Chapter Thirty-Six :: Turnabout Secrets :: Trial :: Day 2 :: Part 1

The trial was later than normal. It had been delayed first by the Judge, who had been presiding over a case that had run over. Then Arielle Holcomb had a problem with a witness she was planning to call. Nathan felt his nerves grating as they sat in the courtroom lobby for what was quickly becoming the second hour. His hands were balled into fists, and he was slowly simmering beneath the surface.

Franziska, standing next to him with her arms crossed obstinately over her chest, was just as irritated.

Lang wasn't too far away, talking casually with Edgeworth, but she could still feel the hostility between them as if it were a glass wall separating them. After meeting Holcomb, she'd been too rattled to return to the lab, and so had returned to her office. She'd dug up some about possible places where the Rydientrol could have been taken from, but overall, she hadn't found a definitive answer. Her failure, coupled with the fact that she hadn't set things straight between them, left her rattled. She was Franziska Von Karma; nothing should leave her feeling less than perfect. But this had, and she didn't like it at all.

"We should be investigating," Nathan growled under his breath.

Franziska rolled her eyes. "Fool. A lot of things need to be done; this is just a waste of everyone's time. A brilliant tactic by a foolishly foolish Defense."

"I really don't want to hear that anything the Defense has done is brilliant," he replied wearily. "I just want this trial over with."

He half-expected her to retaliate with violence, but she didn't. She merely huffed and tugged at her sleeves quietly.

Things got generally better when Kiria walked in with Mariko and Tessa a half hour later. She was dressed normally for court, a dark pencil skirt paired with a white blouse, black blazer over the top of the ensemble. And, of course, she had those heels she never came into court without. Other than her face being a shade or two paler than normal, it was hard to believe that just three days before, she'd passed out in this same courthouse.

Lang grinned at her, opening his arms for an embrace. "Hey there, sister! You're looking well." She rewarded him with a smile and a hug, although it felt strange to hug a person she barely knew. Either way, he was here for this case, to support her in some way, and she was grateful.

She went around the room, following up with Edgeworth (who surprised her with a hug of his own). Trucy ran up, declaring, "Me next, me next!", which made everyone smile. Phoenix attempted to be gentle, although his efforts were probably negated when Maya followed up with a bone-crushing hold. After wheezing dramatically a few times and laughing, she moved on to Franziska. She wasn't quite sure what to do, seeing as they'd never been especially close, but still allies. Going in for a hug might mean a slap with the whip. She decided to let Franziska make the first move.

She surprised her. Another hug. Perhaps there was a conspiracy going on. Afterwards, Franziska merely fixed her with an icy stare and declared, "It would have looked weird to do anything different." There was a giggle from that response, as well as a cough Phoenix expelled that sounded suspiciously like, "damage control". The remark didn't amuse Franziska, but Kiria looked away before she could see the consequences. She could hear them well enough.

Nate was last, and her resolve wavered as she saw how tired he looked. He was doing this for her, she knew. Guilt brewed inside of her, threatening to lash out. He offered a smile, breaking the tension and making her smile back. She moved into his arms and he hugged her back firmly. A feeling of déjà vu washed over them both prompting light laughter from both of them and a reevaluation of how much they'd changed. Hoping he'd jumped on the same train of thought, she grinned. "I think you've gotten taller."

"And you've gotten thinner. And older too," he teased, amending it quickly with, "not that anyone could tell."

She flipped her hair, shrugging vainly. "They'd better not be able to." She couldn't keep the smile off her face for very long, and it eventually broke through the serious expression she'd put on. "Ready for the trial?"

His face fell. "More than ready. We've been waiting for two hours now to start; apparently Holcomb can't figure out how to call a witness."

"Holcomb's the Defense?" Kiria said in surprise. She frowned, murmuring something under her breath. "No matter," she finally said. "Who's my Prosecution?"

"Edgeworth and I. We're going to win this for you, Kiria."

She smiled again. "I know. It's not me you have to convince; it's the judge."

"What will happen now?" Tessa asked, having been forgotten with the arrival of the victim.

"Once the trial starts, Kiria will be called as the main witness. It's going to be a bit touch-and-go for testimony; I don't think I've ever requested testimony from an attempted murder victim before," Edgeworth explained, apologizing. "Afterwards, the ball is in Holcomb's court. She cross-examines to find flaws in the testimony, and we try to rebuttal those flaws with the evidence we have." He turned to Kiria. "Have you ever been a witness?"

She shook her head.

"It's not hard. All I need you to do is to tell the truth about whatever I asked you. Holcomb's going to ask you about things you probably don't want to talk about. Unfortunately, well, you know the consequences of pleading the fifth. I wouldn't recommend it in this trial."

"I'll talk. It's not like word hasn't gotten around by now." She didn't seem too worried about it. She must have come to terms with it before stepping foot into the courthouse.

The bailiff interrupted whatever Edgeworth was going to say next. "Court will convene in five minutes. Sorry for the delay." He nodded his head at them, tipping his cap to excuse himself.

A silence fell around the group, the solemnity of the situation hitting them square in the face. This was it. The trial of a lifetime would be starting, and it was up to Nathan to lead the charge. It took her two seconds to decide what to do. "We'll catch up with you all. I want to talk to Nate for a second." She twined her arm through her best friend's, pulling him off to the side. "Let's take a walk," she suggested, taking them in the direction of the courthouse doors.

"But the trial's starting in five minutes!" he protested.

"We'll be back in plenty of time." She led him out into the cool morning air, down the steps and then turned them around to look at the building they'd just exited. "Talk to me," she finally said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, but he had responded too quickly. His unsteadiness showed on his face, and from the look on hers, she'd already anticipated what the problem was. It would be easier just to tell her outright. "I don't know if I can do this," he admitted, the words rushing out of him before he could rethink the decision.

"Do what?"

"This. This trial. I mean, I've never been the leader. I've never been the one to fully do an investigation on my own!"

She cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, on your own? As far as I can tell, you're no more alone than you were in the Horiyama trial. Less, even." She sighed when he looked confused. "You still have a co-council, you have a victim, and you have people supporting you from all sides. You're not alone in this, Nathan. Everyone in that courtroom, sans Holcomb, is rooting for you."

"But that's the problem! I can't live up to their expectations. I should have never been elected as lead Prosecutor for this case!"

She chuckled. "You got kicked out of the nest. The rest of us know that you're ready to fly. What's got you hung up about it?"

"I don't know that I can win this one."

He knew he'd said the wrong thing when she'd drawn herself up to her full height and looked at him square in the eyes. "Nathaniel Price, never, ever, ever say that again." She was angry now, furious even. "The minute we walk into that courtroom, we cease to be best friends. I am your client, and you are my attorney. Right now, your job is no different than that of the Defense: you need to get a Guilty verdict for someone else. But taking on that part of the job isn't enough. You have to take on all of it.

"As your client, I need to be reassured. You have to believe in yourself so that I can believe in you. I'll tell you what my mentor told me the first time I had a client. Good or bad, your client has the right to the truth. As a lawyer, you have an obligation not to get them a certain verdict, but to help them learn the truth. As your client, that is all I'm asking of you, and that is something I know you can do."

"But . . . but this is unlike anything I've ever done. It's harder, and I don't know where this is going. I've never done something like this."

Kiria shook her head. "Remember the Reiko Horiyama case? When Natalya claimed to have implicated Reiko, we were at a loss. What were you going to do then?"

"I . . . don't know. I was just going to try to work it out during the trial," he admitted.

"Then that's what you're going to do with this trial." Kiria took hold of his hands, squeezing them between her own. "Forget that I'm anything more than a witness. You just need to do what you're good at, and I'll come up with the rest. Okay?"

He wasn't completely convinced, but he did feel a little more confident going into the case. "I don't see how you can do it," he said, shaking his head in awe.

"How I can do it? How I can do what?"

He squeezed her hands back. "How you can keep strong through all of this. You've been poisoned, and yet, you still come back with a smile. I don't get it."

She shook her head. "I'm not strong at all. I'm only doing what I can to help out."

"But even when you weren't poisoned. You kept being a leader. You made Sine Hawkins believe in you in Washington DC, and you got Reiko Horiyama convicted back in April. Hell, even back when we were dancing, you were so good at what you did that it put everyone else to shame. I've always wished that I could be like you."

She gave a short, humorless laugh. "No, I've never been that. I couldn't keep going as a dancer, so I fell on drugs to support me. Everything after that has been retribution. You never needed to do that, because you never got into it in the first place. You were always the good kid, Nate. The strong one. Just because you have a moment or two of weakness doesn't make you weak. It makes you human." She found she couldn't look him in the eyes, so she tugged on a hand. "Come on, you have a trial to win."

"The Court reconvenes for the trial of Whitman v. State of California." The Judge looked especially grave today, the normal traces of humor gone from his lined face. "Is the Prosecution ready?"

"We are, your Honor," Nathan replied, sparing a glance at Edgeworth out of the corner of his eye. The man looked determined, brows falling heavily over his dark eyes. A man ready for battle. Just as Nathaniel should be. He took a deep breath, toying with his jacket sleeve for a minute to compose himself.

"Is the Defense ready?"

"Ready, your Honor." Arielle Holcomb sounded extraordinarily disaffected today, her tone lofty and uncaring.

"Then this trial shall start." The judge banged his gavel against the block, the sound echoing finality. "Will the Prosecution please give its opening statement?"

Nathan took another deep breath, standing. He could feel Edgeworth's hand against his shoulder, an indicator of trust and confidence in him. "Yesterday, Miss Holcomb alleged that the victim in the case, Kiria Nomura, had not been poisoned by another, but had succumbed to an age-old addiction using a poison when she ran out of the drug. The Prosecution now has the evidence to refute that claim." Edgeworth's hand tightened on his shoulder, and Nathan blinked in confusion. Was this a warning? He turned slightly so he could see the man's expression and saw small signs of confusion.

Ah, right. He'd forgotten to mention the pill he'd found yesterday. So much for the trust factor.

"Is the Prosecution intending to show the court, or are we supposed to see the invisible evidence?" Holcomb asked.

Nathan felt his face burning. "The Prosecution presents a pill of Rydeine, found in the victim's home."

Holcomb's eyes scrutinized his. "Where did you find this?"

"Inside of the trash can. Under the bag, presumably where no one would look, since the bag was completely empty."

"Objection!" Holcomb shouted, but he could see the worry beginning to flourish. "That doesn't prove anything! What if the victim wasn't aware of the location of the pill?"

Nathan shook his head. "Miss Holcomb, how drunk do you have to be to put a pill you were intending to take under the bag in your trash can?" That got a chuckle out of the court, even if he did receive a penalty for it. It was small, and worth it, judging by her reaction to it. She'd turned a lovely shade of crimson, somewhere between tomato and plum. After the Judge had gotten the court under control once again, he cleared his throat. "In any case, that question is pure conjecture. We can ask Miss Nomura if she was aware of it. The Prosecution calls Kiria Nomura to the stand!"

There was general applause in the courtroom as the young woman took the stand, looking as well as ever, looking more put-together than most of the courtroom. She'd been absent from the opening statement, being a witness, and had taken the time to refresh her makeup and smooth her hair back down. The composed smile on her lips was immediately endearing, and Nathan had to smile. This was the Kiria he knew: the girl who put up a fight before the fight even got started. Arielle Holcomb was going to have a hell of a time cross-examining her.

She waved to the gallery, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. "I guess I didn't realize I was so popular," she said humbly. He could see the half of the gallery who knew her personally roll their eyes. This was an act, meant to sway the judge towards her.

Attorneys always made the most interesting witnesses.

Even the Judge seemed to want to smile back at her. "Very nice to see you again, Miss Nomura. May I congratulate you for your recovery?"

"That's so kind of you, your Honor! Thank you for your consideration!"

There was a Dahlia Hawthorne-esque tinge to this mask, Edgeworth decided. She seemed so innocent, so feminine, that it was hard to imagine her as the drug addict Holcomb had described her as. Had she planned that, or was there just a coincidental similarity? Either way, he had to hope it didn't come back to hurt her case later. "Your Honor, I had the privilege of talking with one of the nurses who has been administering Miss Nomura's care. She wanted the court to know that Miss Nomura is not at a full one-hundred percent yet, and she will probably tire easily. It is in the interest of the court, as well as Miss Nomura's health, to be gentle while questioning her."

"Thank you for the warning, Mr. Edgeworth. Miss Holcomb, do you agree to that?"

"Absolutely, your Honor. Miss Nomura's health is the most important thing in this courtroom, even before finding out who poisoned her." The sneer on her face completely contradicted her words, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Witness—" he said, cutting off as he realized how strange it was to be calling her that. "Witness," he attempted again, this time with more success, "please state your name and occupation."

"My name is Kiria Nomura, and I am a Defense Attorney at the Wright Talent Agency." She smiled at him encouragingly, telling him wordlessly that he was doing well, and to keep on going.

He cleared his throat, wiping his hands on his pants to get rid of the sweat. Edgeworth sent him a look with a cocked brow that said, "Professional, Price. Really professional." He cleared his throat again, this time in embarrassment. He felt self-conscious, despite the fact that the trial had started off well. "We'd like to ask you about your, um . . . uh, drug . . . um, the Rydeine." He'd been trying to phrase it delicately, but this was the best he'd come up with.

She chuckled at his fumbling. "What would you like to know?" She didn't seem to be angry, the opposite actually, as she was smiling in his direction.

"You are a former drug addict, correct?"

"No." The iciness of the word chilled him, and then she was all smiles again. "It's not that I deny ever having been a drug addict, but I prefer to think of myself as one. After all, it's a constant battle against it."

"Huh?" He couldn't stop himself from echoing the word.

"I will, for the rest of my life, be a recovering addict, because the minute you believe it's all over is the minute you succumb again. But if you'd like to use the term 'former,' I suppose I can go along with it." She was rambling slightly, which was strange, because when she was nervous, she tended not to talk, for fear of her English usage. He supposed it forced her to keep answering questions this way, if she refused to shut down.

Edgeworth cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, we'd rather use 'former'. Now, Miss Nomura, how long have you been clean?"

Her eyes gravitated to the ceiling, index finger tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. "It's been almost five years now, as far as I remember. It might be a little longer than that."

"Objection! How can we tell if the witness is lying?" Holcomb shouted.

Edgeworth spread his hands. "Do you have proof that the witness is? Innocent before proven guilty, might I remind you?"

She backed down. Edgeworth resumed questioning.

"Have you come in contact with the drug since?"

"I keep a bottle in my medicine cabinet as a reminder, if that's what you're asking. But I never take it."

"It?"

She smiled. "There's one pill in the bottle. After I was exonerated of my charges, I went home and disposed of all of the medication except for one pill. It's a reminder. It was hard to break from the addiction, but I still did it. I look at it when I'm particularly stressed, and I'm not sure I can pull through. It reminds me that I can." The real motives were much darker, but the court didn't need to know about that, and Kiria didn't feel like sharing.

Nathan nodded, taking control back. "So, to conclude, Miss Nomura, you haven't taken a dose of Rydeine since five years ago?"

"That's correct."

"Objection!" Holcomb shouted. "Where's the evidence? Anyone under suspicion doesn't just get to explain it away!"

Nathan held up the single pill. "The evidence is this. As anyone familiar with drug development knows, drug composition changes after certain amounts of time in order to improve their quality. The composition of this dose of Rydeine matches a sample made five years ago. In any case, it is not similar to the current drug. If Miss Nomura were still administering the drugs, she would have a much more recent dosage, not one from five years ago!"

"B—But that doesn't prove . . . anything!" Holcomb attempted to rebuttal.

"Perhaps it's not rock-solid proof, but there is no proof otherwise! We have a five-year-old bottle and a five-year-old pill to go along with it! Miss Holcomb, if you could tell me where the proof is against Ki—Miss Nomura, that would be greatly appreciated, because I don't see it!"

He could see Kiria's hands coming together in a silent clap under the witness stand.

Holcomb twittered, finally shaking her head. "I have none."

Nathan and Edgeworth both smiled triumphant smiles.

"But you don't have a motive for my client to have poisoned her either," Holcomb came back with a minute later. "As far as I'm concerned, we're at an impasse."

There was a startled noise from the Prosecutor's Bench. Finally, Nathan started spluttering. "That—That's not true! Elias Whitman must have poisoned Kiria Nomura because of her proximity to the Laytonne case!"

"Might I remind you that Mr. Whitman was a mere witness in the case?"

"Objection!"

Eyes gravitated towards the Witness Stand once more.

Kiria was leaning forward, a determined look on her face. "Elias Whitman wasn't a mere witness! He was—"

"Objection!" Holcomb cut her off smoothly. "Anything Miss Nomura says regarding the Laytonne v. State of California case is mere hearsay, and therefore is not admissible in court."

The smile Nathan had been composing slid from his face as he stared incredulously at the Defense Attorney. Meanwhile, Edgeworth had the presence of mind to object. "Objection! It is not just hearsay; Kiria Nomura was the lead Defense Attorney on the case!"

Holcomb shook her head. "But whatever she will say will be unverified. Besides, we have Elias Whitman here with us. If there is any confusion as to his involvement, you are welcome to call him to the stand."

"Your Honor!" Nathan called out, hoping to gain the Judge's favor on this, but the Judge was slowly shaking his head.

"I'm afraid that under the current laws, Miss Holcomb is absolutely right."

Kiria looked devastated. "B—but your Honor!" she protested. "Even if it is hearsay, I am still bound by the laws of perjury!"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Miss Nomura, but I must ask you not to testify in regards to the Laytonne v. State of California case."

Nathan's head spun. He needed to get Kiria's information on the Laytonne case, but without her testimony, what could he do? He tried to walk through what he knew. Hermia Laytonne had asked Lysander Triton to break up with her, and then he had started dating Angela. Then, somehow, Angela had ended up dead.

Color started draining out of his surroundings, until they were reflected in shades of grey. Time seemed to slow down, making every syllable of protest made seem long and drawn out. He felt dizzy, his head too heavy for his body, like a boulder being supported by twigs. Somewhere in the back of his head, he could hear voices, but they seemed fuzzy and unclear.

". . . Trance State achieved."

A/N: Huge apology to those who have waited for so long for this chapter! D: I didn't mean to take quite this long! Anyways, any guesses on what's going on with Nate? Glad to hear everyone liked the Magatama scene!

Warning, this trial sequence is going to be long. I'm not sure I'm going to finish this volume by the end of February (still hoping to, but no guarantees). I'm also hoping to have another chapter up within the next week, so here's a hope!

Happy late Valentine's Day, by the way! Hope you all had a swell time!

Oh, and a thank you to everyone who's subscribed lately! I'm honored!

Blaze: Thank you!

Read and Review!