The Mysterious Kokichi Kinnie

Chapter. 12 Himiko's Secret

        Once in his room, Kokichi closed the door and plopped himself on his bed feeling miserable and helpless. He felt even worse for Kiki. She was his cousin, but she was also a little girl in need of his help. He wanted to help her, but he had no idea how he was going to do so. He lay down on his bed thinking of any ideas that might subdue Kiki's vampire side, but nothing came up. He thought about garlic or sunlight, but those things cause more damage than help. He didn't know how to help her, but he made up his mind that when everyone was asleep, he'd sneak out and go find her. He knew that idea was ludicrous, but he had to do something before Maki could. He waited until 10:00, since that was when everyone usually turned in for bed. Gonta, who shared the room with him, didn't come in around bedtime, so Kokichi assumed Gonta would be sharing a room with someone else since he figured that Gonta didn't want to be around him at the moment. Kokichi thought it would be easier for him to sneak out without Gonta there. 

    Just as Kokichi was getting ready to sneak out, a piece of folded paper slid under his bedroom door. He picked it up and unfolded it to reveal typed words that said "Meet me under the gazebo in 15 minutes." Kokichi opened the door, but nobody was there. When he closed the door again, he looked at the clock which already read 10:15. Kokichi smirked. Pretty clever for the person to use typed letters instead of their handwriting which could identify them. Though he already knew who it was, he didn't know exactly how she'd be able to help him. 

    At 10:28, Kokichi quietly left his room and headed outside towards the gazebo where he found Himiko sitting stiffly on one of the benches. Himiko had been nervously waiting for him, but when she saw him approaching, she decided that instead of being nervous, she was going to try to be as confident as she could. Despite Kokichi's unwillingness to trust people, she wanted him to trust her. She didn't expect him to be happy to see her, however, since she didn't take his side back in the living room, so she prepared herself. He seemed a little cross, but he didn't look like he wanted to strangle her, so that was a good start...er, she hoped so, anyway. You can't always really tell with Kokichi.

    "Nyeh...before, we start," Himiko began. She paused, finding out the right words. "I j-just want to um...apologize for not t-taking your side earlier. I wanted to, er, I mean...I just know it's the right thing to help your cousin, and all, and so...I want to help." She didn't meet Kokichi's eyes the whole time and she stuttered a lot. Geez, way to be confident, she thought to herself. 

   "And how do you plan on helping me, Himiko?" Kokichi asked, ignoring Himiko's stutters. "Kiki is a vampire, ya know? How do you plan on defeating a vampire?" Himiko looked at him with a smirk.

   "Well, my way is probably a lot better than what *you* could ever come up with," Himiko replied. Kokichi was a bit surprised, but amused, at Himiko's spunk. 

  "Well, what do you have in mind, then?" Kokichi asked. Himiko took a deep breath. 

   "Nyeh...you wouldn't believe me if I told you, so I'll just show you." Kokichi looked at Himiko in confusion as she pressed her foot against a hidden square on the floor of the gazebo. The table that connected all four benches moved out from the center to reveal a secret stairway that led underground. Kokichi's eyes widened and his mouth hung agape. Himiko smiled at him and gestured for him to follow. Himiko led Kokichi into what a witch's cottage would look like. There were cabinets full of potions, grimoires, and various strange ingredients. A mirror stood next to the shelf. There was a table in the center where Himiko would conduct her spells, cauldrons of different sizes, and a little stove. A few empty cobwebs hung from the ceiling and parts of the furniture. A lonely, dusty broom sat in one of the corners of the room. The room was barely lit by a warm orange glow from the little fireplace. It was definitely creepy, but Kokichi had to admit...it was not boring.