Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 2 (The Oumeno Strikes Back)

The Case of the Missing Pop Star (11)

    "W-We have to go down there...right?" Himiko breathed, scarcely believing the words she was saying. Kokichi took out his flashlight, and held his hand out for Himiko to take it.

   "If Izumi's down there, we gotta do it!" Kokichi replied. "Let's go, Himiko!" Holding his hand tightly, Himiko closely followed Kokichi down the stone steps. Down and down they went until they finally reached the bottom floor, which was a large room filled with numerous staircases leading in different directions. "Wooow...I wonder where in the mansion we are right now," Kokichi wondered, shining his flashlight around. 

"Nyeh...why are all these staircases everywhere?" Himiko whispered. 

   "I'm not sure," Kokichi admitted. "Let's pick one and climb it." They chose the staircase right across from them and ascended the steps. The steps led to a small, enclosed space with what looked like a trapdoor above them. Kokichi had to crouch down into the small space to open it. He lifted the trapdoor slowly and found himself underneath the large grand piano in the living room. His eyes widened as he closed the trapdoor back up and lowered himself to whisper to Himiko. "This trapdoor, it leads to the living room!"

   "Nyeh...it makes sense!" Himiko whispered.

   "What makes sense?" Kokichi asked.

   "Earlier, Hibiki told me that she knew this mansion like the back of her hand," Himiko explained. "She definitely must know about all these secret passageways!"

   "Well, I'd say so," Kokichi agreed. "I think this is how she got upstairs when she was supposed to be downstairs searching for Izumi. Nobody noticed her going upstairs because she used this secret passageway. C'mon, let's look at the others." They descended the staircase that led to the living room, and climbed another one that led them to the inside of a a small room with clothes hanging around them, and shoes on the floor.

   "Nyeh? Are we in a closet?" Himiko asked.

   "Looks like it," Kokichi replied. He found the door to the closet, and cautiously opened it. He and Himiko peeked outside to see Sayaka's room, where the incident had occurred. Kokichi closed the door in surprise. "Whoa! This is Sayaka's room! I think I know what happened! I bet Hibiki somehow snuck Izumi through here, knocked her out, and dragged her down into that room with all the staircases. Then, she came back up to Sayaka's room, threw the music box out the window, and that's when everything else happened after that. Then, I bet she used the secret passageway in the living room to head to Sayaka's room to plant the first threatening note while the others were searching for Izumi! Then, she headed through the secret passageway to the bathroom to make it seem like she was throwing up!"

  "Kokichi...you're a genius!" Himiko gasped. They threw their arms around each other and squealed in triumph. 

   "You're pretty smart yourself, HimiCocoa Bean!" Kokichi said, stroking her cheek. "I wouldn't have ever seen that slit in the wall in the bathroom. AND, bravo for catching Hibiki's spelling mistake in the title her book! I bet most people wouldn't have spotted that!" Himiko blushed.

   "D'awww," she replied bashfully. "But wait! If it's true that Hibiki dragged Izumi down there, does that mean that Izumi is still alive?!"