the thought that Choco may suffer another strange fever keeps him awake. Between the overwhelming fear of Choco dying, and the nightmares in his sleep, Yuki cannot sleep. When Choco was in danger, there was little that he could do to help her. He has no idea what saved her last time, and he is not even sure if it can save her next time.
Instead of trying to get some sleep, Yuki returns to the living room with his photo album in his hands. He grabs the phone and then says to himself, “I can't take this anymore! If I don't find out what caused Choco to suffer that fever earlier, I just might go crazy! The only person who can tell me would have to be her mother. So I'll have to try to find her all over again!”
Yuki opens the photo album to the first page. The first photograph of his family when he was a child causes him to pause and stare for a while. Every time Yuki sees that photograph of his mother and father, he becomes very emotional. But now that Choco is with him, he becomes even more sentimental looking at her mother's face that resembles Choco so much.
After a few minutes, he snaps out of his trance and continues on to the other photos of the years before he moved into Forget-Me-Not Valley. He calls every friend he knew, and asked about any possible women that he might have had an intimate relationship with. But after several dozen phone calls, every answer came out the same. Nobody knew of anyone that Yuki has ever dated or had any relationship with.
After getting past all the pictures of the distant past, he finds himself looking at some more recent pictures of his life in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Even though he knows that he is supposed to be looking for Choco's mother, but he is mesmerized by the memories he made in the valley. How he met each of his five female friends one by one, and how hard each of them tried to get him to go out with them.
He laughs as he relives his memories, and continues to flip through the pages of time. But as he flips the pages, he finds something unusual. One of his photographs of himself is missing from the photo album. The photograph was glued on, so there was no way that it could have fallen off by itself. And by the ripped page, he could tell that someone has intentionally taken it.
Yuki scratches his head and says to himself, “That's odd. . . Who could have taken this picture? Could Choco have taken it for some reason?”
Suddenly, Yuki hears Choco screaming from her room. What surprises him the most is that the scream sounds more like someone is attacking her, and she is calling for help. He quickly jumps out of the chair, and bursts into Choco's room to see what's happening. He gasps to find a young woman with dirty blond hair wearing a long cape inside of Choco's room.
“Who the hell are you!?” demanded Yuki. All the strange woman does is stare at Yuki with her red eyes, and grin wickedly. The wind from the open window blows the cape aside revealing Choco unconscious in her right arm.
“Choco!!” Yells Yuki, but there is no response from her. He then leers at the woman angrily and yells, “Let her go you . . . !!” Without finishing his own sentence, he charges at the woman in an attempt to rescue Choco. But before Yuki comes close, she waves her hands, and vanishes into thin air along with Choco.
The kidnapping of Choco devastates Yuki. He falls to his knees and panics. He is unsure what was more frightening, Choco's kidnapping, or the fact that a blond woman Yuki has never met appeared out of nowhere and vanished as quickly as she came.
Yuki snaps out of his trance after a moment. Just kneeling in Choco's room will not help him get her back. He needs to find some way to find out who that woman is, and find out why she took her. The first thing he does is leave the farm, and run around the valley waking everyone up from their slumber. Just about everyone is annoyed that Yuki has waken them up so late at night, but seeing how frantic Yuki is, they don't make a big fuss about it.
Everyone gathers outside of Yuki's farm drowsy and no clue as to what is going on. But after everyone has gathered, Yuki takes a deep breath and announces, “Everyone, Please! I need all your help! A little while ago, someone has broken into my house and kidnapped Choco!”
Everyone gasps in shock. They all mumble at one another for a few minutes. They all have lived in peace for so long, no one is even sure as to what to do in case of this type of an emergency. Nobody in the valley could ever imagine that anyone could be capable of kidnapping a child in the middle of a small village.
“Do you know who did it?” asked Muffy concerned for Choco's welfare.
Yuki shook his head no and says, “I have no idea. I have never seen this woman before. She just appeared in my house, and escaped with Choco.” After he said that, everyone stares at one another, and starts mumbling. “What? Does anyone know anything that I don't know?”
Lumina was the only one who had the courage to tell Yuki. “Um, you said it was a woman right? Could it be that she was her. . . Mother?”
“No way!!” yelled Yuki. “There is no way that she could be Choco's mother. First of all, she doesn't look anything like her. And she looks even younger than me! About 20, maybe 21 years old tops! And I would never forget what she looks like! She has long blond curly hair, these blood red eyes, and she was dressed so strange. There is no way I could have met her before, and not recognize her!”
“How did she escape from your house?” Asked Nami.
Yuki hesitates for a moment. He knows that what he is about to say is almost too crazy to believe. But even so, it was the truth. “I don't know how she escaped really. I was about to stop her, but she just suddenly vanished from my house. Like magic!”
Everyone goes silent. Yuki knew that they would react the way they are now. A woman appearing in someone's house to kidnap a child, then vanish like magic is something a madman would say. But no matter how insane it sounds, he doesn't know what else to say to them.
But moving through the crowd, Romana comes forward. She the looks up at Yuki and asks, “Can you describe this woman in better detail? Like what she was wearing?”
Yuki takes a moment to think about his answer. He only saw her for less than a minute, but he remembers what she wore very clearly. “Um, she had this cape on that looks like it was made of animal skins, some purple tunic-like dress, and animal skin boots. Strange taste in clothing I would have to say.”
Romana nods and responds, “I know who took your daughter. It was the Witch Princess!”
“Do you know who this person is?” asked Lumina.
“Indeed I do. We first met when I was just a young woman. Back then, this was just an empty valley with the exception of a small hut resting on the hill. I bought the property where my villa stands today, and I was about to demolish that old hut. Little that I knew, someone lives in that old hut. A woman who time itself cannot touch, a witch!”
“A WITCH!?!?!?” everyone yelled together.
“That's right, a real witch.” continues Romana. “Even though she is a witch, I felt that she was harmless. So I decided to cancel the demolition of her home, and build my villa next to it instead. As time passed, more and more people came to live here in the valley. This upset the witch, but she made a promise not to harm anyone in exchange that I leave her home untouched.”
“But you built the villa 50 years ago.” said Lumina. “Why does she still look so young after all these years?”
Romana sighs and says, “She may appear young, but she may be the oldest living person in the entire planet. In fact, I did some research on her hut, and it seems like she's been living there even before the Witch Hunt. Meaning that she may be older than 200 years old!”
Yuki steps forward and asks, “Miss Romana, do you know where the with is right now?”
“The only place she can hide in is the old hut next to my villa.” she answered.
Without hesitating, Yuki runs to the villa as fast as his legs can take him. The villagers then follow him, just in case they can do anything to help. As Yuki runs, he asks himself many questions in his head. Like, who is that woman? Why did she take Choco? Why is it that after nearly four years of living in the valley, he has never even seen or heard from this person who lived in the valley the whole time.
Yuki arrives in the villa in record time. He finds the old hut standing in the corner of the garden almost hidden by the night. Without wasting any time, he runs over to the hut, and tries to open the door. Because the door is locked, he breaks it down instead. His eyes widen almost in a terrified way as soon as he steps inside.
He finds the witch chanting some sort of language he cannot understand. On the ground, he finds Choco lying on the floor still unconscious. There are some symbols glowing out of the ground around where Choco lies. But as strange and wicked as things seem, Yuki walks in yelling, “Witch!!”
The Witch Princess looks up at Yuki and says, “Oh, hi there Yuki. I'm glad that you can make it.”
“Give her back!” demanded Yuki as he is about to sprint for Choco.
“I wouldn't come close if I were you!” yelled the Witch Princess stopping Yuki in his tracks. “This transmutation circle is called a Philosopher's circle. It's a very powerful type of Arcane Alchemy. If you get too close, it'll drain your soul, and you'll die.”
Just then, all the other villagers of Forget-Me-Not Valley enter the hut. As soon as everyone enters, they all look around the inside of the hut amazed that something like it existed in the valley. Books everywhere that they see as spell books, a large cauldron filled with some unknown glowing liquid, bones and other indescribable objects that can be seen as ingredients for witches brew all over the place. So dark and creepy, like in a fairy tale of the inside of a witch's house. Everyone wants to rescue Choco, but Yuki held his hand out warning everyone that it's not safe to go any closer.
“Witch Princess!!” yelled Romana as she passes through the crowd. “Return that child to Yuki this instant! We had an agreement!”
“Well well, if it isn't Miss Romana!” said the Witch Princess in a haughty voice. “Well, looks like time has been rough on you within the last 50 years. But I'm afraid that I cannot return the child, she belongs to me!”
“What are you talking about!?” demanded Yuki. “That girl is my daughter!”
The Witch princess then suddenly lets out a loud wicked laugh that pits chills in the bones of anyone who hears it. Even the children and several villagers steps away as she laughs her lungs out. As soon as she is done laughing, she stares at Yuki with an evil grin and says, “Dear me Yuki, you really are dumber than I ever thought you were.”
“What do you mean?!” asked Yuki.
The Witch Princess smiles and admits, “You see, this creature is not your child, she is not even human. She's a Homunculus!”
“A Homunculus? What is that?” asked Yuki.
“An artificial humanoid being.” answered Lumina in a shocking tone.
“Looks like Romana's granddaughter has done her homework. Well then, allow me to explain how she was created. You see, after learning your greatest weakness, I decided to steal a bit of your DNA and use it in my father's greatest experiment. After stealing a lock of your hair while you slept, I placed it in a boiling pot with the ingredients I needed. After the mixture was done, I created what my father called a Miracle Potion! I only had half of the required DNA, so I decided to drink the potion, and 18 hours later on Christmas day, Choco was born!”
This confession left everyone speechless. Everyone always wondered who was Choco's biological mother was. The whole time, she has been living right under their noses. Yuki can hardly believe it, the whole time he's been looking elsewhere. Learning that Choco's life is only a product of what everyone would call science fiction leaves him feeling frustrated and confused.
“It doesn't make any sense.” said Yuki in an angered tone. “You say that she was just born recently, but she's almost no different than a normal child. She says that she was born in Atland, my hometown. She knew so many things that not many people knew. She even knew what I look like before we even met. How did she know so many things!?”
“Well that's easy to explain.” said the Witch Princess. She then pulls out a photograph from a pouch she has strapped to her waist, and shows it to Yuki.
“Hey, that's my missing Photograph! You stole it!?” yelled Yuki.
“Yes I did. You see, after Choco was born, she started to grow rapidly in both mind and body. With that, she developed an incredible learning ability. Everything I showed her and told her, she believed it to be true. And in ten days, she grew ten years. During those ten days, I showed her your photograph so she could memorize your face. I recited everything you write in your diary, so she would know and mimic some of your interests and habits. And after she was ready, I erased all of her memories of myself, and sent her off to meet you. It's a perfect plan if I say so myself.”
“Well what about all the back story she told me! The cherry blossom, and the picnics! All that never happened!” yelled Yuki.
“Oh that. Well you see, with very little time to educate Choco, I just read the back of one of Lumina's books. She took that as her life story, and told it to everyone else. But don't you think it's funny in a weird way? Lumina found the proof that Choco is not really your daughter some time ago, but she decided not to share it with you anyway.”
“Hey, I didn't know that this was the case!” snapped Lumina. “And besides, Choco can't be a Homunculus! I read in a book that a living Homunculus cannot be created because they are always born without a soul! But Choco ran, played, and lived like a normal child. How did you accomplish something that was considered impossible?”
“I didn't find a way to do it. My father was a master alchemist, and he found a way to give a Homunculus life. . . Observe!” She then pulls Choco's pendant out of her pouch and shows everyone.
“What does that have to do with anything. It's just a pendant!” said Yuki.
“That's where you're wrong! Using the forbidden Human Alchemy, my father found a way how to open a gate to the afterlife, and 'borrow' a soul. The soul is then crystallized and bound to the Homunculus giving the false image of life. As long as the stone has enough energy, the Homunculus will continue to live. In other words, the stone on this pendant is not an ordinary rock, it's a Soul Stone!”
“So that's why she was dying earlier. She was running out of energy?” asked Yuki.
“That's right! But someone had to interfere, and prolonged the stone's life. A spirit that was haunting your farm Yuki. A guardian angel if you want to call it that. That spirit was your father!”
“My father's spirit? His spirit is in my farm?”
“Well, not anymore. His spirit is now inside this Soul Stone keeping it full of life. I created Choco to only have just a year of life. But now that your father's spirit lives in this stone, Choco now has the lifespan of an ordinary person.”
Yuki stands there in front of the Witch Princess frustrated and confused. Everything now makes sense, but still unbelievable. He now knows that Choco is not really his child, but in the same strange way, she still is. He gathers his courage and asks one last question, “Why? Why did you have to do all of this? Why did you create a child for me? Why did you send her to me? Why did you just create a child I didn't ask for?”
The Witch Princess sighs and confesses, “You still don't get it Yuki. I guess I'm going to have to spell it out then. You see Yuki, I hate you! Ever since you came to the valley, you always pissed me off!! I hate you, your farm, and your stupid smile that cheers everyone up!! I did it to make you suffer!! I. . . I HATE YOU!!!”
At this point, there is a look of pain and trauma in the Witch Princess' eyes. Yuki can almost see years of torment, loneliness,and unhappiness all flowing out at one time. He almost feels sorry for her and wishes that he could do something to ease her suffering. But at this point, all Yuki wants is Choco back.
“Okay, fine.” said Yuki almost trembling with fear. “You win, you had your fun already. You caused me all sorts of trouble. I really don't know why you hate me so much to do this to me. But at this point, I don't care. Now please, just give Choco back already.”
“No way!!” yelled Witch Princess angrily. “I created her so that you can become emotionally attached to her. And then you'll lose her in the end. Your father threw a wrench in my plans, but now it's time to finish the job!”
“What are you going to do to her!?” demanded Yuki.
“I'm going to send her back to the place where I got her from, the afterlife!!”
Everyone gasps and starts to beg and plea that she stops her insane plan. But it's no use, Witch Princess places the Soul Stone on Choco's chest, and continues her chanting ignoring everyone's cries for her to stop. Nobody can help Choco because they know it's not safe to move any closer than they already are. If they go in, their soul will get sucked in along with Choco's.
But even though Yuki knows it's dangerous to try to save her, he doesn't care. Just before the Witch princess says the final incantation, Yuki jumps into the circle and grabs Choco. As soon as he touches her, painful bolts of energy grabs on to Yuki. He screams in agony as his soul is getting ripped from his body. He tries to move, but his body is paralyzed inside the circle.
“Yuki, what the hell are you doing!” yelled the Witch Princess shocked that Yuki jumped in, despite her earlier warning. “Get out of there, or you're going to get killed!”
Yuki looks up at Witch Princess with with agonizing pain in his eye. She is shocked to see that look once again. The same look as her own father while he was dying. He sacrificed his life to save her a long time ago, and Yuki is trying to do the same for Choco. Even though Yuki cannot save Choco's life, he decided to die trying.
Frustrated at Yuki's actions she tries to reason with him again. “Didn't you hear me earlier!? She is not really your daughter!! She's a fake that I created with your hair! She is not a real person. Just leave her, and get out of there!”
“I won't. . . Do that!” struggled Yuki. “I know that. . . She isn't . . . My real daughter. . . So what? . . . I . . . Still love her. . . As if. . . She is my. . . Real daughter. . . So if you. . . Want to. . . End her life. . . Then you'll. . . Have to. . . Take mine too!!”
Witch princess knows that this was never part of the plan. She only wants to make Yuki suffer, not end his life. She doesn't want to be a murderer. All she wants to do is undo the alchemy she created in the first place. She watches everyone else watch helplessly as they watch Yuki die before them. She knows that if he dies, everyone will blame her for his death.
Rather than allowing it to happen, she takes a random ingredient, and throws it in the cauldron of glowing liquid which causes a massive explosion that cancels the alchemy. The explosion throws Yuki and Witch Princess in the opposite side of the room. Yuki still has Choco in his arms protecting her to the best of his abilities. The Witch Princess hits her head against the wall, and is knocked out.
Yuki, being as tough as he is, gets up and starts to walk towards the Witch princess to give her a piece of his mind. Everyone else in the hut stands clear out of the way. As soon as he gets close to her, he steps on something unusual. He moves his foot off the object, and sees a Soul Stone. But he opens his hand, and sees that Choco's Soul Stone is in his hand. Plus the stone on the floor is a different color than Choco's. Choco's stone is amber colored, while the one on the floor is yellow.
As Yuki is staring at the stone on the floor, the Witch Princess wakes up heavily while rubbing the bump on her head. It doesn't take long before she sees the second Soul Stone on the floor in front of Yuki. She quickly grabs it, and shields it as if her life depends on that stone.
“I see. . .” said Yuki in a calm tone. After what he just saw, he feels that he may have finally understood why the Witch Princess has been suffering for so long. “So, you're a Homunculus too. Am I right?”
Without answering Yuki's question, she opens her hands, and stares at the stone. Her tears then begin to drip on the stone, she cannot hold her grief anymore. She then holds the stone tightly against her chest and admits, “My mother and father only wanted to have a child. They didn't want to do anything wrong, but it was the only way. . .”
Yuki kneels before the Witch princess and says, “You really loved your parents, didn't you.”
She then looks up at Yuki and shows him the pendant while saying, “They are right here, keeping me alive after all these years. They didn't do anything wrong, they just wanted to have a child just like everyone else. My father even gave his right hand, so he cannot practice alchemy anymore. But they still died for having to create me.”
“I bet everyone made fun of you. Treated you poorly because you were different. Am I right?” She nods at Yuki. Yuki then pats Choco on the head and tells Witch princess, “I don't know the details of your past, but I can tell that it's full of pain, anger, and loneliness. I guess the way you express your pain is to make others feel even a small fraction of what you've felt.”
Yuki sighs and then continues, “But things are different now. So many things have changed after so many years. People can now accept those who are different with open arms. Everyone who hurt you is no longer alive, we are in a whole new generation now. And as far as Choco is concerned. . . Even if you don't want to accept it, but Choco is just as much your child as much as she is mine. She may be different, but I still want to raise her as if she is my own. And like our parents did for us, I will protect and care for her, because I am her father. Do you understand?”
The Witch Princess looks up at Yuki once again, then at Choco. Not once did she ever see Choco as her daughter, mainly because she was never born to be a daughter. Only a tool she can use to torment Yuki for her own amusement. But hearing Yuki say that she is her mother makes her feel awkward. She knew that what she was doing is wrong, but she was about to end the life of a child that she brought into the earth herself. This makes herself feel ashamed. Anger and hatred for Yuki has clouded her judgment so much, that she could not see what she was doing the whole time.
“I understand.” she uttered to Yuki.
Now that everything is resolved, everyone leaves the hut, and goes back to their homes. Yuki walks out as well, but before he leaves the hut, he tells Witch Princess, “Listen, since you are her mother, I'll allow you to see her as much as you want. But don't do anything like this ever again.”
And so with that, Yuki leaves the hut carrying Choco like a newborn child. As Yuki walks away, Choco regains consciousness. From the corner of her eye, she sees the Witch Princess sitting inside the hut feeling depressed about what she almost did. Before she was completely out of sight, Choco says, “Mommy?. . .”
After everyone is gone from her hut, she starts to clean up. The explosion from the cauldron has knocked over many of her possessions on the floor, and there are lots of broken vials that needed to be swept. But as she cleans her home, she takes a moment pause. The words, “I'm a mother?” uttered from her lips as she stands there lost in thought.
To be continued.
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rachel
Large Milk
[M:2]
Kindness isn't something you have to do, it's something you should want to do.
Posts: 123
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Post by rachel on Sept 17, 2008 23:45:24 GMT -5
thats kind of a tough reality check huh?
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