The spring rain fell steadily from the grey skies, nourishing the rich green plants and blossoming flowers that lay scattered across the quaint town of Konohana. A small stream ran through the town, and on the edge of its banks stood a young woman dressed in a floral pink dress. Her long black hair swayed gently and dried underneath the blue umbrella that she carried. Nori had always like taking walks in the rain- there was a certain peace to it, at least to her. She would help her grandfather, Gombe, manage the seed shop, but on days where she would relax, she would either spend her time at Yun's teahouse or simply take a stroll around Konohana, gazing at the cherry blossoms and other exquisite plants around town.
Nori watched as the raindrops created hundreds of ripples in the stream, unaware of what was about to happen next. There was the sound of a yelp, but she didn't notice it at first. Then the sounds of tree twigs snapped. A startled bird chirped loudly as it fluttered away.
"Move, bird!" she heard a male's voice yell.
The sounds of several squirrels chattered as she heard them fleeing.
"And don't think about comin' here again, Bluebeller!" she heard another man's voice yell, who sounded a lot like Mako.
Another snap of a twig, followed by a small 'ouch', and she began to realize the sound was coming from the other side. She heard footsteps approaching closer, pushing past the thickets and wild plants that covered the other side, so she could not see who was approaching. And then, like a flash, a young man came tumbling out of the undergrowth, leaping high into the air, as if he were sprinting.
"Geronimo!" he yelled as he leapt across the stream. Except that he didn't.
Instead, he plunged deep into the waters. The whole scene shocked Nori and she contemplated whether what she saw was real or not. Then the young man plopped his head out of the water, gasping for air as he rose up to the surface. Both of the individuals then made contact with each other. She stared at the soaking wet man, his drenched brown hair covering his eyes and his khaki clothes saturated in water. He looked so comical, the young woman couldn't help but crack a smile before slowly chuckling, then finally bursting into laughter.
"What's so funny?" he yelled as he stood waist deep, his face fluttering red.
Nori was unable to speak as she continued laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh," the young man scowled as he made his way out of the water, his face still red.
Nori was finally able to catch her breath. "I-I'm so sorry. I really am. It's just- I wasn't expecting that."
As she spoke, the young man heaved himself onto the bank. Each step he took made a distinct squish sound from his boots. She contained herself from not laughing at the young man's squishing boots. He was about to speak, but was interrupted when he yelped with pain, with his hands clinching between his legs. Nori watched in shock as he pulled a fish out from underneath his trouser and tossed it angrily back into the river. The whole thing looked like something straight out from a cartoon show, and she began laughing again.
The young man frowned, too embarrassed to say anything else. As he began walking away, Nori stopped laughing and tried to stop him.
"Wait!" she called out. "Where are you going?"
"Away," he replied without turning around. "I've had just about enough of this whole place."
She walked after him as she tried to stop him. "B-but you can't go looking like that. Please wait."
The young man stopped and turned around to face her. His drenched clothes had torn in several places, apparently from running through the thickets. In short, he looked down right miserable.
"Come to my place," Nori insisted. "I'll get you dried up, stitch your torn clothes up, and get you some new ones."
The young man eyed her skeptically. "Why?"
She gave him a sympathetic look, even as he eyed her warily. "Because I feel awful for laughing. I didn't mean to. So, let me make it up to you, please?"
The young man sighed heavily, unwilling to accept her offer. She was quite generous, however; he hadn't met anyone as nice as her ever since moving.
"Alright," he quietly conceded.
Nori smiled brightly as she moved closer to him to place her umbrella over him. "No point in getting anymore wet. This way, please," she pointed.
"So what's your name?" Nori asked him as they both walked under her umbrella.
"Uh, Phillip," he stuttered. "And you?"
"Nori," she replied, smiling. "So, Phillip, I don't believe I recognize you. Are you new here?"
"Kinda," he replied. "I moved to Bluebell about a month ago."
"Ah, so you're that new farmer I've heard about," she said. "So then what brings you to Konohana on such a rainy day?"
Phillip's face immediately shot red. "It's a long story," he said, laughing a bit.
Nori raised an eyebrow. "Is it really?"
"Yeah," he replied, fluttering even more. "It's not my first time in Konohana, though."
"Oh," she said. "Well, I'm sure you must be busy if you must've come all the way from Bluebell."
"You could say that," Phillip said.
"And here we are," Nori pointed as soon as they had arrived. Luckily, Nori's house wasn't far, and so they arrived quickly. It was a small place, no bigger than a hut, and even resembled one, but cozy and dry enough.
"So this is your house?" Phillip asked her as they entered.
"It's my grandfather's, actually," Nori said, drying off her umbrella. "I help him sell crop seeds here."
"Wait, you grandfather?!" Phillip asked, frantically looking around.
"He's at the town hall, doing errands," she assured him. "And besides, he doesn't mind having guests over."
"Oh, I see," he said, calming down.
"Follow me to the back room," she pointed.
They both entered a door that lead to another room. There was a shelf full of seeds and various potted plants. There was also a sewing table next to a drawer and a rack of old clothes.
Nori pulled a pair of rugged jeans and a white t-shirt from the drawer. She then grabbed a blue vest off the rack and a pair of brown sneakers from underneath the shelf, handing all the items to him.
"Here," she said. "And take this towel, too. Go upstairs to my room, dry yourself, and bring your old clothes to me."
"A-are you sure?" Phillip stammered.
"I wouldn't be if I hadn't brought you here," she said.
Phillip sighed as he left the room with the new, dried clothes in his arms. He walked up the stairs and entered through the first door in what appeared to be Nori's room, decorated with pink ornaments and painted with floral patterns. As he dried himself and changed into the new clothes, he couldn't help but feel shameful and uncomfortable standing in a girl's room.
When he came back, he saw Nori handling a kettle, pouring hot liquid into a small cup.
"You know, that outfit doesn't look bad on you," she complimented him.
"Uh, thanks?" Phillip stuttered.
"Have some tea," she said. "It'll take a while before I get finished fixing your old clothes."
He handed her his clothes and she handed him the small cup. He watched her silently as she dried his old clothes and sewn them up, sipping the tea from time to time.
"I, uh," Phillip began, trying to start a conversation. "I don't suppose you know a Reina?"
"Of course I do," Nori smiled. "We've known each other for a long time. We especially like talking about plants. She's had an interest in them, and even studied everything about them at one point."
"Oh," Phillip said, looking down at his cup.
"Why do you ask?" she asked rather curiously.
"Uh," Phillip hesitated as he tried to come up with an answer. "Y-you see, I live all the way in Bluebell, but there's a reason why I come to Konohana."
Nori's curiosity was piqued even more. "Why's that?"
Phillip took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I… kinda like her."
Nori eyes widened. "Who? Reina?"
Phillip shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah… but I don't know if she likes me. I know for a fact her uncle, Mako, doesn't."
Now it made sense to Nori; while she was at the banks, she heard Mako's voice screaming at someone, and that someone was Phillip.
"Did he… chase you?" she asked.
"More like threatened," Phillip chuckled. "You would run, too, if he was chasing after you with a rake."
Nori slipped out a chuckle, but held herself. "Oh my, that's terrible."
Phillip shrugged. "I just… I'm not sure what to do. Reina seems cold, but I know there's more to her, and I see that everytime I see her."
"Well, have you tried giving her gifts?" Nori asked. "She especially likes the wild flowers that grow on the mountain. You can find them easily, and she'll accept them, more than likely."
"Say, that's not a bad idea," Phillip smiled. "I guess that's why she was so uncomfortable the first time."
"First time?" Nori asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She mentioned about how she didn't have many friends," Phillip began explaining, his look becoming more sincere. "She seemed rather sad when she spoke, and I wanted to reassure her."
Nori's eyes shot wide open. "Did you kiss her?"
"Oh, no!" Phillip cried. "I did what I thought would comfort her; I gave her a pat on the back and said, 'there, there, it'll be okay'. It worked with other people, and I thought it would work with her, but then she lashed out at me!"
Nori dropped a dead expression. She understood his intentions, but she knew that something like Phillip did would make Reina react rather negatively- and she was quite the negative girl!
"So she screamed for Mako, and, well, he thought I was up to no good, and chased me out," Phillip explained.
"Phillip, even I know that's not a way to comfort someone, especially with Reina," Nori told him.
"Well, what else should I have done?" he asked.
"You've known her for a month," she said. "You could've tried to kiss her."
"I… what?!" he exclaimed.
"Reina is cold, it's true," Nori explained. "But I think you've opened her heart, from what you've explained. I think she was waiting for you to, you know, take action."
"You mean kiss her?" he asked. "But I don't know how. I've never kissed anybody before."
"Well," Nori said as she stood up from the sewing table. "I can show you."
"W-what?" Phillip stammered, his face becoming hot red again.
"Relax, it's nothing that special," she explained. "A kiss is merely a greeting. It only means something if you want it to."
"I…" Phillips stuttered. "I guess so."
"Here," Nori said as she stood closer to him. "First, make direct eye contact with the other person you're intending to kiss."
"Um, uh." Phillip did his best to look into Nori's rich brown eyes, but he could only sheepishly look away.
"I said eye contact," Nori said, with a bit more bite. Phillip finally complied.
"Good," she smiled. "Now, you don't need to hold your breath, but it can help to steady yourself and calm your heart rate."
"Okay," Phillip said.
"This part is optional, but you can hold your gaze," Nori explained, her voice becoming softer. "It helps you relax as you lean in closer."
As they both stared into each other's eyes, time seemed to slow down. Phillip noticed that Nori was quite attractive up close, and she noticed Phillip was the same, with his brown hair now dried and his blue eyes full of life before the rain from outside. He was slim, but he was quite strong, and she could see that as she leaned in closer. They held their breaths, steadying themselves as their body heat rose and felt their heart beating faster.
Nori was about to explain one final thing, but found herself unable to as she closed her eyes, as well as Phillip, and they leaned in for the contact, lip to lip, heat to heat, heart to heart. It was only for mere seconds, but in both their minds, it lasted for what seemed like hours, before they finally broke off, looking away from each other, both their faces fluttered.
"Ah," Nori said, trying to regain her posture. "A-and so, that's how it's done. Simple."
"Oh," was all Phillip managed to say. "Well, uh, thanks for showing me."
"Of course," Nori said, feeling a bit embarrassed. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel some sort of excitement, something she had never felt before, and it made her heart beat faster and her throat dry.
"Well, I should go," Phillip said rather quickly.
"Okay," she replied quickly, as well.
Phillip rushed out the door, but then Nori called out to him.
"Wait!"
He stood at the doorway and watched Nori run up to him. She handed him her blue umbrella.
"You can return it anytime," she said.
"But," Phillip pointed. "It's not raining anymore."
Nori looked past the doorway and saw the sun barely shining through the grey clouds. "Oh, you're right."
"But, thanks anyways," Phillip laughed.
"You know, those clothes look nice, by the way," Nori said. "Maybe Reina might like them next time you visit her."
"I hope," Phillip said. "Thank you, again."
Nori smiled as she nodded. Without saying another word to each other, Phillip headed back to Bluebell. Nori closed the door and leaned against the wall, holding a hand to her chest. She felt so uncomfortable, yet so excited. She didn't know how she would get over herself.
What was all that about, she thought to herself.
As she walked towards the back room, she then saw that she hadn't finished sewing the torn clothes on the sewing table, meaning that he would come back sooner or later, something that she was looking forward to.