The next morning, Chie was the first to stir and wake up, her eyes fluttering open as sunlight streamed in through the window above her bed. It took her a beat to remember what had happened yesterday and where she was, but when she did, her stomach clenched slightly with lingering anxiety. Right...how were the others doing?

  She glanced toward the bed next to hers and found that Alice, Juniper and Noel were still sound asleep...so she decided to let the girls rest. She pulled her blanket off and got out of bed quietly instead, slipping into the bathroom nearby to freshen up.

  She washed up quickly and brushed her teeth, feeling much better afterwards...before heading back out into the room and glancing toward the beds again.

  Now that she was awake, she was feeling restless, not wanting to lie around and do nothing all day while she waited for the girls to wake up too. Maybe there was something she could do to keep herself busy in the meantime?

  She padded over toward the suite's small desk, sitting down and powering on the laptop that was there. A few moments later…and she realized that while the hotel does have a laptop for guests to use, it's only usable for business-related things, so no streaming services or anything of the sort.

  Chie sighed with disappointment, shutting the laptop and standing up again. Now what?

  Her stomach chose that moment to growl, reminding her that she hadn't eaten for nearly a full day...

  She glanced over at the bed again, then back toward the door that led out into the hallway. Maybe she could just go down to the hotel restaurant and grab some breakfast? The girls would still be asleep by the time she got back, she was fairly sure…

  With that thought in mind, she grabbed her phone, wallet and room keys, then quietly slipped out into the hallway, being sure to keep the door shut behind her so she wouldn't risk waking the others.

  After she was certain the door was shut tightly, she turned and headed down the hallway in the direction of the elevators, already starting to mentally calculate how much breakfast would cost her.

  ...She probably should have brought a jacket. She shivered a little, the hallway was surprisingly chilly.

  Thankfully, she reached the elevators quickly enough, stepping into one and pressing the button for the Lobby. The elevator began descending immediately after the doors slid shut, and Chie was left alone with her thoughts while waiting.

  She checked her phone for the time, rubbing her hands together to keep warm. 7:35 AM.

  She'd awoken earlier than she thought...but she wasn't surprised, she'd never been a super heavy sleeper, after all.

  She checked the weather app next, reading over the forecast for the day…

  The forecast showed a low of -2°C and a high of only 3°C, with snowfall expected to continue lightly throughout the day.

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  Chie grimaced, she really should have grabbed her coat before leaving the room. She was already starting to regret this decision now...

  Just as she thought that though? The elevator doors slid open, revealing not just an empty lobby but also Yuki and Kaori standing there waiting for it.

  The two ex-Xerosi Clan assassins turned their heads slightly toward Chie when their specially-honed ears heard movement from inside the elevator…their eyes locked onto hers instantly under the dim lighting within the hotel walls…

  Silence.

  Neither party spoke right away; both sizing each other up cautiously while tension crackled between them like static electricity in cold air around them too.

  Chie’s breath hitched, her instincts screaming at her to run back to the elevator, but she forced herself still.

  Yuki and Kaori were wearing different kimonos from before being disowned from the Clan, their gloved hands resting near concealed weapons, their expressions unreadable beneath shadowed hoods.

  "...Going somewhere?" Yuki asked flatly, not hostile yet…but not exactly welcoming either.

  Kaori stayed silent beside her sister…though Chie could feel the weight of her gaze like a physical touch.

  Her pulse pounded in ears as she swallowed hard before answering carefully: "Just getting breakfast."

  Yuki arched an eyebrow, not quite buying it, but also noticing how nervous Chie seemed around them. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took a step forward…and her voice took on a sharper edge.

  "Alone?" She questioned, tone clearly showing she didn't believe her.

  Chie's heart skipped a beat at the implication in the question, her mind rapidly racing for a viable lie.

  But before she could even speak, Kaori beat her to it, her voice soft yet oddly cold...

  "We know the other three are here too."

  Her words hung in the air like a cold, heavy raindrop, falling straight through the tension in the lobby.

  The words hit Chie like a physical blow, her heart sinking into her stomach with dread.

  ...How the hell would they know that? She thought, eyes widening briefly. Had they followed their group from the castle complex?

  "How—how could you possibly know that?", she managed to get out, despite how dry her mouth suddenly felt...

  Yuki and Kaori exchanged a glance, but neither one spoke; they just regarded her with the same calculating look, as if weighing whether or not to answer her question.

  It was Kaori who finally gave in, though...

  "Let's just say we have our sources." She said ominously.

  Chie fought to keep her expression neutral at the answer, but internally? She was panicking. What did that even mean?? What kind of sources did they possibly have here to have found them so easily?

  She forced herself to breathe. The last thing she needed right now was to freak out. Not with Yuki and Kaori right there.

  Yuki tilted her head slightly, almost as if she could tell exactly what Chie was thinking...and was enjoying the reaction she was getting.

  "Hmph." Yuki exhaled sharply, almost like she was amused by Chie's attempt at playing dumb. "You really expect us to believe that?"

  Kaori didn't react much beyond a slight tightening of her jaw, but her eyes flickered with something unreadable for just a second before going blank again.

  Yuki stepped forward now, closing the distance between them in one smooth motion, her voice lowering into something dangerously soft: "...We know Alice is here too."

  Chie's stomach dropped straight through the floor.

  They weren’t just guessing. They knew.

  "That’s not funny, Yuki." Chie forced a laugh, too sharp to be natural. "We just happened to be here on vacation when all the chaos started. Nothing more."

  Yuki didn't even blink at her attempt at deflection. Instead, she leaned in slightly, her voice dropping into something lethal.

  "Stop lying." She hissed under her breath so no one else would hear them over lobby noises around them.

  Kaori shifted ever so subtly beside Yuki; fingers twitching near where a knife was hidden within folds of her kimono sleeves...

  The unspoken threat hung thick between them now: They weren’t leaving without answers.