Tsukino Usagi
Usagi's foot taps impatiently as they wait for Sakurada-sensei to arrive. By her watch she's nearly 15 minutes late, which is unusual for the normally punctual woman. Her classmates have already started muttering amongst themselves, though Usagi doesn't join in. She does, however, listen in, since occasionally they gossip about interesting things.
She doesn't hear anything particularly interesting before the door eventually opens and Sakurada-sensei slowly lumbers her way over to the podium. She drops her books atop it before slowly grabbing for the roll book and opening it. She stares at it blankly for several seconds before saying, "I guess I'll take attendance." But before she can read a word the book slips from her hands with a loud clatter onto the table. "On second thought, it's a free period," she mutters tiredly instead before slumping over on the desk.
Usagi glances around and sees everyone else is just as confused as she is. "Should we call an ambulance?" Umino asks. Someone answers him, but Usagi isn't paying attention. She subconsciously frowns; there's something…off about Sakurada-sensei, but Usagi can't tell what.
They do end up calling for help, and five minutes later Sakurada-sensei is being carried out of the school on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance. Their class watches from the second story window. "I hear there's something going around where you fall asleep and never wake up," Osaka-san remarks to Umino, standing just behind Usagi. She glances to the side in interest, trying to listen to the conversation.
"Oh yeah! I remember seeing that on the forums last night," Umino adds. "The doctors haven't been able to figure out what's causing it. Everyone's in a panic."
"I wonder if it has anything to do with that pin she was wearing," Usagi muses to herself. She had been getting some weird vibes from Sakurada-sensei this morning, but the only thing she could think to attribute it to was the massive flower pin she'd had on her jacket.
"Oh, I noticed that!" Osaka-san interjects, and Usagi flinches when she realizes the other girl had heard her. "I think she got it from the radio station."
"The what now?" Usagi blurts. But she doesn't get an answer from the girl since one of the other instructors comes in to tell them they're dismissed for the day. Her classmates disperse to grab their things and head out, Usagi among them. She contemplates heading to the Game Center when she hears her name being called and pauses.
"Tsukino-san!" Osaka calls, running up to her.
"Yes?" she asks, cocking her head to the side.
"You were asking about the radio show but we got interrupted," her classmate explains, and Usagi lets out a noise of recognition. She hadn't expected the girl to seek her out to respond. "It's called Midnight Zero, and it's a radio show that's really popular right now," Osaka-san begins as they start walking. "People send in their love letters and if yours gets chosen to be read aloud that night you'll get a prize like that pin Haruna-sensei was wearing."
"Ah," Usagi nods. "I wonder if anyone else who received the pin is in the hospital unable to wake up," she muses aloud.
"You think they're related?" Osaka-san asks her, sounding confused. "But they're just jewelry." Then she shrugs. "Besides, all the letters are anonymous so we wouldn't know either way."
"Right," Usagi mutters. "What station is it on?"
"KJN-10," she answers. "Are you going to listen?"
Usagi shrugs. "Maybe I'll –" She's cut off as she runs bodily into something, almost knocking herself flat on her rear. She quickly bows, adopting an apologetic tone. Wouldn't want Osaka to think she's always rude; the girl does have useful information from time to time, so she'd like to stay on her good side. "I'm so sorry about that," she says. Then she hears a deep chuckle and her sympathy runs dry.
"Very polite of you to apologize to the telephone pole."
She looks up and her eyes immediately narrow on the boy standing in front of her, a smirk on his face. She remembers him from before, when he'd made fun of her test score and she'd later hit him with her shoe. It's just her luck she runs into him again. "And I'd do it again before apologizing to you," she retorts.
"Ooh, snappy," he says. "I heard you guys talking before. You upset your love letter wasn't good enough to be read?"
Usagi scoffs, turning up her nose. "As if I'd care about something like that." She starts to push past the boy to walk away, but then remembers that she'd been walking with Osaka-san, who seems a little stunned by the whole encounter. She turns to the girl and bites out an awkward, "See you in class tomorrow," before walking off to stew in her annoyance.
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At 23:59 Usagi pulls out her radio and tunes it to the station Osaka had mentioned earlier. Behind her she hears Luna messing around with the newspaper on her bed. "What did you say this program was called?" she asks.
"Midnight Zero," Usagi replies absently.
"And this is a…new program?"
"Apparently."
"I don't see it in the newspaper," she says. "Are you sure about this?"
Usagi shrugs. "This is just what I heard." As soon as the clock strikes midnight the radio comes to life and they hear the smooth voice of the radio DJ speaking.
"Good evening, ladies, and welcome to Midnight Zero. Tonight I've got a special letter for you all, sent in by the lovely Naru-chan."
He goes on to read the letter, but Usagi isn't paying any attention. If she recalls her class roster correctly, Naru is Osaka's given name. 'Did Osaka-san send in a letter to the show?' she wonders.
"This isn't the regularly scheduled programming," Luna says, oblivious to Usagi's distraction.
"Seems suspicious," Usagi remarks. "Do you think it warrants investigating?" she asks, hoping the cat will reply in the negative. She's only just dealt with that House of Fortune monster a couple of days ago; she isn't sure she wants to do it again so soon.
Her companion contemplates the question for a moment. "No, I don't think so. Not yet, at least," she finally replies. Usagi nods, relieved.
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Usagi walks into class the next day and is abruptly reminded of her remark yesterday about the pins being related to the sleeping sickness when she sees Osaka-san wearing the exact same pin that Sakurada-sensei was wearing. Her classmate is far more alert than their teacher had been, but Usagi is willing to bet it won't last long. She stays back to watch as the other girls crowd around her, oohing and aahing over her letter being read.
The pin itself is sitting innocently on her desk, and Usagi pays careful attention as Osaka grabs and pins it on her uniform top. The reaction is instantaneous. Her eyelids start to droop as she relaxes in her seat. She doesn't fight it much longer and soon her head is dropping onto the desktop as she snores away. The girls around her are surprised, and it takes them a moment before they start trying to wake her up.
By the time their substitute instructor shows up the class has worked itself up into a minor frenzy out of concern for Osaka, and the harried teacher calls the ambulance for the second time in just as many days. Classes the rest of the day are tense and subdued.
As soon as they're released for the day Usagi finds Luna waiting for her right outside the school gates. "I think we will have to check out this radio station," she tells the cat once they've left the school crowd.
"What happened?"
"Osaka passed out in class today. We had to call the ambulance because we couldn't get her up," Usagi explains. "She had one of those pins from the radio show. I know it's related. I watched her fall asleep as soon as she put it on."
"This isn't good," Luna says when she's finished. "We'll have to go tonight."
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This is, of course, far easier said than done, Usagi realizes when they're approaching the TV station and there's a guard on duty at the gate. She and Luna stop around the corner, peeking around to get a look. There's no other way inside; they have no choice but to go through the guard. "How are we supposed to get in?" she hisses to the cat. Luna is her guardian or mentor or whatever, so it's her responsibility to solve these kinds of situations.
"Leave it to me," she says.
'Thank god,' Usagi thinks. And then Luna jumps in the air, and Usagi is confused. The cat flips in midair and energy coalesces below her until it suddenly disperses, leaving behind a pink pen that Luna deftly catches before it can clatter on the ground. Usagi knows she's gaping, but she can't help it. She hadn't seen Luna do that last time when she'd given her the transformation brooch. Knowing Luna could do that and actually seeing her do it were two different things.
"This is your new Disguise Pen," she begins to explain, ignoring Usagi's incredulous expression. "Just toss it up in the air, call out 'Moon Power,' and tell it what you want to change into."
She spares a single dubious look but doesn't outright question her. Then she flicks the pen in the air, calling out, "Moon Power! Change me into a…radio announcer?" She doesn't intend it to be a question, but she hadn't thought of what she'd wanted before she threw it and an announcer was the first thing that popped into her head that she figured might get them through.
The warmth that she'd come to associate with her transformation fills her and she instinctively closes her eyes. When they open she's not wearing her uniform – Sailor Moon or school – but a smart suit-skirt combination. The pink is a little garish, in Usagi's opinion, but with her blonde hair – cut chin-length now; she really hopes that'll grow back out – she figures it'll make playing a ditzy blonde easier.
She channels the most obnoxious girls she can think of, ramping up her usual act when she approaches the gate, acting like she forgot her purse in the studio and could he pretty please let her in without her ID? If she happens to flirt a little at the same time, well, the guard is pretty cute, if a little older than her. But he lets them in without much fuss – and maybe a little exasperation – and soon they're making their way through the nearly empty building. It's a little disconcerting how silent everything is, but at least there's no one else to question them.
Luna seems to know where she's going so Usagi trails just steps behind her. When they get in the elevator Luna tells her the floor but then doesn't say another word, leaving Usagi to fidget in silence as she wonders what's going to happen. Should she transform into Sailor Moon now? Are they just going to barge into the radio studio? And then what, if they find the monster? If they don't? So many questions to ask, but Luna looks in the zone and Usagi gets the feeling she should be as well, but can't seem to manage it.
The elevator stops somewhere near the top of the building, and the long hallway they're in seems even quieter than the lobby before. Luna leads her to a room before looking up at Usagi with a pointed expression. Usagi balks. "What am I supposed to do, Luna?" she hisses quietly at the cat, hoping no one inside can hear them. These things are soundproofed, right?
"You are going to go inside and assess the situation. If you don't see a monster, then demand the show stop running; if you do, transform and fight," she tells her.
"What?!" Usagi exclaims. "That…doesn't sound like a great plan, Luna." She shoots a dubious look at the door, uncertain of what's waiting for her inside.
"It's the only thing we really can do," Luna retorts. "Now go, Usagi. Be confident. I'll be waiting out here to intervene if I need to."
Usagi takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. Really, it's not that complicated. Luna is right; this is pretty much their only option, and besides that, Usagi will be fine. She can transform in the instant she sees a monster, and Luna will be there to back her up, just as she's said. She knows she'd feel a lot more confident going in as Sailor Moon from the get-go, but she knows that's not a good idea if there are just civilians in there. "Alright," she says just a couple of moments later. "I can do this." She concentrates on what she has to do, adopting a stern expression for the confident radio announcer that she's playing.
With one last nod to herself she twists the doorknob and enters the room, and then pauses. "They're all asleep," she remarks under her breath for Luna's benefit. 'Well, all but her,' she mentally amends when she catches sight of the woman standing at the window into the booth. She steps further into the room. "What's going on here?" she demands as imperiously as she can. The woman turns, startled, but Usagi doesn't stop. "You don't have the authorization to be here. There shouldn't be a show at this hour."
She then heads into the sound booth where she can see a man sitting at the mic. "No, he's on air!" the woman shouts in an attempt to stop her, but Usagi ignores it. She walks right in, surprising the man though he doesn't stop speaking, and takes a seat opposite of him, putting on the headset in front of her.
"Ladies and gen–, well, stop listening right this moment," she declares.
"Wait!" the man says, standing.
Usagi plows through his words. "This station is bad for your health. Every one of the women who've received this station's pins have fallen into a deep sleep they can't wake from –"
"Usagi look out!" Luna shouts from the other room, right before something crashes through the studio window.
Usagi flinches as glass shatters around the room, some small bits hitting her in the face before she can get her arm up to protect it. The woman stands inside the room, staring intently at Usagi with a sinister smirk on her face. Usagi struggles to keep her face straight and not show how afraid she is. It gets harder when the woman transforms.
Her skin turns an ashy gray-purple as her features sharpen, her teeth becoming points. Her green blouse and black skirt change into a toga-like dress and her short auburn hair grows long and flowy. There's a black spot in the middle of her forehead just like the first monster Usagi fought. 'Oh shit,' is all she has time to think before the monster is opening her mouth and shooting a blast of something at Usagi. She scrambles out of her chair just in time to avoid a direct hit, but the blast hitting the wall throws her into another.
She has no time to lie there as the monster's mouth opens again, and this time Usagi makes her way out of the room and studio to avoid another explosion. Luna meets her in the hallway, seemingly unharmed. "Usagi-chan, transform now!"
"Yeah," she agrees. "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
She finishes just in time because once the smoke clears from the hallway both the monster and the man are standing before her. "How dare you toy with the feelings of girls like this, asking them to bare their feelings when you only want their energy! I won't forgive it! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" she shouts, pointing an imperious finger at the duo.
The man looks utterly unconcerned. "So it's you who's been getting in our way," he says. He must be the one behind the recent attacks, Usagi realizes. He looks pretty sharp in the gray uniform he's wearing, so he must be higher up than all the monsters she's faced so far. If he's too much stronger than them, she might be in trouble.
"And you're the one responsible for these attacks," she retorts, voicing her earlier thought aloud.
"My name is Jadeite," he says, and she takes that as a confirmation. "Prepare yourself," he warns, right before his monster leaps forward. She's got an arm with wicked sharp nails stretched before her and Usagi jumps to the side to avoid them. Without hesitating the monster uses her blast of breath, but this time Usagi isn't lucky enough. It clips her on the shoulder, shredding her sleeve and throwing her roughly into the wall. The wind is knocked from her and she gasps, hearing Luna shout her name from the side.
She has no chance to recover as the monster does it again, hitting her solidly in the chest and pushing her through the next two walls behind her. Usagi collapses on the rubble and tries not to cry. Everything hurts, and she isn't too sure she can move, but she knows if she gets hit again she might be done for. In an effort to buy some time she raises her right arm – her left doesn't want to move – and grabs her tiara. The crunch of rubble tells her the monster – or its master – is probably moving towards her, but her vision is a little blurry from the knock to her head so she can't tell which. 'Either is fine, really,' she thinks, so she quickly flings it in a blind attack. "Moon Tiara Action!"
It likely swings wide because she doesn't hear any grunts of pain, but there is the sound of more rubble falling so she must've hit something. Then the quiet crunch of footsteps appears beside her. "Sailor Moon, you need to get up!" Luna hisses.
Usagi blinks to clear her vision and turns to see Luna crouched next to her. "It hurts," she groans.
"You'll be fine, but not if you stay here," she retorts.
Finally Usagi makes the effort to stand. Luna can't do much to help in that regard, as small as she is, but she watches with a worried expression as Usagi levers herself out of the pile she'd made from the two walls. She makes it unsteadily to her feet, and that's when she sees what her previous attack did. There's a hole in the ceiling where the tiara must've struck, and the falling rubble has blocked a bit of the hole she made in the wall. From the sounds coming from the other side, she doesn't think it'll hold for very long.
"We need to escape to the roof and get out in the open," Luna tells her. Usagi grimaces but nods. She gets a running start but manages to clear the distance, and just in time too as an explosion rocks the floor below as the monster no doubt blasts her way through.
She lands a little roughly on the roof, crouching to remain steady, but there's little time to rest as the monster soon follows her up. "Time for you to die!" it snarls.
Usagi jumps out of the way, adrenaline fueling her movements now. She can't stop moving if she doesn't want to get hit again. Her and Luna end up split in all the chaos, but when Luna calls out to her she makes her way over. "Sailor Moon, here! Your tiara!"
She hadn't caught it earlier after throwing it, but Luna must've picked it up because it's sitting right beside the cat. Usagi rushes towards the cat, dodging yet another blast and sliding on her knees – and scraping them further – to a stop beside her companion. She doesn't hesitate. "Moon Tiara Action!" This time she can clearly see the monster charging towards her and her throw strikes true. It cuts right through her chest, splitting her into two pieces that quickly disintegrate.
She catches the tiara when it returns to her, but doesn't put it back on her head. Jadeite stands across the roof from her – when did he get there? – calmly watching her. "Your turn now," she says.
He smirks. "You wish to fight me?"
"Moon Tiara Action!" she snaps, flinging her tiara with as much force as she can muster. He raises an arm, an intense look of concentration on his face, and Usagi watches in horror as the tiara comes to a halt, dropping right to the ground. "No way!" she gasps, her eyes wide as she gapes at him. The smug expression has not left his face.
"Bastard!" She charges forward, jumping into the air to come down on him with an overhead kick. About a foot before she hits him, though, he raises a hand and Usagi's leg smacks down on some invisible force field. It throws off her balance and she falters in her landing, her ankle twisting horribly when she lands on it wrong. She falls to her rear just before Jadeite and tries to keep the fear from her expression as she looks up at him.
He stalks forward, that damn expression still in place, and Usagi scrambles back but he's too quick for her to keep up with. Just as he's nearly upon her, a single rose lands before him, stopping him in place as he looks at it curiously. Her breath catches at the interruption. "And what's this?" he asks, cocking his head to the side. His gaze sweeps the roof, catching on something to their side.
Usagi looks over, and she can't help but grin when she spots a familiar figure. "Tuxedo Mask," she mutters. The moon right behind him shrouds his features in shadow, but she'd recognize that silhouette anywhere. Besides, who else runs around fighting monsters in a full tuxedo?
"Two against one," Jadeite remarks, drawing Usagi's attention again. She watches him warily for his next move, but he doesn't seem aggressive anymore. In fact, a moment later he jumps back, his form flickering slightly before vanishing and reappearing high above the roof next to a spinning black portal. He's looking right at her when he does, and they maintain eye contact until he vanishes.
Usagi lets out a sigh of relief, thankful it's finally over. Then she turns to look at Tuxedo Mask, but by then the figure is gone as well. 'Damn, and I wanted to finally talk to him,' she thinks. She can't mope for too long, though, before Luna is bounding up to her.
"Sailor Moon!" the cat exclaims. "Are you alright?" she asks, casting worried glances over her body. She's far more roughed up than the last two times she'd fought a monster. Both her left shoulder and pieces of the uniform covering her stomach are shredded, and she can see nasty-looking bruises forming on her torso. Her ankle is also throbbing, though she's not sure if it's broken or simply sprained. "Can you move?" Luna asks when Usagi doesn't reply.
She tries standing, all her aches returning now that her adrenaline is fading. She can't put much weight on her left leg, so there's no chance she'll be leaping over the rooftops to get home tonight. "Barely," she mutters in response.
"We'll take it slow," Luna promises. "When we get back to your room I'll teach you how to properly wrap it."
"I can't go to the hospital?" she pouts, slowly hobbling towards the rooftop stairs. There's not a chance in hell she's going through that hole in the roof, though it would be quicker.
"Of course not, Sailor Moon," Luna scolds. "What would you tell them?"
"I'd make something up. I'm clumsy enough."
"And your parents, when they're notified you're in the ER?"
Usagi hesitates just a moment. "They probably wouldn't notice, or care for that matter," she mutters a moment later.
"But Miharu-san would, and do you really want to deal with that fuss?" Luna continues.
"Fine," Usagi mumbles, giving in and resigning herself to a slow and painful walk.
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Usagi is still limping the next day, but with her ankle wrapped – it took her nearly an hour's work under Luna's instruction to get it wrapped properly – and her little cuts nearly healed she's just fine to go to school. She's somewhat pleased to hear both Sakurada-sensei and Osaka-san awoke from their deep slumbers the night previous, and should be back sometime later that week. She still envies them, though. 'All that time sleeping sounds wonderful,' she thinks, and can only hope Jadeite has nothing immediately planned so she can get a bit of a break to heal.
It's a little concerning to know that these monsters she's facing have a master, and a powerful one at that. If she wants to stand any chance against Jadeite the next time she sees him she's going to have to get stronger, or who knows what might happen. This last time it was just her ankle, but the next time…it's a scary thought for Usagi to contemplate, but it just makes this whole thing all the more real.
Usagi knows she's going to have to start taking this more seriously, if she doesn't want to die. Last night was a wake-up call, and it isn't one she plans to ignore.