WEEK 3 TRIAL

[foundationmods]

It was noon on Saturday.

No matter where they were, no matter what they were doing...the moment the chimes rang out through the hall, they felt a change.

The world...began to expand, as they felt themselves leaving the world they were on, and towards another, much larger world...🗈

...As always, the courtroom was there - along with the audience, watching, waiting for the entertainment before them.

The Witch - Nirrti - was there, sitting in the most important place, watching all of them with a sharp, cruel gaze, a smile of pure delight on her face.

Watanuki was also there, but he merely lounged in the back behind them, smoking a kiseru pipe in silence.
...It seemed as if he was content to watch - that he had to watch - as part of the rules of the game.

There was no music to be heard, but... perhaps on another plane, in another place, someone else heard music as they gazed upon the proceedings.

Again, their forms had changed - perhaps into something different than last time, but...still a change, no matter how dramatic or inconsequential it was.

...There was a deep silence in the room, one that no one wanted to break. It was the faint tension in the air, like the moments before a race or a competition begins.

They had found the truth last time....but now, two people had died.
Was it possible for them to find the culprit this time?
A culprit that....had...

No, it had to be.

For the sake of the dead...and the sake of them all.

Comments

[anonnomnomnom]

Let me guess, all of the stories had lessons and stuff, like, you should listen to your elders or you're going to get kidnapped by a spirit and eaten for breakfast! I think it's a little late for us, though. [He'll land next to Natsuno and cross his dumb spindly arms neatly in front of him. Yawn a little, waiting for the chaos to die down.] I thought you didn't go to high school!

[sotoshini]

Or kidnapped and taken to the mountains to be their slaves. And then be their breakfast.

[ Mood. And huh that sure is a lot of floof up close. He missed his last opportunity so. Just. Poking the floof gently and quickly don't mind him. ]

It wasn't for very long, so it didn't really count.

[anonnomnomnom]

Definitely too late for us, then. I mean, I kind of like this better than the mountains. [He tilts his head slightly to peer at Natsuno with one eye socket when he prods the floof, but doesn't remark on it. Natsuno can get away with it, apparently.] How long do you have to be in school for it to count?

[sotoshini]

Yeah, the ocean's much better.

[ ! Gotta be sneaky so leaning back like nothing happened at all, his lips quirking upward. ]

A full semester, at least.

[anonnomnomnom]

I think I wouldn't complain if we had both, because the mountains are where I grew up. But if I had to pick one right now... yeah! [There's a brief brightness to it different from the sharp edge of trial. He really likes the ocean, okay. Also he just tilts his head back up as though nothing happened. Hide-and-seek?] A semester is... half a year?

[sotoshini]

[ Oh, he notices that brightness. Huh. And yes, he is totally fine with this. ]

There's places in Japan that have both. Maybe I can show you sometime. [ Holding up his hand he starts counting. ]

A third of the year.

[anonnomnomnom]

I really didn't have any time to get a tour of Japan before we had to get back to the tournament, I'd definitely be up for seeing more of the place! Maybe I can even see a high school. [Is that really where he'd want to go for tourism. He seems stoked about it regardless.] Oh. What, did you walk in and the teacher was a horrible hag and then you walked out again?

[sotoshini]

[ ....this is probably a terrible idea but you know what, sure. Natsuno just lets out a light breath and nods. Nothing could possibly go wrong with them and high school. ]

Is that something you'd think I would do? [ He sounds amused. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[Yeah, just turn Anon loose in a closed building full of a zillion impulsive human teenagers. It'll be totally fine.] It's fun to picture you doing it! [His head is tilted slightly, though, inquiring. Would Natsuno like to set the record straight?]

[sotoshini]

I might have, but school was my ticket out of Sotoba. I never finished the semester because of the Shiki, though. [ That's said a bit flat, there's clearly regret there. But then his eyes brighten. ]

I did turn down a love note from a dead girl at her funeral. People tried to tell me I shouldn't scorn the dead, but it's not like she was alive to protest and I owed her nothing anyway.

[anonnomnomnom]

Because you couldn't leave on your own, huh... It would probably be hard to leave anyway, if the whole shiki thing was happening. [He sounds vaguely thoughtful, a hum appending the statement as he shifts with a funny rustle of fur and bone.] Why would they give you a love note from a dead person at their funeral? Seems kind of pointless.

[sotoshini]

[ A nod at the first part. It would have been hard even without the Shiki, but it's all he had to cling to. Seems kinda far away now, though. ]

Because "she would have wanted me to have it". To them I should have accepted it as a keepsake, even though I hated her. It was exactly what she would have wanted—for me to finally accept her feelings after months of her stalking me.

I owed her less than nothing, and I wasn't going to make her happy even if it was the "right" thing to do.

[anonnomnomnom]

[There are a lot of things that are definitely far away now. Literally and figuratively! Anon gives a brief snort that rattles the bones in his face a little.] Oh, was this the girl who wanted you to bite her all the time, too? I don't get everyone's obsession with the dead, and letting the dead tell them what to do. You can't move forward that way! It's like shutting yourself up in a coffin too. [He makes another droll clacking noise with his face when he says that, but he's probably also some measure of serious about it.]

[sotoshini]

She's the one I've talked to you about, but it was the other way around. Shimizu was one of the first ones turned but they never let her bite me. Someone else did that. [ His voice is quieter towards the end and hes going to find something to lean up against. ]

You can't. It just shackes you down until one day you're dead yourself.

[anonnomnomnom]

[He is totally here to be either a professional pillow or a professional wall. Nobody is the wiser because his damn fur obscures half the courtroom wherever he is.] So she was the one who really wanted to claim you, huh? Good thing she's dead. [Congratulations on escaping confusing vampire marriage or whatever?? His head lowers minutely, though he doesn't look, just listens.] Honestly, I think it might be worse living that way than it is dying that way! At least if you're dead, it's not relevant anymore. If you're still alive, you just drag everyone else down with you. People just can't live their own life properly that way.

[sotoshini]

Yeah, that's why I had to kill her myself. [ He really couldn't get peace of mind otherwise. Sighing he just kind of leans into the floof a bit. It's there and his head is spinning. He'll snap back momentarily, just the combination of thoughts and feelings in his mind is one turbulent mess. ]

Mhmm. And if you live that way, you might eventually think "this is alright", "I'm okay with going nowhere", "It's not that bad afterall". That's not living at all, and it would be worse than being dead.

[anonnomnomnom]

It's the only way to be sure. [Look, he's a huge fan of making absolutely sure your enemies are dead, or erased from existence. Perhaps contrary to his image, he can be pretty cautious! But also not contrary to his image, he's just overall terrible. Terribly fluffy, as it turns out, because the floof is seemingly endless. There might be a skeleton or bulk in there somewhere, but it's hard to tell. Overall, it's warm and smells unchangingly of sulfur and ashes. Whoops.] You can't see your way if all you do is look backwards. I'm going to make sure I never live that way. [He is probably overdoing that.]

[sotoshini]

[ And in another example of "they are a disaster combination", the smell of ash is familiar. Sotoba was 80% pine trees, 15% cattle and 5% people, so there was a lot of fire and ash to go around when the entire village went up in flames. It's comforting in a morbid way, so casually leaning into the floof more. ]

This would be easier if everyone realized that. [ Says questionable teen protag who's currently experiencing emotions because of his past, but do as I say not as I do etc etc. Though really, compared to the yelling and crying going on now his reaction is still pretty mild, so he's got that going for him at least. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[This is a disaster, Natsuno, you are a disaster. But the floof is accepting, and the floof receives all with metaphorically open arms, including the morbid recollections of past massacres. The literal skeleton arms are still patiently folded as he shakes his head at the scene being made at the end of trial, because there's still a trial kind of going on, I guess.] It would be a lot easier! The past and the dead are useful for some lessons, but they keep trying to drag everything along with them. I guess nobody ever learned to travel light.

[sotoshini]

[ ty for the floof tbh. ]

Of course not, that's how humans are. [ Sighing and taking a moment to gather his thoughts. ] This is what she wants, and they're giving it to her. But I don't feel like trying to argue with them about it.

[anonnomnomnom]

You'd think humans would be better at changing and learning, you know? [Short lifespans, live fast, live dangerously, and apparently with a tendency to jump into danger and impale themselves on things like Blue Truths or whatever.] Remember when I said Feathers would have to learn on their own? Same goes for them. If they never do, well... that's a whole other problem!

[sotoshini]

[ Nodding along to this, their viscous feedback cycle continues. He knows quite well how humans are even if he was an outlier, and it's just tiring.

Looking up at Anon he tilts his head and quips before thinking better of it. ]

Is that why you're fluffier now?

[anonnomnomnom]

Hmm? Am I? [The skeleton head tiiiilts back a bit at a vertical angle -- there's only eyesockets so who knows where he's looking, but he's probably looking for his backside which is way the hell over there behind his wings. It's a completely futile endeavor but at least he tried.] I noticed I was a little bigger, but it's hard to see the rest of it without a mirror. [And sadly there are no mirrors in this courtroom unless one of them wants to remember they're in the meta and conjure one up.]

[sotoshini]

Yeah, pointier too. [ Unfortunately Natsuno will not remember such a thing, but he does helpfully (or not so helpfully) pat the floof for emphasis. ]

I thought it was just a normal part of your... [ Tries to gesture at everything but winds up just hitting more floof instead. ] power.

[anonnomnomnom]

[He makes an amused noise, both at himself and the general state of Natsuno vs. floof. Maybe one of these days he'll explore the meta a bit more, really get his piñata life going. For now:] No wonder I kept sticking to things when I ran into them. Next time I'll have to see if it makes my Blue Truths a bit more interesting, too. [He'd been especially cautious with those this time around, given what Nirrti was pulling. But strategies for next round? Fair game. One skeleton finger taps against the ground, thoughtful.] But I don't think it has anything to do with my powers. This form... I guess some things changed lately. And I thought a little more about what I want to do. Isn't that why we change here?