Reason for Kindness (ANB Neil Fanfic)

Chapter 3: Free Cows

I wake up to the sound of loud banging. I shoot up and push my covers off.

"Yuki! Are you awake?" I blink several times, trying to get the blurriness out of my vision. Looking at the clock, I groan when I realize that it's 6 AM. Who's banging on my door at six in the morning?

"I hope you're awake, because I'm coming in!" I'm barely able to tell the person to wait when I hear the door open and slam closed. As soon as I catch the sight of a cowboy hat I fall back onto my pillow and throw my covers over my face. Why in the world is mayor cowboy paying me a visit now?

"Still sleeping I see." I freeze when I hear footsteps make their way into my bedroom. Maybe if I don't move, he'll leave me alone or--

I scream when the covers are thrown off of me and I see a familiar mustache. I throw my pillow at Dunhill's face, and he stumbles back a few steps. He grumbles and drops the pillow on the floor, giving me a confused look.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Adjusting his hat and ignoring my shocked expression, he points to the clock. "I thought that I'd wake you up since you weren't out on your farm working yet."

"But it's six in the morning!"

"And?"

I stare at him in disbelief. He's a very strange man.

"I was planning on sleeping in today," I sigh and decide to give in, "but I guess I'm not going back to sleep now." I stretch and swing my legs over the side of my bed.

"Good, because you've got a long day ahead of you!" I nod and walk over to my dresser to get out my clothes. I'm about to head to the bathroom to get ready when I turn to ask Dunhill a quick question and notice that he's gone. I didn't even hear the door close. How does he do that? Shaking my head, I ignore my suspicions and head to the bathroom to get ready.

I walk into my kitchen wearing jean overalls that are way too long for me, so I cuff them and put on my work boots. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I step outside and head to town. Surely everyone else must be awake by now, since Dunhill is the mayor. I decide to stop by the general store for seeds and fertilizer, as well as the architect to look at blueprints. I step into town and look around for a bit. The entire town is silent, meaning that I'm the only person awake. That is, except for the mayor who is currently climbing into a tree.

I groan. Why couldn't my parents have an abandoned farm in a populated, bustling town where there are shops and people to socialize with. I turn around and start to trudge back to my farm when I hear a door slam. Hoping it's the general store opening for the day, I swing my head back around only to find Neil making his way out of his house, checking his watch.

"Hi Neil." I say as I walk up to him. He snaps his head up and starts to grumble when he sees it's me. "Well good morning to you too." I roll my eyes. Is he ever happy? He tries to walk past me, but I fall into his stride and walk beside him. I hold back a laugh as he groans.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He picks up the pace, but I keep up with him.

"Where are you going?" I ask him curiously.

"Work." He replies shortly.

"Where do you work?"

"I'm an animal dealer."

"What kind of animals do you sell?"

"Farm animals."

"Do you like your job?" He stops walking and I stumble forward.

"Do you ever quit asking questions?" I smile sweetly as he glares at me.

"Not really."

He looks exasperated as he keeps on walking, but I keep following him.

"Don't you have something else to be doing?" He sticks his hands in his pockets and stares straight ahead. I shake my head in negation.

"Dunhill woke me up at six, but didn't tell me that he forgot to wake everyone else up." I grumble. I could still be sleeping right now if it wasn't for that unexpected early morning visit from Dunhill.

Neil snickers. "He didn't forget. He just doesn't wake anyone else up." This time I'm the one who stops walking, but Neil doesn't stumble.

"What?" I ask.

"Yeah, he gave up on everyone else when they started to ignore him." I stare dumbly at Neil.

"Ughhhh. I could have slept in!" Neil continues to walk, and I keep up beside him again.

"Why are you following me? You should head back to town since the stores should be opening soon."

"Oh yeah, I guess I killed enough time." I realize as I look at my watch. "See you later." I turn around and head back. Once I reach town, I get what I need and introduce myself to people. When I reach my ranch again, I struggle to figure out how to farm. I know the basics, but it will take me a while to create a farm that will prosper. By the time I'm done, it's about one in the afternoon. I eat lunch and decide to explore a bit. I try my best to avoid the forest, since I don't really feel like encountering a bear again.

I'm admiring the beautiful river when I look to my right and notice a sign up ahead. I walk toward it and see that it's labeled "mountain area." Intrigued, I walk past the sign. It's not really a mountain, but a really tall hill. I'm making my way to flat land when I hear a deep sound  come from the bushes. Immediately, I panic and freeze in my spot. Neil told me that running away from a bear is a bad idea, but it hasn't seen me yet. Maybe I should make a run for it...

I hear the sound again and turn around to run away, only to see Neil running up to me.

"Yuki," He sounds out of breath, "Have you...seen my cow?" I give him a confused look. "She got away from me."

"You...have a cow?" He face-palms.

"I'm an animal dealer, remember genius?"

Suddenly, everything hits me. "Ohhh, you lost your cow!" Neil stares at me like I'm an idiot, until he sees something behind me and his eyes light up.

"There she is!" I turn around to see a cow walking out of the bushes. Neil rushes over to the cow and takes hold of her. Now I really feel like an idiot.

"It was a cow..." The cow slowly walks up to me and I pat it's head.

"Hmph, she likes you." I smile and nod, happy that it wasn't a bear after all. I decide not to tell Neil that I thought his cow was a bear. He would never let it go.

Neil stares at the happy cow, looking uncertain about something.

"Do you have any animals on your farm yet?"

"Not yet."

Nodding, Neil says, "You should take this one." I look up, shocked at what he said.

"She normally doesn't trust people easily so I want her to go where she will be happy." I nod, looking back down at the cow.

"I'll take her then. How much is she?"

Neil contemplates my question, but answers, "You can have her for free."

This time I'm extremely shocked. Free? Why would he give me his cow for free, just like that?

"What? Why?"

"I've been trying to find someone to take her for a while." He looks down at the ground. "Everyone keeps taking her back, since she's difficult to take care of and doesn't trust easily. So I won't charge you for her." He sharply looks up at me. "Don't expect this to happen again. You'll have to pay for any other animal you buy from me." I nod, letting him know that I understand.

He starts to walk down the mountain, but calls over his shoulder, "Consider it a welcoming gift if you want." With that, he's gone. I smile and stroke my new cow. I'll take good care of her.

A/N: Alright! Not much to say in this Author's Note except that the story is finally picking up a bit. Now I can focus on the forming relationship between Neil and Yuki. Next chapter will be published soon :)