Episode 2: The Duality of Love

"So I'll see you at six?" Miles asked into the phone as he made his way inside the tea shop.

Phoenix was quick to notice, and took Miles' distraction as a chance to lean subtly and casually on the counter. "Right. I have some business to attend to beforehand, but I'll make sure to finish up before our meeting."

A pause, as the other person talked. "Of course I will. And you as well." Another pause. "Yes, of course. I will see you then. Goodbye." Miles put his phone away, and had just noticed Phoenix leaning on the counter.

"Business deals?" Miles shifted his eyes slightly. "In a sense, yes."

"Your usual?" He asked, trying to sound as suave as possible.

"Yes, thank you." Miles tried not to be too obvious as he was staring at Phoenix, but the sun illuminated his face in such a way that made his smile seem brighter, as if that was even possible. The man's demeanor was as bright and optimistic as a sunflower, the Wright Clan's familial symbol. The way Phoenix maintained such a confident pose was incredibly attractive, though Miles would never actually admit that. There was no way he deserved to be with someone as kindhearted and hardworking as Phoenix, especially not considering the things he did on the side.

Phoenix ran a hand through his endearingly spiky hair, and asked, "Our pastries are on sale for a dollar each today, would you like to add one to your order?"

Miles thought about it. "Yes, I would like two croissants, please."

Phoenix went to work and pulled out two croissants and stuffed them into a small bag. Miles thought he might be hearing things, but he could have sworn that when Phoenix asked that, he sounded almost...seductive. He had to have been hearing things though. Of course he was just projecting what he wanted to hear onto Phoenix. The tea shop co-owner was far too busy to be flirting with him. And besides, it was best that way. Miles didn't deserve someone like Phoenix, because deep down, he found himself to be a horrible person. No good person would wreak havoc on an entire city, even if there was a good reason for it.

Someone like him didn't deserve to date an innocent civilian, someone who had to deal with the effects that he had caused on a near-daily basis. At least, before he went to his side job, he could see Phoenix's beautiful face, and that was really all that mattered to him. The thought of Phoenix got him through the day. That optimistic smile is what kept him going. And yet, he could never tell him how he truly felt.

Maya placed Miles' order through the window, and Phoenix handed Miles his order, with a smile. "Here you go, Mr. Edgeworth."

This prompted a smile from Miles. "Thank you, Mr. Wright. I will see you another day."

Phoenix paid attention as Miles walked out, and waited till he left to release the sigh he was holding in. "He...he didn't even notice I was flirting with him."

"Aww, don't worry Nick! You'll get him next time!"

The Evil Magistrate made his way down to the center of town. On the way, he could hear screams of terror as the people ran from his presence. It had been something he had grown accustomed to. He landed on a rather tall roof, and his honed senses gave him the feeling that someone was behind him. He turned around quickly, and he was correct.

He was face to face with the Steel Samurai, and his Samurai Spear. He blocked it quickly, but that didn't quell the feeling of there being something behind him. He ducked as he turned around, knowing Pink was going to be using her sword. He pushed past Pink and quickly ran over to the other side of the roof. Steel and Pink took a second to compose themselves, before Pink rushed at Magi. "You're gonna get it now!" She shouted.

Pink and Magi exchanged blows. Her agility was top-notch, and more honed than either Steel or Magi. Amidst their fighting, Magi had managed to grab Pink by the ankle, and flung her over to the Steel Samurai. His hopes were for her to crash into him, but instead, Steel grabbed her ankle, and flung her back over. She gave Magi a swift kick in the jaw, knocking his sword out of his hand once again. She pointed her sword at him. "Second verse, same as-"

He quickly kicked the sword out of her hands and rushed to pick up his. Steel ran over to where the katana lay, but Magi swiftly picked it up, and slashed at him. Steel took a few blows with his spear. Their weapons connected, and they were face to face with each other. "Ready to give up, Evil Magistrate?" Steel asked. His mecha face was frozen still, but the distorted voice underneath sounded smug and cocky. Of course it was annoying, but Magi couldn't admit that he hated it either.

"The real question is, are you?" Steel stepped back, and the two continued to fight. Pink often jumped in to throw Magi off guard, but for the most part, his eyes were locked on Steel.

Magi admired the confidence and heroism of the Steel Samurai. He had for a long time, now. Becoming the Evil Magistrate was something he had found unfortunate when he had first started. On the one hand, he would be fighting the Steel Samurai, his very own hero. On the other hand, the fact that he even got to be this close to the Steel Samurai at all was a blessing in and of itself. When he first took the role of the Evil Magistrate, he had to basically prevent himself from going full fanboy. Nowadays, he's mostly been trying to put his love for the Steel Samurai to the side, so he could focus on why he was really doing what he was doing.

The fight had gone on so long, that before Magi knew it, the giant clock in the center of town had read five o'clock. He only had an hour to prepare for his meeting. He ran off to the other side of the roof. "I have other business to attend to, but next time, I'll be back, and absolutely nothing will be different!"

After he left, Pink and Steel were still on the roof. "Well, that was abrupt." Pink commented.

"I wonder what that was about." Steel shrugged.

Miles sat in the meeting room, covering his face in embarrassment. "'Absolutely nothing will be different?' What kind of suspicious-"

Miles looked up, as he heard the sound of heels clacking. A woman with short, mint-colored hair and a crisp black business suit entered the room. "Miles Edgeworth." She began. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Franziska Von Karma looked at him with impatience, waiting for him to begin. "Ah, yes." He said, standing up. "Recently, your father noticed that I've been...struggling as of late in my fight against the Steel Samurai and Pink Princess."

Franziska knew all too well what happened when Manfred saw them being less than perfect in their endeavors. She felt both sympathy and empathy for her brother, though she said nothing about it. "And so, he decided that it would be best to give me the other two devices."

Franziska was a bit surprised. "Why didn't he inform me of this?"

Miles didn't know how to answer. "I-I don't know. I was only given them yesterday."

He motioned to the box that was already sat on the table. "I just thought that since most of the devices had been stolen from your company, and you know more about them than basically anyone, I would ask you first. Not to mention, since you already know my dirty little secret, it would save me the trouble of having to ask someone unacquainted."

She didn't say anything as she opened the box and discovered the two remaining devices, lined up perfectly. Because of course they were, this was Karma Tech after all. She examined both of them thoroughly. One of them had a black circular base, with the top half resembling a black rose. In the middle, there was a grey jewel that she knew was the button to push in order to transform.

The second one also had a black circular base, but instead of a rose, it had golden bird wings. Miles stood by, and waited for her to choose. After careful consideration, Franziska placed the winged device back in the box, and admired the one with the rose. "I will pick this one. It's very pretty. Not to mention, I believe that this is the one with the whip."

Miles sighed, relieved. "So you'll be fighting alongside me?"

She smiled. "Of course. If I'm going to inherit my papa's company someday, then I need to find the people who did us wrong, and crush them."

Miles was a little put off by her 'crushing' demeanor, but he was at least happy that he got her to join him. He was about to end the meeting, when Franziska said. "Wait one moment."

Miles looked at her questioningly. "Yes?"

She took another look at her chosen device. "I want to be known as the Dark Empress. If I'm going to be on your team, then we need to have the same threatening aesthetic, right?"

Miles blinked. "I suppose. Whatever's fine with you."

Franziska had a weird way of showing when she was excited about something, that Miles had definitely picked up on over the years. He knew her better than she thought he did, but he sure wasn't going to tell her that for fear of invoking her wrath.

He knew how hard it must have been to have to be the perfect heiress to a company, though it wasn't like Manfred was too strict with how Miles ran his. It was his own company, after all. Manfred didn't get a say in how he ran it. He had to prepare a lot for tomorrow, but he at least had one worry taken off his chest.

Next time on Phoenix Wright: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo:

[She wasn't going to disrespect the dead, and especially not Miles' own father, but she didn't exactly agree with that philosophy... "A Von Karma is perfect. A Von Karma is always at their best. Always." ]

["W-Who are you?" Pink asked.

"That's easy," Dark said, laughing. "I'm the Dark Empress. Your worst nightmare."]

["If Edgeworth did find out that I was the Steel Samurai, what do you think he would say?"

"He would say 'wow Mr. Wright, you're my hero and I love you, let's kiss!'"]

Stay tuned for the next episode!

Okay, so things will be heating up pretty soon, and I'm really excited to show it all off. I have a lot planned for this series, and there's a lot of worldbuilding involved, so stay tuned for that. And, I wonder how Franziska will handle all this. Who knows?