*+:｡.｡ Ridiculosity ｡.｡:+* -|| Ace Attorney Oneshots||-

Chapter 3: Friends

The burning pink color of Trés Bien's wall left my vision. We were celebrating Nick's last case, where my mom had been killed. Now we were outside the building when I decided to tell them all about something that has been haunting me.

"Nick, Pearly, everyone, I need to say something," I said, getting everyone's attention.

"What is it, Maya?" Nick asked. By now everyone is looking at me.

"It's just something that's been bugging me for a while, and I'd like to share it with you all," I explained.

"Well go ahead, Ms. Maya Fey. We're listening," Franziska said as she cracked her whip.

Everyone looked at me expectantly, waiting for what I had to say. I gulped.

"This is gonna get long, but please don't interrupt me, OK?" I asked them.

"Of course. Now what is it that you wanted to say?" Mr. Edgeworth asked, slightly impatient. Larry and Detective Gumshoe were also waiting for it. I took a deep breath.

"I've been feeling friendless. I don't even know why, but I actually am feeling friendless. So then I asked myself a question."

Everyone stared at me, curious of what I was going to say.

"What are friends?

"Just to be sure, I asked a few people this question to see their answers.

"Some say a friend is someone who you talk with. Well sure, I tried to talk to a lot of people, and yes, it helped me cure this 'friendlessness' for a while, but when I'm alone, the feeling comes back. No, feeling friendless and feeling lonely are completely different things.

"Some say a friend is someone who you are comfortable with. I have a lot of people who I am comfortable with, like you all, Nick, Pearly, Gumshoe, Mr. Edgeworth, Franziska, Larry, my sis and some other, but you all seem so... distant. It's like... you guys are inside your own world.

"Nick is always busy on his cases, and that's a good thing. Otherwise, where will all the money to pay for this month's rent come from? But hey, I'm here you know? I'm a human that needs social interactions too.

"Pearly is always running back and forth from Kurain Village and here, and I really appreciate that. It's just... she keeps talking about me and Nick as if we're lovers, and it makes me wonder, do I mean nothing to her? I've been telling her we're just friends. Ah. There's that word again. Are we even friends? Honestly now I'm not even sure myself.

"Detective Gumshoe is working for the prosecutors, and we haven't seen him for a while. Mr. Edgeworth is recently out of the country. Franziska is also busy on her cases. Larry is hunting for another girlfriend. My sis is dead. Why is everyone so distant? Are they doing this on purpose?

"Some say a friend is someone you share with. I don't think anyone's shared anything with me. Oh, except for you, Nick, maybe. You pay for my burgers... well, forced to.

"Some say a friend is someone who you play with most of the time. Oh dang, that definition sounds so shallow. If I play with a spoon every time I eat, does it mean I'm friends with the spoon? That sounds so sad.

"Some say a friend is someone who spends some time with you to create social interaction with you in a good way. Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of our clients spend some time with us to create social interaction with us in a good way. And I'm positive not all of them are my friends. I haven't even seen them after they're declared not guilty.

"Some say a friend is someone who's close in age with you. I don't have anyone who is around my age except for maybe you, Franziska. And you're way more mature than me. No offense, but you might as well be as old as Nick, judging from your appearance and action.