2026-09-01: Real Weirdos
- Log: 2026-09-01 Real Weirdos
- Cast: Kurou Ryouhara, Ren Amamiya, Niko Kirisaki
- Where: Central Street, Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: September 01, 2026
- IC Date: January 02, 2013
- Summary: While Kurou walks Ren to the train station after the two had homemade hot pot with Umie, who should approach but Niko Kirisaki, enthusiastic member of future death cult Strega? Who should welcome her presence but Kurou Ryouhara, semi-enthusiastic murderer from the Ryouhara ninja clan? And who here is the angel on Kurou's shoulder, and who's the devil?
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
The winter air remains chilled with light snowfall, but Kurou finds that the warmth of sharing hot pot lingers well enough to fight it off. He's well layered in blacks for the venture out, including a faux fur-lined hood to his jacket and, as ever, his usual scarf around his throat.
With the shorter days and darker evenings, Kurou feels more at least escorting Ren back to the train station. A few more moments of their company is not a bad exchange for it, either.
He walks with gloved hands firmly in his pockets, watching an exhale escape in cold wisps like a dragon's breath.
"Hot pot is another wondrous thing, too," he muses as he reflects on the day. "I hope we can do it again."
If there was any doubt that Kurou accepted Ren's offer to try and stay in 'this world' and not be stuck in 'that world', then perhaps such a statement might dispel it.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren is likewise bundled up for their trip back home, with a long black winter coat and a blue scarf at their throat. In their shoulder bag, a thoroughly appeased and sated Morgana naps contentedly. Ren doesn't mind it; they're used to Morgana's living weight.
"Same here," they reply, glancing over at Kurou with a slight smile. They understand that sentiment for what it is, and they're glad to be providing a positive influence for their friend.
Shibuya Station isn't far from Umie's place, so Ren's pace is languid. Their hands likewise rest in their pockets, but that's what they always do, not just when it's cold out. It's nice to just casually exist after a satisfying dinner.
"I bet Akabane-san's excited to fix you another home-cooked meal sometime, though," they add. "Next time, do you want to pick what we have?"
After all, hot pot was their idea. Maybe there's some other dish Kurou's never had that he'd like to try.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Tatsumi Port Island may be her main haunt, but Niko Kirisaki does get around. She goes where the fun is, is the way she might put it. Which doesn't mean all that much, given her definition of fun is broad enough that it could mean anything she has any level of interest in. But that only makes sense, doesn't it? Why would you ever do anything that isn't fun?
Whatever it is she might have been doing this time, she was on her way back from it, heading back towards the station she arrived from herself. Many paths cross through Shibuya station, or on the way towards it, as the case may be... and it just so happens that Niko's crosses that of Ren and Kurou today. Quite literally, as she saunters in from a side street that joins up with their route.
She hasn't done much in the way of bundling up at all, just dressed in what she's most commonly been seen wearing... which many would call Too Little even in the best of seasons. It's fine though, she's at least wearing a scarf. Which makes her stand out all the more since it's bright pink in color. Notably, of a very similar style to Kurou's, other than the color obviously.
There's not a whole lot of time to react to her presence, as she catches sight of Kurou almost immediately, instantly causing her to brighten and start waving enthusiastically. "Heeeey, Kurou-chan! Over here, over here!"
Sure, the option to not do that exists... which would just lead to her coming over instead, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou considers the idea that Akabane would be excited. She has been exceptionally kind to him. She has been kind to Shiryuu, too. (Shiryuu might start a fight about that point.) "I wonder if she is happy..."
He says it the way he says most things: with unnecessary gravity. It makes it sound like the question might stretch deeper than it really does. But Kurou has learned she prefers him to ask for what he might want, even if those wants are only faint curiosities.
For a moment, he goes quiet before announcing, "Omurice."
That's a little childish, but...
Kurou suddenly turns his head, eyes blinking slightly wider as he hears his name being called. He takes a single step toward it before stopping himself in a rare moment of acting before his thoughts catch up to him.
"Oh. It's Niko-chan," he says, for Ren's benefit, looking back to them. "But your train..."
There's a brief moment where Kurou considers how to handle a situation such as this one. He must get Ren safely to the station, and home before the night stretches too long. Yet, he does not want Niko to think he is ignoring her...
It might be over complicating the issue given it's only going to take a moment for either Ren to respond or Niko to waltz right up to them regardless.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"I think she is," Ren replies with confidence. They know she has a lot of masks, but between their interactions with her as Ren Amamiya and those as Joker, they're sure of it.
Omurice, though, huh. It is a little childish, but who doesn't love that classic comfort food? "You know, I've been learning to make omelets and rice balls lately," Ren says thoughtfully. "Maybe I could make you omurice sometime." They smile slightly at Kurou. "Unless you really want Akabane-san to be the one to do it."
Someone shouts Kurou's name and waves towards him. Someone Ren knows.
Their eyes widen as they turn their gaze towards Niko. They haven't seen her in ages, and really only met her once or twice during battle, but there's no forgetting someone as pink as she is. She even has extra pink right now, and if Ren hadn't recognized her scarf matches Kurou's (and they had), they'd certainly clock to her familiarity when she calls him 'Kurou-chan' and he responds with 'Niko-chan.'
Granted, she seems like the kind of person who'd be super-familiar whether you want her to or not, and Kurou doesn't seem to grasp certain social niceties well enough to necessarily refuse to go along with it. The matching scarves really damn him, though.
"Friend of yours?" they ask rhetorically, voice and expression neutral when they glance at him. There's not really any doubting it. They know Niko's with Strega, a group of killers, and Kurou is himself a killer.
Damn. One positive influence, one negative... Are they going to end up being Kurou's shoulder angel and demon? Ren is not that keen on being the angel in this or any scenario, but she's definitely going to be the one to encourage him to do more murders.
Well. At least if the three of them talk now, Ren can gauge what kind of relationship they have. They shrug one-armed. "I can always catch the train after. We can go over and say hi. Or you can call her over. Or something else entirely. Your choice."
It's important to Ren that Kurou has a choice.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Of course Kurou has a choice here. But Niko already knows what that choice is, because there's only one that is correct. And he isn't making it fast enough for her liking, which is to say, instantly. If she was only ever going to wait a couple of seconds, why did she even bother calling out first? Too late now, at any rate. Niko's already coming over, shaking her head at this gross level of indecisiveness.
"Ahh, too slow, too slow! Overthinking things again, aren't you, Kurou-chan. I keep telling you, you won't get anywhere just standing around with your head in the clouds. Gotta take action, man!"
She didn't hear about the circumstances involved. Not that she would have cared, either way. All that matters is that things happened differently than she wanted. No reason is good enough to excuse that. Still, is she really that annoyed...? Of course not. Her expression turns cheerful again shortly after the lecture, and she reaches out to ruffle Kurou's hair. "Duuumbaaass," she intones affectionately.
Did she even notice Ren? One might wonder, right up until she sharply turns and draws the logical conclusion, "Oh but look, you made a friend! Guess there's hope for you yet." Grinning from ear to ear, she makes a peace sign in Ren's direction. "I'm Niko Kirisaki, nice to meetcha! You must be a real weirdo if you get along with Kurou-chan, so I'm sure we'll get along too!"
This is a compliment, of course. And don't worry Ren. Where it comes to comparing influences, in her mind, Niko is always the one who's acting as the shoulder angel.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou's attention brightens with Ren's conviction. It is difficult to disbelieve them when they get like this, and Ren does seem to be someone with more friends than Kurou. They wouldn't have so many people around them the way Umie describes if they didn't know about navigating people.
"It is not that, but I would not want to be trouble..." But there's that puppyish look in Kurou's eyes.
For all his alertness, however, he misses the way Ren reacts to Niko. That might be damning, too.
"Yes," he replies easily. Which could mean Niko made the pronouncement and Kurou went along with it, given Niko and given Kurou. Unfortunately, that's where a hypothetical shoulder angel stands to find themself... caught between a socially gullible Kurou and an exuberantly decisive Niko.
And, you know, the murders.
"She has been kind to me, and I do not want her to feel ignored." Because he thinks of Niko's tears on Christmas, and his chest hurts, and he does not want to be someone who makes those cracks spread further. But those are not for saying out loud.
Trying to think of how to explain it is another second of non-instantaneous action, and now Niko has arrived -- while calling him out.
"Ah, my apologies." He even tilts his head forward a little to facilitate the ruffling consequences of his (in)action. Then he nods as he notes Ren. "I did. This is Ren Amamiya."
Are his friends making friends...? What an intriguing concept.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
So there's still a shoulder angel and a shoulder demon; it's just the complete logical opposite...
This must be a game where the villains are Law-aligned. Funny to call Niko any kind of Lawful being, though.
Before that becomes an issue, Ren shakes their head at Kurou's mention of 'trouble.' "If I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't have offered," they reply. "It's no trouble at all. Means I get to practice more."
But then Niko happens, and that all gets thoroughly derailed.
Ren's expression remains carefully neutral when Kurou submits to Niko's hair-ruffling. Yeah. Yeah, between his social gullibility and Niko's exuberant decisiveness, this is a dangerous mix. Ren sure can't tell him not to hang out with her, since their reason why is based on something 'Ren Amamiya' shouldn't possibly know.
You must be a real weirdo if you get along with Kurou-chan, so I'm sure we'll get along too!
Ren gives another little one-shoulder shrug as they privately concede she's half right. Then they follow up with a nod of the head as Kurou introduces them. "Hi."
Are his friends making friends? Mmmmmm, perhaps not. But Ren made their decision and they're not going to back down now.
"How'd you two meet?" they wonder, looking between the two.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Niko can at least act Lawful, when it suits her. Though if you asked her for her alignment, she would say that she's Neutral Good. Make of that what you will.
She doesn't bat at eye at the way Kurou weathers her storm, used to it as she is. But when Ren gives so much of a barely-a-reaction to her spiel, she can't help but let out a guffaw. "Oh yeah, I can already see why you two get along." Being able to just take her in stride like that, that's definitely not normal. She'd almost think that their circumstances were similar.
Almost. But that would be impossible. She's gotten better at that whole Resonance business, and she's sensing a whole lot of nothing here. Looks like even normies are just like that sometimes.
At least there's enough initiative there for asking questions, which Niko has no problem with answering. "He got lost and then distracted by some weeds. So I helped him, you know." She finishes her thought after a quick glance in his direction, prompting the corners of her mouth to elevate ever so slightly. "Find his way."
No lies there. It's what she did then, and continues to do to this day. ...Kurou may or may not get distracted by weeds just as regularly, this isn't about that. What matters is that her intentions are entirely benign. From her perspective. If there was any doubt...
Niko snaps her fingers, suddenly recalling, "Oh, yes, Happy New Year, you two! Gonna be a good one, if I've got anything to say about it. And I do!" Whatever that's supposed to mean. "Which reminds me..."
Niko reaches down into the side pocket of her mini-jacket. That might be alarming, considering what sorts of activities she's known to be involved with. But on the other hand, it's hard to think she might be fishing out a weapon when she does so this casually, with her tongue sticking out a bit and everything. And indeed, it's soon revealed that all she was looking for was her smartphone.
Kurou may already note that there's something different about it, something attached to it that wasn't there before. A silver-colored chain dangles off the top, from which hangs a small, similar-colored skeleton figure, ending at the bottom in a highly detailed skeletal hand. Wordlessly, she unties the strap from its attachment, then places it on her hand, displaying it to Kurou.
"Like it?" she questions, soon following it up with, "It's yours. Consider it a late Christmas present. I've got another one just like it, so, if you take this one... we'll match."
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
"Then I will have to find sufficient means to pay you back." Kurou is not yet sure how, but there must be something he can do in return for a meal of egg and rice. It does mean he accepts, at least.
... Provided anyone remembers anything about omelettes or rice after the Niko storm passes.
There are many Laws in this world, some innate, and some malleable, and many claimed to be innate that are malleable. Why shouldn't Niko have a turn making some?
Kurou considers Niko's evaluation and nods slowly. A similar demeanor does seem to be part of why they get along, even if Kurou knows Ren has many critical differences. But they are able to exist in a space easily together.
"It was growing out of the pavement," Kurou notes of the weed. This is what made it special. This also confirms her story without any further clarification.
But it is about what happened.
As Niko wishes them both a new year, Kurou blinks out of rhythm again. "Oh." He brings up his gloved hands in a muffled clap. Pachi pachi pachi. "Happy New Year." To Ren. "And you as well." Niko will made it a good one. Something in Kurou's vision sharpens as he nods.
He does not say anything about that in front of Ren.
Whatever grim thoughts are rattling in Kurou's skull are knocked out of it as Niko presents a skeletal keychain. "Yes. It is --" He does not finish answering her rhetorical question with an overly literal answer before she is offering it to him.
There is a moment where both Niko and Ren can see Kurou processing this. Eventually, he points at himself, then reaches to take the keychain with a slowness that suggests Niko might change her mind, even though she already said she has another.
Wordlessly, but with care, he takes out his own battered phone and attaches the keychain there.
He stares at it, fixated, his face otherwise as difficult to read as ever.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Yes. Normies.
Though Niko isn't wrong about why Kurou and Ren vibe so well. Ren's is more of a defense mechanism than Kurou's is, but they both are (or can be) quiet, thoughtful people who take ridiculous things in stride. (Of course, it helps that Ren's encountered her before and can emotionally prepare themself to keep up that lack of affect.)
Niko describes the circumstances of her meeting with Kurou. Kurou provides a little extra context. "Hm." She's definitely looking at him like they're sharing a private joke. That's ominous. Ren doesn't believe for a second it's as simple as that. They nod anyway. "Cool."
Also ominous: Niko claiming she has a say in whether the new year is good or not. Technically that's true of everyone, but Ren also doesn't believe this is that simple--especially with that change in the look in Kurou's eyes. "Happy New Year," they respond anyway to both of them.
At least they don't assume Niko's going for a weapon, though they watch as she roots through her jacket. They consider the charm hanging from it. ...a skeleton hand, huh... That's very Kurou. Even more so that she's giving her hers with the understanding that she has another and the two of them can match. He's going to love it.
Sure enough, Kurou accepts it with reverence, then stares at the charm now hanging from his phone in a way that, despite his expressionlessness, Ren has come to understand means he's sparkling on the inside.
Damn.
"Hmmm... I didn't get you a present, did I, Kurou... Sorry." Ren rubs the side of their neck. "There's still the omurice, though. I'll make sure to make it extra special to make up for it."
How? They're going to have to figure that out. Still, maybe the maid 'lessons' they got at Alice's Apron will come in handy.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
From Niko's point of view, she has explained the situation adequately and accurately. For as much as it matters to her and clearly also Kurou, the way he only adds detail and no corrections. There could be no misunderstanding about this, Ren gives her no reason to assume otherwise.
...Even if she does think this is a little bit odd. She's used to conversing with Kurou on a level that makes sense to the both of them, but she's not unaware of the ways in which it's unusual, should be unusual, to any normal person. She adds a "Hm" of her own, giving Ren an evaluating look. Could this actually be someone worth her interest, beyond the whole 'Kurou's friend' aspect?
Too early to tell, she decides, moving smoothly along to the all-important business of New Year's well-wishes, doing so pleasantly enough. Noting the way that Ren is following the Kurou pattern of just rolling with however she phrases things. Well. She may have to poke at that a little more.
But first, the gift. She'd been planning on giving Kurou the extra she got for him, but given this fortuitous meeting, she's fine giving away the one she'd been using. It's called seizing upon opportunity, something she's been educate Kurou about. Another good example of showing him how it's done, this. ...But that didn't really have anything to do with her reasons, not this time. No, that reaction. That's what she wanted to see.
"He likes it," she stage-whispers to Ren. At least partially for the benefit of explaining the Kurouness of the moment, but it's clear to see how happy this fact makes her. There's nothing disingenuous about Niko's emotions here.
Then... there is a glint in her eye, as she hooks in on Ren's following words. "It's fine, it's fine, you can give presents anytime, no need for a special occasion." Casting her eyes skyward, she proceeds to lament, "But wow, Omurice, that's such a good idea. That used to be my favorite, you know. It's been sooo long since I had a good Omurice..."
Too bad she's not invited, you can almost hear her say, with a heavy-handedly implied 'hint, hint'... as her gaze doesn't go back down to Ren, but to Kurou. Oh no.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
For better or worse, Kurou remains oblivious to the social tension present. Both Ren and Niko are perfectly normal as far as he is aware. They would know what normal is better than Kurou would.
Because it's Kurou who's staring at a keychain, forgetting the world is there.
He snaps his attention back to the present as Ren apologizes, even if his voice is slow to arrive. "... That is... not necessary." He's looking at the keychain again. "I did not get anything for either of you..."
He did not even think to. Yet, here it is, and even special omurice is promised... The good news for Ren is that 'special' for Kurou does not seem to require complexity.
Kurou pries his eyes from the skeletal keychain, pocketing his phone before it can distract him further. "Thank you."
A gift can be given anytime... That is the statement Kurou picks up on and pockets into his memory. Even if he did not give anything for Christmas, there can be other gifts. This is still something he can do for his friends.
... Leaving him blinking blankly back at Niko as she tries to will an indirect hint into his opaque skull. "Is that so? Perhaps I should try to learn it, too..."
Eating Ren's would be a good first step, wouldn't it? But there's an important factor that's independent of that. One that drew him to the meal in the first place.
"What pattern of ketchup do you find ideal, Niko-chan?"
...
This isn't picking up on her hint hint at all!!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren meets Niko's eyes when she peers at them, unflinching and intense in their focus, even with those thick, frankly nerdy-looking glasses. At least outwardly, they don't seem put out, though that poker face gives little away. Unfortunately, that's turning out to make them more intriguing to her. At least this time they prompt her with a simple, "Hm?"
Of course, they already can tell Kurou likes it. Niko can tell too, though, and Ren gives her an assessing look of their own when she stage-whispers as much to them. She acts manic a lot, but she does seem more genuinely happy now. Hard to say for certain, though; it's clear, but Ren just doesn't know her that well yet. Are these two possibly actually a good influence on each other...? That's also hard to say for certain.
In the end, Ren's just going to have to hang out with them more to figure it out. Great.
Niko points out that presents don't need an event. Ren concedes this point too with another half-shrug and nod. She is not remotely subtle about her desire to also have some omurice too, and unfortunately, she sets her stare on Kurou. Will Kurou understand what she's getting at, though?
...
Nope. Ren figured as much. There is a brief tightening around their mouth as they hold back a smile.
"Presents are any anytime thing," they say aloud this time, rubbing a lock of their bangs between their fingers. "You can give them just because you want to." They tuck their hand back into their pocket as they look at Kurou. "So don't worry about if you didn't get anything for anyone else."
Back to Niko. She said omurice 'used to be' her favorite, so... "What's your favorite now?"
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
It's not at all surprising to Niko that Kurou would have a friend who gives her 'outcast' vibes. She knows she and Kurou aren't among what most people would define as Normal People, by a long shot. Whether it's due to being an actual nerd or something more, there simply has to be something about Ren that makes the same thing true for them. The question is, is it worthwhile to figure out what that is? Equal odds on coming out disappointed on this one, she feels.
She will, however, respond to the prompting of a counter-'hm'. "Not much that gets to you, huh? Ren-chan~" Let's be real, that address was only a matter of time, the way things were going.
It's often hard to tell how serious Niko is being at any given time. Her attempts at manipulation can be subtle sometimes. It wasn't at all this time. And yet, when she directs the blunt instrument of her words at Kurou... they just bounce right off. She blinks once, twice...
Then the brief moment of surprise fades, as she lets out another loud guffaw, and slaps herself on the forehead. "Forgot who I was talking to for a second," she reprimands herself. Wouldn't be Kurou if he didn't fail to notice the painfully obvious, would it? It never ceases to be interesting, how things that she could make work on others so easily just completely fail on him. Still, even now. Even though back there on Christmas Eve, she could've sworn he'd managed to pick up on things that she wasn't even trying to impress upon him.
Well, that's alright. She can go with it. Maybe this is better, even. She can just state this one plainly.
"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea. If you knew how to make it, you could have Omurice whenever you want! Give it a shot sometime, I'll happily be your taste-tester~"
Her eyes briefly go to Ren as she says that. She just might be wondering if maybe now they wish that they were invited to this venture that she just encouraged Kurou towards. When asked what her favorite is now, though... her smile fades for a few moments as she mulls that over, before shrugging. "Not sure, really. Can't be too picky these days." As for Kurou's question, regarding what ketchup pattern she finds ideal...
"Well... it's not very original I know, but I like a heart pattern. Simple and cute." Sometimes Niko's motivations don't go any deeper than that. Enjoying things because they're simple and cute.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
He does not see it quite in this moment, but it is already something Kurou feels: he is quite lucky to have found those who know how to see him.
For better or worse, Kurou does seem to be intentionally absorbing Niko's influence. The same could be said of Ren. But Kurou would probably take a queue from Morgana, who he thinks is a literal cat, if he were Kurou's only reference in trying to react to an unfamiliar situation.
"I see." Kurou is learning important things about presents tonight, nodding along with the same focus he has when studying for exams.
He is not learning important things about hints with his strangely calibrated perception. But Niko is laughing and agreeing to try his food, so what could have possibly gone wrong?
"Heart..." Kurou repeats it with the gravity of engraving it into stone. That information could apply to more than omurice. "Then I will remember that." Simple and cute. That is... fitting. It reminds him that Niko had pointed out his need to work on complimenting last time they were together. She's wearing the scarf again... But with all the extra thoughts he's rolling around in his mind, and his general flat affect, it comes out distantly, like it's a stray thought: "Oh. Niko-chan is cute today, too."
It is not a comment he thinks anyone would find necessary to linger on.
"I am not sure of my favorite food, either. Do you have one, Ren?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Niko calls Ren 'Ren-chan' unprompted.
...Yeah, it did have an inevitable vibe, didn't it. As inevitable as Kurou getting influenced by those he's allowed to grow close to him, maybe. He seems to want to be influenced, and that is indeed for good and for ill.
"Nope," they reply blandly, because while this isn't not part of their personality, it is also, as mentioned, a defense mechanism. It's just that they lean into it extra-hard at times like these.
Whoever gets mad first loses the argument. That's something their dad ingrained in them from a very young age, though it's not always been something they can remember in the moment. Stonewalling people who want to get a reaction out of you is often a great way to get a reaction out of them. (Niko is 100% right when she IDs Ren as an outcast.)
Indeed, when she encourages Kurou to make his own omurice so she can taste-test for him, she seems to be looking for their reaction. Ren twiddles their bangs again as they consider this, but tucks their hand back in their pocket when she considers their question in turn. "Why not?" they wonder, though they suspect they can guess.
Strega doesn't seem big on being a part of normal society, if their leader is any representation. It wouldn't surprise Ren to learn that Niko isn't always able to feed herself.
The cute, simple shape of a heart does seem to suit Niko. When Kurou comments on her cuteness, though, Ren looks at him with slightly raised eyebrows. His affect might still be flat, but it's something he went out of his way to say. They don't comment, but it sure does stand out to them.
And that in turn might stand out to Niko.
"Probably curry," they reply of their favorite food. "I eat it nearly every day and I never get sick of it."
It helps that Leblanc's curry is just that good. Speaking of which, as Ren feels Morgana stirring in their bag, they glance over their shoulder a little, then look over towards the station just up ahead. "I should get going soon."
If Morgana's getting cold in there, that'll spoil the good mood he finally got into after dinner.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Not even an objection to uninvited -channing. A point in favor of raised interest, and tacit acceptance of her friendship, then. Works for Niko, looks like she hasn't wasted her time in getting to know this regular person. How unfortunate, that being so capable of stonewalling only attracts people like her, who are all about Getting Away With It.
But she far from always succeeds at doing so. And sometimes, the moments where she doesn't completely blindside her. As it does again now.
Niko makes a sputtering noise, taken entirely out of her stride by Kurou suddenly calling her cute out of nowhere. Maybe she'll figure out his thought pattern later, when she's had a chance to think about what could have brought that on. But in the moment, it feels totally of nowhere. Which makes her reaction to it quite possibly the most honest one she's had all day.
"Wh-where did that come from?!" The way her eyes dart to Ren before she refocuses on Kurou betrays her sudden hyperawareness of another's presence, undoubtedly the reason why she immediately waves her palms in front of her, insisting, "Don't answer that. Just... don't, it's, it's fine, I mean, thank you."
Yup, that is clearly embarrassment. She may dress shamelessly, and have a physique that isn't anything like your average teenage girl, but she isn't immune to the sorts of reactions you'd expect one to have to remarks like that.
Who even cares about favorite foods?? Niko sure doesn't, not now. She's just looking for an excuse to hide her face at this point. Thankfully, Ren serves her that one on a silver platter. "--Ah, shoot, that's right, got a train to catch! Later!"
Obviously the whole and entire reason she's running off so quickly is to avoid missing her ride home. And nothing else. Obviously.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Kurou watches the interaction between Niko and Ren without so much as an extra blink, even at the use of 'Ren-chan'. Everything is definitely Very Normal. Why wouldn't it be? Friends are meeting friends.
"Curry." Another important fact has been learned. Kurou often finds himself struggling for moments when Ren is speaking and he is listening, and that makes the answer here all the more important to remember.
Niko begins sputtering, and Kurou begins to open his mouth to answer where it came from before Niko changes her mind. He promptly shuts him mouth again.
Unfortunately, yes, they do need to go. Ren -- and Morgana -- likely lack whatever fortitude Niko has against the cold. Kurou lacks it, too, but he's trained to endure discomfort without reaction.
"Of course. My apologies, Ren." He turns to Niko and bows. "And to you. I need to --"
Finishing escorting Ren. But Niko is already running off. He raises from his bow and lifts his hand instead in farewell. "... Bye," he offers quietly, much too late.
If she needs to catch a train, then she needs to catch a train. There's nothing more to do or say about that.
Kurou turns to Ren. "Thank you for your patience. I will see you safely to the station."