Introducing three characters in one segment is hard. Just so you know.
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KILGAMAYAN HAS LOGGED IN.
A small crowd had formed in Kilga's absence, murmuring about Fong's Gambit. Rou was still arguing his case, insisting to anyone who was willing to listen (read: more or less no-one) that Pesco was obviously scum and that everyone was being an idiot for not agreeing with him immediately. A few people had caved in and agreed with him, but there were stragglers who remained unconvinced.
"Rou, Pesco wouldn't make a move like that without good reason. You know his meta better than anyone here."
The speaker was another well-known player, Kiro, muttering his disapproval for what must have been the fiftieth time. He straightened up the black dress he was wearing, a remnant of the Kamio Misuzu avatar he had used back when Mafia began. It wasn't until you experienced it yourself that you noticed that absurdly long blonde hair did have its drawbacks, as he was known for tripping up over himself every so often. Despite this clumsiness, as a player Kiro's ability was first-class, and it had almost become a running gag that the Mafia would get rid of him at the first opportunity every time he was Town.
"Seriously, why the hell is everyone here so obsessed with meta? We can't just give everyone free passes based on what they usually do!" Rou was clearly getting irritated, waving his hands around in all directions to vent his stress. Not paying proper attention, he managed to slap his ghost half head on and promptly fell to the floor like he'd just been punched in the cheek. Kilga resisted the urge to laugh at the fallen swordsman as he joined the crowd.
Okay, he's given me a decent opening. Better try making something of this.
"Question. If calling people out on meta is so scummy, why aren't you voting Alice for lurking so much?" Kilga pointed to a member of the crowd who up until now had been silent, reading a grimoire of some sort while only half-listening to the discussion. At least it looked like a book at first sight, but on closer inspection it turned out to be a laptop cunningly disguised as one. Its owner was Alice Margatroid himself, the player who had discovered and passed around the secrets of the Avatar Form. As an avid fan of Umineko (much to Kilga's private disdain), he had inherited the striking red hair of Battler Ushiromiya to go with the traditional Margatroid attire.
His best known habit was saying absolutely nothing.
"Alice is...well, Alice. He's a special case, and when he does talk it's to say something awesome, so he doesn't count."
Rou was still trying to make his case even while face down on the floor. He heard someone move over to him and extend a hand to help him up, which he promptly accepted. His blood ran cold for an instant as his hand gripped cold metal until he looked up and saw whose arm he had just grabbed.
"Oh, sure, gimme the wounded gazelle face. That'll buy me over, guaranteed."
Carthrat was well remembered for his original avatar, a genderswapped Freddy Kreuger, whose striped sweater and claw-like hand he had inherited. His more recent avatar was responsible for the impressive moustache and barmah hat, proof of his Australia heritage. He lifted Roukanken back to his feet, brushing off his mechanical hand as soon as he got the chance.
"But yeah, Kilga's got a point on this one. Pesco's got his own meta too, and if we ignored it we'd probably just lynch him Day 1 every game. You're jumping to conclusions here."
Kilga flashed something that resembled a smile as Carthrat spoke. He'd been responsible for bringing Carth into the game in the first place, and the pair were good friends even outside of Mafia. Rou stepped back, the accusations starting to get to him.
Time to step in and land the killer blow.
"This self-vote was probably a plan to trip up the Mafia with an easy target. From the looks of things, you've fallen for it hook, line and sinker. ##Vote: Roukanken."
Another booming resonance as the vote declaration spread throughout the board. Kilga couldn't help but be a little proud of himself for turning such a hopeless case into something believable. And the rest of the Town agreed-
"That's ridiculous." Kiro whispered without so much as flinching.
"The hell?" Rou shouted, reacting violently enough for himself and Kiro combined.
"..." Alice shook his head in disapproval, not wasting any words on the matter.
...Or maybe not.
"You're forgetting that Pesco's post was the only thing worth discussing at the time, Kilga. What else was he meant to do?"
Kiro knocked another strand of hair out of his eyes (seriously, having hair like that must have been hell on earth) as he made his usual solid points. Rou, desperate for support of some kind, clung to his words like a drowning man to a rock.
"Y-Yeah! If I didn't find Pesco scummy, what else was I going to do? Sit back and wait for another suspect? In fact, your whole attack on me rests on Pesco being Town, and why should I believe that?!"
Kilga clenched his fists as the united glare of the populace fell upon him. Carthrat was pondering the idea for a while, eventually giving up and shrugging his shoulders.
"He's got you there, Kilga. Scum Pesco's as nutty as Town Pesco, now that I think about it...damn, why do we never get any easy lynches on Day 1 anymore?"
Rou grew more and more confident by the second, the tables quickly turning in his favour. He pointed at his suspect with a needlessly extravagant motion, savouring the moment.
"Your clear of Pesco is based on absolutely nothing, and whatever his actual affiliation is it makes you look bad for not thinking his case over! Right now, you're far more scummy than he is! ##Unvote: Pesco, Vote: Kilga!"
There was no quiet disapproval this time around. Those present slowly walked towards Kilga, threatening to encircle him. He could easily log out at any time, but only guilty men ran so he'd just be making things worse. Only Carthrat hung back, unconvinced by what he was being told.
So here I am, about to be persecuted for an opinion that isn't my own. ...I hate this game sometimes.
Votes were cast and questions were asked, but the MotK community had a habit of picking a suspect and sticking to him intently unless something massive came up. Roukanken led the assaut, picking at every little hole he could find in Kilga's defenses and explanations. What he missed Kiro picked up on, and every word that came out of his mouth seemed to turn up as evidence against him.
Makes you wonder what the point is in defending yourself at all, if you think about it too much.
He was getting tired of this. In the end Mafia was just a game, and he had better things to do than sit here and take false accusations all day long. At the very least, he wanted to have a word with Pesco, preferrably whilst armed with a large blunt object.
"Look, I need to go. I'll be back later. Log o-"
"うふふふふ~"
His command was cut off by a voice that on instinct alone made Kilga want to punch something. Pesco literally leapt into the fray, forcing the crowd to disperse as he landed next to his fellow rabbit.
"Well, looks like my gambit paid off better than I thought it would. Thanks, Kilga, but I can take this one from here. You be a good bunny and go do something else."
There wasn't a single word in that entire sentence that didn't make Kilga want to do something painful to Pesco, but his instincts froze before he could perform the deed. There was a glint in Pesco's eye, a bright but confident expression that wordlessly said to him 'I know what I'm doing, I'll be fine on my own'. That was a good enough reason for Kilga to make a break for it, along with the satisfaction he'd get from seeing Pesco fall into the hole he'd dug for himself.
"Heh, do whatever you want. Log out."
Kilga's form slowly faded, as the mysterious voice in the sky announced his exit majestically. Pesco knew everyone was watching him - some with concern, some with disapproval, but most importantly, one with fear.
"Now, where were we, うさ?"
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As a side note, I'm willing to take suggestions for what I should name this thing. <_<
