THE TRIAL ROUND... TRIAL... YEAH I SHOULD'VE CHOSEN ANOTHER NAME.

[thegardeners]

[On Saturday morning, the gates of the courthouse fly open.

All character will be ushered-- or forcibly dragged, if it comes to that-- the the Courthouse by the various gardeners. The interior of the courthouse is spacious enough for any amount of vigorous discussion, whatever that may be. Who knows what's on the second floor and beyond.

Meng Po sits above the chairs, overseeing everyone below.]

Today, you have all been brought here to find the one who murdered Cagliostro. Once you have come to a decision over who is guilty, you will cast votes on who you believe is the murderer. If the majority votes correctly, the murderer is condemned to Hell, and you will all be one step closer to reincarnation. If they are not found, they will be reincarnated instead, and whoever else is voted in their place as the murderer will be scapegoated. The murderer's sins will be falsely imprinted on them, condemning the scapegoat to Hell.

Should you correctly identify the murderer, there will be a second round of voting: the mercy vote, or the exoneration vote. If you believe the murderer deserves to be reincarnated or the victim deserved to die for any reason, you can vote for exoneration, and the murderer will be reincarnated if the majority votes for it. However, I am not responsible for what happens afterwards to the rest of you.

[...That's... okay, sure.]

Without further ado: the court is in session.

[Do your worst.]

Comments

[keepcomposed]

No? [ He stifles a gigle. ] It's better for me if you don't believe it, you know.

I'll be looking forward to saying "I told you so" later.

[creepylaugh]

[ Iria folds her arms with a huff. ]

Well, explain yourself then! Because if there's one thing I'm not sure I follow yet, it's that Neku would follow along with such obvious bait. Alone.

[keepcomposed]

You would have to be awfully stupid to go off by yourself, wouldn't you? [ Really, the thought of anyone going alone is too much for Josh to bear. It's too funny. ]

I've been staying in Neku's room, so naturally I went with him. They do say there's safety in numbers, after all. [ He gets a real kick out of saying "Neku's room," for the record. If a voice can contain innuendo, his voice manages it! ] Does that make things easier to understand?

[ladyporthos]

[Well, she actually can sense that innuendo. Still, she's not going to push on what their exact relationship is.]

So...you were trying to protect him? [She looks thoughtful.] And you punched her when she tried to get him...

[keepcomposed]

[ It's okay, the innuendo was to rile up Neku anyway. ]

Hee hee. Something like that.

[ Off-handedly: ]

But really, can you blame her for going after Neku? Of the two of us, he stands out the most. ... and looks the most vulnerable. [ He pauses to look over at Neku. Yep. Totally the type of person you would jump in a dark alley. ] I don't think she even realized I was there. I must not have a very strong presence.

I wonder why that is.

[ladyporthos]

Yeah, I know all about people going for the most vulnerable-looking. [She's had a few incidents like that herself, although more of the "unwanted sympathy" type than the "attacking" type.]

Why... [She looks between Joshua and Neku.] I suppose his clothing stands out more...but...you said you were going with him, but did he know that? Or did you follow him secretly?

[keepcomposed]

A fascinating question! Here's another one—

Do I look like a stalker?

[ yes ]

[ladyporthos]

[A shrug.] Almost anyone can be a stalker. And I haven't really seen you around, so I can't really say anything from what I've seen of you.

[keepcomposed]

Hee hee. In that case, I'll give you a hint.

... I've been known to follow Neku around. You could even say observing him is one of my hobbies.

[ladyporthos]

That's...a very specific hobby. [She gets a weird look on her face now.] And you chose to interfere after he was attacked?

[keepcomposed]

Not immediately. She might have been fighting my dear Neku, but I'm not the kind of person who usually goes around interfering in other people's fights.

Towards the end, however... I just couldn't help myself. Their fight made everything so easy for me.

[ladyporthos]

You stepped in pretty quickly, then. Or did they pass your hiding place? [She's glancing between Joshua and Neku's hands as well, trying to figure out just which of them is more likely to have left that bruise.]

[keepcomposed]

Still trying to get a clearer picture of my crime, hmm? That's very commendable of you. If I weren't guilty, I'd be giving you a "bravo" right about now.

[ He sticks one of his hands into his pockets with a smile. ] I didn't have to hide by that point. They were both too busy to bother with me.

[ladyporthos]

We can't get the first vote wrong, after all.

Was she still using the branch as a weapon? Or did she only get in one hit with it? [Since...she's pretty sure it would have broken if they ended up struggling.]

[keepcomposed]

That's true. [ Seems like his hair is a real bother, he's brushing it away from his face for probably the fiftieth time today. ]

I couldn't say if it was only one. There was a point when I couldn't see them clearly, you realize. That's the drawback of being in a hiding spot. [ Shrug. Again. ] Let's say it was one hit! That makes it sound more official.

Now... Aren't you going to ask me what I hit her with?

[ladyporthos]

The bruise suggested a punch. Unless you had something else with you in that shape?

[keepcomposed]

Sorry, not that one. [ He holds up his hand. ] I thought that was so obvious it didn't need mentioning. If you still need a confession, however... I punched her and she fell onto the bridge. There's not much else to that story.

I meant her ribs. If there was even a chance of Neku saving her, I wanted to stop it. It wouldn't have done me much good if she survived.

[ladyporthos]

Wait a minute...that wasn't from attempted CPR? [Damn, and she'd been assuming that all along.] So did you drop something on her after she fell?

[keepcomposed]

Oh, he certainly tried. What he didn't tell you is I stopped him—or how I did. That's why he's feeling so very guilty now, you see.

After he put his hands on her I pushed him down toward her and... [ ... he grins at Neku, much like the cat who ate the canary. He definitely sounds like he's bragging. Sorry to everyone who thought he was going to say something groundbreaking. ] ... kissed him.

It distracted him long enough for me to prevent him from trying again before it was too late.

[ladyporthos]

...how did you kiss him while pushing him down at the same time? [Her mental image might not be exactly accurate.]

[keepcomposed]

Do you want me to show you?

[ Where's Neku. ]

[shikiori_no_hane]

...

[ peanut gallery is wondering when this whole thing evolved. peanut gallery also wishes there was actual peanuts. ]

[keepcomposed]

...

[ Fight him. ]

[shikiori_no_hane]

[ he's so done??? ]

I can't believe you right now.

Whatever, if the others want to believe you then they can go right ahead and do that. I did my part.

[ lazy hand wave. ]

[keepcomposed]

Bye-bye.

[ lazy hand wave back. ]