Chapter 7

Summer 1, 2003

The Summer festival is being held today. It is a time where parents take their children to the sandy beach to enjoy the first day of Summer. Yuki had never attended this festival before because he had always been single and without children. Now that Choco has entered his life, he is attending the festival with the rest of the parents for the first time.

Yuki arrives at the beach wearing his swimming trunks, towel hanging from his shoulder, and his usual blue hat on his head. On his left hand, he is carrying a parasol to make some shade, and a picnic basket full of chocolaty treats and a blanket. On his right hand, he is holding Choco's hand escorting her to the beach. Choco is dressed in a deep blue one piece swim suit that Yuki had ordered for her earlier, sandals so that she doesn't burn her feet, and her hair tied up in double baos.

Choco gasps in admiration as she arrives at the clean blue ocean of Forget-Me-Not Valley. Kate and Hughs' families are already there having fun at the festival. Many other families from nearby villages and a cities are also attending the festival.

“Daddy, daddy, look at how many people came today!” yelled Choco as she points to the crowd. “Where did they all come from, I've never seen them before!”

“Most of them came from other places where they don’t have a clean beach. Usually cities and port towns.” Yuki kneels down to Choco's level, and looks at her with a serious face. “Now listen to me Choco, you promised me that you are going to be a good girl. Remember, no bothering strangers, don't accept chocolates from people you don't know, and do not fight with other kids. Do you understand?” Choco nods in agreement. Yuki looks into the distance and finds Kate and Hugh playing together making sand castles. Yuki points at them and says, “Why don't you play with them while I set up the blanket.”

“Okay!” cheered Choco as she runs to Kate and Hugh. Finally having a free moment, Yuki relaxes on the beach blanket under the parasol.

As Yuki lays under the cool shade of the parasol, Muffy sneaks up on Yuki. As Muffy gets close, Yuki hears her foot steps in the sand and looks over at her. Naturally, Muffy is wearing a red bikini that is showing off the best of her curves for Yuki. Muffy smiles as she sings, “Hi Yuki.”

“Muffy, what are you doing here? You're not a parent,” asks Yuki.

“Oh come on, there is no rule that single women can't come to the beach today.” Muffy looks around looking for Choco. “Where is Choco by the way?”

“She's playing with Kate and Hugh right now. Looks like she's getting along with the other kids of Forget-Me Not Valley.”

Muffy waits for any compliments about her swimsuit, but Yuki just lays under the parasol quietly. She is disappointed, but knows that this is normal for Yuki. Instead, she asks, “Can I sit next to you?”

Yuki moves to the side giving Muffy enough room to sit in the shade. She sits next to him, and waits for him to say something. But Yuki continues to remain quiet. Muffy stares at Choco playing with the other children for a few minutes, and sighs. Muffy always wanted to have Yuki's child, but the sight that he already has one only complicates her plans. Muffy tries her best to use Choco to her advantage, but Yuki is now even less interested in marriage.

Yuki notices Muffy stare at Choco, so he finally asks, “What are you thinking about?”

Muffy answers, “Nothing special. Just wondering why have you never decided to get married. That's all.”

“Things are complicated, even before Choco came to Forget-Me-Not Valley.” Yuki watches Choco play with the other kids. Painful memories of his own childhood begins to replay. “To tell you the truth, I never wanted to have any kids. It's not that I hate them, but I guess I never saw myself being able to raise a family. I know I'm not making any sense, but that's the only explanation I can give. Choco is cute, and everyone in Forget-Me-Not Valley likes her. But at the same time, she is a tough kid to raise. Not to mention that she is an odd girl. She still doesn't remember who is her own mother, she remembers things about me that never happened, and when it comes to chocolates, she has a hole that can’t be filled.”

“Did you find out anything about her mother?” asks Muffy.

“No. I tried everything. I called my old friends from Atland, and they also told me that I am a virgin. I have never even came close to having a girlfriend or lover. But at the same time, I cannot find any proof that Choco is not my kid either. I thought that if I wait for Choco's mother to suddenly appear on her own, maybe I can get some answers. But it's been nearly a whole season since Choco came to live with me, and still no sign of her mother. I'm starting to believe that either she died, or she abandoned her. Either way, Choco doesn't want to remember what happened to her own mother.”

“So, what are you going to do?” asks Muffy.

“The only thing I can do. I'll have to raise Choco myself. Whether I want to admit it or not, she really is my daughter. I'll have to take responsibility.” answers Yuki.

“That's very admirable Yuki. Lots of men would not want to deal with things like this. When Choco first arrived here, I thought that you were going to be like one of those guys. I was upset at the thought that you were not going to accept the fact that Choco is your baby. But just as you promised, you took her in when you accepted the fact that you are her dad.” Muffy slowly tries to place her hand on Yuki's. “just remember, if you ever need a wife to complete your family; my hand will always be available for you.”

Before Muffy's hand touches Yuki's, he pulls his away pretending to scratch his nose. Muffy feels disappointed again, but she just sighs and accepts that this is the way Yuki is. Being able to sit next to him at least is good enough for her for that moment. But she continues to fantasize about the day Yuki offers her the blue feather.

Summer 2, 2003

Yuki gets ready to leave the farm to do some shopping. As he is grabbing his wallet and rucksack, Choco walks out of her bedroom carrying Uma-Kun with her. She was in the mood to play games with Yuki, but she is now curious to see where is Yuki going. She already knows that her father has finished his work for the day.

“Daddy, where are you going?” asks Choco.

“I'm going to head over to Mineral Town to do some shopping. I always do heavy grocery shopping in the beginning of each season.” answered Yuki.

Choco jumps up and down as she asks, “Can I go too!?”

Yuki wanted to protest, but remembering how much trouble can Choco cause while she is home alone scares him. He imagines him coming back from shopping, and finds the entire farm on fire. His wild imagination causes him to change his mind. “Fine, you can come. But Uma-Kun stays home.”

Choco nods, and leaves her stuffed horse in her room. They both move over to the beach where they catch a boat that is heading over to Mineral Town. Walking to Mineral Town is cheaper, but taking the boat is much faster.

On the boat ride to Mineral Town, Choco is running around looking out to the ocean full of excitement. Yuki watches her as she is amazed to ride on a boat. He wanted to question her about her boat ride to the valley almost a season ago, but knowing her, she will not give an answer that Yuki will understand.

Choco gasps as the boat reaches close to the beach of Mineral Town. She points at the dock and yells, “Daddy, look! Is that the place?”

“Yes, that is Mineral Town. I come here every season because there are no real shops back at home. A lot of people know me here, so you can say that this is like my second home.” Yuki walks up to Choco, and kneels down to her level. Choco knows by now that when Yuki does this, it's usually means that he wants to tell her something serious. “Now Choco. Since we're here, I'm going to lay down some rules. First, no running off by yourself. Second, be at your best behavior. Third, don't follow someone you don't know. Mineral Town is a peaceful village, but there are usually strangers that come from other places too. Do you understand?” Choco nods.

After the boat docks, Yuki talks to the ferryman, and pays him the fee for the boat ride. As he talks, Choco gets bored and takes a look around. She finds a shop called Kai's Seaside Shack not too far away. She knows that she promised that she would not run off, but since it isn't too far away, she decides to pay it a visit while Yuki is not looking.

She runs to the stand, and finds a young tanned skin man with a purple bandanna running the shop. He is cooking some orders to be delivered when Choco gets there. She rings the bell and yells, “Hello mister!”

The owner of the shop named Kai turns around and notices Choco. He smiles and says, “Hi there cutie. What can I get for you today?”

Choco places her index finger against her chin as she thinks, “Lets see. . . I want 10 bars of chocolates, chocolate cake, a bunch of chocolate cookies, a stack of chocolate pancakes, some chocolate covered marshmallows, chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup, the bottle of chocolate syrup, a cup of hot chocolate, and a bag of M&M's.”

Kai looks at her awkwardly as he says, “I'm sorry sweetheart, but I don't sell any of that.”

“Well doesn't that just suck!” complained Choco.

Yuki walks up to Choco, and grabs her arm. “Choco, where did you learn how to talk to people like that! Apologize to Kai right now!”

Kai smiles and says, “Don't worry about it Yuki. She’s just a kid after all. Who is she by the way?”

Choco points at Kai and says, “But Daddy, that man is so weird. He doesn't sell any chocolates at his store!”

“Just because a shop doesn't sell chocolates, that doesn't make the owner weird. Now apologize!” Just then, Yuki notices Kai stare at him with a shocked look in his face. Yuki can tell that he is surprised to hear Choco called him “daddy”. Kai and most of Mineral Town already knows Yuki's age, and the fact that Yuki is supposed to be a virgin. Yuki starts to feel nervous, so he bows his head and says, “Sorry Kai, I am in a hurry. See you later!”

Yuki runs off dragging Choco along with him. Kai still stands in his shop trying to process what Choco said. He drops his spatula as he says to himself, “Did that kid just call him 'daddy'?” He runs out of his shop and watches Yuki run off with his daughter. As he leaves the beach Kai says, “Wow, Yuki you dog! And he started young too.” He flexes his right arm and he continues, “Fine then! I'll also do my best with the women too!”

Just then, he smells smoke coming from his grill. He turns to see what is burning, and all the orders that he needed to deliver has caught on fire. He panics as he tries to put out the flames on the grill before his shop catches on fire.

As they walk through Rose Square Yuki scolds at Choco, “I thought I told you not to run off on your own!”

“But daddy, I didn't go very far.” answered Choco.

“I don’t care how far you went! Please don't go off on your own without me knowing.”

Choco places her finger in her lip feeling guilty. But as they walk through the square, Choco notices a young woman with pink hair walking around. She becomes very curious, so she runs ahead to take a closer look.

“Choco, what did I said about running off!” yelled Yuki.

It takes the pink haired girl named Popuri a moment before noticing Choco run up to her. Popuri stops walking, and watches Choco orbit around her like a moon. She then smiles and asks, “Hello there little girl, what's your name?”

Choco stops and answers, “Hi there, my name is Choco!”

Popuri continues, “Choco huh? That's a cute name. Where did you come from- OUCH!”

Choco grabs on Popuri's hair and begins to tug on it. As she pulls, she says, “Look daddy, her hair is not a wig, it's real! How did she get her hair to be that color?”

Yuki panics and yells, “Oh my god, CHOCO!!! Let go of Popuri's hair right now!” Choco releases Popuri's hair and places her hands behind her back. Yuki runs up to Popuri and says, “Popuri, I am so sorry! Are you hurt?”

Popuri pats her hair and says “Don't worry about it, I get that a lot from strangers. . . Wait, did she just call you 'daddy'”?

Yuki sweats nervously as he tries to answer, “Um, well that is. . .” Finding that he could not come up with a good enough answer, he grabs Choco's arm and runs away again, “sorry, I am in a hurry! See you later Popuri!”

Popuri stares as Yuki runs off with Choco. She think for a moment, noticing that Choco does look like Yuki, she concludes that what Choco said had to be true. Popuri feels that she needs to spread the news, so she runs to the Inn where most of the citizens of Mineral Town can be found.

She slams the door open to grab everyone's attention. After taking a few deep breath from running to the Inn, she announces, “everyone listen up! I have big news!”

One of the customers says, “What is it now Popuri? Did Begak lay another egg?” Everyone laughs at the joke.

Popuri shakes her head and says, “No, no! It has nothing to do with my chickens this time. It's Yuki from Forget-Me-Not Valley! He has a daughter now!”

Everyone cheers loudly for a minute. The owner of the inn Doug says, “Well, it's about time that young punk Yuki finally tied the knot.”

“When did he get married I wonder?” asked one of the elder customers.

“I bet he knocked up that blond chick from the bar,” said a younger male customer. Everyone laughs at the joke.

Popuri shakes her head again and yells, “Everyone, stop jumping to conclusions and listen to me! The kid that I saw Yuki with has to be about the same age as Stu or May. He has a ten year old for a daughter!”

The bar went silent for a few minutes. Doug finally breaks the silences and says, “Popuri, did you eat another bad egg? Yuki is 22 years old, there is no way he could have a ten year old daughter.”

Popuri points at the door and says, “Tell that to Yuki! She looks just like him, and she is calling him daddy! And when I asked him about her, he just ran away from me!”

Everyone in the inn stares at one another. Then one of the customers says, “Do you think it could be true?”

Doug says, “Popuri may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but she doesn't lie either.”

Someone else in the inn says, “I don't know about you, but I'm going to check it out!”

Then everyone gets up and walks out of the Inn to look for Yuki. As all this is happening, Yuki and Choco are outside the supermarket gasping for air. After they catch their breath, Yuki stares at Choco with a mean look on his face. Choco cringes in fear as she looks into his unhappy eyes.

“Choco, didn't you promise that you were going to be good today?” asked Yuki.

“But-”

“No buts young lady! Now, we are going to go shopping, and you better not cause any trouble. If you do, you can stay home next time and someone else can watch you. Do you understand?” Choco nods.

They walk in quietly trying to avoid any attention. Yuki walks over to the pile of seeds for sale, and checks out for any good deals for Summer crops. As he shops, Choco looks around, and notices the food section. She then sees a mountain of chocolates stacked in a corner. She knows that she promised that she would behave, but the chocolates clouds her judgment. As soon as she believes Yuki isn’t watching, she runs over to the stack of chocolaty treats. Yuki notices her running from the corner of his eye and runs after her. Choco tries to jump into the pile of chocolates, but Yuki catches her in mid air.

“Choco, what do you think you are doing!?”asked Yuki.

“But I am so hungry! I want some chocolates!” yelled Choco trying to reach out for the chocolates.

“I'm sure your stomach can wait until we get home, now calm down!” yelled Yuki.

As Yuki struggles with Choco, the daughter of the supermarket owner named Karen walks out of the back. She notices Yuki with Choco, so she walks up to them to help out. She grabs a bar of chocolate, and offers it to Choco which calms Choco down.“Here you go, it's on me.” said Karen cheerfully.

Choco takes the chocolate, and eats it without waiting for her to be put down. She smiles at Karen and yells, “Thanks lady! I like you!”

Yuki sighs and says, “Sorry about that Karen. She's a bit hard to deal with.”

“It's no problem Yuki, she's just so cute. Is she your little cousin or something?” asked Karen.

Choco points at Yuki and announces, “He’s not my cousin, he's my daddy!”

Choco's words stuns all the women who are shopping at the supermarket. Most of them knows Yuki, so learning that he has a daughter is a shock to all of them. Even Karen looks at him awkwardly and asks, “Yuki, is that true? Are you really her father?”

“Well, it's hard to explain. . .” said Yuki.

As he tries to think of a proper explanation, all of the other customers stare at him uncontrollably. Yuki can hear them say embarrassing things like, “Oh my god, Yuki has a daughter?” “Look at her, she's old enough to be his sister.” “How old was Yuki when he slept with her mother?” “Why has Yuki been hiding her all this time?” “And I thought he was a pure soul.”

Hearing them accuse him of awful things, Yuki panics and runs out of the supermarket. However, the rest of Mineral Town from the Inn is already outside looking for them. When they find him, they all crowd around him and stare at Choco. There are so many voices that Yuki cannot make anything out. Yuki is trapped, he has no choice but to break through the crowd and escape to the beach with Choco.

As they rush to the dock, they notice that Kai's shack has caught on fire. He is trying his best to put it out. Yuki wants to stop and help him, but the crowd of curious villagers are following him. He rushes into the boat, and demands that it sets sail to Forget-Me-Not Valley immediately.

The boat departs, and they are safe. However, Yuki knows that he should stay away from Mineral Town for some time until things has settled down. He couldn't blame Choco too much, it isn't her fault that everyone made a big deal about Yuki being a father. Mineral Town is a small village, and any big news tends to drive everyone a bit crazy. Even Forget-Me-Not Valley reacted in a similar manner when they everyone found out that Yuki is a father.