//------------------------------// // Chapter 3- Understanding Jellyfish // Story: Of Arms, Legs, and Hooves // by TheHouseholdWarrior //------------------------------// "Lilly! Hanako!" Hearing the obviously panicked sound of Emi's voice, Lilly and Hanako turned back to look at us, worry clearly etched on both their faces. I lagged behind, jogging instead of running to them. The sudden explosion had rattled my heart enough, and I definitely didn't want to risk getting another flutter. Especially at a time like this. "Is that Emi?" asked Lilly's usual, reserved voice. "Yup!" said Emi. "Hey, Hanako." "H-Hi..." "What happened?" I asked as I caught up to them. "What was that sound?" Clearly, that question was in everyone else's minds as they started streaming out of the dorm rooms and the main school building. Luckily, that explosion didn't happen anywhere near the school. But then where was it? "I don't know, Hisao..." said Lilly. "But perhaps it would be wisest to let the proper authorities see to that first. It'd be best not to go searching for trouble, anyhow." She's right. There's no denying that even if we found what or where that explosion was, there was nothing that we could do about it. I instinctively put my hand on my chest again. It's still good. Those running sessions with Emi have really helped me improve my heart. I really owe her a lot. However, Emi still looked like she wanted to dash off to see what happened. Having been with her for a good few months now, I can probably guess her line of thought- Rin's mysterious disappearance might be linked to this mysterious explosion. I really have no idea how (perhaps she was a terrorist? Osama Rin Laden? God, that felt stupid...), but it's possible. And that's usually enough for Emi to start acting immediately. But now, Emi was hesitant. Perhaps it was because of the large nature of the problem. Perhaps she could feel danger lurking about. "Emi!" Suddenly, a tanned, well-built girl ran towards us. She's built up quite a lot of steam, so I immediately tried to dodge her, but... Crash! Badump. Badump. Badump. For a while, I couldn't hear anything except for my heartbeat. I couldn't feel anything but pain. I balled my hand into a fist to try and contain the pain, but it was futile. "Oh, hey. Hey, are you okay?" I quickly try to put on a nonchalant face, but that failed terribly. I feel myself fall on the ground on my back, but I couldn't move. Breathe... Breathe slowly... Breathe deeply... God, this is hard. The pain just made it harder to breathe as I normally would. I feel myself breathing shorter and faster breaths. The pain in my chest just kept expanding, and I started to hear something akin to static in my ears. My strength all sapped out from me, my heart clenched tightly and I allow my head to fall to the floor. Damn. I couldn't see anything anymore. Everything seemed to be fading. I try to remind myself that it'll get better, but to no avail. Then all of a sudden, I hear a familiar voice. "Hisao, I want you to relax." I feel a hand pushing my own off of my chest with no resistance, feeling my irregular heartbeat. I then begin to feel those hands putting pressure on my chest, pumping it with great force. "Breathe, Hisao." said the voice, whose voice is calm despite the force being exerted on my chest. "You have to breathe." I feel my breaths getting deeper and fuller. My hearing is now good again, and my vision is starting to clear as well. I breathe even more as I start to relax my contorted face, feeling the beads of sweat roll down my cheeks. As I open my eyes, I see a friendly, grinning face. The nurse. "There you go, Hisao." said the nurse, standing up and offering a hand to me. I quickly take it, balancing myself as I stumble trying to get up. "You better now?" "F-fine..." I wheezed, rubbing my palm against my chest. What happened just now was probably the closest thing to my first attack that I've gone through since coming here. But what happened? I was fine when Emi crashed into me in the halls on my first week here. This was a little bigger than that, but I should have been stronger than this. "I am SO SORRY." said my attacker, giving me a short, awkward bow. "I was just so caught up in catching up to you guys after the explosion, and I..." Of course. The reason my heart gave out was not because of the crash alone, but the events that happened before it. The shocking, loud explosion, and me jogging out into the open. I should've been more careful. "S'all right..." I say, wiping the sweat from my brow before looking up at my attacker. Tanned, well-built, and a stump for a left hand that is covered by bandages... "Miura, isn't it?" I ask, more out of courtesy than genuine friendliness. "Please, call me Miki." said the girl, now looking much more cheerful compared to how she looked just a few moments ago. "HISAO!" I turn around to see Emi looking back at me. She seemed like she wanted to hug me, but was afraid to cause another attack to happen. I suddenly feel much downer. Even my own girlfriend seemed to be limited by my own disability, and she isn't even limited by her own! It made me feel no less than a jerk, even though I know that I can't control these circumstances. In the end, though, she hugged me anyway. It was a long hug, but she finally let go of me. She then turned to Miki. "Miki!" scolded Emi. "What did you think you were doing?" Miki's face suddenly darkened again. "I'm sorry..." she said, bowing her head. "I thought you were in the same class as Hisao!" scolded Emi. I move to try to stop her, but the nurse looked at me from the other side of the one-sided argument and shook his head. "Didn't you know about his heart problem?" Heart problem. Those words stung me a little. Emi recognized it as a problem. Damn, that burned. "I'm sorry..." repeated Miki, bowing even deeper this time. "And you!" screamed Emi, looking back at me. I stepped back, suddenly surprised by Emi's sudden target change. "Why didn't you move out of the way when you saw her running?" "I did!" I said, sweating even more than when the attack happened. "Or at least, I tried, but..." Out of the corner of my eye, I see the nurse snickering to himself. He might've saved my life, but I can't help but feel betrayed. Luckily for me, though, he walked towards us and put a hand on Emi's shoulder. "It's nothing to get worked up about." said the nurse, grinning at Emi brightly. "It's over and done with now. Just relax, or you'll be getting a heart attack as well." He starts laughing, and Emi stopped scolding me. But she still looked pissed though, in that adorable but angry way that only Emi can pull off. I couldn't help but smile along with the nurse. "I'm fine, Emi." I say, ruffling her hair. "A-are you sure... Hisao?" I turn around to see Hanako guiding Lilly to me, both having concerned looks on their faces. Hanako more so, since she actually saw everything unfold. Lilly looked more confused than upset, but quickly decided to dust off the matter. "You should really be more careful, Hisao." said Lilly. "You too, Miura." Miki hung her head. I smiled. "I'm fine. Now what were you trying to say before, Miki?" I asked, trying to chase the subject away from 'me' as quickly as possible. Miki's face also brightened up at the change of subject. "Oh, I was just going to ask you, Emi, if you saw something pass your way." said Miki, rather vaguely. "Huh?" asked Emi. "It was something big." said Miki, trying to accentuate the fact by holding both arms as far from each other as possible. But since one of her arms ended in a stump, it really wasn't that long. And it was sad. "B-big?" asked Hanako. "Yeah, it was big." said Miki. "I tried to chase it as quickly as possible, but it was really fast. I only ran less than half a mile before it went out of sight." Something big... and fast. That was still a very vague description, but since it ran past Miki without giving her time to look at it properly, it was probably the best they can get. From there, it would most probably an animal. We just need a proper description on 'big' now. "Big?" asked Lilly, looking intrigued. Being unable to see, Lilly seems to be prone to wearing her emotions on her face, even though her voice always sounds the same- calm and reserved. It was unnerving. "Yeah, like that." She unsuccessfully uses her hand and stump to show her definition of 'big'. Everyone else's face (except Lilly's, for obvious reasons) visibly dropped at that statement. And right after that... "Hey, Miki?" called Emi. "Did you see Rin anywhere?" "Rin?" repeated Miki as she seemed to be deep in thought. Then she snapped her fingers. "Oh, you mean the crazy armless girl?" Everyone stepped back in shock at her description of Rin. Sure it was fairly... accurate, but the whole bluntness of that statement was surprising. Even Lilly's eyes had widened a fair bit. "She's not crazy!" said Emi, even though she looked doubtful herself. "Okay, maybe a little, but that's not the point! Have you seen her anywhere?" "Sorry, but no." said Miki, shrugging. "I haven't seen her around this whole week." Emi sighed, before turning to Hanako and Lilly. "How 'bout you guys?" asked Emi, rather desperately as she bent her body forwards. "Have you seen them?" I nudged Emi with my shoulder, and she seemed to get what I was trying to say immediately. "Erm..." said Emi, scratching her head. "I mean..." Lilly chuckled, making Emi's face flatten. Emi was a good person at heart, but it was this kind of carelessness that usually brought her (us) into trouble. Strangely, I couldn't help but smile at that fact. "It's fine, really." said Lilly, still smiling. "But I'm sorry, I haven't run into Ms. Tezuka at all lately." "M-me neither." said Hanako. "Damn..." said Emi. "Okay, thanks anyway. Come on, Hisao!" She grabbed my arm and began to drag me back into the school. "Hey, wait up!" called out Miki from behind us. I looked back to see her jogging towards us, stopping a good distance before walking towards us cautiously. I felt my heart drop again. She wanted to avoid crashing into me. "I want to help you find Tezuka." said Miki, smiling brightly. "It's the least I can do after what happened... just now..." "It's okay, Miki." said Emi without any deliberation. "We can find her ourselves." She then started walking back towards the school with me in tow. "Emi..." I mumbled. "We tried to find Rin everywhere, but we didn't even get a clue as to where she's gone. We're gonna need all the help we can get." "No, Hisao." said Emi with a strange determination. "Sorry, but I can't do that. Miki! Tell us if you see or remember anything, okay?" Miki nods dejectedly, and I sigh deeply. Even now, Emi has trouble accepting help from others. She at least trusts me enough now, but what would happen if I was gone, along with Rin? Who could she trust then? I hang my head, knowing that I can't answer this question. Focusing her magic on carrying Rin's body and opening the door at the same time, Twilight walked back into the library. Using magic to do more than one thing at a time was already effortless at her skill level, but the whole situation had gotten her feeling down and depressed. WHY is it ME who has to take care of this monster... The answer was simple, though. Out of the six ponies who were there just now, only Twilight and Applejack had any spare beds that Rin could fit in. But Applejack didn't like Rin because of the comments Rin made on her accent. Well, they weren't really comments, but it was insulting all the same. Twilight sighed as she silently closed the door, but not before allowing her little dragon assistant to come back in the library first. Spike seemed to be too sleepy to be in any mood to talk, so she slowly guided Spike back up to the sleeping quarters of the library. Stifling what would've been a loud yawn, Twilight began to walk back up the stairs as well. As soon as Spike curled himself up in bed, Twilight slowly laid down Rin's lifeless body on her bed, covering it with her blanket. Now that it's come to Rin sleeping in her house, perhaps she shouldn't really call Rin 'it' anymore. She sounded female, so she's just going to assume that unless proven otherwise. Besides, what would her parents, or Princess Celestia say if she told them that she had a male (Spike doesn't count) staying over in her house? Twilight shivered at the thought. Yawning a little more freely this time, Twilight used her magic to bring up the spare bed she always kept for guests. Spike had always wanted to use this bed, but she never allowed him to. This bed had broken down more than one time (ever since the Sleepover Incident with Applejack and Rarity, which severely weakened its structure), and Twilight had never managed to fix it thoroughly. Now, however, she didn't have a choice. Hopping into the secondary bed herself, she dug herself deep inside the blankets. She loved the feeling of euphoria when jumping into bed for the first time after a long, tiring day. However, she was really disheartened by the tiny 'squeak!' that came with her getting herself comfortable inside the bed. By all means, SHE should be the one on the safe bed while Rin slept on this one, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Rin, as monstrous as she is, looked to peaceful asleep to disturb, and she couldn't help but at least give her some comfort. For tonight, at least. Sometimes she just hates her good nature. Tucking herself in, she stared at the ceiling for a long while. Where is Pinkie Pie? She rolled around to one side, trying to knock the thought out of her head and get down to sleeping. But of course, that was impossible. Twilight sighed. If she didn't find out where she went and get her back as quickly as possible, then Pinkie might forever be lost in whichever time she got stuck in. And now there's the matter of taking care of Rin. Picking up a pillow and holding it over her muzzle, Twilight started banging her head on the bed. She should've studied more on the subject before actually attempting it. And now she'd regret it for eternity. Celestia save us... she thought as she slowly drifted off to sleep, her exhaustion washing away all worry and thought. Twilight woke up with a start. Looking at the clock on the other end of the room, she noticed that it was already 10 in the morning. A complete four hours after the time she usually wakes up. Stretching and yawning, Twilight straightened herself up in bed. Thank Celestia today's a Sunday... As she slowly opened her sleepy eyes, however, a strange sight greeted her. On the bed at the other side of the room sat Rin, sitting upright on Twilight's bed, looking out the window. Her face still showed no clear emotion, and her presence seemed nonexistent. Yet, she was there. With her abnormally blank face. It was unnerving, just like everything else she does. "Good morning, Rin." said Twilight, attempting small talk. "Did you sleep well?" Rin shrugged. "Medium normal." said Rin. "Where am I?" "You're in my house." said Twilight, getting herself out of bed and using magic to start straightening the pillows and blanket again. "Or as most would call it, the Ponyville Library." Rin didn't reply, instead choosing to rest her head against the bed's headboard. She seemed to be very deep in thought about something. "Is something wrong, Rin?' asked Twilight, finally done with making the bed. "No." said Rin. "Yes. I don't know. Maybe." "Would you mind telling me?" "Maybe." Twilight stood there, dumbstruck because of Rin's complete social awkwardness. No matter how much she tried to force a conversation out of her, it never seemed to work. Twilight sighed. "But since you're nice enough to ask, I guess it's okay." said Rin. "I realized that I could talk to horses." "H-horses?" said Twilight, rather insulted. Rin nodded fervently. "I guess that makes me a horse whisperer, doesn't it?" "A what?" "A horse whisperer." repeated Rin without any doubt at all in her voice. "There are some people who can talk with hamsters, so that makes them hamster whisperers. And people who can talk to rabbits are called rabbit whisperers. And people who can-" "Okay, I see your point." said Twilight. She thought about what Rin said for a moment. If being able to talk to a certain species made one a 'whisperer', then what does that make Fluttershy? Is she more than a thousand types of whisperers, or is she just generally called an 'animal whisperer'. And what does that make Twilight. A Rin whisperer? Twilight shook her head. The fact that Rin found such things interesting itself is strange enough. The fact that she made Twilight think about these things further in depth, however, made her feel like jumping off the top of the library tree. "I'm still hungry, you know." said Rin, distracting Twilight from her line of thought. "I know; I am too." said Twilight. "I'll ask Spike to make us something quick." "Already done!" said the young dragon, walking up the stairs carrying a plate on each claw. "I woke up earlier than you, Twi, and I found Rin already awake, so I decided to make something quick, andWOAH!" Spike accidentally dropped a plate. Luckily for them, Twilight has grown to be accustomed to these sorts of mishaps, and was ready to catch that plate. "Thanks, Spike." said Twilight, looking at her plate. A daisy sandwich? Spike really went out of his way this time. He usually just mixes some bran cereal with milk or gives her some store-bought cake or something for breakfast. Perhaps it's because they had a visitor this time. Regardless, she quickly gave in to temptation and began eating. Rin, on the other hand, just stood there and stared at the food. Then, she took out one of her limbs (the bottom ones), and picked up the sandwich with those (being helped by the little, stubby things on the edge of those limbs), and bringing it up to her mouth to eat. It was disturbing, to say the least. Rin took a cautious bite, chewing what seemed like a million times before swallowing. "This is inedible." said Rin. Both Twilight's and Spike's jaws dropped. "WHAT?" Daisy sandwiches are the most beautiful thing in the world. Ain't nopony gon' diss daisy sandwiches! But Twilight's line of thought was again distracted. Rin was still nibbling on the sandwich, staring out of the window again. "I thought you said that it was inedible?" asked Twilight. "It is." said Rin, closing her eyes and nodding solemnly with the wisdom of a thousand Starswirls. "Then why are you still eating it?" asked Twilight. "I'm hungry." said Rin, shrugging. Twilight facehoofed. This monster was impossible to talk with for more than 10 seconds. Monster... "Which reminds me, Rin..." said Twilight, knowing what she has to ask but hesitating to ask it. "Erm... Uh..." "You can ask." said Rin. "I won't get offended." "Okay." said Twilight, taking in a deep breath. 'W-what are you?" Rin, however, didn't seem offended. Hell, she didn't even seem to care! It felt insulting for some reason. "That's a good question." said Rin. Pause. "T-that's it?" "Yes." "So..." "So so." Twilight wanted to explode from frustration. "What are you?" "I'm Rin." "No, WHAT are you? What species do you belong to? What kind of animal are you?" Pause. "Those are all good questions." Oh, good grief. --------- Author's note: Hey guys! How are you enjoying the story so far? Although I won't go so far as to say this story will be very long-lived, it IS going to be quite the long story. So before I go that far, I'd like to correct any and all mistakes I could've made first, so please leave a comment or two below. Now, there's been another idea stuck in my head to develop this fanfic further, but I REALLY need your approval for this, because it is kind of crazy. What I want to do is put in this story a character(s) from another universe. As in, it has no relation at all to Katawa Shoujo or My Little Pony, but will definitely be able to make this story much more interesting and fun to both read and write. But I need your approval for that! So if you accept the idea, leave a comment below. And if you don't, leave a comment below. Now I can't give you the name of the character(s) or which universe they came from for the sake of not letting out spoilers, but you're free to PM me if you're either really dying to know or want to know the character to make a decision (although I'd rather you not ask me, since it is REALLY crazy, and I'd rather surprise you than tell you). Oh, and if you guess the character and their universe correctly, I will give you a million internet muffins (but don't announce it here- PM me!) Thanks for reading, everybody!