Episode 22 - Premonition of the Full Moon

Premonition of the Full Moon (満月の予感) is the twenty second episode of the Aikatsu Friends! anime series. It aired on September 6th, 2018.

Summary
After a divination foretells that Kaguya plays a part in ensuring the success of Sakuya's upcoming Event, she takes it upon herself to make sure things run smoothly. But after a mishap causes her to be exposed to the audience, Sakuya comes to an important decision.

Plot
One evening, Sakuya and Kaguya hang out at home. As Sakuya prepares a divination, Kaguya compliments how well she's been doing since landing that role and putting on her first large performance. Sakuya claims it's because of her help that she was even capable of doing it, then brings up that she has a Handshake Event approaching. Which is why she will be performing the divining, to see if it will go alright. After throwing her dice, she opens her book and with Kaguya, reads over the entry. They determine that Kaguya plays a role in whether it goes well or not and she promises that she will help her sister to make sure everything goes smoothly.

The following day, Kaguya contacts Sakuya to bring up the time. They were supposed to swap places earlier and she's running late. Sakuya informs her that due to another divination taking place she hasn't left home yet, and hearing approaching visitors Kaguya has no choice but to try to make it work for now. Hanging up, she greets her visitors, Aine and Mio. Aine is happy to see "Sakuya" again and brings up hearing about her fortune telling tent, so she wanted to come and check it out. Kaguya is surprised to see them of all people, but she begins her reading- with the girls bringing up that she used dice before. Kaguya claims it doesn't matter though, because ultimately it's up to them to decide if they believe her or not.

She goes on to correctly deduce they came to get a reading on their Friendship, then teases Mio by saying she's easy to read- although it turns out she's using her phone for assistance. Shyly Mio explains that she wanted to see what her compatibility with Aine was; only to panic when Kaguya struggles to come up with a clear response. Seeing them worry, she hurriedly provides a good enough reading to send them on their way, causing her much relief.

At the shopping center on the day of the handshake event, Sakuya reenacts her big scene from the film before her audience members. She easily manages to please everyone while Kaguya watches from the sidelines.

During her break, Sakuya and Kaguya speak to her manager about how efficiently he manages their scheduling. He worries he might have given her too much to do, but she insists it's fine. She coughs, not used to speaking to so many people, but she is sure she'll be alright. He points out that she only has one last session to do before the event ends and decides to head off to speak to the manager of it. As Kaguya is cleaning up, she sees Sakuya drift off to sleep and worries when someone calls for her. She knows at this point Sakuya won't be able to wake up for some time yet, and hearing how impatient the audience is getting, Kaguya decides to take her place and swaps hair accessories.

On stage, Kaguya resumes worrying over how well she'll do. She knows that while she is capable of swapping with Sakuya normally- she doesn't believe she was meant to be on the stage. She doesn't have her special glow, and she's never done any professional singing yet. After seeing Aine and Mio in the crowd, she stresses out further while Aine happens to notice something off about her and remarks on how uncomfortable she appears to be. With no other choice, Kaguya is forced to sing for everyone. To her surprise though, she ends up wowing the audience and listens to their compliments; but as Aine points out that girl isn't Sakuya, the audience members begin to remark on how different she sounds.

Realizing they have been found out, Kaguya decides to confess to the audience. She removes Sakuya's hair accessory and introduces herself as her twin sister Kaguya, then she takes off from the stage, leaving everyone confused by the event.

Backstage,  the twins stand with their manager and the two men in charge of the event meet up with them to discuss what just happened; although their managers "hat pet" surprises them momentarily. He apologizes on the girls behalf for causing trouble and the girls try to explain that they didn't mean to cause a problem or decieve the audience members. Sakuya feels badly for having fallen asleep, but Kaguya appears to feel even worse as her Manager offers to reschedule a new event and accommodate for what happened.

The following day, Aine and Mio recall what happened to Tamaki and how amazing Kaguya sounded when she sang in Sakuya's place. She looks up information on the twins to see that Sakuya is currently on the up-and-up, attracting a wide range of fans, and she has perfect acting skills. Her profile mentions nothing of a sister though, but the reveal has caused her popularity to increase. Mio goes on to bring up how impressed she was by the fact Aine was capable of seeing the difference, but Aine just claims to have felt something different about her. Tamaki then wonders if Kaguya will become an Idol now, and if she would form a unit with Sakuya. Since they were born they have been together, which already means they have a great bond.

That evening, Kaguya brings Sakuya a drink and remarks on how she's staying up late again. Sakuya feels badly for what happened during the event, but Kaguya suggests that she doesn't worry about it- saying it only meant she isn't fit to become a singer. Sakuya doesn't think so though, and she mentions that everyone ended up enjoying themselves because of her, but Kaguya still feels bad. Sakuya then goes on to ask Kaguya to Aikatsu with her and stand upon the same stage, but Kaguya refuses, saying she only wants to continue supporting her from the shadows to help her shine more brightly. She only did what she had to in order to help Sakuya out, she doesn't wish to outshine or cloud her own radiance.With that she takes off, leaving Sakuya concerned.

The next day she heads out to the cafe to speak to Aine and Mio, apologizing for interrupting them. She explains how she has come to ask them something, and brings up wanting to stand on stage with Kaguya. But she rejected her offer, so she wanted to ask how it happened for them and wonders if she's missing something. To her surprise, Aine reveals that she only ended up becoming an Idol because Mio and her met, and Mio asked her to join her for a performance when she needed a partner. She never doubted her capabilities, and she tackled it head-on, and since then she's had so much fun and has made many new friends. It was rough getting used to Aikatsu, but she was happy being with Mio, and feeling her joy kept her going. She's sure Kaguya feels the same way, and that she was probably happy when Sakuya offered her hand. Mio suggests that she try to convey her feelings to Kaguya instead, so that she can understand her and learn how Kaguya feels as well. They give her encouragement and bring up how special it would be to see twin idols on stage, and Sakuya happily thanks them.

That night, she approaches her twin again to ask her to perform. Kaguya is surprised, but she rejects her again. She's fine just standing by her side and swapping when she needs to. She's at her happiest just watching Sakuya shine, she doesn't need to. However, Sakuya brings up how happy Kaguya was to sing on stage in her place. It's been a long time since she last sang; something they used to do all the time as children. It was Kaguya's singing that made her think she really wanted to become a singer some day, and she knows she would be successful. When Kaguya expresses doubt, Sakuya points out that they could reassure one-another if they stood on the same stage. Kaguya still doesn't think so though, and she turns her back to her twin until Sakuya claims that in order for her to shine even brighter, she needs Kaguya by her side, Kaguya understands this, and realizing that she must believe in herself to help her shine at her brightest.

Soon the day of Sakuya's next performance arrives. She changes into her chosen coord and appears on stage to perform "Guided".

Afterwards, Sakuya returns to stage, just for the light to go out and reveal Kaguya to be standing next to her. Everyone is surprised until Sakuya announces their plans to become  Friends unit, Reflect Moon. They ask for everyone to support them as Aine and Mio watch from the cheering audience.

That evening the girls are approached by Sakuya's manager again. He brings up how well they did and that the people in charge of the Handshake Event would like for them both to do an event together this time. The girls happily agrees as he and his pet share a laugh, pointing out how busier they will become. With that, Sakuya surprises Kaguya by revealing she has made her a personal dress, amazing Kaguya as she asks how Sakuya already had it, and their unit name prepared. Rather than answer, Sakuya just says that it's perfect for them. She's given it a lot of thought and has been waiting for them to stand on stage together for the longest time.

Characters

 * Kaguya Shirayuri
 * Sakuya Shirayuri
 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Tamaki Enjōji
 * Mushirō Haryū

Trivia

 * The Friends unit Reflect Moon is formed in this episode.
 * The Blanc Plume Coord makes a cameo appearance in this episode.
 * This episode marks the debut of Mushirō Haryū.