#asouryu

If Ryunosuke had to give his opinion on British prisons versus Japanese prisons, he would say that the Japanese kind was preferable. While he did not enjoy his time being locked up after being accused of murder, it felt much nicer than being in a British prison. Everything was dank and dark and cold and very unpleasant.

They were led down to the cell block housing those with upcoming trials, passing many people behind bars in plain clothes and not any prison uniforms. Most were either sleeping on their stiff wood beds or cowering in the back of their cell. A very sad sight.

“Here is your client,” the guard told them. “Prisoner fifty-three, your legal representative is here to see you! Stop hiding and come out!”

“Watashi wa nekodesu ka?” an annoyed voice came from the back of the cell. The guard groaned and mumbled something about ‘foreign gibberish’ under his breath before walking away.

“Am I hearing things, or…?” Ryunosuke started to say.

“Is he speaking Japanese?” Susato finished for him.

“Sir?” Kazuma called out to the prisoner. “Can we speak-”

“Quiet!” a man walked out of the shadows at the back of the cell and approached the iron bars. He was short, fairly stooped, with wild eyes and equally wild hair. He shook in fear and was constantly looking around as if to catch something out of the corner of his eye. “They’re all around me… hiding… laughing… listening… right now!”

There was a pause as pregnant as Ryunosuke before they tried talking again.

“Sir, my name is Kazu-”

“You’ve come to curse me!” the man shouted at Kazuma. “You’re a ghost, aren’t you?! You’ve come to put a curse on me!”

“Excuse me," Susato addressed the madman, "do you happen to be Japanese?"

"Oh joy!" The man's demeanor immediately changed. "To hear my native spoken by a fellow Japanese, it's beyond my wildest dreams!"

The man began to dramatically cry with happiness, babbling about how grateful he was to their country for sending him a top tier lawyer.

This feels… strangely familiar…

Less than three months before, Ryunosuke had been in his own cell cowering in fear. He was curled up on the cell futon trying to process what had just happened to him. In only a few short hours, he had gone from enjoying coffee with his best friend and lover, to being accused of murder and arrested.

I wish mother was here…

"Ryunosuke?" The sound of Kazuma’s voice pulled him back to his harsh reality.

“Kazuma!” Ryunosuke jumped up and flung himself at the cell bars. “I didn’t do it, I swear!”

"I know, I know," Kazuma reassured him. "I know you would never kill anyone."

"I don't know what happened, I picked up a pistol from the floor and I heard a gunshot but not from the gun I was holding but no one else had one and the waiter saw me and pushed me into a pantry until the police got there and…"

"I read the report," Kazuma stopped him from continuing to ramble. Ryunosuke had started to tear up and was now sobbing out his words. "It looks bad on the surface, but I will find the truth of this case and prove your innocence."

"You… you will?" Ryunosuke wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

"Of course, I'm going to be your defense attorney."

Ryunosuke pushed his arms through the cell bars and pulled Kazuma into a hug. Kazuma hugged him back, and enjoyed it for as long as he could before the nearby guard forced them apart. "Limited contact only," he told them.

"I’m still scared,” Ryunosuke admitted once the guard walked away. “Everyone keeps calling me a killer  and a heartless murderer. It's like they know I'll be found guilty."

"We both know you’re not, and I’m going to show the world the truth,” Kazuma smiled at him. “I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you.”

There were many things that Ryunosuke was thankful for that day. His lover was also a lawyer and believed his story. He was in a men's prison, versus a women's prison where Kazuma would not be allowed to enter. He did not yet know of his condition, which would have made the whole ordeal worse. Sadly, this prisoner did not seem to have as many things to be thankful for.

Current Ryunosuke shook himself out of his memories when he heard his name being repeated.

“Ryunosuke is an odd name for a woman,” the prisoner commented. “I think I’ve only met men named Ryunosuke.”

Out of everyone in London we could meet, we had to meet the one person who would know my name is masculine!

“Her parents expected a boy when she was born and kept the name anyway,” Kazuma calmly explained. “As I was saying, we are also here on a study tour and were told about your case.”

“And now you’re going to defend me, correct?” The man looked at them with pleading eyes.

“Mr. Natsume… I need time to put all the pieces together before I can make a promise like that…”

“You must have heard all the other lawyers talking about me then,” Natsume looked down dejectedly, his sad eyes watering. “They all say I’m a lost cause, a foreign nobody. I heard people call me hopeless, a lost cause, and some even said I wouldn’t understand what would be said at trial anyways. I’ve been branded as a killer and the trial hasn’t even started yet! And the poor girl isn’t even dead.”

“I can only imagine how it feels…” Kazuma gave Natsume some sympathy.

I can directly relate to him… all too well…

“Everyone here hates me. I’ve traveled across the world to study their history and literature only to be accosted and abused by everyone around me. My greatest wish would be to have a lawyer who can speak to me in my own native tongue.”

Kazuma took a long time to stare at the floor, calculating his next response.

“Give me some time… once I have a good look at the case then I’ll tell you if I will take it or not.”

“We feel that we must find some clues before committing to anything,” Susato added. “A thorough investigation will always give way to the truth!”

“Oh yes, please! Please, go find the proof that I am innocent! I will be waiting here for you, Mr Asogi Esquire!”

—

“So the woman just collapsed with no one else around them?” Ryunosuke asked as he was caught up on all the details he missed while daydreaming. They were riding in a carriage heading towards the East End where they would find the crime scene.

“That's how we understand it,” Kazuma nodded.

“But then how was he arrested if no one saw him?”

“According to him, the police brought in Mr. Sholmes to help,” Susato said. “He said he led the police right to him.”

“You mean, Mr. Herlock Sholmes?”

“I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing him again soon, and not for a casual visit,” Kazuma looked at the notes he had taken up to then. “I need to know exactly what evidence led him to Mr. Natsume. I can only hope that there's a flaw in his deduction, if Mr. Natsume is innocent, of course.”

“Do you not believe him?” Ryunosuke looked over at his husband. “He seemed very convincing to me. Much more believable than Mr. McGilded.”

“I can say he acted the part, but after yesterday's trial…” Kazuma looked down at his hands, “I feel like I can’t take a client’s word for their innocence. I need solid evidence.”

“I believe he’s innocent,” Ryunosuke said firmly. “The fear in his eyes looked real. I know that fear well.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kazuma took his hand and lightly squeezed it.

—

What began as a planned investigation became a wild goose chase as Gregson stonewalled them right at the crime scene. Despite Kazuma’s best efforts, the only information he was able to get out of the Detective was that there were witnesses to the crime, but they couldn't question them until the trial. This led them to discuss their next best step, which is when Susato took her chance.

“We can go see Mr. Sholmes at his home and ask him about the case. I’m sure he will tell us as much as he can about it!”

“Well, if we had his home address then we could do that…” Kazuma thought out loud.

“221B Baker Street! That's his address in the stories, I’m sure that it’s also his real address.”

Drawings from chapter 18 of Trials and Trimesters.

When they arrived at Baker Street, Susato wasted no time running to the building marked 221 and quickly but politely knocking on the door. The townhouse looked well kept, and whoever lived on the second floor looked to be fond of plants from how many they had sitting in their window boxes. They only had to wait a moment before the door was opened by a kindly looking older lady.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She greeted them.

"Hello, we're here to see Mr. Sholmes, please," Susato tried to hide her excitement, but failed.

"Come to see Mr. Sholmes? I can't promise that he is home, but I can see you in."

The lady led them inside the townhouse’s foyer and Ryunosuke immediately looked down at his feet.

"Kazuma, can you help me with my shoes?" Ryunosuke asked. "I can't take them off without sitting down."

"Westerners don't take off their shoes inside their homes," Kazuma informed him.

"... How strange…" He hadn't thought much about shoes at the boarding house, they didn't wear them in their own room, but inside a nice townhouse like this?

They must spend a lot of time cleaning their floors…

The lady, who Susato whispered was likely the landlady Mrs. Hudson from the short stories, led them up the stairs to the second floor. According to her, she was a woman with all the patience in the world with how long she rented to Mr. Sholmes and dealt with his antics.

"Mr. Sholmes, are you in?" Mrs. Hudson knocked on the second floor flat's door. "You have callers, a few young easterners."

"Hurley isn't home, but I can see them!" The strangely familiar voice of a young girl rang out from inside the flat. "You can let them inside, I'm just finishing a project."

Mrs. Hudson opened the door and let them enter. Susato was the first to enter, excitedly looking at all the odd items and contraptions lining the flat. Ryunosuke remembered Mr. Sholmes’s strange goggles and other devices he had with him on the Burya and it looked like he had a lot more where those came from. The flat toed the line between 'heavily decorated' and 'messy' with all the things sitting around it.

"I can't believe I'm standing in the same place as where the King of Bohemia hired Sholmes to retrieve his photo with Irene Adler…" Susato sighed.

"I hope the young lady here knows where he is," Kazuma said. "We're losing time with all this running around."

"This place smells awful," Ryunosuke complained. "There's a strange chemical smell in the air and it's making me nauseous."

"That would be from Hurley's part of the flat" a young girl with pink hair skipped into the room from what looked like a side room made into a kitchen. "No matter how long he's away or how much I air it out, the smell of his experiments still linger."

"Oh, I didn't mean…!" Ryunosuke suddenly felt very flustered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say your home smells bad. I'm pregnant and it's making my sense of smell weird. I'm sure to normal people it smells very pleasant."

"Well, I'll make us some tea to bring in a good smell, and it should help with nausea." As quickly as she appeared, she disappeared back into her little kitchen.

"... does she look familiar to you?" Ryunosuke asked Kazuma.

"Yes, she was the young girl we briefly met at yesterday's trial," Kazuma confirmed. "I thought the design of her weapons looked familiar."

"Do any of the stories mention Sholmes living with a young girl?" Ryunosuke asked Susato, but she was too absorbed in admiring the items around the flat to hear him.

"The tea is ready!" The girl returned a few minutes later carrying a tray with a tea set and a freshly baked cake. "Come sit down and we can talk about your new case. I’ve never spoken to a Japanese lawyer before.”

The four of them sat around the metal chest that was being used as a table. The tea was poured and cake cut and passed around.

"Wow, this tea is amazing," Susato commented. "It's so fragrant and the taste so mellow."

"Thank you, I blend the leaves myself!" The girl beamed. “I’ve been working on a blend that can help alleviate fatigue. You must be exhausted after your long voyage here.”

"It does make me feel a lot better," Ryunosuke said between sips of tea and bites of cake. “Carrying a baby makes me tired, but I feel so refreshed.”

“Excuse my being forward,” Kazuma said, “But how do you know Mr. Sholmes? We met him on the Burya on our journey here but he never mentioned having a daughter.”

“Oh no!” the girl gasped. “Silly me, I never formally introduced myself. I’m Iris Wilson, and Hurley isn’t my father, we just live together.”

“Well, I am Kazuma Asogi, and I’m a lawyer from Japan here to study law.”

“And I am his judicial assistant, Susato Mikotoba,” Susato introduced herself.

“I’m Kazuma’s wife, Ryunosuke Asogi,” Ryunosuke said with a mouthful of cake.

“So we have Kazu, Susie, and Runo!” the girl clapped happily. “Nice to meet all of you!”

“Wait, did you say your last name is Wilson?” Susato suddenly asked. “I’ve read all of the ‘Adventures of Herlock Sholmes’ stories, but they’ve only mentioned a man named John Wilson.”

“Oh, that’s a bit of an alias,” Iris admitted. “I thought that people wouldn’t find stories about a great detective and a ten year old girl compelling, so I write them as if I’m a grown gentleman.”

“Wait, so you’re the author of the short stories?” Susato gawked. “And you’re only ten years old?”

“When I was ten years old I was still struggling to learn Kanji,” Ryunosuke remarked.

“You still struggle with Kanji,” Kazuma added.

“Let's talk more about your new case with Hurley and the Japanese man,” Iris changed the subject. “The case sounds very exciting, a stabbing where only one man was seen with the victim, but he says he didn't do it? It feels like quite the mystery.”

“How do you know all of that already?” Kazuma asked. “We only just met but you know we just arrived in London from Japan, that we’ve taken a recent case, and that it’s the case Mr. Sholmes is working with the Japanese defendant.”

“Oh, I was able to deduce all of that from just a few observations,” Iris smiled. “I can see that you just arrived in the country as I can see a boat ticket and passport in your jacket pocket,” she pointed at Kazuma’s pocket where the documents were poking out. “And from the type of sword you are carrying and your outfits, my best guess was that you came from Japan.”

“And I knew you’re working a case seeing as you are a lawyer, as I observed from meeting you the other day at the Old Bailey. Also, you each have a stamp on one hand that signifies a visitor to a prison, and it’s the type of stamp used for visiting foreign prisoners. Since you don’t look sad, I would suspect that you weren’t visiting a friend or relative, thus you must have been there to see a client.”

“And seeing as Mrs. Hudson said you were here to see Hurley, I figured that you were here about his current case. He helped arrest a Japanese man yesterday so it is only logical that you had gone to see him and are now here to ask Hurley some questions.”

The three of them sat in total silence as she explained her deductions. Even after she finished her speech, they still sat in awe of her, unsure of what to say.

“That…” Susato broke the silence, “That was amazing! And spot on!”

“I got everything right?” Iris clapped her hands happily.

“Down to the last detail,” Kazuma smiled at her. “I’m very impressed.”

“Thank you! I’ve learned a lot from Hurley.”

“So now that we’re speaking of the case,” Kazuma set his teacup aside, “Can I ask what you know about it?”

“Well, I can repeat what Hurley has told me so far.”

“That's a start.”

“Hurley had only just arrived at Paddington Station when the police arrived and they took him to the crime scene. They gave him the description of the man seen by the witnesses and the evidence left at the scene and he used them to find the man’s lodgings. They were very near the crime scene so they went directly there and they found the man hiding in his flat.”

“They only just arrested the man and the trial is tomorrow…” Kazuma sighed. “There's no time for us to investigate at all.”

“Hurley says there is a lot of crime in London,” Iris sighed with him. “The police have so much on their hands, they usually accuse the most suspicious looking person near the crime. And the courts are seeing so many cases they have to see them start and end quickly to handle them all.”

That sounds far from the ‘best judicial system in the world’.

For just a moment Kazuma looked despondent from hearing this, but quickly changed back to his lighthearted self before he made any comment on it.

“Thank you for talking with us today,” he smiled at Iris. “You’ve been very informative.”

“My pleasure, Kazu!”

“Could you tell us where Mr Sholmes might be? We would like to talk to him directly about the case.”

“I believe he is investigating the case a bit more. You’ll likely find him at the lodging house where your client was arrested.”

“Do you happen to know the address?”

“Well, the police are likely still investigating there. Have you met a detective named Gregson at all?”

“Yes, we are… acquainted with him.”

She stood up from her chair and went over to her desk, scribbling down a note before walking back and handing it to Kazuma. She also handed him a silver coin. “Give these to Gregsy and I’m sure he’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“Thank you,” he said as he pocketed the items. “It makes sense you know him since you write those stories with him in it.”

“Good luck with your investigation!” Iris said as they stood to leave. “Please come back soon so we can have more tea and cake!”

“We’ll be sure to come back,” Susato bowed to her. “We can talk about how you write all those wonderful stories.”

A dumb chibi doodle that came to me when I should have been in bed

In the asoryu baby au, Van Zieks does not like small smelly children in the courtroom. He also doesn’t care for Baby Asogi being there either.

Today has been a very weird day for me with drawing. I feel like I just can't get things right

It's already over? But we've hardly had any time to question the witnesses!

Before they knew what even happened, the jury had declared the defendant 'guilty'. Without giving Kazuma a chance to thoroughly question the driver, several jurors made up their minds, and Van Zieks drove the last nail into the coffin by revealing the defendants occupation.

Just because he's a loan shark doesn't mean he's a murderer…

"Wouldn't it be in his best interest that Mr. Mason stay alive?" Ryunosuke whispered to Kazuma. "He can't collect on his debt if he's dead."

"Some loan sharks will kill those who default on their loan to send a message to other clients," Kazuma explained. "But usually those murders are done more… discreetly."

This was a huge blow to Kazuma, who fought hard to convince the jury to give him more time, to hold their verdicts until he could cross examine the driver more thoroughly. They refused to listen, and they were left with one juror still undecided. Then, Van Zieks pulled out his trump card and won over the knitting grandmother. The gallery was going mad over this unexpected turn of events.

"Is there no way to appeal to the jury?" Kazuma had both hands on the table, his head hung low in defeat. The last time Ryunosuke saw him look so destitute was back during his own murder trial. That time they were saved when Susato barged into the courtroom with last minute evidence, but there's no chance of that happening here. All she could do now was flip through her law textbook, frantically looking for any kind of solution.

Just a little earlier, they had won some footing when the murder weapon was presented. Kazuma had taken a close look at the blade and sheath after Van Zieks had presented it and claimed that it belonged to the defendant.

"Do you have the provenance for the blade?" Kazuma asked as he looked at the single 'M' engraved on the handle.

"We… did not obtain one," Van Zieks answered. "There was not enough time given to find proof of ownership, we would have had to question every blade manufacturer in London to find the one who made this blade and who bought it. The prosecution felt that the circumstances alone gave ample enough proof of ownership."

Kazuma slammed his hand into the table. "So the prosecution is basing the ownership of the blade on a single initial! An initial the defendant shares with the victim!"

"Objection!" Van Zieks shouted back. "The blade is clearly too ornate for the penniless Mr. Mason to afford. Only a man such as Magnus McGilded could afford something so extravagant."

"Objection! You are still making assumptions without physical evidence. Without a provenance for the knife, we cannot assume that it belonged to the defendant."

That earned a hard glare from the prosecution and some hushed whispering from the jury. Ryunosuke looked over at Mr. McGilded and saw a sly smirk on his lips. The ball of anxiety inside him grew a little larger at the sight.

They had no idea that despite the small victory this gave them, only a few minutes later the jury would be totally won over with a little testimony and the truth of the defendants profession.

"There's a footnote here," Susato stopped flipping pages in her law book and found a passage. "'At this point, the defense has the right to demand a 'Summation Examination' of the jury'."

"Objection!" Van Zieks shouted. "When was that ancient text your holding published? It must be at least 50 years old, as no modern law book would even bother to mention it. No modern barrister would dare invoke it."

Kazuma ignored Van Zieks' objection and looked at the law book to read the full text. The text looked like a giant block of gibberish to Ryunosuke, so he used the time to glance at the debtor's ledger they were given earlier. It was already open to the page where Mr. Mason's name was listed with his loan amount and due date. Curiosity led him to read the other names on the page, looking down the list until he saw a familiar name.

'Fairplay'?

"I understand that invoking a 'summation examination' is no longer practised," Kazuma began once he finished reading, "but no one has yet to state that it was ever formally revoked. The defense asserts it's right to a summation examination, my lord!"

The wine glass, the 'hallowed chalice', in Van Zieks hand was suddenly crushed in his grip. Wine and glass shards showered down to the ground beside him. "This… is madness…" he growled.

You crushing your 'chalice' with your bare hand is the only madness in here...

"The defense's petition is perfectly valid," the judge announced. "The court will proceed with the summation examination."

The judge began to instruct the jury on how the examination is done while Kazuma and Susato strategized. From what Ryunosuke heard, it sounded like Kazuma would have to convince the jury to change their verdicts.

He's the most charming person I've met, but will that be enough to convince these people to change their minds?

---

"This man is clearly some form of eastern sorcerer, using magic to deceive us!" The foreman of the jury shouted to the other jurors.

"The only 'magic' I'm using is the magic of logic and evidence," Kazuma tried to keep a level head with the jurors. He had immediately seen a discrepancy in how jurors 3 and 6 understood the event and tried to show them the problem, and now he's being called an evil, foreign sorcerer.

"Tell me this, dark jinx!" The foreman called out to Kazuma. "How is this a problem? Maybe the man was stabbed twice, once seen by the rooftop passengers, and the second by the driver. There's no reason to call out the dandy and the old lady!"

"Except that's impossible," Kazuma took a calming breath. "The autopsy report only reported one stab wound on the victim. Something in the witnesses' testimonies has led the young man and lady to believe something that isn't true."

The courtroom filled with murmurs as the gallery and jurors talked among themselves.

"This young easterner sounds very confident."

"He's poking holes all over the prosecution's case."

"Did one of the witnesses really lie?"

"They should question the driver again!"

"Someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes," Juror 6 frowned as she furiously knitted. "I may be old, but that doesnt mean I can be taken advantage of." She stopped knitting to raise her hand, bringing up a new ball of fire to launch into the scales. The flag behind her changed to white and she launched the flame, tilting the scales towards 'not guilty'.

"I concede," Juror 3 agreed. "I hate the rich, but I also hate being lied to." He changed his verdict as well, launching a new ball of fire onto the scales.

"We've changed two jurors' minds!" Susato clapped her hands. "We only need two more to keep the trial going!"

She looked over at Ryunosuke, but he was clearly not listening to her. He was staring off into space, his eyes focused on nothing in particular.

"Ryunosuke-san?" Susato reached out to touch his arm. "Are you okay?"

"The prosecutor has been staring at me since we approached the stand," he told her. "He's scaring me a little."

Susato looked over and saw that Van Zieks had his eyes trained on Ryunosuke. He wasn't glaring like the way he looked at Kazuma, but he did not look friendly at all.

"Maybe you should say something to Kazuma-sama…"

"I think he sees him too… his hand hasn't left Karuma since we took the stand."

He was right, Kazuma's hand had not left his sword the whole time he had been questioning the jurors.

“He won't get anywhere near you,” Susato promised. “If he tries, I will throw him across the courtroom!”