I'm Usagi Tsukino, a normal fourteen-year-old girl... or at least, that's what I thought until recently. I've always been clumsy, a crybaby, a coward, and terrible at studying. I have trouble waking up early, I'm always late for class, and my grades are so bad that even my mom doesn't know whether to laugh or cry anymore.
That morning started like any other. I woke up to my mom yelling that I was already late! I threw on my school uniform in a rush, barely washed my face, and ran down the stairs with a piece of toast in my mouth… yes, classic me.
As I sprinted toward school, something made me stop in my tracks. On the street, I saw a group of boys bullying a small black kitten. They were throwing stones at her and laughing. How cruel! Without thinking, I ran at them and shouted for them to stop. They laughed at me for a moment, but finally walked away. I knelt down beside the kitten and noticed she had a strange bandage on her forehead, as if it were hiding something. She looked at me with big, shiny eyes—like she wanted to say something—but she didn't make a sound. Just stared at me.
"Are you okay, little kitty?" I asked. She didn't answer, but I felt something… strange. Like we knew each other.
I continued on my way and, of course, arrived late. In class, I met up with my best friend, Naru Osaka, and we chatted about our usual topics: cute boys, makeup, and the new jewelry collection at her mom's store. I sighed while she talked.
"My mom says I'll only see those jewels through the shop window, with the grades I get," I said to Naru with a laugh, even though it stung a bit inside. My parents were strict about my studies.
While we talked, Gurio Umino, the class nerd, suddenly joined our conversation. He's always talking about weird facts and school trivia, but… lately, he's been nicer to me. I think he has a crush on me, though he's still super weird. Today, he said:
"Usagi, you don't need jewelry... you're already a gem yourself."
I nearly choked on my own spit! My face turned bright red and Naru burst out laughing.
Later, after school, our teacher handed back our tests. A terrible score of 30. My mom was going to kill me! I rushed out of school like the test paper was on fire. While I was walking, still dazed, I threw the test away without noticing... and it flew through the air and landed right on a guy's head!
He turned around with one eyebrow raised and looked at the score before smirking.
"Looks like your head's as empty as your grade," he said mockingly.
"Hey! That's rude!" I shouted, blushing with embarrassment. He just walked away like it was nothing. Later I found out his name was Mamoru Chiba, a cocky college student.
When I got home, my mom scolded me like never before. She waved the test in the air and shouted, "Is this what you learn at school?!" Meanwhile, my little brother Shingo laughed from the side:
"I wish I had a smarter sister..."
Ugh! What a cruel family!
I thought nothing stranger could happen that day. But I was wrong. As I returned from a quick errand, I decided to take a shortcut through an alley. That's when I saw it—a shimmering crack in the very fabric of space, like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Everything around it was being pulled inward, as if the air itself was warping. I tried to resist, to run away... but, as always, I tripped over my own feet and was sucked in.
The next thing I saw was a completely white space, like an infinite void. Objects, people... everything was falling in from different directions. I saw two strange men there: one was covered in flames, powerful and imposing, talking about "heroes," "villains," and things I didn't understand; and the other, a handsome man with white hair, who simply called himself "The Doctor."
"We need to gather them in the TARDIS before the universes collapse," he said quickly.
I had no idea what was going on. Universes? Collapse? What even was a TARDIS? I soon found out when I saw that blue police box. It didn't look like much… until I stepped inside. It was enormous, like a futuristic castle full of lights and strange noises.
Inside, there were other people: one was named Shiryu, wearing an impressive dragon-shaped armor. I saw Endeavour fighting some kind of otherworldly creature, and the Doctor… saving everything like it was just another Tuesday.
I was terrified. I just wanted to go home. I curled up in a corner, trembling, until the Doctor came over to me with a kind smile. He was eccentric, yes, but... comforting too.
"Everything will be fine, Usagi," he said gently.
I didn't know how he knew my name.
The two noisy guys who were with him were super annoying. Loud, dumb, and immature. I saw Stella, a red-haired girl, blow up in anger and get into a fight with Shiryu. Then another girl fell on top of the two idiots, and in the middle of the chaos, someone mentioned something about a medallion and a guy named Bill Turner.
And then… we got kidnapped.
Now we're on a ghost ship, surrounded by rotten, half-dead pirates. I don't know what they want from us, or why we're here.
I look up at the dark sky, starless and cold, and whisper:
"Doctor… please save us."