The Mysterious Kokichi Kinnie

Chapter. 5 Little Lost Girl Found

      "You're grounding me?!" Maki asked Kaito in disbelief. It was the next morning after Maki's mission from the previous night. She had sneaked in while the others were asleep. This morning, at the dining table during breakfast, Kaito reprimanded Maki about leaving last night without informing him about it. The two were making a huge scene in front of everyone.

    "That's right, Maki-Roll," Kaito responded. "I can't have you going out on your assassin missions when there's a bloodsucking weirdo, or whatever, out there!" Maki decided to keep quiet about the little girl from last night. She thought that the little girl might be related to the recent murders, but if she told Kaito, he'd freak out more than what he was doing now.

   "You can't ground me, Kaito," Maki simply replied. "That's what you do to a child...like Kokichi," she shot Kokichi a menacing glance.

   "Don't bring me into this, Maki-Roll," Kokichi smirked. "I'm not the one who ran away from home, like a naughty, wittle girl." Maki clenched her fists and started towards him, but Kaito grabbed her arm.

   "Sorry, Maki-Roll, but you shouldn't be going outside with that killer on the loose!" Kaito said. "I have to ground you until further notice."

   "You seriously can't do that, you degenerate male!" Tenko butted in. "You're her boyfriend, not her dad!"

   "Not anymore," Maki said, yanking her arms away from Kaito.

   "Wait...he's not your DAD, anymore?" Tsumugi asked with confusion.

   "NO!" Maki replied testily. "He's not my boyfriend, anymore! We're through! If you're going to treat me like a child, Kaito, then maybe we shouldn't be together, anymore."

  "Oh, boy! This is getting good," Kokichi said excitedly. "Breakfast AND a show!"

  "Kokichi..." Kiibo scolded.

  "What?! N-now, now, hold on, Maki-Roll," Kaito sputtered. "I'm just doing this for your own good! So you don't get hurt...or worse!"

  "We're through, Kaito," Maki repeated, walking away, her eyes brimming with tears. She really loved Kaito, but what Kaito did just now made her feel disrespected and humiliated. Kaito meant well, but he wasn't exactly a great boyfriend. He was kind and supportive at first, yes, but throughout the time they'd been together, Kaito became too bossy, too pushy, too overprotective, and too hotheaded. He was always telling her what to do, where to go, trying to push his beliefs onto her, etc. It was as if he was suffocating Maki. She went up to her room frustrated and heartbroken. Kaito was shocked and silent. Everyone stared at him in awkward silence.

   "Well, um...I think it's time for us to go," Kaede said quietly. Everyone began to gather up their dishes and take them to the sink. Kaede suggested to everyone that they should give Kaito and Maki sometime to themselves and leave the house for a while. Gonta went out to look for bugs, Rantaro, Shuichi, and Kiyo decided to go to the library, Ryoma went to the gym, Kiibo went to the electronics store, and Kokichi went to his secret evil organization (which is called D.I.C.E., unbeknownst to the others, of course). Himiko, Angie, and Tenko went to go see a movie, Kirumi went to her poetry club (she recently got into poetry), Kaede, Miu, and Tsumugi went out to go to the mall. 

   Everyone spent a few hours away from home. After a relaxing, and less awkward, day at the mall, Kaede, Miu, and Tsumugi were walking home with their items that they had purchased. They were walking through the park.

   "I hope Maki and Kaito are feeling better by now," Kaede said. 

   "By the time we get back, they'll probably be rollin' all over each other, if ya know what I mean," Miu laughed. 

   "I hope not," Tsumugi said. "That would be rather awkward."

   "Ha-ha! Spoken like a true virgin," Miu replied.

   "Hey, you two, look!" Kaede suddenly said and pointed  at one of the park benches. Asleep under the bench was a little girl with a closed black umbrella under her arm. "Let's go see if she's okay!" Kaede led Miu and Tsumugi over to the bench. "Um...excuse me, little girl. Are you okay?" The little girl opened her eyes wearily, but they widened with fear when she saw Kaede and the other girls. She grabbed her umbrella and held it in front of her in a defensive position.

   "Whoa, whoa, we're not going to hurt you," Kaede assured her.

   "Yeah, we just want to see if you're okay," Tsumugi added.

   "So, come on out and introduce yourself, pipsqueak," Miu said. "Don't be shy!" The little girl hesitantly crawled out from underneath the bench, but not before opening up her umbrella. The girls thought it was weird that she'd need an umbrella even though it was a sunny day. The little girl had on a black sailor fuku outfit with a purple bowtie, lavender tights with little black bows on them, and black mary-janes. Her hair was purple with a lighter shade of purple at the tips of her hair and tied up in pigtails. 

   "She looks kinda familiar," Tsumugi said. Kaede and Miu nodded in agreement. All three of them felt like they've seen the girl somewhere, but they couldn't figure out where. 

   "What's your name?" Kaede asked the little girl. 

   "Kiki Ouma," the little girl replied, and suddenly, Kaede, Miu, and Tsumugi immediately realized why the girl seemed so familiar.