One of the girls managed to take a step before Shuu stood up, stuffing the gift in his pocket. They quickly parted as he brushed past, staring after him. The girl who approached him was frozen, her eyes gazing ahead yet at nothing. Inaudible words escaped her lips as her concerned friends slowly inched towards her.
++++++++++++
Shuu stepped into the school corridors. Gazes and whispers began to drown his music, and with irritation, he was about to increase the volume from his earphones when a distance melody drifted across the hallway. Entranced by its beauty, he removed one of his earbuds and headed towards the sound of the piano.
Once he was out of sight, he teleported to the music room. To his predicament, Laito sat behind the piano, his fingers moving like flowing water behind the keys. Kanato stood beside him, eyebrow furrowed. He looked troubled, a rare case.
Shuu hesitated. He then slumped beside the shelf, and just as he was about to question, the door swung open and Ayato stepped in.
Laito's finger paused on a note. "Ah, did you get Reiji?"
"Yes, he did," said Reiji, walking in, "and in the most irksome manner, at that."
Ayato glared. Subaru walked through the door, scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry, I couldn't find that lazy—" He stopped when his eyes landed on the male next to the shelf.
Shuu raised a brow. "Yes?"
"Tch. Nevermind."
Kanato turned his head sharply. "What did you say?"
"Uh," said Subaru. "'Nevermind'?"
A slow smile spread across Kanato's face. "I got it. 'A place where one never grows up'—it's Neverland, isn't it?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ayato said. "And I thought Subaru's didn't make sense."
"Subaru's was solved?" asked Laito.
"Yep. It was gold."
Doubt flittered past Laito's eyes for a second. He then tilted his head and looked at the purple-haired male. "Reiji, you solved it didn't you."
"It was merely the atomic number 79 with the element symbol 'Au'."
Subaru grunted. "That explains it."
Laito hummed. "Chemistry. No wonder why you got it."
"'Gold', 'Neverland'..." Subaru listed. "What other clues have we got?"
"We haven't got Reiji's and Shuu's," said Kanato.
"'After blue and before violet'," Reiji recited, crossing his arms.
Shuu lazily waved a hand. "Mine's 'Useful for rainy days—though almost none of you use it'."
"None of you?" Laito repeated. "Is that referring to us?"
"That's..." Ayato began. Recognition flashed in his wide eyes.
"An umbrella." Shuu then yawned and stretched his arms above his head. "These gifts were probably all sent by the same person."
Laito placed a hand on his chin. "So 'umbrella', 'gold' and 'Neverland'. Well, we managed to solve half of them. That's a good start."
"Though, none of them make much sense," said Reiji, sighing.
As if wanting the mystery to remain unsolved, the bell rang, ending their conversation short. Shuu didn't move from his spot as the others began to leave. Subaru was the last, shaking his head as he shut the door behind him.
As he walked, the albino allowed his eyes to wonder before settling on a poster that took up almost a quarter of the bulletin board. It was about the upcoming school fair, unmissable as it was decorated with a splatter of bright colours and big, stylish fonts. A Ferris wheel was blurred in the background amidst a perfect blue sky, and at the corner of the poster was a perfect rainbow.
Subaru's eyes widened.
++++++++++++
Ayato's chin was propped in his palm, his green eyes sharp but elsewhere. The teacher had to compose himself, for it was one of the rare moments that Ayato's head wasn't on his desk, which meant that there would be no snores to disrupt his lesson.
He faced the whiteboard to hide his tears.
Near the back of the classroom, Laito was suffering in silent laughter. Kanato was simply looking at Ayato with a raised brow, but made no further comment. He then faced the front and boredly gazed at his trembling teacher, who thought no one would notice his emotional crisis.
Students were now staring. Some began whispering among the other, concerned, questioning his qualification or his choices of life. Others found it amusing, whilst a minority was annoyed. Some simply didn't know what to do. A few were in their own world.
The teacher eventually got himself together somehow and proceeded with his lesson.
Ayato furrowed his brows, frustrated as his thoughts were getting nowhere. Couldn't the sender be a little more specific?! They really don't want to reveal themselves, huh?
"Hey, what's the fifteenth letter of the alphabet?" the girl behind him whisper.
Her friend hummed. "I think...it's..." She began quietly counting. "Ah! It's 'O'! Why?"
"It's part of this weird quiz I'm doing," the girl explained.
Her friend laughed. "Oh god. Your phone will get confiscated."
"What? No."
"Yes. You're making it really obvious that you're on your phone."
"But this is educational—"
The two suddenly jumped when Ayato yelled. The girl's phone flew from her hand, landing loudly behind her. It slid rather gracefully across the floor and spun a little further towards the back of the classroom. There was a new crack in the corner of the screen.
The teacher, meanwhile, slumped, his hopes for a smooth lesson demolished. He turned around, his face bitter. "What is it now, Ayato?"
Laito blinked. Kanato, after recovering, faced Ayato with a glare.
"The fifth letter of the alphabet!" Ayato exclaimed.
Laito's curious expression morphed into one of realisation.
"It's 'E'!" Ayato was grinning widely, his chest lightly puffed and his chin slightly jutting forward. "I think."
"Well, let's hope that's the case," said Laito, closing his eyes as a calm smile beautified his face. "Good work, Ayato."
Kanato's glare faded and he huffed, facing the board for the second time. His stuffed toy remained cozy on his lap, waning his last bit of anger.
The classroom was in confusion.
++++++++++++
Ayato and Kanato's mood was sour as the brothers were once again in one of the unused music rooms.
"Guinee's in one of her weekly meetings," Laito explained to the others.
"As she is a student council member," said Reiji, "you two should have expected this coming."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we're happy about it," Ayato mumbled. Neither of their expressions changed.
Shuu sighed. "So? Did you guys manage to solve anything?"
"Ayato did!" Laito merrily stated, his hands on Ayato's shoulders. His grin widened at stares he received. "World shaking, I know."
Ayato slapped his hand.
Reiji sighed. "And what did you figure out?"
"'The fifth letter'," Ayato recalled. "If we're talking about the alphabet, then it's the letter 'E'."
"How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" said Subaru.
"Oh, the girls behind me were whispering about the fifteenth letter," Ayato explained. "It was some sort of quiz they were doing, or something."
Laito laughed. "Imagine if those two were the ones who sent us all this."
Kanato frowned. "But we don't know that yet."
"That's peculiar," Reiji mused.
"What is?" asked Laito.
"If Ayato's answer was right, then it's quite odd due to it being only answer with a single letter instead of a word."
"That's true," said Kanato.
The room lapsed into silence.
"I know what yours is, Reiji," Subaru suddenly said.
Ayato blinked. "What?"
"Oh?" Reiji looked at Subaru curiously.
Subaru pointed a thumb towards the door. "I saw the rainbow on the fair poster outside. 'Before violet and after blue' is indigo."
Laito patted his back. "Our little baby brother has really grown up."
"Screw you."
Kanato listed the answers. "Who're we missing?"
"Ayato's 'Für Elise'—" Laito's eyes widened. "Wait, the first note in that piece is an 'E' as well."
"So they're two 'E's?" said Ayato.
"But if they're meant to spell something, how come the others don't have letters?" Kanato asked.
"Maybe," Shuu suggested, "the clues are somewhere in the words themselves."
Subaru tilted his head towards the ceiling. "'Gold', 'umbrella', two 'E's, 'indigo', 'Neverland'..."
"Maybe they each form a letter somehow," said Laito.
At his words, Reiji's head snapped up. "It's her name."
"Whose?" Ayato questioned.
"Take the beginning letter of the four words."
"Gold, G, Umbrella, U, Neverland, N, Indigo, I..." Ayato trailed off. "So?"
"Oh," said Laito. He met eyes with Kanato, who reflected him ones that were as big as the moon.
Shuu chuckled, slouching further against the wall. "She got us."
Subaru looked flustered.
"Swap the 'N' and the 'I'..." Reiji patiently explained. He was too amused to be irritated, a rare smile on his lips.
"So, G, U, N, I, and then what? What do I do with the two 'E's—" Ayato jolted. His green eyes were incredibly bright.
"It seems," said Reiji, "that she has far too much spare time in her hands."
...
"Maybe I should have made them run around the whole school," Guinevere murmured, looking out of the window. She was evening out the stack of papers.
She shook her head. No. There wouldn't be enough time, and that would defeat the whole purpose of recess...Yet I still preferred it if I had come up with something more difficult.
After all, Guinevere thought, standing up, oblivious to the chatter around her as people made their way towards the door. She gave short responses and sendoffs, though not too dismissively, almost missing a few red faces. I feigned making chocolates for them this morning, something I thoroughly enjoyed upon seeing their reactions when I entered the limousine. The actual ones were prepared in cooking class a few days before, and I made sure it clashed with their lessons. I even went through the trouble hiring other students to deliver them after making sure perfume was used to disguise any other scent. Was all that worth it?
She sighed, then broke into a smile. Well, I've always wanted my last year to be the most memorable one.
And on that note, Guinevere picked up the stack of papers and left the room, towards the limousine where she would soon be bombarded by a certain six.
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T/n: I was having a big debate with myself whether or not to do this special, since this problem-solving, strategy-involved style (don't even know what it's called) is new for me. Hope it wasn't too bad, guys, and that it somewhat wasn't too rushed. We'll go back to the main stuff next chapter.
Thanks for supporting me!! (I can't say this enough).
*whispers* don't own any pictures or music.