ALL RISE

The votes trickled in, and you stared with bated breath. This trial had been confusing, had you guessed right...?

Shikone was cleary very, very entertained by this trial, but she glanced at the clock. Okay, that was it - she was tired of this fighting.

....ugh, okay.... you guys have had... your share of drama this one, eh?? ehehe... but, uh... im getting kind of bored.... its time to vote, ok? so... vote. 

Conn just held his hands behind his head as Kitsune aggressively yelled at him.

"Look mate, I already know what's going to happen here. I will say it again, I don't remember chopping Ryoto's head off. Though I am not saying that makes me innocent because I will admit I almost killed him with the acid incident. So believe what you will."

Conn let out a yawn with an expression of boredom on his face. "Also listen to the evidence. We have it narrowed down to two people. Its either me, or Tsubaki."

"Hey! Tsubaki left after the library incident, so why can't we just leave it at that?" 

"I mean- come on! It's Tsubaki we're talking about, there's no way she did anything! She wouldn't hurt a fly, guys!" 

"Yeah, I guessed as much with the alibi thing, la balleza... It was worth a shot, but anyone could lie."

At Kitsune's little tirade, Kaoru just kind of.. giggles?

"Oh my god- and you're one to talk! You haven't helped a lick during this stupid trial; from wound checks to conversations, you've contributed nothing! Shouldn't you channel that passion you got towards solving the case, not ripping your own silly neon hair out, dear?"

He shrugs, humming lyrically before continuing.

"Is it so hard to shut up if you can't contribute? Is the concept of not hearing your own voice for a couple of minutes so foreign?"

He claps his hands together, nodding his head from side to side cheerfully.

"Alibis? It was late at night, so most people will probably just say 'I was in my bed'" Yuki said that last part in a very mocking tone. "And you can't really argue or disagree with that, but you couldn't agree either since it just sounds like a pathetic excuse! So what would be the point?" Yuki asks.

Kitsune had eventually made her way back to her own podium, though the entire time she was staring at Conn with eyes of hatred and disgust. Every moment he spoke, she grew angrier and angrier, her hands in fists and her legs shaking with fury,

Finally, she threw her hands onto her podium, violently.

Oh my FUCKING GOD. Why are we still doing this?!! You guys- No, you, Conn, master of assholes and horrible people, really trying to say TSUBAKI did it?! Really, out of all of the fucking people here, you pick her to bully this time?! Gonna get blacked-out drunk and cut her head off, too?!

She pulled on her pigtails again, using every bit of strength left in her to not literally murder him right now.

You’re so- horrible, so fucking horrible - you kill the one- THE ONE person here who I trusted and loved, the one person here better than all of you- And now you’re trying to act like you don’t remember?! What, you think a bluff like this will work?! Admit to doing some of it! That way, everyone will believe you, since you obviously came clean.

She screamed with her teeth together.

No! I’m not- I’m not fucking dealing with this! You’re such a smug piece of shit, I have no idea why I ever let you kiss me, you’re not good enough to do that, let alone call yourself a SHSL! You’re not good enough for anything! You’re this- this washed-up musician who only cares about himself - you’re a liar, a murderer, and the worst person I have ever f-fucking met! I want to walk over there right now and rip you apart, but I know whatever bastardized execution Shikone has in store for you will be more painful.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Hehe, thanks luv. Honestly, I can already tell you all fucking hate me at the moment. I don't have a clue if I did it, or not, but if not me, then it is Tsubaki, no offense." Conn said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, if I am not executed here, knowing my current position, at least one of you here is murdering me within 3 days. I am not an idiot."

Conn then just yawns. "It all comes down to where Tsubaki was when it was between 12:30 to 1:15. Because honestly, that is the only way we are going to get anywhere here. So Tsubaki, hun, you weren't drunk that night, you should know if you saw Ryoto at that clinic or not. And don't you dare pull the excuse of "I forgot" because that's my gig."

Kaoru just kind of stares at Conn for a minute in an "Are you serious" kind of way.

"...... Yeaaaah. As helpful as ever, ya incompetent lush."

He sighs before letting out a cackle-like laugh, 

"It's almost like ya want us to vote for you! Gehegehh! Hey hey, I'll oblige if that's whatcha really really want~☆"

With a grin, he closes his eyes and waves a hand dismissively, speaking in a cheery tone,

"Or, oooor.. you can try and be helpful once or shut your filthy fuckin' mouth, darling~"

Conn glances over to Sato first. "The clinic... Guys I already told you, I don't remember anything after the laundry incident."

He listens to her, nodding slowly as he does.. 

Then an apparent look of just annoyance shows on his face. 

"Geez, how many fuckin' people saw this asshole before he finally died? If not for his head bein' gone, I'd say he had plenty of time to just bleed out for Christ's sake."

He sighs, rubbing the sides of his heads before running a hand through his hair.

"Okay. In the lab, he dicked around with Conn. Got burns and stomach stab. He limped off to the tram- might met someone else there for all I know! If someone was there, it'd be great if ya spoke up too~ I ain't got a clue why he went to the classroom, but his cape ended up there. Blood trail shows he was there at some point in the flesh. Maybe someone found the cape later and retraced his steps to move it. After the classroom, he went to the library and did a fisticuff tango with Minty and got owned since he was pretty hurt already. She left him there, went to the clinic. Later he finally gets up and heads to the clinic, where he gets decapitated by yet another person involved in this case. Aight. Jesus fuck, this is confusing."

He thinks he got the rough draft in order. What's left...

"I... I regret l-leaving him th-there... I-if I hadn't... maybe th-this all wouldn't have... I'm s-sorry..." It seemed she really blamed herself for this.

"B-but... at th-the time, I w-was scared... I didn't th-think straight... I wanted t-to escape. So I just, u-um, ran straight for the clinic."

"Didja just leave him in there? If y'all were both headed for the same place, ain't like you wouldn't have taken the same path- you'd still need a big lead to get there and take care of matters and leave before he got there. Unless he was hostile even then, ya don't seem like the type to just abandon someone, geheh."

The matter of the cape feels kind of minor to him, but he must leave no stone unturned, not matter how small!

"Oh... S-sorry, um, I-I was going t-to bring it up anyway..." Tsubaki told Kaoru. "Th-then other things h-happened... but, um, anyway."

"I, um, Ryoto w-was already injured wh-when I bumped into him... I think h-he thought I was Conn, t-trying to finish him off. A-and, um, I d-didn't take the cloak?" she explained. "It j-just got left where it fell, in the library. I w-wasn't aware there were, um, other bits of it... sorry."