Chapter Fourteen: Washu Takes the Academy
Washu got off the mass transit system and made her way through the campus. The Jurai Royal Academy of Sciences had been founded by Emperor Tenchi Masaki. It had been millennia since his death, and now Washu had come to it.
And now Washu was determined that it would never be the same. She was ready to take this place by storm. Just as soon as she got these bags into her room. Her packs were two huge duffle bags that weighed her down badly. She hated carrying heavy things; it made her feel like a laborer. She hadn't aced high school to do work with her hands.
At last, she came to her dormitory. Here she was. It was a massive building with a large lawn. The room had red shingles, and the windows had blue curtains and glass. Or what appeared as glass.
Nice retro look. That was Washu had chosen it.
She got into the main room, checked in and got her keys. Then she began hauling the bags up the stairs. Washu had to pull the things hard to bring them up, and several times she had to stop and rest. Then she bumped into someone and fell over.
Looking up, she saw a tall, blonde haired man wearing a brown vest and pants. He was very handsome and had pointed ears. He offered a hand. "Hey, you're the new student aren't you? Nice to meet you; I'm Mikamo Kuramitsu."
"Thanks. I'm Washu Hakubi." said Washu, standing on her own. She tried to pick up her bags.
"Do you need some help unloading that?" asked Mikamo.
Washu rubbed the back of her head, feeling awkward. She hated showing weakness. But, she definitely did. No sense in pretending like she had it handled when she could get someone less intelligent to do the work. "Um, well yeah. Now that you mention it. I can't afford a storage cube, so I had to use standard packing."
"Don't worry, I'll use mine." said Mikamo, drawing out a pink cube.
Turning it repeatedly, he touched it to each of the bags. They faded into the cube, and they were gone. He pocketed the cube.
"Wow." said Washu. "Is that a new variety?"
"Um, yes." said Mikamo. "It's a prototype, actually. My family owns the manufacturing, so we get first pick, so to speak. How did you know?"
"Most personal storage cubes have a serious limit on how much mass they can take." said Washu. "And I've got a lot of mass in my bags. Meanwhile, they usually take 0.2 more seconds to draw things into them.
"You've got to let me examine it at some point. I love technology!"
"Um, okay." said Mikamo. "Sure, maybe later. Where is your room?"
"I'll show you." said Washu.
As they made their way up the stairs, Mikamo rubbed behind his head nervously. He glanced at Washu. "So why did you join the academy?" he asked suddenly.
"Why does anyone?" asked Washu. "I want to learn science with the best of them! One day I'll be the greatest scientific genius in the universe!
"I got the top grades in my class you know!"
They reached the top of the floor, and Washu glanced to one side. A silver-haired girl was leaning against the side of the wall, smiling in amusement. Washu didn't like the look of her. "Sure you did. Everybody does."
"Who are you?" asked Washu, annoyed by her gaze.
"I'm Naja Akara." said the girl. "Take my advice, drop the ego. It'll only get you humiliated."
"And just what's that supposed to mean?" asked Washu.
Naja shrugged and stretched. "Everyone who goes to a high-level college is either super qualified or super connected. So they're all used to being the best. But as soon as you get into the classroom, you will be in a classroom filled with the best.
"All that boasting is only going to set you up for a fall."
"Listen, Naja. I didn't come here to be one of many!" said Washu. "I came here to be the best! And I will be!"
"You're gonna be sorry." said Naja in a singsong voice as she walked off down the hall.
"No I won't." said Washu. She turned back to Mikamo. "Who was that jerk?"
Mikamo sighed. "That was the highest ranking student in the academy. Naja Akara."
"Well she won't be for long." said Washu, and she walked on.
"Don't you think you're being a bit arrogant?" asked Mikamo. "Naja knows what she is talking about. And I can say with authority she was right. I thought I was a genius before I came here.
"Then I met everyone else."
Washu laughed. What a great joke. "Arrogance means you've misjudged your capabilities. I have analyzed my capabilities compared to the average, above average and exceptional. I am beyond them all.
"Soon tales of my genius shall be known throughout the cosmos." She came to the door and typed in the code. Opening the door, she walked into her plain room. "Thanks for the help with the bags, Mikamo. You can put them down here."
"Sure." said Mikamo, drawing out the cube. Turning it several times, he summoned the bags. They landed on the floor heavily, and Mikamo flinched. "What was in those?"
Washu opened the bags. Reaching in she drew out a chair more than twice the height of the bag. Mikumo staired as she set it down. Then Washu reached in and got ahold of the desk, drawing it out. Setting it down, she reached in and drew out the lamp.
Mikamo stared. "Um, how are you..."
"What is it?" asked Mikamo.
"It's my newest invention." said Washu. "A bag that stores large objects and reduces their weight. I was trying to figure out how storage cubes worked and made this. Of course, once I did a bit of research, I found I'd had it all wrong.
"My bags operate on a completely different principle than the storage cube. It just has a similar effect. Even when my research is done on false assumptions, I make breakthroughs!" She paused. "So why did you join the Science Academy?"
Mikamo sighed. "Um, well, my mother wanted me to."
Washu blinked. She was expecting something a bit more interesting than that. "That's it?"
"See the Kuramitsu family has a tradition." said Mikamo. "Either we go into the Galaxy Police, or we go into the Academy. It all depends on our intelligence. I was pretty smart, so my family wanted me to go here."
"Did you want to be a police officer?" asked Washu.
"Well, actually, I wanted to be a painter." said Mikamo. "I'm hoping to go back to that once I've finished my studies here. Maybe as a side career."
"That's kind of sad." said Washu in deadpan.
"I didn't ask for your approval." said Mikamo in irritation.
And she'd put her foot in her mouth again. Why did she always do that. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." said Washu. "I'm uh... not very good with people."
"I noticed." said Mikamo. "Listen um, I really think you shouldn't make any speeches like you did with Naja. Not in front of the class."
"Why not?" asked Washu. What was wrong with saying the truth.
"Well a good scientist isn't afraid to admit they might be wrong." said Mikamo. "And just in case you have misjudged yourself, you might want to make a good first impression."
"I'm not a good scientist. I'm a great scientist." said Washu, crossing her arms. "But if it'll make you feel better I won't make any speeches to the class about my greatness."
Washu was about to make a speech to the class about her greatness.
Mikamo reflected that he really should have seen this coming. Washu was standing in front of the class, making her first impression. And what a first impression it would be. He knew what she'd do before he opened his mouth.
"I am Washu Hakubi, and one day I will be known as the greatest scientific genius in the universe!" said Washu. "None are my equal in academics or any other form of education!" And then she went into an elaborate explanation. It touched on her superiority, the purpose of science, and other aspects. It made use of scientific terms that Mikamo had never even heard. The general thrust of it seemed to be that their entire history was building to Washu's arrival here.
The class watched in something between confusion and irritation. Mikamo wondered what exactly Washu was saying now. She had picked up a marker and was drawing elaborate designs on the board with a scientific basis.
Then Professor Clay snatched the marker. Washu blinked in surprise as the Octopus bearded man glared at her. Finally, he closed his eyes and looked at the class. "...Well, you certainly are approaching science with enthusiasm. Why don't you take a seat next to Mikamo over there."
Washu nodded in irritation and walked over. As she did, Seiryo and his goons glared at her.
"Can you believe that red-haired girl?" asked one.
"Can't wait until she gets chewed up and spat out by Naja." said Seiryo.
Similar murmurs came from the class. Washu clenched her fist and sat down. "I'll show them. I'll show them all."
Class began. Clay did his lecture, asked questions. Mikamo did his best to pay attention. Then Clay turned to Washu and quickly drew a problem. Wait, that hadn't been discussed.
"Washu Hakubi, would you care to answer this question." said Clay, smiling.
Mikumo looked over at Naja. "Do you know the answer to that?"
"No." said Naja. "This class is my weak point, and we haven't discussed it."
Washu walked up to the equation, blinked, and looked at it in curiosity. "Hmm, this wasn't in the standard textbook. Let me see, here, here, here." She got what might have been the right answer if Clay's expression was any indication. But Washu kept on moving. "No, no, this method of comprehending the math is completely wrong. Way too inefficient.
"Let's come at it from another perspective." She began to draw other calculations. Pretty soon a new equation had been formed. "And there!
"See, this is a much more effective way of comprehending the problem. Better than that silly graph system you're using."
"That graph system was put in place by some of the greatest academic minds in history!" said Clay. "Including myself!"
"Hmm, well then I guess their status as great academic minds is history." said Washu.
"You're out of line! This graph is nothing!" said Clay, looking over it. He looked like he was having a breakdown just looking at it. "It can't be right! You just made it up in the last five minutes!"
"Well, what's wrong with it?" asked Washu.
Clay looked over it, and Mikumo waited for him to find the problem. He looked, and looked and began to sweat. Finally, he turned away. "Go back to your seat, you ingrate. I have a class to teach!
"Naja Akara, perhaps you could come up and disprove this farce."
Naja came forward as Washu sat down. Quickly Naja looked over it, analyzing it for a long moment. "I... well...
"Actually this is... this is quite brilliant. But there are one or two problems with the method. See, here, and here." She made markings.
Clay sighed. "Thank you Naja Akara. I'm glad you found part of the problem. Go back to your seat."
"The main theory was sound though. Amazingly." said Naja as she sat down.
Washu fist pumped. "Showed them."
"Okay, so the girl's got some talent." said one of Seiryo's goons. "But there is no way she could keep this up for the other classes."
"Who does this red-haired nobody think she is, acting like she's the teacher, Seiryo." said another.
"Don't worry. She's just a nobody." said Seiyo. "And if she steps out of line, we'll set her straight. Nobody will stop us. We're nobles of Jurai."
Mikumo had a bad feeling about this.
Author's Note:
So, I've been putting a lot of thought into how to continue things. I eventually decided to take a shot at novelizing Washu's backstory within the bounds of the continuity. After all, that is what I set up with the previous chapter.
Unfortunately, I was kind of stuck on how to do it. For one thing, there are only three established characters from Washu's days at the academy. Mikamo, Naja Akara, and Doctor Clay. The former two only appear in Light Novels that have never been officially released in the West. So I just took the outline for their personalities in the Wiki and did what I could to make them feel real.
Fortunately, aside from Clay who is a replacement scrappy for Kagato, almost nobody even remembers these characters. Mikumo only appears in one flashback in Tenchi Muyo and has no dialogue. We never even get his name or face. And Naja never appears at all. Though technically a clone of her does. More on that later.
Even after that though, I had a problem. Washu is defined by always being the genius. She always knows more than everyone else, and with the exception of Kagato, nobody ever succeeds in getting one over on her. So, how was I supposed to reconcile an inexperienced Washu who was new to the academy, with a more experienced and mature Washu?
My solution: Make her even more insufferable than she is in canon and no less brilliant.
Seriously, you don't honestly think that Washu would ever make herself mortal without godmodding the hell out of her stats, do you? She's far too egotistical for that. No, Washu getting brought down to earth is not going to happen because she runs into someone better at something than her. It'll take other events. Some of which happened in canon.