The little bell above the door jingled softly as Kokichi and Himiko arrived at Cookies 'n' Cream. Before leaving Casa V3, Himiko had changed her outfit to something she thought a female juvenile delinquent would wear. A few customers were inside, enjoying some ice cream. Himiko craned her neck, looking around for someone who could possibly be a juvenile delinquent, but everyone looked like regular, normal people.
"What are you doing?" Kokichi asked, raising a brow at her.
"I'm looking for Cujo," Himiko whispered in response. Kokichi uttered a short, breathy laugh.
"His name is Koji, Himiko, and he's sitting right over there," Kokichi corrected, pointing to a boy sitting at a table across the parlor. He looked around the same height as Kokichi. His hair was dark blue, his bangs covering one of his ruby-red eyes. He wore a baggy hoody and tight jeans. He was scooping out some chocolate ice cream out of a styrofoam cup.
"That's him?!" Himiko whispered incredulously. "He just looks like a regular, old kid!"
"Nee-heehee...so do I," Kokichi pointed out. "What did you expect?"
"Nyeh...I dunno, some super-huge buff guy with a bunch of tattoos and piercings!" Himiko said. Kokichi clamped his hand around Himiko's shoulder and hung his head as he sighed deeply.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered. "And, Himiko, no offense, but try not to speak too much, okay?"
"Why?" Himiko asked. "Oh! Will your friend be intimidated by my record?"
"Himiko...you don't have a record," Kokichi said.
"Yeah, I do! My detention thing...remember?" Himiko said. "Nyeh...I might as well be in the system." Kokichi laughed and shook his head.
"Okay, well...don't mention your 'record,' or anything like that to him, okay?" he said. "Just act natural."
"Nyeh...natural, got it!" Himiko said, giving Kokichi a thumbs-up. Kokichi took a deep breath. He had a weird feeling about all of this, but he nevertheless took Himiko's hand in his and led her over to Koji.
"Kobayashiiii!" Kokichi said. Koji looked up and grinned.
"Oumaaaa, what's up?" he replied as they greeted each other.
"Nyeh...I thought his name was Koji," Himiko whispered to Kokichi.
"Tch...Kobayashi is his last name, bonehead," Kokichi whispered back.
"Ohhh...right!" Himiko said. Koji nodded at Himiko.
"So, who's the skirt, Ouma?" he asked.
"Koji, this is my girlfriend, Himiko," Kokichi replied. "Himiko...this is Koji."
"Nyeh...'sup, Kobayashi," Himiko said, holding her fist out for Koji to bump it. Koji stared at it, then at Himiko in awkward silence.
"Ohhh...lord," Kokichi mumbled under his breath, his eyes drifting up to the ceiling. Koji finally bumped Himiko's fist slowly.
"Nice to meet you," he said with a forced smile. Kokichi pulled out a chair for Himiko, and sat down himself afterwards. "Damn, Ouma, it's been a while since I last saw you! How you been, man?"
"Nee-heehee...same old, same old!" Kokichi replied with a cheeky grin, placing his hands behind his head. Koji chuckled.
"Still a hellraiser, huh?" he said. "Nice to see some things haven't changed out here."
"How about you?" Kokichi asked him.
"Man, I'm glad to be out," Koji replied. "Gonna miss it, though. Hey, remember when we were both in, and we snuck into Takanobu's office and put some itching powder in his pants?"
"Hahahaha...he was scratchin' his ass for days!" Kokichi said, laughing.
"...And he couldn't even sit to take a shit!" Kokichi and Koji said in unison before slapping their hands together. Himiko stared quizzically at the both of them, not knowing what to say. Noticing her expression, Kokichi decided to fill her in.
"Takanobu was our corrections officer," he explained.
"Ohhh...I gotcha," Himiko said, nudging Kokichi and winking. Kokichi shut his eyes with embarrassment. "Nyeh...there's this one time where I also stuck it to the man!" Himiko said, pumping her fist.
"Oh, Himiko..." Kokichi muttered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Uhhh...okay? What happened?" Koji asked.
"Nyeh...one time, in fourth grade, my teacher asked if I finished my homework from the previous day," Himiko began.
"Oh. And then what?" Koji asked, uninterested. Himiko leaned forward.
"Then I...said...'no,'" Himiko replied dramatically. "Puh...I got sent to the kitty corner after that. That teacher was so...pardon my French...pissed off, know what I'm sayin?'" Silence lingered in the air for a few moments. Kokichi let out a breath.
"Pheeew...that was pretty bad!" he said. He discreetly signaled over to Koji.
"O-Oh! Yeah, dang, you're one tough cookie," Koji said.
"She's a wild one, this girl," Kokichi said, patting Himiko's shoulder. Himiko beamed with pride. "So, anyway, got any plans for getting out, Koji?"
"Hell, yeah! Tomorrow, all of our juvie buds who're out are havin' a party at that old, abandoned house near the river, you know the one, right?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kokichi replied.
"Cool!" Koji said. "There's a bunch of stuff in that house! It might as well have an 'X' painted on it to mark the spot, and we're the pirates ready to pilfer everything inside!" Kokichi opened his mouth to speak, but Himiko beat him to the punch.
"Reminds me of my old pilferin' days," Himiko said, casually leaning back in her chair. "Yeah, a few years ago, my mommy told me not to eat too much before dinner, but I didn't care. I took an Oreo and-"
"Oh, God...womaaaaaan!!" Kokichi rasped, running his fingers down his face in frustration. Himiko looked at him in confusion. Kokichi took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. With a smile, he handed Himiko some money. "Could you get us some ice cream, babe?"
"Nyeh...comin' right up," Himiko replied, taking the money. She gave Kokichi and Koji an impish grin. "I might even ask them for extra sprinkles! They'll squirm with fear at my demands!" With that, Himiko walked away to the counter.
"How'd you end up with that bitch?" Koji asked, gesturing to Himiko with his thumb. "She come straight outta special ed, or somethin?'" Kokichi frowned at him.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, hey!" he said. "We may be pals, and all, but let's get one thing straight: don't talk shit about Himiko!"
"No offense, man, but...she's really weird," Koji said.
"Yeah, so what?" Kokichi said, narrowing his eyes at Koji. "Come on, she's a good girl. She's my girl! Lay off!"
"Hey, man, I'm just sayin,'" Koji said, holding his hands up. "You'd be better off with Jun. She was all over you. Plus, she was a hot babe who didn't take any shit!"
"Yeah, I remember her," Kokichi said with crossed arms.
"Then why are you with that red-haired wannabe?" Koji said. "Jun'll be at the party! Come to the party without the loser! She doesn't have to know!"
"You know, Koji, if you're so obsessed with Jun, why don't you have her?" Kokichi asked, raising a brow.
"Cuz you two would make a more badass couple!" Koji said.
"Well, believe it or not, Himiko and I are already a badass couple," Kokichi said. "Just because Himiko isn't Jun, doesn't mean you can just disrespect her like that!" Koji scoffed.
"Damn, maybe you have changed after all, Ouma," he said. "That's too bad. But, hey, come to the party tomorrow. Once you see Jun again, you'll be back to your old self."
"Nyeh...I'm back with the ice cream," Himiko said before Kokichi could respond. She set down a cup of ice cream in front of Kokichi. "Nyeh...extra sprinkles!" Kokichi saw loads of sprinkles topped over his ice cream. He stroked Himiko's cheek.
"Thanks, babe," he said. Himiko smiled happily at him in response. Kokichi turned his attention to his ice cream. He scooped some up and popped it into his mouth as he briefly eyed Koji with a hint of contempt.