2403/How a Mermaid Princess is born

How a Mermaid Princess is born
Date of Scene:	01 March 2025
Location:	Pearl Pier
Synopsis:	A celebration of Seira's arrival turns south with Mitsuki's unexpected betrayal.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Cho Konishi, Madoka Kaname, Amanda Faust, Seira, NPC-Mitsuki
Tinyplot:	A Requiem of Dark Roses

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
Only 2 days have passed from when Glimmer had shown up at the doorstep of Coco and Cho's dorm, bringing with herself the news of Sara's death and her Pearl. They have been two bittersweet days for the yellow mermaid, with the juxtaposition of her dear friend's passing and the upcoming birth of her heir. The latter fact had taken a good portion of her time as well, owing to the many trips to the mermaid kingdoms necessary to allow the Pearl to soak up enough heart fragments that would constitute the new mermaid princess' spirit and body.

Hippo and Nikora had exploded in shock and stupor when Coco showed up at the Pearl Pier with the news, worry that the orange mermaid would have to come to life in a world whose oceans were still besieged by Gaito, but the yellow mermaid had shown optimism in spite of that, vowing that Sara's successor will know all the joy and happiness she deserves.

It didn't take very long for the glow of light to start gracing the Orange Pearl, bringing with itself the awareness that it wouldn't have taken much longer for the future princess to show herself, a realisation that cast newfound light and joy on her soul. 'Soon, Sara, your heir will be able to be born, and I will show her the world and all the joy there can be, I promise', she repeated mentally again and again.

Today, Coco had prepared herself for another important occasion: she is going to reveal to her friends Sara's passing and explain the consequences of her death for their kingdoms, and ask them to accompany her for the occasion. As happy as she wants the event, she does not trust Gaito to interrupt them so he could claim the Orange Pearl, all the more so given his relationship with Sara. But she wants it to be more than just a strategic meeting: she wants it to be a celebration of Sara and an introduction to her heir.

The yellow mermaid has taken place in the room reserved for her and the hotel, and on the desk to the right side far from the door there are three objects: a small shrine with a painting of Sara's upper body, recreated from a description by Coco, the sealing harp they had retrieved months back, and the shell locket with the Orange Pearl. When those who have answered Coco's message will show up at the hotel's door, they will be led to the mermaid's room by Hippo, still in his penguin form, but he will not follow them in, having decided beforehand to give them space.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi had been informed about what was coming... but had also kept her mouth shut about it. Because, frankly? It wasn't her place to talk about it. What happened was... well...

She may have decided to join Coco in the sea one day, but his was a ritual and a performance so far above her pay grade. Her focus the last few days had been in just doing what she could to relieve as much of Coco's burden as possible. Cleaning up, cooking, offering to fetch things.

In a stunning display of empathy and not entirely being a douche bag, WUWU had even been behaving. He hadn't thrown any wild parties, giving Cho an aneurism or even went 'pfft, mortality' when it came to the other mermaid dying.

... It was just a one time thing, though. Don't worry, he'd be an arse again later.

She gave Hippo a small wave and a grin when she arrived, letting him steer her to the room in solemn silence... But the moment she saw her friend, she'd give a quick look to the left and right... Then quickly shuffle forward to give her a great big hug. She couldn't say 'it'll be alright'. All she could say was 'I am here and you're not alone.'

Before she'd head back to take a seat.

... Wuwu, notably, had not followed them to the room. Perhaps the best thing he could do was be around, but not actually AT the ceremony... because he would SO ruin it.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka, Lydian and Kamiko have all shown up to the hotel together as a group. The two Fairies are riding in the bottom halves of their respective eggshells, hovering behind their Chara Bearer who is currently wearing a black dress. Madoka did not know Sara well, but Sara was important to Coco and that's reason enough to show respect for the dead. Lydian and Kamiko are still dressed in their normal clothes, but each of them is wearing a black ribbon in their hair as their own token of mourning.

    As Hippo leads the three of them to the hotel room, the pinkettes are contemplatively silent, though Madoka does thank the small penguin before going through the door. Kamiko and Lydian remain silent, choosing to nod at their fellow mascot instead before floating in after their Bearer.

    When Madoka sees Coco, she smiles softly at her friend before approaching her and offering a hug.

    Kamiko respectfully bows to Coco and says, "We're sorry for your loss."

    Lydian follows suit and says, "It really happens so quickly, doesn't it?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    So yeah, that happened. Amy wonders if there is anything she could have said to Minako before she left, as apparently the reason she shot out her own heart crystal was that she wasn't sure she had a heart, or something? But, Usagi's on it, and maybe it's not Amy's place to meddle, and oh shit she just got a text from Coco that Sara died.

    So she shows up at Pearl Pier in a red T-shirt and black slacks, with an army-green field jacket tied around her waist in case it gets cool and she needs another layer. (This is a meeting, not a funeral; it doesn't occur to her to dress formally.)

    As she enters the room, she nods to Coco. "I'm sorry for your loss."

    When Lydian asks a followup question, Amy asks what's been on her mind: "How did it happen?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Thank you, Cho-chan", Coco hugs back her roommate, still holding on a bit tight before letting her go free. Cho would have gotten some more hugs in this fashion whenever she would have offered one to Coco, so it probably doesn't come as a surprise to her.

A smile and a hug are given to Madoka when the other pinkette comes in, a silent sigh and a nod to Lydian. "Probably, I wasn't even aware of what was going on with her before she...", she interrupts her reply to Lydian. Still can't seem to be there for Sara ever, but at least she can be there for Seira, that is important. "Thank you", she looks at Kamiko.

Thanks are given to Amy as well before she starts explaining what Glimmer had told her, a reluctant shift in her eyes. "There has been a Black Moon incursion at Obsidian facilities and she had shown up to repel them. She was able to vanquish one of them, but it cost Sara her life", she explains to her.

And she crosses her arms, looking at her friends. "I know that you have only met her after she had gone over to Gaito, but as terrible as the things she did are, I would like to focus on how she was before she got hurt, and on the fact that she died doing the right thing", she asks the other three girl with a small crack in her voice.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded quickly to Coco's request. "Of course! It... it's not like we don't all make mistakes now and again." admittedly, a part of her wants to mention that not everyone's mistakes like... involve kidnapping their friends...

... However...

Cho had made a LOT of mistakes over the years, she was far from blameless. More than that, in the throes of grief, of hurt? How could she say she wouldn't do something like that, hurt a friend? In the end, she'd done the right thing, protecting others... And Coco had every right to remember the friend she had, the friend she'd lost. What could have been.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and the two minidokas remain soft spoken when talking to Coco, and there are moments where they don't say anything at all. While Madoka might consider herself the friendly neighborhood shinigami when it comes to Witches, there's really nothing she can do for the souls of fallen mermaids. Nothing aside from being respectful. Which is, perhaps, why she is a little overdressed for the occasion.

    That said? The fact that it was caused by the Black Moon Clan feels like an immediate punch to the gut. After all their brutal cruelty, they finally managed to actually kill someone.

    As Coco asks to focus on the better memories regarding Sara, Madoka again smiles softly and shakes her head. "I offer no judgement, only my sympathies. The Black Moon Clan has been terrible, and they've refused to even briefly reconsider their goals. Sara did the right thing in fighting them."

    Madoka, after all, cannot afford to hold grudges over past mistakes. Especially not considering how many times the various Puella have erred. Sometimes friends become enemies, and sometimes enemies become friends. Sometimes your friends lose their minds and do something terrible. That's just how it is for magical girls.

    "What little I knew of her isn't nearly as important as how you want to remember her. If she was your friend, if she mattered to you, then that's enough reason to remember her kindly."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's eyebrows go up. She did NOT expect the Black Moon Clan to come up in this! "Damn. That... really sucks." She's awkwardly unsure what to say for a moment, then moves to take a seat. "Man, they really are just trying to cause themselves as much trouble as possible, is it even really about killing Chibiusa and blaming Sailor Moon for being their enemy in another timeline, at this point?"

    Amy shakes her head. "Sorry, that's not... it's... It's just fucked that... this, happened because of collateral damage from that mess."

    She nods at the request to remember Sara for the good she did, and not for the part of her life warped by darkness. "I hope you'd remember any of us, and we you, the same way." She nods at Madoka's way of wording similar sentiment.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco's smile turns appreciative when they show understanding of how she wants to remember Sara. She is aware it's a lot, and it's all the more meaningful to her that they agreed. "Thank you, Cho-chan, Madoka-chan, Amy-chan." She blinks at hearing Amy's request, but her assent comes rapid and convinced. "Of course. I would never think of you any other way. We are friends."

The yellow mermaid turns to her desk and picks up the orange shell locket, opening it and looking at the Orange Pearl before once again turning to her friends. "There is something else I would like to talk about: you may have hard a few times that Mermaid Princesses are born from their pearls. As it did for me, that's what it's going to happen now."

She nods at the open locket on the palm of her hand. "Now that there is no longer a Mermaid Princess of the Indian Ocean, the Orange Pearl has started preparing for the birth of Sara's heir. That's why I haven't been around as much lately, so it could gather heart fragments from my Ocean."

She gives a brief neutral glance to Sara's portrait. "Apparently Sara asked Glimmer to give me her Pearl. I am glad that she trusted me enough for that, even if I have been unable to help her heal", she smiles with a fond look at the Pearl.

"I want to help the new princess live a happy life, and I have promised that to myself, but I may need your help. Gaito cared about Sara too, and he will no doubt try to kidnap her the moment I make my way over to the Indian Ocean to let her be born. Will you help me, please?"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded along. Heart fragments... She imagined Coco swimming around, the citizens of the oceans crying and giving their hearts for the new princess-to-be and... Oh, that was painful. That really, really hurt. Poor Coco... She clenched her hands together, folded neatly in her half.

"I... I hope you don't.... really feel you need to ask. But... I understand why you are. So just know... I'm here for you, Coco-chan. No matter what. I'll fight off Gaito myself if I have to, we won't let him take her from you... it was her dying wish, right? From your good friend.... so... there's absolutely no way we'd let him stop it. If he's smart.... he won't even try," Cho said, her voice filled with determination.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka gives Amy a sideways glance. She doesn't say it, but her thoughts go to past timelines and some of the previous Puella Magi meltdowns, and what happened during them. If Madoka can forgive all of that... Heck, has Amy even done anything bad enough to register as grudgeworthy, that Madoka knows of? "Honestly, Amy-chan, I don't think you have much to worry about on that front."

    Coco gets down to business, and so Madoka and the two minidokas all listen with intent. They nod as the mermaid recounts the way in which new mermaids come into the world. A few more details are revealed, which explains why Coco hasn't been around as much lately.

    Then she glances at the portrait and considers Sara's last request, as well as Coco's resolve regarding the new princess.

    "I think that's a wonderful goal, Coco-chan. We'd be happy to help."

    'We' in this case means Madoka and her fairies, though she doubts she'd be alone in wanting to help with something like this. She nods in agreement at Cho. "We can't let him get his hands on the new princess. No matter what."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy smiles a little at hearing she could never be thought of any other way. It is nice to hear someone will remember her like this if she ever turns evil, or more likely, just forgets about everything in the Fade and becomes a completely different person.

    Madoka says she probably doesn't have to worry about that; Amy nods. "I hope not."

    Mermaid princesses are born from pearls? Okay, where is this go-- happen now?! "Uh... what?" Amy asks, and looks at the locket.

    Okay, there are an awful lot of questions, but Amy is used to having to try and infer a ton of things she's supposed to know from very little information -- a process that neeeeever goes awry and that she need not double-check, obviously! -- so, she can gather that these magic pearls make a new mermaid princess whenever the old one dies. Okay.

    Amy looks from the locket, to Coco, back to the locket, back to Coco. Need their help? "Uh," Amy starts to ask, and then Coco says she means the threat of Gaito and Amy nods, "Ohhhh. Yeah, of course!" She smiles reassuringly.

    And then looks confused as her mind comes back to the question she had started to interject with. "Uhh, so, just to be clear, are mermaid princesses born as babies, or like, do you come out as a kid or teenager, or...?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco looks to bring all three of them in a hug when they agree, with exceptions made in case some aren't feeling like it, then she undoes the hug and steps back. "The name of the new princess is Seira. I hope she will be able to show herself while we talk, and we can introduce to each other properly."

Amy's confusion is more than understandable, and Coco sets out to solve it. "Our kingdoms have a lot of natural magical energy, and that's also how dreamseer stones come about, but when it comes to the birth of mermaid princesses, it manifests as small spheres of light, the heart fragments."

"The exact age we are born at has some variance, but it typically goes between 6 and 10, and we start living knowing how to talk and a basic amount of necessary things", she looks at her friends for signs she may be not explaining it well.

"And after that, we stay that age until we have actually lived that much", she clarifies. Wouldn't want them to start thinking she has only been alive for 6 years. "Why Aqua Regina made it that way, at a guess, it's so a kingdom has its protector from the start", she shrugs a bit. She isn't too sure there.

Her speech gets interrupted by the orange pearl starting to shine and a transparent spirit of a 10 years old mermaid appears in front of the Pearl Coco is holding. "Coco? Who are you talking to? Are they your friends?" she peers with a mix of timidity and interest.

"You woke up!", Coco smiles widely. "Yup, let me introduce you. These are Madoka, Cho and Amy. They are here to help me with our trip to the Indian Ocean when you are ready, and I also was explaining them how we come to be", she tells the orange mermaid. "Ah, it's them? Well, hi, I am Seira, thanks for helping Coco", she gives a shy wave to the three of them. "Do you have a lot to tell them?" the orange mermaid looks back to Coco.

Who shakes her head in response. "Just that it has to be finished on the princess' own shell throne, or the Indian Ocean for you", she smiles at Seira, and then turns to the other girls again.

"Each Mermaid Princess has her own day of the week to be born, and for orange princesses it's on a Sunday. She doesn't have enough to be born tomorrow, so I am sure the day will the 9th", she winks happily to the unborn mermaid.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded along and... admittedly? She didn't find the pearl thing THAT strange...

... Probably because she was Cure Wukong and Wukong came from a rock. Rock, pearl, magical random stuff, same thing, really. After a point you just kind of nod along and try not to think too hard about it.

"... Awwwww, so it's going to be a little kohai mermaid?" cho asked, a big grin forming on her lips. "I will endeavor to keep Wuwu away from her at all times. Until she is old enough to not fall for his hijinks or be influenced by... just by him.

"... Wait. So she's... IN there now? Oh... wow. That... that's got to be wild." Good thing Gaito never got their pearls and... huh.

... It was weird, she supposed. She supposed that meant... Sara wasn't as far gone as they could have feared. Killing the mermaids and taking the pearls, so the reborn ones were helpless in their pearls would have likely been easier... And as far as she knew, even Gaito had never tried that.

"Don't worry, Seira-kohai, we'll keep you safe. and beat up anything that tries to hurt you or get in your way. And... who knows? Maybe... Maybe Gaito will... be nice. And honor Sara's last wishes." ... She couldn't imagine him wanting to hide from what was coming...

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is more than happy to share a hug with Coco. Even Lydian and Kamiko get in on it, each of then squeezing Coco's shoulders with their tiny arms for a moment if allowed. When they pull back, the three of them listen carefully. "Seira? Huh... cute name," says Madoka. It's also very close to her predecessor. Interesting.

    Madoka nods as the beginning of the mermaid princess life cycle is explained. She's vaguely sure she's heard this somewhere before, likely from Coco herself. It... kind of makes sense. In a way. "So you come out of the pearl ready to lead..."

    She almost has a question on her mind, but she forgets it when the pearl begins to react. Seira, or at least the ghost-like form of the unborn mermaid, appears before them. With a surprised look, followed by a warm smile, Madoka waves at Seira and says, "Pleased to meet you! I hope we can be friends!"

    Lydian floats a little closer and says, "Aww, she's adorable! You're gonna be the Indian Ocean's new princess?"

    Kamiko chimes in, saying, "Keep in mind we still need to get her to her throne. We can't lower our guard on something like this."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Hugs are good! Amy hasn't seen Coco much lately, Coco is owed hugs!

    Amy listens with fascination as Coco explains the beginning of the mermaid princess life cycle. "So... you were never a baby? ...I guess that's pretty convenient for whoever's raising the princesses."

    Why did Aqua Regina make it that way? Amy just gives Coco a deadpan look. "...Because she wanted to skip the changing diapers and being woken up by crying in the middle of the night phase. Like yeah humans would skip it too if we could."

    And then: Mermaid video call! Amy has no idea if this person was just born or not. "Uh... who's---" She's introduced, smiling and waving as her name is mentioned. "Seira, nice to meet you! Um. So are you a princess too?"

    Orange princesses are of course born Sunday. Everyone knows that, obviously. Amy nods at this fact.

    ...After a moment Amy blinks. "Wait, is this..." She looks at Seira, wide-eyed. "You're... is she the princess that isn't born yet?! Or another princess???"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That's probably good", Coco agrees with Cho, sporting a knowing smile. Even if Seira so far doesn't really seem the type to go along with Wuwu's maverick tendencies, and there is not much he can do to a spirit either. Maybe. Probably. How many abilities does Wuwu have again? She should check with Cho later, when she doesn't have chances to confuse Seira.

"I don't think it's so wild, and what we see inside isn't literally the inside of a pearl. It's, uhhh", Coco bites her lips, trying to recall her memories of 16 years ago, "a tranquil sea, and a shell floating on it for you to sit on, with a serene sky over your head it's a very cozy place", Coco nods to Cho, and Seira follows suit to confirm.

"We don't have our complete rights until our thirteenth birthday, but you got the gist", Coco smiles to Madoka.

The yellow mermaid nods calmly at Amy's observation. "I can't deny that's an advantage, but Aqua Regina wouldn't have been the one to take care of that. We have our attendants to help out, but that's it", she ends on that last sentence with a bit more hesitation.

"Thank you", Seira smiles at Cho. "I hope I can be born as soon as possible, so I can start helping you out", she serenely comments, intertwining her fingers. She is feeling much more at ease now that she knows what is going on.

Seira smiles bashfully at Lydian's compliment. "I am? Thank you. And that's me, I will do my best", she speaks with a determined tone. She gives a look at Amy there too, given her similar question. "I am really the only orange princess here", she clarifies for her.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Unfortunately, Wuwu was the protagonist of the equivalent of an ancient version of an isekai story. In summation, his powers were 'yes' depending on the author and so he was obnoxiously capable of being a pain in the butt.

"Maybe she just wanted to make sure the attendants weren't overworked? Or if... it was a bad time, they weren't without their ruler for long." Having a magically mandated and created ruler probably helped with a lot of things, admittedly.

"I'm sure getting her to the throne won't be too difficult. We're sparkles, right? We have exuberant amounts of firepower." She may have slightly, just a smidge, side-eyed Amy a bit when she said that. They all had firepower... some of them were just more... talented... in that department than others. Little did she know that Madoka was also dating someone with such talents.

"So, if there isn't enough heart energy, then she'd be born the week after, right?" Cho asked. "And so it's like... a big, magic ocean that you're born from?" She wondered if that meant there were other princesses there, the next ones that would come and...

...

Okay, that made her sad, thinking of the next Coco. She shoved those thoughts aside. "So, what do we need to do first? Prepare? Anything we should do today?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Huh. So they still need to grow up a bit before they can assume power. Madoka takes note of that. "So even after she's born, it will be 13 years before she's really ready to step into her role?"

    The thought of a goddess choosing to skip over the diaper phase is... admittedly a little funny, if not entirely accurate Madoka supposes. She's kinda glad that she never had to go to through that with her own Chara. Granted, she has a little brother, so she didn't really escape that.

    The description of what mermaids see before being born is... kindof a bit serene really. A little melancholy maybe, if one is alone here before birth.

    Madoka clasps her hands together and leans forward, smiling at Seira. "I'm looking forward to seeing you around!"

    As Cho asks her latest question, Madoka nods and says, "That's right. If there's something you need us to do to prepare, this is probably the best time. If not... well... I'll look forward to the 9th for sure!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "So... you just come into being in this sea...? Or wait, are you there already... like... all the princesses to ever be are waiting there, or..."

    Amy blinks at Coco. "Aqua Regina might not be the one to have to do it, but... she coould still be considerate of those attendants."

    Beat.

    Amy looks at Seira. "I've never talked to someone who hasn't been born yet before."

    Cho looks to Amy when an exhuberance of firepower is mentioned, and Amy smirks.

    A stray thought comes to her. "Is it always a princess? Or are there mermaid princes, too? Err, merman? Merfolk?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Probably, that makes sense", Coco agrees with Cho. Especially if the previous Mermaid Princess was killed. But thankfully that's not the general situation, even if it is still hard for Seira. Or would be, if she didn't have another mermaid princess who knows what to do in advance instead of having to be explained.

"Getting there should be easy, that would be", she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes to collect herself, "Sara's last guidance, her act of service before the new princess is instated." Her feelings on that are conflicted. She will see her ghost one last time, but she will have to one last time, as well. "But defending from Gaito, that falls to us. We will have to be careful."

Seira looks at Coco with cautious affection. By the way the yellow mermaid has been talking to her about her predecessor, the special bond they had was clear, and she feels a little sad about what it must be like for her. "That's what it looks like when I am in there, and it's real enough to me", she replies to Cho.

"Yes, but we have our powers from the start, so we are able to help in that sense, we just aren't fully rulers", Coco replies to Madoka, before turning to Amy. "There are other royal merfolk, but they are born in way that to humans would look more conventional. If you mean, the seven protectors of the underwater world instated by Aqua Regina, then yes, we are always Mermaid Princesses."

"Thank you, Madoka-san!", Seira beams brightly to her. Before she can say anything more, there is a knock and she hurriedly waves goodbye, retreating into her pearl. "We will meet again later."

Mitsuki Taro's face appears. "Oh, you are with friends", his eyes open wide when he notices who is in the room. "I am not here for tests, I promise. Just I heard about what happened to Sara, and I thought to pay a visit", he looks awkwardly at all of them.

"I was hoping I would catch Coco alone, I didn't mean to interrupt while she was with friends", he lowers his head apologetically. "Guess that explains why Hippo was that rude", he laughs unconvincingly. He certainly didn't have a good time with him.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi gave a small grin to Madoka. It was nice knowing that their classmates were this dedicated... and well... seeing the chara flying around the other girl from time to time? It was also a bit of commiserating. She'd seen the things Tadase had been through. Multiple charas? Felt like having multiple Wuwu's, she imagined. Though, admittedly she sometimes did have multiples of them... one quick punt usually reverted them back to hair.

She then glanced back to Coco, only for, well... Mitsuki. Cho gave a very sharp intake of air when he showed up. Oh... she'd... not even thought about him. But it made sense. Since he and Sara had...

... A complicated relationship. Knowing she was gone... it... likely... She moved a little, reaching out a hand to gently put on Coco's hand for a moment, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze.

A small reminder that she was there. That Coco was NOT alone. If she needed a moment, or them to take over, to help with anything... She had friends here. People who cared about her. No matter how rough it got now.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    With a smile, Madoka waves at Seira as she goes back to into her pearl. Then her eyes go towards the knock at the door.

    Funny. When Madoka saw Mitsuki for the first time, she was with Lydian and Gretchen then as well. Some things never change. Then again, Homura was with her then, too.

    Still, there's something off about all of this. Madoka crosses her arms and tilts her head to the side. "You were..." The pinkette starts to speak, and then trails off. She clears her throat and says, "Ah, hello. I should have guessed you'd show up, too."

    Madoka glances back to the pearl, then says, "I'm sure Sara would be glad to know you came to pay your respects."

    At least, that's what Madoka assumes he's here for. She is, naturally going to assume the best.

    But she's not entirely blind to the tension in the room. Nor are Kamiko and Lydian, who are now starting to float closer together while each keeping a tiny pink eye on Mitsuki.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    'A way that to humans would look more conventional.' Amy starts to think that's kind of a weird way to say it, then considers that given fish lay eggs, and she has no idea whether mermaid zoologists classify mermaids as fish or mammals or use completely different categories, and that's not even getting magic sea life into the mix, that yeah, there might not be a better way to say it.

    She briefly wonders if Coco knows how humans are born, given that, knowing the way mermaid princesses work, stories about a stork or a cabbage patch really aren't that farfetched at all, but oh right she's been attending Radiant Heart and that's what health class is for.

    ...Why do mermaid princesses have belly buttons? Given how magical they are, 'because Aqua Regina expected them to' might be a real answer... Amy thinks to herself.

    "So you already know... language..." Amy says, distantly, then focuses on Seira, "So you haven't been born yet, but how long have you been, like... conscious for...? Or maybe time's weird in there." Amy shakes her head. "Sorry. I guess it must seem strange that this puzzles humans so, but for most of us the process is very different." She blinks. "Then again, as you only recently popped into existence, perhaps you have no expectations at all about what others would find strange or not..."

    ...And then she realizes that Mitsuki popped his head in. She briefly tenses at realizing she just talked about magic, but then relaxes when she remembers he remembered Sara was a mermaid princess. "Ah... Taro-sensei. Hi."

    That tone could be misinterpreted, dammit. "...Sorry, that wasn't... I'm not... trying to be cold, I just... forgot you knew about that, about this stuff."

    She glances at the holo-Seira, and then back to Mitsuki. "My thoughts are still kind of catching up to how mermaid princesses work."

    For example, she looks down at the table thoughtfully and mutters, 'Why always princesses? ...How always princesses...?'

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"To pass as normal with other mermaids", Coco shrugs dismissively at Amy's belly button question. She has never given it much importance. "Seira has shown up about half a day ago for the first time", she adds for the redhead's benefit. No comment on them always being princesses. It's just how it is.

Coco freezes when Mitsuki appears. She wouldn't have imagined him to show up here, and he is just as much her teacher at Radiant Heart as he is a remainder of where she failed with Sara, and when Cho offers her hand, Coco squeezes back gratefully. But above all, one question is in her mind, about something she had yet to do. "Who told you Sara died, Mitsuki?", she tilts her heads slightly. Despite being in his class, she has never really addressed him as a teacher.

"It was that indigo princess, I didn't really catch her name", the professor comments evasively, causing Coco to blink. Noel did? Why would she do that?

"Yes, Kaname-san", Mitsuki nods pleased, even without leaving behind that nervous demeanour. "It has been a while, and I at least hope she would. Even if we didn't end in the best way, I have never stopped loving her." But she already knows how that specific tale went, and why.

He regards Amy with a friendly smile. "Don't worry, Faust-san, you are fine. I promise I won't give you extra homework. It is good seeing you again as well, Konishi-san."

He looks at the desk where the harp and Sara's painting are. "I was hoping I could leave her a rose", he walks towards the desk, his hand reaching into his jacket. Once he is in front of it, what he takes out is a rose with completely dark petals, and he stabs into the harp, releasing an all too obvious aura of dark energy.

"What are you doing, Mitsuki!?", Coco glares at him, grabbing him by his harm and pulling him back by force. But it's already too late, the dark energy has spread over the whole harp, and when it dissipates, the harp is a lot less brilliant.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi squeezed that hand once again as Mitsuki walks forward. Well, at least... he knew? They didn't have to tell him? But... this couldn't be easy. 'Sorry the girl you loved died' wasn't exactly the easiest conversation to have, so yay Noel for doing it for them?

Leave her a rose? Oh... that was nice. Very traditional, very kind. Very--

"Oh, come on!" Cho snapped, her eyes narrowing when the rose hit. Of course. A rose. It was ALWAYS evil roses with people, wasn't it?! Why couldn't it be a nice evil lotus? Maybe an evil sunflower? How about a delicate evil lavender?! Why always ROSES?

She pulled out her pen and compact, drawing on it. "Historic Legacy, Pretty Cure!"

In a flash, the short girl with mildly long hair... was gone. In her place was a (very slightly taller) girl with a golden tiara with two massive feathers pointing up over her eyebrows and pink flowing hair that went so far down it practically touched the ground. Her boots were knee high and red, while her dress was pink with black tiger stripes across it. With a black undersuit over her legs and arms. Around her neck she had a yellow handkerchief tied, with a large pink one wrapped around her waist, over a... monkey's tail. Over her wrists she wore black armguards with pink metal plates over the front of her arms. "A thousand immortalities wouldn't be enough to make me ignore these crimes! Cure Wukong!"

"Okay, you! I *really* hope someone possessed you or something because if not? You chose the *worst* day to go evil!" she snapped before dashing forward... and skidding to a stop. "Wait, are you possessed or something right now?" How hard was she supposed to hit? On the one hand, mad because messing with a rather IMPORTANT EVENT, on the other hand... if he was innocent, hurting him will definitely make things soooo much worse.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Oh. That seems innocent enough, thinks Madoka. He wants to leave her a rose.

    A black rose seems... fitting for mourning, but...

    Why are Kamiko and Lydian suddenly getting nervous?!

    The dark rose is flung, and Madoka is suddenly covering her mouth. What the heck?! She hesitates for a moment before remembering that Mitsuki probably hasn't seen her henshin before, so she bolts out of the room for a moment with Lydian, and Hope Blossom barges back in with the pearlescent Humpty Lock hanging from her neck.

    "Negative Heart: Lock On!"

    A stream of heart outlines fires at the harp.

    "Open Heart!"

    Blossom immediately starts blasting the harp with purification energy. She doesn't know fully what just happened, but she's sure it was bad, and she's trying very very hard not to hate Mitsuki right now.

    Kamiko, meanwhile, is glaring down at the music teacher in divine judgement, frowning at him with her arms crossed. "Why? No... forget why."

    "How dare you?!"

    The divine Chara is so mad right now, and she's glaring at the music teacher. He better have a really good excuse.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Extra homework... "Oh no," Amy deadpans, "I was worried I'd have to sing extra with this beautiful voice." She scratches her head. "Stuff's just been insane lately, but... I'll try to find time to get in some out-of-class practice soon. Thank you for understanding, most of the teachers don't know about magic, and I've had to rely on notes from Setsun-- Nurse Meiou a lot."

    And then he's jabbing a rose and there's dark energy and Amy is standing up so abruptly her chair falls over behind her.

    The harp doesn't turn into a youma, though, so she gives him a glare of only moderate intensity =_= "Something she left behind? But then why'd you jab it like that?"

    Despite the lack of youma, the other two transformed... hmm. Well, they have it covered; if she needs to, it's not like she needs to say a transformation phrase or anything.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Mitsuki hadn't reacted particularly shocked when Coco had pulled him back, and he likewise, just doesn't care about the grip of the yellow mermaid on his shoulder. He has achieved what he came here for, but there is neither satisfaction nor anger on his face, just sadness.

"How dare I?" he looks at Kamiko. "I dare with the feelings of someone who has lost someone they loved dearly, and was told there was a way for the perpetrator to pay", he sighs, before looking at Cho.

"Evil... I don't consider myself as having gone evil, I just want Black Moon to pay for what they did to Sara, and Gaito has come to me, promising that this way he would have been been to do exactly. Is it really that bad that I want Black Moon gone? They really aren't improving Tokyo's quality of life."

"Mitsuki, you have just given Gaito the chance the complete he has always wanted. Do you really think he will stop at Black Moon?" Coco frowns at the teacher.

"I doubt he will want to. When he came to me, he only had his vengeance in mind. That is about it. Feel free to look at it the way you want", he comments plainly. "And Faust-san, try not to forget about music theory. I will be asking questions this time too."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked and looked between the harp and then Coco. Only to hear that their teacher had, in fact... Done this willingly. It wasn't a 'I was possessed in my grief'. It was a 'I am grieving and I want to make the people who caused this hur to pay' kind of anger. And... she understood it, really, she did. She didn't have those feelings, but she understood WHY someone would. She knew how much Coco was hurting... And he just...

Ugh, she almost wished she wasn't in henshin, then she could slap a teacher and not have to worry about seriously injuring him!

... Wait, slap a teacher? Wow.... Wuwu WAS an influence on her...

"Mitsuki-san, we're going to stop Black Moon, for everything they've done, we're going to stop them. But this isn't *about* them. This is about *Sara*. Her last wishes, her last hopes. Would she want us to be seeking vengeance at any cost?" she asked. Before looking to the harp and... oh dear... "Coco? What... kind of effect could this have on Seira? How is this going to help Gaito?"

Worse, it seemed Madoka's purification wasn't working on the harp... and if hers didn't, then Cure Wukong's certainly wouldn't.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gaito wants to attack the Black Moon Clan?

    Kamiko glares at him. It's not a good enough reason to mollify her rage, but it's enough to make her less likely to take immediate vengeance. "That... you dummy!" protest the small fairy. "Don't act like Gaito is going to make things better around here!"

    Well, maybe it would be an improvement. Nobody likes the Black Moon Clan. Apparently not even the Black Moon Clan. Still...

    Madoka frowns at the harp. Her magic is apparently too little too late. Kamiko wouldn't be able to help either, since Hope Blossom has been relying on her too much lately. The damage is done. She puts the Humpty Lock back under her collar, and refuses to look at the music teacher. "I understand why you feel the way you do. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone precious, but I don't think what you did was very wise. You could've left the Black Moon to us. Whatever you did to that harp, I can't seem to fix it."

    Hope Blossom walks up to the Harp to get a closer look at it.

    "I hope, for your sake, that you don't regret this choice, because I don't know if you can take this back."

    She, too, wants to slap the music teacher. She, too, has to hold back because she is in henshin.

    But Kamiko is a mascot, and she also wants to slap the teacher, and despite her phenomenal cosmic power she doesn't have to worry about breaking his neck or something because when it comes to physical combat she's still at the power level of a housecat.

    So tiny little Kamiko divebombs Mitsuki and slaps him on the cheek. "Dummy!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks shocked, and then disdainful. "Black Moon are terrible, and we are handling it. We do not need to make our other enemies more powerful."

    Her mind spits venom on autopilot. "That will only give the Black Moon Clan more chances to terrorize innocent junior high students and possibly kill my friends. Molly was lost in this war already... and you'd sacrifice Coco? You should get a job at Obsidian. Perhaps you'd fit in better there from the start."

    Questions on music theory? She flips him off. "Fuck off, teach."

    She glares at him until he leaves the room.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
She just doesn't look at Mitsuki at all once he explains himself. She has too many complex feelings right now, and the problem this is going to cause them are much more worrying than anything Mitsuki could be doing to them now. He has already done his worst.

"To Seira?", she replies to Cho. "Nothing, not directly, but that harp was the only thing stopping Gaito from finding his brother. With it out of the way, we have a few hours at best until Gaito meets with him and obtains the other half of the Panthalassa power. For all we know, he might be there already."

She picks up the harp delicately. "There is no more power in the harp. Aqua Regina had enchanted it that way because the two of them were born, in her words, "with the power to destroy land and sea". That's what we are dealing with now. Congratulations, Mitsuki, you just doomed everyone", she tells him scathingly.

Kamiko slapping him forces the teacher to take a few steps backwards, and he touches his cheek with surprise. "You are stronger than I thought for such a little fairy." He shows no anger at being struck, and just sighs.

"Gaito wants to use that power to destroy Black Moon. They won't terrorize high school students, Faust-san. They won't terrorize anyone again. This problem will soon enough stop being yours."

At the comment of endangering Coco, he does give them an apologetic look. "I don't know if that will happen, but Gaito is going to destroy Black Moon with that power. We can't assume his other intentions."

"Because of course, Gaito will just go on vacation after taking his revenge. I didn't think you were that naive, Mitsuki. And this without considering all the collateral damage he is going to cause in his revenge. Letting him destroy Black Moon will already cause more problems for us even if we don't consider what happens later."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked a few times and then gave a low groan. "Wait, it was... that? He just... oh... ohhh no... this... this is just... Kamiko-chan, can you slap him again?" Cho asked. For once, she wished Wuwu was here.

Wow, that felt wrong to even think.

"So we need to go stop Gaito before he destroys everything then, right? Is there any way to like... track him? Or is this likely going to be an ominous dark clouds in the sky, lightning rippling, everything is going to be very, very bad in a minute kind of apocalypse we're looking at?"

She then glanced to Mitsuki. "Vengeance won't fix the fact that Sara is gone, sensei. What happens when the Black Moon Clan is gone and his grief is still there? What do you think he'll turn his anger on then? It may start with them, but it won't END with them."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Another slap is requested, and the providence of Kamiko provides. Right on the nose. Then she flits back to Madoka and grumbles next to her.

    Hope Blossom says, "I see... so it really was too late, then. The harp is useless now?" She sighs, then looks at Mitsuki with a frown. "All you've done is make it so that now we have two problems to deal with. The Black Moon Clan, and Gaito."

    Then she shakes her head. "Oh, who am I kidding? There are always more problems around here."

    She crosses her arms, and looks away from the music teacher. "I think you should leave, sensei. Your actions have desecrated Sara's memory. You've done enough."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy sighs as Coco gives Aqua Regina's words on the power they now face.

    They won't terrorize anyone? "We. Were. Handling. It. Make a wish on Kyubey if you wanna help so badly." She holds a hand to her face. "No, I guess you can't do that..."

    We can't assume his other intentions.

    Amy steps forward and tries to grab his shoulders and shake him and for a moment feels that this body is frustratingly small and light and weak. He knew Taro-sensei, or at least saw him in passing, many times before. She remembers being, well, much closer to his height and mass. "YES. WE CAN. HE WANTS TO CAPTURE ALL THE PRINCESSES AND TAKE OVER THE OCEAN! THAT IS HIS WHOLE DEAL! And once he's done that, you really think conquering the land isn't next? If it's not, it'll only be because he's helping someone else from Obsidian do it, so there will be no more land-dweller Magical Girls to stop him!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Enough", he says at Kamiko's second slap and pushing Amy's hands away. "Sara was with Gaito, and fought Black Moon. Yet you say I have desecrated her memory by helping Gaito against them? We shall see once Black Moon is gone", he walks out of there with shaking hands and hurried steps, leaving that tense atmosphere behind. What he will turn his anger on? That's an useless question, he grimaces to himself.

"I don't think we will have a need to track him. I wouldn't be surprised if he made himself known without us lifting a finger, but I will go ask Hippo anyway. If he has an answer, I will tell you, Cho-chan", Coco replies, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her.

"Cho, Madoka, Amy, please, stay in the Pearl Pier, and if you want anything, ask Nikora, ok? She would be able to give it, probably. Hippo and I will just be a room over if you want me", she walks out of the room in search of him.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "...The memory of how she used to be, maybe." Amy says, quietly, after Mitsuki is gone. She nods at the assessment that they'll face Gaito soon enough, and then raises an eyebrow, surprised at being asked to stay here. "Alright..."