Attorney at law

09:20 a.m.

Los Angeles

Multiplan

The nauseatingly extravagant Gatewater Hotel did little to distract Sora from the Wright and Co. Law offices.

A large flatscreen constantly reeled a stream of adverts and pacing on the pavement, Sora watched. The advert started with Trucy Wright, magician extraordinaire, performing a magic trick, it cut to Cykes, cross-examining a witness with a device; and thereafter Apollo, passionately defending a client in a staged trial. Phoenix Wright appeared last, encouraging the audience to think of the Wright and Co. Law offices should they find themselves in legal trouble.

There, the advertisements continued screening other services offered by the building. Apparently, a cafe under the law offices grew extremely popular due to frequent visits from Wright and his attorneys.

Wrapping his scarf tightly around his neck, Sora wondered if he should have dressed formally. His sweater pockets crinkled with candy wrappers and the sleeves hung off his arms. Taking one last, long look at the screen, he entered the Multiplan and rode the elevator to the third floor; welcoming the cool silence greeting him when the doors parted. Hands clammy, he calmly made his way to the attorney's office and remembered to raise his chin as he pushed past the doors and found himself in a modest reception.

"May I help you?" the receptionist politely enquired and Sora wrestled with the words in his head.

"I'm here for..." A set of six, modern paintings displayed on the wall distracted him. Fumbling in his pockets, he extracted the card. "Trucy Wright asked me to come here," he eventually said. "Mr. Wright wanted to see me."

Did he really?

"I told you he'd come!" Trucy's bright voice floated into the reception and she bounced forward with Apollo at her heels. "Clavius, welcome to the Wright Anything Agency!" she beamed, swept off her blue silk top hat and performed a curt bow.

Less flamboyant, Apollo graced Sora with a slow, searching stare, face betraying a silver of sympathy. "It's officially the Wright and Co. Lawyers office, but I digress." He crossed his arms. "Come on in, Mr. Wright and Athena are out at the moment, but we have work for you."

Work?

The office widened to a forensic lab, equipment obscured behind frosted glass doors. They strode past a library and a lunch room, where Apollo and Trucy promptly settled into a debate over which brands of noodles they liked best. The duo escorted Sora into the lounge and here he paused, startled at the contrast between the room and the rest of the office. Wary of upsetting the mess, he searched for a space on the item strewn couches. Trucy cleared a place, gestured him to sit and rolled a tea cart right up to him. She poured a steaming cup of tea and offered it to Apollo who promptly and harshly refused.

"A murder occurred last night at the Gatewater Hotel," Apollo began and pushed a cream envelope across the coffee table. "Mr. Wright wants you to handle the case."

Taking a sip of the tea and scalding his tongue. Sora swallowed a grimace. "Me?" he asked, his attention snagging on a portrait of another magician. "I don't think..." he tucked his chin in his scarf, "I don't have a lawyer's badge," he muttered. "I'm not eligible to practice." The teacup burned his hands but it felt inappropriate to put it down. "I think a murder case is a bit too much for me."

"Don't worry about your badge," Wright piped, "Daddy and Athena went to the University to sort things out." Sora became rigid with fear, what did she mean? "Why don't you check the case? You can decide whether to take it or not after you read through the details." She beamed, making up for the gloomy aura exuded by Apollo.

To stop her from gazing expectantly, Sora set his cup on the tea cart and opened the file.

He froze.

The accused's woeful portrait jumped at him. Kairi Madeleine's lively blue eyes dulled with exhaustion and Sora gritted his teeth at the pain pressing in his chest. She was accused of poisoning a prominent guest during dinner. Whatever poison she used, killed him approximately one hour later. A concierge found the body and management contacted the police soon after. Examining the photo, Sora noted her russet hair and chef's apron. Kairi always wanted to be a pastry chef, now, her dream led to this disaster.

"What do you think?" Apollo quizzed and Sora leaned back on the couch, tea forgotten. "Is she guilty?"

Is she guilty?

"I... I don't know," he replied. Kairi poisoning someone seemed highly unlikely. He remembered his former classmate as a kind, patient individual, always searching for the good in everyone. "...I don't know," Sora repeated, "people change."

"So you do know her." A fleeting smirk crossed Apollo's face and it dissolved in the lines on his forehead. "Mr. Wright checked her background before reserving the case for you. Understandably, Athena threw a fit." He munched on a slice of cake. "Are you going to take the case or not? Make up your mind, as for you badge, Mr. Wright will get it for you. You didn't fail the entire examination," Apollo explained to a confused Sora, "just the mock trial. You refused to defend a guilty client at the cost of your badge," his tone softened, "that's very admirable of you."

Blushing and stammering his thanks, Sora turned the file over in his hands absentmindedly. A murder case for my first trial...can I pull it off? "Do you think..." he faltered. "Shouldn't I start with something simpler? I don't want to make things worse."

Adjusting the bandage Apollo insisted on wearing, he rubbed his arm. "To be an Ace Attorney," he declared, "you either go big, or you go home." Trucy eagerly echoed him. "You'll be fine. Mr. Wright has full confidence in you."

The electronic screening gate inside the KBWA lobby blared and Vanitas cursed; he unstrapped his watch and hauled out his smartphone from the pockets of his tight jeans. Muttering darkly under his breath, he dumped his devices on a tray and an official carried it away. Behind the receptionist's gleaming wooden desk, Belle smiled apologetically and returning it with a wan one of his own, Vanitas stormed towards the elevators and emerged in the training complex.

No Zack waited for him.

Fury mounting, Vanitas tapped his boots impatiently on the floor and the sound echoed and reechoed, like pebbles skimming a pond. Barely a minute passed and he checked his wrist, swore when no watch told him the time and set off, determined to explore and uncover the secrets of the KBWA. From the outside, the unassuming building attracted only boring officials; inside however, the facility spanned nine underground floors and a staunchly controlled reality. Here, the orange other worlds collided and Vanitas stretched out a hand to touch a tangerine cave wall.

He rubbed his eyes, sometimes; second sight took a toll on his head.

The vast training complex passed in a blur of grey, slate and beige walls. It continued endlessly, an illusion of infinity. Vanitas nearly hit a black, uniform wall and excited to discover another room within the empty lot, he roamed for a door and found it curving on the opposite side of the colossal chamber. The bronze door plate read Armory.

Armory?

Didn't magic weapons come from hyperspace? An alternate, expanding reality? The door needed authorization and an access code to enter and after kicking it and hurting his toes, Vanitas abandoned his break in attempt and journeyed back towards the elevator. A moogle floated near the teleportation circle and distrustful of the being's ability to actually do anything, he descended to the third underground floor in the old fashioned way.

He arrived at a hall. Unlike the training complex and its infiniteness, the third floor contained clear boundaries. The dim light did little to illuminate the surroundings and groping, Vanitas cautiously lumbered to a fork in the hallways.

A giant cube-room dominated the floor space and around it, fanned a couple of smaller squares. Squinting at the foreboding chamber, he prowled around it; the light grew worse, a grey fading to black. Alive with electric excitement, he discovered the door and wrestled with it, renewing his efforts when metal clinked in the deafeningly silent room.

"What are you doing?"

A voice demanded and bristling, Vanitas spun, fist raised for a defensive punch. He relaxed when Zack inquisitively tilted his head.

"Wondering what sort of nasty secrets the KBWA is hiding," Vanitas flippantly responded and masked his fright by kicking the door. "Why is it so dark in here?" he asked, "is this building short on power?"

Fair chuckled. "No." He tried to steer Vanitas away from the cube-room's entrance but the rookie did not budge easily. "This is the Special Assignment room and it's off limits to you," saying this, he grabbed Vanitas by the hood and bodily dragged him to the teleportation circle. "You were supposed to meet me in the library, basement floor six."

"The hell was I supposed to know?" Vanitas grouched and tore free. Teleporting induced vertigo and when they arrived at the proper floor, he stumbled. The library whizzed around his head like a roller-coaster. "You...didn't," he stubbornly forced his mouth and brain to co-operate, despite them floating like cotton candy, "tell me!"

Steadying him, Zack gestured to a large desk illuminated by an iron lamp. "You tore the schedule, not my fault." He crossed to a digital board flickering against the wall and tapped it. At once, an image lit the screen. "We will start your lesson with history." Zack indicated the monitor which exhibited three individuals. "Here we have the Elementals," he informed, "they are the founders of the Keyblade Wielder's Association, this organization is over a hundred years old."

Thick pillars held the library's domed ceiling in place. The musty tint of yellowed books and wood varnish mingled with the smell of old paint and metal. Annoyance momentarily forgotten, Vanitas cocked an eyebrow at the historic image of the KBWA founders.

"I know the shrimp in the middle," he said. The trio stood on a dust swept plain. "He does deliveries for Organization XIII." Scoffing, he turned to an empty suit of armor regally displayed in a niche. The bronze armor was an exact replica of the suit the brown haired bloke in the picture wore. "Is this the original?" Vanitas asked and vacated his desk to eagerly study the burnished coat of mail. "Whoa, the dude was tall," he exclaimed when the visor towered over his head.

"Don't touch it!" Fair warned when Vanitas rubbed the armor's cape between his fingers. The material whispered silk. "Get back in your seat and pay attention," his mentor's voice carried a threatening edge.

Peeved, Vanitas deliberately dragged his feet across veined marble tiles. He paused to admire a mural of a series of small planets swimming in the vast cosmos and reluctantly parked himself behind the table.

"Organization XIII's delivery boy…" a brief picture of the teen in full uniform flashed on screen, "bears identical features to the Wind Mage. But trust me, their similarities ends there."

"Are they rela-"

"Quiet!" Fair gritted through his teeth. "Look, you will understand everything in due time, the KBWA prides itself on transparency...mostly." Zack paused to let his statement sink in. "First, you need to know about the importance of second sight, the different realities existing alongside our own and the purpose of the Association, once you know about the world at large, then only are you at liberty to appreciate what goes on right under our noses."

Doodling on a piece of thick paper, Vanitas looked up. "And you are qualified to teach me all of these things?"

Frowning playfully, Zack tapped the screen. "Hey, you are not the first rookie I mentored you know, Leon always tosses me the difficult ones." He sighed and the monitor changed to a picture of micro worlds orbiting a giant ball of light. The planets rotated till a familiar one inched into clear view.

"Los Angeles," Fair stated, "our micro-planet." The map zoomed in to a street view of the police precinct. "It's one of the numerous realities populating the universe of Kingdom Hearts," he lectured and Vanitas lazily scribbled notes on a book he found conveniently lying on the desk. "In each micro-planet, most of the residents are unaware of the other realities surrounding them," Zack brought up a second image on the board, "they think they are on the only inhabitable planet in this cosmos. This is reasonable, because they can't see other realities." The second image showed a Los Angeles street teeming with civilians. "Only those with second sight are able to perceive what is beyond the material world.

"People are either born with second sight, or gain them when they come in contact with the magic of Kingdom Hearts." Zack pointed to the near transparent, orange outlines crisscrossing the second image. "What you see here is-"

"The different worlds overlapping each other," Vanitas interjected and yawned. A painting of a blue turreted castle bathed in pure white light reminded him uncannily of Sora. "When I was a child, they were far away," he recalled barely glimpsing the majestic peak of Olympus' mountain. "...Are they getting closer?"

Scratching his head, Fair relented, "Yes." He noticed his student's inattentiveness and changed the slide on the screen. "An anomaly between the balance of light and darkness is forcing them closer each other."

"What a time to be alive," Vanitas drawled happily. "Does this mean I get to travel through space?"

Exhaling tiredly, Zack glanced at the clock and at the animated sparkle in Vanitas' pale face.

This was going to be a long day.

10:30 a.m.

Police precinct

Detention Center

Kairi smiled nervously behind the pane of glass. "You are a lawyer," she stated.

The detention center's fluorescent lighting painted her face into ash. Sora wondered if he appeared any different and sat across her. The guard stationed at the corner briefly acknowledged him and hiding his hands behind baggy sleeves, Sora racked his brains for words of comfort.

They evaporated in his mouth.

When he reluctantly agreed to take the case, out of an obligation to at least try and save his long forgotten classmate, Trucy Wright promptly dragged him to the detention center to meet their client. Sora glanced pleadingly at Apollo for support; surely the veteran understood how much he hated going outside? To his dismay, Apollo disappeared into his office, citing work on another case. Stalling for time worked against him. Sora tried to persuade her to stay till Mr. Wright returned; however, she waited approximately five minutes and grabbing his hand, marched to the dangerous outdoors.

Wright hailed a taxi while Sora wiped sweaty palms on his tracksuit pants. She breezily pointed to the nearby Borscht Bowl Club, where Daddy used to play piano and Sora rehearsed the conversation with Kairi in his head.

So much for rehearsing.

"...Is Vanitas still his boisterous self?" Kairi asked and Sora mildly panicked when he missed Wright's reassuring presence.

"Yeah, you know how he is," he answered and smiled weakly when she giggled. "...How did you," he paused, "how did the police arrest you as the murderer?"

Kairi bowed and her shock of russet hair spilled across her face. "I made the English Trifle the deceased guest ate for dessert that night." She studied the drab, grey ceiling. "They found traces of poison in it, but not in the other trifle his friend ate and they sat at the same table." Her face crumpled. "He's a famous actor but I hardly know him, why would I poison his desert?" Her irises shone with unshed tears. "Do you believe me when I say I didn't do it?"

"Of course we do!" Wright announced confidently and Sora jumped when she materialized in a whirl of her satin blue cloak. "You are innocent, I know it," she declared and tipped her hat. A grateful smile spread across Kairi's trembling lips. "Come on Sora," Trucy waved when the guard escorted Kairi back to her cell. "We have to investigate the Gatewater Hotel for clues."

Sora?

They were on a first name basis already?

11:30 a.m.

Gatewater Hotel

Entrance

Yielding to her unrelenting will, he returned to the avant-garde hotel. Police cordoned the area with yellow tape, news reporters camped outside, partially blocking the road and screaming for a shred of information. Journalist cameras clicked nonstop and the cops could do little but blare in megaphones, warning the media to keep their distance from the crime scene.

Anxiety threatening to cripple him, Sora waited at the outskirts, eyes averted from the menacing policemen, he grabbed his muffler like a lifeline and blinked when Trucy brazenly ducked under the tape and held it up for him to pass through.

Marveling at the thin thread of composure keeping his sanity intact, Sora easily bypassed security. Most of them offered little resistance when Trucy barged through and a younger cop's gaze trailed after her admiringly. A wide corridor branched from the Hotel's grand lobby to the dining hall, where more policemen stood. Without breaking stride, she entered through the double doors.

A lavish, crimson carpet muffled footsteps and a table, laden with the recreation of the guest's fatal dinner, was set near the front of the room. A gigantic, scruffy man wearing a patchy trench coat hovered around the table and Sora paled when Trucy greeted the individual with a lazy salute.

"Detective Gumshoe, we are here to investigate," she explained cheerily.

Gumshoe disapprovingly observed the Viola hall. "I don't see Mr. Wright, the girl or Pollo," he grumbled. "Who did you come with?"

"Oh, we have a new attorney," Trucy nodded at Sora. "Didn't Daddy tell you? This is Sora Clavius."

Viola Hall boasted a theatre stage used for live entertaining during dinner. While Gumshoe appraised his worth by subjecting him to a searching stare, Sora disassociated. What sort of entertainment played on the night of the murder? Classical music? Or a dramatic play, while the victim guzzled the poisoned trifle and remained enraptured by the incidents on stage? A gorgeous chandelier cast soft light in the hall and his eyes watered from the gold leafing the walls and light fixtures.

A crystal vase holding a thorn covered rose took centerpiece on the table; Sora gravitated towards it and contemplatively zoned on the items on display.

"He certainly isn't dressed like a lawyer," Gumshoe whispered to Trucy when Sora delicately picked up a spoon. "Oi!" the detective bellowed, "put it down, it's poisoned."

"The entire spoon?" Sora asked timidly and massaged his chest.

"Yeah pal." Warming to the pathetic attorney, Gumshoe handed over an autopsy report. "We have an airtight case, you won't be able to defend your client, she is obviously guilty." Sora scanned the report without comprehending. "See, there were traces of poison in the trifle, but the desert itself wasn't poisoned." Trucy frowned at the complication and the detective secured the spoon in a ziplock bag. "The spoon he used to eat it with, was drenched in diethyl-mercury."

Diethyl-mercury, Sora mused as Trucy slipped the evidence into a pair of...printed panties? Is that okay? "Won't Atroquinine be a safer bet? It's virtually untraceable," he mumbled.

"Yay, you know your stuff!" Trucy folded her magic panties. "Atroquinine is hard to come by though." Gumshoe agreed. "And it's really expensive..." she trailed off thoughtfully.

Whoever poisoned the victim couldn't spare money for high end poisons; Sora concluded. He listened to the chatter of policemen as they discussed the crime scene and travelled back and forth to the kitchen via a set of swinging doors cleverly hidden in a corner of the Viola Hall.

The kitchen.

If traces of poison were not found where Kairi prepared the trifle, he could point to another person as a potential murderer. Too afraid to actually ask permission for examining the kitchen, Sora patiently waited for Trucy to notice him. She weaved between the police, gleaning information and inquiring for evidence in a way he could only dream of.

Detective Gumshoe irritably scratched the bandage on his chin; he noticed the new attorney standing there like a ghost. "You should take your leave now pal." Voices swelled in the hotel's lobby. "The news crew is trying to bust in here and I'm done giving you clues!" he sternly stated. "Get going."

"But we haven't checked the kitchen," Trucy cut in when Gumshoe tried to shoo them out of the dining hall. "It's our right to investigate everything so we have a fair chance to defend our client!" she obstinately stated and Sora inwardly begged her to stop. He did not want to end in jail, Vanitas would kill everyone. "What if our client is really innocent?" she demanded, a hand on her hip, "you will be guilty for sending someone to prison for no reason at all."

The detective sighed, muttered a soundless prayer and pretended to lecture a wayward officer while Trucy and Sora weaseled in the kitchen.

Head spinning, he clutched a steel table to anchor himself and trembled when dozens of chefs, their hands fisting gleaming knives and pots, turned to him.

"Don't mind us, we are here to investigate," Trucy informed and solemnly nodding their heads, the staff resumed their duties.

An overflowing trash can caught Sora's attention.

Half the kitchen away, his companion sampled a crème brulee and squealed in delight.

Ignoring her, he grabbed a pair of tongs and lifted a single, clean napkin and held it to the light. A visible stain appeared in the middle and he stuffed the napkin in a plastic bag before shoving it in his pocket. He desperately believed he might not find implicating evidence in the kitchen and hoped the tissue contained oil stains instead of what he thought it was.

The kitchen staff gathered around Trucy and snatches of their conversation floated to Sora.

"...She couldn't do it," one chef crossed her arms. "Kairi liked her creations too much to poison them, the hotel manager specifically asked her to make the trifle for the actor...a service if you will." He eavesdropped as she carried on, "Besides, the concierge who found him in his room could equally be guilty...a Rosie something, I don't remember her name."

Rosie...

The kitchen doors swung open and Gumshoe stomped in. Appearing beside Sora, Trucy pulled him out of the kitchen before the detective could spot them.

The history of the KBWA and the universe of Kingdom Hearts held little interest for Vanitas. When Fair changed slides on the monitor, he paid increasingly less attention and his golden eyes wandered to the curiosities displayed in the old library. He frequently stopped at the suit of armor and a dreamy longing crossed his face. When not mooning over the armor, Vanitas bored holes in the portrait of the KBWA's founders and Zack swore he saw the gears turning in his student's head as he tried, and failed, to connect the two together.

When Vanitas insolently planted his face on the desk and snored loudly, Zack took pity on him and woke him up. The young man's scowling features mellowed into childish confusion before hardening into his customary, arrogant smirk.

"Let me show you something," Zack motioned to the teleportation moogle, "come with me."

Vanitas yawned. "If it's another boring painting about the shrimp and his cronies, forget it." He stretched and cracked his neck. "I want to train," he insisted. "When am I going to get a weapon? I want the red-hilted katana I used for my evaluation," he held his arm out, "it moves as an extension of myself."

Grabbing Vanitas' hood, Zack dragged him to the teleportation circle. His student protested valiantly before wilting when the pressure on his neck increased. Holding his breath in preparation for the vertigo causing jump; Vanitas stumbled to the railings when they arrived at the hanger, he leaned over and retched at the smell of oil and magic, glaring vindictively at his mentor.

"This is the Gummi ship hanger-" Fair announced.

"The what?" Vanitas cocked an eyebrow. "Gummy ship?" He snorted. "You honestly have a-"

"And there you have the portal room" Zack interrupted quickly, "I think you will like it."

He pointed to raised, circular dais shaded by a forest of rock hewn columns. Shadows drowned the portal but an eye searing pillar of light undulated from the base to a dome above. A stained glass feature decorated the roof, depicting the cosmos and its micro-planets. Behind them, loomed the blue heart-shaped moon he often glimpsed in the night sky. The crackle of ozone assaulted Vanitas' nostrils and he involuntarily tightened his grip when the light flared brighter, dancing across whirling eddies of darkness.

The university officials seated them in an air-conditioned room overlooking a lush green lawn. Fiddling with Widget, Athena slowly counted the minutes ticking by while her boss sprawled over the leather couches and read a newspaper. The magatama knotted around his neck peeked from beneath the collar of his blue suit and glowed eerily bright in the marigold light of a setting sun. Students crossed the lawn all day long and Athena's patience wore thin.

"How long are they going to make us wait?" she asked.

A minute passed before Phoenix answered, "As long as it takes." He sat up and shuffled papers in his hands. "Look at this," he smiled, "he passed, barely, and the mock trial does not count towards his credits."

The door opened, a squeak in the otherwise quiet lobby. A bespectacled man marched in, a small brown envelope in his hands.

The yellow taxi skidded to a halt in front of his apartment and he slowly got out, mind constantly wandering to the portal. As he trudged up the stairs, he thought about the clandestine, Special Assignment room. His instructor refused to divulge any details and skew smile bloomed on Vanitas' face, nothing will keep him from finding out what the KBWA kept in there.

Probably weapons, he contemplated and entered the studio apartment.

A warm silence greeted him and he turned to the right, where four screens of opaque glass gave Sora's bedroom a modicum of privacy. Taking off his jacket and placing a brand new pen-case on the table, he kicked off his boots and strode to the kitchen.

Scarlet light filtered through the blinds and splashed in irregular shapes on the carpet. Balancing a steaming bowl of rice, Vanitas navigated through the lounge and gently opened the door to his brother's bedroom. Sora lay on his stomach, left hand clutching the plaid bed sheet and a dirty tissue spilling from his sweater pocket. Placing the tray on a small bedside table, Vanitas attempted to push his brother in a more comfortable sleeping position. An impressive outline of the crown necklace pressed on Sora's cheek and he woke up.

"Don't throw the tissue," he slurred when Vanitas raised his hand to chuck it in the bin. "Evidence," Sora droned and rubbed his eyes. He sniffed. "I'm hungry," he announced and sat upright, looking at his twin expectantly.

"Rice to your left," Vanitas stated and tossed the pen to his brother. "I got this for you," he grinned when Sora's face lit up. "What's this evidence about?"

Mumbling between mouthfuls of fragrant rice and fish, Sora happily inspected his new pen, he briefly considered asking the price and thought the better of it.

"The Wright and Co. Lawyers office hired me," he sheepishly smiled, "sort of. Mr. Wright went to collect my badge. I'm officially..." Sora broke off in horrifying realization. "...I'm…I'm going to court tomorrow." He swallowed audibly. "I'm going to defend Kairi in front of everyone, people will be staring at me!" he exclaimed, appetite vanishing. Pushing the bowl away, Sora breathed deeply to control his rising hysteria. "They…they'll be watching me trip over my words..."

Grabbing his brother's half eaten dinner, Vanitas shoved a spoonful of it in his mouth and chewed, his stomach grumbled and he failed to recall what he ate for breakfast. Probably waffles. "You'll be alright," he placated. "Just remember you became a lawyer because you admired how Wright stood up for falsely accused people," the rice disappeared faster, much to Sora's dismay, "and you'll get the courage to do your lawyer business."

"...What about you?" Sora inquired. An empty plate sat between them.

Not liking the too innocent smile growing on Vanitas' face, Sora waited for his brother to fabricate a cover for his real intentions.

"I've decided a detective needs a crowbar...for reasons better left unknown." Vanitas pulled a plush bunny squashed behind the pillows. "This is mine," he huffed and hugged the toy to his chest, "what is my rabbit doing on your bed?"

"I'm hungry," Sora snubbed him and complained. "You finished all the food."

Perception

Early morning

Wright and Co. Law offices

Evidence lined the perimeter of Apollo's desk and he scrutinized a photograph to glean minute details from it. He worked on an old case, where the insubstantial evidence almost cost him to lose a client to a guilty verdict. Mildly frustrated, he glanced up, mouth twisting into a sour frown at Klavier Gavin smiling suavely from a large poster tacked on the wall.

"I have a job for you." Phoenix soundlessly entered his office and Justice gestured him to sit. Instead, Wright neatly parted the evidence crowding the table and dumped a picture of a spiky haired Ivy University student. "Clavius," he said simply.

"You want to hire him?" Apollo studied the picture. The student's blue eyes shimmered with a fathomless depth, and an expensive silk muffler covered the bottom half of his face. The bracelet around Apollo's wrist seized in response to thousand and one suspicions floating to the top of his head. There was something eerily uncanny about this young man.

He knew it.

He felt it.

"He has a habit of visiting Vitamin Square," Wright enigmatically added.

When he left, Apollo painstakingly eased the golden bracelet off his arm and absentmindedly stared at a vase of white flowers lining the mantelpiece. He set up a mirror, next to his cactus, Apollo, and stretched a length of gauze in his hands.

He hated the simmering doubts swirling in his mind.

He despised himself for suspecting others so easily.

A/N: Yeah you read that right, Apollo has a barrel cactus named Apollo

Once again, please read and review, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Much thanks to barajasitzel9 for alerting and favoriting the story, hope you enjoy it till the end