fifth trial

[thecastle]

FIFTH TRIAL

Saturday, Week 5

UNCOVER THE GUILTY PARTY


Yesterday's events were quite shocking. None of you expected to find two victims, much less two who were so young and full of life. But, as always, there's a silver lining here. Their lives bought you release from the motive, and isn't that worth something? After all, it would be a lie to say that this thought hasn't passed through anyone's mind. But would it be right to thank whoever was involved for what they did? For some of you, the idea isn't all that outlandish.

Any further deliberations regarding whether or not the act was truly just will need to wait until later. For now, you have a trial to attend.

Once thirteen of you gather in the Great Hall, the large doors slam right open and prompt everyone to ascend the stairs into the trial room.

As those present takes their seats, it becomes apparent just how many lives have been lost over the course of this game. Half of the seats are now empty, which is staggering given how many of you there were when the challenge began. Beyond the room and the current occupants are the profiles lining the walls. They're hard to miss at this point, for obvious reasons.

The Sage's steady voice slips in through the pendants as soon as everyone's settled.

"It is time, my warriors, to meet the challenge head on. You have all managed to come this far and so I expect you to perform as admirably as you have in the past. How may vary, but every individual here is important and brings their own unique touch to these trials. ... Normally, that is. To my dismay, a number of you will be temporarily incapable of taking part in this challenge.

Let us hope this is a trend that does not continue into future weeks. That said... May all who remain be blessed with only the best of fortune. You will need it."

As soon as the Sage finishes speaking, five images flicker into sight as if brought to life by a projector. Seeing how there's no such device present, it may not be a stretch to consider magic is at work here.

15 REMAIN

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EVIDENCE TOP LEVEL

[thecastle]

[ This be where you submit your evidence for organizational purposes! ]

[originallutece]

There were a few supplies swept aside in the infirmary. There were bandages missing as well.

[presomnia]

We found the bodies in the river, under the bridge. Um, I didn't look them over myself, but...they were face-up, a-and...holding hands...

On the river bank, um, there were some impressions maybe... [She holds her hands about three feet apart.] ...this wide. And the grass was all flat in a path from the river to the greenhouse.

[notimmortal]

Well it does seem our culprit decided to make a side trip to the greenhouse. I found this in with the other tools.

[Jansen puts the razor he found on the table, which is clean but still somewhat wet.]

There was also a large amount of water in there and some near the entrance had blood in it. It wasn't from anything fatal, but it was diluted with water like someone tried to clean it up but didn't do a very good job.

[He'll also place on the table two pieces of paper with some rough sketches of the two water puddles found with some shading to indicate where the diluted blood is. Jansen is no artist, but it gives the idea of where they were found.]

[fedorascout]

Okay, I know I'm a suspect, but I have evidence to present. Take that!

[Bam! Proof of something]

The culprit burned something in the furnace. I suspect it's related to this:

[He shows a piece of undyed cloth. It seems to be from the hem of something. The edges are burned]

I suppose this fell from the furnace. The rest is no more than ashes by now, unfortunately. If I had to guess, the culprit was wearing something and burned it away, but that's just a theory.

Other than this, there also was a broken chair near the furnace, it was all broken and tattered. I brought a few of the fragments.

[The chair pieces don't look burned at all]

Bodies

[gyakusatsu]

Tiki, Mahro-kun and I were the ones who found their bodies. They were hidden under the bridge though one of their shoulders was visible from above. When we first arrived at the scene, they were found on their backs, lying side by side and clasping hands. Both of them had their faces submerged in the river, but their shoes were dry as their legs were in a shallower part of the water. It appears that they'd been this way for some time as they were in rigor mortis. [A beat and a slightly saddened look.] Their clasped hands were.. difficult to break apart.

[A sigh.]

I inspected Jin-kun's body. As far as I could see, there was one bruise on his right temple that was a little smaller than the average fist size. There was no sign of bleeding from whatever caused that bruise and there were no other evidence that Jin-kun had sustained any other injury. His lips and fingernails were blueish in color and he was wearing only one contact lens. There was dirt trapped under his finger nails that appears to match the dirt from around the river.

As for his clothes, however.... [She sets the white hoodie he used to wear around on the evidence table.] As you can see, it has two large blood stains, one on the hood and one on the chest area of the same side. There's a clean edge between them where the chest meets the shoulder here. But notably, there was no blood on any other articles of clothing that he was wearing.

[irrationalities]

Like Tiki said, their bodies were in the water. I checked over Miyamura.

[He gestures to a dark shirt and a pair of pants laid on the table. Why yes, he totally did strip Miyamura's corpse tyvm. (He wears boxers.)]

When we found them, he was wearing clothing that was too small for him. On his shirt, there's some kind of stain on it. I didn't get the chance to look at it closely before I brought it here, so look at it yourselves if you want to.

[He points to the strip of cloth next to the clothing. One end of it looks frayed. Notably it also doesn't look bloody at all.]

Also, on his neck was a bandage. There's a slit through it that corresponds with the wound on his neck. The wound itself looked pretty thin, clean and deep, and was angled diagonally down to the right.

Aside from that, there was a dark bruise on his left cheek and a bunch of lighter overlapping bruises on his abdomen.

That should be it.

[aumygoddess]

I searched Miyamura's room. When I went go look, the door was already cracked open. It had signs that more than one person was using it--two sets of pillows, for example.

On the floor, there was a bag with Miyamura's uniform sticking out of it. It was unusual, because the rest of the bag had Jin's clothes folded neatly in it. Like someone stuck it on top.

In the bathroom, there was also an empty razor case with one of those good luck charms inside of it.

AYUMU'S EVIDENCE: CONTACT LENS & TARP

[thecastle]

[ Here is the evidence that's been submitted. First is one single contact lens that was found lying against one of the plants.

Next is a tarp that has a bit of blood on its edges. The middle of the tarp is also wet, and there's a bit of dirt still clinging to it.

Feel free to assume that these details have also been communicated for ease. ]

[teishu]

[ Once the Sage is done with his announcement, there's one more thing to clarify before the trial gets underway. The Teishu's voice carries across the room with a hint of exasperation. ]

Majima and Nishitani are currently recovering in the infirmary and will not be in attendance for this trial. They will be fine and should make a full recovery, but are in no condition to participate currently. I trust you will be able to find justice for Kurosaki and Miyamura regardless.

[fedorascout]

What? What did they do now?

[Must have been very bad, if they were allowed not to come to the trial. Not that Kizakura envies that, sounds like those two are not having fun at all]

[originallutece]

Did you do something?

[fedorascout]

...I knew the odds I'd be a suspect were higher each time, yet I'm not amused.

[Mostly because of who the victim is. Kizakura actually can't avoid feeling offended by the fact he's going to be a suspect in the murder of two teenagers.

He doesn't believe he'll be one of the main suspects, so to say, but he still dislikes this]

[browbeater]

[he looks at the suspect list, and then just looks annoyed. He liked Miyamura, and he's still pissed the killing had to happen. He just wanted them to call the Sage's bluff this week. Just this once. He leans back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest]

... Get your questions out of the way.

[devilsphysician]

[Compared to the first time he's on the suspect list, he's a lot calmer, but he lets out a ragged noise as he sits down, rubbing his temples]

Oi... I'll answer to the best of my ability.

[irrationalities]

[So, people may have noticed that Mahiro was one of the stragglers who entered the Great Hall last. That might not necessarily be unusual in and of itself, but that ah... colorful suitcase he's carrying is pretty obvious and probably familiar, considering a couple of them have already popped out of the pond already.

After the Sage's usual greeting speech (and his typical irritation because wow that suspect list), he promptly unpacks a couple of medical textbooks cushioned in a mass of green cloaks and a bunch of clothing. Once all that's set up on the table, he pulls out one last thing--

Well that sure is a fucking submachine gun.]

Since Nishitani's not here, let me do the asking: which one of you fuckers killed Kurosaki and Miyamura?

[He trains the gun at each of the other suspects one-by-one before he lets it rest on his shoulder.]

And to start things off, I'll say that it wasn't me.

[fedorascout]

Oh, great, just what we needed: a dangerous weapon.

[Frustrating that now there's a submachine gun in this castle. Well at least now they know who to blame when a corpse appears riddled with bullets]

Not me.

[devilsphysician]

[He doesn't know what the hell that is, but he doesn't like it pointing at him, but something catches his eye]

...What are those books?

[notimmortal]

Okay, so since it looks like the culprit might be injured we're going to need to have the suspects strip so we can check for injuries. Probably should check arms and legs since we have no clue where it would be.

[And Jansen sounds so enthused by the idea of having to do this when it's totally Mahiro's thing to be checking and sniffing people.]

[ooc: Go ahead and just post results like suggested on plurk and we'll handwave that each suspect has two non-suspects of the same gender to check and a screen is available for anyone who needs it.]

[irrationalities]

[He'll strip down to his boxers shamelessly here. Notably he's still holding the gun because he's extra that way, but he won't make any threatening moves towards anyone who comes closer to check. His hands, arms and legs are clear of any recent injuries, as is the rest of his body.]

[originallutece]

All right . . .

[TIME TO TRY AND PUT THIS TOGETHER, part one.]

Jin was entirely uninjured, which suggests either drowning or poisoning-- I would put my bet on the former, given where the body was found. Miyamura, while possibly not killed by the injury to his neck, was almost certainly weakened by it.

So.

I wonder if the killer didn't intend simply to kill Miyamura, but Jin stumbled upon the scene once he began to wonder why Miyamura hadn't come to bed.

I still have yet to work out the timing on all this, but bear with me.

Suppose Miyamura was injured by the killer in the greenhouse, possibly with that razor. The killer failed to actually kill him, and fled when he or she heard someone else coming. Miyamura was met by Jin, who perhaps first tried to stop the flow of blood with his hood before running to get bandages from the infirmary-- hence why the things were knocked about. He returned, and the killer had either finished the job or knocked Miyamura out. Jin having stumbled upon the murder, the killer knocked Jin out, dragged both boys to the river, and drowned them both.

There are still bits of evidence missing, of course, but . . .

[It's a start.]

[browbeater]

[it is a start...]

Then who ended up bandaging Miyamura? Jin? And why didn't Jin just take Miyamura with him?

[originallutece]

There's also the chair and the contacts . . .

[She thinks her theory might have the shape of things, but those missing details bother her. The contacts people have started to go over, at least.]

It simply seems odd that he ought to only have one in, and that the other would reappear suddenly. Even if he'd found it, why take only one out? If Miyamura found it, why return it to him in the greenhouse?

And the chair . . . I suppose the chair could have been used to beat both boys. Broken apart so one could use one leg of it like a bat-- it's easier to wield a weapon than use your bare fists.

[devilsphysician]

Perhaps it's as Miss Hanyuu said and it belongs to someone else? That's a puzzle, now you said it - turning a chair into a weapon makes sense...

[He pauses, a bit uncertain as he rubs his chin]

[browbeater]

[he sighs.]

Let's take a step back. We're focused on minor evidence that we're not even sure is relevant. I've got a theory.

Miyamura wasn't wearing his clothes, and the clothes he was wearing were too small. There's no way the killer put those on him, so he must have already been wearing them. I don't know about you guys, but I've worn clothes that were too small for me before.

It's uncomfortable. You can't move as well as normal, and did I mention it's really uncomfortable? Because it is.

He had normal clothes available, but he chose to wear those clothes anyway.

Besides that, an empty razor case was found in his room. [mako holds the razor, and the razor case. He's removed the good luck charm for now. He slides the razor in.]

What if the razor belonged to Jin or Miyamura?

[fedorascout]

It could belong to anyone. I myself received a razor from the pond during the second week.

Therefore it's possible Kurosaki-kun or Miyamura-kun received a razor as well, but this isn't something that can be confirmed.

MOD PING

[pseudoregelia]

Sage-san, just to be sure...

We only have one culprit this time, right? And whoever the culprit is killed Kurosaki-san and Miyamura-san?

That is to say... This isn't a suicide case, correct?

[thesage]

This isn't a suicide case.

Whether or not it was simply one culprit or there was an accomplice, I can't say, unfortunately.

[irrationalities]

Hey. Why are we suddenly assuming that they were both working together to kill someone? Miyamura sneaking out on his own with the razor I can get if we're saying he didn't wear his clothes because he wanted to kill and pin things on Kurosaki.

That doesn't work as well if they're being accomplices. Why would Kurosaki wear his own normal clothing if they were planning that?

And if the whole thing's Miyamura's idea, why the hell was Kurosaki the one with the room key on him?

[fedorascout]

Couldn't it be Miyamura-kun was planning something, and Kurosaki-kun was trying to stop him? That Miyamura-kun left the room first, and Kurosaki-kun got suspicious and left later?

[browbeater]

[do you want to ask Mako questions? He's here now, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

That spot has grown significantly-- probably not helped by how he's squeezing his own arms out of nervousness.]

[devilsphysician]

Mako - stop, you're hurting yourself.

[Even with what may happen next, it's pointless to chide, but his voice lowers]

You wanted us to find out, didn't you?