Chapter Two: Settling In
Conan looked over at Irene as they walked to the Moore residents. Isabella – now Irene – now adjusting to her child like form walked close to Conan. Her hair was held up in a pony tail that fall half way down her back. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans with a thick warm coat and scarf. She sighed softly and leaned against Conan slightly. "This sucks so much….. I have to act like a little kid again." Conan looked at her. "It's not so hard." He stated. Irene looked up at him. Even as children he was taller than her. "Easy for you to say, I didn't fit in as a kid because I didn't act like one growing up. Now that I am grown up, trying to act like a kid will be a pain in the ass!" Conan wrapped an arm around Irene's shoulders and rubbed softly. "It'll be alright, I promise…." He assured her as the approached the home of the Moore family. "And look at the bright side, you'll be ten soon." He tried to cheer her up. Irene smiled at him. "Oh Conan, you're so silly." She sighed. "Isabella would be turning 17 in a week. I don't know about Irene." She stated to him. Conan smiled at her as they climbed the stairs to the apartment. "My birthday is still the 4th of May, it doesn't need to change." He opened the door to the apartment. "Hey Richard, where's Rachel?" He asked as he walked in. Richard looked at him annoyed. "Her room." He told him with an attitude. Richard's attention was instantly taken from the kids and back to the TV in front of him as Yoko Okino appeared on the screen. Conan and Irene giggled at his reaction and ran directly to Rachel's room.
"Rachel?" Conan asked softly as he popped his head into her room. Rachel was sitting at her desk, worry covered her face. At the sound of Conan's voice she spun around and glared at the boy. "Conan!" she hollered. "Where have you been?" she growled slightly as she stood up and walked over to the small boy. "I'm sorry Rachel!" he pleaded. "Jimmy called Agasa's looking for me. So I spoke to him and he asked a favor of me. He asked if we could help out a friend." He said softly as he back away from Rachel and bumped directly into Irene who stumbled to her butt on the floor. "Ow…" she said softly. Rachel looked behind Conan confused. "See, Jimmy solved a case over in France recently, but left this girl mother-less and her father's where-about are unknown. Jimmy sent her here in hopes you could take care of her." He lied. Irene smiled sheepishly at Rachel. "Oh I see…." She responded softly. "What's your name?" she asked her. Irene stood up quickly. "Irene Vine." She said softly. "Irene… I know that name…" Rachel said softly. "It was the name of Sherlock Holmes love interest. Her name was Irene Adler." Irene smiled happily. "Oh, you like Sherlock Holmes as well?" she asked her. Irene nodded. "Yep, that's how I and Jimmy bonded whilst he was working on my mother's murder case." Her voice softened, almost into a saddening tone. "He right away caught onto my name and we just spoke of detective things." She said softly. "Told him my mother named me. She was a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes." She smiled a disturbing, heart breaking smile. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I miss my mommy…" she whimpered out. Rachel grabbed Irene into a hug and held her tight. "I told Jimmy, I wanted to stay with you. He spoke of you so often, and I just thought 'she sounds awesome.' So he sent me to you…." She sobbed. "It's ok Irene; you can stay here with us." Irene hugged Rachel the best she could with her short arms. She then glanced at Conan who looked as though he were ready to cry. Irene gave him a wink, and then whipped away her tears. Isabella then knew that this was going to be easy. All those years of acting classes, theater clubs and performing in plays, her acting was going to pay off where she wanted it for most; in the detective field.
Hours had passed since Irene arrived at the Moore residents. She sat on the floor of their living room watching TV absent mindedly. Conan sat beside her and glanced in her direction. He cleared his throat. "Yes Conan?" She asked him softly as she turned to look at him. "How did you put that story together so quick and make it so believable?" he asked her. Irene smiled at him. "Most of it was true fact." she stated. "Fact?" he questioned. Irene nodded her head. "Yes. How you and I got to talking was because of Sherlock Holmes, my mother was indeed a fan of Sherlock as well and she did pass away two years ago. So yes, I do miss my mom. My father also wanted to name me Irene but my mother decided on Isabella." She stated to him. "How did she die?" Conan asked her. Irene lay down on the floor, her long golden lock spread out across the floor around her. She looked at the wall, and then glanced at him. "She was murdered. Never did find out who it was though…." She stated as she shut her eyes. "Miss her though; she never failed to make the best chewy chocolate chip cookies." Irene's face lit up with joy as she curled up. "I miss those cookies." She yawned softly, then dosed off. Conan sat beside her and played with a lock of her hair. His smile was sadly soft. 'It must hurt so much to be alone like that. Her father doesn't even live here with her… At least my parents are still around. Hers don't even know what happened to her.' Conan looked around the room then spotted the clock. 'Twelve o'clock already? I should be getting her to a bed… but how?' Conan thought to himself. But perfect timing hit when Rachel walked out the bathroom with a yawn. "Conan? What are you doing up so late?" She asked him. "shhh." He placed a finger at his lips and pointed to Irene. "She's sleeping." Rachel looked down at her with soft, tired and saddened eyes. "That poor kid, I wonder where is her father." Rachel said softly. Conan nodded with her. Rachel bent down and lifted the young blond into her arms and carried her to her room. "Rachel, where will I sleep?" Conan asked her as he pointed to himself with a lost face."With Irene, why?" she asked him as she walked into her room and Conan followed. "Just asking." He smiled sheepishly. As he crawled into bed with Irene's already sleeping body. "Good night Conan" Rachel said with a yawn as she shut the light off and crawled into bed herself. Conan rolled over and looked at Irene. He began to play with her hair. He smiled at her sleeping form. 'She is so beautiful… I wonder why she never had a boyfriend after living here for so long.' Conan thought. Irene wrapped one arm around Conan and held tight, making sure he didn't get away from her. Conan's face flashed bright red. "Jim…my…" she whispered out in her sleep and a tear slid down her face. 'Man, have I made her suffer this much…. She and Rachel have been through so much because of me…' Conan sighed and shut his eyes drifting into sleep.
"Help; Help me!" Irene kicked and squirmed in the bed beside Conan screaming at the top of her lungs at nearly 5 in the morning. "Mama!" she screamed. Conan sat up from a kick to the stomach and grabbed hold of her and tried to wake her up. Irene began to cry hysterically. "Rachel, help me." Conan called to her. Rachel woke up slowly and saw that Irene was having a violent nightmare. She jumped from her bed and got on the floor beside them. She grabbed Irene into her arms and shook up. "Irene wake up!" she said as Irene then grabbed hold of Rachel, hugging her tightly. "Mama…" she whimpered softly. Rachel cradled Irene in her arms and looked at Conan who looked worried. "I think she'll be alright now." She said softly as she laid Irene back down. Conan curled up with Irene and watched her sleep for two straight hours to make sure she didn't have another reaction like this last one. Conan finally closed his eyes to rest again, when suddenly he felt a weight on top of him. He opened his eye to see what it was and saw Irene on top of him. "I-Irene… what are you doing?" He stuttered out. "Irene?" he said softly. Irene leaned close to him, her face inches away from him. "Jimmy…" She whispered softly, and then collapsed on top of him. Conan slowly rolled Irene over and got up. 'I can't keep doing this! She's going to be the end of me!' Jimmy though. He got out of bed and went to the living room. Conan stood at the window looking at the dead streets below. "Conan?" a soft voice came from behind him. Conan turned around to see a weary Irene. "Irene, you ok?" he asked her. She nodded her head. "Nightmares... I have them often." she rubbed her eyes lightly. When the moonlight hit them, they glistened with hues of purple mixed in the fuchsia. "What are the nightmares about?" he asked her softly. "A lot of things; a lot of murder cases haunt me sometimes, my mother's murder get to me once in a while and then there was this reoccurring dream I was having for month that you were dead. I remember standing over your body countless times crying like it actually happened and just waking up every time thinking: 'I'll never see him again.'" She took a deep breath. "I wish you told me earlier Jimmy. I've been dying trying to find you." She growled softly. "I've lost sleep, my grades dropped. You could have at least called once or twice. I know you'd call Rachel all the time, but even so… it didn't make that fear in my chest vanish." She held her hands close to her chest. "The next time you get into trouble, you better come to me. I can't stand losing more people in my life… especially my best friend. I can't do it…" Irene lowered her head and walked away. "Irene…" He said trying to get her attention. "I'll see you in a few hours." She called back to him, and then went back to bed.
"Conan, wake up." Irene said as she rocked him back and forth on the living room couch. "Dude, we got school get ready." She said softly. "School? You?" he asked confused. "Rachel enrolled me in the school you're in this morning." She stated as she buttoned up a black vet over a light blue shirt. She was also sporting a short black skirt with blue knee high socks. Her blond hair was pulled into a pony tail that fell down her back. "Come on Conan, I don't want to be late!" she shouted to him as she walked out the living room. Conan blinked a few times before getting up and getting changed. "Where's my bow tie…." Conan murmured out as he dug through his belongings. "Do you mean this?" Irene asked in her original Isabella voice as she spoke through the bow tie. "Irene!" he shouted as he went to grabbed it. Irene stepped back quickly. "So this is how Richard solves those cases." She laughed. Irene enjoyed hearing her adult voice again; it was nice. "Isabella, give me the boy tie!" he shouted. "Isabella?" Rachel asked as she walked into the room. "Why'd you call Irene Isabella, Conan?" she inquired. Irene shrunk up, not knowing what to do. "I said Isabella?" Conan asked, trying to cover up his very loud mistake. "Yeah, why?" she asked him again. "She does kind of looks like Isabella, don't you think?" Conan asked Rachel with a sheepish smile. "Isabella?" Irene asked. "Yeah, she used to work with Jimmy on a few cases. She's an amazing detective. I'm amazed Jimmy hadn't mentioned her to you Irene. She's almost as cocky as he is ha-ha. You'd think they were related if she wasn't so blond." Rachel laughed. Irene's eye twitched, it felt as if Rachel were belittling and complementing her at the same time. She wasn't sure to feel agitated or happy. "What's wrong with blond?" Irene asked as she threw Conan's bow tie at him. "Oh no nothing, just Jimmy's hair is so dark! And her hair is so bright. But her eyes… they are an amazing color. Sort of like your eyes Irene." Rachel said softly. "She's been under a lot of stress since Jimmy left. She looks like she's in such pain all the time." Rachel said so low that it seemed as though it were under her breath. "She sounds beautiful." Irene said softly. "She is." Conan said as he glanced at her. Irene's face turned light pink. "We're ganna be late!" she said flustered and ran out the room. She slipped her black boots on and ran down the steps. 'Ok, so we're in Teitan Elementary. I remember where that is… just gotta get there.' She thought quickly and buttoned up her little coat. 'This is so weird. I'm so tiny!' she thought as she walked a few blocks. "Hello Irene." A voice said from behind her. Irene turned her head and gave a small smile. "Hello Vi. What are you up to?" Irene asked her as she continued walking. "Heading to school. You?" she responded. "Same thing. Do you attend Teitan Elementary like Conan?" she asked her. "Yes. Is that where you've been enrolled?" Vi asked her. Her voice seemed so dull, it was strange. "Yeah, Rachel enrolled me this morning." Irene informed. Vi nodded her head and continued to look ahead of them. As they approached the school Vi sighed at the sight of George, Amy and Mitch. Irene looked at her and glanced at the small group awaiting her arrival. "Hi Vi!" George shouted to her as Mitch and Amy both waved to her. Vi looked sort of agitated with them, as if she didn't want to be there. Irene approached with her and shyly stood back a little. "Hey Vi, who's that?" Mitch asked her point to Irene. "That's Irene Vine. She's a new transfer student from France." Vi informed them. They all looked at Irene in awe, and then went running to her in curiosity. "How's your Japanese?" Amy asked her. "It's clear." She responded. "wow that's so cool!" Amy said in excitement. "How long have you been in Japan?" Mitch asked her. "For a few weeks now." She answered. "what are your names?" Irene asked them. "I'm George." George stated happily. "I'm Mitch." "and I'm Amy." They stated. Irene smiled. "Beloved." she said softly. "I'm sorry?" Amy responded. "Your name is a French name. in English, your name means beloved or in Japanese it would be Saiai." Irene stated. "I only recognized it because it was my mother's name." she said softly with a sweet smile. "Was?" Mitch asked. "Yes. She passed recently." She said softly. "A while before I moved here actually." She added. "Oh, I'm sorry." Amy said to her in a sorrowful voice. "It's ok, cause justice will prevail, and it always does." She smiled happily. "Vi, is Conan not coming today?" Amy asked and Vi shrugged. "He's just running late today." Irene told her. The group looked at Irene strangely. "Oh, um….. I'm living with the Moore family because Jimmy Kudo requested it." She informed them. "So you live with Conan?" George asked. "Yeah…" Irene responded. Now she felt weird. Maybe she wasn't supposed to tell them? "Where are your parents?" Mitch asked. "I don't know where my father is. My mother was one of Jimmy's murder cases, but while on the case, my father sort of poofed, like we've no idea where he is." She said in a quickened tone. "Oh I see…" Amy said. Suddenly, her eyes lit up like fireworks. "Conan!" she screamed and ran to him to give him a hug. "Hi Amy, Mitch, George." He said happily. "Have you guys met Irene?" he asked them. "Yes." They all answered. Conan smiled at her and Irene looked away with a minor blush. "What time does class start?" she asked them. "In 10 minutes." Mitch told her. "Ok. Thanks." She responded and began to walk to the doors. "What's with her?" Amy asked. "She's kind of shy in a strange way." Conan said softly. He smiled thinking back to the day he met her.
~* Jimmy's Flash Back*~
A transfer student with long legs and long back covering blond hair walked into the room. Her eyes were fuchsia. She had her arms wrapped tightly around a Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes book. This caught Jimmy's eyes right away. "This is our new transfer student Isabella Thorn. She's just moved her from France with her parents and she will be starting this semester with us." Their homeroom teacher announced. Isabella bowed respectfully. "H-hello…" she managed out. The teacher pointed to the empty seat beside Jimmy Kudo. She nodded her head and scurried to the seat. She sat down and placed her book on the desk in front of her. Jimmy leaned over and glanced around the room. 'Looks like Rach aren't here today.' He thought to himself. He then leaned over move, then inched his table closer to her. "Hi." He said softly to her. Isabella nodded her head wanting to not be rude. "So you like Sherlock Holmes too?" He asked her softly. Isabella looked over at him and smiled. "yeah." She answered in a nearly whisper of a voice but her smile was bright. It nearly lit up the room. She made Jimmy smile, jut with her own. "I love Sherlock. He's been my inspiration to be the greatest detective ever lived." Jimmy said with confidence. "That's funny." Isabella began. "How so?" He asked her. "I feel the same way. I use to read all the Conan Doyle books as a child. I eventually even had my own detective squad back home. Through my middle school years back home I began doing my own detective work." She told him. She smiled proudly. "I'm what they called 'le grand détective dame Sherlock' which is French for 'The Great Lady Sherlock.' I was a better detective than anyone on the force in Paris. They tried to solve many things themselves but eventually would just call home for me." She smiled. "I am the greatest Detective in Europe." She bragged slightly. "I've even been bothered to work with Scotland Yard at some point." She said proudly. She giggled and Jimmy smirked at her. "You sound like the female me." He announce to her. Isabella gave him a confused look. "I'm the greatest detective in all Japan, no one has out done me and…" Jimmy leaned in even closer to Isabella; his face mere inches from her own. "No one ever will be greater than me." He told her cockily with that devilish smirked of his. Isabella's face flushed red from the closeness but her eyes had determination. "I bet I can prove you wrong." She responded in a cocky tone of her own that sound just a little sexy in a strange way. "You're on." He announced to her. They smirked at one another. Jimmy say back in his chair, pushing it back slightly and rocking it a bit. "By the way." He began. Isabella looked at him with confusion. "yeah?" she inquired. "You are very beautiful." He smiled his award winning smile he'd always given Rachel. Isabella's face flushed red. Completely embarrassed she grabbed her book and got up from her seat. "Something wrong?" he asked her. Isabella shook her head, her shyness was kicking back in. they had the art of being a detective in common, that's why she spoke; but now he was being a normal guy and she was getting nervous. Isabella raced out the room. 'I hope I didn't offend her… but she is absolutely beautiful. Nicer legs than Rachel that's for sure. Her eyes are an amazing color too.' Jimmy than smirked to himself at his realization. 'She's the shy type. I made her feel embarrassed.' He laughed to himself and sat right at his chair. "She is going to be a challenge. I can feel it." He said happily
~*Flash Back Over*~
Conan sat beside Irene. All he could do was look at her. 'She's still beautiful' He thought to himself for a moment, and then began on his class work. The day flew by them and as it did Irene had bonded with Amy, Mitch and George and even a little with Vi. By lunch Irene had come to the conclusion that being a little kid again was going to be easy and this time she would be learning completely different thinks. Her younger years were in France. She'd been given the chance to start them over in Japan and she was going to take advantage of it the most she could.
Hey! Lawlietlover her! I just wanted to apologize greatly for haven taken so damn long to post a second chapter to this story. but i've finally gotten it up. forgive me. i am just starting to write mystery stories so if the first few cases they handle aren't very well written i would like for you to bare with me cause my writing is only enhancing! I've finally gotten my computer back up and running so there will hopefully be more chapters up soon for both my fanfics. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the many more to come! Lawlietlover- out! XD