Prologue: Under the Stars

It was a lovely evening when Yuu went out to take a breather. The skies were clear and full of radiating stars. The sea gave off a calming effect on him in both sound and smell that it felt so surreal. Yet, Yuu wasn't complaining. It had been a really long while since he allowed himself to lower his guard and just enjoy the temporal freedom his senior gave him. Though, he admittedly felt a bit lost without the pressure of work weighing his back every now and then, but that was quickly remedied with a vacation on a beach resort as suggested by Yoichi.

It was simple but Yuu was very thankful for it. He hadn't realize how stiff, tired and formal he was acting until he tried talking to one of the staffs in charge of room service for lunch. Much to his chagrin, he sounded like a middle-aged man when he was biologically in his twenties. His growing career was clearly rubbing on to him to the point that he didn't feel like himself until now.

But here, he wouldn't worry about anything - whether it was a legal document, a neat suit and tie or a wide array of defending words. No, Yuu was free albeit in a limited time range, and he was going to make the most of it by having fun and making up for lost opportunities. He owed that much to himself, but especially, to his lover.

The thought of him made Yuu smile fondly. All things related to work vanished in his mind, and were replaced with the very person who held his heart in his hand. Looking back behind him, Yuu's smile widened when he looked at Mika sleeping soundly in their shared bed. His blond locks curled messily and his porcelain skin littered with marks after three rounds of love making.

The sight of him made Yuu sigh helplessly. He never imagined himself to have such a beautiful, kind and patient partner in his life. He certainly thought that he was dreaming in each and every time he would set his eyes on his beloved. His head would often give him questions about how did he get so lucky to have Mika as his, only to have his thoughts halt as memories of their first meeting played instead.

"Oh, yeah..." Yuu chuckled at the nostalgia when he remembered everything that happened before quite vividly.

He closed his eyes as he let his mind take him back through memory after memory. When Yuu put his concentration on it, he could recall the hard plastic chair he sat on, the stale air of the interrogation room, and the watchful eyes of the ward as he faced the defendant of his case. Yuu didn't know what to do but he went along with it, putting what he learned into action as he tried not to give into the mysterious and eerie aura the criminal before him displayed.

Yuu was nervous and sweaty, yet he found the courage enough to mask it by acting indifferent. It definitely wouldn't do him any good if he showed emotions.

"We've received two long signature petitions from Hyakuya Academy requesting for your release." Yuu said in an even voice as he gazed boringly at the person across him. He felt a twinge of annoyance as the defendant sat rather casually on his seat, uncaring if he was sitting properly or not whilst playing with his handcuffs. Yuu grimaced before he returned back to reading the papers in the folder. "However, with how there is no evident proof of your innocence such petitions couldn't be addressed until we undergo an investigation and another trial in your case."

The man was silent before a tired laugh escaped his lips. "I don't need another trial after three failures that do nothing but to extend my imprisonment and lose my money." The handcuffs on his wrists rattled on the table as he sat properly. "Just let me finish up my sentence and we're good to go. There's no problem in that, right Attorney?"

Yuu scowled in displeasure.

"As much as I like to, these petitions are becoming more and more persistent. We even received a demand from Ms. Tepes to give your case another chance. With how she's an authoritative figure, we just couldn't refuse her." Yuu closed the case folder while he pushed up his eyeglasses. "We are going to conduct a thorough investigation and appeal another trial of your case whether you like it or not, Mikaela Shindo."