A suited man in sunglasses approached Clemont and whispered in his ear.

"Mister Tajiri has hired a lawyer to defend your case, Mister Citron"

But he didn't care. If there's one thing he knew at that moment, it was that he was getting pretty sick of 'Mister Tajiri'. All he wanted right now was 'Ash'. And he wasn't mistaken thinking his friends sitting behind him were thinking the same.

Despite these feelings of hopelessness, there was a glimpse of fascination in him when, sitting opposite him in the courtroom, was indeed Lysandre. How unfortunate that the only real parts of his dream were the awful ones.

"Do you solemnly swear that you will well and truly try this case before you, and a true verdict render, according to the evidence and the law so help you God?"

At least he had his translator, otherwise he would struggle more as an American being arrested in Korea for a crime committed in Japan.

"Yes"

Even to him his voice sounded dull and tedious, but he couldn't help it, and there wasn't really a point anyway.

"On one side is Mr. Tajiri and his lawyer, Xerosic. On the other side is the accused Mister Citron and Lawyer Ji from Hong Kong"

It felt like a Pokemon battle.

Plus, it was a little funny. His lawyer would have an accent influenced by native Cantonese, and Ash in his dream was from a place called Kanto.

"Mister Citron. Witnesses say they saw you angrily leaving the building, then entering back just moments before the power cut. Considering your qualifications and history as an inventor, you are accused of intentionally causing the power cut"

Now that he thought about it, he may have done it after all. But after that surreal experience that turned out to be a dream, he didn't know anything anymore.

"The officers who interrogated you say that you claimed to have never committed the crime, but when Mister Tajiri came to defend you, he did not propose a theory like you said before"

If only Alain was there to testify, since he also heard the theory. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he wasn't there.

"Mr. Tajiri, owner of the tech hub of which you allegedly cut the power, also claims that there has been no development of sound-sensitive technology in his lab, also contradicting your claims"

He constantly felt uneasy. He was sure everyone else did, too, after the dream. But not Ash. Not strong Mister Tajiri, who went on with his life doing business and performing at concerts like nothing happened.

"But what motive would Mister Citron have in order to reasonably cut the power? He has no history of mental illness, and he owns a translator that Mister Tajiri was reportedly seen holding, so perhaps he re-entered the building to retrieve it?"

At first he thought Ash was the only one who'd figure that out. But turns out it was just common sense. Well, there was a good surprise for once. He'd assume Ash had no common sense.

"Then how would you explain the power cutting moments after he re-entered? And I'm not exactly sure he has no history of mental illness. He claimed he heard a scream, which no other witnesses in the building heard"

His head was down the whole time. He didn't care. Not anymore.

"He claims there was another man in the room while he was being interrogated. Why don't we question that witness?"

He was sure he heard the Professor sigh at that moment. But he didn't really care whether Alain would show up or not. He just wanted to sleep. Go into a deep sleep for a long time. But that was called a coma. Maybe Ash could tell him what that was like after he got him his job back.

"Mister Citron is clearly deluded. He belongs in a mental health institution!"

"Your honour-"

His mind was just blank. He didn't care what happened, what was happening or what was going to happen. He felt a little sorry for his lawyer, having to defend someone who wasn't even listening. But that was pretty much it.

Until he heard and understood his name.

"Clemont, look!"

He'd already been through enough. Looking at something couldn't do much at this point, right?

Oh, but it could.

Not only had the lawyer managed to convince the entire court of his innocence, but he wasn't just any lawyer. He didn't even expect that this person would be a lawyer.

"So, as you can see, Mister Citron deserves his job back as an intern. He is not deluded and has never had the intention to impact public services, or commit any crimes in general. I just think maybe..."

His eyes found light as he looked at Ash.

"...I think maybe he feels betrayed. He was just getting to know me, then all of a sudden his opportunities and his freedom are in danger"

It was like he could read his mind.

"But he should know that it was never my intention to jeopardise his career, a field he is a genius in and has worked hard on. Trust me. I haven't just seen it in real life"

His hopelessness, loss of faith, dullness. All of it was drowned out like it never existed.

"Science is so amazing", Ash preached, "And he deserves to show us how true that is"

A hammer hit a surface, and just like that, they had everything back.

"You're a lawyer in Hong Kong? In Japan you're Satoshi, In Korea you're Han Jiu, and in Hong Kong you're Siu Ji. What's next? China?"

"I'm not really a 'qualified' lawyer. But it's alright, this isn't a real courtroom either"