A/N: Here's the final chapter of "Kiki's Martial Arts Training!" Please read and review, and enjoy!

The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Kiki's Martial Arts Training!

Chapter Three: Kiki Fights Back!

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Kyoko asked as Kiki stood in the living room with her backpack on.

Kiki smiled and assured her "I'll be okay, Mom. I know how to protect myself this time, so even if Nakajima tries to fulfill her promise, I'll be ready for her. And I promise, I won't use what I've been taught unless she makes the first move."

Kyoko sighed in resignation as she hugged her daughter and whispered "Have a good day at school, alright Kiki? I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." She separated from their hug before she turned around and opened the door. "See you later!" Kiki called before she ran out the door, closing it behind her on her way to school.

"I hope she'll be okay…" Kyoko muttered before she turned around and walked back to the kitchen, rejoining the rest of her family for breakfast.


Ring!

"Alright, everyone. Have a good weekend." The teacher announced as the bell rung.

"Kiki, you ready to go?" Tsumugi asked as she and Gonta walked over to Kiki's desk.

"Yeah, just give me a minute to pack up my stuff."

"…You want us to stay with you?" Tsumugi asked. "Just in case…"

Kiki shook her head and declined "Thanks, you two, but I'll be okay. There's no need for you two to stay behind on my behalf. I'll meet you at the entrance once I've packed up my stuff."

Gonta bit his lip as he asked "…You sure? What if you need Gonta to…?"

Kiki giggled and replied "You're sweet, Gonta, but really, I'm fine."

Gonta blushed and replied "O…okay…Gonta will see you soon, Kiki."

"See you soon!" Tsumugi called as she and Gonta walked out the door, leaving Kiki alone in the classroom.

Once she zipped up her backpack and put her arms through the straps, Kiki said "Okay, I've got my stuff packed up, now to go meet up with…"

"Running out so soon, Naegi?"

Kiki sighed and turned around to see Nobuyo entering the classroom, flanked by her two friends from last week.

"Nakajima."

"You remembered my name, good. That means you also remember what it's time for…"

"Leave me alone, Nakajima."

Nobuyo raised her eyebrows in surprise before she laughed "Ooh, Naegi grew a spine! I'll enjoy breaking it."

"Back off, Nakajima. I don't want to hurt you, or your friends."

"Hahaha! You, hurt us? That's rich, Naegi! Last week you were whimpering and bawling like a little baby, and now you have the gall to tell us to back off? What could a wimp like you possibly do to us? Shizuka, Asuka, remind Naegi of her place in the world."

The two girls nodded before they charged at Kiki, arms raised with the intent to bind her to the wall.

Whoosh!

Crack!

"Aah!" The two girls shrieked as Kiki ducked underneath their assault before she quickly stood up behind them and twisted their wrists.

"What the…" Nobuyo breathed as Kiki let go of their wrists, then turned to face the bully as her friends nursed their aching wrists.

"I told you, I didn't want to hurt anyone. Now leave me alone and let me go home, Nakajima."

Nobuyo seethed, seeing red as she exclaimed "Oh yeah?! So you managed to get the one-up on my friends, big deal. I'll enjoy shattering your tough act and having you beg for mercy. YAAAH!"

Whoosh!

Twist!

"AAAHHHH!" Nobuyo screamed as Kiki leaned to one side, evading her punch before grabbing her wrist and twisting it.

Nobuyo fell to her knees, grunting in pain as she looked up to see Kiki looking down at her.

"Nakajima, I'm not afraid of you. Your punches can hurt me, but they cannot break me. I won't let you torment me anymore. So leave me alone, Nakajima."

"What's going on in here?"

The two girls turned their heads to see the teacher from the last class walk in with widened eyes.

"What ha…"

"Naegi attacked us!" Nakajima immediately pounced, pointing accusingly at Kiki. "She attacked us for no reason and twisted our wrists!"

Not again! Panicking, Kiki tried to deny "No, I didn't…" before the now angry teacher grabbed her wrist.

"Then why are the others on their knees, nursing their wrists, while you're the only one who's uninjured, Naegi-chan?"

"I was just defending myself…"

"We're going to take this to the Principal's Office; he'll deal with this matter accordingly." The teacher cut her off. "Nakajima-chan, you and your friends follow me too. Once we bring you four to the Principal's Office, I'm going to be phoning your parents."

Why me…? Kiki wondered as she felt herself being dragged to the Principal's Office, feeling Nobuyo's smug grin behind her.


Kiki's eyes darted nervously as she sat between her parents in a conference room while Nobuyo, Asuka, Shizuka, and Nobuyo's parents sat across from them. Sitting in between the Naegis and Nakajimas was Principal Kotaro. Makoto and Kyoko each rested a hand on their daughter's shoulders, smiling encouragingly at her. Kiki relaxed slightly before they returned their gaze to the others, their smiles shifting into neutral poker faces.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Taiga sighed. "Nakajima-chan, you're accusing Naegi-chan of assaulting you and your friends, correct?" The three girls nodded as Taiga turned to face the Naegis and continued "Naegi-chan, do you dispute the accusation presented?"

"Yes, Principal. They tried to beat me up and I told them multiple times not to. It was only after they tried to attack me that I disabled them by twisting their wrists."

"I see…and were there any other witnesses to substantiate your account?"

"Well…no…" Kiki admitted. Kami, why didn't I let Tsumugi and Gonta stay?!

"I see…" Taiga sighed "Naegi-chan, I wish I could take your word for it, but given how you're the only one who hasn't suffered any injuries, however minor they may be, I'm inclined to lean towards believing Nakajima's account."

Nobuyo grinned smugly, causing Kiki to panic No, not again! She's gonna get away with framing me for something I didn't do! I…

"I believe my daughter." Startled, everyone turned to Kyoko, who continued "You also haven't introduced any evidence directly implicating her as an assailant, so until you do, I'll believe in my daughter's innocence. I made the mistake of doubting her once, I won't do so again."

"Mom…"

Taiga sighed "Vice-Headmistress Naegi, I appreciate that you're sticking up for your daughter, but I cannot act on mere belief."

"Did you know that Nakajima was once sanctioned in elementary school for framing my daughter for academic dishonesty?"

Taiga's brows furrowed as he admitted "It was on her record when Higashimachi Elementary School sent over her files. I'll admit it reflects poorly on her character, but are you suggesting that it has something to do with the incident at hand?"

"Indeed I do. You see, after Kiki was exonerated, Nakajima swore revenge on my daughter. This incident was one such opportunity to exact such revenge." Taiga's eyes widened as Kyoko continued "In fact, this wasn't the first time she tried to exact retribution on my daughter."

Mr. and Mrs. Nakajima's eyes widened before Mrs. Nakajima scowled and growled "How dare you…you have no proof of this accusation?"

Kyoko smirked and chastised "Mrs. Nakajima, you shouldn't act so confidently when your daughter has already confessed to malice against my daughter once before. And since you brought it up, I actually do have proof."

Kyoko reached into her breast pocket and pulled out several photographs. She placed them on the table and fanned them out for everyone to see, causing Kiki to blush in embarrassment.

"Exactly one week ago, my daughter snuck into her room through her window. When my husband and I found her, she was covered in head to toe in bruises. When we inquired as to how she received such a brutal beating, she told me that Nakajima and her two friends over there violently assaulted her. The timestamps on these photos prove her account to be true. How else could she have received such awful bruises all over her body?"

I guess it was a good idea for Mom to insist on taking those photos, even if it felt really embarrassing at the time… Kiki lamented.

Taiga inspected the photos before he nodded and replied "I see…Nakajima, do you have any evidence to contradict these photos?"

"I…I…"

"You don't, do you?" Kyoko smirked as she continued "Today you tried to assault her again, but you didn't expect that my daughter had taken self-defense lessons and could defend herself."

"You…you…" Nobuyo growled as Makoto and Kiki looked at her in pity.

"Nakajima-chan, please…just tell us the truth." Makoto advised. "I don't enjoy accusing anyone of assaulting my own children. But Kiki deserves justice for what she suffered, not to be accused of starting a fight she didn't start. So please, the truth."

After a tense and uncomfortable silence, Nobuyo finally spat "Yeah, I did it. I assaulted Kiki Naegi, and I'd gladly do it again. Her suffering is the only way I have of exacting my revenge against your family for what happened to Leon. So yeah, I'd take any chance I could get to make her feel even an ounce of the pain he felt."

Nakajima…you really hate me that much…?

Taiga sighed and decided "Nobuyo Nakajima, since it's clear you have no intention to show any remorse for your actions, I have no choice. For violating Nihonbashi Junior High's zero tolerance policy, you are hereby expelled. Asuka, Shizuka, you two are suspended for two weeks."

Nobuyo glared at Kiki as she and her parents stood up, walking out of the conference room with Asuka and Shizuka following close behind her.

"There, hopefully now you won't have to worry about any more threats of violence at this school." Taiga sighed as he looked at the Naegis. "Naegi-chan, you have my most humble sympathies for what you suffered this past week."

"It's okay, really. I just wish it didn't have to come to this…"

Her parents each placed a comforting hand on her shoulders as they stood up before Kyoko addressed the principal "Well, what's done is done. Principal Kotaro, is Kiki free to go?"

"Yes, you all can leave. Have a good weekend, Naegi-chan."

"Goodbye, Principal Kotaro!" Kiki called back as she and her parents exited the conference room.


"KIKI!"

"Oof! Tsumugi? Gonta?" Kiki winced as her two friends tackled her in a hug. "Gonta, you're kind of crushing me…"

"Sorry!" Gonta apologized as the two friends released her and she caught her breath.

"We were about to come back and get you when we heard you had been taken to the Principal's Office, so we waited outside for you to see if you were okay."

Kiki tearfully smiled and hugged her two friends as she whispered "You two are the best!"

Makoto and Kyoko smiled at the scene in front of them as the trio stayed in that hug for another minute. Once they parted, Makoto walked up to the three friends.

"Kiki's really lucky to have such good friends. As her father, thank you for being there for her."

"Oh…Gonta happy to protect Kiki…" Gonta blushed, smiling bashfully as he responded to Makoto's compliment.

"As much as I hate to break up this touching scene…" Kyoko reminded "Kiki needs to get home so she can do her homework."

"Right…" Kiki waved "Bye Gonta, bye Tsumugi!"

As her friends waved back at her, Kiki followed her parents down the hallway.

Well, I wish Nakajima and I could have talked things out, but I guess there was no other way. At least I was able to protect myself this time. Still…I wonder why she hates my parents so much. What could have happened between them and Leon Kuwata that would make his youngest cousin hate me so much?


"I'm just glad she can't hurt Kiki anymore." Leon sighed as he turned to Sakura. "Guess it's a good thing you and Kenshiro dated, huh? If it wasn't for him, Kiki might not have learned the martial arts needed to protect her from my cousin."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I'm grateful to Kenshiro for teaching her, of course, but Kyoko's no slouch either. For the bare necessities, she would have been more than capable of teaching her daughter the skills she needed to learn."

"Yeah, Kyoko's one tough chick, and Kiki's gonna grow up to be just as tough."

"Indeed." Sakura agreed. "She's a good mixture of her parents. She has Makoto's strong core, but she also takes after her mother as well." She turned around and suggested "Well, things seem to be taken care of. Why don't we go back to the others?"

"Yeah, sure." Leon nodded as Sakura walked out of the Afterlife Theatre.

Leon turned around, frowning as he took one last look at Kiki's smiling face.

I wonder…will she still be able to smile like that once she learns exactly what happened to make Nobuyo hate her so much?