Day 219

[from Vanishing Point]

To the group's surprise, the entrance to Studio C appeared to be unguarded. "Shouldn’t there be some security guards around, or something?" asked Kiyoko.

"I'm guessing they're all inside, enjoying the party," said Kamui. "We should be okay, as long as we blend in and don't draw too much attention to ourselves."

"And how do we blend in?" asked Hanako.

"Just keep quiet until we get to Mizuki," said Cobra.

"Can do!" said Hanako.

The group made their way inside, glancing up at the banner hanging from the ceiling as they entered. The studio was extremely large and spacious, and although the party was large enough for at least a hundred people, it seemed to fill barely half of the available space. Kiyoko gasped in awe at the sheer size of the building. "It's enormous!" she exclaimed.

"It certainly is," said Kamui.

"How are we ever going to find Mizuki among all these people?" asked Kiyoko.

"Simple!" said Hanako. "She's a mega-star, so wherever she is, people will be gravitating towards her. We won't have to look too hard, trust me!"

"Well, you're the Mizuki expert here," said Kamui. "We'll go with that. Alright, so, where does everyone seem to be gathering…?"

Kamui started to scan the crowd, looking for an area where a significant group of people were congregated. Just as Hanako had promised, he found it within seconds: over at the drinks table, where a crowd of at least a dozen people had gathered around. In the centre of the crowd of Mizuki herself, a mug of beer raised to her lips as she eagerly gulped down the contents. "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" the crowd chanted, egging her on.

Within seconds the mug had been completely drained, and a victorious Mizuki let out a satisfied gasp and slammed the mug back down on the table. "Oh man, that really hit the spot!" she exclaimed.

While Hanako was ecstatic to finally see her idol in the flesh, the beer-chugging woman standing before them was not what the others had expected. "That's Mizuki Sato?" said Cobra.

"Yep!" said Hanako. "She might not act like your typical idol, but that's part of what makes her so great! Instead of being this unreachable goddess, she's just a normal, down-to-earth person that you can really relate to! But at the same time, she's still extremely pretty, and an amazing singer and actress!"

"You know, I'm starting to like her a little more," said Cobra, as Mizuki started pouring another beer.

"Well, shall we get talking to her?" asked Kamui.

"Hold it right there, you four!" The group froze, then slowly turned around to see a security guard standing behind them, a slice of Hawaiian pizza in one hand and a nightstick in the other. "You're not on the entry list," the guard said.

"What entry list?" asked Kamui. "We weren't told there was an entry list."

"There is," said the guard. "It consists of everyone working at the studio, and you guys are definitely not studio employees. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"But we wanna talk to Mizuki-tan!" insisted Hanako.

"That's right," said Kamui. "We're private detectives-"

"I don't care!" said the security guard. "No unauthorized personnel are allowed to talk to Miss Sato. If you don't leave now, I'm going to have to-"

"What's going on over here?" By now, the stand-off had attracted the attention of many of the partygoers, including Mizuki herself, who had presently made her way over to investigate. Hanako's eyes shone with glee at the sight of her heroine up close; the others merely continued to look concerned.

"Ah, Mizuki," said the guard, turning his attention to the idol. "I caught these four interlopers trying to crash the party. They must be obsessed fans of yours or something."

"They don't look that obsessed to me," said Mizuki. "Even this girl here looks like she's just after an autograph," she added, jabbing a thumb at Hanako.

"But Mizuki-" insisted the guard.

"But nothing," said Mizuki. "It's my party, right? I should get the final say in who stays and who goes, and I say we should let them stay. For now, anyway. If they turn out to be some kind of danger, I can always just call you back over to boot 'em out, right?"

The security guard looked as though he wanted to object further, but instead he merely heaved a sigh and gave up. "Alright, fine," he said, holstering his nightstick. "But I'll be keeping an eye on your four, to make sure there's no funny business!" The guard made an "I'm watching you" motion with his free hand, to emphasize the point, then took a bite of his pizza and headed off on his way. "Hey, this is pretty good pizza…" he muttered to himself as he vanished into the crowd.

"Sorry about that," said Mizuki, turning back to the group. "Ever since I went missing that one time, the security guys here have been pretty paranoid about my safety. It's silly, if you ask me. I mean, what are the chances of it happening a second time, right?" She took a large swig from her mug of beer, let out another contented gasp and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "So anyway," she said, "what can I do for you guys?"

Kamui stepped forward, taking charge. "We're here to-" he began, before Hanako promptly shoved him out of the way.

"CANIHAVEYOURAUTOGRAPH?!" asked Hanako excitedly, holding out the scrap of paper Kamui had given her.

Mizuki chuckled, the remaining beer sloshing dangerously in the mug. "Sure!" she said. "Give me a second." She put down the mug, fished a pen out of her breast pocket, and took the sheet of paper from Hanako, resting it on the table. "Who am I making this out to?" she asked.

"Hanako Kobayashi," said Hanako. "I'd say I'm your biggest fan, but that sounds kinda stalker-ish, doesn't it?"

"Trust me, I've seen worse," said Mizuki. "'To Hanako Kobayashi… best wishes for the future… love, Mizuki Emerald Sato'." With a grin, she handed the autograph to Hanako. "Here you go~"

Hanako let out a squeal of joy and took the autograph. "Thank you!" she said. "I'll treasure it forever!" Folding it neatly, she put it away in her breast pocket for safekeeping.

Kamui looked a little annoyed at having been interrupted by Hanako for such a banal reason. "If you're done bugging her," he said, "let's get on to the real reason we're here. Miss Sato, m name is Kamui Matsuda. I'm a private detective. These are my associates, Kiyoko, Hanako, and Cobra. We'd like to talk to you in relation to your disappearance. We have some new information we think you might like to know about, as well as some questions we'd like answers to."

This piqued Mizuki's interest. "Is that so?" she asked. "So, does that mean you know what happened to me? Like, the gap in my memories… you can fill that in for me?"

"Gap in your memories?" repeated Cobra.

"Yeah," said Mizuki. "I can remember everything up until the night I went missing, but… after that it's all a big blur. The next thing I remember clearly is suddenly standing in the middle of Akihabara, with no idea who I was or how I got there."

"That must have been pretty frightening," said Kamui.

"Yeah, especially when your face is plastered all over the billboards," said Mizuki. "So anyway, what is this 'new info' you have to discuss with me?"

"Could we go somewhere a little more private first?" asked Kamui. "Or at least, a little more quiet."

"Sure," said Mizuki. "Follow me."

Mizuki drained the rest of her mug, then headed off with the others in tow. Despite having just downed two mugs of beer in the space of minutes, she barely seemed drunk at all, and was still able to walk perfectly normally. She led the group to the back of one of the sets, where the noise from the party was much quieter, and casually leaned back against the cardboard wall. "So," she said, "what do you wanna know?"