The Transtempus Penalty (ERERI//RIREN)

Chapter 1

"Alright, babes," Hanji said, settling onto the edge of her expensive oak desk, happy to have won the Conditional Transtempus Penalty for her client. She was curious to see what the outcomes of traveling so far back and attempting to prevent a long string of murders would be.

"You heard what Zackly said," she grinned, pointing her thumb towards the door, in reference to the verdict. One law student would be personally elected to go back in time and try to foster a friendship with the man before the murders, helping to show him empathy, and to show him what a good moral code looked like. The judge had ruled in favor of the Transempus Penalty despite it being in a very early stage of development, knowing that the research provided during the execution of said penalty would help to boost knowledge and awareness of the new pacifistic method of treatment.

"We already have two very skilled forensic psychologists to go back and play the role of your parents, to give you off the cuff advice, if so desired. If you have any long term questions, those questions will be answered by myself in the form of recorded cassettes sent back and forth across the barrier. Your job is not to kill the defendant, or to cause any harm to him; your job is to provide him with support and love in the hopes of preventing him from even considering a life of crime. If anyone does not feel capable of unbiased support for my defendant, your presence is no longer required in my office."

Three or four young law students, some of which I knew personally, immediately stood and began to gather their things. I waved goodbye as they left the office, certain I was capable of molding this man into the kind of person that doesn't break laws. I looked around the room and saw more of my classmates slowly filing out until it was only me and two other people sitting in the folding chairs and on the posh leather furniture in the office of Ms. Zoe.

"How will we be elected?" my best friend, Armin Arlert, asked timidly, lifting a thin, pale hand while he spoke to the award winning attorney.

"Well, Sweetie," she said, pulling a cigarette from the pocket of her pantsuit and setting it between her lips while she loped towards the window to crack it open before returning to her perch on the edge of her desk. "We're gonna test your aptitude in a few things unrelated to your major, like physical capabilities, and the like," she began, her words warped by the cig in her mouth, flicking her lighter and bringing the flame to the open end, lighting the paper and the tobacco resting inside. Taking a quick drag and removing the Virginia Slim from her mouth, she continued. "So, the three of you will be graded in four categories. First is physical, because although he will be a minor, it is on file that he was a fairly violent teenager, and anybody that would be unable to fend him off will be automatically eliminated. We aren't here to put you in danger, we're here to save lives, not rack up the body count. Second, is your mental strength. You will need the ability to make good decisions spontaneously, keeping Mr. Ackerman's best interests in mind with every decision that is made, even without my direct council."

"Well, I got all that down," the other student, Jean Kirschtein said, flashing me a quick smirk as his head swelled even larger than was the norm. I rolled my eyes and quietly tutted my tongue at my conceited classmate.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Mr. Kirschtein, you will also need basic psychoanalytical capabilities, enough to recognize signs of the onset of whatever it is that is afflicting Mr. Ackerman, and direct his brain away from the damage that it was doing to itself. And the legal requirements for this case is at least a 175 on the LSAT. If that eliminates any of you, you're free to enjoy the rest of your evening, maybe tell the gorgeous ocean "hi" for me." Hanji's hard brown eyes scanned ours, looking for any falsities in them while Jean stood, exhaling a loud, exasperated sigh.

"I got a 173," he muttered, slipping on the sportcoat he wore and trudging out of the office.

"Alright, you two. Who's it gonna be? Anybody wanna drop out? Last chance," she chirped, puffing on her cigarette while we stared at her, both of us at a relative loss for words. "I can tell you right now that blondie is gonna fail the physical part of the examination. Mr. Arlert, you are aware that your small build and inability to defend yourself could potentially get you killed before you're even born. Are you prepared to handle a potentially dangerous situation without the ability to overpower Mr. Ackerman? And Mr. Jeager," she continued, casting a glance in my direction before speaking again. "Are you prepared to be within Mr. Ackerman's exact homicide demographic? You fit the descriptors perfectly: you're a tall, skinny white guy in his twenties. Are you prepared to potentially be seen as a target by Mr. Ackerman?"