Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Reignition, Part 6 (Carson)

A woman with pink, blue, and black hair walked up to the witness stand, gripping her upper arm as if wracked with pain. Her irises (one brown and one black) refused to make eye contact with any onlookers.

"Witness. Name and occupation," Prosecutor Moody demanded, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Tatiana Rinko. I'm a waitress at a restaurant near here," the woman answered, her gaze still cast downwards.

"Please tell the court about what you saw the day of the crime," Prosecutor Moody instructed next.

"O-okay..." Tatiana replied, beginning to twirl her chocolate tresses over her index finger.

WITNESS TESTIMONY: TATIANA RINKO- THE CRIME FROM MY EYES

-I was just driving down a road with my youngest daughter when...

-There was this person who jumped into the way of the car...

-They had long, brown hair like Ms. Cignus previously stated.

-It was them who shot me! They did the same to Yuri!

"Defense. Start your stupid cross-examination already," Prosecutor Moody said with a roll of her eyes.

"Doesn't she see how much this is hurting her...?!" Yuri whispered.

"I guess not," Tenniswood frowned. I guess those ears of hers were going into use again.

"Defense. I don't want to have to repeat myself. Start. Now," Prosecutor Moody snarled, practically twitching in her uncontrollable anger.

"Alright. Fine," Shield answered, holding up her hands defensively at this rude remark.

CROSS-EXAMINATION: TATIANA RINKO- THE CRIME FROM MY EYES

-I was just driving down a road with my youngest daughter when...

-There was this person who jumped into the way of the car...

-They had long, brown hair like Ms. Cignus previously stated.

-It was them who shot me! They did the same to Yuri!

"HOLD IT!"

"The prosecution firmly believes that the defendant committed the crime, correct?" Shield asked, rubbing her hair with her fingers.

"Why do you ask? Of course I think that," Prosecutor Moody replied, squeezing her sleeve in irritation.

"In that case, I object to the witness' entire testimony," Shield smirked.

"Wha...?" Tatiana questioned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"If the prosecution thinks that the defendant did it, then why did the victim's assailant have brown hair and not black and white?!" Shield roared.

"OBJECTION!"

"The witness could be just protecting her daughter!" Prosecutor Moody retorted. "Any person in her situation would do it!"

"OBJECTION!"

"Then why did the first witness say the same?! Ms. Cignus and the defendant don't know each other at all!" Shield retorted. "The only explanation is that the culprit is a brown haired female who was seen by both the witness, the victim, and the defendant!"

"The prosecution... Needs more investigation time..." Prosecutor Moody whispered.

"To do what?" the judge asked.

"What else?!" Prosecutor Moody shouted. "To see who the brown haired person is! Somebody involved with the crime would have to have brown hair! They must be pulled up to the witness stand!"

The judge nodded. "In that case, court will now adjourn to grant both sides more time to investigate the case." He lifted his fancy little gavel before bringing it down before him. "Court is adjourned!"

//December 1, 2029. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 12:34 PM//

"Sorry that we couldn't get a not guilty for you today, Yuri," Tenniswood frowned. I made my way over to where the defense was talking with the defendant slowly and silently, listening in on their conversation.

What? Can't blame me for being curious.

"It's okay. One more day, two at most, in that place won't kill me. Besides, being in there gives you time to think about life in general," Yuri said, attempting to shrug. Having forgot about her injury, she suddenly moaned and began gripping her shoulder and closed her eyes to try and deal with the ache.

Shield gasped. "Are you okay?!"

Yuri nodded. "Y-yeah. I just guess I shrug a lot more than I realize, and now that I can't, I realize it. Every. Single. Time."

"We're going to go and check for brown haired people involved in the crime and see if they could possibly be the culprit," Tenniswood told her next. "If we find somebody to suspect, than we'll come back and tell you. Sound like a plan?"

Yuri nodded again. "Got it. I'll just go and try not to cry while Prosecutor Umber interrogates me. I only ever get a break when his sister comes in to save me." Her voice went hushed. "He's really mean. You may not realize it, but he is very, very, very, very, very... How many is that?"

"Five," Shield answered.

"Okay. Very, very, very, very, very mean," Yuri finished with a goofy grin.

"Boy, do I know it," Tenniswood muttered, most likely thinking back to her trial a month ago. "The guy wouldn't leave me alone when I was the one in the defendant's chair."

"I hope I never have to deal with that guy in questioning," Shield frowned.

"You just jinxed it," Yuri told her.

I walked closer and grabbed Yuri's shoulder. "It's time to go back now, defendant. Come on."

Saying the words hurt me inside. She's only sixteen, and she's been arrested for murder or attempted murder twice! The first time she was even younger! Fourteen years old and losing both older siblings and being arrested must be difficult.

"I guess I'll see you guys around," Yuri said, faking a small smile.

"I'll tell you when you can come and visit her," I told Shield and Tenniswood.

"Thank you." Tenniswood bowed her head slightly.

"No big deal. Don't make a fuss," I replied before giving a small tug on Yuri's arm. "Let's get going."

I could hear the murmurs of the defense even as I walked away with Yuri. "He's acting so different from yesterday..." Shield whispered.

"Yesterday... I could hear midnight discord from him. It was strong, too, as if it had been there for years," Tenniswood muttered her direction.

I wasn't sure what they were talking about, so I didn't let it get to me. Instead, I led Yuri out of the courthouse with a faraway look in my eyes, a little curious about what Tenniswood's odd words could possibly mean to me.

Yuri was just as wordless as I was. I frowned slightly. I wished I could alter the past for her sake...

...As well as mine.

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11037% of humanity will misinterpret that last sentence.

And yes, I am back from the dead.

I was pretyping case five oops not oops-

Anyways, I mainly typed this so I could call a certain AAF from lurking...

Speaking of which...

G U N D H A M T A N A K A

(If you don't know who that is, I suggest Google)

-Digital