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

The Not-Your-Talent Show! (2)

  "Oh! Um...s-sorry about that, Kaito," Ibuki replied awkwardly. "Well, uh...I actually came here for you, Kaede!" Kaede gave Ibuki a surprised look.

  "Oh! What did you need me for?" Kaede asked. Ibuki grabbed Kaede and yanked her arm.

  "No questions asked! Just follow me!" she responded.

  "WAH!" Kaede shouted as Ibuki pulled her up. Then, Himiko and Kaede followed Ibuki as she continued scanning the cafeteria. "Um...what exactly are we doing?" Kaede whispered to Himiko.

  "I have no idea," Himiko whispered back. 

   "A-HA!!" Ibuki said, pointing at another table with Sonia, Mikan, and Chiaki. Ibuki dragged Kaede and Himiko over to their table. "Hey, girlies! Sorry, to leave you all alone, Chiaki, but I was wondering if I could borrow Sonia and Mikan for a while?"

  "Ha-aaahhhh...that's fine," Chiaki yawned. "I was planning on going to the library to play games on the computer, anyways."

  "YAY!!" Ibuki said. Chiaki left for the library leaving Mikan and Sonia staring at Ibuki in confusion. "I need you two to come with me, is that okay? OF COURSE IT IS!!" 

   "B-But, you didn't g-give us time to RESPOOONNND!!" Mikan squealed as Ibuki pulled her up.

   "Ibuki, what is the meaning of this?" Sonia demanded. 

  "Never mind that," Ibuki replied, then laughed as she pointed at Sonia. "Haha, no pun intended! Okay, we need Sayaka! Where is she?"

   "She's over there where Rantaro is," Kaede said, pointing at a table at the other side of the cafeteria. Rantaro was talking to Sayaka who seemed to be starstruck by whatever he was saying. Out of curiosity, Himiko scanned the cafeteria for Tenko and Angie. She found Tenko who was looking over her shoulder right at Rantaro and Sayaka, and seemed to be seething with jealousy. 

  Nyeh...so I guess it's true, then, Himiko thought to herself. I guess she really does like Rantaro.

  "Sayakaaaa! We need yoouuuu!" Ibuki sang. Sayaka turned her attention towards Ibuki with a hint of disappointment on her face after being interrupted. But her disappointment disappeared after Rantaro told her that he'd meet up with her after school.

  "What did you need me for?" Sayaka asked.

  "I need your help for something important! Wanna join?" Ibuki asked. Sayaka looked at the other girls who seemed just as confused as she was.

  "Well...okay, then!" Sayaka replied cheerfully.

"Awesome! C'mon! Follow me!" Ibuki exclaimed. "By the way, Kaede, do you know where Maki might be?"

  "Maki? Oh, well...usually when she doesn't want to eat lunch, she's in the rec room just sitting down, lost in her thoughts, or something."

  "That's weird...BUT it'll be easy to find her, and that's all that matters to me!" Ibuki replied. "C'mon, you guys!" The other girls exchanged confused glances with each other and shrugged. They followed Ibuki to the rec room where they found Maki staring off into space as other students played games. "Maki! There you are!" Ibuki said. Maki snapped to attention. 

  "Yes?" Maki asked Ibuki testily. 

   "Whoa, didn't mean to harsh your mellow, Maki Mouse," Ibuki said, holding her hands up defensively. Maki narrowed her eyes at Ibuki over the nickname. "Oh...did you not like 'Maki Mouse?' Would you prefer it if I just called you Maki, then?"

  "Very much," Maki replied. 

  "Okie-dokie, then! No problemo! I'm here because I want you to follow me and the gal pals somewhere. Wanna join?" Ibuki offered. Maki sighed.

  "Well...I have nothing better to do, so it's fine," she replied. 

  "Whoopee!" Ibuki exclaimed. "Okay, how many is that? One, two, three..." she muttered as she silently counted the rest of the girls. "We need one more! And this last girl's gonna be a challenge to snag!"