A/N: Alright, Here's Chapter Three of "Makoto Loses His Way?" Please read and review, and enjoy!

The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Makoto Loses His Way?

Chapter Three: Kaito vs Makoto!

"Honestly, why would Kyoko schedule a meeting so early in the day?" Makoto grumbled as he unlocked the door to his office and stepped inside before he closed it. "Well, better get set up so I can get it over wi…Kaito?"

Makoto's eyes widened as he saw Kaito Momota himself, sitting in Makoto's office chair with his hands folded in front of him as his eyes narrowed and his lips stretched into a rare scowl.

"Kaito…how'd you get into my office? And why are you sitting in my chair?"

"Kyoko gave the spare key." Kyoko explained simply.

"Kyoko?! But why…why would she do that…?"

"Because you need an intervention, Makoto."

"A…an intervention? Kaito, I don't need an…"

"Yes, you do, now sit down and shut up!" Kaito cut him off as Makoto grew even more disturbed.

What…what's going on? I've never seen Kaito this angry before! What could I have done that would warrant such a harsh intervention?!

His heavy-handed demeanor evaporated in the face of Kaito's angered instructions, Makoto gulped and nodded before he sat down in the chair across from Kaito.

"Makoto…" Kaito sighed "What happened to you, man?"

"Wh…what do you mean, what happened to me? I'm just fi…"

"You know what I'm talking about, Makoto. All these new rules and regulations you created at the drop of a hat, without even consulting your wife! It's gotten everyone miserable! Your teachers, your wife, and even your daughter who you're doing this to protect!"

My…my daughter? I've…made her…miserable? No, that…that can't be! This is all for her! Makoto shook his head and denied "No, that's wrong! Sure these changes might not be fun, but they're gonna keep everyone safe in the long run. Soon they'll…"

"Aaargh! Shut up! SHUT! UP!" Kaito interjected, stunning Makoto into silence as the would-be astronaut slammed his hands on the desk and stood up before he retorted "You just need to SHUT UP!"

Makoto froze in his seat as Kaito circled around the desk and leaned into Makoto's face, intimidating the Headmaster.

"You and your meek little justifications…You're pissing me the hell off!"

"Huh?" Makoto breathed before he felt a powerful force slam into his cheek that was to great, he flew out of his chair and landed on all fours.

As Makoto reached up to touch his bruised face, Kaito clenched the fist that he had just used to punch Makoto and began to rant.

"Didn't you listen to what I just said? Everyone hates this! Your employees hate it, your students hate it, your wife hates it, your own daughter hates it! That's why she agreed to having me intervene!"

Kiki…Kiki's in on this too?! Makoto's eyes widened in shock as he wondered Have I…have I really hurt my daughter that much,,,?!

"What the hell's wrong with you? You haven't listened to her at all, and you even dismissed your own wife! You call yourself a man?! You're…"

Kaito trailed off as he brought his hand up to his mouth and hacked into his palm. Makoto looked up and his eyes widened in horror as he saw blood seep through the gaps in Kaito's fingers.

"Kaito! You…"

"I'm…fine…" Kaito wheezed through his hand as his knees wobbled. "You gotta…you gotta stop this, Makoto! You know it's not right. I…can understand being a little more…cautious. But…if you make your own daughter miserable…she's gonna…resent you…"

Just like Kyoko resented her own dad… Makoto realized. I…I've been a terrible father, haven't I? A terrible father, a terrible husband, and a terrible headmaster. I…I've gotta make things right. But first…

Makoto stood up and circled around to behind Kaito before he wrapped an arm around his waist and told him "Alright, I get it. I was wrong, and I'm sorry. Can I please get you to a hospital now?"

Kaito gave a weak grin as he tried to assure him "Hey, I don't need no hospital! I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the…" Kaito coughed up blood once more before he sighed and relented "Okay…hospital it is. Maki Roll's gonna kill me…"

That's if Kyoko and Kiki don't kill me first… Makoto sighed guiltily as he helped to support Kaito on the way to the door.

Hang on, Kaito. Just hang on, and we'll get to the hospital, and then I can make up for everything I've done!

XXX

"Dad!"

"Makoto!"

Makoto turned his head to see Kyoko, Maki, and Kiki running into the hospital lobby.

"Makoto, how is he?" Maki asked, panic in her normally composed eyes.

"I don't know." Makoto admitted. "When they took him into the emergency room, he was still coughing up blood."

"Damn." Maki cursed "That illness…and at the worst possible time, too."

"Um…what do you mean, illness?" Kiki asked "Is Mister Kaito sick? He's gonna be okay, isn't he?"

Makoto and Kyoko all looked at Maki, unsure of how to broach the topic and desperate for guidance.

"Um, what's going on?"

Maki sighed "…She's old enough to understand. I think it's time."

Kyoko nodded and kneeled down in front her daughter as she grasped Kiki gently by the shoulders.

Warm sorrow glazed her violet eyes as Kyoko began "Kiki…there's something you need to know about Kaito. He's…not well, and he hasn't been well for years. He has an illness, Kiki. Nobody knows what it is and nobody can cure it. All we've been able to do is manage his symptoms. Eventually though, it will kill him."

"You mean…" Kiki's eyes filled with tears as she finished quietly "Mister Kaito's gonna die?"

Kyoko nodded and confirmed "Someday, yes. We hope that it won't be today, but…we're prepared for the possibility."

Kiki paled, biting her lip as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Oh, Kiki…" Kyoko whispered as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.

The hopeless vibe that permeated the air around them made Makoto's guilt fester in his heart as he looked from his family to Maki and back again.

Kaito could die today…he risked his life so that I'd come back to my senses. I owe it to his memory to make things right!

"Um…excuse me…you're Maki Harukawa, right?"

Makoto closed his mouth as they turned to see Mikan standing before them nervously with her medical clipboard in hand.

Maki nodded and replied with a fragile composure "I am. Are you the nurse in charge of Kaito Momota's care?"

"Y…yes…I'm Mikan Tsu…Tsumiki…" Mikan continued "We've sta…stabilized Mo…Momota-san's co…condition. He's open to vi…visitors. Please fo…follow me…"

They all sighed in relief before they began to follow Mikan through the halls of the hospital. Makoto smiled at seeing a cheerful grin on his daughter's face, her despair at Kaito's condition forgotten for the time being.

Kaito was right…I haven't seen her smile like that in days… Makoto narrowed his eyes as he followed his wife and daughter, clenching his fist as he vowed Kaito, I'll make things right, and thank you for setting me straight!

XXX

"Kaito!" Maki's voice rang out as Kaito sat up in his hospital bed and turned to smile weakly at her.

"Hey, Maki Roll! Glad you came to…oof!"

Kaito grunted as Maki gently hugged him and demanded "What happened to you, Kaito?"

"Well…I was going with the plan, and then I started coughing up blood. But I powered through and…"

"Idiot! You shouldn't have continued if it meant risking your life!"

"Come on, Maki Roll. Makoto needed to have the sense knocked into him and…aw, Maki Roll! Come on, not the tears!"

"We thought you were gonna die, Mister Kaito!" Kiki cried as she ran up to him and started crying again.

"Hey, come on Kiki! I wouldn't have gone that easily, or my name isn't Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!"

"…Baka…" Maki and Kiki giggled in unison as their tears dried up.

Makoto smiled at the lighter mood in the hospital room, then frowned as Kaito looked up at him and asked "So, Makoto, is there anything you'd like to say to us?"

Makoto gulped in nervous fear as he dreaded the perfectly reasonable anger his wife and daughter no doubt felt towards him. Nevertheless, he steeled his resolve, determined to set things right.

Well, here goes nothing… Makoto took a deep breath and walked up to his daughter, kneeling down in front of her before he apologized in a guilt-ridden voice "Kiki…I am so sorry…for everything. I put all those rules in place because I wanted to protect you from anyone like Shinguji. But I…I chose to be ignorant of your own misery…ignorant of the fact that I made you miserable. I promise, I'll stop those stupid new rules. So, can you…can you ever forgive your idiot of a father?"

"Dad…Daddy…" Makoto gasped as he felt Kiki wrap her arms around him and whisper in his ear "Of course I forgive you, Daddy!"

"Kiki…" Makoto pulled away to look into his daughter's joyful face as tears of relieved joy streamed down his cheeks before he gasped "Oh, Kiki!"

Kyoko and Maki smiled at the tearful reconciliation between father and daughter as the two embraced each other with joy.

As they separated once more, Makoto stood up and looked into Maki's eyes before he told her "Maki, I'm afraid we won't need your bodyguard services, but you're more than welcome to babysit whenever we need you."

Maki and Kiki sighed in relief before Maki muttered "Finally, I can expand my business again…"

Makoto smiled before he turned to his wife and bowed his head shamefully as he told her "Kyoko…a successful marriage and partnership is dependent on trust, and I broke your trust. I made decisions about both our daughter and our school without consulting you, I ignored your attempts to dissuade me, and worst of all, I brought your dad into a fight that I never should have brought him into. I'm so sorry, Kyoko. Can you ever forgive me for being such an idiot?"

Kyoko sighed, then gave a soft, loving smile as she walked up to him. She cradled his cheeks in her palms and angled his head to look straight into his eyes before she pressed her lips to his in a light kiss. All too soon, she broke the kiss, though the still stroked his cheeks with her thumbs.

"Baka…of course I forgive you. I know you meant well, Makoto. You just went about it all wrong and needed to be set straight." Kyoko frowned as she released his face and stepped back before she told him "Of course you'll need to rescind all those new policies. And you'll need to apologize to the teachers and students for expecting them to abide by them."

Makoto nodded and agreed "Yes, tomorrow I'll schedule an assembly and address the student body and faculty. I'll make this right, Kyoko, I promise."

"…You always do." Kyoko smiled as she replied with a faithful smile.

Kaito gave Makoto a thumbs-up from his hospital bed, allowing the Headmaster to breathe a sigh of relief as most of the burden of guilt had been lifted from his shoulders.

XXX

"Hello, everyone? This is Headmaster Makoto Naegi speaking, can I have your attention, please?"

Makoto stared nervously at the now quiet gymnasium, packed to the brim with every student and teacher in the school. Makoto turned to his wife, who smiled and nodded encouragingly at her husband. Makoto steeled his nerves and took a deep breath before he turned back to the crowd and began to speak.

"Everyone, I owe you an apology, and an explanation. Last summer, one of my former students, Korekiyo Shinguji, tried to kill my daughter Kiki. During the interrogation, he revealed that he was a serial killer, a fact that had slipped completely by us when he applied to enroll. I…I became concerned that I was permitting criminals and murderers into this school, so I introduced the new regulations to crack down on misconduct in an attempt to weed out…undesirable individuals."

The students broke out into hushed gossip until Makoto briefly tapped his microphone and the resulting sound brought their attention back to the Headmaster.

"But I…I went too far. I punished typical teenage behavior, behavior that I myself probably engaged in from time to time. I asked all of your teachers to enforce these new regulations, and that was unfair to them, and to all of you. And I failed to consult my own administration for advice on whether these rules were actually reasonable."

Makoto sighed as he lamented on how he ignored his own wife for days before he continued.

"But worst of all…I broke one of my cardinal rules. I stopped believing in my students and my staff, and that's no way to run a school. If we are to help you all learn and grow to be productive citizens, then we all need to believe in your talents, and I stopped doing that. It's time I started believing in you all again."

Makoto took a deep breath as he finished "So, effective immediately, I am repealing these regulations, and rescinding any punishments incurred as a result of their enforcement. In addition, my office will once again have an open-door policy. I understand if you don't trust me enough after this to seek out my counsel, but I will provide it to anyone in need of it. You are all shining stars in Hope's Peak Academy, and I hope you can forgive me for my recent incompetence."

Makoto bit his lip as silence continued to permeate the room and eat away at his nerves. Just as he was about to give up hope that his students and employees had any respect and affection left for him, a soft clapping noise echoed in the gymnasium. In a matter of minutes, the soft claps exploded into thunderous applause. Makoto began to tear up at the countless smiles he could pick out from his spot at the podium.

I did it! I made things right! Thanks for setting me straight Kaito! Kyoko, Kiki, everyone, thanks for sticking by me even at my worst! Makoto looked up at the ceiling as he thought And Headmaster…Dad…I hope I've made you proud. I'm sorry I brought you into my fight with Kyoko, and I hope you can forgive me when we finally do meet in the afterlife.

XXX

"Of course I forgive you, son, and I've always been proud of you." Jin whispered from his seat in the Afterlife Theatre.

"Glad to see he was able to see the error of his ways before the damage was permanent." Fuhito commented as he sat next to his son.

Jin smiled and confirmed "Yeah, he did, thanks to Kaito. I couldn't imagine a better person to care for Kyoko and run Hope's Peak Academy than Makoto…but even the best of us need to be set straight every now and then."

Fuhito nodded, his lips curled into a small smile as they watched the students file out of the gymnasium, their spirits lifted as evidenced by the joyful smiles on their faces.

"W…Well done, Professor!" Taka tearfully cried from his seat. "You've redeemed yourself completely!"

Jin and Fuhito sweatdropped at Taka's dramatic response, then sighed with amused, yet exasperated smiles.

"Alright Dad, I should get Taka back to his dormitory."

Fuhito nodded and stood up with Jin and announced "I should get home too. I'll see you another time, son."

"Thanks, Dad." Jin nodded as he watched Fuhito leave the Afterlife Theatre. "Alright, Taka, let's go. I'll take you home."

The still crying Taka nodded and blew his nose as Jin gently guided him out of the establishment as well. The former Headmaster took one last fond look over his shoulder and smiled at Makoto and Kyoko's loving smiles before he exited the building with his student.