Hey, this is the second to last story of my 7DS Evillous Chronicles (sorta) series. I have no idea why you want to read a vocaloid court drama, but if you're into that, go ahead. There is a part 8 if you've read the entire series! Anyway, I'm going now. Bye.

Justice didn't exist.

A lot of things they taught me in law school didn't exist. Reasonable doubt, impartiality, a longing for truth, just to name a few. No one really longed for truth, did they? People just wanted the truth that most convenienced them, so they could blame somebody, anybody, for all the unlucky things that happen to them. I was the same, deep down, but that didn't stop me from looking at people who passed me in the street with suppressed contempt. One of these passersby could be on a jury any day now, conducting their own brand of justice. One of their children could grow up to be a judge or a prosecutor or a police officer or a defense attorney, and they could ruin people's lives at the prospect of a few thousand dollars. When my mind strayed to unpleasant thoughts such as these, I tried to remember all the good people I've met. When that didn't work, I drank a glass of wine. I hated wine. It messed with my stomach.

Look at these people in front of me. An old man in a black robe sitting above everyone else, trying not to dose off. A man in a suit, a machine deployed from one of the great let's-wear-suit colleges on the east coast, who probably wished he was with any woman besides me right now, in a courtroom, harping on and on about justice. Another man, reeking of whiskey and indifference, lounging back in his chair without sparing a glance at the person whose life he played a hand in making shittier. Look at these people. Was this justice?

"Furthermore," I continued animatedly, addressing His Honor in all his righteousness, "even if Mr. Pire provided his workers, such as my client, with the BK-201 safety gear and tools he claims to have kept available for them in every stock closet on sight, the BK-201's heat shield still could not contain flames of three thousand degrees Fahrenheit, as it can barely hold together at temperatures of two thousand, as is detailed in the company's safety report I have here." I paused, holding up the report to the judge and then the entire courtroom. There were only two observers in the rows behind us (the wife of my client and one of the five attorneys of the accused who could not fit into the designated bench).

Taking a deep breath, I was about to recite my final page of my arraignment speech when Judge Carter lifted up a wrinkled hand. "Ms. Hidari," he rasped, "I am going to allow the defense to make a rebuttal here."

Concealing my huff of disappointment, I took my seat and turned toward my client. He was a young man, newly married, who had been nothing but kind to me and his fellow person for the majority of his life. I patted him reassuringly on the back, and his sweet smile in return was crooked, thanks to the first degree burns that ravaged seventy percent of his body. Justice, yeah, right.

The lead attorney stood up and said eight simple words. "We wish to settle for the amount demanded."

"Well, there you have it," Judge Carter announced and smacked his gavel on the raise platform so he felt better about himself. "The details will be handled by the representatives of the parties. Court dismissed."

While my client and his wife thanked me for the nothing I did, I nodded and smiled as graciously as I could muster, eyes fixated on the scales of justice suspended above the judge's bench.

H&Y was the firm my best friend from childhood and I created when we were fresh out of college and ready to take on the world. In the three years since, we have managed to draw in zero new attorneys, so basically it was just Yuka and me. That was probably a good thing. Sometimes, talking to Yuka felt more like taking on a national conglomerate of toddlers, not that I minded all that much. She had my back, and I had hers. That was all that mattered. Mayu Hidari and Yukari Yuzuki. All that mattered.

Stepping into our one room offices, I kicked off my heels and collapsed on the couch, there to make our clients feel comfortable. Despite all my complaining, we really had a nice setup. We got work. Plenty of it. It was one of the perks of being stationed in the city, though both our homes were actually in the suburbs half an hour away. No, I couldn't let my mind wander to home. It wasn't even noon yet.

"How did the hearing go?"

I jumped, craning my neck to see Yuka, head poking out behind a pile of papers taller than her. "They settled," I replied.

"You don't sound too happy about that," she observed, an impish smile on her face. She always loved to comment on my happiness, and how I lacked a great deal of it. She thought that if I came to terms with it, I would be able to move on, be a happier person, and maybe not yell at her for not completing her paperwork.

"I am overjoyed," I replied sarcastically. I swear I wasn't always like this. Just recently, very recently.

"I got a case you might be interested in," she continued.

"Divorce or libel?"

"It's murder."

I groaned, facing the back of the couch. "How many times do I have to tell you that I gave up criminal law?"

"As many times as it takes for you to un-give up criminal law."

"You can take the case. You're just as good as I am."

"I lack your passion."

"That's hard to believe."

"You know it's true. We are polar opposites in the courtroom."

"That's good, then. That means you'll win."

"You lost one case, Mayu."

"I'd lost cases before, but this one was different. I've lost faith in the system, Yuka. There's no getting it back."

I could feel her eyes boring into my back. Three months had passed since that case closed, condemning an innocent woman to death, all because of him, that bastard. That corrupt, disgusting judge. Yuka didn't understand. She never looked into that man's soul and found the very heart of all things evil staring back at her.

"Are you going to see her again today?" Yuka asked, finally changed the subject.

"It's a Wednesday, isn't it?"

"It certainly is."

"Good luck on that case."

"…Thank you."

Before I felt daylight's productivity slip further from my fingers, I forced myself to get up and put back on those chafing shoes. I glanced in the mirror that rested along the wall. Golden eyes devoid of that fire Yuka was talking about looked back. My hair, a unique blend of wispy blond that bled into a rainbow of colors at its ends, had become disheveled, and I fixed it with a few dispassionate movements. What I wouldn't give for a glass of wine.

In the crammed and dirt-caked cubicle of the city of Ava's largest prison, I tapped the metal counter nervously. I was always nervous when I came to visit. Nervous of what she was going to say, nervous about what I was going to say, nervous that we were another week closer to the execution, though it would probably be years away.

An industrial moan filled the room for a moment, and then the rattling of chains. Luka Megurine sat down with surprising grace into the seat across from me, partitioned off by a glass window. Her hands were cuffed together with long chains that linked to the chains on her ankles. A faceless guard came over and undid them, if only for a little while. Gray was such an unbecoming color for a woman so young and beautiful.

"Good morning, Ms. Hidari," she greeted with a smile. I tried to gauge her physical health, ready to sue the hell out of this prison if there was anything more than a scratch.

"Good morning, Luka," I replied with a spritely smile. "How're they treating you?"

"Just fine. The woman in the cell next to me and I have grown pretty close. We'll watch each other's backs."

"That's great. You should make as many friends as you can."

"Did you have an appearance today? You're all dressed up."

"Yeah. Open and shut case."

Luka Megurine was charged with the arson of her apartment complex as well as double first degree murder for her landlord and her young son who died in the fire. It was an accident, but justice didn't believe me. Call me gullible, but from the moment I met Luka, I knew she was telling the truth. We had a connection; maybe we were even friends. It was an accident, and now she was going to be injected with poison until she died.

Justice didn't exist.

All of her remaining family live on the other side of the country, so I decided to take it upon myself to visit, every Wednesday. It was the least I could do for failing her.

We chatted for a while. Neither of our lifestyles exactly brought on new or exciting situations, but we did our best at filling the designated visitor time with stories, some not entirely true. Most of my experiences came from childhood, when I had a great deal of happiness.

"Thank you for coming, Ms. Hidari. I hope you know how much I appreciate it," Luka said after the guard informed us that time was up.

"It's my pleasure. I'll be back next week."

The clattering of chains. The industrial moan of an alarm.

As I left the prison, I passed by a couple of people in the hallway. I kept my head down, but I couldn't help but catch a few of their words.

"She was young. Like, twenty-five or something," one man said.

"How awful," replied the woman. "I wonder if they have a suspect—"

I grabbed my personal items from the front office and was on with my day.

My parents loved to tell me how nice my house was, whenever they came to visit from just across town. It was nice, two stories and hardwood floors and fireplaces, but it consumed me in its emptiness. One person wasn't meant to live in a house like this.

I trudged myself straight to my room when I got home from work that Wednesday. The answering machine next to my bed was blinking red, and I pressed the button so it could play as I got changed out of my plain dress and jewelry.

"You have 1 new message.

Beep

Hey, Mayu! It's Rin. I hope you didn't forget that this Friday is the first of the month. You know what that means! Let's meet at the usual place. I left Yuka a message already, but you know how much of a space case she can be. Maybe you can remind her tomorrow. Okay, I'll leave you to your brooding now. I'm looking forward to seeing you again! There's something I have to tell you.

Beep

You have no more new messages."

Flopping down on my bed, I couldn't help but snag the picture frame off my nightstand and trace my fingers over the faces that smiled through it. The photo was of my three ultimate childhood friends and me when we were about seven years old. Yuka was there, of course, the tallest of all of us. Then there was me, then Rin, and finally Rin's twin brother. My eyes lingered especially long on him. The siblings had matching golden yellow hair and bright blue eyes. I smiled.

I poured myself a glass of liquor from the bottle I left laying under my bed. Ah, another day finished, another day waiting for me. Curling up with my picture frame still beside me, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

The phone was ringing. God, what time was it?

Eyes barely open, I fumbled for the phone and held it up to my ear. "Hmmmm, what is it?"

"Mayu, I have a case for you." It was Yuka.

"Why are you calling so early? It better not be criminal."

"Listen, it's a murder case, but you would want to take this one. Your client's waiting for you at the seventh precinct."

"Why?"

"Because it's Len, Mayu. It's Len."

I sat up and brushed the hair out of my eyes. There was a moment of silence when my mind tried to wrap itself around what name she just said. I took a deep breath. "Which precinct was that again?"