Ace Attorney Investigations: Haunting Memories

Epilogue

April 3 5:45pm

Minami Household ~ Julia Kirigiri's POV

The room was silent for several moments afterwards, the only sounds being Mr. Minami's sobbing. He refused to rub away the tears that poured from his eyes and fell onto the carpet. Kotoko was trembling as she backed away from him. "K-Kitoka...? You...?" She whispered in disbelief. "You did all that...?"

"I-I'm sorry, okay...?!" Mr. Minami sobbed. "I didn't intend for it to turn out like this...! That researcher was supposed to be arrested for all of this while the two of us would live without the restraints of Mom and Dad...!"

"But you intented to blame Fee-Fee..." Kotoko reminded him. "That's... not right..."

"You can't let them take me away, Kotoko...!!" Mr. Minami begged. "You know that I'm all you have left! If they take me away, you won't have anywhere else to go! You and me will be fine, I swear! Just stick up for me here, please!"

Everyone's eyes were now on Kotoko, who was hugging her toy as she thought. After a seemingly endless silence, she shook her head slowly and backed away from her older brother. "I can't..." She whispered. "I'm sorry..."

Mr. Minami whimpered slightly, burying his face in his hands. I glanced towards Q and N, the latter having a harsh glare in his eyes, which he had directed towards the blue headed teen. Kotoko was hiding behind N, guilt about her decision clearly written on her face.

Kitoka Minami was taken away by the regular authorities once they had arrived, admitting to the serial murders. Kotoko remained silent, obviously saddened at losing her last relative. I waited for her to calm down somewhat before approaching her.

"Kotoko? Could we talk, perhaps? In private?" I requested. The girl hesitated for a few moments but eventually nodded. She followed me into a secluded part of the house.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her yellow eyes wide with curiosity. "Is this about what Kitoka said? You know, about where I was going to live now that he's gone? Will I really have to go into care?"

"Only if you decide to." I replied.

Kotoko shook her head, her pink ponytails swaying with the motion. "I wouldn't want to. It sounds scary. What if I get given to a really scary family? I don't want to risk living with people I might not like."

A faint smile spread across my lips. "You appear to have thought this out rather well."

"It's pretty much all I have to think about now." Kotoko shrugged with a sigh. "My mind's too jumbled up to think about anything else."

"In that case, how about I suggest something to you?" I asked. "If... If I were to tell you that someone I know is willing to take you in right now, what would you think of it?"

"R-Right now?" Kotoko repeated. "But this case has only just ended! How could anyone know?"

"It's quite simple if you think about it," I said with a smirk. "Because that someone is standing right in front of you."

Kotoko paused, blinking several times. "... Huh?"

"I've actually been thinking about it for a while, soon after I began to suspect your brother." I explained. "I've not had any experience in the arts of parenthood - or generally taking care of young children - but I thought that perhaps you would be more comfortable living with me than with strangers."

"Y-You really mean it?!" Kotoko gasped, bouncing on the spot. "I can live with you now?!"

"Of course, there will be some... drawbacks." I admitted. "Firstly, my job takes up a lot  of my time, so I might not always be at home. A lot of things can happen suddenly, which means I may have to depart at a moment's notice."

"That's fine!" Kotoko smiled.

"It is?" I asked, not expecting that answer.

The girl nodded. "Uh-huh. I'm happy enough just having a place to stay. I don't mind about stuff like that."

An opening door and a loud cheer told us that Griffin had arrived; he must have already been released from the detention center. "Hey, guys!" The aqua haired boy grinned. "I'm finally out!"

"I'm glad." N smiled. "It took a while, but we finally got the real mastermind behind bars. Hopefully this is the last time you'll end up accused for being a serial killer."

"I wouldn't count on it." Q remarked, earning a giggle from Kotoko. "Now that this investigation is over, we should be heading back to HQ. Not only do I have case reports to fill out, the cats need feeding."

"Can I help with feeding them, Mr. Q? Please?" Kotoko asked. "They're really nice cats!"

"Of course you can." I replied before Q could say anything. Kotoko cheered and dragged us all back to the car, obviously eager to begin.

April 5 11:30am

Julia's Apartment

"Have you finished unpacking yet?" I asked as I stood in the doorway of Kotoko's room. It took a while to change the study into a bedroom, meaning that Kotoko had to sleep on the couch on her first few nights. However, the arrangements were finally complete within two days; all Kotoko had to do now was unpack the personal items she had brought from her old house.

"Yup." Kotoko nodded. "So... I've been thinking over the past couple of days..."

"Oh?" I asked, taking a seat next to Kotoko on her bed. "Thinking about what?"

"Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to work in the law. Daddy was a police officer, so he was my inspiration." Kotoko explained. "But... watching you and Mr. Q and Mr. N doing what you do... it's given me a new kind of inspiration."

I smiled. "Let me guess. You want to be an Interpol agent like us?"

Kotoko nodded. "Yeah! I mean, I know it's dangerous stuff, but it also looks really fun! Plus, with people like you, Mr. Q and Mr. N to help me out, there's nowhere for me to go wrong!"

I patted her head gently, a small smile on my face. Contrary to what I thought at the beginning of this case, a lot of good things came out of discovering the truth. But the most important thing was that we were able to bring the haunting memories to an end forever.

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AND IT IS OVER

AAAAAAAAA THAT TOOK A LONG TIME

A V E R Y LONG TIME

BUT FEAR NOT BECAUSE THERE IS SEQUEL WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE BETTER SO YAY

AceAttorneyFan over and out!