Cast:

Minase Iori-Princess

Mitarai Shouta-Prince

Mizutani Eri-Prince's Mother

Pea-Pea

It was late and rainy. Princess Minase Iori was not used to being out so late and when it was so rainy. To be honest, she had no idea what she was even doing out there, but that's just because it's never mentioned in the fairytale. But, as it happens, she came across the castle described in the tale and knew she had to knock. So she did.

The door opened, revealing Prince Mitarai Shouta and his mother, Queen Mizutani Eri (which was strange for Eri, considering that she was only one year older than Shouta). Shouta smiled.

"Hey, are you that princess that's supposed to sleep on our mattresses tonight?" he asked. Eri nudged him on the arm.

"We're not supposed to know she's a princess yet," she whispered.

Shouta blinked. "Oh yeah. 'Scuse me. Are you that random lady who it turns out is a princess who's sleeping on our mattresses?"

Iori curtsied. "But of course, who else could play such a role?" she laughed.

"OK. Well, come on inside. You look wet," Shouta stated obviously.

"Really now," Iori sighed, stepping inside. "Now, show me my room so that I may change and take a shower."

"Oh, don't worry, you'll see it," Shouta laughed. "It's the one with the thirty-six mattresses all stacked up on the bed. You can't miss it."

Iori curtsied again and hustled upstairs.

"I think it's a princess," Shouta announced.

"Shall we test that?" Eri suggested.

"Of course. Where's that pea?"

"I have it right here…dear."

While Iori was in the shower, Shouta snuck into her room and shoved the pea under all thirty-six mattresses. Then he left, but not before Iori yelled at him for coming into her room while she was in the bathroom naked and showering, despite the fact that Shouta had absolutely no interest in going into said bathroom and looking at Iori naked and showering. Then Iori came out in clothes after the prince had left, tried to climb up the mattresses to go to sleep, and then gave up and got a ladder from off-set. Using the ladder, she climbed onto the mattresses and fell asleep.

When Iori woke up in the morning (meaning, 3 AM), she was miserable. Even though it was supposedly 3 AM, the aching and irritated Princess Iori used the ladder to climb down from her mattresses and stalked down the hallway to Queen Eri's room.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Iori demanded. Eri stirred and sat up.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered. She hadn't been expecting Iori until 3:30 AM..

"I had the worst night's sleep!"

"You didn't…have a night's sleep…"

"…I had the worst morning's sleep!"

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but my back hurts, I was tossing and turning…I mean, it felt like someone was stabbing a knife into my back!"

Prince Shouta promptly appeared at the door. "That was just a pea," he said dismissively. "I stuck it under your mattresses while you were showering."

"Oh, so that's why you were there. I thought you just wanted to peek at me," Iori admitted.

"Nah, I'm not interested in those kinds of things," Shouta laughed. "So, since you're obviously a princess, wanna get married?"

"No."

"Well, you have to anyways," Eri commented. "That's…that's how the story goes, a-after all…"

Iori sighed, exasperated. "Fine!" she sniffed. "But I'm not doing it on-set."

"No one is."

"Then, let us be off."

And that was how the story of Princess Iori and the Pea ended.

Ishikawa gave Eri a supportive smile. "Good job," she praised. "You three were so cute together."

Iori and Eri blushed, while Shouta just grinned.

"Good work, Minase-kun," Takagi said. "That was a very convincing princess you played."

"Naturally," Iori sniffed. She and Eri went off to get ready for the next part (which, for Iori, was just a curtain call kind of thing).

"You could have been better," Kuroi muttered to his grinning male idol. "You weren't supposed to know the girl was a princess at first."

"I know~" Shouta said dismissively. "I messed up. Sorry~"

"Sorry doesn't fix it," Kuroi growled.

"You were fine, Shouta," Ishikawa cut in. "But Eri was cuter."

"Minase-kun was cuter," Takagi muttered, which, of course, sparked another argument. Shouta used the opportunity to sneak away and prepare for his next prince role. Producer broke up the fight, getting punched in the face in the process, and Takagi looked around at the assembled idols, smiling and nodding in approval.

"Right. Beauty and the Beast cast, you're up next!"