"Yun! Yun! I need your help!" Lillian ran through the door, looking left and right for Yun.
"Calm down dear, what's wrong?!" Yun ran out from the back room and over to Lillian. She put her hand on her shoulder and watched her catch her breath. Lillian looked up to Yun and gave her a smile.
"I'm so glad you're here. I just met Mikhail a while ago, and I really want to be good friends with him! What's his favorite food?"
"Oh, are you sure it's because you want to be friends with him, hmm?" Yun gave Lillian a wink and watched her face turn from happy to pouty.
"Yes. I don't even know him well enough to ask him out or anything.. He is really handsome, though.." She cleared her throat and looked back up at Yun. "Do you know what his favorite dish is?"
"Well, he loves anything with tofu in it. He once mentioned that he loved boiled tofu. I think that's your best guess for his favorite dish."
"Thank you Yun! Do you know when his birthday is?"
"No, one of the girls might though; he seems to be a hit with the ladies. Although, he doesn't really talk much. He seems pretty lonesome, most of the time."
"I know he does. I've only just met him, but what I've heard he seems to be quite the loner. I don't want anyone to feel alone, that's why I want to be his friend."
"Well, just keep your head up, and be friendly towards him. Well, I need to get back to work and open the restaurant. I'll talk to you later, dearie!"
"Thanks again, Yun! I'll see you around!" Lillian ran out of the restaurant and towards Gombe's seed shop. She walked into the store and looked over towards the kitchen where Nori might be. To her luck, she was sitting at the table, reading a book and drinking a cup of hot tea. "Hello, Lillian! How are you doing?"
"I'm doing well. I need your help though. I need to know more about Mikhail. I want to be his friend." She walked over to the table and sat down next to her.
"Do you want to be his friend, or more than that." Nori smirked at Lillian, and watched her cheeks turn deep red.
"N-no! That's not it at all! I've just heard that he's a real loner.. and well.. he is kinda cute.."
"Aha! I knew it! You can't hide anything from me!" Nori let out a big laugh and held her sides. She calmed down after a few moments and noticed that Lillian looked a little upset. "Oh, come now Lilly. I wasn't trying to make fun of you. He's a pretty handsome guy! He's not exactly my type, though. I do know that Georgia in Bluebell kinda has a thing for him. But he seems to always turn the cold shoulder to her, no one knows why. All I know is, his birthday is on the 12th of this month. Oh, and he likes tofu items!"
"Thanks, Nori. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome. So, do you like.. Kana at all?"
"Yeah, he's my best friend! Why do you ask?"
"No, I mean like.. really like him."
"Oh. No, not that way! He's really cute and super nice, but he's too good of a friend. I don't want our friendship to get ruined if we happened to date and then we broke up on bad terms."
"Ah, well I was just asking because.. I like him a lot. I've always liked him, but I've noticed that he's been kinda, occupied with you."
"Oh, I'm sorry Nori, it's not like that, I don't want to upset you or anything!"
"Oh, no you're not! I just, well, he's so sweet." Nori blushed deeply and looked down at her tea. Lillian gave her a pat on the back and stood up.
"It's okay, Thanks for the information! I'll catch up to you later on and we can get some lunch, okay?"
"Sounds good! I'll see you later!"
Lillian walked out of Gombe's shop and felt a little relief. "Now I know what he likes. And his birthday! I want to be his friend, I hope he accepts my friendship!" She walked back to Yun's tea house and walked inside, instantly noticing Yun behind the counter.
"Hey, sorry to bother you but.. Do you have some soybeans and edamame I can borrow?"
"Sure thing, dearie. I don't have much, so I'll only be able to give you two of each. You going to make boiled tofu?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna try. Do you have a good recipe?"
"Yes, I do! Let me get you the supplies really quick, Stay right there, I'll be right back!"
Lillian stood patiently at the counter. She couldn't help but think about her and Nori's conversation. Did she like Kana like that? She didn't want to lie but deep down she had a small thing for him. She thought it was best to shake it off. A few moments later, someone else walked through the curtains . It was none other than Kana.
"Oh, hey Lillian! How's it going?"
"Hi Kana. Oh, you know, it's going. Just borrowing some things from Yun to make a dish!"
"Ah, I see. Say, Lillian..?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"I was wondering.. would you like to go out on a date with me? You know, get some food and hang out?" He blushed softly and kept his eyes on Lillian. He noticed that she became to fidget and get nervous.
"Kana. I'd love to, but I.. Kana you're my best friend, and I'm afraid that if we date, we might break up someday and ruin our friendship."
"Lillian, that won't happen. I really care about you. I know I haven't known you for that long, but you've really grown on me. You're so sweet, and you listen to me and you don't treat me differently at all. Please, Lillian, give me a chance."
Lillian felt her eyes swell up with tears. "I'm sorry Kana.. I don't feel the same way. Please don't hate me." She hung her head and began to cry. Kana sighed and wrapped his arms around him.
"I'm sorry Lillian, I didn't mean to upset you."
"Please, Kana. Let me go, I need to be alone."
"Here you are, dearie! I packed everything up! Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you two." Yun saw that Lillian was crying and slowly handed her the bag of supplies. "There's a recipe in there, too."
"T-thanks Yun. I really appreciate it." Lillian quickly took the bag and ran out of the restaurant, and straight to her house. Kana started to run after her, but stopped mid way. "I.. I can't go after her. Lillian.. why.." He walked slowly back to his home, feeling like he was in the wrong.
Lillian opened the door to her house and threw the ingredients onto the table. She fell down on top of her bed and began to sob. 'Why. Why did it have to be this way?! He probably hates me now.. I'm no good! I'm a terrible friend!' She laid down for quite a bit while clutching onto her tear-soaked pillow. She calmed down and stopped crying, but still felt no good. She stood up and walked over to the supplies that Yun had lent to her. She took out the recipe and began to read it. After reading over the recipe, she began to prep her food items. "I'm going to do something good and make Mikhail feel welcome here in Konohana." She began cooking the boiled tofu, and soon finished the dish. She covered the pot and kept it on the back burner while she changed into a better looking outfit. She brushed her hair and put a sparkly blue clip in place to keep the stray hairs away from her face. She soon picked up the dish and headed out the door. It was getting late, but not late enough for everyone to be in bed already.
She mustered up the courage and began to walk slowly towards the Town Hall where Mikhail was staying. She began to feel the butterflies that she felt earlier knock against the walls of her stomach. She took a deep breath and kept walking. She finally reached the Town Hall, and slowly put her hand on the door knob. Before she could even make a half turn, someone called out her name. She turned slowly and saw that it was Nori.
"Lillian, what are you doing out this late?"
"This late? Oh, I was uh.. taking a dish to Mikhail."
"Kana.. told me what happened."
"Ah, well I feel bad about it, alright?"
"I bet you do. Look, I'm not upset at you, and neither is Kana, okay? He's upset because he made you cry, and that's something he never wanted to do."
"I know. And I should of just said yes. I kinda have feelings for him, but they aren't strong, and I would feel wrong doing such a thing."
"No one blames you, I'd do the same thing if I was in your shoes. But, I told Kana how I feel about him."
"Oh, how did that go?"
"Well, he was surprised. So I left. I don't think he likes me the same way, but it's okay, just as long as I can be his friend, that's all that matters to me. Well, I better let you get back to delivering your food. I hope everything goes well, be sure to tell me everything later, okay?"
"Alright, I will Nori. Have a good night, relax okay?" She turned the doorknob and entered the town hall. She saw Ina standing at the counter, with a smile on her face.
"Good evening! Would you like to stay here tonight?"
"Oh, no thank you, Ina. I just came to see Mikhail. Is he around?"
"Oh, yes, second door on the right."
"Thanks Ina!" Lillian walked down the hallway and approached Mikhail's room. She took a deep breath and knocked softly. After a few moments, Mikhail opened the door.
"Good evening, Lillian! It's good to see you!" He gestured her to come inside.
"Thank you for letting me in. I thought I would bring you a welcoming present. I kinda heard through the grape vine that it's your favorite dish." Lillian handed Mikhail the dish, and watched his face light up with joy.
"Absolutely! Boiled Tofu is my favorite, and it smells so good! Thank you so much for your kindness, Lillian! I'll save this to eat after you leave, I don't want to be rude." He walked over and placed the dish on the table.
"Oh, you wouldn't be rude! I made it especially for you!"
"Well, I really appreciate it. Say, why don't you sit down with me and we can get to know each other better?" He pulled out a chair for Lillian.
"I'd like that, a lot." She walked over to the table and sat down. He took a seat right across from her. "Your room is very nice!"
"Thank you. It's very, oh how should I say, roomy!" he chucked a bit and noticed that Lillian looked a bit nervous. He decided to break the ice and ask her the first question. "So, why did you decide to move to Konohana?"
"Well, growing up I lived on a farm that my parents maintained, and I knew I always wanted to have my own farm one day. My mom passed away when I was 11, and so it was me and my dad for awhile. We struggled with the farm work at first, but we got used to it. He passed away 6 months ago, so I decided to carry on the family business and start my own farm. It's what my parents would have wanted."
"I'm sorry to hear about your family, but they sound like wonderful people. I know they would be proud of you. My parents both died when I was very young, and I was an orphan for awhile. But then I met my teacher one day as he was playing for the kids at the orphanage. I was so touched by his performance, I wanted to be just like him, so I begged and pleaded him to teach me the violin. After awhile, he gave in and raised me as his own. "
"That's a beautiful story. It sounds like you and I are kind of alike, huh?"
"Yeah, we are in a way." He gave her a kind smile and looked out the window. "So, what's your favorite part about Konohana, and your least favorite part?"
"Well, my favorite part would have to be the people. Everyone here is so kind and helpful! My least favorite thing doesn't exactly have to do with Konohana itself, but everywhere in general. I hate storms. They make me very nervous and sick to my stomach, and typhoons frighten me! It's really silly, but, well I guess everyone has their own fears!"
"That they do! I don't care for spiders all that much. And storms can get pretty fierce sometimes, but I just play my violin to the beat of nature's fury! Sometime, I should come over and play the violin for you while it's storming. It will change your whole perspective about storms!"
"I'd like that a lot! We haven't had any major storms yet, actually, we've been in a drought since summertime. I'm just hoping it will rain soon."
"It's supposed to rain tomorrow in the morning."
"Wow, really? That's awesome! I can't wait! I love to listen to the rain while I sleep!"
"Yeah, me too. Nature has the most beautiful music. No one can top it, even with an instrument!"
"I agree! I love traveling on the mountain and listening to the crickets at night. It's so peaceful, it helps me get ready for sleep."
"You should try it during the day after it rains. Say, why don't you do it tomorrow?"
"I guess I'll have to try it out!"
"Yes, you will!"
Lillian studied the white haired man and noticed that he was, as everyone said, a calm and well-mannered person. She had a feeling that they would be great friends, just like Kana and her. After a few moments of chatting it up, She looked down at her watch and laughed softly. "I should be going, it's almost midnight. Thank you again for talking with me, we should do this again sometime." She stood up from her seat and looked outside.
"Yes, I agree. Thank you so much for bringing me boiled tofu! I'm going to warm it up and eat it in a bit!" He walked Lillian over to the door and opened it. "Take care, and be careful on your way home, okay?"
"I will, thank you again, Mikhail! Have a good night!"
"You too, bye." He closed the door softly, and Lillian made her way back to her home. She noticed that the butterflies were no longer in her stomach. She felt like she could be herself with Mikhail. As soon as she reached her house, she went straight inside and noticed a note that was slipped underneath her door. She opened it up and began to read.
"Lillian,
Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to make you cry. I figured it would be best if I gave you some space. I hope you're not upset at me. I'll stop by tomorrow and see how you are.
-Kana"