Naegi fidgeted nervously in his seat. It was a small coffee shop, and strangely quiet given it was three o'clock on a Saturday. He was starting to regret taking Kirigiri up on her offer. Not because he didn't want to go out with her, in fact, he desperately wanted that, but he was starting to doubt himself. What if he messed things up? What if she ended up hating him? Not to mention what Enoshima would do if she found out… He'd not been able to sleep properly last night worrying about that.
His breath caught altogether when she walked in. She was wearing a dark purple jacket, the same colour as her knee length boots along with some black tights and a simple but well fitted white dress. Her hair was in a long thick plait that sat over her left shoulder. In short, she looked gorgeous. And nervous, not obvious to most but Naegi had been secretly admiring her from afar long enough to know she pursed her lips more and would occasionally tuck her hair behind her ears, as she did when she entered, when she was nervous. She noticed him and walked over to his table. Naegi smiled at her as she sat down.
"Hello." She nodded. Naegi's smile dropped. She seemed really stiff.
"Uh, yeah, hi. Thanks for coming. I mean thanks for inviting me; you were the one who invited me." Naegi rambled nervously. He was pleased, however, when he saw her relax and even let out a small chuckle.
"I guess you're just always this anxious." She observed.
"Yeah sorry. I guess I can't help it." Naegi laughed. "We should probably order something. What do you like?"
"I am partial to civet coffee, though I doubt they have that here. It's very expensive, there aren't many cafes that stock it." Kirigiri said. She crossed her arms in front of herself on the table in a calm yet ever so slightly guarded manner. "But any coffee is good I suppose." She looked up at the menu board behind the counter.
"So do you buy this fancy coffee for yourself then?" Naegi asked.
"My grandfather does; he and I always celebrate with a cup when we've successfully solved a case together."
Naegi noticed a soft smile on her face. He was about to ask more but was interrupted by a young waitress, probably a university student.
"Can I take your order?" She asked.
"I'll have a mocha please." Kirigiri said.
"I'll just have a strawberry smoothie…" Naegi said shyly, as though he was embarrassed by what he ordered. Kirigiri actually found it quite cute, not that she'd admit that. "Oh, can we also get a cinnamon bun and a blueberry danish." He added. Kirigiri looked at him in surprise.
"Sure, won't be a moment." The waitress said, bowing politely and excusing herself.
"How did you know I like blueberry danish?" Kirigiri asked. Her tone had shifted ever so slightly, unable to keep some of her surprise hidden.
"Oh," Naegi blushed, "Well, I always see you eating blueberries with your lunch. I-I-I mean just when I pass by your table that is. I don't want you to think I watch you all the time like a creep. It's just the things I notice in passing… I-I mean… Yeah…" He trailed off, blushing awkwardly. Kirigiri giggled a little, then caught herself. She didn't understand what it was about Naegi that made her guard keep dropping. Perhaps his complete and utter naivety? Overall nervousness? How much he seemed to like her? It was rare for her to be uncertain about something. Things in her life, from cases to school even to family and friends, always seemed simple but Naegi was different.
"I know you're not a stalker." She said.
"Ah! Right, good, that's good." He said, laughing sheepishly.
The two were saved from any more awkwardness by the arrival of their drinks. The mocha was in a tall thin glass with whipped cream and a dusting of chocolate powder on top. The strawberry smoothie was in a much thicker glass and came with a thick paper straw. The pastries were lovely and crisp, the glaze shining enticingly on the cinnamon bun and the blueberry jelly dripping off the danish onto the plate. The cafe had even been good enough to warm them up. Naegi couldn't help but moan as he took a bite. It was so sweet and warm and moist.
"So what did you mean when you said you and your grandfather work on cases?" Naegi asked.
"Well, my grandfather runs the Kirigiri detective agency. My family have actually been detectives for many generations and my grandfather allows me to help out of some of his cases now and then to improve my skills. I must take on my family's legacy someday." She said. Naegi could see the determination shining in her eyes and couldn't help but admire her that much more.
"Is that what you want to do? Be a detective."
Kirigiri nodded. "I've always enjoyed the thrill of solving mysteries, and I'm proud of my family's legacy."
"That's awesome." Naegi said, grinning. "You know I really like mysteries too." He waves his hands in front of his face. "Not that I've ever solved any real cases. I just enjoy working things out in mystery novels. So I'm no where near as impressive as you." He smiled shyly.
Kirigiri shook her head with a fond smile. "That's not true at all. You're by far one of the most observant people I've ever met. That's pretty impressive."
Naegi blushed heavily. "T-Thanks." He took a bite of his cinnamon bun. It was almost half gone now and Kirigiri had already finished her danish.
"Do you have a favourite mystery book?" Kirigiri asked.
"Um, well, I've never thought about it before. But I guess one I reread a lot is Beast in the Shadows."
Kirigiri looked surprised by this answer. "That's quite the dark novel. I've read it myself of course, it deals with a lot of serious issues as I recall."
"That's why I like it." Said Naegi. "A lot of modern mystery stories can be very cheesy. I like the reality of the classics." He blushed. "Sorry, that sounds kind of silly doesn't it?"
"Not at all." Kirigiri said, still looking stunned. "In fact I agree with you. I prefer more real stories as well. Perhaps it's because I've worked on real cases myself. I understand most real life mysteries are dark and can often be horrific and confronting." She paused. "Strange to have these kind of experiences as a teenager I suppose. I should be doing stuff like this, going on dates and hanging out with friends more often shouldn't I?"
Naegi shook his head frantically. "No, no. I think you should be yourself. If solving mysteries is what you want to do then do it." He looked down and scratched his cheek nervously. "Besides, I think you're really cool, you know."
Kirigiri felt her cheeks heat up. Once again Naegi had managed to break through her walls. What is it about him? At first glance he was just another average guy. But then, at first glance she was a smart, beautiful mysterious person. Naegi, however, seemed to notice all the other little things about her most people missed. Perhaps he was the same. Perhaps he too had many sides to him that other people didn't take the time to realise.
"Hey, Kirigiri." Naegi said, attracting her attention. "Since we've finished our drinks, would you like to go for a walk, there's a really nice park near here."
"Yes, I'd like that."
The two thanked the nice waitress who served them and exited the cafe. Naegi lead Kirigiri down the street till they came to a knee-high fence leading onto a lovely small park. It had a little trail through some trees and a playground for children. Naegi rushed ahead and held open the small gate for Kirigiri. She chuckled and walked through.
"You're quite the gentleman." She teased. Naturally Naegi went with his tradition response of blushing and stuttering.
"Well, I- I- just, want to be polite. Not that I don't think you're capable of doing things yourself, i-if anything you're more capable than me. You're certainly more amazing and skilled and smart than I am— Uh…" Naegi trailed off nervously. Kirigiri laughed again making his blush deepen. She smiled fondly at him.
"I know, you definitely don't seem like the sexist type."
Naegi laughed nervously and the two began to stroll through the park together.
"I have to ask though…" Kirigiri said. "Why would you be attracted to me given there are objectively much better looking girls at our school like Enoshima or Maizono or Nevermind."
"Well if mystery stories have taught me anything it's that looks aren't everything." Naegi said. They both laughed. Naegi smiled softly. "I think I fell in love with you because you're kind of a mystery you know?" Kirigiri looked at him in fascination as he spoke. "Everyone at school knows you don't like to talk about your personal life at all and whenever anyone tries to get close to you, you don't let them. I had been interested in being friends with you since that first day we met because I enjoyed talking to you but when I realised you were so popular I guess I became a little intimidated. So instead I watched you from afar— Ah! Not is a creepy way, I just mean—" Naegi stumbled over his words, desperate for Kirigiri not to get the wrong idea.
"I understand." Kirigiri nodded. She smiled at him and Naegi felt his nerves ease.
"The more I watched you the more I noticed the subtle ways you show your feelings. The more I learned about you the more I liked you. Everything I learn about you makes you more wonderful to me." Naegi looked up at the sky with a large grin on his face. Kirigiri blushed heavily at his words. She'd never met anyone before who felt about her the way Naegi did. It was nice. He was nice. Friendly and optimistic. His awkwardness was very cute. The two walked the little park trail back to the entrance and suddenly noticed how low the sun had gotten in the sky. It looked beautiful over the horizon and covered the whole park in a soft orange glow. The length of the shadows of the trees and the playground's slide and swings were just over double their height.
"I suppose we should be getting home then." Naegi said. "Can I walk you to the bus stop?"
Kirigiri nodded. Along the way the two decided to discuss their classwork and discovered they both thought the ending of the romance novel they read in their English class last semester had a less than satisfying ending.
"Tell me Naegi," Kirigiri said as they waited for her bus, "do you prefer sad endings or happy endings."
"Well, I think for me it depends what the best ending for the story is." Naegi answered honestly. "But then, happy endings do often leave me with a nicer feeling I suppose."
They smiled at each other. The tell-tale hiss of a bus stopping to allow people on and off alerted them both to the fact that this date was over. Kirigiri hopped on the bus and paid for her ticket. She then turned back to Naegi quickly.
"I had a good time today, thank you." Kirigiri said.
"Yeah me too. I hope we can do this again maybe? If you want to?" Naegi said nervously. Kirigiri smiled and nodded easing his nerves. He smiled back and waved as the bus pulled away. He continued to stand and watch until the bus had turned a corner and was completely out of sight. He sighed dreamily. Today was probably one of the best days of his life. Certainly the best day he'd had for a while. He walked home under the sunset feeling cloud nine level happy.
When she returned home, Kirigiri still had a smile on her face. She'd never been on a date before. Romance wasn't a big priority for her. Today, however, had actually been a lot of fun. She and Naegi had a lot in common. He was fun to be around and his personality was so endearing.
She could smell her dad cooking in the kitchen and decided to retreat to her room to finish some homework before dinner.
Her room was nothing special. In fact most of the decorating had been done by her father. He had the room painted a soft lilac colour to match her hair and got her a white double bed with a matching white desk. She had a few photos of her family on her walls and desk. The only things in her room that were really hers were the shelves of books on the left wall of the room just above her bed.
She pulled out her laptop and set it down on her desk. She sat down and started the computer up. She opened the documents she'd been working on for her history class when a notification suddenly popped up on her screen. It was from her social media page. She opened up the internet and went to the site to see she had a private message. Her heart plummeted right down into her stomach, making her feel sick, when she saw who it was from. The Ultimate Despair herself, Junko Enoshima. The message simply read: "how did it go?"
Kirigiri stood up abruptly from her desk and resisted the urge to throw the laptop across the room. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself then sat back down again. She couldn't bring herself to reply though. She just stared at the screen for what felt like forever, unable to move for the guilt she was feeling. She'd had such a lovely time with Naegi; he was such a nice guy and she'd only gone out with him as part of some sick game to break his heart. She knew she had to stop now before things went too far. She couldn't hurt Naegi like that. But the very thought of standing up to Enoshima terrified her. She hated to admit it but even she was scared of her. She threw her head onto the desk and covered herself with her arms in frustration. What in the world was she going to do?