Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 1 (A New Oumeno)

That Time When Kokichi Helped Himiko Find Her Diary (9)

        "Nyeh...Kokichi!" Himiko panted, running to catch up with the supreme leader. He turned around and waited for her as she reached him and stopped to catch her breath. 

    "Nee-heehee, ready to get your diary back, little miss puffet?" Kokichi asked her with an amused smile. 

   "Nyeh...'puffet?'" Himiko looked at him with confusion, still trying to catch her breath. "Don't...you mean...'tuffet?'"

  "Well, you're huffing and puffing more than the big, bad wolf," Kokichi replied. "Maybe Kaito was right! You should maybe join him in his training to get in shape."

   "Well...it doesn't help that I'm kinda nervous about doing all of this," Himiko said after she was done panting her lungs out.

   "Better to get it over and done with now than later," Kokichi shrugged. They walked to Hope's Peak in silence together, Himiko lost in her own worried thoughts. Finally, they arrived at school, the moment Himiko was dreading the most. Kokichi was about to walk in when he noticed that Himiko stood stock still outside the entrance. "You're not going to get your diary just by standing there, Himiko."

  "Nyeh...I don't know if I want to do this anymore, Kokichi," Himiko replied in a fearful voice. Kokichi walked back to her, pondering something. 

   "Okay, Himiko, I want you to do something for me, 'kay?" Kokichi finally said. He reached his hand out to touch her chin. "Chin up," he told her. Himiko lifted her chin up. Next, Kokichi put his hands on her shoulders. "Shoulders back," he commanded her. She relaxed her shoulders. "Now, stand up straight. No slouching," he added. Himiko stood as straight as she could. "Great! How do you feel?" he asked her.

   "Well, a little better, I suppose," she replied.

  "A little better isn't good enough," Kokichi replied. "Keep, that pose, Himiko, but I want you to imagine yourself as an actual mage."

  "Nyeh...I AM a mage!" Himiko said to him, losing her composure.

   "Don't tell me...SHOW me," Kokichi replied, making her stand up straight again. "Not just a mage. A mage QUEEN! Hope's Peak Academy is YOUR castle, and the others aren't your classmates...they're your subjects."

  "H-How is that supposed to help?" Himiko asked with uncertainty.

  "Don't question it...just do it, trust me," Kokichi replied. "Now, some of your subjects will snicker and ridicule you, but it doesn't matter because you'll smite them later. Don't pay any attention to them at all, no matter how much they may laugh at you, or mock you, or whatever. What matters is that you have a goal to achieve and you're going to achieve it, okaaay?"

  "This all sounds very weird," Himiko. "Are you sure this will work?"

  "Well, I guess you're right," Kokichi replied, backing off. "I mean, a real mage would be able to pull this off, but I guess it's true that you're only a mere magician."