Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 2 (The Oumeno Strikes Back)

The Water Kingdom (1)

    Himiko was in her secret, magic room, practicing magic using her cauldron. She was adding ingredients to make an elixir, when she was suddenly interrupted by a cheerful voice.

   "Heeeey, HimiCocoa Bean!" Kokichi said as he walked down the stairs into the magic room. "What'cha doin?'"

   "Nyeh...hi, Kokichi," Himiko replied with a sleepy smile. Kokichi sat next to her at the table in the center of the room, and kissed her cheek. "I'm working on an elixir for whenever I get sick."

   "I see..." Kokichi said, looking into the cauldron at the golden concoction. "That's so cool!"

   "Yeah...it's just about ready to be poured into a bottle for safekeeping," Himiko replied. With her fingers, she sprinkled some glittery-looking substance into the mixture, making it glisten like water on a sunny day. Kokichi's eyes widened with interest. "Hey, Kokichi? Can you hand me a bottle from the cupboard underneath the bookshelf over there?"

   "You got it, Miss Lazypants!" Kokichi said, and headed for the bookshelf. He opened the cupboard, and grabbed an empty, shiny glass bottle. "Here ya go, Monkey Buns!" he said, handing it to Himiko.

   "Nyeh, thanks," she said. She stood up from her chair and tried to lift the heavy cauldron, but it was too heavy for her to lift. "Nyeeehhh...I...can't...pick this...up!" She plopped her face onto the table and let out a miserable whine. "I can't do iiit!"

  "Nee-heehee...let me try!" Kokichi said. He lifted the cauldron up with ease, and raised an eyebrow at Himiko. "Seriously, Himiko?! You can't lift this?! This is actually pretty easy, and even *I* struggle with lifting heavy stuff!"

   "Nyeeeehhh....maybe I'm just too tired," Himiko replied, lifting her head up from the table. Kokichi smiled and rolled his eyes at her. "Could you pour the elixir into the bottle for me, please?"

   "'Kaaaay, fiiiine," Kokichi said, and began pouring the golden concoction into the crystal-clear glass bottle. As he did so, Himiko's phone started to ring. She looked at it to see who was calling her.

  "Oh! It's my mommy," Himiko said, picking her phone up. "Nyeh...moshi moshi, mommy. Yeah, I'm good. How are you? Ah, that's good. What did you need? Oh...really?" Kokichi noticed that Himiko's shoulders slumped with disappointment. He finished pouring the elixir, and sat back down to listen to Himiko's conversation. "Nyeeeh...do I have to? Mmm...okay. Yes, I remember the spell. Okay. Okay. I love you, too. Bye." She hung up the phone and sighed. Kokichi was waiting for her to say something, but she just sat there.

  "Well...what happened?" he asked. 

   "Oh...I have to go the the magical water kingdom of Aquatica to get my mommy something," Himiko explained. "She'd do it herself, but she said that she has to run errands elsewhere."

   "There's a magical water kingdom?!" Kokichi asked, his eyes twinkling with excitement. 

   "Yeah...there are magical kingdoms based on the elements," Himiko said. "There's the water kingdom, the air kingdom, the fire kingdom, the ice kingdom, the earth kingdom, the kingdom of light, and the kingdom of darkness."