Lotta Hart Investigative Reporter: Headline Dangerous Pressure Levels

by

triviatrap1982

I don't own Suzuka, or Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is owned by Capcom and Nintendo. Suzuka is owned by Kouji Seo.

Lotta was very determined. She knew she had to go out one more time. Not only to go out to the sites Yasinobu gave her, but also to hear what other rumors she could. Secondly...with the pictures she's taken...she'd have to tell Yamato exactly what's happening. As for Suzuka...she knew the girl needed to change up bad. It was in her best interests. She knew she's been back in time before dinner. She felt bad that she wasn't much of a guest taking her meals in her bedroom, or eating out. She also thought about how her mother would chew her out when she didn't want to eat at the table when she was a kid. However...there was one kid that she wished she never met.

"Oh are you heading down for dinner?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah...why...what's up?" Lotta asked directly.

"Well...there's a certain guest you need to be aware of..."

"Is Yuka going to make me cosplay as a sexy nurse?" Lotta asked, cringing at the thought of wearing a skirt shorter than short.

"Oh no...she's cramming for exams...this girl's name is Saki," she warned.

Lotta took seriously the warning. However, she really had no idea on how things were going to turn out. Once she got to the table, she was met by Ayano. She knew of the exchange, but Lotta gave a return glare. That was fair warning that this time...if anything happened...all bets were off. She took her place at the table. She sat down and looked over the situation. It was insanely quietly. Way too quiet. Yamato came and took his place by Lotta. He knew something was up.

"Ms. Hart...what's going on?" Yamato asked nervously.

"I had a run-in with Mistress Suzuka," she said rather bluntly.

"Oh no...she was talking about that run-in..." he started.

"Yeah," she said, "unfortunately, I can't really understand why you're dating her."

"W-what do you mean?" Yamato asked with a rather blank stare.

"If she's this stubborn...I'd wager that she'd slug you one good time, instead of kissing you."

That caught him off guard. Of course, there were those like Yasinobu who were that honest. However, the tone of her voice was rather powerful. It was something that gave him fair warning they would talk about things later. The table was filling up with the usual guests. Miho was between Lotta and Suzuka. It was a natural buffer. Then...came Saki. Lotta didn't need a rumor to figure what she was going to be going on about.

"Hey there! I see we got an American!" She started.

"I don't think she's in the mood for joking about," Yamato started.

"Oh, everybody's in the mood for joking about!" Saki returned. Though she did remember to stay out of her personal space.

"Then again, what brings you here?" he asked rather bluntly.

"Oh...I just came to check up on my favorite goofball," she answered. Since he's the only guy there...he knew it was him.

"Well, this idiot didn't set the bar level again," Suzuka started.

"You should keep on him...how else is he going to learn," Miho then continued.

"Well...if he keeps doing that he won't get a scholarship anywhere," Ayano continued.

"I don't think he's even going to get married either," Saki said with a slick smile.

The badgering was something Lotta hasn't seen before. Sure she's seen this kind of thing in the courtroom...but it was always penalized. She also knew that she would have to try to keep her cool. Unfortunately, the teasing became so much that Lotta had to do something. She couldn't flip a table...she'd been put out. She couldn't get physical, she'd get booted out of Japan...and ruin her own travel plans outside of America. She did the next best thing she could do. She saw Edgeworth, Wright...and even Franziska von Karma do this. She boldly stood up, and pointed an accusing finger.

"HOLD IT!" she shouted and it really got quiet.

"I...Is anything the m-matter?" Saki asked rather afraid.

"Yes something's the matter!" she hissed. "Y'all ought to be ashamed of yourselves!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE TO TALK!" Suzuka spat.

"Well...princess...if you weren't so critical of Yamato...he wouldn't be feeling hopeless about now!" she started. "Tell me...what's the one thing more important than his feelings?!"

Suzuka got quiet. Miho knew she was next and braced herself.

"As for you little girl!" Lotta pointed to Miho. "You say you care for Yamato...but you indulge in piling on, and tease him any chance you get!"

She sat back...Lotta wasn't about to let her get off that easy.

"As for you...how dare you compare your nephew to anybody else in the name of motivation!"

"I do it for his sake!" Ayano shot back.

"WELL IT AIN'T WORKING!" she boomed.

Ayano got deathly quiet...and she heard Saki stifle a giggle.

"I don't know what you're laughing at...but you're the worst of the worst!" Lotta shot.

"Hey that's not fair!" Saki shot back.

"Really...would a so-called 'friend' make fun of somebody because he's a normal teenaged boy?" she started.

"Well no...but..."

"There's no worming your way out of this one...if y'all considered his feelings...then y'all would be golden!"

'Wow...she's on a warpath,' Suzuka thought.

"Now...I don't find it funny...of anybody's misfortunes." Lotta continued. "If you're like this to friends...then God have mercy on your enemies!"

Saki got quiet. Lotta was rather upset. She left the table and went to her room. Her plans for the night were ruined. Yamato went after her to try to talk to her. Everybody else was in stunned silence. They didn't expect anybody losing it like that. It did sink in, that she was right. They needed to apologize, and actually change. Actions were a lot stronger than words. Suzuka refused to be pushed by Lotta...even though she knew she was right. She excused herself from the table to go for a walk.

"I-Is she right...?" Saki asked.

"I think we've been way too mean," Miho realized.

"I don't know...it'll take time for him to forgive...but we do have to at least try, for our sakes...as well as for his," Ayano warned.

"What about Suzuka?" Miho asked.

"Hopefully she'll come around," Ayano answered.

While Ayano, Miho, and Saki were thinking about what to do next...Suzuka was out and about. She was more than upset that Lotta snapped at her. She wasn't too fond of this woman poking around for some story on modeling behind the scenes. Though, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she ran into Edgeworth. He was reading his e-mail from Franziska reviewing some case that happened recently. Though, he was staying a few days in Tokyo, as he had planned it.

"Can I help you?" Edgeworth asked, not knowing where this went.

"I just got the crap ripped from me," Suzuka vented.

"Ah, that's Lotta Hart's handiwork," he answered.

"You know that woman?!" Suzuka asked shocked.

"Yes...she was a witness in a trial against me," he said honestly.

She didn't push the issue further. Edgeworth wasn't going to go into details about his own murder trial where he nearly got sent up the creek...he also wasn't willing to talk about the DL-6 incident. Still, he knew he'd have to bring that up if the time called for it. Edgeworth took a sip of his tea, and continued. He wanted to know about this girl who was being quite loud. He even would rather have Maya Fey in that case.

"Tell me...do you work any sports?" Edgeworth asked.

"Oh...I do the high jump for Athletics," Suzuka admitted.

"How dedicated to your craft are you?" he baited.

"Very...I go practice every morning," she admitted.

"I see, you've got the von Karma personality trait," he said subtly, but flippantly.

"Wait...who are you talking about?" Suzuka started.

"My former mentor, Manfred von Karma...his ultimate goal was perfection," he started.

"Oh yeah..." a random guy said. "I remember now, he was the guy who nearly had you sent to prison over his crimes!"

"That's exactly it," he said. "Until that point...he hasn't lost a case in 40 years."

"F-Forty years...that's a streak..." Suzuka answered stammering.

"Yes, you're way too young to remember the DL-6 incident," he continued.

"W-what was that incident?"

"You see...Manfred had a reputation of using evidence that was tampered, tainted, and flawed," he started.

"He should have been disbarred for that," she said turning up her nose.

"My father...Gregory...was a defense attorney who called him in open court," he continued. "He got a black spot on his record."

Suzuka sat there and listened. Edgeworth then explained that his father, Yanni Yogi, and himself were in an elevator during a very major earthquake. That's when things went downhill. Yogi was losing his mind, and Gregory tried to calm him down. He got quiet about what happened next. That was a clue for one not to press further. He further explained that Manfred was too obsessed with perfection. It cost him everything. Including his life.

"What! He just died in prison?!" She asked shocked.

"Yes...your fate...won't be similar..." he warned getting up. "If you concentrate too much on yourself...you'll be by yourself."

With that he left and he went back to his hotel. Suzuka didn't exactly know what to do. She also didn't know that a scout heard the entire conversation, and heard the yelling from Lotta. He had to make a phone call right away. As for Lotta...she went to the park armed with her information. Not before she caught Honoka a few times, and got quite a few pictures. In fact after her tirade, she left a note on her door, making clear she wanted to see Yamato at this very spot. She was going to make sure that he knew the truth. She also printed out the pictures, and got the contracts...she was going in armed. She also had no idea that there would be one other person to listen in.