A Matter of Faith | Arthur | Execution Reaction / AB Game / Trial Reaction
Shutting out the trial had proved to be a good choice, even if Arthur feels guilty about withdrawing when there's still work to be done and things to be said. Although his hands can muffle the majority of the noise enough to bring him calm and peace, he can still hear the vague sounds of yelling beyond his bubble of quiet. It isn't getting better out there. Taking slow, deep breaths and keeping his eyes closed to reduce the amount of sensory stimulation as much as possible, Arthur tries to think of calming things. Sitting in an armchair with a book and a mug of tea. Laying in bed with the lights off and the shades drawn. Baking cookies. Standing in the morgue, the calm, cool, quiet stillness of it, a body on the table. The comforting confidence that he knows exactly what needs to be done.
Arthur isn't sure exactly how much time has passed when he slowly realizes that the noise has died down. Cautiously, he opens his eyes- only to see the rabbit-man making some kind of announcement. Not wanting to fall too far out of the loop, Arthur hastily drops his hands- just in time to hear that Forte had indeed killed Hitachi. The trial is over, the votes are in- and blessedly, the results are correct, apparently.
As the punishment is announced and Forte is dragged away, Arthur feels less than surprised. Nothing about this situation or this trial has followed any kind of normal protocol, so why should the fate of the killer be any different? That isn't to say he agrees with it, no, Arthur could never agree with murder. This was not a fair trial, these were not fair circumstances, Forte does not deserve to die and she certainly doesn't deserve the cruel and unusual death this execution provides her.
And yet, as he watches with wide eyes, Arthur feels a strange fascination. He's seen countless dead bodies of course, but he's never actually witnessed a murder. It's an entirely different experience. So that's what it looks like when blunt force trauma is applied, so that's how those blood patterns are formed, so that's how it works... The knowledge is morbid, yet he files it away all the same.
Scarcely has Arthur had time to regain his bearings and look around, gauging the reactions of the others present, before the AB Game is announced. Of course, it isn't over yet. At least he seems to have been paired with his roommate, Kenta isn't abhorrent even if Arthur has serious reservations about that poster he'd brought into their room. He enters the chamber without hesitation, discusses with Kenta at a greater length than he'd expected to need to- but in the end he submits their votes without issue. At least Kenta had been reasonable, even if they'd briefly disagreed.
The game is over soon enough, and Arthur exits again, going to give the results board a quick look- mainly out of curiosity.
