Naruto: The Lunar Knight

by castlecrasher009

When Uzumaki Naruto is banished from his world at a young age, he is discovered and adopted by the Tsukino family and begins to live a life he all ways wished for. Now a young teen, Naruto will discover that there is much more to himself as he becomes the male senshi, The Lunar Knight. Rated T for language and fighting. Naruto x Harem.

4. Rumble at the Gym, Usagi Overweight?

Chapter Four: Rumble at the Gym, Usagi Overweight?

Beta by Alteris

It was another night at the Tsukino house as everyone was doing their evening routine; Kenji was sitting in his chair watching the evening news, Ikuko reading a good romance novel sitting beside him, Shingo in his room hammering away on his Nintendo DS while Naruto was in his own room reading the latest volume of Bleach. Who would have thought at the beginning of the series that a story of a substitute shinigami fighting evil spirits called hollows would become such a sensation. Both the boy and his sister had every volume of the series that had been released as well as quite a few of the animated movies that had come out since both of them were big fans of the series. And speaking of his sister, Usagi at the time was relaxing in the bath tub after another long day of school. As she soaked in the warm water her mind drifted as she recalled everything that had happened to her and her brother. The two of them had lived a fairly normal life before the night that Luna came into their lives and changed it forever, but even before then things had always been interesting with the whiskered blond boy in the family. Despite the fact that it had been nine years since the incident, she could still remember when they had found the boy half-dead on the sidewalk that rainy day, and it was to her absolute delight that he was adopted into the family. Not only did she have a sibling her age that she could play with, but it also gave her someone she could tell her secrets to as well as someone who would lend her an ear for when she was troubled or a shoulder when she needed to cry. His presence in her life was an absolute blessing to the girl and she honestly could not imagine life without him, he was that special.

'I'm so glad to have him as a brother.' The girl thought as she laid in the tub, allowing the warmth of the water to penetrate her skin and sooth her muscles. A few minutes later she decided that it was time to get out, less her body becomes a prune. After leaving the tub and drying herself a bit, Usagi wrapped a pink towel around her slim frame and walked over to a scale she had prepared before her bath.

"OK, time to weigh in." The girl spoke as she stepped on the scale.

Meanwhile, Luna was walking through the house as she headed for a particular room to see one of her wards. Once she arrived, she gently nudged the door open and slipped inside. Naruto lay on his bed as he read the manga he had gotten earlier.

"Wow, and I thought that Ichigo was bad-ass before with his Bankai, with that vizard mask he's even more so." The boy said out load as he flipped another page of Bleach.

Luna jumped up on the bed and observed the blond for a moment before speaking. "Are you reading that manga again? I swear, you and your sister are the worst when it comes to reading that stuff."

"Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it. Besides, I can't help it if it's so damn addictive." Naruto spoke as he continued to scan the images in the book.

Luna shook her head. "At least tell me you got your homework finished before you started reading."

Naruto pointed with his thumb towards the book bag lying on his desk. "I finished it a little while ago so there isn't anything to worry about Luna."

Luna let out a small sigh. "Alright then. I only wished that your sister would prioritize her studies, it would make things easier on everyone."

"Hehe, yeah it would, but we all have our own little flaws, one of hers just happens to be schoolwork." Naruto spoke with a smirk of amusement.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The sound of Usagi screaming drew the immediate attention of the cat and boy, as well as everyone in the house. By the time Luna spun around, a orange and yellow blur shot past her and out the door. Luna blinked for a sec before looking back at where Naruto had been only to see the book that he had been reading spinning in the air, seemingly defying gravity for a moment before it fell down on the bed. Luna turned back to the door with a look of surprise on her face. "Oh my."

Naruto literally flew down the hallway to the bathroom where the sound of the scream emanated from and without even thinking he grabbed the door, threw it open and rushed in. "Usagi-neechan, are you alrig-AGHHHH!" The boy's face suddenly went red as he quickly placed his hands over his eyes. Usagi had apparently fallen down to the floor after her scream, but when she did the towel had come loose and pooled around her, as such Naruto had been greeted to the sight of his sister's modest B-cup breasts before closing his eyes.

"WAAAHHHHH! I'm a total fatso." Usagi cried out as she continued to sit on the floor, not even realizing she was exposed.

"Neechan. Please, cover yourself!" Naruto all but screamed out as he was trying to make his sister protect what was left of her modesty.

"Huh?" Usagi blinked as she finally noticed Naruto's presence and after finally registering the boy's words, she looked down to see that her 'girls' were out in view. With her face suddenly imitating a tomato, the girl fumbled a bit as she grabbed her towel and covered her chest, just in time for the rest of the family to pop their heads in.

"Oh my." Were the words of Ikuko as she covered her mouth with one of her hands, seeing the situation that her two eldest children were in.

A short time later the whole family had gathered around the kitchen table as both Naruto and Usagi were still sporting fairly pink cheeks from the incident that happened in the bathroom.

"Well, I hope this teaches you to not just go running into the bathroom when someone else is in there, Naruto." Ikuko lectured while Naruto just nodded a bit, still feeling embarrassed for seeing Usagi nude, clearly this time. He was just thankful he didn't catch sight of his sister's other part.

"Anyway, what was all that screaming about, Usagi? You had us all jumping from your cry." Ikuko asked looking at her daughter with a bit of concern.

Naruto turned to his sister. "Yeah, neechan. I heard you in there saying something about being a fatso..?" The boy simply couldn't believe that statement for a moment. Usagi neither now or once ever had a single ounce of fat on her body, well except for the obvious places pertaining to the female physique but that was beside the point. She was the definition of 'slim' for girls. He simply could not think of anything that would make her believe she was fat.

"I gained half a pound."

"….."

"Neechan, are you telling me you freaked out just because you gained half a pound?"

The girl nodded a bit sheepishly.

"I hate to say, I mean I really hate to say it, but there are times when you overreact to the most ridiculous of things." Naruto said as he shook his head.

Kenji nodded in agreement with his son's statement. "I have to agree with Naruto there. You know, Usagi, your only fourteen years old, you're still growing, so it's only natural that you might be gaining some weight here and there."

Shingo decided to add his two cents in on the conversation. "Yeah sis, it's just half a pound, I'm sure you'll work it off…on your frantic dash to school tomorrow." The boy finished with a cocky grin.

Usagi became a little upset as her eyes started to tear up. "Uuuuhhh, none of you care." And with that the blond girl proceeded to cry, anime style.

Naruto, despite his urge to comfort his sister, could only look at her and shake his head again. There were times when she would act so childish and the boy knew that she needed to act a little more mature and learn not to cry over every little thing.

Later, Usagi sat inside her room as she thought over what had happened. She didn't get a single bit of sympathy from her family. Even Naruto, whom she knew would never leave her in times of pain, had all but ignored her plight. How can they not understand that for a young girl like her gaining weight was a disaster? As she sat there gazing at the moon through the window, Luna, who had been sitting beside the girl drawing on a piece of paper with a pink crayon, spoke to the young moon senshi.

"Usagi, are you still upset about that half pound you gained?"

The cat had overheard the entire conversation and had to keep herself from face faulting at how ridiculous the whole situation was. A half pound. Eight ounces. You gain at least that much weight every time you eat. And this girl was making a huge fuss over it? Seriously.

Usagi simply responded to the question with a nod.

"And now you're going on a diet?"

After having her crying fit, the girl announced to the whole family that she was immediately undergoing a strict diet, meaning she was going to skip meals, which in no way is actually considered a diet.

The girl nodded again before she noticed what the cat was doing. With her curiosity peaked, she asked. "What are you doing there, Luna."

The cat, whom had decided to make a joke out of the girls worries, had drawn a picture of Usagi as Sailor Moon, only a heck of a lot chubbier. Luna showed the picture of the oversized senshi to the girl and responded with a Cheshire grin. "Just drawing a picture of my favorite hero.

Usagi apparently didn't see the cat's humor as she huffed at her guardian.

- Negaverse - Dark Kingdom -

Queen Beryl sat upon her throne as she waited for her subordinate Jadeite to bring news on the progress of her plan. After his second failure to harvest energy the queen herself decided to take matters into her own hands, coming up with a plan that was guaranteed to succeed in harvesting the humans' energy. After issuing her orders to Jadeite she sent the general on his way, but not before firmly warning him not to fail again or there would be dire consequences.

"Jadeite, what news have you to report?" Queen Beryl spoke sensing the presence of her general appearing in the throne room.

An image of Jadeite appeared before the queen and bowed. "My queen, I have excellent news. Your plan is going perfectly. I must say that you have tapped into an almost limitless energy source."

"Yes, humans are so vain, spending precious time and energy on their appearances."

"Indeed, they partake in such frivolous activities like dieting and fitness. We shall harvest the energy they expel for the revival of Queen Metalia."

"Yes. Continue with the operation, Jadeite. And remember, do not fail me again." Queen Beryl spoke as Jadeite bowed once more before vanishing.

- Juuban Junior High School -

Lunchtime at Juuban Junior High and Usagi sat with her friend Naru and a couple of other girls from the class. Usagi was true to her word as she had skipped both breakfast and lunch as she attempted to burn fat by not taking in any more calories. As the group of friends sat together they talked about the usual girl things when the subject of dieting came up.

"So you started on a diet, Usagi?" Naru asked when the girl told the group about her 'supposed' weight problem. Usagi responded to the question with a quick nod.

One of the two other girls, a chubby girl with short curly brown hair named Ayumi, decided to join in on this particular topic. "You know, my mother says that girls our age should never go on a diet."

"But we're all fourteen." The other girls all spoke. From the way they responded it would seem that the girls thought they were all adults already.

Chika, a slim girl with black bob cut hair and final member of the group, turned to Usagi with a smile. "You know, I just started on a diet as well."

"Does that mean you're also going to totally stop eating?" Naru asked a little surprised that the girl was also trying to get lean...er.

"That's right."

"But that's really bad for you." Ayumi spoke up once again. "If you want to lose weight cut the junk. All those ice cream sandwiches, potato chips, cakes and pies." The poor girl couldn't help but salivate from thinking of all those yummy foods.

"What a sacrifice." The group all chorused as they thought about going without their favorite foods.

"A sacrifice it may be, but it is the best way to lose weight."

The group of girls all turned to where the new voice originated from and found a familiar whisker faced blond boy walking towards them. "Hiya girls."

"Naruto." The girls were pleasantly surprised to see the boy joining them if the blush on their faces was anything to go by.

"What are you doing here, Naruto-nii?" Usagi asked as Naruto sat down with the group.

"Looking for you. After the lunch bell rang you took off without eating. I noticed that you also skipped breakfast so I was wondering if you were alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm just on my diet, remember?"

Naruto shook his head. "I thought I told you before, you don't need to go on a diet, neechan. And if you did, starving yourself is not the way to go. If you're going to diet, then you need to eat properly and cut the junk food just like your friend said."

Usagi just huffed and sent a small glare at her brother. "I'm not going to take dieting advice from someone who can eat six cheeseburgers, go home for dinner, and not gain a single ounce of weight."

"You did WHAT?!" The girls cried out. It was amazing enough to hear that the boy was able to put that much food away in a single sitting, but to not gain any weight from it?

Naruto held his hands up in defense. "Hey, I can't help it if I have an insanely high metabolism." How else do you explain how one boy can eat thirty bowls of ramen in a single sitting and still look fit.

Naru leaned back as she kept staring at the whiskered blond. "Wow, I wish I had some of your metabolism. I could eat sundaes all day long."

"You know I always lose weight really fast whenever I get a new boyfriend." Chika spoke as she thought of her latest love interest.

Ayumi was quick to pick up on the girl's expression and asked. "Hey, you just got a new one recently, didn't you?"

Chika responded with a nod.

This got all the girls attention. "So are you gonna tell us who it is?" Naru asked as she always liked to listen to juicy gossip.

"It's Michiru."

"Motor-mouth?" Naru questioned as she recognized the person whom the girl was talking about.

Chika flinched a bit at the alias given to her new boyfriend. Apparently she had heard this particular named used on him before. "Why does everyone keep calling him that?"

Naruto was the one to answer that question. "Because the guy doesn't know when to shut-up about something and keeps mouthing off without thinking." Naruto and the guy had a few instances where the whiskered blond had to 'correct' the boy after he made a few inappropriate remarks about his sister. "Look, I'm not saying he's a bad guy, he just needs someone to keep that mouth of his in check."

Deciding that now is a good time to change the topic, Naru spoke up. "You know, Usagi, if you want advice on dieting then maybe you should go talk to Mrs. Haruna, she's been on the fitness kick recently."

Usagi perked up a bit hearing this new piece of information. "Really? She has?"

As if right on cue, said teacher walked by before noticing the group of students and smiled. "Good evening, students." As she turned her entire body was enveloped in sparkling light that seemed to accentuate the woman's beauty. "I hope you all are ready for today's lessons." And with that, the woman turned and made her way to the schools main building.

The group of students stared at the retreating form of their teacher as Usagi spoke up. "Wow, there really is something different about her."

Naruto was watching as well with a raised eyebrow having caught notice of something other than the teachers increase in physical attraction. "Hey girls, can I ask you something?" The group of girls turned to look at the blond boy as he continued. "Just how are you girls able to do the whole sparkling thing? I've yet to figure that out."

The girls merely smiled and spoke as one. "Trade secret."

Naruto could only sigh as he knew he was not going to get a real answer out of the girls.

Suddenly, Umino popped up out of nowhere with a couple of pictures in hand. "Hey, Usagi, look at these cool pictures I found." Said pictures showed Haruna Sakurada wearing a full body leotard doing various poses while exercising. "Teachers aren't supposed to look that good. Looks like she's been working out."

Usagi took the photos and examined them. "Wow, no way."

Umino smiled as he watched the girls look at the pictures in wonder; however his smile soon left him as he felt a strong hand grab his shoulder firmly and a sense of dread came over him.

"U-mi-no." The voice of one Tsukino Naruto made the young boy glance fearfully over his shoulder to see the blond haired boy with a wicked smile plastered on his face. "Tell me, friend, where in the world did you get those pictures?"

Umino go very nervous as he started to shake a little from both the look on the blonds face as well as the tone of voice he was using, both telling him that he needed to pick his words carefully. The girls also became rather interested in where the brown haired boy had acquired the photos. "I, uh, picked them up when Mrs. Haruna dropped them from her purse just now."

The boy felt the grip on his shoulder get tighter to the point where he started to feel pain as Naruto's smile got bigger. "Gee, that's funny. I could have sworn that Mrs. Haruna didn't carry her purse while on the school grounds."

The girls also realized this and sent the glasses wearing teen a hard glare, making the boy really sweat as he realized just how deep of a hole he had just dug for himself. Seeing that he was deep enough already, the boy cratered. "Alright, I admit it. I secretly borrowed the photo clubs camera and took the pictures."

"Oh, I see. You were stalking her." Naruto said before spinning Umino around so that he was facing him directly and pulled him in close and looking the boy dead in the eyes. "You know what my policy is for acts I consider unethical, stalking and taking pictures of someone without them knowing just so happens to be in that category."

"Help me." Umino squeaked out as he reached for the girls. The ladies, however, were not in the mood to help the boy as they too considered his actions as wrong.

- Gym Shapely - The next day -

The group stood in front a recently opened aerobics and fitness gym called Shapely. During Umino's little 'discipline session' he coughed up the location of the gym that Sakurada was visiting to get fit. Now the four girls and one boy, who decided to come along for the heck of it, readied themselves for a major workout to get in shape.

"This place looks great already." Usagi said as she stared at the large gym, eager to get some good exercise.

Naru nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can't wait to get started."

"Let's go!" The girls cried out as they dashed towards the entrance to the building. Naruto just stood there watching before he calmly walked into the gym shaking his head. Girls and their antics.

From above, on the second floor of the building, a shadowy figure watched the group enter the gym, a sinister smile on his face. 'Excellent, more victims for our energy harvest.' The figure disappeared as he prepared himself for his role.

Later, the group of girls exited the changing room wearing white sweatshirts and blue bloomers supplied by the gym and talked amongst themselves about where to start their fitness workouts.

"So, what do you guys want to do first?" Usagi spoke as she looked about.

"I don't know, where do we start." Naru responded as she too took in the sight of the gym.

"Sorry for the wait, girls."

The girls turned to see Naruto come out of the men's changing area and promptly blushed when they saw him. The boy was wearing a pair of blue athletic shorts and a white sleeveless muscle shirt that seemed to stretch around his frame, showing a lot of muscle tone.

"You know, I think they gave me a small shirt." Naruto said as he pulled the shirt downward since the shirt revealed a little bit of his wash board abdomen, while he did that though he pulled more of the fabric against his chest causing it show even more muscle definition.

"We're not complaining." Chika said as she soaked up the sight with her eyes like a sponge. Boyfriend or no, she was not going to miss a chance to see this. The rest of the girls nodded as they also recorded the sight in their minds. Usagi sighed as she watched her friends literally drool over her brother.

"Good morning, everyone."

The group turned around to see a blond haired man wearing a purple track suit and blue glasses approaching. "Welcome to Gym Shapley, I'm Jed and I'll be showing you around today."

The girls blushed a little harder as they stared at the handsome man before them. Usagi joined in as her face took on a red hue.

"Is this your first time here?"

"Ah, yes, uh, it is our first time." Usagi replied.

"Well then, just step right this way and we'll get you started." Jed said as he gestured down the hallway. The girls nodded and walked down the hallway towards the workout area. Jed watched the girls disappear around the corner before turning his attention to the blond boy who was walking up to him. "Good morning, sir. Are you here for our body building workout regime?"

Naruto chuckled a bit before replying. "Actually, I'm with those girls you just spoke too, but I will be using a more intense workout set then they will since I'm already in shape."

"I see. Well then, right this way." Jed said as he led the boy into the gym.

As Naruto walked behind the man he tilted his head slightly. 'Hmm, there is something familiar about this guy, but I just can't seem to remember where I've seen him before.' Finally Naruto shrugged his shoulders and entered the workout area.

A short time later the whole group was busy working their bodies as they exercised in the gym. Naru was busy doing pull-ups on the bar while Ayumi and Chika were performing shoulder presses with one of the gym instructors. Usagi grunted as she worked on a rowing machine while another instructor kept up with her progress.

"Alright, two hundred more reps to go." The instructor announced and Usagi let out a groan. This wasn't exactly what she had signed up for.

Meanwhile, Naruto had just finished his warm-up exercises and stretches and decided to begin his workout by going to the pull-up bar that Naru had just used. Grabbing a hold of the bar he began his routine by slowly pulling himself up, holding for a second, and then lowering himself before starting again. Now with the boy being as fit as he was could easily repeat the motions over sixty times before having to take a break, this however was before he became a senshi and gaining knowledge of energy manipulation. Now with said knowledge he knew how to direct his energy to his muscles to both enhance his strength and his stamina, meaning he could go on much longer and harder than he could before. Deciding to not only test this ability but also have a little fun in the process, Naruto concentrated some energy into the muscles in his arms, strengthening them to beyond a normal persons limit. Now finding that the increase of strength made the exercise less challenging, he upped the routine by releasing the bar with his left hand and held himself up with his right. The boy smirked as he proceeded to do his pull-ups with a single arm.

During this time Ayumi had taken to the treadmill and was doing her best not to pass out from all the running she was doing.

"Not bad, three more miles to go." The instructor informed the poor girl, who was just about ready to collapse from both the strain and the statement. As the instructor watched on he happened to glance over at Naruto and was shocked at what he was seeing. The boy was doing his pull-ups with only his right arm, and it looked like he wasn't even trying. "Whoa!" The instructor suddenly blurted out causing Ayumi to look at what the man was staring at. Upon seeing the blond haired boy performing his extraordinary feat Ayumi faltered, causing her to fall flat on the treadmill before shooting off the machine as it was still running. Naruto heard the commotion and looked to find the girl lying flat on her stomach some six feet from the treadmill she was on moments ago and a worried instructor rushing to her aid.

"Did I just miss something?" Naruto wondered out loud as he looked around.

Soon the group was back in full swing as Naru took to an exercise bike and Chika worked on a weight machine performing a butterfly bench press. Naruto was running on the same treadmill that Ayumi had ran on while the girl decided to do something a little less dangerous and did some sit-ups on the floor.

Jed entered the area so he could check on the progress of his latest victi-ah I mean patrons. Clapping his hands together the man offered up words of encouragement. "You're all doing well. Keep it up, everyone."

Naru decided to take a little reprieve from her workout as she turned to her raven haired friend to see where she was on her workout. "How you doing, Chika."

"Almost done, I'm on my last set." Chika replied as she strained to finish the workout.

'Almost done, huh. Not by a long shot.' Jed thought to himself before speaking out. "Hey, you on the bike. Back to work."

Naru was a little taken back by the forceful order by the gym instructor but never the less complied as she poured on the steam, peddling the bike as fast as she could.

Naruto had heard the instructor give his harsh order and was a little put off by the guy. 'This guy thinks that he can push us around, huh? Well, time to show off what I got and he don't.' And with that, Naruto pumped a large amount of energy into his legs, reinforcing them as he began to run faster and faster, causing the speedometer on the treadmill to go past its highest notch, which just so happened to be twelve miles per hour. It wasn't long for everyone to take notice of the odd sound being emanated from the corner the boy was occupying and all jaws to drop at how fast the blond was moving on the treadmill.

Chika and Ayumi were both rendered speechless at the sight while Naru stared at the blond boy before softly speaking. "Wow, I knew Naruto was strong and all, but I didn't think he was this strong."

The instructors were also in a state of shock as they watched the boy run twice as fast as the average human could sustain.

Naruto couldn't help but feel exhilarated. Being able to physically push yourself beyond the natural limits of a human being has always been the goal of man, and the boy was able to do that and more. He could push himself without worrying about fatigue for a long time. He was stronger, faster, better than any normal person thanks to his energy manipulation abilities. As he continued to pour on the speed the treadmill he was on started to smoke as the machine was pushed to its limits. Just as it looked like the machine was about to tear itself apart the boy suddenly launched himself off of the treadmill, performed a back flip and landed in a crouch on solid ground.

"WOOO. My feet are burnin', baby, THEY ARE BURNIN'! I gotta tip toe, tip toe, tip toe. Haha!" Naruto exclaimed as he started dancing on the tip of his toes.

The gym instructors glanced between the blond whiskered boy and the smoking treadmill as a single thought entered their minds. 'This guy's a machine.'

Jed's clapping brought everyone out of their stupor as he walked up to the group. "Well done, sir. Well done. An excellent display of athletic prowess. You are most impressive, sir." The boy bowed theatrically to everyone present while Jed thought to himself. 'Such massive amounts of energy within him, I must harvest it.' "Now then, since everyone is through with their workouts you have access to the beauty and relaxation spa downstairs."

"Oh wow, that sounds great." Naru spoke as she headed to the stairs leading to the basement.

"Yeah, I could really use it right now." Chika added in as she followed the girl out of the area with Ayumi bringing up the rear.

Naruto watched the girls disappear around the corner when he realized that someone was missing from the group. 'Wait a minute, where's neechan?' The boy thought to himself as he looked around the gym trying to find his sister. Figuring that the girl had decided to skip out on the exercises when they started to get rough (he should have known this would happen), the boy began to head towards the changing room to go look for her.

"What about you, sir?"

Naruto spun around to see Jed standing behind him. "Why don't you give the spa a try? I'm sure you could use one after that little marathon you ran." Jed smiled trying to convince the boy to go downstairs.

Naruto waved his hand as he respectfully declined the offer. "No, that's ok. I'm actually quite used to working out so I don't feel sore after exercising. Thanks anyway."

"Are you sure, sir? Your friends are probably waiting for you and I assure you that you will feel so much better." Jed continued his attempt to persuade the teen to go down to the spa area.

Naruto, however, resumed his walk into the changing room. "As nice as that sounds, I really need to go, there is someone I need to find right now. Maybe next time." The boy disappeared around the corner, just missing Jed scowl while clenching his fists. The energy he could harvest from the boy would be of great aid in the queen's plans, and having it literally dangled in front of him and then pulled away left him quite irritated. However, he knew better than to try something in broad daylight that would scare away potential victims. Oh well. He still had three young girls he could harvest. As for the boy, well, there was always next time.

Naruto finished changing his clothing and started to depart the gym when he slowed down and started to think. 'I still can't shake the feeling that I have seen him somewhere.' Shaking his head, he resumed his search for his wayward sister, completely unaware that the girl was still inside the gym.

Usagi had indeed decided to bail on the exercises and had wondered around until she found the gym's Jacuzzi tubs. Being sore from the workouts she took a dip in the tub. 'Man, that was tough. I don't know how Naruto-nii can do all that without being worn out.' She thought as she washed the sweat off her face. It was pretty clear that this girl was not the athletic type.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, the girls found themselves looking at an odd sight. Several clear cylindrical pods were held in place with what looked to be a network of glowing roots that connected to a large pulsing sphere affixed to the ceiling. The whole thing looked eerie and weird. (Authors note: Just the look of this room should have thrown up a big red flag.)

The girls all looked at the pods before them with concern. "What is all this, Jed? This is really weird." Chika spoke out as she eyed the alien looking device before her.

"Don't be scared girls, these are our relaxation pods. Just step inside them and in mere minutes you'll be relaxed and rejuvenated. I promise you that you will feel like a brand new you." Jed responded, coaxing the girls into entering the pods.

The girls were a little hesitant at first, however after being reassured the trio entered the pods. When the girls were nice and settled in, the large sphere above the pods began to glow brighter, indicating that the alien looking machine was starting its function. The girls closed their eyes and relaxed, completely unaware that the machine that they thought was helping them was actually siphoning there energy away.

As Jed looked on, a sinister smirk made its way onto his face while he chuckled to himself. 'Relaxation pods. That's a good one. Queen Beryl will be pleased with the progress we are making. It's still a shame to lose that young man, but we will definitely make up for it as we continue to attract more victims.'

- Negaverse - Dark Kingdom -

Sitting on her thrown, the Queen of the Dark Kingdom watch through her crystal ball as her plan seemed to be going off without a hitch. The evil queen laughed as she watched the girls being drained of their energy. Everything was going well.

- Gym Shapley - Minutes Later -

As the device slowly powered down after completing its function, the three girls slowly stepped out of the pods and walked up to the blond instructor. The girls looked terrible. Their faces were stretched and pale while their eyelids drooped down.

"My gosh, I'm so tired." Naru spoke out as she could barely stay on her feet.

Ayumi added in her thoughts as well. "I'm totally wiped out." Chika could only nod her head slightly in agreement as she was so worn out she couldn't speak.

Jed smiled at the group and spoke. "But you should see the glow you have on all your lovely faces."

The girls brightened up a bit after hearing the blond's words. "What? It really worked then?" Naru asked as she started to think that the tiredness was a small price to pay for becoming beautiful.

Jed continued with an even bigger smile. "Of course. The relaxation pods have worked perfectly." The man lied through his teeth.

Soon the girls slowly made their way out of the room and back up the stairs, leaving Jed alone with his thoughts. 'Hmhmhm, perfectly for the Dark Kingdom that is. Those stupid humans will believe anything. And now I shall feed their energy to Queen Metalia, and we will be one step closer to conquering Earth.' The room began to echo with the disguised general's sinister laugh.

- Juuban Shopping District - Game Crown - Sometime Later -

Naruto had been searching for his wayward sister for some time now. After leaving the gym the boy ventured around to the usual places that he knew the girl liked to hang out at, but so far he came up with nothing as no one had seen her. Finally coming to the last place on the list, Naruto entered the Game Crown Arcade. Walking in, he was immediately bombarded by the lights and noise of the machines as customers went about their leisure. Scanning the area for his sister's familiar hair style the boy became a bit disappointed when his search yielded no result. Letting out a sigh, he walked up to the bar area just in time for the owner of the arcade and personal friend of Naruto, Furuhata Motoki, to come out from the back of the building.

"Hey there, Naruto. You doing alright today?" The man asked as he walked around the bar and shook hands with the whiskered blond.

"I'm doing pretty good, Motoki. How's business been going?"

"It's going well enough. So, I take it you're here for a few games. The Sailor V game just came in and it's already got a lot of scores on it and I'm ready to see you trump them." It was no secret at the game crown that Naruto was one of the best arcade players around. The boy pretty much had his high score in every game in the whole arcade.

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly as he chuckled. "Actually, I'm trying to find my sister. We were at that new gym called 'Shapely' when I lost track of her."

Motoki blinked when he recognized the name. "Did you say 'Shapley'? You know I heard some rumors about that place."

Naruto blinked. "What kind of rumors?"

"I heard that some of the people who go in there come out really tired and drained of their strength, in fact one of my friends came in here after she worked out there and she looked like terrible, like all the energy had been drained from her."

Naruto contemplated this new information very carefully. It sounded a lot like the incident with the radio station a few weeks ago. Thinking back now, he did sense something rather peculiar about the place, plus the man he spoke with earlier still bothered him. He just could not shake the feeling that he had met him before, but something was preventing him from drawing any recognition. It was as if something was obscuring the man's identity. Given what he had just heard the boy figured that the situation warranted him to do a more thorough investigation.

"So, what was Usagi doing in a gym, Naruto. I can figure someone like you going, but your sister?" Motoki suddenly spoke snapping the boy out of his thoughts.

"Well, Neechan thinks she is overweight, so she's going on a diet and working out to lose weight. Personally, I think it's silly."

Motoki blinked a couple of times before speaking. "Usagi thinks she needs to diet? That's ridiculous. That girl doesn't have a shred of fat on her. What in the world possessed her to think that?"

Naruto shook his head. "I have no idea. I've been trying to tell her that she doesn't need to diet but you know her once she gets an idea in her head…."

Motoki chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I know. Well, when you find her bring her in here. I'll tell her myself, maybe she'll listen to me."

Naruto smiled. Things like this have worked in the past. If the girl didn't listen to him, which wasn't often, she would definitely listen to Motoki. Finally, the boy stepped away from the bar and started to walk towards the door. "Well, I gotta get back to looking, I'll see you around Motoki." Naruto said over his shoulder while waving, a gesture that was returned by the elder blond. However, just as he made his way outside someone bumped into him. Stumbling backwards a little, the boy looked down to see the very familiar sight of twin blond meatball hair due that belonged to none other than his sister. It would seem that instead of finding her, she found him. Noticing that the girl was leaning weakly against him, he held the girl by her shoulders and spoke. "Usagi-neechan."

The girl opened her eyes slightly and spoke. "Naruto-nii, is that you?"

"Are you alright?"

"I will be if you stop moving." Usagi replied as she went limp in his arms. After leaving the gym, the girl had been wandering around nearly starving since she had not eaten very much in the last few days. She was so hungry that she was almost compelled to steal a donut from a young boy, but her dignity stopped her from committing such a dishonorable thing as she thought it would upset her brother if he ever found out. So with all of her reserves running on empty, Usagi traveled around until she came past the Game Crown and inadvertently walked straight into her brother. With her energy finally reaching its limit, the girl began to fall into unconsciousness. 'Naruto-nii, my beloved brother. May we meet one another again, in the next life.' Usagi thought as her world went black.

Naruto became a little concerned for his sister as she completely collapsed into his arms. With haste the boy effortlessly picked up his sister bridal style and reentered the arcade, taking a straight path to the rear of the building where Motoki was busy with his work.

- Minutes Later -

"Here Neechan, drink some of this." Naruto said as he placed an energy drink up to his sister's lips. After taking a few sips, the girl opened her eyes as the sugars in the drink took effect. Blinking a couple of times to clear the blur in her vision, Usagi turned to her brother.

"Naruto-nii?"

Naruto sighed. "Thank goodness. You went and fainted on me outside of the arcade." The boy turned to Motoki once more. "Thanks for the help Motoki."

Usagi looked to the other blond in the room and blushed a bit. "Motoki-kun? You're here too?"

Motoki chuckled. "Of course, Usagi. Why wouldn't I be at my own arcade? Are you doing alright? You had us both worried for a moment."

Usagi nodded sheepishly and smiled. "I'm alright; I was just a little tired back there."

Naruto became serious as he fixed his attention back on his sister. "If you had eaten properly for the last few days, you wouldn't be exhausted now. I told you that you don't need to be dieting."

"He's right you know. You really don't need to be dieting, you look absolutely fine the way you are. You should be enjoying yourself at your age." Motoki added in with a cheerful smile.

Usagi's blush deepened as she looked to the elder blond. "Really, you think I look good." She took the compliment in a way that most girls with crushes would.

Motoki nodded. "Of course. Now, since you need something to eat to get your strength back, why don't you wait here while I whip up something for you? I could even make you something as well if you want Naruto."

Naruto turned back to Motoki with a smile. "Sure thing, Motoki. I am feeling a little hungry right now."

With a nod, the owner of the Game Crown entered the kitchen area to make some food for the two siblings. It wasn't long before he returned with two plates of cheeseburgers and french-fries. As Naruto and Usagi ate the meals, Motoki thought about how it felt to help the girl when she needed aid.

"You know, guys, there is something that I have been thinking about for a while now."

The two looked up from their plates as Naruto swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking. "What's up, Motoki?"

"Well, for the longest time now I've been thinking about becoming a doctor. It always feels good when I help someone and I've been thinking about getting a doctors degree for some time. I just can't seem to make up my mind about pursuing it or not."

Naruto thought about it for a second before he looked back to the man with a smile on his face. "If that is what you really want to do then go for it."

Motoki blinked a bit before responding. "Really? You think I should?"

The boy nodded. "Absolutely, man. If anyone can do it, it's you."

Usagi suddenly began to panic a little. "But, what about the arcade? If he's not here than who's gonna run and take care of it?" Truth be told, it wasn't the arcade she was worried about losing.

Motoki smiled at the girl. "Don't worry, Usagi. It's not like I'm leaving soon, I have to raise enough money for tuition first and then get into a university, and that is a long way off. But as far as the arcade is concerned, I could always give it to your brother."

Naruto smirked a bit as he could tell that Motoki was joking a little. Usagi, however, had sparkles in her eyes at the thought that her brother would be the owner of an arcade, which meant free games for life for the hyperactive girl.

- Streets of Juuban - Some time later -

Naruto and Usagi walked down the street enjoying the remainder of the day. After their lunch at the Game Crown, the two siblings decided to walk off the meal, however when they passed by a bakery, Usagi asked if Naruto would buy her some donuts. Naruto was a bit surprised that his sister would ask for more food so soon, but chalked it up to her body needing extra nutrients to make up for what it lost, plus his sister giving him the puppy dog eye treatment didn't help either.

"MMMMMMM, these are so good!" Usagi exclaimed as she munched on another donut.

Naruto chuckled a bit as he walked beside his sister. "I would imagine so with the way you're putting them away."

"You sure you don't want one, Naruto-nii?"

"Nah, I'm good for now."

"Well, well, if it isn't meatball head and her brother spikes-"

The two came to an abrupt halt when they came face-to-face with their mutual dislike, Mamoru.

"-Although, with the way you're eating them, maybe I should call you 'Donut-head'." The man said as he fixed his gaze on Usagi.

Naruto fixed a glare on the raven haired man. "What the hell do you want, Mamoru?" The blond boy was not at all pleased with this guy. Every time he had heard of this guy, it seemed as though he did nothing but insult and talk down towards him and his sister. Plus the guy just seemed to radiate an aura of arrogance that rubbed the teen the wrong way.

Oh yeah, he really didn't like him.

"Oh, so you know my name. I'm flattered." Mamoru responded with a cocky grin.

"Flattered? Pal, your about two seconds away from being flattened." Naruto responded as he clinched his fist. This guy was really cruising for a bruising.

Usagi grunted a bit as she watched the two trade barbs and decided she would try to show the man that his insults would not affect her. "You can tease us all you want, Mamoru, but you won't take away the taste of these donuts."

The man turned his attention back to the girl. "Oh really? Well, how's about you offer me one of those? Or are you just too selfish?"

Usagi growled as she reared her arm back to throw the pastry projectile at the man's head. "So you want one, huh? Well here you go, jerk!"

However, her hand was stopped by another's, more specifically that of her brother.

"Don't even give this guy the satisfaction, Neechan." Naruto said as he took the pastry from his sister's hand. "Actually, I think I will have one." Naruto took a bite, enjoying the taste of the donut.

Mamoru scoffed, disappointed that his plan to get a free donut had failed. "You know, man, you can be really rude when you want to be."

Naruto smirks at the guy. "So says the man who just insults everyone around him."

"Whatever." Mamoru remarked as he turned and walked away, but he left one more parting remark. "You know, donut-head, with the way you eat things, you're gonna have to work out to lose all the extra weight."

As the two siblings watched the man leave, Usagi crumpled up the bag in her hands before throwing it into a nearby trashcan. "Oh, one of these days I'm gonna bean him in the head and it won't be with a donut." The girl commented as she glared at the spot where the man stood.

Naruto chuckled a little. "Get in line. I got first dibs on the guy."

It was then that a certain black cat made its presence known. "You know, I would have to agree with him to some extent." Luna spoke as she hopped up on top of a nearby mailbox. "I have never seen you eat so much food in such a short amount of time, Usagi. You just might turn into a blimp after all." Unknown to the two heroes, the cat had found them when Usagi fainted back at the arcade and had followed them since.

Usagi looked downcast as she realized that perhaps she had eaten a little too much food in the last hour or so and was no afraid that she would indeed start to gain weight uncontrollably.

Naruto watched as his sister began to sulk and he swore that he could see a black cloud loom over the poor girls head. "Luna, you're not helping any."

- Park Area - Some time later -

Naruto, Usagi, and Luna sat down on a bench in one of the city's park areas resting their tired feet. Usagi was still sulking as she thought on her actions lately. It was no secret that the girl enjoyed eating, sweets being a particular favorite food, and when she did eat she usually did it 'till she was completely full. Sure she would always try to limit herself when she ate, but it seemed like every time she put food in her mouth her body seemed to go on autopilot and gorge herself. She absolutely could not control herself when it came to eating.

Usagi let out a big sigh before speaking her mind. "Naruto-nii, why is it I don't have any self-control or discipline like you have?"

Naruto looked over to his sister. "What's this all about? You have self-control. Albeit it needs to be tempered some, but it's there none the less. Remember when I first came here, I didn't have any control over my temper so I ended up in a lot of fights. It was only after I started martial arts that I was able to keep my temper in check, and even then I still blow up from time to time." Naruto thought back to all the times he got into trouble when he blew his top.

Luna decided to add her thoughts into the conversation. "One thing is for certain, Usagi, not eating is not going to solve your problems."

Usagi took offence to that as she turned to glare at the feline. "I ate!"

Luna just huffed in response. "I'll say you did, you were a total piglet in there. And then you had to go and eat those donuts. Tell me; just how many of them did you eat, anyway?"

Usagi began to count off on her fingers how many she had eaten, when she got past five she began to panic. "Oh, I ate too many, now I really will get fat."

Naruto had to face palm himself. They had just convinced her that she didn't need to watch her weight and now they were right back to square one. 'You've gotta be kidding me.' "Neechan, I told you before, you're not getting fat." It would seem that his words fell on deaf ears as Usagi wallowed in self-pity.

Luna was getting frustrated with this girl. She just wouldn't get it out of her head that she was getting fat and it was taking her focus away from more important things, like fighting the Dark Kingdom. "Usagi, you need to stop obsessing so much with dieting and focus more on your senshi duties. WILL YOU STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF!" The cat practically shouted.

"I'm not listening to either of you, I going back to the gym." Usagi declared as she got up and ran out of the park.

Naruto and Luna let out a sigh of exasperation. That girl was just plain stubborn at times.

"That girl just aggravates me some times." Luna spoke as she shook her head.

"Yeah, she can be thick-headed when she wants to be." Naruto responded as he stood up. "I'm going to go keep an eye on her, Luna. Why don't you head back home and take a cat-nap."

Luna turned to the boy and gave a nod. "Thank you Naruto, I could use one to clear my head right now." And so as Luna departed for home, Naruto began heading for the gym to not only check on his sister, but also follow up on those rumors he had heard.

- Gym Shapley -

Things were really heating up in the gym as Usagi desperately worked out to lose all the extra calories she had taken in. Right now she was pedaling away on an exercise bike drawing all manner of attention to herself as she looked like a person possessed. Meanwhile, Naruto was simply leaning against the wall watching Usagi trying to break the land speed record on a bike that didn't go anywhere. He could only shake his head at the girl's antics since it wouldn't do any good to try to talk her out of exercising. With nothing left to do the boy turned his attention to his surroundings, trying to find anything out of the ordinary.

'Doesn't look like there is anything suspicious going on right now.' Naruto thought as his eyes scanned the area. Suddenly he spotted someone very familiar walking through the hallway. 'Hey, isn't that Mrs. Sakurada? Whoa, she looks terrible.'

Naruto was spot on in that statement. Instead of the glowing healthy woman he had seen just yesterday, the teacher looked pale and worn as her skin stretched across her face. She looked like she was in a trance as she walked past the exercise area and into a more dimly lit corridor.

'Something tells me I better see where she's going.' Naruto told himself as he pushed himself off the wall and followed his teacher down the hallway. As he came around a corner he saw the flowing hair of his teacher disappear down a flight of stairs that was even darker than the hall he was in. Something about this whole situation just didn't seem right to him. 'Maybe there was something to those rumors after all.' Suddenly he noticed a very eerie light emanating from the bottom of the stairs. Silently descending to the bottom, the boy peaked around the last corner to find the supposed spa area covered in root like objects with the clear pods suspended in the center. The next thing he noticed was the two people present in the room, Mrs. Sakurada and the gym instructor Jed.

"So nice to see you again, Mrs. Sakurada." Jed spoke as he removed his glasses before grinning evilly at the woman. "I'm afraid that your teaching days will soon be over. Hmhmhmhm!"

The second that the man took of his glasses, Naruto went wide-eyed as he now clearly recognized him. 'HOLY SHIT! THAT'S JADEITE!' The boy screamed in his head as he backed away from the edge of the wall. Naruto was really confused now. The man he had met earlier that day was the general of the Dark Kingdom and his enemy. There was no way that he should not have noticed it before, whether it was through sight or by his sense he should have detected him sooner. Something was clearly up. Leaning out again, he focused his senses on the man once more. At first he couldn't feel anything, however as he focused harder he felt it, but it felt as a lot smaller than he remembered it. His energy was shallow, smothered, almost as if it was.. 'Suppressed! The bastard is suppressing his energy to avoid detection. He's getting smarter, I'll give him that.' Naruto thought to himself. However, this still didn't answer why he didn't recognize him visually.

Any more mental debating was halted as he watched his teacher enter the pod and the strange machine hum to life. He was pretty sure that the thing was not designed for her benefit. It was time for action. Naruto knew, however, that going in guns blazing was not a smart idea, especially if he was dealing with a general. The last fight he had with the blond man was still fresh in his mind, and he knew he couldn't take him on single handedly, a lesson he had learned from the last attempt. So with haste he made his way back upstairs to find his sister again. "Well Usagi-neechan, you wanted a workout, well here you go."

Usagi was still busy trying to burn fat when her brother sudden rushed in and over to the panting girl. "Neechan, I need you to get off the bike and come with me right now."

"Not now, Naruto-nii. I'm still working out." Usagi responded as she peddled away.

Naruto, not having time for his sister acting stubborn, grabbed the girl and turned her so that she was facing him squarely. "Will you listen to me for once today, we got trouble. Jadeite's here right now."

This got the girl's attention real quick. "What, are you sure, Naruto-nii?"

"Definitely, and he's got Mrs. Sakurada stuck inside a weird machine sucking the life out of her as we speak, we gotta go now."

Usagi saw how serious her brother was, nodded and quickly followed him through the hallways and down the stairs.

As the two stopped at the bottom of the stairs, they saw the effects of the strange machine first hand as their teacher began to look weaker and weaker with every passing moment. Usagi blinked as she saw the alien looking room. "No way, this is the relaxation room?"

Naruto looked on in disbelief. How anyone could confuse this place with a spa was beyond him. 'I swear, common-sense seems to be lacking these days.' The boy thought to himself as he turned to his sister. "You ready, Usagi-neechan?"

"Yeah. I'm ready"

"Then let's do it."

"Moon Prism Power, Make-up!"

"Lunar Power, Transformation!"

Meanwhile, Jadeite watched as the energy from the teacher was slowly being siphoned away as the woman became even frailer. "This will definitely be her last treatment." The general said as he snickered.

"You just don't seem to learn, do you Jadeite?!"

The man spun around in time to notice a set of white throwing stars flying straight at him. The general quickly evaded the aerial weapons when they suddenly changed course and flew towards the top of the pod that held the red-head teacher. The shurikens struck the vines that were attached to the pod severing them and causing the machine to power down, allowing the woman inside to slump down inside the tube unconscious. Jadeite watched as his device was suddenly rendered useless and turned to glare at the approaching figures which he was quick to recognize. "You two again!" The general hissed out as he came face-to-face with the two meddling heroes.

"You got that right, pal." Sailor Moon said as she started her poses. "I'm Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice."

"And I'm Lunar Knight. Protector of the Innocent."

"And in the name of the moon, we will right wrongs."

"And triumph over evil."

"And that Means YOU!"

Jadeite smiled sinisterly as he stared down the two heroes. "So the senshi are meddling with my plans again, huh? Well, I've got a special workout plan just for you two. Boys…" As he spoke, the other instructors of the gym seemed to appear from within the shadows of the room; however their eyes seemed to be lifeless as they made their way to the center of the room. All of a sudden their bodies began to grow as their muscles started to bulge up, giving them monstrous appearances.

Lunar Knight and Sailor Moon took a step back as they witness the men transform. "Whoa, they went 'Hulk' on us." Lunar Knight stated as he shifted into a fighters stance.

"As much as I'd like to stay and watch you two be torn apart, I have a delivery to make. Farewell, senshi." Jadeite spoke as he took the glowing sphere of energy from above the machine and phased out of existence, leaving the two senshi to fight against the giant gym instructors.

"Coward." Lunar Knight spat as he watched the general disappear before he quickly turned his attention to the advancing threat. The shadow senshi quickly focused his senses on the three brutish men trying to determine their strength, but as he felt their energies he quickly came to a startling discovery. "Wait, these guys are…"

Sailor Moon was backing up as the men continued to advance on them. "I really hate pushy guys. Stand back, Lunar Knight. I'm gonna moon dust them." The girl declared as she reached for her tiara.

Picking up on what his sister was planning, Lunar Knight shouted. "Stop Sailor Moon. Those guys aren't youma, there human."

Sailor Moon stopped herself as she turned towards the shadow senshi in disbelief. "What? Are you serious? How are we supposed to fight them then?"

"Easy, keep moving and DON'T GET HIT!" The masked senshi yelled as he jumped away from one of the instructors as he swung a large dumbbell down in an attempt to redecorate the room with the senshi's blood. Sailor Moon also dodged a strike as another instructor launched a punch at the girl's head. It would seem that luck was on the senshi's side as the large forms and bulging muscles made the movements of the transformed men much slower, however it also meant that they had insane strength so taking a hit from these guys was not a good idea. As the two heroes continued to dodge the attacks, Lunar Knight decided that it was time to put there more practical combat skills to use. "Sailor Moon, I think it's time to show them your close-combat skills."

Sailor Moon paused as she looked to the masked senshi. "Huh, you think I'm ready for this."

"Absolutely, just remember what I taught you." The boy had made it a point to teach his sister proper striking techniques after their last encounter with the Dark Kingdom in the event that she was unable to use her weapon in a fight. For the last few weeks he taught her how to properly punch and kick so to maximize the amount of damage she could unleash, and now it was time to see the fruits of their labor. As the instructors launched another attack, the senshi unleashed their own counter attacks. Sailor Moon ducked under another punch from one of the men as she sent her fist into the man's gut. Just as with Lunar Knight, her own senshi powers had enhanced her strength, although it was not on the same level as the masked senshi, hers was still impressive as the man doubled over coughing up spit, only to receive a blow to face as the girl leapt up and kicked the man's head. The force was enough to send the poor guy flying backwards.

Lunar Knight was also dishing out punishment as he waited for his opponent to strike as the man came down with his dumbbell smashing the floor where the senshi stood, only for the senshi to land atop the weight and launch himself forward to deliver a knee to the man's face, causing him to let go of the dumbbell and stagger backwards. Using the upward momentum, Lunar Knight spun around in midair and came across the guys face again with a roundhouse kick, sending the man airborne as well.

As the two fell, the remaining instructor suddenly found himself facing two charging opponents. Not giving him the chance to act, the two senshi jumped into the air and came crashing down into the man's chest with a pair of flying kicks, effectively knocking all the wind out of the guy and sending him to join his friends on the ground. Landing in a crouch, the two senshi surveyed the damage. "Did we get them?" Sailor Moon asked as the two heroes stood back up. At first the three remained motionless, then suddenly they began to rise like zombies and resumed their attacks.

Lunar Knight cursed under his breathe. "Should have figured it wouldn't be that easy."

The duo continued to fight the instructors, evading there strikes while delivering their own. However, every time they knocked the men down, they would simply stand back up. Becoming exhausted from all the fighting, Lunar Knight's breathing started to become heavy. "Shit, these guys just won't stay down." Suddenly he spotted his sister out of the corner of his eye and saw a threat that she couldn't. "Sailor Moon, Behind you!"

Sailor Moon, who was also becoming tired at this point, was busy evading one of the men when she failed to notice another coming up behind her. Too slow to react properly, the girl was grazed by a backhand from the lumbering foe, causing her to be sent flying to the ground.

"SAILOR MOON!" The masked senshi cried out as he watched his sister crash to the floor. He was so caught up in his sister's fight that he failed to notice his own opponent until it was too late. Lunar Knight turned towards the charging enemy just in time to get grabbed and pulled into a powerful bear hug.

Sailor Moon managed to get back to her feet when she saw the predicament her brother now found himself in. "Oh no. Lunar Knight." She called out as she started to run towards the distressed senshi, only for her path to be blocked by a couple of hulking masses.

The instructor who held the shadow senshi began to laugh maniacally as he started to squeeze the boy in his arms, eliciting grunts of pain from the senshi as his bones began to creak and pop form the strain. Lunar Knight gritted his teeth as he was being crushed by the large man. It felt like he was stuck in a vise. Cracking his eyes open, he noticed that he was head level with the instructor. With his arms immobile and as he was in a position where he could not kick properly, the boy did the only thing he could do. He reared his head back as far as he could and with all of his strength threw his head forward, smashing the man's face with a powerful head-butt. Luck, it would seem, was on the boy's side as not only did the attack force the man to release him, it also did something that the senshi did not originally intend. As the two heads collided, the silver emblem piece on Lunar Knights hood came into contact with golden head piece worn by the instructor and shattered it. While Lunar Knight landed on his feet, the man fell flat on his back, and this time he didn't get back up. Instead, Lunar Knight watched as the man's body shrunk back down to its proper size. Realizing that the fight was over, Lunar Knight looked down at the shards that were once a golden headpiece.

"That's it." Lunar Knight exclaimed, finally solving the mystery of where the men were getting there power and how they were being controlled. His attention was drawn back to the fighting when he heard his sister cry out as she had abandoned fighting for another tactic, retreat. The poor girl was now running around the room with the two remaining men hot on her heels. Moving quickly, the shadow senshi raced over to the girl just in time to pick her up and leap away from a devastating blow from the two men. Gaining some distance he sat he back down and spoke. "Sailor Moon, their headpieces are what's giving them power. Use your tiara to destroy them."

The girl was more than ready to end the fight as she pulled her tiara off her head and took aim.

"Moon Tiara Action."

Sailor Moon once more showed off her skill with the tiara as the weapon bounced off both of the men's heads, shattering the headpieces in the process. Falling to the floor, the men reverted back to their original forms. The fight was finally over.

Sailor Moon let out a huge sigh. "I'm glad that's finally over."

"Yeah, that one was rather nasty. Now, let's go check on Mrs. Haruna." Lunar Knight spoke as the two headed towards the pod the woman was still contained in. But as he took a couple of steps, the shadow senshi suddenly heard his foot come into contact with something. Looking down, he spotted the glasses that Jadeite was wearing before. Picking them up, he began to examine them. There was something strange about the glasses, he couldn't tell why, but he knew that these were no ordinary glasses. "Well this is strange." The boy commented as he looked the spectacles over.

"Lunar Knight, help me." Sailor Moon cried out as she pulled the unconscious teacher out of the pod. Lunar Knight quickly pocketed the glasses as he moved over to his sister and knelt down to examine Sakurada. The poor woman looked terrible as almost all of her energy had been drained from her. Sailor Moon looked up to her brother, clearly worried for the woman's well-being. "What do we do, we can't just leave her like this."

Lunar Knight pondered for a moment before reaching into one of his pouches. "I've got just the thing." The senshi pulled out a small bottle from the pouch before opening it and shaking out a small black pill.

"What's that?" Sailor Moon asked as she looked at the small object.

"It's called a soldier pill. They're designed to replenish a person's energy. Just swallow one and your back to normal." Lunar Knight responded as he returned the bottle back to the pouch.

Sailor Moon realized something. "How is Mrs. Haruna supposed to swallow it? She's unconscious."

Lunar Knight realized this and began to think. It seemed that there was only one option here and he was sure that his sister was not going to be willing to do it. "I guess I'll just have to give it to her myself."

"Huh?" Was his sister's reply.

Lunar Knight proceeded to pull down his mask, revealing his face as he popped the pill into his mouth. Chewing the pill, the boy grimaced as he tasted its bitterness. Finally grinding it into a thin paste, the senshi picked Sakurada's head up and pulled her mouth open. Leaning over, he placed his own lips over hers and began to push the paste into her mouth. Working it deeper into her mouth, the boy used his free hand to gently massage the woman's throat, stimulating her reflexes into swallowing the paste. After making sure that the entire pill was swallowed, the senshi pulled his head back to see the effects. Soon the woman began to show signs of improvement as he skin started to return to a healthy pink and became much fuller instead of being pale and stretched. Satisfied with his work, Lunar Knight pulled his mask back up and looked back at his sister, who was now as red as a tomato while her mouth was hanging open, staring at the boy.

"Don't tell anyone I did that." Lunar Knight told her as he picked the woman up bridal style and carried her upstairs, a little bit of pink hue present on his face. His sister could only nod as she followed the shadow senshi.

- Streets of Juuban - Later -

Naruto and Usagi were making their way back home after making sure that Mrs. Sakurada and the instructors of the gym were picked up by paramedics and taken to the hospital. This entire day had been one tiring ordeal for the two.

"Ah, man. That's the last time I work out for a while." Usagi complained as she walked a few steps ahead of her brother.

"Well, at least you got your exercise." Naruto commented with a chuckle, earning a slight glare from the girl. The boy thought back upon the whole day, reflecting on the events. There were a lot of things that the boy could have done as to avoid the hassle they went through. He realized that now that the enemy was beginning to hide their presence, he would have to train his senses to detect them easier. He also had to berate himself for showing off his skills in front of an enemy, something that could have come back to bite him, and it still could. The boy would have to keep his abilities under wraps from now on. No more playing around. Speaking of which, he was still perplexed as to why he didn't recognize Jadeite before. It was a mystery to him that just bothered him to no end. Thinking back once more, he tried to think of every time he had seen him up until he came upon the relaxation room. Every time he had talked to the man, he didn't recognize him for some reason, and the only time he did was when Jadeite was greeting Mrs. Haruna, right when he took of his….!

"The glasses." Naruto spoke as he fished the pair out of his pocket. Examining them more closely, he could tell that they weren't normal specs. Deciding to experiment with them, he placed the glasses on his face and called out to his sister. "Hey, Neechan. Look."

His sister turned around and looked at his face. When she did she came to a halt as she stared at him. "Naruto-nii? Is that you?" The girl asked as she stared at the boy, confusion evident on her face.

Surprised by the result, Naruto pulled the glasses back off his face, causing his sister's eyes to widen in surprise. "How did you do that, Naruto-nii."

"These glasses, I think they have the power to obscure a person's identity. Kind of like how your senshi powers render you unrecognizable to everyone." Naruto explained as he pocketed the glasses once more. The two had asked Luna about that particular ability as they were curious why Naru could not recognize Usagi when she first turned into Sailor Moon, to which the feline replied that it was a part of her power so that her identity would remain hidden from everyone, especially the enemy. It would seem that now the enemy was also using such abilities, if the glasses were anything to go by. Thinking on it, Naruto came to realize that he had in his possession a very useful item. Sure he and his sister had abilities to change their appearances, but it was something that they could use if they needed it. He would talk to Luna about it later on. "Well, I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry. What do you say we head for home and see what mom's cooking up for us?"

Usagi was about to respond, but her stomach beat her to it as a loud growl came emanated from the girls midsection.

Usagi blushed while Naruto just laughed. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

- To be Continued -

[Author's Notes]

I'm really sorry about the length of time between updates. On top of my hectic work schedule, I was slammed with a major case of writer's block that held me for the longest time. I will try really hard to get updates out more frequently.

Naruto showing off his powers was something I had thought on for while on whether or not on including as it would possibly expose him. Though when you think about Naruto in his early years, he always did like to show off his skill to everyone, and I thought that it would be a valuable lesson for him when he realized the dangers of doing so in front of potential enemies. Lesson learned.

The glasses were something that I included to explain how Jadeite could hide himself in plain sight. There are many times in the arc that Jadeite was out in the open and the girls didn't recognize him, so I wanted to give a explanation for it. Also, now that the senshi have an item like that, it can be of great aid to them later on. Sure, Usagi and Naruto can disguise themselves, but what about the other girls? Huh, Huh?

Next Chapter - Naruto and Usagi are reunited with a old friend of theirs, Mizuno Ami. But trouble brews for them when something strange goes on at the cram school Ami attends. How will the two senshi save their friend? And what is the strange symbol that appears on Ami's forehead? Find out next chapter: Naruto's Old Friend, Mercury Appears

Peace.