GREEN
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2981 15.97 KB 281
2981 15.97 KB 281
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1.
>It's a crisp winters morning with noon fast approaching
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2.
>You sit aboard a sleigh being pulled from the town's edge to a tree farm just outside it's borders
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>Sitting next to you is Taku, a mare you met when you both found yourselves quietly seething at the ponies reading right in front of the manga shelves you were trying to browse at the book store.
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>She's generally pretty quiet until you bring up anything Neighponese like anime and Manga at which point it's hard to get her to be quiet.
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>Not that you mind that
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>Her passion when talking about an anime she just found that she loves or her rants about how there are too many lazy isekai animes coming out warms your heart.
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>Although not warm enough for this winter's day.
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>It doesn't seems to bother Taku much
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>In her lap sits a tool bag with all the tools you'll need to bring home a Hearths Warming tree
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10.
>"Hashire sori yo..."
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11.
>"Kaze no you ni..."
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12.
>Seems she's singing a Neighponese Hearths Warming carol
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>"Tskukimihara wo"
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>"Padoru! Padoru!"
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>She sings while gently swaying side to side and gently kicking her hooves
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>You would join in but you don't know the words
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>The sleigh comes to a stop
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>The large pony pulling stretches a bit before turning back towards you
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>"Whelp, here we are"
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>You disembark from the sleigh and take the bag from Taku before she jumps down
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>"I gotta pick up some folks who came by earlier but I should be back in about half an hour"
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>You note a tall post with a vibrant red bulb on top.
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23.
>"Sounds good" you say before dropping a few bits into a little cup mounted on the back of the sleigh"
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>"See ya then!" you say as he pulls away.
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>You turn to see Taku is already examining trees
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>"How do you know which trees are good or not?" Taku asks just before sniffing a tree
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>It's clear she doesn't get /out/ very often
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>"Well" you start
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>"Depends on what your looking for in a tree"
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>She doesn't look any more enlightened
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>"We're looking for a tree that's not too tall and not too wide, like not too much taller than this"
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>You stretch your arm upwards as far as you can.
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>"And not much wider than this" you form a large circle with your arms.
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>"I see.." she says as she looks over the tree she just sniffed
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>"Don't worry, I'll let you know when we come across a good one"
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>You didn't really know too much about picking a good tree as you probably lead her to believe, but this was more about giving Taku a nice day out of the house.
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37.
>You just went from tree to tree looking them over briefly before watching Taku do the same.
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>However she seemed to get distracted by birds and squirrels for the most part.
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>You start looking at one tree when you hear Taku call to you
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>"Look at this one Anon!"
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>You look over and see her pointing at a tree
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>Seems like a good enough tree as far as you can tell
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>You look it over a bit, checking for anything you think stands out
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>"Looks you picked a winner Taku"
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>She gives you big smile, her braces gleaming in the winter sun
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>"Now to cut it down"
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47.
>Setting down the bag you begin to open it up
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>"I got this!" Taku exclaims pulling the bag from under you
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>Odd
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>You've never seen her do anything relating to the outdoors besides reading some mangas about camping
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>She's probably never even held an sa- that's not a saw
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52.
>Taku pulled a katana from from the tool bag
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>"What are you going to do with that?"
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>"I'm going to cut down this tree!" She declares before unsheathing her blade and taking hold of it with her mouth.
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>"T-Taku!" you shout to her as she prepares her attack
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>But it's too late
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>"KAMAITATCHI NO KAZE!!!"
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>With that she dashes towards the tree flying through the air just above the ground landing and skidding several yards from the tree.
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>"Oh damn..."
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>"Impreshive washn't it Anon?" Seems only now the sword is impending her speech
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>Approaching the tree with a grimace you answer "I mean... I guess that was impressive"
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>"I mean it washn't a Kaze no Kizu but shtill pretty cool"
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>"Well I mean... you did get the blade halfway through the tree before it snapped, that's actually pretty impressive"
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>"HUH!?"
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>Her eyes slowly look down to the sword in her mouth before drifting towards where the blade used to be.
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>A moment of shock before she gently removed the sword from her mouth and held it in her hooves looking at it in disbelief
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>Tears starting to well up in her eyes
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>"Hey hey..." you pull her in for a hug "That was still an impressive move... that Kamigawa no... it was really cool and I didn't know you could move like that!"
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>She's still pretty distraught over her sword and not in a talking mood
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>Carefully you remove the blade from the trunk of the tree and finish the tree off with a saw.
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>The rest of the day Taku was in a pretty dour mood
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>Every once in a while you'd hear her mutter "idiot" which meant something was really wrong
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>Normally when she made mistakes she'd call herself "Baka" in presumably jest
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>But seems there was nothing in jest about this
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>She didn't seem to interested in decorating the tree either.
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>She just lay there under her fancy blanket table, a kotatsu or something like that you think it's called, looking sad.
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>Laying down beside her and getting under the ko-whatsit you talk with her
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>"What's the matter? are you still upset about breaking your katana?"
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>She nods
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>"I can get you another one! I'll pick one up at-"
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>"It's not the same!" She huffs before turning over to face away from you.
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>"What do you mean? Isn't it the same kind of sword they sell at-"
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>"Floor Bored gave me that one!"
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>"Oh..."
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>Taku rolls back over
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>"She got it for me when my dog Ein died on my birthday"
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>"Now Floor will think I'm stupid for breaking her present..."
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>"Oh well... I... we..."
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>"I don't want to talk about it anymore" She says rolling back over.
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>"O-okay..."
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>Taku fell asleep shortly after leaving you to think about that sword
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>Thinking about the sword just bummed you out
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>Nowhere near as much as Taku but enough to warrant a distraction
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>You pick up the remote from the table and start looking for something to watch
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>News... don't know know... don't know... History... Cartoons... News....
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>Wait a minute
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>You go back to the history channel to see large cubic furnace.
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>You watch a bit longer to see it's how the Neighponese make the iron for their swords
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>If only you could go to Neighpon, you aren't even sure you could travel there.
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>Oh wait...
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>As the documentary goes on they show that the region this is taking place in is actually part of Equestria, and seemingly within reach of a train.
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>You wonder if maybe...
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>It's worth a shot
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>You wake up the next morning bright and early
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>Taku is still asleep under the table
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>After removing the other tools you grab the bag with the broken sword and make your way to the train station
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>It takes a while but you find a train going to Neighpon and it seems to be a slightly longer ride than you anticipated
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>Must be nice to be an otaku in Equestria, you can just take a train ride for your dream vacation instead of spending thousands of dollars to fly across the globe
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>The train stops in a rather rural looking area
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>You waste no time trying to find a swordsmith once you get off the train
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>There is just one issue
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>You can't speak neighponese
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>Running around like a madman you try to find a pony who understands you
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>Nothing
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>Sitting down on a bench you take a breather and think
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>A pony and presumably her daughter sit down next to you
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>"Daijōbudesuka?" she says
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>"Do you speak english?" you ask knowing full well the answer
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>"Ah..." she looks a bit saddened she can't understand you
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>"Figures..." you mutter
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>Her attention turns to her daughter who is coloring in a book
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>Wait a minute!
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>Looking around you spot a wrapper of some kind and gesture to the filly to borrow a crayon
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>The mother looks at you confused as you scrawl across the wrapper
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>You then show her the crude drawing you made of a pony with a hammer hitting something and then holding up a sword
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>"Oh! KatanKaji!" she exclaims
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>She hold out her hoof gesturing towards the wrapper and crayon
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>Crayon in mouth she carefully draws out what seems to be a map and hands it back you to you.
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>You stand up and bolt up, shouting back "Domo Arigato Mrs. Roboto!"
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>She waves at you looking a little confused.
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>Following the map leads you to small building on the outskirts of town
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>The front door is open so you peak inside
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>Inside is a middle aged pegasus stallion sitting in a rocking chair watching a small tv and puffing away on a pipe
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>He takes notice of you
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>"Nandeshou?" he asks sharply
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>Shit, you didn't think about how you'd communicate with this guy
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>You pull out the sword pieces and show them
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>"Can you fix this?" you ask
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>"Oh, a foreigner... in more ways than one I see..." he says getting up.
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>"Hand it over" he says.
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>You hand him the two pieces and he carefully examines them
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>The swordsmith begins to look angry and confused
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>"What in Tartarus is this? It's all one piece!" he says looking at the broken ends.
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>"How'd you break it? cutting sticks in the backyard?"
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>Looking down to avoid his judgmental gaze "My friend uhh... she tried to cut down a Hearths Warming tree with it..."
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>silence
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>"With this?!"
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>"She did get halfway through it..." you sheepishly reply
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>silence again
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>You look up to see him looking at the handle
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>"That is actually rather impressive" he remarks after a moment "considering how it appears to have been made..."
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>"is it fixable?" you ask "It was a gift for my friend from her childhood friend"
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>The smith turns his gaze from you to the broken sword and contemplates
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>"A gift huh..." he lets out a large puff of smoke "Normally I'd tell ya to throw such a... thing... out. But seeing as it was a special gift..."
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>He thinks on it a bit
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>"I can't really fix it... but I can reforge it into an actual katana and not whatever poor imitation it used to be. The hilt will still be weird though..."
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>"Really?!" you exclaim.
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>"For 300 bits"
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>It's a steep price but you can afford it
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>"Deal!"
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>"Thankfully for you business ain't what it used to be these days so I got plenty of time for it. Beats making kitchen utensils anyway" he says as he takes the pieces into his workshop
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>"When should I pick it up?!" You shout
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>He stick his head out from the workshop door
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>"Oh... uh..." he lets out a few puffs of smoke as he mumbles to himself
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>"This time Tommorow" he says before disappearing.
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>You hear a sudden burst of fire followed by it's dull roar
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>"O-ok, see ya then" you shout back, unsure if he heard you.
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>You decide to pick up dinner while you're here, Taku would probably really appreciate some genuine Neighpon food today.
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>Unfortunately the sword set you back a bit so you can't get anything super fancy but She probably won't mind.
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>You get some curry and yams before boarding the train back home.
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>Probably shouldn't tell Taku you went to Neighpon without her.
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>You get home as it starts to get dark
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>"Where did you go Anon?" Taku asks.
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>She still looks rather depressed
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>"I got dinner" you say holding up the bag. "It's Neighponeeese" shaking it a bit
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>She perks up a little bit hearing that.
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>Thankfully she doesn't seem to think too much about why it needed to be reheated
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>You spend the rest of the night watching .Hack//Roots with Taku before going to bed
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>The next day you wake Taku up
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>"Taku, wake up! I got a surprise for you!"
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>"Huh..?" Taku rubs her eyes before putting on her glasses
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>"Surprise? what kind of surprise?"
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>"Just get up and come with me"
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>Taku Sluggishly gets out of bed and follows you out
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>She seems confused until you get to the train station where she sees where the two of you are going
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>She practically bounces in her seat the whole ride
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>There is still plenty of time before the sword is ready so you and Taku spend the day going to various stores and food stalls.
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>The two of you take a break from all the shopping and dining on a bench
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>"Taku is sitting beside you kicking her hooves as she reads a manga she bought
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>You check your watch
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>Looks like it's time
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>"Ready for the real surprise?"
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>Her face darts from her manga to meet your gaze
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>"There's more?!"
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>"c'mon, it should be ready now" you say as you get up.
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>Taku follows you to the swordsmith's shop
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>"What's this place?" She asks
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>"Hm, oh! A customer." says a voice from the back
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>Out steps the swordsmith letting out a puff of smoke from his pipe.
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>"OH! you're back!"
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>Taku looks confused
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>"And I take it this is your friend who cut the tree"
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>Taku is visibly embarrassed
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>"Who is this and why did you tell him THAT?!"
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>The smith laughs
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>"Surprised you did as well as that fellow said with that thing, and I think you'll have better success with..."
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>He graciously places the katana on the counter before Taku "This!"
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>Taku begins vibrating with excitement
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>"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" She shouts before kissing both you and surprisingly the smith on the cheek before grabbing the sword and bolting out the door.
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>The smith stares at the door before composing himself
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>"Eh um... Well... glad she likes it"
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>Taku's face pops back into view "C'mon Anon we gotta go!"
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>"Go where?" you ask confused
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>"REVENGE!" she shouts before bolting off again
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>"Uhh... well thank you." You say as you start to follow Taku
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>"Glad to be of help" the smith says before he sits down in front of his TV
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>"Much more fun than making cutlery at least"
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>You barely keep up with Taku as she bolts onto the train
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>You get on and seemingly lose sight of her
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>"T-Taku?" you ask as you get on
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>Over here
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>Taku is in a seat wearing a cloak sakkat
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>"Where did you get those?" you ask
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>Don't worry about it
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>"Where are we going now" you ask sitting down next to her.
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>"Revenge..."
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>Taku that doesn't...Wait... the Christmas tree farm?"
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>She nods
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>Oh jeez
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>The rest of the ponies on the train stare at Taku, but she either doesn't care or doesn't notice.
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>The ride feels a lot longer with ponies staring at the two of you like that.
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>A few more awkward transits later you find yourself in the back of a sleigh heading up a hill.
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>"Whelp, here we are" says the pony pulling the sleigh.
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>The two of you dismount and Taku walks off
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>"Say... didn't you folks already get a tree?" The pony asks
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>"Oh uh... we're getting a tree for a relative" You reply
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>"Ah, of course, of course" he says "Well, I'll be back to get ya in 20 minutes"
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>"Sure Sure" you reply as you catch up to Taku.
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>Taku looks around.
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>"Taku, is this a good idea?" You ask
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>Seemingly ignoring you she looks around
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>Her eyes lock on one tree in particular
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>"YOU!"
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>She casts her robe and hat aside
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>"Why did you wear those if your were just going to throw them aside?"
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>She unsheathes her sword
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>"KAMAITATCHI NO KAZE!!!"
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>Once again she bolts through the air landing past the tree skidding a little ways away.
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>"Taku!" You run towards her.
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>You stop a ways away
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>Taku turns to you
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>The sword is still intact
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>"Whew..."
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>But the tree is still upright.
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>Taku sheathes her sword
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>"Did... did you actually hit it?" you ask examining the tree
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>Taku closes her eyes
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>"Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru..."
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>"Huh?"
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>Suddenly the tree shifts and a moment later falls over onto you
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>"I did it!" Taku says jumping up and down
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>"Uhgg... you sure did..." you say climbing out from under the tree brushing pine needles off
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>You look at the stump of the tree
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>A perfect cut
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>"Wow you really did it"
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>"Yup and now we can go home!" Taku exclaims as she trots towards the path.
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>"What are w gonna do with this though" you ask
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>"with what?" she replies
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>"This" you say pointing at the downed tree
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>"oh yeah..." Taku says
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>"Oh we can give it to Floor!"
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>Guess that works, plus she can brag about how she cut it down to Floor
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>You grab the tree along with Taku's costume she threw off.
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>Taku rubs against you as you walk back "Thanks for getting my katana fixed Anon, it means a lot to me"
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>"I know you'd do the same for me" you say patting her head
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>"Looks like we have a good while to wait before he comes back" you note
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>"That's fine" she yawns "Gives me time to rest.
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>With that she leans against you
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>You sit down and let her rest leaning against you as you wait for the sleigh pony to return and you two can enjoy the rest of the season together.
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End
by scraggleman
by scraggleman
by scraggleman
by scraggleman
by scraggleman