Wow. How long has it been since I submitted anything? But here's my latest story. Hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer 1: I hold no creative rights to Project X Zone or any series mentioned in this fic.

Disclaimer 2: As of now, I am only familiar with the Ace Attorney franchise. All other series involved in this story I know only through Project X Zone 2 itself and what my admittedly limited research has revealed to me. If I got any details wrong, understand this was not intentional.

Turnabout X Zone

The familiar chime of the Steel Samurai theme song caught Phoenix's attention almost immediately. He looked at his phone's screen for the caller information: "Unknown Number." With some trepidation, he pressed the answer button. "Wright & Co. Law Offices, Phoenix Wright speaking," he greeted.

"Ah, Mr. Wright," the voice on the other side returned. The man's voice was deep and boisterous; Phoenix could easily imagine someone pretty large in stature. "I was hoping to speak with you about some current legal trouble I'm having."

"What sort of trouble are we talking about, Mr.…?" Phoenix realized the man hadn't even introduced himself.

"Mishima. Heihachi Mishima. And to answer your question, I'm being accused of smuggling some… very dangerous substances."

Phoenix took out a notepad and quickly scribbled the details he just heard. "What sort of substances?"

"Actually, it's kind of a complicated matter," Heihachi said. "I think it'd be better if we met in person."

"Oh, um, of course. Are you at the detention center right now? I could easily be there in half an hour."

Heihachi laughed. "Two corrections, Mr. Wright. One, I haven't actually been charged just yet."

Phoenix paused at this; not charged? "Um, Mr. Mishima, you'll forgive me if I find this all just a bit… irregular. Between your vagueness and you not being arrested, this is starting to get a little on the uncomfortable side."

"I just said I haven't been charged yet. But with the evidence I've already seen against me, I figure it's not long before the authorities start breaking out the arrest warrant. And I'd rather have a pretty darn good lawyer on retainer before that happens."

Phoenix stood by his earlier assertion; this was irregular. Still, it wasn't completely unreasonable. Besides, he could always turn him down if he seemed too shady.

"Fair enough, I suppose," he conceded. "So you said there were two corrections; what's the second?"

"This case is going to take you a little farther from home than you're used to."

"How far? Out of town? Out of state?"

"Kamurocho."

"Kamurocho?" Phoenix repeated to himself. "Wait, Japan?!"

"I wasn't kidding when I said I needed a good lawyer. I'd just like to improve the odds a little. And from what I've heard, you can pull off some pretty incredible miracles."

Phoenix balked; was this guy serious? After a moment of processing, he turned back to the phone. "Um, Mr. Mishima, I don't exactly have the resources to travel out of the country. I don't know what you've heard about me or my work, but it doesn't pay nearly as well as you'd think."

Heihachi just laughed again. "Not to worry, Mr. Wright. I've already arranged for a private jet to bring you here. Two-way trip, too."

Private jet? Phoenix thought. This guy must be loaded. Clearly, he doesn't mess around. Phoenix thought some more. Whoever this Heihachi Mishima was, he was dedicated enough to not only hire a foreign lawyer, but also cover the airfare to get him there. At the very least, that last consideration made the risk of simply hearing him out less of an issue. Plus, he could get out of the office for a bit.

"Okay, Mr. Mishima, I'll hear you out. Just name the time and place."

Heihachi laughed yet again. "Glad to hear it. I'll send you an email with the time and location for our meeting, as well as the jet information. I'll see you there."The phone immediately shut off.

Phoenix took some time to consider what he had just agreed to. On the one hand, he was expected to travel across country borders to defend a man he had never even seen. On the other, all Heihachi had asked for was his time, even going so far as to put forward most of the work just to get him there. If Phoenix really was going to do this, though, he'd need to prepare. He'd have to grab a Japanese-English dictionary; it had been a few years since his last visit to Japan, but a refresher course never hurt (Maya, he figured, probably wouldn't have as many problems, given her heritage). He also decided he'd study up more on this Heihachi Mishima; if the man was rich enough to afford a private jet for a lawyer across the ocean, he probably had some sort of reputation to look into.

A smuggling case, huh? Phoenix thought to himself. Well, this should be a nice change of pace.