2134/No Work For Fire

No Work For Fire
Date of Scene:	26 November 2024
Location:	Museum
Synopsis:	Seeking a new avenue to create a Deadbeat, Fuhai ends up channeling her feelings into the Deadbeat of the sun goddess Xihe. Can she, Cure Suzhen and Geode Girl Loyalty calm the despondent goddess?
Cast of Characters:	Yaling Yao, Hinoiri Kirara, Niji Dasshu

---

Yaling Yao has posed:
The National Museum at Yumegahama has completely changed its outward appearance, advertising the addition of the work of art by Takenaka Chiasa, a painting named "Xihe leading the sun bird", showing the sun goddess standing straight on her chariot guiding the sun bird dragging it forward.

Many banners hang down from the building, showing the artist's paintings, and illustrating that many copies that have been printed for sale for the occasion, reproducing the painting with high fidelity to the original. All the advertising has definitely paid off, people coming in a crowd and causing a huge delay in the queue.

It's only when the sunset starts peeking from the horizon that the processing of the tickets start going a lot faster, most of the crowd having already explored the museum to their satisfaction, enough so the double doors at the entrance didn't constantly have to hang open.

"Hey, BaiBai, ready, we are finally there for your colleague!", Yaling exclaims, heading inside with her usual enthusiasm, warmly covered by several layers. "I wouldn't really call her a colleague, and I haven't met her much", the snake replies from under the jacket's hood, hiding from the cold wind until they get inside. "Right, but you can tell still tell how faithful it is, right?", the green-haired girl insists.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been helping Niji learn Kirakirafantastica magic when she could. Sure, it was a... challenge... to say the least. Niji was definitely a 'feely' sort when it came to magic. Hinoiri could be passionate about it, but she was... defintiely a more.... 'learn the principles, then be excited for them' sort, than a 'just DO it!' sort.

But she'd managed to teach niji how to, usually, summon the tool she needed. So, progress!

Of course, that did mean that the two had regular meetups and, during one of these meetups... Niji had noticed that local hot headed girl was very... not excited. Or happy. So the offer had been made. Go to the museum, there was some sun goddess thing, right? That'd surely cheer her up?

It was a clear sign of Niji's loyalty to her friends that she was willing to endure a trip to a museum of all places.

And now that it had calmed down, Hinoiri had gone in to check things out... but, seeing the radiant sun goddess on her chariot... only made Hinoiri's mood dampen slightly. It reminded her of all the things Sora had said... and just how much of a disappointment she'd really been in the end. How could someone like her ever hope to be a hero?

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji really didn't understand any of the underlying rules or ideas Hinoiri was trying to teach her. Magic's supposed to be cool and arm wavy, not thinking and knowing stuff. Egghead nonsense! But she did also try, since one: summoning the baseball bat was cool, and two: it seemed to lift Hinoiri's spirits to help her (even as it frustrated her).

    But today that hadn't been enough, and a chance thought about the girl who *was* Sunbreaker and the Sun God Exhibition lead the two of them to the museum. Honestly, Niji didn't hate museums - there were cool things there, like samurai armor and swords. She just didn't want to walk around with a tour group or worry about long droning guides. She also would have rather played with the swords but she contained herself on that front.

    "Cheer up, Kirara-san..." Niji said as she turned to her friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend. "I don't think anybody ever moped themselves into a better place. Like. Literally. Ever." she says, bluntly. "We're surrounded by cool stuff and there's a buncha nerd information on those plaques too. Focus on that instead of whatever's grinding your gears."

Yaling Yao has posed:
Many people are gazing with admiration at the painting, but one. A lean man in his forties with brown hair styled as a buzz cut wearing a dark grey uniform is looking at it, his expression seemingly frozen in a frown, such as one might think he is constantly contemplating what is wrong with the world.

"Not much good material recently, what should I do with you?", he mutters under his breath, dark energy starting to coat his hand, approaching the painting with a surety that makes it seem the world is holding its breath, waiting to see what happens.

The ominous powers clings without intent to the painting, looking for something to focus on. Nearby thoughts of a sun goddess give dark energy a direction, feelings of despondency mixing in with those thoughts. "That will do", the dark general smirks lightly, an expression that feels wrong on his face, as if it was an unexpected appearance.

A purple and dark red lighting fu, complete with perfect aim for a zone that is relatively free of people, a shadow cast on the ground by the emergence of a chariot in the air, slowly starting a descent as a confused bird looks around. "What does it matter?", the woman at the chariot lets herself go, sighing. "It's a pointless trip that will go on forever. So many people better suited, why me?"

Murmurs cross the crowd at the spectacle, some of them wondering if this is a high-budget movie ad. "Let me be alone", she tells the giant bird. "I can't bear any of this liveliness. The flaming creature screeches, pointing its darkly glowing beak at the people around itself.

"Of course he would take this moment to strike. Yaling, let's go", the fairy snake addresses her pupil. "I am ready, BaiBai!", the green-haired girl promptly reacts at the youma's appearance, writing Cure Suzhen on a compact with a journal, a jade pipa in the her hands, swirls of emerald and white light dancing around in the air before attaching themselves to her and changing into clothes. "Wellness, Warmth and Wisdom from White Snake's Gaze! Historic Legacy! Cure Suzhen!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara forced a small smile to Niji. "Right, sorry. This is really cool. Just... I don't know. I'm not really feeling it today I guess. Just... maybe I'm homesick or something."

Maybe she should tell Niji the reason why...

...

But surrounded by all this sun art, she really... didn't want to confess what she did. To admit to the horrible pain she'd inflicted on La Crima.

And then? Then there was a youma. Her eyes went wide and she pulled back. Did... did she do that?

Wait, no, there was a dark general! Oh, thank goodness. She slid her hands into her pockets and... stopped. She turned to Niji. "I'll help get everyone out of here, okay? You've got a youma to tend to," she said.

She jogged towards the exit and... "Everyone, run! Fire!" she yelled.

Well, they might be distracted by the monster, but FIRE tended to at least get a lot of people shuffling towards the exits!

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji turns to Hinoiri, maybe a bit too fast, when the Dark Energy radiates out and her geode glows. She doesn't know what's going on - but that's been more or less her experience since she became a magical girl so long ago. Well. That's not true. She knows the basics. Bad guy here to do bad things, monster appears, monster needs bashing.

    Wisely, Hinoiri gets the civilians clear - and Niji only smirks a little bit she does it by claiming there's a fire. "Right. Youma. Dealing with that." Niji says, before she follows with the crowd - mostly - before ducking down a side passage. She looks around to make sure it's empty except for suits of armor, as she reaches to the geode that hangs around her neck.

    "To protect others, I am the Element of Loyalty!." she intones.

    Outside of the hall, there's a brilliant flash of light that shifts through the colors of the rainbow - then a blur that easily flies above the crowd heading for the exits and back to the room in question.

    "What is it with you guys and museums?" The multicolored girl questions as her blue wings flutter to a stop when she lands. "Then again I guess there's a lot of history about people who ended up getting their butts kicked so maybe it just makes sense." she says, crossing her arms. Then she looks over to Cure Suzhen. "Do you know what's going on? Any reason I shouldn't start laying into that thing?" Loyalty asks. She's learned sometimes youma are corrupted innocent people, and sometimes youma are just monstrous vending machines that need a good bashing.

Yaling Yao has posed:
"Eh? A fire? Where is it?", someone starts murmuring at Hinoiri's shout, only seeing the "high-quality projection" in front of them, that blasts out a sound wave from its beak, luckily missing the crowd and crashing against the reception in the far back of the room, breaking the table in two.

"Does it matter? Let's get out of here before it reaches us!", someone else takes her warning seriously, pushing around the crowd to reach the exit in a hurry, not really stopping to think what is going on with the "movie", just wanting no part of either that or a fire.

"No way a movie is worth my life!" another person yells with fear forming with a tense glance at the broken table, when nobody else seems to get moving. This starts a chain reaction when fear starts spreading like wildfire, urging everyone to scramble for the exits between screams of fire.

The small crowd size lets Cure Suzhen stay out of the way of the human stampede, jumping closer to the wall. "Great idea!", she smiles at Hinoiri. "Lay into it! If you let the Deadbeat be, the influence it will have on history will make it bleaker" she explains at the Rainbow girl's request.

"Not bleak if people still believe in warmth, sincerity and love", the man in grey replies. "Faul, and become a stepping stone to a world with no chaos", the dark general. "My Deadbeat is here, this is already my victory", he turns his head to Loyalty.

"Leave me alone, I want to be by myself", the fire goddess frowns at the three girls, not moving from her place. The sunbird spreads its wings wide, a trio of flaming feathers plucked and rushing both of the mahous.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara slowly drifted back and away, directing the people out from the battle area... occasionally warning more about fire.

Staying nearby to watch. A hand moved into her pocket again and gripped her device. Maybe.... she could help. Maybe she was...

... Maybe she shouldn't. Niji was training. Growing stronger. Every day she got a little better. And Hinoiri had... Hinoiri wasn't a hero. She slowly let the cobbled together device go. "Impossible..." she mumbled gently. Closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall. Her desire to be like them.... was impossible. The sooner she accepted that, the happier she, and everyone else, would be. If she kept trying to force it, she'd only hurt everyone.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Loyalty grinned a very large grin when Cure Sunzen tells her she can lay into it. "Well, if you can't tell by my hair... I'm not really into bleak." Okay, her hair, the outfit, the glitter in her wings. It's hard not to see the rainbow-colored girl as anything but the nemesis of bleak.

    And there's something else that bothers her about the creature. The fact that it wants to be alone... that it seems to be almost fixated on it. "Being alone is no good." she says. "When you're down, who will pick you up?" she asks, reaching out and intoning some words that are foreign yet melodic, and a shimmering burst of magic causes a very mundane spraypainted aluminum baseball bat - with a fair number of dents now - to appear in Loyalty's hand. But the speed at which the girl moves is not mundane - she sweeps the bat at the feathers, both the ones aimed for her and for Cure Suzhen, given the great, moves-like-a-blur speed she's able to operate at. Not back at the Layabout, but just away from harming anyone.

    "Friends are there for you when it's hard to be there for yourself. Friends celebrate your victories. Friends sooth your defeats. Being alone you don't have any of that!" she says, rushing towards the Layabout. And stopping in front of it. "Also a friend would probably come in handy right now - since I'm really hard to keep track of with only one set of eyes." she notes, before zipping around and trying to club the fire goddess' center mass from behind with another bat swing.

Yaling Yao has posed:
"Friends?" the man with the military cut repeats with disdain. "What is that supposed to achieve? Can they do all that? I didn't bring the sadness that set history against itself, I believe that was her", Fuhai points at Hinoiri. "If you are able to soothe defeats, why could you not help her? Not being alone has done nothing" he snides.

"Give it a rest already!", Cure Suzhen punches the bird when the wing connects to the body getting that in thanks to Loyalty deflecting the strike for her. "I don't know her circumstances, but I am sure she too is searching for what makes her warm inside, and we aren't going to turn our back on that!"

"If she was wise, she would have stayed away and avoided showing herself. Staying alone is better, nobody to compare yourself to, nobody to remind what you can't do. It is impossible", she reacts to Hinoiri's feelings.

"Stay away, bringing the sun around is futile, it doesn't bring any joy", Xihe says, a dark golden sheen filling both the bird's eyes and the space in front of the chariot, the creature's assistance stopping the bat, the act leaving it still and without defenses, having given it to the goddess.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara urked, her eyes going wide when he pointed at her.

... This... this was her fault? She... she WAS to blame? She was at fault?

Her fists clenched and she bit her lower lip. To think... she...

It was her fault. She wasn't just not a hero.... she was a cause of so much destruction. She rubbed her shoulder, glancing away from the general. She.... she was to blame for this. Once again, she was causing trouble. It was just like when Catra had been in trouble. When she'd attacked Rashmi. She wasn't capable of being like them...

Her eyes lowered, the darkness over her only getting stronger. "Im... impossible..." she whispered gently, her empty heart amplified.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Just because everything's not okay now doesn't mean things won't be okay." Loyalty retorts. "And so what if she's sad. I'd be a terrible friend if I abandoned her when she 'needs' me. And one day I'll need her. Just not to kick your butt." Loyalty says.

    "And you're not gonna diss the sun either. The sun's great. Without the sun coming around there'd be no sunny days for sports. No warm beaches for swimming!" Also we'd all freeze but that's not the point. "And you know what that girl's friends say? Her real friends? They say even if she's given up, they haven't given up on her. Even in the time when she was at her darkest..." Loyalty pauses "...which was actually also when she was real bright but I'm getting distracted ANYWAYS THERE WERE PEOPLE THERE and she came out on the other side, and life has darkness, but friends are... um... flashlights for the dark times." Okay, she's not the best at wordplay.

    "And you... The sun brings me joy." Loyalty says, putting her free hand against her chest to indicate it. "So don't tell me it doesn't bring joy! That's crap!" she shouts. "Being alone just causes your lies to echo in your head with nobody to tell you they're ridiculous. But you're not alone, and I'm telling you." she adds before trying to whallop the thing in front of her. When all you have to hand is a bat, you deal with problems the same way. Like they're baseballs. Big, ridiculously wrong baseballs.

    "Don't listen to sadsack over there, girl. There'd be no monster if there was no bad guys. Trust me, I've been pretty down walking through museums on so many school trips, if you could create monsters by being bummed out in a museum I'D HAVE MADE AN ARMY."

Yaling Yao has posed:
"You can't really mean it", the Deadbeat of Xihe lifts her gaze up. "The sun moves all the time, and I must be doing something wrong, the day is so short, so, so short? Why is that? Why can't make it longer?", she pleads. "Don't you feel anguish, knowing that soon enough dusk is going to replace it? I don't want to bring it down, and yet, I can only do that, everything disappears by my own. What good have I done? The beaches are fun, but what is left after the night comes and people go home?", she rambles to Loyalty, not feeling like she can believe. Even so, she wants to.

"He has only used you", Cure Suzhen tells Hinoiri. "That's all he does, show people the worst that can be, and make it their idea. Did you come here to give him a Deadbeat, or did you get here to get away from your sadness? If you want, you can do it!", the Precure approaches Hinoiri, bringing her own gaze to the level of Hinoiri's.

"That's your right, because you are right here, you haven't chosen to stay away from everyone, and when the Deadbeat attacked, your first thought was to warn people, not put them in danger!", Yaling gives out her own incitement.

The man growls wordless, the hold of dark energy waning around the Deadbeat. "This is all so futile, just a temporary reprieve. There can only be so many times people are willing to accept mistakes. Enough of them, and you will be by yourself again", he tries spreading more anxiety.

The bird opens its beak, a sound wave of negativity screeched at Loyalty, fiery feathers shooting from its wings towards Yaling, who brings out her journal compact and writes into it again. "Pretty Cure Li Shan Shock!", she exclaims, thunder surrounding her fist, allowing the strike to disperse the feathers.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara leaned back against the wall, shaking her head. It was... impossible. For her to be like them, to be a hero. But... "The sun is great," Hinoiri said softly. "Loyalty's right. And... even if I can't be what I want, it doesn't mean there's not a lot of room for joy in my life. And there's a lot of people who have never given up on me, no matter how much I've screwed up."

"The sun rises and the sun sets for a reason. And I'm not alone. You... can spout all the lies you want, but it's not going to keep me down." So what if one of her dreams was impossible? She could have new dreams. She could still do good. Still support others. And there were a lot of people who still trusted and beleived in her.

"I... didn't come here for either of those reasons. I came here to... well. A friend helped me. And... I think... that's what I should do here, too. Niji! Remember! What I said about croquet? Go for the ball!"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "It's short, but it comes back around again, you know. Just like it's winter now but it'll be summer later!" Loyalty says. "The night is fun too. I wouldn't want a world without either then sun or the night. The night brings peace, and rest, so that I can be recharged to have fun in the morning!" she says. "A world without chill would be pretty lame too." she notes.

    "Listen, even if the sun is gone today, it'll be back tomorrow, because that's how it works. And even if you're sad right now, happiness isn't far away either." she says. And then pauses. "Croquet. What?!" she asks, pausing to look at Hinoiri. This is about the time that the wave of Dark Energy erupts out, and while Niji is fast, she's not faster than sound when she is distracted (which is often). She gets blasted a bit, holding up her bat in defense as she curves and swerves away, at least not getting hit by most of the attack. Still, Dark Energy. Sucks. Yuck.

     "What the heck about a ball?!" She exclaims, and then turns to blink as Yaling forms up her thunder fist. "Hey Pretty Cure." she says, as she disperses the feathers... which is admittedly pretty cool. "If I keep it busy can you solve it?" Even if she knew how she let off that burst of energy that one time, in this museum - yeah, probably a bad idea.

    Then she blinks. "Right, ball!" she says, as she starts to zip around the room, manifesting... okay, they're not consistent kinds of balls. They're floaty beach balls and soccer balls and baseballs, but she keeps pelting the youma with them from various directions. "We'll get you back to how you were supposed to be, sun girl! And it'll be another defeat for grumpyguy over there. Which is really the only thing that doesn't change - Obsidian's folks getting their butts kicked isn't a cycle, it's just a way of life."

Yaling Yao has posed:
Hearing both Hinoiri and Loyalty encourage her seems to bring new stability to Xihe, hope showing up in her eyes. Maybe she can be allowed to believe there is something good for her. Maybe the dusk isn't going to be a symbol of negativity, it can, maybe she can do things right after all.

She is about to get up, yet another effort of Fuhai intensifies the dark energy around her, sending it through the sunbird as a darkgold cage. "You did well, but history will change, nothing stays the same forever, and soon humanity's drive will be gone."

Yaling ignores Fuhai still talking, instead focusing on the super fast flashes of Loyalty. "It's like you are leaving rainbows behind, you are so cool!", the Precure's eyes shine. "Go ahead, I will do my part!", she announces with a smile, leaving the geode girl to hit the Deadbeat from all directions. She was sooo fast, so amazed.

The jade pipa reappears in Cure Suzhen's hands for her music, and the pleasant notes rise upwards, in a call for the gentle touch of rain to wash impurities away. "Pretty Cure Li Shan Drizzle", she announces with a smile as purifying rain gently falls down from the ceiling.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara grinned and slid her hands out from her coat. No, she couldn't be a hero... but she could help. And sometimes, maybe, that was okay. Maybe it was okay if she didn't become some great, noble hero she wanted to be. Because... there were heroes. And she could help them.

And hey, it wasn't like she was entirely useless. Loyalty was learning how to better use her magic and while... the balls weren't exactly... what she had in mind... they were close enough and she would totally say they were if Niji asked later.

As it was? The heroes had it handled and she... actually managed a smile. She couldn't be a hero, but there were people who still supported, cared and fought for her. Who needed a silly dream like that, anyway?

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Loyalty was fast, and Loyalty was accurate, which is saying something considering she kept hurling increasingly more ridiculous vaguely-ball shaped objects at the youma. Like a football. And then a football helmet. Each striking the creature and turning into rainbow sparkles after - sadly, not magical, so more annoying than anything. But she was leaving behind a blur, and she was holding the youma's attention as best as she could.

    It wasn't just that it was like she was leaving rainbows behind - the trail was there for just a moment, and purifying magic, further helping to hedge the youma in.

    "How are you gonna change the past man? You can't hardly even change the present. You can't stop my drive, and you can't stop my friends. No matter what dumb ideas you try to put into history you'll just get defeated again and again..." Loyalty says, stopping between tosses to give the words. The Li Shan Drizzle starts, and she looks over at Fuhai. "The only change you need to make is in what you're doing. Namely, stop being such a jerk. It's bad for your health."

Yaling Yao has posed:
Hearing both Hinoiri and Loyalty encourage her and responding to the gentle touch of the purifying rain coming out of nowhere and washing away the darkness, Xihe gives all three girls a smile, keeping their words safe in her heart, locked in there just like those purifying rainbow streaks have kept the darkness in. "You are very special, all three of you, thank you for guiding me back to the light", the purified Deadbeat shows appreciation before fading away, leaving out a sticker that adds itself to Yaling's scroll.

"I see, this didn't quite cut it either", Fuhai grumbles with annoyance, staring down at Loyalty. "There are many directions to exploit, I just need to find the right one, and if there is one thing I have always had is time to carry out new plans. We shall see if you will be so tightly knit next time", the immortal comments before duskporting away.

"We did it!" Yaling brings them in a hug unless they show a sign that's no good. "You really found your own words in the end, that's really amazing", she looks at Hinoiri with bright happiness, and doing the same with Loyalty. "Those rainbows were amazing, it was so serene to see them together with my rain, we should do it together more often!"

She gives BaiBai a small pet. "This is my fairy mentor, BaiBai, and I am Cure Suzhen, nice to meet both of you!" The snake bows her head lightly towards the two before speaking herself. "Thank you for helping Suzhen out in battle and for protecting her earlier."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara let out a sigh of relief when the youma was defeated. They'd done it, woo! Way to go, guys! It looked like all of her training sessions with Loyalty were going well. "Good job, Loyalty. You've gotten a lot better at summoning all those things repeatedly," she said, her voice filled with pride.

She then glanced towards the general. Or, rather, where he had been. Then glanced to Suzhen. She bowed politely. "I.... hello. I am Hinoiri Kirara, I ummmm... I'm not a sparkle, err, like you. I'm... kind of... just... I'm in magical rehab," she said sheepishly, trying to properly explain it. "Sorry for... that. I didn't... I ummmmm..." She reached up to grip her geode. "I've just been... kind of down, I guess. Its... its been a week. A really rough week..."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "We really should." Loyalty agrees to the Pretty Cure. "Rain and Rainbows, it's a natural match, right?" she asks with a bit of a cheeky grin. "And thanks for helping my friend." she says, taking a few steps over to side-hug Hinoiri. "I'm Loyatly... and this is my friend, Hinoiri. She used to be a jerk but she's doing much better now." the rainbow-hair states.

    "Well, she's learning anyways."

    "Hello to you as well, BaiBai." she says, looking at the little snake. "Helping out people fighting evil jerks is like. Natural."

    "Don't kick yourself too much, Hinoiri-chan. Those scum just do that; they find people having a bad day and act like that's an excuse to eat the world or ruin all of the tomatoes or whatever." she says, hands on her hips. "Like we're not allowed to have rough days without a monster showing up to make it worse."

Yaling Yao has posed:
"You don't have to apologise!", Suzhen smiles shaking her head. "Everyone has their rough week, the important thing is you are all better now!", the green-haired girl cheers. "You have Loyalty already, but if you find yourself needing an extra hand, don't hesitate to reach out to me, Hinoiri-chan. I always have extra time to give."

"Yeah, we really showed Fuhai", Yaling laughs lightly in response to Loyalty. "He will be complaining about today for a while before he shows up again. I hope we get to fight together again, Loyalty-chan. You really are cool", she waves her hand at the two other girls before rushing out in the direction of the gift shop, leaving the money for three prints of the painting and coming back.

"This is for you, a small memory of today", she hands one each to the other two girls. "See you for real now, I better go back before it becomes too late", she rushes towards the exit.