Hey loves. I wrote the court scene in one sitting. This is gonna be a two-parter so we're juuust getting started, but I finally have it all worked out in my brain. Now all I gotta do is type. Onward.


The city hall wasn't entirely complete in its reconstruction, but Baatar felt a morbid sense of delight when he was informed that he would be prosecuted in the newly finished courtroom. The floors were tiled with expensive slate, the gallery was crafted from imported ash wood, and the entire building ran on clean spirit vine energy. An expansive balcony hemmed the floor of the courtroom fifteen feet overhead, with bannisters of elegant wrought iron and wooden paneling making up the floor. Lights were worked into wall sconces and gave off a pale purple glow, illuminating the granite and glass fixtures with an ethereal light. He had worked in windows aligned with the sectioned-off areas of the gallery and balcony, having figured out a way to protect the woodwork from the unforgiving sun. Strips of marble paneled the walls, creating a distinction between the gallery and the floor; the area behind the bar was ceramic tile and polished wood, while the floor of the court was marble with intricate platinum inlay. The judge's bench stood on a platform of black marble, the deep rosewood making it the focal point of the room. The jury box had cut-stone trimmings, but the lines of the wood appeared seamless and streamlined.

The judge's chamber doors were tall, causing a break in the overhead balcony and drawing the eye up to the stained glass window overhead. The seal of the Republic City government was frosted onto the glass, the panels held in place by segmented iron. The draperies had not been installed when Baatar gave his family a tour of the new hall, and much of the sawdust and ground stone had yet to be cleared away, but the room gave off an air of tasteful opulence and imposing importance that the spirit lights only added to. Both of his parents were impressed, and the twins gave him ample backhanded compliments, but the glow of pride in his father's eyes made Baatar more sad than he'd anticipated.

Keisai received a prior tour the day before the trial, having politely excused himself from Beifong family time he had been invited to. The lawyer took in Baatar's handiwork in silence, and his praise, though laced in exclamatory profanity, lifted Baatar's spirits higher than they had been in a long while. Keisai listened to him excitedly explain the thought process behind every detail of the room and how he had drawn elements from each nation's architectural style to give the hall a multi-ethnic look without so much as a quip. He realized with a start that he had romanticized this quality when Kuvira gave him her full attention, years ago. As the tour ended and they set off for a final visit to Kuvira before his trial, Baatar wondered what else about her he had romanticized in his devotion.

"You're sure she didn't say anything last week?" Keisai said as they climbed the stairs to her cell. "I don't want to deal with any more than I already have to."

"She didn't tell me anything," Baatar said quietly. "Her talk with my mother upset her, and I don't know what happened." He glanced at Keisai. "Did she ever tell you why she ended up in Zaofu?"

Keisai frowned. "She told me that her parents had abandoned her when she was quite young, and that she came to Zaofu a refugee." They rounded the corner, their footsteps echoing in the empty hall. "I got the impression that her weird obsession with tidiness came from her time alone... Listen man, you don't need to tell me her personal business, if she wanted to tell me she would have-"

"She was from Haven Island," Baatar began, his footsteps slowing and finally stopping. The lawyer continued on a few paces before he realized what had happened and turned back.

"Oh no, man. Not here," Keisai said as he looked around. "Would she be okay with me knowing?"

"She trusts you," Baatar said softly. "She was from Haven Island, one of the most unstable states in the kingdom. After the fall of Earth King Kuei, a lot of the poorer states were taken over by petty warlords. Her parents were typical agriculturists-"

"Can't you just say 'farmers?'" Keisai muttered.

"-who hadn't planned on having her," he continued, ignoring the lawyer's aside. "She said her mother was young, no older than twenty-six or twenty-seven when they sent her away."

"Sent her away?" Keisai looked surprised. "She said abandoned.."

"Her village was acquired by a warlord as well," Baatar said. "He later deposed the governor of the state, and was succeeded by one of his sons, as far as we could tell. She figured out that she was a bender early on, and her parents were never fond of her playing in the dirt.. once their village was conquered, all of the earthbenders were carted off to prison to avoid an uprising. It was a backwards place; there wasn't much mech and the nonbenders effectively posed no threat to the new rule."

"So they sent her away to spare her from prison?" Keisai said slowly.

Baatar sighed. "No, she'd have probably been able to come to terms with that. Resources had always been tight, so they were only too happy to turn her in to the warlord's forces as soon as they got word of the decree. She didn't want to leave, and she refused to prove that she was a bender, so they put her in a position that... forced her to use the ability."

The lawyer's face paled. "That's... messed up, Baatar..."

"She was effectively suffocated," he said grimly. "Buried alive in dirt and mud and garbage, and she tried to hold out as long as she could so she wouldn't be sent away with the rest. And her parents stood by and watched, and told her to show them she was an earthbender if she wanted it to end-"

"Baatar, stop," Keisai said, a hand on his arm. "I don't think I have the right to know this."

"After that she and the rest of the benders were imprisoned, but a few of the adults managed a successful prison revolt after a few months," Baatar said as if he hadn't heard. "She escaped with the other survivors, and made it to a police station in a neighboring city. My mother and father were accepting refugees and Zaofu was earning itself a spot on the map, so she was sent there. She was eight. The officer that brought the refugees felt badly for her.. Mom said they told her Kuvira didn't walk around the train car, she glided." He stopped, his face softening. "I remember when Mom brought her in for the first time. They hadn't exaggerated, she was so light on her feet. I introduced myself, and she just put out her hand and said 'You can call me Kuvira,' as if nothing was wrong. She had always wanted to be an official Beifong, and thought if she was good enough-"

"That's why she's a neat freak," Keisai said, his face stricken. "That's why she's a perfectionist... that officer, was he the one that enlisted right after she became interim president? The one that went on to become her army general, and currently is trying to get a prisoner swap-"

"Yes, Xi became one of her highest-ranked men for a reason," Baatar said, forcing himself to walk again. "But as for the rest, she didn't tell me any of this until we were teenagers. She was fifteen and I was sixteen, and it was after a recital. That's when she also told me Mom couldn't have picked a better hobby for her, and that dancing is the only thing that clears her mind-"

"It's not the only thing, Baatar," Keisai said gently. "She's crazy about you. When I get there before you, she deflates. When you've beaten me to the punch, she's a different person. She wants you to be happy more than anything else-"

Baatar winced as the lawyer echoed Su's words. "Not now, please. Keep all of this to yourself," he said as they nodded to the guards. "She trusts you, and your visits make her happy too... I've seen that firsthand." The doors were unlocked, and they walked in. Kuvira was sitting on the cot, face flushed and hair in a braid. "Good workout?" Baatar said, sitting down beside her. Keisai smiled as he drew up a chair, sitting opposite them.

"I wouldn't go that far," she said, shrugging. "It's been a while since I've done a pushup without resistance, and I'm obviously not at my peak anymore." She grinned. "Maybe you should put a foot down and make it difficult for me."

He smiled sadly. "No, not now. But at least I can always be honest when you ask if something with a broad cut makes you look a bit fat-"

Kuvira narrowed her eyes. "This implies that you were lying every time you said no?"

Keisai shook his head. "Rookie mistake, Baatar. Get your shit together."

"Only a few times," he said. She was smiling, her face tilted up and her hand at the flat of his knee. She moved it as she remembered herself, and he resisted the urge to pull her onto his lap then and there.

"What's the occasion?" she asked Keisai, sitting on her hands. "Or is this another pep talk, don't-freak-out, Baatar's-case-is-under-control, we're-getting-married-after-the-verdict sort of meeting?"

Baatar raised his eyebrows. "I thought Keisai was a firm arbiter of his 'bro code,'" he said, forcing his voice to be light. "Never date a friend's ex, or something along those lines-"

"Relax," Keisai said, laughing aloud. "She means me and you, Baatar. I told her how you helped change the dressings and took me to wound care for my follow-up appointments when I was hurt."

He arranged his features into an aggrieved expression even as his cheeks reddened, glancing at Kuvira. "I think I'm a distant second to Aunt Lin for Keisai," he told her. She didn't look at him, but the set of her jaw told him she was no longer happy. "We actually came for two reasons," he said. "I came to see you, and Keisai has some good news."

"You wanted to watch the trial rather than wait to be called to the stand in a holding cell," Keisai said happily, "and I've fixed it so you can, assuming you consent to having your chi blocked every third hour and stay handcuffed for the duration. Your good behavior is in part responsible, sweetheart. Try and keep it up."

She smiled for the lawyer, stretching out her hands in delight. "Wonderful. Keisai, I can't thank you enough." She wrinkled her nose. "I won't enjoy losing the bending, but that's a small price to pay, and I've dealt with it long enough.. it makes little difference to me."

"The courtroom looks pretty damn phenomenal," Keisai said. "The city hall too. You've got a talented guy, Kuvira."

"Do I?" she asked, looking at him. "This is news to me."

Keisai stood. "Lin will send a couple of officers to escort you to court once the chi blocker is through with you. You'll be behind the bar with the rest of the spectators, but you'll have security around you throughout the trial. Lin suspects that loyalists will be out in full force to protest your and Baatar's arrest, and I won't be surprised if we have some issues with keeping the peace outside." He patted her on the shoulder. "Hang in there, it's only another few weeks until your turn. Whatever happens, you have to take it one day at a time."

"Thank you," Kuvira said earnestly. "For everything."

"I haven't even done anything yet," Keisai said to Baatar. "Imagine what'll happen if I win!" Baatar slapped the man's hand away as he patted his cheek. Keisai's forced enthusiasm hadn't escaped him, and despite his annoyance at the lawyer's behavior, he felt guilty about the immense load everyone had happily placed on Keisai's shoulders.

"You've done more than I ever could have asked," Baatar heard himself saying. "Even if you can't win tomorrow, I'll be grateful for having the privilege of suffering through getting to know you."

"Baatar means he appreciates you both as a lawyer, and as a friend," Kuvira said in amused exasperation. "As do I."

A strange mix of emotions flickered over Keisai's face. "Thanks, man.. of course, you do know a case like this will take a few days, right? I'll be at your place tomorrow morning so we can carpool it. I asked Lin for a police escort just in case there's trouble. See you soon."

Once the door had locked behind him, she turned to Baatar again. "Busy week?"

"Incredibly," he said. "But I'll get to be prosecuted in the hall that I built, and Keisai has a clever way of working that into one of his arguments. If nothing else, it should be a good scene to watch."

"I know your case better than mine," Kuvira said firmly. "This is a classic case of victors' justice. They happened to have you in custody too, or you would have been safe at home in the empire with Xi and the army. You could have been ruling right now. Keisai explained the parallels between the end of the Hundred Year War and this mess... the only difference is that Lord Zuko was allied with Avatar Aang, so the Fire Nation handled any brutality or war crimes internally. The case against you is very shaky."

"Why did you surrender?" Baatar asked her quietly. "You didn't when it meant being with me. Why then? You had enough troops on the ground and in the area, you didn't have to give yourself up as a prisoner of war."

"Korra and I talked in the spirit world after she saved my life," she said. "If I let my men try to defend me, I would have wasted more lives. At that point, I thought I had ended yours for nothing..." She stopped abruptly, turning away from him as she covered her eyes with a hand. "Sorry.."

"I don't care," he said gently. "I told you before, I don't care anymore so you shouldn't either. Kuvira, listen to me. I understand why you did that, but don't let that be the reason you stop-"

"Visiting hours are probably ending now," she said suddenly. "You should go."

He frowned, taking her hands in his. "Tell me why you were so upset last week, and I'll go."

"Oh, that?" She shrugged. "Suyin and I talked, and she apparently never realized that I missed my parents. I'm fine now, it just was a lot to take in at once." He recognized the dismissive voice she used when she didn't want to elaborate further, and he dropped the subject.

"That's it?" He relaxed, his thumb stroking over the ridges of her knuckles. "Nothing else?"

"I think that's pretty significant," Kuvira said, raising her eyebrows. "I hadn't really talked about that to anyone besides you.. remember, the first time I asked what I should call her and she said 'Su,' I was so upset."

"Of course," Baatar said hurriedly. "No, I thought.. well, what I thought isn't important. Besides, Mom will come around. She's asked how you are, if you healed properly... stuff like that." He looked at their hands. "You could tell her the whole story about how you came to us, Kuvira."

She looked down too, thoughtful. "I can't tell her now. Maybe I should have years ago, but I don't think she'd care at this point."

"I told Keisai about how you came to us," he admitted. "I hope you aren't angry with me?" She met his eyes again, expression softening at his uncertainty, and he smiled at her.

Kuvira impulsively leaned forward, releasing her fingers from his and giving him a quick hug. "I can't be angry at you," she said. "Besides, I like Keisai. I don't have a choice in trusting him, but I'm fine with him knowing. His occupation deals with intimate details of people's lives." She tried to pull back, but he held her in place.

"I probably won't get to see you for the duration of the trial," he said slowly. "So..."

"Oh, you'll see me," she said as she removed his hands from her shoulders. "Good luck tomorrow," she added, and he took it as his cue to leave. He left without needing a reminder from the guards, and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom until sleep claimed him at last.

o0o

Reporters were thick around the entrance to the city hall, the shallow steps blocked by barricades Lin and her officers had erected. The throng was a mass of excited bodies that jostled one another every which way, with continuous clicks of shutters and nonstop bursts of light from camera flashes going off. The courthouse had not been opened to the general public and the press, as time had been allowed to members of both the prosecution and the defense to situate themselves inside. Korra and Mako paused before the steps; Lin stood facing the crowd, her arms crossed over her chest and a radio clipped to her belt. "Chief," Mako said waving as he shouldered his way through the crowd and dragged Korra along, "do you need me to stay out here too?"

"I've got it all under control, kid," she said. "Get inside- Bolin, Opal and Asami are already there."

Korra followed Mako in, exchanging looks when a reporter shouted an inquiry about their current relationship status. "Sorry I didn't let you know I reached the city a couple of days ago.." she said sheepishly.

Mako paused at the door, staring. "What? You said you'd call me when you reached.."

"I know," Korra said apologetically, "but Asami picked me up at the port and I got sidetracked." She took his arm. "It's cool, just sit with us during the trial and we'll catch up. Beifong doesn't need you working around the clock."

The woman on the prosecution's legal team was pulling papers from the files before her, her hair in a severe knot. Mako nodded to her. "That's Meilin," he said to Korra in an undertone as they wandered the gallery, taking in the sight of the room.

"Interested?"

Mako scowled. "No, but somebody is," he said as they joined Asami. Opal and Bolin were already seated in the first row behind the bar, waiting for the rest of the family. Mako waved to his brother.

Keisai had long since finished setting up, his papers spread out in a peculiar order with little strips of colored paper adhered to them. Baatar remained in his seat as the lawyer fussed over the arrangement, apparently banned from touching anything. Once all was to his satisfaciton, Keisai leaned against the table and observed Meilin, inclining his head when she looked his way.

She looked at him appraisingly. "You finished early."

"I was here earlier than you." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, taking slow steps towards her. "You look different."

She ignored his comment, instead sitting down and finishing up the tasks she had been set to do, her brow furrowed in concentration. The attorney general, a stern, grizzled man, was talking to the young barrister assisting with the cases, and Meilin toyed with the silk scarf knotted at her throat, glancing their way as Keisai stood by.

"I know what it is," Keisai said as he snapped his fingers. "You're wearing red. Fan of the power colors, are you?"

She threw him a withering look. "You're very bad at gauging when someone doesn't want to talk to you," she said before walking to the end of the room to talk to the head of the prosecution.

Keisai smiled, eyes narrowing. "Or very good at getting a reaction when I want one," he said quietly.

The room filled quickly after the rest of the Beifong family's arrival. Reiko observed the trial from a private box on the balcony with his wife, and Kuvira was escorted to a seat just behind the bar on the opposite side of the room with a security detail surrounding her. Her hands were cuffed together, and a chi blocker sat between her and the wall to ensure her complete compliance. Reporters swarmed in the moment the courtroom doors were opened to the general public, the sound of their shoes and their cameras a cacophony of intrigue. Hundreds of flashbulbs went off with a merry sort of synchrony as the men and women wielding them clamored for a shot of the disgraced former Great Uniter. Baatar made the mistake of turning to look at her, and as he cast a tiny smile of reassurance her way his gesture was greeted with the rustle of pens to paper and the click of camera shutters. Her face remained impassive and contained even as her security held off more aggressive members of the press, but the look he had given her would soon be immortalized in the early issue of the paper the very next day.

As Hotah, Saikhan, and Misao, the supreme court justice of the Fire Nation, entered from the judge's chambers the atmosphere changed and the room quieted. Clad in robes the colors of their respective nations, the panel cut an authoritative presence against the backdrop of mottled black marble and rosewood. The stained-glass seal of republic city shone overhead in the morning sun, and Keisai exhaled slowly, steam coming with his breath as the sound of loyalist supporters clashing with Lin's men could easily be heard from outside in the tense silence of the courtroom. At Hotah's word the entire courtroom stood, and after the judges seated themselves and gave the order the viewers sat, the whisper of fabric and the clunk of stowing cameras under benches amplified a hundredfold.

"Who goes first?" Korra whispered, narrowly watching Hotah. "I've never watched a tribunal before."

"The prosecution," Mako murmured, quieting her. "See, Lushi Zhang is standing-"

The attorney general rose from his seat, holding the papers Meilin had arranged and annotated from earlier in a smart leather-bound binder. "May it please Your Honors," Zhang began in a gravely baritone, addressing the judges' bench, "I stand before you today cognizant of the great privilege I have been granted in the name of justice. This is a novel and experimental trial, arguably the first of its kind, even though we have seen prosecution and tribunals held after wars that heavily scarred the fabric of history. The Hundred Year War still weighs heavily upon the minds of every student of history, and rightfully so. It marks the first time that war criminals were indicted, prosecuted, and executed for their crimes against peace and humanity, with justice delivered to the victims of the war, albeit a century late. Such a mistake shall not be made again."

"Keisai's already pissed," Mako muttered to the girls and Tenzin, who had just joined them. "Look at him.."

"The officers, bureaucrats, bankers, and politicians of the Fire Nation were held accountable for their maltreatment of civilians and prisoners," Zhang said, "and their flagrant disregard for the universally governing human principles of decency, peace, and compassion did not go unpunished. However, their trials were conducted according to the laws of the Fire Nation alone, rather than those of world powers with different legal practices and traditions. This trial is unprecedented, but a crucial step towards a long-overdue establishment of international law. We cannot allow the atrocities committed under the military rule of the former Earth Empire to be repeated. We cannot allow more meaningless decimation of Earth Kingdom cities and the destruction of families across the continent. We cannot allow more senseless acts of territorial aggrandizement that devastated Republic City and threatened the lives of the only airbenders in the world. We cannot allow the proliferation of chemical weaponry, and we cannot tolerate perfidy from officials chosen to lead nations." He paused, turning to survey entire courtroom, dropping the folder on the prosecution's table and spreading his hands.

"This tribunal is the first of its kind, and while it is experimental and unprecedented it has not been called out of vindictiveness or malignancy. We do not seek to vindicate our legal theories, only to appeal to the humanity of mankind, global leaders and ordinary civilians alike. We appeal to you, Your Honors, to judge a man in a position of power with the same impartiality as you would a citizen accused of a petty crime. We condemn the wrongs that the civilized world cannot ignore, and we seek to punish them.

"Baatar Beifong the Second, Vice President to the military dictator Kuvira and head of the nationalized technology industry of the former Earth Empire, sits before you at the defense's table. He is no longer a man of authority, reproached by the common sense of mankind and cast out from the authoritarian regime he was instrumental in constructing. His role in the war crimes that shook the international community to its core is extensive, and he is single-handedly responsible for sparking an arms race that threatens the peace and stability of the modern world. He sits before us a symbol of brainwashed nationalism and institutionalized industry, though his individual capacity for aggression has long since been stripped away. Your Honors must not compromise in your assessment of his crimes. He stands before you charged with sixteen counts of crimes against humanity, two counts of crimes against peace, twelve counts of illegal pacification operations, co-signing of the Reunification Order, and unauthorized use of chemical weaponry on the battlefield.

"Ladies and gentlemen, gentlemen and lady, I ask for your patience as we reveal to you undeniable proofs of these crimes." Zhang removed his glasses as he regarded the room before him, the only sounds the hushed breathing of spectators and the frantic scribbling of the court clerk. "This case was brought to court with unprecedented expediency. A year ago, this city hall in which we stand was a site of rubble from the weapon of mass destruction the defendant is responsible for creating. A year ago, none of the official documents belonging to the Great Uniter and the defendant had been examined, and the four nations were in no position to exact justice; meetings alone were barely underway. However, there is sufficient evidence in the case, and it is more than adequate for Your Honors to make a just decision.

"The Great Uniter was known for her meticulous documentation of her work." The sharp intake of breath from countless spectators in the gallery merged into a sort of collective gasp, and Zhang gave a slow, deliberate nod. Keisai crossed his arms, his face impassive under the synthetic lights and the scrutiny of reporters as the prosecution's opening remarks continued. "We do not ask that you convict this man on the testimony of those that stand against him, be they world leaders, dissenters, or victims of his crimes. Our case is built on legal documents of the former Earth Empire, and nothing we present to you lacks a place in the files and records of that military state. You will hear the recorded transcripts of his radio conversations with the Great Uniter, you will read the orders he co-wrote and co-signed as the highest ranking of her officers, and you will see the brutality his weapon exacted on this city."

Korra's eyes widened. "Recorded transcripts?"

"What?" Asami gently patted her arm. "Korra, most political calls are recorded for posterity."

"I know, but.." Korra frowned. "I just think this is getting out of hand."

Mako looked at her in confusion. "We're not even past the introduction. Do you want me to step outside with you for a minute?"

"This all just seems a bit harsh," Korra said worriedly. "I mean, Baatar Junior rebuilt the city..."

"He did that under contract as part of his conditions for release," Asami said ruefully. "You won't be called to the stand for a while, you know. We don't have to watch this."

Korra sighed. "No, I need to watch. I can't help either side if I don't know what's going on, and if I had been around four years ago we wouldn't even need to be having this trial."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Mako said, his arm around her shoulders. "Let's just try to follow the trial for now."

"When will Keisai speak?" she asked, watching the lawyer. His posture was stiff even as he leaned back in his seat, and his affable expression was replaced by a scowl of intense concentration as his pen flew across the scratch paper before him. He appeared a very different man than the one she had met months ago, but with his stubble casting a grey shadow over his jaw and his dark eyes flashing as his counter-arguments fleshed themselves out in the confines of his head, he could not have appeared more in his element. Surrounded by marble and stained wood and the spectacular delivery of the prosecution's opening remarks, Keisai could not have appeared more alive.

"Not for a while," Mako murmured. "Once they start presenting evidence you'll get to hear him, but I'm curious to see him in action too... Bolin said he's incredible, but this guy seems to fit the bill on that front with room to spare."

Zhang gestured to the defense's table. "My focus is not the inhumanity that may have transpired on the lower ranks. These men will stand trial for what they did in due time; as we speak the United Forces are working to locate them. We have it on undeniable authority that the Great Uniter and her vice president were a closed-off inner circle that conspired together, achieving one goal only to plan more ambitious and corrupted ventures. My purpose with the defendant's case is to address the first eighteen counts of his indictment -those of crimes against humanity and peace- followed by the intricacies of their execution. The only hands sullied more than his own are those of the Great Uniter herself, which brings me to my next point. The case we present on behalf of the United Republic will not only concern the crimes carried out, more often than not, by unwitting underlings."

For the first time in the trial, Keisai sat bolt upright, and he appeared to suppress an urge to raise his hand. His eyes flitted across the floor to Meilin.

"We will also devote time to the intellect and position of authority held by the defendant," Zhang continued. "His rank is not of the sort to stain his hands with blood to facilitate easy detection. He is a planner and a designer, a master engineer of mech and an architect undeniably co-responsible for the infrastructure that has only resulted in the violence and lawlessness that plagues the Earth Kingdom today and drove out its rightful leader." He glanced at the defense's table. "The victory of the United Republic in this war-"

Keisai snorted. A flashbulb went off, and Hotah called for order.

"-was a just one," Zhang said, his tone steely, "and we seek justice for the innocent people uprooted, displaced, and killed in this mad quest for power. We call upon you as members of the human race in a position to determine the outcome of this case. We demand that you justly deal with crimes of such magnitude by individuals of such unquestionable rank. I expect your juridical expertise to serve you well as we lay before you the facts, supplemented by but not dependent on the testimony of multiple witnesses, and judge the precepts and powers of international law in favor of general good will and peace for the men and women of all nations."

Hotah brought down the gavel. The remarks were being broadcast live and the crowds outside, loyalists and curious bystanders both, were whipped into a frenzy as the attorney general concluded his opening remarks. "The tribunal will now adjourn until ten o' clock tomorrow morning," Hotah said, and the courtroom exploded into pandemonium as flashbulbs went off without pause and reporters shouted their questions while Keisai rose to his feet, a grim set to his mouth and a gleam of determination in his eyes.


A/N: The trial format is based off of Nuremberg, and I made the mistake of reading a lot of the prosecution's opening remarks for inspiration. No matter what I do, I will never be satisfied with anything I come up with after that. Like... holy shit, guys. Incredible. I hope Zhang left somewhat of an impression on you; I'm not a lawyer and I'm certainly no Robert H. Jackson.

Ch. 17 will be ~5k of trial, trial, trial. Get ready for this, y'all. Can't wait to see the reviews for this... and I can't wait to write the second half! Shoot an email to iviscrit gmail (listed on my profile) if you're a guest reviewer and want me to answer any burning questions. Love you guys, and hope this wasn't a letdown.