Reason for Kindness (ANB Neil Fanfic)

Chapter 9-Part 1: An Unwanted Helper

A/N: I realized that in the last chapter, the cake was covered in plastic wrap so it couldn't have been shoved into Neil's face...so I changed it up a bit to make more sense. Also, there are going to be more time-skips now that Neil and Yuki are friends. This chapter will have a month time-skip. I also promise that Neil and Yuki will develop feelings for each other soon. I know it's taking a while, but I want to take this story more slowly. Anyways, enjoy this chapter, and please read the authors note at the end!

One month later~

Neil and I have grown closer in the month that we have officially been friends. He still insults me, and he's grumpy a lot, but I can tell that he's opened up a bit more. I've learned a lot about his past; mostly about his parents and lack of friends growing up. His mom and dad tried to force him to make friends, which has only made him dislike people now. He acts as if he doesn't mind being by himself all of the time, but I can easily tell that he yearns for some socialization.

Today I got all of my chores done early so that I could have some time to get extra stuff done around the farm. I spend all afternoon writing things down that I can get in town later. Once I'm done, I stick the list in my pocket and head down the familiar dirt path that leads to town. I buy some summer crop seeds at the general store, and get some blueprints and materials from Rebecca. Once I'm done, I drop off my stuff and head to the forest to do some foraging.

I have a basket full of stuff when I exit the forest. Pleased with my finds for the day, I hum as I waltz down the dirt path toward town. A loud voice startles me out of my daze. My eyes snap open to see Neil at his stand, hurriedly trying to grab things and set them down for the customer in front of him to see. The man seems angry and shakes his head. I rush over to Neil's stand to see what all of the commotion is about.

"...traveled far to get a specific kind of medicine for my cow!" The man exclaims. Neil radiates with frustration.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't have that specific kind in stock currently."

"What am I going to do now? My cow is sick, and the festival is in a couple of days!" The man throws his hands up in the air.

"You'll have to find what you need elsewhere." Neil opens his mouth to say something else, but I walk up in time to object.

"Um, hi." I give the man a wave, and he stares at me with a confused expression. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Yuki," Neil whispers, "What are you doing?"

"Helping you." I whisper back. I clear my throat and face the fuming man once again. "Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"My cow is very sick, so I traveled to this town because I had heard good things about what blondie here has in stock. Obviously, I heard wrong." Neil's face grows red, and I can sense that he's had it with this man.

"Hey, it's not my fau..."

"Actually," I interject again, "Neil does have many good things in stock. It just so happens that he unfortunately does not carry the item you need." I tell the man. My words don't seem to calm him down, but I knew that they wouldn't.

"Alright, we've covered that. But what am I supposed to do? My cow needs medicine!"

I feel myself growing impatient with the man as well, but someone's got to keep their cool if this problem is to be resolved. 

"So you're looking for a specific type of medicine?" I inquire, already clearly reading the situation.

"Yes. My cow is very ill, and the festival is coming. I've always given my cows this type of medicine, but my town is currently out of stock as well. I need it very soon, or else my cow might die! Traveling here was my last resort!" He finishes with his rant, and I sigh. This isn't Neil's fault; the man is simply being stubborn.

"Sir," I start, being careful with my words, "if your cow is really as ill as you are saying, I'd think that you'd be willing to buy any kind of medicine to save it." The man stares at me with a blank expression, and Neil stays silent. Satisfied that I've quieted the both of them, I turn to Neil.

"What medicine do you have?"

"A high quality kind, but it's not what he's looking for." He searches through a box and grabs out a small container, setting it on the stand. The man stares at it in disgust.

"My cows require the highest quality items."

I groan. Neil pushes me aside. "Let me try." He slams his fist down on the table, causing both me and the man to jump in shock. "If you're cow really is dying, than you should be willing to give it anything!" Neil glares straight at the customer, who still looks startled. "Buy the medicine, or go search for your high quality medicine somewhere else while your cow lies sick." Neil's voice is now much more quiet, which is ten times more scary than when he's yelling.

The man starts to shake, and quickly hands over the required Gold.

"Um...thanks."He hastily walks away, while Neil glares at his back. Several seconds pass before I clear my throat.

"You've sure got a way of dealing with your customers." I huff.

"He wasn't going to get the point otherwise." Neil growls. "You're way wasn't working."

"Sure it was!" I exclaim. "I was getting my point across!"

"Ever so slowly." He snickers. I cross my arms and turn my head away.

"A thank you would be nice."

"For what? You completely took over, and you don't even work here."

"I helped you!" I state, and take my place behind his stand. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do today."

Neil sighs. "Come on Yuki, you should go." He points away from the stand, but I don't move, causing him to cringe.

"This is going to be a long day."

A/N: The next chapter will actually be pretty funny. This chapter isn't as entertaining, but it was needed. So this authors note is going to be a bit longer than usual, but I would appreciate it if you read it :)

I will try to keep this as short as possible. Recently, I've been reading fanfiction written by authors who have a nice, developed writing style, and I admit that I have been a bit lazy in that regard. I don't write fanfiction just because it's a hobby of mine, but I write it as practice for when I will write and (hopefully) publish a book of my own one day. I do, however, really, really want to develop more of my own writing style. I'm tired of all the writer's block. Sooo, I have been considering posting an original story on here. I don't know how it will go, but I think that if I post an original story for people to read, and if I focus on becoming an overall better writer, I will be more inclined to actually finish a story for once! *gasp*

Again, I don't know if I will for sure yet. But I believe that it will be fun, and it will be a different kind of project for me :) Anywho, I thought I'd just mention that. It's kind of exciting hehe. First though, I need to come up with a good idea...(I can never come up with good idea, so expect that chapters might come slowly...)

See you next chapter! If you read all of this, congrats! Have a virtual cookie! :D