"Something rather dramatic must've occurred between us," Mareo said. "That seems like an inevitable conclusion when you look at the damage we've sustained. Not to mention the fact that Takeshi was killed at some point during."

"Whatever it was, exactly, it was pretty damn serious," Eryu reasoned. "That's kind of obvious, just considering the fact that we've been injured to…varying degrees."

"Yeah, like how you got kicked in the balls," Kimi chimed in.

Eryu grimaced. "Yeah. Honestly, something tells me you did that, Kimi."

"That's what it seems like to me," Naoko agreed. "I remember Kimi having made comments, talking about kicking people in their groin. Including fairly recently, no less."

"Well, I haven't done it to any of you up to now, from what I can remember," Kimi replied, "but I can't say that I'm 'above' actually doing it. I mean, if you want to make someone hurt like hell…it's an easy way to do it."

"But why would you have felt the need to actually do so?" Yori wondered aloud. "Why would any of the things that happened to us have happened to us?"

"It's seeming to me like a fight broke out," Naoko reasoned. "Not all of us are that badly hurt, but enough of us are to make me think that things could've gotten physical."

"Sure, that makes sense," Eryu figured. "There's just the question of what would've caused us to get into a fight with each other. Not to mention how the distillery was involved in it."

"Plus some other stuff too, probably," Mariko figured.

"Yes, I'm afraid there's a lot to go over," Yori replied. "But, first things first, it does seem fairly likely at this stage that we attacked each other. Or, at least, some of us got into an altercation, and the rest ended up getting involved at some point during. And if we were to consider who may have instigated such an altercation…Bankei seemed to have already given us an important clue."

"She wasn't under the truth serum's effects," Naoko said, "which means she could've willfully said or done just about anything to us without us being able to remember afterwards."

"What'd she make us do, then?" Kimi asked. "Did she tell us to fight, and then we just…did it?"

"I dunno about that," Ishi replied. "I mean, sure, if we fought, she totally would've had, like, a hand in it, but I don't think people under the effects of the truth serum just, like, do anything you tell them to. IMONO never said anything like that. It just, y'know, makes it easier to tell people what to do, and stuff."

"So, she could've done or said something to make us want to get into an altercation?" Yori responded, deep in thought. "Is that what you're implying?"

Ishi took a moment to think about it. "I mean…maybe? I mean, I dunno exactly how suspicious she's been of me, but if she was suspicious enough, then maybe…"

Mareo looked at her with confusion. "I'm sorry, but you seem to be trailing off. If she was suspicious of you, then what?"

"And what does her being suspicious of you have to do with what we're talking about?" Eryu asked.

Naoko gave it some thought, considering what they already knew. "Ishi's probably talking about how she's been working for IMONO. I feel like us finding out about that, on its own, would be enough to heat things up."

"I can imagine that, sure," Eryu supposed. "I definitely remember having been pretty upset when she admitted to it earlier in this trial. Granted, I can't say it didn't help us, but still."

Yori nodded lightly in agreement. "I can only imagine what it would've been like to learn something like that after having just been drugged with truth serum," she said. "I would assume Ishi would admit to having done so, since she was under its effects too."

"And if she did, that'd probably really piss us off," Kimi figured. "Then Bankei could come in and do whatever she needed to do to fuck with our heads."

"How would she do so?" Mareo questioned. "Are you saying she could have found a way to make us even more upset with Ishi for her betrayal? Because even if she did, I'm not entirely sure how probable it is that that alone could have gotten us to begin physically assaulting one another."

"Well, we were, like, suggestible at the time," Ishi pointed out, a bit nervous. "Plus, I remember when Bankei was injected with truth serum, she seemed kinda, like, impulsive, or something like that. Maybe that was all she needed."

"Suggestible and impulsive?" Yori thought for a moment. "That definitely sounds like a dangerous combination."

"Would it really have been enough, though?" Eryu asked. "Honestly, I feel like I have to side with Mareo on this one. Bankei would have to have done at least a little bit more than make Ishi seem like some kind of monster."

"Well, then, she'd have to have some sort of additional ammunition to provoke us to that point," Naoko figured. "Maybe something involving another one of us?"

"Like Kimi, maybe," Ishi suggested. "Kimi, y'know, she's said some things."

"I know I've 'said some things'," Kimi responded, seeming rather offended. "But it's not like I wanna just blurt out dumb shit at this point."

"Well, you still could've, like, said something bad, that made some of us extra angry," Ishi argued, still looking a bit anxious about the subject matter. "I don't wanna seem like I'm trying to throw you under the bus, but it's just…it's a possibility, y'know?"

"You two most likely came into conflict, from what we've gathered," Yori pointed out. "Even if that's not precisely how the whole incident started, it doesn't seem beyond reason to assume Kimi had at least some part in escalating the conflict between us."

"What about the rest of us?" Mariko asked. "What does me being punched in the face have to do with Kimi being hit in the stomach, or Eryu…uh, y'know."

"Most likely, we were all involved, at least to some extent," Naoko figured. "I'm mostly okay, but I imagine since my arm hurt when I woke up, I guess someone must've hit it, or twisted it, or something."

"Yeah," Ishi agreed, "and I bet I could've, like, gotten physical with someone. Y'know, with my hands and stuff."

"And at some point, someone attacked Bankei," Eryu pointed out. "So even she wasn't able to stay out of it."

"Yeah, that's definitely strange," Naoko supposed. "Still, we know that at some point, one of us must've gotten a hold of the gun and shot Takeshi in the leg."

"Ah, shit," Kimi sighed. "We gotta figure out how that happened, huh?"

"Well, at some point, we probably should," Yori reasoned. "Still, there's a lot that we need to consider when talking about something as significant as the firearm found at the scene of the crime."

"Yeah, there's a lot of questions that stem from that," Naoko agreed. "There's the question of who had the gun, when it was fired, and why, among other questions. We just have to figure out which issue needs to be tackled first."

"Whichever one we go with, I guess I'm okay with it," Kimi shrugged. "We pretty much gotta, since it all seems pretty goddamn important to this case. Alright. How about we talk about who had the gun?" She glanced over at a certain someone within her view. "...Or, if you're so inclined, we could talk about how it was Bankei who had the gun."

"Back to that whole song and dance, are we?" Bankei rolled her eyes. "You brought up that very same idea during your investigation, you know."

"Yeah, 'cause it makes sense," Kimi retorted. "You probably brought it to the meetup, 'cause…fuck, I dunno. Probably a really fucked up reason, knowing you."

"Hold on a moment, Kimi." Yori advised, "Let's think this through. I feel as though there's a problem here."

"What the hell kinda problem?" Kimi questioned, clearly puzzled.

"Well, when you first brought up the idea of Bankei having gotten ahold of the gun, it seemed fairly reasonable," Yori explained. "However, at this point, there's an issue. We now know that IMONO has been giving Ishi messages for the past few days, telling her what Bankei has been doing. If Bankei had obtained a gun, and kept it on her person when she went to the meetup, IMONO would surely have told Ishi about that at some point."

"Oh, yeah," Naoko said thoughtfully. "That's a good point. Ishi, did IMONO ever tell you about Bankei and the gun?"

Ishi shook her head. "Sorry, I don't remember getting any messages about that. Dunno what that's about, honestly."

"So, does that mean that Bankei didn't have the gun?" Mariko wondered.

"That's what that implies, certainly," Yori replied.

Naoko took a moment and considered the language that Yori used. She said that that was what was implied. That wasn't exactly the same as saying that it disproved the theory, he noted. Perhaps she was thinking of some way Bankei could've somehow gotten her hands on a gun without IMONO telling Ishi. But how could she have done so? IMONO had apparently promised to inform Ishi of any and all strange or suspicious happenings in regards to Bankei, and her finding a gun would almost certainly fall under that umbrella. Thus, if Bankei had gotten her hands on a gun, Ishi would have been told, right? Again, that was the general implication. So, were they supposed to switch suspects? Who else could have been able to get their hands on that gun, let alone have figured bringing it to their get-together was a good idea?

Eventually, though, Naoko considered something that they'd brought up previously. "We've talked about where the gun might've come from," he said. "And it still seems like the safe in the lab is the most likely."

"Uh huh," Eryu agreed. "Unless there's something else that we've missed, but I can't say that seems too likely at this point."

"Unless there's some sort of hidden compartment, like with that one drawer," Kimi pointed out.

"Right, that drawer in the lab," Naoko replied quickly. "The same one that was hidden from the camera in the room due to the presence of a blindspot. And the cabinet that the safe is in is right by the drawer."

"Hm," Yori responded, seeming to understand. "So, if the drawer can't be seen on the camera IMONO uses to observe the room, then perhaps the cabinet the safe is in also can't be seen."

"Exactly," Naoko replied. "And if IMONO couldn't see her open the safe, then it'd be hard to report that to Ishi."

"Wouldn't IMONO be able to hear her open the safe?" Mariko asked.

"I don't think so," Eryu weighed in. "I've punched in…well over a hundred combinations into that thing by now, and I can't say it makes a lot of noise. Even when it locks you out, it's practically silent."

"So, it's theoretically possible for Bankei to have quietly opened the safe, removed the gun, hidden it from view, and left the lab," Yori said in summation. "And thus, IMONO might not even have been sure what exactly she'd done."

"Wait," Kimi interjected. "Ishi, didn't you say you caught Bankei leaving the lab one time?"

"Yeah," Ishi replied. "So what?"

"You said that you asked her if she was doing anything dangerous or suspicious, and she said she wasn't," Kimi pointed out.

"Well, how do we know that Bankei managed to get the safe open right before that?" Mariko asked. "She could've done that at some other point, couldn't she?"

"Fuck, I dunno," Kimi admitted. "This whole thing is getting a bit too convoluted for me, if I'm being honest. But I guess she could've if she'd been snooping around the fourth floor a lot."

"Fair point," Naoko supposed. "In any case, I think we've established it's still possible that Bankei was the one that got ahold of the gun."

"And you think I managed to keep it a secret, even from IMONO?" Bankei asked, obviously quite curious.

"That's the general premise we're working with here, yes," Mareo replied.

"How do you think I would have done so?" Bankei questioned.

"Well, that's easy," Eryu replied. "That kimono of yours probably has some pockets or some such inside of it."

"So, you think I kept it in a pocket inside of my kimono for…some time, at least?" Bankei surmised.

"Yes," Eryu responded curtly. "For all we know, it could actually be pretty easy. There's no reason to act like the idea is too far-fetched to consider at this point."

"I should point out at this point that I have, myself, done some physical examinations of Bankei in the past for medical purposes," Mareo reminded them all. "I do, indeed, recall seeing what appear to have been pockets on the interior of her kimono. Particularly, there appears to be some storage space in the sleeves, and around the chest area."

"So, she could either grab something from inside her sleeve, or reach down her chest?" Kimi wondered aloud. "One of those seems a hell of a lot less practical. Well, that, and also more suggestive. Kinda suspicious that Ms. Modesty here would opt for pocket space on the inside of her getup. Just sayin'."

"Isn't an observation about me being suspicious rather redundant at this point?" Bankei pointed out.

"Fuck you," Kimi replied, not missing a beat.

Kimi's observations aside, the topic of Bankei's kimono got Naoko thinking. As soon as he saw her unconscious in the distillery, he noticed her kimono was rather disheveled. Based on what they'd found out, that someone had definitely given her a few extra bruises and looked to have even flat-out throttled her, her kimono being messed up made some sense. Still…disheveled clothing wasn't much of an issue for the rest of them. Sure, a couple others had their clothing a tad roughed up, but for Bankei, it seemed like her clothing was becoming especially important for some reason. Perhaps she retrieved the gun from inside her clothing, and that caused it to become disheveled? Or maybe just contributed to it becoming disheveled? That seemed a bit unlikely, if she were used to retrieving things from inside of her own clothing.

Then again, he thought, circumstances would've been different than usual for her, wouldn't it've? That was when Naoko realized something that really got him thinking. "I'm honestly kind of surprised we haven't really brought it up yet, but…if Bankei were to do anything with her gun, it'd be with her non-dominant hand, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess she would," Mariko figured. "And as we've established, she's not all that good with that hand."

"Exactly," Naoko responded. "It's possible that, at some point, she would've felt the need to pull out the gun and fire it, but doing something like that with a hand she's not very good at using…"

"She'd, like, probably mess up her clothes or something, for starters," Ishi replied. "Especially if she was, like, reaching down her own kimono."

"Yeah, I considered that," Naoko nodded. "But I think the part about her actually using it is more significant here."

"Well, if she was bad at using that hand, she'd need to, like, take a little while to aim it correctly," Ishi said.

"And what if she didn't have that time?" Yori asked, seeming to understand where Naoko was going.

"Why wouldn't she have time to aim?" Mariko asked.

"Well, we know someone attacked her at some point," Naoko reminded them. "It's possible that she might've wanted to use the gun in self defense, or even as a deterrent."

"But someone still managed to get 'er," Kimi pointed out.

"Exactly," Naoko replied. "Clearly, if she were trying to stop someone from attacking her, it failed in the end, even when she was armed. And if she was trying to shoot at someone that was going to attack her, and her aim wasn't precise enough, she could…Well, I think it's pretty obvious at this point."

"She could very easily miss," Yori said for him.

"Eh-heh," Bankei chuckled. "How interesting. Has it really taken you this long to come to that conclusion, Naoko?"

"Lay off 'im, creep!" Kimi retorted. "God forbid we don't figure shit out as fast as someone who already knows everything about what happened!"

"Let's not get too fired up here, Kimi," Naoko advised. "We're still figuring things out, and I think I might be on the right track."

"Yeah, I think so too," Ishi agreed. "I mean, Bankei…There's no way she'd shoot Takeshi just because. And, like, what other reason would she've shot him?"

"Realistically, I don't think she'd have any real reason that she'd want to shoot Takeshi," Naoko reasoned. "Like I said, I think it makes the most sense if the gun was something she brought to keep other people from attacking her. And it doesn't seem like Takeshi was even trying to attack her, since the blood trail from the common room to the distillery starts right in front of the chair that Takeshi was most likely sitting in at the time."

"Then someone else was going to attack her, and she let off a shot, which incidentally hit Takeshi, who was sitting in the chair at the time," Mareo said in summation.

"Yeah," Naoko confirmed. "Presumably, she was aiming at the attacker's leg, but her aim was off, so it hit Takeshi's instead. At least, that's what I'd assume."

"If her intention was to incapacitate her attacker, then that would make sense," Yori agreed. "Even if it were in self defense, I doubt IMONO would ignore it if she were to fatally shoot someone."

"I WOULD NOT."

"Perfect," Yori said, seeming content for the time being.

"So, if Takeshi wasn't the one trying to attack Bankei, and was just a bystander," Eryu began, "then who was it that was attacking her?"

"Honestly, probably you," Kimi responded almost immediately.

Eryu seemed rather offended by this. "You're seriously jumping on that idea already?"

"What?" Kimi responded defensively. "You jumped to me kicking you in the balls, but me accusing you of trying to deck Bankei is going too far? Let's be real here. Tensions are high, Bankei's fucking with our heads, and there's no Haru or Mine to stop you? I could totally see you doing that."

"Okay, hold on," Eryu said. "When you say I was trying to 'deck' her, do you mean-"

"I don't mean that as in you were trying to kill her," Kimi quickly informed him.

"Hey, don't interrupt!" Eryu snapped. "And besides, if I was the one that was coming after her, I wouldn't say I 'tried' to. It sounds to me like I'd've succeeded, given her condition and all."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Kimi said, holding her hands up. "Poor choice of words, or whatever. Look, the point is, the way I see it, you probably attacked Bankei."

"Well, if that's what happened, then…" Mariko began, "what about the rest of us?"

"At least one or two of us probably tried to intervene," Naoko figured. "Just to make sure that you didn't actually end up killing her."

"Even if I was really worked up, I don't think I'd do that," Eryu weighed in.

"Even so, you could still have caused her some sort of fatal injury without intending to do so," Mareo argued.

"Okay," Eryu replied, seeming to understand. "What about everyone else, then? I'd assume Takeshi having been shot would've been the main focus."

"Absolutely," Yori agreed. "We can be certain he'd be at risk of bleeding out. We'd need to give him medical attention right away."

"I mean, yeah, totally," Ishi agreed. "But…then why take him to the distillery? Wouldn't there've been, like, a better place to take him? Like the medical place on the same floor?"

Ishi had raised an interesting point. They knew for certain that Takeshi went from the common room to the distillery, what with the long, uninterrupted trail of blood found at the scene of the crime. But that would mean that he wasn't ever taken to that floor's medical room, where it would make the most sense to take someone who had just been shot. Why would any of them think that the distillery would be preferable? Well, Naoko felt like he might have had some ideas as to why that would be.

INTERMISSION