2519/We still resonate

We still resonate
Date of Scene:	22 April 2025
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	After returning from Kirakirafantastica, Hinoiri had to retrieve her compact, which meant she and Laura had to have a little catchup and talk about everything that happened.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Laura La Mer

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been, admittedly, a little nervous about this talk. She knew when she'd left it was a... big deal. A bigger deal than she'd realized, but it was definitely a deal. But she'd HAD to go. She'd had to face Sora when she did or she would have chickened out. And good thing she had.

But now? She had to face the piper, as it were. And in this case? I meant facing the mermaid.

So after she got a text to meet with Laura, she had made her way towards her kohai's room and took a slow, deep breath, before stopping. What... was she worried about.

... Being kicked out? No. She didn't have her compact, but she wasn't worried about Laura banishing her from being a pretty cure. Laura had come for her, had been at the party.

... Being mad? No, she'd been happy to see her.

... Oh. That was it. It wasn't entirely guilt, either. No, what she was scared of... was making Laura feel hurt and abandoned. She had left her behind, alone. Made her kind of feel like Hinoiri had, when Sora had... well...

... So she knocked on the door and waited. Giving a light hum and waiting, rocking back and forth. And... she brought... a muffin. It was poppyseed. From the caffeteria. It was only slightly disappointing, but she'd been in the middle of grabbing a snack when she'd gotten the message and it was that or the banana, so Laura was getting a poppyseed muffin.

Laura La Mer has posed:
This encounter was meant to simply give Hinoiri her Tropical Pact back and ensure that everything is in order, and if she has anything else to do in KiraKiraFantastica that requires her to drop things again and pass through the portal.

She is in fact, feeling a bit on the edge about that question, because, there were no two ways around it. They had become teammates. One of the only two people that had managed to awaken a Tropical Pact, even, and maybe she would have been gone forever.

Get a grip, she tells herself, pacing back and forth in her dorm room. She has no reason to be that worried. Her matters are now solved, she is fully allowed to travel between the two worlds, and all that needs to happen is Laura giving her back the Tropical Pact.

"Ok, Kururun, get into position", Laura whispers at the pink seal when there is a knock. The fairy meanwhile, sprawled to watch the TV, hits the switch off button on the remote with her tailfin and leaps on the table facing the door, giving Hinoiri a show of a smile as soon as she would come in.

Kururun doubts she was really needed, but Laura had asked her, so she would at least keep herself around.

With a deep breath, Laura opens the door, and waves at Hinoiri. The pinkette's expression was... relaxed, all in all? The only difference being a certain kind of edge to her eyes. "Hello, Hinoiri. Come inside", she smiles.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gulped when the door opened and stepped inside. "Laura-chan," she said once she was inside, letting the other girl close the door behind her. "Okay, before you say anything, I need to say this."

"I'm sorry. I know what I did was kind of, no, very reckless. I know you don't have a lot of pretty cures you can depend on and call on in times of need, and frankly? I'm your upper classman, I'm supposed to be someone you can depend on and all that. I'm really not always the most dependable, sadly. Heh. For all the things I am good at, that just isn't one of my defining traits. But... I am sorry. I should have given you more warning."

"But I had to go. It was spur of the moment, yes, because I had been fighting with myself for months, years, even, to face Sora. Possibly.... before I even came here. It was a long time coming. Everything I did, everything I put everyone through... I was scared. More importantly, though? It was something I had to do by myself, FOR myself. I needed to face her, without everyone by my side. I know that sounds... counter intuitive. I know you all had my back. But... I needed... to know I COULD face her on my own. That I had the strength, now, to confront her. If I hadn't gone then, I might never have had the courage again."

"I am sorry I left you behind, though. I'm sorry I did this to you. Without any warning, or alarms, and I left you to hold the fort. If you want to yell, or scream, or even punch me in the shoulder for it? You've definitely earned the right. I know you're not really the type to hold a grudge, though, so like... thanks. Just... know I'm here, now. And I'm good, now. I intend to give this pretty cure thing one hundred percent of my focus. No more worrying about like... if Sora would disapprove, or if I'm hated, or any of that, you're getting the full Hinoiri experience from here on out."

"... Also, I brought you a muffin. It's, uhhh, poppyseed. From the cafeteria." She held it out. It was a little dry.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura closes the door behind them and is about to starts talking when Hinoiri beats her to the punch, and she closes her mouth with a taken aback expression, but she lets her talk, nodding every once in a while.

She is however a bit surprised that to Hinoiri, her upperclassman statues carried over to Precure activities. Laura had always seen herself as the leader of their small Tropical group, the one the others were supposed to turn to. "I don't really see why the school rankings matter, but you are a dependable ally."

She takes the offered muffin and rotates it in her hand. She has never really had that kind before. "Thank you. What I want to say is, I understand that Sora is important to you. I am happy you managed to face her, but we are both Tropical Cures, and I let you be there when I went to confront the Queen."

The mermaid turns her gaze back to Hinoiri. "What I want to say is, I trust you. Don't think I wouldn't have understood your reasons." To be honest, if Hinoiri had gotten cold feet after talking with her, Laura would have been more than capable to give her a push both metaphorically and literally, and block off the portal with something afterwards.

She picks the Tropical Pact Hinoiri has awakened and gives it to her. It has a small sketch of unicorn Hinoiri taped on the lid so Laura wouldn't confuse it with the others. It's not the best sketch, but it's coloured. "What I want to say is, please try to rely on me too. I am glad to have you as a teammate."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "I mean... I'm also older than you, taller than you, have been studying magic longer th-- oh. Right. Mermaid. I mean... I've probably been studying magic longer than you, anyway. I did start... young... ish. When did you start?" she asked, making a light hum sound.

She took it the compact before giving a small smile at the sketch. She pulled it off, then folded it up and put it in her pocket, it was going with the others. "It's... not the same. If... anything? I trust my ability to depend on you too much, Laura."

She gave a soft sigh. "When... I left... Sora... when I left home? I had nothing. I had *nobody*. Nopony cared. Or, I thought nopony cared. I thought I was alone. Then I came here. I... Do you mind if I sit?"

Once she sat, she'd stare intently at the compact.

"I was alone, for a long time. Even when I was Sunbreaker, I was alone. I kept the people who were 'friends' at arm's length, still. But they kind of wore their way into my heart. I even have a best friend now. I... was saved."

"I fell on my face, every step of the way. And yet, every single time? Someone was there to pick me up. To pull me back from the edge. I never, ever had that back home. I had that safety net I always wanted. I finally had that chance... I had those people who cared about me. And I... I thrived. I think. I became... I've become someone I think I'm actually proud to be. Sure, I've bucked it up a lot. But I'm happy to be who I am. And... Sora was a part of that. And I knew... I knew if I asked, everyone here would come, they'd support me, they'd stand by me as I told her what had happened... but I couldn't for this... This? This was something..."

"... You all helped me rebuild myself into this. So what I needed most of all, wasn't for you to be there by my side. I needed... to face her by myself, and trust you to be there when the dust settled. Well, or come kick down the door when the dust settled. Hee hee. I honestly didn't think the portal would be shut so long, though. Well, so long on my side. Sorry about that. I just... I really needed you all there in spirit... but not in body... but I really should have explained that. And not just run off in the dead of the night like I was trying to hide some crime."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura hums pensively at Hinoiri's question. Did she have anything like a proper regal education before recent times. She supposes that as Queen candidate, she did always have it a bit better than other mermaids, but she is not sure it was in the program of her course so much as her helping herself to the Queen's library. She seemed to encourage it, though.

"Somewhere around 8-9, probably?", she answers while motioning for Hinoiri to sit down and then copying her. "I wouldn't let you sponge off of me, just to set the record straight. But I know that you would ask things that matter, so I don't think that would actually be a problem."

And she gives Hinoiri a warm smile. "I might not have been there for all of it, but I have heard bits and pieces, and I have seen the final part of it, and I know that you really should be proud of it. So, chin up, ok?", she winks at her. "It's good that we are seeing eye to eye."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod and smiled at her. "Y-yeah. I just... I wanted you to know why I did what I did. Why I felt I had to do what I did, you know? And... it won't happen again. Well. It shouldn't happen again. Like, I don't know WHY it would happen again, but I guess it always could happen again? If something terrible happened, or someone was in danger, or... I guess... err. I mean, you know? I just... I shouldn't be running off like that again anytime soon, is what I'm trying to say. So thanks for understanding. Thanks for welcoming back. But, most importantly?" She looked down at the compact.

"... Thank you for always making sure I feel like I'm a welcome part of the team, Laura. I'll admit... I do see you as my kohai. You're younger than me, smaller than me, all of that... but also, like... you're precious to me. I've never really been part of a team that was like... you know... Healthy before. It's nice." She got to her feet and then stepped forward, giving her a big hug.

"And uhhh. If not obvious? Let the queen know I'm going to be keeping my memories. They're... a lot more precious to me than I thought. Even the ones that hurt. I'd meant that even if they hadn't turned out to be wrong. Now... I think I'm going to head out, okay?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
She clears her throat when Hinoiri remarks how she sees her. "Do you really want to put me to the test?", she grins putting her hands on her hips. "You should really know that size doesn't mean much, not when we are magical girls. I do not see you as a senpai, but a close friend. That's the way I prefer things", she asserts, and then she steps in to hug Hinoiri too.

"I will let the Queen know that. I am glad you chose to keep them, and that you have built on top of them", she steps back and lets Hinoiri walk out. "Thank you for the cupcake, don't work yourself too hard", she smiles.