The empty File
"Magnussen is not your business."
Mycroft's voice echoed dangerously through the gloomy living room of Sherlock Holmes.
"So, you mean he's yours," his brother retorted, earning nothing but a smirk.
"You may consider him under my protection."
But Sherlock only took a step towards his elder brother, so that Mycroft could smell the pungent scent of the drug-hole, Watson had fished him from, while his brother's reply was just as sharp as his own.
"I consider you being under his thumb."
"You go against Magnussen, then you'll find yourself going against me."
Mycroft hissed, drawing himself up to his full height. The threat lingered between them, but before Sherlock was able to reply a third, unknown voice cut through the air.
"What a pity, I hoped for a fair game, but now, it seems it's three against one."
All three turned around to look at the intruder, surprised to find a young man, standing in the door frame with a sharp smile on his lips.
"What?!" Doctor Watson was the first to stutter his surprise, while both Holmes brothers immediately recognized him, even though their reactions couldn't be more different.
A smile searched its way to the detective's lips. His mind might still be on "high" alert - okay it might be the drugs too - but he couldn't help but feel the spike of fascination, to finally see him in person.
'So that's how we finally meet each other… Shinichi Kudo,' Sherlock mused, while his brother seemed to boil at the rude attitude of the high schooler, his voice nothing more than a growl.
"You," the bureaucrat scolded. "You've got no reason to meddle in this." Mycroft took a step forward and forced Kudo to look up at him since he still missed a few inches to be on eye level.
"Boy."
But Shinichi didn't filch beneath the sharp tone or the hidden threat. However, the smile on his lips vanished.
"Oh, from what I've heard I've got every reason to." The blue eyes of the detective briefly flickered to Sherlock, before they settled back on Mycroft with a smirk.
"But of course, you already know that." Shinichi's voice grew dark and Watson felt how goosebumps appeared on his arms when he imagined the grade schooler in his place.
"Sherlock here might be the addicted one, but we all know that you're the one dealing with quite more potential stuff and I can't help but wonder if Magnussen is a customer or seller of yours."
Sherlock didn't even bother to hide the grin growing on his lips. He knew that his brother was boiling right now, and the way he straightened his tie told him that Mycroft struggled to remain calm. It was rather fun, watching someone else causing his brother some headache, even though it was a dangerous game his young friend decided to play and Mycroft didn't hesitate to remind him of it.
"It seems your ego has also suffered from a sudden growth spurt. But despite our friendly meeting last time, let me remind you that you're only able to roam free because I allow it," Mycroft growled.
"I might be able to turn a blind eye on a "trainee" meddling with some MI6 files while I'm gone, but if the two of you go against Magnussen, I fear I can no longer guarantee you this freedom." Shinichi's wince was enough for Sherlock to assume that his brother was telling the truth.
'So that's the reason for your sudden appearance. I guess a child sneaking into this part of the government would have been too obvious.'
The younger detective clenched his teeth and swallowed the lump in his throat before he decided to answer. "I hope the peace of your country doesn't involve such dark threats and methods."
Mycroft raised an eyebrow before his gaze settled on some invisible dust on his sleeves.
"Peace is only a façade to keep the people at bay and it always comes with a price," the Brit told him, brushing over the smooth texture of his coat before his piercing eyes met Shinichi's again.
"You should know that," he hissed. "You meddle with things you don´t understand, dangerous things."
Shinichi bit his lips to avoid a rather nasty reply. The air between him and the elder Holmes had grown so tense that someone could cut it with a knife. Only Sherlock didn't seem to notice or didn't care in his drugged state and used their silence to shoo his brother out.
"Alright, now that you two blabbermouths have caught up with each other there was something I wanted to say-" he murmured, stepping between Kudo and Mycroft toward the still open door, "-oh right…"
"Bye-bye!"
Sherlock pointed to the door, but Mycroft – all the attitude of an elder brother - had to scold him one more time.
"Unwise, brother mine."
Unwise indeed, because the moment these words had left Mycroft's lips, Sherlock jumped forward, grabbed his brother's arm, and twisted it around, pushing his face against the door frame.
"Brother mine-" the detective hissed. "-don´t annoy me when I'm high."
Shinichi's eyebrows wandered up, he shot Watson a questioning look, but the doctor was already making his way over to them.
"Mycroft, don´t say another word, just go. He could snap you in two and right now. I'm slightly worried that he might," Watson advised, never leaving Sherlock out of sight, who finally let go of his brother's wrist. The elder Holmes massaged his arm and shot all three of them a sour look, but the doctor intervened again before Mycroft was about to argue.
"Don´t speak, just leave."
Mycroft's jaw tensed, his eyes wavered dangerously from Watson to Sherlock again, while Shinichi picked up the oddly heavy umbrella, handing it to the Brit with a stern gaze.
"You better follow the doctor's advice."
The government agent stared at him, before he grabbed the umbrella from Shinichi's hands, turned around, and left.
Shinichi took a deep breath once the door closed behind Sherlock's elder brother, but when he turned around he was met with four eyes staring at him in wonder. While Sherlock seemed to study every pore of his body – in his drugged state – it was John who found his voice first.
"Did you ask him to come?" The doctor questioned with a glance at his friend.
"Don´t be ridiculous, John!"
"Oi!" But Shinichi's protest fell on deaf ears since Sherlock just rolled his eyes at them.
"He's just noisy and probably had to leave Japan in a hurry, even though I wonder why you choose to travel like that. I thought Mycroft offered you his little present last time you met," Sherlock deduced but his last statement left the Doctor wondering.
"What? Wait- the last time?"
Shinichi shot a glare at his Idol who frowned before his eyebrow twitched ever so slightly when Dr. Watson finally connected the dots.
"You knew!?" he shouted, pointing at the young man in anger. Shinichi swallowed before he scratched his cheek with an apologizing smile.
"Ah- well…"
Sherlock sighed, obviously annoyed by the doctor's thin-skinned behavior.
"Oh come on John, I thought we were past this…"
"If it helps he didn´t tell me that he's still alive, I deduced it myself," the young detective announced. Watson looked at the two men, who thought of themselves as intelligent people. Well, intelligent his a-
"If it – NO it doesn´t! The two of you, I swear –" The doctor groaned and swallowed the rest of his sentence with a shake of his head. He was about to wander to his usual chair before he remembered that it wasn´t there anymore and cursed silently.
Sherlock's attention however was still fixed on the high schooler. It might be the drugs but the picture of the detective flickered to the little boy and back. The similarities were fascinating and yet his mind seemed to struggle even more with the idea that this man in front of him was turned into a little kid by some mysterious drug.
Where did his body mass go?
How was it affecting his cells?
Why did it stop when he was a grade schooler again?
How did it feel… to age backward?
"Amazing… no wonder, that everyone struggles to see the truth."
Shinichi stiffened underneath the detective's red-rimmed eyes, which were far too close to comfort on his skin. It felt like Holmes was dissecting him with his looks like someone would study the insides of a frog.
"Including you, you mean," Watson teased from the sideline with a smug smile.
The detective stopped in his tracks, glaring at his friend. "Well, shrinking isn´t really my métier."
"So, why did you come here, when you already found what you've been looking for?" Sherlock finally asked the younger detective, who took a step back with a judging look.
"Apparently to watch how you're damaging your brain and body with some illegal drug."
Sherlock rolled his eyes and let himself slump into his chair, looking up at the young man before he got back up again since the angle was just- wrong.
"You're one to talk about illegal drugs," the older detective mused with a sly grin, only earning a glare from Shinichi.
"How did you get past Ms. Huson anyway?" The high schooler's ears turned a bright shade of red at the doctor's question.
"Ah- well-"
Sherlock shook his head - God, he needed a coffee and a shower, yes definitely a shower.
"Whatever – It pains me to say that my brother might be right." The younger Holmes tugged at his sleeve, but his voice was harsh when he looked back to Kudo.
"It's too dangerous for you to be here, especially now." The sudden cold voice of his friend directed Watson's attention back to them. Shinichi could hear the threat in Sherlock's voice. For once it was obvious that he was Mycroft's brother. Shinichi swallowed, but held Holme's gaze, while he answered.
"If your plan works out I've to see if there's a chance to get the information I need."
Doctor Watson raised an eyebrow at what could only be described as a staring contest before Sherlock groaned.
"I don´t have time for this- I need a shower," he announced with a frown, marching towards the bathroom, while he shouted a command over his shoulder.
"Watson, take care of him!"
"What? But-"
"I don't need-"
Their protest was cut short by a wave of Sherlock's hand.
"Yeah, yeah, I've got a meeting in a few hours."
That however spiked Watson's interest again.
"It's for a case, you said?" the doctor asked casually, or at least he tried to since Shinichi could already see the curious glimmer in the blond's eyes.
"Yep." Well, that wasn´t much of an answer.
"What sort of case?"
"Too big and dangerous for any sane individual to get involved in," Holmes announced, ignoring the protest from the high school detective, while Watson just raised an eyebrow. "You're trying to put me off?"
Sherlock turned back to him, his hand already on the handle of the bathroom door, his voice held the usual smile when he was messing with his friend.
"God, no. Trying to recruit you." With that he vanished into the bathroom, leaving the younger detective and the doctor alone.
"He's… high?" Shinichi frowned once the door closed behind Holmes. Watson just sighed, making his way to the kitchen.
"Yeah, and he already got his 'usual' treatment for it…"
Shinichi blinked, did this mean Sherlock was addicted again?
"Wait, the usual? But I thought-"
"Well, apparently it's for a case," the doctor muttered in a sarcastic tone before he turned around.
"Coffee?"
"Uh, sure," Shinichi nodded, confused by the rapid change of topic, but watched how Watson started to work, seeing his surprise when the coffee wasn´t in his usual place. Well, he wasn´t living here any longer.
"Just take a seat, I'll be with you in a minute."
Shinichi nodded again. It was strange to be back in Sherlock's apartment, as himself. Even more, since everything looked different from this angle. At least he hadn´t been kidnapped by the detective this time - fearing for his secret - but was here on his own accord. Here in his idol's room. The high schooler bit his lips, he had to stop himself from freaking out (because that would be totally uncool right?), so he searched for a seat, spotting Sherlock's chair. A grin found its way to his lips. Shinichi let his fingers trace over the arm of the chair, oh he really shouldn't…
"Fanboy much?"
Shinichi twitched at Watson's voice, who wore a cheeky grin.
"What? I, uh- I, uhm-"
"Jeez, it's just a chair, sit down already." The doctor smirked while Shinichi chewed his bottom lip, head glowing bright red in embarrassment when he finally did as he was told. He had trouble hiding the board grin on his lips, instead focused on watching Watson preparing the coffee. The detective raised an eyebrow, as the doctor cursed, searching for the water kettle. He went through the cabinets like he was seeing them for the first time before he finally came back with two pots of coffee in his hands.
"I hope black is alright with you, since the milk has long gone sour and I rather doubt that the white powder in the sugar pot is sugar at all.
"Black is fine, thank you but-" Shinichi hesitated, looking around the room again, yet Watson wasn´t prepared for his next question.
"I just wondered… since when does Sherlock have a girlfriend?"
"A WHAT?!" The doctor exclaimed, nearly spilling his coffee on the floor. "What makes you think he does."
Shinichi just shrugged at the question. "Simple deduction Doctor."
John blinked, looking back at the young detective, who seemed to wear a familiar smile, sitting in this all too familiar chair.
"When I passed his coat downstairs, I noticed a hint of makeup on one side of his collar, as well as the smell of a woman's perfume. Furthermore, you rummaged through the kitchen searching for each and everything, while you should know where everything is, so someone must have rearranged it. While we know that Sherlock has a 'special' taste in decorating and storing things, he's also rooted in his tiny habits, so someone else must have done it… and he let them. The fact that you don't know about it, makes me even more believe that I'm right."
"Right about what?"
The voice made both of them jump. Shinichi couldn´t help but sigh in relief at the more familiar picture of Sherlock Holmes, but couldn´t help the cheeky smile which appeared on his lips when Watson simply stared at his friend.
"You have a girlfriend?" the doctor nearly squeaked, grabbing his throat in surprise at his own high voice. Sherlock shot Shinichi a sour glance before he shrugged.
"Yes, I have."
John's eyes grew wide, a disbelieving grin appeared on his lips, which Sherlock simply ignored, taking a seat at his desk, fetching his laptop while he started to explain.
"Now, Magnussen. Magnussen is like a shark – it's the only way I can describe him. Have you ever been to the shark tank at the London Aquarium, John – stood up close to the glass? Those floating flat faces, those dead eyes ... That's what he is. I've dealt with murderers, psychopaths, terrorists, serial killers… and shrunken high schoolers. None of them can turn my stomach like Charles Augustus Magnussen."
Shinichi raised an eyebrow, he knew Magnussen was involved in various topics. His name had shown up in all sorts of files. Aside from finding more information about Sera and her mother, Magnussen was the reason for his visit to London, because if this man held so much information, he might know something about the organization as well.
"He uses his power and wealth to gain information," Sherlock continued. "The more he acquires, the greater his wealth and power." With a few clicks on his laptop, Sherlock pulled up a photo of Magnussen, along with a blueprint of his house.
"He has created an unassailable architecture of forbidden knowledge. Its name ..." The detective turned the laptop to John and Shinichi. "... is Appledore."
While the younger detective nodded grimly, already studying the architecture of their goal, John still stared at his friend in wonder.
"Yes, you have," the doctor repeated and earned himself confused looks from both detectives.
"Sorry, what?" Sherlock blinked.
"You- you have a girlfriend?"
Shinichi nearly fell out of the chair while Sherlock still struggled to understand Watson's sudden change of topic.
"I thought that was obvious," he muttered with a raised eyebrow. He never even tried to hide it, though it seemed that John thought he did.
"What? No!" Watson argued, but Sherlock just shrugged, nodding to Shinichi. "Well, apparently it was- to him."
"Hey keep me out of this!" Shinichi raised his hands in defense, while John still looked wary at both detectives, earning a glare from his friend.
"Seriously? I've just told you that the Western world is run from this house ..." the detective proclaimed, pointing at the screen. "... and you're moping that I haven't told you that I'm dating someone?"
John rolled his eyes. "Fine, talk about the house."
Sherlock threw him a look before he turned back to the laptop again.
"It is the greatest repository of sensitive and dangerous information anywhere in the world..." he explained looking over his shoulder at John and Shinichi. "... the Alexandrian Library of secrets and scandals – and none of it is on a computer. He's smart – computers can be hacked." Sherlock explained and Shinichi nodded.
"It's all on hard copy." The younger detective deduced and Holmes nodded. "In the vaults underneath that house," he pointed to the blueprint on the screen before he turned around to face the two again.
"As long as it exists, the personal freedom of anyone you've ever met is a fantasy."
Shinichi swallowed, this man was dealing with pure knowledge, and that's what made him so dangerous in many ways.
"I'm not exaggerating when I say that he knows the critical pressure point on every person of note or influence in the whole of the Western world and probably beyond," Sherlock continued. "He is the Napoleon of blackmail... and that's why you should go now."
Shinichi's lips thinned. It took some time before he finally nodded.
"I've got something else to investigate anyway, but as soon as-"
"Of course- we can´t afford to let those kinds of information into the wrong hands." But before they could continue there was a knock on the door, followed by Mrs. Hudson entering the apartment. She looked from John and Sherlock to Shinichi and back again, but then decided not to question the strange assemble.
"Oh, that was the doorbell. Couldn't you hear it?" she questioned, pointing to the stairs.
"It's in the fridge. It kept ringing." Shinichi sneered at Holme's answer, but Mrs Hudson seemed to grow paler with each passing second.
"Oh, that's not a fault, Sherlock!" The old woman bit her lips and the doctor finally recognized her struggle. "Who is it?"
She drew an anxious breath, her gaze wandering from John to Sherlock again who understood instantly.
"He's too early," he hissed; his eyes wandered to the Japanese detective.
"Go, hide!"
XXX
Shinichi could feel his heart hammering in his chest, the layers of dust in his hiding spot were tickling his nose, but he tried his best to stay calm. It looked like their target had found them first. He could hear Sherlock talking to Magnussen, while one of his goons finished frisking John, the other one was searching the flat and was dangerously close to-
"Huh?!"
The man stared at him, through the now open door, almost surprised that he actually found someone hiding in the apartment.
'Shit!'
The high school detective cursed when he was roughly led from his hiding spot. His hand wandered to his watch, but when he caught Sherlock's eyes, he quickly dropped the thought of darting anyone. Shinichi could feel Magnussen's cold gaze on his skin, as he was shoved back into the living room.
"And who might this be?"
"The guy was hiding in the closet, Sir," the gorilla behind Shinichi growled in response. Magnussen's eyes gleamed with interest, while he pushed himself up from the sofa to take a closer look at the high schooler.
"Is that so? May I ask who I have the honor to speak to?"
Shinichi's lips, however, were sealed, while he tried to hold the icy glare of Magnussen. Right now, Sherlock's comparison with a shark made sense. His blue eyes seemed to be empty, yet calculating... When Shinichi stayed silent a nod from the man was enough to grab the high schooler again, emptying his pockets to the floor. He could hear Sherlock taking a sharp breath when one of the men picked up his wallet so that Magnussen could answer the question himself.
"Shinichi Kudo."
He read aloud, his mind already working on information for this name.
Shinichi Kudo
…file in progress:
Japanese High School Detective
Family: Yusaku (See file) and Yukiko Kudo
Actual status: Unknown? Disappeared? Dead?
Pressure Point: ?
"Interesting."
Magnussen frowned, taking another step towards the young man, only inches away now – to study him further. He was annoyed by how composed Kudo seemed to be, but his eyes betrayed him, showing him hidden fear and to his surprise also recognition.
"Very interesting, indeed."
He was again hindered from following his thoughts, searching through his files when Sherlock Holmes interrupted him, guiding his eyes back to the older detective, who continued his demands in a stern voice.
"Mr. Magnussen, about those letters…."
Sherlock Holmes
Consulting Detective
Brother: Mycroft Holmes (See file)
Pressure Point: Irene Adler (See file) , Jim Moriarty (See file), Redbeard (See file), Opium, John Watson (See file)
While the detective tried to negotiate with him it was obvious that he also tried to lead the attention away from the foreign high schooler. A sly grin spread over Magnussen's thin lips.
… adding pressure Point: S.h.i.n.i.c.h.i_K.u.d.o (File in progress)
Sherlock huffed at the strange smile and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Something I said?" Magnussen's smile stayed in place, yet the detective couldn´t help the feeling that this man wasn´t looking at him, but through him somehow.
"No, no. I-I was reading." Magnussen adjusted his glasses, reading through his list once more. "There's rather a lot." Magnussen paused before he murmured something.
"Redbeard..."
Shinichi's gaze darkened when he saw Sherlock freeze at the apparently random word. He could see him blinking, rapidly, with his mouth slightly open like someone had pushed a pause bottom on his idol.
While Magnussen excused himself for the interruption and started asking for the bathroom, Shinichi's gaze still lingered on the man beside him. It seemed that Sherlock hadn't noticed that he had spaced out for the last seconds. He simply cleared his throat, before continuing his negotiations. But Shinichi's eyes never left Holmes as he spoke, only when he had to shift aside to make space for Magnussen who was now standing between Sherlock and John before he –
'What the hell!'
He swallowed hard when the American suddenly started to urinate into the fireplace. He bit his lips, John was obviously thinking the same, while Sherlock's expression was hard to read, yet none of them dared to move or stop the arrogant asshole from doing as he pleased. Very much to his amusement, as it seemed.
"The best thing about the English... you're so domesticated. All this standing around, apologizing, keeping your little heads down," he mocked.
"A nation of herbivores." Magnussen glanced over his shoulder to Shinichi again.
"Just like the Japanese it seems," he mused before he focused back on his 'business'.
"I've interests all over the world but, everything starts in England. The United Kingdom, huh?" He wiped his fingers, only to drop the tissue to the floor.
"Petri dish to the Western world." He sneered, before he briefly looked back to Sherlock, pulling out the edge of some documents, barely long enough for Holmes to see.
"Tell Lady Elizabeth I might need those letters, so I'm keeping them." He chuckled before he left the flat with a simple goodbye.
As soon as Magnussen's bodyguards closed the door behind him, John let out a long breath, filled with a furious curse.
"Jesus!"
"Did you notice the one extraordinary thing he did?" Sherlock asked, almost seeming happy about what just happed. Shinichi frowned.
"So you did notice –" but John's angry voice stopped him.
"Wh... There was a moment that kind of stood out, yeah," the doctor stuttered furiously, gesturing towards the fireplace, while it seemed that Sherlock had chosen to ignore both of them.
"Exactly – when he showed us the letters," he pointed out with a broad smile, crossing the room to pick up his coat from one of the dining chairs.
"Okay…"
John's eyes met his own, but Shinichi just shrugged, for once not knowing what the other detective was talking about.
"He brought the letters to London – so no matter what he says, he's ready to make a deal. Now, Magnussen only makes a deal once he's established a person's weaknesses – the 'pressure point,' as he calls it. So, clearly, he believes I'm a drug addict and no serious threat," he deduced while putting on his coat.
Shinichi followed his glance out of the window where one of the security guards closed the rear door of a car. The young detective could see a sly smile crossing over Sherlock's lip when he turned back towards them.
"And, of course, because he's in town tonight, the letters will be in his safe in his London office while he's out to dinner with the marketing group of Great Britain from seven 'til ten."
"How-how do you know his schedule?" John questioned.
"Because I do. Right – I'll see you tonight. I've got some shopping to do." He was about to head for the stairs but stopped himself in the doorway, suddenly all serious again.
"And you, you'll better skip whatever you still have to investigate. For now, it seems like he doesn't know about you, let's keep it that way."
Shinichi huffed, hiding his hands in his pockets in annoyance.
"That's not what I came here for-"
"Ah, whatever information you need I'm sure I can pull a few strings, so don't worry about it." With that, the other detective vanished through the door.
"But-"
The doctor beside him blinked for a second before calling after him.
"Wait! What's tonight?"
"I'll text instructions," Sherlock called up the stairs.
"Yeah, I'll text you if I'm available."
"You are! I checked!"
John raised an eyebrow in surprise, the fact that the high schooler beside him couldn´t hide his grin didn´t help the situation.
"Oh shut up- both of you," the doctor groaned, heading for the door himself.
"But Sherlock is right you know. You should-"
"Leave, yeah I get it," Shinichi huffed, but before John was able to leave him behind, he stopped him once more.
"Say Watson…."
"Huh?" He turned around to the young man, surprised by the now serious tone once more.
"What is it?"
"Do you know if 'Redbeard' means anything to Sherlock?"
"What?"
XXX
The traffic was moving slowly today, but he didn´t mind it, since he could continue his business from the backseat of the car just fine. In fact, with every buzz of his phone, a new piece of the puzzle clicked into place.
Adding new File:
C.o.n.a.n._E.d.o.g.a.w.a
Alright that was a loooong wait, but I always finish what I started - jut one chapter left now, playing on Sherringford.
Honestly this chapter was kind of a filler and a real pain in the ass- i wanted Shinichi to turn back to Conan in this one, but it simply didn´t fit into the storyline, especially not into the last chapter (which I still lack of proper concept, damn), well anyway - whoever is still ready this I hope you enjoyed the chapter! And lot of thanks goes to Tobina for beta reading! If you like good old Conan fanfics as well as ShinRan, go read her stories.
Till next time,
Shelling