DICE Trial #1 - Suspect Keima Katsuragi

[King V]

"Attention, attention, the court will now come to order! The second suspect of the trial, Keima Katsuragi will now come to attention."

"The Prosecutor of the suspect will once again be The Viscount. The Attorney will be Tsukino Ayame."

"Begin debate!"

[The Viscount]

*The Viscount comes to his desk, another more devious smirk on his face.*


"I see this is a battle I can actually win. Let's see if you can fight your way out of this one, Ms. Ayame."


"For my opening statement, the method of murder still stands, but to review, they were beaten by fists, dragged, stacked, and drowned. Now, you may be asking, ''Is Keima actually a more likely suspect than Light, without the footage?'' And the answer is yes, yes he is. Why, however? Let us say once again that I know from experience that Keima is a very, very strong man, and even when wounded, he managed to take a man like me down in only two punches. Shameful, but nonetheless, I am more for avoiding fights anyways. It's what I get for fighting back."


"The motive for Keima committing the crime is simple. He is a wanted man, and has committed many other crimes. If the police saw him, I am without a doubt that he would want to dispose of them. However, why kill them? I have no doubt that he must have been doing something quite suspicious on 5th Street that day, which led the police to attacking him brutally. This leads me to believe what he had been doing may be related to the murder or to the dark substance found on the doorknob. More than likely the second."


"Now, allow me to say that leather gloves can be purchased at the convenience store. And that they cost only two dollars, a very, very low price, unless you are someone like me, who has very, very little money anyways. Now, there was a dark substance that smelled of wood on the doorknob. I might say that this is something or another, perhaps an official document, that Keima Katsuragi was burning. However, we cannot be sure unless the man himself confesses."


"The last piece of evidence that I did not use is simply a forensics report that proves the use of gloves in the crime. Namely, that there were no fingerprints between the crime scene and the elevator in question. Now, to assure myself, I will allow the defense to make their first statement. But, otherwise, I will name my first witness in this case as Mr. Keima Katsuragi himself, for a small. Others who may have something to share are free to speak up in the gallery if they'd like, but be orderly about it."


"Other details like the previous witness testimonies still stand. Those who would like to read it, there's a copy of the transcript of the previous trial in the Court Record that you can read."


*The Viscount sits and awaits Ayame's statement.*

[Daedalus]

Ayame stands calmly, turning to face the jury with her impassive face.

"Your honor, my fellow classmates, my compatriots, my comrades through fate. I don't contend that this heinous murder was committed how the Viscount contends. Reviewing the autopsy report, I can confirm that they were beaten and dragged, presumably in that order, then stacked and drowned by the pool. Furthermore, it appears that the bruises they received, aside from those given to them while they were held down, were given a very short time before their death."

"What I have issue with, is my colleague's statement that Keima is the person who committed these murders. He is a suspect in crimes, perhaps, but aside from what I believe we can all agree to be a strange report on the News, one which also called the Viscount a reporter, I myself have heard no confirmation of whether he is actively wanted. Indeed, in these reports I see that a request was made to get surveillance on Mr. Katsuragi, but I have no record of any officers assigned to the task. Now, that being the case, wouldn't it be much safer to assume that if he came out, rather than confront him in any special way, they would simply ask him to head back inside? He is not a brash school child, prone to rebellion, but a city official. He benefits from society being how it is, so why would he fight against it?"

"To this, the Viscount has said, it was to fulfill some dark and secretive plot, using the dark substance found on the doorway. Well to you all I say, the forensics tell a different tale. They tested that substance, and guess what? The little girl was right. It was water. Pure and simple water. The smell, not to disparage the investigative skills of those who checked it, likely came from the wood of the door, not some strange chemical compound."

"So, with that being the case, what is left at the moment? We have a crime committed. That is fact. We have 4 murders, occurring at approximately 6 PM, confirmed by autopsy and by damaged phone. This is fact. We have drag marks out into 5th street, where they came from, and water droplets going out to 5th street. This is fact. After that, what we have is supposition. Do we suppose that a city advisor randomly decided to take a stroll, encountered policemen who politely but firmly asked him to head back inside, and flew into a murderous rage, subsequently killing them after beating them unconscious by dragging them into a nearby apartment, drowning them, and then calmly went home? As there is no dark substance, and thereby no secret plot, I propose that idea is preposterous. With only that as a basis, anyone in all of Avrak City could be a suspect, or at least each and every resident of Apartment 3-2."

"My friends, don't let prejudice sway your judgement. Some like Keima Katsuragi. Some dislike him. Some, like the Viscount here, have been in direct altercations with him. Yet still, the Viscount fought Keima, and he says he was knocked out, yet here he stands. Why do those policeman not stand today, who would have done much less than outright attack? I say to you it is because the one they met, the one that killed them, was not Keima Katsuragi, and I intend to prove it."

She sits.

[The Viscount]

*The Viscount laughs lightly in his chair, clapping occasionally.*


"Nice show. But that's all it is, a show. Nothing more."


"So the substance is water... What do you think that means? Why is it supposedly dark and thick, much unlike normal water? What does it entail?"


"Your argument comes from an assumption, an assumption that he was not out there for any specific reason, an assumption that Keima Katsuragi was not a wanted man. Answer me this, Ms. Ayame. Who created the news report detailing Keima's crimes, and what is his occupation? I think we all know the answer by now."

[Daedalus]

Ayame smirks.

"It entails that you did not read your report closely enough, dear Viscount. They tested the substance. It was water. It was not dark, it was not thick. It was water. Check your notes and try again with something else that might be worth the breath to refute it."

"Now, your second point is one I will talk about with relish. Assuming that it is how we all seem to claim, our Chief of Police, Light Yagami, would be the most likely suspect. However, note the following issues with tying that to being a wanted man. First, the report detailed crimes of Sova, crimes which have now been proven to have been done by another. He brought to attention Yuuji, who it is now clear he seemed to have a personal vendetta against. I claim it is not only possible, but quite likely, that that report was fabricated by the Chief of Police simply to cause harm to the reputation of those that he wished removed, but did not have a way to remove them legally. Indeed, even Sova eventually got police ordered after her, yet do you see any such report of direct action by the police after Mr. Katsuragi? No, although at the moment I don't contend the assumption that Light Yagami hijacked the airwaves to slander his rivals, I say that he did that because he could not use his power against them as the chief of police directly. Keima being named in that broadcast supports the truth that Keima was not under different rules than the rest of us when it came to the police patrolling the streets. It supports that he would not have cause to strike them, and neither would they have cause to strike him."

[The Viscount]

*The Viscount begins to laugh.*


"Hahahahahaha! Finally, I haven't had this much fun since my first bout with Arthur Crozier! However, unlike my battles with him... This will not end well for your end."


"For one, yes, police were sent after Sova Underskott. That immediately proves that it was not out of Light Yagami's power to send police after them."


"For two, we are under martial law. That immediately proves that it was not out of Light Yagami's power to send police after them."


"For three, this assumes that Keima Katsuragi was not wanted around the time of the murder, which cannot be proven directly now that Light Yagami is out of the courtroom. However, I have had contact with the police, and I reported the time that Keima Katsuragi attacked me. The police said, and I quote, that they "already had eyes on Keima and would immediately intervene if he did anything suspicious." Do you know what this means?"


"Yes. It means your entire argument is invalid. Unless you have something else to back up. However, to drive the final nail down and tie up some loose ends, I would like to call Special Agent Stocke instead to the witness stand."

[Ravan]

What do you want from me?

[The Viscount]

"Quite simple, Agent Stocke. I would like you to testify about the events that went down recently with Sova Underskott and Yuuji Kazumi, and, more specifically, what you and what the chief of police knew about the events at the time."

[Ravan]

Approximately 4 days ago, I received an anonymous tip that there would be a weapons shipment that would be received by someone. As weapons aren't legal in this city, I went to intercept it. There I saw a rather shady individual already there, and a high school student that arrived. They spoke for a time, and then someone dropped off a duffel bag. I assume there were weapons within. The shady individual demanded the student to, I quote, "FREEZE, POLICE!", yet he merely gestured. The high school student picked up the duffel bag and ran away. Afterwards, I found the shady individual stopped in front of an alleyway. He appeared to be dumbfounded. I searched the alleyway and found what I assume he missed, but that has nothing to do with this case. Suffice to say, I realised that the high school student passed me while I was searching for him, so I tailed him back to the school. I located his classroom and attempted to incapacitate him to no avail, as I heard police sirens. I decided to cut my losses and leave. On my way out, I saw the shady individual enter. A few minutes after I left, I saw the high school student jump out the window and run off.

That would be my first time meeting the high school student Yuuji Kazumi, as well as my first meeting with the shady individual Yagami Light.

When it came to Sova Underskott, I believe she was one of the students I witnessed fighting when I tailed Yuuji to his school. Yesterday night as I was investigating, I discovered a group of approximately 20 police officers who were looking for her. They mentioned that police chief Yagami Light had sent them out after her for "vandalism". I discovered a hole in a wall and had the sense not to inquire further.

I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific when it comes to what you mean with "what you and the chief of police knew aabout events at the time."

[The Viscount]

"By what I meant there, I mean, in the case of the recent crimes of vandalism that were supposedly performed by Sova Underskott... Did the chief of police seem at any point knowledgeable in any way that the crimes were not being committed by the accused Sova Underskott? Such as, did the chief of police send a grand total of twenty soldiers after her for crimes that he knew that she did not commit, or did he believe that she did, in fact, commit them? And, at the time, did you or did you not know the truth as well? I only ask you because I believe you mentioned Light Yagami arriving at the scene of a certain vandalism event at the school shortly after you did."

[Ravan]

To be honest, I did indeed assume that Underskott was committing vandalism, as I found that group of police to be examining a large hole in the wall of the cinema. When I asked more about what they defined as "vandalism", however, the officer replied that he didn't know, but that the chief wanted them (Underskott) to be put under arrest. They tracked her down to the cinema, I assume she escaped.

When it comes to one of her crimes in particular, I can vouch for her not littering the school courtyard with bananas. That was the work of someone else that I didn't recognise at the time, and I don't believe I know them either. As I mentioned previously, I tailed Yuuji to the school to attempt to subdue him and put him into custody, but it was to no avail, as I heard police sirens. I thus decided to leave it in the hands of the police.

That is all the interaction I have had with Ms. Underskott, excluding some irrelevant meeting at the police station recently. People were curious about the state of the bodies, you see, and she was no exception.

Is that all?

[The Viscount]

"That is all, Agent Stocke, thank you. You may step down."


"Now, Ms. Ayame, through my earlier points and through Agent Stocke's testimony, is it not clear that the chief of police did, in fact, have the power and act on the power to go after the ones mentioned in the testimony, even though the personnel were not supplied a reason? And so, is it not obvious that Light Yagami would have sent personnel to attack Keima Katsuragi, to which he would have had no choice but to defend himself?"


"However, what I cannot discern is the motive to go all the way in murdering the victims. I must conclude that something was going on that we do not know about. This applies to any possible suspect at this point, not just Keima Katsuragi. Without that knowledge, we cannot entirely confirm nor completely deny Keima Katsuragi his guilt. Any statements on this matter?"

[Daedalus]

"Hold on a moment, Agent Stocke, you may not step down," Ayame says, pointedly looking at the Viscount before returning her gaze to Stocke.

"Now then, Agent, a simple question. When you talked to these policemen, and they said they had been 'sent after her,' to use your words, did they ever actually say what their purpose was?"

[Ravan]

They did. Our conversation essentially boiled down to myself asking "What's the problem here, officer?", to which they showed me a photo of a girl with a "Have you seen this person" underneath the picture of the girl, along with the name Sova Underskott.

I replied with a "Why do you ask?" as I was interested in why they were looking for her. They explicitly said this. "Chief Light Yagami wants them put under arrest for vandalism."

I replied by asking them to clarify what they meant by vandalism. They replied with something akin to "Don't know, but the chief wants them arrested. We've tracked them (Sova, I assume) down here."

I also asked what exactly this Sova Underskott had done, and asked if they were present. They didn't reply to me at that point, but I felt that the hole in the cinema wall was enough of an explanation.

Do you have any other questions?

[Daedalus]

"Ah! So you mean to say then that they were sent after her to detain her for questioning? Not to attack unless responded to with force, but instead to, ideally, apprehend her peacefully. Like what any good protector of the peace would do."