All That Counts

By: Aviantei

Chapter Five: Long Enough

Two Years Later

June 17, 2021, 11:43 AM

Prosecutor's Building, Lobby

Nora found herself growing impatient. It had been almost two hours since she had arrived at the Prosecutor's Building in Los Angeles, and she still hadn't been waited on by the aide at the front desk. She had been instructed to take a number upon walking in, and, having nine, figured that it wouldn't take too long for her needs to be met. However, they had only progressed up to seven by this point, and as optimistic as that sounded, her patience was running quite thin. It seemed police officers and detectives were too good to wait in line like the rest of civilians, making the progress even slower.

The woman blew a strand of hair out of her face, fingers of both hands tapping on the armrests in an uneven cadence. She hadn't been able to sleep during her flight, she was hungry, and her muscles were cramping, but she had already been yelled at for being "distracting" by the aide for trying to pace. She had considered taking a walk around the block, but she didn't trust her luggage in the lobby, and she'd probably lose her number, too.

All in all, Nora Heather-Blossom Southway found herself to be quite grumpy.

It wasn't like she had a large request, either. All she needed were some room numbers, Yumihiko's and Edgeworth's if the former wasn't there. Then she could be on her merry way as the aide wasted his time calling through various extensions as he was doing now.

Then again, the situation was almost her fault, when she considered it. Nora had left her cell phone back in England, but it had had to be done. She shook her head, sending the dyed locks everywhere. The colors had expanded from the natural blond and neon green to include a cerulean blue and slightly darker purple. At least her hair was firmly secure in a ponytail at the top of her head so she didn't have to fix the mess that would have resulted otherwise. Or maybe it was worse, seeing as that would have been a way to spend some time.

"Hey, Lady, what number are you?" Nora looked down to see a small boy that couldn't be older than six staring up at her. His black hair was messy, and it appeared that he was just as bored was she was. His t-shirt and shorts made it look as if he should be playing in a backyard under sprinklers as opposed to waiting in some lobby with poor service.

Nora smiled slightly, hoping maybe she could entertain the kid and make time pass quicker for both of them. "I'm number nine," she answered, doing her best to keep the bitterness out of her tone. "Why, what number are you?"

"Mommy and I are number eight!" he exclaimed, smiling. "Daddy's a witness right now and Mommy needs to talk to his posi-cute-er! But… it's taking really long, and I'm bored… so I made up a game! Wanna know how to play?" A game was as good as anything to pass the time, even if it would probably make no sense. Regardless, Nora nodded.

"Kay, listen careful, cause I'm only gonna tell you once! Here goes!" The boy stood up straight, putting his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest like some superhero. Nora was willing to bet he got the pose from his favorite cartoon character. "Your goal is to find the people with the numbers that are next to yours. When you do, you have to trade with them. But you can't trade the same numbers back and forth with the same people! You have to find someone else, or that's cheating. Whoever has the number when the man at the desk calls it, loses! Got it?"

Nora nodded once, concluding that the boy's mother probably had no idea that he had come up with such a game. "So, what number did you say you were again?" she asked, playing along. She had never really had much opportunity to play with kids.

"I'm number eight! And 'cause you're number nine, we have to trade!" He pulled the small number ticket out of his pocket and offered it out to Nora. Realizing that this would get her questions answered much faster, she grabbed her own slip off the table and traded them off. The boy grinned as he put his prize in his pocket. "Now you have to find number seven or wait until I'm not number nine anymore! I need to find number ten!"

"Daniel!" a woman's voice called, causing the boy to turn around. Nora assumed it was his mother and made sure the ticket was hidden away in the palm of her hand. "You shouldn't wander off too far with so many people. And don't bother strangers, either. I'm sorry if he caused any trouble, Miss."

Nora continued to smile. "None at all, Ma'am. He's a good kid." She gave a small wave as Daniel was led away by his mother to the other side of the room.

"Number eight, please, number eight," the aide finally called. Nora quickly glimpsed as the mother asked Daniel what number they had and her surprised expression when it wasn't what she was expecting. She didn't question it any further, though. Nora ignored her pang of guilt as she walked up to the desk. Daniel looked over at her and mouthed "You lose," a small grin on his face.

Despite that, Nora felt like she had just won the jackpot.

Nora quickly slipped the ticket onto the desk, not wanting to waste time on useless formalities. The aide smiled at her, and not very convincingly. She took a glimpse at his name plate (Kevin Smedley on cheap brass plating) for note later, to see if maybe Edgeworth could do something about his performance or salary. He had always been threatening that detective with the scruffy coat for pay cuts, if she recalled.

"Good afternoon, ma'am, how may I help you?"

"Could you tell me Prosecutor Ichiyanagi Yumihiko's room number?" Nora quickly asked, not bothering to return the formality. It was awkward enough referring to Yumi of all people with a title. Then again, using the nickname wasn't a very effective strategy, so she relented.

"Ichiyanagi? Hold on one minute, please." The aide turned to the computer to look up the information. The screen was at an angle where Nora couldn't read it very easily, but she noticed the aide was lacking in decent keyboard skills as well. "His office is in room 713, but he's out working on a case at the moment. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

She didn't fully expect the setback, although Nora had already considered the situation. "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth's room, then?" she tried. There was more typing on the computer from the aide, who shook his head afterwards.

"His is room 1202, but it seems as if he's out as well. Actually, it appears that they're working on the same case for the moment… Would you like me to take a message for you, ma'am?"

Now this was a problem Nora hadn't even thought was possible, let alone considered. She shook her head to the message, but thought for a few moments. "Is… Is it possible for you to tell me the location of the investigation?" she tried, almost doubting that it would work. "Yu-Prosecutor Ichiyanagi needs to discuss a job with me and of he's working on a case, my services are rather urgent. Prosecutor Edgeworth is interested as well, and it would be a shame if I couldn't help out."

The aide looked like he was going to say no at first—Probably because of my hair. Wanker—but the second she mentioned Edgeworth, he was back to the computer. A few seconds later she had a map of the city marked with the crime scene and other prudent locations ("If they're not there, they would be at the Police Department. At the least, someone can contact them much easier than I can."), as well as tips for the best bus to take, and even some restaurants in the area.

Edgeworth's a lot more impressive than I gave him credit for two years ago. Or rather, he has much more influence than I thought. I guess I get why Ema talks about him all the time, but not really. In any case, I wonder what Yumi's face will look like when I show up unexpectedly on his crime scene again.

It was all she could do not to run once she grabbed her suitcase and exited the building.

June 17, 2021, 1:26 PM

Gatewater Apartment Complex, Guest Parking Lot

Looking up at it, the Gatewater Apartment Complex was impressive. The building was a pristine white, had a charming entrance, and stood almost as tall as the Prosecutor's Building. Trees were growing around the entrance, along with flower arrangements galore hugging the ground. The only things that ruined the image of perfection were the police cars in the guest parking lot and the burned out room that smeared the white paint job in horrendous black ash.

It was almost funny how much it resembled her old apartment building back in England with her mother. Sure, that place had been nowhere near as illustrious, but the building structure was quite similar, and the hole left by the fire was even in the same place: fourth floor, corner apartment. Nora's hand tightened around the handle of her suitcase before she forced herself to loosen her grip.

This was not England. She was not six, that was not her apartment, and her mother was not dead. Well, she was dead, but it wasn't like she was dead again. This was Los Angeles, she was twenty-one, and the building above her was home to a crime scene that had no ties to her other than the Prosecution investigating it. It was probably just a typical arson case, meaning no one really even had to be dead. It could be as simple as an injury or two, or maybe just wanting an investigation for property damage.

Reminding herself that there was at the very least an investigation going on, Nora wondered how she would get into this one. There was no keycard she could jack like at Big Tower, though it wasn't like it could be as hard. Deciding that if all else failed she could just play the Edgeworth card again, Nora walked towards the entrance.

For whatever reason, the elevators had been shut down for the day, but at least the landlord offered to help her with her suitcase up the stairs. Nora declined the offer though, knowing she would be asked who she was coming to visit and how long she'd be staying, since the bag made her look like she was intending to stay (Oh, I'm meeting with my friend Mr. Corpse. I'll be here until he moves out). She at least wished that she had one of the suitcases that had backpack straps as well. Then again, she probably would have pulled something if she did, considering how much she had tried to make fit into her singular suitcase. The only other thing she had was a small purse that carried things she couldn't risk losing.

Yumihiko was going to carry the suitcase for her once this investigation was over, no exceptions.

Nora made it to the fourth floor, and promptly dropped the suitcase, sitting on it to catch her breath. Living in the Southway mansion had spoiled her; she used to always take the stairs when she still lived in the apartment. Dismissing the thought, she focused on the hallway, which was teeming with police officers, just like she expected. Crime scene tape blocked off the other end of the hall, along with the adjacent rooms. Nora felt bad for the people that lived there, being kicked out of their homes for an investigation.

Something felt off, though. Most of the hall seemed relatively untouched, other than some smoke damage to the white ceiling and walls. Nora knew this wasn't natural from an arson area she had seen from a class trip of sorts in college. The wall to the target room was still intact, and the only other mess was from the policemen as they soiled the carpet with their boots. Compared to how it was outside, this was all wrong.

But she had seen this before, too. Her own apartment hallway looked the exact same after her mother's death, and that scared her. She almost considered leaving when an officer approached her.

"Ma'am, unless you're looking for someone on this floor, may I request that you leave? As you can see, we're conducting an investigation right now, and there's nothing fascinating like you would see on TV."

"I am…" Nora said, voice sounding way too weak. She cleared her throat to try again. "I'm here by request of the Prosecutors investigating at the moment. It's urgent business, and I doubt Prosecutor Edgeworth would be too happy if you prevented me from entering the scene."

The cop eyed her suspiciously, but wasn't as easily fooled as the aide before him. And Nora couldn't blame him either. The crazily dyed hair, the suitcase—she probably looked like a tourist, maybe even a fangirl (He has those, right?). Besides, Ema always talked about how well-known Edgeworth was, which probably meant this wasn't an uncommon trick for people to end up where they didn't belong. The cop's words echoed that sentiment.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I haven't been told that any such individual should be arriving, and Prosecutor Edgeworth takes such efforts to mention these things. Unless you can prove to me otherwise, I'm afraid I can't help you. What sort of 'business' would you be conducting anyway?"

Nora scowled at his dismissal, but resisted the urge to yell. Causing a scene would get her forcibly removed from the premises in no time. She decided to go out on a limb. "There's a dead body in there, right?" If that was wrong, she was screwed. There was no denial, though, so Nora kept going. She had guessed as much, though, since there were far too many officers for simple arson. "Obviously the cause of death is important information to be accurately determined for court, correct? I'm a Medical Examiner, and I came to do my job."

The cop had a bewildered look on his face, not knowing how to respond, and Nora took advantage of it to dig in her purse. Once she found her license, she pulled it out, scattering a few other items on the floor, but Nora could bring herself to care later. She presented the card to the cop, hoping he wouldn't recognize that it was a British license—hardly anyone did, according to her professors—before adding it to her pants pocket.

However, the man seemed more focused on whatever she had dropped, which only made Nora's frown deepen. She looked down, trying to contain her blush when she saw the pictures. There were only three of them, but they were all from two years ago when she had taken Yumihiko to Hobbleton's. Clara had insisted on some pictures before they left, and Nora had been keeping them ever since.

She quickly scooped them up, focusing on regaining her composure as she returned them to her purse. She pulled the zipper way too hard, resulting in a sound that made the cop come back to attention. Nora swallowed, trying to make her voice come out as confident as possible, though it was far too quiet to make a real impact. "Prosecutor Ichiyanagi is expecting to see me, too."

Nora walked past the cop, pretending like she had just gained permission so she wouldn't be stopped by anyone else as she headed for the door.

To Be Continued

Finally, the actual main plot arrives after a time skip! This is rather the transitionary part with hints at how the actual case (which will be managed almost in a slightly-altered Investigations fashion) will fold out. The known details will be hammered out soon.

Next time Yumihiko starts some investigation, Nora arrives, the rest of the investigation group is introduced, andthe plot thickens! Please look forward to it!