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“T- TAMBA, PLEASE!” Watari yelled, grabbing her jacket tightly as tears flew down her face in a rush. She didn’t understand what everyone was yelling about- there’s no way Tamba killed Yanagi- it didn’t make any sense. It would never happen, Tamba wasn’t like that! She would never kill anyone! Tamba- Tamba was a good person who wouldn’t even think of hurting another one! She was a pure hearted person- really! Why didn’t anyone believe that?!
“TAMBA PLEASE , STOP ALL THIS!” She screamed, her voice hoarse from the pure emotion she was feeling. She didn’t want people to suspect Tamba anymore, because there was no way Tamba killed anyone, right?! Watari slammed her hands onto her podium and looked at everyone, sobs erupting from the depths of her being.
“YOU CAN’T JUST- JUST GIVE UP LIKE THIS!” Her breaths sharted coming out in short, staccato gasps. This wasn’t helping her injury at all, this wasn’t helping the pain- the pain could wait though- she didn’t want everyone to get falsely executed because they couldn’t see the fact Tamba was so obviously innocent.
Even if she didn’t have an alibi, even if she had the perfect motivation, even if everything piled up against her, she was innocent. Anyone should be able to know she didn’t do anything wrong! She could never do anything wrong!
“TELL THEM YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING, TAMBA!”
The jockey looked away from the bowler, her eyes full of sorrow and just… despair. She didn’t want to let Watari down but… but…. she didn’t want to lie to Watari’s face either. Friends didn’t lie to other friends, right…? So.. Tamba wouldn’t lie to Watari. But she didn’t want to tell her she killed Yanagi-
“TELL THEM YOU DIDN’T DO IT-!” Watari yelled one last time, all eyes were on Tamba as she quickly cut the former off.
“I KILLED YANAGI!”
" . . . "
Tamba huffed after screaming at the top of her lungs, her whole body shook like it was a leaf in the middle of a storm, desperately clinging onto the branch in hopes of not being blown away into the darkness of the world.
“.... what…?” Watari’s voice was soft, almost heartbroken. Her fiery attitude dying down as her passion was replace with… shock? Pain? Pain. The pain was setting in. The mental pain and the physical pain. All of it started to set in, and it wasn’t a gradual thing, it hit her like a truck.
“... w- .. gh.. w- why..?” She asked, like it took every bit of her being to even mutter that singular word. That singular word bringing so much pain to Tamba’s face. She didn’t want to explain- to even think about it anymore-
“....” Tamba looked at the ground, away from Watari’s eyes, away from everyone’s eyes, away from the portrait of the Plastic Surgeon, the hot pink X plastered over his face, solidifying the horrid act Tamb had committed.
She killed Yanagi, and she could never take it back.
“A- After Saw- Sawa attacked Chiba- I- I was scared… scared of dying- scared of- of… of losing someone to death-” She started, tears flowing down her cheeks. She gripped her chest with one hand and gripped that hand with her other.
“A- And then someone tr- tried to kill you , a- and that scared me so much! I didn’t want to- to die here! A- And the only way to even escape w- was to kill-!” She explained, her tone becoming more and more frantic with each word that left her mouth, everyone’s glares on her hardened, morphing into a look of disgust, though had sympathy hidden underneath.
“H- Yanagi- I- I asked him to meet up with m- me and- and when I-” Her voice kept breaking, cracking with every single word she uttered to the world, like everything around her shattered with anything she tried to say. Watari seemed to just stop. Stop breathing, stuck in time. She couldn’t- she wouldn’t believe anything-
“Calm the fuck down, Tamba.” Kamimura spoke up. His voice calm yet serious. He was tired of this bullshit. He just wanted the trial to be over- he wanted to leave this place in peace. “You met up with him, right? When?”
“... t- this morning..” She whispered, her voice soft and gentle, the lightest tough would shatter it.
“This morning. Ok. Where did you meet up with him?” Kamimura asked, slowly and carefully. Tamba looked at him, eyes puffy and red with tears. She took a few shaky deep breaths and sighed.
“... r- relaxation room… I- I… he was… h- he was sitting down wa- waiting for me a- and I strangled him- Toshi I strangled him-! A- And he didn’t even fight back-! H- He just accepted it! H- He should’ve fought back!” She screamed. She didn’t understand why he didn’t fight back- he should’ve fought back- that- he should’ve- fought back- right?!
“Ok, you strangled him to death, then what?” Kamimura continued with his calm attitude, trying to figure out what truly happened. Emotions pushed aside (those didn’t help last trial, it only made it hurt worse because of K-)
“... I- I.. t- took him to the playground a- and… I- I had water jugs and tape there fr- from earlier… s- so I just… y- yeah.” She trailed off, not wanting to continue. It all seemed like no one would continue this, like they all just wanted to vote
“So you just admit to killing Shigeki because you were SCARED?!” Mai yelled, looking at Tamba with some… deep rooted anger..? Some… odd rage at the situation. Both Watari and Tamba were taken aback by her anger.
“He- He was trying to change! He was trying to be a STRONGER PERSON! AND YOU JUST TOOK THAT FROM HIM?!” She shouted, the whole trial room went dead silent afterwards. Tamba looked… scared.
“I- I- I’m sorry- I-” She stuttered out. Mai honestly look like she would happily jump Tamba right then and there but-
“It’s now voting time~!” MonoTV yelled, it’s screen making a XD expression in joy but-
“W- … but- I don’t want to vote for my friend -! Please- Please I’m begging you to not kill my friend!” Watari screamed, the tears coming back in full swing. Everyone whispered amongst themselves as they voted for the culprit.
“.... ‘m sorry.” Tamba mumbled under her breath, grasping at her chest tighter. “... I don’t want to die… I- I’m scared of dying…”
“I’m scared -!”