"Ugh...that was the worst magic show I've ever done!" Himiko sighed as she leaned against her bedroom door and sank to the floor with exhaustion and frustration. She had just got finished from doing a magic show at a birthday party of the brattiest kid she had ever met. Tenko sprung up from her bed to help Himiko.
"Here, Himiko, I'll put your trunk away for you," she offered.
"Nyeh...thanks, Tenko," Himiko replied. Tenko lifted up Himiko's magic trunk and stowed it in Himiko's closet. She then came back and helped Himiko up.
"What happened?" Tenko asked. Himiko put a firm hand on Tenko's shoulder.
"If you E-VER hear the name 'Reiko Takahashi,' run away," she replied. "She is THE worst 9-year-old you will ever come across!"
"What?! A little girl?!" Tenko exclaimed. "I understand how a little boy could be bad, but a little GIRL?!"
"Trust me, Tenko, she was BAD," Himiko insisted. "Apparently, she didn't want a magic show at her birthday party. She wanted a bouncy house, but her mom had insisted that a magic show would be better. When I showed up, Reiko threw a tantrum and started kicking me. Then, she threw cake at me and ALMOST LIT ME ON FIRE WITH ONE OF THE CANDLES!! Then she took my wand and started beating her OWN MOTHER with it while cursing at her. It took the rest of the parents and me to get her off. Mrs. Takahashi said it was okay for me to leave early, but before I even could, Reiko jumped on my back and started pulling my hair and trying to punch my face." Himiko sighed and plopped herself onto her bed. "I just want to forget today and sleep for the rest of the afternoon, already." Tenko sat down next to Himiko and began stroking her hair as if she were a mother comforting her child.
"Awww, I'm sorry you had to go through that, Himiko," she said. "But unfortunately for you, you can't go to sleep."
"Nyeh? Why?!" Himiko asked. Tenko reached for a folded piece of paper on Himiko's bedside table and handed it to Himiko.
"Your degenerate boyfriend asked me to give you this when you got home," she said. Himiko opened up the note and read it:
"Hey, Himiko! Follow the rose petals for a special surprise!- Your loving, kind-hearted, generous, but also very eeeevil supreme leader, Kokichi Ouma! "
Himiko smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's such a dork, sometimes," she said.
"Yeah, a degenerate dork," Tenko scoffed. Himiko pointed a warning finger at Tenko.
"Nyeh...watch it, Tenko. I know where you sleep," she joked. They both giggled. "Also, what does he mean by 'rose petals?' I didn't see any rose petals."
"Probably because you were so busy thinking about that surprisingly awful little girl," Tenko suggested. "But they're there, alright. Pretty much everyone saw him planting them all over the house. So, you'd better follow them before the others accidentally mess them up, or something."
"Okay," Himiko sighed. "Whatever he has planned for me, I hope it doesn't involve lifting anything. That'd be such a pain." Himiko opened the bedroom door to find that there were, in fact, rose petals placed neatly in a line on the floor, leading down the stairs. Himiko followed them down the stairs, through the living room, the kitchen, into the dining room until they stopped at the back door leading out into the backyard. Himiko opened the back door. The trail of petals continued up the hill and under the cherry blossom tree. In the distance, Himiko could see a red and white checkered blanket with a brown, rectangular object sitting underneath the tree. Himiko headed up the hill and could see that the object was a picnic basket. She looked around for Kokichi, but he was nowhere in sight.
"Kokichi?" Himiko called out. "I'm here!" She looked around the tree, but he wasn't there, either. "Where are you?" she asked, scratching her head. Suddenly, she heard rustling of the leaves above her, but before she could look up, she heard a thud next to her. "AAAAHHHH!!!" she screamed. Then she laughed in relief at the sight of Kokichi standing right next to her. He was holding a large bouquet of flowers in one hand, and a large box of chocolates.
"Lookin' for me?" he asked in a low, sultry voice. Himiko blushed and giggled as he nuzzled his nose against hers and gave her a kiss. "Happy 4 months, babe!" He handed the flowers and chocolates to her. She gasped with delight as she took them.
"Kokichiiii, this is so sweet!" she gushed. "Oh, but I didn't get you anything," she said, a look of guilt flashing across her face.
"Yeah, you did," Kokichi replied with a smirk. "You got me goin' crazy for you, girl," he joked as he put his arms around her waist. Himiko blushed even more and rolled her eyes.
"Stop it," she said goofily. "Aren't you supposed to be the supreme leader of evil?"
"You know, they say 'evil' stands for 'Every Villain Is Lemons,'" Kokichi said. "But in my case, it stands for 'Even Villains Injoy Love.'" Himiko laughed out loud, a bright red blush still on her cheeks.
"'Enjoy' doesn't start with an 'I,' you dork!" she guffawed.
"Well, it does, now, bay-beh," Kokichi replied smoothly, winking at her. Himiko continued to laugh as she leaned her head against Kokichi's shoulder. She then looked back up at him.
"Nyeh...you are such a bonehead," she said adoringly.
"But I'm YOUR bonehead," Kokichi replied, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her. Himiko rolled her eyes and smiled stupidly. The others hardly ever saw this side of Kokichi, but Himiko was fortunate enough to see lots of it. She found out that he can be quite charming, romantic, and still be goofy when he's not being his usual misbehaving, lying self. He led her over to the picnic basket and gestured for her to sit. Placing her flowers and chocolate next to the picnic basket, Himiko opened it up, but was disappointed to see that there was nothing inside. She turned to Kokichi for an explanation.
"Um...yeah...about that," he said. "Well, I didn't know when you were going to be home, so I sat and waited for you. But the muffins were starting to smell good, like REALLY good, and well, I ate one. Guuurl, that muffin sent my taste buds on a trip to Heaven! So, I thought one more wouldn't hurt, and the next thing I knew...they were all gone." He laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, HimiCocoa Bean." Himiko smiled and shook her head at him.
"Well, that's okay," she said. Then, she did something she thought she'd never be bold enough to do. She grabbed his scarf and yanked him closer to her. "We can go straight to the good stuff," she said in a flirty voice. Not only did she surprise herself, Kokichi was also taken aback by her sudden flirty behavior. But his surprise was short-lived. He grinned mischievously at her and took her chin into his hand to pull her into a passionate kiss. As they kissed, Himiko wrapped her arms around Kokichi's neck while he wrapped his around her waist, pulling each other closer. They paused for a moment, lost in each others' eyes as a gentle breeze gently caressed their faces. They were about to go in for another kiss when Kokichi suddenly jerked back, his face suddenly serious.
"What's wrong?" Himiko whispered in alarm. Kokichi subtly checked his surroundings, then turned back to Himiko with a smile on his face.
"Ah, it was nothing," he replied. "I just thought I heard something. Y'know, Himiko. I know a much better place where we can continue our little...'session' in private," he continued, giving her a flirtatious smile.
"Oh, haha, okay," Himiko sighed, feeling relieved that nothing was wrong.
"Just leave everything here," Kokichi said. "We'll come back for it, later." He stood up and helped her to her feet. Then, he led her away from Casa V3 to the park where it was strangely empty and quiet. The setting sun left a warm glow over the park and shiny sparkles on the river that separated the park from the rest of the city.
"Wow, usually this place is crawling with people," Himiko said, looking around the park. "It's actually a bit creepy-WAH!" Himiko was interrupted by Kokichi suddenly pulling her quickly until he found a secluded area of the park and pulled her behind a tree, his face serious. "K-Kokichi? What's wrong?" Himiko asked with growing concern. Kokichi sighed.
"Back at the hill, I felt like we were being watched," he confessed. Himiko felt her heart drop with fear.
"D-Did you see who it was?" she asked. Kokichi nodded.
"Yup! Second floor, second room down from yours and Tenko's," he explained. Himiko looked at him, letting his words sink in. On one side of Himiko and Tenko's room was only one room belonging to Tsumugi and Angie, so it definitely wasn't theirs. Next to Himiko's and Tenko's room on the other side was Kaede and Miu's, and after theirs was the bedroom belonging to Kirumi and...
"...Maki!" Himiko gasped in a horrified whisper.