More ugly news reports + one patronizing [video] message courtesy of Seth Richardson

[stay_classy_cat]

A casual Monday outing turned tragic when two men were brutally gunned down in front of Malo's Gun and Ammunition mart. The victims; Kaplan Stridehr and Marple Dethrris were found dead with a single Aperture-Brand Resolution Pellet to the head. A third victim, Hendorff Ditherrs, was found at the scene asphyxiated to death. All three of the victims regularly donated community service hours to the FLUDD orphanage and were cherished by their grieving families.

The murder suspects, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Vivan Johnson, and Rick Johnson, all attend Smash Academy and have been interrogated at least once by the FDCPD. Rick has been hospitalized for the time being with life-threatening injuries, though his condition is stable. He will be questioned when he regains consciousness. It's unclear if his injuries were inflicted in self-defense, or by the other two Smash Academy students in the middle of the attack.

The Smash Academy students claim they were the ones who acted in self defense, but FDCPD has not reached a clear verdict yet to a very messy and terrible situation.

"It's not completely clear this was in self defense." says the police chief. "If you're not looking to kill, you don't put a bullet in someone's head."

Several eye witnesses to the attack also claim the smaller student, Vivian, was the one who open fired and murdered the victims, unprovoked. All three are on juvenile preemptive probation until further investigations are finished. It should be worth noting, again, these were non-human students of Smash Academy, a fighting school that accepts many different kinds of unnatural, humanoid creatures. They could still be considered dangerous despite the probation. Aperture Science is also being questioned for product deficiency, but has not returned any of our calls.

[Lakitu, an unnatural, humanoid turtle man, shuffles the papers on his desk and prepares for the next, possibly vaguely related news story.]

An abandoned church on the east side of the city was mysteriously engulfed in flames last night. Fire accelerants were noted in the area, suggesting that this was no accident. It's uncertain if this incident is related to the gun attack, but non-human terrorists are suspected given the target. If you have any important clues or tips to report, please call the FDCPD immediately.

It's truly terrible this historic building has been reduced to tinder and ashes. Residents are outraged and are calling for Martial law. Mayor Tabuu is taking this into consideration with rising rates of violence and crime, but states he is not likely to come to a decision or see any action result for a least a month, especially given the complicated nature of FDC. Martial law would necessitate the need for an outsourced, contracted military, and the Mayor wants to ensure he has the best for the job.

---

[video]

[Seth appears on video, close up and fiddling with the camera before settling in his seat, a grim expression on his face.]

In case you weren't aware about a certain fiasco that happened between Mary and Vianca a while ago, a new development has recently come to my attention, and I for one am ashamed. Shame on you!

Honestly, she's just a child and didn't know any better. That's no reason for anyone to go antagonize and bully her! I want to think better of our student body.

You're all so quick to turn a blind eye when that murderous swordsman returned to campus. You hardly bat an eyelash at knowing there's at least three new and different murder suspects residing right here! Have any of you even seen the news lately? They're right here, living amongst you all--murderers as your very neighbors. But the moment a naive little girl does something she didn't even know was wrong you ostracize her unfairly. I don't want to name names but you know who you are.

Everyone's double standards here are truly unsettling. You should all think on your sins.

[Ahem. He clears his throat and adjusts his collar, as if to clear out all that ~undignified emotional outpouring~]

Anyway, I apologize if any of that came across as harsh or blunt, and Mary's poor name shouldn't be dragged through the mud any longer. Mary has all my condolences, I wish her the best and above all that this doesn't happen again. That was a while ago anyway--old news. She should know better by now.

I'll see to it personally.

Comments

[rebut]

[ WE CAN DEAL WITH BILLS AFTER THE MURDER CHARGE IS DEALT WITH ]

Ishimaru-kun? It's Naegi. I heard the news, and just... I don't think you could do that, but they're sure trying hard to pin it on you and Ms. and Mr. Johnson. What happened?

[forgetbeam]

Naegi-kun...

[Naegi doesn't believe he did it. Naegi, who Ishimaru was to quick to pin his own suspicions on when it came to Maizono's murder in Hope's Peak... His shoulders slump a little, but he catches himself and in a second he's back to having impeccable posture.]

The three of us went into the city, when some men approached us. ...They were not the ones to make the first strike. Mr. Johnson was.

[He's still not used to knowing that Rick ACTUALLY HAS A LAST NAME... He had no idea Vivian did, either - wasn't she a machine, anyway? Why are theirs the same?]

It quickly became a situation that... would have ended in our deaths if Vivian had not shot them. But because they were not the ones who started it, I can't say with confidence that it was self-defense.

[rebut]

Okay, got it.

[ Oh man, what was the Johnson guy thinking? Unless they can prove, despite what Ishimaru's saying, that those men were trying to attack even before he made the first strike...well, to put it lightly, that's going to be a huge mark against them. ]

This...is going to be a lot different from Hope's Peak, but I'll do my best to help get this sorted out any way I can. And I'm sure a lot of people are thinking the same thing, so with all of us working on it, we'll figure out what happened soon enough.

[ Why else would Ishimaru's phone be so popular anyway? ]

—And one more thing. If you can answer this, what were you doing then?

[forgetbeam]

...I have faith in you, Naegi-kun.

[He means it. If anyone's able to get to the bottom of this, it's Naegi. Although Ishimaru's not sure if there's any mystery to solve.

But he is right about one thing: it's not going to be anything like Hope's Peak. That's a good thing, isn't it?]

...Do you mean what were all of us doing off school grounds, or what was I doing during the struggle?

[One answer is easier than the other.]

[rebut]

Don't mention it.

[ Normally, it'd be a huge improvement, but investigation-wise, Hope's Peak definitely wins the "much objectively easier to deal with" prize. Nevertheless, he'll do his best. He doesn't want Ishimaru's faith to be misplaced. ]

Both would be great to know, but I meant "what you were doing during the struggle"?

[forgetbeam]

[Nah he will just focus on the one answer.]

During the struggle... It's shameful to even think about, it truly is...! I was not much use in defending myself or my partner. [He'd been a lot less concerned about Rick at that time until he stabbing started.] However, when it began... I was able to...

[He furrows his brow on the other end of the line, grasping for the words.]

...Use the force of a hit against the attacker. I put him onto his back so easily. I took even myself by surprise, and that surprise became my downfall. But I must have learned to do that at some point, right? That kind of technique doesn't come naturally.

[If it is some hidden natural ability he's going to be REALLY MAD AT HIMSELF. No, he must have picked it up somewhere. What the hell went on in those missing years?]

[rebut]

[ He says the next part a bit absentmindedly, trying to add the new information to the picture of the crime scene in his head. ]

Maybe you learned it from Oogami-san? You always kept up with her far better than I ever could...

[ He pauses for a bit here. ]

Don't worry, Ishimaru-kun, that's self-defense. And you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. You did the best you could in a stressful situation. We just need to figure out how to prove that to everyone.

[forgetbeam]

[He wonders for a second if he did learn it from her. Sparring with Oogami... what a terrifying but somehow amazing prospect. If he should ever meet her again, he'd like to try that.

Maybe.

He'll cross that bridge if he ever reaches it, though. For now...]

That sort of self-defense isn't the problem here! But those shots that were fired... I am not sure what I should do...

[rebut]

That'll be tougher to prove, but you all had a reason to try to protect each other. We just need to show some sort of proof that they meant harm to you three from the beginning. The more concrete the better.

[ The tricky part will be getting that evidence—it's not like they have access to the scene this time. ]