2341/We resonate!

We resonate!
Date of Scene:	19 February 2025
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Hinoiri decides to pay Laura a visit after returning to the school... only to find out she has no idea who she is. Refusing to accept this, she begins investigating what happened to Laura. After some questions, she can a least rule out timeloop.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Laura La Mer

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Knock knock.

It likely was a bit of a surprise to have Hinoiri knocking on Laura's door, but well... truth was? She'd been a teensy bit busy the last week or so. Hadn't had much time to catch up on things because, welllll...

She'd ended up going to Kirakirafantastica for a bit, she'd been following a lead that she'd hoped would help her figure out more progress on the Norie situation.

Spoiler: It was a dead end. Bleh. Who'd have thought such a thing, right? But she'd had to try.

But since she'd been unreachable for a few hadn't and hadn't given much alarm, or done much 'Pretty Cure'ing around, she figured it was good to touch base. And in this case? Touching base meant giving poor Laura a big hug when the door opened. "Heyyyy, Laura-kohai!" she said, enthusiastically before letting her go. "Mind if I come in? Figured we should touch base and what have you."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura had been thinking a lot about the weird things that came up yesterday, but no matter which way she tried twisting them, they plainly just didn't make sense. So, she has partially gotten started on finding these 'Pretty Cure' legendary warriors, partially gotten used to the arrangements around here.

How convenient that she was already recorded in the system, and she had a room assigned too. Was this just the Mermaid Queen looking ahead, or a sign of the same weirdness from yesterday? A lot of her classmates don't remember her, which they must have if she had been here already, no?

Well, none except three of them, and talking there had definitely been unusual.

One of them was the Sharon Usagi had brought up when saying Laura had made her and Hinoiri Tropical Cures. After that, she'd tried looking for the other girl, but with no results, she went back to her dorm room.

"Coming!" she yells at the door, before finding herself overtaken by a hug. "Ugh!" she grimaces. "Could you be more careful? And if you had asked wouldn't have hurt, either."

She looks at the redhead up and down before sighing. "So, come on in. We have a bit of a situation to talk about. Are you Hinoiri-san?" Judging by the ring on her finger, that must have been her.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked and then flushed, letting her go quickly. "O-oh, right. Sorry, I uhhhhh... huh. Err, that was my bad, I thought you were okay with... me... hugging... come again?" she asked, blinking a few more times.

".............. Hinoiri... Kirara. Yesssss? I.... oh... oh no..." she mumbled, before face palming. "Okay, what happened? Are you actually Laura? Is this like... a body swap situation? Or are you a like... Laura's twin? Or... ugh, this place has so little magic and yet so much at the same time that there's no telling which kind of weirdness there is today. Yes, I am Hinoiri Kirara and you are, or were, Laura Apollodoros Hyginus La Mer." Pause. "Wait, you didn't like... drink any weird substances you found in my testing area, did you?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Was I? Maybe. It's just..." Laura bites her lips in frustration. "See, I am good with hugs, just not from strangers, and the fact I apparently resonated with you means you are not a stranger, but you still are to me. Do you get where I am going?" It would be surprising if Hinoiri were. Laura has trouble believing she knows where she is going.

"Anyway, yes, I am me, Laura Apollodoros Hyginus La Mer, Grand Ocean's very own Queen candidate." One could almost touch the pride in her voice. "And you are one of the Tropical Cures I gave a compact to, according to Usagi-san", she nods, taking a seat at the table.

Motioning for Hinoiri to do the same, the mermaid continues. "Apparently, everyone with magic here knows me, but I don't. Any of you. To me, yesterday has been the first day I take steps in Tokyo", she looks displeased and a bit apologetic.

"Are you really sure it was me who gave you the Tropical Pact? Sharon has been saying that same thing, but why would I forget people I have become friends with?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and slowly shook her head. "Not... really? I think strangers is a little harsh..." she mumbled. "Did... I do something wrong to displease you or...?"

Then a lot more confusion as she walked towards the table to sit at it. She opened her mouth, then stopped. A frown on her lips. She pulled out her compact. "There's one reason I can think of... time loop. I was stuck in one recently, but I got out of it. Like... oh. OH! Kururun! Where's Kururun? And do you have your compact? Because my theory is that, somehow, you ended up getting like... swapped, with your past self. Somehow. And so your past self is now... you. You're the past you. Before you made friends here."

"... Would you like me to henshin? I become Cure La Licorne."

"... Oh. That might make very little sense, though. I'm Hinoiri Kirara, a unicorn from the land of Kirakirafantastica. I was once a student of the arcane and... kind of got... ummmm... banished. You, uhhh, know all this. Or will. In your future. Right. Do you have the other compacts?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
There we go. Everyone thinks that Kururun holds the key to solve things for some reasons. "You didn't do anything to displease me, and if I look at you, there is feeling I have seen you somewhere before, but I don't know when", the pinkette crosses her arms.

"I can bring Kururun out, but that's just a waste of time. She knows nothing either." If Hinoiri really insists on meeting Kururun, she is going to bring her out, though.

Laura taps her fingers on her table, listening to the redhead's fairy. "That sounds interesting, a time loop. I wonder what it must have been like, going through it. Though, I do have my Tropical Pacts, it would be hard to get people in my team without.

"A, a unicorn?" Laura stammers, eyes wide open. "Yeah, you really hide well, I could have never gotten at it on my own. You are quite interesting", she grins with a shine in her eyes. "Can I have a look at the real you?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara sighed and shook her head. "I... guess. I mean, if Kururun doesn't know either, then... that just lends credence to the time loop theory. If well... okay. Right. Pull out the tropical pacts, if you can? If you have one that matches mine, then it'll prove that it's a time loop." Pause. "Don't... let them touch, obviously," she said quickly.

"And the time loop sucked. I was trapped repeating the same day. In this case, it looks like... you've just been disjointed in time? I really hope it's not from the same cause, I already fixed that and I don't want that being the cause. It was hard enough to fix the first time. And uhhhh..."

Her cheeks went kind of red and she looked away. "It's... I only look like my true unicorn self when I go back home, to Kirakirafantastica. I'll take you with me next time I go, okay?" Hinoiri said with a small smile.

"... Awww, man. I wonder if this means the like... painting I did of you is in the past, too. Or... what about the bubble photos? Do you carry those all in the aqua pot, or would you hide them around your dorm room?" she asked, glancing around the room.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura nods and disappears into the Aqua Pot for a few seconds, making sure not to disturb the napping Kururun while she takes the Tropical Pacts out. Notably, the main hindrance to Hinoiri's plan is all the Tropical Pact were identical, all but a single compact, shaped wholly like a conch instead of bearing the effigy of one.

"Hmm, what's this one doing here?" Laura frowns at the sight of the Mermaid Aqua Pact. As far as she is concerned, she should have nothing like it. "Do you know what that is for?" she asks Hinoiri.

Laura understands how that time loop might have sucked, with no control on it. She sighs. Too many repetitions. "Good you found a way out, Hinoiri-san. I hope you were able to put that artifact in a safe place."

"I will hold you to that", Laura smiles to meet Hinoiri's own. That sounds interesting just because of the potential of the KiraKiraFantastica World Tour. If they have the time for such a thing.

"The bubble photos? What are those?" Laura's thoughts turn away from the matter of Hinoiri's homeworld.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and opned her mouth. It really didn't help that all of the compacts looked alike.

... Except for one.

Laura's. She stared at it, slowly picking it up and running a finger over it. Quiet. Reserved. Staring at it, then looking up at Laura. She then reached out to take Laura's hands, placing it into them. "Promise me, Laura-chan. Promise me you'll keep this one close at all times. I... think I know what it's for. And it's important, but it really might be best for you to realize on your own."

It was now looking like the whole... time thing wasn't true. Was it her memory? Had... it gone? A part of the pretty cure magic itself?

... She didn't know... Was it safe to remind her? Or was this something else? GAHHHHH. "... The bubble photos are pictures you took with the aqua pot. You had one of me and..." Then she stoppd. "Hey. Laura-chan. Do you have a like... a painting, of yourself? On the beach? Not... the best, but obviously of you? One that you, perhaps, don't know where it's from?" she asked.

That would at least cement the memory issue. Which also led her to another worry. "The... person who gave these to you. The mermaid queen? Would it be possible to schedule a meeting for me with her? Err, namely, could you take me to meet with her? And when would be a good time for that?" Maybe she knew what was going on...

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura blinks when Hinoiri starts staring at the Aqua Pact.

That compact? What about the bubble photos? Shouldn't she be explaining? She can get at their purpose from the name alone, but she doesn't have anything that makes them. Or does she?

Well, she can always ask Kururun or the Queen later. By the name, it's probably a Grand Ocean matter anyway.

"Eh?", Laura's flow of thoughts gets interrupted when Hinoiri takes her hands and places the compact into them. "Uh, sure. Is it not a mere magical compact like the others? The Queen probably displaced it. But I will keep it close", she promises. Just another weird deal.

Then Hinoiri comes back to the bubble photos, and Laura nods. "So, what's where they come from. I am guessing you know how to take them too", the mermaid takes the bottle out of her hair and offers it to Hinoiri. "Would you show me?"

"Oh, yeah, I have one, above my bed. I don't know who made it, but it's obvious the artist put a lot of thought and care into it. So, even if people might think it's not the best, I don't care", she shrugs.

"Scheduling a meeting with the Queen is no problem. I will let you know the times when I find them out, sounds right?" she smiles to the unicorn.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod and smiled. "Good. And, when you figure it out? Feel free to contact me. It uhhhh... it'll be something you'll likely need to discuss with me. As for the pictures... uhhhhh..." She took the compact and blinked. How... did it work?

She stared at it a few moments before pushing down on the top. CLICK! Picture taken! HA! Take that weird magical relic thing, she could figure it out! So long as it wasn't more complex than like... one... button.

"Like that. and, ummmm... thanks. I uhhhh... actually painted that. So... yeah. Definitely not timeline related. Weird... do you have a lot of stuff like that? Stuff that you just... have? But don't know where it came from or how you got it? I... guess that's not altogether weird. A lot of people have... stuff... that's just stuff. I think?"

She sighed placed the pot back in her hands. "We're going to figure this out, though. Maybe the queen has some ideas. What's the last thing you can remember before coming here? Like... do you remember fighting any of the Witch of Delays minions? Maybe another youma?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Hmm, I thought I knew everything the Aqua Pot could do. And if you say I do that a lot..." she scoffs. This is all so annoying, why do people remember things she doesn't? How did she become friends with humans? Plus a unicorn. Who else is she forgetting? What else is she forgetting?

She hates this. Really hates this.

"Thank you for showing me, and for the painting then too", she gives Hinoiri a smile next. "I will be sure to check if I have any more photos like this one. I haven't had the time to look at all of the Aqua Pot since I woke up. They may be stowed away somewhere", she nods.

She peers at the Aqua Pot, thinking. "Yeah, of course I do. At least in my main room. Several of them. With how things are going, they are probably from all of you then, right?" she winces. "Sorry about that. About forgetting you and everyone."

Hinoiri's theory gets a shake of her head from Laura. "That's the Queen waking me up after she tended to me when the Witch of Delays had drained my and Grand Ocean's motivation months ago."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara rubbed a hand on her cheek, looking down at the other girl thoughtfully. "Hmmmmm... You might have a few. And... I don't know. I shared a few things with you, but we only became really close recently. Until recently I was distracted by a lot of other things."

She then gave a small smile before getting to her feet. She walked over and held out a hand, to help the girl up and... "Mind if I give you a hug this time?" she asked, and if allowed, well... She'd give her a very tight hug. "We're gonna figure this out, okay? Nobody in this world knows magic like I do. I have some theories, but... I'd like to talk with the queen before I say too much. The last thing I want is to send you on a wild goose chase. But..."

She then pulled out her phone, giving her number. "Call me, any time, if you run into trouble or need help, okay? No matter how big or small, I'll come running, got it? I'm going to go do some side investigating of myself. And... fill me in as soon as you have a date set where we can meet with the queen okay? Other than that, I'll let you get settled in."

Already her mind was going a mile a minute, imagining all the causes that could be at the core of this. A spell gone wrong? Minor amnesia? An attack from the witch? Was this part of the 'delays'? Had they 'delayed' her leaving, in the past? What did the queen know? Oh... there were too many questions already and it was just the start...

At least, though, she could be certain Laura was safe when she headed out.