diffidentive | [ic] Inbox

[It is kind of awkward, yeah. But not as awkward as it could be. Because while he definitely does not feel the same as Kokichi...the leader is a very dear friend. It's not like he hates him or anything. In fact, now that Maki won't be around as much, if at all...he's probably the closest friend Shuichi has.]

[The detective looks up a little as Kokichi speaks, meeting his eyes for the first time since they left his room. His cheeks are still faintly pink.]

Um...yeah, I've seen them... [From a distance. He hasn't really spent any time in New New Aspen, even though the Moonbase is so close now.] What happened?

Well I wanted to pet it because who doesn't want to pet a cat? And, by the way, that was a great idea. They're suuuuuper soft, I highly recommend it. But I ended up getting distracted from restaurant quest because after a little bit of petting I started walking away and it saw the belts on my pants.

[You know. The dangling ones that sway when he walks?]

Guess what happened.

[Shuichi can't help but smile a little. Oh no...he thinks he can see where this is going.]

The cat started chasing your belt?

[Please don't tell him you got pantsed in the middle of the street by a cat.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:04 (UTC)

It did! Very successfully. [Shuichi might notice, now, that Kokichi is not wearing a pair with belts on them.]

It caught one of them in it's mouth and started trying to kill it, as cats do, and just tugged that leg out from under me. I fell flat on my face! And then it proceeded to lift me up in the air by my leg while trying to play with it!

[He's laughing as he retells the tale, clearly too amused by the experience, even if he ended up a little scraped up.]

I had to actually cut it from my pants to free myself.

[He did notice, though didn't think anything of it because he kind of figured it was because Kokichi was trying to dress nice.]

A-ah-- [That's actually a much less funny ending than he was expecting! And even though Kokichi is clearly okay and is laughing about it himself...Shuichi can't. He just looks worried.] Are you alright?! That sounds terrible...

[It...did make the situation less awkward though? So Kokichi did succeed in his goal, just...not the way he was presumably aiming for.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:22 (UTC)

Hah? [There's a moment of surprise on Kokichi's face before he giggles and waves his free hand.]

Don't worry, Saihara-chan, I'm fine! I mean, I totally thought I was gonna be cat food at the time, but just a few scrapes in the end, nothing to worry about!

[It may not have gone the way he expected, but that doesn't bother him any. Shuichi's unpredictable and he likes that. Plus...it'd be a lie to say that he doesn't like the detective worrying about him.]

M-mm...if you say so...

[He can't really argue the point, the evidence speaks for itself. Kokichi looks perfectly fine, he clearly didn't sustain any real damage from the attack. It just sounds kind of horrifying to be dangled upside down BY THE LEG by a giant cat.]

[It wasn't that horrible. It made him a little dizzy and totally ruined a pair of his pants, but it was an okay experience Shuichi. You should try it some time.]

Nishishi, I appreciate the concern though! It's nice to have someone worried about me for once.

[He gives his hand a little squeeze.]

Edited 2019-12-23 00:51 (UTC)

[Noooooooooo thank you!]

[But Kokichi has kind of brought back the awkward again, his latest comment causing the detective to nod with one of his little stuttered noises of affirmation before looking back down at the ground again, cheeks bright pink.]

[You're welcome? He guesses? Though it seems odd to actually say you're welcome for something like worry...because concern isn't something you should have to be thankful for...]

[And yet he is, since a lot of the time people aren't concerned about him. But he's not going to elaborate on that at all, and instead launches into another conversation topic. This one is about all of the neat points of interest New New Aspen has that Kokichi discovered in his adventures. A little less worrisome, and something that maybe Shuichi would find interesting. He leaves out the fact that there's a cute book shop, since that's part of his plans for the evening though...but the rest is a good way to fill up the time on their way to the restaurant.

And it's a really quaint little restaurant that they enter. He wasn't kidding about less crowded, the cute hole in the wall diner having a cozy atmosphere and not too many people there. They're greeted as they enter and led to a booth seat, handed menus and a cup of water each before being left to decide on their dinner. Shuichi will notice, as he reads through the menu, that there are a lot of vegetarian options here. Most of the menu comprises of dishes made of mainly or only fruits and veggies, with pastas and the like as well. There's a decent selection of tea on the menu and both decadent looking as well as less sweet dessert options.

Kokichi gets himself a soup and an entirely too sweet dessert, plus some tea, and pays for both of their meals. He chats with him more during dinner too, about the food and the town and how much he misses Panta...he does his absolute best to make it a pleasant experience. Even if, predictably, there's some teasing and lying and playing with his food that definitely happens too. But it's lower key than normal. No food fights, no crocodile tears, no grand theatrics that attracts the attention of everyone present...just a reasonable amount of playfulness.

And he holds the door open for Shuichi as they leave, a satisfied grin on his face.]

Man, I kind of hope we stay grounded. The food here's pretty good!

Edited 2019-12-23 01:17 (UTC)

[Of course Shuichi finds information like that interesting, that's just the kind of person he is. So he listens to everything Kokichi has to share without interruption, becoming less tense the longer the conversation goes on.]

[Odd though, that Kokichi would pick a place like this...as far as he's aware, the leader is perhaps one of the very last people to pick a place with a mostly vegetarian menu. Mostly because he seems to very strongly dislike them and would exist solely upon junk food if left to his own devices. Which can only mean that he picked it because he somehow figured out that that's the kind of food Shuichi prefers. Because he's fairly certain he never actually told the other boy what kind of foods he likes. And that's...really very touching, honestly. Not wanting to put too much of a dent in Kokichi's wallet (since he presumably refuses to let Shuichi pay for his own meal when the detective suggests it), he orders a salad and skips on dessert, simply enjoying a fresh cup of hot tea while Kokichi indulges his sweet teeth.]

Mmm...I don't know if I hope we stay grounded but...I guess I wouldn't mind it too much. I haven't...really spent any time in the town before now but...it seems like a nice place.

[He did, indeed, figure that out, having paid close attention to Shuichi whenever they ate together just for cases such as this. And he did, indeed, refuse to let Shuichi pay. He encouraged him not to worry about price, but didn't push it when Shuichi ordered the salad and tea either. Whatever he wanted to do was fine by him.]

It's a pretty nice town. I mean I guess we don't have a whole lot to compare it to just yet, but the food is good at least. Better than some of the stuff Bender-chan serves anyway. [Dumb Panta ruining robot.] But there's a lot to do, too.

[Once they're on their way again, he once more takes the detective's hand. This time with a lot more confidence than before.]

There's a little bookshop nearby, even! Wanna go check it out? I found a couple of good mystery novels and romance books there, and they have these really nice journals and notebooks too. And they have actual quill pens! The kind you dip in ink! It's pretty cool.

[Shuichi laughs softly.]

Do you even know how to use an actual quill pen, Oma-kun? Isn't it a little more difficult than a regular pen? Oh, but...yes, I'd like to see the bookshop.

[Of course he would. Books are his favorite thing.]

I have no idea, but I'm willing to try anything once. Let's go give it a shot Saihara-chan!

[Once again he tugs him along by his hand, but gently and at a pace that he can keep up with. Not that it'd be too hard for the detective since he does have much longer legs, but he's mindful of it all the same. And it really is nearby, not taking the two of them too long to reach it at all. He lets go of Shuichi's hand so he can open the door for him again, the lovely smell of books wafting out as soon as it is.]

After you!

[It's a smaller shop, no shelves upon shelves of literature, but it still seems like it has a decent selection. Near the front is the stationery, including those quills that Kokichi mentioned on display and some very nice looking journals. There's a small area to sit and read in as well, though that's currently taken over by a group of kids who are enraptured by whatever story is being told to them by a kind, older looking woman.]

I don't think they'll just let you try it there in the store...

[But he allows himself to be tugged along anyway, and nods his head with a soft word of thanks when they finally reach the store and enter. He looks around, smiling fondly at the little reading circle going on over there. Cute. Very cute. Though he waits for Kokichi to enter too before actually going to look at anything. It would be kind of rude to just rush off and look at the books on his own...]

[It would be, but Kokichi wouldn't mind it. He doesn't mind that the detective waits for him either, however, and joins him quickly enough. And he can't help but smile at the reading circle himself, either. Kids...his one weakness!! They're so cute.]

So where do you wanna start first? The shop's pretty small so I bet we can check most of it out before moving on to our next activity!

[Really? His ONLY weakness? What about Panta? Sugar in general? The tall, dark-haired boy standing right next to him?]

Um... [He glances around the shelves once again before taking a step towards a shelf full of what appears to be fiction novels.] Over here?

[...okay, one of his many weaknesses. Kokichi takes a step after him with a nod.]

Mm, sure! Sounds good!

[He enjoys fiction as much as the next person, so he easily moves to join Shuichi at the shelf to look the available books over. He knows most of them, seeing as this is where he'd picked up one of his gifts inside that gift bag and spent...quite a bit of time finding just the right book. But browsing for himself doesn't hurt, of course.]

[Since Shuichi has never been in here before, he is completely unfamiliar with the books on the shelves, and so he spends a decent amount of time looking them over. He picks up a few of the mystery novels and flips through them, though never more than just the first few pages. He even takes an uncertain glance at a few romance novels, though he doesn't pick them up. It's more like he's making a note of them, wondering if maybe he should come back later and examine them more closely.]

[But surely that doesn't mean anything.]

[Gradually, he works his way through the shelves and around the store. Hopefully Kokichi wasn't expecting a conversation while they browse...apparently this is one of those "companionable silence" moments that Shuichi is so prone to.]

[But hey, at least he seems to be enjoying himself? So good choice on coming here, Kokichi.]

[Kokichi's plenty happy with the companionable silence as long as it seems like Shuichi is as well. He browses the books right beside him, glancing at what his date is checking out every so often as he goes. Like the detective, he'll pick up books - romance and mystery both on his end - and flip through the first few pages to get a feel for them, but never reads further than that.

After a while, he leans over Shuichi's shoulder curiously, trying to read whatever he currently has open.]

How's your browsing going, Saihara-chan?

Oh, um...g-good! [He closes the book he'd been looking at and puts it back on the shelf. Probably a good thing Kokichi distracted him from it, because it's a copy of the book currently still resting in the gift bag back on his bed.] There are some really interesting looking ones...I feel like I'm going to have to come back later on my own so I have more time to just browse and decide which ones I want to buy...

[Since Kokichi DOES have plans for this date and he doesn't want to mess them up by staying in the bookstore too long...]

Edited 2019-12-23 12:54 (UTC)

It's a pretty nice store, right?

[Yeah, it is good. You just leave that on the shelf, Shuichi, he already got it for you! But it's good that he seemed interested in it...very good.]

Maybe we can come back together just to hang out then! I want to make sure to stock up before we inevitably end up back in space.

Mmm!

[He nods.]

Well, even if we wind up in space, it's not like we can't come back here... But it'd be nice to come back and hang out here some time. Um...did you want to look at the quills, then?

True! Saihara-chan's very wise, pointing that out.

[It's said with a more playful tone of voice, lacking any possibly teasing or mean edge to it, and it's followed by an excited nod.]

Yeah! Let's go try them all out! We can write spoilers in all of the books, nishishi!

[He turns to go check out the quills and stationery, taking Shuichi's hand and gently pulling him with.]

[He allows himself to be tugged over to the display.]

O-Oma-kun, I still d-don't think they're going to let you use them without buying them first!

[He's not sure quills are something people give you an in-store trial of??? Presumably, if you're buying them, you know how to use them...]

Edited 2019-12-23 13:31 (UTC)

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