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rionaleonhart) wrote2024-10-03 12:26 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2024-10-03 12:26 pm
Entry tags:
Fanfiction: Always Believe (Death Note/Ace Attorney)
Many thanks to necrophilia for using an Ace Attorney icon to comment on a post I made about Death Note, thus inspiring a fic concept that absolutely delighted me.
It would probably make more sense to use Phoenix's Japanese name for this fic, but his localised name is the one I'm used to, so Phoenix it is. I suppose it at least fits into the tradition of Death Note characters having weird names in general.
Title: Always Believe
Fandom: Death Note/Ace Attorney
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 2,000
Summary: Phoenix Wright defends Light Yagami in court.
“Good morning,” Yagami says. “I wasn’t expecting a visitor; are you—” He seems to cut himself off. “Ah. You’re Phoenix Wright, aren’t you?”
“You know me?” Phoenix asks, taken aback.
“I appreciate the visit,” Yagami says. “I’ve heard about your impressive victories in court; I know you’re good at what you do. But I don’t need a lawyer.”
That’s actually not why Phoenix came here. He’d heard a suspect had been arrested in the Kira case. He’d... been curious, he supposes.
Three of Phoenix’s clients have been killed by Kira. Two while awaiting trial, one after acquittal. Phoenix still remembers the horror of it: they’d been celebrating her victory, her innocence, and the day after the trial—
Well. Her innocence hadn’t been proved to Kira’s satisfaction, apparently.
Light Yagami is just a teenager. He speaks politely; he’s tidily groomed, even in his holding cell. He doesn’t look like someone capable of those three murders, let alone the hundreds that have been attributed to Kira.
“You don’t need a lawyer?” Phoenix asks. “Do you have one already?”
Yagami shakes his head. “I’m planning to defend myself.”
“Are you sure?” Phoenix asks. “It would be better for your case to have a legal professional there. I...” This wasn’t his original plan, but he decides to trust his instincts. “I’d like to help you, Yagami-san.”
Yagami looks at him for a long moment.
“Yagami-san is my father,” he says at last. He gives Phoenix a warm smile, and Phoenix knows in that instant that he’s made the right decision. “Call me Light.”
-
“Court is now in session for the trial of Light Yagami,” the judge announces. He pauses. “Er, where is the defendant?”
“I’m here, Your Honour,” Light calls, and Phoenix starts as he realises that Light has somehow ended up right next to him at the defence’s bench. “I thought I’d take on the role of assistant to my lawyer.”
The judge frowns a little. “Usually, the court would be informed of this in advance.”
“I’m sorry, Your Honour,” Light says. “My lawyer mentioned that his usual assistant was away, and... well, I have some interest in law. I wanted to offer my support. I’ll sit down if you need me to, of course.”
“Well, you’re a very well-spoken man, aren’t you?” the judge asks, and Phoenix relaxes just a little. Light has made a good first impression, apparently, which is more than can be said for some of his clients. “I’m sure it’ll be fine just this once.”
Light gives a short bow. “Thank you, Your Honour. I appreciate it.”
“After all,” the judge says, “the prosecutor in this case is his own chief witness, which is also highly irregular.”
“The prosecutor?” Phoenix asks. “Who is the prosecutor in this case?”
Now that he’s paying attention, it doesn’t look like the prosecutor has arrived yet. There’s something on top of the prosecution bench, though, something like... that’s a laptop, isn’t it?
The laptop’s screen lights up. There’s something displayed on it, an elaborate letter L on a white background. Light tenses a little next to Phoenix, leaning forward.
“I am L,” the laptop says.
It doesn’t sound human. Some kind of voice changer?
“I am grateful to you for granting my request to prosecute, Judge-san,” the laptop says.
“Your Honour would be more usual,” the judge comments.
“Wait,” Phoenix says. “I thought L was a detective. Is he qualified to be a prosecutor?”
“Well,” the judge says, “nobody knows his identity, so we don’t know for certain that he isn’t.”
“Your Honour,” Phoenix protests. He’s proud of his badge; do qualifications mean nothing?
“Besides, it just seemed like such a good story,” the judge says. “Kira and L, facing each other in court! That sort of thing.”
“Your Honour,” Phoenix says, wearily, “please refrain from calling my client Kira before the trial has even begun.”
-
L, it quickly becomes clear, is a formidable opponent. He’s less aggressive than some of the prosecutors Phoenix has faced, which is something, at least. But he’s difficult to read, as one would expect of a disembodied voice, and he lays out each detail of his case meticulously.
Phoenix was a little nervous when Light appointed himself as his assistant, unsure of what to expect. But Light, it turns out, is an asset in the courtroom. He’s quick to catch any careful phrasing or omissions; L will say, “It became clear that Chief Yagami’s son fit the profile,” and Light will step in instantly with, “Are you saying that the only person who fit your profile was Chief Yagami’s son?”
It’s difficult to find a foothold in this case. They have no answers to the question of how Kira kills people, but, whatever the method is, it obviously isn’t anything that fits into Phoenix’s understanding of the world. Kira can apparently kill people from afar, near-instantly, with nothing but a name and a face. It makes it hard to rely on traditional defences: alibis, lack of opportunity.
But Phoenix believes in his client. Light Yagami is innocent, which means that L is working to falsely convict him. Therefore, he needs to cast doubt on L’s character.
“You claim to be the ‘great detective’ L,” Phoenix says, “but how can we really know that? How can we trust the testimony of someone who refuses to show himself to us?”
Silence from the laptop. This is good.
“Has the court been able to verify this witness’s identity?” Phoenix asks. “As nobody knows what L is called or what he looks like, wouldn’t it be possible for anyone to claim that they’re L? Someone with a vendetta against Light Yagami, for example? What measures are in place—”
The doors of the courtroom slam open.
“My apologies,” says the young man in the doorway. “The doors took less effort than I was expecting.” He scratches the inside of his leg with his bare foot. “Perhaps this will satisfy you.”
He walks over and takes his place behind the prosecution bench. Nods to the judge, then to Light.
Light’s been a lot calmer, up to this point, than most of the clients Phoenix has worked with. He’s suddenly radiating tension, powerfully enough to make Phoenix nervous. But he nods back.
It doesn’t feel like Light is afraid, exactly. It feels like he’s intense, focused, ready to act or react in an instant. Like a coiled spring, or a coiled snake.
-
L is... weird. He speaks without inflection; he fidgets idly with his sleeves; he’s made no effort to dress for the courtroom, although, in fairness, it seems he didn’t originally plan to appear in person. Even when Phoenix is speaking, L doesn’t look at him, instead staring unblinkingly at Light.
If you put Light and L next to each other, Phoenix is pretty sure most people would point to L as the one who seems more like a serial killer.
Could L be Kira? He's a detective, so it's plausible that he would have strong feelings about criminals. It wouldn't be the first time the true culprit came to court to testify against one of Phoenix's clients, or even the fifth; thinking about it, it happens kind of a lot.
There's no real evidence right now, but Phoenix keeps the possibility in mind.
He has time to think about these things because, if he’s honest, he’s starting to feel a little superfluous to the trial. When L was on the laptop, Light seemed willing to let Phoenix lead the defence, only interjecting when he had a specific observation or point to make.
Now that L is here in person, Light won’t stop arguing with him directly. It’s like Phoenix isn’t there; they barely even seem to consider the presence of the judge. It’s like the two of them are the only people in the courtroom.
Light leans forward, bracing his hands on the bench. “You told me yourself that, when you had me under surveillance, I didn’t do anything suspicious. But criminals still died.”
“Previously reported criminals still died, but the newly reported criminals who were killed had committed unusually mild crimes, in comparison to Kira’s previous victims,” L says. “Perhaps Kira noticed he was under surveillance and was forced to change his methods.”
“Your argument is that Kira kills through supernatural means,” Light says. “I was nowhere near any of Kira’s victims when they died, but somehow I still supposedly killed them. If I had magic murder powers, why would they only enable me to kill certain criminals while I was under surveillance?”
“Wait,” Phoenix says. “This hasn’t come up before. L, when did you have my client under surveillance?”
An instant ago, L had drawn in a breath, he was clearly about to respond to Light. But he falls suddenly silent at that.
“I spoke to my father after L mentioned it to me,” Light says. “It was in January. When L began to suspect my family, he installed approximately three hundred cameras throughout our house; they were in place for—”
“Three hundred?” Phoenix asks, incredulous. “Three hundred cameras? Just – in your family home? Because he thought you might be connected to Kira?”
“Three hundred?” the judge echoes, horrified. “But you couldn’t do that without people noticing, surely.”
“L had my father’s cooperation,” Light says. “Not the cooperation of the police, to be clear, but the cooperation of Soichiro Yagami as a person. My father regretted it deeply, but L made him feel it was the only way to clear the suspicion against me and Sayu – my little sister Sayu, she’s fourteen—”
“Three hundred cameras to spy on a fourteen-year-old girl?” the judge asks, with even deeper horror.
This is it. This is how Phoenix is going to win the case.
“Your Honour,” he says, squaring his shoulders, “are we going to trust the testimony of someone who uses methods like this? And who, even after installing these three hundred cameras, didn’t find any evidence of suspicious behaviour from my client?”
-
Light pays Phoenix a visit in the courthouse lobby after the trial is over.
“For a man who just won his case,” Light comments, “you don’t look especially happy.”
Phoenix gives him a quick smile. “Sorry. I’m glad you’re free.”
Light nods. “You were helpful. Thank you. It looks like there’s something bothering you, though.”
Phoenix should probably have guessed that Light would pick up on his feelings. He’s an intelligent young man; the trial made that very clear. Sharp, observant, insightful. He’ll probably go on to do great things, and the real Kira will know he was falsely accused, so he shouldn’t be a target; there’s some comfort in that.
“It’s just...” Phoenix hesitates. “I’ve never really thought about it before. Most times, when I’ve won a case, the real culprit has been clear by the end of it. I suppose it’s bothering me to know that Kira is still out there.”
“Ah,” Light says. “I thought perhaps you were wondering whether I could really be Kira.”
Phoenix shakes his head. “No. I’ve known from the start that you were innocent.”
Light laughs a little at that. “That’s just as well.”
“Just as well?” Phoenix echoes.
“You’ll sleep better, knowing I’m innocent,” Light says, straightening his cuffs. “After all, if I were Kira, I’d now know for a fact that you’ve successfully defended the guilty.” He shrugs. “Perhaps, as Kira, I would decide that you’re complicit in their crimes.”
Phoenix feels something prickle between his shoulder blades.
“Then again,” Light says, “perhaps Kira would be grateful for your defence. Perhaps he’d decide to let you live for that reason.” A moment’s pause. “I suppose we’ll never know.”
He gives Phoenix a small smile, then turns and walks out of the courthouse.
Phoenix stares after him for a long time.
necrophilia for using an Ace Attorney icon to comment on a post I made about Death Note, thus inspiring a fic concept that absolutely delighted me.It would probably make more sense to use Phoenix's Japanese name for this fic, but his localised name is the one I'm used to, so Phoenix it is. I suppose it at least fits into the tradition of Death Note characters having weird names in general.
Title: Always Believe
Fandom: Death Note/Ace Attorney
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 2,000
Summary: Phoenix Wright defends Light Yagami in court.
“Good morning,” Yagami says. “I wasn’t expecting a visitor; are you—” He seems to cut himself off. “Ah. You’re Phoenix Wright, aren’t you?”
“You know me?” Phoenix asks, taken aback.
“I appreciate the visit,” Yagami says. “I’ve heard about your impressive victories in court; I know you’re good at what you do. But I don’t need a lawyer.”
That’s actually not why Phoenix came here. He’d heard a suspect had been arrested in the Kira case. He’d... been curious, he supposes.
Three of Phoenix’s clients have been killed by Kira. Two while awaiting trial, one after acquittal. Phoenix still remembers the horror of it: they’d been celebrating her victory, her innocence, and the day after the trial—
Well. Her innocence hadn’t been proved to Kira’s satisfaction, apparently.
Light Yagami is just a teenager. He speaks politely; he’s tidily groomed, even in his holding cell. He doesn’t look like someone capable of those three murders, let alone the hundreds that have been attributed to Kira.
“You don’t need a lawyer?” Phoenix asks. “Do you have one already?”
Yagami shakes his head. “I’m planning to defend myself.”
“Are you sure?” Phoenix asks. “It would be better for your case to have a legal professional there. I...” This wasn’t his original plan, but he decides to trust his instincts. “I’d like to help you, Yagami-san.”
Yagami looks at him for a long moment.
“Yagami-san is my father,” he says at last. He gives Phoenix a warm smile, and Phoenix knows in that instant that he’s made the right decision. “Call me Light.”
“Court is now in session for the trial of Light Yagami,” the judge announces. He pauses. “Er, where is the defendant?”
“I’m here, Your Honour,” Light calls, and Phoenix starts as he realises that Light has somehow ended up right next to him at the defence’s bench. “I thought I’d take on the role of assistant to my lawyer.”
The judge frowns a little. “Usually, the court would be informed of this in advance.”
“I’m sorry, Your Honour,” Light says. “My lawyer mentioned that his usual assistant was away, and... well, I have some interest in law. I wanted to offer my support. I’ll sit down if you need me to, of course.”
“Well, you’re a very well-spoken man, aren’t you?” the judge asks, and Phoenix relaxes just a little. Light has made a good first impression, apparently, which is more than can be said for some of his clients. “I’m sure it’ll be fine just this once.”
Light gives a short bow. “Thank you, Your Honour. I appreciate it.”
“After all,” the judge says, “the prosecutor in this case is his own chief witness, which is also highly irregular.”
“The prosecutor?” Phoenix asks. “Who is the prosecutor in this case?”
Now that he’s paying attention, it doesn’t look like the prosecutor has arrived yet. There’s something on top of the prosecution bench, though, something like... that’s a laptop, isn’t it?
The laptop’s screen lights up. There’s something displayed on it, an elaborate letter L on a white background. Light tenses a little next to Phoenix, leaning forward.
“I am L,” the laptop says.
It doesn’t sound human. Some kind of voice changer?
“I am grateful to you for granting my request to prosecute, Judge-san,” the laptop says.
“Your Honour would be more usual,” the judge comments.
“Wait,” Phoenix says. “I thought L was a detective. Is he qualified to be a prosecutor?”
“Well,” the judge says, “nobody knows his identity, so we don’t know for certain that he isn’t.”
“Your Honour,” Phoenix protests. He’s proud of his badge; do qualifications mean nothing?
“Besides, it just seemed like such a good story,” the judge says. “Kira and L, facing each other in court! That sort of thing.”
“Your Honour,” Phoenix says, wearily, “please refrain from calling my client Kira before the trial has even begun.”
L, it quickly becomes clear, is a formidable opponent. He’s less aggressive than some of the prosecutors Phoenix has faced, which is something, at least. But he’s difficult to read, as one would expect of a disembodied voice, and he lays out each detail of his case meticulously.
Phoenix was a little nervous when Light appointed himself as his assistant, unsure of what to expect. But Light, it turns out, is an asset in the courtroom. He’s quick to catch any careful phrasing or omissions; L will say, “It became clear that Chief Yagami’s son fit the profile,” and Light will step in instantly with, “Are you saying that the only person who fit your profile was Chief Yagami’s son?”
It’s difficult to find a foothold in this case. They have no answers to the question of how Kira kills people, but, whatever the method is, it obviously isn’t anything that fits into Phoenix’s understanding of the world. Kira can apparently kill people from afar, near-instantly, with nothing but a name and a face. It makes it hard to rely on traditional defences: alibis, lack of opportunity.
But Phoenix believes in his client. Light Yagami is innocent, which means that L is working to falsely convict him. Therefore, he needs to cast doubt on L’s character.
“You claim to be the ‘great detective’ L,” Phoenix says, “but how can we really know that? How can we trust the testimony of someone who refuses to show himself to us?”
Silence from the laptop. This is good.
“Has the court been able to verify this witness’s identity?” Phoenix asks. “As nobody knows what L is called or what he looks like, wouldn’t it be possible for anyone to claim that they’re L? Someone with a vendetta against Light Yagami, for example? What measures are in place—”
The doors of the courtroom slam open.
“My apologies,” says the young man in the doorway. “The doors took less effort than I was expecting.” He scratches the inside of his leg with his bare foot. “Perhaps this will satisfy you.”
He walks over and takes his place behind the prosecution bench. Nods to the judge, then to Light.
Light’s been a lot calmer, up to this point, than most of the clients Phoenix has worked with. He’s suddenly radiating tension, powerfully enough to make Phoenix nervous. But he nods back.
It doesn’t feel like Light is afraid, exactly. It feels like he’s intense, focused, ready to act or react in an instant. Like a coiled spring, or a coiled snake.
L is... weird. He speaks without inflection; he fidgets idly with his sleeves; he’s made no effort to dress for the courtroom, although, in fairness, it seems he didn’t originally plan to appear in person. Even when Phoenix is speaking, L doesn’t look at him, instead staring unblinkingly at Light.
If you put Light and L next to each other, Phoenix is pretty sure most people would point to L as the one who seems more like a serial killer.
Could L be Kira? He's a detective, so it's plausible that he would have strong feelings about criminals. It wouldn't be the first time the true culprit came to court to testify against one of Phoenix's clients, or even the fifth; thinking about it, it happens kind of a lot.
There's no real evidence right now, but Phoenix keeps the possibility in mind.
He has time to think about these things because, if he’s honest, he’s starting to feel a little superfluous to the trial. When L was on the laptop, Light seemed willing to let Phoenix lead the defence, only interjecting when he had a specific observation or point to make.
Now that L is here in person, Light won’t stop arguing with him directly. It’s like Phoenix isn’t there; they barely even seem to consider the presence of the judge. It’s like the two of them are the only people in the courtroom.
Light leans forward, bracing his hands on the bench. “You told me yourself that, when you had me under surveillance, I didn’t do anything suspicious. But criminals still died.”
“Previously reported criminals still died, but the newly reported criminals who were killed had committed unusually mild crimes, in comparison to Kira’s previous victims,” L says. “Perhaps Kira noticed he was under surveillance and was forced to change his methods.”
“Your argument is that Kira kills through supernatural means,” Light says. “I was nowhere near any of Kira’s victims when they died, but somehow I still supposedly killed them. If I had magic murder powers, why would they only enable me to kill certain criminals while I was under surveillance?”
“Wait,” Phoenix says. “This hasn’t come up before. L, when did you have my client under surveillance?”
An instant ago, L had drawn in a breath, he was clearly about to respond to Light. But he falls suddenly silent at that.
“I spoke to my father after L mentioned it to me,” Light says. “It was in January. When L began to suspect my family, he installed approximately three hundred cameras throughout our house; they were in place for—”
“Three hundred?” Phoenix asks, incredulous. “Three hundred cameras? Just – in your family home? Because he thought you might be connected to Kira?”
“Three hundred?” the judge echoes, horrified. “But you couldn’t do that without people noticing, surely.”
“L had my father’s cooperation,” Light says. “Not the cooperation of the police, to be clear, but the cooperation of Soichiro Yagami as a person. My father regretted it deeply, but L made him feel it was the only way to clear the suspicion against me and Sayu – my little sister Sayu, she’s fourteen—”
“Three hundred cameras to spy on a fourteen-year-old girl?” the judge asks, with even deeper horror.
This is it. This is how Phoenix is going to win the case.
“Your Honour,” he says, squaring his shoulders, “are we going to trust the testimony of someone who uses methods like this? And who, even after installing these three hundred cameras, didn’t find any evidence of suspicious behaviour from my client?”
Light pays Phoenix a visit in the courthouse lobby after the trial is over.
“For a man who just won his case,” Light comments, “you don’t look especially happy.”
Phoenix gives him a quick smile. “Sorry. I’m glad you’re free.”
Light nods. “You were helpful. Thank you. It looks like there’s something bothering you, though.”
Phoenix should probably have guessed that Light would pick up on his feelings. He’s an intelligent young man; the trial made that very clear. Sharp, observant, insightful. He’ll probably go on to do great things, and the real Kira will know he was falsely accused, so he shouldn’t be a target; there’s some comfort in that.
“It’s just...” Phoenix hesitates. “I’ve never really thought about it before. Most times, when I’ve won a case, the real culprit has been clear by the end of it. I suppose it’s bothering me to know that Kira is still out there.”
“Ah,” Light says. “I thought perhaps you were wondering whether I could really be Kira.”
Phoenix shakes his head. “No. I’ve known from the start that you were innocent.”
Light laughs a little at that. “That’s just as well.”
“Just as well?” Phoenix echoes.
“You’ll sleep better, knowing I’m innocent,” Light says, straightening his cuffs. “After all, if I were Kira, I’d now know for a fact that you’ve successfully defended the guilty.” He shrugs. “Perhaps, as Kira, I would decide that you’re complicit in their crimes.”
Phoenix feels something prickle between his shoulder blades.
“Then again,” Light says, “perhaps Kira would be grateful for your defence. Perhaps he’d decide to let you live for that reason.” A moment’s pause. “I suppose we’ll never know.”
He gives Phoenix a small smile, then turns and walks out of the courthouse.
Phoenix stares after him for a long time.
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This is most IC judge line I've ever read lmaoooo.
This was an especially fun read, I really love the blending of the two worlds and how a lot of the humor is very understated, being a fan of both series. I really enjoyed Phoenix feeling like he was more of a desk ornament during the face to face confrontations and his quiet reflections on how wild his career really is.
The ending was /chef's kiss.
Light gets away with it but he's too egotistical not to bat Phoenix around like prey right before leaving. Pft, of course.
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Thank you so much for your kind words! I absolutely love your 'bat Phoenix around like prey' description; that's exactly it. You're the worst, Light ♥
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I am a big fan of Ace Attorney, though, so I can say with total confidence that you totally nailed the feel of an AcAt trial, with all the crazy escalation and the touches of lightness that don’t take away from the gravity of the situation that entails. Truly, a ton of fun to read. I had an utter blast, and now I’m going to spend half the day playing PW:AA instead of engaging in my actual plans. Worth it.
The ending, in particular, is so eerie. Leaving it up in the air whether Phoenix is at risk, and the way Light phrases things like he’s watching a flipped coin balance on its side before it falls one way or the other… Augh! Chills!
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the way Light phrases things like he’s watching a flipped coin balance on its side before it falls one way or the other…
Oh, I absolutely love the way you've put this.
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I don’t know if that’s a motif Death Note even uses in canon, but it fit the closing of this fic too well to resist ^-^
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I think this is actually slightly more realistic than the contradiction magic we often see Nick use in court. Getting the case thrown out by casting doubt on L as an unbiased witness is probably something that happens more often in the courtroom than compelling a performing killer whale to testify! Although not the L part specifically, but he had to have known his presence would muddy things.
I love the last bit. It reminded me of the movie Primal Fear.
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The way you fit Light and L into an AA style of trial is really good! You captured something of the tone of both canons even though they're quite different.
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I know an alarming amount about Ace Attorney and pretty much nothing about Death Note, and this was still a super fun read! You really nailed the pacing of it, and I loved the character interactions! xD
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