The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: How I Met Your Mother (And How I Met Your Father)

Despair Arc

Chapter Fourteen: A Search, A Date, and A Question!

Present Day

"So what happened next, Daddy?"

"Well, the next couple of months came and went. Christmas was uneventful, as we couldn't put up a tree or give each other presents, but we spent it together and welcomed the new year. After New Year's Day, we were having breakfast together when…"

XXX

January 2, 2016

"So, like…can we talk about something?" Everyone stopped eating their breakfast and looked up at Junko, who stood up and continued "Like, we've been trapped in here for nearly eight months! Who knows how much longer we'll have ot hold out before we can finally go outside and shit! Do you think the Headmaster will be able to keep getting us enough food for however many more weeks it'll take?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll only need to hold out for a bit." Makoto looked down at his plate as he began to eat his own words instead of his breakfast. She's right…who knows how many more months we'll need to hold out. The Headmaster did say that we could need to live here for the rest of our lives. But, do we really have enough supplies to last us that long?

Nodding, Sakura admitted "I see your point, Junko…but what do you propose we do? It's not like we can go outside to get more supplies."

"Indeed, Miss Enoshima! We don't have nearly enough party members to vanquish all the low level Moblins outside."

"Well, duh, of course we can't go outside!" Junko retorted "But we can still search inside the school!"

Byakuya scoffed "Please, Enoshima, don't try and become a comedian. How would we search for supplies inside the school?"

"Come on, Togami! This school is enormous! Who knows what valuable materials and supplies we've dropped or misplaced who knows where?! If we just spend like an hour after breakfast each day, who knows what we could find?!"

Nodding, Sakura deduced "I see…so basically you're suggesting we all pitch in to form a group recycling system…"

Junko grinned and nodded "That's riiiiight! So, whadda ya say?"

Mukuro nodded and agreed "Junko's right. As a soldier, I always needed to make do with what I had at my disposal, but even I couldn't complete a mission with nothing. Sometimes I needed to scavenge resources from my surroundings and improvise."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes, feeling like there was some ulterior motive behind the Ultimate Fashionista's suggestion as she thought Wouldn't Dad have told me though if we were having supply issues? Something doesn't feel right…

Before she could voice her objections, Makoto nodded "That's not a bad idea, Junko. Who knows what we could find and put together? At the very least, it'll give us something to do."

Taka grinned and cheered "Professor Makoto is right! Plus, some of us can clean while the rest of us search for supplies!"

Everyone else groaned at the prospect of having to clean the school, but after Makoto gave his approval, the rest eventually fell in line, even Kyoko who decided to believe in his optimism.

I just hope I'm being paranoid…

Junko beamed and exclaimed "Excellent! Then we can begin the search after we eat! Once we finish searching, we can put all the supplies in the Repository so everyone can access them if they need it!"

Nodding, the others went back to eating, savoring their last bites before they had to comb the school.

XXX

"How did we miss so many aluminum cans?!" Makoto called to Kyoko as he carried a pile of cans over to the garbage bag they had brought with them to the Dining Hall to gather their supplies.

"Probably because we hadn't established proper cleaning duties since the school shut down." Kyoko called back from the fridge. Walking back into the main seating area, she told him "And based off of how much milk we still have, I doubt we'll be running short on food anytime soon. Still, I'll check in with Dad every now and again and make sure we don't run low on food."

"That's good…we probably don't need to bring any of the milk to the repository, right?"

Kyoko nodded "Correct; it would just spoil if left out in the open like that. As simple report of the fridge contents will do. We could probably do the same thing for the Hot Dog Buns."

Makoto nodded in return, commenting "And we probably shouldn't take all of the kitchen knives or silver spoons; we'll still need enough to use when we eat."

"Agreed; just a handful should be enough. Same goes for the Recipe Books; I'm still not the best chef and I'd like at least one or two handy in the kitchen on the rare instance that I do cook." Kyoko smiled as she fiddled with her braid, admitting "…It'd be nice if I could treat you to a nice meal every now and then…"

Makoto blushed, then smiled as he suggested "Alright, so shall we…"

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

"What was that?" Kyoko asked as they turned their gaze to the open doorway. Their question was soon answered as Chihiro burst through the door, being dragged by the ankle as a strange, wheeled contraption moved on its own.

"Is that…Chihiro…being dragged by a vacuum cleaner?" Makoto asked incredulously.

"It…would appear so…" Kyoko answered, equally baffled by the sight in front of them.

"HELP MEEEEEEE!"

Chihiro's cry for help brought them to their senses, Kyoko ordering "You try and grab on to the vacuum and keep it still. I'll grab one of the kitchen knives to sever the tubing around Chihiro's ankle."

Makoto nodded, running over to the vacuum and grabbing its handle, keeping it in place as he searched the device frantically.

"Come on! Off Button, Off Button…ah, OFF BUTTON!"

With his new discovery, Makoto quickly pressed the OFF Button, sighing in relief as the whirring of the vacuum came to a slow halt.

"Makoto, I've got the kitchen knife, have you…" Kyoko trailed off as she saw Makoto kneeling next to Chihiro, attempting to untangle his ankle from the tubing of the now deactivated vacuum. "Secured the vacuum…well, I guess severing the tubing wasn't necessary after all." Approaching the two boys, Kyoko asked "Are you alright, Chihiro?"

Finally free, Chihiro pulled his leg away and nodded while rubbing his head "Yeah…th…thank you…though my head feels kind of sore…nothing serious though."

Makoto smiled and nodded "That's good; we're glad to see you're alright, Chihiro!"

"Indeed, though…" Kyoko frowned as she asked "What were you doing with that vacuum, Chihiro? And where did you even find it?"

"Oh I…" Chihiro blushed as he finished "I made it…"

"You made it?!" Makoto and Kyoko exclaimed, wondering how he was able to make such a functional vacuum.

"Y…yeah…you see…I found a couple of dustcloths in the Gym, a stepladder in the Garden, and a set of watercolor paints in the Art Room. So I started doing some tinkering around using some tips that Soda-senpai taught me before he died, and I made this Small Vacuum."

How do you make a functional vacuum with THOSE?! Makoto and Kyoko thought incredulously as they tried to process the sheer absurdity of Chihiro's explanation.

"I thought it would make cleaning less of a chore for everyone…but then my foot got caught and it dragged me down the hall…and you guys had to come rescue me…I'm sorry, I took up valuable time you could have used to do more searching…"

Makoto shook his head, smiling reassuringly as he told the saddened Programmer "You didn't interrupt us, Chihiro. Kyoko and I were actually just about done; we were just going to get the last of our things to bring up to the repository."

"Oh, what a relief!" Chihiro sighed before turning to his vacuum and announcing "In that case, I'll just…"

Chihiro grunted and groaned as he tried to carry his vacuum away, but to no avail. The machine wouldn't budge, leaving Makoto and Kyoko to sweatdrop.

Guess Hina's training hasn't taken effect yet… "Chihiro, if you just wait a minute, one of us can help you…"

"…You go ahead, Makoto…I'll get the rest of our things and meet you up in the Repository."

Makoto turned to Kyoko and asked "You…you sure?"

Kyoko smiled and assured him "Don't worry about it; I can handle things from here, and Chihiro needs your help."

Makoto nodded, smiling as he accepted "Okay…come on, Chihiro, let's get this bad boy up to the Repository!"

"Okay…thank you!" Chihiro beamed as the two of them, with some effort, were able to pull the vacuum away, leaving Kyoko alone in the Dining Hall.

XXX

Present Day

"Wow, Chihiro sounds amazing!" Kiki gushed as she processed her parents' tale of how Chihiro had made a functional vacuum out of basically nothing.

Yeah…he was… Makoto and Kyoko smiled nostalgically, looking back fondly on their memories of the Ultimate Programmer.

"So what happened next, Mommy?"

Brought out of their memories by Kiki's question, Kyoko answered "Well, several months passed with little incident. Your Father's birthday came and went, but we couldn't really do much because of not being able to go outside. Still, your Father didn't complain at all; he told me that all he needed was to spend it with me."

Kyoko blushed as Makoto smiled lovingly at her, remembering the moment fondly before Kyoko awkwardly coughed into her fist and continued.

"A couple months later, it was the one-year anniversary of our sheltering within the school. We had just gotten dressed when…"

XXX

April 11, 2016

"So, shall we go and get breakfast?" Kyoko asked as she tugged her glove over her right hand.

Makoto removed his hand from his pocket, a nervous look on his face as he replied "Actually…I was thinking…instead of eating at the Dining Hall…maybe we could…have a picnic in the Garden?"

"A picnic?" Kyoko cocked her head to the side, intrigued by Makoto's sudden suggestion.

"Y…yeah…we haven't really gone on a proper date in the last year, after all. I know the Garden isn't exactly Yoyogi Park…but I still really want to go on a date with you again!"

Kyoko giggled, cradling his cheeks with her hands as she placed a chaste kiss atop his nose before nodding "You don't have to be so nervous, Makoto. I'd love to go on a picnic with you!"

Makoto beamed and exclaimed "Really?! Thanks so much, Kyoko! You go head up there and I'll grab a picnic basket and some food from the Kitchen! See you there!"

"Makoto…wait!"

Kyoko's call was in vain, as only a dust cloud remained of her joyful boyfriend. Sweatdropping, she shook her head as an amused smile tugged at her lips.

"He must be really happy about going on a date again…" She felt butterflies flutter in her belly as she admitted "I'm happy to go on a date with him again too…well, I'd better not keep him waiting…"

Kyoko walked out of her room and down the hall, not noticing Makoto standing near the Dining Hall with his right hand stuck in his pocket, his fist seeming to clench something within.

I hope she likes it…I REALLY hope she likes it…

XXX

Makoto beamed as he saw Kyoko sitting in the middle of a field of flowers, the Ultimate Detective smiling at him and waving him over. Lugging the picnic basket in his hands, he marched over and sat across from her, placing the picnic basket between them as he opened the lid.

"So…" Kyoko wondered "What did you pack for us this morning, Makoto?"

"Here; I packed you…" Makoto reached into the basket, pulling out a sandwich and apple and handing them to her, explaining "A turkey sandwich with tomato and an apple for you…" He reached into the basket again, pulling out a travel mug as he finished "And a Civet Coffee to drink!"

Kyoko's eyes sparkled as she placed the food on her lap and brought the coffee to her nose, sniffing the delicious aroma as she praised "Ohh, you know me so well, Makoto. Thank you for making this for me." As Makoto nodded with a grin, Kyoko asked "And what about for you?"

Makoto reached into the basket and pulled out another sandwich and a banana and answered "I made a turkey, ham, and roast beef sandwich and a banana for me." Seeing Kyoko's smile, Makoto suggested "Alright, let's eat!"

"Kanpai!"

XXX

Makoto briefly popped his fingers in and out of his mouth, making Kyoko giggle as he tried to get every last crumb of his sandwich. Kyoko's travel mug, long since drained of her coffee, sat in the picnic basket along with the banana peel and apple core to be disposed of later.

Looking around at the various plants surrounding them, Makoto commented "This Garden really is beautiful…I wouldn't mind doing some gardening with you someday…"

Kyoko smiled in amusement as she chuckled "Is that so? You're very interesting…to suggest that. It…would be a good way to ensure we'd never run out of food in here…and I wonder…since you're the Ultimate Lucky Student, if you were to tend a garden, would you perhaps end up raising some kind of rare, precious plants?"

Makoto scratched his cheek as he chuckled "Haha, I don't think my luck works like that…"

As she giggled along with him, Makoto looked around at the flowers surrounding them and suggested "Hey, since we're surrounded by all these flowers, let's make some flower garlands!"

Kyoko gave him a blushing smile as she shyly nodded "If you promise you would accept, then…I suppose I don't mind the idea."

With Makoto's energetic nod, they quickly got to work, the both of them meticulously picking flowers and tying the stems together to make a flower crown for their beloved. After a few minutes, they held up their respective flower crowns and bowed their heads, allowing the other to simultaneously place them on each other's heads. As they looked up at each other and admired their handiwork, Kyoko surprised Makoto by cradling his cheeks with her hands, pulling his face forward so that she could hungrily, yet softly, kiss him.

Kyoko… Makoto thought as he moaned into the kiss, closing his eyes along with her as he cradled her cheeks too, both of them enjoying the soft tender moment.

As Kyoko reluctantly broke off the kiss, they opened their eyes and stared at each other lovingly, getting lost in the pools of each other's eyes as they stroked each other's cheeks.

It was Makoto who reluctantly broke the tender moment, coughing into his fist as he gently removed his own flower crown, making Kyoko frown as he asked "Can we…talk for a moment? There's something I…really want to discuss with you…"

Why does he look and sound so nervous? He knows he can talk to me about anything… Kyoko wondered worriedly as she took in his expression. …It must be serious if he looks this tense…then I should treat this seriously as well… She sighed, turning her expression neutral as she removed the flower crown from her head and placing it on top of hers before she told him reassuringly "Okay, Makoto…tell me what's on your mind."

Nodding, Makoto bit his lip before asking "A…about us…how long do you envision us being…together?"

Cocking her head in confusion, Kyoko answered "Makoto, you're the only boy I ever want to be with. Like it or not, you're stuck with me until the day I die."

"So…do you still mean it…?" Makoto asked hopefully "When we almost got married…and we had that talk afterwards and you said that you could imagine…being married to me…do you still mean that?"

Still somewhat confused, Kyoko nodded "I told you, Makoto, you're stuck with me until the day I die. Of course that means that I wouldn't object to marrying you when we're ready. I meant it then, and I still mean it now." Seeing his posture relax just slightly, the confused Detective asked "What…brought this on?"

Reaching into his pocket, Makoto answered nervously "I…ano…just wanted to make sure we were on the same page before…"

Kyoko's eyes widened as he pulled out a small, thin, circular object, colored purple as its shiny gleam indicated its metallic origins.

"Makoto…is that…"

"…A ring? Yeah, I used a welder on some stainless steel sheet scraps, and then painted it purple with some watercolor paints…but that's not important right now." With a nervous gulp, before he could chicken out, Makoto gentle reached for her left hand, cradling her wrist as he slid the ring onto her ring finger before he asked with the most serious expression he could muster "Will you let me become part of your family, officially, Kyoko?"

Kyoko gasped, exclaiming to herself KAMI! Is he really…?

"Will you marry me, Kyoko Kirigiri?"

XXX

Present Day

"Oh, kami!" Kiki tearfully gushed, a beaming smile on her face as she nearly shrieked "You asked Mommy to marry you?!"

Kyoko grinned, staring down at the wedding ring on her finger as she confirmed "Yes…he did…and at that point, it was the happiest day of my life, Kiki."

Looking up at her Father, Kiki gushed "That was so brave of you, Daddy!"

Makoto chuckled, blushing as he scratched his cheek and admitted "Honestly…I still have no idea how I got the guts to propose like that back then…"

"That doesn't matter, Daddy!" Kiki grinned as she insisted "The important thing is you did it! And because you did, we're now one big happy family!"

It's a little more complicated than that, Kiki… Makoto and Kyoko thought, but nonetheless nodded, not quite ready to tell their daughter the full story of their marriage just yet.

Looking up at both of them, Kiki's eyes sparkled as she asked energetically "So you said yes, right Mommy? You did, right? RIGHT?!"

Kyoko giggled, ruffling her daughter's hair as she promised "…Tomorrow, Kiki. It's time for bed."

Kiki pouted and grumbled "Stupid, stupid cliffhangers…"

Makoto smiled in amusement and soothed her "I know it's hard, but I promise you'll love tomorrow's story time, Kiki. Just be patient, okay?"

Kiki sighed, her pout disappearing as she acquiesced "…Okay, Daddy…"

Ruffling her hair, he cooed "That's my girl."

As Kiki wiggled under the blankets and got comfortable, Makoto and Kyoko meticulously tucked her in and kissed her cheeks.

"Good night, Kiki. We love you."

*Yawn* "Love you too…"

As Kiki drifted off, Makoto and Kyoko smiled at their sleeping daughter before quietly walking out of her bedroom, Makoto closing the door behind him.

XXX

"So…tomorrow's it…our last happy memory as a unified class before…"

Makoto kissed the top of Kyoko's head, assuring her "We knew it was going to come eventually. And even if it didn't turn out exactly like Kiki's imagining…we can at least give her one last night of happiness before we have to explain what happened the following morning."

Kyoko nodded, snuggling her head into Makoto's chest as she yawned, Makoto rubbing her back with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Good night, Kyoko…I love you."

Kyoko yawned one last time and mumbled "Good night, Makoto…I love you too…" before her eyes closed, the former Detective falling into slumber as Makoto's arms tightened around her in a warm embrace.

With one final yawn, Makoto rested his nose against the top of her head, inhaling her alluring scent through his nose and letting it lull him into slumber with her, memories of the happiest day of their Pre-Killing Game lives pervading their dreams.