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

[illusionarymelody]

A gunshot to the head or heart do that quite effectively as well.

[Sorry Karma, she doesn't know that Kurama died of a shot to the heart. She only knows those are preferred for assassinations for a reason.]

[unwittingking]

If you want to make it quicker and painless, would you risk messing it up like that? Especially after the first shot failed?

[incendiarize]

Going for the heart would've been near-instant and Kurama knows how to do it.

[unwittingking]

But...would he? After what happened last week, I'm not sure he'd be so up for it.

[You don't usually go for heart-shots once someone you love dies from one, do you?]

[incendiarize]

If it's a matter of ending her suffering... [He knows Kurama knows exactly how much that hurts but maybe let's keep that private for now.] I told him Akira died quickly and didn't suffer. If he couldn't, he'd probably have gone for her head instead. Once she's down, that'd be hard to screw up.

In any case, he wouldn't need the knife.

[unwittingking]

Maybe...maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just an idiot overthinking things again. I really hope I am. Then I'll just sit down and shut up and let the smart people handle things.

But...if he went to try and save her with a healing potion, and he thought there might be a chance it still wouldn't work...

[He doesn't finish that thought, preferring to look at the ground now.]

I want to be wrong. I really do. I just...I'm worried I'm not.

[incendiarize]

Wanting to believe the best and kindest of people isn't stupid.

[unwittingking]

[There's something he only barely holds back from saying, if only because they don't need more questions coming up. They don't need to deal with that right now, so back on topic.]

I know it isn't. But fate? That's what I don't think I can trust. That this isn't just a horrible, horrible accident, that would cause two people to die no matter what.

I'd be happy to be proven wrong...but I'm just not sure I will.

[illusionarymelody]

Karma is saying he may have been aiming for Kyuubey and Lala interfered. Someone got close enough to her to cut her throat. If that could happen, he could have done the same.

I'm not buying that he'd suddenly use a different weapon and then wait for the blood to dry before disposing of it in the weapon storage. I'm more inclined to believe the evidence is leading us to the fact that the knife user is a different person.

[incendiarize]

If someone who wouldn't ordinarily go for the motive found someone already dying from someone else's attack....they'd have an easier time pinning the blame on the original attacker.

[illusionarymelody]

Though there is one other possibility. They wanted the motive and saw her dying and finished her off to be the one who could claim it rather than the first attacker.

[incendiarize]

That too, yeah.

...it's ironic. I was talking to her last week, about justice, and she said protecting people shouldn't mean killing.....and I told her the world isn't always that kind.

[illusionarymelody]

It really isn't. Sometimes in our worlds there are people who are too dangerous to allow to live and the best way to protect is to take one life to save many. My world definitely has a few people like that.

[incendiarize]

....or sometimes there's a big threat to a whole continent, and the surest way to stop it would wipe out a lot of innocent people.

[illusionarymelody]

I'm sorry, Arthur.

[And Vita is sorely tempted to go over and give Arthur a hug. She's just not sure if he'd welcome it. Oh well, she'll go over to his podium and try.]

[incendiarize]

[He does welcome it. Arthur isn't used to standing alone or distancing himself. And after two months away from the only "family" he has......it's hard.]

Thanks.

[unwittingking]

Honestly, I'm hoping that's it. That I'm overthinking again and you and everyone else can just tell me to shut up and I'll go back to just talking through notes. That I'm just being stupid again.

But...someone tried to save her. Someone went and made a healing potion and got it to her before she died. Someone got her to try to stop the blood from getting out of her wound. Someone tried to stop this from happening. This entire trial. And maybe...when they couldn't, they went to ending it quickly.

I hope to any actually kind god that I'm wrong. I really do. But...I don't think we'd be that lucky.

[incendiarize]

Not much time passed, between the injuries... Maybe- maybe they had a formula on them, already, and it wasn't enough, so they ran to make more. And in the time between, someone else found her and used the knife...there was some formula left in the alembic, right?

Eric, you know more about this kind of alchemy. How long does it take to make a healing formula?

[unwittingking]

It's...not impossible, but it'd be incredibly convenient.

[He'd also ask why Kurama didn't bring up the whole thing sooner, but...with himself on the suspect list, that's a good way to get people thinking you're lying and are just trying to cover your own butt.

He'll wait for the response. Maybe Eric will give him some hope.]

[poorlovefool]

Before I answer that, I want to know what evidence we have that points at another person besides the knife.

Because the way I see it... trying to argue when and how someone did it isn't as important as figuring out who that person is. Otherwise? You're just randomly guessing, and that's bullshit.

[relieable]

I think so, too. We should, essentially, have everything we need, right?

[they just don't know how to connect the dots]

[poorlovefool]

Yeah. So if it turns out we only have evidence that points at one person, whether or not we understand why they did what they did, I don't think we have a choice.

[incendiarize]

What's your evidence that points to only one person then, 'cause I see evidence for two. Unless you wanna risk executing Kurama when he might've only tried to save her, and someone else finished her off?

[illusionarymelody]

I do think knowing when and how will help us. Right now we're not for sure if there is one or two attackers. That's what led us to overthinking the last time because we didn't know Nanaki was still alive to be able to get back to his home. I also think it would ease Karma's mind to know the full truth of what happened.

[poorlovefool]

Right. This can't be easy for him, I know, but...

[well. give him a moment to muster his alchemy wisdom]