#thread 021

although it was a far cry from the open fields beyond the citadel, mitsutada rather enjoyed the plots of land allocated to the various apartment buildings in the city. it was rather saddening, however, that so many of the city’s residents didn’t seem to care all too much for how their allotments grew, whether their vegetable patches thrived or suffered beneath the weight of a surprise arson attack. it became a sort of hobby for him, to visit the planters and feed them a drop of water, spray a little fertilisers and rake across the seeds in the neighbourhood patches, time after time getting to know each plot of land and thus nurturing the land back to health.

on a day when the sun was particularly warm, with his gloves and trowel in hand the tachi set to work upon the soft soil just beyond the cafe, the lush green of sector six rolling off into the hills beyond the quaint establishment. he began with tomatoes, as those were perhaps the first to ripen from the plot itself. he pulled one vine free of its brothers and pulled apart the cherry red vegetables from their stems, gathering them in the small basket at his side. whilst it was easy work, nothing unlike what he was used to before, he missed the company of the citadel for those hours, the conversations they would share.

ah, but little did he know, he was not alone. a rustle in the cabbage patch caught his attention and mitsutada’s single eyes focused upon it in a flash, hands stilling as he waited for movement. RUSTLE RUSTLE. something was there, but as mitsutada rose to his feet to see, the sound of footsteps caught him off-guard. he turned to see a stranger, a young woman short of breath, ambling up the hill towards him.