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I am uber reluctant to release ANY of my old writing but considering how many groans I get reading Step Towards the Future a few dozen more won't hurt XD Enjoy...
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Epilogue
She would die for him on the spot if he asked her. She would take all the pain in the world for him…
“Jill, maybe we should take a break…”
The blond haired girl turned and gaped at him in shock. The raven-haired guy was sitting across from her at a booth in a local café, smoking a disgusting cigarette. His verdant green eyes burrowed into her horrified baby blues before looking away.
“We’ve been together, what, a year?” he said carelessly.
“THREE years, Ryo!” she exclaimed.
“Well, more reason for us to take a break and see what else is out there” he shrugged, taking a drag from his cigarette.
Her lip trembled before she glared coldly at him.
“So after three years, you’re gonna just give us up like that?”
“Look Jill, let’s be real. This relationship is obviously not going anywhere. I had no intention of any major commitment” he said nonchalantly.
And she was sure she wanted one with him…now, that was starting to look like one huge mistake.
“Besides…I’ve kind of already started” he said slowly.
She stared at him blankly for a moment, “…Come again?”
“Remember Diane? Well, me and her have been seeing each other for the last month.”
Diane…Diane as in Jill’s arch-nemesis, Diane. Jill’s eyes flooded with anger and she flew to her feet, picking up her scalding hot coffee.
“You b**tard!!”
“You b**tard!!”
She slammed the coffee in his lap, earning her a bellow as she exited the café with all the dignity in the world. But as soon as she was out of public eyes, she sobbed quietly, no tears ever coming to her eyes. He wasn’t worth her tears… had that even been real? It all had seemed like some huge cliché romance movie. But no, it was real…and here she was, single again.
She HATED being single…
Coming to a large Western style house, she shoved the door open and slammed it shut behind her. The scene upon her entrance was normal…her older brother, Nelly, was on the phone, her oldest brother, Shin, was doing things for work, her own twin brother, Tony, was surfing the internet, Shawn, her little brother, was doing homework, and then there was Koji, sitting near an open window, gazing out with his sketchpad resting in his lap. Koji was the dreamer of the family, completely opposite from his twin, Nelly. Usually she would have skipped over to him and sit in his lap, happily telling him about Ryo… her lip quivered before she burst into tears. The whole scene stopped in surprise as she cried her eyes out. Tony flew to his feet and pulled her into his arms. He could feel her pain, she supposed. He was her twin, afterall…
“It’s okay, Jill. What’s wrong?”
She sniveled into his shoulder, “Ryo…left me…”
Nelly sighed before hanging up the phone and leaning against the wall near Koji.
“That guy was no good from the start, kid. Nobody smoking and drinking at the age of 12 usually has a good track record…”
She sniffed, “That’s not even the worst part! He was cheating on me!”
Koji snarled, “The b**tard.”
Rushing from Tony’s arms to Kojis’, she rested her cheek on his shoulder.
“I’m alone again…”
“Maybe it’s for the best, baby girl, that guy was an @$$ anyway.”
She toyed with the silver Gothic cross at Koji’s neck and whispered softly.
“Perhaps…”
Tony came towards her and held out something. She blinked at the crinkled envelope he had in his hand. Taking it from him, she looked it over before asking.
“What’s this?”
“Letter from Mineral Town.”
“…Where?”
Tony rolled his eyes, “Where grandpa lives, stupid.”
Memories rushed back at her and she nodded, opening it.
“Dear Yagami family, I regret to inform you…but your grandfather has passed” she murmured.
They all sat stunned for a couple minutes before Jill dared to continue reading it. Grandpa had died? It had been years since they’d seen him. She figured he’d been well into his 80s or so…and he was all alone on that farm.
“Like I’ll be all alone” she thought, depressed.
“Go on, Jill” said Koji silently.
“Oh yeah…um, ‘He has left a will for all of his family to take some possession of his. But apparently, as he aged, he could not work and lost most of his belongings…”
“Poor grandfather…” murmured Shin.
“So he has asked that his one possession be given to his only granddaughter.”
She stopped in surprise at the words that followed. Her brothers glanced at each other before Shawn dared to ask.
“What did he leave you?”
Jill gulped, “He’s…left me the family farm.”
Chapter 1: Jill’s Advent
“I can’t believe this! I know nothing about farming” she snarled as she packed.
Koji sat on her bed, his chin propped in his cupped hands, as she stuffed her abundant amount of clothing into a suitcase and sighed softly.
“I’d come with you, dear, however…”
She gasped and rushed to Koji’s side, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“No! You HAVE to finish college! You’ve worked too hard!”
He smiled and patted her back, “I will…and as soon as I finish, I’ll come to you.”
She smiled slightly before sighing and going back to packing. She didn’t know anyone there at all… she hated that. Starting over anew was NOT what she was looking to do. But deciding not to go to college, she guessed she had nothing better to carry out with her time. But…farming? She stared at the ripped picture of Ryo and grumbled.
“Maybe it’s good I’m leaving…now I won’t have to think about him.”
Koji smiled and stood, kissing her forehead.
“I’m gonna get a nap in, baby girl…and you better wake me before the taxi comes or I’ll be angry.”
She nodded and watched him walk off. Koji…he’d always been so sickly. She frowned. She knew her mother would take care of him but still, who’d watch over him? She sighed and sat, staring at her now empty room. She curled up in a ball on her bed and drifted to sleep. Long trip ahead of her…might as well get some shuteye.
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The ride over was very quiet as her siblings and her sat in silence, no words to say. They’d given all the encouragement they could back at home. She sighed as they reached the ferry dock and she stepped out of the car. Her father, Yamato, walked towards her and smiled sadly.
“Please be careful, darling…I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to my only little girl.”
She gave him a smile before he embraced her in a warm hug. Her mother, Dana, gave her a bear hug and wailed. Koji rolled his eyes, prying his mother away. All her brothers wished her well and hugged her tightly. Tony, however…
“You don’t have to do this, y’know? I’m sure someone would take the land” he protested angrily.
“I know…” she sighed.
She kissed his cheek, hugging his neck and sighed.
“But this was grandpa’s last wish, right? I have to do this for him.”
Tony sighed as well, giving her a final kiss on the cheek. She gave all of them a hopeful smile before climbing onto the ferry to start her new life in the little place called Mineral Town.
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Her first impression of the island was pretty poor. It looked small…and well, boring. She groaned and shook her head. What had she gotten herself into? Soon the ferry docked and she found herself finally standing on dry land. Looking around, she found a rather nice beach. She’d never seen water or sand this clean. A little white house sat in the far left corner of the beach next to a wood cabin. A small white boat sat near by on the ocean, anchored near the landing pier. Inhaling the sea breeze, she couldn’t help but think this was rather…nice.
“Greetings! …Um, you’re Jill…?”
She broke out of her special place and peeked around for the source of the voice. Confused, she decided to look down. It took her a moment to compose herself from dying of laughter. A little, stubby man stood in front of her dressed in a red suit and a red top hat. His brown hair was a little bushy and he had a pair of glasses rested on his nose. And his nose…oh God, it was massive. She covered her mouth and coughed, disguising her snickers.
“Um…yes, I’m Yagami Jill.”
The man stared her over suspiciously and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Dressed in a simple black spaghetti tank, baggy black cargo shorts with suspenders hanging, and a pair of Vans™, she must’ve looked like a troublemaker… in this edge of the universe anyway. After a moment, he simply shrugged and waved a chubby hand, leading her towards the exit of the beach. She followed him and they walked through town. She was shocked by the type of people here…it looked like she’d went back to the ‘40’s or something. Dressed in frocks and wide, bell like dresses, it reminded of something from a Disney movie. They stared at her, whispering to each other and pointing at her. She sighed and shook her head. How many years did they expect from her before they retired the farm to someone else? Three? Oi…
“Well, old Taito was very adamant about you being the heir to the old farm” replied the man, putting emphasis on old.
She raised an eyebrow, “And just how old is this place?”
He gulped and said nothing until they entered a somewhat familiar gate.
“Here it is…”
Jill’s jaw just about hit the floor.
It was absolutely, positively desolate. The field was full of branches and tree stumps and…and… boulders! How did you get a boulder into a field!? She inhaled and swallowed slowly before turning to the man. He laughed.
“You’ll have a time at getting this place fixed, I’ll say that.”
Jill could’ve kicked that little man…
“By the way, I’m Mayor Thomas.”
She glanced at him, forgetting her little predicament for a moment, trying to keep from laughing again. THIS was the mayor? What a place.
“Well, I’ll leave you to get settled…you can explore town on your own.”
Before she could protest, he took off and she growled. This was definitely not looking good…
She lifted her heavy suitcases on her own and walked into the small cabin she assumed was where she was to sleep. Well…the house wasn’t bad. A nice kitchen took over the whole left side of the house and a nice table sat at the entrance. Wandering over to a door, she found it was a nice bedroom with all the need accessories. Nodding in approval, she dropped her suitcases and began to unpack. Placing the food her mother suggested she bring in the slightly archaic refrigerator, she noticed a television nearby. She doubted this place had cable but she was pretty surprised she had a television at all…after putting all her clothing away, she fell backwards into bed and stared at the ceiling…this was gonna be a LONG three years…
Chapter 2: Friend Amongst Enemies
Two weeks had passed since Jill had arrived in Mineral Town. And it had become apparent…no one liked her. Now, she hadn’t traveled into the winery or chicken farm yet, but if everyone ELSE hated her, why would those two places? She sighed as she sneaked through the supermarket, picking up seeds and groceries quietly. The botanist’s wife, Anna or something, elbowed her daughter, Mary, and snorted.
“Don’t let girls like that influence you, Mary dear. They end up becoming whores and sluts” she said presumptuously.
“Yes mother” said Mary in the same arrogant tone.
“Well damn, I’m only a foot away, talk some more about me” Jill thought angrily.
Shaking her head, she glared at the ground. This was only making her more bent on having this farm thing work. These people were stuck up and thought they knew it all…she’d show them. She walked towards the shifty cashier and he gulped, counting up her items.
“Two…two thousand yen, please” he stuttered nervously.
Yup, Jeff was the only person who didn’t treat her like trash and he was scared to death of her. Giving him a pleasant smile, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crisp stack of yen, handing it to him. He gave her a nervous smile and handed her her bag. Maybe Jeff liked her…she seemed to be the only one who paid her bill up front. Walking from the store, a body barreled into her and sent most of her groceries flying. She yelped and the body grunted.
“Oops, sorry.”
Jill glanced to see the culprit was none other then the nurse Elli. She didn’t like Jill either…
“Maybe because I know how to show off my body” Jill thought, smirking.
“Oh my, Jill, let me help you” said a kind voice.
She saw that the Doctor was with Elli. Now, Jill found the Doctor very kind and not to mention rather cute. Thing was, no one seemed to know what his name was so he was always…”Doctor”. Elli growled and shoved the man up the street.
“Don’t help bums, Doctor.”
Jill could hear the man protest all the way up the street but he never seemed to make it back. She sighed and shrugged, picking up her bread and placing it back in the bag. After repackaging her things, she started to walk home. When she came past the second turn, she heard loud screaming. Turning, she saw a cop chasing some guy who was beaming in her direction.
“Stop!” the man yelled.
The guy though kept running and she realized there was no way she could escape collision now. Squealing, she dropped her bag and cowered. The guy, sure enough, ran right into her. He didn’t fall directly on top of her as he’d caught himself on his palms. He blinked at her, confused, for a moment then looked behind him. The cop, Harris, finally caught up and wheezed.
“You…owe…the…inn money!”
The guy rolled his eyes and waved a hand.
“Tell me what else is new? I’m good for it, really.”
Harris growled and turned around, “You better be. What’s with you misfits?”
She had a feeling he was addressing her as well and she sighed, standing, and dusting herself off.
“Misfit, huh?” she murmured.
The guy stared at her before a look of unknowing crossed his face. She could say this about the dull old town, they had some hot guys. The unknown man had long brown hair pulled back into a semi-neat ponytail and extremely messy bangs covering chocolate eyes. He was dressed rather modernly in a black shirt with a band from the U.S. adorned upon it and a pair of acid wash gray jeans. He had spiky bracelets…he was just about the most contemporary thing here. And she knew he was going to be just like the rest. He tilted his head and asked her curiously.
“Can’t say I’ve met you before…new here?”
She lifted her groceries into her arms and nodded before starting the journey home again. No use giving him the time of day…She heard footsteps behind her and ignored them before the male spoke up again.
“Hey, I’m sorry about that. Ol’ Harris likes getting on me about stupid stuff.”
“It’s fine” she said simply.
She was surprised when he cut gently in front of her. When had he sped up…? He stared down at her, a frown on his face.
“What’s with the ignoring-ness?” he questioned.
She growled, “What…ignoring-ness?”
“You know, like, ignoring me” he replied.
“Look, I’m done with you people and your rumors and gossip and scandal! I don’t need any of you to survive!” she snapped.
He waved his hands, “I hear you, sister, but I’m not like those gossips, honest.”
She snickered, “Right.”
“Honestly! I mean, come on, you think they can trust anyone that dresses like they actually know what style is?”
She had to giggle a little but waved her hand.
“Please. The clothes don’t make the man.”
“Oh, believe me, they do here.”
“Figures…”
“Hey, tell you what. You seem lonely and all so why don’t ya’ hang out with me for a bit?” he suggested.
She smirked, “Hang out with you? And what do you do?”
“Oh, you’ll see.”
“Nope.”
She continued forward and he sighed, following her.
“Come on! I’ll make cookies!”
She giggled despite herself, “Thank you, but no.”
“You’re turning down cookies?” he gasped.
She laughed, “Yes.”
“Are you ill? I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, “I’m not ill, I’ll just be busy in the morning.”
He once again cut in front of her and she rolled her eyes. He was a stubborn fellow…
“Tell you what, I’ll come and help you do whatever it is you do all this week if you hang out with me.”
She blinked then smirked.
“I can’t pay you…at least, not much.”
“Heavens, payment? What kind of guy do you take me for?” he asked with wonder.
“The broke kind.”
“Aww damn, got me. But really, I’ll work! You just have to hang out with me! I’m so bored…”
She sighed and finally forfeited. He probably was going to forget about his promise but she could use some time away from that empty farm… she glanced at him and sighed again.
“Let me put my groceries away.”
“Okay…”
She realized she had no idea what his name was nor did he know hers.
“Jill. Yagami Jill” she replied.
He smiled brightly, “Cool. Name’s Cliff. Izumi Cliff.”
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So yea, very remnant of Step Towards the Future but I suppose I decided to type it/ write it differently.. Jill and Cliff come off as not too much changed but a group of bothers that don't ask where Ryo is so they can go murder him? Artsy Koji? Yamato?? Lol, from September 2, 2005... I'm actually not that sure when I started the real fanfic now with those dates. Huh.
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