~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Dolphin Rider Koishi - The End
Sana:
Don't worry Matsy, some would say the ability to drive without dying to be absolutely essential!
Also, sounds like Koishi got some PERSONA GLASSES :O
Kinzo the Astro Curious:
I thought the divers OK was a nice touch. That and the occasional links are great.
This fic is infinitely better than I could have imagined. I thought i'd be walking in on something like that horrificly badly written on purpose fic thing there was ages ago, skim it over, maybe get some lulz, maybe not and give up.
instead I got a suprisingly seriously written fic about a topic that I wasnt expecting to be done seriously, and its come out awesome.
Keep this up. I give it 5 dolphins.
FinnKaenbyou:
As bad as this sounds, with the amount of work I put into the setting I actually prefer writing this to writing PLotSS. >_>
-----
She gave Sango enough of the answers to at least fail honourably, but not enough to make their sheets look blatantly similar. Koishi realised that Sango probably tried to guess the last few questions, using whatever sort of insane dolphin logic she had. She took a moment to wonder what sort of absurd nonsensical answers Sango would provide.
She never got to see them, but the sudden raised eyebrow from Professor Kawashiro as she marked the papers spoke volumes.
Koishi scraped a pass, as usual, but today was something unusual in that she was disappointed in that result. Before, a 60 was a sign that she'd escaped the dreaded failing grade, but now she started to reminisce over the days when she had scored 80s or 90s on tests like these. She knew she could do it, she just had to put the time in like she used to.
Sango was less fortunate as she got her paper back.
"Hey, what do all these crosses next to my answers mean?"
She spoke out loud now, since no-one could hear her other than Koishi over the hubbub of gossip that had erupted. There was almost more red ink on her paper than there was black, with various comments along the lines of 'I have no idea what you were trying to do here'. The number 42 was jotted in the corner in a rush, as if the professor was tired with this paper and decided to just give the result as quickly as she could before moving onto a less hopeless student.
"Wait...you scored a 60, right? And I have 42...so does that mean that if we work together, we each get half a cookie?"
The hope in Sango's eyes as she asked the question nearly broke Koishi's heart. She reached out and gave her dolphin companion a pat on the head, trying to break it to her in the lightest way possible.
"Hit the books."
She failed.
"Aww..."
-----
Sango didn't do much better in other classes either. She earned the wrath of the religious studies teacher when she asked if a Buddhist was some sort of dessert, and when the geography teacher asked her to name the largest mountain she'd heard of she offered the answer 'the hill on the way to school'. Lunch went badly when she asked for fresh mackerel, and her grasp of chemistry verged on the non-existent. There were several people who wondered if she'd ever attended school in her life, or if she was some sort of ruffian raised by wolves and finally returning to normal society.
The sad part was that they weren't so far off.
As a consolation, her knowledge of hydraulics and fluid dynamics managed to salvage her some respect. Her reputation around the class jumped from 'clueless moron' to 'idiot savant'. A personal victory, perhaps, but Koishi didn't bother mentioning that both of those subjects were too advanced to actually appear on the curriculum.
Which brought them to the last period of the day. Koishi matter of factly pointed out that they were due for swimming lessons, and Sango's heart almost melted in her chest.
"Swimming?! Alright, that's awesome! Maybe I'm not so good at all that other stuff, but in the water there's no way anyone's gonna beat me! C'mon, Koishi-san, let's go!"
She made a dash for the pool, wondering if she would get one of those weird blue swimsuits that all the middle-schoolers wore when they took trips to the beach. Either way, it was going to be totally awesome-
"Ah."
Koishi had grabbed her by the hood, stopping Sango in her tracks. She used a few fingers to rub along the fin down Sango's back.
Yeah, wearing a school swimsuit is going to be a giveaway. I've already called in sick for both of us, so let's just go home.
Sango looked off towards the pool in the distance, then back to Koishi, then back to the pool. Her heart sank like a rock, and once again Koishi could make out the disappointment in her eyes.
"But, but I...I'd look so cool, and...stupid, stupid fin."
Sango pouted childishly as she pulled her hood back up, clearly mad that she hadn't had a chance to show off how well she could perform in her element. She walked alongside Koishi as they made for the exit, letting her friend go through the usual effort of checking for passing teachers.
But I don't get it, Sango-san. Why did you need to follow me anyway? Surely a school is the last place I'm going to get attacked.
"It's not that simple. Like I said, the Black Claw's gonna recruit anyone they see around here who they think has merit, and show them their power the same way I showed you yours. Everyone here's a potential enemy, and when magic is involved crowds don't matter."
Koishi's head tilted. Sango sighed - maybe she wasn't very good at this whole school thing, but when it came to magic Koishi was more or less on the same level.
"Look, when two magicians fight, there are a buncha rules you have to follow. First, you've gotta make physical contact with your opponent and challenge them. They can't refuse, and then the two of you get to sort out your problems through some good old combat. Most people can't see this sort of thing happening - it sort of jumps into a separate plane where all the mundane folk aren't around to cause you trouble. All that most people will see is two people disappearing."
Koishi realised the conclusion Sango was trying to lead up to.
You mean...crowds are the best place for them to attack?
Only now did she realise that Sango had been holding her hand almost all day, all the time they'd been moving between classes. The dolphin nodded.
"Bingo. No-one's gonna miss one or two people in a crowded room, right? So you've gotta be careful at all times."
That was a little unnerving, she had to admit. Koishi bit her lip as she caught glances at some of the kids hanging around in the corridors - none of them looked particularly keen on the sight of her, and she could tell that if someone were to offer them fortunes for taking her out they probably wouldn't think twice.
"But hey, it works both ways. If they can recruit people, so can we. We just want to keep our numbers as small as possible, so we keep our recruitment down to the Sirens when we can."
And how do you find the Sirens, anyway? Do you need to wait until after they've made this big wish of theirs?
Sango turned around at that one. The cocky grin again, which inevitably meant she had something she wanted to show off. She coughed a little, suddenly wrapping her arm around Koishi's shoulder.
"Man, I can't wait to go home, phwee~"
The phwee sound at the end sounded like some sort of verbal tic, but as she said it Koishi noticed her ears wriggling ever so slightly. She closed her eyes for a moment, standing in place.
Then, with a single motion, she reached down to Koishi's far pocket.
"Hey, what are you-"
Sango grabbed at something inside, grinning like an idiot.
"Putting the Teardrop in your pocket? You're begging to get robbed, Koishi-san."
Sure enough, her hand had clasped itself around Koishi's Teardrop. She'd never mentioned where she'd hidden it, but without so much as asking Sango had found it.
...How'd you do that?
"Just a little trick I picked up with the White Pearl. It's like sonar, but with you Sirens and your Teardrops. Needs a little work, though - I'm not very good at picking up Sirens who haven't awakened yet, but I can tell there's no-one else around here who has a Teardrop."
Koishi's eyes widened. Sonar? As in that thing with sound bouncing around? So that was what the phwee sound was for.
"Wait. Does that mean..."
Sango looked back, puzzled.
"Mean what, phwee?"
Her ears wriggled again. They must have been listening out for any magical feedback or whatever it was they were picking up.
"That you're going to be saying that all the time...?"
Sango shrugged.
"Better safe than sorry, phwee." "And besides, it's only for school, right?"
Koishi grit her teeth.
"But...it's kinda annoying."
"Hey, I think it's sort of cute, phwee. You'll learn to like it!"
Sango wrapped her arm tighter around Koishi's shoulder, leading her out towards the exit.
Or better yet, Koishi thought to herself, I'll learn to ignore it.
-----
Another long walk home, though it had been a while since she'd taken this trip with a companion. There was a nice view of Gensouto from up here as the sun started to set in the distance, and Koishi and Sango got to enjoy the trip alone thanks to leaving earlier than they were supposed to.
It had been a lot to take in for Koishi. The last 24 hours seemed to have consisted of nothing but madness, to the point where Sango had needed to sit down and explain things to her for ages on end so that she could keep up. She only hoped that she'd just about wrapped her head around this whole magical business by now, and she could focus on actually doing this scouting out tomorrow.
But besides that, something else about her seemed different. She hadn't noticed it until now, but all these antics with Sango had brought on something that she didn't recognise.
"Sango-san, can I ask you something?"
Sango looked back, puzzled.
"What, is there something I forgot to tell you?"
She'd dropped the phwee now that they were outside. What a relief.
"Uh...this is going to sound weird, but am I smiling?"
Sango looked blankly at Koishi in response to the question, puzzled.
"Well, yeah. You look like you're pretty happy. Why do you ask?"
So that's what the feeling was. Her chest felt a little warmer than it had before, like her heart was slowly coming back to life. It was a strange feeling, but she liked it.
"It's nothing. Just...never mi-"
"But I don't wanna do this any more!"
Koishi was forced out of her little nostalgia moment as a voice filled the air. They were passing the coast by now, walking alongside the beach on the way back home.
Which meant the shrine was nearby.
"Look, you know how hard I had to beg my dad for this money? We're doing it, and we're gonna wish for a million wishes, just like we planned!"
It was the duo from earlier, the big Fairy and her librarian friend. Now Koishi could see them standing on the other end of the pier, the Fairy holding a 1000 Yen bill over the shrine's donation box.
Both Sango and Koishi looked on in worry. They were out of earshot, and the only reason they overheard the conversation was because the pair had resorted to shouting.
"Sango-san. Are either of them..."
"Lemme check, phwee."
Sango pressed two fingers into her temple, focusing harder than usual this time as she read the sonar. After a few seconds, she shook her head.
"Nope. They're just two ordinary girls. Well, as ordinary as you get in Gensouto, anyway."
Koishi sighed with relief.
"Ah, that's good. So that means they're in no da-"
"No. The two of them are in deep, deep trouble."
-----
*insert commercial break here because I keep seeing this as an anime in my head whyyyyyy*
Dead Princess Sakana:
Oh, things are about to get interesting. Looking forward to the next update~ (which is already in the works, as I just heard :3 )
Liking the way Sango uses sonar.
Also:
--- Quote ---I keep seeing this as an anime in my head whyyyyyy
--- End quote ---
That's how I write all my stuff :V
FinnKaenbyou:
Dolphin Rider Koishi is sponsored by White Rose and sleep deprivation.
And now, back to our feature presentation.
-----
"Huh?! But San-"
Sango reached out and put a hand over Koishi's mouth as the pair crouched behind a nearby set of bushes.
"Be quiet. We can't have them hear us, remember?"
Koishi's immediate panic faded, and Sango pulled her hand away. Now, though, there was a sick feeling in her stomach as she watched the pair argue some more.
"...But why are they in trouble? They don't have Teardrops, do they? They're just a pair of kids following up on a stupid highschool rumour."
"Where do you think all these rumours come from, Koishi-san? Do you think that rumours that would just so happen to reveal a Siren just get made up by a bunch of bored highschoolers?"
Koishi's blood froze in her veins.
"Y-You mean..."
Sango nodded.
"Yeah. The Black Claw set that rumour up to lure people in. And I get the feeling they won't be too pleased if a pair of kids start spreading around that it didn't work..."
The argument at the shrine reached its peak. By now the Fairy had grabbed her friend by the shoulder to keep her in place as the note fluttered over the donation box.
"Look, you've got nothing to lose from this! It's my money, so let's just do this already!"
"But it's scary! What if it's one of those spirits that takes your wish and turns it into something horrible? What if we wish for a million wishes, but then we have to sit and say all of them in a row without breathing or something crazy like that?"
"Oh, come on, Koa. Now you're just being paranoid! Personally, if Cirno taught me anything, it's that who dares wins. So even if it is some sorta genie like that, I'll figure out a way to beat him!"
This was not going to end well. By now the Fairy was holding the note over the box with only two fingers, and she was ready to let go any second now. Koishi took off her glasses at last, so that if anything were to attack the pair she'd be able to see it.
It disturbed her slightly how calm she was with seeing the two transform in front of her eyes; the first girl was now a literal fairy, with bright green hair and a pair of fluttering wings behind her back, while her companion looked like a lesser demon with dark red hair and two black wings poking out of the sides of her head. But now wasn't the time for little matters like that. She'd seen her fair share of strange colour choices today, and then some.
"Wait for it..."
Sango reached down to her waist, and Koishi noticed that there were a pair of vials that she hadn't seen before. One of them was filled with what looked like simple water, and the other was filled with salt. She looked ready to pull one out at any moment as she waited for the situation to come to a head.
She didn't have to wait long.
"Alright, whatever spirit lives in this thing. Gimme a million wishes, or else!"
The note began to fall through the air.
"NOW!"
Sango yelled as she bolted out from behind cover. Koishi followed closely behind, charging down the pier in quick succession.
The two girls at the pier had just enough time to turn around in confusion. Koishi could make out the fairy's lips shaping a word that Koishi wasn't supposed to say in front of children.
By then, Sango had swept at them with one of the vials, sending salt flying through the air. They gasped on reflex, unintentionally inhaling it and letting off coughs.
"Ack, ack! What the hell do you think you're-"
The fairy started out on an angry retort, but the last word of her sentence never emerged. Her eyes suddenly turned blank, and she fell backwards without resistance onto the pier. Her friend didn't even let out a cry of shock before she collapsed.
Sango placed the vial of salt back on the belt around her waist. Koishi looked down at the two fallen bodies, immediately thinking the worst.
"Relax, they're not dead. It's sleeping salt."
Sure enough, the two girls let off a light snoring a few seconds later. Fortunately, by now Koishi's concept of reality was so far gone that this didn't surprise her too much.
"They'll wake up in an hour or so with no idea what just happened. More importantly..."
Sango walked over to the edge of the pier. A trio of shadows were rising up from beneath the water. Koishi could tell what they were from that alone: they were the fishmen, the ones that had tried to kill her the day before.
"Alright, Koishi-san. Looks like it's go-time."
Koishi nodded at Sango's call. She use one hand to link with Sango's, and pulled out the Teardrop with the other. She squeezed it in her hand, and it let off its beautiful orange light. The pair stepped into the water in unison, making a quiet splash before disappearing into the water below. It took Koishi a moment to stir up the courage to speak underwater, but the words from before began to rise up out of her heart once again.
"Wherever evil forces be,
On the land or in the sea,
All who sin should cower and flee
From Dolphin Rider Koishi!"
Once again, Koishi was engulfed by the Teardrop's light, feeling herself transform under its power. Her clothes fell away, and were replaced with the same absurd design she had found herself wearing the day before.
"Halt, villains! I, Dolphin Rider Koishi, have emerged to put a stop to your evil deeds!"
She wondered how much of this was viable, and how much was simply the forces of magic having a twisted sense of humour. The swimsuit made sense, yes, and the trident was pretty cool, but was it all really necessary?
"In the name of the sea, prepare to be punished!"
...Well, maybe it was kind of cute, but-
Look out!
Unfortunately, now was a bad time to sit and analyse her magical girl outfit. Sango had taken on her dolphin form again and pushed her out of the way of an attack, the claws of the closest fishman slicing at the water where she'd been floating moments before. She was winded for a moment, but Koishi caught her breath and took her place on top of Sango soon afterward.
You okay?
"Y-Yeah...sorry, I got distracted there."
They'd made some distance between themselves and the fishmen. Technically, there was nothing they could do to stop them from rising to the surface and going for the two sleeping girls on the pier, but they had no reason to. Not when there was a genuine Teardrop right in front of them - oh, how the master would praise them if they could retrieve that Teardrop!
Alright, Koishi-san. These guys are small fry, honestly, so feel free to try out some new stuff now so you don't need to figure it out later. And don't go full power and knock yourself out again, you're really heavy to carry home.
Koishi frowned at that one, bopping Sango lightly on the head. The dolphin let off a little 'phwee', granting Koishi a hint of catharsis.
"Alright, let's see here...what do I have to work with?"
She examined her clothing for anything else besides the trident that could act as a weapon, but all she could see were the gloves on her hands and the ribbon around her neck. She looked at the latter, poking at it with a finger.
"What's this thing for...?"
As she touched it, the ribbon came undone around her neck, beginning to glow with a bright white light. It wrapped itself around the trident in her hand, and it started to grow lighter in her grip as it became engulfed in the same white aura. The light faded a few seconds later, revealing that the trident had metamorphosed entirely.
"A whip?!"
Koishi-san, just whip it at something! Don't worry about hitting anything with it! And hurry up!
The fishmen were coming closer now, moving in from three different directions and once. Koishi ran on adrenaline, lifting up the silver whip in her hand and lashing forward with it. Again the words flew out of her mouth without her thinking them.
"Iruka Charge!"
Sango blinked white for a moment, before the world around Koishi blew past her in an instant. Her dolphin mount was blown forward by a magical force, sending both of them flying through the water at breakneck speed. Sango shone with a bright red aura, ready to ram through anything that was unfortunate enough to get in her way.
The fishman Koishi has lashed out at had no chance to react. Sango slammed headlong into it, dispersing it into a few dozen fish before blowing past its two companions. By the time they'd turned around again, Koishi and Sango were well away from their enemies.
Not bad, and better yet you're still consciou-phwee!
They had time. She could afford to pound her mount on the head when it deserved it.
"OK, next...what do these gloves do?"
She examined them more intently, looking at the dolphin emblem imprinted on their backs. She pushed in the emblem on her left hand, and there was an audible click as it came to life. Her palm began to glow with a pale light, a ball of energy beginning to form in her hand.
"Is there any part of this costume that isn't some sort of weapon?!"
Not really, but are you complaining?
Koishi raised her hand, pointing it at the remaining fishmen. The ball of energy continued to grow until it reached the size of her palm. It seemed she could charge it at will, or fire several weaker shots in the same length of time. Something to keep in mind, but right now it looked like it was as strong as it was going to get.
"Iruka Shot!"
The bullet flew from her palm straight forward towards the enemy, advancing without any care about petty things like gravity. This time one of the fishmen was aware enough to dodge the attack, not caring in the slightest as his partner took the attack to the face and was promptly engulfed by an explosion, dissipating into a school of sardines and fleeing.
Koishi decided not to think about how she could make things explode underwater, at least until this last enemy was defeated. She ran a hand along the whip, and it returned to its original trident form as the ribbon retied itself around her neck.
"Let's finish this! Sango-san, charge!"
Sango nodded, dashing towards the last enemy. Koishi readied her trident, prepared to slash through her enemy as she passed by. The fishman darted towards them, claws ready to fillet Koishi at a moments notice.
"IRUKA SLASH!"
The two foes passed, striking at once.
For an instant, neither moved.
Then the fishman let out a choked cry as three slashes ran across its chest, before he collapsed and fled in a dozen fishy forms.
It was over.
See? I knew that you had potential. Trust your pal Sango once in a while, alright?
Koishi leaned on her trident as she took deep breaths to calm down. So much of that had been instinct, but she'd won convincingly against the enemies that had horrified her yesterday. True, she had Sango's help, but this was a big jump from the girl who almost died 24 hours ago.
"...Thank you."
Koishi tickled Sango beneath her chin as they made for the surface again.
No problem, it's my job. So, what're you gonna do now?
Koishi gripped her trident tightly, grinning.
"Well, I think I might accidentally tear that donation box into a few dozen pieces. So much for that silly rumour, huh?"
-----
"Curses!"
She saw the battle remotely through the eyes of her minions, up until the final blow left the Siren victorious. She slammed a hand into her desk, cursing in a language no-one on the surface would have recognised.
Not only had she lost, but likely the Dophin Rider would damage the shrine to the point where her vantage point would be useless. It was by far the best position she had to strike, and she had lost it within a single day.
"...Perhaps I need to begin acting sooner than I had thought."
She paced around the room, mumbling to herself. She would need to scout, search for girls here who showed potential, and recruit them into her ranks. She would promise them all the riches of the mortal world in return for the head of Koishi Komeiji.
Not that she had any intention of fulfilling the bargain, but that was a problem to resolve another time.
"...Komeiji, hm...who would have imagined?"
-----
OMAKE:
"Phwee~!"
"Sango-san, cut it out..."
"But it's so fun! Koishi-san, try it out already!"
"Look, aren't we busy? I thought we had to go start finding the other Sirens!"
"I know, but that's why I'm doing it! Phwee, phwee~"
"Please tell me we find someone soon..."
Next Episode: Finding Friends! Sango-chan's Phwee Phwee Adventures!
"Let's go save the world together, phwee~!"
* The editor responsible for this nonsense has been sacked.