"Awww, thanks, mom!" Kokichi gave Kirumi a smug smile as she set his plate down in front of him. Her one visible eye narrowed, but she said nothing. As much as it got under her skin that Kokichi continued to call her a mother, she didn't feel like engaging in a verbal spar with him. Instead, she forced herself just to smile sweetly.
"I hope you enjoy your breakfast," was all she told the little cretin. His smug smile got even bigger.
"I'm sure I will, since you're just the bestest mom in the whole universe!" he cried, really hamming it up. Kirumi managed to ignore him again, but Kokichi was nothing if not persistent. Whether she wanted to or not, the maid was sucked into something of a verbal battle anyway.
Every other minute, Kokichi found an excuse to make a request of Kirumi, and every single time, he made sure to insinuate that she was giving off a very maternal energy. Whether he outright called her a mother (or any other synonym) or if he was more subtle in his barbs didn't matter, the smug little grin that was ever-present on his face made the message loud and clear. Then finally, he got what he wanted. As stoic as Kirumi was, even she was not unbreakable.
"Enough!" she finally snapped. She didn't raise her voice, but it became much sharper.
"Wh-what?" Kokichi gave her a hurt and slightly frightened look. "Please, don't yell at me, mom! The world's best son! I didn't do anything wrong!" then he burst into melodramatic sobs, none of which Kirumi believed for even a fraction of a second. "The world's best son!" Pah!
"Yes you have," she replied coldly. "I have told you time and time again that I do not appreciate being labeled as a mother, yet you continue to address me as such despite having very explicit orders to do otherwise."
"I was just jokin, jeez," he mumbled. He gave her a wounded frown as he pouted and crossed his arms. He looked like a little boy who'd just gotten in trouble for stealing from the cookie jar. "You know? For a mom, I thought you would be better at handling an angsty teen," he smirked, his voice shifting back into its usual patronizing tone.
"I am only a teenager myself, I cannot be your mother," Kirumi replied, completely unsympathetic to Kokichi's "teen angst".
"Awwww, Kirumi, don't wanna feel excluded from the group, do ya?" Kokichi cooed. Both of them knew the "sympathy" dripping from his voice was nothing but sarcasm, but for once, Kiurmi was more focused on what he was saying rather than how he was saying it. Excluded?
"I mean, it's obvious, isn't it?" Kokichi gave her a cruel, mocking smile. "You already feel so out of touch with everyone else that being called a mother feels like another barb to you, doesn't it? It makes you feel like they're pushing you away even faster. It's nothing but a cruel reminder of what an outsider you really are!" It was unlike Kokichi to be so blunt, but because what he was saying was technically true (even if Kirumi loathed to admit it), the maid could think of no rebuttal.
"You feel like you don't fit in or belong with the rest of us because you are not quite like the rest of us. You don't know how to relate to us on the level of equals, so you satisfy yourself by becoming our maid instead. But if someone calls you a mom, it reminds you just how distant and detached you are from rest of us, and that hurts, doesn't it?"
"You petulant child," Kirumi snarled. It was rare for her to be so aggressive, but with Kokichi hitting all of her weakest spots, her defensive side was taking over. He was bringing out the fighter in her!
"Am I really, though?" Kokichi gave Kirumi an innocent look, tilting his head and tapping his chin. "Or are you just projecting?" And now they were back to his dark sneer. "After all, who between us is losing their temper, hmmm?"
Backed into a corner, Kirumi could do nothing but grit her teeth and tremble with fury, hurt and humiliation.
Aside from the general annoyance that came with hanging around Kokichi for any amount of time, Kirumi could feel her whole body burning in shame. He was right! He was right, he was right, he was right. Even though Kirumi did indeed struggle with connecting to her classmates on friendly, casual, mutual terms, she was not too ignorant that she didn't realize this. And Kokichi had been completely correct in his theory about why Kirumi hated being called a mother so much. It wasn't just an age thing, she just didn't want to feel like she wasn't equal to her classmates!
Even if no one meant any harm when they called her a mother, it still stung. They might as well have said, "Even though you are our age, you do not act like us. You are different and weird and distant. You are not one of us. That is why you are a mother rather than a fellow student. Even if your bodily age matches ours, the mental and emotional do not. You are an outsider. You are not a friend, you are a mother. The only reason we keep you around is because you provide excellent service!"
And even though it was the maid's greatest desire to be known for her excellent service, there was still something deeply depressing about the idea of only being appreciated for her talent. Even though it was her primary reason for existence, for some reason, at least around these people, Kirumi wanted to be seen as something more. She wanted to be more than their maid, or their mom.
"I still think you need work on handling angsty teens though," Kokichi gave her a reproachful look, as if he were a supervisor giving her a performance review. "If you were better at it, you would be able to keep your temper more easily. And you would know that when the others call you a mom, it's because they love and trust you dearly and deeply."
The last sentence Kokichi said was so uncharacteristic that all of Kirumi's anger, which had been steadily building the longer he kept talking, instantly turned into sheer shock. She could only stare at him with a blank expression.
"Jeez, do I really have to spell it out for you?" Kokichi sighed and rolled his eyes. "I thought you were smarter than that. Besides, who do you think I am? Your dad?" his lips twisted back into a smirk. "As clever and observant as you are, you can be so blind sometimes."
"Are you planning on elaborating, or merely resorting to childish and petty insults?" Kirumi interrupted, sharpness returning to her voice.
"So impatient," Kokichi tutted and shook his head. "I don't know, I just thought it was obvious that the "mom" comments were compliments."
"Certainly not from you," Kirumi growled. Even if she could forgive others, like Gonta, Kokichi was a different case.
"Ouch," Kokichi gave her another wounded look. Kirumi's only response was to roll her eyes, a very rare thing from someone like her.
"Well, I guess if you're going to so petulant about it…" Kokichi trailed off with a casual smile and a shrug, but after only a few more seconds, he finally explained. On the surface level, the mom comments were just unintelligent comparisons. The students saw a kindly, serving female figure and compared her to a mother. How… basic and boring.
But sometimes it was spoken with more weight and it wasn't just an overly obvious observation. Sometimes, it could be an almost reverent comparison. By calling her a mother, the other students were comparing Kirumi to a figure of kindness, security and trust. It wasn't just that she provided excellent service, it was that she had a heart of gold too! Everyone felt safe around her, everyone trusted and liked her, everyone respected and admired her. And because the affection was mutual between Kirumi and the others, them calling her a mom was only meant to solidify that.
Even if Kirumi's interpretation could be valid, it was also true that repeatedly comparing her to a mother was meant to symbolize closeness rather than distance. It was never meant to be a remark that made her feel alone. It was supposed to make her feel seen, appreciated, and even loved.
"You see how they flock to you. You see how much they adore and trust you. They rely upon and look up to you," Kokichi said, and despite herself, Kirumi began to understand. Even though she still didn't like being called a mom, and even though she still had a right to be respected, she was beginning to see Kokichi's side of things… (What a horrifying thought!)
They called her a mom because they loved her. They didn't just see her as a maid. Calling her a mom was supposed to be like the ultimate term of endearment. A sign that she was family. After all, the idealized image of a mother was a female figure who gave her love to someone who needed guidance or support. Not only was that exactly what Kirumi did, but it also implied that it was done with love. She was helping the others become their best selves and there was a very real, very mutual affection between her and the others, even if it wasn't always easy to see.
But on an even deeper level, calling Kirumi a mom didn't just mean that the students felt safe with her, but that she could feel safe with them. After all, what makes a mother a mother is her children, and the idealized child is one who adores their mother. Sure, there will be cases of disobedience, but at the end of the day, the ideal child loves their mother just as much as the ideal mother loves them.
While Kirumi pondered all of this, Kokichi only watched silently. He was studying her face intently, looking for every little twitch and cue that would show him that she was having an epiphany. Every little expression, every little movement, no matter how small, meant something. And he couldn't help but find it funny and ironic that he was known as the dramatic one when Kirumi was currently undergoing an epiphany and it was showing on her face. Even if her expressions were subtle, they were still there and changing, so she wasn't as stoic as she may have thought…
And then on the flip side, he couldn't help but find it funny and ironic that Kirumi was known as the stoic one when Kokichi was the one with a poker face so perfect that nobody had ever managed to catch him on it. Granted, Kirumi was too lost in thought to really pay attention to Kokichi, but he was still willing to bet that even if she had been focused on him, she still wouldn't have been able to read him. The closest he'd come to slipping up was right before he went silent. Although Kirumi clearly had missed it, there was a moment when a note of genuine bitterness and jealousy had crept into his voice…
Yes. It made Kokichi jealous that all the students adored Kirumi so much. While they adored her both as a symbolic figure and an actual human being/fellow student, they considered him the scum of the Earth. Perhaps it made sense, and perhaps it was even deserved, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. And there was nothing Kokichi hated more about all of this than seeing the way Kirumi reacted to all the praise she got. While he was starving for it, she was being bathed in it on the daily and her primary reaction was always annoyance.
Rather than realizing what she truly had and actually being grateful for it, she'd somehow misconstrued one tiny little thing and made it into a huge deal. But he hated watching her continually rebuff something that was obviously a compliment. He hated enough to finally confront her about it! Of course, he knew why she didn't like being called a mom, but he still wanted her to at least see the other side of it. And he could tell from the way her expression kept changing that she was indeed seeing it. All the while, Kokichi's poker face didn't change at all, not even a little.
But after long enough, when he could sense that the message had finally sunk in, he shrugged casually and looked back down at his plate.
"Awww man! You made me waste so much time just trying to explain stuff to you that my food's gone cold!" he sighed, looking devastated. Kirumi snapped back to attention and her distant expression quickly became sharp once again.
"If you had not wasted so much time with your manipulation tactics, you could have been much more forthright," she told him sternly.
"Well I had to make you come to the realization yourself because you wouldn't have listened to me otherwise, duhh," he snorted, and despite herself, Kirumi had to admit that he was right. It made her skin crawl, but once again, he was right.
"Well. Would you like me to warm this plate up for you, or shall I prepare something fresh?" she asked, struggling to keep a neutral tone.
"Hmmm," Kokichi smirked up at her, considering the option as if trying to decide which choice would cause Kirumi more strife. But in the end, even though he could've placed a ridiculous request for an entire new feast, he finally just shook his head. "Meh, just warm it up I guess…"
"I will fulfill this request," Kirumi bowed her head once before taking the plate from Kokichi.
"Thanks, mom!" he smiled sweetly, reclining in his chair. Kirumi narrowed her eyes again, but said nothing, choosing instead to take the plate and walk back to the kitchen as fast as she could. Kokichi watched her go with a tiny snicker.
Whether she realized it or not, even though Kirumi had made a valiant attempt to conceal her anger, another emotion managed to slip through. Right before she'd completely turned away, Kokichi saw discomfort in her eyes too, not just frustration. But it wasn't the usual discomfort she felt whenever someone called her a mom. No, this new type of discomfort seemed to be Kirumi internalizing Kokichi's words.
Even though she still, clearly, despised hearing Kokichi call her a mom, after all that he'd told her, hearing him say it again made her pause. Maybe that was exactly his devious little plan all along: break her down a little and plant a tiny part of himself inside of her so that he had free range to live in her head. For better or worse, it seemed to be working. Despite herself, the moment Kirumi heard him call her "mom" again she couldn't help but wonder…
Does that mean… despite all he's ever said and done… he feels fond of me too?
It was a thought she didn't give more than one second before dismissing it with a harsh, disbelieving laugh. But just being able to make her doubt everything for even half a second was more than enough to satisfy Kokichi. He'd won again! Seriously, even if Kirumi was the one with a mature reputation, she still had an awfully long way to go… Lucky for her, she had the world's best son there to help!
AN: I agree Kirumi's wishes should be respected, so if she doesn't want to be called a mom, she shouldn't be called a mom, but I've still always wanted to see a fic where someone explained to Kirumi why the term is meant to be a compliment rather than an insult.
This was also inspired off a post that suggested part of the reason Kirumi dislikes people aging her up is because it further isolates her from her high school level peers, whom she is already somewhat alienated from, as per her less than stellar socializing skills, and I thought it was a really interesting idea.