It's short, so I apologise. As for the quality, I leave that to you to make up your minds on on :3
Edit: Fixed all the most obvious mistakes. That's why you shouldn't post stories at 5am ^^;

Picking Up and Moving On

He'd told Apollo he was going. Why he had done this, Klavier was unsure. He'd needed to tell someone, and the defence attorney had been right there. This was probably how said defence attorney's little sister came to know and was to be found standing outside his office as he headed out of the door.

"There you are!" Trucy exclaimed, sounding like she'd been waiting a while. "Are we all ready to go?"

"...what?" Klavier asked, still too busy taking in the young magician's sudden appearance to listen properly. "Where are we going, Fraulein?"

"You know where you were going. I want to come with you."

Klavier took another few seconds to try and determine what she was talking about. When he finally did understand, he shook his head. "Nein, nein. Sorry, but you aren't coming with me."

"What? Why not?"

"Quite apart from anything, Herr Forehead would kill me," Klavier replied, walking down the hallway towards the door.

"That isn't fair!" Trucy objected, hurrying along and trying to keep in stride with the tall prosecutor. "Polly's been, hasn't he?"

"Ja, he has, and you saw how much it upset him."

Trucy paused for a second, and Klavier found himself stopping with her automatically. "Apollo is easily upset, though," she reasoned.

Klavier didn't attempt to argue the point. "That's true. But surely Herr Wright wouldn't want you there either?"

Trucy snorted. "Daddy isn't stupid, Klavier. He knows I want to go. He understands why I need to, but if you don't, I guess I could go alone some other time..."

Klavier found himself laughing, despite the fact nothing was particularly funny. The girl certainly knew how to twist a situation. "Alright," he said finally. "Let's go, then."

If Kristoph Gavin was at all surprised to see the girl there with his younger brother, he didn't say so or show any sign of it. Instead, he smiled, the same smile that Klavier had grown up trusting and which now sent a chill down his spine just to look at.

"Good evening, Klavier, How nice of you to visit."

Klavier kept his face determinedly neutral as Trucy took a seat beside him in silence. "You asked me here," he reminded his brother in a dull tone. "It isn't a social visit. Tell me what you want and I'll leave."

"Ah, Klavier, where has your respect gone?" Kristoph asked. "I am your older brother, after all."

Klavier saw it then, the glint of insanity in the man's eyes, and felt nothing but revulsion, "Tell me what you want, and I'll leave," he repeated in the same neutral tone.

"Have you seen Crescend recently, Klavier? I saw him just the other day. I do believe he's insane."

"That makes two of you," Klavier replied through gritted teeth.

Kristoph smiled again. "Perhaps," he said calmly."But then again, that tends to happen to people close to you, doesn't it, Klavier? I can't imagine how it must feel, knowing that you're personally responsible for sending your brother and your best friend to their deaths."

Klavier said nothing. He knew his brother was trying to get at him, and yet he felt himself pale, felt the bile rise in his throat as the impact of the words hit him.

"Yes," Kristoph continued, and the glint was back in his eye again, more terrifying than before. "Since Mr...LeTouse, was it? An Interpol agent, I believe. The police will stake their pride on ridding the world of Daryan Crescend. And I...I, the demented serial killer of an attorney. I imagine my death will be a particularly painful one. Hanging, perhaps. A nice, long, sufferng death. After all the effort you and Justice and his dear mentor put in to get me here, you only deserve it, dont you ag-"

"Stop it!" a voice commanded, and Klavier turned his head to see Trucy on her feet. "Leave him alone!" She glared at Kristoph for a few seconds, and then turned to Klavier, looking worried. "You look awful. Are you alright?"

"I...I'm...don't worry about me, Fraulein, I'm alright," Klavier replied. This, of course, was a lie, and he was well aware that she was just as capable of seeing through it as her brother was. "Perhaps we should leave, ja?"

"Well, I..." Trucy started, looking back at Kristoph. Klavier, too, looked around, although he could barely look at the face anymore.

Kristoph's eerily gentle smile turned into a rather sadistic looking grin. "Miss Enigmar, was it? Or is it Gramarye?"

"My name is Trucy Wright, actually," Trucy replied, in a voice as calm as his was. "Although the other two work just fine. Though I'm sure you knew that already."

"Very well, Miss Wright, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but go ahead."

"How does it feel to stare at the man who killed your father?"

Now Klavier was on his feet too. "You go too far, Kristoph. Leave her be."

Beside him, Trucy was silent. Then, in a quiet voice, she spoke. "No, Klavier, it's okay," she said. "It's a fair question. Actually, Mr Gavin, I guess it feels kind of like staring at the girl who helped put you on Death Row."

There was nothing said for a heartbeat. Klavier stared at Trucy, and then looked to his brother. Kristoph's face momentarily was filled with the utmost rage and then...

"Brava, Miss Wright," Kristoph said, applauding. "Well played."

Trucy was silent once more as she sank back into her seat. Klavier remained standing, unsure of how to react to what had just happened.

"Doesn't my mere existence scare you at all?" Kristoph asked.

"Nope," Trucy replied in a tone of forced lightness. "Actually, I feel sorry for you."

"Because I am sentenced to die? Surely it is a fitting punishment for one such as myself."

"No, not because of that," Trucy answered. "I pity you, Mr Gavin, because you've lost everything. Your sanity, your job, your family..."

Kristoph was staring right back at her. "But look, Miss Wright. My brother stands beside you."

"Does he really?" Trucy asked, turning to face Klavier with a smile on her face. "Hey, Klavier, is that guy there your brother?"

Klavier looked back, trying to decipher the meaning of her words. She seemed to be trying to tell him something in her stare. He felt a strange desire to laugh. So this was what Apollo meant when he complained about the Wrights' inability to say anything normally.

"My brother, Kristoph Gavin, looked out for me," Klavier began slowly. "He was the kind of person you could look up to. I did. I wanted, more than anything, to be like my brother. He was intelligent, caring, strong...so in answer to your question, Fraulein, nein. This man is not my brother. He is a shade of him, a ghost filling the part Kris used to fill."

Trucy reached over and patted his arm in an attempt at comfort. It wasn't much, but Klavier understood and was grateful. He watched as she turned back to face Kristoph. "See?" she said simply.

Kristoph's eyes had a demonic, twisted look now, but his expression was being forcibly kept semi-neutral. "A fair exchange then, wouldn't you agree? My family for yours, Miss Wright?"

Klavier almost reacted angrily again, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Trucy smile. It wasn't a happy smile, more one of grim determination. She'd been expecting this.

"I wouldn't say that, no," she replied. Her usually bubbly voice was icy, and Klavier knew she was doing all she could to hold it together. He knew the feeling. "You see, Mr Gavin, I actually came here to thank you."

"Thank me?" Kristoph repeated. He sounded mildly intrigued.

"Yes, thank you. For my family. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have Daddy. Or Apollo. It's only because of you that I have either of them, and you deserve my thanks."

The look on Kristoph's face at that moment was priceless. He was furious,and he was showing it.

"We can leave now if you want to, Klavier," Trucy added. Klavier heard her voice crack and decided now was probably the best time to leave.

"Goodbye, Kristoph." It was impossible to miss the finality of Klavier's words as he turned to face the exit. He would not be back.

"Oh, by the way," Trucy said behind him, her voice once again a strained bubbliness. "Daddy's retaking the bar exam, did you know?"

The sound of utter frustration and hatred which escaped from Kristoph at that moment was heard throughout the entire building.

Outside the building, sitting on the low wall surrounding it, Trucy seemed unable to stop herself from finally crying, clinging to Klavier's arm and apologising as she did so. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I don't know why I'm crying, I..."

"Shh, Fraulein, it's alright," Klavier assured her. "You don't need to apologise. You're a braver person than I am."

"Just as I was beginning to like you, Klavier, I find you making my daughter cry."

Both looked up at the sound of the new voice to see two men walking towards them, equal measures of concern on both of their faces.

"Apollo told me where you would be," Phoenix added as Trucy was passed from Klavier to him.

"What did he say to her?" Apollo demanded, glancing worriedly as his still-sobbing sister held onto her father as though he was some sort of life preserver.

"He tried to get at her," Klavier admitted. "And at me. I think she's more overwhelmed than anything, though."

"Overwhelmed?" Apollo asked cautiously, as if he was worried about what the explanation would be.

"Ja, you should have heard her," Klavier replied, grinning. "Didn't give him an inch, did you, Fraulein?"

Trucy turned her face to look at them. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said innocently,wiping her eyes.

"I can imagine," Phoenix put in dryly.

"Hey, Daddy, be nice. I'm upset," Trucy frowned as she said this, hands on hips.

"Recovery complete, I take it?" Apollo asked, staring at his sister with nothing short of disbelief.

Klavier snorted. "What more did you expect, Herr Forehead?" he pointed out.

"Well I think we should go out for dinner," Trucy said, ignoring them both. "To cheer me up."

Phoenix nodded, looking serious. "Alright. So which of you two gentlemen are paying?"

Laughing at the indignant expression on Apollo's face, Klavier said, "I'll pay. Where are we going?"

Phoenix looked at Trucy. "Well?" he asked.

"We should go to the Borscht Bowl Club. You get an employee discount there, right?"

Silence.

"What? Why are you all staring at me?" Trucy demanded.

"I think that she honestly has no idea what's wrong with that," Apollo said finally.

"Nein, I don't think that's it, is it Fraulein? You're just good at picking up and moving on," Klavier said thoughtfully.

"Actually, I just like cheap food," Trucy replied.

"That's my girl," Phoenix laughed as the four headed away from the building; Apollo shaking his head and sighing, the other three laughing and Klavier knowing he'd finally said goodbye to his brother for good.

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