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

Dead Girls Tell No Tales (3)

   Stunned by the fog's haunting spell that they had fallen under, Himiko and Kokichi were floating cautiously above the water as if it was the only comforting thing around them. 

   "It feels like we're going nowhere," Kokichi whispered. "Turn back, Himiko." Still unable to speak, Himiko nodded, and turned her broom around. She flew and flew, but it felt as if it were taking longer to leave the fog than it did to enter.

   "The fog isn't going away," Himiko whispered fearfully. "W-We aren't going anywhere!"

   "It's okay, it's okay," Kokichi said soothingly. "Stay calm, Himiko. Let's keep our heads, okay? Let's try flying up out of the fog." 

   "Okay," Himiko breathed. Himiko pointed her broom upwards and tried soaring high above the fog. "Um...it doesn't seem to be disappearing," she said in a shaky voice. Kokichi tapped her shoulder.

   "Uh...Himiko?" he said. Himiko turned to look at Kokichi. He pointed below them to see that they had not moved at all; they were still right above the water where they had always been. Himiko's eyes widened with fear. She felt her throat closing as she tried to fight her panic, but it was no use. She turned to face Kokichi as angry and frightened tears began streaming from her eyes.

   "Nyeeeh!! This is all your fault!" she said. "We're stuck here in this weird fog! There's no way out! We're probably gonna die here! We're never gonna get married! We're never gonna have kids! We're probably gonna get eaten by some giant sea monster all because you had to go on a lItTlE aDvEnTuRe, and now..."

   "Himiko," Kokichi said, but Himiko wasn't listening.

  "...I'm gonna miss my favorite soap opera, which is horrible because today was the day when Megumi was gonna have her baby, and..." Himiko continued.

   "Himiko!" Kokichi said a little louder.

   "...I forgot that there was that last piece of strawberry cake that Kirumi made, and I'M NOT GONNA GET THAT LAST PIIIEEECEEE!!!" Himiko wailed.

   "HIMIKO!!" Kokichi shouted, firmly gripping Himiko's shoulders. Himiko shut her mouth immediately as she stared at Kokichi with a sopping wet face. "Pull yourself together, Himiko, and listen to me. We are not going to die in here. We are going to find a way out, okay?" 

   "H-How?" Himiko asked miserably.

   "I don't know," Kokichi admitted. "But I need you to keep it together." He sighed deeply as if to calm his own nerves. Then, he gave her a surprised smile. "Wait...you really wanna have kids?"

   "Kokichi...this isn't the time to bring that up!" Himiko said testily.

   "But, you just said...okay, okay, yeah, you're right," Kokichi said. He ran his fingers through his hair in thought and looked around. "We need a plan." He then raised an eyebrow.

   "What plan?!" Himiko whispered fiercely. "We've got no way to go! We're-"

  "Stop," Kokichi interrupted, cocking his head as if he were listening to something. 

  "Kokichi, it's hopeless!" Himiko cried. "There is no way-"

   "Himiko, shut up!" Kokichi hissed. He pressed his finger on Himiko's lips. In the quiet of the fog, they could hear water churning louder as each second passed by. 

   "What is that, Kokichi?" Himiko asked in a small, scared voice. 

   "I'm not sure," Kokichi whispered. "But whatever it is, it sounds like...it's...getting...oh, my God." Himiko looked at him with fear. 

   "Kokichi?" Himiko asked. With wide eyes, Kokichi was looking past her and up. She slowly turned around and was met with an eerie sight. An enormous silhouette in the shape of a ship loomed over them like some ravenous sea beast.

   "Move, Himiko!" Kokichi commanded. Himiko whirled around and steered her broom out of the way in the nick of time to avoid the ship that came barreling out of the fog. As the ship roared by, however, Kokichi and Himiko were hit with a giant wave that sent them flying off of Himiko's broom and into the briny seawater below. Himiko splashed around frantically, trying to find Kokichi and her broom, but they were nowhere in sight.

   "KOKICHI!!!" she screamed, trying to stay above the surface. The rough waters sent her bobbing violently above and under the surface. "KOKICHI!! OH!! KOKICHI!!" she gasped. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" Tears streamed from her eyes as she felt herself sinking into the depths. Panic set in as the dark water closed around her. She opened her mouth out of sheer terror as the fear of drowning began to take over her mind. She felt herself starting to black out. The last thing she saw was a flash of white sleeves grabbing her waist and pulling her back up to the surface. 

   The next thing Himiko knew, she woke up violently, spewing up water as she did so. She coughed over and over, her body aching each time. She started trembling uncontrollably from both fear and her cold, wet clothes. Through her bleary vision, she could see her hat next to her, along with her broom, which she could see was snapped in half.

   "HIMIKO!!!" Kokichi shouted, throwing his arms around her. Himiko saw that Kokichi was also soaked to the bone, but he wasn't trembling nearly as much as she was. "Hey! Are you okay?" he asked with wide eyes filled worry. He held her face in his hands. "Himiko! Are you okay?"

   "Y-Y-Yeah..." Himiko answered in a shaky voice. Kokichi hugged her head close to his chest.

   "It's okay, Himiko. It's gonna be okay," he said, breathing heavily. "Oh, God! Oh, my God! Don't you ever scare me like that again, Himiko!" He sighed deeply as he began to calm down and lean his head onto Himiko's.

   "K-Kokichi...what happened?" Himiko asked feebly. 

   "Sshhh...don't speak," Kokichi hushed. "You're okay. We got rescued and I resuscitated you. You're okay, now, okay?"

   "R-Rescued?" Himiko whispered. 

   "That's right, lassie, so ye better start thankin' us, if ye know what's good for ye!" a strangely familiar voice called from behind them. Kokichi and Himiko turned to see who had spoken. They gasped with shock at who they saw. It wasn't just one person, but many familiar faces. The person who spoke was dressed like a pirate captain, but there was no mistaking the unevenly cut purple hair, the mauve-colored eyes, and the beauty mark under her left eye. 

   "M-Mikan?" Kokichi stammered as he and Himiko looked right into the uncharacteristically confident and daring eyes of their fellow schoolmate.