Make 'em Laugh…Or Cry
A bright and sunny summer day at the Amamiya Residence. Ren was out at work, leaving Ann, Minato, Kimiko, and Morgana at home by themselves. Ann was working on a fashion project in her office when her phone starts to ring. She picks it up to see who it was.
"Amamiya Residence, Ann speaking," Ann said, "Oh, hello, Kaito…you want to talk to Kimiko? She's in the other room with her brother. Hold on, sweetie, I'll get her for you."
Ann held the phone against herself so she could call out to her daughter, "Kimiko, Kaito's on the phone!"
The seven year old Kimiko entered her mother's office in a matter of seconds and Ann handed her daughter the telephone.
"Hey, Kaito," Kimiko said as she let her friend talk, "You have something you want to show me…okay, I'll be there! Can Minato come too…great! We'll be there as soon as we can right after we take a quick stop at Kitamura Cafe to grab some muffins. Auntie Haru usually gets a fresh batch out of the oven around this time. You want anything while we're over there…chocolate chip muffin if they have it? You got it! See you in a few!"
With that, Kimiko hung up the phone and left to go get her brother.
"What did Kaito want, honey?" Ann asked.
"He wants to show me and Minato something," Kimiko answered, "We'll be back before dinnertime, I promise."
Kimiko then called out to her brother.
"Minato, come on!" Kimiko shouted, "Kaito wants us to come over!"
"We're still going to Kitamura Cafe for some muffins though, right?" Asked 11-year old Minato Amamiya.
"Of course," Kimiko answered as she put her shoes on, "Come on, let's go!"
"Bye, mom, we'll see you in a bit," Minato said as he got his shoes on. Morgana walked over to the boy just as he finished tying his laces, "You want to come with us, Morgana, boy?"
Morgana mewed in response.
"I'll take that as a yes," Minato said as he stood up and made his way to the front door with Kimiko, "Let's go, guys."
The two children and one cat left out the front door and made their way to Haru's Cafe.
At Kitamura Cafe, Haru was seen behind the counter, counting the money in the register, while Mitsu plays a song on her violin and Mana is seen sketching a drawing on a piece of paper. There are a few other patrons there enjoying their coffee. Two of these patrons are Riku and Mai Mishima, the former looking at a video on his phone and the latter writing something down in a notepad. It's at this point when Minato, Kimiko, and Morgana enter the scene. The two kids and one cat walk up to the counter to greet Haru.
"Hey, Auntie Haru," Minato said.
"Oh, hello Minato, Kimiko, Morgana," Haru greeted the trio, "What can I get for you three today?"
"One baker's dozen of muffins please," Minato said as she handed Haru proper payment, "The usual; Three blueberry, four chocolate chip, three corn, and three banana-nut."
"Coming right up," Haru said as she took the money, put it in the register, handed Minato back exact change, and went in the back to fetch the muffins. While they waited, Kimiko decided to go talk to Mitsu as she had just finished playing her song.
"Wow, Mitsu, your violin playing is getting better and better by the day," Kimiko complimented.
"Thanks, Kim," Mitsu said as she put rosin on her bow, "I should hope so if I want to be the best someday."
"Well, keep at it and you will be," Kimiko said as she went over to Mana who was alternating between sketching and cleaning the menus for the cafe, "What are you up to, Mana?"
"Well, when I'm not cleaning off mom's menus, I'm doing some sketching. See," Mana said as she picked up her piece of paper to reveal what she's been sketching; a bouquet of flowers.
"Wow, Mana, that's really good!" Kimiko said impressed, "I mean it, you're almost as talented as Uncle Yusuke."
"Thank you, Kimiko," Mana said, "But I intend on making this art thing a side gig. My main goal is to one day run mom's cafe when she retires."
"So, barista by day, artist by night," Kimiko asked.
"Exactly," Mana nodded.
"Wow, that's great," Kimiko said, envious of the Kitagawa twins for figuring out what they want to do with life and finding skills that they excel at.
"Huh, so that's how they did that," Kimiko heard Riku say from his and Mai's table, causing the little blonde girl to come over.
"What's going on over here?" Kimiko asked.
"Oh, hi Kimiko," Mai greeted, "Nothing much, Riku and I are trying to come up with ideas for a video game. I'm trying to figure out a compelling story while Riku is watching tutorial videos on how to use this video game developing software our parents bought for us for our birthday."
"You guys are trying to make a game?!" Kimiko asked, impressed.
"We'd like to at least get an idea as to what kind of video game we should make," Riku said, "Mai and I have so much fun playing video games that we just, kind of felt inspired to make one of our own."
"I'm more of a storyteller so that's why I wanted to try and make the story," Mai said.
"Game developing and story writing," Kimiko said as she looked at the respective Mishima kids, once again feeling envious of their skills and callings in life, "That's mighty nifty."
"Kimiko, I got the muffins, let's go!" Minto said as he was seen making his way towards the exit, carrying the boxful of muffins.
"Well, I gotta go," Kimiko said, "Catch you later."
"Yup," Riku said.
"Take care," Mai said as she and her brother got back to work and the Amamiya children and Morgana left the cafe.
To get to the Watanabe Residence, Kimiko, Minato, and Morgana decided to take a shortcut through the park. As they walked along the path they found Hotaru Yajima, who was currently sitting on a bench and filming a nearby basketball game. The trio decided to go over to the scarlet haired ten year old to see what he was up to. They approached him just as the players stopped to take a break and Hotaru turned off his camera.
"Hey, Hotaru," Minato said.
"Minato, Kimiko, Morgana, what's going on, guys?" Hotaru greeted.
"We couldn't help but notice what you were doing?" Minato said, "Pretty good game they have going on over there, eh?"
"Yeah," Hotaru said, "I was just coming back from buying a better battery for my camera when I saw this basketball game going on. It looked like so much fun I couldn't not record it a little bit."
"You're really getting into filmmaking, aren't you?" Kimiko asked.
"It's all I know in this world, Kim," Hotaru said, "I guess I owe it all to a core memory of mine. When I was about three years old I got out of bed one night to get a glass of water when I saw my parents watching this really old movie. It must've been around the end because it had this man talking to this woman who was about to get on this plane. I'll never forget that movie's final word's, "Here's lookin' at you, kid." That whole scene just stuck with me, you know, like I feel as though there's something in my head telling me to make a scene as good as that one one day and show it to the masses."
"That's pretty cool, Hotaru," Minato said, "I hope you get the chance to make that dream of yours a reality one day."
Before Hotaru could say anything else, they noticed a crowd gathering at the tennis court.
"What's going on over there?" Kimiko asked.
"Let's check it out," Hotaru said as he led the Amamiya children and Morgana to the tennis court. When they got there they found Himari Sakamoto and Kasumi II Tanaka, A.K.A Kas, about to face off in a tennis match.
"So you think you can beat me, Kas?" Himari boasted.
"I don't think I can, I know I can!" Kas said.
"Then enough talk!" Himari shouted as she prepared to serve the ball, "Have at you!"
Himari hits the ball at Kas hard, and she hits it back with even more intensity. That didn't scare Himari, who hit the ball back over the net. The two girls continued their tennis match with Hotaru, Kimiko, Minato, Morgana and the rest of the crowd watching intently the whole time. Hotaru knew this was a moment he wanted to catch on film so he recorded the whole match. When all was said and done, Himari had beaten Kas, who didn't even score once. Himari took a bow as everyone cheered.
"Himari's pretty good," Kimiko said in awe.
"She's been playing tennis for about three years now," Minato said, "I imagine she would be pretty good."
"Anyone else feeling brave today?" Himari asked the crowd as another kid stepped up wanting to challenge her. Kas handed her racket to the kid as she went over to Minato, Kimiko, Hotaru, and Morgana.
"Man, when Himari plays she plays for keeps," Kas said, "I'll tell you what though, if this was a gymnastics tournament I'd be whipping her six ways from Sunday."
"Speaking of that, I heard the Junior's Tournament just wrapped up," Minato said, "How'd you do?"
"Does this answer your question?" Kas asked as she pulled out her phone and showed the three kids and one cat a picture of a first place trophy.
"Very nice," Hotaru said.
"I guess that means you're a great gymnast," Kimiko said, feeling envious that yet another one of her friends has something resembling 'direction' in her life.
"Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we have to hurry over to the Watanabe's," Minato said, "Kaito has something he wants to show us."
"Well we won't keep you," Kas said, "You three take care now."
"Later," Minato said as Kimiko and Morgana followed him out of the park.
At long last, Minato, Kimiko, and Morgana made it to the Watanabe Residence. Minato knocked three times only for Kaito himself to answer moments later.
"There you guys are," Kaito said happily.
"Hi, Kaito," Kimiko said as she grabbed one of the chocolate chip muffins and handed it to her best friend, "This is for you."
"Thanks, Kim," Kaito said as he took the muffin, a small blush on his face, before inviting the trio inside, "Won't you guys come in?"
"Of course," Minato said as he, his sister, and his cat walked inside. Upon entering the house, the three of them smelled the heavenly aroma of a cake in the oven, "That smells good," Minato said, "Is your mom baking something?"
"Actually, my mom and my sister are baking something," Kaito said.
"Nariko bakes now?" Kimiko asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah," Kaito said, "A few weeks ago Nariko just walked up to our mom and asked her to teach her how to bake. Next thing any of us knew, she's helping mom in the kitchen much more, especially when the making of baked goods are involved. It's honestly kind of amazing."
"So, Nariko enjoys baking?" Kimiko asked.
"Yup," Kaito answered, "But enough about that, let me take you guys up to my room so I can show you what I want to show you."
The Amamiyas and Morgana follow Kaito upstairs to his room, and upon entering his room they find a brand new telescope standing next to his bedroom window.
"Wow!" Minato said in amazement.
"Darn right, wow," Kaito said as he stood next to his telescope, "I saved up allowance for months so I can buy this thing. And I couldn't have picked a better time to get it too. There's a meteor shower happening in a few nights and I'd very much like to check it out."
"I never knew you had a fondness for this kind of stuff, Kaito," Kimiko said.
"Are you kidding," Kaito said, "For as long as I can remember, space has always fascinated me. When I grow up I want to be a scientist so I can just observe the stars and planets, and take in their celestial beauty."
"That's awesome, Kaito," Minato said.
"Man, it seems like everyone has figured out what they want to do with their lives but me," Kimiko pouted, "Mitsu has her violin. Mana has her art and she's going to acquire her mom's cafe. Riku has his game developing. Mai has her writing. Hotaru has his filmmaking. Both Himari and Kas have their athleticism. Nariko has her baking. And you have your stargazing. But what do I have? Absolutely nothing."
"There's something out there for you Kimiko," Kaito said, "You just haven't found it yet."
"But when am I going to find it?" Kimiko asked.
"Who knows," Minato said, "It could be sometime this year, sometime in the next five years. Heck, some people don't know what they want to do in life until they're about 50 years old. But I wouldn't worry too much about the future right now, Kim. Be like me and live in the now."
"Do you hear yourself, Minato," Kimiko said, "I can't live in the now, especially when all of our friends are grabbing life by the horns. I've got to do what they're doing and find out what I want to do in life, or when I grow up I'm going to end up in a dead end job, not married, and living with over 70 cats."
Hearing that made Morgana let out a disheartened mew.
"Oh, I'm sorry Morgana," Kimiko said as she petted her cat, causing his mood to perk up again, "I didn't mean to upset you just then."
"Just hang in there, Kimiko," Kaito said, "Things will change and you will find something you're passionate about."
Kimiko still looked unsure, but Kaito had an idea to perk up his friend.
"Hey, I'll tell you what," Kaito said, "How about we go downstairs and see if we can find something fun to watch. Maybe a cartoon or an anime. How does that sound?"
"That'd be great, Kaito," Kimiko said, a smile coming to her face, "Thank you."
The two kids and one cat followed Kaito downstairs to the living room where they took a seat on the couch as Kaito grabbed the remote from the table.
"Now, what shall we watch," Kaito asked rhetorically as pressed the power button on the remote. The T.V turned on, and when it did, it tuned into the last channel it was on from before it got turned off; The Comedy Network. There was currently a celebrity roast airing, specifically the Roast of Arnold Bump (Donald Trump) and the audience was heard laughing, meaning a joke was just told. Now a rapper steps up to tell his joke about the politician.
"Arnold says he wants to run for president and move on into the White House," The rapper said, "Why not? It wouldn't be the first time he pushed a black family out of their home."
This joke made the audience laugh again before the rapper decided to roast one of the other celebrity guests.
"Now, Geoff Moss (Jeff Ross), check this out man," The rapper said to the other comedian, "See, Geoff is what you call a throwback because his face looks like something that you can have a hook in it. That's right, that's a fishing joke."
The audience is heard laughing again, and seeing and hearing these jokes unfold started to make Kimiko laugh.
"Whose birthday party is this?" Kimiko asked her brother and her friend, "It's hilarious."
"It's not a birthday party," Minato informed his sister, "It's a rerun of the Roast of Arnold Bump that aired a few years ago."
"A roast?" Kimiko asked.
"Yeah, a roast," Minato said, "You know, when a bunch of people get together and rag on the 'guest of honor' and then said guest gets to roast everyone when they're done."
"It's basically insult comedy," Kaito chimed in, "Something I never really cared much for, but for some reason is very popular in the comedy world."
"I can see why," Kimiko said as she continued to watch the roast, "Can we continue watching this, please?"
"I guess," Kaito said with a shrug of his shoulders, "Is that okay with you, Minato?"
"That's fine," Minato answered.
"Yay!" Kimiko cheered, "Thank you!"
And with that, Kimiko slowly but surely started to gain a new interest; insult comedy.
Minato, Kimiko, and Morgana stuck around until the celebrity roast was over at which point the trio left the Watanabe Residence and headed for home, just in time for dinner. After dinner, Kimiko went into the game room and decided to tune into the Comedy Network on the T.V in there. Sure enough, more celebrity roast reruns were being played. She watched the roasts intently, listening to every single joke that was being told.
Joke #1: From the Roast of Dustin Glieber (Justin Bieber)
"Glieber has 10 million fans, most are in middle school…or at least standing 500 feet away from one."
Joke #2: From the Roast of Harvey Greene (Charlie Sheen)
"The only reason you got on T.V in the first place…is because God hates Mitchel G. Hawkes (Michael J. Fox)."
Joke #3: From the Roast of Tastee Taste (Flava Flav)
"I've never roasted an oily cadaver before…You're like a skeleton wrapped in electrical tape."
Just about every joke made Kimiko laugh as her interest in insult comedy grew more and more with each passing minute. Eventually, Ann came in to see what her daughter was up to.
"Alright, Kimiko, it's getting late," Ann said, "Time for you to be heading off to bed."
"Aw, okay mom," Kimiko said begrudgingly as she shut the T.V off and made her way to her bedroom.
"What were you even watching anyway?" Ann said, curiously.
"Something totally amazing," Kimiko said as she continued to make her way to her room.
The next day, Kaito went to round up the rest of his and Nariko's friend group because she had a surprise she wanted to show them. So Kaito gathered the likes of Minato, Kimiko, Hotaru, Himari, Kas, Mai, Riku, Mana, and Mitsu and they all met up by the pond at Rikugien Gardens so Nariko could show them her surprise.
"So what do you guys think Nariko wants to show us?" Mana asked her friends.
"Could be anything," Hotaru said, "Maybe she brought a new outfit."
"Or she came up with an idea for a new game we could play," Kas said.
"The suspense is killing me, Kaito," Mana said, "Tell us, what does Nariko want to show us?"
"Sorry, Mana," Kaito said, "You'll just have to wait."
"While we wait, do any of you want to hear some of the jokes I heard on last night's roasts?" Kimiko asked.
"You watched more of those roasts last night, Kim?" Kaito asked.
"Of course," Kimiko said, "They're hilarious. Why don't you like them, Kaito?"
"I just think they're kind of mean spirited," Kaito said, "Telling jokes at each other's expense."
"I don't think they mean anything by it, Kaito," Kimiko said, "They're only being funny. Everyone laughed during the roasts."
"Well, not everyone can take a joke as well as them, Kim," Minato said as Kaito looked into the distance to find Nariko approaching, and holding a tray. But since she was at a distance, they couldn't see what was on the tray.
"Hey, here she comes," Kaito said as everyone awaited for Nariko to finally arrive.
With Nariko, she could see her friends in the distance, eager for her arrival. She then looked down at the tray, which had some freshly baked cookies on top of it.
"I can't wait until everyone gets a taste of my cookies," Nariko said, proud of the batch she had made.
As Nariko walked, she passed a skater who was trying to do a trick on his skateboard. Unfortunately, he wipes out, causing his skateboard to roll into Nariko's path. Nariko wasn't looking where she was going, and was unaware of the skateboard that's right in front of her.
"Hey, dudette," The skater shouted, "Watch out!"
But it was too late, Nariko had stepped on the skateboard, causing her to start rolling fast down the pathway, screaming all the while.
"Oh, this ain't good," the skater said as he gave chase.
With the rest of Nariko's friend group, Kaito notices that she's coming up to them fast and she's being chased by the skater.
"What's going on?" Kaito asked as Nariko got closer to them.
"I don't know but she's coming in fast!" Mai exclaimed as Nariko approached.
"Look out, guys, I can't stop!" Nariko shouted to her friends, still riding the skater's skateboard
"Get out of the way!" Kas screamed as the 10 kids moved out of the way to avoid Nariko crashing into them. With nobody in the way, that meant Nariko was now heading straight for the pond.
"I am very much in danger!" Nariko screamed as she went flying into the pond with the skateboard and her tray of cookies. The skater managed to catch up to Nariko just as Riku walked into the pond to get his friend out of the water.
"Oh my God, are you alright?" The skater asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Nariko said as she and Riku stepped out of the water.
"No, I didn't mean you, dudette," The skater said as he went into the water to retrieve his skateboard. He picked his skateboard up and started cradling it as if it were a baby, "Shhh, it's okay, daddy's here. Everything's going to be alright."
As the skater walked off, the 11 kids just watched in awkward silence.
"Okay, that was a thing that happened," Himari said.
"Are you alright, Nariko?" Riku asked.
"I told you, I'm fine," Nariko said, "But I'd be better if my cookies weren't dissolved in that pond."
"It's okay, Nariko," Mai said, "We can always help you bake a new batch."
"But for right now, I'm going to go find a towel for you," Riku said as he left the group. However, seeing Nariko dripping wet, and having discovered the world of insult comedy, gave Kimiko an idea…a wonderful, awful idea.
"Ladies and gentleman," Kimiko began as she pointed at the soaked Nariko, "The Rikugien Pond Monster has stepped out of its natural habitat! Oh wait, it's just Nariko!"
Hearing that joke made Hotaru, Himari, Mai, Kas, Mana, and Mitsu laugh out loud. Minto and Kaito, however, were shocked that Kimiko would try insult comedy now of all times, and Nariko just blushed in embarrassment as six of her friends were laughing at her.
"Riku left to go find Nariko a towel," Kimiko said, starting up another joke, "But I think what he really should get her is some skating lessons."
This second joke made everyone, with the exception of Minato, Kaito, and Nariko laugh even harder. Kimiko then went over to Nariko, ready to fire off another joke.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Kimiko said, acting like a police officer, "I'm going to need to see some license and registration, please. You're driving that skateboard pretty fast and I'm going to need to take you downtown to the station."
Once again, laughter from all but three of Kimiko's friends were heard, as Nariko just stared down at the ground sheepishly.
"Hey, sing along if you know this one," Kimiko said as she cleared her throat, "She's not a skater girl, she said see you later girl. Nariko's not good at skateboarding. She has a pretty face, but she's just a basket case, she needs to come back down to Earth!"
Hotaru, Himari, Mai, Kas, Mana, and Mitsu laugh once more as Minato and Kaito just look at Kimiko, who is currently taking a bow, and shake their heads.
"Oh, Kimiko," Kaito said disappointedly.
Meanwhile, Mai had stopped laughing to look over at Nariko who had an embarrassed and angry look on her face.
"Oh, come on, Nariko," Mai said, trying to cheer her friend up, "You've got to admit it was pretty funny."
Nariko only pouted and said, "Yeah, so funny I forgot to laugh."
Sometime later, back at the Amamiya Residence, Minato was seen in his room reading Cleanser manga (Bleach), when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Minato said, causing his sister Kimiko to enter, "What's up, Kim?"
"Just wanted to come by to ask you your thoughts of my 'comedic debut'?" Kimiko asked her brother.
"You mean when you humiliated Nariko into next week?" Minato asked, unamused.
"Oh, you're blowing things out of proportion," Kimiko said, "The comedians on last night's roasts do that all the time, but nobody seemed to mind. Besides, everyone loved my jokes today."
"Well," Minato said, disappointed in the fact that she failed to notice that Nariko wasn't laughing earlier, "If you asked me, Kim, I thought that you were being kind of…"
"Sorry, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to make some more jokes," Kimiko said as she left her brother's room. Minato meanwhile, just finished his sentence without anyone around to hear it.
"Kind of a jerk."
The next day, Hotaru was seen leaving the local pizza parlor. In his hands, he had a slice of anchovy pizza, a topping that Hotaru honestly didn't mind all that much; he wasn't sure why anchovies were so hated so much by pizza lovers.
"Mwah," Hotaru said as he blew a kiss from looking at his lunch, "Delicious."
As Hotaru walked, he started nibbling away at his fishy pizza. He was halfway done with his slice when he got a text from Himari that read: "Meet us at Komazawa Park for a dodgeball match." Hotaru continued eating his pizza as he made his way to Komazawa Park.
Meanwhile, at Komozawa Park, the rest of Hotaru's band of friends have gathered at a basketball court, a bag full of dodgeballs not too far from them. Himari just looked at the time on her phone as she impatiently waited for Hotaru to arrive.
"Where the heck is he?" Himari asked as she tapped her foot.
"Maybe he ran into traffic?" Riku asked.
"He's walking here and maybe taking a train," Himari said.
"Maybe the train's running late," Kas said.
"Wait, here he comes," Kaito said as he sees the young, aspiring filmmaker approaching them.
"Hello, everyone," Hotaru said, his bad breath from his anchovy pizza wafting over to them, causing most of his friends to gag and gasp for air.
"Augh!" Nariko gasped as she covered her nose, "What is that smell?"
"Oh, sorry guys," Hotaru apologized, "I had a slice of anchovy pizza on the way over here."
"Oh, is that it," Kimiko said, a joking tone in her voice, "I thought you just took a shortcut through the harbor."
Hearing that made everyone but Minato, Kaito, and Hotaru chuckle, the latter of whom just went 'Huh?' upon hearing everyone's laughter.
"Seriously, Hotaru, there's this new invention that's sweeping the nation called 'toothpaste'," Kimiko teased, "Maybe give a try sometime?"
Hotaru just looked down at the ground, embarrassed and kicked a pebble as most of his friends laughed at Kimiko's jokes. Mai, much like with Nariko, went over to him to try and talk to him.
"It's okay, Hotaru," Mai began, "Kimiko's only joking. You have to learn to laugh at yourself."
"Meh, I'm not in a laughing mood right now," Hotaru said.
"Alright, enough jokes," Minato said, "It's time we play some dodgeball! Himari and I are captains. Since there's 11 of us, one of us is going to have to sit out this first round and be the referee. Any takers?"
"I'll do it," Kimiko offered.
"Alright, let's get to picking teams," Minato said. A few minutes later and the teams were picked.
Team Minato: Minato, Mitsu, Mana, Kas, and Riku
Team Himari: Himari, Hotaru, Mai, Nariko, and Kaito
"Hope you're ready to get creamed," Himari said as she bounced a dodgeball in her hand.
"Oh, you're going down, sister," Kas said, "We're going to bring the dinner to the table, and then we're gonna eat it!"
"Bring it on!" Himari exclaimed.
Kas made the first move as she threw the ball right at Himari, who dodged out of the way. She then retaliated by throwing a dodgeball back at Kas, who moved out of the way quickly.
"FOR THE MOTHERLAND!" Riku shouted as he threw a ball only for Mai to catch it, meaning Riku was out. He went to the side of the court, his head hanging in shame.
"Sorry, bro, I'm just playing the game." Mai taunted as she threw the ball towards Mana, only for it to be caught by Mitsu, meaning Mai was out. Mai went over to the side of the court where her brother was and watched the rest of the game with him.
The rest of the game was a war of attrition, as most of the balls that were thrown were dodged. Realizing that the game was going nowhere, Minato came up with an idea that would ensure their victory.
"Girls," Minato said to Mana, Mitsu, and Kas, "I think it's time we 'Rush the New Guy'."
"Let's do it!" Kas said with determination.
"Kids 'gon die tonight," Mana grinned wickedly.
Minato, Kas, Mana, and Mitsu all picked up a dodgeball and threw them at Kaito. Since four dodgeballs were coming at him at the same time, it was almost impossible for him to escape. All four balls hit Kaito, getting him out of the game. The four members of Team Minato repeated this strategy with Nariko, and then again with Hotaru. When they tried the strategy with Hotaru, however, he somehow managed to dodge all four balls 'Matrix' style before getting up and laughing at Team Minato. Unfortunately, as he was busy laughing away, Mana just threw a dodgeball right in Hotaru's face, getting him out.
Finally, only Himari remained, and after throwing a dodgeball at Mitsu, the four members of Team Minato threw their balls at Himari, getting her out of the game and ensuring their victory.
"That's one point for Team Minato!" Minato cheered as he gave a high five to Mitsu, Mana, and Kas. Riku, also being a member of Team Minato, ran up to his teammates to join in on the celebration. Meanwhile, the rest of Team Himari come out to help Himari on her feet. Knowing that Himari had lost the first round of their game of dodgeball, however, made Kimiko want to try some of her insult comedy on her.
"Wow, Himari, and I thought the 'Battle of Little Bighorn' was a massacre," Kimiko teased.
"What are you implying, Kimiko?" Himari asked the blonde girl.
"I'm saying you bit the big one as team captain," Kimiko joked, "A monkey could lead your dodgeball team better than you could. And it would probably be smarter and more attractive to boot."
Hearing that made everyone, with the exception of Himari, Hotaru, Kaito, and Minato laugh.
"Leave Himari alone, Kimiko," Hotaru scolded, "She did the best she could."
"Way to stick up for your girl there, Pier Breath!" Kimiko joked, arousing another bout of laughter from Riku, Mai, Nariko, Kaito, and Kas. Minato and Kaito just stared at Kimiko as she continued to make fun of her friends.
"Kimiko," Kaito said, heartbroken, "What's happened to you?"
The next day, Riku and Mai were seen walking home after a day out at the arcade. In Mai's arms was a plush gorilla that she had won, while Riku was seen eating from a big bag of candy that he won.
"I can't believe you spent your tickets on that thing, Mai," Riku said as he looked over at the stuffed gorilla in his sister's arms.
"It's better than blowing it all on some candy," Mai said.
"Hey, candy is a food, a necessity," Riku said, trying to defend himself.
"A necessity, huh?" Mai asked, "I wonder if our dentist feels the same way?"
"Mock my candy as much as you want, but it doesn't change the fact that today was a good day," Riku said as he put another piece of candy in his mouth.
"Any day we go to the arcade is a good day, bro," Mai said as they noticed an interesting site. It was the rest of their friend group, gathered in the middle of the street and laughing, "What's going on over there?"
"I don't know," Riku said, "But it looks like they're having fun. Let's go check it out."
When the Mishima children got closer to their friends, they soon realized what it was they were laughing at…them! It turns out Kimiko was telling jokes about Riku and Mai behind their back, and the rest of their friend group, with the obvious exception, again, being Minato and Kaito, laughing like a pack of hyenas.
"Hello, my name is Riku Mishima," Kimiko said as she did an impression of Riku, "I love video games, but nowhere near as much as I love Nariko Watanabe. Shame I'll never grow a pair, so I'll never have the courage to make the first move."
The impression made Hotaru, Himari, Kas, Mana, Mitsu, and even Nariko herself laugh.
"N-Nariko thinks that's funny?" Riku said, feeling hurt knowing that Nariko, his crush, just laughed at Kimiko making fun of him. The Mishima children couldn't dwell on it for too long, because Kimiko had another joke to tell.
"Mai Mishima is so silly…" Kimiko began.
"How silly is she?" Hotaru, Mana, Mitsu, Kas, Nariko, and Himari said in unison.
"She's so silly that when the batteries died on her video game, she buried them in her backyard," Kimiko joked as her six friends erupted with laughter.
"What?!" Mai shouted as she and Riku went up to confront Kimiko. The rest of their friends noticed them and Himari decided to try and talk to them.
"What's the matter, Mai?" Nariko said, "It's only a joke."
"Don't you dare throw my words back at me, Nariko," Mai scolded.
"Hey, Riku, Mai," Kimiko said, "Yo mama is so short that she needs a ladder just to sit on the sofa."
Kimiko started to laugh at her 'yo mama' joke…but she was the only one laughing. The other ten with her just looked at her in shock and disgust. Kimiko could make fun of them all they wanted, but making fun of their parents is where they drew the line.
"Yikes, Kim," Mitsu said, "Don't you think that was a little harsh?"
"Don't worry, I got a joke that'll fix things," Kimiko said as she cleared her throat, "Hey, everyone, what's the difference between Mitsu and a cheeseburger…everybody likes a cheeseburger."
"Are you saying people don't like me?!" Mitsu said in disgust.
"Well you are usually the 'stick in the mud' of our group," Kimiko said in a teasing tone.
"Excuse me for being the responsible one in our friend group," Mitsu snapped.
"These jokes aren't very nice, Kimiko," Kas said, coming to the defense of her friend.
"You know what's not nice, Kas?" Kimiko began, "That miniature jungle you have inside your nose!"
Kas gasped and covered up her nose as Kimiko entered a laughing fit.
"I can't help it if I have long nose hairs," Kas pouted, "It's hereditary."
"Come on guys, let's get out of here," Riku said as he led his friends away from the guffawing Kimiko. Minato was the last one to leave, and he just stared back at his sister, a look of disappointment on his face.
"I think I'm going to have to have a talk with her at some point," Minato said.
Later that night, at the Amamiya Residence, Kimiko is seen sitting on her bed and writing something down in her notebook when Minato comes in.
"Alright, sis, we need to talk," Minato said.
"In a minute, I'm trying to write down ideas as to what my stage name should be," Kimiko said, "What do you think of Miss Snug?"
"Kimiko, this is important," Minato said.
"If you think they're upset because of my jokes, they'll get over it and they'll come back for more tomorrow," Kimiko said.
"I'm not so sure," Minato said, "You really upset them today. Heck, Kaito doesn't even recognize you anymore. What happened to the old Kimiko? The cute as a button little girl who brought joy to our friend group just by being there."
"That Kimiko is also the Kimiko who had no direction in her life," Kimiko said, "The Kimiko you see before you right now is the one who knows what she wants and she's going to go after it."
"Will you at least think about our friends, and how they're, maybe, getting a little tired of your jokes?" Minato asked, causing Kimiko to fall silent for a few seconds before speaking again.
"You know something, Minato, you're right," Kimiko said. This causes Minato to smile, thinking his sister is finally listening to reason…but then she says this, "I've been telling my jokes to only our friends. Why should they be the only ones who get to listen to my jokes? There's a whole city of people waiting for my material!"
"No! No, Kim! You're going the way wrong way with what I'm saying," Minato said with worry, his words unfortunately falling on deaf ears.
"Thanks for the suggestion, Minato," Kimiko said as she pushed her brother out of her room, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
Once Minato was out of her room entirely, Kimiko shut and locked her bedroom door to get started on more jokes.
"Oh, mother of *bleep* this is not going to be good," Minato said with dread.
And so, the next day, Kimiko set out to find as many people as she could to unleash her 'comedic genius' on. Starting with Kas' father, Ichiro Tanaka, who is seen on his usual morning jog. Ichiro's jog was proceeding as normal when suddenly, Kimiko rode up next to him on her bike.
"Ichiro runs, he runs so far away!" Kimiko sang, "He just runs, he runs all night and day! He'll never get away!"
Kimiko then laughs, leaving Ichiro confused, "Hey, wanna race, speedy?" Kimiko teased before pedaling harder on her bike, causing her to speed away.
"What the hell was that about?" Ichiro asked himself, totally confused.
Next, we see Police Sergeant Makoto Sakamoto, who is taking a break from patrolling the city in Cafe Kitamura. Makoto, her husband Ryuji, and their friend Daisuke Watanabe are seen sitting at a table and having a conversation when Kimiko appears and comes up to them.
"Here we see three different people," Kimiko said, "One's a police sergeant on the straight and narrow, one's a fun-loving track team coach, and one's a laid back college professor. But the one thing these three have in common…they have daddy issues, or lack thereof for Makoto and Daisuke!"
After saying her joke, Kimiko ran out of the cafe laughing like a maniac.
"What the hell's Kimiko's problem?" Ryuji said in an annoyed tone.
"Whatever it is that's gotten into her I don't' like it," Makoto said as both she and her husband looked over at the calm Daisuke, who was still sitting in his chair, calmly sipping on his coffee, "You don't seem bothered that Kimiko just made fun of you for not having a dad, Daisuke."
"Especially since he died in a horrific accident that you witnessed first hand," Ryuji chimed in.
"I'm not bothered, because I know that one day, Kimiko will have to answer for her actions," Daisuke said before getting more venom in his voice, "And God…will not be so…merciful!"
Ryuji and Makoto just looked at their friend with uncomfortable looks on their faces.
"You can be really scary when you want to be, Daisuke," Ryuji said.
We now cut to a theater house where Futaba is seen entering backstage. She then sees Hayato standing in the middle of the stage, behind the closed curtain. The orange haired woman goes up to the scarlet haired man to see what was going on.
"Hey, Hayato, what's up?" Futaba asked.
"Don't know," Hayato said, "But Kimiko wanted me to come here for some reason."
"Yeah, me too," Futaba said, "I wonder what she wants?
Suddenly, the curtain opens up and both Hayato and Futaba are greeted by an audience full of children as Kimiko dances onto the stage wearing a top hat and holding an old-timey cane.
"Hey kids it's time for a sing-along," Kimiko sang, "I call this one the 'Short and Tall Song'. I have some friends here, I gave them a quick call to help you kids understand short and tall.
Futaba and Hayato didn't like where this was going as they were both the shortest and tallest adults of their friend group respectively. Kimiko went over to Futaba as her song continued.
"Futaba's 4'10'', HA! Everyone mistakes for an elf or dwarf," Kimiko sang, "To small to go on big rides but she has a license to drive. What?! Who gave you that?"
She then goes over to Hayato.
"Hayato's next, the heck? He's about as tall as a giraffe neck," Kimiko sang, "Every time he gets mad, his height grows by a tad." Both Hayato and Futaba glare at Kimiko angrily, and she actually notices their anger this time, "Oh this might end…bad."
"Hey, wait, come on, it's fine," Kimiko continued to sing, "We all love you! Enjoy calling you a 'big boi' or 'small gurl'. What matters is the fact you both are freakishly proportioned, but there's no shame in that."
This only makes Futaba and Hayato angrier as Kimiko finishes her song, "Okay, I'm getting some serious death states. I'd better end this song and leave it there. I hope this song helped and you guys had a ball with learning the two words 'short' and 'tall'."
As Kimiko finished her song, the children in the audience clapped as Futaba and Hayato attempted to apprehend Kimiko.
"You'll never take me alive!" Kimiko shouted as she ran out of the theater house, with Futaba and Hayato giving chase.
The two adults chased Kimiko for quite some time, but eventually lost her when they entered Inokashira Park. The little blonde girl was hiding in one of the trees and didn't come down until she saw Hayato and Futaba leave the park to go about their day, giving up their hunt for her. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kimiko climbed down from her hiding place.
"Oh well, I guess you can't please everyone," Kimiko said as she looked over at one of the park benches to find Mana Kitagawa sketching some ducks that were floating about in a nearby pond. Wanting to tell Mana more of her jokes, Kimiko decides to go over and sit next to her on the bench.
"Hey, Mana, what's going on?" Kimiko asked.
"Just sketching these ducks," Mana said as she continued to sketch.
"I see," Kimiko said before looking at the long, floofy, auburn hair that Mana acquired from her mother, "Oh, don't look now, Mana, but there's some yarn on your head."
"What are you talking about?" Mana asked, looking over at her blonde friend.
"Whoops, I guess it's just your hair?" Kimiko joked.
"My hair looks like yarn?" Mana asked, feeling insulted.
"Kinda," Kimiko answered, "And what's with those things on your feet?"
"What, my shoes?" Mana asked, "What's wrong with them?"
"Nothing, they're fine," Kimiko said, "They just make your already voluminous feet look way bigger than they actually are."
"My feet are big?!" Mana asked, feeling even more insulted and looking at her feet.
"No, no," Kimiko responded, "Not if you're an elephant!"
Hearing that was the straw that broke the camel's back for Mana. Her face briefly had a look of shock on it before devolving into a much more sad expression. Mana became teary eyed and she started to quietly whimper…but Kimiko didn't notice as she was still waiting for Mana to laugh.
"So, are you going to laugh now…later when the jokes sink in…what?" Kimiko asked.
All Kimiko got out of Mana was a loud and distressed, "WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
With her feelings thoroughly hurt, Mana broke out into full-on bawling as she turned the 'Ocular Gushers' on and ran away sobbing, taking her pad and pen with her. As the floofy haired girl ran away, Kimiko just looked confused.
"Mana, wait, what's wrong?" Kimiko asked, not fully realizing how much she had hurt her friend.
Sometime later, Kimiko was seen looking for more of her friends.
"Maybe some of my other friends would like to hear my jokes," Kimiko said as she approached the Tanaka Residence. When she knocked on the door, Sumire was there to answer it, "Hi, Auntie Sumire, is Kas available?"
"I'm afraid not, Kimiko," Sumire said, "Kas hasn't come out of her room all day. I asked her what was wrong and she said something about her nose hairs. Anyway, today doesn't look like a good day for her. I'm sorry."
Sumire closed the door on Kimiko, and she left to go try and find more of her friends.
Kimiko is next seen on the front steps of the Yajima Residence where Hotaru is seen sitting on the front steps, looking at Kimiko angrily.
"So, what do you say, Hotaru," Kimiko asked, "You want to hang out?"
"I don't know," Hotaru said bitterly, "Aren't you worried my 'pier breath' is going to make you sick? Or maybe you're afraid my 'giant' of a father is going to step on you! Yeah, he told me about that stunt you pulled with him and Auntie Futaba earlier today."
"I didn't mean anything by it," Kimiko said.
"Just go away!" Hotaru said angrily, causing Kimiko to walk away sadly.
Now Kimiko is seen approaching the front door of the Sakamoto Residence when suddenly, the door opens up to reveal Himari pointing a 'NERF-type' gun at her and threatening to pull the trigger.
"You're not welcome here, Kimiko," Himari said angrily, "Leave this place!"
Kimiko sadly and quickly walks away before she gets shot at.
Next stop: the arcade where Kimiko found Riku and Mai playing 'Marco Cart Arcade GP'. The blonde girl walks up to the Mishima children to ask if she can play against the winner, but before she could get a word in, and with their eyes glued to their respective screens, Riku and Mai both said, 'Get away from us, Kimiko!' and Kimiko left the arcade in sorrow.
Kimiko then decides to go to the Kitagawa Residence to talk to Mana and Mitsu. Upon arriving at their home, Kimiko heard the sound of Mana's sobbing from inside the house. She's still very upset over what Kimiko said to her earlier. Nevertheless, the blonde girl knocked on the door and Mitsu opened it.
"Hey, Mitsu," Kimiko greeted, "Do you and Mana want to hang out?"
Mitsu just stared at Kimiko with an unamused look on her face as on the couch behind her, Mana is still in the middle of a bout of uncontrollable crying. Mitsu just closed the door in Kimiko's face, causing her to leave.
Finally, Kimiko is seen at the Watanabe Residence, where she's talking to Nariko at the front door.
"Aw, come on, Nariko," Kimiko said, "Please tell me you're not mad at me too."
"Yup," Nariko said bluntly, "If you want to go make fun of someone so badly, why don't go find Kaito. I think he said something about going to your house earlier today."
And with that, Kimiko knew where she had to go next.
At the Amamiya Residence, Ren is seen in the kitchen trying to cook dinner for him and his family. Minato and Kaito are in the kitchen with him, voicing their concerns about Kimiko's recent behavior. Kaito, however, is seen sulking in the corner, thinking about how far his crush has fallen from grace.
"I'm telling you, dad, Kimiko's gone off the deep end," Minato said, "She's made fun of everyone in our friend group, and from what I heard she's even started making fun of their parents too. Uncles Ichiro, Daisuke, Ryuji, and Hayato, and Aunties Makoto and Futaba too. We've got to do something, I mean, look at Kaito over there, she barely recognizes Kimiko anymore."
Minato and Ren look in the corner of the kitchen to see Kaito sulking in the corner and singing a sad song as he looks at a picture in his phone of him and Kimiko.
"When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you," Kaito sang, with tears in his eyes, "When you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too."
"That is pretty bad," Ren said, feeling sorry for the younger of the two Watanabe children, before turning to Minato, "Your mother and I will have a talk with her after dinner."
"Great," Minato responded.
Maybe that talk won't have to wait until dinner, because Kimiko came into the kitchen, looking more depressed than she has been in recent memory.
"Kimiko, you're home," Ren said, "Why the long face, sweetie?"
"Everyone's mad at me, and Mana's crying, and I don't know what caused either of these things to happen." Kimiko explained.
"I think we can guess," Minato said.
"Settle down, Minato," Ren said to his son before turning to his daughter, "One problem at a time, Kimiko. You said Mana's in tears, right? Did she get hurt in some way?"
"No," Kimiko answered, "I was with her the whole time telling her jokes, but I didn't see her fall down, or bump her head, or anything like that."
"Pain is more than just physical," Ren said, "Maybe it was your jokes that hurt Mana, and by extension make everyone else mad at you."
"Really?" Kimiko asked, "How could that be? I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I was just trying to be funny."
"Yeah, your insults really win over audiences," Kaito said with a hint of sarcasm.
"I told you, sis, not everyone can take a joke as well as you think they can," Minato chimed in.
"Your brother's right, Kimiko," Ren said, "It's like if someone said something about the color of your hair. You wouldn't like that very much would you?"
"No," Kimiko said, slowly realizing the type of damage she caused in her friend group, "Wow, I really messed up didn't I? I made fun of all our friends, and now they all hate me. I got so blinded by the fact that I possibly found some 'direction' in my life that I didn't realize how badly I hurt everyone."
"At least you're realizing your mistakes now," Kaito said as he got up from the corner of the kitchen and went over to hug Kimiko, "Good to have you back, Kim."
"Thanks, Kaito," Kimiko said as she turned to face her father, "And don't worry, daddy, I'll never tell another joke again."
"Oh, sweetheart," Ren said, "Don't stop telling jokes, especially if you think you have a passion for it. Just don't tell them at other people's expense. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's alright to be funny as long as no one gets hurt, understand?"
"Yes," Kimiko answered with a nod, but then her mind shifted to another problem, "But, how am I going to make it up to everybody?"
"Well, Kim, I might have an idea or two up my sleeve," Minato said.
The next day, back at the theater house where Kimiko embarrassed Futaba and Hayato, Minato is seen on stage in front of the closed curtain. The doors leading into the theater open up and in comes Kaito, with the likes of Nariko, Mana, Mitsu, Hotaru, Himari, Riku, Mai, and Kas following behind him.
"I got them all, Minato, just like you wanted," Kaito said as they all took their seats.
"Why did you have Kaito bring us here, Minato?" Mai asked.
"Yeah, and this had better be good," Himari said, "I'm on a hot streak back at the tennis court."
"Don't worry, Kaito and I gathered you all here with good reason," Minato said, "We have a certain someone here in this theater house with us today with some very important words. Very important, and funny words."
"Oh no," Mana said, "You don't mean…"
Before Mana could finish her sentence, Minato continued to talk, "So, everyone, please give a big round of applause for my little sister, Kimiko Amamiya!"
Minato raised the curtain to reveal Kimiko, in her best dress, and holding a microphone. Just seeing Kimiko made everyone, with the obvious exception of Minato and Kaito, voice their disapproval of her, as they don't want to hear any more mean jokes.
"Please, everyone, give her a chance," Kaito said.
"Go ahead, sis," Minato said, "Knock 'em dead."
With a deep breath, Kimiko began to speak into the microphone, "Hey there, ladies and gentlemen…"
"KEEP NARIKO'S NAME OUT YOUR FREAKING MOUTH!" Riku shouted.
"She didn't say anything yet, Riku, just shut up and let Kimiko talk," Minato said, "Okay, Kim, continue."
"As I was saying," Kimiko said after clearing her throat, "I looked into a fortune cookie the other day, and it read 'She who makes fun of other people, ends up laughing alone'."
This bit didn't win over Kimiko's friends at all as they just stared up at her with various disapproving looks.
"Okay," Kimiko said, "Hey, did you hear the one about the girl who was acting so ridiculous that she didn't even realize she was hurting her friends feelings?"
Once again, Kimiko's hurt friends didn't react to the joke at all. They were still stone faced and some were even looking away from her. Kimiko saw their expressions and let out a sigh, realizing what she has to do next.
"Alright, I get it guys, I hurt you all," Kimiko said, "I poked fun at you all in some way shape or form. I've made fun of your breath, your feet, your personalities, and whatever else is in between all of that. But I'm here to say that there is something far worse among us that I have yet to make fun of. And that thing…is me, a blonde!"
"Huh?" Hotaru was heard saying as the rest of his friends got curious looks on their faces.
"You ever notice how blondes like me are always like, 'Oh my God! I want to, like, go to the mall, and meet Kenji at the party, but I, like, totally gotta get my nails done first'," Kimiko said in a 'Valley Girl' accent. This Self-Deprecating humor is what finally caused her eight displeased friends to finally start laughing.
"Oh, good, you're all laughing now," Kimiko said happily, "I was getting worried that I took a wrong turn at the stop light and ended up in the city morgue…again."
Another bout of laughter ensued for all of Kimiko's friends, Kaito and Minato included. Kimiko finally knew what it took to be a good comedian. It wasn't about making fun of other people, it was just telling funny stories, or acting out in little skits. That's what real comedy is all about.
"So, how many of you have been to Inaba?" Kimiko asked as she started up another bit.
For the next hour or so, Kimiko told much better, less offensive jokes to her friends. They laughed at just about all of them. By the end of her time on stage, not only did Kimiko learn about what it takes to make real comedy, but everyone buried the hatchet and were back on good terms again.
With all of that said and done, Kimiko then apologized to the likes of Ryuji, Makoto, Futaba, Hayato, Daisuke, and Ichiro, who were quick to forgive the blonde girl, meaning they were on good terms with her again too.
All was right in the world yet again.
Later that night, Kaito invited Kimiko over so she could watch the meteor shower with him. The two were seen wearing their pajamas as they stood in Kaito's room, his new telescope pointing out the window. As they waited for the meteor shower to begin, the two kids decided to converse.
"Well, Kim, our friendships have certainly gone through quite the trail these last few days, but I'm glad to see that it all worked out in the end," Kaito said.
"Me too," Kimiko said, "I'm just sorry I didn't realize how badly I was hurting you guys earlier."
"What's important is that you learned from your mistakes and sought to do better," Kaito said, "And I'd say it's mission accomplished. You learned about real comedy, you've made peace with our friends, and you may have very well found something you're passionate about."
"I hear our school is throwing a talent show sometime next month," Kimiko said, "You think I should try my jokes out there?"
"Go for it," Kaito said, "Who knows, it could be the start of a very promising comedy career for you, Kim."
"Hey, you want to hear one more joke?" Kimiko asked.
"Sure, lay it on me," Kaito said with a smile.
"What has brown hair, glasses, love the beauty of space, and is one of the best friends I've ever had?" Kimiko asked.
"Who?" Kaito asked.
"You!" Kimiko happily said as she gave Kaito a hug, causing him to blush as he returned the hug. The hug wouldn't last for too long, however, as Kaito looked out the corner of his eye and saw the start of the meteor shower.
"It's starting," Kaito said as Kimiko let go of him so he could look through his telescope, "Oh, wow," he said in amazement before turning to Kimiko, "Kim, you have to see this! It's indescribably beautiful!"
Kaito stepped aside so Kimiko could watch the meteor shower through the telescope, "You're right, Kaito, it's amazing!" Kimiko said.
Kaito and Kimiko spent the rest of their night admiring the astral beauty of the meteor shower, making a beautiful memory in the process. They kept watching the celestial spectacle play out in the night sky until they both felt tired and decided to go to sleep. Kaito asked his parents, Daisuke and Shiho, if Kimiko could spend the night, to which they both reluctantly agreed.
After closing the window and putting the telescope away, Kaito decided to give Kimiko his bed to sleep in. The young boy tucked his crush in as the blonde girl drifted off into sweet dreams. When Kimiko was completely asleep, Kaito grabbed a spare pillow and blanket from his closet and went downstairs to sleep on the couch, but not before turning back one last time, looking at the cute little girl sleeping in his bed, and saying, "Sweet dreams, Kimiko."
And with that, Kaito went downstairs to sleep on the couch.
END