I deeply thank you for reading and reviewing my story! Here's the next chapter.

-drops of jelly

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Second Turnabout

"AND WHY DO YOU THINK I, FRANZISKA VON KARMA WOULD EVER GO OUT WITH A FOOLISHLY FOOLISH FOOLHARDY FOOL LIKE YOURSELF, PHOENIX WRIGHT?!!!"

…And then came an infinite amount of whippings.

"Hey!" *slash* "Stop!" *slash* "Franziska!" *slash*

"Be quiet you insolent fool!" she barked, continuing to whip him.

"Agghhh!!" Phoenix's eyesight was fading.

"Franziska, what're you up to this time, I can't study these case files properly if you're going to keep hitting an innocent bystan.." he paused.

It was Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

"E.. Edgeworth! H-Help!" Phoenix half-consciously squealed.

Edgeworth closed the door without a word.

"GAAAH!" and the slashes continued.

"It looks like you have realized that the end is near, Phoenix Wright! What a shame for an end such as this!" Franziska continued to blindly whip anywhere with a trace of Phoenix Wright in it.

O-o-O-o-O

"You.. You did what?!" Miles Edgeworth banged his fist on the table of the local Eldoon Noodle Cart.

"Hey! Stop picking on me okay? I've got enough of that from Franziska today." Phoenix's right hand was trembling, trying to hold his chopsticks right.

"You asked her on a date… If her father were alive to see this…" Edgeworth secretly grinned sinisterly.

"Ack! No! Stop that!" Phoenix dropped his chopsticks.

"Why the heck would you do something crazy like that?" Edgeworth took a spoon and sipped up the ramen soup.

"Well… uh… I sorta think she's… well, you know… kinda cute." Phoenix did a sheepish smile, like how he would in court when he bluffed things without evidence.

"Right." Edgeworth didn't buy it and ate some of his ramen.

"It's true you know… I do like her a lot, and I've always had, ever since a year ago." He had a melancholic but bittersweet look on his face.

There was a long pause over the two of them.

"No way… NO WAY." Edgeworth looked like he was about to punch Phoenix in the face, like a shocked older brother would when he discovered that his best friend had feelings for his little sister.

"I was quite intrigued at first… I thought she came here to beat me and get revenge for her father, and I decided to play along her game. I admired her passion, and she was very beautiful too. She was quite feisty but a bit careless, you know, like how you can't just leave her alone…" Phoenix smiled.

Edgeworth couldn't say anything back. He thought the same way of her as well, and agreed with Phoenix deep down.

"When I learned that she didn't come to avenge her father but came to avenge you, I was a bit angry, and envious of you. I somehow wanted her to do something like that for me too." Phoenix continued.

"…Are you really in love with her?" Edgeworth asked and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Yes. Yes I am." He replied, with a rather serious look.

Edgeworth thought about the whole thing, and tried to digest every single thing Phoenix said. He couldn't conceive the thought of Franziska getting married.

He remembered his childhood days with her, how he always watched over her and spent time with her during the absence of Manfred von Karma, which must pretty much most of her life.

Edgeworth felt bitter. He felt like he was about to let go of something very important, a part of his life, a part of who he was, and he had to give her up to Phoenix Wright, his very good friend.

He treasured both people, and now, he realized, he would become what they call...

The Third Wheel

"If you really are THAT in love with her, that means... you're not scared of countless whippings a day?" Edgeworth said, with a rather serious look on his face.

"..... *gulp*.... I'm prepared!" Phoenix said with gusto, but deep down, he was weeping for himself.

This guy is unbelievable!!! Edgeworth thought to himself.

"If that's the case then..." he started.

"You'll help me?!! Ah! I knew you would come to realize how crazy I am about her Edgeworth!" Phoenix laughed.

"H-hey, I didn't say I would!" Edgeworth leered at him.

"..." Phoenix looked down.

"She's usually available on Fridays at 5 pm onwards. She hates humid places, or restaurants that smell like the food they serve. She won't tolerate punctuality issues, and..." he paused, looking at Phoenix who was about to melt with eagerness (or nervousness).

"... and her favorite flowers are white roses and blue tulips." he cleared his throat.

"Edgeworth you're the best!" Phoenix laughed, and hit his back. Edgeworth was sipping his noodles, but choked on them.

The both parted ways, and went home.

Wright and Co. Law Offices

March 2 8:00 pm

"Nick! You're back!" Maya clasped her hands together and smiled brightly, greeting him.

"Hey Maya, I don't see Pearls anywhere..." he looked around.

"Oh, she took a vacation just this morning. She asked me not to tell you cause... she said she wanted to leave us alone for a while, she said." she murmured with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Pearls... never-ever changing any bit..." Phoenix laughed lightly and sheepishly.

"And what the heck happened to you!! You're covered in bandages!" she stared at his face the most, where the damages were done most.

"Well, I met Franziska this morning and..."

"Oh, I get it." Maya laughed.

"Oh, and I was planning to ask her out today, but it didn't work out."

"Nick, that's wonderful for you! ...Maybe not." her smile faded when she heard him groan.

"What's gotten into you? Why'd you ask her out so suddenly?" she asked.

"I have this plan you see..." he whispered into her ear.

Maya beamed a huge smile and clapped her hands rapidly.

"Nick you're a genius! Oh Mr. Edgeworth would be so surprised! But I can't believe you're going to actually do this, I can't wait!" Maya said.

"He decided to help me set the date up, and it'll most probably be this Friday. I have to get those flowers fresh by then." he smiled lightly.

"I get to help too right?!! If Mr. Edgeworth is sort of like Ms. Von Karma's dating guardian, then I'll be Nick's Dr. Love!" she felt like a hero of justice of some sorts, standing up and putting her hands on her waist.

"Hmm, I suppose it'll be okay for you to help, after all, we'll need all the people we can have for this plan to succeed." said Phoenix.

Prosecutor's Office – Miles Edgeworth

March 2 8:05 pm

"Yes, reservations for two. 7:30 pm would be perfect. Oh, and make sure that no other people are left in the restaurant... Yes, there should be no rock bands. I want a string quartet instead, and candlelight would be better... Theme colors?..."

Franziska von Karma entered the office to inquire about a certain article recently.

"... Dark and Light Blue, and a few touches of White..."

She stood directly in front of his desk, arms crossed, her fingers on her right hand grasping her left sleeve.

"Yes, not necessarily jazz music for the night…"

*ehem*

"That'll be all, thank you." He placed down the phone.

"Are you some kind of wedding planner now, Miles Edgeworth?" Franziska glared at him like she always would.

"No. You're going on a date on Friday." He looked for a folder inside his drawer. He knew directly what she needed after one look at what she placed on his desk.

"What date, Miles Edgeworth? I simply have no time for such foolishly foolish foolishness!" she raised an eyebrow.

"You sit down, eat food and talk about each other." He didn't remove his eyes from the file he had just found.

"Of course I know that, but what are you trying to pull?!" she asked heatedly.

"You'll need a serious time off with someone too you know. You're going to have to get married someday. You can't stay prosecuting aimlessly all your life."

"You're insane, Miles Edgeworth. Feelings are unbecoming of a von Karma!" she snapped right back at him.

"You're still human you know. You have feelings. You have to get out sometime." He looked at her now.

"Stop treating me like a child! Don't tell me what to do!" she mumbled.

Edgeworth grasped the file tightly in his hands. Of all things, he would never treat her like a child anymore. He had a hard time looking at her that way…

Looking at her as his younger sister… sort of.

She looked like a woman to him there in front of his desk, more than ever before, insisting she had her own decisions to make, reminding him of her independence.

"I'm not telling you what to do. I'm only saying that it'll be harmless to go on a date once in a while you know." He sighed and tried to smile a little.

"… I suppose… It is harmless." She stared at his persuasive half-smile which she found quite irresistible.

"Good. Friday at 7:00 pm, you'll be fetched at your house." He stood up, walked over and handed the file to her.

She looked at him in the eye for a moment.

"Hmph…" she cocked her head away.

He took his light magenta coat and put it on, and took an umbrella after seeing the light downpour outside through his wide office window.

"It's raining again today… What plan do you have for tonight?" she watched him about to exit.

"I think I'm going to finish a report for the last case this week, then get some sleep." He dryly replied.

"I see. Well then, I will see you tomorrow, little brother. Good day." She walked forward and exited before him while he held the door for her.

He started to walk the opposite direction of the hallway.

"If Papa were alive to see you now… I wonder what he would say… If he were to see the prosecutor you are today…" her voice lightly echoed through the empty hallway that dark, rainy night.

He didn't reply.

"He would be right if he thought you were a fool of a prosecutor…" she said.

He lightly scoffed, agreeing.

"But he would be… a fool, if he didn't realize how much you've grown, and become a better man…"

Franziska briskly walked back to her office after having said that.

Miles Edgeworth turned back to watch her walk away.

I didn't know… that she could ever say such mature things… After all these years, she can still surprise me after all. The prosecutor thought deeply to himself.

Then he remembered Phoenix Wright, her suitor, his ally, his friend.

I can't believe I'm doing this… Am I an idiot?

*Franziska's door shut*

Yes… I must be an idiot.

To be continued