Ace Attorney: Council of Crime

Part 4 (Joe)

I turned in the direction of the voice with a tiny frown. Who thought that they could just cruise into my crime scene? I had to make Drew happy with all of this stuff, and I couldn't do that if people were walking into the murder investigation without a care in the world!

I noticed it was a man with blue hair that got lighter at the tips. His eyes were a turquoise color. The man wore a dark blue trench coat over a white polo. He had a blue tie with stripes of a lighter blue and black pants. His shoes were the same metallic blue color.

"And who might you be?" I demanded with a deep frown. "Why are you at my crime scene?"

The man pulled out a badge from the inside of his trench coat and showed it to me. "Vesgate Lawton. I'm a private investigator," the man replied. "I was assigned to this case by the police force."

"Back off," I growled. "Interpol's on this case."

Mr. Lawton gasped. "You all are with Interpol? I never would have been able to tell with such a..." He eyed F, Ms. Tsumi, and X. "...Colorful bunch."

"Thank goodness he didn't pick on me being so young for an Interpol agent-" X whispered, relief washing over his face. "I hate it when people mess with me like that. It gets annoying over time, you know."

"Vessy Gate?" Ms. Tsumi asked, bouncing up to Mr. Lawton. "That's a weird name, mister."

Mr. Lawton sighed. "And who might you be?" he asked, already disliking Ms. Tsumi. I don't blame him. If she wants to kick Drew, I'm not the biggest fan of her, either.

"My name is Milan!" Ms. Tsumi grinned. 

"I guess you can join me in the strange name department," Mr. Lawton muttered under his breath, shaking his  head slightly.

"What are we going to look into next? It's not like we can talk to any other witnesses in the Mario Tsumi killing," X frowned.

Ms. Tsumi's lip trembled violently. X gasped, realizing his large blunder. "O-oh my gosh-!!" he stammered, eyes going wide. "I-I'm so sorry-"

Before X could even think about muttering any sort of further apology, Ms. Tsumi burst into tears, crying loudly, which both annoyed me and impressed me. How can somebody be that loud?

Soon, that impressed feeling melted away as my ears begun to ring. I covered them with a groan. How much louder could this girl be?!

Drew scurried behind me, his face pale. "And I thought Maia and Raegan were loud when they were having off days..." he murmured, sinking further behind me with a gulp. 

I was about to ask about these 'Maia and Raegan' characters, but the crying coming from Ms. Tsumi's direction captured my attention much more easily. I groaned and turned to F. "Don't just stand there! Do something!" I yelled in fury, my eyes flashing unhappily. I was going to be deaf before I could go anywhere near any of the other crime scenes that the Kuranin had struck at!!

F sighed before walking to Ms. Tsumi. "Milan...?" she whispered, crouching down to the purple and teal haired girl's level. While she did this, I glared down X. It was his fault I wouldn't be able to hear for the rest of the day... All because he got so insensitive about Ms. Tsumi's brother being the Kuranin's most recent victims... Why is it that I thought he would be good to lead this case again? What in the world was I thinking at that moment?

"Let's take her on to the next crime scene," F suggested once she had consoled Ms. Tsumi enough to get her crying to go at least a little bit quieter. "I doubt that the officers here will cut her any slack despite her young age."

I sighed. "Fine. But just keep her quiet on the way over there. The tiny car won't help my ears at all," I told her, to which F nodded. 

"Milan?" F repeated, taking the young girl by the hands.

The young girl looked up, rubbing her eyes sadly. "What is it, Ms. Nice Lady...?" she asked, looking at least a little bit happier.

"We're going to go take a ride to somewhere near here. Could you please come with us so that you don't get into trouble with these police officers?" F asked her. She was rather good with kids, which I thought fit, as I heard she was an older sister to a duo of youngsters.

Ms. Tsumi pondered this for a few seconds before nodding. "Most of the time, people tell me not to listen to strangers, but you guys are with the police, so I guess that I can trust you just fine!" the girl soon exclaimed.

F took her hand with a tiny smile. "Alright... Let's get going..."

Please don't tell me that F is getting attached to this kid! First D got close to Griffin (who's just as childish as that cotton candy kid she adopted) and now F is with this girl!

//February 21, 2030. Self Household, 11:14 AM//

I cast a sideways glance at Drew once we arrived at the crime scene. He rubbed his hand with the back of his hand. I bit back my own tears. Timothy didn't deserve this fate... None of the victims did. The Kuranin just had some ulterior motive for killing people and they got in the way...

Drew and I walked away from the crime scene. "Are you going to be okay?" I asked him with a frown. It was X's idea to come here next since the most recent took place at Drew's childhood house, and I didn't pose a fight, knowing that would possibly give up our real names. Not a good idea for a high up government agent, let me tell you.

Drew nodded, though I could tell he was lying. But before I could call him out on it, two shrill shrieks reached my ears.

How many people are there going to be that try to murder my eardrums on this investigation?

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Rip Joe's ears

-Digital