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the past few months had been a whirlwind for the von karma-edgeworth family. (they were not officially called that yet, but everyone was fairly certain that it was going to happen one day or another, and it was pointless to deny it.)
first of all- gregory edgeworth had finally worked up the courage to inquire about the details behind manfred von karma's firing (the entirety of which may be found in the very first installation of this series, manfred von karma's gender adventure). once told that the catalyst had merely been manfred von karma telling bansai ichiyanagi to, roughly, "go away", he was shocked and outraged.
"one instance of insolence towards an employer is not enough to be fired," gregory edgeworth had said. "besides, this particular incident happened outside of the workplace. you absolutely did not deserve to lose your job."
manfred von karma had already known this, but he pointed out that this was bansai ichiyanagi. bansai ichiyanagi could basically do whatever he wanted.
gregory edgeworth had risen from his chair and placed his hat over his heart. "not on my watch, he doesn't. in the name of truth and justice and the law, i will avenge you. your job will be secured by the end of this year."
this had been one of the many times that manfred von karma was left in awe of the man he was in love with.
from that point, gregory edgeworth had done everything within his power as a lawyer to bring down bansai ichiyanagi once and for all. franziska von karma, manfred von karma, and miles all pitched in, and finally, they had gathered enough evidence to prove his corruption to the courts. the former chief prosecutor cursed the edgeworth and von karma names as he was dragged off to detention.
he was probably going to get out, some day. but for now, the new chief prosecutor had accepted manfred von karma's job request. the "god of prosecution" was a prosecuting attorney once again.
to celebrate, they had all gone out for dinner at a very fancy restaurant. in order to create the best atmosphere possible, miles had reserved the entire place so that there would be no irritating sounds made by other people, and hired musicians to play calming violin music. everyone present enjoyed calming violin music, manfred von karma especially.
when they had returned home, they had engaged in a group hug. then, for emphasis, they had all simultaneously done a high-five and fistbump combination with each other, of the sort that one might see teenagers do.
it was at times like these that they felt most like a family.
a short amount of time had passed, no more than a month, and now, manfred von karma was anxiously awaiting the beginning of his first court case since his reintegration into lawyer society. he was standing in the lobby, tapping his feet on the hard floor and scowling.
he was going to win-- he knew that much. but what if he slipped up and made a mistake? what if he said "the rosecution is pready" instead of "the prosecution is ready"? what if he forgot to snap his fingers after making a bold statement? what if he let the witness make a fool of him in front of everyone?
before he knew it, however, the doors opened. it was time to enter the courtroom.
manfred von karma took a deep breath and moved forwards.
taking his place at the prosecutor's bench, he shuffled his papers once again, making sure they were all in a neat stack. he glanced over at the defense's bench-- no one there. hmph. what a surprise. except it was not actually a surprise at all.
after a few minutes, though, a person in a black suit and red tie stepped out and stood behind the bench. if you have as much knowledge of gregory edgeworth's clothes as i have, you will recognize that this person was, indeed, gregory edgeworth. he was the defense attorney for this case.
manfred von karma felt a little bit sorry for gregory edgeworth. after all, he was about to lose in court, and losing in court was just about the worst thing that manfred von karma could imagine. he supposed it was a little bit different for people who were not perfect, as they were used to losing, but it must still be tough.
the judge brought down his gavel twice. "order in the court," he said. judges always said that. manfred von karma reckoned that he would do a better job at saying "order in the court" than any judge out there, but he presumed that it was part of the job description. judges did have to make a living.
"the court is now in session for the trial of alexandra marini!"
there was excited buzzing from the stands as a short-haired woman wearing a green and black diving suit approached the witness stand.
"mx. von karma, your opening statement?" the judge said.
manfred von karma cleared his throat.
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some minutes later, the judge called for a recess. it was difficult to contest the fact that alexandra marini had committed the murder, as she and the victim had been the only people in the submarine at the time. gregory edgeworth was having a very hard time.
just as manfred von karma was thinking about gregory edgeworth, there was a tap on his shoulder. he turned around and came face to face with gregory edgeworth.
"speak of the defense attorney," said manfred von karma.
"hello, manfred," said gregory edgeworth. "you seem to be doing well."
"of course," said manfred von karma. "the only reason i have not won yet is because i am going easy on you."
gregory edgeworth frowned.
"you should not 'go easy' on anyone," he said. "you should always perform to the best of your ability in court."
"i know that. but i do not want you to be utterly crushed," said manfred von karma.
"do not place my emotions over the pursuit of justice," said gregory edgeworth. "the lives of those on trial are not to be toyed with."
"what do you mean, they are not to be toyed with," manfred von karma said.
gregory edgeworth frowned deeply.
"i was joking," said manfred von karma.
"are you," said gregory edgeworth.
"probably," said manfred von karma.
gregory edgeworth stared at manfred von karma for a long time.
"that was also a joke. i am sorry," said manfred von karma.
"you had better be," said gregory edgeworth.
they both looked around awkwardly for a while.
"wait, why are you not in the defendant lobby number whatever," said manfred von karma, after he was done looking around awkwardly.
"because i am fairly certain that you are correct about ms. marini being the culprit," gregory edgeworth said.
"oh. i thought your way of dealing with these things was to believe in your client no matter what," manfred von karma said.
"i do believe in her. she confessed to me," said gregory edgeworth.
"well that would about do it," said manfred von karma.
when they both returned to the courtroom, it did not take long for the defendant to be declared guilty. manfred von karma left with a smile on his face, knowing that he had not lost any skill in his time away from his job. gregory edgeworth left with an expression that read "that was a bummer, but i am glad that we found out the truth, and that manfred is not upset, and that now i get to go home and celebrate with my lovely family".
one day, gregory edgeworth thought, manfred von karma was going to lose. and he would not take it well, and things would probably be bad for a while. but so long as he was there, he would try his hardest to be supportive and kind, no matter what.
as gregory edgeworth was thinking this, he was also walking to his car. manfred von karma was walking with him to his car.
when they got to the car and sat down inside the car, gregory edgeworth turned to manfred von karma, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, because that was his seat.
"manfred, do you realize that we just went to court with a diver whose last name is 'marini'," gregory edgeworth said.
manfred von karma thought about that.
"why did i not realize that before," he said.
"wouldn't it be strange if our names were based on our careers," said gregory edgeworth.
"it would," agreed manfred von karma. "it would be even stranger if we were named after famous actors who played lawyers in the film adaptations of classic literature."
"yes, indeed," said gregory edgeworth, casually pushing his copy of 'to kill a mockingbird' underneath the car seat with his foot.
"let's go home now," said manfred von karma.
"let's," said gregory edgeworth.
and then they went home.
franziska von karma and miles were both at work themselves, so manfred von karma and gregory edgeworth enjoyed a quiet evening to themselves. by this, i mean that they sat in the same room and did paperwork without speaking to each other. then they took a break to eat dinner, and sat on the couch and watched star trek. gregory edgeworth fell asleep during star trek. manfred von karma did not appreciate that.
the end