Heads turned. Why in the world was he defending someone that had accused him!?

William didn’t understand. Sun-young didn’t understand. The jury didn’t understand. Did Kazi Hossain himself understand?

“What the hell are you saying?” Nash demanded. “No, seriously, out with it. Why isn’t Asher the killer?”

Kazi grinned. William wasn’t sure if he liked that look. It was almost playful. Asher was gaping, glancing between everyone, not knowing what to say or do.

Well, Kazi did and he wasn’t ashamed of it.

“Question, the cryptic message is as follows: ‘Death is nice - AT’. My issue is how Tony knew Asher’s full name. Because as you can plainly see, it’s just Asher on his username. Why specifically write his initials instead of the obvious?”

“Irrelevant,” Nash replied. “He’s a streamer. It's possible Tony knew his full name. In fact, that might further prove that it was Asher. He removed his last name from the System to lay off suspicion.”

“What a roundabout way of doing it.” The grin on Kazi grew. “So he did see the message?”

Nash blinked twice, brows narrowing. “Yes, that is the assumption.”

“How?” Kazi asked. “This whole line of questioning doesn’t work since the train was in total darkness. It should have been impossible for the victim to identify anyone. The System is based on our sight. If the world is black, then it’s black. So tell me, how did Tony identify his attacker in complete darkness at a bathroom with no window?”

No response from anyone.

‘That’s…a good point,' William admitted.

“Hm, well, perhaps the victim came close enough to see it," John suggested. "There did seem to be signs of a struggle. It could have long enough for Tony to catch his username."

“A miracle, huh?” Kazi smiled and continued, “Let’s go with that. Tony miraculously sees Asher’s username in the darkness. He feels pain, feels death, and thinks to write his name. Asher is semi-famous, so if he was the killer, he’s aware that his last name might be known. However, it’s not public information either. Asher doesn’t advertise himself as Asher Trent. His username is just Asher, is it not?”

There were grumbles of agreement.

“You need to have done proper research on him to know his last name. Yet at death’s door, in total darkness where even the killer likely wouldn’t be able to see, why would Tony specifically write his initials? Nash, was Tony a super fan or something? Was he so familiar with Asher that he would prefer to write his initials over the name displayed above him? Over the name he’s known for?”

“...he knew him, but I don't believe he watched him. He was the film type,” Nash admitted. Hit with pure logic, he was walking back on what he said before. “You’re right, that is weird. In total darkness, in the middle of the murder, he shouldn’t have been able to identify the attacker in the first place. And I sincerely doubt Asher the killer would implicate himself by writing a fake message.”

“You’re putting too much logic in this,” Detective Matasaburō said. “The reality is that Tony did write it—”

“Did he?” Nash’s comment pulled all eyes on him. “I was looking at the handwriting before. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but….”

“The writing is too neat. It’s like someone printed it in,” Kazi finished. “Someone either took their time to write it or it’s actually printed in.”

“I found it strange. Really strange, when I stood there and read the message. Tony was a gang member, like me. We don’t read or write. His handwriting should be utter shit.” Nash retreated to his chair, legs crossed. “This might be presumptuous of me but…I don’t think that message has anything to do with the murder.”

Kazi looked to Detective Matasaburō, Dariush, and Asher, the only people left standing. “Agreed. Even the words don’t make sense. ‘Death is nice’ makes no sense for somebody on the verge of death. On top of that…” Kazi’s gaze settled on Ari, who was paying close attention. “...Ari. What’s your real name?”

The young woman nervously answered, “...Taehee Ah-Young.”

“In Korea, family names come first. In other parts of the world, it's switched. So for an Italian speaker like Tony, it would be Ah-Young Taehee. the same AT initials. What's important is that Ari is much more famous than Asher. It’s not even close, really. One is a medium-sized streamer, the other is a global icon from Korea. So does that mean we should suspect Ari now? Anybody could have theoretically moved during the darkness. It could have been her, no?” Kazi’s words rang a chord in the circle. “With all this in mind, I believe we should dismiss the message. The blood is older and practically attached to the wall. So I propose another piece of evidence that will point us into the right direction."

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“Really?” Asher asked, delighted.

“Mhm. The piece of black cloth left in the bathroom. It’s indicative of a very brief struggle.” Kazi went over and picked the cloth up. “Military fabric. No one here is wearing it, including Asher. It’s likely the killer changed clothes. However, it also indicates that the person involved has a background in combat. They’re smart and diligent.”

“Never done anything military related,” Asher chimed in. “None at all.”

William believed him, despite his qualms.

“I’m not done yet,” Kazi said. “The chess box has blood at its edge. That means it was initially attempted to be used as a weapon, before the knife was used.”

“Objection,” Detective Matasaburō said. “There are no wounds matching a blunt weapon on the victim.”

“It doesn’t have to,” Kazi countered. “Did you see the body? The knife was embedded so deeply that a six-foot-four tall male was left there on the wall. More importantly, there's blood on the scene. It’s likely the blood splattered on it.”

“That would make the killer a total idiot.”

“Ah, but dear detective…” His eyes twinkled. “You’re putting too much logic. The reality is that the box does have blood on it. Do you have any suggestions as to how the blood got on there otherwise?”

Detective Matasaburō did bother to debate him, instead switching to the jury and asking, “...what is your opinion, Jurors?”

The jury took a minute to discuss amongst themselves. The circle did the same.

William leaned over to Sun-young, “He’s really good at this, huh?”

“What is he not good at?” Sun-young whispered back.

The tanuki's discussion came to a close and Danzaburou stood up. “The jury agrees with Sir Kazi’s statement! It does appear to be blood but not the blood of the victim. There’s not the splatter and the handwriting, as Nash pointed out, does not resemble a human’s on the verge of death. Therefore, we will take that into consideration.”

Haruki smiled. “You mean not take that into consideration, my Lord?”

“Shut up, Haruka, I’m talking.” Danzaburou pointed at Asher. “But! That does not mean our suspicion has left us. Where were you, Asher Trent?”

“With you—”

Danzaburou clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Ah-ah-ah. No more of that excuse. Tell us the truth.”

Kazi objected. "Your Honour, I would like to ask a more fruitful question.”

“Oh? Your Honour, huh?” Danzaburou revealed his teeth in his small smile. “I like the stand of that. Continue, Defence.”

‘When did this become prosecution, defence, and judge?’ William asked in his head.

“Nash,” Kazi called out, “you were quite vague on Tony’s actions when you were together. Was he beside you?”

Nash crossed his legs. “...yes.”

“Did you hear that everyone? Hesitation.” Kazi walked up to him, arms crossed and fingers drumming. “You’re hiding a key detail, and I think I know what.”

Nash provided no answer. He remained quiet, eyes closed. Kazi spun on his heel and went to Ari. “Ari, you were in the first compartment. What was Nash doing?”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t really looking at him,” Ari replied. “I saw Jules and Matty.”

“Jules, Matty, Nash, Tony, Asher Trent, and Ari,” Kazi listed off. “The people in the first compartment. Can any of you tell us where Tony was headed? Why might he have left his seat? Remember, this is shortly before we enter the tunnel. Any observations? Any memories?”

Nobody answered. Jules continued petting her cat and Matty sat silent and deadly. Ari wrote some stuff on the sheet of paper on her lap.

“I will tell you what happened then,” Kazi declared. “Tony and Nash ate food. What happens after a hearty meal? Two things: sleep and waste. Tony went to the bathroom, obviously. He wasn’t called or tricked, he went there because he needed to relieve himself. And Nash? He fell asleep. He didn’t notice his friend walking to his death.”

Nash looked up at the ceiling. Kazi’s accusation hung in front of him yet he refused to directly acknowledge it.

“Is that what happened?” Detective Matasaburō asked. “You fell asleep?”

“I did.” Nash closed his eyes, head still up. “It was…my mistake.”

The detective approached him. “When? When did you sleep?”

“Ten minutes before the train got dark and things went crazy. I woke up when that happened.”

“We have a timeline then. You saw Asher leave to the front then, right?” Kazi’s inquiry was answered with a curt nod. Promptly, Ari wrote it down. “So Asher left, which I presume was the last thing you saw before sleeping. Then…boom, the train goes crazy. Tony is gone. You have no idea where he went. Hours pass. Still no clue. Am I following?”

Another nod from Nash.

“Ksenia.” Kazi switched over to her. “You went to the bathroom twice to check on Paul. We can’t really get a proper estimation of time but from what we can tell Paul and Tony went to the back bathroom at nearly the same time. Is it possible there could have been two people in there?”

Ksenia thought back. “I think so. The lights were on and the lock was broken.” Her eyes fell. “Maybe if I just opened the door—

“None of that, please,” the detective interjected. “Focus on his questions.”

‘Seriously, is this guy friends with Kazi or does he hate him?’ William asked.

“No, she’s right,” Kazi said. "Besides the identity of the killer, we have to know: where is Paul?”

The detective laid out the options. “He is either the killer or…” Ksenia winced as the detective declared, “...another victim.”

“The killer? The victim? No, Paul is alive. He has to be,” Ksenia said. “It would make no sense for him to be dead. He’s strong too, level 19. Do you really think he would die so easily? I’m confident he’s alive.”

“Confident? With what evidence?” The detective asked.

Ksenia stood up. “Faith. That’s my evidence. I believe he’s alive.”

“So stupidity,” Detective Matasaburō responded cruelly.

Her temper flared up. “What did you say, you little shit!?”

The lightning between the two was almost visible. Tension so thick that it could snap into a brawl in an instant. Despite the nigh-high violence and the clenching of fists, William’s gaze set on Kazi. Kazi who was undisturbed. Kazi whose fingers curled around his chin.

Thinking, thinking, thinking. There was a light in his eyes, almost as if...

'No, it couldn't be.' William shook his head. 'That's crazy. I should just...believe in him. Believe that he's solving the case. He's the only guy that can.'