Chapter Text
Yoka’s lungs are burning by the time she arrives to the courthouse.
She had a rare lull between cases, so she was just going to relax when Ken called and asked for her help. Yoka owes Ken so much for keeping Arata out of trouble both on Vivid Street and in America, so she doesn't waste a second agreeing to take on the case.
A singer named Toya Aoyagi is on trial for the murder of his partner, Akito Shinonome, and his lawyer has been removed at the last minute.
Thus, Yoka rushing to the courthouse running on coffee and what she could shove into her mouth to argue a murder case she wasn't briefed on.
…Phoenix could do it, so why can’t she?
Yoka runs her hand through her hair, straightens her blazer, and struts into the courthouse. There she finds Aoyagi-kun alongside…
“Kiyo Masaka,” Yoka says, forcing a smile. “I didn’t realize you were involved in this case.”
“I personally oversaw the investigation,” Kiyo says, an equally sharp grin.
“I was wondering why Niijima-san was removed from the case.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t want to leave Aoyagi-kun in the hands of a former prosecutor being investigated for misconduct with the SIU.”
“She was already cleared, wasn’t she?”
Kiyo shrugs. “We just happened to find something that warranted further investigation. You know how that goes, right?”
Damn it. Yoka never thought Kiyo would have the audacity to rope strangers into their feud. She must have known Ken would call.
“I can’t wait to see how the Demon Blaze tackles this one.” With that, Kiyo turns on her heel and struts into the courtroom.
“Just when I think she can’t be more of a bitch,” Yoka mutters. Then she takes a deep breath and puts on a comforting smile for Aoyagi-kun. The kid looks exhausted, and seems way too skinny.
“Are you alright, Aoyagi-kun?”
"Yes, thank you for coming," the boy says. His voice is soft though surprisingly deep. "You're Ken-san's friend?"
"Yes, Ken and I go back a long time, my name is Yoka Tono."
"Tono?" Aoyagi-kun gasps.
"Ah, I assume that means you've met Arata. I know he can be prickly, but don't hold it too much against him."
"How much do you know about this case?" Aoyagi-kun asks, suddenly stiffer.
"I haven't had much time to go over everything in depth, but I've had to work with less."
Aoyagi-kun gets this resigned look. "You don't have to go through this much trouble, you don't even know if I really did it."
Yoka looks him up and down. True, she doesn't know Aoyagi, but she does know that look in his eyes. They’re the mirror image of what she saw two years ago on Arata.
She couldn’t help her baby then, but she can help Aoyagi-kun now. "I believe you're innocent," Yoka says, "and that's all I need."
“Tono-san, you should know–”
"Hey, you two, come in now!" a bailiff says. Yoka shuffles Aoyagi-kun along and flips open the case file as people trickle into the courtroom.
Victims: Akito Shinonome and Fuyune Shimizu.
Shinonome had been reported missing three days prior to his body being discovered in an abandoned warehouse by Fuyune Shimizu, a reporter from Miyamazusaka Girls’ Academy.
On a livestream, Shimizu appeared to see Aoyagi before the video cut off.
Shortly after, the abandoned warehouse caught fire and exploded due to improperly stored explosives in the basement. No remains were identified.
Yoka grimaces. She finds herself hoping that Shinonome-kun HAD died before the explosion and been spared that pain.
She sees Aoyagi-kun’s mugshot there, and he’s wearing the same black hoodie that he’s wearing now.
“Do you need me to get you another jacket? I can have a friend of mine bring one for you.” Yoka says, and Aoyagi-kun shakes his head.
“No… please don’t. Akito gave this to me… before he disappeared.”
And he’s been clinging to it ever since…
Arata’s eyes are absolutely dead. She’s never seen him like this. He’s laying in bed, Souma’s hoodie draped over him, staring at nothing.
“Baby, do you need a blanket?” She asks, and Arata clings tighter onto the hoodie. He doesn’t respond.
Stop. Freeze. She can’t let herself be blinded by the pain.
Aoyagi-kun’s been through enough.
They’re called into the courtroom, and Yoka reads over some more of the file.
Eye witness statements put Aoyagi-kun near the scene of the crime, but there doesn’t seem to be anything definitive.
Aoyagi-kun takes Arata’s usual spot beside her.
“Yoka Tono!” There’s the familiar cracking of a whip, and Franziska von Karma stands across from her in the prosecutor’s bench. “What are you doing here?”
“My job, Franziska. Aoyagi-kun needs someone to represent him.”
“But,” the judge says, “are you certain it’s alright for you to be here?"
Yoka sighs. “It's a last minute arrangement, but all the paperwork is there."
“You have not been properly briefed on this case, it seems,” Franziska says.
“I promise, I’m entirely capable of acting as an impartial defense.”
Franziska narrows her eyes. “Fine then.”
Yoka should have known something was up as soon as Kiyo said she wanted her here. That there was some trick up her sleeve.
Because Arata joins Fransizka on the prosecutor's bench.
“Tono-san?!” Toya-kun gasps, and Arata looks up with a fire in his eyes.
Looking from across the courtroom at her own face, she realizes just where that Demon Blaze name came from. He looks about ready to burn this place down.
“That’s the prosecution’s side, baby.” Yoka says, and Arata looks at her.
“I know.” He responds.
“Shouldn’t you be with the defense?” The judge asks, and Arata gives a wicked smirk.
“Sorry, not this time. Arata Tono, assistant to the prosecution, at your service.” He says, giving an exaggerated bow that reminds her far too much of Miles.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Yoka snaps, and Arata turns to her. The earlier bravado seems to have vanished like air.
“Because he," Arata growls in Aoyagi-kun's direction, "killed his partner. And I’m going to prove it to you, Mom.”
~
The night of the disappearance…
The tension in the air once night falls is so thick, Arata thinks he’s going to choke on it.
Vivid Street hasn’t felt this on edge since… since Souma’s accident, really.
But it’s also worse, because they all know a killer might strike. Arata had forgotten how different it felt to wait for bad news than to receive it and know where everything stands.
So, like any good attorney, Arata focused on what he knew. The Vivid Live Killer had attacked three singers after live shows. They’d disappeared a few days before their bodies showed up, in various stages of mutilation after that appeared to be inflicted after the fact.
Identifying the bodies had been difficult with all the damage, but it had been possible in all three cases, and the similar MO and targets lead the authorities to assume this was all the work of a serial killer, and finally announced it to the public after identifying the most recent body.
All the victims had been teenagers of average height and solid build. Two had been dancers and the other played soccer on the side, so they were pretty bulky without being insane muscleheads.
In other words: they all looked like Akito-kun.
Now Arata doesn’t know if body type and being a singer is the connecting thread per se, guys like that aren’t exactly hard to find on Vivid Street.
But he does know Akito-kun is an idiot with no sense of self-preservation, and if anyone he knows is going to get themselves murdered by a serial killer because of practice, it’s him.
So, despite the rain, Arata sticks around, and makes a few laps around Akito-kun’s favorite practice spots to make absolutely sure. Just when he starts to think maybe Akito-kun is more reasonable than he expected, he spots orange out of the corner of his eye and— yep.
Yeah, the idiot has packed up and is leaving an abandoned building he likes to practice in.
Arata rolls his eyes and is about to call out, but he sees Akito-kun wave, and turning his gaze he spots Toya-kun standing at the street corner.
Well, Toya-kun’s a good partner. He’ll chew Akito-kun out better than Arata can. Or he’ll be sickeningly worried and fret over Akito-kun.
Either way, Arata doesn’t need to be there. He turns around and heads home.
~
"Please state your name and occupation," the judge says.
"Kiyo Masaka, Police Commissioner." She flashes a smug grin, locking eyes with Yoka.
"The Police Commissioner is handling the case herself?" Yoka asks.
"A serial killer is a very serious threat to public safety."
"Serial killer?"
Kiyo grins like a shark that smells blood in the water. "Let's begin, shall we? Shinonome-kun was the latest singer to go missing from Vivid Street. The last time anyone saw him was the night of April 22nd after a performance. Three days later, he was dead."
"Why do you suspect my client of the crime?" Yoka asks.
"There were several eyewitnesses placing him as the last person to see Aoyagi-kun, and leaving the place where the bodies were discovered."
Yoka takes a deep breath and does not let her eyes wander to Arata on the bench. "When you call him the latest singer to go missing, what do you mean?"
“There’s been a string of murders on Vivid Street. I thought you’d have known. After all, your son performs there, does he not? Or does your baby boy not tell you these things?”
Yoka feels her fist start to curl.
“The defense requests the witness refrain from personal attacks on the stand.” She spits.
Kiyo… she knows exactly how to get under Yoka’s skin.
Yoka thought that after Gant, the new commissioner couldn’t be worse, but… it just had to be her.
Good attorneys like Phoenix lose their badges, and the worst people imaginable ascend to the rank of commissioner. This really is a dark age of the law.
“…Commisioner, Ms. Tono’s knowledge of the Vivid Live Killer is not on trial at the moment.” Arata breathes.
“Even on that side of the bench, you’re still mama’s little boy.” Kiyo teases. “Any more questions, Demon Blaze?”
Yoka takes a breath and stares Kiyo down.
“Who are these eyewitnesses you claim to have?”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. They’ll be on the stand soon enough.”
Franziska is fiddling with her whip. What are they not saying?
~
It’s way too damn early when Arata’s phone starts buzzing.
He grabs the phone and pulls it to his ear, sighing.
He’s about to ask what the fuck is going on, but Ken-san speaks before he can get a word out.
“Akito’s missing.”
Arata launches out of bed.
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish. The kids just told me. They think the Vivid Live Killer got him.”
“Huh? That doesn’t make any sense.” Arata says, before he can stop himself.
“What? Kid, you know something?”
Arata bites his lip. Bad idea to just start talking without thinking.
“…I don’t know. Give me a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
“Following up on a lead.”
“…Kid, be careful out there. The people that were kidnapped…”
“They all looked like Akito-kun, I know.”
“And you.”
Arata blinks.
“Me?”
“Come on, kid. You and Akito look like you could be brothers. I don’t like you going alone out there.”
“I’m fine. I’m not going to stay out too late.”
“At least call EVER. Get one of them to stick with you. You need a buddy, you know?”
Arata’s chest tightens.
“…I’ll be fine, Ken-san. I promise.”
“Kid—!”
Arata hangs up before Ken-san can finish.
He knows how to be alone. He’s been doing it ever since the accident.
It… hurts.
Souma would have insisted on clinging to his side if he was able to. He wouldn’t let Arata out of his sight.
He’s his mother’s son. He can survive alone. He can handle everything himself.
He doesn’t need to bother EVER or Ken-san or his mom. He can handle it.
So he quickly changes into his clothes and starts investigating.
He goes up and down the street. Grid search. Systematic movements.
The entire street is searching, and every time he runs into someone, he tries to grab another piece of the puzzle.
Tatsuya says that VBS and a few more of their friends went to the police station. Akemi hands him a homemade protein bar before telling him that Ken-san’s trying to speak to the cops, but the street’s ACAB reputation isn’t helping matters. Kisara says she stopped by the BAD DOGS clubhouse, but there wasn’t anything there. And Mita…
Is hiding something. It’s obvious.
Arata runs into him about five times during his grid search, and every time Arata tries to get a word out of him, he freaks out and runs.
And eventually, Arata’s able to corner him.
“What are you doing, Mita?” He says. “You’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”
“I-I…” He says, but his back’s against the wall. Literally. There’s nowhere for him to run.
And his eyes keep flicking toward the Phantom of Vivid Street’s graffiti.
“…The Phantom. You think the Phantom did it.”
Mita jumps.
“No!” He screeches. “Never! He’d never!”
“He?” Arata says, and Mita freezes. “No one knows the Phantom’s gender. Except you, apparently.”
Mita starts to shake.
“He didn’t do it. He didn’t, okay? He’s just my stupid little brother with a crush on Akito that he doesn’t know how to react to except by spray-painting that he sucks all over the street. I just… I wanted to make sure that no one else thought that, okay?!”
“You’re trying to cover for your brother? I thought you cared about Akito-kun.”
“I do!” Kotaro snaps. “Of course I’m upset that he’s missing! He’s my friend! I’ve cared about him for a long time, and… and even though he’d never see me that way, that doesn’t mean that I stop caring about him! But Kazuya is my responsibility! The only reason Mom lets him on this street is because I’m here to take care of him! He’s a middle schooler, there’s no way he could even overpower Akito! So look somewhere else, okay?! That’s what we should all be doing!”
Mita shoves Arata back with surprising strength, and he stalks away.
…What the hell kind of spell does Akito-kun have over that entire family?
Not important. That’s one suspect knocked off the list.
Not like he really suspected the Phantom in the first place. It would be too obvious.
And as Arata continues with his grid search, he notices cops starting to show up. Ken-san must have finally done it.
“Hey! Arata!” An-chan’s voice rings out, and suddenly a pair of Vivids appear in front of him.
“There you two are.” He says. “Shouldn’t you be in WEEKEND GARAGE? It’s dangerous for a pair of little girls to be out here all alone.”
An-chan rolls her eyes.
“What’s up with you?” She groans. “You’re acting weird.”
“Akito-kun’s missing. This is no time to be messing around.”
“You’re… working so hard to find him…” Kohane-chan says, and Arata turns to glare at her.
“What the hell do you take me for, Kohane-chan?”
Kohane-chan squeaks, and An-chan protectively steps in front of her.
“Just because that’s how you talk to Akito doesn’t mean that you can talk like that to Kohane.” An-chan breathes, and Arata’s lips quirk upward slightly.
“All grown up, huh, An-chan?” He teases, and An-chan sighs in relief.
“There’s the Arata I know. I didn’t like the look on your face.”
“What look?” Arata asks, and An-chan’s face falls slightly.
“…It was the same look you… never mind. What are you doing?”
“Combing the street. You know, things I can do that you shouldn’t be.”
“Oh, come on! You left for America when you were sixteen!”
“And you’re fifteen. Go home.”
“You… you shouldn’t be out here alone, Tono-san.” Kohane-chan tries. “It’s not safe.”
Arata sighs.
“Ken-san send you two?”
“…He’s worried, Arata.” An-chan says. “They’re targeting guys that look like Akito. You look like Akito. He knows he can’t stop you from searching, but… he doesn’t want you going alone.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do?” He snaps. “It’s not like I have a partner following me around like a lost puppy anymore.”
Kohane-chan’s eyes widen, and Arata steps away before he says something else.
Calm down. This isn’t the time.
Though, one thing keeps eating at him.
Where the hell is Akito-kun’s partner in all this?
~
“Please state your name and occupation for the record.” The judge says, and the inspector looks up.
“Zenkichi Hasegawa, Your Honor. I’m an inspector with Public Security.”
He looks between Yoka and Arata, and he looks confused but doesn’t say anything.
“Inspector.” Yoka says. “You’ve been investigating Shinonome-kun’s disappearance, yes?”
“Yep. I’ve been doing it for a while.”
“Can you testify to your investigation?”
“Sure. So… there isn’t a lot of information. The best proof we have is the video.”
“Hold it.” Yoka cuts in. “What video?”
“Did they give you anything before rushing you in here?” Arata sighs, throwing his hand to the side (seriously, is this what Yoka looks like in court? No wonder Gregory Edgeworth said he wanted to punch her when they first met.) “Your Honor, can we show Ms. Tono the video?”
“Granted.”
A tape is put into the TV in front of the court, and it plays a scene of…
“Oh. Oh no.” Yoka says, and Arata smirks.
“Still believe he didn’t do it?”
“That’s not me.” Toya-kun says. “I know it looks like me, but… it’s not. His hair is flipped the other way.”
“That’s probably just because the camera flipped the video!” Arata snaps.
Yoka mentally files away the video and focuses on gathering more information. There’s something off about it, but… she can’t place it just yet.
“So, is there anything else you have to offer up except a grainy video that doesn’t even show the culprit’s whole face?”
“Ms. Tono, come on.” Arata says, and Yoka shoots him a glare.
“…No. Not at this time.”
…Hang on.
There’s something he’s not saying. And she knows Arata knows it too.
They lock eyes from across the courtroom, and…
“Inspector, you have to have more.” Arata says. “After all, there was the live-stream where the victim identified the culprit as being Toya-kun.”
“Ah, right! But that video didn’t have his face, she just said it. If the culprit was— OUCH!”
“We did not ask for your opinion, Inspector.” Franziska says, snapping her whip. “Only what you know.”
There it is again! That same look! The inspector is holding something back, Yoka’s sure of it!
“Inspector… is that really all you have? A grainy video and the eyewitness testimony of a dead woman? For the police to arrest someone on so little evidence, it’s almost criminal.”
Arata’s hand curls into a fist, and Inspector Hasegawa looks at Yoka.
“Ms. Tono, I promise you, I’m giving you all the information I can at this time. It’s all the evidence that the police department has.”
“But not you.” Arata snaps. “You’re holding something back. It’s obvious.”
Inspector Hasegawa’s eyes widen, and Franziska smirks.
“It’s much more fun to have those Tono eyes on your side.” She purrs. “They see through everything.”
Toya-kun flinches, and Arata crosses his arms.
“What, did Ms. Tono’s client bribe you?” He snaps. “We’ve had enough good attorneys lose their badges for things out of their control! There’s no need to screw over Ms. Tono and Ms. Niijima as well! You might as well admit it!”
“I resent the implication, Mr… sorry, what’s your name?”
Yoka pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Tono. Mr. Tono.”
Inspector Hasegawa looks between Arata and Yoka, and Yoka sighs again.
“He’s my son.”
Something clicks in Inspector Hasegawa’s head.
“…Oh. Kid, I know you’re trying to protect your mom, but making random accusations doesn’t help anyone.”
“Then what are you holding back?” Arata says. “If you’re not being bribed, then it’s something else. Information that the court requires.”
God, he’s too much like Yoka. Those aggressive tactics are exactly what got Yoka that Demon Blaze name when she was younger.
Go after a person’s honor, and they’re more likely to spill whatever they’re hiding.
If Arata can just keep him on defense, then—
“Okay! Fine!”
—He’ll crack.
“The commissioner told me not to say this, but… we still haven’t found a body. Neither of them. So we don’t have an autopsy report or time of death on either of them. The video and live-stream are literally all we have.”
Arata and Franziska flinch back, and Yoka smirks.
“Aww. Thanks, baby.”
Franziska whips Arata.
“Fool! Can you not stop being a defense attorney for two seconds?!”
Arata quickly regains his composure and brushes his hair out of his face.
“None of this matters.” He says. “We’ve got him on video hauling Akito-kun’s dead body away. Just look at him! He’s smiling!”
Yoka blinks and turns to Toya-kun, who looks as stonefaced as ever.
“Why would I be… smiling?” He says, and Arata looks slightly unsure for the first time during this case.
~
Arata’s shocked that it took him this long to find Toya-kun. And he’s… glaring at graffiti for some reason.
“Toya-kun? Don’t you have school?” He asks, and Toya-kun jumps. He seems to be… analyzing him, somehow.
“I don’t feel like going.” He says, and that’s the first correct thing he’s said since this whole damn thing started.
“I see. So you’re wandering around?”
“I’m looking for clues.”
Clues? Here?
“By… glaring at graffiti? Don’t tell me you suspect the Phantom?”
Mita cracked easy. If Toya-kun’s learned a single thing from those mystery novels he’s read, he should have gotten the same information.
“No.” Toya-kun says. Arata hasn’t really had that much one-on-one time with him, so he doesn’t quite know how to read his face. His partner is an overexcited golden retriever, so he never had to develop the mind-reading that Akito-kun has.
But that’s not the point. Extend the rope, and see what happens.
“The police have already been all over the street, I doubt you’ll find anything they didn’t.”
“Really? When?” Toya-kun asks. “They didn’t seem to believe us when I went.”
He’s slipping his head into the noose. If he’s the killer, he’s bad at it.
“I suppose calls from Ken-san and Akito-kun’s father helped. There are a couple of off-duty cops who hang around here sometimes for shows, so I suppose they fast tracked the process,” Arata explains, waiting for Toya-kun to contradict him. Cops don’t hang around Vivid Street, and he should know that. When he doesn’t, Arata extends the rope just a bit more. “But, how did you miss them? They arrived just before dark, you would’ve seen them before you got sent home. Where were you while everyone was looking for your partner?”
Toya-kun shrugs. “Looking for him, where else? I must have just missed them.”
Snap. He’s hung himself.
“Oh, of course,” Arata says. “Then I’ll leave you to that.” He gives a smile and an easy wave, and turns away.
A lawyer’s job is to find the truth, and this time… a defense attorney won’t be able to do that.
Time to keep building the case.
~
“And for our third witness…” Arata says. “Ken Shiraishi.”
“Arata, that’s low!” Yoka gasps, and Arata shakes his head.
“He has information we require.”
“It’s fine, Yoka.” Ken says. “It’s your job to find the truth, right?”
Yoka bites her lip.
“Ken, are you sure about this? You’re their witness.” She asks, and Arata rolls his eyes.
“Might I request the defense put her feelings aside and allow the witness to testify?”
“Might I request the prosecution remember whose belly he came out of?”
“Might the defense stop bringing that up for two seconds?!”
“You two are exactly the same…” Ken chimes in. “Now… I don’t really know what you want me to say. I don’t think Toya did it.”
“Tell us about the events of the night of Akito-kun’s disappearance.” Arata asks, and Franziska raises an eyebrow.
Ken blinks.
“Kid. You were there.”
“The prosecution requests that the witness not call him ‘kid.’ Also, there’s a reason for this, Mr. Shiraishi.”
Ken turns to Yoka.
“Seriously?”
“Just go with it.” Yoka sighs.
“…Okay then. Uh… the night before Akito disappeared, you guys were doing a mini event on the street. You all— Ow!”
“Do not assume that everyone knows who you are talking about!” Franziska snaps. “More details!”
“Jeez, you could have just said that…” Ken groans. “When I said ‘you all,’ I meant my daughter An, her partner Kohane, Akito, Toya, Arata, and a few more of their friends. Kisara, Akemi, Tatsuya, and Kotaro. They all walked in around six. It was a daytime event because we didn’t want… well, someone to get caught by the Vivid Live Killer. It was just getting chilly out, and An was complaining about the cold. I think of all the kids on that street as my own, so I wanted to make sure everyone got home safe. You guys had a review session, you and Kohane took a few pictures, and then I took An and we walked Kohane home, Kisara, Akemi, and Tatsuya walked Kotaro back to his place before going home, Arata went to the hospital to see Souma, and… I thought Akito and Toya were going home together, but…”
Arata looks like the cat who got the canary.
“So you maintain that as one of the last people to see Akito-kun alive, the last person you saw him with was the defendant?”
Ken jumps.
“…Hah. I walked right into your trap, didn’t I, Mr. Tono? Yeah. The last person I saw Akito with was Toya.”
“Hold on. Bab— Mr. Tono, you have pictures?” Yoka says, and suddenly Yoka’s phone pings.
“See them for yourself, Ms. Tono.”
Yoka unlocks her phone and stares at the pictures Arata texted her.
Shinonome-kun and Aoyagi-kun are clinging onto each other in almost all of them. Smiling brightly.
Aoyagi-kun is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, and Shinonome-kun is in… three hoodies, for some reason.
Aoyagi-kun must see her confusion, because he looks over at her.
“He wears three hoodies almost all the time. No matter how hot it is. He says it’s for the sake of fashion. Personally, I think my partner looks good in anything, but—”
Something breaks in Arata at that statement. Ken sees it, Franziska sees it, Toya-kun sees it, and Yoka definitely sees it.
“You don’t get to use that word.” He whispers. “If you were partners… you would never have dreamed of hurting Akito-kun.”
Ken looks over to Arata.
“Kid, listen… I know you haven’t been back around for long, but saying that Toya could kill Akito is like saying you could kill Souma. It’s just not possible.”
Arata slams the bench.
“This witness is dismissed.” He spits, with pure venom in his voice.
“Kid—”
“Keep talking and I promise you’ll end up in contempt of court, Mr. Shiraishi.” Arata hisses.
~
Franziska can’t place it. Something’s off about this night.
She has her whip at the ready, and she rolls her shoulder. She’s not about to get shot again— the first time was pathetic enough.
There are footsteps behind her. Franziska readies her whip, but—
“Arata Tono?” She asks, almost incredulously, and Arata raises his hands in surrender.
“Hey, Ms. von Karma.”
Franziska rolls her eyes and puts her whip back on her belt.
“How did your boyfriend kill him this time?”
“No need to bring my partner into this.” He breathes. “I’m here to help.”
Franziska blinks.
“Help… me?”
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Ms. von Karma. Toya-kun killed his partner.”
Franziska raises an eyebrow.
“How did you know who I was—”
“It’s obvious. If you spend even two seconds talking to him, it’s obvious. He’s not at all concerned that his partner is dead.”
Franziska crosses her arms.
“So… you believe that he is the killer. However, you are a defense attorney at heart. You and I on the same side… it does not quite make sense, does it?”
“Hey, if Wright and Edgeworth can do it.”
“My little brother and Phoenix Wright are married with a daughter. You are too in love with your boyfriend and I am a lesbian.”
Arata reaches out and grabs her hand.
“That’s why I have to do this. He’s a killer. He destroyed everything that the word partner means. I looked at those two, and I saw myself and Souma. And Toya-kun killed him. Please, Ms. von Karma.”
Franziska looks at him. There’s a… desperation in his eyes.
Those eyes that he inherited from his mother. Those eyes that see through every contradiction and flaw in a case. Analytical, logical…
“Do those eyes of yours see a flaw in accusing Toya Aoyagi?” She says, and Arata shakes his head.
“Not one.”
“Then it is time for you to take a walk on my side, Arata Tono.”
Arata smirks, and for once that Tono smirk is not the most infuriating thing she’s ever seen.
“He won’t know what hit him.” He purrs.
~
Yoka practically had to pull Ken off the witness stand. Whatever just happened… It's not good. Arata’s even more pissed than before.
Until now, Franziska and Arata have been trying to build up to something. And Yoka doesn’t know what kind of ace up their sleeve that she should be preparing for.
“Now, I’m sure you’ve been waiting for this… my eyewitness.” Franziska says, and Yoka sighs. There they go.
“And who is this mysterious eyewitness, Ms. von Karma? You haven’t given me a hint this whole time.” Yoka asks, and Franziska’s mouth falls for a second. What was that?
But she’s back to her perfect case in a moment, and she whips the bench in front of her.
“My eyewitness… happens to be my assistant.”
Yoka freezes.
“No…” She breathes, and Arata steps back from behind the prosecution’s bench and over to the witness stand.
“Hold on, isn’t this a conflict of interest?” The judge cuts in. “You’re asking Ms. Tono to cross-examine her son.”
“Well, I expected this going in.” Arata says. He’s too damn cool… probably because he knows all her tricks. “I’m alright with it if Ms. Tono is.”
Yoka bites her lip.
“The defense is ready to begin.” She says, and Arata nods.
“Alright then. Well, I saw Toya-kun. Once the night of Akito-kun’s disappearance. Akito-kun disappeared shortly after meeting with Toya-kun. Then, I saw him the day Shimizu was killed. I saw him running from the building just before it exploded, and Shimizu mentioned seeing him on the video.”
Yoka blinks, and Aoyagi-kun raises an eyebrow.
“Tono-san… of course you saw me the night of Akito’s disappearance. We were practicing together that day, and we’d grabbed dinner together at WEEKEND GARAGE that night. Ken-san already said all this.”
Arata rolls his eyes.
“Don’t try to be an attorney, Toya-kun. You’re bad at it. I obviously meant after. You know, when Akito-kun stayed out late practicing like the idiot he was? He was street-smart, he wouldn’t let his guard down for just anyone.”
Yoka takes a breath.
“So… Mr. Tono, Aoyagi-kun is one of those kids that you perform with?” She asks, and Arata fiddles with his ring.
“Yep. Or, used to, anyway. Akito-kun and Souma had the same dream, to surpass RAD WEEKEND. Maybe the idea of it is a curse, or maybe Akito-kun had bad taste in partners.”
Partners…
There it is again. Something breaks in the facade.
She knows that look in her baby’s eye. That same twisted grief.
And now that she looks, that burgundy jacket he’s wearing isn’t his own. It’s Souma’s. Combine that with fiddling with the ring, and…
“Don’t make me do this, baby.” She says, before she can stop herself.
“I gave you my testimony, Ms. Tono. Try to find a hole in it, I dare you.”
He knows she can’t. He polished this testimony over and over. There isn’t a hole in it for her to exploit.
But there’s a hole in his heart that she can. And she knows she has a duty to her client.
Her dear baby’s blinded by his own feelings. He can’t see the truth.
“There’s no proof that the witness actually saw Aoyagi-kun.” She breathes. “The witness seems credible, sure, but he’s simply making assumptions. He felt a connection with Toya-kun, and he wants to prove that Toya-kun never loved his partner. Because if he does that, he doesn’t have to confront his own failures as a partner— and as a son.”
Arata physically flinches back, and Franziska’s eyes widen.
“Yoka Tono?!”
“My god, you two really are related.” Toya-kun says. “That was… vicious.”
Arata turns to her, an anger she’s rarely seen in his eyes.
“What the hell, Mom?” He says. “I thought you of all people would trust me. Instead, you say that to me?!”
“I told you not to make me do it.” Yoka breathes.
“I saw him!” Arata snaps. “I could give you a perfect description! There aren’t a lot of guys with split-toned hair on Vivid Street, especially not those two colors! Plus, he was wearing that stupid DerMonde hoodie that costs more than you’re probably making for taking this case!”
Yoka takes a breath. One in, one out.
She runs over the video in her head. There’s that DerMonde hoodie. But…
Hang on…
Oh. There it is. There’s the contradiction.
“He wasn’t wearing that hoodie, baby.” She says.
“What?” Franziska asks.
“He was wearing a black hoodie. Shinonome gave it to him the day of the murder— it’s something that he got from his partner. He’s been clinging onto it the same way you’re clinging onto Souma’s hoodie right now.”
Arata flinches and pulls the jacket tighter around himself.
“I… what?” He breathes, but he takes a breath. One in, one out.
And he’s back to being calm and confident.
“You can’t prove that. Just because that’s what he said—”
“Arata… your own photos prove it.” Yoka breathes. “Aoyagi-kun was in a short-sleeved shirt last you saw him.”
Arata quickly pulls his phone out, and his eyes narrow as he slips his phone back into his pocket.
“That’s purely circumstantial, Ms. Tono.” Arata practically spits her name out. “Maybe he changed before he killed Akito-kun. But there still aren’t a lot of guys with that exact split-toned hair. You’ve seen the video.”
Yoka shuts her eyes. She hates doing this. She really hates doing this.
“You’re the one who’s being circumstantial here.” She responds. “Just because you saw someone with split-toned hair—”
“I told you, I saw him, goddamn it!” Arata screeches. “I went to make sure Akito-kun wasn’t practicing himself to death like the idiot he was! I saw Toya-kun there with him, and I left because I thought he’d take care of his partner! I assumed that Toya-kun was a good partner, and because I had to think that, Akito-kun is dead! And you see it on the security video too, right there! Why don’t you believe me?!”
Yoka’s eyes soften. Oh.
“…It wasn’t your fault, baby.” She breathes.
Arata doesn’t speak for a second, just staring at his hands…
But then he finally looks up.
“It’s like you said.” He breathes. “I’m a failure as a partner and a son. I just didn’t want to be a failure as a friend too.”
~
Arata’s pacing around the room the way he always used to do when thinking about a book or case. He was always exceptional at predicting twists, something about his lawyer sense kicking in.
But this time, Souma’s not able to drag him back down and turn his brain off, so Arata’s left to pace around the room until his brain finally spits out a theory.
“Arata, you’re not going to be able to solve this.” Souma breathes. “You’re not on the case— You don’t have any information except what’s publicly available. I know you miss Akito-kun, but—”
“Souma, will you let me think?!”
Arata shakes his head and continues pacing, and God Souma forgot how much that drove him insane.
“We know that Akito-kun went missing about two days ago.” He says, still stepping around the room. He can practically see the gears turning in Arata’s head. “Then the cops started searching the street, and the kids got
kicked off.”
“Ken-san didn’t stop you?” Souma says, and Arata shakes his head.
“Not a kid anymore, remember? He can’t just call Mom so she can drag me home anymore.”
Souma wishes Yoka or Ken-san was here to snap Arata out of this spiral.
“But the weird thing about all this is that Toya-kun wasn’t there.” Arata says. “I mean, his partner’s missing and he’s not around to search for him?”
“You probably just missed him, Arata.” Souma says, and Arata sighs.
“I was there all day and I didn’t see him once. And he didn’t even know the cops had come onto the street. If I was missing, wouldn’t everyone know where you were?”
“Obviously, but that’s different. If it was me, I can picture what you’d do. Calm, calculating— you’d do it like solving a puzzle.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“Even before the accident?”
Arata’s eyes soften slightly, but he still shakes his head.
“I wouldn’t be calm.”
“But you’d look it. When I got accused of murder, you looked as relaxed as always. I was freaking out, but you weren’t.”
Arata sighs.
“…Because panicking wouldn’t get us anywhere. Okay, fine, maybe that’s why he looks so calm. But that doesn’t explain why he didn’t know the cops were swarming the street. You have to admit that’s suspicious!”
“Even if it looks suspicious, that doesn’t mean it is! Didn’t you teach me that?”
“…This is different.”
Souma blinks.
Then he pulls himself into a sitting position.
“Arata, what are you saying?”
Arata’s hand closes into a fist. He has that look on his face, the one that says he has a theory.
But… it’s wrong. Something is entirely off about it.
He doesn’t look like the cat who got the canary. He looks… angry.
“I think Toya-kun killed him.”
Souma’s mouth drops open.
“…Are you insane?” He finally says. “You think Toya-kun of all people—?!”
“I know you’re close with him, but—”
“But nothing! Arata, what the hell is wrong with you?! That’s like saying you could kill me!”
Arata’s eyes shift.
“…You think I’m like him?” He spits. “That I could ever hurt you?”
“That’s not what I said, Arata!”
“No, that’s fine. I deserve it. I haven’t been a good partner.” He says. “I’ll just have to prove it to you… with evidence.”
“Prove what?”
Arata looks… crazed. It’s not a look Souma’s ever seen in his eyes.
“Prove that Toya-kun did it. If I get him arrested, then that proves both things. He’s a killer, and we’re nothing alike.”
“Arata… you’re the defense.”
And Arata steps over to him, the crazed affection still in his eyes.
“If Edgeworth can be a defense attorney…”
Then he vanishes out the door.
~
Yoka shakes her head.
“I didn’t say that. I said you wanted to distract yourself from your own failures. We all do that. No one’s perfect, baby.”
Arata looks up, clearly barely restraining tears.
“I’m more fucked up than most.”
“Maybe. But that’s not your fault. And you could fuck up a million times, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re my baby and I love you more than life itself.”
Yoka takes a breath. Now that she’s started to crack Arata’s confidence, she needs to go in for the kill.
And that security video…
When she looks at Shinonome-kun and Aoyagi-kun on camera, she realizes one thing.
“So forgive me for this, baby. But the security video contradicts your testimony. The ‘Aoyagi-kun’ you saw? You know that their hair was split the other way.”
“It’s like I said. That could just be the camera flipping the video.” Arata breathes.
“No. It can’t be.” Yoka says, and she points to the video. “Shinonome-kun’s yellow streak… it’s on the correct side of his hair. If it had been flipped, then that would have flipped too.”
Arata freezes.
Entirely freezes.
“No…” He finally breathes. “No, that’s… I…”
“Baby?” Yoka tries, but Arata’s just staring at the video. “Baby, I’m sorry. I love you.”
“Tono-san…” Toya-kun breathes, and Arata’s eyes finally sharpen again.
And he screams. It’s a grief-stricken howl, the kind of thing he let out the day of Souma’s accident.
He finally looks up, and he’s sobbing.
Yoka can’t help herself. She launches herself from behind the defense bench and wraps her arms around him.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She breathes. “It’s gonna be okay, baby.”
He’s clinging onto her as tightly as he did the day of the accident, and screaming just as loudly.
“How did I not notice?” He sobs. “How did I not realize?! I should have stopped him, I should have—”
“Baby, I promise you it’s not your fault.” She whispers. “I promise.”
“I was there! I saw him! I saw the fake Toya-kun, and I fell for it! If I had just realized… if I had just looked for another second, realized that his hair was flipped the other way, then… then he wouldn’t be dead!”
“Or you could have died too.” Yoka breathes. “We don’t know what could have been. We only know what is. You can’t blame yourself.”
“Can’t I?! I should have been able to save him! I… I couldn’t save Souma, and I couldn’t save Akito-kun! What good am I if I watch this happen twice and just… just freeze up?!”
“What happened to Souma-san wasn’t your fault, Tono-san.” Aoyagi-kun starts. “And neither was what happened to Akito. Things… unfortunately just happen. My sister was born immunocompromised. My brother’s girlfriend died of a drug overdose shortly before he was planning to ask her to marry him. These things… they didn’t happen because we did something wrong. They simply happened. Due to factors outside of our control.”
Arata… laughs. This deep, bitter laugh.
“Then you’re saying that we never had a chance.”
Aoyagi-kun looks up.
“Perhaps we didn’t. But… that doesn’t mean that what we had was any less real. It’s not about the destination, is it? My mother… well, your teacher… she always told me that it’s not satisfying to get everything you’ve ever dreamed of simply handed to you. It’s the struggle that matters. That’s what Akito believes, and that’s what Souma-san believes. Even if they never surpass RAD WEEKEND… the important part of it all is that they tried. That their dream inspired others. Like you and me.”
“…Do you understand that you are too goddamn nice?” Arata says. “I have been nothing but a massive jerk to you since we met. Why are you trying to help me?”
Aoyagi-kun shrugs.
“We… We are very much alike. As much as I hate to admit it.”
Franziska groans and whips the bench.
“Every time! Every time I deal with you Tonos! Brilliant! It’s not Toya Aoyagi! Then who is it?!”
“Uh…” Yoka says.
“That’s…” Arata adds.
Suddenly, the courtroom door bursts open, and this familiar looking blondie shouts “OBJECTION!” at the top of his lungs.
Aoyagi-kun rushes across the courtroom, and that’s when Yoka and Arata notice that he’s carrying Shinonome-kun on his back.
Aoyagi-kun and Shinonome-kun have… an insanely gay reunion, and everyone in the court is shocked.
“Aren’t you dead?!” Yoka snaps.
“I’m gonna be fuckin’ sick.” Arata groans, burying his face in Yoka’s shoulder.
“He is not even dead?! I am going to whip everyone in the precinct senseless!” Franziska screeches.
“Even Detective Gumshoe?” Yoka asks.
“Especially the scruffy detective!”
“At least his salary’s not getting cut.” Arata groans.
“So, is this the weirdest case you guys have ever had?” Ken asks, and Yoka sighs.
“This isn’t even the weirdest case this month.”
“Nope.” Arata groans.
“Anything where Maya Fey is involved is automatically stranger.” Franziska sighs. “I never had to deal with these things back in Germany.”