Warnings: Graphic recounts of homosexual rape and court-room drama. Be warned, my experience with court is limited to random episodes of Law & Order and watching the Mock Trial team in Debate, so it might be a little wonky…
POV: Minamoto Kousei's Attorney, Iwata Inari-san.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or anything related to it. Don't sue me, I think I need the money for therapy.
Account of Abduction
Chapter 9: Day in Court
It was interesting day, when I met Minamoto-san's son. I've never had a client quite like him.
My practice is a long one, very respectable. I've worked long and hard to get the respect I have now, spending many years in the circuit. At this point, I'm at the point where I can name my price with even the most high-brow of clients and get what I ask without a second thought. I don't loose cases very easily, only a few in my entire career. I have worked for this position.
Normally, I would not have taken a case like this. I don't work with children. But Minamoto-san is one of my long-time (and best-paying) clients, so I figured I might have owed him a favor.
The boy was…not what I expected. That is, Kimura. His brother, the one who Minamoto-san had raised himself, was exactly who I figured he'd be - gruff and serious and, well, masculine-feeling. The other, my client, was nothing like him. The first thing that struck me was that, if he had grown his hair out to the length of his brother's, he would have looked distinctly like a girl. It wasn't that his face was any different than Minamoto-kun's, since, save a few scratches and healing bruises, they were absolutely identical. But there was just something about this boy that screamed 'feminine' in bold neon letters.
Maybe it was the way he held himself as he and his brother and his mother came into my office for the first time. He was clinging to his brother's arm with both hands, his arms and shoulders pulled in towards the center of his body, head bowed, big blue eyes looking up at me through his bangs like a cornered puppy who'd done something wrong and been beaten for it. He didn't say a word.
His brother, the strong and silent type himself, held himself almost like a bodyguard defending a VIP government official. His shoulders were raised and tense, strong against anything that could fall on them, his steps measured and focused like a soldier's march, his eyes focused straight ahead with the intensity to burn a hole in my forehead. The meaning in that look was clear - if he even suspected that I wasn't to be trusted, I wouldn't come near his brother, and I would probably be walking funny for a week.
Kimura-san, their mother…birthmother…was right behind them, a hand on each of their shoulders in a loving sort of embrace. She was pretty, if obviously overworked and underpaid and stressed, and she somehow managed to hold the definite expression of 'mother', as though the title had been branded on to her forehead. She bowed to me as she entered and introduced herself in a soft, motherly sort of voice,
Minamoto-san was with them, too, trailing behind and sitting farther away. I wasn't surprised. He has a very limited emotional range - part of the reason he's such a great businessman. He kept his face calm and impersonal, just like any good businessman should.
"Tomoko," he said quietly to the trio as he motioned to where I was sitting behind my desk, "boys…this is Iwata-san. My lawyer. He has agreed to take the case against that…beast…Koukon."
A visible shudder ran through the room at the defendant's name. The mother's was frightened, offended, and the younger brother's protective as he gripped his sibling's hand. The elder of the twins didn't move, didn't lift his eyes, didn't even blink, as though the name meant nothing to him at all.
…Interesting.
I stood and bowed to them, and the woman, remaining seated, bowed back. The teens did not, but I excused the rudeness. They had been through quite a lot.
I returned to my seat, folding my hands on the desk in front of me, and took out the copy of the file that the police had sent me on the Koukon case. It was quite the scandal - a prominent young businessman kidnapping the son of an older-generation entrepreneur, keeping him as a kind of sexual slave inside the same mansion where dozens of parties are held every year, and only being discovered months later because of his own overconfidence, by a family friend who just happened to be an officer of the law. The stuff of crime dramas, it was almost entertaining. The tabloids had been have a field day for weeks.
"This case is quite…unusual." I muttered, pushing my glasses up my nose to focus my vision a bit better. I really need to get them fitted… "Our first action should be clear. We need to build this case. And since, with this file, Kanbara-san's and Kimura-kun's testimony, we should have more than enough evidence…"
The Kimura boy drew in a sharp breath and tightened his grip on his brother's hand. It was a motion that most people would not have noticed in its subtly, but I am a lawyer. It is my job to find details that no one else can.
I slid my glasses down again to focus on him. "Is something wrong, Kimura-kun?"
He said nothing, just put a balled-up fist to his lips and curled away from me and closer to his brother. His mother leaned over and smoothed his hair gently, whispering soothing words. It was touching, but my name is not Billy Flynn - I deal in facts.
"Kimura-kun…" I leaned over my desk, folding my hands. "It is not required for you, as the victim, to give a testimony in the court. However, I do think that it would make our case that much stronger, and raise the chance that the defendant will be sentenced that much faster. Do you understand?"
He nodded. I leaned forward, just in case he was speaking in a tone that didn't quite reach my ears. "Do you think you'll be willing to testify?"
Once again, the elder brother said nothing, but the younger drew himself up defensively. "He can't."
"I trust that he can answer for himself, Minamoto-kun." I said, matching his cold glare with all the training of a Harvard graduate.
He wasn't fazed, and his icy expression never changed once. "He can't."
"Of course he can."
"He can't." The last word bit down like a bear trap, every syllable carefully enunciated. "He doesn't speak."
…Apparently, Minamoto-san had failed to mention the Selective Mutism Disorder that now afflicted his elder son. In fact, he seemed almost embarrassed that one of his offspring would be the sort to 'run away' from the world in such a manner, no matter the circumstances.
This new development was…difficult, to say the least. But not unworkable.
When I said so, Kimura-san was confused, pulling her son in more tightly in a defensive manner. "Iwata-san…There is no way he can testify without speaking!"
"There is." I pushed my glasses up again and reached for one of the drawers in my desk…I needed the number for this case's judge. "If Kimura-kun will agree to it, I know exactly the way that this can work…"
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
I like court. Court is calming. Court is orderly. Court is reasonable.
Normally.
This time, the courtroom was so full of cameras and reporters and paparazzi that it was difficult to hear myself think. It was very frustrating, all these unnecessary people crowded into the space that should have been only the realm of attorneys and guards and His Honor himself.
More than anything else, there was one little annoyance that I was severely tempted to slap, right there in front of the cameras and everyone.
"Minamoto-kun, please go back to the viewing area."
"Hell no." The boy scowled, crossed his arms and legs, and remained firmly in the wooden chair.
I grit my teeth. Teenagers… "Civilians are not allowed in this part of the courtroom unless they are on the stand." I hissed, keeping my voice as calm and measured as possible. "Leave."
He rolled his eyes, as though wordlessly placing himself in contempt of me. "What're you going to do, sue me?"
…I will not strangle my client's child in the courtroom, I will not strangle my client's child in the courtroom, I will not…
Kimura-kun gave his brother a concerned look, biting the knuckle of his forefinger worriedly. His mother leaned over the wooden barrier to speak to the boy. "Kouji, please. We don't want to do anything that will hurt our case…"
He turned and looked at her point-blank, reaching down to squeeze his brother's hand. "I'm not leaving him alone, Mom. Nothing could make me do that."
I groaned again and shook my head. It was one thing to have the family sitting behind the defendant in court - that could be supporting to a younger witness and elicit an extra push of sympathy from the jury - but this was too much. I knew Minamoto-san well, and I knew that he was stubborn, and I knew very well that such traits normally ran in the family, but for crying out loud…
Kimura-kun suddenly drew in a gasp and gripped his brother's hand beneath the table so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. I glanced up at this, wondering what could have set him off, then turned to the back of the courtroom and saw…him.
Koukon-san.
He looked like any normal businessman coming in for any stupid civil suit that had been brought up by a disgruntled ex-employee or the like. His long, blonde hair was tied back into a tight, orderly ponytail, his arms were straight at this sides like boards, his black suit emphasizing exactly how pale he really was.
He was with his lawyer, of course. I knew him - a real sleaze ball, willing to defend anyone for the right price, but a good lawyer and a tough opponent, the type you had to keep your wits around at all times or he'd double-cross you, your client, and the judge all at the same time.
Koukon ignored the cameras and the reporters, never turning his head, not even away from them. His red-brown eyes were ever focused on the very front of the room, never moving from that spot, his face never changing or reacting, never acknowledging anything at all.
At least…not until he reached us.
Because as soon as he came even with the defendant's stand, his head turned towards us very slowly. His eyes, the exact color of dried blood, fell on Kimura-kun, and he smiled. Just smiled, an evil, taunting smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He was like a cat who had just spotted his prey.
Kimura-kun whimpered and slunk back away from him, prompting Minamoto-kun to slide in to intercept the glare. For a moment, he and Koukon glared at each other with the fury of a small lightening storm. And then…
Koukon went to his seat and sat down.
Minamoto-kun remained in his chosen seat. I did not object.
The judge arrived, and, as per tradition, the crowd rose and fell and was then silent. After some preliminaries - the reading of the case, the confirmation of the charges, the throwing out of a particularly rude photographer - he finally asked my opponent to call the first witness.
Said witness was, predictably, Hiroaki Kanbara, the officer first on the scene. I knew this was coming - he was going to play up some miniscule detail and try to blow it out of proportion.
"Inspector," he said coolly, slipping one hand into his pocket in a casual manner. Horrible form. "You were the first on the scene during the supposed rescue, is that correct?"
Kanbara-san, a pleasant man with a tanned, friendly face, now wore a serious expression as he looked at the lawyer with all the confidence awarded to him by his police training. "Yes."
"And, I believe, you were also the one to instigate this investigation against Koukon-san, is that right?"
"Yes, it is."
The man leaned over, a smile on his lips. This, of course, was the fine point of his questioning. "Could you please explain why a man like Koukon-san would come under suspicion in a case like this?"
Kanbara-san's face was sullen and calm. "He had Kimura-kun staffing his party in a dress." He hissed quietly, and Kouichi winced. "You do the math."
The smile curved up even more wickedly. "But is it really so unbelievable for the boy to willingly work for Koukon-san in such a way? Was there any proof that he was forced?"
Kanbara-san took in a sharp breath, obviously taking offense at this as a friend of the family, but remained calm. "His face and body was heavily bruised. It was obvious that Koukon had beaten him."
"But how could you know that from just a few bruises?"
At that, Kanbara-san leaned over the stand and looked him straight in the eye. "Sir, I have been on the book for missing and abused children for eight years now, and the commander of the division for three of those years. I've seen things done to kids that even your sick mind couldn't imagine. Don't even think to question me on what I do and do not know."
There was a hushed silence in the courtroom, and I had to smile. Kanbara-san knew what he was doing.
My opponent waited a moment, collected his thoughts, cleared his throat, and started again. "Now, Kanbara-san…I understand that you had a previous connection with the boy in question?"
"…You could say that." Kanbara-san glanced our way, and for a moment his eyes met with Kimura-kun's. The boy seemed to take a certain amount of comfort in that. "He's one of my son's best friends. Very best friends."
"Then isn't it possible that your own feelings might have clouded your judgment in terms of investigation?"
Kanbara-san stiffened, and I winced. From the end of the court and attorneys, that was a perfectly reasonable question, but to an experienced, proud, honorable officer like Kanbara-san…it was a blow far below the belt.
"Absolutely not." He hissed. "I made sure of that."
The lawyer leaned back with a smirk, "And yet, you invaded a home without Koukon-san's permission, snooping into his private chambers in order to get your strongest evidence."
Kanbara-san hissed again. "By chance, I discovered reasonable evidence to suspect Koukon, returned to the main office, and obtained the correct warrant for an investigation. I followed procedure to a 'T'."
"But if you were truly concerned about Kimura-kun's welfare," another smirk, just as cool, and just as aggravating, crawled across my opponent's face, "why would you take so much time just for a little paperwork?"
Kanbara-san grit his teeth this time, along with his fists, obviously ready to attack the man himself if he was pushed anymore. "Because I wanted to make sure that a twisted bastard like that couldn't get away because of this stupid technicality that you're trying to push on me."
The lawyer straightened, his hands tight behind his back, and turned away sharply. "No more questions."
His Honor glanced my way, but I waved him off. There was no reason for me to interrogate Kanbara-san…He'd done a wonderful job holding fast to his morals and refusing to be intimidated, just what I would have expected from an officer of his rank.
Kanbara-san paused on his way back to his seat to glance down at my client. Kimura-kun lifted his eyes slightly to meet the man's and, after a moment's hesitation, smiled gratefully. Even Minamoto-kun seemed content with what had transpired, and I could hear Kanbara-san's son whispering to him as he sat down, "Dad, you were so awesome."
For some reason, that made me smile, but I had to wipe it away quickly. Bad presentation.
The judge signaled to me, indicating that the time to prepare had conclude and it was my turn to call a witness, and I knew just what to do. For our case, for the extra burst of strength, this was how it had to be.
It was time for Kimura-kun to testify.
TBC…
Heh heh…sorry everybody! But this chapter turned out longer than I expected, so I decided to continue it into a second one! I hope you can be patient for a few weeks, especially since I'm balancing a debate tournament a week for the next three weekends, Sunday through Thursday musical rehearsals, Newspaper staff meetings, deadlines and school work besides my
Remember - 'san' is the same as Mr. or Mrs., while 'kun' is used for young boys.
Iwata-san uses his glasses only for reading. I mostly did that because I like the image of a tough trial lawyer pushing his glasses up and down his nose to focus his attention on one subject at a time.
Billy Flynn - One word: Chicago. Google it if you don't know it.