Case Closed AU
By: FunahoMisaki
(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)
"Seven. Seven kids already kicked out of the game. That can't be a good sign." Irene said shaking her head while Eva nodded in agreement.
"This is the actual house of Sherlock then?" Mitch asked looking at the small house in front of them after a strange run in with a man on the accordion who caused Irene to narrow her eyes at him.
"This is a lodging house he and Doctor Watson rent actually." Rachel corrected as she knocked on the door, causing it to be answered by Mrs. Hudson who looked at them.
"Hello?" She asked looking at the group.
"Hello ma'am, my name is Rachel. My colleagues and I we're looking for Sherlock. Is he in?" Rachel asked smiling at the woman who blinked.
"I'm afraid he and Dr. Watson left for Dartmoor this morning." Mrs. Hudson said causing the group to look shocked. Their assist character wasn't there to assist them!
"Dartmoor! This may seem strange to ask but what is to days date?" Rachel asked seemingly at random.
"Why it's the thirtieth of September of course." The woman said giving Rachel a strange look.
"Dartmoor on the thirtieth of September….that's the Hounds of Baskerville case!" Irene said after a moment of thinking, causing Rachel to agree with her.
"Wait a second. Aren't you the ones who helped Holmes on that case? Do please come in. It's so nice to have friendly unexpected visitors." Mrs. Hudson said opening the door wider to let them in.
"I think she thinks we're someone else." Amy commented idly.
"Others in the game must be programmed to see the players as the Baker Street Irregulars." Irene said easily as Eva carried her into the apartment, being careful not to let her hit the doorframe.
"Who're they?" Moroboshi asked blinking at Irene.
"They're a group of kids Holmes would hire from time to time to collect clues in places where he couldn't go." Rachel answered instead as she entered the house, the other kids following her.
"So they're like the predecessors to our junior detective league?" Mitch asked looking up at the teenager curiously.
"That's exactly right Mitch." Irene said nodding.
"You all wait right here while I get some tea." Mrs. Hudson said smiling as the kids made themselves comfortable in the sitting room.
"Do you mind brining back some medicinal supplies for Irene-chan? Her ankle was injured earlier." Eva requested, causing Mrs. Hudson to look worried but nod as she left the room. For a few minutes the kids just looked around, the JDL pointing out the obvious resemblance between Dr. Watson and Dr. Agase, and Sherlock with Booker Kudo…something that made Irene snicker slightly.
"Start looking around guys. Knowing what kind of detective Holmes is he must have a journal or some notes on Jack the Ripper." Irene said causing Takizawa to call that he was going to look over on one book shelf while Rachel and Eva tackled another one, Moroboshi just shrugged and picked one at random, and the other four JDL members were working together on another book shelf.
"All of this stuff is in English. How're we supposed to read it?" George asked as he picked up a book at random.
"Let's see here. When investigating a crime…HOLY CRAP I'm a genius!" George said after realizing he could read the English words as easily as if they were Japanese now.
"I can read it now." Mitch said shocked.
"The players avatars are probably programmed to be able to read any language in the world. Not a big difference for me in this case however." Vi said as she flipped through the book she was holding while Mrs. Hudson returned with some bandages and tea. Eva stopped her search and walked over to secure the bandages around Irene's ankle, keeping it elevated so that the young girl didn't put too much pressure on it.
"Thank you." Irene said politely to Mrs. Hudson before going back to thinking about something. Hmm. From what she know of JTR from Sir Author Conan Doyle's books JTR had killed a woman by the name of Honey Charleston and then two other women at random. The difference between the three women were that the first victim was killed on a second Sunday at a church in the White Chapel district. So lost in thought was she, Irene nearly pulled her gun when Mrs. Hudson gave a small squeal.
"She looks so cute like that! She looks just like Holmes when he's deep in thought, only it looks much cuter on her!" Mrs. Hudson said causing Irene to nearly fall out of the chair she had been placed in, in surprise. She hadn't expected the loud squeal from the woman at all…although in hindsight she probably should have…a lot of women squealed whenever she did something near them for some reason. She never could figure out why they did that though…it was weird.
"I found the book!" Rachel said snickering as Irene looked at Mrs. Hudson bewildered. She found it hilarious that Irene didn't realize just how adorable she was sometimes. Almost as if she was never there Mrs. Hudson suddenly vanished, presumably into the next room as Rachel put the book down the table in front of Irene.
"Let's see. Honey Charleston, first victim. Age forty one, single, found outside of a church that holds a mother child bazar every second Sunday of the month. Found on September the 8th with rings of two different sizes found near her body…Wait a second…" Irene trailed off, thinking deeply as something clicked in her mind.
"I see….so that's why she was the first victim." Irene said with a small sigh as she closed her eyes. So that's what the deal was…how sad when you thought about it.
"Irene-chan?" Rachel asked looking at the little girl confused, and she wasn't the only one.
"Honey Charleston was the only original target of JTR…because of one reason and one reason alone." Irene said sighing as she sat back into the chair she was in.
"JTR killed her because he resented her since he was most likely a child, when she moved here to London and left her family behind. The matching rings in two sizes, the mother-child bazar on the second Sunday at that church where she was killed on a second Sunday…it's rather easy to figure out if you think about it subjectively." Irene said leaning her head back while everyone stared at her confused and outside the game Booker Kudo face planted. Not even two hours into the game and Irene had already figured it out?! Talk about a blow to the ego.
"Why'd he kill her then four eyes?" Moroboshi asked looking at Irene confused. Irene sighed slightly, her next sentence shocking the hell out of everyone.
"Because Honey Charleston is Jack the Ripper's mother."