1390/Tiny Mermaid, Big Problems

Tiny Mermaid, Big Problems
Date of Scene:	08 April 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Coco and Yuuto find a weird enchantment in the most unlikely of places.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Yuuto Shiraishi

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
On a day where they had nothing in particular going on, now that the exams had finally ended and they were for the moment completely free to use their time as they pleased (aside from keeping a watchful eye on the streets of Tokyo as usual), Coco had invited Yuuto along for a shopping stroll through Four Clover Mall, trying to find some small gifts that would celebrate having successfully passed the school year (even if she wasn't counting on making it a surprise).

Either way, she is inside a gift shop in the mall, looking at all the items on display and try to see what Yuuto would like. At the moment she has picked up a small radio with a gramophone on top of it, and she is showing it to her beloved. "What do you think of this?", Coco smiles invitingly at him.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
Yuuto is rarely, if ever, going to turn down an invitation to go out with Coco. Short of a track meet or practice, he'll say yes most of the time. Walking with the young woman, he's just pleased to be in her orbit (more like her gravitational pull, no regrets), as they look around the various shops. "So we're looking for tchotchkes?" he asks her curious as she ducks into the gift shop, her boyfriend dutifully following.

She finds the small radio and picks it up and he gives a small laugh, "It's cute!" he admits. "But I don't think it'd be a good speaker." His tone is light and teasing, she should know by now that he'd like anything that she'd offer to him. After all, she already offered her heart and he accepted it.

Looking over some of the snowglobes before his attention returns to Coco, her smile igniting his own with warmth. "It's cute."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Something like that", Coco confirms to Yuuto. "We deserve to treat ourselves now that the school year is over, don't we?" the mermaid nods as if she had just said an unchangeable law of the universe. "That is what happens when a hard battle is won! To the victors go the spoils", Coco says energetically. "Or something like that, anyway. And never say never. Maybe you have just been waiting for that special moment to unearth a new talent", she encourages Yuuto, before her gaze too falls on the snowglobes.

"That's a good find!", the girl says, not really paying any mind to how they would be out of season. Her eyes move through them, when there is a particular one that catches her attention. "That one!" Coco points, moving to grasp it. Except, as soon as her fingers caress the item, a bright blue light is released from it, engulfing the general area around itself, making it impossible to see what's going on there. As soon as it fades, Coco isn't standing there anymore. If Yuuto looks around, he will find her inside the snowglobe she has just touched trying in vain to make noises that would attract his attention, an anxious expression on her now small face.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"I already have the spoils though." Yuuto points out with a wink to his girlfriend, letting her know exactly what he means by that. There's a chuckle as she reminds him once again of how bold and forward that she can be sometimes as he grins at Coco. "I dunno. Unless I suddenly..." a smirk at the idea that he'd suddenly sprout fins of all things.

Then she's off to look at the snowglobes he had passed by and he's reversing course to find her when suddenly... there's that bright flash of blue light and Coco is suddenly gone. Panic wells up in Yuuto's gut. He so did not make a wish! "Coco? Coco!" he calls out, looking for his girlfriend, before hearing the rattle of the snowglobe and he makes his way over to it, not quite picking it up because he's worried the action will repeat.

But then he spies the tiny mermaid within. "Coco?!" he says, eyes widening in anxious worry. "I'll get you out of there... somehow." He's trying quickly to figure out how to do it without shattering the glass and hurting her.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco has just had the time to look at the snowglobe she was aiming for when she feels herself get pulled inside that glass sphere, her body tense as she tries looking around for what could have happened. "Yuuto?" she calls out, hoping he would hear and start replying. "Hey, Yuuto, please come out", she tries again, looking around everywhere, trying to identify his familiar brown heir anywhere. That is when her gaze falls onto the glass, catching her own reflection on it, and then the distorted figure of Yuuto just outside of it.

"Yuuto...?" Coco says, not believing her own eyes, which are open wide towards that distorted huge figure walking in front of her. What is going on here?, she wonders to herself as she starts frantically tapping on the glass and waving her arms in order to catch his attention. "I am right here, Yuuto! Get me out!" she shouts, not knowing her voice isn't making it out of the glass.

Not finding any progress on that, Coco starts making runs back and forth against the glass, trying to push it off the shelf, anything to get out of there. "Please, help me, Yuuto", Coco exclaims. "I don't want to stay inside here."

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
Outside the snowglobe, Yuuto is concerned. Unable to stop himself, he grabs the globe gently - half-expecting to be trapped within with her. When that doesn't happen, he lifts it up to make sure that his eyes aren't lying to him. "Coco! Hang on, babe, I'll... figure it out!" She starts hitting against the edges of the globe, "Hold on!" he warns her.

Turning the globe upside down, he starts looking for a release mechanism or anything that would help release her from the trap, before finally setting it down again. "One moment!" And with that, he looks around and seeing the coast is clear, he henshins into his Steam Sentinel form. "Tinker, help me crack this thing!" he tells the fair that comes out.

Tinker, the little chunky fairy flits up slightly, and then seeing what's going on. "Oh, right! Stand back, Coco!" he calls out to the mermaid. Before pausing, realizing she may not be able to hear him.

So he makes shooing motions, trying to convince the trapped mermaid to go back. When she does, he gets out his large pipe wrench and 'WHACKS!' the glass globe, cracking it. "Alright Yuuto, you should be able to force it open!"

And with that, Yuuto is using his hands, cutting his fingers as he pries the glass apart to get to the mermaid within, fear in his eyes, knowing that she's been in this situation before and he was not going to let her be trapped alone, ever again.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
A shade of worry passes on her face when she sees those gigantic fingers effortlessly lift the snowglobe she is inside, before telling herself to calm down, as that is Yuuto, not anyone else, someone she trusts very deeply. She doesn't really know what he is saying as the vibrations of his voice get distorted through the glass, but she can see enough of his face, and she knows him enough to understand he is trying to help her.

A yelp of surprise escapes her mouth when the glob turns upside down, Coco falling up until she smashes into it, luckily having turned on her side and having been able to keep her head away from the glass. 'I am fine, I am fine', she thinks, hesitantly getting to her feet, looking up at that layer of snow, quite a bit away from her perspective, that is now slowly falling onto her.

And then Tinker approaches and Coco looks up at him, wondering what he is going to do and comparing him with the globe she is in, noticing the globe is taller still. Predictably Coco doesn't understand his words, but she does lie back against the opposite end of the curved environment she is when he tries to shoo her back, gazing nervously when he starts bashing the sphere.

Cracks slowly start forming up until Tinker decides it's enough and lets Yuuto force an opening into the sphere that Coco cautiously walks out of, not even paying any mind to the fact she hasn't turned back yet, only the fact Yuuto has cut himself. "Does it hurt?" Coco's feeble voice resounds as she stretches her neck up, looking at her boyfriend with worry.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
After Tinker cracks the glass for him, Yuuto nods. "Thanks, Tink!" he says quickly to his fairy as he shakes his hand off. It's a nice cut, he'll probably need to bandage it - it hurts, not that he's going to tell Coco that for now as he offers his other hand - the one not cut, to her as a small platform. "I'm fine." he offers quickly to quell her fears.

"More importantly, what are we going to do about you? Yes, you're even more adorable this small... but there's got to be a way to turn you back." Lifting his hand so she can settle in the pocket of his jacket, he's heading towards the front of the store and the shopkeep. "Excuse me!" he calls out. "I think one of your snowglobes broke!" he holds up his bleeding hand to show them proof of it.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco isn't really buying the fact he is fine, she can see the sign perfectly well, and she knows that Yuuto tends to rely on saying things are fine even when they aren't, but with their newfound size difference, she can't really do anything about it, so she just hopes that cut will get medicated soon enough. In the meantime, she does climb on the hand Yuuto is offering her, marveling at just how different things are like this and glad Yuuto is around to help her.

"I don't know what to do about me", Coco replies with a pensive expression. It is weird, though perhaps not unusual that she didn't go back to normal as soon as she was freed, but maybe she just needs to wait until the energy of the enchantment has finished washing off her? That would be her bet. "Probably the spell is still active on me, and we just need to let it run its course", Coco smiles in reassurance. "Thank you though, I am glad you find me so", she says while climbing into his pocket. And being surrounded by Yuuto's warmth so much also had a positive effect on Coco, letting her stay calm.

She stays hidden while he goes talk with the staff, hearing a conversation with apologies, and him being hurt, them sending someone to deal with the glass and offering to have him stay here so he can have that looked at while they call an ambulance. Coco turns around a bit, trying to make herself more cosy, figuring that if Yuuto accepts, she is going to stay here for a while. He can't really say 'Oh, yeah, I am just going to let my miniaturised girlfriend out of my pocket, please don't mind her.'

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
There was another reason he went to the front of the store - it allowed him to feel for magic - to see if there was some dark force that maybe had caused Coco to change, because like her, he's worried. He's sensing nothing and shakes his head at the offer for medical assistance after reverting to his normal form. He does accept a wrap for his hand though, tieing it off securely.

Once things are cleaned up, he is leaving the shop with a sigh, gazing down at the small yellow bundle in his pocket. "We'll figure this out, Coco." he offers quietly, a gentle careess of his pocket to rub her, before he bites on his lip. "I'm not sure what the answer is yet."

But he needs a few minutes to catch his thoughts. "You didn't change into a mermaid." he points out to her as he walks with her. "I wonder if we found a body of water and you changed forms, if that would maybe fix it?" he asks. "There's a fountain near the food court."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Yeah, there really was nothing at the shop, and the staff would have looked at Yuuto flabbergasted had he revealed what he was looking for, so it's a good thing he didn't. The culprit was likely someone feeling like they wanted to play pranks. Very mean pranks. Was it a holdover from April's Fool the culprit didn't feel like dispelling? "How tall am I now, Yuuto?", Coco asks, from her point of view, hazarding a mere 8 cm, but better to know for sure than not. At least she is enjoying her current accomodation.

Coco listens to Yuuto's replies regarding his wound, not really all that happy about him turning the offer to get that checked down, but telling herself it probably isn't that bad. Yuuto knows what he is doing, after all. "It's ok, Yuuto, I trust you", Coco makes herself heard from within his pocket, her hand touching the one that is caressing the pocket.

"There was no water in there", Coco says as Yuuto wonders about a possibility. "Do you think that the magic is more tied to my current form rather than me in general?", Coco ponders. "Could you please bring me there?"

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"You're about the size of a couple of my action figures back home." Real home. Not school. Yuuto didn't bring those to his dorm. "But the ones I make with clay." he explains, as he walks, lifting his head to pay attention where he was going and not make it look like he's talking to his pocket, but a lot of people talk to themselves these days.

"Maybe?" Yuuto admits as he considers. "I'm just spitballing ideas. It's a good thing there wasn't water in that globe." His knows what happens when her pearl gets submerged in water, he can only imagine what would have happened if there had been water in that globe when she was transferred to it.

He'd probably have a small cup of water with a cute mermaid in it holding onto the side, instead of on his pocket. Arriving at the food court, she can smell all the various foods being prepared, and hear the sound of the fountain, and he frowns. "People are around. How do we do this?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That small, huh..." Well, no surprise there, since even Tinker was taller. "I bet I am the prettiest of all of them, though", Coco quips cheerfully, unaware of his communication problems. Unaware of most things really. The best she can see is light filtering through the fabric. She has no idea how many people are around.

"Could you imagine if there actually was water? I couldn't have gotten out of there on my own since legs are actually much more useful to avoid glass shards than a mermaid tail", she lays out the scenario, shuddering at the though. "But thanks for doing the main work in getting me out of there, Yuuto." That was a big relief, the glass was too close for comfort.

She does smell all sorts of food that they sell there, and it is then her kind is struck with a realisation: the food is literally giant to her now. She would be able to feast as much as she wanted on a simple hot dog, or donut, or french chips, or chicken... It does make her stomach gurgle a bit, even if it impossible to hear for Yuuto. "Do you think we could order something later on?" She doesn't even mind if this turns her back by then.

Coco slightly peeks at all the people walking around and down down down there at the water of the fountain, the sound of it admittedly enticing her. In her defense, it sounds more like waterfalls and rivers than a fountain to her. "I think I am small enough that you can just slip me in and nobody would notice", she tells Yuuto.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"You've always been the prettiest girl in my life, Coco. It's why I gave you my promise." Yuuto responds to her quietly, as he frowns, looking around. He really is worried about slipping her into the water - and then everyone will see the mermaid that captured his heart and that would be totally awkward. "I don't know about this." He's having second thoughts.

"We could order some food and I could take you back to my room and place you in the tub? Or in your room's tub, but I think Cho would think we were up to something." he admits with a small smirk as he looks down at the small girl in her pocket.

"But yes, I will buy you lunch." See, she's tiny, she can't jump in front of him and pay like she usually does, even if she's wealthy and he's not. For once, he has the advantage. "What would you like to eat?" he asks.

He pauses at the fountain, and moves around, looking over the edge of the water, and then seeing if anyone is paying attention to him.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Thank you", Coco replies, both at compliment and at the fact he is willing to buy food. Because yeah, the fact she is currently unable to buy food on her own is quite annoying, but at least she can be grateful that Yuuto is quite the doting boyfriend.

"I would like some chicken nuggets, please. The smallest package will be enough", Coco quips, the laugh evident in her voice. Even that one is a feast beyond compare for her. She is not quite sure of what would happen if Yuuto ordered her any other size.

"And you are probably right", Coco agrees, snapping out of the reverie. "If it does help getting me back to normal, doing it in my dorm room is better. But we don't have a central tub, so we have to use mine either way. Cho would understand though, I assure you."

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"We could also use your secret place." Yuuto points out as he goes to the mall branch of WcDonalds and orders a four piece chicken nugget meal with sauce for Coco and he orders himself a Big Wac meal. After the kids meal and burger arrive, he carries the meal over to a table and sets it down. Opening the kids meal, he sets it a small area with half of a nugget and a single fry." And the toy. Which is a small plastic pony with a fabric mane and a brush. The Farm Friends Meal!

Opening his box to take out the burger, he waits for Coco to settle in before he starts to eat himself. "We can go there after we leave here. It's closer, and more secluded." he points out.

"In case I haven't mentioned it... I was really enraptured by your performance at the prom, Coco." he admits, his cheeks warm with something other than embarassment. "And dancing with you was... it was well worth it."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
After Yuuto lowers her down, Coco jumps down from his hand then gives Yuuto a thank you. The blonde girl then looks at the box with the nuggets in it, the "plate" Yuuto has prepared for her, the small box of sauce and the toy horse. She isn't really considering riding the last one. Not right now, anyway. It will probably make for some amusing photos later.

Instead she pushes the sauce closer to her plate and then starts lifting the plastic, even if it takes her a bit of an effort. She has started it herself now though, and she wants to finish it herself, a stubborn streak that's maybe to Yuuto's amusement.

Once that's done she lifts her half of a chicken nugget and tinges its tip into the sauce, then sitting cross-legged and giving the first bite. Good thing she didn't submerge the nugget too much. Even like this, quite a bit of the sauce has ended on her face. "Whoops", she smiles before adding "this is really good, thanks."

"I am glad it reached your heart, Yuuto", Coco beams at her boyfriend. "I gave it my all. And I really enjoyed dancing with you that evening. That alone made the Prom worth it to me."

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"We will just have to find more reasons to dance together more often, Coco." Yuuto responds. "As well as other dates." he tears off a piece of napkin to offer to her to wipe off her face, as he returns to eating his own burger, as he considers everything. The last few months have been a whirlwind. But he can't see his life without the mermaid.

"You don't have to sing to reach my heart, you know." he admits as he stops eating for a moment to gently tug (not removing!) the ring on his left hand. "You're already there. And always will be." he admits to her.

"What's your plan after you graduate?" he asks. "Do you want to return to your kingdom? I'm sure they'll be ready for you to rule..." And everything he thinks that entails.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"You know, despite the circumstances, we are on a date right now", Coco points out, taking a break from the nugget to answer him. Though they can't really hold hands or kiss, to her displeasure, unless Yuuto is interested in her holding the tip of his finger and kissing her whole face or something. But even that wouldn't be the same. "And we don't really need a reason to dance, but I would love for us to come up with even more dates."

The mermaid takes the piece of napkin and carefully cleans her face before she goes back to going through the nugget. Looks like it's no sauce for her. That makes her dealing with the rest of her food a bit sadder, but after a while she only has the single fry left on her plate.

"I am still glad it enchanted you, Yuuto", Coco insists. "I like giving it my all when it comes to my songs, you know? That's just the best feeling, pouring my whole being", she clarifies, starting to tackle the fry.

"That is if I am allowed to graduate", Coco starts explaining. "Depending on when we defeat the evil lurking here in Tokyo they may decide to pull me back under the sea earlier than my graduation." It's a sad fact, but it's something she was aware of even before she left. It sucks, knowing that she will be leaving a piece of her heart behind with all the people she got to know here.

Once Yuuto is done with his food, Coco walks up to him and gives his wrist a hug (at least partially), and says "Thanks for the meal." Then she just stands there, waiting for his boyfriend to let her into his pocket so they can try out that experiment.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"I'll find a way to go with you." That's Yuuto's promise. "I don't want to lose you so soon after I found you, Coco." he admits to her quietly. "Even if I have to give up my life on the surface to do so. I'll figure it out." he sighs, and shakes his head. "I look forward to so many more dates with you." comes his gentle admission.

As she comes over and hugs his wrist, his free hand moves, one finger lightly caressing her blonde hair. "A lifetime of dates." he whispers for her, and then turns his hand so that she may crawl in to deposit her in his pocket again.

Once that's done, he's rising from his seat, preparing to leave the mall to make his way out of the mall and back to the dorms and Coco's room.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I am sorry you feel like this choice is being forced onto you too", Coco says, as she reluctantly lets go of that wrist-hug. "I wish it wasn't like that, but it's not something that I can do anything about."

The thought of having Yuuto next to her does make her heart lighter, and even if she isn't really ready to truly accept the thought she will have to leave the surface, she happily pushes back against that finger that is lightly caressing her hair.

After that, she gets onto his hand, and from there, inside his pocket, and then it's just a matter of waiting for him to get there, while she is surrounded by the assurance of his perfume.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"I accepted the choice could happen when I accepted your heart, Coco." Yuuto points out as they walk. "And when you accepted mine in return." The day is warm and comfortable, the hints that spring is fully in motion as they make their way back to the school. The soft smell of amber is a heady scent within his pocket, from the cologne that he is wearing.

As they arrive back on campus, he signs in at the girl's dorm that he is 'visiting' Coco, even if the girl is in his pocket - they wouldn't have let him in otherwise. Arriving at the room, he opens it, heading inside. Once they are within, he's moving to take her back to the bathroom to set up the tub. "Alright... I hope this works, but I'm ready to catch you if it doesn't. Are you ready?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
It's a good thing that the porter's lodge (and Radiant Heart's faculty) is used to certain students sneaking in and out of windows, else they would have told Yuuto Coco is not in right now and sent him back. With things as they are, instead they let him him, and soon enough they find themselves in front of Coco's filling bathtub.

As soon as it's ready, Yuuto lets Coco slip down into the water, and the blonde girl starts turning back into a mermaid, a small one. Still, just the feeling of being into the water is of enormous relief to Coco, and she immediately dives down and then right up, doing an impressive jump into the air, reaching almost a meter away from the water surface, before splashing back down.

Swimming to the edge of the bathtub, Coco smiles at Yuuto and tells him "Looks like that didn't work and we have to wait it out. Anything you want to do till then?"

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
When she transforms, and it doesn't work, Yuuto frowns. "We can try what cures everything in movies and I could try kissing you. At least that's what works on most magic spells." he points out with a smirk as he watches his action figure sized girlfriend go through some impressive water acrobatics. "I could sit here and watch you perform?" he asks her with amusement.

"...does your song of healing work on you?" he asks her curiously as he leans against the tub to watch her, even if she is in her natural element.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I can use it to purify myself depending on how much dark energy it is", Coco explains. That is the weak of their specific source of purification being so intimately tied with them. "Our songs are a part of us. If too much darkness enters our hearts, then our songs change with them and they start to spread more darkness", Coco sighs, playing with the water through her fingers.

"But that isn't important at the moment. That magic hadn't felt like dark energy, so I doubt my song can do anything. We might just have to..." Before she can finish the sentence there is a blue flash and a splash, with some water from the bathtub ending up on the floor from the sudden addition of extra mass. "... Well, problem solved!", Coco smiles to Yuuto. "A pity we could never take those photos, but I am back to normal now!"

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"I want to learn all your songs, Coco. As you said, they are a part of us. And I want to be part of that as well." Yuuto admits, a little blush in his cheeks. "I may not ever be able to learn to purify with them, but I mean... I'm a big fan." That was a joke, because she's small at the moment. There's a fond smile as he adds, "Hopefully we figure this out soon, or I'll have to explain why I'm taking an action figure on dates." A wink at her as he moves to sit back.

Jist for the water to come splashing out of the tub and onto the floor and him as Coco transforms back into her pure mermaid self. Uncovering his eyes from the flash, they light up with delight as she's back to normal and he throws his arms around her - he's already wet after all and hugs Coco tightly to him. "Welcome back1' he says with a fondness. "I know, I was about to go get the camera... but I'd much rather have you this way." He presses a kiss to her cheek before letting her go. "But now I need to go change and dry off."

Pushing himself to his feet, he gives Coco's hand a squeeze. "See you soon." he promises her. And with that, he slips out of the bathroom so that he can make his way back to his dorm room to dry off.