Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ryuunosuke almost didn’t dare to entertain the thought. But that posture, demeanor and aura, it had to be Kazuma, right? The masked man had not uttered a single word in their brief exchange at the prosecutor’s office and yet, if Ryuuonsuke tried to recall his best friend’s resounding voice in his head, it would fit that stature just right.

He looked down to the memento attached to his hip and unfastened the katana that once belonged, no, still belonged to Kazuma. Caressing the stark red hachimaki wrapped around the scabbard, Ryuunosuke hoped his dear friend would be satisfied with how he’d taken care of the blade in his absence. Not that he had ever unsheathed or polished the blade, only keeping it with him, keeping Kazuma’s soul close and safeguarded.

Strongly suspecting Kazuma to be alive, he could finally look at Karuma without sorrow, reminiscence or tears clouding his vision. The craftsmanship was truly beautiful. Wanting to fully appreciate the katana, he slid his hand from where the red band was wrapped outwards, gliding across different textures on the way. At the end, Ryuunosuke’s fingers found themselves fiddling around the hilt, when he suddenly felt the end of the hilt twist out of place.

“Aaahhhhh! No, no, no, no, no!” Ryuunosuke panicked, believing he had broken Kazuma’s precious soul. “Please, don’t be beyond repair! I could never face Kazuma again if you broke, Karuma!”

In his frenzy to undo the damage, he scrambled around, causing the whole end part to come off and Ryuunosuke felt like screaming in despair, until he saw a small paper roll slide out from the hilt. Ryuunosuke dumbfoundly stared at the parchment for a solidminute and took that moment to calm down.

“Okaaay”, Ryuunosuke uttered to himself and pointed a finger towards the roll. “So, if this was inside Karuma and came out when the head was twisted, then that must have been an intentional feature, which in turn means it is not broken.”

Satisfied with that reasoning, Ryuunosuke let out a sigh of relief. Kazuma would not need to behead him for damaging the Asougi heirloom then. Having reassured himself, his curiosity surfaced and he picked up the paper that had once been stored inside Karuma. Part of him felt guilty for wanting to examine this paper. After all, it could be something Kazuma wanted to keep as a secret. However, it could also be something for emergencies that his friends left for Ryuunosuke if anything would go awry and he had to leave his dearest blade behind.

Justifying his actions, he proceeded to unwrap the paper roll and was surprised to see it written in English, in scarlet ink oddly enough. While also extremely neat and curvy, it was certainly not Kazuma’s handwriting either. Could it have been his father’s? But why would it be written in English then?

It dawned on him that he barely knew anything about Kazuma’s family. It was a topic they never really brought up. Whenever they’d be on that track, Kazuma had almost always shifted the conversation into yet another history lesson about Karuma, so his immediate family was clearly a sore subject for Kazuma, but also showed that he still held deep respect for part of his family history.

Susato had mentioned that Kazuma came to live in the Mikotoba household shortly after the professor had returned from England, so it was likely that Kazuma didn’t have any parents left alive. Ryuuosuke’s heart ached at the thought that Kazuma had to bear that pain alone and that he had never mentioned any of it to him. Had Kazuma been worried about Ryuunosuke being saddened by that information? Of course it would have pained him, but more than anything, he would have given his life to support and comfort his best friend.

He glanced back down at the writing and felt the unease creep back into him. The first sentence carried an ominous tone:

…Who wrote this? Could it possibly have been Kazuma himself after all? No, nothing about Kazuma suggested he knowingly had been walking towards his own death. Well, except, perhaps… whatever it was that had been weighing on his dear friend’s mind all those months before they set off on their journey to the British Empire. He had attempted to bring up his mission a few times, yet never able to follow through... No. Ryuunosuke shook his head and slapped his cheeks. Kazuma had been full of determination and dreams. There was no need to continue on this train of thoughts.

Could it have been one of his parents? Did Kazuma’s father or mother really accept their death like that? Ryuunosuke felt like he was intruding on something very private, but the fact that this apparent will was written in English was bothering him immensely and the prelude he’d read would haunt him forever if he didn’t find out more.

His intuition was screaming at him that this will was important, in a way that most wills wasn’t, and so he steeled himself and let his eyes wander through the whole writing, absorbing its contents.

For each word he read, he felt more and more dread settle in his stomach like a bottomless pit, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

...This wasn’t a will. It was a confession and an accusation all at once. From Klimt van Zieks, confessing to be THE Professor, supposedly working under extortion from the Lord Chief Justice himself.

Ryuunosuke’s mind was reeling with questions and an onslaught of emotions. Was van Zieks’ older brother really the serial killer that haunted London ten years ago? Was he actually operating under Lord Stroghart’s orders? How was a member of the Asougi clan connected to all of this? Why the need to write this confession at all? How was Lord Stronghart not convicted? Had they not found who was pulling the Professor’s strings? Then why on earth was this confession hidden inside Karuma and not being used as evidence?

The questions kept stacking faster than Ryuunosuke’s mind could keep up with. He needed answers and he needed them now.

Before Ryuunosuke had finished processing his thoughts, he had descended the stairs down to Sholmes’ suite. His eyes darting around in a frenzy, he found what he was looking for, a clock. He still had time to make an appointment with Lord Stronghart before the end of the day.

Neither Sholmes nor Iris were home at the moment, so he couldn’t inform them he might be late for dinner, but Ryuunosuke was sure they would understand. With that thought, he dashed out on Baker Street with Klimt van Zieks’ will in hand, and Lord Stronghart’s office in sight.

When Ryuunosuke arrived at the Lord Chief Justice’s Office, he beelined towards the secretary but stopped in his tracks as he saw Lord Stronghart himself enter the reception area.

“Lord Stronghart!” Ryuunosuke called out, completely out of breath, hoping to get the older man’s attention.

“Ah, Mr Naruhodou,“ Stronghart stopped, looking back at the exhausted lawyer and opening up his pocket watch. “While your appearance suggests you’d have something urgent to speak of, could it wait until tomorrow? I’m already one hour, twentyseven minutes and thirty six seconds late for my afternoon tea.”

“Apologies, Lord Stronghart,” Ryuunosuke got out in between his breaths. “But I really need some answers, it’s.. it’s...”. He couldn’t get the words out in between his desperate gulps of air. Taking a small break from speaking, Ryuunosuke reminded himself to slow down and properly formulate his thoughts. “It’s about the Professor case, I found van Zieks’ will and-”

“Not another word about the Professor case here!” Stronghart interrupted with a hiss, snapping his watch shut and warily eying the paper in Ryuunosuke’s hand. He then clapped his hand on the young man’s shoulder and spoke with a voice that, despite asking a question, gave no room for refusal. “Won’t you join me in my office, Mr Naruhodou.”

The interior of the Lord Chief Justice’s Office had always made Ryuunosuke feel abysmally insignificant in relation to the great machinery of law and society. During this visit, however, the grand clockworks were emitting an even more oppressive sound than usual. Despite that, the gears were not the most intimidating presence in the chamber; Lord Stronghart was currently scrutinising him from head to toe with a stare that would render even the bravest of men speechless.

“Well, spit it out! What did you say you have in your hand there?”

Ryuunosuke gulped, any illusion that this would be a pleasant meeting shattering immediately, and tried opening his mouth to speak, but no words would come out and he was stuck gaping like a fish out of the water.

The Lord Chief Justice’s patience with the attorney was clearly growing thin. “If you can’t find the words yourself, then give it to me and I’ll inspect it myself.”

This finally triggered some progress in overcoming his speaking troubles. “No, no, wait! I- er, it was a will…ehm,” he sputtered, only to trail off towards the end and his words were once again stuck in his throat.

“My patience wears thin, boy!” Stronghart bellowed, pointing his scepter towards the Japanese lawyer.

Ryuunosuke yelped and immediately straightened his back in response to the roaring voice. As if a gate had opened, his tongue moved rapidly, scrambling together an explanation that poured out of his mouth at a quick pace. “It was Klimt van Zieks’ will in which he confessed to the crimes of the Professor and it also stated you were extorting him!”

Everything went quiet.

He hadn’t realised he had closed his eyes during his ramble, but his face was completely scrunched up, as if it was him awiting judgment and not the other way around. But there was something terribly intimidating about the Lord Chief Justice. If the words written by the older van Zieks were true, then he would definitely not be above blackmail or possibly other, even more vile methods…

The silence was unsettling. “Please don’t kill me,” Ryuunosuke whispered, still flinching away from Stronghart.

With a dead serious tone, Lord Stronghart asked: “And you believe those words to be true? What do you even know about the Professor?”

“Not much my Lord,” he replied carefully, avoiding the first question. “Just that the Professor was London’s most notorious serial killer in recent years and that Klimt van Zieks was the supposed last victim…”

“‘Supposed last victim’, you say,” Stronghart repeated. “Are you honestly doubting the efforts of those involved in investigating and solving that case? Many of them were the finest detectives, coroners and prosecutors we had to offer.”

“But this written confessio-”

“Do you truly believe,” the Lord Chief Justice interrupted with a demanding tone. “that they found the wrong man? Even if I was ‘extorting’ Prosecutor van Zieks, as you say, do you truly believe that our legal system wouldn’t have found Klimt van Zieks guilty of those crimes regardless?”

“It- it does sound unlikely,” Ryuunosuke admitted. “It would most probably require more people than yourself involved, in order to fool the whole Empire on the Professor’s identity.” He could see an approving glint grow in the Lord’s expression, but that was not to last for long. He steeled himself and met Stronghart’s eyes head on. “But, improbable as it is, it’s not impossible and I cannot disregard the evidence pointing towards it.”

Ryuunosuke could see a hateful fire starting to swirl in Stronghart’s burning gaze. He wasn’t wrong, there was some truth to what he was saying. “It seems you intend to question the foundation of the law our Empire is built upon,“ he spat. “Then, let me ask you this: why on Earth would multiple people want to conceal the fact van Zieks was the Professor?”

Ryuunosuke paused for a moment, contemplating. The Professor’s identity was already hidden from the public, so why would it matter to anyone who was convicted? Would it have mattered for those who were privy to the closed trial? The van Zieks family was of noble origin, could that have played a part?

Wait, he just realised that everything he had heard about the case indicated Klimt van Zieks hadn’t been declared guilty of the professor murders. Then surely that would mean that someone else had been convicted instead.

According to the writing in his hand, a certain Asougi had been the one to end the Professor’s life in a duel to death. The will had been well concealed inside Karuma, a katana that never left the side of Asougi under normal circumstances. If that was the case, then could it be…?

With newfound resolve, Ryuunosuke looked up at the towering man, settling into an accusing stance. “If I may ask you first, Lord Stronghart?” He paused for a second. No interruption. “By any chance, was the man arrested as the Professor Japanese?

It was brief, just flickering for a moment and less than half a year ago he would have assumed his mind was just playing tricks on him. But after months of participating in Sholmes’ dance of deductions, he was certain his observations were true: Lord Stronghart had reacted, his eyes widened in shock before they squinted, quickly turning neutral in an attempt to hide his inner response.

That was all the evidence Ryuunouske needed to be certain of his hypothesis. The man declared as the Professor had been wrongly accused, he had been Japanese and a relative of Kazuma’s, most likely his father.

And Lord Chief Justice Stronghart had orchestrated the whole ordeal.

“Where did you get that notion?” Lord Stronghart asked slowly after his initial, well contained shock.

“A lot of small details, but most prominently, the location I found this will in.”

“And where was that?” The older man inquired.

“Inside Karuma, a katana.”

“Asougi…” Stronghart sighed.

“Lord Stronghart,” Ryuunosuke began, glaring straight into the Lord’s eyes. “I believe a Japanese man by the name of Asougi has been intentionally wrongly arrested for the crime as the Professor in place of Lord van Zieks and that you’ve been pulling the wool over the eyes of London in regards to this.”

He took a deep breath and continued to voice his conclusions. “Not only did you fool the judiciary on the identity of the Professor, but you were pulling the strings of the murders!” His voice was rising in volume along with his conviction. “Mael Stronghart, the evidence in my hand is strongly implicating you of these actions. You will be served justice and I will speak to van Zieks about this after the resolution of my client’s trial tomorrow!”

Ryuunosuke found himself triumphantly pointing his finger at Lord Stronghart. The victorious feeling only lasted for a few more seconds, however, as the other man suddenly chuckled.

“Will you now?” He questioned, with an unsettling smile on his face.

At that moment, it dawned on Ryuunosuke exactly what kind of situation he had found himself in.

He was standing face to face with the mastermind behind the Professor killings. A man that had been able to bend a righteous prosecutor to his will and force him to commit multiple homicides. A man that had corrupted the whole legal system of the British Empire and avoided his own arrest for ten long years. A man that was physically larger and stronger than him and could probably snap his neck in mere seconds.

What he was holding in his left hand at the moment, was the missing piece of the picture. Without it, convicting Stronghart would be near impossible without unearthing more lies and lost evidence.

And he had brought that conclusive evidence right into the lion’s den.

“I am no brute, mister Naruhodou,” Stronghart stated calmly, as he saw the realisation sink into Ryuunosuke. “I did, however, hear that you have met with Lord van Zieks’ apprentice today, is that correct?”

Ryuunosuke did not like the direction this was going and considered lying for a hot second, but he had already begun speaking before his brain could relay that order.

“I- er, yes, I did.”

“Then, do you happen to know who he is?”

Ryuuonsuke felt his blood go cold. Stronghart knew. Stronghart knew the identity of the masked man and he knew Kazuma and Ryuunosuke were closely acquainted.

He willed his expression to remain as neutral as possible, frightened and nauseous at the prospect of showing any signs that would confirm Stronghart’s assumption about Kazuma. But before he had even opened his mouth to respond, the Lord Chief Justice interrupted.

“No need to waste my time with a verbal response, your face says it all,” he gloated with a smirk whilst polishing his scepter once again. Ryuunosuke cursed how easily everyone seemed to be able to read him. “I presume that you would not like anything… unfortunate, to happen to your fellow countryman.”

How could Stroghart say that with such nonchalance?

Ryuunosuke bit his lip. This was an impossible choice. Stronghart had obviously been able to keep his involvement in the Professor case concealed for ten whole years, which would mean the will was the strongest, possibly only, evidence left to implicate him. Could he really give up the truth?

It didn’t even take him a second to ascertain that, for Kazuma, yes, he could.

Stronghart apparently had no qualms of ordering the acting Professor to kill his victims, what’s to say he wouldn’t have Kazuma face the same fate or worse? Without his memories, Kazuma was in a terrifyingly vulnerable state, and Ryuunosuke would do anything to protect him from harm.

…Even surrender the most damning evidence he had ever laid his eyes upon.

Clenching his fists and taking a deep breath, Ryuunosuke glared daggers back at the hideous man. “You are a vile man, Mael Stronghart.”

Stronghart merely returned his glare with an amused look. “So you say, now what will it be, Mr Naruhodou?”

“I’ll give you the will,” Ryuunosuke declared, keeping his gaze steady. “But you must promise me not to hurt Asougi!”

“Of course, you have my word, I will not lay my hand on him,” Stronghart replied before pointing his scepter towards Ryuunosuke. “Now, the will, if you please.”

With barely contained frustration, Ryuunosuke handed over Klimt’s will to the man that had extorted him all those years ago.

As soon as the parchment touched Stronghart’s hand, he snatched it away from Ryuunosuke and skimmed through the lines, his grin getting wider and wider for every second, until he burst out in a maniacal laughter.

“Ohh, how Klimt and Genshin tried so hard to keep this little weapon of theirs hidden from me, only for this blundering idiot to find it and hand it to me on a silver platter!”
Ryuunosuke felt his own heart shatter as Stronghart tore apart the last written words of Klimt van Zieks. It’s for Kazuma, he had to remind himself, over and over again, trying to drown the sounds of ripping paper and laughter until it finally stopped.

“I had planned to remove you from your defense duties with immediate effect,” Stronghart began, which returned Ryuunosuke’s attention to the present. “However, as you so kindly brought to me what I’ve been looking for, I’ll allow you to see Mr Harebrayne’s trial through. See it as a form of thanks, both to you and prosecutor van Zieks.”

Biting his lips, Ryuunosuke glared back at Stronghart in contempt and bitterly said.

“Thank you, Lord Stronghart.”

“So polite,” Stronghart smirked and pointed his cane towards the law student. “Well, then, I believe our time is up for today, run along now.”

The clapping and laughter resounding in the Lord Chief Justice’s office as he walked away with a heavy heart would forever haunt Ryuunosuke.

Once he had gotten far enough to no longer hear the sound of his utter defeat, Ryuunosuke sank down in a puddle on the sidewalk. He couldn’t care less about his clothes getting soaked and dirty, everything felt hopeless.

The man pulling the strings of London’s most notorious serial killer had been going free for ten years already, and now, because of Ryuunosuke, he might never be served justice. Even if both Sholmes and Susato would believe him if he told them what had transpired, it didn’t mean a damned thing!

After all, evidence was everything in court and now that last piece of decisive evidence had been destroyed beyond repair.

It was all his fault! Gripping his head, he let out a desperate wail, curling up on himself and muffled his sobs on his knees. He was shaking and trembling, replaying the events of the afternoon in his head, still not quite believing how he could have been so foolish.

He wished Kazuma was here.

In the midst of his spiral of despair, he felt a hand gently grab his upper arm and shake him slightly, as if to ask if he was alright. Not in the mood to talk to anyone, Ryuunosuke burrowed his head further into his knees. Before he knew it though, the other person had crouched down in front of him and comfortingly began to rub where his hand was still holding onto Ryuunosuke.

They sat like that until Ryuunosuke's trembling had subsided and he finally dared to look back up at his companion. He was met by a snow white mask and a hood that covered the rest of the person’s features, but he didn’t need to see more to know. If he had had any tears left to shed, they would have been spilling again.

“Kazuma!” He exclaimed with a sob and threw his arms around the other. He felt his dearest friend tense up at first, but soon relenting and returning the embrace.

He was going to be alright. Kazuma was here with him! The two of them together could accomplish miracles! They had done so before and they would do it again! All of a sudden, picking a fight with Lord Stronghart didn’t seem impossible anymore.

Ryuunosuke pulled away a bit to better be able to look Kazuma in his eyes, or mask at least, and felt a grin slowly break through his grief.

“You said we were going to tear up the streets of London together, let’s take it up a notch.” He spoke with unusual tranquility, like the calm before a storm.

“It’s time to raise hell! Let’s unearth the deepest secrets London has to offer, partner!”