2026-08-31: Celebratory Hot Pot
- Log: Celebratory Hot Pot
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Kurou Ryouhara, Ren Amamiya, Morgana(played by Ren)
- Where: Umie's Apartment, Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 31, 2026
- IC Date: January 02, 2013
- Summary: Umie's roommate, Kurou, has achieved some high marks, which calls for a celebration. Since the same goes for Ren, it naturally means he's invited as well! After all, a hot pot is better the more people (and cats?) you have.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"--ow."
Umie has been in a good mood for the past week, in that sort of dazed, daydream-y sort of way that is prone of all sorts of accidents.
Exhibit A: the ruby red bead of blood on her finger, springing up from where her knife, mercilessly kept sharp by one ninja or another, poked her while she was prepping Enoki mushrooms.
Realizing that Ren is coming over, Umie's had time to clean up and hide away any evidence of masks, leaving her craft corner as a simple table in the corner, covered with newspaper and pieces of origami paper. Sure, Ren's probably made enough visits here to see the masks drying from the wire hangers above the table, but either way, the mess had to be cut down.
Thankfully, the rest of the apartment has been well maintained. While it felt tight in the dog days of summer, it's graciously been upgraded to 'pleasantly cozy' on days like this.
The TV on the wall bas been set to mute. Snow is collecting outside, making cheeks and fingers red from cold and city streets grey with slush.
It's the perfect day for celebratory hot pot, in other words.
The electric hotpot on the table, a long cord winding to a socket that Umie wished was just a little closer. One may be forgiven if they notice the slight dent on the side; it's squarely the reason Umie was able to get it for a price that was a little less painful for her budget.
For Umie, it's a pale imitation of the sadly ignored electric hot pot at her childhood home in Sumaru City, but for a meal for three, it's perfect.
Washing her hands and popping a tight bandaid over the cut, she wiggles it in the air. "Haven't done that in a while..." Two bags are set on the counter, filled with other goodies. Umie was going to go with pork, but after coming across a package of thinly sliced beef with the price cut, she sprang for that instead.
Teenagers need protein, after all. It's entirely that, and not that she wanted beef. Yes.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou does his best to assist in keeping the space neat and orderly, but he was in the other room to fetch something for Ren's arrival the moment Umie utters her ow.
Was.
Suddenly, he's there, without sound, full alert, but a bead of blood is hardly enough for him to see by the time Umie's washing and bandaging herself. "... I will handle dishes tonight, Akabane-san." A bandage should be kept dry. And even if it is a celebration, it is fair, isn't it...?
But even such a seriously given offer (or, more accurately, assertion) does not carry its gravity when Kurou sees the hot pot situation in full. His eyes glimmer with keen interest as he fidgets ever so slightly at the sleeves of his dark pullover hoodie. His hair streak is faintly red -- more pinkish from fading -- from his holiday change. The dye he used for the occasion was not engineered to last, evidently.
"I do not remember having hotpot before."
It's a subtle thing, the way Kurou describes some of his experiences: not always in definitive 'have nots' but less certain 'can't remembers'.
His gaze lands to the beef, and his pupils are a little bigger.
"I apologize if I am... unskilled in his execution, but I will endeavor to contribute to a balanced broth."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The snow is really beautiful. Ren was happy to see it on Christmas Eve, and they're happy to see it today too. They're also happy to get invited to hot pot at Umie's, because this is something they can bring Morgana to thanks to Umie giving her permission, and after what happened with the sushi from the Arisato twins' birthday party, well... Morgana really needs something to cheer him up. They're worried about him lately.
(Umie had asked Ren what they wanted for dinner to celebrate their grades, and sushi was definitely out of the question with her budget. Hot pot was great after The Phantoms' victory over Madarame's Palace, so this is a good chance to have it in the proper season.)
So it's shortly after Umie cuts her finger that there's a knock at the door. Ren's there, dressed in their dark winter coat with a blue scarf at their throat and gloved hands in their pockets. They smile at whoever answers the door and nods their greeting, then slips off their shoes at the foyer and sets down their shoulder bag for Morgana to hop out of.
"This is my friend, Morgana," Ren says, poker-faced.
Morgana looks up at Kurou and Umie, eyes vividly blue, ears flicking. He will accept pets, but of course says nothing. Cats can't speak, silly.
Ren glances at the bandaid on Umie's finger and opts not to comment on it. It's easy enough to imagine where and how she got that, especially since it looks fresh. Instead, they nod to Kurou and their reddish hair streak. "New dye?"
They'll hang up their coat wherever directed to. Morgana will immediately start looking around the apartment. He's seen it from the outside before, but the inside is a whole other matter.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Like thunder following a flash of lightning, Kurou is right there beside Umie. "It's fine," Umie shakes her head, as if used to it.
... Goodness knows Kurou'd had to deal with much, much worse happening in front of him recently, when it came to her.
With Ren at the door now and Kurou offering to wash dishes afterwards, Umie must clearly... accept. "Well, I won't say no." She grins, using a pinkie to feed a wayward bang back behind one ear. "It's not a big deal, though! Chopping will help, though~ you're better at it than I am." She angles her chin towards the door. "I'll go let Ren in while you handle the mushrooms. That sound good?"
Soon enough, the door opens for Ren, with Umie there, dressed in a pink turtleneck and grey pants. "Glad you could make it, Amamiya-kun!" He said something about bringing a friend, didn't he? "Just hang your coat on the hook over there."
Kurou can't remember having hot pot before. Umie gives Kurou a lopsided smirk as she notices his pupils expanding at the sight of the package of beef. "Then you can't be disappointed. It's hard to do hot pot for one."
As Ren's friend pops out of Ren's shoulder bag, Umie fights to keep from making any embarrassing sounds. "What a handsome fellow..." she coos instead, kneeling down to get a closer look. "Look at those blue eyes...!" She offers to scritch on Morgana's fine head, lips widening an un unabashed smile. "So he travels like that with you, Amamiya-kun? Wow... I thought cats were usually too independent to do something like that."
When Kurou inevitably needs his own 'fix', Umie will take over the meal prep. "Either of you need something to drink? We have some soda in the fridge and some juice."
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Sometimes having to deal with worth things does not make the smaller things pale in comparison. Sometimes it puts them under sharpened spotlight, as if each moment could grow into one like the time that came before.
But the blood washes away in the sink, where it once refused to in a half flooded ship.
And if Kurou can do once thing well, it is cut. "Yes, Akabane-san." He only eyes the knife for a few moments in silent, unreadable judgment a few moments before deftly chopping what remains.
He does not rush wastefully, but nor does he loiter in his task so that he can be swift to emerge from the kitchen and greet Ren with a bow. Then he immediately presents a small sticker of a cartoonish ebi sashimi with a cutesy face.
"Congratulations."
Kurou has his own :3 mochi sticker on the back of his hand. If Ren should offer theirs in kind, they will be bestowed the blessing of a completed exam in a similar manner.
Once Kurou spots Morgana, he bows to him as well. "Welcome, Morgana-san," Kurou greets with the same respect he would give any human.
Before anyone might suspect that Kurou knows something about Morgana's true nature, he proves that he is simply being polite to what he thinks is a regular cat by kneeling down in pursuit of that inevitable fix. He offers his hand, fingers curled in, for Morgana to sniff. Only after this show of nonhostility does he venture giving Morgana a scritch behind the ear.
Standing again he blinks once at Ren, then his eyes lose focus a moment as he tries to focus on his own hair. "... Oh. Yes. I was trying to be... festive. I will redo it again soon."
For drinks, Kurou moves to the fridge. "I can get them for us." He pauses, considering. Normally, he drinks water or makes tea. But today, perhaps accepting the celebration, he reaches for juice, and awaits Ren's answer to fetch in kind.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
A handsome fellow! Umie has fine taste, no doubt. (Morgana will conveniently ignore her love for Shiryuu at the moment.) Morgana lifts his chin to accept her scritches while his tail undulates.
He also ignores her calling him a cat. He has to endure it for the sake of keeping their cover...
"Yeah," Ren replies, smiling slightly as they watch. Their coat and scarf go up; they're wearing a thinner black jacket underneath with a white V-neck shirt and blue jeans along with their usual glasses and wristwatch. "He likes getting to ride."
Well, it's not not true...
Morgana turns his head to stare at Kurou when he greets him like a human. Soon enough, though, he kneels down to present his hand as if to a cat, and Morgana sniffs it in resignation before allowing ear scritches. He's not crazy about it, but the cover must be kept. He'll pull away and walk off deeper into the apartment sooner than he would have for Umie, though.
"Thanks," Ren says to Kurou meanwhile, accepting the ebi sticker on the back of their own hand. When in Rome... or rather, in the Akabane residence. They admire it with another slight smile, then hum thoughtfully when Kurou reveals the reason for the red streak. Umie offers drinks--Kurou to fetch them. "I'll have a soda, please and thanks. Grape Manta if you've got it, but anything's fine."
They pause.
"Also, if you have any milk, Morgana likes it heated up, then allowed to cool to room temperature." Ren pauses. "He's very particular about that."
"Mrow!" Morgana agrees, ears swiveling towards the kitchen as his mood already starts picking up.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It was an occasion that did not pass without consequences. Shiryuu, moved by his inability to keep one of his own from dying, began to try to lash out at any possible source of danger to his clan. He didn't even spare his 'bond' from his scrutiny, once the rumor about a certain ancestral 'ninja princess' brought the Ryouharas briefly into the public eye.
(Then Umie ruined it by being Umie and refusing to play the part of a proper hostage.)
And why yes, Morgana, Umie has fine taste! Just ask Shiryuu about his new scarf! (please don't)
Knowing that darker side to Kurou's abilities and skills, Umie feels guilty in how it makes the cuter moments of his all the sweeter for the contrast. It shouldn't be that way in the first place, after all; seeing him exchange stickers with Ren and treat Ren's friend like a proper human should be things that are cute on the face of it all, rather than a study in contrasts. He should be able to remember if he's ever had hot pot before.
But would he be Kurou, if he never had that question? Would Shiryuu be fully *her* Shiryuu, if he had never lost a part of himself?
Ren wouldn't have to deal with these questions... nor should he.
"I think we do have Grape Manta." Umie may or may not have just so happened to have bought two cans of Grape Manta when she was going out for ingredients, along with whatever Kurou would care to drink.
(Just a coincidence, really. For all she knew, Grape Manta may have fallen off Ren's 'like' list after possibly getting associated with exploding glass and muddy memories.)
The milk, though... "Yeah, we got some." Heated up and left to let cool, huh... Umie smirks. "Alright. How can I refuse that face?"
Leaving the canned drinks to Kurou, she takes out the milk and, making sure of the expiration date (they don't drink a lot of it), she gets out a saucer for the milk, popping it in the microwave. "... Hm. I guess... a minute would do..."
The rest of the prep will go smoothly; the broth set to a simmer in the electronic hotpot. "I got a lot of veggies, so eat up." Most of them are the more inexpensive kind: carrots, napa cabbage, tofu, green onions. There's even a pack of udon noodles, and some ramen noodles to use up the leftover broth in the following days.
All are put into the hot pot to simmer and boil, with some set to the side with the beef, as well as some bowls and sauce. ".... I think that's it..." Umie considers, sitting down with a can of Cielo Mist. "Itadakimasu~"
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Shiryuu's own heart was also something wounded, Kurou thinks. Has been, perhaps. He is not sure what to do about it, beyond his loyalty. But he thinks Umie is an important part of a future that still has Shiryuu as Shiryuu in it.
Fortunately, wandering away from attention from strangers is perfectly acceptable cat behavior. Kurou suspects it must be a lot of simulation for a cat... and understands that a new territory must be thoroughly scouted.
So it is that Kurou wanders the world with more contrasts: sharp perception in the world of danger of violence, and almost complete obliviousness everywhere else. He stands a little straighter as Ren accepts the sticker.
All is well in the realm of positive reinforcement in education.
Kurou takes a Grape Manta for Ren and an apple juice for himself, thinking nothing of the fact it is conveniently present. At the mention of milk with a look to Umie with his own silent plea to bestow treats upon their kitty visitor. Not that Umie was planning to refuse.
As they settle with drinks and hot pot, Kurou bows his head. "Itadakimasu."
Then immediately gets his phone...??
Uncharacteristic rudeness is an unfortunate consequence of needing to do very important research as he squints at the cracked screen.
"Carrots... yes if cooked, onions, no... Tofu, no... Beef... small portions..."
Kurou looks up, from Umie, and then to Ren. This is about their cat, after all. "If we do it before adding any green onion, then... perhaps Morgana-san could have a little of the beef."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
That's called "gap moe," Umie.
"Cool. Thanks," Ren says of the grape Manta. Anything that they can do to help out, they'll do--setting the table if it isn't already, for example. If there isn't anything to do, they'll wait quietly with their soda. Once dinner is ready, they bow with hands pressed together. "Itadakimasu."
He heads quickly over to the kitchen when Umie sets down that saucer. It'll need some time to cool down, sure, but once it has, he'll be ready to lap it up. Adult cats are lactose intolerant, you say? Well, Morgana's not a cat, so there.
Likewise, Kurou is sadly responsible enough to check what foods in hot pot are okay for cats to eat. Ren glances at him, realizing what he's doing when he mentions the onions. "Morgana has a strong stomach. I'm sure some beef would be fine and deeply appreciated," they comment blandly.
Morgana looks up, ears once again perked forward. He'll happily gobble up some shabu shabu beef; it might not be tuna, but he will accept the tribute of tasty meat all the same. This is revenge for the loss of his sushi!!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
And here was Umie, trying to make it more complex! It was Gap Moe all along...
As for Morgana, there's plenty to look at while the gang is getting set up: a small hip level bookcase with an partially closed jewelry box on top, though not the sort of jewels one would find in mementos or a palace. (Those'd be stashed away in a hidden compartment inside a thick, boring-looking book.) It *is* notable for a new pendant there, which Kurou, if he happens to notice it, may or may not recongize as Shiryuu's handiwork, judging by the fine quality in metal work, as well as the attention paid to the pale jadeite set into the center.
There are some other books, including a few on some mythological figures, literary figures, a dog-earred copy of Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes, and... a collection of H. P. Lovecraft. ha ha ha moving on-- Are those plain paper maiche masks in the area between the rolled up futons and the wall? Oh no, it's something everyone already knows about Umie!
Which sums up a lot about the apartment in general depending on how much Morgana cares to explore, unless Kurou has left anything of his around. By the time Morgana's had his fill (if he explores at all), his saucer of milk will hopefully be the preferred temperature for his tongue, with Umie none the wiser over cats usually being lactose intolerant.
But Ren'd know best, right?
Popping a piece of beef in her mouth, Umie nods, satisfied. "What subjects did you do best in this time around?"
She notices Kurou on his phone, and stops mid-journey towards grabbing some carrots. Is he beginning to embrace his surly teenagehood??? ..... oh "... Huh." She looks to Ren, nodding as he gives his permission. "I don't see why not, since Morgana's a guest. Amamiya-kun, I'll let you have the honors."
On the TV, she looks up, briefly distracted by a promo for 'Flower Talk', showing Hana Fukami, talking with a recent guest. "... Oh, hey," Umie points her chopsticks to the screen. "I actually ran into her recently. Real nice."
The fact that Umie did it as 'Kokoro Akechi' is something she'll conveniently leave out.
As well as the slight frown, which disappears behind a drink of her soda. "At Kaori's in Sumaru City."
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou is conveniently oblivious of 'gap moe'.
Also conveniently, Kurou does not look up the milk issue, nor stumble into it. But he does do the rest. In the end, Ren should know Morgana best, and he nods slowly, pocketing his phone again.
(He might be less conveniently oblivious of a certain jadeite pendant. But do we really worry what Kurou assumes about such things anymore?)
Now that Morgana's participation in this -- even Umie notes he is a guest -- has been addressed, Kurou can eye the hot pot himself. He watches Umie and Ren, as if there is some technique he might observe before making his own attempt to dip and cook his food. A shared pot in a warm apartment, with warm company...
He leaves the beef on his tongue for a few moments, chopsticks resting against his lips and eyes closed, simply to savor the taste and temperature of it.
Kurou's eyes only open when someone speaks again, and he glances to the TV.
"'Flower Talk'..." he echos of the title. "... Gardening...?" It is entirely possible Kurou has never identified what a 'talk show' is directly. But he catches that frown of Umie's, head tilting.
"Does that not make sense for flowers...?"
Well, it's not literally a show about flowers.
Regrettably(??), he goes for the carrots next himself. No surly teenagehood here at all...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Gap moe can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Gap moe just might be one of the reasons Ren's become so smitten with Goro Akechi.
As for Kurou, being oblivious of his own gap moe is part of his gap moe. The gap moe is strong in this one...
Morgana does indeed explore the apartment. The books are interesting but not especially revealing, and the masks are indeed something he and Ren already knew about Umie. The jewelry is nice, but not knowing Shiryuu made it, it just looks like some pretty hand-crafted jewelry.
After that, well, it's not a very big apartment. There's not much more to explore. Morgana will return soon enough, especially once it's decided he does indeed get to have BEEF. It's still no tuna, but he'll take it anyway.
As Ren swishes some beef and then fills up a saucer to serve to Morgana with the milk, Umie comments on the muted TV's program. "Hmm?" They look up and spot-- "Oh, it's Flower Talk," they remark. "I've caught a couple of episodes of that during break."
Umie's met Hana too, huh? Ren almost smiles at her, but while her drink might hide her mouth, there's something about the rest of her face that doesn't seem pleasant. "Yeah?" they prompt her, of Hana being nice--and of her having met her. "That's cool."
When Kurou guesses that Flower Talk is about gardening, Ren shakes their head. "It's more a talk show for housewives," they say, returning to the table and cooking up some vegetables and tofu up for themselves. (Morgana got their share of beef. They'll have a couple slices if there's any left.) "I've only seen a couple episodes, though. Maybe they do talk about gardening sometimes."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie would be lying if that wasn't a part of her attraction to Shiryuu, as annoying as it can be. The boy embodies the capability to be deadly and threatening in his intent and action, but by the same token, he is wholly unable to keep himself from grandstanding over the dumbest things imaginable. A chicken cutlet, *really*?
There are other touches to Umie's environment, like the mounded plant in a pot up on a shelf, but, like the jewelry, its significance is only in its origin, and even then... it would have confirmed what he and Ren would already know.
Umie gives a discrete look to Kurou as he tries to figure out how to proceed with the ceremony of 'hot pot'. "I like sesame sauce, myself," she says, helpfully. "But I did get some ponzu sauce if you want to try that."
Her eyelids lower, content as she watches the two eat-- wait, no. Is that the trap?! Is that the way a girl becomes a housewife?!
NOT ON HER WATCH.
She *takes* some beef and swishes it around, triumphantly returning it to her bowl.
"You'd think, with her name, but no," Umie begins, dipping a piece of cabbage in her small bowl of sauce, along with the beef. She pops both in her mouth.
This electric hot pot is going to pay for itself, she quietly decides then and there.
"But it's surprising... It's easy to look at someone smiling for the camera and forget they're a normal person, underneath all that. Even she gets a little stressed out from time to time, it seems; she was looking for some flowery scents."
It almost feels... *too* cozy. Too comfortable. Too normal.
Mai-chan should be coming soon. She always does, when Umie is happy without her.
Even the kimono designer, showing the hottest trends that'll likely follow for this year's Coming of Age ceremony, doesn't quite seem to fit the level of dread Umie's beginning to feel.
She regards the TV with a lingering sense of melancholy. ... almost that time, huh... she doesn't really *feel* like an adult.
"Yeah, I'd catch them when I'm home. It's good for having on in the background sometimes, when you need something to listen to. Hard to believe her show only started last July..."
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
There is also the manner of Kurou's section of the apartment, should Morgana venture to inspect his things. It is a meager offering, for it is Umie that has provided much of makes a home. Kurou keeps what is his to small spaces, and ever portable. What isn't hidden -- and isn't in the kitchen -- is that fluffy blanket and a small, time worn canid plush, missing an eye, but sitting on top of it to hold the fabric crown Kurou cosplayed in.
It'd be damning information, if Morgana were actually a cat. Is Kurou actually team dog?!
But otherwise, he keeps his presence here difficult to notice or trace. Perhaps it's a ninja thing.
"Ponzuuu," Kurou says, with just the slightest extension of the word. He likes the way it feels to say, and decides to see how it feels to taste.
In the end, he ends up favoring the cabbage with his beef.
"Oh, like lavender..." Kurou says, as if remembering something. It's a flowery scent meant to deal with stress.
Ren says they've seen a few episodes, too. "Mm... Housewife wisdom sounds like it would be valuable... I will pay attention when it airs."
And someone who Umie thinks is 'nice'... That is valuable, too.