Susumu just wanted to get out of the desert as soon as possible. She walked for what felt like hours, and the sand seemed to stretch on forever, until... She bumped into something.

"Augh! ...What is..." When Susumu looked up, she saw that she had bumped into... The biggest tomato she had ever seen. "I-Is this...?" Was this really happening? Giant blades of grass, living tomatoes... Was it all real? She put a hand on her head to make sure she wasn't just hallucinating from the heat. "Urgh... I hate tomatoes..."

She turned to walk away, but as she did, she was pushed by what seemed to be yet another tomato. This one, however, was different. This tomato had a face on it, and from the looks of things, it didn't seem happy about what she said.

"U-Um... I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were... Alive, you know? I-I didn't mean-"

The tomato didn't seem too eager to listen to her, and instead rolled into her, knocking her down. "Urgh! H-Hey! I said I was-!"

As the tomato was about to roll over her, however, she heard another voice. "Oh, don't hurt her, please! She didn't mean anything against you!"

The tomato stopped in its tracks, as the voice continued talking. "Please, let her go! She didn't want a fight! I... I actually think she might be sick or something..."

The tomato took another look at Susumu, before rolling off into the grass. "Urgh... Susumu stood up, dusting herself off. The voice was coming from a pink-haired girl in some sort of flower costume, in fact she resembled a cherry blossom more than anything. "Thank... Thanks for that," she thanked the girl. "Um, I'm not sick though. I just got out of the desert and I really don't like the heat... But, uh, who are you?"

The girl helped Susumu get up and introduced herself. "My name is Konade! I usually go walking through here when it's nice out... But I never expected to find another person here. What's your name?"

"I'm Susumu, and I'm on a mission to defeat the Dark Lord!" Susumu blurted. She probably shouldn't have said that, considering the look Konade gave her after.

"The... Dark Lord?" Konade seemed concerned. "And, you're going after him all by yourself?"

"I... I have to," Susumu said. "Azamir... He took my friends! If I don't get them back..."

"...Hey, Susumu? Why don't I go with you?" Konade offered. "That Dark Lord... I-I don't think you'll be able to beat him on your own. Besides, I know there's a town near here! I'm sure someone there can help us!"

"Yeah, I... Don't think I'll be able to either..." Susumu admitted. "But, there's a town nearby! What are we waiting for? Let's go there now!"

As soon as the two arrived in town, Susumu could've sworn that she saw someone hiding in one of the houses. "Hey! Excuse me! Can you help us? We're-"

"Eep!" Whoever it was, they ducked inside their house when Susumu approached. "N-no thank you! No one's home! Now- Now move along before..."

"Before... What?" Susumu was about to ask, until something caught her eye.

"Oh! Oh, terrible deeds! Someone has to help me!"

Susumu and Konade were about to check out what was happening, until they saw a blonde girl being swarmed by three boys. "Oh, Miss Shari-Chan!" said the boy in purple. "What makes you grace us with your presence today?"

"S-Saburo!" Shari-Chan gasped. "Kenji, Leon! I-It's my sisters! They- They've gone missing and-"

"Don't you worry about Miss Kari-Chan, Miss Shari-Chan!" Kenji tried to assure her. "She's so strong, she might even be stronger than you or Miss Gari-Chan!"

"Hey! No way!" Saburo exclaimed. "No one is stronger than Miss Gari-Chan!"

"Don't worry about them, Miss Shari-Chan," Leon scooter closer to Shari-Chan. "If anything happens, I'll protect you!"

"They're not listening to me..." Shari-Chan groaned, before catching sight of Susumu and Konade. "Oh, excuse me! You look like a couple of strong adventurers. Please, I need help! My name is Shari-Chan and-"

"We heard everything, Shari-Chan," Susumu stopped her.

"What happened to your sisters?" Konade asked.

"W-well... It all started when that Dark Lord Azamir attacked our village," Shari-Chan began. "My sisters and I stopped him, and they went off to make sure he hadn't done any damage to the rest of our land. But... They haven't come back yet. I-I'm so worried, but... I'm afraid to go it alone..."

"Hey, we're after the Dark Lord too!" Susumu declared. "Maybe we can help you find your sisters too?"

"Y-you'd do that for me?" Shari-Chan sniffed. "T-thank you."

"Where did you see your sisters last?" Konade asked.

"W-well... I don't know where Gari-Chan went," Shari-Chan admitted. "But! I know Kari-Chan went to Citrus Cave! If we're lucky, she might still be there!"

"Hey, I know where Citrus Cave is!" Konade stated, shaking her petal slightly. "That'll make things easier, won't it?"

"Citrus... Cave?" Susumu blinked in confusion.

"I think you'll really like it there, Susumu," Konade assured her. "Come on, you two, let's go find Kari-Chan!"