One night in the Tsukino household, Luna found Usagi at her desk with her book on a particular page, which surprised her.
"Well, this is a surprise," the black cat spoke as he hopped up on the desk. "You're studying on your own, Usagi. Are you brushing up on your English?"
Usagi didn't reply. At first, Luna was puzzled, but she was quick to find out why with the sound of a snore escaping Usagi's lips.
"I should have known," Luna sighed. "Usagi's the same as always."
Then she looked at the page that Usagi left off, feeling a little curious. The book was the story of Snow White, and the page was where the handsome prince was about to kiss the main heroine herself.
"I wonder if this story is making her have romantic dreams?" wondered Luna. She then began to daydream. "You know, even I hope that someday that I will meet a handsome and wonderful male cat and share a passionate kiss with him!"
Luna stood on her rear paws like a human and hugged herself while puckering her lips as she daydreamed. However, as she di,d, she happened to step on Usagi's pen, which made her stumble and bump straight into Usagi's nose, waking her up.
"Hey! I had a great dream about eating a huge meat bun, Luna!" pouted Usagi. "What'd you do that for?!"
Luna stared at Usagi. She could not believe what she had just heard. "A meat bun?! She had a dream about a meat bun?!" she cried internally. "Where did the girl with romantic dreams go?!"
Around that same time, Harusuke was reading as well and was also reading Snow White and happened to be on the same page Usagi was on. He had stopped to take a break, standing up while letting out a small grunt as he stretched his limbs.
"Man, that felt good," Harusuke said to himself. "Must have been stuck to that chair all day." He then looked back on the page where he left off. "Snow White, huh? Of all the stories we had to study our English on, I wonder why I started reading about this one? It seems like this would be something that Usagi would be interested in considering that she constantly thinks about romance all the time."00000
He then began to let his mind wander into his imagination as he pictured himself as a handsome prince with an unknown princess who was sleeping peacefully. Harusuke grew closer to the princess while holding her hand gently. His face grew closer to the princess, his lips about to touch hers.
At that moment, Harusuke snapped back to reality and shook his head, trying to get the daydream out of his head while his face was a bright shade of pink.
"What the heck am I doing?!" he snapped at himself. "Why the heck would I even think about something like that?! Besides, it's not like it's going to happen."
Harusuke then glanced over at the page again and then looked away, sighing. "I think I need to take a shower," he said as he walked out of his room.
At her apartment, An and Ail were sitting in the room. Ail was inspecting his Cardian cards while An was reading a book, which of course, was Snow White. As she read, An couldn't help but feel deeply emersed in the book while Ail wasn't interested.
"Is this necessary?" asked Ail. "If we have time to study English, then shouldn't we be thinking up ways to gather energy instead?"
An didn't answer as she continued to read. Then, seeing that there was no use trying any further, Ail left the room going into the Makai Tree's dimension.
An wistfully sighed as she hugged the book close to her chest. "Love is something you reach out and take! Like kissing a girl in a deep sleep to capture her love!" she thought. She then made a plan. "That's it! I will win Harusuke's heart by stealing a kiss from him!"
The next day, Usagi and the others all met up at the Hikawa Shrine, Usagi and Harusuke being the last to arrive.
"Sorry, we're late!" Usagi panted.
"It's no surprise to us," said Rei. "We're pretty much used to it by now when it comes to you."
"But, why would you call for a meeting on such short notice, Rei?" asked Harusuke. "It is a Cardian or something?"
"No, not really," replied Rei. "Mamoru's the one who's in trouble right now."
Usagi's face immediately paled as she burst into tears with worry. "No way?! Mamoru's in trouble?!" she shrieked. "Oh, no! Is he seriously hurt or something?! Poor Mamoru! That's awful!"
"That's not what happened, Usagi!" Rei groaned. "Get a grip, would you?!"
"Usagi, please calm down," soothed Harusuke as he squeezed her shoulders gently. "Trust me, that was what was going on; everyone would be a little more panicked."
"He's right, Usagi," said Ami. "Mamoru just has to appear in a play at Juuban Hall, that's all."
"A play?" Usagi and Harusuke asked.
"Yeah. I guess some of Mamoru's friends were supposed to be in the play along with him, but they dropped out," explained Minako. "They got into an argument about the casting, and their troupe got disbanded."
"Now, Mamoru's been having a hard time finding new people to take the roles in the play," added Makoko. "So naturally, this is making him worried."
"And you know how responsible a person Mamoru is," said Rei. "He doesn't want to cancel the play." She then showed Usagi and Harusuke a small board that read: "Please let this play go off without a hitch" with his name on it. "He left that prayer earlier in the shrine," she added.
Usagi's face immediately brightened. "In that case, we better go lend him a hand!"
"And I can call Umino and Naru and see if they can help too," said Harusuke.
A little later, the gang arranged a meeting with Mamoru at Juuban Middle, and all soon met up.
"So, you guys are interested in taking part in my play?" asked Mamoru.
"Of course. Rei came up with the idea," explained Usagi. "And we also thought that all of us could put up a performance of Snow White."
"Snow White, huh?" Mamoru repeated with interest.
"That's right," Rei said brightly. "And since that, I was the one that came up with the idea; I should be the one to play the part of Snow White."
"What?! Get real! You'd be better as one of the dwarves!" Usagi scoffed. "Besides, I should be Snow White because I'm so cute and adorable."
"Not so fast. I should be the one who gets to play Snow White," interjected Makoto. "After all, I do have the biggest breasts out of all of you."
Rei and Usagi scowled crossly. "Are you out of your mind?!"
Makoto snootily smirked as she puffed up her chest. "You want to compare?"
Minako then cut in. "Wait, I think I would be a better choice for Snow White!" she said. "Not only because I look like her, but also because I'm elegant and graceful."
"Well, I'm busy with cram school and homework, but maybe I could play Snow White," spoke Ami. "After all, she only has a few lines because she's asleep almost the entire time."
"You know, there are a lot of other roles besides Snow White girls," Mamoru pointed out. "Like the wicked queen and the prince..."
"And even the dwarfs too," added Harusuke. "And they're the most important in the play."
"Well, it's natural you should be the prince Mamoru," said Minako. "As for Harusuke, maybe he can be a dwarf."
"So that leaves the only real problem!" Usagi spoke indignantly. "Who's going to play Snow White?!"
"I came up with the idea, so it should be me!" Rei spoke.
"Yeah, but I have the best figure!" protested Makoto.
"I should do it because I have elegance!" Minako cut in again.
"I'll study the part well! So please let me have the part?" Ami begged.
The five girls then continued to argue while Mamoru and Harusuke stood there, not believing what they were seeing. Umino and Naru then tried to intervene.
"Come on, girls! This insanity's got to stop!" Umino cried. "You're all acting so conceited!"
"He's right!" agreed Naru. "Stop being so selfish!"
The five then glared at the two. "You shut up! No one asked you for anything!" they all snapped.
"Good grief. This is why I'm in this spot in the first place," groaned Mamoru. "My friends had the exact kind of same fight; everyone had to play the lead or nothing at all."
The five girls continued to argue with each other, each having reasons for wanting the role. At that moment, Harusuke walked over to the girls, took a deep breath, and let out a booming yell.
"ENOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH! ! ! ! ! !"
All the girls immediately stopped arguing as they looked at Harusuke.
"What's the matter with you girls?! Every single one of you should be ashamed!" Harusuke scolded crossly. "This was the exact thing that caused Mamoru's first trope to disband in the first place! Not only that, but you're all best friends, and yet here you all are arguing or a lousy role! I understand that Snow White's a big part of the play, but that's not what should matter. What should matter is helping Mamoru make this play a big success, but he can't do it if you're all acting selfishly like this."
Usagi and the others now felt a little guilty, while Mamoru, Umino, and Naru were amazed.
"We're sorry, Harusuke," apologized Usagi.
"We didn't mean to sound selfish," added Minako sheepishly.
"That's fine, but it seems to me that we need to settle this matter fairly," said Harusuke. "Now, exactly how to decide this is the real question."
"Perhaps, I can be of some help, Harusuke dear," said a female voice.
Harusuke jumped in surprise and turned around to find that Natsumi had suddenly appeared behind him.
"N-Natsumi!" gasped Harusuke. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to hear about your problem," Natsumi smiled. "And not only do I want to take part in this play, but I know exactly how to decide who gets to draw Snow White." She then presented seven pieces of paper twisted into long strings. "We'll draw straws!"
"Just what are you talking about?" asked Rei.
"We can decide by randomly drawing straws or pieces of paper in this case," explained Natsumi. "If the end on your paper is white, then you're Snow White. If it's red, you're the queen. Finally, if it's blue, then you're one of the dwarves."
"That... sounds like a good idea," said Harusuke. "And it's fair too. Not bad, Natsumi."
"Thank you, Harusuke dear," Natsumi spoke sweety as she presented the papers Usagi and the others. "Now, who's going to go first?"
There was a brief silence. Then Usagi stepped up.
"I'll go first," the ordango blonde said. "I'm sure I'll get the white one."
Usagi carefully hovered her hand on the ends of the strings until she finally pulled one out. Much to her horror, the end of the one she picked was red.
"No! I'm the evil queen?!" Usagi wailed.
"Sorry, Ms. Tsukino. That's just the luck of the draw," Natsumi spoke. "Better luck next time."
The others all looked at the strings in Natsumi's, determined to pick the right one. They all reached out, and each grabbed one and pulled it out. Unfortunately, each of them had blue tips on the end, much to their disappointment.
"No... all of us got blue tips," moaned Makoto.
"Looks like all of you have such terrible luck at straws," said Natsumi. "If that's the case, then I guess I'm going to play Snow White."
And to prove it. Natsumi showed the last remaining string on her hand, a white-tipped string, much to everyone's shock and disbelief.
"All right then. Now that we've gotten those roles settled, that leaves one more person to fill the role of the prince," said Harusuke. He turned to Mamoru. "I take it that you're going to be playing that role, Mamoru?"
"Harusuke, I had someone in mind," Natsumi spoke. "Someone perfect for playing the role of the prince."
"Really? Who is it?" asked Naru. "Is it someone that we know?"
"Actually, yes," Natsumi said. "It's someone that may not realize, but he's actually more deserving, and he's standing right here."
Natsumi then looked at Harusuke, causing everyone else to look at him, which made him puzzled.
"Um... why is everyone looking at me?" Harusuke asked.
"Come on, Harusuke, dear. Isn't it obvious?" laughed Natsumi. "I'm talking about you, silly. You should be the one to play the prince."
Harusuke's eyes went wide as saucers. "Say what?! But why me?!" he screeched with surprise. "I'm not the prince type! Mamoru would be way more suited than me!"
"That may be so, but you've shown that you're way more suited," said Natsumi. "You not only got the girls to stop fighting, but you also reminded them of what was important, and that's why you deserve the role of the prince."
"You know what? I second that!" Mamoru agreed. "I say Harusuke's the perfect prince for this play!"
"Yeah! Go for it, Big Bro!" Usagi cheered. "You'd be perfect for the prince!"
Everyone else agreed, but Harusuke was still not sure. Not only that, but he realized something that made his face turn bright red. "Now hold on just a second!" he cried. "If I end up playing the prince and Natsumi's playing Snow White then... that must mean that I have to... k-k-k-k-"
"That's right. You'll have to kiss Natsumi," Mamoru finished.
Usagi and the other girls all stared dumbly at Mamoru. "WHAT?!" they all screamed.
"OK! That is a definite no!" Harusuke cried indignantly. "There is no way in hell I'm going to play the prince now!"
"It's not that big a deal, Harusuke," said Umino. "Besides, it's just a play. You can always fake kiss and stuff."
"That's not the issue, Umino!" Harusuke snapped hysterically. "There is no way I'm going through with this! No way! I'd rather be dwarf!"
"Come on, Harusuke. Just do it, please?" Natsumi begged. "You'd be perfect for the role!"
"But Natsumi, if Harusuke doesn't want to do it, I don't see any reason why we have to force him," Ami spoke.
"You keep out of this!" Natsumi snapped. "This is Harusuke's decision, not yours!"
Harusuke was still insistent on not taking the role, but then Mamoru spoke in his ear. "Harusuke, I didn't want to say this, but you still owe me for that favor a while back, and you said you'd do whatever I'd ask, remember?"
Harusuke then gulped, remembering the VR gaming incident, which made him scowl a bit in embarrassment. "Hey, that's guilt-tripping!" he objected.
"Just go for it, Harusuke," said Mamoru. "As you said before, it's for the play. Besides, something's telling me that Natsumi will only do Snow White if you're the prince. So please, just do it for me?"
Harusuke was silent for a few seconds, while Usagi and the others were silent, unsure how to respond. Finally, after taking a few seconds and being the man to never go back on his word, he slumped in resignation.
"Oh, alright. I'll do it," Harusuke sighed. "But only because I have to pay you back, Mamoru."
In shock, Usagi and the girls gawked at Harusuke while Natsumi squealed in delight.
"Alright! I'd just knew you'd do it, Harusuke!" said Natsumi. "You'll be great as the prince, and you'll have lots of fun being him! Just you wait and see!"
"I think that I'd rather be fighting a Cardian right now," Harusuke muttered miserably to himself.
While this was happening, Natsumi headed back to the apartments. She felt very pleased with herself as she flicked away a piece of one of the strings.
"None of those fools noticed that I rigged it so that I'd win and get to be Snow White," Natsumi thought, smirking. "Now Harusuke's mine for sure."
When she returned to the Makai Tree, An told Ail about the play, hoping to recruit him as a dwarf, but Ail was cross.
"So your play's cast is one short, and you need someone to play the seventh dwarf?" Ail asked huffily. "No thanks! I would rather play the role of the prince."
"Sorry, but that part's already been decided," said An. "By Harusuke, I might add."
Ail then turned away in a huff, fuming. "Then, never mind."
An then stood up feeling a bit cross too. "Very well, then. Perhaps Mamoru can fill the role of the seventh dwarf instead."
She then disappeared, leaving Ail by himself. No sooner than she left, Ail then had a thought.
"The play's going to be at Juuban Hall, right?" Ail thought. "This could be a good opportunity."
He then took out a Cardian card and threw it up into the air, making it stay hovering above him as he took out his flute.
"Now, come forth! Cardian Bipierrot!" Ail commanded.
Ail put the flute to his lips and then began to play his sweet melody. The card started to shine at his command until it exploded with light as the Cardian emerged. She looked like a clown mixed with a jester that had pink skin, wore a green clown outfit that only had one pant leg with red jester shoes as well as a red bow in the middle of her chest, long puffy and curly purple hair, and a gold helmet with three long spikes jutting upwards. She even had red face paint and a red nose.
"Next week, a large number of people will gather at Juuban Hall," Ail told Bipierrot. "As soon as they're there, I want you to steal all of their energy!"
Bipierrot cackled evilly in response, acknowledging her orders.
At the Juuban Community Center, the first day of rehearsal had just begun, and everyone was working hard. However, there were already some problems starting to arise. Natsumi had her mind focused on rehearsing the kissing scene, and Harusuke couldn't help but feel incredibly embarrassed every time they had to repeat it. He did his lines very well, but he always pulled away from Natsumi. This process repeated about eleven times and was about to go on twelve.
"What?! You want to go through with the scene again?" everyone exclaimed.
"Yes. Now, as you all know, Snow White is still asleep, and the prince gives her a passionate kiss," said Natsumi. "This is the big climax of the whole play as well as the biggest scene, so we need to practice it as many times as we can." She then lay on her back on the bench and closed her eyes. "Now, Harusuke, let's go over it with me one more time, please."
"Well, if you say so, Natsumi," Harusuke spoke doubtfully. "Let's do this one more time, and I'll try my best not to mess up."
Mamoru then gave the signal. "And... Action!" he yelled.
Harusuke then got into character and began saying his lines as he approached Natsumi as she slept. "Oh, my princess, Snow White! My true love, accept this kiss with your sweet lips and awaken at last from your eternal slumber."
He then began to lean in close, about to kiss her, while everyone else watched. Umino and Naru watched with expectant and blushing expressions while Mamoru remained neutral. Usagi and the others, on the other hand, weren't so keen.
Usagi, being the overprotective sister she was, furiously bit her nails, praying for Harusuke not to kiss her, and she wasn't the only one. As Harusuke leaned closer, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako all couldn't help but feel a slight lousy feeling in the pit of their stomachs. However, they didn't say anything.
Natsumi could feel Harusuke getting closer to her, and knowing this, she saw a chance to get a real kiss from him rather than a fake one. When he was close enough to her face, Natsumi immediately wrapped her arms around his back, attempting to embrace him, but Harusuke was quick to react as he pulled away, blushing beet red.
"Hey! Natsumi! What do you think you're doing?!" Mamoru scolded. "Snow White's supposed to be asleep, so you need to stay still."
Natsumi bit back a curse as she smiled innocently. "I'm so sorry, Mamoru. Could we do it one more time?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'm ready to go again if you guys are willing," said Harusuke. "I'll try not to pull away this time."
"I think we've done this scene enough," Rei snapped immediately.
"Yeah, we've got the whole rest of the play to rehearse," Makoto added. "So I say that we should get started practicing the other parts now."
"What are you two mean? This part is a crucial scene!" protested Natsumi. "We can't afford to cut any corners, and we need to have Harusuke get used to this scene, so why don't you stop being so selfish?"
"Hah! Selfish? Like you have room to talk," scoffed Makoto. "You're acting the most selfish of us all."
"This is getting ridiculous!" Usagi thought to herself. "Just what the heck is that Natsumi up to?"
Soon rehearsal was over, and it was now evening. Everyone was now packing up to go home. Umino and Naru had taken off home together, and Mamoru went home by himself. As Usagi and the others got ready to leave, Natsumi came up to Harusuke being her bubbly and flirty self.
"Say, Harusuke dear? You want to walk home together?" Natsumi asked sweetly. "After all, since we're playing the part of lovers, we should spend some time together so we can get to know each other better~."
Harusuke then gulped. "Maybe... some other time, Natsumi," he spoke politely. "Besides, I'm feeling a little tired, and I would like to get as much rest as possible so that I can be ready for rehearsal tomorrow."
Natsumi pouted in disappointment. "Oh, alright. If you say so, Harusuke, make sure you get plenty of sleep so that we can be ready for the show, OK?"
Harusuke answered in an awkward wave as Natsumi left. Then, when he was sure that she was gone and it was just him, Usagi, and the girls, Harusuke let out an exhausted sigh.
"Geez. I thought that I'd never get a break from that girl," Harusuke groaned. "I swear that girl's out to get me!"
"Seriously, what's her problem? She kept going on and on about that stupid kissing scene," complained Rei. "If she keeps this up, the play's going to end up a total flop!"
"I think she should step down as Snow White for acting so selfishly," agreed Makoto. "Not to mention, she keeps on making a pass on Harusuke too!"
"I agree too!" said Minako. "I mean, after all, the only reason that she got the part in the first place was that she cheated to get it."
Harusuke and Usagi looked up at Minako, Harusuke being a little surprised, while Usagi was scowling.
"Hold on. Natsumi cheated?" Harusuke repeated.
"Yeah, just how exactly do you know that, Minako?" asked Usagi.
Minako then gulped, looking away, not saying a word. Usagi and Harusuke looked at Makoto, Rei, and Ami for answers, but they looked away too.
"Girls, come on! Start talking!" demanded Harusuke. "Tell us what's going on!"
"Yeah! What do you mean cheating?!" interrogated Usagi. "You all know something, don't you?!"
None of the girls still didn't answer.
Harusuke then glared sternly at them. "Alright then, you're going to make me do this the hard way," he spoke. He turned to Usagi. "You hear that, Usagi? The girls seem to be keeping a secret from us, and they won't even tell us a thing about it? Isn't that unfair?"
Usagi's eyes began to fill up with tears as her lip trembled. "Yeah! I can't believe this!" she whimpered miserably. "They knew something all this time, and they didn't bother to say anything!"
Usagi then started to wail, her eyes bursting into tears, but then Rei stopped her.
"OK! Alright! We'll tell you two!" Rei conceded. "Just no more crying!"
"Natsumi scammed us by rigging the straws so that she could get the role of Snow White," explained Minako.
Makoto then took out one of the strings that Natsumi made. "Every one of these strings had a colored part on end," she said. "When she drew hers, she pulled the color off, so it looked like hers was white."
And to prove it, Makoto tore the colored end of the string off as the string on her hand was now a white tip. The Tsukino siblings were surprised, but Usagi was angrier than shocked.
"I... I don't believe it," murmured Harusuke. "And now that you mention it, Natsumi did come out of nowhere when she made that suggestion to draw straws, not to mention that it was her idea to make me the prince in the first place."
"I knew that sneaky little witch was up to something! That's not fair!" Usagi spoke crossly. "If you all knew about this, then why didn't you say anything to her, huh?!"
"Because we would have all continued to fight no matter which one of us got the role," said Minako. "Besides, we couldn't exactly prove it after Harusuke got us all to stop fighting."
"I'm so sorry, girls," Harusuke apologized. "I had no idea that Natsumi would do something like this. If I had known what she was up to, then..."
"It's alright, Harusuke. You couldn't have known. You had good intentions and just wanted to help Mamoru," Ami said. "Besides, Natsumi hasn't exactly made close friends ever since she moved here with her brother. She's still new, and she always been by herself and seems so lonely."
"She also wanted to be Snow White as much as we did. So much so that was willing to cheat," said Rei smiling a little. "In a weird way, I'm impressed by her determination and moxie."
Harusuke couldn't help but feel a little impressed. "Wow, girls. That's very kind of all of you to say," he said. "I never would have expected to hear that come out of your mouths."
"But is it friendship to ignore what she did?!" Usagi burst out crossly. "Cheating is still cheating, and I say we should call her out on it! If we ignore this-"
"Usagi! Calm down!" interrupted Harusuke. "There's no sense going off half-cocked pointing the guilty finger at Natsumi. So rather than "calling her out," I say we try and talk to her. That sounds about fair to everyone?"
The girls all gave a single nod in response while Usagi puffed her cheeks in a pout. "Fine, but I want to be the one to talk to her," she said. "At least tell her to stop trying to kiss my brother."
"Are you sure that you should handle this on your own, Usagi?" asked Rei.
"Sure, I'm sure," Usagi said. "As soon as I see her tomorrow, I'll talk to her. Just leave it to me."
Harusuke then rolled his eyes, sighing. "Why is it when she says not to worry, that's when I start to worry?"
Usagi and her group were now home, stopping by at the Hikawa Shrine first to drop off Rei. However, as they turned around the corner of the steps, they noticed someone walking up the steps a few feet away, which turned out to be Natsumi.
"Hey guys, look! It's Natsumi!" Usagi gasped, pointing.
"But why is she going to the Hikawa Shrine?" wondered Ami.
"I don't know," said Harusuke. "It does seem a bit strange."
Feeling a little bit curious, Usagi and the other girls decided to follow Natsumi to see what she was doing. They quietly tiptoed up the steps making sure to stay hidden, and soon reached the top of the stairs, as did Natsumi. As they hid behind some bushes and trees, they watched as Natsumi went over to the Shrine and rang the bell, clapping her hands as she prayed.
"Oh, please, let this play be successful!" Natsumi whispered.
"And also allow me to steal Harusuke's lips," she thought to herself.
She then gave one more ring of the bell and went on her way. Usagi and the others came out of their hiding place feeling impressed and moved.
"Did you see how serious Natsumi looked?" asked Ami. "She must feel very passionate about this play."
"She's still a bit selfish, but then again, most actresses are," said Rei. "Everyone knows that, right?"
"I've even heard that the more selfish the actress, the better her acting is," Minako agreed.
"Yeah. Kind of makes it hard to believe, huh?" Harusuke spoke.
"You know what? I think I'm fine with Natsumi being Snow White," said Makoto. "And who knows? Maybe it'll help improve her attitude a bit."
"So let's all do our best to make this play a success for Natsumi's sake," said Ami smiling. "Anyone with me?"
Everyone heartily agreed, except for Usagi, who was still feeling a bit overprotective.
"I don't like the idea of her kissing Harusuke, but I guess it can't be helped," Usagi muttered.
"Did you say something, Usagi?" asked Harusuke. "You sound like you're mumbling over there."
Usagi jumped. "What? Who? Me? Nothing! Don't mind me!" she squeaked while laughing nervously. "Nothing's going on over here!"
But the next day, things weren't any better. You see, Umino managed to rent out some costumes for the play, but some of them were a little less than appealing. Natsumi's was an elegant gown befitting of Snow White, Usagi's was a codled black cloak with a big crooked nose as well as a staff and a basket of apples, and Harusuke donned a silver tunic with white spandex pants, black boots, and a black cape with red lining.
As for everyone else, they were all wearing animal suits. Rei was a purple bear with a yellow crescent mark on the chest, Makoto a brown gorilla, Mamoru a light black lion, Ami a brown bear, Umino a pink elephant, Minako an orange-brown fox, and Naru a bright blue bunny.
They were now rehearsing the scene where Snow White was put into a deep sleep by the witch. However, those wearing the animal costumes felt a little hot and sweaty and found it challenging to rehearse. At last, Rei ripped off the top of her outfit, her face flushed and scowling.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Rei sputtered angrily. "What is this, a show for preschoolers?! Why the heck do I have to wear this ridiculous thing?!"
Makoto then took off her head, too, feeling just as annoyed. "Yeah, and why do I have to wear the gorilla one?!"
Umino then took off the head of his costume, explaining. "W-Well, I'm told that entertainment has to be original. So I got us some adorable animal costumes and-"
But before Umino could finish, Makoto and Rei took the head of Makoto's gorilla costume and shoved it on top of poor Umino's head, shutting him up.
"And this what you think of when you thought of adorable?!" the two girls snapped crossly.
"But you all do look cute in them," Natsumi said innocently. "And Ms. Tsukino looks very great as the witch too."
Makoto and Rei turned away in a huff while Usagi was fuming.
"Alright, alright. Let's try to take it easy," soothed Harusuke. "I know these costumes are a little... less than stellar, but we should be grateful that Umino brought us these costumes and should make the best of it. If it's any consolation, I'm not particularly fond of my costume either."
"But Harusuke dear, you look very dashing right now!" Natsumi spoke, blushing. "You look like the perfect prince!"
"Yeah, but it feels a little bit tight," Harusuke spoke, looking at himself. "Especially around the butt."
Minako and Ami couldn't help but instinctively look towards Harusuke's bottom, making their cheeks immediately flush pink.
"Come on, you guys, this isn't the time to be fooling around," Mamoru cut in. "Let's continue rehearsing, OK?"
But Usagi was still fuming, feeling jealous at Natsumi. "I wanted to wear a dress like hers and have a romantic scene with the prince..." she thought.
Later that night, at her apartment, An felt very excited for the opening night. As she lay on her bed, she held a pillow above her head while fantasizing about Harusuke.
"Oh, princess! My true love!" An recited wistfully. "Accept this kiss with your sweet lips, and awaken at last from your eternal slumber."
She then pressed and hugged the pillow against her face, pretending to be kissing Harusuke. At that moment, Ail appeared in her doorway.
"An, what are you doing?" Ail asked, a bit unnerved.
An jumped, shooting up from her bed. "OH! Well, um - I was rehearsing for the play!"
Ail then glanced over at the table in An's room, noticing the play's script on top of it. As he did, he began to fantasize too. He pictured himself as the prince and Usagi the princess gazing into each other's eyes as they leaned in for a kiss. The thought alone made him blush bright red as a goofy grin spread on his cheeks.
"Ail? Ail?! Ail?!"
But An's voice soon snapped Ail out of his daydream, forcing him to regain his composure.
"Tomorrow's the big day, An," Ail said. "Break a leg, OK?"
As Ail left the room, An couldn't help but watch him go, feeling a bit puzzled by his behavior. Ail stood outside of An's door, feeling a little bit jealous.
"Why couldn't I be the prince and Usagi my princess?" Ail thought to himself.
Back at the Tsukino house, Usagi practiced her lines where the evil queen spoke to the magic mirror.
"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" she said. "What?! I'm the second fairest, and Snow White is the most beautiful in all the land?! How vexing!"
Then Shingo opened the door peering in, and snickered when he saw her. "You are such a ham, Usagi!"
Usagi glared. "How dare you, Shingo?! You don't need to be rude!"
"Look, I'm coming to see your play tomorrow, so try to make your performance somewhat decent, OK?" Shingo said snootily. "The last thing I want to see is seeing you screw up and making yourself look like a fool."
And with that, Shingo shut the door leaving Usagi seething with anger.
"You could just stay home for all I care!" Usagi yelled crossly.
In his room, Harusuke was also rehearsing his lines for the play. He knew most of his lines by heart by now, and he was more than ready to go, but there was one thing that made him very nervous; the kissing scene.
"Man... I can't stop thinking about that stupid scene," Harusuke sighed as he set down his script. "I don't want to kiss Natsumi, but... I don't want to let anyone down since we've come this far. I don't know what to do."
Then there was a scratching at the door. Harusuke walked over and opened it, and Luna walked inside.
"Hey there, Harusuke," greeted Luna. "I heard you and Usagi have a big day tomorrow. Something about a play?"
"Yeah. More or less, Luna," replied Harusuke.
"Is something the matter?" asked Luna. "You look like something is bothering you."
"Well, yeah. I suppose you could say that Luna," Harusuke said, looking to the floor. "You see, you know the scene where the prince has to kiss Snow White? Well, I'm the prince and Natsumi's Snow White and - you can pretty much see the rest in your head."
"So I take it you're feeling nervous about kissing this Natsumi person?" asked Luna. "Wasn't she the one that has a huge crush on you for some reason?"
"Yup. That's her," said Harusuke. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not that I hate her, but I don't like her either. I don't want to kiss her because I've never kissed anyone before. I want to save my first kiss with someone I like, but I also want to make this play a success too." He then sighed, plopping on his bed, lying on his back. "I don't know what I'm thinking. Am I acting selfishly?"
"I don't seem to think so," said Luna. "If you're not comfortable kissing that girl, then it's your right not to want to, Harusuke."
"You think so?" asked Harusuke.
"I know so," said Luna. "Something like a first kiss should be treasured, and if you want to share it with a special person you love, then you should save it, and if you're that worried about the play, then just fake kiss or at least make it convincing. Just do your best like you always do."
Harusuke then looked up at Luna and smiled a little giving the black cat a few scratches behind the ears. "Thanks, Luna. I needed that," said Harusuke. "I feel a lot less nervous now."
"Glad I could help you," Luna smiled. "However, I am curious. Who exactly is this special someone you're saving your first kiss for?"
Harusuke then blushed. "W-Well, I haven't exactly had anyone in mind just yet, Luna. Plus, now's not the time to be thinking of stuff like that. I have to get ready for the play."
"Whatever you say, Harusuke," said Luna. "I'll leave you to it, and by the way, break a leg."
Luna then left the room, leaving Harusuke by himself. As he picked up the script to start rehearsing, he couldn't help but think about what Luna told him. However, he quickly put it out of his mind and resumed rehearsing his lines.
The great day soon came. The Juuban Hall had dozens of people who came from all around town to see the play. Usagi and the cast, from behind the curtains, were excited but also felt a little nervous.
"Oh, wow! There sure are a lot of people out there!" Usagi whispered.
"Yeah. I'm starting to get a little nervous," said Rei.
"Don't worry, Rei. We'll be fine," Harusuke whispered back. "No, we'll be great because this play's going to be a knockout!"
At that moment, they heard the sound of a buzzer, which meant that it was nearly time for the show to begin.
"That's the first bell, everyone!" Mamoru spoke. "Everyone, get into your positions!"
"Right!" everyone replied.
"And once the second bell rings, it'll be showtime!" Natsumi thought eagerly. "And Harusuke will finally kiss me today!"
The second buzzer rang out, and the curtain slowly rose, prompting the audience to applaud. But when the curtain fully came up, someone was already standing on the stage on top of the castle. However, it wasn't any of the cast members; it was Cardian Bipierrot, much to everyone's surprise.
"What's going on?" Usagi wondered.
"A clown?!" gasped Makoto.
"No one said anything about a clown in this play!" Rei and Minako exclaimed.
"I wonder if they changed the script," pondered Ami.
Bipierrot began to spin around and around until a unicycle appeared underneath her. She then jumped down while riding the unicycle and used it to ride violently around the stage, hitting the set of the castle causing it to fall and crumble.
Natsumi then rushed towards the Cardian, trying to stop her. "Stop it!" Natsumi shrieked. "Don't ruin our play after we worked so hard on it!"
"Natsumi! Don't get near that thing!" Harusuke yelled. "It's dangerous!"
Bipierrot then saw Natsumi and, wanting her out of the way as soon as possible, took out a small red ball and threw it at her, which grew large and knocked straight into Natsumi, blasting her off the stage. Seeing that she was heading towards him, Harusuke immediately moved out of the way only for Natsumi to crash straight into Mamoru, knocking both to the floor, unconscious. The audience, believing that the Cardian was a part of the play, applauded, liking what they were seeing.
"That thing's a monster!" cried Umino. "Let's get out of here, Naru!"
Umino and Naru took off, trying to get away, but more trouble came. Umino tripped and bumped into Naru hard, sending her flying straight into the other girls, excluding Usagi and Harusuke, causing them to end up in an entangled heap. The girls struggled as they desperately tried to get out, but that only worsened things.
"You're so heavy, Mako!" complained Minako.
"Get off of me!" yelled Rei.
"You got to get off of me first!" Makoto cried.
"Knock it off! I can't breathe!" Naru whimpered loudly.
"Calm down and climb out one at a time!" Ami gasped.
Bipierrot seizing her chance, then whipped out an umbrella, opened it, and spun it around, starting to drain the energy from the audience.
"That's no clown at all!" Harusuke cried grimly. "That's a Cardian! We gotta do something fast!"
"How dare that monster try to ruin our play!" Usagi barked crossly. "That monster's going to pay!"
Usagi and Harusuke then transformed.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!"
"SOLAR GUARDIAN POWER FLARE UP!"
Transformation Sequence: Usagi
Usagi holds up the Crystal Star brooch as it opens, revealing the Silver Crystal inside. Usagi waved her hand on the Silver Crystal, and it flashed it a bright short burst of pink light emitting a chime. It does it a second time, and on the third, it shines brightly, enveloping Usagi in its glow. Usagi then holds the brooch above her head, suspending it in between her hands, drawing it to the center of her torso, flipping it once before placing it in the center of her chest. She then spins around a few times as the crystal begins to glow even brighter than before in pink light. She holds her hands up as a pair of wings spring forth from her back while pink ribbons come out from the crystal wrapping around Usagi's body, forming her leotard. The wings on her back disappeared as more pink ribbons wrapped around her arms and hands, creating white gloves and red boots around her calves and feet. As the blue skirt appears around her waist, one more pink ribbon ties at her back as she does a kind of spread-eagle motion with one leg up, a glowing moon symbol appearing on her forehead. Her tiara, earrings, choker, and ordango covers appear, and Usagi, now Sailor Moon, finishes with her signature pose.
Transformation sequence: Harusuke.
Harusuke's bracelet begins to glow as Harusuke holds it into the air. Next, the symbol of the sun starts to shine on Harusuke's head as golden yellow and silver light envelop his body. First, the sun appears above him, shining its light upon him. Then, while Harusuke bathed in its light, a silver jumpsuit with gold lines on his hips materializes around his body. After that, the light shone on his legs, and long golden metal boots that went up to his knees appeared on his legs with silver hexagon knee pads. Next, the light shone on his arms, and then golden gauntlets appeared on his hands going up to wrists. Then a yellow symbol of the sun materializes in front of him, and it crashes into his chest, making a golden chest piece of armor appear with silver shoulder guards. Finally, a silver helmet covers his head, exposing his hair and making it stand up with a mouth guard covering his mouth and nose. Finally, Harusuke's eyes open, and he strikes his signature pose the symbol of the sun appears behind him.
As Bipierrot continued to drain the energy from the audience, a spotlight shone just behind her, causing the monster to turn around as Sailor Moon and Solaris stood back to back, rising via a stage lift.
"After long hours of tough rehearsals, all of those hard-working actors finally got a chance to perform!" scolded Sailor Moon
"This is the fruit of their sweat and friendship, which got spoiled the moment you decided to come along and wreck it!" Solaris scowled. "How dare you commit such a crime?!"
"I am the pretty guardian who fights for love and justice! I am Sailor Moon! And now, in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"
"And I'm the knight with the brilliance of the sun and the courage of a warrior, who also fights for love and justice! I am Solaris! And in the name of the sun, with my blinding rays, I'll scorch you!"
Bipierrot immediately went on the attack, pointing her umbrella at the two heroes making a strange rope-like tendril shoot out and wrap around the two tightly. An electrical current went through the rope and shocked Solaris and Sailor Moon while draining their energy. Then suddenly, from above, a particular white rose shot down and pierced through the tendril setting the two guardians free.
The spotlight shone above, revealing a familiar masked man in white Arabian clothing. "I don't know who you are, but all the young girls know who I am! The Moonlight Knight has arrived!" the white knight proclaimed.
Sailor Moon's eyes immediately turned into hearts as she swooned in delight. "Wow! It's the Moonlight Knight!" she squealed.
"Sailor Moon, can you not be a hopeless fangirl today?!" Solaris complained.
Then four more Guardians arrived, much to everyone's surprise, including the audience.
"Fueled by the flames of passion and the nine mantras! All while destroying all evil with spiritual power and wearing high heels!" the sailor guardian in red proclaimed. "I am Sailor Mars!"
"Born with raw strength and lightning!" announced the green sailor guardian. "I am the Guardian known as Sailor Jupiter!"
"You've met my friends Mars and Jupiter, but I command the power of water, and my most lethal weapon is my brain!" the blue Sailor Guardian spoke heroically. "I'm Sailor Mercury!"
"I was known as the Masked Legend, but the face underneath is just as legendary!" the guardian in yellow and orange spoke. "I'm the last Guardian ever to appear, Sailor Venus!"
"And we're on the scene!" all four of them shouted.
Bipierrot went on the attack by firing the spikes on her helmet at the four guardians, only for them to dodge. Sailor Mars then took out an ofuda and charged it with her spiritual powers.
"My red heels are as furious as an inferno of fire! EVIL SPIRIT! BE EXERCISED!"
The Mars Guardian then threw the ofuda, attaching itself to the middle of the Cardian's forehead, paralyzing her. Sailor Mercury then went next.
"I took a lot of my time away from studying to memorize my lines!" she scolded crossly. "I could have read three books in that time, so now you're going to pay for what you did! MERCURY BUBBLE SPRAY FREEZING!"
Sailor Mercury released a flurry of bubbles that froze Bipierrot on contact. Sailor Moon then got ready to deliver the finishing blow taking out her Cutie Moon Rod. "We won't forgive you for ruining our play!" she spoke as she pointed her Cutie Moon Rod. "MOON PRINCESS HALATION!"
And with a powerful blast of light and sparkles from her Cutie Moon Rod, Bipierrot was no more, and it was the guardian's victory. The Moonlight Knight gazed downwards proudly as the audience began to cheer wildly.
"The day is saved!" the Moonlight Knight spoke. "Tonight, the spotlight falls on the beauty and dashing charm of these guardians. Adieu!"
And with that, the platform rose with the Moonlight Knight while the curtain closed behind the guardians. The audience continued to cheer wildly for the guardians as they chanted encore. The Guardians then waved back, all of them taking a bow.
At the apartments in her room, An was very upset with Ail for summoning a Cardian, which spoiled the play.
"Ail, how could you?! That was just horrible!" An sobbed miserably. "I can't believe after working so hard, you sent a Cardian to spoil it all!"
"Oh, enough, An!" Ail spoke coldly. "Need I remind you that we must gather as much energy as we can?"
He then left the room, shutting the door leaving An to sob her eyes out on her bed.
"I was so close!" An wailed. "I was so close to stealing Harusuke's kiss!"
"They really should have let me play the prince," Ail muttered as he walked away to leave An alone.