Variations on a Turnabout

Michiyo Ichimaru

Note: Yup. I'm dedicating this one. To AirGuitaringKyouya and Legendary Armor, who prodded my muses in the right direction. There is PLOT and there will be CHAPTERS! I know I'm going to hell for starting another story and possibly putting my other stories in danger, but it had to be written. I couldn't say no to my adorable Apollo muse's begging face. X3

Summery: Simply… murder by music. XD And it's up to Klavier and Apollo to get to the bottom of this mysterious case! In the end, it's mostly shameless fluff and stuff, but I DID take the time to come up with the characters, witnesses, case, court ideas and such to give it background. After all… we all must thank Ayumu from Spiral for my FAVORITE saying in the entire world… "The melody of logic always plays the notes of truth." And now, on to what you REALLY came here to do… reading!

Overture

Only the huge stage stood before her. The crowd… was nothing. It was only her and her partner, with their instruments, ready to paint an image of beauty using only sound. For her, this room was a canvas, waiting to be developed and discovered… or a blank notebook waiting for a masterful story to be written. And she was the only master worthy of overseeing such a project. Her eyes gleamed with hope and pride.

"Maestro." The man beside her knew her every thought, felt her every joy and followed her every footstep. His eyes watched her with the intensity of a heart burning full of passion. She nodded to him, silently asking him to take his place behind the piano. The piece was clear before him: Morceau Symphonique. It was opened to the first page already… their performance was making its opening statement.

"Rachel Sweet… she just turned twenty-one last month. A student at Berkley University. Her major… music performance but she only played for charity concerts."

Two bright stage lights flashed on… spotlights, on them. Every seat was filled and everyone was giving to the cause, in baskets that were being passed along the rows to collect extra donations. Most of the people in attendance had fair social standing, but there were also a great deal of college students in attendance. Above and beyond the rest though, was the reporter of the most popular music magazine in the country: The Rage Beat. It's top editor and journalist was sitting in the front row, pen and paper at the ready and a happy gleam of pure excitement in her eyes.

It began… a slow, haunting melody. The notes that started the piece came from her violin. Each note started out smooth and then began slow trill as she shook the string slightly under her masterful fingers. It wasn't the original Morceau Symphonique, but rather a musical arrangement written by someone else, using the melody, theme and structure of the original. The violin solo that started this version was one of the differences from the original. Suddenly, her beautiful solo was brought to an abrupt halt.

"She performed on Twilight Stage for a charity concert... there she was… murdered.

From across the stage, the piano was thrown with violent force into her side. The pianist was standing in an awkward position of horror, his bench knocked down, behind him. A raspy scream escaped his throat… a mix of pain and fear. In the few seconds in which this transpired, the magazine editor had gotten out her cell phone and called the police. Everything went dark for Eyes Golden, the pianist, as he was taken into custody by the police on the word of the magazine editor who choked out, "H-he KILLED HER!"

"Prosecutor Gavin? Prosecutor Gavin!"

He had slipped off into a thoughtful tangent, completely unaware that he was being spoken to. Still, he had his reasons for wanting to take this case and just as many reasons for wanting to avoid it. "Tell me… about the man you took into custody: Eyes Golden." This man alone was his biggest reason for wanting to take the case and NOT wanting to take the case, at the same time. If he had heard correctly, this man would be the deciding factor in his choice, so he had to think it through carefully once he knew all the facts.

"Eyes Golden was the only person on the stage other than Rachel Sweet at that time. And he was the pianist! It's decisive. There are no other suspects and the guy refuses to seek out defense. He doesn't even talk… the last noise from his lips was the scream he made when she was hit by the piano." Klavier tuned out the sound of the man's voice after this point. The fact that kept him at distance from this case and at the same time pulled him to it had been said.

The accused wasn't talking. He wasn't going to get a real defense attorney at this rate. Part of him knew that if he was given a state defender, he didn't have a chance unless a lower prosecutor was assigned. But the only way to find the truth was to have a real battle of wits. What he NEEDED was an opponent worthy of defending Eyes Golden and finding the truth. Only one person was his equal, capable of turning this around and helping him find the truth. In this situation, he was inclined to believe that Golden was not the culprit. To find the answer, he'd need his help.

Apollo Justice…

No doubt, he completely trusted Apollo Justice. In his profession as an honest prosecutor, it was difficult for others to earn his trust, but that was exactly what Apollo had done. And someone as sweet and sincere as him may be just what was required to get Eyes Golden to talk and confide in the judicial system. Truth was required… he couldn't say exactly why, but he didn't want to believe that Golden was responsible.

However… in court, he couldn't aid the defense without reason and if he left it to another prosecutor, chances were that the defense wouldn't be able to figure it out. It was up to him and Justice to do it, because they could. Klavier knew they could, if only they could pull it off… That was why it was such a completely controversial matter. He knew he was walking on thin ice. Trying to balance the scales in this case was proving to be more of a task than most of the ones he had faced before.

Well, if criminals can pull off murder, there was no reason that they shouldn't be able to save the innocent and incriminate the guilty.

The melody of logic always plays the notes of truth, as they say. Now, it was only a matter of finding Apollo Justice and making him take the case. It shouldn't be too difficult, he told himself. However, acting natural around Apollo had suddenly become much more difficult than it should have been.

It had never been a difficult task for Klavier before. However, for some reason, after the last case he worked with Apollo, he hadn't been able to think straight concerning the defense attorney. When he looked back, as he often did, it wasn't really anything special or meaningful. Really, it shouldn't have been stuck so thoroughly to his mind. However, he hadn't been able to stop himself from thinking about it. Sometimes he wondered if there was something wrong with him... It was only his ability to keep a completely cool façade that kept his inner turmoil hidden.

"Ah, and Justice has done it again!" Klavier laughed, messing up Apollo's perfectly gelled hair on purpose. Court was over and everyone else was gone, so it shouldn't have mattered anyway. But it still caused the ruffled defense attorney to glare, even if it only lasted about a second before crumbling.

Then he smiled. "I couldn't have done it alone, you know." His eyes moved sheepishly to the ground as he shuffled his feet. "We make a really good team, for not being on the same side and all." He chuckled. "Funny, because concepts like that don't usually work in the real world. But somehow, we always seem to make it work." When he looked back up at the prosecutor, his face was in the cutest bashful smile that Klavier ever remembered seeing.

For him, it was the most normal thing to do. Klavier was normally impulsive, and yet he always kept his cool. But there was something different churning in his stomach when he took Apollo's hand to drag him out of the courtroom. It was something he did often… dragging the boy around when he had something to show him or even if he just got bored standing in one spot too long. So why was there more to it now? It wasn't unpleasant, just unusual. There was a warmth in his heart that he didn't remember ever feeling before. Not for anybody.

Grabbing his coat, Klavier made up his mind. "I'll do it. File that paperwork for me. I'm off to do some case-building." He said, grinning smugly. After all, he wasn't exactly lying… he just didn't feel the need to explain himself to this man. And saying any less might sound weird. 'Oh, I'm just gonna drop in on Mr. Justice first to see how he's doing.' It didn't sound right. You don't just go visit the opposition casually without looking suspicious. And Klavier didn't feel like being under suspicion today.

At the office of Apollo Justice, Apollo was hard at work himself. Trucy wasn't coming in today and so he designated it to be a day of cleaning. His hair was down… it had been wrapped up in a small, plain white cloth, until he realized that he'd need it to do some dusting. Sighing, Apollo looked at the clock again. "I can't do this just once a year anymore. This isn't the beginner's office it once was…" he smiled at that, though. It was good to see how much business for him had grown.

He was almost a little sad that he didn't have a case now. It would have been more exciting than having to clean all day. Then he heard a knock on the door. Dismissing the idea that his prayers may have been answered, he put down his dusting rag and opened the door. "Hello…" Apollo paused. "Prosecutor Gavin?" He was surprised. There weren't a large number of people he could have expected, but for some reason, he hadn't expected him.

Klavier also looked a bit surprised. But he collected himself much quicker. "Sorry if I came at a bad time… you look so busy. But I've got a case for you and I won't take no for an answer." He walked right past Apollo, into his office, case file in tow. Apollo smiled slightly. It felt nice to have the prosecutor coming to him for help for once. But then… "Oh. And Apollo?"

"Yes, Prosecutor Gavin?" Apollo asked, closing the door.

"Your hair fell down."

A/N: Because who would seriously put their hair up for cleaning day? XD Anyway, just the beginning… introduces the plot and the romance (at least on Klavier's side). Please review if you have any love for this pairing! I love you all. Later days!

Michiyo Ichimaru