Kiyomi awoke to the sounds of the ocean outside just as easily as they had put her to sleep the night before... She yawned cutely and sat up, twitching her cat ears twice. Yes, cat ears. "Nya~!"

With the morning came a familiar burst of excitement. Kiyomi recently turned 17, and had decided wholeheartedly to move away from her comfy yet simple life with her mother in the city (whom by the way knew from the start she couldn't talk her feverish daughter out of it). She was headed off to an island in the middle of the sea. With a smile, the girl jumped off her bed and rose her arms up. "Oh, I wonder how much longer!" She ran over to the closet on the opposite side of the small dorm room and grabbed a towel and tooth brush. After kicking her door open, she made her way down the dim hallway to the bathroom, all the while trying to keep her "sea legs" and work.

A young woman wearing a mini crown stood on deck of a large ship, her long blond hair swaying with the wind. Gazing out into the vast ocean with her abnormally large eyes, the girl had a huge grin on her face. Leaning forward a bit, trying to see some sign of her soon-to-be home in the distance, she could barely hold still. This girl was Amanda.

Amanda, Mandi, if you will, was a sweet girl to say the least. She wasn't really a genius, but she was always very happy and optimistic, and had an outrageous imagination and was overflowing with creativity. The blonde was 18 years old, and had lived with her parents and sister all of her life, until now. About a week ago, she woke up and just decided she wanted to move out on her own to this island. Thus bringing us to the present.

She stretched her arms in the air and then proceeded to drop them down to her sides. The ocean breeze felt nice. Amanda turned around to face the ship "Kyaa! I can't wait!" she exclaimed, "I wonder how much longer we have." And after a moment of pondering, she proceeded to continue staring off into the distance.

After a trip to the bathroom, the cat girl hurried back to her room to get dressed. She wore the usual, a mini dress along with thigh-high stockings and bows in her messy pink hair. Yes, pink hair. Believe it or not, it was her natural color. Go figure.

It wasn't long before she made her way on deck to get a better view of the morning. Making her way to the nearest railing, she looked out as far as her eyes could see, using her right hand to shade them from the bright sun. Her blue eyes reflected the ocean. No land. Yet at least.

"Hmm." she said impatiently. It had been 2 days since she had set sail. She couldn't wait to get to waffle island any longer.

Oh right, her destination. This island was known for its broad farmlands, clear-as-glass rivers, and of course the great Harvest Tree (or Mother Tree if you will). Kiyomi tried to picture what it would be like when she caught sight of another passenger. A young girl, maybe about her age, with a crown on her head.

"When will we get thereeee?", the blond whined. Turning around and crossing her arms, she saw another passenger… that had cat ears? Were those real? And pink hair? Really? Woahhhh. Was that the natural color?

Losing temporary interest in staring into blank space, Mandi made her way over to the girl. She stood face to face with the cat-girl, "Hi!" she greeted, cheerfully, "My name's Mandi! What's your? Are your ears real? Is that your real hair color?" Mandi stared at the girl with wide eyes. She was always a very friendly girl.

Kiyomi smiled big, "Hai, it's my natural color!" She twitched her ears, "And these are real too." She looked at the girl up and down as she stared back. "Nice ta meetcha Mandi!" she said happily, taking the girl's hands as if they had already been long time friends, "I'm Kiyomi, and I'm off to a new life desu~!"

"Kyaa! Kawaii!", she stared at the girl with giant sparkly eyes, " and really?! Me too! I'm moving, also! I mean, I have no idea where I'm gonna live or anything yet, but me too!" she replied, excited beyond belief, having already made a new friend and not even to the island yet.

"Seriously? Awesome! I have no idea either!" She said it as if it was a good thing to have in common with someone. "Where ya headed off to?"

"Rainbow Island!" She replied, " I hear they have a small town there, and a lake, and a mine, and a big ranch!! I'm really excited! Where are you headed to?" Mandi was almost jumping for joy, where had this girl been hiding these past two days?

"E-etto.." Kiyomi became even more excited, "You mean the one with the big tree and rainbows and whatnot?! NYA! That's where I'm headed too!" She began jumping up and down. "It's decided then, you're my new best friend!" she said pointing to the girl, "AND be happy! Cuz you're the very first friend I made on my new adventure!"

"REALLY!?" Mandi began jumping up and down with Kiyomi, "Kya!! I already have a best friend! And what a coincidence! You're my very first friend, as well!" That's so cool! A new best friend! WITH CAT EARS.

The boat's horn sounded, signaling the island was in sight. Mandi turned around, her eyes went even wider in excitement.

"Woohoo!" she exclaimed "Look! There it is!" she began jumping again.

"Wow.." Kiyomi breathed. There it was. Her future. Her dream. Her new life, just a few miles off. The girls stared with bright, glowing eyes in the morning light. The shores of the sandy white beach where barely visible, but it wouldn't be long till the captain would yell the word of arrival. "Ne, captain! Is that really it!" Kiyomi directed her attention to a man, late in his years, standing before the ship's steering wheel. "Yes it is." he said with a smile. He was happy to have brought newcomers to the island he called home.

The closer the ship got, the more excitement the two girls felt. "I can't believe it! We're so close!"

After what seemed like an hour of staring, the ship had reached the port. Mandi, arms laced with Kiyomi, ran off of the ship onto the dock. They had finally reached there new home. Their new life.