In the courtroom, the arraignment hearing was to be short and rather to-the-point. There were only ten people watching the proceedings aside from the prosecutor, Kyosuke, Kaigaku, two bailiffs, a secretary, and the judge, four of whom were of course Kaigaku's comrades. The secretary then began the proceedings with, "The first case of the day is the Empire of Japan versus Inadama Kaigaku."

As Kaigaku looked over notes he had been able to make while in jail whenever he was not busy being beaten or tortured on Kyosuke's orders, the judge looked at him and began to address him. "Inadama Kaigaku-san," he said to him in a commanding voice. "You are charged with the crime of rape. Do you understand what you are being charged with?"

"Indeed," Kaigaku replied, using very formal language unlike how he usually talked.

"Do you have any legal counsel representing you?"

"I do not."

James then stood up from the stands behind Kaigaku and said to the judge, "Presidin' Judge, I would like to represent Inadama Kaigaku in this case."

The judge, surprised to see a foreigner in court, much less one offering to defend a client on a whim, turned to James and asked him, "You… Wish to represent the defendant?"

"Indeed," he replied with a nod. "I recognize that Inadama Kaigaku has no legal counsel because he was unable to contact or afford one prior to his arraignment."

Kaigaku looked back at James and the others with a look of confusion, thinking to himself, "Why the Hell is he helping me? Why are any of them even here at all?"

The judge sighed, annoyed by James' intervention as he wrote down his request on a sheet of paper. "Okay, so… Before I let you represent Inadama-san, I need to ask you a few questions. What is your name?"

"My name is James Colby, Presidin' Judge."

"Have you passed a bar exam in Japan or in any other country?"

"Indeed. I passed the bar exam in the state of South Dakota in the United States of America in 1893, or Meiji 26."

"Did you have any formal education from a law school?"

"I did not."

"How many times did you take the bar exam before you passed?"

"Just once, Presidin' Judge."

"I see…" The judge was surprised to hear that James had passed a bar exam with just one try despite not having been to a law school. "Impressive, I may add. Have you argued in a case involving a serious crime such as rape or murder in any jurisdiction?"

"I have not."

"Have you argued a case of any kind in a courtroom?"

"Indeed."

"How many cases have you argued before a court?"

"Three cases, Presidin' Judge."

"What was the most serious charge a client of yours has ever faced?"

"One of my clients was charged with Hypnotism and Libel, and I secured a Not Guilty verdict for 'em."

"Hypnotism and Libel…" The judge then sighed again, unsure of what to think about what James' answer had been. "Alright, you can represent Inadama-san. Come forward, Colby-san."

"Thank you very much."

As James walked over and sat down next to Kaigaku, the latter whispered to him, "What the Hell are you doing here?"

"Gettin' your ass outta prison," he replied with an equally quiet whisper.

"How are you even a lawyer?"

"I'll explain later."

Meanwhile, Zenitsu, Chiyo, and Nezuko all looked on in amazement that James had not only asked to be Kaigaku's lawyer during the middle of an arraignment, but that it somehow worked. Zenitsu whispered to the others, "Okay, how the fuck did that work?"

"Not a clue," Nezuko replied to him.

The judge then asked Kaigaku and James, "With that taken care of, how would the defendant like to plead to the charge of rape?"

Kaigaku leaned over and whispered to James, "Not guilty."

"Got it," he replied before he stood up and addressed the judge. "Not guilty."

"Alright then," the judge replied. "Let the record state that Inadama Kaigaku pleads not guilty to the crime of rape." He then looked at James and explained to him, "And on a more personal note, I would like to advise Inadama-san's legal counsel to become familiar with the laws of Japan and how courtroom proceedings work here. This is not America, and some things may work very differently here. For example, we do not have juries, and cases are argued before only judges like myself. Be lucky that I am letting you argue this case on such short notice, Colby-san, and just know that I won't go easy on you just because you're from America. If you stray off of the proper process for Japan, I will hold you in contempt of court."

"I understand completely, Presiding Judge."

"Very good." The judge then hit his wooden gavel on a circular sounding board. "No bail will be set for the defendant. The next hearing will be March 17, Taisho 3 or 1914, at 9 AM."

…

After the hearing had ended and Kaigaku had been taken back to jail, James met up with the others and then headed back to the hotel room they had all rented out together. Susamaru, who had not attended the hearing, was waiting for them. "So," she asked her fiancée. "How did you convince the judge to let you be Inadama-san's lawyer?"

"I actually do have a license to practice law in South Dakota," James explained to her. "I ain't really used it too much, but I haven't forgotten how to argue in court. If I had to guess, the judge ain't paid off by the Count."

"That's true, but… How did you even get to this point?"

"Well, uh, that's a bit of a long story." James stretched his arms out over his head before he began to explain how and why he took the bar exam and passed it despite not going to law school. "A client of mine was a lawyer, a real lawyer who had been to law school and all that shit, and he had books upon books of how the law worked and what South Dakota did. One day, while we were out drinkin', I bet a dollar that I could pass the bar exam, and two if I passed it on the first try."

Susamaru chuckled, amused by his story. "Okay, come on, what's the real story behind it?"

"That is the real story, dear," James replied to her with a grin.

"Oh my God, you're serious…"

"Yep. I studied as hard as I could for a few weeks, and then I took it. I didn't score too high, but I passed on the first try. I really didn't have any intention of usin' it, but then a buddy of mine got accused of some shit he didn't do."

"And you stepped up to defend him?"

"Exactly," James replied before he looked at a small bottle of blood on a nearby counter and grabbed it before drinking from it. Once he was finished, he said to her as he held the bottle, "By the way, unrelated note, but now we remember to add sodium citrate to this whenever we get it, right?"

"Yes," Susamaru replied with a defeated expression. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just remember for next time so we don't try drinkin' a red sludge outta these bottles whenever we see Shinobu." Going back to the original topic at hand, he explained, "Anyway, my buddy in Deadwood was accused of hypnotizin' the wife of a businessman and local politician and then printin' libel about 'em on posters. It was so fuckin' stupid, I tell ya. I argued in court for two straight days before I finally got him declared not guilty."

"Hypnotizing? That's a crime?"

"In South Dakota, it is," James nodded. "Title 22, Chapter 20 declared that hypnotism in the state is illegal if it involves public spectacle or a minor without the consent of their parents. They tried to argue that the guy's wife was publicly shown while hypnotized, but it didn't go anywhere."

"Really? Hmmm… I guess some demons I've known in the past would be in violation of that law."

"Why am I not surprised there are demons with a hypnotism Blood Demon Art…?"

…

March 17, 1914

James and Kaigaku met up in a small room before the trial began. "Okay, let's make this quick," James told his former comrade and now client. "I gotta meet up with the judge too after this."

Kaigaku, still in disbelief that James had volunteered to defend him, asked him, "What kind of God damn legal experience do you even have?"

"I've defended a friend of mine from charges of libel and hypnotism," James told him. "That's the only court case I've been the defendin' attorney on."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me… Hypnotism?"

"Yeah, it's a crime. I was tellin' Susamaru this last night, actually. Title 22, Chapter 20 of the South Dakota Criminal Code."

Kaigaku sighed and shook his head. "What the fuck… I'm really stuck with you, aren't I?"

"You don't have a fuckin' option," James bluntly told him with an annoyed tone of voice through gritted teeth. "Unless you wanna die."

Kaigaku told him with a sigh, "I intended on fighting this case alone."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you're a moron if you think you can. The law's pretty complicated, and you got no chance in understandin' it on the fly."

"Like you aren't, either."

"Don't argue with me," James warned him with a stern tone. "At least I have experience in a legal system of some kind, even if it ain't Japan. That's more than you got."

Kaigaku admitted, "Okay, fine, you got me."

James then got up from the table they had been sitting at. "Alright, I gotta meet up with the judge. Get ready for today and don't fuck this up too bad, okay? A lotta people care about you, more than you realize."

Now left in the room by himself, Kaigaku rested his head on the table. "I'm screwed. My whole future, my dream, my ambitions… They're all gone."

…

A few minutes later, James walked into the office of the judge presiding over the trial. In contrast to the very traditional Japanese attire he had worn in court, here, the judge was instead wearing a Western-style business suit. As James walked in, he bowed to the judge and told him, "Good mornin', Presidin' Judge."

"Good morning," the judge replied to him. "Take a seat." The judge's office was set up very similarly to that of a judge in the West, although the windows and the walls inside gave away the Japanese origins of the building, as did several paintings hung up on the walls. "I must ask, what kind of outfit are you wearing?"

"This is the uniform of the organization that my client is a member of," James explained. "The Demon Slayer Corps. I unfortunately do not have anything more formal than this. I can assure you that wearing this uniform is not meant to be a sign of disrespect. If need be, I can remove the haori when I am in court."

The judge looked over his outfit and said to himself, "Demon Slayer Corps…" He looked up at a particular painting on the wall, which was done in the traditional Japanese woodblock style and showed a battle from the Sengoku Era, and said to James, "I've heard rumors of their existence. Are you saying they are real?"

"Yes, Presidin' Judge."

"Well… I had heard of such things as demons, but I had always assumed the killings attributed to them were the work of human lunatics who had convinced themselves they were monsters."

"Oh, they're very real." James then opened his mouth and showed the judge his larger canine teeth, a clear indicator of his own status as a demon. "But we ain't all bad, Presidin' Judge."

The judge, startled by what he saw, widened his eyes as he processed what James had told him. "You… You mean to tell me that they exist, and that you hunt your own kind?"

"Yes."

Not wanting to derail the conversation any further, the judge sighed and got back to the court case. "Okay, let's just move on from that. We'll deal with that later, Colby-san. What matters now is the case. I must ask, how long have you been a lawyer?"

"Since 1904. I passed the bar exam that year."

"Did you go to law school?"

"No," James shook his head. "I was taught by another lawyer. I passed the bar exam on my first try, by the way." He thought to himself, "Taught may be exaggeratin' it a bit…"

"Interesting," the judge nodded, curious about his background. "Did the lawyer who taught you go to law school?"

"Yes. He went to Northwestern University in Chicago."

"I see. Now, what is your experience in law? How many trials have you argued in?"

"Criminal or civil?"

"It doesn't matter to me right now."

"I have argued in two criminal trials and one civil trial." James began to recall his rather scant legal experience. "The first was a man charged with hypnotism and libel, which he was found not guilty of. Yes, hypnotism is a crime in the state of South Dakota dependin' on the circumstances. The second was a man charged with theft, which he pled guilty to, although I was able to get the judge to reduce the sentence."

"And the civil suit?"

"The civil suit…" James admitted, "I actually was defendin' myself in a civil suit. I was sued for destruction of property in Canada, and I was able to argue that I was not liable."

"So you have argued in a foreign jurisdiction before?"

"Correct."

"I see." The judge then got up from his chair and walked over to a bookshelf, grabbing a rather large textbook from it and handing it to James. "I want you to read this book. This is the book that details all the rules of trial procedure in the Empire of Japan for both civil suits and criminal trials. I want you to study this as much as you can. Like I said yesterday, be lucky that I'm letting you practice here in Japan despite being a foreigner. When it comes to procedure, I am not a patient man. I will follow it to the letter."

"As you should."

"Indeed. I will also not give you any leniency just because you're from America."

"As you shouldn't."

The judge then gave him a confident smile. "I'm glad we're in agreement, Colby-san. I'll see you in two hours. Have you met with Inadama-san today already?"

"Yes, Presidin' Judge."

"Good. This case will be far tougher than anything you've dealt with before. Rape is certainly a much more severe crime than libel… Or hypnotism, for that matter."

…

Two hours later, the court reconvened at the designated time given by the judge the day before. Today, there were about thirteen people in attendance aside from those involved in the trial directly. As the judge walked into the courtroom, one of the bailiffs introduced him with, "All rise! Judge Arima Hisao is now in the courtroom!"

Everyone in the courtroom immediately stood up out of respect for the judge as he took his seat. He then looked over the room and the people within it before telling them, "You may be seated."

The secretary, sitting at her own desk nearby, then began the proceedings with, "The first case of the day is the Empire of Japan versus Inadama Kaigaku."

As Kyosuke looked over at Kaigaku with an expression of disgust, he thought to himself, "For violating my daughter and taking her away from me, you will suffer the ultimate fate! Be lucky I don't have you killed immediately, Inadama!"

"Counselor," the judge then said to James and Kaigaku. "Your client has been charged with the crime of rape. How does your client plead?"

James turned to Kaigaku and asked him with a whisper, "How do you wanna plead?"

Confused, Kaigaku asked him in the same whispered tone, "Plead? What?"

"Do you think you're guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty, obviously! What's this whole 'pleading' thing? I thought the trial would be now!"

"This is part of the proc-"

"Counselor," the judge then asked in a far more stern tone of voice as he leaned over from his desk to get a closer look at James. "I need an answer, and I cannot wait all day for one. I will ask you one last time: How does your client plead?"

"Presidin' Judge," James said as he rose from his seat. "My client would like to plead not guilty to the charge of rape."

Kaigaku then spoke up in a frustrated tone of voice, startling James and causing Zenitsu to sigh in disbelief as he stood from his chair. "I thought this would be the trial! Why the fuck do I have to say if I'm guilty or not?! That's your fucking job!"

Many of the people in the courtroom gasped in response to his outburst. James turned around and shot him a glare as the judge turned his focus towards the defendant and pointed at him. "Inadama-san, you will not talk to me like that. You have to respect the procedures of the law just as your legal counsel does. You will not talk out of turn nor use such vulgar language in this courtroom. There are only two ways to answer the question I gave you, those being guilty or not guilty. If you talk out of line again, I will hold you in contempt and have you arrested."

"I'm already getting my ass beat in jail! Sending me back there won't change a fucking thing! I didn't force Emi to do anything!"

"That's it," the judge then demanded of the bailiffs in the courtroom. "Hold Inadama-san in contempt and take him back to jail." He then told Kaigaku, "I'm not about to completely upend the entire imperial justice system just because you think you find yourself in the position of being innocent of the charges against you. As of now, of course, I have to presume you're innocent, but that's true of every defendant that comes into this court, even the ones that do end up being proven guilty. Now, you will go back to jail and think about what I've said."

As the bailiffs grabbed Kaigaku and handcuffed him to lead him away, Kaigaku turned to James and told him, "I told you, I don't need your help."

"You do," James replied.

"And as for you," the judge then told James. "I want you to make sure your client never does something so rude like that again. You are responsible for what your client does, and if I find that you fail to control him, I will find you in contempt as well. Do you understand, Colby-san?"

"Yes, Presidin' Judge."