Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice/Episode 4: Turnabout Storyteller/Trial, Day 1 - Part 2

District Court - Courtroom No. 4
Taka has returned with the manju buns. There's definitely alcohol in them. No one could possibly be lightweight enough to get drunk off of one of these... no one except Uendo, whose speech slurs, body sways, and face flushes as the three personalities rotate rapid-fire in drunk confusion. Uendo falls to the floor, but the figure that rises back up to the witness stand is that of a meek child (with yet another new hairstyle). Here he is — the illusive Owen. One look will tell you he is not the murderer. So then what was up with "OWEN 4TH"? Who placed the karuta cards? We are given some amusing options, such as "Uendo's fifth personality" and "Whet Noodle No. 3." The most probable choice is the first one — select the true killer.

The karuta cards as they were initially laid out pointed to Owen as the killer, a source of great panic to the other three personalities, who sought to protect their "little brother" and subsequently rearranged the cards to implicate Bucky instead. Anyway, you will have to question Owen if you want to get anywhere. Just don't be too harsh.

Owen's Testimony: I Saw It
Owen is understandably rattled at what he witnessed. Athena suggests a therapy session: time for more of the Mood Matrix.

Mood Matrix: Owen
The most terrifying sight would definitely be the "blood". Probe the second statement, selecting the blood. Nevertheless, something is strange about the way Owen described it. How is blood supposed to drip sideways? Of course, this sight would make sense if Owen himself was lying on the floor, thus also seeing Master Toneido prone, with blood dripping down onto his face.

Owen remembers a crucial detail: there was someone on top of the victim, who was injured during the scuffle with the victim and bled onto Master Toneido. If the blood dripped onto his face, it's a fair assumption that the culprit is injured somewhere on their head. Nahyuta points out that the defendant has such an injury. What cruel misfortune. It's not looking good... Athena is on the ropes, but Simon's pep talk is enough to renew her resolve. Owen's therapy continues.

First, we will need to clear up the vague testimony with evidence. Present the Crime Scene Report on the second statement. Something was being smooshed into the victim's face... since he died of suffocation, this would make it the murder weapon. Looking at the second photo in the crime scene report, there is one thing that could have been "smooshed": the soba. Point to and present the noodles in the photo when prompted. Clearly, cooked noodles are way too delicate to suffocate someone with, but it's a different story if the killer were to use uncut soba dough. Athena inputs the new information and the testimony gets updated as a result.

Pinpoint happiness on the sixth statement. Owen awoke to see Taifu's killer, face dripping with blood, and yet there was still something that made him feel relieved. It appears that Owen smelled perfume at that time: a big clue for the case. (The noise level drops to zero, finishing the mood matrix.) Nahyuta surmises that the "perfume" was actually the scent of whatever product the defendant uses to do his hair. Bucky interjects! He would never use such a hair product, for the danger of contaminating his noodles. The second courtroom snack of the day proves it, and Nahyuta's assertion crumbles.

Bucky thankfully could not have been the source of the perfume smell. But one other person does remind you of a perfume smell: present Geiru Toneido's profile. Against Nahyuta's pleas, Geiru is called to the stand. It is revealed that Geiru has a bandage on her forehead, which means that the circumstantial evidence now tips to implicate her, between the perfume, scar, and opportunity to commit murder. Anyway, this whole case makes no sense if anyone else is the culprit. When asked, select that the defense wishes to indict her. Geiru, now wielding a balloon sword, begins to show her true colors.

Cross-Examination: What I Did Before the Murder
Press the third statement. Blackquill picks up on something strange, and Geiru adds a fifth statement to her testimony.


 * I didn't see anything funny near Shisho, and I didn't touch anything in the room.

Strange; in that case, who laid out the karuta cards? Present the Crime Scene Report on the new piece of testimony. Only Taifu, Uendo, and Geiru knew about Owen. Uendo wouldn't have implicated one of their own personalities, and Bucky had no idea Owen even existed. Taifu was already dead; this leaves Geiru as the only possible individual who could have first laid out the cards!

Or so you think. Geiru removes a glove to reveal a hand and forearm, swollen red — she has a serious allergy to buckwheat. This puts a wrench in your arguments, since the dressing room was absolutely painted with soba flour at the time of the murder. This would have given Geiru a life-threatening reaction.

Geiru's Testimony: Geiru's Buckwheat Allergy
It seems that she is not lying about the buckwheat allergy, at least. It's not over yet, though — you still have another cross-examination to do. For the future of Whet Soba!

Cross-Examination: Geiru's Buckwheat Allergy
Press all statements. The testimony seems bulletproof; the allergy is real, the room was covered in flour, and there's no way the murder happened outside of the dressing room. But you know you're right! You have to be, or else... it's time for one last string of reasoning to illuminate the case.

Revisualization
You need to figure out how Geiru could have been in the room and committed murder without triggering her allergy. To start, present Taifu's Note to show that Geiru's opportunity for murder exists. It seems slim, but what "resting" actually refers to dough, and not a person? Soba dough doesn't rest, but udon does! Master Toneido was actually making udon noodles.

We just established that Master Toneido was making udon in the dressing room. However, soba was what was found in the bowl after his death. The soba in the bowl couldn't have been made by Geiru due to her allergy; there was also no indication of a delivery, so it wouldn't have been catered. Therefore, it must have come from the master's soba stock. There's only one reason why Geiru would plant the soba: to hide the udon dough. That can only mean that the udon dough would somehow be incriminating. She killed him with the udon dough! If you can show that this udon dough exists, you will have won, since the killer would have dripped blood onto it during the final struggle with the victim.

Nahyuta counters. Where is this supposed "udon dough"? Present Simon's Statement. The clue is on the third page: Geiru was seen feeding her dog Jugemu far more dumplings than he could possibly finish. The remainder were buried. In other words, clear traces should still be at the crime scene! Geiru realizes that there's no use hiding it any longer. Enjoy the breakdowns of Nahyuta and Geiru.

What really happened
Geiru's raison d'etre was to follow in her father's footsteps as a rakugo storyteller. In an effort to please her father and inherit the stage name, she took up her balloon act. Despite that, the stage name was passed to Uendo and not her. The murder was an act of revenge. Planning the murder for the day of the show was also intentional — it was done in order to cause the most damage to Uendo, whom she implicated with the karuta cards. On the day of the murder, she entered the dressing room not expecting to see the soba-making tools; although unexpected, she continued undeterred, knowing that that was the only day to get her revenge. She suffocated Taifu with the udon dough, receiving a cut on her forehead in the struggle, and then bled onto that dough; she cooked the dough into dumplings, feeding much to her dog, and leaving the rest to be buried. The allergic reaction on her hand was due to simple carelessness while she was doctoring the crime scene (planting the bowl of soba). Her plans of revenge stopped short when Uendo rearranged the karuta cards, redirecting the blame onto Bucky. Thus the truth was set to be unveiled in court by Athena. Nahyuta acknowledges Athena as a formidable attorney, and judgement is passed on Bucky Whet:



Defendant Lobby No. 6
After the trial, we get some final words with Bucky. It turns out that Taifu simply wanted Geiru to follow her own path, unburdened by the name and prestige of her father. Present the Whet Soba Deed to Bucky. In the end, the victim truly was a caring man. With this, the truth has been revealed, and everyone gets a little well-deserved sympathy.