[catch all for phoenix]

[survivaltricks]

Comments

[survivaltricks]

[ha]

[Akira's mouth twitches]

. . . so that's why.

[he shakes his head]

I voted for Asch. [UNDER DURESS!!!!] . . . and obviously, I didn't get any items for it.

Did you?

[slobjection]

[ god. ]

What made you think Asch was guilty?

[ he's not mad he's just disappointed. ]

I did, actually. I can even show it to you.

[survivaltricks]

I-- [WHAT]

[SORRY HE'S NOT ANSWERING THAT RIGHT NOW (the answer is "I didn't vote for him because I thought he was guilty") BECAUSE???]

From this week? For getting all three right?!

Who did you vote for??

[slobjection]

Who do you think, Akira?

[ even when he's infosharing he's being a shitty cryptic mentor about it!! ]

Let's hear your theory.

[survivaltricks]

[PHOENIX PLEASE???????]

[Akira opens his mouth, then shuts it again with a click. he forces himself to calm down with a deep breath as he puts his thinking cap on]

I didn't vote for Asch because I thought he was guilty. I voted for him because I didn't have a valid theory, and. . . it seemed-- better.

[to vote for someone willing to take the blow (EVEN IF HE WAS STUPID ABOUT IT) than to vote blindly and convict someone innocent and unwilling to be a sacrifice]

. . . my theory is still the same as it was at the trial. The map you and Horikawa-san drew was pretty clear.

It had to have been someone in the basement-- 45-san, Nic-san, Meltryllis-san-- or in the main hall-- Ayabe-san, Luna, or Asch-san himself.

[. . .]

Was my theory wrong?

[slobjection]

[ phoenix placidly listens to all of this..... ]

It's a good theory. We can take Asch out of that. So.... Luna, Ayabe, Nic, 45, Meltryllis.

[ phoenix pulls out two boxes.... both with tags from master blue. ]

Care to take a wild guess?

[survivaltricks]

[. . . Akira recognizes those boxes, and knows for sure that Phoenix isn't pulling his leg. after all. . . those boxes resemble the one he found in his room last week, after Nikki-san's trial]

[Akira closes his eyes and thinks through everything he can remember from the last hour (or two) he was awake at the trial. he thinks back to Nic and 45 and Luna and Ayabe and Melt's reactions, and. . .]

[. . .]

. . . 45-san.

After all. . . it doesn't make sense for her to have not been affected by a rampaging monster when she was supposedly sleeping in the gun room, right?

[slobjection]

.... It doesn't, no. But you're on the wrong track for this particular mystery.

[ look at the court record and try again! next time it'll be a penalty!! ]

[survivaltricks]

[not 45, not Asch. . . honestly, Akira doesn't think it was Ayabe or Luna or Nic. which leaves the one person he almost voted for, but in the end. . . did not]

. . . was it really Meltryllis-san?

[slobjection]

Nia died by decapitation. She's a woman with knives for legs.... suspicious, no?

[ but yeah. bingo! phoenix smiles. ]

[survivaltricks]

[. . .]

[just]

[fucking]

[closes his eyes]

[and takes this in for a long, long moment]

[. . .]








[he whirls on his heel and slams his fist against a nearby stone bench]

[slobjection]

[ god, mood. ]

Punching me would probably be more satisfying.

[survivaltricks]

[quietly, his voice pulled taut. he doesn't look up, but his shoulders are shaking]

. . . I have no reason to punch you. She was the ten count, wasn't she. . .?

[thanks to her suspicious behavior near the end, there. it isn't all that surprising to him, but what really gets his goat is the fact that he. . .]

I almost-- I almost. . . I almost put down her name.

[. . . he could have been the one person to tip the vote in the right direction]

[and he didn't]

[slobjection]

I hope so.

[ sincerely. because then 10 people would know the truth. anyway, he's not.. great at the comfort, and what's done is done. phoenix could have saved asch if he was more insistent, too. so: ]

Trust your instincts.

[survivaltricks]

[. . . swallows thickly, lifting his gaze to search Pheonix's expression carefully]

[. . .]

I usually do.

[it's just. . .]

This time, I was being too cautious.

[slobjection]

[ it's sympathetic. ]

We couldn't save Asch. But maybe we can save others.

[survivaltricks]

[. . .]

How?

[will Meltryllis kill again. . .? Asch was turned into a monster during his execution; did Meltryllis's monster form transfer to him, rendering her completely harmless. now that they know for certain she was the culprit. . . what do they do about it?]

[slobjection]

Still working on that part.

[ he wishes he had the answer. he only barely managed to put kristoph away, and his evil hold isn't vanquished..... ]

.... But the gift I got from Master Blue is a lie detecting bracelet. That would be handy in trial.

[survivaltricks]

[. . .]

I need to talk to the sisters again. I want to ask them why Asch turned into a monster. I want to ask them if Nia's killer— if Meltryllis— is still dangerous.

I want to ask if there is some way to find out who is going to turn into a monster and kill on Thursday nights before it happens.

[FURRY CONVERSATIONS. . .]

Your bracelet, though. . . that'll come in really handy. Make sure you don't tell too many people about it.

[slobjection]

[ all good questions to ask. ]

Let me know what you find out.

Never thought I'd end up with a trinket like this. [ ty is trying to make me rp apollo justice. ]

Consider it an ace up our sleeves.

[survivaltricks]

. . . I will.

[. . .]

[the next question he asks is spoken evenly and without any inflection in his tone, but there's something fragile hidden thinly behind his words anyway. what is it? it's hard to tell]

If Meltryllis-san is still dangerous. . . if there's a chance she'll kill again. . . what will you do about it?

[slobjection]

[ RANK UP! ]

[ Your Hobo Confidant has increased to Rank 2! You will now earn more EXP from Arcana Burst when fusing Personas of the Hobo arcana! ]

[ NEW ABILITY: Buck Pass: Allows you to pass the responsibility to being a brain cell in court to other Buck Pass users after a 1 More. ]

Not much to do about it. I'm not exactly a dragon-slaying knight.

.... But if we find out a way to contain her... could be a good opportunity to overturn that rule.

[survivaltricks]

[exhales a bit, but he looks. . . a bit torn about that response. but what Phoenix says afterwards catches his attention enough to prevent him from dwelling too much on this moral dilemma]

Which rule?

[also HA HA BUCK PASS YOU PRESUME AKIRA HAS A BRAIN CELL AT ALL]

[slobjection]

[ what happened to that maxed out knowledge!!! ]

"All guests must vote for a culprit to be executed for the sake of the house."

Apparently, it's not set in stone.

[survivaltricks]

[white noise]







What?

[WHAT DOES THAT MEAN]