705/Thought I'd swing by

Thought I'd swing by
Date of Scene:	04 November 2023
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Hinoiri visits Sayaka's dorm room... with GIIIIIIFTS! Song and pool, the always right things.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Sayaka Miki

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was, well... surprising her girlfriend. They were a thing, now. She had her earbuds in and was listing to the MP3 player. Seriously, it was such a cool device. A small little handheld thing that stored SO MUCH music! She'd downloaded SO MUCH to it already.

In summarization, she thought it was rad.

She had a bag in hand and decided to swing by Sayaka's room, the opaque black bag decently large and hiding the contents... In this case... a small inflatible kiddy pool for a certain mermaid and some music sheets. The music sheets... had been hand filled out. With music that Sayaka would... likely not have heard before. Ever.

Because they were music sheets filled with music from Kirakirafantastica. Well, when she heard her girlfriend played an instrument, she had to get her something sweet. And of course she knew how to fill out music sheets. A world of dancing and singing ALL THE TIME. She'd actually broke into song in the middle of filling them out.

She paused her mp3 player before reaching out, giving the door a few quick raps. Dun dun dun dun dun, dun dun.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
This is a rare afternoon when Sayaka is not actually out patrolling. Why? Because her girlfriend had anticipated her she was planning something, so the girl had done extra patrolling at night to make up for the time she would spend with Hinoiri. Justice doesn't sleep.

The rest of the time was spent doing homework, and making sure the piano couldn't even malfunction by accident, because if it betrays her now when she is about to have a date with Hinoiri, then she is never going to forgive herself.

All in all, she is a bit tired, but she has freshened up and put on her best face so that Hinoiri couldn't even guess it randomly. Probably. She is wearing a casual getup, with an azure shirt, a pale yellow sweater, a faded green skirt and a pair of azure slippers.

She isn't sure whether to tell Ula she needs some private time, but Hinoiri had a positive reception to her, so when the raps come, she just heads to the door with a smile. "Hello, senpai", Sayaka says, giving Hinoiri a quick hug. "Thanks for passing by."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort when she called her senpai. "Hey now. You don't need to do that when we're dating, Hinoiri is fine. Save the senpai until after we break up," she said in a teasing note before holding the bag out to her. "I saw some things, made me think of you. Got something for your new lil mini-friend. So, mind if I come in?" she asked with a big, amused grin on her face.

Once she came inside, well, she couldn't help but look around. "Holy moly. You have an actual piano in your room. I'll be honest, I figured like... you'd have an electric keyboard or something. Impressive."

She was wearing a red and pink skirt, orange shirt, leather jacket over it all. Good as ever. She... hadn't put nearly as much work into her makeup as the other girl. "So, I'm sure you get this all the time, but now I've gotta hear it. Play me something?" she asked, motioning to the piano. She wanted to know just how good she was!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Alright, Hinoiri-san", Sayaka concedes with a full smile. She hadn't even used her first name before, so that wasn't an invitation to drop honorifics altogether, right? Ula perks up when she ears Hinoiri speak, especially since she gets to talking about her right away.

The Koi mermaid flies up to the newcomer, looking at her up and down as if she needed to scan her like a printer. "You must be Hinoiri", Ula nods serenely. "Sayaka told me lots of good things about you, I am glad you are there for her." She doesn't know exactly what Hinoiri did, but Sayaka has been behaving more calmly in a way (expect the night she passed hunting witches and other threats, she is still annoyed at Sayaka there, but nothing she did could dissuade her from just not doing that at night).

Ula had given up on trying to convince her at a point, so she has merely worked on sticking by her side and trying to act as an additional pair of eyes to stop whatever could lurk in the shadows. "I am Ula, but I think Sayaka already told you about me."

Meanwhile the bluenette takes the bag Hinoiri is giving her, and one by one empties it on the table, bringing a kiddy pool and several music sheets all filled out by hand. "Oh, that's for Ula to swim in, I am sure she will appreciate it a lot, s... Hinoiri-san, right?" Sayaka says, expecting the koi mermaid to back her up. "That's right, thank you, Hinoiri", Ula says, "I miss the currents back home, and the basins here aren't that comfortable."

After that, Sayaka discovers the music sheets, clearly not printed, but actually written by hand. "Hinoiri-san, did you write these?" Sayaka tries to confirm, a bashful happy smile as she looks at the composition right in front of her. A girlfriend that actually brings you music sheets she compiled? "Thank you, Hinoiri-san, I will give you a demonstration right away", she says, picking up Hinoiri's sheets with her. The one in front seems a good one to start with, or at least not too complicate to master on the moment.

Placed a sheet above the keys, Sayaka sits down, brushing the skirt below her and concentrating on the composition before her. Years of practice flow out of her finger as Sayaka's hands keep flying throughout the piano, and notes fill the air, waiting for Hinoiri to express her opinion.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Yup. Hinoiri Kirara, nice to meet you... Ula? Was it? Nice to know there's someone keeping an eye on Sayaka when she's doing the whole... witch thing. And Sayaka? You can just call me Hinoiri. It's a thing couples can do here, right?" she asked, grinning at her.

She nodded along with Sayaka's appraisals. "Yeah. I figured it was probably better than having her swim in the sink."

Then she glanced back towards Sayaka. "Yeah. Back home music was a... pretty big deal. I learned guitar, singing, all of that stuff. Reading and writing musical sheets was pretty standard. I probably write music notes better than I do uhhh... other stuff."

... Which, sadly, was true.

"Just don't expect it to all be perfect. It was done from memory and I don't have access to a lot of the old music itself. But all in all, I think I did a pretty good job."

She then walked over, leaning against the piano and listened and...

Oh. Oh that was new. Hinoiri's cheeks went just a hint of red when she heard her playing. She'd heard good musicians. Lots of them, in fact. But...

But she'd never had someone play a song she'd given them. Never had someone play JUST for her. Sayaka was good. But... there... was something oddly special about having someone JUST play for you. That made it sound a... lot... better.

And made her cheeks get redder and heartbeat speed up a bit. "Oh... you're... you're really good. Starting with the anthem, heh. Nice. A uhhhh... good choice. You've been doing that a while, huh?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Ok, Hinoiri", Sayaka replies after she finishes playing, a tiny bashful smile at addressing her like that for the first time.

"I am doing my best. Honestly, Sayaka makes me worry a lot. Most of the time it doesn't even look like she is giving any priority to her own life, she just tries to blitz through the Labyrinth and relies a lot on that surprising healing factor she found herself with", Ula complains, sharing her worries with Hinoiri. "She does try to parry attacks, at least, but only really those in front of her".

"Yes, thank you Ula, that's enough", Sayaka breaks the summary. "I am still here all in one piece, and people are safe, so nobody lost anything." She looks at Hinoiri with an awkward expression, not really apologetic though if that's what Ula was expecting. "I am doing all right, really", she says extending her arms as if asking her to look over at her. "See? No injuries."

Trying to steer the conversation back on a more pleasant track, she says, actually impressed by what Hinoiri had revealed, "You are a polymath of music! I can only just imagine how many people must have admired you as you shared your music with the world." If her eyes could turn into stars, they would. "Is this music you produced yourself?" she asks in wonder.

"Either way, thank you for bringing me the music of your home, Hinoiri", Sayaka adds, giving her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, her own having turned red. "So, what was your home like? It must have been a splendid place to have music this serene."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara frowned when she heard *that*. "Wait, you've got like... magic healing? That's... neat. But you shouldn't be reckless. Magic healing only, well, probably only goes so far. Healing isn't a... like... binary thing. Damaged or not. Wounds that are healed can still leave scars and all kinds of other things that have long term consequences. So... just be careful, okay?"

"Not to mention even if something heals, it doesn't mean that it didn't hurt," she mumbled, clenching her right hand's fist.

Hinoiri glanced back. "A... what? Oh. OH! Yeah. Uhhhh, actually? Not... really a big deal back home. Pretty much everyone there could sing and dange. Was... kind of a... well. Everyone could do it. And most could play at least one instrument to a pretty good level. It wasn't really my specialty or anything, just something everyone was expected to do. And... no. Music I made myself isn't really... something I share. I can't remember the last time I actually tried to make a song myself. Usually it just kind of... happens." It may have sounded like inspiration, but... she did literally mean it just happened.

The kiss on the cheek, however, made her smile. Seemed she wasn't the only one who could do some displays of affection. "And home was... nice. Beautiful. Colorful. My mentor was... special. Incredibly high standards. Expected, no, demanded perfection. At least, from me. Didn't... I didn't really notice a lot of stuff other than her at times. But... in the end, she didn't think I was good enough, so now I'm here. And... the music might not be as good, but at least I'm not expected to be perfect at everything anymore. The witches suck, though. Didn't really... have things like that back home. At least, I hope not. And now I'm wondering if we did and I just never saw them and that is an unpleasant thought, ugh," she muttered, lightly shuddering.

"So, hey. Like... wanna watch a movie or something? I'm over, right? Figure there's gotta be some movie or something you always liked and wanted to watch with someone special? And they really don't come much more special than me." ... In her defense, she meant that in a positive way.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka didn't expect to be reprimanded on her first home-date with her girlfriend, and that earns Ula an annoyed glance. "Yes, I will be more careful", she says reluctantly, looking all dissatisfied with a downward side glance. "I have been slowly getting used to it, though..." she murmurs at a low volume as if she got caught guilty. That's what she feels like when she knows the reprimands she is receiving are born out of worry, and her lack of sleep isn't enough to make her irritable, luckily. She really wants to enjoy this with Hinoiri.

"Let's go open your gift, Ula", she says after taking a breath as the koi mermaid had been staring at her with apprehension. If you are worried about me being mad at you, don't be, I know why you did what you did. These are all just her thoughts as she fills the pool, and cracks out a more relaxed smile as an olive branch.

"Thank you, Sayaka, Hinoiri!" Ula wastes no time enjoying her now pool, swimming in it in all directions. Sounds like she has got her fun ready. It must have been a while for her since she could relax in her home element.

"It sounds really colourful and idylliac." A land when everyone just knows how to break into melodious stints at the drop of a hat. "I will treasure these sheets, Hinoiri." Even if it's not something she made, to share something so special like the pieces of your home you still have with you... Sayaka just can't resist giving Hinoiri another kiss despite only a few seconds having passed from the other one. "I really appreciate you sharing this important part of yourself with me, and I am happy you aren't pressured to be something you are not here. You have turned your way towards me even when you didn't have to, you are already special to me." She tries to make Hinoiri feel at home as much as she can.

"A movie... I do have something we could watch", she says, kneeling down to grab the remote. "It's actually a love story, but with a bit of a twist, so I hope you would like it." And with that the movie Aquamarine starts.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara just side eyed Sayaka, but kept her mouth shut. Well, if the girl overdid it, she'd be fine. She obviously had it under control, right? She didn't have to use dark energy to use magic, so it was fine. She'd be fine. Definitely.

Onto better things! The pool. Setting it up wasn't so hard, just needed to blow it up and fill it with water. But now the mermaid had a little lake of her own. Wonderful.

"Maybe I'll see if I can take you sometime," Hinoiri said. Unlikely, but well... who knew? Maybe... one day. And the second cheek kiss wasn't so bad. Sure, Adrien had done it before... but it felt a bit different from her. And... well...

Have to be something she wasn't here. Oof. Well, it... wasn't like their entire relationship was built on a lie or anything. Which it was. But... Sayaka never had to know that. None of them did. It was better this way...

Soon, she slid into the seat next to her and... Aquamarine.

Huh. A movie about a mermaid. And apparently...

... In the movie...

Helping a mermaid gives a person a wish.

Okay, sure, it was just silly nonsense. But... she knew a mermaid. And she was beginning to see a theme in the things Sayaka liked. Slowly, a smirk would form on her lips through the movie.

She was getting ideas...