Entry 001

[chippedsoul]

Sender: Kazuma Asogi
To: Everyone
Subject: Apology

A few days ago, a coward led some people uninvolved in the situation to confront me in the forest, despite being aware of how dangerous that was. I would like to take this moment to apologize to those that I've caused harm to. It was not my intent and that outburst won't happen again.

Locked To: Castmates Only
If you're worried I will come after the Prosecutor again, don't be. I have questions that need answers, not from that man.

Locked To: Soldier: 76
76. How are you doing? And are you available to meet?

Comments

[chippedsoul]

. . .Yes. I know. [It's a comforting gesture that he knew they would always welcome him. Evenso, he feels it may be better to keep some distance between them for now. For their own safety.]

The tea will go cold, if we continue to stand like this.

[professorbestie]

[He breathes a quiet little chuckle, bowing his head a bit before reaching for the back of the nearest chair.]

So it will. I apologize.

[chippedsoul]

[He'll wait until Mikotoba is comfortably seated before joining him.]

I do have a question...how is the Prosecutor doing? [He'll proceed to pour the tea for the both of them.]

[professorbestie]

He'll recover in due time. I do hope he'll take it easy until then, though. [Once the tea's been poured, he reaches for the cup with one hand and nods in gratitude.]

You gave him quite a fright.

[chippedsoul]

[As the teacup reaches his lips, he stops. He tries to hold back a smile when hears how spooked the prosecutor was. Good.]

He won't sit still for long. [Knowing what he remembered when he worked for him, that man was always doing something, going somewhere, a thorough investigator.]

He agreed to a demonstration and I gave it to him. [A "demonstration".]

[professorbestie]

[He saw that flicker of a smile, Kazuma! He saw that.]

I'm sure we both know that is not what he meant. [He takes a quick sip of his own tea.] ...I will not force you to get along with Prosecutor van Zieks, nor even to forgive him. I only ask that you bear in mind he was a victim as well, ten years ago. The dark forces which were at play back then... They made a fool out of each and every one of us.

[chippedsoul]

Hm. [He knows, he really does. There are just some things that will take time, especially when he's been clinging to a false truth for years. He takes a sip of tea before properly responding.]

I already plan to speak with him again when I'm well enough. Under better terms. [He's not looking to make friends, but he did leave things in an awkward place.]

[professorbestie]

Of course. That's all one can ask, really.

[Because as he said, he's not going to force Kazuma to get along with this man. It's not any of his business who Kazuma befriends and he understands just how complicated their history is. He just doesn't want there to be any more physical confrontations on either side. And really, he considers the topic dealt with for now.]

... So, you met Holmes in that other world, did you?

[He's not asking because Holmes is his best friend, he's asking because of the chronology of it all. Kazuma suffered amnesia before he ever truly got to meet Holmes, and then just after getting his memories back, he was whisked away to another world. This implies that his encounter with Holmes in this other world would have been the first substantial one, and a chaotic one at that.]

[chippedsoul]

. . .I did. I didn't know he was a trusted friend of yours until recently. [A story he is admittedly curious about. How did they meet, how did they even became friends? Just being around that detective was exhausting. He sets down his tea.]

He was the one who jogged my memories.

[professorbestie]

[Oh boy, the stories Yujin could tell... Though, he's been withholding them for ten years already, so it'll be strange to be so open about it now. He smiles wryly.]

Is that so? I should hope it was more of a gentle nudge than a harsh shove. [Holmes can be a very coarse person, so he wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.]

[chippedsoul]

...There might have been a shove on my part. [He glances to the side, clearly feeling bad about what happened. It was on the subject of his father, all right.] He wasn't exactly very forward with the information he knew.

[professorbestie]

... Ah. Well.

[That may have been indirectly Yujin's fault, actually. The whole Professor situation is a very delicate matter kept hush hush for the sake of everyone involved, and Kazuma's lost memories were indirectly tied to all that. If Holmes wasn't forthcoming about it, chances are he kept his mouth shut for Yujin's sake.]

Holmes got right back up after that proverbial shove, I should think?

[chippedsoul]

...Well, after some rest, he did. [He was fine.] I apologize. I was overwhelmed in the moment.

[professorbestie]

No, no. There's no reason to apologize to me for it.

[Which is an unvoiced query of whether Kazuma apologized to Holmes. Granted, Holmes is the sort of person who won't mind if the apology was absent. This is a man who cares very little about manners, after all.]

[chippedsoul]

He is your friend. [And not here at the moment.]

I may not have treated him as well as I should have, even after that. [. . .] Then again, with no one else to verify his words, it's hard to be sure if I could trust him. He did keep quiet about my so-called "death".

[...Now that he thinks about it, he stares at Mikotoba] Did he tell you?

I legit had to research this because I forgot, fsadkjds

[professorbestie]

[He closes his eyes and hangs his head a bit, shaking it.]

I'm afraid not. I expect that he believed it wasn't safe to communicate such a thing overseas. [Or, y'know, he forgot, as Holmes does. But let's not voice that out loud.] It would have been quite the surprise, then, had you returned to Japan as per his planning.

[chippedsoul]

...Are you sure it didn't just slip his mind? [Kazuma was already thinking about it, based on his own experience with the detective.]

So you weren't made aware about the circumstances behind the exchange program.

[professorbestie]

No, I wasn't. I didn't find out until very recently; around the same time Naruhodo-kun and Susato were told. [He glances down at his tea cup for a moment.] I still can't quite believe it, truth be told.

[chippedsoul]

. . .I wasn't going to follow through with it. [However unconvincing that sounds after what happened here.]

I just wanted to get to Great Britain, no matter what. [Figure that assassin part out later.]

[professorbestie]

Even so, the notion that such a thing occurred at all... [He's still staring down at his teacup as he speaks.] I believed Jigoku to be a good man. The thought that he would recruit you into such a horrid scheme...

[Which is to say nothing of the fact he shot Genshin. That is really not something Yujin wants to think about.]

[chippedsoul]

...Because of Mael Stronghart? [Is that why he committed all those "crimes"? A small huff.]

Thinking about it now, he only became the Minister of Foreign Affairs sometime after that trip, didn't he? [He squeezes his teacup.] To think I would lose my father to this man... [Yujin may not have said it, but his conversation with Barok was still fresh in his mind. The real truth of how his father was killed.]

[professorbestie]

[He nods his head vaguely at the first two questions. Jigoku did indeed become minister shortly after the study tour ended, but Yujin had always believed his friend had gotten that title because he deserved it. Because he'd worked hard and proven to the right people that he would be the perfect fit for the job. But it hadn't been anything like that at all. If anything, it'd been a reward for such undying loyalty to the wrong person.

And all those times when they had discussed the study tour, Great Britain or even Genshin himself, Jigoku had acted as if he'd known nothing about that horrible truth. Now Yujin can't help but wonder; if Stronghart had realized there'd been a third person involved with Klint van Zieks's autopsy, would Jigoku have been ordered to take his life as well? Would Jigoku have done it?

He swallows thickly and takes a sip of tea, as his throat closed up at the mere thought of it.]

... It's a chilling truth. [That's all he can bring himself to say, in the end.]

[chippedsoul]

. . . [He observes Yujin quietly. This man has lost two of his dear friends, one of them turning against the other. He can take a guess how he must be feeling about all of this. And now Yujin has to deal with a someone he considers like a son with a murder history. Another fine mess he's given Mikotoba.]

I can't promise nothing bad won't ever happen while we're here, but. . .I'll try to come to you if there's something I need to discuss. [And not a suspicious Judge.]

[professorbestie]

[Yujin would crack a smile at that sentiment if he could bring himself to do it. But the topic's just a bit too heavy for such a thing. Instead, he nods lightly, his fingers tapping against the side of his teacup.]

... I'd appreciate that very much. No matter how trivial it may seem in the moment, please don't hesitant to visit. [A moment's pause.] ... Or to use these journals we have, in any case.