Himiko was about to close her eyes as she leaned comfortably into Kokichi's chest when suddenly, Kokichi gently nudged her. Himiko looked up at him, and he gestured with his eyes towards the door, silently telling her to listen.

   "I'm going downstairs to eat," Nanako was saying to Hiroko as she opened up a protein shake and gulped it down in one swig. She let out a gigantic belch before throwing the protein shake bottle down to the floor as if she were an animal at the zoo. "Clean that up," she continued. 

    "Y-Yes, Nanako," Hiroko mumbled, scampering to pick up the bottle and throw it away. "I-If you don't mind, I want to eat, too. I haven't eaten all da-"

  "THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM!!!" Nanako interrupted, grabbing Hiroko's arm. "You'll do as I say because if you don't, I'll tell your parents what you did at that party last year!" Hiroko's eyes widened with fear.

   "P-Please...don't!" she begged. "I-I didn't mean for that to happen!"

   "Well, if you want me to keep quiet about that, you'll stay up here and do my homework!" Nanako threatened. Glaring at Hiroko, she stomped off, leaving Hiroko alone to cry. 

   "Nyeh...I kinda feel bad for her," Himiko whispered. 

  "I kinda wanna know what she did at that party last year," Kokichi whispered back.

   "I guess we'll never know," Himiko replied. "So, what do we do now? Do we sneak out while she's crying?"

   "Nah," Kokichi answered, waving his hand dismissively. Much to Himiko's shock and horror, Kokichi merely stepped out of their hiding space and revealed himself. "Wooow, she's a huge jerk, huh?" he asked Hiroko. Hiroko jumped and spun around in fear, facing Kokichi and Himiko.

   "Wh-Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" she demanded. 

    "Hmm...well, who we are isn't as important as what we're doing here," Kokichi replied. "As a matter of fact, we're here to help you!"

  "H-Help me? How?" Hiroko asked. 

   "After seeing Nanako treat you so poorly, we thought we'd help you get rid of her," Kokichi replied. 

   "Oh, I can't exactly do that," Hiroko replied. "She's...my cousin."

   "Nyeh...you're cousin?!" Himiko exclaimed. Hiroko nodded. "How can your cousin be so rude to you?!"

   "You'll have to forgive her," Hiroko said. "She's always been like that ever since her parents died when she was younger. My parents brought her in to live with us. But ever since then, my parents have always spoiled her, you know...since her real parents weren't around to do that, so I guess my parents wanted to give her extra love. But because of that, Nanako used that to her advantage, and she ended up becoming a spoiled brat, always getting away with things. She'd play the victim and would always blame me for the bad things that she did."

   "Speaking of which, she mentioned that you did something at a party last year," Kokichi said. "What bad thing was that?" Hiroko's eyes widened.

   "Oh, I don't even want to talk about that!" she said. "It was a mistake, and I don't ever want to think about that ever again!"

   "Oohhh...and so since you actually did something bad this time, Nanako could use that against you, and in order for her to stay in her weightlifting club...and to keep your secret about whatever you did last year...she makes you do her homework." Kokichi confirmed, nodding his head. "Nee-heehee...looks like you've got mail...blackmail! "

   "Yeah...you're right," Hiroko sighed.  "She's...not exactly the smartest person one comes across. Too bad she has a cousin with brains, though." She pointed to herself and gave Kokichi and Himiko a sad smile. 

   "She's a huge jerk!" Himiko said. "She wanted to beat me up just because I gave her a soda that splashed all over her shirt!" Hiroko's eyes widened.

    "So you were the one that did that?!" she asked incredulously.

    "Nyeh...I didn't mean to," Himiko said. "It was an accident. I didn't know the soda would fizz everywhere." Hiroko slowly nodded her head in understanding.

   "I see," she replied. "She does have a bad habit of blowing things out of proportion. I do love my cousin, but I can't help wishing she was, well...different, I guess. I just wish she wouldn't treat me so mean."

   "Welp, like I said, Himiko and I are here to help!" Kokichi repeated. Hiroko looked at him with hope.

   "How?" she asked. Kokichi gave her a sly grin.

   "By fighting fire with fire," he murmured deviously. 

    ***

    The next day at school, Kokichi and Himiko stood outside of the school waiting for Nanako to arrive. Himiko was shaking in her boots while Kokichi merely stood nonchalantly with his hands behind his head.

   "Awww, are you nervous, Himiko?" Kokichi teased. 

  "Nyeh...of c-course n-not..." Himiko stammered. "Th-There's no need t-to f-freak out because...I'm a m-mage."

   "Nee-heehee...would you feel better if I held your hand?" Kokichi asked. Before Himiko could respond, Kokichi wrapped his hand around Himiko's. Himiko immediately felt a wave of calm wash over her. She didn't know what it was about Kokichi that made her feel relaxed, but she didn't question it. She gave him a small, timid smile, and in return, he gave her a cheeky grin. Himiko's smile was replaced, however, with a frightened stare as she spied Nanako approaching the school. 

   "She's coming!" Himiko whispered. 

   "Jeez, it's about time!" Kokichi replied. He didn't seem fazed, so Himiko decided to calm down, as well. She took a deep breath and waited for Nanako to say something to her. Nanako scowled upon seeing them.

   "Huh...what, did you bring your little boyfriend here to defend you?" she scoffed. Himiko blushed.

   "H-He's not my boyfriend!" she exclaimed. 

   "Then why are you two holding hands?" Nanako asked. Himiko looked to Kokichi, who was smirking playfully at her.

   "Th-That's none of your business!" Himiko replied. 

   "Haha! You tell 'er, Himiko!" Kokichi cheered. Nanako turned to Kokichi and pulled him up by his collar. Himiko gasped in terror, but Kokichi remained unfazed, smirking at Nanako. "Heeey, the view is nice from up here! Now I know why tall people enjoy being tall!"

   "Oh, so you think you're funny, huh?" Nanako asked in a threatening voice, rearing her fist back to punch him. "You won't be able to make jokes with all your teeth knocked out!" 

   "Are you sure it'd be wise to do that?" Kokichi asked impishly. "You probably shouldn't do that to someone who knows your secret." Nanako lowered him slightly.

   "Wh-What are you talking about?" she asked cautiously. 

   "I'm sure you know what secret I'm talking about," Kokichi replied. "The secret that keeps you in the weightlifting club." Nanako narrowed her eyes at him. 

   "How do you know about that?!" she growled. 

   "Oh, it doesn't matter how I know," Kokichi replied. "The fact is that...I know. Aaannnd if you don't want your secret to be blown, I suggest you lower me right now."

   "You're bluffing," Nanako growled. 

   "Am I?" Kokichi asked with a smug grin. "Hm...how about Himiko gets Headmaster Kirigiri out here, and I tell him all about how you make your roommate do your homework for you so you'd be able to stay in the weightlifting club?"

  "Y-You...wouldn't dare," Nanako growled. "He wouldn't even believe you!" 

   "Maybe. Maybe not," Kokichi shrugged. "But do you wanna take that chance? If you really do knock my teeth out, I will tell Headmaster Kirigiri that you were the one who did it, and I'll tell him why...er, well, I suppose write to him why. Then, he'll have no choice but to make you do a test on your own to make sure that your grade matches the grades of your homework. If they don't, everyone will know that you've been lying this whooole time! And then you'd get kicked out of the weightlifting club." Nanako lowered Kokichi back to the ground, glaring daggers at him. Kokichi simply crossed his arms and gave her a smug grin. 

   "Fine...I won't punch you," she grumbled. 

   "And...you'll stop making your roommate doing your homework for you," Kokichi added. Nanako became furious.

   "THAT ISN'T EVEN YOUR PROBLEM!!" she exploded. "BUTT OUT, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!" 

   "Ooo...so scawy!" Kokichi teased. "You know what's even scarier? Being a nobody for the rest of your life after being kicked out of a club you adored so much, and everyone finding out you were a fraud the whole time, and therefore, losing all respect and fear they had for you. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Yeeeaahhh...life's gonna be rough after that." 

   "UGGHHH!!" Nanako roared. "Fine!! Fine!! Okay?! I'll do my own homework from now on, okay?! Anything else you want from me?!" 

   "Nope! We're good!" Kokichi replied. Glaring, Nanako rolled her eyes and began storming off. "Ooohh...and by the way..." Kokichi continued. Nanako groaned in anger and frustration before turning to Kokichi again.

   "What?" she snarled. 

   "I'd advise you not to do anything to your roommate, either," Kokichi replied. "If something happens to her, as well, you'll be blamed for that, too."

   "Ugh...fine," Nanako growled before storming off. Himiko stared at Kokichi in amazement. 

  "Nyeh...you weren't even scared of her at all!" she marveled. 

  "Not in the slightest," Kokichi said, waving his hand dismissively. 

   "Is it really true?" Himiko asked. "Will they make her do a test if they think she hasn't been doing her homework?" Kokichi shrugged.

   "I dunno," he admitted. "I just made that up to make her comply. Besides, her cousin said she wasn't all that smart, so of course she'd believe something like that. And she was too scared to chance it, so that's why she let me go." 

   "Oh! How'd you know to make her do what you say?" Himiko asked. 

   "I used the power of maaaagic," Kokichi teased, playfully pinching her cheek. A small blush formed on both her cheeks. 

  "Nyeh...very funny," she mumbled, looking away shyly. Kokichi laughed as he snatched Himiko's hat off her head. "Hey!" she yelled.

   "Catch me, Himiko!" Kokichi laughed, waving her hat as he ran off. Himiko smiled to herself.

   Nyeh...chasing him around everywhere sounds like a pain, she thought to herself. But it's also a dream come true! With that in mind, she began to chase after him.