September 15
Defendant Lobby No. 5
9:45 AM
Lily Shield
When I got to the courthouse the following morning, my mind was already stirring with curious inquiries as to what could have been going on with Detective Umber. There weren't any explanations when I knew that I needed one, and I was seriously starting to wonder what could have pushed her to be so secretive. The investigation from the day before implied that she knew something about the person who had hired the victim to go to the school in the first place, and I hated to think about that. Why wasn't she saying anything if she had something in mind?
Victoria and Sky were already there by the time that I had arrived, and I found myself rubbing nervously at the back of my neck as I approached them. "Sorry I'm late," I told them. "You can blame my brother for this. He said that he wanted to talk to me before I left the house."
"What did he want to talk to you about?" Sky questioned. There was something in his eyes that told me that he had already put the pieces together that Robbie's questioning me had something to do with the case. After all, since my brother was on the other side of the courtroom, it was only natural to assume that he was going to talk to me about that.
"He said that the prosecution is planning on calling Prosecutor Wood to the witness stand first," I replied. "They all agreed that there was something strange going on with the way that she left the scene of the crime when she shouldn't have, and they wanted to ask her about it while the trial was going on. It seems that we're going to be able to find out the truth about who she really is today."
Victoria nodded as she looked down at the floor. "I spent all night trying to come up with theories about what the murder weapon could have been... Well, I guess it was more of just the weapon that was used to break the glass, but that's kind of getting picky given that the glass breaking caused the trophy to fall on the victim's head in the first place," she said.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you didn't come up with anything," Sky remarked with a small, forced laugh. "I was trying to find something that would explain what was happening with the murder weapon too, but... I couldn't come up with anything. It seemed like there was always something that simply didn't add up."
"What could possibly be heavy enough to shatter the glass like that and still be portable enough for the culprit to easily move from place to place?" Victoria murmured. She seemed to know that it was the question on everybody's mind, and she let out a sigh before shaking her head. "I just don't get it. There's something going on here, and I don't know what the murder weapon could possibly be."
"If Prosecutor Wood was really involved with the case, then we're just going to have to drag that information out of her," I said firmly. "I think that we could prove everything if we were given the chance to explain what we think was happening... It'll be a bit difficult for us to conclude firmly that she was at the scene of the crime, but I think that we could do it with a bit of pushing. We can always cite Chrysalis' injury as proof that Chrysalis was there, and since they were together, we can shift that into proof that Prosecutor Wood was there."
"It's not going to be easy," Sky remarked with a small laugh. "It's hard for us to show conclusively that she was involved with the case, but there's nothing else that we can do about it. As long as we have an inkling of what's happening, then I'd say that we're doing a good job. It's all that we can really ask for at this point in my opinion given how difficult the case has been for us to put together so far."
"Do you still think that you'll be able to do it?"
I turned upon hearing Mukuro's voice, and a smile appeared on my face. "It's nice to see you, Mukuro," I told her. "Don't worry about this case. We're getting closer to figuring everything out, and I have confidence that we'll be able to find a solution soon."
"Alright," Mukuro murmured, nodding to herself. I saw her swallow nervously as she continued staring at the ground, and I had to admit that I felt bad for her. I knew that all that we could really do to help her was to end the case and show who was responsible, but that was far easier said than done. Still, that didn't mean that I was going to let her lose faith. I was going to show that I was confident in our success, and Mukuro was going to feel the positivity as well.
"Is there anything that you think we should know before we keep going with the case?" Sky questioned, trying to keep Mukuro's attention off how nervous she was. He had a light smile on his face, and he began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt to give himself something aside from the case to focus on.
Mukuro paused to think before shaking her head. "There's nothing that I can think of... I'm sure that you'll be able to take care of everything without any issues. You know what you're doing, and I'm going to continue having confidence in you until the very end," she told us. I could tell that there were still a few lingering traces of anxiety, but she was doing her best to keep it hidden. I couldn't tell if it was more for her benefit or ours, but I still wished that she didn't need to hide how anxious she was in the first place.
"We should go on and get into the courtroom," I suggested, trying to keep her from slipping too deep into her own concern. I reached one hand out to touch at Mukuro's shoulder gently, prompting her to look up and meet my eyes as I continued to speak. "I promise that everything is going to be okay. I know that you're nervous, but you don't need to be. We have this under control."
Mukuro smiled at my words, and I could tell that she had desperately needed the verbal reassurance. She raised one hand to touch at my knuckles, and she smiled in response. "Thank you," she whispered, seemingly unsure of what else she could even say. She let out a light sigh before turning her attention to the doors to the courtroom. "I guess that we should go on and get in there. This case isn't going to solve itself."
I nodded my agreement before pulling away from her and starting to walk towards the courtroom's entrance. There was no way for me to say for sure how this case was going to end given how unpredictable it had been up until this point, but I was determined to make sure that everything was okay. No matter who the culprit was, I was going to show the truth to the world. Mukuro was counting on me, and in a way, I was counting on myself, and I wasn't about to let either one of us, or anyone else, for that matter, down.
September 15
Courtroom No. 5
10:00 AM
Lily Shield
As soon as we arrived in the courtroom, I began to look around to examine my surroundings. The prosecution was on the other end of the room, and they appeared to be ready for what was to come. I could tell that they had a plan for what they were going to be doing first, and I hoped that it would wind up working to our benefit.
I remembered my conversation that morning with Robbie as I stared at them. He had told me that they were sure that Mukuro hadn't committed the crime, but they weren't sure of how to go about showing the rest of the world that. Still, if Robbie was determined to find out what had happened, I was going to help him out. He seemed to be just as curious as I was, and there was no point to us not working together throughout all of this.
Judge Frost hit his gavel against the podium before him, and everyone in the courtroom glanced up since he had captured their attention easily. "Court is now in session for the trial of Mukuro Erikson," he announced. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"
I knew what he really meant by that question was 'did the prosecution and defense fully carry out their investigations yesterday?' I nodded in response, figuring that it was true enough even if there were still a few gaps in our theories regarding what happened at the time of the crime. "The defense is ready," I replied.
"The prosecution is also ready," Prosecutor Cruz declared. There was an expression of strange confidence on his face, and I could tell that he was thinking about everything that he needed to declare in order to declare this case as finished.
"I take it that you finished your investigation without any issues," Judge Frost implied. He glanced back and forth between the defense and prosecution benches curiously.
"We did," Prosecutor Burke replied. "We have ideas as to how we wish to start off this segment of the trial as well. If it's alright with you, we would like to call a certain witness to the stand to testify about what happened at the time of the crime."
Judge Frost nodded. "Of course. Please call your witness at this time," he said. He finally decided to set his gavel off to the side as attention shifted fully to the prosecution.
"The prosecution now calls Niamh Wood to the witness stand," Robbie announced. There was something oddly tense about his expression, and I had the sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the fact that he and Prosecutor Wood got along rather well. She had worked with him on a few cases, and that had been more than enough to forge a connection between them. Robbie rarely got close with his coworkers in such a way, but because of how young and inexperienced she was, he naturally reached out to her as a way of easing her burdens. The idea that she was somehow involved with this case would naturally sit terribly with him.
Prosecutor Wood walked up to the stand at the announcement, but I could tell that there was still something off about her. I couldn't quite identify why she was acting so strangely, but she was oddly confident once again. Her boldness from the day before had carried over, and I was really starting to think that there was something going on with her. Regardless of if it was Nevada or not, Prosecutor Wood had changed drastically, and I didn't know how to feel about it all. She had never been this confident before. Normally, she was filled to the brim with unreleased anxiety.
"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost declared. He didn't seem to pick up on the strange glances that Prosecutor Wood was getting. If he did notice, he was simply choosing to not pay attention.
"Niamh Wood," Prosecutor Wood replied. She was looking down at the ground in front of the witness stand, and I could tell that she was actively pretending to avoid eye contact. Her voice was far rougher than it usually was, and I was seriously starting to think that she had a thousand one things going through her head. "I work at the local prosecutor's office, though I guess I spend more of my time as a student at the high school where all of this happened."
"We have reason to believe that you were at the scene of the crime the day of the murder," Prosecutor Burke began to explain. "You should have been there, at the very least, but you weren't for some reason. If you don't mind, could you please answer our questions as to why you didn't show up to meet with the previous witnesses on the case?"
Prosecutor Wood paused to think about what was being said for a moment before shrugging her shoulders in an attempt to look nonchalant. I could tell that there was still a bit of tension in her body, but she was trying almost desperately to keep it secret. "I guess that I could tell you what happened," she said bluntly.
"In that case, please begin your testimony at this time," Judge Frost told her. His gaze was kind, but I could tell that he was just as curious as the rest of us were. He watched Prosecutor Wood with caution, and I could tell that he was starting to realize that something was wrong. This strange behavior seemed to go beyond simply being nervous, and even Judge Frost, someone who rarely associated with Prosecutor Wood, was beginning to see it.
Prosecutor Wood nodded. "Alright. I'll get to it," she responded. She took a deep breath soon afterward before raising her eyes to scan over the courtroom. Her gaze was piercing, as if she was examining every strength and weakness that everyone in the room had. If that wasn't proof of something being wrong, I didn't know what was.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Why I Left ~
-"My reasoning for leaving the scene of the crime is really very simple: I forgot about our planned meeting."
-"I really didn't see much of a reason to stick around since I didn't realize that anything was supposed to be happening."
-"Instead of hanging at the school, I went back to my house and decided to spend my time there."
-"It's really that simple. I don't know what else I can really tell you about everything that happened."
-"Besides, nothing else weird happened at the time. Can't you just accept my word when I say that I forgot? There isn't anything else to this case, plain and simple."
As she finished her testimony, I found myself frowning. There was a blatant omission from this testimony, and it was so glaring that it certainly bothered me. I glanced over to Sky and Victoria to see if they had picked up on it. A brief nod from them both said that they had, and I sighed inwardly. Prosecutor Wood truly wasn't doing a great job of hiding what had happened.
I looked over to the other side of the courtroom next, and I could tell that the three members of the prosecution had picked up on what was wrong as well. Robbie's eyes seemed to invite me to do something more, and I knew that they were counting on me seeing the flaws in Prosecutor Wood's statement. I nodded to myself before looking up to Judge Frost a moment later.
"Why is she trying to hide the truth from us so clearly?" Sky questioned. "It's so obvious that she's keeping something from us. In fact, we know exactly what it is... She's trying to ensure that we don't ask her about why she was at the scene of the crime, and by extension, she's keeping us away from finding out what happened with Chrysalis. We're simply going to have to show her what happened. She can't escape this as long as we're the ones on the case."
"It's a weak attempt to keep us from talking about the events of the crime," Victoria sighed with a shake of her head. "Though I suppose that saying that isn't going to do anything to help us out of this situation... We're simply going to have to show her just why it's so odd that she would claim nothing happened."
"If she wants to keep it all secret, then that's going to be on her," I said. The way that Prosecutor Wood was blatantly denying clear facts didn't sit well with me. Something was happening with Prosecutor Wood to make her think that lying about it was a better idea than telling the truth, but I had to admit that it didn't sit well with me in the slightest. This didn't seem like something Prosecutor Wood would have done on regular circumstances, and I didn't like it at all. If something was going on with her to sway somebody who was so passionate about the law into lying, then there was something strange going on. I mean, it was already obvious that there was something strange, but I still felt somewhat uncomfortable with it all.
"Please examine the witness' testimony," Judge Frost declared, quickly bringing an end to the conversation I was sharing with Victoria and Sky. His gaze was intense and curious, and I got the feeling that I knew just what he was looking forward to us doing. He wanted us to be open about the lies in the testimony, and if that was really what he was hoping for, then I was more than happy to go along with it.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ Why I Left ~
-"My reasoning for leaving the scene of the crime is really very simple: I forgot about our planned meeting."
-"I really didn't see much of a reason to stick around since I didn't realize that anything was supposed to be happening."
-"Instead of hanging at the school, I went back to my house and decided to spend my time there."
-"It's really that simple. I don't know what else I can really tell you about everything that happened."
-"Besides, nothing else weird happened at the time. Can't you just accept my word when I say that I forgot? There isn't anything else to this case, plain and simple."
"Objection!"
"Are you really sure that nothing else happened?" I questioned. "I think that there was one important fact that was very blatantly omitted from your version of events, and it has everything to do with the person that you were found with after you left behind the school the day of the murder."
Prosecutor Wood frowned and tilted her head to the side. "I don't get it," she said, her voice light and detached. I could tell that she was lying and then some about what had happened, but there was luckily something that I could do about that to make things easier for all of us. If she wasn't going to be honest from the start, then I was simply going to have to drag honesty out of her no matter how much she resisted.
"You were found back at your house after the crime took place. You went there with Chrysalis Starr, a friend of yours," I began to explain. "I have reason to believe that Chrysalis was at the scene of the crime, and by extension, that means that you were there as well."
Prosecutor Wood stared at me with darkened eyes, and she shook her head with a sigh. "I don't understand how me being at my house equates to me being at the scene of the crime," she remarked. There was something about her voice that made her seem like she was desperate to convince the world of this falsehood, not that she would have ever admitted it.
"Chrysalis was at the scene of the murder," Victoria began to explain. "At the very least, that's what we've come to believe. There was a small amount of blood from an unknown source found next to the body. Conveniently enough, a cut appeared on Chrysalis' face at the time that she would have been at the scene of the crime. It wasn't there before the murder, but it certainly appeared after the fact."
"Chrysalis' presence is certainly something for us to keep in mind," Sky continued. "If Chrysalis was at the scene of the crime, then that could very easily imply that you were there as well. After all, you were together after the body was discovered. You left behind the school to take her back to your home."
"But what does that have to do with me?" Prosecutor Wood asked. There was something unexpectedly confrontational about her voice, and I would have been lying if I said that it didn't bother me. She was trying to keep us from uncovering the truth, but it wasn't going to work. "Just because we were together after the body was discovered doesn't mean that I was there when the murder took place. Maybe I left the school before the crime took place."
"Chrysalis doesn't remember anything about what happened at the time of the murder," I told her. "However, you seem to grow very notably tense when we talk about the events of the crime. If you want my humble opinion, I believe that you do remember what happened when the body was discovered to some degree. It's rather strange... Chrysalis is the one that we can certainly place at the scene of the crime, but you know something about what happened when the murder took place. It seems rather backwards, and if you want my opinion, that certainly implies that you were at the scene of the crime at some point around the time when the victim was killed."
The gallery above began to chatter with excitement, but I didn't allow myself to be distracted by them. Instead, I continued to give my attention to Prosecutor Wood. She was incredibly upset all of a sudden, but she was doing what she could to keep it hidden. Still, I could see the way that her features pinched with upset at the implication that she was at the scene of the crime.
Judge Frost hit his gavel against the podium in front of him. "Order in the court!" he exclaimed before turning his gaze back to Prosecutor Wood. "Witness, if you were truly at the scene of the crime, you must offer an honest testimony to the court. Regardless of your reasoning for hiding what happened, you need to be truthful."
Prosecutor Wood shoved her hands into her pockets and scoffed. "Listen, okay? This doesn't matter at all," she murmured. "All you need to know is that it's clear that the defendant didn't do it. Then again, we knew that from the very beginning. We're positive that she couldn't have done it because there's so much proof that she couldn't have lashed out at the victim. That should be more than enough for this case to be called here."
"You're rather desperate for us to escape talking about this case," I remarked. "Also, if you don't mind my commenting on this... I have to say that you've been acting strange for quite some time. If you want my opinion, there's something that's not sitting well with you about this case, but you're trying to keep from bringing it up if possible. If there's something about this case that doesn't sit well with you, then it's perfectly fine to talk about. In fact, I believe that it would help us to figure out what happened at the time of the victim's death."
Prosecutor Wood sighed and shook her head. "You're jumping to conclusions. How about you just leave me alone already?" she muttered bitterly. Her gaze had gone dark, and I was more positive than ever that Nevada was somehow involved with all of this. She was so on edge all of a sudden, and the aura that she gave off was completely different to how Prosecutor Wood was normally. There was no way at all to compare the two as being similar, and it bothered me quite a bit. When Prosecutor Wood was bothered by something, she was overcome with anxiety and fear, so this sudden move of bold confidence and distance made it loud and clear that she wasn't the same person that I was used to interacting with both in and out of the courtroom.
"Witness, I want you to be honest with this court now," Judge Frost announced as he looked down at Prosecutor Wood. "If you were at the scene of the crime, please say so. We need to hear your testimony about what you saw at the time of the murder."
Prosecutor Wood glanced up to him, and there was something about his expression that told her that fighting back wasn't going to have much of a point. She frowned before changing her point of focus back to the floor once again. "So what if I was?" she questioned. I figured that this was the closest we would be getting to a confession of her presence unless we continued pushing, so my mission was clear as could be in my mind.
"We need to hear about what happened at the time of the murder," I told her, pulling back on my previous intensity to watch her with a degree of caution. "But first... If it's alright with you, I would like to once again note your strange behavior."
"I agree," Prosecutor Burke cut in, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "I've been working with you for a long time, and you've never acted this way before. I'm sure that both Prosecutor Shield and Prosecutor Cruz would be more than able to back me up when I say that something has been off about you ever since the murder took place."
Both Robbie and Prosecutor Shield nodded their agreement, and Prosecutor Wood's features suddenly went pale. She looked over to where I was standing with Victoria and Sky, and I could tell that she was putting the pieces together that escape was impossible. She shook her head before finding an empty space on the floor to stare at. "It's just the stress of everything that's been happening," she said. As far as I could tell, she was fully aware of how feeble the excuse was, but she was still doing her best to sell it on the off chance that perhaps she would be able to get away with it.
"Why would you be so stressed if you weren't at the scene of the crime?" Victoria asked. "I think that you're really starting to struggle with what happened during the murder because you were far closer to the action than you're caring to openly admit. Please be honest with us and say if you were at the scene of the crime."
Prosecutor Wood didn't offer a response, instead choosing to find yet another point of interest on the floor to stare at. She didn't seem to want to even acknowledge that we were there, so I was sure that we were going to have to use something else if we wanted to get through to her. She wasn't in the mood to listen to our previous methods of reasoning, so we would have to figure something else out for ourselves.
"If you want my opinion, you saw something that you weren't supposed to after you found the scene of the crime by accident," Sky announced. "That was when you decided to take Chrysalis away from the victim. You witnessed something that you really should not have been there to see, and it made you think that you had to leave with Chrysalis as soon as possible."
"You suddenly forgetting about what happened involving your friends is suspicious as well," I remarked. "You would expect someone to be able to remember something so important, and yet, you claim that you don't remember anything. There must be a reason that your memories regarding your plans were so forcefully cut off at the time of the murder. Did you see anything that surprised you? Did you ever know in the first place?"
Prosecutor Wood let out a harsh bark of a laugh. "Of course I knew about it!" she cried out. "Why would I not know about a meeting where I was supposed to see other people? I just forgot about it because it slipped my mind. There isn't anything else to it, and you're fooling yourself if you think that something else happened to make me forget about it by force."
"If you really remembered about your plans, then you wouldn't mind telling us who you were supposed to be meeting with, right?" Victoria questioned. "You should be fully aware of the people who you were meant to be seeing the day of the murder, so why don't you simply tell us about who you had made plans with?"
Prosecutor Wood was silent afterwards, and I saw her shoulders go heavy with tension. She chose not to say anything for a long time, and I could tell that this was her way of yielding defeat. She knew that there was no chance for her to win, so she simply wasn't bothering to mount a defense at all.
"You never knew in the first place, and I have the perfect explanation for why," I told her. "You are not Prosecutor Wood at all. You've been attempting to convince everyone here that your name is Niamh Wood, but that isn't the case in the slightest. There is a rift between your memories and the consciousness of Niamh Wood... After all, you're two different people."
Prosecutor Wood attempted to offer a response, but I held up one hand to keep her from continuing. "I believe that you forgot about the meeting and the people you were meant to be seeing because you weren't ever aware of it in the first place. The primary way for this to be possible involves a certain mental condition that Niamh Wood has... I'm sure that you're already aware of what I'm talking about, yes? After all, that condition is the very reason that you exist." I cleared my throat as a light smile appeared on my lips. "Go on and introduce yourself to the court honestly this time... Nevada."
I'm sleepy but sh here is update
-Digital