The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Makoto and Kyoko Go Out!

Chapter Two: Hina and Komaru's Punishment

"What did you do to my daughter?"

Komaru and Hina twitched nervously at Kyoko as she took another sip of champagne, her Kirigiri glare proving just why she was so effective as Makoto's right hand and self-appointed Dean of Discipline.

"Wh…what are you talking about, sis?"

"Y…yeah!" Hina followed Komaru's stammer as she weakly defended "We l…love Kiki. We w…wouldn't do any…thing to…"

A hardened glare silenced the two as Kyoko interrupted "Don't even try lying to me; I used to be a Detective, don't forget. When I came home, Kiki had red handprints on her arms that were not there before. The two of you were the only ones in this house during the entire time we were gone, which makes you two the only possible suspects. I could marginally excuse Komaru for tyring to pull one over on me, but you of all people, Hina, should remember what happens to those who try to lie to me."

Hina winced in guilt as she flashed back to the trial where she tried to get all of her surviving friends executed for Sakura's act of suicide.

After taking another sip, Kyoko demanded once more "Now, I want you both to explain to me, what did the two of you do to my baby girl?"

Her shoulders slumped, Hina stepped up to the plate; taking a deep breath, she began "So, it happened like this…"

XXX

Kyoko sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingers as she confirmed "So let me see if I've got this straight. You two were reading stories to Kiki, then you started arguing over who my daughter preferred more, during which you got so fired up you inadvertently kept tugging her back and forth in a tug of war until she cried. Did I miss anything?"

"No."

"No."

Taking another sip of champagne, Kyoko glared, asking with a hardness in her voice "Do you have any idea how this reflects on us? Not just on you, but me as well?"

As Kyoko drained her glass, Hina and Komaru's expressions changed from fear to confusion, puzzled at what Kyoko was referring to.

"What are you talking about, Kyoko?" Komaru demanded, continuing "Hina and I were the ones that got carried away; we're the ones at fault, not you!"

Kyoko glared at them with angry tears in her eyes, startling the two young women. Komaru had never seen Kyoko be emotionally upset, and Hina could count on one hand how many times she had been witness to Kyoko's more vulnerable emotions. But it was evident that the amount of alcohol she had consumed tonight had ripped away all of her emotional inhibitions and put on full display the outbursts and confessions that were normally reserved for Makoto and Makoto alone.

"But I was the one who agreed to have you babysit. Makoto may have suggested it, but I agreed to let you watch her without my supervision. And if I hired a babysitter who let Kiki come to harm, then what does that mean for my ability to make decisions as a Mother? It means that I'm a bad Mother! And I can't be a bad Mother to Kiki!"

Komaru and Hina froze in place as Kyoko laid her head on her desk, sobbing her eyes out as she continued to berate herself for Komaru and Hina's transgressions. They looked at each other with shock; never in a million years did they think Kyoko would judge her own actions so harshly as to blame herself for something that was beyond her control. Such a mentality seemed more in line for her husband than the Mother herself.

As Kyoko started to pour more champagne into her goblet, Hina and Komaru immediately rushed forward, confiscating the wine bottle and goblet as Hina cautioned "Well you can start by not drinking when you're upset. That's how you become an alcoholic, and none of us want that for you."

Staring up at Komaru and Hina guiltily, Kyoko reflected "My grandfather used to have a bottle of champagne he would drink from whenever he was unusually stressed working on a grueling case. I guess I picked up that bad habit from him, too."

Looking at Kyoko sympathetically, Hina comforted her "It's okay; just make sure it doesn't become a habit from now on. My parents were alcoholics and had way too many issues to effectively raise me because of it. Part of why I entered so many sports in school was to get them to finally put down the bottle and notice me. More importantly…" Hina and Komaru each grabbed one of her hands in comfort as she continued "Kyoko, it's our fault that we got carried away and accidentally hurt Kiki. You believed you could trust us, and we wanted you to trust us."

"Yeah!" Komaru interjected. "And besides, Nee-chan, Hina and I realized that we took things too far and apologized to Kiki. After that, we all went back to playing without incident. You can trust us, Kyoko. What happened today won't happen again, I promise. Don't let tonight scare you out of having a life outside of your daughter again, or make you question your competence as a Mother. Because to us, there's nobody more qualified to be Kiki's Mom!"

Sniffling, Kyoko calmed down, her shoulders slumping into a relaxed position as a small smile crossed her lips, making Hina and Komaru smile with relief in turn.

"Thanks, Komaru, Hina. At least I know…Kiki has two Aunts who…love her…"

"…Kyoko?"

"…Nee-chan?"

Light snoring greeted them, Kyoko having evidently fallen asleep from being emotionally worn out.

Sighing, Hina walked behind her, urging "I've got her shoulders. Komaru, can you grab her feet?"

Nodding, Komaru walked over to the desk, kneeling down to grab Kyoko's feet before springing back up. The two then proceeded to carry the snoozing, and probably hungover former Detective to her and Makoto's room.

XXX

"…What happened?"

Makoto's eyes widened as he gently placed a snoozing Kiki in her crib, watching as the two babysitters carried his sleeping wife onto the bed.

Looking at Makoto guiltily, Hina assured him "She's just tuckered out. We had a talk in her study, and she got pretty emotional, so she got really exhausted and fell asleep." Glancing toward Kiki's crib, Hina apologized "We really are sorry about what happened, Makoto. We never wanted to hurt Kiki, we swear."

Sighing, Makoto effectively dropped it, informing them "I'll…get the full story from Kyoko tomorrow morning, and we can continue this discussion again when you two come to deliver your student progress reports to my office on Monday."

The both of them nodding, Komaru asked nervously "So…does this mean we…can't see Kiki anymore?"

Sighing, Makoto went to tuck Kyoko in, answering as he brought the blanket up to her chin "We'll discuss babysitting arrangements on Monday, but I don't think either of us would object to you visiting Kiki. I don't know the full story yet, but I have hope that this little incident wasn't intentional. Let's all get a good night's sleep, and we'll tackle this again on Monday."

Grinning with happy tears in her eyes, Komaru ran up to her brother, embracing him as she whispered "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Chuckling, Makoto reassured her "Hey, we're family, remember? I wouldn't dare ban Kiki's two favorite Aunties from seeing her! Now, you guys go home and go to bed, okay?"

Both women nodding, they moved to exit the Naegis' room before Hina stopped in her tracks, warning him "Oh, Makoto? Kyoko was also drinking a fair amount of champagne during our talk, so she'll probably be hungover by the time she wakes up tomorrow."

Frowning, Makoto looked to his wife as he replied "I…see. Thanks…for letting me know."

Hina nodded before assuring him "Oh, but don't worry; Komaru and I made sure to caution her against making a habit of drinking when upset, so this should be just an isolated incident."

Smiling, Makoto thanked "Thanks, Hina. Now go to bed, alright?"

Nodding, Hina whispered "Alright. See you Monday, Makoto!" before hurrying out the door to catch up to Komaru.

Looking with concern at his wife, Makoto sighed before crawling under the blankets next to her, spooning her from behind as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Please don't go drinking when you're upset again, Kyoko. Just come and talk to me or Hina or Komaru or whoever, and we'll get through it, alright?"

Makoto received an unconscious groan from Kyoko, which he took as a gesture of acceptance.

"Well…" he whispered. "Our family can indeed be dysfunctional at times, but there's no question they love us. Don't worry Kyoko; everything's gonna be fine. Kiki has us, parents who love her, as well as a wide network of Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents who would guard her with their lives if it came to it. Good night, Kyoko. Good night, Kiki. I love you both."

Kyoko gave a contented groan as her husband snuggled against her, the young man joining her in slumber as they awaited a new dawn.