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06/23/2029 — 6:15 PM
District Courthouse
Courtroom No. 6
The trial was over.
Through it's ups and downs—the blood, sweat and tears—they had persevered, just like always.
With the tension of the defendant's lobby cleared at last, Athena and Phoenix stepped in breathing a sigh of relief each. The once solitary and timid defendant, now alight with some brand of joy, stood pensively in the centre of the room. It doesn't take an emotional expert like Athena to see that he is harbouring some doubts.
The man's name was Phil LeCar, and it was the fact his brother had been the culprit which had him in his current bind.
"Somehow, I feel responsible..."
He said, guilt setting in over the fact Phil's safety was his brother's MO.
"You can't easily read how another person is going to act, let alone when it's a sibling and something as extreme as a murder," Athena would respond, "Don't blame yourself for this—you had no control over any of the events that day."
Feeling reassured, he thanked the blue and yellow lawyers and made for his way home, a smile setting into Phoenix's face.
"You've come a long way, Athena." Phoenix said as he turned to look at the girl, "To think that just two years ago you could barely stand in court without having a panic attack..."
A triumphant expression overtook his face.
"It... makes me proud. As your boss and your mentor."
"Just doing my best, Mr. Wright!" Athena flung a peace symbol with her left hand as she smiled as wide as possible. "I couldn't have asked for a better boss myself!"
Athena had her first case in 2027, when her friend Juniper Woods was accused for the murder of her own professor. For the most part, she did alright, but the incessant jeers of Professor Aristotle Means proved too much for her and caused Athena to breakdown. Her second case was in 2028, for a much similar reason she had broken down there. This time though, another year later, she'd braved it the whole way without questioning herself. It felt so natural yet so surreal.
"NIIIIIIIICK!"
Distant yelling and the sounds of sandals against tiled floors interrupted this moment of reflection. A mere moment later, a purple blur barreled through the door and crash landed straight onto the floor.
"Ow..." said the assailant responsible for the havoc as she stood back up again and dusted herself off.
Maya Fey, a long time friend of the legendary lawyer Phoenix Wright—also somehow both the unluckiest and luckiest person alive.
"There a reason this time or...?" Phoenix asked, holding himself back from rolling his eyes.
"Huh? I mean, if you count leaving the gallery slightly late and being afraid you'd have left without me a reason, sure." She pouted in response.
"...Maya, you've been one of my closest friends for nearly 13 years." Phoenix tonelessly stated.
"Well! Uh..." Having run out of words, she just balled her hands into fists and huffed, earning a snicker from Phoenix.
"Hey, we all make mistakes." Athena chimed in, "I once tripped down a flight of stairs while walking!"
Maya's turn to snicker this time.
"Well, it doesn't matter, at least she's not hurt." Phoenix nodded and patted Maya on the shoulder, who was still looking like an angry seven year old. Just because she had grown more mature doesn't mean she wasn't still Maya.
"I guess this calls for a celebration, yeah?" Maya's frustration suddenly vanished as a mischievous glint sparked in her eyes. "The case, I mean."
"...Eldoon's will be closed at this time." Phoenix replied, already knowing what she was hinting at, "He did have a kid recently, so it's not like he can be open as long as usual."
"Whaaaaat?" An almost distraught Maya cried out, "Then where are we supposed to go?"
As Phoenix scratched his head, scouring his brain for an answer, it was Athena who came to the rescue.
"I think I have an idea."
"Whet Soba, huh?"
Maya said, looking out for the building despite the fact Athena had already told her it wasn't on this street.
"Simon used to go there a lot before-"
"Who the heck is Simon?" Maya interrupted her with a bewildered expression.
"Have we not told you?" The newest addition to their group, Trucy Wright—having just been picked up from a magic show—questioned.
"I don't... think... so...?" Maya certainly wasn't feigning ignorance, that was genuine confusion.
"We can tell you about him while we eat," Phoenix butted into the conversation, "he's friends with the current owner. Let's just focus on getting there first, alright?"
Maya nodded in agreement, her expression only having half faded.
06/23/2029 — 6:34 PM
Whet Soba
The walk was just a little under twenty minutes, but the sweltering heat made it feel like hours. The Summers of California have never been merciful, but today it felt even more ruthless than usual.
Phoenix had slung his jacket over his shoulder, Athena was already in clothing fit for heat, Trucy had removed her hat, and Maya had just coped with it because she was too stubborn to take off her haori after telling everyone else she was fine the first time they asked if she was too warm.
Regardless, they found themselves a table and promptly sat down. A table with five seats. The empty seat was between Maya and Phoenix, the former sometimes resting her legs on the seat.
"What do they even serve here...?" Maya voiced to herself.
"The place is called 'Whet Soba'." The all-hearing Athena Cykes responded.
"Oh. Right." She tried to hide her embarrassment with her sleeves, by pretending to wipe her nose.
Casual conversation was made as the group awaited their menus. Discussion about the trial they had just been through and the show Trucy had just performed.
"Then it turned out his brother had been the one to put the machine in motion! You should have seen his face when we presented the watch he'd lost!"
"There was a malfunction on the pyrotechnics but, unable to turn around, I still went for the jump. It was terrifying... though the roar of the crowd was absolutely worth it!"
Thirty minutes had passed, and they still hadn't received their menus.
"Ugghhhhh... When are they gonna let us order?" Maya groaned, leaning back in her chair.
"Wait—Maya!" Phoenix called out.
Too far back. She tried to put all four legs back on the floor but she had already started falling by that point. She yelped in fear and braced for impact, closing her eyes...
Yet the impact never came. She opened her eyes and what she saw terrified her. A man with dark marks around his eyes, a glare as sharp and strong as a katana, and silver white streaks in his hair. He wore an unusually tame jinbaori that was the same black and white as his hair, with a greyish suit beneath it and had a feather between his lips that rustled with each subtle movement of his mouth.
"Has no one ever told you not to lean in your chair?" He said, propping Maya back up again. His voice was... Exceptionally strong. Also British. But that was forgivable because it was still cool.
"U-Um... Thanks." Was all Maya could utter in appreciation.
"Hmph." Even the way he huffed sounded cool, "I wouldn't want the staff getting any more disrupted because someone cracked their skull against the floor."
"Simon!" Athena called out. Maya recognised the name.
This was him? The regular who was friends with the owner? He's certainly... a lot more than Maya expected.
"Cykes-dono." Simon nodded in acknowledgement, "I see you have come to dine here of all places. I presume your usual location is out of commission for today?"
"The guy running it had a kid recently," Mr. Wright answered for her, "He's not open for his usual hours because of it. Came here instead because Athena suggested the place."
The massive man sighed. "I knew you having knowledge of my preferred place to dine would turn against me." He grumbled whilst turning to look at Athena.
"Come oooon it's not THAT bad!" Athena pouted back at him.
"Is that so?" Simon then turned his gaze towards Maya, who had only just now realised she had been staring at him the whole time.
"And what of this girl, who almost so abruptly hospitalised herself?"
"It's just a one time thing!" Maya beamed at him as she spoke.
"And those marks on your wrists are simply natural, are they?"
The man smirked as Maya looked down at her arms. Sure enough, her slight tumble through the door in the courthouse had left a red mark on her wrists down to the middle of her forearms.
He stopped smirking for a moment and looked deep in thought.
Suddenly he pulled up the empty seat beside Maya and sat down.
"Joining us?" Phoenix looked a little taken aback.
"Truth be told, I had intended to dine alone this evening," a sly grin formed on Simon's face, "But after recalling the antics you people tend to get up to, I find it necessary to give you adult supervision."
Had anyone else said that, Maya would've tried to rebut them. But when it came from this man? Something made her hold her tongue. Be it the inherent chill his glare sent down her spine or how cool he sounded saying it, accepting the insult was all she could do.
"Well..." Athena quickly tried to recollect herself.
"Now we can introduce you and Maya!" Trucy excitedly interjected.
Blackquill looked down at her flatly. "Maya? I presume that would be..."
"...Me." Maya nervously murmured, avoiding eye contact.
She expected another grunt, but instead was greeted by an extended palm.
"Simon Blackquill. I'm a prosecutor."
Maya hesitated then shook his hand.
"Maya Fey. Master of Kurain Village."
His hand was firm and cold to the touch, but it also felt... safe. Protected. As if nothing would come to harm her as long as she was shaking his hand. Such a feeling from a mere two second interaction was astounding to say the least.
What was more astounding, though, was the way he didn't question Kurain Village.
"So, uh..." Maya tried to think of a topic to discuss with him. Unfortunately, she was drawing a complete blank. Fortunately, Blackquill took the initiative.
"As foolish as you seem, I'm glad Wright-dono knows someone with a fashion sense." He grinned again, but there was nothing sly about it this time. It seemed to be completely genuine.
"Oh, thank you!" Maya felt heat rush to her face. It's rare anyone compliments her clothes, most people just think she looks funny.
"Hey," Trucy huffed, "Silk hats and capes are WAY cooler than that silly overcoat you're always wearing!"
"It's a jinbaori and it's not silly!" His deadpan glare returned as he looked down at Trucy, who had a very cheeky grin stretching across her face.
A man on a skateboard suddenly rushed to their table and placed menus in their hands. The blinding speeds at which he did it left Maya momentarily stunned.
"I'm never gonna get used to that..." Athena groaned, looking as if seeing that man spin around them had left her slightly queasy.
"Maybe I should start doing something like that..." Trucy thought aloud.
"What, start dashing around on a skateboard placing advertisements in people's hands?" Phoenix seemed to genuinely ask.
"No! What if..." Trucy thought for a bit, "What if I show a deck of all the same card then make them switch entirely as I hand them out...?"
The trick was in its early stages, but clearly she had an idea. Maya remained silent, browsing her menu. At least, pretending to browse her menu. In reality her eyes were still fixed on Blackquill, who had not received one.
"Where's your menu, Simon?" She lowered hers after working up the courage to ask.
"Hmph." He huffed again. "I've been here enough times, they already know what I want."
Perks of being a regular, I suppose.
Silence befell the two yet again, and Maya was just as eager to break it. She cleared her throat and began to speak.
"Sooooooo..." Maya continued to peruse the menu, "What do you do in your free time?"
"What do you do in yours?" Blackquill answered without even turning to look at her.
"Usually... I just watch Steel Samurai stuff." She giggled as she spoke, unsure of how he would respond. "I used to do a lot more training though, sometimes it feels like I have too much time."
There was a brief moment before Simon spoke. A brief moment Maya felt him sneer in her direction.
"A Steel Samurai fan?"
"Huge one." Maya replied, trying to pretend she wasn't deathly afraid right now. "Have been for a while!"
"Can't say I'm too much of a fan myself," he slumped lazily in his chair, thinking. "A real samurai show? I suggest the likes of Senshi no Akademī or Kaifuku no Uta."
Maya did her best to hide her confusion, considering she had no idea what he was saying.
"Steel Samurai is made for children, and it unfortunately shows." He groaned, sitting back up in his chair, "The overdramatic mockeries of what a samurai really was are far too overbearing to be passed off."
Insulting her she could take. Inviting himself to the table was bearable. Speaking ill of the Steel Samurai? That was an unforgivable crime.
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Maya yelled, attracting the attention of several other customers. "Overdramatic? Are you out of your mind?!"
She balled her hands into fists and put them on the table, completely forgetting about her menu. "There's nothing overdramatic about it! The fights are intense, the stakes are always perfect, the side plot of his and the Pink Princess' love couldn't have been done better! Each scene is racked with tension and soul, it's exactly what any show ever should aspire to be!"
The others at the table were just looking around, waiting for her to stop. Almost everyone in the building had their eyes locked on her.
Maya's face burned red—hotter than the heat outside could ever make it feel—as she crumbled back into her chair upon realising she had stood up in her blind rage. Blackquill was simply staring at her, blankly.
She shrank into her seat under the crushing weight of all the eyes upon her, when she heard a laugh. It seemed almost mocking, but also warm at the same time.
It was Blackquill—he was in absolute hysterics.
Something about it; Maya just couldn't help but start laughing too.
Soon the staring dissipated and everyone returned to their own conversations. Between her laughs, Maya let out a sigh of relief.
"I see Wright-dono's conviction is contagious to all who enter his office." Simon calmed his laugh down enough to speak, but was still snickering.
"Y-Yeah," Maya agreed, nerves still a little wracked from before, "I guess so!"
The other three at the table seemed to just be happy they were friendly again. This certainly isn't what they expected these two meeting to be like.
When Simon's laughing finally died down, so to did his smirk.
"I read."
"Huh?" Maya cocked her head as her own giggling died down.
"In my free time." Blackquill met her eyes again, "I read."
Something in his eyes looked... misty. Like he was reminiscing upon something.
"I used to go out a lot more... walks in parks and all that." He leaned his forearms against the table as he continued. "I suppose I simply became climatised to the isolation of death row. Now I find more comfort on my own then I do around others... books and manga—anything readable really—are more than enough to fulfill my social needs now."
Maya tried to pay attention to his every word, but her brain just couldn't detach from two words in particular. Two words that stuck with her more than anything else Simon has said so far.
'Death row?' She thought it herself.
The skateboarding man reappeared, this time actually speaking with them.
"What'sh it gunna be?" He sounded beyond wasted.
Athena, Trucy and Phoenix ordered fine, but when Maya's turn came around...
"And you, Mish? Whaddya orderin'...?"
Crap, she hadn't even read the menu! And-and she couldn't just... read now! There are way too many options, she'd just be wasting the man's time—not to mention how embarrassing it'd all be...
Panicked and flustered, Maya blurted out a response without any semblance of an actual thought: "I-I'll have what he's having!"
It wasn't until a moment later she realised who she had just pointed at.
"Simey...?" The skateboarding man tilted his head and squinted at the samurai, whose own gaze had turned to look down at Maya.
Maya looked up at him with a nervous smile, unaware of what she was even ordering.
To her disbelief, Simon turned his head up to respond to the waiter.
"Yes, it's quite alright." He said with a nod.
The man just shrugged before riding off again.
"Maya, do you even know what you're ordering?" Athena questioned with an exasperated expression.
"Not a clue!" Maya instantly responded, clapping her palms together and beaming. It was enough to earn a Hmph™ from Blackquill.
Maya's usual whimsy died down again when she remembered what had caught her up just a few minutes ago. Blackquill had mentioned being on death row, had he not? Obviously, she didn't want to reopen an old wound but... that's not a statement that can just be so easily ignored.
"Um, Simon..." She began. The way he side-eyed her kept her frozen for at least a second. "Did you mention something about, um... death row...?"
His face went stern and cold again at the question.
"O-Oh no, you don't have to talk about it if-"
"It's fine."
He cut off her panic with reassurance.
"It would be... twelve years ago now, I believe." Simon looked blankly at the wall across from him. "A normal day turned into the murder of my mentor... for which it seemed her own daughter was guilty of—at least, for those who didn't know the two."
Maya listened intently, making sure not to miss a single detail. Blackquill eventually bought his eyes down to look into Maya's, though there was something off about them. They seemed almost soft.
"I wouldn't allow my mentor's own daughter to be accused of her murder, so I took the fall." Maya's eyes widened as he spoke. "I confessed to it all. My punishment? Death."
"You did all that for...?" She was in absolute awe. This kind of dedication is something she thought only Phoenix capable of.
"... It's a samurai's duty to serve his master, no matter what. I was merely doing what I was meant to, no?" What seemed like the beginnings of a smile appeared on his face. A genuine, full-hearted smile.
"I spent every waking moment searching for the real culprit. Every hour my eyes would stay open." The smile started to fade. "Who would have thought that the girl who I'd taken the fall for would end up coming to the rescue, going to Europe and becoming a lawyer for the sake of proving my innocence."
Going to Europe? Becoming a lawyer...? This was all starting to sound a little familiar to Maya, almost as if the mentor's daughter in question was sitting right across from her...
"Alas... I made it off death row, and helped find the real killer to boot." The smile came back, looking bigger than before. "Truly, I am blessed to be in the presence of such kind souls as these."
To think it would be this man who would warm the heart of everyone at the table, except for Maya. A thought had come to her while he explained his harrowing tale. Those markings around Simon's eyes, she'd seen them before. Spend enough time getting arrested for crimes you didn't commit and you're bound to stumble across someone with them.
"Simon..." she began, "you said every waking moment, but..."
"What, do you doubt me?" He said with a snide tone and sarcastic smirk.
"...Those are from tears. The marks around your eyes."
"Wha—?!" He looked taken aback.
"I've spent enough time arrested myself," Maya spoke softly, "I know what those are, I nearly had them myself."
"You... have been arrested?" Simon's outrage quickly became intrigue.
"Three times, actually... the first time though..."
"...that was for my sister's murder."
Blackquill, a man who had seemed most stubborn and cold from the moment they had met, could not hold back his true self any longer. His eyes were filled with empathy, his face ripe with sorrow—undeniably, he felt terrible for the girl.
"...Nick saved me though, every time." Maya smiled back up at the huge man, and expression that betrayed the story she had just told.
As she and Blackquill silently looked into eachother's eyes, the latter's frown turned into a smile of admiration.
"Clearly I misjudged you, Miss Fey," he said, "I had thought you to be someone unaware of this world's turmoil... though I see now that I ought to look up to you."
"O-Oh?" The compliment was more than unexpected.
"We've been through similar struggles, yet only one of us can still smile so easily." Simon said, breaking the eye contact they had been maintaining for god knows how long. His eyes turned to the table as he leaned against it with his forearms.
"Aww," Maya nervously cooed, "you do ought to smile some more though! It really helps!"
"Hmph." Simon huffed, "I don't have any good reasons to smile, unfortunately."
"Oh, c'mon!" Maya giggled. What came out her mouth next, however, would turn this entire conversation upside down. Unsure what to say and how to convince him, Maya just blurted out a thought that had been in the forefront of her mind since the first time Blackquill grinned.
"I think you look cute when you smile!"
Almost all noise at the table ceased as Simon's head flung upwards, eyes widened as far as they could be. A sudden gasp of delight from Athena, a stifled giggle from Trucy and Phoenix spitting out water from a bottle he had been drinking were the only sounds that could be heard.
Maya just sat there, perplexed. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Simon cleared his throat, but took a few seconds to actually speak. "N-No, nothing."
Trucy was struggling greatly not to laugh, unlike Athena next to her who looked quite excited to say the least.
"Whaaaat?" Athena spoke up, "You can do it, come on!"
"Do what?" Blackquill snapped back at her.
"I think she's referring to-" Phoenix tried to say, keyword being 'tried'.
"There's nothing to refer to!" Simon's face was tinged slightly red, and sweat was forming on his brow, "I swear, you people will be the death of me..."
"What's going on?" Maya was just getting more and more confused as time went on. She thought over her words, unable to find a problem, so what did she do? She echoed them, of course!
"Is this about how you have a cute smile?" She asked, blissfully unaware of what she sounded like she was doing.
Trucy couldn't hold back for another second—her laugh reverberating throughout the whole building only made Blackquill's despair deepen.
He cupped his face in his hands, silently begging it would all end. That a hole would open under his chair and take him under.
"Mister—Mister Blackquill," Trucy managed to push out through her uncontrollable laughter, "I—I never knew you—you... had such a fantastic way w-with woHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
How humiliating it must be, Maya thinks, to be a death row survivor and highly skilled prosecutor getting laughed at by an 18 year old magician.
"At least try, Simon!" Athena rolled her eyes dramatically, "I mean, seriously? Even I could do better!"
"Do WHAT better?!" Blackquill was insistent that there was no other meaning behind Maya's words, fooling no one but Maya herself.
"Um," Phoenix leaned over to the man and tapped him, "You okay there, Prosecutor Blackquill?"
He did not respond.
Maya mulled over her words again and again, and eventually, after all the humiliation, she finally realised just why it had set everyone off.
"Wait..." Everyone saw in her face the revelation she had just made, "Wait! Waitwaitwait! No! Nonono I didn't mean it like THAT!"
"Y—You sure?" Trucy asked, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Yes!" Maya pouted and balled her hands into fists, "I've only met him once, why would I...?!"
Phoenix couldn't help himself from muttering 'love at first sight' under his breath.
"I heard that!" Maya pointed at him, earning a very dishonest apology from the barb-headed lawyer.
As if it were aid sent by the Holy Mother herself, that tipsy waiter came by again with their long awaited food.
"O-Oh, look!" Maya turned to point at the approaching waiter, "Finally, our food!"
Trucy was face down on the table laughing and didn't notice the box being placed in front of her. Athena just watched it disapprovingly, courtesy of her disappointment in Blackquill. Phoenix casually thanked the waiter. Maya did the same, hoping to very quickly move on from what had just happened.
Blackquill lifted his head out of his hands slowly, undeniably humiliated, and tried his best to eat his food.
An awkward near-silence looked over the table, the only thing keeping it there—the giggles of an enraptured magician against the table surface—never ceasing to remind them of why they weren't talking.
Maya wanted to open her mouth to speak, but she felt she knew better now. Last time that happened, it caused this silence.
Instead, she stabilised her hand, and began to eat the soba placed before her...
...Good lord it was spicy!
Maya tried to hide it, but it was obvious from her initial reaction. The sudden recoil, the way her eyes widened, her grasp on her chopsticks tightening to the point of bending and damn near snapping them. Khur'ain had its fair share of spice but this was something else! She'd built enough of a tolerance that she could eat most things spicy but clearly not enough to overcome whatever was used for this soba. It felt as if the devil himself had emerged from the deepest pits of hell solely to encapsulate her in the hottest flames imaginable while-
"Maya, you okay?" Athena squinted at Maya as she mused ever so dramatically inside her head.
"M—mhm!' Maya hummed back, somehow finding a way to stutter it in her shock and anguish.
Everyone saw her face was flushed red, that she was fighting the urge to freak out. They sat waiting for the moment she would break, the moment it became too much. Trucy stopped her laughing and lifted her head up to look. Even that wasn't enough to break her.
It seemed almost as if she was going to tough it out, Maya did have experience when it comes to keeping bright even at her worst times, though it all came crashing down when she looked all around the table and her eyes fell upon the man next to her.
Simon had lifted his head, finally, and set his gaze on Maya. Watching her fight the spice, her face running red, her eyes squinting, it was all quite humourous to him. Serves her right, too, after humiliating him like that.
That smile saw the light of day again, and ultimately spelt disaster for the poor medium.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
The table erupted into laughter once more as Maya let out the pain in a mighty screech. Amidst it all: a deep, hearty chuckle, one that almost distracted her from the pain.
"How—how do you-" Maya downed the bottle of water Phoenix passed to her, "HOW do you EAT that?!"
Blackquill continued to chuckle as he picked up his own chopsticks and took a bite of his soba, not even flinching.
"A true samurai is always honing his skills," a cocksure grin covered his face as he prepared another bite, "Be it with a blade, all the way to his palate."
The pain may have been unbearable, but it had an almost sweet taste at the end. Sure, she suffered greatly and became the laughing stock of the building, but at least she had it in her to cheer up Blackquill after such humiliation.
At least she had it in her to make him smile.