I have literally played this game for about an hour, and I had the idea for this fic completely randomly several hours later.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest Moon franchise, the characters, blah blah this is really just a formality.
A young man with light brown hair let out a sigh as he strolled through the small town of Konohana. His name was Philip, and he was feeling less than pleased with how the last few days had played out.
For starters, in an effort to avoid trampling a fox on his way to start up a farm, Philip had accidentally steered his horse off the side of a mountain. The resulting fall had injured his horse, destroyed the cart carrying all of his belongings, and knocked him unconcious for who knows how long before two people came to his aid. Things got a little brighter when he learned that his rescuers were the mayors of two nearby towns that were willing to let him stay free of charge. His good cheer quickly diminished that evening when he realized he wouldn't have been able to pay anyway since his wallet had disappeared to parts unknown some time earlier.
The next morning, Philip was treated to a surprise visit from the Harvest Goddess herself. Thinking her appearance was some sort of divine blessing, he was decidedly miffed when the goddess explained that she actually wanted him to somehow end the feuding between Konohana and Bluebell. Wondering what he had gotten himself into, Philip got to work planting the seeds Mayor Ina had given him. Afterwards, he decided to explore his new home and meet the locals.
Another of the reasons he was so down at the moment.
Among other people, Philip had met a blacksmith that dressed up as a panda for some reason, a general store owner whose clothing suggested he originated from somewhere completly different, and an old lady who ran a tea house. What stuck out most to Philip was the apparent lack of girls his own age. So far, he had only met one: Nori, a young woman who helped out at her grandfather's farm.
With only one building left to visit, Philip left Yun's (the aforementioned old lady) tea house and followed the path to the south. With his hands in his pockets and a stone he kicked along as he walked, Philip failed to notice the woman going the other way until he had already taken several steps past her. His head shot up and he quickly retraced his steps so that he was walking backwards slightly ahead of this newest stranger.
"Can I help you?" the young lady asked. She wore a blue-green dress with detached sleeves and a sash around her waist. She also had a matching headband over dark brown hair that hung in braids past her shoulders, and her grass-green eyes were narrowed in suspicion at the man in front of her.
Philip smiled as he introduced himself. "My name's Philip. I just moved in yesterday, so I was introducing myself to my new neighbors. I assume that includes you."
The girl relaxed and returned his smile. "I'm Reina. I'm a botanist, and I live with my uncle Mako at his orchard."
"A botanist, huh? So you study plants?"
Reina nodded. "That's right."
"Cool. I'm actually a farmer, so maybe you know some secrets you could give me on growing- Augh!"
Since Philip had been walking backwards during the entire conversation, he never noticed that he was approaching the hedges in front of Dr. Ayame's clinic until he tripped over them and landed flat on his back. Reina giggled as she held out a hand to help the farmer up.
"It was nice meeting you, Philip," she said as she released her grip. "I hope you enjoy living here in Konohana."
Philip thanked her, and watched as she started toward the town hall.
Suddenly, she stopped and took something out of a bag tied to her sash saying, "By the way, I found this yesterday while I was coming home from the mountains. Is it yours?"
The item in question turned out to be Philip's missing wallet. He opened it up to find that everything that had been inside was still there. He thanked Reina again, and she nodded politely before continuing up the path.
Oh yeah, Philip thought to himself. I think I will enjoy living here.
There we go, short and sweet. Review, add it to your favorites if you're feeling particularly generous, I'm going to sleep now.
