All righty, this is my first Harvest Moon story ever and my first fanfiction in a long while. I haven't actually played Tree of Tranquillity/Exciting Animal March but I've tried my best to come up with my own interpretation/derivation of the game plot.

Also, for the sake of consistency I've picked out my own English name for Hikari (the new playable female character in EAM) which is 'Holly.'

So yeah, I hope you all enjoy it.

I tried to eat

An orange today, too

But it was still sour, and I cried

Bittersweet

Flying boxes; one, two, three.

A hand frantically groped at the air but it was too late. The contents of the boxes spilled out everywhere, all around her in a shower of herbs, fresh fruits and vegetables. An instant later the airborne food came crashing down back to earth. Splat, splat, splat.

"Oh no…!" Her hands hovered over the mess, horrified and unsure of what she should do. A moment of panic; she knew she shouldn't have taken that entire load at once. One by one, slowly but surely, that was always the best way to go.

She quickly began to salvage the foods that hadn't been damaged in the fall. It turned out that it wasn't as bad as she thought – the packaged goods, the sturdier greens and even the firmer fruit made it out unscathed, but the bottle of milk, the eggs and the tomatoes had met an unfortunate end, shattered, cracked and squished, juices oozing out into the grooves of the paved pathway.

"…You okay?"

Her stomach sank. It was bad enough that she had ruined the ingredients needed by the Sundae Inn for tonight's dinner service, but now someone had actually witnessed her bout of clumsiness? She lifted her head slowly: sandals, slacks and a white shirt. The blood rushed to her cheeks.

The man tilted his peach blond head – hair pins, what an unusual choice of accessories. His eyebrow was quirked, somewhat questioning but at the same time seemingly amused. He stepped forward and held out his hand.

An orange.

"You dropped this," He said.

Their hands touched, fingers brushing momentarily during the exchange.

"T-Thank you…" She murmured.

He smiled at her. Definitely very handsome, but there was something strange, something very practiced about the way his lips curved, "You're welcome."

With that, the fateful encounter came to a sudden end. The man turned around and left. She watched as his back grew further and further away, until he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight entirely.

"I wonder who that was…" She pondered out loud.

Even though months had passed since Holly moved to Waffle Town, it was true that she was still very much a newcomer – despite the small population, some names and faces managed to escape her; she even found herself getting lost on occasion! But as much as she would've liked to continue reminiscing, she had no time, not when Yolanda was counting on her delivery skills. With one last check on the boxes' contents and a new resolution to keep steady on her feet, she quickly brushed herself off and continued on her way.

It was always so peaceful on the island, she thought to herself as she headed down the street. No need to rush, never any unnecessary drama, nothing like it was in the city. Everyone was so friendly too. The first day she arrived, she had people offering to help her left and right. And even now, they were all too happy to lend a hand when she needed it.

When her nose caught scent of something scintillatingly spicy in air, she knew that the Sundae Inn was not too far away. The quaint country-styled building forever smelled of something delicious, because something delicious was always on the stove or in the oven.

In what she considered to be a rather impressive feat, she managed to open the door with only one arm, sidling in carefully while keeping the door from loudly banging shut.

"Hey there Holly, welcome!" A cheerful blonde girl waved at her from behind the reception desk.

"Hi Maya," Holly greeted.

"Are you working for the General Store today? Is that the stuff Grandma ordered?" Maya asked as she skipped over to join her.

Holly nodded at both questions, placing the boxes on one of the tables in the dining area. Her arms were thankful for the relief. Only now she noticed how much they were aching – the months of farming hadn't had much affect on her physique, yet.

The blonde peered over her shoulder, curiously. The vegetables and fruits were beginning to show signs of bruising.

"Hmm, did the General Store change suppliers? The food doesn't look as fresh as it usually does…" Maya noted.

"I had a little accident on the way here…" Holly said, frowning, "I tripped and dropped everything. I even broke the bottle of milk and the eggs. I'm so sorry."

Despite the news, Maya smiled, "Don't worry about that, Grandma can work wonders with anything!"

"But you shouldn't have to pay for my carelessness. Please, let me take care of it instead–"

Her protests didn't stop the girl in the puffy dress from taking the box of goods and disappearing into the kitchen. There were murmurs of approval and moments later Maya reappeared, money in hand. The tip wasn't well received by Holly but after much insistence, she finally gave in and accepted it.

"Where is everyone?" Holly asked. She took a quick look around. It was unusual to see the innkeepers' young daughter at the counter – that position was usually filled by her mother Colleen, while her father Jake served as the manager, making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible.

"Mum and Dad are tending to the rooms upstairs," Maya explained, "And Grandma is with… oh! You haven't met him yet, have you? Come on, I'll introduce you!"

Before a questioning word could leave her mouth, Maya reached out, took her hand and enthusiastically pulled her towards the kitchen. Holly caught a glimpse of Yolanda, Maya's pale-haired grandmother, through the open counter; she appeared to be busy speaking with someone.

"W-Wait, Maya, we shouldn't interrupt–!"

"Hey look everyone, Holly came to visit!" She announced cheerfully. The younger girl pushed her through the door, as Yolanda and their guest turned around.

"Ah!" Holly gasped.

In such a familiar scene, there was a peach blond haired man staring down at her. His eyebrow tilted in that questioning yet amused way, before a smile automatically spread across his lips.

"What a coincidence, seeing you again like this. But I guess in a town this small we were bound to run into each other eventually," He said.

Although his tone was smooth, conversational, there was something about it – about him – that caused her brain to work overtime. When it occurred to Holly that she should speak, introduce herself, anything, her mind shut down completely.

"You've met already?" Maya asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"We had a very brief… run in, earlier," Holly explained when she found her voice. The memory made her blush; suddenly she took a great interest in her shoes. They were scuffed, her brain noted. Everything wore out so quickly these days.

She could feel the man staring at her. It was very uncomfortable.

Yolanda stepped in, just in time, but there was a telltale sign of amusement in her voice as she spoke, "This is Holly, the new farmer." As the girl in question dared to glance up, she caught the pointed look the elder woman shot towards the blond man.

His smile was especially dazzling, "Oh, so you're the farmer I've heard so much about. Pleasure to meet you, my name is Chase." He even offered a hand; a gesture of friendliness?

Holly returned the handshake and the smile, "It's nice to meet you too, Chase."

"Working one of your part-time jobs again today, I see. The farm isn't keeping you busy enough?" Yolanda asked her, "I hope you're doing better than we are…"

At the old woman's words, there was a quick change in the atmosphere; Maya's slender eyebrows creased and Chase lost his smile, expression now something of disdain. True to its lack of patrons, the inn appeared to be struggling.

The farmer shook her head sympathetically, "I've been trying my best, but nothing seems to want to grow."

"Hmm, these are grim times…" Yolanda murmured to herself, "With the whole island going down like this."

Maya looked at her grandmother, worried. "U-Um… Holly did you know? Chase is a really really good cook!" She exclaimed.

"You are?" As soon as her eyes were back on him, the smile returned to his face.

"I do love to cook," Chase said, "I hope to become a professional one day."

"Now that he's back, he's going to be helping Grandma in the kitchen." Maya glanced up at the blond man with eyes of admiration – and something more? "You have to try his orange cake… it's the best ever!"

Chase laughed, "I still have a long way to go before anything I cook deserves to be called the 'best ever,' I'm afraid."

After his laughter died down, the mood was strange again. The conversation came to a standstill.

It was about time she moved on anyway, Holly thought to herself. She was sure she had worn out her welcome and the General Store owners, Simon and Barbara, would be wondering where she'd gotten to.

"I should probably get going–" Holly began.

"Why don't you let Holly walk you home Chase? It'll be nice if you two got to know each other and Goddess knows you need more friends," Yolanda suggested instead. It sounded like more of a firm command than anything, really.

Chase chuckled lightly, "Already trying to get rid of me. What about dinner service, don't you need my help with the preparations and cooking?"

The elder woman waved a hand at him. "Nonsense, you just returned today. I couldn't bear to make you work. Go on, have some fun."

Chase looked at Holly. His smile seemed a little strained. Her heart raced.

"Oh, can I come too?" Maya piped up.

Holly hoped she would, to save her from what she was sure was going to be a very awkward moment.

But Yolanda quickly dispelled that idea, "You, young lady, have to stay here. There's plenty of cleaning to do and I'm sure your mother and father would be eternally grateful for the help."

The girl in pink uttered something that distinctly sounded like, "…That's no fun…" but she nodded, sadly.

"Well then Holly, we've kept you long enough. Thanks for the deliveries and remember, don't be a stranger. And Chase, I expect you bright and early for work tomorrow," Yolanda said cheerfully as she shooed all three of them out the kitchen door.

Maya sighed, "I guess I better go see if there's anything I can help with." She pouted slightly, "I'll see you later then Holly, Chase!"

She gave a short wave and disappeared up the stairs, the braids on the side of her head bouncing up and down with each step. This left the farmer alone with the man named Chase and, as she predicted, it was awkward.

"I was bright and early for work today," She heard him mutter to himself. When she looked over, his expression changed instantly, "We should take the hint and get out of here too," He said to her.

Holly nodded shyly. Chase headed out first, crossing the room in a few wide strides. The door was held open for her in a perfect gentleman's gesture; there was no way she could escape this now.

Everything was a little less stilted after they exited out onto the street – there were more reasons to look away and avoid speaking, at the very least. When Holly did muster up the courage to steal a coy glance at Chase, he had an unreadable expression on his face, lips pursed in the way that made him appear calm, even content. Then she quickly averted her eyes before he noticed.

The road to the Maple Lake District was excruciatingly long. An entire trip in an awkward drawn-out silence. She wondered why Chase hadn't left yet, but then she realised they were probably just headed in the same direction. A coincidence.

"So you've been away all this time? I just moved here from the city a few months ago…" Holly found herself saying once the quiet was too much to handle. Her words seemed like an intrusion, to both the silence and to Chase's personal life.

But the blond man didn't react poorly to the question, "Hmm yeah. It was suggested that I take some time off, to further my cooking skills," He replied – in an even voice but he didn't look at her, "Code for 'the Inn isn't doing that great and we need to save money.'"

Bitterness.

Holly chewed at her lip nervously, "Oh… so the island has been struggling for some time then?"

"It's getting worse and worse everyday. But I'm sure you've noticed that…"

She had. In her first act of independence, Holly had moved to Waffle Island, hoping to become the owner of a lush acreage of farmland. As it turned out, all the land on offer was dry, infertile and almost uninhabitable. But she couldn't just give up and go home. Good things always took time to achieve; she had to be patient.

"Even the fires are too weak to cook anything good," Chase shrugged but there was a noticeable crease between his eyebrows, "Salads can only go so far before the customers start complaining."

"There has to be some way to help the island…" Holly murmured softly.

"Huh?"

Chase came to an abrupt stop. He was staring at her, with his eyebrow raised and arms crossed. Was he expecting her to explain herself? Her cheeks began to burn as she glanced around – they had just entered the Maple Lake District, she realised – trying to gather her thoughts.

She settled her gaze on her shoes again, fiddling with her gloves, "I-I was just thinking, if we could find out what's causing the decline in the resources… and if we could somehow stop it…"

"Excuse me, 'we'?" Chase scoffed. He was frowning.

Holly's heart leapt up to her throat, "Well, if we want results, we all have to–"

"Listen to yourself. There's no miracle cure for the problems on this island. If you want to play hero, go find someone else to help you. I hear the mayor's son is into all that fairytale garbage." His tone was suddenly so harsh, dismissive, cold.

It was a slap to the face – that smile, that laugh, his demeanour, everything, it had all been an act?

"But what about–"

"My house is this way," Chase interrupted, "Later."

She stood there, stunned.

And as Holly watched Chase's back disappear down the road for a second time that day, she couldn't help but think that first impressions accounted for very little indeed.