A/N: Here's Chapter Two of "Naegi Family Tickles!" which also includes an ask sent by one of my followers on AO3 and Tumblr. Please read, review, and enjoy!

The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Naegi Family Tickles!

Chapter Two: Mokubo!

Mokubo winced as he sat on the closed toilet, feeling a brief flash of pain as his mother placed a band aid laced with a dab of antibiotic on his bruise. Kyoko gently kissed his bandage before smiling at her eldest son.

"There, all better."

Mokubo smiled and nodded before he stood up and replied "Arigato, Okaa-san."

Kyoko smiled and offered "Come on, let me help you with your homework while your father makes dinner."

"Well, I guess you don't even need my help." Kyoko noted in amusement as Mokubo finished his assigned reading.

Mokubo nodded as he put the book away, explaining "I get nervous and stutter when I'm called in class, but I can read pretty fast when I'm just sitting here in peace and quiet."

Kyoko nodded in understanding, assuring her son "I used to be the same way. One of my favorite pastimes was to curl up with a good mystery novel on the couch or in bed. Of course, nowadays, peace and quiet usually includes having your father in the room too."

Mokubo's eyes widened as he realized "Oh, speaking of Dad…can I show you something, Okaa-san?"

Kyoko raised a curious eyebrow before she agreed with a nod "I don't see why not. As long as it's not anything dangerous."

With a nervous, yet excited smile, Mokubo leapt off the bed and ran over to his closet. He then opened the door and began sifting through the carefully arranged items on the floor.

"I found this one day and hid it in my closet so I could show you…"

Kyoko smiled in amusement as she wondered "Oh, you actually hid something from your mother? What could have been so important to not tell…oh!"

Kyoko rested a hand over her lips as she gasped when Mokubo turned around. The boy smiled sheepishly as he stood dressed in her husband's old hoodie. The former detective was hit with a wave of nostalgia, tears of joy trickling down her cheeks as her son frowned.

"Okaa-san, daijobu ka? Am I in trouble? I promise I took care of Dad's hoodie! I just…"

"Oh, Moku!" Kyoko beamed at her son as she walked over to him.

She kneeled down in front of him and drew him into her loving embrace, causing the boy's eyes to widen.

"I'm not upset…I'm just so happy. You look so cute ad adorable in that hoodie, just like your father!"

"R…Really?" Mokubo gasped hopefully.

Kyoko smiled and pulled back the hood so she could see his eyes before she confirmed "Yes, though it looks a little big for you."

Mokubo looked down and saw what she meant. The sleeves hung way past his hands, the hood recached the tip of his nose when her put it on, and the hem of the hoodie reached down to his knees. Before he could say anything, Kyoko pulled out her smartphone and tapped on one of the apps.

"Stay still, I've gotta take a picture." Kyoko insisted as she aimed the phone at her son, who held back his sigh and did as he was told, grateful that the hood covered his eyes.

As Kyoko flashed a picture, Mokubo sighed in relief before she turned the phone around and enlarged the photo she just took.

"Oh, you look so adorable, Moku! Wait until your father and siblings see how cute you look in your father's old hoodie!"

Mokubo let out a barely audible groan, though not one that evaded Kyoko's trained ears.

She playfully glared at him as she admonished "Oh, no whining. This photo is so cute, it reminds me of when your father groaned about me seeing his baby pictures."

Easy for you to say, you're not the one in the pics! Mokubo deadpanned before he caught his mother's sly smirk and shivered.

"Fine then, if you won't smile, I'll just have to make you smile." She playfully threatened as she crawled over to her son.

"O…Okaa-san…" Mokubo stammered

Whatever words he had to say were caught in his throat as his mother wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her lap.

"Ka…Kaa-san…please don't tihihihihihiiiickle meeeeee! Eeeheheheheheee!" Mokubo giggled as his mother gently slid her hand up his hoodie and shirt before she stroked her fingertips against the hollow of his underarm. "That tiiihihihihihiiickles! Stohohohohohoop!"

"See? You're giggling, isn't that better?" She cooed as her other arm slid up his side to tease the other underarm.

"Nooohohohohohoooo!" Mokubo continued to giggle. "I'm not Oneeheheheheee-chan! You knohohohohow I hate being tiiihihihihiiiickled!"

"Which is why I save it for when you really need to smile and cheer up, like right now. Coochie coochie coo!" Kyoko teased as she continued to stroke his underarms, making her son squirm slightly in her grasp, though she took great care not to tickle him anywhere that would cause him to unintentionally aggravate his injuries.

"Okahahahahahaaay! I won't whihihihihiiine anymooohohohohoooore!" Mokubo giggled. "Just stooohohohohoooop with the tiiihihihihiiiickles! Pleeeheheheheeeeease!"

"Very well."

With that, Kyoko relented, pulling back her hands to gently cradle her son against her. She listened as Mokubo's giggles began to subside. Once he had regained his composure, he looked up into his mother's loving, lavender eyes with his own heterochromatic lavender and hazel irises.

"Moku, I know these pictures can seem embarrassing from your perspective, but to us, they make you look like the spitting image of your father. Isn't that why you wanted to put on his hoodie in front of me, to show me how you could literally step into his shoes?"

The gleam in Mokubo's eyes was all Kyoko needed to confirm her suspicions before she relaxed her grip, allowing Mokubo to crawl off her lap and get on his own two feet.

The two shared a single nod and a shared smile of understanding before Kyoko suggested "Come on, let's see how your father's doing with dinner."