Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 1 (A New Oumeno)

Magic School (7)

     School at Hope's Peak Academy had let out, and Kokichi walked silently by himself. It felt weird not having Himiko with him to tease and laugh with. He smiled to himself at the thought of him teasing and flirting with Himiko and causing her to blush. He remembered the pranks they used to pull as well as the times when they'd share victory hugs and kisses for when their pranks were successful. He thought of the times when Himiko would be sad and Kokichi would comfort her in his arms, telling her jokes or tickling her to make her laugh.

   

    He sighed longingly as he entered Casa V3, heavily regretting letting Himiko go achieve her hopes and dreams at that stupid magic school. He entered his room and plopped onto his bed in boredom and sadness. As he did so, he remembered that he had received a text message during school. No doubt it was from Himiko, he thought to himself. He read that she had arrived in London, but he didn't reply back. Instead, he merely smiled to himself and chuckled softly. "I'm proud of you, Monkey Buns," he whispered softly with a slight melancholy tone in his voice. 

    ***

    Himiko arrived at Miss Pokie's Magic Academy for Gifted Girls at around 4 o' clock in the afternoon. She paid the taxi driver and turned to gasp at the academy, which was perched on top of a hill. The academy was huge; it was made up of about five large, rectangular-shaped buildings that were four stories high. The buildings surrounded a large, circular, domed building that looked about three stories high. Each building was painted in a beige, while the rooves were a light shade of pink. Himiko thought that for a magic school, it looked rather plain. But then, she remembered that she wasn't Tsumugi, so instead of pointing out things that were plain, she decided to walk up the hill's path to the main building, which was the circular, domed building. She entered the building and was astonished at how perfectly clean it was. The floors were polished so well that Himiko could see her reflection in them. The furniture in the lobby looked brand new. The walls looked so shiny that she could have sworn they were made of some kind of crystal. Somewhere from inside the building wafted the smell of freshly-baked cookies. Himiko looked around to see if she could find the source of the smell, but nobody was around.

    "H-Hello?" Himiko asked nervously. She walked over to a brown desk that looked as clean as the rest of the large room. Himiko rang the bell for service, but nobody came. Again, Himiko looked all around her and behind her, but nobody was there.

   "Hello, may I help you?" a pleasant voice called out. 

   "WAH!!!" Himiko shouted as she turned back to the desk to find a woman suddenly sitting there.

    "Sorry for the scare," the lady replied, giggling. "I was just checking up on the cookies! Care for some?" She handed out a large, silver plate to Himiko with cookies piled up on it.

   "Oh!" Himiko replied, taking one. "Thank you."

   "No problem!" the lady replied cheerfully. "How may I help you?"

   "Well...I, um...are you Miss Pokie?" Himiko asked. 

   "Oh, no, dear me," the lady responded. "I'm just the receptionist. My name is Abigail Cadabby. My friends call me 'Abby Cadabby,'" she giggled. "But, you can just call me 'Miss Abby.' So, you're here to see Miss Pokie, correct?" Himiko nodded. "Okie-dokie...um, what's your name, miss?"

   "Himiko Yumeno," Himiko replied. 

    "Well, okie-dokie, Himikokie, I'll let her know that you're here," Miss Abby replied cheerfully and walked away. Himiko smiled back at her, but right after Miss Abby left, Himiko felt her heart drop. 

   "Kokichi used to say 'okie-dokie, Himikokie,'" she whispered sadly to herself. She sniffed as her eyes began to water, but she blinked back her tears as soon as Miss Abby came back with a tall, slender woman dressed in a black magician outfit with white tights and black, knee-length boots. Her hair was long and black as night. On her head, she wore a tall, black top hat with a red band around it. Her eyes were as deep blue as the sky and seemed to hold many secrets. Around the woman's neck was a silver necklace that held a sapphire gem deeper and darker than her blue eyes.

    "Welcome to my Academy for Gifted Girls," the woman announced grandly to Himiko with a French accent. "I am Miss Pokie, and you have arrived at the most prestigious palace of prestidigitation in the world!" She bowed as Miss Abby clapped, signaling to Himiko that she should clap as well. Himiko began to clap as Miss Pokie bowed. Then she eyed Himiko. "Miss Himiko Yumeno! I've been waiting for your arrival! Allow me to show you around your new home!" Miss Pokie gestured for Himiko to follow her. "Oh! Let me take your luggage off your hands, dearie!" She snapped her fingers and Himiko's luggage disappeared. 

   "Nyeh! Where'd my luggage go?!" Himiko looked around wildly for her missing bags. 

   "It is already in your new room," Miss Pokie confidently replied. "Worry not, Himiko! Come, follow me, and I will give you a tour of my grand academy!" Himiko began to follow Miss Pokie. As she did, she turned to wave goodbye to Miss Abby, who waved back, but with a less enthusiastic smile on her face that seemed, to Himiko, a bit forced.