As Kokichi and Himiko entered Casa V3, they came across Maki, who strode towards them as soon as she noticed them come in.
"There you guys are," she said. "Dinner is ready. Are you going to eat, or not?"
"Nee-heehee...we will, Maki, don't worry!" Kokichi replied. "Buuuut, before we eat, I wanna show you something!" Maki sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Now, now, don't give me attitude," Kokichi said. "It'll only take a few seconds!"
"Kokichi...I don't have time for your nonsense," Maki muttered. She turned to leave.
"Do you wanna die?" Kokichi asked. Maki whirled around angrily, staring Kokichi dead in his eyes.
"What did you say to me?" she asked in a threatening voice.
"I said...do you wanna die?" Kokichi repeated in a soothing voice as he kept his eyes fixated on Maki's. For some reason, Maki couldn't tear her eyes away from Kokichi's. Something about his eyes seemed enticing and welcoming. They seemed to glow a warm, irresistible purple that Maki couldn't pull away from.
"I...don't...wanna...die," Maki murmured. Himiko's mouth gaped as Kokichi lifted his yo-yo in front of Maki's face, and started swinging it back and forth like a pendulum.
"Listen...to the sound...of my voice...Maki Harukawa," Kokichi spoke in a soothing, lulling voice. "Are you...feeling relaxed...Maki?"
"Yeah..." Maki replied. "Your eyes are so...pretty."
"Thank you..." Kokichi replied with a devious grin. "I bet you're...feeling a bit sleepy...aren't you, Maki?
"S-Sleepy..." Maki mumbled in response. Her eyes began to droop.
"I will count...to ten...Maki...and...when I get to ten...you will be fully...relaxed," Kokichi continued. "One...two....three...four..." As Kokichi counted, Maki's eyes felt heavier. "...five...six...now, Maki...you are so relaxed...that you are now...in a trance...seven..." He paused to lift Maki's chin. "...Maki...you are so deep...in a trance...that when I reach ten...you will be completely...under my command...eight...nine...ten." At ten, Maki completely shut her eyes. "Good...Maki, darling..." Kokichi purred. Himiko breathed in hushed excitement, clutching onto Kokichi's arm. Kokichi smiled at Himiko and held up a finger indicating to her to watch. "Maki, whenever Kaito calls you Maki Roll, you will..." He paused to think. Himiko leaned forward to whisper in his ear. Kokichi giggled. "...you will clap your hands and bark like a seal nine times." He looked at the clock, which read 7:15. "As soon as the clock strikes 7:30 tonight, you will no longer be under my command. You will forget that I hypnotized you, and if Kaito asks about your strange behavior, you will tell him that you were messing around with him, you know...as a joke. Understand?" Maki nodded her head, her eyes still closed. "Now, Maki, darling, when I snap my fingers, you will wake up." Kokichi snapped his fingers and Maki immediately snapped back to attention.
"So, are you guys going to eat, or what?" she asked.
"Yeah, we'll be there!" Kokichi replied with a cheeky grin. Maki rolled her eyes in annoyance and left for the dining room. Himiko stared at Kokichi in amazement.
"Kokichi...!" she breathed.
"Nee-heehee...you're not the only one who can put people under spells, anymore, Himiko!" Kokichi said.
"How did you learn to do that?!" Himiko asked as Kokichi placed his yo-yo back into his pocket.
"I came across a book about hypnotism at the library," he replied. "It seemed pretty interesting, so I decided to read it. I even practiced it on some nerd over there. He was my first test subject, and it worked!"
"Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" Himiko gasped with excitement. "This is so cool!" Suddenly, she gave Kokichi a guilty look. "Nyeh...I'm sorry I accused you of cheating, Kokichi."
"Don't worry about it, Monkey Buns," Kokichi replied, stroking her cheek. "I guess I did make myself look suspicious. But the important thing iiiis...seeing Maki bark like a seal! Come on!" Hand in hand, they ran off to the dining room, where the others were already eating.
"Kokichi, Himiko, please, sit down and I will serve you," Kirumi said, standing up.
"Thanks, mom!" Kokichi replied with a bratty grin.
"Please refrain from calling me that," Kirumi said with an annoyed expression.
"Okay, okay, whatever!" Kokichi replied, waving his hand rudely at her. Himiko smacked his arm admonishingly. He merely gave her a small kiss on her nose in response and stuck his tongue out at her. Kirumi placed two plates of food in front of them.
"Nyeh...looks good, Kirumi," Himiko said with a smile.
"Thank you," Kirumi replied. "I do hope you enjoy your meal."
"I'm sure we will, mom!" Kokichi said.
"Kokichi..." Kirumi began with a stern voice.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kokichi scoffed. "PlEaSe ReFrAiN fRoM cAlLiNg YoU mOm!"
"C'mon, dude, be a bit more respectful!" Kaito scolded Kokichi. "She's in that kitchen bustin' her ass for us! You should be thankful!"
"Maybe you should stop worrying about Kirumi's ass and focus on Maki's, which looks soooo fine!" Kokichi said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at Maki. Maki glared at Kokichi and stood up.
"Do you wanna-" she began. Kaito placed his hands on Maki's shoulders to calm her down.
"Don't listen to him, Maki Roll! He's only tryin' to-" Kaito began.
"ARF! ARF! ARF!" Maki interrupted, clapping and barking like a seal upon hearing Kaito mention her nickname. "ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF!" Kokichi and Himiko tried their best to stifle their giggles.
"WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH HER?!" Miu yelled in shock, dropping her chopsticks.
"She's going plain crazy!!" Tsumugi exclaimed.
"M-Maki!!" Shuichi yelled, trying to calm her down. As soon as Maki stopped barking, she sat back down and continued eating her dinner as if nothing happened.
"M-Maki...are you okay?" Kaede asked cautiously. Maki stared at her in confusion.
"Yeah, why?" she asked.
"Are you sure, Maki Roll? Because-" Kaito began.
"ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF! ARF!" Maki clapped and barked again. Soon after, she began eating her dinner.
"It seems as if every time Kaito speaks, you start barking like a seal, Maki," Ryoma said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Maki replied, staring at him. "What are you all looking at?"
"It's not just whenever Kaito speaks," Shuichi muttered in thought. "It's whenever Maki hears her nickname, Maki Roll." At that instance, everyone ducked their heads, waiting for Maki to go crazy again.
"N-Nothing happened," Tenko sighed in relief.
"Maybe it's only when Kaito says it!" Angie chirped cheerfully. "Say it, Kaito!"
"NO!!! DON'T!!" Tenko screamed, cowering in fear. "It's too weird!"
"What is everyone talking about?!" Maki demanded.
"You do not know?" Kiyo asked.
"You bark like a seal every time you hear Kaito say your nickname," Rantaro explained.
"How are you not aware, Maki?" Shuichi asked. Before Maki could reply, the clock read 7:30, and Maki blinked her eyes.
"Wait...what's going on?" she asked, shaking her head.
"Hey, Maki Roll? Are you okay?" Kaito asked.
"K-Kaito! You said her nickname!" Keebo shrieked. Everyone ducked their heads again, but nothing happened.
"Hey...she's not doing it," Tsumugi said. "That's just plain weird."
"It's just a plain RELIEF!!" Tenko corrected.
"Maki Roll, why were you actin' all weird just now?" Kaito asked.
"Oh, because I was just messing with you," Maki replied. "You know...as a joke." Everyone stared at her in bewilderment while Kokichi and Himiko eyed each other with secret smiles.