2328/GASP! Are you... kidnapping me

GASP! Are you... kidnapping me
Date of Scene:	16 February 2025
Location:	Kaoru's Donuts
Synopsis:	After swapping bodies with Laura, Hotaru is almost kidnapped by Riventon... biiiiiiiig mistake. He gets to catch up on how she's doing. She gets to show him all the new cool things she can do! Like wiggle her toes, hold hands and give a real hug! Then she gets to tell him about all the friends she's made.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Takashi Agera

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
It wasn't every day that Hotaru was a mermaid... in fact, it was only likely to be the one or so days. BUT! While she WAS a mermaid, she was experimenting with all kinds of new things.

Today's experiment? Underwater donuts. And so it was that she had bought some donuts from Kaoru's stand, hummed some secret agent music, and was now in the Aqua Pot, floating through the part a little under the tree level. Kururin was nibbling some of his cookies as she nibbled her donut, and was... making steady headway. It was sooooo goooooood. And she was a mermaid! And also she was getting used to floating the aqua pot! She'd only like, slapped into three branches so far in the last hour!

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi Agera had the Aqua Pot under hos control for less time than Hotaru was liable to be a merfolk. And he'd lost control of it when he hurled it out of a window due to impending Precia Tetarossa.

    But it would take so much more than a few fish slaps and water blasts and frustration to dissuade Riventon from acquiring a magical artifact; especially when he's lucky enough to have come upon it a second time. Floating through the air - well, there's not a lot of perfume bottles in Tokyo that float mystically through the air. Though, Riventon considers, he wouldn't be shocked if there was more than one.

    Within the Aqua Pot, 'Laura' was about to be jostled pretty severely when Takashi, in henshin as Riventon, soars through the air and grabs the floating pot, tucking it under his arm and flying through the sky. "Alright, mermaid! Got you again! And this time... If you're in there this time... I'll just have to shake this thing til' you fall out! If you behave, I'll let you out somewhere that isn't a mile above the ground!" Riventon yells.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe - Laura let out a squeak when suddenly the pot was shaking. and... what? Noooo. Did she hit ANOTHER tree? Ugh... she really hoped she wouldn't have to explain some cracks or dents in the pot to Laura later. She already had to keep a running tally of all the yen that she'd need to re-imburse when all of this was over.

However, a moment later a very, very familiar voice came out. And then Laura's face appeared on the 'screen' of the pot. Followed by an excited voice from within.

"Ohhhhh! Riventon-senpai! Are you kidnapping me? Eeeee! You've never kidnapped me before! Can you do the evil laugh? Can you do the 'You'll never escape!' monologue? Oh, oh, are you going to leave me in the care of your most powerful youma, only for me to inevitably trick it and escape with some makeshift slapstick comedy?" she asked, her voice excited and bouncy and...

Oh... oh this likely made him remember a certain... someone.

Also, the senpai.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon stopped flying so abuptly it was liable to shake things within the Aqua Pot again. He could certainly feel his own organs shifting slightly due to the g-forces involved in going from 'dashing through the sky victoriously' to 'utter and complete stop while he brain tried to process things'.

    "What the fresh hell kind of tricker is this, LaMer?!" he said, turning to the pot's screen/window. "Are you trying to disorient me?" Because it worked.

    "Well, it won't work!" It did. "I can't believe you'd just fly this stupid thing casually thorugh the air though. Just because you got lucky once..."

    "...anyways..." he pauses and sighs. "What the hell is up with your attitude, LaMer? There's not going to be any escaping this time. Precia not going to provide you an easy out." There was no way this girl was who she kinda reminded him of, in any case.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Aaaaand the 'Laura' within the pot was suddenly slammed forward, face smooshing against the screen before she wobbled back, falling back with a light splash. How she managed to 'splash' when ALREADY UNDERWATER was anyone's guess.

She then crawled herself back up, gripping the edge and peering out through the little window. "Huh? I--" Then stopped. Blinked. "You tried to kidnap La Mer-- Errr, you kidnapped me before? Wait... is this just a re-run?" she asked, managing to look disappointed. "I hoped you at least tried a new way to capture me."

"Kururun?" the little seal asked, popping its head on the screen before 'Laura' pushed him back offscreen and he could hear her talking in a hushed tone.

"Shhhhh, I'm talking to Riventon-senpai. No, don't give me that look, he's one of the cool ones. What? No. He's smart, even if he doesn't know I'm sure Axion will figure it out before long. Shhhhhh." No, she didn't know if Kururun had asked about all of that... but he gave looks and 'Laura' just kind of assumed.

"Soooooo. You were kidnapping me? Ohhhh, wait, why did Precia help me escape? It wasn't Fate, was it? Oh, was it Arf? Did Arf play fetch with the jar and you threw it too far and it went out the window and you lost track?"

"... I wonder if I can get La Mer to keep a like... captain's log in here..." she mumbled under her breath.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon listened intently to 'Laura' talking and shook his head so much. He was sure something was going on, but what - well, it could be any number of things. Still, he had one particular experience in mind.

    "LaMer-san, did you happen to pick up any candies left out in weird places?" he asks. The whole situation is reminding him of having to come and help a certain woobie out a window because of very weird goings on. Magic.

    "It's obvious you're either not thinking straight or you're not even LaMer so how about you just like..." he sighs and floats down to ground level. "Alright, come out of the pot, I don't want LaMer in there but somehow I feel like whoever you are belongs in there, or in my lab, even less." he says. "Since you're not LaMer. Bring the seal with you too."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"Hmmmm, no, it wasn't any kit kats," 'Laura' said, the grin on her face growing brighter. And... as he kept talking... she started humming a certain spy theme. He'd remember. Oh, how he would likely remember. Of course... "Okay!" Laura said before she just popped out.

As a mermaid.

On him.

She shrieked, flailing for a few moments before hugging him around the neck and kind of... dangling there. "Hee hee. I uhhhh... am still... figuring out how to get the legs. Like... turning them on." Pause. "Hiiiiii Riventon-senpai. Hiiiii Axion-senpai. Did you figure it out? And sorry, I had to leave Kururun inside. He's the one who pilots it half the time and he's having a snack right now."

"Kururun!" a voice came from inside the pot.

"... So, kidnap me often?"

... She was still clinging onto him. And still half fish. And still... probably... getting him soaking wet. "I'm a mermaid." She was a mermaid.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon just stopped, and paused, and sighhhhhhhhed again. A long, long, longsuffering sigh. Yeah, there were too many connections. And he was a genius. He just really didn't want to deal with it in the moment, magic or not.

    "Hotaru-chan." he says, and he can't help but smile a little. Just a little. But he's also frustrated so it's a very strange smile.

    "Hotaru-chan, why are you in the mermaid's body?" he asks. "If there's no magic candy involved."

    "You should really figure out how the legs work. It doesn't matter if I'm Takashi or Riventon, it's gonna look hella wild if anyone comes and sees a pretty mermaid hanging off me." he says, before walking with her and princess carrying the half-fish girl until he can sit her down on a bench. "Also, you're getting me all drippy." he says, flciking a bunch of water off his arm with an arm jerk.

    Once she's down he sighs. "Okay actually no, Riventon's worse, some sparkle's gonna come start crap with me if they see me in henshin." he decides, before a blueblack -pop- reverts him back to Takashi Agera. "Not like they won't have me questions, but they're at least liable to ask and not punch if I'm in civvies."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe - Laura grinned even wider. "Ding ding ding, you guessed it!" she said happily. "Heeeee. Ohhhhh." And then she was princess carried. Like a princess! Without getting sick! Once he was Takashi, she sat on the bench and focused. Deep, slow breathes. And then... Pop! She had legs!

... The amazing thing was how the water seemed to go with it. So he was left only slightly damp. And she looked haughty, but dry. "As for how I became this, it is a legendary story, filled with twists, turns, and magic! Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" Yes, she had worked on that laugh. She even had a hand by her mouth as she did it. "Magic pot! I fell into it, with La Mer! Oh, she's my friend, by the way. I didn't know she knew you! I hope she doesn't know like... all of who you are. I know Riventon-senpai tends to leave a different impression than Takashi-senpai," she said, looking up at him with that same idolizing look she always had, before jumping to her feet.

"And look, looook!" she said, gripping his hands with both of hers. "I can *feel* your fingers. I can *actually* hold your hand! And it's *warm* and feels like a hand! Isn't it so cool?" And then she reached up and very lightly squeezed (not pinched) his cheeks.

"I know it'll wear off probably in a day or so, but isn't it so cool? Look, look!" she said before laying on the bench and holding up a foot, open toed shoes... "I have toesies and I can move all of them. Isn't it so cool?"

Then, finally, she turned her gaze to him. "So how has everyone in Obsidian been? Are you having fun? How about Norie-senpai? Fate-kohai? Are you working with Precia now?"

Throughout this whole thing, the aqua pot was just... floating around her. Kururun piloting it with the greatest of skill, a true seal of approval.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi hadn't dealt with Hotaru *directly* for a while - only reports from Luminous Titan and the occasional text message to check up on her. And now he was dealing with her again, face-to-face. Well. Sort of. Face-to-borrowed-face.

    "Well, I've spent enough time with LaMer to find your theatrics and attitude coming out of her mouth a little disconcerting, at least." Takashi says. "Last time she was just yelling at me and trying to hit me with her tailfin, and now the same face has totally different energy and is calling me sempai." he says.

    But it's hard for him to not be happy for Hotartu, in a sense, because of all the touching and toesies and such. "Yeah... I guess it'd been a while since you had arms that weren't prosthetics." He says.

    "You know, Axion tells me you seem healtheier overall than normal, so..." he muses. "I hadn't considered switching your bodies; mostly because I didn't know that was a thing, but I guess with enough magic anything can be a thing." he muses. "Do you have to change back? I mean. If this fixes a bunch of your problems." he suggests.

    "We're fine, and yeah, I work for Precia ever since Beryl decided to evil nonsense her way into an early grave. Or I guess, a late one, considering all of the past nonsense." he considers.

    "Norie and Fate are as fine as they ever are. Both of them working too hard for their age, frankly..." he muses. And says this without any awareness for his own situation what so ever. "Maybe close to helping Norie thanks to some connections she made, though."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe - Laura glanced up at him from her new fingers. "Hmmm?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. Then grinned wide. "If you'd like, I could yell at you and use tail whip? But you'll always be my senpai, senpai," she said, actually bouncing up and down with excitement.

"And this is great, I haven't seen you in so long, and like this nobody can even know! It's... been hard somedays, not seeing you... you were... my first real friend. The first person to actually listen to me... if not for you, I wouldn't have made all the friends I have now..." she said, a rather familiar, somewhat.... sd smile on Laura's face, then. Happy, but still... sad.

"And Laura is way, way healthier than I am. But... this is going to reverse itself before long, I'm sure. And even if it didn't... I'd have to find a way. It's... nice... to be whole. But... she's still my friend. It'd be like... you couldn't put Norie into Fate's body, right? Even if it would fix her, because then it'd hurt Fate." And Laura was someone she cared about. "And really? norie-senpai is getting help? That's great! She was a good lab-runner!" she said. Before blinking. And, despite all her energy, for the first time she looked... unsure. Looking up at him...

... Before stepping forward and hugging him. Tightly. Arms around him, closing her eyes and just... hugging him.

"... I always wanted to do this... I... I miss you... senpai... I miss... everyone... I miss daddy..." she whispered. "I'm... I'm so sorry this happened. And... and no matter what happens... I never want to forget this feeling. To actually... hug someone..." she whispered.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi's got a lot to say about what Hotaru said. Though the not switching Fate for Norie hits home - it stuffs a lot of his comments about what she should do in regards to Laura's body.

    But then she's hugging him and she can feel how stiff the contact makes him at first; then the slowly relaxing body as he ticks over to this being Hotaru Tomoe.

    And he puts his arm on her back and pulled her more tightly against him, hugging her closer, and then picking her up and hugging her tight before sitting her back down. "You really deserve to be whole, Hotaru-chan. I'm sorry I couldn't make it happen myself." He admits, for the first time.

    "It's been hard to let you go, to talk to you so rarely, but it's also important I keep you safe. I know the Witches Whatever are still looking for you, and they're... well, look, we both know Dark Energy isn't good for you. Obsidian Tower wasn't good for you." he says. "I don't know if it's your dad or just the people around him but. I don't think right now he's got your best interests at heart. I think he wants you for the power that I tried to keep quiet. Just... based on some research and hearing him and the rest of his department talk. I think at least for now, you have to stay where you are." he says, quietly.

    "It's a shame this body is temporary. Though I guess it's a little bit, lucky for me, because having you in the body of a hot mermaid is a little disorienting." He says, pauses, blinks.

    "Oh you know what we should go get some ice cream now we haven't done that in forever and now we can do that again come on let's go." he says in a runon sentance.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe - Laura was hugged and.... and she liked it. It was warm and it ws love and it was wonderful. It was a hug and she loved it. And she earned it, in a way. Holding him tightly, she relaxed and just... let herself be hugged.

"It's okay. I've been happier in the last two years than I have in most of the years before. It has been the best life I could imagine after the accident," Hotaru said, grinning up at him with Laura's happy face.

"... I do miss you, though. And... I know I can't come home. I know that..." Her situation would just get worse if she did. If she...

However, record screech. "Ohhhhhh. You think Laura's hooooooot?" she asked, grinning even wider. "Hmmmmm. Yes, I believe ice cream WOULD be sufficient bribery to keep that to myself, oh ho ho ho ho ho!" she said, doing the laugh again. Before gripping his hand in both of hers. "... I've been lucky, though," she whispered. "I've made so, so many new friends. Amazing friends..." And as he took her away, she'd tell him all about hem. Not names, not entire details. Just.... enough. So he'd know she wasn't alone. That she had friends. That she had people who cared about her.

That she was taken care of.