A/N: So, this is a fanfic I started writing on one of my favorite pairings! It's a bit strange, but I really hope you enjoy!

-Cotton Candy Mareep

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

Cucumber: Meeting

You may think I'm crazy, but I know what I felt that day. I know there was something beside me in the lake- something that saved my life. And I will find out what it was.

It was spring. The beach wasn't open yet, but that day was so hot that Karen and Popuri insisted I go swimming with them in the lake on Mother's Hill.

I didn't want to go. I wasn't the best swimmer, and although I would occasionally take a dip in the ocean to cool off while tanning on the beach during the summer, the thought of swimming in an algae-infested lake didn't interest me. However, the two girls begged me to come with them, saying it would be a lot of fun and that it would cool me off, make me feel better after all my hard work on the farm.

They were persistent, so eventually I gave in. I slipped on my bikini, dug out a fresh towel from the pile in my closet, and went to meet my two best friends at the edge of the lake.

Popuri squealed and ran to hug me as soon as she spotted me, as per usual, while Karen merely grinned mischievously. "We didn't test out the water yet, so I don't know how cold it is. Would you like to be the guinea pig?" Next thing I knew, I was being shoved into the lake.

The cold lake water stunned me at first, but after a few seconds the initial shock had faded, and I was able to move around to warm myself up. Karen quickly jumped in after me, splashing enthusiastically, while Popuri entered the lake slowly and hesitantly, squealing when the water lapped at her belly button.

The bottom of the lake was firm but muddy, and felt slimy against my bare feet. Clenching my teeth, I ignored the uncomfortable squishing between my toes and dove deeper, drifting away from my friends in the shallows.

As I headed further into the lake, my ankle caught on a large clump of mottled brown seaweed, whose tendrils wrapped around my legs like rubbery octopus tentacles and yanked me down. I attempted to pull my leg from the greasy mass and slipped, my head bobbing beneath the surface.

All of a sudden, I couldn't feel the bottom anymore. My feet kicked at open water. I sank like a stone, my long blonde hair flowing outwards around me, but I didn't hit the hard lake floor as I expected. Lashing out with my arms and legs, I only felt the cool waters of the lake bubbling around me.

A feeling of panic began to settle in, and I thrashed around frantically, hoping to hit something, anything, other than the relentless lake water. I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe, the water was suffocating me. My struggles were becoming weaker by the second. I opened my mouth and received a mouthful of lake water, I choked and sputtered but my efforts were in vain. The lake was drowning me. As I was blacking out, my last thoughts were, I am going to die.

But I didn't die. Because all of a sudden, I felt my body being propelled upwards, up toward the surface. What felt like two steady hands, two strong slippery arms, grasped me around the waist and pulled me up. My head broke the surface, and the mysterious hands released me.

I gasped for air, coughing up what seemed like gallons of lake water, as Karen and Popuri rushed towards me and shouted my name hysterically. "Claire! Oh my Goddess, Claire! Are you all right?" Upon reaching me, Popuri threw her arms around me in a tight squeeze, and then assisted Karen in dragging me back to shore.

Once on dry land, Karen sat me up in the mud and smacked me on the back, causing me to puke up even more water. Popuri rushed over and threw a towel over my shoulders. When I was finally finished, she leaned forward and hugged me again, tears in her eyes. "Oh my Goddess, are you okay, Claire? I was so worried!" A bit dazed, I nodded, and then remembered what had rescued me from the watery depths.

I glanced around wildly, hoping to catch a glimpse of my savior, and struggled to stand up. Karen told me to sit back down, but I ignored her and wobbled over to the lake's edge, still looking around but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. I turned back to Karen and Popuri, who were observing my actions with puzzled expressions. "Did you see anything?"

They exchanged a glance, and it was Karen who answered me, faint concern etched on her face. "Um, yeah… we saw you slip under the water, struggling, and then you came up around a minute later, coughing it all up. You… you were drowning, Claire."

"No, not me," I said with a flash of irritation, "That other thing in the lake. It saved me, I was sinking under the water but it grabbed me and pulled me up to the surface…"

Karen looked baffled. "What are you talking about? There was nobody here but us!"

I was getting frustrated. "That thing in the water that rescued me! I was drowning, but it pulled me up out of the water! Didn't you see?"

This time it was Popuri who responded. "Claire… you swallowed an awful lot of water… you're just disoriented, let me and Karen take you home, you need to rest-"

"Fine, whatever, don't believe me, then! I can get home by myself, I don't need your help." I stomped away on unsteady legs, leaving the other two girls hurt and confused.

They thought I was crazy; they didn't believe what I told them. But I knew it was true. I knew something was in that lake, something that rescued me from certain watery death. And whatever it was, I was going to find it.

For weeks after my drowning experience, I would visit the lake on Mother's Hill every day. After I finished with my farm work, watering the crops and feeding the chickens, that kind of thing, I would pack up a small lunch and carry it down with me to the lake. Here I would sit down at the edge of the water and eat, a little picnic by myself.

I traveled into the village less and less, until I was only walking the town roads when I needed to buy necessities from the general store or feed for my animals. I stopped visiting the other townsfolk unless it was necessary, which probably hurt their feelings, but that didn't concern me. The lake was more important, and I would watch its mystifying waters for hours on end. The lake consumed my everyday life; it filled my time, my thoughts and dreams. I would only cease when I got to the bottom of this mystery.

One day, after summer had begun, I was sitting on the edge of the lake with my toes in the water, watching the afternoon sunlight glint off the surface. I had packed myself a lunch as usual- a few hard boiled eggs, some pineapple slices, and a large cucumber from the farm.

I had just finished the pineapple, and was lifting the cucumber up out of the basket when my hand slipped, and the cucumber flew into the lake. Annoyed, I stood up and looked down to see if I could spot my cucumber under the surface, when there came a blinding flash of white light.

I staggered backwards, blinking furiously, but the light was gone as fast as it had come. And in its place stood a little green creature, two hands grasping my cucumber.

Two hands. Two scaly green hands on a scaly green body. Two steady hands, two strong slippery arms.

My irritation faded away, only to be replaced by a sense of curiosity. Was this my savior? Getting a closer look at the creature, I saw that it slightly resembled a humanoid turtle. Strange at first, but actually kind of cute in a way.

And then it spoke, in a voice that was surprisingly- but undoubtedly- male. "Thank you for cucumber. Go away now."

"Huh… oh, oh wait, please don't leave! I need to thank you!"

The creature, who was preparing to dive back into the water, turned and looked at me. For some odd reason, I blushed.

"Thank you so much for rescuing me that one day, I'm serious! That was… really valiant of you." The look on his face seemed to soften (because I was now certain that the creature was male), and I continued. "Please- just tell me, what is your name?"

One word- "Kappa." And then he turned and dove back into the lake.

A/N: So how was it? Yes, I love the Claire x Kappa pairing! I know, I have some unusual tastes, haha.

Yes, I'm aware it's rather short, but that's the way I intended for it to be. This was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but now I'm thinking about making it into a three-part story. If you liked it, the next chapter should be up soon, and it will include a lot more details on Kappa. Please review, I would really appreciate feedback on this! And thank you for reading!

-Cotton Candy Mareep