GOTEI 4: CHAPTER 3 - THE JURISPRUDENT

Subject: GOTEI 4: CHAPTER 3 - THE JURISPRUDENT Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:00 pm

PART 1

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"That is not possible. The fact that one of them is incapacitated is enough reason for this court not to recognize their marriage."

"But how about Ms. Godinez? Don't you care about how she feels? So you're saying that we have to just put their marriage into waste?"

"I do. That's why I am doing this. For a man, you're quite emotional. It's always better to stick with the facts. You should know know that very well." The young lady looked firm in front of her opponent. She turned her head away and faced the man sitting in front of her.

"Permission to leave, your honor."

"Granted. You are dismissed, Atty. Perez." The rather aged and strong-looking man uttered, and faced the other. "Atty. Lozada, if you are not able to provide this court a credible evidence in a week, the case will be closed and Mr. Villarico will be declared guilty as charged."

"But, your honor-"

"Hearing dismissed."

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What...a dream.

The usual yet soft noise could be heard in the hallways. Some of the workers were so busy chatting with each other, while some continued to praise their supervisor as if she'd already won another legal case.

"Good morning, Atty. Perez."

"Good morning."

The young lady, however; only kept smiling and continued walking her way into her office room. As soon as she entered, she sat and took her cup of coffee while gazing at the papers on her other hand.

"Another one? This looks the same as the twenty-first case I handled." She sighed. "Why do people continue on doing the same thing over and over?"

She stood up, walked towards the window and watched the scenery in front of her. The streets remained hectic and restless as usual, and the same went for the train station and the mall. A lot of people passed and went every second, minute, every hour. Making use of their time prudently, all of them looked like they were in a hurry.

*knock knock -----------------------

"Attorney?"

"Please come in."

"I brought you some cake!"

"Oh. So it's the brat again."

"You still call me that?"

"Am I wrong?"

"I was."

"You are."

"You know what, captain. I'd really like to call you a 'meanie' but I cant."

"And why is that?"

"Well...IT'S BECAUSE I'M ALREADY A WOMAN AND SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT IS IMPROPER! WA-HAHAHAHA-HA!"

"You're out of your mind."

"I'm not. It has been ten years taichou! I can say that I've matured and changed enough unlike someone I know. According to my sources, she still remains as cold as ice cream." The younger lady had a weird smile on her face and started to laugh.

"Really? I wonder who that is. Ice cream? You're funny." The advocate took her seat and stared at the one in front of her. She had a serious look on her face and seemed to notice that her friend was holding another box, aside from the box of cake that she placed on the table before. "So?"

"I found this in front of our door before I was about to leave for work earlier."

"And?"

"Just take a look."

She took the box and opened it.

"This...this is-"

"What a pleasant view! Taichou looked really surprised!"

"Stupid. This isn't a laughing matter."

"I know. But you're still funny!"

"Enough. How about the others? Do they know about this?"

"I don't think so. The one who sent this said that it's better if you're the one who will let the others know."

"Alright. Let's talk about this at home. But please prepare plane tickets immediately. We will head back to the Philippines in two weeks."

"Okay. I'll see you later then."

Why is this happening? After all these years...

The young delegate wanted to think about what's going on but her sense of responsibility prevented her from doing so. Instead, she arranged all the papers she needed and placed them in a suitcase. A few seconds more, she quietly went out of the room.

"Monarie, where is Atty. De Leon?"

"Ms. Pia? She's at room C205."

"Thank you. Please inform her that I'll be coming."

"Yes, ma'am."

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"Here is the written report based on the witness' testimony I submitted before the hearing the other day."

"Thank you. Did you find anything else?"

"Yes."

"Would that be the reason why our witness changed her mind the other day?"

"You've seen through me, Atty. Perez."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Perhaps it is. Anyway, Let's get back to the subject."

"Right. So what did you find?"

"The day after I wrote the report, and the day before the hearing, our witness went to a hospital. When I investigated, I found out that she's pregnant and..."

"And?"

"The father of her baby is the defendant."

The confident lawyer grinned.

"You're grinning to much. You look like a devil, you know."

"It's your fault. With the last thing you said, it's as if you're also implying that you're pretty sure that I'd win this one."

"Am I wrong?"

--

"No! Atty. Perez is lying! I didn't see anything that night! She paid me and promised to give me a larger sum of money if I stood as a witness!"

--

"You're a liar, attorney. I had hoped that you understood what I was feeling. I believed in you!"

--

"Why did you lie?"

"Leave me alone attorney. I don't have anything to do with you!"

"You were the one who forced me to believe you, to use you as my witness, and now you're saying that you don't have anything to do with me anymore after what you've done today?"

"Just leave me alone!"

--

"-ney? Attorney? Atty. Perez? SHEA!"

"Wh-what?!"

"You're spacing out."

"I-I am? I-I...was?"

"Do you want me to repeat it?"

"No, you don't have to."

"Is there something bothering you?"

"Nothing, really. I just remembered something." And I also had a weird dream last night.

"But Mr. Lozada was right when he filed a motion to reset. In that way, he will still have a chance to win the case."

"Yes, and he almost did. That witness actually scared the hell out of me."

"She sure did. You've never lost in any case you handled. And you're going to win this one too. I'm serious."

"That's thanks to you."

"Don't mention it. What are partners for?" She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow at 1p.m. Don't be late. The justice will get angry."

"I know that."

Shea's partner went out of the room afterward. She walked out of the room as well and started to prepare for tomorrow's 'battle.'

Subject: Re: GOTEI 4: CHAPTER 3 - THE JURISPRUDENT Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:04 pm

PART 2

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The sound of the noisy streets can be heard outside the busy office building where a lot of people could be seen working. The day was still young, but the aura of the berth grew old as the people congested in it kept on making themselves persevering.

There were lots of things to do. Reports are to be passed the next day, few more articles are to be edited today, and getting everything work smoothly was a tough job.

“So your friend iced her opponent again, didn’t she?” A young man, wearing eyeglasses and holding a cup of coffee in his hands, asked the pretty and cheerful girl sitting in front of him.

“Yeah, she did.” She answered while smiling.

“I envy her. But I’m not saying that I want to be just like her. I mean, with all the things she had to do, like gather information, look for pieces of evidence, that’s not really my thing. It’s amazing how she keeps everything organized and gets them finished right on time.”

“Well, she is that kind of person."

“Right. The defendant must be crying after what happened to him yesterday. He was denying everything and out of the blue, the witness, who also denied everything the previous hearing, got berserk and ruined the smooth flow of the hearing. He must be so pissed off since his only chance of being proven not guilty was taken away.”

“I wonder about that. Anyway, is this okay? Please edit these articles as early as possible. Boss wants them to be published tomorrow.” The lady, wearing her usual semi-formal attire handed out a couple of papers.

“Alright.” The man paused, examined his co-worker as she started to type after facing the computer on her desk. “You seem quiet today. Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened. It’s just that there are a lot of things to be taken care of.”

“Ah, you’re right. I just remembered something. You’re about to leave in, mm...let’s see, more or less two weeks, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

The young man wondered, letting his thoughts run through his head and he didn’t seem to believe that everything was alright with his friend.

“Nothing much. I’ll check these papers and hand them over to you later on. Just give me at least thirty minutes.”

“Okay, thanks.”

The brunette girl took a look at her watch and sighed after realizing that it was already noontime. She had to finish five more articles and her friend was waiting for her. They were to meet in an hour. She hadn’t even taken her lunch yet. She arranged her stuff and started to get back to work, hoping that she would finish everything in time.

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“You’re late Mikee. How unexpected.”

“I’m sorry taichou, I had to finish everything before I leave.”

“Don’t mind it. Have you made the necessary preparations?”

The girl seated, facing her friend while taking a look at the surrounding. They were staying on the seats outside a coffee shop stationed at a large mall. The buildings beside them were all tall and classy. She worked as an editor in a well-known newspaper but their office was not as flashy as the ones on her sight right now. Somehow, she felt envious knowing that her former captain had her law firm in one of these buildings.

“Yes. But, will it be alright?”

“I don’t know. We have to meet the others as soon as possible and decide on things together. We can’t go back on A* on ourselves. It’s far too dangerous.”

“I understand. Taichou, however; don’t you think it’s really weird? A* sent an emergency message out of the blue. When you think about it, with the Gotei 13 with them, things like that won’t be a problem, right?”

“Yes. That’s why it’s bothering me as well. I don’t think I’m able to grasp everything this time. Something’s missing in this puzzle. In any case, stay alert and make sure you get the response of the other three.”

“Okay!” Her previous gloomy aura changed surprisingly.

“Now you’re cheerful. Weird.”

“Of course, I’m nervous about all the emergency and stuff, but I’m more excited.”

“Why would you be excited?”

“Are you saying that you can also be this dense at times, captain?”

“I’m not dense.”

“Oh c’mon! Or is it because you’re more excited than I am and you just don’t want to admit it?”

"Incorrect."

"You're so dishonest taichou!"

The younger girl pouted. She didn't seem to notice but the other one gave an unexpected smile as she turned her head away.

“It’s been a decade. I don’t really know what to say to them after we get to meet them again.”

“You’re worrying about that? WAHAHAHA!” A familiar laugh was heard. “Don’t worry, I know all of them are very proud of you.”

“I just hope so.”

“But really, what could they all have been doing right now?”

“I wonder.”

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The studio looked neat as usual. Video cameras, large microphones, everything remained the same. It was six thirty in the morning and everyone in the set were already prepared for another day of work.

“Jhen, here’s your guide. Remember, don’t just go reading them while on air.”

A woman on her thirties appeared in front of a younger woman, handing over a couple of papers containing news to be delivered today. The other one, on the otherhand, accepted everything with a sweet smile.

“I won’t. Thanks.”

“Ms. Jhen? Please get ready. We’re going to be on air in ten minutes.” A man interrupted.

“Okay. I’ll see you later Ms. Vena.”

Jhen uttered and she proceeded to the desk. She sat comfortably with her colleague, Guian. The young man beside him looked sophisticated, but something told Jhen that he wasn’t. Perhaps it was because…

“You look pretty today as well, Jhen.” Guian said while holding his chin. He was having a very weird yet somewhat scary smile on his face.

“Knock it off, Guian. You’re saying that every single day.”

“I mean it.”

“You don’t.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I don’t."

“Do you hate me?”

“I do.”

“Aww! Why don’t you act like a lady sometimes, Jhen? “

“I am.” The girl looked at the papers lying in front of her. She seemed a bit pissed.

“Say, Jhen…why don’t you go out with me tonight?”

“I’m sorry, but I have some other things to attend to.”

“Not again!”

“I have to pick someone up tonight.”

“You? Pick someone up? Tonight? What kind of joke is that? Oh, wait. Don’t tell me you’re a-”

“I’m meeting a friend! Enough of the surprised facade Guian, you’re way out of tune and I’m getting tired of it."

Jhen shouted and everyone was shocked. They had never seen her that mad before. After a few seconds, everyone else went back to work and the show aired at exactly seven in the morning.

Hours passed swiftly and the sun had already set. The city remained busy but the thousands of lights scattered all over it made it look beautiful and stress-relieving at the same time. The cold breeze of the night made it appear more calm as it appeared to be, and the fact that every hardworking person in this busy place had already gone home and started to rest, made it even more reassuring.

Jhen drove all her way to NAIA, keeping her heartbeat as slow as possible. Her looks may hide the fact that she is quite piqued about what's going to occur, but her inner self isn't the cooperative type. She felt really nervous but the feeling of happiness and longing kept her on track. After a few more minutes, she reached her destination and made her way through the parking lot. She parked her car in the nearest slot as probable, so she can hurriedly welcome her friends back. She went inside the elevator, her heart beating the other way she wanted it to beat. Moments more, she arrived at the waiting station and patiently waited.

"Jhen obaa-saaaaaaaan~" Jhen was glad to hear that voice once again. She smiled as two familiar faces approached her, the other one waving her hands in excitement.

"How was the trip?" She asked.

"Boring as usual. You had to sit for almost thirteen hours and the food sucks!" The cheerful one answered.

"It would have been better if I didn't bring this brat along." The other one followed.

"Same as ever. Your seriousness makes me want to laugh for eternity." Jhen spoke, and started to laugh.

Soon enough, they found themselves laughing out of that simple statement. The nostalgic feeling enveloped them, and they were having the greatest smiles and laughs of their lives.

This...how I missed this feeling. Jhen said to herself.

"Shall we go home for now? I've prepared something for you."

"Really? Yey! Let's go Jhen obaa-san~"

"It's onee-san, faggot."

They got into the car and Jhen started to drive them off.

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And that's the end of the third chapter! The former fourth division captain appears! What will happen next? :>

I'm sorry if this chapter's tooooo boring. Forgive me for the Law terms, but that's how it's supposed to be.. ~.~

P.S.

Ate pia, if you're reading this, sorry. Haha. I know you hate Law that much.. Sorry if I assigned you in the most unexpected profession you'd ever imagine.. >.<

Subject: Re: GOTEI 4: CHAPTER 3 - THE JURISPRUDENT Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:24 pm

MOORREEEE!!!!!!!!

I.DEMAND.IT.

Subject: Re: GOTEI 4: CHAPTER 3 - THE JURISPRUDENT Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:25 am

Somehow, I'm going into 2 minds whether I'd want to know/read the next chapter wahahha. . .<(^^'<)

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