Sorrow & Mercy: a Great Ace Attorney AU

The Breath Before

Morning arrived, sharp and sudden and cold. Susato was quiet as they stood in the defendant's antechamber. Waiting for Barok to arrive. Waiting for the trial to begin. She sighed continually, her mind heavy laden.

"I'll be counting on your support more than ever today, Miss Susato!" Ryunosuke said. "...Um, Miss Susato?...You really don't seem like yourself at all today."

"It's just...it's so very much, isn't it? Kazuma-sama acting the way he is...Lord van Zieks on trial...Inspector Gregson...And poor Gina..." Susato said.

"Yes. It's...it certainly is," Ryunosuke said.

Susato glanced sideways and then stiffened. There he was. The bailiffs had just led Barok van Zieks into the antechamber. He stood there silently, staring at her. His gaze was heavy but strangely gentle as their eyes met, like ice that was beginning to thaw.

"Good morning," Susato said, voice hushed.

"Ah! Lord van Zieks!" Ryunosuke said.

"Thank you for all your efforts yesterday," Barok said.

"Wha..." Ryunosuke breathed.

"What?" Barok said, levelling his stare at Ryunosuke.

"Oh! Um, no, nothing. Just...I hope we can clear things up today," Ryunosuke said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He looked completely taken aback and nervous at the same time. His thoughts were, once again, all too obvious from his expression.

"Lord van Zieks isn't the Reaper, Mr. Naruhodo," Susato chastised solemnly.

"...Good point," Ryunosuke said.

"The Reaper? I suppose in hindsight...I shouldn't have allowed that misconception to go unchallenged," Barok said. "It was my tacit acceptance of that pseudonym...my failure to stop the Reaper becoming something more than a mere legend...that led to all this."

"But you're not to blame for that, Lord van Zieks!" Susato said.

"It's only because serious crime in the capital dropped off so sharply when the public started calling you that. That's why you didn't say anything, isn't it?" Ryunosuke said.

"...To be frank, I'm not sure that was the sole reason," Barok said.

"What do you mean?" Ryunosuke said.

"There was a rumour at the time that the Reaper was really the ghost of my late brother," Barok said. "That having been slain by an evil killer, Klint's restless spirit returned as some sort of demigod...to wield a deadly blade of justice where I, by dint of law, could not."

"Oh, that...Yes. Lord Stronghart mentioned that awful rumour," Susato said.

"When I lost him...I felt as though I'd lost my guiding light. I didn't know where to go or what to do. And so...in some small way, I wonder if perhaps those rumours made me feel his absence a little less keenly. Even if I knew it was just an illusion. Just some nonsense conjured up by an over-imaginative public," Barok said.

"He was so very important to you. Lord Klint van Zieks..." Susato said quietly. "And you were so alone..."

"Yes. I was. I lost everyone all at once. Klint. My sister-in-law....and you. Or so I had thought at the time," Barok said.

Susato looked down, throat tight, eyes wet and stinging.

"Well...what's important now is uncovering the truth. That's all that matters," Ryunosuke said. "I...I know that you didn't take anyone's life."