What is it about the other that baffles both the Lord of Crime, William James Moriarty and, the greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes? Is it the rivalry between Holmes's brilliance and Moriarty's erudition, or something more? It is an equation that Wi...
"The name is Holmes. Sherlock Holmes", the man said before lighting a cigarette. He gave a cryptic smile, uttered a loud goodbye and walked away into the dense crowd of the common masses.
However, that particular name proved to be quite a nuisance for William James Moriarty, the middle brother of the Moriarty family. It echoed within his head and fogged his mind like the sooty black smog that permanently hovers over an industrialist London. More peculiar was that name's owner, with his dark unruly hair, mischief-filled eyes and a brain whose depths were a rival to William's own intellectual presence.
"How intriguing is the absurdity of the situation", William thought as he looked out from the window of his room, sipping his day's first cup of Earl Grey.
He smirked. For the first time, during both day and night, was his mind filled with the thoughts of a man he barely knew.
___
It appeared to be an ordinary Saturday morning when a dutiful Louis found himself occupying an armchair in the drawing room of the mansion along with his two older brothers, William and Albert James Moriarty. Such occasions were not infrequent and generally meant to be an introduction to a new task to be accomplished by this aristocratic family.
However, today, he was a little concerned. His brother William, whom he affectionately called Liam, seemed ...well...off, or, to be precise, has been strangely 'off' for the past few weeks.
So , when William said," I am afraid that the reason I have gathered us together is not because we have another work to finish but because there is something that has been bothering me lately."
The concerned Louis James Moriarty asked,"Brother Liam, is everything alright?"
"It's a man. He seems to have taken a permanent residence in my mind. I need to know everything that can be known about him." Liam's voice sounded low and distant as if he was unsure of what he actually wanted.
Strange indeed.
Seeing Liam so troubled was a rare occurence. Plus, the three of them have recently returned from their last adventure, and haven't yet had the chance to meet any other acquaintances. So, who is the man he is talking about?
"Do tell us who he is. How did you come to meet him? What do we need to do?", said Albert, the oldest of the three. He, unlike his blonde siblings, was a brunette and was considered by the upper society as a fine young man, with enough wealth and resources to last a lifetime . He was the face of the Moriarty family.
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William gave a dry smile. "Patience brothers mine. I'll answer all of your questions."
_______________
London 221B Baker Street
While the Moriartys were having a civilised conversation in their mansion, a man at 221B Baker Street was hovering over his flatmate who was lying on a pool of blood.
"OH MY GOD!HOLMES! Can you hear me??! Open your eyes! Good heavens! Where did all this blood come from?!"
Hastily , he checked the unconscious man's pulse and any signs of physical injury...but..it seemed everything was okay. Confused, he was going to stand up when suddenly the person on the ground sat up, yawned loudly and groggily said,
"What time is it?"
"JESUS CHRIST HOLMES!!"
That man was John Watson, a retired army doctor, who had served with the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers regiment during the recent Afghan War. While living his life on the battlefield, a jezail bullet had grazed his subclavian artery awarding him with immediate retirement. Now, the poor fellow while looking for lodgings that would not put a dent in his meagre earnings , by happenstance, had stumbled upon this address where there was a need for a flat sharer.
Little did he know that the person he would be sharing his apartment with was none other than Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant man with as many eccentric traits as the number of stars in the sky.
Right now, Watson was at a loss of words after learning that the blood on the rug was actually cow blood, which was somehow collected from the butcher's, and Holmes had ACCIDENTALLY fallen asleep on that.
Holmes, unfazed by all this and visibly excited, pointed towards his table where these were vials and tubes of different reagents , and said," I have developed an indicator that would prove if a particular stain , even if it is weeks old, is blood or not".
He then added, " Now, tell me what did you write in your little journal this morning? And did you enjoy your morning walk?"
Watson, astonished, managed to stutter ,"H-How-?"
But before he could finish, Holmes quipped, "Elementary, my dear Watson! The slight smudge of black ink on your thumb and index finger suggests you were recently writing. You are dressed up. So,that suggests you were either going out or coming back from outside. How do I know you were coming in? Well, you live in the floor above me and given the angle at which I was lying on the floor, you would have been standing at my right if you came down the stairs but you were on the left. This tells me you came up the stairs, from the foor below. And the clock has barely struck seven and people generally go out for walks this early, do they not?"
Sherlock's deduction was correct and he knew it. Honestly, he was feeling a bit proud at the fact that even after practically living together for quite some time, he was still able to surprise his dear friend. He gave an amused grin to his dumbfounded flatmate, who after gathering his thoughts said," Really Holmes, no one can rival that mind of yours."
"Well, Watson, I would not be so sure of that",said Sherlock Holmes, who suddenly became serious, rubbing off any signs of mischief from his face.
_______________________________________ A/U:- The dates are important.
This fanfic has been inspired by the anime 'Moriarty the patriot' or 'Yuukoku no Moriarty'. There will be references from the anime as well as the og Sherlock Holmes stories.
Apologies if it is too confusing to understand ( because this is supposed to take place in late 19th century and the characters are supposed to speak in Queen's English . So, my usual lame and casual writing won't work here . Although I haven't used queen's English, I did try to make the characters sound a bit formal.)
