Archive of Our Own

Phoenix’s great-great grandfather lived to be one of the oldest men of his time, having died at one hundred and sixteen years old. He lived long enough to meet Phoenix, in fact, though they only ever met once and of course Phoenix had been far too young to remember it. A couple of months after his birth, Phoenix’s mother took him to the nursing home to meet him; after all, when a person lives to be that age, there was certainly no guarantee as to whether or not there’d be another chance.

“Good afternoon, great grandpa.” She had said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “How are you feeling today?”

As usual, her question went unanswered. No one had heard him speak in years, after all. He had been rather quiet like this when she was a little girl, too. Her mother had told her that he struggled with memory issues in his old age; there were even some days he seemed to forget his own name and wouldn't respond to it. As a result of this, he didn’t speak much. He grew quieter and quieter with each passing year and by the time he was moved to a nursing home he hardly spoke at all. However, she took no offense to his silence. He had clearly heard her, and he still gazed at her with a friendly, warm look in his eyes.

“I have someone I’d like you to meet.” She held Phoenix up in her arms, so he could get a better look at him. “This is Ryuuichi, your great-great grandson. Would you like to hold him?” He smiled at her and nodded, so she helped move his stiff, old arms so that she could place Phoenix in them, leaning him against his chest. “There we go. Now Ryuu, say hello to your great-great grandpa.”

Phoenix, of course, said nothing. But he stared at his great-great grandfather with wide, curious eyes and reached out towards him with a tiny, balled up fist. The old man, however, stared back at him, looking far more engaged than usual. He curled his hand beneath Phoenix’s swaddled body, so he could get a better look at the infant’s face, and after a long, shaky breath he said,

“R…Ryuu…?”

Phoenix’s mother shot up immediately, her heart skipping a beat for a moment. She hadn’t heard his voice in a long, long time. She noticed him staring at her son with something she hadn’t seen in his eyes in a very, very long time: recognition. Familiarity. This simply wasn’t something she could afford to miss. She opened her purse and pulled out a disposable camera. She had constantly been taking pictures of Phoenix for a while now, not wanting to miss a single moment, but she had put it away for this particular meeting, figuring that she wouldn’t get a reaction out of him.

“Yes,” she said finally, pointing the camera at them as to not miss the moment, “yes, great grandpa, this is Ryuu. Ryuuichi.”

“Ryuu…” He said again. He reached a shaky hand out, and stroked Phoenix’s plump cheek with his weathered thumb. “Oh, he’s beautiful, Sayaka.”

Sayaka wasn’t her name; it was Yukie. Sayaka was her grandmother’s name. But the fact that he had any semblance of recognition towards her made her happy nonetheless.

“Yes, he is, isn’t he?” She said. “He looks so happy to meet you, too.”

“Ryuu…” He said again. Phoenix had reached up and curled his tiny hand around his great-great grandfather’s finger. “Ryuu…”

Yukie told him to smile, then snapped a photo. But as she spun the dial to take another one, she noticed that he had begun to weep a little. Tears of joy, it looked like. She fetched him some tissues, frankly feeling as though she might cry herself. The fact that he had moved, that he was reacting, that he was saying something… it felt like she had witnessed a miracle that day, and she took another photo.

It was a good thing she had captured that miracle on film. After all, he had died only a few hours after their meeting. According to the nurse he had kept repeating the name softly to himself as he drifted off to a sleep he would never wake up from, and he had died with a smile on his lips.

“I didn’t know your first name was Ryuuichi.” Edgeworth said.

It was about a week after Phoenix and Edgeworth’s wedding, and they were packing up their suitcases for their honeymoon. Phoenix didn’t want to do anything too fancy; after all, just getting to spend the rest of his life with Edgeworth was more than enough for him, but Edgeworth insisted on doing something special seeing how little they traveled together. They would be heading for England first thing in the morning.

“Sorry, what?” Phoenix replied, sitting on his overflowing suitcase to shut it.

“Ryuuichi,” Edgeworth said again, “At the wedding, remember? ‘Do you take this man, Ryuuichi Phoenix Wright, to be your lawfully wedded husband?’ I didn’t know Phoenix was your middle name.”

“Oh… yeah, it is.”

“How come you don’t go by Ryuuichi? I think it’s a pretty name.”

“It’d be too troublesome.”

“Explain.”

“It’s a hard name to pronounce and I didn’t want to get picked on,” he said quickly, “I thought I’d fit in better with something more western. So I went by Phoenix when I started grade school and I never went back.”

“It’s not that hard to pronounce.”

“I’m sure it’s not to you, Miles Reiji Edgeworth.” Phoenix said, finally snapping the latches on the suitcase shut. “But not everyone’s like you and I was five and didn’t need the trouble. Besides, I like Phoenix. And I know you do, too.”

“Oh, whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m heading to bed. We’ve got a flight to catch at five in the morning, so try to get your suitcase sorted out sometime before midnight, will you?”

“It is sorted.” As if to prove his point, he smacked it with his hand. It sprung open, sending clothes flying to the floor. He sighed. “Fine, I’ll fold them.”

“Goodnight, Phoenix.”

“’Night.” He said, getting to his knees to pick the mess up.

Edgeworth headed down the hallway, leaving his suitcase by the front door so it’d be less work for him in the morning. By the time he headed back towards their bedroom, he found Trucy standing in the hallway, leaning against a wall. It looked like she was waiting for him.

“Good evening, Trucy.” He said. “What are you doing up this late?”

“Late? It’s only eleven.”

“That’s late.”

“Not for someone my age.”

Edgeworth rolled his eyes again, and she just smiled.

“I just wanted to say bye, I guess. I probably won’t be up when you two head out.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come along? Phoenix and I wouldn’t mind if you did. It wouldn’t take much for me to get you a plane ticket-”

“Don’t worry about it. This is your special trip and I wouldn’t wanna interrupt it. Besides, I’m excited to spend the week with Auntie Franziska and Kay. Maybe we can steal something together.”

“Please don’t tempt Kay.”

“We’ll see.” She stepped forward and gave him a hug. “I love you. I hope you guys have fun.”

“…I love you, too.” Edgeworth said, awkwardly patting her back. Even if it had been years since he met this child, he still couldn’t believe just how quickly she had taken a liking to him. She had seen him as yet another father the moment she had met him, long before he and Phoenix had even been engaged. Still, he appreciated it. He had never seen himself as a guardian figure in the slightest, but considering that Kay and Sebastian had grown so attached to him as well, he supposed he wasn’t awful at it. “I’ll be sure to call the moment we land, okay?”

“Okay! See you soon, Papa.”

He froze for a moment. Papa, huh? He supposed he and Phoenix couldn't both be Daddy, could they? He’d have to get used to that one.

“Goodnight, Trucy.”

“G’night!” She headed down the hallway but paused abruptly, and said, “Y’know, when Daddy’s lying he tends to avert his eyes for a second.”

“Huh?”

“Just thought I’d tell you. Goodnight!”

She strolled away for real this time, leaving Edgeworth alone to his thoughts. Phoenix had of course told him all about her amazing ability to perceive. It made him wonder what his own nervous tell was, assuming he had one. He had never guessed what Phoenix’s was, but now that she brought it up it seemed so obvious. He recalled Phoenix darting his eyes away a lot, like when he had asked him if Kristoph was really his friend, if he was really happy being a piano player, if he really didn’t mind how much time they spent apart due to Edgeworth’s work… actually, now that he thought about it, he had seen him do it just moments ago, when he explained why he didn’t go by his given name. He wondered if that was why Trucy had told him about his quirk. But above all else, why would Phoenix feel the need to lie over something as simple as his name?

Phoenix climbed into bed that night, incredibly late, as expected. Edgeworth hadn’t fallen asleep yet; despite his best efforts and how eager he truly was for the trip, he still couldn’t help but get nervous on airplanes and had spent the whole night worrying over it.

“You manage to actually fit everything in one case?” Edgeworth asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it covered. Why are you still up?”

“I don’t know. I get nervous before flights, I guess."

“Oh.” Phoenix looped his arm around his waist and hugged him, gently. “It’ll be okay.”

“I know it will be.” Edgeworth replied, finding his tense nerves relaxing ever so slightly at Phoenix’s touch. “I just get nervous anyways.”

“That’s okay. I’ll be right next to you, okay?”

“I know.”

Edgeworth shut his eyes, feeling a little bit tired finally. He was so happy that he had found Phoenix, honestly. He had never expected to find someone so caring and gentle, someone who loved every part of him, even the parts he himself hated, that he had kept hidden away for as long as he could. And he appreciated it when those troubles came back to haunt him.

He just hoped he could do the same for Phoenix. Honestly, he always felt as if he was never doing enough for him. He was sure Phoenix didn’t feel that way, but he couldn’t help it. He felt like Phoenix knew everything about him, but he hardly knew him at all. While he had tried to help him over the past couple of years, he hadn’t known everything that had been plaguing him. He kept refusing offers of charity when it was clear that he needed it. He kept putting himself down and calling himself a fraud and a cheat rather than explaining the truth of his disbarment. Hell, he didn’t even know what his first name was until a week ago! He’d like to know everything about him, if he could, and love him for it, just as Phoenix would for him.

“I love you, Ryuuichi.” He said quietly, leaning his head back against Phoenix’s chest.

He felt Phoenix stiffen for a moment, his grip on his waist growing tight.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Why not? I think it’s a nice-”

“Just don’t, okay?” Phoenix let go of him and rolled over on his side, away from Edgeworth.

“I’m sorry?”

“Goodnight, Miles.”

Edgeworth wanted to say more, to try and figure out what the problem was, but it was already late enough as is and he knew better than anyone just how stressful it could be when someone pried on a subject he simply didn’t want to talk about. Clearly, he had struck a nerve.

“…Goodnight.”

When he woke up the next morning, Phoenix seemed to be over it. They headed to the airport as if nothing had happened, and he held Edgeworth’s hand the entire time during the flight over. Edgeworth was relieved that his moodiness seemed to have worn off and decided that if Phoenix really wanted to talk about it, he’d wait until he spoke up first.

After all, did it really matter that much? Ryuuichi or Phoenix, this was the man he had fallen in love with.

“My great-great grandfather’s name was Ryuunosuke.” Phoenix said abruptly.

The two of them were at a café in London, drinking coffee and tea respectively as they waited for their breakfast to arrive. Edgeworth looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn’t and just stirred another packet of sugar into his drink.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“My great-great grandfather’s name was Ryuunosuke.” Phoenix said again.

“Oh. Is that so?”

“Mm-hmm. He was a defense attorney, like me. Traveled here like a hundred years ago for a little bit in his twenties.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because,” he sighed, “I feel bad for being so rude to you the other night. I got all mad at you without telling you why.”

“Oh… it’s all right, I don’t really mind.”

“No, it was unfair of me to get so standoffish. I mean, we’re married now; I should be able to talk to you about things like an adult.”

“Only if you want to.”

“I do want to, I think. Anyways, people have been named Ryuu-something in my family for generations now, maybe even before him. My uncle’s name is Ryuuozou. My great aunt’s name was Ryuuko. That’s where Ryuuichi came from.”

“What exactly does this have to do your great-great grandfather?”

“When I was a baby, my mom had me meet him.”

“You… met him?”

“Yeah, only once though. And I don’t even remember it. But she told me about it when I found a picture of him holding me as a baby and I asked her about it. …It sorta freaked me out.”

“What happened?”

“Well… he was old. Like, really, really old. According to my mom he had memory issues and by the time I was born he didn’t even talk anymore. That is, until he saw me. Apparently he kept repeating my name, over and over again, and started crying.”

“That’s… strange.”

“Yeah, it is. And what’s even stranger is he died that very afternoon. The last thing he said was my name, again. When mom told me that story it terrified me.”

“I can imagine.”

“Also…” He looked at Edgeworth for a moment, then glanced away. “Never mind, I forgot.”

“Trucy informed me that you look away when you’re lying, you know.”

“Damn it… All right, well this is gonna sound really stupid, but for the longest time, I thought I had killed him.”

There was a pause for a moment as the waiter brought them their food. Edgeworth gave him a courteous nod while Phoenix said nothing and stared at his eggs.

“I don’t think that’s stupid.”

“You don’t?”

“You’re talking to the man who spent fifteen years of his life thinking he’d killed his own father.”

“Okay, but there was way more to that…” He shook his head. “No, we’re on our honeymoon. We’re not opening that can of worms. Anyways, yeah. Now you know why I don’t like going by Ryuuichi. It makes me feel all weird.”

“You know you didn’t kill him, right?”

“I guess. But it still freaks me out.”

“How old was he?”

“Oh… I can’t remember. Really old. Like, record-breaking old. I think mom said he was a hundred and fifteen? Or maybe it was sixteen? Something like that.”

“A hundred and… Phoenix, going outside would’ve likely killed him. There’s no way it was your fault.”

“I know that! But… still. I thought that something about me had freaked him out so much it gave him a heart attack or something. Besides, the whole repeating my name thing? That’s really creepy.”

“You said he had dementia, right?”

“Mom called it memory issues.”

“And his name was Ryuunosuke?”

“Yeah, it was. She said he apparently forgot his own name sometimes.”

“Well, it's simple then. He must have fixated on your name because it made him finally remember his own.”

“Yeah, I guess. That's what mom thought too, but…” Phoenix sighed. “The crying thing is strange, don’t you think?”

Edgeworth brought his hand to his chin in thought, ready to come up with yet another rebuttal, only to find himself stumped. That, admittedly, was strange. Why would he cry at remembering his own name?

“I dunno, I probably got all scared over nothing. Maybe he was just a really sentimental guy.” Phoenix said.

“It would explain where you get it.”

“Oh, be quiet.” He smiled, and leaned forward to give Edgeworth a kiss on the cheek. “But thanks for talking about this with me. It’s been bugging me for years now.”

“Did this help a little?”

“Yeah, it did. It’s just too bad I’ll never know what he was thinking that day.” He sighed, and finally began to pick at his breakfast. “It’s not like I can ask him.”

When he looked up from his meal, he noticed Edgeworth glaring bitterly at him.

“What?”

“Wright,” he said. He only ever called him by last name when they were alone if he was irritated. “Do me a favor, will you?”

“Okay?”

“I want you to go through your pockets.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Phoenix rolled his eyes and did as told. He pulled out his wallet, a pack of gum, a tube of lip balm, the magatama Maya had given him…

“Oh.”

“So what do you want from me, Nick?”

About two weeks after Phoenix and Edgeworth’s honeymoon, Maya and Pearl had dropped by to visit. It was the middle of summer and while Trucy took Pearl to Gatewaterland, Phoenix and Maya went out for burgers, just like old times.

“Huh?”

“I asked what you want from me.” She said again, stealing one of his french fries and dunking it into some honey mustard. “You only ever take me out when you need something.”

“Oh, that is not true.”

“When was the last time we hung out and it wasn’t because you needed help on some case or you needed someone to watch Trucy when you couldn’t take time off work or something along those lines?”

“Well…” He thought for a moment, realizing she had a point. Ever since his disbarment and her taking her medium training more seriously, they hadn’t gotten to hang out as much as they used to. He missed it, and he missed her, and he hated that their time together now seemed to boil down to this. Maybe this was a bad idea and he should’ve just shut up and had her go to the park with Trucy and Pearl too. “My wedding, maybe?”

“Does that count?”

“You ate like a fourth of the cake so yeah, it counts.”

“It shouldn’t count.”

“Yeah, you’re right, it shouldn’t.” He stole one of her fries in retaliation. “I missed you, Maya.”

“Yeah, I missed you too, Nick. Anyways, what’s up? Why am I here with you when I could be throwing up on the tea cups with Trucy?”

“Well… I wanted to ask you something.”

“I knew it.” She helped herself to a handful of Phoenix’s fries and he didn’t stop her.

“I was wondering if you could channel someone for me.”

“…Wait, really?” He nodded. “Who?”

“My great-great grandfather.”

“That’s really specific. Why?”

“I wanted to ask him something.”

“What’d you want to ask him?”

“Are you always this invasive with your clients?”

“Nah, but most of my clients aren’t my best friend. And most of them pay me in more than just burgers and fries, too.”

“Fine, you win. I just need to ask him something about his death.”

“Why?”

“How many times am I gonna have to tell this story… I only met him once, and he died the very same day. He started crying and he died saying my name, over and over again, and that haunted me for years. I guess I wanted to know why.”

“Ooh, creepy.”

“Yeah, it is. Made me afraid to use my first name for forever. I still don’t like hearing it. I thought I was over it but then Miles tried to call me Ryuuichi and I got all freaked out. I told him about it and he thinks I need closure. I think I might too.”

“Hmm…” Maya smiled. “So this really is like old times then.”

“What do you mean?”

“You and me, solving the mystery of a death together. Too bad we’re missing out on the fun part.”

”The fun part?”

“The investigations, of course. I miss running around and fighting about ladders and desecrating crime scenes with you.”

“Please don’t word it like that.”

“With this we just skip to the end. That’s not as much fun.”

“Maybe not, but it’s better for my anxiety.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it, Nick. What’s your grandpa’s name?”

“Ryuunosuke Naruhodou.”

“Oh, cool. I like it. Do you have a picture of him?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I see it?”

“What – you mean now?”

“Sure, why not?”

“I don’t think you should turn into a one hundred and sixteen year old man in the middle of a burger place.”

“Whoa, what?! A hundred and sixteen?!”

“Yeah, he was really old.“

“That’s like super old! We should do it. Seeing a hamburger would probably blow his mind!”

“Maya, he died in 1992. I’m pretty sure he knew what a burger was.”

“Still, it’ll be cool! You could show him a cell phone or something. He’ll be amazed!”

“I just want to ask him a question. I don’t want to overwhelm him.”

“Feh, you’re no fun. Can I see the picture now?”

He glanced around the restaurant. Thankfully, it was around two on a Wednesday, so it wasn’t crowded. He supposed unless someone was really staring at him, no one would notice that the spunky young woman had turned into a tired old man. He hesitantly pulled out the photograph from his briefcase and handed it to her.

“Oh…” Her face dropped. “Nick, who took this picture?”

“My mom.”

“Well, tell her she’s a horrible photographer. You can barely see his face!”

“Yeah, I know. She wanted the focus to be on me, I guess, since I was the cute newborn.”

“Hmm…” She looked troubled. “I might not be able to work with this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean… I can only see like half of his face.”

She was right, and he knew it. It was the picture of his great-great grandfather, cradling him in his arms while he wrapped his tiny fist around his finger. But because his mother had been sitting to his side and had been so focused on capturing Phoenix’s cute face as he held his great-great grandfather’s finger, it meant obscuring the old man’s face a little as he looked down at him.

“I can still try, though. I mean, I can see one eye, most of his nose… this might work?” She said, shutting her eyes and clasping her hands together.

“Now? We should really go back to the –”

“Shh, quiet. Medium working. Shush.” He quieted, and looked around the room once again anxiously, worried about what would happen should anyone see. And above all else, he was worrying about what the hell he would say to his great-great grandfather when he arrived. His attention was brought back to Maya when her eyes snapped open and she gasped, loudly.

“Maya? Are you okay?” He asked, reaching out to her.

“Y-yeah, I’m good.” She took a deep breath. “What happened? Did it work?”

“No, it didn’t. Nothing happened.”

“Oh. Sorry, Nick.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m pretty sure it was the picture, not you.” He sighed, and slipped the old photograph back into his bag. “Whatever.”

“So you’re just gonna give up like that?”

“Well yeah, what more can we do? It’s not like I’m in dire need of this; it was just curiosity. Besides, where exactly are we gonna find another photograph of him?”

Maya, however, still didn’t seem defeated, and smiled at him triumphantly.

“Looks like we’re getting our investigation after all.”

“So… a hundred and sixteen, huh?”

About a week after their meeting at the burger restaurant, Phoenix finally found another lead. His mother, while still confused about his fixation on his great-great grandfather, told him that she may still have some of his things in her possession. Her own mother had moved out of state for retirement, leaving her with quite a bit of her old things. Which, unfortunately, included a storage unit full of junk that she was too lazy to sort through. If there was anything left from Phoenix’s great-great grandfather, it’d likely be there. So, the next time Maya was free, he took her there to go searching, figuring Apollo and Athena would be able to take care of the Wright Anything Agency in his absence.

“Yeah,” Phoenix replied, hauling the large door of the unit open, “what about it?”

“Nothing, that’s just a really long time.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“I mean think about it,” she said, actively ignoring him, “he was born when horse-drawn carriages were around and died when the internet was first becoming a thing.”

“Oof. When you put it like that, it kinda gives me a headache.” He finally got the storage unit open, where a forest of dusty boxes met them.

“Where do we start?”

“I have no idea. Just… look for a box that says Ryuunosuke or something like that.”

“Sounds good.”

They split up into different sides of the room. Most all of this stuff was his grandparent’s. There were lots of old clothes, dusty books, furniture that wasn’t broken but rather ugly for the times, and appliances that were way outdated and likely didn’t even work anymore.

“Say, Maya?” Phoenix asked, as he pushed a box of romance novels to the side.

“Yeah?”

“Do spirits regain their memories after death?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… mom said great-great Grandpa Ryuu had memory issues. He even forgot his own name most of the time. So I was wondering, when he died, would he remember everything he forgot, or not?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure? You’re a spirit medium-”

“Yeah, I’m an expert on bringing the dead back. Doesn’t mean I know anything about what it’s like when you die.”

“Oh, ok.”

“…I hope he did get his memory back, though. I think it’d be really unfair for him to continue on as blank as he was when he died.”

“Continue on…” Phoenix mumbled. He shut a box he found was filled with nothing but old high heels. “Maya?”

“What is it, Nick?”

“Is there an afterlife?”

“I think so.” Her response was immediate.

“Think so, or know so?”

“Think so,” she said again, lifting a frighteningly large rack of dresses off of more boxes. “I don’t have any actual proof, but I think so.”

“You don’t have proof?”

“Not really. In my experience, spirits usually recall up to the moment of their deaths, nothing afterwards.”

“Oh.”

“But that’s just in my experience. Besides, most of the people I’ve channeled haven’t been dead for that long. Usually it’s only been a few months, sometimes even a couple of days.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? The most common reason people want to channel someone is to say goodbye. Loved ones who got into accidents or suddenly fell ill… people want one last conversation with them, and they don’t typically wait to do that.”

“Makes sense.”

“However… I think the longest dead spirit I channeled had been gone for five years. It was really sad, too. The kid had died in an accident when she was only ten. Her mom was so wrought with grief that she waited that long before seeking out channeling to say a proper goodbye to her. Anyways, when the channeling ended and I came to, the mom was crying. She told me a little about their conversation. She had asked her daughter if, wherever she was, she was all right. The kid didn’t say much, but apparently she said that it was warm, where she was.” Maya shrugged. “I mean, there’s a chance she was making that up to ease her mom’s worries. But… I wanna believe that it was the truth. Maybe newer spirits don’t describe the afterlife because they’re not used to it yet. Being dead… it probably takes awhile to adjust to, I’d think. So maybe the older the spirit, the more likely they’ll remember an afterlife? Or… something. I dunno."

She sighed.

"I guess I just wanna believe that there’s more to death than nothing, y’know?”

“Yeah… I know what you mean.”

Phoenix suddenly felt terrible for asking. Maya’s answer, though optimistic as it was, put a pit in his stomach. He hoped that she was right, that there was something, that there was more to dying than just disappearing for good. His thoughts wandered, for a moment, to Mia. He hadn’t channeled her in years, and he didn’t have any intention of doing so anytime soon. He felt selfish for needing her help so constantly after her death, and he should just let her rest in peace. But now he was starting to feel anxious about it. Was that all there was to death? Had Mia just been trapped in eternal, empty, nothingness until Phoenix called her back for assistance, only for her to return to that emptiness? He certainly hoped not. He hoped there was more to it, that his interruptions to her rest were just brief, fun moments in which she got to see friends and family in the living world again before returning to a peaceful eternity filled with love and joy and companionship with others the world had lost.

“I’ve never channeled someone who’s been gone as long as Ryuunosuke.” Maya said. “He’s been gone how long? Almost fifty years?”

“I’m thirty-four.”

“Still, that’s a really long time to be gone. Maybe he might be able to answer that for you.”

“Only if we’re able to find-”

“Aha!” Maya exclaimed. She rushed towards Phoenix, a large box in her arms, bearing the words Grandpa Ryuu’s Stuff, written in sharpie. “I found it!”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Phoenix sighed. “I was starting to worry it didn’t exist and we’d be digging around this dusty place for no reason. There better be an album or something in here.”

Maya placed the box down on the floor and they finally opened it. The first thing they found was folded up clothing. There were quite a few komons and haoris and hakamas, and a beautiful cloak, black in color, with blue embroidery around the edges. Beneath it was a matching one, but with red.

“These are really cool, can we keep them?” Maya asked.

“Not now, Maya.”

Thankfully, there was more in the box than just clothing. There was a little red daruma doll, its paint faded and chipping from age. There was a deep blue armguard, likely used for archery, and a gold and red armband with an all too familiar symbol in the center.

“Is this what lawyers wore back then?” Maya asked, holding it up to get a better look at it.

“I think so, yeah.”

“It’s neat. Say, Nick, you should wear this instead of that crummy old badge.”

“I like my badge.” Phoenix scoffed. “Besides, that would clash with my suit. Now put it back.”

“Fine, fine.”

There were a couple copies of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes novels, though they looked well-read and worn out. They looked like original copies too, but unfortunately someone named Iris had scribbled her name on the inside cover of them. Beneath them was –

“Oooh, look at this!” Maya exclaimed, pulling a long, red ribbon from the bottom of the box. It, too, looked a bit faded. What was once likely a brilliant red was a bit pale in color; but the fabric was still sturdy and Maya proceeded to tie her hair up with it. “How do I look, Nick?”

“It doesn’t match your hoodie.”

“Well, aside from that?”

“It’s way too long. I think you’re supposed to wear it around your forehead.”

“Feh, that’s not as cute.”

“Yeah, I guess not.” He was going to say something else but his hand finally struck something smooth and wooden, and he pulled out a picture frame. Nestled behind the glass was an old, well-loved image that had faded quite substantially since it was taken but was thankfully still visible. “I think I found it.”

“Ooh, let me see!”

The image depicted five people standing on a dock, a large steamship behind them. Two Japanese men were on the left, one in all black with a katana in his hand, and the other in all white, his arms crossed and a warm look in his eyes. Beside them was a Japanese girl in a pink kimono, who looked as if she had just finished crying tears of joy. And next to her were two English people, a little girl with bright pink hair cradling a cat in her arms, and a man decked out in detective garb, pointing away. They all looked very happy, and Phoenix couldn’t help but smile back at them.

“She’s really cute.” Maya said, pointing at the girl in the kimono. “Is that your great-great grandma?”

“I don’t know. Mom said she died way before she was born so I don’t know anything about her. I think she said her first name started with an M?”

“Well what’s this girl’s name?”

“I don’t know, maybe it says on the back. She looks a little young to be his wife, though.”

Maya carefully undid the back of the frame. There was faded writing on the back of the old photograph, and it read,

Kazuma Asougi, Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, Susato Mikotoba, Iris Watson & Sherlock Holmes, London, November 1900.

“Guess that girl’s someone else.” Maya paused. “…Sherlock Holmes? He was real?”

“Or maybe he was just an avid fan.”

“He looks the part, I guess. The little girl must’ve been a fan too since her name’s on all those books.”

“I guess that’s true…” Phoenix trailed off, his eyes moving to the two Japanese men. Based on the words on the back, the one in all black was his great-great grandfather. It was hard for him to tell, honestly. He of course didn’t remember his meeting with his great-great grandfather and the picture his mother had taken didn’t help him with recognition all that much. Besides, the two images were ninety-two years apart. It was no wonder the image of the old man stashed away in his briefcase looked nothing like the young man he was staring at now. He looked at the confident look in Ryuunosuke’s eyes and wondered what might be going on in his mind. What was he like? What was his life like? The man in the image couldn’t have possibly known that he would live for nearly another century. He wondered what it must be like to live that long, to live to see the world change so drastically, to live to see four generations after you…

And what must it be like to live long enough to lose so many people?

As Phonenix scanned the image one last time, he realized that he knew nothing of any of the other photographed members. Sherlock Holmes, aside from the popular series which he doubted this man was related to, he knew nothing about. He had never heard of an Iris Watson, or a Watson family in general. He felt like he had heard the last name Mikotoba before; a long, long time ago. Perhaps their families had managed to keep in touch for a while, but that connection had simply been lost by the time it reached Phoenix’s generation. And as for Asougi… he had never heard of such a name. Perhaps the two of them hadn’t kept in touch, or maybe their children hadn’t done so… Or perhaps Asougi had died young and never had a family line to succeed him? He sort of hoped not. Looking at the image, all of these people seemed very, very close. Knowing that his great-great grandfather had likely outlived everyone standing beside him, even the little girl, made Phoenix feel somber.

Phoenix couldn’t envision himself living that long. Hell, there was a time he couldn’t even foresee himself living to thirty. But the possibility of living to a hundred, or even above that made his head hurt. He certainly, by no means, wanted to die young. There were still places he wanted to go, things he wanted to do, people he wanted to stay with and watch grow… But, on the other hand, he didn’t want to be here too long, either. He didn’t want to stay around as he watched his loved ones die. He couldn’t imagine himself outliving Miles, or Maya, or even Trucy… He remembered hearing that his great-great grandfather had managed to outlive one of his own children. Such a thing… Phoenix simply couldn’t imagine it.

He was beginning to wonder if perhaps his great-great grandfather weeping upon meeting him had been the result of living such a long, long, lonely life.

“So, is this it then?” Maya asked. “Are we good?”

“Y-yeah,” Phoenix managed, “we’re good.”

“You… still wanna channel him?”

“Yeah.” Phoenix said, after a long pause. Perhaps he was a selfish man, for still wanting to call his great-great grandfather back, but he still wanted to know. After so many years, he just wanted to know why.

“Okay, well…” She shut her eyes and clasped her hands together. “Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, right?”

“No, no, not right now.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not having my great-great grandfather come back to life in the middle of a dusty storage unit. Let’s go somewhere that’s at least half decent.”

“Like where?”

“I dunno, my house.”

“I thought you said half decent.”

Phoenix rolled his eyes at her.

“Fine, fine.” She began putting the things they had pulled out of the box back in.

“Don’t forget this.” Phoenix said, pointing to the long hachimaki in her hair. “I don’t think he’d want to come back with this around his head.”

“Hey, you never know.” She looked at the picture one more time, specifically at Ryuunosuke. “He’s got a cute face. He’d probably look nice with it.”

“That’s not what he’s gonna look like.”

“Oh… fine, you’re right.” She pulled the hackimaki out of her hair with a heavy sigh, and buried it once again.

“You look nervous.”

“I am nervous.”

Phoenix and Maya were sitting across from one another on the floor of Phoenix and Edgeworth’s living room. He had gotten dressed up for the occasion; despite taking the day off to do this, he put on his whole three piece suit and even made sure to do his hair so there wasn’t a drooping spike in sight. Maya, however, wasn’t too concerned. She tended to dress casually when she came down from Kurain Village and was only in a sweater and jeans.

“Why are you so dressed up, Nick?”

“I dunno… I want to look professional. This is what people wore in his time, I think.”

“Weren’t you the one saying he died in 1992?”

“Yeah but… I want to look nice.”

“Don’t be so nervous. The worst that’ll happen is he’ll admit to being scared of a baby, and I still seriously doubt that. Now relax, will you?”

“Fine, fine, I’m relaxed.”

Maya just smiled at him one last time before shutting her eyes and clasping her hands together tightly. She took a deep breath and Phoenix shut his eyes too, trying to calm his nerves and think of something to say. Hi, I’m Ryuuichi, remember me? Did I give you a heart attack or something? No, that’s horrible! How about, Hello, great-great grandpa Ryuunosuke. I’m Phoenix Wright and I’ve spent my life thinking I killed you. No, that’s even worse. If not that, then, hi, I’m Phoenix, and what’s your deal with the name Ryuu?

“W-where am I?”

Phoenix’s eyes snapped open at the softly spoken question. Sitting across from him was no longer Maya, but an old man. He wasn’t much bigger than Maya; he sat just a couple of inches taller than her, but her clothes weren’t stretched out in the slightest. In fact, it was the opposite. It seemed he was rather emaciated when he had died, and her sweater looked all the baggier around his small body. His eyes were twitching nervously as he glanced around the room, but once he noticed Phoenix’s opened eyes he stopped and chose to stare at him instead. There was something about his appearance that deeply unsettled Phoenix but he couldn’t quite place it into words.

“So, uh,” Phoenix said, still unable to think of something coherent to say, “you probably don’t recognize me, but, uh –”

“Kazuma…?” Ryuunosuke asked, reaching out to him slowly. He rested his bony hand upon Phoenix’s cheek, effectively silencing him for a moment.

“Kazuma?” Phoenix repeated. Wasn’t that the name on the photograph? Well, his mother did say he had had memory issues. Perhaps he was mixing him up with that young man. “No, sorry, that’s not my name.”

“Oh.” He looked the slightest bit disappointed and drew his hand away. “My apologies. I… I thought you were someone else. But you’re far too young to be him.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Who might you be, then?” He asked politely.

“Oh… I’m Phoenix. Er – I’m sorry, that’s my middle name. My firsts name’s, uh, Ryuuichi.”

“Ryuuichi…” He mumbled to himself.

“Yes, Ryuuichi. Ryuu. Does that sound familiar? I know I look completely different but we’ve met once before. Do you remember that?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t say I do.”

“It was a long time ago. I was only a baby back then, do you remember? My mom, Yukie, you remember her, don’t you? She took me to the nursing home to meet you-”

“Nursing home?”

“And you held me, and mom introduced you to me. I’m your great-great grandson, Ryuuichi. Remember that?”

“Great-great-grandson?”

“And you kept repeating my name, over and over again…”

“Ryuuichi, I –”

“The day you died. Do you remember that? You kept saying it, over and over again, until you… until you…”

“Ryuuichi.” Ryuunosuke said firmly. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you’re mixing me up for someone else.”

“I can’t be mixing you up! How many people have great-great grandfathers named Ryuunosuke that lived to a hundred and sixteen? There’s no way I’m mixing you up!”

Phoenix paused, immediately feeling horrible. What good was it to yell at and argue with a dead man? He was being an asshole and an idiot and shame immediately washed over him. He had been desperate to know the answer but this was just pathetic. He ducked his head down in remorse.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I know it’s not your fault that you don’t remember. Mom did tell me that you had memory issues.”

“Memory issues?”

Phoenix just looked up at him, at this confused, hopelessly lost old man, and shook his head. Talking like this and reminding him of issues that were out of his power weren’t going to get him anywhere. He should just stop being selfish and let him rest again.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought you here. This all must be very overwhelming for you. I should just…” But he hesitated for a moment, when he remembered the photograph tucked away in his briefcase. He pulled it out quickly, and held it out towards Ryuunosuke. “Here. Um… this is the last photograph taken of you. It’s me and you together, taken a little before you died. If you don’t remember, that’s fine. I just… I wanted to talk to you, I guess.”

Ryuunosuke took the photograph from him and brought it close to his eyes, to get a better look at it. Phoenix watched him, hoping to see something; a sign of recognition or familiarity, or anything of that nature. He wasn’t disappointed. Ryuunosuke stared at the image and his eyes went wide. He traced his thumb over it and after a deep breath, he said,

“Kazuma...”

“Huh?”

But Ryuunosuke said nothing more, transfixed by the image. He kept staring, and smiled at the image, seemingly struck by what he saw. Perhaps now he remembered, but why did he keep saying…

“No, not Kazuma. I already told you-”

“Ryuuichi.” Ryuunosuke interrupted, looking the slightest bit irritated. “I’m sorry, but I’m not talking about you. And I’m not as lost as you seem to think I am.” He flipped the photograph over and pointed at it. “I’m talking about him. Kazuma.”

“Kazuma…?” Phoenix trailed off, and it suddenly clicked. Looking at Ryuunosuke side by side with the image he was holding in his hand made him realize just what it was about his appearance that made him so unsettled.

Ryuunosuke was simply far too young to be the man in the picture.

He was an older man, certainly. He had wrinkles around his eyes and laugh lines around his mouth and his bony hands were a little aged and he was certain that if he weren’t being channeled by Maya right now, his hair would be graying. But Phoenix wouldn’t call him ancient by any means. He didn’t look like a frail old man who would fall apart by simply setting foot outside. He still looked lively, like he could get up and go for a stroll with him if he so wished. He looked like any older gentleman you might find out and about. In fact, Phoenix realized, he didn’t look much older than his own mother. It was no wonder Maya trying to channel him with the first photograph hadn’t worked; it wasn’t a picture of Ryuunosuke, now was it?

“Okay,” Phoenix sighed, running a hand through his hair, “I’m lost.”

“Well, let’s start from the beginning, then. Ryuuichi, why exactly did you bring me here? It must be incredibly important if you needed to call me back from the dead.”

“So… you know you’re dead, then?”

“You’ve only mentioned it about five times.”

“…Sorry.”

“No, it’s all right. I’ve been gone for a really long time, so I already knew it to begin with. I just never expected to be back.” He gazed around Phoenix’s living room for a moment, seemingly taking it all in. “Tell me, what year is it?”

“2026.”

“…Ah.” He clutched at his head for a moment. “Wow.”

“I know it must be overwhelming…”

“Just a little. 2026… I can hardly imagine it. I’ve nearly been gone a whole century.”

“Ryuunosuke – ”

“You can still call me great-great grandfather, you know.”

“Uh…” Could he really? Was he even related to the man sitting across from him? He was so confused. “Well, anyways… if you don’t mind me asking, when did you die?”

“…Oh.” He looked down for a moment, looking rather morose. “It was the summer of 1936, if I recall correctly.”

“1936…” Phoenix repeated. That really was nearly a century ago. And it was certainly a long, long time before he was born, or even his mother… it was long before his great-great grandfather had died, too.

“Oh, don’t look so sad. I died at the ripe old age of sixty. There’s nothing to be upset about.”

Phoenix didn’t have the heart to tell him that sixty really wasn’t that old, and somehow he doubted it was that old when Ryuunosuke was around, either.

“How did you die, exactly?”

Ryuunosuke paused for a moment, his eyes darting to the ground beneath him. He looked saddened, running one bony hand over the other one.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me. It was rude of me to ask – ”

“Cancer.” Ryuunosuke said quietly. “I became tremendously ill, and by the time we found out what was wrong, it was simply too late to do anything.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”

“No, it’s all right. Like I said, I was... old.”

Ryuunosuke still looked deeply saddened. Phoenix got the feeling that even he knew he wasn’t all that old.

“It’s nothing to be upset about. I got to spend my final days surrounded by my loved ones.” He smiled, and let his arm rest upon his thigh, facing his palm towards the ceiling. “Why, I remember Kazuma held my hand and kept me company the whole time. The last thing I remember was him kissing my forehead and squeezing my hand when I shut my eyes for good.”

His words made Phoenix’s heart feel heavy. He remembered, a few months ago, Edgeworth had gotten the flu and despite his many protests at having Phoenix come near him, Phoenix sat by his side anyways and made him soup and brought him medicine and gave him a cool washcloth for his fever and simply held his hand when there was nothing more to give. He could very easily picture himself in Ryuunosuke and Kazuma’s situation, years in the future, holding Edgeworth’s hand as he lay there emaciated and weak in his final moments…

Phoenix shook his head, trying to force the horrible thought out of his mind. He needed to change the subject before he started crying himself.

“Who exactly was Kazuma?” He finally asked.

“Kazuma...” Ryuunosuke smiled sweetly at just the mention of the name. “He was my best friend. The strongest, most passionate and wonderful person I have ever met. He was the love of my life.”

Ryuunosuke shifted a little, and when he did so his hand grazed against the photograph of himself and all his friends that Maya had been using as a means of channeling him. He picked up the image and stared at it lovingly, positively bursting with a wide, joyful smile.

“Oh, he’s so beautiful, don’t you think?” Ryuunosuke asked, running his bony finger over Kazuma’s young face.

“Yes, he was very handsome.”

“If you think he looks nice here, you should have seen him at our wedding.” He sighed happily. “He was so lovely…”

“You two were married?”

“Still are, technically.”

“No offense, but how?”

“Well… it’s complicated.”

“I’ll try to keep up.“

“Kazuma was an orphan. It’s unfortunate, really, but his parents died when he was very young. However, because of this, there was no one left in his family that could possibly dispute the existence of a sister. So he and I decided to exploit that.” He laughed. “What kind of lawyer does that make me, huh?”

“I’m not judging.” Phoenix replied. After all, he had been the notorious fraud Phoenix Wright until only about a year ago now. Besides… he could see himself breaking the law if it meant being with Edgeworth.

“The man who took care of him after he was orphaned, Mikotoba-san… er,” he pointed to the young Japanese girl in the photograph, “Her father, he was kind enough to vouch for us and claimed that he raised two Asougi children. Kazuma and his twin sister, Mamiko. Kazuma disguised himself as a woman for a brief period of time, and we were married.”

“And you got away with that?”

“Yes, we did. We made up this elaborate story about a twin sister he had that was always very sickly and rarely left home. It was the excuse we used as to why very few people knew of her, why hardly anyone ever saw her out and about after the wedding and why we chose to adopt. That way, Kazuma could still be himself and continue his career and live his life without anyone realizing that the best friend I spent everyday with was my spouse, as well.”

“That’s… amazing.”

“It was amazing. I was so worried that we’d get caught, that something horrible would happen to us, but… whenever I shared those doubts with him, Kazuma was always there to reassure me. He would always hold my hand and tell me, quit worrying yourself, Ryuu. The whole thing was his idea, after all. He was the most stubborn person I knew. He loved me and he was determined to be with me, no matter the cost. And it worked. No one but a few close friends and our children ever knew the truth, and we spent thirty-three happy years together.”

“That’s wonderful.” Phoenix said. Ryuunosuke’s story brought a smile to his face. To think a love like theirs could not only survive, but thrive even back then brought him a tremendous amount of joy. Even when growing up, Phoenix worried about the possibility of being unable to marry the man of his dreams, should he wind up with one. He was so happy, so relieved, that he lived in a time where he got to be with Edgeworth. And it made him happy to hear that his great-great grandparents had managed to do the same, even if they had to risk quite a bit to do so.

However, there was still one question lingering.

“How exactly did Kazuma end up with your name, then? Everyone that ever talked about him; my mom, my grandma… they always called him Ryuunosuke. How did that happen?”

“Ah. Well… Our marriage worked because so few people knew about it. We planned to keep the secret to our deaths, but… my death came far sooner than we had anticipated. We realized I was dying, and that left us with even more problems. Everything was under my name. Once I died, it would be up to my wife to handle my funeral and everything I had left behind. How would she do that when she didn’t exist? Kazuma could become Mamiko for a single ceremony, but if he became her permanently, surely someone would find out. And I wasn’t about to put Kazuma through all that. He would be hurting enough as is.” He sighed. “So we decided to move. Far away, where no one knew us, so we could keep our love a secret. I became Mamiko, the sickly wife who died not long after. And Kazuma became….”

“Ryuunosuke Naruhodou.” Phoenix finished. “I think I get it now.”

“I… wasn’t sure if he would go through with it. Kazuma loved his family so much. He was proud to be an Asougi. I didn’t think he’d be willing to give it up all for my sake. But I remember he just kissed me, and told me I was being foolish for worrying about it. I was his family too, after all. …He always knew exactly how to calm my nerves.”

“It sounds like Kazuma really loved you.”

“Yeah, he did. And I loved him, too. So, so much.” He paused for a moment, to wipe away a few tears. “I-I’m sorry, Ryuuichi, I need a moment.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry if I upset you-”

“No, it’s not that. Talking about this… it’s making me remember just how much I missed him. I wish I hadn’t died so soon. It was so lonely without him.”

Phoenix paused and just waited for him to continue. It seemed Maya’s theory about older spirits remembering an afterlife had some merit to it.

“I was the first of my friends to die. I mean… I had come to terms with it. I really did. And I was happy to see my parents again, but… Even Mikotoba-san lived a few years longer than I did. I waited and waited to be with Kazuma again. I was reunited with everyone before I saw him again. Even Iris-chan…” He sighed, and shook his head. “It felt like an eternity.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds… terrible.”

“No, there’s nothing to be sorry for. And it wasn’t terrible. Like I said, I eventually got to see all my friends and family again. Besides, it would be cruel of me to hope for him to die. I just… missed him so much. But I suppose it’s no surprise he lived so long.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” He flipped the photograph over again, and pointed to the text scrawled on the back. “You see how it says London?”

“Yeah?”

“Kazuma and I traveled to London for a little while in our twenties. But on the way there, something happened. Kazuma was involved in a bit of a government scandal. Because of this… someone faked his death. For nearly a year everyone, myself included, thought him to be dead.” He glanced up at Phoenix anxiously. “I’m sorry, this must sound so strange.”

Phoenix thought about Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death, and he shook his head.

“No, not that strange.”

“I really did think he was dead. It tore me apart and I spent a whole year mourning him, thinking about how much I had missed him, how fate had been so cruel, how it was so unfair for him to be taken so early. I was so thankful that wasn’t the case. But years later, after I had died and had been waiting for ages… I started to think that maybe fate had decided to let him live forever to make up for nearly losing him once.”

For some reason, the very idea of such a thing made a chill run down Phoenix’s spine. After all, he had nearly lost Edgeworth once. What if the same fate were to happen to him?

“Ryuuichi?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been doing all the talking. You still haven’t told me why you brought me here. Or I suppose… why you meant to bring Kazuma here.”

“Oh… right.” After getting lost in his great-great grandfather’s tale, he nearly forgot why any of this was happening. Except now that he thought about all that Ryuunosuke had told him, he was beginning to realize he had already solved the mystery.

“It’s okay, it’s not that big of a deal,” Phoenix said, “it was a weird reason.”

“Oh, I don’t mind listening. I’ve already told you my deepest, darkest secrets. Besides, I’m curious.”

He supposed Ryuunosuke had a point. Besides, it would be selfish of him to bring the old man back from the dead without ever telling him why.

“Kazuma… you get to see him now, right?”

“Yes, I do.” He smiled. “We get to spend eternity together.”

“That’s… really reliving to hear, actually.” Phoenix said. “But I was wondering… did he ever tell you about how he died?”

“…Oh.” Ryuunosuke brought his hand to his chin in thought. “Now that you mention it; no, not really. He’s told me quite a bit about the sixty years he spent without me, but that never really came up. In fact, he’s rarely talked about his final years at all.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Mom told me he had memory issues when he got older-”

“No, not older. Kazuma sustained a pretty bad head injury when he was in his twenties. Wound up getting amnesia for a while, and even after he remembered most everything he’d still need reminders all the time.”

Phoenix wouldn’t believe the story if he hadn’t had something similar happen to him. He remembered the incident years ago now with the fire extinguisher and simply nodded. He was beginning to wonder just how many things he had in common with his great-great grandparents.

“Well, either way, I think the problems got worse. Mom told me that by the time she graduated high school he barely talked anymore and forgot most everything. He would even forget his own name. I’m guessing it’s because it wasn’t his. He must’ve known who he was. The one he forgot about was…”

“Me.” Ryuunosuke shook his head sadly. “It’s all right. It wasn’t his fault. And it wouldn’t be the first time that happened, anyways. At least he remembers me now, though.”

“Well… actually, I think he remembered before that.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Remember how I introduced myself as Phoenix?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I started going by that when I was about five. And it’s all because of a story mom told me about him. I met him once, on the day he died. Mom let him hold me and told him who I was. She likes to shorten my name though, so she called me ‘Ryuu’. And hearing my name struck something within him. For the first time in years, he spoke. He said, Ryuu. And he kept saying it, over and over again. Looking livelier than he had in ages. Mom said he even started crying a little. He died later that day, and the last thing he said was that name, again. Apparently, he was smiling when he died.” Phoenix picked up the picture of himself as a baby, being cradled in Kazuma’s arms, and smiled at it, realizing that for the first time in forever, it didn’t make him uncomfortable. “That story terrified me when I heard it. For a long time, I thought I had done something to freak him out. I thought I had given him a heart attack or something so I dropped the name and went by Phoenix. That’s why I decided to bring you back. I wanted to ask; I wanted to find out why. But now I think I know why. He must have been remembering you that day. Hearing your name, the nickname he had called you… it must have brought the memories back. He must have remembered all the good times you had spent together, how much he had loved you… He must have been very happy, I think.”

Ryuunosuke didn’t respond. When Phoenix looked up, he realized he was crying again, and biting his lip to stifle the sobs.

“Are you okay-”

“When he died,” Ryuunosuke interrupted, wiping his watery eyes on Maya’s sleeve, “I thought for sure I’d be the last thing on his mind. He loved me, of course, but… he had lost so much in life. I… I was so certain that the first thing he would do is run to his family. He lost his parents so young… I thought for sure he’d want to be with them first, after over a century apart.” He shook his head. “The first thing he did was come to me. He held me tight and just said my name… Ryuu. He told me how much he missed me, how much he loved me, that he was sorry… I didn’t understand why, but I didn’t think about it. I was just so overjoyed to see him again that I didn’t think to ask. I suppose I know why, now. …Ryuuichi, thank you.”

“For what?”

“You helped him remember me. You helped him remember me, and you made his final moments plesant ones. You made him very happy.”

His words alone made Phoenix’s heart feel a tad bit lighter.

Ryuunosuke still looked a little upset, so Phoenix scooted forward and reached out to him. Ryuunosuke said nothing more and wrapped his arms around his great-great grandson, and hugged him for the very first time, holding him close and weeping, just as Kazuma had done all those years ago. At the very least, Phoenix could cherish this moment. And, he realized, he could cherish that old story too, now that he knew his great-great grandfather Kazuma’s tears had been from love.

When Ryuunosuke finally pulled away, his hand grazed against Phoenix’s for a moment. He paused and held it, running his hand over the ring on his finger.

“Ah, are you married?”

“Oh, yeah, I am.” Honestly, it still felt so foreign to admit that. But it was kind of exciting to say it out loud. “It’s only been about a month, though.”

“Congratulations! Tell me, what’s her name?”

“Oh… well, it’s not a she.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open. He kept a lot of photographs of family and friends in there, but he decided to pull out the most recent one. It depicted him and Edgeworth, standing side by side in dark, formal tuxes, and they were holding hands and smiling at the camera. Trucy was standing in front of them, looking adorable in her flower girl dress, and was tossing petals in the air happily. “This is my husband, Miles. And that’s our daughter, Trucy.”

“What a beautiful family.” Ryuunosuke said happily. He took the picture from Phoenix and got a better look at it. “And you two… you just got to get married, like this?”

“Yes. We didn’t have to work a way around the law. We just got married.”

“Oh…” Ryuunosuke looked positively overjoyed. “That makes me so happy to hear. I’m glad the world has become the slightest bit brighter.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Cherish that, Ryuuichi.” Ryuunosuke said, returning the photograph. “Make sure you hold his hand and smother him in affection and tell him you love him, every chance you get. I would’ve given anything just to show the world how much I loved Kazuma. Don’t waste it.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Phoenix replied. “Thanks for the advice, Grandpa.”

“Grandpa…” Ryuunosuke muttered, looking away for a moment. He looked like he might just cry again.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just that… I really did try to hang on to life. When I died, our oldest was expecting. I wanted to live long enough to become a grandfather, but no such luck. My grandchildren are still alive, so... I've never been called that before. It makes me happy to hear it, I guess. I just wish I could have heard it in life.”

“Well… it’s not too late to fix that, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… how often does someone get to see their great-great grandfather again?” Phoenix stood up abruptly. “C’mon, let’s do something together! Maybe we could get lunch? How does that sound?”

He glanced back at Ryuunosuke’s thin, sickly frame.

“Well, assuming you’re up for it. If you want to leave it at this, I don’t mind-”

“Lunch sounds lovely.” Ryuunosuke said. “Where shall we go? I’m not picky.”

“Hmm…” Phoenix mumbled, reaching a hand out to help him up. When Ryuunosuke looked down and his face was obscured by Maya’s long, dark hair, it almost looked like he was just talking to her again. Suddenly he remembered what Maya had told him a couple days ago, and smiled. “Do you know what a hamburger is?”

“Phoenix, you’re going to catch a cold like that.”

Phoenix was sitting on the upstairs balcony of his and Edgeworth’s home, simply watching the stars. He had been out there for a while now, after he had excused himself early from dinner, and that seemed to be worrying Edgeworth. He didn’t need to worry so much; he’d come back in eventually. He just needed some time to think.

He and Ryuunosuke had spent the whole day together. After getting burgers, they had gone for a walk around the city and simply talked to one another. It was amazing how astounding his mundane, daily commute could be through the eyes of someone like his great-great grandfather. Nearly everything seemed to fascinate him; from the smartphones he saw people using to the large skyscrapers they walked past… he was even fascinated by a pair of crocs he saw a middle aged man wearing. It was kind of fun to watch his great-great grandfather marvel at the sights around him, but quite a bit of his conversation saddened him. He’d point at a pretty dress in a shop window and say, Oh, Susato-chan would’ve looked lovely in that, or he’d look at the bright-colored ice cream for sale from a candy store and mumble, there were only three or so flavors when I took Iris-chan to the fair, and he’d see a mother holding hands with her son and reminisce about how quickly his own children had grown up.

But above all else, he mentioned Kazuma the most. He’d comment about places he wished the two of them could see together, foods they could have tried… he even got so caught up in the moment while watching a cute puppy across the street that he had grabbed Phoenix’s hand and exclaimed, look at that, Kazuma!, without even thinking about it. Phoenix couldn’t be mad about it, of course. Ryuunosuke had only known about him for a day, while Kazuma he had known for nearly a lifetime. Of course he’d slip up every once in awhile and still think he was here.

Phoenix remembered doing the same during that awful year when he thought Edgeworth had died. He remembered walking past a café and having half a mind to call him and ask if he’d like to go with him sometime, only to remember he was gone. He’d get his hopes up in court when he gazed over at the prosecutor’s bench, expecting to see a familiar magenta suit and a cravat, only to be disappointed and heartbroken again when it was someone else. That had been such a painful year. The only way he had been able to cope with the sudden, horrible loss was by burying it deep away and trying to erase Edgeworth from his thoughts entirely. It didn’t work, of course. Whenever Maya would innocently bring him up, he’d find himself snapping at her and his heart would be broken all over again. He wondered how Ryuunosuke managed to do it; how was he still so light-hearted and cheerful when most everyone he knew and loved was gone?

Perhaps it was because he was gone himself, or perhaps it was because he knew he’d see them again.

When night began to fall, Ryuunosuke decided it was about time he took his leave. He smiled up at Phoenix, and asked,

“Are you going to talk to Kazuma now?”

“Oh… no, I don’t think so.” Phoenix had replied. “I’ve already gotten what I needed to know. It would be selfish of me to drag him here just to be told the same story.”

“I suppose so. But he’d be happy to see you, I think.”

“Well, thanks. But I think I’m all right. Besides, after such a long life, I think he deserves to rest uninterrupted.”

“All right.”

“…Tell him hi for me though, will you?”

“I’ll do that. I’m going to tell him all about you, Ryuuichi. Oh, he’ll be so happy to hear how much you’ve grown.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.”

“Mmm.” Ryuunosuke tugged on Phoenix’s sleeve, beckoning him to come closer. Phoenix complied, and when he did so, Ryuunosuke gave him a chaste kiss on the forehead, then pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you for bringing me here. It was so nice to have met you.”

“Yeah, it was really nice to meet you, too.” He pulled away, and said, “Goodbye, Grandpa Ryuu.”

“No, don’t say it like that,” Ryuunosuke had said, shaking his head. “Goodbye… such a thing doesn’t actually exist, you know? We will be seeing each other again, one day. Just hopefully not too soon.”

“And not too late, either.”

Ryuunosuke just smiled at him, and squeezed his hand until he disappeared for good and it was Maya staring up at him instead.

He told Maya most of what happened over burgers. Apparently Ryuunosuke getting one didn’t count and she was jealous so he bought one for her, too. After they parted for the night and he had gone home, Phoenix told Edgeworth what had happened as well. But not before pulling him into a tight hug and telling him how much he loved him. Edgeworth seemed a little taken aback at the sudden bombardment of affection, but Phoenix couldn’t help it; not after what Ryuunosuke had told him.

It took awhile to process all that Ryuunosuke had said. He had just meant to ask him one simple question. Honestly, he had no clue what he thought the answer would have been. But he couldn’t have possibly known that one single question would unravel an old family mystery, seemingly buried away in the sands of time. He never could have guessed that so much had happened in the lives of his ancestors, that both the young men in the photograph were actually his great-great grandfather, that the arms he had been cradled in as infant and the man who had wept over him at hearing his name wasn’t actually Ryuunosuke Naruhodou at all.

His thoughts were interrupted for a moment when Edgeworth returned, holding the large comforter from their bed in his hands. He pulled up another patio chair and sat down next to Phoenix, then draped the blanket over them both.

“If you’re going to stay out here, you need to stay warm.”

“Thanks, Miles.” Phoenix replied, pulling the comforter tighter around himself.

“Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“You’re not one to excuse yourself early on spaghetti night.”

“I had hamburgers twice today, cut me some slack.”

“Your eyes dart away when you’re lying.”

“Ugh.” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have let Trucy tell you anything.”

“Too bad. Now, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, nothing really. I just have a lot on my mind.”

Technically not a lie. But technically not the truth, either. Edgeworth seemingly gave up and leaned back in his chair, leaving Phoenix to his thoughts, though not alone. Beneath the comforter, Phoenix slowly reached over and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. His finger grazed over Edgeworth’s matching wedding ring and he squeezed his hand a little tighter.

“Hey, Miles?”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t say it back then because I was so upset, but… I’m so happy you’re alive.”

“Huh?”

“Remember, about ten years ago now? Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth –”

“Don’t finish that.” Edgeworth interrupted quickly. “That was stupid of me.”

“I’m not really judging you for it. I’m just happy it didn’t happen. And back then I never really got to say that. So… yeah.” He rested his head upon Edgeworth’s shoulder and sighed. “I’m so glad you’re still here.”

“Hmm.” Edgeworth just stared above him, at the stars, and said nothing more. It seemed even now that whole ordeal was still a touchy subject for him. Phoenix knew it was probably foolish of him to bring such a thing up, but he couldn’t help it. He knew he shouldn’t dwell, but thinking about all Ryuunosuke told him made him think quite a bit about death. How could he not? This whole ordeal began because of his great-great grandfather’s strange actions before death. Now that he knew what happened, he understood them completely. But that simply didn’t stop him from overthinking and dwelling, as usual.

Both of his great-great grandfathers had been such desperately lonely people. Phoenix couldn’t determine whom he pitied more: Ryuunosuke, who died younger than he should have and waited alone in death to see Kazuma again… or Kazuma, who wouldn’t stop living, long after everyone, and everything, including his very own memories, had passed him by. Phoenix knew he shouldn’t think about it that way. After all, they had a happy life. They got married and started a family and spent the years growing old together. And even now, in death, they were together once again, and if Ryuunosuke’s story was anything to go by, Kazuma regained his memories and they got to be happy and there wasn’t just emptiness, there wasn’t just nothing, there was companionship and warmth and… love.

It was a relief to hear all that, to know that he’d see the people he lost again, people like Mia… his heavy heart felt a tad bit lighter knowing that she was still out there, somewhere, and begging for her help when he was cornered in court wasn’t all she got to be anymore. Death didn’t seem so scary to him anymore, either. Knowing that he wouldn’t be alone, that he wouldn’t just disappear from existence made him more at peace with the fact that it would one day happen to him.

What scared him was how little – or how much – time it took to get there.

I started to think that maybe fate had decided to let him live forever to make up for nearly losing him once.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Ryuunosuke had said about Kazuma. After all, that perfectly described the man sitting right next to him. And the thought of that terrified him. He didn’t want Edgeworth to die, of course. He hoped he would live a long, incredibly happy life. He just… didn’t want him to be alone; hadn’t Edgeworth suffered through enough of that? Phoenix wanted to be by his side and keep him company for as long as possible. The thought of Edgeworth being all alone made his heart ache. And the thought of being alone in death, like Ryuunosuke had been, and having to wait for decades upon end to see his friends, his husband, his children again… he wasn’t sure if he was strong enough for such a thing. If Edgeworth lived forever, Phoenix hoped he did, too.

But of course, how could he bring up any of this to him? He would just tell him he was overthinking things again. Which he was. So he did what he always did when something was eating away at his mind, and decided to joke about it.

“So,” Phoenix finally said, “I guess this means you’re going to live forever, huh?”

“Explain.”

“You almost died. According to my grandpa Ryuu, that means fate changed its mind and you’re going to live forever.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup. He’s old so it has to be the truth.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” Edgeworth said, turning to look at him, “if anyone’s going to live forever, it’s you.”

“…Me?”

“Almost died? Perhaps I thought about it, but ultimately I wasn’t in any danger. I just took a trip for a while to sort things out. You swallowed poisoned glass, you were hit over the head with a fire extinguisher, you fell off a burning bridge into a rushing river, you were hit head on by a car and bashed your head against a telephone pole… need I really say more?”

“No, I think you got it all.” Phoenix replied.

“If nearly dying once let Kazuma live to a hundred, then I’ll bet you’ve got at least half a millennium to make up for all that’s happened to you.”

“…I guess so.”

He hadn’t thought about that at all. Honestly, all of those incidents had seemed like mere trifles when there had been so much else going on at the time. He had never really thought about how close he had likely been to dying in each of those instances. Even now, he still didn’t feel as if he had ever been close to dying. But he remembered first hand just how concerned Edgeworth had been the night he had fallen off the bridge, how he had booked a flight home immediately and rushed to his side to see if he was okay. Edgeworth could get anxious but he typically wasn’t one to show it if he could avoid it. Yet that day he looked to be in a panic and if Phoenix didn’t know better he would’ve guessed that Edgeworth had run all the way there from across the sea. Maybe he really had been knocking on death’s door during that incident.

But the revelation didn’t make him feel much better. In fact, if anything, it only served to make him feel worse. He certainly didn’t want to die young and leave Edgeworth all alone for who knows how long. But the thought of losing Edgeworth, again, and this time for good, was enough to make his blood run cold. He couldn’t imagine life without Edgeworth at this point. He couldn’t imagine waking up to an empty bed in the morning, or hearing silence rather than reruns of Steel Samurai when Edgeworth couldn’t sleep at night, or never being able to talk about their days together at dinner or never being able to hold his hand or kiss him or tell him how much he loved him again. The thought alone nearly brought him to tears. He didn’t want to wind up like Kazuma, left alone in life as he grew older and older and watched all the people he loved pass him by. That would be enough to break his heart into pieces and he realized it was no wonder Kazuma had wound up forgetting everything. How else would he be able to handle it? How could anyone? During that awful year when Phoenix had thought Edgeworth to be dead, he realized the only semblance of relief he had gotten from it was from the brief moment when he had gotten amnesia. So it was no wonder…

No, no, he shouldn’t be thinking like this! What was wrong with him? Forgetting about the people you loved… isn’t that, in itself, a tragedy? He remembered how saddened Ryuunosuke had looked when he had mentioned Kazuma forgetting him… Phoenix didn’t want to forget Edgeworth either; even if it might hurt him in the long run, he didn’t want to forget all of the happy, blissful times they had spent together, he simply wouldn’t give those up for the world!

“Phoenix?”

“-Ah.” Phoenix had been so lost in his thoughts that he nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. “Yeah?”

“Try to relax, will you?” Edgeworth said, still not looking away from the stars overhead.

“I’m fine-”

“Your hand’s shaking.” Edgeworth interrupted.

“…Sorry.” He must have really been freaking out if Edgeworth of all people was telling him to relax. Phoenix sat up and took a deep breath, before slumping back against the patio chair again, trying to get the repetitive, negative thoughts off of his mind.

And he’d get there. Eventually. But for now…

“Miles?”

“What?”

“Let’s both agree to die in our sleep at ninety. Sound good?”

“Oh, quit joking. Don’t be so morbid.”

“Is it more or less morbid if I’m being serious?”

Edgeworth said nothing, leaning to the side to rest his head upon Phoenix’s shoulder.

“It’s going to be alright, Phoenix. I know it’s easy to forget sometimes, but… we’re young. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, and neither are you. So what’s the point in worrying about it now?” He squeezed his hand a bit tighter. “We have all the time in the world.”

But that was the thing, wasn’t it? There was no knowing how much time there’d be. He might live another seventy years, like Kazuma… or he might only live another twenty, like Ryuunsouke. There was simply no way of knowing what might happen in the years to come, and who couldn’t be nervous about that? What could he possibly do about it?

But then, he realized, Ryuunosuke had already given him the answer, hadn’t he?

Cherish that, Ryuuichi.

He couldn’t control his fate. He could fall ill in twenty years or he could die of old age in seventy years or he might get hit by a truck tomorrow afternoon. He had no control over how his life might end but it would be a waste to spend that life worrying about it. Ryuunosuke wouldn’t want that for him, and he doubted Kazuma would, either. Besides… in his own way, Edgeworth was right. They would have all the time in the world to be together… both now, and eventually.

“You’re right, Miles.” Phoenix finally replied, giving Edgeworth a kiss on the forehead. “I’m sorry for dwelling so much. You know how I can get sometimes.”

“It’s okay. It sounded like today was very… complicated.”

“Yeah, it was.” He took a deep breath and gazed up at the sky, the cold air filling his lungs made him feel a little less anxious. “Also, Miles?”

“Yes?”

“You can stat calling me Ryuuichi, if you want.”

"Really?"

"Yeah."

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I don’t plan on going by it all the time or anything. I kinda have a reputation for myself as the legendary attorney Phoenix Wright. But I don’t mind it when we’re alone.” He thought about what Ryuunosuke had told him, and he smiled. “Now that I know that it was spoken in love, not terror… it makes me happy to hear it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Edgeworth sat up. “So, Ryuu, I’m freezing. How about we go inside and make some hot chocolate?”

Phoenix smiled at his husband, marveling at how wonderful and loving the nickname sounded in his voice.

“Nothing would make me happier.”

The two kept their hands clasped tightly together as they headed back inside, towards whatever future lay ahead of them. And Phoenix felt content, knowing that no matter how long or short his time with Edgeworth here might be, he would always have an eternity to spend to together with him, holding him in a loving embrace.

Just like his great-great grandparents before him.