Sango insisted on pulling Koishi away for a celebration after they'd dried themselves off. Koishi tried desperately to put her off the idea - they'd only just started so there was no point in getting excited now, she had no idea where to go, and even going so far as saying that it was unfair on Orin and Okuu. The truth of the matter was that she was on the verge of being broke, and her idea of fine dining was 'non-instant noodles'.
Of course, all of her complaints were powerless considering that Sango had grabbed her by the arm and forcefully led her into town. This was when she regretted not taking a sports club after school - that extra strength would have come in handy around here.
Sango led Koishi through the streets of Gensouto, abruptly taking turns left and right. She turned back on her route and walked the same road over and over, apparently unaware that she was retracing her steps. Koishi quickly became aware that Sango was paying absolutely no attention to which direction she was taking, and her eyes were focused solely on the buildings around her. She knew her destination, she just didn't know how to get there.
"Here? No. Here? No..."
Sango's endurance was impressive - she'd spent five minutes running full pelt, and only now were the first signs of fatigue starting to show. Koishi, on the other hand, was getting breathless just following behind her. The crowds sliced open as the dolphin barged through, ignoring the other pedestrians with her attention firmly set on the goal.
Just before Koishi's body reached its limit, Sango finally came to an abrupt stop. She looked eagerly up at the building beside her, eager anticipation glimmering in her eyes. Koishi needed a moment to catch her breath and adjust her hat before she managed to look up at where she'd been hauled. The sign read in plain, bright letters, 'LORELEI'S - Best Fish Plates In Gensouto!'
In retrospect, Koishi really should have seen it coming.
For the sake of her blood pressure, Koishi decided not to look at the menu as Sango pushed her into the restaurant, almost forcing her into a chair. She had all the composure of a highly-caffeinated six year old, and bounced around in her chair as she called over the local waiter. He walked over to the pair nervously - maybe it was his first day on the job?
"Um...can I take your or-"
"Two servings of fresh haddock, please! The biggest helpings you've got!"
The waiter was taken aback by Sango's enthusiasm - not to Koishi's surprise - and wriggled a little in place as he jotted down notes.
"C-Certainly, ma'am! That'll be 1600 Yen!"
1600? Where does she expect me to pull that sort of money from?
Koishi carefully moved the cutlery out of the way so she didn't cause herself any damage when she slammed her head into the table. The rent was due soon, and she was already penny-pinching to keep herself afloat. This meal was going to be the end of her!
"1600? Uh, question. Do you give change?"
Sango seemed entirely unaware of Koishi's distress, reaching into a pouch on the side of her jacket. She pulled out a hefty looking purse, and from within removed a single 5,000 Yen note.
Koishi stared with awe at that note as if it were made of solid gold. The waiter seemed just as disturbed by its appearance.
"Y...Yes, I can accept that. I'll be back with your change when your meal is ready."
There was a notable redness on the waiter's face as he accepted the payment, running off to the kitchen to pass the order along. Sango stood out, shouting over the general hubbub to make sure she was heard.
"You can keep the 400, sir!"
The waiter stopped in his tracks at that. His face went bright scarlet, as he looked around to the table Koishi and Sango were sitting at. Was it his first tip? He looked distraught.
He proceeded to snap entirely, running at the table and slamming his hands into it. The impact was enough to knock Koishi around, shuffling her glasses out of place. She could make out a head of green hair now, and...were those antennae?
"I'm a girl, dammit! Why does everyone think I'm a guy?"
The room fell silent after that. The waiter - no, waitress - realised just what she had done, stood up quietly, and darted back to the kitchen without a sound.
The awkward atmosphere slowly faded away, much to the relief of everyone present. It took a few moments for things to grow loud enough that Koishi and Sango felt they could talk without being overheard. Only now did Koishi realise her eyes had been almost attached to Sango's purse, mentally counting the notes stored inside. There was thousands of yen in there, enough to pay the rent for the next ten years.
"...How did you...?"
Sango seemed confused by Koishi's reaction, taking a moment to realise what she was staring at.
"Oh, this? The Pearl gave me living expenses so that I didn't end up on the street. I wasn't going to make you pay, duh."
Koishi felt some portion of her sanity shatter irrevocably. The only thing stopping her from walking out right now was the fact that she was getting a free dinner out of this. She could use a change from noodles.
"OK, so now let's talk strategy. Tomorrow, we're gonna start hunting out Sirens in earnest, phwee."
A beat.
"No-one here. Should've guessed that would be too easy."
Koishi pouted. She'd seen enough of those magical girl shows to know that all the obvious, easy places to look would turn up absolutely nothing in these sorts of searches. Every rule of basic logic said otherwise, but magic and logic were antonyms.
"What sort of strategy are we talking about? Is there some sort of order when it comes to these Sirens?"
"Not really. It's a simple matter of the magic choosing seven girls at birth to become holders of the Teardrops. You can't really tell unless you search by brute force, but that's what we're looking to do."
Sango leaned over the table a little, placing her elbows on it for balance. Apparently she had never been filled in on human etiquette.
"So, you have any hobbies? Interests? Any clubs you could join? Me, I'm pretty flexible, but if you're up for joining the swimming club I'll be glad to-"
"We already said no swimming."
"Dammit. I hoped you'd forgotten."
Koishi took a moment to think the question over, not realising the serious trouble she was on the verge of running into. Had she done anything in these last few months? A single fun pastime, a sport she had an interest in beyond passing PE?
No. She didn't.
"Sorry, I'm afraid I'm drawing blank here."
Sango seemed surprised for a moment, then frowned.
"Koishi-san, that's no good. If we're going to have to find the Sirens, you're going to have to meet some people. And remember, if you actually find one, you need to try and get them to make their heartfelt wish so we can release the Teardrop! Just go to clubs your friends visit to start!"
"Ah, but...I don't really have any friends either."
Silence. The rest of the room dined peacefully, ignorant of the look on Sango's face.
"...You're kidding."
"No. Not really."
Koishi was growing more and more interested in her feet, bowing her head down in shame. After Satori had disappeared, she'd just plain stopped caring in a lot of ways, and she let go of every social commitment she had. The people she'd seen as friends drifted away from her, but she'd been too numb to care about it.
Now, though, Koishi had to wonder. Maybe it was time to take a step back into the fray. To try and rebuild the burnt bridges, and make herself some friends again.
But it would be difficult. She'd be starting from the bottom up, knowing pretty much no-one. It would be like she'd never even attended school, and she'd be inexperienced from the get-go. It was a monumental task, and she didn't have a clue where to start. In fact, she was already starting to have second thoughts about it.
Luckily, the feeling of Sango's hand jumping onto her shoulder pulled her out of that moment of self-doubt.
"Alright, Koishi-san. I've made my decision."
When did you get the right to decide this?
"If you're so indecisive about it, we'll just join the first club we hear about tomorrow. It's not like you've got anything to worry about with me around, right?"
"The first club? As in it could be anything? We could end up somewhere like the sewing club, or the haiku appreciation club?"
"...What's a haiku? Sounds like a nice topping to me."
Sango's hand was pressed down on her shoulder too violently now. It was clear that she wasn't going to be swayed from this line of thought no matter what sort of disturbing clubs Koishi threatened her with.
She was honestly a little jealous of Sango's zest, but she could hardly bring herself to disagree with someone who was so passionate. Besides, when it simply got cut down to the first step of joining a club, the challenge didn't look quite as daunting.
"...Okay. I'll do my best."
"That's my little hero right there!"
Sango reached over and gave Koishi a little pat on the back. The Siren blinked.
"Uh, Sango-san. As a warning, most people don't like it when you touch them in strange places."
"Eh?" Sango's face turned a deep red. "But you've got clothes on, haven't you? It's not like I'm touching your skin or anythi-"
"Just trust me on this one."
"And y'know what we found? Nothing! The damn thing had fallen to pieces!"
"Is that so? Well, you must have felt very silly, then."
"Hey, it was Koa's idea! I just went along with it because I felt sorry for her!"
The big Fairy from yesterday was spreading the story to anyone who would hear it, currently passing it on to a young girl who had strange habits with holding her arms out. Inevitably she'd pass it on to someone else, who'd pass it on in turn, and in the end the entire school would know that the rumour about the shrine on the pier was an utter sham.
Sango and Koishi offered each other a nod in congratulations as they walked past, making their way out into next period. Last night had mostly been spent doing some basic studying just to bring herself back up to speed with everyone else, while Sango had been learning the wonders of human television. Apparently game shows were much more entertaining to watch when every contestant had bright pink hair.
"When we get home, though, you need to hit the books as well. The English teacher nearly had an aneurysm when you answered her."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know that she wasn't being literal when she asked me about spear-shaking?"
"It's Shakespeare, Sango-san. He's a playwright."
"Well, it's his fault for having such a stupid name, phwee."
They'd had no luck in terms of finding a club to join - even examining the school notice board had turned up no results. It was far enough into the school year that most clubs had given up on recruitment and taken their signs down to let the teachers advertise school shows and the like. Sango's occasional sonar search hadn't turned up any notable results either - she could vaguely feel the presence of several Teardrops in the area, but she couldn't pinpoint one in particular.
"Hm? Sango-san, what's that?"
Koishi caught sight of a single battered sign still stuck to a distant wall. It was sagging downward from the top, to the point where Koishi needed to lift it up with one hand to read it and even then had to squint for the faded ink.
"Apply now for the Perfect Diet club, where health nuts gather to find the secret to culinary enlightenment...?"
It was exaggerated and boisterous, but that was about the only way to possibly gain interest in a school like this. There were dozens of clubs running all at once, so if a club didn't sell itself extravagantly there was no hope of receiving any sort of membership.
"See Club President, Mokou Fujiwara, for more information...ah?"
Koishi let out a little gasp as she looked over the name.
"Eh? Koishi-san, what's wrong?"
"I...I know her."
The name rang a bell in the distant corners of Koishi's mind. They'd sat together in...was it Geography? History? Something dull...yeah, it had been History. She was a bright, energetic girl, always going on about how she didn't need any of this stuff to run her yakitori stand. Koishi would turn to her and respond now and again when the teacher was covering something she already knew.
It has to be a good start, right?
"Well, that's what I call a lucky find! C'mon, let's go find this Mokou girl and get ourselves into that club! I'm pretty sure they won't have nearly enough fish in their diets..."
Koisihi wasn't sure whether to mention that the average human diet occasionally included foods that were not formerly alive, but eventually decided against it. History was coming up pretty soon, and they hadn't changed the seatings, so she'd get hold of her then and try to get herself in. Maybe apologise for her sudden lack of interest in Mokou, promise to make a fresh start, display interest in the club and suggest inviting Sango as well-
"Ah!"
By the time Koishi noticed there was a foot in the way, it was too late. She fell to the floor face first, her glasses flinging themselves along the polished ground.
"Aw, what a shame. Looks like grandma isn't that steady on her feet after all. And we were all so hopeful for you, too..."
Oh no. Oh, god, no. Not now.
Koishi almost didn't want to look back at the perpetrator, but she knew full well that if she didn't she'd have her head pulled up anyway. Reluctantly, she turned around and sat up on the floor.
Looking down from above, admist a rainbow of colours, was a girl in a long blue dress with six sharp, crystal-like shards of ice hanging behind her back. The strands of blue in her hair Koishi had seen before now ran across it completely, the brunette colour giving way for the absurd new colour. Her bright blue eyes glared at Koishi, her lips warped into some mutated combination of a snarl and a grin. She looked like she wanted to both be sick and burst into laughter at the same time.
"And now your eyes are going, too...such a shame. It'd be really sad if someone ended up stepping on those in this crowded corridor, wouldn't it?"
Cirno reached down and grabbed Koishi by the shoulder, holding her back while she walked ahead. Now Cirno was standing between her and her glasses, and there was no way she was getting past unless the Fairy wanted her to.
Which she wouldn't, until she'd renovated Koishi's glasses with her foot.
There's nothing I can do, is there...? There never is...
Koishi was resigned to her fate as Cirno continued to walk forward, stamping triumphantly towards the fallen glasses. She was eager to smash them in the same way a warrior claimed a scalp - a little symbol of her strength, her superiority.
"Oopsie, looks like I'm gonna-"
Cirno wasn't expecting a hand to grab her from behind. No-one messed with her - no-one who knew who they were messing with, no-one who was even remotely sane.
So Cirno couldn't help but gasp a little as she saw an unfamiliar face looking back at her, with the same silver hair that Koishi had.
"Sorry to interrupt, but what the hell do you think you're doing to my friend?"