The end of the school day was always Sora's favorite, it meant she didn't have to stare at paper and she could go to soccer practice or go home and relax. Whenever the final bell rang, Sora found herself in the best moods, she was practically walking on air, especially today. Shizen Town's yearly Sakura Fest was this weekend. All school activities were off this week for Sakura Fest, and because Emiri was relatively new to town, Sora had to invite her friend to attend Sakura Fest. Just as her class packed up their bags, Sora leaned over to Emiri's desk, getting her attention.

"Yahoo~ Emiri!" Emiri put her notebooks away and turned to Sora, who was tilting in her chair.

"Sora! What's up?" Emiri asked, gently twirling her hair with her finger.

"You know that Sakura Fest is this weekend, right?"

"No, what's Sakura Fest? I've been hearing people talk about it all day."

Sora was shocked, how did she not completely know what Sakura Fest was? She was in town last year wasn't she? Guess it was time to explain her favorite event to Emiri.

"I thought you moved to town last year. I'm surprised you didn't know about it." Sora pouted.

"I did, but I moved during the summer, so I didn't know about this Sakura Fest." Emiri confessed.

"Oh! I see now!" Sora said, her expression going back to a smile. "Basically Sakura Fest is a Shizen Town tradition during the sakura tree season! Every year, the town celebrates the blooming of the trees with lots of special food, performances, and stuff like that. It's like a holiday!"

Emiri's eyes sparkled with excitement hearing Sora's explanation. Sakura Fest sounded amazing! She had to go now. Maybe Sora was planning to take her, but if not, all she could do was hope and ask.

"Wow! Sakura Fest sounds amazing! I really wish I could go..." Emiri looked down, feeling a little sad that Sora hadn't asked her to go.

"What do you mean? You're coming with me tomorrow, aren't you?" Sora asked, causing Emiri to perk up.

"You're inviting me?"

"Of course! Normally I'd go with Izumi and Miyuki, but their older sister is in town so they wanted to go with her instead. And besides, it's your first time and I'd love to experience Sakura Fest with you!" Sora grinned at Emiri.

"Sora, I don't know what to say... thank you! You're the best!" Emiri couldn't contain her excitement, she started jumping up and down. Once she stopped, she leaned over to hug Sora, who was still leaning in her chair. Sora then lost her balance and fell out of her chair.

"Uwah!"

"Are you okay?! I'm sorry if I made you fall out of your chair." Emiri never felt so embarrassed before, she wasn't typically someone who was considered clumsy. Sora gave her a thumbs up from the ground, her eyes still spinning.

"... yeah, I'm fine. It was my fault hehe!"

Emiri laughed at Sora, helping her up off the ground. Once Sora packed up her stuff, the two girls left the school and walked home together. They kept talking about what they should do during Sakura Fest and where they should meet up. All Sora could talk about was the sakura ice cream, her favorite food at the festival. Naturally, Emiri wasn't shocked by that, she knew how much Sora loved ice cream, but she knew she wanted to try it.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

The duo stopped at Emiri's house, waving goodbye to each other and promising to meet up the next morning. Sora arrived at her house shortly after. She took a sample of her mom's sakura chocolate, and then returned to her bedroom where Skyla was there sitting on her bed.

"Sora, you're back ~Sky!" Skyla floated over to Sora, giving her a small hug.

"Yeah! And guess what? We're going to Sakura Fest!!" Sora announced to her little mascot friend.

"Yay for Sakura Fest ~Sky! What's Sakura Fest? I've never heard of it before ~Sky." Skyla asked Sora.

"I've told you before, it's our celebration for the Sakura trees blooming! Don't you have things like that in the Nature Kingdom?"

Skyla went silent when Sora asked about her home. Remembering how beautiful it was compared to now, it hurt.

"We did, but not anymore ~Sky. After Pollution took over, our usual festivals stopped. Even the royal family just disappeared from the public. I'm actually convinced that the princess ran away and is missing ~Sky. Nobody left in Nature Kingdom knows where she is..."

Sora couldn't even imagine what Skyla was feeling, having her home being taken over by a group of evil people and all the citizens being locked up. She felt so sorry for her. Sora felt like that it was a good moment to give Skyla a hug.

"Don't worry Skyla, we'll fight to save Nature Kingdom okay? We'll save everyone there, including the princess. It's a promise~" Sora lifted her pinky finger to Skyla's face

"Sora..." Skyla began to smile again, and she reached out her paw, agreeing with Sora's promise.

"Trust me, when you come with me and Emiri to Sakura Fest tomorrow, you'll forget all about Nature Kingdom's current state, we'll all have fun together!"

"Yeah ~Sky!"

Sora felt better knowing that Skyla's spirit was once again lifted. She spun around her room, holding Skyla's paws. Her excitement lasted pretty long, until a voice interrupted her.

"Sis... what are you doing?!"

Sora's heart felt as if it had stopped. Rio probably just saw her dance around with Skyla and maybe even talking to her. She began to sweat nervously.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH! RIO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?! GET OUT GET OUT!" She started pushing Rio out of her room, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Both siblings stood right in front of the doorway in an awkward stare down.

"I heard you talking to something, were you talking to that stuffed animal?" Rio pointed at Skyla, who was pretending to be a stuffed dog.

"Whaaaaaat? Of course not! Everyone knows I'd be considered crazy if I was!" Sora laughed nervously, trying to act as casual as she possibly could.

"What do you mean, you're already crazy..." Rio smirked before turning around and walking down the hall.

Those words seemed to pierce Sora like a sword, she dramatically collapsed on the floor, pretending to be destroyed by her brother's comment.

"You're the worst... Rio...." she grumbled, now laying in the middle of the floor. Her mom walked down the hallway and noticed Sora laying there.

"What are you doing on the floor Sora?" she laughed, helping her daughter off of the ground.

"Nothing... Rio is just being annoying..." Sora pouted, crossing her arms.

"Well, he's at that age where he likes to tease people. Anyway, are you going to join us for Sakura Fest? Or are you taking a friend with you?" Mrs. Kato looked at Sora, awaiting her answer.

"Oh! About that, I invited Emiri to come with me! I was planning on hanging out with her instead of the family if that's okay." Sora explained.

"That's okay! You usually go with your friends so I was just making sure! But, don't be afraid to have Emiri around with us, she's a very sweet girl and I'd love to get to know her better." Mrs. Kato smiled, happy that Sora was bringing Emiri along. She loved seeing her kids enjoy themselves with their friends after all.

"Yeah, I know mom." Sora finally got herself up off the floor and stepped back into her room. "Now, I kinda want some time to myself, so let me know when dinner is ready, or if you need me to do anything okay?"

Her mom nodded at her before Sora closed the door. Mrs. Kato then walked back downstairs to continue working on sweets for the festival.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

Tornado was not pleased, he had returned from punishment still numb from the pain of being electrocuted.

"Ugh, that felt like being hit by a lightning strike or something. That was the worst..." he groaned before a flier caught his attention on the ground. It was clearly not from their world so he picked it up to check out what it said.

"Sakura Fest? Guess I have an idea of where the Precure might be next! Now, who found that piece of paper?" He looked around, hoping to see someone. No one was there, but he could've sworn he heard a bit of laughter.

Naru and Tsunami hid behind a wall, quietly laughing. When they followed Tornado around last week, they saw the Sakura Fest fliers all around town. Once he failed, they figured it would be nice to push him in the right direction.

"He got our suggestion! This is perfect!" Tsunami said, feeling excited. Naru brushed her bangs out of her face and smiled at her brother.

"Yes, it is. But you know what would make it better? If we followed him like last time. Those Precure interest me..." Naru suggested.

"Huh, that might be pretty fun. We just can't interfere yet, the Precure still don't know about us..." Tsunami replied.

"That's true... but I think it'll still be fun at least. Even though the thought of celebrating a bunch of special trees disgusts me..." Naru pretended to gag, sticking her tongue out. Tsunami laughed again.

"Well then, looks like we have some planning to do!" The two of them walked away, continuing to discuss their plans.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

The next morning, Sora practically jumped right out of bed. She was so excited that she got dressed and made breakfast way faster than normal. Even her parents weren't awake yet. Once she was ready, Sora sat on the couch waiting for Emiri to arrive. 10 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Emiri was here! Sora bolted to the door and let Emiri in.

"Wow Sora! I thought you'd still be asleep, I'm impressed!" Emiri said, smiling innocently. Sora didn't know if she should be offended or not by Emiri's comment.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Emiri quietly laughed at Sora's reaction which only made Sora more upset.

"Nothing! We should get going now."  Sora agreed and the two walked to the front door. They were barely halfway through the door when Skyla stopped them.

"Don't forget about me ~sky!" Skyla pouted, sitting on Sora's shoulder, trying to make herself comfortable. Now that Skyla was ready, the group all left for Sakura Fest.

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

The duo could tell that there was a celebration as soon as they walked into town, everything was decorated with light pink, food stands dominated the street, there were large crowds of people at every corner, and the trees were filled with sakura blossoms that scattered petals in the breeze. Emiri was breath taken by the sakura trees, she had never seen something so beautiful before in her life.

"This is amazing!" she said, absolutely amazed. Sora had never seen Emiri's eyes light up like that before. It made her so happy that her best friend fell in love with the festival. As they continued walking and sightseeing, Sora stopped at a stand. Naturally, it was the stand for the Softserve Shop. Riko turned around the moment she heard Sora's voice.

"Heeey! Rikoooo!"

"Ah Sora! And Emiri too! I'm guessing you want the Sakura Special?" Riko smiled at the two girls, waiting for their response.

"Yes! Of course! Can we get two of them?" Sora asked, handing Riko some money.

"Anything for my favorite customer!" Riko accepted the money and got straight to work, pulling the lever on the ice cream machine. Sora watched as pale pink ice cream came out and was put into a little serving bowl. Riko finished the ice cream by putting on a couple of decorations including sprinkles and a little edible sakura flower. Riko then handed the girls their treats.

"Here!" Sora and Emiri looked at the ice cream in amazement, it looked so pretty! Sora took a bite of her ice cream, her eyes sparkling as she did.

"It tastes just as amazing as always!" Sora said, continuing to eat her ice cream. Seeing Sora get so excited about her ice cream made Emiri excited to try it. She lifted up her spoon, and took a bite. She couldn't believe how amazing it tasted!

"Wow, this tastes great!" Emiri said, her eyes lighting up.

"See? Sakura Fest has the best food!" Sora had already finished her ice cream and she started taking Emiri to another stand to try something else. The two spent several minutes trying the different food and wandering around. After they had tried everything, they went to a grassy area and sat down, feeling exhausted.

"Man, that was so much food!!" Sora flopped onto the grass, turning to Emiri. "Well Emiri, what do you want to do? Want to look at anything? Or we can wait for the Blooming of the Tree??"

"I don't really know, I kind of want to look at the trees for a little while, at least before the Blooming happens." Emiri suggested.

"That works! We have about an hour before the Blooming, let's go~!" Sora hopped up off the ground, took Emiri's hand, and they wandered around looking at the sakura trees. Emiri took a few pictures on her phone as well. As they walked, Sora didn't notice that a sakura petal landed in her hair. Emiri laughed and took a picture while Sora continued to act confused.

They headed back to the food stands and Sora noticed that her family's stand was finally open. She sprinted towards it, excited that she can have Emiri try her family's sakura chocolate.

"Sora, I didn't know your family owned that chocolate shop! That's amazing!" Emiri said, looking at the booth in awe.

"Hehe, I guess I never told you. Pretty cool huh? We're super popular during the holidays especially, with Valentine's chocolate, and White Day and all." Sora explained, eating her sakura chocolate. Emiri took a bite of her chocolate, smiling at how wonderful it tasted. Pink chocolate wasn't something you'd eat everyday after all.

Sora looked at the time and began to panic.

"Shoot! We need to go get a spot for the Blooming ceremony!" She and Emiri got up, and hurried over to the main plaza, the location of the Blooming. There were large crowds of people, so finding a good spot was going to be rather tricky. Sora and Emiri carefully made their way through the crowd, before they found the closest spot possible. It wasn't up front but it was good enough for them. More people continued to get seated around the large sakura tree, the centerpiece of Shizen Town itself.

A group of people walked onto the stage, one of them held a piece of paper in their hands. It had to be a ceremonial speech or something like that. The audience applauded, and the mc began to speak.

"Now, the moment you've been waiting for! The Blooming of the sakura tree!!" she shouted as people cheered. The person holding a piece of paper walked up to the stand and talked briefly about how important this tradition was to Shizen Town and how he hoped it would last for generations. People cheered and applauded once the speech was over.

Everyone looked at the tree as small lights surrounding it began to glow, and a breeze came by scattering its petals around the surrounding area. Sora and Emiri enjoyed every moment of it. Emiri was convinced she had never seen anything more beautiful. The duo continued to watch the tree but Skyla soon noticed something.

"Hey Sora," she whispered, "I have a strange feeling ~sky..."

"What?! Is it Pollution?" Sora whispered back. Skyla soon nodded her head.

"Yes... Tornado is nearby, stay alert ~sky."

Sora looked over at Emiri, who caught on to what Skyla was saying. The two of them knew it was a good idea to sneak away so that way no damage was done to the event. They made their way through the crowd and finally made it over to an empty area.

"Where could he be? If Skyla can sense him, he has to be here somewhere!" Sora said. Before she even had a chance to look around some more, Tornado casually walked up to them.

"I knew I'd find you here! Now, why don't I make things a little more lively around here? This festival is getting boring..." Tornado lifted up his hand and raised it, he looked like he was about to make a KuzuBug.

"What are you planning Tornado?!" Emiri asked, becoming tense as he stood there.

"Oh, nothing really..." Tornado began to form a blast of power, and he aimed it at the big sakura tree, the one Sora and Emiri were just admiring. He soon gave his standard speech, the one he recited every time he created a KuzuBug.

"Pollute the Earth and Destroy! Let's go KuzuBug!"

In an instant, the sakura tree transformed into a KuzuBug and began to attack the surrounding land. People ran in terror, trying their best to escape the plaza. Sora and Emiri watched in horror while Tornado laughed sadistically.

"Well, what are you gonna do? If you hand me the final key, I'll destroy my KuzuBug. And if you don't, your precious town and its people will continue running in terror!"

"There's no way we'd hand you the key!" Sora yelled. She pulled out her Nature Commune, which vibrated in her hand.

"I'll never forgive you for ruining such an important tradition! I've never experienced Sakura Fest before, but it's been wonderful! I'll protect that tree with everything I've got!" Emiri shouted, pulling out her Nature Commune. Sora and Emiri looked at each other, and transformed.

"Precure, Nature Flash!"

The girls posed in front of Tornado.

"Striking in the Great Forces of Nature! Cure Lightning!"

"Bringing Nature's Sweet Scent! Cure Ginger!"

"Guardians of nature, protecting the earth! Sweet Nature Precure!"

Lightning and Ginger ran right towards the KuzuBug, doing their best to avoid the fleeing civilians. Some people noticed the Cures running into action, leading to them looking in confusion, and also calming down a little.

"Who are these girls?"

"They must be fighting that monster!"

"They're so powerful, it's amazing!"

Lightning jumped into the air, avoiding the petal blasts the KuzuBug aimed at her. She then landed a hit on the KuzuBug, slightly weakening it. Ginger threw an attack at the KuzuBug while leading civilians to safety. Now that most of the civilians were safe, Lightning and Ginger met up together again, and ran towards the KuzuBug, kicking it to the ground. They soon joined hands, ready to perform their duo attack and defeat the KuzuBug.

"Together! Our powers as one! Precure Nature Blast!"

Their powers combined together and hit the KuzuBug, reverting it back to a tree. Tornado slammed the ground in frustration, he was tricked again by the Precure. Without another word, he escaped the scene.

The damage done reverted back to normal, and people started to return to the area, trying to fully grasp what just happened. The Cures returned to their civil forms again, and walked back to the crowd.

"Well, that could've been way worse. What a relief!" Sora sighed.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Now, how long do you think we need to wait for the celebration to start again?" Emiri asked.

Sora pointed ahead at the tree, which was lighting up again.

"Looks like we don't have to wait too long~!" Sora exclaimed. They returned to their spot from before and watched the tree as they and others around them cheered. Emiri suddenly pulled out her phone and brought Sora close to her.

"Say cheese, Sora!" she said, smiling. Sora held up a peace sign, smiling for Emiri's picture. Even Skyla smiled for the picture. They looked at the picture together, happy that it turned out perfect.

"Look at that ~sky! We're so cute ~sky!" Skyla said, her eyes sparkling. The girls continued watching the tree together, enjoying themselves. Emiri, who had never experienced Sakura Fest until today, thought to herself: I had no idea about Sakura Fest until I moved here, I'm so happy I got to experience it today! Sure it wasn't perfect, but I loved every moment of it. I wonder if Shizen Town has other festivals like this! I hope I get to experience them all with Sora!

~⚡️⚡️⚡️~

Tornado returned to Pollution, absolutely furious about his defeat. Considering this was the fifth time he failed to complete his task, things weren't looking good for him. Another one of his allies walked past him, noticing that Tornado was frustrated.

"Oh you're back... you know who wants to talk to you. He's not pleased... In fact, he wants me to try and fight the Precure next time." he said, patting Tornado on the shoulder, only making him more angry.

"Shut it Quake, I don't need pity from you too... I'll go talk to the king, surely he'll give me at least one final chance to prove myself." Tornado responded, pushing Quake's hand away. He walked down the hall to the throne room, being filled with nothing but absolute dread.

"Please... let me get one chance to defeat the Precure... I won't allow myself to meet my ultimate fate, not this time!" Tornado whispered under his breath, silently praying for a miracle to occur.

To be continued...

~Author's note!!~

Hello to everyone who's kept up with the series so far!! Thanks for reading! It means a lot, I've been planning this series for years and it means a lot to me. If you haven't had the chance to, feel free to vote on it! Now as for the story itself... what are those villains up to?? There's a lot of mystery behind them, especially that brother and sister duo? Will we find out more about them? Possibly!!