Playing Detective

The Almost Apocalypse

It is just another day for the go hom—Detective Club. Rutile needs to get used to the new name, after having their club rebranded just so they can avoid getting banished from their school. Jade hangs their head low just beside them, and Euclase is nowhere to be seen yet again. They told the two they were out for a breather, and Rutile just lets them go. The air inside the clubroom is getting stuffy and dusty anyways.

They turn and asks Jade, "Why so gloomy?"

The latter answers with an indifferent tone, "Antarc died yesterday."

"Oh. I forgot."

–

"I've finally fulfilled the last requirement. Have three people in a group for the sacrifice. It should all be good, so then why wouldn't the spell work?..."

Euclase knits their eyebrows and frowns as they flip through the leatherback journal, setting it down after they've finished reading everything. They sigh, this could be troublesome. Thankfully the other two members don't seem to have caught any hints or had even the smallest bits of suspicion. They just have to make sure that fact remains unchanged.

"Now for the next one."

–

It's club activity time again, and two idiots are bored to death. They couldn't even be bothered to laze around anymore. Ever since yesterday's incident, the two, especially Rutile, have been quite on edge. "Jade, let's go snoop around. I'm bored," Rutile impatiently taps on the table. Jade responds by humming nonchalantly. "Where do you wanna go?"

–

The two discussed for a while, and this time without violence or any disagreement like they almost usually have before. They eventually came to an agreement to just walk around the school and see if anyone needs any help. They are the detective club, after all. Rutile takes the lead, hands comfortable in their pockets and Jade follows a few steps behind. If they could, the two would choose to go home instead of mindlessly wandering around the school until the last bell rings, but their school is too strict–even a club as useless as theirs is forced to stay, and go home at the same time as everyone else.

Jade breaks the silence, "Hey, don't you think we need a supervisor?"

"...Yeah. But Antarc was cool with just the three of us, right? They never asked for a supervisor. Maybe we should ask them about that sometime."

The shorter student facepalms, hard. "Rutile. Antarc is DEAD."

"Oh. My bad."

They walk down the corridors, looking at all the other students in their respective clubs. The chess club is smoking joints, the photography club is live streaming one of their members with the bright blue hair chugging ranch like there's no tomorrow, and just the sight of it makes Jade want to gag. The host club is nowhere to be seen. And the hockey–Wait, the host club is nowhere to be seen? "Where are the guys in the host club? They usually lounge around here." Jade points out the obvious.

"No clue. But it would be too much of a pain to look for them, so let's just leave it at that," The brunet scoffs as they keep walking, Jade standing in place for a while before they followed suit. They both head down the stairs, watching the basketball club's chaotic practice match just nearby. They pass the science lab with the door open just by a crack, when Rutile stops Jade right in their tracks. "What?"

"...I smell something weird." They turn their head left and right, searching for where the smell came from. "I think even the readers know where the smell came from. And where we're going next," Rutile states as a matter of factly. You know where it came from. I know you do. Jade and Rutile point their fingers at each other and say at the same time, "The lab."