Apollo Justice: Crossover Attorney
Case 2: Love Turnabout
Part 1
Someone walks up stairs, slowly and tiredly. At the top of the stairs, is a large, oriental building of Japanese style. Unbeknownst to the person, someone else waits at the top of the stairs, just behind the entrance to the building. The second person is gripping something, and is trembling.
This is it! No more! For too long I've stood by and let this happen. But no more…
The person arrives at the top of the stairs and the second prepares to lunge.
You will pay for how you are!
The second person lunges and the scene ends. Multiple flashes play, showing that the item is swung again and again. The item connects every time with a 'CONK!' until finally the attacker stops.
Oh no… WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?
Blood drips down from the victim's head and onto the grass below. Just beyond the dripping of the blood was a woman with light brown hair that grew to the middle of her back. She was in casual clothes and her face is stained with tears pouring from her eyes.
'Kietaro… No…'
October 4th, 3:36 p.m.
Wright Anything Agency
Alias tapped his foot impatiently while Apollo sat at the couch, going over some files.
"She can't really take this long just to get home…" the former muttered.
"Just hold on Mr. Alias. She'll be here soon."
"I just got off the phone with the Wonder Bar," Phoenix called out from the other side of the room. "Trucy's clear for the investigation."
"What investigation?" Trucy asked, suddenly beside Alias.
His heart lurched as he backed off a bit, the surprise evident on his face. "How'd you get here? … And for that matter, why didn't you use a smokescreen effect?"
"Well, secondly, it was funnier to see your face like that. As for how, a magician never reveals her secrets!" she joked with a tip of her hat. She giggled in response to his glare. "So, what investigation are you guys talking about?"
"Another case Mr. Alias has prepared for us," Apollo answered, laying a few pictures out on the table. The first picture was of the woman in our intro and the second was a rather average looking man with large glasses, black hair, Japanese ethnicity, and a kind aura. "Naru Urashima is accused of attacking her husband, Keitaro Urashima. Kind of like last month with Sakura's case."
"We've been waiting for you to come home so you two can begin investigating. And now that you're here, I'll go to the Gummi Ship and warm it up. When you two are finished with any preparations, we'll take off." With that, Alias left the office.
"Alright, everything's already taken care of Daddy?"
Phoenix hummed the affirmative. "Your show's canceled and rescheduled for next week."
"Alright! Are you ready Polly?"
Apollo nodded as he gathered the information into the Court Record. "Alias says he'll bring us back at 6 o'clock. We better hurry."
3:41 p.m.
'The Star' Gummi Ship
The inside of the ship was both luxurious and high-tech. Trucy gazed out the window at the dimensional cosmos, just as fascinated as the first time. Apollo tried not to look out and instigate his vertigo. Alias was calmly at the gunner seat, shooting any and all asteroids floating by out of boredom.
"So, Mr. Alias…" Apollo spoke, itching to break the silence.
"Please Apollo," Alias interrupted while backing out of the gunner seat. "No need for such formalities outside of the courthouse. Just Alias will do."
"Very well then. Alias, if you don't mind me asking, how did you catch wind of this crime? I mean, other worlds seem kind of out of one's jurisdiction."
"For most general crimes, yes. However, many places and governments, including the village that Sakura was from and the local government of your next case, have a form of an allegiance with my world. As such, should I see the situation fit, my world's forces may lead the investigation."
"And how exactly do you see a situation to be fit?"
Alias's face became solemn. "For this case, the victim and his friends are friends of mine. Knowing that one of them supposedly snapped and attacked Keitaro, I can't passively sit and watch it play out as is. I had to play a hand."
"And just how do you know them?"
Alias remained silent as a familiar pulse shot through Apollo. His vision sharpened to see Alias fondle his right hand, rubbing it, as if expecting his fingers to slide through his flesh.
"Apollo, with all due respect, I actually rather not talk of the matter. Just know that at first, I wasn't on good terms with many of them."
Apollo decided to let it go just as a repeating beep sounded over the intercom system.
"We've arrived," Alias announced. "Talk to Mrs. Urashima as long as you wish and come back when you're ready to go to the crime scene."
Apollo only nodded while Trucy chirped in an 'Okay!' on their way out the door.
3:46 p.m.
Alpha Prison Detention Branch
Visitor's Room
Apollo and Trucy sat down at the chairs as the woman from our intro was seated at the other side. The woman still had streaks from her tears on her face and couldn't seem to look them in the eye.
"So," she finally, albeit quietly muttered, "you're the lawyer Alias stuck me with…"
"Yes. I am Apollo Justice and this is my assistant, Trucy Wright."
"Hiya!" the magician greeted. "And you must be Naru Urashima."
Naru's eyes threw on a glare to the floor. "Don't call me that."
"Huh?" Trucy asked.
"Urashima. Don't call me that."
"But, isn't that your name?" the youth wondered.
"Yeah… but I don't deserve it."
Apollo raised an eyebrow at this. "What makes you think that? It's not like you killed him, right?"
"Yeah, but I might as well have," Naru seethed, a couple of more tears already trickling down her cheeks.
An awkward silence settled in before Apollo decided to progress. "Well then, why don't you tell us about you and the victim-… uh, I mean husband!"
Naru wiped her eyes. "Keitaro is a good man. Not a single bad bone in his body. Though plenty of perverted ones if you ask me. He's the manager at the all girl's dorm we live in, the Hinata Sou."
'A male in charge of an all girl's dormitory? Why does that sound a little suspicious?' Apollo couldn't help but think.
"I know what you're thinking," Naru continued. "A guy in charge of an all-girl's dorm? Actually, it's only because it was passed down to him by his grandmother, our previous landlord. We always called her Granny Hina. At first, he didn't fit well. We caught him doing so many perverted things to us. I'm surprised we never kicked him out."
Her look then hardened again. "Of course, looking back on it all, I can't deny that they were all accidents. Yet we still blew him into Earth's lower atmosphere every day."
Apollo's face twitched a little bit while Trucy just took it all in with curiosity. "But the two of you ended up married anyways, right? So he must've charmed you a little bit."
Naru clenched her fists around herself. "Sure. All it took was about six years or so with many times of almost breaking up. But yeah, that little pervert wormed his into my heart."
Apollo poked his forehead in confusion. "Sounds like the relationship was shaky."
"Well, kinda…" Naru admitted. "He still would have his little accidents and we still would knock him a couple of miles from the house. But he still would always come back with an apology…"
Here, Naru's look hardened again and she drew her knees onto her seat, burying her face in them. "Even though we were the ones to apologize…"
Apollo flinched at the sight and decided to move to a different subject. "So, just what exactly happened to him?"
"Well," Naru sniffed, "we had a regular morning and at around eleven, he left the dorm to walk for a bit. We waited for him till about one when we decided to go look for him since he didn't usually take this long to come back. We search for an hour or so… and then I left early. I came home at around 2:30 and used the hot springs till the others came home at three. Soon it was seven; dinner was finished and he still hadn't come back. I went outside to clear my head of worry, when I found him." Naru released more tears as she recalled the memory. "He was strung up in a tree, a short way off of the stairs. He was bleeding so much… I thought that I-"
She stopped suddenly, perking Apollo's interest. Naru continued before he could think too much about it. "I called everyone to the scene and called the police. Alias came instead and his people carted him away to a hospital. After that, we heard that apparently someone attacked him! It was around midnight when they arrested me, saying that I was the one who did it…"
The three were silent until Apollo decided to ask a question that was nagging at him in his mind. "Do you know how Alias caught wind of it?"
Naru nodded. "Su, one of the other girls at the dorm, apparently called him just before I called the police, so he was ready to convince the police to let him work."
Apollo took all of this in, already making leads and ideas. "One last question. It doesn't really apply to the case but,"
"Then why ask?" Naru spat with a critical glare. "Just go. I have nothing left to say."
Apollo released his breath from shock as she left the room, escorted by what looked to be a robot. Trucy tapped her chin in thought. "Hey, Polly, what were you going to ask her?"
"I was going to ask how they knew Alias since he didn't seem willing to tell. But for now, I guess we'll just have to ask the other inmates when we get there. Let's get going."
3:58 p.m.
Hinata Sou
Entrance Steps
"Here we are," Alias announced as the three exited onto the world. "The inn is just up these steps. My forces are still doing last investigations at the crime scene, so just follow them and you'll find the tree."
Trucy gazed around in wonder of the Japanese setting. Apollo, however, was grimacing at the height of the stairway leading up to the inn. "Couldn't you've dropped us off a little closer?"
The child shrugged. "Eh, I don't control where the save points are. Now, the tenants are being held up there for the sake of questioning, so be careful."
"Careful? Careful of what?" the lawyer asked.
"Oh, mechanical behemoths, a seasoned warrior capable of decapitating anyone at fifty yards, you know, the usual stuff of anime and manga!" Alias answered with a far too cheerful look.
Apollo was gaping when suddenly something slammed into his head.
"YEOWCH!"
"MYUUUU!"
As he rose, rubbing the new bump on his head, his vision cleared to see a turtle doing a similar thing. The turtle was yellow with flippers and a green shell. And it was floating. About six feet off of the ground. Naturally, he was shocked.
"What on-"
"There you are!" a new, female voice shouted. The turtle looked behind it and 'screamed' before flying off to the inn. The girl arrived of dark skin, blonde hair, mischievous eyes, and hunter attire. "Get back here! I know you know something and I'm gonna find out what dammit!"
"SU!" Alias spat. "What did I tell you about your language?"
"Translate it into English or Japanese before speaking, I know" she dismissed with a wave of her hand.
"No, the other thing," he sighed while rolling his eyes.
"Oh, you mean no cuss words…" she trailed off as she seemed to finally register who she was talking to. "…Captain!" she greeted with a salute. "It's been too long!"
"Excuse me, but who's this?" Apollo finally just had to ask.
"Who, me? Well, I'm Kaolla Su! Princess of the Kingdom of Molmol! But just who are you?"
"He's Apollo Justice and she's Trucy Wright," Alias introduced. "They're Naru's defense in court."
"Oh? Then you can help me!" Su perked up, getting too close into Apollo's face. "Ya saw that flying turtle just now?"
"Kind of hard not to notice a flying turtle…" Trucy answered.
"Well that's Tama-chan, the flying hot springs turtle of the Hinata Sou! I don't know how, but I just know that she saw something with Keitaro's attack, and I'm gonna find out what!"
"…WHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?" Apollo shouted. "That turtle could be a witness?"
"Meh," Alias added with a shrug. "Tama-chan is smarter than most turtles. It wouldn't surprise me."
Apollo gave a deadpan stare. "And what if it actually is summoned as a witness? How am I supposed to cross examine a turtle?"
"That'd be kinda funny actually!" Trucy giggled.
"Wouldn't be too hard. Phoenix had to do the same with a regular parrot…" Alias retorted.
Apollo blinked. He didn't recall any of Mr. Wright's trials involving a parrot on the stand…
"Say, Captain?" Su spoke. "After this all blows over and Kei-kun is healed, can we go on another adventure? Or does Ema still have the Black Tama-MMMRRRPPhhhhh?"
Needless to say, Apollo was concerned not only with that slip of the tongue but also with how tightly Alias was clamping the girl's mouth shut. The author looked to the defense team with a nervous smile and a sweatdrop.
"Listen, while me and Su catch up on old times, why don't you two start your investigation? Later!"
The two only watched as he dragged Su away whispering to her about getting a banana split at a parlor.
"Well, at least we already have a lead!" Trucy chirped.
"…Well, let's take a look at the crime scene first…"
4:08 p.m.
Hinata Sou
Crime Scene
The scene was a short ways off of the stairway, but you wouldn't have noticed it at first glance. Other than a small field of mud surrounding it, it seemed just a simple, blooming cherry blossom tree. At a distance, one could barely notice the dummy that was oddly placed amongst the limbs.
"Wow!" Trucy gasped. "What a beautiful tree!"
"So this is where Keitaro was attacked?" Apollo wondered, already scanning the scene.
"Not likely…" a new voice spoke.
The two were surprised by the newcomer and looked to see him, only to be all the more surprised. The voice was a little wispy, but masculine and deep. The figure was like nothing ever seen. The figure bore tattered, burlap pants with ropes at the ankles and waist. The shirt was grey and tattered with more ropes at the wrists. The sleeves were extended on the outside down to his knees. His head was covered in a black executioner's mask. All of the clothes were old and worn out with some holes. But the most unusual aspect was what filled the clothes. Neither hands nor feet stuck out of the sleeves. Instead, there was thick, blue smoke endlessly flowing out from inside. Some smoke had condensed, giving a vague image of hands and feet. The same smoke filtered out through the holes in the clothes and eyeholes in the mask.
"So then, you're the Apollo Justice that the Commander has been talking about lately I assume…"
"Uh, yes…" he answered with a twinge of fear. "And… uh, just who… or actually what are you?"
"I am Allos Armada Product no. 22: Death" Death introduced with a bow. "As for what I am, just a little bit short of a human soul."
"So, you're like a ghost?" Trucy asked, more with amazement than fright.
"I believe the term 'spirit' would be more accurate, but yes, I suppose…"
"……… Cool!"
Sensing no ill intent from the… spirit, Apollo composed himself. "And just what are you doing here?"
"I am serving as the head detective in this case."
Apollo mentally winced. 'Well, that was a spectacular way to get friendly with someone who can boot you away from where you need to be…'
"Oh, great! Then you'll let us investigate for the trial tomorrow?" Trucy asked.
Apollo panicked, knowing the normal answer back home would be no, but…
"Yes, of course. You just have to remain under my supervision and anything new you find must be registered to me as well." Apollo's confused face belied his surprise. Death saw this and chuckled. "The Commander believes it never hurts to have another perspective look over the scene. One never knows if they come across something that's missed."
A moment silence later Apollo just shrugged and went under the familiar yellow tape line. He kept a safe distance from the mud surrounding the tree, its glistening quality confirming that it was still wet and susceptible to being altered. He looked up to see the dummy placed in the tree. "Is that how the victim was discovered?"
"Yes, it was," Death answered, pulling a file out of his Organizer. "Keitaro Urashima was discovered brutally beaten. It was confirmed that he was bludgeoned repeatedly with a blunt object around 2:15 p.m. local time. It has caused severe internal bleeding, concussion, a fractured skull, and even splitting of the skin."
"Oh man…" Trucy gasped. "How did he even survive?"
"That's one of the first things you'll learn of Keitaro: he has an unusual healing ability. Things that would kill any normal person would just leave him bleeding and flying through the sky from the force, which would heal only moments later" Death spoke in an amused tone.
Apollo couldn't help but feel a parallelism between this and the Haruno case. "Just how exactly does he survive?"
"No one knows really," Death shrugged. "Not even close family or him himself. However, it isn't limitless and the attack is definitely testing those limits. He's resting in a hospital right now under Dr. Elation's expert care. This report is what he's gathered so far from his injuries."
Keitaro's Medical Report added to the Court Record.
"Do you know what the weapon is yet?" Apollo continued.
"Yes," Death responded pulling out a large frying pan held in a large bag. "This frying pan has been confirmed to be the murder weapon. It yields unnatural amounts of blood all over it. It was washed away but confirmed with a Luminol test. Furthermore, the suspect's fingerprints are on the handle in a grip."
Frying Pan added to the Court Record.
Apollo flinched at the incriminating evidence. Trucy sighed. "Off to a great start as usual…"
Apollo looked back at the scene in confusion as he realized something. "So, how do you know that this isn't the true crime scene?"
"For one thing, there's no sign of blood around here from the attack. Nor anywhere for that matter, so we're still looking. Aside from that, you can notice the tracks in the mud there."
Apollo knelt down to see a large trail of something being dragged. On top of that trail was a trail of footsteps leading backwards to the tree and then leaving. Along side the leaving trail was another trail but with significantly smaller shoes.
"The large sweep you can see is the culprit dragging the victim's body to the tree. This suggests that the culprit dragged him from where the real crime scene was. The mess of mud found on the back of the victim's pants confirms it."
"So these tracks on the body's trail belong to the culprit?" Apollo asked.
"That's the assumption…"
'Hmmm… call me crazy but something doesn't seem right with the tracks…'
Footprints added to the Court Record.
"What about the smaller trail that leads away from the tree?" Apollo asked.
"We still don't know," Death admitted. "The suspect's shoes were caked with mud, so the second pair should be the same. However, we've yet to find such another pair."
Apollo looked sternly over the scene. One couldn't tell too much of anything from the scene alone. "Was there anything else of notice? Anything odd?"
"Yes actually," Death answered, pulling out a small bag. In it, Apollo could see a small patch of something pink in color. "This patch of fabric was amongst the twigs of the tree with matching fibers left on the victim's person. We believe this to be from form of clothing used by the culprit to disguise fingerprints while moving the body."
Apollo was even more confused now. 'But, that doesn't make any sense!'
Fabric added to the Court Record.
"That's all that we've found," Death finished.
Apollo poked his head, mulling over the information. "Do you have any witnesses?"
"None yet. It was corroborated by each other that the girls had gone out to search for the victim, but the suspect is the only one thus far who has admitted to being at the inn around the time of assault."
Apollo blinked. "But Mrs. Urashim-… uh, I mean, Ms. Naru said she came home at 2:30, fifteen minutes after the report states that Keitaro was attacked!"
Death nodded. "So she testifies, but the scrapes retained from being dragged to the tree determine that he was placed at around 2:30."
Apollo grimaced.
"Hmph. Perhaps it may be adequate to you, but there still are many unaccounted aspects to the case. It's driving Miss Nastasia's temper…"
'Oh, so she'll be the prosecutor again…'
"Oh, you mean that blue lady from Sakura's trial?" Trucy asked. "I've been wondering, what is she like?"
Death seemed to ponder on the matter before responding. "It's hard to say. She first appeared in the Commander's world as the defendant for a trial. As for her full history, she has only disclosed it to the Commander himself."
"Who's this 'Commander' you keep mentioning?"
"My term for the judge of your trial."
"So, Alias? Why don't you just call him that?" Trucy wondered.
"I cannot seem to refer to him as anything else. It's practically my nature. But it doesn't matter. Are you finished with your investigation? There's nothing else I have to show you."
Apollo nodded. "I suppose that'll be enough for now. Thank you… uh, Mr. Death…"
Death only nodded back as the two left.
4:36 p.m.
Hinata Sou
Main Entrance
"Hmmm. Such an interesting spirit…" Trucy wisped. "So, what now?"
"I'm not sure," Apollo admitted. "Perhaps we could ask the tenants here about the victim's leaving. Maybe we'll find something like a new lead…"
"Myuh, myuh, myu!" a familiar voice panted. They turned to see a tired Tama-chan floating up the steps, a grocery bag in her left flipper. She drifted to the floor, catching her breath, and instantly Trucy's eyes widened while shining like stars.
"Awe! It's the kawaii turtle again!"
Apollo quivered an eyebrow. "Kawaii? What's kawaii?"
"Oh, it means cute. I hear it all the time with Japanese stuff."
Off in the distance, a bugle suddenly trumpeted, catching the attention of all three. Tama-chan floated back up in the air with a sigh but then seemed to stare at Apollo. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of shoes, shoving them into his hands. And with that, flew off into the inn.
Shoes forcibly placed into the Court Record.
Their curious looks only continued as suddenly Su rushed by, dressed in British aristocrat attire and still blowing a bugle. As she disappeared into the inn, Alias finally dragged himself onto the top step, wheezing.
"Blasted Ritalin girl. She can solve the world's energy crisis being so hyper…" he sputtered, conjuring a thermos bottle of water and taking deep quaffs.
"Hmm. Seems you couldn't 'catch up' with her, huh?" Trucy joked.
"Oh, pipe down…" he commanded, belittled by raspy voice. "Listen, while I'm here, I'm letting you know now that I'll have to take you guys back home at about six. Just meet me back at the entrance steps when you're ready. Now if you don't mind, I need some rest."
He then opened a portal of light blue pixels and fell through, too tired to even get up. Trucy was bedazzled again as the portal closed behind him."Wow! You know, he could pass himself off as a magician with that!"
Apollo just sighed. "Never mind him. What about these?"
Trucy examined the shoes handed to them by Tama-chan. "Hmm… they look small… and the bottoms are covered in mud!"
The thought clicked quickly in their minds. "Could these be from the second set of tracks at the crime scene?"
Apollo grinned. "Then maybe we can find who they belong to. We may have just found our lead!"
4:40 p.m.
Hinata Sou
Kitchen
The kitchen was quaint. It was a decent size with a large table outfitted with a few cushions. But that was not the first thing you would notice about the room.
"……Wh-…why is the wall over there shattered?" Apollo stammered.
"That can't be good for the guests!" Trucy gaped.
"Yeah, but after a few years you'd get used to it…" a meek female voice spoke. Turning to see her, she was cooking something at the stove with yellow oven mitts. She had blue hair in a ponytail and a kind air about her. "So, welcome to the Hinata Sou! Are you here for a room? If so, this is actually kind of a bad time…"
"Uh, no Miss. We're here investigating for Ms. Naru's trial."
"Oh," the girl mused, her eyes clouding a bit as she saw to the Crockpot on the burner.
A moment of silence held, broken by Trucy clearing her throat. "So, you are…?"
"Oh! Forgive my manners! I haven't been all there since it… happened. My name is Shinobu Maehara. Pleasure to meet you!" she answered with a bow.
"Hello Shinobu! I'm Trucy, and this Apollo," Trucy chirped. "So, you live here then?"
"Yes, for a few years now…" the bluenette answered, her focus more on the stew in the pot.
By this point, Apollo noticed the enticing aroma of the tenant's cooking. "You cook?"
"Mm-hmm!" she hummed to the affirmative. "It's more or less my payment for rent."
"Mmmm! Smells good!" the magician spoke, looking at the dish.
"So, what exactly caused that?" Apollo asked, referring to the gaping hole.
"Oh, Sempai…" Shinobu drifted.
"Who?" he asked.
"Keitaro-kun," she answered with sad eyes. "Naru knocked him out of the house again."
The two boggled at the statement. Way too much information from one simple sentence.
"Wait, you mean, Miss Naru did that? With the victim?!?"
"Yes," she said, her stirring slowed. "It's been like this from day one really…"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Trucy asked with a sense of foreboding.
"Sempai is rather… clumsy," she began. "He would accidently get into… incriminating situations. Naru's usual response is to punch him so hard it would send him flying out of the house."
Apollo's lip twitched as he glanced back at the hole.
"You know, that was the last time we saw Sempai…"
"What?"
"He got into another accident and Naru punched him, causing that hole. That was the last time we saw him until we found him in the tree…"
Apollo and Trucy looked at each other and their voices dropped to a whisper.
"You know what that means don't you?" he began.
"Yeah. Naru lied to us! But why would she lie about this?"
"I don't know, but we'll have to confront her about this…"
Giant Hole added to the Court Record.
"Excuse me?" Shinobu called. "Are you going to look around the inn more?"
Apollo gave a quick glance around the room, not seeing anything that stuck out. "I suppose so."
"Than can you do me a favor when you get the chance? I seemed to have lost a couple of things from yesterday and I can't seem to find them. If you do, can you give them back to me?"
"Well sure! What are they?" Trucy asked.
"A pair of oven mitts, pink. They're my favorite to use. I don't know where they could've gone since I always keep them here in the kitchen. The second is a Keitaro Tracker."
"…A… what?" he asked in confusion.
"A Keitaro Tracker," Shinobu answered. "My friend, Su, made them to search for Sempai. We all had one when we went to look for him the other day. It has been missing after I came home though. Su noticed that it was, so it's still around somewhere…"
"Alright, consider them found!" Trucy cheered.
"And, one more thing…" Shinobu whispered. "If you get any news on Sempai's condition, please, let me know!"
Apollo nodded. "Alright. We will. Come on Trucy, let's go."
4:58 p.m.
Hinata Sou
Landlord's Room
"Hmm… who's room is this?" Trucy asked.
"Well, there's two futons next together, that closet over there has both men's and women's clothes, it's probably Ms. Naru and the victim's room."
"Do you think we'll find anything in here?" she wondered, already skimming through some things on a table.
"We won't know until we look," he figured.
They both went through the room, eyes scanning for anything. Trucy was leafing through the clothes while Apollo checked around the bed. There didn't seem to be any sign of anything except a small box.
'Hm? Now what's this?'
He got his answer when he opened it and then immediately closed it with a large blush. Needless to say, he wasn't going to let Trucy look at it.
'Dear God, I don't even know what some of those were!'
"Hey Polly! Take a look at this!"
He quickly fought down his blush and came over to her. She was going through what seemed to be a notebook.
"It's signed in the back by the victim. Looks like he had a talent of sketching."
Apollo's eyebrow quivered. "Really?"
"Really! Just look at this!"
She showed a colored drawing, dated a few years ago. It showed Naru sitting on a grassy knoll, the wind blowing her hair. She had a small smile as she gazed off beyond.
"Hmm! These are pretty good!" he complimented.
Each page had a different sketch, all with a new person. Most were of Naru, others Shinobu, and even some of Su. There were others that they didn't recognize like a top heavy brunette, a raven haired swordswoman, a sandy haired girl with mischievous and squinted eyes, and there was even a self portrait.
"You think these girls are the other tenants?" he finally asked.
"Probably. Though I wonder if he would do a picture of me," she mused as she placed the sketchbook back. Her eyes widened as something on the desk caught her eye. "Polly! Look at this!"
It was a photo, perfectly framed. Inside the photo was an answer to his nagging question. It was shot on a boat that was black in color. There was the victim, Naru, Su, Shinobu, even Alias! They were amongst a large collection of people, but most curious of all, they were all decked in pirate attire.
"Wow! Was it a costume party or something?" Trucy gasped.
"I guess that explains Su calling Alias 'Captain'. Perhaps this is what he was trying to hide?"
Pirate Photo added to the Court Record.
"Excuse me, but what are you doing here?" a cold, female voice asked.
The two shivered at the voice's intensity and turned to face the woman. She was undoubtedly the same black haired woman from the sketchbook, if the sword she was ready to pull out at a moment's notice was any indication.
"W-we're here investigating for Ms. Naru's trial…" he stammered.
"Really now?" the woman whispered. She then closed her eyes and released her grasp of her sword's hilt. "I suppose I can permit this then… for now. What are your names?"
"I-… I'm Apollo Justice, and this is Trucy Wright," he answered. 'Man! Just standing near her makes me feel like I'm on trial!'
The woman nodded in greeting. "Hello Justice-san. I am Motoko Ayoma."
"You live here too I take it?" Trucy asked.
"Yes," Motoko replied. "I've lived here for quite some time. Has there been any progress in your search?"
"…Not really," he admitted. "We're only finding more questions with no answers to tie them together."
"I wouldn't be surprised. Naru probably did it herself."
"WHAT?!?!?" Trucy gasped, shocked. "But isn't she your friend?"
"Perhaps, but Naru has always had a temper in her and it hasn't seemed to have shrank over the years. It probably has built up to the point where she couldn't handle it anymore. After all, she did seem angrier than usual yesterday when she knocked Keitaro into town."
"Speaking of which, what is the story behind that?" Apollo asked.
"Keitaro had another accident. It's actually pretty common. This time however, even we could see that it was purely an accident. He slipped on a rolling pin and unintentionally ended up in a pile with the rest of us. From an outside perspective, it seemed like he was molesting all of us at the same time. Then Naru came into the kitchen to see us all and automatically assumed he was assaulting us. She went into such a fury that she punched him, harder than usual come to think of it."
"And then after that, you all waited for him to return?" he questioned.
"Yes. However, when he didn't return by one o'clock, we decided to go look for him. Usually it only takes him an hour to return. But two had passed, so we decided to search for him."
"And that's where these 'Keitaro Trackers' come in?" Trucy spoke.
"Yes. Su made them to hunt him down for whatever reason. It only works for so far a range though. They read that he was in town, but when we got there he had gone off the radar."
"Ms. Naru said that she quit searching at around 2:30. Can anyone confirm it?" he asked.
"Yes, we all can. She called all of us to let us know that she was going home."
'Which doesn't help the case at all…' he thought. "So, after that?"
"We all arrived back home at three after we gave up searching for him. Naru had supposedly just finished with a bath in the hot springs. We all stayed home until after dinner when Naru went out for a walk at about seven. Shortly after she left, she screamed. Rather loudly, considering the distance. We all ran out to her and found her kneeling on the ground, looking up at Keitaro in the tree."
'Which matches everything Ms. Naru said, except of course for her attacking the victim…' Apollo concluded. He nodded once in conclusion. "Thank you Ms. Ayoma. We're finished here."
Motoko only nodded back in reply. "Glad to be of service Justice-san. Now if you don't mind, I must be going." And thus, she left without another word.
"So, where does this leave us now?" Trucy pondered.
"We know the real circumstances to the victim's leaving, Ms. Naru admits to going home in time to incriminate her but denies the charges, we have a picture of her, the victim, and Alias together and… that's about it," Apollo surmised. 'Other than those odd facts at the crime scene…'
"So, what now? We confront Naru about her hitting him?"
"It's the only thing we have left to us…" he muttered as he left the room.
5:29 p.m.
Alpha Prison Detention Branch
Visitor's Room
The two were seated in front of Naru again. The tear marks have faded a great deal and she seems more composed.
"So, any luck?" she asked of her defense.
"… Not really," Apollo admitted while scratching his head, his horns popping back up from his hand. "But we do have some more questions for you."
"Such as?"
Apollo answered by pulling out the Giant Hole evidence. "We've heard what really happened from Ms. Maehara and Ms. Ayoma. Why didn't you tell us about it?"
Naru flinched at his glare and her eyes fell to the floor. "It's bad enough that I'm suspected for attacking him, isn't it?"
"Still, you should tell us these things!" Trucy scolded. "How're we supposed to trust you when you don't tell us the truth?"
Naru flinched again and then sighed. "Yeah, I'm the real reason he took off. When I knocked him out of here, everybody hounded on me, saying that he was innocent. Course, I thought it didn't matter. When he took too long, we went out to find him. But, they didn't let me forget about it. That's why I panicked when I found Keitaro. Being tangled in that tree… I … I honestly thought my punch landed him there."
"Which is why you also felt so guilty before," Apollo figured. She nodded and they all fell into a moment of silence. Deciding to press on, he pulled out the Pirate Photo. "Can you tell us the story behind this?"
Naru looked surprised. "Where did you get that?"
"In your room. We found it on the desk there and we wanted to-"
"What else did you find in there?" she asked, her voice suddenly turning demonic and capable of having a seasoned martial art expert wet their pants.
Apollo panicked, already making the connection with the box he found before. He answered by zipping his lips, locking them, and throwing away the key.
"Polly, what's she talking about?" Trucy asked innocently.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Apollo squeaked in fear.
Naru eyed Trucy's ignorance and Apollo's fear before huffing with a pout. "Fine. I'll let it go… for now."
Apollo sighed in relief while Trucy tugged his sleeve. "Polly! What's she talking about?"
"Never you mind!" he whispered sharply. "Now, about the picture?"
"Ah, yeah. That. Well, have you ever heard of Fanfiction?"
"…No."
"I have!" Trucy beamed.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Basically it's when people write stories about things like TV shows and video games to have people read. I read some Steel Samurai Fanfiction once in a while!"
"Well, it's a little bit larger than that," Naru interrupted. "It actually temporarily alters the world of the story when a Fanfiction is made. Some people like Alias discovered this and manipulated the power to constantly travel through all kinds of dimensions."
"So then, this picture came from a Fanfiction he did of you?" Apollo figured, eyeing the photo.
"Yeah. It was how we met," she answered, her eyes hazing with the memories. "He's caused us a great deal of trouble in the past, but he kinda made it up to us. When it was all over, we took that photo to commemorate the end of it."
"Wow!" Trucy gasped. "Going to other worlds, having all kinds of adventures, what a life!"
Pirate Photo updated.
"Heh, sure, it sounds exciting, but it did cost him his life at one point…" Naru chuckled.
Apollo wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, but he decided that it didn't matter at the moment. "Thanks for your honesty Ms. Naru. We'll be going back now."
"Uh, wait! Before you go…" she pleaded. He stopped with a quizzical look as she donned an embarrassed demeanor. "While you're out there, can you find something for me?"
'Being asked out of the blue to find things for everyone… where does this seem familiar?' "Sure, what is it?"
"My ring…" she muttered. "Before I left back for the Sou, I got so angry at Keitaro that I flung my wedding ring to the ground. I regret it. I don't know if anyone's found it yet, but can you please get it back for me?"
Apollo hesitated in answering, but it was covered by Trucy's reply. "Sure! Consider it found!"
Naru smiled lightly with some comfort in her eyes. "Thank you."
"Come on Polly!" Trucy said as she dragged him out the door. "We've got a ring to find!"
Sigh…
5:46 p.m.
Pawn Shop
Trucy whined in her throat as the two entered the store in the market near the inn. Apollo looked grim as he constantly looked at his watch.
"Man! You'd think a simple ring would easier to find in a small town…" Trucy muttered.
"Trucy, it's a ring," Apollo argued. "It's a bit too small to be found in town just by looking. Besides, we don't have much time! Alias is going to be taking us back in about ten minutes!"
"So? It isn't like we had any other leads in our case to follow," she countered. "Besides, it's worth looking for, isn't it?"
"Alright, alright," he surrendered. "We'll check this place out. But once we're done we head back, okay?" He walked up to the counter of the store and rang a small bell that rested on the desk. "Excuse me?"
"Yes sir, may I help you?" The man who answered seemed to be about Keitaro's age had long, braided hair, wore glasses, and was somewhat portly. Guess his name!
"Yes, we're looking for a ring someone lost the other day. A wedding ring?" Apollo asked.
"Well, I someone did find a ring yesterday and sold it to me. They said they found it on the ground. It was a beauty too!"
"Hmm, 'was'? Let me guess, you've already sold it off?"
"Yep. A young woman came in today and traded in a similar ring for it. They seemed the same to me, so I figured it was an acceptable trade. Plus…" at this point a small blush broke out, "she was pretty cute and she seemed desperate to get it."
"So we're too late…" Apollo muttered.
Trucy, however, seemed more intrigued. "Can we see it?"
The cashier pulled out the ring in question. It was simple and gold with writing on the inside. It was written in Kanji, but for the sake of this story, the universal language law of Star Trek applies. The translation read 'Bound by a promise, now together forever. K+N'
Trucy tapped her chin in thought until a smile donned her face. "Hey, Polly! Buy the ring."
"………What?"
"Just do it! Something tells me it'll be very important later on."
"Uh, excuse me," the cashier interrupted. "I may have let the girl earlier slide, but I won't do the same for you. I'm afraid you'll have to pay the full price."
"Don't worry, I don't plan to," Apollo assured.
When he turned to leave though, he came face to face with an angry Trucy who had puffed her cheeks and glared. They stood there in a stare down for a moment until he sadly turned to the cashier and pulled out his already thin wallet with a sob.
Ring added to the Court Record.
Back home, Phoenix shivered, sensing that he was being unnaturally emulated somehow by someone.
6:25 p.m.
'The Star' Gummi Ship
The ship flew in silence on the way back after Alias arrived to pick them up. They would've indulged in conversation with their pilot, but he had expressed a desire to remain neutral in court so he had to be separate from them. This was perfectly fine with Apollo as he wanted to think over the evidence.
'…Things just don't add up. Naru's secrecy, the lack of a crime scene, the evidence found at the tree… I have an idea how this ties together, but to what end? What does it all mean? And the ring, it isn't even the one we promised to get, but I can't shake this feeling that it's important. I guess we'll just have to wait for the trial tomorrow.'
They shot on back home, worries and curiosities in the case running high. It would only be topped later on that night when Trucy would try the ring on at home, telling Phoenix how Apollo got it for her. She would not understand why he fainted then.
Court Record:
Keitaro's Medical Report: Type- Report. Received from Death. Beaten multiple times with blunt object. Estimated time of attack: 2:15 p.m.
Frying Pan: Type- Weapon. Received from Death. Determined to be the murder weapon. Large traces of washed blood. Has Naru's prints.
Footprints: Type- Evidence. Received from Death. Shows the culprit having dragged the victim to the tree. Second set yet to be identified.
Fabric: Type- Evidence. Received from Death. Suggests culprit used something when dragging the victim to not leave fingerprints.
Shoes: Type- Evidence. Received from Tama-chan. Muddy shoes. Owner unknown. Perhaps from the second set of footprints?
Giant Hole: Type- Other. Retrieved from the Kitchen. Made by Naru from punching the victim out of the house at 11 a.m.
Pirate Photo: Type- Photographs. Retrieved from the Landlord's Room. Photo showing the friendship of Naru, Su, the victim, and Alias. Taken from a pirate Fanfiction.
Ring: Type- Other. Received from cashier. A ring traded for Naru's wedding ring by some girl. 'Bound by a promise, now together forever. K+N' is inscribed inside.
Profiles:
Naru Urashima: Age- 28. Gender- Female. Defendant and wife to victim. A Tokyo University graduate with a short temper and mean punch.
Keitaro Urashima: Age- 31. Gender- Male. Victim and husband to defendant. Landlord of Hinata Sou. Currently in critical condition.
Tama-chan: Age- ??. Gender- Female. Flying hot springs turtle. House pet. Seems to be as intelligent as a human.
Kaolla Su: Age- 25. Gender- Female. Tenant of Hinata Sou and friend to Alias. The hyperactive princess of the Molmol kingdom.
Shinobu Maehara: Age- 24. Gender- Female. Tenant and chef of Hinata Sou. Seems to be the only constantly friendly person to the victim at the inn.
Motoko Ayoma: Age- 26. Gender- Female. Tenant of Hinata Sou. Master of the God's Cry School and experienced swords woman. Is more popularly known to write raunchy romance novels.
The Unknown Alias's status: Signed out.
Date of Update: 4/17/2010
"OBJECTION! ... Go away!"