~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Dolphin Rider Koishi - The End
Sana:
I totally support Dudley!Sango :V
Kinzo the Astro Curious:
This must continue. Can't think of much else to say on the matter. Just continue. :V
FinnKaenbyou:
--- Quote from: Keith the Kappa on September 09, 2010, 10:00:18 AM ---This must continue. Can't think of much else to say on the matter. Just continue. :V
--- End quote ---
Well, if you put it that way~
-----
Koishi blinked.
"Wait, you mean..."
"Yeah. Apparently you have good taste in friends, because I can sense the Teardrop inside her. She's a Siren, alright."
Mokou was staring at the floor, looking antisocial as her hands hung in her pockets, almost forgotten. She'd yet to notice Koishi and Sango stalking her out.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Koishi-san? Go talk to her."
"Me?! But look at her! She probably knows a dozen ways to kill me with that cigarette alone!"
"Hey, you're her friend. She's got no idea who the hell I am, so your odds are better than mine."
That, at least, Koishi couldn't argue with. She let out a little groan as she stood up straight, trying to figure out how best to introduce herself. Did she throw out a simple greeting? Did she pretend to have forgotten her?
Maybe a joke would be the best way across, now that she thought about it. Something witty, something to make her laugh. Win the audience over, or something. She racked her brain for something to offer to the conversation.
"You know, uh...I'm not the health expert here, but I always thought smoking was bad for you."
Smooth. Reeeeeeeal smooth.
Mokou looked up at that, and proceeded to give Koishi a nigh-fatal glare. There almost seemed to be something burning beneath her eyes - a tiny flame, flickering brightly now and again. The cigarette slipped out of her mouth, unused, and she promptly crushed it beneath her heel.
"I figure if I buy myself a packet, it's a packet that someone else isn't gonna use to poison themselves. Besides, people have expectations 'round here, believe it or not - if you aren't smoking, everyone thinks you're some kinda kid."
She kicked away from the pillar lightly, strolling up to Koishi with the same menacing aura. She examined her, seeing that her face was a tint above deathly pale now, and she was squirming just at her presence.
"You really are feeling crap, from the looks of things. Don't tell me you got involved in some sort of drug crap, Komeiji-san?"
This was turning out very, very badly. The last thing she wanted was for Mokou to think she was a junkie - that'd lose her everything resembling respect from the health nut. She started flailing, half through desperation and half through fear.
"N-No way! You told me enough horror stories about those things to keep me clean for a dozen lifetimes-"
Her panicking cut off.
"Wait. ...You actually remember me?"
Mokou put a hand on Koishi's shoulder. The difference in physical health was blatantly obvious between them - Mokou was a head taller, and her muscles were refined and strong compared to Koishi's.
"You were treating your body like shit, Komeiji-san. Of course I was gonna worry about you."
A tiny smile worked its way onto her face.
"But you look better now. Maybe not in great shape, but you're trying again. That's good."
She wrapped her arms around Koishi in a firm embrace, leaving Koishi surprised for a moment. She was touched to find that Mokou still remembered her after so long apart, and allowed herself to enjoy the embrace.
Meanwhile, watching from the distance, Sango felt her face turning red.
!? That girl...
The way they were holding each other - hadn't that been how Koishi had been holding her?! That same affection, that same care...
"...Phweeeeee...!"
A sound forced its way out of her mouth as her arms clenched into fists. In front of her, Koishi and Mokou continued their friendly embrace.
She was having none of it.
"HEY, YOU! DON'T GET ANY BRIGHT IDEAS ABOUT STEALING KOISHI-SAN, PHWEE!"
The hug, predictably, collapsed almost immediately when Mokou realised that she was being watched. She leapt away from Koishi, instantly looking in Sango's direction as the dolphin gave her an envious stare. The small grin had vanished again, and the serious, straight face had returned.
"Komeiji-san, who the hell is this?"
Were there words for how quickly this plan was coming apart? If there were, Koishi clearly didn't know them. She tried to salvage the situation by explaining matters before Sango could shoot her mouth off.
"Uh, sorry, you two haven't been introduced, have you? This is Sango-san, she's my-"
Too late.
"I'm Sango! Sango Tororetsu, phwee! And it's my job to look after Koishi-san, got it?! Don't think you can get close to her without my say so, phwee!"
She was going red in the face, and in spite of her opponent's threat (or even the fact that she'd been pummelled all of an hour ago) she looked ready to snap at any moment. Mokou looked blankly at Sango for a moment, and proceeded to place a hand on her head and ruffle her hair. Sango flinched, and immediately tried to pull herself away from Mokou's grip, but the health nut was every bit as strong as she looked.
"Heh. You've got a pretty cute girlfriend, Komeiji-san. I guess she's what made you change yourself?"
"Well, you could say tha-WAIT, SHE'S DEFINITELY NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!*"
-----
It took a little convincing, but eventually Koishi weaved a story that Sango was a guardian who had been sent to look after her when she had no-one to live with. There was much relief from Koishi when Mokou bought it, but Sango still gave her the occasional jealous glare.
So how do we do this? Do we just tell her the whole story?
Sango shook her head at that one.
"You realise just how crazy the truth is gonna look to her, right? You can't explain it and honestly think she'll believe it until she experiences it for herself."
So...we need to have her discover her Teardrop first? Get her to make some sort of heartfelt wish and explain it from there?
This time, Sango nodded.
"Yeah. Just try and win her favour for now, and then we can-"
"Hey, what are you two doing staring at each other?"
Koishi and Sango both flinched as Mokou brought them out of their unspoken conversation. Only now did Koishi realise just how awkward this must have looked to other people.
"Ah, sorry. I was just spacing out."
"Bad at focusing, huh? I can tell you where to get hold of some herbal tea for that - pretty cheap, too."
Mokou had a soothing way of talking when it came to health issues, so it was a shame that almost everything else she said sounded like she was holding her to gunpoint. She had two levels of emotion - caring teacher and irritated stranger, and it was very hard to bring around the former.
She asked Koishi how the last few months had been, having a very vague knowledge of Satori's disappearance. Koishi had no real response to give - every day had been just about the same as the one before it, nothing exemplary or interesting. She had simply been existing - she was only alive in the most literal sense. Mokou had frowned at that, but she was glad to see that things had apparently improved.
Now was Koishi's chance to try and start on some progress. She turned the question back on Mokou.
"So, what about you? I was wanting to try getting back into some clubs, so I figured the Perfect Diet club would be a good place to sta-"
"Disbanded."
A beat.
"...Huh?"
"I disbanded the club. I'm the President. I can do that."
Mokou's words were blunt and simple. The frown on her face grew slightly, as she glared at at nothing in particular. Maybe she could use some of that herbal tea she'd been trying to convince Koishi about.
"...OK. So, what've you been u-"
"Nothing."
"...Have you been hanging out wi-"
"No-one."
In her head, Koishi saw herself squeezing a stone in the hope that blood would seep out. She sighed, and decided that it was probably best to just start slow. Besides, it was good to talk to a old friend again. It reminded her of better times.
"Never mind, then. We can just go out for something to eat, okay? No worries, Sango-san will pay for everything."
"Yeah, we can just...phwee? I'm paying?!"
"You're the one with the bulging wallet, remember? You can't expect us students to pay up."
Koishi gave Sango a playful poke in the rib. The dolphin let out a little moan, as she mentally said farewell to the tins of mackerel she could have bought for herself with that money. Mokou allowed herself a little chuckle as the trio walked around the school to the main entrance.
"Well, who am I to turn down a free meal? I just hope this place you're gonna take me to has a healthy eating option."
"Do gratuitous helpings of omega-3 count as healthy eating? 'Cause if so, you're gonna have a great..."
Sango's sentence trailed off unfinished as they reached the school's entrance. By now, almost all the other students had finished their business here and headed home.
Everyone, that is, except Cirno and her gang, currently standing between them and the exit.
"Hey, Komeiji! Told you I was gonna get you back for that little stunt you pulled, didn't I? And I'm a good woman - I keep to my word."
Koishi bit her lip. Unconsciously, she squeezed Sango's hand until it hurt.
The various thugs and delinquents she'd pulled together looked like they were walking fashion statements. Their poses were slumped, their faces grim - and most importantly, they didn't look like they could hold themselves in a fight. With enough of a distraction, Koishi could probably run past them and dash away.
But they weren't the problem. The problem was their leader, who she knew full well could take out both her and Sango without much hassle. The head Fairy glanced at their new friend, who seemed to have no idea what was going on.
"Hey, you brought out the self-proclaimed health guru! What happened to you, anyway? You were always bragging about how great your diets were and how you'd revolutionise medicine or something. You finally realise you were talking shit?"
Mokou rubbed incessantly at her temples as Cirno spoke, trying to find a switch on the side of her head to turn her ears off. There were murmurs of agreement among her minions, offering nothing more inventive than 'Yeah!' or 'What she said!'
"...Kid, I hardly recognise you any more."
Cirno flinched, along with Sango and Koishi turning to Mokou in surprise.
"F-Fujiwara-san?! You know her?"
Mokou paused before answering, her face looking pained.
"Just leave this to me."
Mokou took a step away from Koishi and Sango, approaching Cirno with her hands back in her pockets. She let out a heaving sigh, like a mother trying to conceal disappointment with her problem child.
"Cut the crap, kid. Let us through."
Cirno grinned, chuckling to herself at a joke no-one else seemed to understand. The Fairies got the hint, and started to laugh alongside her.
"Sorry, can't do that. Times have changed, see. Nowadays, it's me giving the orders around here, got it?"
Cirno walked towards the advancing Mokou, until the two were standing well away from the crowds. At the same time, Koishi was conflicted over finding a way to help and frustrated that she probably had nothing to offer in that regard.
"Sango-san...she's going to get hurt, isn't she?"
Of all the things she expected to see as she turned to her side, Koishi wasn't expecting Sango to be smiling?
"Eh? What's so funny?"
Sango pulled a hand over, and did Koishi a favour by removing her glasses for her. Seeing what was going on explain her confidence far better than words ever would.
"Huh? That's..."
Cirno had the same form she fought in before, standing menacingly with her frozen wings floating behind her back. They fluttered occasionally, sending a light chill across the school grounds. The ruffians behind her were literal fairies as well, but each of them looked almost identical to the fairies at their sides. There was no differentiation, no unique patterns, nothing. They weren't worth paying attention to.
Koishi was looking elsewhere, anyway. Mokou wasn't even aware of it, but there were tiny flames trailing at her feet, sending her clothes billowing around as the smoke rose from them. Her suspenders were laced with what looked like ornate sealing charms, and her hair had sifted to a light tint of violet.
But most importantly, a pair of beautiful golden wings had sprung up on her back, an occasional flame running along their length. They looked like they were meant to spread as far as her arms were long, but they were clipped messily two-thirds of the way along. It was clear that they would be no good for flight, and she was a far cry from full power, but the sight of it was still enough to amaze Koishi.
"Fire beats ice, Koishi-san*. We've got nothing to worry about."
Mokou maintained her idle stance, refusing to take a pose even as Cirno raised her fists. If anything, she looked bored by the prospect of fighting her. Cirno maintained the same, smug smile that had lead her through every fight up until now, not budging an inch.
"Oh, please. You're not gonna just sit there and take it, are you? Defend yourself, already?"
"Don't need to.*"
Cirno's grin disappeared. She was being mocked, and in front of her gang, no less. Anything resembling mercy ceased to be an option, and she decided that her new objective was to pummel Mokou to the point where she had more blood on her clothes than in her body.
"Kh. I'll show you what happens when you screw with the Fairies...!"
Cirno charged forward, still maintaining the stance she'd used fighting Sango. There was no way Mokou was going to land a hit on her face, and even hitting her torso was going to be a challenge.
Of course, Mokou was aware of this. That was the point of the stance, and it worked wonders when standing still. Charging with it, though, meant it was all too easy for your opponent to simply step to the side, catch the front leg with their foot, and send your charge in a new and painful direction.
"Uwah!"
Cirno tripped over Mokou's outstretched foot, quickly rolling to the side as she hit the floor. Mokou made no attempt to capitalise on the opening, giving her every chance to recover and simply waiting for her to attack.
"T-That's no fair! You never taught me that one!"
"That's because I trained you to take care of yourself, kid. Whatever happened to the girl who wanted to learn to protect herself from the seniors who were picking on her?"
That hit a nerve with Cirno, and her face grew red with anger. There were murmurings of confusion in the crowd.
"I-I don't have a clue what you're talking about! I'm the strongest fighter here, and I'm gonna prove it!"
Cirno came forward again, more carefully this time as she took swings at Mokou's face. The firebird weaved past the first fist, and pulled one hand out of her pocket to catch the second in mid-air. She pressed down on it, not with enough force to do damage but with enough to hold it in place. Cirno paused, looking at the trapped hand in shock.
"Done yet?"
Mokou remained startlingly calm, with her other hand still in her pocket as if nothing was happening. Cirno's eyes began to water.
"Y-You...!"
She used her front foot as leverage, kicking forward with the back foot aimed right at Mokou's chest. An attack that strong would easily break a few bones if it connected, and with her grip on Cirno's hand Mokou had stopped herself from stepping away.
So instead, she used her other hand to knock away the oncoming attack at the ankle, sending Cirno's leg off over her left shoulder. Koishi saw it stop inches from her fiery wing, and for a split second the two seemed to be frozen in the moment, like time had waited to take a picture of the scene for remembrance.
The rest passed in slow-motion. Mokou's foot swept around again, catching the leg Cirno still had on the floor. The Fairy's centre of balance came apart entirely, and her hands waved around helplessly as she fell towards the floor. Mokou's hand let go of her, and instead swooped down to grab her by the neck and help to hasten her fall.
Cirno hit the ground with a painful thump, a hand around her throat and a second fist ready to beat her senseless if she so much as tried anything. It had only lasted a minute, but already the fight was over.
"I trusted you, kid. You let me down."
Mokou whispered a few words to her, unheard by the surrounding crowds. She pulled her hands away, standing up and returning to the bored, idle stance she had taken before. Cirno offered no resistance, staring blankly into the sky as Mokou walked back towards Koishi and Sango.
The expressions on their faces could only be described as looks of amazement.
"F-Fujiwara-san, that was incredible!"
Mokou offered a shrug as she let a smile rise on her face again.
"Eh, what can I say? A little fight now and again helps keep me in shape. I know a thing or two. You want some pointers, Komeiji-san?"
"Um, sure, but..."
Koishi looked behind Mokou, towards the still fallen body of Cirno. Physically she was fine, but mentally it looked like she was on the verge of crying. The Fairies who had been gathered around the entrance started to disperse - their leader had shamed herself in a fight. There was no point in respecting her if she wasn't really the strongest.
"Is she going to be okay?"
Mokou turned around and winced slightly at the sight of Cirno still sprawled along the ground. She gave off another painful sigh.
"Just leave her for now. She's got a lot to think over. She'll be fine."
She started making her way to the entrance, stepping over Cirno as she left. Sango and Koishi followed afterwards, nervously stepping around the fallen fairy and breathing easier once they made it out of the gates.
"So, I think I earned myself this free meal, don't you?"
"Well, you did save the two of us from another fight with Cirno. Didn't she, Sango-san."
"P-Phwee...my mackerel dinners..."
-----
She lost.
Cirno didn't want to look back down, for fear there wasn't a ground beneath her. It felt like she was still falling, her entire life collapsing down to the lowest of lows. There were tears slipping down her face now, and it felt like she was about to explode.
I trusted you, kid. You let me down.
She had never been popular in school. She did poorly in tests, even when she tried, so inevitably her classmates would gang up and call her an idiot. When they grew tired of just laughing at her, they went a step further and started playing pranks - swapping out her exam papers, tripping her up in the corridor, even 'requesting' her lunch money.
Mokou had found her sobbing outside the back entrance, and taught her about fighting on the streets. About how to look after herself, to give the bullies who picked on her a taste of her own medicine. It was information she used to full effect, handing out payback to anyone who tried to take advantage of her. No-one called her an idiot after that.
When the bullies who had picked on her were dealt with, Cirno found herself with a dilemma. The emotion she'd felt as she finally proved that she wasn't the loser everyone thought she was - she loved it, adored it, craved it. She started by coming up with nonsensical ways to be offended by the people around her, looking for an excuse to pummel them senseless. It grew more and more absurd by the day, until eventually it was clear she was simply fighting for the sake of fighting. Mokou had taught her well, though - with the skills she had picked up, along with her own training and effort, Cirno ended up effectively ruling the school. She made her own gang, the Fairies, and whatever she ordered was law.
Not anymore. In a single fight, she had been ritually humiliated and disgraced. Her so-called friends had lost interest in her, and her reputation had been torn apart. Now she was alone, more than she'd even been, staring upwards as the sun set in the distance.
There were two sides fighting inside her right now. One half wanted to track down Mokou and kill her where she stood for ruining her. It cried for vengeance, for payback, for blood. The other half whispered words of forgiveness, saying that Mokou had simply intended to correct her path and seeked her best interests. This was her time to start afresh and make something of herself - now she had simply become that which she hated the most*.
The two halves fought with one another in equal measure. At this rate, it could take days for one side to win out, and even then it could easily be either.
So the figure standing over her offered words of guidance.
"You seek to destroy her?"
Cirno nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again. She was still uncertain, and there was a lingering doubt that she didn't have the nerve to put into words. The figure filled the blank for her.
"I see. So you seek power?"
This time, Cirno nodded. If she was strong enough, she could beat Mokou and show everyone who was the boss all over again. But Mokou was too powerful, and even Cirno would admit she was out of her league after a showing like that.
The figure smirked. It was a crooked smile, one that brought a chill down Cirno's spine.
"Very well. This will only hurt for a moment."
The figure picked Cirno up from the floor, lifting her back onto her feet. Her voice was familiar, but she had covered her face so that only her lips were visible.
That was all she needed to kiss Cirno.
"Mmh?!"
Something seeped inside of Cirno's mouth along with the woman's tongue, slithering down her throat like a snake. She felt it squirm back upwards again, reaching her brain and setting it alight. A million images burst into her vision in a second - absurd, magical images that couldn't possibly exist, she knew that, but they all looked so real.
Within her mind, the barrier that had kept Cirno in denial came apart. Whatever had slipped into her head had passed on all its knowledge as well. In an instant, she knew. She understood. She accepted.
And as the figure handed her a single golden key, she rejoiced.
Mokou Fujiwara...just you wait. By the time you realise what I've done to you, you'll be getting thawed out by some archaeologist millions of years from now. And you know why?
'Cause I'm the strongest.
Myschi:
--- Quote from: Puni Puni Moemy on August 18, 2010, 10:23:53 PM ---Not really my style to say something like this, but...
ilu Rou~♥
>.> <.<
--- End quote ---
This. You have single-handedly convinced me to frequent this part of the board more often.
Iced Fairy:
:ohdear:
Cirno no!
So the forces of Evil reveal themselves. And by reveal I mean hint vaguely at their existence. I sense Mokou's awakening soon....