Entertaining a Small Thought

Prologue Arc Part 2: The Strange Oddities of Perceived Normality

Credit to LazyWriterDude on Fanfiction Net for the Rin spirit in this image.

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"Grrrr!" I growled as I pulled as hard as I could. However, even after a minute of pulling with all my strength, I was forced to relent as I shot an annoyed glare at my foe. "Stupid locked door..."

Yes, my adversary was a locked door. One with a very strange design. The door, unlike the door to the classroom Tsumugi and I had woken up in, did not look ordinary, nor did it look like it belonged in a school. The door was painted to look like piano keys, and there was a sign above it that read 'Ultimate Research Lab'. With a design like that, I had thought it was a music room of some kind, but the sign made me more suspicious of it than I normally would have.

However, when I tried to open the door, it was locked. No matter how hard I tried, the door wouldn't budge.

Soon after that first attempt, the Monokubs arrived and explained that this door was for an Ultimate Research Lab. Research Labs are apparently rooms made for specific individuals to help hone their specific talent, so this room, which appears to be a music room, must be for someone with a musical talent. Most likely a pianist, judging from the design of the door.

Unfortunately, the kubs said that no one could access the available labs yet since they weren't done before they left. It was disappointing to hear, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! Stubbornly (definitely not stupidly), I decided to try to break down the door in an attempt to get in to see if there were any useful clues inside.

Why would they have a highly specialized room be so visible and open to see if they weren't finished making it? The cubs might be lying about the room not being finished, and they might be hiding something in the room they locked. If that's the case, I had to try to get in.

Tsumugi had tried to dissuade me from trying, but she eventually relented when she saw I wasn't listening, deciding to stand to the side and watch me essentially bash my head against the door in order to open it with an amused look on her face.

Sadly, it would seem I lack the physical strength to break down the door, as well as the knowledge and skill to undo the lock.

"Eh...It was worth a shot." I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. "Guess we'll have to wait until the kubs tell us we can use the labs."

"I told you..." Tsumugi let out a little laugh.

"I know, I know, but at least we know for certain now." I defended myself with a sheepish look.

"Yeah, after rolling nat ones for all your stat checks..." Tsumugi mumbled.

"Not my fault the dice given to me were weighted against me. Whoever our dm is is clearly rigging the game in their favor." I replied with a heavy sigh.

I didn't catch the way Tsumugi beamed at my seamless reply to her joke and how I made my own in response. If I had, I might have realized I had given her more evidence of her theory of me being 'one of her people'.

Regarding the locked door, I didn't like having to rely on those bears, but there was no other option. Whatever clues to our situation that might be in these labs are out of our reach, and when we finally can enter the labs, the kubs will have most likely gotten rid of them. Unfortunate, but nothing can be done about it, I suppose.

"Well, if we can't get into this research lab, we have no choice but to keep exploring," Tsumugi told me.

"Yeah. There's nothing else here other than those classrooms, so let's move on." I nodded.

The two of us moved down the grassy hallway, taking in the strange sight of the school's interior that had been overtaken by nature.

"It's so strange. This is supposed to be a school, but it's so run down..." Tsumugi frowned as she looked around as we walked side-by-side. "There are so many weeds growing, and plants are growing out of cracks in the walls and floors. Even the ceilings..."