~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore

Dolphin Rider Koishi - The End

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Gpop: ...what the hell just happened? ...then again, silly things seems oddly fitting for a character like Koishi~ :V

Moerin: --- Quote ---Considering I've actually got plans to continue the whole thing, it's not really a joke anymore. --- End quote --- Not really my style to say something like this, but... ilu Rou~♥ >.> <.<

Kasu: Oh man.  You actually did it.  :3

FinnKaenbyou: EXPOSITION WARNING CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK ----- "Nnngh..." Koishi was cold. Her entire body was soaking wet, and her clothes were drenched. She held the covers tightly against herself, shivering. There were strange thoughts running through her head. She had visited a shrine on the coast and made a wish there, but everything after that spiralled into absolute madness. Fishmen leaping out of the water, a dolphin appearing to save her life, a ring that let her breathe underwater, and worst of all that...whatever the hell that costume had been. Maybe she'd had a fever and she just hallucinated the entire thing in bed. "Yeah, that makes sense..." In any case, the best solution then would be to get some more rest. Koishi laid her head down on the pillow again and relaxed, waiting to drift off to sleep once again. Getting sick was pretty handy for her - it meant that she wouldn't have to go into school tomorrow, and she'd get to avoid Cirno and her gang for a whole day. "...Hey. You awake yet?" These hallucinations were more believable than she thought. That one sounded just like someone was sitting next to the bed, talking to her. But that was impossible - she never had visitors. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put a face to it. "I heard you mumbling to yourself. Rise and shine, okay?" The voice was getting more irritated. She'd heard it last night - yesterday? This morning? She didn't know what time it was right now. Whatever time it was, she wanted them to just be quiet and let her sleep. The hallucinations were apparently a lot stronger than she expected, because the pillow that slammed into her face felt incredibly real. "Ow!" It didn't hurt much, but it was enough to get Koishi to wake up. She sat upright in bed, clutching at her nose with a groan. "Morning, sleepyhead! I was wondering when you'd come back into the realm of the living." The voice sounded a lot more cheerful now that Koishi had woken up in full. It annoyed her that she couldn't place it - it wasn't a classmate, but who else could it be? The only voice she'd heard recent was in that dream of hers, the one from the dol- Oh, god. She didn't want to open her eyes. She had a horrible feeling that if she did, she'd see something ridiculous again. It would just be a good idea to lie down and go back to sleep... "Do I need to throw something else at you?" Well, if it was a choice between slight physical pain and witnessing something that would shatter her view of reality forever, Koishi could only really go with the latter. She counted to three in her head, then opened her eyes wide in one movement. Another girl was sitting in the chair at her side, looking down on her with dark blue eyes. Her shirt had an odd bubble pattern running along its sleeves, and her skirt was dripping onto the carpet. She looked like she was soaked as well, but it didn't seem to mind. For a while, it didn't seem all that bad. It wasn't one of those weird fish-things from before - it was an ordinary-enough human being. Her hair was strange, true - a shade of silver, just like hers - and her outfit was a little eccentric, but she didn't have scales or anything else freaky like that. She could deal with odd hair and fashion sense. Then the girl turned her head slightly, and Koishi saw the fin sticking out the back of her neck. "Ah-" Koishi's cry caught in her throat as she promptly fainted. ----- She awoke more violently the next time around, as a bucket of water was dropped on her face. "Don't collapse on me again, please. I need to talk to you about a ton of stuff, and it's sorta hard to do that when you're unconscious." The words should have been irritated, but the dolphin girl stuck her tongue out as she spoke. Apparently having a legitimate reason to drop a bucket of water on someone's face was enough to entertain her. Koishi spluttered momentarily, but she was definitely awake this time. "...Am I high on something? I swear it looks like there's something sticking out of your neck from here." "Yeah, that's a bit of a nuisance. I'm not exactly undercover right now, so I didn't see any point in hiding it. After all, you know who I am, right?" Koishi struggled for a response for a few seconds. "Um...not really. Unless you want me to say 'a magical dolphin who saved my life'. And I really don't want to say that." The dolphin leaned across the bed, her face wearing an absurd-looking smile. "Aw, why not? You know I'm adorable. I can see it in your eyes - you just wanna give your friend Sango a big hug and tell her what a great person she is, right?" "Not really." Silence. Sango pouted. "...Oh. Well, I'm sure we'll get to know each other a lot better. We've got a lot of work to do together, after all!" Sango seemed excited about this whole thing now, trembling a little in happiness. "Um...what work?" Koishi tilted her head in confusion, still completely out of the loop. Sango's eyes widened, as she suddenly realised she'd forgotten something. "Oh yeah, I was meant to give you a rundown on everything, wasn't I? Sorry, this is my first time working with a Siren, so I guess I'm making mistakes every now and again." Another term that Koishi didn't recognise. This definitely wasn't a hallucination now - even if her brain was going haywire, it would still make more sense than this. "A siren? What, were you that desperate to wake me up?" "No, silly, I'm talking about you. See that gem you have over there? That's proof that you're a Siren." Sango pointed to the desk next to Koishi's bed. Turning to it, Koishi saw that sitting on top of it was the orange jewel from earlier. The one that she'd... "That gem is what we call a Tidal Teardrop. They're magical jewels with incredible power - what let you do that whole Dolphin Rider thing a few hours ago, basically." Koishi picked the Teardrop up. It glistened slightly, letting off that beautiful tint it had earlier. "The legend goes that at one point in time, 7 girls from this town are chosen to become Sirens, and they realise their power when they make a wish from the bottom of their hearts. Following me so far?" She remembered the shrine. The wish she'd made to find someone who would look after her. Had Sango appeared to grant that wish...? Koishi nodded, putting together what had been said so far. "Why 7 in particular?" "Hell if I know. Magic just seems to like certain numbers for some reason. Don't ask me, I just work here." Sango shrugged sarcastically. Apparently she wasn't as in the know as she claimed to be. "Now, this is where things get a little weird, so bear with me, okay? I want you to start by looking down on yourself." Koishi stared blankly at Sango for a moment, but eventually she complied and pulled the covers away. "What the-?!" Something was running across her body - a series of purple cords travelling along her legs and coming to an end at her chest. A dark blue sphere was attached to them, centred over where Koishi's heart was. An eyelid hung shut on it, and didn't look set to open any time soon. How hadn't she noticed this? This thing was attached to her in four or five different places, but she couldn't feel its presence at all. It was almost like it had been part of her all her life- "Wait. No, that's impossible..." Sango smiled. "I'm not introducing you to any new world, Koishi. I'm just helping you see what's already there." ----- "What happens when you're a kid, Koishi? Your folks will tell you fairy tales and stories about princesses in castles who get saved by Prince Charming, right? Thing is, they don't expect you to honestly believe in that sort of stuff, because they don't believe in it either. No-one does. Magic doesn't exist, right?" Koishi shook her head. She didn't believe as much - hell, after everything she'd seen in the last 24 hours, she couldn't - but she shook her head on instinct. "Bzzt. Wrong answer!" Sango held her hands up in an X to denote a wrong answer. Koishi pouted, afraid that Sango had actually taken her seriously with that. "Well, what people don't realise is that a mindset like that is exactly what blinds you to magic in the first place. People who don't believe in magic can't see it, and they see the world in the boring mundane way everyone thinks they're supposed to see it. It's that denial that basically blinds them to the real world. "And what's life like in the real world? Well, imagine everyone you ever knew had some sort of superpower or magical ability. Everyone in your class is some sort of magical girl, and they all look like it as well - crazy hair, weird eye colours, and in your case an extra eye on top of the two you've already got. But again, no-one realises it, so all of that magic just goes to waste. As long as people don't realise that they're magical, they'll never BE magical." Koishi raised her hand, puzzled. "Hair? You mean, people having blue hair for no reason and not being aware of it?" Sango stopped her monologue, taken aback by Koishi's question. "W-Well, yeah, pretty much. How'd you know that?" "I, uh, sort of see it sometimes. People with weird strands of hair that no-one else seems to notice...is that normal?" Sango bit her lip, which was enough to tell Koishi the answer was a definite 'no'. "...Well, you must have somehow been semi-aware of the magical world. I dunno how, but it probably isn't unheard of. Anyway, you'll see these things full-force now. "So the majority of mankind is unaware of their secret abilities. Hell, there are only two ways to really realise it nowadays - to honestly believe that magic exists even when everyone around you thinks you're crazy, and having someone else push you into the truth. That, uh, was sorta what I had to do to you, but it was that or you got drowned by those fishmen, so I hope you understand." Koishi suddenly realised she'd never offered thanks to Sango for her help earlier, and immediately she felt guilty for having forgotten. "Um. You saved me from those...whatever they were. Thank you, Sango." "No problem. Anyway, the other thing people don't realise about the world is that there are people around them who've been aware of the truth the whole time." "You don't mean wicca folk and stuff like that, do you?" Sango sighed, pointing to her fin again. "Here's a hint." Koishi stared at the fin while her brain processed the question. Her jaw slowly opened. "You don't mean...animals, do you?" "Yup. Most people would just think I was a dolphin - kinda smart, but not as smart as one of you. How wrong can you get, huh?" Sango smirked, taking a proud stance and looking dramatically into the distance. It was clearly meant to impress, but Koishi disregarded it entirely. "So, we animals are in two minds when it comes to you humans. Most of us think things are fine the way they are, and that humans are best kept in the dark in terms of the whole magic deal. Humans are already volatile enough creatures as it is, so giving them all their power is basically begging for trouble. "But there's a small minority who think otherwise. They think that all that magic is going to waste if we don't tell people about it, so they want to bring magic into the public eye. They only have a few rare moments to strike, but if any of them were to be successful it could lead to the whole world learning about magic and everything going to hell. They call themselves the Children of the Black Claw." Koishi frowned. This was all getting horribly complicated...was she trying to say that there'd been some sort of secret war going on around her her entire life? That seemed ridiculous, and she was a lot happier being in the dark about it. No way to unhear any of this, though, so she had no choice but to let the whole story come out. "This, here? It's one of those rare moments. Those Tidal Teardrops of yours? They give you a ton of magical power, yeah, but they can be used for more than just magical girl antics. And getting all 7 of them together...well, with that, the Claw could basically unleash any sort of magical disaster they liked. They'd own the world, in short. "So that's why there's another sect designed to keep their forces at bay. We're not exactly a large group, but we're devoted and highly skilled. It's our job to keep the Teardrops out of the hands of the villains and keep the peace in the world." She bowed gracefully, to the extent that it was almost parody. "And so it's with great pleasure that I can offer my services to you as Sango Tororetsu: Initiate of the Order of the White Pearl, and your new personal bodyguard." ----- "Think you can understand all of that?" Koishi took a moment to think it all over, but eventually she nodded. So basically there were bad guys who wanted to use that teardrop to take over the world, and Sango was here to protect her? That made sense. "So, um. How long do we have to wait before they stop looking for the Teardrops?" Sango's face fell. "Wait? We're not going to wait for them to get bored, Koishi. We've got to go at there and find the other Teardrops before they do! True, they won't get all seven, but even four or five in their hands is really dangerous!" Now this part Koishi didn't like. Her voice grew a little more flustered as she began to question the dolphin. "W-Well, can't you just wait for them to make their wish or whatever, and save them like you saved me?" "I can't be responsible for all of the Sirens at once. If I go out of my way to save someone else, that would leave you in danger, Koishi. And like I said, there aren't many of us in the Order - I'm pretty much the only agent they could send to look out for you in person." Koishi was starting to tremble a little now. "But...that means we'd need to fight again." Sango shrugged. "Maybe. The Claw will probably gather forces from nearby - revealing the truth to some of the local girls, and getting them to work as soldiers for them with the promise of power. If they find a Teardrop that way, all the better for them, but if we sit around and wait it'll be us versus an army of other magical girls. And while that Teardrop gives you a lot of power, it's not gonna be enough to take on a dozen people at once." Koishi fell silent. Her eyes started to water a little, and she sank back into her bedcovers. Her heart was pounding with fear just at the thought of going through another fight like that again - it had been adrenaline alone that guided her through her battle against the fishmen, and now she was being asked to fight people she knew? People she'd gone to school with her whole life? It was too much, far too much. "I...I don't want to fight." The dolphin sighed. "Koishi. I know it's scary, but I'm counting on you to-" "You don't get it! I can't help you, Sango!" Koishi burst out at Sango, raising her voice to a shout for the first time in the discussion. Sango was physically taken aback, startled by Koishi's sudden rage. "I'm not some magical girl who can fight evil. I'm not some superhero destined to save the world from the forces of darkness. ...I'm not even an ordinary high-school student, living out an ordinary life with ordinary friends and ordinary grades. I'm a coward, a weakling, a loser...you may as well take that stupid stone of yours and give it to someone else. It's wasted on the likes of me." Koishi pulled the covers over her head, slumping down into bed again. Sango bit her lip - she hadn't just struck a nerve, she'd stabbed a knife through it and run all the way along. "Koishi...don't say stuff like that. You saw what you did to those fish-freaks, didn't you? You beat the crap out of them!" "What if I just got lucky? And besides, it's only going to get harder from here, right?" Sango couldn't answer that one, and bit her lip as she tried to come up with a response. There wasn't much she could do, though - if Koishi wasn't going to accept that she'd managed to succeed, she could hardly convince her to change her mind after knowing her for all of an hour. "Take that Teardrop, and give it to someone else, okay? Just act like I never had it." Koishi pulled the pillow over her head, effectively ending the conversation on her part. Sango bit her lip, wishing she could do more here - she wasn't willing to give up on Koishi, especially after that show she'd put on. She wouldn't admit it herself, but Koishi had kicked some serious...wait, fish didn't really have rears, did they? Anyway, she was incredibly strong for a beginner. She had potential, and with Koishi's help they might just be able to win this war. But how could she get her out of this rut? "...Maybe I should leave this to someone who knows you better." Koishi barely heard her from beneath the pillow, and her words didn't make any sense anyway. She heard Sango walk towards the doorway. "I'll be hanging around for a while, so feel free to think this over. Later." She made her way out of the room, but she didn't stop talking. Koishi heard Sango say something else, but it clearly wasn't aimed at her. "You two can see her now. Hopefully she won't be too surprised." Two voices let out little yelps of joy at that one. Koishi was confused - who on earth would be wanting to visit her at a time like this? She still didn't have any visitors, and the only living things that stayed here besides her were Rin and Utsuho- Wait. She pulled her thoughts back to what Sango had told her earlier - animals were part of the magical world as well. So...did that mean...? "K...Koishi-sama?" A new voice entered the room, asking after her with concern. It was joined by a second, more aggressive one soon after. "Nyaah! Outta the way, outta the way! I can't get in with you blocking the doorway like that!" There was a sound of someone being pushed, and two shouts as the newcomers tumbled onto the floor in a heap. Koishi was torn between looking over the edge of the bed and confirming her fears and holding this pillow down for just long enough to suffocate herself. Survival instinct won in the end, however, and she satisfied her curiosity. Two young girls were looking back up at her - one with a pair of raven's wings emerging from her back, and the other sporting a set of feline ears. There was no doubt about it - these were the pets she'd looked after since she was a child, except they'd apparently been a lot more intelligent than she'd previously imagined. There was an awkward silence as the pets prepared to speak with their master for the first time. "Uh...hi?"

Nine West: --- Quote from: Roukanken on August 20, 2010, 12:22:59 AM ---"Aw, why not? You know I'm adorable. I can see it in your eyes - you just wanna give your friend Sango a big hug and tell her what a great person she is, right?" --- End quote --- I nearly died. Well done.

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