Monday morning, the start of the week, and four days left before the Hanabira High School Welcoming Festival began. Kyoyota Arianagi woke up and got dressed, combed down his messy black hair, and ate breakfast. He was pretty excited for today because during lunch he would be able to test his chess knowledge, a game that he had spent over eight hours of his weekend studying.
The school felt more alive this early in the morning. With everyone getting ready for the festival, there were people at the front of the gate setting up a sign, and even more just past the gate. There were also people in the gym and fields setting things up as well. Getting to school, he was greeted by Yuuki, who had a nice rejuvenating weekend after reading some funny titled romance books. Going to class, he saw people setting up classrooms, such as the haunted house, it all felt busy.
Kyo then walked to his homeroom class and sat behind Kimori Tora. Who greeted him as usual, but was more upbeat, like more life than usual had been breathed into him."Did something good happen over the weekend, Kimori?" Kyo said wondering why his friend was so sunshine-and-rainbows this morning. Kimori didn't realize how happy sharing a secret with Shino Akino - the Vice President of the school, would make him. "Oh, um, yeah, I learned a new trick in badminton, and I can't wait to try it out!"
Kimori was only one/third lying. While waiting for Shino Akino to get off of work, he was watching pro badminton videos and did see a new trick that he wanted to try, but it was one that he had actually learned, or even pulled off yet. The other portion of the lie, was of course, that Shino Akino works at a maid cafe, and was the only person in school, other than herself who knew. So yes, a one-third lie, a majority lie, but with a hint of truth, making it so Kyo did not press further.
Throughout the day, in between classes, Kyo saw students and faculty running rampant trying to get some minor task completed before class started.
During lunch was the busiest time, since this was the longest break in the day where students could get the most done. Kyo, was no exception, especially after agreeing to help out the board game club.
When lunch began, he texted Yuuki, saying that he was going to be busy this week, and would not be able to make it to their lunch hang outs. Kyo tacked on that he would explain in the student council meeting today after school why that was the case. This saddened Yuuki, who was now accustomed to their daily lunches together, but given what week it was, she understood, and that was her response. "I understand."
Kyo then went to the board game club room, this time, no one was there. No gimmick at the door to be let in, no free-spirited president - Asobu Shosha, minus the shelves, games, desk, and chairs, it was now just a plain room. This was the first time Kyo had seen it like this. Then he heard footsteps behind him, it was the president of the knitting club - Amimono Monono. "Oh, Kyo, are you busy?" She said out of breath, like she was in a hurry.
Kyo, being a member of the student council, he was a helper for all clubs in the school. That was his role during the Welcoming Festival. His initial response was going to be a "no" since he was looking for the board game club, however, he figured this took priority. "Yes, what's up?"
"The top hat the theater club ordered, has gone missing!"
The theater club was putting on the play - Jekyll and Hyde. A famous British novella, later became a play script, that is over one hundred years old. The play follows a man named Dr. Henry Jekyll who creates a potion to separate his good and evil selves. Ultimately transforming him into the evil Mr. Hyde. Jekyll's alternative self eventually commits a brutal murder, leading to his loss of control over the transformations. Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner then investigates the case of the murder.
Despite being a timeless piece, a thing that has survived through history into the modern day, the theater club wanted to keep the England style look to it. Meaning the actors would be wearing suits and trench coats. The way they would show to the audience if the actor playing the main character of the tale, was Jekyll or Hyde, was through the top hat (along with the acting and lighting). If the lead had the hat on, he was Dr. Jekyll, and if the hat was off, he was Mr. Hyde. Meaning the center piece was the top hat. With all of that being said, it was Kyo who had delivered this item … kind of.
The art club, who was helping the theater club, said they would give them the top hat in his stead. At first, he felt as though he had made a miscalculation, like the item having gone missing was on him.
However, she continued after catching her breath, "Allow me to explain what happened in detail.The art club dropped the top hat off last week, and today the lead actor tried it on. He then took it to the bathroom to see how it looked and to make sure it looked right. Apparently he took it off to fix his hair, and walked out of the bathroom, leaving the top hat behind. When the club asked him where he put it, he realized and went back to the bathroom, but when he went back, the top hat was gone. They started asking around if anyone had seen it, so here I am." Amimono Monono almost winded.
Kyo thought for a moment, did someone take it? Who would steal a top hat? Maybe it wasn't where he left it in the bathroom - no, he certainly would have looked all over the bathroom. "Right, I will help ask around and keep an eye out. I know who to ask for this kind of stuff." Kyo finally said after reaching a partial conclusion.
"Really? Thank you Kyo." Amimono Monono said with a small bow before continuing her search. Kyo then headed to the basement of Hanabira High School and to the furthest club away from the stairwell. Towards the Witchcraft club. Kyo then walked in, disappearing into the darkness.
…
Simply "entering into the darkness" was him walking into the dimly lit club room. The other members of the Witchcraft club were helping out the Science club in preparation for the festival. However, something, perhaps instinct, told Kyo that Kuroshi - president of the Witchcraft club - was inside her domain. Sure enough, she was standing in the center of the room, as if waiting for someone.
The reason Kyoyota Arianagi went here, would be shocking to most people, that reason being that he actually believed in divinations. Things like tarot card readings, dowsing rods, ouija boards, and the like. Although he did view all of these as tools, and their answers were vague, he believed it to be a starting point.
"What brings you into my domain, child of the darkened rooms?"
Kyo, having finally gotten used to being called this strange nickname that he received out of nowhere, answered in earnest, "I am here for a divination, to find a lost item."
Again, to most people, this news would be shocking, but something, perhaps instinct, told Doku Kuroshi that Kyo was someone like her. Not the crazy chunibyo side, but the side that believed in the powers of beyond. "As expected, I knew sooner or later that you would seek my guidance. Then let us begin, servant."
Kuroshi stepped to the right, off of the rug that was also in the center of the room, then pulled, or rather, dragged the rug over to the right wall. Beneath the rug was a symbol, a giant pentagram encased in a circle, drawn in all black. The top of each point on the star was a circle, large enough for anyone to sit down, making it so they too would be encased in a circle. It was circle-seption, when you broke it down.
"Sit wherever the devil guides you." Kuroshi said to the confused Kyo who had never seen a symbol like this before, and questioned if this was against school rules. From the top of the pentagram, Kyo sat down on the right corner, three points down, or the second point, depending on how one drew the pentagram. Kuroshi sat in the middle, facing towards the bottom of the star, Kyo was in her line of sight, but she was not focused on him. She then pulled out a deck of tarot cards.
"Now, shuffle this deck, and repeat three times, what it is that you want. Do this aloud."
Kyo took the deck then started to shuffle until the cards felt right. Waiting for the stars to align, so to speak. While doing this, Kyo said aloud, "where is the top hat the theater club left in the boys bathroom." The way he shuffled was known as the weave shuffle. This style of shuffling consisted of sliding two halves of the deck together such that they weave together with cards from both piles integrating into a single pile. This was because the tarot cards were too thick to bridge, and he did not want to damage them. When he finished both repeating the question over and over, and when the cards felt right, he placed them down, in the middle between him and Kuroshi.
Kuroshi then said, "Now child of the darkened rooms, split the deck however which way you like, then choose which side represents which. One side will be where the item was, and the other is where the item is now. Then flip the top card of each deck over. From there I will interpret what the Gods say upon you."
Kyo did exactly that. Of the seventy eight cards in the deck, Kyo split the deck, with fifty six cards in one pile, and twenty two cards in the other pile. Kyo assigned the right pile, the one with fifty six cards as the one where the card was, and the twenty two card pile as the latter option. Then he flipped the top card of each pile over.
Where the item was - Judgement. Kurumi looked upon the upright judgement, it was reversed for her, but for Kyo, it was right-side-up. Where the item is now - Seven of Cups. Again, right-side-up.
Kurumi looked upon these cards, then gave her explanation. "Indeed, tis as those above point out. Judgment means cleansing, ironic!! Ahahaha. Usually this means spiritual cleaning, but in this instant, it means cleaning, as in, the bathroom.!" She then looked at the Seven of Cups. "This one is just as ironic as the first! It means wishful thinking, illusion, or fantasy. However, I deem the Gods are saying that it is not where it might seem, but close to. Yes, yes indeed, it's an illusion." There was a pause, it was not a silent pause, but a cackle, a cynical laugh, a revelation.
"Child of the darkrooms, your item, the hat that the fools wears! This magical item is in a place that you, or rather, your kind, cannot go to. I shall fetch it for you, and in return, ye shall owe me one."
Kyo was smart, he was even able to (usually) understand what Kurumi was thinking. However, this one left him puzzled. My kind? We are all human. Kyo thought. "Right Goddess of Darkness, as your humble servant, I ask that you please set out on this dangerous quest, and in return, I shall do whatever you may ask of me. As long as it is within my power to do so!" Kyo gave in and announced this.
For some reason, he could only do this with Kurumi. It would be too embarrassing had anyone else seen him. He was met with a cackle once more, then she got up and walked out of the room. Kyo, cleaned up the mess. Putting the tarot cards back into their box and dragging the rug back over the symbol. Then the bell - signaling the end of lunch, had rang. Kyo marched towards his P.E class.
…
After school, Kyoyota Arianagi had to attend a student council meeting. So although he really wanted to ask someone, like Kurumi or Amimono Monono, about what had come from the top hat situation. Kyo was forced to wait. Everyone was where they usually were, with Kyo sitting next to Miura Nora.
"We spoke last week about how we would help out and devised a plan for the Welcoming Festival. So first off, are there any questions regarding that matter? Now that we have all had time to digest the information." Yuuki said in her student council president voice.
"I have two things. On Saturday, during the festival, I am helping out the board game club with their event. Afterwards, I was wondering if I could take the rest of that day off?"
This piqued the interest of those in the room. Except for Mr. Nyuga. "Does someone have a date?" Shino said, teasing Kyo. But he shook his head, "my little sister is going to visit the school that day and I haven't seen her in a while, I was hoping to get the chance to show her around Hanabira High." Kyo said in an honest forward way. This was shocking to everyone as well, with the thought of how does one go without seeing their kid sister for a while as a high school student or something to that effect.
"That should be fine. You will still be walking around school grounds after all. Which is kind of what we are all going to be doing anyway." Yuuki nodded, granting Kyo his leave of absence, on Saturday, after 2pm.
Ryuji also took this opportunity to ask about breaks, since he wanted to spend time with his girlfriend. Their role was to wonder, so as long as they did not leave school grounds, and moved from one club event to another in a timely manner, then they were doing their job. Yuuki explained. Essentially, for the student council, the entire Welcoming Festival was a break, unless someone needed assistance. Such as the board game club.
The meeting ended off without a hitch. Mainly it was to discuss any new developments and questions about the meeting from last week. Although there were a few clarifying questions and the things Kyo mentioned, there was nothing particularly special to talk about. With the meeting adjourned, Kyo went back down to the basement, and into the Witchcraft club room.
…
As Kyo entered the room, he saw two people. Komi Kuroshi and Amimono Monono. Kuroshi was wearing the theater club's currently lost item, the pure black top hat, atop her head. And the president of the knitting club, Amimono, was begging for it back. They were arguing. Amimono didn't seem like the type to raise her voice, considering how she preferred pointing and waving over talking loudly like she did in her club room, but this time she was begging for the item back while running after her. The two were running in circles. Like a dog chasing its own tail.
"My servant will be back here soon enough to fetch this item, if I were to hand it over to the likes of you, then the confusion would only increase, reaching all the way to the 10th layer of hell!!" Kuroshi said, not noticing that her 'servant' had returned.
"The likes of me? What does that even mean? I am just trying to hand it back to the theater club, there won't be any more confusion after that!" Amimono protested.
Kyo thought for a moment, then realized the concern with just giving the top hat back to Amimono. Everyone in the theater club was scavenging the school for this one item. Even if the item was dropped off, they wouldn't know until later, then there were concerns with 'how' Kuroshi had even ended up with the top hat.
There would no doubt be questions, ones that she did not want to answer. She could act strange in front of a few people, sure, but a whole club that was not her own? That was a big ask. However, if Kyo retrieved the item, he could inform the school via the student council broadcasting system, and get someone from the theater club to come get the item. Essentially cutting out the middle man.
Amimono couldn't follow this line of reasoning, only because it was Kuroshi who was making it difficult by not explaining the entire issue. Even after Kyo laid it out in his mind, there were still holes in the line of reasoning. In any case, the concern was that Kyoyota Arianagi's presence still hadn't been known.
"U-uhm! Goddess of Darkness, I am here for my magic item that I have been searching an eternity for." Kyo said, a bit awkward, since Amimono was present.
"See, I told you that my servant would be here soon enough to collect his item."
…
After explaining the reasoning of Kuroshi to Amimono, she seemed more accepting. Kuroshi was happy, in fact she had a big smile on her face, then handed the top hat over to Kyo. He then asked, "was it where I think it was?"
"Indeed it was, very astute of you child of the dark rooms."
Amimono was lost, confused, "Wait, where was the top hat to begin with?"
"The women's restroom" Kyo said as though it was obvious. Looking back, it was. The lead actor did leave it in a restroom, and it was where he said it would be, but he had somehow mistaken the men's bathroom for the women's bathroom. Hanabira High was a good school, so 99.9% of students wouldn't even dare steal the thing. Meaning, it had to be where the lead actor left it.
"A simple mistake really. I think everyone has made this mistake at least once in their lives." Kuroshi said. Kyo nodded, sure it was more common when you're a kid, but this was an honest mistake. However, Amimono was not impressed. "This whole mystery feels like a let down, it was only a mystery due to an honest mistake of not remembering where you were?"
"It was more a reason of not looking where one was headed … The bathroom doors were labeled 'male' and 'female' but if one were looking at a something else, like their outfit, or a script, then it becomes a fifty-fifty chance of which bathroom you end up in." Kyo remarked on the situation.
Amimono was dumbfounded, but gave up trying to get it, "I understand," she said before continuing. "I am just glad it was found, thank you, Kyo and Kuroshi."
"It was my pleasure," Kyo said with a small bow.
"Twas fun finding an item right under our noses, until next time." Kuroshi said, practically kicking them out of the classroom.
Amimono and Kyo walked up to the Student Council and made the all call, having someone from the theater club come up and retrieve the top hat. She thanked him again, and the two left school.
With that, the first day of preparations had come to an end.