The autumn breeze carried fine droplets, each one a promise of the rain soon to come. The warmth that I had basked in only a couple of days ago was now gone, now replaced with a chill that tainted the air.

As I walked away from my Uncle Frank's farm and made began to make my way towards the town square of Westown, my hair was tousled by the autumn breeze. I removed one of my hands from my coat pocket, sacrificing it of its warmth to quickly pick out and discard of a falling leaf that had become caught in it and to straighten the flyaway pieces of my hair. I made a mental note to wear my hair up from now on if the weather was going to continue to be this windy, to protect my vision from being obstructed by hair.

Burying my head further into my knitted scarf to warm my pinked cheeks from the breeze, I allowed myself a moment to think about the tasks I still needed to complete today. With the arrival of Autumn, my morning was taken up with planting all the crops I intended to grow this season. I was still anxious about the new challenges these new crops would provide but having gotten through the first stage of planting them I was beginning to feel more confident about what was to come.

Once everything was planted, and my muscles were burning, I inspected the barn and chicken coop to ensure that it would be warm and secure enough for my animals now that the beginning of the colder months had arrived. I still had more errands to complete around town and on the farm today, but the demands Witchie made yesterday made it difficult to focus on anything else.

"I want updates tomorrow, human. Don't keep me waiting. Otherwise, I really will turn you into a frog this time."

I had no doubts Witchie would transform me into a frog if I wasn't able to find out any information about the progress that was being made to clear up the entrance to Tsuyukusa, but the farmer part of me, with a growing list of errands to complete, grew anxious by another task outside of farmer that I'd need to complete as well today. I quickly shook my head, discarding my frustrations. I had volunteered to help find a way to awaken Inari, their friend and diety of Tsuyukusa. I couldn't let Dessie down, especially seeing her feeling so guilty about accidentally causing Inari to be trapped in a slumber for the past seven years. I didn't want Dessie to feel troubled by this any more, and perhaps awakening Inari would mean that Witchie would calm down a little. Fingers crossed.

I had just finished asking my Uncle Frank if he had heard any information about the progress that has been made to clear the rubble clocking the gate to Tsuyukusa. He was the one who showed gates to Lulukoko and Tsuyukusa and told me able to storm that had meant no one was able to enter or leave those towns until the gates were cleared. I thought that perhaps he would be the best person to ask, unfortunately, my uncle didn't have any new information to give me since communication with the town had been cut off since the storm. There was a possibility that the residents of Tsuyukusa were trying to find a solution to this problem too, but I knew that I couldn't sit around and wait for something to happen. I had to make my own solutions.

I now intended to seek out Ludus after buying some animal feed from the Westown markets. Frank had warned me that the market schedule would be affected by the rain and so there was a chance it would be closed more often. He advised that I should buy enough fodder to last me throughout the month, at least. I hadn't figured out how I'd get that much fodder back to the farm yet, but I hoped to find a way once I got there.

A small, child's hand tugged on my coat gently, pulling me away from thinking over the worries occupying my mind.

I glanced down to see Noel, Miranda's daughter, beaming up at me. "Miss Nanami, can we borrow you for a moment? Pretty please?"

I smiled back at Noel as she clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. Noel would often run over to me as I passed Hector and my Uncle Frank's farms, interrogating me over whether I had any new baby animals yet. She was a cute, lively kid, and I often wondered whether she would have been friends with my sister if she lived here with me.

"Do you need help with something, Noel?"

Noel grabbed my hand and dragged me over to Hector's son, Colin. I often saw them playing together when I passed, however, Colin had a quiet disposition just like his father and often wouldn't exchange very many words. He seemed to be comfortable around Noel though.

"Howdy Nami."

I glanced up quickly. Wayne was standing next to Colin. Before I had a chance to greet him, Noel grabbed my hand and said "We have a special plan and we need your help. Tell her Colin!"

Colin looked up at me shyly, I smiled at him encouragingly as he cringed to Wayne's coat and reminded close to him. "… Noel says that she wants to see what my pa's face looks like when he's started." He said softly, I had to listen carefully as he was mumbled. "Mr Wayne was just walking by so we asked him if he could help us…"

"Yeah, that's right!" Noel said excitedly, "Dont'cha think it would be more surprising is a whole bunch of people jumped out and said 'boo' all at once? Colin's pa will be so shocked!"

I glanced over at Wayne, who was squeezing Colin's shoulder reassuringly. He smiled at me as our eyes met. "So Nami, do ya want to help out? We could use your help, you can be very scary." Wayne winked playfully.

Noel squeezed my hand and stared up at me pleadingly, "It'll be really fun if you join in, Miss Nanami."

Checking my wrist-watch, I thought about the errands I still needed to complete today and the task I had ahead of me of getting to Inari. The market didn't close until the evening and Ludus, if he was able to help me with clearing Tsuyukusa's gate, wouldn't be free from work for a few more hours yet. Even if I didn't have much time, I couldn't say no to Noel and Colin, especially with the expectant looks on their faces. "That does sound fun. I'll try my hardest to surprise Mr Hector," I glanced up at Wayne and smiled slightly, "What's the plan?"

Noel jumped up and down on the spot, clasping her hands together. "Yay! Okay, now here's the plan." Her face suddenly went serious, it reminded me of Dessie when she was telling me about her plan to rescue Witchie and how methodical she was about it. "In a few minutes, Mr Hector is going to walk down this road. You and Mr Wayne are going to hide behind this sign together."

Noel pointed towards a wooden sign with the word 'WESTOWN' painted on it in black. I glanced over at Wayne who was already looking at me, feeling my face redden, I quickly looked back at Noel. "When Mr Hector walks by, you jump out and yell 'boo!' as loud as you can. When he's surprised at you and Mr Wayne, me and Colin will sneak right up behind him. Then we'll shout 'boo!', too! Even if it doesn't work the first time, the second time is bound to surprise him."

"Roger wilco, Captain Noel. Let's get into our positions, Nami." Wayne nodded towards the wooden sign Noel had instructed us to hide behind and held out his hand, "The ground is a lil' uneven right now so I'll help you. I can't have you getting hurt in my presence."

I looked around quickly to see if any of Wayne's 'fangirls' were nearby, talking to Wayne seemed to irritate them. If I was seen holding his hand, even in a friendly manner, I'd probably end up in a body bag. I laughed awkwardly, then took his hand. He was just being a gentleman, I could walk to the sign without having sweaty hands… Even if I was now overthinking whether my hands were sweating and if Wayne noticed. Stupid Nami.

"I always see you playing with Colin and Noel, you seem to be really good with children. Even the kids in Lulukoko seems to get excited to see you. Do you have any younger siblings?" I walked over to the sign with Wayne, once we were behind it I let go of his own and crouched behind the sign slowly. My thighs burned slightly from where I had been crouching down to plant the season's new crops all morning.

Wayne shook his head and crouched down. "I'm an only child. My parents enjoyed travelling the world a lot, so I lived with my grandparents for most of my childhood. Colin and Noel are good kids, I enjoy joining in with their games when they ask. They feel like younger siblings to me. Do ya' have any siblings, Nami?"

"I have a younger sister, her name's Lynn. We've always been close though, even though the age gap is quite big. Seeing Noel and Colin playing together all the time reminds me of her a lot, I think she'd get along with a lot of the children here."

"You'll have to introduce me to her if she ever visits, I'm sure she must look just like you." Wayne peeked over the edge of the sign, grinning excitedly like a child and then crouched lower. "Hector should be here any minute now. Do you think we'll surprise him?"

I laughed quietly and stared at Wayne, distracted for a moment by this carefree side of him that I was seeing. I liked it, it didn't feel forced or like a facade. "You look like you're having fun."

Wayne chuckled. "You can tell? I sure am. I haven't seen Hector look too surprised many times myself. I'm looking forward to his reaction."

"Ah! Nami!" Noel screamed from where she and Colin were hiding. "I can see you peeking out from the sign! You need to hide better or he'll see you!"

"Whoops, looks like Captain Noel isn't happy with us. If we're going to pull our mission off without feeling Noel's wrath we're gonna have to squeeze together more."

"Ah, uh, okay." I stammered as I moved closer to Wayne. Our shoulders were touching and I felt awkward being this close to him. I always thought that I turned into and acted like a fool around Wayne. I'd never stammer around Ludus who was also one of my guy friends. I had a silly crush on Wayne, but I wished it didn't cause me to be a social wreck. I wish I didn't overthink so much around him, that I could play things off cooly. I was a fool.

Wayne lowered his voice. "I, uh, think maybe this is a little too in my face."

I am a fool, and he knows it.

I froze.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled and quickly moved away from him, making sure to still be hidden behind the sign not to upset Noel. I glanced over at Wayne hesitantly, not knowing what else to say. I just wanted to get out of her but I had made a commitment to Noel and Colin. It wouldn't be nice to walk away and it wouldn't do me any favours.

"I could have worded that a little better, huh? Wayne smiled at me apologetically and scratched the back of his head, then said shyly, "I wasn't trying to imply that I, uh, didn't like it. It's just when you're this close by my, uh, heart rate starts going up."

My, uh, heart rate starts going up.

What does he mean?

Wayne's eyes went soft and we stared at each other in silence. The Wayne in front of me seemed different from the charismatic, sweet-talking man he presented himself to be and at that moment I found myself liking him even more. I was scared of misreading the situation, of catching the wrong idea and hurting my own feelings because of my misinterpretation. Then again… What else could causing someone's heart rate to start going up mean…?

"So… Are you doing it on purpose?" Wayne chuckled and winked at me.

My heart sank slightly and I couldn't help but feel disappointed at seeing him return back to this flirty persona. I reddened and took a small step backwards, still unsure how to respond or what my dominant emotion even was at the moment. I focused on the ground.

"I'm just messing, I'm sorry," Wayne said. I glanced up at him to find him still staring at me, hints of the more shy part of him shining through again. "I wasn't kidding when I said you make my heart race, Nami."

I opened my mouth, about to attempt to form a response, when I spotted Hector walking past the sign we were ducked behind, making it impossible to jump out and startle him at this point. I diverted my attention to Wayne, who was still staring at me with a look I couldn't recognise.

"Geez!" Noel cried out from behind us. She must have ran over as soon as Hector had walked past. She placed her hands on her hips and Colin peeked out at us from behind her. "What were you two doing?! C'mon! Take your job more seriously! We won't scare Mr Hector at this rate!."

"Sorry, Noel." Wayne's eyes finally moved from mine and looked at Noel, who scowled at him. "I, uh, I think I just had a priority mission come p. I'll make it up to you for messing this one up sometime later, okay?" He nodded at me hesitantly then quickly walked away, towards Westown town. I watched him walk away, trying to make sense of what just happened and whether I was imagining things. Noel tugged at my coat, pulling my attention back to the two children staring at me. "… Nami, what's wrong? Are you sick? Should I get Doctor Ford? Your face is bright red…"

Sorry Witchie, I think I just had a priority mission come up.