Turnabout Storyteller

"Simon Blackquill"

- So neither one of them are here? ...Leaving you to take this on alone? Episode 4: Turnabout Storyteller is the fourth episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Athena Cykes takes on the case of Bucky Whet, a soba shop worker and an acquaintance of Simon Blackquill. He is accused of murdering Taifu Toneido at a yose, a theatre for performing rakugo. However, for the first time, she is alone, since Apollo Justice is busy helping Trucy Wright's magic act and Phoenix Wright is still out of the country. Similar to Mia Fey's two cases, it is a trial only case with no investigation chapters.

Prologue
The camera pans to the outside of a building in the middle of the afternoon. Inside, a man is shown performing with his fan as a shadowed figure is shown behind him, grinning. The figure walks behind him, cutting to black.

The scene fades in with the victim face first in his noodle dish, head to the side as a man and woman speak about what to do, fading to black...

Defendant Lobby No. 6
Athena Cykes was waiting in the defendant lobby, annoyed having been called to handle the case last minute, and on top of that, the defendant was late! Just then, Prosecutor Simon Blackquill entered the lobby. Prosecutor Blackqull asked Cykes where Apollo Justice or Phoenix Wright were, but was shocked to find out when both were too busy too help Cykes with the trial. Cykes tried to reassure him that she's perfectly capable of handling the case, to no avail.

Just then, Cykes noticed the defendant, Bucky Whet, behind Prosecutor Blackquill. Whet didn't exactly leave Cykes with the greatest of first impressions, but pulled himself together, and introduced himself as the fourth-generation head chef of Whet Soba. Whet was arrested for the murder of master rakugo storyteller Taifu Toneido, who Whet didn't have the best relationship too, as Taifu always critiqued his soba harshly. Blackquill revealed that Whet's animosity towards Taifu was the motive in his arrest. However, Cykes reassured him, telling him that she believed in him and that she'll defend him to the very end. Afterwards, Whet ended up blacking out, having to be brought to the court's infirmary.

Former Session
Court began in the newly-renovated Courtroom No. 4, with Athena Cykes and Prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmadhi standing ready at their respective benches. The judge wondered why Prosecutor Sahdmadhi was back in the country, having only finished another murder trial the day before, and Prosecutor Sahdmadhi revealed that Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth himself asked him to handle the case.

During the opening statement, Sadhmadhi explained that the victim, Taifu Toniedo was found dead at Kurukuru Tei, a rakugo theatre. The victim was murdered in the dressing room, with the estimated time of death between 2 PM and 5 PM. He revealed that, although the cause of death was known, the means and murder weapon has yet to be found. Cykes questioned how they could arrest Whet without the means to death, but he rebutted with the fact that Whet was the only one with opportunity and motive; the motive being that the victim had the title deed to Whet Soba. After, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi called his first witness to the stand.

Sahdmadhi's first witness was Prosecutor Simon Blackquill himself, much to Cykes's shock and anger. Blackquill then asked the prosecutor if he had enough knowledge of rakugo to adequately handle this case, however Sadhmadhi tells him that he did research on the topic, and knows enough to handle the case, giving the court a long-winded speech about the basics of rakugo. Cykes pleaded that they continue the trial, and the judge agreed, snapping out of his trance caused by Sahdmadhi.

Blackquill testified that he was at the theatre around 4 PM, having gone straight to the victim's room to say hello. The defendant then went into the room, only to storm out angrily. Afterwards, Master Taifu's junior disciple, Uendo, entered the room, discovering the body. Beginning the cross-examination, Cykes asked why he arrived at the theatre, Blackquill told the court that he was invited to a special show to commemorate his junior disciple's promotion and name succession. The invitation held a brief letter and the list of performances set to happen. Blackquill revealed that he never actually met up with the victim prior to the murder, due to hearing rakugo being performed within, believing the victim to be rehearsing, confirming that the victim was alive before 4 PM. Afterwards, Whet entered the room, but had an argument with the victim, and stormed out around ten minutes later. Later, Uendo entered the room, and after a few minutes, let out a loud scream, causing Blackquill and Geiru Toneido to rush into the room.

Blackquill was called down from the stand, and a new witness arrived, the victim's senior disciple, balloon artist Geiru Toneido. Cykes wondered why a balloon artist such as herself was a member of a rakugo troupe, and she explained that her father was a rakugo peformer, and she strived to be just like him one day. She wanted to see Whet arrested for the crime, according to her, having taken someone who's done so much for her. Geiru told the court that he would always yell at her at delivery, saying that her perfume with get caught in the soba, ruining it.

Geiru testified that between 4 PM and 4:20 PM, she was out with Blackquill in the hallway, and that prior to the body being found, Whet was the only one to enter the dressing room. Remembering back, she also remembered that her dog, Jugemu, was barking loudly. Cykes questioned why the dog was barking so loudly, and Geiru informed her it was his feeding time, going into the yard to feed him, and Cykes theorised that someone might have come into the dressing room during that time, but she was quickly shut down by Geiru, who told her that she still would've seen anyone from outside. Blackquill was called to confirm this, and stated that he spotted her in the yard, looking out to the dressing room as well. He noted that she was feeding the dog a large amount of dumplings, far too many for him to handle. However, Cykes spotted a contradiction with Geiru's claims of being able to see into the hallway, showing that, if Geiru was near the doghouse, the door would've blocked her view of the hallway. With this new information, and the fact that, from where Blackquill stood, the door to the dressing room would have been unguarded, and anyone could have entered the room at the time. However, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi argued that Geiru was simply mis-remembering things, with Geiru backing him up. Useing manipulation tactics and skewing Cykes's words, Sahdmadhi quickly turned the court against her, backing Cykes into a corner, causing self-doubt and her insecurities to fill her mind. However, she tried to overcome them as best as she could, but Sadhmadhi quickly knocked down her resolve once again with the victim's dying message- karuta cards spelling out WHET NO 4.

Suddenly, Prosecutor Blackquill appeared at the defence's bench, calling out Prosecutor Sahdmadhi for using a cheap manipulation tactic for a supposed holy man and the gallery for believing in said tricks. The judge asked why he was at the bench, and Blackquill informed him that he was simply bored from watching in the stands, as well as not willing to let Cykes lose his favourite soba shop. With this, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi called Geiru down from the stand, calling his next witness, Uendo Toneido.

Uendo testified that he noticed the victim's message right away, knowing that they must have been talking about Bucky Whet. He stated that it was his master's final message, left as he was drowned in the soba broth. Cykes had a problem with this statement, presenting the autopsy report to the witness, stating that the victim had nothing usual in his lungs, including soba broth. Using this information, Cykes suggested that the victim was killed with something other than the broth. She postulated that the victim's face was thrust into the bowl after his murder, stating that must have been when the broth spilled onto the karuta cards, making it impossible for the Taifu to have laid the cards out. However, Sahdmadhi argued that, for someone to do that, they must have held a great contempt towards the victim, someone like the defendant. Blackquill retorted that, if Whet WAS the killer, then he why did he not notice the karuta cards in plain sight. He questioned Uendo about the cards, but no useful information came to light, forcing Prosecutor Sahdmadhi to present a photo of the cards as found at the crime scene.

Prosecutor Blackquill noticed right away that there was something off about the cards, and Cykes believed that the cards were rearranged by looking at the soba broth stains, noting that they do not match up with the larger stain on the table. Rearranging the cards, the court learned that they did not originally say "WHET NO 4" like believed, but rather "OWEN 4TH," with whoever that refers to being the true identity of the culprit. However, without any idea who "Owen" could be, Cykes was brought back down to Earth, the cards having no meaning now. Blackquill suggested that they question Uendo about the mysterious Owen, but he denied any knowledge of him. Even without the identity of "Owen," the defence claimed that the fact that the cards were rearranged proved that Whet was not the killer in this case. Cykes suggested that it was Uendo who rearranged the cards, with Blackquill backing her up by reminding him about the few minutes alone with the body he had prior to screaming. Backed into a corner, Uendo consulted Proseuctor Sahdmadhi, who told Uendo to plead his right to remain silent, but Blackquill manipulated him into testifying anyway, much to Sahdmadhi's anger.

Uendo testified that he went to visit the victim after his performance, calling out from outside the room to no reply. Upon entering the room, Uendo noticed that the victim was slumped over the table, motionless. Sensing discord in Uendo's heart, Cykes moved to start a therapy session and Uendo challenged her to find something, despite Sahdmadhi's disagreement. Cykes noticed that, upon finding the victim's body, there was no shock registered, as if Uendo had anticipated the victim's death. However, Uendo claimed that his lack of shock was because he thought the victim was just sleeping, presenting a note to the court that said "Resting. Do not disturb." With this new information, Cykes updated the Mood Matrix. During Uendo's revised testimony, she noticed anger after finding the victim's body, for no apparent reason. Questioning him, Uendo revealed that he stubbed his toe on something, which Cykes revealed to be the television in the room, using the track in the flour as proof. Cykes questioned why the TV would be there in the first place, and Uendo revealed that it must have been so the victim could watch him perform, stating that the TV broadcasts performances onstage, and when Uendo moved the TV back, he bumped into the table and realised that the victim was dead.

Upon an update to his testimony, Cykes noticed that Uendo registered more shock AFTER learning that the victim was dead, instead of before. Upon questioning, Uendio's noise levels shot back to 100%, causing his emotions to run wild. In fact, Uendo had completely different emotions were running out of control at once, an unprecedented reaction that Cykes had no idea as to why. However, Cykes dug in and proved that the source of the out-of-control emotions was, in fact, the karuta cards, proving that "OWEN 4TH" must mean something to him. Citing Uendo's strange emotions, Cykes theorised that Uendo Toneido had Dissociative Identity Disorder. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi did not believe her, but Uendo's reaction proved her correct.

With this, the judge asked each personality to introduce themselves, and they did- Uendo Toneido the rakugo performer, Patches the jester, and Kisegawa the courtesan. Cykes questioned if that was all of them, and with the reveal of his multiple personalities, Cykes proved that the karuta cards held new meaning, believing that they could be referencing a secret fourth personality named Owen. Cykes believed that they were hiding Owen because they did not want to be associated with the murder, but they said that they did not hide it for that reason, it was because they did not want the public to know that they take advantage of their affliction to tell rakugo. Cykes believed this was enough to cast suspicion onto Uendo, but Prosecutor Sahdmadi rebutted with a compelling alibi. Uendo Toneido was on stage performing during the murder.

Uendo testified that he was onstage until he went into the dressing room, with the entire audience as his witness, but he did a horrible performance and received no applause, despite it being such a special day for him. Cykes questioned Uendo about what his performed, and he stated he performed the show "Tokisoba" or "Time Soba." However, this went against what was written in the invitation Blackquill received. Uendo was supposed to perform "Soba Glutton," while the victim was to perform "Time Soba." Uendo tried to pass off his performance as a prank, but Cykes wasn't convinced. Cykes believed that Uendo, despite the alibi checking out, was trying to obfuscate a crucial detail, namely, when the victim was killed. Cykes stated that Uendo used the TV to trick Blackquill and Geiru into thinking that the victim was practising so they wouldn't enter when, in reality, he was already dead, and that he intentionally performed awful so that laughter would not be present, which would break the illusion he created.

Uendo confessed to manipulating the crime scene, but not to the murder of Taifu Toneido, but he still wouldn't admit to why he tampered with the crime scene. Sahdmadhi then questioned Cykes about Uendo's motive, but she had nothing, and, laying on the heat, he explained the Whet also visited the crime scene prior to 4 PM as well to make soba with the victim, but Cykes realised that it didn't make sense for the defendant to return to the crime scene. Just then, Bucky Whet stated that the reason he was there after 4 PM is because the victim ordered uncooked soba, but the victim ignored him completely, causing him to become frustrated and storm away. Cykes tried to get Whet's testimony added into evidence, but Sahdmadhi stopped her, stating that his words beyond the time of visiting were of dubious nature without proof.

Prosecutor Blackquill and Cykes reminded the court that the issue of "Owen" is still a mystery to the court, suggested that, should Owen exist within Uendo, then he could possibly be the culprit, stating that, although Uendo, Patches and Kisegawa have no motive, Owen might. They tried to stay silent, but their silence only ended up implicating themselves in Prosecutor Blackquill's eyes. Cykes believed that the only way to resolve the issue is to have Uendo testify about it.

Uendo stated that he had never met a personality named Owen, Kisegawa stated that Patches was just overreacting, and Patches testified that the three are always aware of one another, so they would notice if another personality appeared. Cykes questioned what would happen if the three of them were unavailable, for whatever reason, but Uendo did not know how to respond to it. She stated that, if Uendo, Patches and Kisegawa shared memories, that maybe Owen was different. Maybe Owen did not share his memories with the others, somewhat like a fail-safe mode. Cykes pointed at the bottle of saké at the crime scene may have been what caused Uendo to pass out, however, Uendo retorted that they do not drink saké, because they dislike it, stating that they are extremely weak to alcohol, and that they only ate a sweet manju bun.However, Cykes noted that Taifu's note bears the same brand logo as the wrapping on the box of manju buns, as well as the bottle of saké. Cykes proposed that Uendo did not drink the saké, but instead ate it via the manju bun, which was specially prepared to retain as much alcoholic content as possible. In order to test the theory, Prosecutor Blackquill sent Taka to retrieve some manju buns, and court went into recess until he returned.

Latter Session
Taka returned with the sweet buns, and court was called back into session. Uendo Toneido consumed the sweet bun, and soon passed out. However, he soon woke up, not as Uendo, but rather Owen, his fourth personality! Owen was only a five-year old boy, incapable of murdering the victim. Despite the fact that Owen was not the real killer, Cykes and Blackquill stumbled upon a realisation. If the karuta cards were rearranged by Uendo, but none of his personalities has motive to murder Taifu, and if Taifu did not do it himself, then whoever laid out the cards is the real murderer. Since Owen could not have killed the victim, he must have been framed by the real murderer. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi tried to dissuade the court from hearing Owen's testimony, but the boy spoke up, stating that he did see what happened.

Owen testified that the victim had a knife in his hand, and blood was dripping onto his face. Owen was frozen in fear, and ended up passing out. Cykes noticed that the murder sent Owen's emotions out of control, and proceeded to perform a therapy session on him. She pointed out that the blood on Taifu's face must be the cause, but didn't remember any blood on the victim, nor was there any way for it to fall onto him. Cykes was stumped, and Blackquill told her to "rotate her thinking around." Cykes noted that wasn't the correct phrase, but nonetheless it led her to a realisation. Cykes stated that Owen must have been on the floor during the murder, and Owen added that someone was sitting on top of the victim, who fought back against his assailant. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi suggested that, if true, the culprit must have an injury on their face, around their forehead. With this new information, Sahdmadhi believe that Whet's newly-bandaged wound is conclusive evidence to the defendant's guilt. Cykes froze, her own findings having been used against her. Cykes didn't know where to go, knowing that the situation was looking grim, as Whet has both opportunity and motive to kill, as well as the injury. Blackquill asked her if she was doubting Whet's innocence, to which Cykes could not form a reply to. He reminded her of her words earlier in the lobby, where Cykes stated she would believe in Whet no matter what, until the very end. Blackquill asked if they were empty, and she said she meant them, but, with the cards stack against them she didn't know where to go from there. Blackquill pulled her close, stating that if that's all that made her stop believing in her client, then what? He reminded her that she was his lawyer, and that she needed to pick herself up and do her duty and believe in Whet until the very end.

Cykes, with a newfound vigour, she continued with Owen's therapy session. Owen stated that, whoever the killer was, they were pressing something into the victim's face, that something being unprepared soba dough. Sahdmadhi theorised that the defendant, after murdering the victim with the dough, cut it into noodles and used the brother to wipe away the blood that dripped onto his face. The judge asked about the karuta cards, since the defendant wouldn't have known Owen, but Sahdmadhi countered by saying that the victim must have done it in jest, and the judge agreed, as the two cared a lot about each other. Cykes pleaded with Owen to see if he could remember more, and he stated that the killer was standing over him, but he could not remember their face. Despite Prosecutor Sahdmadhi's objections, Owen agreed to continue the therapy.

Upon waking up, Owen felt relief towards the killer, despite witnessing the gruesome murder of his Shinsho. Owen stated that the person was giving off a pleasant smell of perfume, but upon trying to remember what type, Owen passed out. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi explained that the smell could have been hair product used by the defendant, but Whet countered by saying he never uses smelly products, as the scent would get into the soba. To prove his point, he delivered to the court dishes of soba, which were deemed perfume-free by the members of the court.

With no one else that smells of perfume, Cykes remembered that Geiru Toneido was particularly proud of her own perfume. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi didn't believe that scent alone warranted enough to have suspicion cast onto her, but Cykes convinced the judge to call her back to the stand, given the newfound circumstances of the case.

Geiru returned to the stand, but denied any further involvement in the case. She tried to step down from the stand, but Prosecutor Blackquill got to her first, slicing the balloon she held, revealing a forehead wound under her bangs! With all this, Cykes formally indicted Geiru Toneido for the murder of Taifu Toneido. Cykes noted that Geiru had no alibi prior to 4 PM, and that she had absolutely no eye for balloon art. Geiru acknowledged this, stating that she wanted to be a rakugo performer instead. Cykes didn't back down, so Geiru, with her buttons pushed far enough, decided to fight back to the end, until one of them pops under the pressure.

Geiru testified that she made a courtesy call after her performance, but the victim and Owen were fast asleep. She noticed the note that the victim left, but left as she didn't want to disturb them, believing that the perfume was a leftover scent from her visit. Cykes questioned where she found the note, but Geiru didn't remember, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, nor did she touch nor see anything else abnormal. Cykes questioned if she truly didn't notice anything or do anything abnormal, and she presented the karuta cards, wondering that, if Whet couldn't have left it, as he didn't know about Owen, it must have been her, and if she was the one who placed the cards, then she would have to be the murderer!

Prosecutor Sahdmadhi objected, stating that there was another reason Geiru must have left early, she had an allergy to buckwheat, the main ingredient in soba. With this fact brought to light, it must have been impossible for her to murder him with the soba dough.

Geiru testified about her allergy to buckwheat, stating that even the slightest amount can make her swell up or send her into shock. However, Cykes couldn't find a single hole in her testimony to crack. Despite the odds, Cykes continued to smile, remembered that the worst of times are when lawyers have to force their biggest smiles.

Cykes decided to turn her thinking around, instead of trying to figure out how Geiru could commit the crime, she should focus on how Geiru was able to stay in the room instead. She thought back onto all the important points on the case, coming to the realisation that Taifu's note does not mean what they originally believed. She believed that, if Geiru was the true killer, then the answer was held withing the true meaning of the note. She believed that it actually meant that the dough was resting, and not the victim and Owen. With all these points, Cykes pointed out that the victim was not making soba, but udon instead! If the victim was making udon, then her allergy wouldn't trigger. However, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi recovered, stating that, even if the victim was making udon, then the soba was till found in the bowl, and Geiru still had a reaction.

Cykes decided to take a moment to rethink the case. She knew that the victim was making udon in his room, even though soba was found in the bowl. She realised that the soba must have come from the Taifu's soba stock, and that Geiru must have used the soba to hide the udon dough. To this end, Cykes realised that the true murder weapon wasn't the soba dough as previously thought, but rather, the udon dough, and that it must have been disposed of somehow. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi retorted that, even if the udon dough was found, it would still wouldn't prove Geiru to be the murderer. Cykes objected, stating that, according to Owen, the culprit bled onto udon dough, making it conclusive evidence. The judge asked her to present evidence as to where the dough must be, and Cykes presented the testimony Prosecutor Blackquill presented earlier, where he talks about how Geiru fed her dog dumplings that were really made of the udon dough with her blood on it. Cykes believed that the dumplings should still be buried in the yard around the dog's house, and that an investigation should be held to find them. With all these facts in place, the truth had been revealed, and Geiru popped under the pressure. Geiru started to cry, removing her wig and revealing her true hair. Geiru only entered the world of rakugo because she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, and inherit his name. She knew she wasn't a particularly skilled performer, but she felt that, if she continued to do her balloon art like Taifu wanted, she would inherit the name one day. But when she was passed the title for the current Uendo Toneido, she decided to plan revenge against them during the naming ceremony. Geiru didn't know if the others could understand, but she knew that inheriting her father's name was everything to her. It was her entire reason for living. She wanted to pin the blame on Uendo; she never wanted Whet to get suspected for the murder. Blackquill asked if she knew Taifu was making udon, but Geiru did not. Upon entering the dressing room, she noticed the soba tools, but decided to go along with the plan anyway, and in the end, it was a premeditated murder, but was only went through with on impulse. She ended up receiving the allergy reaction during the preparation of the crime scene, but she was too far gone to even think of her allergy at the time. Cykes stated that she understood her feelings about inheriting her father's name, but that's not what she should have inherited, not his name, but rather, his heart."Athena Cykes"

- ...I get your desire to inherit your father's name. But what you should've inherited from him wasn't his name.. but his heart. "Geiru Toneido"

- H-His... heart...

Aftermath
Prosecutor Sahdmadhi addressed Cykes by her full name, stating that he will be sure to remember it, finally recognising her as a proper adversary. With that, Bucky Whet was declared not guilty, and court was adjourned.

In the defendant lobby, Cykes congratulated Whet on his verdict, but wondered why Uendo accused him of murder. Blackquill told her that is was a spur-of-the-moment idea. Cykes was curious as to why Geiru wasn't allowed to inherit her father's name by Taifu, and Whet revealed that Taifu didn't want Geiru to be bound by her father's name, and wanted her to find her own calling in life. The fact that he was preparing udon despite preferring soba was proof of this. Cykes noted that the entire incident was one huge misunderstanding that spiralled out of control.

Blackquill tried to convince Whet that Geiru wasn't the only one Taifu wasn't encouraging, but Whet denied it. Cykes presented the title deed to Whet, showing that, even though the victim had it, the deed itself was still under Whet's name. Whet was crushed, but in the end, decided to keep working hard to make him proud. Whet prepared to leave, but Cykes asked for an order, a bowl of udon to be delivered to Geiru on behalf of Taifu. With that, Whet left, and Cykes and Blackquill bantered a bit about law, psychology and rakugo, before heading out to get soba together."Athena Cykes"

- (I may still have a ways to go as a lawyer... but just like Mr. Wright, Apollo, and Simon before me...I'm going to get there someday! After all, I've inherited their passion for our courts, and the law!)

References to pop culture

 * In the defendant lobby at the beginning of the case, Widget says "He's late, he's late, for a very important date!" when talking about Whet. This is a reference to the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Name

 * Japanese - 逆転寄席 (Gyakuten Yose; lit. "Turnabout Vaudville")