After getting CFTF's approval I am happy to post this. Gunther's just too much fun not to play around with. Anyway, a little slight hint of / but only if you want to see it that way. Thanks again to CFTF for allowing me to write with her character.


Perfect Advice

Franziska enjoyed spring cleaning. It was quiet, orderly, and the result after her efforts of seemingly endless shelving, sorting, dusting, vaccuming, and trashing was quite satisfying. A perfectly clean apartment, she had learned a few tricks from one of the maid's back when she lived in the family estate. A damp rag here, some salt water solution here, and no stain had a chance against her.

She had just finished cleaning the bookshelf, and was begining to replace the books she had taken out of it. As she did so she noticed that one of the books, and old photo album, was out of order. Adrian. She must have pulled it out and misplaced it. She sighed and began to sort through the pile finding where it properly belonged.

However, that's the strangest thing about photo albums. While they can sit on a shelf, unnotice and untouched for years, the moment one touches them, they are compelled to open it. The urge for an examination of past memories is too great to ignore. She flipped it open, and let herself be washed in the past.

She was 15, and apart from being a little shorter, she looked almost exactly the way she did now. She was standing in the prosecutor's lobby. The mildly annoying reporter and his exceedingly annoying photographer from the newspaper were doing a report on the brilliant prodigy and her victory in court. They took a rather nice picture of her standing next to her famous father. There was also a small interview in the article as well. To be more accurate it was an interview with Manfred VonKarma ABOUT his daughter. She just stood there.

After that annoyance was through and the reporters left. Her father turned to her and gave her a slight nod of the head.

"Sufficient."

"Thank you father. I will do better next time."

He gave a soft grunt and nodded again. He then motioned her to follow him. She did so like an obedient puppy. They had reached the court's main lobby when the doors to the defense lobby were hurled open and a loud voice exclaimed for all the world to hear,

"GREETINGS!"

Franziska shuddered as she remembered that moment. He was younger then, the beard around his face hadn't appeared yet, and his ponytail was not as long. Still the foolishly foolish fool was almost exactly like he was that day as he was now. It was also the first time she really SAW Gunther. In court she hadn't really paid much attention to the defense attourney and their 'mindless posturing' as per her father's instructions.

Please don't let him come over here. Please don't let him come over here. The plea rapidly ran through her mind. The last thing she needed was for her father to encounter this...fool that seemed to have come from the land of fools!

"Ah! Miss Von Karma!" Franziska felt a jab of fear and despair slam through her body as she observed what could only the the foolish king of fools approach. "I must congradulate you on your victory!" He held out his hand. "To make a man confess on the stand is an impressive achievement!"

Franziska kept her arms ar her side and turned away from the defense attourney, her nose in the air. She could feel her father's air of approval at that.

"Ah and YOU must be her father, the famous Manfred Von Karma." Before Franziska's shocked eyes the man reached out and GRABBED her father's hand shaking it vigorously. "Your daughter is exceedingly talented. You must be very proud!"

Manfred withdrew the hand immediatley as if he had burned it. Franziska could see his grip on his cane tighten slightly. His voice was as calm as always, but she knew better. "Yes, she meets my expectations of her."

Gunther continued his unforgivable sins back clapping her father on the back. "That's marvelous. I do hope that I'll get a chance to see her again. Yourself as well sir, you're a living legend here!" He gave her father that foolish smile that she had grown to loathe with every fiber of her body.

Gunther then drew back and sighed. "Although I do wish you had reconsidered my plea bargain Miss Von Karma." He sighed, his smile slipping into something calmer and whistful.

Franziska just turned away from him again. She saw that her father's grip on his cane had turned his knuckles white. He was in a complete rage. Plea bargain, PLEA BARGAIN?! To a Von Karma that was unthinkable, no one, NO ONE, ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE offered a Von Karma a PLEA BARGAIN! They were the ULTIMATE statement of incompetence! To admit defeat before even going INTO the court?! To DENY a Von Karma a victory?! It was...inconcievable!

"If I can just make one suggestion?" Gunther smile had returned to that infuriating carefree status. "You don't need to be so timid when you make an objection! Be forceful! Make the attourney, the judge, the entire court, FEEL your objection!" He made a short bow to Franziska, tosses his ponytail over his shoulder, and strode to the main doors of the court room, which he flung open with an excess amount of force that they swung open, and then swung back on the rebound with the wall, slamming into Gunther's nose.

"Ow...NO MATTER!" He, not as hard, opened the doors again and strode out of the court room.

Franziska looked at her father. His face was the same perfect example of calm and composed. The hand on his staff said something else entirely. His grip was almost splintering into the wood, and it was shaking slightly. The man was paralyized with sheer rage. Franziska remembered him having that look only once more, when he had first gone up in court against Gregory Edgeworth. Only that rage was a completley different beast than the one she saw that day.

After a moment he resumed his walk to the car, he didn't say a word. Franziska was used to this. The rest of the day continued as they normally had, until the time when her father summoned her to his study. Usually that meant it would be time for another test of worth. Those had stopped once she had gone into court, still that didn't mean he couldn't surprise her with one.

He was standing by his desk. A large bullwhip was resting on the desk. A spike of fear appeared, surely her father wouldn't so so far as to...this train of thought was derailed when he thrust the whip into her hands.

"I expect you to master this by your next trial. You are also to keep this with you at all times." He said, he returned to sitting his his chair. His back to her.

She knew questions were forbidden, but still...she needed to ask.

"Father?"

He didn't turn around, but to her shock he actually responded to her. "If that foolish...fool of fools wishes to FEEL your objection. Then that is EXACTLY what you will do." The conversation was over and Franziska was bidden to leave and begin practicing.

She sighed as she closed the book and placed it back into the bookshelf into it's proper place. She looked at the kitchen counter where she had placed her whip down for the moment. She picked it up and gave it a crack. She smiled, she would be up against that buffoon tomorrow, and she would make SURE that he knew she had taken his advice to heart.

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Gunther is such an amusing character~ I really like him. XD

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Yay! Gunther!
It's always hard to write someone else's character, I think. (though I don't really write many fanfics) It's difficult enough to keep a character like Phoenix in character, when you have 3 games of dialogue to work on, it must be even harder to keep Gunther in character when you only have 1 fanfic to help.
But, you have done a very good job with Gunther and the von Karma's. I applaud your fanfic writing skills! *clap clap clap*

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