STRANGERS FOR YEARS, THREE NIGHTS AS FRIENDS

˗ˏˋ WORDS THAT HIDE WITHIN SECRETS 'ˎ˗

"Are you fucking serious? You could've thought of some other excuse, but you used that? Are you crazy?"

"I had nothing else to come up with! And besides, maybe you do gotta figure it o–"

"Just tell me why you needed to talk to me so we can get this over with, idiot."

Seven gave them a suspicious gaze before sighing heavily. After being abruptly dragged out of the room and leaving Prosper alone, Kenji and Seven hadn't had the ideal conversation for the past 5 minutes. All they talked about was the last-minute excuse Kenji made up so he could talk to him.

The restroom they were in was deadly silent before they came in, which was pretty normal considering what happened a few hours ago. There wasn't anyone inside of the stalls which was perfect to avoid any distractions or anything that could interfere with the conversation. But...not a word slipped out of their mouths.

Kenji's eyes wandered to the ceiling as he attempted to find the right words, a sheepish chuckle escaping his lips as he struggled to voice his suspicions about Prosper's indifference to the strange occurrences on the cruise. Though the thoughts were crystal clear in his mind, wording them proved challenging. Why was it so hard anyway?

He furrowed his eyebrows in frustration, clicking his tongue as well. If he didn't say anything the next minute, Seven would surely spit out some curse words at him or something.

Moving his eyes back to the annoyed detective, he let out a small inhale and exhale. "...Prosper," he began. "Don't you think he's been acting a little odd?"

"Odd? He is acting a little strange." the black-haired man immediately responded, the tone of his voice a little harsh.

"...Yeah, see? He is totally out of character!" he raised his hands up, "And not to mention how he isn't...like, caring enough. Maybe during the suicide incident thingy he did, but I still feel like it wasn't enough."

Seven let his half-lidded eyes wander around the restroom while thinking about what Kenji said. Prosper not worrying enough about the incidents that occurred on the cruise? He could understand why someone couldn't be worrying that much but maybe it was indeed a little suspicious.

Prosper, a pretty quiet individual who acts like Kenji's babysitter, along with being a best friend as well. Possibly a family friend as he assumed from the beginning. Seven overheard one of their rants about family problems, and since he kept that in the back of his mind so much, maybe it was about time he'd used that as a clue.

He didn't want any personal information like trauma to be involved in this case, along with emotional intentions. Seven didn't want Prosper to be a clue, but everyone standing on this cruise was a suspect. Not to mention how Prosper worded his sentence about the live band. What other choice did he really have?

I guess I'll have to try... Seven thought as he finally let his eyes settle back to Kenji. With his monotonous voice, he remarked. "Considering how he talked about the band, it is reasonable to suspect him."

Kenji's voice wavered slightly, a hint of uncertainty lacing his words. He cleared his throat, trying to regain composure. "I'm not really suspecting him–actually, I don't know. But either way, he's definitely acting weird. You think so too, right?" His eyes darted nervously around the room, searching for confirmation.

Seven's eyes narrowed the more he listened to Kenji. He felt a quick pang of unease in his gut, a mix of concern and curiosity intertwining within him. As a detective, Seven was trained to observe every detail, to decipher the truth hidden beneath layers of deception. But what intrigued him most was the undeniable fact that Kenji carried suspicions against Prosper.

With a bitter chuckle escaping from him, the detective's lips curved into an uncanny and odd smile. Maybe Kenji wasn't as stupid as Seven thought he was.

As the conversation continued to unfold, the two found themselves speaking about the experiences they had on this cruise. Every little thing they spoke about seemed innocent on the surface, but it only revealed hidden clues for this case.

The memories of their near-death occurrence back on the main deck. The man that charged toward Kenji, nearly cutting his life short. Haunting whispers that etched in their minds. Each detail they discussed about the suicides, every differing perspective they shared, only became more important than it was before.

And then, the conversation took an unexpected turn when Kenji mentioned a chilling gossip he had heard from Prosper. It talked about a haunting tale of Prosper's family member embarking on a three-day voyage aboard a massive boat to an unknown territory far from Lumina. However, as the sun set on the third night, both the boat and the family member vanished without a trace.

"Is that so? Pretty ironic since we're on a cruise, 'embarking' to an unnamed place for three days," Seven commented with his odd smile. "That story sounds familiar as well. It sounds similar to a case I heard about a few years ago."

Kenji replied with a grin. "What? Do you think the story might be the case then?"

"That would be very interesting, wouldn't it?"