Food.

Hungry.

Grumbl-

"Shut up, stomach…" Apollo groaned, clutching his whining belly with one hand while dragging a brown leather briefcase in the other. His red attire seemed to almost match the scarlet sky, and the trees, buildings, street, sidewalk and all the entities of the Los Angeles city were gradually draining hue due to the setting sun.

Apollo appeared to be the only pedestrian on the block, containing small stores and offices. The street maintained silence, save for a few cars occasionally passing by. It was a very peaceful late-May evening, one that most would simply enjoy basking in on a Sunday such as this.

But Apollo didn't seem to find it enjoyable at all.

"Ugh...today was a disaster. The police wouldn't let me in the crime scene until 5:00, even though the trial's tomorrow, so I decided to go to the Detention Center to meet with my client, because wouldn't that be a good idea? But no, my client would not stop talking, and I didn't get out of there until 6:30 to start investigating, and now it's 8:00, and I haven't even had dinner yet…"

Apollo's client, Chad Turbocks, was a chef at the local restaurant Pizzazz, widely renowned for its "savory" and "scrumptious" pizza. He was accused of murdering his fellow coworker in the kitchen of the restaurant, and because Turbocks and victim were the only two in the kitchen with plenty of customers and other employees in the restaurant at the time of the murder...well, it wasn't not too helpful for Apollo's case.

Apollo continued mumbling and complaining until he finally reached the door to his workplace, the Wright Anything Agency, which he promptly opened to find his mentor and boss, Phoenix Wright, packing up and preparing to close the office for the day.

Phoenix turned in the direction of the door when it opened, and his eyes widened at the sight of his employee. "Oh, Apollo! I didn't realize you were still working. I thought you went home already."

Apollo could only muster a "mm," before dropping his briefcase and flopping onto the couch, crossing his arms and sliding down to a slouch, with a sulking expression plastered on his face.

Phoenix frowned. Apollo may be in a bad mood some days, but presently he seemed pretty aggravated. "Hey, is something the matter? Your hair is drooping more than usual."

Apollo turned his head to the side, as if to dodge the joke. "...I'm just hungry."

Phoenix pointed with his thumb toward the back room of the office. "Well, there's food in the mini fridge, you know you're always welcome to it."

"..." Apollo glanced in the direction of the mini fridge, but made no move to stand up and get something from it. After a pause, he sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wright, today just wasn't a good day."

A soft, sympathetic smile lit Phoenix's face. He walked over to the couch and sat next to Apollo. "Case not going well?"

Apollo shrugged. "I guess it's like any other: not in my favor." he responded. "I'm just not in the right mindset." He rubbed his eyes in exhaustion and partly frustration.

"Well, if your client is innocent, then you have nothing to worry about. Just do your best." Phoenix grinned. "As long as you believe in your client, everything is going to be…"

"...Everything is going to be…" Apollo couldn't help but smile. "...fine." He pulled himself up to sit straighter. "Thanks, Mr. Wright, I needed that."

Phoenix chuckled. "Don't mention it. Anything for an employee and friend of mine." He patted Apollo on the shoulder and stood up to gather his belongings.

There was something about Phoenix's reassurances that always made Apollo feel relaxed whenever he was stressed. Maybe it was his calm, collected tone: the voice of reason? His kind, gentle gaze: the eyes of knowledge? Whatever it was, it was times like these when Apollo felt glad to be Phoenix's protégé. Even though he can be on the stranger side sometimes.

Apollo stood up and picked up his briefcase while Phoenix was shuffling some papers in a manilla file folder. "Why don't you get takeout from the burger joint down the street, Apollo?" Phoenix suggested. "I would go too, but Trucy's waiting at home."

"Yeah, that sounds good." the red-clad attorney agreed. Hopefully it's not too expensive. I'm not really in the mood for Eldoon's salty noodles right now, anyway.

"Well, good luck with the trial tomorrow!" Phoenix said, grabbing the folder and heading towards the door.

Speaking of the trial… "Hey, uh, Mr. Wright? Are you going to be there tomorrow too?"

"Me? Oh sorry, Apollo, I just got a case of my own today too, while you were out." Phoenix raised the folder in his hand, displaying that it was a case file. "The trial's tomorrow as well."

"Oh, okay. I'll ask Athena then-"

"Athena decided to tag along with me on this case too," the blue attorney sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Apollo's face fell. "Oh." Now who's going to be my co-counsel for the trial tomorrow?!

"Sorry about that, Apollo. Guess it's just bad timing. But I believe you can do it on your own, if you want." Phoenix assured. "Anyway, I gotta head out. Remember to lock up when you leave. See you tomorrow, then!" He exited the office and shut the door behind him.

Apollo was left alone in the office, carrying his briefcase...and his worries. I don't know if I'm confident enough to do this trial on my own though...it's not that simple a case. Plus, it's encouraging to know someone's there beside you when you're stuck…) He left the office himself, making sure to lock the door behind him. Well, I have one more person in mind...maybe she'll want to help. I'll ask her tomorrow.

"Polly, I have school today, remember?"

Apollo grimaced. Ah, that's right, it's a Monday. I should've known Trucy wasn't available.

"Ah! It's almost 8:00! I gotta go or I'll miss the bus again!" Trucy hastily snatched her backpack and rushed over to Phoenix, who was at his desk filling out paperwork. "Bye, Daddy!" She hugged him tightly.

Phoenix enveloped her in a warm embrace as well. "Have a good day, Truce. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Running towards the office door, Trucy yelled back, "Bye Polly, bye Athena!"

"Au revoir!"

"See ya."

The door shut. Apollo could slightly hear the young magician's boots hitting the floor as she raced to catch the school bus. A sigh escaped the red attorney as he put a finger to his forehead to think.

"What's wrong, mi amigo?"

Athena stood beside him, a concerned look on her face. Oh, that's right. Athena's sensitive hearing. That was probably way more than a typical sigh to her.

"Eh, it's not a big deal. I just don't have a co-counsel for the trial today." Apollo remarked.

"Awwwww, wittle Apowo needs a helper!" teased Athena.

It's not like you've done a trial by yourself, either.

"Hey, this case isn't that easy, alright? I would prefer somebody with knowledge of law."

"Wish I could be there, but I'm already helping the boss…" Athena flicked her earring with a finger, in thought.

"Well, I'm out of options," Apollo said. "Do you have somebody in mind?"

Athena continued to tap her earring as her brow furrowed. "Hmm…"

Suddenly, her eyes brightened and a grin overtook the frown of thought. "I know! How about Junie?"

"J-Juniper?" Apollo didn't consider her in his list of applicable people, but now that Athena mentioned it, he supposed Juniper could be a good candidate.

Juniper Woods was Athena's best friend and a prospective judge at Themis Legal Academy, who also adored nature and was highly knowledgeable about the ecosystem as a whole. In general, Juniper was a very kind, delicate, yet sickly girl who endured coughing fits whenever she was nervous or under pressure. Apollo had met her a couple of times, both of which were when she was falsely accused of murder, and acquitted by Athena and Phoenix respectively. The second time, Apollo had saved her from a falling piece of rubble during the bombing incident of Courtroom No. 4.

Well, she is familiar with the field of law… "Actually, I think she'd be great. An aspiring judge, after all."

Athena clasped her hands together. "Great! It's summer break for her anyway, so I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help! Let me call her up…" She took out her cell phone to call her friend.

Apollo sat down on the couch in relief. Whew...at least that's settled. The more I think about it, the more I think that Juniper may actually be very helpful. She'll be great at analyzing evidence when I need a hand. I'm sure she'll be a great assistant. She's nice, willing to help, and smart too. I wonder how she's doing since the last trial… Hey, why's Athena smirking at me like that? She's talking with Juniper, right? Are they talking about m-

"She said yes!" exclaimed Athena, as she hung up her phone.

Athena's shout broke Apollo's train of thought. "Oh, uh, great. When is she coming?"

"She's coming in about an hour."

Good. That gives us just enough time for me to prepare my case and get to the trial on time. "By the way, what was the face you gave me all about?" asked Apollo.

"What do you mean?"

"You smirked at me during that call. What was that all about?"

Athena put on another mysterious grin. "Oh, nothing! Just girl stuff."

...Yeah, right. It was definitely about me. I'll drop the matter for now though…

"So, did you find somebody for the trial?" Phoenix came up to the doorway between the two rooms of the office.

Apollo nodded. "Yeah. Athena called Juniper, and she's going to help me out."

"...Ah, Juniper, huh?" Phoenix mused, his eyes squinting slightly and his mouth curving ever so slightly.

Apollo hesitated, then turned to face both Athena and Phoenix. "...You know something I don't, don't you?"

Phoenix and Athena looked at each other, then turned back to Apollo and shrugged. "Not really." said Phoenix. "Why don't you get started on preparing for your trial, huh?"

Apollo's eyebrows lowered as Phoenix and Athena went back to their work to prepare their case. I hate it when they hide stuff from me…I guess I'll ask about it later.

After reading through the entire case file four times and thoroughly examining the Court Record twice, a knock sounded throughout the office.

"Coming!" Athena jumped up and headed straight for the door.

Here comes my assistant…why am I sweating so much?

Thank you for reading the first chapter of my first Ace Attorney (and my first ever) fanfiction! I hope the story so far isn't too sloppy! I wanted to make a Junipollo fanfiction because I think they're really cute together! Plus, there aren't too many Junipollo fanfictions out there, so I wanted to join in! Please review and tell me what you think! I'll write the next chapter soon! See you next time!