"it's nothing personal."

She murmurs, under her breath:

“The bloody sink in the infirmary, though, why would they rinse off there and in the bathroom downstairs, there’s no reason to spread evidence, unless—“

Just like that, the answer comes to her, and Sabine draws a sharp gasp.

“… I think the killer is injured.”

Oh, shit. That’s important, apparently. Sabine’s eyes widen as she combs her two braincells to find that memory.

“I, um—it was in the sink. Not a lot at all, it was kind of hard to see, and it looked pretty diluted with water, but there were some drops of regular blood there. Like someone was trying to rinse it down the drain.”

Normally, Sabine might shrink back at the aggression directed her way for her less-than-tactful alibi request. She certainly feels the urge. But she doesn’t act on it. They’re running out of time, she can feel it, and the thought of what might happen if they don’t find out who did this…

She squints at Aurora.

“So… nobody can confirm where you were. Is there really no way to, uh, get Ichimonji—Hiiro—um, to get him in here? Because if we can’t, that’s…”

A sidelong glance in Taiho’s direction.

“I don’t think it was Ganaiyo. And I don’t think it was Riesling—oh, Choux’s secret wasn’t broadcasted, either, I forgot to mention—but when I used the restroom, I saw Choux outside of Riesling’s door, so it couldn’t have been either of them, because… I didn’t bring it up earlier because I was hoping the killer would screw up their alibi and I could go, ‘oh, that’s not true, it must be you,’ but…”

“The neutral bathroom was locked when I tried to use it. And when we investigated, we found blood in there.”

What a time to bring that up!! She’s more thinking aloud at this point.

“So, suspects… It couldn’t be me, because Choux saw me come and go between my room and the bathroom, and I didn’t have any blood on me. It wasn’t Splain, he was sleeping—and he said DePlumme should be able to vouch for him. It probably wasn’t Bacchus, or Stickland, or Ganaiyo—unless anyone mentioned in their alibis is lying or hasn’t spoken up. If not, um, that leaves…”

“… Maybe Riesling, if he wasn’t actually in his room? Ichimonji, maybe, but he’s not here, and, um… Taiho, if Ichimonji did it, would you let him skip out on the trial? Other than that, um… I guess Costa-Ryde could be lying, but…”

She rubs at her face.

“I don’t know. I’m not good at this. I just want to know who did it. I don’t want to have to resort to extreme measures.”

Sabine thinks back to the investigation, scratching her head.

“I…  I don’t think the microscope was broken… ? It just looked… out of place.”

Then Emmanuel speaks up, and Sabine shoots him the blankest of all looks. 

Beanbean?

BEANBEAN?!?!?!?!?

Still, he is giving her a clear direction, which she can grudgingly appreciate. She nods, her oft-neglected brain cells revving up as she remembers. The people he’s talking about are…

“… Ganaiyo, Costa-Ryde, Riesling, Bacchus, and Stickland. They’re the only ones here whose secrets weren’t broadcasted. We have Bacchus’ alibi. Everyone else better start speaking up.”

Sabine blinks, looking at Emmanuel with an unreadable expression that morphs into something more closely resembling embarrassment.

“Oh, I, um… I just guessed, honestly. I don’t think you… uh, actually, let me…”

Glancing furtively around her, she steps out from the prosecution’s side and moves over to the defense. There’s a tense energy about her—things are progressing slower than she’d like, so when she speaks up again, she sounds more certain than usual.

“There was a microscope in the crime lab that seemed out of place. Not only that, but there were some drops of water in there, and blood in the sink in the infirmary. I think what happened is that the killer used the microscope as the weapon, then… washed it off… ? But then, what was that sandbag doing there…”

Quite a bit of evidence there. She tugs at her gloves, eyes scanning the courtroom once more.

“Also… I want to hear people’s alibis. I was in my room for a long time, but I left at one point to use the restroom…”

The investigation was a blur. Sabine still doesn’t have a clear picture of what happened, but as she moves into the courtroom, reality helps her step out from beneath the cloud of despair that formed over her head the second she saw Kin’s lifeless body.

(Kin…)

She will solve this. She doesn’t know how, but by god she’ll solve this. 

“Uh… I just want to say, whoever did this…”

“I will fucking end you.”

Great opening, Sabine! With that out of the way, she casts a brief glance to Emmanuel before looking at the rest of the court.

“So, the… injuries on both Lefou’s and Kin’s heads… looked very similar. They were probably caused by the same weapon.”

It was only a matter of time, she thinks.

Sabine sneaks a peek into the infirmary on the way to the crime lab, not showing much of a reaction to the glimpse of Pierette’s corpse that she catches. They’d spoken only a handful of times. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no strong emotional connection. She can’t remember the last time she has had a strong emotional connection in a situation like this.

But there’s no need to remember. It’s right there in front of her when she steps past that door and sees just who that second victim is.

She feels something shake within her, but she’s not sure what. This is wrong, she thinks, a situation that could’ve easily been avoided—that should’ve been avoided, because what did Kin ever do? He’s not forgettable enough, surely people would know that others would care—

(The she cares—)

But there’s no chance for denial. She knows a body when she sees one. Kin Oshiro is dead.

She doesn’t recognize the tightness in her throat and the stinging in her eyes as grief, and instead berates herself for having such a useless response in a situation like this. Is this how Kin always thinks of himself? He’s not useless, Sabine knows—he’s one of the gentlest souls she’s ever met. For some reason, he thinks the same of her.

Knowing all of that about him, she’d still avoided him after her secret came out, fearful of what he might think. And because she wasn’t there…

Someone here killed him, she thinks, anger bubbling up in her gut, but she’s familiar with anger. She’s not familiar with… whatever this is. This feeling that makes her want to drop everything and sit by Nayo’s side, staring at Kin’s lifeless form, on the off chance that wishing hard enough could put life back in his body.

(This is her fault, isn’t it?)

To her, it makes perfect sense. But it’s not until the others start commenting on Sabine’s offer that she realizes just how horrible it must sound to everyone else in the room. And when Taiho confirms that she’d die as a result, that’s all she needs to back off with a quiet sorry mouthed in Abbey’s direction. Tail between her legs. Silent.

Really, she’d have been content to stay like that the entire time… if someone didn’t interrupt.

And the longer that someone talks, the more Sabine feels compelled to speak up, tell him to sit back down where it’s safe and let whatever’s about to happen just happen. But at the same time, she’s in awe. He seriously intends to go up against their captor? It’s a fool’s errand, but her hand finds its way to her chest, as if physically feeling around for that same kind of resolve within herself.

She finds nothing there, of course. She’s never had anything like that. She’s always been nothing more than—

It happens so fast.

She jolts into a fighting stance and doesn’t move. Doesn’t offer anything more than a sharp inhale and wide eyes. He’s somehow alive, and Eurydice ensures his survival by arguing with the devil, and Sabine does nothing.

Even as Abbey’s dragged to his death—a horrifying light show that makes her head ache—she’s perfectly still, fists clenched tight at her sides. It’s not until Taiho gives them the okay to leave that she moves, wordlessly walking towards the exit. The only glance she spares is for Kin, and although Gozu hasn’t said what his reaction is going to be, she pauses, waiting for him to accompany her if he chooses. He needs the support.

And she…

…

When Sabine stopped talking to Nayo, she assumes that will be the end of it. But as more voices speak up, well…

It seems like everyone has some kind of beef with the self-proclaimed samurai. Nomi, Hiiro, Eurydice, Aurora—the harsh words just keep coming, and Sabine seems increasingly uncomfortable. Especially with Nayo’s continued silence.

Sure, she was the first to speak up against him, but now she feels compelled to be he first to speak up in his defense.

“Uh… let’s maybe, lay off Ganaiyo for now and… ‘cause Rhodes is, um…”

Right. It was painfully obvious from the start, even if Sabine still wishes it wasn’t, but Abbey did kill a man. And as his tearful confession comes forth, she finds herself feeling…

… not much of anything. Which is a disappointment. The fact that the disappointment is more potent than her sympathy for Abbey makes her feel even worse. But it’s not surprising, is it? His tears, his pleas that he wants to live—

“Rhodes, you saw what happened to Noir. That’s what happens to… people who kill here. If you didn’t want to die, you shouldn’t have killed.”

She remembers a conversation they had what feels like forever ago, in the food court. A bit of pity surges forth in her chest. 

“Not saying that to make you feel bad in your last moments, but for everyone else. But I guess that’s not gonna stop them with these motives… not like it stopped you.”

He’s so young. She doesn’t know his age—doesn’t know how close he is to her in age—but he’s so young. Barely a kid. She grits her teeth, regarding him for a moment, and then takes a step out from the defense’s side.

“I don’t want you to go through whatever fucked up punishment Taiho has baked up for you, Rhodes. It’s torture. If you’re gonna die. it should be quick. Painless. Like severing the spinal cord. That’s basically instant death. No suffering.”

Another step towards him.

“Doesn’t that sound like the better choice? A quick and painless death, instead of torture? What if I could do that for you?”

The pregnancy debacle comes and goes, and Sabine starts to get the sinking feeling that she may have been had. She shrinks back where she stands, gripping her arms and looking unsure of herself, biting her lip. She doesn’t start to relax until the conversation circles back to Abbey’s innocence… or lack thereof, as alibis come to light.

And, well, she can’t honestly say she’s been paying close attention, because her thoughts have been circling in her head like sharks, and she doesn’t quite know how to break out of those darkening waters.

Eventually, she decides to chuck her own alibi into the mix and hope that satisfies it.

“I was in the lobby with Fey, talking. I… I also saw Rhodes walking around with a tray.”

It doesn’t. She still feels uneasy. Which is strange—why does she feel uneasy? She shouldn’t. She hasn’t, before, in those situations that can’t quite compare to the gravity of what’s going on now but are as close as she could get in her life before the courthouse. 

“Ganaiyo, that’s… not… mm…”

Perhaps slipping into a more familiar mentality is in order. Her gaze hardens, and she stands up straighter.

“… Then you’ll die. You’ll die like Leeps. They’ll drag your body out and it’ll be completely pointless because we’ll have to keep going on with what Taiho wants anyway, because we have no power here. We’re just… hamsters for whatever they’re trying to do by putting us through this. It sucks, but that’s how it is.”

She turns to Abbey, biting back a sigh.

“We do know why you’d do something like that. It was in that note. You wanted to fix things with your sister, right? Can’t do that if you’re stuck in here, so you took the bait.”

“… I’m sorry you did.”

A whole lot’s been happening since the last time Sabine opened her mouth, but since none of it has involved anyone getting shot, she doesn’t react much beyond providing the occasional nod.

… Until it comes up that Nayo apparently was found unconscious in front of the crime scene. That gets her eyes to widen as she looks over at him, tempted to ask if he’s alright, but… she doesn’t. People just keep talking.

And then Abbey talks and, even when he’s done, she can’t help the indescribable feeling of blank emotion that washes over her at his words. She doesn’t get a chance to articulate them until later.

“… Rhodes, the tea at the scene was poisoned. Your alibi is so flawed… it’s… you basically just admitted… you…”

Despite her attempts to speak, she’s speechless. Face reddening, it takes a second for her to compose herself enough to get a thought out, which comes out as:

“Ganaiyo’s fucking pregnant and you decide to knock him out?!”

I’m gonna be real, it’s been so fucking long since I’ve last written an actual RP post that it’s entirely likely this post is just gonna devolve into nonsense, so I apologize in advance. Fortunately for everyone IC, Sabine’s mind is much clearer as she enters the courtroom, although she’s still not sure who could’ve—

BANG!

She barely flinches at the sound of a gunshot, barely reacts to the sight of Rouge collapsing lifeless to the floor. Her mind empties in an instant, attention somehow far away and hyper-focused on her surroundings at the same time. Silent as a knife to the throat, she waits for instructions…

But they never come. The trial moves on. And so does Sabine, who eventually returns to normal (normal?) self. She listens carefully as people talk, going over what her group also uncovered in her head. This is doable.

“Uh, Lawson, wouldn’t it be pretty hard to make someone drink poison when they’re unconscious? Not saying it’s impossible, but I think what other people have been saying is more likely, that he drank the poison and then the killer knocked him out.”

Sabine scratches her head. Thinking is hard.

“Speaking of which, we found a bloody towel rod from the men’s changing room in the archives area. That must’ve been what the killer used, and points even more towards the killer being a guy. I’m pretty sure Ironwood would’ve figured something was off if he noticed a girl coming from the guy’s side.”

turnabout despair is going great (manny belongs to stephalant on twitter dot com)

A shiver runs down Sabine’s spine as Miri transforms seamlessly into Philomena’s deceased husband. The possibility that it might be an act never crosses her mind. Mediums are real. She’s not sure what to think about that fact. Briefly, she entertains the possibility of talking to Hikiko, but then others come to mind, faces she just can’t seem to forget however much she—

“I say it’s showtime!”

In an instant, Philomena’s dragged off, and before Sabine can react, her attention’s directed to a monitor, where she sees

uh,

Sabine watches, of course, muted horror roiling in her chest. At least Hikiko’s death was quick. This is torture, plain and simple. What’s the point in causing so much psychological pain to someone who’s going to be dead soon?

Then she realizes the torture isn’t for Philomena.

It’s for everyone else.

Her gaze flickers from face to face throughout the courtroom, taking stock of how everyone’s handling it. She’s anticipating certain reactions from certain people, but something catches her eye, making her brows furrow.

Maybe nobody else catches what she saw, terrifyingly captivating as the scene before them is, but it’s even less likely that they catch the near silent scoff she lets out under her breath.

“Tch… fucking weirdo.”

Sabine blinks in Hiiro’s direction.

“Huh…? Oh. Yeah, no, I’m not talking about Ganaiyo and Lawson pulling weapons to save Rhodes. That was badass. I meant more, uh, like… we already established it’s not gonna work to save yourself, so…”

“Let’s, uh… not do that anymore.”

Sabine just stares at Katia, absolutely fucking gobsmacked. Her roommate was the one who framed her? And not even on purpose? Just out of sheer idiocity and ignoring the one goddamn thing Sabine had specifically asked her not to do?

“Van Sangre…”

(Was Sabine an idiot for thinking she could have faith in anyone?)

“… We’ll talk later.”

Katia better be counting her lucky stars that she’s hot. For now, Sabine swallows her irritation and turns to Aurora.

“Fey told us the only people she saw go in and out of the food court before Hiiro and Kin found the corpse were… uh, Hiiro, Splain, Riesling, Choux, Stickland, and Noir. So unless he knows how to teleport,there’s no way Rhodes could’ve done it.”

… Does Abbey teleport? She casts him a quizzical look. Hey, peebrain. But then she casts another look to Phi, an entirely new kind of irritation bubbling back up in her.

“The weapon was a sewing needle. I already said. It’d go with the sewing scissors, and it’d explain the weird white fibers in Mori’s neck. Since there weren’t any needles at the scene, the killer must’ve retrieved it. And I’m gonna go a step further and say they probably still have it on their person, because it’s small enough to hide pretty much anywhere. And who’s gonna try to search someone for a needle?“

She steps forward.

“Uh… I am, I meant. I’m the one who’s gonna search for a needle. But, like, no invasive shit. Rhodes , too, ‘cause he’s the, uh, defendant… ? But I think we pretty much established he’s innocent… Definitely Noir, I though. ‘Cause she’s pretty damn sketchy right now. Sorry, Noir… nothing personal.”