A/N: Here's Naegiri Week 2022 Day Four, taking place during Kiki's high school years. Please read, review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Naegiri Week 2022!
Day Four: Locked In/Out!
*Knock Knock*
"…Come in." Makoto's eyebrows raised in surprise at the trio's rushed entrance into his office. "Tsumugi? Gonta? Kirumi?"
Kirumi bowed slightly in respect to her headmaster. "Apologies, Headmaster…and Vice-Headmistress…" She amended once she stood up and saw Kyoko standing next to her superior. "We would not have barged in like this if the situation didn't demand it…"
Makoto pursed his lips in curiosity. "I see…what seems to be the problem…?"
"It's Kiki and Saihara-kun!" Gonta exclaimed, causing the two parents' eyes to widen.
"Kiki…" Kyoko's eyes narrowed at the trio. "What happened to my daughter? Is she in danger?"
"W-Well…" Tsumugi giggled nervously, tugging on her collar. "Not in danger, but…they are in kind of a bind, and we can't exactly fix it by ourselves."
As Kyoko took a deep breath, calmed by the news that her firstborn at least wasn't in any danger, Makoto gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Why don't you all take a seat? Tell us everything."
Grimacing, the trio awkwardly sat down, their eyes awkwardly averting the young headmaster's. Kyoko's race morphed into her serious mask from her high school years, while Makoto frowned in concern.
"Okay, who wants to explain what happened?"
"Well…" Tsumugi sighed, confessing, "It started this morning, in Homeroom. We were waiting for Kiki and Shuichi to come to class, so we were just talking to pass the time. Eventually, the conversation turned to…"
"…When are those two going to get their act together?!"
Gonta and Kirumi stared at Tsumugi, confused by her outburst. "Ano…Gonta doesn't quite understand."
"…I believe she's referring to her hypothesis about an attraction between Kiki and Saihara-kun." Kirumi deduced.
"It's not a hypothesis; it's true!" Tsumugi's grin shone with pride. "Trust me, with all the shojo manga I've read and all the romance anime I've seen, I can spot a teenage crush from a mile away!"
Kirumi sweatdropped. "Are you sure you should be taking what you see in fiction so seriously, Tsumugi? Some of those plotlines are things that can only happen in fictional settings, after all…"
Tsumugi pouted, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel's. "Trust me on this; Kiki and Shuichi are totally in love!"
"But…" Gonta pointed out "Kiki and Saihara-kun haven't gone on one single date yet…"
"They're probably just shy! Remember how hard it was for you to ask Kiki out that one summer?"
Gonta winced at the reminder of his failed attempt to woo the young girl. "Oh…Gonta understands…then Gonta guesses you must be right, after all."
Kirumi sighed at how quickly Gonta accepted Tsumugi's argument. "Even if your hypothesis is on target…shouldn't they come to terms with those feelings at their own speed?"
"That'll take forever!" Tsumugi whined. "It took twelve years for Kagome and Inuyasha to get their happy ending! We'll be almost thirty if we let them dance around each other like that!"
"Then what do you plan to do?"
Tsumugi smirked. "As a matter of fact, I've got a plan to get them together, but I need your help to do it!"
Kirumi frowned in hesitation. "I am not sure that this is the correct course of action. If you do everything for them, they'll never achieve the sustainable growth they'd need to make any relationship permanent."
Tsumugi huffed, then turned to Gonta with sparkling eyes. "What about you, Gonta? You want Kiki to be happy, right? Don't you want to make sure she finds her special someone?"
"…Yes, Gonta wants to make sure Kiki finds a boy she likes…" Gonta sighed. "Gonta knows he wasn't the right boy for Kiki…so the least Gonta can do is help her act on her crush with Saihara-kun!"
…I think you've been tricked, Gonta… Kirumi mused as the two turned towards the young maid.
"Well, Kirumi? Gonta's all in, so what do you say?"
"…I still believe whatever scheme you've concocted is ill-conceived…" She sighed in defeat. "However, as a maid, I shall go along with your request. Now, what is this plan of yours?"
Tsumugi grinned. "Excellent! Now, what I have planned is a simple little scheme I like to call…Operation Detective Confession!"
"Operation…Detective Confession…" Kyoko parroted, baffled by Tsumugi's chosen name for her scheme.
"Hey!" Tsumugi passionately protested "It was a great name!" Her eyes softening, the young cosplayer sighed. "If only the actual plan had turned out as well."
"…Alright, and…what did this plan entail?" Makoto asked hesitantly.
"Well…" Gonta began hesitantly. "Once lunch came, we ate together like usual. Once we finished eating, Gonta and Tsumugi had to split up Kiki and Shuichi for the plan to work."
I'm not sure how splitting them up would work to bring them closer together, but I guess I'll find out… Makoto mused. "Very well, tell us how you proceeded to split Kiki and Shuichi up."
"Well, Gonta stood up and…"
"Saihara-kun!" Everyone stared in surprise as Gonta leapt to his feet. "Please come with Gonta! Gonta needs to show you something!"
Tsumugi barely held the urge to sigh and facepalm. Gonta, you're being way too obvious and suspicious! There's no way he'll agree-
"Ah, okay…"
…I stand corrected. Guess Shuichi doesn't think you'd take him anywhere dangerous or something… "That reminds me…" The young cosplayer turned to her best friend. "Kiki, would you mind coming with me? I had this new cosplay I wanted to get your opinion on."
"…Sure, I don't mind…" Kiki replied, curious but not suspicious of her childhood friend.
"Great, then let's go!" Tsumugi cheered, tugging her out of her seat by the wrist.
"Hey, Tsumugi! Slow down!"
"Come on, Saihara-kun! Follow, Gonta!"
"Wah!" Shuichi yelped as the bug enthusiast also tugged him away by the arm. "Is this really so important that we have to hurry?!"
Kirumi sweatdropped as her four friends left the Dining Hall. She sighed, picking at her lunch with her chopsticks.
This isn't going to go well…
Kyoko narrowed her eyes at Kirumi, who fidgeted with her gloves under the intense stare. "If you knew it wasn't going to go well, why did you even go along with it?!"
Kirumi sighed, averting her eyes from Kyoko's gaze. "I was requested to assist, and despite how ill-conceived I thought it was…" Tsumugi and Gonta grimaced at the reminder of how flawed the cosplayer's plan was. "…I felt honor-bound to comply with it. Plus…it seemed rather harmless at the time…"
"Let's…move on." Makoto gently suggested, though his frustration bled into his voice. "Tojo-chan, you said that Shirogane-chan and Gokuhara-kun…escorted…Kiki and Saihara-kun separately. What was their plan?"
"…To lock them in a closet until they confessed their feelings for each other."
Makoto sweatdropped. Like that childish Seven Minutes in Heaven game teenagers play at parties…? Shaking the thought from his head, he questioned "And what was your role in this?"
"…I was to procure the key to this particular closet and bring it so that the door could be locked."
"In other words, you committed theft." Kyoko concluded, her lips tugging with downward disapproval.
"…We were going to put it back when we were done…" Tsumugi meekly interjected, only to earn Kyoko's stern glare.
"We can decide on a proper punishment later…" Makoto suggested. "Kirumi, what happened after you…borrowed…the closet key?"
"Well…I rendezvoused with Tsumugi and Gonta. They had already thrown Kiki and Saihara-kun into the closet, and were barring the door. As I approached, I could hear…"
*Bang Bang*
Kirumi hurriedly walked over to the closet. Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she saw Tsumugi and Gonta pushing against the door.
"Tsumugi! Let us out!" Kiki's loud, frantic voice reverberated in the hall.
"Trust me, you'll thank me later, Kiki!" Tsumugi emphatically denied.
"Gonta, please open the door!" Shuichi pleaded. "Whatever you guys want us to do, locking us in a closet isn't gonna do anything!"
"Sorry, but, Gonta promised Tsumugi he'd help." Gonta reluctantly refused before his eyes settled on the young maid. "Kirumi, great timing! You have the key?"
With a reluctant sigh, Kirumi pulled the key out of her pocket. "Yes, it's right here. But are you two sure about this? Isn't this going a little far?"
"Nonsense!" Tsumugi shook her head. "Can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, after all! Kiki and Shuichi will thank us later once they get together."
"We're not getting together!" Kiki denied from the closet.
"Ignore her, she's just being stubborn. Just give the key to Gonta so he can lock the door."
"…If you insist…"
Still skeptical that Tsumugi's plan was going to work, she nonetheless handed the key off to Gonta. With a grateful nod, he put the key in the lock and twisted it.
*Snap*
"…Gonta…" Tsumugi hesitantly inquired. "What was that…?"
"Well…ano…"
Kirumi sighed at Gonta's stammering. "I believe that was the key breaking."
Gonta frowned, holding out the broken handle of the key. "Sorry…Gonta didn't mean to break it…"
"This is a disaster!" Tsumugi fretted. "We only wanted to lock them in long enough for them to confess, not make it their tomb!"
Kirumi sweatdropped. "While I believe you're exaggerating, it is a problem that our only key is now broken."
"Gonta sorry…" Gonta hung his head in shame. "What're we gonna do?"
"…I believe our only option now is to inform the Headmaster of this little incident."
"WHAT?!" Tsumugi shook her head. "No, no way! If we do that, then the Vice-Headmistress will definitely find out! Headmaster Naegi might not be that scary, but his wife is another story! I've heard plenty from Kiki and other students about how scary the Vice-Headmistress can be when she punishes troublemakers!"
"I have no desire to be sent to her office for discipline either, but what choice do we have?" Kirumi pointed out. "We put Kiki and Shuichi in this mess, and we lack the means to get them out of it."
"But-"
"Gonta…thinks Kirumi's right…" Gonta smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Gonta thinks we need to take responsibility and get help to free Kiki and Shuichi."
"…Guess I'm outvoted…" Tsumugi sighed. "Fine, let's just go and get this over with…"
With heavy footsteps, Tsumugi forced herself to walk towards Headmaster Naegi's office. With nervous frowns, Kirumi and Gonta quickly followed her, leaving Kiki and Shuichi to cry for help in futility.
"I see…" Makoto mused. "So you came to get our help once you realized you had no way of getting them out of that closet you locked them in."
Gonta nodded, his eyes drooping in shame. "Yeah…Gonta could have broken down the door, but Gonta didn't want to intentionally destroy school property…"
Kirumi and Tsumugi sweatdropped at Gonta before the young maid cleared her throat. "In any case…can you help us find a way to get them out of there? We'll accept whatever punishment may come for our actions."
"Detention, here we come…" Tsumugi muttered, earning her a silent glare from the Vice-Headmistress.
"We can discuss your punishment later…" Makoto stood up. "For now, we need to get them out of that closet. Vice-Headmistress, do you have your Skeleton Key on you?"
Kyoko smirked, twirling it around her finger. "I haven't parted with this since our high school days. Well, shall we go?"
*Bang Bang*
"Ah, Kiki…" Shuichi tried to calm down his friend and partner as she tried to kick the door down in vain. "…I don't think you kicking is gonna help…"
Feeling Shuichi's gentle hand on her shoulder, Kiki sighed and relented. "Gomen, Shuichi…" She sighed, sitting down next to him and crossing her arms over her breasts. "I just can't believe they trapped us in this closet. I can't believe I fell for that trick!" She facepalmed, muttering, "Kami, I must be the most gullible detective ever!"
"Hey, I fell for it too, and I've been training for a lot longer." Shuichi pointed out in an attempt to cheer her up. "We didn't want to believe our friends were planning anything deceitful, that's all. And…they weren't trying to hurt us or anything, right?"
"I guess…" Kiki huffed. "They're just being way too nosy, Tsumugi especially. I bet she masterminded this whole thing…trying to trap us in here just to get us to confess…even if we did feel…like my parents feel about each other…" Kiki's cheeks turned pink at that line of thought. "…It's none of their business whether we're lovers or just friends."
"Yeah…" Shuichi nodded. "I think their hearts were in the right place, but how well we get along isn't any of their business."
Kiki's head bobbed in concurrence before her eyes narrowed into a glare eerily reminiscent of her mother's. "When we get out of here and I get my hands on Tsumugi, I'll-"
*Click*
"Huh?!" Her anger dissipating, Kiki looked up at the door along with Shuichi. "What was that?"
"Ah, I think that might be our rescue…" Shuichi deduced, proven right as the door opened, revealing Kyoko's relieved form.
"Mom!" Kiki grinned, leaping to her feet and practically tackling her mother in a grateful hug.
Kyoko winced, but smiled and patted her daughter on the back. "I think you're getting a little big to be tackling your mother like that, am I wrong?"
Kiki blushed in embarrassment, muttering an apology as she released her mother. Once she and Shuichi exited the closet, they came face-to-face with Makoto's smiling face.
"Are you two alright?"
Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, we're okay, Headmaster Naegi."
"That's good, I'm glad to hear you two aren't any worse for wear. Now…"
Kyoko cleared her throat and stepped aside, revealing Tsumugi, Gonta, and Kirumi. Their heads hung in repentance for their misguided deeds. Kiki's eyes narrowed once more, reminded of the betrayal she and Shuichi suffered.
"Tsumugi, Gonta, Kirumi, is there something you'd like to say to your friends?"
Tsumugi sighed, muttering "Gomen, Kiki. I came up with the idea, so I understand if you're angry with me."
"Gonta shouldn't have agreed to do it. Gonta only thought it'd make you happy…"
"Not that it excuses my participation, but I was skeptical of this plan and objected to it." Kirumi informed her.
Kiki sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We'll…talk later. Just…give me some time to cool off, okay?"
The trio frowned, but didn't say anything more on the subject. Shuichi frowned in sympathy, pitying them for being on the receiving end of Kiki's ire. Makoto clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention.
"Okay, Kiki, Shuichi, why don't you two call it a day and head home? I'll smooth things over with your teachers for today."
"Ah, thank you, Headmaster." Shuichi replied gratefully.
"C'mon, Shuichi. Wanna walk me home?" Kiki offered as she walked away.
"Ah, coming!" Shuichi cried, hurrying after her.
Kyoko turned her gaze to the three offenders, who practically shivered under her disapproving stare. "Now then…follow me to my office, and we'll discuss your discipline."