Naegi desperately hoped tonight would go well. As he'd said before, his optimism was one of the only things he had going for him, but for the sake of his evening, he'd better have at least something else. He looked at himself in the mirror. It was just a trip to the movies, but he looked like a mess. He tried to deal with his aggressively fluffy hair and examined his outfit. Rumpled button-up, wrinkled jeans, it looked like he was barely even trying. Which was decidedly untrue. Naegi would have dressed better, he just didn't have any better clothes.

He ran through his options. First, take Kirigiri to the movies just the way he was, and run the risk of his first romantic pursuit being marred by his presentation. Obviously not ideal. But his only other idea was to go find someone else he could get some help, and maybe a better shirt, from. He checked his phone. 6:30 pm. The movie started at 7, and he was supposed to meet Kirigiri at 6:45. Who knows, he thought to himself, maybe my Ultimate Luck will trigger, and she won't notice what a mess I am. Then he dismissed the thought. Nah, I'd have to have Komaeda-level luck, and… I'd rather not think about that.

But he figured he had to at least do something. He stepped out of his dorm, and into the hallway. Since they had started taking classes at the new building, they'd gotten their own building for dorms. It was a nice building, even if it meant they had to actually go to a different location for their classes. He scanned the halls. Please, anyone come by! Fortunately for Naegi, just as he was beginning to lose hope, Hajime Hinata came out of the stairwell.

"Hey, Naegi. You look pretty stressed." Hinata said. "What's on your mind?"

Naegi took a deep breath, and tried to explain. "I'm going on a date tonight, and I look like a mess. Can you help?"

"Of course. Here you go." Hinata fished around in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a tie. "Ties usually help. I always keep a spare on hand."

"Always?" Naegi raised an eyebrow as he struggled with the tie.

"One doesn't become the Ultimate High School Level Reserve Course Student being unprepared." He rolled his eyes. "Though I can't help but cringe at the Ultimate title they gave me."

"At least that kind of qualifies as a talent. I'm Ultimate luck. Come on." Naegi responded.

"Hey, you've met Komaeda. It can be scary."

"Fair enough."

Hinata gave a sly grin. "So, who's the lucky girl you're going with?"

Naegi sighed at the pun. "Kirigiri. I asked her out the other day, and she said yes. We're going to the movies."

"That's a classic first date idea. Frankly, I thought I'd passed that stage with Nanami, but they just released an adaptation of one of her favourite games. So it's off to the movies tonight for me, too."

"You almost say that like it's a burden."

"It's not really. I'm just not that big of a movies guy. Like, I enjoy them more at home, with a comfortable couch, and being to pause and stuff, you know? And I've got a ton of homework… Whatever. It'll get done when it gets done." He shrugged. "I never go by myself, but Nanami always makes it nicer." He checked his phone. His eyes widened. "Crap! I'm late! She probably fell asleep waiting for me! Bye Naegi!" He dashed off to the exit.

"Ah, crap!" Naegi checked his phone. He had a minute or two to get to Kirigiri's dorm. The girls got a separate wing, but if he ran he could make it. But he could never tell when Ishimaru was watching, so he just power-walked through the halls to Kirigiri's room.

Kirigiri was waiting outside her dorm when he got there. She was wearing her usual outfit, with the notable addition of a slight smirk on her face. "Just on time, Naegi. If only you could manage that for class."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm usually on time!"

"I'm afraid the evidence isn't quite on your side on that one, Naegi." She gave a more genuine smile. "Now, let's get going. The movie will start soon."

"We've got time. The movie theater is only a little bit away from the dorms." Hope's Peak Academy was divided into four main sections. The North section held the old building. The East and West sections housed the Main and Reserve courses, respectively. The South section kept the dormitories, and a community area. Given the volume of students and alumni around Hope's Peak, there was a mall with a cinema inside.

"We should still get going. Wouldn't want to miss any detail." Kirigiri talked about the movie almost like it was a puzzle to be solved. And it was, in a way. Naegi knew Kirigiri's talent, so he figured he'd be safe choosing the new movie adaptation of Case Closed.

"Sure, let's go." He said. He went to take her hand, but she had them clasped behind her back. Guess she's not too touchy-feely on the first go-around. He tried to play it off as though he hadn't tried and failed to hold her hand, but she was the Ultimate Detective. She knew. So they just started walking.

They were only a few feet outside of the dorm building when Chiaki Nanami barreled past them, with Hinata in tow. She ran like a woman possessed. "Hinata, why didn't you wake me up earlier? The movie's going to start soon, we've already probably missed some trailers!" As she ran, pulling her date, it was almost as though Hinata was not even contacting the ground.

"Chiaki, slow down! I'm going to get hurt!"

"Not as much as it's going to hurt me when I miss the trailers for the new adaptation from Nantendo! Get a move on, you're the Ultimate Reserve Course Student, not Ultimate Slowpoke!" And she got even faster.

"Are we going to be late too, Naegi?" Kirigiri asked.

"I don't think so, their movie starts before ours." Naegi thought it over. "But we could go a bit faster." And so they developed a brisker pace, and were at the cinema before long.

Once they were inside, they saw how long the popcorn line was. "I wouldn't have thought such a small theater could have such a long line for popcorn." Kirigiri said.

"You head into the movie. I know you don't want to miss anything. I'll get the popcorn, you can catch me up when I get in." Naegi said.

"You're such a gentleman, Naegi." Kirigiri said with a smile, and went off to the movie. Naegi was left alone to face the monstrous line of people, hungrily waiting for their salty snacks. He had resigned himself to a boring wait in the line when Toko Fukawa stormed past him.

"Fukawa, are you alright?" He called out.

"Do I look alright, Naegi? I swear, the movie industry is full of liars!" Fukawa bit her thumbnail and glared at the rooms the movies were being played in.

"Hold on, what's the matter, Fukawa?"

"Those sleazebags in the movie industry made a mockery of my novel, that's the matter!" She tried to take a deep breath, but interrupted herself with more words. "I mean honestly, Naegi, when a novel is adapted to the screen, you expect, oh, what's the word again? Oh, yes, accuracy! But no, there they go, buying the rights to my novel, and not even allowing me to consult on the making of the movie! It's a disgrace, I'll send them a strongly worded letter after I get home." Then she stopped talking for a little bit.

"Hey, if you're so mad… why are you still at the theater?"

"Can you resist the buttery temptation popcorn provides? And God knows I deserve something for sitting through that tripe." Her eyes lit up. "Maybe master Togami can sue the company that made it! That would make the whole world better… Ah, Togami…" She began to drool.

"You know, maybe there's an upside to this." Naegi said.

"You and your sickening optimism… you don't know the pain of having a bigwig director bastardize your prized works!"

"Yeah, but think of this. If people go to see the movie because they read your book, then they'll look back at the original book and talk about why it was so much better than the movie. And if people see the movie without having read the book, then they'll look to the book next, to see how good it is. So I think there is a positive side to this, even if it's tough to see." Naegi smiled.

"Bah, you're just trying to use your disgusting optimism to seduce me. But I won't be fooled. Master Togami is the only one that gets me, no one else! Understand?"

"Of course, Fukawa. But can I at least pay for your popcorn? You've been through enough trauma tonight."

"Like I could possibly turn down free popcorn…" Fukawa sulked. "Of course I'll take your offer, but your perverted advances have not succeeded, cretin!"

"I just want to cheer you up. Go after Togami all you like." Naegi said. The line gradually dwindled, and the two of them got to the front. He ordered two large popcorns, one for Fukawa (she needed a large) and one to share with Kirigiri. They said their goodbyes, and Naegi hurried off to the showing room where his date was.

Naegi squinted to see in the dark theater. Eventually he noticed Kirigiri's lavender hair in one of the aisles, and sat next to her. Fortunately, she sat close to the end, with one empty seat right at the edge, so he could sit without bothering the other patrons too much. "So, have I missed much?" He whispered to her.

"No." She said, eyes riveted to the projection.

"Can you catch me up?"

"Sure. The butler did it. Now stop talking."

Naegi obliged. He hadn't expected Kirigiri to be the type to enjoy conversation during movies. Frankly, he wasn't either. He really wanted to know how Kirigiri had figured out the mystery in the first five minutes of the show, but hey. That's the Ultimate High School Level Detective for you.

The movie was quite good. The mystery was fascinating to unravel, and with Kirigiri's hint from the beginning, Naegi managed to put together the answer of how and why the murder occurred a minute or two before the reveal. There were also moments of tremendous tension. One of Naegi's motives behind the idea of a movie date was the idea that it would get too scary and Kirigiri would have to cuddle to him for comfort. It didn't strike him until three quarters of the way through the movie how silly that idea was. Kirigiri didn't scare easily. In fact, after one particularly scary moment with a masked gunman behind a locked door, Kirigiri found it was her duty to ruffle Naegi's hair and remind him that "Everything's okay, it's just a movie, Naegi." All in all, it was a great time.

On the walk back, there was an awkward silence. Well, it was only really awkward for Naegi. He knew how totally okay with long silences Kirigiri was. But, the date was nearing its conclusion, so Naegi figured he should probably get as much interaction as he could out of it.

"So how did you like the movie, Kirigiri?"

"It was good. I knew who did it right from the start, but it was interesting to see the detective's thought process. We picked up on different details, and I almost second-guessed myself a couple times. Almost."

"Yeah… wasn't quite the same for me." Naegi admitted. "Even with your hint at the beginning, I had a bit of a tough time following along. I got it at the end though. I really liked the relationship forming between the two main detectives. It was kind of a nice brain break to just see those two getting to like each other."

"It was time spent they could have spent on the case. Very unprofessional. I like my mystery movies to be about the mystery. The detectives can get romantic after they've put the criminal behind bars."

Naegi seized the opportunity. "Good thing the criminal's behind bars now." He took her hand in his. She tensed up for a moment, then looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Then the silence from before continued, but it didn't feel awkward to Naegi this time. They were comfortable enough with each other to be able to stay silent, and be able to enjoy the silence. Being near was enough then.

Eventually, they got to Kirigiri's dorm room. "Thanks so much for coming, Kirigiri. I had a great time, and I hope you did too."

"Yeah, that was enjoyable, Naegi."

"Thanks… but I mean, you probably wouldn't want to go out again, would you? I mean, it was nice, and I'm glad we went, but…"

"But what Naegi?"

"Part of you agreeing to come was just out of pity, wasn't it? I mean, it'd just be cruel to say no after that lame confession I gave you…"

Kirigiri pointed at Naegi. "You've got that wrong!" She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "We should go again sometime, Naegi." She smiled, and went into her dorm.

Naegi was left outside, rubbing his cheek. Man… I guess I am pretty lucky!