A/N- Hello! Now before I start, I want to say that I have nothing personal against the character of Kai, but when this story popped into my head I knew I couldn't make Kai with a good impression, especially with this first part being in Rick's pov. So to all you Kai-lovers out there, this story might not be for you, but I'd be obliged if someone would read my story.
Please R&R. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Harvest Moon, Natsume does! (Whew! That's done with).

Unwanted

Chapter One-A Bad Beginning

Rick stares at the pitiful, five-year-old boy staring out the window of the Poultry Farm, his nephew, Danny, which he sometimes dares to call "the product of a scoundrel." But he was also the product of his sister, Popuri's naive nature. If only she'd believed me, he thinks, if only she'd believed me about that scoundrel, Kai. He blames himself constantly about the small, depressed child and if only to make up for Danny's misery, he treats him as his own. Whenever someone asks him, "Why is that child so unhappy?" He thinks to himself, there enlies the tale, a tale that he actually bothered to write down in his spare time. He picks up his notebook and reads:

It all started about ten years ago, in Mineral Town of course, when a lady's-man teenager showed up from down south. He had a striking, purple bandana tied tightly around his head that partly revealed his short, black hair. He was none other than Kai. The minute I saw him I knew that he was a trouble, but I figured I had nothing to worry about. That was obviously before Popuri met him.
He "innocently" stopped by our house one day, and "hello" was all it took to make Popuri eat her heart out. From that day on all of Popuri's free time was spent at his shop, The Seaside Lodge (some lodge!) at Mineral Beach. This first came to my attention when I overheard Manna the motor mouth talking about "that sweet teenager at the beach." Manna may talk a mile a minute, but sometimes her chitchat can be helpful. Needless to say in this case it was.
I angrily stomped over to the beach to deal with Kai once and for all. I found Popuri and Kai "talking," and realized that it was only a matter of time before Kai had her completely wrapped around his finger. In my well-known hotheaded fashion I told Kai off. Yikes!
"Get off my sister!" I screamed.
"What are you her keeper, Ricky?" Ooh that really hit close to home, but then something unexpected happened as I stood in front of Popuri.
"Rick go away!" Popuri resisted stepping beside Kai and ganging up on me. What! Kai gave me one of those evil smirks of his, which made me want to slug him.
"Well, if I'm not wanted here, I'll just get back to work," Kai remarked slinking off. It was all part of his plan to get Popuri to hate me, and it worked pretty well, for Popuri went after him.
"Wait Kai!" But he was already gone. "Oh Rick! I hate you! I'll get you for this!" I ran as fast as I could back home, but Popuri cornered me just before I could enter the house. "Why Rick, why?" She was about to cry. I didn't know what to say. To be truthful, I didn't quite know why at that particular moment. "Are just jealous? Are you just jealous because I might've found someone?" At that moment she broke out in tears and ran off. I almost went after her, but decided that I'd better not and entered the house.
"What was that all about?" my mother, Lillia asked with a quizzical expression on her face.
"Oh that Kai!" I was so mad I felt like just going over and pulverizing that devilish Kai, but I figured that if I did that Popuri would NEVER forgive me.
"Oh Rick, she's only sixteen. Don't worry about that." Oh Mom. She just never understood things. Dad always listened to me, but then he had to go abandon us all by going off to search for a cure for Mom's disease. Well back to the story, I gave Mom a helpless look. Why was everyone disagreeing with me?
"Mom, now she hates me! I feel like a heartless jerk, but I was just trying to protect her!" Mom just shook her head knowingly.
"Don't worry, Rick. She'll get over it. You know how she is." I couldn't believe it. Everyone was against me, and to make matters worse, everyone loved the "sweet, charming" Kai. What could I do? Nothing.
I watched helplessly through the months as Kai continued to weave Popuri into his vile plan. It was as if I was sitting tied up in a chair, and the criminal, Kai was manipulating things before my eyes. I was powerless to stop anything. I think once I even had a dream that Kai brainwashed the whole town. The real situation wasn't that much different though. Popuri and I continued to quarrel, and Mom continued to shake things off and pretend that nothing was wrong.
Then it happened. It didn't come as much of a surprise. I knew it was going to happen sometime, but it still made me furious. Not only did Kai torment me by damaging my relationship with my family, but also he did it slowly, painfully, just like a panther coming in for the kill. On Summer 1, Pastor Carter married Kai and Popuri in the church. Little did Carter know that he was an accessory in an evil plan. As predictable as ever, Kai whisked Popuri away to his partial, southern home, but when she came back her life would never be the same. It was the bad beginning that would soon lead to the sad birth and abandonment of poor Danny.
When Popuri returned next summer, it was not a surprise to me to find that Kai hadn't accompanied her, but what happened next really shocked me.
When Popuri walked through our door, she had a tiny baby cradled in her arms...Danny, but something was wrong. Most new mothers were joyous and happy, but Popuri just sat there with her head turned away from her baby. We had to force her to feed it, but most of the time we feeding it ended up anyway. She was so distraught that she scarcely ever looked at little Danny, and when she finally did reveal her problem to us it was too late. She left a letter on the table the next day. It read:

Dear Mom and Rick,
Thanks so much for taking the baby and me in. I was going to tell you this in person, but it would've been too painful. Kai left me despite the fact I gave him a son. Actually I think it was the baby itself that led him to abandon me. I cannot say that I leave this baby with you with a clear conscience, but I must get Kai to take me back. Love you both and take care.

Popuri

The one thing, the only thing that surprised me was that she neglected to call her own baby Danny. Nothing else came as a shock, to me that is. The whole village was shocked stiff with Kai's crude behavior, Popuri's wild goose chase, and the abandonment of a small, helpless child. I almost wanted to wave my finger in front of everyone and holler, "I told you so," but I knew it wouldn't help now. Popuri was gone, possibly forever.

Rick solemnly closed his notebook, and carefully put it with all the things that he treasured the most in a loose board in the floor. He planned to give the notebook to Danny when he came of age because giving it to him now would just overwhelm him and make him think it was his fault. The poor child had enough to deal with already, not to mention his mother's pink hair, a vivid memory he couldn't destroy.