Clutching my tote bag tight against my side, I slid into my seat in the courtroom, and tried my best not to look like I was holding a bomb. Len, Yuka, and Rin were already there this fine spring morning, evidently concerned that I was nearly late. Wordlessly, I placed my tote on the table and slid out a plastic bag.

The County vs. Len Kagamine, Day 3.

"Is that…?" Yuka whispered.

I nodded. "Miki's journal." It was a thing of beauty. leather-bound and absolutely teeming with the aura of secrecy. "I just picked it up this morning."

"What's inside?" Len asked.

"I don't know. I have to open it in the presence of a member of the prosecution team or a police officer. It might be a few days before we find out."

Rin frowned. "There are way too many rules. I can hardly keep track of them."

"It doesn't matter how many rules there are. It only matters how many are followed," I replied, stealing a glance toward the judge's bench. His Dishonor would be here any moment now, and all I could do was hope that he wasn't collecting on his promise of a chess match any time soon.

Yuka and Rin shrank back into their seats as I hastened the notebook back inside my bag. I could feel Meiko Ursa's eyes boring into my side. She must have known there was something important in that journal, something that changed the game entirely.

"Hey," Len said, breaking me away from bears and notebooks and games.

"Hey."

"I feel like… we haven't talked in a while," he went on.

"Yeah, you're right." How long had it been exactly? A week, maybe? It felt longer.

Len averted his eyes, and I took a moment to examine the faint trace of bruising still left on his face. I opened my mouth to assure him that everything was going to be alright, like I had done a thousand times before, but he spoke before I could regurgitate my sentiments. "The other day, you were summoned into the judge's chambers. What exactly did he want?"

"U-Um." I hesitated. "Nothing in particular. He was just being strange. Something was bothering him, I think, about the case."

"That was all?" he asked. "Because—later on, he kept looking at you, and you would shake your head. But then you nodded and…"

"You're very perceptive," I said. "You think I'm paying him? You think I would do that?"

"That's not what I'm worried about! I'm worried about… I'm just worried about you."

"I can handle myself, Len, and I can certainly handle Kaito Taro."

"All rise."

I gave Len one last pointed look, and he reciprocated without flinching. Meanwhile, His Dishonor waltzed up to his bench and beamed at the crowd of onlookers which had only grown in number since last session. As he sat down, his robe puffed up, and he looked like a fat, black crow perched above us. Another long day was ahead of us, and my brief conversation with Len had already given me a headache. He didn't understand that the world we were currently living in was filled with broken rules and that broken rules were not meant to be spoken of. I regretted bringing him along to the sentencing hearing of Gumi Megpoid. He didn't need to see the extent of Kaito Taro's reach. He didn't have to look at me like I needed help. I didn't need help, okay?

Okay?

"The prosecution calls Yuki Kaai to the stand."

I sat up a little straighter, and so did the rest of the room as soon as they heard the soft patter of Maryjane's along the cold marble aisle. For most of the duration of her journey to the stand, all I could see were her black pigtails bobbing past the rows of spectators. I always felt pity for children who had to testify in such a capacious and intimidating place, but as she finally made it to the stand, I could see that her expression was dauntless. She looked unaffected, just like that time at the creek. I was more afraid for her than impressed.

Meiko was standing, gathering her most maternal qualities into a laser beam of sentimentality. Oh yes, Mama Bear was here. "Could you state your name for the record, little lady?" she asked. Was is just me or did Ms. Ursa sound remarkably more southern?

"Yuki Kaai," she replied matter-of-factly. Her huge eyes examined the room with avid curiosity. They had to place a box on her chair so she could see. "And I'm quite tall for my age, thank you very much."

"I apologize. And how old are you, exactly?"

"Nine. My birthday is in two months and four days."

"Well, that's exciting, isn't it?" She laughed rather forcefully. "Now, you know you are here for a very serious reason, right?"

"My mom said I have to tell the truth."

"That's right. I'm going to ask you some questions about March 14. Is that alright?"

She thought about it a moment. "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay. What were you doing at about 6 P.M. on March 14?"

"I was walking home from a friend's house," she answered rather loudly, so the whole room and the city of Ava could hear.

"Were you by the creek."

"Yeah. Duh."

Meiko cleared her throat. "Do you take that route home often?"

"Yeah. I take it to go to school and back too."

"What did you see?"

The members of the jury were either excited or saddened by the testimony underway. "There was a hump of white in the water," Yuki said, her voice very low all of a sudden.

"And then what did you do?"

"I went closer to the water…"

"And?"

"It was caught in some branches. There was… reddish hair."

"Then what did you do?"

"I screamed, and the man at the fish store came and then called the police."

"How do you feel about this experience, Yuki?"

"My mom said it's very angering."

"But what do you say?"

"I'm… I'm sad, I guess. I saw a picture of her on the news. She was pretty."

"Thank you, Yuki. That will be all."

As I stood up, before His Dishonor could even say "cross-examination," Yuki blurted out, "My mom says I still can't talk to you."

A few short laughs sparked throughout the courtroom. "Well, that's unfortunate," I replied with a glint of a smile. "About the case or in general?"

"Hm. About the case." She gave me a wink, which seemed to dampen Mama Bear's forced grin a bit.

"Well, that's alright, I guess, because I have a few questions about the days before the incident," I said.

"Okay."

"Did you see anyone strange loitering by the creek two days before you found Ms. Star's body?" It may be worth noting that I had been asking around the shops that line the creek without rest, and there was a surprising amount of people who saw someone very memorable by that creek on that day. Someone whose aura was "unforgettable." Come on, Yuki. You know who I'm talking about.

"Yes," she answered dutifully.

"Why did this person catch your eye, and what did this person look like?"

"I've been thinking about that a lot, thank you very much," she said with her head held high in the air. "And I remember that she was a woman, and she was really scary looking. She was staring at the creek and then walk a little bit and then stare at the creek again. She was scary. She had green hair."

My smile twitched. Green? Green hair? "Green hair," I repeated with uncertainty.

"Green hair," she confirmed. "When she turned I could see it. She was also wearing a really long, black dress."

"Thank you," I said, forgetting if I had any other questions all of a sudden. "You did a good job, Yuki. You may go now." But I wasn't looking at her when I said that; I was looking at the woman behind the prosecution's bench. I was looking at Mothy. Something vile crawled along my stomach when I looked at her. She reciprocated my gaze with icy coldness, her gaze somehow bemused despite the sharp chill.

"What was that all about?" Yuka asked from behind me.

"Yellow… I could have sworn she would say yellow. All the other witnesses corroborated that she had yellow hair."

"Why is it so important that she had yellow hair?"

Len looked at me with wide eyes, understanding what I was saying. "You think…?" he trailed off.

"I don't know," I replied.

"You may call your next witness, dearest prosecution," Kaito announced.

I put rubbed my temples, knowing exactly what name she was going to say and not altogether mentally prepared for it. "Gakupo Kamui," Meiko said coarsely. You and me both, Meiko. You and me both.

I could smell the cologne before I could see the man. Sweet Lord, shoot me right now. Please. However, no one did shoot me right that instant, and instead I was forced to watch that inanely tall rosebush of a human being gallivant up to the witness stand and flash a shameless smile toward the gaunt Ms. Ursa. It might be hard to imagine why us females were reacting this way, due to there being only one encounter which I have described, but trust me, trust me, he may have a heart somewhere under that tanned skin, though it did not change the fact that he would take anything that breathed to bed with him immediately. I did not tell Len this for good reason, but maybe I should have warned Ms. Ursa.

"State your name for the record," Meiko mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Gakupo asked with crossed legs and shaded eyes.

"State your name."

"Oh, Gakupo Kamui. I am a police officer."

"Great. Can you tell me where you were the afternoon of the 13th?"

"Of March?"

"…Yes, of March."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or purposefully irritating her in some misguided loyalty toward me. Either way, he hadn't looked my direction once since his grand entrance. "I was working at the precinct, of course."

"And did Miki Star come into the station?"

"Yes, at around 6 P.M. I believe I was the last person to see her alive."

"Except for the killer."

"Except for the killer…"

"What happened, Officer Kamui? Why was she there?"

"I don't know exactly, but she was wandering around like she was lost. I went up to her and asked if anything was wrong. She was muttering something… Something about her being late to a meeting with a colleague."

"Did she look frightened?"

"Yes, but before I could further question her, she stumbled away."

"May the record know that after questioning every colleague Ms. Star had, none of them claimed to have had a meeting set with the victim. In fact, the only writer she was currently working with was Len Kagamine."

"Defense, any objections?" Kaito sang.

"No," I said shortly.

"I didn't think so. I am finished." She sat down, seeming relieved that she would never have to talk to Gakupo ever again.

"Cross-examination, Ms. Hidari?" Kaito asked.

"No need, Your Honor," I replied.

"Ah, well that went surprisingly quickly," he said. "Why don't we have a half hour recess? Then we can get to your last witness, Ms. Ursa."

Meiko nodded brusquely, and the sound of Kaito's gavel rang sharply in my ears.