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

Things Get Magically DICE-y For Kokichi and Himiko (6)

     "Excuse me, miss?" a voice whispered in the darkness. Himiko felt a hand on her body shaking her. "Himiko? Are you awake?" Himiko sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. She looked around her and was disappointed to see that what had happened was actually real and not a nightmare. She looked up at whoever woke up and stared bleakly at 10 towering over her.

   "Is it my time?" she asked stoically. 

  "Um...no...thaaaat's not what I'm here for," 10 replied, turning a lamp on that was placed on the bedside table. He pulled a cart with a cloth over it and placed it at the side of the bed. "Kokichi wanted you to have something to eat, in case you were hungry." He pulled the cloth away to reveal a tray full of food. "He also said to give you this," 10 continued, pulling a piece of folded paper from his pocket and handing it to Himiko. "For your eyes only, just as the boss instructed. Oh! Also, if you need something to drink, the mini-fridge over there is already full of soda, so help yourself. Welp, enjoy!" With a small wave, 10 headed towards the door.

  "What does he want with me?" Himiko droned, her shoulders slumped. "He'd be better off without me."

  "Well, er...you should probably read that note," 10 suggested looking back at her. "I'm sure you'll find out." He was about to leave again when he turned around to face Himiko one last time. "It's not any of my business, but...whatever's going on between you two, I hope you guys can work it out. Kokichi's been in kind of a bad mood, lately, and as his friends, we don't like seeing him that way. We really care about him, cuz he's done nice things for us, y'know? So, I dunno...I just hope you two can work things out...for both your sakes. Well, that's all. I'll be standing outside whenever you're ready." At that, 10 shut the door, leaving Himiko alone with the cart full of food. 

  Himiko didn't know what he meant when he said he'll be outside whenever she's ready, but she tried not to think much about it. She looked at all the food in front of her. Despite not eating much earlier that night, Himiko didn't quite have an appetite. Surprisingly, she didn't want to be rude to her "hosts," but she just couldn't bring herself to eat. Her head hurt from the short sleep she just had, she was miserable and anxious, and she felt nauseous wondering what Kokichi's note to her was going to say. She opened it up and it read: "When you're done eating, come to my room. My associate will escort you there. I want to talk to you. -Kokichi."

  Himiko sighed heavily and stood up. She felt a bit dizzy from not getting enough sleep; she looked at a clown face clock hanging on the wall and saw that she had only slept for an hour. She placed the note down on the cart, picked her broom up from the floor, and walked over to the door. She knocked on it to signal to 10 who quickly opened it.

   "Are you done, already?!" he asked incredulously. 

   "Not hungry," Himiko replied wearily. When she didn't say anything else, 10 gestured with his hand for her to follow.

  "Alright, well, let's go see the boss, then," he said. They turned a corner from the Prisoner Ward, into the main corridor and led her down until they turned another corner into a different ward called the "Sleepy Ward," with the word "Sleepy" replacing "Psychosis." He came to a door at the end of the hall and knocked on it. 

  "Come in," Kokichi's voice called out from the other side. 10 opened the door to find Kokichi laying casually on his bed, propped up against the fluffy pillows with his arms behind his head. 

  "Here's the guest of honor, boss," 10 said, gesturing towards Himiko whose head hung limply, not wanting to look at Kokichi. 

   "Thanks, 10," Kokichi replied as 10 led Himiko over to Kokichi. 10 nodded to Kokichi and left the room, closing the door behind him. Kokichi stood up from his bed and grabbed a nearby chair from a desk for her to sit on. With her head still hung low, she sat down. Kokichi sat back down on his bed and stared at her in awkward silence, wondering where to start. 

   "I'm, uh...guessing you didn't eat much, huh?" he asked her. Himiko merely shook her head. "I see," Kokichi said, rubbing his arm and looking down at the floor. "Listen, Himiko. I'm...really sorry about everything. I really am." He looked up and saw that her head was still hung low, the brim of her hat covering her eyes. Her mouth was shut tight and she was clutching her broom close to her chest as if she were afraid to speak.

   "It's okay," she managed to whisper. She wanted to make things right with Kokichi, but now, she didn't feel so sure, anymore. Kokichi could see that Himiko was not at all okay and felt a sudden wave of guilt. He, along with Tenko, had told her in the past that she shouldn't keep her feelings bottled up inside. Repressing one's feelings meant to Kokichi that they were lying to themselves, which is something he was against despite being a liar himself. Now, it seems he may have caused Himiko to revert back to her apathetic self...or perhaps may have caused her to behave in a manner far more distressing. 

   "Himiko, it's not okay," Kokichi replied. He leaned forward and gently shook her arm. Himiko didn't react. "C'mon, say something."

   "I just want to go," Himiko said quietly, still looking down. Kokichi stared at her in concern. She looked utterly dejected, still as a statue as if every ounce of energy had been drained out of her body.

  "Okay, Himiko," Kokichi sighed, standing up from his bed. "I'll take you home." He helped her to her feet and, holding her hand, walked her outside the room, out of the building, and all the way back to Casa V3 in complete, somber silence.