Another day of spring was soon coming to an end, the slow sunset giving the man a few last rays of natural seeing light. He sighed, pushing himself away from his desk and pushing the documents he had been examining away. The beautiful day had slipped away so fast, at least, in his eyes, it did. I was going to go take a walk during lunch, too... he thought. Apollo Justice was a very determined man, but even so, he usually made plans that were dotted with holes. His most recent one was today, his failed adventure. At least Trucy'll be back soon... he thought with a smile.
It was his sister's first day of school, and she would probably be bubbling with news, knowing Trucy. He wondered if her eyes would light up the same way she did when she talked about her ambitions to become a star. Yep, he and Trucy would have a wonderful first day conversation over school as soon as she got home.
Apollo was just about to give Trucy a call when the door creaked open. Apollo looked up to see the girl's eyes sparkling with joy. Her head was held high, even as she slid her backpack off onto the ground. "Polly! Polly!" she squealed. "Uhm, I'd really appreciate if you'd stop calling me that..." I wonder if I could start coming up with embarrassing nicknames for her... Apollo shook his head. Nah. Nothing would embarrass her.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever! But oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" "No one's stopping you from saying god here-" "That's not the point!" Apollo's held his sharp, brown gaze on the girl before he gave in. "Alright, alright, what is it?" "Ooooh Apollo! I-!" She stopped, covering her mouth with her hands. What the hell is she doing? he wondered. Am I not going to get an explanation after all of that squealing?
"W-Wait...I...Uhm, sorta, I can't tell you. Nevermind. Sorry, Polly," Trucy said gloomily, looking down at her feet. She looked so sorry, it was almost as if she were about the cry... "I won't tell ," he said softly. Trucy straightened up immediately, her cheery aura coming back to her as she gave Apollo a wide smile. Gah...I can't believe she tricked me...
"There's this guy at school and he's really really cute and oh boy I've liked him since last year and guess what Polly! He asked me out, right outside school today!" she squealed, but gradually getting more quieter as she said, "But...uhm...Daddy isn't going to let me touch a single boy until I get out of college..." Apollo wasn't listening. It seemed like his blood had turned to ice, then slowly began to boil. He choked on anger, staring at Trucy. "What do you mean? That you're..." "Yeah! But you can't tell Daddy now. Sorry Polly!" she sang, sticking out her tongue, unaware of how sour Apollo really was.
Why do I feel like this...? I shouldn't care. Trucy can do whatever she wants... He glanced at her for a moment, seeing she was still rambling about this boy. ...But she disobeyed ... He gave a heavy sigh, knowing he couldn't ever bring himself to tell on Trucy. He made a promise not to tell him, plus, he was Trucy's only living blood family as far as he knew. He couldn't just get her into trouble like that...
That night, Apollo ate out by himself, and did so every night that week. He and Trucy didn't speak. Everytime she passed him, he could feel her questioning look burning into him, her hurt gaze searching his face as she wondered why. But he wouldn't give in yet...Wait, give in to what? He didn't utter a word to , either. He wasn't as friendly towards strangers. What is wrong with me?
Then, the day came when he found out he couldn't take his bitter feelings towards Trucy's newly found lovelife any longer.
"Hey Apollo! Daddy isn't here, right?" "Right." "Well, let us in, then!" she huffed. Let us in...? Trucy's friend? Or...No. Come on. Trucy had to be lying then, right? No one would ever like her...Not like that. She's too odd. She's special. Anyone who would ever try to get close to her...They just wouldn't realize that! He was surprised at where his thoughts led him. He shook his head, sighing as he opened the door.
Trucy popped in with a boy a bit taller than her. He had brown hair that was a bit on the messy side, blue eyes that were lighter than Trucy's, and a nervous sort of feel around him. "H-Hi...You're Apollo, right?" He held out a hand. Apollo looked down, but didn't shake it. "Yeah," he replied coldly, getting a confused glance from his sister.
"Well, uhm, I've heard a lot about you!" the boy said with a smile, feeling that Apollo didn't exactly like him. "Yeah." Again, the boy nodded, ignoring how cold Apollo was acting. "Uhm...I really like your sister...And I promise I'll take good care of her!" Apollo froze, he was so overcome by some sort of negative feeling that he couldn't even reply with another "yeah". Then he felt something...Something else. It wasn't anger, but it was something that matched the exact intensity of the emotion. And he completely lost it.
Apollo grabbed the boy's shirt by the collar, holding him up a bit. "What the hell did you just say?" he asked, his glare boring into the nervous boy. "I-I'm sorry! I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I'm sorry!" Anger flared up in Apollo. What the fuck does he MEAN he doesn't know what he did wrong? Fucking...Brat...!
"Take good care of my sister? What do you mean by that?" he asked, yelling in the poor boys face. "I mean...I love her and and I'll make her happy and safe and and...!" "That's not your fucking job, okay?" Apollo said, his grip tightening. Trucy tugged on Apollo's arm. "P-Please Apollo! Let him go!"
"Trucy can do all of those things herself, okay? She doesn't need a punk like you to do it for her!" he said. Trucy tugged at his sleeve one last time, and the attorney dropped the shaking boy. "Uh...Uhm Trucy? Could I possibly be...Excused?" The magician was speechless, and on the verge of tears. She just nodded, opening the door for him. As soon as he was out of the door, he ran.
Trucy slammed the door shut, sunk down, and began to cry. Oh god...What did I do... Apollo felt sick. What had overcome him? In any normal circumstance, he would never have done that to any person. Shame washed over him, replacing his previous bitter, cold anger.
"Truce?" She didn't reply. "Truce?" "Apollo, he was one of the only friends I made. He was the only boy who didn't think of me as a freak." "I don't think you're a freak." "You don't count." He sighed. "Trucy...Hey Trucy, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry you get jealous so easily."
Her reply stung him. She may as well have gone up and punched him. Apollo sat besides the weeping Trucy, speechless. Jealous...? Me? Why would I be jealous? I didn't even know we were related until five months ago...I'm not even the jealous type. He glanced over at Trucy and felt guilt gnaw at him. Maybe I did...Go a bit too far.
Trucy had stopped crying by now. She sat up, refusing to stare at Apollo. "I'm really sorry, okay? I don't know what happened...Just, this intense, burning anger it just...Took over. What if he was going to hurt you? I...Don't know what I'd do if someone made you cry...And look. Look what I just did," he gave a half-hearted, ashamed, laugh. "What kind of brother am I?" he asked himself.
"...In the end? You're a pretty good one..." Trucy said, looking at Apollo, giving him a small smile, her cheeks still stained with tears. She gave him a tight hug. Apollo wrapped his arms around her, wondering what Trucy's sudden forgiveness was about.
"...I guess it was because you cared so much about me..." Apollo didn't object. He didn't really understand himself, but sure, he cared for Trucy. They shared the same blood. He had to look out for her, right?
"But please, don't bite off the next boyfriend's head!"
They both gave small laughs, not caring at all to the boy Apollo chased away.
