Disclaimer: I dont own any of the characters of Ace Attorney or the upcoming Ace attorney chronicles, the rights to both belong to Capcom.
Birth of a Phoenix
Retired defence attorney, Ryūnosuke Naruhodo, clutched his head, gripping both sides of it as the rim of his black cap shielded most of his facial expression and his cloak rustled against the nonexistent breeze as it scrunched and wrinkled against his rigid shoulders.
He had spent years defending people in the courts of London and didn't decide to properly retire until he was in his early nineties and, he had to admit, the laws had changed over time, much like the ocean waves and he was intrigued with every new way that the courtroom had changed after all these years in comparison to the first time he had stepped into a courtroom. He remembered how terrified he was to defend himself after being accused of murder and his best friend had to save him, with himself doing some proper defending.
He could laugh at it now, how none of his objections or table slams had any valour or bravery behind them —how much of a rookie he truly was.
The memory of it all was as fresh as a spring breeze.
But look at him now...
He sat in a lonesome hospital corridor, fidgeting constantly on one of the many chairs that were placed against the wall.
The Nipponese lawyer alternated between tapping his foot on the ground or drumming his fingers against his aching knee in a rhythmic manner.
He couldn't say exactly how long he had been perched on that seat but it felt as though he had sat there for an eternity.
Time just became a gooey mass that he couldn't distinguish but, every once in awhile, a nurse or doctor would whisk by him with clipboard in hand but otherwise the atmosphere was rather monotonous; the sounds of distant heart monitors droned on and on in the background to the point where he was sure that he could predict the exact instant the next beep would sound.
He saw nurses and doctors bustling passed him as the hours dragged on and on in a crawl and he started to feel worry dredge itself up inside his soul. He didn't know why but something was wrong and he didn't believe he was imagining it nor it was a symptom of paranoia.
The strong scent of antiseptic and cleaning chemicals was strong and burned away at his nostrils.
To be honest, the only time he had expected to be in hospital was when his life was about to end but he was 116 now and still going strong so he didn't expect death to come looming anytime soon.
Ryū started to ponder on his predicament.
So, why was he here?
He was here for a very important reason, actually.
He had to stay in the hospital in order to be there for his granddaughter — his only living relative.
Her name was Raven.
Raven was an artist who had relocated to the country to be closer to her grandfather after her husband, a man known as Gryphon, whom had ran off and vanished off the face of the earth after hearing his wife was expecting their one and only child. After she was left on her own, she sought out her grandfather and he decided to help her as best as he could since they only had each other now.
Ryū was determined to lend his granddaughter a helping hand and help with the newborn however he could, what sort of man would he have been if he wasn't? But there was always this worry niggling in the back of his mind since his granddaughter was warned of how she probably wouldn't survive the birth.
He refused to lose anymore loved ones, especially after he had lost his family one-by-one:
His wife and former legal assistant, Susato Mikotoba, had died from natural causes long ago.
His very best friend, Kazuma Asogi, had (for real this time) died in an accident and passed his katana to his friend, Ryū.
His friend and (sort of) father figure, Detective Herlock Sholmes, had died of natural causes too.
His and Sasuto's firstborn son, Isao, had died in battle after joining the Nipponese military.
Their middle son, Ryuchi (Raven's father), had practically vanished off the face of the earth without warning.
Their youngest daughter, Yuki, had died after contracting a severe illness.
Iris Wilson, Herlock's assistant, had passed away from an accident out at seas.
Needless to say, after all the death and all the pain that Ryūnosuke had gone through, especially after watching his loved ones die all around him while he lived, was more then his heart could bare and a little bit more of his heart broke each time a friend passed on.
Why was he the one time had left behind?
What was so special about him?
He shook his head, snapping his wandering mind back to attention.
He knew that he shouldn't have been dwelling on the negative "what if's" or the "maybe's" since there was a chance that things could end up going for the better.
Not even he was that unlucky.
...Right?
Suddenly, a nurse popped out into the hallway.
"Hello?" She called out, one of her hands cupping one side of her mouth in hopes of amplifying her own voice. "Is there someone here for Mrs Wright?"
Ryūnosuke bolted upright on the seat so fast that not only did he practically knock the chair over but his hat almost became dislodged and fell off his head. His eyes went wide, his face hardened with focus and concentration and he bolstered his courage —he was certain that he was prepared for any news of his granddaughter and to-be-great granddaughter or grandson.
His eyes were full of the fires of hope but said hope was snuffed out the instant he noticed the sullen and teary-eyed expression on the nurse's face. She was clearly an experienced nurse due to the "in-control-of-herself" saunter she had adapted as she approached him.
Ryū felt nothing but dread build up inside his heart as the nurse stood in front of him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Mr Naruhodo..." Said the nurse in a choked up tone of voice, in spite of her professional outward display "But I'm afraid your granddaughter didn't make it."
And, just like that, Ryūnosuke's world turned completely black as he felt his vision faded in and out, flickering like the flame of a candle. He looked down at the palms of his hands as his eyesight blackened a few times before it had normalised, tears swelled up in his eyes as he licked his lips to wet his suddenly-dry mouth that he hadn't even realised had become dry until now.
He shook his head disbelievingly and his breath hitched in his throat.
This couldn't be happening.
This couldn't be real?
This just couldn't!
"No...this cannot be..."
The elderly ancestral lawyer sprang to his feet and made a mad dash, whirling right by the nurse. In his mind he was praying that there had to have been some mistake. Raven had been perfectly healthy before so how could she just die like that!? He could hear his heart pounding loud in is ears and his eyes glued wide open. His mind was racing a mile a second and he was fairly certain that his knees would explode right out of their sockets due to how fast he ran.
Panting, Ryū sprinted straight towards the cubicle that he guessed was his granddaughter's and burst into the room, slamming the double doors open.
It was after he had barrelled into the room that he saw something that made his heart sink.
That nurse had to have been lying...she just had to be!
But, alas, she wasn't.
In the bed lay a young woman who had a last, plaintive smile permanently painted upon her lips. Her eyes were closed and her skin was still covered in small beads of sweat that stubbornly stuck to her cooling skin. She was ghostly pale and her long pitch black black hair was all messy as it spread in all directions on the pillow, with the exception of the few spikes poking out the top of her head.
A look of crestfallen despair had etched upon the elder's face as he slunk into the room slowly.
His aged and decrepit body felt like lead all of a sudden as he slowly strode towards the bed before he slumped down on to the edge of the bed and quickly grabbed hold of Raven's ice cold hand and tenderly messaged it by rubbing the back of her slender hand and tracing along her knuckles with a thumb. He felt a tear fall as he bowed his head in sorrow, chewing his bottom lip to keep his body from letting out a mournful choke of despair but that didn't stop the whimpers from slipping through his clenched teeth.
He felt his heart shatter into pieces for what felt like the billionth time since he had lost dear sweet Susato, his cherished friends and his beloved children.
He had just lost his remaining grandchild, the last of his linage...
The nurses who lingered nearby, all wore somber expressions as one of them drew the covers over her in an act of finality.
Ryūnosuke's eyes were dull and empty yet the tears didn't stop flowing down his face, they were like little waterfalls, and he never loosened his grip on her hand but when he noticed how the warmth of her body lessened little by little, it devastated him just a little more. He had lost so much but he didn't expect this to happen; why were so many of his loved ones being taken away from him.
He whimpered as he lifted a hand to clamp his own mouth in a hopes to stifle more crying.
A breath hitched in his throat and his eyes popped wide open as a memory flashed in his mind.
A few weeks earlier...
Ryūnosuke's hands shook a bit as he carried a tray that held a fine porcelain teapot.
The teapot had steam pouring from its spout, a pair of tea cups and a plate full of crumpets and he inhaled the sweet yet intoxicating scent of Earl gray as he traversed through the house with slow steps; he loved this blend of tea and he found it quite soothing and calming for the soul.
He also used to share it with Susato, Herlock and Iris back in the day...
After difficult trials, Herlock (with the help of Iris) would make some tea and serve it to Ryū and Susato and the group would unwind and sit on the sitting room sofa whilst enjoying their after-trial treat, heck, sometimes they even invited the trials defendant to join in with them and the group would idly chat. Eventually, Ryūnosuke had decided to take it upon himself to learn how to make tea and crumpets himself and he would love serving it with his friends when they were either too busy or incapable of doing it themselves anymore.
He smiled a hint at the memory, even though the nostalgia felt like a knife in his chest.
It had been a long time since he had eaten a crumpet or drank tea in good company so it felt nice to be able to do so again...
Anyways, as he traipsed carefully through the house, searching and peeking through each room that he had just happened to passed by, he started to recall what had been happening to him as of late:
It had been a few weeks since his sole surviving adult grandchild had wound up on his doorstep, shaking with panic and obviously expecting a baby. She was practically weeping at his feet as Ryū opened the door of his house and let her in. It came out that Raven's husband had just vanished off the face of the earth without warning and, being an artist with very little outcome, she had been evicted from her home and thrown out on to the dreary streets.
Ryūnosuke happily let her live with him —besides, he had enough space to house her and the baby and he was feeling quite lonesome anyways; not to mention that the streets were no place for a pregnant woman to roam nor a place to raise a newborn.
He was determined to take care of his family for as long as they needed him.
It took awhile but he eventually found himself standing in the doorway of a baby's nursery room to find a woman sat on a stool in front of an easel, a paintbrush gripped softly in one hand and the other resting atop her severely swollen abdomen. She sung a soft melody as she rocked herself back and forth slowly on her stool as she made delicate yet precise strokes on the canvas with the paint brush, her eyes hard and focused.
That's right, she was pregnant.
And very much so at that!
The baby's nursery was simple and obviously a makeshift nursery. The room was chock full of random items such as a crib, a table jammed into a corner, a wardrobe, a rocking chair, a chest full of toys, a set of drawers and there was a few arts and crafts supplies such as an easel with a bunch of random (yet beautiful) canvases hanging on the walls. A mobile hung from the ceiling and over the crib, slowly spinning idly as it hung suspended in space. The walls were painted a soft yellow colour and the floors were a soft and plush carpet.
Raven was really focused until her gaze flittered from the canvas to her elder standing in the doorway.
She jumped a bit and almost tumbled right off of her perch on the stool.
"Oh! Grandfather! I didn't see you!" She exclaimed, startled.
Ryūnosuke just smiled warmly.
He should have guessed that Raven would have been so focused on her work that she would have tunnel vision for anything but her canvas. She had inherited her grandmother's book smarts, kind-heart and drive to complete whatever task she might have in progress. Not to mention that, every time Ryū saw his granddaughter's eyes, they almost made him think of Susato's deep chocolate pools and, while it broke his heart a little, he also felt his heart swell with joy.
"That's quite alright, sweetheart, I'm sorry for scaring you."
Ryūnosuke proceeded to put the tray and food aside on a nearby countertop and approached the woman who was readjusting her posture to improve her position —Ryū took gentle hold of both her forearms to lend some assistance as he helped her sit a bit more comfortable.
After helping Raven, the elderly man went back to retrieve the tray from the counter and handed a small saucer that balanced the teacup over to his expecting granddaughter.
"I thought we should both settle down for some tea and snacks."
Raven happily accepted it and took a small sip.
"Thanks, granddad."
"You are very welcome."
Another short silence passed the two by until Raven jumped a bit, once again almost falling right off her stool.
"Woah!"
She heard the sound of porcelain breaking as the cup she held slipped out of her hand and snapped her eyes shut to brace for impact but found that she was prevented from hitting the floor when a hand grabbed hold of hers and gently pulled her right back up. It took her a minute to organise in her brain what had happened and she realised that her grandfather had leapt to his feet and grabbed her hand to stop her from falling to the floor before gently hauling her to sit her upright yet again.
Throughout him catching her, he wore a face full of frozen panic and his mouth was agape as he hardly breathed for those long few seconds.
"Phew..." Ryū finally let himself breathe "That was a close one."
Raven looked down at her tummy and glared at it while she waved a finger angrily.
"Hey! I'd appreciate it if you didn't use my insides for martial arts practice, kid!"
Ryū gave a long exhale as he bent down and touched his knees, already fatigued due to having to save his heavily pregnant granddaughter from falling to the ground.
He groaned.
"Goodness, this little one will be the death of us."
That was a prediction that Raven couldn't agree more with.
"Tell me about it! This little one will probably cause us to go to an early grave."
"But I'll still be right here to help you."
Raven lurched forwards and threw her arms around Ryū and pulled him in for a tight hug, she was practically glowing with happiness. She nuzzled her face into the old ex-lawyer's shoulder and holding her granddad close to her but she was careful not to break his neck, despite her joy she didn't want to overdo it and inadvertently hurt him —her granddad wasn't frail by any means but she wasn't taking any chances.
"Thank you so much, grandfather..."
Ryū closed his eyes and hugged her back, smiling a beaming smile that spread from ear-to-ear.
The two broke apart, trying to bask in the warmth of this familial moment but finding one another speechless for a few seconds until Raven spoke once more. Her eyes became a bit downcast as she remembered her own father.
"I really hope this little fellow is a boy because then I can have his Nipponese name be named after my father, I wanna honour him in some way..."
Ryūnosuke shared her sadness but decided to try and remedy it by reaching over to the tray and taking a biscuit and offering it to her.
Raven accepted it and bit into it but then remembered her tea. She hadn't meant to drop it, it just slipped out of her hand! She felt a huge amount of guilt as she hung her head in shame and shuffled one foot against the floor below, minding the shattered pieces of tea cup and the spilt pool of Earl gray tea.
"Oh. Sorry about your cup, grandad..."
Ryū shrugged, not really all that bothered about the cup.
"It's alright, Ravie. Although if you really want this little one to reflect more of our side of the family then you had better hope that he doesn't inherit our families strange spiky hair..."
Raven chuckled at Ryūnosuke's jest before she lowered her gaze to stare down lovingly at her swollen abdomen.
"Either way, as far as I'm concerned, this little one shall be my greatest work of art..."
"...Erm, excuse me sir?"
Ryū raised his head when he felt a hand land on his shoulder and found himself staring up into the face of yet another kind-faced nurse. He hadn't realised that he had been left in a daze. He had just forgotten where he was. The old ex-attorney at law sniffed and tried to use a sleeve to wipe away some remaining tears that tried to fall down his wrinkled face, hoping to look at least a tad more in control.
"Why don't you go and have something to eat in the cafe? Certainly you must be hungry." The nurse suggested in a quiet tone of voice.
Ryū huffed.
The nurse was right.
He hadn't eaten a thing throughout a majority of the day and he would have been lying if he had said that he wasn't the slightest bit peckish. He put a hand to his grumbling stomach as he tried to blink back any more tears that threatened to flow out from his ocular structures, his face stoic and hard as he just decided to go and eat something before his stomach tried to use his own body fat as nourishment.
He wanted to decline but his clenching and rumbling stomach growled in protest.
He decided to just accept the suggestion.
So, gathering up all his strength, he staggered out of the room in a broken-hearted daze. He fought back more sobs and whimpers as he bit his lower lip so hard that he was sure that his mouth would bleed if he wasn't careful. His eyes stung and his body sagged as though it were carrying the weight of the world upon them.
The tears never stopped falling.
A/N: I made this story in celebration for the new Ace attorney chronicles!
I can't wait to play it and the sequel (especially since they seem to be in the same pack) and I have this head canon where Ryūnosuke is one of those people who lives for a very long time and raises Phoenix. I hope you guys like this fanfic, everyone, because next chapter will be with Ryūnosuke bonding with his little great grandson.
Sorry that I haven't been very active lately, I have had writers block for awhile.
-Chloemcg