Himiko was in the living room watching TV with such intensity that she didn't realize she was shoving heaping amounts of popcorn from the bowl in her lap into her mouth. She was in the middle of an episode of Crime Time, a show about murders or disappearances that happened across Japan. The episode she was currently watching was about the mysterious disappearance of a five-year-old girl named Lola that happened five years ago and had not been seen ever since. Around the time she had disappeared, her parents were found dead in their bedroom. Himiko winced and gagged at the gory crime scene. The little girl's aunt and uncle were being interviewed.
"Lola was the sweetest little girl," the aunt said in a teary voice. Her husband sat beside her with a grim expression. "She loved cute things and she would dress up as a little princess. It was the cutest thing. She was smart, too." She paused as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Who would do such a thing to a little girl? Who would...take her from her family like that and kill her parents?"
The episode continued to explain further about Lola's whereabouts prior to her disappearance. Himiko suddenly began to feel unsettled. She didn't know why. It was broad daylight outside, and though she was alone in the living room, everyone else was at home with her. So, why did she feel strange? Suddenly, it hit her. She felt as if she were being watched! She stiffened in fear as she slowly looked around her. She craned her neck to look into the hallway leading to the boys rooms and the stairs leading up to the girls rooms. There was nobody there. She then hesitantly looked into the hallway leading into the kitchen. Again, she didn't see anyone. It wasn't until she turned her head toward the other end of the couch she was sitting on that she noticed a pair of eyes peeking at her from behind the arm of the couch.
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!" Himiko shrieked, sending her bowl of popcorn flying into the air.
"Nee-heehee...gotcha, Himiko!" Kokichi said, laughing as he jumped over the arm and landed right next to Himiko.
"Nyeeeh!! Don't do that, Kokichi!!" Himiko yelled, smacking him with both of her hands. "You scared the life out of me!!"
"Hahahaha...sorry!" Kokichi replied. Himiko took a deep breath as she calmed down and straightened her jacket. Kokichi started picking up pieces of popcorn and putting it back into the bowl. "Sooo...what'cha watchin,' my little Sagittarian sorceress?" he asked, giving Himiko's cheek a playful pinch.
"Crime Time," Himiko replied testily, still trying to get over what just happened.
"Niiiiice!" Kokichi replied with a cheeky grin. "What's this episode about?"
"It's about a little girl who disappeared right after her parents got murdered," Himiko answered. "Now be quiet. I'm trying to watch." Kokichi gave her a kiss on her cheek before placing his hands on his lap. Himiko turned to frown at him in annoyance. Kokichi looked at her out of the corners of his eyes and smiled mischievously at her. "Stop it," Himiko scolded.
"Whaaaat?" Kokichi asked innocently, shrugging his shoulders questioningly. Himiko rolled her eyes and faced the TV again. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see Kokichi continuing to grin and stare at her out of the corners of his eyes.
"Nyeeeh...Kokichi! Cut it out!" Himiko huffed.
"Wha...! I wasn't...! I-I'm not doing anything!" Kokichi stammered playfully. He turned to Himiko with a grin that seemed both innocent and mischievous at the same time. "Why would you think I'm doing something?" Himiko groaned and hung her head in frustration.
"Kokichiiiii..." she whined. Kokichi giggled and scooted closer to her, entwining his arms around hers. He looked up at her, making a cute and silly duck face at her.
"I stop bothewing you if you kiss me," he said. Himiko groaned again, but after seeing Kokichi's duckface and hearing him talk in a cutesy way, a smile begin to creep onto Himiko's face. Kokichi had her right where he wanted her! He took this opportunity to work his charm even more. He started blinking innocently at her while maintaining his duck face. Himiko couldn't help it. She started laughing out loud.
"Fine...but, only if you promise to be quiet after that," she said.
"I pwomise," Kokichi said.
"And you gotta promise not to scare me anymore," Himiko added.
"I don't pwomise that," Kokichi replied, shaking his head. He grinned mischievously as Himiko burst into laughter again.
"Nyeh....whatever," she said, and gave Kokichi a small kiss on his lips.
"I didn't like that one," Kokichi said. "Do it again."
"Kokichiiii...you promiiiised!" Himiko sighed.
"I didn't like that ooonnne!" Kokichi whined.
"Nyeeeeh...!" Himiko grabbed Kokichi's cheeks and kissed his squished lips repeatedly before shoving his face away. "There!" Kokichi laughed.
"Hahahaha...okay, okaaaay. I'll be quiet now," he said.
"Thank you," Himiko replied. They sat in silence as they watched the aunt and uncle of the little girl, Lola, were being interviewed again.
"When did you last see her?" the interviewer asked.
"We saw her last at her house, where she was supposed to be," the aunt replied.
"We were visiting that day, and when we arrived back at our house, we got a phone call from Lola herself, informing us that her parents were dead," the uncle added. "She was sobbing hard. And when we went to go pick her up, she had already disappeared."
"Pffft...yeah, right," Kokichi scoffed, pointing at the aunt and uncle on the screen. "You're probably the ones who did it." Himiko turned to Kokichi in disbelief.
"You really think they would do that?!" she asked.
"I dunno," Kokichi shrugged. "They seem kinda phony to me. This whole episode seems phony. I'm not saying any of this didn't happen, but I'm not gonna believe everything they say. Especially since people like to lie to make the crime seem more interesting. That, I can understand. Buuut...I wouldn't be surprised if some of this was scripted, or something." Himiko shuddered.
"Well, scripted, or not, I hope I never just...disappear," she said.
"Nee-heehee...but isn't that what a magician is supposed to do?" Kokichi said.
"Ahem..." Himiko said sternly, pressing her forehead against Kokichi's.
"Oops! My bad! I meant mage," Kokichi said with a cheeky grin.
"That's right, buster!" Himiko said, thrusting her finger into Kokichi's chest. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Himiko looked at Kokichi expectantly.
"Nuh-uh! No way, José! You're the one closest to the door," Kokichi said. Himiko sighed as she stood up.
"What a pain," she muttered as she trudged towards the front door. She opened it to find Celeste. "Nyeh? What are you doing here, Celestia?"
"I was just visiting the houses, asking the girls a very important question," Celeste replied. "And since you are here, I might as well ask you the same, Himiko."
"What question is that?" Himiko asked.
"Would you like to come with me to a lolita café?" Celeste asked.