A/N: Apologies for not posting last weekend, like I said I would at the end of the last Author's Note. I realized after posting that doing so probably wasn't the best idea for me, since while my concerns in regards to this story aren't the cause of my recent feelings (they're more like a symptom of it, from what I can gather), I still felt like forcing myself to continue working on this story probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. Besides, there's a lot of stuff that's going to happen in upcoming chapters, and I wanted to make sure I had time to plan stuff out, in order to avoid creating any issues for myself. So, without further ado, here's the start of the fourth trial.
Next thing Naoko knew, they were all sitting down in front of the conference room table as IMONO's voice became audible once more.
"THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. NOW, AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS A VERY TRICKY CASE, AS EVERYONE'S MEMORIES PRIOR TO THE MURDER HAVE SEEMINGLY BEEN ERASED. NONETHELESS, THIS TRIAL WILL PLAY OUT MUCH THE SAME AS IT HAS. IF TOO MUCH TIME PASSES WITHOUT ANY SORT OF MEANINGFUL PROGRESS, THE TRIAL WILL BE TERMINATED, AND THE VOTING WILL BEGIN."
"We know all this already, dumbass," Kimi pointed out.
"I'm sure IMONO knows that," Naoko replied. "Let's just focus on what we're here for."
"Right," Yori said, clearing her throat. "So, I would assume the first topic of interest would be our lack of memory regarding this case."
"That seems like the most sensible starting point to me," Mareo agreed. "We were most certainly all active in at least some capacity prior to Takeshi's death and our own eventual reawakening. Thus, the thing we need to determine right now is how our long term memory storage was impaired."
"That's definitely going to be important to this case," Naoko agreed. "Still, I feel like that's a bit of a difficult subject matter to start with."
"Yeah, I gotta admit, I'm kinda feelin' the same way," Kimi admitted. "At this point, I don't really know how something like that would happen…Or, well, there is one way I can think of, I guess."
"What's that?" Naoko asked.
"Well, okay, hear me out. I'm just thinking about how if you drink too much alcohol, you'll eventually get to the point where you don't remember what you did while you were drunk," Kimi explained. "That's…just kind of what I got, just off the top of my head."
"So, you're saying that someone might've…spiked our drinks with alcohol?" Eryu questioned.
"Fuck, I dunno," Kimi said defensively. "I'm just putting an idea out there."
"I guess if all of us had something to drink, it's possible something might've been put into it at some point," Mariko figured.
"Sure, yeah," Ishi agreed. "I remember Bankei, she had that tea. The rest of us had that soda. I guess someone could've, like, drugged them ahead of time."
"And you're saying the drug in question was alcohol?" Bankei inquired, seeming unconvinced.
"What?!" Ishi responded, sounding insulted. "I'm not saying that! That'd be, like, totally weird."
"Okay, now why do I feel insulted?" Kimi wondered aloud.
"Well," Naoko began, "we know that Kimi has, in the recent past, drunk alcohol straight from the bottle. She definitely felt its effects, but she never said anything about losing her memory."
"I mean, my memory was a little fuzzy," Kimi clarified. "But it's not like I didn't know what happened afterwards."
"Right," Naoko nodded. "The idea that our drinks were somehow drugged ahead of time is interesting, and I definitely think we should explore that idea, but it'd have to have been something other than alcohol. Not only would it not be enough to make us lose our memory, but I'm sure we'd notice it if it were in our drinks."
"So, if I'm understanding what you're saying correctly," Yori began, "if we were indeed drugged, it would have to have been with a tasteless, odorless liquid with a delayed effect."
"Basically," Naoko confirmed. "I'm sure we all had at least a sip of our drinks, but not all at once. If anyone noticed something was wrong straightaway, they'd alert us before the rest of us had a chance to drink any of it ourselves."
"That's true," Mareo agreed. "However, we still don't seem to have any concrete knowledge of just what this drug is, exactly, let alone where it came from."
"Well, yeah," Naoko supposed. "We can't be sure of either of those two points. Still, though, at the point we're at right now, the only thing that really makes sense would be that the drug was one of the compounds listed in the laboratory."
"Oh yeah," Ishi recalled. "That's what you talked about in the lab earlier, right?"
"Exactly," Naoko confirmed.
"Sure, that's possible," Kimi supposed. "Still, I kinda feel like there's a hole in that idea."
"What's that?" Naoko asked.
"Simple," Kimi began. "You all have been poking around in the lab, and I know you've been working out what all those compounds are supposed to be. Problem with that is, none of you have said anything about knowing that one of those compounds was some sort of magic Forget-Me-Juice."
"That's true," Yori replied, motioning to the binder on the table in front of her. "Thus far, we've managed to create a good few of the compounds listed in here. However, nothing we've managed to create as of yet has shown itself to have much, if any, practical application to us, and we haven't even fully investigated the exact properties of all of what we've managed to create."
"But none of them have fucked with your memories, right?" Kimi questioned.
"No," Yori responded frankly. "Nothing we've created seems to fit the criteria we're looking for."
"Then it must've been something else," Mareo reasoned. "Is there a concrete way we can determine what the compound could have been, besides what we've already managed to find out via our own experimentation?"
"I think so," Naoko said. "We'd just need two things: the binder full of instructions, and the measurements of the various chemical components."
"Right," Eryu replied, "I remember that. You showed them to us briefly before the trial. Comparing the two sounds easy enough. We've done that sort of thing before."
"Great!" Naoko said. "Let's try it."
They spent a good couple of minutes looking over the measurements Naoko made just a little while ago, plus the ones he made before that, and then comparing them to the contents of the binder. The hope was that if they took into account everything that they'd already made in the lab and compared it to the measurements, they could spot some sort of anomaly which would then lead them to determine just what they might've been drugged with. Going over it all, however, something obviously stuck out to Eryu and Yori.
"Most of these changes in the measurements account for everything we've created," Eryu noted.
"Most of them?" Ishi asked. "Sorry, this is all a bit over my head."
"That's alright," Yori replied. "To put it simply, most of this looks fine, except for the components for HITBP-10."
"I noticed that straightaway," Naoko said. "All of them have been depleted quite a bit."
"Does that mean that someone made a lot of that compound, and then drugged all of us with it?" Mariko guessed.
"Well…" Naoko paused for a moment, considering what they knew already. "Actually, there's kind of a problem with that. HITBP-10 is just what the instructions in the binder call the truth serum."
"Wait, really?!" Mariko exclaimed.
"Ah, here we go," Kimi remarked. "Now the dots are starting to connect. So, like you said back during the investigation, someone made a ton more truth serum, otherwise known as…whatever you just said."
"That's the basic gist, yeah," Naoko supposed. "But also, remember that I said that the truth serum, and everything needed to create it, are off-limits to us, according to IMONO."
"Yeah, and you guys had to, like, figure out which one was the truth serum," Ishi added.
"We did," Naoko replied. "But since we can't use any of it…that would imply that IMONO was the one that used the truth serum components."
"What does that mean in this context, then?" Mariko asked. "Did IMONO drug us with the truth serum? And does the truth serum also cause your memory to blank?"
"If only IMONO can make the truth serum," Mareo began, "then it's fair to assume that only IMONO could have drugged us with the truth serum. However…I'm not entirely convinced that that's what happened, even if the truth serum does have that secondary effect."
"How come?" Bankei inquired. "We all know that IMONO has discreetly drugged us in the past. If IMONO has a history of doing such a thing, then being suspicious of it would make sense, wouldn't it?"
"Why would IMONO do that in the first place, though?" Mareo challenged. "Especially in the midst of a very delicate situation that was entirely between us? Surely, at the very least, IMONO would have chosen a different time to do so than when it would affect us so significantly."
"But if IMONO didn't do it," Ishi said, seeming a bit worried, "then that'd kinda make it seem like the truth serum thing is, like, totally meaningless, wouldn't it?"
"Well," Kimi replied, "as fucking crazy as IMONO is, I don't know how sold I am on the idea that IMONO would drug us without telling us first twice. Plus, if IMONO just made the truth serum 'preemptively', like you suggested earlier, then, honestly, I can't say I have any idea how it could be relevant to this case."
Ishi looked at Kimi confusedly. "What do you mean by that?"
"When you said 'preemptively', I figured you meant that IMONO made it 'just in case' or something," Kimi explained. "I can't say I'm super sold on that idea either, but if that is what happened, then it probably doesn't have to do with this case after all."
Ishi seemed to consider what Kimi was saying, but clearly didn't like it. It looked like she was really racking her brain, trying to figure out how to argue against that, and Naoko felt he was in a similar predicament. They'd arrived at a point where they didn't seem to have that much to work with, and they hadn't even been in the trial for that long yet. If the large amount of truth serum that IMONO (presumably) made didn't have anything to do with the case, then that meant that they'd have to figure out some other way they could have all had their memories affected. But what other possibilities were there? The truth serum seemed like it might've been their best bet, since everything else seemed to be more or less accounted for, but that idea still had a lot of issues.
For one thing, there was the question of whether or not the truth serum actually caused memory blackout. Only Bankei would be able to know for certain whether or not that was the case, and she wasn't saying much of anything at the moment. Perhaps Naoko needed to make the inquiry? Because he knew as well as them that she'd already stonewalled them before. If he asked her now, would she do so again? It seemed like there was only one way of finding out.
"You know, Bankei," Naoko began, "you haven't said much, despite your experience with the truth serum. Why is that?"
"Eh-heh," Bankei chuckled. "Is that my cue? Well, I suppose I could speak on the matter a little bit."
"Emphasis on 'a little bit', right?" Kimi asked rhetorically.
"Well, full disclosure, I don't see much reason for you to expect much from me," Bankei replied, unimpressed. "I hate to have to repeat myself, but if I spell out everything that is and isn't true in regards to myself and the role that I, or the truth serum, could have played in this mystery, then that wouldn't be a mystery; it would be a monologue."
"I'd take that over another stupid mystery for us to solve," Ishi retorted. "I mean, like, what have you been doing up to this point in this case, huh? You've been dodging questions, being rude, and giving us nothing but trouble!"
"I wouldn't say I've 'given you nothing but trouble' during this case," Bankei corrected her. "I made it very clear to you all that I wasn't interested in giving you every answer, and considering that you opted to leave me to myself, I would have to assume you understood this. And yes, I've been rather harsh in my language, but as you know, I have no obligation to conceal my feelings anymore." Despite the obvious negativity in her subject matter, her tone only seemed to become happier. "In fact, If I try to, I could very well find myself punished for it!"
"Well-!" Ishi stopped herself, allowing herself to think for a moment. Seconds later, her hands were reaching for the back of her head, and she continued. "Well, that kind of honesty is great and all for you, maybe, but for the rest of us, it sucks! And you definitely know that it sucks! Like with what you did to Mine. You egged her on, convinced her to murder people, and then right before she got killed off, you turned around and told her that she was just, like, a tool to you?! Right before she was gonna die?!"
"Didn't Bankei refer to her as a tool after she died?" Mareo wondered aloud.
"Well, she at least implied it!" Ishi maintained.
"Perhaps you should stop projecting your lack of self-awareness onto me," Bankei retorted sharply. "I understand that what I said has upset you, but you can spare me from your half-hearted attempt to work Mine into our discussion, all so you can try to make me feel bad for your very gullible, very dead best friend. I know exactly what I did, and I don't really regret it. Has that ever been called into question?"
By that point, it was clear what Ishi was doing: she was trying to undo her ponytail. Still, despite that preoccupying her somewhat, she was definitely getting fired up. Perhaps, Naoko thought, it was time to interject, and keep them focused on what really mattered at the moment.
"It doesn't really matter how transparent you are with what you've done to us, or how little you care about how it's all affected us," he argued. "All that's important is what you're not telling us right now. You may not want to address it, but this is not the time for this sort of discourse. Even if you're not behind this, and you're not the murderer, your life is on the line right now. You may not care about us, but what about you? Are you really going to stay silent on this, even if that means your own life is in danger?"
"Well, assuming I am innocent," Bankei supposed, "...my life is in your hands. I know that might sound ridiculous to you, but…well, I think it's safe to assume that we all have quite a bit of trust in you."
"Yeah, 'cause guess what happened to the one person who put their trust in you?!" Ishi snapped, having finally undone her ponytail. And for good measure, she actually threw the hair tie at Bankei. It connected, but…it didn't really do much, other than earn Ishi looks of surprise, concern, and, in regards to Bankei, confusion.
"Was…" Bankei blinked, trying to form a response. "Was that supposed to be a statement of some sort?"
"Maybe," Ishi said bitterly.
"Well, you could have chosen a better one," Bankei pointed out.
"What, are you disappointed I don't have a ponytail anymore?" Ishi asked pointedly.
"Not really," Bankei shrugged. "In fact, to be entirely frank, Ishi, for a way of remembering a loved one, it wasn't exactly the most elegant. Do you have any idea what terrible things a ponytail does to your skin and roots?"
"Well, like, of course I do," Ishi replied, giving her a look that seemed less angry, and more…satisfied. "You said something just like that before."
Bankei looked confused for a split second, but seemed to pick up on what Ishi was saying rather quickly. "Oh. You mean…while I was under the effects of the truth serum?"
"Wait," Kimi interjected. "Did Ishi just do something clever?"
"I think so," Ishi shrugged, seeming to have calmed down a decent amount. "You guys were, like, talking about whether the truth serum causes memory loss, or whatever."
"And Bankei," Mariko added, "she definitely did say something like that about your ponytail while she was first injected with truth serum."
"Saying the near-exact same thing twice does make it seem like she didn't remember the first time she said it," Naoko reasoned.
"A very good point, Naoko," Bankei said, almost as if she were conceding. "That was certainly one way of proving your little theory. It's just a shame it took me being tricked by Ishi. I can hardly even think of anything else so insulting."
"So, the truth serum causes memory blackout?" Eryu asked. "Yes or no?"
"Yes, it does," Bankei admitted. "Congratulations. I suppose that's one way of getting what you want."
"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than what you do to get what you want," Ishi remarked.
"Your moral posturing is meaningless to me, you know," Bankei replied curtly. "And besides, you've only been able to cross the first hurdle thus far. Now you have to consider what this all means for this case. You now know that the truth serum inhibits one's memory. What does that prove?"
"I would think that it suggests that the truth serum did, indeed, play an important role in this case," Mareo reasoned.
"It suggests," Yori emphasized. "We've made good progress, but let's not rush to conclusions on this. We still don't know much about the truth serum itself. Does it fit our other criteria?"
"I dunno. What was the criteria again?" Kimi asked. "Colorless and odorless?"
"Odorless and tasteless," Eryu corrected her. "We don't really have any experience with the serum, besides Bankei, so…"
"Actually, hang on," Kimi interrupted. "There was something else, too. Another criteria."
Eryu sighed annoyedly. "Right. Delayed effect. Yeah, that's a good point."
"We've seen Bankei get dosed with the serum," Ishi pointed out. "She, like, moves slightly, or something like that, and it happens, like, a second or two after it gets put in her."
"The delay for us was about a minute, wasn't it?" Mariko asked. "So, for her, it takes effect almost immediately, but for us, it takes a minute. Yeah, that doesn't seem right."
"Perhaps there's a way to explain this difference?" Yori posited.
Naoko took a moment to consider what such an explanation would be. If they were drugged with truth serum, the difference between the time it took to take effect compared to with Bankei would be…
"Maybe it's because of the way it entered our bodies," Naoko suggested. "For Bankei, she's gotten it injected directly into her bloodstream. For us, we would have to have drank it, or maybe even something else entirely. But in any case, we probably weren't injected."
"I see," Yori replied, considering the idea. "So what you're saying is that if it wasn't injected into us, it may have required more time for it to enter the bloodstream and reach our brains."
"Yeah, that's basically what I'm saying," Naoko confirmed. "So, if that's the case, then that means that the truth serum could work. It fulfills at least half of the criteria we need."
"Actually, I think there might be something else to consider," Bankei chimed in. "You mentioned it some time ago, during the early stages of the investigation. Another important detail that hasn't been accounted for yet."
Naoko was quite wary of what Bankei had just said, as was everyone else. It sounded like she was now trying to hint towards another potential issue with their theory, or at least something to take into consideration. But what was she referring to? Well, Naoko had a feeling he knew what that was. He wasn't sure if it directly had to do with the effects of the truth serum, but since Bankei was bringing it up at that point, it seemed like maybe it did have to do with it. And, if it did, she definitely would've already known.
INTERMISSION