Witness Testimony: Asuka Yakushi

//in order to not have a storyline about a trial take as long as an actual trial, I will be splitting the witness testimony segments into their own stories. I'll only be addressing the most important testimonies, leaving the ones with less impact on the storyline out. Day 2, Asuka Yakushi. After being called to the stand, Asuka is sworn in, and Litigious Exculpation approaches to begin questioning. (https://youtu.be/RJ5eklOlrQE?si=UrImyqOzj3xHHCFb) "For the record, please state your name, occupation, and relation to Mr. Yakushi." Litigious' tone is calm, and practiced. He's done this hundreds of times before. Likewise, Asuka's voice is calm, and practiced. She's no stranger to giving testimony, thanks to her career as a paramedic. "Asuka Yakushi, Advance Care Paramedic, and I'm his sister." Litigious nods, then continues. "Now, Ms. Yakushi, could you please recall for the court what happened on the night of January 10th?" Asuka gives a short nod. "That was the day just after our band had a battle against the Canterlot Symphony Battle Orchestra. We had decided to split up that day, then meet at the Rock n' Stop Diner for dinner at 8:30. Myself, Scrappy, and my niece, Cookie decided to have a 'girls day', and when we went to go meet the others afterwards, Scrappy told us about a shortcut she used all the time when she lived here. She lead us into an alleyway that seemed fine at first, but when we got a few steps in, my gut told me something was wrong. Before I could tell Scrappy we needed to leave, 5 men blocked our path, with one behind us. All of them were armed with some sort of weapon. I grabbed my niece, and held her close. They told us to hand over our purses, so, I did. I threw mine to the one in front. Scrappy was completely frozen, so I tried to call out to her. Then one of them shot me in the shoulder with a homemade crossbow. The one in the front threatened that they'd do something to Scrappy if she didn't hand over her purse too." Asuka pauses for a moment, taking a deep, partially shuddering breath. "Then, I heard one of them ask 'Hey boss, do you think we could get more than money out of them?' Then, I knew we had to run, as soon as possible. I started looking for a way out, then, I heard the sound of metal against a skull, a thud, then my brother was in front of us. He took a swing at the man in the front, but missed. I picked up my niece with my good arm, and yelled at Scrappy to run. I turned, and started running as fast as I could, but it took Scrappy a second to follow me. A few seconds after we got out of the alleyway, she told me she knew where the nearest guard station was, and to follow her. I think it took us about 3 minutes to get there, and after we told the guards there what happened, they sent some guards out to respond." Then, Litigious serves up a question to really hammer things home. "Do you think the men who attacked you would have let the three of you go if you had given them what they asked for?" A voice calls out from the prosecution's table. "Objection! Speculation, Your Honor!" Judge Vindicant responds with a calm "Overruled." His eye then looks to Asuka. "Please continue, Ms. Yakushi." Litigious knows that objection wasn't entirely serious. The prosecution is testing the waters. Seeing how lenient, or strict Judge Vindicant will be. He suspects they'll come to the same conclusion he has.  Asuka takes another breath. "No sir. I think... I think they planned to do far worse to us. I feared that if we didn't get out of there as soon as possible... We might never be seen again." Litigious' tone shifts to a more sincere, empathetic tone for a moment. "I'm sorry you had to go through such a harrowing experience." He lets Asuka's words settle in for a moment before continuing with his next question, back to his normal, calm, professional tone. "Your response to all this seems rather level headed, and calm. Have you experienced situations like this before?" Asuka nods again. "Similar, but not exactly the same. I'm experienced, and trained in high stress situations. Such as knife attacks, fires, and being shot at." "You trained for all that as a paramedic?" "Some. Most of that kind of training comes from the 6 months I spent in Vanhoover's Tactical Paramedic Program. We were trained to handle high stress situations, render aid in those situations, and even on how to operate small caliber firearms." "Are you licensed to carry a firearm, then?" "Yes sir, but I don't typically carry one on my person. I wasn't on the 10th." "Were you carrying any weapons on your person at all?" "No sir... I thought Canterlot was safe." Out of the corner of his eye, Litigious sees Judge Vindicant's mouth crease ever so slightly. A barely perceptible frown. "No further questions, Your Honor." The cross examination by the prosecution is brief, and Litigious doesn't think they make much headway. They question Asuka on her brother's actions, and while she knows her brother is protective, and is willing to fight to protect others, she'd never known him to try to kill anyone. He's gotten into plenty of fights before, but always knew when to stop. This is the first time she's ever heard of him so much as hitting someone while they're down. She believes that he likely thought she, Scrappy, and his daughter were in life-threatening danger, and saw red. Afterwards, Asuka is dismissed, and returns to her seat in the gallery. The trial continues.