Hm. I updated this pretty quickly this time. Awright, this is the second to last chapter! Please enjoy! And review! And don't sue me, even though I obviously don't claim this as mine!
November 17, 9:45
District Court
Defense Lobby No. 2
"Hey, Mr. Wright." I stared a bit before answering, still unused to Seiya actually talking. (Well, yeah, I've known her for only a short time really, but it's very alarming…)
"Yo, Seiya!" Maya waved towards our client, even when she was only a foot away. "We'll definitely win this case for you! Right Nick?"
"Yeah…" I realized too late that I didn't sound as enthusiastic, and Maya started hitting me lightly as punishment.
"No, Nick! No! You're supposed to go like 'Yeah!' C'mon!" She reprimanded, continuing to flail at me as I raised an arm for weak protection.
"Ack! Um…'Yeah!'" That seemed to satisfy my partner, and I was relieved from her punishment. I looked towards Seiya and grinned, though she didn't grin back. She was obviously cowed by the bailiff that was in front of the doors. "Nervous? Don't worry. I'll find out a way to get you out of this mess." Assuring her (and sounding slightly like a commercial…) didn't help, and she glanced up at me before staring straight ahead again, pulling her hat down lower in a distraught manner. (How low can she pull it down, I wonder…)
The bailiff escorted us in and that was that. I caught a brief glimpse of Seiya walking right into the door frame before Maya and I were whisked away.
November 17, 10:00
District Court
Courtroom No. 6
Seiya had walked right into her seat before sitting down, and immediately tried to make herself unseen by sliding slooowwwly down. From what I could see of her face, she looked like she was going to throw up.
"This court is now in session for the trial of Ms. Seiya Mizuki." The Judge thundered as he swung the gavel three times.
"The prosecution is ready." Franziska smiled smugly at me.
"The defense is ready." I replied by trying to glare back. I think I failed, and made myself look like I was squinting.
"The prosecution's opening statements, if you will, Ms. von Karma."
"Your Honor, we have found enough evidence to declare Ms. Seiya Mizuki guilty. We can easily explain away any…peculiarities or foolish inconsistencies that Mr. Phoenix Wright might find."
"Very well then. Continue." The Judge nodded wisely and looked expectantly towards the witness stand.
"I call Detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand." Once again, the detective lumbered forward to the witness stand and once again, stood there awkwardly, rubbing his bandage. "Detective Gumshoe, if you will…?"
"Right! Your Honor, sir, we have finally found the murder weapon!" He beamed and thrust out his chest, reminding me slightly of a robin. "It's this here pistol, see? Tests show that the bullets match, Your Honor."
"Hm. That's good news. Where was it, by the way?" The Judge peered down expectantly towards Gumshoe, making him uncomfortable. After watching him 'uhh'ing and 'err'ing, I decided to take pity on him.
"It was hidden in the sheath of a sword, belonging to Ms. Seiyaku Mizuki, Your Honor." Gumshoe gave me a Look. I have no idea whether it was one of gratitude (though it probably should be). "The sheath proved to be a very good hiding hole for any small object, as the sword does not fit it exactly."
"So the defendant shot the victim with this gun…" The Judge mused, nodding in an understanding manner. "Then hid the gun in the sheath, am I correct?"
"Actually, Your Honor, it was her sister." Franziska said across from me. "Continue, Detective."
"Right. The defendant definitely shot this at the victim, but her sister hid it. When tested for fingerprints, Seiyaku Mizuki's were all over it."
"Objection! Detective Gumshoe, if Ms. Seiyaku's fingerprints were 'all over' the pistol, then how can you tell that Seiya was the one who shot the gun?"
"She's still the only one who could have shot it, pal." Gumshoe retorted, grinning smugly at me. We may be friends, but in court, we were pretty much enemies. Gumshoe didn't really have a choice with Franziska breathing down his shoulder right next to him. Besides, it was his job. "Seiyaku was waiting outside. People did see her, and there was a witness who heard her thudding down the hall to kick down the door. Everybody else was at the party, or at least stayed there and went back too late to do the murder."
"Satisfied, Mr. Phoenix Wright?" I shivered, just like I did when Yveri called me 'defense attorney'.
"Not exactly. You still haven't explained why the victim was found face down."
"Oh, that can be explained easily. Tell him, Gumshoe." I suddenly realized…Franziska wasn't whipping somebody. That meant she was confident that she would win. Damn.
"See, the defendant murdered the victim, right? Then she turned him over to put the gun in his back pocket. Don't ask me why. She went to sleep after that. Then her sister came bursting in a little while later, saw the victim, saw the gun, and took it out and hid it, afraid that her sister was the murderer. Which she is." The Judge nodded, obviously afraid of Franziska's whip, even if she wasn't whipping anybody right that moment. The point is, she could be whipping someone in the near future, and he didn't want it to be anybody with a nice poofy beard.
"That sounds very plausible." He reasoned. "Mr. Wright, do you have any problems with this explanation?"
"Your Honor, though you believe that this answers many questions, I believe it leaves many questions unanswered. First of all, why did the defendant put the pistol in the victim's back pocket, rather than in the sword sheath like her sister did? And why would she want to kill Mr. Vous? This has not been brought up in yesterday's trial, but Ms. Mizuki does not have a motive to kill. And why would she immediately go to sleep after committing murder? It does not make any sense. I sure wouldn't go straight to bed after killing someone."
"I'm sure you think you're very smart, Mr. Phoenix Wright." Franziska told me in a 'you're not smart at all' way. "But first, I believe that the victim, was not dragged, but walked into the defendant's room while she was sleeping, and woke her up. There was a brief scuffle, in which she obtained the gun and shot him in the head, instantly killing him. Then, still a little sleepy, she put away the gun somewhere and then went back to sleep."
"But then how could she fight with the victim if she was sleepy?"
"I've investigated into this and found out that the defendant had trained in the martial arts, just like her sister. I would think that handling a big guy like Mr. Vous, even when sleepy, would be no problem to her." Up to this point, both the Judge and Gumshoe were moving their heads back and forth, as if watching a tennis match. (Well, Gumshoe tried once, but stopped because his head was still bothering him.) I didn't pay any attention to that, for the thought of Seiya being as strong as her sister was frightening. If a quiet girl like her could really be so tough…
"If you have no further objections, Mr. Wright, then the prosecution can call in their next witness." The Judge looked sternly down towards me, as if saying, 'Why did you waste all that time?'
"I call in Andy Monger, a boy who happened to be around just before the murder happened, to the stand." The messy-haired boy walked up, still holding his camera.
"Uh…cameras are not allowed…" The Judge began, but was cut off by a glare from said camera-holder.
"If y' don' let me keep m' camera, then I won't talk, no matter wat ya do!" I noticed that he was still talking in a horrible accent. "Y' c'n torture me all ya want, but y' can't take my freedom! What happened t' freedom o' th' press?" Andy was getting too enthusiastic. What he just said definitely bewildered and confused the Judge. He was probably thinking, 'but we don't torture people here…'
"Okay, you can keep it…" The Judge said, suddenly aware how little power he really had in his own court. I could see it on his face, that he was not happy about it indeed. "Well, what did you see?"
"I was outside, right? Jus' happened t' be outside a window, an' I looked in, an' I saw two people, right?"
"You may start your testimony now, witness."
"See, I was walkin' back from the party; Y'all already heard 'bout it, right?
"Well, I was lookin' fer a scoop and was sneakin' 'round back o' th' apartments.
"I just happened t' look in…
"There was a li'l lady, I could tell, and there was a man, who looked like he jus' walked in. The door was open.
"I think they were fightin', 'cause they looked like they were shoutin' at each other.
"I walked away at that point, 'cause this weren't the scoop I was lookin' fer.
"I didn' see nothin' else, promise!"
"He definitely saw something else." Maya said right after Andy finished. "He seems too excited. Maybe if you push at the right places, and push him hard, he'll slip!"
"The defense may begin their cross-examination." I breathed in and out, then started trying to push at the right places.
"Why did you leave the party?" I started.
"I already said, I was lookin' fer a scoop." Andy beamed back.
"And the party didn't have any? Nobody acting crazy, or embarrassing?"
"Naw. It was rather borin'."
"And you just left the party? You didn't want to stay and…well…party?" Andy was looking uncomfortable now, though still trying to beam brightly.
"No sahree."
"Well, I'm just saying that I know that when I was a teenager, I would rather party than go around in the cold, snooping around for a scoop that I wasn't sure I would find. Were you certain about this 'scoop' you were looking for?"
"Uh…I heard something around…really…"
"Why were you at the party then? Why didn't you just go straight after that scoop?"
"Objection!" Franziska butted in, adding a little whipping as a bonus. (She never whipped Maya…but then again, I'm the only one doing the talking.) "Your Honor, the defense is foolishly badgering the witness!" She raised her whip again, angrily.
"Oh, yes yes, quite so…Mr. Wright, please stop badgering the witness." The Judge stared sternly down at me, glancing nervously towards the whip in Franziska's hand once in a while.
"Alright." Time to approach this another way. "What was this scoop you were looking for, though? It must be pretty big to run around in the cold." Andy started beaming at me again, obviously confident that he could answer this without Franziska whipping him.
"Yup, it was a big scoop." Andy nodded eagerly, almost dropping his large camera. "But I can't tell you, you'll probably leak it to another newspaper on campus." (He was managing the only newspaper on Gatebridge College, which was manned by one person. Him. I wonder what newspaper he expected me to leak it to?)
"I think I can guess what the scoop was." I beamed back. Both of our beams together could power a lighthouse.
"Objection! Your Honor, whatever the foolish scoop the witness was looking for, it has no bearings on this case!" Franziska shouted at the Judge.
"Your Honor, I am very certain that this 'scoop' the witness was looking for involved the victim!" I shouted back.
"How'd you know that?!" Andy shouted at me (dropping his fake accent momentarily), adding to the confusion. The Judge moved his head around, confused, before banging his gavel several times. By this time, the shouting had moved on into the spectators, who were cheerfully telling each other about their wedding or something. (Hey, I don't know what they ever talk about.)
"Well, I think the witness has confessed to the defense's claims. Objection overruled."
"F-fool!" Franziska glared at Andy (since he was the cause of this) and whipped him several times, amazingly missing his huge camera.
"But Mr. Wright. If this is just wasting our time, then I'm afraid I'll have to penalize you."
"Yes, Your Honor."
"So…what'm I supos' t' do now?" Andy asked, rubbing his new welts.
"You just answer my questions truthfully. Now, Andy, this scoop you were talking about, was it about a feud between the victim and his girlfriend?"
"Y' can't prove nothin'." Andy replied, crossing his arms as best as he could with a camera in his hands and turning his back slightly towards me.
"Well, I just so happen to still have those notes on Mr. Rous you so generously gave to me. And I found something interesting in them too." I grinned and took out the folder (don't ask from where) and opened it. "Right here. 'The Perfect Couple: Having a Feud?!?!?'"
"That's certainly a lot of punctuation." The Judge duly noticed.
"Yeah, it's true…I followed Yveri an' Vigor t' th' party, thinkin' I could, y'know, get somethin' outta it. Nothin' much happened, but then they both went back t' th' apartment, an' I followed 'em o' course. Th' window I looked in…I was around th' back 'cause I wanted to see what they did, but I had no clue who's window that was, honestly."
"So, the window you looked in was not necessarily the defendant's…" The Judge nodded and stared sternly towards Andy. "That's a very important detail. Why didn't you tell us?"
"Ah…was it? I didn' realize…" Andy scratched the back of his head sheepishly, as if not knowing which window he looked in was Seiya's or not. This was the kind of information that could decide the whole case. I glanced towards Franziska, and noted how she was trying not to look surprised. So Andy didn't tell her that too. "I promise t' tell everythin' in full detail next time, Y' Honor."
"Right then. Continue, Mr. Wright."
"Well, Mr. Monger, I would just like to ask you something else. Is that really all you saw? Since this was a scoop you were looking for. I doubt that once you saw the fight, you'd just want to leave. I bet you took some pictures."
"Well…what if I forgot my camera?"
"For heaven's sake, you're a newspaper reporter!" The Judge shouted exasperatedly, the fact of the 'Scandal Mongers' unknown to him. "When a reporter is going after a scoop, then he always brings his camera! You even have it now, even when it's not allowed!"
"Ah, that reminds me, Y' Honor!" Andy held up the camera to his face. Maya and I instinctively raised our arms, but not everybody was just as lucky. There was shouts of confusion and alarm as, all of a sudden, the majority of the court went temporarily blind. Franziska, being the demonic prosecutor spawn that she was, (me and Maya joke about sometimes…don't tell her…) was unfazed and just whipped Andy once again.
"Fool! You may not take pictures! And get rid of that foolishly bright flash!" She roared, flinging her whip some more. She also accidentally hit me once during that whipping session, though I somehow doubt it was an accident.
"Nuuuuuuuuawowowowowow!" Andy cried back, trying to say 'No' and 'ow' at the same time.
The Judge, squinting and blinking, decided to step in at this point. "Everybody!" He roared through the confused moans from his high perch. He banged his gavel as well, probably because he felt it necessary. "Let's all calm do-ow!"
"Everybody calm down!" Franziska continued and whipped her podium. "There will be silence!"
I took this chance to shout, "Andy! You saw more, didn't you!"
"Awright, awright!" He shouted back, his head appearing over the podium again. He had disappeared downwards to try to avoid all other whips coming his way. "I did see more!" After that, the crowds managed to be quiet, though there were still some quiet groans of people rubbing their eyes. The Judge looked like he could still see those purple spots. "Uh…" Andy looked towards Franziska nervously, aware of what he just said. "I mean…" He ducked down in time to avoid a whip to the cheek and instead took it to the top of his head. "Yeooww!"
"Well then…I believe we need a testimony of everything you saw, Mr. Monger."
"Yes Y' Honor…" Andy moaned and rubbed the top of his head. I noticed his eyes were beginning to tear.
"Alright, ya caught me. I came in earlier, just in time to see two people walk in the room.
"There was a female, I could tell, an' anybody c'n rec'nize Vigor a mile off.
"So, Vigor an' the lady were talking, then they started fighting.
"Vigor advanced on the lady, see, and put down something on a counter.
"Just before he grabbed 'er, though, th' lady picked up th' thing he put on the counter and whacked him over the head with it!
Vigor staggered around a bit, enough time fer th' lady t' grab something out of his back pocket and hold it in a threatening manner!
"…Yeah, I did take a snapshot, by th' way…
"Th' flash startled th' lady an' she looked t'wards me, so I went an' ran."
"That's all, honest!" He finished, slamming the stand almost as well as a professional lawyer. He apparently hurt himself in the process, because he started breathing in through his teeth and waving his hand around before holding on to his camera again.
"Can we see this photo that you took, by the way?" The Judge asked.
"Ah, hang on…I've developed it…'s in 'ere somewhere…" A few seconds later, he procured a photo with a flourish and it was immediately transported to the Judge.
"Hm…this woman can be anybody…" He merely commented and allowed it to be shown to me and Franziska.
The photo was obviously taken in an elevated area and from a slight distance from the window. It managed to contain a big, burly man-ish figure, which I could only assume to be Vigor. There was a smaller figure that was right in front of him, holding something in front of her. It definitely looked like a pistol.
"Anyways, the defense may begin their cross-examination."
"Alright, Nick, we've gotta prove that the window Andy peered in wasn't Seiya's!"
I nodded. "I know. Just let me think…
"Andy, one question. When the two people walked in, did you hear anything?"
"No, why ya ask?" Andy replied, looking puzzled. "Didn' hear nothin' at all."
"Your Honor, if the defendant really was the murderer, then the witness would have heard something!"
"Hm? What? What are you talking about, Mr. Wright?"
"It came up in an earlier testimony. Remember when Ms. Seiyaku Mizuki went up to the stand? She said she kicked down the door, right?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" The Judge frowned in concentration.
"Well, after that, I believe she said that something beeped. Remember?"
The Judge's face lit up with realization. "Oh! Yes! I do remember!" I was about to go with my signature smirk, but Franziska interrupted. (In case you were expecting it, 'Damn.')
"Objection! Your Honor, the witness couldn't have heard it because he was simply too far away!" She gave a look to Andy, and he shut his open mouth. I think he bit his tongue.
"Hm. Well, Mr. Wright, can you prove that Andy was close enough to hear it? No? Then, objection sustained. Please continue your cross examination, Mr. Wright." I could see Franziska giving me a 'Nice try, bud' look from across the court.
"Mr. Monger, can you tell what object was used to hit the victim on the head?" I asked next.
"Couldn' hear nothin', but I'm pretty sure it was some bottle o' some sort. You prob'ly already know from m' notes that he's a drunk. Th' thing disappeared 's soon as she whacked 'im, so a glass bottle comes t' mind, yeah."
"Hm. There must be a lot of glass shards." The Judge nodded.
"The report doesn't say anything about broken glass being found in any of the searched rooms, Your Honor." Franziska told him, taking out her report.
"Very well then. Mr. Wright? Do you have anything to say?"
"Only that the defendant is not guilty."
"Yes, yes, I think we can gather that the defense foolishly believes the defendant is not guilty. How about some proof?" Franziska drolled. (For some reason, at this point, I was reminded of Seiyaku's nickname for her – Bleach Hair Lady.) "Why are you chuckling?"
"I have proof." I said quickly, covering for my slip-up. "On the very first day, I found something right outside of the defendant's door. I had no idea what it was until now."
"Well, what is this proof? I hope you aren't just wasting our time, Mr. Wright." The Judge said sternly, glaring down at me with all the ferocity of a puppy.
"Of course not, Your Honor. You know me. Now the proof is…" I took out the glass pieces that I found the very first day. (Don't ask from where.) "…these broken glass pieces."
"Hey, those could be that bottle th' lady swung, right?" Andy said excitedly, but then frowned. "There ain't enough pieces t' make up a bottle, though…an' why were they outside Seiya's room?"
"That's what I want to know. Please explain, Mr. Wright."
"Mr. Monger saw a woman whack the victim over the head with most likely a glass bottle, correct? Only he couldn't tell who the woman was, right?" Everybody nodded. (Yes, the people watching too…Seiya groaned, which I think was an agreement.)
"And the pieces of glass were found outside the defendant's room, so she whacked him over the head? That makes her seem guilty, Mr. Wright."
"What a foolish way to prove your foolish defendant not guilty. Fool."
"No, no, no! I'm just wondering, why were the pieces of the glass bottle found outside her door if the victim was supposedly whacked on the head inside a room?" That seemed to do it. Everybody simultaneously said 'Ohhhhh'. (Not Franziska, she was too busy glaring daggers at me. Not Seiya either, because she didn't do it.) "Your Honor, if you remember my claims yesterday, I said that the victim was dragged into the defendant's room. I believe this proves it. The victim was hit on the head with the glass bottle, shot with the pistol, and then was dragged! The pieces of glass that was on his head fell off as the murderer dragged him!" I was suddenly reminded of that old board game, Clue, though Clue didn't have several people talking to each other excitedly whenever you proved a point and a judge (and by the way, he was swinging his gavel by that time.)
"Mr. Phoenix Wright, if I understand your foolish accusations correctly, then the only other person that could have committed the murder, according to the witness's testimony, is the victim's girlfriend!" More talking, more banging. (Of gavels.)
"Order! Order!" The Judge roared, before turning to me. "Mr. Wright, are you really accusing the victim's girlfriend of murder?"
"Yes, Your Honor, I believe I am."
"Hm. Where is the victim's girlfriend anyways?" He asked Franziska, who had already composed herself.
"She's the next witness, Your Honor."
"Ah, how convenient!" He brightened up. I guess after holding many cases about murder, anything would make you happy. "There will be a ten minute break before we call…what's her name?"
"Ms. Jalus." Franziska growled, fingering her whip. Maya backed away from our stand a bit.
"Ms. Jalus to the stand." (So decrees the Super Judge!)
November 17, 11:20
District Court
Defense Lobby No. 2
"Man, that was close…" Maya sighed. "We're lucky Andy thought it was a glass bottle. If he thought that it was some action figure, then you'd be found guilty for sure." Seiya didn't find this very soothing.
"Wh-what? Was it really that close a call?" She whimpered, leaving me to just imagine her expression.
"Ah! Don't worry! Nick'll definitely get you a not guilty verdict!" Maya shouted, trying to fix her mistake. "The next girl, we met her and she seemed suspicious!"
"I didn't think she'd murder though…Yveri was really nice…" Seiya looked towards a very attractive corner before looking up at me again. "Why would she want to put the blame on me, though?"
Mmm. My sister's in China (or at least on the plane). I have no idea why I said that, but please review. I mean it. C'mon! This thing's almost done! Pleeaasseee?