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

The Not-Your-Talent Show! (5)

    "I'm sorry...the name of your band is WHAT?!" Kokichi laughed as he and Himiko were walking hand-in-hand to school the next morning. 

   "...MioMaizoMenoMikiMakiMukiMatsuMind," Himiko replied. 

   "Uh...wiki wiki, era era, doovit doovit?" Kokichi teased, moving his hand as if he were scratching a disc and beatboxing. 

   "No...DJ Kokichi," Himiko replied sarcastically. "Mio...Maizo...Meno...Miki...Maki...Muki...Matsu...Mind.

  "Ibuki, right?" Kokichi asked. Himiko nodded. "I knew it," Kokichi said. "How the CRAP did she come up with THAT?"

   "She took the parts of our names that start with 'M' and mashed it all together," Himiko explained. Kokichi nodded as he thought of each girl.

  "So...MIOda, MAIZOno, YuMENO, TsuMIKI, Maki, AkaMATSU, and NeverMIND," he said. "I see! I see! But, who's Muki?"

   "Mukuro," Himiko replied. Kokichi's eyes bugged out. 

   "Mukuro?! As in IKUSABA?!" he asked incredulously.

   "Nyeh...she's the only Mukuro around here," Himiko replied.

   "How'd you make THAT happen?" Kokichi asked. "She's always at Junko's side; she's basically a parasite, always latched onto her!" Himiko's heart sank. She hated lying to Kokichi, and it was always difficult since he could easily detect lies.

   "Well...Junko just...decided to let Mukuro do something on her own for once," she lied as best as she could, careful not to mention the bet. She noticed Kokichi staring at her from her peripheral vision. He studied her closely, then gave her a smile.

   "Woooowww...that was really nice of Junko!" he finally said, though Himiko could tell he didn't buy her lie. She just hoped he wouldn't press the issue. "Welp, I hope you're excited about being in a band, HimiCocoa Bean!"

   "I actually am," Himiko replied. At least that wasn't a lie...not a complete one, anyways. She sighed longingly. 

   "You don't sound so excited," Kokichi said. Himiko looked at him, then looked around her to make sure nobody was around. "Whaaaat are you doing?" Kokichi asked. Suddenly, Himiko pulled him to a nearby tree and hid behind it.

   "I wanna tell you something that I've never told anyone before," Himiko said. 

   "Oh?" Kokichi asked with a sneaky smile. "Lemme hear it." 

    "You promise not to tell anyone?" 

     "Your secrets are my secrets, chiquita bonita," Kokichi replied, stroking her cheek. Himiko took a deep breath.

   "I like rock music," she said. Kokichi scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

  "Please tell me you're joking," he said. "That's not all that juicy like I thought it would be."

   "Well...you don't understand," Himiko said. "It's more than just liking it. I wanna...I dunno, live it! Hard rock, glam rock, maybe sometimes even metal! It makes me feel alive, like I just wanna...like I just wanna punch something, or rip someone's head off! I love the way it makes me feel!"

   "Well, for one thing, that sounds painful, and I wouldn't want to be near you in a mosh pit," Kokichi said. "Secondly, why keep that a secret?"

  "It's just one of those secrets that are special to me," Himiko replied. "Like, it's not bad if people were to find out, but...it's just something I liked keeping to myself."

   "I suppose I can understand that," Kokichi replied thoughtfully. "So, you wanna be a rockstar, huh?" he asked with a sly grin. Himiko smiled bashfully.

  "Yeeaahhh...I know it sounds corny, but I like to imagine myself on stage just, you know...singing as if I were David Lee Roth from Van Halen, or Bret Michaels from Poison, or Bon Scott and Brian Johnson from AC/DC," Himiko said.  

   "I...may or may not have heard of some of those people," Kokichi replied, shrugging. "But I'll take your word for it. So...who IS going to be the lead singer in your band?" 

   "Sayaka," Himiko replied forlornly. 

   "But, she's already a singer," Kokichi said.

   "Nyeh...Ibuki tried to find a loophole saying that Sayaka is the Ultimate Pop Sensation, and not the Ultimate Rock Sensation," Himiko explained. 

   "Oh, that Ibuki," Kokichi sighed. He turned to Himiko. "Y'know, it would be cool to see you on stage singing, though, Himiko." He winked at her. Himiko blushed and giggled shyly. 

   "Yeeaahhhh..." she said bashfully. Kokichi smiled at her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Then, they resumed their walk to school.

   ***

  Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Himiko remembered her conversation with Kokichi earlier that morning. She tiptoed quietly downstairs, then snuck out into the backyard under the gazebo where she stepped on one of the floor tiles, activating the hidden door to her secret magic room. Inside, she headed for one of her bookshelves on which a cupboard was attached to below the books. Himiko swung open the small doors of the cupboard to reveal CD cases on the top shelf, and a large CD player on the lower shelf. She sifted through the CDs, deciding which one to choose. 

   "A-ha!" she said, and pulled a Billy Idol CD from the shelf. She slapped it into the CD player and waited for the song to come on. After turning it up at full volume, Himiko smiled, and true to the song's title, Himiko began to twirl around and headbang to "Dancing With Myself." She immersed herself into an imaginary world where she was the star on stage and was surrounded by the sound of adoring fans. But best of all was letting go of her worries and fears, and the feeling of finally finding where she belonged.