Inviolable Resolve

The final moments ticked by, and with unusual lateness Jaz was dragged away for execution. Morbid curiosity drove them to steal a few glances at the screen, only to see glimpses of a dance floor, followed by–

(don’t look don’t look don’t look DON’T LOOK–)

They squeezed their eyes shut and held Suzume tighter, their fingers balling up the fabric of her shirt. Their breathing quickened as they heard screaming, and startled as something went thud into the courtroom.

They didn’t need to look to know what it was. The smell was more than familiar enough.

(Because it was just like when–)

They set their teeth. The executions were bad enough, why did Monobear have to get so damned theatrical with them? Aside from how disturbing it was, it was downright disrespectful to the deceased.

They were ready to guide Suzume out of the trial room until they heard someone else speaking up. And, as with most things not related to the trial, he was being at best contrary, and at worst…

They could think of a lot of things they could say. Few were in Japanese (or English,) but they didn’t speak. Instead, they listened.

As far as they were concerned, in that moment, they understood Shin Hayashi better than they ever had before. He was a hero. A person of pure ideals and morality, and whether you called that right or wrong nothing would ever shake him from it, nor would anyone ever live up to the same standards he prided himself on. Could anything they say really get through to him? Perhaps they were as insignificant as a side character in the play of his life, there simply to provide assistance and shuffle out when not needed at best and to play the adversary at worst. But that was fine. They could deal with that.

So they had no words.

“Hıyar.”

Well, maybe one.

They let out a small sigh. It was better to focus their energy on the people who they could help.

“It’s alright, don’t listen to him. Come on, Suzume-chan, let’s get out of here. I’ve got something I want to talk to you about…”

The last few moments of the trial were spent quietly seething at Sora because there wasn’t a goddamn gun they didn’t know about, and if Haru had gotten one they’d know because apparently even here it seemed they were the only person who bothered to keep tallies on dangerous weapons but–

Oh. So she was missing a chunk of hair. They weren’t overthinking things. The subject of the gun was dropped completely from their mind in favor of breaking one hand from their embrace and slamming the voting panel before time ran out (because surely there couldn’t be much, right…?)

It couldn’t have been seconds before Monobear ran the tally and announced exactly what they were expecting The tension from the trial evaporated and was replaced with emptiness. Sora and Riku apologized, Haru gloated, and those were just the calmer reactions. Tempers were flaring over…something, names they didn’t recognize were being dropped, people were shouting, and none of it made an iota of sense. Whatever had happened to the people in Kaze was as distant to them as a storybook tale.

But that didn’t stop them from listening carefully to everything that was going on. Even the ones that they didn’t want to hear.

“………..”

What was this if not like a small-scale war? Someone was declared the enemy and they had to kill that person or risk other people dying. The people executed weren’t criminals, just casualties. This wasn’t victory, this was just sad. Because next week the process was just going to repeat itself. And ultimately, everyone’s soul had a price. It was just a matter of what that was. Anyone could be pushed to kill, and they’d leave behind people who’d mourn their passing. Friends, family, and then those people would seek revenge, and the cycle would repeat itself.

But that wasn’t their fault. Mom had always said there were no bad people, just bad situations.

(The real question was, what was their breaking point?)

They let out a small sigh. No point in dwelling on it. They just had to survive.

(And then Suzume–)

(Well, they’d be lying if they said they hadn’t wondered about a thing or two, but for it to be that bad…)

They bit their lip, swallowed the lump in their throat, and whispered to her– there was, after all, nothing left to say. Nothing they could tell anyone would make anything better, at least not now and not here.

(They were no hero. But at least they knew that. At least they could cope with that. And really, when was the tactician ever the hero of the story?)

“Come on, Suzume-chan…”

Houseguard on parade! Aside from a bit of washing and the secret shine to a few of the Halberdiers, all 32 of them are finally complete! Now I just need to finish the other unit of Riflemen I have.

They’d been trying to block out the rest of the trial as the final moments ticked away. They’d pulled Suzume into a hug and let their mind drift off. But it wasn’t as effective as it’d been before, and the harsh words of their classmates brought them down to reality. They closed their eyes, sighed, and without moving they spoke up, keeping their tone as neutrals possible.

Jaz’s explanation of the book settled things, more or less to their satisfaction. They almost felt a little guilty bringing it up after seeing her reaction, but still….they had to, right?

“…Ah. I’m sorry, then, for bringing it up. I just wanted to be sure.”

They fidgeted nervously at their podium– and flinched a bit as Shin brought up their name. They took a deep breath and–

(They were still on edge, they just wanted this to be over…)

“…I apologize for misunderstanding you. But to be honest I still feel my point stands, I don’t think he’s a likely suspect.”

Time passed, Ren had little to contribute, and they were happier drawing into their own mind to ignore the flaring tempers around them. At least that was one place that’d always be safe.

….Seriously? This again? Three times in a row? Haru Uotani had to be cursed. Ren prepared to jump to the taller kid’s defense.

“Wait, hang on–”

‘Haru-kun couldn’t have killed anyone! I mean, they had a perfect chance to kill me and they didn’t! Checkmate, nonbelievers in Purple Lizard Satan.’

….Maybe they needed a new approach to this. They waited for Haru to finish speaking, then pitched in what little they could.

“…Everything Haru-kun said I can affirm. We met right after the motive, and that really was all the card they got said. For that matter their sleep schedule really is that extreme, too. That’s the weapon they have, and even if somehow they managed to get ahold of the gun again….it wasn’t the same kind of gun found at the scene. It was– oh, I don’t remember what Fujimoto-san said, just trust me, it was a lot bigger, anyone who was there can confirm that. They do have impulse control problems– sorry, Haru-kun–”

Right, because they weren’t doing things like joining right in on the ill-fated chair race and howling at non-existant moons for LARPing purposes and getting themself stuck to freezers.

“….And I’d be honestly shocked if coloring something lavender in with brown markers intended for writing on paper would somehow make it a darker purple. Again, I don’t know anything about dye, I don’t use the stuff. Furthermore, I know handwriting can be falsified but theirs looks nothing like the note.”

If they had anything more to say, it was cut off when Suzume brushed up against them. They blinked, looked at her expression– and understood immediately. They took her trembling hand in theirs, unwound the scarf from their neck with their free hand, and offered it to her quietly. If she needed to hide her face, it’d be more than enough.

It was the least they could do.

If you were standing right next to them, you could hear them whispering.

There was something new and very uncomfortable gnawing at the pit of Ren’s stomach. Fear, they could deal with– that was something acutely familiar to them. This wasn’t just fear, it was something new. Anger wasn’t the right word– it was the kind of self-preservatory terror you saw in a trapped animal, the overwhelming desire to run and tear apart anything that got in your way.

For a second, it blighted out all rational thought. The only reason they held themself in place was the fact their nails were digging into their podium. And, in spite of themself, they started shaking.

(Not here, not now–)

They inhaled sharply.

(‘One, two, three, four, one…)

“Yes. A knife in my throat. That is exactly what’s going to happen if that becomes public. Like I said I want to believe you. But I’m not just protecting myself here. I know for a fact I’m not the only person with a secret people could easily take advantage in a murder situation, and I will not let down the people who trusted me by allowing this to continue. If you want me to start talking about that? Show you aren’t a threat to everyone here. Give me a reason to put my life and the lives of other people in your hands. All things considered, the burden of proof is entirely on you.”

Their voice trembled on the last few words, but it was out now, and there was nothing more to be done about it. They had to keep moving forward. With any luck the matter would finally be put to rest.

“….Moving on. I’m the source Suzume-chan was talking about, and H– Jaz-san did have a lot of hair dye in her room. Recently used, as a matter of fact, the bathroom was still damp. I’d actually like to go back to the issue of hair, because I think it’s one of the few concrete things we still have to pursue. I’d like to outline a few possibilities. Please tell me if I miss one. There’s been a lot to cover.

Number one, the hair is naturally purple and was colored brown. This means someone has either been dyeing their hair since they came here or….well, I guess it’s probably not Jaz-san’s natural hair color from what she’s saying and what I saw.

Number two, the hair was dyed and the scent and smell of the dye was just covered by markers. Look, I don’t know how strongly markers taste, I try to not put everything I see in my mouth, but I’ve used them enough to know they do smell pretty strong, and smell is connected heavily to taste. And I don’t know enough about dye to say anything about its strength.”

You heard it here first, folks. Actual Silver-Haired Anime Kid Ren Murayama.

“From there we can extrapolate several things. Let’s look at Quinn-san’s suggestion of the hair belonging to Himeno-san. There was a lot of loose hair in his room….but all of it was black.”

They suppressed a shudder at the memory of his room for the sake of politeness. Good thing they weren’t afraid of dolls.

“You’re suggesting a donation of purple hair, Hayashi-san. If that existed, I’ve never seen it, and this wasn’t the first time I’ve been in there. Either he’s been able to hide it for a very long time, or he never had it. If you’re going to suggest he dyed it somehow, I found nothing to suggest that. And he must have used a bathroom or location I never went to because we share the same room block, and there was no dye in our bathroom.”

“Next suggestion: someone took hair from a shower drain, which is kind of disgusting but I guess if you really want to frame someone for murder that’s a way to do it. I’m….fairly certain I would have noticed if someone’s hair color changed at any point in Mizu. I mean, we have public bathrooms and showers. That means it was probably someone from Kaze, but….all of you have private showers, if I’m not mistaken. Meaning the killer probably had access to someone’s room at some point in time. If you feel that might be you, please say so.”

They tugged at their scarf, uncertain of where to go. After a moment’s hesitation, they finally spoke up again.

Well, that went downhill fast. People were still arguing about revealing secrets, and then– some of them started actually doing it. They hadn’t wanted to jump into the fray but they had to put their foot down here or else–

“Stop.”

“I understand what you’re getting at, I really do, but I’d rather not. I can think of several things that’d be on my card. One of them could put me in serious danger if it were public knowledge– and it’s something that’d be incredibly easy to test for if anyone wanted to try, so no– anonymity won’t help me. The only reason I’m bringing that up is because if someone does have a card that talks about that they’d probably already have tried. Believe me, I want to trust all of you. I want to believe the killing game would end here. But I’m going to continue operating under the assumption it won’t because if I’m wrong I’ll die.”

They resisted the urge to comment upon how the very last thing they wanted was a group of people with several known murderers to be aware of that but they held their tongue.

“There’s several people who are already aware of what I’m getting at and why I don’t want everyone knowing, and they know because I’m certain they won’t hurt me. For that matter Suzume-chan knows everything that could have been on that card, and she’ll back me up when I say it’s nothing that would put any of you in danger. Several other people know what I’m getting at when I’m talking about that– yes, Yona-san, it’s probably exactly what you’re thinking of, please don’t blurt it out– and can confirm that if anything it makes the rest of you a danger to me. Please don’t take it personally. Chances are I’m not the only one with a similar issue, and I’ve already said far more than I’d like on the matter.”

Their eyes flicked over to a few people in the room. Things were, perhaps, starting to make a little more sense– but they’d wait on Shion first. Now wasn’t the time to be making enemies. Plenty of other people were doing that well enough. At least people were slowly starting to get back on topic. They’d just address what they could, one at a time.

(They just needed a few moments to calm down first… and by the time they did, quite a few other people had spoken up.)

“…She could have written the message with either hand, if we want to pursue that possibility. Both were bloody when I looked, it’s just her left hand was bloody and scratched up– either from the glass or something else.”

“While I’m at it, I’d like to support Nishida-san’s theory, and add in something myself. Please forgive me if I’m wrong– it’s just there was a situation similar to this in Mizu. As Tahara-san did I’m going to return to an earlier theory, that there was an accomplice here. In that case, I’ll propose that the accomplice composed the murder plan itself, and the map and numbers were intended to be guidelines to follow by the actual culprit. It’s just….something went wrong somewhere along the way. I’ll be honest, this makes the most sense to me– I don’t see why someone would feel compelled to write down the entirety of their plan unless they had serious memory issues, not when we’d be able to piece it together and make it that much easier to work things out.The fact there was also an attempt made at destroying the map makes me think there was something to be hidden in those plans. I don’t know anything about crime-solving. I’m completely out of my element here and have been since this started. I just…like to think I know people. And that’s what seems the most probable to me.”

They put a hand to their chin.

“…And because of the wording, as Tahara-san has suggested, I believe the gun belonged to our culprit. Either that or it was lent out to them by the hypothetical accomplice.”

A stray thought tugged at the back of their mind. It was probably nothing, but it was worth bringing up…

Finished the Cryx wall hanging! Now I just need to sew in the ends, attach its support (a steel pipe I spray painted), and make a cord for it to hang from. 

It’s double knitted and about 17 1/2 “ square. 

Ren walked into the new trial room with a sense of trepidation. It was one thing to be stuck in a room arguing about murder with people you knew pretty well, it was another to be arguing about it with over a dozen total strangers. They settled at their podium and shifted uncomfortably– already, they were quite literally overshadowed by their trial neighbors, both being nearly a foot taller then them. At least they noticed, as they rocked back on their heels, they were close to Suzume. They gave her a nervous smile (she was close to Hachi as well, that had to count for something, and close to where Kaori would have been, which really didn’t) and got ready to speak up.

“Um…I should note I saw Tsuzuki-san walking out of the kitchen in Mizu close to the time of the murder. It was about four, I believe. Assuming it didn’t take that long for Haino-san to bleed out– which, according to Quinn-san, it wouldn’t, I think she’s more or less in the clear unless she’s a very good runner. Which, I mean, that’s possible but– Er. Anyway. About the only other thing I saw of note in the kitchen was Kumada-san a bit later– close to when the announcement was made, actually. So–”

Then, suddenly, they stopped dead in the middle of their explanation, their eyes wide.

“…Oh! Um, I apologize. I think most of you have seen me already– and I apologize for being intrusive before– but I don’t think I ever properly introduced myself. I’m Ren Murayama, the Super High School Level Miniatures Wargamer! That means I specialize in tabletop games where you’re basically playing a turn-based strategy game. If you ever want a game demo, I would be happy to provide one!”

And then they seemed to realize where they were.

“…Um. But now’s not the time. Anyway. I was working with Otoko-san…and a few other people, but that’s not the point. I mostly was investigating rooms, and I don’t think I found anything that was especially incriminating in and of itself. But, that’s without the context of other evidence. I’m not sure if I have all the pieces of the puzzle… so to speak. Most of what I know has already been brought out.”

Their smile faded as Yui spoke. They’d been afraid of this– ever since the motive had been made, it seemed like an eventuality. That didn’t mean it was one they wanted to deal with, though. They spent a moment choosing their words carefully.

All they wanted was some peace and quiet. They’d barely started eating when they heard a commotion– Monobear was upset about something and that was usually a bad sign. They devoured what they’d managed to nab, then chased after the bear.

(Of course someone was dead. That didn’t surprise them in the slightest, not with the things they’d seen…)

They started looking around frantically, picking out familiar faces. There was one, then another, then another, then they felt a little safer, and then–

They blinked when they saw the body. It took a few seconds to recognize her, but finally it registered. She’d been at the party so long ago, hadn’t she…? They hadn’t talked, but still. They swallowed their emotions, took a deep breath, and looked around. There was nothing they could do as far as getting the machine off her went, but… there was other work to be done. They scanned the crowd for a (very) distinctive figure.

Ren had settled into their new environment well enough– if anything, it’d put them in higher spirits than ever. Could you blame them? A real, honest-to-God sky! With real stars at night! It was a fantastic change from the endless, infinite ocean of Mizu. This actually felt like somewhere people were meant to live, rather than some terrifying reverse fishbowl.

But all good things had to come to an end. As usual, Monobear was the harbinger of terrible news.

“……..”

Everyone needed their secrets. Sometimes it was to stay safe, sometimes to protect their image, sometimes because there were just things you really didn’t want people to know.

They’d be surprised if the class lasted a day.

But hey, once they picked up their own card they could at least figure out which thing was on there and prepare. Nobody had to kn–

The wind scattered the cards about. Ren snatched the first one before it even hit the ground, and–

“Wh…?!”

That was definitely not theirs. To make matters worse, it was hard to think of something that a person would want to cover up more. This was serious– who could have done such a thing? Actually, no, they really didn’t want to find out. They’d rather like to forget they ever saw this, and they could only hope its bearer never realized who’d gotten ahold of their card.

There was another matter to take care of. One of equal importance. Ren stood on their tip-toes, scanning the crowd for a certain person, and the second they did, they bolted.

“██████….”

And then they slipped away from the crowd, hoping that nobody else would see them this week.