chap. 8 kyoko/korekiyo
kyoko meets and interesting stranger at the cafe
Makoto told her that she should make more friends. But, frankly, after she finishes her shifts and goes out for a drink of calming tea or coffee, socializing is the last thing on her mind.
The sun is almost set- but since it's winter, that barely means anything. The sun sets far too early around this time of the year. Whatever light there is in the sky is covered in gray clouds, causing an atmosphere to wash over the town that is only pleasant if you like the cold.
In the cafe Kyoko rests in, it's almost even darker than the gloomy outside. Some would say it's poorly lit, but she has to admit it's relaxing. The perfect place to sit quietly, read a book, and drink some tea without worrying about the weather or any other disturbances.
By the looks of it, it seems that the only other person in this place besides the detective has come here to do just that. A mysterious, almost wholly covered stranger sits in the corner reading a book peacefully. Truthfully, Kyoko has no intention of disturbing them, neither does she really care to, but a little voice inside of her head that sounds suspiciously similar to her ahoge wielding friend urges her to converse. To socialize. You need more than one friend, Kyoko. You've been working for almost twelve hours with only cold claims to potential criminals, blunt confirmations to fellow coworkers, and mildly reassuring promises to victimis. You need something more fun. That isn't detective work related.
She's not sure she's awake enough for something fun. She finds what most people deem fun quite irritating.
The stranger is reading a book about serial killers, it seems. If she's seeing the title correctly from her place in her solo table. All she can manage to spot are the words psychology and murder, and a bunch of smaller text she can't make out.
Even outside of work, she's drawn to what she's already used to, apparently. Probably isn't the most soothing fact that that's what she's "drawn to". She should just approach them already and get this over with. If it's awkward or a waste of her time, she'll simply leave.
"Are you interested in serial killers?" is what she settles on saying first, when she moves from her seat to stand above the other. Not the best way to break the ice, but it's the only thing she's interested in talking about at the moment. If this person cannot handle it, that's their problem.
Speaking of, the stranger blinks up at her, face partly hidden by the unique mask covering the lower part of it, but she can still recognize slight surprise in their golden eyes. "Pardon?"
"Your book."
Looking down at the mentioned book, the stranger hums. Kyoko is just glad she doesn't need to explain herself a loathsome amount of times (she adores Makoto, really, but he is almost obnoxiously dense). "Ah, I suppose… recently I have taken an interest. Would you like to take a seat?" the man asks, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the smallish round table.
Mostly for the sake of being able to put down her coffee mug, Kyoko does just that. "So what sparked it?" she absentmindedly ponders, "Your interest, I mean."
There's an exciting glint in the stranger's almond eyes, as if he was anticipating her asking that very question. It was a little eerie, but nothing the detective couldn't handle. It was quite intriguing, frankly. "Well you see," they go on to explain, "Not a relatively long while ago I had been falsely speculated as the culprit of one of my sister's old friend's murder. As I have been fairly close to him before his… sudden demise."
"I'm sorry."
"Do not apologize," he murmurs, gently fiddling with a pendant clipped to his jacket's pocket. "We haven't spoken recently, ever since my sister's passing."
Well this is just derailing oh so very quickly. Maybe that's what she gets for jumping onto the opportunity to speak about murder with someone she hadn't even met. Though to be fair this man isn't particularly shy himself about the subject. She should steer the conversation from the actual death part of a case like this, "Ah… Have they found who the culprit is, at least?"
Turning back to her, Kyoko is relieved to find that this other person does not seem irritated by her curiosity, sharp but not cruel eyes boring into her as they answer, "They have linked the culprit to a certain serial killer that has been making the rounds lately, though they haven't identified them. I still found the whole ordeal stressful, with a past somewhat-friend's death, and being interrogated as a prime suspect… They say the murderer is a Genocide Jack copycat, similarly targeting men for whatever reason. Quite interesting, isn't it?"
"I can't imagine being in that situation to be pleasant." Not knowing what to say to this person, Kyoko blurts what she knows best… Criminal related facts. "They've actually started calling the original 'Genocide Jill', by the way, as she was found to be a woman…"
"Is that so?" he hums, gazing back at his book with one wrapped hand grabbing at his own mug's handle. "I believe Genocide… Jill is talked upon in a chapter I haven't reached yet." he looks at her. "Would you like to take a look?"
Kyoko briefly glances at the book. While it's true that Kyoko is interested in criminology, she tends to focus more on capturing the culprits, rather than understanding them. "No."
"I understand." And with that he goes back to reading without a word. She would find it odd how abruptly conversation ends, but it's a trend she tends to do herself, so she doesn't truly mind. Surprisingly, Kyoko thinks that this conversation was not all too bad, even though it was painfully clear neither of them were any good in normal socializing. She was lucky to stumble across someone who was interested in the same things as her, even if she did find him odd in some of the things he said.
But even if the conversation was pleasant, she's glad they can sit in silence instead. The rest of their shared time in this space is spent quietly like so. The unnamed stranger reads from his book and Kyoko decompresses after her long day at work from the early hours of night to midday.
When they leave, the man ponders if they'll meet again. Kyoko just nods. It's not a coherent invitation, and it's not a valid response from her part, but Kyoko understands what he says, and he understands what she means. They depart, and on her way home Kyoko wonders whether Makoto will be disappointed or proud with whatever progression this has been on her outside-of-work life.