Chapter 4
Wednesday, July 14: 10:00am: Yagami Courthouse – Courtroom #1
Yakumo & Tougou returned to the courtroom as the others sat back to their seats.
"Mikoto Suo has been severly disappointed," She thought, "Why was she used?"
Itoko sat back down on the Judge's chair and pounded her gavel.
"The Yagami High Students vs. Mikoto Suo trial will now continue," Itoko announced.
Tougou barked, "The prosecution is ready, your honor!"
Yakumo called, "The defense is ready, ma'am."
She then remembered what happened yesterday:
"Suo-Senpai was accused of shooting down Kyosuke Imadori. However, the gun had 5 bullets in the barrel, but was never fired. Karin Ichijou was held responsible for the Imadori-Senpai discovery and is held in custody for what she did: disturbing the body. She even blamed Suo-Senpai for killing him; but as it turns out, he was killed by being jabbed 3 times in the back. Mikoto was being hounded by Imadori, but only because she had big breasts; Karin found the body around 6am, before school started, and placed it on the bench, setting up the fact that Suo-Senpai killed him. She lost her boyfriend, but was more frightened when Buddha Nishimoto gave the word, the day before the murder, that he was to be killed. Today, Nishimoto-Senpai will give out his word about what transpired."
She banged her gavel and said, "Mister Tougou, you may begin…"
"The court calls the classmate and 'Partner' of Imadori, Buddha Nishimoto, to the stand!"
Nishimoto entered the bench.
"Name please," Tougou called.
"My name is Ganji Nishimoto; my soldiers call me "Buddha Nishimoto" for confidential reasons," he said, "I'm also a captain of the Sumo team."
Tougou then explained, "On the day of May 20, your partner, Kyosuke Imadori, was found dead at the pathway to school, which we now learn is in Yagami Park. One, Mikoto Suo, was the culprit behind the incident, but the other reason is that One, Karin Ichijou, found the body minutes later and set it all up in spite of Mikoto Suo. She has held a grudge over her and is now standing in trial. We also learn that you were the one who gave the phone call to Miss Ichijou in the first place, is that correct?"
Nishimoto nodded, "That is correct. I gave news that Karin was, in fact, in love with my soldier, Kyosuke Imadori; I admit that it was me, but I never knew Imadori would be dead now."
"Explain the court what happened on May 19th, Nishimoto."
He explained his story behind the phone call:
"Before the phone call was made, Imadori wanted a temporary leave of absence from our group. He said that he wants to go "Hang" with Miss Karin Ichijou. So, I staged the whole phone call set-up to throw Imadori off guard, so they would never meet up."
Miss Itoko then said, "Hmm… wise words from a wise man, I mean, boy."
Tougou asked, "What is your hobby?"
"I collect movies; some indie types. I even have a quiet drink of tea every time I am in my moments."
"That'll be all; your witness."
Yakumo stood up and said, "Nishimoto-Senpai, in your statement, you said that you want to throw Imadori off guard, so they would never meet up."
Nishimoto was crossed, "One, who has a girlfriend, doesn't belong in my flock! Kyosuke is my best and brightest young soldiers in the group."
"Then… where were you when this happened?"
OBJECTION!!!
"Yesterday, we learned that the murder took place at around 6:30am," Tougou interrupted, "So, it's quite impossible that he was still up."
Yakumo thought, "He's right. I better press further and see what happened."
She said to Nishimoto, "Nishimoto-Senpai, you staged the whole phone call."
"Correct."
"But, why would you stage it last night, when you know he would be murdered the next night?" Yakumo asked.
"To be honest, I never knew that, until that day," Nishimoto remarked, "I'll have you know that Imadori is a proud soldier!"
"But why would he hound Suo-Senpai?" Yakumo pleaded.
"Enh… he has a thing for D-Cups." Nishimoto replied.
"OBJECTION!!!" Yakumo shouted.
"I'm afraid you're gonna have to speak this matter clearly," she continued, "Maybe this group has something to do with his obsession for fat chests!"
Nishimoto gasped and started to sweat in fear.
OBJECTION!!!
"What is the meaning of this, Tsukamoto?" Tougou shouted, "Are you saying that…"
"I mean it!" Yakumo shouted, "Your honor, I demand that Nishimoto-senpai revise his testimony!"
"Motion granted," Miss Itoko called out and turned to him, "You, you fat kid, start telling the truth on this one."
Nishimoto started to sweat in fear and told the real story:
"Okay… I admit it. I am the captain of the Sumo team in Yagami High. But, in my spare time, I collect movies and collectibles. I even have a lot of boys to hang with me and share my collections together. However, some boys are not welcome when they have girlfriends! Hence to forthwith, Imadori was one of them, after we finished 2nd year together! That's the reason I planned the phone call on Ichijou!"
Yakumo then asked, "What kind of movies and collectibles are you talking about?"
OBJECTION!!!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Tougou said, "I believe we already know what he collects in his collection. This man knows Imadori very well, but I believe that his boys are all like him and Buddha Nishimoto: PERVERTED!!!"
Everybody gasped.
Yakumo started to shake in fear and thought aloud, "No… he's a pervert like Imadori-Senpai??? Then that means… his movies are… PORN?!?!?"
Nishimoto began to cringe a bit.
"I told you not to tell everyone; even the girls!!!" He cried.
Yakumo shivered and said, "Pervert…"
Miss Itoko banged her gavel and asked Yakumo if she's all right.
"NO, I'm fine," she replied, "But I need to ask this question…"
"And that is?"
"Nishimoto-Senpai, when did you start to shun Imadori?"
Nishimoto explained, "It was after spring break! Imadori and Ichijou were happy together. Deep down inside, he was still one of us; proud man, trying to see happiness in a woman!"
"Sorry, I asked…" Yakumo said meekly.
"So, you and Imadori were once friends…" Tougou replied, "But, exactly how did you want to shun him after his reuniting with Karin?"
Nishimoto then explains about what happened after Spring Break:
"Imadori is a proud soldier; I respect him a lot. And there is a rule I follow: no man can become love-stricken and abandon their manhood! After we finished our school year, he reunited with Karin Ichijou. I never looked at him the same again! For some reason, he wanted to start again."
Tougou laughed and said, "Funny you should mention that; if I recall, Imadori and Ichijou started to date together, but broke up during the Valentine's Day party."
"I didn't know that," Yakumo thought, "But… why would Nishimoto try to break up the couple again?"
She then asked him, "Nishimoto-Senpai, how did Karin reunite with him?"
"I think maybe the Valentine's Day present he got was a Dozibiron gift! It's pretty much a DVD Collection. He got back to her, since they are die-hard fans of the show!" Nishimoto remarked.
"Yakumo, are you saying that, if what he said is true, they got back together, but led to Imadori's death?" Miss Itoko inquired.
She shook her head and said, "Well, there's another possibility. Maybe they wanted to take a break and start anew."
OBJECTION!!!
"That had nothing to do with the murder of Imadori!!!" Tougou shouted.
"It does; Nishimoto wanted to break up Imadori's date, but it all went awry. Imadori & Ichijou were back together, so he decided to launch such a master plan: 1) Contact Ichijou-Senpai, 2) Set-up Mikoto-Senpai, 3) Have Imadori chase Mikoto, and 4) Have the real murderer take out Imadori!"
"NRGH! The real murderer?" Tougou shouted, "Who's the real murderer?"
Yakumo smiled smugly a little and replied, "Isn't it obvious? It's one of Nishimoto's partners!"
Nishimoto started to shake. He then pounded the bench and started to scream.
"Oh… did I say the wrong thing?" She thought.
He huffed and puffed and shouted at Yakumo, "ALL RIGHT, YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU WANT THE TRUTH ABOUT ME??? I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IMADORI'S DEATH!!! I WAS HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING UP HIM AND ICHIJOU!!!"
Yakumo then asked, "Then, would you like to know who killed Imadori-Senpai?"
"NO," Nishimoto huffed, "But I can tell you what I did that day!"
He calmed down and explained what he did on the day Imadori was killed:
"That limey little bastard was too careless! He knew that Mikoto Suo was to be out on a weekly exercise routine! So, I ordered him to follow Suo! That mission was dealt with the day before he died!"
Yakumo asked, "How did he know about Mikoto's daily routine?"
Nishimoto replied, "He was my INTEL; he notify me on all of the girls' activities. I didn't mean to let him go after all of them. He knows everything: From Suo's daily routine, to Sawachika's talking to boys, to the 1st year girls; all the girls were studied (excluding Miss Tenma Tsukamoto)!"
Yakumo glared at Nishimoto.
OBJECTION!!!
Tougou snapped, "And I would say that I heard this before; you and Imadori were a band of lechers! And we all know that you saw Mikoto upset at him."
She replied, "Oh, chill. Mikoto had nothing to with Imadori, because he ordered the end of him. And I would say that he shattered is pride because he's dating Ichijou-senpai again, and also, is still under a phase of hunting D-Cups!"
Nishimoto gasped as Yakumo continued, "It was all a ruse in the beginning. It all makes sense! Mikoto jogs by Yagami Park every Thursday! Imadori-Senpai's girlfriend jogs everyday! AND… Imadori was walking to school early every Thursday!"
She slammed her hands down and shouted, "The only person who knows about it: was Buddha Nishimoto himself!"
He started to shake in fear.
Miss Itoko banged her gavel and asked him, "Mister Nishimoto, did you or did you not plan the set-up towards Imadori & Ichijou from the beginning?"
Nishimoto then stuttered, "Uh, well, yes, but I, in fact…"
Yakumo shook her head and asked, "Nishimoto, any words of wisdom you'd like to share now, or… ANY CONFESSIONS YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE FOR KILLING YOUR OWN CLASSMATE???"
OBJECTION!!!
Tougou screamed, "Are you saying that Nishimoto killed his own friend, nay, his former friend? Didn't you say that one of his henchmen killed him?"
"I was bluffing, only to shake of his fat web of lies!"
OBJECTION!!!
"A LIE??? That man never mentioned the member of his group!" Tougou shouted.
Nishimoto then stated, "Indeed; I would never be a cold-blooded murderer when it comes to hurting my own soldiers. So, unless you have evidence, I am afraid we're done here."
Yakumo then pulled out a cell phone.
"Oh, yeah? I found this in your locker," She said.
Nishimoto gasped, "Wh-, where did you get it?"
"It's easy; you had to use your phone to call her; however, you didn't erase the IDs on the LED screen. If memory served me, then it would show the exact time that you called Ichijou."
Nishimoto sweated like crazy.
Tougou then stammered, "What is this? How does she know all this?"
Yakumo replied, "I had me a little investigating of my own. You see, I searched Nishimoto's locker for some incriminating evidence. But I came up with the phone; sadly, he had the numbers to everybody he knows in the memory of his phone. He had Imadori's number, Nara's number, Suga's number, Yoshidayama's number--."
OBJECTION!!!
Tougou barked, "Only 10 numbers can be filled up to memory! I don't see why calling his friends would be so disastrous!"
"If you let me finish, then you would know that… Ichijou's number's on there!"
Miss Itoko insisted on Yakumo to give the phone to her. She looked at the memory section and found the name "Ichijou" on the phone.
"So… it's all there! Imadori was set-up!" She stated.
Nishimoto growled a bit and asked, "SO? What do you think I'd be doing to poor Ichijou? She doesn't deserve to hang with that loser. She's a B-cup, after all."
"Maybe…" Yakumo responded, "But, have you forgotten about your pride as the Great Buddha Nishimoto???"
He started to gasp and sweat.
"You said that boys would never hang with girlfriends! Well, what was your motive into hurting him, Nishimoto? Did you hire Harima, Hanai, Suga, Nara, Tennouji, Asou, or even Karasuma?"
Tenma shrieked, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Miss Itoko banged her gavel and screamed, "ORDER IN THIS COURT!!!"
Yakumo continued, "AS I WAS SAYING: Did you hire one of those boys, or did you plan it yourself?"
Nishimoto then explained what happened that day of the murder:
"Imadori, he was lucky to be alive with Ichijou. But when I set this whole thing up, I found him wanting to see her again. Unfortunately, I hired a lucky boy to kill him off."
Tougou asked, "And who is this boy you mentioned?"
"It was… Asou, Suo's EX-Boyfriend!"
Yakumo gasped, "NO!"
Everyone murmured Yakumo started to shake a bit.
Miss Itoko banged her gavel and called, "Well, it seems he hired another boy to do his dirty work. However, I cannot approve of his faulty charade and admit that Mikoto is innocent yet."
HOLD IT!!!
Yakumo cried out, "There's still time! Who here knows about Mikoto Suo more than anybody?"
Everyone looked around and tried to guess. Just then, a lone hand rose up. It was Hanai's.
"Hanai?" She thought.
"It seems "four-eyes" is at it again, trying to impress Miss Tsukamoto, Defense Attorney," Tougou thought.
"Please, I would like to say something about Mikoto," he said, "Please, let me take the stand!"
In Yakumo's thoughts, Hanai's thoughts said:
"Oh, man! I cannot let Suo know about what really happened to that sick bastard, Imadori! If word gets to her, she'll go ballistic! And worse, Yakumo will never forgive me!!!"
"Is Hanai hiding something?" Yakumo thought.
Hanai approached the bench, fully calm.
"I wonder…" She thought, "If Hanai knew about what happened that day…"
To Be Continued…