Look, look. It's another chapter.
Am I going to finish anytime soon? No. Will I get another chapter up
before the 11th? Maybe. It depends on how effective this is as an
attempt to avoid work. Regardless, the story is getting interesting.
Disclaimers are still in place. Thanks for reading and for the comments.
And the rating. It's been a wild ride for me. Gotta love real life
complexity...or something close to it, anyway.
~December
Chapter 13: Evil or Elevating?
As she was once again led into the courtroom, Irony reflected on the
past two weeks. It was a rough time for everyone associated with her
case. She had barely slept herself; poor Tenchi must not have slept at
all. What was probably really getting to everyone was this fear. Kali's
presence at the bail hearing was a bad sign. Irony was sure she would
be back...as were they all. They knew there was something much bigger
going on. But no one knew what it was, much less how to defend against
it.
Now, more than ever people needed friends. The core Green members had
each other, Irony knew. She was also glad that Tsukino-san now also
had Makoto. The blonde needed the extra support...and the extra help
creating covers if her other friends were anything like that Haruka.
What Irony was most grateful for, however, was that Mamoru had Furuhata-san
back.
That day two weeks ago at the jail, during another debate between Anrui
and Tenchi, Irony had turned to the blonde young man and said,
"Furuhata-san?"
The young man turned to her, startled. "I didn't mean to frighten you,"
Irony continued, hoping the young man understood English, "but I wanted
to thank you."
"Thank me? For what reason?" the young man asked, confused.
"For being here for Mamoru. Oh, I know you aren't here for me," Irony
continued at his surprised look. "I'm not even sure you really trust
me or my intentions for your friend. I'm just glad you are here for him.
I'm afraid this trial is going to be hard on us all, and you are very
important to Mamoru. I really didn't want him to have to chose between
you and standing up for me. I think part of my selfish nature doesn't
want to have to kick him out of my life to make sure he's happy. But
even more than that, it's about him and his happiness. So thank you."
The blond stared at her for a while and something changed in his eyes.
Although he didn't say or do much of anything after her statement, he
did move closer to the group as a whole. And he said, "Your welcome."
As she reached her lawyer and her handcuffs were removed, Irony glanced
around the courtroom. Of course it was packed, half of the room being
reporters. Luckily, there were no cameramen. At least this...well,
whatever this turned out to be, was not going be televised. There would
be enough grandstanding without a camera to egg people on.
As she continued to look around the room, she saw somethings that gave
her hope. Anrui, Toge, and Nintai were sitting together. Mamoru was
sitting a row behind them...in part so that he could be closer to Usagi
who sat across the isle with ChibiUsa and Makoto sitting right next to
her. Near Usagi were some other people as well. Irony recognized Haruka
and noticed the dirty look she was receiving from the blonde. She
didn't recognize the other people. Two of them could have been Usagi's
mother, but she assumed it was the blue-haired lady who kept a close
eye on Usagi as if something would happen to her in the courtroom. The
other woman, who looked age-less, kept staring at Irony as if she knew
her from somewhere...much as ChibiUsa had. Irony just shrugged this off.
The other people around Usagi seemed to be closer to her age, expect the
dark haired girl who looked both weak and strong at the same time. But
before she got hung up in trying to explain than assessment to herself,
Irony continued to scan the room...until she saw what she expected and
feared.
Kali was there. Cleaned up, next to the mayor, and looking serene, Irony
knew that Kali had a master plan. Knowing Kali, the plan was pretty nasty,
and Irony expected that a lot of people would get hurt. 'Lord, help us.'
"Alanis?" Tenchi touched her shoulder. "Take a seat. The judge may be
awhile."
With that Irony sat down...a little annoyed that she began to shake
slightly.
Noticing that Irony shook slightly as she sat down, Tenchi took her hand.
"We WILL get out of this. I WILL see you free. I'm not going to lose you."
That last sentence got out before he could stop it, which he blamed on
the lack of sleep he had. Irony stared at him wide-eyed, about to say
something, when they heard, "All rise. The honorable Judge Eichi Itaranai
presiding. Here ye him..."
They rose to there feet and stayed there until after the judge entered
and told them to be seating. "Bring in the jury," the judge ordered.
As the jury was being led in, Irony turned to her lawyer. "This is a
jury trial?! Did you have any right of refusal over people that were
called?"
Her lawyer nodded.
"Why did you neglect to mention to me that this was a jury trial?" Irony
practically snarled.
At this Tenchi narrowed his eyes and looked at his client, "It wasn't
important."
By this point, the jury had been seated and the judge began to talk again.
"This case before us will be presented in an international format, as it
is an international case with international interest. This trial will
also be conducted in English to not put the accused at an disadvantage.
There is a translator present to help with testimony of people who cannot
speak English. To the jury, you have been assigned a grave task. Serve
with honor and in the interest of justice and common good.
"At this point we will have opening statements. Is the prosecution ready?"
"Yes, your honor."
"Is the defense ready?"
"Yes, you honor."
The judge nodded to the prosecutor, "You may proceed."
"Thank you, your honor." After saying this, the polished looking
young Japanese lawyer came to stand in front of the jury.
"This country was not the happiest place to be four weeks ago. Crime was on
the rise and it becoming unsafe to walk around our beautiful neighborhoods.
But also in that week, our beloved prime minister suffered a terrifying
blow. His only daughter was kidnapped, snatched from her family. For
days the prime minister and his wife agonized over the safety of their
daughter...with no word from her kidnappers about her safety or their
demands.
"After this tense week, in another area of town, a young lady walks home.
It's daylight, mid-morning on a beautiful Thursday. Nothing could go
wrong...but something did. A knife was thrown at her, meaning her harm,
which, understandably made her hysterical. The only think that saved her
was that the assailant's second target was there also, and that was who
the knife hit.
"But even before that day, that week, we had great crime on the street...
and we had that 16 year old US Embassy disaster still under investigation.
But you can help us today to end all of this. You can put the mastermind
behind bars.
"Can we prove the story I weaved in the beginning? I believe that we can.
We can place the defendant in the alley when the attempted assault of
Ms. Tsukino nad the actual assault of Mr. Gihen happened. We can provide
documents that the defendant had on her person that led police to the
prime minister's daughter. We have testimony to support all of those
assertions.
"But, beyond this, we also have testimony from people whose lives have
been ruined by the defendant...even testimony form the wife of the US
Embassy guard that she killed before she and those with her blew up
part of Embassy."
"Shit," Irony muttered under her breath. "This is going to haunt me
forever, isn't it?"
This bombshell of the prosecutor also had caused Tenchi to stop writing
and snap to attention. He turned to stare at Alanis. 'What in the hell
aren't you telling me?'
But the prosecutor continued, "Beyond this, she has seduced new members
into her terrorist organization and made them loyal. While they may
defend her, they cannot defend their awful acts...like the child they
killed with gunfire 10 years ago. Or the child they roughed up 12 years
ago. These children's parents are here to seek the justice they deserve.
"Again, today, you have an awesome responsibility to get through all
the rhetoric and see that justice is done. We thank you in advance for
your time, patience, and attention." And with that, the prosecutor took
his seat.
At this point, Tenchi rose and began his opening statement. "Before I
start this morning, I want to talk about the sailor senshi."
At this pronoucement, Irony's eyse widened...as did the eyes of 11 other
people in the room.
"Now we all agree that they do good for our city. They fight monsters
we cannot fight and save people routinely. But I assert that all the
charges against my client could easly be levied against the senshi."
That caused an uproar in the courtroom. The judge had to bang his gavel
and shout, "Order! Order!" several times before the room quieted down
again.
"What do I mean? Well, let's go through the charges, shall we? Assault
and attempted assault. At points the monsters the senshi fight have
possessed people. This meant that during the fight and before the person
could be healed, the senshi would end up attacking the person in some
form. In the end, it was an effort to save the person and protect the
city...but it is still assault.
"Inciting terrorism? Well, the senshi do work outside of the law,
obviously with their own agenda and resources. They have disrupted
some public events and festivals. And I'm sure that some view their
actions as attempts to gain power in this country. Yes, the are saving
us, but someone could interpret the hows, whens, and whys of that saving
as terrorism.
"Disturbing the peace? I think we've covered that. One must admit that
their battles are not peaceful. Obstruction of justice? Well, the
senshi obviously aren't sharing who they are, how they find the monsters,
or any information they have about the evil they fight. Keeping the
peace is the job of the police...yet the senshi don't contact them...ever.
"And finally, the kidnapping charge. Suppose the police had run into
Sailormoon and hse had papers on her person that led right to the Prime
Minister's daughter? But suppose, that she and the senshi had been
trying to save the girl and had moved her to a safe place before alerting
police? That does change the picture, doesn't it?"
At this point, Irony had turned around in her seat to face the courtroom
audience. Mamoru thre her a slightly accusatory look, but Irony shook
her head, her eyse saying, 'I didn't tell him anything! I don't know
where he got this!' That look was also noticed by a few others...making
some worried about who now knew their secret.
Not aware of any of this, Tenchi continued, "Now, why do I bring up the
senshi? Because I assert the Green is muc like them. Although unorthodox
and secretive, both groups clean up int eh city in ways the police cannot.
The senshi fight monsters. The Green looks after the helpless on the
streets.
"Let's fact it folks, the streets of our fair city are not the safest in
the world. And everyday a child is abandoned or a family becomes homeless,
and they muct face these streets. Who protects these people when we wash
our hands of them? I assert that the Green does, that Alanis does.
"And yes, I have testimony to prove my assertions too. Alanis saves and
rehabilitates orphans, some going on to become contributing members of
our society. That's why Mr. Chiba defended Ms. Tierrany in public, and
why he will defend her here.
"Alanis protects people from the street. And you'll get a chance to hear
someone she protected explain what Alanis did for her. A story that hasn't
been told, because the police would not take this supposed victim's
statement.
"But finally, you'll be able to hear from the lady herself, willing to
take the stand and be torn apart to fight for her people...the people
we have given up on.
"Now I agree with the prosecutor that this is an awesome task we set
before you. But I believe it is awesome for a different reason. We
are asking you to set aside your prejudices and listen objectively. This
will be difficult because the accusors look like you, and Alanis does not.
She doesn't look like you, talk like you, or dress like you. I'm sure
many of you see her as a gaijin at best. What we are asking you to do
is to see the evidence, and the lack of evidence and to see Alanis as
a fellow human. I thank you now in good fiath that you will be able to
do this and see that real justice is done, letting Alansi go back to
helping the people we won't help and won't see. Thank you."
As Tenchi sat down, Irony looked at him. "Don't you think comparing the
Green to the senshi was a little much? I'd really rather not be assaulted
by pissed off senshi."
Tenchi looked at her, "It isnt 'a little much.' It's the truth, Alanis."
Irony blushed slightly, but then pulled herself together. "So, you really
threw down the gaunlet, didn't you?"
Tenchi nodded, "But so did they. So did they. This is not going to be
pretty."
Judge Itaranai turned to the prosecutor, "Call your first witness."
"We call Officer Enmu Ganko to the stand."
- to be continued -
Am I going to finish anytime soon? No. Will I get another chapter up
before the 11th? Maybe. It depends on how effective this is as an
attempt to avoid work. Regardless, the story is getting interesting.
Disclaimers are still in place. Thanks for reading and for the comments.
And the rating. It's been a wild ride for me. Gotta love real life
complexity...or something close to it, anyway.
~December
Chapter 13: Evil or Elevating?
As she was once again led into the courtroom, Irony reflected on the
past two weeks. It was a rough time for everyone associated with her
case. She had barely slept herself; poor Tenchi must not have slept at
all. What was probably really getting to everyone was this fear. Kali's
presence at the bail hearing was a bad sign. Irony was sure she would
be back...as were they all. They knew there was something much bigger
going on. But no one knew what it was, much less how to defend against
it.
Now, more than ever people needed friends. The core Green members had
each other, Irony knew. She was also glad that Tsukino-san now also
had Makoto. The blonde needed the extra support...and the extra help
creating covers if her other friends were anything like that Haruka.
What Irony was most grateful for, however, was that Mamoru had Furuhata-san
back.
That day two weeks ago at the jail, during another debate between Anrui
and Tenchi, Irony had turned to the blonde young man and said,
"Furuhata-san?"
The young man turned to her, startled. "I didn't mean to frighten you,"
Irony continued, hoping the young man understood English, "but I wanted
to thank you."
"Thank me? For what reason?" the young man asked, confused.
"For being here for Mamoru. Oh, I know you aren't here for me," Irony
continued at his surprised look. "I'm not even sure you really trust
me or my intentions for your friend. I'm just glad you are here for him.
I'm afraid this trial is going to be hard on us all, and you are very
important to Mamoru. I really didn't want him to have to chose between
you and standing up for me. I think part of my selfish nature doesn't
want to have to kick him out of my life to make sure he's happy. But
even more than that, it's about him and his happiness. So thank you."
The blond stared at her for a while and something changed in his eyes.
Although he didn't say or do much of anything after her statement, he
did move closer to the group as a whole. And he said, "Your welcome."
As she reached her lawyer and her handcuffs were removed, Irony glanced
around the courtroom. Of course it was packed, half of the room being
reporters. Luckily, there were no cameramen. At least this...well,
whatever this turned out to be, was not going be televised. There would
be enough grandstanding without a camera to egg people on.
As she continued to look around the room, she saw somethings that gave
her hope. Anrui, Toge, and Nintai were sitting together. Mamoru was
sitting a row behind them...in part so that he could be closer to Usagi
who sat across the isle with ChibiUsa and Makoto sitting right next to
her. Near Usagi were some other people as well. Irony recognized Haruka
and noticed the dirty look she was receiving from the blonde. She
didn't recognize the other people. Two of them could have been Usagi's
mother, but she assumed it was the blue-haired lady who kept a close
eye on Usagi as if something would happen to her in the courtroom. The
other woman, who looked age-less, kept staring at Irony as if she knew
her from somewhere...much as ChibiUsa had. Irony just shrugged this off.
The other people around Usagi seemed to be closer to her age, expect the
dark haired girl who looked both weak and strong at the same time. But
before she got hung up in trying to explain than assessment to herself,
Irony continued to scan the room...until she saw what she expected and
feared.
Kali was there. Cleaned up, next to the mayor, and looking serene, Irony
knew that Kali had a master plan. Knowing Kali, the plan was pretty nasty,
and Irony expected that a lot of people would get hurt. 'Lord, help us.'
"Alanis?" Tenchi touched her shoulder. "Take a seat. The judge may be
awhile."
With that Irony sat down...a little annoyed that she began to shake
slightly.
Noticing that Irony shook slightly as she sat down, Tenchi took her hand.
"We WILL get out of this. I WILL see you free. I'm not going to lose you."
That last sentence got out before he could stop it, which he blamed on
the lack of sleep he had. Irony stared at him wide-eyed, about to say
something, when they heard, "All rise. The honorable Judge Eichi Itaranai
presiding. Here ye him..."
They rose to there feet and stayed there until after the judge entered
and told them to be seating. "Bring in the jury," the judge ordered.
As the jury was being led in, Irony turned to her lawyer. "This is a
jury trial?! Did you have any right of refusal over people that were
called?"
Her lawyer nodded.
"Why did you neglect to mention to me that this was a jury trial?" Irony
practically snarled.
At this Tenchi narrowed his eyes and looked at his client, "It wasn't
important."
By this point, the jury had been seated and the judge began to talk again.
"This case before us will be presented in an international format, as it
is an international case with international interest. This trial will
also be conducted in English to not put the accused at an disadvantage.
There is a translator present to help with testimony of people who cannot
speak English. To the jury, you have been assigned a grave task. Serve
with honor and in the interest of justice and common good.
"At this point we will have opening statements. Is the prosecution ready?"
"Yes, your honor."
"Is the defense ready?"
"Yes, you honor."
The judge nodded to the prosecutor, "You may proceed."
"Thank you, your honor." After saying this, the polished looking
young Japanese lawyer came to stand in front of the jury.
"This country was not the happiest place to be four weeks ago. Crime was on
the rise and it becoming unsafe to walk around our beautiful neighborhoods.
But also in that week, our beloved prime minister suffered a terrifying
blow. His only daughter was kidnapped, snatched from her family. For
days the prime minister and his wife agonized over the safety of their
daughter...with no word from her kidnappers about her safety or their
demands.
"After this tense week, in another area of town, a young lady walks home.
It's daylight, mid-morning on a beautiful Thursday. Nothing could go
wrong...but something did. A knife was thrown at her, meaning her harm,
which, understandably made her hysterical. The only think that saved her
was that the assailant's second target was there also, and that was who
the knife hit.
"But even before that day, that week, we had great crime on the street...
and we had that 16 year old US Embassy disaster still under investigation.
But you can help us today to end all of this. You can put the mastermind
behind bars.
"Can we prove the story I weaved in the beginning? I believe that we can.
We can place the defendant in the alley when the attempted assault of
Ms. Tsukino nad the actual assault of Mr. Gihen happened. We can provide
documents that the defendant had on her person that led police to the
prime minister's daughter. We have testimony to support all of those
assertions.
"But, beyond this, we also have testimony from people whose lives have
been ruined by the defendant...even testimony form the wife of the US
Embassy guard that she killed before she and those with her blew up
part of Embassy."
"Shit," Irony muttered under her breath. "This is going to haunt me
forever, isn't it?"
This bombshell of the prosecutor also had caused Tenchi to stop writing
and snap to attention. He turned to stare at Alanis. 'What in the hell
aren't you telling me?'
But the prosecutor continued, "Beyond this, she has seduced new members
into her terrorist organization and made them loyal. While they may
defend her, they cannot defend their awful acts...like the child they
killed with gunfire 10 years ago. Or the child they roughed up 12 years
ago. These children's parents are here to seek the justice they deserve.
"Again, today, you have an awesome responsibility to get through all
the rhetoric and see that justice is done. We thank you in advance for
your time, patience, and attention." And with that, the prosecutor took
his seat.
At this point, Tenchi rose and began his opening statement. "Before I
start this morning, I want to talk about the sailor senshi."
At this pronoucement, Irony's eyse widened...as did the eyes of 11 other
people in the room.
"Now we all agree that they do good for our city. They fight monsters
we cannot fight and save people routinely. But I assert that all the
charges against my client could easly be levied against the senshi."
That caused an uproar in the courtroom. The judge had to bang his gavel
and shout, "Order! Order!" several times before the room quieted down
again.
"What do I mean? Well, let's go through the charges, shall we? Assault
and attempted assault. At points the monsters the senshi fight have
possessed people. This meant that during the fight and before the person
could be healed, the senshi would end up attacking the person in some
form. In the end, it was an effort to save the person and protect the
city...but it is still assault.
"Inciting terrorism? Well, the senshi do work outside of the law,
obviously with their own agenda and resources. They have disrupted
some public events and festivals. And I'm sure that some view their
actions as attempts to gain power in this country. Yes, the are saving
us, but someone could interpret the hows, whens, and whys of that saving
as terrorism.
"Disturbing the peace? I think we've covered that. One must admit that
their battles are not peaceful. Obstruction of justice? Well, the
senshi obviously aren't sharing who they are, how they find the monsters,
or any information they have about the evil they fight. Keeping the
peace is the job of the police...yet the senshi don't contact them...ever.
"And finally, the kidnapping charge. Suppose the police had run into
Sailormoon and hse had papers on her person that led right to the Prime
Minister's daughter? But suppose, that she and the senshi had been
trying to save the girl and had moved her to a safe place before alerting
police? That does change the picture, doesn't it?"
At this point, Irony had turned around in her seat to face the courtroom
audience. Mamoru thre her a slightly accusatory look, but Irony shook
her head, her eyse saying, 'I didn't tell him anything! I don't know
where he got this!' That look was also noticed by a few others...making
some worried about who now knew their secret.
Not aware of any of this, Tenchi continued, "Now, why do I bring up the
senshi? Because I assert the Green is muc like them. Although unorthodox
and secretive, both groups clean up int eh city in ways the police cannot.
The senshi fight monsters. The Green looks after the helpless on the
streets.
"Let's fact it folks, the streets of our fair city are not the safest in
the world. And everyday a child is abandoned or a family becomes homeless,
and they muct face these streets. Who protects these people when we wash
our hands of them? I assert that the Green does, that Alanis does.
"And yes, I have testimony to prove my assertions too. Alanis saves and
rehabilitates orphans, some going on to become contributing members of
our society. That's why Mr. Chiba defended Ms. Tierrany in public, and
why he will defend her here.
"Alanis protects people from the street. And you'll get a chance to hear
someone she protected explain what Alanis did for her. A story that hasn't
been told, because the police would not take this supposed victim's
statement.
"But finally, you'll be able to hear from the lady herself, willing to
take the stand and be torn apart to fight for her people...the people
we have given up on.
"Now I agree with the prosecutor that this is an awesome task we set
before you. But I believe it is awesome for a different reason. We
are asking you to set aside your prejudices and listen objectively. This
will be difficult because the accusors look like you, and Alanis does not.
She doesn't look like you, talk like you, or dress like you. I'm sure
many of you see her as a gaijin at best. What we are asking you to do
is to see the evidence, and the lack of evidence and to see Alanis as
a fellow human. I thank you now in good fiath that you will be able to
do this and see that real justice is done, letting Alansi go back to
helping the people we won't help and won't see. Thank you."
As Tenchi sat down, Irony looked at him. "Don't you think comparing the
Green to the senshi was a little much? I'd really rather not be assaulted
by pissed off senshi."
Tenchi looked at her, "It isnt 'a little much.' It's the truth, Alanis."
Irony blushed slightly, but then pulled herself together. "So, you really
threw down the gaunlet, didn't you?"
Tenchi nodded, "But so did they. So did they. This is not going to be
pretty."
Judge Itaranai turned to the prosecutor, "Call your first witness."
"We call Officer Enmu Ganko to the stand."
- to be continued -