Aria the Natural

Two wonderful things have happened: it's time for Neo-Venezia's annual Carnevale, and Ai has come back to Aqua for a visit! As Akari and Ai wander through streets full of bright colors and beautiful masks, they catch a glimpse of Casanova, the mysterious master of ceremonies. Who is the man behind the mask? The two are curious, but they'll need to be careful. You know what they say about curiosity and the cat, after all...

Spring is beginning to bloom in Neo-Venezia, bringing with it sunshine and warm breezes. Akari, Aika and Alice are out practicing their sculling when they find a small treasure box hidden by a statue. Inside there's a a simple little riddle that sends them off on a treasure hunt that spans the entire city! What sort of riches await them at the finish line?

There's going to be a meteor shower, and Akari, Aika and Alice have made plans to watch it together. But this time, there's a little twist - Al, one of Neo-Venezia's gravity-controlling Gnomes, will be there as well. Even though he's shorter than the girls, he's actually three years their senior; and he knows all about physics, planets, and the beauty of the universe. What he doesn't seem to know, however, is how Aika feels whenever she's with him.

The mailman's gondola is being repaired, so just for today, Akari is making the rounds with him to get the job done. As she learns the ins and outs of what it means to be a mail carrier, she meets a boy who needs his letter delivered at any cost. Whatever the envelope he's holding contains, it's very close to his heart.

Akari and Alicia are visiting a shrine that looks just like the old Japanese shrines on Manhome. Though the grounds are beautiful, there's also a hint of mystery and danger in the air... Later, they are wandering on a different island, looking for a beautiful spot that Alicia once saw. But the farther they go, the less certain their path becomes. How do you reach your destination when you don't know the way there?

Something's strange about Alice... Athena has noticed that Alice doesn't really seem to have any friends her own age. If she's not with Akari and Aika, she's simply alone. In fact, when Alice receives an invitation to a party with other Orange Planet Pairs, she flatly rejects it. It's up to Aika and Akari to get to the bottom of Alice's puzzling behavior.

While practicing one day, the girls see President Aria in his own little gondola. But he doesn't see them... instead, he disappears down a canal that's normally closed off. According to Alicia, there's an old legend on Manhome that tells of the Kingdom of Cats, a strange realm that people aren't allowed to enter. Could such a place really exist?

Another wonderful holiday has arrived: Festa Del Bocolo! This day is a celebration of an ages-old story on Manhome, about a knight whose love for his lady lived on after his death in the form of a rose. In Neo-Venezia, that means that women everywhere receive roses from the people who admire them. Akatsuki wants to give Alicia as many roses as he can, but he's too nervous to deliver them (even though he'd never admit it). Will Akari be able to help?

Akari is taking customers out for a tour! Alicia is along to help, of course, and it's a good thing she's there. When the tourists start asking questions that Akari doesn't know the answers to, Alicia answers them with ease... but this worries Akari. Will she ever know the city as well as Alicia? This sparks a fire in Aika and Alice as well - they've decided to compete to see which one of them knows the most hidden wonders in Neo-Venezia.

Even though Akari is originally from Manhome, she seems to know more people in Neo-Venezia than Aika and Alice do, and they've lived on Aqua all their lives. No matter where she is, Akari has the ability to befriend any stranger. To learn more about this mysterious power Akari has, Aika and Alice decide to follow her in secret... but they might have to blow their cover once Akari innocently starts talking to a dangerous-looking man in black!

Akari has been given her very first solo job: carrying a shipment of Neo-Venezian glassware. They're beautiful pieces that sparkle in the sun, but the glassmaker's apprentice has a disposition that's anything but bright. He's sour and angry, and he's the one who'll be traveling with Akari as she delivers the shipment. Will Akari be able to handle the pressure of fragile cargo and a critical taskmaster?

Summer is blazing in Neo-Venezia. The days are so hot that Akari is starting to see things... One minute, she's walking down a crowded street, and the next, everyone is gone. Following President Aria in a haze, Akari wanders into a mysterious cafe, with a very unusual clientele... Later, the girls all decide to buy Nightshine Chimes, delicate little wind chimes with a glowing bead inside. The glow only lasts for a month before it fades, so Akari decides to make the most of the time she has.

Alice has created a new challenge for herself: when she walks home from school, she can only step on shadows. This is an ironclad law for her - but try as she might, she keeps failing. Even worse, Athena interferes by trying to help out. Alice's self-imposed challenge is something that she must conquer alone, or so she thinks; but maybe there's more to success than just doing everything by yourself.

Many of the water touring companies in Neo-Venezia have their own palina - a tall, decorated pole used to hitch gondolas. But strangely, the Aria Company doesn't have one. When Akari asks Alicia about it, Alicia gives her full permission to make a palina of her own! It's tough work building something from scratch, but Akari is determined to make the best palina possible.

Even though Akari is relatively new to Neo-Venezia, most of her friends have lived in the quiet island town all their lives. One sunny afternoon, as Akari, Akatsuki, Akria and Al are all eating lunch together, Al tells a story about when they were children, and the mysterious young boy who put Akatsuki squarely in his place.

When Akari takes her gondola in for a routine inspection, she's given some startling news - the repairman tells her that the gondola is now too old and worn for tourism use, and should be sold off for hauling cargo. Although she at first resists, Akari knows that the repairman is right; so she decides to travel with her gondola to all the wonderful places that she's been, as a way of saying goodbye.

On the night before her old gondola is set to be taken away, Akari and Alicia decide to have an evening picnic out on the water. As they laugh and talk, Alicia tells her stories of the gondola, and how it was an important part of her life as an apprentice, as well.

Aika is proud of her long, beautiful hair, and takes care of it as best she can... but things don't always go the way we want. One afternoon, while everyone is enjoying a cook-out on the beach, Aika leans in a little too close to the grill, and her hair catches on fire! No one is hurt, but her long beautiful locks are a lost cause. How will the hot-tempered Aika handle losing something that was so precious to her?

Aika is stuck in bed after catching a cold. She wonders about Akari and Alice... Are they slacking off without her? Surely they're lost without her guidance! So she sneaks out of bed one day to go take a peek... Later, Aika has a cute new set of hairpins, and she'd like to show them to Al. But she can't find the chance to visit him, and it's bothering her more than it should. Why does her heart ache when she thinks about it?

The whole town is sizzling in a strong summer heat wave, and the girls are doing the best they can to beat the heat. But then, Akari spots a woman dressed all in black, with even her face covered with a thick black veil. Aika tells Akari a Manhome legend about the spirit of a woman dressed in black, who was angered that she couldn't be buried on San Michele Island. Supposedly the ghost spirits away any gondolier foolish enough to take her on board... but that's only an old story, right?

In the still of the night, Akari is woken up by the distant sound of a train. But Neo-Venezia's trains don't run at that hour, so what was it she heard? And to make matters even more mysterious, the next day, President Aria gifts her with a train ticket. It would seem Akari is about to have another brush with the secretive spirit, Cait Sith...

When Akari innocently suggests that perhaps the little space between two stairs at the Aria Company is a portal to another world, President Aria, ever curious, squeezes through the gap, and pops out on the other side to find a terrifying sight! The second story is a flashback to when Akatsuki was little. He considered himself to be a superhero, but he wasn't quite as heroic as his imagination led him to believe...

As summer begins to wane, Alicia and Akari give a tour to an elderly couple who have come to Neo-Venezia to celebrate their anniversary. Although the woman is sweet and charming, the man is a bit of a grump. He orders her around, doesn't seem interested in sightseeing with his wife, and just acts cranky in general. But things aren't always as they appear... Even though he's tough on the outside, he still wants what's best for his wife, and it's up to the girls to help him set up a celebration that she'll remember always.

Heavy rain keeps the girls from their usual gondola practice, so instead they spend the day at Himeya. They start off studying at first, but when their minds drift off to what nicknames they'll take as Primas, Akira steps in and gives them some good old-fashioned paperwork to do. Even that can't get Aika down, however... because she's noticed lately that people whisper to each other when she walks past. Does that mean she's finally being recognized for her skills as an Undine?

Akari, Aika and Alice have been given their latest assignment: they must host a party on the Festa del Redentore! It's a festival that marks the start of autumn, and it's celebrated with feasts and fireworks. They rent a large boat, and start brushing up on their hostess skills, but Akari can't help but be a little distracted. She hasn't heard from Ai in a while, and all her emails have gone unanswered...

As snow softly covers Neo-Venezia, Akari and Alicia are out for a walk. Akari asks Alicia what she thought as a child - back then, what did she want to be like when she grew up? But in response, Alicia just begins to roll a ball of snow on the ground. As they walk around the city pushing the snowball, it grows bigger and bigger, to the point where people remark on it everywhere they go. Alicia only continues to smile, but it's certain that her answer is hidden there somewhere.