The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Kiki Meets Genocide Jill

Chapter Two: Kiki's Night Terrors! Kiki Rebuffs Kyoko?

…They did NOT go to bed. Kyoko did close Kiki's door, but not all the way. Leaving it a sliver open, she planted herself just outside, leaving Makoto to sigh in exasperation. Although he admired that Kyoko would do anything for their daughter, her tendencies to become a helicopter parent sometimes drove him up the wall.

"Honey…" he tried to soothe. "Kiki's fine. I know Jill's appearance gave us all a spook, but we got Kiki out in time, you subdued Jill, and Kiki got her bath and story time like normal. For kami's sake, she was practically conked out when we finished reading Cinderella. She's gonna be just fine…"

"Were you just fine when we escaped Hope's Peak? Or after being exposed to Junko's suicide video, for that matter?"

Makoto winced under her glare, scratching his cheek as he conceded "…You got me there…"

Nodding, Kyoko continued "That's right; you were NOT fine. You had nightmares about both your execution and that video for weeks after they happened. And whether it was you coming into my room to wake me up or me waking up with you after we got engaged, you begged me almost every time to hold you, to comfort you, to make the night terrors go away. Not once did I abandon you to your terrors, Makoto. I won't abandon Kiki to hers either!"

Sighing, Makoto tried to reason "Kyoko, I get what you're saying, but we don't even know if she's gonna have them, and standing in front of her room all night isn't gonna do any good. So why don't we…"

As if on cue, a bloodcurdling scream of terror reverberated throughout the halls, startling the two parents as they looked towards the source; Kiki's room.

Glaring at her husband, Kyoko chided "You were saying?" before throwing the door open and rushing in.

Sighing, Makoto grumbled "Way to go, Makoto. You jinxed it again!" before running in after her.

XXX

Makoto walked in to see Kyoko sitting on the bed, cradling her now crying daughter as Kiki bawled into her mother's chest.

Kyoko rocked back and forth, cooing "Shhh. Shh, shh, shhhhhh. It's okay, Kiki. Mommy's here. Mommy's here."

…Wow, she's fast… Makoto thought before walking up to the opposite side of the bed, crawling on top and over to his wife and daughter before leaning down to place his lips atop her head, peppering the roots of her hair with gentle kisses, their combined efforts soothing and calming down the young girl until she ceased crying altogether, sniffling as she lifted her head from her mother's breast, alternating her gaze between her mother and her father.

"I…" *sniffle* "I'm sorry."

"Shh…" Kyoko interrupted soothingly. "It's okay, Kiki. You don't need to apologize for this. Now, what happened, Kiki?"

Rather than launch into an explanation, Kiki's cheeks tinged red with shame as she looked down, mumbling "It was nothing, Mommy."

Frowning, Makoto watch his wife's face turn to one of confusion as she prodded "That didn't sound like nothing. Come on, you can tell Mommy…"

"It was nothing. Nevermind."

"But Kiki…"

"Nevermind!" Kiki nearly shouted as she glared at her mother.

Kyoko flinched back, Kiki's stare taking her backwards in time as she remembered saying those exact words to her future husband during Taka and Hifumi's murder investigations when he asked her where she had vanished to while everyone was trying to find Robo Justice. Like Makoto back then, she flinched under that familiar glare, shame and anguish filling her heart.

Is this…how Makoto felt…when I shut him down so harshly back then? Kyoko pondered as both she and her husband watched Kiki regress back to whimpering, tears running down her cheeks a she pulled the hoodie of her pajamas over her face while squirming out of her mother's hug to sit on the bed, as though to hide from the prodding of her concerned parents.

Makoto focused intensely on his daughter's series of expressions, a sense of déjà vu striking him as his face softened.

Looking to his wife, he urged "Kyoko, why don't you let me coax Kiki into talking? You head on to bed, alright?"

Aghast at Makoto's suggestion, tears started to run down her cheeks as the former Detective objected "I'm her MOTHER, Makoto! I gave birth to her, I changed her, I fed her, I stayed home and RAISED her! She should be able to talk to me about anything!"

Nodding, Makoto countered "I agree, but I think I have an idea on how I can coax her. Her expressions and actions…they remind me of myself, so maybe my past experience with night terrors will allow me to get through to her. Please, Kyoko, let me try! If I can't, then I'll bring her into our room and we can both try to calm her down together. Please, honey?"

Kyoko wanted to object with every fiber of her being, but even she couldn't do anything when her own daughter was refusing to look at her. Sniffling, Kyoko started to sob as she got off the bed and shakily walked out of the room, closing the door behind her as she walked to their bedroom. Makoto sighed before scooting closer to his sniffling daughter.

"…Hey, Kiki! Wanna tell Daddy about the bad dream?"

Kiki's eyes lit up in confusion as she looked to her father, asking "How…"

Makoto chuckled, reaching with one hand to rub his daughter's back as he joked "Call it a lucky guess. So, tell Daddy about the bad dream? Please, Kiki?"

Unable to resist her father's begging puppy dog eyes, Kiki sighed, acquiescing "Okay, Daddy."

Smiling, Makoto continued to rub her back as Kiki took a deep breath and began her explanation.

"I was in this big black area, then, suddenly, Aunt Toko's face appeared in front of me. But it wasn't like normal; it was the face of that scary Aunt Toko from dinner."

…Genocide Jill…Makoto clenched his free fist as he realized Kyoko was right, and berated himself for not taking the aftereffects of her surprise appearance more seriously.

"She then started cackling, and continued cackling. No matter how far I ran, her face still appeared right in front of me, cackling and scaring me. Then I woke up to you and Mommy…"

Kiki started to cry again, crawling into her father's lap, surprising Makoto as she buried her face in his shoulder, clutching onto his pajamas with a death grip as she sobbed.

Makoto smiled sadly, wrapping his arms around her back and reaching up to bring her hoodie down before stroking her hair and beginning to rock her like Kyoko did.

"It's okay, Kiki. Daddy's here, Daddy's here." Taking a deep breath, he tried to explain "Aunt Toko…she wasn't…feeling like herself today. But she's all better now. She's not going to hurt you; she loves you, just like Mommy and Daddy and Auntie Hina, Auntie Komaru, and Uncle Hiro all love you!"

Sniffling, Kiki replied "…Okay, Daddy."

Satisfied, Makoto moved on "Now, why didn't you want to tell Mommy the bad dream with Toko?"

Looking down, Kiki confessed "It's just…when Scary Aunt Toko came, the way Mommy handled it…she was so strong! And I guess I thought…that I should try to be strong too. So I thought…if I kept it to myself and dealt with it on my own…then I would be strong, Daddy."

Reminded of his own struggles not long before Kiki's conception, Makoto sighed, giving his daughter a smile as he responded "I'll let you in on a little secret. Mommy and Daddy…aren't as strong as you think we are. We're not immune to fear, Kiki; there are times when we get scared too. And sometimes we scream and cry just like you did tonight. We just seem strong because we face our fears together, as a family."

"…Really, Daddy?" Kiki asked as she looked incredulously at her father; the idea that her parents got scared seemed laughable to her.

Nodding, Makoto's smile turned to a neutral frown as he continued "Yes. Now, Kiki…I know you meant well. But, you not telling us when we asked the first time…you really hurt Mommy's feelings. Mommy loves you, she was terrified when she heard you scream tonight, and she wanted nothing more than to hold you and rock you and make the bad dreams go away. And when you didn't let her do that, I think it made her feel inadequate as your Mother, Kiki."

I…I hurt…Mommy? Her eyes filled with tears of shame, Kiki bent over and cried "I…I'm sorry, Daddy…"

Makoto felt her clutch on his pajamas and nuzzle into his chest as he reassured her "I know, sweetie. But you need to tell Mommy that tomorrow. You need to apologize to Mommy and explain to her what you just told me when we have breakfast."

Sniffling, Kiki asked "Can I go apologize to Mommy now?"

Shaking his head, Makoto refused "It's late, Kiki. You're tired, I'm tired, Mommy's tired, we're all tired. Let's have this conversation in the morning when we're all refreshed, okay?"

*sniffle* "…Okay, Daddy."

Makoto smiled as he ruffled her hair, happy that she had agreed to his reasoning.

"All right, it's way past your bedtime, so off to bed with you, young lady."

Makoto lifted his daughter off his lap, placing her back on the bad and bringing the blanket up to her chin, tucking her in once more for the night. As Kiki nestled into the pillow, Makoto kissed the tip of her nose.

"Sweet dreams, Kiki. Daddy loves you."

*Yawn* "You too, Daddy."

Once Kiki had fallen asleep at last, Makoto left the room, closing the door behind him. Sighing in relief, Makoto made his way back to his and his wife's room, eager to rejoin her in slumber.

XXX

"How is she?"

Makoto laid down next to his wife, who currently had her back turned to him, her eyes bloodshot from exhaustion and crying.

Reaching up to stroke her hair, Makoto assured her "She's fine now. I got the truth out of her, and she calmed down and went back to sleep."

Feeling disheartened that Makoto was able to calm Kiki down when she could not, Kyoko cried "…She hates me, doesn't she Makoto? I'm failing as her mother and now Kiki hates me!"

"Shh…" Makoto wrapped his arms around his wife, spooning her as he soothed "Don't fill your head with such nonsense, Kyoko. You are not failing her, alright? Kiki still loves you, and she's going to explain herself tomorrow morning, okay? So let's go to sleep and we can have this conversation together when we're all refreshed."

Kyoko quieted down before turning in his hold and burying her head in his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him closer. Makoto responded by rubbing her back, soothing her into slumber as he soon joined her.