Something seemed to be wrong with her home economics teacher, Akiyama Higure, or so Naru thought. She was acting as if she wasn’t really paying attention to what she was doing. Naru began to wonder if anybody else was noticing her change of behavior. Actually, she would be surprised if they didn’t. She had only seen her act like that for at least a week. She looked at Usagi over to her left. She didn’t waste any time taking advantage of Akiyama’s inattentiveness by catching up on her beauty sleep. Occasionally, she would even mumble something. Shrugging slightly, she turned her attention back to her teacher’s droning.
“Then, you take your pattern and draw a line like so,” Akiyama said, drawing on the chalkboard, “to make sure your seam is in the right place. Then, you can sew it together.” She sighed dreamily to herself. “Does anyone have any questions?”
“Can I have another chocolate parfait, please?” Usagi mumbled sleepily, stirring a little as she slumbered blissfully. Naru shook her head. If they were in Haruna’s class, Usagi would’ve gotten detention immediately for that. Akiyama didn’t even notice as she absently stepped over to the window and stared outside.
“Akiyama-sensei… are you feeling all right?” Naru asked in a concerned voice.
“Um-hm,” she replied happily, still staring out the window. She continued to stare out the window for a minute longer, when the bell ending class rang.
“Huh, what?” Usagi said groggily. “Oh, class is over.”
“Enjoy your nap, Usagi-chan?” Naru asked, getting up from her seat.
“Sure did,” Usagi replied yawning. “Though, I wish I had a little for time for sleep.” She got up from her seat and the two left the classroom. “You know, suddenly I feel like having some ice cream.”
“I’m not surprised. You were probably dreaming about it, while Akiyama-sensei went on with class.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, let’s go get some ice cream!”
After getting their ice cream cones, they sat down at a table to enjoy them. Usagi yawned again, apparently not getting enough sleep during Akiyama’s sewing class. “Since home ec. class was so boring, I’m so drowsy. Akiyama-sensei used to get so fired-up over the sewing lessons, too….” Naru just nodded and continued eating her ice cream.
“That’s because…,” Umino said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere and surprising both girls.
“How come you always pop up out of nowhere?!?” both girls yelled in angry unison.
“The reason that Akiyama Higure-sensei has changed has to do with her engagement,” Umino said, unperturbed as he quickly flipped through his pocket notebook.
“Engagement?!?”
“That’s right,” he replied as he glanced back down at his notebook. “Akiyama Higure-sensei, still single. Thirty-four years old. Her dream has been to have a wedding dress she made herself.”
Usagi and Naru just looked at him detachedly. Usagi suddenly stood up and raised her ice cream cone in the air, like a salute. “Not a chance in my case. I’m aiming for a higher ideal. Any handsome man will do! The goal: Before twenty-five years old!” Her little speech was ruined when the ice cream fell off her cone and landed squarely on her head. As she stood there with her ice cream on her head and feeling very foolish, she could hear both Naru and Umino laugh at her.
Why me? She thought morosely.
Akiyama wasn’t having very much luck in her search for the perfect wedding dress. Every store that she went to had dresses for way more than she could manage. As she exited the third dress shop she visited, she gazed wistfully at the window display and sighed softly to herself.
“Higure-san?” a familiar voice called. She turned to see who had called her. It was Haruna.
“Haruna-san!” Akiyama said surprised.
“What are you doing here?” Haruna said smiling and winking conspiratorially. “Thinking about your fiancée?”
Akiyama blushed bashfully. “Not really,” she said quietly.
Haruna turned to look at the dress shop’s window display. “What pretty silk!” she said, admiring the dress in the window. “You’re going to make your own dress, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but I haven’t come across silk that I like. I’ve already decided on the design, though.”
“I wish you lots of luck. I hope you’ll make a great dress and have a wonderful wedding. After all, I’m planning on finding a suitable guy at your reception,” Haruna added with a wink.
Akiyama smiled. “Sure, I’ll do my best.”
“I gotta do my best, too,” Haruna said and grabbed Akiyama’s arm. “I know a discount place with lots of fabric. Come on!” She quickly dragged her off with her.
From nearby, Nephrite watched the two from inside his car. After listening to the entire conversation, he began to form a plan. He quickly sped off for the woods mansion.
Inside the chamber where he constructed most of his plans, he gazed into the starry darkness he used as his guide. “The stars know everything. I seek your guidance with my newest victim. Under the light of Vega, this woman will shine bright.” An image of Akiyama appeared overhead. “Akiyama Higure. The next target has been chosen.” Once again, the lights representing various stars blinked as if answering him. He grinned to himself and left the room.
Usagi was walking home by herself after leaving Naru at her home. She heard the sounds of joyful laughter coming from the entrance of the Juuban Hall building. She was curious about the laughter and went to take a look.
“Wow… a wedding!” she said, noticing the newly wed couple leaving the building. Ever since hearing Umino’s gossip on Akiyama and after telling both Naru and Umino her wedding dreams, she had been thinking about weddings in general. She sighed softly to herself. “It’s the dream of girls, isn’t it…? I wish….”
“Put it over here,” a voice said to her left. She turned to see a man directing two other men carrying a huge poster over to the entrance to Juuban Hall. “Yeah, that should do it,” the man said cheerily.
“Let’s see…,” Usagi said, reading the poster. “Homemade wedding dress contest?” Her eyes grew huge as she read the last part. “First prize is a grand wedding reception free of charge?!? I’m so happy! It’s like a dream!”
She sighed sadly to herself as reality suddenly hit her head on. “But, I’m not good at sewing…. No way I can make a dress….”
“Excuse me,” Usagi heard Rei call out to the man in charge. “This wedding reception free of charge… it is good even if I don’t have a mate… I mean, if the date of the wedding isn’t decided?”
“Whenever the wedding is, it will be free,” he replied simply.
“All right!” Rei exclaimed and turned to leave. “Now I’d better start making some moves,” she said to herself, laughing.
“So, Rei-chan,” Usagi said slyly. She was wearing an insinuative expression on her face.
Rei jumped in surprise. “Ah! Usagi-chan!”
Usagi maintained her insinuative expression and tone. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing,” Rei said nonchalantly. “And what about you?” Just then, realization hit her. “Your mom is a full-time housewife, isn’t she?”
“What if she is?” Usagi said, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
Rei laughed insincerely. “Come on, Usagi-chan. Let’s go!” she said, pushing Usagi along.
“Hey, wait! What are you doing?” she demanded as she was being pushed.
While Usagi was busy being pushed, Akiyama walked up to Juuban Hall after noticing the huge poster from the discount place Haruna took her to. She gasped when she saw the prize as a free wedding reception. “A handmade wedding dress contest?” she murmured thoughtfully to herself.
“There you are!” Haruna said, running up to her. “I was wondering where you went.”
“Oh, I couldn’t find any fabrics that I liked,” Akiyama said, still gazing at the huge poster.
“What’s this?” Haruna asked, reading the poster. “Oh, a free wedding reception! That would be perfect for you!”
“That’s just what I was thinking.”
“Well then, we don’t have anytime to waste,” Haruna said, grabbing Akiyama’s arm again. “I know of another discount place. Don’t worry; I’m sure we’ll find something there. We’ve got to hurry, though. By the time, we get there, others will have heard about the contest and we’ll have to be quick before all the good fabric is gone.” She then proceeded to drag her off again.
Rei had dragged Usagi all the way to her house. All during that time, Usagi had wondered what she was up to. She was acting way too nice! Something was definitely up.
“Mom, I’m home!” Usagi called into the house. Almost immediately, her mother, Ikuko, came into the living room from the kitchen.
“Oh, I see you brought a friend with you,” she said cheerily. “Please, come in.” She then went back into the kitchen.
Usagi and Rei walked over to the couch and sat down. Luna came downstairs and sat on top of the couch next to Usagi. Ikuko came back into the living room, carrying a tray with a teapot, cups and a plate of shortcake.
“So, you’re Rei-san,” she said, smiling.
“Yes,” Rei replied, smiling back.
“What’s going on?” Luna asked Usagi. Usagi shrugged and continued to eye Rei suspiciously.
“I never knew that Usagi had such a wonderful friend,” Ikuko said.
“I’m not in the same school as her, but we get along quite well,” Rei told her.
“What do you mean?” Usagi muttered under her breath. “You dragged me here.” Then, she noticed that her mother was giving Rei the plate with the slice of shortcake. “Hey, that’s my snack!” she said indignantly.
“Usagi!” her mother chided. “Please, help yourself,” she said to Rei, handing her the plate.
“Thank you,” Rei said and took a bite.
“What’s going on here?” Luna whispered to Usagi.
“I don’t know!” Usagi whispered back.
“Delicious!” Rei said after finishing the cake. “You make good cake, don’t you?”
Ikuko blinked in surprise while Usagi just stared at Rei.
“Can’t she see that it’s from the bakery by the station?” Usagi muttered flatly.
“I envy Usagi-chan,” Rei said, setting down the plate. “I assume that you are also good at sewing.”
“What?” Usagi exclaimed.
“I’ve always wanted to learn sewing from a lady like you,” Rei continued. “Like a wedding dress.”
“Sewing…?” Ikuko replied as she and Usagi began laughing.
“I don’t get it,” Rei asked, looking confused. “What’s so funny?” When she told her, her chagrin grew twice as much as it was already.
“Oh, I see,” she said sheepishly.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you, Rei,” Ikuko said apologetically. “And I’m also sorry that I laughed at you.”
“That’s all right,” Rei replied, getting to her feet. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now.”
“Well, all right. It was nice to have met you.”
Usagi walked with Rei to the front door, while her mother went back into the kitchen with the tray. Rei threw open the door angrily. “Thanks a lot!” she snapped. “Damn! Why didn’t you tell me she’s not good at needlework?”
“Hey, were you thinking of getting help from my mom to make the dress for that contest?”
In response, Rei just stuck out her tongue.
“You take that back!” Usagi yelled furiously.
“You’re hopeless!” Luna berated. “If you’ve got time to participate in a contest like that, I wish you’d start training yourself for fighting against youma. Usagi-chan, that goes for you, too.”
Halfway through Luna’s tirade, Usagi went back inside the house. Luna shook her head in exasperation. She had a feeling that it would be a long time before those two would quit their inane arguing.
Usagi was still upset. Rei was trying to win her free wedding reception! If she wanted to beat Rei, she was going to need help. She was beginning to regret sleeping during Akiyama’s sewing class. That would’ve been a big help right about now.
Since she needed help, she turned to the first person she could think of for help in just about anything. She went to see Ami. As usual, she was up in her room, studying.
“Wedding dress contest?” Ami asked, turning from her textbook.
“Even Rei-chan’s trying to get in,” Usagi said, sitting on Ami’s bed. “Ami-chan, don’t you wanna participate?”
“Not really,” she replied indifferently. “Not that I have any plans to get married.”
“Don’t you get it?” Usagi exclaimed. “It’s a dream. Say, Ami-chan, you’ve got good marks in home ec., too, right? Can you teach me sewing?”
“If you say so,” she said tiredly, getting up from the stool she was sitting on.
“Yay!” Usagi exclaimed, jumping up from Ami’s bed. “Now, I can beat Rei-chan!” Ami suddenly plopped a stack of sewing books in front of her. She stared at the pile of books with a ridiculous look on her face. “What’re these?”
“This ought to do for the basics,” Ami told her. “The hands-on comes afterwards.”
“Oh,” Usagi said sheepishly. “I knew there was a catch.”
“Well, you’d better get started,” Ami said and went back to her textbook.
Usagi stared reluctantly at the stack of books. “Do I really need all of these books?”
“You have to learn to crawl before you can walk.”
Usagi groaned. “I’d rather stay awake for Akiyama’s sewing class,” she muttered to herself.
It was something that Ryoku said a few days ago that made Rei decide that he might be able to help her. He had once told her that he mended his own clothes. Since that meant that he obviously knew one end of a sewing needle from another, he could be of some help in her efforts to win that contest.
When she arrived at Ryoku’s apartment building, she saw him sitting on the edge of the roof, staring out into the city. “Hey, Ryo-kun! What’re you doing up there?” she called up to him.
“Nothing much,” he replied. “Just admiring the view.”
“Well, can you come down a minute? I wanna ask you something.”
“All right.” He got to his feet and walked to the ladder. “What is it?” he asked, climbing down off the roof.
“I need some help with something,” she said carefully.
“Really?” he asked, dropping the last few feet to the ground. “What with?”
“Oh, just an extra credit assignment I have for school,” she continued.
“I see,” he said guardedly. “Why come to me? Ami-chan is smarter than I am. Why not go to her?”
“Because, I think you might be of more help for this assignment,” she said quickly.
“Oh?” he said warily, folding his arms. “Exactly what class is this extra credit for? And what’s the assignment?”
“Well, it’s for my home ec. class,” she answered. It’s a good thing he doesn’t know I’m not really taking home ec., she thought to herself. “I have to sew a wedding dress.”
“A wedding dress?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve heard that that’s really hard to do. No wonder you need help.”
“No kidding. So, can you help me?”
“Hmm…. How good does this dress have to be?”
“It has to be very good. Good enough to win a contest.”
“I thought so!” he exclaimed, pointing at her. “So, you are trying to win that wedding dress contest, aren’t you?”
“What? How…? How did you know?” she asked, shocked.
“About a half-hour before you arrived, my downstairs neighbor asked me if she could borrow my spool of white thread,” he explained. “I asked why and she told me all about the contest and the free grand wedding reception.” He shook his head, laughing softly in amusement. “Extra credit. That’s a good one, Rei-chan. You really must work on your subtlety.”
She just stared at him. “It’s not easy getting anything past you, is it?”
He just shrugged. “I guess not. Anyway, I’d like to help you, but making clothes is altogether different from just repairing them. I don’t know how. Sorry, Rei-chan.”
“I’m just not having any luck today,” she remarked in vexation.
By the time Haruna dragged Akiyama to the second discount fabric store, there was already a mob there, fighting for any piece of fabric worthy of becoming a beautiful wedding dress. The noise could be heard outside the store and almost across the street; women yelling and arguing, demanding their claims had precedence over the others.
Akiyama just stood in shock as she watched Haruna try to wrest a piece of fabric away from two other women. The same thing was happening throughout the store. Basically, the whole situation could be summed up appropriately into three words.
“What a mess!” Akiyama exclaimed. Suddenly, a piece of fabric fell right at her feet. “How beautiful!” she gasped. She tensed for a second, expecting to be tackled for that piece of fabric.
“It’s a very beautiful piece of silk,” a man’s voice said from behind her. Akiyama turned around to see a man in a business suit walk up to her. “It is the perfect one to make your wedding dress with.”
“Yes,” she replied, blushing.
The man nodded. “It’s perfect for you,” he said holding it up to the light, with his back turned to her so she could see the fabric as well. “I see you walking by a lake under moonlight.” He wrapped the fabric around himself, like a robe, holding it closed with his left hand. “All the stars in heaven would sparkle to bless you.” He waved his right hand over the fabric, then removed it from his shoulders. “There,” he said, draping it around her. “May you have a happy wedding.” He turned and left the store.
She just watched starry-eyed as the man left.
Nephrite laughed to himself as he walked to his car. “Sometimes it’s just too easy.”
“Free wedding reception?” Naru asked as they walked down the street. “I didn’t know.”
“Now you see, Naru-chan?” Usagi said. “Gotta be in the contest, right?”
“Now I see. You always slept through home ec., but now you’re going to Akiyama-sensei’s home to ask about sewing,” Naru pointed out. “I was wondering what happened to you.”
“That’s only because it’s tricky.”
“But, a dress isn’t easy to make,” Naru admonished. “Not to mention that you’ve got a short attention span.”
“No problem,” Usagi said. “You know what they say, ‘The will of women will even break a rock.’”
“What’s that?”
“Oops. Wrong saying?”
Just then, Luna hopped up onto the wall over the girls’ heads and started watching Usagi. “Now, what’s she up to?” she mused to herself.
Both girls paused as they noticed a guy carrying a bouquet of flowers towards the nearby apartment building. “Who’s he?” Usagi asked.
“Not sure,” Naru replied.
“Looks pretty dull, doesn’t he?” Usagi asked in an amused tone. The guy was short and just beginning to bald.
“That’s not nice,” Naru commented laughingly.
When the guy stopped at Akiyama’s apartment door, both their jaws dropped wide open. “Is that… Akiyama-sensei’s fiancée?” they exclaimed in surprise.
The man knocked on Akiyama’s door. “Higure-san, are you there?” he called in a worried tone. Hearing nothing but the sounds of a sewing machine, he knocked again. “You didn’t answer the phone. Are you okay?” The sounds of the sewing machine ceased.
The door was suddenly flung open, knocking the man back. When he regained his balance, he gazed in surprise at his transformed fiancée. She was wearing a short T-shirt that exposed her stomach, a green shirt she wore open and tied at the bottom and short purple shorts. He also noticed that she wasn’t wearing her glasses. She was leaning on her elbow against the door, looking at him with an indifferent expression on her face. It was quite a change from her usual conservative dress.
“What do you want?” she asked flatly, her indifferent expression had changing to one of annoyance. The man held up the bouquet of flowers. “I don’t want your stupid flowers!” she snapped, slapping the bouquet out of his hands. “Go away! Don’t you come to my home until the Juuban Hall’s Wedding Contest is over or you can forget about getting married! Get it?” She went back inside the apartment, slamming the door closed behind her.
“Higure-san, wait!” he called to the closed door. He sadly picked up the bouquet and left.
“No way,” Naru said in surprise. “That’s Akiyama-sensei?”
“Contest?” Usagi said worriedly. “She’s going to be a formidable opponent….”
Naru looked at her friend in annoyance. “Usagi-chan….”
Luna stared at the door to Akiyama’s apartment. The complete change in behavior…. I feel something from the teacher.…
Inside her apartment, Akiyama was single-mindedly concentrating on sewing her dress. She was just about finished when her fiancée interrupted her. Now, she was moments from completion.
As soon as she finished her dress, she picked it up and held it over her head, spinning around as she laughed. “It’s perfect!” she said. Her spinning and laughing slowed as she began to grow weary. “I’m so tired,” she said as her eyes began to close and she collapsed to the floor.
Slowly, the dark energy placed in the dress’s fabric began to flow into her.
Luna went to Ryoku’s apartment first, since he was closest. After explaining the situation to him, they went to Ami’s house to get her. Now the three of them went to get Rei.
“Akiyama-sensei of home ec.?” Ami asked.
“You say you felt an evil presence in her?” Ryoku asked.
“Yes,” Luna replied. “So, we’ll need Rei-chan’s help….”
“Hold it!!!” Rei’s grandpa shouted as he chased her around the shrine grounds. They noticed that Rei was carrying a bundle that they were guessing she had just recently pilfered. “Give that back now! How dare you take out our only rental wedding robe!”
Rei was too busy fleeing from her grandpa to notice that she was about to run smack into her friends. She knocked them into the ground, hard. “Oops, sorry,” Rei said apologetically as they groaned in pain.
“Did anyone get the license plate of that bus?” Ryoku muttered, getting to his feet. After he got to his feet, he helped Ami get to hers.
After seeing that Rei’s friends were all right, Grandpa grabbed the bundle from Rei. “For a moment, I thought you were trying to run away with a man!”
“Grandpa!” Rei began.
“Don’t even think about it!” Grandpa interrupted sternly.
“But, there’s no way I can be in the Juuban Hall’s Wedding Dress Contest without it!” she shot back.
“You’d better not!” Grandpa retorted. “Those fools who would dare to use the sacred wedding dress for consumerism.”
“What was that all about?” Luna asked.
“No clue at all,” Ryoku commented.
“Young lady,” Grandpa said to Ami, “would you like to have a wedding at our shrine? I’m sure you and your fiancé will have such a wonderful wedding!”
“What? Us?” Ryoku exclaimed in surprise as both he and Ami blushed.
“It’s way cheaper than a place like Juuban Hall,” he continued with a huge grin.
“I’m sorry; you must be mistaken,” Ami said while blushing. “He’s not my fiancé. Ryo-kun and I aren’t getting married.”
“We’re just friends,” Ryoku added quickly. “Neither one of us is getting married.”
“Oh. My mistake,” Grandpa said and walked back into the shrine with the robe.
“Still trying to make that dress?” Ryoku asked as he turned toward Rei. “I’m not sure whether you’re very determined, or just very stubborn.”
“Well, you were no help,” she snapped back.
“I told you, I don’t know how to make clothes.”
“Rei-chan, we have an emergency,” Luna interrupted. “I think that Usagi-chan’s home ec. teacher, Akiyama Higure, might be under the influence of the Dark Kingdom.”
“We think she might try something at the wedding dress contest,” Ami added.
“Then, I’ll meet you there,” Rei said. “I just need time to change out of these robes.”
“All right,” Ryoku said. “We’re going to go get Usagi-chan. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
Rei had opted to wear her school uniform. She joined the others at Juuban Hall just as Usagi was complaining about the many bandages on all of her fingers.
“With the contest only a short time away, can you actually finish a dress?” Ryoku asked.
“My fingers!” she whined, brandishing a set of ten bandaged fingers.
“Give it up, Usagi,” Ami said consolingly. “At least you tried.”
“But, the grand wedding reception… I can’t give it up!”
“I recognize the effort of you puncturing your fingers all over with a needle,” Rei said teasingly as she noted the bandages. At that, Usagi started crying.
“Rei-chan!” Ami said disapprovingly.
“Must you make it worse?” Ryoku asked. Rei just grinned mischievously.
“That’s enough,” Luna said from Ami’s shoulder. “Let’s keep our eyes open to see if anything happens. Usagi-chan, you disguise yourself as a contestant.”
“You evil cat!” Usagi exclaimed angrily. “You know I don’t have a dress!”
“Use the Disguise Pen,” Rei said flatly, folding her arms.
“Oh,” Usagi said sheepishly. “I forgot.” The others just laughed at her expense. “Moon power, turn me into a gorgeous bride!” she said, holding up the Luna Pen. Instantly, the pen gave her a bride’s outfit, complete with a rose bouquet. “I did it!” Usagi exclaimed, admiring her dress.
“Not bad, Usagi-chan,” Ryoku said with one eyebrow raised in appreciation.
“Glad you like it, Ryo-kun,” Usagi said, twirling around in her dress. “Do I look pretty?” she said slyly to Rei, who didn’t even bother to answer. “Now, I can win with no problem.”
“Usagi-chan!” Luna chided.
“It’s not fair to win with that,” Ami said disapprovingly.
“You’re only participating, okay?” Luna added.
“Yeah, I know,” Usagi said, disappointed. She and Luna went inside with the other contestants while the others looked around the building for Akiyama. She walked out onto a stage where each contest stood next to another in a single line. When the contest began, she looked over the entire line of contestants for any sign of Akiyama. She wasn’t there.
Near the other end of the room, Ami, Rei and Ryoku met after they had split up their search.
“So, where’s the teacher?” Rei asked.
“I can’t find her,” Ryoku said.
“Me, neither,” Ami added. “Maybe she didn’t show?”
The curtain behind the contestants rose as the man in charge of the contest announced the arrival of the first contestant. When the curtain had completely rose, he saw Akiyama standing there instead. She was wearing a light purple wedding dress that looked more like an expensive evening gown.
“You can’t just walk in like that,” the man said sternly.
“Silence!” Akiyama shouted fiercely.
The man suddenly stopped and stared longingly at her. “You’re the ideal bride!” he said fawningly. “Please marry me.”
“Quiet!” she stated, raising her arms dramatically to the ceiling. “Do you think you are worthy of me? Now, all men in the world will bow before me! All women may kneel before me! I will win the contest! I have to!” She began to laugh wickedly as everyone started to collapse from having their energy drained. Usagi was about to go under as well, when Luna came out from under her dress to yell at her.
“Don’t look into her eyes!” Luna yelled.
Usagi snapped out of her dazed state. “Hey! You were looking inside my skirt!” she yelled angrily. “You pervert!”
“We’ve got no time for that!” Luna muttered in exasperation.
“Excellent,” Nephrite said from his chamber at the woods mansion. He had been monitoring the energy levels in Akiyama’s body. “Her energy level is at its peak! Come forth, Widow!”
Akiyama collapsed as her energy was drained and the dark energy left her body. The dark energy coalesced into a huge spider-like creature with orange and black skin and purple hair.
“So, you have shown yourself, youma!” Rei said.
“Follow me. I have an idea,” Ryoku said as he headed off for some nearby stairs.
Usagi ran to her unconscious teacher’s side. “Akiyama-sensei!” she called worriedly. She turned angrily to Widow. “Who are you?” The youma remained silent. “It looks disgusting, as always,” she muttered to herself.
“Hold it!” Ami, Rei and Ryoku called from above. Usagi and Widow both looked up to see the three standing on a suspended ceiling fixture. The cables holding the platform were covered with fake vines and the platform itself was shaped like a heart.
“The eternal dream of the wedding dress…,” Ami shouted.
“…and those who dream of wearing it…,” Ryoku added.
“Anybody who dares to tarnish its white radiance will pay for it!” Rei finished.
“Hey! We’re not supposed to say that stuff yet!” Usagi said indignantly.
“Does it really matter?” Ryoku asked.
“Well… I guess not, but I’d rather wait until we’re transformed.”
“Oh. Suit yourself.”
“Anyway,” she continued, turning to Widow. “Here’s for the free wedding reception I missed! Moon prism power, make up!”
“Mercury power, make up!”
“Mars power, make up!”
“Knight swords power!”
“I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon!” Sailor Moon shouted as the other Scouts leaped off the platform to join her on the stage.
“Likewise, Sailor Mercury!”
“Likewise, Sailor Mars!”
“And Sailor Knight!”
“On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”
As soon as the four Sailor Scouts finished, Widow began her charge. When she was within range, she spat a stream of webbing at the Scouts. Mercury dodged to the left, Mars dodged to the right and Knight leaped back up to the platform, catching it with one hand and hanging there. Sailor Moon didn’t dodge in time and was caught in the webbing.
“Get this off of me!” Sailor Moon exclaimed in disgust. She tried to wrench herself free, but couldn’t.
“I will weave you a pretty death dress, with you in it,” Widow taunted.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted. A thick mist rose into the air, blocking out any visibility.
“What is this?” Widow said, looking around in confusion.
Knight pulled out one of his swords and charged as Mars began her attack. “Fire soul!” she yelled, shooting a fireball at the webbing trapping Sailor Moon. Knight leaped at the webbing, allowing his sword to connect with the fireball, and swung his now flaming sword through the webbing as he passed above it. The release of the tension when the webbing was cut apart caused Sailor Moon to fall on the ground as the rest of the webbing burned off her. The rest of the webbing burned in front of Widow’s face, causing her to wildly thrash about with the rest of her arms, trying to remove it, and become disoriented.
Sailor Moon was also thrashing about, trying to remove the last of the strings of Widow’s webbing. “Ah! Get it off! Get it off!” she cried.
“Are you okay?” Mars asked.
“I hate spiders!” Sailor Moon said.
Widow had finally recovered and was now charging again. “You!” she yelled. “Where are you?!?”
“Right here!” Knight shouted. “Earth thrust!” He shot a large stone spike at her, knocking her back and halting her charge.
Taking the opportunity, Sailor Moon removed her tiara and prepared her attack. “Moon tiara action!” she shouted, throwing her tiara at Widow, destroying her.
After Widow’s destruction, Akiyama slowly regained consciousness. She sat up and looked around the room. “Where am I?” she said in bewilderment. “What have I been doing?”
The next day, at Juuban Hall, Akiyama finally got married. She and her new husband were now happily leaving the building.
“How beautiful Akiyama-sensei looks!” Ami exclaimed, noting Akiyama’s new, traditional-looking wedding dress. The others nodded their agreement.
“Yes,” Ryoku agreed, nodding. “By the way, what’s her last name going to be now?”
“I don’t know,” Usagi said. “Akiyama-sensei never told us she was getting married. Naru-chan and I found out from Umino. He never did tell us the guy’s last name.”
They watched as the chapel owner gave the newlywed couple a pair of plane tickets. Akiyama had won the sewing dress contest with her wedding dress, despite her unknowingly draining the audience of their energy.
“After what she said to him, he still waited for her…,” Usagi sighed.
“It’s not the face that counts,” Luna said from Ami’s shoulder. Usagi answered by playfully sticking out her tongue at Luna. The others laughed at her response.
“I prefer handsome,” she retorted playfully.
“I guess, for some, the face does matter,” Ryoku said with a half-smile.
“Hey, Usagi-chan, did you know that whoever catches the bride’s bouquet will get married next?” Ami pointed out.
“Really?” she asked, her expression lighting up.
“No way!” Haruna said, coming up from behind Ryoku. “That bouquet is mine!”
As Akiyama prepared to toss the bouquet, Haruna, Usagi, and Rei wore a determined expression. Ryoku glanced at the three competitors and turned to Ami, who didn’t seem interested in catching the bouquet. “Not going to try your luck?” he asked, gesturing to the three behind him. Akiyama had already thrown the bouquet and they were scrambling to catch it.
“No, not really,” she replied quietly.
“Oh? Why not, Ami-chan?”
“Well, the others really want to catch the bouquet and I’m not really interested in getting married….”
“I see,” he said after she trailed off. “I understand. However, you have just as much right to catch the bouquet as the others. Even if you catch the bouquet, you don’t have to start planning for a wedding you might not have for a long time to come. It’s just for fun.”
“I know that, Ryo-kun. It’s just that I don’t want to have to worry about such things as that. After all, with school and studying and everything else….”
“I know, I know…,” he said with a half-grin. “Still, I can’t help but wonder if you’d feel a little guilty at catching it, when you know that the others wanted to catch it more than you did?”
“Well…,” she began, but was cut off when something struck Ryoku in the back of his head and began to fall toward her hands.
“Hey! Who threw that?” he demanded, turning to look behind him as his right hand unconsciously rose behind him to catch whatever hit him in the head. He wanted to see what it was.
As he noticed the shocked stares of Usagi, Rei and Haruna – combined with the fact that the object that he had just caught seemed to be the object of their staring – he began to have a very good idea of what it was he had just caught.
“…Ami-chan?” the three exclaimed. Wait a minute; didn’t I catch it? he thought in confusion. He turned slowly around and looked down at his hand. Just as he thought, he did catch it. That was when he noticed the other two hands holding onto the bouquet. “…and Ryo-kun?” they finished, as he looked up to see Ami staring at him, just as surprised as he was.
They had been talking about her not trying to catch the bouquet and here she was holding it in her hands. Not only that but he had caught it at the same time she did. The implications of this interesting coincidence ran through both their minds. To add to the coincidence, they both came up with the same response at the same time, summing up what they were thinking at the time in just two simple words.
“No way….”