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

The Case of the Missing Pop Star (12)

   "Yeah, I'd be happy to," Sayaka replied, taking his hand and holding it tightly in fear. 

   "Do you want me to move up to the passenger side, Panta Bear?" Himiko asked.

  "No, sit tight, Himiko," Kokichi replied, keeping his eyes laser-focused on Michiko's car. 

   "Nyeh...got it," Himiko replied obediently. Hibiki drove onto a bridge where Kokichi had finally caught up to her. He rammed Kaito's car against the back end of Michiko's car, causing Hibiki to swerve uncontrollably until she slammed against the railing of the bridge. Kokichi drifted around Michiko's car and stopped Kaito's car a few yards in front of her.

  "C'mon, now that we've stopped Hibiki, we can go get her and-" Shuichi began, urging Sayaka to step out of the car.

   "No!" Kokichi exclaimed, stopping them. "She's armed! We have to be careful!"

   "Armed?!" Sayaka exclaimed. "Hibiki is armed?!"

   "Nyeh...that's right. See for yourself," Himiko said, pointing out her window. Sayaka and Shuichi turned to see that Kokichi had spoken the truth. Hibiki was dragging the bound and gagged Izumi out of the car while holding the gun in her other hand. Hibiki dragged Izumi towards the railing of the bridge. She was going to throw her into the water below!

   "Hibiki, stop!" Sayaka shouted, rushing out of Kaito's car. Shuichi, Kokichi, and Himiko sprinted after her. Hibiki stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing Sayaka's voice, and pointed the gun at her.

   "Don't take one step closer, or I will throw her into the water!" Hibiki demanded angrily, pointing the gun at Sayaka. "And you'll join her!" Sayaka froze in fear. 

   "H-Hibiki...why are you doing this?" she asked as her eyes filled with tears. 

   "Don't act like you care!" Hibiki spat, tears streaming from her eyes. "Y-You were happy to shove me aside once your pReCiOuS iZzY came into your life! It's always 'Izzy this,' and 'Izzy that!' Oh, but you d-don't even give a crap about ME, the person who stuck with you since the b-beginning of middle school! I thought I was your best friend, but I guess I was wrong!"

   "So, that's why you kidnapped Izumi," Shuichi said quietly. "Because you were jealous of her. And by kidnapping her, the band would have been unable to tour the country. That would have made a lot of fans upset, which would have caused you guys to run out of business."

   "That's right!" Hibiki said, still aiming the gun at everyone. "You all would have gotten what you always wanted, anyways: to leave the idol life! And I would have had the added benefit of having my best friend back...had I gotten away with what I did!"

   "Yeah, yeah...if it hadn't been for us meddling kids," Kokichi replied, waving his hand nonchalantly. 

   "You shut up, you little smart mouth!" Hibiki growled, aiming the gun at Kokichi. "Ughh...I meant to hit you with that lamp, but it ended up missing you, and it hit Detective Dunderhead instead!"

   "You meant to hit me with that lamp?!" Kokichi asked with a smile. "Awesome! I was finally a target!"

  "If that's so, then you're the one that messed up the sleeping bags," Shuichi said. 

   "Duh!" Hibiki scoffed. "Isn't it obvious?! Ughh...how stupid can you get?! Yes! I took Izumi into the closet, knocked her out and dragged her into the secret passageway! I came back and threw that stupid music box out the window! Then, while everyone was busy searching for freaking Izumi, I used the secret passageway in the living room to go back upstairs to the crime scene to write that  first threatening note and place it in Sayaka's sleeping bag! I also planted the note to threaten that stupid, little red head over there! I'm the one who did it all! I did it so that Sayaka would be my friend again! And if it weren't for Scooby-Doo and the gang over here, and this stupid typhoon, I would have gotten away...with...EVERYTHING !!!"

   "But...Hibiki...if you would have just told me how you felt, I would have understood," Sayaka said. 

   "Yeah, right!" Hibiki said with scorn. "You didn't even give me a nickname! How come Izumi is the one who got a nickname, but not me?! Huh?! HUH ?!"

   "But...the other night, you said you didn't like nicknames," Sayaka replied softly. 

   "AND YOU BELIEVED THAT?!" Hibiki screamed incredulously. "I bet you know everything about Izumi, but when it comes to me, I'm just a faded memory in the back of your mind, aren't I?! I gave you a nickname! I would have killed for you to give me one, too! But you only care about your beloved 'SiStEr,' Izumi when I WAS THERE, FIRST!! I SHOULD BE YOUR SISTER!!! NOT IZUMI !!!"

   "Y-You can be, Hibiki," Sayaka pleaded sadly, slowly approaching Hibiki. "You have every right to be mad at me, and we can be friends again if-"

   "No..." Hibiki interrupted as tears streaked her face. She aimed the gun at Sayaka. "You're no better than the people who run the idol industry. You didn't care how I felt. You didn't care about my well-being...so long as you had Izumi."

   "H-Hibiki..." Sayaka whispered softly as tears ran down her face. Sirens blared in the background as cops from all sides began to close in. Hibiki lowered her gun in surrender as a cop took it away from her and placed her under arrest. He cuffed her and settled her into the back seat of his car. The cops began questioning the others while some also helped untie Izumi. Before the cops took Hibiki away, Sayaka stopped them. "Excuse me, officer? May I talk to Hibiki?" 

   "Only for a few minutes," the officer replied. Sayaka nodded and headed to the cop car that Hibiki was in. 

   "Hibiki..." Sayaka began. 

   "I hope you don't hate me, even though I've betrayed you," Hibiki mumbled as she lowered her head, not even bothering to look Sayaka in the eye. "And I still don't hate you...even though you betrayed me. It looks like my time as an idol has come to an end...but not yours. Good luck, Sayaka. Although, I suppose you don't need it...so long as you have Izumi." Sayaka was speechless as the window rolled up, completely sealing the gap between Sayaka and Hibiki. The eye of Typhoon Traidora passed, and a light rain began to fall as the latter half of the storm made its way onto land. Sayaka watched through teary eyes as the cops took Hibiki away, never to be seen again. 

   "Welp, guess the typhoon isn't the only one that should be called 'traidora,'" Kokichi said.

   "What do you mean?" Shuichi asked.

   "Traidora, the Spanish word for 'traitor,'" Kokichi explained. "Sayaka betrayed Hibiki, and in return, Hibiki betrayed not only Sayaka, but the rest of her band. Nee-heehee...weeeird how that works, huh?"

   "Yeah..." Shuichi mumbled thoughtfully, watching Sayaka as the the second half of the storm battered her with raindrops. "Weird, indeed."