2329/Long Time No See

Long Time No See
Date of Scene:	16 February 2025
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Coco and Emi meet again after a long while, and they catch up on the latest developments.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Emi Hoshino

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Just the day after the nightmare of ratings, and Coco has decided to check in on Emi in her dorm, partly because they never really met physically, partly because Emi is in recovery, and partly because she probably should know what has gone on yesterday.

And considering where she fights, she probably should also be warned that dream demons are not the only thing she might stumble onto.

The yellow mermaid has brought Cora with herself, and a few mango rosette tarts she has made as a 'get well' gift, and with a little hesitation while she makes sure she has the right door, Coco knocks on the door.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
It's not super hard to figure out where Emi lives. After all, it's right next door to Himoiri for the time being, adn 'finding out where the weird goth dreamer girl lives' from the other magical girls is not impossible!

As Coco makes her way closer, she can hear music playing from the room. Some goth-metal band that is for once not Babymetal is audible. You know what else is audible?

Emi. Swearing.

"Nooooo! I hate you, Zagreus! Stop dying!"

Was that a knock on her door? There's some banging around before Coco can hear a bed squeaking as someone repositions on it.

"Door's open," comes a more guarded, neutral tone.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco raises an eyebrow at the swearing she hears through the door. That's not quite how she remembers the oneiric guardian. From, well, the one time she met her. She really seems quite driven by a game. Or maybe just frustrated. Possibly a mix of the two.

Either way, she is invited in, so she pushes the door open, then bringing a hand to her shoulder, caressing Cora to keep her calm from the loud music the otter isn't used to. Not she blames her, It really is loud.

She leaves the door slightly ajar, and when she sees the other girl, she smiles at her, stopping to pet Cora in order to wave at the gaming girl. "Hi! Long time no see. Is this a good moment?", she looks at Emi cordially.

"I am Coco, the mermaid from the underwater dream a while back. I have some news for you, and brought a few tarts for the occasion", she raises a beige box for her to see. "I hope you have been having a good recovery." That much is probably the case, if she had to guess.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Blink. Blink. Stare.

Mismatched eyes openly stare at her for a long moment. Right. the mermaid.

She blanches.

"Right. Uhm. Sorry about that. I fucked all that up, eh?" She's not afraid to drop an f-bomb preson, it seems. "Surprised you remember, I guess." She rubs the back of her head, then looks at the box before holding a hand out for it, "... thanks?" she asks.

In the meantime, Kenken slips out from under the dresser and stares up at Coco, raising itself p on its four back legs.

"Hi," squeaks a very, very large jumping spider.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco stares back at Emi. Did she say something weird? Yes, mermaids aren't common, but that shouldn't have been new to Emi. Or maybe it's the gift?

Perhaps she isn't that well, Coco surmises when she goes pale, only to frown when she hears the actual cause. "No, not really. Lots of things were going on there, and I don't think it's fair to pin the blame on yourself."

She doesn't make any particular note of the swear used, and gives over the box of tarts. "I hope you like mango tarts", the blonde girl comments, turning her head to the spider.

That's a really big one.

"Hi. Emi's fairy?", she asks surprised. A fairy with such an appearance would be a new thing. Cora jumps down from Coco's shoulder and smells the air around the spider. "Can't remember anything like this", the otter tells Coco. Emi and KenKen would have only heard squeaks instead of words.

Reaching down to pet the otter some more, Coco keeps her gaze on Emi. "Did you get a message from Rashmi too?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
It's not exactly new, but it is a bit weird meeting one in the flesh, so to speak, for real-real.

"No, I keep messing that kind of stuff up. It's okay. I'm being less dumb about it now." She spreads her hands on either side of her face and then puts them by her side, rising to bow at her in apology. Curt, polite, and to the point there. Then she introduces hersefl to her 'faiey', and then just makes her cover her mouth with her hand to hide a laugh.

KenKen waves her forelegs before skeptically eyeballing the cute lil' otter, unblinking gaze fixed upon it and pedipalps wiggling.

"... no? I don't know Rashmi," she answers, after a halting moment to place the name. She's pretty sure she's *heard* of Rashmi, but never met her.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"You really take things seriously", Coco opts to say to Emi. More like she is being quite harsh on herself. "I think it went well, Emi. Trust it from someone who was there too", she insists with an inflexible smile. "It was a nice experience, meeting people through dreams. I hope you enjoyed the sights of my kingdom." There is a return of the bow from Coco, her blonde hair falling to the side.

"We got sucked into a nightmare through a magic link that spread through messages", Coco informs her. Guess she is not on Rashmi's phone yet. Maybe a good thing for this specific occasion, since she is supposed to be recovering. Fighting nightmares is anything but.

Cora lays down at KenKen's wriggling gesture, watching the spider with curiosity. And a touch of unnerved feelings. "Do you understand me?", she tries to squeak at it.

"It was full of trolls. The internet kind, giving mean reviews formed from the insecurities we had", Coco summarises with a small sigh. "We have contained it however, and it should be fine as long as nobody clicks on it again." Nevermind that she herself had clicked it from her worry about Rashmi, but that shouldn't be necessary anymore.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"Yep," replies KenKen to Cora, "I'm KenKen, that's Emi, and you're with the mermaid girl she broke the dreams with, eh? Oops!" KenKen turns and make a churring sound that is almost a mocking 'tut tut' at Emi before it it wiggles around, rears up to the dresser, and then hops from the floor to the dresser top so the mermaid need no longer stoop. "That sounds pretty bad. When you're feeling better Emi we should go and make sure I get a chance to eat it!"

Emi, who was listening, puts a hand over her face at this last momenmt.

"Sounds about right," she mutters after Coco's description. "When I'm finally better I'll go look for it and make sure it can't hurt anybody else. Too many of these things getting loose while I'm cooped up," she sayds with obvious agitation. KenKen may be able to understand, but its speaking wholely in Japanese.

Emi squints at KenKen, then shrugs. She definitely can't understand Cora herself. Why would she?

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Apparently", Cora replies. She wasn't there, anyway, if something like that had happened, she would only know through Coco. "It was a single dream, was it? Coco doesn't seem to mind", she squeak in returns. What a peculiar relationship these two have. But it's none of her business.

"You aren't really like other fairies", it's Coco who addresses KenKen this time. The only one who did any sort of eating was Kyubey, and he absolutely wasn't a fairy. "Do nightmares come back if you aren't there to eat them?"

"I can give you the link so you know where to go if you can give me your number", the mermaid tells Emi. "And you should probably know this too. There is someone I know, another mermaid princess, who controls a space called the dream corridor. Only she can enter, but if you happen to find yourself nearby, stay away from it. She is not on our side right now." There is a faint expression of guilt on her face.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
There's a lengthy pause from Emi and she studies Coco for a time. She doesn't exactly know what to say. The girl clearly has a hard time just ... opening up to people. There's this sense of instant reservation that is almost palpable before she takes a deep breath and centers herself. Nods.

"Yeah, sure, okay," she offers, glancing down towards KenKen, who answres the quetion of Cora.

"No, no not a fairy. I'm a big scary nightmre," it informs her with the sincerest and most utmost of earnestness. She may be kidding. Then again, she is comfortably the sizse of someone's palm and hops around the room like nobody's business, if that;s the kind of thing to scare you (i.e Mamoru). then it might seem true.

Emi then hears the rest of it. The mermaid princess. The 'dream corridor'.

".. huh. Nothing I've seen before," she tells her, "Tell me more? Are you sure it's actually dream based?" she queries, curiously, now leaning forward with her interest more intently captured. Now we're talking her language.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
At Emi's agreement, and with being given her phone number, Coco takes out her own phone, and soon enough Emi receives a mess with the link and a small introduction to what it feels like inside, with the emoji and the stage.

"Done!", she announces, clapping her hands once. "If you need any help with it or other nightmares, don't hesitate talking with me, ok? I am always around."

"Like the kinds you eat? Are you eating your own kind?" Cora's eyes open wide. She is not quite sure how to take that piece of news. Even if not a fairy, a magical girl cooperating with a youma is completely unheard of. "I don't think it means it like that.

"As far as I know it's dream based. Outside it looks like this orange swirl with minor rainbow accents, and inside there is a staircase leading down into a corridor and a second exit. Sara can decide where the second exit leads, as long as it is on Earth."

Emi Hoshino has posed:
She does, in fact, receive the agreement and the number. Emi takes out her older model phone and waits for the reception. Honestly, Coco will notice her entire room is kind of bare. Sure, there's a couple posters on the walls, some schoolbooks on the desk, and a TV and gaming console, but ... it really does not appear she's done much with the place in the time she's been here.

"No, not like that," agrees the spider, more as it stares up at Coco unblinking still. It is probably a little unsettling.

"... rainbow bits," muses Emi, thoughtfuilly, "Yeah, it could connect. I haven't noticed anything like that, but the dream-world is a pretty big place that's always changing. It's possible she's not e ven intersecting with the parts of it I'm operating in, since there's, you know, locailities and shit or whaatever Mamoru calls 'em. I dunno. I just know that its pretty crazy over there and I'm gonna have a lot to do in the near future." Her hand goes to her side in immediate, remembered pain.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Emi really doesn't have much going on in her room, Coco notices now that she has given Emi all the warnings. It's a bit surprising, considering that she has clear interest, judging from the swears and the cries she had heard from when still has still her around.

"You were playing a game when I came in. Have you never thought about decorating your room with objects from there, or other interests you have?" Coco asks politely.

"Well, now you have my number for emergencies", the mermaid smiles. "And I assume the same goes true for others, right?" They would have noticed the same things as her, at the very least. And who knows what else, depending on the fights they got already.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"I mean, yeah, but I don't exactly have any powers here so my use case is a bit limited. But if I can help, lemme know. It's the least I can do with the way people are actually trying to help woith the Nightmare stuff. It's only a problem in the first place because I got myself hurt." She wrinkles her nose and glances to the side, then scratches her head. "Decorations have money," she adds, thoughtfully, a moment later.

She pats her controller. "Mamoru gave me this."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Hmm, I see", Coco muses. That's really neat of Mamoru, and a step in the right direction, though she kinda wonders what Emi was using to play games before he came. Was her previous controller beat up, or showing its age?

Considering: buying a second one for games that allow a second player. Alternatively, she could buy a poster, or a figure. Emi does deserve something nice, all the more so since she had helped Coco out already, even if she insists otherwise.

In the end, the solution is just asking her, isn't it? "If you could buy anything, what would you go with?" Coco addresses her.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"Uj," begins Emi, "I dunno?" She looks very confused about this, actually, as she isn't sure what exactly is driving her to ask these questions. "Most of the time you can't buy anything you want, and honestly, I've got dreams and mine are different than most people's, I guess." She shrugs her shoulders, then glances to Kenken who hops directly from the dresser to the bed and crawls into her lap. She starts to pet the spider's back, which in turn begins to ... purr? It sounds abit like a purr. A rythmic, chur-urr-urring sound.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Did she ask a question too wide in scope? It kinda seems so. Maybe she should just ask KenKen, but on the other hand, he might not know Emi well enough for that. How long has she been a magical girl?

"Well, you see...", Coco intertwines her hands, "I still have given you nothing for the help from last time, and before you or KenKen say something, yes, you did help", she gives the spider an especially long stare, of the "don't you dare belittle Emi" variety.

"That is why, it would be nice to get you something. But I don't know you well still, so pick something yourself. You deserve it", Coco winks to the other girl. "Maybe something from the game you were playing before I came in?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Emi is just too Japanese for this. She looks awkward and shy all of a sudden and she makes another attempt to refuse. It's a standard thing, this reaction. She tried to refuse Mamoru's gift the same way, on multiple occasions.

She ducks her head down, shoulders raised.

"Well, how about, uh ... well ... you see ..."

She's really struggling here to figure out something she can say that she's actually comfortable with, even as she tries to refuse again, "you don't realyl have to ..."

"Well. I guess there's a sequel and you're really a mermaid, huh?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
That comment makes Coco hmmm, the meaning of Emi's expression unclear to her. Yes, she is a mermaid, true, but is there something about movies that relates to their current situation? Or is Emi trying to change the subject from the gift?

"Well, so, of course I am one, but that doesn't matter here. Unless you are saying something caught your eye from your unconventional visit to my kingdom last time?" What interpretation is the right one? She doesn't know.

"There is no reason to be shy, though, really. Maybe how about you tell it to KenKen and KenKen tells it to me? That way you aren't asking me anything." Flawless logic, truly.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"So are you like the mermaid that Hinoiri knows?" asks Emi, casually, still trying to steer the conversation away casually. "She mentioned like... vibing with mermaids about her magic and stuff." She clasps her hands together in front of her and bows her head. "Uhm. Really, any old thing is okay. I don't need much. Maybe just lunch? Lunch would be good. You can send me delivery or something. Spare me from having to go to the cafeteria."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Now, that is a tough question", Coco nods slowly. She really can't deny that direction would be more important than a mere change of subject (not that she wasn't going to change the subject right back anyway, but points for trying!)

"There is another mermaid here, Laura La Mer from Grand Ocean, who grants powers in a matter like the one you described, but this is all second hand information, I haven't actually met her yet." Truly, they seem to have a talent for missing each other.

"I can't say which mermaid Hinoiri may have resonated with, but I think the two of us have a good relationship. I have also heard there is a human girl with mermaid motifs. I don't think she counts, really, but maybe Hinoiri's heart sees it differently." Truly, this is a most complicate issue.

"Still, figuring out on a full stomach is better than the alternative", Coco grins when she steers the conversation back. "So, that is a good idea you had. I will bring it to you." Somehow, there is an heart at the end of her speech whose meaning can actually be heard. "See you later then, I will bring it to you", Coco smiles, picking Cora up from the floor and getting out of the door after waving.