Warabi Yugami-- Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright (SB+AC)

[Hachimitsu Tea]

I've been playing Dual Destinies recently, and it made me really crave some Blackquill fic. This fic will contain SPOILERS FOR THE LAST CASE OF DUAL DESTINIES. If you haven't played yet and don't want some of the details ruined for you, I suggest backing out now.

This fic is set before the events of UR-1. We don't have a lot of info about what Blackquill's character was like before his incarceration, but as I own the Dual Destinies art book and understand Japanese, I was able to pick up some hints from the little character notes in the margins. He's described as "a quiet, polite, likable young man" and as "a kindly, older brother figure." I tried to write him with these qualities in mind. There were also notes about his discarded character designs that I utilized in this fic, but I'll talk about those and explain the title at the end to avoid spoiling what little plot there is |D;;

Title: Warabi Yugami

Pairing: kid!Athena-->young Blackquill

Word count: 2,226

“Simon? …Simon, are you listening?”

Simon started out of a daze he hadn’t noticed he’d slipped into at the sound of the young female voice at his side. Eleven-year-old Athena was staring up at him, pouting indignantly at her companion’s inattentiveness. For a split second he wondered where he was, and then it came back to him that he was in the modest living space that the Cykeses occupied off the back of Athena’s mother’s lab at the space center. This was no time for nodding off; Athena needed help with her homework. Simon stifled a cough into his fist and tried to blink the sleepiness from his gray eyes. Was it his imagination or was it much colder in here than usual? He tried to tug his long coat more snugly around himself.

“Sorry, little lass,” he said with an attempt at his usual smile. “It seembs mby mbind was wandering.”

Athena sighed. “I don’t blame you, I guess. My mind wanders when I try to do homework too, especially useless junk like this. When will I ever need to be able to find subjects and predicates in real life?”

Simon rubbed his stuffy, irritated nose surreptitiously. “You’re still quite young. There’s no telling what skills you’ll find useful in your future. Now… how about this sentence?”

His long, pale finger indicated the first question on the worksheet before them. Athena’s brow furrowed in thought.

“Umm… what’s a predicate again?” she asked.

Simon rubbed at his nose again, trying to massage away the fuzziness and the tickle that was growing ever stronger in his sinuses. “It tells… what the subject does…”

“Oh yeah…” Athena recalled. She tapped the eraser of her pencil against her lips as she considered the sentence before her. “So, um…”

“Hegtcht! …Hegchoo!” Simon managed to turn away from the girl beside him before releasing one half-stifled sneeze, and a second, stronger one into his fist. His eyes remained closed, his brow furrowed as the tickle lingered, still unsatisfied. “Hktchut! …Heheshoo!”

“Bless you!” Athena said brightly, looking at him with more interest than he knew he merited.

Even in spite of his misery, he still found himself smirking slightly at how the girl was so glad for a distraction from her homework that she would even latch on to something as insignificant as a sneeze. “Thank you. Now focus on your hombework, you little scamp. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Athena said airily, her eyes flitting back to her worksheet again. “I was just trying to be polite.”

Simon sniffled, his head throbbing from the pressure of attempting to hold some of his sneezes in. Truth be told, he’d considered staying home today, but had forced himself to come to the center for Athena’s sake. He hated the thought of her being locked away all alone for most of the day. It occurred to him, though, that he might be risking passing this bug to her by sitting so close. Scrubbing his knuckle under his dripping, itchy nose, he inched sideways slowly on the couch away from her, trying not to attract her attention.

“How about this one here?” Athena asked, catching him in the middle of his flee attempt. “Does this part count as part of the predicate?”

Simon didn’t move; he could feel the growing irritation in his nostrils that preceded a sneeze and turned away from Athena again. The tickle taunted him for a moment, and Athena looked up at him with a small frown, clearly wondering why he hadn’t replied.

“Hksht…uhhh… Hkchut! Hgdtch! …foohhh… Hegersh!”

Simon’s stinging eyes eased open and he felt a prickle of disgust and irritation at the mess left in the hand he’d used to cover his mouth. He looked around helplessly for a box of tissues.

“Bless you!” Athena said again, abandoning her homework once more. “Do you need a tissue? I’ll go get some!”

Without waiting for his response, she bounded over to the bookshelf and retrieved the box of tissues sitting on it. Still covering his running nose, Simon accepted them gratefully and mopped himself up. The pain in his throat flared up when he blew his nose wetly and the ensuing cough left his head swimming. Athena was watching all this unabashedly, and if Simon hadn’t been distracted by his own issues, he would have been able to tell from her expression that the gears in her head were turning. It wasn’t until he felt her small hand settle on his shoulder that he looked over at her again.

“Simon… are you sick?” she asked.

Gone was the expression of a mischievous young girl simply looking to avoid her studies. In its place was a look of genuine concern. Simon couldn’t help feeling a touch guilty for putting that troubled look on her young features. The poor girl had enough to worry about without taking on his problems as well. Athena rubbed small, comforting circles on his back.

“I thought I was sensing pain,” she murmured sadly, shifting closer. “Should I go get someone? Or maybe if I took you to the repair station…”

“Doh deed to look so worried, little lass,” he said thickly. “It’s odly a cold. Sobe rest a’d tea will put be right agaid id doh tibe.”

“You’re shivering,” Athena observed. She wrapped her slender arms around him from the side, trying to share her warmth. “Do you have a fever?”

“…I haved’t checked,” Simon said. “Perhaps you should keep your distadce, though. I’b doh doubt codtageous.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, waving his warning away. “Here, let me feel your forehead.”

Simon sniffled and angled his face toward her slightly in silent acquiescence. Her warm fingers felt pleasant on his clammy skin as she brushed his bangs out of the way and checked his temperature.

“Oh no, you’re really warm!” she said worriedly. “You poor thing!”

She moved to embrace him again, but he stopped her by holding up a finger; his nose was starting to tickle again. It must have shown on his face, because Athena quickly thrust some tissues into his hand just in time for him to pitch into them.

“Etchoo! …Agchoo!” He started to blow his nose, but had to pause to sneeze again. “Heggtchoo!”

Simon’s head throbbed again painfully, and he was glad he hadn’t tried to hold his sneezes in again or the pain would no doubt be worse. A chill ran through him, and he supposed he must’ve visibly shivered because Athena’s arms were around him again in an instant. Although he hated worrying her, Simon couldn’t deny that he found her genuine, unveiled sympathy for him touching.

“Poor, poor Simon,” Athena cooed, rubbing his back. His muscles were a bit sore from his earlier stifling attempts, so her touch was soothing. He let his congested, aching head rest against the top of her silky copper-haired one tiredly. “I want to help you feel better. Is there anything I can do?”

Simon considered her offer lethargically. He’d seen from the way Athena always carefully attended and patched up Ponco and Clonco when they exhibited signs of damage or malfunction that she liked to care for those in need. If he had to worry her over his stupid cold, then maybe he could make it up to her by letting her take care of him. Perhaps it would help ease her concern.

“A bladket would be dice,” he croaked.

Athena didn’t need to be asked twice; she hopped to her feet instantly and vanished into the bedroom. Simon sighed and closed his eyes, reclining more fully against the couch cushions. What he really wanted was a long, hot bath and some sleep, but those things would have to wait until he got home. He wondered vaguely if he’d be able to talk Aura into picking him up some soup from somewhere for dinner that night. Maybe a bribe would work.

At some point in the midst of his musings, Simon dozed off. It felt like only a few seconds later that the gentle shifting of couch cushions beside him as Athena sat down beside him again stirred him. He jolted awake, feeling a touch disoriented. If only his head didn’t feel so heavy… He plucked some more tissues from the box and blew his nose as Athena set a few items she’d gathered on the coffee table before them.

“I brought you a snack,” she announced as she shook the blanket out to its full size and draped it over him.

Simon rubbed his eyes groggily, trying to sit up a bit straighter. His eyes fell on the plate of apple slices and mug of tea Athena had brought him. As awful as he felt, the sight brought a shadow of an appreciative smile to his lips. Nothing cheered him up when he was down like a sweet, juicy apple.

“You’re a perfect adgel, little lass,” he rasped, patting her shoulder approvingly.

Athena’s cheeks pinked and she returned his smile shyly. She leaned forward on the couch to pick up her homework sheet, allowing her hair to slip out from behind her ear and hide her face from his sight in the process. Simon popped one of the apple slices into his mouth, noticing with a touch of amusement that although Athena was clearly trying to give the impression of one focusing on her homework, she was clearly still happily flustered by his praise. Though he couldn’t see her face with it hidden behind her curtain of hair, the tips of her ears were flushed.

By the time Simon had polished off the last of his tea, he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He set his cup down on the table with a sniffle, twitching his nose as he sank back into a more relaxed position on the couch and pulled the fleece navy, star patterned blanket up to his chin. Damn, another sneeze was coming; he could feel it. He snatched up some more tissues as his brow furrowed and his nostrils flared.

“Hrkchut!” He half-stifled the first one out of habit and immediately regretted it when his head throbbed with the pressure. “Heggrushoo! Erkushoo!”

Athena put down her still unfinished worksheet again. “Bless you. Are you ok? Still cold?”

“Doh, I’b fide,” he assured her from behind his handful of tissues. He’d just tossed them into the little trash can when a yawn slipped out. “Bit kdackered, though…”

Athena looked puzzled for a split second. “Oh, you mean you’re tired!” She looked proud of herself for having worked that out on her own. “You can take a nap if you want. I’m sure my mom won’t mind.”

Simon considered this with a furrowed brow. “It’s a tebti’g offer, but I’b dot sure it’s proper… I bead, perhaps your bother would have sobe objectiods…” He felt a bit awkward voicing this concern to a 10-year-old whom he wasn’t sure would understand the reason it might be seen as an issue, but at the same time he couldn’t just not mention it.

As predicted, Athena looked a little confused. “Why? I mean… I don’t think she’s afraid you’d kidnap me or anything. She knows you’d never do anything like that. Plus the door is open, and mom’s in the lab right outside, so…”

She had a point; he could see Metis through the open door working on something at her desk. Every so often she’d glance up and check on them. When their eyes met, she gave him a small smile. Simon still had his reservations, but when he yawned again Athena tugged on his arm gently, inviting him to lean on her.

“C’mon, you can lay your head on my shoulder and I’ll sing to you,” she murmured shyly, flushing again.

That little bit of exposure to her body heat was all he needed to persuade him. He’d never told anyone, not even Athena, but there was something about listening to music when he was tired that always put him out like a light. It had been a long time since anyone had been willing to sing him to sleep in person, and he found warm, fuzzy feelings of gratitude welling up in his chest. Athena smiled to herself when she sensed how moved he was by her offer. His head drooped onto her shoulder, his soft, wavy hair brushing her cheek. Athena was incredibly glad at that moment that Simon couldn’t hear the voice of her heart the way she could hear other people’s because it was currently making rather embarrassing squeaks of glee.

She took a deep, nervous breath and began to quietly sing the Okinawan lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she’d been younger. Simon’s already heavy eyelids begun to feel even heavier upon hearing the first few notes. What a beautiful song… He hardly even registered the fact that the lyrics made it clear that it was meant to be sung by a mother to her child. Athena performed it remarkably well even without lowering one’s standards for one as young as her.

The rise and fall of her sweet, clear voice and the even rhythm of her small, slender fingers affectionately stroking his hair were all Simon needed to be lulled into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Ahh, was that ok? It was my first time writing either of those two so I'm not that confident in my characterization yet ;w; Anyway, the character notes that I used from Blackquill's discarded designs mention that he "loves apples and sweets" and "like Cerberus, he falls asleep when he listens to music." Speaking of music, if you're curious about the song that Athena sang him, it was Warabigami, a folk song from Okinawa, one of Japan's southern islands. It's really beautiful, so if you have any interest in Japanese folk music, I definitely recommend giving it a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiUIjC2r8sI　And finally, about the title of the fic, it's a play on the song title "Warabigami" and Blackquill's Japanese name, which was Yugami. Incidentally, the word "warabigami" means something like "child from god," but since I put Yugami in it, the name of the fic is like "child from Yugami" or alternatively, "warped child." I guess it could make sense depending on how you think about it ^^;

[SneezyHolmes]

This was amazing! Oh my goodness how adorable! I would honestly love to read more ;O ;

[LeapYearKisses]

Once again, I find myself having missed something awesome. This was so good! I think you had really good characterization, even accounting for the fact that we don't actually know too much about Simon pre-UR-1. Athena was just adorable. I love her little crush on him.!

[Kushami Suki Da!]

Simonnnnnnnn!!!! He is definitely one of my favourite characters! And your writing is fabulous!!

[Bisc]

blackquill!!!!!!! *heavy breathing*

[san kyu]

THIS WAS SO GOOOOOD!! Poor Blackquill, just sitting there suffering and still trying to take care of Athena. The tables have turned!! Thank you for sharing this, it was great!