Hah. I took my time with this, didn't I? Yes. Verily so. Anyways, I'll edit this when I see fit, as I think my beta's busy at the moment.
Anyways, I have fun with tempermental people.
Disclaimer: You don't really need one, do you?
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Case File: "Degree in Turnabout"
Day 1
November 15
Gatebridge College
On-Campus
Click
"Gah!" I cried as, instinctively, I raised my arm to cover my eyes, even though there was nothing to protect them from anymore. I blinked and lowered my arm, trying to ignore the flashing blue blotches popping in and out of existence. Standing in front of me was the perpetrator, in his hands the large camera and the flash that temporarily blinded me.
The boy had freckles and dreadfully messy sandy hair, but for some reason, his clothes were nicely kept. He wore a white shirt with a tan vest over it, topping it off with a red bow tie nicely clipped around his neck. His brown pants were wet from about the knees down. Somehow, even the snow outside had frozen over, so that you could stand on it. Maya tried walking on it earlier (for fun), and while walking up the stairs to the college, I almost slipped, only saving my suit by clutching on the hand railing in time. This guy probably wasn't as lucky as I was. It's interesting how cold San Francisco can get.
"Oh! You look like a reporter!" Maya suddenly shouted, looking quite pleased with herself.
"Tha's right, m'lady!" The boy grinned widely (I noticed there was a gap where a tooth might have been) and held his camera to his eyes again to take another picture, as if to emphasize this point. I was ready this time and covered my face with my arm right before another blinding flash. It would be better for the humanity if the guy just took off the flash, but if he would use it in a lighted hallway, then he probably wouldn't want to take it off. "I used t' write some newspapers 'ere, but then I was almos' kicked out fer sellin' unauthorized thingummywatzits." He spoke pretty fast and excitedly.
"Hey! You have a strong accent too! Where did you come from?" Maya asked curiously (I decided not to mention the boy's obvious fake accent.)
"Ah, y'know…moved 'ere from…there." The messy-haired boy waved his hand very unspecifically. "Well, I'm 'spirin' t' be a newspaper reporter, if yer wonderin'." (I wasn't, really…) He said, changing the subject rather quickly. "Just in case y' were wond'rin' 'bout m' name too, 's Andy Monger." (I wasn't wondering about that either…) "So…have ya heard 'bout Sei bein' a murd'rer? Killed Vigor Raus 'parently." Well, at least the name Seiyaku and Seiya gave me was only one letter off, if you didn't count the fact they never gave me a last name.
"Actually, I'm here to find something that could help prove her innocence." I replied.
"Nick's a really great defense attorney!" Maya piped in cheerfully.
"Ah, so y' don' think Sei's guilty?" Andy grinned widely again. I had a feeling he was laughing at me. "Welp, ask me anythin' if y' think it'll help yer case. I'll help any way I can."
I was going to the scene of the crime, where Vigor was apparently killed, but whatever information Andy had might be useful. He was a "reporter" after all. "Okay. First, do you know anything about the defendant?"
"Y'mean Seiya? Sure do! This is her second year in college. She likes fruit, 'specially wa'ermelon, video games, 'n' drawin'. She doesn't like spicy food and cold weather, she's considered th' smartest person 'ere. She was also caught in some sorta freak accident in her first year. She's 'bout six feet tall, weighs 'bout 120 pounds, an' has pretty small boobs, no cleavage as o' yet. I have a file wit' more info 'bout her, if ya wanna look at it."
Andy beamed at me. I stared back. "You do know I'm only her lawyer, right?" I asked slowly, trying not to wonder how Andy found out my client's likes and dislikes. Maya blinked and held her chin thoughtfully.
"You said she was in an accident?" She finally said, looking back at Andy. The freckled boy nodded eagerly back. "What kind of accident?"
"Well…I wrote an article 'bout it. I'll dig it up fer ya, but it'll take a bit."
I had another question, but I was almost afraid what kind of information might pop out of the slightly enthusiastic reporter's mouth. "And do you know anything about the victim?"
"Vigor? Well he was one o' 'em athletic types. Played football 'n' 's good at 'bout every sport he tried. He gets...I mean got violent when he drank though. He was more th'n six feet tall 'n' had these reeeaaally huge muscles. Pretty heavy too, y'know. The length o' his-"
"Please skip that." …How did he find out that information?
"Huh? What was he gonna say, Nick?" Maya asked me. I didn't reply (which probably made her more curious, but it was the only option at the time...)
"Fine th'n." Andy searched his head for other juicy tidbits and then procured something. "He had a girlfriend, her name's Yveri Jalus. Really great couple. If ya want, I can dig those files up too."
More files? "Well…not rea-"
"Don' worry, sah! I can give ya those files tomorrow! Maybe!" The messy-haired boy saluted smartly, still clutching his camera with his other hand.
"Hey, wai-"
"Say…do you have files on everybody in this college?" Maya interrupted. Andy nodded fervently. "Isn't that a bit creepy?"
"'A bit'?" I grumbled. Andy's eyes grew bigger and seemed teary, like puppy-dog eyes.
"It's just a hobby!" He sobbed, threatening his camera with tears. "It's not like I'm a stalker or anythin'! It's just somethin' I do!" Okay. Definitely time to move on. I grabbed Maya's arm, circled carefully around the sobbing Andy, and walked swiftly away, not stopping until I reached a door. Well, actually, the door had been kicked down. Whoever kicked it was strong, as the door was thick and bent slightly from the impact of the hit. It would probably be terrifying to meet such a person…
"Andy would be a pretty good investigative reporter." My partner commented lightly, apparently unfazed by Andy's little 'hobby'. I just went ahead and peered into the open room, noting the police milling about inside and a large double bass that lay besides its case. When I took a step towards the door, I managed to hear a light cracking sound beneath my feet.
"Hm? What's this?" I asked out loud, bending down to pick up small glass shards. "Why would these be in front of Seiya's door?"
"Her room's really messy." Maya responded. Messy wasn't exactly the word for it. There were clothes strewn all over the floor. I could clearly see an open trashcan that seemed empty, but the part of the floor that the clothes didn't occupy, small wrappers and bottle caps did. Even the books were shoved sloppily in the bookcase besides the base. I could clearly see two cats meandering around the legs of policemen, and even though I wasn't in the room yet, stray cat hair was visible on pretty much everything. There were also small amounts of what appeared to be vomit on the floor and if you ask me, the cats were the ones to blame. A room tells a lot about a person…
"You've got a point but…" The glass shards I picked up were outside the small apartment. No matter how messy Seiya was, even her trash couldn't teleport outside her door, right? There weren't enough shards to make up a whole bottle (or whatever it was) so she couldn't have dropped it out here either.
I was aware of a flash behind me (aware might not be the right word) and knowing only one (very creepy) person with a flash like that, I was going to turn around and ask Andy how he got over his emotional breakdown so fast, but a familiar voice interrupted me from doing so.
"Hey, pal! No taking unauthorized pictures of the crime scene!" And lo and behold, angry Detective Gumshoe comes, a scowl on his face, his scruffy coat flying dramatically behind him! The detective gave chase to the college reporter behind me and came back, looking quite unhappy. "Darn kids…" I heard him mutter under his breath before taking notice of Maya and I.
"Oh, it's you guys…" He said, blinking in slight surprise. Really, I would have thought he would expect us by now.
"Hey, Detective Gumshoe!" Maya grinned cheerfully besides me (as always).
"Oh ho! I know what you're doing!" The scruffy man shouted back. Not knowing what exactly Maya and I were doing, I allowed Gumshoe to continue. "You want to investigate the crime scene don't you?! Well sorry, pal, I can't let you!" Somehow, I think I've been in this type of situation before…
"Don't look at me that…" Gumshoe looked away nervously a few seconds later. I tried to hide my bafflement, in case he decided to give us some information. "You can ask me a few questions, but no touching anything!" Gumshoe is a good friend. He's loyal, and he's funny (though you probably don't want to laugh at him out loud. It might get him angry.)
"So…about the murder…" I started.
"Oh, well we started examining the victim immediately, of course." Detective Gumshoe seemed to puff out his chest, though I don't know why. He didn't examine the body himself, did he? "Apparently the poor sap got shot in the head. Death was immediate. Here…I got an autopsy report for you, pal." I accepted the small brown envelope.
"The murder happened late last night, at about 11:18, so there aren't a lot of witnesses." The detective scratched the back of his head. "There just happened to be some sort of college party and the only people who didn't go were the defendant, her sister, and the person next door."
"Huh…didn't the person next door hear anything? The victim was shot by a gun after all." Maya said thoughtfully.
"Apparently, she's a really heavy sleeper."
"Hmm…" Gumshoe noticed the doubtful tone in my voice.
"Hey! What's that 'Hmmm' for, pal? You think I'm lying?"
"N-no! Of course not!" Time to change the subject. "Uh…well…find anything yet?"
"Actually…there's a lack of evidence…"
"Hu-huh? Really?" Maya looked excited. I can just imagine her saying 'How suspicious!'
"Yeah. The victim was found in the defendant's room, and the body was discovered with the defendant still inside. We haven't found the murder weapon or anything. No signs of a fight either. We even looked outside, around the windows." I noticed that Gumshoe's pants looked wet underneath his coat. "So we're cleaning the place up, checking to see if we missed anything. We took a few pictures before we did that though. Man, what a dump, eh pal?" 'Is that really what you should do?' is what I would have said if it wasn't for...
"Oh? So you think I live in a dump, do you?" The dangerous sounding voice sent chills down my spine and I swear the temperature dropped at least thirty degrees. I tried to jump back and spin around at the same time, which didn't exactly work out as I planned. I still got to see the figure in the doorway as I stumbled into Gumshoe.
"Ah! Seiyaku!" Maya shouted needlessly. I could feel Gumshoe freeze up behind me. Maya jumped away as the black-haired girl stormed towards the detective. I scurried away too, leaving Gumshoe alone to deal with the angered girl. Judging from the plastic bags, it appeared that Seiyaku had been shopping.
"Answer my question!" Poor Gumshoe.
"Well…ah…er…I didn't know…"
"Didn't know that I'm my own sister's roommate? What kind of detective are you?"
"Actually…um…"
"And do you actually expect me to testify against my own sister? Yes, I discovered the body, but that's no excuse!" Poor, poor Gumshoe. On the bright side, I found out some classified information…
"Well, you see…"
"Let me guess. It's your job." The way she said it, it was like she was spitting venom. I could literally see Gumshoe shrink down while Seiyaku continued shouting at him. "I was questioned for what I saw! For hours! (exaggeration) And then they said that I have to be a witness! So then I asked them 'WHAT IF I DON'T FREAKIN' WANT TO!!!' And I still have to testify!" She suddenly grinned happily (sorta like Maya with a burger) and held up her shopping bags. "So I bought myself something real nice!" I blinked at the obvious change of mood and cautiously stepped forward. I don't know why…maybe to divert her attention? But then she had a furious expression on her face again and something in my head told me I was doing something suicidal.
"Nick…she's scaring me…"
"And then I come back here to find you BADMOUTHING MY HOMEY ABODE!" It doesn't look so homey right now…but I wasn't about to speak my thoughts. Even so, the girl looked at me. I winced. "You! Shut up!"
"But I didn't say-"
"SHUT UP!" Needless to say, I did so. She turned back to the hapless Gumshoe. "Well, if you think it's so messy, why don't you clean it up?"
"But we ar-"
"CLEAN IT UP!" At this point, Seiyaku was so moved by anger, that she threw her shopping bag, where it made a direct hit on Gumshoe's forehead. I heard a loud thunk. Gumshoe fell over on his back with a thud, then got up quickly and ran away, wiping a table with the sleeve of his coat desperately, as if his life depended on it (which I think it did). I thought I saw some blood on his forehead. (What exactly did she buy?!)
"So…" Seiyaku was smiling again, which was much scarier than when she was angry. Maya shivered besides me, or maybe I was the one shivering. "Why are you here? Can you prove my sister innocent yet?"
"W-well…I've only just started…a-and I hope you don't mind, but can we ask you some questions…"
Seiyaku frowned, but then said, "Alright. As long as it helps my sister." I breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're a witness for tomorrow's case, huh?"
"Maya!" I hissed, remembering part of Seiyaku's rant. "Don't get her angry again!"
"Oh!" Maya realized her mistake and we both looked fearfully towards the temperamental girl, who stared calmly back at us. The calm before the storm. "Um…you don't have to answer that question if you don't want to…"
"No, it's fine. I guess I'm a witness 'cause I was the one who discovered the body. Though I don't see the point. All I did was kick down the door and see the body."
"Ah. You're the one who kicked down the door?" I said nervously, though I should add that by this time, I wasn't exactly surprised.
"What? You think a girl can't kick down that door?"
"Nick! Girls can be just as strong as guys!" Maya turned on me, though I can't really understand why…
"Huh? No, I didn't mean it that way!" Besides, I can't even kick down a door…
"Well anyways, yes, I did kick down that door. And my sister was in the room, in her bed, sleeping. The time was about 11:30. I should know. There's a digital clock right next to Sei's bed." I looked at the mentioned area and strained my eyes looking for this clock. There was an unusual abundance of socks piled on it. "After going over to check that my sis was in bed, I called the police. There was supposed to be another witness, but apparently, she has some sorta business. Said she won't make it to the trial." I wondered how she knew that kind of information and decided that it would be something I'll be glad to never know.
"Well, who's the witness?" Maya eagerly inquired.
"Ah, the girl rooming next door. Yveri or whatever. Used to be the brightest person here, but then Seiya came along. I think there was some sorta test thing that got Yveri to move down to second place…" Well, at least we found out more classified information.
"Hey, Nick." Maya whispered to me while Seiyaku took on a thoughtful appearance. "I just got an idea! Gumshoe is busy, right? So we can look around a bit, right?" I looked back at the poor detective, then at Seiyaku. It was true that the violent girl could probably stop any intervention of whatever Maya and I decided to investigate, but it seemed somewhat criminal. Maya really has a villainous mind. She was already prancing towards a small, crummy-looking television that I hadn't noticed before.
I looked back at Seiyaku, who still seemed preoccupied, before joining my partner. "What's wrong? Missing a show?" I joked.
"Actually, yes." (I was joking…) Maya pouted, but then happily pointed to the top of the small TV. "But I noticed this cool-looking sword!"
"Sword?" I repeated, looking at the object she was referring to. It was also covered with an unusual abundance of socks. Maya curiously reached out to touch the scabbard, but then Seiyaku appeared behind us and coughed loudly.
"Don't touch that! It's a real sword!" She shouted. Maya and I whipped around, and for some reason, I felt like I was a grade-schooler just caught doing something bad.
"Is that really something you should say out loud in the middle of a group of police?" I asked nervously, as the other occupants of the room turned their heads towards the three of us. Even Detective Gumshoe paused in his assigned mission to stare.
"A real sword? That's so cool!" As usual, Maya seemed to have the wrong reaction.
"Well, it's dulled of course, so you can't really slice anybody with it." Oh, that's good. "But the point isn't. You can stab someone like this!" At this point, she suddenly lashed out a finger and poked me in the ribs. Really really hard. I let everybody know this by clutching the offended area, doubling over, and saying 'Ow!' only longer. Why me?
"Why," I wheezed. The girl had a really strong finger. "Do you have a sword?"
Seiyaku shrugged. "It looks cool."
Maya nodded. "Yes it does!" (I wanted to scream "That's not the point!") I eyed the sock-covered sword critically.
"That scabbard looks pretty big…"
"Well, the sword doesn't exactly fit for some reason…it's too thin and too short, so I can easily fit something down in the extra space. Of course…maybe the scabbard's too wide and too long…"
There was an awkward cough behind Seiyaku and a timid-looking Gumshoe appeared behind the girl.
"Um…well…I think it's time we wrapped up the investigation, pal…"
"Well, you don't need to tell me that! Just go if you really want to!" Was the harsh reply. Looks like for the time being, scruffy detectives don't really get on her good side.
"You know, I'm sorta hungry…" Maya commented, rubbing her stomach in emphasis. She then looked expectantly at me.
"Now that you mention it, I could go for some grub too." Gumshoe added. I clutched my wallet, but then, surprisingly, Seiyaku came to the rescue, beaming like hamburgers-with-Maya again (also creepy).
"Don't worry! I know a good restaurant. We can go there, if ya want. I'll pay for everything!" I stared incredulously at her. The girl said that as if there was something to celebrate…(like a 'Not Guilty' verdict…it's possible that she's trying to put more pressure on me.) not to mention that she had snapped angrily at the detective only a few moments ago. Hm. One sister is silent, and the other suffers from mood swings…
Gumshoe and Maya weren't one to pass up a chance of free food. "Alright! Let's go!" Maya cheered while Gumshoe beamed and gave the girl a 'Thanks, pal!' while standing more than three feet away from her.
"I'll just take it out of Wright's paycheck."
"Huh?!"
Have you ever wondered how much money Phoenix actually gets?
Anyways, I actually got two reviews on the first chapter! Gimme more reviews so I can harness the adrenaline-thing and post the third chapter really soon! I don't care if you already reviewed on the first chapter...