A/N: Here's Naegiri Week 2022 Day Seven, 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 Seven: Class!

"What?! You're out sick, too?" Makoto's lips tugged into a worried frown as he listened to his employee's story about their sudden illness. "Yes, I understand. Of course, don't come in if you're feeling that bad."

Kyoko stood beside him, frowning as she listened to her husband's responses. His pursed lips and bobbing head betrayed just how worried he was.

"Of course, I'll let your students know you're sick. Don't worry, I'll…find a substitute to cover your class today. Thank you, get well soon."

Makoto let out a heavy sigh, nearly slamming the phone back on the receiver. Bowing his head, he ran his fingers through his spiky hair.

"Damn, another teacher out sick. This flu season must be really bad…"

"That's what, the fifth one so far?" Kyoko's lips tugged into a smirk as she resorted to levity to cheer her husband up. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprise if this was a secret ploy to take a collective vacation without us."

Makoto chuckled and sat up straight. "Come on, now, you know I wouldn't suspect my own staff like that just for being out sick." His smile returned to a frown as he lamented, "Though this does present a problem…"

"What do you mean?" Kyoko inquired while Makoto clicked on the Calendar App on his computer, pointing to today's schedule.

"…I know I said we'd find a way to cover for their class, but we don't have any more substitutes available on such short notice. They're already covering for the last few teachers that called in sick."

"I see…that does pose a problem…" Kyoko mused. "So, what's your plan, Headmaster?"

Makoto let out a heavy sigh. "I hate to say it, but…we'll have to teach the class ourselves."

Kyoko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You want to teach a class? You really think we're cut out to be teachers?"

Makoto chuckled. "Hey, how hard can it be? We already have the lesson plan in the shared files, so covering this class should be no problem. Besides…Taka did call me Professor Makoto back at Hope's Peak, so maybe if it wasn't for the Tragedy, I would've become a teacher instead of an administrator…"

Kyoko hummed, contemplating her husband's argument. "Yes, I can see that. You'd have no trouble bonding with your students and helping them learn, at any rate. Alright, I'm willing to give this a try. Let's just examine the lesson plan and student attendance list so we know what we're getting ourselves into…"

Makoto sifted through the files, scanning the information along with his wife. Their eyes widened, however, when they examined the list of students assigned to the class.

"Oh…Makoto…this is…Kiki's English Literature Class!"

"…Well…this is awkward…" Makoto chuckled scratching his cheek. "I just hope we don't end up embarrassing her…"

Kyoko smirked. "Isn't that the fun part of parenthood?" Seeing her husband huff, she assured him "I'm only kidding, Makoto. Let's just focus on preparing ourselves for the material so we can get through her class in one piece."

Makoto nodded and began to print the relevant documents from the teacher's files. Once a copy for each of them was printed out, they began to intensely scan the documents. Their eyes laser focused as their minds committed each word to memory so they wouldn't mess up teaching their daughter's class.

"Hey…" Kiki looked around the classroom, confused as the teacher's desk remained empty. "Where's Chouno-sensei?"

"It is unlike her to be so late…" Kirumi observed, causing Tsumugi to nod.

"Yeah, especially after she got on Kawakami-sensei's case for her spotty attendance."

"Oh!" Gonta exclaimed. "Gonta recalls that Kawakami-sensei was out sick. They brought in a substitute to cover her class."

"Ah, do you think Chouno-sensei might have gotten sick too?" Shuichi pondered. "The flu season is unusually strong this year. Maybe it hit some of our teachers?"

Their conversation was interrupted, however, as the door swung open. To their surprise, who entered the room wasn't Ms. Chouno, but Makoto and Kyoko themselves.

Mom?! Dad?! Kiki exclaimed in her mind, her eyes widened in shock. Why are they here? Did someone get in trouble?

Seeing the students look suspiciously at each other, Makoto smiled and reassuringly gestured with his hands. "Settle down, settle down, nobody's in trouble." Seeing the class slump in their seats out of relief, Makoto cleared his throat. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering where Chouno-sensei is."

Kyoko took over, explaining, "Ms. Chouno called in sick, and there were no available substitutes to cover her class."

No substitutes?! Kiki barely held a shocked gasp in her chest. The flu season was really that bad?!

Kyoko nodded. "Given the lack of available staff, Headmaster Naegi and I have decided that we will teach in her place."

HUH?! Kiki's eyes threatened to bulge out of her head. YOU'RE TEACHING MY ENGLISH LITERATURE CLASS?!

"Yes, Miss Naegi, we are indeed teaching your class." Kyoko answered with a smirk, as though she could read her daughter's mind.

Makoto sweatdropped as Kiki seemed to shrink in her seat, trying in vain to hide her embarrassed blush. The other students quietly snickered at seeing the Princess of Hope's Peak Academy embarrassed by her own mother, though Shuichi had the grace to only show an amused, yet sympathetic smile. Makoto again gestured with his hands to put a stop to it.

"Alright, settle down." As Kiki breathed out a sigh of relief, Makoto continued "According to her syllabus, Chouno-sensei planned to go over the first chapter of The Great Gatsby. So, everyone take out your copies and we can begin the review."

A little too quickly, Kiki pulled her book out of her backpack. Opening it on the desk in front of her, she hid her face behind its standing pages, not wanting anyone else to see the remains of her embarrassed, flushed cheeks.

After the humor had faded from the classroom and the smirk faded from Kyoko's lips, much to Kiki's relief, the class's attention turned to their copies of The Great Gatsby. Makoto had taken out a sheet of review questions and began to call on students.

"Alright…Saihara-kun!"

"Ah, y-yes, Headmaster…?"

"Mr. Naegi will be fine for this class." Makoto chuckled. "Now, then, what is the name of the protagonist of The Great Gatsby."

"…I think it's…Nick Carraway."

Makoto smiled. "Very good, yes, that's correct. Good attention to detail."

I almost missed it, given how most of the chapter goes by without ever mentioning his name… Kiki lamented, glad that Shuichi got that question instead of her. Though it just shows how good he is as a detective…I've still got a ways to go if I'm gonna catch up to him.

"Now then…Shirogane-chan." Tsumugi sat at attention as Makoto inquired "Which character is the following quotation referencing?" Makoto cleared his throat and continued "She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet."

"Oh!" Tsumugi's eyes flashed and an excited smile stretched from ear to ear. "It was Jordan Baker!"

Makoto grinned. "Correct, Shirogane-chan. Chouno-sensei wrote that you have a skill for identifying characters in a heartbeat. Seems she wasn't kidding."

"Of course!" Tsumugi beamed proudly. "My talent for cosplaying allows me to differentiate characters by their descriptions very quickly!"

She was rather memorable… Kiki mused. If for no other reason than the fact that I had no idea what an erect carriage was…

"Now, Gokuhara-kun…" Makoto paused, scanning the list for a question. "Does the protagonist live on West Egg or East Egg?"

"Hmm…" Gonta hummed, crossing his arms over his chest as he bit his lip, mulling the question over. "Gonta thinks…it's…West Egg…?"

Gonta sighed in relief when Makoto nodded in approval. "Correct, Gokuhara-kun. Yes, the protagonist lives in West Egg."

Kiki sweatdropped at Gonta's proud eyes. It's not that hard of a question. Even if you didn't read the book, you'd have a decent chance of getting it right just by guessing.

"Moving on, Tojo-chan." Kirumi folded her hands and lifted he rhead slightly, paying perfect attention to Makoto's question. "Can you explain what Daisy means when she had done gay, exciting things?"

"Let's see…" Kirumi tapped her gloved finger against her lower lip. "I once served a client who utilized outdated language. I believe he used the word gay more than once…to describe how carefree his life was…"

Kiki raised an eyebrow, impressed by Kirumi's repertoire. Just how many people have you served in your life, Kirumi?

Makoto nodded, confirming Kirumi's answer. "Yes, that's correct. Nowadays, gay is used to refer to men who are in a same-sex relationship, but in years past, it used to be a synonym for carefree or lighthearted. Now then…Naegi-chan." Kiki froze, sitting a little too stiffly as her father smiled in understanding. "In Chapter One, Tom Buchanan praises the book The Rise of the Colored Empires. Tell me, what concept is Tom displaying during his conversation about the book?"

Let's see… Kiki hummed, closing her eyes. Colored…was an old term to describe people of color, which were racial minorities in the United States. If I remember correctly, he was talking about how the white race would be…utterly submerged. So, Tom was displaying… "…Racism. Tom Buchanan was parroting the book's talking points about how caucasian people would become a minority in the United States."

Kiki relaxed in her seat when she saw her mother's eyes sparkling with pride. Makoto beamed enthusiastically and nodded in approval.

"Yes, that's correct. The Great Gatsby takes place in a time period when African Americans and people of color were still not treated equally under U.S. law. Though they were no longer viewed as property, in many states they couldn't vote or even sit in the same public places as their caucasian counterparts. Some caucasians held the racist view that racial minorities would one day replace them and feared losing their political power. Sadly, that sentiment still exists today in many segments of modern America."

*Ding Dong Bing Bong*

Kyoko cleared her throat. "That's the bell, everyone. Chouno-sensei should be back in tomorrow morning. According to her lesson plan, your homework is to read Chapter Two, and be prepared to answer her questions on the text."

The students hurriedly packed up their things and stampeded out of the classroom. Once they were sufficently far away, Kiki sighed in relief.

"I don't think I've been so nervous in my life…"

"Ah, because your parents ended up teaching our class?" Shuichi guessed.

"Aw, cheer up, Kiki." Tsumugi elbowed her best friend. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"I have to agree with Tsumugi on this one." Kirumi added "this whole experience makes me wonder how they would have been if they were our teachers instead of running the entire school."

"Gonta thinks they'd be great teachers! Gonta had fun in today's class!"

"Ah, speaking of which, we should probably get to our next class before we're marked late." Shuichi interjected.

"Oh, right. Well, I'll see you guys later, then."

Following Tsumugi's deflated farewell, the group of friends bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Kiki smiled gratefully at Shuichi as they traversed the halls, glad that he ended the conversation when he did. Though she had to admit, Tsumugi wasn't completely wrong.

It was kinda embarrassing having my parents teach my class…but I guess it wasn't that bad. Though I don't really wanna do that again… Kiki shivered at the memory of Kyoko's embarrassing tease. I don't think I could take my Mom's teasing tendencies every day!