Chapter Text
09/30/2028 — 6:15 PM
Train Station
Train Platform No. 4
As soon as she found herself an empty bench, Maya Fey took off her sandals and stretched her sore feet in front of her with a sigh. It sure felt good to finally be able to sit down after everything that had gone on earlier that day; she hadn’t planned on running around the entire wedding venue, but how could she be blamed? It wasn’t like anyone else expected Larry of all people to catch the bouquet…
Ah, so maybe she wasn’t the next one to be married even though she was fast approaching her thirties. Nick would point out to her that a mere, brief bouquet toss ultimately didn’t hold that much power over what lay in her future, but it was still disheartening… even if all of her closest friends were still as single as she was.
It wasn’t that finding that “special someone” (as Pearly would put it) was her main goal in life, but now that she was the Master of Kurain, she knew that the villagers were expecting her to continue the main branch of the Fey clan. She wasn’t so unassertive that she would be pressured into some loveless marriage just to reproduce, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a concern of hers. Ideally, she’d meet someone that she truly felt she could stick by for the rest of her life, and she could have a relationship happier than most Feys ended up having.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t something that would just pop up if she wished upon a star for it. She wasn’t going to put up with anything short of unconditional love and loyalty, no matter how much pressure she felt from those around her. The worst case scenario was that if she really couldn’t find someone, then a side branch family member could take over. Not exactly a situation that coincided with the end of the world, especially if Pearly was a part of that side branch.
She looked up at the TV screen hanging above the train platform, noticing the current time flashing in a boxy, red font. It sure was getting late… Assuming her train would arrive without delays, she should be able to make it back to the village around 9:00 that night. She just had to hope that it wouldn’t be too crowded inside, because her tired legs weren’t prepared to stand for an extra two hours. Especially when she’d be pressed up against tired, sweaty—
She was yanked out of her thoughts when someone sat down to the right of her, on the other end of the bench. Out of the corner of her eye, all she could see was a vague, black form, so she found herself curiously turning her head to get a better view.
Oh, boy.
Even though they were both sitting, it was clear that the man next to her was exceptionally tall. Not only that, but he was dressed in black and white from head to toe, with unkempt hair tied back into a casual low ponytail. Unusual black markings adorned the undersides of his eyes as he faced forward, scowling at nothing in particular as if that would somehow will the train to come sooner. Finally, there was a single bird feather in between his lips that moved up and down steadily with every subtle movement of his mouth.
He looked like some sort of modern-day samurai, especially with that overcoat on and all. Maya was simultaneously intimidated and in awe.
He must have caught her staring, because he turned his head and made eye contact with her. She quickly broke her gaze away, looking off in the opposite direction with a tint of a blush on her face. She shouldn’t just randomly gaze at strangers like that, especially ones that seemed to be in a sour mood like this one.
The train arrived a couple of minutes later, right on time, and Maya quickly stood up. She didn’t really bother looking to see if the man was also going to be boarding alongside her, yet right as she stepped over the gap and onto the train floor, she heard a throat clear from right behind her.
When she turned to see what was up, she saw him standing on the platform with something in his hand. Two things, she corrected herself, once she realized that he was holding onto none other than her sandals. Dumbly, she looked down at her feet, clad in just her white tabi socks, then back at the shoes.
“I believe these are yours,” he finally said when she didn’t do anything to take them back.
The sound of his voice was like the nail in the coffin, and she could feel her face heat up at the embarrassing notion that she actually forgot to put her sandals back on. She was so comfortable not wearing them that she just…
“Th-thanks,” she managed out, taking them back finally. After a brief second, she noticed that she was blocking him from actually boarding, so she shuffled in deeper and farther away from the entrance to allow him the space.
He only nodded to signify his gratitude, stepping in and moving past her. She watched him make his way to the next passenger car, where he disappeared from her view after a mere few seconds.
As the train doors shut and the wheels started moving, Maya looked back down at her shoes and breathed out through her nose. She was tired from all of the wedding shenanigans, and she swore that she was going to knock out as soon as she arrived back home.
Although who said she had to wait until then? This was going to be a two-hour train ride, so she might as well find a seat and nap for a bit. Resolving herself to do just that, Maya began to move across the passenger car, in the opposite direction of that man, searching for a vacant spot for her to sit.
She found one in the next car over. Sleep came quickly once she properly sat down and closed her eyes, her sandals by her feet.
10/07/2028 — 3:43 PM
Train Station
Train Platform No. 4
Now that she was officially back in the country, Maya had been taking every opportunity to visit the Wright Anything Agency when she wasn’t busy with her duties. She had gone way too long without dropping by the law office, especially since she was such a crucial part of it during its early stages, so it was only right for her to make up for that lost time.
She had been visiting at least once per week, more or less, and she had no plans of dialing it back any time soon. Nick had once expressed his concern on how inconvenient all this could be for her, but she had assured him she didn’t mind. It wasn’t like the train fee was expensive, and she didn’t hate the commute; in fact, she found it relaxing to gaze out the window from her seat and watch the scenery pass her by. As someone who hadn’t really led a life of relaxation, she valued those two-hour intervals more than the average person.
Today, it had only been Athena in the office, as Nick had been so busy investigating for a trial the next day, and Trucy had been busy with a magic show. Maya enjoyed the young lawyer’s company, and she couldn’t help but see a bit of her younger self in her. It was that cheerful disposition in spite of hardship and tragedy to which she found herself relating time and time again. She didn’t really know the details of what Athena had been through in the past, but from what little she had heard from Nick, it wasn’t anything pretty.
She stood up from the bench she had been sitting on for the past ten minutes, rising up to her tiptoes and extending her arms in the air to stretch. There was still a bit of time before the 4:00 train, yet there wasn’t much for her to do. She took a step forward, just enough for her to see the tracks down below, yet not so far that she passed the forbidden yellow boundary line painted on the floor. Even with that slight distance, she could see the rust on the edges of the rails, and she wondered how long it had been since maintenance had properly refurbished the station.
Out of boredom, she spun around in a circle with her arms outstretched at her sides, watching the way her ribbon swayed with her motion. She could sense the odd looks she was getting from the other passengers waiting in the area, but she didn’t really care that much. She just wanted the train to come sooner rather than later, so she could hurry on back to the village.
The quietude was suddenly disturbed when a loud shriek echoed across the entire platform.
“Help! Thief! He’s got my purse!”
An alarmed Maya started to turn in the direction of the voice, but she couldn’t properly register anything before a figure rushed right past her and shoved her out of the way, off of her feet.
Right towards the train tracks.
She didn’t really have time to panic either, because right when she registered that she was about to fall off the platform and onto the rails, she felt a strong grip on her wrist that jerked her back. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to thank the individual who had just saved her.
Much to her surprise, it was that man. The same one who had given back her sandals that previous week.
“Do you need me to be by your side every day so I can stop you from your own misfortune?” he finally spoke up when she didn’t. Judging from that remark, he recognized her in return.
Maya looked away out of slight embarrassment, a sheepish grin spreading across her face. “Heh, that won’t be necessary. It's not like I see purse snatchers every single time I'm here.” Perking up at her own mention of the thief, she looked around. “Speaking of which—”
“Ah, I wouldn’t worry about that, if I were you,” he interrupted, quickly catching on to what she was looking for. He pointed his thumb to the space behind him, and when Maya leaned to her side to glance past him, she immediately caught the sight of a woman wrestling the purse from some scruffy, slovenly man, whacking him out cold with it, and dragging him away in the direction of the police box.
How anticlimactic. Maya was just going to assume that that woman was the original owner of the purse. “What could she possibly have in there that would actually knock him unconscious?” she wondered aloud, putting her hand to her cheek as she gazed upwards.
“Does it matter? Surely, he’s fine,” her savior replied. “You could call it karma for almost pushing someone on to the train tracks.”
Oh, yeah, there was that. She turned her entire body to face him, closing her eyes and bowing slightly with a genuine smile on her face. “Thank you for that, by the way. I definitely would’ve fallen if it weren’t for you.”
“There’s no need. I just didn’t want my day ruined with a train potentially running over a woman. It would prevent me from being able to travel to my destination.”
Maya couldn’t help but snort loudly, despite the gruesome and discomforting image of her splattered remains all over this side of the station. Even though his words themselves were sardonic, she had the sense that that was just his roundabout way of saying, “Don’t worry about it.”
“My name’s Maya, by the way,” she found herself introducing to him. “I’m a… spirit medium.”
“I suspected as much,” he simply stated in return, much to her surprise. “From Kurain Village, right? I don’t particularly know much about that place, but your clothes did look familiar to me. I’m assuming you’re headed back there right now?”
Maya’s eyes widened slightly at how he already had her figured out. “You’re… spot-on, actually. I’m the village master.” Chuckling a little bit to herself, she added, “When I tell most people the whole ‘spirit medium’ thing, they take like ten steps away from me.”
“Hmph. If you knew me, you’d realize that I’m not ‘most people.’”
Maya turned away from him and back towards the train platform, rocking back and forth on her toes and heels as she waited. Looking back up at the screen up above, she noticed that there were still a couple of minutes before the train was due to arrive.
“So? You already figured I’m going to Kurain. Where exactly are you headed?” she spoke up again after a few moments, though she remained facing the platform.
She could practically hear his smirk when he replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know? Unfortunately for you, I’m under no obligation to tell you, a mere stranger.”
She glared up at him with her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s. “That’s not fair! I told you my name and what I do! Not doing the same is just rude!”
He remained unfazed, not even bothering to look back down at her. “Then I’m rude.” The way his smirk grew was the only visible indication that he was acknowledging her indignance. “I’ve been called far worse things before.”
Maya only continued to glower, hoping that she could somehow get him to crack by doing so, but she quickly realized that it was fruitless. Huffing, she broke her gaze away and continued to wait for the train in silence. Merely a few seconds later, she saw the end of the tunnel gradually light up, signaling that her ride was finally approaching.
“I’m on an investigation.”
She wasn’t expecting to hear him suddenly speak up now of all times, not after he had claimed he’d remain silent, causing her to jump slightly at the sound. As she turned her head once more, she flusteredly hoped that he hadn’t noticed that.
Much to her chagrin, his massive grin made it clear that he had.
“I-I’m sorry?” was all she could stutter out confusedly. Investigation? What kind of…
“I’m on an investigation,” the man echoed, before elaborating. “Murder investigation, that is. Some poor individual got himself killed in a rougher part of town, so I’m headed there now.”
“...Oh.” Maya blinked. For some reason, that… wasn’t really what she expected. “So… you’re part of the police force?”
“I’m a prosecutor, actually,” he corrected her. “I’m aware I’m not expected to investigate alongside detectives, but…” For some reason, he grimaced then. “I’ve had a bit of an unpleasant experience with one, so now I prefer to check crime scenes out myself. Just to make sure no facts get twisted in court.”
Maya nodded in understanding, opening her mouth to say something about how that attitude towards prosecuting reminded her of a certain someone named Miles Edgeworth, but she never got the chance. The train arrived at that exact moment, effectively killing the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and by extension, their brief conversation with each other. The resulting wind prompted her to forget about him momentarily as it hit her body at full force; one of her hands held her kimono in place while the other swept her hair away from her face, and by the time she was done fixing herself, the train had come to a halt. As the doors slid open and passengers began to both board and alight, she herself began to make her way across the gap and inside. Even though she couldn’t physically see him, she could sense the man right behind her as he also got on.
“And since you asked…”
Maya almost bumped into another person standing in the aisle, and after spouting a quick apology, she redirected her attention back to her companion.
“My name is Simon.”
He didn’t say anymore as he turned on his heel and left her, gradually disappearing into the throng of passengers. Maya watched him as he moved into the neighboring passenger car, towards the back like he had the first time she had seen him, until she couldn’t even see the back of his head any longer.
She broke out of her stupor when the doors slid shut, and the train began to move. She shook her head with a small smile, walking further down the aisle to try to find a vacant seat.
She ultimately did find one after moving to the next car over, next to a plump, kind-eyed, middle-aged woman who actually bothered to smile at her as she sat down. Of course, she smiled back, but they didn’t exchange any words aloud—not when she first seated herself, not when the train arrived at the remaining stations in the city, not when the other woman eventually got off a few stops before Maya’s own.
By the time the train reached its terminal, it was nearly empty, a sharp contrast to how busy it was when she and Simon had first boarded. When she finally stood up from her seat to leave, she couldn’t help but wonder at which exact station he had gotten off, and also if his investigation was running smoothly.
Maybe she could ask him, if she ever had the chance to see him again.
And for some reason, she hoped that she would.