All That Counts

By: Aviantei

Chapter Thirteen: Started This Fight

April 6, 2019, 9:37 AM

Big Tower, Deliberation Room

"You made them fake the autopsy report...?" Nora felt her hands clench into fists. She didn't blame Itami for being coerced. She didn't blame Mutō for being threatened. Okay, a part of her did, but she knew it wasn't their fault. This—all of this—had to do with man standing in front of her, the father of the obnoxious teenager she had fought with the previous day.

Technically, she shouldn't even be here. The trip should have ended yesterday, and she and Ema should have been long gone. Their association with this Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth should have meant nothing, as he had been stripped of his position not even twenty-four hours ago. But, somehow, the coroner and her granddaughter had been kind enough to let Nora back into the scene, whatever reason that was.

And now she was staring a person whom she wanted nothing more than to seriously injure. This man was Yumihiko's father—Yumi's father—and he had played them all for fools. While his son was a false confident with an under-layer of breaking down into tears, Ichiyanagi Bansai hid behind crocodile tears, hiding his malice. The murder of Kagome Tsubasa had been his fault, and he had used Itami and Mutō to cover up the fact. He had tried to frame a girl of all people, the spunky Kay Faraday that couldn't have hurt a fly.

And then he had told off his son, one he had raised to be that way, and Yumihiko had run off in tears.

"I don't believe it's your concern if I did," Bansai countered. He may have lost his wig in the midst of his breakdown, but not all of his confidence. "You're merely an observer. I don't even think you've justified a reason to be here." His smirk was terrifying, nothing like his son's.

Nora refused to back down, steeling her gaze. "My name is Nora Heather-Blossom Southway," she stated. "You were the only one absent for yesterday, so I'll say it again. I intend to be a medical examiner in the future. And what you did to these women, just to cover your own tracks... I won't approve of! I knew from the very start something was wrong with that stab wound, I just knew it! As coroners, it's our job to tell the stories of the dead. While in some cases we may be wrong, it's still up to us to be as accurate as possible. We were meant to at least capture the stories of the death to make up for the fact that they are no longer alive!

"And wankers... No, bastards like you just think that you can do whatever you want. I understand that evidence is rather an issue. Removing evidence, fine. Altering the body—why the fuck not? It's all to protect your sorry ass, am I right? But when you go so far as to toss aside someone else's integrity and pride in their work, you've crossed the line!"

The room sat in silence. Even that southern photographer girl-whatever her name was-had been reduced to keeping her mouth shut. Nora waited for Bansai to say something, anything at all so she could retort. It would be nice to actually be able to argue for once, being able to fight for what she believed in instead of sitting there and agreeing. And then he laughed.

And he kept laughing, even though he was beat, standing there surrounded by police officers that were about to take him away at any minute, arms already secured behind his back with handcuffs. Even worse was that when he finally stopped, all he did was grin that same maddening grin he had worn the entire argument. "It's been quite some time since I've heard that speech. More than a decade, really." Nora didn't like the sinking feeling in her stomach. "And to think those words would some out of the mouth of someone who introduces themselves with that name of all things..."

"Wh... What are you talking about...?" Nora was too weak to get anything else out. She wanted to lean on Yumihiko, before she remembered he wasn't there anymore. She swallowed, and her fear was enough for Bansai's grin to grow even wider, a predator's urge. "What's wrong with my name...?"

"It took me some time to recognize why you seemed so familiar. But now it makes sense. I see it now; you look just like her after all..." His next words made Nora want to scream. "You see, the last time I heard that lecture was sixteen years ago, from your mother."

June, 19, 2012 9:26 AM

Itami Hospital, Room 219

She didn't shoot up in her sleep, but Nora's eyes flashed open in an instant. It took a few minutes to remember where she was, what had happened, but it came back soon enough. So did the nightmare, events fresh in her mind as they had been two years ago. It wasn't the first time she had dreamed about that morning, though it had been some time.

It was most assuredly strange, though. After last night, Ichiyanagi Bansai should have been the last thing on her mind. There should have been dreams of false mothers and arguments, maybe that one stupid dream, where she actually was what Lillian wanted her to be, that perfect lady, Nora. But instead, it had been this snippet of the past, that terrifying moment when she realized that man, responsible for so many terrible things, had at once known her mother.

Nora had frozen, and she hated that fact. The recognition that her parents had found her so quickly was terrifying. If it had just been her father, maybe she could have dealt with it. But to see Lillian Southway standing there, ready to tear apart the new found world, was too much. Sure, the reality here in Los Angeles had been dangerous so far, but that was what she wanted. And main threat to it remained a false mother...

Mum...

She hadn't cried, even when Yumihiko, her last line standing, had left. The thought had crossed her mind, but she couldn't even convince herself to do it. All she could do was lie there, thinking about her mother—not Lillian Southway, but Marisa Kaleigh. The thought had been enough to lull her to sleep after Itami had checked up on her. Somewhere in the dream entanglement, Bansai had gotten involved.

The door opened, revealing the all-too familiar grandmother-daughter pair in its wake. He had hurt these people, too... Nora thought, but banished it quickly enough. Itami slowly made it into the room with Mutō's help, and Nora focused on calming herself down before they were concerned over her. Well, more than they already probably were, considering she was bedridden in a hospital after all.

"'How are you feeling?'" Mutō asked for her grandmother, even though she was probably asking herself, too. Nora smiled a little.

"A lot better," she answered. "I can feel the bruise on the back of my skull, but the bandages on my neck are comfortable enough that the cut isn't being irritated." The conversation was beyond the norm in a hospital, but when both sides had medical knowledge, it was to be expected. "I just woke up, though, so I don't know if I'm really exhibiting any signs of a delayed concussion, though. I did pass out for some time last night..."

"'You were brought to us quickly enough that we were able to take care of things quickly enough...' Ah, Grandmother, are you sure it's such a good idea to let her go this quickly?" Mutō asked halfway through relaying the words. Nora was surprised herself, and listened in enough to hear the doctor's logic.

"She's so much like her mother that it wouldn't do any good to try to stop her..." Itami whispered. The young coroner tried to ignore the feeling in her chest she got from hearing the words. Everything was about mothers lately, now wasn't it? "Trying to stop a Kaleigh from going anywhere when there's a case to be solved... is like trying to contain a hurricane..."

Nora didn't know what to think about that, either. The idea of still being a Kaleigh was strange since she had held the Southway name for eleven years. Then again, she didn't really fit in with the Southways either, did she? With their perfect world and their money and their rules for being a lady. None of that was her. Maybe she was a lot more like her mother than she had thought. Nora stared at Itami, not able to determine her expression through her far too thick glasses.

"Thank you," she finally said, as Mutō took over the job of disconnecting the monitors. Nora stood up, stretching out for the first time since she had left to go to the convenience store. Mutō offered her a paper bag filled with clothes.

"No one had time to bring you anything last night, and we couldn't get the clothes you were wearing cleaned up either," she explained. "If you don't mind, I'd like to offer you some of mine to use."

"Thank you," Nora repeated to Mutō's angelic smile. Not wanting to be rude, she began to go through the contents of the bag.

She had to admit, Mutō's clothes weren't too out of the range of what she would wear normally. The jeans were baggy enough that they actually made it to Nora's feet, though the shirt was bordering on tight. Considering the comparison between Nora's body and Mutō's tiny frame, it was lucky that they fit like they did. I'll just have to stop by Yumihiko's apartment, she thought, tossing her dirty clothes from the previous night back into the bag. It wasn't like she had anything else of value on her after all.

"I'll return these to you sometime soon, Mutō-san. If things work out, I'll be visiting here for quite some time. If not..." There was no if not in this situation, but she prepared for it anyway. "If not, I can send Yumihiko back with it."

Mutō frowned a little, probably remembering the room she had walked into last night. Itami didn't go to say anything either, meaning that the doctor probably didn't know. Nora was grateful—there was no need to spread her family issues amongst these two anymore than they already were.

"..." Itami said something, but Nora wasn't ready for it

"I'm sorry?" she asked. "I spaced out for a second there. What was that?"

"Grandma said to stay safe," Mutō supplied. Nora blinked in surprise as the two traded more words. "'You're invaluable as a coroner, so take pride in your work. Start a new hurricane and don't let it be over until it's over.' Whoa, that that's the most encouraging thing she's ever said!" The remark earned the young nurse a whack on the head with her grandmother's cane, to which she automatically responded with a smack to the old woman's bun.

Nora felt the smile tug at the corners of her lips. "I'll do my best," she said. Itami gave an almost unnoticeable nod before heading towards the door. The two made their exit, and Nora took one last sweep around the room.

Why was it that everyone had so much more faith in her than she did? Itami believed she could live up to her mother's example, and Edgeworth had spoken greatly of her skill the previous night. Both Achhammer and Westenberg gave such unconditional support, and Yumihiko... Whatever it was had been enough to create a friendship in as little as two days.

I should at least try to live up to that, right? There's no point in them encouraging me if I don't give an effort for it.

Deeming that she had everything, Nora made her way to the door. And when she pulled it open, Lillian was there. The woman was dressed more for a party than a visit to the hospital, but that was normal. A quick look showed that Nathaniel hadn't come along for the trip. Nora would have ignored her were it not for the fact that her step-mother was standing in direct line of the doorway.

"Mother," she finally said, enough malice in the words to make up for the fact that she had frozen the previous night. Nora was officially sick of running away from this woman just to please her. Besides hadn't that been the choice she had made when she left the house without telling anyone? So that she could stop living by Lillian's rules?

"Nora, I see you're well enough to leave already," her step-mother remarked, a small smile on her lips. "That's fantastic. Your father will be relieved. We didn't plan to leave this soon, but I'm sure we can at least secure some tickets for tomorrow morning at the latest." It seemed this was going to be the starting point.

"That's nice, although I don't care how long you two stay." That was a lie, Nora just wanted her gone, but the nice route was the beginning. "Just know that when you return home I won't be coming."

There it was, the bombshell. Lillian paused for a moment, as if she hadn't considered to be met with resistance. "Don't be ridiculous, dear. Why wouldn't you want to go home? Surely there's nothing here that we can't give you at home."

"I want this job," Nora retaliated. "I'm taking this job, whether you like it or not. I know you don't exactly approve of this, but this is what makes me happy. Sitting there, playing socialite, as appealing as it may be to you, is not what I intend to do with my life."

"If this is about a job, it's not as if you couldn't practice in England." Lillian still seemed to be reasonable enough about it, but Nora had a bad feeling in her stomach. "It's not as if there isn't a place in the world that doesn't need to have someone to... play with the corpses. Why does it matter if it's here or there?"

"Why does it matter to you? I want this job, so if it's here or there, what's it matter?"

Lillian didn't waste a second on her comeback. "In case you haven't noticed, Nora, but you've already been attacked twice," she pointed out. "You've been put in the hospital before. I understand that you got off lightly this time, but what if next time something broken? What if you get brain damage? What if you're dead?" Her expression was pained, and Nora almost felt bad for what she was about to say.

"My life's going to be in danger if I take this sort of job anyway." Almost was the key. Besides, with Cesare being active in Europe, it'd probably be far more dangerous anyway. There was no mention of the assassin group, though. "Making it closer to youwon't change that. Not to mention, I feel far safer here than I ever did back in thatlonely mansion. There are just so many people here that are willing to help me... Theycare for me far more than you ever did."

"Nora, don't do this," Lillian whispered. "I'm your mother. There's no one who cares for you more than Nathaniel and I do."

"You're my step-mother. Dad wasn't even there for eight years of my life. Sure, that's not his fault, but still. Mum is the only one that has the right to claim that. Maybe Dad. But most certainly not you."

It was exhilarating. Nora had always wanted to be able to do this; to be able to talk back, immature as it seemed. But a healthy relationship was one where you could talk freely. This big giant attempt at family was in no way healthy. "After all, if you were really okay with me being a coroner, you wouldn't have thrown the fit you did when I attempted to go to school. I bet you only did it because Dad thought it was a good idea, right? I really don't think you even had a problem with what the job was in practice. I just think you didn't want me to turn into Mum, right? Something to remind Dad of the woman he used before he attached himself to you? If this about having a perfect child, you would have just used Leopold and paid no mind to me, right?"

It was painfully obvious now, and Nora really wished things had gone that way. That she had been able to spend her time in the Southway manner away from all of the drama. That she had been allowed to do as she pleased, give or take a few manners lessons, and not be integrated into the actual family life. Let her half-brother be the focus of all the attention and family expectation. All she had done was break it apart anyway. If it hadn't been them...

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lillian said, taking a few steps into the room. Her hands came to rest on Nora's shoulders. "True enough you may be evidence of an event that I wish had never happened, but that doesn't affect how I care about you. Both you and Leopold are my children, flesh and blood or not, and I love you both the same." She was panicked now, and Nora knew it. And she didn't feel the tiniest bit bad about it, even though she should. "It's true I wasn't there for eight years, but I have been there for you for twelve."

"You've never been there for me." The young woman wanted to yell, but the open door was painfully obvious behind her step-mother. "Not when I broke my leg in primary school, not when I was stressed, not when I graduated at the top of my class two weeks ago." Why were there tears forming on the edges of her eyes? It wasn't as if she wanted this woman's affection. No, that wasn't it.

She missed her own mother. She missed Marisa Kaleigh so much it hurt. Because she knew for a fact that had she been still alive, she would have been there for all that and more. It was the realization that she could have had all that that made her want away from this woman all the more. If this case really was connected with her own mother's death... Wasn't she just wasting time arguing about this?

It wasn't really a waste, since she was finally dealing with an issue she had had for years. It was simply that she had taken far too much time on this. True, Lillian Southway may have loved her children equally, but she would never love them as much as she had loved her.

"I'm not your daughter, so stop using me to replace her!"

The words hit home. Nora used the fact that Lillian's arms had suddenly gone limp as an opportunity to slip past her step-mother and out the door.

To Be Continued

More emotions, more fights, and Nora finally standing up for herself. A lot of what goes on here is trying to take Lillian away from the "evil step-mother" cliche, in that she's an antagonist from Nora's point of view, but for reasons that, albeit aren't here and in detail yet, but still exist. I hope this is understood and I promise they'll be talked about later... but not now.

Also the last taste of events from the Gyakuten Kenji 2 timeline in this story in Nora's little dream. minor spoilers there I guess, and really what's meant to be foreshadowing for...other things.

Next time: Yumihiko picks Nora up from the hospital and the investigation task force comes back together! Please look forward to it!