'...Showdown time'
the man said, phoenix glared at him
'you dragged me from my home to play poker?!'
the man nearly shrugged, phoenix grumbled but complied, he got a call from the detention center about a client wanting to see him, despite him explaining that he was off for mental health recovery, the man still insisted on at least seeing him, so here he was, playing poker
'I... I lost'
the man said astonished, phoenix rolled his eyes
'relax dipshit your not gonna die, It's only a game of poker'
the man shook his head
'A game I've played for a long time... and only lost twice.'
'Who was the first?'
'The man I "killed"... of course'
phoenix narrowed his eyes at him, the man suddenly grinned
'...Well. It seems I've found the partner I've been looking for all along'
'Over a game of cards?'
he said
'Why, yes. Over a game of cards'
'Listen, I'm off the court for a while, I'm not gonna be the one representing you, my fill-in will, understand?!'
'yes, ...you are quite the character Mr wright'
'That was how we first met, Seven years ago, when i was in my first month of recovery'
phoenix said as he sat by the window seat of the hospital, playing with his heart locket with one hand, apollo nearly nodded
'and what happened after that'
"Seven Years earlier ago, flashback into the past"
'you alright their?'
he asked, jousha jumped a little as he nodded
'Ah, good morning, Mr. Enigmar'
'I'm... sorry to have sprung this on you so suddenly'
jousha nervously went through the papers in his hands
'I received the files from your previous attorney only yesterday. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I'm prepared'
he nodded
'...I understand I am asking the impossible of you'
Phoenix glared as he crossed his arms
'you haven't fucking told me what happened yet! All we did was play poker!!'
he cried out, jousha jumped a bit at his bosses loud voice, engimar nearly shrugged
'And that was enough'
'Actually, it's not fucking idiot!'
suddenly a little voice cried out
'Ooh! Morning, Daddy!'
Enigmar smiled
'Ah, I'm so glad you came'
'You OK, Daddy? They picking on you?'
the eight year old girl pouted, glaring up at them, phoenix couldn't help but grimace at the little girl, she dressed up like her dad, same colour palette and all, in a cute magician outfit and everything, enigmar laughed
'Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I am fine, as always. This old boy is here to help me, after all'
jousha huffed as he muttered
'That's "young man" to you'
phoenix got down on one knee and held out a hand for the little girl
'morning kid, That's a cute outfit you have on'
he complimented, jousha eyes almost fell out of his head, he had heard rumours about mr wright being amazing with kids, but holy shit was this something, the girl grinned excitedly as she shook his hand
'Thanks! My first show's today, after all!'
Phoenix wasn't entirely sure on what she was talking about, but went along wit it
'that's exciting, i wish you all the trucy little magic'
'Oh... Old boy!'
she cried out, jousha stared at her
'Huh? Me?'
she nodded
'ahuh, here you are!'
she said a sshe gave him a peace of paper, jousha stared at it
What's this...?
'I dunno! I just got it over there in the hall. They told me to give it to the "old boy in the grey suit with the brown hair". They said it was really important!'
Enigmar stared at it
'...What's this? A memo for you or some such?'
Phoenix examined the letter in joushas hand
'this looks it it's from diary or journal, we'll give it a read, thanks magic'
he said, the little girl grinned again
'Well, how do you feel about the trial today?'
jousha nervously shrugged his shoulders
'We'll get through it. Somehow. Incidentally... the prosecutor today is a new guy, I hear'
'Ah... An easy win, then, yes?'
Phoenix cut in
'They're calling him a "true thoroughbred in the history of the prosecutor's office" or whatever, their's always one of the fuckers every year'
'...The switching of attorneys just before the trial... ...I know it is a difficult situation I put you in. But... allow me to say one thing, Mr. Poppet'
enigmar said, jousha looked up at him
'...Yes'
'They will not be able to pronounce me guilty today. So, do your best, but do not worry'
"First time a defendant's ever given me a pep speech..."
'I'll do what I can'
Enigmar grinend as he laughed
'Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I see you do not understand. You see, it will be impossible for them to declare a verdict'
josuha stared at him nervously as phoenix narrowed his eyes
'impossible?'
he repeated, enigmar nodded
'Yes. Isn't that right, Trucy?'
she winked
'Yup! You bet, Daddy'
'I believe the curtains will be lifting any time now. I am in your capable hands, Mr. Poppet'
jousha nodded, phoenix gently patted his back
'you'll be fine, and about that letter trucy gave you'
'yeah?'
his expression turned very serious
'do not use that in court, no matter what'
he warned, as much as he loves kids, he knows there are people in this world who will use children naive innocence to do their dirty work, Joshua nodded anxiously, he made his way into court as phoenix sat outside in the lobby on the couch, playing with his locket as he stared out the window
"Seven Years later, the present, the clinic"
'My fill in's client was "Shadi Enigmar", he was also Known as Zak Gramarye, A wildly popular magician, star of Troupe Gramarye. His mentor, Magnifi Gramarye, was apparently a "rare breed of magician", He single-handedly ushered in a golden age of stage magic, until he was shot dead. And Zak Gramarye is the suspect'
apollo nodded as he listened carefully
'what happened in the courtroom?'
'i wasn't in there, I was only a year and onw month in recovery and courtrooms felt like being in hell at that time, but i managed to get the details from the court reporter and judge, apparently the defendant, literally vanished, he disappeared and no one ever saw him again, No verdict was declared since at that point the defendant didn't exist, That's how it happened. The trial. vanished too, anything of zak gramarye was completely gone, now today after seven years, he's finally come back to the world'