Akira_and_the_Beanstalk.doc
"You're a no-good waste of space, boy!" The grumpy owner of LeBlanc Farms furrowed his brow, giving the black-haired delinquint farmhand his sternest stare. "I asked you to sell one cow for something worthwhile, and you bring me back coffee beans?!" The middle-aged man gestured to the plantation outside. "WE ALREADY HAVE COFFEE BEANS, YOU IDIOT!"
Akira made a motion to explain his purchase, and how the market vendor had promised him that the beans were magical, but Sojiro would have none of the insolent boy's word. The man had already thrown the 'useless beans' out of the window.
"Now shut up and get to bed," Sojiro growled, red in the face. "We'll talk about your punishment in the morning."
*
"Hm, this seems familiar..." Yusuke muttered to himself.
"If the title is an indicator, it's based on a Western fairy tale," Makoto explained. "This is the instance where 'Jack', the farm boy, is given magic beans that create a beanstalk that reaches to the sky."
Haru bounced up on the spot as her memory was jogged. "Oh, I remember that one as a child! It was always one of my favorites."
"Yes, but who would the giant be...?" Makoto asked herself.
The Phantom Thieves looked amongst themselves, wondering who would get the unflattering role (or if the role would be revamped in some devious way...)
"Well, one way to find out..." Ryuji said, before scrolling further down the document.
*
The following morning, Akira did what he did every morning - he went to his window and stared out at the plantation of coffee beans. The scent was the perfect thing to wake him up so early.
This morning, he didn't know if he was still dreaming or not.
The beanstalk reached higher than anything Akira could ever dream of. As a peasant boy graciously taken in by Sojiro, he had only scarcely seen one or two watchtowers or lighthouses in his life. This monstrously massive flora reached higher than any manmade structure, up and up to the clouds themselves.
The boy rushed down the stairs and straight outside, only to find an agape Sojiro already standing by the stalk's base. The two shared in their stunned silence before Akira finally brought himself to his senses and cleared his throat.
"I think I deserve an apology," Akira asked.
"Apology?!" Sojiro spun around, the redness returning to his face in an instant. "For ruining my gardens?!"
Akira glanced around the angry man. Sure enough, he hadn't noticed that the beanstalk grew straight through a patch of coffee crops, bulldozing them in the process. "Well, I mean, you were the one who threw-"
"Don't talk back to me, young man!" Sojiro interrupted. "This is all your doing!" The man grit his teeth. "If you want to have a bed to sleep in by the end of today, you better get up that beanstalk and see if this abomination actually grew anything worthwhile!"
Akira craned his neck, incredulous at the task ahead of him. The end of the beanstalk seemed like an impossible destination. "And if I don't find anything...?"
Sojiro crossed his arms. "Then don't bother coming back down."
Akira gulped.
*
"Man, Futaba really knows how to write her old man," Ryuji commented.
"I feel it's somewhat exaggerated," said Yusuke, shaking his head. "Though it could perhaps be to better suit the role given."
Ann turned to Akira. "I dunno, what'd you think?"
"No comment," was Akira's automatic response. Morgana snickered under his breath.
*
Knowing that there was no other option if he wanted somewhere to live by the end of the day, and admittedly curious to see what these 'magic beans' were leading him towards, Akira took a deep breath and began his arduous climb to the skies.
[DO CLIMBING SCENE LATER. TOO SLEEPY RIGHT NOW. -F]
*
Ryuji scoffed. "Lazy."
*
Akira panted and heaved as he finally crawled his way to the peak of the green tower. His arms and legs felt like they had turned to mush and the thin air made every breath a difficult one. He was so tired, he didn't even question how he could flop onto a cloud and have it take his weight as if it were solid.
The sight he did question was the gigantic castle in the distance.
"Now could live in a place like that...?" Akira wondered to himself. Given the size of the castle, they would have to be gigantic to size, but how could this giant possibly be...?  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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