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"That has got to be the most embarrassing thing I've ever done."
"I think that could be proven false."
"If you do prove it false, please don't tell me. I don't want to know."
Kyoko chuckled quietly at the Lucky Student's response, before taking a sip of her coffee. Being rather early in the morning, Kyoko and Makoto were spending a bit of time at a cafe that Makoto had found. Quite frankly, the detective was surprised that there was one open this early, but it was.
After they had walked in, Makoto had ended up tripping over nothing and falling right on his face. Not many people were in the cafe, but there were still enough to gather attention from others.
Makoto, his face bright red, then proceeded to get up and shamble to a table and sat down, staying quiet until Kyoko had to order coffee and be served. Then he had made that quip about it being the most embarrassing thing that had happened to him.
"For the hundredth time, Makoto, it's not that bad. Now, would you please just drink your coffee? You've been staring at it ever since it was served. Wait much longer and I'm concerned it's going to be cold."
Hesitantly, Makoto picked up his cup and took a small sip, before immediately setting it down. Now, when it came to her friends, Kyoko tried her best not to analyze them too closely, but it didn't take a detective to see that there was something bigger than Makoto's bout of unluckiness eating away at him.
And considering how much Makoto had comforted Kyoko over everything in her personal life, be it her relatives, her hands, or her... generally distant nature, Kyoko decided to... pay it back for lack of a better term.
The problem? Kyoko had no idea how to approach the subject as she took another sip of coffee. She decided to start with some general questions.
"How have classes been?"
"Eh, same old, same old. Brutally difficult, barely scraping by." Makoto said with a chuckle as he took another slow sip. Kyoko nodded.
"You should really seek out a tutor. Chihiro, Hajime, Chiaki, Shuichi, and several others would be more than willing to help you out. I'll help you out if I have some free time."
Makoto's eyes light up a bit as Kyoko takes another sip of coffee. She had figured he was going to react like that. She also noticed a twinge of red coloration on Makoto's face but she disregarded it.
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Makoto nodded nervously before taking another sip of coffee and setting his cup down.
"I appreciate the thought, but you don't have to-"
"Makoto, it's fine. I'd be a bad... friend if I didn't offer you, someone who struggles academically, help with school work." Kyoko faltered briefly over how exactly to describe the two's relationship, deciding to stick with "friends."
Makoto nods in response, taking another sip of coffee in the process. She'd run this question as far as it could go, she needed another idea. Eventually, one came to her, which she asked after taking another sip of coffee.
"Anyways... besides from school, obviously, has anything else happened while I've been doing cases?"
Makoto lightly shrugged, his shoulders heavy.
"Not really. Other than our class' usual shenanigans, nothing interesting. Been a pretty dull week, actually."
"It's Sunday."
"You know what I meant!"
Kyoko gave a small smile as she took another sip of coffee. Kyoko wasn't usually the teasing type, but teasing Makoto was an exception. It was rather fun to see the boy's reactions to her teasing, where he remains oblivious or overreacts.
"I see. But what about you specifically, Makoto?"
"Huh?"
"Forgive me for... maybe looking too deep, but you don't seem alright." At that point, Kyoko just decided to drop into the question she wanted to ask. No point dancing around it.
Makoto sighed before taking another sip of coffee.
"...Suppose I can't hide anything from you."
"That is entirely untrue. I am not a mind reader."
"Maybe, but you can still tell what a person's thinking by... y'know, their movements or whatever."
"Spoken like a true detective, Makoto."
"Oh, shut up."
Kyoko snickered quietly before taking another sip of coffee.
"I wouldn't say I can tell what people are thinking, more-so I can see their current emotional state. Presuming I'm provided context, that's when I tend to figure people out. And with you being a naive open book... well, do I even need to continue?"
Makoto sighed again, before resting his head against his arms, which were propped up on the table.
"It's, uh... well... a multitude of things... mostly regarding how bad I screw things up." Makoto said, before proceeding to bury his face into his arms. "Tripping in front of everyone in the coffee shop felt like the last nail in the damn coffin."
Kyoko was taken aback a bit. Makoto almost never swore or used vulgar language. It sounded foreign to her ears. She considered what her response should be for a few seconds as she observed his physically sad form.
"Makoto." She said in a soft tone that surprised herself. "Everyone "screws things up" occasionally. You do it just as much as everyone else. We all make mistakes, Makoto." Makoto raised an eyebrow.
"Even you?"
"Yes, even me. There have been times where I jump to an incorrect conclusion." She said, although she left the word "initially" from her sentence. She was trying to comfort him, damn it.
"...Are you sure?"
"Believe it or not, Makoto, I am not perfect."
Makoto's cheeks regained that red coloration that Kyoko, once more, disregarded. He scratched at his hair as he presumably thought about his response.
"Heh. Could've fooled me."
"What was that?"
"N-nothing!"
Despite Kyoko's feigned obliviousness, she did hear exactly what he said. Although it was rather touching, it was just sentimentality. Or maybe he was joking? Yeah, he was probably just joking. Although his reaction to Kyoko's response would be strange if in the context of him just joking.
"Anyways, like I said, we all make mistakes. Making mistakes is... well... part of being human. If humans never made mistakes, the world would be much different." Makoto suddenly snickered at her words, lifting his head up.
"Do you often talk like an aspiring poet?" Makoto asked in a tone that mimicked Kyoko's own, which causes the detective to crack another smile. That was, what? The third one today? All because of this rather lucky boy.
"No, but I am going to get you back for mocking me just then."
"Ah, crap. Should I start running now or...?"
"Mhm, you can stay for a little longer. Once you're feeling better about yourself, then you start running."
"I, um, am kinda feeling better. It didn't take much."
Kyoko nodded. Makoto was certainly the optimistic type.
"Then I suggest you start running before I come and get my revenge." Kyoko said before taking another sip. Makoto smirked and quickly finished his drink.
"I'll see you back at school then." Makoto says before he rises from their table, quickly throws his empty cup away, before leaving the coffee shop with a wave towards Kyoko. Kyoko waved back as Makoto stepped out.
"...See you too." Kyoko murmured quietly as she took her final sip of coffee.