A/N: This oneshot is the result of an ask sent by doomstar87, and takes place after Kiki and the Giant Cookie. Please read and review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Kiki Sleepwalking? Not Again!
"What…where am I…?" Kiki mumbled, standing up as she shook her head, bringing her hazy vision into focus and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She looked around at the infinite blackness surrounding her, causing her brow to furrow as she pondered "This place again? Is this a…"
Kiki trailed off as once more, a giant chocolate chip cookie appeared, floating just out of reach. The current mystery completely forgotten, hearts appeared in her eyes as she licked her lips.
"Mmm…cookie…" Kiki moaned as she stuck her arms in front of her and started walking forward like a zombie, chasing after her prey as it floated just out of reach.
This humorous chase continued for a few minutes until the black void started to dissipate, blending into the dark, yet familiar background of her family's kitchen.
XXX
"Mmm…cookie…" Kiki moaned as she carried her bowl of cookie pieces and milk out of the kitchen, blissfully unaware of the hallway dissipating into the same black void. "Whoa!" Kiki exclaimed as she temporarily lost her balance, sighing in relief as she barely avoided tripping. "Thank goodness; Mommy would have had a fit if I made a mess this late at night."
Makign sure to keep quiet, Kiki tiptoed further down the black void until it morphed back into the familiar comforting walls of her room. Sighing in relief, Kiki sat down on the floor and immediately dug in, moaning in pleasure as the milky, chocolatey treat flooded her taste buds as it gradually poured into her hungry tummy.
XXX
Kiki patted her belly as she set down her bowl, standing up and yawning "…Ah, that hit the spot. Now, time for…aw, not again…" Kiki groaned as the walls of her room dissipated into the same black void she had become so familiar with. "I was all set to go back to sleep, so why…what's that smell…?"
Kiki trailed off, her pouting dissipating as she saw a single, chocolate glazed donut floating in midair, causing her eyes to turn into hearts as she felt her tummy rumble once more.
"Donut! Auntie Hina's homemade chocolate donut! Wait for me, god of donuts!" Kiki gushed, drooling as she chased after the donut.
Eventually, the black void dissipated, revealing a cozy room with a warm furnace, bookshelves filled with different novels and reference books lining the walls as a mahogany desk and chair sat towards the back.
"Is this…Mommy's study? She never lets me in here, so I can't say for certain, but…hey, my donut!" Kiki exclaimed, pondering her location before she saw the donut fly over to the desk, landing right on top of it in a small cardboard box that immediately closed. "Okay, it landed on Mommy's desk…now…how to get up there…?"
She looked around the room until her eyes focused on the chair, cradling her chin in her palm in a very Kyoko-esque pose.
"Hmm…I can climb on Mommy's chair, then use that as a stepstool to climb on the desk…but the chair's just a bit too high…I need another stool…" She continued to look around until her eyes focused on the bookshelf, her eyes lighting up like her Father's as she exclaimed "I've got it! I can just use some of Mommy's hardcover books as a stepstool! They're light and easy to carry, and they can stack, so I can make it as low or high as I need!"
A victorious grin on her face, Kiki immediately ran over to the bookshelf, grabbing as many books as she could hold in her arms before waddling back over to the chair. She then proceeded to stack them one by one until they created a small staircase. Kiki took a deep breath and began to take her first step onto the makeshift staircase.
"Whoa!" She exclaimed as she started to wobble, quickly correcting her balance before taking a deep breath. "Just like Daddy says, put one foot in front of the other…" Kiki chanted under her breath as she carefully climbed the rest of the staircase before landing on the seat of the chair with a hop.
Taking a deep breath, Kiki then crouched and jumped up, her feet dangling as her knees landed on the edge of the desk. Sighing in relief, she crawled forward until she was in front of the box sealing her prey. Her fingers wiggled in anticipation as she slowly opened the box.
Her eyes sparkled as a joyful grin stretched from ear to ear, the young girl exclaiming "YAY! DONUT!" She then proceeded to stuff the donut in her mouth, moaning in between bites "Mmm…chocolate donut…" In less than a minute, the donut was gone, Kiki licking her fingers of chocolate residue as she carefully climbed down from the desk and moaned "Mmm…that was delicious. Now…"
Kiki yawned, feeling her vision become hazy as drowsiness began to overtake her.
"…On second thought…maybe I'll just…take my nap…here…"
With one last yawn, Kiki laid her head on the soft, carpeted floor, falling into slumber as her eyes finally closed, a peaceful smile on her face as she dreamed of cookies and donuts.
XXX
"Kiki…time to get up, Kiki…" Kyoko cooed, peeking in through Kiki's door. "Kiki?" Frowning in concern, she opened the door fully, calling out "Kiki?"
She cautiously approached the bed, only for her eyes to widen in shock as she saw that the sheets had been pushed back, and her daughter was nowhere to be found.
"Kiki?! Kiki, where are you?!"
*Yawn* "…Kyoko, honey…what's with all the racket?"
Kyoko turned to her still drowsy husband and shook him awake by the shoulders, exclaiming "Makoto, Kiki's not in her bed!"
Now fully awake, Makoto frowned before holding her wrists and assuring her "Kyoko, calm down, okay? Let's try and think about where she went before we panic." After they both took a deep breath and Kyoko felt her sense of logic return, Makoto suggested as he mimicked her thinking pose "The last time this happened, she sleepwalked to the kitchen and got into the cookie crisp."
"Makoto, I found some evidence." Curious, Makoto walked over to his wife, who held up a small bowl with a spoon inside as she explained "This bowl wasn't here last night. And there are a couple drops of milk inside and traces of chocolate on the side of the bowl."
Makoto nodded "Okay, so we can assume that she successfully got to the kitchen and brought a bowl of Cookie Crisp cereal back to her room where she consumed it. So then…where did she go? She didn't have a reason to go back to the kitchen. Unless she got hungry again and went to get another treat…"
"…Another treat…" Kyoko's eyes widened in realization as she exclaimed "Makoto! I had a box of Hina's homemade donuts that I was gonna surprise Kiki with this morning to share. I left the box in my study, thinking they'd be safe there…"
"If that's the case, perhaps she went there after she finished the Cookie Crisp cereal. Kiki does love it when Hina gives her donuts."
Frowning, Kyoko wondered "But why, Makoto? Kiki knows better than to go in my study…"
"Honey, if this was another sleepwalking episode, it probably didn't register, since she was likely dreaming. At any rate, let's check your study and find out for sure if she went there."
Kyoko nodded, hurrying out the door in a rush and leaving only a cloud of dust in her wake. Makoto sweatdropped at his wife's urgency before shaking his head with an amused sigh before following her to her study.
XXX
"I knew it…" Makoto muttered, a relieved smile on his face as they spotted Kiki, asleep on the carpet with her lips coated with chocolate residue and her belly protruding slightly from her midnight snacking.
"Kiki!" Kyoko gasped, rushing over and cradling her daughter in her arms.
As his wife fretted over her little girl, Makoto walked over and opened the box on Kyoko's desk, giving an impressed whistle as he remarked "Yep, all of Hina's donuts are gone…so much for sharing them. And it looks like some of your novels have been moved away from the bookshelf and assembled into a makeshift set of stairs next to your chair."
"So…she really…"
Nodding, Makoto explained softly "Here's exactly what happened. Kiki had another sleepwalking episode, probably dreaming about a cookie again, and made her way to the kitchen to eat it, though like last time she actually got a bowl of Cookie Crisp Cereal. With her treat in hand, she managed to make it back to her room to eat it without spilling it. At that point, she probably intended to go back to bed, but caught a whiff of Hina's donuts coming from your office and started dreaming about them too."
"Unable to resist her Auntie Hina's homemade donuts, she made her way to your study and saw the box of donuts on your desk. She would have just climbed on your chair, but she wasn't tall enough to do it by herself. So instead, she grabbed some books from the nearby bookshelf, and created a set of stairs by stacking them into multiple, progressively taller piles."
"Once she was done, she used the book stairs to climb onto the chair, then from there to your desk, before opening the box of donuts and pigging out. Once she was done, she got off the desk and started to make it back to her room, only for her sleepwalking episode to end and cause her to fall back to sleep completely. Isn't that right, Kiki?"
"Mmm…donuts…oh God of Donuts…" Kiki mumbled sleepily, making Makoto smile in amusement.
Kyoko however was not so amused, the former Detective hissing "You are in so much trouble, young lady…"
Her attempt to use her Kirigiri glare faltered, as she couldn't muster the strength to stay mad at her daughter, especially once Makoto advised "Kyoko…we can't exactly ground her for something she was unaware of…"
Kyoko sighed "…I know…more importantly…this sleepwalking is starting to become a problem. This time it was just donuts, but she could have broken her neck if she fell off my desk."
"Hey, let's not make a mountain out of a molehill, honey. Look, I'll…make an appointment with Mikan and she can help us figure out what's causing these episodes, okay?" Seeing his wife nod in agreement, Makoto smiled and continued "Alright, in the meantime, I'll go cook us actual breakfast. Why don't you bring Kiki back to bed, okay? That way she won't be startled when she wakes up."
Kyoko nodded before turning around and walking out into the hallway, sighing as she muttered "What am I going to do with you, young lady?" Looking down at her daughter snoozing in her arms, Kyoko couldn't help but smile at her cuteness, awkwardly wiping her lips clean with her thumb as she muttered "You're your Father's daughter alright; an absolute glutton who looks adorable while they sleep."
Kiki merely continued to snooze, mumbling softly before slightly twisting in her Mother's arms as she was carried back to her bed, blissfully unaware of her chocolate-filled escapade.
XXX
"So, what's the diagnosis, Tsumiki-sensei?" Makoto asked as the three of them sat in Mikan's clinic, the former Ultimate Nurse standing across from them.
"Well, I don't think it's anything chronic. This is likely just a ph…phase, so if she hasn't already…she'll likely grow out of it."
Kyoko sighed in relief as Mikan took something out of her pocket, offering "Here, Kiki…have a lollipop for being such a good gi…girl…"
"Yay! Thanks, Nurse Mikan!" Kiki cheered before snatching the lollipop, undoing the wrapper and licking the tasty treat like there was no tomorrow.
Makoto and Kyoko stood up, Kyoko carrying Kiki in her arms as she thanked "Thank you for putting our fears at ease, Mikan."
"Oh, it was no pr…problem. I'm just glad I could still be u…useful to…"
"Of course you're useful. Your wonderful Nurse talent is only exceeded by your hope-filled cuteness!"
"K…KOMAEDA-KUN?!" Makoto and Kyoko exclaimed, their eyes widened in shock as they saw Nagito standing just inside the door, a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
"Ah, hello Mr. and Mrs. Naegi! And your little girl too! Oh, I can see the intelligence and capacity for hope in her eyes, just like her parents!"
"Th…thanks…" Makoto replied, flustered as he asked "What are you doing here, Komaeda-kun?"
"Who, me? I just thought I'd give some flowers to my beautiful girlfriend."
G…GIRLFRIEND?! Makoto and Kyoko exclaimed in their minds as their eyes widened in shock.
Mikan blushed, nodding "Yeah…we hit it off after I left Jabberwock Island to become a professional nurse. We've been in a serious relationship since a little after your wedding, and we've been living together for the past th…three years…"
Th…that long?!
Nagito nodded "Indeed, and we've been able to help each other heal from our self-depreciation issues. I still don't think I'm anywhere near Ultimates like you, but I don't think of myself as totally worthless anymore. In fact…" Nagito bit his lip and frowned before admitting "…I've come to regret how much I looked down on the Reserve Course Students when I was a teenager…all thanks to Mikan."
"And Nagito's helped me to become more as…sertive…though I do still stutter sometimes. Still, it's definitely much healthier than I used to be."
Makoto smiled, nodding "Well, we're happy for you two; it seems like you two make a good match for each other."
As Nagito and Mikan blushed, smiling bashfully at the praise, Kyoko set Kiki down and bid them farewell.
"Well, we'll pray for good fortune for you two. Makoto, Kiki, come along and let's go home."
"Bye Nurse Mikan! Bye Mister Komaeda!" Kiki called back, waving as they walked through the door, Makoto closing the door behind them as they left the Ultimate Nurse and her surprise boyfriend in her clinic.
