Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 4 (The Oumeno Menace)

Under Pressure (6)

    The next day after school, Kokichi headed over to Kiki's school and waited for her near the front entrance. It wasn't too long before kids in their school uniform began pouring out of the building. Kokichi scanned over the crowd, trying to find Kiki. The other kids were laughing and talking amongst each other, bidding their friends goodbye as they either walked home or climbed into the backseats of their parents' cars. 

   "Kokichi?" Kokichi turned and spied a little girl he didn't recognize at first. It was Kiki, of course, but she looked so different compared to her usual attire and attitude. She was wearing her school uniform: a gray blazer over a white collared shirt and a navy blue bowtie, a navy blue skirt, and knee-high black socks. Instead of her pigtails, her hair was held up in a ponytail by a navy blue bow. But what made her seem so different was that she looked tired and sad, the same way she looked when she was playing the violin the day before. 

   "Wow...Kiki..." Kokichi breathed with concern as he ruffled Kiki's hair. "You okay?"

   "Yeah...I'm just tired, I guess," Kiki mumbled with a small shrug. Kokichi eyed her searchingly, wondering if there was something more she was upset about. "Why are you here?"

   "I just decided to pick you up after school," Kokichi replied. 

   "Well...I'm kinda glad you did," Kiki said. Kokichi smiled sympathetically at her.

   "Long day, huh?" he asked. Kiki nodded. 

   "It's about to get even longer," she muttered. "I have to go to ballet class, next." Kokichi's eyes widened in shock.

   "Your mom's making you take ballet, too?!" he asked. Kiki nodded. 

   "Not that it matters," came a sneering voice. Kokichi and Kiki turned to see a little girl with a long, blonde ponytail held up by a large, navy blue bow. She narrowed her amber eyes at Kiki, grinning nastily at her. "You can take as many ballet classes as you want, but you'll never be as good as moi! " Kiki rolled her eyes. 

   "That would have hurt my feelings...if I cared," she said. 

   "Well, maybe that's why you fail so much, because you don't care enough," the girl said haughtily. "Then your mom wouldn't see you as a failure." Kiki stared at her, feeling her blood starting to boil.

   "Sh-She doesn't see me as a failure," she stammered. The girl's smile widened, knowing that she struck a nerve. 

   "I bet your mom would rather have me for a daughter instead," she continued. "Then, she wouldn't feel so ashamed to have such an ugly, hopeless failure of a daughte-"

   "Last time I checked, moms want a little girl for a daughter, not a demon," Kokichi butted in with a cheeky grin. Kiki giggled. The girl stared haughtily at him.

   "Who are you? " she scoffed.