Back to Nature

It had been a long two months... The six years Miku had worked for old man Sano seemed like a flash compared to the two months the man had been sick. But no matter what Miku stayed by his side, this was the guy that had taken him in after his parents divorce and then his fathers death.

"Miku... my grandson... Look for... my grandson. Help him... like you did me..." It had been two weeks since then. Shinya, or Kanon, had been at the funeral, but he had little time to talk to the guy before he ran back to the boat to the mainland... So that left him to start the work that the old farm desperately needed.

Though on his way home from the hardware store he spotted a rather oddly dressed man standing at the fork that lead to the Sano's farm. "Can I help you?" Miku cradled the bag to his chest as he examined the guy, "Are you lost? Cause I've definitely never seen you roaming around the village." He offered a shy little smile to the confused guy.

Kanon couldn't believe it. His grandfather was dead...it was a hard funeral. But then he was home and in the comfort of his bed. He was finally moving on from it when he found out he was listed to inherit his farm. Well...he could try his hand at it at least. That's how he ended up back in the small town that his grandfather loved so much and his mother father tried desperately to escape. There was a guy talking to him though. Cute...for being out in nowheresville. He offered a shy smile of his own to the man.

"Uh yes...do you know where Sano farm is? I'm Kenzo Sano's grandson. It was willed to me after his...his passing. Can you point me in the right direction please?"

"Ah, so you're Kanon? Your grandpa told me about you, I'm glad you decided to come back... I was a bit worried when you ran off so fast from the funeral." He took a step closer to him and motioned him to follow, "Follow me, I live on the far end of your farm. Mr. Sano took me in after my dad passed away, I was his helper so to speak and I'm to be yours now too if you decide you want to stay. It was his last request of me, to help his grandson... Here we are."

Miku hoped he wasn't making Kanon nervous... and he felt kind of bad at the shape of the farm. "Sorry its so run down, the last two month were hard on us with him falling ill. It... was hard to keep up the chores and tend to him. I did my best though." He stepped to the small house and opened the door, "I'll help you get settled in in just a second. Let me go drop this off in the barn, feel free to roam. It is yours now after all."

Kanon walked with him to the farm. True it was rundown but that only meant one thing to him. "For the farm to be rundown means you spent more time tending to my grandfather then the crops. For that I'm thankful...uh, one question though...where's all the animals?" He was wondering around but saw no animals in the field and with the grass overgrown like it was that meant there hadn't been any in awhile.

Miku smiled sadly, "Well, unfortunately we had both agreed to sell the animals, there just wasn't time for them... Though I did manage to keep one chicken, she's terribly cranky though since Kenzo passed away. There's also a stray dog and cat that hang around that I feed, they're kinda like pets." Just as he mentioned the dog a short little mutt ran over barking happily, jumping up to greet Kanon.

"He's friendly, the cat is too... We have our work cut out for us, but I'll be here for you though. I wont leave ya hanging."

"Oh...well that's good at least. I'm going to need the help...I don't really know what I'm doing so...yeah. You've really got your hands full now. Is there anyplace here that sells clothes? I don't think mine are good for this...they're expensive and well, I don't want them dirty." Kanon knew how he sounded but he loved his clothes. He didn't want them damaged in any way.

"Yeah, there's a store in town that's pretty reasonable." Miku couldn't help but to smile a little. Kanon definitely was a city boy... but he wouldn't hold it against him, he'd probably get enough hassle from the people in town. "You up for a tour? You could pick up some clothes and get familiar with the area if nothing else."

Until tomorrow there was really no point in them doing too much farm wise. Tomorrow would probably prove hard enough on him.

"Yeah sure. Might as well get used to the surroundings huh?" Kanon went inside his new house to look around. Wow...his grandfather really went with the bare essentials. Only piece of electricity was the tv...and maybe something in the kitchen. One thing he didn't notice was something he desperately needed.

"Uh...where's the phone?"

"The general store?" Miku had never questioned not having a phone, it had always been this way. "I imagine they could get service out here, but it'd be best to wait until you have some extra money..." Hopefully Kanon would be okay with that, but then again this was probably a major step back for him...

"Come on, we need to get to town before sundown or everything will be closed." They made it in town a couple hours before things closed. Miku showed him around and then took him to the general store, it had just about everything Kanon would need.

"He needs some jeans and such. No not the bibs, only the kids wear those now-a-days."

"Jeans and shirts...um...anything not flannel? Nevermind. Just jeans. I can use some older shirts of mine that I don't care for as much. Oh and some strawberries. It's been forever since I've had those." The strawberries were expensive...maybe he could grow his own. In time...everything in time.

"Okeh...I have jeans...now what?"

Man... now he understood why Kanon's grandpa asked him to help, he was clueless!

"Well... Are you hungry? I'm gonna be making some stirfry tonight and I always make plenty. Other than that there's really not much to do till tomorrow. No sense in slave laboring you your first day!" Miku lead him back to his little cabin by the creek and started on dinner, he loved cooking. He couldn't wait to start having fresh produce again.

"Here ya go, enjoy! After this you'll prolly wanna call it a night, we have to be up early tomorrow."

Kanon smiled softly and nodded. "Sure. I love stirfry." He did enjoy it too. This man was a good cook and very polite. He was sure people were snickering behind his back but oh well. "This early? I was hoping to read for a few hours...are there any books here? Maybe some that will help you not have to teach me everything. Like how to raise animals and stuff? Or planting crops and tilling fields. That would be helpful..."

"Well... Just don't stay up all night. I actually have some book here I can give you. I don't need them anymore." Miku got up and grabbed the stack of his shelf and sat them on the table. "I don't mind teaching you by the way. It's nice to have company again. I... really hope things work out for you here, once you're use to it I think you'll really like it.

"Oh, I'm gonna have some left overs, to you want some to take back to your house in case you get hungry while reading?" It was almost like Kenzo was back, this was the routine for them all the time it seemed. It was nice.

"Yeah, sure. I would love some. It's nice to be eating take out. I sucked at cooking and since my roommate left about six months back...well I've been missing home cooking." Kanon smiled as he took the books and some food back to his home. He'd have to add onto this place eventually. But in the meantime he'd be reading and learning all he could. Oh...a backpack. Nice and roomy too. That could come in handy. Kanon made sure that he'd grab it in the morning. Maybe he could settle in there...maybe.

Miku woke up a couple hours before Kanon, he let him sleep in though, figuring he'd appreciate it. When Kanon did come out of the house he smiled, he looked much more ready to farm now.

"Good morning! How ya feeling this morning?" He was up on the chicken roof patching a hole, he figured their one chicken would like to not be wet anymore. "So did you learn anything last night during your reading? Let me finish this real fast and I'll be right down." Luckily the weather was cooler today, so their first day working together wouldn't be miserable. He hopped down and handed him some spare gloves he had, "Here, you'll be glad you had them, ready to start clearing the field?" He filled in the holes that the reading had left and by the end of the day they had a cleared field, wood stocked, and rocks stored. They both sat under the apple tree and looked out over their work. The dog and cat came over to love on them as they did.

"You did an awesome job today Kanon."

Kanon smiled up at Miku as he finished fixing the roof of the chicken coop. "Yes. I'm ready to get to work." The blonde man was a great help. Sure the books helped but there were still some gaps and Miku filled them right up. It was a hard day but he was happy to have done it. The result was nice. Seeing the clear field and knowing that they did it was a very satisfying feeling. He watched the cat and dog come over to them for some love.

"If I had a fishing pole I could probably catch some food for them...I'm not great at fishing but I'm not bad either. It was the one thing my grandfather and I did every year. We'd go out on this beautiful lake and fish. Go camping and stuff. For a whole week. Just us two...it...it was supposed to happen the week after he passed. I went but didn't even stay a whole night. It just wasn't the same without him. But this? I think I know why my grandfather loved it here...and why my dad hated it. It's just one of those things. You either love this life or hate it. My dad and grandpa never saw eye to eye. They were such opposites. My mom says I'm more like grandfather though. I'm just as stubborn as both of them...but I enjoy the beauty of things more then my dad would. How the simplicity of all this is what makes it beautiful." Kanon was looking up at the sunset and found himself at peace. It was like he'd grown up here even though all his memories were of the busseling city.

"I know I certainly wouldn't trade it for anything, I don't really have a huge need to move on like most of the other kids do. I'm glad you like it here though. Maybe once things settle down we could try camping there?" Before Kanon could answer someone walked into the entrance of their farm and upon spotting them came over, "I see you managed to clean up this... place." The other guy scrunched his nose, Miku's brows furrowed and he stood.

"Don't go starting trouble Hiroki."

"Trouble? I think city boy over there will do a fine job by himself. This farm wont last a year." He seriously wanted to punch this guy... "Get out of here. We'll do just fine, just wait."

"Yeah, I'll be waiting, to buy this place when he abandons it." With that Hiroki left, Miku glared daggers at him until he was gone. "He's been after this place since your grandfather got sick... He disgusts me."

Kanon looked up and watched the man go. He was calm about it but inside he had a deep anger spark to that man. "Yeah well if he sets foot on my land again he'll find out just how much trouble this 'city boy' can be. I doubt he's ever had to deal with what I had to in school so he can just shove it. We'll do just fine." Kanon's serene look never left his face. He knew what he was talking about with trouble though. He had to pretty much fight his way through school being how he was. Very feminine and gay? That combo never does well in city schools. It was learn how to fight or be beaten to death. Kanon definitely knew how to fight.

Miku frowned a bit, "You don't seem like the type to be in a lot of trouble... You're really nice." He smiled softly at him and helped him to stand, "We can start planting tomorrow, how about we go to the Inn to get something to eat? It's pretty good and a good time to unwind. You'll get the meet the other people our age too. The girls like to go there for tea in the evening."

"Can't judge a book by it's cover. Yeah...going to the inn sounds nice. Just let me get my wallet. There's a few things I need to buy in town real quick before the stores close." Kanon liked the stray animals and he wasn't too bad in wood shop. He'd make them a nice shelter. The man quickly got his wallet and they headed to town. Kanon got the wood and nails, hammer and saw. Everything was good.

"Okeh, dinner. Do you know if they serve sushi?"

Miku saw what Kanon was buy, looks like they were officially adopting the pair.

"Oh yeah, They've got a few different seasonal sushi, it's some of the best I've ever had." Miku lead him into the Inn and they sat down at one of the back tables. A pretty girl walked up and smiled sweetly at Kanon, "Why hello there~ You must be the new guy everyone is talking about, I'm Mina. I'll be taking your guys orders today, so what'll it be?"

"I'll have some Lomein and rice with bourbon chicken, uhm... Raspberry tea to drink please." Mina jotted his order down then waited for Kanon's.

"Mineral water, sesame chicken with lomein and sushi. Mixer of whatever kinds you're making. Thank you." Kanon blushed a little. The girl seemed nice enough but really friendly. Maybe that's just how people were here. Overly friendly. He could get used to that he supposed.

"So...what else is there to do around here other then farm work? I know it's a big part of life here but surely there's other things too."

Miku took a sip of his drink and looked up at Kanon, "Well, once we get some animals, training and playing with them is fun. But there's also the hot springs in the woods behind your farm, fishing, hiking... There's also the beach. And in the Summer a little shack opens up and they serve more city like food. There's the festivals too, this place is famous for them. I like the harvest festival most, I get to sing and play instruments. Plus everyone brings something to make a really delicious stew... It really just depends on what you like I guess."

Mina came back over with their food, letting her hand brush Kanon's a bit as she did, "Oh! Sorry..." She giggled softly and scampered back to the counter, occasionally looking back at Kanon. "Looks like someone has a crush." He couldn't help but to laugh when he saw Kanon's face, "She's single too ya know?"

Playfully he poked his tongue out at his friend, "I'm just kidding, no need to rush you off to wooing the local ladies. Though I don't think you'll have any issues."

Kanon laughed a little at the girl but shook his head. "She's wasting her time...not my type. It's sweet though that she likes me I guess." Kanon was more interested in wooing the local guys then the girls but it wasn't likely to happen. So he just let himself fall into the normal routine. That is until summer came. Summer was...amazing. The dog and cat houses were finished and the shack opened up. The guy that worked there knew his food and Kanon found himself doing his chores and spending all day at Bou's shop. Funny...he looked quite girly but Kanon found that attractive. He liked SexPot too. This was amazing!

Summer was a good time on the year, it reminded him of his dad and all the stuff they'd do together. Winter was the month he dreaded, luckily he had a while before then. And since the farm was finally up and going now they actually had a lot of free time to themselves. Kanon spent it with Bou while Miku went fishing and such at the docks nearby. The extra money from the summer time fish was pretty nice, he was hoping to be able to buy Kanon a cow soon. That would boost his sales even more so.

It only took a week to get the funds, when he did he went and bought said cow and lead it to the pastures that he'd just fixed up and fenced off. He couldn't wait to show Kanon, Leslo was a very happy cow and was more than ready to start giving milk the next day. It was close to sun down now, so he knew Kanon would be home soon. So he sat on the fence and waited... and waited... and waited...

Where was he? Not that it was really his business but... He did still worry. Bou was a bit more on the wild side, he liked to drink and party... Ah who was he kidding? Kanon could handle his own. Shrugging he went to move the cow into the barn and put some fodder down for her, "There ya go... We'll introduce you to Kanon tomorrow." He turned the light off and moved to go sit by the small creek near his cottage, thinking on maybe fixing up the little house a bit tomorrow while he was free.