Ink between raindrops

Your teacher stared at the clock. Then at the students and then sighed.

"Before everyone disappears." The room gradually settled. Though not completely. There were still whispers here and there, but at least everyone was facing the front again. Your teacher picked up a stack of papers from the desk.

"I've been checking the extracurricular registrations." A few students groaned while you rested your cheek against your palm. You had completely forgotten about that and apparently, you weren't the only one.

"Several of you still haven't joined a club." Someone near the back muttered,

"Maybe because we don't want to." Your teacher heard it.

"Then perhaps you should consider wanting to." A few students laughed while your teacher smiled faintly before continuing.

"Your extracurricular activities count toward your school requirements. So if you haven't registered yet, please do so before the deadline." The room immediately became louder.

"Does helping in the library count?"

"Yes."

"What about tutoring?"

"If it's registered through the school."

"Does sleeping count?"

"No." The student who asked slowly lowered his hand.

"Worth a try." You smiled to yourself and looked toward the bulletin board at the side of the classroom. There were dozens of club posters pinned across it. Some were colorful and new while the others were old enough that their corners had started curling.

Literature Club, Art Club, Music Society, Basketball Club, The Student Council and near the bottom, partly hidden behind another poster, was a simpler one. Black lettering. A small magnifying glass drawn beneath it.

MYSTERY & INVESTIGATION CLUB

You stared at it. You couldn't remember seeing that one before. Maybe because it looked like someone had printed it five minutes before the deadline.

"Still haven't picked one?"

You turned towards your classmate. You shook your head.

"Not yet."

"You should join something easy."

"Such as?"

"Anything that doesn't require running."

"You hate running."

"Exactly." You laughed.

Another classmate leaned over from the desk behind you.

"What about the Mystery Club?"

Your eyes drifted back toward the poster.

"That one?"

"Yeah." There was a pause.

"Do you know anything about it?"

"Not really."

Another student joined the conversation.

"I heard they're actually good."

"At solving mysteries?"

"Apparently."

Someone across the room turned around and joined the conversation.

"My older brother knows someone who joined."

"And?"

"He said they take everything seriously." A pause, "...Mostly."

You raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

Nobody answered immediately. Finally, the first student shrugged.

"I think they're just... weird."

"Bad weird?"

"No."

"Good weird?" Another shrug.

"Just weird."

You looked back at the poster. That was somehow more interesting than if they'd simply told you not to join. "What kind of mysteries do they solve?"

"Matters of any kind, supposedly."

"Like?"

"Lost things, strange noises and some missing stuff."

"Missing stuff?"

"One time they found a missing phone."

"That's useful."

"Yeah."

"And another time?" Someone snorted. "They investigated someone's missing lunch."

You turned. "Did they find it?"

"Yeah."

"Where?" A pause.

"The refrigerator." You stared and unconsciously raised an eyebrow.

"...Why did they need an investigation for that?" Your classmate smiled.

"That's what everyone keeps asking." The bell rang again. Finally signalling the end of the day. Everyone began gathering their things. You looked at the Mystery Club poster one more time. For some reason, you couldn't stop thinking about it.

The hallway was crowded after class. Students moved in every direction, conversations overlapping until they became one indistinct hum. You slipped through the crowd with your bag over one shoulder, still thinking about the clubs. Maybe you would join the art club. It seemed quiet. The library club sounded nice too. The Mystery Club... You weren't sure. You were about to turn towards the stairs when three students came into view farther down the corridor.

You recognized two of them from around school. Albedo and Sucrose, the Student Council President and Vice. The third student was someone you didn't know. She was carrying several folders against her chest. They walked past a classroom before slowing near the corner. You weren't trying to listen, but the hallway had briefly emptied, and a few words carried.

"...again?"

"I'm sure it's nothing." Sucrose's voice. Another voice answered, quieter.

"That's what you said last time."

You couldn't make out the response. The three continued walking. You only caught fragments as you passed in the opposite direction.

"...club..."

"...report..."

"...don't worry..."

Then the corridor became noisy again. You glanced back. They had already disappeared around the corner. You wondered what that had been about. But only for a moment. There were still club registrations to worry about.

You eventually found yourself on the older side of the school building. You weren't entirely sure how you'd gotten there. Maybe you had unconsciously followed the club directory. Maybe curiosity had won, either way, the hallway here was noticeably quieter. The walls were lined with old photographs of school activities. Some had faded so badly that you could barely recognize the faces of the students and faculty involved. At the very end of the hall was a small wooden door. A sign hung on it.

MYSTERY & INVESTIGATION CLUB

You stopped. So this was it. The sign looked slightly crooked. You stepped closer. Someone had written beneath the official lettering in much smaller handwriting:

Please leave your common sense at the door.

You stared at it. "...That's reassuring."

Below the sign was another smaller piece of paper. A list of previous cases, most were handwritten.

Missing Class Keys : SOLVED

Strange Noise in the Auditorium : SOLVED

Unknown Footprints Behind Gym : SOLVED

Disappearance of Three Custard Buns : SOLVED

"...Custard buns?", you muttered to yourself. There was a note beside it.

Venti denies everything.

You blinked. You weren't sure whether that made the club sound more competent or less. Still, you knocked. Once. Nothing. You waited for a moment and knocked again. Still nothing. You pressed your ear to he door. There was a muffled voice inside. Multiple of them, actually.

"...told you."

Another voice answered.

"You absolutely did not."

A third, "Can we just check the table?"

Then, a loud thud echoed. You jumped. Something crashed inside. A moment of silence followed. Then, "Nobody move."

You stared at the door. "...Should I come back later?". Someone inside immediately shouted:

"No!"

You out our hand on he knob and slowly opened the door. The room was... Not what you expected. There were books stacked along the walls. A large corkboard occupied most of one side of the room, covered with photographs, handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, and colored strings connecting different pieces of information. A desk sat beneath the window. Several chairs had been pushed together around a table. There were magnifying glasses, notebooks, a camera and a box labeled: EVIDENCE : DO NOT TOUCH but someone had clearly touched it. There was also a half-empty box of crackers beside it. You weren't sure if that counted as evidence. The room looked like a detective club had collided with a storage room and neither had survived.

In the middle of everything stood a boy holding a notebook and staring intensely at an empty snack wrapper. He looked up and his eyes immediately found yours.

"You." You pointed at yourself, "...Me?"

"Yes, are you here about the case?" You looked at the wrapper.

"...What case?"

"The missing snacks."

A voice from the other side of the room sighed. "It's been ten minutes." You glanced over where the voice came from. A boy sat near the window with a book open in his lap. He seemed completely calm. Almost suspiciously calm as though this was a normal occurrence (which it could be). Beside him, another boy stood with his arms crossed. He looked at the snack wrapper, then at the boy holding the notebook. Then at you. "Don't encourage him."

"It's a perfectly legitimate investigation," the boy replied.

"It's potato chips."

"Missing potato chips."

"It's still potato chips."

You weren't sure whether you should laugh or stay silent, but decided not to say anything. The boy by the window closed his book and smiled. "I'm Kazuha."

He gestured casually toward the others. "The one investigating is Heizou." Heizou gave you a small nod without taking his eyes off the table.

"The one near the cupboard is Venti." Venti waved cheerfully, "Hello."

Kazuha's gaze shifted toward the boy with his arms crossed. "And that's Kuni."

Kuni frowned. "I can introduce myself."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you let me?" Kazuha smiled.

"You looked busy."

"I wasn't."

"You were complaining."

"I was making an observation." Kazuha nodded solemnly.

"Of course."

Kuni stared at him, "...You're enjoying this."

"A little."

Kuni pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. You had to cover your smile. Kazuha continued as though nothing had happened. "And that's Xiao."

You looked toward the direction he was facing. A boy stood at the corner of the room, holding a tiny crumb between his fingers. He looked at it, then gestured at Heizou.

"...I found this."

Heizou's eyes lit up. "Excellent."

Xiao's face went blank. "It's a crumb."

"Evidence."

Xiao stared at him. For a second, you thought he might argue. Instead, he sighed.

"...Fine."

He walked toward the table and placed the crumb beside the empty wrapper.

Then he looked toward the door. "I'll check outside." And walked away. Kuni watched him go. "He could've said no." Kazuha smiled.

"He could have."

"Then why didn't he?"

Kazuha simply patted Kuni's shoulder. "That's how he is."

Kuni seemed to accept this answer. "...Fair."

You weren't sure what was more amusing, the investigation itself.. Or the fact that everyone seemed completely accustomed to this. Then the door opened behind you and a boy stepped inside carrying a small notebook.

"Jean said you were looking for me." He stopped when he noticed you and smiled, "Oh. Hi, I'm Aether."

You introduced yourself. He glanced towards the table and then at Heizou.

"What's the situation?"

Heizou held up the empty wrapper. "Several snacks have disappeared."

Aether looked at it, then at the table and slowly towards Venti, who was standing suspiciously close to the snack cupboard. "...I see."

He looked back at Heizou. "Did you check the hallway"

"Xiao's doing that."

"The trash?" Aether was already walking toward the bin. "I'll check."

Kuni watched him go. "You're actually taking this seriously?"

Aether glanced over his shoulder. "It's evidence."

Kuni face-palmed, "...Oh no."

Aether returned a moment later with an old receipt and absolutely no snacks. "Nothing." Kuni folded his arms. "Told you." Aether shrugged, "Had to check." Then, almost as an afterthought, he added: "Besides, I found a cat in the hallway earlier" Kuni stared at him.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It could've been involved."

"It was a cat."

"A very suspicious cat."

You glanced at Kazuha's way. He was quietly smiling. Kuni looked like he knew where this is going.

"You spent ten minutes following it, didn't you?"

"It kept looking back at me!"

"Because you were following it!" Kazuha finally laughed and you couldn't help joining him. Kuni looked between the two of you. "See what I have to deal with?"

Kazuha gave his shoulder another gentle pat. "You'll survive."

"I'd rather die."

The last member of the club finally stepped in the room. She crossed the room silently as she placed her folders down on the desk near the window carefully. She surveyed the room. The papers, the evidence board, the snack wrapper, Venti, the crumb and then finally all 6 pairs of eyes trained on her. Her expression barely changed.

"Please tell me nobody broke anything."

"No," Aether answered.

"Good."

She scanned the room again, "Xiao?"

"Nothing's broken," came his distant reply. She nodded. She then turned towards you. You recognized her now. The person you'd seen walking with Albedo and Sucrose. She gave you a polite smile.

"I'm Jean."

Ah. So that was her name.

You introduced yourself. Jean glanced toward the empty chair near the table.

"Are you looking for a club?"

You nodded. "Maybe."

"We'd be happy to have you."

You looked around you. Heizou was studying the empty wrapper like it contained the secrets of the universe. Aether was inspecting the trash, again. Xiao had returned from the hallway with absolutely nothing. Kuni was muttering something to Kazuha. Kazuha was listening patiently. Venti was eating another snack. And Jean was apparently deciding whether this counted as a successful afternoon.

You looked at her. "Is this normal?" Jean paused. Kuni immediately answered. "No."

Kazuha gently patted his shoulder. "It is."

Kuni looked at him. "...Don't undermine me."

Jean sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

A loud thump came from somewhere outside and everyone froze while Jean slowly looked towards the door. "...What was that?"

Aether opened his mouth as if I say something but decided otherwise. Kuni looked at Kazuha with a raised brow while Kazuha only smiled at him. Xiao check the hallway from the door: "Nothing's broken." Jean relaxed. "Good." She picked up her pen.

You stared at her, dumbfounded. "That's your concern?" She looked at you. "At this point?" A short pause, "As long as nobody burns the school down, the club is doing fine."

You laughed and somehow... That made your decision a little easier.

The investigation itself turned out to be surprisingly organized. At least, after you figured out how everyone worked. Heizou insisted on reconstructing the scene. Aether checked practical places. Xiao always inspected the hallway despite looking mildly inconvenienced by the entire situation. Kazuha noticed details everyone else overlooked. Kuni complained about the investigation while somehow contributing useful information every few minutes. Venti was the prime suspect. And Jean sat at her desk filling out paperwork.

You watched for a while, then finally asked: "Do you need help?"

Jean glanced your way and smiled, "Actually..."

She handed you a sheet of paper. "Could you write down what everyone finds?"

You took it. "Sure."

That was how you ended up standing beside the investigation board. It wasn't long before Kazuha leaned over. "You're doing well."

"Thank you."

Kuni looked over too, "Don't encourage them."

Kazuha beamed, "You always say that."

"Because you encourage everyone."

"That's true." Kuni huffed, "...whatever."

You gave them a small smile. Maybe this wasn't such a bad place after all.

Eventually, Aether returned from the trash bin. "Nothing."

Xiao came back from the hallway (again). "Nothing."

Kazuha glanced at the floor, then at the cupboard. "Wait."

Everyone turned. He pointed toward a few crumbs on the floor.

"They lead there." Heizou immediately moved and opened the cupboard. Inside sat a cardboard box. Heizou slowly lifted the lid, and to everyone's surprise (Kuni: Not really) the missing snacks were inside. Silence envelope the hole room.

You gaped. "...They're right there."

Heizou slowly nodded. "Fascinating."

Kuni gawked at him. "We spent twenty-three minutes investigating something that was sitting in a storage box!"

Aether looked at the clock. "Twenty-four, actually."

Kuni pivoted to him. "Why were you timing us?"

"I wasn't."

"Then how did you-"

Jean spoke without looking up from her paperwork. "Please take it outside if you will." Everyone stopped. Jean glanced around the room. The walls are still standing, no windows were broken, and nobody was on fire. She returned to her paperwork. "Good enough."

Venti reached for another snack. "Put it back." She warned, without looking up.

Venti froze. "...But-"

"Put it back." He slowly returned it while pouting.

You snicked while wondering that maybe you had found the right club after all.

You looked down at the membership form Jean had given you earlier. Your pen hovered over the page. You glanced around the room one last time. At Heizou whose already writing another theory. At Aether helping organize the supplies. At Xiao standing near the door with the faintest hint of amusement on his face. At Kuni quietly complaining to Kazuha, who was listening with that patient smile of his. At Venti trying to sneak another snack. And at Jean, who looked tired enough to fall asleep at her desk but still somehow kept everything running.

You smiled, "I think I'll join."

Jean perked up. For the first time that afternoon, she looked genuinely relieved. "Welcome to the club."

Kuni nodded towards you, then toward Kazuha. "...Another one."

Kazuha patted his shoulder. "Be nice."

"I am being nice."

"You are?" Kuni face-palmed. "...Fine."

From across the room, Venti raised his hand. "Does this mean everyone gets snacks as a welcome for them?"

Jean closed her eyes. "No."

"But-"

"No."

Heizou wrote something onto the case board.

CASE CLOSED

Then, underneath it: NEW MEMBER ACQUIRED.

You blinked. "...Did you just make me joining the club sound like we caught a criminal?"

Heizou grinned, "Perhaps." You looked at Jean. She just shrugged. "You'll get used to it."

You weren't sure whether that was reassuring. But you smiled anyway.

Here's the first chapter!! Thank you so much for showing interest! It's my first time writing and please forgive me if there's any spelling mistake or bad grammar. There might be some possible OOC but hopefully you be able to forgive me for it 🥹. I'll be naming Wanderer as Kuni here to avoid awkwardness. I got the image banner from Pinterest so if anyone knows who the Artist is please let me know! Thank you! 🤭

Prologue

Rain had always been a part of Ashridge.

It softened the sharp edges of the old stone buildings, gathered between the cracks of the cobbled streets, and painted the stained-glass windows of St. Adler Academy with shifting colors whenever the sky turned gray.

Some people complained that the town saw too many rainy days. Others simply carried umbrellas.

There were those, however, who believed the rain belonged to Ashridge, that it rememberes every joy and sorrow the town had ever known.

On the morning Lucien Ashcroft walked into the police station, it was raining. Not violently. Not the kind of storm that frightened children or rattled windows.

Just a quiet rain. The kind that lingers. The kind that seemed content to accompany someone on a long walk.

Lucien didn't carry an umbrella, a dark coat was his only cover from the rain which was soaked by the time he reached the old stone steps leading to the station.

Water clung to his eyelashes. His shoes left faint marks across the polished floor as he stepped inside. The station was calm. A radio murmured softly from somewhere in the back office. A kettle whistled in the break room. Someone laughed at a joke he couldn't quite hear.

Life continues, unaware that one quiet morning was about to become another page in Ashridge's history.

A police officer looked up from behind the reception desk.

"Can I help you?"

For a brief moment, he hesitated and almost turned around. Outside, rain tapped gently against the windows. He closed his eyes. The sound… For months, it haunted him. Now it simply remindes him.

When he opened his eyes again, he carefully placed a worn black diary on the wooden counter. The elastic band around it had stretched with use. Its corners were softened. A pressed maple leaf rested between its pages.

"My name is Lucien Ashcroft," he said quietly. His voice was steady, too steady. "I need to make a statement." The officer frowned slightly, "Statement? About what?"

Lucien looked down at the diary. For a long moment, he remained silent. He remembered laughter echoing through Briarwood Forest years before. Three boys racing through the rain. A shared umbrella that never quite kept any of them dry.

A promise that they would always stay friends. He remembered believing it. Then he remembered everything else. When he finally spoke, his words were almost lost behind the sound of the rain.

"It's about Cedric Hawthorne." The room fell silent. The officer’s expression changed. "Please… come with me." Lucien nodded. He picked up the diary once more and followed.

No one noticed the way his hands trembled. No one noticed how tightly he held the notebook against his chest. As though, if he let go of it now… he might lose those memories all over again.

Several hours later, after his statement had been recorded, the diary rested inside a clear evidence bag on a detective's desk.

The detective studied the worn notebook in silence. It looked ordinary. The kind sold in every stationery shop in Ashridge. Only the careful handwriting on the cover made it unique.

LUCIEN ASHCROFT

The detective slipped on a pair of gloves and opened it carefully. The first page contained only one sentence. Written in neat black ink. Unhurried, indifferent and straightforward.

If you’re reading this, then I finally remembered.

The detective turned the page. Outside, the raindrops slid quietly down the window. Ashridge carried on with another ordinary day.

But somewhere beyond the mist, church bells rang across the town. The rain fell just as it always had. As though it had been waiting… for someone else to remember, too.