Ace Attorney: Criminal's Masquerade

The Classified Turnabout, Part 7 (Yoshino)

//October 17, 2033. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 9:36 AM//

I wasn't in a good mood when I got to the courthouse the next morning. I sat down on the couch and stared at the ground with an intense frown. It was already a terrible day, even if I had only been awake for a few hours. 

I looked at my hands, which were in handcuffs in front of me. I didn't want to be here. I had other things to do. Today was an important anniversary of something that took place back when I was little. This time around was one of the first times I could take some time to enjoy the anniversary, as I had never gotten the chance to do so in the past. 

Not only was it a huge anniversary of something from when I was younger, but it was also my birthday. I didn't want to be here of all places for my birthday. I should be at home, having a somewhat good time. I should have been anywhere but the courthouse on trial. 

I stared at the clock and let out a sad sigh. The trial started in around twenty minutes. I wanted it to get over with, but at the same time, I didn't want that. If I let it slip by, I might end up at home with some time left over to celebrate my birthday. On the other hand, I might end up in prison for the rest of my life today. That isn't good at all. Of all days for that to happen, my birthday has to be the worst possible date for it. 

I heard voices from nearby. I looked up to see Mr. Devine and Ms. Shield standing nearby. They were sifting through a small pile of papers. I couldn't really hear much of anything that they were saying, but what I did hear made it sound like they knew what they were doing. 

It was something about a person named O. I had heard of O. Back before I was Interpol, I was interested in the legal world. After I arrived, I heard all sorts of rumors about O. Apparently, his letter had been used in the past. It had been used on a girl named Sakura Rai. Unfortunately, she had to leave due to being thought of as a spy for outside sources that could have brought down the organization. 

I thought for a second that maybe they were talking about O, the current agent, potentially being the killer. If that was the case, then why would he do something like that? There had to be some motive behind it. 

I snapped out of my thoughts when somebody tapped my shoulder. It was a bailiff that worked here. I had heard of him as well. His name was KJ Jett. Apparently, he'd been around for quite some time now. I had seen him a few times when I was coming to trials to spectate. He seemed like a good kid. 

"It's time to go into the courtroom," he told me. He extended a hand to help me out. Just as always, he was a good kid. He was too kind to somebody who might be a criminal, otherwise known as me. Then again, he had always ben this way. I had heard from his former girlfriend one time that he was the sweetest boy that she had ever met. 

"Alright," I mumbled. I took his hand and got to my feet. I looked away and hid my eyes behind my glasses. KJ escorted me into the courtroom before giving the same treatment to the defense. What a sweet kid...

//October 17, 2033. Courtroom No. 4, 10:00 AM//

"Court is back in session for the trial of Yoshino Yukio," the judge declared. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?" 

"Yeah, yeah," Prosecutor Jack declared, playing with a pair of her scissors. "I'm ready."

"The defense is ready as well," nodded Mr. Devine. "If it's alright with the prosecution, the defense would like to call the first witness of today's session in the trial."

"Yeah. Sure," Prosecutor Jack said, only half paying attention. I could tell that she was distracted by this whole situation. Something else was on her mind. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't have time to ask. If I did, I was sure to get busted by the other people in the courtroom, namely the guards that were keeping me in place. 

"The defense calls O to the witness stand," declared Ms. Shield. 

O walked up to the witness stand. I guessed that he had been standing around and waiting to be called up to the stand up until that point. I didn't think much of it, as there were much more important things to talk about at that moment. 

"The defense would like the witness to testify about what he saw the day of the crime," Ms. Shield announced. 

"First, we need his name and occupation," the judge reminded her. 

"Oops," Ms. Shield said sheepishly. "I got too caught up in the heat of the moment to ask about that sort of thing. My bad."

O acted as if this little blunder had never taken place and answered the required questions not long after. "My name is classified since I work with Interpol. For the time being, you all can refer to me as O," said O from his place. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked over the people on the bottom floor of the courtroom. "If there's nothing else you want to ask me, I'll get on with my testimony. This trial might as well get on sooner rather than later. I'm sure that you all know what I'm talking about. There are other things to do."

"Stop talking already and go right ahead," Prosecutor Jack said anxiously. I wanted to know more than ever why she wanted to finish this trial up, but I knew that I'd never get the chance to ask her.

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 psa: severa has squishy cheeks please squish them with me

-Digital