The New Turnabout Part 3

"Mmmmmm!" Mr. Luv puffed his cheeks out angrily, sweating slightly. "...Fine. Fine! I didn't want to say it, Mr. Defence, but if you are accusing me, I have no choice!"

(What is it this time?)

"You're right. I did keep my store open until 11:30, and I saw something out in the darkness of the night." Mr. Luv mumbled. "I now know, that it was Mr. Max's murder!"

"Huh!?" I cried.

"Mr. Luv, you saw the murder happen, and didn't testify!?" Judge accused.

"As I said, it was dark, and I saw nothing but silhouettes." Mr. Luv explained. "I could hardly tell you anything concrete, so I thought it wouldn't be very useful. So-RRY!"

(Wouldn't be useful!? I highly doubt it!) "And what does that have to do with the broken mitamah, huh?"

"Why, I just wanted to have a look at such a beautiful stone, I promise I was going to return it afterwards!" He pleaded.

(How quick you change your tone. You were saying you didn't even copy it a second ago!)

"But, it happened when Mr. Max came to my store that evening...he...oh, it's too awful to even say!" Mr. Luv gasped.

"I'm sure you can grin and bear it." I hissed.

"Mr. Max he...he stole the mitamah!" He gasped.

"What? Stole it?" I echoed.

"Yes! He saw me studying it, and demanded that I handed it over to him!" Mr. Luv gasped.

"That was Ms. Fey's prized possession, and you supposedly just handed it over!?" I asked.

"If you were in my shoes, you'd understand!" Mr. Luv cried. "He was so vicious!"

"What reason would Darren Max have to steal your stolen mitamah?" I pressed.

"Borrowed! Borrowed! Oh, so quick to accuse me!" Mr. Luv sighed. "Haven't myself and Ms. Fey already described his frightening personality to you? I'm relieved he didn't take anything else!"

"I believe I can provide additional information to this." Payne chimed in. "Upon investigation of Mr. Max's body, it was discovered that he had various expensive watches, brooches, and other trinkets on his person all reported to be stolen. From this, its not difficult to suggest that he was a petty thief."

"So...he wasn't a musician, but a wandering thief?" I guessed.

"He went around calling himself a musician, but I highly doubt he could afford food every day being a 'travelling musician', of course he'd resort to being a thief. And that is why he stole the mitamah at the optimum opportunity!" Mr. Luv went on.

(Now he's basing an argument off of that...I'd better see if I can gain anything from this new info.) I reasoned.

"Your Honor, the defence requests to find more information about the victim, in light of this new information." I requested.

"That seems a little unorthodox, defence." Judge frowned. "You wish to have a recess just to obtain background on the victim, which you should already understand?"

"N-No need for a recess Your Honor. One moment, please." I took out my phone and opened the search engine. (...The Wi-Fi in the courtroom is surprisingly good.)

The judge looked at me wide-eyed. "...Defence, dare I ask, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking up past newspaper articles, Your Honor." I told him.

"You can read the newspaper on a phone?" Judge shook his head. "I have heard everything now."

(He's practically living in the dark ages.) I thought, before I found what I was looking for.

"Here, Your Honor. This is a past newspaper article on Darren Max." I showed my phone to him. "He apparently was once quite a talented musician, but it seems the fame turned his personality sour and lost him most of his fans, ending his career. This probably spurred him into a life of crime, making it quite important to the case at hand."

"Ah, I see. Though I must admit, I've never heard of any of his songs." Judge said.

(I have no doubt, Your Honor. He played heavy metal, after all.) I thought.

"Since this holds significance towards the victim, we shall add the article to the court record." Judge nodded. "Now then, witness, you were...talking about a new testimony?"

"Yes, dear judge, and it shall finally be all the proof you need." Mr. Luv boasted.

(We'll see about that. C'mon then, Mr. Luv, let's here it.)

"Darren Max approached my shop that night and demanded the candy and mitamah stone. After he left, I indeed kept my store open until 11:30, at which time I saw something. I could see two shadows fighting, and could now tell that they were Darren Max and Pearl Fey. The second shadow grabbed the first by the arm and tripped Max up, who fell to the ground, before the second shadow ran off."

"So you actually kept your store open, and you saw the murder happen?" I recalled. "That's crucial evidence, which you denied in your earlier testimony!"

"Was it really so 'crucial', defence?" Payne countered. "The two shadows the witness descried can only be likened to Mr. Max and Ms. Fey because of all earlier evidence put forward. And even so, it is telling us what we already know, in a vague sense."

(You keep telling yourself that, but I'll be the judge!...Er, I mean, defendant!) I thought.

"Hmm...I admit, I don't know what to think." Judge admitted. "Mr. Case, perhaps your cross-examination will settle things."

"Of course, Your Honor." I nodded, before listening.

(Hmm...there's definitely something off about his supposed recollection of events...maybe I should focus more...)

"HOLD IT!"

"Why didn't you call the police when you saw one of the shadows collapse?" I asked, referring to his last sentence.

"At the time, I thought Darren Max had just assed out drunk. I would NE-ver have guessed that he had jut been murdered right in front of me!" Mr. Luv defended himself.

"And you didn't even think to go and check on him?" I pressed.

"I didn't even wanna go near that man again after he threatened me so!" Mr. Luv cried.

"Not even to get back the stolen mitamah?" I continued.

"You're very persistent." Mr. Luv went off topic. "I'll just keep telling you the same thing."

"You sound a bit desperate, defence. Still too inexperienced to make useful contributions?" Payne asked.

(Like heck!) I twisted my cowslip in thought. (This guys changed his testimony so much, there has to be an error in it somewhere. I'd better check the evidence again.) I listened to the testimony again. (...Ah-ha!)

"OBJECTION!"

"Sorry, Mr. Luv, but there is yet another contradiction in your testimony." I stated.

"Oooooh, now what?" He huffed, annoyed.

"You said that the 'second shadow' grabbed the victim by the arm, right?" I took out the evidence. "But as we can see on the victims jacket, there is only one set of handprints on it, when Ms. Fey picked it up earlier."

"Urp!" Mr. Luv gulped. "L-Like I said! It was dark, I couldn't make out anything clearly!"

"Th-This still doesn't excuse the obvious sign of murder!" Payn backed him up. "The injury to the victims left shin proves that he was tripped, causing him to fall!"

"...I wonder about that, Mr. Payne." I smirked.

"Wh-What do you mean?" He sweated.

"I don't think that injury was caused by someone, let alone Ms. Fey." I elaborated.

"Mr. Case, are you saying that the injury isn't tied to the case?" Judge asked.

"I am, Your Honor." I nodded.

"In that case, can you support that claim with evidence?" Judge added.

I held up my phone. "If I can direct your attention to the newspaper article about the victim. If you will notice, there is a related article about his short-lived music career. One of the moments mentioned is a time when Darren Max injured his left shin after falling off a table at one of his parties."

"That is unfortunate!" Judge exclaimed.

"Agh! Y-You!" Payne gasped.

"I think you know what I'm talking about, prosecutor." I slammed my fist on the desk. "Darren Max received that injury far before his time of death!"

"Nooooo!" Payne yelled.

(Alright! I did it! I eliminated all the evidence which was used against Ms. Fey!) I actually felt quite proud of myself. (Let's see you get out of this one, Payne!)

"It seems that there is no more evidence against Ms. Fey." Judge voice my thoughts. "Prosecution? Anything to add?"

"I...I..." Payne took a moment to compose himself. "I believe...the defence is correct."

"...Huh?" (He's...agreeing with me? What kind of madness is this?)

"All evidence presented has proven to be either unrelated to or unused by Ms. Fey." Payne spoke. "However, that leaves no evidence which can point to a third party for murder. Therefore, it can only stand to reason, that the death of Darren Max was, as the defence suggested...accidental."

"H-Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh!?" I gasped, my lightning stands standing on edge.

"...The prosecution has a point." Judge agreed. "All of the evidence has been disproven, so there is nothing left to interpret in the case of a murder."

(He's really going for this!?) I thought. (Knowing he couldn't get a full successful prosecution after all of this...he's trying to settle for a neutral case!?)

"Ex-CUSE me!? Are you just going to ignore me!?" Mr. Luv cried out in protest. "I told you! I saw him that night, and it was definitely Ms. Fey with him!"

"As you yourself said, Mr. Luv, it was dark that night. Your sight was most likely just playing tricks on you, making you see a second figure. When in actual fact, the victim simply collapsed." Payne dismissed him.

"!" Mr. Luv puffed his cheeks angrily.

(He's even going against his own witness...he's that desperate to not lose?)

"If the prosecution wants to call for a case of accidental death, and there is no more evidence to prove otherwise, I see no point in continuing this trial." Judge reasoned. "Mr. Case. You can also agree on an incident of accidental death, and we shall have our trial."

(This is a real decision...) I thought. (If I agree with Payne, and say it was a case of accidental death, then Ms. Fey will be able to walk away free...But on the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong here...)

"Defence? Your answer?" Judge urged.

"I...I mean, the defence pleads..." I paused, thinking hard about my decision.

"...The defence...asserts that the case was indeed an act of murder! Committed by a third party!"

"Whaaaaaaat!?" Payne cried, causing the gallery to chatter frantically.

Judge banged his gavel. "D-Defence! I hope you realise what you are insinuating! I find it hard to understand! There is no more evidence that can point towards a third party!"

"M-Maybe that is the case, Your Honor..." I admitted. "However...there is still one thing we haven't considered yet!"

"Really? And what is that?" Judge gasped.

"U-Um, th-that is..." (Crud, I didn't think that far ahead...but I know something is fishy here! Let me think...) "We haven't considered..."

"Go on, then." Payne quipped.

"We...haven't thought about the way the victim could of died." I got that on the spot.

"What do you mean, Mr. Case?" Judge asked.

"Well, this whole time, we've been thinking that the victim fell and hit the rock, causing his death." I recapped. "But what if, instead, the rock itself was used as a murder weapon? Surely if the rock was swung down on the victims head, the impact alone would be enough to kill him."

"That does seem like a possibility." Judge said. "But what are you basing this off of, Mr. Case?"

"Oh uh...that is..." (I jumped into that rashly again! Think, Eren! Could anything in the court record support my theory?) "...This could very well support the notion, Your Honor."

"The autopsy report?" Judge asked.

"The report states that the victim died from blunt trauma to the head." I pointed out. "If he had fallen on the rock, then wouldn't it be more plausible to think that he would have died of blood loss instead of the blow?"

"The defence makes a good point." Judge mumbled.

"Pure speculation, Your Honor." Payne disagreed. "No fingerprints were found on the rock upon investigation."

(Oh no you don't! I need to push forward with this theory at all costs!) "If someone was wearing gloves, they could use the rock as a weapon without leaving fingerprints."

"Supposedly...but, Mr. Case, do you have a suspect to back up your, frankly, desperate claim?" Judge persisted.

(Pull no punches, do you Your Honor?) "I do have a suspect!" I looked through the profiles. "And it's the man currently standing in the witness box!"

"Whaaaaat!?" Mr. Luv jumped. "Y-You're accusing ME!?"

The gallery chattered loudly, making Judge bang his gavel. "Mr. Case! That's a very serious accusation to make!" Judge shook his head. "I'm beginning to think you a few screws loose!"

"This lawyer machine is working just fine, Your Honor." I assured him. "The glove does seem to fit Mr. Luv...so to speak."

"That's...ridiculous!" Mr. Luv puffed his cheeks angrily.

"Absolutely! Your basing your accusation off of the fact that Mr. Luv wears gloves alone!? Stupid!" Payne cried, whilst sweating.

"That's right! You have absolutely nothing against me!" Mr. Luv yelled.

(That seems to be true...and yet...do I really have nothing against him?) I pondered, twirling my cowslip. (Do I have a piece of evidence tying him to the murder? In any way?) I looked at the evidence. (Focus...really focus...) I stared at each one, very carefully. (...Hold on...is that...!?)

I slammed my fist down. "Actually, I DO have something against you."

"What!?" He shouted.

"M-Mr. Case! Do you actually have such proof!?" Judge gasped.

"Yes, Your Honor." I held the evidence out. "Please look at the crime photo once more. Consider the candy wrapper found next to the body. Look really carefully at it."

"...I...can't see what you mean, Mr. Case." Judge admitted.

"Oh, right." I mumbled. "The wrapper actually has a kanji on it."

"A...kanji?" Judge repeated.

"That's right. Now, referring back to the newspaper article, it details the production of an incredibly strong sake, which was popular at the time, and used on various foods and treats to get people drunk incredibly easily." I explained. "It was identified by the kanji pictured here. Seem familiar?"

"Th-That's!" Payne gasped.

I nodded. "Exactly. The two kanji's match! Which means that the candy Mr. Luv gave to Mr. Max, was not coffee at all, but sake candy!"

"Aargh!" He gasped.

I slammed my fist. "You've lied in court again, Mr. Luv! You gave the victim an incredibly strong sake in candy form! And seeing that there are, as was stated, no bars in Kurain Village." I pointed at him. "You're the one who got the victim drunk the night of his death!"

"Aaaaargh!" Mr. Luv cried.

"No waaaaaaay!" Payne gasped.

I smiled confidently. "And the thing is...I highly doubt a drunk Darren Max, a petty thief, would have been able to take Ms. Fey's mitamah from you. Meaning that you still had it at the time of his death!"

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Mr. Luv bit down harder on his lollipop sticks. "Speculation! Nothing but speculation! Even if I did get him drunk, even if I did still have the mitamah, what possible motive would I have for killing him!?"

"T-This trial took a turn for the unexpected!" Judge gasped. "But even so, the evidence now against you Mr. Luv is quite strong. Defence? Do you have anything to add?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, Your Honor." I smiled. "Mr. Luv, I think I have a good inkling as to why you killed Darren Max. And I'll prove it with this piece of evidence right here!"

"The...mitamah?" Payne asked.

"From the beginning, I thought there was something funny about it." I spoke. "The mitamah being broken...I don't think that would be possible if it was merely dropped. And seeing as we have already established that Mr. Luv had the mitamah on his person...I think he had something to do with this."

"Nnnnnnnnggggggghhhh!" Mr. Luv ground his teeth.

"You planted Ms. Fey's mitamah as fake evidence Mr. Luv! But even so, there was no need for it to be broken! And yet, you knew it was an item of great importance and significance to Ms. Fey...something she cherished..." I slammed my fist down. "You broke her mitamah surely out of spite towards her!"

"Gaaaaaaaaaah!" He yelled.

"You seem to have some hatred towards my client, considering your tendency to point a finger at her throughout this trial." I went on. "So, when a washed-up nobody like Darren Max arrived in town, you took the opportunity, to kill someone nobody would miss, and then place the blame on the person you hate!"

"Y-You...damn...!" He grunted.

"Mr. Luv! There is not one ounce of your namesake in your heart!" I pointed at him. "Confess! You got Darren Max drunk, killed him with the rock, and blamed Pearl Fey!"

"NnnnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Mr. Luv grabbed his heart-shaped box of chocolates and tore it in half, mking chocolate hearts fly everywhere, and hit him on the head, as his lollipop sticks snapped in two after he bit down on them so hard.

"...Mr. Luv?" Judge asked.

"Stupid...stupid spirit mediums!" Mr. Luv panted. "I hate her...I hate her entire family!...I...I was supposed to get her sent to jail...then her family name would be ruined! Maya Fey...I hate you!"

"Bailiff! Take him away!" Judge cried, as the force came in and dragged Mr. Luv out.

"N-no...first Wright...and now...I lost to a mere novice!?" Payne sobbed, his tuft of hair falling off his head. "Maybe I should just give up being a prosecutor..."

(I...I did it! I actually did it! I defended Ms. Fey, and got Mr. Luv to confess!) Suffice to say, I was ecstatic.

"Mr. Case, I think i speak for everybody in this courtroom when I say you surprised us all." Judge nodded. "Excellent work, for your first trial."

"Th-Thank you, Your Honor." I blushed at the praise.

"Now then, I think it's time for me to give my verdict." Judge declared. "The court finds the defendant, Pearl Fey..."

Not Guilty

And thus, confetti rained down on us all, as Ms. fey smiled brightly.

"Court is adjourned!" Judge announced with a bang of his gavel.

February 3rd, 12:03

Defendant Lobby, Courtroom No. 5

I found myself waiting in the defendant lobby, still very giddy with myself, until Ms. Fey came out. "How are you feeling, Ms. Fey?"

"Really, really great!" She beamed. "And it's all thanks to you, Mr. Case!" She peeked through her eyes in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I was so unhelpful to begin with, I didn't trust you after you just showd up, but now, I'm so happy you were here for me!"

"N-Not at all! In fact, you were a major help during that trial, Ms. Fey!" (She's too cute to ever commit murder anyway!)

"Oh, stop! You don't have to call me that!" She giggled. "Just call me Pearl."

"Alright then! Then you may call me Eren." I offered.

"In that case...thank you so much, Eren!" She smiled.

(Wow, this feels...incredibly nice.) I thought. (Saving someone innocent...I could get used to this feeling!...However...)

"There's one thing I don't understand..." I thought aloud. "Mr. Luv mentioned Maya Fey at the end there, I wonder what that was about?"

"Um...I think I know." Pearl said. "There was once this stand called 'Samurai Dogs' that Mystic Maya took me to. She said something about it 'being a poor business now that the Pink Princess was on the air', and then that stand closed down from poor sales afterward."

(S-Seriously!? One persons opinion did THAT much!?) "And...you think that Mr. Luv might've been...?"

"He looked a bit different, and his hair wasn't that curly...but they were very similar." Pearl reasoned.

"That's...ridiculous." I couldn't help but sigh. "But what's even worse is, that he took his anger for your cousin out on you. Very drastically, too!"

"W-Well, Mystic Maya is currently away training at the minute, I remember he asked me about her the first day he arrived." She sighed. "I just realised. I won't be able to get any more candy now!"

(Surely a life out of prison is more important though?)

Suddenly, the courtroom doors burst open! "PEARL!" A figure suddenly ran in and in front of the girl. "Pearl! Are you hurt!? Did they give you a guilty verdict!?"

"Mr. Nick!" She gasped. "What are you doing here!?"

(Mr. Nick? Is this someone she knows?)

"Someone from Kurain called me, they said you were arrested for murder!" The man wheezed. "Why didn't you call us!?"

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Nick...I tried pushing all those number buttons, but it didn't work!" Pearl said.

"...Oh...right..." The guy said.

(Seriously, what is going on with these two?)

"But, I'm okay, now!" Pearl nodded. "Mr. Case-um, I mean, Eren, defended me!"

The figure finally turned around to face me, and I almost wet my pants.

(Wh-Wh...WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?) I screamed in my head. (It-That's...It's Phoenix Wright! The Turnabout Terror! The greatest defence attorney to ever live! Pearl KNOWS this guy!?)

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't notice you there!" He smiled, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

(I'm...currently looking at...a living legend. His badge, it's so dazzling! His suit, the sharpest blue! His hair, even spikier in person! It...It's too much...!)

"So you defended Pearl in court? You have my deepest thanks." He nodded.

(He THANKED me! Oh god...I feel faint...no! I can't pass out in front of him!)

"My name is Phoenix Wright." He introduced himself.

(He's talking to you! Say something, otherwise, he's gonna think you're weird!)

"M-Mr Phoenix Wright..." I stammered. "I-It's an h-honor to meet you...I am...my name is E-Eren Case...d-defence attorney..."

(Smooth, Case! REAL smooth!)

"I see." Phoenix said. "I was incredibly worried about this. Pearl doesn't usually talk so openly with anybody that she doesn't know, and that would make it difficult for her to testify to a defence attorneyshe didn't know."

"Mr. Nick! You didn't have to say all of that!" Pearl argued. "Brandishing her arm from underneath her sleeve. "Besides, Mr-...Eren, is really nice!"

"Ha, I have no doubt about it." Phoenix agreed. "Mr. Case, if you don't mind, may I have a look at your attorneys badge?"

"Of course!" I reached into my pocket and frantically pulled out my bade, handing it over to him.

"Hm...it still has that new shine...did you recently graduate?" He asked.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Wright...I've been a lawyer for a few days now." I confirmed.

"I see." Phoenix nodded, as he handed me my badge back. "Was this your first case?"

"Um...yes. I'm sorry! I just jumped at the opportunity!" I told him.

"Well then, I'm glad you did, otherwise, who knows what would have happened to Pearl." Phoenix nodded. "...In fact. Here." He handed me a card. "Come to this address tomorrow. Maybe we can talk about a few things then."

(Oh my gooooooooosh!) "Y-Yes, Mr. Wright! Thank you, Mr. Wright!"

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." Phoenix laughed. "Pearl, do you want me to see you back to Kurain Village?"

"I'm not a child anymore, Mr. Nick! I'll be fine!" She assured him, showing her arm again. "Thanks again, Eren! Let's meet up again someday!" She then hurried out of the courtroom."

"There she goes." Phoenix smirked. "I'm glad she came out of this unscathed...so then, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You know it!" I agreed. (What kind of response is that!?)

"Good. I'll see you around 10, then." He nodded, before walking out of the room himself.

(Wow...I just spoke with THE Phoenix Wright...and got an invitation from him no less! This, couldn't have gone any better! I feel on top of the world!)

Guuuurgle...

(Ooohhh...) I clutched my stomach. (I just remembered...I didn't even have any breakfast before I came here! Man, I'm hungry...I'm gonna go grab a hot dog...)

And so, my first trial as a defence attorney came to a close.

Little did i realise at the time, but that first win, would open up whole new world of experiences for me.

Chapter 1: THE END

(A/N: Thank you very much to UnlockTheCure, who made the amazing new cover art for this story!)