The second day of the trial of the century looked set to be just as boring as the first. Word had spread amongst the SRC staff to try and let some members of the public to attend the trial. It would be far more difficult to make prove his innocence when the public was only able to watch the proceedings through the tint of media outlets. Even though Yusei was still being kept in The Facility every night, Hiraguchi was now allowed to spend an hour of each morning and evening talking with his client and advised the strategy at the end of the first day. Even though he was more concerned with making sure his staff were able to see that he was alright, Yusei had begrudgingly bowed to the more experienced legal expert.
This time, Team 5D's was not the first to arrive. Several others had been queueing up outside the courtroom overnight in order to try and claim better viewing seats. A peculiar mixture of scientists, citizens and reporters were lined up outside the massive room in clusters and cramped circles of muttering figures.
"Coming through, 'scuse me, watch yourself." Pushing, sliding, elbowing and outright shoving a few times, Jack was forcing a path through the rabble with the twins sending out apologies as they followed behind Akiza and Crow. "Look, Yusei's coming!" By the time heads turned back and the stampede stopped, they had secured places right beside the vast doors with all four guards glaring at Jack. Their job was to keep the peace and maintain order outside the courtroom. His antics threatened to ruin all that. "Good morning." Taking the glares in stride, Jack would have snapped them in half without a bad thought if it meant getting even one person to believe Yusei was innocent.
"Nice to see that you're not causing trouble today either." Looming up from behind them came the reliable figure of Trudge, scowling at the group once again. Not to be deterred, Jack looked around for someone else he had a longer history with and came up short. Actually, he had wanted to come up short. What he came up with was nothing.
"Where's my favourite midget mayor?" Not one to care for political ramifications, Jack noted the absence of Lazar in his usual way. "He was pulling a fast one yesterday as well."
"Got caught up in some contractual obligation from way back." Trudge looked unhappy to once again having to fill a political position when he would have far preferred to stand at their side instead. "KaibaCorp decided to dig up one of their time capsules to celebrate the new King of Games. Apparently, the old Domino City mayor was a greedy bastard and wanted his cut of the fame when they dug it up. He just forgot to check the timetable."
"So where is Lazar today?" Even a novice in archaeology would be able to understand that a preserved time capsule from less than a century ago shouldn't take more than two days to dig up. Leo may be many things but he wasn't a complete idiot. Nor – surprisingly – a novice in archaeology.
"Do I look like his secretary?" Grumbling as the endless questions fell on his purview, Trudge continued to watch the various members of the tribunal filter into the room. Once all the seats were filled, he would have to go down and join the ranks of police guards making sure that Yusei didn't try to make an escape. "I've got KaibaCorp breathing down my neck for not letting him out to attend the opening and Lazar handing me the blame for him being able to be here. Whatever his business is, he's making sure that I have to handle the fallout." With Mina being the Chief of Special Investigations, she was making sure that her deputy wasn't missing out on his share of work.
"That must be dreadful." Seeing the final members stream into the room – Undercliff and a few unfamiliar faces – Akiza glanced up at Trudge. "Taking the blame for something that you didn't do." Taking the hint, Trudge suddenly realised that he had somewhere else to be in a hurry. Specifically, he had to go and loiter in a doorway as the final members of the tribunal settled into place.
Hiraguchi carefully spread out a few pages of notes across his portion of the lengthy desk as silence fell. "The SRC has taken lodged multiple requests to provide character witnesses for Yusei Fudo. Frankly, it would take several weeks to fill every request. We have therefore selected a few of the more prominent members to provide their reviews of his character. If there are still any requests afterwards, we can revisit the issue." It sounded like a fair deal. Depending on just who they had selected, it might even be an advantage. "First on the list is," Peering through a pair of glasses, he carefully examined the top name. "Dr Din."
Up in the public stands, Akiza carefully buried her head in both hands as an achingly familiar figure clambered towards the podium set in the middle of the space. Now she understood why he had been absent from their line-up when securing seats. Whispers of panic and fear spread throughout the SRC staff present. They knew the sort of danger that Din presented when under the calming authority of Yusei's control. Hopefully, his being nearby would keep Din from going too mad.
For the first time that anybody could remember, Din had actually made an effort to be presentable. Many combs had died to straighten the tangles from his beard. Tailoring had been stretched to the limits in an effort to create a suit suitable for his unique posture. Instead of attempting to order his hair, a simple piece of string had pulled it all back and knotted the lank strands behind his head in a crude ponytail. Clambering up the step to the podium, a whispered conversation with a guard soon ushered in a stool he could clamber atop to reach the limits of the microphone.
"Good day." Forcing the anger from his voice, Din sounded professional and courteous as he shifted a leather satchel off his back and onto the stand before him. "My name is Dr Din and I have been at the SRC for almost four years."
"Dr Din." Rifling through notes, one of the more political figures seemed to have done background research. "Before your employment at the SRC, you were arrested on multiple accounts of vagrancy, public intoxication, a suspect in several assaults and twice held for psychiatric evaluation."
"Equal parts to blame between myself and society." In the few months she had been working with him, Akiza had come to know Din more fully than most people would be comfortable with. Enough to know that his tone of shameful remorse was nothing more than a ruse. "It is a sad fact that rare is the mind to see past my disfigured body to the person inside." That much, at least, was true. "Many of the acts I have been accused of stem from how people have mistreated me and I struggled to control my aggressive reactions." Squirming in his chair, Yusei was also trying to find the hidden angle.
"And the SRC believes that you would make a good character witness?" Disrespecting one of Yusei's staff would normally be a good way to incur his wrath. Considering that it was Din about to tell the people of the world what sort of person Yusei was, he was torn in two directions about having him forced from the stand.
"That's correct." Alarm bells started going off inside the defendant's head and he tried to think of a way to stop the proceedings that didn't involve jail time as he heard Din's tone. "I have here," Pulling open the leather flap, the squat scientist withdrew several manilla folders that managed to give off waves of official vibes. "Several documents that can scientifically prove,"
"Don't let him read them!" Unable to take the stress any longer, Yusei had actually jumped to his feet.
"Can you give a reason why not?" All eyes turned to the guards trying to wrestle him back into the chair. Considering he had already been treated severely harshly just because of an accusation, Yusei was reacting inappropriately for someone trying to secure an innocent verdict.
"I'm telling you," Held in his seat by several meaty palms, Yusei strained to maintain a correct posture. "You'll regret it." Trying to abbreviate the long history Din had of losing his temper – in explosive fashion – wouldn't be enough to convince the tribunal to stop the most aggravating genius they had ever met.
"Dr Din." Fixing a cool gaze on Yusei, a young-ish man near the middle of the upper row gave an icy smile. "Read everything you've brought with you today. That's an order." Straightening his tie, Din opened the first folder and shuffled it into a position he could comfortably read from. "Any attempt to stop you will be treated as an attempt to hide evidence and the maximum sentence will apply to those concerned." Unable to do anything else, Yusei allowed himself to be forced back into the chair.
"As I was saying," Even from behind his back and across a solar system, Akiza would have recognised that smile Din had when events were about to turn his way. "I have several documents that can unequivocally and scientifically prove several members of this tribunal are worth less than an equal mass of high-quality horse manure." Silence echoed around the room as the faces on the bench glazed and Yusei buried his face in manacled hands.
"Pardon me?" That icy smile had turned sickly as the words finally reached a brain and ground though processes to a halt.
"I would have preferred cow manure." Pulling a pair of glasses from his pocket – Akiza knew they were probably fake – Din perched them on his nose and check a line. "But there have been some fluctuations in the market lately so the worth is variable."
"Of manure?" Whispers were circulating now. A giggle could be heard here and there.
"Cow manure. Of course, I was planning on some abbreviation." That evil grin widened. "But I was ordered to read everything I brought. To stop me now would be an attempt to hide evidence." Hiding evidence would be a criminal offence for anyone on Yusei's team. If the government did it, there would be nobody to directly punish. The SRC would just discredit the entire panel instead.
For three hours, Din waxed scientific and explained how entire departments did the sort of work that company leaders claimed credit for. Automated systems picked up enough slack, a few well-placed algorithms could replace some faces and there was an anecdote about penguins nobody really understood but they were forced to hear all the same. Sitting through it all with an exasperated expression, Yusei Fudo had the unmistakable look of 'I told you so' clear for all to see.
After reading through the entire stack of paper, showing off detailed charts and even trying to bring an actual cow into the hall – quite how he had even managed to get it into the building boggled minds – Din finally drained his last glass of water and relaxed against the thick podium. "Now then," Taking a deep breath, he revealed thick rows of predatory teeth just waiting for a target. "Does anyone have any questions?"
"And what was your point for all this?" Ripping off his tie, Din let his hair down and suddenly seemed a lot more authentic than he had a moment before. Authentic and slightly mad.
"I can categorically prove a lot of you are worth less than piles of... manure." Another word was in the offing but he was being scientific. No court could stop him from using the technical term. "But when it comes to Yusei Fudo, there is no easy replacement. He is mathematically trustworthy, morally steadfast and more intelligent than the lot of you put together. Except for the women." Mutterings came from the bench where only three women for every five men sat. "You ladies probably have an edge." Amused smiles won over half the tribunal in an instant. In her seat, Akiza quickly realised what Din's plan had been all along. Not to simply demean the people trying to imprison their friend but to provide a comparison for maybe the noblest man alive. "So I'm going to ask you just one question: if many of you are unable to manage your own affairs properly, why do you think that you are qualified to judge someone who can?"
Rounds of applause greeted his words. People who didn't know Din clapped. People who did clapped harder. People who feared him clapped the hardest. Very few people weren't clapping. Even some of the faces rendering judgement seemed half-convinced by his words.
"I think." After hours of listening to Din, Hiraguchi already looked ready to call an early end to that day's proceedings. "That we could all do with a short break. One hour should be enough." After the sometimes graphic descriptions that Din had employed – three members of the tribunal had found themselves heading towards the doors in a hurry – a lot of people were looking a bit pale about the face. Even before the doors were opened, there was a veritable stampede to find fresher air.
As with all the intermittent breaks in the trial, various camps of the SRC group were clustering together in the available spaces outside the courtroom. Keeping themselves near the entrance to the courtroom, Akiza and her friends were waiting when Din came out.
"Nice speech." Smiling down at her diminutive colleague, Akiza felt a surge of affection for him. "Where did you find the time to pull that one together?"
"Last night." Din shrugged as if the achievement wasn't that much. "I had some of the data on hand already after Yusei threatened to have my performance evaluated. So I went ahead and tried to prove I had more worth than him."
"And you used manure as an example?" Despite being complete strangers, Crow had the sort of imagination needed to maintain the upper hand in brotherly rivalries. "Was it so that you could call him a piece of shit?" Looking at Akiza's companion up and down, Din took his measure.
"I like you." Reaching up, he slapped Crow on the back hard enough to knock the wind from him. "Yeah, the idiot works himself to the bone. All that I had to do was look up some of those bastards last night and pull some files together." A large bill would soon be admitted to the maintenance department. Another complaint would also be added to Din's lengthy SRC personnel file due to the three computer systems that he had smashed in his rage before someone had helped him get the information that he wanted.
"One more thing." Crow had seen enough tricks in his time to figure out where the proverbial dove was hiding. But even all the pranks that he had pulled over the years failed to help him figure out the trick this time. "How did you get the cow here?"
"Wasn't me that brought it." Laughing at the confused look on their faces, he swung himself away in the direction of his next targets. Whatever else he might be – genius, madman, political critic – Din was obviously a team player. But where he had got the cow was still anyone's guess.
Vrrtvrrt.
Faces stopped smiling as Akiza reached into one pocket to check her phone. Then saw the sort of number that nobody expected to see on their phone. Her own. Another message was waiting. "Guys." Jerking her head over to one side, she had the group hustling around her to both provide protection from any curious eyes and to listen in on the exchange.
We have a problem. Akiza had realised that the texts could be read back as a conversation with herself from the day that she had visited Yusei in The Facility. If anything went wrong, only one of them would be taking the fall. Unless this guardian guide decided to intervene for her as well as they had for Yusei.
"What problem?" Last time this had happened, they had managed to work out an arrangement which had ended with Akiza passing along a vital message to Kamikawa. Then a trial had been arranged which could clear Yusei's name. If they were making contact again, the situation had to be dire.
Nobody is checking the new faces. A few people were different that day from the day before. Nothing important. Just enough to be noticed and filed under the same category of information as the change in weather. At least, until it was pointed out. This is not a tribunal about suitability. This is not a trial about a legal issue.
"Then what is going on?" So long went past that Akiza wondered if another message was even coming. "And what will it cost us this time?" Getting to arrange the trial had cost them Red Dragon Archfiend. At least the tip towards new faces should be a lot lower.
Tell Kamikawa to look closer at the assistants, the new faces. Check who they are working for. When had her life become one of strange codes and shadowy legal moves? This was worse than when she had been forced to unravel Yusei's strange message. At least it was straightforward, if not clear. Ask why the ICC would be interested in this case. No other messages came and Akiza tucked it away again.
"Sorry, no quotes, no interviews." One of the two burly guards on the door was likely being polite because Akiza was a woman. She was willing to take the snobbery if that's what it took to get inside.
"SRC personnel." Noting the card, level of authority it bore and way that Akiza had morphed from a smartly dressed citizen into a dangerously power-dressed scientist with more connections that he would see in a year. "I need to speak with the legal team regarding confidential information." Noting the torn look on his face, she pushed one step further. "Or should I contact Assistant Chief Ushio?" Using Trudge's legal name and title pushed the balance of the inner turmoil towards a resolution.
"... Five minutes." Choosing not to risk the trial on keeping out one of the handful of publicly recognisable SRC figures, he opened the door for her to slip through.
Inside the hall was far quieter than she had expected. Even though they had been watching the trial unfold without speaking, the public observers had made noise simply by being in the room. Two hundred people breathing, shifting position and the occasional whisper produced the sort of background noise that nobody noticed until it was gone.
Taking advantage of the silence, Yusei was reclining in his chair to squeeze a few calm moments of rest before the question could resume. While he relaxed and recuperated as best he could without actually sleeping, the vast array of SRC lawyers quietly shuffled paper, made notes and exchanged ideas.
"Kamikawa." Hustling down the stairs to where the old man at the head of the table, Akiza kept her voice low to avoid disturbing Yusei. "Can we talk?" Tracking her line of sight, the elderly lawyer sighed at the imminent loss of his break. "It's about the case." Of course, he would have to get up and walk now. Integrity would force him to do so. Levering himself upright with the support of the desk, he gently followed her a short distance out into the empty space.
"How can I help you?" Holding his hands in front of his jacket, Kamikawa looked just as alarmed as seeing her again as he was an errant fly. "Whilst I admire your professional skills, I fear that they will have little use here." It was almost crazy how wrong he would turn out to be.
"What's the ICC?" In a second, he went from calm to shocked to on the verge of having a heart attack. Short of clutching at his chest and falling over, he was showing all the signs. Bulging eyes, shortness of breath, change of colour.
"Who told you they were involved?" Putting a hand on his shoulder, Akiza was genuinely worried about his health. "No, no. I'm fine." Taking a slow breath, he forced his complexion back under control. "What sort of evidence do you have that the ICC is involved?" Flicking her eyes towards the bench behind her, Akiza shrugged.
"A lot of different faces today." She wasn't technically lying. Saying that her own phone number was texting her sinister advice about legal loopholes just sounded a lot less plausible than just noticing a change of experts on the benches. "Words is, a few are assistants from the ICC. I can't find out much more than that. Like who the ICC is?" Ending her sentence with the same pointed question she had started with, Akiza continued to press for the information that she had been told was significant.
"Sending assistants isn't the problem that matters right now." Noting how Yusei was still trying to rest his eyes and recover as much as he could, Kamikawa lowered his voice to a tiny whisper. Low enough that nobody beyond the pair of them could hear the words. "The ICC is the International Criminal Court. They're an international tribunal that has always sat in The Hague, the ones who come when the people in charge of countries turn out to be criminals."
"Can you think of any reason they could be watching this case?" Akiza had never heard of the ICC before the letters had scrolled across her phone. There was no need to. These were the people who prosecuted war criminals and genocidal maniacs. When they got involved, it was because the guilty people – and they were always guilty when the ICC got involved – were dangerous on a global scale.
"Nothing that springs to mind. The International Criminal Court deals with crimes against humanity. No matter what the charges are, this is far out of their normal procedure." Everyone who knew Yusei would understand that the SRC was designed to advance science for the betterment of the world. Research designed to help, not hurt. "Knowing the ICC is involved could be very useful. It might allow us to make things... difficult." He caught the disapproving look Akiza was giving him. "As I said, the ICC has always sat in The Hague. Sending one or two assistants might be keeping an eye. Putting them on the tribunal could mean they're moving further afield." Hosting a trial of their own was one matter. If the ICC was trying to interfere with legal processes in individual countries, it could spark a global outcry. There was just one problem that Akiza didn't know about yet.
Once the tribunal had reconvened and the public onlookers took their seats again – Din claiming a chair by scaring off the person who had been sitting beside Crow – Akiza noticed how a few of the faces had once again switched around. Whatever game the ICC were playing, they were careful to keep their presence a secret.
Having learned of the danger of trying to meddle with the character witnesses, the tribunal simply sat back and let the remaining members of the SRC quietly filter through their statements. Thankfully, each only took about ten minutes each. Akiza only knew a few of the faces that went up on the stand. Aside from Din and a trembling Haruka, she knew Anthony Head as the Research Librarian – due to Din's constant insults describing the man in a disturbing yet accurate way – and recognised a handful of others by sight. Except for Din's overly graphic entry, they were unanimous in praising Yusei's leadership skills and trustworthiness.
It was just past 2 PM when all the accepted character witnesses had delivered their supportive words. More than the fresh food and massive intake of caffeine, their kindness was supporting Yusei in that troubled time. It was evident in the way that he slowly straightened up the more that they talked. Every compliment and shared story had built his resolve – worn from a week of isolation and silent wakefulness – back to the unstoppable reaches that had pushed him from being a nobody in the Satellite to becoming the third King of Games. It wasn't exactly hope that he was feeling now. Hope was what kept people going in the face of despair. Certainty that he would not let them win, that this would not be his end, that he would not let his friends, family and colleagues get taken away from him or he from them. That was what he was feeling.
Up on the bench, Dr Undercliff had watched the transformation take place. If he had been smug the day before, he was irritated now. Very irritated. Maybe even angry. By the time that anyone looked in his direction, the expression was gone and the tribunal was moving on to ask a new set of questions.
Walking out into the open area between the tribunal bench and the rows of onlookers, Cassidy pulled a thick sheaf of highly detailed information from out of one folder. "As part of a standard information gathering search, copies were made of your personal computers." Such procedures weren't exactly unexpected. But – using the pretence of looking for confirmation from his legal team as an excuse to peek at the rows of observers – it was certainly news to Yusei's family. So nobody had physically gone to Poppo Time. Interesting. "A team of experts has sorted through the data and" Sensing the pressure about to turn on him, Yusei struck out with a disarming question of his own.
"Just out of curiosity, did you find a folder labelled 'research' when you went through my computer?" Titters and muffled laughter sounded as his expression remained perfectly still. Having a folder labelled 'Research' was one of the oldest and most useless tricks in the book. It might as well have been labelled 'Homework'.
"These are serious proceedings. Behave appropriately." An older lady had the sort of stern look that terrified most schoolchildren. Lucky circumstance that Yusei had been taught from home from a caring mother and the look failed to dredge up any memories.
"Don't worry, I will... Did you happen to see any of the pictures? I would be quite embarrassed to have to explain some of those." Only three people in the audience weren't laughing at this point. Yusei (who was almost certainly legally obliged not to crack up), Akiza (who correctly guessed that he was talking about evidence of his condition) and a silent third party (who had learned to tell when the defendant was being serious – and this was one of those times).
"We also obtained copies of your internet history." Compared to his new face, Yusei's old look was practically laughing. If they had skipped past his computer, they probably hadn't recognised the significance of the files. Maybe because nobody who had seen the files had advanced medical degrees. Unfortunately, anyone from off the street could read what was in his internet history.
"Is there any way that we can agree not to share those and just give me a longer sentence?" Certain emotions of the human soul have never been fully documented. What was creeping over the faces of the tribunal could best be described as the situation where a sibling has just inadvertently revealed potentially embarrassing information in front of all their family, friends and everyone they have ever met and those people have realised.
"No." At what point had Cassidy stopped being a prosecutor and started being a clown in the circus this tribunal had become? "As I was saying,"
"I'll need a copy of any records you wish to present." Weary sighs came from the bench.
"Considering your coding abilities, it was decided viewing the records would be too risky." Undercliff took the unfortunate job of denying Yusei access to the data. At least he managed to stop the despair from showing on his face in any way whatsoever.
"Since when was the defendant not allowed to see the evidence against them?" Nobody was really believing this was a simple tribunal at this point. That didn't stop people from pointing it out to each other as they muttered in the stands.
"... We can have paper copies made available." Everyone in the room was aware of just how skilled Yusei was with a computer. Putting one in his hands was asking for trouble. "I hope that will suffice."
"It would be preferred." Computers were good for reading the records yet the archaic method of printed material had the benefit of letting him view several parts of the data at once.
"While the data is printed, we will be continuing." Cassidy seemed to be suffering from the idea that if she could get enough evidence out to the public, the SRC team would forget that they were still waiting on prior evidence. "Amongst the data recovered from your computer, we discovered a series of spreadsheets that appeared to be SRC financial records. We also uncovered a second set which indicated funds were being diverted from the SRC accounts into a variety of others. A reputable accountant" And Yusei instantly knew that it wasn't Pessimal. The tribunal would be bragging if they had hired the best and not settled for a runner-up "Tracked down the other accounts. We have a recording of their final report." As the recording began to play, Yusei's copy of supposedly his own records arrived. Taking the thick manilla envelope in his manacled hands, Yusei set it on his lap and began flicking through the sheets as he skimmed through the information at an incredible rate.
"Following the information on the first account, we discovered a series of accounts that had been opened under various pseudonyms. Many of them relied upon the other identities to be created." There were certain tax havens in the world where simply owning one account was identity enough to open another. Like a run of dominoes, they only needed to be traced back to the start of the run to find a culprit. "After tracking back each account to the source, we eventually managed to uncover one with a legitimate identity behind it."
Certain listeners leaned forward as they paid close attention to the question. Most companies had a few bank accounts that didn't technically exist. A lot of wealthy people had a lot. And some people just wanted to keep their extreme privacy intact. All of them were interested in how these accounts had been uncovered.
"What name was on the first account?" A voice – not Cassidy's – was asking the questions in the recording. That was good to know.
"It was Dr Yusei Fudo." Mumbling sounded through the vast room as the words spread. "All the personal information entered was Dr Fudo's." Shocked gasps sounded throughout the room as cameras flashed and video cameras broadcast the information around the world in seconds. Whatever other secrets about Yusei Fudo would be uncovered, this was the biggest scoop of the tribunal so far. Nobody would be able to claim that he was suitable to run the SRC now.
Which only made it that much more confusing to see him flicking back and forth through several sheets and smiling at the corners of his mouth.
"Might I confer with my legal counsel for a moment?" Having slowly spread the numerous pieces of paper out across the vast desk, Yusei was forced to shuffled himself around to the table to outline his argument to the whole team. As the questions continued to unfold behind him, the conversation at the table only grew more intense. Not that he was even paying much attention to the tribunal. After a few minutes quiet debate with his lawyers, one of them actually laughed. That drew attention from parts of the bench.
"Are you paying attention?" Sticking the tip of his tongue out between his teeth as he nodded, studious hands were carefully folding one of those important pieces of paper in excruciatingly exact movements as Yusei slowly moved back to sit in his chair. This wouldn't easily work with his size. Every action had to be precise.
"Of course." Sliding a finger between folds of the paper, he propped the paper up in a distinctive shape. "You have my full attention." Then one hand slowly reached up and perched the paper hat atop spiked clusters of his hair. "For these serious proceedings." Lips twitched throughout the audience as smiles broke out through the audience.
"Are you attempting to prepare grounds for an insanity plea?" Looking up at the figure, Akiza almost choked. Dr Burrell was one of the most respected psychological analysts in the field. Whoever was behind this facade was pulling serious strings.
"Me? No. Just keeping important information where I won't misplace it." Sharp eyes could pick out strings of numbers piled atop each other in organised columns. "You were just proving how I was cutting budgets in order to pocket the difference for myself?" Taken aback by his happy tone, the tribunal took a moment to react.
"Yes. That is," Checking back against her notes, Cassidy rallied magnificently. "These documents prove that funds were being diverted from SRC projects to a series of accounts being managed under the name of Dr Fudo." It was impossible to hold it in any longer and Yusei just burst out laughing along with his colleagues slowly joining in. There was no way their leader would be laughing unless he had a good reason. Coupled with his charming nature and an infectious smile, they were unable to help themselves. "Would you restrain yourself?" It took another moment but he managed to straighten up slightly with that paper hat slightly askew.
"Who," A continued deep inhale managed to calm him down enough to talk coherently. "Who did you hire to hack my computer?" Murmurs arose in the stand before order restored itself. Coupled with the lack of formal charges, it was starting to look increasingly like a setup.
"A warrant was issued and the New Domino Police Department was authorised to intervene." Documents supported the claim and members of the police department would back them up. That didn't stop it from being a lie. It was just a pity that Cassidy was being left to take the blame when Yusei could tell that she had no idea they had even been given to her.
"Any attempt to access my computer through the Police Department's connection to the SRC would have gone off without a hitch. You should have actually tried that first." Setting up the security himself meant that Yusei could be sure just how secure it really was. If anybody had reason to suspect one of the SRC managers was corrupt or compromised, the police department simply had to enter a warrant number and name of the person they were investigating to get full access to all they needed for their case. Only Abi would know and she was forbidden from warning anyone – including her creator – until charges were filed.
"What's the legal term for lying through your teeth?" Holding the origami hat in hand, Yusei plucked it from his messy hair as he glared for the cameras. "Because 'official' records just submitted as evidence are fraudulent. In my hand is the supposed 'proof' that I diverted SRC funds into my own accounts last year – dated 31st September." Tapped by one finger was that particularly damning date that proved at least part of the document had been forged.
"So?" It was like Jack was heading legal effort to take him down. Yusei actually felt a spark of pity for the idiot on the bench. The ICC usually employed some of the finest minds yet their assistants seemed barely capable of actually listening to basic facts.
"September is only thirty days long." Laughter arose as reporters updated their outlets and television spread the information around the world before it could be revoked. "From the way that these files are formatted, I'm assuming that a remote boot-loop exploit was employed to plant them." Even from just the way that the fake information had been laid out, he had formulated theories on how they had been forced into his computer. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be easy enough to find the forger once this trial is over. No rush."
"Since it appears that you may have been the victim of an unauthorised computer breach." Impossible with SRC linked computers but Yusei only had one of them linked to the network. His other computer was for personal use. Just how personal was about to be made clear. "I would like to present the next piece of evidence which was provided by your internet provider direct." It was obvious to the public that Cassidy was trying to double down on the computer evidence by proving at least some of it was legitimate. "Can you explain why you have almost three hundred recorded instances of access to websites with... sexually explicit content in the last month alone?" No investigation in history had been as confusing or bizarre as the tribunal currently underway. At least this was one question that he could answer easily.
"Would you believe me if I said it was for research?" Laughter broke out across the planet as his excuse was translated into all languages and broadcast into every country. "One of the projects I am currently working on is an attempt to collate an acceptable list of online advertisements. I test most of the major updates personally." Maybe the most mundane endeavour he had ever undertaken was the attempt to strike a balance between blocking harmful or offensive adverts while letting enough through to keep websites afloat. "It uses a website crawler to run a virtual web interaction and trace the origin of the data to identify anything that doesn't originate at the site being scanned."
"Are you saying that you were accessing pornographic websites just to view the advertisements?" It was the worst excuse since trying to pretend you clicked on a link by accident.
"Also a few peer-to-peer networks, one for file sharing, a couple of dating websites, some restaurant reviewers, other material of similar types." Idly ticking off the list did nothing to incriminate him as Yusei continued to expand and explain the point. "Can't do much on the project now. No telling how many companies will try to target me now that word is out. Sorry, looks like you'll have to keep it going without me." That last was directed towards the video cameras spreading his defence to the public.
"So it was legitimately for research purposes?" Trying to find problems with the honest truth was impossible yet they were still trying.
"Well, mostly." Scratching at the corner of his mouth did little to hide Yusei's smile. "My brothers have been back in town for a few days. They might have used the internet a bit." Outraged shouts came from the stands as he stood there with an overly serious face. "Out of curiosity, how many sites have been accessed in the past week? Just since I was in holding." Guards were closing in as Jack and Crow threatened to break both his legs if Yusei was lucky enough to actually escape punishment from the trial.
"Since that has no relevance to these proceedings," Unable to help herself, a corner of the folder was lifted so that a quick scan could be taken. "Wow. I mean, that information cannot be publicly released." One eyebrow was raised and both eyes were blinking a bit faster than normal after seeing the numbers. Sly glances were seeking out Jack and Crow from every angle as the twins carefully edged away slightly. Only Akiza could see that faint twitch on the corner of Yusei's jaw that indicated his withheld smile. No matter what attempts they made, he had just pulled off the biggest practical joke possible.
As they continued to probe into his personal life, Yusei continued to deflect and explain every seemingly suspicious aspect they had found with reasonable and sometimes amusing answers. What had started out as just another boring day of easy questions and tiresome facts had quickly evolved into one of the most extreme legal backlashes that Akiza had ever seen. The tribunal assembled against him had tried to discredit Yusei with the most intricately fabricated lies they could put together only for the one loose thread to be instantly plucked and for it all to fall apart. Whoever was behind this, whatever the ICC were up to, they had only managed to get this far because Yusei had been caught off guard. Now he was aware of the problem and focused on it, they could literally count the days left until it was all torn apart.
Is there a law about not leaving a review? Best not risk it and leave one anyway.