"Talk"
'Thought'
"My name is Tokemichi Choujabaru, and I shall act as the judge for this trial."
There was a young man, with spiky, light green hair with a thick strand that hangs over in front of his face, which the eyes were covered by black straps, he also wore the Public Morals Committee uniform, though more robe like, his name was Tokemichi Choujabaru, and he stood behind a large judgment court desk, and was looking down at a certain kitty cat Faunus
"Blake Belladonna, today you will be testifying and defending yourself for the many crimes you have been accused of."
Tokemichi pulls out a very large folder, which was filled to the brim with reports and photo evidence, which made Blake flinch at the sight of the folder and look down shamefully
"If you are found guilty with at least one of these crimes, then your punishment will automatically be for life."
Before Tokemichi could explain further, Myouri Unzen, who was sitting at the sidelines with a plate of donuts, quickly spoke up while wearing a very evil and large smile on his face
"Though if you're guilty with all of them, then your punishment will be your life."
When Unzen said this, a few large metal balls was dropped next to Blake Belladonna, which startled her and looked up to the person with a fearful expression
"Taken by my older sister, Myouga~"
Unzen took another bite from his donut as he introduced his older sister, who has white hair with blondish hue, red brown eyes, a modified version of the P.M.C uniform that resembles a maid dress and has a longer tie, and she drags numerous iron balls around with her, with barely any restriction and probably used as weapons, her name was Myouga Unzen, and she looked down at Blake with a neutral, yet slightly blushing face
"09 12091105 25152118 030120 05011819."
"She likes your cat ears, by the way."
Unzen quickly translate what Myouga said, which surprised and confused Blake, but she said nothing, feeling to uncertain, afraid and ashamed with herself to think straight and process what's going on
"With all that said, please bring in Miss Belladonna's lawyer and we may begin the trial."
Though when Tokemichi said that, Myouri couldn't help but choke on the donut he was eating and looked up at Choujabaru
"U-Um, is that really necessary, we know she's guilty, so-"
"Are you saying that Miss Belladonna was not given a Lawyer, Unzen?"
Unzen nervously scratch his cheek and look away when Tokemichi looked down at him with a tilted head expression
"Well, not really Tokemichi-"
"Then this trial is postponed until she is given a proper Lawyer, good day everyone."
Before Unzen could say anything else, Tokemichi already made the decision of holding off the trial, he hit his gavel to signal everyone that they were all done for the day, before standing up and leaving himself, Blake was honestly confused and surprised on what just happened
"H-Huh, what about the trial?"
Blake was completely lost now, to which her executioner try to explain to her on what's going on
"201511051309030809 03081521100102011821 23091212 141520 010303051620 0114252008091407 211406010918 200801141119 2015 080919 0102141518130112 09131601182009011214051919."
Myouga quickly explained the reason for why Choujabaru ended the trial so early, to which Belladonna understood none of that
"She said that Tokemichi will not accept anything that is unfair towards you, thanks to his abnormal impartialness."
Unzen quickly translated for his sister, before growling angrily, no doubt very annoyed about the outcome
"W-Wait, I actually am getting a fair trial?"
Blake thought she was gonna be treated very unfairly and be instantly sentenced to death, due to her history, and, well, being a Faunus
"Yes, even though I hate it and know you're guilty, Tokemichi is right, we can't just kill you and be done with it, it would be hypocritical of me to not do it by the law, ugh…"
Unzen just pouts and wore a defeated expression, quickly eating another donut before standing up and started to walk away
"Come on Sis, Tokemichi won't change his mind until this kitty cat actually gets a lawyer…"
As Unzen walks off, his sister made sure that Belladonna was secure and did not leave her side, before quickly following her younger brother
"... 030114 09 2015210308 080518 020907 02212020?"
"No sis, you can't touch our prisoner butt."
"Huh?"
A few days later, the delay of the trial was over and everyone was back to where they were, Choujabaru back behind his desk, Myouri at the bench to watch everything, Belladonna chained back on the floor, and Unzen's sister next to her, prepared and ready for the execution
"I was told that she was given a Lawyer, yet I do not see her with one?"
Tokemichi looked at the monster child with a confused expression, who just smirks in response
"Oh we did give her one, they're just running a little bit late."
Though as soon as Unzen said this, the front door slammed open, which caught everyone, especially Blake, attention, looking to see who it was that entered the courtroom
"Ruby?! Yang?! Weiss?!"
Blake went eyes wide when she saw that it was her friends, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee, dressed like fancy proper lawyers, even having suitcases, though looks might be a bit deceiving, as these so called proper Lawyer just ran up to Belladonna and started hugging her, asking if she was alright, saying how much they missed her, and promising to save her and get her back home
"Are… Are they qualified enough for this?..."
Tokemichi couldn't help but watch all this and wear a very uncertain frown, as if doubting their credibility
"They might be inexperienced, but they're the only people who know enough about the catgirl to actually defend her in such short notice ~"
'Though they'll probably use the 'But We're Friends' or 'She's Trying To Change' argument and just waste time~'
Unzen lets out a evil chuckle, not hiding to much of his mischievous intentions and plans he had in mind, which only made Choujabaru frown more
"... Miss Belladonna, do you accept these people to represent and defend you?"
However, all Tokemichi could do was ask Belladonna herself, as it was up to her to decide what she wanted to do in the end
"I do."
And in the end, Blake has chosen her friends, to which she was currently hugging tightly and refusing to let them go, the impartial judge could only sigh and nod
"Then I have no reason to say otherwise, let the trial begin."
Tokemichi smacks his gavel hammer on his court desk, signaling everyone that the trial has begun, which made all of team RWBY tense up and quickly got ready themselves, knowing very well that it was no longer time to mess around and it was time to get serious
"To officially start things off, Fue Yobuko, who will represent as the accuser, please present your case on why Miss Belladonna should be guilty."
When Tokemichi mentioned the name of Fue Yobuko, a trap door opened next to Team RWBY, which surprised them, and the accuser could be seen lifted up from underneath and looked completely prepared for the trial
"As you see-"
"OBJECTION!!!"
However, before Fue could make her case, Ruby quickly raised up and declared an objection, which just made Myouri smirk widen
"Please state your reason for objection."
Tokemichi was willing to listen, which somewhat annoyed Yobuko but she stayed silent and simply waited for her turn
"The reason I object to this is because Blakey is my best friend, and you just can't take her away from people who love her!"
"Yeah! Also Blake is trying to change her life for the better, she's not even associated with the White Fangs anymore!"
Ruby, and even Yang, tried their best to convince and persuade the judge in letting her faunus friend go, which said faunus made her smile lightly at this, though the Schnee couldn't help but look embarrassed from this, while the monster child just simply laughed at this
"Personal feelings are irrelevant to a court case, also her trying to do better now does not erase what she had done back then, which is why we are here in the first place."
Tokemichi quickly and almost instantly deny and refute the arguments made by Miss Rose and Xiao Long, which only made the Chairman laugh harder
"Just leave the legal stuff and the defending part to me, please."
Weiss sighs and shakes her head in disappointment, which made the two frown and pout as they sat back down
"You may continue Miss Yobuko."
After dealing with the objection, Tokemichi allowed the Vice-Chairwoman to continue with her case, which she nods and thanks him
"I wish to be upfront and say this now, I won't deny that Miss Belladonna most likely didn't do every crime listed and done by every other White Fangs, in fact seeing how cooperative she's been, she's most likely the lesser of the whole evil."
Fue pushed up her glasses and glanced at Belladonna with a harsh glare, which made her flinch
"But not only is that speculation on my part, it still does not excuse her from being associated with evil, even if she did nothing, that would also mean she did nothing to stop them either, and sometimes, doing nothing could be considered much worse than doing something."
Once Fue finished speaking, Choujabaru took a moment to consider what he was just told and process the information he was given
"Luckily we don't have to speculate and guess her specific crimes, since we already have them documented and recorded, but I agree with your reasoning towards her guilt, while not as bad as doing it yourself, being a part of something criminally is still a bad thing."
Though despite agreeing with Yobuko, he still looked at the rest of Team RWBY and gave them his full attention
"However, if you think otherwise, please speak up now, and try to disprove Miss Yobuko's claims, unless you agree with them."
Tokemichi gave the young colorful girls a chance to defend their friends, which the Schnee quickly took after pulling out some notes and standing up from her seat to be better seen and heard
"Unfortunately I can't disprove Blake's involvement with the White Fangs, but I must point out that she was a part of it since before it was a terrorist group, at a time where it was just a simple gathering of a few faunus's that protested for equal rights, and if we consider that time with her age, she would've been a child, a very impressionable, hopeful and innocent child."
When Weiss pointed this out, the impartial judge actually listened and took a moment to consider those words, which Myouri noticed and immediately got angry about this, however he said nothing and just continue to listen, since that is all he can do at the moment
"I know it's unrealistic to suddenly ignore and forgive her crime, but shouldn't we be lucky that she was able to survive and escape at all, and not just grow up from a young girl into another mindless member who spreads fear for respect?"
With all that said, Weiss has taken back her seat and sat down, leaving Choujabaru to consider her words and time to think about it fully, leaving the monster child to wait in frustration
"Wow, I didn't actually think you'll be a good lawyer."
Ruby couldn't help but whisper to her partner, both showing her surprise and amazed expression
"I've been studying the craft in my spare time."
Wess glanced away a bit when she said this, which Belladonna noticed, but kept quiet about it for now
"Why, thinking of becoming a lawyer after becoming a Huntress?"
Yang asked her sister's friend, a bit teasingly, but genuinely curious, as were Rose and Belladonna
"Maybe, we'll see what my Father does next…"
Was all Weiss would say, which confused Xiao Long and Rose, though a certain cat faunus was both surprised and interested, as if probably guessing and understanding what she was talking about, though before more could be, the judge has finally spoke up
"There are some reports of the White Fangs members manipulating young faunus children into joining their group, but even if Miss Belladonna wasn't personally manipulated, I cannot deny your argument of her basically growing up in such an environment, in fact, I actually agree with you that she was lucky enough to have leave the group at all."
When Tokemichi said this, all of Team RWBY looked hopeful, while the Chairman was about to jump in and say otherwise, but all was interrupted when he continued to speak
"But, I must ask Miss Belladonna something."
Tokemichi turned his full attention to the chained kitty cat, who suddenly tensed up and wore a worried expression
"Were you always aware of the corruption that was starting?"
There was a moment of strong silence after Tokemichi asked this question to Belladonna, which everyone around her looked at her, ready and expecting to hear an answer from her
"... Yes."
Blake glanced downward when she finally answered
"Were you doing all the terrorism and crime with them, even though you knew what you did was wrong?"
"Yes."
Tokemichi continues to ask Blake more questions, and she continues to look beyond conflicted the more she was asked, a feeling shared by her friends, and not shared by a certain monster child
"And were you willingly staying there, despite the many signs you were given and the many opportunities you could've left."
"Yes…"
Blake's looked down and droop her cat ears in a very shameful manner the more that Tokemichi asked her questions that didn't really help her case
"Miss Schnee, your argument was reasonable and even convincing, but it was not enough to persuade me into thinking she was innocent."
Once Tokemichi got everything that he needed to know, he turns back at Schnee, and told her and her comrades about how little he was in being convinced of the cat faunus innocent, much to their despair and Myouri sadistic enjoyment
"However, you did persuade me enough to ignore most of these crimes, since it would either be not viable due to her past circumstances or could be chalked up to simple fine, community services, house arrest and jail time, more or less."
However when Tokemichi said this, it was Team RWBY who either looked surprised or hopeful, while the Chairman looked in disbelief and frustration
"All that is left, is two crimes, very major and destructive ones, so consequential that if you are found guilty for just one of them, then it would be an automatic life sentence."
This was enough for everyone to understand what Tokemichi was getting at, and team RWBY couldn't help but tense up at, though the monster child just looks excited and eager from this
"Let's start off with the one that involves Miss Belladonna in the warehouse docks, Miss Yobuko, you may begin."
After that, Yobuko took up Tokemichi offer to start first, standing up from her seat and holding up a few papers in her hands, clearing her throat before starting to speak
"Even before the incident in the warehouse, she was already doing a lot of suspicious things on her own, like not showing up for Beacon Academy classes, hiding away from others, and associating with thugs and criminals like the one known as Sun Wukong, of course what I mentioned isn't enough to prove anything, but please consider them, especially since it leads to the main point of our discussion."
Fue then pause herself to allow the impartial judge take a moment to process what she had said and understand what she was saying or talking about
"Miss Schnee, do you have anything to add to this?"
Tokemichi, after a moment to think, looked at the Schnee, to see if she had anything to say on what she just heard from her opponent in court
"I understand the suspicion and doubt, but we should not jump into any conclusions about Blake and what she does personally on her own, everyone skips schools once in a while, everyone loves privacy and not being around others, and as for her association with Sun Wukong, while I will admit that he is a bit of a petty trouble maker, it would be unfair to transfer his own wrongdoing into Blake."
Usually Belladonna would be a bit annoyed to have her kind be slandered in such a way, but not only was Weiss trying to prove a point, but she also knows that Sun was a bit of a criminal himself, so she said nothing and not risk anything
"Both of your opening statements have been heard and considered, if it will change the final outcome, well, we should when the time comes, but for now, please explain the crime that Miss Belladonna may or may not be guilty of."
With all things heard and considered, Tokemichi decided to just continue with the case, which both lawyers nods and does so
"Very well, we might as well start off with Miss Belladonna doing-"
And with that, both Weiss and Fue get into a professional yet very heated discussion and argument, with Ruby and Yang jumping in once in a while, talking everything that happened during the warehouse docks scene, like meeting the White Fangs in a suspicious manner, handling a situation that they should've have since Blake wasn't a cop or Huntress yet, and of course, a large amount of property damage and mass destruction, not to mention other crimes that were minor yet worth bringing, like starting fights and attempted murder basically, both Team RW(B)Y and Fue Yobuko would give each other arguments, objections and counters for what they have to say, everyone had a lot to say, and they more they said things, a few hints of hostility and frustration could be heard, though luckily such a thing would never reach the boiling point, because Choujabaru, who has been patiently listening to what everyone had to say, he quickly everything once he heard enough, raising a hand and making the two opposing team go quiet
"I will summarize the main points and give my official verdict."
Tokemichi made everyone sit back down and made them all listen to what he had to say, to which they all watch with bated breath
"Blake was in deed there when the White Fangs showed up, however she was not part of the group at the time so whatever crime they've committed does not apply to her, but what does apply to her was taking matters into her own hand, instead of contacting the proper authorities, also while she isn't entirely responsible for destroying everything in that area, that blame goes to both the White Fangs and Atlas Military, specifically to their property known as Penny, Moss Belladonna is sadly responsible for starting the whole thing, even if she did not mean it, her being a accidental terrorist still makes you a terrorist."
Tokemichi picks his gavel hammer and slammed it against his desk
"Because of all this evidence and arguments I was given, I unfortunately must declare you, Blake Belladonna, as guilty for this crime."
Once Tokemichi made his official verdict, all of Team RW(B)Y wore a horrified disbelief expression, Myouri let out a loud smug mocking laughter, and Belladonna just look down in defeat and disappointment, however she also expected this and couldn't say anything about it
"And with that decided, that just leaves us with one more crime that we must discuss."
Both Team RW(B)Y and Yobuko were about to start and make their case, but was once again stopped by Tokemichi raising his hand
"Though unlike the others, this one is already obvious that Miss Belladonna was responsible for this, multiple sightings and security cameras, not to mention personal confession."
Tokemichi again looked at the cat faunus, though this time was giving her his full unbreakable focus, no doubt only wanting to talk to her
"So instead of making arguments for you, Miss Belladonna, you will instead give your reason on why you did all of this."
Belladonna went eyes wide a bit, clearly wasn't expecting Tokemichi to give her this kind of chance to speak for herself
"Is that really necessary to know?"
Unzen couldn't help but finally say something, confused on what his best pal was doing or getting at
"Someone's motivation is always important to every case, whether it be big or small, or noble or evil."
Tokemichi quickly answered to the Chairman, but never looking away from the person he was completely focused on
"Please, speak before I cast my final judgment on you."
After Tokemichi said this, Belladonna went very silent, as if carefully thinking about what she should say, how she should say it, or if she wanted to say it
"... I just… I just wanted to help someone realize they were wrong… What they were doing was wrong… And maybe they would have run away with me… And take a chance to fight for true equality…"
Blake sighs and slumps down a bit, was now in complete defeat and felt like nothing more than a failure, her teammates try to comfort her and say things like 'You've tried your best, it wasn't your fault' and all that
"Is that all?"
"Yes sir…"
Blake responded to Tokemichi with a small yet simple nod, which he accepts the answer and takes a moment to think about it
"I see, then what that said and done, Miss Belladonna, considering all the crimes you have committed, and thanks to you, your lawyers and your accuser for giving me enough reasons to come to this conclusion, I have finally come to my last and final verdict for this entire case."
Tokemichi, once knowing the final answer to all of this, lifted up his gavel hammer high in the air and slammed it down hard on the desk
"And The Final Verdict Is: GUILTY!"
After Tokemichi said this, Team RW(B)Y looked beyond shocked and petrified, Yobuko let out a sigh from a job well done, the Chairman let's out a loud laugh of victory, and Belladonna, she just accepted the whole thing and just simply frown in disappointment
"Please This Have To Be A Mistake!"
"You Can't Do This To Her!"
"We Won't Let You Do This To Our Friend!"
Ruby, Weiss and Yang stand up and protest loudly, even planning to do something reckless once they realized they lost, however before they could suddenly turned themselves into wanted criminals for the sake of their friends, the Vice-Chairwoman quickly quickly unleash her chains from out of her sleeves and quickly used them to wrap the entire team back down into their seats, they struggle and attempted to fight back, but realized they couldn't, definitely made them feel worse about this
"Come on Sis, you know what that means, so do it already!~"
Unzen looked very excited and happy about all this, giving his older monster sister the go ahead, to which she nods and pinned down the cat faunus on the ground with her feet
"2015 020104 251521 08012205 2015 040905 09 180501121225 1209110504 25152118 020907 02212020."
Myouga then brought up one of her giant metal balls and hover them above the top of the head of Belladonna, which did scare her and made her shed some tears, however she didn't waste her time to just cry and panic, instead she just looked at her tied up friends, who looked back with tons of tears running down their face
"I'm sorry to drag you into this, but I'm glad we still met, hopefully in the next life we can be friends again, ok?"
Blake then close her eyes and just accepted her punishment after giving her final peace, which only made her friends struggle and cry more from this
"Awww, final last words, how touching~... Kill her already Sis!"
Unzen gave a large mocking smile as he told her older sister to hurry up, which she nods and quickly let the giant metal ball dropped down towards Belladonna head
"Please Don't!"
"Not Like This!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Before Ruby, Weiss and Yang could watch Blake get her head crushed, Tokemichi quickly raised up his hands to stop everyone, which includes Myouga from crushing the cat faunus head, everyone looked up at Choujabaru in confusion on why he stopped this, but he was currently on the phone with someone, after a moment of talking to someone, he hanged up and looked back at everyone
"Blake Belladonna, you have been pardon from your crimes and are spared from the death sentence."
"WHAT?!?!?!?"
You may have noticed that I was skipping and speeding through certain things here and there, please forgive me, but I don't feel like doing a whole "Court Battle" thing, not only would it be too long for me to write, plus I'm not experienced in writing such a thing in the first place, but I get the feeling that hearing "OBJECTION!" and all that would be a bit boring and repetitive, so yeah, hope you can understand.
(BTW I don't know any established laws in the RWBY verse, so I'm just gonna make up some and add in some real life examples)
[BTW BTW, what are your thoughts in me including the PayDay special law enforcement in this story, like the Cloaker, Bulldozer, Medic, etc, i say this because there isn't a lot of character for Unzen group, so you know, just expanding a bit]
