Phoenix Wright / Gyakuten Saiban, its settings and
characters, are property of Capcom, and are being
used here without permission. This fic is rated R.
Well Frogs
Chapter 9
Akane led Odoroki and Naruhodou out the back of the restaurant, into yet another
garden. It looked like it sported some
of the same plants as the park next door, except that they were positioned
around an oblong-shaped pond roughly four meters in diameter. A pair of junior officers was in the process
of carefully draining the water into jugs.
"That's where we found
the murder weapon," Akane said carelessly as they passed. "None of the people in the restaurant
saw anything, but with all this greenery all over the place, it's not that
surprising. Someone could have easily
slipped out of the building and crossed over to the park."
"Seems awfully
convenient," Naruhodou said with a smirk.
"The entire theme of this restaurant is that you enjoy the garden
along with the food. But only the killer
was out here?"
Akane shrugged. "It's October; it's chilly, and people
are lazy. Maybe the killer was counting
on that."
"Did you find anything
on the gun?" Odoroki asked, watching the pond and the officers. The gun
went from the Kitaki house, to the park, to this
pond… That's part of the puzzle, at
least. "Prints?"
"Nope. It was at the
bottom--the water ruined any prints."
Akane made a sudden left, leading them to the edge of the garden, where
the path to the park began. The trail
wasn't very long, but it was covered on both sides by tall, thick shrubbery,
just like everywhere else in
Naruhodou hummed
thoughtfully, and sent Odoroki a look.
"You're sure it was a 'he'?" he asked of Akane.
She frowned at him. "You're not suggesting it was Ms. Kitaki, are you?"
"Kanako
Katagi was at the restaurant, too," Odoroki
said, catching on. "She even called
it in. Isn't she a suspect?"
"She lives with the
man," came an interruption from the smooth voice
of Kyouya Garyuu.
"She had plenty of chances to kill him without all this risk."
Odoroki turned his gaze
ahead, where Kyouya was standing on the short wooden steps leading up into the
gazebo. Though he mostly blocked any
view Odoroki might have gotten of the scene itself, there was still a thick,
coppery smell in the air that made him wince.
"The
body's gone, but it's still kind of nasty up here," Kyouya warned,
hopping off the step. Odoroki stepped
aside to make way for him. "Just so
you know."
"I'm fine," Odoroki
assured. He had been around blood
before, and was confident he could handle it.
However, he still felt a chill as he entered the wooden gazebo, and saw
the grotesque splatter of blood and bone against otherwise white surfaces. The outline of a body had been taped to the
floor, and was accompanied by a small numbered tag near the right hand.
"We found his cell phone
next to him," Akane explained, joining him. "Mr. Kitaki
was the last person he spoke to on it.
Assuming the call cut off when Shouri Katagi was shot, it puts the murder right at
Odoroki felt his stomach turn
a little, but he pushed it aside as he took in the scene--he wouldn't have much
time to collect his clues. "He was
facing the bushes?" The whole gazebo
was surrounded in the same tall shrubs, which would have provided excellent
cover for an approaching murderer. When
he looked closer, it even looked as if some of the leaves and branches had been
blasted away in one area.
"Tested positive for GSR," Akane confirmed.
"It explains why the victim didn't call for help or try to
escape--he might not have even seen the shooter."
Odoroki frowned thoughtfully,
and stepped over to the foot of the roped silhouette. "But…wait, that doesn't make
sense." He reached one hand out in
front of him towards the torn shrubbery, and the other towards the gazebo's
exit, where Kyouya and Naruhodou were both standing in the path. It made roughly a 90 degree angle. "I can see you guys. If someone had come down the path, wouldn't
the victim have seen?"
"Well…I
guess." Akane tugged on a strand
her hair uncomfortably as she glanced over the scene again. "Unless he had his
back to the path. He was on the
phone, so he could have been looking at anything."
"But then why didn't the
killer just shoot him in the back?" Odoroki asked. "And how did he get on the
outside?" He pointed to the twisted
shrub again. "If you know for sure
the bullet went through here, the killer had
to have been on the outside. But to
leave the path you have to go through
the gazebo." He indicated the
gazebo's entrance which led out to the park, directly opposite the covered
trail. "How could he slip past the
victim only to double back and shoot him from another angle?"
"Um, well…" Akane crossed her arms irritably. "I don't know how yakuza think!"
Odoroki fought back a
grin. I've found a contradiction already!
Excited with his discovery, he started out of the park-side
entrance. "I'm going to get a look
from the outside!"
He jogged around the
perimeter of the gazebo, and though the bushes were thick, he could still see a
faint outline of Akane inside. He could
also hear Kyouya fairly clearly as he did his best to counteract Odoroki's logic.
"Maybe there was a
struggle after all, and more than one shot was fired," the prosecutor
suggested. "The leaf damage could
have been caused by a bullet going out just as easily as in."
"Then you should find
more GSR on the victim than you did the plant
life," Naruhodou objected wryly.
"The killer was trying to hit Katagi, not
ruin the park."
Akane sighed. "We didn't find that much on the
victim," she admitted. "It's
pretty clear he was shot through the bush."
Odoroki glanced at the broken
leaves, but it was too hard to tell if they were bending in or out. Instead he moved on towards the restaurant
path, and it was there that he found a few branches curving out towards
him. "Hey! Can you see me?"
The others moved closer, and
he gave the bush a shake to show which one he meant. "Some of these branches are bent,"
he declared, giving them a tug. The
shrubs looked like they formed an impenetrable wall, but they were in reality rather
easy to move. "Do you think someone
could have come through here?"
Akane stepped forward, and
with a grunt forced her way through the wall.
As she brushed a few stray twigs out of her hair the bush seemed to
relax back into its former position without much of a disturbance to show from
it. "Huh." She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I guess so. But Mr. Kitaki…well,
most of our suspects are bigger than
me."
"Then what about
me?" Naruhodou squared his
shoulders and pushed his way through as well, bending a few branches in the
process, but again the bush seemed to resettle just as well. As Kyouya took his turn Naruhodou looked to
his young companion. "Well, good
job proving your client could have done it."
"What?" Odoroki jumped, glancing between him and the
opening. His heart sank. "You mean…"
"Shouri
Katagi's back is to the restaurant," Kyouya
began with a grim smile. "Tsunekatsu Kitaki sneaks down the
path, keeping his target distracted and on the phone. He slips through the bushes, circles around, and….bang!"
He shrugged. "Dead
yakuza."
"But…" Odoroki shifted his weight anxiously. And I
just proved it's possible. Way to go, Housuke.
"But it still doesn't make sense," he insisted. "Why would he go through the trouble of
doing that? If the victim's back was to
him he could have killed him at any time.
Why bother going through the bushes at all?"
Kyouya shrugged again. "I don't know how yakuza think," he
replied, for which Akane sent him a glare.
"You're going to have to
do better than that," Naruhodou said.
"It's a legitimate question.
Leaving the path would have put the killer out here, in the open. Someone like Tsunekatsu
Kitaki would have known better than to expose himself
any more than he already was."
Odoroki turned away as he
listened, glancing over the branches again.
There might be some other clue still left on them, maybe a piece of fabric
that had been torn, or even just a few fibers that could be matched to a
suspect's clothing. Naruhodou's right. Mr. Kitaki
is smart, and he wouldn't have put himself in danger
like that. He crouched down in hopes
of finding a footprint, which…he probably should have done before they all took
the opportunity to try out the opening.
"Maybe the victim
started to turn," Kyouya offered.
"If he heard someone coming down the path and turned to look, the
killer could have ducked through the bushes to avoid being spotted."
"Or maybe you should pay
better attention to the people you accuse of murder," Naruhodou
returned. Though Odoroki wasn't looking
at them anymore, he could hear the smirk in his companion's voice. "Tsunekatsu Kitaki is a little big to be 'ducking' through anything
without making a lot of noise."
They're going to get in a fight again, Odoroki thought with a shake of his head. It's
not…really my business, but they could pick a better time for it. As he considered saying something, his attention
was grabbed suddenly by a piece of litter stuck in one of the lower branches.
"Then enlighten me," Kyouya continued
overhead, his voice growing terse.
"You're the supposed genius at contradictions. Who went through?"
Naruhodou scoffed. "Are you asking me to do your job?"
"Hey." Odoroki reached through the branches,
scratching his bare arms a little as he tried to retrieve the familiar plastic
wrapping. "I think I found
something."
If any of them heard him,
they didn't give any indication of it.
Akane was already plenty distracted having to put herself between the
two men. "Come on, you two. We're all--"
However, Kyouya was perfectly
willing to talk over her as well. "The
murder weapon was found in the pond," he reasoned. "The killer returned to the restaurant
after having shot the man, right?
Whether it makes sense or not, he put himself in the open so that he
could shoot Katagi through the shrub-wall. That's just plain evidence."
Odoroki snatched up the item
he'd been grasping for, and endured a few more sticks as he pulled his hand
out. As he'd suspected, it was a
familiar treat wrapper with a little fox-shaped wafer inside. Damn.
Naruhodou was still carrying
on as Odoroki pushed to his feet.
"But that's not the only evidence that matters. You have to consider the motive--"
Kyouya sighed in
exasperation. "How much more motive
can there between two yakuza families sworn to kill each other?"
"You're only seeing the
surface," Naruhodou insisted. His
tone was beginning to sound strained as well, and Odoroki had a sudden bad
feeling about where this was headed.
"You're not digging deeply enough--you haven't changed at
all!"
"Excuse me!" Fed up with their arguing, Odoroki stepped
deliberately between them. "We're
trying to investigate a murder here."
Odoroki hadn't really expected
he could hold any authority over either of these well known men, and was a bit
shocked when they both silenced.
Naruhodou even stuffed his hands in his pockets and lowered his eyes to
the ground as if guilty. It was a
strange image for Odoroki to witness, and he had to shake himself a bit before
he could continue. He cleared his
throat. "I found something."
"You shouldn't be
touching that with your bare hands," Akane admonished. She looked a bit flustered herself as she
pulled an evidence bag out of her satchel.
"We might have been able to get a print."
"Oh…ah,
oops?" Odoroki blushed in embarrassment and quickly
turned it to grip it by the corners. He
knew that showing it to the three of them was going to get his client in more
trouble, but there was no way around it now.
"It's a monaka
wrapper," he explained, displaying the snack that had not yet been
eaten. "Made by
the Kitakis."
They all took a look, but
this time remained awkwardly silent about the damning evidence; Odoroki was
pretty certain it was pity keeping them from voicing the obvious. He just
showed this to me today, and he said it was brand new. It definitely places him at the scene.
Akane gave the evidence bag a
little shake, and Odoroki obediently slipped the snack into it. "I'll check it for prints back at the
station," she said hesitantly. "And
any other trace evidence. You're…sure it's a Kitaki
monaka?"
"Yeah…I'm
sure." Odoroki scratched the back
of his neck. "I had one a few hours
ago. They're…really good!"
"Well, if it turns out
not to be important evidence, you can have it," Kyouya suggested, though
his humor was clearly forced. He gave
the other three a brief, uncomfortable look, and finally turned away. "I'm gonna
head back to the pond and see how they're doing with the water."
"Oh, okay,
um…" Akane glanced between him and
the sullen Naruhodou, looking torn.
"I'll be there in a minute."
She started to pull out her cell phone.
"I'm going to give Detective Beni a call
and have him ask Mr. Kitaki about the snack during
his interrogation."
"Yeah, okay." Kyouya turned back to the path they had all
left a moment ago, pausing long enough to give Odoroki a half-hearted
smirk. "Your fifteen minutes are almost
up," he teased.
"I know…." Odoroki watched him go, that same empty
feeling crawling into his stomach. I have to say something, he thought with
a frown. Naruhodou said he wanted to help, but he's not if he's just scaring
Prosecutor Garyuu off every time. And…it's just not right!
"You two can have
another minute, if you want," Akane said as she dialed a number into her
cell phone. "But then I have to get
back to the station, and I can't have you hanging around here unsupervised."
"We understand,"
Odoroki assured. He gave Naruhodou's sleeve a tug and started around the line of
plant life so he could enter the gazebo properly. "We just need another second."
Naruhodou followed him back
inside, and though the setting wasn't exactly ideal, Odoroki took his chance. "Why do you keep doing that?" he
asked, hoping that some of the authority that had worked against Naruhodou a
moment ago might still be in his voice.
"Doing what?"
Naruhodou asked evasively.
"Baiting
Prosecutor Garyuu." Odoroki folded
his arms, trying to warm them, but then he thought that might be too combative
of him. He dropped them again. "I mean, I understand what you have
against him. But it wasn't really his
fault, and--"
"It's not that,"
Naruhodou quickly interrupted.
"It's not…what you think, really."
Odoroki frowned. What did I think? Now I'm not sure. He glanced around helplessly. "Then…what is it? He may be a
prosecutor, but…he's really helped me out a few times." It was kind of a humbling admission, but
Odoroki wasn't a fool--he knew just how much he owed to the prosecutor for all
the times he'd gone easy on him.
"He's a decent guy, but all you do is pick
on him."
"You want me to go into
this now?" Naruhodou asked, clearly
trying to sound exasperated rather than defensive. "Here?"
"You're…" Odoroki squirmed on his feet. Not that long ago he had been leaping at the
opportunity to accept Naruhodou's help, and now he
was shying away. He had no idea how he
was supposed to talk to the man, a lawyer who had won so many cases in the past
but was now hampering his investigation.
At long last he forced the words out in a rush. "You said you wanted to help me but I
can't even investigate if I have to keep stopping to break the two of you up,
not that I'm ungrateful because I really appreciate you being here, I'm just
not very good at this sort of thing if you know what I mean."
Naruhodou blinked in surprise
at his declaration, and again that guilty look crept into his eyes. He scratched the back of his neck and finally
relented. "All
right. Let me explain…"
Odoroki tried not to fidget
anymore, however anxious he was to hear his pseudo-mentor's thoughts. "Okay…"
Naruhodou took a deep breath,
his shoulders sinking as he began.
"Years ago, when…it happened, I told myself I wouldn't worry about
Prosecutor Garyuu.
I sat in on some of his cases as part of my investigation, and after
only a few I realized he couldn't have been the one behind
everything." He smirked a little at
Odoroki. "You've faced him yourself--you
know what I mean, don't you?"
Odoroki considered his answer
carefully, unable to help the feeling that he was being tested somehow. "He wasn't all that broken up when he
lost to me," he said slowly.
"He really cares about finding the truth. He's not the kind of person that would fake
evidence just to win."
Naruhodou was shaking his
head even before Odoroki finished.
"He doesn't care about the truth," he said with greater
strength. "If he really cared about
catching criminals those cases wouldn't have made it to court in the first
place. He has a sharp mind, really--he
knows the truth when he sees it. But
that's not worth anything if he doesn't look for it in the first place."
"Well…I guess that's
true…" Odoroki glanced around
uncomfortably. He didn't like having to
talk about Kyouya behind his back like this, even if he was only receiving the
explanation he'd asked for. "He
didn't really seem to care when Minuki and I were
investigating Takita's case this summer…."
Naruhodou lowered his eyes
again, and for a moment Odoroki was certain he could see history spanning
within them. He couldn't help but wonder
if he would ever have eyes like that…
"I've known quite a few lawyers," the elder continued. "Men and women who went
to court with their entire lives on the line. They weren't always right…but they believed
in something, and they fought for it.
Anyone who can't do that much doesn't deserve to stand up in a
courtroom." He sighed quietly. "A great lawyer taught me that."
Their entire lives…? His words made Odoroki's chest ache with a feeling of uncertainty. That's
how Naruhodou was in court. Even…even
Mr. Garyuu.
It was painful to think on for too long now, but Odoroki still
remembered the focused passion with which his former teacher had taken each
case, every time with his full reputation on the line. Have I
ever really fought that hard for a case?
Maybe… His hands tightened at
his sides. Maybe Naruhodou is disappointed in me, too.
"Anyway," Naruhodou
went on, his rough voice drawing Odoroki's attention
back. "What I'm trying to say is
that when I realized what kind of person Prosecutor Garyuu
was all those years ago, I put him out of my mind." He straightened up a bit, which had the
effect of loosening the weight on Odoroki's shoulders
as well. "With his brother around I
had no way of reaching him. I told
myself that when it was over, when I was finally able to prove the truth, then I would worry about him. Then I'd…forgive him, not just for what he
did to me, but…everything else. It's
just…" Naruhodou chuckled
dryly. "I never thought of myself
as the kind of person who holds a grudge, but following through with that is
turning out to be harder than I thought.
That's all."
"Oh…." Odoroki tugged lightly on the PaPa hat that was still covering his ears. "I'm not sure I really understand,
but…" He licked his lips. "I think I do…?"
Naruhodou watched him a moment, and then chuckled again. He stepped forward to give Odoroki a hearty
pat on the shoulder. "Sorry--you
shouldn't listen to old men like me. We
ramble."
"You're not that old," Odoroki retorted,
rolling his eyes. He reached under the
hat to give his scalp a scratch--he wasn't used to wearing thick wool for so
long. "Just…from now on, let me be the one that talks to Prosecutor Garyuu, all right?"
He shrugged. "At least while
this case is going on."
"All right,"
Naruhodou agreed. Maybe Odoroki was
imagining it, but he seemed to have relaxed a great deal following his
confessions, and his smile appeared sincere.
"Looks like I have a lot of growing left to do before I can be a
lawyer again after all."
Odoroki was at a loss for
words, which made it something of a blessing that Akane took that moment to appear
in the gazebo entrance. She was chewing
her lip uncomfortably, and the look she fixed on Naruhodou was a clear
indication that she had overheard their conversation. Naruhodou coughed into his fist and moved to
meet her. "I guess our time's up,
huh?" he said lightly. "Here
to scare us out?"
"Something like that," Akane replied hesitantly.
Naruhodou glanced back to his
young companion with a slight smirk.
"Why don't you go on without me?" he suggested. "There's one thing I want to show the
detective before she takes off."
"Oh…sure." Odoroki
reached for the PaPa hat. "Do you want this back?"
"Keep it for now--you've
got a long trip home from here, don't you?"
"Yeah…thanks."
Naruhodou gave him a wave,
and then gently took Akane's elbow to steer her away from the gazebo. Odoroki could see her lips moving as they
headed off but she was speaking too quietly for him to hear. Stuck
in the middle again, he thought glumly as he turned to follow the path back
towards the restaurant. Why does everything have to be so
complicated? Or maybe…I'm not taking it
seriously enough. He sighed,
plucking at his T-shirt. No, I know how important this is. The Kitakis are
depending on me. I have to be as strong
as Naruhodou expects me to be.
He jogged the last few feet
of the trail, bringing him back into the garden behind the restaurant. The officers were finally finished draining
the pond, with Kyouya there to oversee them loading jugs onto a restaurant
cart. It wasn't until Odoroki was just
beside him that he noticed the extra presence.
"Hey, Odeko," Kyouya greeted. "Were
your 15 minutes worth it?"
"Well…" Odoroki pursed his lips. "I managed to give you guys two strong
pieces of evidence that my client is guilty," he said with a wince. "But at least this way you can't
surprise me with them in court."
Kyouya chuckled at that. "Such an optimist you are! I like that."
Odoroki stared up at Kyouya
for a moment, remembering what Naruhodou had told him only a few minutes
ago. Prosecutor
Garyuu…does things his own way, at his own pace. Naruhodou said he's not trying as hard as he
should be, but… He frowned slightly
at the pinch of wrinkles at the corner of Kyouya's
eyes. He looks serious now.
"Prosecutor Garyuu," Odoroki began carefully. "I want to apol--"
Kyouya pressed his index
finger to Odoroki's lips, hushing him with a tsk. "Don't get
personal on me," he warned humorously.
"We're here on business, right?" He gave Odoroki's
cheek a gentle slap.
Odoroki's brow furrowed as he rubbed his face. "Um, okay." I just
wanted him to know I don't quite agree with Naruhodou. I think he does care about the truth. "Then…how's the case going?"
Kyouya's smile grew a bit grim. He ticked the points off on his fingers. "Motive. Proximity. A closed location with a
limited number of suspects. Lack of alibi. A
murder weapon only a Kitaki could have gotten his
hands on. A snack wrapper only a Kitaki could have left." He showed off his hands. "That's a lot more than three
strikes."
"Yeah…I
figured." Odoroki had realized
earlier that there would be no avoiding this, so he wasn't particularly
surprised. "So, you're going to
arrest him?"
"We don’t have much of a
choice," Kyouya said with a shrug.
"Unless you have some evidence to say he didn't do it?"
"Just what I know about
Mr. Kitaki," Odoroki admitted. He looked over the pond once more, the
garden, the restaurant, as if some clue might jump out and save him at the last
moment. When he found nothing he turned
his head back to Kyouya. "He
wouldn't have done this."
Kyouya returned his gaze
evenly, and though his lips were still smiling any remaining humor left his
eyes. "Then I guess I'll see you in
court."
Odoroki took a deep breath, gathering himself up to his full height--even if he had no chance of meeting Kyouya on equal footing, he wanted to show his resolution. "Yeah. I guess you will."
Plus a handy crime scene diagram~