Day 208

[from Vanishing Point]

One train ride later and Kamui and the girls found themselves outside a large, walled-off studio. "Here it is!" said Hanako gleefully. "Saegusa Studios!" Beyond the elaborate iron gates, the group could see several huge studio buildings, and various employees milling around between them. Kamui could see a man in a tokusatsu hero costume having a rather animated conversation with a man who, presumably, was his director.

"And this is where we'll find Mizuki?" asked Cobra.

"Yeah!" said Hanako. "She'll be filming the next series of Life With Mizuki right now!"

"Life With Mizuki?" asked Kiyoko, who of course had never heard of the show. "What's that about?"

"Oh, it's really good!" said Hanako. "It's, like, a sitcom following Mizuki as she goes about her everyday life as a young woman and famous idol! Every day she has some challenge to overcome in her life, and at the end of every episode she puts on a concert and sings about whatever lessons she learned in that episode! Oh, and she shares an apartment with this one guy, and he totally has a massive crush on her, but she doesn't even realize it! It's hilarious!"

Kiyoko seemed rather impressed by Hanako's enthusiastic description. Cobra, however, did not. "It sounds awful," she said.

"Your taste is awful," Hanako retorted, pouting.

"Umm… how are we going to get inside?" asked Kiyoko suddenly. "I mean… the gates are locked… and there's a guard there…"

"Relax," said Kamui, "I got this. Just follow my lead, like always."

The group headed towards the gates, and Kamui approached the guard booth. The guard manning it seemed fairly bored. "State your business," he said.

"We're private detectives," said Kamui. "We'd like to talk to Miss Sato about an incident that occurred to her last-" Before Kamui had even finished, however, and much to his surprise, the guard suddenly buzzed them through. The gates to the studio slowly opened inwards with a mechanical hum. "Well, that was easier than I expected," he remarked.

"I'm so damn bored right now," said the guard. "They wouldn't even invite me to the party. Maybe you guys will liven things up."

"Party?" asked Hanako, her attention immediately captured. "What party?"

"They just finished filming Season 2 of Life With Mizuki, and they're holding a big party down in Studio C to celebrate," said the guard. "If you folks are looking for Miss Sato, that's where you'll find her."

"Wow, that's convenient!" Hanako remarked. "A day later and she wouldn't even have been here!"

"That sure is a stroke of luck," said Kamui. "Alright, thank you, sir. We'll be on our way. And we'll try not to cause you too much trouble."

"Please do," said the guard. "Nothing ever happens around here. Little bit of trouble would make my whole year."

"I wish I could say the same," Kamui mumbled to himself, as he and the escapees made their way through the open gate.

***

It didn't take the group too long to locate Studio C, especially since it had a giant yellow "C" painted on one side. As they approached, Hanako suddenly came to a dead stop, a panicked look on her face. "Wait a minute!" she exclaimed. "I just realized I don't have anything for Mizuki-tan to autograph! Aah… what am I going to do?"

"Hanako, of all the things to be worried about-" Cobra began.

"No, you don't understand!" said Hanako. "This might be my one and only chance to get the autograph of my favourite person in the whole wide world! I need something for her to sign!"

With an amused sigh, Kamui pulled out his notepad and tore off an empty page, handing it to Hanako. "I don't know how you have so much energy all the time," he remarked.

Hanako let out a gentle squeal of delight as she took the piece of paper from Kamui. "Oh, thank you, Kamui!" she said. "You're a lifesaver!"

"Now that that's sorted, let's get going," said Kamui. "Mizuki won't wait around for us all day."

"Right!" said Hanako, her enthusiasm returning twofold. "Let's get going!" She dashed off in the direction of Studio C, leaving the others chasing after her.

"That attitude of hers is gonna get her killed one of these days," Cobra remarked, as she sprinted after the pink-haired teen.