Tifa & Yuffie II

[Tifa Lockhart]

Apollo winced slightly, he'd feared this conversation might come up. He also feared what it might LEAD too.
"No Mr. Wright. DeKiller got away... " He began, but then his cell phone began ringing.

"Justice speaking." He answered it.
Turn on your TV pal! Gumshoe's voice announced on the other end of the line.
Frowning as the man hung up Apollo fetched the remote to Phoenix's little TV and turned it on. It was the nightly news and the headline read "DeKiller Strikes Again" but the most interesting part, but the fact that they were interviewing Edgeworth. The prosecutor was still wearing his jacketless suit that was stained with blood and he appeared to be standing outside the prosecutor's office, drenched to the bone.

"Is it true that the target of this attack was you Mr. Edgeworth?" The reporter asked.
"Yes." Edgeworth replied in his usual curt manner, "It would seem that way. I'm no stranger to death threats of this kind."
"But it was not you who was hurt, is that right?"
Edgeworth seemed to hesitate for a moment, the flicker of his pride appearing briefly in his eyes before it died and he spoke, "No, it was an associate of mine. Phoenix Wright."
"You mean the famous Turnabout Lawyer?"
"Yes." Edgeworth replied, his voice strangely stilted, "He was injured during the scuffle in my office. He's currently recovering in hospital."
"If you were the target of this attack aren't you concerned DeKiller will try again?"
"He may well do." Edgeworth said, sounding indifferent as he fixed the reporter with steely eyes.
"So what will you do? I hear the Police Precinct is organising protective custody for you.."
"Which i have no intention of entering." Edgeworth said, cutting the reporter off as he turned his cold grey eyes directly on to the camera, "Let DeKiller try, but i will find him AND his client, and bring them to justice. No matter what." he broke eye contact with the camera and moved away, "No more questions."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix listened intently, managing to catch a couple of glances at the screen, then noting the stains of blood on Edgeworth's clothes. Apollo wasn't lying when he'd said he was covered...he was most intrigued when Edgeworth openly defied the protective custody and announced quite clearly that he was now the one after DeKiller...what was that idiot thinking? he frowned, thinking it over to himself. Edgeworth wanted revenge on Shelly and his client, but what for, exactly; attacking him or harming someone else?

[Tifa Lockhart]

Apollo frowned, had he imagined it? or had Edgeworth actually brushed the front of his chest as he'd made his threat? The same way he did when talking about Phoenix?
"He's brave." Apollo said as he switched the TV off, "Openly defying DeKiller like that." He looked at Phoenix, knowing that the attorney was one of the leading authorities on this assassin. "I'm curious Mr Wright. Why'd you protect Edgeworth?"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix flinched when Apollo asked his question. Honestly, Phoenix didn't really know..."...I don't really know" he answered after a short silence "I suppose I just didn't want to loose my best friend...we've known each other long enough that we've come to be close...I suppose you could say he's a it like the bossy older brother" he looked away from Apollo out the window "I couldn't just stand by and let him be hurt...not when there was something I could do about it"

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Mm..." Apollo mused, looking thoughtful, "Fair enough." He stood and moved away from the bed, excusing himself as he went out of the room to get something for everyone to eat.

((Just have Phoenix sleeping in the hospital a few days later. Maya, Trucy and Apollo will have gone home, kay?))

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

((um, sure XD))

It was fairly early in the day, the streets outside were bustling with activity by now. Phoenix was still in his room in the hospital, sleeping soundly. Maya, Trucy and Apollo had come to see him almost every day, for just a little while, to see how he was. But still he hadn't seen Edgeworth.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Today would be the end of that though, while Phoenix slept Edgeworth had arrived. He'd decided not to wake the defense attorney and instead positioned himself by the window. There he stood, watching the world go by from behind the glass, listening to the gentle snore of his friend behind him.
The prosecutor looked a little worse for wear, he wasn't wearing his suit nearly as crisply as he usually did, and the bags from lack of sleep that had always been beneath his eyes were deeper now. His steel grey eyes were filled with a combination of sorrow and determination.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix went on sleeping for quite some time before he finally woke, when he did, he noticed the familiar pink by the window and immediately looked over.
"Edgeworth!" he smiled when he saw his friend, he'd been wondering what had become of the Prosecutor. He could see that his companion was not looking quite his usual self, this worried Phoenix. "Are you alright?" he asked after a short pause.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Edgeworth turned his body slightly to look over at Phoenix when he heard him call his name. The prosecutor looked his way, but it seemed he could not meet his friends eyes.
"I'm fine, Wright." He said softly, slowly moving over to Phoenix's bed side, his hand reaching out to pull himself over a chair. All his motions were very sluggish, but quite deliberate, giving the impression that every action he executed in Phoenix's presence was being carefully calculated beforehand.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as he lowered himself onto the chair, leaning forward slightly so his forearms rested on his knees. He still looked at Phoenix, but didn't meet his eyes.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix wasn't convinced when Edgeworth said he was fine, but he was cut off from asking again when the prosecutor asked how he was. "alright, I suppose" he replied, looking up the roof absently "still tired, but definitely better" he looked again at Edgeworth, a concerned expression crossing his face "are you sure you're okay? you look like you haven't slept in days, have you been taking proper care of yourself?" a tone of worry showing in his voice.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"I'm... relieved." Edgeworth said in a stilted way that suggested it had taken him some time to work out what he was going to say. A sort of masochistic smirk appeared on his lips when Phoenix asked him if he'd been looking after himself, "It's hard to do ANYTHING properly with the media and the police breathing down your neck 24/7." He said, a hand rising to rub his forehead slightly before he finally met Phoenix's gaze, his cold stoney eyes locked tightly with Phoenix's blue ones.
"But stop worrying about me Wright. That seems to be increasingly hazardous to your health."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix flinched "I'll stop worrying about you when you stop putting yourself in dangerous places!" he retorted, looking away and frowning "you're a real pain sometimes, you know that?" he sighed, looking back to Edgeworth again after a short pause, "you need to start considering how important you are to others and whether they might miss you before you go doing something reckless" he looked almost angry at Edgeworth...almost

[Tifa Lockhart]

Edgeworth flinched visibly as Phoenix began to lecture him. His eyes immediately dropped to the floor again, where they stayed locked the whole time Phoenix was speaking. His silver eyes widened with shock as Phoenix finished with the most powerful statement of all. Why did everything that came out of this man's mouth rock his world so? Just when he thought he had everything figured out...
"One could say the same of you, Wright." Edgeworth replied, his voice reserved, he didn't want to yell at his friend, not now. "Throwing yourself in front of me like that, when you had a family waiting for you at home. Did you consider who you'd be leaving behind or did you do your usual 'act first, think later' strategy?" He brought his eyes back up now, they were like steel, and there was definitely anger there.

"What would you have done? Left me with the guilt, knowing that three people lost someone important to them because of me?" Despite the anger in his eyes none of it leaked into his voice as it usually would, and he wasn't glaring.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Phoenix looked away, sighing. There was a long pause before he answered again "I was scared to lose my best friend, Edgeworth, would you have done any different?" he didn't look back at Edgeworth this time, instead he closed his eyes in thought "the only thing that was going through my head at the time was the my friend was in danger and I was the only person there to help..." he fell silent, still not looking back at the prosecutor who sat beside him.

[Tifa Lockhart]

But Edgeworth was rendered silent, staring blankly at Phoenix as if he'd gone into complete shock.
Best... friend? He considers me his best friend? Even after all i've done?
"I- I just don't... understand you Wright." Edgeworth said, his head dropping into his hands, his voice was strangely hoarse. "You would throw away your life and family... just so that I can go home to an empty apartment for another day?"
How absurdly counter-productive.