A/N: Well, here's Chapter Two of this Gaiden entry. After a one-week time skip, the surviving students of Class 78 come and meet their honorary niece. What could possibly go wrong? Anyways, please read and review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Kiki Meets Her Family
Chapter Two: Auntie Hina, Uncle Byakuya, Uncle Hiro, and Aunt Toko
"Hi guys! Come in, come in!"
Before long, a week had indeed passed, and Makoto led Byakuya, Hina, Toko, and Hiro over to the couches in the living room where they all sat down.
"So…" Makoto turned to Byakuya and asked "Has the school been okay in our absence?"
Byakuya had once again agreed to taking over as temporary Headmaster once Makoto and Kyoko had gone on parental leave, and would continue to do so until Kiki reached six months old, during which Makoto would return to his post and Kyoko would continue as a stay-at-home mom to take care of Kiki until she felt comfortable enough to find a babysitter.
"No troubles as of yet, though some of the students keep pestering me about when you'll be coming back. I swear, Makoto, you're supposed to be a high school principal, not your students' best friend."
Makoto smiled sheepishly at Byakuya's admonishment, then shrugged and replied "I don't see why I can't be both."
It was then that Hina clapped the former Ultimate Affluent Progeny on the back and teased "Yeah, don't be such a grump! I would have ki…err, done anything to have a principal as cool as Makoto when I was a kid!"
After having survived two killing games, the former students of Hope's Peak agreed that certain expressions were off limits for them to use. Though, as Hina demonstrated, there were occasional slipups.
It was then that Hiro coughed, directing all attention to him as he asked "Anyway, Makoto, when are Kyoko and your kid coming to greet us?"
"Right now."
All their heads turned to see Kyoko walking through the room, supporting Kiki in her arms as the infant clad in another set of hoodie-footie pajamas looked at her guests.
As Kyoko and Kiki plopped down in the remaining chair, everyone looked right in her green and purple eyes, making Kiki squirm uncomfortably before Hina gushed animatedly "Ooohhh, she's so cuuuutttteeeee! What's her name?"
The others slightly shifting their gaze, Makoto answered "Kiki. Her name's Kiki."
"Kiki? You mean like that movie from the 80's?" At Makoto's reluctant nod, Hina squealed "Oh, I used to LOVE that movie! And it's such a cute name! Can I hold Kiki? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeaaassseeee?"
Nodding, Makoto affirmed "Of course you can. Kyoko?"
Nodding, Kyoko got up and eased Kiki into Hina's arms, moving the limbs to support her daughter as she advised "There are just a few rules. Keep your voice just above a whisper. Keep your…animatedness to a minimum. And finally, don't get in her face. Komaru learned the hard way that doing any of these things makes Kiki cry."
Nodding, Hina cradled Kiki in her arms and cooed "Hey, Kiki. I'm your Auntie Hina. It's gonna be so wonderful to get to know you. And I promise, once you're able to walk, I'm gonna teach you how to swim. Under my tutelage, you'll be the best swimmer out of anyone your age!"
Despite her tendency to get excited, Hina made sure to keep herself in check. She was soon rewarded by a small, but reflexive smile from the infant in her arms.
*Gasp* "She smiled at me! Makoto, Kyoko, she…she actually smiled at me! Has she ever done that before?"
Crying tears of joy, Makoto shook his head and answered "No, that was her first. That was her first smile, and it was for her Auntie Hina. I'm actually really jealous, Hina!" Mkoto got up from his spot and walked over to kneel in at a forty-five-degree angle to them, permitting him to be in Kiki's line of sight as he encouraged "Hey, Kiki! Can you smile one more time? Come on; smile for Daddy!"
Kyoko shook her head in amusement and admonished "Makoto, that last smile was just a reflex. You'll have to wait at least another month before she can start smiling at will."
"Awwwww….it's not fair" Makoto groaned as he hung his head in disappointment, making Hina, Hiro, and Kyoko giggle at the sight, while Byakuya and Toko gave smirks of amusement.
The former Ultimate Affluent Progeny soon found the tables turned when he found Kiki being offered to him by a grinning Hina, who merely said "Your turn, Mr. Grump."
Gaping, Byakuya attempted to regain his composure, coughing into his fist and declining "I'm uh…not really a baby person."
Hina pouted, retorting "Come on, Byakuya; we're talking about your honorary niece here; I bet she wants you to hold her." Turning Kiki around in her grasp and bouncing her by her armpits, Hina imitated "Hold me, Unkie Byakuya! Hold me or I'll kuuwaiiiii!"
Hina's baby talk made the whole room burst with laughter, even the more stoic Kyoko and Toko couldn't help but giggle at the act. Conceding defeat, a flushed Byakuya wordlessly accepted the young offspring, feeling her eased into his grasp until she was leaning against his shoulder. Kiki gently grasped onto his suit, making even Byakuya softly smile at the cute sight.
For a time, a serene tranquility passed, until Byakuya felt a moisture through the fabric of his clothes.
What…was…that?
Byakuya looked down and saw Kiki drooling on his business suit. The entire room, having witnessed this, was now struggling to hold back giggles. Even Makoto, who just last week had tried to discourage Kiki from drooling, couldn't keep an amused grin off his face. Byakuya tried to separate the baby from his clothes, but her grasp on his jacket turned out to be a death vice that he couldn't break.
Turning to Makoto, he begged "Naegi! Remove your offspring from my person this instant before she ruins my clothes!"
Turning to his wife, who only smiled mischievously, Makoto decided "…I should…but Kyoko and I are having too much fun watching this."
Turning to the woman who had pushed Kiki onto him in the first place, he pleaded "Hina! A little help here, please?"
Shaking her head, Hina concurred "While it's definitely refreshing to hear the grumpy Byakuya Togami finally say the word please again, it's way more entertaining to watch you get bested by a baby!"
Mortified, Byakuya turned back to Makoto and threatened "Makoto, if you don't remove your spawn from me this instant, I'll resign from Hope's Peak immediately!"
Makoto knew that Byakuya was just bluffing, but nevertheless decided to take pity on the billionaire; with a sigh of amusement, Makoto gently grasped his daughter and eased her grip off of Byakuya, urging "Come on, Kiki. Let's give Uncle Byakuya some space and get you cleaned up, okay?"
As Byakuya sighed in relief and cleaned the spit from his clothes with a handkerchief, Makoto grabbed his own handkerchief from his back pocket and proceeded to wipe his daughter's face. Once she was all clean again, Makoto turned to the fortune teller and offered Hiro, do you want a turn?"
Nodding with a smile, Hiro welcomed the infant into his lap as Makoto urged "Go on, Kiki; time to go see Uncle Hiro!"
With Kiki now sitting in his lap and his arms supporting her waist and head, Hiro tried to converse "'Sup, Kiki! It's your totally cool Uncle Hiro! I've got a seriously awesome, free fortune for you right here. For serious!"
"But she can't even understand your fortunes yet…" Makoto deadpanned. "And besides, Kyoko already said no during the baby shower."
"Don't be mean!" Hiro protested. "Besides, what if she wants to hear her fortune?" Hiro appealed to Kiki, cooing "Isn't that right, Kiki? You want Uncle Hiro to tell your fortune, don't you?"
For her part, Kiki merely stared at Hiro, giving him the same blank, disinterested, emotionless stare that was her mother's default expression before she grew fond of Makoto.
Shaking his head, Byakuya commented "See, Hagakure? Even an infantile plebian like her knows better than to agree to one of your fortunes."
Seeing everyone else nod, Hagakure hung his head and moaned "You all suck, you know that?" Sighing, he held Kiki out to Toko and continued "Whatever, I'm too depressed to hold her now. Toko, you're the only one who hasn't held her yet, so it's your turn."
Pointing to herself in shock, took stammered "M..mm…mmmeeee? But I…I cann't hold a ba…baby! What if I drrr…drrrop her or some…something?"
"Toko." The former Ultimate Writing Prodigy gulped before turning to Makoto, who smiled and assured her "You'll be fine. Just take care not to sneeze and we'll all be okay."
Despite the discomfort in the room at the thought of Genocide Jill meeting the newborn Naegi, Toko nodded, reluctantly taking Kiki into her arms, watching as the young girl nestled against her breast. Watching Kiki relax peacefully, a rare, tearful smile finally appeared on Toko's face as she started to cry.
"She…she's so beautiful! Watching her…it's made me remember…how much I want a jewel of a baby of my own!" She then gazed towards Byakuya, who cringed as she quietly squealed "Master Byakuya; let's get married and have our own Ultimate Heir, what do you say?"
"…Not possible."
Pouting, Toko blubbered "But whyyy…whyyy noooot?"
"Because I'm dating him."
"Wh…whaaatttt? Master…dating…yoouuuu?"
"…You said you'd keep that a secret for now."
"…Sorry, my tongue slipped in the moment."
Wow, I did not see that coming… Makoto thought as the whole room went silent, stunned at the admission that had come from none other than Hina herself. Sensing that things were about to get tense, Makoto quickly scooped his daughter out of Toko's arms, handing her to Kyoko as he suggested "Why don't you take Kiki into the bedroom and feed her, and see if she needs changing while you're at it? I have a feeling we might have a love triangle on our hands."
Nodding, Kyoko hurried into the bedroom, closing the door behind her and leaving her husband to play mediator.
XXX
A sighing Makoto at last walked back into the bedroom, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation before looking up and smiling at the sight of Kyoko rocking a now sleeping Kiki on their bed. Kyoko looked up and smiled at her husband, patting the spot next to her in a silent invitation to sit by her.
As he moved to sit at the designated spot, Kyoko asked "Is everything alright? It sounded like an earthquake out there."
Sighing, Makoto nodded and assured her "Yeah; they just need to cool off for a night. I sent them home and told them that today was about Kiki, and if their relationship problems prevented them from remembering that, then they all need to go home until they could."
Kyoko stared at her husband, impressed that the shy, passive man managed to successfully put his foot down in defense of their daughter. A comfortable silence passed before Kyoko, their gaze settling on their sleeping daughter before Kyoko finally broke the ice.
"So, Hina and Byakuya, huh? Weren't they constantly at each other's throats back at Hope's Peak?"
Chuckling in nostalgia, Makoto nodded and explained "Apparently that's why they ended up together. With Hina's temper, she was one of the few who was willing to stand up to him on a regular basis, and according to Byakuya, he eventually grew to admire that about her. So apparently around the time of the baby shower, they decided to try dating."
"…I see…" Smiling, Kyoko mused "Well, they do say opposites attract. I mean, look at us."
Giggling, Makoto recalled "Yeah; with how much you tried to keep to yourself and I tried to get to know everyone, I doubt anyone expected us to become friends, let alone lovers."
Both husband and wife then looked down at Kiki, Kyoko continuing in awe "And now look at us; not only are we married, but we now have a beautiful baby girl to call our own."
Kyoko turned to face her husband, wrapping one arm around his neck as he wrapped both of his around her waist.
"I love you, Kyoko."
"I love you too, Makoto."
The two met in a soft kiss, Kiki gently nestled between them as her parents reflected on their blessings.
Today might have been crazy at the end, but at least Kiki's got a huge family that loves her. It may at times be loud, hectic, and occasionally a little dysfunctional, but I couldn't think of a better family for her. We love you Kiki! Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, Auntie Komaru loves you, Baa-Chan loves you, Jii-Chan loves you, Auntie Hina loves you, Uncle Byakuya…tolerates you, Uncle Hiro loves you, and Aunt Toko loves you.