Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 3 (Return of the Oumeno)

The Ultimate Supreme Lady (11)

   "Nee-heehee...it's so good to be home!" he said as he exited the cab and walked towards the front entrance of the house. As he walked in, he noticed that the house looked a bit untidy. "Wow, is Kirumi on vacation, or something?" he muttered to himself, as he observed the unclean dishes in the sink. "Heeeey! Is anyone home?" he called out. "HimiCocoa Beeeaaan?!" He headed upstairs to Himiko and Tenko's room only to find them absent. "The hell...?" He scratched his head in confusion before heading off to the other rooms. 

   "Where is everyone?!" he exclaimed. He went outside to Hope House and knocked on the door, but nobody answered. He did the same for 7th Island House, but he was met with the same, unresponsive silence. He huffed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door in thought. "I wasn't expecting a 'welcome home' party, but this is just too mean, leaving me all alone like this! Hmph!" he pouted. 

   ***

   Back at Himiko's Hopecus Pocus Academy, the students were back in class after dinner. Himiko decided that the school day wouldn't end until bedtime came around, so the students were stuck learning about magic until it was time for them to pass out for more nightmares. In the History of Magic class, they were supposed to be reading silently. But since Himiko and Gonta hadn't checked in on that class, yet, the students decided to use this time to come up with a plan. 

   "Kaito, you said that we should get Kokichi involved, correct?" Kirumi asked. 

   "Yeah," Kaito replied. "I don't know where he is, but someone's gotta bust outta here and find him somehow."

   "But how's that going to work?" Maki asked.

   "I...I'm not sure," Kaito admitted. 

   "Why would you even think getting Kokichi involved would work in the first place?" Hiyoko asked. 

   "Because it seems Kokichi always knows how to calm Himiko down," Keebo answered. "He is the more level-headed one in their relationship."

  "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go get him!" Kazuichi said. 

   "But who's going to do it?" Sayaka asked. "It's not like we can just...waltz out of here."

   "I wish we could! I really have to take a shit!" Nekomaru grumbled, squirming around in his seat. 

   "That's it!" Shuichi said. 

   "Huh? What's it?" asked Kaito.

    "There are vents in the bathrooms," Shuichi whispered. "They're not covered by metal plates, like the doors and windows. One of us should volunteer to go to the bathroom and sneak out using the vents!"

   "I'll do it!" Nekomaru offered. "I gotta take a massive shit anyways! It's, like, practically on its way out!"

   "You sewage-breath dummy, you won't be able to fit in the vents!" Hiyoko spat. 

   "I'll do it," Ryoma said. 

  "Are you absolutely sure, Ryoma?" Shuichi asked.

  "Sure," Ryoma replied. "Breaking out of here seems easy compared to the prison I was staying at, which was nearly impossible to break out of. I got this." Right after he said that, Gonta opened the door.

   "Gonta here for bathroom breaks," he announced in an assertive voice. "Who need to go? Remember, one at a time!" Ryoma turned to Nekomaru.

   "You go first," he said. 

  "Thaaannnnnkssss!!!" Nekomaru roared, jumping up from his seat and rushing out the door. The students waited patiently for Nekomaru to return. "Phew! That was a close one!" he said as he walked back through the door. "I thought I was gonna explode!"

   "Quiet!" Gonta demanded. "Supreme Lady Himiko's orders!"

   "Oh...sorry," Nekomaru replied.

   "Who next?" Gonta asked. Ryoma stood up from his seat. 

   "I am," he answered. 

   "Follow Gonta, please," Gonta replied. Ryoma turned back to see the others giving him a thumbs-up for good luck. Ryoma nodded back at them before Gonta led him down the hallway to the bathroom. Gonta stood guard outside the boys' bathroom as Ryoma went inside. Across the stalls was a vent. Ryoma leaned down, trying to quietly remove it. He crawled into the air duct, closing the vent behind him. He crawled through the dark and damp duct filled with dead roaches and spiders until he came to another vent, this one leading to the outside of the school. Because he was on the second floor, he had to be careful when he landed. Fortunately, a set of bushes sat underneath the vent. Behind him, he could hear the echo of Gonta bellowing his name. Ryoma's heart began to beat faster as he opened the vent. Before he could slip out, however, he noticed Tenko walking by. Clipped to her skirt was a walkie-talkie. 

   Ryoma watched as Tenko removed the walkie-talke and spoke into it. Holding his breath, Ryoma could hear Tenko being informed about his escape. Suddenly, Ryoma heard sirens blaring inside and outside the school. Lights flashing red illuminated all around him. Tenko looked around, scanning the area for Ryoma. Through the walkie-talkie, she informed Himiko on the other end that the coast was clear before walking away. As the sirens continued to blare, Ryoma quickly slipped out of the air duct and into the bushes below, making sure to scan the area for Akane, who could show up at any second. When he felt confident enough to leave, he made a break for it, running across the lawn of the school, and down the street towards the dorms. He had escaped!