Kazuma Asōgi

Kazuma Asōgi is a student at Teito Yūmei University, as well as a defense attorney during Japan's Meiji period. After his apparent death, he took on the identity of the "Masked Disciple" of Barok van Zieks.

Meeting Ryūnosuke
Asōgi met Ryūnosuke Naruhodō during Teito Yūmei Univesity's speech competition in the summer the year before The Adventure of the Great Departure. Naruhodō gave a speech that, while shallow, wound up winning the audience over with ferocity and passion. That speech kindled a spirit of rivalry in Asōgi. Asōgi's persuasive speech about how the Japanese social system needs to change went perfectly until the end when he has to say "men and women of all ages" (老若男女 "rou nyaku nan nyo"). Asōgi could not speak that final tongue twister, failing for five minutes until he collapsed to his knees on the stage and the audience booed him off.

Humiliated, he caught up with Naruhodō later and asked how he overcame tongue twisters. Naruhodō replied that it was his hobby and taught Asōgi one: "red headband, blue headband, yellow headband" (赤鉢巻 青鉢巻 黄鉢巻 "aka hachimaki ao hachimaki ki hachimaki"). The shame of the failed speech and the equal desire to overcome his weakness prompted Asōgi to practice that particular phrase until his tongue bled. He began wearing a red headband as a symbol of the hardship he had overcome. Asōgi also developed a grudge against the Japanese language for having many difficult-to-speak expressions, which Naruhodō suspected might have factored into Asōgi's decision to become an exchange student in London. Asōgi and Naruhodō became friends afterwards.

Naruhodō's trial

 * Main article: The Adventure of the Great Departure

"Asōgi"

- Today, you believed in a mere fraud of a student like me to the end.

Months later, Asōgi learned that Naruhodō had told him the tongue twister incorrectly. It was actually "red paper roll, blue paper roll, yellow paper roll" (赤巻紙 青巻紙 黄巻紙 "aka makigami ao makigami ki makigami"). Asōgi was unable to say this new tongue twister and had a breakdown out of sheer frustration in the court lobby.

He then returned the favor for the speech by standing by Naruhodō's side when the latter was put on trial after being accused of murdering John Watson.

Asōgi invited Naruhodō to travel to England with him. Asōgi seemed to have some mission that was of international importance.

Apparent Death

 * Main article: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band

Asōgi smuggled Naruhodō aboard the steamship to London. Asōgi hid Naruhodō in his cabin's closet and they shared the meals meant for Asōgi. This left both of them hungry. There was a power outage on the ship and Naruhodō took the opportunity to steal a single steak from the kitchen. Sherlock Holmes spied Naruhodō fleeing back to Asōgi's cabin. When the theft was discovered, Holmes asked Asōgi for permission to search his room. Asōgi could not dissuade Holmes, who heard Naruhodō sneeze. Holmes searched the closet where Naruhodō had been hiding first, but discovers no one inside. However he did find the bones from three steaks. When the sailor Mitrov Stroganov accused Asōgi of the steak theft, Holmes explained that Asōgi couldn't be the thief because his stomach would not be growling from hunger if he had eaten the steaks. Satisfied, Stroganov left. Holmes then warned Asōgi to hide the "animal" under his bed better. When everyone left, Naruhodō confessed his theft to Asōgi and explained how he moved from the closet to the bed when everyone was distracted. Asōgi then realized that Holmes had stolen the other steaks and had dumped the bones in his closet.

One night, Asōgi encountered a ballerina named Nikomina Borschevic and learned that she was trying to escape from Russia. Realizing that she was smuggled onto the ship, Asōgi decided to let her meet Naruhodō, who was sleeping in the closet. But Borschevic panicked because she thought that he was going to call the captain. She suddenly pushed him, seemingly accidentally killing him when his neck broke. Borschevic and Stroganov tried to cover up her apparent crime, but Naruhodō and Holmes caught her and she was arrested. Naruhodō then continued his friend's dream of becoming a worthy defense attorney so that he could change Japan's justice system for the better. Naruhodō inherited Asōgi's sword and wrapped his departed friend's hairband around it.

Asōgi's name was one of four names mentioned on the morse code disk, indicating he had a connection to an international incident of some importance along with John Watson, A. Sasha, and Tobias Gregson.

"Masked Disciple"

 * Main article: Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Kakugo

In actuality, Asōgi survived the events on the steamship. However, the ordeal rendered him amnesiac, causing him to adopt the identity of the "Masked Disciple" to English prosecutor Barok van Zieks. Later, Asōgi prosecutes van Zieks when the latter is accused of murdering Tobias Gregson, facing off against Ryūnosuke in the trial.

Personality/Notes

 * Asōgi has a hard time with tongue twisters.
 * Although not revealed to be his least favourite food, he appears to dislike chicken.
 * The sword he holds is named Karuma (狩魔), which has the exact same Kanji characters as the Von Karma family.
 * It is rumored by Teito Yuumei University students that a warm breeze will always blow at Asougi.

Name
Shu Takumi stated in an issue of Nintendo Dream that the surname comes from the word 阿僧祇 asōgi. Additionally, the word 葬儀 sōgi means "funeral". The kanji for 双義 sōgi in the name can be directly translated as "dual justice".

Development
His clothes were designed with more of both western and eastern influences than Ryūnosuke Naruhodō's were. His headband is animated to flutter in the wind even though he is mostly seen indoors. This animation was only doable in 3D and was something that art director Kazuya Nuri really wanted.