It's a long one guys, hope you have your snacks and drinks ready, hope you like it!
Genki had suggested the unthinkable, something that none of us had even considered in the heat of this overly long debate. His focus was centered on the root cause of the discussion and judging from how calm he was, despite the cacophony of white noise, it seemed to me that he was drawing his own conclusions from what had been said so far.
"Umm...w-what do you mean she uh," I hesitated to ask for more information, "Planned something? Are you saying that she-"
"I'm not stating anything as fact, Ekichirou," his blunt tone didn't spare any prisoners, "I'm just processing the clues that I've gathered and theorized about a few different ways this trial could come to a succinct end without too many casualties."
"That doesn't sound anywhere close to being good," beads of nervous sweat trickled down the sides of Hibiki's face.
"Care to share those theories with the rest of us?" Shannon's impatience grew thinner with each passing moment, "Didn't know you were one for suspense, Genki."
The risk analyst didn't pay her snarky comments much mind as he continued, "Taking into account Aki's testimony and Gabriel's lost equipment, my deduction is that Ayano fits somewhere into the equation," his eloquence in discussing his theory was very professional despite the tense atmosphere, "Therefore if my theory is correct, we need to ask ourselves what was Ayano hiding that required such a level of duplicity?"
"Aren't you just chasing a false lead?" Tsukae puffed up her cheeks, "Even if she was doing something underhanded or something….does that really mean much here?"
"I have to agree with Ms. Shinzou," Asahi mused over the idea, "Wouldn't someone assume that questioning her motives be pointless, given that she's the victim of this case?"
That was a good point. I mean even if she was hiding something before she died….does it really mean anything if her killer still got away in the end? Is this mystery even worth figuring out? Why did she even have to die? This trial is so stupid, if it weren't for that blasted bear, none of this would have been thought of to begin with.
Monojoker yawned as obnoxiously loud as he could, "You rejects sure can make a trial nauseatingly boring…" he readjusted himself in his throne, "Maybe I should just end the trial early and kill you all off."
"Yes! Please do that, boss!" Carolina eagerly jumped at the notion, "I'd rather watch paint dry for hours than listen to this odious trial for even a second longer."
"Speak for yourself, this shit's funny as fuck!" Barnabus laughed uproariously, almost falling over in his puny seat, "I need a fucking camera, this'd go viral in a flash!"
"That would be very counterproductive to the plan, Barnabus," Ysabelle reproached the large android, "We'd be alerting the world to our presence with a video like that, someone could trace it. Plus the boss is already peeved with us as is, we shouldn't stoke his fires anymore."
"Who cares!? I love that idea~" Teddy giggled maniacally, Monojoker staring at him with an intense glare, "What do you think JJ? That sound fun to you?"
The clown didn't respond, but looked on with his signature placid expression as if he were daydreaming the entire time. What are they even talking about? What is this about a plan? The more and more I thought about it, the more brain cells I was losing by the minute.
"You asswads actually get off to this shit?" Chihaya rolled her eyes, "You know, don't answer that, I already know the answer. Although if I was watching this shit, I'd dislike the video and call it fake in the comments."
"If we could please carry on with the trial," Chris mediated the best he could, "Pardon me for asking, but do you mean to suggest that Lady Ayano was plotting against us this entire time, Sir Genki?"
"It's only a theory…" his cryptic words didn't help alleviate the unease, "But I would like to ask Ekichirou and Cherika about what they saw in regards to that notion."
"H-Huh?" my sister perked up at the mention of her name, "W-Why us?"
"Upon multiple observations, you two have been very close with Ayano prior to her death, if anything, my suspicions have drawn me to the conclusion that you two may know something about it that might lead us to her killer." He said it so calmly, like ordering takeout, "At least...that's what I hope is the desired outcome for testing this hypothesis."
Oh dear, things are just as I feared. Any moment, he or Galiana would bring up that particular piece of evidence and the suspense was eating away at me bit by bit. Each ticking second that passed, the closer the truth got and that just made me even more upset and scared.
"Umm….you say t-that but…" I didn't want to answer, good gosh I didn't want to, but not saying anything would draw even more scrutinous eyes on my sister and I, so I needed to come up with something fast, "Now that you m-mention it….there was o-one thing."
"Oh ho~ Has the light of the truth brought forth some clarity to your weary mind, Kichi?" Shiho's chipper mannerisms didn't make talking about this any easier, "What is it that plagues your troubled thoughts?"
My sister anxiously looked at me, trying her best to give me inconspicuous signals, but with everyone waiting for me to respond, it was hard not to draw attention to ourselves any more than we already had.
"She was uh...r-rather restless I guess…. so we uhh... decided to give her some space," I cleared my throat in between pauses, "But all of a sudden at the p-party, it seemed that she had a change of personality, it was almost scary how she bounced back so quickly…"
"I remember vividly that you three were hanging out and eating snacks on a table somewhere, if I recall," Shion wondered, "I didn't think much of it at the time either…"
"She even got us cotton candy….I found it strange, but sorta welcomed it," I ended that line of thinking right then and there.
"Enough with this sappy bullshit, give us the juicy details already!" Hotaru grew bored with the rambling, "Did she or did she not try to do something mischievous at the party!? Although if she did, she should have told me in advance! I want in on that shit too!"
"How have you not been arrested yet?" Itsuki sighed, an annoyed one at that.
That's what I want to know as well….but in all seriousness, was the eSports Pro as happy as she said she was? Could all of this talk and her sudden friendly shift in personality have been a ruse for something much more devious? I just couldn't wrap my head around it...
NON-STOP DEBATE
Ekichirou: Well uh... aside from moving on from her stepfather's death unusually f-fast….I would say that she's just the s-same as she was before this all even happened.
Hotaru: Awww! That's it!? What a freaking waste...I thought there would have been some climactic turn of events where she turns out to be the mastermind-y villain behind it all!
Shion: I think you might be overexaggerating it a little bit….
Itsuki: Soooooo we're on a wild goose chase….what fucking luck!
Galiana: Kukuku, we cannot give up just yet! I daresay that something is amiss, even if it doesn't seem that way. Did anyone else notice anything strange about her behavior?
Aki: I guess she was acting very differently….but I don't w-want to suspect her! I know she wouldn't do anything weird, at least I hope so...
Hibiki: You're putting a lot of faith in someone you just met a few days ago….
Banri: Mmmm sweet candies, yummy munchy candies.
Jun: I mean….if there's nothing left to talk about, then do we just move on to the next topic or...?
Norio: No, but something's off here….
Genki: All the theories converge here, nothing should be surprising if we take into account her movements and behavior from the last few days.
Chihaya: I'm just about ready to shove that clipboard up your ass, lobster boy…enough with the fucking theories n' shit, who's the killer!?
Used Truth Bullet: Greenish Blue Powder
Cherika: I hope this is r-right!
Break!
"Uhh….." hearing my sister shout from across the room was a rare sight, I was almost taken aback given how quiet she had been so far, "I….I…"
"Is there something on your mind, Cherika?" Gabe asked my sister.
"W-Well uh…." the words seemed to have escaped her mouth as she grew more and more red in the face as everyone looked at her, "K-Kichi…..d-do you remember it as well…."
I had a decent idea of what she was referring to. Given that we had to share the same truth bullets, it only made sense that she would bring that up, although given the circumstances, I'd say it was inevitable. The pained look on her face said it all, there was an uncomfortable truth that neither she nor I wanted to acknowledge, but in this life or death situation, nothing was off the table.
"Can you speak up and say what it freaking is already?!" Itsuki shouted out, "Do you need a megaphone just to speak to someone, huh?"
"Don't rush her Mr. Ogasawara, she can speak when she's ready!" Asahi stood up for her, a very gentlemanly response at that, "If it's too uncomfortable for you to say, can you express it some other way, Ms. Yoshirenku?"
"Umm..t-thanks," she appreciated the sentiment, "T-There was….some kind of p-powder...on our table…"
"Powder?" Jun tilted her head, "What kind? Was it edible? Hmmm..."
"I'm...not sure," my sister shriveled up in her seat, the anxiety was getting to her, "It looked w-weird…"
"Weird how, exactly?" Aki asked, briefly thinking about it, "Was it some kind of food preservative or sugary based substance that fell off the food? Was it from one of the snacks served at the party?"
"I don't remember adding anything powdery to the food we prepared," Shion felt the need to jump in and say her side, "I mean...we didn't really make any of the food per se, b-but I do know that we didn't add anything other than seasoning to the nachos."
"Soooooo, shouldn't we be suspecting the people who handled the food in that case?" Hotaru snickered, "Woooooow, we trusted you guys to feed us and this is how you repay our trust, by trying to poison us? Unbelievable!"
"Now wait just a moment!" Shannon took offense to that line, "You'd think I'd be dumb enough to do something as idiotic as that!? Even if I was the killer, wouldn't that just incriminate me even more!?"
"I also agree with Ms. Akahoshi's argument," Asahi reacted with a defensive tone, "Although I did do the majority of the cooking...I swear on my family name that nothing was wrong! I can assure you all that I did not do anything suspicious with our snacks!"
Oh boy, things are getting heated again. How does one even interject into something as contested as the topic of someone trying to betray the group's trust? Does that mean that someone had ulterior motives and was planning to use the party as a cover? The more I thoguth about it, the more sinister the murder seemed, all I could do was sit there and mentally fight with my mind over what to do.
"Sooo...what does the powdery substance taste like?" Banri bobbed up and down in his seat, "Is it some kind of food ration crushed up to look like powder? I ate lots of food like that when I was working with Leader!"
"Is the colored powder even relevant to the debate?" Chris asked, "I highly doubt confectionery treats relate to this peculiar case."
"Maybe it wasn't sugar to begin with…." Daiko posed an idea, lazily leaning in his chair.
"I believe that to be the case," Genki jumped on the defense attorney's notion, "I think I know what it could be if this theory of mine is correct."
HANGMAN'S GAMBIT
What is the true identity of the powdery substance?
R _ _ P _ _ S _ _
R _ T P O _ S_ N
RAT POISON
Genki: All the risks have been assessed!
"This is rather unprecedented….but it all fits into place if you think about it this way," the risk analyst jotted some notes down on his board.
"What is it, Genki?" The scribbling and mumbling made me wonder what he was thinking even more, "Is it good or bad news?"
"Well, depending on how you view the situation," he continued to ramble more than he usually did, "I regret to say that the 'sugary powder' is in fact rat poison."
His words sent a chill down my spine, just the word poison sent me into mild hysterics. If that's what that stuff was on the table…..Oh god….No...This doesn't feel right.
"P-P-Poison!?" Shion sputtered out, the disbelief in her tone was shocking, "W-What?"
"Oh my goodness…" Aki panicked, "S-Someone tried to poison one of us?!"
"That seems to be the case..." Norio coldly said, "What a coward this killer is…."
"Why is questioning the method of murder the one thing you're more concerned with!?" Hibiki's eyes widened at the revelation and the vigilante's choice words, "Shit…that's messed up."
"That's a scary thought…." Tsukae wiped some sweat with her shirt sleeve.
"Hey blind bitch!" Chihaya directed her anger towards Nashi, "Did you know about this beforehand because of your damn visions!?"
The soothsayer's vow of silence was even more telling than he would let on, the anxiety on his face was covered well, but the clown's fury almost hit me as she darted angry glares at the mysterious boy and his cagey attitude.
"..." more silence, not a single peep from him whatsoever.
"That's it, I'm gonna slap that fucking face covering off your pale ass face!" The red head's anger reached a boiling point as she lunged out of her chair, "Come here you son of a bitch!"
I tried to restrain her the best I could, but she almost knocked me over, not before Norio rushed out of his seat and restrained her. Chihaya violently struggled against his iron grip, but instead of defusing the situation, the Monohelpers just giggled or stared blankly at the chaos.
"Now this is entertainment!" Monojoker snickered, "The beautiful distrust amongst you all, eating away at your very core as the truth draws nearer and nearer, it's so deliciously poetic! Please carry on, I love how you pesky humans tear each other down!"
"Wowie, Chi Chi sure flew into an animalistic rage!" Shiho leaned over her podium, "Reminds me of this feral tiger I came across in the forest. Oh I loved playing with her baby tigers!"
"What the heck is even h-happening?" Gabe was both perplexed as well as nervous.
"Let go of me, dickhead!" Chihaya struggled more and more until Norio pinched her shoulder nerves and she instantly calmed down slightly, "W-Wha…."
He let go of her and plopped her back into her chair like a rag doll, "Sit your ass down…" his aggressively cold energy spread across the room as things grew even more tense with the simmering hostility.
"Oh boy, remind me to never piss you off," Daiko chuckled, a slight tinge of worry in his voice, "Now that was….enlightening."
"Please tell me that you didn't hurt her, Mr. Kuromiya?" Asahi feared for the clown's well-being, staring at her as she slumped over in her chair, "What did you do?"
"No...just a little nerve pinch," he resumed his stoic vigilance, acting like nothing just happened.
"Thank you for….handling the problem, Norio," Galiana swept in to steal the debate, "However! Are you suggesting there's a connection between these two clues, Genki?"
"Well, if you look at the color of the powder and compare it to the color of rat poison," Genki mused over his train of thought, "It should match the ones inside the storage tent. Can you confirm that for us, Gabriel?"
"Huh? Oh right! Well yeah…" the garbologist snapped out of his daze, "There were some rats lingering around the carnival, so I decided to put it to good use and….now that you mention it...it's the exact same color as the powder on the table you mentioned!"
"I see, I see!" Galiana smiled earnestly, "So one of the three persons of interest involved could have been the ones to plant the poison in someone's food!"
"W-Wait wait, slow down for a minute!" I stopped the prosecutor from saying more, "Even if that stuff is rat poison….that doesn't m-mean one of us used it….ummm...and…" the words to counter her statement felt like I was digging my own grave, "H-How would someone even hide it uh…."
"Are you alright Kichi?" Aki was the first to notice my weariness, "You look quite frazzled, like someone mixed together the wrong chemical substances, did something happen?"
"H-Huh...oh uh….no, it's just," damn I shouldn't be losing my composure like this, then they'll start suspecting us even more, "I don't think that umm...someone wouldn't have s-seen it b-before the party…"
"So you're asking how the killer managed to keep the rat poison under wraps without anyone noticing?" Jun asked, feeling my worry transfer over to her, "Yeah, that is strange…"
"Y-Yeah...that's right." What the heck is wrong with me, I need to keep my cool!
NON-STOP DEBATE
Galiana: If someone carried rat poison to the party, they'd need to do it with some sort of disguise to misdirect our attention away from it! Does anyone have any ideas?
Hotaru: They probably smashed up the rat poison capsules to create the powdery effect! Oooooh, how very juvenile of the killer, but also kinda ingenious!
Itsuki: Even if that were the case, how did they carry it, smartass? I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to know that carrying powder in your bare hands is very difficult and also impractical.
Jun: Maybe they put it in some kind of mason jar….I don't know. Then again…..we didn't find anything like that….welp.
Hibiki: Do you think the person who brought the poison carried it inside the rat poison bottle itself?
Norio: That'd be a dead giveaway kid…
Banri: Mmmm, they probably used a papery kind of material, bahahaha!
Cherika: How a-about a bag of sorts? I t-think….
Christopher: That would be too big and elicit too much unwanted attention, unless it were a beach bag...how quarrelsome this puzzle is.
Shiho: Maybe the person carried it inside their mouth and put it on one of the snacks, like a mother bird feeding her babies?
Daiko: That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard….but I've seen worse in court.
Ekichirou: I don't think I want to know about those experiences….
Used Truth Bullet: Crumpled Newspaper
Asahi: This tea of truth is piping hot!
Agree Break!
"If you'll excuse me for my untimely outburst, but Banri actually made a good point," the tea brewer adjusted his bowtie around his neck, "I even have proof of my claim."
"Heh? I did," the mystery talented boy expressed his confusion openly, his forced smile seemed more amusing than genuinely concerning, "I helped? Did I do good?"
"Yes you have, Banban!" Shiho smiled at the boy, "You're helping us solve this mystery!"
"Oh...yay!" he giggled hysterically, "Hehehehehe, I was helpful!"
"What did you figure out, Asahi?" The growing unease as I asked that question felt more tangible by the minute.
"I believe you know it as well, Mr. Yoshirenku," he was surprised that I had forgotten already, "I had found a piece of crumpled up newspaper inside the garbage bin near the waterpark."
"So…..your evidence is trash?" Tsukae looked unamused by this revelation.
"No, you misunderstand me," he corrected himself, "I mean to say that I found this evidence inside one of the bins, right after the trash was taken out. Since there was no bag inside I found it odd that I found this paper inside one."
"Annnnnd?" Hibiki disliked the suspense, "Don't tucker yourself out trying to give us the long winded version man, just get on with it."
"Please don't interrupt me, Mr. Miyamoto, I was just getting to that part," the tea brewer reproaching the jpop idol felt akin to a parent lecturing their child, "As I was saying, the newspaper in question had specks of some kind of colored blue-green dust. Since the rat poison is a similar color to the powder found on the table, the killer most likely carried it wrapped inside the paper."
"Sounds reasonable….if not a little grim sounding," Shion mumbled that last part to herself, "But who was the one that brought the rat poison to the party?"
Oh boy... is this going where I thought it was going?
"Haha! I have just the person in mind for this murderous caper!" Galiana haughtily laughed, almost princess-like in nature with the hand at the side of her mouth, "They were clever in hiding their presence from everyone else, but no one can escape the eyes of the Silver Dragon Prosecutor!"
Oh frick….she's gonna go there. Don't sweat it Ekichirou, you can disprove that piece of evidence easily. I mean, there's no real basis for how it could have wound up on Ayano's body…..yeah that's r-right.
"Who's the killer?!" Shannon was shocked by the loud assertion, "If you knew this beforehand, why did you not say so earlier?"
"She always does this….." Daiko rubbed the temples of his head, "Just let her finish her spiel and we can move along, for the sake of my dwindling sanity."
"Get on with it for fuck's sake…." Chihaya groaned, having only just recovered from her brief daze, staring daggers at the vigilante who couldn't care less.
"Ahem! Everyone, may I have your attention please!" Galiana's dramatic words accompanied by her throat clearing received everyone's undivided acknowledgement, "Behold, I have a damning piece of evidence that can point us in the right direction!"
With one more swoosh of her regal cape, the prosecutor presented the clue that I had feared the most, Cherika's butterfly hair pin. With such gusto and confidence, Galiana had stupefied the entire courtroom and most of them were both dubious as well as unimpressed by what they saw.
"Is t-that what I think it is?" Shion's eyes darted over to the prosecutor, "But that's…"
"Ch-Cherika's…" Gabe's fear rose as he turned to my sister on his left, "Oh g-god…"
Everyone all looked at her, the mixed emotions; the contempt, the despair, the fear, the horror and all the shocked expressions on each of their faces said it all. Each look was brimming with some level of astonishment, as if someone had just kicked a puppy right in front of them. My sister quivered in place, looking down at her feet and unable to stare anyone else in the face as she kept her head down.
"C-Cherry…..w-what's going on?" Aki was the most perturbed by this discovery, "W-What h-happened?"
"M-May I ask how you found that, Ms. Al Earnestine?" Asahi immediately jumped to ask her.
"Why, it's quite simple really, tea maker!" she gleaned a proud smile as if she discovered gold for the first time, "I found this delicate clue hiding inside the water tunnel's chamber end where we found the body!"
"T-Then that means…" Hibiki blinked a few times, incredulous to the claim, "T-That timid g-girl is…"
"The killer? Isn't it fucking obvious to you morons," Itsuki's irritation grew by the second, "That wimpy bitch killed Ayano and pretended as if she and her were buddy buddies. Honestly, she fooled me with that pathetic shrinking violet act."
"I-I….uh…" Cherika started to break down, unable to form a coherent sentence as she trembled in place, "I d-didn't.."
"Shut the fuck up and confess already you lying snake!" Chihaya regained her aggressive disposition, wasting no time in hounding my sister, "I bet you were just hoping we'd take the fucking fall for your dumbass, but you thought wrong, bitch!"
"Hey now….w-we shouldn't resort to using such crass expletives.." Chris was ready to go on the defensive, "I'm sure there's a...p-plausible explanation for that accessory to have been t-there…"
"I'd loooove to know what lame excuse that fugly girl is going to give us to justify her evil deeds~" Hotaru grinned with excitement, almost on the edge of her seat.
"Cherika…." Banri looked at my sister with a confused, yet manic look, "What did you do?"
"N-Nnnghh.." the pain she felt, the intense pressure to speak was gnawing at her like a hungry tiger waiting to pounce, "I-I…."
"The likelihood of her confession happening seems to fluctuate given that her base emotions are going haywire from the looks of it," Genki robotically assessed her as if she was a problem to be solved and not a human being.
She turned into a stuttering hot mess, which pained me to see her that way. Watching as the others openly ganged up on her like it was survival of the fittest made me sick to my stomach! As her big brother, I knew that I needed to help her, whichever way I could….even if that meant having to stretch the truth a little…..
NON-STOP DEBATE
Tsukae: Soooo... does this mean we have our killer or what? Frankly..I lost interest.
Christopher: This is a matter of life and death, Lady Tsukae! One mustn't treat it so frivolously, w-we must….hear her side. That is the basis for a fair trial!
Daiko: This ain't exactly a fair system now is it…..what with everyone frothing at the mouth to stay alive and all.
Hibiki: B-But seriously….are we sure that s-she's the one who killed Ayano? I mean...look at her..
Cherika: Nngh….p-please….s-stop…
Shannon: I should have seen this coming….it's always the innocent and quiet ones you have to watch out for…..can't believe she duped me like that.
Norio: That's how the professionals getcha, lower your guards….you're dead meat.
Chihaya: Plus wasn't this chick always around that gaming bitch or some shit?! I say we've found our killer! She had the fucking opportunity to get close and shit and she used that to murder her ass.
Shiho: The kami believes that someone's guilt should be judged through the means of ritual harrowing. I've seen some village tribes who've believed a person's guilt is dependent on the color of their blood and how viscous it is.
Itsuki: What in the bloody fuck are you babbling about…..crazy ass weirdo.
Shion: That's quite the uh….extreme test. H-However, I'm u-unsure about this…..is Cherika really the killer? Something feels off...
Galiana: How can you doubt my critical and flawless clue! Do you have counter proof to suggest otherwise?
Changed Truth Bullet: Cherika's Whereabouts to Lie Bullet: Cherika's Alibi
Ekichirou: I'm going to bet all my luck on this….
PERJURY!
What is a lie in all honesty? Just an extension of the truth that bends the narrative a little. I'm not very fond of lying, if anything I normally despise the dishonesty and cruelty that hides behind each one. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, I couldn't afford to just sit back and watch them dogpile Cherika like that.
The sickening looks on all of their faces, I just want to throw up at the sight of it all. Everyone in here was pretending to be something they weren't and all of them faked being kind, sweet, wholesome, caring and considerate. I knew better, everyone is all hearts and rainbows until it's their skin on the chopping block….who needs friends anyway, everyone is a goddamn phony!
"Actually Chihaya, you're quite wrong on that take." The lie made my tongue twist up a little, but I had to persevere, "I believe that everyone here has it all wrong about my sister...In fact I can even attest to that, because I was with her all this time."
"Is that right?" Daiko was the first to take note of my statement, he probably snuffed out my lie judging from the unimpressed look he gave me, "Let me guess, you were attached to her hip as well? Went to the bathroom with her? Saw her changing as well?"
"Ummm...that's a little bit….hyperbolic," of course lying to an attorney is like playing dice games with the devil, "B-But I was with her the entire time and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."
"Are we just supposed to take your word for it?" Itsuki also joined in on the doubt train, "As batshit crazy as she is, Galiana has presented us evidence to the contrary, dipshit."
"Plus, you two are siblings," Hotaru cupped her chin on the edge of her podium, giggling with glee, "If anything, you have more reason to lie for her than anyone else~" She smiled at my flimsy excuse for a lie.
"E-Even so umm...I think we're all b-being a little too….explosive with our assertions," Aki mused it over, "I mean...if it were my sibling, I'd definitely defend them as well, if we were put together in this situation."
"I feel like there's something we're missing here," Gabe thought about it as well, "I'm not the best investigator but….something smells off to me, and that's not because of the garbage smell."
"Who the fuck cares what you think!" Chihaya growled, "That whiny bitch is one hundred percent the killer! I don't give a shit about this trial anymore, I want out!"
"N-Now hold on, Chihaya," Shion sweatdropped, "It's not just that, it's umm….if we get it wrong...we might-" she didn't finish that statement, but we could all feel what she was thinking.
"I'm not going to let petty one off feelings dictate how I die!" Shannon's impatience grew more gruff and cold, "I trust the cold hard facts, and everything points directly to her."
"If no one wants to come to a conclusive decision," Chris' mediatory skills seemed to fail him at that moment, "Maybe we should just-"
"ALL YOUR ARGUMENTS ARE POINTLESS!"
Having been a passive observer for most of the trial, Monojoker finally reared his ugly head once again and screamed at the top of his robotic lungs. Even when screaming, he still managed to get on my nerves.
"You hopeless rejects still haven't figured it out yet, what a bore!" the bear huffed, "No matter, I will not let this stupid impasse halt your progress anymore!"
"Ooooh, is that time for 'you know what', boss?" Teddy swiftly arose from his seat in excitement.
"Precisely that my underpaid minion!" Monojoker snickered an impish smile, "I've been waiting for this moment and I can finally unveil it! It's time for a special new trial format!"
"What are you going on about?" Genki was the first to ask, "I've said before, if you keep disrupting u-"
"Shut your piehole, statistics nerd!" Barnabus shouted back, "You don't interrupt the boss when he's talking to you! So make like a tree and fuck off!"
"Ummm…..What exactly is this new trial format, Monojoker?" Asahi wondered, raising his hand to get the bear's attention.
"Oh you'll see what I mean in a minute…" the bear smiled, pulling out a special key as a special machine appeared in front of him, "Just think of it as a means for you all to argue and debate your points in an easier and less roundabout manner."
"Like in teams…." Jun blinked, she looked ready to fall asleep, "Sounds interesting…"
"Indeed it is!" Ysabelle swelled with joy, "Oh I'm just bursting at the seams just anticipating this!"
"Calm down tiger…" Hibiki was uneasy with all this talking, "So then, he's going to split us up or something? What are we playing football or something?"
"As if! In short for the morons out there, yes he is," Carolina clicked her tongue, "Since you dumb humans want to argue over annoying details, there's only one way for us to resolve this nasty situation."
"Pick a side…" JJ curt responses got less and less emotional as the trial went on.
"Seems fair enough," I anxiously mumbled, wiping some sweat from my brow.
"K-Kichi…." Cherika looked at me with a frightened look in her eyes.
I wanted to respond back, but before I could, Monojoker inserted the key he had into the machine and twisted it. The entire trial room and the background lit up like a Christmas tree. Balloons appeared from the ceiling as the stands underneath our chairs lit up and one by one, each podium rose up into the air in synchronized fashion.
"W-What is this!?" Galiana demanded to know, "What are you scheming, bear!"
"Nothing that should concern your precious little head," the multicolored bear hummed, "Now let's get things rolling! Please pick what's listed on the screens in front of you, you'll choose which side you want to be on in this team debate!"
It was freaky how high tech this all was, like something out of a sci-fi novel or space opera. I looked down from where we sat and noticed how high up we were, almost touching the tip of the ceiling of whatever underground bunker we were in. Below us balloons were scattered around like a children's birthday party and as we descended slowly, our stands shifted into neat little lines.
We were split into two sides, one highlighted in red and the other in blue, the side that I was on. This was probably Monojoker's evil way to split us up even more, divide us until we're tearing out each other's throats. I looked down at my stand and gripped the podium tightly.
"Kichi….just breathe.." I looked over to see my sister next to me, not as worried as she was before, "I-I...believe in e-everyone...so s-should you…"
"Cherry...are you sure about this?" I asked, remembering just earlier how much I demonized everyone for simply choosing their own lives over hers.
"Mhm…" she nodded, "We can do this…"
She's right, we chose a side, we had to defend it. I know for certain that my sister didn't kill Ayano, so now I had to convince one group to believe in my lie and continue the trial….even if that wasn't how I wanted it to play out….
SCRUM DEBATE
Is Cherika the killer?
Yes, she is! / No, she's not!
Galiana - Ekichirou
Itsuki - Cherika
Hotaru - Nashi
Norio - Shion
Chihaya - Gabriel
Hibiki - Aki
Banri - Jun
Tsukae - Daiko
Shannon - Christopher
Shiho - Asahi
Ayano (X) - Genki
Chihaya: I'm not gonna die for any of you fucking idiots! That bitch is the killer and we should just vote for her already!
Aki: I don't believe that Cherika is in any way shape or form the killer! You shouldn't be throwing her under the bus like that just because you're irritated!
...
Itsuki: We have conclusive evidence found at the crime scene that belongs to her and that implies she was involved, what more is there to say?
Asahi: Even if the hairpin belongs to her, that doesn't mean she's involved necessarily, she could have lost it beforehand.
...
Shannon: The pin was found on Ayano's body inside the water chute, that can't just be a coincidence, she's suspicious in my book!
Gabriel: Don't you think it's odd that it was found near Ayano's corpse to begin with? I think this is more than just pure coincidence, something's fishy about this case!
...
Norio: The stiff could have fought with her killer prior to her death, probably managing to take something off of them in the scuffle.
Jun: If I remember right….you guys said that Ayano couldn't have fought with anyone, let alone her killer since she didn't have any defensive wounds…I think that's what you all said.
...
Hibiki: Maybe Ayano decided to steal something from her killer. You know, as some kind of dying message, to let us know who might have killed her.
Christopher: Why would her dying message incriminate someone she was rather close with? Forsooth, there is something afoot and this message needs further scrutiny!
...
Shiho: We should heed the words of the recently deceased! The kami believes that if you adhere to the last rites of the victim, then you will receive a bountiful resolution!
Daiko: I'd rather we not listen to the insane ramblings of some made up deity by some village idiot. The victim, for all we know, could have been hiding something from us from the very beginning.
...
Hotaru: You guys really want to continue this boring ass trial when we have our culprit sitting among us!? Woooow, and people called me a sociopath….
Genki: Your self-diagnosis is not relevant to the case at hand. I believe if anything, if we were to examine the trial with a more circumspect lens, then we would reduce the risk of potentially being executed from making a foolish mistake!
...
Tsukae: I'd rather bet my odds on something I can see...rather than waste my time with feelings and belief.
Shion: It's because we have these feelings of doubt, that we can push towards finding a better outcome for everyone involved. Even if one of us is a killer...we need to find out the truth!
...
Galiana: Are you suggesting that there's more to this case than meets the eye? Do you have any proof that there is a third party involved!
Ekichirou: We might not have any proof at the moment, but I feel like something's off with this trial, we need to discuss this a bit more to clear up any remaining doubts!
BREAK!
THIS IS OUR ANSWER!
We did it….we actually managed to do it. I didn't think that was going to be easy, but we did it. My heart was pounding so fast that it was trying to escape my chest and I breathed in and out slowly from the rush of pure debate adrenaline.
"While you've brought up multiple good points," the prosecutor seemed mildly annoyed that her deductions were proven otherwise, "How would you explain the presence of this clue, sibling of fortune?"
"O-Oh uh….." crap I didn't think we'd get this far, better wing it as much as I can, "Well you see….I think there's something off with that clue is all," great work sounding confident, they're definitely gonna buy that excuse.
"Finally, it took you all long enough!" Daiko sighed deeply, leaning forward in his chair, "I already had a feeling that this buffoon would derail the conversation, so I was waiting for someone to shut her up and set things straight."
"What are you playing at, Sir Daiko?" Chris asked the defense attorney, cautious of his demeanor, "You've been rather stingy with your findings. If you've something to say, then by all means speak your mind, good sir!"
"Well I'm not going to give you guys all the hints," he pocketed his hands in his pants pockets, "But, you guys might wanna rethink your logic surrounding that clue is all. Expect an invoice from me at a later date."
"You want us to pay you now for this crap!?" Shannon's eyes lit up, "Why do you act as if this is a luxury hobby and not some life or death game?"
"Actually Shannon, I have to concur with his words," Genki steered the debate back to the topic, "I feel that we've been examining this particular clue all wrong. In fact, we've been misled by our assumptions surrounding it from the beginning!"
"Can you clarify what you mean by that, Mr. Ohno?" Asahi asked politely, scratching the side of his head, "Frankly this is all very overwhelming, I don't think I can keep up at this rate."
"What I mean to say is that instead of wondering how the hairpin ended up on Ayano's person in the first place, we should-"
"We should turn our thinking around and ask, "Why was the hairpin on her person to begin with?" I added on to his comment, remembering this line of thinking from a popular video game that parodies the legal justice system.
"Exactly that!" Galiana was eager to get back to taking center stage, "So I must ask, why was the hairpin on the victim's corpse or near it to begin with? What exactly happened to her that would cause this to occur, if she didn't fight with her killer?"
That is a good question, how can someone receive something from their alleged killer without getting close to or assaulting them face to face. Wait a minute…..maybe we've been assuming things wrong from the get go. What if….
CHOOSE THE ANSWER
A) Ayano and Cherika have the same fashion tastes.
B) Ayano was planning on killing someone.
C) She got it as a prize from one of the carnival booths.
D) She hates bugs.
Hotaru: What a crackfire idea!
"Hmph, guess I gotta be useful and do something, hehehe," the arsonist chuckled to herself rather mischievously, "This might sound a bit far-fetched, but what if Genki was right! Maybe Ayano was planning to kill someone herself!"
"W-What did you say!?" Gabe sputtered that out, shocked at the idea, "So she was...oh gosh."
"I don't believe t-this…" Cherika looked terrified and bewildered at the same time, "Seagull…."
"I mean think about it, everyone," Hotaru continued to say, "You've all been so puzzled over how this all came about, but if we assume that she was planning to kill someone from the start, then this all adds up nicely, don't you think so?"
"As..d-difficult as that is to believe," Shion hated the idea of it, but it did seem plausible, "If she was concocting her own plan, then certain things make a little bit of sense, I think."
"She stole my toolkit while I wasn't looking," Gabe mumbled to himself, "She probably unscrewed the glass panel on the button controls…"
"She was rushing back and forth rather hastily to her tent, as if she were hiding something," Aki sweated as the clues piled up.
"Probably to hide the rat poison…" Hibiki gulped a little, "Shit…."
"Come to think of it…." Jun twirled some hair in thought, "She did recover rather quickly after the motive….if anything she was rather distraught….so I guess it was weird to see her so ecstatic."
"And since she had rat poison hidden in the newspaper…." Asahi continued, tugging at his shirt collar nervously, "She could have used it as some kind of murder weapon!"
"She could have added it to someone's food with no one suspecting anything," Itsuki looked the most surprised, "Heck, if she put it on someone's cotton candy then-"
"Then no one would have known she poisoned the food," I mouthed the words, but a part of me knew something was up.
"Holy fucking shit…." Chihaya was not angry for once, but baffled, "That bitch was actually planning to fucking kill someone, well fuck me!"
"Yoooo talk about a heartless betrayal!" Barnabus cackled from his seat, "You guys must feel pretty dumb right now for having trusted her huh?"
"Now Barney, you mustn't be so callous," Ysabelle reproached the behemoth man, "That being said, this is a rather shocking revelation."
"I find it rather riveting if anything~" Teddy would find this hilarious of course, he was so nauseating, "Oh the irony of it all, it could even make Shakespeare blush like a schoolgirl!"
"Hush now, all of you!" Chris shut them up good with a hearty shout.
"Didn't take that girl for a cold blooded killer….." Norio crossed his arms, looking disappointed with himself, "My intuition must be getting duller…"
"You really shouldn't be blaming yourself for this, Norio," Shion consoled the man, "But still….this is very disturbing. She was so friendly….w-why would she do this?"
"My guess is that she must have hatched this all up after she saw her step father shot up like a helpless deer in headlights," Itsuki snorted, shaking his head, "What a fucking reckless idea, she believed a stupid video that could have been faked for all we know."
"Hey! I'll have you know that that video is one hundred percent genuine!" Monojoker snickered and giggled like a playful toddler, "I'm a bear of my word! When I go all in, I don't take any shortcuts!"
"And you expect us to believe that?" I raised an eyebrow at that statement, "You're the one who put her up to it in the first place! She wouldn't have had the idea if you didn't murder her family in front of us, you monster!"
"Hmph, everyone's a fucking critic," the bear shrugged his shoulders, "Believe it if you want to or not, I'm not gonna lose sleep over it. What's done is done and you all should just accept that as fact!"
"Heh, a robot with no feelings, who would've thought," Hibiki joked but the fear in his tone was clear.
"Why's everyone so upset?" Banri looked about as confused as he normally was, "So Ayano wasn't the victim? Then what was she….an enemy?"
"It's a lot more complicated than that Banban!" Shiho smirked at her friend, "We may have some more fun in store if you continue to listen on! Don't you worry your precious little head about it!"
"Okay okay! I'll just keep on listening, like a good little soldier!" the mysterious talented boy was content, it must be nice to be blissfully ignorant about everything around you.
"So….who was her target?" Tsukae blinked, "Out of everyone here, it's kinda hard to know since she was very secretive about it all."
"My guess…..it was Cherika," Daiko finished answering, "If you put it all together, the pieces fit."
That's what I was afraid of hearing. A part of me knew something was up when I saw my sister's hairpin was a clue, but with that new piece of information out there, it seemed more and more possible that my sister escaped death's sharp scythe. Why would she target her though? If anything, I thought she'd be the last person she'd want to kill, what was she even thinking?
"M-Me?" my sister was definitely awestruck out of everyone here, "W-What did I do?"
"I mean...the two of you were very close from the beginning," Aki remarked, "What I want to know is why she would choose you at all? Seems kinda counterproductive, I think?"
"Hehehe, It's actually not that far off a possibility when you think about it," Galiana hypothesized, "Kukuku~ Our dear victim was probably going to throw suspicion off of herself if she killed the sibling of misfortune first! If she acted the part of the sad and grieving friend, had she been alive, she would have potentially fooled us into thinking otherwise and we'd be voting for someone else!"
"Fucking hell…." Chihaya's continued surprise was a lot more refreshing than her being angry all the time, "She's a lot more cunning than I give her credit for!"
"B-But her plan f-failed in the end," my sister was still in shock by it all, "I…."
"Are you alright Cherika?" Shion asked, worried for her, "It's alright if you don't wish to talk further, we understand."
"When you think about it….she probably took the hairpin off of Cherika's head when she wasn't looking...or it must have fallen out of her hair, I don't know how she did it," Shannon added on a theory, "If this plan of hers was a success, then she could have planted the hairpin on someone else to frame them had she succeeded in killing her!"
"You say that but uh...what I don't get is who ended up killing her in the end?" Gabe posed the question, something that inevitably needed to be discussed, "I mean, even if she umm….did plan all of this, she can't have just been killed on a whim, right? I really doubt she killed herself either."
"I think killing herself would pretty much be a pointless and self-defeating effort, if her plan was to escape to rescue her family," It made a lot of sense, but given how nonsensical this entire trial and situation was, I wasn't eliminating anything off of the table.
Was all that investigating we did pointless in the end? Do any of these random clues make a tiny lick of sense? Why do I feel a growing pit of anxiety welling up inside me like it was going to burst at any minute? I just want this class trial to be over and done with...
NON-STOP DEBATE
Shiho: Come on everyone! Let's continue this discussion and figure out the hidden truth behind this mysterious murder!
Itsuki: Do you have brain damage? Because I don't see how you can have any fun with this fucking disaster of a trial.
Ekichirou: Things do seem to be a tad dicey at the moment…
Nashi: ….
Cherika: I still can't b-believe it….
Galiana: There must be more to this case than meets the eye! I'm pretty sure there's nothing else we need to discuss, that I do know!
Daiko: Hmmm….
Shion: Did we miss anything important? I'm not sure if we did, though to be honest, I haven't had much time to do any investigating.
Asahi: Do you think we're chasing a fox down a rabbithole? I'm quite stumped at the moment, I'm still reeling from what I just heard and all.
Banri: Why is Ayano dead to begin with? This makes me really sad….
Norio: That's just the hard reality of the situation, kid.
Used Truth Bullet: Christopher's Account
Christopher: I will strike true through your deceitful folly!
Break!
"My friends! I have remembered a glorious detail pertaining to the case at hand!" The tragic knight shouted as hard as he could, almost straining his voice to get our attention, "There was something suspicious that aroused my attention, although I didn't think it relevant to the topic at hand since we thought Ayano was just the victim in this case."
"What did you discover, Chris?" Aki wondered, tilting her head, "Did you just remember something?"
"Precisely that, Lady Aki!" he smiled widely, it was so contagious it made me want to smile as well, "While you were all at the party, I happened to notice a shadowy figure passing by the tents wearing only their swimming garments and something over their head!"
"Really!?" Gabe's eyes almost bulged out of his sockets, "W-Who did you see?"
"If he fucking knew who it was, he would've pointed them out for us!" Chihaya grumpily nodded off, "I'm surrounded by assclowns…" she gnashed her teeth rather loudly.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that a crime had taken place to begin with," he gripped his fist tight, scrunching up his face in defeat, "If I had clairvoyant instincts, I would have pursued the mysterious figure! Damnit, I'm such a pathetic knight!"
"H-Hey….don't beat yourself up a-about it," my sister was conveniently next to him, so she patted him on the back, "You d-did all you could, that's what matters."
"I have to ask for the obvious reasons of who the fuck cares, but is this mysterious person even related to this case?" Itsuki looked distantly off to the side, "It could be someone who just wanted to get changed or something, you don't really know if they were involved or not."
"This debate was so much fun, but now it's getting boooooring!" Hotaru pouted with a bored expression on her face, "Do we have a killer or not!? I'm just about ready to set this entire stand on fire!"
"Please do not vandalize public property or you will be punished," JJ spoke up to deliver those cold words, then resumed his stoic silence.
"Huh, that's the longest sentence he's ever spoken," Carolina peeked over to see his expression, "What a record."
"Even if this mystery person isn't relevant to the case, we should discuss their presence," Shannon put her hand to her chin, thinking it over, "I don't particularly remember much, but if this will help us figure out the identity of our killer….then who are we to really question it?"
"I did not know of this," Genki looked genuinely disappointed with this new information, "I will need to re-evaluate my findings. So many errors, now it all makes sense."
"Are you even writing anything useful on that freaking clipboard, or are you just doodling stars and unicorns for fun?" Hibiki was both annoyed as well as curious, "Seems to me like you have all the answers, buddy."
"I never said I had all the answers, just theories," the risk analyst retorted with a cool swiftness, "But if you think you have an idea of who our mystery blackened is, then by all means share it with the group."
"Before we get to that though, Chris, did you happen to see what the person was wearing?" Shion asked another question, "Any particular features, color of their swimsuit? Body type?"
"I wasn't able to get a quick look at them since they hurried into the shower room before I could identify them," he continued his testimony, "The oddest part of it all, is that the showers were running and steam was pouring out from the roof, despite Monojoker telling us that the showers were out of order."
"I made it quite clear that I said I was working on them," the bear responded in kind, "Although I hadn't fixed up other things, I managed to get the showers fixed in time, I just forgot to tell you all, whoopsies~"
"Why does that sound like a bold faced lie?" Norio looked ready to interrogate the bear.
"Well...as the overseer of this entire game, I cannot give out any clues or hints that would point directly to the killer," the bear said in great detail, "I have to be impartial, so that means I treat the spotless just the same as the blackened, no freebies got it!"
"So…..what does this mean for the case?" Tsukae asked, passively listening in on the trial, "The person went to take a shower and then what? Is this really necessary..."
"I believe it is," Shion interrupted the charmer, "In fact, this clue might help to corroborate Chris' statement even more!"
HANGMAN'S GAMBIT
W _ I _ E T _ _ E _
W _ I _ _ L
WHITE TOWEL
Shion: This melody is on beat!
"I believe this might have something to do with that mystery person," the songwriter presented the towel she mentioned earlier, "I was too busy overseeing Shiho, Hotaru and Banri to really do much, but I found this clue hidden behind one of the tents….although I wasn't paying much attention to who's it was…."
"It's alright Shion, you did all you could, and that's what really matters!" Aki was quick to cheer her up.
"Still doesn't fucking get us anywhere if we don't know who the culprit is from these two clues, anyone could have used the towel or taken a shower, shitbags." Chihaya once again adding snappy commentary to the mix.
"Actually….there is someone in mind," Genki added in his two cents, "From my new deductions, I believe I have a potential suspect in mind, although I still need to process one more piece of evidence that we're taking for granted."
"You talk a lot, but all I'm hearing is gibberish," Itsuki was on his last straw, "Just come out and tell us who the culprit is already!"
"Before I do that…..I want you all to think over the clues we've just discovered and piece together the answers for yourself," the risk analyst continued to elevate the suspense even more, "Since we are aware now of Ayano's plans to kill someone, that being Cherika, I want you all to think about the clues we went over and who you all think is the most likely suspect who'd want her dead."
Suspect? Plans? Kill!? I wanted it all to go away, this is nothing but a fever dream gone on for far too long. The pressure was eating me up inside like a carnivorous beast, when will this torture end? Do we still have to decide, is it really cruel to wish that I was dreaming? That this wasn't real?
Why….Why…..Why….Why won't it just go away!
NON-STOP DEBATE
Genki: Let's review the evidence and our theories and see if there are some clues that might help elucidate any issues you all have with the current case.
Galiana: I'll go first and spearhead this debate into the truth! So for starters, we know now for certain that Ayano's ultimate goal was to murder someone and get away with it, presumably after the motive had taken place, hoping that we'd fall for her deceptive betrayal.
Gabriel: Then s-she stole my toolkit when I was distracted…..used it to unscrew the glass panel keeping the buttons secured…and tried to frame me.
Shannon: Yikes...now that I think about it….she might have wanted to use that as a potential way to kill someone….although it uh…. backfired on her and she's….you know.
Aki: She kept all her feelings bottled up inside...s-she must have been so upset.
Jun: Enough to commit murder by stealing rat poison…..who would've thought.
Asahi: Then Ms. Akatsuka ground the capsules into powdery dust, using an old piece of newspaper to hide it from us….
Shion: Then she sprinkled it on cotton candy and served it to…..oh gosh!
Cherika: S-She uh….gave it to us...b-but that would me-
Itsuki: But how does this point to her killer exactly? So she failed to kill someone, big whoop, genius! This doesn't prove anything and we don't have any other suspects!
Banri: Everyone is so intense….there must be an enemy lurking nearby!
Used Truth Bullet: Alibis
Daiko: The verdict is in, you're definitely wrong!
Break!
"Allow me to answer that, it took you all a while, but you're finally up to speed," the defense attorney looked calm, a bit too casual at that, "Frankly, I was worried my idiot coworker would lead you down some dumb rabbithole of nonsense."
"It's not nonsense, my fated rival!" Galiana was swift to correct his claim, "I was merely testing the waters and using my incredible wit and sharp thinking to deduce a perfectly surmised outcome on how to eliminate suspects!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night…" Daiko rolled his eyes.
"What exactly are you talking about, Daiko?" Shion looked over to the green haired man, "Is there something wrong with what Itsuki said?"
"Technically yes," his focused gaze darted around the room as he humored the songwriter, "Genki mentioned we've been taking something for granted, that being everyone's alibis of the time of the crime."
"I'm sorry, but how does that prove me wrong exactly, smartass?" The EMT was displeased as normal, "It's just a jumbled mess and no one really has a good idea of what they were doing, since we were all mostly there and it's just vague accounts."
"That's what the real killer wants you to think," the defense attorney sighed, "But I'll let the lobster man do the thinking for me, take it away."
The risk analyst reactively fixed some of his hair at the mention of the word lobster, "Ahem! As he was saying, I've been reassessing everyone's alibis and after coming to certain conclusions, there can only be one person in this entire class trial who fits the ticket."
"W-Who is it?!" Shannon's expression grew both weary but interested.
"I'll let them do the honors for me," as if he even needed to say it.
It's all here…..the closing finale of this long and painstaking trial. Everyone's life was on the line and we couldn't afford to take any more risks in guessing who killed Ayano. Monojoker grew more and more impatient with our time consuming antics, but the time had finally come to unmask her killer so….I might as well point them out.
CHOOSE THE SUSPECT
Ekichirou Yoshirenku
Cherika Yoshirenku
Christopher O'Donnell
Tsukae Shinzou
Nashi Akira
Shiho Mukai
Banri Gingka
Shion Ninomiya
Gabriel Mudd
Hotaru Ikeru
Asahi Fujioka
-Ayano Akatsuka-
Itsuki Ogasawara
Chihaya Sato
Daiko Hakazi
Galiana Al Earnestine
Norio Kuromiya
Aki Sasaki
Genki Ohno
Shannon Akahoshi
Hibiki Miyamoto
Jun Nousagi
Ekichirou: ….
Break!
"..."
In that desperate moment of despair, time seemed to freeze in place, everyone's expressions grew stagnant and still. No one moved an inch, the whole room faded a dark grey color as everyone was eclipsed by the eternal shadow, with their silhouettes faded, only replaced by something far more sinister and haunting.
Everyone's eyes all looked at me, shades of bloody red and pink swarmed me as their ghastly movements followed me around like a tall shadow looming over me. I knew that this would be my final stop, no turning back, nothing but full despair awaited me as I processed what I was going to say next.
I took one more glance at my sister, her frightened eyes staring back at mine as I knew that what I was going to say would change the shape of this story for good. No more lies, no more deception, no more hiding behind a calm mask.
With one final deep breath, time resumed and I steeled myself for the hard truth I refused to acknowledge for so long, "The culprit is me…..I killed Ayano."
For a moment, I'd thought I developed time powers as the room grew even more quiet, but most everyone's voices said it all, "W-W-Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?"
I didn't want to look up at anyone else, it was painful to stare at them with everything that was going on. They must all hate me now, hate me for putting them through all this torture, suffering and agony. My heart was pulsing a million beats per minute, nothing could change what I said and the aftermath was certainly not as warm either.
"S-Sir Ekichirou, w-what are you-" Chris was baffled, not that I blame him in the slightest, "This is preposterous…"
"Holy fucking goddamn shit!" Chihaya looked over to me, "You're the one that killed that bitch?! Wow, that's….honestly surprising."
"Y-You can't be serious…." Gabe also looked at me with bewilderment, "H-How did you even umm...I'm so confused right now."
"Well then…..didn't expect that," Tsukae gave a curt but worried look.
"Honestly, I was banking my money on it being his sister," Hotaru didn't attempt to hide her shameless smile, "But this is a twist! This is like something out of a convoluted mystery series!"
"Y-Yeah….I admit it, it was me!" I slowly lifted my head up, everyone's reactions were exactly how I expected them to react, "I k-k-kill…."
"N-No!" Before I could finish what I was about to say, my sister interrupted the debate, "T-That's not true Kichi! Y-You wouldn't...I mean...I don't believe it!"
"C-Cherika?" Aki looked at her, nervously sweating from her forehead, "W-What's wrong?"
"Isn't it quite clear?" Shiho put a finger to her lips and gave a puzzled look, "It seems to me that he's finally revealed his feelings to us in the almighty presence of the kami!"
"I uh...hardly think now is the time for a religious sermon," Hibiki felt the mood whiplash hit him from all corners, "But what the fuck…..you mean t-to tell me that the killer is h-him?"
"As grave as the confession is, unfortunately that's what my conclusions have led me to," Genki's words were a lot more somber than usual, "If you recollect the clues we've examined in full detail, it only makes sense that all of it points back to him."
Is this what a harrowing experience is supposed to feel like? The weight of a noose dangling over your head as it reaches closer and closer to your fated punishment? Why does everything feel so fuzzy and dark….
"T-This is...this is…." Shion stumbled to find the right words, "I just….why, why would y-you do this, Ekichirou?"
"Probably because he realized that his sister would be a prime target for a competent killer," Norio's cold words cut right through the tension like a butterknife, "You pick off the weakest parts of the group one by one to achieve the highest success rate possible."
"What you're saying makes s-sense but…." Jun moved inches away from me, she's not wrong to do so, "A s-shaky alibi isn't really the uh….best decisive evidence, is what I think it'd be?"
"Y-Yeah! U-Ummm…" Cherika desperately tried to strain her voice, "I r-refuse to believe that K-Kichi committed this crime! I j-just can't accept it!"
"I have to agree with Lady Cherika as well!" Chris stepped up to aide her argument, "He and I chatted right around the time that the murder occurred, there is n-no feasible way for him to have managed to kill Ayano right under our noses!"
"Oh my fucking god, can you stop with the knight in shining armor bit!" Itsuki roared, his fury got the better of him, "He confessed to the crime, what more do you want from him!? A written apology too!"
"I mean, if...C-Chris can vouch for him then….I'm uh….more inclined to believe him," Aki joined in to defend me.
"Didn't he chicken out and take the baby water slide to the ground?" Hotaru thought over it for a moment, "He must've been soaking wet after that…"
"He could have used a towel to dry himself off," Galiana made a statement about that, "I surmised he was the one who left his towel by the tents after using the shower room."
"Alright then, so how do you explain how he was able to do all of this without anyone noticing him leaving and entering?" Asahi asked a very good question, "I'm sure someone must have seen him leaving the waterpark to clean up?"
"Not really...Everyone was probably too distracted by Monojoker yelling at his helpers to really notice…" Tsukae yawned, "Either that or he just got super lucky…."
"The kid must've done so when I was on break," Norio grunted audibly, "Clever little bastard that one is…really is the Ultimate Lucky Student."
"But then that begs the question," Gabe added, "How was he able to do all of that without slipping or making too much noise? He'd probably have to run up to the base of the water tower in such a short amount of time…"
Hah…...is this pointless debate almost over with? What's even the point in discussing it anymore….
NON-STOP DEBATE
Ekichirou: You guys….I've accepted my fate...w-why are you still talking about this?!
Cherika: K-Kichi! Please stop saying that! Y-You're not the k-killer….please.
Asahi: I'm quite conflicted on this matter….oh boy, this is getting more heated than any of my family's arguments.
Shiho: Do all of your family arguments end up with someone threatening the other person or suspecting them of murder?
Hibiki: Why is that the first thing you asked after hearing that? But whatever, unless he's a freaking speed demon, I doubt he'd be able to get up that fast.
Shion: I mean….we were distracted for a while, so he could have sprint walked up without much issue, plus the stairs don't creak despite being slightly dry rotted.
Banri: Slippy slip and slide, that ride was super fun! Although….Ayano ended up dying.
Hotaru: Oh Banri, you simple little boy. For a surprisingly old water park, it runs pretty well and seems well kept….but not for long~
Shannon: Will you morons stop goofing off and focus! Regarding this case though, I don't see how he'd be able to get up those stairs so quickly without anyone noticing him falling on his butt after all the water dripping off his body.
Cherika: M-Mhmmmm! Y-You can't prove he's t-the killer…..h-he's not….
Ekichirou: Cherry….please d-don't fight it…
Gabriel: Why do I feel so uneasy…..are we even right about this?
Used Truth Bullet: Water Slide Stairs
Galiana: A daring hypothesis, but alas it's wrong!
Break!
"A logical conclusion to make, speedster," the prosecutor was referring to Shannon's talent, "But there is one flaw in your theory that breaks that assumption and makes the sibling of fortune's scheme even more plausible!"
"R-Really? How?" she looked equally confused as most of us, "Don't tell me he grew wings and flew up to the top?"
"That's physically impossible!" Genki felt the need to jump in for some reason, "The chances of humans growing wings is almost as impossible as we are of being able to speak underwater. You're more likely to lose one of your toes in the evolutionary process than to manifest wings."
"Aww….I would have loved to soar with the pretty birds and hawks when I got older," Shiho was taken in for a moment by the mention of growing wings, "Oh well."
"Carrying on with the debate," Galiana ignored the survivalist's plight, "If you observe the structure of the stairs, like I did during my investigation! You will have noticed that the stairs have red foam grips on the wooden frames."
"You mean like how some people have rubber mats in their bathtubs to prevent them from slipping in the shower?" Aki brought up a very noteworthy point, "That's q-quite ingenious."
"Now that we've established that it's possible for him to scurry up there in no time flat," Daiko's callous words were casual and decisive, "Do you all see now that he is the only one who could have done this crime?"
Hahahahaha…...looks like it's coming down to the wire now….. I don't even have the energy to contest their arguments, because I knew someone would bring up another flaw with my theory and debunk that within a millisecond. What was I thinking….I can't outsmart legal professionals, a trained analyst or people who are so eager to tear each other down, they'll target the first person who's name is uttered.
I want this all to end…..I want to scorch the trial room, watch it light ablaze…..I want nothing to do with it anymore….life has done nothing but deal my sister and I a crappy hand. What's stopping someone from driving the final nail in my coffin?
"N-No!" a shout so loud that it could shake mountains was heard, "N-No! K-Kichi please no….you're not thinking s-straight…..w-why are you doing this!?"
"Woah, she's gone mental," Itsuki felt the frustration emanating from my sister.
"C-Cherika?" Shion frowned, her eyes furrowed into a worried stare, "A-Are you alright?"
I had no idea of the look on my face, but my sister's expression said a million words. Her eyes were welling up with stifled tears, her mouth blubbering out every random word she could muster up, she was shaking and shivering like a scared puppy, her skin went pale as night and as she shouted her words, her voice cracked more than usual.
"Yo, this is the kinda shit I love to see!" Barnabus laughed like someone cracked a joke, "Fuck man, I was about ready to pass out from fucking boredom! Thanks for making this a show kiddos, haha!"
"Such an uncouth brute as usual," Ysabelle looked at the large man with scorn, "This is why you could never get a girlfriend, you have no way of speaking to a woman's heart!"
"Psh! Who fucking cares what that moping bitch thinks," he crossed his muscular arms and gritted his teeth, "I just want to get to the best part!"
"Me too, this trial dragged on for way too long for my liking!" Teddy moaned like a preschooler who didn't get the toy they wanted for their birthday, "Can you guys hurry this up!"
Monojoker proceeded to then bonk the ringleader android on the top of his head with a rough tap, "I decide when this trial is over and done with, minion! Stay in your own fucking lane!"
"Yes boss…" that shut him up real good.
The contempt I felt for that bear and his minions, the anger I felt towards this entire trial, the sadness I felt for Ayano and everyone else who suffered through this debacle and the lost happiness we once had prior to being kidnapped. I couldn't help but shed a few tears, the salty drops slipped down the sides of my flushed cheeks and I could feel my heart beat a million times over.
My eyesight grew a tad blurry and my knees grew weaker, had it not been for the chair keeping me in place, I would have passed out from stress.
"That reminds me, are you all ready to vote now?" the colorful bear snickered, "I've enjoyed this tedious back and forth for long enough and I want to get the punishment rolling soon!"
"Foul ursine, you will not rush us!" Chris readied his sword hand over his scabbard end, "Let us conclude this trial on our own terms! You will not halt our progress so abruptly!"
"Oooh look at tin man, so confident and cool," Carolina mocked him, "Maybe if you and that edgelord wannabe were good at your jobs, then that gamer bitch wouldn't have died."
"Wanna repeat that again," Norio cracked his fists, that didn't sound like he was asking.
"All of you are monsters, less worthy than dragons and more detestable than trolls!" The tragic knight glared at the five androids and Monojoker.
"Yeah yeah, I'll give you more time to debate," the bear shrugged, "Carry on."
I could feel the rising anger boiling inside me, the butterflies fluttering in my stomach keeping me agitated and the general displeasure I felt towards this entire trial all building up. I wanted to unleash it like a volcano, so much anger….so much paranoia….so much doubts and miserable thoughts.
I just...want this to be over.
"Kichi!" my sister called to me once more, huffing and flustered, "Y-You are not the killer, I refuse to….I refuse to believe you killed Ayano! I just can't a-accept it!"
"Cherry….you aren't making this easier for me…." I winced in pain, I needed to set her straight, even if it made my chest hurt.
Could I really set her straight?
ARGUMENT ARMAMENT
Cherika: K-Kichi, this isn't you...I-I just can't accept it.
|BREAK!|
Cherika: H-How did you….why did you do it!?
|BREAK!|
Cherika: A-Ayano might have t-tried to kill me….
|BREAK!|
Cherika: B-But I don't believe any of this!
|BREAK!|
Cherika: Why aren't you….why aren't you saying a-anything!?
|BREAK!|
Cherika: A-Ayano was just as scared as us…..
|BREAK!|
Cherika: I've heard it all…..but still.
|BREAK!|
Cherika: Please tell me….
|BREAK!|
Cherika: Is this j-just to protect me?
|BREAK!|
Cherika: Or...w-were you planning this all along?
|BREAK!|
Cherika: D-Did you not trust me….with this secret?
|BREAK!|
Cherika: I'll ask you...one more time.
FINAL BLOW
Cherika: Show me the evidence that proves that you're her killer?
COLORED | SWIMMING | TRUNKS | STRING
Ekichirou: I'm sorry Cherry…..
Answer: Colored swimming trunks string.
Cherika: Why…
BREAK!
"Sis….I'm sorry," the anxiety made me cringe a little.
"Just as I thought, the color of that greenish string matches the color of your swimming trunks," Daiko hummed, "Seems to me that you got sloppy pushing all your luck to it's limit."
"I...foresaw this entire outcome," Nashi had finally said the truth he'd been keeping quiet on for so long, "I….deeply apologize for not speaking sooner, I just...d-didn't want to tempt fate even more."
"You were afraid of creating alternate timelines that would worsen the verdict for us, had we not arrived at the truth," Galiana interpreted the soothsayer's words in her own manner, "You are quite the enigma, seer."
"That's a very farcical detail…." Asahi rubbed his face, "Although, I'm quite fatigued at the moment, so I don't know what to believe."
"Well well well," Teddy snickered, "Looks like we're getting ready for the finale!"
…..
Absolute silence, nothing but darkness and stillness. Once more, the room was empty sans myself, an empty circus playground with all the colors muted. In that moment, I knew what I was doing, there was no turning back, no regrets.
"Well, it looks like my story is over…." I chuckled weakly, "I didn't think it'd turn out this bad, but….what's done is done, there's no changing the past."
"Ayano….I'm so sorry for what I did to you," I clutched my chest, giving in to the bitter tears that coated my cheeks, "I let my paranoia get the best of me….I lied to everyone….I broke the trust that we sought to establish….."
"I'm the one who ruined everything," I sighed, wiping some tears from my face, "But now is no time for crying….it's no longer my time, I've made peace with that a while ago."
"I'm very sorry that you all had to put up with my nonsense," I forced another weak laugh, coping the best I could, "You all didn't deserve this, no one does. I am responsible….no one could have foreseen this, not even Nashi."
"For now, I'll leave the rest of it in your hands," I psyched myself up one last time, "I believe in you, Cherry! You deserve the world and you don't deserve such a pathetic older brother….I love you so much, please stay strong for me. You got this!"
…...
The lights faded, another figure sat opposite and sat there in silence, contemplating the decision ahead. The muted grey background slowly regained its former color and the light illuminated the desolate courtroom once more.
"Ekichirou, you're such a dork," the words felt even more bittersweet than normal, "I couldn't have gone this far without you….you're such an inspiration to me, I don't know where I'd be without you helping me along the way."
"As much as I want to deny it more and more, a part of me realizes that I can't hide from the truth anymore," the shaky movements started to peter out a little, "It'll be tough but….I-I…."
"I can do this!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, for the first time, it felt euphoric.
Cherika
"Ekichirou…. is d-definitely the culprit!" I made my peace with this, but the pain grew more and more as I said those words.
"L-Lady Cherika!?" Chris looked at me, confused by the contradictions, "B-But you just said-"
"I k-know...I just," the words escaped me briefly, "I'm certain that my b-brother is the culprit!"
"Well then, that's a sudden turn of character," Hibiki was genuinely shocked, "Although, it's kinda fucked up to say that your brother is the killer and throw him under the bus like that, isn't it?"
"Hibiki….we shouldn't push her," Shion corrected the jpop idol, "This is her decision to make."
"You say that, but I'm not at all convinced," Norio stared coldly at us, "I'm trying to make sense of how this kid was able to do all of this to begin with."
"This is a very...convoluted case," Shannon sighed deeply, "I've seen math equations that were less confusing than this…."
"Guess he really was….an Ultimate Lucky Student," Tsukae frowned, but didn't show much of it.
"In that case...might I suggest we summarize the case in great detail?" Nashi gave his thoughts, after so long, "I of course know what you are about to say, but I believe it'd be best for everyone that you be the one to say it, Cherika."
"Wow! You've been quiet this entire fucking time and that's all you have to freaking say?!" Chihaya's tired eyes told us she didn't want to hear anymore, "Whatever just fucking do it, so we can end this stupid ass trial!"
"So loud….." Jun rubbed her sensitive ears, "But I'd like to hear it as well…"
"A-Are you guys sure?" I asked, feeling everyone's stares all directed at me, "I'm not s-sure where to start…"
"It's alright Cherika, you can start whenever you feel comfortable to do so," Aki's warm yet frail smile was pleasant to see, "No pressure!"
"You know, other than the life threatening punishment hovering over our heads coming from a sadistic children's toy reject," Itsuki scoffed, "But like she said, no pressure!"
"Hey!" Monojoker took offense to that sarcastic remark, "I'll have you know that-"
JJ approached his bear boss and covered his mouth, "Go," Monojoker struggled with his helper's grip, even scratching him on his sleeves.
"Alright…." I stretched, hearing a few small pops as I racked my brain together, "W-Where to start?"
I looked around the room, then to my brother, he was sad, holding back his tears and shaking. He wasn't despairing, if anything he seemed almost content. His lips moved and I could faintly hear him say "You can do this!"
I couldn't let his sacrifice go to waste, I can do this! I really really hope I can...
CLOSING ARGUMENT
This is going to be a challenge, but I….I believe I can summarize this case for everyone. I will try my best, and feel free to correct me afterwards if I missed a few points regarding the case.
It all started once Monojoker presented the first motive to us, a devilish roulette wheel that would point to one of us when fully spun and if it landed on someone, one of our family members and friends would perish. If no one killed someone by each passing day, then someone would lose someone else important to them. Two people were affected by this, Christopher and the victim, Ayano.
Ayano saw her family brutalized in front of her eyes, her stepfather being the first to fall at the bear's hands. She seemed to be calm and generally friendly, despite what she saw, we all genuinely thought nothing of it and moved on with our day. However what we didn't expect was that Ayano had…..she had something in mind, her own plan to indulge this motive.
Afraid for her mother and brother's lives, she devised a plan to murder someone, probably to prevent someone else in her family from dying. She tried her very best to play it off as if the motive was fake, but she probably didn't want to take a chance on that and she….she went through with her murder plot.
She had planned everything down to the letter, she stole Gabe's toolkit, in an attempt to potentially frame him for the crime and took a bottle of rat poison from the storage tent. She did all of this secretly, unknown to her that she was seen walking back and forth from her tent to other parts of the carnival. She first made her way to the water park, climbing up the stairs to the Roaring Ravine slides and tampering with the glass casing that kept the control buttons secured.
However in her frantic state, she left behind the toolkit and when she remembered she forgot it, she couldn't retrieve it due to everyone setting up for the party which would draw unnecessary eyes on her. Even though she left evidence behind, she hurried back to her tent, pretending that everything was fine and got to work crushing some rat poison capsules into powder and carrying it inside some old newspaper, hiding it somewhere on her person and taking it with her to the water park.
With all her boxes checked, Ayano was ready to set her plan into motion, she got dressed for the party, feigned cheerfulness in order to persuade us that she was fine, but that was all a part of her ruse to….to trick us. Her intended victim was….it was me and she had me and someone else believing her lie, or at least that's what she thought we believed.
The other person with me, the real killer t-they….they somehow knew of Ayano's plan to kill me and anticipated her deceptive actions, keeping a close eye on her as she handed us cotton candy as a way to seal our friendship. What we didn't know was that she had slipped some rat poison powder into my cotton candy and used that as a way to make me sick.
The real killer of this case foresaw that and they switched our cotton candies, giving me hers and Ayano ended up eating the poisoned one, which could explain the state of her corpse due to the poison's effects.
All three of us went on the waterslide with a few others, acting like nothing was wrong as Ayano started coughing and feeling sluggish. As we got to the top, we were the last ones to ride the slide, but the real killer opted to take the easy route down and Ayano and I were alone at the top, she snatched my butterfly hairpin without me noticing and she had hoped to plant it on an unsuspecting person she could use as her scapegoat.
All would have gone according to her plan, had it not been for the real killer intervening and stopping her in her tracks. The real killer used this to their advantage and while I was on the slide with Ayano, the killer quickly acted and used Monojoker's argument with his helpers to sprint up the stairs just before Ayano was about to go down the slide. Since I was already down the slide, the killer used this to corner Ayano, pressing the Danger button and locking her inside the water chute, watching it fill up with water as she tried to escape from the sealed off chamber.
Despite her efforts, Ayano succumbed to the symptoms of the rat poison, choking on her own vomit and gasping for air as the water reached up to her neck and a few minutes later….she slowly drowned to death. After she was dead, the ride had stopped malfunctioning and continued as usual, shooting her corpse down into the winding tunnel.
The next few parts are hazy, but the real killer probably slid down the chicken chute slide once more, noticing that everyone was still distracted by all the fighting and used that blind spot to slip out while no one was looking, snatching a towel with them on the way out.
The killer hoped to wash themselves off with running hot water, but how could they when the water wasn't working in the bathrooms? Even though Monojoker told no one he finished working on the plumbing, the killer struck gold and took a quick warm shower, not realizing they had been spotted by Chris who saw them hiding inside the bathroom.
Just as they finished showering, everyone had gathered around the slide tunnel's exit, the announcement rang out and the killer slipped back in by sheer luck and pretended to act surprised when Ayano's corpse was found.
Both plans were underhanded in their own right….Ayano's was premeditated but the killer's plan...it was a crime of opportunity. I'm not sure what their reasons for killing Ayano were, but I want to hear the rest of the story from them.
I...I still c-can't believe that you're the killer! Please just tell us everything. It's you, Ekichirou Yoshirenku, my twin brother and the Ultimate Lucky Student!
BREAK!
I can't believe I just did that….I pinned my brother as the killer for this crime….it was all so surreal, like something out of a demented children's fantasy book. I couldn't believe that after everything that happened, that he was the one who killed her.
"Heh.. so now you all know the truth behind this case," he chuckled with an awkward laugh, followed by rubbing the back of his head, "I'm very sorry everyone….I didn't expect it to come to this…"
He tried to stay strong, but knowing my brother, he held back the tears, was rather tense and on the verge of exploding with all of his pent up emotions. He bit his lower lip, furrowed his brow and the way he would awkwardly fix his clothes, it looked like he was about to jump out of his chair and lunge at the nearest object to strangle it.
"Looks like I was right on the money," Daiko sighed, "A shame I'm not paid to do this…"
"I just….this is unfathomable," Chris was right next to me, but his worry and frustration was very palpable, "S-Sir Ekichirou, is the killer? H-How is this…"
"I had a feeling something was off about you," Itsuki snorted, "You look chill, but something about you just rubbed me the wrong way. I guess my suspicions were right after all."
"Itsuki! T-That's not how you talk to someone who's upset," Shion reproached the EMT, turning to look at him with a concerned gasp, "H-He probably just…." The songwriter couldn't find the right words to counter the man.
"Spare me the lecture," he rolled his eyes, "I don't trust any of you, and after today, I'm not sure if I can to be honest."
"Are you all done yet?" Monojoker lay flat on his stomach on his throne, "I'm so booooooored waiting for you all!"
"You really didn't give us that much time to finish though…" Tsukae stared blankly at the bear.
"S-So….what happens now?" Aki wondered worriedly, "D-Do we just….wait for something?"
"Aha! Glad you asked!" Monojoker jumped right back in, "Since you all are probably very certain about who the killer or blackened is right now, I will give you the option to vote for said person as the killer through a more official means!"
"Kinda like an election process?" Jun looked up from her drawing to ask, "...Alright.."
"Sort of like that!" the bear giggled mischievously, "In front of all of you, you will see a small screen on your podiums! On said screen, all of your faces will be plastered on with an option to pick one person to be your vote! Instead of a miserable election, you get to choose which person suffers a super duper punishment!"
"I see…. I have one question, is there a tiebreaker if people happen to evenly vote for two people?" Genki asked a good question, "How does this process work?"
"Interesting question!" The bear thought it over, "We've never had a tiebreaker vote before, but usually the majority vote wins, so even if one of you brats decides not to vote or votes for someone else, the most votes will be tallied as everyone's collective choice! Isn't democracy great!"
"That's debatable," Hibiki rolled his eyes at the statement, "So we just press a button and boom that's it?"
"Mhm! Even a five year old kid with mental issues can do it! Now stop wasting time and let's get to voting time!"
After that wild informational dialogue, I looked down at my monitor and noticed the screen lit up brightly. Everyone's faces were lined up in rows and columns and it reminded me a lot of a fighting video game select character roster from the Road Brawler series. There were everyone's portraits along with a specialized full figure image of us in dynamic poses with the word 'Vote' next to us.
I panned over to Ayano's and noticed that she had a bright pink X shaped mark on her face with the portrait darkened and bright red 'DEAD' letters over her avatar. It gave me the chills, it was very similar to the death portrait that stood in her place during this entire insane trial.
"Ooooh, I can see everyone's faces here! Are they trapped inside this little machine?" Banri stared at his monitor like he was glued to it.
"No Banban, here let me show you! Despite my time in the jungle, I have used man made gadgets like this before," Shiho was kind enough to assist him, "So you scroll around, press the image of the person you want and press the shiny red vote button!"
"You sound like his mother," Shannon was quite perturbed by this, "But whatever, I already made my vote, so do your worst."
I briefly thought over my decision, fearing that if I voted for my brother I would abandon him, but if I didn't vote for him, then what would happen to me? I hesitated a little when watching the vote button, I hovered my finger over the screen and I closed my eyes and pressed it immediately, almost like ripping off an old band-aid.
It was both frightening...as well as cathartic.
VOTING TIME
CHOOSE THE BLACKENED OF THIS CASE!
Ekichirou Yoshirenku
Cherika Yoshirenku
Christopher O'Donnell
Tsukae Shinzou
Nashi Akira
Shiho Mukai
Banri Gingka
Shion Ninomiya
Gabriel Mudd
Hotaru Ikeru
Asahi Fujioka
-Ayano Akatsuka-
Itsuki Ogasawara
Chihaya Sato
Daiko Hakazi
Galiana Al Earnestine
Norio Kuromiya
Aki Sasaki
Genki Ohno
Shannon Akahoshi
Hibiki Miyamoto
Jun Nousagi
"Okay with all the voting done, we can now tally them!" Teddy smiled eagerly, "Just let me do some quick math on my fingers first." He mouthed out the numbers on each hand, "What comes after ten and how do I count it?"
"Ugh, maybe you shouldn't have skipped the second grade, moron," Carolina sighed, "Hurry up before the boss skins us alive!"
"Already did it," JJ's swift motions outmatched his friends.
"Wow, he's just like a robot….oh wait," Barnabus just realized his mistake, "Oh well, who cares, I can't solve numbers and shit to save my life, hahaha!"
"What a wild bunch everyone is," Ysabelle smiled at the chaos, "Oh my, these votes sure are decisive, no deviants whatsoever!"
"Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?" Monojoker laughed, "Without further ado, let's see the results!"
As the bear said that, a giant TV monitor appeared above him and the Monohelpers, slowly descending as the tension in the room grew and grew with everyone not saying anything to each other.
I looked at my brother and he just looked at the floor, I could barely see his face as a large shadow overcast over his face and his hands shakily gripped the edges of the podium. I didn't have any other choice…..I'm sorry.
VOTING RESULTS
Ekichirou Yoshirenku: 21 votes
CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE CORRECT!
TRIAL END!
ALL RISE!
A/N: Wow, that trial was a doozy to write. I can't believe that I actually finished it, and it only took me about two years to finally get to this point, but here we are! Hi guys, it's me again, I hope you're all well and apologies for the lack of uploads as of recently, I've been distracted with finals and end of semester depression, on top of parental pressure to find a job and focus on my future, which is why uploads are even more sporadic than ever.
Life may move on, but my dedication to this saga is ever strong and unless something drastic happens, just know that I'm one hundred percent committed to finishing these stories. I know a lot of stories die without warning, but I hope to get far with my stories and I just love writing too much to just quit!
Anyway, how did you guys like this new chapter? I know a lot of people guessed the twist long before I wrote it, but what did you guys think of it overall? Let me tell you, this trial went through so many rewrites that my hands started to cramp, so hopefully this final version is just as good!
I had a lot of fun working on this chapter, I plan to add more to it in the aftermath and closing end for Chapter 1, but for now, what did you guys think about the results? Did you expect the protagonist to be the first killer? How cliche since Kaede died in V3, but I hope this was just as good as that twist.
I know the planning wasn't the best, but I worked with what I could given the limited perspective and what I could experiment with, without it being too obvious. Oh well, you guys are very smart, so you probably already figured it out, lol, that's why you all are amazing!
I can't really thank myself for my own character, but I just wanted to give another special shoutout to Sharkeye who sent me Ayano Akatsuka, the first victim. I know you had high hopes for her character in this story, and I'm sorry if her arc was cut short, but I promise you it gets better from here on out. I have a lot of fun planned for the other characters and I can't wait to show them to you guys.
For now, I will be working on the final chapter for chapter one soon and I hope you enjoyed all it, and if you did, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the reviews below. That's all I have to say for now, have a wonderful day, night, holiday or whatever it is you are celebrating and I will see you all for the next update or whenever I decide to post next.
Happy reading my fellow readers, authors and otaku alike, I appreciate you all for taking the time to read my latest chapter and hopefully the next one impresses. Bye bye!