Lillian and Mikhail reached the old brick building that had a slightly rusted sign above the door. Mikhail grabbed the handle of the door, opened it slowly and held it open for Lillian. She smiled and nodded her thanks, and entered the small violin shop. Behind the counter stood an older woman around 50. She instantly looked up from her work when she heard the door open.

"Good afternoon! What can I help you two with?"

"Natasha! It's so good to see you!" Mikhail walked up to the counter and sat his violin case down on the counter. Lillian watched as the woman came around the counter and gave Mikhail a gentle hug.

"How have you been, Mikhail? It's been almost a year now. Your violin must need work done, yes?"

"Yes, it does. Just a checkup and maybe some new strings." He smiled and opened his case, revealing his violin. It still had a shiny coat of varnish, and looked like it was well taken care of for something that was handed down. Lillian approached Mikhail and looked down at his violin case.

"Oh Mikhail! Is this your girlfriend?" Natasha exclaimed, noticing Mikhail's face light up when she mentioned those words.

"Yes. Lillian, this is Natasha. She's the owner of this shop, I always come to her to get my repairs done."

Lillian extended her hand and smiled brightly. "Hello, it's nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you two dearie. I've known Mikhail since he was a young boy! He's very talented and so passionate about his music."

"That he is! He's quite the gentleman too!"

Mikhail cleared his throat and took out his violin. Lillian noticed that he was blushing. "Alright, Natasha can you please examine my violin?"

"Oh, yes of course dear." She took a pair of small rimmed glasses out from a drawer that was below the cash register and placed them gently upon her nose. She held Mikhail's violin gently in her hands, and began to examine it. Up, down, left and right. Behind the strings, above the strings, the bridge and even the bow itself. "Hmm, well it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it. Have you had any troubles?"

"No, not at all. I just need a pair of back up strings. And I thought I would get it checked up just in case there was something I was missing."

"Well you did the right thing! Let me get you some strings." She turned around and took a small package of strings off of a hook that was hanging slightly upon the wall that was behind her. "Do you need any rosin today?"

"Yeah, I might as well get some while I'm here." He took out his wallet that was stashed into his front coat pocket. He emptied coins into his hand and began counting them with his index finger. "How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about owing me a thing, dear. As I recall, it's your birthday today."

"You remembered! I appreciate it but I would still like to give you some money for it."

"No Mikhail. It's yours." She smiled and placed the strings and rosin in a small paper bag. She handed them to Mikhail and watched as he placed the bag into his pocket with his wallet. He smiled and slightly bowed to Natasha.

"Thank you so much, Natasha. This means a lot to me, really it does."

"No need to thank me. Now, I hate to cut it short, but I need to take a lunch break and price some things. You two stop on by anytime you like! And Lillian, it was nice meeting you. Take good care of Mikhail for me, okay?"

"I will." Lillian blushed and shook Natasha's hand once more.

"I'll be back again! Take care, Natasha!" Mikhail took Lillian's hand and laced his fingers with hers. The couple walked out of the music shop and back to the horses.

"She seems very sweet, Mikhail."

"Thanks. She's a very nice lady, and very knowledgeable. You see, her father opened up that shop, but when he passed away, she took over. She's been playing violin since she was 4."

"That's amazing! I hope to one day open up a shop and sell my crops."

"You can do whatever you put your mind to, Lillian. I believe in you."

Lillian blushed deeply and looked down at her feet. "Aw, Mikhail. Thank you for encouragement. I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem. Just trying to be a good boyfriend, that's all."

"You are a good boyfriend! Don't ever think otherwise, alright?"

"Alright. Say, where would you like to go next?"

Lillian looked up to the sky and to the west. It was looking like there was a storm that was slowly approaching. Lillian shuddered and looked back to Mikhail. "Oh, well we should get going. It looks like it could rain."

"We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I know but.. I.. really don't want the horses out in this."

Mikhail looked up to the sky and to the west. He sighed and rubbed Lillian's back. "Alright, let's head back."

They pulled themselves up onto their horses, and began riding back to Konohana. The air smelt of rain, the atmosphere was still. Lillian had a gut feeling that there was going to be a storm, and not just rain. She took a deep breath and gripped onto Kitsu's reins. Mikhail noticed that Lillian was being extra quiet, and this bothered him.

"You okay, Lilly? You seem upset."

"No, I'm okay." She said quietly. She heard rumbling in the distance, and they still were at least 45 minutes away. They were walking through the woods on the trail that lead up to the mountain, and they were surrounded by trees. To Lillian, this didn't exactly seem like the safest place to be during a storm.

Mikhail overheard the thunder and decided to speak up. "Lilly.. are you afraid of storms?"

Lillian was quiet.

"Lilly, it's okay if you are. There's nothing wrong with it."

She was still quiet.

Mikhail sighed and caught up to her and Kitsu. He looked over and noticed that she had her head slightly down, and that she looked as if she was blushing. "Don't be ashamed, Lillian. We all have things we are afraid of."

"I know that."

"Well, then why are you embarrassed?"

"Because. It's something a little kid is supposed to be afraid of. I'm grown up."

"So? Look. I'm not going to leave you behind. Let's find some shelter, okay?"

"Alright, Mikhail."

Lillian led the way. The thunder got closer and closer to the two, and soon the clouds were right behind them, sneaking up like a silent killer. Mikhail spotted a small cave that seemed to be big enough for both of them, plus the horses. The only problem was, it was behind a waterfall.

"Lilly, over here." Mikhail steered off the path and jumped off of his horse. He held onto Maple's reins and led her over to the waterfall. Lillian followed, making sure Kitsu knew where to step. As soon as she made her way over, the wind began to pick up. She jumped off of Kitsu and held onto his reins tightly.

"It's not the greatest thing in the world, but it can shelter us. Look, you don't even have to get wet, either. There's a small gap between the fall and the cave."

"Alright. Let's stay here for now." Before they could make it over to the gap, it began to pour down rain. Kitsu and Maple grew frantic, and it was up to Lillian to calm them down. Mikhail grabbed Lillian's hand and helped her into the cave. She tugged Kitsu inside, and watched as Mikhail did the same for Maple. Inside the cave was nice and dry, except for a couple of small puddles that were split across the cave. Mikhail took off his glasses and began to clean them off.

"I'm soaked." He began to chuckle, and noticed that Lillian was shaking like a leaf. He stopped laughing and took off his coat, draping it across Lillian's shoulders.

"Mikhail, you need your jacket! You'll get sick-"

"I don't care. I'd rather get sick than see you suffer with illness." He pulled her close to him and helped her down to the ground. He ran his fingers through her hair and gently rubbed her back. Claps of thunder rumbled through the trees and echoed inside of the small cave. With each one, Lillian jumped and let out a small whimper. Mikhail was there to calm her down.

"It's alright Lilly. I won't let you go."

"Mikhail.. Thank you for being here for me. I'm sorry that I have bad luck."

"You don't have bad luck. It's nature. Nature's unpredictable. Besides, think of it as a melody."

Because of Mikhail's coaxing, Lillian would overcome her fear slowly. She cuddled close to him and closed her eyes, ignoring the sound of the thunder and the flashes of lightening. The storm went on for what seemed hours. Both horses were calm, and resting up against each other.

"It's getting late." Mikhail sighed and stared out into the waterfall.

"I know. I'm sorry that you have to spend your birthday like this."

"Oh, I don't mind. Besides, you're with me. This has been the best birthday so far."

"It has?"

"Yes, it has. Thank you for coming with me, Lillian."

"Anytime Mikhail."

Both of them became quiet. Mikhail looked down at Lillian and noticed that she was asleep. He kissed her forehead softly and squeezed onto her tightly. It felt like they were in that cave for hours, but that was not the case at all. Mikhail looked at his watch on his left wrist and noticed that it was only 9 PM. Within moments of looking at the time, the rain settled to a soft mist, and the thunder was fading off into the distance. With the storm, the temperature dropped to a shocking 46 degrees. He decided to nudge Lillian awake, so they could both get home and sleep in their own beds. He brushed his hand across her cheek.

"Lilly.. hey wake up. The storm's over."

Lillian slowly woke up. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms to the ceiling. "Hmm.. what did you say, Mikhail?"

"The storm's over now. Let's try to get home, okay?"

"Alright. Let's get going then." She stood up slowly and stretched her arms once again. Mikhail followed the motion, and walked over to the horses, waking them up from their nap. After they woke them up, they guided them out of the cave and back onto the trail. Lillian gripped tightly onto Mikhail's coat, feeling a dramatic difference in the temperature.

"It's a lot colder now.."

"Yeah. I'm sorry it's not much but at least you're not freezing, right?"

"Mmmhmm. I feel bad though, because I have your coat."

"Don't feel bad. I'd rather you be warm than freezing."

"Well, I appreciate it a lot. Thank you Mikhail."

"No problem. Now, let's get home."

The two traveled down the muddy trail for quite some time. They reached the mountain trail and moved quickly towards Konohana. They were 10 minutes away from their tiny town, when it began to rain again, this time coming down harder than back at the cave.

"Lillian! We need to book it!" Mikhail shouted towards Lillian. His voice was battling against the hard rain. Lillian kept focus as she whipped Kitsu's reins against his neck. Kitsu began to gallop, picking up speed with each moment. Mikhail whipped Maple's reins and soon caught up with Lillian and Kitsu. They finally made it to the Konohana town limit, and both slowed their horses down to a stop once they reached the Town Hall. Lillian and Mikhail jumped down, and ran up the steps to take cover from the rain. They were both soaked, but Mikhail was more than Lillian.

"I'm sorry your birthday didn't turn out great in the end."

"Are you kidding me? I had a blast. I got to spend the day with you. And I rode a horse for the first time! Thank you, Lillian. This has been the best birthday ever." He leaned down and kissed her softly. Lillian wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.

"Go inside and dry off. I'll go return Maple to Kana's."

"Alright. Be safe. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I will. Sweet dreams Mikhail."

"You too, bye Lilly." He walked inside of the building and straight to his room. Lillian stood there for a moment, and then decided to move on to Kana's house. She took both reins in her hands and made her way towards Kana's home. Once she was in front of his house, she noticed that there were no lights on, so she decided to take Maple back to Kana's barn. She tied Kitsu's reins to the fence, and opened the gate to take Maple back. She walked her inside of the barn and back into her stall. She closed the door and was startled by a voice.

"Thanks for bringing her back. But, you're soaked! You should get home and get dry." Kana stepped out of Hayate's stall and walked up to Lillian. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed.

"You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry. I found the perfect opportunity. So how was Mikhail's birthday?"

"It was really fun. It was his first time riding a horse, and he enjoyed it! He gave me his jacket once it started to rain.."

"That's a true gentleman for you. If he didn't, I would be pretty upset if he didn't offer it to you."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't be. I feel bad that he's drenched."

"Well, don't. You are too! Besides, at least it's not soda." He chuckled and noticed that Lillian had her head down. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. I should be going so I can dry off."

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Be careful walking home, okay? And stop by sometime. Don't be a stranger now."

"I won't. Goodnight Kana. And thanks again for letting us borrow Maple."

"No problem. Have a good night, Lil."

Lillian walked back to Kitsu and untied his reins. She began to head back to her house, noticing that it wasn't raining anymore. She finally made it to her farm, and dropped Kitsu off into his stall. "Goodnight Kitsu. Thanks for bringing me home saftely." She walked out of the barn and straight into her house. While walking to the bathroom to freshen up, she couldn't help but recap their day. 'Did he really stop my fear of storms..? I never thought it was possible.'

Before she could think of anything else, she was in her bed and passed out, dreaming of more dates with Mikhail.

Lillian woke up to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing. She shot up and jumped out of bed, walking over to her dresser and pulling out a clean pair of pants and a sweater. 'I wonder what Mikhail's up to today.' She slipped on some flat sole shoes and headed straight into town. As soon as she reached the city limits, she saw that everyone was already up and working, including Nori. She waved to her friend and noticed that she was busy helping her grandfather cover their plants with straw.

"Winter is around the corner.." Lillian sighed and walked inside of the town hall. As she walked towards Mikhail's door, she felt her stomach suddenly sink. Lillian gave a couple quick knocks on his door, and waited for a prompt answer. She waited.. and waited.. and waited. 5 minutes passed, and she thought it was awfully strange that he wasn't answering. She hesitantly grabbed the handle and gave it a swift turn. As she entered his room, she noticed that the blinds were closed tight, and that Mikhail was still curled up in bed.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead! It's almost 8. Why aren't you up yet?"

Mikhail didn't answer. Instead he shuffled beneath the blankets. Lillian walked over and nudged him gently. "Hey. Didn't you hear me? What's wrong with you?"

Mikhail slowly pulled the covers down to reveal his face. His skin was pale, his eyes had dark circles highlighting around his gray eyes. He let out a cough, while he rubbed his hand across his forehead.

"Morning Lilly."

"Mikhail you look terrible." She ran her hand across his forehead and snapped it back to her chest quickly. "You're burning up! I knew you were going to get sick.."

"Lillian it's not big deal. It's just a cold."

"You don't run a killer fever with a cold. I'm getting Dr. Ayame. Stay put."

"I wasn't planning on leaving, trust me."

Lillian quickly made her way out of the town hall and straight towards Dr. Ayame's office. She couldn't help but feel responsible for Mikhail being sick. She bit the bullet and walked into Ayame's building.