And next chapter!
Letting you all know right now, don't expect an Undead fight with every chapter, or else we'd run out before we hit R.
With that out of the way, next chapter!
Usagi let out a light yawn as she sat down in her seat in class, her teacher would be here in a few minutes, and both Luna and her mother had made sure she was awake on time.
Still though, she hoped late nights like that wouldn't become TOO regular for her, she needed her beauty sleep after all if she wanted to become a stunning beauty one day for her husband to be… whoever he would be.
"Good morning Usagi." Naru said as she turned around to look at her friend with a smile.
"Morning Naru." Usagi said with a smile, glad to see her friend was ok after last night "So, how did helping Kensuke with a present for his parents go?"
"About that, it's a bit weird, but, well… I don't think you'll believe me." Naru said nervously.
"You'd be surprised by what I can believe these days." Usagi said dryly.
"Well… some kind of monster attacked, it was pretending to be my mom, Kensuke tried to protect me, but the monster just tossed him aside, then, when I was passing out, there was this actual superhero who arrived on the scene, I didn't see what she looked like, but she said her name was Sailor Moon." Naru explained, and Usagi was VERY glad Naru didn't get a good look at her face last night. Even if there was some kind of glamour to hide her identity, Naru WAS her best friend. If she were a betting girl, she'd put her money on Naru figuring out her identity if she kept seeing Sailor Moon enough times.
"No way, I actually had a dream about that!" One of their female classmates said, sliding her chair closer.
"So did I!" Another one added.
"Then it probably wasn't a dream, it actually happened. I mean, I DID find my mother tied up in the basement this morning after all." Naru added.
"So, what happened after that? Did you wake up with everything over?" Usagi asked, honestly curious.
Naru, to her surprise, shook her head "No, I actually woke up a little bit later, that monster pretending to be my mom was gone, but there was a new one that looked like a lizard with this HUGE sword on its arm. And then ANOTHER superhero showed up to kick it out of the store, a man, and he called himself Kamen Rider Blade, I think he was friends with Sailor Moon because of how they acted with each other. Since she even helped him fight that monster."
"That so?" Usagi sweat dropped. It seemed she wasn't the only one to get some coverage. "They must have worked together well to beat the monster," she said. Personally while she DID help, that wasn't quite what she'd call teamwork just yet. All she did was distract the Undead.
"They sure did. Sailor Moon managed to stop the monster's movement before Kamen Rider Blade finished it off with this electric kick. I didn't see what happened after they beat the monster though," Naru admitted. "I kinda...ran away…"
"Considering what your evening sounds like, I don't blame you." Usagi admitted, if she had been in Naru's shoes, she'd likely have run away as well. Speaking of shoes...she idly looked at the clock. It was just the start of the day, but already she couldn't wait for it to be over. After the fight with the Undead last night, and seeing as the sound had attracted the police, Kensuke had told them they could talk more another time, and not so subtly commented how he works at the Arcade from Monday to Friday. The message was obvious that he wanted them to see him while he was working. After what happened last night, she honestly didn't think she could pay attention in school with both that on her mind AND her ADHD.
Usagi...wasn't feeling too great, since school had passed...and she was sure she barely paid attention to at least half of what they covered today. She just hoped she could borrow some notes from Naru tomorrow or something to make up for it. Heck, if she had to she was willing to ask Umino for help. But that was something for future Usagi to worry about. For now, she had more important things to worry about.
"Rough day in school?" came Luna's voice as she was passing the school gate, the cat jumping off the wall she had been on and was now on her shoulder.
"Hard to concentrate after what happened last night…" Usagi sighed tiredly, before idly noticing Luna didn't look too hot herself...that and she was wearing a new collar. "Rough day at the vet?" she asked rhetorically. It was one thing to know Luna needed to get her shots before they could properly adopt her when she thought she was a normal cat, it was another knowing she went through it when she's able to talk and act like a human.
"You could say that," Luna winced, idly pawing at her collar. She knew this was necessary if she was going to be the pet cat of the Tsukino household, but it was still something to get used to. "Anyway, we should go to the Arcade. We still need to talk to that man… Kensuke was it?" she checked. She hadn't QUITE memorized him just yet.
"Yeah, that's him," Usagi nodded.
"Right. At the same time I still need to tell you of your mission. I never got to tell you about it last night," Luna nodded.
"Right, and you're going to tell it to Kensuke too, yeah?" Usagi asked.
Luna nodded "Yes, considering he's your friend, and can see through your glamour, I was hoping he might be able to give us assistance with the mission, maybe his unique abilities could prove useful."
"Well, he definitely was cool. He didn't even look afraid when he was fighting the Youma and the Undead," Usagi smiled, a small blush on her face at the memory. "Alright, let's go!" she said as she soon started running to the arcade.
At the pace she was going, it wasn't long before she reached the Crown Arcade, right as Kensuke was carrying a few trash bags. Usagi just BARELY stopped in time to avoid running into him, her legs even giving off a comical 'brake screech' at the close call.
"Whoa there Usagi, where's the fire?" Kensuke sweat dropped at the near collision.
Usagi laughed sheepishly at that "Sorry, I just wanted to be sure I didn't miss you or anything."
"Well, you're in luck, today was one of my short days, morning classes included." Kensuke told her as he stowed away the trash bags in the container.
"You know, speaking of your morning classes, what are you studying to be?" Usagi couldn't help but ask.
"Well… it's not the most concrete thing, but I'm in finance and business, I hope to maybe run a shop one day, not sure what it could be yet, but you can't run a business without financial knowledge right?" He said with a shrug.
Usagi thought about it a little "Yeah, that makes sense. So, basically, you're good with numbers, right?"
"Among many things." Kensuke said with a laugh. "What about you though? Got any idea what you want to be one day?"
Usagi blushed a bit "Well… it may be weird, but I wouldn't mind being in the role of a stay at home housewife. But if I NEED a job… maybe something that works directly with people, or maybe even with kids."
"I think you'd do well with that," Kensuke said with a smile. "Especially the last one. I'm sure kids will love you," he grinned. "Anyway, I can tell you're here for more than just the Sailor V game, right? I know I said to meet me here, but I can't exactly talk to you about 'that' right now, and an arcade isn't really the best place to hold an important conversation."
"Then where would you like to discuss?" Luna asked.
"There are a few cafes nearby. Pick one and tell me which. I'll be working for an hour or so more, so I'll meet you there," he said, before adding, "Order what you'd like. My treat." he could safely say that since to his knowledge, the cafes around here weren't too pricey.
Usagi blinked "Well… if you say so." she said, before going to look for a cafe with a grin, and she was TOTALLY going to take him up on his offer.
"Lesson learned. Never give you free reign when desserts are involved," Kensuke deadpanned as he saw the rather...sizeable...number of desserts Usagi had ordered from the cafe. She'd picked a reasonably priced one yeah...but how she ordered was decidedly NOT reasonable.
"Sorry, but the cakes are just sooo good!" Usagi said sheepishly.
"Are you at least going to share all of this?" he asked hopefully, eyeing the chocolate cake slice hungrily, if he was giving up his daily melon bread, it would at least be for something good.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure, help yourself." Usagi said, not minding at all, no way she could reasonably eat all of this herself after all. "Sorry again about the bill. I really can't help myself," she said, before adding in a more subdued tone. "Literally at that…"
"Huh?" Kensuke blinked, prompting her to elaborate.
"I have ADHD…" Usagi admitted, tapping her fingers together.
"Ah…" Kensuke nodded in understanding. That explained a lot.
"The barrier is set up now by the way." Luna said as she jumped onto a free chair.
"Barrier?" the two humans repeated in confusion while Kensuke grabbed some of the treats Usagi had ordered for himself.
"Well, I figured that we're in the open, then we'd want the utmost privacy for this, so I may have went and stolen some chalk and set up something around the table." Luna admitted.
The other two looked down at that, barely seeing the chalk on the white stone pavement of the cafe they were at, since they were sitting at an outdoor table.
"Huh, magic talking spellcasting cat. Cool," Kensuke blinked, before getting serious. "Okay, so who goes first? You guys or me?"
"I'll go first, Usagi needs to hear this as much as you do anyway." Luna said, before clearing her throat "My mission was to find the Sailor Scouts, the guardians of a princess, one from a long lost kingdom, and in turn, we then need to find said princess and protect her from the Dark Kingdom, who no doubt want to use her for the power she holds. The Dark Kingdom are the ones who sent that Youma to Osa-P last night, and very likely this was not a singular attack, there are sure to be more in the future until we can secure the princess and defeat the Dark Kingdom."
"So, I'm one of those Sailor Scouts then huh?" Usagi mused.
"Correct, and we need to find the others as soon as we can. Only when everyone is gathered can the princess be found and protected." Luna said seriously, and Usagi nodded in understanding.
She could tell it was going to be difficult, but if this was something only she could do, she would do it.
"And, honestly…" Luna trailed off, turning to Kensuke "Some extra help would be appreciated, the power you showed last night, Blade you called it I believe, it would make the task of destroying the Youma and protecting the princess easier."
Kensuke nodded at that "I don't mind lending you a hand, Usagi is my friend after all. And besides, if Usagi is basically the Royal Guard of the princess, she'll need some Royal Knights as well." he said with a chuckle.
The two of them gave him a rather dry stare at the pun but they couldn't stop smiling a little either.
"Now then, since you've explained your side, it's my turn," Kensuke said, before taking out...a deck of playing cards. Usagi and Luna blinked in confusion as he began to lay the cards out. "Now then, before we begin, have you ever wondered why humanity is the dominant species of this world? We're hardly the strongest or fastest creatures, and compared to some of the things nature churns out, we're rather squishy don't you think?"
"Oh! I know this one!" Usagi said suddenly "It's because humanity is the most cunning and smart, and was able to find ways to survive and create."
Kensuke smiled "Well, that's… technically not wrong. It WAS those qualities that allowed us to become the dominant species of this world, but not quite in the way you're thinking. My story begins, if the records are accurate, about 10,000 or so years ago. Human history is a bit of a sketchy thing, but that is in fact the true starting point of history. Back when the world was still empty, there was...a competition if you will," he said, as he'd finished laying out the cards, all assembled based on their suits...though the two noticed the spades had been replaced with the cards he had used the previous night, most of the spades blank in fact, with only chains on the picture of the card. "It was a competition to decide who would rule the planet as its dominant species. We call it the Battle Royal, a rather pretty name...for a gruesome spectacle," he sighed.
"So… how many species were part of it?" Usagi asked, trying not to think about that comment on it being gruesome.
"How many cards are normally in a deck?" Kensuke shot back simply.
"52… so, 52 species, fighting to the death then?" Luna quickly caught on.
"Fortunately it wasn't THAT bad of a blood bath, but you're right. I said it before, the world was empty at the time. No, this Battle Royal was strictly conducted among the ones who would be the progenitor of the many species. The Undead," Kensuke said.
"Wait, so, does that mean the ancestor of all humans was some immortal monster then?" Usagi said with a somewhat worried frown.
"Correct, though, the Human Undead looked exactly like a human, as opposed to the others who were like humanoid animals. He won the Battle Royale by making use of his brain as opposed to just his brawn. And thus, thanks to the Category 2 of Hearts, Spirit Human, humanity flourished." Kensuke explained with a nod.
"How do you know all this?" Luna couldn't help but ask.
"Because I come from a clan that was started by that great progenitor with a single duty. To safeguard the seal of the Undead," Kensuke revealed. "Our clan is divided into 4 Tribes. One tribe safeguarding one part of the seal, and with it, 13 Undead each. In my case, the Azure Dragon Tribe safeguards the 13 Undead under the spade suit."
"Ah, so the other three tribes are the other three chinese beasts, right?" Usagi asked, having noticed how he mentioned his tribe being Azure Dragon.
Kensuke nodded "Correct, the Azure Dragon Tribe is located right here in Japan, so we are the east, the Black Tortoise Tribe safeguards the 13 Undead of the heart suit, including our progenitor who was willingly sealed shortly after he established the clan and are located in Germany."
"That's… ironic." Usagi commented dryly, and he knew why she did.
"Yeah… we had no clue THAT was going to happen honestly." Kensuke said, before clearing his throat "Anyway, next is the Crimson Pheasant Tribe, safeguarding the 13 Undead of the diamond suit in South Africa. And finally, the White Tiger Tribe, safeguarding the 13 Undead of the club suit in America."
"I see…" Luna nodded. "But...that begs the question...why are they free now? Weren't you supposed to keep them safely locked away?"
Kensuke let out a tired sigh. "I'd give you the details, but they're pretty crazy. Long story short, shit happened, and the seals were badly damaged. We've spent a very long time trying to keep the seals from failing before the Elders realized...we were fighting a lost cause. All we were doing was delaying the inevitable, and as you can see, it finally happened. We knew the Undead would get out eventually...so we thought backwards. If maintaining the seal was a lost cause...we would instead create a new seal after the old one failed," he said, before placing his belt on the table. "For that these were created. With this, we can defeat and reseal the Undead, and as you saw, make use of the powers of Undead we do seal."
"But, how can you use them in the first place?" Usagi wondered.
"Well, Spirit Human gained the respect of the four Aces during the Battle Royal, so they agreed to lend humanity their assistance should the need ever arise. As such, Change Beetle grants me his power so that I can become Kamen Rider Blade, the effect has rubbed off slightly on my human form as well, and I now have the same aura as an Undead, meaning the creatures seek me out to fight me, and I in turn can locate them thanks to my charm." he said, before taking out his necklace from his shirt "Whenever an Undead is close, it starts to heat up, warning me of an incoming threat. The effect is stronger when it's an Undead of the Spade Suit."
"So...since there are four tribes...does that mean there are four Kamen Riders?" Usagi asked, since clearly Kensuke was mainly geared towards hunting down the Spade suits.
Kensuke nodded "That's right, there's three other Riders besides me." he said, and was about to continue, before all their eyes went to the table, as the 10 of Spades started glowing green, before in a small flash, it changed. The Spade symbol changed from a Spade to a Star, the lesser known 5th suit, the number vanished, and the name of the card changed from previously 'Time Scarab' to 'Common Blank'.
"What… what just happened?" Luna questioned in confusion.
Kensuke though, blinked in shock, before smiling "THAT is the sign that at least one of the other three Riders is active, and just sealed Time Scarab himself, meaning my Proper Blank doesn't need to exist anymore, and became a simple Common Blank. The other three Riders are Garren of the Diamond Suit, Leangle of the Club Suit, and Chalice of the Heart Suit," he explained. "Still...whoever it is, I gotta ask them for some tips if they could seal THAT particular one…" he mused, knowing how the Category 10 of his set was one of, if not THE most powerful of the lower class Undead.
"That's good," Usagi smiled. "That means one of your friends are around, right?"
"Allies," Kensuke corrected. "I can't exactly call myself the friend of someone I've never even met, right?" he admitted.
Usagi blinked, before laughing sheepishly "Yeah, good point. But, I hope whoever they are they'll be your friend then."
"So do I." Kensuke said with a nod and a smile "Now then, last night was obviously your first fight ever, right?"
Usagi nodded, not ashamed to admit it "Right, if it wasn't for that Tuxedo Kamen guy giving you a morale boost, we might have been in a spot of trouble." Kensuke added after her nod "So, I'd recommend getting some training in, maybe some kickboxing could help you out a bit, and of course a simple workout routine as well."
"Well… I can probably do sit ups and push ups in my room and take some runs around the block before my baths." Usagi admitted. She wasn't TOO keen on the change to her usual routine, but that would be a small price to pay if it stopped her from floundering around like she did in her first fight.
"That's a good start, and if you want, I could give you some extra training on the weekends when I'm free." Kensuke said with a smile, before he added in a half joking tone. "Don't worry, I promise I won't put you through the intense training I went through in order to win fights of life and death against immortal monsters who want to see our kind knocked off the throne." He said that while maintaining a smile and a straight face.
"Yeah...please don't," Usagi sweat dropped, already imagining the kind of Training From Hell he must have gone through, before she suddenly got up "I'll be right back, the ladies room is calling to me."
"Trying too hard to sound fancy." he told her with a laugh as she went inside for the bathroom, when she was far enough away, he turned to Luna "So… the princess we're looking for… she wouldn't happen to be from the Silver Millenium, would she?"
Luna stiffened in shock and surprise at that. "Thought so," Kensuke nodded.
"H-How do you know about that?" Luna asked in surprise.
"We're a clan that was established back when Humanity took its first steps. We were around for its fall," Kensuke said with an amused expression, before it became serious. "That fall was also when the seals were badly damaged."
Luna frowned at that "Then it's very likely the Dark Kingdom is to blame for that, they were the ones behind everything after all."
Kensuke nodded "Yeah, according to the records, we survived because of a warning from the Prince of Earth, since he knew how important the seals were."
"So...does that mean you are from that time?" Luna asked.
At that, Kensuke actually laughed. "Sorry sorry, but your question was a real riot. We've been around but we're not immortal. No, I was born in this century, so I'm 19 physically AND chronologically. We're actually the ones that helped rebuild Earth after the fall of the kingdoms, so we've been around for a LONG time… though maybe one of my direct ancestors was present during the Silver Millennium." he finished with a chuckle.
Luna laughed sheepishly at that "I see. Then, your clan is very well informed."
"Indeed we are… we even know about Mau." Kensuke added almost as an afterthought, and Luna blinked at that.
"My home planet as well huh? It's been a long time since I've heard about it." Luna mused as she looked up at the sky.
"I get why you're keeping the details on the need to know for now. It's overwhelming enough as is. But Usagi and whoever else are the Sailor Scouts of this era will need to know the full truth eventually," Kensuke said. "But I'll trust you to decide when you think that is. Just don't take too long. They deserve to know what they're fighting for afterall."
Luna nodded slowly, agreeing with his point. "Alright," she said...right as Usagi came back.
"I'm back, did I miss anything?" she asked.
"Nothing much, was just asking Luna what's it like being a cat," Kensuke said, earning a funny look from Usagi. "What? When was the last time you got to talk to an actual talking cat?"
Luna had to fight hard not to laugh at his 'cover story' for their discussion. Yeah, she had a feeling they'd found a good ally in Kensuke.
A few days later…
"Alright… slowly getting better." Usagi muttered as she rested her head on her desk in school, currently in between periods.
Meanwhile, she didn't notice that someone was staring at her.
A boy with short brown hair and thick glasses that hid his eyes sighed as he looked at her "I wish I could go on a date with Usagi."
"Yeah, you wish." he heard a voice say, making him turn to see Naru giving him a dry look "Seriously Umino, I think Usagi's made it pretty clear that you're not her type of guy."
"No way…" Umino deflated, Naru gaining a sympathetic look at that.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it THAT bad," Naru apologized. "But I can tell you right now a head on approach isn't going to get you anywhere."
"Then think I should ask her from behind?"
Naru had a HUGE sweat drop at that comment, but maintained her composure...sorta. "N-no, what I meant was maybe you could...ask a fortune teller for advice?" she suggested.
"Then I already know what to do," Umino smiled before taking out a game. "According to this Fortune Teller game made according to my ideas, Usagi and I are supposed to get married," he said with a smile and hugging it to his chest.
Naru groaned into her hand at that, wondering why he didn't see the glaring issue in his words "If anything, she's more likely to marry Kensuke and make you kiss her fist." she muttered lowly.
"Huh?" Umino said, not having heard her clearly.
"Nothing, nothing." Naru simply waved it off, figuring it would only be mean to tell him of Usagi's latest crush that she was trying to deny... and doing a horrible job of such. "And I meant go to a REAL fortune teller," she added, wondering if maybe a fortune teller telling him how...okay, there was no nice way to say it. How lost this cause was, would finally help him to get a hint.
Meanwhile, Usagi was thinking to herself how much it sucked that Kensuke and Tuxedo Kamen weren't the same person… yeah, Umino really had no chance.
Later, Usagi was running back home, figuring she might as well get a bit extra exercise on the way home. Gotta build up her stamina if she was going to be fighting monsters. Along the way she passed an alleyway...and realized something. Normally a long line was here...but today it wasn't. "Huh? What happened to the line that used to be here?" she asked, as she looked into the alley and saw an old man running a fortune telling stand.
"I guess it's because of the new competition," the old man chuckled at her question. "It's right over there," he said, pointing across the street, revealing a rather...gaudy looking fortune telling house.
"...kinda gaudy if you ask me," Usagi frowned. "Do they use the same kind of fortune telling as you do?" she asked.
"In a sense," the old man nodded before sighing a little. "I guess it can't be helped. People do like to try new things after all…"
Suddenly, Usagi put her palm in front of the old man "Personally, I prefer the old fashioned way." she said with a smile.
The old man smiled at her, before taking out a magnifying glass and examining her palm closely. "I see… an interesting future ahead of you young lady, a boy you see almost everyday… and he has feelings for you… however your paths do not cross, your fates are with others," he mused. "Also, you will be surrounded by many lifelong friends who will cherish you as much as you cherish them," he said with a smile.
Usagi hummed in thought at that, wondering about the many friends part, but also about the one who held feelings for her.
"Someone I see everyday… Kensuke maybe?" she wondered after thanking the old man and leaving him a bit of money for the rather detailed reading, blushing a bit as she thought of the possibility of the rider having feelings for her.
Sure, she liked Tuxedo Kamen as well, but she saw Kensuke more often than him… but then there was the part about their fates being with someone else.
Eventually, she sighed "This is really complicated… I'll just go at it head on instead!" she said with a certain nod, before she felt a weight jump onto her shoulders "Hey Luna." she said, already knowing who it was.
"Hello there Usagi, shouldn't you be home by now?" Luna asked her with a raised eyebrow.
Usagi shrugged "I'm taking the scenic route to exercise."
Luna smiled at that "I'm glad to see you're taking this seriously." she said, before jumping back onto the ground "Mind if I join you?"
Usagi grinned "Not at all, in fact, race you home." she said, before she started jogging again, Luna going at the same pace as her.
Shortly after she left the area however, Kensuke walked out of a small corner store, chomping down on a piece of melon bread.
He chuckled to himself "Nothing beats melon bread." he said, before humming "Hmm, if I ever get a wife, I hope it'll become a regular family desert… that and chocolate cake."
Then, he noticed the area he was in, and how… empty it looked for once, before looking across the street "Huh… that's pretty gaudy." he said, before walking into the alley, seeing the same old man who had just, unknown to him, read Usagi's fortune "Low business sir?"
The old man looked up in surprise, before smiling "Ah, well I only had one young girl pay me a visit just a few minutes ago."
Kensuke hummed at that "Well, how about you read my fortune as well?" he requested, happy to give the old man business.
"I'd be happy to," the man smiled. "Which type of reading would you like?"
"Hm...how about tarot? Never had that type before," Kensuke asked.
"I'll admit it's not my go-to method, but I can do it well enough," the old man chuckled as he pulled out a deck of tarot cards, and laid them out. Humming a little, he soon overturned 3 cards, humming a little with each revealed card. When he was done, he looked at Kensuke. "Interesting," he mused. "I must admit, you have a rather...interesting future ahead of you. The card of your present, the Moon, it represents danger. It seems danger is present in your life. I hope you're not involved in something you shouldn't be involved with," the old man mused. "Furthermore...the Tower represents disaster. It seems if you're not careful, disaster awaits you and those close to you," he frowned. "But it's not all bad. The Lovers. It seems you will find a strong willed woman, one who compliments you nicely."
"Strong willed woman huh? That sounds promising." Kensuke said with a smile, trying to picture what kind of woman it would be from that kind of description. "Is there anything else?"
"Not that I can tell. All I can say is you'd best be careful young man. As long as you are, you'll have a good life," the old man smiled.
Meanwhile, Usagi was in between jogging periods, and she soon came upon a welcome sight in front of a grocery store "Hi dad!" the blonde girl said as she ran up to her father, the bespectacled man blinking as he turning to look at her.
"Ah, Usagi, what are you doing all the way out here?" the man asked in surprise.
"Taking the long way back from school to get some exercise in." she answered simply as she started walking next to him, Luna jumping back onto her shoulder.
"I see, good to hear you're trying to stay fit with how much you eat." the man said with a nod.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Usagi asked him dryly.
"I wonder?" the man said with a sheepish laugh.
Usagi gave him a dry look, before sighing and deciding not to make a fuss about it. It really wouldn't do anything to make a fuss about it now. "So, doing groceries?" she asked.
"Of course. I leave taking care of the house to your mom, so the least I can do is help out with these things whenever I can," he said with a smile.
Usagi smiled at that "I hope I have a relationship like you and mom someday." she said happily.
"If any young man wants to date you, he'll have to go through me first!" her father said suddenly.
Usagi groaned at that "Dad, I'm 14, I can take care of myself." she said as she continued to walk home with her father.
The next day started out fairly normally...save for one thing. "So...did Umino happen to say anything to you recently?" Naru couldn't help but ask.
"No, nothing beyond the usual," Usagi said as they were currently at the shoe locker area. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure Umino likes you," Naru said, though she played it down a little, since his feelings were….painfully obvious especially after yesterday.
"I don't see how that information is new." Usagi shot back with a raised eyebrow, she already knew Umino had a thing for her, but she had made it painfully clear she wasn't interested.
"Yeah, but he went to visit the House of Fortunes yesterday, or at least, he said he would go." Naru added.
"Oh, yeah, speaking of that, I visited that old man in front of that new gaudy place yesterday. I actually got a nice reading, something about a boy liking me, but our fates not being with each other, and how I'll get plenty of trusted friends." Usagi said with a smile, mostly happy about the trusted friends part.
"That's great to hear...well...maybe not the first part, but other than that I can definitely see it happening," Naru smiled. "Though...I wonder who the boy is…I hope it's not Kensuke," she added the last bit with a playful smile.
Usagi blushed a bit "Y-yeah… do you think… I should just outright ask him out?"
"Well, maybe not yet, but after getting to know him more, go for it, use your charms and win him over." Naru said encouragingly.
"Yeah, I'll do just that!" Usagi agreed. However…
"Morning girls," came Umino's voice, to which they turned around...and stopped short.
"Uh… what's with the outfit?" Naru asked as Umino was wearing a suit and tie rather than the standard uniform.
"You're gonna get in trouble with the teachers for wearing that." Usagi told him with a raised eyebrow.
"Who cares?" Umino said, his voice much more confident than it normally was. "Usagi, let's go on a date today," he said as he came closer.
"Wait, what?!" Usagi and Naru gasped, not so much at the question, but more at the 180 personality change. However, before they could say more…
"Umino, what is with that outfit?" Ms. Haruna Sakurada said crossly.
"It's what I wear now, deal with it." the glasses boy said with a smug grin.
Their homeroom and english teacher gave him a narrowed gaze, before pointing towards the door "You are marching right back home and changing into your uniform, NOW!"
"Heh, make me," Umino smirked as he fished out a piece of bread, stuck it in his mouth, before...flipping her skirt.
Ms. Sakurada understandably screamed as she tried to keep her skirt down, Usagi and Naru far too shocked that UMINO of all people had actually done that.
"Nice panties. The smiley face today?" Umino smirked before laughing without a care as he walked away.
The woman understandably started to cry "No one will want to marry me now." she whined as she crouched down.
"I don't think anyone noticed Ms. Sakurada." Usagi tried to comfort the woman as she crouched down, knowing that Umino had gone too far with that one.
"Yeah, besides, when it's a creep who does things like that, they just need a good buttkicking in my opinion." Naru added.
Usagi rose an eyebrow at her friend "You've been watching TV before bed again, haven't you?"
"Hey, the best shows are on late." Naru whispered with a light shove.
Their teacher sniffled a bit, before laughing slightly "Thanks girls… I think I needed a bit of normal interaction after… that." she said with a shiver.
"I'm more worried about whatever the heck got into Umino," Usagi frowned. She hoped this was a one time thing…
Unfortunately, as the day progressed, it was proven that this was NOT a one time deal. In fact...it was spreading. It started with Umino blatantly disrupting class by openly and loudly laughing while reading a comic in plain sight, then when Ms. Sakurada went to stop him, one of the other boys actually tripped her while she was walking, and another actually chided her for 'not walking quietly'. It was at this point that it was painfully clear to Usagi something was not right.
"What? Yuuji also went to the House of Fortunes?" Usagi checked, earning a nod from one of her classmates who knew where the boy who'd tripped Ms. Sakurada had went recently.
"And Umino went there last night too," Naru frowned, having also been curious about this. A sudden change of personality...it was reminding her too much of what happened to her mother. "You don't think this is like what happened to mom nearly a week ago, do you?" Now she was worried. As much as she'd like to forget that incident, she would always remember the sight of that monster dropping its guise of her mother, and with that in mind, what were the odds that possibly the same thing was happening now.
"L-Let's not jump to any conclusions yet," Usagi said, though inwardly she was just as worried of the idea that Youma were replacing her classmates for whatever reason. Either way, she knew where to look after school. However, that train of thought was cut short when the next thing they heard was the sound of glass breaking, the two girls running to the scene just in time to see several boys, Umino in the lead, throwing rocks and breaking school windows, one of the faculty having to quickly duck to avoid a rock that nearly brained him. "Okay, this is too much," Usagi gasped as she and Naru ran towards them.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Naru shouted as they reached them, catching the boys' attention.
"Yeah, don't you think this is going too far?!" Usagi agreed. There was a line between being rebellious and acting like a jerk, and these boys were crossing that line.
Umino however smirked when he saw them. "Yo, Usagi."
"Don't 'yo' me! What do you think you're doing, Umino!" Usagi demanded, only for him to grab her arm.
He didn't even get a chance to open his mouth before he was met with Usagi's free fist, laying him flat on the ground and making him let go of her.
Everybody present stared at her in surprise for a good long while, before Naru finally spoke "Uh… that's new."
Usagi glanced aside with a sheepish blush "Kensuke has been teaching me self defense."
"Well…" Naru looked at Umino who was seeing stars on the ground. "I'd say he's been doing a good job."
"He did," Usagi nodded, before turning to the other boys. "Anyone else want some?" She asked, doing her best to look imposing. Fortunately it was enough as they soon went away, Usagi letting out a sigh of relief. She honestly was sure she only got lucky with Umino.
"Well, good job there. Kensuke is definitely teaching you well." Naru said, poking the unconscious Umino with a stick she got from… somewhere.
"Yeah, he's a pretty strict teacher." Usagi said as she shook her hand a bit, it was her first time properly punching someone in the face.
"So, now what?" Naru asked.
"I… guess we hope Sailor Moon and Kamen Rider Blade investigate the House of Fortunes?" Usagi said, finding it weird to be referring to herself in the third person.
"You know, at this rate I'm starting to wonder if we should start investigating every 'conveniently new' business that starts up in this city," Kensuke said dryly as they were now looking at the House of Fortunes from a nearby alleyway.
"Honestly, I can't fault you for that logic, the chances of them being Dark Kingdom schemes are high." Luna added as she sat on a trash can.
"So, transform and storm the place then?" Usagi asked.
"You're getting used to this quickly," Kensuke chuckled.
"If I were alone, I'd be a lot less brave about this," Usagi admitted. "It's a lot less scary since I know you got my back."
"Well, I'm trusting my back to you, so call it even," Kensuke chuckled. "Now then, time to put this scheme out of business," he said as he places his buckle on his waist, the belt forming and the pulsing beginning.
"Right!" Usagi nodded, before raising her hand. "Moon Prism Power, Make up!"
At the same time, Kensuke grabbed the handle of his buckle. "Henshin!" he called out as he pulled. "Turn Up!"
"Everyone, you did well," the fortune teller who ran the House of Fortunes said before a small crowd of mainly students, with Umino in the lead (having apparently woken up not long after Usagi decked him), all of them having rather malicious looks on their faces, and what appeared to be lights shaped like cards glowing from within their clothes. "Now I'll have you all wreak havoc in town."
"Sure!"
"Sounds fun!"
And various other sounds of agreement came from the crowd. That is until…
"Hold it right there!" came two voices as the doors were thrown open. "What's worse than old men being envious of youth and popularity, are those that think nothing of people's feelings!"
"Who's there?!" the fortune teller demanded as the two figures stepped into view.
"I'm the pretty sailor soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Moon declared. "And…" she started...but trailed off when she realized she had no idea what to call Blade.
Blade picked up on that and with an amused shrug decided to play along. "The Azure Knight of Spades, Kamen Rider Blade!"
"In the name of the Moon…!" Sailor Moon started.
"And of the Azure Dragon…!" Blade continued.
"We'll punish you!" they finished. Once they did, inwardly Sailor Moon was rather giddy at how cool she thought that sounded. Blade on the other hand was mildly surprised he went along with the speech to that extent...but he figured it was kinda fun. That and apparently these enemies WERE dumb enough to stop and wait for them to finish, so...cool.
The fortune teller quickly regained her wits, and taking a deck of tarot cards, she hurled them at the two, Sailor Moon dodging, while Blade knocked several out of the air, the cards embedding into the ground and wall. "I thought Death Dealers were only in anime!" Sailor Moon gasped.
"Huh, clever." Blade told her, before catching a card going right for his head and looking at it "Death? Really?" he said, before throwing it right back, catching the fortune teller in the arm.
She glared at them, before her form shifted, her hair elongating and becoming snake-like, while her skin became green, giving her a real 'medusa' vibe, though thankfully without the turn everything to stone bit. "Get them!" she ordered as the people under her control moved forward, their bodies turning green like hers.
"Note to self. Get the Youma away from wherever their victims are. They just come back as borderline zombies," Blade deadpanned as he was forced to hold his sword in reverse so he could use the guard as a makeshift boxing glove while he did his best to fight back without causing any lasting injuries… besides a concussion or two. Likewise, Sailor Moon had managed to get to her feet and was now doing her best to fend them off. It was one thing to learn how to fight, but she was also aware that these were innocent victims. She didn't want to have to hurt them more than necessary if at all.
Fortunately, they didn't need to worry too much about that, as at that moment, something flew through the air, and struck the Youma in...well…
"Ouch…" Blade and Sailor Moon winced as the rose had struck her in the right eye, bringing forth a long and drawn out scream of pain from the Youma. If nothing else, despite the rather...gruesome method, it had an effect as the 'zombies' had stopped moving. Literally.
"Okay, that's kinda weird," Sailor Moon couldn't help but say as she waved a hand in front of the now frozen Umino.
"Nice timing again," Blade couldn't help but say as he turned to the source of the rose (which the Youma had pulled out much to her own agony), and wasn't surprised to find Tuxedo Kamen.
Tuxedo Kamen smirked a little. "I'd say don't give up no matter how hard things are, but I think you two were doing just fine there," he said, before turning to the Youma which was glaring hatefully at him, before she lunged at him, her hair turning into claws. However… "That won't work! Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!" Tuxedo Kamen called out, his cape wrapping around him for a moment before dispersing as he punched forward, shooting a sphere of energy towards the Youma who was once again hit in the face, sending her flying back to the wall.
"Again with the face!" she roared angrily. "I'll rip you in half!"
"Not when you're that open!" Blade shouted, being the first to take advantage of the Youma's disorientation, and running forward, while scanning two Rouse Cards. "Slash! Thunder!" the two cards were soon absorbed into his armor as his face plate glowed red and electricity crackled all over him. "Lightning...Slash!" he called out as he swung his sword horizontally, catching the Youma at the chest, causing her to let out a choking gasp as the blade cut through her with ease, lightning running through her before she soon crumbled to dust, leaving a tarot card of 'The Devil', which soon turned to ashes.
Right as that happened, the controlled victims all fell to the ground like puppets with cut strings.
"Thanks for the… opening." Blade finished lamely when he saw that Tuxedo Kamen had already left "Geez, you'd think he'd stick around to be thanked."
"That's why he's so cool though, because he's so mysterious." Sailor Moon said with a dreamy sigh while Blade just shook his head.
"Good job, both of you," Luna said with a smile as she came out from hiding, before adding. "Now, I think we may want to leave before they wake up...or the police come if anyone heard the fighting."
"Considering one of us uses electricity, I wouldn't be surprised." Sailor Moon commented, while Blade glanced at her dryly.
"Let's just get going." he said with a sigh, before the two quickly left the building and jumped away, nobody even noticing their escape.
And there!
That was Kensuke's history right there.
What do you think? Like the chinese beasts reference?
And do you like how different Usagi is here?
Leave your opinions, but please, no flames or insults.
See ya next time!
