May 4

Courtroom No. 3

11:00 AM

Lily Shield

"About a week before all of this, the final preparations for graduation began in full," Angelica began. "I think everyone has been a little bit worried about this graduation in particular ever since it started getting close... That includes the principal, who decided he wanted to try and hire a public relations worker to help us manage the damages that could have come from us misstepping. The reputation of the school is on the line for this specific ceremony, and we need to make sure it all goes according to plan without anyone getting hurt."

"The class that's graduating this year... You're all the ones who were involved with the incident that completely ruined the school's reputation years ago, yes?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke questioned even though the answer already felt obvious as could be.

"Yeah. There are a lot of people who were worried about this, and I can't blame them. It's not a situation any of us wanted to be caught up in, but here we are," Angelica replied with a loose sigh. "The point of it is that we all had to be as careful as possbile about this because we didn't want anyone to sink the reputation of the school more than it's already been ruined."

"You had never met Aubray Venia before that then," Prosecutor Cruz concluded.

"Exactly," Angelica confirmed with a nod. "She was there to try and patch up any holes that could have caused our reputation to sink further than it already had. The principal had been working with the agency of public relations for quite a while, and he heard that she was a young but certainly promising worker, so that was why she came to help us out. I don't think she could have ever expected this week would end with a murder though..." She faltered at that before frowning to herself and looking off to the side.

"What are you thinking?" Yuri questioned before Angelica had the chance to try and cover up her anxiety. "I can tell there's a bit more on your mind than you're saying right now, so... Go on and talk to us about it."

Angelica paused once again, trying to think through what she should be saying next, before she shrugged. "I don't know what to say," she admitted. "I feel like all of this is a bit weird though... Ms. Venia hasn't done anything openly hostile, but... I don't know if I can trust her quite yet. Maybe that's just me being cagey though."

"Perhaps we should hear the thoughts of another witness when it comes to all of this," Prosecutor Lin suggested. "It wouldn't hurt to speak with another one of the students that stumbled into the body, yes?"

Judge Frost thought for a long moment before nodding. "Do you have anyone in mind specifically out of the witnesses who found the defendant with the body?" he questioned.

"As a matter of fact, we do," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke replied. I could only hope that he wasn't planning on calling Jordan up to talk to us about what he knew since that was probably going to create a massive roadblock. Then again, Chief Prosecutor Bespoke had to be smarter than that, right? He wouldn't just have a witness come to the stand if he didn't want to talk and wouldn't say a word without a sizable amount of pressure.

"Then go ahead and call your next witness," Judge Frost instructed. Angelica took this chance to step away from the witness stand, though I could tell she was beyond anxious. Her part of the trial was finished, but her nerves remained. She retreated, and I kept my eyes on her carefully.

"The prosecution now calls Nanako Suzuki to the witness stand," Prosecutor Lin announced. I let out a sigh of relief internally while hiding my gratitude from the rest of the courtroom. Nanako approached the stand in the moments that followed, pulling on a few strands of her hair along the way. She was just as anxious as Angelica was, though she was doing a much worse job of hiding it. She swallowed dryly and looked up to the judge with wide, fearful eyes.

"Please state your name and occupation, witness," Prosecutor Cruz told her. He watched her carefully, and Nanako flinched at the sound of his voice.

"I... Um... My name is Nanako Suzuki, and I'm a senior at Ashbrook Academy," she replied, handling each word as carefully as she could. "I don't really know what else to say, but... I guess I'm getting ready to graduate this upcoming week."

"You helped to find the body then, and that's what matters most," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said with a nod. "Please tell us if you have anything else to add on to the testimony we heard from the previous witness."

Nanako thought about it for a long moment before she shrugged. "I don't know," she confessed. "I agree that something about Ms. Venia has been sitting weirdly with me, but... I don't know why that is. She hasn't done anything to try and step out of line, but it still feels weird to me."

"We can't just consider a gut instinct from a witness to be substantial evidence against anyone else involved with the case," Judge Frost remarked with a frown. "Is there anything else you think we should be made aware of?"

Nanako's hands were shaking by now, and I couldn't help but wonder just why she was so worked up all of a sudden. She had been anxious the day before, but it was like stepping into the courtroom had made it infinitely worse before anyone could fully register what was happening. "I... Um... Well..." she stammered before swallowing dryly and pulling at her sleeve. "I think it might be a good idea to talk to the principal of the school. He was the one who hired her to begin with, and for all I know, she could be perfectly trustworthy."

"Did you and the other witnesses talk about everything you've found to be strange about this Ms. Venia character?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke questioned, narrowing his eyes in her direction.

"We did, as a matter of fact," Nanako replied with a nod. "None of us had seen her before all of this started, and we wanted to see if the others had thoughts about it. Supposedly, she was involved with the public relations work a few years ago when the big accident took place, but she only ever spoke with the principal back then, and even that wasn't too much. She must have some sort of good reputation for him to have called her back alone to handle the graduation and its affiliated complications though."

"I can't help but wonder why you would find her odd to begin with," Prosecutor Cruz frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You should explain all of that now... Along with the truth behind this accident from a few years ago. You can say all you want that you don't think it's related, but we're going to be the ones who decide all of that. You don't get to keep us from uncovering what happened back then and deciding if it has anything to do with the current case."

Nanako winced at that, looking like she wanted to melt into the earth below. "It's really not going to be involved with any of this. That's just the reason Ms. Venia was at the school, and it's why Ms. Thompson took up secretary work a few years ago," she explained, her voice cracking halfway through her sentence. "Besides, I... I don't think the school is going to be all that happy with us for airing out all of this publicly... The principal has been trying really hard to keep all of this as hidden as possible so the students aren't approached by the news too much."

"We can make arrangements to find the truth in a way that won't expose all of you to dangerous circumstances," Prosecutor Lin suggested, though her voice wavered ever so slightly at the end of the thought. "For now, could you share everything you can with us? We're going to need to understand in order to unravel all of this."

"Hold it!"

Before Nanako had the chance to formulate a reply about what was being said, Ms. Venia approached the witness stand. She was looking at a notebook, completely apathetic as to the events unfolding around her. "My apologies for intervening, Your Honor," she announced. "However, there is something important I must say here."

"You can't push your way to the witness stand and interrupt a trial," Judge Frost frowned. "Please return to your seat at once before I have the bailiffs take you there."

"I'm not trying to cause any problems for you," Ms. Venia continued calmly. "First and foremost, I simply want to say that I had nothing but the best intentions of the students in mind throughout this case. I didn't want them to get hurt, and the principal asked me to come and help in the name of that goal."

"Now that you've pointed that out, explain why you approached the stand without permission," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke told her, the words practically coming out as a snarl. "This could get you in a hell of a lot of trouble, you know."

"I have three messages to deliver to you all. First of all, I wish to say that the students being suspicious of me doesn't necessarily mean that I was involved with anything underhanded. I'm here because I was asked to help with the graduation due to unfortunate events that took place a few years ago. My job is to assist those who were harmed all those years ago," Ms. Venia went on. "I found the scene of the crime and, by extension, the witnesses because I was walking around the school trying to ensure everything was in order for the graduation. These ceremonies take a lot of effort, especially when such an important class in the school's history will be leaving Ashbrook behind."

"In other words, you assert that your behavior has been nothing but natural," Prosecutor Lin concluded, and Ms. Venia nodded. "That's for us to decide. Tell us more."

"Because of my reasoning for being at the school, I'm afraid that I can't allow you to talk too much about the incident from a few years ago," Ms. Venia continued with a shake of her head. "The principal of Ashbrook, Duke Oakley, has asked that I keep this as quiet as possible. The students will be placed at risk by the media and other investigators if the truth is discussed at large. The incident that changed the school so much was never addressed in detail by the public for the sake of keeping the students as as safe as possible, and that's why I must ask you to stop your search into the truth right now."

"We need to know what happened a few years ago though," I announced after slamming my hands against the bench. "You can't stop us from figuring out what took place as long as the truth is on the line. This is a murder trial, and we can't let you get int he way of us discovering what happened back then."

"I'm simply doing my job," Ms. Venia told me simply. "The principal wants to protect the students, and if you let too much information slip in this trial, you'll be doing just the reverse. The last thing any of us wants is for the students to be harassed by potential investigators who want to find out more about the incident back then. There are quite a few true crime personalities on the internet who would certainly love to interview them about the most traumatic incident that they ever encountered."

I couldn't help but snarl under my breath at that. She was certainly doing a good job of keeping the upper hand in a twisted way. She knew we wouldn't be able to push her too much as long as she was using the safety of the students as an excuse. She had a bit of a point as far as keeping the students out of trouble, but the fact remained that we couldn't remain ignorant of the truth forever, not when the truth of a murder was on the line.

"Last but not least, I have a message from one of the bailiffs outside the courtroom," Ms. Venia said. "He said that he received a call from the investigators at the scene of the crime. As it turns out, they were able to uncover the truth behind the files that have been hacked by the culprit. We know what information they tried to take."

The gallery immediately burst into chatter at that, and my eyes went wide. That was certainly fast, though I suppose it saved us a bit of strife. We had been going around in circles for ages up to this point, and the truth of the hacked information could have been the push we needed to finally break this cycle and hear something new. This was what we needed, and maybe this would be able to save us from the chaos and lack of understanding to continue our investigation.

"I believe it would be for the best if we continued this trial tomorrow then," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said. "We're lacking in information, and on top of that, the trial wasn't even supposed to happen today originally. We should have had more time to investigate, but because that wasn't the case, we're at a massive disadvantage. I think we should end things here and meet up again after the investigation has continued."

"I agree," Judge Frost nodded. "I found it rather strange that the trial was rushed so much when there's so little we understand about the circumstances behind the victim's death. This seems like a perfect opportunity for us to learn more."

"I don't know if I agree that this is a good idea, but alright," Ms. Venia sighed. "The school still needs this finished as soon as possible. The bad publicity from the trial is going to make this much harder for us later on. I'm supposed to be keeping Ashbrook away from any negative limelight, and that's why the trial was pushed to take place today..." She paused for a long moment, almost as if she was expecting someone to agree with her, before she shook her head. "But if this is what you want, so be it."

"The defense has no objections to the prosecution's suggestion," Mr. Morix told Judge Frost as he looked up in his direction. His voice remained unreadable just as it had before, and I did my best to sift through all of my questions even though I knew he wasn't going to be answering them right now. We had too much else to do for him to bother.

"In that case, I suppose the decision has been made," Judge Frost agreed. "Over the course of the next day, the defense and prosecution will both investigate as much as possible. When we come back together for the trial tomorrow, I expect everyone to have learned more about the murder. Until then, court is adjourned."

When the gavel fell, I let out a sigh and looked over to Mr. Morix and Yuri. The latter had a relieved grin spread across her features, but Mr. Morix was still staring up at Ms. Venia with narrowed eyes. I couldn't quite figure out what the look in his eyes could have meant, but I also knew I didn't have time to think about it yet. After all, the scene of the crime was waiting for us now.

May 4

Defendant's Lobby No. 3

11:30 AM

Lily Shield

"That sure was a lucky break, huh?" Yuri remarked as we walked out into the defendant lobby, her hands tucked up behind her head. "I was honestly thinking we might be dead there for a bit just because we don't know enough about the case... Then again, I guess Chief Prosecutor Bespoke wouldn't have let the trial end there with a guilty verdict. He didn't know enough about the case either before the trial started, so he would have to be on our side with all of this."

"Everything makes a little bit more sense about the trial being pushed ahead than it did initially, but I still don't like it at all," I admitted. "I understand the school is trying to ward off bad publicity and keep the students safe from anyone who would want to learn more about their past, but I still feel like this is a bit... Much, I suppose. Why rush the trial when an incorrect verdict is just going to sink the school's reputation more than a longer trial would?"

"I don't know, but we're going to have to take advantage of the chance we've been given to head back to the scene of the crime and hear everything we can from the detectives involved with the investigation," Mr. Morix pointed out. "I think we should talk to Detective Erikson about the hacking and the information that came from that before anything else, and we can decide on our next step from there."

"I think it's pretty obvious what we should be doing after that's done," Yuri frowned as she crossed her arms. "We need to figure out what happened in that incident a few years ago. Nobody wants to talk to us about it, but we can't just leave something like that alone. There's too much going on here, and I want to find the truth as soon as possible. Don't all of you?"

"We do, yes," I confirmed with a nod. "Though I'm a bit worried that we're not going to be able to get them to talk to us about it. I want them to open up, but... I don't know if the students are going to decide to cooperate or not. They've certainly not been that agreeable up to this point even though we know what must be done."

"You're going to try and learn more about the incident?"

I immediately turned at the sound of Prosecutor Wood's voice, and I saw her standing just behind us. She was fiddling anxiously with the hem of her skirt, and she refused to look up and meet our gazes. "I don't think any of them are going to want to talk to you about all of this," she confessed. "I know you want to learn the truth for the sake of this trial, but I really don't think we're going to be able to help you. There has to be some other reason for the crime that we haven't seen yet... It can't be related to what happened a few years ago."

"You seem awfully sure of that," Yuri remarked as she took a step closer to Prosecutor Wood. "Why don't you explain your reasoning to us? If you're really so confident that the incident from years ago has nothing to do with the current case, then you should be able to explain it, and everything will come together from there. Just go on and tell us."

Prosecutor Wood's expression shifted, and she looked more like a caged animal than a person for a few brief moments. "I... Um... I don't think that's a good idea," she whispered. "You're just going to have to trust me that I don't know what the motive behind the crime could have been. The incident from a few years ago doesn't have anything to do with the current case. I promise."

"We can't just leave it alone so easily, I'm afraid," I told her. "I wish we could leave the matter be, but the current case isn't giving us much wiggle room to let something so important go. We need to understand what's happening so that we can free you from the detention center. I understand your anxiety, but..."

Prosecutor Wood sighed. "If that's the case, maybe you should go and talk to other people about all of this," she muttered. "I don't want to accidentally bring Nevada out right now... She would just be loud and give us both an even worse headache. She might show up if I get too stressed, so... Go and ask the others. Angelica, Nanako, Kyle, and Jordan all know everything there is to know about it."

"Is this your way of giving us permission to go and talk to them about this?" Mr. Morix questioned, his eyes going wide with surprise.

"No, not exactly... But if you're going to keep pushing it no matter what I do, then I might as well at least push you in the right direction... I know I would want someone to do that for me if I was on a case," Prosecutor Wood replied. "What happens from here is up to all of them and to all of you. Just... Do your best to stay careful throughout this, okay? I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't think it will, but... It's better to be safe rather than sorry, isn't it?"

"We'll be alright," Mr. Morix assured her. "Try to not stress too much about this. We'll be back to talk to you a bit later in the day, okay?"

Prosecutor Wood nodded before she walked away, and I watched as she retreated from view. Mr. Morix turned to us as soon as she was gone, a frown on his face. "You know, I have one other thing to ask her about... I haven't had the opportunity to talk to her about this, but... I don't know. I suppose it's just a gut instinct at the moment, but it wouldn't hurt to approach her and talk about it later on."

"You can't just say that and not elaborate on what it is you want to talk to her about," Yuri pouted. "Go on, spill the beans. What is it you're so curious about?"

"Well... A short while ago, I presided over a case that mentioned her name, and I never had the chance to ask her about the followup," Mr. Morix began. "She was seemingly a witness to an important case before she met up with Sora and Ghastly, and I was hoping to try and get a few more details out of her about it. I have no way of saying for sure what it's going to lead to, but it could have something to do with this case."

"What makes you so sure it could be involved here?" I questioned, already feeling my stomach sink into the floor. Whatever the reasoning was, it couldn't have been good.

"We've seen a few cases recently that involve the Emsthorpe assassins, and it was one of those cases where Prosecutor Wood came up. I have to wonder if perhaps her being arrested could have something to do with that, especially if the assassins have been trying to silence people who could speak out against them... Of course, all of this is merely speculation, and it could very easily have nothing to do with the case at hand," Mr. Morix replied. "It just occurred to me as we were talking about a case that's been out of reach all this time that I hadn't asked her about the other incident yet, so I might have to do that later."

"Maybe we can try that when we head to the detention center later in the day then," Yuri suggested. "For now, I think we should go over to the school and see what we can get our hands on there. I'm sure there's at least something in Ashbrook that could help us, especially since we know to turn our attention to the principal now."

"Duke Oakley... I wonder where he's going to lead us next," I murmured as we started towards the door. Only time would be able to tell, I supposed, and if all went well, this would push us a little bit closer to the truth behind the massive incident six years ago as well.

May 4

Ashbrook Academy

12:30 PM

Yuri Rinko

When we arrived at the school, it was just as chaotic as ever before. There were officers milling about just as one would have thought, and it was difficult as could be for us to push our way through the crowds towards the building. Students were still being spoken to, and the constant clamor of noise made me want to hide in a corner and never come out. I liked to think I was a pretty social person, but there was only so much noise I could take before I started wanting to snap.

By some stroke of a miracle though, we managed to arrive inside the building itself, and I immediately turned my attention towards a grand set of stairs. I didn't know exactly where we were going to be able to find the principal, but if I had to guess, I would have said he was in his office. Granted, I didn't know where that was specifically, but we would figure it out soon enough, I was sure. We might as well try to search even if we couldn't ask anyone for directions given the constant calamity of the halls.

We had all decided as a group to speak with the principal first since he might be able to tell us something that would persuade the students to talk to us later on. Given how secretive he wanted to be about the case from a few years ago, the chances of that were slim, but it was at least worth the effort. Even the barest chance that this would point us in the right direction would help, and we had to take advantage of the opportunity while we had it.

It was only through dumb luck that we managed to find the principal's office. It was on the top floor and overlooked the courtyard in front of the school. The set of double doors that led inside were beyond fancy, and I couldn't help but be intimidated just by staring up at the entrance to the office. I blinked a few times to shove my nerves aside before stepping forward and knocking at the door with as much force as I could muster.

For a few seconds, the hall was filled with heavy silence. Lily looked over to me with a frown. "Do you think he's out?" she questioned softly. "Maybe one of the police officers wanted to talk to him about everything that's happened recently..."

Just before I could reply, the door opened, and I glanced up at the man standing in the entrance to the room. He was tall, though not quite as much so as Mr. Morix. His hair was brown and combed perfectly atop his head. He was wearing a dark navy suit that clearly showed just how important he was, and his eyes were deep hazel and full of curiosity at our sudden arrivals. He observed us all for a few moments before speaking. "Might I ask who you are?" he questioned carefully.

"My name is Lily Shield, and these two are Yuri Rinko and Cotoli Morix," Lily introduced. "We're the defense team looking after Niamh Wood's trial, and we were hoping to talk to you about what you know about the crime."

The man nodded with a small smile. "Thank you for defending Niamh. I appreciate it," he told us kindly. "She truly is a kind girl, and I don't think she's the one responsible for this... Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Duke Oakley, and I'm the headmaster of this academy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Mr. Morix smiled to him. "We've heard quite a bit about you from a few other people involved with the case, and I'm glad we can finally speak. Would you be willing to talk to us about the crime?"

"I'm afraid I didn't witness anything directly related to the crime, so I won't be able to help you that way," Headmaster Oakley confessed with a small sigh. "But if you wish to know more about the school as a whole, I would be more than happy to offer what information I can."

Lily, Mr. Morix, and I all looked to one another at that, and I knew exactly where this was going. If he was offering to tell us anything we asked about, then... "Would you be alright with talking to us about an incident that took place a few years ago?" I questioned slowly. "We've been led to believe it has something to do with the current murder, and we need to know as much possible in order to show Niamh didn't do it."

Headmaster Oakley faltered at that, his smile slipping for a fraction of a second before fading away entirely. "I'm not sure if I should be sharing something like that with you... There's a lot of danger to be found in this information, you see, and it wouldn't be right of me to share it with someone against the students' wishes," he told us. "They don't want anyone to know about it for a reason, and I want to respect that as well as their privacy. The school's privacy must be maintained as well."

"You don't have to tell us the details about the incident itself then. Even vague facts that won't completely give away the truth of what happened would be helpful. Anything you can tell us at all would give us a great foothold to uncovering the truth behind this case," Lily explained. "You don't need to expose the students at all. Anything will be fine."

Headmaster Oakley thought about it for a long moment, practically staring holes into the hardwood floor beneath his feet. "I... If you really think this will help, I'll tell you all that I can," he finally said. "There's only so much I can tell you without compromising the privacy and security of the students, but I'll say what I can for now. Just do what you can to keep this as quiet as you possibly can for the students."

"Thank you," Mr. Morix nodded. "We're listening whenever you're ready to begin."

mmm almost to the big lore

-Digital