2026-08-14: Christmas On Our Own Terms
- Log: Christmas On Our Own Terms
- Cast: Niko Kirisaki, Kurou Ryouhara
- Where: A residence in Tatsumi Port Island
- OOC Date: August 14, 2026
- IC Date: Tuesday, December 24, 2012 (backdated)
- Summary: For their promised get-together (on a special holiday, by complete and total coincidence), Niko invites Kurou to a homely environment. But is it actually her home? What exactly is she planning? And will those plans survive contact with Kurou...?
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
When making plans with Niko Kirisaki, one should expect the unexpected. Especially given the plans are likely to be subject to twists and turns based on her whims. Or for her to just... not share anything about her plans to begin with, which appears to be the case for her planned Hangout That Just Happens To Be On Christmas Eve.
She's not at all followed up with Kurou on that since scheduling it two weeks ago, not even to confirm whether they were still on for it. Not something she was worried about, evidently. Perhaps it's because Kurou has just been going along with whatever she wanted to do that she didn't feel the need to share any plans on that front, either.
There may have been some cause for worry though, when even on the day of, there's still no text from Niko for most of the day. Not on her own accord, nor in reply to anything Kurou might have sent. It's not until late in the afternoon that a message finally arrives.
> ugh sry its been a day
> didnt forget tho
> still got the evening amirite?
> wanna meet at 7 or so?
> go here
What followed was an address in Tatsumi Port Island, and no further explanation about the actual activity. It's not an address anybody would recognize as being the location of a famous hangout spot, so at a glance, what she has in mind could be anything. Though if looked up, or already known due to familiarity with the neighborhood, there may be some additional question marks. Since there isn't anything there of particular note. That entire street is just filled with your average middle-class residences.
Indeed, the address Niko gave just points to... a house. One out of many ordinary homes meant for small families, in good condition, decently-sized, free-standing and with its own driveway (sans car). Looks like it'd be a nice, cozy place to call home. ...There's no way someone like Niko would live in a house like that though, right?
There's two easy ways to get answers, though. Ring the bell, or knock on the door. Regardless of the exact action, once Kurou's presence becomes known, the front door will open... and sure enough, there is Niko, smiling brightly as she so commonly does.
"Kurou-chan, so glad you could make it!" Just going to act as if there isn't anything strange about the circumstances, it seems. "Sorry about the wait, I was planning on hanging out more first, but I'll make it up to you, I promise. We'll make a party of it yet, you'll see!"
Same old Niko, for the most part. Aside from her outfit, that sure isn't the same as her usual. Looks like she's chosen to wear the pink skeleton dress again, the one she got for Halloween. But she's also wearing a black and white Santa hat, so now it counts as a Christmas outfit, clearly.
This was not the main consideration however, which is evident in the other notable addition to her ensemble. A satin scarf, loudly pink, is wrapped about her neck. It's a different material, and obviously a very different color, but it may still be obvious that she tried to get something similar in design to Kurou's scarf, and made an effort to wear it the same way he commonly does. For reasons which should be obvious, but since this is Kurou we're talking about, it's probably a good thing that she proceeds to explain herself, striking a pose as she does.
"Wanted to wear something you'd like, sooo I went with what I knew, with just a little extra. How'd I do?"
The other differences may have stood out a little more, but looking further down, there is one more: the black thigh-highs she's got on - in lieu of shoes, of course, being indoors. She doesn't usually wear socks of any kind, but going around barefoot seems to have been a bridge too far, even for her.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Fortunately(?) for everyone(??), Kurou knows so little of what to expect from hanging out as a baseline that his expectations do not exist to be ripped out from under him. Unfortunately(?) for Kurou(??), this also means he does not know what counts as unexpected.
Thus he wanders, obliviously, into the darkness Niko has orchestrated, thinking very little of her lack of contact until the day of -- partially because exams, and partially because he has no reason to be suspicious.
> when and where?
Is all he says, and only then does worry nip at his thoughts with Niko's silence. Until, finally, a response.
> I'll be there
He arrives exactly at 7:00pm with a knock on the mysterious door.
Surely this isn't where she lives...?
Kurou dresses in street clothes in his usual style, but layered for winter in a close fitting turtleneck under a halfway buttoned up shirt under a jacket with a thick, faux fur-lined hood, but with his scarf ever-present. He has learned something from their Halloween experience: today may just happen to be Christmas, but it is Christmas.
... So Kurou is also wearing an antler headband with a bit of decorative holly on the right prong. His hair streak, usually blue, is dyed red, with his fingernails matching save for the ring fingers, which are painted green.
He had to touch up these things regardless, so it did not feel like much effort on his part. Leaving him wonder if, perhaps, he should have expended more he beholds Niko as she opens the door.
"Par... ty...?" the attempt at a question trails off. Niko may be gratified to notice that Kurou's attention immediately fixates on the scarf on her throat before taking in the rest of her as she poses, thigh highs and festive hat and all.
Something he would like...?
"... I do like skeleton-chan," he admits, before tilting his head with his confusion. "But... I do not think I would ever dislike it, if you wore what you like best."
What goes unvoiced is: why would she worry about what he liked, when choosing what to wear...?
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Few words as usual, nothing new there. Niko can and frequently does babble enough for the both of them, that's fine. Doesn't mean Kurou isn't hype for this, in his own way. Niko has concluded that he is, and she could never be wrong in her assessments.
But when Kurou arrives at the appointed time, never mind anything else for the moment - it is of the highest possible importance that her question receives an answer. Does he like her outfit??
Niko would be lying if she claimed she wouldn't have liked a stronger reaction than that, but she would also not know Kurou very well if she'd expected that from him. It's a good enough sign that he takes a moment to take it in, and take special notice of the scarf (which to be fair is eye-catching to the point where most might call it eye-searing). Still...
"Complimenting skills need work, Kurou-chan. Gotta make with the adjectives! Y'know, stunning, radiant, that sorta thing?" She doesn't look displeased, all the same. Her grin only grows when she points in Kurou's direction. "But hey, see you're learning to get into the spirit of things. Nice color details and accessorizing!"
Any other questions, voiced or unvoiced, go unanswered as she motions inside. "Well, don't just stand there, come in, come in! Don't forget about your shoes~" And off she trots down the entryway, passing by a set of stairs towards the living room beyond.
Once inside, it takes only a glance to see that it's not an empty house Niko appropriated, it's obviously lived-in. Yet only Niko's sneakers are present in the shoe box next to the door. Proceeding further, one can see a number of family pictures on the wall, enough to extrapolate a family with a single child. The portrait of a girl a few years younger than Niko is currently doesn't resemble her in the slightest. It may not answer every question about all this, but it's certainly enough to start forming a working theory.
As for Niko, she is completely unconcerned about volunteering extra context, sprawled out on the leather coach as she switches on the TV. A pretty recent model, for those in the know, adding to general vibe that whoever lives here must be decently well-off. Kind of the opposite impression Niko tends to leave.
Legs put up on the salon table, Niko switches the channel, muting the sound of the news that's currently on before gesturing at the screen. "Home Alone's gonna be on in a bit. Do you know that movie? I watch it every year around this time, it's like a tradition." Not quite as common a tradition as in certain other countries perhaps, but sounds like it's one that Niko observes all the same. Scary movies aren't the only kinds of movies she likes, it seems.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou is, above all, deeply Kurou, for better or for worse. How much he might look forward to something is poorly demonstrated. But he checked in, and he arrived, and he even dressed for the occasion.
It is about as loud as Kurou gets.
His face remains stoic, but his gaze sharp and attentive. He even accepts his scolding with a glance downward and small nod of understanding. "... I see." The pieces are slow to come together. She could have worn anything, but wanted to wear something he would like... maybe in the same way that he wanted to wear something festive, the way she tends to prefer.
And he does like it. So he should say so. With adjectives. Niko even leads by example.
After a moment of mediation, Kurou looks back up at her. Festive, but in a Halloween way... Almost dangerous, but bright and softly colored... "Niko-chan looks cute," he concludes, with unabashed honesty.
Only then does he enter -- after a small bow -- and removes his shoes to follow her inside.
There are several unspoken questions, but enough for Kurou to observe before he formulates ones. He takes several moments too long at the other shoes and at the pictures on the wall.
Finally, he vaults over the back of the couch to sit cross legged on it, as sitting on the couch seems to be what the plan is for the moment. He turns his head to one side, lifting it before his antlers begin to slip.
"I don't remember seeing it before." He looks to the TV. "Or any Christmas traditions, but..." A new thought is running through his mind, but it does not finish before he takes another look around the house and looks to her.
"... Is this your home, Niko-chan?"
It seems rude to word the query in any way that implies he thinks the answer is no.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Already one thing goes contrary to Niko's expectations. In spite of her assertions, she wasn't expecting Kurou to actually... take her advice, right away. It would have been less embarrassing had he simply parroted back her own suggested adjectives. But when he picks, of all things, 'cute'...
Well, that was all the more reason for Niko to retreat in haste, recompose herself a little in private. And wonder, not for the first time... is she stupid? Throwing out flippant remarks like that, despite knowing that if it's turned around on her she'll get all flustered like this? And even though it's nice to hear things like that... what is she expecting to happen here, really?
By the time Kurou rejoins her, she is still far from any answers to such questions, which she absolutely plans to remain unspoken. Her smile may mask many things, but it's no less genuine for it.
"It's a comedy movie," she volunteers when Kurou says he's unfamiliar, already having decided, "You'll like it." Yeah, people get hurt, but it happens in a funny way, and to people you don't need to feel sorry for. Really not very different from her current 'job' when you think about it.
Niko is of course perfectly aware that she doesn't exactly fit the mold of someone who'd live in a house like this. Yet somehow, she is still struck unprepared for the possibility of Kurou asking about it. She'd thought him reliably heedless of such details. Why would he care enough to ask about that, of all things...?
Groove effectively ruined by Kurou going off-script compared to what she'd imagined, her sudden silence is striking. Niko's usually so quick to respond, and that wasn't a very complicated question, was it? And yet...
Abruptly, Niko stands up from the couch. "...Actually, hang on. There's something else we should get to first." With that, she heads off into the conjoined kitchen, as if she hadn't heard the question at all. This appears to be her answer to going off-script, skipping to the next page. Where she has what she thinks might be a suitable distraction ready. Out from the fridge, she retrieves... a strawberry cake.
"Ta-da~" she announces as she moves to place it down on the dinner table. "Hope you didn't have a big dinner! Admit it, you were thinking about it, right? So was I! Wouldn't be Christmas without one of these, am I right?"
Perfect smoke screen, obviously cake is far more important than the matter of whose house this is.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
It is because Niko already used those adjectives that Kurou could not, for they would be parroted, and thus, a failure of her intended instruction. It had to be his own. But, hm, perhaps 'cute' is not what she was going for, rushing off like that...
He should not lie to her about such things, but perhaps there's a different true adjective he should try next time...?
"Comedy," Kurou echoes, nodding. "I am not very good at laughter, but I would like to see it." He has no idea how right he is, and how impressed he is going to be with the creative use of holiday decorations in home defense.
But when Kurou tries to discern the house situation, he is left again with the impression he has ventured the wrong sort of response. If the answer is no, that is -- as far as someone like Kurou is concerned -- a normal and neutral answer. It would make sense.
Yet there's a concern tickling at the back of his mind...
Niko gets up, and Kurou straightens, too. "... Something else?" he says, and he does not press further for the moment, walking blindly into Niko's critical hit distraction.
Kurou's pupils dilate, attention entirely fixated on the strawberry cake as it moves from fridge to table, and his voice gets just a little bit softer.
"... Is it all right? Ah... thank you." He looks over the rest of the kitchen, then back to her. "May I use the kitchen to make us tea?"
He doesn't need to know if the house is hers or not, truly. But he does want to know where certain boundaries lie. But isn't that assuming the house has tea, or does Kurou actually carry some with him...?
Don't be absurd. Of course he does.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Niko would never have guessed Kurou's thought patterns would lead him to take things seriously in such an immediate way. Really, how well did she ever really know him...?
A movie would have been a good distraction in its own right, but with things progressing like this, Niko didn't feel like she could afford to wait until it starts. So, plan B: straight to cake! Anything to prevent further Complications. Which, it is fair to question, how complicated could it really be, if she could have simply said 'yes' or 'no' and kept it at that? Was that not an option in her mind?
Whatever the case, all must now move aside in favor of cake. "Whaddaya mean is it all right? It's what you do on Christmas! Nothing could be more right!" Leaving the cake where it is, she moves back into the kitchen to retrieve plates. ...Which she doesn't find in the first cabinet she opens. Looking more and more like that question should have had an easy answer.
With Kurou making his offer, she readily agrees, "Oh, good thinking! Tea and cake, now we've got ourselves a party." A tea party, if you will. She stops short of actually saying that, instead considering, "Hope there's some around." Another thing that would be slightly odd to say if you were in your own house, but... hopefully we're done overthinking things...? Niko realizes that possible issue only after she'd already said it.
It's difficult all of a sudden. Now she has to think about her words around Kurou, when she always felt so free to say whatever came to mind. She doesn't want things to be that way, she's just really unsure about her judgement of Kurou. And all it took was a single innocent and very fair question. The revelation that Kurou always has tea in his pocket is only going to make him feel even less predictable. It's kind of absurd to let that get to her, but factually knowing that can't change the way she feels.
Trying to put it out of her mind, she moves back to the dining table to set down the plates and forks she collected from the kitchen, then moving to cut the cake. "Gonna make these big slices," she declares, before asserting, "We deserve it. Don't we, Kurou-chan?"
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Despite the distraction, Kurou soon returns to his intent observing of Niko and the situation, trying to silently piece together as much as he can while Niko seems to feel uncomfortable addressing it.
For better or for worse, though, that cake really is distracting for him. Fluffy strawberry cake...
"That is no concern. I always carry a small cache of sencha with me, just in case." In case of what? "It is a mild flavor that should pair well with a light cake."
He hunts for cups and a kettle himself, but failing that, grabs a simple pot to boil water. It is less strange for him not to be able to immediately track them down, hopefully. As he sets the temperature, he keeps looking at the surface, rather than Niko, as he hunts for his words again.
"I am not familiar with Christmases. Or traditions. But... Yes, I think... big slices are deserved." For him? Or maybe for Niko. "And... if there is anything else that makes this feel like home, even if only for today, on a day that is coincidentally Christmas..."
Finally, Kurou turns to look back to her.
"... Then we should do that, and I will not ask any more questions."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
In spite of how strange this new Kurou fact is, a chortle escapes Niko all the same, filling in the blank, "In case of a tea emergency? Damn, you're well-prepared." For strangely specific situations, but. Maybe he just likes tea that much. If only cake could be as easily kept in one's pocket.
As Kurou prepares the tea, Niko prepares the cake. Her side of things obviously takes far less time, so she goes ahead and takes a seat. Then takes up a fork, and proceeds to twirl it between her fingers. She's impatient to have cake, yes, but wants to wait for Kurou to join her all the same.
The way Kurou's following words strike her, well, she doesn't have a problem sharing her opinion on the initial ones. "That's sad, not having those kinds of memories. Big slices super deserved all the more then. Gotta learn about the good things." That's what she hoped for today, to be able to focus on the good things. There's too much bad going on already.
But Kurou isn't done talking. It looks like Niko might be, following that. There's a clatter, as she fumbles her fork-twirl and drops it to the table. She doesn't pick it back up. Just sort of staring ahead, with a very difficult to read expression. She just kind of looks stunned, dazed almost. Was it something he said? Almost certainly.
It takes some time before she shows signs of life again. In the form of finally reaching for her fork again, this time plunging it into the cake, and bringing a large piece of it to her mouth. She chews, slowly, her eyes closing as a smile comes to her face... while a tear rolls down her cheek, stained black by her make-up.
Sometimes I want to laugh and cry at once
Perhaps this is the sort of instance that her song referred to. It takes a moment longer for her to speak again, much softer than before.
"...I can't do this anymore, Kurou. I don't... want to make it feel like you can't ask questions. So..." Her eyes open, showing the wistful sadness her smile doesn't. "No, this is not my home. But I lived in a house like this, once."
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
"It is something that helps," Kurou says, almost cryptically. Helps with what? It isn't that he means to hide things himself from someone like Niko, but that many of his thoughts simply don't complete in spoken word as much as they really ought.
Though the water does take longer to boil than it takes to slice a cake, it does not take too much longer, nor does this brew steep for long. Especially with the slow and stilted way Kurou works through his thoughts, and with Niko's own dazed reaction.
He sets down a novelty mug with a butterfly shaped handle for Niko, the steaming tea a perfect shade of green. As it touches to the table, his own mug still grasped in his hand, he pauses to look at her while the fork clatters against the ground.
"Niko-chan...?"
Kurou does not dare speak, or even move, beyond that. Not until Niko herself stabs her cake to smile and cry all at once. He slides into his own seat, in front of his slice, to set his cup down, and reaches to Niko's face with the edge of his sleeve to catch the tear as his chest squeezes at the sight of it.
"I... apologize. You planned a movie. And brought cake. And secured a house. It was not my intention, but... I have only made you cry."
Even tea does not make up for that.
She lived in a house like this, once. Then she does not now. And that is no surprise, except that even Kurou is suddenly made aware of the weight of loss and grief.
"I will leave no trace of us being here, no matter how much you live in it today," he promises.
So she can live in the house as much as she wants, if just for today.
For these are the reasons he asks his questions: simple, practical ones, so that he can maximize how useful he is being.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
There's a sharp intake of breath from Niko, as Kurou wipes away her tear. She wasn't expecting that. It looks to have pulled her back into the here and now, although she still looks far from the way she usually does. And she looks at Kurou differently from the way she usually does. It's difficult to identify what sort of way that might be, she mostly just seems confused.
Her expression softens, though, as Kurou apologizes to her. A small smile is quick to appear, when in response, she lightly punches his arm. "Hey. I was stupid too, don't take all the credit."
She sniffs, rubbing her nose in a self-conscious gesture. That was... very embarrassing. She tries hard not to let anyone see her like that. But... she's starting to consider that maybe it's alright, when it's Kurou. After all, even with how different their respective circumstances are, they are still the same in a fundamental way. If anyone can understand, then it would be him, wouldn't it...?
"I was just... trying to make Christmas feel the way it used to. The same people aren't here, but I thought that, as long as all the elements were there..." She shakes her head. "See, it's stupid. I know I can't have what I really want. Not here."
Raising a finger as if to stop any objections, as well as communicate that she isn't done, she continues, "Thought I could get you to just quietly go along with it, like you usually do. But... I actually like it better, when you question things that should be questioned. So, don't feel bad about that. AND--" Her finger lashes out suddenly, to boop Kurou on the nose. "You're not handling the cleanup by yourself. We'll do it together. AFTER we enjoy the rest of today. Alright?"
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou pulls back quicker than he had reached forward, as if he had burned himself, or had burned her, to see that look he cannot quite read. Niko's expressions are usually open and vivid, but he understands all too well that sometimes an expression isn't because you're hiding it.
It's because your face doesn't know what to do. After all, that's all his is like.
Niko's playful punch seems to bring Kurou himself back to reality with her. "Ah... I'm sorry." He says it like the credit were something that were greedy to take.
As Niko explains herself, the pieces click together easier, and he sets a gaze upon her, almost heated for its sudden intensity. His lips part and --
Niko's finger raises.
Kurou shuts his mouth, silenced, even though his eyes do not change. He allows her to finish. Quietly going along versus questioning things... But...
B-Boop?!
Kurou's eyes cross, losing that intensity, and refocus slowly back on Niko.
"... Alright," he agrees. "But... It is not stupid to want it." Maybe it's too late to say that, now. So he repeats it, for emphasis: "It is not stupid at all."
Another squeeze seizes his chest, thinking on it. A weight that feels precarious and precious at once. Niko wanted Christmas to feel like Christmas, and she invited Kurou into that space.
It is not something he intends to take lightly.
"... To be honest..." he begins carefully, "The reason I asked is not merely to know how to clean up, but because it did seem the answer could be 'yes'."
Even when it obviously should have been no. Now he understands why he felt that pulse of contradiction.
But why should that matter? Kurou remembers the conversations he's had with Umie, and with Ren, and Niko herself. 'This world' and 'that world'. Niko understands 'that world', while struggling to cling to 'this' one in a way Kurou didn't think was possible at first...
"... Because I want to keep learning about new facets of Niko-chan. Scary movies. Song lyrics. Christmas traditions."
Kurou sticks his fork into his own slice of cake thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it will not be exactly the same. But... we can make it something you want to remember, like you still want to remember the years before."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
It certainly isn't often that Niko's face doesn't appear to know what to do. That smile just seems to come naturally, regardless of how much she hides behind it.
Even now, it doesn't fail her for long. Chuckling at Kurou's apology, she goes on to explain her intentions - original and current - then looks at him expectantly. Likely Kurou would have had a difficult time figuring out her expectations if he thought about it, but his instincts get that one right. All she expected was for him to not simply agree with every single thing she said. Ironic though it may be, considering him going along with everything she said is how they ended up getting here in the first place.
Any objection would have been fine, in that regard. But the specific objection, that what she wants isn't stupid, she appreciates all the more. She averts her eyes from Kurou's, softly replying, "...Thanks, for saying that."
Her gaze returns upon his assertion that he thought this might really have been her house. That prompts a chuckle. "Not sure if that makes you really dumb, or really smart." There was no way this could have been her actual house, it should have been obvious. But Kurou still asked. Perhaps on some level already realizing that she was looking to see her house in this one. And in the process, get through what would have been a very difficult day, if she'd been forced to spend it entirely unlike the way she normally would have. Before... all this.
Yet just when it seemed like Kurou cracked the Niko code, thereby preventing him from getting made fun of ever again, she openly laughs in his face at his following words. That phrasing, she just couldn't help herself.
"You wanna know about my facets, huh? Lot of things I could say to that, and you wouldn't get any of 'em. That cluelessness..."
She shakes her head, and there's a momentary pause, stopping herself from saying her thoughts out loud. Before deciding to do so anyway. "...That's what makes Kurou-chan cute."
She can almost feel her cheeks burning, saying that. She pushes past it, forcing a more boisterous tone. "Well in that case, stick around! Can't promise it'll always be interesting, but I know how to have a good time! I'm allll about making good memories." Which, as she should have made clear today, requires good company.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou is not someone who's prone to rebellion for its own sake, and if asked, he'd say that he does not have much reason to object to Niko. Even now, he did not mean to object. Only to learn.
But in saying this is stupid... that he will and does object to.
"Mm... I am supposed to be focusing on my studies..." Kurou comments of the debate of his intelligence. So if it's very dumb, perhaps he can fix that...? (Unfortunately, no, not in any of the ways that would help him with Niko. Or anything else, for that matter.)
When she laughs, Kurou watches her, unstartled, and instead with a glimmer of something approaching relief. A Niko-chan who smiles easily, who laughs, who is bright pink... He knows she may have complicated feelings about it all, under the circumstances they share. But... he still likes these things about her, too.
His head predictably starts to tilt at her words, though. He is about to ask what she means when she calls him cute.
Kurou's face may not change, but his eyes seem to be doing a similar sparkle to when he saw the strawberry cake. It's strikingly puppyish.
Mercifully, he does not try to pry into this sentiment further.
"I did not plan to be anywhere else today."
She invited him to 'hang out' today, after all. But now that he knows it is important that it is Christmas, and not merely a coincidence, there is something he must say.
"Ah, and... Merry Christmas, Niko-chan."