"You mean...you're going to dress up as a lolita?!" Shuichi exclaimed.
"If it means going into the café and rescuing Himiko, yeah," Kokichi replied. "If you wanna come, Shuichi, you're going to have to dress up as one, too."
"Ah, well, um...I, uh..." Shuichi stammered.
"Okay, I'm taking that as a 'no,' then," Kokichi said before turning to Celeste. "Celeste have an outfit ready for me by the time that café closes!"
"But, the café is going to close very soon," Celeste replied. "By the time you get there, it will already be closed." Kokichi frowned in thought.
"Then, I'll spend tonight looking around the area for clues where Himiko disappeared," Kokichi said. "Celeste, take me to where you guys last saw Himiko."
"It will be my pleasure!" Celeste replied with a sweet smile.
***
By the time Kokichi and Celeste arrived at the area where Himiko went missing, the sky was beginning to grow dark. Kokichi had brought a flashlight with him, just in case. They were standing on the corner across the street from the building with the café.
"The café is on the third floor of that building right over there," Celeste explained, pointing to the building. "We walked across the street from the building, and I do believe Himiko was still with us. However, as we were walking along this sidewalk right here..." She paused to gesture to the sidewalk they were standing on, and moved her hand up along the path of the sidewalk. "...Himiko disappeared, probably right before we reached the billboard, which is right there." Passing by the dark alleyway, Kokichi walked over to the billboard and sifted through the sheets of paper. He came across the missing persons poster that Himiko had spotted.
"And this is the missing persons poster, right?" he asked Celeste.
"The very same," Celeste confirmed with a brief nod. Kokichi studied it closely. Like Celeste mentioned before, the girls on the poster went missing on the same street Himiko disappeared from. Kokichi looked up and spied the alleyway. Folding the poster and placing it into his pocket, he jogged towards it.
"Come on," he said, waving his hand for Celeste to follow him. He turned his flashlight on and looked around. He shined his light down onto the ground and noticed some tire marks. "A-ha!" He knelt down to observe them closer. "They're fresh." He shined the light further down the alleyway, which led out onto another street on the other side of the buildings he and Celeste were in between. "I see..." he muttered thoughtfully to himself.
"So, do you think Himiko was kidnapped?" Celeste asked.
"Yeah," Kokichi said, staring off into the direction the tires headed. "There's no other reason why she would have disappeared." He turned to Celeste. "I don't know if Himiko was meant to win that contest, but the fact is that she did, and was kidnapped as a result. Whoever snatched her away has something to do with that café."
"So, what will you do, now?" Celeste asked. Kokichi sighed.
"There's not much I can do right now," he said. "What time does the café open?"
"10:00 a.m. tomorrow," Celeste replied promptly.
"Alright," Kokichi muttered. "Have an outfit ready for me by then tomorrow."
"Do you have a particular style in mind?" Celeste asked.
"I don't care," Kokichi huffed. "Whichever style will make me the winner of the contest tomorrow."
"Very well," Celeste replied with a smile. "It just so happens I already have one for you in mind."
***
Kokichi woke up first thing the next morning, and texted Celeste to come over. Celeste, along with the other girls who attended the café, arrived at Casa V3. Kokichi was wondering why they came, too, but decided not to think anymore of it, since that wasn't important right now.
"Did you bring me an outfit?" Kokichi asked Celeste. Celeste smiled in response and handed him a box.
"Indeed!" she replied. Kokichi took the box and was about to dash away to his room, until Celeste grabbed his arm. "Wait! You might need some help putting all those clothes on!"
"Pffft! I'll be fine! It's just a dumb dress! How hard can it be to put one on?" Kokichi scoffed. He then pulled out a cream-colored petticoat, and then a dark brown skirt, and held both of them up in confusion. "Heeey...why'd you get me two skirts?!" The girls started giggling.
"That lighter one is called a petticoat, Kokichi," Kaede said. "You wear it under that dark brown skirt."
"So...you wear a skirt, and then another skirt?" Kokichi asked, frowning in confusion.
"Hmhm, see? This is why you need help to put it all on," Celeste said with a light giggle. Kokichi rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance.
"Fiiiine," he mumbled. "I'll go get Kirumi." Kokichi swiftly left to get Kirumi for help. While Kirumi helped Kokichi change into his lolita outfit, the girls waited in Tsumugi's room. After a few minutes, Kokichi walked like a stiff penguin into Tsumugi's room. He was wearing a cream-colored, long-sleeved blouse with a ruffled collar resembling a jester's. Over the blouse was a dark brown corset over the dark brown skirt and cream-colored petticoat from before. Wrapped around his waist was a giant, light brown belt. And, on his legs were a pair of black and white-checkered tights that matched his scarf, and on his feet were black boots with a small bow on each side. He wore a black wig with braided pigtails made to look like a jester's hat, and golden hair ties at the ends made to resemble bells. A pair of steampunk goggles were wrapped around his head.
"How do girls breathe in these things?!" he asked in a strained voice as he pointed to the corset he was wearing. "Are you aliens, or something?!" When the girls saw him, they immediately gasped with delight and rushed over to him.
"Awwww, Kokichi, you look so adorable!" Sayaka gushed.
"Yes! Yes!" Sonia agreed. "You look like a jester in a steampunk movie!"
"That was the idea," Celeste said proudly. "I call it, 'Steam Circus Lolita.'"
"Well, that's definitely very creative!" Ibuki said. "He's gonna win that contest for sure!"
"I'd better," Kokichi muttered in a low voice.
"We have enough time before the café opens, so how about we get started on your makeup, Kokichi?" Kaede asked. Kokichi stared at her in absolute horror.
"No way!" he said, backing up.
"But, Kokichi, if you want to win the contest, you absolutely have to look your best," Mikan said.
"And, remember, you are doing this for Himiko," Celeste reminded him. At the mention of Himiko's name, Kokichi sighed and gave in.
"Alright, alright!" he said. "But, I'm doing this for her, and only for her! Not so you guys can have fun drawing all over my face!"
"But, we're sure as heck gonna have so much fun doing it anywaaaay..." Kaede squealed, holding up some makeup brushes. Kokichi looked up in anguish as if he were looking at the sky.
"Kill me," he mumbled as the girls got to work. Sonia and Ibuki both worked on polishing his nails black. Tsumugi applied foundation. Celeste did his blush and eye makeup, even adding false eyelashes. Kaede held up a tube of black lipstick to Kokichi's lips.
"Pucker up!" she said.
"No way, José" Kokichi scoffed, turning his head.
"Remember Himikoooo..." Kaede said with a mischievous grin. Glaring at her, Kokichi reluctantly puckered his lips. "Good boy!" Kaede giggled before applying the lipstick. When they were finished, they let Kokichi look at himself in the mirror.
"Well, Kokichi? What do you think?" Tsumugi asked. Kokichi uttered a long, heavy, dejected sigh as he stared at himself in the mirror.
"Well...at least I still look better than you losers," he muttered with a small shrug. He took a deep breath and turned to them. "Well, anyhoo, I guess I'd better get going soon! I just need a few things!" He rushed to his room and grabbed his lockpicking tools and his flashlight, just in case, and clipped them to his belt. He rejoined the girls in Tsumugi's room. "Anything else I should know before I leave?"
"I think you are all set!" Celeste replied cheerfully. Right after, the room suddenly became dripped in bittersweet silence.
"Um...Kokichi?" Sonia said quietly as she reached for her panda backpack that she had brought with her despite her not wearing her lolita costume anymore. She opened it up and pulled out a knife.
"Yikes! You were carrying that all this time, Sonia?!" Kaede exclaimed.
"Well, I thought it would be a good prop to have with me, given my costume from yesterday," Sonia replied. Then, she handed Kokichi the knife. "But, I think you should take it, Kokichi. It might prove to be useful somehow." Kokichi took the knife from her and sheathed it in a small case before clipping it to his belt.
"Thanks, Sonia!" he replied with a cheeky grin. Mikan timidly pulled out her plush unicorn that she had attached to her purse from when she was wearing her lolita outfit. She handed the unicorn to Kokichi.
"Here you go, Kokichi," she said. Kokichi took it from her and stared at it in confusion.
"Uh...what's this for?" he asked.
"Um...j-just for luck, I guess," Mikan said. She felt her eyes welling up with tears. "Y-you're really brave for going after Himiko, Kokichi." She leaned forward and gave Kokichi a small kiss on his cheek.
"You really are, Kokichi," Kaede said, flashing him a small smile of melancholic admiration. Kokichi shrugged modestly.
"Welp, she is my Supreme Lady," he said.
"Awwww..." the girls cooed, gathering around him and giving him hugs.
"Hey, hey, hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey!" Kokichi said, nudging them away. "Only the Supreme Lady can shower the Supreme Leader with love and affection! I'm off limits to the rest of you!"
"Well, that's okay, I guess," Tsumugi said. She and the other girls stared at Kokichi with wonder and hope.
"Good luck, Kokichi," Celeste said.
"Yes! We are rooting for you, and hoping you and Himiko are victorious in the end!" Sonia said.
"Come back soon, Kokichi...with Himiko," Sayaka said.
"I know you can do it," Kaede said.
"Thanks, guys," Kokichi said. He took a deep breath. "Welp...here I go!" He walked out of the door, and the girls followed. They exited Casa V3 into the gloomy, overcast day. Kokichi climbed onto the bus, and headed towards the back. He looked out the window and gave the girls a confident salute. They saluted back at him and waved as they watched the bus fade away into the distance, taking Kokichi into the unknown.