Despite Tiffany saying that she was alright, Kurumi still took a small step back to give the lioness a quick glance over. You know, just to be entirely sure. Tiffany had always been one of her favorite little lions - although Kurumi really did have a lot and there were really none that she disliked. Nope, not even those first years that had caused all sorts of chaos on the platform. "Good, I'm glad." Cue a few light pats on her shoulder for good measure. "I dislike portkeys myself. Had to use one this summer to visit Lewis though." Which had been embarrassing since she had landed not-so-gracefully.

"I'm alright," Kurumi nodded reassuringly. Granted she had been more concerned about everyone else at the time and hadn't really noticed her own minor head injuries. The ringing had stopped, so that was good enough for her. "Glad they can help. The cookies I mean," Kurumi smiled, deciding to take a seat beside the girl now. "How have you been otherwise? I feel like it has been way too long since we last really got to speak."
Kurumi nodded and giggled softly. Yeah...overwhelmed was a pretty good word to use to describe today. Merlin. "My summer was fantastic, actually," she chirped, brushed her bangs to the side. "I spent the first part back home in Japan, which went better than I thought it would." Namely her mother's one year funeral rites and finding that her spirit truly was at peace. "Treyen visited for a bit, which was nice...and then I spent the rest of the summer in Nebraska with..." Cue intense blush on the seventh year's cheeks. "...with Lewis and his family." Which had been one incredible experience after another. "You?"

Kurumi blushed a bit more and fumbled with some of her hair when Ari spoke again. Tasted like home... "That...is probably the best compliment anyone could give me about my baking," she managed to squeak out. It was actually all Kurumi wanted to do with her baking, provide comfort to people. Warmth.

Ari's silence with their discussion of the train only caused Kurumi to furrow her brow a little more. She wished she had an answer for her, really, because Kurumi was very curious herself. "Maybe there will be something in the Daily Prophet?" Not that Kurumi really trusted the Daily Prophet all the time...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand more blushing. "I-I-It isn't very....common," she admitted, shifting her gaze towards the table and poking at a fork with her finger.

And then her heart sunk just a little. While the thought had always been in the back of Kurumi's mind, never leaving and always lingering, hearing others actually say the words out loud made it all seem real. That she couldn't go on pretending like it wasn't true. Denial. Yeah, she couldn't be in denial about the fact that she was a seventh year and this...this was it. "Yeah...." Was really all she could manage to say on the matter.

Chewing on her lip for a few moments, Kurumi brought herself back into their conversation...sort of. "Herbology is pretty interesting, creatures are more my field of interest though."

Kurumi was suddenly glad that Paulie wasn't around to poke her cheeks and bring to her attention that she was blushing ALL THE TIME. "T-T-Thanks, Tag." Maybe she could charm her face so she didn't blush so much?

"Oh...I'm not too familiar with foreign comic books. Someone had to explain Captain America to me last term," she said with a slow nod. "But...um...don't you find spiders sort of....terrifying?" Kurumi did. BIG time.

"Yes and no," Kurumi said in response to Dylan's cookie question. "I actually bake cookies every opening and closing feast. I've done so since I was a first year, for the staff as well," she explained as she patted a box on the bench beside her. "Once Headmistress Truebridge gives her speech I'm going to go up to the dias." Not before. Kurumi had learned that her first year, although it had been Headmaster Tate at the time. Who she was missing already. "Baking is something I just love to do. I know the kitchen as well as I do the common room."

Probably better, now that she got to thinking about things properly.

"That isn't normal, I promise," Kurumi said with a nervous laugh. At least she hoped it wouldn't be a common occurrence...new Headmistress and all...you just never knew. "I'm Kurumi, by the way." Seeing as in all the chaos they had never really introduced themselves on the platform.
Anya Phillips. Always the ray of sunshine that was needed to lighten a mood. Well, most of the time at least. Kurumi HAD seen the Gryffindor looking down before, but she always bounced back. Anya was like the human form of rubber.

"In one piece at least," she nodded before cocking her head to the side slightly. "How does....what feel?"

Kurumi and Alice could probably go back and forth for a while on who did more, but that wasn't really important. The important thing was that Alice was alright - minus the injury and all - and that she had made it to the feast. "I am sure you will be back to normal soon," she nodded. Kurumi certainly knew what it was like to not want added attention. Ironic considering she had been a prefect since her fourth year...but Kurumi disliked the limelight. "Try to think of all that attention as people showing you how concerned they are about you. Shows you have a lot of friends here."

Kurumi's smile widened a bit more when Alice said Walnut had been good. THANK MERLIN. Which meant he hadn't peed on anyone which meant she didn't have to go and apologize to anyone. "That they are....but I get the feeling this term will always be busy," she said, eyeing the staff table again.

More blushing. Always blushing. Blushes. Yeah, Kurumi really needed to look into charms for her face...the blushing was getting a bit extreme. What was she going to be like at the END of the term when congratulations on graduating were going to be all she heard?! "T-Thank you, Alexa. My mother taught me how to bake. Father says I have been baking ever since I could stand...maybe even before." Which wasn't logically possible, but she let her father think that that was true. There really was no reasoning with him when it came to such things anyway.

Kurumi could sense that this first year was holding something back. What that something was was a mystery to her, but Kurumi ventured a guess that it had something to do with the sorting itself. "When I was first sorted into Gryffindor, I was sure the hat had made a mistake," she said softly, eyeing the line of students still waiting to be sorted. "I was quiet, stuttered, afraid of opening up to people, kept to books mostly...I was sure I was going to be sorted into Ravenclaw, like one of my brothers had been." The one that she was told she was most a like actually. "The Sorting Hat surprised me though...but I am glad I did. It brought out the best in me and I have Gryffindor house to thank for that."

So, if Alexa was feeling a little uneasy, well, it was perfectly normal. Expected even.

Oh yeah, that slight Selina inspired smirk? It was back now.