1204/Operation: The Queen of Grades and the King of Conquest

Operation: The Queen of Grades and the King of Conquest
Date of Scene:	28 February 2024
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	Cho and Coco try and fail to hook up Tadase and Ami.
Cast of Characters:	Cho Konishi, Coco Kiumi, Tadase Hotori, Ami Mizuno

---

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi wqas... a mermaid. This was not new, because she'd been using this card for a while now, after all.... there was FRIENDSHIPPING with Coco to be had. But, more importantly than that, there was now.... *the plan*. In this case, the plan had the specific plants in waiting, planted by her partner in crime (who would likely be considered an accomplish to this activity), Coco. Now? Now they just had to wait. Under the water, watching the beach for the arrival of the future lovebirds.

The rest of their squad, the fortune telling Oyster and the otters, were in waiting. Plotting to do their move. Soon, the sun would be setting... and the time would come. To strike.

Nothing could go wrong!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco was right there with Cho, waiting under the waves from a safe distance, looking at her improvised subacquatic garden with the plants she had transplanted here. She was feeling extremely energetic and the plan was now fully underway, leaving them just to wait there. Of course, this was something she was feeling extremely confident in, and staying there in wait is more so she can know what to account for the future steps of the plan.

Coco had in fact contacted the oyster fairies and asked for one of their good fortune tellers to be sent to sent. She was currently waiting in her human form on land, not too far from here. And of course, she had explained everything in detail to the otters.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase... found it very suspicious that Cho and Coco were unreachable, suddenly. Somewhere in his mind he at least didn't feel like they wre in danger (which put them in a better state than some people) or at least, not yet. As likely planned by the two geniuses, Tadase had offered to join her instead of Cho wwhen Cho became mysteriously unreachable. He didn't think too much of it - in his mind Ami Mizuno needed something, and the right person was gone but maybe he could still be helpful, or something. Or, maybe Cho would pick up their phone and tell him where the plants were supposed to be in more detail even if she couldn't be there.

    Another failed call and Tadase looks down at his phone. "I wish she wouldn't have let Wuwu do the voicemail greeting." Tadase says, and sighs.

    Kiseki, floating next to him, puts his hands on his hips. "That's assuming she even knows and Wuwu didn't just do it on his own..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It's all right," Ami assures as they approach the general area where these apparent medicinal sea plants were located. Her bag is slung over her shoulder though she has a small computer in her hands which she stares down at. Not the phone as one might expect, but a little flipped open personal computer.

"I'm not certain why we need these, but Setsuna-sensei sometimes seems to know things that are necessary before we need them." She knew why of course, but she couldn't outright say. Not without outing Setsuna entirely. It just wasn't her place to tell that information.

"I should be able to locate the most likely place that plants can grow beneath the water with my computer," she reasons as she starts to type in a few little details, and then half turns to face toward where Coco is hiding. Had she been spotted? Hard to say as she doesn't look up yet.

Instead she turns back again with a little frown. "Ah. This is much easier when I'm..." With a resolute look Ami's head lifts, huffing in a quick breath to gaze out over the water. No one was around though, right? "I'm going to change since we'll likely have to go into the water," she explains very breifly.

And change she does.

A pen flips out in her hand, spinning deftly in her fingers as she raises her arm above her head. Gaze still fixed on her laptop she states, "Mercury Power, Make up." There's no OOMPH to it this time as when they were about to fight Sunbreaker the other day. She's just... changing.

A moment later Sailor Mercury raises her hand to tap the side of her tiara summoning the blue tinted visor over her eyes. "Much better. Now I can examine readings in real time. Shall we?"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi couldn't help it. She rubbed her hands together in glee. Meanwhile... Wuwu was actually nearby. Swimming by them. Just sighing. Why was a letter so hard? Was he just too old fashioned and mundane? Alas...

But they were here. The prince and the princess. Her eyes glimmered and... And.... okay. Right. Learning Mercury's identity. NOT something she'd intended to do today. She glanced to Coco and... "Let's pretend we didn't see that, okay?" Best part about being magical mermaids, underwater talking. "And uhhhh... when the time comes for us to make our appearance, I'll swim over and let them know you're a mermaid. Hotori-kun knows... but I don't know if she does. She might? But I'd rather not risk it."

Now... it was a waiting game. MWA HA HA HA HA!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods at Cho's remark that they not talk about Sailor Mercury. Of course she is not outing someone like that, but her mind is focusing on Nurse Meiou's behaviour the last time they met. Her wariness now made sense if she was protecting Ami's identity as one of the Sailors, and why she didn't reply when Coco wondered if she was talking about a divinely ordained group like those of the mermaid princesses.

And then Coco receives reassurance by Cho that she is going to avoid that nasty consequence. Honestly, she would have preferred going back to the back and meeting them like that, but having that safety net is good too. "Thanks, Cho."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase nods at Ami. "Being prepared early is always better than running around looking for the stuff at the last moment, though." he says. And then when Ami says change he blinks and is about to mention it seems a bit cold for a swimsuit, and THEN there's a moment where he pauses and just says or does nothing for a moment, but she henshins and he gets it, if late.

    "Oh, that makes sense." he says to a question neither of them actually voiced. "Yeah that... seems more helpful. Kiseki can look I guess..." he says, suddenly feeling outclassed as far as actually being helpful at all. "...but if I henshin and go into the water I'm pretty sure the waterlogged ruffles will just spell the end of me." he admits.

    "I'm gonna bet you have a list in the computer too so the one I wrote out is kinda... superfluous." he says. Was he using big words because he was around the genius girl? Not consciously, but maybe Kisekishly.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno smiles at Tadase's hesitation with the thought of changing. He did have a lot of ruffles though that was understandable. "Mercury is the element of water. I can go into the water this way, and not have to worry about freezing. I could also... Hold on just a moment," she requests while the computer is typed on quickly doing a few calculations. "Ah, yes. You can change if you want to, but otherwise..."

Her hand lifts and she just makes a gesture while hitting the last button on the computer with the thumb of her other hand. Water rises up out of the waves near them only to encapsulate Tadase in a bubble sphere which he can move around easily in, and breathe in. "There. That should do."

The computer is tucked away with a flick of her wrist that those who are familiar with Setsuna might recognize, just a bit. It just pops back into it's subspace pocket.

"Let's go. It looks as if they should be a few meters from the shore, most likely." Confidently she strides to the waves to just dive in head first not caring that she didn't have a protective bubble like Tadase. He could move freely in it though as it follows his every movement so that he's not hindered in any way.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi was, well, excited. Doing little spins, but careful not to agitate the water too much. "Okay, so we wait until they find them, then make our way over, right?" she asked. Almost time. Her eyes were GLEAMING! And Ami was.... doing some pretty nifty things!

"... Also, is like... she kind of a mermaid too or..." What? Water powers. Cho didn't know all the rules!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
A shaking of her head is what follows before Coco replies with her words. "No, she is certainly not one of us, or at least not one of the mermaids of the seven seas. She wouldn't have powers, and moreover she would have the shell locket around her neck", Coco outlines a few important differences. They never move around without it, especially if they are the princesses.

"When they are done with the herbs and are starting to go back, I will motion to the oyster fairy to come over, and she will read what romantic future lies in wait for the two of them. Of course we will have to ask for forgiveness first. It's why we are offering the services of one of them in the first place. Ami is not forced to believe she actually is a legitimate fortune teller, but if she actually does, the effect will be powerful."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    "Whoa. Neat." Tadase sayus. Kiseki floats around the outside of the bubble, curious. "It's uh. Should I worry about... popping it? Or Kiseki's crown popping it?" he asks her. But eventually, he takes matters into his own hands and steps with the bubble into the sea to follow the bluenette.

    "Breathing underwater in a giant bubble is... not something I expected to do today." he says, before turning to her and realizing she didn't have a bubble and so talking was probably hard for her. "Oh. Right. You're holding your breath. Uhhh... Thanks!" he adds.

    He sort of... awkwardly, but amusedly, float swims around, providing the visual aid to Ami's digital aid. Eventually, with the help of the Visor locating them, they make their way to the patch of plants. Kiseki remains above the water (because that crown really IS pointy) as Tadase looks around. "Something seems off about these?" he asks, forgetting again he's in the air-bubble and Mizuno-san is not.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury glances over toward Tadase as he speaks only to reveal... There *was* a bubble of her own. It's just over her face like a swim mask of some sort however, as she'd modified it to her own purposes so she could focus on the actual searching and gathering. Really, with her Mercury Visor the little addition of a bubble of air just around her face was easily missed. How did it keep getting fresh air though? Magic.

"It's fine. It looks like the plants we're after are right over there," she gestures in the direction of the greenery that swayed lightly in the underwater currents.

"If you want to stay there I can get some of them. Just .. Keep an eye out in case of trouble? There may not be any," she adds thoughtfully. "But just in case."

With that she dives down further swimming easily to the herbs to begin gathering some carefully to deposit into a mesh bag that has appeared at the side of her skirt. It doesn't take long to gather the items at least, and she turns back after. "All done!"

Cho Konishi has posed:
AND THE BAIT WAS THERE! DONE! YES! SNATCHED UP! She waited, patiently, for everything to be grabbed... and then she was on the move. "Okay, I'll go in first. Coco-chan, I'll tell her about you and then signal for you to come. Okay?"

She then took off!

... A few moments later, Mercury would see something.... new.... A mermaid. With Pink hair. Tadase likely hadn't seen this before, either. "Hey! Platinum Royale! Sailor Mercury! I uhhhh, I got your message. Sorry about not responding, I was with Coco-chan. Oh! And she's a mermaid! Mercury, now you know. Okay, Coco, you can come out now! They know you're a mermaid!""

She then grinned at them. "I'm so sorry, we were out doing some things with the otters and we're ehre to meet with some others and, well, time got away from us. I really wish I could have gotten here sooner to help."

Oh, but Tadase knew that grin. That was a grin she shared with Wuwu. It was that 'I am up to something' grin. She was SCHEMING! Something was up and... whatever it was...

He was stuck in the middle of it. Uh oh.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Just like that? Wouldn't Ami be able to tell that something is up with the mysterious erbs? Wouldn't it have been better to approach them from the side of the beach rather than the open sea? That's where she had left the oyster fairy as well. Well, they are deep into it, so they might as well act like it. She emerges quickly before reaching Cho, covertly waving at the oyster fairy to be ready for her part, and maybe start approaching her underwater.

She is feeling tense already, but she is trying her best to mask it, even if hiding her emotions is exactly the one thing she is bad at. "Yes, that's exactly it! And then there was Yuri, and she was bothering all of them with her with her stupid piano, so we had an impromptu fight right here. Anyway, how is it going?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase is about to give Cho some sort of 'glad you're okay' speech or something as he leaves the water in his bubble, but that's when he sees THAT GRIN. That grin that he'd often seen upside down when Cho dropped out of a tree to shout 'Prince' at him. He looks at Mercury, then to Coco, and then to Cho.

    "Cho, what's going on and why does your friend look... anxious?" Tadase asks, tilting his head. And looking around again. At least there's no trees, but where's the nearest bucket? Oh, right, Mercury has one in her space, thankfully.

    "Welllllll we got the stuff so I guess we should be going now?" he asks more than states. Like he's waiting fr the punch line.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury moves through the water easily, out onto the beach. The bubble around her shimmers out of existence when she no longer needs it and as soon as Tadase is on dry land the same happens to the bubble around him. The magic had done it's duty and now there was no longer any reason for it to exist.

A bit surprised she looks over toward the mermaid--No, Cho--with wide blue eyes blinking rapidly as she takes this all in with the info dump that had been provided. "Oh. A mermaid. I see... That's how these got planted then?" Of course it's not so much a question as she deduces that's the reason. While she'd been quick under water, she could actually look at the plants now that she holds them aloft in their bag frowning thoughtfully.

"These don't really seen native to the area." Then again Setsuna had told her they were medicinal something or others. If they were mermaids then that might explain this as well.

Coco's response about someone named Yuri, a piano and a fight has her nod slowly as well. "It sounds like you were both very busy. It's... Going fine?" A questioning look is shot toward Tadase.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded rapidly. "What? Anxious? Oh, right. She doesn't get a lot of chances to be a mermaid around other people. It's a whole... seafoam thing. You know? If someone sees her but finds out, then she gets turned to seafoam so that's why I tell everyone she's a mermaid. That and she's probably a bit nervous, like me... because, well. It's our fault you had to come alllll the way out here. IF we'd just been a little faster, you wouldn't have had to come out here," Cho said, with a grin and then...she came onto shore.

... And well. SHE wasn't actually a mermaid. So when she came onto shore it was more akin to a beached whale dragging itself out of the water... then de-henshining-ish into a girl again. And then standing up! "But... maybe we could make it up to you two."

And that grin never left her lips.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I know, right?" Coco says in response to Mercury pointing out that the erbs don't look from around, trying to make it seem like she didn't hear the accusation about this being how they got planted. "I thought the same thing, weird thing these would just show up here, I better tell Cho about it, especially since these are all very useful erbs." It is so very evident she is nervous.

She starts following them along as they go back. Luckily, it didn't seem like there was anybody else watching in their direction when they get onto the beach, and at least Cho had told them that the mermaid in front of them actually is Coco. So she is able to assume human form safely, and it's just then that the oyster fairy approaches her, as she had requested.

"Oh, this is a friend of mine, we had agreed to meet up, but we were kind of held up, and she is actually a professional fortune teller, the real deal, and I guess, could you please, do me a favour and read them their future to make up for them being left without clear directions from us?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind doing that, princess", the oyster fairy says, picking out a crystal sphere from her bag. "I see, I see", she starts muttering to herself, gazing deep into the object. "I actually have good things to say about both of you", she turns to Tadase and Ami. "It is clear you have underhanded foes in front of you, and one of them will even try to get to Mizuno-san through the things she holds dear, but despite that, things will turn out well. However, more than that, I sense a very happy life ahead of you with each other. Are you by any chance in a relationship? That's what the future tells me."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase blinks at Cho's note about mermaids. "No, I didn't know that. I uh. Guess I'll never try to figure out if anyone is a mermaid on my own, then." he says. And he's both confused and taking it seriously. He's seen enough weird stuff to not really question it.

    Tadase returns Ami's look with one of utter confusion. He has no idea what's going on or if whatever it is, is going fine. And it shows on his face."

    Tadase sighs. "Chooooooo...." he says, drawing out the last letter like a frustrated parent.

    Then Tadase is... accosted by the presence, and maybe even the concept, of a fortune-telling oyster fairy. Things Got Weird a little bit ago but now he wonders if he's gonna wake up. Kiseki 'helpfully' tugs on his hair, which recieves an "ow!" and a missed swat.

    Underhanded Foes makes Tadase think about Ikuto at first on reaction, until he remembers the catboy is APPARENTLY trying to do better and he should give him that chance. Then the other question. "What? R-relationship? I mean. We're schoolmates?!" Everyone but Tadase can see Kiseki smack his hand into his face.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
As the 'fortune teller' is introdued Ami just looked dubious. Fortune telling? She may be 'magical' but she was also logical. Magic was just a force she hadn't entirely figured out the usage of, that's all! Telling fortunes didn't really seem as if it would exist though. Not with all the future possibilities that could come. Though, the question about being in a relationship none the less catches her off guard.

Enough so that her henshin disolves leaving plain old Ami Mizuno there standing stiff, wide-eyed, red-faced, with the bag of sea herbs tucked away in her spacial pocket for now.

"What? No! We're not--!" A slow and deep breath is drawn... and she reaches up to scratch at her arm. Roughly.

"This is rather ridiculous," she blurts out still red-faced. More than just red faced though--The pitch of her voice was rising with near panic at the talk of 'a future together with Tadase' and her breath hitches a bit.

The other arm is scratched at now.

"I-I need to go," she blurts out as she starts scratching furiously at her arms because that redness of her face isn't blushing: She's literally breaking out in hives at this point.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi was only grinning more and more by the second, unfortunately not aware of Ami's growing discomfort. "What?" she asked Tadase. "I said I was sorry for being late." No she wasn't. However... when... When Tadase said 'we're schoolmates' there was a tiny little face palm. And Wuwu, crawling out from the sea, facepalmed as well before leaping onto Cho's back and crawling up her.

She then moved a hand behind her back, giving coco the thumbs up. It was time. The sun would be setting soon, the hill overlooking the bay was ready...

The finale of the grand plan was within sight. All they needed to do was one last thing...

The adorable agents of chaos. The otters.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
<<Ok, do it now!>> comes Coco's telepathic command to the two otters lying in wait to execute the theft. And one of them jumps up above Ami's head, but it does so too high and fails to grasp at the hat. At the same time, the other otter does the same thing successfully with Kiseki's crown.

The otters, one of them wearing the stolen crown, scurry off towards a nearby cliff. When Tadase and Kiseki reach them there, they will find the otters running off once more in the opposite direction, the crown waiting for them on the ground.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase is a little bit blindsided by the otter acrobatic corps - as is Kiseki. "What was that all about..." Kiseki asks. For a moment there's nothing ensle, and then he looks above him where the crown isn't - just an imaginary dotted line of where it should be.

    Kiseki's eyes flare with flaming rage. "THAT THING STOLE MY CROWN!" he shouts much louder than his tiny body would make seem doable.

    "Oh no. If he doesn't get that back it's gonna bleed into me. Hey! Mister or Miss Otter, I need that back! We need that back!"

    "GIVE IT BACK OR I'LL BANISH YOU FROM MY KINGDOM AND ALSO THE CARD GAME NIGHTS!" Kiseki shouts as the two of them run after the scurrying otter, only stopping when they come to the crown.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
OTTER! Ami jerks away from the otter jumping near her attempting to snag her hat. If it weren't for her itching at her arms she might have reacted by punching it--It's something she was picking up rooming with Hannah, and with tips from Makoto on self defense. Thankfully there's no otter punching.

What there IS, is a tense look as Tadase and Kiseki start to chase after the otter that had stolen Kiseki's crown. "Ah... I'd help but... um. Good luck," is all she manages to mutter before she turns and takes off running as well.

In the opposite direction. AWAY from everyone on the beach as she hurries off intent on getting home as quick as possible.

Besides, Usagi had left Luna with her for awhile, and she was waiting for her at the dorms.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi grinned as the otters moved into position! yes, they got... the crown! Well, that was half of them, that was a success! Score! Mission--

Then Ami left. WHAT?! She hadn't planned for that. She blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side and...

"But.... huh. That... that's the opposite of a success, isn't it?"

"Oh, this is such a failure," Wuwu said. "Have you two considered... the letter? Confession? Just telling her?"

Cho looked to him and then... she sighed. Glancing to Coco. "I should probably go help the little king and uhhhh... oh dear." Pause. "Actually, maybe we should... go... before he gets back here and kills us. We need to plan... for a second attempt!" she said, pounding a fist into the air.

... Wuwu, meanwhile... just face palmed.