T̢H̢҉̴E̢͝ ̡S͝E҉̡C̡̢O̵N̡̕͠D̵͡ ̕͠T̀͢R͞IAL

[strangerpeople]

T͝HE͘ S̴̸E҉̶̀C͜Ơ̷̢N͏D̡͟ T҉̧R͘I͟A̧͟͠L̢

Heyyyyyyyyy, Strangers! How's Valentine's Day going? Unfortunately we have to start the trial soon if you want to get any dinner dates in before midnight!

I know some of you have a very special day near today, too! So let’s get a move on, shall we? You know the drill! Though you know… since we saw one of those clues, you can bring your pets in today.

[And so it is. Just like last week, the elevator shoots everyone down to the trial room. Lala's podium, now, is Xed out in red. And like last week, five of the podiums' dot matrix name plates suddenly flash with a red border.]

THE BRITTLE	THE CIRCUIT	THE ENEMY	THE NOODLES
				THE UNKNOWN

[And clashing with the borders whether red or not, on each Stranger’s podium is a little piece of candy: A gray heart, printed with a message in nearly black capitals. These candies are similar to the pills in that they taste like nothing at all rather than sand; while a pill is meant to serve as a full meal, one candy is about as filling as a single apple.

The messages are as follows.]

KING: BEST FRIEND	ARTHUR: LOOKING GOOD	OSOMATSU: ONE OF A KIND	ESTELLE: BRIGHT SPARK	MCBURN: NEVER MEANDER	JONATHAN: DOUBLE THE FUN
AMBROSINE: QUEEN OF MY HEART	CALEB: HOT	KARMA: YOU’RE A DOLL	VITA: TRUE BLUE BEAUTY	KURAMA: FOXY	ERIC: SEW NICE

I'd call what you had to look at "inhumane", but Lala Hagoromo wasn't human, was she?

Now, now, Hiyori. I’m not human, either.

Doesn't change how sad it is that she lost her chance to be happy... Oh, why don't you give them a good look at what you have there, Link?

[Link holds up the heart labeled "OUT OF / THIS WORLD". The hosts are visible behind the glass of their sterile observation room this time by the way.]

We made too many because we hoped all of you would finally join in on the fun by today... So, if you retire, culprit, you can eat this one!

[...Well, maybe the evidence will cause the Hosts to eat their words. BOOM. Burn........or...well, it doesn't matter. The clock is ticking.


The trial for the murder of Lala Hagoromo, The Chance, has begun.]

Comments

[cuteandinnocentpet]

Oh, King. You really don't understand how we work! Pain doesn't have the same effect on us as it would you!

cw: limb injury???

[katzenpfote]

Oh, really? Let's see.

[He just reaches out and grabs one of Kyuubey's front limbs, twisting it.]

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[S N A P






No reaction.]

[poorlovefool]

[GROANING!!! THAT WAS SO GROSS!!! YOU SUCK CALEB. AND KYUBEY. BOTH OF YOU SUCK.]

[katzenpfote]

[That's... annoying.]

I know killing you won't do anything, but -

You wanted her to make a contract, didn't you?

[unwittingking]

[He'd face-paw if he didn't think he'd risk letting Kyuubey go.]

She was trying to solve everything…

[He feels like the biggest moron.]

[cuteandinnocentpet]

She was the ideal candidate. It would have been foolish for us to not at least bring up the subject when she was ready.

[unwittingking]

[He is very tempted to just squeeze this thing's neck until it cracks, but...he needs to hold back. Killing it right now won't do him any good, other than catharsis.

So instead, he slams Kyuubey against the pedestal again.]

So you tried to make a deal then. What next? Someone tried to kill her?

[cuteandinnocentpet]

You aren't making your questions more appealing to answer by using violence against me, you know.

[unwittingking]

I thought you said you take pain differently? Shouldn't this just be an annoyance to you? Or is it more than you're letting on?

[cuteandinnocentpet]

It is an annoyance, of course.

After all, I am under no obligation to answer anything, and you are being quite overzealous!

[unwittingking]

It's called emotion. Try it sometime if you want people to think you're actually trying to help them instead of screwing them over in the long term.

Now are you going to answer or not?

[cuteandinnocentpet]

I will have to decline. Emotion in our species is a sign of madness.

[unwittingking]

And lack of emotion is a mental illness for us.

Now are you going to answer or not?

[cuteandinnocentpet]

Answer what, exactly? That someone tried to kill her?

[unwittingking]

It's still annoying, right?

Imagine that, you're stuck in a place like this, and the only body you can use either can't see or has to drag half of itself to get to anywhere. It'd almost make someone want to pity you.

Almost.

[byanyother_name]

That assumes this is the only body it can use.

[unwittingking]

It better be. Otherwise these things' bodies are going to start piling up.

[And no, he is not joking. He's killing as many of these things as possible if he can.]

[poorlovefool]

CAN WE GET BACK ON FUCKING TOPIC?

[unwittingking]

…right, sorry.

[He's just pissed at the not-nice alien.]

[mermaidkin]

I will support you as MUCH as POSSIBLE if you do so!

[HIYORI IS JUST HERE BEHIND THE GLASS... LISTENING TO THIS CONVERSATION... CALMLY.]

[poorlovefool]

[for once he doesn't even mind the cloyingness of this type of support, he is just that done]

[mermaidkin]

[the record will show that Hiyori ALSO seemed to FAINTLY LIKE Vita's comments on what Lala would have wanted but is generally not Cloying Harder and letting Kyuu have the spotlight]

[incendiarize]

It-- I think it's a collective, I think they're all active.

[unwittingking]

[…he grips Kyuubey's neck a little tighter.]

I really hate today. And the about the last two months.