Chibiusa's Picture Diary Chapter 2 - Beware of Tanabata

The second entry in the Chibiusa's Picture Diary short-story series, this chapter was written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. Chibiusa is thrilled to receive a Sailor Moon wristwatch for her birthday, only to learn that the trinket is part of a scheme to mesmerize children during the festival of Tanabata.

Placed within the Infinity arc, after Haruka and Michiru treat Chibiusa to a helicopter ride but before they leave Mugen Academy, the tale opens on the shared June 30th birthday of Usagi and Chibiusa. Among the gifts, Mamoru hands Chibiusa a Sailor Moon watch he bought from a stranger loitering outside a toy store, which strikes everyone as shady. At school the next day, Chibiusa is deflated to see that nearly every girl now owns the identical watch, its locket compartment made to hold a photo of a sweetheart, hers secretly of Mamoru. Out with a Tanabata branch, the girls run into Haruka and Michiru and hear a hooded stranger recount the legend of the weaver Shokujo and her husband Kengyu, lovers permitted to reunite only once each year, a tale the children brush off as pointless.

That night Chibiusa's watch springs open on its own and draws her toward Ichinohashi park in a trance, until Diana bites her arm to break the spell. Reaching the park with the cat, Chibiusa finds the hooded figure and two accomplices urging a crowd of girls to swear off men and live alone forever. She transforms and confronts the woman, who claims to be Sailor Moon herself, only for Sailor Chibi Moon to retort that her thighs are far too thick for the role. Bursting into tears, the stranger sheds her disguise to reveal Shokujo, who admits she has let herself go, and that ever since Kengyu once glimpsed her without makeup, rain has poured every year.

Shokujo's helpers, Epsilon and Zeta, insist men only love young women, then turn on her, admitting they merely covet the girls' energy for themselves. Sailor Chibi Moon wipes them out with Pink Sugar Heart Attack, shattering every enchanted watch and clearing the night sky, after which Kengyu appears to reassure a still-doubtful Shokujo of his love. Afterward Usagi praises Chibiusa for winning on her own, Mamoru apologizes for the cursed gift, and Chibiusa promptly parlays a promised replacement into a costly Tiffany necklace, much to his dismay. The chapter debuts Shokujo, Kengyu, Epsilon, and Zeta. Real-world footnotes add that Tanabata, held on July 7th, honors the reunion of two stars, Orihime and Hikoboshi; that Takeuchi revealed Kōsuke Fujishima of Oh My Goddess drew one unnamed character into a panel; that this is the sole time Haruka wears the female Mugen Academy uniform; and that Tiffany's is a genuine jeweler.