Turnabout Of The Revengers- Trial Day 2 (Part 2)

Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney
Turnabout Of The Revengers
By Derald Snyder

Trial- Day 2 (Part 2)

Court Record:
-Crime Scene Photos
-Broken Stage Light
-Piece of Cloth
-Crime Scene Diagram
-Autopsy Report
-.30-caliber Machine Gun
-Dragon Killer's Fingerprints/Hair
-Old Rug
-Rei's Bloody Clothes
-Wig and Fake Horn
-Studio Escape Route

September 18, 10:56 AM
District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 3

(So we've finally figured out who the killer is...) Rei pondered as she stood alone in the lobby, (but proving it is going to be a tall order, like Oracle Jinguji said...) Her train of thought was interrupted as the door suddenly slammed open, S-Sha marching in with K-Sha close behind, her red eyes blazing with anger.
"Ryghts, what the hell were you thinking?!" the Gold Third member demanded, getting in the lawyer's face. "Making poor E-Sha cry like that?! I should cleave you in two for this!"
"Ahhh! I'm sorry! So, so very sorry!" Rei squeaked in fear.
"Stop that, S-Sha," K-Sha tried to intervene. "I'm just as responsible for upsetting E-Sha, you know... and besides, what if Miss Rei turns out to be right?!"
S-Sha considered this for a moment, before standing straight. "Fine. I'll defer my anger for now. But you turn out to be wrong, Ms. Ryghts... I will make you suffer for causing E-Sha such unnecessary pain!" With that, she turned and marched out.
K-Sha watched her go, looking forlorn. "Well, that could have gone better..." She turned back to Rei. "Still, it's hard to believe that Tori of all people might be the Dragon Killer... I have to admit, there were a few people on the crew I would have suspected before him..."
"Th-that's probably w-what he was c-counting on," Rei pointed out. "A-after all, you n-never saw his f-face..."
"But he didn't see mine, either," K-Sha countered. "So how did he know it was me?"
"H-he c-could have recognized y-your voice," the lawyer suggested.
"...Maybe," the schoolgirl shrugged. "After all, there's not many girls with a voice like mine that uses machine guns in battle..." She then sighed. "The problem is, can we even prove that he killed Mr. Wright?"
"I have a few ideas," Rei replied, "But hopefully I can get him to slip and incriminate himself... After all, this will be the first time anyone's gotten this close to nailing him..."
"...I hope you're right," K-Sha sighed grimly.

September 18, 11:20 AM
District Court
Courtroom No. 3

To Rei's mild surprise, a number of people had actually come back to the gallery to watch the trial, though the seats were still about half empty...
The judge then banged his gavel. "Court is now back in session. Prosecutor Jinguji, were you able to procure the witness?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Kei nodded. "He was somewhat reluctant at first, but when I mentioned his friend had run out of the courtroom crying, he couldn't get here fast enough." She then slapped her hand on the bench. "Take the stand, witness."
"Gladly," Tori replied as he marched up to the witness stand, shooting a glare over at the defense's bench. Rei bowed her head in shame, while K-Sha just glared back defiantly.
"Your full name and occupation," the Oracle intoned.
"Tori Ryuusei. I'm an assistant to the director..."
(Ryuusei?) thought Rei. ('Ryuu' as in 'dragon'? The circumstantial evidence just piles higher and higher...!)
"And just how do you assist the director?" the judge asked.
"Oh, just random odd jobs, this and that," Tori replied, putting his hands behind his head. "And not just for the director... I also do tasks for other crew members or the actors... moving props, cleaning up messes, getting food or drinks... I'm basically the errand boy for the crew at large."
"Does that include hanging lights?" K-Sha asked.
"Oh, sure, I help Mr. Wright with that sometimes... or I did, anyway," the boy looked down with a sad expression on his face. "Why'd he have to get shot dead, anyway?" Looking back over at Rei, he then cried out, "And why did *you* have to make E-Sha run outta here crying? I don't wanna be a potty mouth, but what the hell, Ms. Ryghts?!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the former goddess apologized. "I d-didn't mean it, I swear...!"
Kei then slapped her hand on the bench again. "Because, witness, sometimes the truth isn't always pretty. It was because of the defense's inquiry into *you* that upset your friend so greatly..."
"Me?" Tori blinked. "Why ask about me?"
"Because it has come to our attention that you have no alibi for the night Reggie Wright met his end," Kei stated. "That is why you have been summoned as a witness!"
The boy recoiled at this. "W-wait, you're saying... that *I'm* a suspect?! That's insane! Why would I wanna kill Mr. Wright?! He's always been super nice to me!"
"...Nevertheless, we will have your testimony about your actions on the night of September 15th," Kei stated in a tone that would brook no argument whatsoever.
"OK, OK..." Tori sighed, running a hand through his short black hair.
"...He's acting exactly the same as always," K-Sha quietly observed. Rei just nodded in agreement.
"So, the night before..." Tori began. "Well, I knew that Mr. Wright was going to the laundromat that night... but so did everyone else on the crew. I mean, I admit I asked him if he wanted any help, but he said he had it under control. So I went back to the studio and crashed in Dogoo Man's dressing room."
"Why there?" the judge blinked in confusion. "Can't you afford a hotel room?"
The errand boy just shrugged. "Eh, all the hotels 'round here are way too fancy for my liking. Besides, it's not the first time I've slept in the studio..."
"I assume," Kei Jinguji cut in, "That the reason you slept in Dogoo Man's room was because he is S-Sha's, and by extension E-Sha's subordinate. Correct?"
"Yep," Tori nodded.
"So you never exited the studio for the rest of the night?" the judge inquired.
"Not unless I sleep-walked," Tori muttered. "You can check the security cameras, if you don't believe me..."
"OBJECTION!" cried Rei. "Sorry, Mr. Ryuusei, but that doesn't wash with me."
"Whazzat supposed to mean?" the boy asked.
"I have here," Rei held up a piece of paper, "A map of the studio, which details a route from the dressing rooms to an emergency exit, that allows a person to completely avoid detection by the cameras!" She then slammed her fists on the bench. "You could have easily used this route for yourself, in order to leave the building undetected!"
"Oh, come on!" Tori protested. "Even if such a route does exist, what makes you think I knew about it?!"
"Because Razzie Porter, who we received this map from, all but admitted that *you* were the source that gave it to him!" the lawyer asserted.
"Ugh!" Tori grabbed his stomach as if he had been just punched there. The people in the gallery began chatting at this...
"Order!" cried the judge as he banged his gavel. "Well, witness? What do you say to the defense's assertion?"
"Argh! OK, OK!" Tori grunted as he grabbed his hair in distress. "I admit it! I gave that map to the reporter! B-but he intimidated me into doing it! I didn't have a choice, OK?!"
"Even so," Kei Jinguji spoke up, "That doesn't explain why you had such a map to begin with..."
"Ugh..." the errand boy lowered his head in shame. "Look, I... the reason I had it was... well, I chatted up one of the security guys, and he was complaining about a big gap in the security, how someone could could steal something from an actor's dressing room and leave without ever being seen. So, outta curiosity, I asked him how that was possible, so he took me over to one of the maps on the wall, and pointed out the route. I figured I should let the director know about it, so I got a copy of the studio map myself and drew out the route I'd been told. But not long after that, Mr. Wright got killed, so I never had the chance to give Mr. Iceberg the map... and then that crazy reporter showed up, and..."
"Hmmm..." the judge closed his eyes in thought for a moment. "That story sounds a little flimsy to me... yet, I suppose it's plausible..."
"Ugh... he's good," K-Sha groaned. "Now what do we do?"
(He is probably telling the truth, at least as far as how he found out about that route,) Rei thought to herself.
"Does the defense have any other questions for the witness?" Kei inquired.
Rei nodded in response. "Tori, do you remember yesterday, when Uni and I were discussing the case with you and S-Sha outside the studio?"
"Yeah, I remember," the boy nodded. "We were talking about how that Dragon Killer guy might be the culprit..."
"Did you discuss what I remembered about what the guy looked like?" K-Sha pressed.
"Yeah, we did..." Tori put his hands behind his head. "But like I said before, that describes about half the guys at the studio..."
"Including yourself," K-Sha pointed out.
"Uh... well, yeah, I guess..." the black-haired boy conceded. "But Ms. Ryghts also said that the guy had a scar on his shoulder..."
"Which you also have!" Rei pointed her finger. "Don't try to deny it! We've already heard from E-Sha about how you were shot three years ago!"
"Wh-wh-whaaaaaat?!" Tori gasped. "S-she told you about that?!"
"Perhaps we could have a look at the wound you suffered?" Kei suggested.
"D-do I have to...?" Tori groaned, sweating slightly.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, you do," the judge asserted.
"Ugh... all right, fine," the errand boy sighed, as he stretched the collar of his t-shirt, exposing his left shoulder...
and a very visible scar-line that ran over it. "There, ya happy now?" The gallery began to mutter at seeing the scar...
"Oh, my. That's quite a mark," the judge observed.
"Yeah," Tori grunted as he let his collar snap back into normal position. "I'm sure E-Sha already told you this, but I got this a few years back when she and I were on a trip to Lastation together... as friends, just so we're clear." He then sighed. "It was my own fault, I shouldn't have gone for a walk on a pitch-black night, but I just couldn't sleep... all of a sudden this psycho comes outta nowhere with a machine gun and starts shooting! I barely got away from that wacko! Managed to find my way back to E-Sha's room, and she bandaged me up..."
"Why didn't you call the police, or go to the hospital?" Kei Jinguji inquired.
"Aw, the wound wasn't that bad..." Tori said as he put his hands behind his head again. "It looked worse than it hurt, but I just kinda stayed inside for the rest of the trip after that... As for not calling the police, I had no idea what that psycho looked like, so what was the point?"
"Or maybe," K-Sha countered, "you didn't go to the hospital because you didn't want your DNA profile being put on record! Because you were afraid that the blood you lost in the shooting attack would prove that you were the Dragon Killer!"
"Whaaaaaaa...?" Tori's face contorted in utter disbelief. "Uh, Ms. Ryghts, has this girl been taking her meds or not?"
"I don't take meds!" the student protested. "Just because I was practically raised by a mercenary group, doesn't make me a funny farm candidate!"
"Order! Order!" the judge gaveled them down. "That'll be enough, children... would any adults be willing to step into this conversation?"
"Miss K-Sha, at this point, it's your word against Mr. Ryuusei's," Kei stated. "After all, evidence is everything in a court of law... if you have no proof to back up your assertion, then it has no standing here..."
"B-but he has no proof, either!" K-Sha protested.
"HOLD IT!" Rei jumped in. "K-Sha, I think it's time you left this mission to me..."
"Huh? Do you have an idea, Miss Rei?" the brunette turned to look at her companion.
"Look, Miss Jinguji is right," the lawyer whispered. "You can't prove Tori's the Dragon Killer from that incident, because we have no evidence due to the Order's interference. We have to approach this from another angle!"
"What angle is that?" K-Sha whispered back.
"The evidence we already have." With that, Rei stood straight, before saying aloud, "Your Honor, I might have a way of proving whether this errand boy is our killer or not..."
"And what would that be?" the judge asked curiously.
"While discussing the case yesterday, Prosecutor Jinguji told me that there was some evidence left behind from the Dragon Killer's previous murders," the former goddess explained. "Which includes two partial fingerprints. Perhaps if we could compare them to Tori Ryuusei's prints..."
"Fingerprints?!" Tori gasped, before suddenly segueing into laughter. "Ah-hahahahaha! That's a good one, Ms. Ryghts!"
"...would the witness care to tell us what is so funny?" Kei asked.
"S-sorry, sorry. That was probably kinda inappropriate, huh?" The errand boy then cleared his throat. "It's just, about a year or so ago, I tried grabbing a hot pot off the stove without gloves... That time, I *did* have to go to the hospital, 'cause my fingertips got burned pretty badly... Long story short, because of that, I don't have any fingerprints anymore..."
"Wh-whaaaaaatt?!" Rei cried as she recoiled in shock, the audience starting to chatter...
"Order! Order!" the judge banged his gavel. Once the gallery had quieted, he stated, "Well, this is a conundrum. If the witness has no fingerprints, that effectively makes the partials left by the Dragon Killer useless as evidence!"
"Arrrrgh!" K-Sha growled, sweating a little. "That little sneak! He burned off his fingerprints on purpose, to hide his past!" she hissed to Rei, who could only groan in reply.
"Unfortunately, it wold seem the defense has failed to meet their burden of proof," Kei Jinguji stated solemnly. "Without proof, this cross-examination is going nowhere fast. It may be time to let this witness go..." The Oracle then slapped her hand on the bench. "Unless, Ms. Ryghts, you have some other way of proving your case, this trial must come to an end here and now!"
"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," sighed Tori. "Can we just end this trial already, so I can go get some grub?"
"Th-this can't be happening! We were so close...!" K-Sha moaned in despair.
Rei on the other hand, realized something had sounded strange with the prosecution's last statement... (Another way of proving my case...? but the only evidence other then the fingerprints was...) The horned lawyer then gasped as a sudden epiphany came to her. (Way too subtle, Oracle... but maybe, just maybe...)
"Very well," sighed the judge. "If the defense has no further arguments, then I will have to end proceedings..."
"OBJECTION!" Rei declared, pointing her finger. "Your Honor, there *is* another piece of evidence we can use!"
"R-really?" the older man blinked in surprise. "And just what is that?"
"In addition to the fingerprints, there was also a single strand of hair that was found," Rei explained. "That's how we knew the Dragon Killer's hair color to begin with, after all..."
"Oh!" gasped K-Sha. "Then, we can just compare the DNA from that hair to Tori's DNA, and-!"
"OBJECTION!" Kei cut her off. "I'm sorry, defense, but that's impossible."
"What do you mean, 'impossible'?" the former mercenary demanded.
"In order for a DNA comparison to be run, the hair has to have an intact follicle, or root," the Oracle explained. "Unfortunately, the hair in question has no follicle to speak of..."
"No no noooo!" K-Sha wailed. "Why does this kid keep getting so lucky?!"
"Hey, you're the ones who kept trying to pin Mr. Wright's death on me," Tori shrugged.
"HOLD IT!" Rei slammed her fists on the bench. "K-Sha, you jumped the gun! That wasn't what I was going to suggest at all..."
"Oh?" Kei raised an eyebrow. "Then what was your suggestion, Ms. Ryghts?"
"W-well, you see," Rei began, "I k-kinda already f-figured that th-the Dragon Killer's hair d-didn't have an i-intact root... otherwise, y-you would have run a D-DNA c-comparison long ago, r-right?"
"Correct," the Oracle nodded.
"But the thing is, there's also a hair that was left behind in this fake wig worn by the killer," Rei pointed out. "So, who says we can't compare the two hairs to each other?"
"T-to each other?" Tori gasped. "I-is that possible?"
"Well, I highly doubt that the Dragon Killer's hair composition has changed that much in three years," Rei mused. "So, if we compare these two hairs, and they're shown to be identical... It would prove beyond a doubt that the man who disguised himself as me, shot Reggie Wright dead at the laundromat, dressed him in clean clothes and a red vest, dragged his body back to the studio, set him up by the heat register, faked his voice when Director Iceberg went to check on him, and finally moved him up to the rafters above K-Sha's scene shooting..." She pointed dramatically with her finger. "That this man is none other than the one and only Dragon Killer!"
"Gaaaaaahhhhhhh-!" Tori screamed as he recoiled, his hair spiking up in shock.
K-Sha's eyes suddenly went wide. "That scream... I've heard that scream before..."

("Shit-!")
(*tatatatatatatatata*)
("Stop right there, bastard!")
(*ratatatatata*)
("Gaaaaaahhhhhhh-!")

"Three years ago..." the schoolgirl pointed at the errand boy. "Tori Ryuusei! It was your scream I heard three years ago!"
"Graaaaah...! Rrrroooooaaaaarrrrhhhhh!" Tori continued to scream, his fists clenched in anger, a dark aura surrounding him. "K-Shaaaaaa...! K... K-SHAAAAAAAAAA! Only you... would dare... defy me...!"
"So it *was* you!" K-Sha accused.
The dark-haired boy slammed his fists on the witness stand, smoke suddenly expelling from his nose. "It was... it was all your fault! You completely ruined my perfect kill streak, you bitch! And then, to add injury to insult, you left a scar on my shoulder as a reminder of my screw-up! Forcing me to hide in my friend's hotel room until we went back to Leanbox...!" Gritting his teeth, he continued, "I swore then and there... that if I ever ran across you again, I would make you suffer for my utter humiliation!"
"So, it's true then!" the judge declared with an angered expression. "You are the Dragon Killer!" The gallery started murmuring in disbelief...
"No!" screamed Steve Iceberg. "It was you, Tori? YOU killed Reggie?! For Goddess' sake, WHY?!"
"...I'm sorry, Director," Tori muttered. "I just needed a convincing motive to frame K-Sha with, and Mr. Wright just happened to provide it when he argued with her over Lady Noire. It wasn't anything personal. I even told him that just before I shot him..." He heaved a sigh. "If it's any consolation, his death was a swift one..." He snorted, blowing more smoke out of his nostrils. "I can't believe I got exposed by the villain of the film, of all people...! I knew she was a lawyer, but the way she stuttered all the time made me think she was incompetent...!"
"And thus, you thought I was the perfect back-up plan, in case K-Sha was proven innocent," Rei finished for him, before smirking sinisterly. "Let me tell you, Ryuusei, you're far from the first murderer to have underestimated me due to my speech pattern! Did you really think, with all your kills, that you had what it took to take on a former final boss?"
"If so, you made a big mistake," Kei Jinguji supplemented. "After all, this is a courtroom, not your standard JRPG..." She slapped her hand on the bench. "And when you take on a final boss without being prepared, you get wiped!"
"Of course, your biggest mistake," K-Sha added, "was drawing your callsign on the victim's body... if it hadn't been for that, we'd all have been completely clueless..."
"Hmph... I'll concede that one," Tori growled. "I was careful not to draw it on Mr. Wright's body after I shot him, when I was cleaning him up afterwards... but when I removed the vest and dragged him up to the rafters... my hands must have moved without thinking. I tried to rub it out, but you obviously still recognized it, K-Sha..."
"Actually, it was I who discerned the blood pattern to be your emblem," the judge interjected. "Though Miss K-Sha did provide the context..."
"You bastard!" S-Sha called out. "E-Sha is screaming in pain right now! She can't handle the fact that she might have aided and abetted a serial killer! How could you betray her trust like that?!"
"I never meant for her to get involved!" Tori protested. "It's this damned yandere's fault I had to get her to bandage me up!" he pointed at K-Sha. "Dammit... I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, by using that murder to remind you of your accident so you'd recede and let E-Sha have control of her own body again! Obviously, that didn't pan out either!"
"Need I remind you, E-Sha did what she did *willingly* in order to save my life!" S-Sha countered. "But you don't save lives, you take them! You're not worthy of being E-Sha's friend! You never were... because you're nothing but pure evil!"
"See, that's always been E-Sha's problem," Tori sighed. "You and she see things in terms of black and white..."
The platinum-haired woman's eyes suddenly shifted from red to green as E-Sha took control. "Sometimes, that's the way things *are*, Tori! I wish I'd never met you!"
The Dragon Killer doubled over like he'd been hit in the stomach again. "E-Sha...!"
"Enough," Kei cut in, "It's over, Dragon Killer. There is no escape for you this time, for your bloody legacy ends here."
"Does it, now...?" Tori muttered, blowing smoke out of his nostrils again. "You fool, Oracle... did you really think I'd just waltz into this court without an emergency escape plan?" With that, he clicked his boots together, which suddenly ignited rockets in the soles which propelled up up, straight through the ceiling and out of the courtroom!
"What the- rocket boots?!" the judge gasped as he looked upward.
"Seriously?!" Rei cried out.
"Oh no you don't!" K-Sha cried. "TRANSFORM!" The ex-yandere was engulfed in a golden light as she assumed her Gold Form. "You're not getting away this time!" she screamed as she took off in pursuit, widening the hole in the ceiling in the process.
"I-incredible!" the judge gasped at seeing K-Sha fly off.
"Your Honor, the verdict?" Kei requested.
"What...? O-oh, yes! Of course!" the robed man cleared his throat. "This court hereby finds the defendant, Ms. Rei Ryghts..."

NOT GUILTY

There was no outright cheering or confetti, but a smattering of applause was heard from the half-empty gallery. (At least they're not booing me anymore,) Rei mused.
"Now somebody get after that Dragon Killer!" the judge demanded.
"I will contact Lady Noire at once," Kei assented as she pulled out her mobile device. "Ms. Ryghts, you contact Lady Uni..."
"R-right!" Rei nodded as she whipped out her cell phone. (I just hope they get here in time to help K-Sha... something tells me that Tori Ryuusei isn't going down without a fight... a physical one, in this case...!)

To be continued...