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[hatesviolence]

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[chippedsoul]

[He nods.] At least it preserves the crime scene before the police have gone through it.

[hatesviolence]

Do you remember what your hardest case was?

[chippedsoul]

. . .Can't say. I only ever stood in court once, as an assistant. But, my mentor was looking into a well known investor who had ties with a criminal organization.

[hatesviolence]

I see... They can be tough to bring down.

[chippedsoul]

...Well, according to my mentor, he lost the case. Eventhough all the evidence pointed to him, the man basically bribed the jurors in his favor. [There's a slight hint of frustration in his voice. Eventhough he wasn't overseeing the case, something about that makes his blood boil. He takes a deep breath and shrugs.]

I suppose the outcome doesn't matter now, since he ended up getting killed in a different incident.

[hatesviolence]

[Bribing jurors—yeah that's pretty shitty and he clearly doesn't like hearing it, but he's also not surprised... He's heard of such things before. But the next part does surprise him a bit.]

Wait, the guy you were following?

[chippedsoul]

[He nods.]

The current case he's working on surrounds his death. That's...what I was helping him on before... [There's a lingering pause after that. He had a puzzled expression on his face.]

[hatesviolence]

[He notices the pause and looks at Disciple a little concerned. He remembers that he has memory issues...]

...Before...?

[chippedsoul]

...I remember a woman. That attorney's legal aide....before I arrived here, she yelled something at me that afternoon. [He was muttering to himself, trying to remember the encounter. It stuck out to him that day, but he hadn't thought about it since he got thrown into this world's mess.]

She called me Kazuma.

[hatesviolence]

Kazuma...

[AH.]

Wait, is that your name?

[chippedsoul]

. . . [The name does not bring anything back to him, no matter how hard he concentrates.]

I'm not sure. I was wearing a mask, but she called me by that name anyway.

[hatesviolence]

If she called you that, she had to have recognized you... But you don't feel anything from it, huh?

[He taps his chin thoughtfully, frowning and mutters under his breath: "Mistaken identity?"]

[chippedsoul]

[He shakes his head.] It caught my attention, like I should recognize it, but...nothing else. I didn't have an opportunity to clarify. [More like he couldn't.]

[hatesviolence]

Think you should still use it.

[chippedsoul]

...Hm. [He should. It's actually a name, not a title.] Kazuma.... [It still sounds foreign to say, but his heart felt it should be his to claim.]

[hatesviolence]

Kazuma.

[MIGHT AS WELL TRY IT OUT, TOO? He half wonders how it's written. Not that it matters, but names and meanings and all that. In any case, he repeats it one more time while looking at him, as if trying to see if the name fits him.

....Yeah he can't really think too deeply on something like that.]

Seems like it would fit to me, anyway. Better than calling you as a title or something. [Even if he's kind of gotten used to it.]

[chippedsoul]

[Time to check the journal. He nods, looking up at him.]

Kazuma then. [The more he says it, the more he settles on it, even if it feels like he's just replacing a placeholder with another one for now.]

[hatesviolence]

Gonna be a little weird, but... Maybe this'll help. You know how superstitious people say about names holding meanings and all that.

Plus it's proof.

[chippedsoul]

Proof? [He doesn't know much about those superstitious things.]

...There's not much there though. For all I know, I'm just borrowing someone else's name right now, believing it to be my own.

[hatesviolence]

[A small shake of his head.]

Doesn't matter. Remember what I told you before? That you should be more like own your person? Having "Kazuma" as a name is part of it now.

What I'm trying to say is... [He fumbles a little as he tries to word his thoughts.] Even if it's not your real name, doesn't mean you can't make it your own.

[chippedsoul]

Ah. [They did talk about that. Be his own person...don't fret about the unknown details. Maybe that's why he never really gave it that much thought in the first place.]

. . .Yes, you're right. I'm Kazuma. [There's less hesitance this time when he says the name.] Thanks for the reminder.

[hatesviolence]

[There's a nod of approval and then a small grin.]

Anytime. It's what friends are for.

[chippedsoul]

. . .Friends. [It's weird how often Shizuo just casually throws out the word, when he doesn't feel like he's done much to qualify. He's not exactly putting in the effort to make friends, it was never a priority, a necessity to survive. Now it's not as clear cut, and he...actually enjoys Shizuo's company. Even if most of the time it's just for favors, or having a silent lunch, these casual meetings were a nice change of pace.]

We're friends? [For once he seems to acknowledge the idea to question it, even as the concept is still lost to him.]

[hatesviolence]

Yeah.

[Small pause. It is a little strange for him to make the first move...usually it's other people. But sometimes Shizuo sees parts of himself in Disciple—no, Kazuma now—and that lets him take those awkward steps that he normally doesn't recognize or try to take.]

At least that's how I see you as. If it's a bother to you, though...

[He'd feel a little disappointed, but he could understand.]

[chippedsoul]

N-No, it's not a bother. [He's quick to assure him, surprising himself.] . . .It's fine. [He says it's fine, but he still looks confused by it all.]