Ace Attorney: Criminal's Masquerade

The Classified Turnabout, Part 10 (Yoshino) FINAL

O was forcefully pushed onto the witness stand by the bailiffs that were carrying him in. He stumbled and nearly fell to the floor, but I didn't care. At this point, I was convinced that he was the culprit. After taking an innocent life, he deserved whatever was coming his way. 

"You have been accused of murder," Prosecutor Jack said in a hurry, tapping her foot from behind the prosecution bench. "How do you respond to this? And please make it quick."

"You have no evidence that I did anything!" O cried out. 

A small snicker rose up from the defense team. I turned to them and watched as Mr. Devine pointed to Detective Erikson, who was still standing nearby. "Mukuro?" he asked with a smirk. 

"Your hair was found at the crime scene bathed in the blood of the deceased," Detective Erikson replied. "If you ask me, I find this to be rather nice evidence that you pulled off this crime. Why don't you make it easier on all of us and just confess to your crimes?"

O began to grip the witness stand tightly before letting out an angry huff of a sigh. "Fine!" he exclaimed. "I did it! I'm the one that killed the guy!"

"Why?" asked Ms. Shield from beside Mr. Devine. Her hands were held tight together over her chest. "He was your coworker. Maybe it's just how it is at my agency, but... We learn to care for those that we work alongside."

"He knew too much! If he learned about what I did in those cases, I was dead meat!" yelled O. "If he knew that I put liquid on that Healy kid's ankle to make the ducks bite him, then I was certain to be put in jail!"

A small gasp left the lips of Mr. Devine. "I remember that...! Nobody ever figured out why the defendant from the last case had been bitten, but it must have been because O here put something that attracted the ducks on him... That way, it would make it look like the ducks attacked him while he was supposedly killing the victim..." he whispered. 

"You may have found out what I did, but you will never know who the real mastermind behind all of this is. I know that she is going to stay within the shadows where she will remain until it is time for her to make her grand appearance," O said. "In the end, this means nothing. I hope that you all know that."

O was dragged off by the bailiffs in the seconds that followed. I watched him walk out, grumbling vulgar phrases all the way. I did my best to hide a smile. He needed a little bit of time in the slammer to straighten out his messed up mental state. 

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the judge, who banged his gavel on the judge's podium before him. I had completely forgotten that he was there, what with how quiet he had been up until this point. I looked up at him with a small smile that I couldn't even hope to suppress. 

"If the defense and prosecution have no further arguments, I believe that it is time for me to declare my verdict," the judge announced. Nobody said a word, so the judge took it as his cue to continue speaking. "That being said, this court finds the defendant, Yoshino Yukio, not guilty. Court is adjourned!"

On that note, he slammed down his gavel once and for all, ending the case for good. 

Well, at least until the mastermind that O had mentioned before finally showed up for the first time. 

//October 17, 2033. Defendant Lobby No. 4, 1:01 PM//

"We did it!" Ms. Shield cried out triumphantly once we were out in the open spaces of the defense lobby. I watched her hug Mr. Devine, who let out a small smile at having been approached this way. 

I realized that the two of them had a moment to share for the time being. I walked to the restroom afterwards and made sure that I was alone. For the first time in a while, I was thankful that the restrooms of the courthouse had only one stall. 

Once I was sure that nobody would hear me or be able to creep in, I let out a sigh of relief and took a seat against the wall. "That wasn't pleasant," I muttered, my voice getting notably higher compared to when I had spoken at other points of the day. My right hand began to massage my temple as my eyes slipped closed. "Finally, I can take out these stupid contacts..." 

I took a moment to sit there and relax before getting to my feet and walking to the bathroom sink. I removed my contacts and set them down on the sink before rubbing my eyes. "Feels good to be away from those things," I whispered. I rummaged through my pockets for my glasses, the real ones, I mean. The ones that I had been wearing up until this point were fakes, only for style. 

I swapped the places of the glasses for a moment and then reached for my forehead. "This thing can go off now too," I smiled to myself in the mirror. 

I began to tug on my hair gently. Afterwards, a wig slipped off, leaving just my plain old hair in a bun beneath it. I pulled out the pins keeping said bun in place and then looked at my reflection once again. 

After sitting in a detention center where I had to keep my true eye color and hair color hidden at all times, this felt like a breath of fresh air. I had to admit that freedom had never tasted sweeter. 

I met my reflection's eyes one final time, knowing I'd have to put on the wig in a few moments, after I had gotten a moment to enjoy this. "Great going, Chrysalis," I smiled. "You fooled them all again."

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I was originally not going to reveal this plot point at all but,,, where's the fun in that honestly

-Digital