Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters from Ace Attorney series.

Avian adoration

It was an early morning in the city of Japanifornia.

The skies were a beautiful blend of peachy orange, reddish pink, and golden yellow whilst the sun had begun to rise in the sky, gradually raising behind several tall buildings and skyscrapers that towered up high and cast a faint orange light over the city in spite of the fact that there was a bunch of thin, gray clusters of cumulus that was like a veil covering the ground.

It was a fog reached the corners of the city and stretched throughout the roads and streets as well as the apartments and homes of the citizens, the early-morning dampness hung in the air like a piece of thread someone was holding up to taunt someone else. The twittering of several bird species resonated perfectly with the morning atmosphere as our story begins on a small street that was quite peaceful and had been forgotten about the street life. There was a certain little house that was inhabited by young woman and the building not so far away from the humble but growing-in-fame "Wright anything agency" and it was the home of a certain yellow-wearing attorney.

The bungalow looked quite quaint on the outside with orange/red brickwork and it was tall in structure with a small square-shaped rooftop that was layered with light gray tiles. There were two windows (as what could be expected to fit on such a small house) and there was a little red door.

While the outside of the house belonging to Athena Cykes was as quiet as a mouse, the inside was anything but as deafeningly loud snores filled the inside of the small house —so loud that any hope of silence would have been shattered as the sounds reverberated around the bedroom.

The rooms were dark and the curtains had been shut, blocking out the faint sunlight that tried desperately to break through. The wallpaper was (unsurprisingly) yellow in colour and was peeling slightly due to how old the house was and had a pretty floral pattern that seemed both generic and retro-themed at once. The floor was a soft creamy colour as clothes and items were strewn across it. There were also some common bedroom items such as a bed, a wardrobe, some cupboards, a bedside table that contained an alarm clock as well as a lamp and even some wall decorations and, on her bedside table, lay both her prized possessions —Widget and her moon rock earring —the only things she had left to remember her late mother...

Athena lay unconscious on the bed, passed out from severe exhaustion.

Her ginger hair was spread all over the pillow as her form was sprawled upon the mattress whilst the woman snoozed; Athena was laying on her stomach with her arms wrapped around her pillow and her leaning into it with her left cheek. Her eyes were clamped shut and she mumbled softly in her sleep, nuzzling the plumped yet luxurious lump of material that she rested her head upon. The blankets had partially covered her waist and were dangling off the mattress in an attempt to fall to the floor.

"Mmmmm..." She heaved a soft sigh, rolling off of her stomach to lay on her right side.

It had only been three years since she had become part of the Wright anything agency and, therefor, had become a fledgling lawyer. She proved to be a very dedicated and plucky attorney who continued to use her special ability of hearing the truest emotions in people's hearts as the greatest weapon she could but she had been doing a boatload of defending lately due to the fact that she had to take over a lot after her work-partner and colleague, Apollo Justice, had left to try and fix the law system back in Khura'in.

It left her so tired and she had been doing so much work that she would practically point her finger and shout "objection" in her sleep.

She couldn't lie.

Her job could be stressful, but she wouldn't change it for anything.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of the front door knocking abruptly brought Athena out of her blessed slumber. Her eyelids felt like weights as she tried to open her eyes and her body felt as though it had been made of lead and her tongue felt floppy and heavy in her mouth, she couldn't help but let out some words of intelligible nonsense that could also be interpreted as a low growl.

Her blankets had become entangled around her body and made it so she could barely move just after awakening and she couldn't help but grumble irritably.

When she dared to cast the slightest glance at her bedside alarm clock, she noticed that the clock read 6:30 and subdued rage clouded her mind as Athena's eyes narrowed into slits as she glared even deeper at the piece of machinery. Never before had she wanted to throw a clock out of the window so badly, she hated it when she had to wake up in the morning; true she normally revitalised herself by going on morning jogs, but that didn't mean that she couldn't dislike it.

Her glare was so deep and dark that it could possibly put Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's constant glare to shame.

The young lawyer moaned deeply as she opened her mouth and blew out some of her frustration and lay back down in her bed, pulling the blankets over herself and tried to return to her peaceful slumber once more. She shut her eyes as she snuggled deeper into her blankets and she felt as though she were cocooned in such warmth that made the slightest hint of a contented smile flicker across her lips.

She hadn't felt such peace in ages.

She wasn't going to let her morning mood get the best of her especially since the Wright Anything Agency had been slightly understaffed lately so she had been pouring her heart and soul into her work so she doubted that she would get another day off for quite sometime. She had a whole day off and she was going to get as much rest as she possibly could; she wasn't going to let anything ruin this day for her.

However, fate had other plans.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

The knocking on the door became much louder and more forceful, the fist pounding hard against the door so hard that it was very much possible that the door could have come off its hinges.

It was a sound that could almost shake the house.

The plucky 19-year-old lawyer felt her heart leap high into her throat as panic set in. She sat up in alarm as her eyes snapped open as she found the knocking on her door much harder to ignore, she blinked her eyes hurriedly to try and awaken herself and to rid herself of fatigue. Thoughts of who could be banging so harshly on her door swirled in her mind in an endless loop; Could they have been a burglar trying to force their way in? Was it the police? Could it be Trucy trying to badger her into being her assistant/magicians prop? Maybe it was even a neighbour choosing a bad time to return something she'd lent.

But who could that be beating up her door so early in the morning?!

She was in a daze as she thrown the blankets off of herself and half-tumbled out of bed whilst she tried to make a break for the front door —she forgot something, though:

The blankets were still wrapped around her legs.

The second Athena made an attempt to leap to her feet, she quickly found herself tumbling forwards and hitting the ground face-first. She groaned painfully as she lay on the floor for several moments to try and regain her bearings whilst she let her gaze flicker from the door to her tied-up legs as she suddenly wore a scowl that highly resembled the expression one would wear if they were to eat the worlds most bitter-tasting lemon. She started grumbling unintelligibly as she tiredly made work of untangling her legs and used the palms of her hands to try and push herself into a sitting position on the floor.

The blanket took a moment to unfurl before she was properly on her feet.

It took a moment or so until she dragged herself into a standing position and she tipped back and fourth on her heels for a few moments as she fought against the fatigue plaguing her until she finally shook it off and didn't even bother stretching or anything. She tried to stifle a yawn as she forced her legs to start moving and proceeded to hurriedly lumber to the front door. She was unbalanced and she had almost tripped over her own bare feet numerous times as she tried her best to answer the door as quick as possible, she didn't even have the sense to grab a weapon encase this did turn out to be a burglar or something.

The bedraggled Athena was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open, her long ginger hair stretched all the way down to the ground and dragged a little behind her as she trudged straight towards the door —the knocks (or more like forceful bangs) became increasingly loud and desperate. Exasperation leaked from her very being as she hastened her steps a bit when the urgency behind the knocking finally registered within her mind.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming! Espera un minuto¡"

The attorney-at-law lurched forwards, seized hold of the doorknob and opened the door a smidge; the second she did she felt a blast of cool morning air that felt rather refreshing on her skin. She adored the natural scent of crisp leaves and condensation

Who she saw standing on the front step of the bungalow made her heart skip a beat as shock overrode most of the exhaustion clouding her mind.

Simon Blackquill stood there with the most impatient scowl ever. He had his arms folded across his chest in a somewhat huffy manner and if looks could kill, then Athena had a feeling she would have combusted on the spot. But that was not what caught the redhead's attention most —it was that the samurai prosecutor looked almost, if not more, tired than she did herself.

"Simon?" Athena asked, her voice still hoarse due to fatigue but there was a hint of surprise behind her words. "What're you doing here?"

She hadn't been expecting this since Simon rarely came to visit her in her house. Sure, he came to visit on the odd occasion but he normally gave her some advanced warning when he was going to come over. It was a warning issued by prosecutor Blackquill's pet hawk, Taka, flying up to her window with a letter clutched in his sharply curved beak but it was still some sort of warning that one of her dearest friends was coming over to see her.

She secretly wished that it could have been later in the day, though.

Simon kept a somewhat stoic stature as he glared silently at her but Athena could hear the discord in his heart; seriously, it was so loud that if she were to be stood amongst a chatty audience at an ear-bleedingly loud rock and roll concert then she would have heard it even then. Plus she could easily pick up some of the distress in his voice, this made it crystal clear that something was up.

The samurai prosecutor took a long moment or so before he started to speak.

"I need your help, Athena..."

Athena blinked as much sleepiness out of her eyes as possible, clearing her vision, and she stared at her mother's ex-student with an expression akin to somebody being confronted with seeing a random spectre show up on her doorstep. Her mind was abuzz with a billion questions, even though a few of them mainly consisted in her complaints about why he was doing this so early in the morning. However she was also surprised since Simon Blackquill NEVER asked for help in any way, shape or form, thus she knew that she had no choice but to listen after hearing that shocking admission.

"What's the matter?" She asked, forcing herself to fully awaken right then and there.

Simon didn't even hesitate and proceeded to explain his situation, "It's Taka. He has gone missing and I do not know where he has gone."

Athena felt her heart freeze within her chest when she heard those words leave the prosecutor's lips.

So that's why Simon's heart was crying out with fear and desperation; the twisted samurai had Taka as his companion since he had found him as a tiny chick in his prison cell and the two had such a bond that it could melt the hearts of men with hearts made entirely of stone...actually, some could even say that it was Simon and Taka's bond that inspired the former's soft-spot for anything covered in feathers with a beak. To put it bluntly, Simon may be horrible when it came to expressing himself emotionally but without Taka his emotions were bare and naked to the world...

"Oh no! I guess that explains why I heard your heart screaming in despair just now..."

Blackquill just nodded rather numbly, not seeming too surprised to hear this. He knew Athena's special sense of hearing better then anyone and he supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised that she could hear the fact that he was seriously concerned about his bosom buzzard.

"But wait. Are you sure he's not gonna come back? Maybe he got held up or something?" The young lady inquired.

Simon bowed and shook his head.

"As of late he has been flying off for long periods of time. He had taken his normal daily flight in the early hours of this morning and has not returned."

Athena put on a thoughtful face and contemplated her next move for a moment. She still felt tired and wanted to go back to her bed desperately, but she didn't wish to abandon a friend in need like this. Simon Blackquill was an honourable man (despite him being really annoying when he used his clever psychological manipulation to toy with the emotions of witnesses in court) and would lay down his life for the people close to him, heck, he even almost died to keep Athena herself safe from having to deal with the crime of what happened to her own mother.

How could she possibly leave Simon to deal with this alone?

What sort of friend would she be?

Sure it was her day off but she couldn't let her friend deal with this all on his own. She could almost hear the click in her brain when she made her decision. That settled it! A huge smirk spread across her face and her eyes brightened up within an instant as she smiled a warm smile at the twisted samurai. She held her left arm out in front of her and gave him a thumbs up in hopes to give him a sliver of reassurance and gave a determined nod of the head.

"Okay! I'll help you."

Simon appeared to have been dumbstruck to hear this and looked into the eyes of Athena in mild surprise.

"A-Are you certain?"

Athena nodded, her normal enthusiasm coming to life.

"Sure! Just let me go inside and get dressed and then I'll help you find him!"

Prosecutor Blackquill didn't say anything but the smile of appreciation he gave and the eardrum-piercing screeching of the gratitude in his heart spoke volumes in which no word could ever even begin to convey. Athena could read him like an open book right now and seeing him like this just made her more determined to help him sort out this conundrum so he could resume his normal grumpy nature.

Athena narrowed her eyes resolutely then retreated back inside her bungalow where she got herself dressed and she came back out wearing her casual yellow outfit minutes later.

Widget was hung securely around her neck and her moon earring dangled from her ear. She also made sure to wear a matching yellow trench coat to keep herself warm from the numbing, biting, frigid cold that the morning brought whilst she also brought along her satchel in order to store some important items such as her notebook and other stuff. She thought that she could definitely use it during this mission.

The attorney and prosecutor friends both silently acknowledged each other as they thought about their next move. A short silence brewed between them both as they took a moment to gather their thoughts until Athena shattered it and asked, glancing up skywards in deep contemplation.

"Where should we start looking? because from what I recall, hawks can fly so..."

Simon's frown deepened.

That was a good point.

Since the hawk was had free reign of the skies and could be anywhere by now it could be a bit more of a challenge to track him down and he knew that he couldn't get Taka to return to him by whistling for him because it was more than likely that he was out of hearing range anyway, and there was the additional fact that he'd tried whistling for the runaway hawk already countless times.

"Hmmm..." Simon closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, "Perhaps he might be at the courtroom number 3? Please recall that first trial of the Nine tails case when both you and Justice-dono met my feathered friend."

Athena didn't quite recall at first since it had been awhile ago and she was still tired from being awoken much earlier than she was used to. She absentmindedly fiddled with Widget, tapping the little round gizmo that made the device up and hung around her neck, as she rewound her memories all the way to her very first trial. It took a few agonising moments before her sapphire blue eyes lit up like bright lights in pitch black darkness.

"Oh yeah!" She exclaimed, "You said Taka liked the courtroom so much that he made it his new home."

"Indeed," Simon nodded and poked at his own forehead for emphasis, "I suggest we search there first and foremost."

"Right! To the courtroom!" She exclaimed, her smile broadened to the point where her grin as brighter then the currently-concealed sunlight.

She lifted her arm up high as she pointed up towards the clouded skies above. She stood straight and seemed to be making the moment purposefully more dramatic then it needed to be and then the lawyer in yellow took off like a dart down the path without much warning whatsoever. She skedaddled so fast that she basically left a trail of dust behind her, leaving prosecutor behind where the two were previously standing.

The twisted samurai didn't expect Athena to be so full of energy even though she looked so tired a minute or so ago. He wondered where she could have gotten such boundless energy, even though he couldn't lie because he secretly found it quite endearing. He couldn't help but smirk slightly at the thought of Athena acting so childish and he even chuckled rather humourlessly. He felt lucky to have her as a friend. He bowed his head, making it so the fringe of his long mane of black and white hair hung over his tired eyes, as he shoved his pale-as-sheet-white hands into the pockets of his long trenchcoat and started to follow her.

As he stalked along, Simon couldn't help but glance wearily down at the ground as he wondered what had happened to Taka and whether he was alright. He shook his head quickly since he knew that Taka was the strongest of hawks that he'd known and he was the most reliable bird of all time —he knew he needn't fret.

He knew that he couldn't keep his eager courtroom rival waiting especially since the longer he kept her waiting, the longer he would be delaying his reunion with Taka.

A/N: Hi, guys! I'm back and I recovered after a month of being in the hospital! I decided to make a friendship/sibling fic for Athena Cykes and Simon Blackquill and add some animal fluff in here too. Let's see if Athena and Blackquill can find Taka!

I hope you enjoy it!

Don't forget to review and fave!

-Chloemcg