Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 3 (Return of the Oumeno)

Kiki Ouma (2)

    Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, Kokichi and Himiko sat in silence inside their pillow fort. Himiko gazed at Kokichi, silently and patiently waiting for him to speak. Kokichi was the quietest and most unsure Himiko had ever seen him. He was facing down, hesitant on whether he should reveal the secret that had been festering inside him for so long, or not. Himiko placed a gentle hand on his. 

   "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, Kokichi," she murmured softly. Kokichi looked at her with a melancholy expression. 

   "No...I...I wanna talk about it," he responded. "Just...Just don't tell anyone about this, okay? You have to promise me you won't tell." 

   "Kokichi, you know I won't do that," Himiko replied with a serious look in her eye. Kokichi nodded silently, took a deep breath, and began to speak. 

  "The truth is...I'm actually an orphan." Himiko stared at him in stunned silence. 

   "An orphan?" she breathed. Kokichi nodded. Himiko remembered back to when Kokichi's subordinates had been talking about her when they thought she had been out of earshot. "Kokichi, back at D.I.C.E. headquarters when I heard everyone talking about me, I heard Six mention something about some of you guys not having a home to begin with before joining D.I.C.E." Kokichi nodded gloomily at her in response.

   "He's right," he admitted. "I'm...one of them."

   "Kokichi..." Himiko breathed. 

   "Before joining D.I.C.E., I grew up in an orphanage," Kokichi continued. "This one kid, he was always picking on the younger kids, including me. I remember him telling me one time that the reason I became an orphan is because my...parents didn't want me." Himiko sighed sympathetically.

   "What did you say to him?" she asked. 

   "I always told him that that wasn't true, even though I myself didn't really know," Kokichi replied. "But he kept saying it, like he was so sure that it was true. I would always tell myself that my parents died, because, honestly, who wants to hear that their parents never wanted them? I mean...it's bad enough that nobody here wants me around. I'd hate the thought of my own parents feeling the same way."

   "Is that why you always lie?" Himiko asked. Kokichi gave her a sheepish grin.

   "Yeah...that's kinda how it started," he admitted. "The idea of my parents being dead instead of being unwanted by them made me feel a little better, so I thought that lying to myself wasn't so bad. And because that one kid kept trying to make the other kids sad, I thought that my lies would help them feel better, too, like they did for me. I would tell them things like their parents were spies fighting bad guys and that they had to leave their kids behind at this orphanage so that they wouldn't be in danger, or other stuff like their parents were far away on an adventure looking for lost treasure, and they'd be back soon."

   "Did it work?" Himiko asked. 

   "Yeah," Kokichi replied. "The kids became more happy, which made me happy. But, thinking back on it, I guess all I did was build up their hopes with my lies, only to have them possibly shattered if they ended up finding out something horrible about their parents." Kokichi hung his head in shame. "All I wanted was for me and them to be happy." Himiko gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze. Kokichi looked up with glossy eyes, staring distantly off into a random direction. "I ran away to join D.I.C.E. to escape that possibility that I was an unwanted child. Living there was a constant reminder that I was some homeless kid that nobody loved. I wanted to be someone else...someone more than what I was. I wanted to be someone that everyone admired so that I wouldn't have to feel like I was some...I dunno, some 'throw-away kid.' That's why I wanted to become the Supreme Leader, and I wanted to be the best one. It was my lies that helped me keep going at that orphanage. My lies helped me become Supreme Leader of D.I.C.E. My lies even helped me to steal your heart." Himiko blushed and smiled at him.

   "Well, you didn't really need your lies to do that," she admitted. "It was basically love at first sight for me."

   "Haha, you fall easily, huh, Monkey Buns?" Kokichi chuckled softly, smiling affectionately at Himiko. 

   "Nyeh...only because you made it easy," Himiko replied shyly. "But, I guess you're right. Your lies made you more mysterious, which made you more intriguing." Kokichi nodded, then sighed sadly.

   "Sometimes, though, I feel like...like..." he mumbled, feeling at a loss for words.

   "That you should stop lying?" Himiko guessed. Kokichi looked at her in surprise. 

   "Yeah...how'd you know?" he asked. Himiko gave him a mysterious smile.

   "Nyeh...a mage never reveals her secrets," she replied. Kokichi smiled at her and laughed a little. "But...I don't think you should give up lying, Kokichi." Kokichi stared at her in bewilderment. 

   "You...really think that?" he asked. Himiko sighed.

   "Normally, if it were any other person, I'd tell them to stop lying, but...I can't tell you that," she said. "It's just...who you are. It's what makes you...you. And I know you don't really mean any harm with your lies." Kokichi smiled appreciatively at her. 

   "Thank you, Himiko," he said. Himiko smiled back at him. "But...I think I...wanna know the truth about my parents now. Especially since I may actually have a little sister. My lies may have helped me out this far, but...I think it's time I learned the truth about my past." He looked at Himiko with an anxious expression, and squeezed her hand. "Will you...help me, Himiko?" Himiko scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him.

   "Of course, Kokichi," she replied. "I wouldn't let you do this alone, even if you asked me to." Kokichi sighed with relief as he wrapped his arms around Himiko, as well, and gave her a tight squeeze. 

   "Himiko?"

   "Yes?" Himiko asked. 

   "I wanna tell you something I've never lied about," Kokichi replied. 

   "Nyeh...what is it?" Himiko asked. Kokichi let go of Himiko to smile gratefully at her.

   "I love you," he murmured softly.