Disclaimer: Ace Attorney and all characters are copyright by CAPCOM; I'm just a fan imitating. The stories presented are influenced by the multiple games as well as the comic (Manga written by Kenji Kuroda).

The Letter

Part 1:

A Letter to the Future

Phoenix followed Larry inside and they ran down the mostly empty corridor. The bell had already rung, and it had done so long enough for most of the students to already be in class.

As they ran toward their fourth-grade classroom, their bags swinging on their backs and adding noise and confusion to their mad dash, Larry slipped and Phoenix had gone far enough ahead of him before he noticed, that he almost lost sight of his friend.

Phoenix stopped and turned. Larry was just getting to his feet. Phoenix ran toward him, only to run into the PE teacher.

"TRUANCY!" The man shouted and pointed.

Phoenix slid past him and ran over to Larry. They passed the PE teacher again and ran toward their classroom. Fortunately for them the PE teacher was short, stubby, and ridiculously fat—Miles called him an "Aucks See Moron"—well, the man certainly was a moron.

In the safety of the classroom, Miss Pickens ordered the others to read silently to themselves before meeting Phoenix and Larry at the door.

"What happened to you two?"

Phoenix looked at Larry and Larry grinned at him. Both of them were still red faced and panting from their narrow escape from the clutches of the PE teacher, Mister Ketchum. Phoenix tried his best innocent wide-eyed stare on Miss Pickens, but she only put her hands on her hips.

She wagged her finger at the two of them, "Now, class starts at the same time everyday. There's no excuse for coming late like this—"

"But, Miss Pickens," Phoenix said and he remembered suddenly why he and Larry were late and why they were worried, "Miles wasn't at the tree stump this morning!"

"What?" Miss Pickens said.

"Well, Larry lives by me," Phoenix said, "So he comes by my house in the morning and then we meet Miles by the tree stump. He wasn't there. So we waited. Then we heard the warning bell ring and we ran to school. The second bell rang just as we got inside—but Miss Pickens, we don't know what happened to Miles!"

Miss Pickens smiled down at him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Miles didn't tell you? His father has him out for the Regional Junior Golf Championships—but he'll be in class later."

"He never said anything about golf…" Phoenix frowned a little, he felt a little betrayed—why would Miles hide something like that from him.

"Dude," Larry said, "He told us about that on Monday."

Miss Pickens smiled and nodded, "Go sit down and open your reading books—you'll have to make up what you missed during recess."

"Aww…" Larry said in protest.

Miles came in after their lesson on fractions. He looked angry and bashful at the same time. His father was with him carrying a very tall trophy with a little golfer on top and several ribbons attached to it.

Miles left his father's side immediately and ran to his desk on the other side of Larry. Phoenix looked at him and tried to get his attention without talking, but Miles had brought out his books and already had his nose stuck in one of them.

"Oh I'm very proud of him," Mister Edgeworth told Miss Pickens. They stood in the back of the class chatting while the class worked on an exercise handout. Miles had been told that he could take it for homework but he as already working on it and from what Phoenix could see, Miles was further ahead than he was.

When the bell rang for recess, Miles, Larry, and Phoenix all stood together to join the other kids. Miss Pickens stopped them with a glare.

"Larry, Nick," she said pointedly, "What did I tell you earlier?"

Both boys groaned and went back to their desks and got out their readers. Miles stood in the doorway looking at them and then his father and then the window that overlooked the playground.

"Aren't you going to go out and play?" Mister Edgeworth said.

"Yes, I would like that, sir," Miles said, "But my friends aren't allowed recess. Miss Pickens, don't I have lessons to make up as well?"

The adults chuckled together and then Mister Edgeworth told Miles to go play outside with the other kids. Phoenix tucked his nose closer to the book and tried to listen to what they were talking about. He heard Larry snore in the seat beside him.

"…it'll be part of his Christmas present."

"How sweet."

"But until I have things sorted out, I really don't have anywhere for another one of these…"

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, but as it's only a few more weeks until winter break, would you mind if this stayed in your classroom?"

"Well, normally Greg, we wouldn't have any personal awards in the classroom. But I can talk to Mister Ketchum, if you'd like. I'm sure there's room in the trophy case."

"Wonderful," Mister Edgeworth said.

"Now class," Miss Pickens said, "Today, we're going to talk about elements of time. The past, the present and the future."

The lesson was surprisingly short and simple. Phoenix heard Miles say something under his breath about things little kids should know.

At the end of the lesson the teacher was smiling broadly at the class.

"Your homework will be to write about the future. What are your plans for the future? What will you be when you grow up? What kind of job will you have? Remember, this is about the future, so you will be using future tense."

Jilly Baxter raised her hand and Phoenix's wavering attention suddenly regained focus.

"Um, Miss Pickens? How long does it have to be?"

"At least a page, Jilly… This is the future, after all…"

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think!

So, I bet you're wondering—"What the heck is this crap?"

It all started when I replayed "Rise from the Ashes" (for the hundredth time—since it's my favorite case because it has all the cool characters that only show up for that one case—anyway… The first time Phoenix sees the 'King of Prosecutors' trophy he comments on how it's kind of laying there haphazardly. Then he asks Edgeworth about it directly and Edgeworth kind of brushes it off. Phoenix, in his ubiquitous internal monologue (one of my favorite things about AA—by the way nobody monologues better than Phoenix, Apollo be damned! Phoenix Wright Forever!) comments on how Edgeworth used to show up with trophies for playing the flute or golfing… Yeah…

What? That's really what prompted this—don't ask me how my brain works…

(I've been told it might be a little broken)