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

The Case of the Missing Pop Star (1)

     It was a dark and stormy day. Or rather, it was about to be. The students of Casa V3 were preparing the house for Typhoon Traidora, which would soon make landfall in a matter of hours. Dark clouds loomed over the area in silent, still, and calm air that only happens right before a giant storm. While most of the students were getting prepared, Kokichi casually roamed the halls of Casa V3, searching for something to do when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring. He answered it to find a frantic and distressed Sayaka.

   "Sayaka! What are you doing in our neck of the woods?" Kokichi asked cheerfully. "Shouldn't you be back at Hope House? There's a typhoon coming, you know!"

   "Oh...I know," Sayaka said in a shaky voice. "I just...I need to see Shuichi." Kokichi gave her a confused stare.

   "Shuichi?" he asked. "The only reason you'd ask for him is to solve a case. If so, why come here? Don't you already share a dorm with a detective?"

  "Yes, but Kyoko's already on a case overseas," Sayaka explained. "So I can't go to her."

  "Oh! Welp, I guess that changes everything," Kokichi replied, then moved over to let Sayaka in. "C'mon! I'll take you to his room!"

  "Thank you, Kokichi," Sayaka said, nodding gratefully to him. Kokichi led Sayaka to Shuichi and Kaito's room, and knocked on the door. 

   "Hey, Shuichi! Open up! You have a secret admirerrrrrr!" he teased. 

   "K-K-Kokichi!" Sayaka whispered, blushing. Kokichi gave her a cheeky grin. Shuichi opened the door with a puzzled expression.

   "What?!" he exclaimed. 

   "N-No! He was just kidding!" Sayaka said to him with concern in her eyes. "I...I actually need your help with something." Shuichi understood her expression and invited her in.

   "Sure! Come on in, Sayaka," he said, and closed the door after she entered the room. Kokichi decided to eavesdrop, eagerly pressing his ear against the door. "So, what's wrong, Sayaka?" he heard Shuichi say.

  "Oh, well...it's my friend, Izumi Akiyama," Sayaka said, sniffling a little. "She's part of my pop group."

   "Yes, I know of her," Shuichi said. "Did something happen to her?"

  "Yeah," Sayaka replied softly. "Last night, I was having a sleepover with my group at my mansion, when suddenly, Izumi just...disappeared!"

   "Tell me exactly everything that happened," Shuichi said. 

   "Well, I remember it was in the middle of the night," Sayaka explained. "We were sleeping when all of a sudden, we heard this crashing sound. We woke up, and my other friend, Michiko, turned the light on. We saw that my window had shattered completely, so we figured that someone must have broken in. That's when we realized that Izumi was gone."