Turnabout Pirates

by Charlett

A woman is found, murdered, in an alleyway on No Name Island. But when the finger is pointed at Zoro and people begin to sharpen their pitchforks, a rather... strange attorney is called to get him acquitted.

6. Day 4: Trial

Alright, two things. One is that this trial day was more like the game than the first. You know, random jokes for no real reason? Also, I hope you don't mind the stuff at the bottom. If you haven't played the game, there's nothing for you to... you know... know... because it's referancing the first Phoenix Wright game, and it's foreshadowing the second Phoenix Wright game. so yeah... there's no reason to spoil everything, unless you're going to cry if you don't. So just ask in a review if you want some added knowledge of what's going on, or just get the game (Gasp) and play it yourself.

Also, this one is long. Really long. Mostly because I couldn't find a place to cut it in half like the last one. So I hope you don't mind longness! Have fun!

So, without further ado:

READ ON!

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Phoenix Wright: MangaLandian Attorney
Case File 1; Turnabout Pirates
Day 4: Trial

January 20, 5:51
Fangirl Order Headquarters
Defendant Lobby No. 2

"Good luck, Nick!" I yawned a bit as Luffy stared straight at me, eyes practically hot enough to burn my retinas as I lay on the couch in the defendant lobby, "you're going to do great, I know it!"

"Oh, you do, do you?" I muttered, mouth widening to cavernous proportions as I blinked sleepy eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up so late looking at that court record… I glanced at my watch and after realizing the time, sat up to stretch, "Well, thanks for the waking me up, anyway, it's about time we head in…" I grabbed my overcoat, which was slung over the couch, and wandered over towards the courtroom door. Turning, I saw that Luffy wasn't following, "Hey, Luffy, we're due in five minutes. If you're late, people tend to get suspicious of your involvement in the murder."

"Oh! You mean I have to GO in there?" The captain asked, his look of surprise as sincere as a church mouse on Christmas.

"Zoro had to! What makes you any different? You have to sit in the defendant's seat and watch as I use what I have to hopefully get you free!"

"Oh…" Luffy muttered, "But that looked pretty boring…" He sighed, "Alright then, let's go…" He brushed by me, and I smiled a little at the boy. I looked back down at my watch and gasped at the time, "Luffy, come on! Hurry!"

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January 20, 6:00
Fangirl Order Headquarters
Courtroom No. 3

The courtroom quieted when the gavel was brought down and the Fangirl Judge continued the trial that was held off a couple of days ago, "Court is now in session for the trial of Monkey D. Luffy, the defendant of the Imra Bid murder case. Everyone got that?" The audience nodded in sync, "Good, good. Now then, are we all everyone ready today?"

"The Prosecution is ready, Your Honor," Tashigi said, her confidence was soaring; I could tell from the way her chest was puffing out. Needless to say, I was a little… intimidated myself from that look.

"The Defense… is ready, Your Honor," I spoke, nevertheless. I couldn't show any weakness in front of her, or she'd attack me harder and more ruthlessly than even now…

Tashigi adjusted her glasses, her smile brightening the room, "My opening statements are this: I have sufficient evidence to prove that Monkey D. Luffy is just what any pirate is, a liar and a murderer!" Her eyes flashed angrily at Luffy, who smiled at me even as I sweated. Damn, she really WAS a good prosecutor! I wonder if she got pointers from Edgeworth…?

"Well then, what type of evidence do you have?" The Judge asked.

"Don't worry, Your Honor," She said smugly, entwining her fingers together and holding her head up upon them, "I have a great witness which will add to the evidence we already possess." I blinked at her, and she continued, "Theresa Putic…"

"The woman who runs the medicine shop?" I wondered aloud, stroking my chin, "She was called to be a witness…?" (But when? Did Theresa know about being subpoenaed even after I arrived at her shop…? Something weird is going on here, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this!)

The middle aged woman took the stand. She still had that same bottle and the rag in her hand. When Tashigi was about to ask for the woman's name and profession, Thera cut her off, "Quiet! I need to have a word with the Fangirl Judge here!" The Judge blinked at the witness, who was tapping her fingers against the podium, "Look at this poor, grimy piece of crap! It probably hasn't been waxed in years!"

"Two, really…" The Judge replied, nodding sagely, "that was when the court was first built." Thera scoffed and pulled out her bottle.

"Well then, you really need to get this fixed up! But don't worry; my lemon-and-cinnamon-y fresh bottle of scuff reducer will take care of it!" She dumped some of the contents of the bottle onto the rag and started buffing the podium happily. It made me wish she would do it with my desk… "So, Tashigi, was it? What is it that you want to know?" The medicine woman asked brightly.

Tashigi seemed to like the smell of the scuff reducer (indeed, most of us in the courtroom felt tensions reduce right there. Theresa sure lived up to her name…), and started the questioning, "Your name and profession, please."

"Ahh yes, Tashigi-san. My name is Theresa Putic, but my friends usually just call me 'Thera'. I own the shop 'Medicines 4 U'. I really didn't think up the name. It was a rather funny Fanboy who thought of it. I forgot his name though…" No one seemed to have noticed she was rambling. They were too busy taking deep breaths of the wonderfully smelling concoction Thera had mixed together.

"Ahhh, Oh yes!" The prosecutor said, finally realizing that they should continue, "Please, instead of the store's name, we would like to know about the defendant. When did he enter your store?"

"Huh?" Thera asked, looking up from a particularly nasty spot that she was scrubbing heavily, "Oh, yeah, I'll tell you what I can," She reached up and slapped the rag over her shoulder so she could speak her testimony:

"Well, on that day, I was working hard, scrubbing down my counter, when he came in."

"It was that boy with the straw hat; the one sitting there." She pointed at Luffy to elaborate, "He wanted to buy some medicinal supplies for his doctor, he said."

"He nearly broke everything I had, and I wouldn't be able to handle such a mess! I got some necessary items together and threw in some surgeon gloves."

"After that, the boy thanked me and took the bag of supplies and the box of gloves. Then he left the shop."

"Alright, so that means you did see the defendant in the possession of surgery gloves," The Judge said as Thera went back to work scrubbing the podium down, "Well then, Mr. Wright, are you ready to cross-examine the witness?"

There really wasn't anything to contradict here. Everything seemed like the truth, but perhaps I could press some extra information out of her. I nodded solemnly and placed my hands on the desk before me, "I am, Your Honor."

Thera smiled at me as I started my first question, "Alright then, witness. Can you tell me if the defendant was with anyone?"

"Huh?" Thera blinked, obviously confused at what this entailed, "Like…"

"Someone of the feminine variety?" I asked, elaborating on my question that Imra was with Luffy in the shop. I had half a mind to make curving motions with my hands, but doing that for a woman seemed like a stupid idea. The witness nodded, finally understanding, although the prosecution looked pretty annoyed at my words ("Hopefully this will go the way I expect it to," I moaned in my mind). Thera answered with the utmost of kindness.

"Sorry, no. He came in all by himself," The medicine woman replied with a faint smile on her lips, "and all he talked about was his doctor. I don't think he was with anyone. Unless… his doctor is a woman?"

There was a murmur among the audience, and some of the Fangirls in the audience turned to Chopper, who was hiding his face. I began to sweat when I realized this line of questioning would only get me in trouble if I continued. Suddenly, the next part hit me, and I slammed my hands down on the desk, "I need to know something very important, Ms. Thera. What happened with Luffy after he left?"

"Objection!" Tashigi said, looking a little irritated, "The defense doesn't need to know everything about the witness' personal life!"

"But it has something important to do with the case!" I countered with a finger point, despite the fact that I was lying through my teeth. The two of us turned to the Judge, who sighed.

"Overruled," Judge said after much deliberation, "But, Mr. Wright, we don't have forever. If we find out you're lying about this question's importance…" The sweat was already falling down my face, "The consequences can, and will, be severe."

"You're still going to go through with it?" Tashigi asked, staring me down. It was obvious she knew I was feeling rather faint. Shaking my head, I cleared my fuzzy brain and slammed my hands down on the desk. ("I have NO idea why I'm doing this," I thought to myself, "but I've solved plenty of cases by playing by ear.") I then realized that lying to MYSELF was probably the most moronic thing to do at the moment, ("Alright, really, I haven't played ANY cases by ear, but there's a first time for everything!")

"Your Honor, the defense is certain that this is the most direct and useful line of questioning at this moment." I gave a sigh of relief as the Judge nodded, not noticing the fact that I was trying my hardest not to stutter.

Tashigi shut up about her objections, and instead looked away, waiting for the time that I would screw up. Thera turned back to me, smiling, "About the boy? I saw him out, actually."

"Your Honor…"

"I know, I know," The Judge replied before I could make my request. She yawned a bit and went to address the witness, "Miss Thera. Could we have a testimony of what you saw after the defendant left your shop?"

Thera was on her side, rubbing the podium from the side, and once the Judge gave her request, she popped her head up, and smiled. She placed the rag upon her shoulder once again, and started up her next testimony:

"Well, after the defendant was finished with his stuff, he started out. He was waving at me and calling out 'Thanks for everything, Lady!'

"After that he started out the door, and I followed him to the door and even waved after him as he rushed off.

"I then gasped as he ran into a young woman.

"She was kinda young, but she looked like she was training to be a swordswoman.

"After they picked themselves up, they rushed off together, laughing. Supposing they were together; I went back inside to rebuff my counter."

"Uh…" Thera looked in my direction, and I sweated a bit hoping beyond hope that there was something else I could work with, "There's… nothing else?"

"Nope!" The woman said, her absolutely sure smile making my stomach tie up in knots, "You wanted to know about what happened after Mister Luffy bought his stuff. That's about it. After the two rushed off, I returned to my work."

"Mr. Wright…" Tashigi muttered, crossing her arms, "this… has…" She slammed her hand down on the desk angrily, and I could practically see her nostrils flaring, "NOTHING to do with this case! You lied in court to buy…"

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, pointing at the prosecution even as she continued her rant, "You didn't even let me continue my line of questioning! Perhaps the prosecution could please wait until I'm FINISHED with my cross examining the witness?"

"Objection sustained," The Judge said, "But please, be QUICK, Mr. Wright?" I nodded, sweating bullets. Damn, that was close! Now, I had to find a way to protect Luffy and find myself innocent of wasting time myself!

"The matter is simple, Your Honor," I said, once I had collected my thoughts. Turning to Thera, I asked the one question I would need to know for this cross examination, "This woman that Luffy ran into was by no doubt a swordswoman, witness?"

"Indeed," Thera replied, dropping back down to take care of the bottom of the podium. The courtroom could hear her grumbling about how she was running out of solution, which made everyone's heart sink a bit, "She was definitely a swordswoman. She had a katana at her hip, and it looked like she would never part with it."

"So then," I said, rubbing my chin in thought, "unless this woman that the defendant ran into was the prosecution," Tashigi hissed under her breath as I continued, "Then it is very safe to assume that this woman was," I slammed my hands down on the table, and I felt a wave of relief flow over me as the camera panned down to close up on my face, even completing the image by adding a swooshing background (Finally, my chance to shine in the spotlight!), "Imra Bid, the victim of our case!"

"OBJECTION!" The prosecutor cried, pointing at me with wide eyes. Perhaps she knew where I was going with this, "Tha… you can't say that without doubt! It's only speculation!"

"OBJECTION!" I pointed back at the woman across from me, "Perhaps I could ask you, a swordswoman, Ms. Tashigi. How many swordswomen are in this world, you know, compared to males?" I pointed behind me towards Zoro, "Surely… there are… at least a fifty-fifty ratio between the sexes, aren't there?"

"N…" I could see that Tashigi was trying her hardest not to lie, "No… definitely not…"

The Judge was about to speak up, but as I continued, she decided to watch and see where this went to. After all, no one was objecting at the moment, "And you would say that the ratio between male and female swordspeople are…?"

"N… Ninety-eight to two…" Tashigi gnashed her teeth as she finished, "Respectively…" In a desperate attempt to keep the heat off of her and her case, she spoke up loudly next, "But this…"

"And No-Name Island is not KNOWN for female swordspeople, IS IT?" I interrupted, slamming my hands on my desk to stop the woman from continuing further. It wasn't hard to be forceful when you'd already built up so much steam. Tashigi looked like she was swallowing her tongue, and I continued, "So, most likely, this was not just another swordswoman. Since women of the sword are rare, it is SAFE… to ASSUME… this was Imra Bid, the victim. Is the defense right, Prosecution?"

"I… the defense is… right… Mr. Wright…" Tashigi finally said, relinquishing her objections (and even added a little accidental pun in, as well!) I won this battle, but definitely not the war, as she instantly started up with another question, "But… what bearing does this have on the case, anyway?"

I shook my head, and smiled, placing my hands on my hips, my smile returning, "Oh, it has everything to do with the case. You see, it was at that moment that Luffy ran into Imra, which means that they hadn't met beforehand!"

"But the witness clearly stated that she assumed they were together!" Tashigi cried, slamming her hands on the desk.

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "Wasn't it YOU who said we shouldn't speculate? It was stated yesterday that the defendant did not know of the victim's existence until the day she was murdered. This moment in time was obviously their first meeting. The biggest thing THIS has to do with the case," I needed to keep going. I needed to make sure nothing stopped me as I continued. I slammed my hands down on the desk to keep the prosecution from interrupting, and the camera panned down to close up on me (Twice in one day! I must be on fire!), "Is the simple fact that the defendant already HAD the surgeon's gloves BEFORE he met the victim!"

There was plenty of murmuring in the crowds from this revelation, and the Judge had to slam her gavel down repeatedly to keep them quiet, "Order! Order in the court! Jeez, you'd think that every time something new happens, you're given express permission to talk to yourselves during the trial!"

"So… you're saying that the defendant had no intention of killing Imra just because had the gloves before he met her?" Tashigi scoffed, and crossed her arms, a smile crossing her face. After all this time, I thought I had caught her, but seeing her smile made me sweat, and I gulped ("NOW what does she have up her sleeve…?" I wondered… "WAIT!"). I came to the conclusion of my question before Tashigi continued; so when she spoke, it took everything I had to keep from passing out, "Two things such as THESE, Your Honor!"

Tashigi was referring to the two clues that the investigations and I had found at the scene of the crime, "Ohhhh!" The Judge proclaimed, "It's a picture of the defendant standing over Imra Bid!" She then looked up at the audience with a growl before they began their mumbling, and she returned to the other piece of evidence, "A…"

"…Box," Tashigi elaborated as the judge looked over the box that seemed to have been ripped a bit at the top, where an opening was supposed to be to allow the owner to pull out whatever was within it, "A cardboard box that once held…"

"AHHHH!" Thera's head had just popped back up from the podium (If any forgot, she was crawling around on her hands and knees to buff the witness stand at the bottom), and smiled, "That's the box that I had given to the straw hat boy! It's…"

"…Empty…" The Judge said, inspecting the inside of it, and even picking it up to shake it so she could support the claim, "There's not one glove within it. That must be because…"

"…They were tossed about the scene of the crime that night," I answered (Because if everyone's going to finish everyone else's sentences, I should join in as well!) "They seemed to have been thrown about as if it was a game."

"Indeed," The prosecution continued her point, "These pieces of evidence are proof that the defendant was the one who stabbed the victim that day!"

"But why wasn't this picture brought into evidence on the first day?" The Judge asked. Tashigi gulped a bit.

"The… investigator… Detective Gumeshoe… did not understand how to get the Den Den Mushi to work…" She replied, and I sweated a bit when there was a grumble from the audience, mostly coming from the Straw Hats behind me. Poor Gumshoe must have been trying his hardest to sneak out the back now. It was then that the prosecutor slammed her hands down on the desk, "But despite this fact, it remains clear that this person is indeed the defendant, Monkey D. Luffy. I doubt the defense can object to that!"

("Damn!" I whined, "She's right!"). The Judge seemed to be staring at the picture, and she looked at me, "Well, Mr. Wright? Can you prove the person in this photo is not the defendant? Although…" She scoffed at the photo, "You have to be some kind of magician to pull something like THIS off."

"Actually, Your Honor!" I proclaimed, placing my hands on my hips, my smile returning, "I once got second place in the talent show after sawing my friend Larry in half!"

"Really?" Tashigi questioned, a smile gracing her face, "Well then, are you going to make evidence pop out of your sleeves like doves?" She obviously was making fun of me from her evil smirk.

My cocky grin didn't leave, "I do believe that my objection to this new evidence will show you that I don't need doves to prove my client's innocence!" Edgeworth and I had gone through this before, but since there was not much else to object to, I had to grab what I could, "The defendant is the LAST person who could be in this photo!"

"Mr. Wright, please," The Judge said, drumming her fingers against the desk, "I think your doves have strangled themselves on the way out of your sleeve." Thera (I just realized she was still there, getting front row seats of all the action) giggled at the Judge's words, and I sweated buckets.

"Your Honor, just take a look at the photo," I said, "Look at what the person in the photo is NOT wearing!"

"Huh?" The court fell silent, and I gagged when I realized what eighty-five percent of them were thinking, "NO! I mean, look at his HEAD! He's not wearing a straw hat!"

"Huh? Oh, it does seem to be bare. He's not wearing his straw hat."

"Your Honor," I said with a smile, "You can't very well be 'Straw Hat Luffy', captain of the 'Straw Hat Pirates', without a straw hat, can you?"

"OBJECTION!" Tashigi shouted, and I could tell she was going in the direction that Edgeworth spoke of yesterday, "The straw hat is irrelevant. It could have been dropped off at another…"

"OBJECTION!" The entire courtroom gasped, as that voice did NOT belong to me. Everyone turned to the defendant, Luffy, who took off his hat, "I had Nami attach a string to my straw hat to make sure it wouldn't fall off, so…"

"Defendant!" Luffy winced, gulped and looked up at the Judge as she glowered down upon the young man, "Unless you want to represent yourself in court, you must remain quiet. No further outbursts such as those are allowed, do you understand?"

Luffy looked a little annoyed at these words, but decided not to press the issue; probably for my sake. He reapplied his hat and nodded, "Yeah, I understand."

"And now, back to where we left off," The Judge turned to Tashigi, "If the prosecution would continue…?"

"OBJECTION!" This time the roar came from me. I decided to pick up where Luffy left off. That seemed to be the best way to counter the prosecution's assertions, "The defendant's straw hat has a string on it so it wouldn't fall off needlessly!"

"Please, Mr. Wright, is that all?" The Judge shook her head, "Circumstantial evidence like that is only going to get you so far…"

I began to think, rubbing my chin in thought. Something strange was also in this photo. The blood along the killer's arm… It was then I suddenly looked at Luffy, and saw that his arm was perfectly fine… Thinking back, I wondered who could have had such a terrible gash on an arm, and I suddenly roared in realization, "GAHHHHHK!"

The courtroom was all on me, "Mr. Wright?"

"I've got it!" I shouted, making the Judge blink at me for interrupting her, "It must be! It must be! There is one other thing!"

"Another… thing…?" Even Tasigi seemed surprised. She attempted to calmly adjust her glasses, but even I could tell she was put off and wanted some information, "Just what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the person's arm in this photo," I replied, calmly tapping the photo in question, "Look at the blood all over this person's arm."

"Obviously…" Tashigi murmured, "The victim's blood…"

"But there is too much blood on just ONE arm to be anything but a wound in of itself! Also, it is exactly the same wound that belonged to someone else who stood in this courtroom two days before!" I shouted, slamming my hands on the desk, "This wound belongs to another person!"

I pointed dramatically, finally feeling relief that I had figured this case out, "and that other person is SAKURA TENSHI, the Mary Sue!"

"K… KYAAAAAAAN!" Tashigi reeled at such a thought, "M… Mr. Wright, you can't…"

"Come now, Ms. Tashigi," I said politely, or at least, as politely as I could as I tapped the photo, "The defendant's build is not nearly as masculine as, say, Zoro's (or perhaps mine, if I do say so myself), so if you were to look at this photo, with these clothes, it's nearly impossible to see if the person in this photo is female or male (although, these legs look definitely feminine…)! Sakura must have applied a wig and cloths that looked similar to the defendant, with the attempt to frame the captain!" I rubbed my chin in thought, "Perhaps the Mary Sue has something against Luffy…?"

"O… O…" Tashigi tried her hardest to object, and finally did so, "Objection! You can't possibly decide to pin the blame on someone else NOW! We've already changed the suspect from Zoro to Luffy!"

"If I recall," I said in thought. Then I pointed dramatically at the prosecution, "You were the one who changed the suspect in the first place, Ms. Tashigi!"

She hissed under her breath as the Judge nodded, "But really, Mr. Wright, that's the prosecution's JOB. Your job isn't to point fingers randomly about…"

"Indeed," Tashigi muttered under her breath, taking a handkerchief to wipe the sweat that had accumulated along her brow.

"However, under these circumstances…" The Judge continued with a curt nod, making Tashigi sweat even more, "It is impossible to convict the defendant, as there is still room for doubt. I want the two of you to find some decisive evidence that will convict SOMEONE tomorrow. Oh, and, Tashigi? Could you subpoena Ms. Sakura just one more time? I do believe she would enjoy testifying here under enough persuasion."

"Y…" Tashigi looked like she was going to break down, "Yes, Your Honor…" Tashigi then composed herself and glared in my direction, "but be careful, Mr. Wright," She pointed at me with a furrowed brow, "Marines are meant to get Pirates convicted and executed. No way I'm giving up Monkey D. Luffy's head THIS early on! If not, the captain (She must have meant that "Smoker" man) would have MY head!"

I began to sweat, "Ye… yes… the defense is duly noted…"

The Judge smiled and nodded to herself, "Well then, it seems like we cannot continue this trial any further. The court will be in recess until two days from now! Court is adjourned!" And with that, the gavel was brought down.

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January 20, 7:03
Fangirl Order Headquarters
Defendant Lobby No. 2

There was tapping on the floor of the lobby, and Edgeworth had his arms crossed in anger after the investigators joined Luffy and I after the trial, "Despite what you say…" He murmured.

It always made me feel a little better to know my friends and I were on the same page, which is why I felt a little bad as the foot's tapping continued, "Edgeworth, can't you see?"

"I refuse to believe it," He replied matter-of-factly, his haughty air not changing, "I refuse to believe that he could be…"

"Edgeworth…"

"This… FREAK…" The former prosecutor pointed directly at the contorting captain (Who was putting on a show for Gumshoe), "cannot be innocent. I refuse to believe a PIRATE… could be the only one who did NOT murder someone…"

I didn't deny Edgeworth his new title for Luffy, who seemed almost to be made of rubber (By the Devil Fruit, no less), but I could not let him slander my client in such a way as that, "Edgeworth…" I began to sigh; I didn't want to talk to him like this… we had both been through so much… "It's just that… everyone deserves a fair trial."

Edgeworth scoffed, "One day, Wright, you are going to eat those words." I looked at him expectantly, and the former prosecutor looked away. It appeared like he didn't want to continue this conversation as much as I. I was about to feel relaxed, but I went on guard when he sucked in a deep breath and spoke again, "Even so, you don't know what this is about…"

"So what is it about?" I asked, splaying my arms out as if to examine the world and everything in it, "Is it your pride? Your pride as a prosecutor? To convict everyone you believe may be guilty? We've been through this before," I pointed at him with an air that I most certainly did not usually possess, "there are innocent people you sent to jail because of your actions."

"I never regretted a thing!" He shouted, making Gumshoe and Luffy stop to look at the two of us, bickering like we once did on the playground, "I don't regret having to take extreme measures to get those monsters convicted. Serial killers who have murdered half a dozen people… I HAD to do something! If Joe Darke was sent free… The blood of everyone he would kill next would be on MY hands!"

"So that's it? You're bringing up the SL-9 case again. We all know that the fabricated evidence wasn't your fault," Luffy certainly had no idea what was going on, but I really didn't want to explain the nature of that bloodbath to him anyway, no matter what he said he went through on his adventures, "But you went downhill from there, Edgeworth. In your attempt to fight crime, you really ended up assisting those who wanted to use you to control the courts. Couldn't you realize…?"

"SHUT UP!" "Cold as Ice" Edgeworth finally cracked under hot water, making Gumshoe cry out in worry ("Hey, Pal!" The detective shouted at me, "Leave him out of this!"), "I had to leave, I had to leave my duties because of everything that happened. After what they said, after what happened… I couldn't do it anymore."

"Edgeworth…" I murmured, glaring straight at him, the prosecutor whose life may have been worse than mine. Maybe even worse than Robin's (I wouldn't know, I didn't know what Robin went through, after all)… but there was one thing that separated him from us, "Why don't you ask for help…? Gumshoe and I are both here to back you up. No one should be doing this alone…"

"Yeah, Pal…" Gumshoe said, smiling, "Mr. Wright here was able to defend you during that case two years ago, and I did whatever I could to find the evidence to help protect you. We're willing to help you, even now."

"I thank you for the offer…" Edgeworth murmured, rubbing his arm and turning away, "But… I think this is something I need to figure out on my own."

"Edgeworth…"

"Wright…" He pointed at me, his eyes filled with malice, "You… of all people… I cannot ask… I'll find it on my own." It was then that he turned to Gumshoe, and his face softened, just a bit, "And I thank you for your help, but I'm not really cut out to be an investigator… I thank you for attempting to find me a new line of work, Gumshoe."

"You're welcome!" He replied with a smile, trying to avoid the heated debate that was present in the lobby.

I reached out to the man as he turned to leave. I couldn't let him leave on this note. It didn't matter if he was going to run around the world, or all of MangaLand, to search for himself or whatever. We were having a conversation NOW, and if he left now… before the two of us were finished… "Edgeworth, you can't go. You can't go now. If you do, I…"

"What…?" He turned only slightly, to look at me, "You'll do what?" There was nothing to say. The emotion that welled within me towards him could not be expressed in words. The closest I could say… was that it felt like hatred to the man who once inspired me to be an attorney. Taking my silence as the answer, he wordlessly left; the silence he left behind was deafening.

"I…" I stared at the retreating figure of the former prosecutor, the man whose lessons I tried to teach fell on deaf ears, "I've been betrayed…"

"Well…" Gumshoe said, laughing. He didn't hear my words, which was all well and good, seeing as how I didn't want anyone to hear them anyway, "I'm just glad to see that Edgeworth is well! Back on our home, he disappeared so suddenly most people thought he was murdered!"

"Yeah, Nick! Don't take it too hard, he'll come back," Luffy replied, smiling. I turned to him, and he elaborated, "You're friends, right? You two will make up in no time."

"I…" I looked at the doorway that Edgeworth left out of, that was even now filled with six eager Straw Hat Pirates, ready and waiting to talk about the case, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, "Thanks… Luffy…"

…

To Be Continued…

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Awwww, so kawaii! Or something... Anyway, a review would be nice. Thanks.