Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 1: Trip to the Train Station

It is another Monday morning in Sky Land, a magical world that floats high in the air. The sun is shining, the clouds are drifting slowly in the sky, and a steroo* is stirring from his sleep. Clearing his throat, he lets out a loud "Dock-a-doodle-coo*!", which echoes throughout the islands. One by one, humans, known as Skylandians, birds, and other creatures slowly awoke from their slumber and greeted each other with warm smiles. Many Skylandians began opening their stalls and buildings that serve food, jewelry, clothing and more. Large birds took to the skies or traveled across the land to deliver packages and passengers from place to place.

One particular Skylandian, Harewataru Sora, is seen sleeping quite comfortably in her bed. On her nightstand, a framed picture reveals herself smiling with her four friends: Ellee, the princess of Skyland; Mashiro, her first friend from Earth; Tsubasa, a Puni Bird who can turn into a human; and Ageha, her second friend from Earth. Hearing the steroo, the 15-year-old girl opens her blue eyes and bolts up in bed, her face glowing with excitement. Letting out a big yawn, she wastes no time in her morning routine. After making her bed, brushing her teeth, washing her face, putting on her clothes, and fixing her long blue hair, she looks into a full-length mirror to check if anything's out of place. Sora's hair is tied into her right-side ponytail secured by a yellow ribbon, leaving short bangs in front and longer bangs on the left side of her face. Her loose teal dress holds blue triangle patterns on the bottom and a blue and white collar, which pairs well with her gray pants and tabi shoes. Once satisfied with her look, she gives an affirmative nod.

"Alright, let's see if I have everything," declares Sora. She walks toward her large light-brown backpack near the doorway and peeks inside.

"Clothes... check! Train ticket... check! Toiletries... check! Water bottle... check! And most importantly..." Sora reaches into her breast pocket and pulls out a small notebook and pen. The light pink and blue notebook has the words, "Pretty Holic Stationary," etched on the front cover. The pen has a pink base with several star embroidery and a white feather-shaped crystal on top with a blue diamond. Sora looks down at the two items with a warm smile and a hint of nostalgia while saying, "Check." Returning them into her pocket, she then wears it over her shoulders with ease, despite its heaviness, and closes the door behind her before hurrying toward the kitchen.

"Morning, mom! Morning, dad!" greets Sora with a big smile. She lays her backpack near her seat and enters the kitchen. Sora's mother was cooking canpakes* on the stove and making feecof*, while Sora's father sets up the dining table. Hearing Sora's voice, they turned around and said good morning to their lovely daughter.

"Look who's up early! Today's the day." After flipping the last canpake, Mrs. Harewataru brings a heaping pile of canpakes to the table and distributes them on four plates.

"Sure is!" exclaimed Sora as she grabs the kilm* and rerbies* from the fridge. "I was so excited about the special trip, I couldn't sleep last night."

Last week, she and her four friends were invited by Maria and Kaguya Saotome, aka the Saotome sisters, to Beika, Tokyo and stay at the Grand Sunflower Hotel, where the two will compete in a fashion model contest. Since Mashiro has summer break during that time, she had no trouble coming along. All five friends planned together on what activities and sightseeing places they'll visit in Beika, which Tsubasa wrote down on the itinerary. As the only adult in the group, Ageha volunteered to chaperone and gained permission from her three friends' parents. Once everything had been planned out, they went their separate ways, promising to meet tomorrow at Mashiro's house by 7:30 AM before boarding the 8:30 train to Beika City. After pouring kilm in two glasses and washing the rerbies, Sora wonders if something else is missing.

"Have no fear, big sis! Super Red is here to save the day!!" Surprised, Sora turns her head toward the kitchen entrance and spots a small boy standing there with hands on his hips and a heroic look on his face. He has short, bright blue hair that matches his eye color and wears the same clothes as Sora, except a dark blue cape that flew with the wind. With lightning speed, Red grabs a small stool near the fridge and places it near the counter, so he could reach the rysup* on top. He then rushes toward the dining table and climbs on one of the chairs to place the rysup in the middle.