Chapter Text
Makoto was inside LeBlanc, enjoying her coffee, while waiting for a text message from Ren, whom she was actually waiting for to arrive, so that they can go and have a good time together... then she saw a message in the chat, saying:
Ren: I am really sorry, Makoto. Something important came up at work. One of my colleagues actually fell out for the day and I have to jump in for them. Or my boss will kill me. I really despise doing that, but I am afraid, we will have to skip this today, Mako. I am sorry. I promise, I will make it up to you, somehow, later down the line. See you around.
When she read that, Mako's heart sank and though she was neither angry or sad, she was just really disappointed. She knew, this job as a private investigator meant a lot for him, however, she couldn't help but feel mildly betrayed here. They planned this and he wasn't able to keep it. She knows, he is really busy, but a little time with him alone, could never hurt, as Mako was on the less emotionally stable spectrum, always seeking someone to listen to her venting, desiring not that much in the first place.
She let him know, "it's fine, we can just catch back up on that at a later time, hope you are having a good time, see you", but once she was done, she sighed, before saying:
"Ren, what the hell? I know you are generally tough to get a hold of, but sheesh, is this too much to ask for? Sacrificing a few minutes of your time to spend some time with me? Is that REALLY too much? *sigh* I never quite realized it until now, but, aside from Haru... I am mostly all on my own. Is it just me, or-- ugh, whatever. Will at least ONE person be able to lend me an ear? Just ONE?"
As if right on cue, the door suddenly opened and one really familiar came in: Ryuji Sakamoto. Who was looking quite grumpy, as he held a letter in his hands, which he gripped quite tightly, as he exclaimed:
"Screw school, man! Just screw it! I did all-nighters the whole week and still, I flunked these stupid tests! This is ridiculous!"
Which immediately drew Mako's attention, as she giggled, watching Ryuji come in and only noticing her quite late.
"Oh! Makoto! Umm, heh, hello there! Haven't seen you around in a while!"
Admittedly, she felt mildly overjoyed in seeing some familiar faces again and Ryuji's grumpiness mildly brightened her mood, as she knew: Some things never change, do they? She greeted him with a warm smile.
"Good evening, Ryuji. How are you doing?"
"Yeah, well, not in the best of moods, I can tell you this much... check this out."
He showed her the letter he was holding and when she opened it to read it... she began giggling, while also being shocked at what she read:
"So you basically failed all of your classes and you have to start from scratch, all over again, in order to graduate, which will be in a year's time... ouch..."
"And this isn't even the worst of it, Makoto. Look, I am lazy and a slacker, I will proudly admit this, but believe me when I say: I really tried this time. I really did. I did all-nighters this time around, screw games, screw manga, I really wanted these tests to be over and done with and yet... this letter is definitive proof: I am a failure at freaking LIFE. Not even studying can save me from eternal damnation with these accursed exams."
Makoto comically began hanging her head, while breathing out, feeling already mentally exhausted, even though, it wasn't her to fail. And yet still, she felt his pain, as though, she participated in the exams.
"I really don't want to be in your shoes right now..."
"You can say that again..."
As Ryuji leaned back to look at the ceiling, looking really worn out and kind of desperate, he began speaking in a frustrated tone:
"This is just maddening, I learned like crazy this time and I still failed all of my missing exams. How big of a loser does one need to be, in order to flunk tests once and even a second time? What exactly was I doing wrong?"
Makoto, being the really selfless and benevolent person that she is, she thought for a moment in total silence, before she began looking at Ryuji as though, she just got an idea.
"Ryuji... would you mind giving me your notes?"
He was puzzled to hear that and for a second, he didn't know how to respond to that.
"Say what?"
"Your notes. The ones you wrote for yourself and the exams. Mind showing them to me?"
"Pardon my ignorance, but... what good will that do?"
"It's a commonly known fact: Your grades may actually be defined by the way you are learning and how you try to remember the subjects, while you are on your own. Certain students have different methods on how to remember the subjects. They may be the Verbal, the Audible or the Visual type."
Ryuji grew interested. He wanted to know more. So he asked in a really interested tone.
"What do you mean?"
"The Verbal type, is the person that has an easier time, memorizing the subjects via self-monologue, meaning in a nutshell, you are essentially talking out loud to yourself, reading the subject out loud, in order to remember, how the subject goes down. The Audible type, is the means with how the student remembers every corner of the subject at hand via audio visualization, in short, listening to someone read the subject out loud to you, while you memorize through your ears. And lastly, the Visual type. This simply means in short: The student remembers the facts easier, through visual cues, maybe by looking at pictures, reading the text and getting a marker to memorize the important bits or via video recording."
"Huh. But how do you want to declare which type I am?"
"We'll get to that. But for that, I need your notes. Do you have them with you?"
"Oh, right! Wait a sec..."
He began digging into his bag, which was positioned right behind him and he grabbed out a big notebook, which he handed over to Mako, looking a tiny bit nervous.
"Here you go."
And after reading through them, after 15 minutes, she put it down and looked quite horrified.
"Ryuji... mind explaining this to me?"
"Huh?"
The former student council president turned over the notebook to show the content inside, which was... messily put together. And saying that would be quite generous. Ryuji's notes, were all over the place. Sometimes, even getting mixed up in all the other subjects unrelated to one another and it spiraled down into a rabbit hole of incoherent chaos. Nothing made sense in tyriads, it's like, a child has scribbled all over the notes.
"I really hate to say this, but... now I am starting to understand, as to why you failed the tests. With notes this messy and all over the place, it's no wonder to me now. If we really want a solid start, we have to start, right at the beginning."
"I never really paid attention to this, to be frank with you. Older tests, I could manage those, even with my writing being messy, why is it not working now?"
"That's because the earliest exams weren't that complex or deep-rooted. If you really want to make it further, you NEED to be more organized. I mean it. This will never do."
"Alright... now I know... so..."
He comically grabbed both of her hands, looking at her with huge puppy eyes, begging for help.
"You really are my salvation, y'know! Would you please help me in getting these exams over and done with? I swear to god, once we are done with this, I will owe you big time! Any ramen from now on will be on my expense! Pretty pleaaaaaase?!"
Makoto began blushing comically, realizing another fellow male is holding her hands firmly and she pointed it out while stuttering like a nervous mess.
"R-R-Ryuji! L-L-Let go! You're crushing my hands!"
He instantly let go, as he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but he kept on comically tearfully insisting on her assistance.
"Huh?! Sorry, sorry, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to! But still, my point stands! You are easily the most organized and bright person on the team, I don't know who else to turn to! Would you please help me over here? I promise, I'll make it up to you somehow, once the exams are over and done with!"
Surprisingly, with no hesitation, she agreed to this on the spot. Confusing the hell out of the blonde thug, especially seeing her gently smile at him afterwards.
"Sure, why not? I'll be glad to help you."
"That was fast..."
She began explaining with a quite relieved look on her face.
"To be honest, ever since I started attending college, things have been growing quite lonely for me, lately. My sister is mostly busy with work and mostly eats outside and Haru, even if I really enjoy her company, she has her own weights to pull, so I won't stop her... and besides, I am only dealing with ONE person to tutor, not three. You shouldn't be that much of a hazzle."
Feeling really touched, he hung his head and sighed in relief, thanking the heavens, she agreed to his proposal.
"Thank you, Makoto. I really owe you one here. To be honest, as of late, I fear your scolding less than the divine wrath of my mom. She'll tear me to shreds, if I fail again. So if you have the need to scold me harshly, go on ahead, I'll accept it with open arms."
Comically, a sweatbead showed up behind Makoto, who awkwardly giggled at this fact:
"...Am I really THAT harsh? Yeah, I may have a short fuse sometimes, but it can't be that bad... right?"
"Trust me, I'd rather have YOU scolding me, than my own flesh and blood, right now."
"Don't say it like that, you are making me self-conscious, damn it!"
Then, his tone softened and he warmly expressed his deep-rooted gratitude towards her.
"Anyway, I sincerely am grateful that you are willing to help me. Let's hope, my secret talent for driving my superiors to a blind rage, won't be applying to you, heh."
"Come on. Don't say that. I am not one to talk about self-confidence, but this is kind of stretching it. Be a little more confident, I don't bite."
"Yeah, tell that the shadows we fought before, but OK. You're right. I hope we'll be getting along."
"Likewise."
Ryuji could sense a faint bond forming between himself and Makoto...
Priestess & Chariot Arcana! Level up! Level 1!
After having shyly performed a brofist with Ryuji, he then stood, grabbing his stuff and getting ready to leave... before remembering something important.
"Oh, before I forget, don't get me wrong here. If you don't have time to teach me, because of your exams, don't worry, we'll be planning this on another day. I don't want to be the one to be responsible for your grades failing. Your sister may kill me otherwise."
"I'll let you know via chat, when I have some air to breath, OK?"
"Sounds good to me. See ya!"
And with that, Ryuji left the café, with his mood having improved significantly. Even Makoto's, as she felt kind of warm on the inside: It appears, it won't get too lonely, after all.