Chapter Text
There was something rustling in the bushes. Though Barok had initially cast it aside as a stray creature scurrying past, the way the bush shook violently dismissed that thought from his mind. He thought this as he closed the law textbook that he had been reading in the courtyard as his class let out for the day.
He was just about to inspect when he heard an exasperated cry from his side, and a few moments later, his friend, Albert Harebrayne, came scrambling over holding a stack of folders that could only be research papers and scientific journals. There was a pencil sticking out of the top of his blond curls that Barok was unsure Albert was even aware of. He dropped the papers in a huff, then began to rifle through them as though he may combust if he stopped.
“Good afternoon to you as well, Albert,” Barok said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh. Yes. Hello, Barok. Now let’s see, where I did I put it?” Albert said. “It’s exactly the one I need to base my hypothesis on. I brought all of the journals that I could carry from the library. It must be here. I saw it just days ago. Could someone have checked it out? No, that can’t be,” he finished in one breath.
“What have you been pursuing this time around?” Barok asked, though it was a dangerous question indeed. More often than not, such an explanation led Albert to come up with an entirely new hypothesis whilst in the process of explaining his old one.
And that, of course, is precisely what happened. Albert began to launch into his latest idea, one of which Barok was unable to follow. Science was nearly a foreign concept to him. Barok had been studying the latest in scientific techniques used in investigations, but it paled in comparison to the theories and scientific concepts that Albert prattled about whenever they had a moment to see each other. Still, Barok nodded along and allowed him the space to share his ideas freely. There weren’t many others that were keen to do so, but Barok found it endearing to see him speak so passionately about something. He found it laudable.
It was towards the end of this lengthy explanation that Albert’s stomach grumbled loudly. “When was the last time that you ate?” Barok asked, interrupting Albert’s monologue.
“Oh.” That gave Albert pause. He scratched his head, then began to chew on his fingernail in thought. “It can’t have been more than seven hours ago. I ate before I went to the library. I suppose it has been a while, hasn’t it?” he said, smiling guiltily.
Barok sighed at him with a shake of his head. He decided to choose his battles and not wonder how on earth he spent seven hours in the library. “You should eat something. Lest you pass out before you get a chance to bring this latest hypothesis to life.”
Albert contemplated this for a moment and then nodded in agreement. “Alright, you have a point. Although now I wonder… yes… hmm… would it be possible to make any object have nutritional value…?” And just like that, he went back to sifting through the journals.
Barok huffed a laugh. “I can see where this is going. Here. I have some scones left that I meant to have with tea later. You seem to need it more than I do if you’re to continue your search. Eat while you look.”
“Thank you, Barok. You’re too kind. I don’t have much time before I meet with my professor anyway. What time is it?” Albert asked.
Barok reached into his overcoat for the silver pocketwatch gifted to him by his brother, only to grasp air. Frowning, Barok tried his other pocket.
Empty.
“Hm,” Barok said. “I thought I’d left my pocketwatch in here.” He distinctly remembered placing it in there in the morning, and he’d checked the time when he went into town in the morning. “I must have misplaced it.” He craned his head to look around him to see if it had fallen out anywhere.
As he did so, a few students walked past. “Is it almost 4pm already? A shame.” One of them said to the other.
“Almost four?!” Albert exclaimed. The two students jumped at his outburst and stared at him, then nudged each other and continuing walking at a much faster pace. “No no no, how is it already almost four? I’m going to be late and I haven’t even had time to read through the articles.” Frantically, Albert picked up all of the things that he set down not even ten minutes ago. Barok very neatly placed one of his wrapped up scones on top of it all.
With a rushed farewell, Albert scrambled off to his next destination. By himself again just as quickly as he’d had company. Well, no matter. Barok peered underneath the wooden table, but there was nothing underneath.
Klint wouldn’t be upset if he’d lost it, but still, Barok cursed himself. How could he have misplaced such a valuable gift? Klint had given it to him when he started university, and Barok had made use of it every day since. Could he really have just dropped it by accident?
The bushes rustled again.
Barok packed his law textbooks away into his satchel. He had a bit of time to retrace his past steps, but first, there was the matter of what exactly was hiding in those bushes. He made his way over to them.
Nestled in the bushes, or, perhaps more accurately, just on the edge of the other side of the bushes, was a body.
Barok startled. There was a man there who didn’t look much older than him, with blonde hair that looked closer to grey or ash blonde as opposed to Albert’s stark blonde hair. He had a hat on that matched his overcoat, but since he was lying on the ground, it was on the grass upside down right next to his head. The subtle twitch of his closed eyes was a relief to see. At least he was alive.
“Are you alright, sir?” Barok said. “Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“…Leave me,” the stranger said.
“I…beg your pardon?”
With a groan as morose as his tone, the stranger turned away from him as though in the middle of a temper tantrum. “Just pretend that you don’t see me here. I’m content to be alone, as Mikotoba has already abandoned me in my hour of need.” The stranger threw his hands up in despair, only to catch on the prickly edges of the bush. He didn’t seem to care. “How can autopsies possibly be more interesting? How? They're already dead.”
Mikotoba… Surely the stranger wasn’t referring to Yujin Mikotoba? Barok had been met him more than a few times. He had been one of the students from Japan brought into the country to study abroad. Though Barok himself was more affiliated with Genshin Asogi, he had still spoken to Mikotoba on more than one occasion.
The strange man writhing on the ground like a petulant child knew Yujin Mikotoba?
Well, it takes all sorts, Barok supposed.
“Why are you on the ground?” he asked.
“I’m content to die here alone,” the man drawled. “A sad and lonely existence much like many of the insects that live in these bushes. What you’re looking for is not here. You can be on your way, my dear fellow.”
Barok was content to do just that when his brain caught up to what the man said. “How did you know I was looking for something?”
Something Barok said must have been a trigger word of some kind because the man suddenly rolled into a sitting position with a burst of energy. “Why, isn’t it obvious? Just one look at you and it’s starkly apparent. The furrowed brow, the befuddled look in your eyes – it’s clear as day.”
“I see,” Barok said, mostly out of politeness and to avoid pointing out that such things were because of the man half-sitting in front of a bush. “And what, pray tell, am I looking for then?”
“The fact that you’ve made your way over here means that it can be only one thing. You’ve lost your pet spider and are looking for him in the bushes here.” Barok stared at the man for a moment to see if he would break into a laugh or indicate that he was joking in any way, but the man continued to stare back at him with a self-satisfied smile. “Well? No doubt you’re stunned speechless at my deduction. Most are.”
Unable to help it, Barok chortled with mirth. “I hate to shatter your deduction, but that’s not at all what I’m looking for,” he replied.
“So that isn’t your pet spider crawling up your arm there?”
Flinching back, Barok rubbed at both of his sleeves, only to find that there was nothing on them at all. He turned back to the man, folding his arms across his chest and fixing him with a glare. The man doubled over in a heap of laughter.
“You should have seen your face. That was priceless. Who knew that the darling of the van Zieks family was so opposed to spiders. Would anyone believe it?” the man said, barely able to contain his laughter as he spoke.
Barok cleared his throat and straightened up. His frustration dissolved quickly. At least the man seemed to be enjoying himself and was no longer wishing for death or loneliness. “You know who I am, then?”
“My dear fellow, who doesn’t know such aristocracy? Delighted to meet you, Barok van Zieks.”
Barok hummed. He thought it proper to bow, but they were still separated by a bush and the man was only half-sitting. So, instead, Barok settled on bowing just his head. “Then it would be unfair to not share your name, sir. May I know yours?”
“Herlock Sholmes, consulting detective,” the man said. He picked up his hat and put it on his head only to tilt it forward in greeting. A stray twig got lodged in between his hair and his hat. “I presume you’ve heard of me.”
Barok had not. Mikotoba had never mentioned anyone by that name, at least not in the times they had spoken before, but Barok had started to hear things about a consulting detective agency on Baker Street. It seemed he’d been building a reputation for himself, but Barok had never gotten the man’s name. He found it even more puzzling that this man was said detective.
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well,” Barok said in lieu of informing him that he had not heard of him by name. Better to leave it.
“And may I say that you are in luck, as I’m suddenly in the mood for company – and to solve a mystery,” Herlock said.
“A mystery?” Barok echoed.
“Yes, that’s what I said. Unless I’m to assume that you’re no longer in need of your prized pocketwatch?”
Barok failed to mask his surprise. He jolted, taken aback at Herlock’s statement. Then he truly had been joking before with his previous deduction. “So then… You know where it is?”
“I can find it for you by the day’s end,” Herlock said without an ounce of false bravado. “And I can do so for a mere 5 shillings. That’s quite the deal, wouldn’t you say?” Barok quirked an eyebrow, curious now at how exactly he would do such a thing. Surely, it probably would have been easier to retrace his steps on his own than to trust this admittedly shady detective, but he couldn’t deny that his curiosity was now peaked.
“Is that so? That seems reasonable enough. I can agree to those terms,” Barok said.
Herlock moved with much more vigor now. He stood upright, then attempted to leap over the bushes. His leg snagged and he nearly crashed right into Barok, who grasped Herlock by his arms to help steady him before he face-planted against his chest. He looked up at him – just a few centimeters from his face – and grinned before straightening up and adjusting his hat as Barok released him. “Thank you. It wouldn’t do to get injured so soon. Now, let us go. The game is afoot!”
Barok was quite unsure of what exactly he had gotten himself into, but he followed after Herlock nonetheless. Herlock walked without any further warning, then stopped abruptly. “Oh. One more thing. I do require payment upfront.”
This would be an appropriate time to cancel and walk away, Barok thought. But, at the same time, he couldn’t very well not see this so-called detective in action.
Nothing for it then, Barok figured, and paid him the five shillings.