"Come, my dear fellows! Let us compare our findings over tea, and see if Iris' fresh eyes can glean any new leads!" Holmes rushed up the stairs to 221B as spryly as ever, waving the mystery feather before him.
Susato-san and I trooped inside behind him as he flung open the door, perfectly ready to sink onto the chaise lounge and talk over the day's events with Iris. So imagine our stupefaction upon encountering not Iris, but a well-built matron in a mob cap with her back to us, flapping the contested fan at Holmes' overloaded shelves of equipment and case notes.
"Aaaah!"
"Aaaah?!"
I think any unbiased and randomly selected jury would be hard put to deliberate the more surprised party.
"So you are the nefarious fan owner!" Holmes accused the mystery woman.
"Nefarious fan? What's all this now?" barked the interloper. Her energetic manner and headgear had at first reminded me of our acquaintance Mrs Garrideb, but now that her face was visible, along with being somewhat taller, it was clear that that this woman was a stranger to us.
"Oh Sherley, you know very well this is dear Mrs Hudson," said Iris as she entered the sitting room from the kitchen. She calmly shifted two brown paper-wrapped parcels from the table-trunk in order to set down the tray she carried. Wagahai trotted silently behind her, tail forming fuzzy question marks in the air.
"Mrs Hudson?!" gasped Susato-san.
"Do we know her?" I whispered.
"She's the landlady!" Susato-san whispered back.
"Eh?!" I staggered back in shock.
"Oh, Mrs Hudson! Sorry, it's been so long since we've seen your face, I'd quite forgotten it," said Holmes with his hand behind his head, beaming fit to rival the sun.
"Well, you won't be forgetting it when rent comes due this month! I hope you haven't been leeching off poor Iris, the dear little mite!" Mrs Hudson's long-missed face resembled a sun-obscuring cloud just before the storm bursts. "And what on earth have you been doing with my duster? Taking it apart and putting it together back to front for your own mischievous ends, no doubt!"
"Yes, why did you take out feathers from Mrs Hudson's duster?" asked Iris. "We found what was left of it on your analytiscope. It looked a bit squashed too."
"I assure you, I only removed the single feather for investigative purposes!" Holmes protested. "I'll just reattach it now, shall I?" He accepted the contested item from the fuming Mrs Hudson and hurried over to some tools scattered on his desk.
"So, that isn't a fan?" I guessed.
"Of course not!" Iris narrowed her eyes at Holmes. "Did you tell them it was?"
"Fan, feather duster - it was an honest mistake," said Holmes, donning his goggles for an enlarged view of the clamp that secured the feathers.
"Oh, Sherley," sighed Iris.
"Then what of your chemical compound in it, Iris? And Mr Holmes's soil samples?" Susato-san asked.
"Is that what those clumps of mud and dirt were?" Mrs Hudson shook her head, ribbons fluttering in her wake. "I noticed the mess when I stopped by early this morning to speak with Iris, but she was already out. So I just took a quick dab at it before moving along on the rest of my errands. My duster must have slipped from its hook when I was leaving." She motioned towards the duster's handle sticking out from the edge of Holmes's desk. A brass hook ferrule was now fitted neatly into the hollow at the end we'd examined earlier.
"Oh, Sherley can fix that for you!" Holmes, who must've been listening in, began working on the hook furiously as Iris continued. "And as far as my chemical goes, I'm so pleased you noticed! That's actually a very special glass super cleaner that I formulated, and shared with Mrs Hudson." She tilted her head and grinned cutely. "Only the best for our dear landlady!"
"And it works a treat; I always keep a bottle handy." Mrs Hudson clearly doted on the young inventor just as much as Inspector Gregson, but with more motherliness and less obsequiousness.
She then spoke with us in a brisk yet cozy manner. "I've been away on holiday with my kinsfolk in the country, and ended up stopping longer than I meant, due to helping with their colicky baby. But I'm back in good old London at last, and none too soon - country air is all very well, but there's nothing quite like a cuppa our dear little doctor's herbal brews." She patted Iris' belooped hair fondly. "And, if you don't mind my saying so, I know she can manage far beyond her years, but you have no idea how pleased I was that Miss Iris added such respectable young people to the household. Foreigner or not, such things don't signify to me. I'm sure you would never put bullet holes in my nice new wallpaper. 'Patriotic spirit', my left foot!" She glared daggers at the 'V.R.' dotted into the back wall. Holmes was very careful to avoid that area as he restored the duster into her keeping. It really had looked flatter and more fan-like when we'd first seen it this morning; maybe Holmes had trod upon it by mistake before picking it up. Now post-restoration, it was noticeably fuller and more tightly centred; Wagahai was entranced by it, her eyes never leaving its bouncy feathers.
"We're delighted to meet you at last, Mrs Hudson." Susato-san spoke for the both of us as we bowed. "I'm sorry it has taken us so long to introduce ourselves properly, and do hope that your relatives' health is entirely improved. I'm afraid it can't compare to Iris' blends, but you must allow us to share some of our Japanese matcha tea. We would be honoured by your company."
"Oh, what a well-spoken young lady you are!" Mrs Hudson gushed. It seemed that Susato-san was well on her way to becoming as great a favourite as Iris. "I'll be sure to take you up on your offer on my next visit. But I must be off now that I've my duster back in one piece; I've tea waiting at home. Until next time, dears!" She waved to us as she trotted to the door.
"Bye-bye, Mrs Hudson!" Iris waved cheerfully as Mrs Hudson locked the door behind herself. The prodigy inventor then returned to setting out the tea things. "So, how was your day? Anything exciting happen?"
"Plenty," I answered as we all found ways to assist. "First we met a pirate, and then some admirers of your stories." I thought it was more accurate to call them that, rather than of Holmes himself. "And we were almost forced into a concert date with the Reaper."
"Oh pooh! What a pity." Iris pouted at the injustice. "He seems so grim and lonely all the time; I'm sure a spot of cheerful music with nice company like you two would have been just the thing for him." Or maybe I had misinterpreted.
"Don't forget about the bakery," Susato-san reminded me. "They were quite taken with your insulated bottles, Iris. We bought these biscuits there." She plated the colourful treats.
"Ooh, how darling!" Iris hovered over them, admiring the preserve-piped animal faces. "You did quite a lot while I was out!"
"Did your meeting go well?" asked Susato-san.
"Yes, thank you for asking! We're all settled nicely for next month's installment." Iris happily poured tea into everyone's cups. "I saw some people carrying the advertisements for it on my way back – were you able to ask Ginny's help, then?"
"Yes, we did," I said. That reminded me of another point. "We'll have to tell her that she doesn't need to look out for feathered fans anymore."
"Did you drag Ginny into it too?" Iris shook her head at Holmes. "You really didn't need to go through all that trouble to keep my little secret, Sherley."
"Secret? What secret?" Why would Iris need to keep something hidden from us?
Iris explained before I had time to get really nervous. "It's all ready to share now, so I suppose no harm done! It's these!" She gestured to the pair of packages in brown wrapping paper lying by the ersatz tea table. "They're for you two!"
"Oh Iris!" Susato-san was equally touched and troubled.
I felt some misgivings also. "They aren't Christmas presents, are they?" I asked, recalling Susato-san's previous advice on starting early.
"Runo, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Christmas isn't for another nine months yet." Iris gazed at me with compassion.
"If you want to put a label on it, you can call it a joint welcoming present as well as a token of our appreciation," Holmes called out from the kitchen cupboard. "Why don't you open them?"
We couldn't politely refuse, so we did so. We peeled back the paper to reveal two complete sets of folded clothes. They were very smart, made of sturdy weather-proof materials in strong yet muted hues of blue and pink, with a necktie for me and a ruffled white linen cravat at the throat for Susato-san. There was even a hat and heart-shaped shoulder purse for her too. The part that drew our focus the most, and I confess caused me to blink back a tear or two, was the pair of goggles included with each ensemble, marking the wearers at a glance as belonging to the ad hoc family unit of 221B.
"Do you like them?" Iris bounced on her toes to watch our expressions. "It's not that your clothes from home aren't charming as they are - especially yours, Susie! - but we thought that you might like to try a different style when the mood takes you!" I didn't have the heart to point out that my university gakuran was technically western dress, not Japanese. "I told Sherley as I was leaving this morning that I would be picking them up from the tailor's after my meeting, and adding a few odds and ends on this afternoon. Sherley fetched any bits I was missing for me while you were out, and ran them back to me to work on."
"Oh, Iris." Susato-san appeared as overwhelmed as I felt. "How could we possibly deserve such a generous gift, after all you both have already done for us?"
"How could you think you don't?" Iris took hold of her hands gently. "Ever since you came, you've been looking out after us just as much as we look after you. That's what we four do here, at 221B." The tiny genius squeezed Susato-san's hands as our throats were too tight to respond aloud. Holmes hovered over her shoulder, looking on fondly while cradling the sugar bowl. Wagahai mewed softly, making Iris giggle. "Ah, we five, of course! Sorry, Waggy! And if the cost is your concern, don't let it be. If it helps to know, I did recently receive a bonus, and Sherley contributed some reward money he came by. We also have a bit of a barter system with the tailors, in exchange for little improvements and maintenance on their machines. Anyway, it's all within budget." Iris smiled at us sweetly. "If you really feel so strongly about it, then how about in some spare moments, you both teach me a bit of your lovely language? I'm quite jealous that Sherley knows more than me."
"Of course!" We agreed in the same instant.
"Wonderful! Then, maybe we could begin now?" Iris clasped her hands in excitement. "How do I say 'thank you very much'?"
"あリがとございます!"
"Arigatou gozaimasu!" She copied Susato-san perfectly, down to swallowing the tail of the last syllable, like the little prodigy she was.
"こっちの台詞だ!" I blurted.
"'Kocchi no serifu da'?" Iris blinked open-mouthed at my outburst. "What's that mean?"
"'That's my line!'" I explained shamefacedly.
Iris giggled. "In that case, how do I say 'you're welcome'?"
"どういたしまして."
"Dou itashimashite!" Iris clapped her hands. "Now that you've accepted your presents, off you go to try them on!"
Thoroughly played by a ten-year-old, we both scurried up the stairs to change into our new clothes. And I had thought my gakuran had a lot of buttons; I hoped Susato-san was managing. We finished dressing at the same time, and so we trooped back down together to the sitting room, all decked out to receive our neighbours' critique.
"Hmm, I think the dress could stand taking in, and it seems I underestimated your height, Runo. But that is nothing a quick alteration can't fix! I bet they'll be back in perfect form in a fortnight!"
They really were amazing for a first fitting. Even Wagahai wound around our ankles to sniff at the hems and sneeze in approval. I kept adjusting Karuma at my side as it rode higher on this belt, and Susato-san swayed surreptitiously, making her full skirts swish about her legs. Our eyes caught as we each touched the new goggles on our heads, and we shared a secret smile.
"Thank you both, we are deeply touched by your kindness."
"Aww, we're both so glad to have you with us!" Iris mirrored our happiness. "Aren't we, Sherley?"
"Naturally, my dear fellows," said Holmes simply, but with underlying warmth.
"Why don't we have tea just like this?" Iris suggested. "The clothes could use breaking in, and I can hear all about your adventures today."
We chattered and laughed over Iris' tea and the bakery biscuits, recounting and listening to everyone's stories. It felt like what I'd always wanted; it felt like home.
Asougi, if you can hear me, wherever you are: we miss you, very much, and always will; but thanks to our friends, we're doing fine. If we cannot have you here with us in this strange new world, then at least, we've found the next best thing. I only hope we can keep having days like this for as long as possible, as we strive toward the future you longed for.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading!
OC name explanations:
Frey E. Booter = Freebooter, i.e. pirate
Violet "Penelope" P. Rose = violet prose = purple prose, i.e. extremely flowery language