Well, this turned out to be pure fluff. With a hint of plot development. At first I was a little stuck (as in writing a solid 14 words a day kind of stuck), so I ended up writing a bit of a prologue I wasn't sure if I was going to add to the story. That's why the chapter starts out in Italics. Anyway, everything about this chapter, from the prologue to the actually story part (mostly the latter), was inspired by the Cadenza remix of the Detention Center theme. It's such a simple melody, and the remix made it so serene. Listen to it if you want! :D
Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoy the chapter! And if you wanna review, I ain't gonna stop ya! :D
Miles unlocking the door to his office, carrying a burgundy organizer under his left arm. The prosecutor slipped his keys back into his pocket and opened the door, only to stand in the doorway with a somewhat confused expression.
He watched as his assistant repositioned a small mirror on his desk, her tongue sticking out as she did so. Apparently satisfied, she began fiddling with a strip of white cloth around her neck. Looking in the mirror, she noticed the prosecutor's reflection and turned around with a start.
"Mr. Edgeworth!" Kay said, surprised. "When did you get here?"
"Just now," Miles said, stepping inside and closing the door.
Curious, he examined the cloth around Kay's neck more closely. It appeared to be bunched up in places, as if it had been rolled up like a towel, and tied around her neck with a double knot. The ends were ruffled and wavy, triggering his memory.
"Kay, is that one of my cravats?" Miles said.
"Yeah, I found it in your desk," Kay said, adjusting the knot. "This is driving me crazy, I don't know how you get these things on every day!"
Miles shook his head softly as he walked over to his desk. He put down his organizer and undid Kay's knot. The silken cravat loosened around the young girl's neck, allowing Miles to completely unfurl the cloth. Now able to start fresh, he began carefully tying it the proper way.
"Say, why was this in your desk anyway?" Kay said, watching him work in the mirror.
"Oh, I don't usually wear this one," Miles said. "A little girl blew her nose into it."
"I said I washed it!" Kay said.
"I know you did," Miles said. "I just prefer to keep it in my desk. There we go."
He took a step back and allowed Kay to examine the cravat in its correct state. She ran her fingers through the three layers of ruffles and looked at herself from a few different angles.
"Hmm… Looks kind of dorky on me," Kay said. "I think it looked better the way I had it."
"What are you talking about? The way it looks now is…" Miles just sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Never mind, I suppose everyone has their taste."
She pretended not to see his smile.
The airport was, as it usually was, crowded with people bustled in all different directions. The collective sound of everyone talking to each other was almost overbearing, made only worse by the occasional shout of someone trying to get other person's attention. Miles walked through the crowd with all the dignity he could muster, doing everything he could not to walk into someone who wasn't paying attention. Beside him was Kay, who had her ear buds on and was silently mouthing words. Miles grabbed the eighteen year old's arm and pulled her towards him just before she walked into a businessman in the middle of a phone call.
"Ack! Mr. Edgeworth!" Kay said, taking one of her ear buds out. "What was that for?"
"You need to pay attention," Miles said sternly. "You can listen to music on the plane."
"This isn't music, I'm practicing my Japanese!" Kay said defensively.
"And you can do that later," Miles said. "Or else you're going to miss your flight."
Eventually, the two got off the main path and stepped into the surprisingly quieter waiting area. Just as Kay set down her suitcase, a woman behind a desk pressed a button and spoke into her microphone.
"Flight LY4438 for Tokyo, Japan is now boarding."
"Guess it's time for me to go," Kay said. "Thanks for seeing me off, Mr. Edgeworth."
"It was no trouble," Miles said, looking down at the floor.
"Are you okay?" Kay said.
"Of course, I'm fine," Miles said.
Kay gasped. "You're going to miss me, aren't you?"
"I said I'm fine, Kay," Miles said. "I thought we went through all of this when you said your goodbyes to Gumshoe."
"Of course you're going to miss me, what are you going to do without your lovely assistant?" Kay said, grinning mischievously.
"After all this, are you going to miss your flight because of a long goodbye?" Miles said.
Without warning, Kay wrapped her arms around the prosecutor and hugged him. He flinched, spreading his arms out in surprise. Unsure what to do, he simply stood there, frozen in place. After a few slow, awkward moments Kay let go and took a step back.
"Goodbye, Mr. Edgeworth," Kay said.
"Goodbye, Kay," Miles said. "Have a safe flight."
She nodded and picked up her suitcase. Turning around, she walked through the line and stepped onto the plane. Once she found her seat, the young thief in training lifted her suitcase up into the baggage holder. Something slipped out the front pocket and fell into her seat.
"What?" Kay said to herself.
She picked up the cloth to examine more closely. It was white, faded slightly with age, and wrinkled from being stuffed in the suitcase. The ends were ruffled and wavy. Kay smiled and put the cloth in her side pack before taking her seat.
"I'll miss you too."
With a brisk, steady pace, Maria strode through the hallways of the police department. In her hands was, as usual, a binder filled with case details. Men and women in police uniforms darted to and from the hall at random, all with tasks to complete. The prosecutor didn't focus on them, however. She focused her attention straight ahead of her, specifically on the door at the end of the hall. I need to hear this from her myself.
She reached the end of the hall and opened the door. The moment she stepped inside the concrete room of the visiting center, the lighting instantly dimmed. It captured the dull bleakness of the room perfectly.
"Who would you like to speak to, ma'am?" a security guard said.
"Kay Faraday," Maria said with no hesitation.
She promptly took a seat in front of the large window and waited. The moments crawled by in complete silence, until finally it was broken by the sound of the heavy door swinging open. With her hands behind her back, Kay walked into the room with a hopeful smile on her face. The young thief faced Maria and froze in surprise.
"Oh, hello," Kay said.
"Hello, Kay," Maria said. "I don't believe I've ever actually introduced myself. Maria Coldstare."
"Yeah, I know who you are," Kay said, taking a seat at the opposite side of the window. "I've heard great things about you, Ms. Coldstare."
"I've heard some interesting things about you as well," Maria said.
"Like how I'm a thief?" Kay said.
"Among other things, yes," Maria said. "Miles' assistant, skilled with simulation technology, and calls herself the Yatagarasu."
"That sounds like me," Kay said. "Let's see… Prosecutor, also skilled with technology and most shockingly of all, Mr. Edgeworth's girlfriend."
"Why is that shocking?" Maria said.
"We're talking about the same guy, right?" Kay said. "Dark hair, pale skin, condescending, antisocial?"
"I assure you we're on the same page," Maria said brusquely. This girl really is nothing like Miles.
"That really was cool, what you did with Little Thief," Kay said. "I never thought to use him that way."
Maria looked down at her organizer. "It seems to have only complicated matters."
"Nah, this just means it's a complicated case," Kay said, crossing her arms and smiling. "You just have to connect the dots."
"That sounds like something Miles would say," Maria said.
"He did say it," Kay said. "Sure I studied in Japan, but I still learned a lot from Mr. Edgeworth."
"How long were you his assistant?" Maria said.
"Just one year," Kay said. "But it was a busy year, trust me."
"Miles does have a surprisingly active life," Maria said.
"It sure seems that way sometimes," Kay said. "Between him and my training, I was always doing something."
"Your Yatagarasu training, I take it?" Maria said.
"Yeah, but back then it was mostly just physical training to keep me in shape," Kay said. "You know, rope climbing, gymnastics, stuff like that."
"I see," Maria said plainly.
"I take it you're not a fan," Kay said. "It's okay, I understand. If I thought everyone would approve I wouldn't have tried to keep it a secret."
"What exactly is the Yatagarasu's M.O?" Maria said.
"The truth," Kay said. "You know the limerick that activates Little Thief, the Yatagarasu is a modern day Robin Hood."
"Stealing from the rich to give to the poor?" Maria said.
"Stealing from the deceitful to drag the darkness into the light for all to see," Kay said. "That's my job."
"The deceitful?" Maria said. That didn't sound at all like Robin Hood.
"Namely big companies that make shady dealings or do things that are just plain bad," Kay said.
"Isn't that what the law is for?" Maria said.
"The law is for protecting people," Kay said. "But criminals are people too, and that gets in the way of an investigation sometimes. You can't do anything without solid evidence, and the road to getting that evidence is a labyrinth. So the Yatagarasu gets the evidence for the police and let's them do their job from there."
"What made you decide that you needed to intervene?" Maria said.
"Well, I actually inherited the title of the Yatagarasu from my father," Kay said. "So that's what got me started, I wanted to continue my father's legacy."
"Is that so?" Maria said.
Kay nodded. "I'll be completely honest; I didn't really know what I was doing in the beginning. Being the Yatagarasu gave me a connection to my father, and being a hero sounded like fun. It took me a while to really understand those things I kept chanting."
In other words, she was a child. Maria said nothing and waited for her to continue.
"I figured it out eventually though; it's not about being a hero. Because you're not a hero, you're a thief. It's the cross I have to bear though, because the truth is more important than anything. And my father taught me to always do what's right," Kay said, smiling fondly at the memory of Byrne Faraday.
She really thinks she's doing the right thing. "Kay, do you really think committing a crime for the sake of catching another criminal is justified? I find myself reminded of environmentalists who run tours on motorized boats about why pollution and other people's motorized boats are harmful to waterways."
"Hehehe!" Kay giggled. "Okay, I see what you mean. Like I said, I know being a thief is wrong. I really do understand that. But I'll do anything to find the truth. Because that's what Mr. Edgeworth taught me."
"Miles inspired to keep up being a thief?" Maria said, perplexed.
"He once told me to never stray from the path I'd chosen, regardless of where it took me," Kay said. She grinned. "Except he probably wasn't thinking about the Yatagarasu at the time. I know he never wanted me to become a thief, and I understand why. That's probably what held me back all these years. I want to make sure I'm totally ready to face the challenges of being a Great Thief before diving in again. I know that there are other ways to get to the truth, legal ones. But criminals don't play fair, some of them know how to use the law to their advantage. That's when the Yatagarasu comes in, to even the playing field when it's necessary. I want to do what's right, whatever that may be. And if it means getting my hands dirty, that's what I'll do. And I won't run from that responsibility, no matter what."
Maria watched Kay as she talked. As the Great Thief spoke of her creed, her manner changed. There was confidence in her posture, pride in her voice, and a glint of determination in her eyes. It was obvious that she meant every word she said, and carried the passion and stubbornness to stay true to them.
"Maybe I haven't broken any rules yet, but I'm dancing on the edge of the line," Kay said. "One day I'll step over it, and that'll be that. I won't ask you or anyone else to support me, or say that I'm in the right. Just don't try to make me change my mind."
The prosecutor closed her eyes, smiling softly. I was wrong. She and Miles are exactly the same. "I suspect I wouldn't be able to if I tried."
"Heh, that's probably pretty accurate," Kay said, crossing her arms.
"One thing though, why are you explaining all of this to me?" Maria said. "You barely know me; this is the first conversation we've ever had, and yet you're telling me your entire life story."
"That's true. I guess I haven't known you for very long. But I trust you," Kay said. "I don't cry in front of strangers, and I don't think you're the type too either. So when I saw you in the clearing that day, when I saw those tears, I decided I could trust you."
Maria stared at her, unsure what to say. She was touched, yet at the same time a little embarrassed and confused. That's really all it took?
"So, have I answered all your questions?" Kay said.
"Not all of them," Maria said, brushing her emotions aside. "I've been curious for a while now. What exactly are you investigating?"
"Ah, so that's what you wanted to know," Kay said. "Well, you've heard of this company called Ship Enterprises?"