“Are you sure still want to do this, Maya?”

“Yeah, of course!”

“Even though you’ll have to commute by train every day?”

“I’ll have time to do my homework.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know. I can still cancel your admission form—”

“No, no! Please. I want to do it. I want to go to a regular high school. It’s just for one year, sis—don’t worry about me. Besides, you can keep an eye on me since you’re the principal of the school.”

“You’re right, you’re right. You’re almost an adult, after all. And once you graduate high school, you’ll…”

“Be stuck here as the Master. I know it’s my duty, but…that’s why I want to do this why I have the chance.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to stay ‘stuck’ but, yes, that’s true. Well, I’m on my way to meet with a new teacher—he’s the one I told you about before.”

“Ah, the one you said was naïve and had a weird hairdo? I wonder if he’ll be one of my teachers…”

“Haha, did I really say that? Yes, that’s the one. Who knows, maybe he will be. I’ll talk to you later, Maya.”

“Bye, sis.”

*click*




(I’m Maya Fey, seventeen-year-old spirit medium in training! And, starting tomorrow, I’ll be a high school student, too!)

(It’s all thanks to my older sister, Mia—she’s a principal at a high school and got me in. I’ve always wanted to try living an ordinary school life, and this is my last chance. Once I become an adult, I’ll have to take over as head of my village.)

(I don’t plan on skipping out my responsibilities—I love my village and its people—but I do want to be a normal teenager, at least for a little while, while I still can…)

I thought I’d be able to resist, but no, here I am, inside the burger joint Mia always takes me to when I visit her in the city. I had to walk past it on my way to meet her, and once I saw it I couldn’t just keep going.

I know I have some money in my pocket and I don’t bother to count it—I figure that I’ll have enough to pay for just one little burger; that’s all I really want, after all. I get in line behind a tall guy in a hoodie who’s still looking at the menu. I start scanning it myself out of habit, even though I’m only getting a burger. But that’s when I see it—the Steel Samurai action figure!

“Whoa!” The shout bursts out of me before I can stop myself. I can’t believe it—they’re giving out Steel Samurai toys with the kids’ meals! I run over to the poster advertising it to get a better look, not caring about my spot in line; it’s just me and the tall guy in the restaurant.

I practically had my nose pressed to the poster, taking in every inch of the Steel Samurai’s awesomeness, when I hear a snigger off to my left. I tear my eyes away to look who’s laughing at me and I see that tall guy with the hoodie. He’s smiling at me like I’m some little kid.

“Wh-what’s so funny?!” I cry, feeling the blush crawl up my face even though I know I have nothing to be ashamed of. Steel Samurai is serious business. I give him my best death glare, puffing out my cheeks and clenching my fists. Mia always tells me I look like a puffer fish when I do that, but I say it’s effective.

And it works, sort of—he gets this surprised look on his face, but I can tell he’s hiding a smile. “Nothing,” he answers, his tone full of innocence.

“Are either of you ready to order?” the bored cashier girl asks from behind the counter.

“You can go first,” the guy says to me, and I am soothed by his politeness. I can appreciate a gentleman.

“One kids’ meal, please,” I tell the cashier, and I swear I hear him smirking again but when I shoot him a quick glance over my shoulder his face is totally blank, though I think I might see the corner of his mouth twitching.

The cashier says the total and I dig around, fishing out the dollar bills and find I’m seventy-five cents short. My jaw drops—oh, the injustice of it all! How am I gonna get that Steel Samurai figure now?

Then three quarters drop down on the counter one by one and I turn to see it’s the tall guy that dropped them.

“Here,” he says, smiling at me. “I’ve got spare change.”

His face is kind of close for a second, and I finally get a good look at him. His hair’s a bit funny—smoothed down in the front and spiked up in the back, but he’s good-looking. And older. That blush is creeping back when I notice this.

“Wow, thanks! But…but…are you sure? I mean, I feel like I should pay you back somehow—”

He shook his head, waving my protest off. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure if it’s meant to be, you’ll find a way to pay me back.”

I smile at him and turn back to the cashier. She’s already scooped up the money and is pushing a bag and a drink towards me—my kids’ meal. “Here you go,” she says flatly.

I take my food and step aside so he can order. I still feel a little guilty, especially since I’d snapped at him at first. “Well…could you at least tell me your name? I’d feel better knowing it. I’m Maya.”

He looks at me for a moment, like he’s just realized something, and finally answers. “…I’m Phoenix. Phoenix Wright.”

The name stirs something in my memory, but I don’t know what. “‘Phoenix Wright’?” I repeat, trying it out. I still can’t think of what it reminds me of. “Wow, what a name! Really flashy—like a stage performer’s!” His face contorts a little, and I blush again. “O-or something else, like maybe…a hotshot attorney!”

He smiles at this and says, “Hm, maybe so. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah,” I reply, nodding my head. I’m a little sad that our meeting’s already coming to an end. “I’ll see you later…Nick!” His eyebrows jump up when he hears the nickname I invented on the spot. I grin at him as big as I can and then rush out of the restaurant clutching my food, the ice in my cup jostling noisily over the crinkling of the paper bag.

For some reason I can’t stop blushing and I don’t want to see—plus I’m late to meeting Mia.

I think each syllable of his name every time my sandals smack the pavement. Phoe-nix-wright-phoe-nix-wright-phoe-nix-wright, until it’s just a mess of jumbled sounds and the heat leaves my face.




(My name is Phoenix Wright, twenty-two years old, and I just got a job as a teacher. An old colleague of mine—Mia Fey—is the one who hooked me up. She’s the principal of the high school I’ll be teaching at.)

(I don’t know if I’d say teaching is my dream, but it’s what I’m doing now. It’s a long store. But I’m grateful for Mia’s help; I don’t know where I’d be without her.)

(Coincidentally, I think I just ran into her younger sister…)

When she first walked in, I’d taken note of her—she was wearing odd clothes; these weird purple robes like a Japanese shrine maiden or something. But then she just stared at the menu, glassy-eyed, and I forgot about her.

That is, until she shouted and ran over to the poster of the Steel Samurai—the lastest craze in cartoon characters for kids.

But she wasn’t a kid. She was in high school, probably, though she looked pretty underdeveloped. Short, with a childish looking topknot and the rest of her long black mane trailing down her back, tied at the end with a thick purple band. And she had the body of a wooden board—she could’ve even passed for a middle schooler without trying too hard.

Nevertheless, I could still tell she was way too old for the Steel Samurai’s demographic. I chuckled at her excitement over the toy, soft enough for only me to hear—or so I thought. Suddenly she’s turned on me and her cheeks were all puffed out and she looked like a blowfish. Her reaction took me by surprise, but I wasn’t too offended.

And now suddenly my hand has a mind of its own, dropping the change she needs for her order onto the counter without me even having to think about it. I can tell she’s dying to have that toy, so I take pity on her. Even if she is a bit immature, she’s cute, so I want to help her out.

She looks so grateful it’s like she’s about to burst into tears. “Wow, thanks! But…but…are you sure? I mean, I feel like I should pay you back somehow—”

I wave it off—it’s really not that big of a deal. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure if it’s meant to be, you’ll find a way to pay me back.”

The cashier interrupts us, tired of waiting. “Here you go.”

The girl takes her food and then stands there, edging over a little so I can order next, but she doesn’t leave. “Well…could you at least tell me your name? I’d feel better knowing it. I’m Maya.”

And then that’s when it all clicks together somehow—this is Mia’s sister. I’d met up with Mia just yesterday and she’d mentioned that her younger sister Maya was enrolling as a senior at the high school. She said something about how they came from a very traditional Japanese family, and that Maya had lived a sheltered life in their village.

This had to be her, I just knew it. It explained the strange clothing, anyway, and the childlike innocence.

I decided not to reveal that I knew of her and her sister; it wasn’t really that important. “…I’m Phoenix. Phoenix Wright.”

“‘Phoenix Wright’? Wow, what a name! Really flashy—like a stage performer’s!” I stare at her when she says this—she has the weirdest train of thought, but I know she’s not making fun of me. I guess she thinks she’s offended me, because she rushes quickly to correct herself. “O-or something else, like maybe…a hotshot attorney!”

This makes me smile. She could see me as a lawyer? It’s something I’d wanted to be—not that you could tell now since I’m teaching.

“Hm, maybe so. It was nice meeting you.” I know I’m being a little curt but I’m starved and want to order.

“Yeah. I’ll see you later…Nick!”

I raise my eyebrows at her words. Nick? So I’ve got a nickname now? But the door’s already swinging shut behind her so I can’t respond.

I turn to the cashier girl, who’s clearly almost out of patience. While I place my order, I think about Maya Fey. What an odd encounter, but I can’t help smile thinking about what just took place.




“Hello? Phoenix Wright speaking.”

“It’s Miles.”


“Oh, hey! What’s up?”

“I happen to be at the coffee shop right now and wondered if you wanted to meet and chat for a few minutes.”

“I just picked up burgers, actually, but I’m nearby, so I can still come.”

“Burgers?”

“Yeah, I got hungry, haha…but you’ll never believe who I ran into while I was getting them—Mia’s little sister!”

“Mia, as in Principal Mia Fey? But I thought her sister lived in Kurain Village.”

“Yeah, she does, but apparently she wants to go to high school here or something.”

“I see. Interesting. So, what was she like?”

“Who? Oh, right, you mean her sister. Maya. Well, she’s…she’s kind of odd.”

“Odd? How so?”

“I don’t know, exactly. She got all excited over a toy that came with the kids’ meal. And…and when I told her my name, she called me ‘Nick’—you know, short for ‘Phoenix.’”

“Looks like she’s already teacher’s pet, eh?”

“Th-that’s not—”

“Relax, Wright. I was kidding.”

“O-oh, of course. Well, anyway…she even said that I should be a lawyer. Just because of my name—she said it’s flashy.”

“Hmm, and I always thought the name Miles Edgeworth was better suited for a career in law…more sophisticated.”

“Miles…”

“Kidding again. Really though, I always thought you wanted to be an attorney instead of a teach—”

“Sorry, hold on—I’m about to walk into the coffee shop now, so I’ll talk to you in a second, alright?”

“Alright.”

*click*

To: Phoenix Wright <pwright@ihs.net>
From: Mia Fey <mfey@ihs.net>
Sent: September 5, 2016 - 8:17PM
Subject: Congratulations!

Phoenix,

Tomorrow is your first day as a teacher! I know that you weren’t completely confident in yourself when I offered you this job, but I can tell you’re going to do just fine. I’m proud to have you as part of the staff, and I’m sure the students are all going to love you as well.

This may be forward, but I have a favor to ask. I pulled up Maya’s schedule yesterday and saw that you’re going to have her in one of your classes, and I wanted to know if you would keep an eye on her for me. No matter what she says, I can tell she’s nervous about going to high school. She’s been home schooled all her life, and a real school is a completely different experience. She’s a sweet girl, but I’m worried about her fitting in. I know that you can’t do much about that, but I’d appreciate it if you could give her advice if it looks like she’s struggling. I don’t want to smother her, and besides—you two are both starting new things, so I think it’ll be good if you can support each other.

Good luck, Phoenix. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at school.

Mia




I almost told my sister about my meeting with Nick, but every time I had the chance I chickened out. There’s nothing to tell, when I really think about it—and besides, I like the idea of having one secret moment with one secret stranger all to myself.

…Well, not all to myself. Later that day when I get back to the village, I finally break down and tell my kid cousin Pearl. And boy, that was a mistake.

“Wow, Mystic Maya,” she says breathlessly when I’m finished, a dreamy look glazing her eyes. “It sounds like you and Mr. Nick were destined to meet!”

She’s calling him Mr. Nick? I hadn’t even realized that I’d been using his nickname all this time. Oops. When I first called him that, I meant it just to tease him, but already “Phoenix Wright” has transformed into “Nick” in my mind.

“I don’t think it’s destiny if it happens in line at a burger joint, Pearly,” I answer with a sigh, scratching my head. “I think that’s just good luck.”

“No, don’t say that! I believe in the two of you, Mystic Maya!”

Oh, jeez. She’s all worked up now, rolling up her sleeves like she’s getting ready for a brawl. I try to gently correct her. “You know, I don’t think there is a ‘two of us.’ I’m pretty sure I’m never gonna see him again.” My voice is surprisingly gloomy, even to me. I mean, I’d been thinking about him constantly for the past few hours, but I hadn’t realized what an impact he’d made on me.

“I believe in the two of you,” she insisted, her face scrunching up with assertion. “I believe.”

“…Thanks, Pearly,” I say, smiling in spite of myself.




I read Mia’s email twice as soon as I get it. At first, I am pleased by her praise, but when I get to the part about Maya, my heart suddenly skips. I don’t know why I feel so surprised about having her in my class. I am teaching a science class for seniors, after all. If anything, I should’ve expected it.

But now I’m supposed to watch over her? I wonder how exactly I’m supposed to do that. Maya seems just fine on her own—she doesn’t appear to be aware of her own oddity, and she’s not afraid to stand up for herself. I doubt she’d notice if the other kids thought she was weird.

Nevertheless, I owe Mia a lot, so I’ll do what I can. I just hope Maya isn’t going to be a handful.

I barely sleep that night. I keep going over my lesson plans and assignments and everything I want to say. I’ve got a horrible feeling that I’m going to forget it all as soon I get in front of the class.

I wake up the next day a total zombie and drag myself to work, but I perk right up as soon as the first bell rings. I stand stiffly at the front of the room, watching nervously as the students file in and fill up the desks, all staring at me expectantly. Maya isn’t among them—she’s in the period right before lunch.

I stumble through my introductory speech, making millions of mistakes that I hope were only noticed by me. Second period is better, and by third period I’ve fallen into a sort of rhythm, though my voice keeps cracking intermittently and I sometimes forget what I’d planned to say.

And then suddenly it’s Maya’s class period. She’s the last one in the door, and as soon as she sees me she stops in her tracks.

“Nick?!” she screeches, her jaw dropping to the floor. Her yelp makes me jump and I gulp nervously. I knew she’d probably be surprised to see me, but I didn’t think she’d be this surprised.

I flash her my best encouraging teacher smile (I practiced in the mirror for an hour last night) and this seems to snap her out of her daze. She blinks and then shuts her mouth quickly, turning bright red before scurrying over to an empty desk in the front row.

I launch into my introductory speech for the fourth time that day, but my attention keeps wandering over to Maya. I can feel her eyes boring into me whenever I’m looking elsewhere, but every time my gaze meets hers she looks quickly down at the desk or at a corner of the room, acting like she wasn’t just staring at me. I see the other students in the room giving her looks, but (as I predicted) she doesn’t seem to notice.

Though, to be fair, she actually looks pretty normal. The school has uniforms, so she’s wearing the same thing as all the other girls, and it’s pretty cute on her. It’s a step up from those wacky purple robes, at least, but in a way it also makes her look even younger. And she’s got her hair in the same updo, which is probably what’s attracting all those glances. Not to mention that scream she let out at the beginning of class.

It felt weird hearing that nickname again, but almost flattering, in a way. She remembers it, remembers me. And it kind of makes me feel that maybe I have a shot at being the cool teacher—I mean, nicknames are cool, right?

The class goes fairly smoothly, though it drags a little since Maya keeps doing the staring thing. When the bell for lunch rings and everyone hurries out of the room, I can see her hang back.

“Um, hey there,” she says once it’s just her and me in the room. She fidgets with the ends of hair with a nervous smile, looking a little shy. “This is a pretty weird coincidence, huh?”

I put on a puzzled expression. “Do we know each other?” I deadpan, because I feel like messing with her.

She actually believes me and looks horrified. “B-but Nick…you really don’t remember?!”

“I’m sorry, I was just kidding.” I almost feel bad since she seemed so panicked. “I know who you are, Maya. In fact…your sister told me about you.”

Her eyes go wide at this statement. “Huh? Really? When? And why?”

I decide now’s the best time to come clean about how I’d already known of her before yesterday. “It was a couple days ago, actually. She mentioned she had a sister that was coming to this school. And she…I mean, I wanted to let you know that if you need help with anything, you can ask me anything. I know adjusting to a different environment can be hard. This is my first day, too—as a teacher, that is..”

“Yeah, I could tell.” She says it with such childlike bluntness and with no trace of malice in her smile that I quickly forgive her. Or at least, try to. “But thanks a lot, Nick! That’s so nice of you.”

“Heh, no problem.” Okay, now I forgive her. I feel like my cool teacher chances are slowly increasing.

But then suddenly her brow furrows. “Wait a second—she told you a couple of days ago? Does that mean you knew who I was yesterday, and that you were going to be my teacher?”

I grin sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. “Well, I knew who you were, or at least I was pretty sure, but I didn’t know yet that I was going to—”

“What?! And you didn’t say anything? That’s no fair!”

“Er…I’m sorry?” Sheesh, who knew she’d get so angry? But there she is in her puffer fish pose again, glaring at me so intensely I feel myself break out in a cold sweat. Maybe I shouldn’t feel so sure about the cool teacher thing.

“I’ll forgive you if you make it up to me,” she says with sudden confidence, dropping her fists and switching to a smirk. “One burger should do it. And maybe a drink.”

She’s asking me to buy her lunch?! “W-wait a second! I’m not buying you food! You should at least pay me back my seventy-five cents first.”

Irritation seeps back into her voice. “What?! That was different—you owed me that seventy-five cents since you laughed at me in the restaurant. Now you owe me for concealing your identity! And I want food since it’s lunchtime.” She explains it all matter-of-factly, like it should be obvious to me.

I scowl in exasperation. When had this been decided? I sigh and snatch up my keys off my desk. “Look, forget it. Just go to the cafeteria and eat lunch there, like you’re supposed to.”

“What? But what happened to being able to ask you anything?” She frowns and tilts her head to the side, acting all pouty and innocent.

“Hah. That doesn’t count, sorry. Now go on, I need to lock the classroom.” I jangle the keys at her, and she stares at me, her mouth hanging open slightly in indignation. Then she grumbles something and turns on her heel, marching out of the classroom with her shoulders hunched up and her skirt swishing behind her.

I roll my eyes and shake my head before I gather up my things and follow her out a few minutes later, making sure to shut off the lights and lock the door behind me.



To: Mia Fey <mfey@ihs.net>
From: Phoenix Wright <pwright@ihs.net>
Sent: September 6, 2016 2:23PM
Subject: Maya

Mia-

I talked to Maya during class today. I didn’t mention this before, but I actually met her yesterday at a restaurant by coincidence. Things seemed to be fine then, but after today…well, I’m not so sure she likes me. Maybe you could talk to her about it?

But don’t worry, Chief, I won’t give up. I’m still going to look out for her—she’s your little sister, after all. It’s the least I can do.

Phoenix