Chapter Text
It was sunset when he found the sword of an Asougi. Miles recalled the room having dust dancing in the sun when he climbed up into the attic, with furniture and belongings of a bygone era.
He needed to settle his belongings before he could truly depart, and the first thing that came to mind was the childhood home he finally inherited. Miles drove to its familiar address, unlocked the door and saw the living room with everything covered in white sheets. He couldn’t help but think of ghosts. The whole house was a ghost. Its warmth died out not long after his father, and its state of usage seemed like there was unfinished business.
It took Miles some strength to look deeper inside, and he carefully avoided his bedroom. He only knew that it would be empty and nostalgia wasn’t the fondest thing he'd want at that moment.
He focused on searching the attic, the only place with no golden recollection in his mind. He was never old enough to get a peek inside, but he had a vague memory watching his father appear from its ladder with a pocket watch. He wondered if it was still there.
The room was abandoned. More ghosts. Spider webs made homes and neighbors with the dust. Thankfully, Miles was wearing something less formal than his regular outfit and he was able to disturb much of what was left there. A box of college textbooks, a chalice with sediment inside, leather trunks with one that could fit an entire person, and a sword.
It was, at first, a strange object wrapped in white cloth that sat atop a square-ish green trunk. Miles picked it up and upon unraveling the fabric, he was now holding a sword. What came with it was a belt that would supposedly carry two swords on someone’s waist.
What was it doing in his home? It had several cross-like motifs and seemed to be something from Europe. Miles was careful in unsheathing it, the sword making a smooth shing before revealing itself to be in perfect condition. It just brought up so many more questions. Why is it here, where did it come from, is there a companion to this sword that was somehow lost?
Miles kept digging, or more precisely he sheathed back the sword and opened the green trunk it was on top of.
The things that were inside belonged to someone that didn’t make sense to Miles. Some red leather journals, a mask that hid the upper face and most of your eyesight, white gloves, a compressed coat with more of the cross-like motifs on its sleeves, writing utensils, and what seemed to be a manuscript wrapped in twine.
Every first page of a journal Miles found in the trunk began with, K. Asougi, below being characters in Japanese that he assumed would translate to the same name.
The entries were mixed with Japanese and English, with the former having more pages each entry than the latter. Miles couldn’t read the characters, so he flipped through the pages to find an English entry:
8 November
Mael Stronghart's trial is set for the upcoming week. It is unfortunate that Ryuunosuke was not able to hear this news. He wholly contributed to the case that drove this man to his found guilt. Will send a letter regarding the trial soon along with the rest of the correspondence.
The next sentence then began in Japanese so Miles flipped its pages to find more. Though, he would only realize that the entries in English consisted most of reminders, notes of cases, and anniversaries recorded down. It gave Miles only a fraction of who this person was living inside his home this whole time.
Asougi was a prestigious man, Miles supposed, noting the coat having a pristine color of white and such intricate design he had never seen before. He was also Japanese, and reminded Miles of a samurai. But he was also adept in English from the formal language he used in writing his entries and manuscript. And peculiar enough, he wrote a different format for dates. He must’ve been young when he owned the belongings, the handle of the sword and the sleeves of his coat fit Miles. Did he die young too?
When Miles left the house forever more to be untouched by another hand, he not only decided he would leave the property to Uncle Raymond for the time being, but also to bring the green trunk, and the sword of a man named Asougi. It wouldn’t hurt to investigate a little mystery whilst he hid in London.