Hello, and welcome to week 2! I can't express how incredibly happy I am that a few people have already favorited, followed, or reviewed this fic! Honestly, I didn't think anyone would even bother to read it, but it's fantastic that y'all are enjoying it. Now, on to chapter 3:


"My turn!" Maya beamed, snatching one of the three remaining slips of paper. "I hope I don't pick my own dare, though. That would be no fun." Edgeworth raised an eyebrow, wondering exactly what Maya's dare was, as she opened up her chosen paper. She read it once, then read it again, before dully stating, "Punch Phoenix Wright in the face."

Everyone froze for a few awkwardly silent seconds, before Phoenix managed, "Wait, what!?"

Maya just shrugged. "Well, a dare's a dare, I guess." Franziska snickered, as Phoenix nervously stuttered, "Uh, Maya, you're not actually gonna-"

*FWOOOM* Without further notice, Maya walloped Phoenix right in the nose. "OOOW! What the HECK!?" was the outraged response, as the punched attorney gripped his now red face.

"You... Really didn't hold back, did you, Ms. Fey?" Edgeworth pondered, before snapping out of his bewilderment and frowning disappointedly. "That wasn't very nice, Franziska." The female prosecutor shook her head with a grin. "I don't strive to be nice, Miles. I simply chose a dare that I thought would provide some entertainment."

"Do you really find my pain that amusing?" Phoenix squeaked. She taunted, "In all honesty: yes."

"You people are sick. Anyway, I think it's my turn next." Phoenix released his nose to select one of the two remaining dares in the pile. Upon opening it, he groaned. "Great. This is Maya's handwriting."

"YES! Go on, read it, read it!" Maya was bouncing up and down as Phoenix announced, "Buy room service for everyone in the room... Like, with my own money?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Duh! Who do you think's gonna pay, me? Anyway, I've been starving since lunch! I'll take a cheeseburger with extra fries." Edgeworth tapped his finger on his arm, then admitted, "Some Earl Grey tea would be nice about now..." "I'd appreciate some scones," Franziska chimed in.

"UGH, why me?" Phoenix groaned again, then placed everybody's orders via the hotel phone to fulfill his dare. After sitting back down, Phoenix narrowed his eyes at the two prosecutors and muttered, " You two had BETTER pay me back sometime."

After the two gave him some form of assurance, Phoenix softly smiled. "I guess my dare is the only one left. I suppose it's yours, Ms. von Karma." Franziska scowled in response, then picked up the remaining slip of paper. After skimming it, she whispered, "What foolery is this?"

"What does it say?" she was prompted, before she read aloud, "Confess something that you like about everyone in the room." Edgeworth began uncontrollably laughing, claiming, "I think this was the best possible dare for Franziska."

"S-shut up, fool!" she exclaimed, blushing. It was clear that the woman had become quite uncomfortable with her current situation. As things died down, she looked towards Maya and stuttered, "M-Maya Fey... I admire your personal strength and emotional stability. You've been through a lot, but you still manage to maintain a cheery and optimistic attitude. I'm amazed by that."

Maya's eyes softened, soothed by the genuine praise. "Really? You're so strong yourself, I never thought you'd think much of it." Franziska shook her head. "No, Maya... I'm not strong. Quite the opposite, actually." The girl half-smiled. "You could've fooled me."

"Th-thank you, I suppose." Franziska hastily moved on, hoping to avoid a personal connection. Next was Phoenix Wright. Franziska scowled, then began, "Wright, you're one of the most foolish fools I've ever met... But... I guess your strong determination is a nice trait. When you start fighting for something, you never want to give up. That makes you an incredibly loyal friend and an invaluable ally." Wright grinned merrily. "Thank you! I pride myself on my persistence." Prosecutor von Karma crossed her arms. "Yes... It also makes you quite a pesky court rival, to be honest."

"I second that," Edgeworth grimly started, slightly smiling himself. Franziska turned her attention to him. "Miles..."

"...Yes?" he prompted. She quickly turned away to hide her blush. "I-I have nothing to say to you, Miles Edgeworth!" Maya pouted, "Aw, you have to! The dare said 'everyone in the room'!" Under her breath, Franziska muttered, "I suppose Miles is fairly good-looking..."

" What was that?" Edgeworth asked. She sharply turned her head and gave him a thin-lipped smile. "I said, 'Your prosecuting skills are above average.' There, are you satisfied?" He grinned. "I'll take it."

"Good. Now this stupid dare is over-" "Not quite, Franziska," Miles smirked. "What now!?" she moaned.

"Well, the paper said 'everybody in the room', and there's still one person. You, Franziska. What do you have to say about yourself?" Franziska looked even more concerned and confused than she did before. "I don't know. I don't know how to compliment myself..."

"Then would you like me to?"

"...Miles?"

The prosecutor looked her straight in the eye and stated, "You're a gorgeous, intelligent, powerful woman, Franziska. Don't try and convince yourself otherwise, because you're such a great debater you'd believe your own lies." Franziska von Karma sat there, stunned and speechless. She could hear the empty sound of her own heart beating, and tried to regain her composure as much as possible.

Maya cat-called. "Man, Edgeworth is just roping in all the ladies today! You're one smooth talker, you know?" He just laughed it off. "I simply speak the truth, nothing more." "See? There you go again! How are you still single!?" Phoenix quickly changed the subject, "Alright, the room service should be here soon, so let's get ready for that!" Maya was easily distracted. "YAY, FOOOOOOD!"

Sure enough, the doorbell rang almost instantly afterwards. The spirit medium nearly tackled the bellboy, eager to get her post-lunch meal. As she began chowing down, and the prosecutors set up their own little tea time, Phoenix directed his attention towards the Legal Convention brochure he had printed out earlier. "So the prosecutors and defense attorneys attend different seminars at the Convention, right?"

Edgeworth nodded, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, the thing is, we only have two room keys between the four of us. I was wondering how you all wanted to divvy it up."

Maya shrugged, "Well, I'll just be following you around, Nick, so as long as one of us has a key, I'm fine."

Franziska bit into a scone, concerned with the implications of that suggestion. Edgeworth took a sip of his tea, before surmising, "I suppose that means Franziska and I will share a key. That shouldn't be an issue."

"What foolishness," the German pouted, "I should be able to get into my hotel room without your assistance, Miles Edgeworth!"

He merely smirked, "Funny, I don't remember saying that I would hold on to the key. If you hate the idea of depending on me that much, you can have it." He tossed her the key in question, which she hastily caught and pocketed. Suddenly feeling childish, the woman muttered a quick thank you.

The other prosecutor continued, "I'll wait for you at the end of the day to come back here. What's your last session?"

"The Most Decisive Evidence, a seminar taught by Judge Albert Ritcher."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't he one of your father's friends?"

Flinching, Franziska stated, "He is a renowned German judge, that is all. Anyway, Wright and Ms. Fey should be finished before I am. If you come here and knock on the door, you can probably get in without waiting for me."

Setting down his teacup, Miles Edgeworth replied, "No, I'll probably wait with you, regardless. It'll be dark by the time that seminar's over, and even though the hotel's right next door, I don't want you to go alone."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" she roared. "I am a fully grown adult, and I don't need your protection."

"It's settled then," Edgeworth proclaimed, rising from his seat. "I'll see you tonight."

Franziska reached for her whip, but he was out the door before she got hold of it. Still frazzled, she settled for whipping Phoenix Wright instead, before storming over towards the convention center.

"Well," Maya stated, "this will be interesting."

"Tell me about," Phoenix yelped, rubbing his still red nose, "At this point, I'm just hoping I'll make it out alive!"

The medium twisted her face, slightly annoyed. "Y'know, Nick, I was kinda looking forward to spending a week alone with you. I guess that's more or less out of the question, now."

"Hey, you were supposed to be the one who was okay with these arrangements! Weren't you all, "let's have fun and make the most of it" a few hours ago?"

Grinning, the girl leaned toward him. "It'll still be fun, I hope, I'm just saying it would be nice to spend some one-on-one time with you!"

Shaking his head, the attorney answered, "Maya, we're alone together all the time. We're literally alone right now!"

"I know but it's... different. Can't we do something more..."

Romantic, her mind finished, but Maya couldn't say it aloud. She tried to think of a better word, of something that would let him know that she could be something other than a friend or an assistant to him, but she didn't quite know how to express it.

"Something more what?"

"Never mind. C'mon, let's go to the Convention Center. It'll be starting soon."

"But you haven't even finished your burger!"

"I'm not hungry anymore. Let's just go."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes, standing up and following wordlessly. There was something fishy about this situation, something he couldn't place his finger on. I mean, Maya, not hungry? Impossible. She must've just decided that she didn't want to be there with him anymore. Maybe she was trying to pull some reverse psychology when she said she wanted to hang out with him, and she really wanted him to leave her alone. Perhaps she really just wanted to be with Edgeworth. Wait, where did THAT thought come from!?

Although Phoenix Wright couldn't explain why the thought popped into his head, nor why it bugged him so much, he instantly knew that he completely loathed the idea of Maya alone with Edgeworth. There was something about the love poem and the game night invitation that rubbed him all the wrong ways, yet he couldn't explain why.

All he knew was that he was sure to feel this strange new emotion again, and when he did, the results wouldn't be pretty.


To be continued next weekend...