"Kokichi?" Himiko said, peering into the dining hall. Kokichi was sitting alone with his head propped up with his hand. Upon hearing his name, he looked up at Himiko and gave her a small smile. He seemed quieter than usual. Himiko smiled back and sat down next to him.

   "Hey, HimiCocoa Bean," Kokichi said in an unusually quiet manner. He wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a small kiss.

  "Nyeh...are you feeling okay?" Himiko asked with concern as she cupped her hand on his forehead. 

   "Haha, yeah, I'm fine," Kokichi replied with a shrug. "What's up?"

   "Well...I was just curious to know about what happened in Paris," Himiko said. "You know, why you don't want me to have my Supreme Lady ceremony there." Kokichi chuckled lightly.

   "Oh, haha, well...D.I.C.E. has an annual ball, and there's this girl who-" Kokichi began.

   "Nyeh!! A girl?! I-Is she an old flame?!" Himiko gasped in horror. 

   "No, Himiko," Kokichi replied. "Anyways, she-"

   "She was your first kiss, wasn't she?!" Himiko asked in a teary voice, her eyes starting to water. 

   "Himikoooo..." Kokichi groaned in annoyance.

   "No, wait! Don't tell me...you did the Electrical Waltz with her, didn't you, Kokichi?!" Himiko cried. Kokichi frowned and crossed his arms at her. Himiko batted her eyelashes abashedly at him before running her thumb and forefinger across her mouth like a zipper. She then twisted her wrist as if she were locking her mouth up with a key. Kokichi held out his hand to her. Himiko placed the imaginary key in his palm. Kokichi stood up, opened the backyard door, and tossed the imaginary key out. He then sat back down, crossed his arms again, and raised his eyebrow at Himiko. Himiko politely folded her hands in her lap and waited for him to speak. 

  "Okay...it's tradition that, a week prior to the ball, a girl in D.I.C.E. is randomly selected through a lottery to dance with the Supreme Leader at the ball," Kokichi explained. "And last year, Soleil De Lune was the winner." Himiko nodded. "You may speak now, Monkey Buns."

   "Who's Soleil De Lune?" Himiko asked curiously.

   "She's from Sector Foxtrot 2, which is located in Paris," Kokichi replied. "She's smart, hardworking, and good at what she does in her sector, but, from what happened last year at the ball, and from what I usually hear about her, she's...apparently kinda obsessed with me."

   "What?! " Himiko shrieked, standing up from her chair. "Why, that...that little floozy!! The only person who's allowed to be obsessed with you is me!!"

   "Ew, no," Kokichi said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I don't want anyone to be obsessed with me!"

   "Well...you know what I meant!" Himiko said, throwing her hands up. "Oof...the audacity of that...heifer being obsessed with my man!" Himiko grumbled to herself. Kokichi chuckled with amusement at her. "Nyeh...tell me more about this Soleil De Loser so that I know who to square off with in the boxing ring when I see that knucklehead for the first time!" 

   "Haha...she's got long, blonde hair and blue eyes," Kokichi replied. "She also has a beauty mark on her left cheek."

   "The face cheek, right?" Himiko asked with a warning growl. Kokichi smiled and rolled his eyes.

   "Yes, Himiko, her face cheek," he said. 

   "Good," Himiko snarled. "Nyeh...continue."

   "She's always dragging her friend, Emmeline Lauvaux, or, 'Mimi,' as Soleil calls her, around," Kokichi said. "Mimi is more like Soleil's little minion than her friend, and is the more level-headed one."

   "That Mimi girl deserves a better friend," Himiko huffed. "Especially one who doesn't throw themselves at the Supreme Leader, my boyfriend!! "

   "Sss, yeeeaaahh...that's basically what happened at the ball," Kokichi said, wincing. Himiko eyed him in utter disbelief.

   "She really did just...just...throw herself all over you?! " she exclaimed. 

   "Yeah, she was a bit of a try-hard. It was super cringy," Kokichi said. "She kept trying to give me all these seductive looks with her eyes, she kept trying to get me to place my hands on her butt, and she kept pressing her boobs against me." Himiko's jaw dropped, and her eyes widened with fury.

   "That...little...FREAK!!! " she exclaimed. 

   "Nee-heehee...I mean, in her defense, you-" Kokichi began.

   "In her defense?!?!" Himiko interrupted, giving Kokichi an incredulous look. Kokichi placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down.

   "You and I weren't dating at the time," he finished. 

   "Ha...she better be lucky that we weren't, or I would have gone over there and ripped her boobs off!" Himiko screeched. "'oOoOo...lOoK aT mE aNd mY wOnDeRfUl bOoBiEs, Kokeeshee! '" she said in a mock French accent as she pretended to squeeze her chest. "Nyeh...I'll give her somethin' to boob about! Who does she think she is, boobin' all over my man?! Nyeh...it's official!!"

   "What's official?" Kokichi asked with an amused smile. 

   "If I do become Supreme Lady, we're having my ceremony in Paris!" Himiko answered. 

   "To be honest, it doesn't matter where you'd have it because your Supreme Lady ceremony would be mandatory for all the members," Kokichi said. 

   "Well, either way, she'd better hope I don't see her butt-ugly face!" Himiko said. "Because if I catch a stank whiff of little miss boob job, Soleil De Lunatic, I'll give her a piece of my mind if she tries to rub you with her stupid milk sacks again!" Kokichi tossed his head back and laughed. Then, he gave her an affectionate smile mixed with appreciation. 

   "Thanks, Himiko," he said. 

   "Nyeh? What for?" Himiko asked. Kokichi gave her a small shrug.

   "You just...brightened up my day," he replied.

   "Oh! Were you feeling sad before?" Himiko asked softly. 

   "Naaah...I was just feeling tired," Kokichi said. Though he was smiling, Himiko could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. She couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with why he didn't want to talk about joining D.I.C.E. He had been quieter ever since she brought it up. Of course, she didn't want to bring it back up, out of respect. Instead, she merely smiled back at him. 

   "Well, I'm glad I was able to cheer you up," she said. "That's more than what that So-lame-o De Lune could do, right?" Kokichi laughed and wrapped his arms around Himiko. 

   "Definitely!" he said before giving her a kiss on her cheek.