Ami Mizuno was a genius, and that rather undersold her. She could do calculus by the age of five. By the age of seven she could do it without a calculator. Really, she only went to school for the social experience, as that was the one and only area she was lacking in.
Unfortunately, it was also the one and only area where Ami was unable to use those incredible smarts to solve the problem. People were, by and large, irrational. Their wants, their desires, their thoughts and their emotional responses were simply impossible for her to model, hence the problem seemed intractable. Hence, Ami Mizuno shrunk into a quiet shell. She was almost a non-presence, save for the odd occasion where she would hear someone remark about her intelligence. It was like she had become a local legend without noticing, a myth of someone to be envious of. But was this kind of lonely existence worth having this much intelligence? There was another problem Ami couldn't solve.
Yet let's step back few hours when something truly strange happened. Inexplicable, preposterous, and it began when Ami opened her eyes after a really good night's sleep.
The first thing her eyes fell upon was her bookcase. Not especially unusual. Her bookcase was fairly large, and full of a lot of books one would not expect from a cute girl like her. What <i>was</i> unusual was the little green circle in the middle of her vision. Ami rubbed her eyes, thinking it was a trick of the light. Maybe she had some gunk over her eye that needed to be cleared off? But, no. The circle was still there. The blue haired genius frowned and concentrated on it, and that's when things got <i>really</i> strange.
<b>Analysis Initiated!</b> flashed across the top of her vision. A little green rectangle appeared around the book that the circle happened to be over, and then a rotating version of the book itself appeared in the upper right corner. <b>Identified: A book titled "The Grand Design", written by noted British physician Stephen Hawking. It provides an in depth analysis of the history of scientific thought, and in particular is noted for its argument that a divine entity is not necessary for the creation of the universe given current understanding of scientific principles."</b>
Ami rolled over in total surprise and shock, almost outright falling off her bed.
"Wh-what was that?!" she yelped.
<b>Query detected. Solution identified: 'That' was a scan of selected object provided by HUD.</b>
HUD... Heads up display? Ami patted at her face. There was nothing there! She hurried out of her room, dashing for the bathroom. Mirror! Where was the mirror! Ami stared into it. Sure enough there was no sign of any technology. No visor, no glasses, nothing in her eyes. Yet there it was. Ami had a HUD overlay in her vision.
Okay. Alright. Calm down, now. Stay calm. Take a good look at this... interface and try to work it out. The circle seemed to be some sort of focal point which would allow her to analyse objects. Ami furrowed her brow and focused on her toothbrush. Sure enough, those letters appeared across the top alongside a rotating three dimensional model of said toothbrush.
<b>Analysis initiated! Identified: Ami Mizuno's toothbrush. Due to softness of bristles and high concentration of accumulated bacterial content, a replacement is advisable.</b>
In the bin that toothbrush went. So, concentrating on the HUD instead of that! The circle was an analytical tool, the upper portion of the screen provided hard text for her to read as well as an image of whatever she was analysing. What else...? Aha, on the lower left of her vision there were other details. That looked like humidity and temperature. And there was more on the lower right as well. That was the date, and next to it was the -
Ami's posture shot up straight. "That's the time?" she asked aloud.
<b>Query detected: Solution identified. Yes it is.</b>
Gulp! Oh no! At this rate she'd be late for school! Oh no... On the one hand Ami really should call in sick until she could work this out, but on the other hand her mother was a Doctor, and she'd notice immediately if Ami tried to fake it! Never before in her life had Ami dressed so quickly, nor eaten breakfast at such a pace. Oh, gosh! She'd had so little time she had to indulge in that anime cliche of having a bit of toast in her mouth while rushing out of the door!
This was a little troubling though, and she was thinking that as she ran to school. Normally she was up and about at least an hour before this point and more than ready for school. This strange HUD business couldn't have kept her preoccupied for such a long time. Had her alarm failed to go off? Oh, if only she had noticed the time before, she might have picked up the pace!
Now, I can tell what you are probably thinking, dear reader. Ami is upset that she is going to be late for school, a typical concern for someone that cares so much about attendance. Yes, that's normally true. However you have forgotten: Yesterday Ami had encountered a certain girl for the first time. A wonderful girl, a shining example to be held up for others. A girl by the name of Usagi Tsukino!
At the moment Ami was running for school she had no care or consideration for her attendance record. It was all about how Usagi would view her. That was it. That was all that mattered. It felt like she'd be letting her down somehow if she was tardy by even a second, no even a picosecond! If anything the mere fact that she was rushing full pelt to school like this was bad enough, that alone was letting that amazing girl down!
Somehow she made it to class just as the bell was ringing. Everyone turned to look at her expectantly - then their faces fell in disappointment. It wasn't hard to see why. Usagi wasn't here yet! Ami's heart leaped into her chest. Usagi... Where was she?
Ami slunk off to her chair with her head tucked down. Now that she was actually here she was much more acutely aware of the mysterious HUD again. Risking a quick glance up, she winced a little at the realisation that the names of anyone she focused on flashed up on the top of her display. Ohhh! Now she could already feel herself burying in deeper and deeper into her cocoon of shyness! This HUD was making things worse, not better!
The door opened. The class erupted in a cacophony of relief.
"There she is!"
"Oh, Usagi! At last!"
"We were so worried about you!"
Ami looked over and yes, indeed, there she was. Utterly radiant, a shining light in the darkness. The young genius felt her heart rate pick up, her breathing grow shallow. All of her non-Usagi related senses grew muted and dull, like everything else was washed out. Dull. Uninteresting. Uninspired. Without meaning to Ami focused on Usagi's face and then -
<b>Analysis Initiated: Detected: Usagi Tsukino. Strengths include an endless amount of compassion, a strong sense of right and wrong and a mysterious dormant power. Weaknesses include ditzy behaviour, lazy tendencies, crybaby status. Sexual preferences: Strongly bisexual. Thinks Ami Mizuno is really cute. She is also the rein-</b>
Ami turned away to look out of the window. She couldn't bear to look any longer after that last sentence! B-Bisexual? Th-Thinks Ami Mizuno is c-cute?! What sort of nonsense was that supposed to be? Why would anyone be interested in a dorky, shy girl like her?
Then again, this HUD did give her an excellent opportunity. Maybe she could become friends with Usagi, at the very least? Yes, that almost made sense. If she thought of it like that, then maybe her being given this HUD would be considered -
"Divinely ordained..." she said aloud, in a voice like a sigh.
- Ami starts using her HUD to flirt with Usagi for maximum effect!
- Usagi uses her inspirational abilities to help Ami come out of her shell.
- What does Naru make of all of this?
- Meanwhile, other future Scouts are gaining special abilities.
- Something else
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