Sayaka met Maggey one on one in the detention center. Maggey wore a black suit with a red and yellow striped tie and a set of red slacks. She wore a pair of glasses that made her look very cute.

"So I asked around some of the employees at El Bombi. They said you were lined up for a promotion on the night of the murder. Is that correct?" Sayaka asked. Maggey stood tall and saluted her attorney, smiling sweetly.

"Yes, ma'am! I was ready to accept my promotion the following morning!" Maggey responded, with a proud tone of voice. This made Sayaka smile.

"All right! This tells me that you have no motive to murder Mr. Axelrod. That makes my case at least a little easier." Sayaka spoke with confidence.

"I kinda miss Axelrod… I don't know why everyone else hated him…" Maggey spoke in a softer tone, with a confused expression.

"From what I gathered, there were rumours of Axelrod underpaying his employees. They were confirmed by Mr. Mitchell Riley." Sayaka explained her findings to Maggey.

"Riley said that? Was he at least able to live on his own? I hope Axelrod was at least giving him the privilege of doing that." Maggey sounded concerned. Sayaka shook her head.

"I don't know about that part. Mitch said he was staying with a friend when the murder happened." Sayaka stated.

"What else did Riley say?" Maggey asked.

"Not much. He suspects that the new girl there did it. But he doesn't remember her name." Sayaka answered. Maggey shook her head.

"I don't know her name either. She might be the one, but neither of us know for sure." Maggey added. Just then, a bailiff opened the detention center door.

"Wrap it up, girls. The trial starts soon." The bailiff's voice boomed. Sayaka turned to the bailiff.

"Okay. I'll be there in a flash!" Sayaka responded before turning back to Maggey and smiling. "I'll get you out of here. I'm not letting an innocent person get sent down." Sayaka reassured her client before leaving the detention center. She was happy with her discussion with her client. She took a deep breath before walking into the courtroom… alone. She stood at the defense desk, while Kyoko waited at the other desk. She smirked as the gallery filed in and the judge took his seat. He slammed down his gavel.

"The court is now in session for the trial of Ms. Maggey Byrde." The judge announced.

"The Prosecution is ready, your honour!" Kyoko spoke confidently.

"The Defense is ready, your honour." Sayaka spoke sternly. She wanted to get this trial over with.

"Very good." The judge spoke. "Now, Miss Sakura. If you're ready, please present your opening statement." The judge announced to the prosecution. Kyoko smirked and pulled out a red apple.

"Very well, your honour!" Kyoko began. "It was late at night when the explosion happened. Before it happened, the defendant shot the phone with a shotgun to prevent the victim from making a call to the police." Kyoko pulled out the shotgun used by the killer, which was submitted into evidence. Maggey did not recognize the gun.

"After the phone was shot, the defendant pulled out a faulty stick of dynamite and lit the stick before launching it at the victim, blowing him up, along with his office." Kyoko finished her opening statement.

"That is a solid opening statement, Miss Sakura." The judge confirmed.

"Heh~ Thank you, your honour!" Kyoko smirked proudly. Sayaka looked into Kyoko's eyes, infuriated. The judge nodded.

"Now without further ado, the prosecution may call up it's first witness." The judge announced. Kyoko bit into her apple from the side.

"Very well then! The prosecution would like to call Detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand." Kyoko spoke sharply. Gumshoe arrived on the stand, looking as droopy as he was during the investigation. Kyoko shot him a nasty glare as she pointed her pocky stick at him.

"Witness, tell the court your name and occupation!" Kyoko ordered. Gumshoe was a little startled.

"Y-Yes! I am Dick Gumshoe! I'm a detective for the police force!" Gumshoe yelped. Sayaka grimaced at the sight of Gumshoe's panicked expression. Kyoko shook her head.

"You look down today, Detective. What's your problem?!" Kyoko sniped.
"N-Nothing, boss! I am ready to share my findings!" Gumshoe tried to put on a brave face. The judge nodded. Kyoko looked a little concerned.

"Very well then, Detective Gumshoe. If you are ready, you may testify to the court what you found." The judge announced.

"Okay, so I had found the victim's body, charred beyond recognition. The whole office was a total wreck. The desk was chipped and the phone was full of bullet holes. On the floor, there was only a dormant stick of dynamite. On top of that, the office door was partially damaged by the blast. There was a set of fingerprints on the door, resembling those of the victim. That is all that I had found." Gumshoe shared his testimony. The judge nodded.

"I hope your findings were accurate, Detective." The judge responded before turning to Sayaka. "Now the defense may begin their cross examination." The judge announced. Sayaka put her finger to her chin and thought to herself, "I swear I saw something else in there. Like a blank check… that's it!" Sayaka came up with a pressing topic.

"Objection!" Sayaka shouted. "Are you sure that's everythng you saw, Detective?" Sayaka asked. The detective nodded.
"Yes. I'm certain that I listed everything I saw." Gumshoe spoke. Sayaka shook her head.

"I went into the office myself and found something laying on the floor in plain sight!" Sayaka took out a photo she had taken at the scene of the crime. "Behold, something you missed! A blank check!" Sayaka presented the photo of the blank check. Gumshoe did not recognize the photo.

"H-Huh?! Where was that?!" Gumshoe asked.

"On the other side of the desk, where you clearly failed to check." Sayaka pointed out the thing Gumshoe never found. The photo was submitted as evidence.

"Objection!" Kyoko shouted. "This is entirely irrelevant to the case! The detective is simply describing what he found. Criticizing him for not being thorough enough is one thing. Using it to attack his testimony is another thing. All it does is waste our time!" Kyoko snapped as she bit into her apple some more. Sayaka sighed as the judge shook his head.
"The prosecution is correct. However, this photo is important evidence. I shall accept it." The judge nodded. Kyoko smirked. Sayaka nervously glared at her.

"Gotta try something else… is there anything else that could cast reasonable doubt onto Maggey?" Sayaka thought to herself. Then something came up.
"What about those fingerprints on the door?" Sayaka asked, remembering the clutch fingerprints from the previous case.

"I actually ran a check on the prints before you got there, Miss Miki." Gumshoe responded.

"Okay, then. Did they belong to Maggey?" Sayaka asked. Gumshoe shook his head.

"I wish I could tell you, but the fingerprints were smudged when I got there. It's impossible to tell who's prints they were." Gumshoe responded with a sullen look. Sayaka seemed worried. "So the killer's a smart one… they covered their tracks by smudging fingerprints…" Sayaka thought to herself. Then she had another idea.

"What about the shotgun? The one that was used to disable the phone." Sayaka brought up the shotgun.

"Objection!" Kyoko shouted. "Your honour, I already ran a test on the gun. There were no fingerprints at all. This must mean the defendant wore gloves." Kyoko shut down Sayaka's idea.

"If there was a pair of gloves, how can you tell that the gloves belong to Maggey?" Sayaka asked. Kyoko smirked as she produced a pair of black gloves.

"I found this pair of black gloves at the crime scene. Not only were they lying near the office, they were also just the right size to fit the defendant!" Kyoko spoke proudly, pointing her pocky stick at Maggey. Sayaka reeled back. The gallery began chattering for a bit before the judge slammed down his gavel.

"Miss Sakura, how did you find these gloves before the detective?" The judge asked. Kyoko bit into her apple.

"As the defense said, Gumshoe was not particularly thorough with his investigation. I looked around after Gumshoe and Miki left, and I discovered these gloves, right near the office door, hidden in plain sight! On top of that, the back of the gloves have a label! They read out the word, Security." Kyoko smirked as she explained how she found the gloves. "Therefore, these must belong to the defendant, Security Guard Maggey Byrde!" Kyoko made her claim.

"Objection!" Sayaka shouted. She slammed her hands down on the desk. "How can you prove these gloves belong to Ms. Byrde? They could belong to any security guard!" Sayaka tried something desperate. Kyoko chuckled.

"I just finished saying these gloves are the same size as the defendant's hands. In fact, why don't you ask her yourself?" Kyoko challenged Sayaka.

"I will in fact, ask the defendant myself!" Sayaka shouted before turning to Maggey and putting her pointer finger on her brooch. Sayaka's vision focused in on Maggey as the backdrop turned blue.

"Ms. Byrde, be honest. Do you recognize these gloves? Do they belong to you?" Sayaka asked. Maggey shook her head.

"Nope. I don't recognize that pair of gloves. My gloves are white." Maggey spoke clearly and concisely. Her eyes did not dilate, and she pulled out a pair of white gloves, which also read the word, Security. Sayaka smiled.

"Take that!" Sayaka shouted and pointed to Kyoko. "Sure, those gloves may have been the right size, but they were the wrong color. As you can see, Ms. Byrde's gloves are white, not black." Sayaka argued. Kyoko chomped into her apple and glared at Sayaka.

"So what if the gloves were the wrong color! It still doesn't prove that the defendant didn't wear those gloves on the day of the murder." Kyoko made a desperate play. Sayaka shook her head.

"The defendant did not even recognize those gloves, so she clearly could not have worn them!" Sayaka responded to Kyoko's claim. Gumshoe began to smile, knowing Sayaka was making a good case for his girlfriend. The judge slammed down his gavel.

"These white gloves are indeed very telling, Miss Miki. I shall accept them into evidence." The judge announced. "Now, Detective. Do you have anything you wish to add to your testimony?" The judge asked. Gumshoe shook his head.

"No, your honour. I shared everything I had found during my investigation." Gumshoe spoke sullenly. Kyoko took notice of his tone.

"Is there something else going on, detective?" Kyoko asked. Gumshoe looked at Maggey, then looked at Sayaka. Kyoko immediately put two and two together. "I see. You have a particular relationship with the defendant?" Kyoko asked. Gumshoe nodded.

"Ms. Byrde is my girlfriend. She means a lot to me, boss." Gumshoe responded.
"Yep! Gumshoe is my boyfriend! He means a lot to me too!" Maggey added on. This made Gumshoe smile a sad smile. Kyoko took a deep breath and looked at Gumshoe. "In that case, you may leave. You have shared all the evidence that you needed. I won't make you indict your girlfriend any longer." Kyoko dismissed Gumshoe. Sayaka was quite surprised, as was the judge.

"Prosecutor Sakura. Do you really think this is a good idea?" The judge asked.

"I am a prosecutor, yes. But I also have a heart. It has become clear that Gumshoe cannot continue to testify in good conscience. If he does not want to indict his girl, then I will not keep him in this uncomfortable situation." Kyoko explained her reasoning. Gumshoe sniffled a little bit.

"I can keep going… I-I have to. It's my job…" Gumshoe felt as if he could not get off the stand. Kyoko shook her head.

"If you leave the stand right now, I will still pay you. You have done what you needed to do. There is no need to pressure you further." Kyoko spoke with a soft, sincere tone. Sayaka wanted to cry a little bit as well. Kyoko had a heart after all. Gumshoe looked towards Kyoko and tried to smile.

"T-Thank you, boss." Gumshoe saluted to Kyoko before getting off the stand, smiling through his tears. Kyoko, Sayaka, and Maggey all watched him leave the courtroom. Once he was gone, Kyoko was back to business mode, chomping on her apple. The judge looked to Kyoko.

"Well that was an unexpected turn of events." The judge spoke.
"You're right. It was unexpected, but I still have a job to do." Kyoko's confidence returned. The judge nodded.

"Now, the prosecution may call its next witness." The judge announced.
"Very well! The prosecution calls Mr. Greg Keeler to the stand." Kyoko called her second witness. Greg stepped up onto the stand, looking as gruff as he did earlier in the lobby of El Bombi.

"Witness! I want your name and occupation." Kyoko ordered.

"Greg Keeler. Freelance Gambler." Greg followed Kyoko's order. Kyoko bit into her apple, leaving only the core.

"Good! Now testify to the court what you saw on the night of the murder." Kyoko commanded. Greg nodded.

"It was late at night. Me and my friend Mitchell Riley were playing a game of blackjack together. Mitch was 7 away from drawing 21 and winning the game. He drew an eight and busted. As soon as the eight hit the table, the explosion happened at the nearby El Bombi. The two of us ran down the stairs of our apartment and when we opened the door, we saw a girl in a security outfit fleeing the scene." Greg explained what he had seen that night. "That is all that I saw." Greg finished his testimony. The judge nodded.

"Thank you for your account, Mr. Keeler." The judge spoke before turning towards Sayaka. "The defense may now cross examine the witness." The judge announced.

"No contradictions here…" Sayaka thought to herself. "I should probably ask about the girl he saw." Sayaka looked towards Greg.
"So you saw a girl fleeing the scene. What did she look like?" Sayaka asked.

"It was very dark out. I could not see very well. The girl hid herself in the night by dressing up in all black, from head to toe." Greg responded.

"Hold it!" Sayaka shouted. "If you could not see very well, how could you tell the person was female?" Sayaka asked. She was slightly suspicious of Greg's certainty of the person't gender, so she put her finger up to her brooch, and her vision focused in on Greg. The area behind him turned a dark blue.

"I could make out her body shape. She was sleek, slender, and clearly feminine." Greg's eyes dilated when he said the word feminine.
"Right there!" Sayaka shouted, pointing at Greg. "You did not see a feminine form, Mr. Keeler! Your eyes must be faulty." Sayaka pointed out. "Either that, or you only believed it to be a girl… after you heard that Ms. Byrde was accused." Sayaka made a bold claim. Greg grimaced.

"First of all, I was not the first one who saw her! Mitch saw her first! Second, I don't read the damn newspaper!" Greg tried to refute Sayaka's claim. Sayaka shook her head. "You don't have to read the paper to hear about trials of this nature, Mr. Keeler. The explosion was all over television this morning. You could have heard about it there." Sayaka smirked confidently.

"Objection!" Kyoko shouted. "Again, Miki. You're simply debating semantics! You're wasting time!" Kyoko snapped back, biting into her apple again. Only a core was left.

"Objection!" Sayaka shouted back. "I'm not finished yet. Mr. Keeler, if you're so certain that the person you saw was a girl, why are you relying on what Mr. Riley saw to prove it?" Sayaka asked. Greg grimaced and slammed his fist onto the stand.

"Then why don't we put him on the stand? He works there, so he knows the people there better." Greg challenged. Sayaka smiled.

"I would if I were a prosecutor." Sayaka spoke in a snarky tone. Kyoko glared at her.

"What are you trying to do, prove that Mr. Keeler was the murderer?!" Kyoko asked. Sayaka shook her head.

"I don't think it was him. The murderer's gloves are too small for his hands." Sayaka spoke boldly. "All I'm trying to prove is that his testimony is inherently flawed." Sayaka made her point. Greg grimaced as Kyoko glared at Sayaka. The gallery chattered for a while before the judge slammed down his gavel.
"Order! Order in the court!" The judge shouted. "So we can safely assume that Mr. Keeler's testimony is flawed, and it is largely based on the account of another. Is this correct, Miss Miki?" The judge asked. Sayaka nodded.

"Yes, your honour." Sayaka responded. The judge nodded.

"In that case, the witness is free to go. The court would like to summon Mr. Mitchell Riley to the stand, in order to expand upon Mr. Keeler's testimony." The judge announced.
"Objection!" Kyoko shouted. "You cannot just kick a witness off the stand! Mr. Keeler's account is just as valuable as any other!" Kyoko tried to make a play, but the judge shook his head.

"Objection overruled. The defense has proven Mr. Keeler's testimony to be entirely dependent on another person's account. Therefore we must obtain that person's account in order to reach an accurate verdict." The judge spoke with authority. Kyoko chomped at the core of her apple, glaring at Sayaka, who smiled proudly.

"Care to do the honours, Sakura?" Sayaka asked. Kyoko sighed.

"Fine. The prosecution calls Mr. Mitchell Riley to the stand." Kyoko spoke with an annoyed tone. Mitch appeared on the stand, with his left hand on the brim of his top hat.

"Witness! I want your name and occupation!" Kyoko barked. Mitch took off his hat and smiled gracefully.

"My name, dear lady, is Mitchell Riley. I work as a factory supervisor for El Bombi." Mitch spoke with class. His smile made Kyoko slightly less tense.

"Very well, then. Testify to the courts about what you saw that day." Kyoko ordered. Mitch nodded.

"I understand, dear lady. I will tell nothing but the truth of what I saw." Mitch responded with a smile. "During my work day, I participated in a staff meeting. There were five people in attendance, including myself, the defendant, and a second security guard. Nobody knew her name, but she had a suspicious look on her face, which only grew worse when the defendant spoke of a promotion she was due to recieve. The look bothered me all the way home from work, where I had met up with my buddy Greg Keeler. We arranged to play a game of blackjack that night on the balcony. I was close to drawing 21, and all I needed was a seven. Then, I drew an eight as the explosion went off. Greg and I went downstairs and I noticed that same suspicious girl from before, running away from the building. Greg could not see her in the dark, but I noticed her hair right away. I tried to call out to her, but she was long gone. When I had returned to work, the office was destroyed, and Mr. Axelrod was dead. The suspicious girl was nowhere to be seen." Mitch spoke with grace. The judge nodded.
"It sounds to me like your account is similar to that of Mr. Keeler, from a differing perspective." The judge made an observation. "Now. The defense may begin their cross examination." The judge announced.

"Sounds like I was mostly right about the testimony. It does not differ much from the explanation I got in the assembly room." Sayaka thought to herself. "I'd like to know a bit more about what this girl looked like… or why Mr. Riley tried to call out to her." Sayaka prepared a question.

"So what did this girl look like?" Sayaka asked. Mitch smiled.

"I took a staff photo, as we do every Black Friday after work, just to show we all made it." Mitch dug into his pocket and pulled out a photo. The photo featured himself at the front, with a smaller brown haired lady behind him, smiling. To her right was Maggey, saluting to the camera and wearing her white gloves. Behind the small girl to the left was a thin young black man with a thin beard and dreadlocks. Behind Maggey to the right was a girl with long, shaggy two toned pink and orange hair. She looked visibly annoyed. "The girl I saw last night, and the one with the suspicious look was the one in the back right, with the pink and orange hair. Nobody knows her name." Mitch spoke with a quiet tone. Sayaka nodded.
"Good to know. Thank you, Mr. Riley." Sayaka spoke softly. The judge nodded.

"I will add this photo to evidence. Thank you for your contribution." The judge announced.

"Another thing, Mr. Riley. What compelled you to call out to the girl when you saw her running?" Sayaka asked. Mitch took a deep breath.

"I wanted to know why she was running. Was she scared of explosions? Was she late to get home from her already late shift? Was she the potential culprit? I wanted to know for sure, but she left before I could ask her." Mitch revealed his reasoning for calling out to the girl. Sayaka wrote down what he said to keep a note for later.
"It sounds to me like there is a legitimate reason to suspect this girl you spoke of, Mr. Riley." The judge spoke. "Thank you for your time." The judge nodded.

"Any time, your honour. All I want is for the truth to come out." Mitch responded as he got up from the stand and walked away. Kyoko grimaced at Sayaka, but it appeared that she was trying to think something over.

"You look bothered, Miss Sakura. What's wrong?" The judge asked.

"N-Nothing, your honour." Kyoko stated, as if she were trying to hide something. The judge nodded.

"Very well. This trial has gone on long enough for today. The court shall take a recess and return tomorrow for the second trial." The judge announced. "This court is temporarily adjorned." The judge slammed down his gavel and the gallery filed towards the exits. Sayaka packed up her notebook and turned to leave.

"Hey, Miki." Kyoko called out to Sayaka, who turned to look at her. "Come with me. I want to ask you something." Kyoko motioned for Sayaka to follow her. Sayaka begrudgingly followed her to the lobby. Kyoko gave Sayaka an apple.

"Here. Something to eat while we talk." Kyoko spoke sharply. Sayaka accepted the apple and took a bit out of it. This made Kyoko smile a little bit. "So you've learned from the last time…" Kyoko remarked. Sayaka nodded.

"I'm sorry for wasting the last one…" Sayaka aplogized. Kyoko shook her head.

"Don't apologize. That's not what I'm here for. I want answers from you, Miki." Kyoko snapped.

"Answers? For what?" Sayaka asked. Kyoko looked her in the eye.

"Why did you want to become a defense attorney? What makes you think the people you defend are innocent?" Kyoko asked. Sayaka took a deep breath and bit into her apple.

"I wanted to become a defense attorney to stand up for people who can't stand up for themselves. I want to defend people who have been wrongly accused of crimes they didn't commit." Sayaka spoke with heart and conviction. Kyoko's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not going to say Ms. Byrde is guilty when I ask you this…" Kyoko began. "What if your client is not innocent? What happens then? Do you defend a person you know is guilty?" Kyoko asked. Sayaka looked into her eyes with determination, for she knew the answer.

"I won't defend a guilty person. I know what an innocent person looks like. I know how they behave. If I'm forced to defend a guilty person, I will make sure they still go to jail. My record isn't what is important to me, Sakura. The truth is what really matters." Sayaka spoke with passion and determination. Kyoko's eyes widened. She never heard any defense attorney prize truth over their record before. It surprised her. "Is it not a lawyer's job to find the truth, Sakura? That's what the court system is for. The court system is built to get the right person in jail. To make sure the verdict that comes down is representative of the truth." Sayaka explained her own reasoning. Kyoko took deep breaths.

"I don't understand…" Kyoko said. "How is it that you know your client is innocent?! What is it about Ms. Byrde that tells you she is innocent? How do you know she's not acting sweet to make you think she's a good person?!" Kyoko asked with intensity in her voice. Sayaka shook her head.

"There's a difference between putting on an act and being nice. I've had fake friends, and they were all the same. They showered me with hollow compliments and praises to get something from me because they knew I was a nice person. That's not being nice. Maggey isn't like those fake friends. Her optimism and compassion are the real deal. She was happy to work for Axelrod. She had no motive or reason to kill him. She could not have done it." Sayaka spoke profoundly about Maggey, and the concept of fake friends. Kyoko bit into a pocky stick, snapping it in half.
"Lastly, what is it about that pink haired girl that makes you all suspicious of her?" Kyoko asked.

"The way Mitch talked about her. The way he described her character makes me feel like she was hiding something. He said the same thing back at the factory, too." Sayaka explained. Kyoko looked into her eyes.

"You better hope you're right. I'm not going to lose to you because of someone else's elaborate lie. I'd never forgive myself for it." Kyoko turned to leave, now filled with contrasting thoughts about Sayaka's philosophy. Sayaka left the courtroom and walked back to her house, just a few blocks away from Tomoe Law Firm. She finished her apple and thought about what Kyoko had said. A thought began to enter her head. Why did Kyoko become a prosecutor? Why does Kyoko so firmly believe every defendant is guilty? Did Kyoko know something Sayaka did not? The thoughts raced around her head all night long, even deep into her sleep.