Part 27: Boys' Blissful Ignorance

**Part 27: Boys' Blissful Ignorance**

In the corner of the classroom, the boys were hard at work, threading needles, cutting fabric, and sewing with surprisingly deft hands. The sound of scissors slicing through fabric, along with light-hearted banter, filled the room. Despite their typical reluctance towards school activities, the prospect of the maid café had sparked an unexpected excitement among the boys. They were more than eager to make sure the costumes were perfect. After all, how often would they get the chance to see the six goddesses of the first year—Yumi, Hana, Reina, Keiko, Mayumi, and Aiko—dressed up in maid outfits?

Kyoshi sat among them, helping cut pieces of fabric while listening to his classmates chatter. He couldn’t help but smile to himself. His suggestion had been a hit with the boys, and they hadn’t stopped thanking him since.

"Kyoshi, you’re a genius," one of his classmates, Sato, said with a grin, pausing from his sewing to give Kyoshi a friendly clap on the back. "A maid café was the best idea ever. I can’t wait to see the girls in those cute outfits."

The other boys nodded eagerly. Another classmate, Yamamoto, added with a sly grin, "Can you imagine Yumi in a maid outfit? She’s already adorable, but this will be something else."

"And Reina," another chimed in, leaning back in his chair, imagining the scene. "She’s already got that feisty attitude. Seeing her act all polite in a maid outfit is going to be hilarious."

Kyoshi chuckled along with the others but felt a slight tug of unease. He wasn’t sure why, but something felt off. He hadn’t been let in on the girls’ final meeting, and the way they had been huddled together earlier made him wonder what they were up to. He pushed the thought aside, though, focusing instead on the task at hand.

He hadn't seen the future versions of these girls in maid outfits, but the image was enough to make him laugh inwardly. How different they would look, how nostalgic it would feel. Little did he know, their roles had already been reversed.

The boys continued their work with dedication, the excitement building as the festival day approached. They imagined the girls standing at the café entrance, wearing the maid outfits they had painstakingly sewn together, greeting the guests with polite smiles and adorable curtsies.

"Keiko will be the most surprising," one of the boys remarked. "She’s always so quiet, but in a maid outfit, she’s going to look even more innocent."

"And Mayumi," another boy said, his eyes wide with awe. "I can already picture it. She’ll look so delicate, but she’ll still have that mysterious air about her."

Kyoshi listened, half amused, half thoughtful. He couldn’t help but be curious about how each of them would handle the festival. The girls were all so different in personality, but they shared a common thread in his life—each one had been a significant part of his past, and seeing them again in these new, unexpected situations made his heart stir.

Little did he or the other boys know, though, that the tables were about to turn in a way none of them expected.

---

As the hours passed, the boys had completed several maid costumes, all meticulously crafted, each with different designs suited to the imagined personalities of the girls. The room was filled with a sense of accomplishment, high-fives exchanged around the sewing machines, and talk of how the festival would go. They’d done a great job, though they were blissfully unaware that they would never be the ones to see the girls in these costumes.

Kyoshi glanced at the clock, realizing it was getting late. He stretched his arms, looking at the finished costumes hanging neatly on the racks. “I think we did a pretty good job,” he said, standing up to admire their work. “The girls are going to be happy with these.”

"Happy?" Yamamoto laughed. "They’re going to be ecstatic! They get to look cute and win over the whole school. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they put these on."

"Yeah," Kyoshi agreed with a smile, though there was still that tiny gnawing feeling in the back of his mind. But he brushed it off. After all, what could go wrong?

As they began packing up for the day, the boys continued to joke and fantasize about the upcoming festival, already imagining the praise they’d receive for their hard work.

But none of them—Kyoshi included—could have anticipated the surprise that was waiting for them. The next morning would bring with it a twist that would leave them all wide-eyed and speechless.

For now, though, the boys left the classroom, content with the day's work, not knowing that their dreams of maid-clad goddesses would soon be turned upside down.

Chapter end