So, yesterday was… a thing. Misaki called, dragged me to a fancy cafe (thanks for ruining my Sunday, by the way), and then roped me into figuring out what really went down in 1884 during that whole clan merger business.
She'd also filled Amae in on the whole situation. He might not always *look* like it, but that encyclopedia of useless knowledge he calls a brain is actually pretty handy in situations like this. He was probably going to be a real help, whether I liked it or not.
"...I see what you're saying…" Amae murmured, after Misaki laid out all the details. He adopted his usual thinking pose – head tilted back, eyes glued to the ceiling as if the answers were written up there in invisible ink.
"Yep! Let's figure out what happened in May 1884, when the three clans were merged!" he declared, after another couple of seconds of intense ceiling-gazing.
And just like that, the "Clan Merger Investigation Group" was officially formed. Lame name, to be honest. At that point, I had absolutely no idea where this whole thing was going to lead.
It was June, and summer was already in full, sweltering swing. The constant *weezz, wezz* of insects was the soundtrack to our lives. Just stepping outside felt like walking directly onto the devil's personal frying pan. The wind didn't blow much in this town, mostly because it was completely hemmed in by hills, a 360-degree heat trap.
So, with nothing else to do, the three of us gathered around our rectangular table (that we stubbornly referred to as a round table) and began our… chit-chat. No, wait, *meeting*. Right. Serious business.
Yesterday, Misaki hadn't really gone into a ton of detail; she was mostly focused on convincing me to join her little quest. So, I figured the logical place to start was by pooling everything we actually knew.
I spoke first, looking at Misaki. "We should probably start by gathering everything we have." A clear message for her to take the lead. She picked up on it and launched in.
"Yes, so we found this old record from 1884…" She was doing pretty well, actually. Confident.
"It says, 'May, 1884: lThey destroyed us'."
Amae and I both nodded, listening intently.
"Our goal is to find out what that means, and what exactly happened in 1884."
"Our suspicion," she continued, her voice firm, "is that the merger of the Miro, Fukube, and Hanbe clans was not done willingly."
And with that, her grand speech concluded, and we were right back to… not knowing what the heck to do next. If only we had a single, solitary clue, then maybe we could actually *do* something.
Then, suddenly, a metaphorical lightbulb flickered on above Amae's head. It looked like he'd actually found something useful in that not-so-useless encyclopedia of his. He spilled the beans, and it turned out to be a pretty big bean.
"Well, I think… if I'm not mistaken… I saw a document titled something like 'The Merger of Three Clans, by CMS'."
He stated what he remembered. I couldn't help but wonder where he'd seen it. That was definitely a question worth asking.
"Where did you see it?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Well, in the archives room," he replied. "I was helping Chizuru. She's volunteering as a librarian now."
*Chizuru?* Huh. It had been a while since I'd last seen her. She and Amae had… well, let's just say an *interesting* relationship. If we could get our hands on that document, it could simplify things for us quite a bit.
"I see," I declared, suddenly feeling like I was in charge of this whole investigation thing. "So, we're heading there."
A little part of me, the sensible part, was screaming to just sit back and watch. And that's pretty much what I'd been doing up until now. But it seemed like I actually had to *act* this time. Ugh.
We trudged over to the library. It wasn't long before we reached it. And damn, another 60 steps wasted. Why was this school so ridiculously big?
"I guess Chizuru should be on duty today," Amae said, just before we stepped inside. And he was right. The person sitting at the counter was none other than Chizuru herself.
She welcomed us – or, more accurately, she welcomed *Amae*. "Oh, hi! What brings you here?" she said, perched at her counter like any responsible, slightly flustered-by-Amae's-presence librarian would.
The library itself wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either. If I had to guess, it was probably the size of four classrooms put together. The bookshelves were lined up vertically from the back of the hall, and the seating area was near the counter and the exit. The wall opposite the counter was almost entirely made up of long windows, flooding the place with light.
"Ah, right. We're here to see a document. Can you help us out?" Amae answered Chizuru's question. He was doing all the talking for us, while Misaki and I stood behind him like his personal bodyguards. Or maybe his loyal servants.
"...A document? Care to share some details? The title or year, maybe? I can help. I've been working here for a while now," Chizuru answered, being incredibly nice. All thanks to Amae, of course. Chizuru could never really say no to him, for… interesting reasons.
"Yeah, it's titled something like 'Merger of Clans'," Amae replied, stating our needs.
Seeing Chizuru being so sweet to Amae naturally made our Lady Misaki curious. She leaned towards me and whispered, "What's his relationship with her?"
I leaned in too, whispering back the juicy gossip. "Chizuru's had a massive crush on him since middle school."
Misaki's eyes widened in surprise. She flinched back a little, glancing between them, but she managed to compose herself pretty quickly.
Chizuru repeated Amae's request, looking a bit clueless, which was understandable. This wasn't some book you'd find on the regular shelves; this was buried deep in the dusty, forgotten land of the archives.
"Well, you probably wouldn't know it," Amae said. "It's in the archives. We need access to the school archives." He was getting straight to the point now.
He was handling the talking like a pro, while we continued our roles as his silent, vaguely menacing entourage.
Then, a bit of a letdown. A roadblock.
"Sorry," Chizuru said, her brow furrowing, "but the archives have been locked for some time now. I don't think they'll let you in just like that." Our first obstacle. Great.
She continued, "If you like, I can ask the head librarian." But then, a glimmer of hope! It turned out she was on our side. Or, at least, on *Amae's* side. The old saying is true, I guess: love really does make you blind.
"That would be a great help if you could," Amae said, his voice dripping with gratitude. He was laying it on thick, like some smooth-talking negotiator from a TV show. I had no idea he could be such a smooth talker. He definitely never talked like that to *me*.
"Okay, please wait," she said. "The head librarian is in a meeting right now. It'll probably take about thirty minutes." A thirty-minute wait. Amae had already practically agreed, so I didn't really have a choice. And even if I *wanted* to bail and come back another day, the rain that had just started pouring outside, drumming against the library windows, wasn't going to let me. Guess my only option was to wait…
"You can enjoy yourselves reading something over there," she continued, gesturing with an open hand towards an empty, family-sized table.
We settled down at the table. I, naturally, claimed the corner seat. I pulled out the mini light novel I'd been reading last night – I always kept one in my bag for exactly these kinds of boring situations.
Amae and Misaki, on the other hand, were like kids in a candy store, exploring all kinds of books, from thick encyclopedias to colorful picture books.
Chizuru eventually joined them, and you know what happens when three curious minds get together, right?
Their chit-chat began. At first, they were just talking about some of their favorite books. Then, somewhere along the way, *I* popped up in their conversation.
Chizuru: "Is Kyo really as smart as you say?"
Amae: "You bet he is! He has his screws loose sometimes, sure, but other than that, he's a genius."
Misaki backed him up. "Yes, it's true! I've seen it myself!"
Chizuru looked at them with skeptical eyes, then her gaze shifted to me, still buried in my book. Then, she declared:
"Looks like a lazy, good-for-nothing boy to me," she said, staring at me with those sharp, doubtful eyes.
Actually, I thought, that was a pretty accurate description of me. Spot on, even.
Then Amae, ever the showman, challenged her. "Well, if you're *that* skeptical, why don't you try for yourself?"
He continued, his voice practically dripping with provocation. "Give Kyo any mystery you can think of. If he can't logically solve it, then you win." He really should have been a diplomat. Or a con artist.
And why, oh why, was he making challenges on my behalf without even *asking* me? I'd only agreed to help Misaki with her family history. This was *not* part of the deal.
Chizuru accepted instantly. I could see the fire in her eyes. She was determined to prove I wasn't smart at all. And, truth be told? I was kind of on her side.