Welcome to Usagi Quest, an odd blend between CK3 and Princess Maker that has been bouncing around in my brain for a while now.
You are Usagi Tsukino, the girl who will one day rule over the entire solar system from Crystal Tokyo. Sure is a big destiny for such a regular girl.
And to make it worse, Usagi isn't exactly leadership material yet. She's a softhearted crybaby who would rather spend her days playing video games, eat, or sleep instead of handling the responsibilities put in front of her.
You need to help this poor girl learn to maneuver her way through high school, learn how to balance her friendships and her duties...
Oh, and help her fight off the extra-dimensional invasion of the Dark Kingdom, its terrifying Queen Beryl, and the Dark Generals who serve under her.
Thankfully, Usagi isn't alone. Sort of.
Yes, she has a cat named Luna who was there back in the fall of the Moon Kingdom, but there is also You.
Serenity Celene, the Moon Princess, and the little voice in the back of Usagi's head that will be able to push her to overcoming her flaws, and discovering just how amazing of a person she can be.
And perhaps... even more important than helping Usagi discover who she is...
Look at this place. Humanity is trapped, stuck on this singular rock.
Once they expanded across the whole of the Solar System.
They can do so again, but it will take wits, it will take effort, and it will take time.
They say that dreams are the windows into the secrets that you don't know that you know. For years and years, you thought that the Royal Magisters were talking out of their asses when they said things like that.
Now?
Now you know that they were speaking the truth, and you know it in the most frustrating... the most infuriating way possible.
Your name is Serenity Artimisa Celene. You are the daughter of the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, which naturally makes you the Moon Princess. The Heir of the Ginzuishou, and rightful ruler of the Sol System.
You are beautiful and wise. Able to turn conflict to peace with only a few words, though of course that means that you never learned how to fight.
From the day you were born, you were raised to rule a kingdom, and though you find it boring, you understand all the intricacies of how your kingdom functions. You learned how to keep the kingdom running, even if at the top you only manage the broad sweeps, leaving the more intricate parts of the systems to those specialists in their fields.
You are a master of stealth and disguise, able to sneak away down to the Earthen Kingdoms with ease. No one ever the wiser that you go to see your love, your Endymion down on the surface of the planet.
Not a single soul knew of your cunning actions.
And of course, as the daughter of the most magically powerful government in the entire solar system you are... You are magically powerful! You had learned the Theorems and the formula which governed the mystical arts.
...
Well... You were all of those things. Once upon a time. A time long gone now. You... You're dead. You died. And you have no real idea how long it has been since you died, either.
All that you have, even here, in this world of your dreams are memories... But your memories of the last days of your kingdom are... fractured, fragmented, so badly splintered that you can only recall a moment here, or a second there.
All of your memories, except for one. Of everything that you can remember, there is but a single fragment of your last days that is large enough, that is sturdy enough for you to truly recall in whole.
Endymion... Dead on the ground before you, the pearlescent stones of the Royal Rose Garden stained with his blood. Terrifying beasts surround you, howling and baying, jeering mockeries on their lips as they leer at you with bloodthirsty eyes.
And there was the pain.
You remember the pain most of all. The sharp, cold sting of steel burying itself into the center of your chest.
In the end, you died by the sword that you forsook in life.
You can almost appreciate the irony of it.
Then... There is another something in the fragments of your memories, something that you know you will never be able to truly recall - Something that exists as a hole in your mind and your memories. Something that you can almost remember, in spite of the fact that you...
In spite of being dead when it happened.
You don't know how you know what happened, but you can feel it in your bones, you can feel it in your blood. You can feel it in every inch of your new body.
Mother.
Your mother, the Queen of the Moon died.
You know that she did not die in vein, the fact that you are here proves that.
So you know that she must have done... something. She must have used the powers of the Ginzuishou, and somehow... impossibly...
Your soul inhabits a mortal coil once more.
You aren't dead.
Yet, neither are you alive. At least, not outside of your dreams.
And... as if somehow summoned by that last thought, you hear the ever so irritating sound of the alarm designed to draw your waking self away from this world of dreams.
Away to a waking world where she cannot remember the things that you remember. A life where you don't know the many things that you know.
But the alarm blares on and on, and as it does the world of dreams slowly darkens, fading into a blur of color and sound.
BRRRING! BRRRING!
BRRRING! BRRRING!
With a tired groan and bleary eyes, you look out into the wasteland of blinding white and off-cream yellow. Somewhere, out there, is the source of the terrible evil that now besets you.
BRRRING! BRRRING!
BRRRING! BRRRING!
With sleep encrusted eyes, you try and glare at the source of the sound, even as the remnants of your dream start to slip between your thoughts like droplets of water sliding between your fingers in the rain. You wish you had laser eyes.
If you had laser eyes, you could blow the irritation without having to get out from under your most lux... luxour... Your really nice blanket.
Just BOOM! And no more alarm clock. Or... Or if your alarm clock was evil, then you could use your Moon Tiara on it to dest-
Everything stops. You go from laying in your bed to sitting up so fast that your comforter flops over, knocking the alarm clock off your dresser, but that isn't important right now.
No, all the countless thoughts bouncing back and forth the inside of your head suddenly cease, as you remember.
You remember everything from last night. You remember meeting Luna, you remember the fact that the cat could talk.
You remember her telling you a strange incantation. Words that caused you to transform, changing your clothes and filling your body with a strange energy that you still don't understand.
Hearing Naru's voice, and tracking the source down to her mother's shop. The creature that was using the store to steal the life from people using the store's jewelry.
You remember fighting the monster, nearly getting killed by the men and women under its sway.
Then, those three words.
Moon. Tiara. Action.
Turning the mystical tiara that had appeared on your head with your transformation into a mystical weapon which killed the demon and purified those affected by it.
Most importantly, you remember one thing above all else.
Your eyes snap over to the windowsill, where Luna lays outside in the branches of the tree beyond your window.
Luna, the space cat which gave you your powers said that she would explain everything in the morning.
Well it is morning now, and you have a lot of questions that need to be answered.
With a twist and a roll, you push off the mattress beneath you, and then with a flip you land on your feet, knees bending cushioning your weight and preventing your landing from making the slightest of sounds.
Then, as you rise back up to standing, you realize just what the hell you did right there.
How the hell did you just do that? Starting to turn back towards your bed, you find one leg where the other should be, ankles catching hold and-
You hit the ground with a solid thump.
Well... The grace and the finesse were nice while they lasted.
Your name is Usagi Tsukino. You are the first child of your mother, Ikuko Tsukino, and your father, Kenji Tsukino. Which means...
Well, it means that you are fourteen years old and in your first year of high school. It also means that you have a younger brother by four years named Shingo Tsukino.
Really, by every accounting, you seem to be an entirely ordinary teenage girl. Nothing special about you in any way.
Sure, you might have a knack for getting along with others. Figuring out the right things to say to people to make them smile and laugh has always come easy to you.
But really, beyond that? You don't have a lot going for you. Other than the events of last night.
If you were not to count last night, then you would have to grudgingly admit that you have never thrown a punch. You don't know the first thing about how to fight, or defend yourself. The best defense you have is to cry, and hope that someone saves you.
Again, this isn't counting last night, where you managed to nearly keep pace with a car on the highway, and leapt from the ground to the top of a house.
When it comes to numbers...
Ah! Well... You are... Not... exactly a very good liar. Everyone seems to always know when you are trying to hide things from them.
And then there is your... schoolwork...
...
Like you said. You are pretty, and you are nice. But those are just about the only things in your life that you have going for you... Personally.
Yes, you have a wonderful family, and you aren't broke all the time. Okay, yes, you are broke all the time, but that is because you spend your money at the Arcade.
One of these days you are going to get the high score on the Sailor V game, alright? It'll all be worth it in the end. Yes.
Huh.
That was a very odd, and somewhat depressing tangent your thoughts went on right there. Must have been because you fell. Yes. Anyways. You need to talk with Luna.
That cat mentioned that there are supposed to be other guardians. That there is a great evil who has come to Tokyo.
She mentioned something about a Princess.
Stumbling back up to your feet, you cross the room and slide open your window.
"Hey!" You whisper, trying to get Luna's attention without waking up anyone else in the house. "Hey Luna, wake up."
Unfortunately, you hurried whispers are not enough to wake the sleeping cat, and as you lean back away from the window, you glance back towards you bed...
Towards your clock.
Wait... Today is a school day! Oh no, what time is it? With the kind of energy that only ever comes with your regular morning panic, you skitter over to the clock, picking it up and returning it to your bedside table.
And there, on the face of the clock reads...
7:20!
You're never up this early!
CHOOSE ONE:
[ ][OP] If you start getting ready for school now... You might actually make it to class on time.
[ ][OP] You normally leave later than this, so demanding answers from Luna about everything she said last night should be fine!
[Trait Discovered- Overly Emotional: During Character Events, there is a 15% chance of Usagi ignoring the vote and taking an option that fits her Personality Traits (Craven, Lazy, and Impatient), meaning that she will take the path of least resistance and whatever could possibly get her the results she wants now. This effect of this trait will decrease by 5% for each Negative Personality Trait that Usagi manages to Overcome. Overcoming all Negative Personality Traits will cause this trait to transform into a positive trait.]
Welcome to Usagi Quest, an odd blend between CK3 and Princess Maker that has been bouncing around in my brain for a while now.
You are Usagi Tsukino, the girl who will one day rule over the entire solar system from Crystal Tokyo. Sure is a big destiny for such a regular girl.
And to make it worse, Usagi isn't exactly leadership material yet. She's a softhearted crybaby who would rather spend her days playing video games, eat, or sleep instead of handling the responsibilities put in front of her.
You need to help this poor girl learn to maneuver her way through high school, learn how to balance her friendships and her duties...
Oh, and help her fight off the extra-dimensional invasion of the Dark Kingdom, its terrifying Queen Beryl, and the Dark Generals who serve under her.
Thankfully, Usagi isn't alone. Sort of.
Yes, she has a cat named Luna who was there back in the fall of the Moon Kingdom, but there is also You.
Serenity Celene, the Moon Princess, and the little voice in the back of Usagi's head that will be able to push her to overcoming her flaws, and discovering just how amazing of a person she can be.
And perhaps... even more important than helping Usagi discover who she is...
Look at this place. Humanity is trapped, stuck on this singular rock.
Once they expanded across the whole of the Solar System.
They can do so again, but it will take wits, it will take effort, and it will take time.
Usagi will one day rise to become the new Queen of the Moon, and that means that she needs a kingdom to rule.
This quest is split into two separate but equally important... Phases (Modes?)
To start with, this first update is a Character Event, something focused on Usagi (Or later other characters) and the decisions that they make. It is small, focused, and a singular event.
The second mode, which will commence once this tutorial event is complete, are Turns.
To begin with, Turns take place over a single week, during which Serenity is able to effect Usagi's subconscious guiding her towards a particular goal over a week long time period.
During a Turn, there we be various actions that Usagi is able to partake in, one for each of her five Attributes: Diplomacy, Martial, Stewardship, Intrigue, and Learning.
These actions will push Usagi slowly closer to the End Goal? of uniting humanity, uplifting the species to once more fill the solar system, and creating Crystal Tokyo.
Some of these actions will work to push Usagi to slowly overcome her flaws, or become better in a stat. Maybe she might spend some time trying to learn to fight, or reading from her school books.
And of course, she needs to be on the lookout for potential plans of her enemies, and trying to find the other Sailor Senshi too.
Sure is a lot on her plate for a single girl.
But every good Queen has a council of advisors, people to help her rule her kingdom. Unfortunately, for now, Usagi only has a single voice crying out from her corner. A single person who can act as an advisor to her.
What Role does Luna act in for Usagi?
[ ][Luna] Chancellor
- 20% of Luna's Diplomacy (1) is added to Usagi's functional Diplomacy
- Has no effect on how fast Usagi increases her Diplomacy score
- Gives Usagi one additional Diplomacy action a turn
- Every time Usagi's Diplomacy increases, there is a chance of Usagi gaining a Trait related to Diplomacy
[ ][Luna] Trainer
- 20% of Luna's Martial (1) is added to Usagi's functional Martial
- Increases how fast Usagi increases her Martial Score up to Luna's own (6)
- Gives Usagi one additional Martial action a turn
- Every time Usagi's Martial increases there is a chance of Usagi Overcoming Craven (-2 Martial)
[ ][Luna] Manager
- 20% of Luna's Stewardship (1) is added to Usagi's functional Stewardship
- Increases how fast Usagi increases her Stewardship up to Luna's own (8)
- Gives Usagi one additional Stewardship action a turn
- Every time Usagi's Stewardship increases, there is a chance of gaining a Permanent Increase to Income
[ ][Luna] Spymaster
- 20% of Luna's Intrigue (2) is added to Usagi's functional Intrigue
- Increases how fast Usagi increases her Intrigue up to Luna's own (13)
- Gives Usagi one additional Intrigue Action a turn
- Every time Usagi's Intrigue increases, there is a chance of Usagi Overcoming Impatient (-2 Learning)
[ ][Luna] Grand Magister
- 20% of Luna's Learning (1) is added to Usagi's functional Learning
- Has no effect on how fast Usagi increases her Learning score
- Gives Usagi one additional Learning action a turn
- Every time Usagi's Learning Increases, there is a chance of Usagi Overcoming Lazy (-1 Diplomacy, -1 Marital, -1 Stewardship, -1 Intrigue, -1 Learning)
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Thank God It's Friday! The weekend awaits once class is out!
Usagi continues to stand next to her bed for a moment, staring at the red numbers that continue to blink at her over and over again.
7:20
Usagi is never up and awake this early. For a moment, the girl starts to step towards her closet. If she's awake this early, then...
Then she could get breakfast. She could get out the door and to school on time. She might even be the first person to get to class...
Well, first person other than Umino. The blonde haired girl knows that the boy doesn't mean bad, but there is just something about him that kind of creeps her out.
So why would she want to get to school that early? That would just leave her and Umino all alone, and he might try to do something weird! Like talk about bugs or show her his collection of bottlecaps or something.
No, it would be far better to avoid going to school early to make sure that nothing like that happens. And if she's not going to go to school early, then...
Why is she even awake?
After all, girls need their beauty sleep to be able to do their best in class... right?
Right.
It is with a wide grin on her face that Usagi rights her alarm clock, before crawling back into bed.
The girl's eyes are closed tight, her blanket pulled up over her head to keep her in the darkness, as she tries to do everything she can think of to bring sleep to her faster.
Minute by minute passes, and the girl's goal seems no closer than it was before. But Usagi is the height of laziness, and she isn't going to let something as little as a bit of boredom stop the girl from achieving her goal of doing nothing.
Still, idly her thoughts start to whirl up.
She, Usagi Tsukino, the most ordinary of ordinary girls was the one to be chosen to become Sailor Moon.
She fought a monster last night. And from what Luna said that might not have been the only monster out about, wanting to hurt people.
And it was up to her to stop them? There was a little part of Usagi that quietly wondered if the cat may have made a mistake, might have chosen the wrong person.
But...
Even though there is that little part of her that cries that there is no way that she can help anyone like that...
Well, she did.
Last night she destroyed that monster. She saved those people who had been affected by the cursed jewelry. Then there is another part of the girl, one so quiet that Usagi barely knows its there, but one she can feel all the same.
This... Sailor Moon, defeating the monsters and protecting people.
Nothing in her life has ever felt as right as that did last night.
The crisp chill of the air, so familiar, and yet so different at the same time made the girl feel almost... Nostalgic, but for what is a question that is in her heart. A question that she casually ignores with all the skill of a master of idleness.
Rolling over, Usagi peeps out from beneath her comforter, looking at the clock again. 7:25.
Still too early. The girl pouts before turning back over again, curling tight into a ball, and covering her ears with her hands. Maybe there is too much noise, and that is what is keeping her awake?
Or...
Or...
[INTRIGUE CHECK: DC 9]
[ROLL: 7]
[CHECK FAILED]
Well, Usagi doesn't rightfully know, it certainly isn't any feelings of disappointment in herself. She has no idea why she would feel anything like that. She is completely confident in her own decisions and actions, and are willing to stand by the end results of those actions.
Thus, Usagi continues to lay under her comforter, pretending that the rest of the world doesn't exist, and while she never really falls back asleep in total, the girl does eventually start to doze.
Then, with a jolt, she starts to awaken again. Flipping over one last time, the girl looks to the clock again, but this time her eyes go wide.
8:10
She's late. She's late and there is no time!
She has got to get out of the house within the next five minutes, or she is going to end up late to class! She can't do that again, not the very day after she got in trouble for it last time!
It is with a surprising amount of speed that the girl manages to slip out of her bed and to her feet, before crossing her bedroom and flinging the door to the closet open. In a record short amount of time later. Usagi is down the stairs, flailing to get her bag on her shoulders, before slipping through the kitchen.
"Morning Usagi!" Ikuko says with a smile. One that Usagi barely manages to return as she grabs her plate.
"Morning Mom! No time to talk, running late again!" Pushing up from the table, Usagi nearly dashes out of the room, before she stops.
A quick check confirms what she almost forgot to think about. "Hey mom, where did I put my lunch?" Ikuko smiles, before grabbing the girl's Bento box off of the counter, and sliding it over to her daughter.
"Right here honey. Have a good day at school!" Popping around the table, Usagi gives her mother a hug, and a kiss on the cheek before dashing out the door. "That girl... What am I going to do with her?" the Tsukino matriarch wonders aloud, before shaking the thought from her head.
Usagi doesn't have the time to think about much of anything as she dashes to school, barely even noticing that she isn't nearly as tired as she was just the morning before, doing the same thing.
Instead, she is simply happy to see her school come into sight, and even better, the school bell hasn't rung yet, which means that there is still a chance for the girl to get to class on time.
It isn't until she starts to notice that there are students standing and talking and laughing that she realizes...
She isn't late.
She made it.
From off to the side, Usagi hears a girl call out, "Hey Naru!" The blonde haired girl turns, trying to spot her best friend, but nearly trips over another girl as she spins.
Arms flail out, as Usagi steps back from the surprisingly close girl, before barely managing to right herself. "Sorry!" Usagi says, scratching the back of her head.
The girl she nearly hit nods back. She is two, maybe three inches taller, with short blue hair. "It's alright." The girl says quietly, "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Hope you have a good day." After a quick bow of apology, the girl quickly went on her way again, leaving Usagi without even the chance to try and talk to her again.
Looking around again, Usagi spots Naru practically vibrating as she approaches a group of girls waiting near the entrance of the school. "I had quite the night last night!" Naru says, eyes bright and filled with energy. "Mom's store was nearly robbed last night!"
The other girls there look to Naru, surprised. "What?" "Oh No!" "Are you okay?" The entire gaggle of girls explode with noise, all trying to talk over one another in order to check on Naru and make sure she is okay. "What did the robber look like?" One finally manages to ask over the rest.
"There were two robbers!" Naru explains. "The first did something and made it look like she was my mom!"The girls all gasp, but Naru continues on without delay. "She grabbed me!" At this Naru mimes grabbing her own throat, "And lifted me up off the ground! I was about to pass out, but before that happened..." Her grin is even bigger and wider than it was before.
"I was saved by a Heroine in a Sailor Suit!" Naru declares posing... heroically? "I just wish I hadn't passed out, so I would have been able to see her face..."
The other girls seem a little less impressed now though. "Are you sure that really happened?" One girl asks, while another asks "You weren't just dreaming this all, were you?"
Naru pouts at them, stomping a foot. "No, I wasn't. You'll be able to see at least a little for yourself. OsaP is closed due to the damages." The girl huffs as she starts to turn away.
[DIPLOMACY CHECK == DC 15]
[ROLL: 2+13=15]
[CHECK PASSED]
With hurried steps, you cross the courtyard over towards the gathered girls. "Naru!" You cry with a smile, latching onto your best friend with a big hug. "Good Morning!"
"Usagi?" Naru asks, the tension you noticed slipping away as she pushes you off of her with a chuckle.
Naru may be putting up a strong front, but Usagi can tell that she is more than a little shaken by the events of the previous night. It's in all the little things.
Naru's bow is off center, and off kilter, tilted to one side. Her hands were shaking the entire time she was talking about the attack last night. And now that Usagi is closer, she can tell that Naru's makeup is properly done either, both sloppy and heavier than it normally is.
Usagi starts to open her mouth to say something else, anything else to keep Naru's mind away from the subjects that the girl clearly doesn't want to think about, but before she can, the bell rings.
Naru sighs, but there is a smile on her face. "We better get to class, Usagi."
Usagi pouts, but nods.
[LEARNING CHECK: DC 12]
[ROLL: 10+7=17]
[CHECK PASSED]
Usagi stares at the blackboard at the front of the class, looking over the math equation one more time, slowly mouthing numbers under her breath before she slowly, haltingly raises a hand.
"Usagi," The teacher calls out, nodding to the girl.
"Two X plus eight equals twenty." Usagi says before taking a breath, clearly psyching herself up. "X is... Six?" She answers, though she is clearly uncertain about her answer. "Because twenty minus eight is twelve. And twelve divided by two is six... Right?"
"Very good, Usagi." The teacher says with a smile, clapping politely.
It is only with the barest of quivering legs that Usagi sits back down, ignoring the sudden bustle of voices that arise now that she actually answered a problem correctly.
Unable to keep the smile off of her face, Usagi finds herself slouching down, covering her lips with her arms.
She did it.
Soon enough, class comes to an end, leading to Lunch.
Luna mentioned something to Usagi last night... Something about... About...
It was something important, about other people... but Usagi can't remember what was that the space cat said.
Shaking her head, Usagi glances across the classroom over towards her best friend.
Should she...
[ ][Naru] Tell Naru that she is the one who saved her last night
[ ][Naru] Convince Naru to have lunch on the roof, and transform to show Naru that Usagi is Sailor Moon
[ ][Naru] No. Luna says there are more monsters, it might be safer to keep Naru away from all of this...
[X]Convince Naru to have lunch on the roof, and transform to show Naru that Usagi is Sailor Moon
All throughout the morning, Usagi finds herself blessed with a strange level of focus. The work is still hard, as she struggles against the dizzying equations of math, fights against the strange symbols of English, and thrashes away at the bizarre rules of physics.
However, for every time that the girl finds herself slamming her against a stumbling block in her classes, there is another moment where something actually clicks. Where an equation makes sense, or a word comes easily.
Science...
Not so much in science, instead there is this niggling in the back of her mind that there is something distinctly wrong with everything that is being written down before her. Parts seem... Almost right, but at the same time, there is almost a sense like she feels like they are forgetting something.
That clearly can't be the case however, as they are the teachers, and teachers don't teach people things wrong. That would be stupid and silly.
But this strange continuing roll of things actually making sense help pass each class with a speed that Usagi has never felt before. She is almost looking forward for lunch to pass by so that she can try to see if this is going to continue through the afternoon.
However, before she can really start thinking about any of that, there is something else that needs to be handled.
Naru is still clearly shaken from the events that happened last night. If anything, over the course of the day, her carefully constructed disguise is slowly slipping more and more.
More than once, the girl's attention slips off, wavering as she looks into the distance, out the window in the direction of her home, and starts with a muffled, cut off scream when someone catches her off guard. [DIPLOMACY CHECK == DC 18]
[ROLL: 3 + 13 + 3 = 19]
[CHECK PASSED]
Usagi moseys on over, stopping next to Naru's desk as the bell that ends Science class and starts lunch rings. "Hey, Naru?" The blonde says softly.
There is the briefest moment where she can see her best friend's walls start to tighten up, bringing back the bright smile that doesn't reach Naru's eyes, and stilling the brunette's slightly trembling fingers. "Yeah?" She responds, her voice too chipper compared to anything Naru would actually allow herself to sound like.
"I've got a bit of a headache," Usagi complains, putting a hand to your head, tilting it and putting on your most put upon look. "I dun wanna deal with people in the cafeteria today. Let's eat on the roof, okay?"
Naru looks at Usagi for a moment, before there is a hint of a real smile on her face. "Usagi," she responds, shaking her head. "There's no reason to pretend for my sake. I can handle the cafeteria just fine."
"I know," Usagi chimes back, slowly kicking the ground with a foot. "But there is something that we need to talk about, and..."
"It's private?" Naru asks, with just the faintest hint of a blush on her cheeks. "Usagi, I love you like a sister but..."
There must be something about the absolutely confused look that the blonde gives to the brunette, because it makes Naru laugh.
The way Usagi's face turns brighter red than the ripest of tomatoes as she realizes what her best friend was implying makes Naru laugh even more. "Nononono! I mean, I don't not like you, Naru! But I don't like, like like, like you?" She babbles out.
Naru shakes her head, waving Usagi off. "I had a feeling, but it was too easy not to do."
Usagi pouts, crossing her arms, looking away from her best friend. "Well, now I don't wanna tell you."
Of course, Usagi's stern look is only able to last for a few moments before both girls break down laughing. "Alright, alright," Naru says, "I'm sorry, Usagi."
"Anyways," Usagi starts, "Up to the roof?"
"Yeah." Naru replies, as the two gather their lunches, starting up towards the roof of the school. After finding a comforting spot out of the sun, and making quick work of their lunches (Usagi particularly so), the blonde haired girl pops up to her feet, spinning around to face her best friend.
"So. First of all, Naru. This is a secret, okay?" Usagi explains. "A big secret, like, the biggest secret you will probably ever keep secret."
Naru clearly doesn't look that impressed by Usagi's words, but she nods anyways. "Alright, a secret."
Pouting, Usagi actually stops, looking at Naru with a look on her face that Naru doesn't think she has ever seen on Usagi's face before. A truly serious look. "I know that my words aren't exactly making it sound super serious, but I am Naru. I..." Usagi pauses for a moment, trying to figure out how to word the words that she needs to say. "This changes everything, Naru. Everything. The world isn't going to be the same anymore. And I... I don't know if I know how to handle that, without losing what makes me, me."
Naru gives Usagi another look, and this time she nods, Solemn and certain. "So this is a big secret?" [LEARNING CHECK: DC 2]
[ROLL: 8 + 7 = 15]
[GREATER SUCCESS]
"The biggest." With that, Usagi takes a step back, looking all around as she tries to make sure that there isn't anyone else around. Clenching a fist, Usagi incants the words that she was given by Luna.
"Moon Prism Power!"
Naru's absolutely baffled expression quickly turns to one of surprise, as her best friend starts to glow, then flashes with blinding rainbow light.
As the brunette blinks the dots from her eyes, she looks to where her best friend was a moment ago, only to see the warrior in a sailor uniform who saved her the night before standing there instead.
There is the briefest of moments, where Naru nearly starts to panic, her best friend is gone.
Replaced by this stranger, with sparkling blue eyes almost exactly like Usagi's, and long golden hair almost exactly like Usagi's, but this is Not Usagi.
However, that briefest moment passes sharply. There is an almost audible snap in the back of Naru's mind as the fact that she saw Usagi become this Not Usagi break the illusion, making the uncanny familiar, and the unexpected understood.
Not Usagi is, in fact, Usagi.
It is like a cloudy sheet of plastic is pulled off of her memories, and all of a sudden, Naru can clearly remember the fact that it was Usagi who busted into her mother's store, saving her from the robber who had somehow taken her mother's form.
Naru starts to open her mouth, before closing it. She tries again, but the result is the same. "What?" Is the best that the girl can achieve.
"I know, right?!" Usagi says, holding out a gloved hand. "Yesterday morning, I was late to class because I saw these kids picking on a cat. They stuck a bandage on her forehead, and were hitting her with sticks."
At this point, Naru is simply absorbing the words, because they don't exactly make sense, but her best friend just transformed like magic in front of her, and the transformation did something that screwed with her ability to remember what happened.
"I took the bandaid off, and there was a moon symbol on the cat's forehead. After class yesterday, I uhh..." Usagi is suddenly bashful, as if she doesn't exactly want to say what she was doing... "I was so upset with how bad my test scores were, that I didn't want to do my homework, and took a nap instead."
Well, if Naru had any worries that this is not Usagi, but some kind of impostor, those worries are now gone. The brunette girl simply sighs, shaking her head, and Usagi pouts at her.
"But while I was trying to sleep, that cat snuck into my window, she poked and prodded at me to wake me up. Then, she started TALKING. She gave me the new brooch I was wearing to school today - which I get why you didn't notice, but no one else noticed either..." Shaking her head, Usagi continues. "Anyways, Luna, that's the cat's name by the way, said that I was a chosen warrior of the Moon." Usagi says, with the biggest grin on her face.
"It is up to me to find the other Guardians, awaken them to their powers, and to find our Princess!"
Naru looks at Usagi for a moment, when the girl realizes something. "You have no idea how to find them do you?"
Just like that, Usagi practically falls to her knees, completely defeated. "I have no idddeeeeaaaaa!!!"
This whole thing is surreal, and Naru can barely comprehend what she is seeing, what she is hearing...
All of this is madness. But it is clearly real, and more importantly, it is affecting her friend. "So you are trying to find these other Guardians, right?" Naru asks, to which Usagi nods. "Then, at the very least, I am willing to do whatever I can to help, alright?"
Usagi's head snaps up, eyes filled with tears as she looks to her best friend. "Reeeally?" For a small moment, Naru wonders if she is making a mistake, but Usagi has always been by her side when she needed it, so Naru can be by her side when Usagi needs it.
"Yeah..." Naru is going to regret saying those words though, because Usagi dives forward, grabbing hold of Naru, crying into her shoulder with all the force of a broken fire hydrant. With a sigh, Naru kindly pats her best friend on the shoulder, doing what she can to get Usagi off of her before her clothes are completely soaked.
After finally managing to pull the still crying girl off of her, Naru starts to open her mouth, ready to say something more, before all of a sudden
BRRRINNGG!
The bell rings. "Right." Naru says, putting the question she has to the back of her mind. She can ask Usagi about the thing that looked like her mother sometime later. "Thank you Usagi." She says instead. "For trusting me with this."
Her best friend is a magical girl. And like the question that she has about the thing that attacked her, that sentence is something that Naru is going to have to think about later, when she has time to really parse what that all means.
"Usagi, is something wrong?" Naru asks.
"I uhh..." Usagi begins, scratching at the back of her head. "I dunno how I turn back to normal."
Usagi didn't really just say that, did she? Naru must have heard her wrong. "What?"
With a pout, Usagi crosses her arms. "Look, I fought the scary monster, made sure that no one was badly hurt, made it back to my house, before poof, and I was normal again. I dunno if I wasn't scared anymore of if my form has batteries or something."
"Does that mean you have to wait after yoy transform?" Naru asks, feeling something akin to a headache at the edge of her mind.
"Uhhh..." Truly, a completely comforting answer that Usagi gives her. Yes, Naru is starting to wonder if she really will end up regretting agreeing to help Usagi. "Look, All of this is new to me! I got these powers last night, and there isn't anything like an instruction manual! The only person who seems to know how my powers work is the cat who sleeps in even later than I do!"
"And you aren't just saying this as an excuse to get out of class this afternoon?" Naru posits, which actually brings Usagi up short for a moment. [LEARNING CHECK: DC 9]
[ROLL: 6 + 7 = 13]
[SUCCESS]
"What? No!" Usagi denies. "I've been doing great today!" Usagi says, before looking down at her hands.
There is a moment, where even Naru can see the gears turning in Usagi's head. "I can... feel it." Naru can barely hear that Usagi is speaking, but can't quite understand the words proper. "The flow all through me. If I just..." The sensation is closer to closing a fist, or turning a dial, but the flow of energy constricts, until holding the form is too much for the small amount of power flowing out of Usagi's soul.
Then, the form of Sailor Moon bursts, fading into rainbow colored light, revealing a slightly winded looking Usagi underneath. "I..." She takes a few breathes, trying to get her lungs under control. "I did it."
What Role does Naru act in for Usagi?
[ ][Naru] Do not make Naru a Councilor
[ ][Naru] Chancellor
- 20% of Naru's Diplomacy (1) is added to Usagi's functional Diplomacy
- Has no effect on how fast Usagi increases her Diplomacy score
- Every Even numbered turn, Naru generates a d8 of Funds for that turn
- Every Turn there is a 5% chance of getting a Diplomacy random event
[ ][Naru] Trainer
- 20% of Naru's Martial (1) is added to Usagi's functional Martial
- Has no effect on how fast Usagi increases her Martial score
- Naru takes control of Usagi's Arcade Budge, reducing the Deficit to 1 from 2
- Every Turn there is a 5% chance of gaining a Martial random event
[ ][Naru] Manager
- 20% of Naru's Stewardship (1) is added to Usagi's functional Stewardship
- Increases how fast Usagi increases her Stewardship up to Naru's own (6)
- Naru takes control of Usagi's Candy Budget, reducing the Deficit to 1.5 from 3
- Every Turn there is a 5% chance of gaining a Stewardship random event
[ ][Naru] Spymaster
- 20% of Naru's Intrigue (1) is added to Usagi's functional Intrigue
- Increases how fast Usagi increases her Intrigue up to Naru's own (7)
- Every Even numbered turn, Naru generates a d8 of Funds for that turn
- Every Turn there is a 5% chance of automatically revealing Enemy Actions
[ ][Naru] Grand Magister
- 20% of Naru's Learning (1) is added to Usagi's functional Learning
- Increases how fast Usagi increases her Learning up to Naru's own (8)
- Every Even numbered turn, Naru generates a d8 of Funds for that turn
- Every Turn there is a 5% chance of gaining a Learning random event Usagi looks down at her hands, slowly spreading and clenching them. Changing from Sailor Moon back to Usagi just feels...
Odd. The girl only allows herself a single short moment to ponder that, before shaking her head, smacking her cheeks, and following after Naru.
Much to Usagi's glee, her increased luck in class continues through the rest of the day. Yes, she still flails against the majority of the metaphors of Literature, and stumbles more than she runs in History, but she is still managing to answer questions correctly more often than she has in the past.
Getting answers right feels nice. Usagi has never really thought about that before.
Still, there are only so many classes before school comes to an end, bringing Usagi's streak of victory to a close with it. The walk home is calm enough, allowing the girl a few moments to think over the events of the last day, particularly as the clock slowly creeps towards the twenty four hour mark from when she first gained her powers.
"Usagi!" A voice calls out, and a surprising weight lands heavily on Usagi's shoulder, nearly throwing her off balance. It is only with whirling arms that the girl manages to keep on her feet. "Where have you been all day?" Luna demands, "There was still more that we needed to speak of this morning, but when I awoke, you were gone."
"I was at school!" Usagi says, defending herself. The answer brings the cat up short, leaving her simply standing on Usagi's shoulder, one paw raised, before she draws herself back up, and nods once.
"Very well. Your schooling is very important, however now that school is over, we need to finish our conversation from last night." Usagi sighs, but nods, as the cat leaps down from her shoulder.
"Sure, uhmm... Should I go and get Naru?" Usagi asks, which makes Luna pause, turning to face Usagi once more.
"What do you mean?" Luna asks, and there is something sharp in her tone. Something that makes Usagi nervous.
"I... uh..." Usagi tries to draw on all her courage... "I told Naru about my powers." She says after a moment, and Luna goes so still that she almost looks like a statue of a cat.
She doesn't even seem to be breathing. "You. Did. What!?!" Luna's voice rings out through the streets, as all the cat's fur sticks up on end.
"I told Naru about my powers." Usagi repeats, trying to keep her voice from wavering. "She was the girl who was attacked last night, and she deserves to know what happened to her."
"Did you not listen to a thing I said last night?" Luna hisses, her eyes narrowed and ears draw back flat against her skull. [DIPLOMACY CHECK: DC 18]
[ROLL: 3 +13 + 3 - 4= 15]
[CHECK FAILED]
Usagi winces, trying to think of something, anything that she can say that will calm the space cat down. "I..." She starts to say, but Luna simply glares at her, leaping up to the top of the stone wall that separates the street from the houses beyond.
"You stay here," Luna orders, "I'll go and take care of this."
Usagi's eyes go wide, as she tries to figure out what Luna means by that. "What do you mean? What are you going to do?"
Luna looks down at Usagi, before sighing. "I'm not going to hurt her, Usagi. But anyone knowing about you is very dangerous. Both for you, and for her. The best possible option is to erase her memories of Sailor Moon."
Usagi struggles for her words again, trying to figure out how to stop Luna...
And there is only one thing that she can think to say. "No."
"No?" Luna replies, confused.
"No. If you erase Naru's memories, then I won't fight anymore."
...
Luna stares at Usagi, with an almost comedic look on her face. "I... What? Usagi, please-"
"No." Usagi repeats, turning away. "I trust Naru. I've known her all my life. She won't betray me, she won't spill my secrets."
Things are quiet, for a long, long moment, but eventually, Luna sighs. "Fine." She nearly spits the word, even as Usagi turns back to face her, a small sad smile on her face. "I don't like that you are holding the world's future over my head."
"And I don't like that you are trying to keep me away from everyone around me." Usagi argues back.
"I'm not..." Luna tries to retort, but her words trail off. "If this Naru girl does anything that jeopardizes the mission, then I will erase her memories." Luna says, holding up a paw when Usagi starts to argue again. "This is to protect her. If she is captured by your enemies, then she could be tortured for the information that she has. So if it comes down to it, in order to protect her, and to protect you, I will erase her memories if I have to."
"Don't make me do that, Usagi."
Turn 1
[ ][Turn] Please put your Turn actions in a plan format
[ ] Diplomacy Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Clear the Air with Luna [DC 15]
-- Usagi and Luna had an argument recently, and letting these things fester never ends well, the two need to talk things out.
- [ ] Convince your parents to increase your allowance [DC ??]
-- [-3 bonus] Usagi recently brought home a 30 on a test
- [ ] Talk with your Classmates [DC 8]
-- Talk with your classmates, listening in for any interesting rumors going around
[ ] Martial Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Go to the Arcade [DC 8]
-- Go play games at the Arcade... There are fighting games there. You might come up with an idea for an attack...
- [ ] Search for a Dojo [DC 10]
-- See if there are any Dojos in the local area, and if they are taking students.
- [ ] Test your transformed abilities [DC ??]
-- Transform into Sailor Moon, and try and figure out how strong and fast your other form is
[ ] Stewardship Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Search the couch cushions for loose change [DC 11]
-- Look through the house for additional funds
- [ ] Study your maths textbook [DC 10]
-- Money stuff is just math stuff? right?
- [ ] Figure out how much you make, and how much you spend [DC 10]
-- You have an allowance, but you are broke all the time, what gives?
[ ] Intrigue Actions [Two Actions Available]:
- [ ] Search for the Dark Kingdom's Agents [DC ??]
-- The Dark Kingdom is sending agents to collect Life Energy. You need to find and stop them
- [ ] Try to find another Guardian [DC ??]
-- Supposedly, there are other guardians of the Moon Princess, you need to find them
- [ ] Luna wants to teach you a game called Liar's Dice [DC 8]
-- Learning this game might help you learn more about Intrigue
[ ] Learning Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Try and find a tutor [DC ??]
-- Getting a Tutor might help your grades improve.
- [ ] Study your schoolwork [DC 10]
-- Of course, doing your school work will also help your grades improve
- [ ] Experiment with Sailor Moon's Magics [DC ??]
-- When you transformed into Sailor Moon, you caused glass to explode by crying, and killed a monster by throwing your tiara at it. What else can Sailor Moon do?
Personal Actions are a d100 roll, and use slightly different rules from National Rolls above, which use a d10 system
[ ] Luna Personal Action [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Search for the Dark Kingdom's Agents [DC ??]
-- The Dark Kingdom is sending agents to collect Life Energy. You need to find and stop them
- [ ] Search for members of the Moon Kingdom [DC ??]
-- Usagi... Usagi isn't going to be able to do this all alone. You need to find the rest of the Guardians, and fast.
- [ ] Try and recall lost memories [DC ??]
-- There is so much that you don't remember, who knows what benefits could come of remembering these things
[ ] Naru Personal Action [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Help your Mother at OsaP [DC ??]
-- Between the Damages that occurred when the monster attacked, and the damages born from it's scheme to sell jewelry cheap, Mom definitely needs help around OsaP
- [ ] Help Usagi study [DC 12]
-- Your best friend isn't an idiot, but getting her to study is a challenge
- [ ] Search for weird things in Tokyo [DC ??]
-- So many weird things have been happening around Tokyo lately, maybe some of these things are things that Sailor Moon should be involved in?
[ ] Usagi Personal Action [Three Actions Available]:
- [ ] Personal Attention (Takes all three actions)
-- Give a National Action your full attention
- [ ] Go to the Gym
-- Small chance of increasing Martial
- [ ] Ask Daddy about budgeting
-- Small chance of increasing Stewardship
- [ ] Have Luna teach you to be sneaky
-- Small chance of increasing Intrigue
- [ ] Do your Homework
-- Small chance of increasing Learning
- [ ] Ask Luna about the Moon Kingdom
-- Small chance of increasing Learning, small chance of learning new info about the Moon Kingdom
- [ ] Ask Luna about the Dark Kingdom
-- Small chance of increasing Learning, chance of learning new information about the Dark Kingdom
- [ ] Ask Luna about Magic
-- Chance of increasing Learning
- [ ] Have your fortune told
-- ???
Diplomacy DC 15
Roll 8 + 14 = 22 [PASS] Luna Convo
Martial DC ??
Roll 10 + 15 =25 [??] Test Abilities
Stewardship DC 10
Roll 4 + 4 = 8 [Fail] Figure Out Money
Intrigue DC ??/DC 8
Roll 6 [??] Guardian Search
Roll 8 [PASS] Liar's Dice
Learning DC ??
Roll 2 + 7 + (6/2) = 12 [??] Experiment Magic
Luna Personal DC ??
Roll 41 + 13 = 54 [??] Search Dark Agents
Naru Personal DC ??
Roll 51 + 6 + 3 = 60 [??] Help at OsaP
Usagi Personal DC ??/??/??
Roll 50 + 7 = 57 [??] Homework
Roll 71 + 7 = 78 [??] Moon Kingdom Info
Roll 14 + 7 = 21 [??] Dark Kingdom Info
The sky is dark, filled with swirling clouds of shining gold and glimmering green. There, high above the dance floor is a bright orb of green and blue.
It is familiar... but...
Usagi doesn't recognize what she is seeing. She stands there, looking up into the sky, but no matter how long she looks at the distant... moon? she cannot parse what she sees.
"!" There is a sound? A voice? Something - The girl turns, and blinks. All around her, there are people. She is surrounded, almost the same way she was surrounded the night she first became Sailor Moon. The controlled women all around her, hands stretching like claws towards her.
Yet... There is no fear. There is no sound. There is no anger on the faces of the people all around, instead they dance.
One two three four
One two three four
Around and around and around they swirl, beautiful dresses flaring out as they are lifted by tall men in tuxedos.
"!" There is the sound again, and Usagi spins around once more. There...
In front Usagi is...
Someone. Someone important. Usagi- No. Sailor Moon knows that the figure in front of her is important. Knows that the figure in front of her is someone that... That...
"!" The figure's face moves. Sailor Moon? Usagi?
The girl in the sailor suit frowns, she can't see the face of the woman in front of her. The woman is chiding her. Usagi knows from the way that the beautiful woman moves, she is being told off.
If only she could hear the words that the person is telling her. If only she knew what was being said. She could fix the problem. She could make things better. Usagi doesn't know why, but seeing this figure, seeing them frustrated and sad...
It makes Usagi sad. She doesn't want the girl to be sad. She doesn't want the woman to be upset.
The silence goes faster, faster and faster and faster, the beat that Sailor Moon cannot hear means that each of the dancers spin more and more, whirling and twirling, and swirling about, as everything starts to become like wet paint.
All the lights and the colors mix and blend, until the light becomes blindingly bright - And Usagi wakes up. Slumping up into a sitting position, the girl slowly wipes at her face, wet tears smearing across her cheeks.
Why... Why was she crying? Well, clearly, it was because of the dream. But she doesn't even know what was happening in that dream. Just that she feels like she failed. Like she did something wrong, and that she needs to fix it. With a deep sigh, the girl flops back again, and starts to roll over in bed. Maybe she can get back to slee-
As she turns over, Usagi finds the window before her. A window through which Luna is slowly pacing back and forth, an odd, forlorn look on her face. The looks like she is feeling as bad as Usagi does this morning.
On the one hand, Usagi really doesn't want to talk to Luna this morning, not after Luna threatened to take her friend's memories away. How could she even say something like that?
But...
Usagi groans, rolling herself back up into a sitting position again. Rubbing at her eyes one more time, the girl pushes herself out of bed. Making sure to keep her back to the window, Usagi heads to the closet, starting to gather everything she needs for the day.
...
...
She can't focus. Not when Luna is so sad. Usagi knows that she shouldn't feel bad, she did the right thing...
Right?
Right?
The fact that Usagi isn't sure the answer to that question says plenty about how she feels about this whole situation. Sighing, the girl finishes getting dressed, before she approaches the window, quickly throwing it open before she can convince herself not to do so.
Luna starts, leaping nearly six feet up, passing out of Usagi's sight for a moment before she lands again. Spinning towards the girl, the cat's face is filled with fury, fury that drains away as she sees Usagi standing there.
Everything is quiet and still, "I..." Usagi starts, but she can't think of any other words to put to Luna. "Well..." Usagi starts again, and again her words fail her.
[DIPLOMACY CHECK: DC 15]
[ROLL: 8 + 14= 22]
[CHECK PASSED]
"I was lying yesterday." Usagi finally manages to say, causing the space cat to blink. "I was angry at you, but... But that monster was hurting people. I can't..." Her words are starting to fail her again, but Usagi won't let herself stop, not when she is finally starting to get progress. "Fighting that monster was the scariest thing in my life, but if I didn't do that... then Naru would be dead. You said that that monster won't be the last. That means other people might die if I do nothing." Usagi just lets the words spill out.
"I can't just stand by and do nothing. Not when people might get hurt." Usagi explains a little further. "So I was lying when I said I wouldn't fight anymore."
Luna looks as Usagi for a moment, before sighing herself. "I... I need to apologize too." Luna says after a moment. "What I did was wrong. The last thing I wanted was to screw up your life. I need your help, but the entire reason why we are fighting is to stop the Dark Kingdom from conquering the earth. To keep them from destroying everyday lives. Had I taken your friend's memories... I would have been just as bad as they are. I'm just..." Luna trails off, the first time that Usagi can remember the cat being at a loss for words.
"I'm worried Usagi." Luna continues after a moment. "If the Dark Kingdom discovers that your friend knows your identity... They would feel nothing but joy at the prospect of torturing the information out of her. Then they would come here, they would find your mother, they would find your father, and your little brother. Then they would do the same thing to Naru's family."
There is a moment of silence between the two, but unlike the terse silence from the night before, this is more companionable quiet.
"I'm sorry that I overreacted last night." Usagi said, "Let's stop the Dark Kingdom, all together."
"In that case," Luna says after a moment, a small smile on her face. "Then I'm going to need to meet Naru and work with her to keep you in line."
"Heeeeey!" Usagi complains, even though she's smiling. "No picking on me!" Usagi yawns, slumping over onto her desk. Thanks to the strange nightmare that she had Usagi woke up far earlier than she normally did in the morning, and even counting her conversation with Luna, the girl was still far earlier to school then she is normally.
If Usagi were more awake, she would probably be annoyed by the way that several of her fellow students were staring at her with wide eyes. She was far too tired to listen to the whispers and quiet questions. What she wasn't too tired to dismiss however was -
"GOOD MORNING USAGI!" Gurio Umino says loudly, standing stock still in front of the girl's desk. The sound makes Usagi snap up, bleary eyes blinking as she looks all around.
"Sorry Miss Haruna, I wasn't sleeping!" Usagi yells out, before realizing that it wasn't the teacher that woke her up. The girl could feel her face burning as the other students around her started to chuckle.
Much to Usagi's relief, before the girl has a chance to embarrass herself further, Miss Haruna enters the classroom. "I was called?" The teacher asks, quickly quieting the laughing students. After looking back and forth across the class, she settles at the front of the room and begins taking attendance.
Frustratingly, there is something very odd going on with Umino today. It seems that every time that Usagi has even a spare moment, the glasses wearing Umino is there.
In between every class he is there, a wavering smile on his lips as he pushes himself into any and every conversation that Usagi tries to have with anyone, about any subject. She tries to ask someone next to her to borrow a pencil, and a row away the boy leans over, offering one of his own to her.
She tries to ask a question of the teacher, and Umino answers instead. The inability to interact with anyone other than the boy is starting to get on Usagi's nerves, most of all because she needs to speak with Naru.
Naru knows her secret, but Umino doesn't, and to be honest, the girl would much rather that stay that way, particularly if the boy is going to continue acting like this around her all the time. Thankfully, today is Saturday, which means that today is a half day of school.
Finally, after what feels like hours and hours, the last class of the day - History, comes to an end. As everyone starts heading to their lockers, Usagi finds her chance. Grabbing hold of Naru's sleeve, the girl quickly motions to an empty classroom.
"Sorry for grabbing you like this," Usagi starts off, sighing as she slides down the now closed door to the floor. "I've been trying to find a moment to talk to you all day, but every time I turn around, Umino has been there." Usagi drags her hands down her face, sighing as she shakes her head. "I don't know what is getting into him, but it has made getting a moment alone a nightmare." Usagi sighs again, before slowly pulling herself back up to her feet. "Anyways, tomorrow's Sunday, so we don't have any school. Which means that my... boss? Guide? Magical Mascot Character? Anyways - Luna is having me go with her to the park in order to do some training as Sailor Moon. You know about Sailor Moon, so I was wondering if you might like to come see what I can do... and stuff?"
Naru worries at her lip for a few moments, before shaking her head. "I'd love to, Usagi..." Naru says, "But given the damage to OsaP, Mom needs my help for a while. I'm going to be helping her around the store all tomorrow."
"Well, we'll have to see about showing you all my magical girl stuff some other time then." Usagi declares, and after a moment, Naru nods a small smile on her face.
"I'd like that."
Having finally managed a chance to talk with her best friend, Usagi has completed the most important thing that she needed to do today - Which means that she is now free to try and handle the now most intrusive part of the day.
The fact that Umino was standing outside the door to the classroom when Usagi finally opened it up again. Luckily, Naru manages to drag the boy away saying that she has something she needs to talk to him about, allowing Usagi to leave the school without being bothered. However, Umino has been acting strange all day, which bothers the blonde.
Umino doesn't normally act like this.
Usagi tries to think of why he might be acting the way he is, but after a few moments of thinking, the girl comes to the only conclusion that she can.
She needs the assistance of a Professional. And Usagi knows just the person to help her with this. Luckily, it's Saturday, which means that the nearly twenty minute ride on the Oedo line to get from Juban to the northern side of the Nakano Ward isn't too much of an issue for the girl.
The particular alleyway that Usagi heads towards is just a hop and a skip away from the subway station, but much to Usagi's surprise, the line that is normally there every Saturday afternoon is not to be found.
There isn't a single girl looking to have their palms read or their Tarot cast by the Mysterious High Schooler Psychic named Miyo.
Usagi first discovered Miyo three months ago, when the blonde accidentally ended up dozing on the subway, missing her stop. The seventeen year old girl had been setting up a stall, right across from the station - Something about a girl from her school suggesting that the Psychic could probably sell her services instead of just helping out students at her high school.
Intrigued but not entirely sure that she trusted the girl, Usagi gave her a try, and found that Miyo's predictions were far and away more accurate than the old man down in Juban that she normally went to before then. Ever since, Usagi had spread word of the girl around, and within two weeks Miyo's Saturday business had been booming.
"Miss Tsukino." The psychic says, without even looking up from the tarot spread that she has laid out on the table. "Nearly everyone else has decided to go to the newly opening House of Fortune down in Juban." Miyo explains, "I have a feeling the place is a sham. But you are here for a Fortune, not my complaints about my competitors. Come, sit, sit. Let the cards show your fate."
Usagi sits down across from the psychic, who begins to flip over the cards without another word. "So your troubles begin with a boy? No. Two." The girl says, an answer which slightly confuses Usagi.
Sure, Usagi has had trouble with how Umino has been acting, but she hasn't had any issues with anyone else. "The first of the two is acting differently from how he normally does. Crowding you tight, giving you no space to breath. My condolences, that can be most irritating." Another card is flipped. "The second acts much the same as he always does around you, yet that in itself is the trouble." For the first time, Usagi starts to wonder if the girl she has been going to may be a fake, or at the least having an off day. "My readings don't always make sense in the moment, but you have experienced their abilities before." Miyo says as a means of trying to settle Usagi's doubts.
Another card flips. "There is a shadow over both - Yet the way they handle the darkness differs. One succumbs, the other flees. Hmmm..." Miyo flips two cards at the same time. "For your current worries - The shadow that covers your friend will pass by Midnight on Monday, at the latest." Miyo looks down at the last of the cards that she flipped for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Today the reading is on the house. You should get going, you have a meeting to get to." Usagi isn't exactly sure what Miyo means by that, but the girl is already returning her Tarot cards to their box, gathering up her things, and beginning the process of folding her table back into a suitcase.
On the one hand, Miyo said that Usagi had a meeting to get too, which is a particularly odd thing for the girl to say, but on the other she says that Umino should be back to normal before this time next week, so that is good. Finally, she also mentioned another boy, Usagi has no idea who that could be...
Regardless...
Well, She's all the way up in the Nakano Ward. From here, the most direct path back to her house passes by the Arcade! A bonus to coming here to meet Miyo instead of her old Fortune Teller. With a smug smile, Usagi steps out from the Alleyway, eyes closed and a big smile on her fa-
The girl's legs tangle, something caught between them. Usagi tips, she tilts, she falls and hits the ground with a crash.
"You again?" A familiar voice asks, and Usagi can practically feel the hairs on the back on her neck rising in anger. It can't be. There is no way. Glaring up at the source of the voice, Usagi knew what she was going to see.
"What are you doing hiding in Alleyways, dough-head?" The tall, sunglasses wearing asshole asks, before looking down the alleyway, spotting Miyo who waves at the two, before he turns back to Usagi. "Were you... getting your fortune told in a seedy alleyway? Are you trying to get yourself drugged and stabbed?"
"I..." Usagi starts, as she untangles her limbs, pulling herself back up to her feet. "I don't have to answer to you!" The girl says, "Whats it to you anyways?"
The young man just sighs, and she can practically feel him roll his eyes, despite being unable to see his eyes behind his sunglasses. "You'd probably have better grades if you just studied instead of trying to find out the answers from a scam."
"I wasn't trying to - HEY! Miyo isn't a scammer!" Usagi starts to argue, before changing her words to defend the girl she had come to trust. "Not that its any of your business, but I was asking for advice on how to handle someone suddenly deciding to act differently than normal."
"Right... right..." Usagi growls as she turns away from the mysterious guy that she keeps running into, stomping towards the subway and ignoring anything that he might have to say. Following... That...
Usagi decides that the best thing that she can do is burn off a bit of her anger, and frustration. Where else would be the best place to do that than Crown Center Arcade and Karaoke
The two story building is one of Usagi's favorite places to hang out after school, particularly on days when she has a...
Less than stellar score to show her mom, and wants to avoid that for as long as possible. There are dozens of different games all spread through the first floor of the massive building - Games of every shape and size and genre. Arcade shooters and fighting games galore. Everything from House of the Dead to Mortal Kombat, and of course, what kind of Arcade would be complete without at least two separate Dance Dance Revolution games on the floor. (Not Crown, that's for sure.)
Slipping in through the door, Usagi starts wandering the rows of machines, before reaching into a pocket to pull out her mini-purse.
With a grin and flair, the blonde haired girl opens her purse with a flourish, flipping it upside down to allow all of her cash to fall freely down into her hand!
...
...
Not even a single yen falls from the mouth of the bone dry coin purse.
Usagi is completely and totally broke! Already, without even getting a chance to play a single game, she is already out of cash! That just doesn't seem fair to the girl.
As if he might be the only possible solution to her problems, Motoki Furuhata slide up to the Counter next to Usagi.
"Good afternoon Usagi!" Motoki says with a smile, "How are you this afternoon, happy that school is out for the day?"
"I wish..." Usagi groans trying to ignore the heat rising to her cheeks, "I came to play some games at the Arcade, but when I got here, my wallet was completely empty!"
The blonde haired girl pouts up towards the blonde haired young man at the counter, but Motoki only laughs. "Seems like you might not be handling your money responsibly then, you should see about planning your spending better."
That was not the answer that Usagi had hoped for, but it was an answer. Motoki was not going to give her free tokens. So instead, Usagi sighs, hanging her head and nodding. "Yeah..."
"Well then, be seeing you." Motoki says with a smile and a wave, before heading somewhere deeper into the Arcade. Good Evening Lovely Listeners, it's the midnight hour, and you all know what that means. It's time for Midnight Zero on FM 10. Tonight we have a very special love letter from a very lucky lady. She's reaching out to a long lost love, hoping to find him once again. This is for you, Hopeful Haruna.
Of course, before I read the letter, I'd like to remind all my wonderful listeners that Midnight Zero always does what it can to help those searching for love; Write to FM 10, and if you read your letter on the air, then we will send you a truly romantic gift to help you find the man or woman of your dreams.
"I know that you aren't going to hear this. You never liked sappy romantic shows like this, but... for so long, I only wrote about you in my old diaries.
Now I find myself only every writing about the old days. I miss you, Darien. I want to see you again, and tell you the feeling I never managed to all those years ago, back when we were in high school." Sunday Morning, April 5th 1992
Kenji Tsukino sits at the kitchen table, slowly flipping through the Newspaper, while occasionally glancing up, over the edge of the paper to look at the other two sitting at the table.
Usagi is nearly face down on the table, her eyes red and bleary as seems to try and force food to appear on the plate in front of her through sheer will - A will that she seems to lack as her eyes drift close for a moment, and the girl starts to droop forward, before her eyes snap open again, and she sits back up.
Kenji's other child, Shingo instead is sitting at the table, his Gameboy in hand as he waits patiently for breakfast to be ready.
Everything seems to be quiet and calm, which is almost a little odd. Then again, it is Sunday - There is no need for the hustle and bustle of weekday life - No Usagi barely managing to get out of bed and rushing down the stairs, grabbing something to eat as she dashes out the door.
...Then again. For the last two days the girl has been getting out of the door far earlier than she normally does. Could it be that his little girl is finally starting to grow up?
Seeing the peaceful scene, Kenji slowly allows his eyes to trail back down to the paper in front of him. There, one news article stands out among the rest - "Hmm... There seems to be a new sickness getting around," He says, more to Ikuko than either of his children. "Some sort of sleeping sickness, putting people into comas that they aren't waking up from, no matter what people try."
Ikuko practically dances into the kitchen, the very picture of poise and grace, plates of pancakes sliding perfectly in front of both children, even as a piece of toast is offered to the head of the house. "A new sickness, you say?" Ikuko asks.
"Yes, I'll admit... The idea of getting to sleep in more is a little tempting..." Kenji says, even as his wife's brow starts to furrow.
"And if you end up like that, what would the rest of us do?" She asks.
"I didn't mean it like that, my cinnamon bun." Kenji tries to walk back the statement, but his wife isn't giving him the chance.
"And what exactly did you mean?" She wonders aloud.
"I..." Kenji starts to say, but before he has a chance to dig himself either deeper into the hole, or out of it, there is a sharp loud clap.
"Itadakimasu!" Usagi says, and quickly begins to dig into the food with the gusto and speed only reserved for the starving. "So..." Usagi starts, looking at Luna sitting on her windowsill, "Where were you thinking of us going for my practice? I think there is a part not too far from here."
Luna paces back and forth a few times before answering. "There are a few options, though I am not... particularly fond of going to a park. While you've been at school the last two days, I have been searching to see if I can find any of the Dark Kingdom's plans." The cat says, a smug look on her face. "And I've hit pay-dirt."
Usagi perks up, a scared look on her face. "You... found Youma?" Usagi's voice most certainly doesn't waver, and anyone who says otherwise is lying. "Are... you wanting me to fight them... Now?"
"Not today, no." Luna reassures Usagi with a shake of her head. "But the Gym I found that was basting in dark magics is on the way to an unfinished construction site that would be perfect for practicing your magics. On the way there, we could stop and scout out the place." Usagi lets out a little sigh, nodding slightly.
"Other than that, There is a train heading out to Yuunagi down in Kanagawa, which would get us far and away from any spying eyes. And if you aren't wanting to go that far out, then there is also a closed amusement park off the coast of the Minato Ward."
[ ][Training] Abandoned Construction Zone
[ ][Training] Yuunagi the Coastal City
[ ][Training] Closed Amusement Part
[Training to be continued After the Vote]
[hr/hr] [The Events of Monday to be continued in Future Clouded! The Fate of the House of Fortunes!] [The Events of Tuesday to be continued in Search from the Skies to the Streets! Where are the Other Sailor Senshi?] [The Turn shall resume following the Results of The Monday and Tuesday Event!]
Checking out Shapelin, tests at the Construction Site
Usagi stands in her room for a long moment, silent as she thinks over the different options that Luna has presented to her.
"I..." She starts, but can't seem to find the right words. "I really wish I had a good reason to choose something other than the Construction site." She admits after a moment. "The idea of going and checking on those Youma you mentioned scares me... But I'm going to have to fight them eventually, aren't I?"
The question is clearly rhetorical, but Luna answers anyways, nodding. "I wish I could say otherwise, but yes. This would be so much easier if we could find any of the other guardians."
If nothing else, the reminder that there are others out there like Usagi does seem to calm her a little bit.
"Alright." The girl says after a moment. "Let's... Let's go before I convince myself that this is a bad idea!" Usagi says with much more force than the cat would have expected, but given that the girl practically stomps as she turns on her heel to leave the room.
Luna winces as the girl slams the door, slowly shaking her head. "What am I going to do with that girl?" She asks, before turning, and leaping down from the windowsill to the ground below.
From the house, it is less than a fifteen minute walk to Juuban Municipal Junior High School, and then another five minute walk to reach the Gym that Luna says has been taken over by Youma.
[SEARCH FOR DARK AGENTS]
[ROLL: 41 + 13= 54]
[UNCERTAIN RESULTS]
The building is massive, at least six stories. Apparently the place is called Shapelin, and according to the fliers taped to the inside of the doors, the Gym is supposed to be having it's grand opening on Thursday - And for the first week, they are offering their services completely Free!
Apparently there is going to be some kind of competition over the first week that everyone can enter, and whoever wins will receive a free lifetime membership at the gym. "Are you sure that this place is Evil, Luna?" Usagi asks, as she reads the flier for a second time. "I... have been gaining a little weight, and this sounds like it could be really useful."
"You're... joking right?" Luna asks, but Usagi doesn't answer.
"I mean, what kind of evil is going to go on in a Gym anyways..." Usagi slowly trails off, before looking over to Luna. "And... What exactly are we doing here anyways? The place is closed, so how are we supposed to do any scouting?"
"I didn't know that!" Luna argues back, before looking up at the door for a long moment. Then, she sighs, shaking her head. "Well, you know where the place is now. We can't break in without letting the Youma know that we've been here, and then they would just go to ground. We'll have to wait until the place is open to try and see what is going on."
Leaving the mysterious gym behind, it is another ten minutes of walking before the duo reach the unfinished construction site, much to Luna's frustration. "Are we there yet?" Usagi whines, slumped over as she stumbles along.
"You can't seriously be tired..." Luna groans, before glancing around. "Ah! There, just one more block, and then we're there. Alright?"
Hearing that, Usagi perks up, running the last block. Arriving at the front of the construction site, Usagi peers around the fencing set up. From the looks of it, the city is in the middle of burrowing down and laying the new foundations for what is probably some kind of Parking Garage.
The lot is a good hundred and twenty feet long, with massive concrete pillars that are going to hold the building up already built. Beams stretch from pillar to pillar like some kind of massive metal ribcage left to rot till there are nothing but bones left.
Slowly looking around, Usagi checks to make sure that she doesn't see anyone around. No people peaking out of windows or walking the sidewalks.
Nope. Everything looks clear from here. Carefully, the girl steps through the open entrance to the construction site, following the packed dirt path down to the bottom of excavated under street.
"All right!" Usagi says, stretching back and forth, before doing a quick half squat and pulling on each of her arms. "Moon Prism Power!"
"Okay, so what are we going to do first?" Sailor Moon asks, slowly shifting back and forth, from one foot to the other.
[ROLL: 10 + 15= 25]
[CRITICAL SUCCESS]
"First!" Luna says, dropping down in front of Usagi, before pointing upwards with her paw. "The Magic of the Senshi transformation means that you are faster and stronger than you are normally. We need to figure out how strong and fast you are, before we begin to experiment with your spells."
"So let's see how high you can jump."
Taking a deep breath, Sailor Moon kneels, one gloved hand touching the dirt, before she kicks off with all her might.
There is a mighty echoing CRACK! as the hardened dirt shatters, all the while Usagi rises up, up, up! She passes the ground, then past the first level of windows on the building next to the construction site - The second, and then third pass just as quickly, before the sailor suited girl begins to slow.
It is only when she passes the roof that the girl finds herself no longer rising. There is a moment where she hangs in the air, almost like she is flying, before gravity takes hold of her once more. Looking down, the ground seems so far away.
Down the girl begins to fall, first ten, then twenty feet - There, she passes within inches of one of the steel I-beams that mark the building's construction. Her hand snaps out, grabbing hold of the metal. With a grace and a finesse that she doesn't feel, the girl flips over, hanging from the bottom of the metal, before kicking off, shooting outwards to one of the towering pillars. She lands on the side hard, dropping to a kneel along the sheer surface, before kicking off again, not giving gravity even a moment to assert itself on the girl.
Down and down she hops, dropping a full ten foot story with each leap... Then, with but a single leap separating the girl from the ground, Sailor Moon shoots down - But her foot catches on a beam, and all that forward momentum turns, and with another deafening crack, the girl slams into the ground face first.
The impact hard enough to not only make Luna wince, but also literally knock the cat into the air.
"Sailor Moon!" The Cat cries, rushing over to the girl, "Are you okay?"
There is no answer for a long moment, and Luna is left with the slowly building horror that she may have just killed one of the Sailor Senshi.
She may have just doomed the earth.
Sailor Moon twitches after a moment, then her hands drop to the ground, and the girl pulls her head out of the crater that her impact left. With dazed, confused eyes, the girl looks up at Luna, opening her mouth to say something, and a solid clump and stone and dirt and grass falls out of the girl's mouth. "Uuuugguuaaaaah~" The sound that Usagi makes is somewhere between gagging and crying, as her hands come up to her face. "That tasted Gross!!!"
"Sailor Moon..." Luna asks again, but there is still no answer. "Usagi?"
"Can we stop?" Usagi almost begs of the cat, to which Luna can only sigh with relief.
"Come one, Sailor Moon. That was only one test, you really aren't going to let one screw up stop you, are you?"
"Yes!" Usagi replies back heatedly, "That was gross, and it was scary! And I! I!" With each word, the girl's voice is less angry... "I jumped all the way up to the top of that building!" Usagi finally manages to get out, laughing. "Did you see that Luna! That was sooo cool!"
Then, with a grace unlike anything that Luna has seen the girl pull off, Usagi flips over, balancing on one hand for the briefest of moments, before pushing off and landing back on her feet. There is something about the way that Sailor Moon does that, something that niggles at the back of Luna's memories... but - "What's next?" Sailor Moon asks.
She isn't sure what it is. Regardless, the cat shakes her head. "Well, we've seen how high you can jump, but we still need to figure out how fast and how strong you are."
"So how are we going to do that?" Sailor Moon asks, to which Luna walks over to one of the walls at the end of the construction site. "You'll start here." Luna says, before she starts running down to near the other end of the construction site. "Then about... Here." The cat stops, marking a spot down on the ground with her paw, "Is one hundred feet from where you started. We'll see how long it takes you to run one hundred feet, and that will tell us how fast you are."
"Ready?" Luna calls, "GO!" However, the word is barely out of her mouth, before Sailor Moon is skidding to a stop in front of her, chest heaving from the effort. The cat blinks, looking from where the girl started to where she is now. "Three... quarters... of a second?" Luna mutters, surprised. "That's... what... one hundred and thirty two feet a second, or... A hundred miles an hour."
Usagi looks down at the cat, with a completely blank look on her face. "How much is that in meters?" The girl asks, and Luna simply sighs, placing her face in a palm.
"That would be just over 40 meters a second." Luna says, and Usagi boggles at the cat.
"That's FASTER THAN A CAR!" Usagi only barely manages to keep herself from yelling, and Luna nods. Hopping a little in place, there is one of the biggest grins on the girl's face. "All that is left is to see how strong I am, right?" She asks, and when Luna nods, the girl is simply not there in front of Luna anymore.
It is at this moment that Luna realizes something that horrifies her.
Sailor Moon can run at a hundred miles an hour.
Usagi can move at a hundred miles an hour.
"What have I released on Tokyo?" The cat wonders aloud, as she slowly turns to try and find her overexcited ward. There, over the edge of excavated area is one of the large machines that the construction crew must have used to dig out the ground - A massive orange vehicle that has a massive metal arm sticking out of the front that rises up, before ending in a big scooping claw.
Usagi stand to one side of the excavator, struggling as she braces against the ground and tries to lift. Even from the nearly twenty feet away, the cat is able to hear the creak of metal as the machine slowly starts to shift.
Bit by bit, the vehicle rises, until Usagi has lifted one end nearly a whole foot off the ground, but as she struggles to push any further... There is a shimmering silver dust that seems to be billowing off of the girl, almost like a steam... or...
"Sailor Moon!" Luna calls out, realizing what is about to happen. "GET BACK!"
The Sailor Senshi might not know why Luna was yelling such a thing to her, but she reacted all the same, letting go of the machine, and leaping backwards, clearing nearly ten feet before her sailor suit seems to explode, and Usagi hits the ground, feet sliding backwards before the girl starts to tumble back.
There is another moment where Usagi lies still, before the girl groans. "Luna..." She whines out. "Why am I so tired?"
Luna looks from Usagi, over to the Excavator with one step and the bottom edge both bent and twisted with a clear handprint embedded in the metal, then back to Usagi. "Gee," The sheer level of sarcasm present in Luna's voice has to weigh as much as that excavator itself, "I can't imagine why you would be tired after trying to lift something that has to weigh several tons." Luna comes and sits next to Usagi, and her tone turns far more comforting. "Usagi, your powers aren't infinite. They are... Like a muscle." The last three words have a completely different tone of voice to them - Sounding almost like Luna remembers something she had forgotten. "Who told me that...?" The cat asks, as Usagi slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position.
"Moon..." She gasps out. "Prism. Power." With a flash of light, Usagi is once more replaced with Sailor Moon, before pushing herself back up to her feet. "Okay... Okay." The girl says, even as she still wobbles a little on her feet. "So we know I'm strong, but not strong enough to lift a big construction machine. That I'm as fast as a car, and that I can jump really high."
Prowess Score Discovered: 15
"All that is left is learning about my magic... right?"
[ROLL: 2 + 7 + (6/2)= 12]
[LESSER SUCCESS]
At that, Luna starts to pace back and forth. "To be completely honest, Sailor Moon... I don't know how much help I can be here. We can practice your spells, but I don't..." Frustration creeps into the black cat's voice. "I know that I learned about your powers. I saw enough of all the sailor scouts that I had to have seen what you can do... but my memories..."
Luna stops, shaking her head, "No. Right. To start off with, right now, you have one spell that you have actually cast. Moon Tiara Action. "A long ranged attack spell. You charge your Tiara with power and throw it at the Youma. We could try and see what happens if you were to hold on the Tiara instead of throwing it?"
Sailor Moon looks down at her hand, as she bites her lip. "Do you think there is a chance that I might, like, hurt myself doing that?"
Luna's head tilts, as she thinks over the question. "To be completely honest, I'm not certain, but I don't think you'll be able to hurt yourself with your magic. Not these spells at least."
"These spells?" Usagi asks, perking up, "Do you mean that I might be able to learn more spells?"
"Well, you have magic. It's in your blood, and in your soul, Usagi. Honestly, Usagi if I could remember the basics, we could even start training you to be able to tap into your magic when you aren't transformed."
If Luna didn't know better, she would say that Usagi's eyes turned to stars when she heard that. "I could learn to use magic even when I'm not transformed? Do you think we'd be able to teach Naru?"
"No!" Luna says firmly, "Well... Probably not." Her words are less firm now. "Maybe. It depends on if Naru has any ability for magic. And even then, I know I remember that the way that Senshi use their magic is different from how other spell casters used magic back in the Silver Millennium."
"There is one other idea that I had." Luna says, turning the subject back to what it is supposed to be about. "That night, against the monster that Attacked Naru - You cried." Usagi cringes a little at that.
"I broke a bunch of windows... I asked Naru if she wanted to be here for this, but she has to work at her mom's store to help clean up all the glass."
"Exactly." Luna agrees. "That could be a useful ability if you can master it - Imagine being able to control where the sound goes, and blasting Youma with it."
Usagi doesn't exactly look to be enthused by the idea, but she nods all the same.
Choose 2 spells to learn:
[ ][Magic] Ultrasonic Cry
- AOE Attack that hits everything in range with super high frequency waves
-- Bonus to Prowess against multiple targets
-- Hits Enemies, Allies, Bystanders, and Fragile objects in range
[ ][Magic] Sonic Barrage
- Directed version of the Ultrasonic Cry
-- Bonus to Prowess
-- Can damage fragile objects in range
[ ][Magic] Moon Tiara Stardust
- AOE Anti-Possession Spell
-- Deal no damage, but can non violently defeat possessed Bystanders
[ ][Magic] Moon Tiara Melee Action
- Variation of base Moon Tiara Action Spell to function in Melee
-- Bonus to Prowess
-- Minus to Prowess until you learn how to fight with the Tiara
[ ][Magic] Try to use magic without transforming
- Chance of discovering how to use magic while untransformed
-- Unlocks a whole slew of different potential Learning Actions
[X][Magic] Moon Tiara Stardust
[X][Magic] Sonic Barrage
Standing there, Sailor Moon slowly looks up to the sky. "That night..." She starts to say, "When I first got my powers, that Youma had the ability to control the people who it stole energy from. Do you think that other Youma are going to be able to do that as well?"
Luna doesn't answer for a moment, "That... is a very good question." She answers after a moment. "I can barely remember the fall of the Silver Millennium, but I don't remember any of the Youma there controlling people... But... I don't exactly remember any of the Youma leaving any survivors either." she admits. "However, that Youma didn't seem interested in killing the women affected by its scheme. That behavior is quite strange to what I know of Youma... There may have been someone stopping it from gorging itself on the life energy... But I don't know for certain. It is entirely possible that Youma from here on out may end up... Killing people."
"But if they aren't?" Usagi asks, words slow and carefully chosen. "Do you think there is any kind of magic that I might be able to do that could stop that, that could protect people... or cure them of being controlled?"
"From what I know about the Sailor Senshi, it is never a question of what you Can do, but simply a question of what you want to do." The cat says, staring directly as Sailor Moon. Hearing that statement, Usagi takes a deep breath through her nose, before she nods.
"Not what I can do, but what I want to do." Usagi says the words, almost more lika a Mantra than instructions.
Slowly, the Sailor Senshi closes her eyes, reaching a hand up to her tiara, and drawing it down from her head. "I don't want to hurt anyone..." Sailor Moon whispers, feeling the energy building in her hands as her tiara begins to spin, faster and faster and faster, until it becomes nothing more than a blur, spinning so fast that it makes a whirring noise as it cuts through the air, even as it floats there above the girl's hand. "I want to help people..."
But there is something... not quite right. Something that seems to be amiss. Slowly, the tiara floating over Sailor Moon's hand starts to wobble, listing from side to side, but with each passing moment the effect seems to accelerate, even as the light that the tiara gives off starts to deepen, turning from a bright white to an almost reddish orange.
With a yelp, Usagi throws her hand out, allowing the altered spell loose. The whirling dervish of energy shoots out nearly ten feet, before there is a thundering BOOM!
The spell explodes, scattering a shimmering glitter like light over every surface. Fascinatingly, it seems that the glitter is doing... something. Slowly, dust and pebbles seem to skitter along the grounds towards the shattered stone footprints next to the Excavator, and near where Usagi first jumped.
Somehow, despite how... extra the spell seems to be, the core concept of healing and helping holds firm.
"That..." Luna says after a moment, "Isn't exactly what I had hoped would happen, but look!" She points to the recovering stone. "You almost got it!" It sounds like the cat can't believe her eyes, "On your first try..."
The second and the third tries aren't much better, with the spell barely managing to fire off before exploding again. Still, it is worth noting that even in it's explosive state, the spell is still able to heal and repair your surroundings.
The fourth try... Also doesn't work, but it is a distinctly different type of failure. Instead of the spell exploding when Usagi tries to cast it, instead, there is a moment of what had to have been sheer madness. The spell nearly bursts of Sailor Moon's hands, only for the girl's other hand to suddenly snap out, both hands grabbing hold of the circle of light.
The spell is twisted, and instead of exploding, it is a near beam of blasting glitter that erupts from the hoop of light. Yet, there is something about that particular spell - Something that catches Usagi's eye.
"I'm trying too hard." She says in wonder, laughing at the metal pillar that now gleams like sliver. "I can't hold all the glitter... or whatever that stuff is inside of the Moon Tiara. It just won't stay there."
Then, Sailor Moon takes a step back, pulling her Tiara from her head with a poise and a grace that she normally lacks. "Moon." Her hand lays flat, even as the Tiara begins to lift up, off of her palm, "Tiara." Faster and faster the Tiara begins to spin, only now... Instead of the tiara glowing with inner light, the entire surface begins to glimmer with the same glittery stardust like appearance. "Stardust." Sailor Moon twirls, throwing the tiara like a discus, the ring of light zooms outwards, arcing out and around before returning to her, all the while glittering light practically rains off of the ring. The spell, in this new form is still clearly not perfect - First and foremost for the fact that the returning tiara hit Usagi in the head, but this... This is a functional spell.
A spell that requires work in the future, but a spell none the less.
"Owww..." Usagi complains as she rubs the spot on her head where the Tiara struck her. Thanks to all the experimental spells she has been casting in quick succession, the tiara hitting her was enough to knock her out of her transformed state. And for the moment, it doesn't look like she has the energy to return to her powered state either. "I'm just..." Usagi says, dropping down into a crouch before sitting on the ground. "Sit here for a moment, is that okay with you, Luna?" The blonde's words are interrupted by how hard she is breathing. "This whole being a magical girl thing is really hard work. But... But I did a thing. I chose to do a thing, and I did the thing. I made a new spell thing."
"Taking a rest is perfectly fine, Usagi." Luna confirms, sitting next to Usagi. "You've already managed to do more than I expected for the day, so if you want to quit now..."
"I..." Usagi goes quiet, before slowly shaking her head. "I'm scared. I don't want to fight. I don't like getting hurt. But if I get stronger here, then I won't get hurt when the monsters come."
[PROGRESS: 1 Event of 5 to Automatically Overcome Lazy]
Taking a few moments more. Usagi slowly sits up, groaning in discomfort, but there is something like a ghost of a smile on her face. "I also have a feeling that the other spell I want to learn is going to be a lot easier."
Another incantation and Sailor Moon stands tall again. She takes a moment, looking around the construction site, before jogging to one end. "Luna, you might... want to be behind me?" There is something of a question in the girl's tone. "Well, if this works, then you'll want to be behind me. If it doesn't, then being behind me won't matter." Luna quickly complies, getting behind the girl, not sure what she is planning.
Usagi takes a deep breath, her chest rising as her lungs fill with air. Then, the girl's hands rise up, and one after the other, she taps the crimson caps that her transformation has added to her buns, treating them almost the way one that one does a Microphone while testing to see if they are on.
Then, Sailor Moon takes a step forward, and SCREAMS! She lets loose a high keening wail that starts low, but builds higher and higher in both pitch and volume. For a moment, that seems to be all that she achieves, but as the cry crosses some unknown barrier, the volume doubles, and double again, turning from a scream to an almost solid wall of noise that picks up stones and dirt, flinging them with impressive force away from the girl.
But it seems that casting yet another spell is once more more than the transformation can take, and Usagi drops to her knees, her Sailor Power disintegrating as she pants and gasps, trying to get her strength back. "Okay..." The girl says, her voice creaking a little. "That's it. That's enough for today. Wanna go home and sleep now."
Thus the two, Girl and Cat make their way out of the unfinished construction yard, heading back to their home.
Neither Luna nor Usagi stop to think about the mess that they have left behind - Two separate pairs of shoe prints carved into solid stone, the crater in the ground nearly the size and shape of a human head, and most notably of all, the Excavator moved nearly six inches from where it originally sat, and that has a pair of hand prints impressed into the metal.
The next morning, there were many a question to be had, but no answers to be found. Monday Morning, April 6th 1992
Usagi slowly opens her eyes, blearily looking at the ceiling. With a soft groan, the girl rolls over in bed, taking a long look at the clock on her bedside table.
6:00
...
"Nope." The girl whispers before rolling back over, allowing herself to drift back into the realm of dreams. It is nearly an hour later, when the process begins all over again.
...
Again, the girl's eyes slowly start to open. Usagi stares up at the ceiling for a long moment, before rolling to one side, glancing over to the clock on her bedside table.
7:05
...
[ROLL: 76]
[OVERLY EMOTIONAL DOES NOT ACTIVATE]
For all that Usagi wants to roll back over, and go back to sleep again... She has school today, which means that she really does need to get up and get ready for the day.
Stumbling out of bed, the girl trails over to her closet, gathering up her school clothes. From there, the girl shuffles out of her room and to the bathroom.
Once Usagi has had a shower, the girl is far more awake, heading down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Morning Mom! Morning Dad!" She says, even as she rubs at an eye with the back of her hand. "Morning Shingo. How are you all this morning?"
"You're awake?" Shingo asks, surprised. "Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"
"Oh, Har-de-har-har." Usagi snips back, "I'm me. Who else would I have been?" Dropping into a chair, the girl yawns, dropping her head onto the table with a thunk. "I'm just getting up earlier, and it sucks."
Her brother's only response is to snicker, leading the girl to pout. At the head of the table, Kenji shakes his head as he reads the newspaper, but there is a smile on his face. The Tsukino household has always been a busy and loud home, but to be honest, that is how the head of the house prefers it.
Once everyone has eaten Breakfast, Usagi finds herself getting out of the house and heading to school. "Usagi!" Luna calls from one of the walls along the side of the street. "Have a good day at school!"
Arriving at the Junior High School, Usagi comes to a stop at the front shoe lockers, opening the Locker and pulling out her Calculator.
Usagi didn't have any money on Friday, when she stopped by the Arcade on her way home.
Why didn't she have any money?
She has an allowance... So she should have had money, where did her money go?
So she gets 2000 yen a week from her parents.
[ROLL: 4 + 4= 8]
[CHECK FAILED]
Of that she spends...
uhh...
Usagi looks down at the Calculator, trying to figure out just how much money she spent last week on her candy...
Well, she bought...
A lot?
But she couldn't have spent enough to have no money. After all, she managed to go to the Arcade on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday.
The girl continues to stare down at her calculator, a pout on her face as she slowly starts to realize that she doesn't have any of the information that she needs to figure out what is happening to her money.
"Good Morning, Usagi!" Naru calls out, as she approaches the lockers herself. "How are you doing this morning?"
"I'm tired... but doing alright. Had a busy day yesterday." Usagi replies, replacing her calculator back in her shoe locker.
"...Why do you keep a calculator in there?" Naru asks, a little baffled.
"Where else would I put my calculator?" The blonde asks back, an answer that leaves Naru speechless for a moment.
Shaking her head, the girl puts on a sly smile, "Soooo..." She starts, "Has Umino said anything yet?"
Usagi's head tilts to one side, a completely lost look on her face. "Said something? About what?"
Naru can't help but giggle, popping up to her feet. "About how he likes you! Like, likes you likes you."
Usagi openly boggles at the news, "Whaa?" She asks, trying to understand what her best friend is saying. He said Saturday that he was just too shy to tel-"
"Why Hello There~" Umino's voice calls out, entering the school.
Umino isn't wearing the school uniform. Usagi doesn't think she has ever seen Umino wear anything other than the school uniform, even on those rare weekends where she has seen him out of school. Instead... Instead he's wearing some kind of blazer...
And pleated pants.
"Usagi." It takes everything that Usagi has not to shiver at the oily, slimy tone to Umino's voice. "You. Me. Let's go out on a date, alright?"
"Umino..." Naru starts quietly, her tone more than a little worried. "What are you doing? What are you wearing?"
"Re~lax." The boy says, "I'm just living my life to the fullest, doing what I want to do and living how I want to live."
Naru's brow furrows, "That doesn't answer my question, and what are you planning on doing when-" Both Naru and Usagi's faces pale a little, even as Naru's words cut off.
"Mister Umino." Miss Haruna's words are clipped and short, as the Teacher stands behind Umino. "Is there a reason that you aren't wearing the school uniform?"
Turning, Umino laughs in the teacher's face, reaching up behind his glasses - Pulling down an eye lid and sticking his tongue out at her. "Mister Umin-"
Umino isn't paying any attention to the teacher, instead walking right on past her, even as a hand snaps out, flipping up the teacher's skirt.
Usagi and Naru stares, minds blown as they try and parse what they just saw.
Miss Haruna is still for a moment, her face pallid in shock, before she slumps down, dropping to her knees, even as she starts to cry.
The rest of the day continues to be absolutely insane. Umino isn't acting anything like himself. He is loud and brash, but even more than that, even worse than that...
Something has happened to the soft spoken nerd, turning him cruel and callous. All through the day's classes he sits at his desk, feet kicked up to rest on his desk as he reads some kind of Manga openly through the day. He laughs and he giggles without the slightest bit of subtlety, completely ignoring the teachers and doing everything he can to disrupt the classroom.
As if that wasn't enough, Umino isn't the only person acting out. Umino isn't even the only student in her class that has completely abandoned good sense. There is another boy and a girl who have both ignored the school uniform.
After a very frustrating day, Lunch eventually rolls around. Usagi is glad that classes are out for the moment, because with everyone out of the classrooms there really isn't anything that those crazy kids can do to screw with anyth-
Crash!
Usagi nearly groans, head dropping into her hands. "Come on!" She complains, "I just want something today to not be completely crazy! What is going on!"
Popping up to her feet Usagi leans around the edge of the building, nearly dropping her bento box at what she sees.
There, around the building is Umino. He's standing there, casually tossing a rock into the air before catching it. And there, in front of him is a shattered window.
Umino wouldn't even break a window. Then again, nothing about how Umino is acting today is how Usagi used to think he would act.
"Hey..." Naru says quietly, causing Usagi to jump before she whirls around to face the source of the sound. Naru was approaching the girl from the other direction of Umino and the slowly gathering crowd of cackling boys and girls. "Hey, Usagi... I think I might have screwed up."
"What?" Usagi has no idea what Naru could mean by that.
"Saturday, when Umino mentioned to me that he had feelings for you..." Naru starts to explain, "I suggested that he go to a Fortune Teller to try and figure out the best way to talk to you." The girl looks very nervous. "I suggested that he go to the new House of Fortune that opened up last Thursday."
Usagi isn't quite sure what Naru is getting at. "Okay?"
"Umino went to the House of Fortune, and is acting like this now. So did Malei, and Ito, and Saito." Naru explains a little more. "Everyone who has gone to the House of Fortune is acting completely different from how they were acting before."
...And just like that, the light bulb goes on in the dusty attic of Usagi's mind. "They're acting like all those women did when they saw the Sale that Youma that replaced your Mom set up."
Naru nods slowly at that, a not particularly enthused look on her face. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
Usagi looks at her best friend, and shakes her head with a smile on her face. "No. Naru, this is the monster's fault. Not yours. But the House of Mysteries..."
"Sailor Moon is going to have to go and take a look later tonight."
[To be Continued in House of Mystery]
The Sun slowly slips down below the Horizon, as Usagi stares out her window. "How long do you think we should wait?" Usagi asks Luna, who lays lazily on the windowsill.
"I'd say at least another hour," The cat replies, "I'd rather not worry your Parents if we can avoid it."
Usagi nods, though she doesn't have any real words to reply to Luna. The girl is more than a little nervous about what she is planning to do.
This is the second time that Usagi is sneaking out after her curfew, and it is the first time that she is doing so intentionally.
The girl slowly paces back and forth again and again in the dark, waiting for the time to pass.
Now that the sun is far past setting, the skies are dark, and most of the light comes from the windows of the surrounding houses, and the street lights along the sides of the road.
Taking a breath, Usagi calls upon the power hidden deep within her. "Moon Prism Power!" The words are softly spoken, but they are firm and filled with intent.
Somehow, as if the transformation could feel the girl's need for stealth, there is but a moment where the girl's body is bathed in softly shimmering silver light, and thus Usagi is replaced by Sailor Moon.
Sliding open her window, the girl steps out onto the windowsill, even as Luna slips up her side, settling like a near weightless shadow on the girl's shoulder.
Sailor Moon kicks off, holding back enough to prevent herself from shattering her house, and yet still rocketing through the air, and landing with ease atop the closest streetlight.
Leaping from streetlight to streetlight, the girl darts back and forth across the street, soaring through the air. She passes unseen over the exhausted heads of men and women returning home after hours and hours of long shifts. She passes unheard over the night owls preparing for their own long shifts.
There are only a few cognizant individuals who hear the soft clack of Usagi's heels landing on the streetlights above who manage to look up fast enough to catch sight of a mysterious figure zooming away, into the dark of the night, only to land on the next streetlight down the road.
It only takes a few minutes for Sailor Moon to cross the city, passing first by her school, and then the arcade as travels further and further from her home. It takes Sailor Moon less than ten minutes to travel what would have taken Usagi over an hour to cross.
Dropping down from the streetlight, Sailor Moon takes a moment to look up at the horribly tacky sign on the front of the towering manor before her.
HOUSE OF FORTUNE The sign says, in all Capital Letters, backed by flashing lights that cycle around the edge of the sign.
Slipping up to the front door, Usagi balls a fist, drawing back to simply bash the door down, before a thought occurs. It couldn't...
It wouldn't...
Slowly, the girl reaches out, grasping the doorknob, and with ease it turns.
The door is unlocked!
Stepping through, Sailor Moon is almost caught off guard by just how... Normal it all looks.
The floors are hard wood, clean enough that she can almost see her reflection in it. The walls are the same kind of off white walls that pretty much every building in Tokyo has. There isn't really anything about any of this that looks like it is the evil lair of a monster that wants to consume people's energy.
"Are we sure that this place is Evil?" Usagi asks, as she looks around. "It just looks like every other business place around."
Luna, sitting on Usagi's shoulder shudders. "Definitely. Now that we're inside, I can feel just how slimy and twisted this place is."
Usagi simply shrugs, "Like I said... This place feels like pretty much all the other businesses I've been to. They all feel gross like this."
"..." Luna doesn't respond immediately to that. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, we need to find the Youma and stop whatever it is planning on doing."
"Okay." Usagi says, as she continues making her way slowly through the House of Fortune. Room by room the two go. Checking each door they pass - And it is here that things quickly start to show just how odd the House of Fortune is.
The foyer is furnished, but every other room that they looked into has been completely empty - Some even didn't have wallpaper, while other rooms didn't have flooring. It is almost like the building had been built just enough to look like it was complete, instead of actually being complete.
Finally, after over a dozen doors, Sailor Moon approaches one last room. But as she approaches the door, she starts to hear something - "Good, good! All of you have done so well, collecting energy for our great lord." The voice calls out from the other side of the door. "Now! Go! Wreck havoc upon this primitive mortal city! Make the humans fear the name of the Dark Kingdom and our wondrous Queen Beryl!"
"It's really quite rude - Destroying things that don't belong to you." Usagi bellows, as she raises a leg, "To say nothing of ignoring the feelings of others!"
"WHO'S THERE!" The voice from within bellows.
You strike out, kicking the door with your impressive strength. The wood shatters below your heel, and the door flips out, crossing the room at an impressive speed.
The room is tall and dark, with heavy red curtains hanging from the ceiling, and the air is filled with a cloyingly thick smoke that filters out of a trio of metal urns around the back of the room. There are close to two dozen young men and women situated around the room, all standing stock still, even as the door of the room rockets past them, only barely managing to avoid a few of them as it approaches the tall, pale woman standing in the center of the room.
The woman barely manages to avoid the spinning door, her body twisting and bending in a clearly inhuman way. In one hand, she was holding a glimmering crystal ball, even as her face warps angrily.
"I am the Pretty Solider who fights for Love and for Justice!" Sailor Moon calls out. "I am Sailor Moon!" Crossing her arms, the girl points towards the fortune teller. "Now, in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
The Fortune teller shifts, cradling her crystal ball in the crook of one hand, even as she idly shuffles a deck of cards that she seems to have pulled from nowhere.
Then, with a flair, the cards cut through the air.
THUNK THUNK
THUNK THUNK
THUNK
Sailor Moon barely manages to step to the side, allowing the cards to pass her by - burying themselves nearly halfway into the walls. "Hey!" Usagi cries out, irritated. "That nearly hit me in the face!"
"That would be because she's trying to hill you." Luna argues, from where she is hiding on the far side of the door frame.
The fortune teller hisses at the Senshi, her form warping and shifting. Her skin turns green as her eyes take on a golden tinge, and the woman's black hair starts to lift and writhe like serpents, even as two long strands twirl together forming a pair of clawed hands.
Now that the Youma is no longer disguising herself, changes begin to happen to each of the men and women controlled by the Youma.
Their eyes begin to glow with an inner yellow light, as their skin takes on a greenish tinge. As one, they begin to start marching towards Usagi, steps in unison as their arms reach out towards her.
The nearly thirty controlled men and women start to stomp closer and closer to Sailor Moon, their movements sharp and unnatural, with their hands clawing out in front of them almost like a zombie. In fact, much of the way that the possessed humans move reminds Sailor Moon of zombies. Closer and closer they come - To be honest, it would be easy for Sailor Moon to handle them. They move so slow, and act so stiff that even with the sheer number of them, she would probably be able to defeat them all...
But these people are innocent. With no control of their actions, and Usagi doesn't even know if they are aware of what is happening around them. Sailor Moon cannot fight them. Dodging backwards, Sailor Moon jerks to the left, then to the right in order to avoid the clawing hands getting closer and closer.
They are all too close! Moon Tiara Stardust takes a few moments to charge up, and Usagi doesn't have the time to do so, the possessed people are all too close. If they get any closer, then... Usagi takes a breath, shaking her head.
She's just got to be careful, hit them hard, but not hard enough to hurt them...
Darting forward, the girl ducks low, sliding under a pair of grasping hands to get in under the guard of the closest almost-zombie. She places a hand against her attacker's chest, looking up for a brief moment to see the emotionless face of Umino, before she extends her arm, pushing hard.
Umino effortlessly slides backwards, arms still clawing at her, even as he slams into the other people possessed by the Youma, tripping over them and sending the lot to the ground in a confused pile of claws limbs and stomping feet.
Now, after so long, Usagi has a moment the breath, the moment that she needs to cast her spell.
"Hmmm... It is Pretty, I will give you that." A voice says, from right behind the Youma. Everyone in the room stops. Somehow, there is someone else is the room. There are no windows in this room, there is only the one door, and yet, even so, someone other than you, other than the Youma has managed to sneak into the room, to sneak right up to the Youma, without ever once being seen.
As everyone whirls around to face the source of the voice, Usagi gasps - It's Tuxedo Mask! Somehow, he is standing there, right behind the Youma, with the monster's crystal ball in one hand, and her deck of razor edged cards in the other.
There is an effortless smile on the Phantom Thief's face, "However, I must say I am disappointed. Having heard that you were able to control the minds of others... I had hoped that this was one of the Rainbow Crystals that I seek. Seems that I was wrong, and your abilities are little more than petty tricks, seems that I shall have to continue my search elsewhere."
The fortune telling Youma hisses, a serpentine tongue sticking past sharp fangs as it's fist snaps out towards the masked man. He starts to dodge, sliding so smoothly it almost looks like he isn't even trying - But then! Tuxedo Mask's cape pulls taut, held firm in the grips of a handful of the demon's mind controlled servants. There isn't time to dodge the other way, and without any means of escaping the blow, Tuxedo Mask takes the hit directly to the face.
Tuxedo Mask's head snaps back, and for a long moment the man doesn't move, his entire body as still as the grave. It doesn't even look like he is breathing. Did the Youma... But then, slowly, Tuxedo Mask begins to move, tilting his head down to glare at the Demon standing in front of him. It also allows Usagi to see that there is a rough bruise just below the edge of the man's domino mask. "That..." He says, voice quiet and sharper than steel. "Was very rude."
He reaches out with one hand, grabbing hold of his cape, and with a sharp tug tears it from the hands of the Demon's minions. "I'll be taking my leave now."
"Like hell you will!" The demon cries out, but before she has a chance to react further, a rose buries itself into the wall behind the demon, as a line of deep blue ichor starts to well up on her cheek where the thrown flower kissed her skin. By the time everyone's eyes have returned to the spot where Tuxedo Mask had been, just a few moments ago... He was gone.
"Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask's voice calls out, echoing from everywhere in the room "It is clear to me that you have learned something very important from your last battle. I am glad to see you standing against evil. Do not lose sight of the goals you fight for. You are doing very well."
The Youma screeches, clawed hair swiping at the spot where Tuxedo Mask was a moment before, "FIND HIM!" She roars out, "REND HIM LIMB FROM LIMB FOR DARING TO HARM ME!"
It seems that for a moment, the demon has completely forgotten about Sailor Moon. A moment that she uses to finally take a breath.
Then... Something strange happens. With that single breath, the world changes, shifts, and flows. Everything starts to fall away, leaving only the girl.
Usagi worries about the possessed people, what they may do if they are left in the control of the Demon.
Serenity rages against the monster, the servant of the people who destroyed everything she held dear
And Sailor Moon holds both, balancing the needs of the present alongside the wants of an ancient past.
The world crystallizes as the disparate pieces of Usagi's self come together.
Then you move. A hand snaps up to your tiara, pulling your primary weapon from your brow, even as you moves, knees bending for a moment then snapping straight. The ground beneath your feet shatters, a the exploding CRACK of wooden shards draws the attention of the demon and it's minions once more.
It is too late however, as the force of your kick blows you up towards the ceiling, and as you lands, the tiara in your hand glows with a shimmering silver power.
"Moon Tiara Stardust." With the lightest of tosses, the tiara spins out around the room, silver colored dust falling from the ring of light, covering all the possessed humans. For a moment, they stand still, but the dust glimmers brighter, before one by one by one, they collapse to their knees, gasping and wheezing. A light glimmers in their chests, rectangular.
The light shudders, then slowly starts to raise up, lifting from the bodies of the minions, each one a tarot card filled with a writhing darkness. But once the card leaves the body, it quivers for a moment, before shattering into so many motes of darkness.
The Youma has lost it's minions.
The creature bellows in rage again, "HOW DARE YOU!"
The beast's claw like hair starts to whirl out towards you, but gravity is a cruel mistress, and you are already falling to the ground by the time the hair digs furrows into the place you were before.
You land in a roll, coming up to your feet at speed. You bob and you weave in between the confused and exhausted mortals, each step as sure as the one before, and as steady as the next. The important part is that you keep moving, if the Demon cannot get a good look at you, then it cannot hit you.
Of course, you do need to keep your guard up and attention sharp. If the thing is smart, then it will be able to tell that the reason you did what you did was to protect its former minions, not simply to remove them from the battle.
Thankfully, it seems that the monster is not particularly smart. Instead of trying to force you to block by attacking the people around you on the ground, it is instead simply tossing it's hair like claws directly at your face. Something that is easy enough to dodge, if you simply keep moving.
Your opponent isn't going to be able to keep this up forever. No, there has to be a gap in her attention somewhere. No attack can go on forever. You can remember the time that you watched sfjslk and nnmh spar. Nnmh was much stronger but sfjslk was faster, and sfjslk was explaining to you that all combat was a matter of timing - Nothing could go on forever, and the more powerful an attack was the more effort it took, and thus it would have a different flow. Attacks that don't require much effort can be repeated many more times than a large attack that requires a lot of effort.
The Youma's clawed hair attacks don't see to require very much effort, but it does require some effort - She is slowing down after all. Breathing harder. She's going to have to take a break before too long.
Another dodge, to the left, then to the right. "Stay still!" The Youma cries out, gasping. The Youma's bellow is met by a handful of screams from the humans all around, who are starting to come around.
Shit. If they start to panic, then more than likely someone is going to get hurt, or worse... Killed. You cannot let that happen.
The Demon starts to look towards one of the civilians, turning it's attention away from you. That is the opening you need - it isn't exactly the attack running its course, but it is still a break in the fight's rhythm.
No time to wait. "Moon Tiara Action."
Throwing your Tiara a second time, the ring of light rockets forward, slamming into the chest of the Youma.
She screams, shrill and loud as her skin cracks and shatters, the entire creature beginning to disintegrate into dust. As the creature falls to shreds, another of the Tarot cards drops, shimmering in the evening light before it too shatters, leaving nothing left.
"Wha-what was that thing?" A quivering voice asks, as a girl stumbles to her feet, eyes wide as she stares at the pile of ash that was once a Youma.
"Where am I?" Another asks, while more voices start to call out, questions and panic building.
Before you have a chance to say anything, Luna scampers over and up onto your shoulder. She crosses from one shoulder to the other, hiding her face from the civilians, as she whispers into your ear. "Usagi... I hate to be the one to suggest this... but..." She glances up, over the growing panic. "These people don't have any idea how to handle what they have just seen. They don't understand what they have just seen. The monster, the things you did... None of that makes any sense to them. I can't even..." The cat sighs, "No. I can imagine all too well the kinds of nightmares a night like tonight could instill in them. It might be better for them... and for us... if they don't remember tonight too clearly."
You start to open your mouth, but the moment slips away from her, and Usagi stands there, putting a hand to her head for a moment.
"Better... for us?" Usagi asks quietly, trying to understand where the cat is coming from.
"I've said it before, the more people know about us, the more complicated our lives and our battle could be. If you want..." Luna pauses for a moment. "I have a bit of talent of hypnosis. I can make all of tonight feel like a dream to them. Keep them from remembering this properly."
[ ][Memory] Completely erase their memories of being possessed
- None of the Victims will remember anything past the point of becoming possessed.
- Attention: -10
[ ][Memory] Reduce their memories of being possessed to just a dream
- Everything from the last few days will be reduced to little more than a dream.
- Attention: -5
- There is a chance that sometime in the future, their memories may reawaken
[ ][Memory] Do not alter their memories
- Leave everyone's memories as they are, allowing them to not only remember the monster, but what they have done over the last few days.
- Attention: +10
- There may be wider ramifications Okay... I hope this new voting feature works right.
[X][Memory] Reduce their memories of being possessed to just a dream
Sailor Moon stands there for a painfully long moment, watching as the crowd's panic builds higher and higher... "Alright..." She says after a moment. "You're sure this is for the best?" She questions the cat, hoping to find another possible answer.
"..." Luna doesn't answer for a moment. Then she sighs, dropping down from your shoulder, taking a few steps. "Excuse me everyone!" The cat yells, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I AM A CAT!" She explains, even louder.
Even with all that supposedly impossible things that these people had already seen, a cat yelling at them seems to be so far out of their wheelhouse that no one seems to know how to react to what they are seeing and hearing.
"Cats can't talk." Luna continues, "So it should be clear. All of this - It is a dream. You are dreaming."
"Ah." Umino says, nodding from where he was sitting. "That makes sense." Somehow, despite the fact that Luna is facing away from Sailor Moon, Usagi can practically see the cat rolling her eyes.
"Now..." There was something odd about Luna's voice with that last word, her tone starting to echo - "You are dreaming - There is nothing to worry about, nothing at all. Feel your eyes slowly get heavier and heavier," The strange distortion rolling over Luna's words is getting stronger and stronger, warping the sounds more and more. One by one, the men and women in the room all start to slowly slump over. Eyes drifting close as they fall into a deep sleep. "Now... Hear my words, even in your sleep..." Luna continues. "Rise, now... to your feet. This place is not safe." A few of the slumbering forms shiver, "You must go home. Return to your beds and your rooms, allow the rest of this dream to pass in safety and peace."
Slowly, the still sleeping bodies start to rise to their feet, stumbling forward, out of the room. "Are they going to be okay?" Usagi asks, as she watches the body stumble out of the room.
"Yeah. It's a little complicated to explain, but they aren't actually asleep. They just think they are. So they can still react to everything around them. Short of an unrelated accident, they'll get home perfectly fine." Tuesday Morning, April 7th 1992
Rolling out of bed, Usagi hits the floor with a groan. She is exhausted. Tired beyond words, but she has to get up now. As it is, she's going to be cutting things close if she wants to get to class on time.
Pulling herself up to her feet, she shudders, the image of the monster from the night before playing out behind her eyelids.
That battle last night was terrifying. She may have managed to get through without being struck even once, but still...
Usagi doesn't want to fight. The idea of fighting is scary, terrifying honestly. She wanted nothing more than to run and hide...
But she didn't.
[PROGRESS: 1 Event of 7 to Automatically Overcome Craven]
Stumbling down the stairs, Usagi gives a vague wave to her mother, grabbing a slice of toast as she stumbles out the door. If only there was someone out there who could understand how terrifying this all was. How it feels for someone native to the modern day being shoved into this strange ancient war.
Something about that thought sticks to the back of Usagi's mind. A part of her clings to the thought, even as the girl's mental facilities finally start to rumble to life.
If only there was someone out there who could feel like Usagi does. Like... Another... Guardian.
That was a thing that Usagi was supposed to be doing, wasn't that. Defeat the Dark Kingdom, save the world, find the other Solar Guardians and protect the Millennium princess.
Those were the goals that Luna gave to her. Goals that she is supposed to be working towards.
This leads to a day filled with frustration. Usagi searches high, and she searches low. From the first year classes to the rooftop she looks - speaking to each and every person she passes.
The other Guardian Senshi should be somewhat like her, right? So they should feel... something.
Familiar, maybe?
Usagi doesn't rightly know, but she isn't going to let something as simple as not knowing anything stop her from doing what she needs to do.
So she'll keep up the search until she finds them.
Nothing is going to stop her, not today. Not after the night that she had last night. Not even how tired she is.
Which is a brilliant decision to make, but keeping it is a lot harder than the girl originally expected, and it is less than fifteen minutes into her first class that Usagi's eyes start to droop. From there the battle is lost, as Usagi slips away into slumber land.
The rest of the day is little better. Between being singled out for falling asleep, and her streak of correct answers drying up... Today is a far less pleasant day then Saturday had been. During her lunch period Usagi managed to knock over the cute blue haired girl that she ran into last week - Any further searching was completely lost, as Usagi ended up splitting her own lunch with the girl in order to pay her back for ruining her own lunch.
Usagi learned that the girl is named Ami Mizuno - A name that is familiar... though Usagi can't recall from exactly where. Ami is by all accounts a particularly nice girl, soft spoken and calm, but unlike so many of the 'nice girls' she doesn't seem to be the type to talk about people behind their backs. Usagi couldn't say why she felt that way, but she simply knew that the girl would never stoop to such a level.
Ami also seemed pretty tired, she mentioned that she wasn't sleeping much, spending what sounded to Usagi like far too much time studying. Still, the girl sounded like she was very smart. The only thing of real note that came up was when Usagi asked the girl if she had seen anything strange lately.
It seems that Ami did - Unfortunately, the strange thing that she saw was the fact that nearly a dozen kids were acting very strange yesterday, and now they were acting normal, but didn't seem to remember what had happened to them. Thursday Evening, April 9th 1992
Luna sits at the edge of Usagi's bed in her room, looking down at the girl sitting in front of her. Between them are a pair of cups, as well as ten six sided dice. "Usagi," The cat begins, looking the girl directly in the eye. "Part of why I am here is to guide you, to help you become the best that you can be. And I want to do that for you, but I have been struggling to think of something I could teach you better than anyone else." Luna looks down at the items set between the two of them.
"And I think I have finally found something." Usagi looks at the items, not entire sure where Luna is going with this. "Usagi, you are an extremely honest and open person. I wouldn't change that for the world... But at the same time, I worry that people will use that to take advantage of you. So I'm going to teach you how to recognize when people are lying." The cat scowls a little, before sighing. "Unfortunately, this would honestly work a lot better with Naru, but I only just thought of this, so we're going to have to make due for now."
"This is Liar's Dice." Luna says, a slightly amused smile on her face. "Somehow, the game either survived the fall of the Silver Millennium, or someone else came up with the exact same game, and gave it the same name-" The cat waves a paw, "Discounting for the fact that the name is in an entirely different language, but that hardly matters."
"How is this supposed to help me learn to spot liars?" Usagi asks, looking down at the dice.
"Let me explain the game, and perhaps you'll be able to figure it out." Luna says, in the smuggest tone that she can manage. "Each of us shall take our five dice, put them into the cup, and flip it over so that the cup is hiding the dice. You can look at your dice, but not mine. Then, we take turns - you can either make a Bid, where you guess the total number of dice that have a certain number facing up on them. Say... there are five threes. Of course, you are having to guess not just your own dice, but my dice as well. Or, you can Call - in which you decide that whatever I bid is wrong. If you Call my bid, and it is wrong, then you get a point, but if its wrong, then I get a point."
Usagi nods, looking down at the dice. "So for instance... If I roll my dice, and look at them, and see that I only have one one... then the max number of ones that could have been rolled is six, and that is only if all of your dice were ones."
"Exactly." Luna agrees, "Let's do a hand, and I'll show you what I mean."
The cat quickly scoops up five dice, dropping them into her own cup, before doing the same for Usagi's cup. The girl carefully picks up the cup, shaking it once, twice, then flipping the cup upside down, covering her own dice as the cat does the same across from her.
Leaning down, Usagi slowly tilts her cup, and looks at her own dice. A 3. Two 4s. Two 5s.
Alright... So it is time to make a Bid...
[ ][Bid] Make a bid about the total number of one die face. Next time, the last bits of this weeks rolls- Specifically, the Moon Kingdom and Dark Kingdom information, and getting into week 2.
Sitting back, Usagi takes a moment to think over what kind of bid she is planning on making. She has a 3, two different 4s, and two separate 5s.
It would be easy to simply start with something that she already has, to put forward the three, the fours, or the fives. And, of course, it would also have the benefit of being true, which means that if Luna tried to call it, then Usagi would still get a point.
On the other hand... Wouldn't that be exactly what Luna expects? To do something so obvious.
No. Usagi knows that if she wants to catch her Cat off guard, then she needs to do something that the cat wouldn't expect.
So what can the girl do that the far sneakier cat wouldn't see coming?
Well... The entire reason that Luna is trying to teach her this game is to teach her to be able to recognize when someone is lying to her. If she were to completely flip that on it's head, then maybe...
"Two Ones." Usagi says, trying to keep her voice as firm and level as she can.
Luna watches Usagi for a few moments, before she grins, looking entirely too smug for her own good. "Then I'll bid Three sixes."
There is something about the look on the cat's face that bugs you. You can't put your finger on exactly what it is though. Something about... about...
Something about the way she holds herself, the look on her face, and just... All of it. It reminds you of the way that Shingo acts when he is trying to convince Mom that Usagi broke something when in reality, he was the one who... broke it.
Everything about Luna right now just makes Usagi feel like the cat is lying to her. Brow furrowed, the girl stares at the cat for another long moment. There is something about this that just rings wrong to Usagi, but she can't figure out what it is.
"I call." Usagi says, eyes narrowed as she looks at the girl. Then Luna smirks, as all the things that set off the back of the girl's mind seem to melt off the cat, and Usagi realizes that she must have just made some kind of mistake.
Slowly, Usagi lifts the cup off of her own dice as Luna does the same.
Under Usagi's cup is a three, two separate fours, and two separate fives.
Under Luna's cup is a four, a five, and three separate sixes.
There are no ones. Your bid was wrong. There are three sixes. Luna's bid was not a lie.
"Not bad." Luna says, a small smile on her face.
"But I was wrong." Usagi refutes, looking away from the cat. "I screwed up."
"To the contrary," The cat says, with a grin. "I did everything I could to look like I was lying. You caught onto all the little tells and signs that I was putting out. That's impressive enough on it's own." You preen a little at what the cat is saying. "Of course, I had to make them as loud and as blatant as possible, to the point where most people would know at a glance that I was lying."
Usagi pouts, "I'm not really that bad... am I?"
"At recognizing when someone is lying to you... Yes. Yes you are. However..." Luna looks directly at Usagi, a proud look on her face. "You managed to catch me by surprise as well, I was certain that you had those two Ones in your hand. Yet..." She looks down at the dice. "There are no ones there. Unless, of course, you were just guessing."
"Well, yes?" Usagi starts to say, but presses on before Luna can say anything. "I didn't have any Ones in my hand, but I knew that I had five dice, so it was entirely possible for me to have two Ones. And if you had any Ones at all, then that would make it even easier for my guess to be right." Luna's head tilts at that, following the train of thought. "More than that... The entire point of this all was to make me learn how to tell if people were lying to me better. And I'm... Not great at lying. So the expected thing for me to do is tell the truth, thus I had to do the opposite of that."
Luna simply nods, a smile on her face. "As I said... Not bad, not bad at all."
[ROLL: 5 + 3<Believable Lie> +4<A training opportunity>=12]
[USAGI GAINS ONE (1) INTRIGUE]
Friday Evening, April 10th 1992
Usagi lays back, looking up at the ceiling, legs kicking back and forth over the edge of the bed.
Taking a deep breath, the girl slowly flops over, propping her head up in her hands as she looks over towards the windowsill, where Luna lazes idly - Watching the birds roost outside. "Hey Luna..." Usagi starts to ask, words soft...
Hearing her name, the Space cat perks up, turning to face Usagi.
"What was it like..." She starts to ask. "The Silver Millennium? And... Who... What is this Dark Kingdom? Just... What am I fighting?"
Luna doesn't answer for a moment. The silence heavy as the cat slowly sighs, before looking up towards the evening sky.
"It's... Hard to explain." Luna finally says. "The Silver Millennium is... was my home. I was born there. I was raised there. It was normal. It was... life. In many ways, life here isn't that much different from how it would have been in the Silver Millennium. You're classes would have been different, and so much of the technology that you have created is so... primitive compared to how things were back then. But... Other than that. People lived their lives, went about their days doing their jobs, watching movies, reading books."
Luna sighs again, "There were really only two major differences. The first should be obvious..." Luna goes quiet again for a moment. "The Silver Millennium covered the whole of the Solar System. From the Rainbow Rains of Venus, to the Technological Marvels of Mercury. The towering spires of the Moon Castle, to the many Temples of Mars. Jupiter and it's moons alone housed trillions of people. The whole solar system was fed by the Orchal Complexes of Jupiter Itself."
Usagi boggles at the sheer numbers of people that must have lived during that time. How... small, it makes Tokyo feel... Japan... All of the Earth. It feels absolutely tiny compared to what had once been.
"Then, of course, one can't forget the way that the Princess of Saturn had an entire moon covered in crystal planes in order to create artificial Aurora across the night skies of Saturn's flying cities." Luna shakes her head. "The only thing more beautiful were the Royal Rose Gardens on the Moon, and the art Galleries on Uranus."
"Of course, that was just this Solar system." Luna continues, a series of words put into a particular order that leaves Usagi even more stunned, even more baffled.
"What?" Was all that she could say, and Luna let out... Something. It sounded like a laugh, but it was bitter and sharp and nothing like what a laugh should be.
"There were four other worlds..." Luna starts to explain. "Four other peoples who were part of the Silver Millennium, but outside of this solar system. The Belthen, the Pollu, the Shantair, and..." Luna pauses for a moment. "The Mao, my... homeworld. I... never knew it. I was born here, on Earth actually. Still... The fact that they aren't here... That they didn't help Earth after the Attack..." Luna goes quiet again, but for longer this time.
"I don't know what happened to the other worlds that were part of the Silver Millennium, but they aren't here now. So I guess it doesn't really matter." The Cat's words make it sound like she doesn't care, but the look on her face says something completely different. Luna continues to stay silent for a long moment, simply looking out the window.
Usagi almost regrets asking, but before she can say anything more... The cat looks at her. "Sorry, was there anything in particular that you wanted to ask about the Silver Millennium? I'll try and answer as well as I can."
[ ][Silver] You may ask up to Three Questions about the Silver Millennium, and Luna will try to answer them as well as possible.
- [ ] Question 1
- [ ] Question 2
- [ ] Question 3
"As for... The Dark Kingdom..." Luna sighs, but this sigh is very different from the sighs from before. This is clearly a sigh of frustration. "To be honest... I can barely remember the night that everything happened." She shudders. "I can remember some of it... I can remember the night sky going... wrong. White where it should be black, the stars glimmering like obsidian lights against a blinding sky. I can remember hearing a sound, impossibly loud and impossibly far away. A roar that sent a chill down my bones."
"But beyond that... Everything is a haze. Moments here and there seem to be solid for a moment, only to slip through my paws when I try to grasp them. I... I know that the Dark Kingdom was formed by someone on Earth. They hated the Moon Kingdom. They hated the Princess Specifically, but I don't... I don't even know if I know why. I know that the woman calling herself Queen Beryl made a deal with the Youma, but what it is, and why... I couldn't say. What I do know... is that ever since they returned, they have been attacking the people of Earth. Stealing their life energy for... Something. And the last time they did whatever they felt like, it ended with over a Quadrillion people dead... They have to be stopped. Before they wipe out all life on the Earth."
Usagi can't really say that she expected much more information from Luna about the monsters attacking the earth, after all, if she knew much more, she would have informed the Girl fighting them. Right?
[ROLL: 40 + 7<Memories of the Silver Millennium> = 47]
[CHECK FAILED]
[NO INCREASE IN LEARNING]
The first week has come to an end, as Friday rolls over into Saturday once more.
It is time for You, Usagi's subconscious to push at the girl again, to help her become more than she is now.
Turn 2
[ ] Diplomacy Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Try to convince your parents to let you keep Luna as a 'Pet' [DC ??]
-- So far you've been able to let Luna in on occasion, but eventually your parents are going to notice Luna, and you don't know what will happen when that happens, so it might be better to get ahead of that.
-- [-2 bonus] Usagi recently brought home a 30 on a test
- [ ] Convince your parents to increase your allowance [DC ??]
-- [-2 bonus] Usagi recently brought home a 30 on a test
- [ ] Talk with your Classmates [DC 8]
-- Talk with your classmates, listening in for any interesting rumors going around
[ ] Martial Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Go to the Arcade [DC 8]
-- Go play games at the Arcade... There are fighting games there. You might come up with an idea for an attack...
- [ ] Search for a Dojo [DC 10]
-- See if there are any Dojos in the local area, and if they are taking students.
- [ ] Check out Shapelin Gym [DC 3]
-- The Shapelin Gym should be opening Thursday, and it might be able to help you get stronger
- [ ] Try and train your transformed self [DC ??]
-- You have learned more about what you are capable of as a Sailor Senshi. But can you become stronger or faster with training?
[ ] Stewardship Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Search the couch cushions for loose change [DC 11]
-- Look through the house for additional funds
- [ ] Study your maths textbook [DC 10]
-- Money stuff is just math stuff? right?
- [ ] Figure out how much you make, and how much you spend [DC 10]
-- You have an allowance, but you are broke all the time, what gives?
- [ ] Try to find the funds to buy a bed and things for Luna [DC 11]
-- Luna may not be a regular cat, but having to sleep in that tree really can't be comfortable.
[ ] Intrigue Actions [Two Actions Available]:
- [ ] Search for the Dark Kingdom's Agents [DC ??]
-- The Dark Kingdom is sending agents to collect Life Energy. You need to find and stop them
- [ ] Try to find another Guardian [DC ??]
-- Supposedly, there are other guardians of the Moon Princess, you need to find them
- [ ] Play Liar's Dice with Naru[DC 4]
-- Playing this game might help you learn more about Intrigue
- [ ] Play Liar's Dice with Luna[DC 15]
-- Play against Luna when she isn't holding back. It is far more difficult, but you will learn more if you succeed
[ ] Learning Actions [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Try and find a tutor [DC ??]
-- Getting a Tutor might help your grades improve.
- [ ] Study your schoolwork [DC 10]
-- Of course, doing your school work will also help your grades improve
- [ ] Attempt to learn a new Sailor Moon Spell [DC ??]
-- You managed to discover that there are additional spells that are simply inherent to your transformation as Sailor Moon. You can try to learn another one.
- [ ] Develop an entirely new spell [DC ??]
-- You have managed to learn an entirely new spell... You should be able to just create new spell wholesale... right?
- [ ] Try and figure out how to use magic when not transformed [DC ??]
-- You use magic to turn into Sailor Moon, which means that you can use magic when you are not transformed, you just need to figure out how that works.
Personal Actions are a d100 roll, and use slightly different rules from National Rolls above, which use a d10 system
[ ] Luna Personal Action [One Actions Available]:
- [ ] Search for the Dark Kingdom's Agents [DC ??]
-- The Dark Kingdom is sending agents to collect Life Energy. You need to find and stop them
- [ ] Search for members of the Moon Kingdom [DC ??]
-- Usagi... Usagi isn't going to be able to do this all alone. You need to find the rest of the Guardians, and fast.
- [ ] Try and recall lost memories [DC ??]
-- There is so much that you don't remember, who knows what benefits could come of remembering these things
[ ] Naru Personal Action [One Actions Available]:
- Try out for the Talent Competition
-- There is a Talent Competition being set up by a local celebrity! If you succeed, you would have a chance for Stardom!
- [ ] Help Usagi study [DC 12]
-- Your best friend isn't an idiot, but getting her to study is a challenge
- [ ] Search for weird things in Tokyo [DC ??]
-- So many weird things have been happening around Tokyo lately, maybe some of these things are things that Sailor Moon should be involved in?
[ ] Usagi Personal Action [Three Actions Available]:
- [ ] Personal Attention (Takes all three actions)
-- Give a National Action your full attention
- [ ] Go to Shapelin Gym
-- Small chance of increasing Martial
- [ ] Ask Daddy about budgeting
-- Small chance of increasing Stewardship
- [ ] Have Luna teach you to be sneaky
-- Small chance of increasing Intrigue
- [ ] Do your Homework
-- Small chance of increasing Learning
- [ ] Ask Luna a particular question about the Silver Millennium
-- Luna seems to remember much about the Silver Millennium before it fell, and she is willing to talk to you about it.
- [ ] Ask Luna about the races outside of the Solar System
-- Luna mentioned four races that were a part of the Silver Millennium, but were outside of the Solar System. Perhaps Luna can explain more about them.
- [ ] Ask Luna about Magic
-- Chance of increasing Learning
- [ ] Write a Love Letter to the Midnight Zero Radio Show.
-- If you're love letter is chosen, you get a special brooch!
- [ ] Try out for the Talent Competition
-- There is a Talent Competition being set up by a local celebrity! If you succeed, you would have a chance for Stardom!
- [X] Tell me about Princess Serenity.
- [X] Tell me about my past self, Sailor Moon
- [X] Is it true that moon rabbits make mochi?
"I know that I'm supposed to be looking for, and protecting the reincarnated Princess..." Usagi says after a moment of thought, "But I don't know anything about her. What was the Princess like?"
Luna smiles, a somber yet... nostalgic look on her face. "The Princess was kind, before everything else. It didn't matter who you were, or where she was, or what was happening. She always had time for the people around her, it didn't matter who they were. One time... back when I was first starting my internship at the castle... My boss, the head Diplomat from Mao was... Running late. I can't remember why he was late... but Diplomat Narlyan was running late. While I was trying to figure out where he was, the Princess came by. She saw that I was in distress and just sat down with me. Talking about anything and everything she could think of while I waited for Narlyan." Luna explained. "She didn't want me to be alone."
Usagi can't help but smile at the way that Luna speaks of the Princess. In a strange way, it warms her heart to see such loyalty in the cat.
"I remember..." Luna starts to say, before she pauses, looking down before glancing to the window.
"Luna?" Usagi asks, trying to understand why Luna stopped speaking.
"I wonder if the Rainbow Tree is still around...." She says quietly, before shaking her head. "Sorry, I just... recalled one time, back about a year before everything went wrong. The Princess and her Guardians went down to the Earth in order to speak with..." The cat's words trail off a second time. "I can't remember who. But the princess brought me along with her. I can't remember why we met at the Rainbow Tree either..."
Usagi's head tilts, as she looks at the cat. "The Rainbow Tree?"
Luna takes a moment to respond to Usagi's question. "The Rainbow tree is... was a magical tree of some sort that I know the Queen planted on a flying island long ago. It was supposed to help protect people, but I haven't the slightest idea how it was supposed to do that."
"A Flying island?" Usagi questions, surprised. Then a series of emotions start to flicker across her face. Wonder, excitement, confusion, worry, and then a little sadness. "If it was on a flying island, then... It must be gone. I've never heard of a flying island, and the government would know about something like that... right?"
"Maybe..." Luna admits, "But the tree was protected by some of the most powerful terrestrial magics, and it had its own guardians. It may still be around, hidden from the eyes of regular people."
"Maybe we can look into that in the future," Usagi says after a moment. "I don't even know how we would start looking into the flying island. But... You also mentioned the Guardians that protected the Princess." Usagi says, turning the conversation in a different direction. "Do you remember my past life? The previous Sailor Moon?"
"The previous Sailor Moon..." Luna says quietly, head tilting back as she tries to recall. Something that Usagi has seen Luna do multiple times over the night so far. "I can recall one of the Princess's guards having the same color hair as you do. She was..." Luna pauses for a moment. "Loud." Usagi pouts at the word. "Always moving, going from one place to the other, with a smile on her face. I remember her being a bit of a busybody, to be honest, poking her nose where it wasn't wanted at all hours of the day of the night."
Usagi's pout is even larger now, but there is a distinctly fond smile on the cat's face. "But that was what made the Princess love her. Even if the puns and the horrible, horrible mangled phrases could draw a groan out of anyone." Luna can't keep the kind joy out of her voice. "Of course, that was the life that died on the moon. You aren't... Aren't..." Luna stumbles over her words for a moment. "Huh... I can't remember what your past life's name was." The cat shrugs. "Really, the name doesn't matter. You aren't your past life. You are you. No one else."
Usagi nods, but she doesn't seem to be particularly convinced. There is a peaceful moment of silence between the cat and the girl before Luna looks over to Usagi. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"
Usagi brings up a single finger but doesn't say anything quite yet. "Is it true that Moon Rabbits make Mochi?"
Luna is silent, eyes blinking in confusion. "What?"
"Legend has it that Rabbits on the Moon make Mochi!" Usagi explains in such a way that doesn't actually explain much at all.
"I'm... not sure I know what Mochi even is." Luna admits, trying to understand the baffling statement that the Solar Guardian kept repeating.
"They are pounded rice cakes!" Usagi explains, sounding a little irritated and a little confused.
"Pounded... Rice..." Luna starts to say... "Those sticky things that the Queen ordered at the beginning of each year and had topped with Oranges?"
Usagi practically popped up to her feet, a huge grin on her face. "YES."
"Are you telling me," Luna says quietly and utterly baffled, "That the Silver Millennium Queen's favorite food survived through history to the point of having legends about it?"
"When you phrase it like that, it sounds a lot less impressive," Usagi complains, leading to the cat laughing. Diplomacy: Talk with your Classmates [DC 8]
Roll: 8 +14 = 22
[Greater Success]
Over the course of the week, Usagi spends a lot of time talking with her various classmates. For the most part it has been fun, watching the ways that different people talk about different things, the ways that their eyes light up when a conversation that they are interested in comes up, or the way that they dance around topics that they are less interested in.
Over the course of the week, there are four major rumors that pop up that the blonde ends up overhearing.
The first is one that she is already aware of and wary of. Shapelin Gym is opening up this week, and they are offering free trial memberships. Supposedly, beyond the contest that Usagi has already heard of, there is supposed to be some super effective weight loss program that they have on the books as well...
Then, she hears that there is a new pet shop opening up recently. It's called Pet Shop Perfume. Supposedly, they are selling some kind of rare foreign pet, but no one seems to be sure of what kind of pet it is though.
Another Rumor is that a bus recently disappeared near a local shrine, one that is supposed to be famous for selling charms and other protective measures.
The last rumor is... Well, some of the girls seem to think it is the most interesting of the lot, but there is a rumor that one of the upperclassmen has an American boyfriend. Rumor has it that she has been out of school a whole lot recently - Her family says she is sick, but most people think she is eloping off with her boyfriend instead, and the family is trying to find her... Unfortunately, no one in Usagi's class seems to know what the upperclassman's name is, or what class she is in.
Stewardship: Study your maths textbook [DC 10]
Roll: 9 + 4 =13
[Success]
[PROGRESS: 1 Event of 7 to Automatically Overcome Impatient]
Naru Random Event:
56
Intrigue: Play Liar's Dice with Naru[DC 4]
Roll: 5 + 1 + 7 = 13
Success
Naru: Search for weird things in Tokyo [DC ??]
Roll: 38
Usagi: Do Your Homework
Roll: 38+7+5 = 50
Usagi spends a decent amount of time over the week studying her Math textbook, trying to figure out just where she was going wrong when she tried to calculate the amount of money she gets from your allowance, and how much she ends up spending each week.
Unfortunately, she doesn't manage to find the answers that she was looking for in the book...
But all the work she does has a (not so) surprising side effect - Her homework is looking better than she expected. That may not be a high bar to cross, but it is a benefit.
Gained 'Core Mathematics': +5 to Homework Rolls.
But then, the new skills that she learned would have had a better chance to shine on the week's homework, had it not been for the rather interesting afternoon that your best friend ended up dragging you out into...
To be continued in: It must be a Tuesday, I never got the hang of Tuesdays
Usagi: Ask Luna about Magic
Roll: 29
Usagi originally planned on speaking with Luna about magic sometime over the week, but between the events of Tuesday afternoon, and suddenly having Cram school starting on Wednesday, she never got the chance to sit down and ask the cat about magic. The only real chance she got was on that Tuesday afternoon.
To be continued in: It must be Tuesday, I never got the hang of Tuesdays
Usagi: Write a Love Letter to the Midnight Zero Radio Show.
Roll: 8
[ABJECT FAILURE]
There sits a blank piece of paper on Usagi's desk. A pen lies next to it, one that has been fiddled and toyed with. One that has been spun between fingers, and had the far end nibbled on... Yet the pen has yet to write a single word.
Not one word could Usagi think to put to the paper.
However, this utter lack of an idea of what to write has brought about an idea all of its own.
Usagi can't think of anything to write to a theoretical future boyfriend. She should go and check out the Radio Station. If she can maybe talk to the DJ, then he might be able to give her pointers on how to write a love letter. After all, he reads so many of them.
New Actions Available next week
Intrigue: Try to find another Guardian [DC ??]
Roll: 8 + 1 = 9
[Success]
Learning: Try and find a tutor [DC ??]
Roll: 1 + 1 = 2
[Greater Failure]
Wednesday Morning, April 15th, 1992
Usagi sits at the breakfast table, tiredly munching on a piece of toast as she rubs at an eye. Her mother and father sit on the far side of the table. The girl slowly yawns, before looking down at the end of the table. "Mom... Dad... I'm gonna be home a little late today." Her father frowns, but Usagi pushes on regardless. "I'm gonna ask Miss Haruna if there are any tutoring programs through the school... And if not, I'm gonna go talk with some upperclassmen."
The girl yawns again, her eyes drifting closed as her mouth stretches wide, causing the girl to miss the look that her parents share.
"As glad as I am that you are taking things into your own hands, Usagi." Her father starts to say, as he closes the morning paper. Reaching out, Usagi's mother places a pamphlet in his hands. Placing it on the table, he slides the pamphlet past her brother Shingo, stopping it right before the girl. "We have already signed you up for a Cram School."
"A Cram school?" Usagi asks, voice filled with confusion and worry.
"It has been highly recommended to us on more than one occasion." Usagi's mother adds in with a nod. "It is called the Crystal Seminar, and they have been showing increased test scores across the board for everyone who goes there."
"I... But..." Usagi starts to try to argue, but she doesn't really have any words that she can use to argue... Other than the fact that she doesn't want to go to even more schooling. And she knows that will not sway her parents. "If my grades get better..." Usagi starts to say, "Can we see about with just having a tutor instead of Cram School?"
"We'll see."
To be continued in: The Genius and the Dummy, A tale as old as Time
Luna: Search for members of the Moon Kingdom [DC ??]
Roll: 79 + 26 =105
GREATER SUCCESS
Roll: 5
Martial: Search for a Dojo [DC 10]
Roll: 5 + 3 = 8
Failure
Unfortunately, due to suddenly having Cram school this week, Usagi doesn't have nearly the time that she wants to try and find a Dojo where she might be able to learn how to fight better.
She only manages to find the time to check out three over the week.
The first required nearly a hundred thousand yen for a membership. Usagi doesn't have anywhere near that kind of money.
The second... Looked interesting at first. The sensei said he had the power to manipulate chi, the lifeforce of himself and others. That he could defeat an enemy without ever once touching them - Knocking them over and out from a distance.
Once upon a time, Usagi might have been...
No, even before the discovery that Magic was real, Usagi was the kind of girl who would be convinced by such a thing. It is only now, that she has access to someone who actually has magic that she is drawn away. Luna scoffed at the man's declarations.
She managed to drag Usagi out of the dojo before she would truly explain.
Yes, Luna admitted. There are some martial arts styles that could theoretically allow one to manipulate their own life energy for attacks... But that man was a sham. The Space cat could not feel even the slightest draw on his own life energy when he supposedly knocked out his students.
Luna was convinced that the whole thing was a sham.
Then there was the third Dojo, far to the North, even further north than where Usagi meets Miyo for her Fortune Telling.
To be continued in: We will PUMP! YOU! UP!
