AN: In essence, this is an Ema x Klavier story, but this is about their Japanese counterparts, hence, this is set in Japan. All names from Phoenix Wright are in their Japanese names. You might want to read with courtrecords or the PW wiki open.
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Strangers
When he was five years old, Garyuu Kyouya and his family moved to Japan from America. They moved into a nice home in a nice neighborhood. It was quiet enough for thirteen year old Kirihito to have his privacy and there was a whole street for Kyouya to play on.
Next to the Garyuu home lived the Houzuki family. They had two daughters. Tomoe was nineteen and studying for her college entrance exams. The youngest daughter was a six year old girl named Akane.
Kyouya and Akane quickly became friends. They were inseparable. They spent nearly every waking moment together. The houses were close together, and their rooms faced each other. It was easy for Kyouya to climb into Akane's room so they could play more…that is, until Tomoe caught them and would send Kyouya home.
Though it was a little far off, it seemed like the Garyuu and Houzuki family were going to be joined in holy matrimony.
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It was quite a wonder at how much could change in eleven years. Tomoe passed her college exams with flying marks and went on to the police academy. She later became a renowned detective and then left her job to become the Chief Prosecutor. Kirihito graduated college without much effort and became a defense attorney.
Kyouya grew up to be popular. As an American born sixteen year old with natural blond hair and blue eyes, of course he would be a big hit with the ladies. He was constantly the center of attention of guys and girls. He was smart and athletic and had a smile that could charm anyone. His schedule was always filled up with going to goukans or hanging out with girls. He was too much of a playboy that he never had a girlfriend. Still, there was never a dull moment in Kyouya's life and that was just fine with him. He particularly was good at singing karaoke and playing his guitar.
Akane grew up to be moody and slightly anti-social. She had her group of close knit friends, but they were all in different grades. Ichijou Mikumo and Tachimi Rika were freshmen while Ayasato Mayoi and Karuma Mei were seniors. That left Akane alone as a junior. When Akane was alone, no one dared to mess with her. She was the best pitcher on the softball team, and when she wasn't throwing softballs, she was throwing karinto at anyone who dared to annoy her. No one even had the guts to question the white lab coat she wore or the pink sunglasses on her head.
They became complete strangers. They were in two separate worlds. There was a wall between them. It wasn't caused by their ages or their grades. It was one made of their own accord.
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They never talked to each other or even glanced at each other. Though they lived next door to each other and went to the same school, but they never walked to the train station together nor did they ever walk home together. On the train to school, Kyouya would be chatting up a couple of pretty girls at one end while Akane would be seated, her eyes never drifting away from her book.
Even at school, the other did not exist. There was one time when Kyouya purposely wore his combat boots to class and got in trouble with one of the teachers. Kyouya ran down hallways and up and down stairs to avoid the teacher. He thought it was quite a thrill. As he ran down the hallway for second year students, he zoomed right past Akane. She felt her hair blow past her from the sudden rush of movement. She didn't stop to look at what just happened.
There were times when Akane visited the first year classrooms. All eyes were always on her, except for one person. She stopped at Class 1-A. She didn't notice Kyouya leaning against the frame of the open window, and he just stared up at the ceiling.
"Ah, it's Houzuki," drawled Mayudzuki Daian from beside Kyouya. He was Kyouya's best friend since middle school.
"That's "Houzuki-senpai" to you," she said coolly. "Is Mikumo-chan here?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
"Can you please ask her to come here?"
"And who are you to order me around?"
"I'm your senpai."
"You're a bitch to me."
KA-TONK!
"What was that?" asked Akane, glowering at Daian. She grabbed another piece of karinto and prepared to throw it.
"Jeez, calm down…" Daian turned around and yelled out, "Ichijou! There's someone here for you!"
Mikumo looked up and beamed. "Ah, Akane-senpai! What's up?" she asked excitedly, bounding over to Akane.
"Do you have that dictionary I lent you? I need it for next period."
"Yeah! I have it right here!"
Daian and Kyouya were having a conversation as Mikumo brought back Akane's dictionary. Rika also came over to say hello.
Not a word. Not a glimpse.
They were strangers.
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"Houzuki-san! Is it true that you live next door to Kyouya-kun?" asked a girl.
Akane looked up to see hoards of girls gathered around her desk. It was inevitable that the female population of the school would find out that Akane and Kyouya lived next door to each other, and the stares of the girls were getting to be physically painful.
She tilted her head to the side. "Huh? "Kyouya?" Who's that?" she asked in a bored tone.
The girls seemed shocked. "Garyuu Kyouya! Do you really live next door to him?"
"Ah. I don't know."
Likewise, on the first floor, Daian was interrogating Kyouya on the matter.
"There have been rumors going around that you and Houzuki live next door to each other," said Daian. "The girls are going crazy. Is it true?"
Kyouya looked up at the ceiling for a minute. "Which one is Houzuki?"
"Don't play dumb. She's friends with Ichijou and Tachimi."
Kyouya shrugged. "Don't know who she is."
Daian groaned. "Man, don't you know your neighbors? Or even the people you go to school with?"
"No…not really."
(- -)
In the dark of night, Kyouya slid his window open and looked across at the house next door. The light in Akane's room was on, her drapes pulled open slightly, but he couldn't see her inside. He jumped out of his window, landing on the ledge of the roof of the Houzuki house. He pulled the window open and let himself into Akane's room, just like how he used to when he was a kid.
She was sitting on the floor at the table where her textbooks and notes were spread out. A bag of karinto was open next to her pencil bag. She turned her head slightly to glance at him. "Troublesome," she said in a low voice. "Close the window. It's cold."
Kyouya closed the window with a snap and drew the curtains close. He sat down next to Akane on the floor. "You say that every night," he replied. "Is this punishment for flirting with those girls today?"
"If it was, I'd be punishing you every day."
Kyouya sat down next to Akane. "Did you hear those rumors today?"
"Of course. Your fan club was demanding to know the truth," said Akane. "Maybe someone saw you leaving my room."
"If someone did, the rumors would be a lot worse."
"It's good they aren't worse. The glares from those girls really burn into your skin."
Kyouya leaned against the bed and sighed. "I'm starting to hate this game we play. When I see you in the halls, it makes me sad that I can't say hello or even give you a kiss."
"It's easier this way," she answered, though she didn't believe the words that came out of her mouth.
"Since when is it easier to ignore your boyfriend and pretend he doesn't exist?" asked Kyouya. "Maybe I should kiss you in school one day. In front of a big crowd. That'll certainly cause a stir."
Akane scowled as she whirled to face Kyouya. "Don't you dare, Garyuu!"
Kyouya blinked before smirking. "You're mad."
Akane turned back to her homework and picked up her pencil. "I'm not," she snapped.
"Oh yeah? Kiss me if you're not."
The pencil clattered back onto the table as Akane quickly pressed her lips to Kyouya's.
To the outside world, Houzuki Akane and Garyuu Kyouya didn't know each other, but in private, they were (to a degree) a lovey-dovey couple. It looked like they were on that road to holy matrimony after all.
I first got the idea of this story when reading manga. I love reading manga, especially the shojo oneshots. One of the most commonly known storylines is when two childhood friends of the opposite sex grow up and endure hardships at school because the boy is usually the popular one and has all the girls while the the girl is struggling to come to terms with her feelings for the boy and you know the rest. I wanted to do a new twist to it, but I bet there is a manga out there that is like this story.
In PW, it is said that Klavier comes from Germany, but in the Japanese version of the game (Gyakuten Saiban), he comes from America. That can be said for most characters who come from overseas, like Manfred and Franziska.
Because I made Kirihito and Tomoe their real ages in respect to Kyouya and Akane, I had to do the same for all characters. So no Naruhodou and Mitsurugi in high school as well! I had a limited group for Akane's friends because of the age difference. That's why only Mikumo, Rika, Mayoi, and Mei are her friends. I could have added a couple more, but they were either a couple years too old or a couple years too young. Others I had in mind were Odoroki Housuke, Ese Makoto, and Yumiko Mamiya.
Remember, Japanese high schools are only three years long, not four. Akane is seventeen here, so that would make her a second year student/junior. Kyouya, Mikumo, and Rika are a year younger than Akane so they are first years/freshmen. Mayoi and Mei are eighteen so they are third years. Odoroki is too young because he would be in seventh grade at the time. Ese is even younger than Odoroki, so she was ruled out as well. Yumiko is two years older than Akane, so she would already be in college, not high school. All ages were calculated based on the games. (Like, Akane is sixteen in the first game while Mayoi and Mei are seventeen. In AAI, Akane is eighteen while Mikumo is seventeen. In the second PW game, Rika is sixteen, and since that game takes place a year after the first, Akane would be seventeen at the time.)
"Karinto" is a traditional Japanese snack food. That's what Snackoos actually are! Snackoos are really not chocolate pretzels, oh no. Karinto is made from flour, yeast, and sugar. It's usually coated in brown sugar, but there are other variants as well.
By the way, all Japanese names are in the format of Surname, First Name. But then again, you should know that if you've been watching anime and reading manga.
Japanese to English Names
Houzuki Akane - Ema Skye
Garyuu Kyouya - Klavier Gavin
Houzuki Tomoe - Lana Skye
Garyuu Kirihito - Kristoph Gavin
Ichijou Mikumo - Kay Faraday
Tachimi Rika - Regina Berry
Ayasato Mayoi - Maya Fey
Karuma Mei - Franziska von Karma
Mayudzuki Daian - Daryan Crescend
Naruhodou Ryuuchi - Phoenix Wright
Mitsurugi Reiji - Miles Edgeworth
Odoroki Housuke - Apollo Justice
Ese Makoto - Vera Misham
Yumiko Mamiya - Penny Nichols