Tell Me Where You Hurt

“No worries, madame,” Strawberry quipped, “My family’s hosted such events since I was a boy. I’ve been learning how to blend in with the social elite for some time now.” Quick as always to show his skills, he effortlessly took command of a simple ballroom dance, sure to give Candy time to follow his movements, “Just follow my lead.” 

“For the record, I must apologize for my actions at the theatre,” Strawberry’s tone, though still outwardly confident, took a more serious, intimate turn, “I was desperate to uncover the truth this time, so I laid blame on you when I had no basis to. It was my mistake.” Lightly taking Candy’s arm, he lead her slowly into an elegant twirl, pacing in time with his words. 

“I would have apologized sooner, but after the theatre I was… not in a good place. But since then, I’ve realized a few things. One being that I need to make more use of friends here- not enemies.” 

“So while we may not be friends- not yet- what do you say? Not enemies?” 

Social elite huh? With a raise of her brow, she did as he said and followed his lead. It’s not like she knew what the hell she was doing. For once Candy actually felt challenged by something. Dancing wasn’t necessarily her strong point, and ballroom dance was by far her preferred type of dance. 

Strawberry spoke whilst they danced, and to be honest she was only half paying attention. The rest of her attention span was devoted to making sure she didn’t trip over her feet and embarrass herself. “It’s fine. If anything, I’m only offended that you would peg me for such a sloppy crime.” She responded with a laugh as she spun around then rejoined Strawberry. Her eyes had been fixated on their feet, but his proposal caused her eyes to flicker up and meet his. “Sure. Enemies are harder to deal with anyways, so I’m not too interested in making them. I don’t mind you in all honesty. You intrigue me, and anyone who intrigues me is more fun as an ally.” Candy shot him a smirk.

Did she give a shit if he liked her? No. Was she going to shoot herself in the foot when someone was being nice? No again. Besides, Strawberry’s first interaction with her was asking what she’d kill for. It was a shame she wasn’t able to further the conversation, but the question left a strong impression with her. He at least made good conversation and shared her taste for finer things.

Being corralled at the whim of Dot rather than a set time had unfortunately left Strawberry without plans for a fashionably late grand entrance. Ah well, it’s not like there was a spiraling staircase for him to stride down slowly into the admiring crowd anyways. Instead, he was grouped up and ushered in alongside everyone else. But at least he continued to stand out, as per usual. 

Going along with Shuten-Douji’s suggestion, Strawberry opted for the suit over the dress. It required much less preparation, and he would find another opportunity for the dress, of course. Besides, the ball was the perfect time to be a little more unexpected. With his face (mostly) clean of makeup and his hair pulled into an elegant low ponytail, he would probably look a lot more different if not for the Strawberry Luxe-brand charisma that most on the train could recognize on sight by now. 

With greetings and formalities out of the way, Strawberry sauntered to the table across the room. From there, he took to relaxing and observing the other guests for the time being, identifying quite a few who were clearly out of their element. Strawberry, however, was right at home. For the first time in a quite a while, his composed demeanor wasn’t just for show- he had already resolved to make the most of tonight. 

It wouldn’t be long before others would gather around the snacks prepared for the guests. Not a problem, though. This was a time to be social, after all. Turning the one closest to him, Strawberry pulled a fluffy pink flower from his inside his coat and presented it to them. 

“I like the new look.” She replied, placing the hand not holding the flower on her hips. “As for dancing... I won’t say no, but I should tell you I don’t know jack shit about it. Fancy elegant balls really aren’t my thing. I’m much more of an after party kinda gal.” It wasn’t often that she admitted when she was bad at something. Maybe that was due to the fact that there wasn’t much she had trouble doing. After all, she was a nearly flawless individual.

The ball was the last place Neo wanted to be, but given Dot seemed to mean business when she said she wanted everyone to attend, he didn’t have much of a choice. As such, he made his way when the announcement went live, but his clothing remained the same. He didn’t see need to change, and he didn’t feel altogether comfortable without his jacket- as of right now, it served as a means of protection in his mind, at least. 

Nevertheless, as he made him way inside, he smiled and waved to the crowd as he was so prone to doing. Everyone else, it seemed, looked way nicer, and he felt a pang of self-consciousness in his heart. Where was Sunny anyway? Though he hadn’t formally asked, they were inseparable these days, and he had assumed. Was that wrong to do? 

In any case, after making his short introduction with a simple gesture, he made his way over to the concessions where others had gathered. 

“Hey, nice seeing you,” he said as he grabbed the designated glass of alcohol that was lying on the table nearby. Despite his words, it really wasn’t all that nice to see anyone these days. Nevertheless, he took a sip- a long one- and decided at least he could pretend to have fun for the night. 

“Say, what’s with the party get-up anyway? I know Dot likes extravagant stuff, but it’s usually more along the lines of games. And usually there’s some incentive, I think. Uhm, anywhoo, how’re you holding up? I think everyone looks pretty nice, really. How about you? Thoughts, opinions? Ever been to something like this before? Actually, in all honesty I don’t know how to dance that well.”

He bit his lip. 

“Sorry, you don’t have to answer all that. It’s a force of habit. Like everyone says, so many questions at once don’t really get any answers- just annoyance from others.”

Red’s whole body tensed at the sight of Candy. He wasn’t expecting her to approach him so willingly… Had he actually given her an opening to bully him when he fought back against her? He shivered, thinking that maybe he had sabotaged himself all along.

N… No.

He wasn’t going to let her have any power over him. He was so sick of that… He took his feet out of the water and stood up. He didn’t realize how much taller than her he was until this moment. All that hatefulness compressed in such a small body… No wonder she was so awful.

He turned towards her and balled his hands up into tight fists.

“…M-Maybe I wasn’t… l-loud enough…”

Get rid of that nervous stutter, Red. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by looking so weak. He strengthened his resolve and added a bit of bite to his voice… well, as much as he could muster anyway.

“I said you were annoying… D-Don’t make me repeat myself again…”

Her eyes lit up with excitement. Guess he was a vertebrae after all! The smile on her face grew even wider, like the insult had somehow strengthened her instead of doing any sort of damage. “Yeah, I don’t think you were loud enough. You mutter so much, I honestly have no idea what you’re ever saying.” She brushed off his threat entirely. What was he going to do when she was all the way on the bridge anyways?

“Glad to know you got some semblance of standing up for yourself. Maybe I underestimated you. Then again, it’s easy to impress someone when there’s no expectations.”  She replied with another cold grin. Was this is wound up as he got? She doubted it. Red looked like the biggest powder keg long overdue for emotional outburst she had ever seen. Sensitive kids always have their anger pent up after all.

**********

“Ah, how unfortunate.” Shuten-douji shrugs, but she supposes having more space to herself is a nice thing in of itself. Candy decides to at least dip her feet into the water, which delights Shuten-douji.  “Do tell if you ever desire to experience it fully some other day; I’ll be glad to offer you company should you desire it.”

Shuten-douji smiles at the girl. “Forgive me if I’m mistaken, but you seem calm about the recent events on this train.” She shakes her head. “No, calm might be the wrong word. Too little of the passengers react as a normal person would in this situation,” she giggles.

“I can’t seem to find the correct word for it, but I feel we have similar feelings to this game.” Shuten-douji eyes her, then laughs. “Are you having the time of your life? Or am I wrong and you find this all quite dull?”

“Indeed, there is sake, but regrettably,” she fills her cup, “I only brought one cup in my rush to dip into the springs,” and offers it to the girl. “I can share if you’d like.”

Candy gently swayed her legs back and forth in the water below her, listening to Shuten-Douji speak. The girl seemed to have the same mindset as herself after all. “I feel like it’s too early to say. Things are just getting started, but I am curious to see which direction this will go in. So far I’d say it’s pretty fun.” She doubted her forwardness would bother her; the girl seemed to like having someone to gush over the chaotic situation with.

Red pressed his hand to the window, looking as the beautiful fields flew past him. He wasn’t even sure where they were anymore… With a sigh, he removed his hand from the window and slapped his cheeks. Pull it together Red! Ever since the theatre and Dot’s disappearance, he had been keeping to himself. He needed time to think, and decide on how to act… He had barely participated in the theatre. He was frozen in fear. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.

Huh? An announcement? 

Just as Red had built himself up, he found himself being knocked back down. A couple days of distance from the game had made him think he was stronger now, but that didn’t seem the be the case. Dot’s new outlook and her determination to continue the game filled him with dread. Someone else would die soon, wouldn’t they…? It was only a matter of time.

It wasn’t about to be him.

He crossed his arm, slowly leaving the others when they were dismissed. He needed to get his mind off of all of this for now, and what better to do than explore a bit? Red was awe struck by the new cars, but he found himself most interested in the large hot spring. He took hesitant steps as he ventured into the car, looking around at everything closely. It was so peaceful here… Yeah, this would work.

Red crossed the bridge to the small island in the middle of the pool. He removed his boots, rolled up his pant legs, and sat down, dipping his feet into the warm therapeutic waters. Ahhhh… Nothing could ruin this moment. Or so he thought.

The nervous boy turned his attention to figure approaching him, nodding to acknowledge their presence.

“Not really. I’m just bored and looking for someone to antagonize.” She might as well be upfront about her motives. “And who better than my favorite person?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Candy walked while she spoke. “I mean, I had to at least come talk once after the theatre. You know, customer feedback and all of that.” Candy leaned on the rails of the bridge, looking down into the peaceful steaming water below her. “What was it that you said I was again? My memory is foggier than the damn windows in this room. You should repeat it for me so I can remember.” 

**********

The newcomer is Candy, the flashy girl with red hair. 

Shuten-douji had only talked with her for a regrettably short time. But she also proved quite (very) entertaining during the Macabre Theatre, and Shuten-douji had been wanting to chat for some time.

“Candy!” she calls out, and empties her cup. “The water is amazing, and so is the sake, as is to be expected from the bar. Care to join me? I guarantee that it’s an experience.” 

She eyes their surroundings, admiring once more just how beautiful it all was.  “It’s truly exquisite. I almost hope I could spend the rest of this trip in this car,” she laughs. “But I jest, of course.”

The offer to join her was somewhat tempting. Her feet were killing her, and there was only so much to explore before one ran out of places on this god-forsaken train. She mulled it over for a brief moment. “I’d like to, but I don’t wanna mess up my makeup. It takes a lot of time to do my entire face. I suppose I can put my feet in though.” She answered as she walked to the cubbies and removed her shoes. A few moments later, she returned to Shuten-Douji and placed herself on a rock near where the water began.

The girl was right; this was nice. When she dipped her feet into the water, she let out a sigh as she allowed herself to relax. She definitely had to come here and actually get in completely. “Is there more sake?” She inquired, her eyes watching the little float go by. 

Like the lounge and the observatory (before the other night, at any rate), the casino was somewhere Harley could picture himself spending a lot of time. Whiling away the hours playing cards, injecting some artificial tension into his life to forget, for a moment, about the very real tension of the Killing Hour. An illusion though it was, the blue and black decor made it feel like stepping out of the Echo Express in his mind, and into something else – something a little darker, murkier, and more shadowy, but at least somewhere no murder had taken place. 

As luck would have it, there was someone there when he entered, light flooding the blue-black chamber. Someone Harley had been wanting to speak to. 

“I couldn’t possibly, Candy, darlin’.” he said, sliding into the chair opposite her at the poker table. “You’ve got me outclothed in jewelry alone, and I somehow doubt you wanna see me with all this off. I’m not as pretty as you are.” 

He watched her shuffle the cards, shifting on the stool, drumming his fingers slowly on the table in thought. “And you would, because you’d beat me soundly. Never liked poker, really; got a terrible face for it. I’d play it for you, though. If you answer a question for me.”

Without anger, without heat, he looked up to meet Candy’s eyes, tilting his head just a little, watching her, trying to read her face; read her tells. If she even had any. A beautiful mask – or nothing to hide?

“Did you kill Chamomile?”

It seemed that her luck was already panning out. The stranger who had wandered into the casino was none other than Harley. With him, she would be willing to actually go through on that strip poker offer. Unfortunately, he wasn’t here for such things. Candy had a feeling that’d be the case, and with the flattery aside, she set the cards aside begrudgingly.

“What a shame. Even if I royally kicked your ass, it would still be a pretty sweet deal for me.” She chuckled. Her chin rested on her hand as her eyes locked with his. Curious, her eyebrow raised in response to the last tidbit of his sentence. She hated questions, towards her in particular.

Candy paused for a moment, the corners of her mouth growing into a smirk. “Well that’s rather blunt.” She replied with a single scoff. That was to be expected given that she was the only one who showed good sportsmanship at the Macabre Theatre. All she was doing was congratulating the first winner of their game, but it seemed no one else approved. What a bunch of sore losers.

“Normally,” She started, leaning across the table a little to get a tad closer to Harley. The whole time, she observed him with the slightest hint of amusement in her eyes. “I would tell you something vague and cryptic, or just tell you to fuck off if I disliked you. But Harley, I’ll do something I normally don’t do because I kinda like you: I’ll be honest.” Candy couldn’t help but give another small chuckle at her comment, but her face gave no indication that she was lying or had anything to hide. “I’m wondering who did it myself.” She finished, glancing down at her nails briefly. “I never even spoke to the girl. The whole thing wasn’t my style. Way too messy. Besides, I hate signing up for stuff I don’t know the fine print of. I was hoping our killer would mess up so I could see the real rules and extent of this game, but it seems I underestimated them. Or, it could be that I underestimated us.” 

First Impressions of the fellow guests will be under the cut, even if they didn’t interact with her.

Red: First assumption was right, but I give him credit for being able to mouth off to me during the theatre.

Sepia: You’re rather grumpy, aren’t you? Oh well, I can kinda respect you I guess.

Neo: Do you ever shut up? At least you say some interesting stuff every now and then.

Chamomile: What do you know I was totally right without even talking to her! Too bad that fight didn’t end well for her and her killer is still at large.

Thirty Four: Do you ever become self aware of how lame you appear?

Shuten-Douji: I’d give her shit about basically not reacting to an attempt on her life, but for one I’d react the same, and two, I honestly don’t think she’s sober enough to comprehend it.

Strawberry Luxe: I’m so curious about you, I’d love to talk more.

Sawbones: How does it feel being the “Good Doctor” Sawbones?

Jackal: Thanks for the ice cream. Doesn’t being morally upright all the time tire you?

Fennec: I was hoping you’d be more than your looks alluded to and be interesting, but I guess that’s not the case. What a boooooore.

Pix: Smarter than I thought she’d be. I’ll have to keep an eye on her and not get on her bad side-- except I probably failed that second part already, so I’ll focus on the first one.

Harley: Loosen up and have a little more fun! After all, we could all die at any second, so there’s no time to lose.

Sunny: It’s always the cute and innocent ones that are the most brutal. Proud of her for at least trying to press that button-- I still have my suspicions about her though.

Even after the events of the Macabre Theater, not to mention the supposed attempt on her life that passed, Shuten-douji had not seemed bothered about anything in the least, and carried on her ways as usual.

It was quite a delightful, Dorothy-less day, but Shuten-douji had no illusions about the short vacation, she knew that the cute girl would be back soon. She didn’t expect her to be this different, but ah, she remains adorable.

Shuten-douji had wasted no time in exploring the new cars they could enter. They had different values for her, but to her, it’s the last car that mattered the most. Shuten-douji lets out an audible, very much happy squeal. Her eyes twinkle in delight, and she giggles excitedly.

“A hot spring!” she exclaims. “Ah, it was just recently that I was hoping for something like this to be here, but I chose not to excite myself for nothing.” 

She almost jumps lightly at least once, but she claps her hands together, calming herself with a deep breath. The place is beautiful, and very much spoke to Shuten-douji. How did they manage this? She didn’t care enough to ask that question, all that matters is that it is here.

Humming cheerfully, Shuten-douji skips to the lounge, predictably towards the bar, to grab a bottle of sake. Then she skips merrily to her cabin for her personal sake cup, and heads straight to the hot spring.

Shuten-douji’s humming takes on a melody as she approaches the spring, and she dips herself slowly, sighing in pleasure as the warm water slowly envelops her. “Mmm,” she sighs one more time, almost seductively, when she sits down, her shoulders under the water. “How heavenly,” she coos softly.

She only lifts herself up a bit when the wooden tub with the bottle of sake floats near her, and she pours herself a cup. She leans back onto the stone to drink, and that’s when she notices the newcomer. Her body is naked; her crimson tattoos, spread all over her skin, bare for anyone to see. Shuten-douji raises her cup at them.