AN/ This fic has been in the work for two years, now. Finally, I feel like it's ready to show to the world. But first, a couple of things:

1. You don't need full understanding of the Animal Crossing games to understand this fic. If there's anything you don't understand in this fic, you can always consult the handy-dandy glossary I've compiled here on my writing tumblr, randomactuallywrites-57. It includes explanations of game references as well as a couple of other things.

2. Whilst Animal Crossing is about animal villagers, all of the characters in this fic are human. (Unless you'd like to interpret it differently, in which case, go ahead!)

3. I have completely finished writing this fic. There are twenty-one chapters overall. It will update once a week on Wednesdays (GMT).

4. This fic is being cross-posted on AO3.

Now that's over with, please enjoy the fic!

Haru is an artist.

That's what he told his parents when they asked why he was dropping out of university, why he was moving houses, why he was going so far away. Because he is an artist, and being around his parents is stifling.

The plight of the raindrops on the taxi window paint sorrow over the outside world, smudging it, making it look dull. Haru thinks it's apt, that it would rain on the day he moves away from home. It's as though the rain is washing away his life with his parents, giving him a new start.

But when Haru thinks back on the simile, he remembers why he isn't a writer, and he sees the rain as it is once more - just rain.

He inherited his straightforwardness from his parents. He is creative and imaginative, but he doesn't really believe in special messages hidden in metaphors or psychic future-tellings. Neither do his parents - although to Haru, his parents don't seem all that imaginative. They've always lived in the city, and will most likely continue to stay there, engulfed in the grey world of business suits and skyscrapers. Someone like that is not going to believe that, upon crossing a black cat, they will have bad luck.

That was the future Haru's parents had planned for him. In his final year of high school, they persuaded him to take the entrance exam for a Japanese literature course at one of the city's leading universities. Somehow, he'd managed to scrape a pass and was accepted into the world of literature.

One year after Haru entered this world, he left without a single happy memory or a degree. Perhaps this was just testament to Haru's straightforwardness - he had done well at university, but he hated every second of it, and made sure his parents knew that when he told them he wasn't going back.

Of course, things had escalated from there, and Haru ended up deciding to move away. At the time, he hadn't cared where - anywhere was better than with his parents.

Part of him wishes he had never told his parents; that he had escaped into the night with as much as he could carry. But Haru knows his parents would have worried, and as annoyed as he feels towards them, he would have felt too guilty not telling them. His parents deserve to know that he's leaving home, after all.

(Although he would have preferred to leave home without an ultimatum.)

"Horrible day to be movin', this," says the taxi driver, speaking for the first time this journey. His accent is rural and relaxed, croaking a little from age.

Haru hums, not wanting to be roped into a conversation. The driver continues nonetheless.

"I'm sure it'll ease up soon. It's supposed to be sunny today, in Iwatobi."

Iwatobi. Just the name of the town makes Haru feel a little more hopeful. When he researched houses, the ones in Iwatobi screamed at him with their lax mortgage rules and their affordable prices. Sure, they aren't the biggest houses, but Haru doesn't mind. Iwatobi is pretty far from the city where he used to live, so his parents won't come for surprise visits, and best of all, Iwatobi is a seaside town.

For the first time, Haru is going to live by the ocean. He can't wait.

"I don't think I caught yer name," the driver says after a few minutes of silence. Haru doesn't recall the driver ever asking for it in the first place.

"Nanase," Haru replies with his surname, then adds, "Haruka."

"Nanase Haruka - isn't that a girl's name?"

Haru rolls his eyes and turns back to the window. This is why he prefers not giving his first name - he's always hated it. Even being called by his surname is better than having people notice his girlish name. It's not that he cares that it's a feminine name - it's just that people always mention that when they hear it, and it gets annoying, after a while.

The driver notices his disdain. "Suit's ye, though. Yer name."

Haru doesn't respond. Two droplets race down the window, meeting at the bottom.

The radio warbles in the background, its dreary tone accompanied by the rain's percussion. Then it is cut off by the shelter of the tunnel, leaving the radio to sing a capella. Haru lays his head back on the headrest, eyes closed. He waits for the sound to return.

Except it doesn't. The tunnel goes on for a few minutes, and when they exit, they are met by a bright light which sears into Haru's eyelids. He opens his eyes and blinks a few times, adjusting to the sudden light.

The rain has stopped and the clouds have parted a little, allowing the sun to shine through onto the countryside. They are outside a small town where the grass glistens with moisture and the sheer amount of colourful flowers is overwhelming - and that's from the outside. It is as though the world has been reborn, revitalised.

Then Haru sees it in the distance, across the downward slope that the town takes - the sea. Sparkling, it drifts over a strip of sand, holding up a few fishing boats. The light dances on their waves, enticing Haru, and immediately he wants to be there, to be in the water, to swim.

This is Iwatobi. Haru loves it already.

The taxi drives past a bus stop and over to an old sandstone building. To its left is a brown notice board with a few pieces of paper on it. Haru wonders how they haven't been destroyed with the rain yet.

"Here we are," the driver says as he parks. "Iwatobi Town Hall."

"Thank you," Haru says, paying the driver before exiting the car with his luggage - a single suitcase and a duffel bag. The rest will be delivered to his house in a few days, not that he has much else.

The taxi turns round and exits Iwatobi once more, leaving Haru to begin his new life.

Dragging his luggage behind him, Haru enters the Town Hall. It is a quaint building with an atmosphere of efficiency and productivity. Music plays over a hidden stereo, giving it another layer of warmth. On the front desk are a few stacks of paper, strewn from the 'Civic Centre' on the left to the 'Post Office' on the right. Behind the front desk, more paperwork awaits. Haru is glad his parents never wanted him to become a secretary.

The clerk doesn't look up when he approaches. She continues to scribble, her brown hair concealing her face.

Haru stands for a minute, hoping the clerk will notice him, and when she doesn't, quietly says, "Excuse me."

The clerk jumps in her seat, hair flying as she stands. It is shoulder length and frames her face, which has an air of softness about it. Haru regrets startling her.

"My apologies! I didn't hear you come in. Welcome to the Iwatobi Civic Centre, how may I help you?"

Haru isn't sure how to tell her that he's new here, and that he doesn't know what the moving procedure here is. "My name is Nanase Haruka," he starts, but is interrupted.

"Ah, Nanase-kun! You're moving in today, aren't you?" the clerk smiles and relaxes. "I'm glad you seem to have had a pleasant journey! My name is Amakata Miho, and I'm the daytime clerk for the Iwatobi Town Hall." She starts rifling through some of the paperwork, still talking as she does so. "This end of the counter is the Civic Centre - if you have any trouble with a citizen or want any help or information, just come here. Next door," she points to the desk beside her, "is the Post Office, where you can send and save letters. We also allow mortgage payments at the Post Office."

Finally finding what she is looking for, Amakata takes some papers from a folder and presents them to Haru. "If you could just sign on the lines, please. The first is your moving paper, and the second is for your town passport. Both are so we have evidence of your move to Iwatobi."

Haru takes the papers and gives them a quick read-through, then looks back up at Amakata. She is still staring at him. He doesn't say anything. She furrows her brows a little, confused, then realises.

"Oh, a pen!"

Haru doesn't know what to make of this. All he can do is watch as Amakata moves stacks of paperwork around, looking frantically for the pen she must have flung when Haru arrived. After a few minutes she finds it, apologising as she hands it to him with flushed cheeks.

He doesn't comment on it. He signs the forms and hands them back to Amakata, who files them away before handing him a map and a set of keys. "We always give new residents a map of the town for ease of access," she says. Taking the pen, she circles a house at the bottom left of the map, right by the sea. "This is your house. It's a little bit of a trek from here, but at least you'll be able to explore town a little too."

Rather than exploring, Haru plans on dumping his luggage in his house and diving right into the sea, but he doesn't mention that.

"Do you have any questions?"

Haru shakes his head. Amakata smiles gently.

"I'm sure you'll love it here in Iwatobi. I hope you have a good evening, and I hope to see you again soon."

Nodding goodbye, Haru exits with his luggage, returning into the evening air. The clouds have drifted more since his arrival, and the sky is a little more clear. This, however, doesn't make it any easier for Haru to navigate himself through the town, even with a map. He doesn't mind, though. Following the sound of the tide, he passes through the trees. When he meets a river and consults his map, he finds he's walked too far to the east, but he can follow the river south until he reaches his house. He watches some fish beneath the surface for a moment, then walks alongside the riverbank.

Even in the evening, people walk around the town, some just out for a stroll, others armed with fishing rods or bug nets. Some of them wave to him, or smile at him, and he waves or nods back, surprised by their amiability. In the city, the street is a current, the people fish, passing without engaging in conversation. The change is jarring, but Haru finds himself enjoying it.

The air is also a change. In Iwatobi, it's so much clearer, freer, than it is in the city. There are no skyscrapers, only small houses and a few bigger buildings, like the museum, which he passes on his way south. There is so much space, no cars or factories to pollute the air. Haru can see the gulls soaring above him, can hear the cicadas chirping in the trees. He can feel the freedom of the small town in his veins, urging him to take it in and convert it into energy. Maybe he'll regain some inspiration here. Maybe this will become his home.

Eventually the river curves and he crosses a bridge, where a house lies not too far ahead. But that is not his house. He turns right and heads west, towards the only house in that direction.

His house is small and lies next to a cliff which borders the town, and not ten metres ahead is a vast expanse of blue, so much closer than it has ever been to Haru. But he can't go in it yet. He fumbles with the keys and unlocks his pitifully empty house, the only furnishings of which are a stereo and a cardboard box with a candle on top of it. Upstairs, he finds a single bed with blue sheets and a rickety wardrobe. His only furniture. By the time the duffel bag is on the bed and his suitcase beside the wardrobe, Haru's energy levels are beyond the roof. It's time. He is going to the sea.

Halfway down the stairs, a knock sounds from the front door, echoing in the almost empty front room.

Normally Haru would wonder why someone is visiting him when he's only just moved in, but everyone in this town seems so friendly that it hardly strikes him as odd at all. A little annoyed, he answers the door.

A tall man stands outside, wearing a t-shirt and jeans with an apron on the top. He grins as soon as he sees Haru.

"Ah, you must be Nanase!" The man holds out a hand, eyes shining. "My name is Sasabe Goro, I'm your landlord here in Iwatobi."

Haru shakes Sasabe's hand. It makes sense that his landlord would want to visit him when he's just moved in, but how did he hear that Haru had arrived so quickly?

"How do you like your new house?" Sasabe asks, then continues before Haru can answer. "I know it's a bit small, but that will change over time."

Feeling a little sceptical, Haru nods.

"Good, good! I also own Iwatobi's own general store," Sasabe says. "It's called Go Go Goro's! Unfortunately you're on the opposite side of town from it, but it doesn't take that long to walk there, and it's marked down on your map if you need to see where it is. We sell almost everything, so feel free to come along and take a gander some time!"

Haru is beginning to wonder whether this man is being hospitable or if he's just self-advertising.

"Anyway, I hope you enjoy your new home," Sasabe says. "If you ever have any questions about mortgage payments, just pop into the shop and I'll see what I can do for you. See you later, Nanase-san." The landlord waves before leaving.

Haru closes the door, retreating into the safety of his house. He takes a few moments to breathe and recover from the sudden visit, then grabs his keys and leaves, making a beeline for the beach.

The sky has darkened since he was last out, and the air is a little cooler, but that doesn't stop Haru from stripping down to his jammers - the swimming shorts he always wears when he thinks he'll have a chance to swim. Leaving his clothes on the sand, he runs into the cold water, enjoying the sensation of the tide pushing against him.

For the first time today, Haru fully relaxes, floating on his back and watching the birds soar across the sunset. The water supports him, keeping him afloat and accepting him, just as it has always done.

Compared to the stuffy, loud public pools of the city, the cold brush of the sea is heaven for Haru. For a starter, he is completely alone, at one with the water and himself, no one around to judge him - they are all further into the town, and the only fishing boats are docked further up the bay. Peaceful, he floats for a while, forgetting the world around him. It takes him a while to tear himself away, reluctantly returning to his house, clothes in hand.

Completely relaxed, Haru dries himself off before putting on some clean pyjamas and settling down. This town has been more lively than he expected, what with the friendly villagers and the sudden visit from the landlord. But Haru finds himself not minding, happy to live in such a beautiful town by the sea.

All he can do now is settle in and live. This might only be his home for a year - he has to make the most of it.