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It had been about six months since Barok’s trial had concluded. Since the day that Kazuma had demanded for him to mentor him. Which also meant six long months of him getting increasingly worse headaches every day. Part of Barok suspected the only reason Kazuma had even wanted him to continue mentoring him was for moments like these.
Just a few days after the trial had concluded, Kazuma’s dear friends had departed from England to return home to Japan. Over the past months, he and them would continuously write letters back and forth, which all seemed normal enough. Until the day that photo arrived.
It had come to the prosecutor’s office a few days ago, just like all the others. Barok truthfully didn’t care enough most the time to inquire about the contents of the letters, perhaps an occasional ask of how they were doing or the progress Ryunosuke was making as a lawyer, but nothing in too deep of detail. When the most recent letter had arrived, Kazuma was quiet for several moments before a huge grin graced his features. It wasn’t uncommon for him to smile while reading them, but he usually tried to keep the smile to himself. Naturally, Barok couldn’t help but be curious about the contents of it and asked what was written.
He quickly regretted asking as Kazuma gleefully came over to him and showing him not a letter, but a photograph. Captured on said photograph was Ryunosuke and Susato standing in front of grave next to a tree overlooking the sea. They stood on opposite sides of the grave, huge mischievous smiles on their faces as they had poses like they had just done Herlock Sholmes’ great deduction dance.
“I… I’m afraid I don’t quite understand the humor in this,” Barok told him as he studied the photo.
“You see the grave?”
“It’s certainly hard to miss.”
“Since you don’t understand Japanese, I’ll translate what’s on the grave for you,” Kazuma’s grin only widened, “it says ‘Asougi Kazuma’.”
Barok was silent for a moment before sighing as he rubbed his forehead. The younger man’s humor never failed to confuse him.
“I’m going to show this to everybody I meet,” Kazuma stated proudly.
“My learned friend, that is a horrible idea. You are going to deeply confuse and worry many people.”
To Barok’s utmost annoyance, Kazuma did exactly what he said he was going to. When they were called to a murder scene, the trip just to get outside of the prosecutor’s office took much, much longer than it should’ve. Kazuma had stopped nearly every prosecutor on the way out, insisting they look at the picture of his beloved partner and little sister at his grave. Barok was right in that this confused damn near everybody, with them just staring or blinking at Kazuma. After about ten minutes of this charade, Barok was all but dragging Kazuma out of the building, telling him an actual crime had occurred that they needed to go check out.
Unfortunately for Barok, arriving at the scene would only cause more problems for him.
Of course, at the scene of the crime was none other than Herlock Sholmes. He had half a mind to just turn around and take himself and Kazuma back to the office, but Kazuma had already seen Herlock and was making his way over towards him. It was less than a moment later that he heard Herlock breaking into fits of laughter.
“My dear fellow, this is priceless! Aha I’m glad Miss Mikotaba and Mr. Ryunosuke have such a good sense of humor, as this is definitely one of the best things I have seen of late,” Herlock said, swiping away tears from his laughter which had drawn the attention of several detectives.
“For God’s sake would you two pull yourselves together?! We’re at a murder scene for crying out loud!” Barok interjected, having enough of this already.
“A much better sense of humor than some of us here,” Kazuma smirked, crossing his arms, “van Zieks here can’t seem to appreciate anything with an ounce of humor to it.”
“I can appreciate humor when it’s actually humorous. That photograph is nothing of the sorts, it’s just morbid.”
“Mr. Reaper, come now and lighten up. Would it not be hilarious if you were to be presumed dead and then I and Mr. Asougi here took pictures of us at your grave to send you since you were actually alive?”
“No, it would not. It makes me sick thinking of it,” he frowned then added on, “and I absolutely do not want the two of you near my grave.”
“I think I would have the expressions of Ryunosuke and Susato-san at Lord Barok’s grave even if he were actually dead,” Kazuma said with a thoughtful look.
Barok had so desperately wished he had a hallowed chalice to throw or crush right then.
That exchange had happened two days ago and Barok had had a bit of peace since then. Kazuma was the prosecutor in that case and was too focused on building the case to be bothering Barok with such matters. Yesterday, Kazuma had secured a guilty verdict for the defendant and had decided to take the rest of the day off. It was unusual for him to do that, but Barok truthfully didn’t care why as long as he could have the rest of the day in peace. He just prayed tomorrow the photograph would be forgotten and he would never have to see or think of it ever again.
Of course, that wasn’t the case. First thing in the morning Kazuma had come in, holding a frame with that damned photograph, and telling Barok he was going to hang the picture in their office, where everyone who came in could see it.
“You are not framing that photograph in our office.”
“Why not?”
“Must I really explain how deeply disturbing it is to have a photograph of your friends at your supposed grave hanging on the wall?” Barok sighed, pouring himself a glass of wine, feeling a headache coming on.
“It’s not disturbing, it’s hilarious,” Kazuma told him before glancing around the room, his eyes landing on Barok’s barrels of wine, “besides which one of us here has dozens of barrels of old wine that one could easily mistake as caskets?”
“Objection!” Was the only thing that felt right for Barok to say as he stood from his desk and threw his hallowed chalice, “the only people to think those are caskets are fools. And they aren’t just “some old barrels of wine”, they’re fine vintage! Some of my most prized possessions.”
“And this photograph is my most prized possession! I’ll never have anything better.”
Barok gave him a heavy sigh in return, “pray forgive the discourtesy, my learned friend, but there is something deeply wrong with you.”
“Did it really take this long for you to figure that out?” Kazuma scoffed, then walked over to the wall opposite the door, “I’m hanging this up here and nothing you do or say can change my mind.”
Barok sighed once more, looking as if he had regretted every life decision he had ever made as Kazuma hung it up. The older man knew he had lost this battle the second those words left Kazuma’s mouth. Even if he took it down or ripped it, all it would lead to would be a fight that Gina Lestrade would have to break up, and he knew she would immediately take his apprentice’s side. Besides that, Kazuma could just ask the young defense lawyer and judicial assistant to send him another one, which would just prompt him into being even more obnoxious about it.
No, he would just have to deal with this, he thought to himself as he poured wine into another chalice, which would quickly lead to several refills needed.