A/N: I gave this one another week, too. I've been saying this a lot in recent Author's Notes, but it's true. This time, I did it because not only is this chapter long, it contains some pretty "edgy" stuff I needed to mull over. I think it's fine now, the way I have it, but I guess I'm no authority on whether or not that's the case. So as always, viewer discretion is advised.

"...What did you just say, Naoko?" Bankei asked, looking towards him with an odd expression.

"I'm just saying, if you're going to accuse Takeshi of poisoning Haru's food, then it's only fair I bring you up as a suspect, too," Naoko explained. "You remember last night, don't you? We met in the library, and after speaking to each other for a bit, you said you'd check up on Hoshi for me. I'd have to assume you did that, right?"

"Well, yes, of course I did," Bankei replied. "I popped in while he was working, spoke to him briefly, and then left. I can't say I had much time to do…any of what you're attempting to imply."

"You didn't have enough time to sprinkle some powder or something onto a plate?" Naoko asked.

Bankei furrowed her brows in obvious annoyance. "I doubt that that specifically was the case. Besides, I can't say that you're in a position to assume that I could have. After all, you weren't there when he and I spoke."

"In that case, there would only be one other person that would know what happened in the kitchen during that time," Yori reasoned. "That other person being Hoshi, of course, but we can't exactly ask him for his memory of the event."

"Of course we can't. He's dead," Mareo replied. "That goes without saying. But…to be frank, I'm unsure of just how likely it is that Bankei could have done so, given what we know." He turned to look directly at Naoko. "How could he have simply allowed her to tamper with Haru's food?"

"I guess he wouldn't have," Naoko admitted. "If she did, she'd need to use some sort of sleight of hand. That, or just have him not looking when she did so."

"And you're saying that her crutches wouldn't have been an impediment to that at all?" Mareo countered. "Even if they wouldn't stop her from crushing some poisonous seeds into a fine powder, storing them in some discreet container, and then pouring it onto Haru's food when Hoshi wasn't looking, they certainly would've interfered with what would have come next."

"You mean the murder itself," Yori assumed. "Thus far, I can't say I've taken the idea of her being behind this incident all too seriously for the simple fact that, in her state, she would have much difficulty harming others."

"Yeah, I've felt the same way," Naoko agreed.

"So hang on a minute," Mine said. "If her being behind this doesn't make sense, then why are you bringing it up? Like we've said before, it'd be kinda crazy to accuse her of murder."

"Yeah," Mariko agreed. "That, and also a bit, uh…I guess you could say insensitive. I mean, she's still injured, isn't she?"

"Of course I am," Bankei responded, gesturing to herself inelegantly with her right hand. "As you can see, while I've healed to a decent extent, both inside and outside, I'm still not entirely well. My left hand is still fractured, and the bruises I've sustained are still there, such as on my face, chest, and upper thighs. I'm in no state to be bringing harm to anyone, so I'm not sure why you decided to name me as a suspect all of a sudden."

"I'm not necessarily saying that you are the culprit yet," Naoko clarified. "I'm just saying that if Takeshi had the chance to poison Haru's food, thus making him more vulnerable around the time he was murdered, then so did you, which means you could've done the same."

"I could have, yes," Bankei admitted. "But that hardly means anything if I couldn't finish the next step, which would be to kill him in his weakened state. If I poisoned Haru, then that would mean I wanted him - and likely Hoshi as well - dead."

"I can see you wanting to kill Haru, given what he did to you," Yori weighed in. "He threatened you, and ended up causing you much physical pain. I can imagine you having a grudge against him for that reason."

"That goes without saying, yes," Bankei replied. "But even still, bearing a grudge doesn't mean much in this case, does it? Especially when what you've deduced in regards to the crime scene does not at all indicate that the killer used a set of crutches."

"Right, okay," Naoko said. "Sneaking up behind Haru, stabbing him multiple times from behind, and killing Hoshi on top of that…using crutches, that'd be basically impossible, I feel."

"So, the killer definitely didn't use crutches," Kimi said in summation. "Don't know why that needed to be said, but…fuck it, I'm just gonna go for it. What if Bankei ditched her crutches?"

Bankei's face contorted into an offended frown. "You're saying I could simply go without using these crutches? That's absurd."

"Why the hell is it so weird?" Kimi questioned. "I mean, how badly could your legs have been beaten up if all you have to say about them's that they're bruised?"

"My purposefully simplified description of my injuries does not mean you can attempt to poke holes in my reasoning," Bankei argued. "All your current argument does is show you to be an ultracrepidarian, and nobody likes those."

"Oh, really? Well, I like it when people use real words," Kimi remarked. "I have no idea what the fuck you just said."

"An ultracrepidarian is someone who speaks about a topic they don't adequately understand," Mareo explained.

"Well, fine then," Kimi replied dismissively. "Fuck your fancy-ass education. It doesn't fucking matter. What does matter is that I'm not gonna just sit around while Bankei tries to tell us what to fucking think. Like that can end well for any of us."

"First of all, Mareo and I have done nothing to you by being well-educated," Bankei responded unamusedly. "Secondly, You're trying to say I can simply forgo my crutches, and walk without them. When have I ever implied that that was even possible, let alone wise?"

"Well, it's possible," Naoko weighed in. "You walked from your room to the cafeteria after Haru attacked you, and that was shortly after it happened. Granted, you obviously had difficulty doing so, but…Hm. It's been a good few days since then. Would that be enough time for you to recover? I'm not sure."

"Well, to put it simply, people won't necessarily heal from injuries at the same rate," Mareo said. "Because of that, I cannot say for certain when she can be expected to make a full recovery. Her cast, for instance, may need to stay on for a month or more. We can't be entirely certain when, especially since we don't have much in the way of advanced medical tools. As for her other wounds, again, while she's recovered a decent amount, it's hard to say just how close she is to recovering completely."

"It was only recently that I took to using those crutches, as you all know," Bankei said. "Without them, walking is still quite the painful experience."

"Well, how do you know that it is?" Eryu asked. "If you haven't walked without those crutches since you got them, you wouldn't know that, would you?"

Bankei glared at Eryu sharply, eyebrows furrowed. Though it wasn't directed at him, Naoko still had the distinct feeling that that meant serious trouble.

"I found it out as I received them," Bankei spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. "I stood on my own two feet very briefly, and I immediately felt a sharp pain in both of my legs. From that, I think it's clear that walking without my crutches is painful."

"So…it's not impossible, just uncomfortable," Eryu surmised.

Bankei's displeasure rose noticeably. "You…you really are enjoying the idea of me being a legitimate suspect, aren't you? I can't say I understand why. Is it because you happen to be tired of acknowledging me as a victim?"

"You're referring to Haru attacking you, aren't you?" Yori asked.

"Precisely," Bankei answered, gesturing to Eryu. "Eryu here has made it clear to me that he does not care much for my well being, even in my current situation. In fact, I've found him rather callous."

"Callous?" Mariko asked concernedly. "In what way?"

"He was upset that Mareo had not consulted him before supplying me with my crutches," Bankei explained.

"That's a completely skewed description of what I said!" Eryu argued.

"Well, I find it to be rather accurate," Bankei maintained. "You didn't seem to care much about my victimization at all, I must say."

"Tch," Kimi interjected. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but in fairness to Eryu, I feel like we're all kinda victims here. Y'know, in a way. You're a victim of Haru's temper, and the rest of us are victims of your bullshitting."

"That's an interesting term to use," Bankei remarked bitterly. "...Bullshitting. How uncouth. I suppose that means you agree with this absurd narrative, given that you too are uninterested in my own suffering."

"Look, I'm inclined to agree with Naoko on this one," Kimi said defensively. "And really, after the shit you've said and done already, I don't give a shit if you were beaten up a bit. Fuck, at this point, you could be paralyzed from the neck down and I'd still think you're up to something."

"If I were paralyzed from the neck down, that would make the whole concept of me being 'up to something' especially impossible," Bankei argued. "Especially due to one simple fact. You may be able to hide the truth from yourselves, but not from me. The idea that I poisoned Haru, only to then kill him in the PA room, is patently ridiculous!"

Oh boy, Naoko thought. Things still weren't looking easy for them, that was for sure. Bankei was now on the defensive, and was more on-edge than he was pretty sure he had ever seen her. The thing was, though, the fact of the matter was that she didn't seem like she was necessarily doing so due to being innocent. She'd been accused before, but never acted quite like how she was acting now in response to it. Did that mean, then, that she was hiding something? It seemed to Naoko like that was the case, and if it was, he was willing to do what he needed to to figure out just what it was that she was hiding. Perhaps, he thought, given her current disposition, if he played his cards right, he could bait her into saying something incriminating. It seemed risky, but…

"You claim I was able to poison Haru's food with flower seeds or somesuch," Bankei began, "yet that contradicts with the chain of logic we'd used up until now. It's been suggested that the killer was able to plan out the crime extensively, yet I've only been out of the medical room since yesterday. If I planned this out, I would need access to the flower nursery. However, that is a complete other room, on the third floor. That would mean that, until yesterday, I had no access to any sort of poisonous flower."

"Hang on, I just thought of something," Naoko interjected.

He had a feeling that he could capitalize on what had sparked their interest in the flowers in the nursery. Of course, he knew that what he was going to say next was a lie, but he decided, then and there, that he was going to have to have faith in his judgements if he were to keep things on the right track. That was what he needed, wasn't it? To be confident in his judgement?

"I remember you said something interesting about something that happened a couple of days ago, Bankei," he said. "You said Mine came by and placed a flower pot at your bedside." He stopped to look at Yori. "Can I see that folder?"

"Sure," Yori shrugged, sliding the folder Naoko's way for him to pick up and look through.

"Okay, you said what she gave you was called a moth orchid," Naoko said, rifling through until he found the page he had found earlier. Of course, he didn't show it to the rest of them, because if what he was going to say next was going to work, he couldn't let them be able to let her correct him so easily. "...Here we go. I noticed something while looking through this. It says here that the moth orchid is poisonous. In fact…its symptoms aren't that different compared to the Angel's Trumpet flower."

"Really?" Ishi asked, surprised. "Oh fuck, I didn't know about that. I didn't even know that orchids could be poisonous."

"Well, this one is, apparently," Naoko shrugged. "So if you're saying that you had very limited access to poisonous flowers, Bankei, you're not entirely correct. You had well over a day to formulate a plan involving them. After all, one such flower was right at your bedside."

Bankei was silent for a few seconds after he said this. Meanwhile, the others kept silent as well. A couple there already knew that what he said wasn't true, but stayed silent. Yori and Eryu looked like they knew what he was trying to do, and Mareo looked more confused than anything. Eventually, though, Bankei began to laugh.

"Eh-heheh. Eh-heheheheheheh. Eh-hehehehehahaha!"

"What's so funny?" Naoko asked.

"What's funny? Bankei replied, still hysterical. "Everything about what you just said, of course! You're saying that I was able to poison Haru because, two days before, I had just so happened to have been given a flower that supposedly has all the necessary symptoms for my purposes, which I then used to poison Haru? How would I even have been able to know at the time if that perfectly harmless flower was poisonous or not?"

Jackpot.

"I don't know," Naoko admitted. "How would you know that it's perfectly harmless, even though I just said that it isn't?"

Bankei looked puzzled. "...What did you just say?"

"You called it a perfectly harmless flower just now," Naoko replied. "That contradicts what I just said."

"Well, I know that it's harmless," Bankei explained. "You're clearly lying."

"How would you know that this very specific breed of flower isn't poisonous?" Naoko questioned.

"Well, I've known since yesterday," Bankei explained. "I perused the contents of the flower nursery, and found that folder. I read it, and found the description of the flower Mine had given me. That's how I know. Thus, I could not have planned this murder for longer than under a day's time. Not exactly the smartest thing to do, wouldn't you say?"

"Really? Because I don't think that sounds right at all," Naoko countered. "I remember you saying something very particular about the flower you'd been given. You said something along the lines of 'I believe she called it a moth orchid'. Not only did you not mention having looked it up at the time, but that also doesn't sound like something someone would say unless all they knew about it was what it was called."

"...Oh," Bankei said, her face going blank for a moment. "I see. And what does that, or this entire gambit of yours, have to do with this case?"

"It's kinda simple, actually," Naoko replied. "If you wanted to, you might've said that you had no knowledge of the flowers from the nursery, and we'd have no solid evidence to suggest you would've known anything about them. But now, not only have you admitted to having read from the folder describing them…but you've also shown that you felt the need to hide that fact."

"If you wanted to hide it, that must mean it was important," Eryu continued. "And If you knew that, then that means you were the one who poisoned Haru!"

"Oh, is that so?" Bankei responded sharply. "So, despite my injuries, I went down to the nursery, stole some seeds, crushed them, sprinkled them onto Haru's food, then listened in on his meeting with Hoshi, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As if I would even be able to determine the perfect moment."

"What the fuck are you trying to say now?" Kimi asked angrily.

"If I killed Haru first, then I'd need to know when to actually do so," Bankei explained. "To do so, I'd need to listen in from outside. What, would I need to hope he left the northmost door slightly ajar? Or would I have to risk opening the door a tad and hoping they didn't notice, despite being closer to that door than the southernmost one?"

"That argument could be made for anyone, couldn't it?" Mariko pointed out.

"Well, I'm making it now, for my own sake," Bankei said impatiently. "So? How could I hope to know what was going on inside the PA room from the outside, without risking alerting them to my presence?"

Naoko thought for a moment, and realized something interesting about what she was saying. "I guess it would be hard. Then again, you say that like it's the only way you could've known what was going on inside the room."

"Because it is," Bankei insisted.

"I don't know about that," Naoko replied. "If you were inside the room with them, then you could've."

"But-but that's impossible!" Bankei argued, her face transitioning to a look of shock. "They would have seen me!"

"Not necessarily," Naoko said, Bankei's reaction indicating to him that he was still on the right track. "Remember what we said about those lockers? We've looked inside them, and it seems like someone could've fit inside one if they wanted to. It'd be a bit uncomfortable, but you wouldn't have to move while inside, and thanks to the sliding lock design and the ventilation slats, you could probably hide yourself in there for a while, and exit when the time was right."

"Well, if that's true, then you were very observant during your investigation," Bankei replied. "However, I am by no means the only person who could have fit inside such a locker, if what you're saying is true. Perhaps you could have. Or Yori, or Takeshi, or even Mine."

"Wait, huh?" Mine asked concernedly. "Bankei, you're not gonna start accusing me of anything, are you?"

"I'm listing you as an example, Mine," Bankei replied firmly. "Don't be so quick to assume."

"Don't worry, Mine," Naoko said assuringly. "I can't say you'd be able to hide inside one of those, so it doesn't matter even if she was accusing you."

"What do you mean she couldn't?" Bankei questioned. "Are you confusing Mine with Mariko, or some such nonsense?"

"Wha-?" Mariko responded. "Where did that come from?"

"Stay off my turf, bitch!" Kimi snapped.

"Mine could fit inside one of the lockers, I'm sure," Naoko said. "The problem is, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She's claustrophobic."

"She is?" Bankei asked. "That's…interesting."

"Geez, even I didn't know that," Ishi said. "Why didn't you tell me that, Mine? I don't mind."

"It wasn't that I thought you did," Mine replied. "I figured you might've already figured it out."

"Really? Because I sure as shit wasn't able to figure it out," Kimi pointed out. "I mean, c'mon, not every handicap can be as obvious as Mareo's or Mariko's."

"Kimi!" Mine snapped suddenly. "I told you you can't say that! It's offensive!"

"Hey, I wasn't trying to be offensive!" Kimi said defensively. "I just said that because you have a phobia. Phobias are a mental…problem, or whatever. It's an accurate term."

"That doesn't make saying that okay!" Mine yelled.

"Kimi," Naoko interjected, "I figured you must've worded your apology wrong, but…I didn't realize you said that. I mean, you never really told me what you said to her."

"And?" Kimi countered. "So I don't always know what words mean. Big whoop. Have we forgotten who's on trial here?"

"Technically, no one's on trial," Yori pointed out. "However, we're currently accusing Bankei of hiding in a locker in the PA room. An interesting theory, and certainly possible, but there's a minor issue that I have with the idea."

"What would that be?" Naoko asked.

"Well, we looked through the lockers, and I examined them very closely," Yori explained. "What stuck out to me was that the lockers looked very clean on the inside. There were no hairs, or skin flakes, or anything else that might suggest someone or something occupied the locker for an extended period."

"I guess that's true," Naoko supposed. "Still, we've talked about using cleaning supplies to clean up the crime scene. The lockers could've been cleaned up, too, couldn't they?"

"If the killer did that, then they really thought ahead," Mariko said.

"I feel as though it would be easier for the killer if they simply had a way to avoid leaving remnants of their skin or hair in the locker," Bankei said. "Otherwise, we have to assume that the killer is either extremely detail-oriented, or borderline omniscient."

"No need to be so dramatic about it," Mareo advised her. "But yes. It's possible that the killer had a way to avoid leaving any sort of detritus behind."

Bankei eyed Mareo curiously. "Such as a full-body suit, for example?"

"Well, perhaps, yes," Mareo replied, seemingly unaware. "But I have a hard time believing such a thing would be available to…" He stopped, seemingly having become aware of what she was suggesting. "...Oh. Wait a moment. You're not suggesting that I was the killer, are you?"

"Well, it would explain that little detail without resorting to unfounded speculation," Bankei said. "It's worth considering, isn't it…Yori?"

Bankei gave Yori a snide look, which seemed to do its job of making her a bit off-kilter. "Perhaps. It doesn't seem likely, but, assuming he could fit inside the locker while in the suit, it's at least theoretically possible."

"Surely, you're not going to play along with this," Mareo said with a good deal of apprehension. "Theoretically, I suppose it's possible for me to fit inside one of those lockers. It's not particularly tall, but I can bend to a moderate degree in this suit. However, even if I were able to fit inside, attempting to attack Haru, no matter the state he was in at the time, is not something I would wish to attempt to do."

"And that is because…?" Bankei inquired.

"What, you don't know?" Mareo asked. "The entire reason I wear this is due to a medical disability. It doesn't have an official name, but…to put it simply, it leaves my body, in its near-to-total entirety, in a state of alarming fragility. This suit is just one of many I've worn over the years, to be able to go through life without the fear of a simple accident being fatal."

Bankei nodded along to Mareo's explanation, giving off a very patient demeanor. That is, until she got the opportunity to speak.

"I see. Yes, I've heard of this. I believe everyone has. I'm afraid, however, that I have difficulty believing you."

"What?" Mareo gasped. "Are you saying you believe I've lied to you all about this?"

"Well, you may have described yourself as an honest person in the past," Bankei admitted, "but that does not mean you don't keep some secrets, yes? The entire premise of a man who, despite seeming reasonably fine on the outset, happens to have an anomalous medical condition that no one here seems to have heard of, and forces him to wear a gaudy golden suit at all times? I'm no expert on medical science, but I find the whole thing wildly improbable."

"Says the girl with naturally white hair," Kimi remarked.

Bankei seemed to grit her teeth for half a second, but otherwise didn't respond. "Tell me, everyone. Why is this man's condition not being called into question, while my verifiable injuries are being swept under the rug? Is that not unfair?"

"But Bankei, that's…" Mine hesitated. "That's…"

"That's awful!" Mariko interjected. "How can you accuse someone of faking a disability like that?!"

"Never underestimate the lengths that others will go to for attention," Bankei advised darkly. "With that suit of his, a normal human with no impairments would be resistant to nearly any attack. If any of you would be worried about Haru's physical strength, even after poisoning him, then I believe wearing a suit such as that would abate such thoughts."

"Well, I'm afraid that's not the case for me," Mareo insisted. "In fact, I can tell you that even with this suit, I'm still relatively vulnerable to blunt force trauma."

"Then either you're a liar, or your suit is poorly designed," Bankei countered. "Either way, we cannot exactly verify this, can we?"

"Actually, we can," Naoko interjected. Enough was enough. "If you want proof of his condition, then we can give you proof. Mareo, do you remember when you said you tripped and fell on your arm while you were bringing us that book and folder?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Mareo responded. "It wasn't a pleasant experience, that's for certain."

"Can you show us underneath that suit?" Naoko asked. "I wanna see the arm you fell on."

"Certainly," Mareo said. "One second. I should be able to remove most of the arm of this suit. I'll just need a moment."

Mareo began to fiddle with the left arm of his suit. It was hard to see exactly what she was doing from where Naoko was, but it looked like he was able to detach parts of it one by one until his left arm was completely exposed. Once it was, he rested it on the table, and everyone could see what his arm looked like. It was actually paler than his face, and had some subtle yet still distinct scarring across it on various points. Still, what was there didn't distract much from the reddish bruises visible along one side of his arm.

"...Oh," Bankei responded. "So, this was from a simple fall. Is that true?"

"I'm afraid so," Mareo said. "I can only imagine how dangerous it would be for me to be struck hard by someone such as Haru. Something like that would no doubt break my bones."

"So, you're not a likely suspect after all, it seems," Naoko said.

"But I still am?" Bankei questioned frustratedly. "I'm in poor condition as well, you know. And besides, Mareo could still have struck when Haru could not fight back. That is still a possibility as well. And we are not yet even considering what would come after Haru."

"You mean Hoshi?" Yori asked.

"Surely it would be difficult for me to chase after him, given my condition," Bankei pointed out. "For someone in better physical shape? Not necessarily. For me? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous."

It looked like this was it. The final major question that they had to answer. If Bankei killed Haru, then surely Hoshi would've had time to react, wouldn't he? It seemed like he could have easily subdued her, or outrun her, if he wanted to. Surely, then, it had to have been someone else…Unless, of course, there was still a way for her to have killed him. Funnily enough, Naoko already had something on his mind. He wasn't sure if it was correct, but he was sure he'd be able to find out if he put the idea forth.

INTERMISSION