"My KH Adventure"
By cdc100
Summary: Sora is on trial for attempted murder. Will he be convicted? Read and find out!
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or Playstation.
Chapter Five
"The Trial"
"All right," said Alan. "Before we proceed, I think that it would be best if we go over the procedures. First, the witness list. Since I'm helping Kari represent you, she is not going to testify. The prosecution has a couple of the townspeople: Eric Johnson and Alec Burns. He has Detective John Davidson, a forensics expert named Jack O'Connell, the would-be victim, Alex Beauford, and he has a psychiatrist named James DeMartini on his second witness list."
"Who have we got?" asked Kari.
"We have: Leo, Jack, Maya, Tania, Ryan, Lisa, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, Leon, Aerith, Yuffie and Sora."
"Anything else I should know?" asked Kari.
"Only object when necessary. Don't make hints at our client's innocence until the closing. We certainly cannot hint at the plaintiff being a Heartless. And most importantly, don't antagonize the district attorney. Leave that to me."
"All right."
We all looked towards Sora. He had a grave expression on his face, like a prisoner in a jailhouse waiting for the noose.
"Hey. Are you all right, Sora?" asked Alan.
He merely nodded.
"I can still get us out of this if we plea. You'll most likely get eight to twelve years."
Sora shook his head.
"If we don't, you'll get around thirty."
He seemed to weigh the two options.
"Are we going to lose?" he asked after about three minutes.
"We might."
"I didn't try to kill anybody, Alan. And I'm not accepting any plea that says otherwise."
"All right, let's get going."
We all took our seats in the courtroom. Lisa, Ryan, Jack, Tania, Donald, Goofy, Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Jiminy, Maya and myself sat behind the railing. Sora sat between Alan and Kari. After a few minutes, the bailiff spoke.
"Second District Court is now in session. The Honorable Judge, Ryan Macintyre presiding."
"Here we go," said Alan.
"Would the commonwealth like to begin?" asked the judge.
"Yes, Your Honor," answered Douglas. "I would like to call Detective John Davidson."
A man walked up and took a seat in the witness chair.
"Detective Davidson, please raise your right hand," commanded the bailiff.
The detective did as he was told.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god?"
"I do."
James Douglas stood up to question the detective.
"Detective, when were you informed of the incident?" he asked.
"We were informed around 9:30 AM two days ago."
"What did you find at the scene of the crime?"
"We found some small yellow paint chips matching the defendant's shoes. We also found small strands of brown hair."
"Whose hair did the strands match?"
"We traced it to the defendant's scalp."
"Did you find anything else?"
"No."
"Nothing further."
Douglas sat down, and started jotting down some notes. Alan got up from his chair and started his questioning.
"Who was it that informed you of this incident, Detective?" he asked, buttoning up his jacket as he spoke.
"The plaintiff, Alex Beauford."
"What did he say happened?"
"He said that the defendant and his friends had suddenly come behind the door from the first district and that the he lunged at him with a key-like weapon."
"Detective, would you please tell us again what you found at the scene of the 'crime?'" asked Alan, putting heavy emphasis on the last word.
"We found paint chips from the defendant's shoes, and strands of hair from his scalp. Ultimately, we added him to the suspect list."
"Does he seem like the kind of person who would commit a crime like this?"
"Objection. Speculation," said Douglas.
"Sustained. The jury will disregard," said the judge.
"Your co-workers believed that my client did this?" asked Alan.
"Yes, he was the primary suspect."
"Who were the other suspects?"
"He was the only one we considered seriously."
"And, by 'seriously,' you mean, 'at all,' right?"
"We ruled everyone out but him."
"Forgive me, but, there wasn't much of an "everyone" to rule out, was there, Detective?"
"Objection! Argumentative!" yelled Douglas.
"Withdrawn," said Alan calmly. "Detective, how would you explain the paint chips and strands of hair being on the ground?"
"We believe that the brawl that he got into with the plaintiff likely resulted in the latter pulling on his hair in an attempt to incapacitate him. As for the paint chips, he likely scraped his foot on the ground at one point during the brawl," the detective replied.
"Take a look at my client's shoes," said Alan. "They're somewhat shabby, they could use a little polish, the toes and heels are somewhat peeled. Don't you think it's possible that the paint chips simply fell off of his shoes as he was walking through the town?"
"It's possible."
"My client also has a lot of long, spiky hair. Don't you suppose it's possible that the hair fell out on its own?"
"It's possible."
"And, one more thing, Detective. Can you prove that my client and his friends were the only ones in the area on the night of the incident?"
"Can I prove it? No."
"Thank you, Detective Davidson," said Alan with a smile. "No further questions, Your Honor."
Alan took his seat, unbuttoned his jacket, and looked at the judge.
"The witness may step down."
Alan spoke.
"The defense would like to call Mr. Squall Leonheart."
"Very well."
Leon came from behind the bench and began to walk to the stand.
"It's 'Leon,'" he said as he passed Alan.
He took his seat in the witness chair and straightened himself up.
"Mr. Leonheart, please raise your right hand."
He did so.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god?"
"I swear."
Alan stood up and went through his routine again.
"Mr. Leonheart, would you please explain how it is that you know my client, Sora Hikaru?"
"I met Sora a few days ago when he arrived in Traverse Town. I had helped him fight a group of Heartless."
"Did you meet him before or after the incident?"
"After."
"What was your opinion of my client the night that you met him?"
"He seemed dazed, aggravated, scared, lost and confused. What's more, I found it difficult to believe that the Keyblade chose a kid like him."
"Mr. Leonheart, would you please explain for the court, and me, too, because I forget, what the Keyblade is?"
"It's a weapon used to destroy the Heartless."
"A weapon like that would come in handy, wouldn't it? Seeing the number of Heartless appearing in Traverse Town, all of a sudden?
"Objection. How is the arrival of the Heartless relevant?" asked Douglas.
"I'll allow it," answered the judge.
"Very useful, actually. It does have its drawbacks, though."
"Such as?"
"Well, the Heartless have a gigantic fear of the Keyblade. So, they'll keep coming after Sora and his friends as long as they continue to wield it."
"That certainly must add a lot of pressure to my client, mustn't it?"
"You have no idea."
"As far as you know, did my client attack Mr. Beauford on the night in question?"
"Well, as far as I know, he was too busy running away from the Heartless to try and attack anybody, unless, of course, it was, in fact, a Heartless."
"Do you have anyone that can vouch for this?"
"Yes. My friends, Goofy, and Donald Duck."
"But, Mr. Leonheart, if my client was in the alleyway by himself with no one else but his friends, and finds Mr. Beauford behind the door, there are paint chips and stray hairs on the ground, that certainly looks suspicious, doesn't it?"
"Suspiciously coincidental, yes, but Sora had just come to Traverse Town and likely barely knew Mr. Beauford."
"My client did not try to kill Mr. Beauford?"
"I'm not saying that I know whether Sora commited this crime or not. I just have reasonable doubt."
"Thank you, Mr. Leonheart. Nothing further, Your Honor."
"Very well. Would the prosecution like to cross-examine the witness?" asked Judge Macintyre.
"Yes, Your Honor," replied Douglas. "Mr. Leonheart, you admittedly just met the defendant, am I correct?"
"Yes, you are."
"So, you admittedly don't know the defendant well enough to know that he would commit a crime of any type, motive or no, right?"
"Objection," said Alan.
"Overruled. Mr. Leonheart, answer the question," commanded the judge.
"No, I don't."
"Were you in the same place as the defendant the night of the incident?"
"No, I was not."
"So, you did not see the scene of the crime?"
"No, I did not."
"Nothing further."
"The witness may step down. We'll take a short recess and be back at…"
He took a look at his schedule.
"Five o'clock."
He banged his gavel and retreated into his chambers.
We all walked out of the courtroom together. We met back at Alan's office at Howard & Brock. He set down his briefcase and began to speak.
"Okay, everyone," he began. "Not bad for the first part of the trial, but we need to keep it going like this. The only bad news is that the jury now knows that it very well could have been Sora."
"What could have been Sora?" asked Maya. "There was no crime!"
"Which is why we have to be careful."
"Alan, with all due respect, tons of innocent people get thrown into prison for crimes that they never committed every year!" Tania exclaimed. "The system is hardly foolproof."
"Well, I am going to keep your friend out of jail. In the end, it all comes down to the closing. Failing that, maybe reasonable doubt."
"What's next?" I asked.
"The prosecution is going to call James Demartini, and we are going to counter with Donald. After we've called all of the witnesses, he will call Mr. Beauford, we will counter with Sora, and we will have closing arguments."
"All right."
"Until then, might I suggest that we go have something to eat? I know a great place. It should be near Cid's Gummi Ship Shop."
"Sure, why not?" replied Ryan. After he spoke, we heard a small rumble come from Sora's direction.
"I see his appetite has returned," commented Jack.
Alan took us outside the building, and hailed a cab. He handed the cab driver a piece of paper, and the cab moved forward. We drove for about fifteen minutes before stopping in front of a building with a statue of Buddha in front of it.
We ordered our dinner and waited to be served. I took a swig of water, and Alan took a long drink of sake.
"So what do we do?" asked Sora.
"This could very well be his last meal in civilization for up to thirty years, Alan," commented Jack.
"Let me worry about that," said Alan.
"What time is it?" asked Lisa.
"Ten to four," said Alan.
"They said we had to be back at five?" I asked.
"Yes."
We stayed there until our meals got to our table. We then started eating. Sora savored every last bite of his, knowing what lie ahead.
"Sora, you can eat a little faster than that," said Alan.
"Alan, I am on charges of attempted murder and could very well go to prison for up to thirty years. I want to make this one last as long as possible."
"You're not going to go to jail, Sora."
"You don't know that for sure!"
"Sora-"
"You don't understand, Alan! If I get convicted, then I won't be able to go back home! I won't be able to go back to my island! Find Riku! Kairi!"
"Riku and Kairi?" he asked, looking at us.
"His friends," answered Goofy. "They disappeared with his homeland."
Sweat started to trickle down Sora's forehead.
Alan Placed an arm on each of his shoulders.
"You won't go to jail," he said. A small grin flashed across his face.
Sora seemed to believe him this time, because he ate the rest of his meal as quick as a flash of lightning.
"Twenty to five," said Alan. "We'd better go."
We paid the bill and called a taxi. About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the courthouse. We arrived in the courtroom early and took our respective seats. Maya seemed somewhat frustrated at something.
"Is everything all right, Maya?" I asked.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I just feel really bad for Sora. He's on trial for something he never did, and if he gets convicted, we won't be able to stop the Heartless, and he won't be able to find his friends."
"I'm pretty sure Alan knows what he's doing. We don't have much of a choice but to trust him, Maya."
"You're right."
I leaned over the rail to speak to Kari.
"How is he?"
"He'll be fine."
"Yeah, but, how is he?"
"He is still under a little stress, but he'll get the chance to defend himself soon."
"Okay."
After going through the procedures, the prosecution called their next witness. Alan was hard at work questioning witnesses, objecting and shooting insults at the prosecution all afternoon. After the attorneys had finished calling their witnesses, all that were left were the plaintiff and the defendant. Beauford was up first. He made his way to the witness chair, and sat down. The bailiff came up and addressed the plaintiff.
"Mr. Beauford, please raise your right hand."
He did so.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, I do."
Douglas got up and began questioning Mr. Beauford.
"Mr. Beauford, when you were attacked, where were you?"
"I was in the second district, in front of the door leading into the first district."
"What happened that night?"
"Someone came out from behind the door and lunged at me with some kind of weapon."
"Did you fight back?"
"Certainly, I did. Yes."
"Would you explain what happened during the fight?"
"Well, he jumped on me and started trying to strangle me. His friends didn't try to help him or stop him. They just stood there and watched the brawl."
"Do you know who it was that attacked you?"
"Yes."
"Is the person who attacked you in the courtroom right now?"
"Yes."
"Can you point to him?"
"Right there." He pointed his finger at Sora.
"When did the fight stop?"
"About four minutes after it began."
"Can I ask why?"
"Objection. Mr. Douglas obviously knows that he can ask why," said Alan with a grin.
"Move to strike!"
"Sustained. Strike that last remark," commanded the judge to the scribe.
"Why the hell did you do that?" asked Kari.
"Because Mr. Douglas tends to be less effective when he's angry," replied Alan.
"A bunch of Heartless suddenly appeared out of nowhere," continued Mr. Beauford.
"What did you do then?"
"I made a run for it! I had just gotten beat up by someone, and I wasn't about to get into another brawl."
The district attorney nodded and took his seat.
"I'll take this one," said Kari.
Alan nodded.
Kari got up from her chair and began questioning Beauford.
"Mr. Beauford, when did you inform the police of the attempt on your life?"
"I informed them about two days ago."
"According to the police, you were attacked five days ago, is that correct?"
"That's right, yes."
"Sir, let me ask, why is it that you informed the police two days ago of a crime that happened three days before that?"
"I guess I was in too much fear of the defendant attacking me again if I revealed his identity."
"How is it that you found out my client's name, Mr. Beauford?"
"Objection. Relevance."
"Your honor, the plaintiff would need to know my client's name in order to tell the police, 'Sora Hikaru attacked me,'" explained Kari.
"Overruled. Mr. Beauford will answer the question."
"I learned it when his friends were talking to him."
"How did you learn of his last name?"
"I didn't. I only knew that it was a Sora who attacked me. Sora isn't a very common name."
"So, you don't know for sure if it was this Sora who attacked you, do you?"
"Objection!"
"Overruled."
"Honestly, I don't, but I have a strong feeling that that was him."
"Thank you, Mr. Beauford," finished Kari, sitting down.
"The witness may step down," said the judge.
"The defense would like to call Sora Hikaru to the stand," said Alan.
"Mr. Hikaru, please take the stand."
Sora walked up to the stand rather slowly. He had a look of fear in his eyes.
"Please raise your right hand, sir."
Sora raised his hand as slowly as he walked.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god?"
"Yes, I do, sir."
The bailiff returned to his post on the other side of the room. Kari got up and began speaking to Sora.
"Mr. Hikaru, when did you arrive in Traverse Town?"
"About five days ago."
"What happened when you came here?"
"I passed out on my island and woke up in an alleyway in this town."
"When you woke up, what did you do?"
"I decided to explore the town a little bit, and see if I could find Riku and Kairi."
"Who are Riku and Kairi?"
"They're my best friends. We've been through everything together. I've been trying to find them."
"So you were trying to find your friends?"
"Yes, and suddenly I ran into Leo and his friends. They decided to help me, since they had just arrived in this town themselves."
"So, why did you go into the second district, Mr. Hikaru?"
"Your Honor, is it necessary that she calls me 'Mr. Hikaru?' it feels strange."
"You may be addressed as 'Sora,' son."
"The reason we went into the second district is because we didn't find anybody in the first district who even remotely resembled my friends."
"Nothing further."
Douglas got up and began his cross-examination.
"Mr. Hikaru, what did you see when you went through the door to the second district?"
"I saw a man behind the door. He had a horrified look on his face."
"Did you see why?"
"Yes."
"Why did he have a horrified look?"
"I saw a heart coming out of his chest. It disappeared, and in the place of the man, an armored Heartless appeared and then disappeared."
Everyone in the courtroom began murmuring to one another. The judge began banging his gavel.
"Order!" he yelled. "counselors, approach, please."
Douglas, Alan and Kari made their way up to the bench. The judge put his hand over the microphone in front of him and began speaking.
"What is going on, Mr. Shore?"
"I didn't ask the question, the defendant is simply telling his side of the story."
"Your Honor, Mr. Shore is making a farce of this matter, I mean, suggesting that my client is a Heartless? That's ridiculous."
"Ridiculous? First of all, you asked the question-"
"Second, do you mean to say that the Heartless can't disguise themselves?" interrupted Kari.
"Enough," said the Judge. "I'm going to allow his testimony," he told the D.A. "No more games, Mr. Shore."
"Yes, Your Honor."
Alan walked back to his seat and Mr. Douglas continued his questioning of Sora.
"So, you did encounter my client at one point?"
"Yes, but I did not try to kill him."
"Mr. Hikaru, do you have anyone who can vouch for that other than your friends?" he asked, looking at all of us.
Sora did not answer, but Douglas had a satisfied look on his face and didn't wait for an answer.
"Nothing further, Your Honor."
"We'll take a short recess and then we'll have closing arguments."
The judge banged his gavel. Everyone began to walk out of the courtroom, and Sora had, if possible, a more nervous look than before.
"Can I talk to you, Mr. Shore?" asked Douglas.
He led us to the witness room and threw his briefcase on the table.
"I've come with an offer."
"Oh, by all means, let's hear it."
"If your client admits that he tried to kill mine, I am willing to offer him nine to ten years. Five years for good behaviour."
"That number won't get it done, and I suspect you know that, Jim."
"That's what I've got."
"Your offer is rejected. If that's all you needed, I suggest you leave, now."
He did so with a grimace on his face.
"We're going to lose, aren't we?" asked Sora.
"He never would have made that offer unless he thought that we could win. We need to get back in there and make our closing arguments."
We headed back into the courtroom, took our seats, and waited for James Douglas to deliver his closing.
"What is going on? You have been called to this court because a crime has been committed. Sora Hikaru met my client in the second district and made an attempt on his life. What kind of person would do this? You got to see that person an hour ago. He committed the crime and is using a cock-and-bull story about the Heartless as an excuse. What is going on? He wants you to think that just because he is new to this town, he can get away with just about anything. He thinks that just because his island suddenly vanished, he is above the law! What the hell is going on? My answer to that is this: The twelve of you have been called here to prove him wrong. The verdict is simple: Guilty."
With that, he took his seat, and Alan got up to deliver his closing.
"I don't know about you, but I didn't see a shred of evidence linking Mr. Hikaru to any crime whatsoever. Anybody see him lunge at the plaintiff? See him hurl a Keyblade at anybody? Of course not. We are being asked to assume that he would do something like that. Let's just remember, that there is no evidence to suggest that the plaintiff felt threatened for a second. If he did, why did he not contact the police immediately after the little event? He admittedly didn't inform anyone of the so-called 'attempt on his life' until three days after it happened! He also admittedly, only knew his assailant by his first name. And then, my god, he admitted that his assailant's friends didn't help him. If you were in a brawl with someone, wouldn't you want your friends to at least try to help you? And if my client were guilty, don't you think he would have swept away the paint chips? Brushed away the stray hairs? My client doesn't think that he is above the law; he certainly doesn't think he could get away with anything illegal. What the twelve of you are looking at is not a criminal, but a teenage boy who is scared, lost, confused, and frustrated. Your job as jurors is to deliver a fair verdict beyond all reasonable doubt. There is simply no evidence to allow you to convict my client of attempted murder. I have no doubt that some of you might be thoroughly convinced that he did it. But, for evidence to have you convict my client of this crime, beyond all reasonable doubt, it just does not exist. Reasonable doubt."
He unbuttoned his jacket and sat back down. The jurors began to leave for the back room. We all went into the witness room to wait. Sora was pacing back and forth.
"How long does it take to deliver the verdict?"
"The judge said he'll keep them there until midnight tonight."
"Mr. Shore, once again, I'd like to thank you for your help," said Maya.
"It's not necessary, Maya."
"What do you think it will be?"
"No telling."
Just then, we heard a knock on the door. I opened it.
"Yes?" I asked. A guard was standing at the door.
"They've reached a verdict."
We all retreated from the witness room and made our way back to our seats. The bailiff went over to the foreman, took a piece of paper from him, and handed it to the judge. The judge looked it over, and gave it back to the bailiff. The bailiff then took it back to the foreman.
"Is it so much to remember?" asked Maya.
"Shhh," I said.
"Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?" asked the judge.
"We have, Your Honor."
"What say you?"
"In the matter of the Commonwealth of Traverse Town vs. Sora Hikaru, on the charge of attempted murder, we the jury find the defendant, Sora Hikaru…"
The seconds of the reading seemed like an eternity. We were itching with anticipation.
"Not guilty," finished the foreman.
Sora jumped out of his seat and said, "YES!"
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are dismissed. This court thanks you for your services. Mr. Hikaru, you are free to go."
"Congratulations, Sora."
"Thank you, Alan."
"Here's my card, in case you ever need me again."
"See you later, Alan," I said.
Alan Shore left the courtroom with a smug expression.
"We may have won that, but we'd better go, time is of the essence," said Jiminy.
With that, we left the courtroom and went to pick up our Gummi Ship.
To Be Continued…