2897/No Better Team

No Better Team
Date of Scene:	02 January 2026
Location:	Pearl Pier
Synopsis:	With the reach of the wolf... The composure of the chara goddess... The warmth of the mermaid... There is no team on land and sea better equipped to handle the matters of the heart.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Ikiko Hisakata, Madoka Kaname
Tinyplot:	An Aquamarine Romance

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
It was one of the few rare moments Hanon would spend on land not involved with any business at the Pearl Pier. But they did happen, as rarely was the case with anyone incolved with the Pearl Pier.

A lot of these were normally spent jumping from the bar of the hotel's associated and the bear. It was in the former situation that she had met Nagisa in a situation where the boy had just finished working for Maki, the cafè's owner, who explained to him that Hanon worked at the Pearl Pier after Nagisa had inquired about the unfamiliar face.

He would proceed to make contact with her, and it wasn't really a big effort to notice his interest in Hanon, who also had brought it up with her at the Pearl Pier, and how he really was too short for her type. Coco really couldn't deny it, considering the blue mermaid and he were exactly the same height.

The blonde girl thought the situation would have ended there, but to her surprise she turned out to be wrong when Hanon kept talking about their repeated meetings, and her noting how blatant his friendliness towards her was.

Sometimes the tone would slip and soften, and a blush would also show up on her friend's face, with a suddenness that made Coco unable to hold back a wide grin, though the fellow mermaid frequently tried to play it off.

Does she really think they are better off continuing this charade for the next year? Well, Coco is not of that mind, and to that end, she has sent a message to Ikiko and Madoka, asking the two girls to meet with her in her room at the Pearl Pier, citing she had a friend who needed some help and if they wanted to work with her. It was a mission for love.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko arrives, checking the directions in the message she received. She's practically always glad to help her friends, especially when it comes to helping her friend's friends, and even moreso when love is involved. And it's not like she's wholly unfamiliar with assisting matchmaking when there's two who really like each other...

    ...although for most of those cases, it involved stray dogs and those who wanted to adopt them, so it's not particularly the same, either.

She knocks on the door of Coco's room. "Hi~! It's Ikiko!" the younger girl announces.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    A friend in need is a friend indeed! Even if it's more like a friend of a friend, or maybe a sister of a friend? Madoka isn't really sure how the mermaid princesses see each other, or if the concept of 'family' really applies when you're born from a pearl, but all that really matters is that Coco is giving her the chance to help someone. So Madoka gladly accepts.

    Homura comes along too, along with the tiny fairy of fanciness Tia. There was no way that Madoka was going to keep either of them away from this, even if the Chara's interest is more along the lines of grim curiosity than anything.

    Madoka, Homura and Tia walk up behind Ikiko as she's knocking. Madoka walks up and calls out, "We're here too, Coco-chan!"

    Homura and Tia stay silently behind the pinkette, but if either of them catch a glance from Ikiko or Coco they'll wave back.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is right at the door when she hears the knocking, and immediately lets them all in, but not before offering a hug to each of them. Her bedroom is just as yellow as she is, and a collection of Kava and white orchids sits on small platforms jutting out from the walls, while a crimson Ti and a verdant Pacific Fan Palm reach upwards from vases on the floor.

Three chair have been prepared for her friends, just between Coco's bed and her desk, all facing the one Coco had been sitting on just moment priors, giving its back to the blonde girl's desk, on which there is a small whiteboard with a photo of Hanon and a quick sketch of Nagisa. It isn't really thorough, but it should still give them no problem in recognising him.

"I know it was sudden, thank you for coming", Coco says, looking warmly at them with a wide smile on her face. "Take a seat", she gestures at the chairs, and for now just stands by her own. "These are the two people I called you here for", she says, and points at the light blue-haired girl first.

"Her name is Hanon, and she is the mermaid princess of the South Atlantic. The boy is Nagisa Shirai, someone Hanon met in a nearby place a while ago."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko grins to Madoka, waves to Homura and Tia individually, then hugs Coco when a hug is offered and sits in one of the indicated chairs. She smiles back at Coco, then listens attentively, focusing on the photo and the sketch so that she can memorize what they look like -- after all, it helps to make sure you're pointing the correct people in the right direction!

"What can you tell us about the two of them?" Ikiko inquired, trying to put mindsets to names and faces.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and Homura are each more than happy to share a hug with the sunshiny mermaid princess. Tia, being a lot smaller, hugs her shoulder for a moment instead before flying in after everyone else.

    Ah. A mission briefing! At least that's what crosses Madoka's mind when she sees how the chairs are arranged. She and Homura sit next to each other while Tia sits on Madoka's shoulder. The three of them listen as Coco introduces the Persons of Interest in this affair. One is a photo, the other is a sketch. Interesting.

    "We're more than happy to be here, Coco," says Madoka cheerfully.

    Tia floats a little closer to the images, zipping between the two of them and scratching her chin. "Hmm. So the love mission is between the two of them?"

    Homura crosses her arms and tilts her head. "I echo Ikiko's question. How compatible do you think they are? I assume there must be some kind of spark if you've gone so far as to summon us."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"There absolutely is", Coco replies, and the mermaid nods quite eagerly at that. "They are really both quite hotheaded and outgoing, but Hanon is more mischievous compared to him", she starts explaining, tapping her photo again. "They are both really earnest though, and are the type to go the extra mile if the situation calls for it."

"From what I get, Shirai-san is into mountain biking, and I have seen him go around in a bike, and a tandem too if he was with friends." She snatches a paper from the desk and pins it right under Nagisa's drawing. It's a sketch of the tandem this time. The dark-blue-haired boy isn't in it.

A drawing about clothes and jewerly is attached under Hanon's photo. "She is really into fashion instead. With how they talk, I think there absolutely is a spark between them. Hanon sometimes has this soft look about her when talks about him, too."

Coco clears her throat. "But her stubborness is also playing against us. Her type has always been tall guys, so I think she doesn't want to admit she may like someone who isn't in her usual group. I think they are the same height, seeing them in front of each other."

Coco claps her hands together. "What we should do is make her realise just how much she actually enjoys being around him. I think that with all of us, we can definitely pull it off. Are you in? Or is there anything else you want to know?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'm definitely in," Ikiko nods. "A thought comes to mind of stylish bike-compatible outfits, but that's more of a supporting idea than a main plan of action -- perfect for a potential date, but doesn't help the two get the date set up in the first place."

She looks over at Madoka and crew. "How about you three? What's your take on this?" Ikiko inquires.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    At the mention of tall guys, Madoka and Homura blink, then glance at each other. Homura shrugs and says, "Well, he may have another growth spurt left in him. Who knows?"

    Madoka tilts her head and says, "Okay, but if she likes him then doesn't that determine what her type is? It feels like maybe she's being a little dishonest with herself there."

    Tia shrugs and says, "At the end of the day, their own feelings have to make the connection for them, but... we can probably help them get past the early awkward stages at least."

    Madoka taps her chin for a moment, then smiles at Ikiko and Coco. "Sure! We're in. We'll help in any way we can."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods a few times at Ikiko's confirmation, and the addition of Madoka and Homura makes her grin, her face lighting up fiercely. "Alright! Then we can go directly to the planning then, and decide just how we want to approach it."

"That's exactly it", Coco agrees with Madoka. "She has always shown interested in tall guys, with complete 'having a list of tall attractive stars', and she would tell you herself if you just asked her. It's also the type of people she has always been asking out, so she has stuck herself in that corner."

She draws a line between the two of them, and writes fashion biking on it. "That's a good idea, but we also want to get them in a situation where Hanon will want to get those clothes, or at least get Nagisa to gift them to her without showing we are involved."

She hums. "My first thought is I could ask the seagulls to chase them inside one shop with what we are looking for, or just having them dressed up maybe? We can try to have a seagull biking fashion show so we try to get Hanon interested."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Wasn't expecting the emotional connection to come from outside of her physical type, eh? Understandable," muses Ikiko. "And having animal assistance for these plans does sound like a good idea -- if you think Hanon might suspect your involvement due to the seagulls, I could probably ask some of my canine friends for assistance, as she doesn't know about my animal communication skills."

A pause, and then she adds, "I'm just glad you can handle talking with the seagulls, since my fluency in Avian is... fragmented and non-conversational, to put it mildly." Utterly lacking in syntax, nuance, grammar, and tone-control would probably be more accurate, but that's besides the point.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka listens with interest as Coco goes over what Hanon has historically been into. So she does have an actual trend of liking tall guys, and Hanon doesn't fit that bill. Of course being the same height isn't enough to be considered tall, either. She taps her chin for a moment and hmms.

    Homura senses her hesitation and says, "Don't worry. There's a spark there. Love doesn't always make sense to us, nor does it follow the rules we make up for it."

    Tia fidgets with her parasol for a moment and asks, "So does Hanon have a favorite color? Maybe we could find biking gear that suits her tastes." After a pause, she asks, "Also, does Nagisa have the ability to see magic? How I contribute will change significantly depending on whether or not he can see me."

    With a thoughtful frown, Homura leans back in her chair and looks up at the ceiling. "It might be possible to nudge Nagisa towards buying her a suitable gift, but we may not want to be too forward or blatant on that front."

    Madoka nods and says, "Right. We don't want them to feel pressured."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco gives a smiles with eyes half-closed when Ikiko points out Hanon might catch on if the seagulls are involved. "I think the chase should be fine, but... I was getting ahead of myself true. A fashion show would be too obvious. At least she would suspect it's one of us, if not me directly."

She gives Ikiko a wink. "You are actually ahead of me. I don't really speak animal languages. We can just understand each other if the animal has a connection to the sea. I could talk with seagulls, but get me a robin, and I may as well be talking to a wall", she explains.

Coco gives a small laugh as Tia asks about Hanon's favourite colour. "You are about to call us really obvious. It's aquamarine, Hanon's favourite colour is aquamarine. No points for trying to guess mine either."

She crosses her arms when she starts thinking about Nagisa's magic aptitude. "I am reasonably certain he can't. He doesn't seem to have any magical focus on him, and he doesn't have the typical cues associated with a Panthalassa." She nods towards Homura. "So he probably can't see you, Tia. He should just be a normal human."

She goes back to use the board. "We could rip a page out of a fashion magazine, and have it dropped on Nagisa. Think that would be too much pressure, Homura-chan? We could also ask seagulls if there are any places around with good vistas for Nagisa to ride with Hanon up to. Nothing like a good sight to really get your heart beating fast, right?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods in agreement with Coco's suggestion. "A good view with good companionship is an excellent combo, yeah. Especially if the place isn't overly crowded, so there's less to focus on besides the vista and the company," she notes, idly thinking about other types of places that might also work for that.

A brief thought of a potential complication flits through Ikiko's head, but she shakes it off for now. First, make sure that Hanon and Nagisa go on something resembling a date (even if it's initially framed as just two friends hanging out together), then worry about how to guard against random youma attacks without being suspiciously immediate on the response!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "In truth, aquamarine was my first guess," says Tia, tapping her parasol into her own palm, "but it would be improper of me to simply assume. For what it's worth I do believe yellow suits you quite nicely."

    Madoka giggles and says, "I bet Lydian would have opinions on what colors go well with aquamarine."

    Tia clears her throat and points her parasol at Madoka. "Actually, Lydian would want you to have an opinion on that. Don't forget that she's your dream. You're supposed to become more like her."

    After being chided, Madoka squirms a little awkwardly. "O-oh, right... well um... aquamarine, that's kindof a blue green, right? Leaning towards blue in Hanon's case. So that would be um..." she starts counting on her fingers quietly, then scratching the side of her head. "Oh, actually, a lot of winter clothes would also be blue and white maybe?"

    Homura considers Coco's question, and then nods. "No, I think that's about right. Especially if one of our animal companions does it. We'd have plausible deniability then. If he's thinking about Hanon as much as we suspect then the idea should occur to him naturally."

    Tia adds, "Well, just to be sure, I can fly around him a few times and see if he reacts. If he doesn't, then we'll know, and we'll be able to handle small things without him being aware."

    Madoka steeples her hands together and says, "I also like the vista idea. Somewhere private and cozy, but not too dangerous to reach. Though I do have to wonder... does Nagisa need some guidance on this? Maybe someone to tell him how to act around a lady?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Thank you, Tia-chan", Coco replies at the fairy's opinion over her colour. She is not really troubled over how closely related their tastes can be to their Pearls.

Then she turns towards Ikiko, who is approving of the vista scheme. "Good, then we can add that to our list. What about your animal friends? Is there anything you'd like to involve them with?

Coco watches the debate between Tia and Madoka with a tinge of a smile, and chimes in. "You really have a lot of dreams. That must give you a lot of questions, I think. If you need someone to think about them with, I'm here for it", she offers, then continues on with the actual.

"Winter clothes sound like the right thing, and it's not really a bad thing to have, even more for us. We normally don't feel the cold in our true forms, so the surface in winter, that is... We don't really like it at first", she smiles awkwardly.

Coco tilts her head at Tia's offer. There is probably nothing wrong with it, but she is really not so sure. "Maybe one of us could come with you, if something unexpected happened." She really has no idea how Nagisa would treat a fairy.

As for how, he would treat Hanon... "He can be impulsive and stubborn, so I don't think that's a wrong choice. How do we want to drop him some hints?", the yellow mermaid asks.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Asking them for coincidental-seeming nudges and the like is currently the only idea I have for the strays at the moment," Ikiko admits with a contemplative expression. "I'll try brainstorming some more, and I'll share any suggestions that come to mind."

She nods at Coco's suggestion for having emergency backup for Tia. "Acting as distractions as needed is something I could have the strays do," Ikiko remarks. "Just in case we need Nagisa to look a different direction while Tia flies off, or in other situations."

As for finding the balance between Nagisa being his 'person Hanon enjoys being around' self and him being polite enough to court Hanon... well, that's currently stumping Ikiko.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka smiles at Coco's offer of a listening ear and says, "I'll keep it in mind, Coco-chan. Though I worry I might talk your ears off."

    On the discussion of winter clothes, Tia crosses her arms and lets the parasol dangle from one hand. "Oh, I imagine that would be quite the shock, if you've never felt that before." Then she tilts her head and says, "Hm... but you may be right. Nothing wrong with the buddy system, when it comes to such things." To Ikiko, she says, "I would be delighted to have canine company for such an outing."

    Homura frowns and looks at the floor as she thinks about how to drop hints. "Honestly I'm not the best at convincing people of anything..."

    Madoka scratches the back of her hair and admits, "I'm not really good at being subtle either, but I think if my mom were here..." The pinkette taps her chin and says, "... I bet she'd tell me that we don't have to tell him directly. We can just say it while he's in earshot and listening to us. Though... that does kinda require him to eavesdrop a little."

    Homura glances to Madoka and says, "Oh, so we can just have a conversation in front of him and drop whatever details we want? What about his impulsive behavior?"

    Madoka shrugs, "Well... maybe we could also mention that it's better if a boy is considerate and thinks things through, and is also maybe a bit more open to input from others? He might actually be more open to it if he doesn't think it's about him."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That's why I have two ears", Coco reassuringly winks at Madoka.

"Still, I think we should have everything we need here. A seagull chase, a fashion page drop, asking the seagulls for a vista, a buddy system for Tia, a conversation within earshot on how to behave..."

She bites her lips. Subtlety is nowhere near her forte either, but she does have her moments, when she is doing it for someone she really cares about. She... doesn't think anyone is in trouble enough here for that, though.

"Do we all go, to talk around Nagisa, or do we just pick two of us? Who should do this?", she asks, looking at her friends with an unsure expression.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko beams a smile to Tia. "We'll figure out the logistics later -- once we figure a good place to do the check, I can contact the strays around that neighborhood and plan things further out from there," the young girl confirms.

That covers finding information, at least for now; delivering info, on the other hand...

"Probably just two people for the reverse-eavesdropping," Ikiko finally agrees. "Need to thread the needle on giving him a reason to listen without giving him a reason to suspect that something is up. I might be able to help out, given enough time to come up with a plausible tale -- possibly something about a mishap of a cousin of mine."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    So none of them are big on subtlety. Homura keeps her arms crossed and taps her finger against her bicep as she thinks. Closing her eyes, she says, "Ikiko has the right idea. We should limit the gossip group to two. I'm honestly not sure how good I am at keeping up that kind of conversation without feeling forced, so I'll have to stay out."

    Madoka winces a little, but then says, "Well... I mean I could try? It's just talking, right? I may not be subtle but I'm sure that I can manage chatting without worrying too much about being overheard."

    Tia nods firmly and says, "This why you need to Chara Change with me! If you want to become someone more elegant, that's what I'm here for!"

    Madoka blinks. "O-oh, right. I completely forgot you could do th-- No, wait just a moment--?!"

    Tia interrupts her Chara Bearer to shout, "Chara Change!"

    Suddenly Madoka's whole demeanor and hairstyle change. She's sitting with her back straight and her legs crossed. Her pink hair is now loose, wavy and shoulder length. Her nose is just ever so slightly in the air. "Well, with this I should be able to manage. Actually it seems quite simple."

    Homura starts side-eyeing her girlfriend. Who is this girl and what has she done with Madoka?

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco side-eyes the forced Chara Change, unsure whether to say anything about it, with her mouth slightly open as she thinks. But well, Madoka seems fine despite her panicked shout just a moment before, and she trusts Tia wouldn't want to harm her, so...

"Ok, then Madoka and Ikiko. Just maybe, keep it for when we are about to use it", she suggests to Mado-Tia, tilting her head briefly. Her eyes linger a second longer on her, and then start relaxing turning to the board.

It's time for a final pep talk then. "Ok, then! We just have to stick to what we know, and there is no way this will go wrong!", she exclaims, pointing at the board, and then quickly writing everything they established.

She smiles warmly. "After all this brainstorming, I think we earned a break. How about going downstairs for a cup of tea?"