A few rice balls… a jacket… and flashlight get thrown into the backpack. The young man swung it over his shoulder and walk to the other side of the bedroom. On the walls he past numerous newspaper clippings and articles, all with lines of string crossing between different points.

“White Devil of the the Rokkenjima Incident”, “Detective Does it Again!”, “Frostbitten Murders”, “Goldbar Solves Yamanote Suicides!”, “Fancy Suit Murder Case Cracked!”, “Kinjo Goldbar Stops Ferry Heist”.

The wall covered in the various deeds of the detective Kinjo Goldbar through the past years. After growing in fame the detective found himself constantly running into different cases. It was looking good, until…

“Kinjo Goldbar Missing.” Dated August 2nd 1991.

BGM: Shogetsu

It not unusual for a detective to go undercover for long periods of time, however one day he simply vanished on his way to a client, no warning to friends or family. Needless to say it caused a scandal for a while, and investigations were held, but nothing seemed to be found. Seven years passed and he was declared legally dead, it was at this point in time that the young man gained interest.

While hearing stories as a kid he never really cared much about the missing detective, until that news reminded him. The last year he spent collecting old newspapers from archives and researching what little he could.

One day he stumbled across an email group that liked to talk about unsolved mysteries. While they were not as interested in Kinjo Goldbar as he was, there was one that caught the young man’s eye. The vanishing of Masayoshi Okazaki. Unlike Kinjo, the man to vanish this time left his mansion completely abandoned and his political position vacant. While it happened almost two years after the event of Kinjo Goldbar something seemed to connect them. It seems Kinjo himself had met with the man during one of the cases Kinjo solved. It was a long shot, but the well had run dry in terms of clues, so the young man jumped on it while he had the chance.

One person in the group, Kato Sugimoto (one of the few to use his real name apparently) announced that with the reading of Okazaki’s will the mansion had passed to one of his family members, and Kato had gotten the permission to explore the mansion as they saw fit. In total six people signed up including the young man. The mansion was in the next town over, and tonight was the night.

With a last look in his room his eyes fell on the mirror, taking in his figure. Besides being a young man and mystery enthusiast, who was he?

Kizami Suzuya was a Japanese highschool student in his third year. He didn't have any kind of special characteristics that made him stand out. Middle height, brown haired and brown eyed, wearing casual school type of clothes (black attire mostly with a blue shirt), he had the appearance of an ordinary highschool kid. And he probably preferred it that way. His personality was also quite ordinary. At least on the outside.

So why was an ordinary guy like Kizami interested in the extraordinary detective Kinjo Goldbar? None of his highschool friends knew the answer to that. In fact, none of them were even aware he had a passion for mysteries. On the other hand, the email group he became a part of knew nothing about him except that he was a mystery enthusiast. The mansion excursion would be the first time any of the group members would meet him in real life.

"Time to make a great first impression... my mystery friends." Said Kizami with a smile and walked out of his apartment.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)12:07:11

>>19578
A short walk from the bus stop Kizami found himself at the base of the mountain and the road leading up to the mansion. He had researched a bit on the man Okazaki. The Prefecture Governor had started to make a name for himself and for his personal use had the land on the mountain leveled to build his mansion. He had some ties with some corporations and would host the occasional gathering, some typical political allegations but ultimately nothing too interesting beyond that could be found.

>>19579
BGM: Peaceful Sailing

It was about six pm. The sun still wouldn’t set for a while. As he walked up the road eventually the gates came into sight. Four people were waiting in front; an old man, a young women, and two teenage males.

“Welcome welcome!” the old man calls with open arms as you walk up, “I am Kato Sugimoto, you are here for the event yes?”

"Yes I am. My name's Kizami Suzuya. Though if any of you know me, it's probably by the nickname "Nightingale". It's a pleasure to finally meet you guys!" Kizami gave a wide smile.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)12:32:15

>>19581
“Ah yes I remember you contacting me, excellent! Not everyone is here yet, but we may have some no-shows, who knows.”

One of the two younger males starts, “Yo, Taiga Watanabe, if anyone is going to solve anything it’ll be me!” He lightly grabs the other guy in a headlock, “And this is Takumi Nakajima.”
The displeased looking Takumi pushes Taiga off of him, “I can introduce myself…” he says in a meek voice.
“Ahaha sorry, yeah you are right, just getting excited that’s all,” Taiga laughs off.

Taiga seems to be wearing the local school uniform from here.

"A pleasure, Taiga and Takumi. I look forward to seeing you guys in action."

Kizami then turns his attention to the girl.

"And what is your name, lovely miss?"

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)12:28:56

>>19583
The young women speaks, “Reiko Kitagawa,” she says with a smile. She looks no more than twenty, but the way she holds herself makes you think she is closer to thirty. “Of course like everyone else I am here to investigate, although not as competitively as some," she says clearly indicating at Taiga.

"Let’s help each other alright?”

"Of course. Let's work together to solve the mystery, ga-- guys."

Kizami pauses in thought for a moment, then speaks again.

"So while we are waiting for the others to get here, do you all want to go over what we know about Mr. Okazaki's disappearance?"

If they agree to my proposal, I tell them what little I know from the introduction of the game and then listen to what they have to say

>>19585
"I agree. The mysterious events of his vanishing always seemed to lack information, so pooling our resources could help," Kato explains.

It seems the others know about the same that Kizami did, and so he asks about any other information.

"I only know as much as Takumi has told me," Taiga admits, "I was excited that something like this was happening in my city for once and just went for it."

Takumi pushes up his glasses, "From what I heard, Okazaki was doing very well very quickly in both his campaign and once he had the title of governor. People thought it was strange until he had vanished and all the investigations suggested it was purely thanks to skill and his connections."

"Yeah that," Taiga says as if he helped.

"Exactly!" Kato says excitedly, "If it was a kidnapping no signs would be odd, but for a political figure to leave no trace is just outstanding. He was at the height of his career even!"

Reiko has her own piece to add, "While it may not be useful, I had heard the man actively avoided public relationships, but some of the people who had been to his parties said he had a few women companions at times."

"Hoh, that's news to me. I knew he never had a wife but... Where did you hear about that?" Kato asks.

"I tracked down a few people who had been to his parties beforehand. Although most of them had closed lips besides the one drunk that said that," she says simply. The rest of the party seems impressed.

"Wow. It's quite impressive that you've managed to find out this much, Miss Reiko. If you don't mind me asking, what is your occupation? Are you perchance a journalist?"

>>19587
"At one time, but not any more," she mentions.

As you four are talking some noise starts to crawl up the road behind you. A man and a girl can be heard and then seen coming into view. The girl chirps around the man as she holds her camera up only to be roughly pushed down by him. He points to the group and upon noticing us she jogs over.
“Sorry I’m late!” she says while giving a silly salute. “Aoi Fujimoto reporting for duty.”

"Hey... don't I... Wait... you're that reporter girl from Northcoast High aren't you?"

Takumi looks up at Taiga, "You know her Taiga?"

"Only in name. I heard she caused the principal to retire based on something she leaked in the school newspaper."

Aoi sighs and shakes her head in an exaggerated way with a smirk, “Looks like my reputation has taken a dive. The result was because people learned the truth, just because I happened to be the one who revealed it doesn't mean much.”

As they bicker back and forth Reiko walks over to Kato. “If I remember correctly you said there would only be six people here today?”

“Ah yes sorry about that. This Yasunori Heisuke,” he says walking over to the newly arrived man. “He contacted me last minute to join our excursion so I had no time to update the list.”

“Nice to meet you,” Yasunori says with not exactly a happy face.

Kizami tries to smooth things out.

"Now now, there is no need to fight over the past, we all have a common goal here. Let us focus our energy on the task at hand."

He addresses the man.

"You must be very interested in this case, Mr. Heisuke, to have arranged your participation last minute like that. I hope we can help you find what it is you're looking for."

>>19589
He stops to look at Kizami for a moment, then manages a half smile, "Yeah. Thanks for the help."

“Well, anyway, we are all here," Kato starts, "Without further ado let us begin shall we?” He strolls over to the gate and pushes it with a heavy series of creaks. One of the chains around the door slips off as it finishes opening and you can see the inside of the walls for the first time.

The grand mansion stands as the main attraction in the top left and middle. It still seems to be in decent shape despite the state of the garden. The yard has been completely overgrown and certainly has not been taking care off. There is a fountain to the left that is mostly overtaken by the grass and garden, and to the right is some sort of garage. The road opens up to allow for multiple parking as well as access to the garage and right in front of the mansion front doors.

"Man this place needs a few dozen gardeners. I guess the new owner never bothered to clean it up?" Taiga asks.

Kato gives a small laugh. "Sadly that seems so. Although the mansion is still as it was for the most part."

The group starts to move through the garden with the mansion as the goal. Aoi stops every now and then to take some pictures, and Takumi is looking around the fountain as he walks by too.

I decide to walk over to the garage and see if there are any signs of it being used recently. My love of mystery novels and detective fiction will surely permit me to tell if there are relatively fresh tire tracks or some such. I will also check whether the garage is locked or not. If it is unlocked, I will suggest to the group having it inspected.

>>19591
Kizami walks along the road and looks at the clearly long unused ground. The grass hangs onto it and hits his feet as he walks through to the garage. Its mostly made out of concrete and the door itself is half opened. There is one window inside, but other than that its completely empty.

"It sure looks abandoned, doesn't it..." Kizami mumbles to himself.

I sniff the air to see if I can pick up any strange odors that should not be in a garage usually. Then I go back outside and inspect the fountain just to see if anything about it stands out to me.

>>19593
It smells rather similar to an underground parking complex, but nothing unusual is smelt.

The fountain is covered in moss and other plants, the water is a murky green and some frogs are living in it. Other than that it is clearly not operational and hasn't been for a long time.

Aoi and Takumi have joined back with the rest of them and Kato seems to be opening the front doors.

I catch up with the rest of the group letting the guide do his work and guide us in.

>>19595
Above the doors reads a small sign “The Fox’s Mansion.” With the light from outside the mansion is lit up enough to see but still fairly dark in some of the corners. Inside the main hall is a staircase in front of you at the end of the hall, and it opens into the second floor which can be seen from where you stand.

There are walkways along either side above and doors lining each wall below and above. Along the walls are various painting and a surprising amount of taxidermy. An Elk, maybe a moose on the left wall, various deer and other game.

To the right of the staircase is a statue, and to the right is a hallway that heads further to the left. Overall the place is rather dusty and the red patterned carpet on the ground is patchy perhaps from insects eating away at it.

"Well then. The mansion isn't large enough for us to get lost, so just call out if you find something. Is splitting up fine with everyone?" Kato asks.

Before anyone can respond Yasunori walks on a head to the stairs without a word.

"That answers that!" Taiga jogs over to one of the rooms and enters one with Takumi calling out for him to wait as he follows. Aoi is already taking pictures of the main hall and various parts of it at this time.

"They sure are energetic aren't they," Reiko says with a small smile.

"You can say that again, Ohoho."

Reiko heads to a room on the right and Kato continues to look around the main hall with Aoi.

Kizami follows Reiko into that room and attempts to start a conversation.

"So Miss Reiko, what got you interested in this case? Do you simply have a passion for unsolved mysteries like the rest of us, or is there anything about this one that tickles your fancy? After all, you did seem to do a lot of your own investigating already..."

>>19597
The room seems to be a living room. There is more taxidermy in this room followed by various chairs and sofas. There are some cabinets in the back of the room but they look mostly empty. Next to them is another Elk. On the wall to the right from where you entered is a portrait of a couple and next to it an violet hued rooster on a pedestal.

On the other side are windows to the garden that are somewhat obscured by the plant growth. The floor is covered in a carpet like the rest of the mansion you've seen so far, and there are a few coffee tables in the middle surrounded by some of the chairs. A tv sits in the corner and on the ceiling is a light, both of which are clearly unpowered.

"Just general interest. I had been following that email group for a while but it was mostly trivial discussion. Since this is the first time they had an outing I thought some preemptive investigating would help," say says while scanning the room.

"Ah." Says Kizami. He then turns around and walks out of the room.

BGM: Dark Cemetery

As quietly as possible, I walk upstairs and begin searching the second floor in hopes of sneaking up on Heisuke in the middle of whatever he is doing.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)15:37:12

>>19599
You walk past Aoi and Kato who are still in the main hall and go up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs you can see the mansion layout a bit better. There are three rooms on either side, or at least three doors. There also is a door to the balcony. Directly after the staircase on the wall is a large impressionist painting. The door on the right closest to the balcony seems open.

I cautiously peek inside the room with the open door.

>>19601
As you creep closer you hear someone click their tongue and the door bursts open almost hitting you. Yasunori stops himself before walking into you. "Watch where you are going kid," he says angrily and walks past you.

"My bad!" Kizami announces cheerfully to the leaving Heisuke.

I go inside this room and look around.

>>19603
You enter the room after dodging the angry man. This room appears like a study of some sort. There is a desk in the back and a few bookshelves along the walls. It looks like some of the books have been thrown on the ground and the dust is still floating in the air.

There is a fireplace in the wall, and to the left and right some fake potted plants. The chairs in the middle of the room are turned over as well as the table. There is another stuffed rooster in this room as well.

Kizami tried to recall the methods described in "Investigation For Dummies" by none other than Kinjo Goldbar.

"Now how would he go about this...?"

I approach the desk and examine it closely, try to open its drawers if it has any. Afterwards, I examine the contents of the books on the ground. Finally, I come to the rooster and try to open its beak, sticking a finger in its mouth.

Last edited at 16/06/12(Sun)16:33:09

>>19605
You notice the drawers have already been opened and it doesn't look like anything is inside. The books seem miscellaneous and are of random things. Hunting, politics, etc. It looks the bookshelf was searched more than the books themselves, although there is nothing to be found there either. The beak seems to be shut closed by the ever attentive taxidermist who did the work.

Kizami went back downstairs to find Heisuke.

"Mr. Heisuke. Could you tell us what it is you are looking for? Perhaps we really could help you find it?"

>>19607
As you leave the room you can't see to find him. You do notice Aoi and Kato are gone from the main hall and Takumi and Reiko are over by the back hall on the left side of the staircase on the first floor.

Kizami walks up to the two of them.

"Hey, have you guys seen Mr. Heisuke pass by here just now? Did he leave the mansion already? And any idea where Aoi and Kato are right now?"

>>19609
You see the hallway in the back is cluttered with some furniture making it difficult to pass as it is.

"I didn't see him. Aoi and Kato should be in the dining room," Takumi says indicating to the room opposite from the living room.

"While you are here Kizami can you help out?" Reiko explains while pointing to the blockage, "There are some more rooms down this hall but as you can see we have to clear the way first. It will not take long."

"Of course. I did say we should work as a team after all. Where is Taiga anyway? I'm sure he would love to help too!"

Kizami proceeds to help clear the way.

>>19611
"I asked him to help first but Takumi took his place."

"Ah, it should be fine with just us really. We don't need to bother him," Takumi hastily explains.

The three of you make quick work of the pile as it turned out smaller than it first appeared. There are two rooms now visible down the hallway.

Reiko walks over and opens the first one, "A laundry room... seems like it."

"Right. Well, Miss Reiko, I'm counting on you to dig up any dirty laundry you can find. As for me, I have to go talk to someone."

I head to the dining room hoping to find Aoi and talk to her.

>>19613
As Takumi and Reiko go to check the other room you head off to the dining room and find Aoi looking under the table.

The room is similar to the rest so far, with some more animals placed around the walls including a nice orange rooster next to where you entered and even a bobcat in the corner of the room. There is a long dining table in the middle of the room with various chairs along each side stretching to the end. Some cabniets line the walls with dishes. There is a door on the left side of the room that is open to what looks like a kitchen.

"Hello, Miss Aoi, have you found anything yet to help you on your next big scoop? Since you are a reporter, you are probably the one with the most attention to details amongst us."

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)12:54:50

>>19615
"Nothing yet," she seemingly not really listening to you as she puts down her camera and continues deeper into the depths of the under table.

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)13:04:38

"In that case, I may have a bit of interesting information for you. Nothing too major, but a start of a nice trail nonetheless. First however, I would like to know what is your relation to Mr. Heisuke. Are you two acquainted somehow?"

>>19617
"Huh?" she pops her head out, "No we just met walking up the road, although it seems you think something is up with him as well." She stands up from under the table.

"Perhaps we can have a sort of information trade if you catch my drift," she says with a twinkle in her eye.

Kizami looks around to make sure there are no creepy old men in the room eavesdropping, then lowers his voice just enough so that Aoi can still hear him.

"For someone who had only met him then, you sure seemed adamant on taking his picture. Did his imposing presence appeal to you that much? You see, if we are to trade information, I would appreciate some details about who exactly Mr. Heisuke is. The bit of info I have for you is also related to him. If you really only had just met him, I would still be interested in hearing what else you have to offer for this exchange."

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)13:27:07

>>19619
"Hold your horses buddy, your offered first. No info from me until you spill your beans. I doubt you've found anything big in such short time anyway," she says doing an exaggerated shrug.

Kizami sighs and smiles with a shrug.

BGM: The Dusty Attic

"Alright, in that case, what if I told you that Mr. Heisuke has been to this mansion before? Does that pique your interest? If you want to know why I think this and what else I think in regards to him, you'll have to tell me whatever it is that you know. I trust that as a reporter, you understand that your information needs to be worthwhile as well."

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)13:47:06

>>19621
"Hmm is that so. Alright, trying to take his photo was just to see how he would react. Why? While walking here I saw him get dropped off by an impressively expensive car. However he then walked the rest of the way before getting onto the mountain road, as if purposely not wanting to be seen."

Kizami mulls over Aoi's words in his head.

"It fits... Why else would he make a last minute decision to join our excursion so that none of us even knew he was coming? He is clearly trying to leave as little traces of his presence here as possible."

He looks at Aoi who seems to still be waiting for more.

"Oh and he is also looking for something important. Not only that, but he apparently had a good idea in mind where to look. He didn't just pick a random room in his search. He found the study right away and did quite a number on it."

Kizami turns to leave, but says one last remark.

"We should both keep an eye on that man, Miss Aoi. Let's work as a team."

I head back to join Reiko and Takumi

Last edited at 16/06/13(Mon)17:35:11

>>19623
As you enter the main hall you see Taiga, Takumi and Reiko gathered at the base of the stairs.

"Hey Kizami, you should come along too," Taiga calls out.

Reiko holds up a key, "Taiga said some rooms upstairs are locked. We found this in the servant room."

"Ah, very well. Let us see what those rooms hold for us."

I follow them upstairs.

>>19625
Going up the stairs and directly to the left the Reiko puts the key into the door and unlocks it. You notice the key reads 'guestroom' as the door swings open.

Inside is mostly what you would expect. There is a bed in the corner, with a small bed side table with a light on it. There is a wardrobe and next to it a tv. There is a bathroom connected to it with all the standard commodities. In the corner of the room is another rooster this one colored blue.

"More and more dust," Taiga complains as he enters with the rest.

"Opening the window might be a good idea," Takumi suggests.

Taiga takes him up on the offer, letting in a large gust of wind that unsurprisingly makes it even more dusty. Reiko has started looking under the bed.

I examine the bedside table and open its drawers if it has any.

>>19627
BGM: Foolish Outcry

The beside table is sadly empty despite having drawers.

"What is this?" Taiga is over by the wardrobe and is looking at something next to it, or rather touching the wall rather intensely. "Maybe a hidden passage?" he says looking back at everyone jokingly as he gives it a wack.

In a sudden burst the wall slams open and part of it falls down with a snap. Everyone is dumbfounded for a moment as Taiga stands there with the same expression frozen.

"Woah what the hell!?" he manages after coming out of it. On closer inspection it seems to be an ironing board that was built into the wall. The neglect over the years caused it to snap the moment it was opened and fall to the floor. You notice a piece of ripped paper stuck between one of its folders.

"Jinkies!" Exclaims Kizami and examines the piece of paper.

>>19629
You snatch it up and you notice Takumi and Reiko looking at it over your shoulder.

It reads. "Fox's Mansion" however the mansion is crossed out and under it reads "Main hall portrait"

The slip seems to be ripped from a notepad or notebook and has random dents from when someone was writing on different pages. For a moment the idea of trying to decipher them comes to mind but then you realize something.

You recognize this writing style. It's Kinjo Goldbar's.

"Of course it would be a portrait..." Kizami mumbles.

"What do you say we go to the main hall and examine this piece of art, everyone?"

>>19631
Everyone seems to agree and you walk out of the room to the potrait. The large painting in front of the stairs seems to be a straight forward picture of a couple in front of an altar.

"So a wedding then?" Takumi asks.

"Oho, did we find something?" Kato calls as he walks up to the group and Reiko fills him in on the findings.

"I see I see. How peculiar! Does anyone have any ideas?"

"I think we should examine this painting more intimately." Kizami smiles.

I examine the frame of the painting by tracing it with my fingers and applying pressure, hoping that there is some kind of a secret compartment that can be opened. If this yields no results, I take the painting off the wall and examine its back.

>>19633
You don't seem to find anything interesting. The painting is far too heavy to lift but you can tilt it and see nothing behind at least.

Reiko speaks up, "If we take the note literally it reads "Fox's Wedding", in other words a sunshower."

"Sunshower?" Taiga asks.

"It is a phenomenon where the sun is able to shine while it rains, unlike normally when it is blocked by the clouds. The fox came from superstitious stories."

"Are any of you familiar with a man named Kinjo Goldbar?" Asks Kizami.

>>19635
"Goldbar? Wasn't he that detective or something?" Taiga questions.

"Ah yes Kinjo Goldbar. I remember when his father was making a name for himself. If I recall Kinjo went missing too..."

It seems like everyone more or less knows the name.

"I studied a lot of his work." Continues Kizami.
"And I am pretty certain the note we found is in his handwriting. I think this note was his message to someone. The question is who..."

Kizami pauses then adds: "By the way, Mr. Kato, you wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of Mr. Heisuke, would you? It seems he's quite good at staying out of sight."

>>19637
"I think I saw him a moment ago," Kato says.

BGM: Strange Client

At that moment the group can hear some arguing coming from one of the room down on the first floor.

"Maybe it is karma for taking pictures without permission!" you hear Yasunori yell.

"There is no way it could just roll off and just happen to fall in the flame you lair!" Aoi shouts right back. At that time you hear one of the doors roughly open and the two of them enter the hall.

"Well that doesn't mean it was my fault now does it? To get so worked up over a single film, get over it."

"That's not the point!" Aoi retorts.

As they bring it into the hall Kato takes the stand and tries to suss things out. "Come on now, what seems to be the problem."

"This girl is accusing me of burning her stupid film," Yasunori explains. Following this more information was asked of Aoi.

"I had to swap films so I put the full one down on the kitchen counter, but I forgot to pick it back up after switching. When I was in the freezer I smelt something plastic so I ran back and, 'poof' all melted and burnt."

"Your film was destroyed, Miss Aoi? That's rather unfortunate. I don't suppose you could give a list of the things you took pictures of? I know some of it were the various paintings..."

>>19639
"It was mostly of the building, nothing I can't replace. But the fact it got burnt in the first place pisses me off,"

"Where did the flame even come from?" Takumi questions.

"There is a gas powered burner in the kitchen," says Kato.

"I've got it. Kato you probably just forgot to turn it off when you were testing it," Yasunori says with a slight smirk, "Aoi wasn't in the room at the time so she wouldn't have noticed."

"Oh well... I'm not sure. I suppose I could have," Kato says dubiously.

"There you have it," Yasunori concludes. Aoi doesn't look happy about it but doesn't seem to be able to argue back.

"I have an idea!" Exclaims Kizami suddenly. "In order to cheer up Miss Aoi, what do you say we all take a group picture in front of the portrait?"

>>19641
As you go to speak to everyone you notice Reiko doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight. Taiga also notices this, "Woah where did she go?"

"Up here," suddenly calls down from the across the mansion. On the second floor coming out of the study you explored, Reiko waves while resting on the railing.

"I tried not to interrupt your dispute, but I think now would be a good time to tell you that I've started solving the puzzle."

The group kind mumbled a bit unsure. "Puzzle? What puzzle?" Taiga calls out.

"The painting and that note. I just confirmed that for whatever reason there is a puzzle here in the mansion to solve with those clues," she says while starting to walk to another room, "Oh, but if you want to solve it yourself I suggest not leaving the hall. It will become rather obvious if you check what I was doing."

As she finishes she enters one of the rooms on the other side of the second floor out of sight.

"Are you fine with that?" Takumi asks Taiga, "She seems to be beating you."

"Oh... yeah... But puzzle? What sort of puzzle is she talking about?" he mumbles looking up at the portrait.

Yasunori seems to not care about solving it and walks up clearly heading to the study once again.

Aoi and Kato also start to ponder the situation.

"Something in this hall then?" Kizami takes a look around. "Anyone got any ideas? Perhaps it's something to do with the paintings? Or the taxidermy?"

>>19643
"Well she keeps going between rooms and doing something," Aoi says while Reiko does that again.

"Yeah it must have to do with the paintings or these animals," Taiga says while scratching his head.

"I think she meant only this painting right? So perhaps that was just a part of the puzzle," Takumi suggests.

"She said sunshower... If that is the train of thought she used then what does that give us? Cloud... Rain... Sun..." Kato mumbles.

"Maybe a rainbow? Those happen during sunshowers sometimes, right? Could she be checking the animals in order of their colors related to the order of colors in the rainbow?" Kizami makes a shot in the dark.

>>19645
"Bingo," Reiko says as she comes out of another room. "There is a button under all the rooster's feet that can be clicked in. But if you click it out of order they all reset. ROYGBIV."

Yasunori seems a bit perturbed but confirms he found a button under the rooster in the study as he went to go check.

"Nice thinking Kizami," Kato says enthusiastically while patting you on the back.

"So what exactly did it do then?" Aoi asks.

"There is one more left, the one in the living room." Reiko explains. "Shall we go and find out?"

"Let's." Says Kizami and follows Reiko to the living room.

>>19647
Everyone heads to the living room and locates the violet hued rooster in front of the portrait. Without much pause Reiko presses the button and everyone waits for a response. With a few people gazing around the room it didn't take long for a change to be noticed. The portrait behind the rooster was of a couple and two red glows appeared on the chest of the women. It seems two buttons were built in to shine through the portrait in that spot.

"Well that's just..." Kato tries to say but is kinda dumbfounded.

"Isn't that Okazaki himself?" Takumi asks. Sure enough the main the the portrait is Okazaki, nobody can say who the women is however.

Seemingly unphased by this Reiko pushes the two buttons with a solid click. After a few moments of silence a sudden shattering noise shakes the room. It wasn't just the noise, but the room itself seems to be shaking. Slowly to the left of the portrait a seam appears and that whole section of the floor starts to pull away. With ear numbing movements the floor tries to pull away, stuttering each few inches from neglect. Finally it seems to stop halfway open. A staircase leads into a dark hallway going down into the ground under the house. With a pop and a flash the hall is lit up and lights on the ceiling of the hallway turn on. The ones in the mansion remain the same however.

"A generator perhaps?" Reiko theorizes as she examines the new entrance.

Aoi already has her camera in motion taking pictures, "An actual hidden passage! Now this is something."

"What a nice find! It probably has many uses." Remarks Kizami. "After you, Miss Reiko, you get to do the honors."

>>19649
Without complaints Reiko heads in while ducking her head. Kato, Yasunori and yourself head in right afterwards.

At this point however Taiga seems to be next, yet doesn't move. "Hey wait, maybe we should-" However Aoi bumps into him and he rolls down into the passage. Aoi and Takumi follow immediately afterwards.

"Oops, sorry about that," Aoi says trying to see if he is alright while he holds his head in pain.

"Gah, I'm fine."

Suddenly the sound of whatever was opening the door grinds to a halt. The entrance slams shut. A quick glance at the surroundings tells you that there is now no way but deeper into the depths.

"Do you suppose we'll find Mr. Okazaki's skeleton down here? Perhaps this is how he went missing." Suggests Kizami.

>>19651
BGM: Feel Uneasy

After the doors closed some of the others check to see if it was as everyone expected. Indeed the entrance wouldn't budge.

"Ugh stop," Aoi says grossed out by your comment, "If there is a body down here you guys can handle it."

"Perhaps Goldbar is down here too," Takumi points out.

"Well first thing first is to find a way out," says Kato. "This can't be the only way in."

With that said the group presses forward into the underground area. The place certain feels long deserted, with stagnant air and cool temperature. The long white hall continued straight for a minute before an intersection appears in the distance. From the intersection directly forward there is a door on the right wall and another intersection further beyond. To the left and right it seems the hallways turn in other directions.

"This place is like a maze," Takumi mumbles. The group more or less automatically checks the door first but to no luck.

"Interesting," Reiko comments. "There is a fingerprint scanner here." Sure enough the door seemed to have been specifically made to fit a fingerprint scanner for the lock. Further down the second intersection appears to be a more lavishly decorated red hallway.

"You can get through simple structured mazes by sticking to one wall and following it through until the other side. That of course assumes there is an exit and that it's a simple enough maze. We should stick together. And if the intersections become too numerous, we should try that wall tracing method." Advises Kizami. "For now, perhaps we should check out that red hallway."

Last edited at 16/06/17(Fri)17:40:50

>>19653
The group moves up to the second intersection and can get a better look at the red hallway. It seems similar to the halls upstairs and continues to a large room in the distance without any doors. There is a small ceiling light in the hallway that is off and unlike the rest of the lights.

To the left and right are two more halls similar to the ones in the last and at the end connect to different halls perpendicular to it. Judging from the length you wouldn't be surprised if the other halls just turned and connected to each of these. Halfway down the left hall is a set of double doors that are open unlike the last. A small sign above those doors indicates that inside are bathrooms and a waiting area.

"Ah a washroom. If we can, let's go here first," Kato asks of the group being in need of the facilities.
Inside of the waiting room is rather similar to the mansion, nicely furnished with comfy chairs and tables all around. The room walls are covered in red curtains all around. In the back of the room there appears to be several doors that lead to bathrooms, where Kato excuses himself. In the corner there is a bar seemingly still fully stocked.

Reiko is currently looking at one of the rooms herself but hasn't completely entered. Aoi is taking pictures of the hallways. Taiga and Takumi are looking around the tables. Yasunori is looking at the line of liquors.

I use this time to try to recall the details of my contact emails with Kato. I am interested in my memory conjuring up the gist of the conversation exchange I had with him and what kind of info I provided him with.

>>19655
You recall that you pretty much just sent an email to him saying you were interesting in joining. He responded with enthusiasm and gave you the time and place of the meeting.

As you are thinking back you hear some of the others saying something. "What is that Aoi?" says Takumi. Over by one of the tables Aoi seems to have picked something off the ground. It looks like some clear plastic bottle with a small label.

"I dunno. Some sort of drink or something, here," she lobs it over to Taiga and he raises his arms up but stops halfway and it flies straight past his hands and hits him straight in the face.

"Oh god I'm sorry," Aoi quickly apologies.

"It's fine don't worry," Taiga says rubbing his nose. Takumi picks up the bottle and after checking on Taiga, looks closer at it. "Hmm, looks just like water but it could be some chemical."

Kizami licks the bottle eyes Taiga curiously. "What does the label on it say?" He asks.

>>19657
Taiga seems still off put from the hit to his face, as he continues to rub his nose.

Takumi says,"It just says '#17' on it." He puts it out in front of himself and away from everyone else and unscrews the lid carefully. Nothing surprising happens, so he continues and uses his hand to try and scoop the air from the bottle to near his nose in order to smell.

"I think... I think its just some sort of nutrient drink. It smells kinda like the kind you can buy at the store, but much more dusty."

"Why label a nutrient drink this way though? Perhaps they were conducting some sort of culinary experiments and this was attempt #17!"

>>19659
"Good question," Takumi agrees, "I don't think we should try drinking it at least. Even if it was good then might have spoiled by now." Takumi brings the bottle with him for now.

Kato exits the bathroom and joins the rest of the group again. The bottle is discussed but the other don't bring any new information in regards to it. "Shall we continue down that red hallway?" Kato suggests.

"Yeah, let's proceed."

>>19661
The room at the end of the red hallway matches the way to it accordingly with bright red colors. It looks like a large theater. It is a large circular room with various seats and glass panes around. There are two other halls leading into this room, a blue one on the right and a green one on the left. In the middle of the room is a stage that stretches out from the back of the room and into the middle as a long walkway. Above the stage is a level with some additional seats. In the middle of the ceiling is a large an ornate chandelier. On the main part of the stage curtains are only partially drawn and you can see an area in the back.

"Well now isn't this something," Kato comments looking up and around the whole room.

In most parts of the room and theater boxes you notice are covered in heavily tinted glass. You aren't sure you would even be able to tell if anyone was sitting inside one of the seats given how dark it is. Reiko seems more interested in the halls leading out and walks over to check them while the main group continues to look around.

Kizami walks up to Kato. "Mr. Kato do you remember how in my email to you I said that if the investigation took a surprising turn of events I was going to make a request? I'm wondering if you would hear me make this request now."

>>19663
"Er, when was this? Did you send one right before you came here? I'm afraid I haven't read it if that was the case, so I don't quite know what are you talking about."

"I see. Then feel free to disregard what I just said. My apologies." Kizami decides to go join Reiko on her investigation of the halls.

"I guess the stage doesn't look particularly impressive to you, does it, Miss Reiko?" He tries to start a conversation.

>>19665
You find Reiko coming back from the second hall she checked.

"I wanted to see if the layout was as it appeared. I have a good idea of the area now."

She explains to you, and the group, what it looks like.

"It seems like this isn't a big area. In this case, it's probably safe to split up. Let's check the areas and rooms we haven't been to yet and then meet up back by the stage to discuss our findings." Suggests Kizami. "Who wants to go where?"

Last edited at 16/06/18(Sat)15:16:54

>>19667
Seems nobody is disagreeing.

"This theater area interests me," says Reiko.

"I think there were a few corners we couldn't see, I'll take the right one!" Aoi quickly says.

Yasunori pushes up his glasses and takes his pick. "The other corner works for me, but first I need to go to the bathroom as well."

"Then... the closest room in the green hall will be mine," Kato says with a smile.

"I will try that door past where Kato is close to the waiting room," Takumi concludes.

"The door down the blue hall I guess," says Taiga.

"Do you mind if I keep you company, Mr. Heisuke? I need to go to the bathroom too and then we can check out that corner together."

>>19669
"...Suit yourself," he says after giving what seemed like an annoyed look.

Everyone heads off, and Yasunori heads to the waiting room. Once inside the waiting room he heads over to one of the five bathroom doors.

Kizami picks one of the other bathroom doors. When both of them are done and begin heading to the corner, Kizami asks a question. "So Mr. Heisuke, have you been to this mansion before?"

>>19671
You go to the bathroom and do your business. Leaving the door you step out into the empty waiting room. Seems like Yasunori isn't done yet.

What a perfect time for questioning! Kizami patiently waits for him to finish.