Rise of the Gamer [Hiatus]

Chapter 5

~~ 1 Week Later ~~

Staring was considered to be rude, or so I remember being told in my previous life. But this was my home and all these people were strangers. So, stare I did. I stared at this guy. I stared at that lady. I stared at the various items being carried around. I stared wide-eyed at it all.

'Who are all these people? Where did they even come from? What are they doing here? What's going on? What is he carrying? Why is she so loud? What are those? What's Kaa-san saying to that man? Who is that? Oh look, horses! What is that man even wearing?'

An assortment of questions flowed through my excited little mind as I continued staring and trying to figure out this latest development in my new life. It was chaotic. It was loud. There were so many people just milling around. It felt like I was at a state fair, only lacking the deep-fried candy bars.

'I can't really see much from this angle. I wish Ojii-san was taller, then I would be able to see what all these people were doing. Chest-height point of view kind of sucks, all I see are people's backs and what do those boxes even contain? And would this annoying unknown woman please stop pinching my cheeks! What the hell? That was like the second time too! How would you like it if I pinched your cheeks lady? That's right, walk away. Fear me. Fear the annoyed baby.'

We were currently in a part of the farm that I had never been to before. It seemed to be a rather large courtyard of some kind that was surrounded by a single-story building that appeared to have been built in a horseshoe shape, with a dirt path that led out of the opening into the grasslands beyond and a forest at the end of it.

'What's this place anyway? Are we still on the farm? It doesn't look like a farm. And why do we have a dirt road? Where's the actual road road? And where are all the trucks and stuff? Don't farms always have trucks? Oh wait, Amish-style farmers. Right, that explains all the horses and buggies. I've never seen an Amish horse buggy in real life before. This one seems rather large for a buggy. Almost like a horse caravan of some sort, like those used on the Oregon Trail but fancier.'

Watching the seemingly hundreds of people busily moving around, I was distracted by the sound of high-pitched laughter. Turning my head in the direction of the laughter, I was greeted by the sight of all my siblings and both my grandmothers making their way towards us. One of my older siblings stood out from the rest due to her being the only one wearing clothes that wasn't coated in dirt. She was wearing a mid-thigh length qipao that was black with a red cherry blossom pattern sweeping across it and what appeared to be black bicycle shorts underneath, the waist-high slits on both sides of the dress allowing me to spot this particular detail. The splendid look was ruined by her carrying her wooden farming instrument in her left hand. In fact, all of my sisters excluding Kiyoko and Rumi were each carrying their own wooden farming instruments.

'I wonder what they're all so excited about. Qipao Sister seems to be the most excited, she's been smiling non-stop. Oh, here comes Kaa-san. I wonder what Kaa-san is saying to Qipao Sister. Forward Ojii-san, forward! I can't hear anything from here!'

Reaching out with my arms and making baby noises had no effect on Ojii-san, the sound of the crowd drowning out my attempts at communication. Kaa-san gestured to someone, causing a man to appear out of the crowds. He then made his way towards Kaa-san, passing her a black object of some kind. Taking the object from the man, Kaa-san then reached out for the wooden farming instrument in Qipao Sister's hand before promptly fusing both objects together.