There was a hotel on the south side of Mitakihara City. A young man named Toby Angelis was fluffing his sleek black hair when a ginger haired man arrived. He had an intimidating glare in his golden eyes, meeting with Toby's frightened hazel eyes.

"Well well, little Toby. You failed to hold up your end of my deal." The ginger spoke with a rather vicious tone. Toby stepped backwards.

"W-What deal?! Kerry we didn't have any kind of deal!" Toby quailed in fright. Kerry smirked.

"You promised me you'd buy me a diamond ring! You said it'd win over the chick from the bar!" Kerry shouted as he picked up a sledgehammer. "I didn't get the ring from you, so you didn't achieve your end of the deal! Those who betray me face punishment!" Kerry advanced towards Toby before whacking him on the top of the head with the sledgehammer, killing him outright. He put the sledgehammer back where he found it before running away. As he ran, a pink haired girl caught his eye. He smirked as he left the building. The next day, the pink haired girl's face was in the local newspaper. The headline read: "Toby Angelis Dead! Madoka Kaname is the primary suspect!" The newspaper reached a high rise apartment. The apartment had a sign reading, Tomoe Law Firm. On the top floor was an older woman with golden hair styled in twin drills. She wore a fancy golden baroness outfit. Next to her was a smaller girl with short blue hair and a basic blue suit. On the clip of the suit, a golden attorney's badge shone in the light. The older woman read the newspaper and handed it over to the smaller girl.

"You might be interested in this, Sayaka Miki." The older woman spoke softly. Sayaka nodded and took the newspaper. She recognized Madoka's face and stood up.

"I have to take this case. Madoka would never murder someone like that!" Sayaka boldly declared. The older woman was more than a little surprised.

"Sayaka… you would take a homicide trial as your first case?" The older woman asked. Sayaka nodded.

"Yeah. I'm not letting my friend go to jail for something I know she wouldn't do. Justice needs to be served." Sayaka spoke with conviction. She needed to defend her friend. The older woman smiled.

"Then I will come with you. You may need some guidance in your first true trial." The older woman stood up from her seat, following Sayaka out the door. Luckily for her, the local detention center was hardly a block away. The girls walked over to the detention center. The older woman greeted the guard.
"Greetings. I am Mami Tomoe." Mami introduced herself to the guard. "I would like to see Madoka Kaname."

"Do you plan on representing her for the upcoming trial?" The guard asked.

"Yes, but I am simply acting as defense counsel. My protege, Sayaka Miki, would like to represent Madoka Kaname as her defense attorney." Mami spoke calmly to the guard. Sayaka took a deep breath.

"Very well then. The two of you may visit Madoka Kaname." The guard opened the door. Madoka sat behind a glass wall, with small holes for air. There was a guard watching over Madoka in the detention cell. Sayaka and Mami sat in the seat in front of the glass. Madoka smiled when she saw her friend.

"Sayaka! You came to visit!" Madoka's voice was soft and sweet like an angel. Sayaka smiled proudly.

"Oh, not just for a visit. I'm here to tell you that I'm going to defend you in this trial!" Sayaka winked and made a peace sign. Madoka beamed from ear to ear.

"Thank you so much, Sayaka!" Madoka spoke with glee.

"So, Madoka. What do you know about the case?" Mami opened with a question. Madoka rubbed her chin with her finger.

"I saw a big ginger haired guy fleeing from the victim's room. He quickly looked at me as he turned to leave. I didn't think much of it, but then the police came and arrested me." Madoka described her account of the events that unfolded in the apartment. Sayaka took notes in her writing pad.

"Did you know the victim at all?" Sayaka asked. Madoka nodded.

"Toby was a great friend of mine. We met in sixth grade and talked about travelling around the world together. We unfortunately lost contact four years ago." Madoka described her relationship with Toby. Sayaka took notes, noting that Madoka didn't harbor a grudge against Toby, and therefore, had no motive to murder him.
"Did you happen to know the name of the ginger haired person you saw?" Mami asked a final question. Madoka shook her head.

"No… I haven't seen him before until the day of the murder." Madoka answered. Sayaka took one last set of notes.

"Thank you for your cooperation, miss Kaname. We will be sure to get you acquitted today." Mami bowed before leaving the detention room.
"You'll be a free girl soon, Madoka!" Sayaka reassured her friend as she followed Mami. The courthouse was nearby, and Sayaka took a deep breath.

"The trial begins in two hours. Do you think you're prepared, Sayaka?" Mami asked.

"Yeah… I-I'll be fine." Sayaka showed a slight sense of nervousness. Even in a case as cut and dried as a murder trial, Sayaka needed to calm her nerves.

"I trust your judgement, Sayaka. You're a good girl at heart. I know it deep down." Mami consoled her protege. Sayaka smiled.

"T-Thank you, Ms. Tomoe!" Sayaka stuttered. Mami giggled.

"Oh, Sayaka. Just call me Mami!" Mami spoke gently. 90 minutes passed and the girls made their way to the courtroom. Sayaka showed the guard her attorney's badge and the guard let her through. The courtroom was large, and grand. The golden desks, the concealed bronze witness stand, and the neatly laid out gallery wowed Sayaka. The jury filed into their seats and the prosecutor took to his desk. He wore a tacky brown suit and a red tie. He had a bald head with hair only on the back of his head. He wore crooked glasses. Mami recognized him.

"That's your opponent. Winston Payne, the so called rookie killer. Be on your guard, Sayaka." Mami warned. Sayaka nodded as Madoka took her seat in the defendant's chair. The judge took up his seat, long grey beard and all. He hit a wooden plate with a gavel.

"The court is now in session for the trial of Madoka Kaname." The judge announced.

"The prosecution is ready, your honour." Winston spoke.

"The defense i-is ready, y-your honour." Sayaka stuttered. The judge looked directly at her.

"It is to my understanding that you are a rookie defense lawyer. Am I correct, Miss Miki?" The judge spoke.

"Y-Yeah. I'm a rookie." Sayaka responded. The judge nodded.

"I hope you can control your nerves for the sake of your client. Murder is a serious offense." The judge spoke clearly and concisely. Sayaka nodded.

"I-I'll do my best, your honour." Sayaka responded again. The judge turned to Winston.

"Very well then! Your opening statement, please." The judge ordered.

"Yes, your honour." Winston began. "The defendant, Madoka Kaname, was seen at the Kazuki Apartment Terrace yesterday afternoon. She was spotted walking away from the victim's apartment dorm with a smile. According to this autopsy report, the victim was struck with a sledgehammer, and died instantly as a result of blunt force trauma. The death occured between 2 and 4 pm, and the defendant was seen at 2:30pm." Winston stated the facts of the case. While doing so, he submitted the autopsy report, along with the murder weapon, a sledgehammer. Madoka did not recognize the sledgehammer, tilting her head in confusion. The judge nodded.
"Thank you, Mr. Payne. You may call up your first witness." The judge enabled Payne to call a witness.

"Very well then. The prosecution calls Mr. Kerry Dickerson to the stand." Winston announced. Soon, a large ginger haired man took the stand. He wore a basic black suit and red tie. He wore a mean look. Madoka recognized him and her eyes widened.

"That must be the guy Madoka described…" Sayaka thought to herself.

"Witness, your name and occupation please." Winston ordered.

"I'm Kerry Dickerson! Retail employee!" Kerry answered.

"Very good. Now testify to the courts about what you saw on the day of the murder." Winston requested.

"Yes, sir! I will tell all of you exactly why this woman over there is guilty as charged!" Kerry spoke boisterously. Mami turned to Sayaka.

"Listen to the witness's testimony and make notes. If anything they say contradicts the evidence, point out the contradiction." Mami gave Sayaka some advice. Sayaka nodded. Kerry took a breath before speaking.

"I was on my way home from my shift at EveryMart. I scaled the elevator at precisely 3:30pm. When the elevator door opened, I saw the defendant exiting the victim's dorm. And I saw Toby, oh poor Toby. He was dead on the floor, dead with a sledgehammer next to him! I immediately ran to call the police and arrest her for murder!" Kerry testified to the court. Mami and Sayaka's eyes widened. The judge nodded.
"Thank you for testifying, Mr. Dickerson." The judge spoke as he turned to Sayaka. "The defense may now cross examine the witness." The judge signalled for Sayaka and Mami to begin the cross examination. Mami leaned towards Sayaka.

"Did you catch that? There was a clear contradiction between the testimony and the evidence." Mami whispered.

"Yep. I saw it. I'll press him on it." Sayaka whispered back. Mami smiled.

"Then give it your best shot." Mami encouraged Sayaka to go forward.

"Repeat your testimony, witness. What time did you see the defendant?" Sayaka asked.

"I said it earlier! I saw her at precisely 3:30pm! My watch said so!" Kerry spoke.
"Objection!" Sayaka shouted, pointing to Kerry. "You said you saw the defendant at 3:30pm. But Mr. Payne's opening statement states that the defendant was seen at 2:30pm! That was a clear contradiction!" Sayaka shredded Kerry's testimony. Kerry winced.

"Oh really then? Look at my watch! Read the time!" Kerry slammed his fist down on the witness stand, revealing the watch. The watch read 6:14pm.

"Objection!" Winston shouted. "W-What if the witness's watch is an hour fast?" Winston asked.

"Hold it!" Sayaka slammed the desk. "Shall we check the time to prove it?" Sayaka asked with a smirk. Mami smiled, looking up at the courtroom clock.
"The clock reads 6:14pm. Exactly the same time as the witness's watch." Mami stated. Kerry glared at Mami.

"So what if the time is wrong? I still saw her on my way home! She still killed poor little Toby." Kerry shouted. The gallery began chattering until the judge slammed down his gavel.

"Order! Order in the court!" The judge tried to restore order. "Witness, the opening statement said you saw the defendant at 2:30pm, not 3;30pm. Care to explain this difference?" The judge asked. Kerry hunkered down.

"U-Ummm it's because… I-I was getting off of my shift. I work the morning shift at EveryMart. The shift ends at 2:00 and it takes me an hour and a half to get back to my apartment." Kerry stated out of panic. The judge shook his head.

"I will give you a second chance to testify, but make sure your testimony is accurate." The judge warned.

"Okay, so I saw her at 2:30pm. The defendant was walking out of the victim's dorm. She had just gotten done talking to him about a deal for a diamond ring. She said that he was supposed to have a diamond ring ready by that day. She hit him in the head with a sledgehammer after he said he wouldn't give her the ring. Then she threw the sledgehammer off to the side and ran away, but not before looking at me." Kerry testified a second time. Sayaka cocked an eyebrow. The judge nodded.
"I hope this testimony was more accurate." The judge sighed. "Now defense, you may cross examine the witness again." The judge spoke firmly. Sayaka turned to Mami.

"I spy another contradiction." Mami whispered.
"Yep. Madoka herself said that she saw Kerry running away and briefly looking at her. I think I can put two and two together." Sayaka responded before turning to Kerry.

"You said you saw Madoka running away and looking at you. Right?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah! I saw her! She looked at me with this evil smile!" Kerry shouted.

"Objection!" Sayaka shouted. " I have two different sources that contradict your assertion! The first source is your previous testimony!" Sayaka recalled. "You said that you immediately ran to call the police! That wouldn't have given you time to see her smiling evilly at you." Sayaka pointed out the inconsistency. Kerry glared. "The second source… is the Madoka Kaname herself!" Sayaka turned to Madoka and smiled. "I had a chance to ask her about the events of the crime earlier today! She told me that she saw a large, ginger haired person leaving Toby's dorm. The person smiled at her evilly. And soon after, she was arrested for murder." Sayaka recounted her questioning of Madoka. "Since she saw you running from the dorm and you said you ran to call the police, I can safely conclude that you killed Toby Angelis, then you saw the defendant and immediately ran to call the police, in order to pin the crime on her!" Sayaka made a bold accusation. Kerry growled loudly at her and then roared in front of the entire courtroom.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MADOKA WASN'T LYING TO YOUR FACE?!" Kerry shouted. "SHE COULD VERY WELL BE A DECEPTIVE, MANIPULATIVE, PIECE OF TRASH BROAD!" Kerry's roar shook the courtroom. Sayaka stood firm.

"Hold it!" Sayaka shouted as she dug out some old papers that she kept in her evidence folder.

"Your honour, I have proof that Madoka wouldn't lie about a situation of this magnitude!" Sayaka slammed the desk and showed off the papers. "Behold, all of Madoka's report cards!" Sayaka smirked. Madoka smiled. Kerry growled at her. Sayaka began reading every report card to the court, and they all said something similar. "Madoka Kaname is a gifted student who is not only knowledgeable in all subjects, but she is also incredibly honest to herself, and all those she meets." Sayaka read the latest report card, which was only a year old, coming from a very reputable university professor. She smiled. "There. How's that for proof of honesty?"

"Objection!" Winston shouted. "N-None of this proves that Mr. Dickerson killed Mr. Angelis! You're wasting the court's time!" Winston tried to save his witness.

"Objection!" Sayaka shouted back. "Maybe it doesn't prove that Kerry murdered Toby, but it proves that Madoka didn't!" Sayaka smiled proudly.

"THERE! THAT'S ALL YOU NEEDED TO DO! WHY ARE YOU ACCUSING ME OF MURDER? THERE'S A CLEAR MOTIVE FOR MADOKA TO DO SO!" Kerry shouted. "TOBY AND MADOKA USED TO BE FRIENDS! BUT NOW THEY AREN'T! OF COURSE SHE'D WANNA KILL HIM! THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY LOSE FRIENDS!" Kerry roared, while sweating profusely.
"Objection!" Sayaka countered. "Madoka never mentioned any kind of fight between her and Toby. She said they were great friends until they lost contact four years ago! First of all, why would Madoka kill someone she was great friends with if there wasn't a fight? Second of all, even if she wanted to, why would she wait four years to do it?" Sayaka asked.

"Objection!" Winston rebutted. "Even if the defendant has no motive, what would Mr. Dickerson's motive be?!" Winston countered. Sayaka felt her heart dip.

"Oh crap… right! Kerry has no motive either!" Sayaka groaned. Mami shook her head.

"Kerry has a clear motive. Remember the diamond ring he brought up in his second testimony?" Mami asked Sayaka. Suddenly a lightbulb went off in Sayaka's head.

"The diamond ring? Why would Madoka want that?" Sayaka asked. Mami nodded.

"Exactly my idea. Kerry brought it up for one reason and one reason only. To project his own motive onto Madoka." Mami explained her process. Sayaka smirked.

"Thanks for the help, Ms. Tomoe. Let's finish this!" Sayaka stood back up.

"Go get 'em Sayaka!" Mami cheered. Sayaka took a deep breath.

"Objection!" Sayaka confidently shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Mr. Dickerson does, in fact have a motive! Remember that diamond ring he brought up?" Sayaka asked. Kerry glared straight into her eyes. "That's his motive. He brought up how the defendant killed the victim with a sledgehammer. Mr. Dickerson is doing something called, projecting!" Sayaka spoke boldly. "In reality, Mr. Dickerson wanted the diamond ring for himself, and when he didn't get it, he killed Mr. Angelis!" Sayaka made her claim. Kerry roared at her.

"Toby didn't have a diamond ring, you witch!" Kerry shouted. Sayaka smirked proudly.

"Exactly! Toby didn't have the ring ready at all! He didn't give you the ring because the ring wasn't ready! You killed him because he didn't give you the ring!" Sayaka shouted. Kerry glared at Sayaka, while smirking deviously.

"So what if Toby didn't have a ring? Why would I want a stupid diamond ring?" Kerry tried to corner Sayaka. Sayaka's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of a reason for Kerry to kill Toby over a diamond. Mami looked towards Sayaka and smiled.

"Remember how he mentioned his job? EveryMart? That is a very low paying job. Mr. Dickerson could have wanted a diamond so that he could make a grand sum of money." Mami shared her thoughts with Sayaka.
"Money… MONEY, THAT'S IT!" Sayaka accepted Mami's idea. Then she looked Kerry in the eye.
"You wanted the diamond so dearly because you needed money. Diamonds are incredibly valuable, especially when they are custom made. So therefore, you felt it was justified to kill Toby over a diamond, because you needed money!" Sayaka made her final accusation. Kerry's whole body vibrated before letting out a bone rattling roar. The roar lasted for a whole minute before Kerry glared forwards.

"DAMN YOU, TOBY ANGELIS! YOU SHOULD HAVE GIVEN ME THE RING YOU PROMISED! DAMN YOU, MADOKA KANAME! YOU SELF ABSORBED BROAD! DAMN YOU, LAWYER! DAMN YOU FOR CATCHING ME WHEN I WAS ALMOST FREE!" Kerry loudly and angrily admitted to the murder. The gallery went nuts as the judge slammed down his gavel.

"Bailiffs! Arrest Mr. Dickerson immediately!" The judge called. The bailiffs came to take Kerry away. As the gallery settled down, the judge looked towards Sayaka.

"Miss Miki, I must say. You did a good job with your first trial. I did not expect you to both complete a defense and find the true killer at the same time." The judge congratulated Sayaka on her defense. Sayaka grinned sheepishly.

"T-Thank you, your honour!" Sayaka nervously spoke. She was never praised by a judge before.

"This court finds the defendant, Miss Madoka Kaname…" The judge slammed down his gavel. "Not Guilty!" The gallery cheered, then the judge slammed down his gavel once more. "This court is now adjourned." The gallery, defense, and prosecution all left the courtroom simultaneously. Sayaka saw Madoka on her way out, and the girls hugged each other tightly. Mami smiled in the back as Winston bitterly walked off.

"Thank you so much, Sayaka!" Madoka congratulated her friend. She was a very happy girl.

"I'm so happy, Madoka!" Sayaka began. "I saved your life, and I won my first case! I'm so glad you're going to be okay, Madoka!" Sayaka cried slightly. Mami gently hugged the girls.

"Nothing warms my heart quite like a happy ending." Mami spoke proudly. "For this occasion, I would like to take both of you out for a celebratory dinner." Mami made an offer. The girls smiled.

"We're more than happy to join you!" The girls cheered. And so the two lawyers and Madoka went out to a local burger joint together to celebrate Madoka's freedom. This would be the first of many important cases in Sayaka Miki's career. From this day forward, she would try her best to save every innocent person she could.