Chapter 14
Shiho was still a bit shaken up by whatever that rooftop was, and whoever hugged her.
She could only guess it was this sister that 001 so dearly mentioned in his interrogation.
Speaking of, after her break probably two nights ago, she was ready to start the second half of the trial, and she was sure the prisoners were not.
Rui and Tsukasa had little chats after the former was left unsure by the latter's questions, having slight trouble sleeping at that time, but not having as bad of a sleep problem as Akito.
He remembered how Emu and Nene looked before he ran off.
He remembered glancing at Nene as she watched their crime.
He was so eager to do a show with his newly made machine, before seeing it covered in blood, spreading fast on the ground.
"Kamishiro-senpai! You're getting called."
An stood in front of his cell as he got up.
"Who's calling me?"
He asked, Tsukasa walking up to them both.
"Rui!"
An pointed at Tsukasa.
"Him, I suppose.."
"Rui we need to--"
Es' tired voice blared through the same, worn out speakers everyone was so used to.
"Prisoner 006, Kamishiro Rui…
If you could please go through the door, thanks."
Tsukasa's heart evidently skipped a beat, Rui teasing him about it.
"Hey, you look more nervous than me, Tsukasa. Don't worry, I promised to never tell and I'm not one to break promises, am I?"
He walked towards the iconic door, Tsukasa stopping him.
"She saw you three when it happened. It doesn't matter what you tell her, we're fucked just by being here, she'll know and we won't be able to hide anymore..."
Rui turned around and went through the door without a word.
"Welcome, 006. You're the first of the second half of interrogations, congrats."
Es greeted him, her congratulations not sounding like such.
"I'd very much like to skip pleasantries, if that's okay."
"Very well then. I'd like to ask you about something your fellow prisoner, 001, said in his interrogation."
Rui began to get a bit anxious, not enough for it to be evident though.
"Go ahead."
"He said, and I quote, 'We do the best shows in Phoenix Wonderland! Ask Rui'. I'm simply following a request from this prisoner."
Rui sighed as he chuckled dryly.
"I certainly did not see that coming, well played."
"I've also seen you in his song. At the very end, if we're being specific."
Rui's interest was piqued, he had heard about this song method the Warden openly used to 'judge' them, but since she had seen him, that meant these sorts of songs also had some sort of visual representations.
But this also meant that Tsukasa was right, Es would know about their crime by just looking at his and Tsukasa's songs.
"Ah, intriguing, what exactly was I doing?"
Es looked at a random chair, broken and on the floor.
"That is classified."
"Alright then… That whole concept is just pretty interesting, to be frank."
Es nodded.
"It really is."
"How exactly does that work? Or is that classified too?"
Es looked at him.
"It isn't. To put it shortly, I can judge your sin by the songs Milgram creates based on your memories."
Rui almost wanted to get a notebook and write that down.
"I see."
"Now, would you be willing to tell me about 001?"
Rui frowned at the question. It wasn'tone, Es knew what she needed to hear and Tsukasa was probably right.
They wouldn't be able to hide it anymore.
"Sure… We're in the same troupe, him being the leader and me being the director."
He chose his words carefully, not needing a confession of murder to be blurted out by mistake.
"Good, what shows have you done?"
Es was asking that for the interrogation, of course, but part of her kind of wanted to go to this Phoenix Wonderland they were talking about.
"Well, among many, I'd say one of the best was one where I had Tsukasa climb up a ladder with zombies right behind him."
Es' eyes widened slightly in amazement.
"That surely sounds… Intriguing."
Rui giggled softly.
"It was fun…"
Having caught him off guard, Es asked.
"But--- If 001 was the one whose crime happened there. Why are you here?"
She asked, deadpanned all of the sudden.
"That's because I---"
Es had a shit eating grin on her face.
"I really am not sure."
He replied, Es sighing as he did.
"I'm guessing this won't be as easy as other interrogations…"
She mumbled under her breath.
"You've seen what 001 has done, haven't you."
Rui stepped back, being taken aback.
No one had seen that except for Emu, Nene and him.
There were no more witnesses, they'd made sure of that.
There couldn't be.
"It seems you… already know the answer to that question."
He responded, a bit on edge.
"Correct. How do you feel about 001's murder?"
Es slowly walked towards him.
"I… Cannot say it wasn't shocking."
The bell blared through their ears suddenly, Es laughed.
"And I cannot say I'm not intrigued by your secret plotting with 001, but I hope you put on a good show, 006.
Prisoner 006, Rui,
Come now, and sing your sin!"