#Takumi said 'Nobody gets sidelined'

[alynnl]

I did another gameplay marathon and cleared TGAAC 2-3 and I was absolutely blown away by it.

Needless to say, this case has completely shattered the myth of Third Case Syndrome for me.

Let's dive into what (or who) made the largest impression on me.

Barok van Zieks. Up until now, his past was shrouded in mystery, and he appears to be the typical rival prosecutor who wants to poke holes in the defense's arguments and be extremely rude the whole time doing it.

But this case is different for Van Zieks. Because his friend Albert Harebrayne is accused of murder. He meets the accused before the trial, which is something he's never done before. And during that trial, Van Zieks believes in Albert's scientific theory. And it's not a ploy. He truly sees his old friend from university as a man of science and refuses to discredit him.

Even when the trial goes completely off the rails and Albert ends up confessing to the crime in question (just for one more chance to prove his hypothesis is correct), Van Zieks doesn't appeal to the jury and ask them to call for a guilty verdict. He patiently waits for Ryunosuke and Susato to talk him down, then asks for Professor Harebrayne to tell the truth about the machine.

During the investigation, Van Zieks cooperates with Ryunosuke in a limited way, giving him a photograph of the engineer, Enoch Drebber. The fact that he even opens up to him at all is huge. He even asks about Soseki which was even more unexpected!

The third phase of the trial has Van Zieks appearing like he's his usual aggressive self (countering nearly all of Ryunosuke's arguments) but something curious happens when the judge calls for a summation examination. Van Zieks doesn't object. He doesn't even comment on how it's a waste of time. He takes a step back in a sense and just lets it happen.

And when Enoch Drebber and Doctor Sithe are finally brought to the stand, he openly cooperates with Ryunosuke. They both do what they can to find the truth: about the murder at the Great Exhibition as well as the incident at the graveyard ten years ago.

When Drebber is sure he's been had, he takes his anger out on Albert, who's been proven to be innocent in all of this and makes a remark about his lack of talent.

And when those comments get to Professor Harebrayne, it's Van Zieks who speaks up to comfort him. "(Your efforts) are not laughable, they are laudable." Barok showed kindness and mercy, when he rarely showed either one in past cases. He clearly still cares for Albert and "would have trusted no one else to be the prosecution in this case...or the defense."

Van Zieks comes so close to outright saying he respects Ryunosuke! I certainly never expected that from him unless the situation was truly desperate and Ryunosuke was his only hope, sort of thing.

Barok then proves to be (over)protective of Albert by having immediate arrangements for him to leave Britain for Germany, to keep him away from the whole Reaper's Curse Conspiracy (that's what I'm calling it now!) It makes their reunion quite bittersweet, but it shows that Van Zieks is still only human and cares about others.

But the surprises, like the chapter/case itself don't stop there.

Even though he's not required to tell him anything about what happened ten years ago, Van Zieks willingly shares details of his past. He talks about who his brother Klint was, and how he met people from other countries who came to study British law when he was (from what I understand) Chief Prosecutor. Then he revealed face behind the iron mask of The Professor's waxwork head. I figured this serial killer was of Japanese origin given Van Zieks's distrust of all Japanese people.

But what I didn't expect was for it to be Kazuma Asogi'a father. And for the then masked, amnesiac Kazuma to recognize it and recover his memory, as well as reveal his own face!

So while it's a brief, happy reunion between Kazuma, Ryunosuke, and Susato, I can't help but imagine Van Zieks's sense of dread.

All this time, this mysterious young man without a memory who he took as an apprentice is the son of his brother's alleged killer.

I say "alleged" now because...given the revelation that Dr. Sithe forged The Professor's autopsy report, Mr. Asogi might have been wrongly convicted.

It's also still equally possible that Mr. Asogi was a killer, and Kazuma will have to face a hard truth.

As a narrative, Chronicles case 2-3 functions more like a typical fourth case in other games with a total of 5 cases/chapters - where you unlock secrets that will be important in the finale, that involves solving a decades-old cold case or blowing the whistle on a massive cover-up. It's the rising action to what will probably be a very exciting climax. And I can't wait to see where it leads!

As it stands, I have my own predictions for Chronicles 2-4 and 2-5. Since I'm going in with minimal to no spoilers, it will be interesting if any of these are true...

Yujin Mikotoba and Herlock Sholmes know about the incident ten years ago. That's their big secret they're hiding. It's possible they are in collaboration to prevent the wrong secrets going into the wrong hands, even if it means keeping it from Susato, Iris and Ryunosuke.

Barok Van Zieks will get arrested and it will all be a setup. Kazuma will prosecute him. It’s possible that Ryunosuke might have to stop his best friend from using the trial as a means to get revenge. He'll have to persuade him to work together for the truth.

Mr. Asogi will be exonerated in death and the real culprit behind that case will be uncovered

The true mastermind(s) behind the Professor case and the one(s) carrying out the Reaper’s Curse Conspiracy are the same - similar to Blaise Debeste and his Worsties, Patricia Roland and the Zheng Fa president’s body double in Investigations 2

This last one is more wish fulfillment than anything, but there will be a group photo and all the recurring defense team, detectives, and prosecution team will be included.

Along with my educated guesses, I look forward to more surprises as I go through the rest of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles.

It's been an amazing experience and I'm happy I discovered this spinoff (and the series as a whole.)

[potatoegirlart]

Training Day

Training Day

Summary: In which, Hoshiko joins the training.

A/n: Just an idea I came up with one day. Honestly, taken a little inspiration from my own life. I like to teach my younger nieces and nephews to defend themselves. So, this just came to me one day.

Hoshiko had always been a very lively girl. Always filled with more energy than even Hoshiko knew what to do with at times. Her brother had once been that way as well, but as they grew older, Masumi turned out to be rather quiet and composed. Nothing held Hoshiko’s attention for very long while Masumi could stare at a wall for hours and be entertained.

So, it really came as no to surprise to anyone that on occasion Hoshiko could be seen lurking around the training ground, observing for quiet some time, before moving on as if she had just been passing by. It usually happened around the same time. When her mother would send her out on some random errand, and nobody was accompanying her. What surprised most that knew her well, were surprised that Hoshiko, despite showing some interest in the training, never really spoke anything on it.

~.~.~.~.~.~

“If you want to train so bad, why don’t you say something? It’s not like father would be opposed.” Masumi questioned in a low voice as his sister sat down, watching him training with Shigezane with a rather bored expression. He had taken a short break when he noticed his sister approach. Hoshiko shrugged, twirling a piece of hair around her slim pointer finger.

“I…” Her voice trailed off as Kojuro approached, his usual kind smile on his face.

“What a pleasure to see you, Hoshiko. How are you today?” He questioned, grabbing the water flask that Masumi silently handed him, and took a drink. Hoshiko watched him for a moment, and then looked off with a shrug.

“I’m bored. Momma and Father are busy so I just came out here.” She answered simply, grinning.

Kojuro looked at the door to the castle with an eyebrow raised slightly, and then at the teenage girl, who was, once again, looking at those training, her eyes seemingly following a pair for a few seconds before jumping to another, but her expression showed nothing but boredom. Kojuro looked at Masumi, who shrugged slightly as he stood up.

“Why don’t you train with me today? I don’t really have any other partner today since Takumi is gone.” Masumi offered, smiling slightly at his sister, who looked at him with her eyebrows raised slightly, her head perked slightly.

“You wouldn’t mind?” She questioned, feeling perked up. Masumi said nothing, but gestured with his head. Hoshiko paused, glancing at Kojuro who just nodded slightly. She grinned, standing up, and following after her brother.

“Keep your arms up like this. That’s called blocking.” Masumi started, adjusted his sister’s arms. One to protect her chest area while the other was set around her abdomen area.” Keep your stance firm but also  a bit light. You want to be able to move quickly and swiftly.” He said simply, showing his sister how to stand right.” Feet should be shoulder length apart.” He added on. Hoshiko nodded, looking down at her feet as she tried to match her brother’s stance.

“Ouch!” She exclaimed as her brother quickly, lightly but still firm enough to get her to pay attention. She looked at him with narrowed eyes, but he simply shrugged.

“Rule Number One, Hoshiko, never take your eyes off the enemy.” He said simply. Hoshiko nodded, regaining her composure.” Be quick, and try to block me.” He said simply. Hoshiko nodded, watching her brother as he quickly thrust some hits towards her. She wasn’t quick on the uptake, and ended up getting hit quiet a few times.” Don’t watch my face. Watch my hands. See where they go, and try to block. Keep them firm.” He said simply. Hoshiko nodded, watching her brother’s arms. This time, the hits were easier to block. Masumi smiled.”See?Much easier when you’re not watching my face, huh?” He questioned. Hashiko nodded, smiling widely.

“Yeah.” She said simply, nodding as she prepared herself for the next attack.

“This time, I want you to try to hit me, ok?” He questioned, holding up his palms in front of him. Hoshiko nodded, looking at his palms, which were facing her, and then at him.”Just make a fist and hit as hard as you can.” He said simply.

“Right.” Hoshiko went in to hit, but Masumi had hardly felt them, expect for a little pressure on his palms. He looked at his sister with an eyebrow raised while she just blushed out of embarrassment.

“Nothing wrong with light hits. Bring in your elbows a little more.” He explained simply.” Keep your body firm but loose as well. You want to be able to be light on your feet, but you want to be firm when hitting. Just use my trick, and imagine punching someone that you don’t like.” He said simply, watching as his sister adjusted herself, and then nodded. He moved his hands back into the previous position. This time Hoshiko hit a bit harder.

“Don’t be afraid to hit. Your brother is stronger than he looks. He can take it.” Kojuro spoke up as he and Shigezane were watching from the sidelines. Hoshiko nodded.

“Focus on your target, but keep aware of your surroundings.” Shigezane suggested. Hoshiko nodded, going in for another hit. This time, it was stronger. She grinned, looking at her brother, who nodded, smiling in approval.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The training lasted only a few hours. At this point, Hoshiko had tied up the sleeves of her yutaka when her brother had grabbed them to teach her a lesson. He had wound up pushing her to the ground, her jaw knocking together in an almost painful way.

“Are you alright?” He questioned, bending down to see if his sister was alright.

Kojuro and Shigezane were also on alert, ready to stop the training when Hoshiko shook her head, smirking at her brother as she kicked at him. He was agile enough to move out of the way in time.

“Keep on guard, right?” She questioned, standing up as she adjusted her garment on her body, and then tied her sleeves together. Kojuro and Shigezane relaxed at the moment, knowing that the seemingly small girl could handle herself.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Needless to say, that by the ending of it, Hoshiko and Masumi were in a little competition with one another. Although Masumi was mostly trying to teach her, his competitive edge was coming out. Thus it lead to Kojuro and Shigezane taking turns in teaching the girl and the boy, and keeping careful watch so that nothing got too out of hand.

“Seems like you had fun today.” Her mother said, smiling as her daughter walked into the kitchen. It didn’t escape her mother’s attention the few scrapes and bruises the young girl had, specifically on the jawline. Hoshiko looked at her mother, nodding as she smiled gently.

“Yeah. It was pretty fun.” She said simply, taking the vegetables that her mother handed her, and began to chop them up.

“That’s good.” Her mother said, happy to see Hoshiko have more energy than she normally did.

Although Lady Date doubted Masaume would allow it, maybe she could talk her husband into letting their daughter join the training more often….