The detention center was just as grey and bland as it was when Madoka was inside, as a victim. Now she was there, alongside Sayaka and Mami, meeting someone who is in the position she once was. Ihr Esponsible had a saddened look on his face, matching his sullen, droopy black hair, which covered his right eye. His left eye was an abyssal brown, matching his suit. His body was slim and stick-like, and droopy too.
"I-I'm going to jail… I forgot to close the tiger's cage… and now my buddy Kane is dead…" Ihr spoke in a monotone voice. Sayaka shook her head and crossed her arms.
"I have a feeling you didn't do it. Something in my heart can feel you crying out for help. Deep down, you know you didn't cause Kane's death." Sayaka tried to comfort her client. She absolutely knew that Ihr was not responsible for letting a tiger kill a college kid. "I'll get out there and prove your innocence! Just you watch!" Sayaka smiled, trying to cheer up her client. Ihr sighed.
"There's so much evidence going against me… how will they believe you?" Ihr asked. Sayaka kept smiling.
"Just trust me. I'll convince the court that you're an innocent man, with evidence of my own!" Sayaka tried to stay in high spirits, but her client's mood seemed to make it harder for her. How can she believe in his innocence when he doesn't even believe it?
"Okay… I hope you're right… Miss Miki…" Ihr sighed weakly. Sayaka gave him a thumbs up.
"Well… shall we head to the courtroom?" Mami asked.
"Yeah! Let's get this trial started!" Sayaka cheered as she waved goodbye to her client. She entered the lobby with Mami and Madoka by herside. The girls smiled at each other.
"Positive in, positive out. Right, Sayaka?" Madoka asked.
"Yeah! If I believe in my client, I can pull through!" Sayaka encouraged herself.
"Alright! I'll be waiting here for you when you win!" Madoka wished her friend well as Sayaka and Mami walked into the courtroom, taking their place at the Lawyer's desk. Soon after, the judge arrived and took his seat. Then, the prosecutor came in. She had long, wild red hair, matching her sharp, dark red eyes, and her confident smirk, showing a small fang. She wore an open red suit with a black undershirt and blue dress pants. She held a red apple in her hand as she stared right into Sayaka's eyes. Sayaka skipped a breath as she looked back into the prosecutor's sharp glare.
"So that's Kyoko Sakura… she's intimidating!" Sayaka thought to herself as the judge slammed down his gavel.
"The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Ihr Esponsible." The judge announced.
"The prosecution is ready, your honour!" Kyoko spoke with a tone as sharp as her eyes, displaying a confident smirk.
"T-The defense is ready, your honour!" Sayaka stuttered. Kyoko was already testing her nerves. Mami took notice. So did the Judge.
"It is your second case, Miss Sayaka Miki. Why are you still nervous?" The judge asked. Kyoko let out a little laugh.
"Awwwh, is the newbie scared? Am I too good for you to handle?" Kyoko teased her opponent as she bit into her apple, taking out a solid chunk of the apple with a big crunch. Sayaka reeled back slightly in surprise then slammed her fist on the table.
"N-No! I'm not scared of you, Sakura! Bring it on!" Sayaka tried to appear tough. Kyoko giggled.
"If I were you, I'd throw in the towel right now! You're wastin' my time defending a man who is clearly guilty!" Kyoko taunted, trying to get under Sayaka's skin. The blue haired lawyer shot her a fierce glare.
"I'm not throwing in any towels! And I'll prove that Mr. Ihr Esponsible is an innocent man!' Sayaka fired back, showing her determination. The gallery chattered for a bit before the judge slammed down his gavel.
"Now is not the time for banter, Miss Miki. You as well, Miss Sakura." The judge tried to defuse the situation. "Now, Miss Sakura. If you're ready, please present your opening statement." The judge tried to advance the trial forwards. Kyoko smirked.
"Alright then, Your Honour. The defendant, Mr. Ihr Esponsible, was caught on camera last night at 11:20 pm. He opened the door of the tiger's cage, carrying a big bag of tiger food. He then proceeded to dump the food into the bowl in order to feed the tigers living in the enclosure. Once both food bowls were filled, the defendant left the cage, not even supervising the tigers. Taking advantage of the open cage, one of the tigers escaped, tracking down the victim, Mr. Kane Rickson. Sensing an opportunity, the tiger lunged at the victim, killing him with it's deadly claws. Then, a security guard came to close the cage, finding the victim's body. He reported the attack to the police, who arrested the defendant in his home the next morning." Kyoko laid out her opening statement. Sayaka took notes. The judge nodded.
"That is a fine opening statement, Miss Sakura." The judge applauded. Kyoko bit into her apple again, smiling.
"Thank you, Your Honour. Those were simply the facts of the case." Kyoko pointed forwards with confidence. "Now. The prosecution calls the detective, Mr. Dick Gumshoe, to the stand!" Kyoko called her first witness. Detective Gumshoe took the stand, lightly scratching the back of his head. Kyoko took out a chocolate pocky stick and pointed it at Gumshoe.
"Witness, I want your name and occupation." Kyoko ordered. Gumshoe saulted to the court.
"The name's Gumshoe! Dick Gumshoe! I am a police detective!" Gumshoe spoke proudly. Kyoko bit into more of her apple and smirked.
"Now, witness! Describe to the court what you saw in your investigation!" Kyoko ordered. Gumshoe nodded before beginning his testimony.
"When we had received a call from zoo security, we were directed to the body of Mr. Kane Rickson. He was found lying on his side, with severe claw marks all over his body. The guard claimed that the cage was left open by the defendant, using this security tape as proof." While he conducted his testimony, Gumshoe showed a security tape, which saw a shadowy figure open the cage, feed the tigers, and then leave, exactly as Kyoko had described. "Those where the results of our investigation." Gumshoe finished his testimony. The judge nodded.
"That is a very clean testimony, Detective." The judge commented. "Now, the defense may cross examine the witness." The judge ordered. Sayaka looked at Gumshoe, then looked at Kyoko, and then at Mami.
"Remember the telephone in the security office? Bring up the call history." Mami advised. Sayaka nodded, then looked at Gumshoe.
"Hold it!" Sayaka began. "You said you received a call from the zoo security, correct?" Sayaka asked. Gumshoe nodded.
"Indeed I did!" Gumshoe spoke proudly. Sayaka shook her head before showing the notes of the office phone's call history.
"During my own investigation, I was invited to the security office to look over the guard's call history. There were no calls listed on that phone after 10:30pm on the night of the murder!" Sayaka noted.
"Objection!" Kyoko shouted as she pointed at Sayaka, biting off the rest of her apple, leaving only the core. She smirked. "You made the assumption that the call came from the security office. You failed to take into consideration… the fact that the security guard has his own personal phone!" Kyoko fired back. Sayaka twitched out of surprise.
"W-What?! Personal phone?!" Sayaka stuttered. Kyoko shook her head and pointed her pocky stick at Gumshoe.
"Witness! Reveal to the defense your call history!" Kyoko shouted. Gumshoe pulled out his new Samsung Galaxy phone and showed his call history. A call was listed at 10:30pm on the night of the murder, coming from a number differring from the security phone. Sayaka scratched her hair out of frustration.
"Dammit!" Sayaka groaned. The judge shooks his head.
"The prosecution has a point. The security guard could have very easily used his personal phone, as supposed to the office phone. Take all the possibilities into account before making accusations, Miss Miki." The judge gave Sayaka a warning. Sayaka buried her face in her hands.
"Yes, your honour…" Sayaka spoke. Mami looked at Kyoko's smug smile. Then she looked at Sayaka.
"Why don't you press on another part of Gumshoe's testimony. It seems Prosecutor Sakura knew about a phone we weren't aware of." Mami made a suggestion. Sayaka nodded.
"A-Alright. Let's look for something else." Sayaka agreed. She remembered the rest of Gumshoe's testimony through her notes, and she wanted to know about the security tape.
"Detective, may the defense examine the security tape?" Sayaka asked. Gumshoe nodded.
"Here. I'll show you the security tape." Gumshoe handed the tape to Sayaka and Mami. Kyoko smirked.
"Why would you need to examine the security tape? It clearly shows the defendant opening the cage and forgetting to close it." Kyoko sniped. Sayaka shook her head.
"There might be something either you or Gumshoe missed. I suspect that the tape doesn't show what you think it does." Sayaka countered.
"Oh yeah? If ya think I'm wrong for some reason, PROVE IT!" Kyoko boldly challenged. Sayaka and Mami began looking over the tape together. In the tape, the night was mostly empty, with the tigers going about their business. A shadowy figure approached the tiger's cage. The figure was not slim and stick-like. Rather, it was rotund. Solid as well. Sayaka noticed the body shape as he went to feed the tigers. The rotund body then left the cage, without closing the door. He even turned back to the door and left the scene as the tiger escaped. Sayaka picked up on the facts immediately.
"See? The tape shows exactly what I had described in my opening statement!" Kyoko boldly proclaimed, certain that she was right.
"Objection!" Sayaka shouted. "The events that played out in the tape are quite different from the events you described!" Sayaka claimed, smiling. Kyoko's eyes narrowed.
"Oh yeah? How so?!" Kyoko snapped back. Sayaka slammed her fist on the desk.
"If you look at the figure's actions, he clearly did not forget to close the cage." Sayaka began. "You can see the figure turning back to look right at the open cage, and he only left the scene when the tiger escaped!" Sayaka described exactly what she saw.
"Objection!" Kyoko bit into the core of her apple, glaring right at Sayaka and Mami. "If he turned to look at the cage, that just means the defendant knew he was letting the tiger escape!" Kyoko shouted, with her fist clenched.
"Objection!" Sayaka shouted back. "One more thing. Look at the defendant's body shape! He is thin, lanky, and possibly malnourished! If you look at the shadow, it's round, fat, and possibly gluttonous!" Sayaka pointed out the shape of the shadow. Kyoko clutched her arm and growled, glaring at the defense. The gallery began chattering, which led the judge to slam down his gavel.
"Order! Order in the court!" The judge shouted to quiet down the crowd. "Miss Miki, are you suggesting that the person in the security tape is not the defendant?" The judge asked. Sayaka nodded.
"Indeed! The difference in their body shapes is like night and day!" Sayaka proclaimed. Mami smiled.
"Way to go, Sayaka!" Mami clapped for her protege. Kyoko picked up her pocky stick and bit into it. She looked very tense, which led Sayaka to drop her guard. At that moment, she smirked proudly.
"So what if the footage displays a different body shape? We don't know who it could be, since the face and clothing are all blacked out." Kyoko smirked. Sayaka raised an eyebrow. Kyoko shook her head and shrugged.
"On top of that, the video quality is fuzzy. So there's pretty much no way we can tell who that person is by their body shape." Kyoko boldly pointed at Sayaka, who reeled back from the surprise. Mami re-examined the tape, and Kyoko was unfortunately right.
"She's right, Sayaka. Look at the tape quality. It is fuzzy, as Prosecutor Sakura said." Mami pointed out the video quality. The judge nodded.
"Oh my, the video quality is quite fuzzy indeed." The judge pointed out. Kyoko smirked and ate the rest of her pocky stick.
"Therefore, the defense has no proof that the defendant is not in the security tape!" Kyoko concluded. The judge nodded.
"Very well then. The defense's cross-examination has concluded. You may leave the stand, Detective Gumshoe." The judge announced.
"Thank you for having me, you're honour." Gumshoe saluted before leaving the stand. Sayaka grimaced as Kyoko smirked proudly.
"What a dirty play, Sakura! Hiding the quality of the tape like that!" Sayaka chided. Kyoko giggled.
"It's not my fault your observation skills are lacking, Miss Miki!" Kyoko sniped back before pulling out a new pocky stick.
"Without further ado, the prosecution may call its second witness." The judge spoke.
"Very well then! The prosecution calls the security guard, Mr. Ihd Eeot to the stand!" Kyoko proclaimed. Just then, Ihd walked up to the stand, rotund body and all. He was still wearing his security guard jacket.
"Witness, I want your name and occupation." Kyoko ordered. Ihd put his hands on the stand.
"Name, Mr. Ihd Eeot! Profession, Security Guard for Axel Zoo!" Ihd spoke with a booming voice.
"Good. Now witness, testify to the court what you saw on the night of the murder!" Kyoko commanded.
"Yes, ma'am!" Ihd stomped his foot.
"It was late at night at the zoo. I was in my office watching over the feed when it happened. Ihr Esponsible went and opened the door to feed the tigers, as he's supposed to do. Then the fool forgot to close the cage, seemingly in some kind of hurry. The tiger escaped and killed the victim with a claw attack! I immediately called the police from my office and when they got there, I led them to the body." Ihd described his account of the events. The judge nodded.
"That was a solid testimony, Mr. Eeot." The judge spoke. "Now. The defense may begin their cross examination." The judge announced. Sayaka and Mami looked at each other.
"I don't see any glaring contradictions, but the testimony still feels incomplete." Sayaka noted.
"If there are details you think were left out, press the witness on them. Let him lie himself into a corner." Mami advised. Sayaka nodded. Then she looked at Ihd.
"You said the defendant left as if he were in some kind of hurry, right?" Sayaka asked. Ihd nodded.
"Yeah! He took off like lightnin' after feeding the tigers." Ihd spoke. There was a serious contradiction between what he said and the camera footage.
"Objection!" Sayaka shouted. "The security footage you claim to have seen tells me otherwise!" Sayaka made a bold claim before pulling out Gumshoe's tape. The tape showed the figure staying behind to watch the tiger escape before leaving. "Clearly, the person in the footage was in no hurry to take off. They waited for the tiger to escape and then left the scene, which I have a feeling that the defendant would not have done." Sayaka described what actually happened. Ihd spit at the defendant's table.
"So what? That just implicates him more! That meant that he wanted to kill Mr. Rickson!" Ihd shouted. Sayaka shook her head.
"I spoke to the defendant earlier, who claimed that the victim was a friend of his. I noticed a similar trend in my previous case. And the person who claimed the defendant in that case killed her friend, was put down for murder." Sayaka spoke confidently.
"Objection!" Kyoko shouted, finishing the core of her apple. "That claim is entirely irrelevant to this case! Quit wasting your breath!" Kyoko sniped, pointing her pocky stick at Sayaka, who smiled.
"Well I know of a claim that is relevant to the case." Sayaka spoke with confidence.
"Then tell the court about it instead of stalling and wasting my time!" Kyoko challenged Sayaka to back up her statement.
"You called the police from your office, correct?" Sayaka asked.
"Yes! With my personal phone! Not the office phone I showed you!" Ihd proudly stated. Sayaka smirked.
"So that explains the police call. What about that suspicious call I found on your office phone's call history?" Sayaka showed her notes, where she wrote down the office phone's call history. Then she put her finger up to her brooch as Ihd began to speak.
"T-That number?! It's totally not suspicious at all!" Ihd began. "It was a call to a zoo security associate! We didn't plan to open the cage or anything!" The moment Ihd brought up the cage, his eyes dilated.
"Right there!" Sayaka pointed to Ihd. "Your eyes dilated when you brought up a plan to open the cage! You just gave yourself away!" Sayaka claimed. Ihd spit at the defendant's table again.
"I didn't plan to do anything! It was just a call to a co-worker! Nothing more!" Ihd began to sweat. Sayaka shook her head.
"If the number was that of another security guard, then why would it have been labelled a suspicious number? Wouldn't the office phone recognize calls from security guards?" Sayaka pointed straight at Ihd.
"You're totally wrong! If the call was suspicious, then it totally wouldn't have been from another security guard!" Ihd grew desperate to save himself.
"Objection!" Sayaka shouted. "On the topic of the call, if that security guard wanted to call you, why wouldn't he have called your personal phone and risk reaching someone else who could have been on the shift at the time?" Sayaka asked, but she knew it was a rhetorical question. "I'll tell you why! It was to cover your tracks! A link to your personal phone would link you to the crime!" Sayaka proclaimed. Ihd reeled back and slammed his fist down on the stand, sweating.
"You know nothin' about me! Nothin' Nothin' Nothin!" Ihd shouted.
"Objection!" Kyoko shouted, clearly sweating as she glared at Sayaka. "There's t-two reasons that Ihd couldn't have purposely opened the tiger's cage! First of all, how would you know if he wanted to kill Mr. Rickson?! Second of all, how do you know Ihd was the one to open the cage?" Kyoko asked, desperate to corner Sayaka.
"Y-Yeah! I don't know Mr. Rickson! That fool Esponsible does! Why would I kill him?!" Ihd asked. Sayaka had a bit of a pit in her stomach. Ihd didn't have much of a motive.
"Crap… he's right! He doesn't have a motive…" Sayaka spoke to herself. She had to think for a moment. What motive would Ihd have to kill Kane? Mami tapped Sayaka's shoulder.
"I may have an idea… notice how he keeps referring to the defendant as a fool. Notice how both him and the defendant confirmed that Kane is the defendant's friend… what if the murder is not directly about Kane?" Mami gave Sayaka a hint.
"But what would Mr. Eeot gain from killing Mr. Rickson and pinning it on Mr. Esponsible?" Sayaka asked. Mami smiled.
"I think you can figure it out yourself. You're a smart girl." Mami allowed Sayaka to think about it herself.
"Wait… he keeps calling Mr. Esponsible a fool… and he's bent on putting him behind bars… maybe… AHA!" Sayaka came up with an idea. "I found your motive, Mr. Eeot!" Sayaka boldly pointed to Ihd, smiling. "You seem to harbour a grudge against the defendant, Mr. Esponsible." Sayaka began. "On the night of the murder, you and your associate came up with a plan to get Mr. Esponsible removed from the zoo. You planned to open the tiger's cage to feed the tigers, and then you chose not to close it. You watched the tiger to make sure it got out, and once it did, you got out of the view of your own security camera, watched the tiger murder Mr. Rickson, then called the police to pin it on the defendant, Mr. Esponsible! You planned to murder his friend with a tiger, and then get Mr. Esponsible indicted for the murder that YOU enabled!" Sayaka explained Ihd's whole plan. He reeled back in shock and then spit at Sayaka's desk.
"So what if I wanted that fool gone?! How do you know I opened the cage?!" Ihd challenged. Sayaka smirked proudly.
"I took a picture of the gate during my investigation! And I found a set of fingerprints!" Sayaka showed her picture, which showed the fingerprints on the gate. "Shall we run a fingerprint test to see who these belong to?" Sayaka asked. Ihd glared at her.
"Objection!" Kyoko shouted, trying to turn the momentum. "How do you know those fingerprints don't belong to the defendant himself? They could very well be his!" Kyoko tried to counter. Sayaka smiled.
"That's why I plan to run the fingerprint test! To see if the fingerprints in the picture match those of the defendant, or those of the witness!" Sayaka smiled. "Your honour, shall we conduct the fingerprint test?" Sayaka asked. The judge looked at Sayaka and nodded.
"The court accepts the defense's request. We shall run a fingerprint test on the defendant and the witness to see if either of them match the fingerprints on the photo." The judge announced. Soon a bailiff brought a fingerprinting device into the courtroom. Ihr put his fingers on the device, which scanned his fingerprints. The result came in and the fingerprints did not match those on the photo.
"Incredible. The fingerprints on the photo are not those of the defendant." The judge announced. Ihd began sweating and his legs began to vibrate as the fingerprinting device was brought to him.
"N-No! Get that blasted thing away from me!" Ihd desperately cried out. "Your honour this is a breach of my personal space-" Ihd tried to weasel his way out of getting the test before smacking the machine out of the bailiff's hand before screaming for thirty seconds straight, running out of breath and collapsing to the floor.
"Fine! I'll admit it! It was me! I opened the tiger cage to kill Mr. Rickson! I wanted Mr. Esponsible gone so I tried to frame him in court!" Ihd admitted to his crime at last. The judge nodded. "And who was this security associate you called?" The judge asked. Sensing no way out, Ihd betrayed his accomplice. "It was Kane's sister Yuli. She wanted him dead so we had aligning goals!" Ihd admitted to having an accomplice. The judge slammed down his gavel.
"Well that was a very eventful case. I am glad the right person is going to jail." The judge admitted. "As for his accomplice, the Police Force will do their best to find her and arrest her for her role in this crime." The judge continued. "Now, without further delay, this court finds the defendant, Mr. Ihr Esponsible…" The judge raised his gavel. "Not Guilty." The judge slammed down his gavel. The gallery celebrated before he slammed down his gavel once more. "This court is now adjourned." The judge gave the gallery the go ahead to file for the exits. Sayaka and Mami left together as Kyoko stomped off. The girls met up with Madoka and Gordon, who were all too happy to see them.
"Congratulations on your trial victory, Sayaka!" Madoka ran up to Sayaka and gave her a hug. Sayaka happily returned the hug. Gordon smirked.
"I knew that the brooch would come in handy! You managed to pick out the security guard's lies right as he opened his mouth!" Gordon spoke with confidence. "Thank you for saving my dear friend Ihr. As thanks, you may keep the brooch!"
"T-Thank you, Mr. Blanchard!" Sayaka thanked her new friend. Gordon laughed.
"No more need for formalities, dear Sayaka! Just call me Gordie from now on!" Gordon smiled. Just then, Kyoko came into the lobby, walking towards Sayaka.
"Hey, lawyer." Kyoko began. Sayaka turned her attention to Kyoko. "Oh. Hi, Sakura." Sayaka spoke with no enthusiasm at all.
"You got lucky there, Miss Miki. But I won't let you win like that again! Next time we meet, I'm gonna come out on top!" Kyoko boldly declared before taking out an apple and throwing it to Sayaka.
"Enjoy your victory, kid! It'll be your very last!" Kyoko turned and left the lobby. It seems this trial was over and done with. Sayaka was forging a respectable lawyering record so far. But how long could she stay unbeaten? And how soon would she see Kyoko again?