>>41431234
You decide to give it a try, regardless. You think Paul is struggling more and more with his footing, or, well, it seems to be the case at a glance. You don't need to even gesture to summon a sword and fling it at your brother, hilt-first, of course, because you don't actually intend to hurt him for real. You aimed right at the side of his knee; not only should it knock him off-balance, but he shouldn't be able to see it coming.

But it doesn't work out as you intended it to, not at all. Your brother stops the projectile with his palm and, in a highly coordinated, flashy sleight of hand, flips the weapon over and immediately makes it ready for use. Your heart skips a beat - the blade is raised and about to be brought down on Naoko's head.

Her eyes widen in surprise. There is a momentary delay before she fully understands how the conditions have changed. The sword turns into a black and white streak as it begins its movement.

Then, your own eyes grow even wider - not from pain, but from the events you're questioning yourself seeing. With a loud clap, Naoko catches the blade between her palms. Her expression makes it seem like she's skeptic of her own success, but she lingers for only a moment. With a sudden twist of her upper body, she throws the weapon aside.

That's enough to snap Paul out of his coordinated rhythm; your friend takes advantage of his momentary hesitation and manages to knock him down. Even more than that, she mounts the young man, preventing any chance of him continuing with that annoying mobility.

And then, she unloads with a barrage of heavy punches directly on his head. He can't defend himself in the position he's in; Naoko is completely relentless and brutal, holding absolutely nothing back in her hits.

You can't tell if he's snapped out of it or not.

...

>Get Naoko to stop.
>Let her keep going until Paul stops moving.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41431274
>Let her keep going until Paul stops moving.

>>41431274
Well shit, this is tough.
>Get Naoko to stop.
As long as she gets away so there's no chance of a counter.

>>41431383
He's going to kill Naoko and you know it if she stops

>>41431274
>Let her keep going until Paul stops moving.

>>41431407
How pessimistic anon! Naoko has this wrapped up!

>>41431426
On one hand we can knock Paul out without risk to Naoko, On the otherhand there is the risk that Naoko will fucking die, I'll take the former

>>41431462
Well, depends if he retains his regeneration when he snaps out of it. Probably, but you never know...it's pretty bizarre as it is.

>>41431511
That's a risk i'm not willing to take

>>41431274
>Other. (Write-in).
get that sword out of our torso.

>>41431609
But it looks so stylish!
Seriously though, that will probably hurt a lot, what if we black out or something?

>>41431274
Voting over, writing!

>>41431716
Hope you've had a good week!
Such a long time for a cliffhanger~

>>41431716
Well looks like we just made our friend kill our brother because we suck too much. This whole encounter seems pretty pointless.

>>41432416
I'm not sure Clarissa would have an easier time not killing him nor herself here.
The point is obviously to show more of what the fuck is up with Paul.

>>41431348
>>41431415
You let Naoko fully handle it; in the meantime, you try to figure out what you'll do about this goddamn sword sticking out of your torso. You're no doctor or an expert on Shinigami physiology, so you don't know if it's a good idea to pull this thing out or not. You saw Kimiko get cut in two and still live to see the day, you've heard her tell you that Shinigami don't die easily at all, but it still hurts, and you're still bleeding.

Sitting on your knees is uncomfortable and you wish you could just lie down, but you can't do that while it's in you. You put your hands on the hilt and try to give it a light nudge, just as a way of 'testing the waters', and you immediately regret it - the sudden flare of pain forces you to scream, which, in turn, causes you even further agony. You don't think the sword moved even an inch.

Naoko suddenly stops mercilessly pounding your brother and turns around, looking towards you. She realizes that her temporary distraction didn't result in the enemy's counter attack - and, indeed, Paul's current injuries don't seem to be healing, either. It's hard to tell the extent of the damage caused from where you're sitting, but his face is thickly coated with his own dark blood, and there's even enough to flow down onto the school's grassy yard. Your friend's knuckles are bruised and covered in that same blood, though she doesn't acknowledge the pain with anything but a light twitching of her fingers.

You really hope he isn't dead.

Naoko leaves your brother behind and runs up to you. She lets you lean against her chest as she examines the wound, her expression growing more dire by the minute.

"This isn't something that can be solved with first aid, Clarissa," She mutters, her voice quivering in a panic. She doesn't say it, but there's obviously no way to get a real doctor for you, either. "But... it's going to be okay, don't worry. I... I'll think of something, just give me a little time. Just a bit, hold on!"

(1/2)

>>41432530
Naoko sure is a champ.

On the other hand, looks like our bloodline might end right here! Would be quite the blow to our parents if so.

>>41432530
The girl tries to set you down on the ground, but your pained groans prevent her from going through with it. Leaning against her was the least painful way, so she sets you back into that position. You can feel her nervous shaking. She's the one who's constantly telling you to keep calm, but you can't help but think that it's her who needs some reassurance.

"I'm... not going to die." You force yourself to speak; the effort isn't quite as agonizing as it used to be, probably because of your less straining seating. You said that, but you're actually unsure; you certainly don't feel like you aren't about to die. "Pull this... fucking thing out of me."

"Are you sure? Are you really sure? You'll start bleeding more. Are you sure you won't die?" Naoko questions and warns you, but you nod at her to go through with it, muttering something about Shinigami being tougher than humans. Just as she assumes a hold on the sword's hilt, though, you briefly halt her.

"Wait. As soon as... you're done..."

...

>"...Get Chappy here. I'll... probably heal while I'm in my body."
>"...Make sure that Paul is okay. I think I won't die, so make sure that he doesn't, either."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41432602
>"...Make sure that Paul is okay. I think I won't die, so make sure that he doesn't, either."
I'm sure we'll survive! Definitely!

>>41432602
Wouldn't using Chappy mean Clarissa ISN'T in her body? I don't get it.

>>41432654
It means to bring Chappy over so that the healing may begin! Sorry for being unclear!

>>41432692
Hmmm, alright.
>>41432602
>"...Get Chappy here. I'll... probably heal while I'm in my body."
Figure we can help Paul best when we're not delirious from pain.

>>41432573
>"...Make sure that Paul is okay. I think I won't die, so make sure that he doesn't, either."

Kinda feel like whichever we don't help is gonna croak...hopefully not.

>>41432602
Voting over, writing!

>>41432920
>>41432983
Clarissa better survive!

What happened to Ren anyway?

>>41432624
>>41432813
Naoko nods as you mutter the words out. You tell her to keep Paul from dying, if he's not dead already. Good lord, you hope he's alive. You suspect she'll drag him off to the nurse's office or call an ambulance or something of the sort - you know that head injuries bleed a lot, but even keeping that in mind it seems a bit much.

You close your eyes and grit your teeth in preparation. For Naoko, it serves as a signal to go through with it. And she does it immediately, in a single, jarring motion. Your eyes open wide out of shock, but you can hardly see anything for the next few seconds. You tried to scream, but even that was stifled by pain into a whimpering sound. Naoko carefully lays you down on the ground and runs off, leaving you to stare at the gray sky as you gradually get over the wave of agony.

It's hard to tell because the pain is still awful, but you think you feel just a little bit better. Or maybe the cause of it is your barely enduring consciousness.

It's getting cold. The weather was unpleasant throughout the whole day, but you've never noticed it quite like now.

You find yourself wondering if this wound will ever heal. From you've seen, neither Mayuri's nor Clay Bone's injury recovered when it was supposed to. If your Shinigami form is stuck with this hole forever, it will become useless. You can use your powers as a human, but you'd be risking real injury from then on.

Of course it'll heal, you hear him think. Getting crippled by your own swords would be far too embarrassing. But the recovery won't be quick. You're not skilled enough to mend it like Paul did. He welcomed his ignorance, but you've always refused to partake in anything for your own sake. That's why he's so much stronger even though you're twins.

"Shut... up." You mutter.

(1/2)

>>41434062
You hope Naoko comes back soon. You think nobody's around anymore, as it's grown deathly quiet. You wonder how long you've been lying around for. Even tilting your head to look at your surroundings feels like too tiring of a task, so you don't do it. You're still not confident in your invulnerability as a Shinigami to strain yourself needlessly.

Soon enough, a blond haired girl springs into your view. It's you. Well, it's your body.

"Let's... swap." You whisper to Chappy, and, with a pyon, it relentlessly lifts you up (while completely ignoring your pleas of being gentler) and, as you scream, shoves you back into your rightful place. You still feel a tinge of pain in your chest, but it's nothing by comparison.

As you stand around, you realize that Chappy came here alone - there's nobody around. You dash back into the school, frantically looking for your friends.

You find Paul unconscious in the sickbay, his face wrapped in bandages, with the nurse waiting for an ambulance. You run off after making sure that your brother's alright, and eventually spot Ren by the principal's office, the PE teacher standing by her side - a fit woman in her early thirties with long brown hair in a ponytail; you get the feeling that she's there to keep your friend from running away. From what you heard on your way here, Naoko must be inside.

The teacher lets you speak with Ren, though she clearly dislikes letting you do so, for some reason. Your red-haired friend is a little hesitant to speak about the situation in her presence, though.

"Could... you let us talk for a bit, Kobayashi-sensei?" You ask the woman, who immediately shakes her head.

"No way! You'll sneak out. I was told not to let your friend here out of my sight." She says, and stubbornly shuts down any further attempts at persuasion.

...

>Use your mind controlling powers to get the teacher to leave.
>Tell Ren to ignore the teacher and have her tell you everything.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41434094
>Tell Ren to ignore the teacher and have her tell you everything.
Noooo MC!

>>41434094
Try a little mind control. Don't go beyond what a Jedi would do.

>>41434094
>Drag Ren off, you can totally escape her
Shenanigans!
Hopefully our body an take it.

>>41434094
Tell her she can block the exit or whatever, this is too important.

>>41434094
Trying reason and if it doesn't work, nudge her mind a bit sounds fine.

>>41434094
Voting over, writing!

Looking on the bright side, at least it seems we'll all live.

>>41434199
>>41434435
>>41434267
"Kobayashi-sensei, we really need you to-"

"No."

"But this is really im-"

"I already told you - no."

"It won't even take long, come on AT LEAST HEAR ME OUT-"

"No can't do."

Her stubbornness is giving you a headache. This isn't how an adult should act. You close your eyes, mulling over a clever way to get her out of here. Well, there's one obvious solution. If only you could be more confident in pulling it off.

If you want her to leave, she'll leave, or so he says. If your ability has an emotional trigger, then you'll have to focus on what you're feeling, and... direct it at her? You open your eyes only to roll them, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the incredibly vague concept of flinging your emotions at a person, and then close them again. If that's how it works, you can't really help it.

This is probably a good chance to get some practice in without hurting anyone.

You concentrate on your annoyance with the woman and your need to be left alone with Ren. You then look at the teacher. "Leave us alone for a while."

Kobayashi-sensei opens her mouth in an attempt to issue out an immediate response, but ultimately, she can't get herself to speak. She raises her eyebrows and thoughtfully glances up at the ceiling. Then, with a shrug, she departs.

Wow. That... was easy. You feel a little giddy inside, like you've just pulled some childish prank that worked out flawlessly.

"...What did you do?" Ren speaks up as you force down a giggling fit, though you just wave her question off and tell her to explain the situation to you. She skeptically frowns at your evasiveness and throws a brief glance at the departing teacher, but starts talking. "Well... when Paul threw that desk through the window, a whole bunch of teachers and students came running in, like, right after you three jumped out of the window. Uh... I was the only one left, so they saw me there. With the broken window and the missing desk."

(1/2)

>>41435431
>[Ren disapproves! -10 Ren points]

>>41435431
You sheepishly scratch the back of your head as you listen to her story, feeling a tiny prick of guilt. Ren continues. "So... I was immediately placed under suspicion, you know? Then they looked out the window and saw Naoko beating the heck out of Paul. She wouldn't stop even when they yelled at her, so they eventually gave up and all ran down there." She explains. You lift a brow, impressed by both how you didn't hear their yelling and how little time the battle apparently took.

"I followed after them, and they stumbled into Naoko. She was carrying Paul in her arms. His face was... well... it was really messed up, and the teachers got even more mad and worried. So they called him an ambulance, and I think he should be resting at the nurse's office right now. Meanwhile, Naoko's going through a serious talk. In there." She points at the door to the principal's office. Ren then sighs. "It's my turn after that. They're blaming the broken window on me, since I've been there and I've got no alibi or anything. I..."

The redhead leans against a wall, arms crossed over her chest. Her expression glooms over; the girl looks on the verge of tears as she thinks her situation over. "I didn't do it. You know that! But I can't explain anything to them. They won't believe anything, because it's a bunch of nonsense. I just... hope I don't get expelled."

...

>"Well... we can think of something. We can even call up Akemi and the others - they attend clubs so they should be nearby - and make shit up if we have to."
>"Don't worry about it, Ren. I think I can use my powers to solve this crap."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41435482
Well shit.
>"They have absolutely no proof, and I can vouch for you if it comes to that. There's no way they can afford to give you more than a slap on the wrist. It's Naoko I'm worried about..."

>>41435482
>"Have you told them anything? We'll find a way out of this, don't worry. Shit, Paul sure is inconvenient...did they all really just arrive to see Naoko wail on him, and not them fighting at all?"

>>41435482
>"Don't worry about it, Ren. I think I can use my powers to solve this crap."

>>41435482
On one hand I feel bad about using powers. On the other it was caused by powers in the first place and Paul will no doubt remember jack shit and get offended if we try to implicate him, so I dunno how else we could solve it.

Even if we just try and place the blame on him it'd just make him feel betrayed and shit.

>>41435482
>"Don't worry about it, Ren. I think I can use my powers to solve this crap."

>>41435756
Paul continues to be the worst, news at eleven. If only Kimiko left behind that memory faking device, because I don't trust Hiyori to cover for us.

>>41435900
Well if he's got a Gil-equivalent fucking him up it's not strictly his fault. Though Clarissa avoids blaming insanity when she can, she still is kinda insane.

Guess we didn't get anywhere near a consensus huh. Oh well.

>>41436131
Unfortunately there's no logical explanation for what happened, especially if they only saw Naoko punching Paul, and not Paul leap out of a window, throwing around glass shards and invisible swords, as well as healing like Wolverine.

>>41436267
Indeed.
On one hand I kinda want to bitch at Paul for this shit, on the other if he really doesn't remember squat then it's pointless. How frustrating.

>>41435537
>>41435585
"Have you told them anything? We'll find a way out of this, don't worry. Shit, Paul sure is inconvenient... did they all really just arrive to see Naoko wail on him, and not them fighting at all?" You decide to calm Ren down and clarify the situation some more before taking any firm action.

"I-I don't know what to tell them, so I didn't say anything! What, was I supposed to tell them that your brother did it, even though he was three stories down and getting beat up by Naoko at that time? So I didn't say anything!" Ren raises her voice and vents a little. She remembers that you asked her something else, and she hastily adds. "They saw Paul trying to get away while Naoko was pounding his face. And then he fell and... it didn't look pretty at all, Clarissa!"

Paul was, at one point, doing hardly anything other than flip flopping around and trying to run towards you; to the observers it must have seemed like he was just trying to run away from the fist throwing Naoko, as you weren't visible at that point. That just makes her situation even worse. You let off a frustrated sigh, wracking your brains over a solution. You soon speak up.

"They have absolutely no proof, and I can vouch for you if it comes to that. There's no way they'll give you anything more than a slap on the wrist. Naoko, though..."

"They don't have any proof, but I can't explain what I was doing in that classroom all alone, either! And they know that there was nobody there and saw nobody running out - heck, the room was supposed to be closed completely! They don't even know how I got there. I obviously can't tell them that Paul let me in or something! He physically couldn't, because he was outside at that time!"

(1/2)

>>41436384
"Calm down, Ren. You can just say that the classroom was open when you went there. Like the teacher forgot to lock the door, I guess."

"But I still don't have any reason to have been there." Ren's anger suddenly cools down, giving way to depression.

...

>"Even if there is no explanation, we can work together and come up with something. Let's keep at it, come on. I'll call the others and get them in on it. We can make up alibis that way."
>"Let's go into the office. I'll use my powers and solve everything."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41436384
Can Ren even lift a desk?
>>41436411
>"Even if there is no explanation, we can work together and come up with something. Let's keep at it, come on. I'll call the others and get them in on it. We can make up alibis that way."

>>41436411
>"Let's go into the office. I'll use my powers and solve everything."

>>41436411
>"Even if there is no explanation, we can work together and come up with something. Let's keep at it, come on. I'll call the others and get them in on it. We can make up alibis that way."
We can try the other if this doesn't work out right?

>>41436411
>"Let's go into the office. I'll use my powers and solve everything."

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>41436411
Voting over! Rolling to break the tie!

If 1-3 then:
>"Even if there is no explanation, we can work together and come up with something. Let's keep at it, come on. I'll call the others and get them in on it. We can make up alibis that way."

If 4-6 then:
>"Let's go into the office. I'll use my powers and solve everything."

>>41436913
Couldn't get this post out for a while because of some weird issues. Sorry for the delay!

>>41436913
Alright! I guess we might not get more votes even if some anons may have been blocked by captcha servers.

>>41436658
No? Because then our friends will see us do a Jedi mind trick unless you want to do it to them too, and in general they're gonna want an explanation we can't fucking give. You jackasses are gonna get Naoko expelled for saving our ass because mind control is a 'bad guy' power, even though you idiots abandoned solving things with reason when you insisted on confronting Paul.

>>41437609
Ooooor...we can wait until we're alone? It seriously won't take any effort to get the principal alone and then do it. Or any number of teachers. Just ask to talk to them confidentially, act like we've got important info, whatever.

>>41436424
>>41436658
You let out another sigh and take out your phone. As you reassure Ren that everything will be fine and that you'll come up with something, you call up your friends and give them a rough explanation of what happened.

You learn that Akemi forgot her bag in the classroom, so you managed to make up an alibi for Ren: Akemi asked her to pick it up for her, which is how she ended up being first on the crime scene. Of course, even with that out of the way, you need to think of a reason why Ren didn't see anyone running out of the classroom, and it doesn't really make Naoko's position any easier.

Tomoko checked the crime scene and found Paul's glasses - she's absolutely certain that they are his, and if it's her who's saying that, she's probably correct. And besides, you did see him lose the glasses just as the scuffle began. It puts your brother on the scene, if you want him to be there - though, of course, it doesn't explain just how the hell he ended up three floors below - so... you think that's good.

...Gah, this is like a dumb puzzle with serious things at stake - namely, your friends not getting expelled - and you're not having an easier time working under pressure at all.

By the time you're through making calls (and run out of ideas), Naoko is still stuck in the office. You do spot paramedics making their way to the sickbay, though.

"I guess it's a good thing that Akemi's not very bright sometimes. But... how do we explain how I didn't see the real criminal running away even though I was close enough to get there first? I'm sure they'll bug me about that." Ren is worried. You know that it's understandable for her to be that way, but you want to focus on making sure that Naoko isn't under any suspicion.

"Well, Ren... I guess you could tell them that..."

>>41437837
...

>The culprit was hiding in the classroom until everyone left.
>You did see the culprit run out, but you couldn't make out anything about him. He was not wearing the school uniform.
>The culprit jumped out through the window after he broke it.
>"...Just think of something, Ren. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41437872
>You did see the culprit run out, but you couldn't make out anything about him. He was not wearing the school uniform.

>>41437872
Could the criminal just have gotten away before she arrived
Or going with the explanation, if she says 'I didn't see anyone' the first/third are both open options, but without her implicating herself WRT seeing them (so if she says they were hiding in the classroom and they counter 'but we searched the whole place' she's trapped, but if she says 'I didn't see anyone' and the searched she's not, and if they didn't search we can suggest the possibility and have it work).
>Just deny seeing them - you heard the crash, rushed over, and didn't see anything but the broken window - at which point you were distracted by the fight outside. The culprit could have already left, or hidden and snuck out while you were watching Paul and Naoko.

Where was our body at that point anyway? I suppose we couldn't vouch for her?

Oh, I know. How far out is the desk? It might be tough to prove she couldn't throw it out a window (though who knows) but if it was blown far away surely it'd be trivial to point out she no way has the strength to have done it!

>>41437872
Not sure we have an option for Naoko but mind-tricking peeps in charge. Ren should be fixable by pointing out the incongruities in their theory - why would she hurl a desk out in the first place? How would she have the strength to do so? Why would she stick around and look confused rather than flee herself?

>>41438057
Chappy was told to sit in a bathroom stall until Clarissa was done with her things.

>>41438173
Hmmm...well, we better not, Clarissa would probably just be on the hook instead. I mean, I'd take the fall if necessary but their case is skimpy.

Nobody else gonna vote? Pretty important anons!

So what are we doing?

>>41438282
This whole thing seems stupid to me. Like thinking we can talk our way out of this is silly.

>>41438446
We can easily talk our way out of Ren getting in trouble.

Naoko, probably not. Could maybe claim to have witnessed it and say Paul was guilty too but that just gets them both in trouble.

>>41438504
I guess, but I don't see how what lie we tell Ren to say matters. Since it will be a blatant lie regardless.

File: clarissa the ace attorney.png (319 KB, 817x817)

319 KB PNG

>>41437872
I'd like to end the thread for tonight, it's getting late!

And also, I think it's a good idea to give everyone time to think things over and maybe someone can come up with a good justification for it all. Remember that using the Hogyoku's mind powers to solve this issue is always an option!

Next thread is tomorrow, but watch out for anything bad on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Mushroomgami

If you have any questions or feedback, shoot them my way!

Thanks for reading!

>>41438618
Well to cover her tracks. She specifies something that happened, they might have a way to prove it didn't and thus catch her lying. If she stays vague and just says 'I didn't see, I arrived after and was distracted by the fight' they have no ground to stand on.

And I still think Paul probably threw the desk hard enough that we can argue she can't have had the strength to.

>>41438641
Thanks for running.

Eh, on one hand I really hate using the mind powers. On the other I see no real way to get Naoko off the hook without them and if we're using them for that anyway we might as well get Ren off the hook at the same time.

Feels like a trick choice to me. The choice isn't 'figure out an explanation or use mind powers', it's 'leave your friends out to dry or use mind powers'. Ren is an actual interesting case where we could probably think our way out, but since we need to save Naoko anyway there's zero reason not to just include her in that. Very annoying and pointless.

>>41438732
I dunno, this was just a very frustrating thread. Felt like only two of us were actually discussing shit, and getting nowhere at that. Votes kept tying, and Naoko's situation just feels like it's forcing us to use Mind Powers because the alternative of not helping her at all is never gonna win and there's literally no way to help her otherwise as anything Clarissa says would only result in 'X AND Naoko are at fault' rather than actually exonerating her, so we're wasting a bunch of votes doing nothing. Just have a single, final vote on using powers to help them or not, instead of wasting time. Not fun at all.

>>41438809
>>41438732
Got it! We'll resolve it with the next vote. I'll leave the possibility of a write-in in case someone actually manages to come up with something!

>>41438846
Thanks for writing Mushroom. We'll see how it goes in tomorrow's thread!

>>41438878
Always happy to!

>>41438846
It's just an unfortunate occurrence, if other anons spoke up and participated more we could probably have reached some kinda consensus. Since we didn't though we're just stuck on what is, in the end, a kinda pointless choice because we're gonna do what's needed to get Naoko out anyway. The last three votes were almost literally the same one times three, when we're itching to defend Naoko or catch up on Paul rather than tie it once again and wait for the fourth version.