PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON
Episode 62.5
I Want To Be The Smartest Ever! Birth of Genius Usagi?
Part B
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
The first bell of the school day chimed as the gates opened. It chimed seven times, once each second, as if to warn the students that seconds counted in getting ready for class.
".....She didn't..."
"No." Luna walked in between the two sets of legs, though in her sleep-deprived condition, it was more along the lines of weaving. "I was up all night waiting for her. Nothing."
"That's so odd." Makoto looked up. "It's also worrisome."
"Very." Ami clutched her schoolbag in one hand. In the other was Usagi's. "I even had Chibi-Usa coming to my house to find her. I told her I didn't know, and even she looked a little worried."
"Well, of coure Chibi-Usa is worried!" Makoto looked at Luna. "At least I hope she's genuinely worried."
"Well, I look at it this was, Mako-chan." Luna gave a huff. "As long as Usagi-chan's around, Chibi-Usa has someone to blame for her nonsense. Though, I tend to see it as a good thing so long as I'm not aroused from my sleep."
"A good thing, Luna?"
"In a way, I guess it teaches Usagi-chan to be more mindful of her charges." Luna looked down. "You know. The enemy is after her for some reason. No matter what, Usagi-chan has to learn patience with her or else, surely, that little girl will surely fall into the wrong hands."
"....Luna...." Ami turned red. "Do you think that we may be pushing this all on her too soon? I understand your concern with her grades, but do you really think threatening her was a good idea?"
"I'm...not sure what to do with that girl at the moment." Luna shook her head. "Perhaps I opened up another can of worms for her unintentionally. Chibi-Usa and Mamoru-san was bad enough..."
"But you do it because you care, Luna!" Makoto began to sweat. "I mean, you didn't do it to be mean to her. You care about her grades!"
"Ah, yes...." Luna stopped. "But do I care too much...?"
Ami and Makoto turned around to face the black cat. Her head was down, and her shoulders were slumped.
"Oh, Luna...!" Ami bent down. "You shouldn't talk that way!"
"Luna." Makoto bent down. "Listen. You just go home and get some time to yourself. Go visit Artemis or something like that. I think you're letting this go to your head."
"For all we know," at this, Ami gave a smile. "Usagi-chan probably fell asleep playing video games. She'll be awake in no time and late as usual, and I'll be mindful of it as always."
"...You really think so?" Luna smirked. "I guess I can't say I have the same faith in her...."
"Luna, go home." Makoto past Luna. "You need rest."
For a moment, Luna looked back and forth at Ami and Makoto's faces, seemingly unsure of what to do. Finally, though, she gave a smile, nodded, and quietly padded off.
"Hmm...." Makoto turned around as Luna disappeared from sight. "Are we sure of ourselves, Ami-chan?"
"Oh, Mako-chan." Ami turned red. "I feel so horrible. I'm guilty of telling Usagi those comments. They didn't have to be said to her."
"Ami-chan." Makoto put her arm around Ami. "Look, let's just go to school. We can't let this consume us. If she's not at school and we don't see her by the end of the day...."
"If we don't see her...." Ami repeated.
"....We'll form a search party for her and scour the city." A determined look came onto Makoto's face. "Come on, Ami-chan! Lighten up!"
"O.....ok......"
For a few minutes, Ami's fear were massaged by Makoto's words. In fact, she was almost ready to accept Makoto's ultimatum, and to wait until after school to look for Usagi if nothing was heard from her during the day.
"What the.....you're kidding!"
The fears, however, sprang forth vehemently, though Ami could not explain why, when she approached the school. There were a gaggle of girls talking excitedly by the gate, and their tones almost squeaked. They also appeared to be the only ones there, unlike a normal morning, where swarms of students would stand out front and talk until the last minute.
"Bl bla bla.....did you hear.......Usagi......"
It was at this that Ami's head came up. She heard the name loud and clear, and the next minute she found herself standing right next to the girls, trying to hear their words.
"...Ami-chan?" Makoto looked confused. "What-"
"Um.....excuse us."
Ami began to sweat as she felt the eyes com on her. She looked up to see that all of the girls - three in number - were almost glaring at her.
"Um......" One of them stepped forward. "Mizuno-san, would....would you mind if you attended to your own business?"
"Oh...." Ami felt embarrassed as she looked at Makoto. "I....I'm sorry, but I....I thought...."
"Thought what?"
"....I heard...." Ami turned red. "....You mentioned 'Usagi'."
At this, the expressions changed. They went from stares of casual repulsion and apprehensiveness to looks of total shock and surprise. All three looked at one another, unable to reply.
....Oh no.... Ami's face paled. Something.....something happened....!
Finally, one of the girls spoke.
"A....Mizuno-san....." One of them smiled uneasily. "You....you are a friend of Usagi, yes? You and Mako-chan both, right?"
".....Yes...." Ami returned her own look of uneasiness, while Makoto simply scratched her head. "What....what happened?"
"....Mizuno-san...." The girls turned towards the school. "You might want to come with us. You won't believe it either...."
--------------------
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
Ami and Makoto gave each other uneasy looks as they followed the three girls down the hall. Like outside, there were few people in the hall, if any. In the distance there could be heard a faint commotion.
"I...." Ami whispered nervously to Makoto. "...I'm not liking this."
"Right back," Makoto whispered. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting about this at all."
Finally, the group found what they were looking for, and Ami's heart froze. There was a huge crowd of students standing around Usagi's homeroom, some peering in, some simply standing and staring.
"What the?!" Makoto's eyes widened. "Guys, what-"
"Usagi-chan!"
Before the girls could restrain her and explain, Ami had broken out into a dead run. Without any conviction, she pushed aside any student who stood in her way to the door.
"Wait! Ami-chan!"
Makoto turned red and gave a sigh. Seeing as she actually had no room to get into the strange fray, she resigned herself to getting to her classes before the late bell rang. She resolved to learn of it later.
"Excuse me.....pardon me......" Meanwhile, Ami struggled. "Usagi-chan!? Are you there?!"
Ami's heart raced as she got closer and closer to the door. She could hear the shocked remarks of her fellow students, and could see the looks on their faces. Yet, it was not until she managed to break through the sea of kids and finally enter the classroom, after much impolite pushing and shoving, that she saw what the deal was.
She almost screamed when she saw it.
"....And we pass the sub-exponent over into the inferential number......."
The class, though it had not even started, was filled with students, some sitting at desks, others standing at the walls. Some eagerly wrote down what was being written on the black board and spoken of, though others simply stared in shock.
".....And when we divide the sub-components by the irrational numbers within the answer of x35.2...."
The classroom was at full attention, watching the lecture in total fascination. Indeed, someone was teaching a class, but it was not the teacher. For Ms. Haruna simply stood off to the side, her face as white as powder.
"And then we......oh."
Ami's expression was one of unfathomed horror as the teacher stopped writing her equation on the blackboard and turned towards the back. With a strange, knowing smile that was foreign to her expressions, Usagi, who now wore small glasses, gave a nod towards Ami.
"Ami-chan." The smile was unsettling. "The school's former scholastic champion. Good morning!"
----------------------
"WHAT?!?!?!?"
Ami and Naru stared, wide-eyed, as Usagi ate her lunch in an almost perfect fashion. Each bite was taken politely and intentionally, almost as if she were at a dinner function. Likewise, everyone else in the room was staring at her.
"Yes." Usagi's very tone seemed different then before; it was one of certainty and upper-handed informativeness. "I went in and I made sure they gave me the test."
"And....you tested...." Naru's eyes widened. "You tested a 320 I.Q. on the Japan School Registry? This MORNING?!?!? B-b-b-b-but that's impossible!"
"Is it?" Usagi took a sip of her drink. "Unlikely, yes. Improbable, yes. But impossible? You underestimate the potential of the human brain to leech knowledge from its environment, Naru-chan, if you find it impossible!"
Naru looked at Ami, then back and Usagi, then back and forth again. She scratched her head in confusion.
"Ami..."
"I....." Ami looked down. "I had nothing to do with this...."
".....Wow...." Naru blushed. "Well, I.....maybe you'll help me with homework now, Usagi!"
"Oh, naturally!" Usagi pat her lips with the napkin in an almost aristocratic manner. "With my increased cerebral power, I can even teach the teachers a thing or too now, Naru-chan!"
"Oh, wow, I....." Naru swooned. "Like this morning......Oh wow, I.......man, I need to sit down or something....."
With that, Naru teetered off, leaving Ami and Usagi alone at the table. Ami stared at Usagi, her eyes filled with concern. She looked for words to express herself, but could find none.
So quickly......and almost overnight....
"Hmph." Usagi turned her nose up as she finished her food. "The school system here is deplorable if I'm teaching. That's all right, though, because I feel great. Great. And," She turned to Ami. "I'll be going to Mamo-chan's tonight to show him my newfound powers of intelligence. It'll be awesome! Like 8,940,384,200 hot dogs with 2 ounces of ketchup on them, exactly. Its also the amount of frankfurters you could fit into all of the buildings in Tokyo. I bet you didn't know that, Ami-chan."
"Usagi-chan...." Ami finally spoke. "What.....what happened?"
"Well, what does it look like, Ami-chan?" Usagi smirked. "I became smarter!"
"Oh, Usagi-chan..."
"...Hmph." Usagi saw the shocked look on Ami's face and frowned. "It figures you wouldn't be happy about it."
"What?!" Ami's eyes widened. "Usagi-chan, how-"
"Well, it doesn't matter what you think!" Usagi tossed her hair and laughed. "It only matters what Mamo-chan thinks. He'll be so happy to see me like this."
"Usagi-chan, what are you..." Ami's voice trailed off.
"Ha!" Usagi pointed to Ami. "Don't perseverant on my name. It's immature."
"But I-"
"Don't worry though, Ami-chan." Usagi rubbed her chin. "I understand you're shocked by my sudden increase of knowledge imput and output. It is surprising, isn't it?"
"Usagi-chan!"
At this, Makoto came in, breathless. Ami turned red as Makoto bent in to examine Usagi, her eyes wide.
"I-is it true?!" Makoto stammered. "Usagi-chan, I heard you taught class today! Is it t-true? I mean....is it even possible?!"
"True?!" Usagi gave a huffed laugh. "Oh. Mako-chan, you're adherance to scholastic propaganda and bias towards me blinds your already clouded vortex of contextual conception! Why would you not think such an event probable?"
"....Huh?" Makoto tilted her head to the side. "Wha......what bias?"
"...Haah." At this, Usagi stood up. "Well, since I have been suspended for three days for my attempt to enlighten my peers...my former, substandard peers....I shall go home and study the Feynman equation to greater length. Good bye."
With a toss of her hair, Usagi was gone, leaving Makoto and Ami to stare in shock at her departure.
"Woah...." Suddenly, Makoto spoke, her tone slightly annoyed. "I don't know what happened to Usagi-chan....and....I didn't understand half of what she said....but...." She clenched a fist. "That didn't sound right at all!"
Ami simply kept looking at the door. Usagi's shadow still lingered there for a moment, or so it seemed, until it had slipped away from her sight.
"No," Ami murmured as she looked down at Usagi's schoolbag. "It doesn't."
-------------------
"Hmm! Hmm....hm hmmm hmmmmm......"
Usagi's steps home were almost leaps of happiness. She hummed, and smiled, and generally kept her head up towards the clouds. Her brain churned as nodes of information instantaneously came into her brain, as easily as if they had always been nestled in there. Before, she would have watched the clouds in ignorant bliss; now, she had knowledge of every inch of their aspects.
Hmm.... Usagi skipped as she looked at one, fluffy cloud. The pH of acid in that one......is.........abouuuuuuuuut..... .9264632. Heehee! That's not bad for a city like ours!
And she went on skipping, humming to herself, not having a care in the world because, in her mind, her newfound intelligence solved all of those problems. She was not exactly sure, in honesty, how she had gotten so smart so quickly; however, she knew it had to do with where she had been last night.
"So long, Juuban Junior High!" She giggled. "All I need now is the Learning Center! Pooh on Naru-chan and Mako-chan and even Ami-chan! Who needs ignorance of that kind?"
Nor did it bother her that she didn't remember exactly how she had gotten the knowledge, either. She didn't care. She was so elated that she felt as if she could charge in and solve even the impossible, because now it was possible. She was in a self-hagiographic phase, and it was, to her, like being reborn into a new person.
"Laa la laaaaaa!" Usagi smiled as she skipped into her gate. "Laa laaaaaa! This is so invigorating! Wow, the fact I even know what invigorating means now is......invigorating! Tee hee...."
With that, she opened the door, throwing it closed as she triumphantly strolled into her house. With a leap, she cleared the two entrance stairs and proceeded into the living room.
"Laalaaaa....."
"Mmmr....." A black tail came up at the sound of Usagi's coming. "Mmmm.....Usagi-chan....?"
Usagi looked to see Luna on the couch, her head groggily coming up off of the armrest at her approach. Instantly, Usagi's mood turned sour and disdainful.
"Oh."
"Usagi-chan...!" Luna's eyes were half open. "Oh. my....I waited for you all night.....where were you?"
"...Nowhere."
"That's a lie." Luna gave Usagi a look. "Where were you?"
"Why should it matter?" To Luna's surprise, Usagi suddenly turned her nose up at the question. "I am here, I'm breathing, fibrulating, exhaling waste, and so on and so forth. And forgive me for being slightly of the cock-a-hoop mood, but I've got better things to do right now than to explain myself to a torpid feline. After my meeting with Mamo-chan, I will be returning to the learning center."
"What the-"
Before Luna could even respond, Usagi was gone, having stomped away from her. The cat was wide-awake now, unbelieving of what she was hearing.
She.... Luna stared in shock. Did she just....insult me? Just like that?!
-
Usagi's nose was still turned up as she walked up the stairs. She didn't want to admit it, but somehow saying what she had said gave Usagi a strange feeling of power she never had before, even in times before. Being smarter seemed to give her more confidence, and she smiled at the comforting thought.
"Yoohoo! Usagi-chan!"
"Hmph."
Usagi frowned as she turned to see Chibi-Usa standing behind her. The pink-haired girl had a mischevious smirk on her face, and was accompanied by her floating cat head, Luna-P.
"You're home early!" Chibi-Usa had her arms crossed. "Did you get in trouble?"
"Why should it matter to you?" Usagi cooly replied. "Why should you feel yourself privy to information?"
"Because I...." Chibi-Usa paused. "What's 'privy' mean?"
"Heehee!" Usagi snorted as she once again turned up her nose. "Poor Chibi-Usa. Your geneology must be sub-par and inferior to not know such things."
With that, Usagi walked into her room and slammed the door in the little girl's face. With another hum, she looked at her bookshelf.
Hmmm.....Hmm? Usagi frowned. As she looked through the books, she haughtily ripped up several of them. Manga......manga........manga.........Seventeeen....no no, none of this will do at all! Nothing intelligent and unstimulating. Hup! Out you all go!
With that, she unceremoniously took off every book from her shelf and threw it at her garbage pail. It made such a loud thumping sound that it again started Luna, who had almost drifted back to sleep.
Usagi?! Luna was now wide awake. Usagi-chan!
Meanwhile, Usagi was looking around the room, searching through her drawers and her closets. The piles on her floor started to build up into perpetual mountains.
No.....no......no....I need.....ah! She produced a library card. I have it. I'll go to the library and borrow some books! And then to Mamo-chan's and....
She smiled. Without another word, she ran out of the room, ran past Chibi-Usa, jumped down the stairs, zoomed past Luna, whom was coming up the stairs, and bolted out of the door.
"Woo!" Luna could hear Usagi as she ran down the street. "Intelligence, my serendipity! WHEEE!"
Luna turned around towards the doorway of Usagi's room and gasped. Her room was both a complete mess and an ordered one as well. Everything was on the floor in unusually neat piles, and the piles were even uncoordinated.
What the....
Most shocking to Luna was the pile of mangas on the floor. They were all crowded around the wastebasket, and some were even shoved down in there to make room for more. Several of the mangas were also ripped in half.
Usagi-chan..... Luna's eyes furrowed. No. Something is wrong. I can feel it.
With that, Luna turned and ran down the stairs, leaving Chibi-Usa by herself. The little girl, however, was scratching her head in confusion.
"What...." Chibi-Usa looked at Luna-P. "What does 'privy' mean, anyways?"
----------------------------
"Usagi-chan...smarter?"
Minako's jaw dropped as Ami and Makoto nodded. She also nearly dropped her drink on the table, but minded herself before it came to that.
"So.....how smart are we talking here?"
"Smarter.....than Ami-chan, according to an I.Q. test...At least, according to her."
"That...." Minako's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Ami-chan! How do you feel about that? I mean, Usagi-chan, smart! Two opposite concepts, together!"
"I......" Ami looked worried. "I don't know what to think. I mean, yes, she's smarter....."
"....Buuuut?"
"But I....." Ami suddenly looked fierce. "I don't trust it. It's too sudden."
"An act of God, maybe?" Minako grinned. "Stranger things have happened....heheh....."
Ami's look became tight, and Minako's smile, as a result, collapsed. The blonde girl almost whimpered at the blue-haired girl's expression.
"C-continue...."
"Usagi-chan....wasn't herself. "Ami shook her head. "No, she was completely different! She was putting us down with every word. She may have gotten smarter, but.....at a cost, if its real."
"....Maybe its the enemy."
Everyone turned to look at Minako, their eyes squinted at her. Minako, in return, looked at Ami and Makoto, her face dead serious.
"....Honest!"
"I don't know why that didn't come up as a first priority..." Makoto sweat despite her sarcasm. "I mean, I'd have never thought of it..."
"Oh, stop it!" Minako tapped her finger on the table. "I'm being serious! If the enemy's gotten to Usagi, who knows what might happen to her. It could end up like it was with Mamor-"
"No need to remind us, Mina." Artemis mumbled.
"Well, we have to find her!" Minako stood up. "Regardless. Tell me, where do you think she is?"
-----------------------
TROMPTROMPTROMPTROMPSTOMP
Usagi nearly tripped on the last step to Mamoru's apartment; fortunately, her newfound intelligence allowed her newfound coordination. Or at least a compensation; her mind quickly calculated the angle she needed to arch her back in order to allow herself to keep her balance, dividing her weight by the acceleration of gravity before coming up with a hypothetical angle.
It was all a split second reaction, but Usagi made the best of it, and the last step was tackled with calculated ease. Landing on her feet, Usagi gave a smile.
Wow. She looked down the hall. Being a genius is so much fun!
She walked, a load of books in her arms. Several of them dealt with medical terminologies and diagnostic scenarios, which was Mamoru's forte. Others, however, dealt with physics, advanced English (which, by speed reading, she somehow managed to absorb completely within the space of an hour) and analytical chemistry.
I can't wait..... Usagi beamed. To show him what I've learned!....
Suddenly, she stopped. Her arms, carrying the books, suddenly went limp, allowing everything to scatter on the floor. She closed her eyes tightly. She couldn't understand it, but it was as if, suddenly, there was a thumping in the back of her mind, someone taking a hammer and smacking her from the inside.
Oh.....my head.......
Her hands went to her temples, rubbing them as if it could sooth the sudden pain. However, the pain seemed to increase. It became so bad and resonated so that it felt like what she had learned was about to be wretched from her mind through her mouth. Or worse, her nose
Stop.....please stop......
Finally, after three minutes, the pain subsided, and Usagi felt better. However, she did not feel the same as she had before; she felt more irritated. It had almost felt like someone within her mind had been trying to tug something away from her.
Hmph! Usagi picked the books up. Stupid.....I almost felt like my mind would slip. Well, let's hope it doesn't happen again, right?
Not completely able to shake off the irritation for some reason, Usagi put on her best smile and proceeded towards Mamoru's apartment door. She paused for a moment, gathering the words she would say to him, before giving three knocks on the wood - at points where, her mind calculated, the sound waves created from her knowing would travel longest and be heard loudest.
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"Syruubein."
The cherry lips smiled in the shadows of the room. The figure whom they belonged to rubbed its hands eagerly as it watched the clouds in the room - which only she could see - darken the very fiber of the wallpaper and floors. Above the room was a single light, yet this fixture seemed the darkest of all things within the area..
"Syruubein." The figure turned towards the blackboard. "The drive of intelligence. Syruubein. That drive leads to the desire for knowledge. I, as a giver of knowledge, uses that drive to power the Crystal Point. Syruubein. The greater desires recieve greater energies from the light, and it give them knowledge.....and gives us their souls. Already, we will have the point soon. Only another day or soo, more people to desire, to take in the energy and to feed their greed to the light....for the Black Moon.....Syruubein."
"Intriguing."
The figure turned around. Beruche and Calaveras both sat at a desk, looking at the light.
"A fine job." Beruche tapped a pen on the desk. "We may have this Crystal Point very soon if there are no interruptions."
"Yeah." A smirk came onto Calaveras' face. "Keep up the good work, Syruubein. We may split rewards with you when the time comes."
"No need for that." The figure turned back to the board. "Only the pursuit of knowledge satifies my thirst. Syruubein. That, and the corruption of humans. Nothing more."
"I....see....."
Sweating, Calaveras turned to Beruche. A slightly annoyed expression was on her face.
"Um, sister," Calaveras mumbled. "Don't you think you endowed a litt itoo/i much of your thought into the droid?"
"Me? Why no." Beruche feigned surprise. "Besides which, I thought we had a deal? So why should it matter how much I do? At least you're in on the victory."
Calaveras went to say something, but stopped. Her mind went through the possibility of Beruche's asinine assumption being right, and slowly came to the unwanted conclusion that she was. With a sulk she turned away.
"Fine."
"Good." Beruche turned back to Syruubein. "Continue. We'll up the dosage tonight and begin the complete corruption. It ends tonight. This point is ours. Understood?"
"Syruubein." Red eyes flashed in the darkness. "Understood."
--------------------
Usagi-chan..........Usagi-chan.....
Luna padded down the street, her head hung low in thought. She had been walking for a good hour now, and she was slowing down from slight exhaustion.
Oh, can't think...... Luna stopped. Why, why, Usagi-chan? I only want you to do better. Then, all of a sudden-
"....don't come back!"
The sound of a familiar voice brought Luna to attention. She looked over, spotting the gates of TA Girls' School just inches away. So absorbed had she been in thoughts about Usagi that she had not realized what direction she was going in.
"Hmph. I heard you the first time, dumb bitch."
Luna managed to hide in nearby bushes before anyone came out, and watched what happened from her spot. Coming out of the gates of the school was Rei, two nuns, and a black-haired girl Luna had never seen before. Upon pushing the girl out, the nuns immediately retired back into the gates. Rei, meanwhile, was left standing outside with the girl, who simply turned her nose at her.
"I guess you're a victim of the propaganda they feed here?" The cold, superior tone of the girl's voice made Luna shudder. "Hmph. Roman Catholicism as the religion of righteousness. Yet I'd have hoped you knew as well as I now do that they're just religious zealots."
"I happen to be a priestess myself if you've forgotten," Rei glared back. "I'd really like to know why you suddenly hate religion?"
Something.... Luna stared. What is this strange feeling I have all of a sudden....?
"Religion is the opium of the masses." The girl looked away for a moment. "I thought you'd know better, but I guess you're just as foolish as everyone else in there. I forgot, you hang on every woman you meet like they're your mother. It's sad how desperate people can be. Still," She looked back. "I won't miss this place."
"Well!" Though insulted, Rei crossed her arms and pretended otherwise. "I may be ignorant and I may cling, but at least I didn't turn into some selfish pig instantaneously overnight! And what in the world makes you suddenly better than us? You certainly weren't like this yesterday!"
"Ha!" The girl laughed at Rei. "Someone with your narrow understanding could never grasp the thirst of knowledge I have had during the years I've been at TA. But now, I've found a better school that makes me smarter, so fuah to you and to those ignorant, faggot nuns!"
Better.....school? Luna's ears suddenly perked up. Smarter? Wait a minute...
"Well, you can go to that 'learning center'," Rei growled. "And have them teach you manners!"
"Why, you!!" The girl's face darkened. "You peon!"
Luna gasped as the girl threw herself at Rei. As she went in motion, a strange, darkened area suddenly appeared around the girl, changing into the shape of a larger figure. It was one of fangs, and most predominantly, an upside down Black Moon sign.
"REI!"
Rei heard Luna's screech even as she stared into the hating face of her classmate. Instinct kicked in, and she took a step back.
"Aku.....ryo....." With several movements and chants, the raven-haired girl pulled out a scroll. "tai.......SAN!!!!!"
The incensed classmate gave a pained scream as Rei slapped to scroll onto her forehead. With a gasp, the black energy monster dispersed, and the girl slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"....I knew it."
"Rei-chan!" Luna popped out of the trees. "Rei-chan, that was-"
"An enemy."
Rei glared down at the scroll. The Black Moon sign briefly flashed onto it before the paper turned completely black. Luna looked at the scroll worriedly.
"That girl..."
"I knew something was wrong with her when she came in." Rei wiped her hands. "She's a nice girl, but then all of a sudden, out of nowhere. This energy came from her. And she was a different person. She hassled the teachers and nuns and mocked the underclassmen."
"Rei-chan..." Luna began to sweat. Her blood began to pump. "Why was she....did she say?"
"Yeah..." Rei looked at Luna. "She said she had found this school that was making her smarter. Juuban Learning Center. And she claims her IQ went up 130 points in one week."
"......Learning Center!"
Suddenly, Luna was on the move. She jumped up onto the wall and looked back down at Rei with a frightened face.
"Luna?"
"Rei-chan! Call the others!" Luna motioned. "Its about Usagi-chan! The enemy has her!"
"What!?"
"This morning, and all this afternoon." Luna sniffed. "Usagi was just like this girl. Only smarter."
"Usagi?!" At this, Rei began to sweat. "Huh.....y-yes, I can see where we have a problem now...."
"Hurry!" Luna bounded away. "There's no time!"
Luna ran off, and Rei quickly took out her watch. She clicked open the speaker dial and began pressing buttons.
"Ami-chan.....Mako-chan?" She spoke nervously. "Yeah, its about Usagi...."
As quick as she could, Rei reiterated the story, and in turn heard what had happened with Usagi. Unknown to her, however, was that someone was listening in to her conversation.
"....Learning Center....you do know.....Ok, Mina-chan!" Rei clicked her watch closed. "Its time to save Usagi!"
...Yes.....
A shaded figure watched as Rei ran down the street, jumping over the unconscious schoolmate as she did. A hand went to its mouth, pondering the situation.
....I have no choice. Taking up a cane, the figure followed. I....No matter what......I must help her this time.