//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Beat // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// Hagane had never been to the University of Tokyo. According to Yahoo, the University, better known by its nickname, Todai, was one of the top schools in all of Asia. Hagane couldn’t think of a better place to go for answers about Octavia’s situation. As they drove downtown, she seemed fascinated by the moving GPS picture on his phone. He let her hold it, since there was no place in the car to put the phone. After a while, Octavia had gotten used to the other cars in traffic. Occasionally another driver would do a double-take, but most of them were focused on their own driving. The university had trees and grass, which set it apart from among the other city buildings. Parking wasn’t easy to find and Hagane didn’t know where he was going anyway. Driving around for a few minutes, he spotted someone pulling out and snatched the parking spot. Happily, there seemed to be a few minutes left on the parking meter. No telling how long their visit would take, though, so Hagane dutifully loaded the meter with coins. Now all they had to do was figure out who could help them. Hagane ventured into campus, trying to determine what each building held inside. “Library, athletics, computers, foreign languages...actually, that might come in handy.” Octavia said nothing, but seemed to appreciate the architecture and the landscaping. Hagane wasn't much for either, but he had to admit that it was a nice looking place. “Physics,” Hagane read from the building. “Close enough, I suppose.” The two of them walked into the building. There were a few students around, but as Hagane passed the windows of classrooms, he saw most of them inside. A couple of people stared at Octavia, but the rest were on their phones and didn’t notice. Hagane found a directory board. It looked like most of the professor offices were on the upper floors. He picked one. The professor’s door was open and Hagane knocked on the frame. The man looked up from his desk. “Can I help you?” Hagane gave a short bow. “Sir, I have an important question. Do you know who I should talk to about, uh...teleportation?” The professor looked Hagane up and down and then his eyes went to Octavia. Addressing Hagane, he said, “Say that again?” “This pony came here from another dimension and I’m trying to return her home…” Hagane trailed off as he realized how crazy it sounded out loud. The professor stood up. “I think I can help you. Go to the end of the hallway and down the stairs. The front door is close by. Go through it and get out of here.” He wasn’t even willing to send Hagane to another colleague as a joke. To appease him, Hagane backed out of his office. Octavia looked concerned. It was easy to tell the conversation hadn’t gone well, even if she didn’t understand the words. Hagane resolutely led her down the hallway, searching for other professors. He tried experts in theoretical physics, quantum physics, and relativity. All the responses ranged from amusement to outright rejection. It didn’t look like there was anyone in the building who would or could help. “There has got to be one nutty professor around here that believes me,” Hagane muttered. Even if such a person existed, however, he didn’t manage to find them. He didn’t want to tell Octavia the search had come up bare, but she got the hint when they left the building emptyhanded. Hagane felt emptybellied, too. Pulling out his phone, he realized how far past lunchtime it was. The university had a few Lawson Station convenience stores on campus and one was nearby. Walking in, Octavia’s eyes widened at the variety. Hagane looked around, trying to figure out what he wanted. The really good manga was covered up, but at any rate, he should instead be focusing on food, specifically something Octavia would eat. Let’s see...plain onigiri should be fine. Maybe a vegetable bento. CalorieMate is kind of dry. Snacks? Is chocolate okay for horses? He decided to stick to the basics. Loading up an armful of food for the two of them, he paid and they went back outside. There was a convenient tree and Hagane sat down beneath it to eat and plan out their next move. Octavia seemed agreeable to the rice and seaweed onigiri balls. Hagane ate his own meal. He’d gotten a Crunky chocolate bar to share. It was probably good that Octavia, being a proper musician, didn’t speak the language or she might have questioned his choice. He wouldn’t want to accuse her of being crunk, after all. Hagane chuckled to himself. American music. When they were finished, Hagane got out Octavia’s drawing from earlier. He had been working on how to break the news to her that he wasn’t sure how to get her home. He still didn’t have any idea how to communicate it. Octavia, however, had seemed to grasp that already from watching Hagane’s futile conversations inside the physics building. It seemed like she had a new idea, however. On the paper, she drew what looked like a sparkly star and looked up. Hangane said, “Star?” and pointed to the sky. “Astronomy?” Octavia shook her head. She drew a sketch of her friend from earlier, a larger drawing this time. It was a horse with a horn. A unicorn? Octavia was friends with a unicorn? This time, Octavia drew the star or spark or whatever it was coming from the unicorn’s horn. Hagane got it immediately. “Magic.” Transdimensional travel was one thing. Magic was another. But honestly, once he got over having pictorial conversations with a guitar-playing pony, magic wasn’t too much more of a stretch. But that created even more problems. Exactly where was Hagane supposed to find someone who knew about magic? Real magic that worked. The new situation was better than having nothing to go on, but only just. At any rate, Hagane should probably be getting to the club to give Blue her guitar before investigating anything else today. The guitar! Hagane remembered taking it out of the car at the garage but not replacing it. He groaned in frustration and got up. Octavia had already collected the lunch leavings and hurried after him. There wasn’t a trash can nearby. There was never a trash can nearby. They found one beside a vending machine near where they had parked. Sensing Hagane’s urgency, Octavia quickly got into the car as Hagane started it. She gave him a questioning look and he responded by miming playing a guitar. She touched a hoof to her forehead. “Right,” Hagane muttered. He merged into traffic.