Ch. 15 The Date a Live Turnabout Part 2
August 1
Tengu Stadium
Mirai's Dressing room
Hiro has been given a chance to ask Tonomachi, the detective in charge, one question. Hiro decides to look around the room to make sure he asks the right question. He decides to check the body's outline and sees the blood stain around the chest area. There are also a couple of blood stains behind the area within a short radius of the where the body was and finds something very interesting on the wall. He checks and he decides what to ask. He asks politely while having his arms crossed with a thinking face.
"Detective, I'd like you tell me about the cause of death and what time it happened."
Tonomachi smiles as he responds.
"Whoa, that's two things, but I guess it won't hurt to tell you about both. I'll give you what I plan to give as my testimony tomorrow, but a little different."
Hiro thinks.
"If that's the case, then I'll treat this like a cross examination."
Testimony
-The Cause of Death-
"Okay, so far we know that the victim died between 5:30 and 6:30."
"We could see immediately that she died of blood loss."
"We collected the murder weapon as soon as we found it."
"What it was, I can't tell you."
"However, what I can tell you is that it baffles us as to how it got here."
End
Hiro finishes listening to Tonomachi's pseudo testimony and asks.
"Why did the weapon baffle you?"
Tonomachi fans his fingers through his hair as he says.
"You got your one question, so I can't answer that."
Hiro thinks for a second
"Hmm, with a testimony like that, Shido won't have much to work with. Then again, he's most likely withholding key information. I'll have to press him hard to get the truth out of him."
Cross Examination
-The Cause of Death-
"Okay, so far we know that the victim died between 5:30 and 6:30."
Hold it!
Hiro points as he asks.
"Did you find this out from an autopsy? Or is it just a guess?"
Tonomachi fans his fingers through his hair as he answers.
"We have witnesses that claim they saw the victim before the show and a couple of phone records that confirm she was alive until around 5:23, so that's about what we have."
Hiro crosses his arms as he thinks.
"Well at least he isn't completely inept. Please continue."
Tonomachi is ogling his cell phone, most likely staring at his virtual wife as he says.
"Sure, when we looked at the victim when we arrived…."
"We could see immediately that she died from blood loss."
Hold it!
"(Pointing gesture) how could you tell that she died of blood loss?"
Tonomachi fans his fingers through his hair again.
"Easy, she was lying in a pool of blood when we found her. It was actually pretty gruesome. I was a little shocked, but my wife was there for…"
Objection!
Hiro gets an annoyed look with his arms crossed as asks with slight irritation
"Can we please not bring your wife into this!?"
Tonomachi puts his phone and smiles and he answers.
"You're right; I shouldn't bring my wife into our serious discussion."
Hiro thinks and asks.
"Is THIS what he calls a serious discussion? Anyway, what was the murder weapon?"
"I can't tell you exactly what it was, but I can assure you…"
"We collected the murder weapon as soon as we found it."
Hold it!
"Can at least describe the kind of weapon it was?"
"Okay, I guess that would be alright."
"It was a bladed weapon, so that means the victim was stabbed to death."
That catches Hiro's interest so he raises an objection.
"Detective, I find that very hard to believe."
Tonomachi then gets a sweat but still keeps his smile as he asks.
"What do you mean?"
Hiro shrugs and says.
"You say that you found a bladed weapon, but I saw something that says otherwise."
"(Still sweating) Oh and what would that be?"
Hiro puts on his confident smile as he says.
"There is something in this room that proves the victim had been shot and not stabbed, and this is that something."
Take that!
Hiro points at the wall and shows Tonomachi a very interesting detail. There is a bullet hole in the wall near the bed and there are tiny droplets of blood around it. Hiro then says with great confidence.
"I saw this bullet hole before I asked you about the murder."
Tonomachi begins to be a little panicked as he asks.
"Then why did ask me about in the first place!?"
Hiro gets a serious look with a frown as he answers.
"Because I wanted to see if you could be trusted to tell me the truth, but clearly you can't!"
Tonomachi backs up a little and tries to defend himself.
"No no no, you've got it all wrong. It was the prosecutor who told me to…(covers mouth with his hands)"
Hiro gets it now.
"So the prosecutor is the real hindrance in our investigation. But that doesn't excuse you're behavior today. A police detective being pushed around by a prosecutor is the saddest thing I've ever heard! You're a disgrace to your badge!"
Tonomachi, still sweating, pulls out his cell phone and nervously asks his virtual wife.
"Honey, you think I'm the best right?"
The virtual wife can be heard saying, loudly."
"I'm going to stay with my mother for a while!"
Tonomachi puts on a look of disbelief and he becomes pale as a ghost, and oddly, he actually turns white as a ghost, even his clothes, and he falls backwards onto the ground. Hiro can't help but feel a little bad since he did act a little harsh since he knows that Tonomachi isn't a bad person, but can't forget his current mission. So he asks Tonomachi some more questions about the case feeling a little more confident that he will get the truth now.
August 1
Izayoi/Itsuka Manor
Entrance
Shido arrives at a large house which he recognizes as Miku's home but has been upgraded and can't help but be prepares to knock on the door but realizes that he needs to disguise himself a little better. He backs away from the door and tries to think of a quick change in appearance. Luckily, Shido is approached by Akane, she gets close to him, and she says in a calm tone.
"Shido, you need to pick a better disguise than just wearing a suit, so take this."
Akane hands Shido a small little container that reads: Black hair dye, washes out with water, Shido takes it and immediately gets the memo. Akane pulls out a water bottle, and they do a quick hair coloring. She uses the water to make Shido's hair easier to style and she,combs his back and makes it spike in the back, but Shido sees this in a nearby window says, in an annoyed tone.
"You're enjoying this ace attorney thing too much."
Akane retorts, mischievously.
"Well, I've always had a thing of messing with my dad, so I guess this comes naturally to me. Of course, I love seeing you in that suit."
"And why is that?"
"Well, to it bluntly, nothing suits you like a suit."
"Either way, can you just give me a more normal style!?"
Akane chuckles a little.
"Awe, you're no fun."
Akane uses a little more water and just gives Shido a much more normal style. She merely wets his hair down straightens it, and parts his bangs to the right of his head. Once his hair is a little drier, Shido then applies the hair dye and completes his disguise. Akane dismisses herself so that she can get to Mana and Kurumi to deliver some disguises to them since they may be recognized by somebody, like Tohka or this world's Shido, to say the least.
With his disguise complete, Shido knocks on the front door of the manor and stands outside the door. He stands outside the door a little nervous since he's close to meeting this world's Miku. He's particularly nervous about Miku since she may be the same about men as she was as a teenager, but it doesn't escape Shido's mind that Miku may have gotten completely over it by now. He hears footsteps from the other side of the door, and then the doorknob begins to turn until the door opens, revealing a young boy who looks about seven or eight years old with blue hair like Shido and indigo eyes like Miku; he is wearing a long-sleeved baby-blue shirt with simple blue shorts and white tennis shoes. Shido immediately realizes that this young boy is another one of Miku's children and therefore one of his in this time. Shido smiles at young boy and asks, to maintain his seriousness.
"Excuse me, but may I see your mom or dad?"
The young boy closes the door and Shido can hear fast footsteps getting further away. Shido waits a minute, and then he can hear footsteps getting closer to the door again. This time when the door opens, Miku opens the door; as an adult, she has slightly longer hair with a crescent moon shaped clip, is wearing a white shirt under a thin yellow jacket with a crescent moon on the back, she also has a dark indigo knee-length skirt, and yellow high heels. She looks rather upset and has a red mark on her right left cheek. Shido is concerned about her but still maintains his guise as Miku greets him with a rather calm tone.
"May I help you?"
Shido doesn't have any business cards to give Miku and just says.
"Uh hello… I presume?"
Miku nods her head and Shido continues.
"I'm..What did I say again?...Souka Naruhodou, attorney at law, and I'm your daughter's attorney."
Shido figures that a direct approach may be the best in this particular situation given the circumstances. Miku looks rather surprised and asks.
"Did you say, you're my Shiori's lawyer?"
Shido smiles and nods; Miku doesn't smile, however. Rather, she has a distrustful look on her face as she asks rather distrusting eyes with a plain look.
"Why did you take my daughters case, when no one we called did?"
Shido doesn't blame Miku for being distrustful since she is only concerned for her daughter. Shido gives his honest answer the best way he can as he explains.
"Because, I refuse to believe that she could kill anyone."
Miku doesn't appear to trust Shido; still, she gives him the benefit of the doubt and asks.
"Okay, so why are you here?"
"Well, I'm here because she wants to see her teddy bear. Also, she wanted to ask you to bail out her bodyguard."
Miku is surprised by Shido's last sentence.
"Tohka got arrested!?"
Shido raises his hand in a "calm down" gesture and assures Miku.
"Don't worry about Tohka. Shiori said that she will be let out as soon the police get the money to replace a police she destroyed."
Miku puts on a more trusting expression as she says.
"Okay, since you're willing to my help my daughter, I'll help with whatever I can. Also, I'll bail out Tohka a little later."
Shido smiles since it appears Miku is more trusting of men in this future. To test it further, Shido extends his hand to shake Miku's, and she even extends her arm and almost returns his offer, but she pulls back at the last second and she even apologizes.
"Sorry , but I'm…I can't say. These days, the only males I can comfortably make physical contact with are my husband and my babies."
Shido puts his hand back in the "calm down" position again and says.
"Don't worry about that. The important thing is that we get Shiori found not guilty."
Miku nods and with a weak smile and even invites Shido in. She doesn't recognize him because of his disguise and it will have to stay this way for a while. Miku sits Shido down in a large living room and has a set of tea and cookies laid out for anyone to take. Miku doesn't enter the room right away as she tells Shido to sit and drink tea with cookies, while she goes to grab a couple of things.
Shido takes this opportunity to look at some photos in this room. Shido sees some photos of him and Miku at their wedding in this time. Shido can't help but think.
"She looks so beautiful and happy in this photo."
Shido smiles as he looks through the rest of the photos of himself and Miku's life. Photos of his and Miku's wedding, photos of their family expanding; it reminds him of when he met the adult Kurumi and saw her family photos.
Elsewhere, Mana has split up with Kurumi since Kurumi has returned to the Bifrost to track down Saori since she is starting to become suspicious. Mana didn't oppose the idea since she isn't comfortable working with Kurumi in the slightest. Mana is searching down some leads on witnesses, but can't find a place to start since she doesn't know much about the case. Mana is about to give up, when she sees the gloomy girl from yesterday and she appears to be holding something in her hand and it looks like she's trying to keep it hidden. Mana thinks to herself.
"It is possible she went to the concert last night, but I don't know. I better check anyway since I don't have anything else at the moment."
Mana approaches the gloomy girl and asks her about what she's holding. The gloomy girl looks as if she's become afraid as she answers a uniquely calm tone.
"I am holding nothing of importance."
Mana can't tell too well, but she can sense that this gloomy girl isn't being entirely truthful. So she tries a more indirect approach, so she asks.
"Okay then. Oh I want to ask, are you a fan of Mirai?"
The gloomy girl's demeanor changes to happy and yet sad but her expression remains the same.
"She is very popular, so it shouldn't be surprising that I am."
Mana presses a little further.
"So I can assume that you went to her concert last night, am I right?"
The gloomy girl nods her head and says.
"Of course, and I was even fortunate enough to win a backstage pass for her concert. They cost a lot and it even came with a free concert ticket, so I didn't have to pay anything for it."
Mana then knows that this girl isn't being truthful as she responds.
"That's funny, last I checked, that concert was a charity event, so you shouldn't have needed a ticket in the first place."
The gloomy girl's demeanor becomes nervous but she maintains her normal expression as she responds.
"Why does it matter that I was at the concert last night? And why does it matter that I had a ticket?"
Mana gets a little more assertive as she responds.
"Because, I can tell that you're lying to me, so show what you're holding."
The gloomy girl then begins to run away from Mana, scared a little, but she can't run from the former adeptus 2. Mana catches up to her in a dark alley. Mana confronts the girl and asks.
"Why are you hiding something from me if it's not important?"
The gloomy girl then says in a quiet tone that can barely be heard.
"I can't let anyone see it, I have to help her."
Mana is now more curious and asks.
"Is her, Mirai, by any chance?"
The gloomy girl doesn't respond, which Mana takes as a yes. Mana then says.
"If you want to help her, then show me what you have. I'm with her lawyer."
The girl calms down a little and says.
"Her…lawyer? I don't believe that."
Mana counters with.
"I'm not her lawyer, but I'm helping him help her."
The gloomy girl thinks for a second and says.
"I want proof. Get her to sign me a letter and I'll tell you anything."
Mana could force the information out of the girl, but would rather not resort to violence and agrees to the girl's terms. So she leaves to go to the precinct.
Aboard the Bifrost, Kurumi has returned to find that Aki and Ellen are training, Kotori is at the captain's seat, and Hiro has also returned with the information he got from Tonomachi. Kurumi then asks Kotori if she's heard from Saori, but she hasn't. Kurumi decides that finding out what Saori is planning, is more important to her at the moment. Kurumi doesn't like the idea of someone being more secretive than her.
Ellen and Aki are continuing with the training since they aren't needed at the moment for the investigation. Kotori has finished with preparing Shido's training program for his case tomorrow. Akane is close to making contact with Mana to deliver her disguise.
Back at the Manor, Shido is just finishing with his look at the photos that Miku has on display. Miku reenters the room, but now she is holding something in her arms, a baby wrapped in a light-yellow blanket. She says to Shido with a soft tone.
"I'm sorry , but I could tell that my baby was about to wake up from his nap."
Shido approaches Miku and tries to get a closer look at the baby. She lets him get close enough to see the baby's face, and Shido sees that the baby has blue hair and amber-brown eyes. Shido has a very warm feeling as he looks upon this infant since this is the first time that he has a actually seen a newborn child that is actually his, in a manner of speaking. Shido asks.
"What is his name?"
Miku kisses the baby on the forehead and answers.
"Motoi Itsuka. He was born just last year."
After some more time looking at baby, Shido and Miku sit down on two different couches that allow them to face each other, and they start talking about anything that can help Shiori. Shido first asks.
"So, what do you know about the case?"
Miku appears upset as she answers.
"That my Shiori was arrested for no reason."
"I really should have seen that coming."
"Other than that, I don't know much. I wasn't at the concert in person."
Shido is a little curious and then asks.
"Why didn't you go to her concert?"
Miku looks at her baby and pats his little head as she answers.
"Because the loud noise hurts my baby's ears; he's quite sensitive to loud noises. Instead, I always watch the concerts, live on my television. Also, I keep programs that Shiori sends me, so I can adjust the volume on the television, so that it won't hurt Motoi's ears."
Shido understands; while Miku does love her daughter's music, she also has to think of her infant son. He then asks if he can have the program from last night since it may help later; Miku agrees and hands it to him. The next thing Shido asks, out of his own curiosity.
"Where's Shiori's father?"
Miku is a little confused about why her daughter's lawyer would be curious about her husband, but she answers anyway.
"My darling husband is out in the city somewhere trying to find any help for our daughter. He even said that if he had too, he'd be her lawyer."
Shido thinks.
"I can't how ironic that actually is."
Shido gets back to being serious, as he asks.
"Okay, so what about her band mates, the pianist and the guitar player?"
Miku thinks for a second as she is trying to recall some information. She answers.
"I don't know where they are, but Shiori should know."
Without her actually being there, Miku won't be much help, so Shido just asks her about Shiori's teddy bear. Miku produces the bear, which has blue fur and a yellow crescent moon-shaped mark on the left paw. Shido asks where she got the bear, to which Miku answers.
"My darling husband bought this for her when she was three. He and Shiori were spending the day together and she saw it in a toy store. She loves her daddy very much, so this bear reminds her of that wonderful day."
Shido can't help but wonder if Kotori had a hand in that, but he won't argue with it since Shiori loves it. He also wonders if his future, from this time, is out asking Ratatoskr for help, but then again, that also won't help since he shouldn't know about Ratatoskr, in theory. Shido wants to stay and talk with Miku more, but Shiori needs help, and that is more important at the moment. Shido takes his leave and looks back to see Miku rocking her baby in her arms.
In the streets of the city, Mana is walking to the precinct to get the letter to show to the gloomy girl, and then she hears a voice yelling.
"Hold it!"
Mana turns around and sees Akane running towards her. Mana waits for Akane to get closer, notices that she is holding a bag with a label that reads: Trucy's magic shop! Once Akane gets close enough, she stops moving to catch her breath and hands Mana the bag. Mana is a little confused and asks what is in the bag; to which Akane responds, after catching her breath.
"It's your costume. We can't have you walking around in plain clothing since you might be recognized."
Mana looks in the bag, sees her costume, and then retorts, with slight annoyance.
"…Won't this, you know, defeat the purpose of being in disguise?"
Akane just responds.
"Don't argue with me."
Mana decides to go with it and decides to change outfits before going to the precinct. Akane leaves her aunt with a smirk, and finds a place to be teleported back to the Bifrost. Once aboard, Akane is greeted by Kotori, who ask, with a mischievous smile.
"So, did you deliver our little present to Mana?"
Akane, for some reason, puts on a pair of sunglasses and gives the thumbs up, and says.
"At least Mana didn't fight against our little fun like Shido did."
Hiro doesn't notice Akane and Kotori's talking, as he is carefully examining the information he has gotten from Tonomachi. He is determined to help Shiori, just like Shido. In the training room, Aki is continuing his training with Ellen, but she stops him for a minute and asks.
"Aki, don't you think we should help the others with Shiori?"
Aki is getting tired from his training, but he insists.
"They don't need my help"pant""pant" I need to keep training. Please, Ellen."
Ellen nods, and they start up again.
At the precinct, Shido shows up and sees Shiori again. He then presents her the teddy bear, which she can't grab from behind the glass. Never the less, Shiori smiles upon seeing her cherished toy, and expresses her gratitude to Shido, and points out.
"Thank you so much, . Also, did you dye your hair or something?"
Shido comes up with a quick excuse and says.
"I…was at a party two days ago, and forgot to dye my hair back until a little bit ago.
Shiori looks a little confused, but drops it. Shido would like to use his real name with her, but knows that would not be the best idea. With Shiori cheered up, Shido begins to ask some questions that he wanted to ask earlier. He first asks her, in a serious tone.
"Do you know why you were arrested?"
Shiori puts on a sad expression as she answers.
"They think I blamed Hibiki for the scandal."
Shido is concerned at that word.
"Scandal?"
Shiori is a little confused.
"Oh, so you don't know about that."
Shido shakes his head and wants to know about the scandal. To which Shiori explains.
"About three weeks ago, someone began to sell "tasteless" pictures of me on the internet for a sizable price. People are thinking that I'm doing it on purpose, but others think Hibiki took the pictures. I know she didn't do it. She was my best friend."
Shiori begins to cry and pulls out her handkerchief to wipe her face. Shido clenches his fist, without Shiori seeing it, since the idea of someone taking those kinds of pictures of his daughter makes him furious. Shido hides his anger and asks if she knows who took the pictures. Shiori shakes her head and says.
"I don't want to think that anybody I know would do such a thing."
Shido drops the topic for the moment since it clearly upsets his daughter, and asks his next question.
"So, what about your pianist and guitarist."
Shiori puts on a more thinking look as she answers.
"Flugel, my pianist, I think is at…the Gatewater hotel. My guitarist, Axel, should be at his apartment; I can give you the address."
Shido accepts the address since he will most likely need to talk to both Flugel and Axel. Shido is almost ready to leave, when Mana enters the room and sees Shido, luckily, she is aware that he is most likely not using his real name and greets him by saying.
"Oh, hey there.. .Uh, dad."
Shido can't help but think.
"Dad!? Why couldn't she just call me big brother like she usually does!?"
Mana is wearing the outfit that Akane gave to her. (Okay, I know this is unorthodox, but basically, she is wearing Trucy Wright's outfit. I only say it like this because her outfit is hard for me to describe properly). As Mana walks towards her brother, Shiori asks Shido.
"You're a dad? But you seem too young."
Shido, once again, makes up an excuse, and responds.
"She's adopted. I took her in after her dad disappeared."
Shiori has a sparkle in her eyes as she responds.
"What a kind man you are."
Shido scratches the back of his head with a slight look of embarrassment. Mana walks up to glass and asks Shiori about getting a signed letter, and asks about the gloomy girl. Shiori agrees to give a signed letter and even knows about the girl; she explains to Mana.
"Her name is Enfer Rimbaud. She may look gloomy, but she is one of the gentlest people I know. I usually send her concert tickets, and she always attends. She's one of my best fans, and one of my best friends. Please don't be hard on her; she went through some tough times."
Mana nods, Shiori gets a pen and paper from a guard since he understands the situation, and because it is only a letter signing, Shiori writes a full letter and hands it to Mana. Mana leaves the precinct and Shido leaves shortly after to go to the address of the guitar player.
A little later, Mana arrives at the alley with the letter and shows it to girl. The girl reads the letter and smiles as she says.
"So you are trying to help her."
Mana asks.
"Why are trying so hard to keep whatever you have hidden?"
The girl then pulls out the item she's been hiding, a bottle covered with some blood. Despite her name being known, the girl formally introduces herself.
"My name is Enfer Rimbaud and I…I…I love her so much."
Enfer starts to cry but oddly has her gloomy smile still as tears run down her face. Mana then follows.
"Well yeah, a lot of people seem to love her, so…"
Enfer interrupts Mana by saying.
"No, I love her in the romantic sense. She means so much to me. Those other people love her music and her cute appearance, but I love who she is and her radiance; the things that people haven't seen in her."
Mana scratches her face a little and says.
"Wow, I can't help but wonder what you're talking about."
Enfer then asks.
"Would you listen to my story? I'm sure you'd understand then."
Mana nods and Enfer begins her story.
"I'm originally from France. But last year my parents went through a terrible divorce, so my father came here to keep his job, but he found out me being…you know. He would shout at me, and call me terrible names. He even made me attend Rindouji Academy, but I'm sure he did it to mock me. Life at the academy wasn't easy either; the other girls would tease me because of my demeanor and because I wasn't a prissy French girl. My grades weren't very great either, and I got into some trouble with the police. I felt like I should just end it, but that's when she came into my life. "
"I accidentally sent an email to the wrong address, one day, while I was secretly talking with a suicide website. The email I got back read: That's terrible. You shouldn't give up on anything, let alone life. I didn't know who it was at the time, but shortly after that, I received another email, and it told me to come to the stadium after it had closed down. I wasn't feeling like I had anything left to lose, so I went. That night, something amazing happened. I came to the stadium, naturally there weren't any people around, but a single spotlight was on a piano that stood on the stage. A voice called to me, and said to sit anywhere."
"I sat down in the front row. Then, out of nowhere, she came to the stage. I thought she was just going to sing a simple pop song, so I told her I wasn't interested. But as I walked away, she started playing the most beautiful piano piece I have ever heard. I walked back to my seat, and then she sang. She sang this wonderful song in a language I didn't know. I was moved to tears. When she finished, Shiori approached me and told me that the song was sung in Italian. To this day, I have no idea of what she sang, but I don't care.
After that, we became friends and she told me to cheer up and that things will eventually get better. Oddly enough, she was right. Not long after that night, my father apologized to me and talked with me like I was a person again. I started making friends at school, and my grades began to improve because we study together. Also, Shiori always talks with me after every just to check up on me."
Mana is dumbstruck by the story and responds, in an empathetic tone.
"Sounds like she really helped get through some tough times."
Enfer shakes her head and says.
"No, she saved my life. Shiori is an angel; she couldn't be anything else, and I'm not the only one she's saved. When she sings, the world is filled with happiness, and nothing feels wrong anymore. I know in my heart that she is the miracle I needed; the miracle that many more people will need."
Mana thinks back to the concert, and realizes that while she heard Shiori singing, she felt very happy. Enfer lowers her head and continues to cry and asks, with true sincerity.
"Help her. I know someone that radiant could never harm anyone."
Mana now feels resolved to help her niece of this time, and tells Enfer, with a serious tone.
"I may not be her lawyer, but I'll make sure she's found innocent, no matter what it takes."
Mana leaves the alley with the bottle covered in blood, and gets teleported back to the Bifrost a little later. She will find out the mystery behind the blood stained bottle since Enfer didn't know what it was about, but wanted to keep it hidden since she wants to help in any way she can.
August 1
Sahwit Apartments
Apartment No.156
Shido arrives at an apartment complex, following the directions given to him to find Shiori's guitar player. He gets to the door and knocks a couple of times. Opening the door is a young man who appears to be 23 or younger. He has short light-brown hair that he wears straight, blue eyes, and a calming smile. He is wearing a leather jacket with a comb dangling from the collar, blue jeans, white biker boots, and fingerless red gloves. Despite his clothing, the man has a very relaxed demeanor. He answers by asking.
"Can I help you, dude?"
Shido introduces himself to the young man.
"I'm Souka Naruhodou, and I'm Shiori's lawyer."
The young man crosses his arms and looks confused as he responds.
"Chidori?...Oh, you mean Mirai, right?"
Shido wonders if he's even at the right place, but the man introduces himself.
"I'm her guitar player, Axel Gibson. That's why you're here, right?
Shido is relieved that he doesn't need to explain himself to the guitar player, and nods. Axel crosses his arms and says with a slightly irritated look.
"But dude, I've already talked with this other lawyer babe. She tried to tell me that Mifry is guilty or something like that, but I was like, no way."
Shido feels like he's talking with some kind of lunatic, but notices he mispronounced Shiori's stage name.
"It's Mirai, not Mifry."
Axel scratches his head as he realizes it himself and says with an awkward smile.
"Sorry dude, but I'm not from these parts, so my pronunciation is off occasionally. I'm actually American."
Now Shido understands a little, but now, hearing about a female lawyer gets him curious. He asks.
"Tell me about this female lawyer, if you don't mind."
Axel describes the lawyer he saw.
"Well, like, she had black, red eyes, but she kept one covered with her hair, a weird outfit that I can't describe, and she was very flirty, I think."
Shido thinks to himself.
"Sounds like he just described Kurumi, but she doesn't seem like the prosecutor type. Maybe Saori found out and already came here. I wonder why."
Axel gets Shido's attention.
"Uh, , I already told that other babe all that I know, so why not ask her?"
Shido doesn't disagree, but he's skeptical about what Saori is planning since he hasn't seen her all day. He also thinks that Axel needs to learn better pronunciation since this is getting annoying. He takes his leave of the apartments, and a little later, is forced back on the Bifrost.
August 1
Bifrost
Main Bridge
Shido finds himself back on the Bifrost's teleporter and goes to the bridge and ask about why he was brought back. When he gets to the bridge, Akane immediately hands him a handheld gaming device and holds three game cases in front of his face and says.
"It's time to train!"
Shido realizes that immediately that this is going to be like his other training, but asks.
"What does this have to do with being a lawyer?"
Kotori approaches and explains, in a serious manner.
"You need to learn the "Objection!" pose and the "Hold it!" shout, and some other stuff. But I recommend skipping Justice for all, since we're short on time."
Akane disagrees and retorts, along with Kotori retorting.
"Skip Justice for all!? That was a great game!"
"But the prosecutor wasn't that interesting compared to the others."
"Maybe, but it had one of the most shocking moments in the series!"
"Not as shocking as the reveal in Trials and Tribulations, and you know what I'm talking about!"
The bickering continues, so Shido decides to just boot up the game and get started so he can focus on the case. Hiro and Mana look over the information that they have collected while Shido is training. Aki and Ellen join in the thought session a little later after training all day. Kurumi is in the city looking for Saori.
After hours of searching, Kurumi finally tracks down Saori. She is found at a local clothing store, buying a new outfit. Kurumi confronts her at the entrance. The two then decide to talk somewhere private, so they go into a local bathroom with a lock on it, and talk. Kurumi asks, with her straight face.
"Saori, why are you walking around on your own?"
Saori maintains her usual look, like her mother, and responds while holding up her bag.
"I simply wanted a new outfit, so I bought this cute number."
The two exchange words with their straight faces, starting, of course, with Kurumi.
"I don't think I like that answer."
"No? And why's that?"
"Well, I don't trust you."
"Oh, now that hurts."
"But surly you know that none of us actually trusts you."
"Shido does."
"No, Shido only wants to trust you, but I don't think he truly does."
"Are you forgetting that we're talking about the same person who trusts you? Miss mass murderer, who toyed with him, the same girl who tried to make him give up on her. Oh my, now that I think about it, my mom really is a bitch."
Kurumi bites her lip a little, and Saori continues.
"Not that I oppose that. After all, I'm the product of the love between a man, who was willing to overlook those details, and the mass murdering spirit known as Nightmare. So I honestly couldn't care less of what he thinks about you. But I must say that you're too soft in your methods. Which is why my plans for the two of you will succeed."
After the moment has passed, the two are teleported back to the Bifrost to talk about anything that they've discovered. Saori admits that she has indeed talked with Axel and even with Flugel. Although she admits that they didn't know anything worth anything. But everybody is skeptical about what she says, but they don't have much choice since it is beginning to get dark out. Shido continues his "training" while Ellen makes coffee for him to drink since he's going to need it. The group has less than twenty-four hours to figure out this case and prove that Shiori is innocent. Shido also wants to figure out who took those pictures of his daughter, and have nice chat with them.
Author's note- Next time, without a doubt, will be the trial and no more investigating days, but others will appear in the trial. Also, one Phoenix Wright character will physically appear as a one time crossover character, and it will be an obvious choice.