Take Responsibility.

[trustbound]

Once again, as people finish their investigations and make their way toward the door at the bottom of those stairs in the dorms, the door down there is unlocked once again. It opens as though of its own volition, with a loud clicking sound and a soft outward swing, not firmly enough to harm anyone who might be standing in the way but enough to give them some slight encouragement to move. The stairwell it leads to is once again dark, the only light coming in from the courtroom below, if it can really properly be called that. It stands as cold and unforgiving as it did last week, all concrete and steel and the podium circle in the center, surrounding the darkened pit in the middle. Nothing can be seen down there for the time being; it simply seems like a large black hole leading nowhere. Three more podiums have joined Jean's in being arranged differently from the rest; Caren, Yosuke, and Chitoge have all joined the ranks of the deceased, their podiums draped in black with their profile portraits sitting atop them, greyed-out and watching the room with unseeing eyes. The thirty-sixth podium remains empty and blank, as always. Once everyone has found their place in the circle, the public-address system comes to life once more, and after a moment Jericho's voice can be heard "Dexterous has been taken from you; seems like a lot of you were friends with her, and you all know why you're here by now and what you're supposed to do. So hopefully you guys won't be disrespectful assholes again and expect me to make you give a damn this time! Be self-centered about it all you want, just do your jobs. After all, it's in your best interests to do that. As always, do your best - I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes." Thirty-one Participants remain. However many are left at the end of the day is up to you.

Comments

[matchbreaker]

Don't be daft! That doesn't answer anything.

[ Right...? Like Caren just kind of confessed too, but that was an anticlimax after they worked most of the rest of it out. This one is like... they did work out a fair bit of it, but... like. All of it? She's less sure there. ]

[innocentloveholic]

Do we need answers, Indomitable?

[ Aligula's podium is right next to Blue's, and she's... looking great. No smiles, but great, sure. Sort of nothing, really. ]

The only answer we need is who killed Chitoge, and we've got that.

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . Do they? She frowns a little and shakes her head ]

Probably not. [ she admits -- wait. ]

... Oh, her name.

[ She says that with a small hint of wonder. ]

[evilfrenzy]

I wouldn't have taken her as the type to be so completely nonchalant about it.

[innocentloveholic]

Maybe it's normal for her world. People die in Hellsalem's Lot City all the time, so I'm totally desensitized to it. [ which is definitely why she's not worked up today, yeah. ]

[evilfrenzy]

That much was obvious.

[Aligula was basically fuckin' cheering on Yosuke's gruesome death.]

It's just the sort of reaction I wasn't expecting. She knows what's going to happen to her. I don't know, I'd be pissed if I botched something like this.

[You know, hypothetically.]

[innocentloveholic]

[ She had no attachment to Yosuke aside from "he was cute" and "he ended up good entertainment" okay!! ]

So some people get mad, and some people totally roll over and give up like some stupid mutt! So what? You humans aren't as varied as you think you are.

[evilfrenzy]

[Rideaux's expression sours a bit. He's heard more than enough of this "you humans" bullshit from spirits.]

You say that like you're above it all. Like you didn't get riled up with Kotomine earlier about how you thought he was accusing you.

[zomgboom]

Do we though? Just because, like, she confessed doesn't mean she did it.

[matchbreaker]

... But what sort of stupid person wrongly confesses to something which'll kill everyone?

[ Including them. Despite it feeling weird in her gut (which was why she snapped at Tarrlok) she can't help but fall back into wondering if there's any logic here. ]

[perpend]

That's a gooood question.

[It's not sitting right with him, either.]

[destage]

...You don't suppose she's trying to protect someone, do you?

[matchbreaker]

...Mmm. You know, is it worth taking the incentive Jericho threw out at all? I mean, Kimblee said it himself back at the meeting, it's a bit more than a vacation.

[ It might not be worth it at this point but??? Something still feels weird. ]

[shuttermouse]

...What if there's a second killer involved? If Blue-san and someone else are both responsible, and we only vote for Blue-san...

[bloodisthicker]

Do you really think she's covering for someone, then? I think any inconsistencies in her current behavior can be explained by the fact that she's about to die rather brutally.

[withabigsmile]

Mister Tarrlok's got the right idea! Of course, if you'd like to hunt down and vote for someone else instead, I do very much still want to leave. ♥

[bloodisthicker]

For once, I agree with Aligula here. Unless there's something involved with this that means she didn't kill Chitoge, there's no need to listen to her sob story about why she thought condemning all of us to death was a good idea.

[innocentloveholic]

[ shit.... her and tarrlok agreeing on something.... end of the fucking world here, probably. ]

Yeah, what Assured said. [ so speak now or forever hold your peace i guess ]

[heritrix]

I know you're a councilman, but I hope you have nothing to do with law enforcement if you're this negligent. Even having the correct culprit, we should get a better grasp on what happened.

[bloodisthicker]

If you're so certain there's something more to this, then by all means keep prying. Maybe you'll manage to convince yourself someone else did it and run around in circles trying to prove the culprit isn't right in front of you.

[heritrix]

No, I have no doubt it isn't her, but if we don't get out of here soon this is only going to continue. We should carry this out the proper way, so we don't get in the habit of cutting corners and pay for it later when a tougher case blindsides us.

[notaccurate]

Not if she is protecting someone else.

[innocentloveholic]

She said she didn't trust any of us, so I reaaaaaaaally doubt she's gonna protect someone. That's totally bonkers, Inconspicuous!

[ A little laugh, because she just thought of something— ]

Hey, hey, maybe saying stupid things like that is why noooooo one listens to you~?

[notaccurate]

And you don't think she could be lying right now to protect that same person?

[His eyebrow twitches at that last comment, but other than a frown he's not speaking up. He's trying really hard not to rise to that bait right now.]

[matchbreaker]

I actually agree with Aligula, I don't think Blue's got anyone to protect like that. Honestly, the fact Chitoge had her sleep over is the weirdest part of this to me.