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

The Monster of Casa V3 (3)

      Kokichi slipped in and out of sleep every few minutes as he held Himiko close to his chest. He allowed her to sleep while he would stay up in case the creature came back. Every second that passed seemed like an eternity as he waited for the night to come to an end. Finally, the living room began to glow from the approaching dawn. Kokichi gently placed Himiko down onto the large heap of fluffy pillows.

   "Mmm...Kokichi..." she mumbled sleepily.

   "Ssshhh..." Kokichi whispered softly, lulling her back to sleep. He silently covered her with her blanket before peeking out of the fort to make sure that the coast was clear. When he felt safe enough to leave, he cautiously exited the fort and looked around. Everything seemed to be normal so far. He remembered the sounds coming from the kitchen and headed there. What he saw made him open his mouth wide in shock and horror. The walls and the floor of the kitchen were stained with food and various liquids. Glass was shattered everywhere. There were giant claw marks on the walls. Kokichi looked at the mess and wondered how nobody besides him and Himiko had heard the noise. He pulled out his phone and started taking pictures of the evidence. Avoiding the glass shards, he headed out of the kitchen towards the backdoor where the creature had exited the house. The door had been knocked off the top hinges, making it look like it was hanging onto the doorway for dear life. The doorknob was hanging off the door and swaying from side-to-side like a pendulum of a grandfather clock. Kokichi could also see claw marks where the doorknob used to be. Kokichi breathed in bewilderment and horror as he took pictures of the door, as well. He went back to the fort to wake up Himiko.

   "Himiko," he said quietly, but firmly, trying to shake her awake. "Himiko, wake up."

   "Nyeh...?" Himiko rubbed her eyes and blearily looked up at Kokichi. "What's going on?" Then, she remembered the events from the previous night, and her eyes widened with fear. "Is it back?" she asked in a terrified whisper. 

  "No...I think it's gone for now," Kokichi replied. "But you might wanna take a look at this." Kokichi took Himiko's hand in his and led her out of the fort and into the kitchen.  Instinctively, Himiko grabbed Kokichi's arm, and her lip began to tremble with fear.

   "I thought it was just a nightmare," she whispered in a quivery voice. Tears streamed from her eyes. Kokichi looked at her and felt her hands trembling. He put his hand on hers to calm her down.

   "It wasn't a nightmare, Himiko," he said firmly. "That thing, whatever it was, was real. And we need to find out what it is." Himiko looked at Kokichi as if he were the creature himself. 

   "Why?!" she asked. "Why can't we just leave this place and go somewhere else?!"

   "Where would we go, Himiko?" Kokichi asked. 

   "Anywhere!" Himiko replied in a teary voice. "My hat is a teleportation device, remember? You and I can just leave here forever and not deal with that...that...*thing!*" Kokichi shook his head.

   "We can't leave here, Himiko," Kokichi said sternly. "We can't just decide to live somewhere else on a whim, and besides-"

   "I have magic!" Himiko pointed out, interrupting Kokichi.