The iron railing of the fire escape left a cold sensation in his palm, and rust flaked off as his fingertips slid along it.
Okabara Kyogumichi climbed up step by step, the metal frame groaning under the pressure of his weight, as if it could fall apart at any moment.
He looked back and saw Chitanda Eru gripping the railing tightly, her fringe dancing wildly in the night wind, her eyes surprisingly bright.
"Hold on tight, don't look down," Kyogumichi's voice was a little scattered by the wind, but it clearly reached Chitanda Eru's ears.
She nodded vigorously, her ponytail drawing a sharp arc in the air: "I'm fine!"
Kyogumichi stopped when he reached the height of the third floor.
The walls of the old school building were covered with dark green ivy, the vines wrapping around the window frames like thick chains.
He reached out to push aside the obstructing branches, and his fingertips suddenly paused the moment they touched the glass—the window sill was covered in thick dust, but there was a clear indentation, as if someone often leaned there.
"Someone's been here," Kyogumichi turned to Chitanda Eru and said.
She immediately leaned in to examine it, her nose almost touching the glass: "Really! Look at the dust marks, it's no more than a month old!"
Kyogumichi said no more and continued to climb.
The top of the fire escape was still half a meter from the attic skylight; he stretched out his arm, and his fingertips just managed to hook the skylight's metal handle.
With a pull, the skylight popped open with a "click," and a smell of mold mixed with old book paper wafted out.
"I'll go up first," Kyogumichi flipped into the attic, crushing a few dry fallen leaves as he landed.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight, the beam piercing the darkness and illuminating piles of clutter—dust-covered wooden boxes, faded costumes, tangled wires, and scattered script manuscripts on the floor.
"You can come up now," he poked his head out and extended his hand to Chitanda Eru.
She hesitated for a moment, but still placed her hand in his palm.
Kyogumichi's hand was large and warm, with thin calluses from years of holding a pen; with a strong pull, he pulled her up.
After Chitanda Eru stood firm, she was immediately drawn to the sight before her, the flashlight beam sweeping back and forth across the cluttered room: "It's much bigger here than I imagined!"
The attic's sloped roof was very low; even at its highest point, he could barely stand upright.
Moonlight streamed through the cracks in the skylight, casting silver spots on the floor, perfectly illuminating an iron cabinet in the corner.
A rusty brass lock hung on the cabinet, its keyhole stuffed with sawdust.
"It seems the key is here," Kyogumichi walked over and squatted down to examine the lock.
Chitanda Eru suddenly exclaimed "Oh!" and pulled out a bent wire from a pile of old newspapers: "Try this? I've seen people pick locks like this in detective dramas!"
Kyogumichi took the wire, and looking at her expectant eyes, he couldn't help but smile: "How many strange dramas have you watched, anyway?"
"They're not strange at all!" Chitanda Eru puffed out her cheeks, but still leaned closer, curiously watching his movements, "Hurry and see if you can open it."
The wire gently stirred in the keyhole, making a soft "clatter, clatter" sound.
Kyogumichi's fingertips felt a subtle vibration; this was Basic Perception (lv.1) at work, and he could clearly feel the position of the pins inside the lock cylinder.
Three minutes later, with a soft click, the brass lock sprang open.
"It's open!" Chitanda Eru clapped her hands excitedly, her eyes shining like two stars.
Kyogumichi pulled open the iron cabinet drawer, and a strong smell of camphor balls wafted out.
The top drawer contained a stack of yellowed notebooks, with "Drama Club Activity Records Heisei 23" written on the cover in red ink.
Chitanda Eru carefully pulled out a notebook and sat on the floor to open it.
The flashlight beam illuminated the elegant handwriting, recording the club's daily life from ten years ago.
Her brows furrowed tighter as she read, and she suddenly pointed to one page and said: "Look here, the record for the day of the courage test says 'The sacrifice is in place, awaiting the start of the ritual.'"
"Sacrifice?" Kyogumichi leaned over to look, "What does this mean?"
"I don't know, there's even stranger stuff later," Chitanda Eru quickly flipped through the pages, "'The truth behind the mask cannot be discovered,' 'She is watching us'…What do these phrases mean?"
Kyogumichi's gaze fell on the words "mask" and he suddenly remembered the black fox mask in the Drama Club activity room.
He picked up the second notebook, which contained a faded group photo—a dozen students in costumes standing in front of the old school building, each wearing a different mask, the girl in the very center wearing that black fox mask.
"Who is this girl?" Kyogumichi asked, pointing at the photo.
Chitanda Eru's breathing suddenly quickened; she zoomed in on the photo to identify it carefully, her fingers trembling slightly: "This is…this is my cousin! Chitanda Nao! She studied here ten years ago!"
Kyogumichi looked at her in surprise: "You never mentioned having a cousin at this school?"
"She transferred ten years ago, and my family rarely talks about her," Chitanda Eru's voice trembled slightly, "I met her once when I was little, and she told me many stories about the Drama Club…"
She suddenly closed the notebook and, standing up too quickly, bumped her head on the sloped ceiling with a dull "thud."
Kyogumichi quickly steadied her and saw her eyes were red: "What's wrong?"
"My cousin got sick after she transferred and has been living in a sanatorium," Chitanda Eru lowered her head, her voice choked, "My family said it was because of too much stress, but I always felt something wasn't right…Now it seems it must be related to this courage test!"
Kyogumichi looked at her reddened eyes and suddenly understood why Yoshida-sensei had to hide it.
Some truths, perhaps, are more hurtful than lies.
He picked up the notebook with the eerie sentences, and under the flashlight's beam, there was a line of small pencil writing on the last blank page, almost erased clean: "West Wing Basement, behind the mirror."
"Basement?" Kyogumichi looked up at Chitanda Eru, "The old school building has a basement?"
She paused, then nodded: "Yes! I saw it on the school's architectural plans, but it was later sealed due to water seepage.
The entrance…the entrance seems to be in the storage room on the first floor of the West Wing!"
Outside the attic, there was a sudden sound of tree branches swaying, and the wind caused the skylight's baffle to flap "pat-pat."
Chitanda Eru subconsciously grabbed Kyogumichi's sleeve, her body trembling slightly.
Moonlight just then peeked out from behind the clouds, illuminating her pale cheeks.
"Don't be afraid," Kyogumichi's voice was very soft, but it carried a reassuring strength, "Whatever the secret, we'll find it together."
Chitanda Eru looked up, her purple eyes exceptionally clear in the night.
She looked at Kyogumichi's serious profile, and those eerie records and vague past events didn't seem so scary anymore.
She softly "hmm"ed, releasing her grip on his sleeve, but the feel of the fabric still lingered on her fingertips.
Kyogumichi put the notebook into his backpack and locked the iron cabinet: "Let's go back for now, it's too dangerous to go to the basement right now."
"Okay," Chitanda Eru nodded obediently and followed him towards the skylight.
As they climbed down the fire escape, Chitanda Eru accidentally missed a step, but Kyogumichi quickly grabbed her, and they swayed in mid-air before regaining their balance.
She patted her chest, still shaken, but seeing Kyogumichi's worried expression, she couldn't help but laugh: "Today was really exciting."
"If you're so reckless again next time, I won't bring you," Kyogumichi deliberately put on a stern face, but his lips couldn't help but curve upwards.
"No way!" Chitanda Eru lifted her chin, a hint of subtle coquetry in her tone, "I'm a very reliable 'accomplice.'"
Under the moonlight, the two walked side by side on the quiet campus path.
The shadows of the cherry trees swayed on the ground, like a group of silent dancers.
Chitanda Eru suddenly stopped and pointed to the West Wing of the old school building nearby: "Look, the window on the third floor seems to have lit up for a moment."
Kyogumichi looked in the direction she pointed, but there was only the dark window reflecting the faint moonlight: "It might be an illusion, the power there was cut off a long time ago."
Chitanda Eru, however, frowned, her eyes full of doubt: "But I clearly saw it…"
Kyogumichi didn't argue, but simply noted this detail in his mind.
He knew that regarding the secret from ten years ago, they had only just touched the tip of the iceberg.
When they reached the school gate, Chitanda Eru suddenly pulled an envelope from her backpack: "This is for you."
"What is it?" Kyogumichi took the envelope, which was of moderate thickness and seemed to contain papers.
"These are letters my cousin used to write to me, they mention the Drama Club," her cheeks were faintly pink under the streetlights, "Perhaps they'll be helpful to you…See you tomorrow, Okabara-san."
With that, she turned and ran towards the bus stop, her ponytail drawing a light arc in the air.
Kyogumichi watched her disappear around the street corner before opening the envelope.
It contained three letters, the handwriting identical to that in the notebook.
The first letter mentioned: "Everyone in the club wears masks, as if that's how they can become someone else."
The second letter read: "Nao, do you believe there's another world in the mirror?"
The third letter contained only one sentence: "Don't trust the person wearing the fox mask."
Kyogumichi folded the letters and put them back in the envelope, then looked up in the direction of the old school building.
The night was thick as ink, as if something was hidden in the darkness, quietly watching him.
He tightened his grip on his backpack strap, which contained the notebook holding the secret.
Tomorrow, perhaps, there would be new discoveries.
Kyogumichi turned and walked towards the bus stop, the streetlights stretching his shadow long, intertwining with the shadows of the cherry trees, like an unfinished painting.
[Bond progress completed 1/3, qualified: Chitanda Eru]