Hina barely sleeps anymore since the others left. She blames herself in case something happens or something goes wrong during the journey.

  Hina: “[Today the tribunal should have begun. I really hope they made it there on time, because otherwise this rule violation would have been completely pointless. Please don’t let them be a burden to Aihara and the others, but instead be a help.]”

  She continues sorting documents in Aihara’s room. She is bored to death when someone suddenly knocks on the door.

  Hina: “Yes?”

  ???: “Where are the spare parts for the firearms?”

  Hina: “Akito? Um, the spare parts should be in an archive. But I think you don’t have access to it.”

  Akito: “Then give me access, you stupid secretary.”

  Hina: “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not like your sister and I won’t allow this rude behavior. Ask me politely.”

  Akito: “Shut up and hand it over.”

  Hina: “No. Not without a polite request. Besides, you’re a small child. I don’t even know what you want to do with firearm spare parts.”

  Akito: “That’s none of your business, you cheap woman. I won’t ask again.”

  Hina ignores him. She plans to react only if he asks her politely. Akito throws more insults at her, but he realizes it’s pointless. He gathers all his patience and takes a deep breath.

  Akito: “Can you tell me where the spare parts are… please?”

  Akito forces a smile onto his face. It looks very creepy and unnatural. In response, he sees a smile from Hina.

  Hina: “Here, take these keys. Go to the attic. Third door on the left should be it.”

  Without saying anything, Akito takes the keys and disappears.

  Hina: “[Man, this kid is really badly raised. If Saku or Ino were here, I’d really tear into them for how they raised him, but right now it’s not the time to bother them.]”

  Hina: “[I hope Naki is doing well. He works so hard for his father’s and his family’s recognition. He really deserves to be seen.]”

  Hina catches herself blushing and continues sorting.

  Naki: “[I wonder how Hina is doing? What she’s doing right now? Probably working, even though almost no one is home. She’s just a workaholic.]”

  Michinaga: “So, ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present my own witnesses. Witnesses who have personally experienced the cruelty of the Sakiko.”

  Michinaga triumphs as if he has already won the tribunal, even though it isn’t even his. The judges have to remind him of the tribunal’s rules and reprimand him.

  Michinaga: “Sorry for my outburst. I now ask the first witnesses to enter the witness stand. They wish to enter together, and that is their right, honorable Serpent Judges.”

  The two individuals enter the stand. They are pierced by the gazes of Najun, Naki, Saku, and Kogiri. They cannot believe who has entered the witness stand.

  ???: “My code name is Dorothy Funtime. My brothers are named Spooky, Dandelion, and Eisen Funtime. We refuse to reveal our real names. However, only Iron can be in this stand with me, because the other two are already dead. Spooky died in a terrible accident together with our loving parents. And Dandelion… he was…”

  Dorothy is embraced by Iron, who whispers encouragement to her.

  Dorothy: “Dandelion was killed by those devil children. They killed him on the way to Tongyo.”

  Dorothy points at the four people behind the first row. They are scrutinized from all sides by glaring eyes. Out of sheer shame, they all crouch down under their seats.

  Dorothy: “Do you see how they hide because they feel guilty? That is what I call pure evil. Release your Crow Guards on them and sentence them to death.”

  She begins to cry terribly and collapses into the arms of her brother made of metal. He comforts her and gives the Sakiko family an evil glare.

  Serpent Judge No. 2: “We are sorry for your loss. But without solid evidence, we cannot declare your testimony valid.”

  Dorothy: “I can give you evidence.”

  With this announcement, Dorothy raises her hand and summons her yellow paths. They are shaped like a cocoon. She unwraps what is inside the cocoon and reveals a body. A corpse, to be precise. It is a large man with elements of a lion. It is Dandelion, as Dorothy reveals, who was allegedly killed by Najun, Naki, Saku, and Kogiri.

  Dorothy: “Well, aren’t you surprised.”

  She tries to forcefully leave the stand to confront the four alleged murderers of her brother.

  Serpent Judge No. 4: “Please calm down. You may only leave the witness stand if we allow it.”

  Iron tries to calm Dorothy and combs her hair with a brush from his chest. How he smuggled it in is unclear to everyone.

  Next, several Crow Guards examine Dandelion’s corpse.

  Crow Guard No. 1: “The cause of death could be a deep sword cut, a puncture by an object, or suffocation. It is very unclear. To determine it precisely, we would have to perform an autopsy.”

  An autopsy would of course be the best solution, but until that could be carried out, the tribunal would take too long, so they must rely on the guards’ assessment unless the verdict is postponed, in which case an autopsy would be performed.

  Dorothy: “You have to believe me. It was those evil children and their driver. They simply attacked and chased us. We were just passing through.”

  Serpent Judge No. 3: “Where were you headed?”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Dorothy: “We wanted to go to a festival. The balloon festival, where everything revolves around balloons and everyone lets their balloon fly. It would have been very beautiful, but because of those demons, we never made it.”

  She continues to tell many more unnecessary details about the balloon festival and how they dreamed of going there. After that, they are asked to leave the witness stand. On the way to their seats, Dorothy sends her yellow paths toward the Sakikos. They intentionally do not reach them, meant only to scare them. She is immediately warned by the judges.

  Michinaga: “So now you know that brutal murderers are on the Sakiko side, but of course I know you are still not convinced. That’s why I prepared a second piece of evidence. This witness doesn’t even need to enter the stand, because she will show you something with the help of her Birth-Object.”

  He steps aside and lets the small person behind him step forward.

  ???: “My code name is Luna. Just like Dorothy and Iron, I can keep my real name hidden from you. As Michinaga already announced, I will show you, using my Birth-Object, what a terrible experience I had with Najun Sakiko.”

  She steps into the middle of the room and opens her mouth. A black lens can be seen, from which light suddenly emerges.

  Birth-Object: Moon Projector

  This Birth-Object is capable of playing all of Luna’s memories like a kind of film, from Luna’s perspective. The Birth-Object materializes inside Luna’s body. It uses internal organs as components as well as the body’s chemical energy as a power source. She projects it into the air. One can see her standing at a stall. It appears to be the evening market of Tongyo. Suddenly, Najun appears and is seen talking to Luna. One can also see how he threatens her with a sharp stone and whispers frightening things to her. Then the door tears open and her tomatoes fall to the ground, and then one sees how Najun picks everything up for her, and so on. She closes her mouth again.

  Luna: “As you could see, I was severely threatened by Najun Sakiko, simply because I was at the market. He thought I was there to spy on you.”

  Michinaga: “Poor Luna was traumatized by Najun Sakiko. But she was not the only one who was traumatized.”

  With a hand gesture, he signals Dorothy and Iron. They bring someone into the hall. It is a woman in a wheelchair. She looks fearfully to the left and right.

  Michinaga: “This is the daughter of the Shojo head. As you can see, she is not doing well. And whose fault is that? The Sakiko family’s. This girl was on a secret mission and had to enter the estate. I do not approve of that, but altering her brain so that she can no longer speak or walk is a cruelty beyond words.”

  He goes to her and rolls her through the hall. He displays her like an animal in a zoo. He is immediately ordered to stop and leave the girl alone.

  Michinaga: “The Shojo head wants justice for his daughter, and we will give it to him.”

  He speaks to the Taira family, who triumphantly agree with him.

  Serpent Judge No. 2: “Why are you showing us all these irrelevant things in this tribunal? Why are you displaying this poor girl like this?”

  Michinaga: “That should be clear. Clearer than water or glass. I’m showing you all this so you understand what kind of people you are judging here. They kill innocent people and threaten civilians. You can’t just let something like that walk around freely, or at least not unpunished.”

  Serpent Judge No. 1: “How does this support the accusations of the Taira?”

  Michinaga: “People who do such things are very likely also people who kill someone named Dandelion and threaten a Luna. Just keep it in mind when you make your final decision. Otherwise, you might make the wrong one, and nobody here wants that.”

  Michinaga winks at the judges and at the Sakikos. He stretches his arms into the air and moves them in a strange, dance-like manner. He sticks out his tongue and spins around. He pulls out a large display from his pocket. It is one like those in subway stations that show when which train arrives. But there are no times or subway names on it. Instead, something rather disrespectful is written on it:

  “The real mother of the Sakiko children is another victim.”

  Michinaga: “In case anyone doesn’t know, the mother, or rather the wife of the head, has disappeared. Nothing is known about her condition or location. So I ask myself: is that a coincidence or a planned act?”

  The Sakiko side is shocked and begins shouting. They complain about this statement and start insulting Michinaga.

  Michinaga: “Serpent Judges, please remain calm. I am enjoying this attention from the audience. It is hard to accept the truth, but that’s just how it is. The mother’s disappearance is extremely suspicious and strange. In my opinion, this mysterious disappearance is pure fiction. I believe she was made to disappear in order to… God knows what. There are also rumors about a special gift the mother allegedly has or had. We don’t know that. I believe it had something to do with her genetics. Um, wait…”

  Michinaga flips through his documents and pretends to be looking for something. The rumor does exist, but he has no documents to confirm it.

  Then, however, a loud bang is heard on wood. It is Aihara, who is on the verge of exploding. But not only him. Almost all members of the Sakiko family are on the brink of collapse. They all want to attack Michinaga and hurt him. Najun and Naki are especially angry. The only one who remains calm is Ino. He looks at Michinaga emotionlessly.

  Ino: “Brother, calm down. This is not part of your role. If you don’t fulfill your role, then you know what will happen. We will lose.”

  Aihara: “Brother, please…”

  Ino: “Let me speak. This Michinaga is just a provocateur who knows how to use his tools well. He knows how this topic is viewed within our family.”

  Ino: “I have only one request: make sure that everyone in the family can fulfill their role, but let them participate in shaping it as well. Especially when it comes to my children.”

  Aihara: “Wait, what do you mean—”

  With these words, Ino stands up. He summons his naginata and jumps toward Michinaga. Michinaga runs away from Ino. It resembles a game of cat and mouse. Ino chases him relentlessly through the entire hall. The Crow Guards are already trying to stop Ino, but they can’t catch him.

  Ino: “How dare you say something like that about my family. You must be cut open.”

  Michinaga: “I’m not signing autographs today. Sorry.”

  Ino: “You will regret your insolence.”

  Michinaga: “Wow, you almost got me. We can talk about it and plan a fan meeting.”

  Ino aims for his legs, but Michinaga jumps around like in a jump-rope game. The naginata is very sharp. It even releases small whirlwinds, which Ino tries to suppress, because if he used his Birth-Ability, he would devastate the entire hall and possibly hit innocents.

  Michinaga: “I surrender.”

  Michinaga stops and turns around. He smiles at Ino and closes his eyes as if he has accepted his fate. Ino strikes, but is stopped by two Crow Guards. Ino manages to give Michinaga a scratch on the forehead. The scratch is not deep, but blood is already flowing. The Crow Guards grab Ino by the arms. They are much more muscular than Ino expected and can easily restrain him. Before anyone can react, they carry him away.

  Serpent Judge No. 1: “Since Ino Sakiko violated the rule prohibiting violence, he will be taken to the dungeon until the end of the tribunal. What will happen to him afterward is currently unclear.”

  Many raise objections, but all are rejected, and the tribunal continues. Saku simply sits there and has to come to terms with the fact that she will now lose her other parent as well. She sheds a tear but remains calm, because she knows that after losing Keiko and Ino, they cannot afford any more mistakes that their opponents could exploit.

  Saku: “[Everything will be fine. No panic.]”

  Aihara also has to pull himself together to avoid losing control.

  Aihara: “According to my children, niece, and driver, the statements are not true and were taken out of context. They were attacked by Dorothy and her brothers. They were probably commissioned by the Taira family or Michinaga. Luna really was spying on my people. Najun was able to verify that with his ability. Furthermore, we did not touch the Shojo girl, and certainly did not alter her in such a way that she ended up in this state. She broke in and wanted to kill us and gather information. We reacted as required by the law—”

  Dorothy: “Ah, wait, something just occurred to me. I have a very important piece of information about Najun Sakiko. Something I learned during their attack on us. You see, Najun has—”

  Najun begins to sweat heavily. His heart beats faster and harder. His fingers clench into his legs and he grinds his teeth together. They even squeak. His mind feels uncomfortable in his body. It wants out, and as fast as possible.

  Najun: “[No. She must not say it. Not here. Not now. I have to kill her. Somehow she has to die now. What would you do, Shinoa…]”

  Before Najun can do anything or Dorothy can finish her sentence, the ground begins to shake. The entire hall is shaken so violently that even one of the Serpent Judges falls off the flying table. Cracks form in the floor, and the last thing one sees before everything collapses is a massive hand emerging from the ground, wearing a white glove.

  ???: “There is no justice here.”