Take Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

And after a given amount of time, those elevator doors at the end of the first-floor corridor open up; as it was last week, the ride down is smooth and quick-moving, even if there are less of you this week. (Technically, you're only down by one in the elevator; Bruce has ensured that Pearl is with you in some way, albeit unconventionally and by the grace of Ziploc.) However, when the doors open up to the podium circle standing in the middle of that black void of a courtroom, there's no mistaking the fact that there are fewer people present than there were last week – Kamui and Pearl have joined those with podiums draped in black, their framed profile portraits watching the proceedings in shades of grey. It's still impossible to tell exactly where the Kingmaker is watching the proceedings from, though it's obvious that he is; he'll wait until everyone is settled before he speaks, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "Devoted has been taken from you. All of you know what the stakes are now, but this happened anyway – looks like someone's determined. Whether they succeed or not is up to you." Twenty-four Survivors remain. We'll see how many are still standing by the end of the day.

Comments

[prismbloom]

I did find a towel in the storage room. It didn't belong there--and when I went to the laundry room, there seemed to be a missing towel.

[garudynamic]

Wait, really?! Do you still have it?

[prismbloom]

[ OF COURSE SHE DOES

She pulls that out to show. She also has a towel from the storage room, and one from the laundry room. (They're marked, ftr.) ]

See? This is what I found in the storage room. It's slightly different than the ones that are usually found there.

[garudynamic]

[He takes the towels, thanking Aqua softly]

Hey, anyone got a light?

[isafraid]

I have a small amount of matches, in case you need them. [but is that wise though.]

[garudynamic]

Better then nothing. Someone wanna hold the towel up for me?

[amygdalae]

[No, that is not wise.]

I have my phone. It has a flashlight application.

[Thank god for modern day smartphones.]

[garudynamic]

Okay yeah, way safer.

[amygdalae]

[Bruce goes over to where Yosuke's podium is, producing out his phone and opening the flashlight app after turning it on (need to save battery, after all).]

Alright, just let me know what to do.

[isafraid]

That's probably the safer choice.

[thank you Bruce.]

[amygdalae]

[Safety first, everyone.]

[captainobnoxious]

I got a lighter. Why?

[garudynamic]

If the towel was used to carry the pieces there should be dust transfer on it. Especially if it was wet from the floor. Trust me, I've broken so many pieces of ceramics and glass at work. That stuff gets in your clothing for days. It should glitter if it's still there.

[captainobnoxious]

[...]

You're pretty clever for a lazybones who sleeps through alarms!

Attn. Kingmaker

[garudynamic]

I try. Hold this for me.

[Once the towel is held up he shines the phone light on it from various angles, seeing if it shows anything like his scarf did when he dabbed the dust up]

[trustharder]

[Nice try, but no dice. Nothing shows up.]

[garudynamic]

Huh, guess not... but does that mean it wasn't used after all or that the pieces were washed...?

[captainobnoxious]

[... The urge to lick the towel just to make sure is strong, but Sigrun will resist.]

So maybe the towel's like the duct tape last time, nothing big. Maybe cleaning up a spill from washing or something.

[cherryblooded]

If you were cleaning up, why wouldn't you clean up the blood first?

[captainobnoxious]

It's a white towel, so it'd be too noticeable. If they had to clean it up it would've been with something that's the same color or their clothes that they could hide away.

[... Maybe.]

[garudynamic]

Might not have been the killer that did it at all. I mean, if Pearl was doing laundry... there's no real way to know for sure.

[wokeupdead]

Or they could have run out of time and just threw the water on the ground hoping it would wash everything away while they escaped.

[amygdalae]

Considering that the towel is white, cleaning up blood with it would easily leave a stain.

[Although that doesn't really explain anything...]

The first step might be to figure out what the towel is actually used for, or if its relevant to this incident at all.

[pokexplorer]

I'm also quite impressed. Let's see if you're right.

[garudynamic]

Hey, we can't turn away from any possibility, right?

[Even if it didn't work out this time]