Well. o3o This is my first Ace Attorney fic ever, so hopefully I can pull it off :P /nervous I've had this idea sitting in my head taking up space for a while now, as well as a few other ideas. Most of them are Apollo Justice-centric, because that's the only game that's still fresh in my memory (I played Justice for All a few years back), but I'm working on re-playing the entire series in order.

This chapter is more of a prologue than an actual chapter, but I'm still calling it a chapter. Apollo and Trucy take the stage next chapter, while this is just a little insight into what happened.

There are a few OCs in this chapter, and I've got a new prosecutor lined up for the trial sessions ahead. I've tried to make her different from the others, but….well, only your reviews can tell me if I've succeeded in not creating a Mary-Sue. :P

I'll try and update this every fortnight or so, just to give you a heads up. :D

Soo. If you read it and you think it deserves a review, please, do so. It would make my day :3

DISCLAIMER ;; I don't own any of the Ace Attorney franchise. I do, however, own the characters mentioned here, except for Trucy Wright, and the plotline.

/

They always ignored her.

"Do you know the answer, Harrison?" Mr Hadley always called him by his full name. Never just 'Harry' like his friends did.

And then there was her.

She could see the back of her head, ponytail perfectly hanging off the back of her head, eyes undoubtedly staring attentively at him, gaze unwavering.

"No, sir….I'm sorry." Harrison sounded apologetic. For once. Never had he apologized for the things he'd done to her.

Sorry? What could you possibly be sorry for? ….That was meant to be rhetorical, of course. That girl in particular had a lot to be sorry for.

All of her classmates did.

"Ah, well. That's fine then, Harrison. Keep on working and I'll get 'round to you."

She kept silent, eyes imploring her teacher to notice her. Why didn't Mr Hadley ever ask her if she knew the answer? Maybe it was he already knew she was intelligent enough to answer them.

But deep in her heart, she knew this was not the answer.

"Mr Hadley, sir!"

Ah. There she was. Trucy Wright, sitting there with a silly grin plastered across her face and a hand waving wildly in the air. She was practically screaming at Mr Hadley for attention. And what did he do? She watched in eager anticipation as he purposefully strode over to the sixteen year old…

….and picked up her pen, and started to help her.

Underneath her desk, her hands clenched into fists. This wasn't fair at all! Was she invisible? Did Mr Hadley even notice her?

Did anyone in her class notice her?

Trucy nodded appreciatively as Mr Hadley handed back her pen, then chatted excitedly to her friend. How she wished to have a friend like Trucy did.

Or a friend like Trucy.

I have friends, she thought defensively. I'm well-liked. Popular.

But she knew it wasn't simply a matter of having people follow her around. She knew they only liked her because she was pretty, and smart…they didn't like her for who she really was. Mr Hadley didn't seem to notice her either…

….that is, until a few months ago.

And that was when the whole thing had started.

She'd been the first one to notice his stares, the way he smiled at her when she was out of class, the way his hand lingered on hers longer than it lingered on anyone else's. At first she was disgusted; Mr Hadley was twice her age. What was he doing? He had a perfect, unsoiled reputation that could be ruined in a second if anyone ever found out.

Besides, why was he choosing her?

She shook her head to clear it. Why wouldn't he choose me? she reasoned with herself. Yet she knew there was something amiss about her secret romance with Mr Hadley.

And suddenly, she saw it.

Mr Hadley was helping her. Taking the pen lightly from her grasp, his fingers lingered slightly on hers. The girl made no attempt to pry off his fingers; in fact, she didn't seem to think it was strange at all.

She'd been played all along.

How could she even think Mr Hadley would love her, of all people? She'd been used by that vulgar man for his own pleasure. They'd been together for a few months, and that was all he wanted. She couldn't even report him out of spite; no doubt she'd be carted off to private school.

And despite how she hated this school so much, she couldn't even think of leaving.

There could only be one solution to this problem…..one that would solve it once and for all. No loose ends.

Murder.

Perhaps if she had a true friend to confide in she wouldn't have to do this.

A friend like Trucy Wright.

/

Why is it that every time I try do something right, it turns out wrong?

Eustace Hadley fumbled awkwardly with his keys, letting out a ridiculous barrage of expletives as they fell to the ground, splashing his chinos with dirty rainwater. What kind of person didn't put a ceiling on a car park especially for a supposedly 'indoor' car park? He wished that the architect who had designed that place would die a horrible, slow death. Preferably death by impalement on rotating spikes that made bleeding impossible, but it was all just a fantasy. A fantasy of one of the men he hated the most right now dying slowly, in great amounts of pain.

Or was that just the fantasy he wished could come true for himself?

He tried to be a nice person, really. He had tried to convince himself of this over and over, but each time he'd come to the same conclusion; I take advantage of all of my female students, and I am therefore a complete loser.

Truth be told, he'd never really had any relationships except with his students. He'd had one-night stands, sure, but never lasting more than a few days. His relationships with the girls were more than that. Usually they lasted a couple of weeks, maybe more. He didn't even love most of them; there were a few that he'd wished to keep, but he'd ditched them after coming to full terms with what he'd done. There had been about five he had slept with; he'd avoided contact for the next few days after that. Eustace had heard that those five girls had transferred shortly afterwards. He'd been relieved at first; he didn't want to face them each day, after what they'd done together. But he still missed them.

There was only one girl he'd failed to attract the attention of; Trucy Wright. Truth be told, he'd intended on staying away from her; her father was incredibly protective of her. There was no doubt he'd end up hospitalized if he hurt Wright, of all people. But he'd been drawn in; she was so cheerful, and kind, and pretty above all else. He had tried to ask her to come over for dinner, to start things off, but she'd misinterpreted his actions and promptly told him that her and 'Daddy' and 'Polly' were doing fine, and that they absolutely didn't need any money or food given to them.

Nevertheless, he did truly feel remorse about his past actions. It was just that….well, sometimes he couldn't help himself.

Now, bending down to pick up his car keys, he felt guiltier than ever. Cheating on his most recent 'girlfriend' like that. And replacing her with her, no less. He knew the poor girl was unstable; having friends that only used her for her brains and knowing it well did more than make you slightly annoyed. Still, it was precisely because of who she was that Eustace had been disgusted with himself; he wasn't actually that much older than his students, but he hated himself for leading that one girl on. And then dumping her without even telling her. There was no possibility of her staying on at this school. She would transfer.

And cost the school donations from wealthy patrons, most likely.

Eustace just sighed as he unlocked his car, climbing into the driver's seat. He wasn't looking forward to the inevitable confrontation with her.

Looking back at his past actions, he almost wished he were dead.

/

"And our top story tonight, a twenty-nine year old high school teacher was found dead today near his car in the car park of his workplace. Mr Eustace Hadley was well known in the area for his kindness and generosity involving his work with Harbor Childcare, a childcare agency that doubles as an aid organisation. Both Harbor Childcare and Triston High School are mourning his loss, and he is to be sorely missed. Police are almost certain that this was the work of a murderer, and they are well underway with the questioning of possible witnesses, but the murder weapon and prime suspect are yet to be found…Details are scarce, but the chief of police has revealed at the cause of death was strangulation…"

/

Weeeeeeell. XD How was that for a first chapter/prologue/whatever? XD.

Yep, Trucy made a small cameo. The rest were all my own characters. Don't worry, the action goes back to Apollo and Trucy next chapter. And we get to meet some of Trucy's classmates next chapter as well. oyeyy :D Well, my version of Trucy's classmates.

Anyway. If you thought it deserved a review, then please, review it. :D

-reff o3o