A/N: There are about four more chapters left after this one. I think this will maybe be the last Toji No Miko murder mystery fanfic of the series. Unless, of course, I get requests for more. However, I do want to try writing other genres. Hence why, I decided to plan writing "Bloody Crown", my upcoming vampire fanfic. It'll have several different genres like supernatural, romance, historical, drama, etc... I hope you guys are looking forward to it. I certainly am! :)

Chapter 14: Rooms Of The Murder Mansion

As we waited for Sanae in the foyer, I explained to Kanami what happened between Mihono and I. Throughout the telling of my story, Kanami's face changed colour several times with each hidden fact I'd reveal. She asked a great many questions afterwards and her brown eyes seemed to be in shadow with deep thinking. I could tell that she was troubled with the idea of Mihono keeping secrets from us.

"I never noticed that," she said, in a flat voice. "Good job, Hiyori-chan."

"You're worried about her," I said.

Kanami pulled on her short ponytail as she'd always do whenever she was disturbed. "Mihono-chan is just a great friend to me. That's all. I don't want to think about her being mixed up in a sordid business like this."

At that moment, Sanae arrived a little out of breath. "I hope I didn't make you wait too long—" then seeing our expressions, "—what did I miss?"

"We'll talk all about it while we search the house," Kanami said. "Let's get to work. We have a lot of area to cover in this big place."

We decided to proceed through the second floor, room by room, starting with Kiyoka's which was closest to the staircase. There came gently to my nostrils the faint delicate scent of rose perfume. Kanami addressed herself to looking through Kiyoka's private bathroom, while Sanae and I checked out the large wardrobe. For a mission in the snowy mountains, the clothes Kiyoka brought seemed a bit too chic to be considered appropriate. Though lined with warm furs, they were of expensive quality.

Holding up a cute overcoat, Sanae breathed, "One of these must cost tens of thousands of yen."

"No doubt all those fashion magazines Kiyoka reads keeps her up to date with what's in vogue," I muttered.

On a round table at the small seating area was placed a pile of yuri novels, some with titles which I recognized. Beside these was a small notebook bound with green leather. With intrigue, I opened up to a random page and read a passage. The exaggerated circular handwriting of Kiyoka's was unmistakable.

"Why do you keep insisting on sharing my burden? It's mine and mine alone."

"Because it's a heavy one. You'd never be able to carry it by yourself. That's why I'll take half of it," was the determined reply. "I love you. And you have others who love you too."

Then, after a pause, she added with a sad smile, "But, not me. Without you...I'm nothing. No one loves me."

"...I do. I love you."

With my throat tightening, I snapped the notebook shut. What was this feeling? Not embarrassment nor romantic bliss. No, this was... A warm sensation started coming down my cheeks. In confusion, I lifted my hand to find tears on them. Had I seriously been crying? I had to give it to Kiyoka; she was a talented writer. There was something just so heart-wrenching about those passionate words. Words that tugged on heartstrings.

"You okay, Hiyori-chan?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry. Let's carry on."

The concerned expressions of Kanami and Sanae were practically identical, but they didn't say anything. Probably because they knew pressing me for answers would give them no results.

The next room we entered was that of Kofuki's. Our noses wrinkled at the elusive smoky smell in the air. That girl was addicted to tobacco, I just knew it. As for the state of her room, it looked as if a tornado went through it. Ugh. We'd only been here for a day and it was amazing how already she made the place a mess. Sheets falling off the bed; clothes casually tossed on the floor and any piece of furniture; bubblegum wrappers everywhere... This room was ridiculous.

What I was really searching for was any sign of cigarettes or a lighter. I found none. I guess that was to be expected. Most likely, Kofuki wouldn't keep them in her room. She'd have them on hand herself in probably one of her hoodie pockets.

In Mirja's bedroom, we found a briefcase containing her laptop and a few folders with an array of legal papers. Most of them being from the National Guard University and the Special Sword Documents Research Division.

"Think Mirja would have anything of significance on her laptop?" I asked.

"We can ask her to open it for us," Kanami said.

When Sanae found Mirja and brought her back, she was willing, albeit hesitant at first. "There's really nothing of importance on it though," she said, as she typed in her password. "Just files containing homework assignments."

My eyebrows rose at the sight of her wallpaper. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Kanami and Sanae had the same expression. It was a photo of Mirja and a dark-haired boy about her age riding a Ferris wheel. Both had laughter in their eyes, smiling at the camera.

"Who's that, Kitora-san?" Kanami asked, interestedly.

A small smile appeared on Mirja's face. "Someone I met at university. He and I had a few classes together."

"He has a nice face," Sanae commented. "What's his name?"

"Toshi."

Going over to the window, Mirja stared out at the snow as we looked over the files on her laptop. As she said, there was nothing of interest to any of us. Peeking a glance at Mirja, I noted how her face became more serious if that was even possible.

With polite remarks, we withdrew into the next room. Mihono was in her room, lounging on a chair when we came in. When Kanami explained our errand, Mihono willingly let us go through her stuff. She remained in her seat throughout the whole proceedings, disinterestedly watching us.

Although I could feel her eyes piercing straight at me specifically. I realized that I did not make myself popular by revealing a sensitive fact she wanted to keep hidden. Mihono was self-conscious about her ear and clearly hated anyone mentioning anything related to it. If she was so embarrassed about it, I had greatly sinned against her unspoken creed by my mention of a hearing aid.

Chie's room was empty when we entered it. Like the efficient girl she was, she had packed practically, having brought only a few bare necessities. A change of clothes, toiletries, and a simple makeup bag. In the private bathroom, Kanami seemed determined to find something, in particular. She searched carefully through the small cupboard under the sink but turned up fruitless.

"What are you all doing in here?" came a sharp voice from the door.

We turned to see Chie staring at us, her eyes black with suspicion. Kanami gave an apologetic bow.

"Forgive us for the intrusion, Setouchi-san," she said. "But it is a necessary task of searching the rooms that we must do for our investigation."

"Well, you won't find anything important here," Chie said.

"You have said it yourself, Setouchi-san," was the reply. "There is indeed nothing of importance here."

There was an odd tone in Kanami's voice that caught Chie's attention, making her look sharply at my girlfriend. "What do you mean by that?"

"You take sleeping medication, yes? I noticed you don't seem to have them in your room."

Chie's face turned rather white, but she recovered herself. "I must have forgotten them at home."

"You don't strike me as a person who is heedless about anything though, Setouchi-san. It is rather abnormal of someone with your character," Kanami said. "And yet, you first say you forgot to take your medication last night. Now, you say that you've forgotten them at home."

A sardonic smile appeared on Chie's face. "You are merely putting words in my mouth, Etou-san, and I do not appreciate it."

Then, crossing her arms, she said, "I will say this though. While I am forgetful from time to time, I do possess common sense and observation, Etou-san. For some reason, you think that I am involved with Fumiko-sama's murder. A girl who I never once met before."

"I admit that it is true, Setouchi-san," Kanami said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I do indeed think so."

"Why?" Chie demanded.

"I cannot tell you. Not now," was the reply.

When we left the room, Sanae asked, "Etou-san, what do we do if Setouchi-san is actually the culprit?"

"Yeah," I exclaimed. "You practically just put her on her guard."

With no sign of regret of her actions, Kanami told us, "One thing Father taught me is that if you want to catch a culprit, sometimes you just have to scare them until they crack. Anyway, let's move onto Suzumoto-san's room, shall we?"

However, when we knocked on the door, a frantic voice from within cried, "Wait a moment!"

The three of us awkwardly waited outside, as the sounds of hurried scrambling could be heard on the other side. Then, with a forced smile and welcome, Hana unlocked the door letting us in. Her hair was out of its side-ponytail and not completely brushed. Her crumpled clothes appeared to have been hastily put on, judging by how her black ribbon was crooked and her top button undone. We soon saw the reason why. Yui appeared to have been innocently sitting down on a chair but was in a similar unkempt state.

"Ah, Kanami-chan, Sanae-chan, Hiyori-sama! Nice to see you again," she tried to laugh.

"We're making a search of the rooms, Suzumoto-san," Kanami explained. "It's merely another routine we must do."

"Be my guest," Hana said, with a gesture of her hand. Her face still was quite red and her breathing heavy.

Partway through the search, Kanami asked, "So where did you witness the person from? The person that you and Yamashiro-san saw last night?"

"This one right here," Hana said, pointing to one of the arched windows.

Kanami went over and tried opening it. However, it could only open a small crack.

"You can't open it all the way. It has a little casement stay—to keep it from being blown wide open in a storm," I said, pointing it out with my finger. "Practically every window up here on this floor has one. I guess cause of all the blizzards this place must get."

"Oh, I see. Yes, that would make sense," Kanami said, absentmindedly. She seemed confused about something.

The two of us tried looking down. Kanami commented, "Too bad really that the snowstorm covered up any possible footprints."

A sound like a squeak came from her mouth when Yui engulfed her in a hug and started rubbing her cheek against hers. "Kanami-chan! You want to search my room next, right? Come on, come on! Let's go! We can all have some fun time while we're at it."

She took no notice of how Hana and I were drilling holes into her head with our red beady eyes. Pinning Kanami's arms from behind, Yui frog-marched her towards her bedroom with Sanae and I following at a close distance. I needed to keep an eye on that damn ponytailed girl! Who knew what she'd do to my girlfriend if I looked away for just a second?

Obviously, Yui did a lot of perverted mischief when no one was looking. That was evident by the multitude of sneak-shot photos I found in her bag. I cast her a dirty look, which she didn't notice as she was too busy snuggling an uncomfortable Sanae. With a grunt, I noticed how all of them were of Hana. Hana in a bikini, Hana in Lolita dress, nobody else but Hana. That was ironic, considering how Yui liked assaulting literally every girl she came upon.

"Glad that is over with," Sanae exhaled when we managed to escape Yui's arms and leave her room.

"Ditto," I snorted.

"So, now what?" Sanae asked, looking at our investigation leader.

Kanami gave a smile. "Now we use our brains."

A/N: Writing this past midnight when I have to get up early was not the best idea...