Take Responsibility.

[trustbound]

This investigation seems to have been difficult for many; while your time here hasn't been particularly easy on anyone, it's been eight straight weeks of people dying, of losing those you care about - or at least, losing those you had some sense of solidarity with. There's only about a quarter of your original number left. Either way, however, there are some things that remain constant, even if your numbers do not - the corridor down below the dorms, the way the door sounds when it unlatches, the gentle outward swing of the door. The darkened stairwell that it leads to. The courtroom. The podium circle remains in the center of the room, the spots marked out from the dead having increased in number yet again; Aligula, Hibiki, Sayaka, and Alex all have had their podiums altered, draped in black with greyscale portraits set atop them. They'll be keeping an eye on the proceedings today, for better or for worse. As always, the thirty-sixth podium remains blank. Once everyone has found their place in the circle, Jericho can be heard over the public-address system; he doesn't seem to have settled any from the investigation. "Attentive and Submerged are gone - and trust me, for at least one of them, it's better for everyone that way. Maybe you disagree with that, maybe you don't, I don't really give a fuck - and at least for the guilty party, their deaths might be their ticket out of here. So it's probably better for them, anyway. Either way, I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you what you're here to do. Once again and as always, it's the innocent versus the guilty. Whichever side wins is mattering less and less every week, isn't it? Even so, you should still put some effort in, just to satisfy the dead - so you know what, do your best!" Nine Participants remain. However many leave here at the end of the day is up to you.

Comments

[matchbreaker]

[ She... ]

Any way I have to! [ She roars this ] I'll tie them down if I have to, I'll talk things out with them if I have to, I'll listen and force them through any hangup they have! You said it yourself, you should have talked to me! Well, you should have! And I'm not going to make the mistake of not forcing the issue again!

If we ever come to this room again, there will be someone at that podium!

[ And she points at the blank podium, the 36th one that they've never seen anyone at ]

[chessturner]

[She narrows her eyes, a finger on the trigger]

So you're saying the Coordinators or someone will be standing there? Why next week? How can you be sure about that?

[But maybe it'll work? Pursuing this line of argument?]

[matchbreaker]

[ As per Luca's plan here she does step forward, out from the group. She doesn't run towards her podium though so much as briskly walk towards Kyrie and the podiums. Her eyes are steely ]

With your death, there's eight of us left. You said it yourself, there's been no new floor. We're clearly coming up on the end of the exercise. And you know what, they've already said that they're bound by rules. Hilda calls us fuck ups, but she herself and Jericho also are. [ Jericho's said as much himself ]

Whatever incentive happens next week won't work. Whatever else needs to be discovered will be, and we're going to win. I promised every last one of those ghosts. And now I'm promising you.

Give me that chance, Kyrie Ushiromiya.

[chessturner]

...

[Between Rin's argument and now Elda's argument, she actually seems to waver]

I can't be certain you'd bring me back, not after everything I have done.

[matchbreaker]

Then I'm going to promise it now.

[ And her voice becomes louder now, booming around the room as she calls out to everyone and everything in here: ]

You, Kimblee, Blue, Green, Walter White, Caren, Jean, Aligula... Mikoto, every Terumi and that rat bastard Kirei! I'm going to drag every last one of you out of hell! That's the terms I'm promising now!

[heritrix]

[Hey now, let's not be too hasty here...

Actually no. Even when Elda promises to resurrect Kirei, Rin might make a face, but she says nothing against it at all.]

1/2

[chessturner]

[For a moment Kyrie says nothing. She grips the handle of the crossbow, she grits her teeth, and finally shouts:]

I'd have to be insane to do that!

[Without warning, she throws the crossbow at the group, she throws as many crossbow bolts as she can, she even throws the drawing Ange had made. In the confusion she steps to Elda's podium and slams down her vote]

2/2

[chessturner]

[>PRAGMATIC]

...how curious...I must be starting to get mellow. Who'd have thought?

[Without another word for the rest, she turns around and walks back to the podium]

[matchbreaker]

[ Elda intends to leap through the crossbow hail there until she sees a glimpse of the drawing.

... Of course she was right ...

Elda... Smiles a little, maybe it's the adrenaline still in her system. But she's definitely smiling with relief as she makes her way over to Kyrie. ]

Treat my daughter well on the other side. That's your penance, for now.

[chessturner]

I'm going to have to apologize...to both Sayaka-chan and Alex-san.

They deserve more than just an apology.

[matchbreaker]

They do. Until your next life, your will is theirs.

[ And elda... reaches up to pick up Ditty off her podium, who had been cowering during all that, maybe have tried to put his goo over some other not-Kyrie buttons too. ]

[heritrix]

[Sayaka... Alex... Looking around the room again really makes it set in. There are still people she... Well, it's not like she cares, but maybe she likes them.

...She liked several of the dead, too. Between this week and the last, so many of them are gone now. The closest thing she had to friends. Not just those two, even. There was a victim of timing today.]

Kyrie. While you're making amends with those two, if you see Hibiki, can you pass a message on for me?

[chessturner]

Sure. I see no harm in doing that.

[If Hibiki isn't watching right now, she guesses she can pass the message, yeah]

[heritrix]

[It worked then...? Rin breathes a huge sigh of relief, and picks herself up from the ground. There's more she wants to say to Kyrie, but she'll let her and Elda talk first. For now she's going back to her podium.]

> PRAGMATIC

[bloodisthicker]

[ohhhhhh god. it's okay. they're not all dead. things turned out fine. alright.]

...

What does everyone want to eat after this. Individually. It's been a harrowing enough day that I think I'm just going to be a short order cook tonight and make something special for everyone.

[matchbreaker]

Maybe some tea for me. Light on leaves flavor, but strong in aroma if possible.

[ She says this somewhat hesitantly. She does owe Tarrlok an apology. ]

[bloodisthicker]

Right, I'll jot that down, then.

[HE ALWAYS HAS A PEN AND NOTEPAD...! and honestly. he's less mad than he probably should be.]

[perpend]

....whatever you cook for yourself is fine. I never eat much right after trials.

[bloodisthicker]

Alright.

[what should he... make for himself... hmmm... he'll have to think about that.]

I'll... get back to you on that.

[heritrix]

[Rin feels exhausted and jittery. Too much whiplash of emotions today, along with everything else, not to mention the anxiousness of waiting for Jericho's reaction. But hell if she isn't still riding on this adrenaline rush, so she manages a smirk in Tarrlok's direction.]

Really? You'll make anything I want?

[bloodisthicker]

Yes. Precisely. Anything.

[because yeah. this sure is a coping mechanism.]

[heritrix]

[Then it's time to give Tarrlok's coping mechanism a run for its money.]

In that case, I accept your offer as an IOU. What I want would be far too difficult for you to make while also taking individual orders for everyone else.

For tonight, I'll either cook for myself or take whatever's left over. This will give you time to prepare for my meal next week. Whenever you can manage it, I'd like to have a perfect savory souffle, along with Baked Alaska for dessert.

[...THIS IS HEW OWN COPING MECHANISM.]

[hesperos]

Something with meat is fine.

[ So, like...whatever. ]

[bloodisthicker]

...How do you feel about kebabs.

[hesperos]

I feel like it would be kebabtastic.