Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey: two friends with quite a history of adventures and accomplishments under their belts. Taking a break from their usual legal work as lawyer and consultant, the two of them have traveled to Japan with the intention of doing more research into the history of Maya's clan. Their travel plans don't last long as they find themselves stuck in the middle of a violent crime. Though a far cry from the Los Angeles district courthouse he is used to, Phoenix finds himself taking a stand in a court in Tokyo to defend an innocent man.
(From the perspective of Phoenix Wright.)
April 9th, 7:01 pm
Shibuya Subway Train
My name is Phoenix Wright. "I'm a defense attorney" would be the short way to sum up my life, even though it's a lot more complicated in practice. Sometimes events I get wrapped into involve the supernatural, other times things just get plain ridiculous. At the end of the day, however, I'm a pretty straight forward person, and so are my values. I believe everyone deserves someone they can turn to for help in their times of need, and as a lawyer I am prepared to stand in court to defend just such people. Come to think of it, I began my career about two and a half years ago. It has been a long and tough road, but I've grown a lot as a person, and have actually made quite a name for myself in the legal world.
To elaborate on the complicated parts, well... throughout my life I've run into all kinds of interesting individuals, none more important than my assistant, Maya Fey, and my late mentor, Mia Fey. Mia taught me everything I know about law, in fact. Though she's gone from this world, I still share a strong bond with her and her sister Maya, who has since joined me at our law office as my partner. Any way you look at it, my destiny seems to be tied to the women of the Fey Clan.
—Music: Kurain Village - Justice For All—
The Fey Clan is an influential group of spirit mediums who have their origins in a distant country known as Khura'in. You heard me right, spirit mediums. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, but some special members of this clan can channel the spirits of the dead to once again communicate with us living folks. With their power, I've even seen my mentor Mia return to us for brief moments to impart some of her wisdom.
Though, Maya is still in training, and can't reliably use the technique just yet. She's getting better and better every day, though, and I believe some day she will have everything it takes to become the next head of her clan. But until then, she is trying her hardest to study and practice everything she can to become better at her art. This brings us to where I am today, sitting on a seat in this subway car in Tokyo, Japan.
To give just a little bit more explanation, the Fey clan has since migrated from Khura'in to America, where I met them. Somewhere in between, however, the Fey clan moved to Japan for some period of time, under the lead of their ancestor, Ami Fey. As Maya learned more about her origins, she naturally decided to travel abroad for the sake of growing as a spirit medium. Sooner or later, her next stop became Japan.
Due to my work obligations, I need to be prepared to return home to California at any time if there is a client who needs me. But until then, my schedule is effectively clear. I'm more than happy to support her and keep her company on her journeys, especially since business has been a little thin lately.
—Music: Tokyo Daylight - Persona 5 —
"Earth to Nick!" Maya calls out. That sure did snap me out of my trance, huh? I guess I was rambling on with my own thoughts. I blame jet-lag, personally. I feel like I'm half-asleep still, due to how many timezones we had to pass to get here.
I blink a few times and yawn. "Huh? What is it, Maya?"
"Our stop is next!" is the explanation she provides, "I wanted to make sure you weren't going to sleep through it."
I humor her light chuckling with a smirk of my own. "Thanks for the heads up."
It's still going to be a few more minutes until arrival, so I distract myself by listening to the news as it's broadcasted throughout the train. My Japanese is still a work in progress, but I'm able to understand the majority of what the newscaster says. A very professional voice with a smooth tone wavers with an unsteady vibrato due to the subtle motions of the moving train.
—Music End—
"As we wrap up with that segment, let's move on to our nightly news. Tomorrow, April 10th, was originally scheduled to be the date of release for former politician Masayoshi Shido who has been imprisoned since late December of 2016. Several parties as well as major political figures pressured for Shido-san's parole, and eventually appealed for his full release. However, it has since been confirmed that several of the individuals rallying for his release were involved in the massive scandal which took place during the 2016 election season, and have been incarcerated as well. Furthermore, Shido-san himself has provided crucial testimony, which has lead to the arrests of seven more co-conspirators with connections to his own previous criminal racketeering. All further motion for any release has since been halted, and Shido-san is planned to stay in custody for the time being."
Maya has since listened in as well. "Do you know anything about any of that, Nick?"
Late December of 2016, eh? Thinking back to that time, I realize that I was wholly preoccupied with one of the most critical trials of my life. "I heard bits and pieces about Japan's election going South. Something about criminal dealings getting the winning candidate jailed. I never looked into any of the details."
"I guess it makes sense you had more important things on your mind. It's not every year you have to solve a murder on Christmas!" Maya reminisces.
"I can hardly believe that was more than two years ago..." I add, tasting the full effect of how some of my memories are just as bitter as they are sweet.
A soft beep garners the attention of everyone on the train, and a pleasant female voice takes over the intercom. "Now arriving at Shibuya Station."
"Oh, this is us!" Maya reminds me. We gather our bearings and begin what feels like a struggle against an ocean of people who all wish to depart from the same door as us.
April 9th, 7:06 pm
Shibuya Station
—Music: Investigation ~ Opening 2007 - Apollo Justice—
The underground of Tokyo is enormous! Dozens of people go about their business heading every direction, but even as crowded as it is the tunnels still feel incredibly spacious. Everyone must be heading into work for night shifts, or heading home to eat dinner. Maya and I step out from the crowds to stand at a nearby wall and out of the way, and I take out my phone and open the map, getting a glimpse of the city's streets to plan our route.
"You sure have gotten better with technology to be using a smart phone, Nick," Maya giggles, partially trying to rib me I'm sure.
It took me a while to actually figure out how to turn on the GPS in the first place, to be honest, but she doesn't need to know that...
"Looks like our hotel is going to be over on this side," she explains, tracing her fingers across the screen of my device. She taps a few times and the screen zooms in closer until we can see which streets lead to our destination.
I nod my head. "It shouldn't be too far of a walk."
"I can't wait to hop into a big, cozy bed!" Maya cheers with content.
"Speak for yourself, I don't even know how I'm going to get any rest at all after our bodies got throttled by the flight here."
"Well, you can always live up the hotel life, then!" she encourages, "I'm gonna order tons of room service... I hear that they have these things called hamburger steaks in Japan! A hamburger AND a steak?! Count me in!!"
Maya will always be Maya. "Well, we should get a move on, then. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
—Music Stop—
*BANG!*
A noise pierces every corner of the underground, ringing in my ears as a reverberation lingers through the train tunnels. A strange, shill sound not unlike hissing seems to fill the air. The usual sounds of the bustling station are broken by screams, and suddenly everyone begins to panic and run.
*BANG!*
Another loud noise, and by now it's complete chaos.
—Music: Thrill Theme ~ Suspense - Apollo Justice —
Maya is just as alarmed as I am. "I... I think those were gunshots, Nick!"
"Come on, we have to get to safety!" I shout.
We shuffle around for a bit with our luggage and such, prepared to leave the train station as soon as possible. But, in the middle of all the noise, I hear someone's voice. "Help! Somebody, please help! Call a doctor! He's been shot!"
Maya and I trade concerned looks with each other, and our plans change completely. We realize that we aren't the types to run away from someone in need, and we reverse our direction to head towards where the voice came from. As we quickly sprint towards the source of the noise, I keep a close watch of my surroundings, alert to any danger that could present itself, in case a shooter is still present.
As we get closer and closer, steam begins to fill the air. A gas pipe might have burst near the incident. I bet that's the source of the hissing noise. The commotion came from the platform on the side of the tunnel. A limp body is hanging over the edge, with the upper half of the person leaning downwards, as if ready to fall onto the tracks below. A young man with blue hair is crouched over the body, holding his palms against it, seemingly to try and stop a wound from bleeding.
"Somebody help! Anybody!" the man shouts repeatedly, but his voice sounds weaker and weaker each passing moment. I see his white shirt stained with blood all across his shoulder... he's wounded as well. His eyes close and he passes out.
Station staff and security guards begin crowding around the two unconscious bodies. Maya and I are quickly pushed away from the incident as local police begin to make it to the scene.
—Music End—
We watch uncomfortably as officials try to contain the event, and soon the two men are lifted away on ambulance stretchers. Over the next twenty minutes, the two of us keep our distance as instructed, and wait things out until emergency workers start to leave and crime scene investigators begin to take their places. "I don't know about you, but I can't just stand aside after seeing that," I tell Maya.
She nods her head, and her face expresses strong determination. "I agree. We need to find out what just happened here."
—Music: Suspicion - Persona 5—
I approach one of the officers. "Excuse me. What exactly happened here? Were there any casualties?" I question.
"This is police business. Unless you have a reason to be here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," is the curt response.
"Hmm..." Maya hums in thought, "Hey, Nick. Why don't you try showing him something! I'm sure if you present 'that item,' he'll let you in."
That's right. The one item I'll always keep close to me. I present my Attorney's Badge to the officer, and he definitely takes notice of it. "My name is Phoenix Wright. I'm an attorney."
"I see," he concedes, "Who are you representing?"
"Er, well... no one, at the moment. I was just passing by."
"We didn't think this through, did we..." Maya sighs.
"If you aren't representing a client, I don't think I can let you in to the crime scene, Phoenix-san."
It's kind of odd he'd use my first name while addressing me formally... oh, right. They list surname first and first name second here. I'll have to remember that.
"Do you know what happened to the two people who were injured here? Did anyone die?" I question.
"Well, one of them is confirmed deceased," he answers.
So there was a death here... I'm correct in thinking that I may need to offer my services, then. "What about the other person?"
"Critical injury, and he's being taken to get treated right now. I'm guessing you want to find them and talk legal business?"
I nod. "That's correct. I would like to find out more about what happened, and see if he needs an attorney."
"I suppose I can give you the address of the hospital he was taken to," the officer replies.
I return his gesture with politeness. "Thank you, sir!"
"We should get a move on, Nick, before visiting hours close," Maya urges.
—Music end—
April 9th, 7:24 pm
General Hospital, Third Floor
—Music: Restlessness - Persona 5—
Having reached the correct floor, Maya and I exit the elevator and head down the hallway. "It was room 326, right?" Maya asks for clarity.
"Yep," I confirm, "It should be just around this corner."
Standing in front of the door are a woman dressed in a grey suit as well as a police officer.
"Are you joking? " the woman spits with a raised voice.
"Why would I joke to you about this? And for what's more, why are you interested in some random kid?" the man asks back, sounding genuinely curious.
"This is outrageous! The death wasn't even half an hour ago! And you're calling it murder?! There's no way the prosecution wants to hold this trial tomorrow morning!" she argues indignantly.
"It's not my call, sorry," is the apology the man gives, "But Aipi-san wasn't some nobody. His representatives are all out for blood, and they need somebody to take the fall quick before this gets out of hand."
I can tell the woman is gritting her teeth just under her lips. "Is this what our system has come to? Kangaroo courts pumping out trials like a cheap assembly line? Trials have been getting less and less thorough every year. Are we going to start throwing people in prison without hearings?"
"Don't be like that, Niijima-san. You know everything changed when Shido went down. We can't afford to prolong trials for days and days, especially if it's cut and dry like some lunatic gunning down an official in plain sight. He's going to be in and out with a verdict in an hour, tops. If you don't like the pace, blame the Americans. We modeled our new system after theirs."
This is quite an interesting conversation to walk in on, they're talking about the same legal system I've been working with for my entire career. In fact, the idea of a trial taking MORE than a day or two seems odd to me.
The woman's stance broadens and she tenses in anger. "This doesn't make any sense! There's no time to research anything, to build a case; this is a true mockery of court!"
"If you are so determined to help this boy, it's not like you haven't pulled together a case at the last minute before. What's the problem?"
The woman in the suit shakes her head with squinted eyes. "I can't. I already have prior arrangements with another client. There's no way I could reschedule so close to another trial."
—Music End—
"Well, I must get going. I'm sure someone of your merit will work something out," the officer speaks, turning to take his leave. He bids me good evening as we pass in the hallway going opposite directions.
The woman pounds her fist into her palm. "This is absurd..." she grumbles, before turning and finally taking notice of us. She greets us as well, expecting us to pass her and continue, and looks surprised as we stop and make it clear that our destination is the room she's standing in front of. "Oh, are you here for Mishima-kun? Friends of his, perhaps?"
"Well, not exactly," I begin, "We just happened to be in the subway station at the time of the shooting. My name is... Wright, Phoenix, and this is my assistant, Fey, Maya."
Her eyes widen and she blinks. "Phoenix Wright? The American defense attorney?"
"This name order thing is already confusing me," Maya laments.
The woman laughs at the novelty of our situation. "I presume that listing a given name first and a family name second would be most comfortable to you foreigners, yes?"
I nod my head. "Absolutely."
"I suppose I should be calling you 'Mr. Wright,' as well." she continues.
I guess I'll scratch the reverse name order, then. I can probably expect others to use first name-last name, given that we aren't from here. Either way, I get back on topic. "You know of me?" I ask. I didn't think my name had made it into the international scene yet, but I hadn't really ever thought about checking.
"I've heard stories. You're the lawyer who took down Manfred von Karma, correct? He was a legendary prosecutor."
There's that memory of a Christmas past yet again.
"He was more like a legendary jerk, if you ask me," Maya remarks, taking the words out of my mouth.
The woman holds her finger and thumb to her chin and looks at me in detail for a few moments. "... I can't believe how fortunate this all feels," she finally says, and then she begins... smiling? "I think you might be just the person Mishima-kun needs."
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard something about you not being able to defend Mishima-kun in court? Are you a lawyer yourself, miss?"
She chuckles softly. "How rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Sae, Sae Niijima. Former prosecutor for the Special Investigations Unit, but now just a regular defense attorney."
"And I'm guessing you know this person?" I further.
"That's right. His name is Yuuki Mishima. Mishima-kun is a... friend. I know he's not the type of person to kill someone else. And he himself got shot, for God's sake! It's insane that the state is already trying to pin him as a murderer."
"What exactly is the situation here?" Maya probes.
—Music: Detention Center ~ Interview Tragicomedy - Apollo Justice —
"Well... the details are still coming in, as you must already know having been there. But what we do know so far is that Vi Aipi-san was gunned down in the subway station tonight. He had a gun of his own which may have been discharged, and reports are coming in saying that there were multiple gunshots. As to who shot first and why... well, no one knows anything more right now. I'd be down at the scene investigating myself right now, but I absolutely can't back down from another trial I have tomorrow. There have been all kinds of bizarre crimes in the country over the last few weeks, and I'm beginning to suspect that there might be something connecting them. Tomorrow I'm going to be representing a social worker accused of a murder herself, so I can't be there to represent Mishima-kun."
Niijima-san's look of uncertainty matches my own. "So I heard right then, that you said the trial is tomorrow?"
She nods her head solemnly, but looks me in the eyes with a sparkle of hope behind her expression. "But you seem to have come at the perfect time, Mr. Wright. An esteemed colleague like you can surely help Mishima-kun out of this predicament."
I had a gut feeling that coming here was the right decision, because I knew it would come to this. Maya points out that we are skipping a step, however. "Well, let's go inside and meet this Mishima guy! We can't defend him unless we get his permission."
Sae shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but... he's lost a lot of blood. He's unconscious right now."
Ugh. That's horrible. "So... what can we do for him?"
"Well, it shouldn't be an issue," Sae clarifies, "In the past I've been his legal representative in a dispute with a publishing company over a documentary. I'm legally able to write an affidavit transferring over his representation to you."
I can tell that things aren't quite as simple, however. Niijima-san bites her lip and continues. "I have to be truthful to you. It's likely too late to visit the crime scene, and there won't be any time at all to really accomplish much of anything. You'll essentially be going into the courtroom blind tomorrow. Are you still interested in helping?"
—Music End—
I can tell I've lead the life of an underdog up to this point, because I only feel the slightest tinge of intimidation from the prospect of all this. For the most part, I'm not worried. I nod my head.
—Music: New Beginning - Persona 5—
Maya offers me a high five. "It doesn't sound worse than anything we've handled before. Let's do this, Nick!"
Niijima-san offers me a handshake. "Thank you, both of you. It must truly be the whims of fate that we met here tonight."
"This trip certainly took a different direction than expected, huh," Maya giggles, clapping her hands together with a toothy grin.
She's a lot like her sister. The sister who taught me that, as defense attorneys, it's our job to give our biggest smile when things are darkest. No matter what uncertainty lays in wait for us, we'll face it head on.
To be continued...
—Music End—
—Music: Jingle ~ That's All For Today —
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