2025-08-26: A Totally Normal Conversation Between Two People Who Are Definitely Friends
- Log: A Totally Normal Conversation Between Two People Who Are Definitely Friends
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Niko Kirisaki
- Where: Near Tatsumi station, Iwatodai
- OOC Date: August 26, 2025
- IC Date: Sunday, July 01, 2012 (Afternoon)
- Summary: After a busy morning in Sumaru, Ririka heads home to relax for a bit... only to run into Niko, someone she really doesn't want to see. Somehow, they fail to quite understand each other.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka sighs a little as she steps out of the train station, feeling a bit worn out. She'd made the trip to Sumaru that morning, and had ended up spending more time there than she'd expected. But it was a good trip, and she got some useful info about it... including a new Skill Card and an introduction to the Velvet Room.
She had totally tried to chat up Nameless about their music, though.
But the next stop was home, in the afternoon, and the rather tall girl is dressed somewhat casually: a black tank top, canvas cargo pants, white skater shoes, and a set of pads and wrist guards. Her backpack has her helmet dangling from it, and she's carring her skateboard by one of the trucks.
She's got a pair of headpones on, blasting punk music as she steps onto the sideway, head bobbing along with it as she hums along and heads for home.
It wouldn't be too hard to catch her by surprise like this.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Sunday... isn't notably different from any other day, for people like Niko Kirisaki. Having no obligations, just do whatever you like all day every day, kind of awesome in her opinion. Sure, she has to make some money every now and again, but she can do that in all sorts of fun ways too - people come to Strega for all kinds of interesting jobs. Sometimes they're as simple as, say... keeping an eye on the comings and goings at the Port Island Station. Looking out for certain specific individuals.
Which is totally not what's happening right now. Today Niko's just hanging out. Leaning against a wall next to a vending machine, drinking a canned coffee while idly watching the people go by. One never can tell whether she's there for a reason, or she's just bored. It's the latter case, today.
That all changes when she catches a familiar face exiting the station. She grins, spotting that girl she's seen twice before, in totally different contexts. The grin goes wider, when Ririka departs without looking in her direction. Looks like she may have found some entertainment for the immediate future. Chugging back what's left of the coffee, she tosses the can at a nearby trash bin (scoring 2 points!) and begins to casually walk in the same direction.
But it's not spying Niko is interested in. She only hangs back for as long as it takes to put the station - and the pesky police officers that frequently patrol that immediate area - a decent bit behind. Then she starts to speed up, not quite going into a run, but aiming to catch up to Ririka in short order.
Now, what will happen? Will Ririka notice her approach, one way or another, and turn to face her? Or is she so distracted by her music that she'll actually manage to get close enough to startle her with a firm hand on the shoulder? It doesn't matter much to Niko, what matters is how funny the reaction will be.
Niko, for her part, is clothed the exact same way Ririka saw her before. She also has the exact same bearing as before - completely unconcerned, smiling brightly, raising a hand like she were greeting a friend.
"Hiii, Metronome-chan~"
Well of course she'd go with that name. That's the only name she would know, isn't it? Niko taps her chin, considering.
"Hmmm... nah, too long. How about we go wiiith... Rika-chan!"
Or not.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka honestly kind of likes having a little bit of structure to her routine... it helps give her some clarity on what she's supposed to be doing at any given moment, and lets her know what to expect.
She wasn't prepared for the intersection of her supernatural life and her mundane one at the arcade. And it turns out she still isn't prepared, because the music's pretty loud, not to mention she's humming along... and that firm hand on her shoulder makes her jump. "Ahh!?"
She whirls around while pulling her headphones off. "Sorry, can I help--"
Her voice trails off as she sees Niko again. She blinks, stares, her brain temporarily jammed on what to do. The headphones settled around her neck are blaring vocals by a female singer in English.
(She does also look at the abs, very briefly.)
She takes a step back and brings her skateboard up to brandish it like a weapon. "H-hey, back off! I don't know what you're after but I'm not gonna let you get away with it!"
She scowls a little as the nickname comes out. "Okay, if-- If you're trying to scare me, anybody could find out my name. And also you're being way too familiar. I'm not your friend."
She is, understandably, pretty tense. She has to take a slow breath to try and steady herself.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
That's how it goes, isn't it? You're never quite prepared for when the supernatural suddenly comes into your life. Whether by choice, or otherwise. What can you do but laugh?
Niko definitely is laughing right now. It's so funny when people all but jump out of their skin like that! Fear and nervousness can be funny, but shock and surprise, that's where it's really at. Which is also why she can shrug nonchalantly, and be totally honest in the claim, "I wasn't trying to scare you. Doesn't look like you need help with that, from where I'm standing. Now, why would you think you need to be scared of li'l ol' me?"
She quickly raises up a finger, having a suggestion of her own. "Could it be that you thought I felt hurt, 'cause you didn't come over and say hi at that arcade in Akiba?" She definitely did notice Ririka, that time. But the defensive posture Ririka's adopted, hmmm... oh! Her hands fly to her cheeks.
"Oh no! Don't tell me you were scared of me this whole time? There's no need for that, Rika-chan!" She's just totally ignoring the objection to being too familiar, only raising her arms as if in surrender. "Come ooon, you've got nothing to worry about from me, I don't bite!"
She flashes a purposely toothy grin. "Not unless you give me a reason."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is still figuring out how to deal with the supernatural any time she feels like she's made a little bit of progress, like meeting a Rumormonger and getting a Skill Card, something like this happens.
Niko wasn't trying to scare her. "W-well you snuck up on me!" Ririka you had your headphones blasting anybody could've surprised you. "Why do I need to be scared..." Ririka just kind of stares.
It's kind of obvious, isn't it?
She stays quiet about the arcade. That's already caused her enough complications. But scared of her this whole time... Ririka gives Niko a flat stare. "You and that other guy attacked a school and you blew up a guy's motorcycle with a land mine," she says flatly. "And you threw a flashbang or whatever at us. Why wouldn't I be scared of you?"
But that toothy grin, and giving a reason to bite... Ririka blushes furiously and stammers as she takes another step back. "H-h-hey! No biting! That's not something 'friends' do!"
Her headphones are still going, blasting some queer riot grrl song in English at a loud volume. Ririka's forgotten to pause the music, still.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
The difference is that neither anything about the supernatural, nor these sorts of surprises would bother Niko. Very few things bother Niko, and she loves surprises! People should worry less and be more like Niko, in Niko's opinion.
That being the case... "I did!" she freely admits to sneaking up on Ririka, sounding almost proud of it. "And your reaction was very funny, two thumbs up!" She literally gives Ririka two thumbs up. Was there a problem with any of that? She sees no problem here.
At least Niko does appear to give serious consideration to Ririka'a arguments for being scared, crossing her arms with a pensive look. So why shouldn't she be scared? Niko nods in understanding.
"I see, I see. Then Niko-sensei will teach you the mistakes in your argument!" Is she for real? Do you need to ask?
"Okay okay, so, listen. The land mine wasn't my idea. And I wasn't aiming the flashbang at you specifically, that was just, a signal that needed to happen." Bam, perfect explanation. Or so Niko seems to expect, quick to smile brightly again. "So you see, I got no beef with you! These things happen, it's fine, it's fine!"
The other reaction seems to confuse her more, for the simple reason that, "I just saaaaid, not unless you give me a reaaaasoooon. You gotta learn to pay attention, Rika-chan, or your grades will suffer." Is she still doing the teacher bit?!
But finally, Ririka can catch a bit of a break, when Niko is distracted by the loud tunes that are still going, putting a finger to lobe of her clip-on-riddled ear as if that would somehow aid in hearing it better. "Sounds like you got pretty good tastes in music. But I knew that already." Pointing a finger at Ririka, she continues, "Polychord, was it? Like your style, the whole 'mixing up stuff to make something new' thing? Very cool."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is pretty sure she doesn't wnat to become the type of person who would attack a schol.
But then Niko rates Ririka's reaction, and Ririka just kind of stares. "I... wha..." she stammers for a moment before following up with, "... seriously?" Ririka keeps trying to find her footing and Niko keeps not letting her.
That 'lesson'... isn't going to win over Ririka. "You hurt a bunch of people! I had to help a guy with axe wound get to an ambulance! Do you... seriously not see why I'd have a problem with that? I'm pretty sure these things don't 'just happen.'" Ririka hesitates for a moment and then looks to the side a litte. "... or at least, I really hope they don't," she mutters.
She's been Awakened for 2 weeks and already gotten into 3 fights, 2 of which were at schols. That's a small sample size but still an alarming trend.
"W-well my grades are fine," Ririka insists, feeling a bit helpless in this encounter. What is even going on right now? What are they even discussing.
Ririka is taking that moment to try and catch a breath, only to fluster anew when Niko mentions-- "Ack!" Ririka drops her skateboard on the ground and then secures it with a foot as she hastily pulls her phone out to pause the music. But then the next compliment, makes her pause and look to Niko uncertainly. "... uh, yeah." There's a wide-eyed blink and maybe just a little bit of tension is released from Ririka's shoulders. "You... really think so?"
The phone goes back in her pocket, but a free hand is now dangling by her side, fingertips twitching in a way that mimics the rhthm of the song that was just playing through her headphones. "Um, thanks? I'm glad you like our sound, but, uh..." She's stumped for a moment. They're so far off-script at this point she doesn't know what to say, so she defaults to an old standby. "... was there... something I could help you with, or...?"
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Seriously. Niko is totally serious, about everything she says, and how completely unconcerned with everything she is. To some, 'don't worry, be happy' is a philosophy. Even where it comes to attacking schools. She actually looks kind of bored about it, as she states the most serious-sounding thing she's said all day.
"...You probably don't know the half of what sorts of things 'just happen'. That's just the kind of world this is."
And just like that, the smile is back. "So don't worry about all that stuff, Rika-chan! It doesn't have anything to do with you!" Well, it doesn't need to, in her estimation. She seriously does not see why this would have to be a problem to someone who wasn't getting an axe in their chest. Even that wouldn't have happened if they didn't get in the way. And why would Ririka? It's none of her concern, it wasn't even her school! Trying to get Niko to follow along here might be futile.
As for grades? "We'll see when it's time for exams~" School exams, or Niko exams? If you're asking yourself that question it may already be too late for you.
At least calling attention to music seemed to have been more of a success in seeing eye to eye at least a little bit. "If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I never say anything I don't mean, Rika-chan," she says with a strange amount of gravitas. While continuing to normalize the familiar form of address, of course. There's no stopping that, there never was a chance of it.
She just seems confused at the question. "Help? Why would I need your help with anything?" She's just here to talk! Does she need an excuse to talk? Now who's the weirdo?
Glossing right after that, she chuckles amicably, continuing to seemingly not see any problems with her actions. "Y'know, it's funny, sometimes you're this deer in headlights sorta girl, but looks like you got a wild side, dontcha?"
She leaves that hanging just long enough to start wondering what she's talking about now, at which point she turns an open palm to Ririka, as if it's obvious. "The skater look's alright, but you aughta show people what you're about more. If you got killer threads like the ones from that time on TV, show 'em off every chance you get, that's what I say."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka snorts a little derisively at that statement. "I know more than you might think," she declares with slightly narrowed eyes. She might be new to all of the supernatural awfulness... but the regular world can be awful too, in its own way.
It wasn't her school, but... Ririka is tempted to spit something out--it's not her school but her sister goes there, so of course it concerns her. But... she doesn't really want to draw any attention to her sister, either. Not from a woman like this.
But the musician gives Niko a long hard look as she says she mens everything she says. "... right." Whle normally she'd value some frank honesty, some of the things Niko is honest about are still... well... a bit upsetting.
"W-well..." She's a bit dispairing at this point, still tryuing to find some kind of framework to have a conversation in that makes sense. "Then did you... need something...?" she hazards a guess.
Dear in the headlghts, versus wild side. Ririka draws back a little, just... utterly confused ashs eh tries to work her mouth to come up with a response. "Uh..."
But right on to the next thing. It's about that time that Ririka mentally shrugs and goes with it, which is also accompanied by a physical shrug. "Thanks. I mean, I love those clothes too, but... I only wear them for shows? I couldn't be like that all the time, it'd be exhausting."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Niko, for her part, lets that one go. Well. Maybe not entirely. That momentary expression change was hard to read. There might have been pity in there, or some kind of sadness... whatever that was, it was very brief. Just long enough to tell that she does have an opinion on Ririka's claim, one which, for a change, she's choosing not to say out loud. Possibly because if she did, she'd have to be honest about that too.
And that's not fun. She wants to do things that are fun, that's all she really needs. But she answers the direct question with, "Why're you looking for reasons all the time? There's no reason here, there usually isn't." At least she's self-aware about that. But she didn't mean that to apply to just her. Which may help to explain her point of view a bit.
Ririka's point of view... yeah, she lost Niko again, who just kind of rubs the back of her head. "What's exhausting about wearing clothes? They didn't look that heavy. I mean, if it's a problem, you could wear less."
She just... says that so casually, not even trying to imply anything. Look, have you seen what she's wearing, of course she would say that.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
It's fine if Niko doesn't want to express that. Ririka wouldn't want to share her story either. (Not least of which because it's not her story to tell.) But she's distrubed enough that she misses that expression change, regardless... though it's doubtful she'd have known what to make of it if she had caught it.
The two might have differing definitions of fun. (Even if they seem to agree somewhat on the topic of music.) She frown a little, though, silent as she thinks and keeps drumming her finger against her thigh. "... Most things have a reason, though..."
It's fine. Ririka's about to get lost, too. "Well it's not the clothes," she starts, "It's the whole, being on stage, pumping up a crowd..."
'I mean, if it's a problem, you could wear less.'
Ririka's cheeks turn bright red again and she steps down hard on her board, then pushes herself backwards. Yeah, she's seen what Niko's wearing (and wishes she could get it out of her head, it's distracting.) "Y-- yeah, um.... nevermind, forget I said anything." Great, even talking music she can't win here.
She lets herself drift backwards, with only a quick glance behind her to mak sure the coast is clear before looking back to Niko. "So... uh, if you don't need any help, or you don't need anything from me, then... I've gotta go do homework?"
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Niko actually giggles at Ririka's assertion that most things have a reason. "Well, of course you'd think so." Don't wait for her to explain that one, the pause that finishes that statement just meant she was done talking.
At least she knew what to say about that one. She just seems baffled at Ririka's reaction to her comments on clothes. What'd she say?? She frowns, when Ririka tells her to forget it. "Man... why do people overthink everything all the time?" She can only kind of guess that must be what's happening here. Since she could follow everything just fine, until the moment where she'd need to - ugh - think about it to figure out what the heck caused that reaction to happen. It's only funny when she meant to do that!
At least she doesn't seem to care one way or the other about what Ririka's doing with her board. She has to know that means 'preparing to leave', right? It's not exceptionally clear from looking at her puzzled expression. "Huh? Oh, what, homework?" That sure sounded like she was about to say something about how lame homework-doers are, but... then she blinks, and her grin returns.
"Ohhh, I see. You want to do good on those exams I promised." They really were Niko exams?? "You'd better study hard, Rika-chan! I'll quiz you next time~" What does that even mean??
At least she's not following, and seems ok with Ririka leaving? Small mercies...
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka can really only function in a world where things have rasons behind them. Even if they're horrible reasons or she doesn't understand them... otherwise what's the hope of understanding anything?
Overthinking. Ririka looks aside for a moment... she does do that sometimes, but... she doesn't feel like sharing that with Niko. She smiles awkwardly as exams come back up. "Um... yes?" she tries, hopefully. If it gets Niko to stop talking to her to agree, it surely won't have any negative repercussions later.
"So, uh... seeya!" Ririka turns and starts pumping her skateboard, trying to put some distance between herself and the other Persona User. And when she's pretty sure she's lost Niko she comes to a stop and pulls out her cell phone to send a quick group message to her fellow SEES members.
And then with a shaky breath she leans against a wall, slipping her headphones on and letting the music soothe her until she's ready to keep going.