Author's note: Hey everyone! This is my first Phoenix Wright fanfic, so I'd appreciate any constructive criticism. This chapter is really more of a prologue than anything else. The meat of the story is set after the conclusion of Justice for All. Enjoy!
What did Miles Edgeworth need friends for? Motivated by the legendary Manfred von Karma, Miles was on his way to becoming a lawyer. He aspired to be as great a prosecutor as his mentor, and when one is destined for greatness, one doesn't need friends. He was content to live his life alone.
Every so often, Miles would think back on the friends he once had. He was sure the rambunctious boy had forgotten him by now. The other boy clearly had not. In the bottom of his desk drawer sat a pile of unopened letters, all addressed from Phoenix Wright to Miles Edgeworth.
Why does he keep writing to me? Miles often wondered. Someone as kind and open as him would have no trouble finding other friends. He doesn't need me; he never needed me.
Miles never let the letters deceive him. I'm a different person than I was back then, and so is he. Both of them are. He didn't care to find out how their lives were going. That part of my life is over now, he decided. Friendship has no place in a court of law.
When Phoenix Wright came into his life all those years ago, he brought Miles out of his shell. The young Miles was always grateful for their short-lived friendship. But the next time Wright entered Miles' life, he wasn't nearly so pleased. Wright had gotten through to him in a way that no lawyer ever had before, and Miles did not welcome the change. Phoenix brought out a part of him that went against everything he had been raised to believe in. That was precisely what was so irritating about Phoenix, and it was precisely what Miles liked about him the most.
The irritating thing about Miles Edgeworth was his goddamn insensitivity.
The Miles of the past and the Miles of the present were completely different people, which Phoenix acknowledged. As a child, Miles was happy, carefree, and ambitious. Even if he was conceited, he had an enthusiasm that inspired Phoenix. It was for Miles' sake that he decided to become a lawyer in the first place.
Maybe it was an effect of time. Maybe it was the result of years of being raised by a self-absorbed, psychotic prosecutor. Whatever the reason, Miles had become distant and cold. Even before Phoenix caught up with his old friend, he could tell that Miles had changed.
However, between the Miles of the past and the Miles of the present, at least one thing remained constant: he was an insensitive bastard.
As a child, Miles always pushed people away without realizing it. He would say things that revealed just how egotistical he was, which Phoenix always accepted. But the worst part by far came when he left without saying goodbye. Maybe he didn't want to say goodbye to his friends, or maybe he never got the chance. Either way, Miles never made an attempt to contact them or respond to his letters. He gave no sign that he ever cared about either of them, or believed that they cared about him. He simply... vanished.
After finally finding him again, Phoenix knew that getting Miles to open up would take time and effort. He was willing to do whatever it took to get his friend back. But Miles never gave him that chance. Just when Phoenix thought they were finally getting to be friends again, the man up and vanished again. He allowed everyone to go for several months thinking that he had died by his own hand. He forced Phoenix to go through every day with a gnawing fear, a fear that there was something he could have done to stop him. He let everyone go on that way, thinking that he didn't care enough about any of them to say goodbye.
Phoenix swore that he'd never forgive him after that, but it turned out to be a short-lived promise. He was elated to have his friend back, even if Miles still hadn't returned to his young, carefree roots.