Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Reignition, Part 4 (Yuri)

//December 1, 2029. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 9:34 AM//

I was twirling my hair from boredom until the door burst open. Lily came running through, followed by an exasperated Niamh. "Yuri!" Lily grinned.

"Hey," I said, faking a smile for the older brunette.

"How are you holding up?" Niamh asked, shooting me a sympathetic glance.

"I'm feeling better," I told her. I attempted to shrug my shoulders, only to fail due to my injured arm. I winced and began rubbing the gun wound in hope of making the pain ease away.

"Are you okay?!" Niamh demanded, noticing my pained expression.

"I just forgot about my shoulder, that's all," I replied with yet another falsified smile.

"Yuri!"

We were interrupted by a woman with long brown hair streaked with pink and faded to black. She had one brown eye and one blue eye. She wore a black dress with a white boots atop pink leggings.

Mom.

"Mom!" I shouted, running to my mother. I was careful to avoid her shoulder, as it was just as bad as my own injury.

"Yuri..." Mom repeated, embracing me gently. "I convinced the doctors to let me come and watch the trial."

"Thanks for coming," I smiled, the first genuine grin since my arrest. "But are you sure you'll be okay? If you start to feel bad in any way, then please leave. I'm in good hands." I pulled away fro our hug to gesture to Lily and Niamh.

"Thank you for defending her," Mom told them, bowing her head slightly in the direction of my coworkers.

"It is our pleasure, Mrs. Rinko," Niamh said, bowing as well.

"A-actually, it's Ms. Rinko," Mom corrected, fiddling around with the bottom of her dress gently. "I... Don't live with my husband anymore..."

"My bad." Niamh was embarrassed at being incorrect over this subject. I would have been, too. You'd expect a woman with three children to have a husband.

"I'll... Leave you three alone now," Mom whispered, hesitating before departing.

"If it's okay," Lily began. "Could you tell us what happened with your father?"

"He... Left when I was little. He moved around a lot when I was younger. Eventually, Mom, Cass, Venus, and I decided to stay here while he did his traveling. I haven't seen him in fifteen years..." I explained. "I don't remember him at all... But I do remember waiting with Venus and Cass for him to come home... And he never did... I'm afraid that he's dead and Mom doesn't want to upset me, but I want to know..."

"I'm so sorry," Lily murmured, wrapping her arms around me supportively. "If you want to talk about it, we all know what it's like to lose a parent..."

I looked between Lily (who was still hugging me) and Niamh, who nodded in reply. I smiled and let myself give in to Lily's hug. "Thanks for everything, you two," I whispered. "Really. It means a lot."

But the feelsy moment was interrupted by the noisy as heck bailiff. "Will the defense and defendant please proceed to the courtroom? The trial will begin shortly."

"Time to get going," I sighed, pulling away from Lily (though I would much rather stay there for the entire trial. Her support was comforting).

"We'll win this trial for you today! Promise!" Lily exclaimed.

"I hope so," I nodded, following the two into the nightmarishly dull courtroom. When you were the one in the defendant's chair, everything seemed duller.

//December 3, 2029. Courtroom No. 4, 10:00 AM//

The judge slammed his gavel down on the bench. I gulped and began twiddling my thumbs. Could the trial just end already? I didn't want to stick around in the detention center any longer than needed. "Court is now in session for the trial of Yuri Rinko," the judge announced. "You know, I'm getting a sense of deja vu here. Has it happened before?"

"Yes, but that is beside the point, Your Honor," Niamh replied.

The judge cleared his throat before continuing. "Noted. Now, are the defense and prosecution ready?"

"The defense is ready," Lily answered, tightening her hand into a determined fist.

"The prosecution just wants to get this over with," Prosecutor Moody told him, rolling her eyes.

"Then please cut it out with the attitude and deliver your opening statement," the judge frowned.

"The crime took place two days ago, late on the night of December 1st. The defendant and the victim, Tatiana Rinko, were driving in a car down Beau Road, a street just outside town. The car suddenly slammed into a tree as the defendant and the attempted murder victim were shot, both in the shoulder. With nobody but the witness at the crime scene, we concluded that the defendant was the culprit," Prosecutor Moody explained.

"OBJECTION!"

"Then why not arrest the witness? The defendant is more of a victim than a suspect," Niamh cut in. Just what Venus said.

"That's what my first witness is going to say. I call Anthony Umber to the witness stand to enlighten the court on this case!" Prosecutor Moody yelled, pointing at the witness stand powerfully. I took this as my cue to take my seat near the defense bench.

Prosecutor Umber walked up to the stand, running his fingers through his hair as he did so. He had this aura of tensity floating around him, obvious in his every little action. Even his breaths were irritated.

"Witness. Name. Occupation. Now," Prosecutor Moody demanded, crossing her arms.

"Prosecutor Anthony Umber. I'm on the investigative team for this case," Prosecutor Umber replied. "Now, can we get this testimony over with? I have other things to do than describe the case for you simpletons."

The judge looked shocked at his choice of words. "J-just give the court the details on the crime," he instructed. He had regained his composure and recovered from Prosecutor Umber's rude words.

I guess he wanted Prosecutor Umber to just leave the court alone as much as the rest of us.

They say looks can be deceiving, and that fits so well with Prosecutor Umber (like really, you try dealing with this guy).

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so yeah anthony gets annoying as heck

Can I just say that the next case is about 11037 times better than this one? It is. Cases 3 and 5 are the best in the book, honestly. But we need this case along with the first two to progress the plot.

Anyways, I won't ramble (I seriously tend to). Ciao!

-Digital