Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 4 (The Oumeno Menace)

Fast and Feisty: Drifting In Tokyo (16)

   "Count me in!" Kazuichi said.

   "Yech! This place reeks of geeks!" Kokichi said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. 

   "For reals," Mondo agreed. "Come on, let's get back to the matter at hand already." 

  "Um...shouldn't that matter be Himiko?" Kiki asked, pointing at Himiko. The boys turned to Himiko, who still lay on the ground, unconscious.

   "Aaughh! Himiko!" Kokichi rushed over to her and shook her awake. "Monkey Buns!! Wake up!! Speak to meeee!!" Himiko's eyelids fluttered open.

   "Nyeh...wha...what happened?" she asked.

   "It was a three-way tie, and Kiki's going to race again tomorrow," Kokichi explained. "Gee, Himiko, I'm surprised you fell asleep through all that!"

   "Nyeeeh...I didn't fall asleep! You squeezed the air out of my lungs!" Himiko cried.

    "Oh! Well...why didn't you tell me?" Kokichi asked.

   "I WAS UNCONSCIOUS, YOU IDIOT!!!" Himiko shouted irritably. 

   "That's...fair," Kokichi muttered with a sheepish nod. "Sorry, Himiko. I guess the race got too intense." He helped her up and dusted her off. "Are you okay?"

   "Nyeh...aside from bruised ribs and crushed lungs...yes," Himiko mumbled. Kokichi kissed her cheek softly and hugged her, gently this time. 

    "Chibi-Kichi! Congrats! Congrats!" Angie said. The others turned to see the Casa V3 students returning to the pit area. Kiki hugged Angie.

   "Thanks, Angie," she said. 

   "Way to show those boys that girls are better racers!" Tenko said. Kiki rolled her eyes.

   "Can we please stop talking about stuff like that?" she sighed. 

    "What do you mean, Kiki?" Keebo asked.

   "There's this one boy who keeps being mean to me just because I'm a girl," Kiki explained. "And he keeps saying that I shouldn't race and that I should play with dolls, and other stuff like that. I'm sick and tired of hearing who's better than who!"

    "Ugh! I hope you taught that degenerate a lesson!" Tenko said. "This is why males should have no say in anything! They'll only keep us girls down!" Kiki narrowed her eyes at her. She marched over to Tenko.

   "Did you help me with my kart?" she asked, looking Tenko in the eye. "Were you there helping me race? Were you at my side, making sure I didn't get hurt, or encouraging me to race at all?" She pointed to the boys. "They are all boys, and they helped me get to where I'm at now! If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have my kart, I wouldn't know how to drive, I wouldn't even have the guts to come out here in the first place! Not one girl helped me, even though you knew that I wanted to be in this race! The only girl who's really helped me with anything is Angie with my art! Do you ever show her any praise? She is a girl, and yet, I don't see you shouting 'wHoO-hOo! gIrL pOwEr!' And that freaking nerd with the blue hair has done nothing but berate me just because I don't watch anime or read manga!"

   "I'd rather be a 'freaking nerd' than a loser who's never experienced anime or manga," Tsumugi growled, glaring at Kiki.

    "So is it okay for her to treat me like that because she's a girl?" Kiki continued, still looking at Tenko. "Would you have said something to her is she were a boy? Is that the only time it's okay to scold someone when they're wrong? When it's a boy? But it's fine when a girl gets away with being bad or mean? It sounds to me that you're no different than that Shun kid who keeps being mean to me." Tenko speechlessly hung her head in shame. Kiki then gestured to the boys again. "You wanna prove you're not like him, say something nice to them." Everyone paused and looked at Tenko. 

   "Ah, Kiki, I'm sure she's learned her less-" Shuichi began.

   "Now! " Kiki demanded firmly, looking Tenko in the eye. Tenko fidgeted uncomfortably and looked up at the boys.

   "Um...it was really nice of you degener-...er, I mean you guys to help Kiki out," she said. "It was really nice of you to build her a kart and to help her race." The boys replied with murmurs of gratitude for her compliment. 

   "Good!" Kiki huffed. 

   "Hey, Kiki!" Kiki turned to see Mullet walking in with a smile. He held his fist out for her to bump it. "Great race out there. Can't wait to see what you do tomorrow!" Kiki smiled back at him and bumped his fist in response.

   "Thanks! You, too," she said shyly. He nodded respectfully to her, then left. Kiki then took a deep breath and turned to the boys. "Let's win that race!" she said. The boys cheered for her, as well as the Casa V3 students, except for Tsumugi. 

   And I will drift this time, no matter what, Kiki thought to herself.