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

[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.

[capyper]

Uh... This might sound kinda dumb, but was the towel damp? Because it was mentioned there was a handprint in the water earlier, right...?

[isafraid]

It might be safer then anything to assume it was just being used to wipe up an unrelated mess.

[capyper]

The only way that could be the case is if somebody were doing their laundry earlier in the night, right...? I don't think we can just throw it out like that.

[amygdalae]

In that case, is there the possibility that Pearl herself was the one using it when the incident happened?

[There was the dust in the room after all. Not a lot, but some.]

[prismbloom]

The towel was damp, yes, but there are no stains to speak of--so it's likely it was used to wipe up the water.

[capyper]

... This is gonna sound even dumber, but maybe the handprint and the towel are related? I mean, like I said, isn't it really weird that you could see a noticeable water handprint? I'm not a water god, but like. Water doesn't do that naturally.

[prismbloom]

Possibly, then, whoever handled the towel didn't wipe their hands dry after using it--and somehow, the water from their hand got onto the floor? It's... strange, but not impossible.

[ This is so frustrating. ]

[captainobnoxious]

Since it's devoid of anything we need, I'd say it's totally unrelated. As an outsider who didn't see where it was in the first place.

[That is Aqua and Yosuke's territory.]

But I can lick it to see if there's anything unusual on it if you want. Cleaning supplies included.

[penduli]

Are you trying to poison yourself, Miss Sigrun?

[captainobnoxious]

I'm made of tougher stuff, Black, don't worry so much! And if you're really concerned, a good sniff could do the same thing.

[ignorantly]

Please don't lick the evidence.

[captainobnoxious]

[WHY ARE YOU ALL AGAINST THIS JUST LET IT HAPPEN]

I guess is this why you guys are the detectives and I'm not.

[amygdalae]

[Sigrun.]

No, I don't think that'll be necessary, Captain Eide.

[captainobnoxious]

If you're sure. I'm always here to help.

[amygdalae]

I'm sure all of us are aware of that by now.

[Even without the licking.]

[isafraid]

[captain please]

[captainobnoxious]

[JUST LET IT HAPPEN!!!]

[isafraid]

[oh captain, my captain...]

[garudynamic]

Actually, towels usually have really thick fibers. Has anyone compared it to the fibers yet?

If their not fluffy it might not be the towel at all.

HEY MODS

[sleepingkogoro]

...it is worth a try.

[Mouri asks for the towel, so let's do it. Are the fibers a match with the towel?

[trustharder]

[Nice try, but nope. They're too thin to belong to the towels.]

[sleepingkogoro]

[Mouri sighs in relief]

It doesn't match! The chances of it being from the culprit's clothes continue being a possibility.

[garudynamic]

[Yosuke has folded many towels, shirts and sheets in his life as a stock boy. How thin are we talking?]

[cherryblooded]

Looks like it's not from the towel. In that case, I propose they're from something else.

If you're wearing something white or white-ish right now, anything at all, could you come over here and we'll try to check the material against these fibers? At the very least, we should be able to tell if the color is the exact same, and probably at least narrow down who's wearing something with the right width of fibers.