I only wish you weren't my friend.

Then I could hurt you in the end.


Matt was slow to stumble back into the courtroom. He was still picturing Tsukuyomi in his mind's eye, comparing his young son to the bastard drummer he had once considered a friend. He kept his head bowed as he sat at his desk, glancing over his shoulder to see Tai grinning at him and Joe smiling. Aiko wasn't looking at Joe and was even sitting on the other side of Izzy, the redhead adjusting his glasses and trying to get the young boy to talk to him. Matt frowned as Tai resumed jabbing him in the back of head with his cane in playful reassurance. He batted the rubber stopper away, Tai smacking him on the shoulder instead, and looked to see if Sora would be there on the other side of the courtroom.

And of course she was, huddled close into Yutaka's side with his arm draped over her shoulders. Matt made a face, Yutaka glaring back at him, and was about to turn back to Cody when he paused. In the far back row, almost hiding together, Kari was sitting with TK. Matt felt hope rise in his chest and he tried to give a little smile. If TK was there, did that mean the man was going to forgive him? Did he finally believe Matt?

The younger blonde caught Matt's eye and then turned to his wife, whispering something to her that made her frown. Matt sighed deeply. Whatever had made TK reappear, it certainly wasn't him.

Cody was looking at Gabriel, not liking her Cheshire smile or the way she was sitting at her desk, acting as though the case was already won. He'd heard her in the hallway earlier, talking to someone on her cellphone and complaining about TK for some reason. He had thought, then, that she was finally on the run, that he could turn this whole mess around.

And now? Cody turned away to hide a shudder as Judge Catherine entered the room, instructing Gabriel to, "Call your witness."

Gabriel stood lazily, a warm smile curving her lips that only served to darken her eyes. Though she hadn't had much of a chance to interact with her new witness, she'd seen enough to know he would do what TK wouldn't.

"I call Reiichi Chabo to the stand."

Matt frowned at the name. There was something awfully familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place it. It wasn't until he looked up and saw the man walk into the courtroom that he paled, clenching his hands and trying to keep from throwing up.

His hair was short and fluffy, still bleached blonde from the first time they'd met, though his dark roots were longer than before. His eyes were blue, far too blue to be natural, and he was built tall and thin. He caught Matt's eye and winked at him, his memory obviously not warped from years of binge drinking.

How? Matt thought desperately, feeling his stomach roll and sweat beading up on his forehead. How the hell did she find him?!

TK blinked. He barely recognized his mirror-image.

"What is it?" Kari wondered. Aside the obvious. Right down to blue contacts...

"I know him," TK breathed in disbelief. "He was on my basketball team in middle school."

Kari grimaced. What was some strange person doing here? He couldn't have been on TK's team long; she would have remembered someone who looked exactly like her husband.

TK looked to his suddenly distraught brother, and then watched as Gabriel and Reiichi interacted as he wondered, Is this her idea of replacing me? Because I wouldn't testify how she wanted?

Cody didn't like the way Matt was sweating next to him. He didn't like that the man could no longer control the twitching in his hands, much less the twitching that was going up his arms and to his back. Even Tai seemed concerned enough to still his godforsaken badgering, leaning forward to whisper reassurances. But what had happened with this man to make Matt flip out so bad? To make Gabriel so certain of her win?

Cody hid a grimace when he realized he was sure to find out soon enough.

"When did you meet Mr. Ishida?" Gabriel questioned. It had taken a while to find this man, and had cost a whole lot of favors she was sad to lose. But the way Matt was acting, even before one word was spoken, made her giddy as a school girl. At this point, even if she lost (which she didn't believe she could at this point) she wouldn't be upset.

"When I was in high school, on the basketball team." Reiichi's voice was so calm, so gentle. So completely unlike the defendant who was beginning to worry even Judge Catherine. He spoke just as she had told him to, following the script so easily it was as though her words were his. "He was watching me."

"Can you tell us what happened after that?" For once, she had someone in her like mindset. When she looked over to Matt, he had his face buried in his forearms. She could actually hear him trying to keep from vomiting and she had to suppress her laughter.

Reiichi smiled, speaking as though he was actually reliving that fateful night. "I could see how he looked at his brother when we... met at one of his basketball games. It was part of the reason I went home with him."

Matt was biting his tongue, wondering if he had a drink of water would it calm him or finally give him something to heave. Cody was frowning at him, whispering softly, "Do I need to call a recess?"

But the shuddering blonde shook his head, croaking out, "No. I just want him over with."

Reiichi continued, "When we got down into the mess of things-"

"Sex?" Gabriel interrupted, and the faux-blonde grinned.

"Of course."

"Go on." She couldn't wait to hear her words spill from his mouth, and she looked at Matt from the corner of her eye.

"It was sickening, really. He was crying out his brother's name the whole time..."

What? What?! Matt growled deep in his throat and forced the bile rising into recession. The stress from seeing his first mistake was quickly overrun with rage. "That's a lie!" he hissed to Cody.

Cody wasn't sure what to say. He'd never fully trusted the blonde, and wondered even now what secrets he was keeping. This whole thing was a "he said, she said" but the more "she said" the worse it looked for his client. He shushed Matt, promising the man his turn to defend himself as Tai thwapped the back of Matt's chair loud enough to make the bailiffs look their way.

In the back row, TK lowered his gaze to his lap, ignoring Kari's questioning looks. Had that really happened? TK wondered. Before, he wouldn't have been surprised. He would have just nodded and chalked the testimony up to another sin staining his brother's soul. But with the way Gabriel had spoken to him earlier, the things she'd told him to say...

TK pulled away from his wife, suddenly regretting his decision to stay. If he'd just gone home, gone back to the safety of his office and comfort of his children, he wouldn't have to question the things he'd known for years now.

Gabriel tossed her hair triumphantly over her shoulder, hearing the disgusted whispers of the jury. Though they weren't related, the jury would only see what had happened with Reiichi as incest. "So you went home with Yamato? What happened after that?"

"I bailed when his old man caught us." Reiichi shrugged calmly, as though he'd had years to process the memory. "I didn't want any part of that."

"And the next day?"

"He threatened to kill me in front of half the school!" Reiichi insisted, leaning back in his chair.

"No more questions," Gabriel sighed with a smile. She eyed Cody and Matt as she calmly returned to her desk. Cody glared and Matt was probably on the verge of hanging himself with his prison sheet at this rate.

Cody sighed deeply. He had no idea what to do now. There was nothing he could say now that would make the jury forget what Reiichi had said. He was about to stand, to tell the judge that he had no questions, when Matt caught his sleeve. The blonde was looking at him desperately, eyes glassy.

"He's a liar," Matt begged Cody to believe him. "I didn't say any of that!"

"What can I do?" Cody whispered back. "I have no evidence to refute his testimony. I can't prove a negative, Yamato."

"Please..." Matt's hands were shaking, and the man stilled them by placing his fingertips to the metal plate under his flesh. Under his lawyer's stern emerald gaze, Matt repeated, "He's a liar..."

"Mr. Hida?" Judge Catherine said loudly, making the blonde man jump. "Are you going to question the witness or should we move on?"

Cody sighed, unable to dismiss the clear plead in Matt's eyes. He thought quickly as he cleared his throat, approaching the witness stand slowly, calculating. He stood before Reiichi, false blue eyes regarding him curiously. Matt was right, Cody had to admit, even the man's appearance was a complete lie.

"How did you meet?" Cody asked tentatively. "Remind me?"

Reiichi frowned. Gabriel had told him that the defense wouldn't be able to say anything to refute his story. He hadn't expected Cody to ask anything. "At a basketball practice."

Cody nodded, closing his eyes to think. After a moment, he inquired, "Were you a spectator?"

"I was on the team."

Questions were coming faster now. "What position?"

Reiichi hesitated. What was with this guy? What was he hoping to accomplish? A quick glance at Gabriel and she shrugged. She had no idea either, so the blonde replied, "It's been a long time. I don't remember. I switched around a lot..."

"When did you two leave together?"

"About a quarter through."

"If you're on the team, how is that possible?"

Reiichi blinked. The memory Gabriel had tweaked for him hadn't covered that. "I... I was kicked off the team..."

Cody nodded and finally felt like he was tearing down one of Gabriel's walls for a change. He didn't have to look at Matt to feel his client's gaze burning into his back, wondering what would happen next. "So were you on the team or not?"

"I was," Reiichi decided. Then he made a face. "But not that day."

Cody swept his hand to the jury, stating loudly, "So, you just lied to everyone here."

Gabriel stood, nearly falling over her own feet, "Objection!"

"Withdrawn," Cody snorted. He liked the split second of panic he heard in her voice. "Reiichi, once more, what position were you on the team?"

"Like I said, I don't remember..."

"Were you on Takeru's team or a different one?"

"Takeru's. I think." Had he said that earlier? Now he couldn't remember.

"What other clubs did you attend that year?"

"Christ, it was how many years ago?" Reiichi barked. "I don't remember!"

"Okay..." Cody smiled at the panic he was raising. While it wouldn't undo what Reiichi had said, he could now see some of the older woman shaking their heads at Reiichi, disappointed in themselves for believing him. "Answer me this, since you remember my client so well: were you on top or bottom when you two had sex that night?"

"I..." Reiichi looked around. He honestly didn't remember. "Top. I'm not a fag like him."

"Is that the truth or a lie?" Cody insisted. "Or do you just not remember?"

"What does this have to do with Mr. Ishida?" Gabriel whined.

"I'll move on," Cody breathed. He was finally regaining the upper hand, something he never thought he'd be able to do with one of Gabriel's cases. "I have one last question. Do you really remember Yamato calling Takeru's name?"

Reiichi grinned. The pressure was getting to him. He was unable to think as quick as Cody did, unable to understand the nonverbal hints from Gabriel as she cringed at her seat. He was even unable to look at Matt, who was slowly unclenching his hands and sighing with color returning to his face. Reiichi shrugged in defeat and said, "I don't remember. I guess it was just a dream I had, then."

"Nothing further." Cody said, triumph evident in his voice. He returned to his desk and sat next to Matt, his client holding back from outright hugging the man.

"Do you have any more witnesses Mrs. Dolphinus?" Judge Catherine asked, and Gabriel just glowered as Reiichi was lead from the courtroom.

"No." The lawyer sighed deeply. "Prosecution rests."

"Then we'll pick up with the defense case-in-chief tomorrow. We're dismissed." The judge banged her gavel and Matt almost melted in his chair.

"What does that mean?" he asked, exhausted. His stomach was still churning, but he no longer felt like vomiting. Now he just wanted to pass out.

"It means we finally get the chance to defend ourselves," Cody explained. He glanced over to Gabriel, the woman glaring intensely out of the corner of her eye. He didn't like how she was watching them, surely planning something up in her twisted mind. "Instead of just trying to undo what Gabriel began."

"You did great, man," Tai said. Matt smiled, but he couldn't quite meet his best friend's eye."I don't know who that guy was up there, but he's an asshole."

"Tai..." Joe warned, glancing at Aiko. The boy was still pouting, but he'd moved closer to his father. As mad as he was, he couldn't stand not being near the only relative he had left.

"The kid's smart enough not to repeat my shit," Tai replied with a shrug. "Ain't that right, Ai?" When the boy refused to play along, Tai sighed. "Well, he's smarter than Bug, at least."

"I hate to run, Matt," Izzy said with a comforting smile, "but I do need to get back to my parents' and pick up the kids. I'm sure Jaciru is driving my mother crazy."

"At least their summer clubs are starting up tomorrow," Tai said as the bailiffs came to collect Matt. "Don't worry, dude, we'll be here no matter what."

"I'll hold you to that," Matt warned, for once not dreading the walk back to his cell. Tomorrow, everything would go perfect. Everyone would see Gabriel's lies for what they were, and this would all be done with.