Decisive Witness

by TalonEmpire

It's yet another case for Shinji, a young defense attorney in the city. No one else knew that he had a person helping him throughout the entire trial.

Desicive Witness

Shinji took a look at his watch for the twentieth time of the day, tapping his foot on the marble floor of the District Court of Tokyo as he waited for his client to appear. It was a sunny day outside – however, it did little to help wipe out the clouds that shadowed over his mood. This new case he had accepted was a tricky one – a murder case, and the evidence was…very much not in his favor. And allegedly, today he would be facing the 'most treasured and talented young prosecutor', a girl – or woman, rather, who became a prosecuting attorney at an incredibly young age of 20.

He smirked at that thought. Shinji became a defense attorney at 21 himself – just about one year ago. He couldn't say he was as talented as the female prosecutor in the courtroom; however, he indeed had some skills – or luck – in finding little details that could turn over the entire case.

Sighing, Shinji sat down on the bench of the defendant's lobby and decided to look over the files and evidence once again. It wouldn't hurt doing so – he had to wait for the court session to begin, anyway.

"Hm…Shigeru Aoba, accused of murder…" Shinji rubbed his chin as he went through the files. He had met Aoba in the detention center – he was a timid man five years older than him who worked in the banks; no one would've thought he could commit a crime as ferocious as murder on first sight. However, as much as Shinji wanted to believe that was the case, the evidence was saying otherwise.

The murder took place about half a week ago, when a young man called Shima – Aoba's coworker, was killed at his own house. Unfortunately, Aoba happened to be seen around Shima's house that night. And most deadly, the murder weapon – a key with a very sharp edge – had Aoba's fingerprints.

This was going to be a difficult case. As a defense attorney, he would try to help people get Not Guilty verdicts, or at least try to reduce their sentence. It's what's his job was for, even though sometimes he didn't know whether his client was innocent or not.

Thankfully most of his previous cases weren't murder cases – this way, he wouldn't be feeling as guilty.

"Mr. Ikari!"

Shinji snapped out of his train of thoughts and looked in the direction of the voice, just to see a very distraught Aoba striding toward him with an anxious expression.

"Hello, Mr. Aoba," Shinji replied in courtesy.

"Mr. Ikari! You are all I have now, you have to save me Mr. Ikari!" Aoba said in an almost pleading voice.

Shinji let out a small breath, "Mr. Aoba, I'll do my best…but before that, I have to ask you a question. Please be totally honest with me." Then, seeing Aoba's expression turn serious, he continued, "was that you who killed Shima?"

"No. It wasn't me," Aoba replied without the slightest bit of hesitation. "Believe me, Mr. Ikari! I didn't kill him!"

Shinji nodded. He wasn't a mind reader, however the sincerity that poured out of Aoba's voice at least gave him some sort of confidence. "The witness said he saw you coming out of Shima's house that night. What were you doing there?"

"He called me that night, and told me to come over to his house. He said he had something important to discuss with me."

"And that was…if I may?"

"I…I don't know!" Aoba cried. "When I got there, no one answered the door! And then I simply left! And the next day, the police came and arrested me!"

"Calm down, Mr. Aoba," Shinji put a hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe the man, although it looked rather weird since Aoba was older than him. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened that night. Every little detail could help."

"Alright, I'll start from the beginning," Aoba took a deep breath, and continued, "that night…Shima called me, and I went to his place. I reached his house around 8pm, I think? I knocked on his door several times. It was raining quite heavily, and there was no answer, so I quickly left."

"If you aren't the murderer, then someone else must be…" Shinji said thoughtfully. "8pm…just the estimated time of death on the autopsy report. Damn, this isn't looking good…" Turning to Aoba, he started again, "have you seen anyone suspicious around there?"

"No, I don't remember seeing anyone around there…" Aoba sulked.

Shinji wanted to ask more questions, however the sound of the clock announcing the time disrupted his further investigation – it also meant that the trial was about to start. Shinji sighed as he watched the Bailiff escorting Aoba to the defendant's stand, "well, I'll see what I can do from here. Good luck…Mr. Aoba."

XXXXXX

"The court is now in session of the trial of Mr. Shigeru Aoba," the judge announced.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Shinji said in response.

Silence.

"…Is the prosecution ready?" The judge asked in a slightly annoyed voice as the prosecution remained silent. "Well, if the prosecution is not ready to prove the defendant guilty, then I am ready to announce my verdi-"

"Ludicrous."

Both Shinji and the judge turned their heads in the direction of the voice – by the prosecution stand, there was a red-haired young woman standing up proudly as fire and passion gleamed out of her blue eyes. "I won't be standing here if I'm not ready…Your Honor."

"Errr…very well then." The demeanor of the judge changed rapidly. Surely no one didn't know about the famous prosecutor – the legendary Asuka Langley Soryu. Aside from her exceptional skills, her iconic hair only helped her stand out more from the crowd.

Shinji couldn't help but let his lips curl up a bit. This was going to be fun. "It's good to see you here again, Miss Soryu." He said with a smirk.

"It's good to see you here as well…Mr. Ikari," Asuka responded with a predatory look. "Though I'm sure you'll just be bluffing again. And," she slammed her fist on the table, "this time, I will defeat you, with decisive evidence and decisive witness!"

The judge must've felt increasingly uncomfortable with the tension and decided to move forward so that he wouldn't suffocate. "Do you have anything to say, Mr. Aoba? Are you Guilty, or Not Guilty?"

Even though everybody knew it was just a useless procedure, Aoba still followed it. "Not Guilty."

The judge's expression was unreadable. "Well, let's hear what the prosecution has for us first, then."

"Hmph," Asuka picked up a piece of paper from the table and started, "the victim, Shima Akatsuki, was found dead at his house three days ago. The police received the report from a pedestrian who 'smelled blood'. After the initial investigation, the police were able to find the suspect, that is Mr. Shigeru Aoba, the defendant. He now stands indicted for that he, on the 12th day of November, murdered Mr. Shima Akatsuki."

"To his indictment, he has pleaded Not Guilty, which is a terrible mistake, and here's the proof." With her hands gloved, Asuka picked up a sealed plastic bag with a set of keys covered in blood in it, "this is the murder weapon we found on the floor next to the body. The victim's throat was sliced open by it. Needless to say, it has the defendant's fingerprints on it."

"Wait, that's my key! To MY house! Of course it has MY fingerprints on it!" Aoba cried.

Small chatters immediately rippled through the courtroom. People were already saying that Aoba must be the murderer. Shinji's palm met his face.

"Order!" The judge hit the gavel. "This indeed is decisive evidence…I think I'm ready to-"

"Hold it!" Shinji called. "What's Mr. Aoba's motive? Why would he kill Mr. Shima?"

Asuka smirked. "It's simple. Workplace competition." She explained. "Mr. Shima and Mr. Aoba work in the same bank, and for this year, only one of them could get promoted. That's his motive. The prosecution sees no reason to doubt the facts of this case, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Even though this seems a bit weak, it's enough for a murder motive."

Shinji sweatdropped. This wasn't going well for him.

"Any objections from the defense?" The judge asked.

"Err…no."

Asuka shook her head with a smug smile. "Like I said, there is no doubt in this case…the prosecution has solid evidence that he committed this murder." Then, she turned to look at the judge, "now, Your Honor… it's time for you to hit that gavel and give your Guilty verdict!"

"Very well," the judge nodded. "I hereby-"

"Objection!" Shinji shouted out. "Your Honor, I object!"

"Em…does the defense has anything to add?"

"I think he's just bluffing again," Asuka's smug grin grew wider.

The problem was, she couldn't have been closer to the truth…

However, it was the last chance Shinji had. "Your Honor…we don't know Mr. Aoba's whereabouts that night! He could be at some other places! We don't have a witness!"

The judge closed his eyes with a thoughtful expression. After a few seconds that felt like years for Shinji, the elder spoke up, "objection sustained."

Shinji let out a massive sigh of relief.

This time, it was Asuka who made a slight frown. "Your Honor…since it happened inside the victim's own house, a witness is impossible to find." Before the judge could say anything, though, she quickly added, "however, we do have a witness who could provide much more interesting information."

"Very well," the judge said. "However, if this witness cannot provide enough information, I'm afraid I have to adjourn this court session for further investigation."

"Understood, Your Honor," Asuka nodded. "The prosecution calls Mr. Aoba's wife, Mrs. Kitakami!"

Aoba's eyes widened in shock. Shinji, on the other hand, had to hide his smirk.

Moments later, the courtroom door opened, and a woman with pink hair walked in with delicate steps. "Witness, please state your name and profession to the court," Asuka said calmly.

"Oh wow, is this how the court looks like? I'm so excited! There are so many people here and-"

"Name and profession," Asuka stated again with added firmness, interrupting the witness's rants.

Kitakami gulped as she caught the dangerous underlying tone of Asuka's voice. "Jeez…alright, alright. My name is Midori Kitakami. I'm a waitress at a restaurant…and Shilli-I mean, Mr. Aoba's wife."

Asuka nodded. "Now, please describe the details of that night. Of what you witnessed."

Kitakami straightened up, tightened her gloves, and started. "On the night of 12th of November, it was around 9pm, I think? Shigeru returned home in an…excited state."

The look on Aoba's face went from shock, to incredulous, to disbelief, and finally – anger. "What? How could you, Midori? Why would you lie?" He turned to look around the audience and the judge. "She… she's lying! She wasn't even home that entire afternoon!"

"Does the prosecution have any thoughts on this?" The judge asked.

Asuka waved her fingers, "Your Honor, I think it's pretty obvious. The defendant is simply lying trying to get himself a Not Guilty verdict."

"Hm. It would look like this way." The judge replied with a small nod of approval. "Witness, you shall continue."

Kitakami threw a glance at her husband, shaking her head. "When he came back, he took off the coat and told me to wash it. It had dust…and blood on it."

Shinji frowned hearing that statement. Something didn't seem to fit in his mind. "Wait a second, Mrs. Kitakami," he picked up a piece of paper from his table. "Are you absolutely sure it was 9pm when he returned home?"

"Yes," the woman replied.

"Then it's weird," Shinji rubbed his chin. "You said 'his coat had dust and blood on it'…"

"Yes, that is true."

"But according to the weather report, it was raining very heavily that entire night. So how come he came back home with dust on his coat?"

Kitakami choked on her words, "well…I…emm…I saw-"

"Objection!" Asuka shouted out. "It could be that the defendant had an umbrella! Every normal people would've brought one when it's raining." Her tone when saying the last sentence gave an impression that she doubted Shinji wasn't a normal person who would use umbrellas to shelter from the rain. "Or…can you prove that the defendant did not use an umbrella?"

"I… can't." Shinji sulked. It was impossible to prove something like that at this stage. He still had his Trump card, though. It was just that it still wasn't the time to use it.

"Objection sustained," the judge said. "Witness, please go on with your testimony."

Kitakami eyed Shinji and continued, "after he came home, 'I said 'Shilly, what have you done?'" The woman took a deep breath, "he then said…' I've killed him…'" Kitakami sobbed. "I…I cannot go on lying to save him. I said to the police what he wanted me to say because I wanted to cover for him. He married me and brought me to this city…I was grateful to him, so I've always done what he asked me to do."

"Hold it!" Shinji interjected. "So basically, you followed his instructions because you were grateful to him, but no because you were his husband and you loved him?"

"I…" Kitakami closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "I didn't love him. Never loved him."

Chatters exploded across the courtroom.

"Order! I will have Order!" The judge raised his volume, hitting the gavel several times before the disturbance finally died down.

The look on Aoba's face was no better than dead.

"Objection, Your Honor!" Asuka shouted. "Whether the witness had loved the defendant or not has nothing to do with this case!"

"Objection!" Shinji shouted back just before the judge could make his decision. "This is very important, and I will prove it! With evidence!"

"What?!"

"Hm," the judge mused for a moment. "Very well, Mr. Ikari. Your objection is sustained."

Asuka slammed her fist on the table, pouting her face.

Shinji cleared his throat and looked back at Kitakami, "so…you gave the police a false alibi for your husband because you were grateful to him."

"Yes."

"But now you think it's wrong." Shinji pressed.

"Because it's murder. Now that I rethought about it, that was the wrong thing to do." Kitakami seethed. "That man, he was an old fool. And he makes me an accomplice to the murder! I cannot come to the court and swear that he was with me during the time of the murder!"

"Mrs. Kitakami…" Shinji put down the piece of paper, glaring intently at the woman. "Marriage is a very serious conviction. On the ceremony, when you swore to love and cherish your husband…was it a lie?"

"Where are you getting at?" Kitakami glared back.

"Answer my question. Yes or no."

"…Yes." Kitakami held her head high.

"And when the police questioned you about this wretched man who believed himself married and loved, at first you told them-"

"I told them what he wanted me to say," Kitakami cut him off.

"…You told them he was with you at 8pm, and now you say that was a lie?" Shinji's glare intensified, ignoring Asuka's strange expression.

"…Yes, a lie."

"And today, you told a new story entirely," Shinji said with cold laughs in between. "The question is, Mrs. Kitakami…were you lying then, are you lying now?" Before Kitakami could get her angry retort out, Shinji pressed on, "or are you not, in fact, a chronic and habitual liar?!"

People in the courtroom almost jumped, feeling the force Shinji added behind the last word of his last sentence. Asuka's face showed - if examined with a microscope - a smile.

Though she soon returned to a serious composure, "foolish fools spouting foolish foolishness, just as I expect of a foolish fool such as you." She scoffed. "Your Honor, the defense is doing nothing but harassing the witness with baseless trifles that has nothing to do with this case!"

"Objection!" Shinji shot back. "This is very much important to this case! The defense now questions the credibility of the witness!"

"Objection!" Asuka stretched her arm toward the defense attorney. "Even if she had been lying for the past few years, it doesn't prove that she's lying with the testimony!" Suddenly her face turned into an unreadable smirk, "unless…you have a way to prove it?"

"Of course I have," Shinji smirked as well. His main goal with the scene before was simply to gain support from the jury; now it's the time to use his trump card that would bury Mrs. Kitakami once for all. "Mrs. Kitakami…on the day of 12th of November, apparently you were not at home at 9pm. Therefore, your testimony is a complete lie!" He took out a pink Samsung from his pocket, "Mrs. Kitakami, the police had found your phone from the garbage dump near the victim's house. And the text messages on this phone…well let's say that they prove you seem to have been…well, on intimate terms with Mr. Shima."

Kitakami's eyes widened in shock, "lies, all lies!"

"I am not particularly interested in the general trend of this correspondence but with these several messages," Shinji said calmly. "'Come to my place at 8pm, kitten.' This message is sent by Mr. Shima…and received by you, Mrs. Kitakami."

"I will not stand here and listen to a pack of lies!" Kitakami screamed. "The phone you got there isn't even mine!"

"It isn't?" Shinji narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Of course it isn't!" Kitakami seemed to regain some of her composure. "My phone is an iPhone12 with a Pokémon phone case!" She snarled. "And unfortunately, I lost it several days ago." Crossing her arms before her chests, Kitakami looked over at Shinji victoriously.

"Hm," Shinji took out another phone from under his table. "Like this?"

It was an iPhone12 with a Pokémon phone case.

"This pink one," Shinji put the Samsung back into his pocket, "happens to be a present I gave to my girlfriend." He finished with a smirk. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Asuka eyeing him suspiciously. Returning his attention to the witness, Shinji continued, "now, Mrs. Kitakami, you've been kind enough to identify your phone. Now, if you like, I can have the network service provider track the phone's travel records."

"Damn you!" Kitakami howled with a distorted face. "Damn you! Damn you!"

"Order! Order in the court!" The judge hit the gavel, trying to calm down the boiling audience.

Completely ignoring the outburst of the witness, Shinji turned his look at Asuka, "And…Miss Prosecutor, I have one final question for you. According to the autopsy report, Mr. Shima died due to a 'hit by a blunt object on the head'. He's not killed by the key."

Asuka huffed. "Based on the on-site investigations, it was clear that Mr. Shima fell, and hit his head on the table corner first. That would be the direct cause of death. The murderer must've wanted to make sure that he's really dead."

"Objection!" Shinji called out. "Why would the murderer do such a meaningless step, and with something that could be easily identified? If I was the murderer, I'd never use my keys that had my fingerprints on them."

The judge emerged himself into thoughts for a moment before speaking up, "interesting thought, Mr. Ikari. Do you care to elaborate for us?"

"Well, if you're trying to say the defendant isn't the murderer, then tell us who is!" Asuka followed – her tone was hard to detect; however, Shinji knew her too well. It carried an underlying hint of excitement and encouragement.

"Now that we've just established that Mrs. Kitakami had been to Mr. Shima's house that night…" Shinji slammed his hands on the table, "the defense hereby moves to indict Mrs. Kitakami for the murder of Mr. Shima! She was also the one who tried to frame Mr. Aoba for the crime!"

"Nrgn! Lies!" Kitakami continued to scream. "This is all baseless conjectures! Why would I kill him?! What's my motive?!"

"Now that I think about it, it became all clear to me," with a triumphant smirk, Shinji began his ruthless attacks. "On the 12th of November, you went to Mr. Shima's house to engage in some…intimate things with him. However, Mr. Aoba was called to his house as well. I can only think of one explanation for this…Mr. Shima must've wanted to tell Mr. Aoba about all this, and you, as one who was married to Mr. Aoba, could not accept his idea. Then, in order to get his mouth sealed, you killed him. And you framed Mr. Aoba for it, with that key! It was the perfect thing to use, since you wear gloves all the time, and it must've got Mr. Aoba's fingerprints on it!"

"Excellent deduction, Mr. Ikari…" Asuka made several claps.

"Well, that's certainly an unexpected turn of events…" The judge remarked, "does the prosecution have anything to say?"

"The prosecution…has no objections."

Shinji raised an eyebrow. Does she know about the truth as well? He thought to himself. The discussions yesterday were…incomplete. We are bound to discover the truth today!

"I…Argh! I didn't…he did it! I…Urgh! Gaahhhhh!" Kitakami suddenly slammed her head on the witness stand, throwing her hair bun away and letting her hair get loose. "HAW! HAW! HAW! HAW! HAH! HAH! HAH! You're clever to come to such a conclusion, LAWYER!" She laughed maniacally. "Take a good look, everyone! A pathetic clown! Hoo! Hoo! Hee…"

The judge shook his head as the courtroom finally calmed down. "Miss Soryu, what happened to Mrs. Kitakami?"

"She has been arrested and taken away, the police will be conducting investigations on her," Asuka replied. Even though technically, she just lost the case, there were no traces of sadness or anger on her face.

"Very well," the judge nodded. "I see no reason to continue this trial. This court finds the defendant…"

"Not Guilty."

"This court is adjourned!" With the final announcement, the judge hit the gavel.

Shinji let out a huge breath of relief. He did it, didn't he? He turned over a seemingly impossible case with delicate investigation and skilled improvisation. And he also beat the legendary prosecutor!

A shadow loomed over him, disrupting him from his train of thought. Raising his head, Shinji raised his eyebrows as he saw the beautiful face of Miss Soryu.

"Quite a scene you made there, Mr. Ikari," Asuka smiled, though it was clear that something was hidden behind that smile. "You might've won this one, but remember…" She brought her face dangerously close to Shinji's; gazing at the sapphire eyes, the young man gulped. "You will not keep winning forever." She drew back her face and licked her lips.

"Asu-Ahem, Miss Soryu…" Shinji sighed, a bit annoyed that she would go as far in public. "I'll be waiting for you…in the next round."

He kept his gaze at Asuka's back as she walked out of the courtroom, returning to his client only until she had disappeared behind the door. "Well, I'm glad that I didn't believe in the wrong person," Shinji remarked offhandedly.

"I'll ever be grateful, Mr. Ikari!" Aoba replied, his mood unexpectedly high.

"Mr. Aoba…no offense, but…your wife, she just cheated on you, and tried to frame you for murder!" Shinji was in a very confused state. "But you seem…happy?"

"Thanks to you, Mr. Ikari, I can finally get rid of that bitch! Now I know what kind of horrible person she really is, and I can finally move on with my life!" Aoba said in a cheerful voice.

"Sure, if you say so…" Even though he did not show it, Shinji still felt relieved that the truth didn't hurt his client as much as he thought. "I hate to say this, but don't forget about the attorney's fee, Mr. Aoba."

From the sunny expression on his client's face, Shinji knew that he would not be mistreated.

XXXXXX

Cooking had always been one of the things Shinji enjoyed doing; it only got better if he got his ears filled with music, which was exactly what he was doing right now.

"Hey, darling? Where is my phone?"

No response. Shinji continued to cook, emerging himself into the world of music.

"Shinji, can you hear me?"

Still only the rhythms and lyrics could be heard.

"IDIOT!"

"Ahh!" Shinji abruptly threw off the earplugs and turned the stove to minimum. As much as he enjoyed cooking and almost treating it as a holy act, something – no, someone else was always more important. "A-Asuka? What's wrong?"

On the couch not far away from the kitchen area, sat a redhead who was currently making a big pout. "I said, where is my phone?"

"Phone? What phone?" Shinji raised a confused eyebrow.

"Today, during the trial, the pink one," Asuka replied. "The one you said 'a present I gave to my girlfriend.'" She smirked. "Then, where is it?"

"Asuka…you knew that was just the part of the acting," Shinji said with a chuckle.

"How do you know whether I take it seriously or not?" Asuka pouted.

"Well," Shinji started, ready to play the game. "Since I said 'gave', then it means it's already happened. And apparently, you did not receive it, so the 'girlfriend' I mentioned in that statement would not be you. Therefore, if you really did take it seriously, I would probably be dead by now. However, since I'm still pretty much alive, I concluded that you didn't take it seriously. Case closed, Your Honor." He finished with a gentle bow.

"Damn it, Shinji, you know me too well," Asuka giggled. "By the way, great performance today on the court."

"I had your assistance," Shinji shrugged.

"We agreed on this," Asuka stood up from the couch, walking toward Shinji. "We, a prosecutor and a defense attorney… find out the truth together. It's just too perfect." She leaned in for a soft kiss.

"I've always wanted to know the truth behind every case," Shinji replied after he drew back. They had been investigating every case they had together, trying to find out the truth, and 'act' while in court to bring the real foul to justice. Of course, some of the cases weren't solved before the trial, and they had to find the answer through the witness's mouth – today's trial was a perfect example. "Aww! Gentle! Asuka, you do know that if anyone we know knows about us," he paused for a moment for Asuka to get off his body, "we'd lose our jobs, or at least never be put in the same court ever again!"

"Then I guess we can start our own detective agency. We're just perfect partners."

"Like what you said to me in high school?"

"Exactly."

Looking into the sapphire eyes that were filled with passion, fire, and pride, Shinji knew that arguing with her right now would be trying to break a titanium wall with a wooden gavel. "Asuka, the food…" Still, he tried.

Asuka licked her lips. "I think I have a better diet right now. Time for round two." Without letting Shinji protest, she pushed him into the bedroom and closed the door.

XXXXXX

AN: This is only for fun. Don't take this too seriously.

This is a piece of fiction inspired by Ace Attorney, and Witness for the Prosecution. Of course I do not own EVA, Ace Attorney, or Witness for the Prosecution.

A word for The Irrational Truth: when writing it I find myself lost in what content I actually want to present in that fic. Its hard to balance technical details, Asushin romance which everyone wants, and the story. Therefore, I've come up with a better one – which is what you are reading right now. You can think of this as a replacement of the sorts.

Thank you all for reading. See you in Across the Starry Night.