2025-08-21: The Most Normal Conversation
- Log: The Most Normal Conversation
- Cast: Kurou Ryouhara, Niko Kirisaki
- Where: Port Island Station
- OOC Date: August 21, 2025
- IC Date: June 29, 2012
- Summary: A boy struggling with social convention ends up lost in Port Island. He is found by a girl who has her own ideas about how social convention should work. Heaven help us all.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Port Island Station is not one of Kurou's usual haunts... although one could say a thing about Kurou Ryouhara is he has yet to develop what qualifies as a usual haunt. He is an unfamiliar sight to those who do haunt it, and likely an odd one even to those who don't: a freckled teenage boy with flagrant streaks of blue died through his black, too-long hair pulled back in a half ponytail. His nails are painted brightly, and he looks dressed for a club with his sleeveless, animal-eared hoodie and overly accessorized cargo pants.
In other words, this nail is sticking up, and evidently has yet to be hammered down.
Except that he is not actually, literally sticking up. He's crouched down, hands on his knees, and gaze staring very intently at a small speck of green that sprouts from between the station's stone tiles.
If he were that interested in flowers, the vibrant and colorful flower shop, Rafflesia, is right behind him. It's right there. The lights are on and everything.
But no. Kurou huddles down, wordlessly and silently admiring this stray weed and its tiny yellow bulb and misshapen petals.
He's been like this for five minutes.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Whether one belongs or not, the people of Port Island are fairly familiar with a certain brand of teenager loitering about the area, one which Kurou closely resembles. People do tend to be quick to assume, and eager to avoid potential trouble, which helps to explain why people have been giving the odd crouched boy a wide berth. However, stick out too much while staying in any one place for long enough, and you're bound to attract some form of attention. Police officers do tend to shoo off anyone who seems to be causing a disturbance in the vicinity of the station, whether that was through Just Being There or otherwise.
However, it's not a police officer who ends up approaching Kurou's location first. One can presume as much from what's easy enough to spot even from his low vantage point: a beat-up old pair of black sneakers that were passing by, before coming to a sudden stop, then turning and head straight in his direction. No socks, for some reason.
"Well well, what have we here? Haven't seen you around before."
Should Kurou look up, there's a lot of bare leg before reaching the frayed denim shorts, sleeveless studded mini-jacket covering a crop top, and the impressive set of abs separating them. Contrasting all the black is the girl's side-swept, hot pink dyed hair, and green eyes in the middle of a sea of dark eyeshadow, sparkling with interest. It's hard to tell whether there's anything hidden behind what seems to be a friendly smile.
"You lose a contact lens or something?" is her best guess as to what he was crouched down like that for. All Kurou would have to do to prevent neck strain is to stand up - coincidentally, they're about the exact same height. "Or maaaaybe," she ventures another guess? "Could it be that you're lost?"
Without even waiting for an answer, she sweeps an arm behind her, indicating the entrance to a rather infamous alley. "If you're looking to hang, right over there's the popular spot. If you're looking for trouble, same direction, just deeper in."
This appears to be Niko Kirisaki's idea of making a good first impression, direct the stranger straight towards the bad side of town.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou certainly looks the picture of someone who has to deal with the police before. Five minutes is enough time to draw attention, and six is very likely pushing it. Once he hears the approach of footsteps and the sense of a shadow interrupting his periphery, he assumes that is what is about to happen. A polite apology is ready on his tongue while he tries to steal the last precious few seconds of staring he can get.
Except... that voice doesn't sound like a police officer. Those shoes don't look like officer shoes, either. His gold eyes blink once, then slowly draw upward to take in the whole picture of the girl in front of him. Black and pink and all smiles.
"Good afternoon," Kurou greets with honorific formality. His gaze drops back down to admiring the stray weed.
"I am," he agrees of being lost. "Your information is appreciated." Hm. 'Hang'. That's what kids his age are supposed to do, right? School and hang. He idly brushes one of his fingers over a petal, then pulls back like it stung him -- or like he might be afraid he would sting it.
After a moment he finally stands up to his full height. Oh. It definitely is easier to talk to someone like this. But he glances past her, following her arm's gesture toward the alley.
"Trouble...?"
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
The trick with the police, as Niko would freely share, is to make them not want to deal with you. That's the reputation she's sought to spread among the general public - weird, but harmless, and exhausting to talk to. It's easy enough to make people see what you want them to see. Especially when that's just the natural way you act to begin with.
She may not exactly be the best judge of character however, as the way Kurou speaks catches her off guard a little. He's all polite, and... non-casual. That's not what his appearance suggested at all. What a world, is anything the way it appears anymore? Far more notable than whatever he was doing with the plant, that seemed pretty normal by comparison.
"Whoa, chill, you don't gotta be so formal and shit. It's cool, we're cool, cool?" She still believes that would have to be the normal way he speaks, it's hard not to think there isn't a reason for those threads. Maybe he's just not used to these kind of circles yet? Or, since he's not from here... maybe he's a Tokyo kid? Somehow it wouldn't surprise her if they even had punks that are all fancy over there.
Snapped out of her thoughts, she snaps back into her spiel easily enough. "Oh, yeah, tons of trouble, whatever you're into. If you're spoiling for a fight, or you wanna break some stuff, or you need some 'specialized goods' if you know what I mean, you can find all sorts of action over there." She sure makes it sound like those are things you should want.
Almost like an afterthought, she adds, "You know. If you know where to look. And don't take a wrong turn. And you don't piss off the wrong people. As long as you got that covered, you probably won't get your ass handed to you."
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
What a world, indeed. But a closer look with him standing does not suggest any falseness to his look. He's even gone through the effort of painting a few of his nails different colors, skillfully applied around the cuticle. It's not the kind of effort someone goes to for simply no reason. Maybe he's new to the look, but his bright sneakers are scuffed enough to suggest it isn't day one. Yet his word choice remains undeniably formal, and his voice soft-spoken.
He seems lost in his own thoughts a moment while Niko processes this, glancing back toward her as she seems to ask him to chill.
"I apologize. I do not mean to give you the impression we are not 'cool'," he offers, but if he understands that much, why is he still being exceedingly formal about it...?! Even his choice of 'you' is overly polite for the circumstances.
Well, maybe this is how he starts fights with others of a rough crowd...?
(It's started at least once fight before, surely.)
Another spark of dissonance hits as Niko describes what she means by trouble. Kurou's face does not do many things, but in this moment his eyebrows lift a fraction, and there's a subtle sparkle in his eye.
And with her warnings, he gives her another blink.
"... I see. Thank you for the warning. I will be careful to carry myself appropriately."
will he
will he really
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
This is thankfully not how one starts a fight with Niko, but this is how one confounds a Niko. And, for better or for worse (usually worse), get her attention to linger on you. It's boring to talk to people who are easy to figure out. ...She can still make her own fun by messing with them, but she can mess with anybody, she wouldn't need to single this guy out for that. No... there's Something Going On Here. Someone who looks like an outcast, but acts like an outcast among outcasts. ...There might be an awfully familiar story here.
Not that one could easily tell Niko is the kind to think about these sorts of things. One would sooner get the impression that she doesn't think at all, she just kind of does things. Which isn't not true, the majority of the time. She certainly tends towards making assumptions in the moment, whatever conveniently fits her chosen narrative. Which is why she laughs, when Kurou insists on continuing to talk that way.
"Oh, I get it, you're just messing! Gotcha gotcha, I'll play along." She winks, as if she got some sort of unspoken message. She clearly knows how this works. Whatever she thinks 'this' is.
One might charitably call her attitude one of 'confident expertise', as she was going on about how things work in the Port Island Station alleys. But that entire image might just as easily be ruined entirely, by the blank stare Kurou gets in reaction to his response.
"What warning?"
No, really, those were just facts, there was no warning in there that she could see. What a normal interaction is this turning out to be.
Regardless, now that Kurou has Niko's attention, there's no escape. She's got to know more about what makes this guy tick. So right out of nowhere, she asks a different question.
"You party?" She doesn't even leave a pause for him to answer that, there's no need, of course he does, she's already decided that. So she immediately moves on to, "Ever been to Escapade? Probably not, right, if you're getting lost around here. And they'd probably turn you away at the door. Buuuut... If you wanna go sometime, I can get us in easy. Great place for it!"
For what? To party of course, she just said. This isn't hard to understand.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
In the same way that Niko is just like that, Kurou seems is just like this. But when it comes to thinking on the deeper ways of people, Niko has one up on him. Kurou has but one rule when it comes to others: do not underestimate them. That's hardly a concern here. He feels it's evident to her as much as him that she knows more about 'hanging' and friendliness, by virtue of simply not being Kurou. It would be impossible to obfuscate her skill in this regard.
Whether or not he's concerned with any level of danger beyond that, however, is not betrayed by his manner.
His mouth starts to open to protest when Niko says that he's messing, but she does not seem unhappy, so he decides to let that go. As long as she isn't angry, it means he's handling the interaction well enough.
(Kurou, no.)
But what warning? "What happens if I take a wrong turn," he explains. But for as much as he calls it a 'warning', and as much as she calls it 'facts', neither one of them is alarmed about the violent implications.
They're so normal. The most normal.
Does Kurou party? "Occasionally." However unbelievable that may be, he says it with a straight face. "Mainly in Club Harai." Not Escapade. Maybe he's just wandered too far from his natural nightclub habitat and gotten lost in the wrong territory? A whole subculture club crowd of formal Kurous? All right, probably not.
At least he actually has a real place he can name.
Unaware of the snare he's gotten his metaphorical foot caught in, Kurou considers this offer. "I must have been here before. But it would look different this time of day..." His gaze wanders toward the sky, but thankfully he does not look directly at the sun. Small mercies.
A new club and experience does sound intriguing, but if he's going to be turned away --
"Ah. Then you know an unguarded entrance?"
This conversation continues to be so normal.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
It's true, Niko is an expert at both Hanging and Friendliness. Anybody who denies it is just wrong. She can hang with anybody, because everybody is her friend. Even her enemies become her friends again once the thing that caused them to became enemies is over and done with. It's so easy, continues to amaze her how bad most people are at this. Look at how easily she's become friends with a totally new person she's only known for minutes, this is how you do it.
This obviously also means that she's not in any danger, no matter who she associates with. Why would she worry about a thing like that?
With that kind of perception, it only stands to reason that talking about dangerous situations wouldn't actually parse as a warning. That's just how it is. If it happens, it happens, and you deal with it. Simple enough. Even if their manner of speaking on its is different, they probably already see eye to eye without realizing it.
"Well yeah," she will at least say, scratching her head. "Guess you might call that a warning. If you're shit in a fight. That's not you, right?" That would be so disappointing, if her estimation was off in that regard. She doesn't assume so, given that she's been right about everything else. Obviously.
See, he does party, point proven handily. "Harai," she repeats, rubbing her chin a moment, before shaking her head. "Doesn't ring a bell, but hey, not like I've been everywhere. Where's that, exactly?" Good opportunity to get a sense of his usual haunt locations. Already she's thinking about what to do if she wants to find this guy again sometime.
Not every response makes as much sense, however. Must have been here before... at nighttime, perhaps? She cants her head, curious. "You don't remember? Must have been some party." Doesn't matter, that's probably nothing to worry about.
An unguarded entrance, though? She lets out a mischievous giggle that doesn't suit the way she looks at all. "Oh, I see. You're one of those types. Nah, that's not how I do things. The trick is, you go straight through the front door and act like you belong there. You just gotta have the Guts!"
A very real-looking ID that claims you're four years older than you actually are doesn't hurt either, but really, you gotta have even more Guts to uphold that kind of bluff. Especially with the kind of babyface she's got under her makeup.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
It is a fascinating skill, Kurou would have to admit. He has never been befriended with such rapid efficiency. (As if Kurou is a neutral object this is happening to, and not the one determining this...?!)
But if there is a miscommunication happening between them, it may indeed only be a matter of semantics. Kurou may one day learn the formality isn't actually clearer. But she gets it, and he gets it: it's only a real problem if you can't handle a fight, and if there's a reason Kurou's unconcerned, then...
"Mm. I can handle myself."
... it might be that. She certainly looks like she can as well. A physique like that should be at home in a brawl, he thinks.
"It's in Yumezaki. Sumaru." That's quite a ways for him to have wandered. But that's something else that will be learned, if someone keeps their interest in keeping after Kurou long enough: he has a tendency to wander, not unlike a stray animal that hasn't found a home.
Some party... Kurou's gaze gets distant as he absently traces a painted nail under his lower lip. "You could say that."
But now Kurou does not know exactly what kind of 'type' she means. She must be right, though. She seems very informed about this kind of thing. Her style, however, is more straightforward.
> Kurou tried to determine if he has enough Guts to enter the nightclub through the front door...
MONAD: KUROU RYOUHARA
GUTS: 6 (BEST)
> Because of Kurou's Guts, he should be able to -- wait, hold on.
RELEVANT APPROACH: Overkill
...
> Perhaps Kurou shouldn't be allowed to be his style of 'straightforward' in this matter...
Kurou refocuses back on Niko, and then leans forward into a polite bow. "I see. Then I will look forward to learning from your example on this matter."
As he rises back up, he realizes something. "... My apologies. I did not catch your name. I am Ryouhara. Kurou Ryouhara."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
That's the secret key to life. It's not just about your approach to clubs, every approach is flawless when you have enough Guts to decide it is. ...or was that Delusion? That's a social stat, right?
Whatever the case, that response earns a grin from Niko. "That's what I thought. It's always the quiet ones that are the most dangerous." ...That kind of sounds like she's dissing herself, but shhh, don't tell her. She'll want to prove herself, and then it will quickly be obvious just how at home in a brawl she is.
Yumezaki, huh. "Not around those parts a lot, but I've been, went to Zodiac one time." Which was technically for Shady Backroom Dealings, but that's not important. She barely remembers that part anyway, it wasn't the interesting part to her. What matters here is, "I'll keep your recommendation in mind." That's what that was, right? Sure it was. Given the way Kurou seems to party, to the point of not remembering much afterward, he's got to go to some good places.
Niko's sure appeared to be in a good mood this whole time, so Kurou can be relieved that his part in Social Interaction seems to be going well. She's no less jovial about the prospect of a demonstration of Guts, waving her hands like it's no thing to bow over, it's really not. "Sure thing! Leave it all to me, I know exactly how to handle these kinds of things."
MONAD: NIKO KIRISAKI
GUTS: 6 (BEST)
RELEVANT APPROACH: Just Smash It
Don't worry about it
"--Ah! I didn't know your name!" That's a far more important thing, Niko of course only realizing it after Kurou points it out, and informs her. "Alright, cool. Nice to meet you, Kurou-chan!" Also a totally normal thing to default to with someone you've just met.
The moment of silence that follows takes just long enough for it to start feeling awkward.
"--Ah! I didn't tell you /my/ name!" There it is. Rather than actually tell him, though, she grins and raises her right arm.
"Well, I probably didn't need to, right? You look sharp. You could probably read this just fine, couldn't you?"
She adjusts the bracelet on her arm to make its inscription easier to read. Sure enough, it says 'Niko', though it's written out in English. Perhaps more striking is the bracelet itself, a fine piece of golden jewelry that seems... out of place, given her general style. With everything but the necklace she wears, that is. That matches the bracelet perfectly - another thin golden accessory, with a depiction of two fish on the hanger in a classic depiction of the astrological sign Pisces.
It's probably nothing. Not much point in trying to make sense of everything Niko does. Being the kind who marches to the beat of her own drum, she absolutely wouldn't care that not all of her style matches.
"My last name's Kirisaki," she thinks to add, "But that's not important, you should just call me Niko-chan!" She keeps trying that in her introductions. No one ever actually takes her up on it. Surely she can't be expecting it'll work this time.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
"Does that give it away...?" Kurou murmurs to himself with that accusation. How paradoxical that being louder might give a greater element of surprise. Perhaps the girl herself as mastered the art of blending in effortless friendliness in keep one's guard down, should it come to a fight. It's clever, but it might be insincere if he tried it. That would ruin the effect entirely. Socialization is quite confusing, especially among peers...
For example, ask Kurou, and he might say parties are an excellent front for that sort of thing. What else would a party be for? ... Oh, there's other reasons? Perhaps Kurou will learn that soon enough. Well, he is here to learn of what life has to offer him.
Besides, after a quick check of the monad menu, we see that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. There are no concerns at all.
"Then to repay you, I will show you around if you visit."
Hopefully not through the rafters, or something like that.
Dubbed 'Kurou-chan', he, perhaps predictably by this point, does not so much as balk or protest. An then an awkward silence follows.
Kurou maintains the same expression and posture. Unmoving. Silent. Only the weed by his feet wavers in the wind.
It's Niko who animates first, and Kurou's gaze does flick to the bracelet on her arm and back again, like he's read already, and already knows what it says. With the invitation for a better look, he lets himself stare at it longer. Gold finery against a punk canvas, and a symbol that makes him think of fish.
He's only half fish, himself. The other half is a goat. He doesn't recall where he read about things like that, but he's pretty sure that's what it is.
"Niko-chan..." It's first said to himself, like he's trying the sound on in his mouth, or making sure he has it correct. His eyes come back into focus on hers with a single, decisive nod.
"It's nice to meet you, Niko-chan," Kurou says easily, haphazardly mixing the absurdly casual nickname between strangers with his constant formality.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Thinking about things too much is definitely not the correct way to socialize, would be the obvious next lesson for Niko to teach. It's as simple as you make it! But that's for another time, even Niko can see that this might be a tough one to get across to Kurou. Party lessons are easier, she can get those out of the way first.
One would be forgiven to think that the Guts aspect would be all that Niko is interested in, but when Kurou promises to show her around if she were to visit, her hands fly to her cheeks.
"Oh my! We haven't even gone on the first date yet, and you're already planning a second!"
...It's so hard to tell how sincere she's being at any given time, the way she randomly varies speech styles but always states things with conviction. It'd be easy to assume she's either always or never sincere, but even someone better versed in socialization would find it difficult to determine for certain.
Let's be real though, 9 expert socializers out of 10 would say that the thing she said just now was the most insincere thing they ever heard.
Even so, it's easy to say it the way Niko did when it did make her happy. It makes her even happier to hear no objection to Kurou-chan. That's good. Keeping Niko happy is a good way to prevent anything bad from happening. ...for the most part. Making her too happy might be dangerous in its own way.
It's not exactly hard to pinpoint where exactly that line may have been crossed. After all, she still seemed her usual, casually cheerful self, right up until after Kurou finishes examining her jewelry, and he actually says 'Niko-chan' out loud.
Eyes widening, the shock on her face is self-evident as she freezes up. She wasn't expecting that. For once, she has absolutely no idea what to say or do. But, by the time he repeats it, commits to it... a smile creeps back on her face. 'Creeps' being absolutely the best word to describe it.
"Hehe... hehehehe... hee hee hee hee!" That wasn't unsettlingly manic laughter at all, nothing to worry about. "You did it... you actually did it! Oh, I like you, Kurou-chan! I like you a lot!" Also probably nothing to worry about.
Whatever Kurou may have expected to happen next, it probably wasn't Niko suddenly dashing past him, straight into Rafflesia. In no time, she's back out, scribbling madly on a tiny notebook with a pencil. By the time she makes it back to Kurou, she rips out the page and holds it out for him.
"Here... it's my number. You can call me any time you want~"
She doesn't even really hear the voice behind her, calling for her to 'bring that back'.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
The mention of dates has Kurou furrowing his brow in new consideration. "We have yet to set specific dates, though, haven't we...?"
Oh no, he's really stupid. There are a lot of things that might be tough to get across to Kurou.
He also, evidently, lacks the wisdom to know there is a dangerous balance at play here, and that too much of a good thing can still become an overwhelming threat. She said to call her Niko-chan. What else is he supposed to call her?
See, she's even laughing about it. The open, easy kind of laughter that begs to claw its way out of one's chest and break free into the world after it's been smothered a little too long. The kind he can never quite dig his fingers around and grip onto before it slips away like wisps into the void. Kurou, in this moment, cannot even offer her so much as a smile.
But nor does he frown, or step back, or even startle. He instead wonders what people usually call her, and how numb it feels when they do.
Before he can react beyond that blank stare, she's off again. His mouth opens, then closes, not able to so much as say goodbye before Niko disappears. But if he had, he realizes she might have heard it anyway, but virtue of how quickly she returns.
Kurou carefully takes the page between his fingers to look over, nodding. "I will text you with my own later," he promises. This seems the most convenient method of exchange. Especially because --
Kurou glances slightly past Niko's shoulder at the shouting. Hm. This could escalate.
"... I will provide a distraction, if you need to be on your way."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
It's really refreshing to Niko, having someone just not argue back against anything she says - or if they do, it being because of being more dense than she's ever been in her life. This is new, this is... nice. Makes her wonder just how far she can push things before she gets pushed back. She can't wait to find out.
At this point, she was almost certain that not even that genuine reaction of hers would be enough to scare him off, and it seems she was right. He just doesn't react to it, at all. Nobody's ever been so stone-faced in the face of... well, her. If he'd given even the slightest indication of being repulsed, then... well, that would have been fine, she's used to it. But this, THIS isn't normal. And yet, he's for real Just Like That. Absolutely amazing.
Naturally, if that's the case, rushing off for a second shouldn't be a big deal. It was necessary, she wasn't carrying anything to write with - she doesn't even actually have her phone with her right now. She will definitely not be forgetting it so easily anymore, now.
"Great! Yeah, you do that!"
Such genuine enthusiasm over such a simple thing as promising to text her later. It's enough to make her briefly forget that she totally borrowed the writing tools without permission. It's her turn to stare blankly for a bit. A distraction? From what?
Ok NOW she hears the follow-up shouting of 'hey, hey you'. With an unconcerned smile, she waves the offer off. "Nah, it's cool, I've got this. Watch and learn, Kurou-chan!"
With that, she walks back over to the angry store owner, saying, "Ahhh, sorry, it was an emergency!" What emergency she claims it was happens out of earshot, but Niko waves as if panicking when the owner glances over to Kurou, which could be enough to infer that yeah, she just told her the truth, that she had to give a guy her number. Just like that, the matter is smoothed over, the both of them continuing to chat amicably afterwards.
Niko can be frightening in many obvious ways... but perhaps she is at her most frightening when she so effectively employs Charm, rather than Guts.