The New Turnabout
My name is Eren Case.
I am 20 years old, born in the U.S. In case you want a profile, first, that's weird, and second, I'm fairly tall, Caucasian skin, blue eyes, and dark blonde hair that is mostly swept back, save for a cowslip on the top of my head, and two jagged strands that frame my head. My preferred attire is an emerald green jacket with white buttons done up along with the collar, and skinny sleeves that are folded back at the wrists, along with a short, wide, orange kipper tie, along with crisp black trousers and shined black shoes.
I had just recently graduated from lawyer school, excelling particularly in culprit investigation and cross-examination practices, and began looking for cases from my home. Unfortunately, as is with all new professions, it's hard to find business that will kick start you. I began advertising myself through social media, in hopes that I would get a client soon.
It was one day when I actually got an email, no sender ID, which I thought was a bit strange, but hey, I was getting kinda desperate for work.
Apparently there was a client who was unable to get a lawyer due to being unable to contact them, said she had difficulty using a phone or something, and was unable to find a lawyer to represent her on an account of murder. Naturally, I took the opportunity, and headed down to the courthouse.
February 3rd 2028, 9:57 AM
Courtroom No. 5 - Defendant's Lobby
"I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" I called as I ran in, placing my hands in my knees and panting. "Hah...never...hah...running...again..."
The two Bailiff guards looked at each other, then at me. "Um...are you the defense?"
"Y-Yes!" I stood straight up. "Eren Case! I'm here to represent my client Ms...er...?"
(Crap...I just realised I didn't even know her name! I just got ready as soonas that email arrived)
"Ms. Fey. Pearl Fey." One of the guards helped me.
"Of course." I nodded. "The case is a crime of murder, correct?"
"...Yeah." The guard nodded.
(They're both giving me this awkward look...I, hoestly don't blame them...)
"In any case, you are to enter immediately, the case will begin shortly."
"R-Right now? I don't even get to meet my client?" I gasped.
"She is already inside." One of them told me. "And you'd better be too."
(I...only just realised how ill-prepared I am...and on my first case, too! Ugh...)
February 3rd, 10:00 AM
Courtroom No. 5
I jumped at the sound of an actual gavel being struck. "Court is now in session for the trial of Ms. Fey." The judge said.
"T-The defence is ready, Your Honor!" I gasped, still not used to the situation I was in.
I looked over at the prosecutor, who seemed to be a man with black glasses, and a tuft of hair that swept down over the right side of his face. "The prosecution is ready, Your Honor."
"Hmm, defence, I don't believe we have met before." Judge observed. "And I heard you were picked up as the accused's lawyer last minute."
"Th-That's true! Eren Case, at your service!" I gasped.
(That was far too forced...)
"Hmph." The prosecution chuckled, twirling his hair. "No doubt a lawyer fresh out of school. I can see him sweating from here."
(H-He's spot on!) I thought, indeed sweating.
"I see. I suppose I wish you luck, Mr. Case." Judge nodded.
"Th-Thank you Your Honor." I mumbled.
"Prosecution, your opening statement." Judge began.
"Thank you, Your Honor." The prosecution nodded. "The accused, Pearl Fey, is charged with murder in Kurain Village."
(Kurain? That sounds familiar...) I thought.
"It is a village of spirit mediums, where they are hailed as divine prodigies that can channel spirits." He continued.
(Sounds a bit far-fetched to me)
"The victim is Darren Max, a travelling musician. I have his profile here." He showed the profile to the court, allowing me to view a pasty white man wearing a black jacket with spikes on the shoulder, and a dark red mohawk complete with piercings on his nose and mouth and a black flame tattoo n the side of his head.
(W-Wow, that's...something.)
"Yesterday morning, the victim was found dead on the streets of Kurain. His autopsy report shows that he died at 11:30 PM last night, from a concussion caused by blunt trauma to the head. It also details that he was intoxicated at the time of death." The autopsy report was filed into court records.
"A photo was taken at the crime scene." The prosecutor went on, as he showed a picture that had Darren Max lying on the ground, bleeding heavily from his head, with a nearby stone having blood on it. "It is believed that the victim fell and struck their head on the nearby stone, thus knocking him out, and causing him to bleed to death."
"I see." Judge nodded as it was added to the court record.
(Okay, the basic facts have been established...) I went over in my head. (Now think...I should try to press and get more info. Ohhh...I hope I can even speak like this...)
"S-So what makes you think that my client killed him?" I asked. "If he was intoxicated, wouldn't it be possible that he tripped and accidentally hit the rock in his drunken state?"
"Hmph, I was just getting to that." The prosecutor huffed.
"Defence, please what until the prosecution has given their statement." Judge told me.
"R-Right..." I nodded meekly.
"If you take a look at the crime photo, you will see an item lying here." He pointed at what looked like a broken green gem lying next to the body. "This is a mitamah stone, a symbol of spirits within Kurain Village. It was found near the body, and was discovered to have the accused's fingerprints on it."
"Urk!" I gasped. "Well that's...evidence alright."
"Ah yes, I believe that item has been added to the court record." Judge nodded. "Prosecution Payne, will you call your first witness?"
"Indeed, Your Honor." 'Payne', as he was called, nodded. "I call the accused, Pearl Fey, to the stand."
I waited, then raised an eyebrow as a girl with an infinity top-knot took the stand, looking quite nervous.
"...Wait...this is Pearl Fey?" I clenched my left fist and slammed it on the desk. "You're accusing a child of murder!? That's insane!"
A silence floated over the room. (Er...did I say something wrong?)
"...Mr. Case. Ms. Fey is 18 years of age." Judge informed me.
"Wh-What!?" I gasped, my jagged strands spiking out then flopping over my ears in shock.
Payne sighed. "To think, a defendant who doesn't even know the appearance of their client. Truly a sign of an unprofessional."
"I must agree." Judge sternly agreed. "Mr. Case, explain yourself."
"U-Um...I was asked over an e-email, Your Honor..." I admitted, scratching my cheek nervously whilst forcing a smile.
"Email?" Judge shook his head. "I will never understand modern technology. But in any case, Mr. Case, I suggest you prepare yourself much more in future trials, if any!"
"Y-Yes, Your Honor...!" (He really got me there...)
"Accused, your statement, please." Payne requested.
"..." Pearl Fey remained silent.
"Um, Ms. Fey? Your statement?" Judge asked.
"..." She was still silent.
(Poor girl, she must be terrified up there, being accused of murder.) I thought. "Ms. Fey, we cannot continue until you give a statement. And as your lawyer, I need to help you."
"...I...I never wanted you to be my lawyer." She practically whispered.
"Huh?" I stated.
"I didn't want you to be my lawyer." She repeated. "I wanted somebody else...and they're not here...I wanted them to be here..."
(So she wanted a different lawyer? Then why didn't she request them?) I pondered for a moment. (Come to think of it, didn't that email say she had trouble with the phone or something? Who even sent that anyway?)
"I'm not surprised, having such a stupid lawyer representing you." Payne sighed. "I would take anybody else, too."
(That's so harsh!) I cried in my head.
"Hm...I understand if you are troubled by this...but we still need a testimony." Judge urged.
"...Okay." She nodded.
(This is it, my first proper witness testimony!) I braced myself as Pearl talked.
"I never went out last night, I was busy with chores late into the evening. I never saw the body, only until this morning when they arrested me. I swear, I've never seen that man before, I would remember that leather jacket and a tattoo on the head!" Pearl said.
"Heh heh...quite a desperate testimony." Payne chuckled.
(Hate to agree with him, but he's right.) I thought. (I definitely saw an inconsistency in there...now I just gotta use evidence to back it up...and find out why she lied in the first place. This is my first chance, time to show what I can do!)
"Ms. Fey, may you please repeat the last sentence of your testimony?" I requested.
"..." She stayed silent.
"Please, Ms. Fey, I cannot help you if you won't help me." I pleaded.
"...Okay." She submitted.
(Alright, I remember, its this statement!)
"I would remember that leather jacket and a tattoo on the head."
(This is it! First time! Don't screw it up!)
"OBJECTION!"
I looked at the court records. "Ms. Fey, there is an inconsistency in that last statement."
"Huh?" She gasped.
"You said that you would remember the tattoo on the victims head, and in an earlier sentence, you also said you didn't see the victim until this morning, when he was dead." I showed the court the crime photo. "But as you can see in the crime photo, the blood from the victims head wound has covered the tattoo!"
"Ah! You're right!" The Judge gasped.
"Heh heh heh..." Payne laughed. "Do you realise what you're insinuating, defence? You are saying that the accused lied in order to cover up when she first met the victim!" He grinned. "Obviously, when she killed him!"
(Ack! He's right!...no, wait!) "Y-You can't prove that Ms. Fey first met the victim at the time of his death!" I insisted. "Ms. Fey! Please revise your testimony to explain."
"I...I'm not guilty...I didn't kill him...!" She whimpered.
(Uh-oh, there's no way she'll trust me now, that I turned her testimony against her!) I panicked.
"Witness, you will revise your testimony to explain!" Judge emphasised.
"But...! I...!" Pearl gasped.
(If Ms. Fey revises her testimony like this, she'll just lie again!) I realised. (There must be a way to calm her down and get her to trust me...but how can I do that when I hardly know anything about her!?)
Then, I had a thought. (Wait...what if I did that? Maybe it could work in this situation!)
"Ms. Fey." I spoke. "If it is alright, may I say something, before you revise your testimony?"
"...Yes." She whispered.
"Thank you, Ms. Fey." I nodded. (It's time to focus. Ms. Fey, I'm going to find out what kind of person you truly are!)
A person I respected very much once told me something...that my greatest power was 'both my compassion, and my sight of understanding'. I didn't understand what they meant at first, I was always terrible at reading people. But I began to try and view it from a different perspective. A way of understanding others, using all of my skills, and a way to decipher it clearly...
I called it Soul Puzzle.
A way for me to 'see' the soul, the feelings, of others, and decipher them clearly. If I could do this with Ms. Fey, perhaps I could reach out to her.
I represented the persons 'soul' as a heart, which I saw in Ms. fey. However, this soul was completely black, representing that I had no clue of what she was like. But, my innate ability of compassion could sense...pieces, of this soul, that could come together.
I could see it...two pink halves of the empty soul. Since there were two pieces, it meant that there were two key aspects to Ms. Fey's personality to discover. Now it was a matter of using evidence to find out what these personality traits were.
(I'll use the first sentence of her testimony as reference.) I put the sentence 'I never went out last night' on one heart, and the sentence 'I was busy with chores late into the evening' on the other heart. (I believe there is truth to these two sentences...now, I have to find personality traits that link up to these statement, using evidence!)
I first thought about the 'never went out' piece. (I think I understand what this means...but I don't think any evidence in the ourt record will support it...so instead, I will use Ms. Fey's Personal Evidence!)
I classified 'Personal Evidence' as evidence on the persons being, just by looking at them, so I looked at Ms. Fey's clothing.
(Her sleeves are long, and it would seem she has multiple layers..) I thought. (That could only point to one personality trait...shyness!) The first heart piece clicked into place in the empty soul. (Yes! That has to be correct! Now, for the other half.)
I thought about the statement...and studied Ms. Fey. (I don't see any Personal Evidence that could tie in with this...so, I'll try using court evidence instead!) I looked through the evidence, and found something in a description in one of the items. (If this is correct, then this points to a sign of...caring!)
The other heart piece clicked into place, forming a full heart. (Yes! I did it!)
My focus returned once more, and I was back in the courtroom. "Ms. Fey...I can tell what kind of person you are, after reviewing your 'evidence'."
"Wh...What do you mean?" She asked.
"You were very nervous when we started, and the clothes you wear cover most of your body. This points towards great shyness in your personality." I explianed. "I am not surprised really, being in a courtroom filled with people you don't know, prosecuted for murder, with a lawyer you never asked for representing you."
"..." She remained silent.
"But I also discerned something else." I took out the broken mitamah stone.
"Th-That's-!" She gasped.
"This mitamah stone, though broken now, has a faded colour, yet a still distinct shine." I pointed out. "Obviously it is old, but well cared for."
"My cousin, Mystic Maya gave me me it...but..." She looked down at an identical mitamah stone hanging around her neck.
"An important item from an important person...well cared for, now broken." I sighed. "Ms. Fey, I believe that this evidence points to you having a very caring nature."
"Mr. Case, what is your point?" Judge asked.
"He's obviously spouting useless nonsense, Your Honor." Payne sighed.
"My point is, that I do not believe these characteristics are one of a killer!" I slammed my fist onto the desk. "Ms. Fey! I believe in your innocence from these aspects of yourself alone!"
"You...truly believe that?" She asked hesitantly.
"I do." I nodded. "So please...Pearl fey! Let me help you, and prove to everybody else that you are the kind person I believe you are!"
"..." She was silent for a moment.
But then she smiled. "Okay. I'll believe in you, Mr. Case."
(Yes! I got her to open up to me!) I smiled. (Now maybe we can turn this trial around!)
I nodded. "Pearl Fey...please give your testimony!"