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

Fast and Feisty: Drifting In Tokyo (12)

     Kiki agreed that she'd meet up with the boys each day after school at Mondo's makeshift racetrack to practice driving her kart. Kokichi had taught her the art of drifting, which was proving difficult for Kiki to master, as Kokichi had warned. Each night, she'd practice drifting for hours upon hours drifting on her bike, which made her exceptionally tired and cranky. 

   "Ugh!! Why can't I get it right?!" she sighed with exasperation as she finished some laps around the dirt track one day. 

   "Are you sure you don't want me to give you a ride to see drifting in action, Chibi-Kichi?" Kokichi asked.

   "No, no! I said I wanted to do it myself, and I will!" Kiki cried crabbily. 

   "We know you're frustrated, and all, but do you have to yell about it?" Kazuichi asked.

   "Yeah, you've been kinda grouchy, lately," Mondo added. Kiki sighed and plopped herself on the ground.

   "I'm sorry," she mumbled. She looked up at Kokichi. "I'm sorry, Kokichi. I didn't mean to be mad at you."

    "No hard feelings, Chibi-Kichi!" Kokichi replied, ruffling Kiki's hair. "But, why are you so grouchy, though?" Kiki sighed again and laid her head against the Celestial Eris of Chaos.

  "I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately," she mumbled. The boys exchanged concerned glances.

   "Huh? Why not?" Kaito asked.

   "Well...every night since we first came out here, I've been trying to drift on my bike, just so I could get a feel of what it's like," Kiki admitted. "I can't do it with the Celestial Eris because it's at your guys' house, and it's too loud at night, anyways."

   "Th-That's dangerous!" Fuyuhiko cried. "You could get hurt doing that!"

   "Fuyuhiko is right," Gundham agreed. "Not only that, but your lack of sleep may be the cause of your inability to focus."

   "But I can do it!" Kiki said, standing up. "I'm really close!"

   "Listen, Kiki, I know you wanna learn how to drift, but you're not going to master it right away," Kokichi said, kneeling down and gripping Kiki's shoulders.

   "I know! You told me! But-" Kiki began with a teary voice.

   "And I'm not saying you can't do it, but for right now, you just need to focus on the race ahead of you, 'kay?" Kokichi continued firmly, looking Kiki in the eye. "And you really need to get some sleep, otherwise, you won't be able to race at all." Tears streaked down Kiki's cheeks, and she hung her head in defeat.

   "Okay," she whispered. Kokichi gave her a hug. 

   "Let's call it a day, guys," Kaito said. The others agreed reluctantly and headed home. Kokichi and Kaito dropped Kiki off at her mansion.