Chapter Text
Junpei had pulled a dangerous stunt. Clearly, he wanted to explore behind door 3, but this was unacceptable. Now was the prime time to be looking out for each other and making sure that everyone else stayed safe. Snake had already gone missing, and nobody wanted to be next. Clover was the most affected by this, but the recent events had put her back on high guard. She was curled up against the wall, holding herself tight.
Ace was passed out on one of the far tables, but the others were gathered near the door as if staying close would make everyone return sooner. Lotus was tapping her foot loudly, arms crossed. Sal could almost swear she was talking to herself under her breath.
They wanted to break the tension somehow, but thoughts of Junpei’s actions were flooding their mind. All Sal could think of was the startled looks on everyones’ faces, especially a certain one they’d never seen so riled up.
“You know, I do find Santa's need to make it in a little suspicious.”
“What now?” Lotus didn’t seem very interested in conversation.
“Well, he seemed the type to not care that much. He didn't seem too worried if he'd be left behind earlier, besides we all promised to meet back up. And then he suddenly decides to push past both of you? Instead of maybe just stopping you?”
“Stopping me?”
“Well if he had such a problem with Junpei’s plan, then he could have forced you and clover to stay, making it a stalemate until either Junpei gave up or you two broke free. But he darted straight forward.”
“...Yeah? What are you getting at?”
“What I mean is that,” Sal hit their head in an attempt to stir up the brain cells, “There's someone he can't be split up from.”
Clover piped up, “What?”
“Like- maybe he can't stand to be away from Junpei or something? Did he seem off at all when you were around them both in the second class cabin, Lotus?”
“No… not that I noticed. They fussed at each other some, but nothing like a secret conversation or a full fight.”
“Clover?”
“N-no! I haven't been around them when they're together.”
“What about him and Seven? Or June?”
“Nah, they've barely spoken to each other,” Lotus groaned.
Sal continued thinking out loud, “So, maybe he's not attached to someone, but he noticed two other people are? And wanted to keep an eye on them?”
Clover gasped, “Junpei and June! They're practically inseparable!”
Lotus nodded, “Yeah, they were pretty buddy-buddy last time they were in a room alone together…”
“Okay, so maybe he doesn't want them talking? One of them found something out about him?”
Lotus stood up, “Look, what's your point here, I thought you didn't want to raise any suspicions?”
Sal gasped, “That's not my intention! I was just thinking out loud, I'm sorry. Please ignore me.”
“It's kinda hard to do that when you're being a whole detective!” Clover attempted a laugh.
Sal smiled, “Well, Clover, you are right. I'm just doing what I know how to do. But I'll stop here, I don't think he's really guilty of anything. I could argue that you both went for the door quickly too.”
Clover rocked on her heels, starting to zone out.
“By the way Lotus, I meant to ask how long you'd worked with technology.”
“What? And how did you know that?”
“You complete equations extremely fast and have very particular hands, not in a bad way! Your slim fingers are very beautiful! I can tell you're familiar with a keyboard, among other things.”
Lotus looked at her nails, “Well, ever since I was young, really. But it was after I went through a year of college that I really got into the field.”
“Only a year?”
“Well,” She sighed, “Money was tight, but I got lucky and someone from one of the departments called me in and offered me a job. I couldn't refuse an offer like that.”
“That's wonderful! I'm very happy for you. A secure job straight out of school is often rare.”
“It's a frustrating one, but it pays enough to-” she paused, “Well, cover everything.”
Sal smiled, “That's very good to hear. I went through years of schooling and only landed a consistent job about… 6 years ago? I'm not ungrateful though, I enjoy myself.”
Lotus smiled back, “I can tell.”
…
There was a moment of silence, getting more awkward by the moment.
“Can you quit staring at me like that?”
Sal wasn't phased, and instead continued staring, “I'm sorry, I was just admiring your hair. It's very pretty and compliments your skin perfectly. Not to mention your jewelry, it's so intricate.”
“I don't like it when people stare at my body, so quit it already!”
Sal quickly turned away.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to offend or appear to objectify. I only meant to say that I admire your coordination and style.”
Lotus cocked an eyebrow, deciding to shake it off for now.
“It's… fine. I'm just used to weird guys ogling me all the time. Just because I take belly dancing classes, doesn't mean I want them all over me!”
“I promise I do not have those intentions. And I understand the worry of being perceived in the wrong way. Often the makeup and accessories I wear make people assume I'm a woman.”
“What makes you want to dress up then?”
“Well… to me it's less dressing up and more putting on what feels nice and comfortable. I don't want to look messy, but I'm also not a huge fan of wearing frills and sequins.”
“I get it, dresses are a hassle.”
“Right?” Sal laughed gently, “I prefer pants.”
“I prefer loose jeans!” Lotus joked back.
Clover rejoined the conversation, “I like dressing cute!”
Lotus responded back, “Just wait til you're my age and you have a few kids. You won't want all the tight layers or bright colors!”
Clover laughed, “I'm not that young! I'm 18!”
“18? That's plenty young!”
Sal spoke up, “Lotus, you have children?”
She froze up, “I- Well- Let's talk about something else, okay?”
Sal nodded, apologizing again. Clover tugged on her hoodie strings, acting like she didn't hear anything.
“Yes, let's move on. Maybe we can make ourselves useful and go search for Snake again?”
Lotus groaned, “No offense, but count me out. We had no luck last time.”
“There's no point… he's gone, isn't he?”
Sal thought for a moment, “Well I had some ideas I wanted to confirm, so I'm going to check. You two stay here, I'll be back soon.”
“Sal, wait. You really shouldn't go anywhere alone.”
“I'll be alright, I'm not going far. I'll shout if somethings wrong, okay? If I'm not back in 20 minutes, then you can be worried.”
Clover had sunk back into herself, leaning against one of the tables.
Lotus nodded hesitantly, sitting next to clover, gently patting her on the back.
Sal walked out of one of the big doors, standing still in the hallway for a moment. What they really wanted to check was the fingerprints around the area. They started looking for the doorknobs and surfaces that would get a lot of attention.
The long hallway filled with doors was intimidating, but they soon realized there would be no luck.
“Whoever took Snake did so when we were checking all these doors. They wouldn't have done anything that would risk themselves getting caught. They would have snuck through an exit.”
They continued to mumble to themselves as they checked all of the exit and entrance doors, eventually landing on one of them marked with a solar symbol.
No one had gone through this yet, they didn't have the key. Surely it would be pointless to check here…
They decided to open their dusting kit one more time, testing the doorknob and other parts of the door for any lasting prints.
Surprisingly, multiple faint shapes started to appear. They captured the powder onto the tape, comparing it to their notes.
“Santa…” they shook their head, “That doesn't make sense. He would know we'd go straight through this door later. He wouldn't just hide a body right behind it… Something else is going on.”
They folded up their evidence, hiding it in their pocket. They began to head back to the large hospital room, and they were met with a loud surprise.
A loud slap came from the corner of the room, quickly followed by another.
Sal quickly rushed inside to find the source of the commotion. The other group had returned, looking grim.