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Winter Puppets Chapter Five : Cold Day by Bottou-chan |
"Ah, good morning!" said Chii, smiling at them as they entered the dining room. "Or rather, good afternoon!"
"Are we so late?" asked Neon with an apologetic smile. "I apologize; I'm not usually such a sleepyhead."
"It's quite understandable," answered Chii. "After all, you've been through a lot. It would be odd if it didn't try and force you to take it easy for a while." She looked around. "We're snowed in," she explained to the pair. "The snowfall was heavier than we had expected, and the Inn is pretty much cut off for the next few days. Fortunately, the generator is working just fine, so we have heat. The water's working, too. We have enough food, so don't worry about that. But I thought I'd let you know," she explained to them, looking concerned. "But speaking of food, you're just in time for lunch; sit here, and help yourself to the buffet."
"You're too kind," answered Joker, sending her a charming smile.
She blushed and hurried away to get their silverware.
***
"Neon, do you notice anything... odd?" Joker was intently sipping his chicken noodle soup, and might have been discussng the weather.
"Let me guess. Hell froze over, which is why I woke up in bed with you this morning," suggested Neon sarcastically.
Her spirits had taken a considerable plunge after hearing about being snowbound for an indeterminable number of days.
"No, besides that," said Joker, waving the frivolity aside. Somehow, frivolity was better when it came from *him*. He leaned forward. "This is the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had."
"Huh?" asked Neon, and then realized that Chii had come up behind her. In a more collected voice she added, "I'm glad you like it. Such a picky eater."
"More water?" asked Chii, holding a pitcher in her hand.
"We're quite all right, thank you," answered Neon, smiling politely.
"I'll have some, please," requested Joker, holding out his glass to be filled. "By the way, tell the chef I love the soup."
"Certainly," smiled Chii, and bustled away.
Neon watched her leave before asking in a lower tone, "What were you going to say?"
Joker played with a noodle floating in his soup. "Every person here is a member of Shigemasa's group."
Neon furtively eyed the population of the dining room. It was sparse, but enough: about ten or fifteen people, scattered at different tables.
"And that means that the Eipuriru Hotel is *not* a hotel. It's a front," explained Joker, in his softest voice.
Neon stopped trying to spear the tomato in her salad which she had been chasing around her plate. "So what you're saying is..."
"That in all likelihood, Chii also has ties to the group," Joker finished reasonably.
"You know, we could-- theoretically-- take out so many members of the Shigemasa gang at once, that the group would be crippled forever," suggested Neon.
Joker shrugged. "I was never much into the whole mass-murder idea," he said.
"I like Chii, but I don't like her enough to go against Kurei's will," reasoned Neon, sipping her water. "If they caused Kurei pain-- well, I'll kill them."
"It would be a dirty rotten way to repay Chii for her kindness," reasoned Joker. "Taking us in like that, fixing us up-- and then we kill her friends."
"It's not *nice* but it's what we've been told to do," said Neon. She pointed her fork at Joker. "You don't have a choice, either, so I don't want to hear it from you."
"That's where you're wrong," said Joker smugly. "It's in my contract. I have power over life and death... I don't have to do what I'm told. This is *your* decision, Neon-han." He checked his watch. "And you have two hours to make it."