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The man looks around. “Where…” He looks down at the old statue he used to murder the man. Spotting a girl exercising in the park across the way, he makes a choice. He plants the murder weapon in her bag and makes his escape to the grocery shop next door, where he spends his time making sure people enter the store and purchase food.
By establishing his presence at the grocery store, it gives him an alibi. That was the one saving grace about his job — it was merciless, but he would think to himself, I’m only here to establish an alibi.
He wouldn’t have seen anything from the ground, after all. Not inside the reporter’s den.
Marinette sighs and paces. She’s done this before — disguising herself as a man — but nothing like this before. Marino Agreste is an entirely made up identity for this purpose. She may work as an assistant at Adrien’s law firm, but he’s away right now.
Kagami’s her friend. Marinette repeats this in her head. She’s doing this for Kagami — risking getting caught and exposed as being a woman. God forbid women do anything.
“Good morning.”
Ah, it’s Professor Damocles.
“Good morning, Professor Damocles,” she says, bowing and lowering the pitch of her voice.
“I am here for your support, M. Agreste,” Professor Damocles responds.
The man might be a law professor, but Marinette still holds some private doubts about him. “Thank you,” she says, not wanting to rock the boat too much.
“You’ve worked alongside Adrien. I’m sure you know how these are conducted. Where is the defendant?”
“Oh, um…”
Marinette spoke with Kagami yesterday about the plan, but Marinette’s recently been feeling kind of…weird around Kagami. Different.
“Never mind that. I see her coming in now,” Professor Damocles says. True to his words, Kagami is being escorted by a bailiff, leading her in cuffs. She’s glaring daggers at the bailiff — Marinette would laugh, but she knows it’d give her away. “I will be at your side to advise you throughout the trial, but it’s up to you to defend her.”
Marinette smiles. “You can count on me, professor. I won’t let you down.”
She checks on the evidence she has quickly. All she's received is Kagami's bag. There are no traces of blood on the inside.
“How are you today?” Kagami asks.
“I’m quite alright,” Marinette answers. “Better now that you are here.”
“You look quite handsome in your courtroom outfit,” Kagami says, a slight flush on her face. “Do you know who will be prosecuting this case?”
“I have heard that Prosecutor Fathom decided to come down. Perhaps he heard the defense lawyer was an Agreste, and is planning to take revenge against his cousin.” Marinette sighs. “It will be difficult to convince him of who I am.”
“You are related through Adrien’s father, instead of Prosecutor Fathom, who is connected through the mother’s bloodline.” Kagami shrugs. “I suspect even if Prosecutor Fathom finds out, his desire for revenge against Adrien for his first loss is greater than his desire to expose you. And what better opportunity is there than this trial? He will simultaneously make sure that I go to jail, as a friend of Adrien’s, and that Adrien will have experienced a loss at his hands.”
Marinette considers it. “And then he’ll put me in jail after he’s taken his revenge.”
“So win,” Kagami says. “That’s all.”
“Right,” Marinette says. “I know you didn’t murder the man. That is all I need. I trust you.”
Kagami smiles. “I wouldn’t trust anyone else currently in this country with my defense.”
“Court is now in session for the trial of Kagami Tsurugi,” the judge declares. “Defense…hmm. That’s strange. I had expected M. Agreste.”
“I am M. Agreste,” Marinette says. “Marino Agreste. Related to the other M. Agreste through his father. And I am prepared for this trial.”
“I…see,” the judge says. “Prosecutor Fathom, are you prepared?”
Félix has his arms crossed and is glaring at her as though he can see right through her. “The prosecution is ready, Your Honor.”
“Is the jury ready?” the judge asks.
“Yes,” the leader of the jury says.
“Deliver your opening statement, Prosecutor Fathom,” the judge orders.
“Two days ago, the body of Alec Cataldi, a well-known reporter, was found in the home of his press by one of his employees. The prosecution submits the autopsy report as evidence now.” Félix passes a copy to Marinette and to each member of the jury. “As you can see, Mr. Cataldi died from a blow by a blunt object. The blunt object in question was later found among the defendant’s belongings. While the blood was no longer on it and there were no fingerprints, the wound in the victim’s head matched the blunt object. The defendant was supposedly training in the park across from the scene of the crime at the time, but there are no witnesses who are able to testify on that subject. Our main clue is the presence of the murder weapon among the defendant’s belongings. Our witnesses today will testify as to what happened after the murder, as there was no one that saw the murder itself — besides the defendant.” He snickers a little bit, and Marinette finds herself hating his smugness.
“Hold it,” Marinette says. “What of the defendant’s motive?”
“The prosecution also submits this newspaper article,” Félix declares. “This article is about a selected few foreign exchange students. One of those exchange students is the defendant. What the victim said about her is rather…insulting — or presumably so.”
Marinette remembers when that article came out. She remembers reading it and finding herself frowning at the way the article had treated all of the female students. Including the one that ended up working for them down the line.
“This is what the prosecution believes is the defendant’s motive.” Félix bows. “I would now like to call my first witness — the woman who discovered the body, Alya Césaire.”
Ah. Yes. Marinette recognizes Alya from just…generally around. She’s at a lot of trials in the gallery.
“Mlle Césaire,” Félix intones, “you worked with the victim, correct?”
“Yes,” Alya says. She leans against the witness stand and adjusts her spectacles. “He hired me after I proved myself in the campus newsletter as long as I agreed to work under a pseudonym.”
“Please testify about how you found the body,” the judge says.
“Alright,” Alya says, turning to lean the other way. “I came into work as usual for the typical day. I went up to Mr. Cataldi’s office to see what he wanted me to report on today. I saw his dead body collapsed on the floor. His forehead had been beaten with something. I called the police from the office’s phone to report the body, and that’s when I noticed the missing sculpture.” Alya looks out from behind her glasses. “That’s all.”
“Defense, begin your cross-examination.”
Professor Damocles looks over at her. “Are you certain you know what you’re doing?”
“I do,” Marinette says. “I just have to press her until she slips up and says something that doesn’t line up.”
“Good,” Professor Damocles responds. “If it weren’t for the current legal restrictions around women, I would consider you Adrien’s successor.”
“Mme Cesaire,” Marinette says, “when exactly did you come in for work?”
“Around eight in the morning,” Alya answers. That’s a couple hours after the murder, according to the autopsy report. “It looked kind of like he’d been dead for a while. The blood was dried up.”
Marinette nods. “What state did you find the body in?”
“His body had collapsed on the floor,” Alya says. “He probably hit his head on the way down.”
Marinette checks the autopsy report. “That’s odd — there are no noted signs on the autopsy report of anything like that.”
Alya flinches and scowls. “That was just speculation,” she says. “I don’t know what happened. I was just there.”
“Please avoid speculating in the future,” Félix says. “We only need the facts, Mlle Cesaire.”
There he goes again, calling Alya a mademoiselle. Marinette doesn’t like the show of disrespect.
Alya crosses her arms. “Right. Apologies. It’s in my nature as a journalist to connect the facts together with logic.”
That doesn’t sound right, but it’s not relevant to the trial, so Marinette won’t press it.
“Just out of curiosity, Mme Césaire,” Marinette says to continue the cross-examination, “why did you note the missing sculpture?”
“It’s typically right next to the phone.” She glares at Marinette over her spectacles. “Of course I would have noticed it not being there.”
“And did you notice anything else suspect?” Marinette asks.
“Besides the dead body and missing sculpture? No. I had seen the defendant outside packing up, but she’s usually there every morning regardless, leaving around the time I come in.” Alya sighs.
“I believe we may now conclude the cross-examination,” Félix declares. “Unless you have any further questions, M. Agreste?”
The way he says Agreste makes her feel as though he knows she isn’t really who she’s saying she is.
“No further questions,” Marinette says. She doesn’t think there’s anything else in there worth pointing out.
“With that, I would like to call my next witness. This witness works at the grocery store near the scene, and asked to be introduced under the name…M. Banana.” Félix scowls.
Well. Marinette can’t say the moniker is unfitting when a man in all yellow approaches the witness stand.
“Please state your name and occupation,” Félix says.
“I am M. Banana, and I work at the grocery store next door to the scene,” M. Banana says. His French has an accent Marinette can’t quite place. Kagami’s accent is something Marinette’s grown used to, and Alya speaks like a native speaker, since she comes from a place that speaks French.
"What…exactly did you see?" the judge asks.
"The witness rises and shines every day to arrive at the grocery store in time for its opening," Félix answers. "While it was impossible for him to have seen the murder, because it would have been impossible for him to see the office window from his vantage point; he will also be testifying about after the murder."
Marinette frowns.
"Marinette, seize your chance!" Professor Damocles says. "You must not give up now. This is your opportunity to prove your friend innocent!"
She looks at the oddly dressed man on the stand. "You believe he did it?"
"If it was not Kagami, who else could it be?"
Marinette's mind races. It's up to her to prove it — and she only has so much evidence on her hands.
"I was standing outside the store, per usual, when I saw the defendant running out of the crime scene with the bag. I usually see her training up in the park across from the offices every day." M. Banana pauses and props himself up on the stand. "I guess she must have been scoping out the office all along. I recognized her because of her bag."
Marinette thinks she can do this.
"Could you tell us what she does at the park?" Marinette asks.
M. Banana shrugs. "I don't know. Some strange martial arts stuff."
That's karate to you, Marinette thinks, but doesn't say it.
"Objection!" Félix slams the desk with a fist. "What is the relevance, Agreste?"
"Martial arts is deeply involved. She would not have time to observe the office in such detail." Marinette slams her desk with both hands. "I suppose you wouldn’t know — you don’t strike me as the type to enjoy exercise, Fathom — but one must focus on the movements. There is no opportunity for detailed observation necessary for premeditated murder."
Félix has no response to that. He seems like he’s thinking about it, though, so Marinette continues with the cross-examination while she can.
"What did it look like when she was coming out of the building?"
Marinette knows he’s lying. Kagami says she never went into the building.
"She was gripping the handle of her bag pretty tightly. I believe it was a knapsack of some kind?"
Marinette's got him now.
"Kag—Mme Tsurugi carries a bag with two straps, yes, but it is not a knapsack. The defense has the bag in question." Marinette holds it up. "The bag is designed to be carried over the shoulder with both handles."
M. Banana straightens. "What?"
"You could carry this as a knapsack. It is not designed in that manner. Though perhaps…if one saw it lying on autopsy park bench…one might think it is a knapsack, based on the long straps on it. But I—erm, a friend of the defendant’s made the bag and told me about it." Marinette indicates the straps of the bag. "Would the court like a practical demonstration?"
The judge shakes his head. "There is no need for that, defense."
Marinette places the bag openly on the bench.
"What does this tell us?"
"Well, it tells us that our witness here never actually saw the defendant carrying the bag, or else he would have known how it was held!" Marinette says. "He was lying about seeing that. He has proven himself an unreliable witness!" She points. "I accuse this witness of perjury…in the name of covering up his own crime!"
Félix points at her. "Objection! You have no base for this accusation."
"What other reason would the witness have to lie about the defendant carrying her bag away from the scene of the crime? The murder weapon was found in her bag — planted there. If she were intending to hide it, why would she have wiped her fingerprints? It doesn't make sense."
Félix shakes his head, looking more smug now. "Gloves, M. Agreste."
"...and do you have proof of said gloves existing?" Marinette challenges.
"...we only found this disposed among garbage. We have confirmed it is the victim’s blood."
Some scraps of cloth.
Marinette takes out her sewing kit. "Motion to examine the latest evidence."
"Permission granted, defense," the judge says. Marinette gathers the scraps of cloth. They look torn apart by something sharp but imprecise — it won't be a perfect reconstruction, but she can try. She knows the pattern it takes to make a glove, and she doesn’t think this is it.
The fabric doesn't seem right, for one. Marinette arranges the scraps of the cloth, like solving a jigsaw puzzle.
It seems like a standard rectangular rag. Marinette stitches it back together a couple pieces at a time, and what’s formed is, in fact, just a rag. Not a former pair of gloves.
"The defense did the work of putting these scraps together." Marinette holds up the cloth. "This is a rag. The killer likely wiped off the statue before placing it into the defendant's bag."
"I will refer you back to the first question you asked at the beginning of this trial, M. Agreste." Félix smirks. "What is M. Banana's motive?"
"Marinette, this is key," Professor Damocles says. "This will change the course of the trial."
Marinette looks over the article.
Alya is in there. Kagami is in there. The third student highlighted is an American named Adam Ananas.
Huh. None of the students are portrayed favorably. Not even the man.
But…
"It is the same motive that the prosecution proposed," Marinette says. "M. Banana, your true name is Adam Ananas!"
"That’s right," M. Ananas says. "What about it?"
"You would also have motive to kill M. Cataldi, as well as the opportunity to both kill him and watch the building, seeing as all you do is stand around." Marinette points. "You wanted M. Cataldi dead, and you decided to do something about it. You wanted it because of how he treated you the same as the others in the article. Framing the defendant who happened to have a motive was just a coincidence." Marinette slams her desk. "You needed to get rid of the evidence. You tore apart the cloth. You murdered Alec Cataldi!"
M. Ananas falls to his knees and starts crying.
"Was I too harsh?" Marinette whispers to Professor Damocles. "I got carried away."
When M. Ananas stands up, he’s shed the bright yellow jacket. "You’re right. I saw the bag and I…I knew I needed to put it somewhere to hide it. I knew if I put it in the bag it would be a good way to frame her." He leans against the witness stand. "I’ll admit, it was pretty petty. But to know that one of the others went on to work for him…I couldn’t stand it. So I worked at the grocery store. Work would give me an opportunity to observe and an alibi."
"The defense rests," Marinette declares.
"The prosecution also rests," Félix says.
"We will now take a thirty minute recess for jury deliberation," the judge declares.
"There’s no need for that," the head juror says. "Are we all in agreement of our verdict?" he asks the rest of the jury. They all nod. "We believe the defendant, Kagami Tsurugi, is not guilty."
The judge slams his gavel. "Then there is no need for further argument. This court finds the defendant, Kagami Tsurugi, not guilty!"
Marinette smiles. She is victorious.
"Mark my words, Agreste," Félix declares. "One day, I will have my vengeance on my cousin and his family. I will take this to my grave if I must."
"We’ll be waiting," Marinette responds, "but as long as we have faith in our clients and their innocence, you will never be victorious. Try as you might…you won't match up."
"I…cannot thank you enough, Marinette," Kagami says. "You were very confident there. It was like a new side of you I had never seen before."
"I…was just emulating what I had seen Adrien do in court." Marinette shuffles.
"I have never felt this way watching any of his trials," Kagami declares. "You are…unique, Marinette. It only serves to reason that my feelings towards you are unique as well."
"I, um, I feel the same way about you. My feelings towards you have…changed recently, in ways which I do not know how to identify." Marinette takes Kagami’s hands. "I thank you for this opportunity. I was…rather envious of Adrien. However, I know now what it is like to defend someone. I can only hope one day other women will be able to practice law as more than just an assistant."
Kagami stares straight at Marinette. "You were capable and competent, and you hadn't even officially passed the bar exam for attorneys. And I imagine you are not the only one who is. The world isn’t ready yet for you…but someday it will be."
"Hopefully in my lifetime," Marinette says with a smile. "But hopefully you won't be accused of murder again."
"I do not wish to replicate the experience either," Kagami admits. "But if it meant you would get to defend me…I meant it when I said you were handsome in your suit."
Marinette feels her face heat up. "I made it myself."
"Of course. Nothing could look better than what you make yourself," Kagami says.
What does it all mean?
"Congratulations!" Professor Damocles says, breaking the moment. "I knew you were capable."
Marinette nods. "Thank you, professor. It’s been an honor to work with you."
"An honor indeed," he responds. "Congratulations to you as well, Mme Tsurugi."
Kagami curtsies. "Thank you, but the work was all my lawyer's."
That sounds really good — not just being a lawyer, but being Kagami’s as well.
Marinette ducks her head. "Anything for you, Kagami."
There’s a weight to it that Marinette doesn’t feel like looking into. It’s a side effect of these unique feelings they have towards each other.
There is time now to explore them. Now that Kagami is out from underneath the murder accusation, there’s some time.
But Kagami will be leaving soon — so not too much. Marinette needs to sort this out, and quickly at that.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Kagami asks.
Marinette nods.
It will provide further opportunity to sort out all this. She can’t wait.