A/N: Oh, wow, I didn't expect to get such glowing reviews. Thank you to everyone who's favorited, alterted, or just read this fic so far. I'll do my best not to let you all down in future chapters.

For now, though, MIKAMI TIME.

I love Mikami so much. Seriously. If he wasn't a fictional character and he wasn't quite as crazy in the head, I would marry this man.

However, he did sort of suck the humor factor out of this chapter, even more than Raito. I did what I could while keeping him roughly IC.

I'd also like to apologize for the fact that Edgeworth isn't going to appear in this fic very much – importing one American lawyer was hard enough. If need be, I'll put Mikami in a cravat later.

For now, on with the chapter.


Chapter 4: Unwilling Prosecution

Teru Mikami's routine didn't vary from day to day. He got up, got dressed, made a simple breakfast (usually the same from day to day as well), sat down to read the paper...

Today, though, he nearly choked on his coffee when he read the headline of an article, and saw the picture along with it.

The headline and tag lines read: "KIRA CAPTURED! Will be put on trial for murder. Public support of case divided."

The picture was of a young man with a serious expression, but what had startled Teru was the lack of a lifespan along with the name he saw.

They had really arrested God! How could this be?! Couldn't God have thought of a way out of this?

No, even God himself had said that he was under too much suspicion. Perhaps, like the Messiah before him, he had to suffer this martyrdom.

For now, what Teru had to do was find the prosecutor working on the case and talk to him – or, failing that, he had to kill him (in a subtle, untraceable way). He needed to make sure there was no one opposing Kira.

He slipped on his coat and headed out of the door – a minute late, for the first time in years.

---

He arrived at the prosecution office around an hour later and headed inside, trying to hide his agitation. Who would they assign a high-profile case like this? Maybe they'd even import one of the foreign greats, like Edgeworth... but no, that would be too complicated, and I think he's on hiatus. So who...?

He was barely in the door before the secretary waved him over. "Oh, Mikami-san! The head prosecutor wanted you."

"Alright. Thank you." He nodded curtly, then headed up to the head prosecutor's office. The elevator was uncrowded for once, thankfully – he hated being jammed in with other people, given all the germs involved.

The office was simple and uncluttered, with an elegant desk, several bookshelves (in neat, tidy rows), and very few silly personal touches besides a photo on the desk. Teru approved of the head prosecutor's organization every time he was called upon to enter her office.

The head herself was seated at the desk, working on papers, but she looked up when Teru entered and waved him over to a chair. She was wearing a long blue muffler, which Teru recognized as an emulation of Lana Skye, the semi-famous former chief prosecutor in Los Angeles. The 'role model' status of a confessed criminal bothered Teru deeply, even if Skye had been blackmailed, but there was little he could do about it. Maybe he could kill the prosecutors who wore mufflers later. For now, it was best to just take a seat.

The head prosecutor signed another paper, then pushed it aside and looked at Teru again. "Mikami-san, you've had a very good record as a prosecutor, correct? As I recall, your record is nearly perfect."

"Yes, that is true." What was she heading towards? Teru tried to figure out what she wanted, but social situations had never been his strong point.

"Well, I think it's time you get a chance to really shine." She smiled brightly. "I'm assigning you to the Kira trial."

What?! Teru tried to hide his utter shock. Did this woman not watch TV? He hadn't been shy about appearing on Kira's Kingdom, or any of the other pro-Kira shows out there (his favorite being the Kira Variety Hour, featuring the Holy Tap-dancing Chorus). His views, if not his role as God's right hand, were well known, weren't they? Maybe she didn't like TV.

But no – maybe it was more subtle than that. Maybe she did watch TV, and knew about him, and had chosen him because of that. Maybe she supported God's will, and was assigning Teru because she knew he'd sabotage the case.

If that was the case, he wouldn't let her down.

"I'm... very glad to hear that," he said in the calmest voice he could manage. "I'll do my best to handle the case. For now, I'll need the evidence lists and the like, of course."

"Of course," she said, still smiling. If she was planning to have him sabotage the case, she wasn't making it obvious. "I'm glad to hear you're willing to participate, Mikami-san."

"It's my duty." Which was the truth in more ways than she realized. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get to work on that. Thank you again for the assignment."

"Don't worry about it." Her smile was still even and calm. "I know you won't let me down."

He bowed and left the office, trying to hide his faint smirk.

---

By the time he arrived at his personal office, it was already prepared with all the information about the case – the (rather short) evidence list, the trial dates, and the names of those who would be participating.

He scanned the names, trying to decide who needed to be eliminated before the start of the trial. The judge was known as being unbiased and rational, but he might still need to go if the evidence started to sway him towards believing God was guilty. The legal assistants all seemed fine. And the defense attorney...

His eyes widened considerablywhen he saw the name. God had hired Phoenix Wright?

The American rookie had become quickly famous – he was known as 'the patron of hopeless cases'. He could turn around even the most biased case, even if it was at the very last moment. He was known as being emotional, working more on intuition than on any sort of logic, but he had a perfect record so far.

Teru would do his best to see that this record continued.

He smiled and sat down at his desk, relaxing a little. With someone like Phoenix on his side, and with his own sabotaging of the case, it seemed that things would go well. If need be, Teru could just kill people while God was imprisoned for trial, which would probably make the idea that Yagami was Kira seem less plausible. Things were going to go fine.

For now, though, he had to ensure that Wright would achieve victory. The best way was probably to get an analysis from an opponent of Wright's – find out what Wright's strengths and weaknesses were, so that Teru could avoid the weaknesses and promote the strengths.

He calculated the time difference to make sure the prosecutor's office in America would be open, quickly used Google to find the phone number, and after some confusion over country codes, he managed to call the office. After a few rings, a young woman picked up the phone and asked him who he was trying to contact.

"Could you put me in touch with Miles Edgeworth?" Teru asked.

---

After holding for some time and listening to annoying American music (apparently, someone was 'bringing sexy back', whatever that meant), the line clicked back on and a young man spoke. "What is it?"

"Ah... Edgeworth? I'm Mikami Teru, of Japan. I'm a prosecutor, and I'm apparently going to be opposing Phoenix Wright in court, so I was looking for your advice."

If it was possible, the voice got even colder. "...Don't mention that name to me."

Teru raised an eyebrow, although he knew Edgeworth wouldn't see it. "Why?"

"Because I hate the man!" The voice was a little louder now. "I hate how he wins despite not thinking at all, and I hate how he screams in court and is constantly in danger of being dragged out, and I hate how he makes the trials into some sort of theatric spectacle, and I hate how good his hair looks, and I hate how much he cares about me, and -"

They were going into territory that Teru was rather frightened of at this point, so he cut Edgeworth off. "I apologize if I've brought back painful memories, sir. But could you at least fax over the transcripts of your cases, if you have them available?"

"...I'll get Meekins to do it." The phone line went dead.

Teru stared at the receiver for a moment. "...American legal cases must be very strange."


A/N: I think I'll be using this bottom author's note for previews of the next chapter. Therefore, here we go.

Going back in time a little, we'll cover just how an American lawyer got assigned to a Japanese case – the desperation that lead Raito to heed Gumshoe's advice about legal matters. (Obviously, he's very desperate.) But not even Phoenix is sure he can handle this case, so he calls an old friend for help she's provided before. However, the results aren't as expected, and one of Raito's enemies makes an unexpected return...

Look for Chapter Five, Patron of Hopeless Cases, soon! Not coming to any theaters anywhere near where you are!

(And feel free to review, everyone. I won't cry at negative reviews. Much.)