1746/Crossing light and water

Crossing light and water
Date of Scene:	12 July 2024
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	When a Layabout pops up on a club of students encouraging local tourism, it's up to the mysterious detective Pulp Noir and the Device Mage Zephyr to stop it from causing more mayhem and help Laura take the motivation back!
Cast of Characters:	Laura La Mer, Zephyr Windstar, Hinote Kagari

---

Laura La Mer has posed:
It's a blazing hot weather today, with the sun hitting heavy over everyone's heads. And even people who can afford cool safety in their homes get reminded of that everytime they toss a look out of the window, with everyone protecting themselves with hats of various types and wearing very light clothes, much more so than the other days. But what might stand out the most is the group in the Radiant Heart Academy school uniform standing in the middle of the street with a big blue cooler box on a table and a huge banner behind them. Advertising summer fun, the colourful paper advertises summer fun with a smiling tanuki wearing a sun headpiece and calm waves. On the table next to the cooler box a tanuki plushie mostly identical to the one on the illustration stands with a small water bottle in its hand.

"Don't know what to do this summer? Come on in, because our handy guide will let you make the most of your summer vacations with activities tailored to making the most of each moment!" one of the students occasionally shouts waving one of the notebooks taken from a similar pile. "Have you ever heard the sound of taiko drums playing in the night? That might just be your occasion to enjoy some beautiful Bon dancing, tasty food and wonderful Fireworks on the beautiful Tokyo beaches!"

Every once in a while, when a particularly dehidrated passersby was spotted, a fresh water bottle was offered from the box, then the advertising resumed in earnest once that person was rescued from the implacable heat. "During summer, everyone is happy! And happiness means many festivals during the day too! Don't miss on the opportunity to cool down ith cold salted cucumbers, slices of watermelon or tropical fruits juices! Many hotels also offer the chances to peruse of their pools at a cheap price even if you haven't checked in!"

Sometimes attention is brought towards the tanuki on the table, that is picked up and made to wave at the crowd. "If you feel like the outdoors is too much for you, our mascot Hiroyuki recommends hiding inside the Yumegamaha Aquarium, where many joyful encounters with all sorts of wonderful marine species await. And if you bring one of our guides, the Aquarium has been kind enough to offer a 10% group discount on the entry price!"

"Hmm, they are really working at it", Laura muses when she passes by, reserving a sardonic smile in their direction. "But really, what does an Aquarium offer that I haven't seen already?" she shakes her head. 'The festival sounds nice though', she keeps to herself.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    In conjunction with the Academy, a local business is offering drinks to bolster the groups offerings. A tall outsider, caucasian, short brown hair, mismatched eyes and standing a towering 5'11" tall, stands behind a mobile cooler cart, with an awning offering some shade. She doesn't hawk her wares like she normally would, instead she offers bottles of water, bottles of Jan Ken Pop branded soda, and some more mainstream brands, free of charge. Anyone who takes one, gets a leaflet about the business to go along with the leaflet about the festival. "Hope to see you there!" she offers in accented japanese.

    Those mismatched eyes look over to Laura, catching sight of them but only offering a smile and friendly nod before her attention shifts back to someone else walking up. "Make sure you check it out! I heard the tanuki mascot brings good fortune!" she offers.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari is dressed in a white T-shirt, with a loud, open Hawaiian shirt that has palm trees and a sun on it with a loud design, and long shorts that come down to his knees. He's wearing a pair of flip flops and is headed towards the beach.

With him is Tracy, his tiny chara, dressed similarly but wearing a pair of sunglasses and his fedora. "It...was a dark and stormy night----" he says ominously.

"...it. Is a hot, sweltering bright sunny day, you." says Hinote lowly.

"...it's never dark and stormy." the chara complains as Hinote stops at the table and near the soda girl. "Huh. What's this about." he says. Some sort of mascot?

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura nods with a milder smile towards towards Zephyr, coming closer to check some of the drinks the tall girl is offering, while at the same time the passerby she addressed takes a Jan Ken Pop and one of the leaflet, adding a "Thank you" before going their way. "What would you suggest from this?" Laura inquires from Zephyr, trying to make sense of all the different brands with the unknown names.

One of the students advertising the beauty of Tokyo during summer, a different one from the student who had been energetically shouting the previous encouragements, hears Hinote's question and comes over to him with a smile. "This is the Orange Equator's own mascot, Hiroyuki!", she replies. "Adorable, isn't it? And we named it that because we wish everyone to have abundant happiness!"

Floating above a nearby building, a gigantic crab-man, more crab than man, mutters with listless disdain from onto a boat floating above a nearby building "Those students really are fully of motivation." He moves a claw above his eyes, sheltering himself from the implacable sunlight. "That really goes double with this weather. Well, all the better for me, I can hopefully get Butler off my case", he sighs, taking out a purple sphere. "Come, Layabout!" he shouts tossing it towards the tanuki plushie onto the table, filling it with dark energy and causing it to grow until it is 6 feet tall, with the weird addition of fins at the sides of its head. "Layabout!", the newly converted youma shouts. "Take everyone's motivation!" the dark general orders, the compliance from its minion causing everyone present on the street sans Laura, Zephyr and Hinote to collapse, purplish light surrounding its victims when the Layabout's eyes shine red.

"Hmm, you again?" the crab-man says when he notices Laura, and only her. Seems like he has failed a spot check on Zephyr and Hinote. "Your luck must be really bad to be here without any companions, you should get yourself one of those tanuki." Laura scowls, her gaze burning with indignation as she looks up. "Shut your mouth, Chongire! Even if nobody is here, somebody will come, just you wait!" 'That was how it was the other times, right?', she thinks.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari listens to the lowdown as he places a hand on his chin and listens with intent. He's about to ask another question when he notices....is that... a giant enemy crab in a boat? Before he can react about this there's a youma tanuki and he grabs Tracy and dives under the table.

"Come on partner, we need to handle this. Or at least try." he says worriedly. "Right! A Mystery! What's this is about!? Who's them dollface!? What kind of flavors of soda does the seller have!?" mutters Tracy.

"My Heart!: Unlock!"

Tracy enters his egg, and Hinote shoves it into his chest. On the other side of the transformation, Pulp Noir appears and uses quickness to dive out from under the table and adjusts his fedora. "I won't allow you to spoil the crime scene!" he says dramatically. "What did you do!?" he demands of the crab guy, before he looks down to the tanuki youma and frowns a little heavily. He balls his fists and gets into a fighting stance. A basic one. Like he's gonna give the thing a mean right hook.

He doesn't yet though.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "The watermelon soda is really popular. Though I have a preference for the Lychee flavoured mineral water." she says to Laura with a bright smile. Her accent isn't thick, but clearly she's not a native speaker. "You interested in the festival?" she asks.

    And then the Youma shows up, and everyone starts to fall over. < Chief, trouble. > chimes Tenraikaze from its place on the girls wrist. "Yeah, I got that much. Set up!"

    < Got it. Standby Ready. Set up! > A flare of purple light, and Zephyr hops out from behind the cart and stamps the endcap of her axe into the sidewalk surface. "BARRIER!" < Barrier Expansion. > The oil-slick like energy field expands from the impact point, engulfing the local area in a magic-shifted barrier field. "There... Scan the thing, we need to know what we're up against!" < Scanning. Standard Youma... Will be a difficult fight without a Purification user. Suggestion: Overwhelming firepower. > "Heh, read my mind."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura did take the Lychee mineral water before Chongire started causing chaos, taking a sip to it and noting out loud it tastes nice. "I might think about seeing what's like, it didn't seem half-bad", was also a reply she gave when things were still calm.

Now that Chongire and the Layabout have asserted their presence, the mermaid's attention is entirely on the fight and the fact two magical warriors did arrive. "See? What did I tell you?" Laura remarks to Chongire when Pulp Noir and Zephyr with her Barrier Jacket show up. "So what if you were right? It really makes no difference", shrugs Chongire, before turning to the two intruders. "And if I were you I would scram, kids. This really is not the place for you. All you need to know is I am bringing all this motivation back to the Witch of Delays, but you are welcome to surrender yours too."

"Layabout, distract those two, grab the mermaid and go!", Chongire orders as the tanuki is surrounded by a poof of smoke before it becomes a giant leafblower with hands, taking Laura before she can react and blowing strong air towards Pulp Noir and Zephyr both.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "I'm not going anywhere! Give the girl back!" announces Zephyr, brandishing her Device like one might a heavy weapon. The leafblower arms earn a quirked brow. "I am the Wind Dancer of March. The Air is my element, and you are not welcome here." she states next, squeezing the haft of her Device and intoning. "Cyclone Driver."

    The head splits apart, and a spell circle forms beneath Zephyr's feet. The two blades of the axe-like Device angle, then start to spin rapidly around the central gemstone. < CYCLONE DRIVER. SPIN ON. > "FIRE!"

    Even being buffetted by the youma's wind attack, the Device mage stands firm. Wind starts to absorb into the spinning head of the Device, boiling purple magic empowering it until it expands out and launches a swirling 'beam' of compressed wind-aspected magic right back at the youma, aiming to overwhelm its attack with her own force.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir listens to the crab guy. "Mermaid?" he asks, curiously.

MORE MYSTERY! WHO'S THE MERMAID!? Still. He turns back towards the tanuki and starts to run towards it, he swings his fist into a mean right hook and---leafblower!?, giant leafblower!!!, leaving his swing short as he gets blown backwards on his feet as he holds fast, trenchcoat flapping in the wind as he holds onto his fedora fast, as he quickly reaches into his holster, produces a realistic looking gun and---

Fire's a strong jet of water from it towards the leafblower tanuki before he can get further away. "Nrg...windstorm. Stop it!"

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Quit it with this!", Laura says when the Layabout makes a grab for her, struggling and kicking against the grasp of the youma. "I don't see why you try so hard, it's pointless. So, lay back and wait until we are back at the Witch's mansion." He looks at Laura and sighs when he notices her response is just a glare and continuing her protest as if he had said nothing. "Really, that's so annoying. Layabout, time-"

Before Chongire can say anything more, Zephyr's attack causes the shapeshifted youma to fall onto its back, turning back into a Tanuki and accidentally releasing Laura, who rolls onto the ground, yelling "Ow-ow-ow!" all the while. And if it wasn't enough, Pulp Noir's jet of water douses him right in the eyes, causing it to cry out "Layabout!" in pain, standing around confused as it tries to recover from the sudden attacks.

Which gives Laura enough time to get back up herself, and seeing the distracted tanuki, smiles and says "My time now! Mermaid Aqua Pot, search!", she shouts, taking out an ornate bottle and making it look at the Layabout all over before stopping over the right ear. "Motivation power, come back!", the pinkette declares out loud, a rainbow stream rushing from the Layabout into the Pot after it identifies the colour yellow.

"I really don't feel like doing this", Chongire complains before ordering at the Layabout to focus on the two warriors. The tanuki gets back up right away and obeying the servant of the Witch of Delays, releases some of the spikes representing the sun's rays on its headset, all 6 of them converging onto Zephyr. At the same time, it jumps up and starts falling down onto Purple Noir, seeking to crush him with its weight.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    < RAMPART AEGIS! > chimes Tenraikaze, as its blades slow to a stop, clank back into place. Vents open, and expel mana-soaked steam from the Device, before snapping shut with solid metallic clanks. The incoming spikes find an interelocking hemeisphere of hexagonal purple shield scutes blocking their paths, the points slowly digging into the mana constructs.

    Zephyr grunts softly as the first layers crack, shatter then expose the next to the attack. "This all you got? PARRY!" < PARRY BURST! > agrees the Device, causing the second layer of scutes being pierced to explode outwards like shaped charges, or reactive armour to deflect the spikes away from her and into the ground instead. She pants for breath after that one, gripping at the chestplate of her Barrier Jacket for a moment.

    "Alright, lets finish it off..." she says, looking over at Pulp Noir. Hopefully he can handle himself while she does her thing. "Lock it in place, give our buddy over there a clean shot. Struggle Bind!" She throws her right hand forward, a spell seal forming from her palm, as dark purple ribbons lash out to grab at the tanuki mascot youma, aiming to grip it in place, and bleed off its energy to slow it down.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir... looks as a giant tanuki leaps into the air and tries to land on him. He seems to almost back dash as he moves backwards quickly, away from being crushed like a detective pancake. He frowns and cracks his knuckles as he throws a mean right hook right into the things stomach, following with a left hook and a right hook and he's just throwing haymakers into the thing.

He stops after a bit and then shakes a hand because wow he just punched something a whole lot and his knuckles hurt. He awwwws and ohhhs a bit, before he balls his hands back up and faces the tanuki again.

"Come on big fat and ugly, take the fall."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Pulp Noir is able to avoid becoming detective pancake thanks to his quick reflexes, and the Layabout bounces with a boing sound, spinning through the air as it lands backwards on its feet. A shark-like grin is reserved to Pulp Noir as the latter's punches start hitting it, a good part of them failing to hit the mark thanks the Layabout's dodges, the rest damaging it some but not to a debilitating extent.

"Layabout?" the youma voices its displeasure when it has just about the time in between Pulp Noir's attacks to notice Zephyr's shield blocking its attack, each spike embedding itself into the shield without going all the way through. When it hears the voice "parry", it puts its arms up in a guarded position, expecting its own headset pieces to be hurled back at it, earning Zephyr a confused stare when the spikes are hurled back into the ground instead, leaving it there immobile.

Which causes Zephyr's following attack to be especially effective, the energy ribbons speeding towards the Layabout, giving it no time to react to them as it gets tied up completely, which lets the rest of Pulp Noir's punches hit the youma good, knocking it so hard it loses consciousness, a small whimper escaping its mouth. "What are you doing? Snap out of it", Chongire frowns, his command going unheeded as the youma cannot do anything in its current state. "Now! This is your chance! Hit the Layabout with all you have!" Laura exclaims towards the two mahous with an urgent tone.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
With the Layabout in it's current state and Laura, who seems to know about these things, are cheering them on to finish it. Pulp Noir reaches into this trenchcoat and produces...

A Tommy Gun!?

Yes, it's a tommy gun, which he levels at the Layabout, and he fires, a STRONG jet of water pulsing from it's tip as he fires it at the Layabout, with a determined look on his face, hoping the strong attack will help finish off the Layabout so things can go back to normal.

"I'M GONNA COOK YOUR CLAWS AFTER THIS THING CRABFACE!" he yells.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    "You heard the lady. Lets do this. Maelstrom Mode, Storm Shift." says Zephyr, keeping hold of her binding ribbons with her off hand, while her Device shifts modes in her main hand. The haft shortens, one of the blades glows brightly, before 'shattering' into a trio of spinning fan-blade like drones that circle around her. She shifts her grip, and points the gemstone of her now one-bladed hand-ax at the Layabout. "Maelstrom Buster!" < MAELSTROM BUSTER SET. > states Tenraikaze. The Bits move to circle the gemstone, gathering energy into a large purple sphere in front of axe blade point. < MANA CHANNELS CONNECTED. STORM RING HAS STARTED REVOLVING. > the Bits start to rotate around the energy ball, little energy lines forming between them and the sphere. < READY TO FIRE. >

    "GET CLEAR OF IT!" bellows Zephyr, before she squeezes the haft of her Device and affirms. "FIRE!"

    The sphere distends outwards, and then a torrent of unbridled mana flows out to wash over the Layabout in a semi-coherant beam cannon.

Laura La Mer has posed:
The Layabout grunts as it is first impacted by the strong stream of water, powerless before the eroding current as it gradually whittle aways at the youma, even as it is still trying to oppose resistance, its attempt to get either up or away fruitless under the great impact. That's when Zephyr's energy beam comes to finish the job, and the combined strength of the two attacks prove to be too much, eroding the Layabout to the point of powerlessness. When the attacks end, all that remains of it is a slightly scuffed plushie. At least the dark energy absorbed most the impact that would have otherwise brutally destroyed it, leaving behind a lightly scuffed plushie.

With the youma gone, the motivation inside Laura's pot promptly gets out of there, finding its way back to its original owner. "Uh? What is going on here?" says an Orange Equator club member as she tries to make sense why she like this. "Where is Hiroyuki? Oh, there it is! What has happened to it?", she celebrates even in the midst of her perplexity.

"Tch", Chongire scoffs as he sees his Layabout get destroyed by the combined powers of Noir and Zephyr, exclaiming "Well, that is enough, and honestly, kid, at best, I could give you some suggestions on how to cook if I ever get around to it. See you", he tells Pulp Noir, before disappearing in a blur to go back to the lair of the Witch.

"Splendid work, you two", Laura smiles content, approaching the two magical Warriors still holding the Aqua Pot in her hand. "That was remarkable. I think you two would do really well if you joined the team efforts against the Witch of Delays. You seem quite well prepared for it."

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr drops the Struggle Bind, then sinks to a knee, panting as her Device vents steam once again. It shifts back to the long-haft battle-ax form, and she leans on it for a moment or two. "Heh... thanks. Stuff like this is why I became an Enforcer." She stands and dismisses her Barrier Jacket, replacing her Device into her bracelet as it shifts back into its Standby form, a coin-like medal with a purple gemstone in it. "So..." she returns to behind her cart, making like nothing just happened as the Barrier dissolves and people start waking up again. "Name's Zephyr. Zephyr Windstar. Nice t'meetcha." she offers. Looking over at Hinote too, should he venture close enough.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir doesn't go anywhere, he draws his fedora down though when the Layabout dissapates. "Crabface." he says. "Is a massive jerk." he says as he draws his tommy gun away, and removes a notepad and a pen from his trenchcoat as he takes notes.

He looks over to Laura. "So uh. Mermmmmaid, dollface?" he asks her. Sure, just ask if the girl is a mermaid. That'll work.

He looks over to Zephyr as the barrier dissipates. "Name is Pulp Noir." he says. "Magic Detective." he says, voice filled with mellodrama to drive the point home.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"My name is Laura Apollodoros Hyginus La Mer", the pinkette introduces herself in response to Zephyr. "I still love that Barrier trick. A pity the other girl doing it turned down the offer to be a permanent part of my team, but you can take her place. I find perfect the way your talents combine. You are on the more active side compared to the other mage, but that works in your favour since your Barrier will fix anything you destroy. You will save the world from the Witch of Delays, and I will fulfill my mission and become Queen", she starts making her "sales pitch" to Zephyr.

A nod of approval is given to Pulp Noir when he asks for confirmation over ever being a mermaid. Of course, someone who is quick on the uptake and doesn't deny their existence. "You got it right, human. I am a mermaid here from Grand Ocean to scout talent just like yours and Zephyr-san's over there. I am pleased you got it right", she grins at Hinote. "My Queen actually sent me here to look for the legendary warriors Pretty Cure to fight back against the Witch of Delays, who has recently started stealing humans' motivation as well, but I think that once I tell her all the different types of magical warriors that I am finding here in Tokyo, she will be amazed with the success of the mission and want to include you too. What do you think? Want in?"

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr listens, then shrugs. "I can lend a hand, sure. But I don't do the 'teams' thing. Not since basic training at least." she then looks curious. "Who was the other Mage, if you don't mind my asking? Has to be another Device user. Barriers are kinda out trick." she says, before looking at Noir again. "Well, nice t'meetcha. I don't know much about much, but I know a good fighter when I see'em." she bows slightly to the Chara-bearer, then turns back to Laura. "So... this 'Witch'. What's the deal with'em?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir listens as he crosses his arms and taps his chin a moment eyes looking from beyond his mask as he considers this all as a tiny voice in his head lets him know his time is up as Pulp Noir. Tracy's, that is. He ahs and lowers his arms. "Excuse me. I gotta be going now." he says. "As for your offer...maybe we'll work again sometimes. But no promises." he says with a wink as he dashes off the area and into to the nearest alley across the street so he can safetly retransform, and maybe get back to the beach before he runs out of time for the day,

In his loud Hawaiian shirt.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura frowns when Zephyr and Pulp Noir too decline to join her team. 'I will lend a hand', 'I may be around', 'I can't be a permanent part of the team', she is getting all the same answers. At this rate she will have to tell the Queen that instead of a team, she is collecting the conditional consent from all sorts of people in a way that she should realistically have constant coverage. Oh, well, that still works, right? It's not the expected result, but she is trying her best here! "See you around", she waves at Pulp Noir.

With a sigh, she tells Zephyr "I guess that will be important enough. The other mage was a book user, I think I can say that much. That, and she had a talking gem just like you", she shares just enough not to leave Zephyr with nothing at all.

She looks upwards to where Chongire was. "What you just fought was one of her minions. They go around stealing any motivation power they can obtain, but I don't know what they do with it, beyond the obvious 'leaving people completely unmotivated. May they just hate energetic people. Would fit with her calling the Witch of Delays. Anyway, about her, she is a powerful sea witch who had attacked Grand Ocean and only left me, Kururun, and the Mermaid Queen with our motivation power. Everyone else lost theirs. You should have seem it before, it was a place where everyone got along and shared their joy with others. It was perfect", Laura looks away with a slight frown.

But just like that, she resumed smiling. "No worries though, I am sure that with the steps forward I am making, the Witch of Delays will be defeated soon, and things will be all right once I am Queen." Just at that time, Kururun pops out of the Aqua Pot and the seal fairy looks at Zephyr with curiosity, exclaiming "Kururun!" as a greeting.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr gets a looks of recognition, nodding a bit. "I know them. Good people, busy though." she replies, keeping things vague. No point dropping more than necessary, after all.

    She listens to the explanation of the sea witch, nodding along. "Sounds pretty standard Dark Energy user to me. Been out of the loop a bit but with a solid group, shouldn't be too much of a problem. Will probably end up returning your place to how it was before once she's gone too."

    And then the seal fairy pops out, and draws Zephyr's attention. "Uh... hi?" she replies dumbly.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Thank you, but still, if I only I knew more about the legendary Pretty Cure that had saved both mermaids and humans centuries ago, things would be much simpler, but as it is, I am trying what sticks basically", she admits to Zephyr, her expression stuck with a pensive look. "I don't suppose you know about someone like that, do you? That could end up casting some light on the situation."

"Kururun-kururun!" the pink mascot explains once she receives Zephyr's greeting, approaching her and moving against her in a friendly gesture unless the mage dodges her. "That is Kururun, she came from Grand Ocean too, and now we are in this together. Mostly, we are exploring Tokyo together, and she rests in the Aqua Pot while I attend classes at Radiant Heart. I am kind of liking it here, lots of new things to find out."

She waits for a second as she ponders something, then she adds "Come on, let's go together, I think we could discuss things on the way, see if we can find anything new and try some of the local specialties."