The Adventure of the Century-Long Turnabout

Rain

A century ago…
September 16, 6:30 pm
Baker Street, England.
The night was starting to fall when Ryuunosuke and company arrived at a restaurant not so far from Holmes’ office. They soon gathered around a table to drink tea and eat some biscuits like every afternoon. It was Susato’s favorite part of living in England, she had always dreamt of having the famous english tea and even if years passed since she first tried it she still enjoyed her daily cup like if it was her first. Naruhodou couldn’t help but smile, he touched her hand softly and she smiled back to him. Sherlock fought against his urge to mock Naruhodou and let them be.
However, something crossed Ryu’s mind as he took a sip from his tea; there’s no english citizen who willingly skips tea hour, then the day of the murder even if it was raining outside the people on the house surely still drank their tea. What was strange was that there was no signs of it at the mansion, or at least in the places they checked. Then he remembered that they didn’t check the library, he needed to investigate before the day ends.
So, as soon as they finished their tea they split up, Susato and Sherlock went back to their home at Baker Street to check the Hound manuscript in more detail while Ryu came back at Baskerville’s manor. However, the “curse” really scared Susato so he just told her that he would send some telegrams and join them at the office later to not worry her.
“ The library has been locked since that night, the police said it wasn’t so important since the crime scene was in other room. Are you sure that you want to check it out?” Ryu arrived to the manor faster than expected an was at the library, trying to convince the butler of opening the door.
“ Yeah, just in case. Oh, and it may sound weird but, did you drank tea the day of the murder? ”
“ Yes! As always, Master Baskervill never skips his tea, it helps him to calm down his nerves.”
The butler opened the wooden door and allowed Ryu to enter. The first thing he looked for was tea cups, a teapot or something tea-related, however, it was just as he expected.
“It’s so weird…nothing of the sort it’s at plain sight, maybe I’m just overeacting” but all his years as an attorney taught him that no detail is too small for a case, Sherlock thinks the same and always insist in taking note of all possible details, if that’s not enough then you deduce the truth out. “ There are no things for tea, why? Something forced them to skip it? The murder, the murder could have ocurred at the time…but the butlers would have notice it and surely they served tea to Baskerville, the butler said that he never skips it. Then lets suppose the tea was indeed served, why hiding it? Where?” Ryu looked at his surroundings again, the library was a big place, there where tons of books, four small armchairs, a tiny table and a fireplace. His eyes stopped at it, it was cold the night of the crime so it made sense that it was lighted, but there was a lot of ashes, way too many for just a night. When he saw a tiny and sharp white piece among the ashes he had a goosebump. “ It can’t be…”
He reunited the pieces as he was finding them and it was what he feared; a complete tea set. Whoever tried to get rid of them probably didn’t know that porcelain is heat resistant and just threw it into the fire, they were trying to get rid of it…
“ The poison…” thought Ryu “the poison had to be ingested, Holmes-san said that the food didn’t have it, it could have been in the tea the victim drank that night. But if just the victim and Mr. Baskerville had tea that night…the killer…”
Ryuunosuke found another thing among the ashes, it looked like a paper, slighty burnt and still legible. When he read it he felt his entire being going cold, he just couldn’t give credit to his eyes. It was the perfect evidence…for the prosecution.
“ September 14
Modern Chems Store
1oz Atroquinine
The use of this product it’s responsability of who buys it, the store does not take responsabilities of any kind.
Signs: Henry Baskerville “
The receipt of the poison used to kill the victim pointed at the culprit, the same man Ryuuunosuke was trying so hard to save. What was he supposed to do now? Give the evidence to the prosecutor? Defend his client? Drop the case? It was impossible for him to hide the truth, that wasn’t the way he did things, he was no liar.
He had to talk it to Susato & Sherlock.
Ryu packed the evidence he found and exited the manor quickly, it was starting to rain and the night had already fell. He stopped a carriage and gave Baker Street’s direction.
In his way he couldn’t stop thinking about all he had discovered just minutes ago, he wanted to calm down but his heart refused to cooperate, it beat quickly and hard against his chest. He pulled out his journal and started to write everything that passed trough his head; the case, the suspects, the evidence and the truth he had discovered, his hand was trembling but he was eager to write it down before his nerves made him forget something.
As he finished, he sighed and looked up, putting his journal back in his chest pocket, for some reason he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, then he noticed…
The carriage was acelerating like posessed by a demon, he just saw the buildings passing and passing by the window without stopping and heard the carriage itself cracking loudly. He tried to tell the driver to slow down but he just ignored him and kept on spurring the horse, Ryu tried to open the door but it was tightly closed. Right in that moment, he realized that he had fell into a trap…
“ Stop it! Please!” Ryu yelled to the coachman, he knew that a turn was coming and the carriage may not be able to take it, with that speed and the rain it would surely lose control and crash. But the coachman was trembling, his voice sounded so clean that Ryu’s heart almost stopped when he heard what the man muttered to himñ” I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry… Mr. Moriarty obligued me”
Moriarty.
The coachman jumped at the horse’s back, the carriage turned and a loud crack was audible. Ryu saw the horse turning, however, the carriage part kept going foward at a horrible speed, stopping just as it crashed right into a pole lamp…

Ryuunosuke opened his eyes slowly, it was dark and the rain was light but cold. He started to feel the cold floor against his cheek, but as soon as his senses started to come back to him he felt like he was going to pass out again…
Everything hurt, everything hurt so bad that tears were about to roll down his cheeks. He couldn’t move, he could barely breath…
Someone walked to where he was laying, covered in broken wood and pieces of what used to be a carriage.
“ Help…” his voice sounded so broken, so weak, he barely recognized it as his own. However, the man just stood still, looking at him, Ryu tried to look at who it was and recognized him in an instant. Ryu’s sword had landed not so far from him, he tried to take it in a desperate attempt to defend himself but his arm refused to move, Moriarty noticed it and kicked the sword out of his reach and then kneeled down, he checked Ryu’s pockets like looking for something until he finally found his journal in the chest pocket and took it away. He noticed that a piece of wood was sticking out of Ryu’s back and realized that it would probably kill him, but not as fast as he wanted…
“ It’s almost over…” he stroked Ryu’s hair in the way you do with a small child, softly, like trying to calm him down, but then pulled out the piece of wood with his other hand and threw it away, blood staining it but being slowly washed away by the rain. Ryuunosuke gasped loudly, he wanted to scream, he wanted to call for help but no voice came out from his throat. He turned his hands into fists and started crying when the agony was too much to bear, he wanted Susato to be there, he wanted it all to end…
“ It’s almost over…” Moriarty repeated, he barely heard him before all turned black again.
For a moment, all he could feel was cold...

Gina Lestrange was running all along the sidewalk, she was late to dinner again. Last time Iris got mad in that childish way of her and treathened to make Gina prepare the tea.
“ Curses! It may be true this time! But this damn weather! It just makes it harder!”
She was close to Sherlock’s flat when she suddenly felt something at her feet and couldn’t help but to fall hard in the ground. Her knees hurt but her pride even more, luckily there was no one looking.
“ Ow ow ow, seriously? Must have been a stone or something.” But when she looked back at the sidewalk she saw something reflecting the dim moonlight, it was barely visible but was there, shining. She reached it and was surprised as how unique the actual thing was, she had seen something like that just a few times in her life, however, when she was able to clearly see it a shiver ran down her spine. A sword. But not any sword, she had seen that very same one always by the side of her dear friend Naruhodou, it was never separated from him… she started to be scared.
She realized that it was very dark in that particular place and noticed that the lamp wasn’t there anymore, it was broken on the floor and pointed at a disaster even worse, she felt terrified just by looking at the pile of broken pieces that told the story of an accident. It was a park so the area where the wood was spread was very open but also not so well illuminated, she checked again the sword to see if her eyes weren’t deceiving her, she just didn’t want to think what could have hapenned there and why Naruhodou’s sword was close.
“ Mr. Naruhoudou!…” she gathered courage and decided to look for the answers “ Mr. Naruhodou!” but nobody answered. She started to search among the disaster hoping that it was nothing, that it was just a lost sword…but no.
She gasped when she saw him laying on his stomach and covered by the carriage remains, he wasn’t moving at all.
“ Mr. Naruhodou!” she shook him lightly but got no response, she was scared but tried to stay calm, she was the only one who could help him. She moved the wood until she was able to pull him out, then she rolled him on his back, put an ear in his chest and sighed in relief when she heard his heart still beating. “ What do I do now?...I must look for help! Mr. Holmes! No no, the police, I must call the police, I-I will—“ she was interrumpted by the feeling of someone holding her arm, when she looked down she found out that it was Naruhodou, he had opened his eyes, even if slightly.
“ Gina-san…” he murmured weakly.
“ Oh, you are awake! You okay? What happened?”
“ Help me…” it was dark so it was hard to see how injured he was but Gina could see Ryu’s hair damped and sticked to his forehead, a streak of blood running down his face was also visible. “ Help me get to…to Baker Street, please…”
“ B-but you’re wounded! You must stay calm while I call a doctor.”
“ I…can do it ughh” he tried to get up without sucess, Gina held him.
“ Stay down Mr. Naruhodou!”
“ Please…I need to…I need to see…Susato…please”
“ I will call her here, I promise!”
“ I don’t have…much time…”
Gina felt a shiver just by hearing his words, he was trying so hard to get up that it made her realize how determined he was and decided that she would help him, just like he helped her all the times she needed. She put his arm around her neck while holding his side with her other hand and help him to put on his feet, he was lighter and smaller than she expected.
“ Thank you…let’s—ungghh!” he folded himself in pain and almost fell again.
“ Mr. Naruhodou!”
“ I’m fine…I’m fine…let’s go…” but he wasn’t, his breath was now labored and his body trembled. Gina was scared but he still move foward, their destination was close, they could do it!
Gina felt a road like an entire block, they were slow and the rain made it harder, even if Ryu tried to go fast he put more weight on her with each step and had to stop a few times, every time he leaned on a wall trying to recover she encouraged him: “We are close” “Keep going” “We’re almost there” and he was able to take more steps. Gina started to feel her clothes damped, she wondered, was it rain? Was it blood? She didn’t want to know.
When they finally arrived at the door of the 221 B Ryu was almost a dead weight, Gina looked at him and under the lights it was evident that he was horribly pale and his face covered by watered blood. Then, as he tried to take a step his eyes rolled back and he fell limply to the floor even if Gina was still holding him and trying to prevent it.
“ No no, Mr. Naruhodou…please talk to me” but he didn’t respond. Gina panicked an ran to get his friends before it was too late.

The rain wasn’t a problem for the ones inside Sherlock’s flat, it was warm and the dinner was almost ready. The girls were just waiting for Ryuunosuke and Gina to start.
Sherlock Holmes was sat in his favorite armchair, listening carefully to all of his surroundings. A moment later he heard the main door opening downstairs.
“ Sounds like our favorite defense lawyer has arrived.” He said and the girls smiled, but then he heard weird steps. Sherlock could tell the difference between Ryu’s steps and those from another person, but the ones he was hearing were heavy, slow and not from only one person, it was worse when he heard a loud thump. Sherlock rised from his seat in alarm and quick steps climbed the stairs in less than a second, then someone hit the door desperately.
“ M-mr. Holmes…” at the door stood Gina trembling uncontrollably, what was worse, her clothes and hands were completely covered in blood “ Help him, please…”
Gina pointed at the building door and Sherlock saw him, laying unconscious. He ran downstairs being soon followed by Susato and Iris.
“ Master Naruhodou! Can you hear me?”
“ Naruhodou-sama!” yelled Susato, she touched his face in worry and he opened his eyes.
“ Susato…” he smiled at her “ I’m…glad to see you…” tears fell from Susato’s eyes.
“ Naruhodou-sama is going to be okay…don’t worry.” She said, stroking his hair.
“ What happened?” asked Sherlock.
“ He had an accident, his carriage crashed not so far from here…I found him and he asked me to bring him here but I haven’t seen…all that blood…” said Gina almost crying. Iris checked Ryu, when she unbuttoned his black uniform the once white shirt that he wore was completely red, the black did well to hide it…
“ I’m going to find a doctor, Iris, keep him alive. I’m back in a minute!” shouted Sherlock and ran to the street. He was fast and arrived to the doctor’s house quickly, sending him first while he called the police, in his way he saw the place of the accident and couldn’t help but investigate. It really looked like an accident, but the rain was washing away the clues that could have told otherwise; tracks, blood or footprints. Sherlock couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, that it was no bad luck…
Not so far he found a leather bag that he recognized as Naruhodou’s filled with evidence, as he saw the teapot pieces and the receipt he conected the ideas and knew the truth of the Baskerville case. Now he was sure that it was no coincidence.
He saw the police carriage pass by and he ran back to Baker Street, he saw the door opened just as he had left it, however, the police men had stopped before entering, all of them had removed their hats…
“ Holmesies!” Iris ran and hugged him, she was crying “ I couldn’t do it…I couldn’t…”
“ Iris, what’s wrong?”
“ Narudy…he…he” before Iris could talk Holmes made his way into the house and what he saw broke his heart, he lost his breath and just stood with his gaze fixated on his friends. Susato was hugging Ryuunosuke’s upper body like if he was a child, he had his eyes closed and his chest wasn’t moving anymore, she couldn’t stop crying, her tears falling into Ryu’s black uniform.
Naruhodou Ryuunosuke had died.
Sherlock couldn’t belive it, he felt like it was all a nightmare, he wanted to wake up and seeing him alive, looking lovingly at Susato or drinking tea with Iris. Anything but dead…
The doctor looked at Holmes. “There was nothing I could have done” he said, but it fell on deaf ears. A policeman tried to separate Susato and Ryu’s body to start the investigation but she didn’t allow it, she held him even tighter. Sherlock didn’t know how much time had passed but he couldn’t stay quiet anymore, he walked softly to Susato’s side and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t even flinch, it was like she and Ryu were in a whole world apart from everyone else.
“ Ms. Susato…” she kept crying, Holmes would have joined her if it wasn’t for one thing that was strong in his mind; he swore that he would find the truth for his friend, for poor Susato…for all the years as partners. He couldn’t give up and cry yet. “ It’s alright…you have to let the police investigate.”
“ Holmes-sama…I-I don’t want to let him go…I can’t” her voice was low and broken, it almost hurt to listen to it.
“ You don’t have to.” Holmes got a little more closer and could see Ryu’s bloodied face, he looked calm, almost like if he was just sleeping. “ He would never leave you, even now he’s still with you, in your heart, you can feel it too, right? He loved you so much Ms. Susato, there’s no need for you to keep holding his body…his soul will be here with you, always.” She kept crying but her grip started to lose, Holmes kept talking to her as sweet as he could. “ Nothing can hurt him now, let them take him. I know it’s hard but we have to move on, there are things that we must find out…for his sake. I promise that he will be in good hands, trust me.”
Susato nooded, she kissed Ryu’s forehead before slowly putting him down to rest. As soon as she left him she turned around and hugged Holmes strongly, he signaled with his hand to Iris and Gina and they also hugged him.
“ It’s just so unfair…”
The police took away the body and left them where they were, crying a pain that just they could understand. The rain stopped shortly after but not for them...
Not for them.