Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Railgun Cold Game (section)

===Part 3===

'''(the_empress)

“…Ugh. This has gotten out of hand.”

It was the next day. The entire world seemed to have changed in just one day.

Saten Ruiko commented on the current age of maximum speed trials.

The administrative agencies were gathered in District 1. She did not visit that area often, but today she had been brought there by a black van. Their destination was Academy City General Courthouse. It was generally known as a “court of first instance”, but they did not approach the front entrance. Needless to say, that was due to the TV and newspaper reporters and the voyeurs who claimed to be online journalists who were waiting outside.

The prosecutor in the van with her was supposedly the person who cornered the defendant until they were found guilty, but…

“L-let’s do our best, okay!? After causing so much trouble, that Loophole boy has finally been arrested and indicted, so we have to free the victims from their regrets and bring a normal life back to the surviving families!! Let’s do this!!”

(Ehhhhh!? We’re about to start the trial of the century, but this adult sounds panicked and can barely get the words out!? I thought prosecutors were supposed to be people who were nicknamed “the demon” and stuff like that!?)

If even a carefree middle school girl like Saten Ruiko was growing pale, then the world truly was over.

But while dramas often depicted the choice between a court-appointed attorney and a private defense attorney, they rarely showed a change in prosecutor. This woman in a cheap and baggy suit looked like a puppy giving you an upturned look. She wore her hair up to force a formal adult look, but it seemed more like something from the Shichi-Go-San festival. She may have been even shorter than Saten, but now that things had started, she would have to stick with it to the end!

She must have noticed Saten’s extremely uneasy gaze because thus spoke the puppy prosecutor (who was more toy poodle than Doberman):

“It’s unlikely, but there can be a risk if a witness’s identity is discovered. So your personal information will be hidden as much as possible. That’s standard practice.”

“U-um, then do I really have to speak from the witness stand…?”

“Your photograph was the defining piece of evidence in arresting and building a case against Innai Chigiri, so you need to provide testimony on the circumstances of taking that photo. I know it won’t be easy, so thank you for cooperating!”

“…”

It was not supposed to be like this. Saten Ruiko felt like holding her head in her hands.

She had not wanted to become the talk of the town and she had not wanted the reward. She had even refused the reward, but Anti-Skill and the prosecutor had not left her alone. Having lost the reward and gained nothing, Saten Ruiko was on the verge of tears. For one thing, she had not done anything at all. It was her smartphone that had found the suspicious face in her album app. But next thing she knew, all of this was going on. Part of her seriously wished they would just take her smartphone into the interrogation room and feed it the katsudon.

“Sigh.”

Her name had yet to appear on the internet, but for the past few days, she had felt a squeezing at her heart every time “the person who supplied the crucial information” had come up on message boards or social media.

Discussing these things online was so much different than being the topic of discussion.

A large group of complete strangers were searching for information on her. That was more than enough to scare her. Plus…

“L-Loophole has followers, right? I heard he has a lot of secret fans.”

“He is Innai Chigiri, the defendant. No more and no less, kay?”

(Kay?)

“They won’t try to take r-revenge on me for testifying, will they!? Will they!?”

“If you’re worried about any risks, then the best course of action is to make sure Innai Chigiri is found guilty and sent to the juvenile hall. Letting him go free would be the most dangerous option.”

Saten Ruiko really did hold her head in her hands now and the baggy suit puppy tossed her something wrapped in clear plastic.

“Um, what is this?”

“Let me ask you something instead: Do you really plan to appear in court wearing a uniform that identifies your school? Didn’t I say it’s standard practice to hide as much personal information as possible? C’mon!”

While wondering if this was some new diet that helped you lose weight by making sure you did not have an appetite, Saten tore open the plastic and spread out the contents.

It was a suit made of thick black rubber.

She could only assume it would be skintight from the neck down. Her bodylines would be entirely visible. Why did this dog prosecutor have what looked like a costume for a female phantom thief?

“…Are you serious?”

“Very serious. These days, the reporters can use a single strap to determine what store you bought it at and the general area in which you live. It wouldn’t hurt to get rid of every little thing of your own.”

The black van pulled around behind the courthouse, drove down a gentle slope, and entered an underground parking garage. A few people in black were waiting there. Fortunately, this was not a foolish team of 101 tiny puppies, so Saten breathed a sigh of relief. The suit-wearing Dobermans had apparently already gotten rid of any reporters trying to disguise themselves as staff members.

[[Image:Railgun_Cold_Game_16.jpg|thumb]]

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Wah, wait! The zipper! I still have to zip it up!!”

Blushing, Saten pitched forward and stumbled out into the parking garage.

The puppy prosecutor stretched upwards and confiscated Saten’s flower-shaped hair decoration.

“I said a single strap, didn’t I?”

While surrounded by men in black like she was the president, Saten was led through a space of bare concrete. She nervously looked around, and…

“Wh-where are we going now?”

“There are waiting rooms for witnesses. There are snacks and drinks there for you, so try not to come out until the trial. If you absolutely must use the bathroom or something, use the phone in the room to contact us. We will construct a safe route for you.”

“Ugh.”

“During the trial itself, you will be partitioned off by frosted glass so the defendant and gallery can’t see your face. The only real danger is when you’re waiting in the back. A lot of different people claim to be journalists these days. It isn’t unusual for them to use the internal staff or small robots, so don’t trust someone just because they’re walking around like they belong.”

She smoothly answered Saten’s questions, but it was not that reassuring when the woman looked like a puppy. Were they really headed in the right direction? She wouldn’t accidentally open the wrong door and dump them right into the middle of the press, would she? Saten could only pray that hellish kind of thing did not happen.

They rode up in an unusually small elevator, walked down a small hallway that made lots of twists and turns, and finally arrived in an area that looked like a hotel. Either that or the waiting rooms in a TV station. A long hallway was lined with doors that needed a card key to open.

The prosecutor in a black suit opened one door, but she did not give Saten a card key.

“Even if someone knocks, tells you it’s time, or yells that there’s a fire, do not carelessly open the door. Make sure to check over the phone first. Do you understand?”

“It’s not like I have any other option…”

“Good.”

“Um, uh, couldn’t you leave someone in front of the door?”

“Umm. Only if you want to advertise which of these many doors has the witness behind it.” The prosecutor clenched her tiny fists at face height and gave a snort from her nose. “Okay, let’s work together in court!”

(I’m worried…)

“Oh, and…become deliiiicious!!”

(I’m super worried!!)

After the men in black left, Saten was left all alone and the loneliness pressed in on her from all directions.

Actually being part of a criminal case was so different from just hearing about them.

And this case was not normal.

“…”

Unlike a movie or a drama, the prosecution and defense did not keep their evidence hidden and reveal it during the trial itself. They would declare in advance what their claims were and request for the evidence they needed. Even if they needed some other evidence afterwards, they could not bring it to court if they failed to request it. In other words, there would be no unexpected twists from a shocking new piece of evidence.

Thus, Saten had already been given an overview of the crimes committed by Loophole, aka Innai Chigiri.

The focus this time was on the Cold Sleep Murder Case.

A 14-year-old girl named Asajimo Saemi had been abducted, stripped naked, and frozen. The ice in the center of a District 15 skating rink had been removed and the “coffin” had been placed inside instead. Then water had been sprayed in from above to fill in all the gaps and the rink was back to normal in time for business hours the following morning.

The first to discover the corpse had not been an employee at the skating rink.

After seeing the perfectly smooth ice surface, they had apparently opened the rink like normal. It had been one of the first customers who screamed.

The crime scene investigation was complete and the part of the thick ice containing the girl had been cut out and sent to a university hospital for storage.

The culprit’s identity had been unknown because he had cleverly avoided the surveillance cameras when entering and exiting the skating rink late at night, but that was where Saten came in. Her selfie had coincidentally photographed him leaving the skating rink and preparing to board his bike.

“Sigh…”

Saten sighed.

Her cellphone itself had not been confiscated. She looked down at the screen out of unease and loneliness and she saw a few emails and missed calls. Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko, Uiharu Kazari… She smiled at the names of those friends who knew her situation, but then doubt crept in.

(…Huh? I can’t let people know my phone is here, can I? With the signal, I mean.)

She just about replied out of habit, but her fingers stopped. She breathed in and out. And she reconsidered. …It would be best to avoid any risk. So she decided against replying and turned off the phone altogether.

The public prosecutor was a government worker. And the defense attorney would protect the defendant.

But what about the witness?

Saten Ruiko belatedly realized she had fallen into an unexpected gap, so she breathed a heavy, heavy sigh in the empty room.

She was certain today would be an adventure.

But what good was an adventure she could not post about online?