FIFTH TRIAL

[whimsicalism]

Is everyone finished? Good. It's time for a trial.

[The ride to the court room is uneventful this time. There's no breaking of bones or porcelain when you land. The podiums are rather empty, especially now that there's only twenty portraits even if there's twenty one podiums still. Huh. Fancy that! It's almost as if the Storyteller was still bitter.

Though, there definitely feels something off about the court room. It sort of feels like you're being watched but you're not sure.]

Seven is Dead. Time to find out who's responsible. Time for a trial!

Comments

[strictura]

I'm not really good at anything that requires any kind of physical ability.

[ You guys saw him with that jukebox and that pinata. ]

[battlestations]

[He's scratching his chin at this because he doesn't think there'd be much recoil on a water-gun, but he'll let it slide for now since he also doubts his ability to carry Seven's head etc.]

[battlestations]

Wait a minute. The culprit probably held the bloody end of the rope, didn't they? Maybe we could figure something out with that.

[xxxx_me]

The bloody end?

[battlestations]

Yeah. There was a rope tied to the bear trap, but the end that was bloody wasn't the part that was tied to the actual trap. Doesn't that make it seem like the killer probably grabbed it themselves? Cause if it was Seven's blood from his foot, it should have been on the trap end. I think.

[xxxx_me]

Oh...

Then... huh? Were they injured after all?

[battlestations]

I was thinking it was more like they got Seven's blood on their hands while they were axing him. It does still seem likely it got washed off.

[xxxx_me]

So we're back to someone with clean hands.

[battlestations]

Right. Which... doesn't tell us much on its own, but perhaps the blood will reveal some clues.

[strictura]

So they moved the rope after they killed him, you mean?

[battlestations]

Exactly. It could involve them untying it from the tree it was on, if we go with that theory.

[ballooncaged]

! I haven't thought about that at all! The blood on the rope could totally tell us more about how the fight went.

But I like where you're going with this. I've been thinking that if the black fabric was just clothes, then it could make sense for the culprit to only wash their hands.

check

[battlestations]

Well then, let's take a closer look.

[He actually brought the rope for Amdi so he'll just pluck it from the center to peer at the non-foot end.

Does it look comparative to a hand or palm size? Any other notable clues?]

[whimsicalism]

[To clarify the rope near the bear trap does have blood but since it was attached to a trap near a bleeding limb, that shouldn't be a surprise.

They are hand prints but not really clear ones. They're roughly placed where someone could have held this with both hands.]

[battlestations]

[Interesting. Are they close together like tug-of-war?]

[whimsicalism]

[They're about five inches apart. Also now that you're examining it, it looks like there's some fraying here with some little bits of bark stuck to the rope. It wasn't really noticeable at a glance but now that you're fully focusing on it you can tell.]

[battlestations]

Alright. This was definitely used on the tree, and seems like the killer pulled very hard. I think Seven lifting the tree on his own has been disproven. We're looking at someone who set a trap, and then another trap.

What if it was like this... after shooting his head in the eyes, they lured Seven's body to the bear trap, pulled the tree they'd painstakingly dug out with this rope, and then... when the tree didn't kill him... the killer began hacking on the limbs that were sticking out?

[xxxx_me]

[DDDDDDDD:]

Y-yeah, that seems possible.

[battlestations]

...I don't think this would require much strength, considering the extent the roots had been dug up. Water pistols shouldn't have much recoil, either.

[But that would make someone suspicious that he really would prefer not to have lying.]

We should do handprint checks.

[xxxx_me]

Okay...

[Presenting: hands.]

[strictura]

[ Here you go? ]

[octopups]

[Several reluctant nods] Y-yeah, me and Nagisa were thinking about something like that earlier.

But if the rope was just for pulling down the tree, why was it also tied to the leg trap?

[battlestations]

Maybe to make extra certain Seven didn't go anywhere with the trap?

[octopups]

[PHEW HANDPRINTS, AMDI IS FINALLY CLEARED]

[battlestations]

[WHO'S A GOOD BOY. YOU ARE.]