“Nick, wake up! Nick!”
“Hmm? What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m just going back to Kurain.”
“WHAT!!?? But…why?”
“For Pearl’s birthday party, duh! Now come on, we have to go!”
“Wait, we?” I ask, confused. ‘What do you mean, we? It’s only 9 AM, Maya, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“But Nick, you promised you would help!” Maya whines, sitting on the bed and begging on her knees.
“I don’t remember that.”
“Well, I promised you’d help! And I can’t let Pearly down! Come on, if you do it, I’ll do anything you want!” Maya pleads.
“Hmm…” Anything? I could make her not ask me for burgers for a year! Or get me to do all of my paperwork! Ok, maybe that’s not the best idea, but still, this is an offer I can’t refuse!
“Ok.” I answer. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. After all, this is Pearl we’re talking about, I’m sure nothing will get too out of hand.”
---

“YOU WANT ME TO WEAR WHAT?”
“Oh, come on Nick, it’s not that…bad…” Maya says, struggling to stop herself from laughing.
“Maya, I am not wearing a maid uniform!”
“But Mr. Nick!” Pearls protests, rolling up her sleeve with the same menacing look she always gives me before slapping me in the face. “It’s a tea party! You have to dress for the occasion!”
“I refuse to dress up as a maid! Can’t I wear my blue suit instead?”
“Absolutely not! It’s tacky and it doesn’t fit into my party. And besides, you can’t go back and get it, the party starts in one hour!” Pearl argues.
“Nick, it’s just for a couple of hours. Besides, I think you’d look cute in it.” Maya says, laughing. Realizing that trying to reason with Pearl won’t end well for me, I resign and put on the maid uniform. Upon seeing me, Maya bursts laughs so hard that she can’t bear to stand, and starts to roll around on the floor. Even Pearl stifles a few giggles. It’s going to be a very long day.
“When is the party starting?” I ask miserably.
---

About an hour later, the main hall of Kurain Manor is filled with flowers, doilies, and tons of china dolls that Pearl owns. One by one, the kids start to arrive, giving Pearl her presents which I bring over to the side room, while the little girls laugh at me behind my back.
What in the world have I gotten myself into?
As I walk towards the side room, Maya comes out, dressed as a maid. I stop in my tracks. She looks really hot. I mean, I thought that she looked great in the waitress uniform, but Damn!
“How do I look?” Maya asks.
Struggling not to say anything inappropriate, I simply reply with “Great.”
“Great? That’s all? I was kind of going for fantabulously amazing or something, but OK.” Maya says as she walks towards the main hall, acting disappointed. Confused, I go to the side room and put the presents down, then return to the main hall, thankful that Pearl didn’t make me wear heels.
“Oh, Ms. Nick, could you get us some tea?” Pearl asks as I walk into the hall, causing an eruption of laughter from the little girls. I sigh and bring the tea trolley over, pouring the girls tea. One of Pearl’s friends whispers to her.
“You know, the maid with the weird hair should really shave her legs. It’s unladylike.”
“Mina, you do know that he’s not actually a girl, right?”
“Oh…Yeah. Of course!”
This has to be the most embarrassing day ever. At least Edgeworth and Larry aren’t here.
“Would you care for some crumpets, ladies?”Maya asks, enjoying this a bit too much. Then again, she’s not being mocked by a bunch of 10-year olds.
“Oh Mr. Nick? Could you go bring us the mini-sandwiches?” Pearl asks.
“Yes, Miss Pearl.” I mumble grudgingly.
---

“Since when do tea parties involve little girls bashing up colourful animals so they can eat their insides?”I ask Maya as we watch Pearl moving around blindfolded, attempting to strike down the piñata.
“Oh, since around the time that lawyers went to little girls’ parties and served them mini-sandwiches in a creepy maid outfit.”
“Hey! Didn’t you say that you thought I looked cute in this?” I say, raising my eyebrows.
“Touché. Come on, I think we deserve a break.” Maya says, dragging me away from the party and into her bedroom. We sit down on the bed, and Maya takes off the heels that Pearl had forced her to wear.
“Man, these things were killing me! I love helping out at Pearl’s party, but this outfit is just ridiculous.”
“Oh, you poor thing.” I say sarcastically. Maya ignores me.
“So, have you planned out what I have to do yet?”
“Not yet, but after all I’ve been through, it’s probably going to be something really embarrassing.”
“Yeah, sorry about the maid outfit. I had no idea Pearl would make you do something like that. And I promise I won’t tell anybody.”
“Great. And I promise I won’t tell anybody that you ate all of the crumpets when nobody was looking.”
“What!? That didn’t even happen!!!”
“Riiiight. ” I tease.
“I didn’t!” Maya says, pushing me on to the bed and laying on top of me.
“Hey, get off!”
“Not until you take it back.”
“Mystic Maya, you can kiss Mr. Nick later! Come on, you’ve got to cut the cake!”
“But I wasn’t -!”
“Oh please Mystic Maya, you don’t have to hide your love from me, I know exactly what you were up to. Now come on!”
---

“Happy Birthday to Pearl, Happy Birthday to Pearl, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to Pearl!” We sing. Pearl makes a wish, and blows out the candle.
“Oh, oh, what did you wish for Pearl?” her friend asks.
“Well…I wished that Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya would kiss each other.” Pearl says shyly.
“Um…I don’t really think that-”
“Oh, don’t be such a party pooper, Nick. It’s her birthday wish, we have to!” Maya says beside me, before leaning in and kissing me. Shocked at first, I attempt to pull away, only to find Maya has her arms around my neck with no intention of letting go, but I quickly realize that I’m enjoying the kiss, even with a table full of 9-year olds staring at me. I begin to kiss Maya back, until she pulls away, gasping for air. Pearl cheers, and Maya looks away, her face red.
“Ok, who wants cake?” Maya asks, excusing herself from her seat and slicing the cake.
Wow…I should visit Pearl more often.
---

“Well, that was an interesting party, wasn’t it?” I ask Maya once all of the kids have gone home, and Pearl is in her room playing with her presents. As with all birthday parties, there’s a huge mess left over, and Maya and I have to clean it up.
“Yeah, the, um, cake was good.” Maya says, avoiding my gaze, which she’s been doing since cake was served.
“Yeah…So, when you said you’d do anything if I helped you out…”
Maya turns to look at me. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well, you could kiss me.”
“Pardon?”
“You said you’d do anything. So kiss me.”
Maya blushes furiously. “W-why?”
“Well, why not?”
“O-Ok…”
Maya walks over and slowly leans in for a kiss, but unable to wait I grab her and press my lips against hers, kissing her passionately. Maya begins to kiss me back, and presses me up against the wall, both of us enjoying every second of it. One of my hands makes its way towards Maya’s hair, stroking it gently, the other staying firmly at her waist. Maya pulls away slowly, staring into my eyes.
Maya giggles. “That was unexpected.”
“You totally loved it.” I say smugly.
“Maybe.” Maya says, “I’d need another one to be sure.”
“My pleasure.” I say, kissing her again. May brings her arms up onto my neck, and brings us both down to the floor. The arm resting on Maya’s waist moves down to her thigh, eliciting a soft moan from Maya.
“What do you think now?”
“You’re right, I do love your kisses. Among other things.” Maya says, grinning.
“You’re not a bad kisser yourself.” I reply.
“Oh, I know. And Pearly’s party wasn’t that bad, now was it?”
“I guess not. Especially considering how it ended.”
“Well that’s good to know, because Mr. Edgeworth’s party is coming up soon and-”
“Absolutely not.”I cut in. I’m done with parties for the rest of the year.
Maya sighs. “Fair enough. Now hush up, I need your lips for something else.” She says as she pulls me in for another kiss. It seems that even though Maya’s schemes always get us in trouble, they usually work out in the end.

Burgers. Burgers everywhere. Mini burgers, regular-sized burgers, giant burgers. A river of ketchup flows. On the other side of the river, a field of fries stands. My mouth waters. I pick up a burger and draw it towards my mouth, when suddenly something takes a hold of me, and my eyes open.
“Nick!” I complain. “You woke me up from an awesome-” I can’t finish my sentence as Nick pulls me in for a kiss.
“Never mind.” I finish, giggling.
“Sorry.” Nick says sheepishly. “I didn’t know you were sleeping.”
“It’s OK. After all, now that you’re with me, I’m sure my dreams will be even sweeter.” I say, planting a light kiss on his lips and putting my arms around him.
“Good to know. Good night Maya.” Nick says.
“Good night Nick.” I say, resting my head on his chest, and slowly drifting off to sleep again.
---

“Mystic Maya! Come on, you have to get ready! Today’s the big day!”
“Hmm…Come on Pearly, give me 5 more minutes.” I say, rubbing my eyes grumpily. “The Diamond Samurai doesn’t start for another hour.”
“Diamond Samurai!?? How can you think about the Diamond Samurai when you’re getting married?”
“Married!?? W-what???” I ask, now fully awake.
“How could you forget? You and Mr. Nick have been planning this for months!” Pearl says, annoyed.
“I’m marrying Nick? Today?”
Wow…I can’t believe the day’s finally here. I’m marrying Nick! But how come I don’t remember him even proposing to me? That’s odd…

“Well duh! He’s your special someone, who else would you marry? Now come on, you have to put on your costume!” Pearl answers, running out of the room.
Costume? What costume?…Oh, that one. As I step out of my room, a Pink Princess costume appears in the centre of the living room.
“Pearly, I can’t wear this to my wedding!”
“What are you talking about? Of course you can, it’s a Samurai wedding!” Pearl says, annoyed because I’m supposed to know this.
“A…a Samurai wedding?” I stutter, in disbelief of what’s going on. This is a dream come true! First, I find out I’m marrying Nick, and I get to dress up as the Pink Princess too? Awesome!
“It was your idea, Mystic Maya.” Pearl says.
“Well, that I can believe, I just can’t believe Nick agreed with it!”
“Why wouldn’t he? You’re his special someone. He’d walk across miles of hot coals if you told him to, Mystic Maya! But we have to hurry, or else we’ll be late!” Pearl says.
---
“There you are!” Somebody yells as Pearl and arrive outside the church. To my great amusement, the person yelling is Franziska von Karma, who’s dressed up as Kim, the Evil Magistrate’s daughter.
“Come here, we have to get you prepared straight away if we want everything to be perfect.”
It figures Franziska would be the wedding planner.
“Sorry! I couldn’t get married on an empty stomach, you know.” I apologize. Franziska sighs.
“Fool.” She mutters, before she begins examining Pearl and I. After making sure my costume didn’t have any wrinkles and that I knew all my lines, Franziska sends me off into the church, where Mia’s waiting for me.
“S-sis?” I cry out, running at her and giving her a huge hug. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean, ‘what are you doing here’? I could never miss my baby sister’s wedding! Besides, I’ll be the one giving you away.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. Maya, we’ve already talked about this. Are you feeling OK?”
“Well, I don’t really remember anything that’s happened lately, I’m nervous as heck that something’s going to go wrong with the wedding, and I didn’t eat more than a slice of bread this morning. But yeah, I’m fine.” I answer.
Mia looks at me and smiles. “Don’t worry Maya, it’ll be OK. Now then, let’s get in there and get you hitched, shall we?” And with that, we walk into the main hall, and begin to walk up to the altar.

Everybody in the church is dressed as some sort of Samurai. I see Will Powers, who’s dressed up as his newest character, the Copper Samurai. Lotta Hart is dressed up as the Disco Samurai. Mr. Edgeworth is the best man, and he’s dressed up as the Electric Samurai. Nick stands at the altar, and he’s dressed up as Prince Samuel from the Pink Princess, which makes sense because he’s in love with me. I guess I told him to dress up like that. The priest is dressed up as the Steel Samurai. Everybody stares at me, although whether it’s because I’m the bride or if it’s because of my costume I’m not sure, and before I know it, I’m standing at the altar, beside Nick. The priest begins.

“Fellow warriors, we are gathered here today…”
“You look great, Maya.” Nick whispers. I look down in embarrassment.
“You look nice too, Nick.”
“It’s finally happening, huh?”
“Y-yeah…It feels like it came so quickly.”
“I know how you feel.” Nick says.
“I would now ask that the rings be presented.” The priest announces. A beautiful ring is placed on my finger, with an image of a magatama engraved into it. I try to hold back tears, and somewhere in the church, Lotta cries out “Ah’ dun promised myself I wasn’t gonna cry!”
“Do you, Mr. Wright, take Maya Fey as your faithful wife, in triumph and failure, for great justice or for the worse, in sickness and health?” The priest asks, really trying to get into the role of the Steel Samurai.
“I do.” Nick answers.
“And do you, Ms. Maya Fey, take Mr. Wright as your faithful husband, in triumph and failure, for great justice or for the worse, in sickness and health?”
“I do.” I answer, feeling incredibly relieved.
“By the power invested in my Samurai Spear, I now pronounce you samurai and wife! You may now kiss the bride.”
Nick takes off his mask, and then takes off mine. I lean in for a kiss…
---

“Uh…what are you doing?”
“Huh?” I yell, jumping up as I wake up from my dream yet again. “Nick! You woke me up again! That’s it, now you owe me a burger!”
“Hey, you woke me up first! You kept on saying ‘I do, I do’ a bunch of times, and then it looked like you were trying to kiss somebody. Dreaming about me, perhaps?
Nick says smugly.
“…Maybe…”I say, embarrassed. I lie back down and turn away from Nick, not wanting to let him see me blushing. Man, that was such a good dream! Why couldn’t he have woken me up a couple of seconds later?
Nick leans over me and kisses me on the cheek. “Well, what was your dream about?”
“Oh…nothing. But on a completely unrelated note, how would you feel about a Samurai-themed wedding?” I say, turning around to face him. Nick stares at me for a few seconds, and then bursts out laughing.
“In your dreams.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” I say, before kissing him one last time. “Goodnight Nick.”
“Good night, Maya.”
---
“Hey Nick, come on and get up already! Today’s the big day!”
“Larry? How’d you get into my apartment? I already told you I’m not defending you again until you pay me back, now get out.”
“Pay you back? Ah come on man, you know I’m good for it! And besides, how can you be thinking about making money on your wedding day?”
“Wedding day? Since when?”I ask, now fully awake.
“How could you forget? You and Maya have been planning this for months!” Larry says, annoyed.
“I’m marrying Maya? Today?”
---


The End?

October 28th, 2026
4:00 pm
Pearl

“Mystic Maya! There you are! So, Halloween is coming up soon, and I was thinking that maybe we could go into town and get some candy later.”
“Sorry Pearl, I don’t have time for that, I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Mystic Maya says, rushing around her room looking for something important. ‘I’ve got a lot of work to do.’ She’s been using that excuse a lot lately.
“Well, maybe for dinner we could go out and get some burgers?” I ask hopefully. If she can honestly say no to a burger, then something’s really wrong. Mystic Maya pauses.
“I’d love to, but it would take too much time, so I can’t.” What?
“Then how about we-”
“PEARL, I SAID I DON’T HAVE TIME!” Mystic Maya yells. I take a step back. Mystic Maya has never yelled at me before. Ever. I leave her room, realizing she doesn’t want me around. As I walk away Mystic Maya calls out my name. I turn around and I’m attacked by one of Mystic Maya’s signature running hugs.
“I’m sorry Pearly, it’s just that the Elders have been packing so much work on me lately, and it’s becoming frustrating. I wish that…”
“Mr. Nick was here?” I finish Mystic Maya’s sentence.
“Well, whenever he visits things just seem a lot easier, you know?” Mystic Maya blushes.
I smile. “We both know that you love him, why don’t you just admit it?”
“It’s…it’s not that easy. He might not feel the same way, and-”
“Oh, come on Mystic Maya! Have you seen the way he looks at you? It’s true love, trust me!” I say, getting slightly irritated.
“Pearl, just drop it…”
“So you’re just going to be alone for the rest of your life?” I didn’t mean to blurt it out, and I feel horrible immediately afterwards. I begin to apologize, but Maya cuts in.
“I’m…I’m going to get back to work.” She says. She turns away, and wipes her eyes with her sleeve. I feel terrible, and I know there’s only one way to make up for it. It looks like I have to set Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya up one last time…
---
Phoenix
4:30 PM

*RING RING RING*
“Wright Anything Agency, how may we amaze you today?” I groan on the inside. Trucy came up with the goofy line pretty soon after I adopted her, and she’s forced me to say it ever since.
“Mr. Nick! Oh thank goodness! Something terrible has happened!”
“Pearl!? What’s wrong? Is Maya OK???”
“I…She…I can’t even bare to say it. Mr. Nick, you have to get over here, as soon as possible, it’s really important!”
*CLICK*
I drop the phone. Oh my God…Maya!
Without a second thought, I grab my suitcase, stuff some clothes in it, and head towards the door. Trucy and Apollo stop me.
“What is it daddy? You said you had something to tell Polly and I.”
That’s right, I was going to tell them they were…Oh well.
“Sorry honey, it’ll have to wait. I’m going on a…um, business trip. You’re in charge while I’m away. Make sure Apollo doesn’t hurt himself.”
“Wait, what?” Apollo protests, but I rush out the door before he can continue. Next stop, Kurain Village.
---
6:40 PM

I hop off the train and run towards Fey Manor. I knock on its doors, and to my surprise it’s Maya who answers the door, not Pearl.
“Maya?”I ask, unsure of what’s going on.
“NICK!” She screams, pulling me in for a giant hug. “I was just thinking about you! What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know! Pearl called me a couple of hours ago and said something urgent happened. What’s going on?”
“Pearl….PEARL! GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!”
Somebody scuffles their feet from inside, and in an instant Pearl appears at the door. She’s grown a lot since the last time I visited, which was only six months ago.
“Pearl,” Maya says, clearly annoyed, “did you trick Nick into coming here?”
“Well, you seemed really lonely and I knew that Mr. Nick being here always cheered you up, so…”
Maya sighs. “Pearl, when are you going to learn that you can’t just screw around with people like that? I thought you had given up on this!”
“Well you’re to shy to admit that you-” Pearl can’t finish her sentence as Maya clamps her hand over Pearl’s mouth.
“Uh…Ok…” I say, in slight disbelief of what’s going on.
“I’m really sorry, Nick. I’ll buy you a ticket back home. But it is pretty late, why don’t you stay for dinner? Pearl and I were just about to eat, and I made plenty!”
“Um…” I consider the offer, picturing how much trouble Trucy must be giving Apollo right now.
“Pleeeeease? It would be such a waste for you to come all this way and just leave.”
“Alright, Maya. I walk into the manor and put my suitcase down.”
“Ooh! What did you bring me?” Maya asks. Same old Maya.
“Uh, I didn’t bring anything, I wasn’t really sure what was happening.”
“Nick!” Maya says, pouting. “You should always bring me gifts, no matter what! You’re lucky I’m nice, otherwise I’d have to kick you out!” Maya grins, and I grin back. It’s always nice to be with Maya again. Maya leads me to the table and serves out dinner, ramen noodles, to be exact. I try some, and begin coughing.
“You alright, Nick?” Maya asks.
“*cough* Yeah, yeah. You know, these noodles taste a lot like-”
“Eldoon’s Noodles? Great! I asked Mr. Eldoon what his secret recipe was, and he told me it was salt, so me and Pearl spent an entire day using tons of salt trying to get the flavor just right. You wouldn’t believe how many bags of salt we used.”
“Not pretty” Pearl comments.
“I knew you’d like it! Just like old times, right?”
“Yup. Just like old times.” I never had the heart to tell Maya that the amount of salt in Eldoon’s Noodles put me off of food for about a day, and frankly, a extra salty bowl of noodles isn’t going to stop me from being with her. “So Maya, how are things as Kurain’s Master?”
“Well, I’ve been doing mountains of work lately, but otherwise pretty good. It’s still nothing like being your assistant, but still decent.”
*BOOM*
A crack of lightning appears and a roar of thunder occurs, and all of a sudden, the lights go out. Rain starts to pour, and lightning strikes again.

“Pearl, you better go and light the candles.”
“I’m on it, Mystic Maya.” Pearl says, leaving Maya and I alone.
“Uh, does this happen a lot?” I ask.
“No, it’s pretty weird. It was supposed to rain tonight, but the weather girl didn’t say anything about lightning.”
“Well, I better get going now before it gets worse.” I say, getting up. Maya gets up as well.
“What are you, crazy? You can’t go out in that!”
“Well, maybe if I run really fast-”
“You’ll get killed? Nick, I’m not letting you go out there.” Maya says, grabbing my hand. “It’s way too dangerous, even if you’re the guy that can fall off a 40-foot bridge and live. You brought clothes anyways, stay here, with me.” Maya puts her other hand on my shoulder.
“Maya…”
“Oh come on, it’s not a problem. The training for tonight’s probably cancelled because of the weather, and besides, I’ve got a few guest rooms, you can stay in one of them, they’re all down there.” Maya points down the hallway, far away form her and Pearl’s bedrooms.
“Um…I’d rather not. I…I know I sounds stupid, but there was this murder I was involved with. Not like that,” I add when I see Maya’s eyes widen, “and every time I see the lightning, I see the guy’s dead body…I sound like an idiot, don’t I?”
“No, of course not! It’s OK then, you can sleep in my room tonight.”
“Ok, do you have any sleeping bags?”
“Don’t be silly! My bed’s big enough for the both of us.”
“Huh?” I say, my face turning red.
“What’s the matter Nick? I don’t bite, you know.”
“I…I know. Fine.”

“Good. Now let’s go.” Maya says, leading me into her bedroom. Unsurprisingly, it’s filled with Samurai memorabilia. I smile a bit, wondering if Maya’s ever going to get over the Samurai series.
“Nick, take off your hat.” Maya says, sitting down on her bed.
“Uh…sure.” I take off my hat and sit down beside her.
“Hmm…well your spikes got a bit crumpled up by the hat, but they’re still there. Hold on, let me fix them.”
“Uh, Maya, I don’t think you should…” I decide to be quiet since Maya ignores me anyways, and kneels on the bed to mess around with the spikes. Ever since grade school I’ve hated people touching my hair, but Maya’s an exception. I’ve never learned how to say no to her.
“There we go, good as new.” Maya sits down. “So, what’s new in the life of Phoenix Wright, poker extraordinaire?”
“Well, I’m retaking the bar exam, and I’m training Apollo to be a better lawyer.”
“Oh right, your apprentice. So now that you’re done your mission, do you think you’ll have more time on your hands?”
“Probably. Why?”
“I dunno…I was just thinking that maybe…maybe you could visit more often.”
I pull Maya into a hug. “I promise I will.”
“Good, because I miss you a lot, Nick.”
“I miss you too, Maya.”

We spend the next few hours just talking. A lot of stuff has changed, but there’s a lot that’s stayed the same too. I’m definitely glad that I decided to stay with Maya.
“And that is why burgers are the best food ever created.”
“Say what you like, but I still prefer grilled chicken sandwiches.”
“Burgers.”
“Chicken sandwiches.”
“Poor Nick. You’ve gotten so old that you’ve gone senile. Anyways, I’m going to go put on my PJ’s.”
“Ok.”
Maya grabs her PJ’s and heads to the bathroom. I lie down on the bed and think.
Ok Phoenix, you’re lying in the bed of the girl you’re in love with, she’s been missing you like crazy, and she’s been in your arms all night. What in the world are you waiting for, just tell her already!
But it’s just a crush!
A crush that you’ve had for 8 years? I don’t think so. Just kiss her, it’s way overdue.
“Nick?”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, I just thought you had fallen asleep without me.” Maya lies down beside me. Moonlight shines through her window, and she looks stunning.
“Nick, you’re staring at me.”
“Oops, sorry. Uh, goodnight Maya.”
“Good night Nick.” To my surprise, Maya leans over and kisses me. She pulls away quickly, and unable to come up with anything to say, I just gape in amazement.
“I’m sorry, that was…inappropriate.” Maya says, getting out of bed. I reach over and grab her wrist.
“Stay here, with me.” I whisper.
And the award for cheesiest line goes to...
Ignoring my inner monologue, I pull Maya back into bed and kiss her, holding her and not letting go. I pull away.
“That was overdue, wasn’t it?” I ask.
“Most definitely,” Maya gasps, “but you always seem to figure it out before it’s too late.” Maya kisses me again, this time with much more effort. I’m happy to return the favor.
I guess Pearl told the truth after all, this was really important.
---
Outside of Maya’s bedroom, a teenager with the ability to channel spirits danced around with glee, ecstatic that her plan to bring 2 people together had finally worked. Realizing that she didn’t want to alert Maya or Nick, Pearl ran back into her room, finding it hard to sleep when the fantasies she had dreamt of for 8 years had finally come true.
---
October 29th, 2026
10:00 AM
Maya

“Bye Nick.”
“Bye Maya, bye Pearl.” Nick says happily. I’ve always been sad whenever Nick went back to the city, but this time’s different, and I think we both know why.
“Promise me you’ll come back soon, OK?” I say, giving him one last hug. Nick kisses me, causing me to giggle.
“Nick! Pearl’s watching us!”
“I promise.” Nick says, kissing me on the cheek and hopping onto the train. I turn around to look at Pearl, who happens to be grinning from ear to ear.
“Well Mystic Maya, it looks like my scheme actually worked.”
I sigh. “Yes Pearl, your scheme worked. But that doesn’t make it OK!”
“So…Am I grounded?” Pearl asks.
“No…but you do have to buy burgers.”
“Mystic Maya!!!” Pearl whines.
“Oh well, that’s what you get for trying to make me happy.”
Pearl groans.
“Oh, and Pearl?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome Mystic Maya. Now we’d better go, those burgers aren’t going to eat themselves.”
“That’s my Pearl.”

“Come on Maya, just have some and get it over with!”
“But it’s gross! I’m not having any!” Maya says, turning away.
“Maya, it’s just a spoonful. And if you don’t have any, then you won’t get any healthier.” I argue. Maya sighs reluctantly.
“Fine” she mutters, facing me.
“Open up.” I say. Maya opens her mouth, and I stick a spoon full of medicine in. Maya swallows the medicine and begins coughing.
“*cough *cough* Eww! That’s disgusting!”
“I’m sorry, but you have to drink it so this fever can go away.”I say, placing my hand on her forehead, which is still burning up.
“It’s not fair! You took the special course with me, and you didn’t get sick!” Maya pouts and crosses her arms. She’s so cute when she’s angry. Actually, she’s just cute, period.
“I…I was sick while you were away.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah, I guess I’m allergic to spirit medium temples.” I joke about how I got sick, slightly embarrassed to tell her what really happened. After all, there’s no way to tell her “I tried crossing a burning bridge because I was worried about you, but I fell” without looking like a complete dork.
“Yeah right. *cough* Nick…I don’t think the medicine is working…” Maya tells me.
“It’ll work, you just have to give it some time. While you wait, I’ll get you some chicken noodle soup.”
“Awesome!” Maya grabs the remote and turns on the TV, and I head to the kitchen to make some soup.
---
“Here you go; one hot bowl of chicken noodle soup.” I say, returning back to Maya.
“Feed me.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I’m a poor, sick girl that needs a big, strong lawyer to take care of me.” Maya says, faking a cough to make her look really sick.
“Oh come on…Fine,” I mutter taking a spoonful of chicken noodle soup and beginning to feed Maya, who even with a fever is capable of manipulating me.
“Mmm, that’s delicious! Not as good as burgers, but it’ll do. Now then, tell me how you really got sick.”
“Uh…”
“Oh, come on! It’s not possible to be allergic to temples.”
“Well, on the night when…um…”
“My mom died?” Maya finishes. I’m slightly surprised at how nonchalantly she says it, but she is a lot braver than most girls her age.
“Yeah, that night. Well, I saw her body, and I realized that the murderer was out there, and that you might be in danger, so I tried crossing the bridge, only it was burning-”
“What? You tried to cross a burning bridge?”
“I was worried about you! Anyways, well, the bridge broke apart, and I fell into the river below.”
“But that’s like 40 feet below! That’s crazy!” Maya yells. I guess she’s used to her being the one doing the crazy stuff.
“Well, I only ended up getting a cold. I guess I’m pretty lucky.” I say sheepishly. Maya slaps me.

“Ow! What was that for!?”
“Are you insane!? Why in the world would you do something as stupid as that? Even I have more sense than that!” Maya screams, really upset.
“I was trying to make sure you were safe.”
“Well you’re not helping me much if you get hospitalized! What if you…what if you…” Maya bursts into tears and hugs me.
“I’m sorry.” I say, wiping the tears off her face. I hate seeing her cry.
“Never do something like that again. Ever. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” Maya scolds me, but much more gently than before.
I kiss Maya’s forehead. “I promise.”
“Well good.” Maya kisses my forehead. “Then I forgive you.”
“Well that’s good.” I say, kissing Maya’s cheek.
“I agree.” Maya says, kissing my cheek.
“Why are we doing this?” I ask, kissing Maya’s other cheek.
“Doing what?” Maya says, kissing my other cheek.
“Having a kissing showdown,” I say kissing Maya’s nose.
“I’m doing it because I like it. Don’t you?” Maya asks, kissing my nose.
“You tell me.”I say, kissing her lips. I pull away and Maya blushes, but then she begins laughing.
“Nice going Nick, now you’re going to get sick again!”
“…Great…” I say, beginning to regret my last kiss.
“It’s ok, now I can do this.” Maya pulls me toward her and kisses my lips. With nothing else to lose, I kiss her back, pulling myself up onto the couch. I place my arms around her waist and kiss her back passionately. We’re only broken apart by my sudden need to cough.
Maya smiles. “It looks like you’ve become lovesick because of me.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” I answer, pulling her back into another kiss.
---

March 8th, 2019
Maya

“Where are you off to?” I ask Nick as he dresses up in his blue suit, something he doesn’t usually wear on Friday nights. “Got a hot date?” I tease.
“Er…yes, actually.” Nick answers.
“WHAT... Uh, what do you mean?”
“Well, our latest client asked me out on a date.”
“Nada Chance? And you accepted?”
“Well yeah, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I don’t have much of a social life, the closest thing I’ve had to a date in the last 3 years is taking my assistant out for burgers.” Nick says. My heart drops. I always figured I was the only girl Nick had time for, and to find out he’s going out on a date with some girl he just met comes as a big shock.
“B-but with her? Nick, I…I just don’t think she’s your type.” I say, trying to come up with an excuse.
“What makes you say that?” Nick asks as he puts on his tie.
“Feminine intuition, duh.”
“Maya, it’s not like I’m getting married to her. It’s just one date, I’ve got nothing to lose,” Nick says, “And besides, I’m sure we’ll have something in common. Anyways, I should be back around 10. Wish me luck!” Nick walks out the door. I let out the tears I’ve been holding in.

Just tell him how you feel!
But he doesn’t feel the same way!
Probably because he doesn’t think you’re interested. After all you’ve been through, he has to feel something for you.
But he’s already going out with another girl…
You heard him, it’s just one date. And if it doesn’t work out, which it probably won’t, then it’s your turn to strike!

I put on my Diamond Samurai PJ’s, make some popcorn and watch TV.
I don’t want to be the rebound girl.
You’re not the rebound girl, she is! Nick’s lonely, which is the only reason why he decided to go out with Nada in the first place. If you tell him that you love him, then he won’t need anybody else!
I’m too nervous! I’ve tried telling him a thousand times, but whenever I try to tell him that I love him I just make myself look like an idiot! Every time I picture him laughing at me, and I chicken out. Maybe I should just be happy for Nick, even if it’ll make me the lonely girl watching re-runs for the rest of my life…
---
“Maya…Maya, are you awake?” Nick’s lovely voice asks.
“Hmm? Oh, hey Nick,” I guess I dozed off… “How was your date?”
“Uh…awful. I guess you were right.” I sit up, feeling a strange mix of guilt and happiness.
“What happened?”
“Nothing really, we just don’t have that much in common. She’s a successful businesswoman, and I’m just a clueless lawyer who doesn’t even get paid by half of his clients.”
“Oh…sorry about that, I just don’t have much-”
“It’s ok, it doesn’t matter that much to me. I should probably just face the facts; I’m sort of a loser.”
Without thinking I reach over and kiss him on the lips. “Not to me. You’re awesome, Nick. And any girl who thinks otherwise isn’t worth your time.” Satisfied, I get off the couch and head to bed, trying to hold in my excitement at having just kissed Nick. I lie in my bed thinking about how to admit to Nick that I’m in love with him, but unable to come up with anything, I drift off to sleep.
---

Earlier that night…
Phoenix

“And besides, I’m sure we’ll have something in common. Anyways, I should be back around 10. Wish me luck!”
I walk out the door and begin walking towards the restaurant. Normally it would be typical to pick up your date and then go out, but when you’re going out with an independent businesswoman like Nada Chance, she’s probably going to want to arrive herself. I get to the restaurant after about 5 minutes, and find Nada already waiting at the table. She checks her watch.
“You’re late, Phoenix.”
I check my watch, and it seems I’m only about 2 minutes late, but I’m not in the mood to debate, so I reply “Sorry, my assistant kind of held me back for a bit.” Come to think of it, Maya did seem pretty reluctant to let me go out. I guess she wanted some company.
“Ah…Assistants. Sometimes you have to wonder if they could be any more incompetent.”
“Well, Maya’s not so bad, she’s just a bit strange sometimes.”
“Oh, you mean the peculiar channeling girl? Oh yes, I remember her. She did seem a bit…eccentric.”
Nothings wrong with being a bit eccentric… I think to myself. “I have to admit, I was kind of surprised when you asked me out.” I tell Nada.
“Well, after all you did save me from rotting in that putrid jail, the least I could do was ask you out to dinner. And besides, you are quite the handsome gentleman.”
“Uh…thanks. To be honest, I don’t get out that much.”

“Let me guess, that little assistant of yours keeps you pre-occupied with ‘Diamond Samurai’, correct?”
“Huh?” I ask, wondering how she knew that.
“The other day in court she mentioned that the trial had better finish soon or she’d miss an episode of the Diamond Samurai. Quite childish, in my opinion.”
“Well, she is kind of immature, but it makes her fun to be around.”
“Mhm. How very interesting.” Nada says. It’s obvious how much she doesn’t care.
“Oh, and she likes going out for burgers a lot. I have to spend a lot of money because of it, but after all she’s been through, it’s the least I can do.” I add, trying to avoid awkward silence.
“Fantastic. Look, I don’t really care about your ‘darling Maya’, so if you’re just going to talk about her the whole night, I’m going home.”
“Uh…right. Sorry.” I say, shutting my mouth. I guess Maya was right, we don’t really have much in common.

A kid screams at a table nearby. “Daddy! I wanna go home now! There’s a Steel Samurai marathon tonight!”
Nada scowls. “Kids these days. You can go out to a 5-star restaurant and they’ll still cause a fuss.”
I have to laugh at the whole thing, I can imagine Maya doing the exact same thing.
“What’s so funny!?”
“Uh, it just reminds me of something.” I say, trying not to get myself in more hot water.
“By which you mean your assistant, correct?”
I don’t say anything, I can’t come up with a very good excuse. Nada stands up from the table. “Good evening, Mr. Wright,” she says, and then walks out.
Well great going Wright, your first real date in 6 years, and you blow it. Idiot!
I get up to leave the restaurant, only to find that it’s raining. To make matters worse, I forgot to check the weather channel before I left, so I didn’t bring an umbrella.
Well this night just gets better and better, doesn’t it?

I begin to walk home in the rain, feeling like a total loser.
Pathetic. I can’t tell the girl I really like how I feel, and when I go out with other people, she’s all I can think about. I have no idea how I’m supposed to tell her, either. What am I supposed to do, tell her that I’m in love with her while she’s chewing on a burger? I’m sure that’ll go well. Between a rock and a hard place doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.
I walk into the office and find Maya lying on the couch with her eyes closed, with the TV still on.
“Maya…Maya, are you awake?” I ask
“Hmm? Oh, hey Nick, How was your date?”
“Uh…awful. I guess you were right.” I sit down on the couch beside her.
“What happened?” Maya asks sadly. I think about my answer. What am I supposed to tell her, that I ruined the date because I couldn’t stop thinking about how cute I think she is?
Eventually, I say “Nothing really, we just don’t have that much in common. She’s a successful businesswoman, and I’m just a clueless lawyer who doesn’t even get paid by half of his clients.”
“Oh…sorry about that, I just don’t have much-”
“It’s ok, it doesn’t matter that much to me. I should probably just face the facts; I’m sort of a loser.” I begin to get up and head to bed when out of the blue Maya leans over and kisses me. I pinch myself to check if I’m dreaming. I’m not. Maya Fey is actually kissing me.
“Not to me. You’re awesome, Nick. And any girl who thinks otherwise isn’t worth your time.”
Now’s your chance! You couldn’t possibly get a better chance to tell her than this! She just kissed you!
I sit speechless, and Maya gets up and goes to bed. Once again, I’ve ruined a perfectly good opportunity. That’s the second time tonight, by my count. But that settles it. Tomorrow I’m going to tell Maya how I feel, no matter what. I go to bed, beginning to form a plan in my head.

“Well guys, it took several hours, but we’ve finally poured syrup over the world’s biggest pancake. Now let’s dig in!” I say, hungry and excited.
“Yay…” Nick says, exhausted.
“Woo hoo!” Pearl cheers, then says “But Mystic Maya, I can’t eat pancakes without a knife and fork.”
I turn to Detective Gumshoe. “It was your job to get the forks, where are they?”
“Oh, was that my job? I thought you said detective Dumbshoe had to get the stuff. Although Gumshoe would make more sense…” The detective sighs and shakes his head. Everybody groans.
All that work…and we can’t even eat it!?
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
---
March 9th, 2019
Wright & Co Law Offices
8:23 AM
Maya

NOOOO-oh. It was a stupid nightmare. Never mind. That pancake was so close I could smell it. In fact, I still smell it. Wait a minute…
I hop out of my bed and head to the kitchen, where on the table there’s stack of pancakes, some orange juice, and some flowers.
“Oh, hey Maya.” Nick says from the kitchen, cooking more pancakes.
“Hey. Did you make all of this for me?” I ask, sitting down at the table.
“Well yeah. I figured it would be a nice thing to do” Nick answers as sits down at the table.
“Wow! I was just dreaming about pancakes, and then I wake up and find this! It’s like you can read my mind!”
“You always like pancakes for breakfast on Saturdays. Well, that or burgers, but I figured it would be best if we had pancakes, so I made these.”
I smile at Nick. He knows me so well! I can’t believe he went through all the trouble though. I mean, he got me flowers too! What’s up with him today?
“Well, thanks Nick. But what are the flowers for? Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but it’s just so…random.”
“Well, I felt bad for going on a date and not telling you about it beforehand, especially since we usually hang out on Fridays. I didn’t mean to blow you off-”
“You didn’t blow me off, you just had… prior engagements.”
“Either way, I’m going to make it up to you. Today, we’ll do whatever you want to do.” Nick says.
“Anything?”
Nick thinks for a minute. Letting me do anything in the past didn’t always end up very well. “Anything.” He confirms. A light clicks on in my head.
“Well, since you left me so you could go on a date, I think it’s only fair that you take me out on a date tonight.” I say, making up my mind.
“Oh…ok…Alright then.” Nick says, sounding a bit timid.
“Why Nick, you’re not nervous are you? Don’t tell me that the great Phoenix Wright is afraid of one date with his pretty little assistant.” I tease.
“N-no! I…I was just wondering where we should go. For burgers, I guess?”
“No, no. We go for burgers all the time. Tonight’s got to be special.”
“Then where are we going?” Nick asks.
“Oh, you’ll see. I’ve got it all planned out...”
---
6:04 PM
Phoenix
“Paul’s Pizza Parlor? This is your idea of ‘classy’?”
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with this place! They’ve got good food, cool chairs, and they’ve got TVs! If they put in a couch, I could totally live here.” Maya says, pointing to the TVs around the room. Unsurprisingly, the Diamond Samurai is on.
“Hey, whatever you say.” I tell her, laughing.
“It’s not funny! And besides, this place is very important to me. Right after my sis won her first case, some college murder trial, I think,” I wince at the mention of that case I was involved in, but Maya doesn’t seem to notice. Mia probably never even told her I was the defendant. “I came down to visit her, and we went out for pizza here. The TV’s were playing ‘Samurai Summer’, the best Samurai movie ever, and I totally got hooked. And I’ve been in love with the Samurais ever since.”
“So what you’re telling me is that this place is the reason you’re obsessed with the Diamond Samurai?”
“Uh huh. Cool, huh?” Maya turns her attention back to the nearest TV.
“Note to self, leave very small tip.” I mutter, just loud enough so that Maya can hear it.
I notice that Maya’s become very quiet, and she’s looking down at her sandals. “Is something wrong?” I ask.
“Uh…well I just realized it’s my first date.” Maya admits shyly.
“Seriously?? I figured a girl like you would get tons of dates.”
“Well, there aren’t many guys in Kurain, and most of them are jerks, so I never had the chance. In fact, you’re my first boyfriend. I mean, boy that is a friend.” Maya stutters with her words, unsure of how to phrase them correctly. She looks away shyly, trying to hide her embarrassment and failing. I find it very cute, to be honest.
“Well for me, this date is definitely going a lot better than my last one.” I tell her, trying to calm her down.
“Really? Why?” Maya asks anxiously.
“Well for starters, it’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t left,” I say, causing Maya to laugh, “And you’re prettier too. Plus we have a lot more in common.”
Maya blushes. “Well, my date’s not so bad himself. He’s pretty handsome, and he’s paying for the food.”
Boy, doesn’t take much to please Maya,I think, Just pay for the food and we’ll get along fine. I smile anyways. It looks like things are finally beginning to work out with us.
---
1 Hour Later…

“And so as the school bus with the private school girls drives by, this look shows up on Larry’s face, the one that shows up whenever he gets an idea,” I tell Maya as I try to remember the details.
“Oh god.” She says, laughing and taking the last slice of pizza.
“Yeah, ‘Oh god’ is right. Anyways, so Larry turns to me and says ‘Hey Nick, let’s skip school tomorrow and get into the all girl’s school!’ Now of course, there’s no way I’m going to go with Larry’s plans after all he’s put me through, so I tell him ‘Forget it Larry, I’ve got a test tomorrow.’ Now, I figured this was just one of Larry’s dumb ideas that he would forget about by the end of the day, but when I went to the bus stop the next morning, Larry had gone to the costume girl to get a prep girl uniform, and was dressed up as a girl.”
“No way!” Maya gasps, her eyes wide.
“Seriously!”
“You totally should’ve gotten a picture.”
“No need, the image has been forever burned into my skull.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yes. So Larry actually hopped on the private school bus, and went to the all girl’s school. That might have been the stupidest thing Larry did in high school.”
“Did he actually get into the school?”
“Well, for a bit. Apparently his neighbor was the principal of the school, and when she was walking in the halls she recognized Larry and sent him home.”
“How do you not know that your neighbor is principal of the school you’re breaking into!?” Maya’s having a fit of giggles now.
“It is Larry Butz we’re talking about. So, wanna get going?”
“Sure.”
I pay the bill, and then Maya and I leave the pizza parlor. All in all, it was a pretty awesome date. I still haven’t told her that I love her yet, but I’m going to soon. As we walk, I stretch my arm over and hold her hand. She looks up at me, but neither of us says anything. We arrive in front of the office, and I look search around for the keys in my pocket.
“This was really nice, Nick. Maybe… we should do it again.”
I kiss Maya on the cheek. “It would be my pleasure.” I start to open the door when Maya grabs me and presses me up against the door.
“Do you like me or not?” she demands.
“Uh, what?”
“I want to know if you’re interested in me! Sometimes you act like you are, like tonight, but then other times you do stuff like go out with other girls, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think! Are you in love with me or not?” Maya repeats.
Ok, correction: You will never have a better chance to tell her than now.
But instead, I don’t tell her yes. Instead, I lean in and kiss her passionately. After all the anticipation that I’ve built up waiting for this moment, and after all the times I’ve fantasized about kissing Maya, actually kissing her is a thousand times better than I had ever imagined.
“I love you, Maya.”
Maya kisses me back. “Good, because if you didn’t you’d make a poor, innocent girl cry.”
“What do you mean innocent? You pinned me up against the wall!”
“That just makes you a wimp.” She says, kissing me again.
“Well, maybe my love for you makes me weak.” I say, trying to sound romantic.
“…Nick, that’s probably the corniest thing you ever said. Let’s go inside, I think the cold is making you senile. I hear that happens to people as they get older.”
“I’m not old!” I protest as I open the door and go inside. Maya flops onto the couch, and I sit down beside her.
“It’s OK Nick, I love you anyways.”
“But I-”
Maya cuts me off with yet another kiss. I can really get used to this. My arms find their way around her waist, and I pull her in, deciding there are some things more important then trying to prove you’re not a senile old man.
“You’re a good kisser, Nick.”
“Uh, thanks. You’re not bad yourself.” That’s an understatement. She’s a very good kisser.
“I guess I’m a quick learner. So, we’re dating now, right?”
“Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Well, there’s this Steel Samurai convention tomorrow, and I was thinking it would be great if we went as a couple.”
Maya, I’m really not in the mood for another-”
Running with her luck, Maya kisses me again, intent on making me go.
“No amount of kissing is going to make me-”
Maya kisses me again. Did I mention that she’s a really good kisser? Ah, what the heck. It’s just one day, and I get to spend it with Maya. What do I have to lose?
“Fine, I’ll take you to the convention.” I reluctantly give in.
“Woo hoo! You’re the best, Nick!” Maya declares, squeezing me tightly.
“Well, I guess I am pretty awesome…” I say sheepishly.
“Oh, we’re going to have to get you a costume as well. I’m thinking you’d look great cosplaying the Funky Samurai.”
“Wait, wait, wait. You mean the samurai with the multicolored afro?”
“Yeah, and the giant glasses!”
“……..OBJECTION!”