Sorrow & Mercy: a Great Ace Attorney AU

Twisting

The prison cell was dense with shadow. Jigoku kept his back turned, even as Susato stared at him through the bars, her face grim.

"You cared about him once...You wouldn't have broken the witness stand during his trial if you didn't. So...How? How could you let your ambition possess you like this? How could you let anyone convince you to kill him!?" Susato pressed.

"...I don't need to say anything to you, Miss Mikotoba."

"I just want to understand. You were their friend! How could you be so selfish?"

"Enough," Jigoku snapped. "What's the point?"

"...They're hanging Stronghart tomorrow."

"...What does that have to do with me?" Jigoku said.

"Well...a similar justice awaits you, doesn't it?"

"...Maybe so. But I don't have anything to say to you. I killed Genshin. I killed Gregson. What more do you expect me to say?"

"You tried to make Kazuma-sama take the fall for Gregson's murder too. You were hoping he would be punished in your place. Even though he was your friend's son."

"What would you do, Miss Mikotoba? If you were about to lose everything?"

"...By 'everything' do you mean your life? Or your status? Because to me...everything means something very different. Everything would be the people I cherish," Susato said. "I would happily put my life on the line for them!"

"Hah. Because you jumped in front of a gun once you think you're better than me? You think because you pretended to be a man to save a friend that you understand justice better than I do? Isn't that violating the law?"

Susato's hands curled into fists. "...All I know is I could never do what you did. There is nothing in this world that could persuade me to take the life of a beloved friend for my own benefit!"

Jigoku turned to face her. Rage made his face look dark and heavy and terrifying. But she would not back down. Susato squared her shoulders, kept the glare firm upon her face.

"Did you come to 'understand,' as you claim, or is this some sad attempt at wounding me? You want me to hurt for what I did, don't you? It's not going to work," Jigoku growled.

"I used to think of you as a wonderful man. A man with a heartfelt laugh. You always made my father and I feel so reassured. And you always seemed so supportive. But looking at you now...I see hatred, but I cannot see what I thought I would. I don't see your greed, I don't see your selfishness or your emptiness. But it's there inside you, I know that now. My only hope is that you feel some regret for what you did, for the sake of your own soul!" Susato said.

"...Or because then you'd have to admit you cherished a monster? Wouldn't be the first monster you've held in high regard, would it? Klint van Zieks made himself a demon before Stronghart ever got his hands on him," Jigoku said. "So tell me...did you see that in him too?"

Susato gritted her teeth, trying to hide the distress his words inspired. "No. I didn't see it in any of you. I didn't see it in Stronghart either. Until that day in court. And then it was so plain to see." She closed her eyes, drew in a breath. Then met his gaze, her stare sharp, certain. "But Klint van Zieks knew what he did was wrong. And he regretted it. He lost everything because of it! You killed your friend and you were happy to hide it completely for ten years! You profited from his death. Just like Stronghart. So, Judge Jigoku, if you ask me...the real demon...is inside of you and inside of Stronghart. That is why no one will offer you an honourable death!"

Jigoku bashed his fists against the bars. Susato could hear a commotion as the warders rushed to make sure all was well. But she did not flinch. She simply stared at Jigoku as he breathed hard, snarling in fury.

Susato turned away, disturbed deep within. But now she could accept what Klint had said in his letters. Sometimes there was no understanding how someone could act less than human.

But at least, in the end, the truth always burned bright, the illumination undeniable, searing in its radiance. And freeing in its purity. A burn that peeled away dead skin and left something raw and fresh and new and right. Something worth all that pain.

***

The courtyard surrounding the gallows was bright. The sky presiding over it a sheet of white cloud, illuminated by the sun.

While the execution was not held publicly, members of the judiciary were allowed to attend, and Susato had been granted permission to accompany them.

Kazuma was there as well. He stood to the left side of Barok, while Susato remained at Barok's right. Her heart pounded as she watched the executioner lead Stronghart towards the gallows.

Stronghart was silent and his face was stern but calm. He looked strangely dignified as he mounted the thirteen steps. He looked startlingly composed as they laid the noose over his neck. Susato thought she saw a hint of change around his eyes, that they tightened just a fraction as the executioner prepared to pull the lever that would send the floor pitching beneath his feet.

His gaze swept slowly over the small group of onlookers. All of them knew him. He knew them all as well. Did he feel the sting of betrayal? A sudden surge of regret and pity began to well up within Susato, drowning the hatred she thought she felt. Her breath thinned. Her mouth ran dry.

Stronghart first placed his gaze upon Kazuma. Then upon her. His eyes gave nothing away. Susato could read nothing in his stare. All she observed was a blank resolve to face death with as much smoothness and composure as he had lived his life.

Then Stronghart's gaze shifted to Barok and remained there. Barok was very still beside Susato. His posture did not change, but some part of her felt it when Barok tensed.

The executioner pulled the lever. The floor dropped out beneath Stronghart, the rope tugging taut.

Susato gasped, horror overtaking her.

His neck did not break. All the composure fled as he thrashed, dangling helplessly. Snatched up in an excruciating death as he slowly, agonisingly suffocated. She could hear him choking, hear the anguish in his breath. Susato could not look away in her immense horror, despite how she longed to avert her eyes from his misery. She wanted it to stop, this torture, this suffering. She wanted his agony to come to an end. Tears welled up in her eyes but did nothing to obstruct her vision. She could see it all too clearly.

A violent hush hovered over the gallows. The rope creaked. The beam. And Stronghart's writhing, his struggle to breathe were so very, very loud.

Movement out of the corner of Susato's eye. It pulled at her senses just enough to free her, and finally, she could turn her head away from the grisly sight. Beside her was now a gap, affording her a clear view of Kazuma. He continued to watch, but she could see his eyes were narrowed, noticed as they tightened, as his jaw clenched. Then her gaze moved and she saw him. Barok. He had turned his back to Stronghart. His shoulders were hunched, his head lowered. She could see his lips moving in silent prayer.

Susato pivoted. Stepped towards Barok. She took hold of his hand. It was trembling. His eyes were shut tight.

Then, after several long, agonising minutes, all the sounds in the courtyard vanished.

"It's over," Kazuma said quietly.

Barok's hand tightened in Susato's grip.

"No one deserves such a painful end," Barok whispered.

Snow began to fall. It covered everything. The rooftops, the roads, the trees. The empty gallows.