Drabble ; Triple
Because everyone needs travel buddy bonding.
"Hey... do you know why the Yatagarasu has three legs?"
Surprised by his companion's breaking the silence, Johan glanced over at her. Kay was perched on the edge of her bed, her Murkrow already comfortably resting in a makeshift nest of sheets and her Wooper in her lap; her third Pokémon was engrossed in staring at her fellow flockmate on the floor. Their trainer was looking out the inn window, and Johan blinked when he realized for once that he... couldn't decipher her expression at all. It wasn't the easiest thing to truly understand a person; such a thing could take years, but not only did Johan have an aptitude for empathy and compassion for others, he and Kay had gone from total strangers to traveling companions to huddling against each other when the storm raged through the scant shelter of the tree they hid under to friends to partners in the span of two weeks.
He'd learned that, as much of a thief as she claimed to be, Kay was a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. She didn't believe in fake smiles; when she was happy, she was ebullient, when she was sad, she was downright droopy, and when she was angry, he half-expected her to roll up her sleeves and start one hell of a fight. But looking at her now, Johan couldn't tell what she was thinking.
He decided against asking if she was all right; she'd asked a very specific question. "I don't know, no. I don't really think I know about the Yatagarasu, besides what you've mentioned before."
"Oh, yeah!" Now there was a flash of her smile, and Kay looked at him. "To start us off then, the Yatagarasu was a vigilante thief who would steal information from corrupt businesses and give it to the media, along with a card with a three-legged raven on it. Once that information was made public, those businesses would crumble. They never left a calling card or did a flashy announcement, so the companies never saw it coming."
Johan nodded, committing this to memory.
"There's also three known facts about the Yatagarasu." Kay held up three fingers, adding with a playful grin, "And there'll be a pop quiz on them, so pay attention! First thing! The Yatagarasu always knows exactly where the target is! Secondly! The Yatagarasu can disarm any security system! Thirdly! The Yatagarasu never leaves behind any evidence." She paused, her lips quirking faintly. "Ever," she added emphatically.
Johan whistled softly, impressed. "And you got all of this from your predecessor?"
The girl shook her head, much to his surprise. "Three legs... three facts..." Johan's concern only grew when Kay closed her eyes with a shaky sigh. "... Three people. I thought my dad was the true Yatagarasu, but he was only one-third of it. There was him, my uncle Badd, who was a detective, and a... a defense attorney, Ms. Yew. I only found this out a few days before I came here."
Silence. Kay took a deep breath. "I'll tell you why I'm telling you this now after I finish... telling you." She snorted a little at her wording, but continued speaking-- without her usual exuberance but firmly. "Seven years ago, my dad was murdered." With her eyes closed, she missed seeing Johan start and quietly move off his bed. "Thanks to Mr. Edgeworth being determined to find the truth, he was able to figure out that it wasn't originally a double homicide, and that the real murderer was... Ms. Yew. One of the people he'd worked with, one of his partners, killed him under the orders of someone else she was working for, because my father was getting too close to the truth. He was..." And now her hands curled into tight fists, which caused the Wooper to chirp worriedly and nuzzle against her. "He was an inconvenience."
A hand on her shoulder startled her, her eyes flying open to meet Johan's green ones. He didn't say anything just yet, just gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, as if to encourage her to finish. And Kay did.
"It's been recent... but we managed to get both Ms. Yew and her boss. I don't hate her." She smiled a little sadly. "Maybe I'm still angry, but I feel a little sorry for her, because what I saw of her heart was incredibly lonely. I want to think that killing my father wasn't entirely easy for her, but I could never ask her about it. No matter what I do or say, it won't bring him back, anyway. The only thing I could do was to carry on the work he did. To find two other people and form a group to keep doing what the Yatagarasu did until we'd made a world that didn't need the Yatagarasu."
Noticing that Johan wasn't looking any more reassured, she held up a fist and grinned broadly. "The reason I told you all of that was because we're partners, and unlike the last Yatagarasu, I'm not going to be keeping secrets from you. Same goes for Crow and Juudai, too. Though..." And now she grimaced, although her tone was good-natured. "I was planning on recruiting two other beautiful girls for the new and improved Yatagarasu, not three guys! But then again, I wasn't planning on ending up here, either, so what I've got right now is pretty good to me!"
"Wooo!" cheered Flapper, who had been seized by the fervor of the moment and was now hopping up and down like some kind of giant Mexican Jumping Bean (not that Kay had ever seen one, but she was sure the comparison was accurate). All the Murkrow did was give the excitable Wooper a sidelong glance and close his eyes.
"So..." Kay's smile took on more than a hint of confidence. "No matter where I am, as long as the world needs the Yatagarasu, I'm going to--"
Johan's hand tightened on her shoulder, then released it-- only for both of his arms to come up and wrap around her. The girl blinked, a questioning noise forming and her Wooper beginning to protest the sudden squish, but he was already drawing back and then it was just his hands on her shoulders.
"Thanks," he told her with a crooked smile. "I won't let you down, as a leg or as a friend."
Kay grinned and extended her fist again, and Johan replied with a tap of his knuckles to hers. She was smiling genuinely now, laughing as Flapper tried to leap high enough to headbutt their hands, but he knew better.
When he'd held her, he felt her shaking.
"Hey... do you know why the Yatagarasu has three legs?"
Surprised by his companion's breaking the silence, Johan glanced over at her. Kay was perched on the edge of her bed, her Murkrow already comfortably resting in a makeshift nest of sheets and her Wooper in her lap; her third Pokémon was engrossed in staring at her fellow flockmate on the floor. Their trainer was looking out the inn window, and Johan blinked when he realized for once that he... couldn't decipher her expression at all. It wasn't the easiest thing to truly understand a person; such a thing could take years, but not only did Johan have an aptitude for empathy and compassion for others, he and Kay had gone from total strangers to traveling companions to huddling against each other when the storm raged through the scant shelter of the tree they hid under to friends to partners in the span of two weeks.
He'd learned that, as much of a thief as she claimed to be, Kay was a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. She didn't believe in fake smiles; when she was happy, she was ebullient, when she was sad, she was downright droopy, and when she was angry, he half-expected her to roll up her sleeves and start one hell of a fight. But looking at her now, Johan couldn't tell what she was thinking.
He decided against asking if she was all right; she'd asked a very specific question. "I don't know, no. I don't really think I know about the Yatagarasu, besides what you've mentioned before."
"Oh, yeah!" Now there was a flash of her smile, and Kay looked at him. "To start us off then, the Yatagarasu was a vigilante thief who would steal information from corrupt businesses and give it to the media, along with a card with a three-legged raven on it. Once that information was made public, those businesses would crumble. They never left a calling card or did a flashy announcement, so the companies never saw it coming."
Johan nodded, committing this to memory.
"There's also three known facts about the Yatagarasu." Kay held up three fingers, adding with a playful grin, "And there'll be a pop quiz on them, so pay attention! First thing! The Yatagarasu always knows exactly where the target is! Secondly! The Yatagarasu can disarm any security system! Thirdly! The Yatagarasu never leaves behind any evidence." She paused, her lips quirking faintly. "Ever," she added emphatically.
Johan whistled softly, impressed. "And you got all of this from your predecessor?"
The girl shook her head, much to his surprise. "Three legs... three facts..." Johan's concern only grew when Kay closed her eyes with a shaky sigh. "... Three people. I thought my dad was the true Yatagarasu, but he was only one-third of it. There was him, my uncle Badd, who was a detective, and a... a defense attorney, Ms. Yew. I only found this out a few days before I came here."
Silence. Kay took a deep breath. "I'll tell you why I'm telling you this now after I finish... telling you." She snorted a little at her wording, but continued speaking-- without her usual exuberance but firmly. "Seven years ago, my dad was murdered." With her eyes closed, she missed seeing Johan start and quietly move off his bed. "Thanks to Mr. Edgeworth being determined to find the truth, he was able to figure out that it wasn't originally a double homicide, and that the real murderer was... Ms. Yew. One of the people he'd worked with, one of his partners, killed him under the orders of someone else she was working for, because my father was getting too close to the truth. He was..." And now her hands curled into tight fists, which caused the Wooper to chirp worriedly and nuzzle against her. "He was an inconvenience."
A hand on her shoulder startled her, her eyes flying open to meet Johan's green ones. He didn't say anything just yet, just gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, as if to encourage her to finish. And Kay did.
"It's been recent... but we managed to get both Ms. Yew and her boss. I don't hate her." She smiled a little sadly. "Maybe I'm still angry, but I feel a little sorry for her, because what I saw of her heart was incredibly lonely. I want to think that killing my father wasn't entirely easy for her, but I could never ask her about it. No matter what I do or say, it won't bring him back, anyway. The only thing I could do was to carry on the work he did. To find two other people and form a group to keep doing what the Yatagarasu did until we'd made a world that didn't need the Yatagarasu."
Noticing that Johan wasn't looking any more reassured, she held up a fist and grinned broadly. "The reason I told you all of that was because we're partners, and unlike the last Yatagarasu, I'm not going to be keeping secrets from you. Same goes for Crow and Juudai, too. Though..." And now she grimaced, although her tone was good-natured. "I was planning on recruiting two other beautiful girls for the new and improved Yatagarasu, not three guys! But then again, I wasn't planning on ending up here, either, so what I've got right now is pretty good to me!"
"Wooo!" cheered Flapper, who had been seized by the fervor of the moment and was now hopping up and down like some kind of giant Mexican Jumping Bean (not that Kay had ever seen one, but she was sure the comparison was accurate). All the Murkrow did was give the excitable Wooper a sidelong glance and close his eyes.
"So..." Kay's smile took on more than a hint of confidence. "No matter where I am, as long as the world needs the Yatagarasu, I'm going to--"
Johan's hand tightened on her shoulder, then released it-- only for both of his arms to come up and wrap around her. The girl blinked, a questioning noise forming and her Wooper beginning to protest the sudden squish, but he was already drawing back and then it was just his hands on her shoulders.
"Thanks," he told her with a crooked smile. "I won't let you down, as a leg or as a friend."
Kay grinned and extended her fist again, and Johan replied with a tap of his knuckles to hers. She was smiling genuinely now, laughing as Flapper tried to leap high enough to headbutt their hands, but he knew better.
When he'd held her, he felt her shaking.