Kurumi

Kurumi (クルミ) also known by her hacker alias, Walnut is one of the main characters in the Lycoris Recoil series.

Appearance
Kurumi is a short, young girl with long blonde hair that she usually ties back with a black ribbon. She has blue eyes and most commonly wears an oversized white and yellow hoodie with the Walnut avatar.

Profile
A young runaway girl of unknown origins who loves all kinds of games. She’s a terrible employee who reluctantly works in exchange for lodging. She only looks forward to gaming parties with the café’s regulars come closing time.

History
Kurumi ran away from home at a young age, and as such her origins are unknown.

She operates as a prolific hacker under the alias Walnut. It can be assumed she has gained many enemies, with Kusonoki's assistant stating that "he has died multiple times in the past 30 years". Due to Kurumi's young appearance, this could also imply that Walnut is a title she inherited, and was previously held by another.

Story
Kurumi, working as Walnut, is contracted by Shinji Yoshimatsu to hack the DA, targeting their Radiata system in the process and extracting large amount of intelligence. After completing the job, Kurumi's questioning of Yoshimatsu and the Alan Institute's motives lead to the destruction of her condo and attempted assassination. Her assumed whereabouts are disclosed by a rival hacker, Robota, who aims to dethrone her as the best hacker in Japan.

Under her Walnut alias, Kurumi contracts LycoReco to assist her. Chisato and Takina are tasked with escorting Walnut, donning a full squirrel costume to preserve anonymity. En route to the airport, the group's car is remotely hijacked by Robota as they are pursued by a group of armed mercenaries. Taking refuge in an abandoned store, the group is ambushed and forced to engage their pursuers, which ultimately results in Walnut's supposed assassination.

After being collected by an ambulance, it is revealed to Chisato and Takina that the person wearing the costume was not Walnut, but in fact Mizuki. The squirrel suit, equipped with bullet-proofing and fake blood, was used to fake Walnut's death to Yoshimatsu and Robota. The real Walnut - Kurumi, emerges from the yellow suitcase Mizuki had been carrying with her.

Kurumi is provided refuge at LycoReco in exchange for work, where she initially reveals her name to be 'Kurumi', another assumed alias. She spends most of her free time on her computer, inside one of the Café's closets. She often looks forwards to gaming parties with the café's regulars, despite being a reluctant worker.

When requested, Kurumi lends her technical expertise on missions undertaken by the LycoReco team. Notably, she successfully upscales the photo provided by Saori Shinohara, which helps LycoReco identify the actual time and participants of the arms deal Takina and Fuki were meant to prevent. While escorting Matsuhita and thwarting Jin, she takes a more involved role, acting as a form of mission control.

Etymology

 * The name Kurumi is written in katakana (クルミ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (胡桃), it could possibly mean "walnut".