A/n: I know this is not how a case is really run. I am not in the mood to have Seymour's trial run for days on end. Basically, I am using the process of small claims court and applying it to here. Much faster and easier to explain in one chapter. Small changes have been made, but you get the basic idea of what is presented.
Rikku's heart pounded in her chest. Seymour's hearing had began, and she wasn't sure what was going on. Her uncle made sure to explain everything to her, but this was still over her head. Now she understood why he did not trust the younger lawyer at all. Seymour Guado was smooth. Too smooth it seemed. He was defending himself, and he still had the jury eating out of his hand.
Looking away, Rikku instead focused on the face of Auron. He was sitting aside from where she was, Braska a little to the left and in front of her. Her father was back with the rest of the people watching as the events unfolded. Gulping, she took in every detail she could as her uncle began his part of questioning Seymour. He answered every question without stumbling.
Her green eyes darted around to the jury. They looked on without a word, but slight nods could be seen as they processed each answer. They way they watched worried her. She could see they were taking the defendant's side on the issues. Rikku wanted to jump and scream that he was guilty, he killed a man, he bribed a man to...to touch and harass her.
Biting her lip did little but hurt. Seymour finally sat back down as Braska had no more questions.
"I would like to now call Miss Targe to the stand." She heard her uncle say.
With a small whimper of fear, Rikku waited for Auron to arise and carry her up to the witness stand. She noticed the sorry glances she received by the jury as he did so. They may have thought Seymour responsible, but she was sure her uncle would make it clear he was not. Auron refused to leave her side until she nodded at him that she was okay. With a hum of affirmation, he went back to his seat until needed once more.
Rikku took a deep breath as Braska began his first question. "Miss targe, could you tell the court what grounds we had for accusing Mr. Guado of the crimes stacked against him?"
Rikku gulped as she began thinking quickly over her answer. She glanced once at her father seeing him smile and nod in encouragement. "It began when I first started my therapy," Starting with that fact, Rikku told everything she knew. She told the judge and jury how Zalitz would mention Seymour often, threaten her if she spoke, and even threatened her family. She told them how he would use his position to get what he wanted no matter what the cost. Several times in the four weeks he had 'treated' her, he had used drugs to numb her mind and body to what he was really trying to do.
"I wanted to say something, but not if it meant my family was going to be hurt. I was told several times that they would not believe me anyway. I then tried to plan a way I could handle it alone, but that was when my homecare worker entered the room." Rikku ended her story on that note, but not until she made a very small glance in Auron's direction. It lasted less then a second before her attention turned back to her uncle.
"Miss Targe, may I ask what you were planning before you were walked in on?"
Rikku stuttered a moment, she wasn't expecting this. "I-I'm not sure. I was just making it up as I went." Her head bowed as she had no other answer. Braska's features softened as he saw she was starting to feel ashamed. "I have no more questions, your honor." He sat back down allowing Rikku to relax until Seymour stood for his chance to cross-examine her.
"Miss Targe, if I may be so bold. It is true you cannot walk, correct?"
"Yes."
"Would you tell the court as to what happened to leave you in such a state?"
Braska stood from his seat quickly, "Objection! His questions have nothing to do with the matter at hand."
"Overruled, but Mr. Guado I ask that you do keep your questions relevant to the matter at hand."
"All in good time, your honor. I am working up to that." With a predatory smile that both judge and jury missed, Seymour turned back to Rikku. "Now as I was saying, explain how you became injured."
"I ran in front of a truck. I wasn't paying attention when I crossed the street because I was upset," Rikku kept her head bowed unsure of just where he was going with this.
"So you were emotional. And because your emotions ran high, you were unaware of all other things around you? Is that not correct?"
"No, that's right." She could feel her eyes begin to sting, Seymour was dealing with things she had wanted to bury.
"Now, when you told your story, you also said Zalitz used drugs that tampered with your mental state?"
Now she understood what he was trying to do. Unable to speak, she only nodded. Seymour went on, "So your mental and emotional state have been tampered with. You would obviously be upset if he threatened your family as you have said. Is it possible that maybe you heard something in that state that sounded like something else?"
Her head snapped up and glared at the young lawyer, "No, never! I know what I heard. It was repeated several times, so even if I misheard once, I doubt I could have the other five times!" Rikku's green swirls flashed in ire. She never did take lightly to being lied about.
Seymour took a half step back. Her reaction was one he was not expecting. He covered it up quickly before placing his smile back on his face. "If what you say is true, what reasoning would Zalitz have for what he had done? And how do you know it was true?"
"I can't say for sure if it was true, but I do know your name was mentioned on more then one occasion. He said that he was receiving instructions from you."
Seymour scoffed once before turning away, "I have no more questions." His sneaky smile came back as he caught eyes with the man helping Rikku down from the stand. "However, if I may, I would like to ask Mr. Marasame to remain on the stand so that I may ask a few questions of him."
Rikku heard a low sigh come from Auron as he leaned over to lift her from the seat. She could almost feel anger radiate from his body.
"You may do that." The judge replied.
"If I may, I will have to return Miss Targe to her seat before I can be called to testify." Auron said in an attempt to give him just a little more time to prepare himself. He had no doubt that Seymour would try something of this nature, but not until he was examined by Braska first. The judge nodded his approval, and Auron carefully removed Rikku and took her back to sit next to her uncle.
Rikku lifted one hand to his shoulder before he moved away earning his full attention. Their eyes locked before he nodded. "It is fine." He told her in a whisper only she could hear. He turned on his heel and made his way up to the stand. Holding his head high, Auron prepared himself for the barrage of questions he knew Seymour would ask.
The jury had been dismissed, Rikku held her uncle's hand tightly as they awaited their return. She thought back over the past two hours and all that had been said. Was enough said to convict Seymour, could they have said more? She almost laughed when Braska pulled his own daughter up to the witness stand to testify. She had not been expecting the sudden request, and judging by Seymour's face, neither had he.
Yuna told them all about what she had found out during her canceled dates between her fiancé and herself. Seymour had accidentally told her almost all his plans not even thinking she wasn't interested in him more then a friend. Once he told her his plans, she was completely appalled. She had never thought he could be that type of person. Braska didn't even have to ask her about anything she had found within his house or papers. His words alone spoke volumes.
The jury began to return to the courtroom about this time, and everyone looked on awaiting the verdict. But none so much as Seymour Guado himself. He tried to hide his fear behind a face of calm collectedness, but after Yuna's testimony, he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, he was going to be guilty.
Holding tight to her uncle, Rikku listened closely to what had been announced. Her body relaxed as a smile spread over her face as she heard Seymour was going to be locked away for a long, long time. He was found guilty both in the homicide of Zalitz Corel, and also in bribing the man to do what he had to Rikku.
Releasing his hand, Rikku instead wrapped her arms around Braska's neck and cheered. It was such a liberating feeling knowing that they helped play a part of keeping such an awful man from practicing.
Together, they all left the courtroom as Seymour glared daggers at the group. Jecht was the only one who saw this, and waved the man off with a flip of his hand. He made a mental note to keep close track of him though. With the power Seymour had, he might be tempted to try anything to get out. By the time he rejoined the group, Auron was holding onto Rikku as she clapped and passed out hugs from her place in his arms.
"Isn't this great? Thanks to Yunie, we don't have to worry about him for a very long time, if at all!"
Auron grunted several times as he tried to keep a firm grip on the client in his arms. With as much as she was moving her upper body, it was harder then it looked. He had resorted to holding her bridal style just to keep her from falling to the floor.
"I had best get her home now. Thank you Braska for all your help." Auron stated before trying to leave and take the girl with him.
"Wait a moment, Auron." Braska stopped him with a hand covering his shoulder, "Why don't we all go out for a nice lunch? My treat."
Auron took one glance to the group, there was seven of them total. It could get expensive for his friend. "Alright, but we share the bill." He agreed not liking having Braska pay for all of them. With the way Rikku ate, he would be bankrupted.
"Whatever you say," his friend played along. "Cid, you know how to get to Flynn's, right?" Braska asked turning to his brother-in-law.
"You bet I do! I think...." Scratching his bald head, Cid tried not to blush. "Actually, I don't. Don't know where a bloody thing is in this huge city!"
"You may ride with us then if it will please you." Auron offered as he faced the rough spoken man. Rikku's face brightened up at the prospect of her father joining them. "It seems Rikku is also inclined to agree."
"That sounds like a great idea. I'll ride with Jecht and the kids can ride together. We can all meet there in an hour." Braska smiled as the rag-tag group filed out the courthouse doors.
Rikku kept looking back over Auron's shoulder as if unbelieving her father really was going to come with them. Cid himself couldn't help but chuckle at the innocent action. Her face was so bright that it almost made the overcast day seen dark in comparison.
When they arrived at the car, Rikku leaned over so she could whisper into her caretaker's ear. He nodded once before opening the back door. "Rikku says she wishes for you to sit up front," Auron explained before Cid could try and climb in.
"Right! That way I can see and talk to both of you if I want." Squealing, Rikku clapped her hands in delight before she was hidden by the roof of the vehicle.
They managed to get one big table for all of them, Jecht and Cid at one end were engaged in deep debate. Although deep may not be strong enough of a word, heated might be better. Auron apologized profusely to the waitress every time she came back to the table. She simply waved it off with a short laugh as she refilled his glass. Rikku sat next to him with Yuna on her other side as the three younger adults conversed quietly.
But that did not stop her from stealing quick glances over at the man next to her. In fact, the louder her table became, the more the waitress would come back and refill the glasses. All except hers. She sat trying to eat and enjoy her food with nothing to wash it down with. Setting her fork down, she waited to try and get the woman's attention. Rikku thought she had it several times, but the waitress turned away quickly and went to tend to another table.
With a short huff, Rikku then turned to Auron. "Hey, Auron." She began hesitantly, "You drinking that?" With one finger she pointed to the full glass of water in front of him.
Without breaking his conversation with Braska, Auron pushed the water over in front of her. Rikku gulped it promptly leaving nothing left.
"Wow, Rikku! You musta been thirsty!" Tidus exclaimed as his blue eyes grew big.
Wiping away the small amount of dribble from her chin, Rikku answered, "I was. I've been trying to get that lady's attention, but she kept ignoring me!"
Yuna leaned in closer as if it was supposed to be a secret. "Who? Our server?"
"Who else?" Rikku scoffed. "She refilled his up about three times and it wasn't even empty." Her thumb jutted out towards Auron showing who she was talking about.
"That can't be right. Why she was here twice and filled mine up with no problems." Yuna tried to defend the woman.
"Don't believe me? Watch this." Very sneaky like, Rikku pushed the empty glass back in front of its original owner. Auron picked up the glass not even paying attention. He scowled once seeing that there was nothing left in it. Seeing his frown from across the room, the waitress made a mad dash with picture in hand to refill it once again.
Rikku held up one finger before her witnesses had a chance to say anything. "May I have..." She began to ask, but the woman was already gone. With a smirk, Rikku looked back at Tidus and Yuna. "Told ya so."
Yuna stared at her dumbfounded by what she had just seen. Unfortunately Jecht had somehow seen it all. "Hey, Auron! It looks like you have a new admirer!" He raised his own glass, filled with something amber in color and saluted his friend.
Pulling himself out of the conversation with Braska, Auron had to blink several times as he did not comprehend what was going on. "Am I missing something here?" He questioned with a blank face.
"I would have to say that I am in the dark as well." Braska spoke up as he looked down the table waiting for someone to speak up and tell them what was going on.
Rikku rolled her eyes before turning back to her friends. "It was nothing. Don't even worry about it." She scoffed before going into a full conversation with Yuna about how the color yellow would so help brighten up her living room once she learned how to walk again.
Auron shrugged leaving Jecht and Cid to laugh at how nonchalant he was acting about something they felt should be a big deal. "Hey waitress, how about some more of this good stuff?" Jecht called out while holding his glass up. "I'm almost out here!"
She took her time, but the server did fill his order once more. Rikku raised her glass in a silent plea for more water. Huffing, the waitress stormed away but did finally return to give Rikku more to drink. As she leaned over the table, she tripped and stumbled before spilling the entire picture of water all over Rikku.
"You tripped me!" The woman screamed while pointing an angry finger at Rikku. This in turn brought all attention to the table in question leaving Rikku to feel very vulnerable. Feeling her face heat up, Rikku ducked her head wishing the floor could swallow her up whole. It was bad enough her clothing was soaked, but all eyes were on her as the waitress continued to scream about being tripped.
A manager came running from out of the kitchen eager to find out what was going on. He found one of his older waitresses hysterically pointing and screaming at a young blond sitting at a table. The young girl almost looked ashamed as everyone in the dining room was staring at her, but he could also see a bit of anger starting to become expressed.
"Dona, what is going on in here?" The manager began with her first. He crossed over and stood in front of her arms over his chest.
The woman now named Dona, sneered. "This girl tripped me when I was trying I tried to refill her drink!"
The girl in question sucked in a breath as if she were about to say something. She was stopped by the man next to her placing one hand over top of hers. The man in the black suit rose and stood next to the manager.
Grabbing hold of the man's arm gently, Auron pulled him aside to where they would not be overheard. The manager looked up into the man's face and could see traces of anger in his bronze eyes, although none of it showed as he spoke. "Now, I do not wish to call your help a lier, but I can assure you that the girl sitting next to me who is now wet, did nothing of the sort that she is being accused of."
He glanced back behind them to where Rikku was still twitching in ire, while Dona was standing in place fuming. The other people in the room had gone back to eating, but still making quick glances to see how this would turn out.
"I work for Luca Homecare, and that girl is my client." Auron reached into his pocket and pulled out a card as if he had to backup the claim on his story. "I can assure you for a fact that she could not have possibly tripped anyone. You see, Rikku has been injured. She cannot move her legs without help." The manager checked over the id before handing it back.
The manager glanced back at his still fuming sever. She was glaring daggers at the young woman, while a bald man was glaring right back at her as he stood next to the young woman as if trying to calm and comfort her.
"I see then. Very well, I will handle this accordingly." Auron was left standing alone as the manager walked over to where Dona stood. He whispered in her ear before she stormed off back into the kitchen. He turned and smiled back at the group. "I apologize for the actions of my staff. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, just name it."
Braska shook his head. He wasn't expecting anything. "You don't have to really. Do not trouble yourself on our account. I will simply take my niece home and get her a set of dry clothing. It is simply water, it will dry in time."
"Even so, my staff's actions were uncalled for. I will be seeing that she gets reasonably reprimanded." He snapped his fingers as if just thinking of an idea. "How about I offer your lunch for free? Dona can cover the cost for you."
Rikku was about to agree, the embarrassment she endured over this event might be made up for if they all got free food. Again, Braska shook his head no. "We will be fine. If you could just bring us the check, we will be on our way."
Rikku gasped because she was slighted in one of the worse ways possible. "Uncle Braska! You can't mean that!" She bit her lip as the brows on her forehead came together like she was fighting back tears.
"I will take her outside," Auron spoke up as he lifted her from her seat. "Cid, would you like to come too?"
"You better believe it! I'm not leaving my little girl alone." The three of them left as the manager nodded sadly to fill Braska's request.
Tidus and Yuna glanced at one another before nodding as well. Tidus held her hand as they too stood. "We should be going. I'll see you at home father."
Jecht stood up and moved closer taking up Auron's vacant seat. "So why didn't you take the free meal?" He questioned.
Braska smiled gently. "It's only water. Rikku will recover. Just because someone lies about you, doesn't mean you have to resort to lowering oneself to their level. I saw what happened, but I also saw something else."
"Yeah? What's that?"
Before he got a chance to answer, the manager returned bill in hand. "Forgive me for taking so long sir. I took the price of half your meals off for the inconvenience. I do hope the young lady is not too upset. I talked to my waitress and she told me what happened. She also knows the rest will be coming out of her pocket. Again, I am dreadfully sorry for what happened."
"Don't trouble yourself so much. One instance is not going to keep me away. Thank you for taking the time to deal with this. We better be going as well. Thank you, sir, and have a good day." Standing, Braska made his way to the front desk with Jecht right behind him.
By the time they reached the car, Auron was sporting a nice size bruise on his jaw. Rikku had been so angry that she ended up taking it out on him. Since their meeting, this was the third time she had punched him. He was starting to regret ever having talked to her that first meeting. Cid had yelled at her for it before moving in close and whispering what a good hit it was.
Auron just sighed and rolled his eyes. The bi-polarness of the parent and child was annoying at times. He stopped trying to figure them out. Using one hand, he managed to open the back door and set Rikku inside. She was still visibly upset, but thankfully no more punches were thrown. Once he was behind the driver's seat, Auron waited until Cid was in and buckled before pulling away. "Back to the courthouse to retrieve your car I assume?"
Cid looked over and nodded his head. "What happened in there? What was that lady's deal anyway?" Cid shouted still trying to figure it all out.
Rikku pouted from the back. She was trying to pull her wet shirt away from her body, but with little luck. "Why don't you answer that, Auron? I'm sure you can figure it out." She snapped.
Gripping the wheel tight in one hand, Auron tapped it with the other. "If I knew, I would." He replied in a clipped tone.
"As if you couldn't tell."
Cid had to keep from laughing out right. The two continued to banter all the way until they dropped him off. It was hard to believe, but he could tell his daughter was jealous. He bit hard on the inside of his mouth to keep the humor from bubbling out. By the time Auron pulled up next to his vehicle, it took all restraint to speak without letting it out. "Hey, thanks for the ride. I can see my little girl is in good hands. Forget those monthly reports. Just let me know when she can walk again, you hear!"
"Whatever you say, although," Auron reached behind him and pulled one last envelope out. "Just because it was already finished."
Cid took it from his hand with a chuckle. "Always for the job. You're a good man, just thought I should let you know." Cid closed the door before Auron could make any remark in return. He waved them off before getting inside his own vehicle and driving off.
Auron closed his eyes and tilted his head back into his own seat. "Rikku, tell me. What happened today?"
Rikku cringed wishing he had said anything but that. She didn't want to explain why it upset her so much, at least not to her caretaker. Speaking just above a whisper, because anything else would have seemed too loud, Rikku answered. "Nothing, just forget it. It's not important anymore. Besides, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."
"Is that so? Fine. Be that way. When we get home, we work on your training once more." It was weird, and as he opened his eyes Auron had to shake his head. He had only been there for about two months, but calling Rikku's apartment 'home'....seemed right.