Symphony

Chapter 5: The Hidden Passageway

Shuichi Saihara's P.O.V

         "I didn't see anything strange, what about you Saihara?"

"No, nothing out of place."

She didn't find the hidden door? Wait, maybe if I ask...

"Did the girls' bathroom have a storage room?"

"...I think so! I'll go check!"

She then went back into the restroom. After a few moments, she rushed back into the hallway.

"Saihara! There's a hidden passage in the storage room! We need to check it out!"

"W-Wait! Are you sure I should...go in there..?"

Kaede then realized what I meant and blushed a light pink. I wasn't just going to go in there without a girl's permission at least!

"It should be fine. I mean, I don't think you are the type to do...that type of stuff. Besides, this is important!"

I reluctantly agreed and we both went in. The passage was there, just like last time.

"Could this lead to the room behind that hidden door?" Kaede inquired.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." I went into the passageway and Kaede followed.

As we were walking, I had a thought. What would we do if Tsumugi was there? She could create Monokumas and kill us. But, then how would she explain our deaths? Suddenly, Kaede and I both heard footsteps behind us. We both froze, not knowing if we needed to run or stay in place.

I immediately calmed down once I saw them. It was Maki and Himiko, and they both had a similar face of relief when they saw us.

"H-Harukawa!? Yumeno!?" Kaede stammered. "How did you guys-?"

"We saw the passageway and decided to investigate. We see you two did the same."

I told Maki and Himiko the situation (even though they already knew since we planned this) and we all walked along the passageway together. Maki held me back while Kaede and Himiko were a few steps ahead of us.

"Did you tell Akamatsu about it yet?" Maki said in a hushed voice, making sure Kaede couldn't hear us.

"No, I feel like she wouldn't take it well. I don't want to ruin the friendship I have with her now by telling her this."

"You need to tell her, along with everyone else, eventually Saihara," Maki left the conversation at that, and we catched up with Kaede and Himiko.

We reached a doorway, and to our surprise, it wasn't locked.

"Should we go in?" Kaede questioned.

"What would be the point of coming here if we don't go in? I'm going in, but you don't have to." Maki stated and headed to the doorway, and Himiko followed.

Kaede looked worried, scared about what could happen.

"Don't worry, Akamatsu. Maki is a lot stronger than you think. Plus, if anything comes to harm us, I'll try my hardest to protect you guys."

"...How can you say embarrassing things so easily? I don't understand you sometimes, Saihara,"

Kaede giggled as she said that, and I started giggling too.

"Are you lovebirds coming or not?" Himiko (surprisingly) shouted out. We quickly ran to them, flushed by that comment.

We entered the room. It was the mastermind's room. Luckily, Tsumugi wasn't here, so we didn't need to worry about confrontations yet. We all looked around the room, trying to find evidence of who the mastermind was.

"I can't find anything on who the mastermind is!" Kaede groaned. She then went to my area to see how I was doing. "Have you found anything yet, Saihara?"

"No, I can't find any clues or evidence."

Maki and Himiko came and told us that they couldn't find anything either.

"Nighttime hours are coming soon, we should probably start heading back," Maki voiced. She started to head out, and we all followed.

We arrived at the dorms a few minutes before the announcements turned on. Maki and Himiko went to their dorms first while Kaede and I stayed behind.

"How are we even going to catch the mastermind, and show proof to the others?" Kaede pondered.

An idea came to my head. I did this same idea last time, but it didn't work out. Maybe, since we found out about the other door, it could work.

"We could try to get photographic evidence of the mastermind," I suggested.

"Where would we get the cameras?" Kaede wondered.

"The warehouse probably has it. I don't see why not since the warehouse has basically everything we can think of." The nighttime announcement came on after I said that.

After the announcement ended, Kaede and I parted ways, agreeing on getting the cameras for tomorrow.

I woke up before the morning announcement once again. I meant to wake up early this time as Kaede and I agreed to get the cameras as early as possible. We decided that we would get the cameras before anyone else was awake to avoid suspicious stares. I quickly got dressed and knocked on Kaede's door. No response. I knocked again, but no answer. I turned the doorknob, and it was unlocked. I started to become nervous. I went into her dorm. She wasn't there. I knocked on her bathroom door. No response. She isn't here.

Where is she?