Entry 28

"To think she would just walk around like normal," Katherine signed vigorously. "If she's the princess of a country, why not try to disguise herself?"

"The only ones who know the princess' identity are those who have been to Japan," Walker explained. " The royal family is adamant about the amount of press they receive, so they aren't televised as often as say, the leaders from the States. We obviously know her because we were sent to Japan 'on tour' not too long ago."

"Yeah, we got to take a tour of the Imperial Palace and got to meet the royal family in person!" Brittany added. "That was like, so much fun!"

"But the princess didn't seem like someone who would, you know, go around stabbing people," Stjerne mentioned.

"You think she's a yandere?" Miren gasped.

The other band members stared at her in silence.

"What? There are such people, you know."

Shirleigh remained silent, but she knew Miren was on the right track. While yandere were a trope commonly found in Japanese media, there were few in the real world who portrayed the same characteristics.

Obsessive love disorder plagued few but that didn't make it any less of a threat. To think that people would mistake obsession for feelings of love. Shirleigh didn't quite understand the concept but she did know that going around harming others because of those feelings was immoral in more ways than one.

The band had convened outside of Ichiro's dressing room to move forward with their plan to apprehend the princess. If she had come all the way here, there was very little doubt that she would not try to make her way to see him herself. Otherwise, why do all of this in the first place?

»»————-　♔　————-««

"What?" Shirleigh spun around in the chair, her elbows resting upon the armrests and fingertips pressed together. A tempest raged in her eyes. "Were you expecting someone else?"

The princess was taken aback at first, but it didn't take long for that surprise to transform into anger. She stood silently in the doorway, her hand tightly gripping the door frame just out of view.

"I don't know what you're doing here," the princess grumbled through gritted teeth. "But I'm not here to see you."

"But I am here to see you."

Before the princess could turn to leave, the door shut from behind, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

On the other side of the door, Walker, Stjerne, Miren, Katherine, and Ichiro all stood guard.

Ichiro grew rather upset that he was unable to handle the situation on his own and he grew restless knowing that his childhood acquaintance was alone in the room with a crazed fanatic. It was by Shirleigh's request that she deal with the princess herself despite Ichiro's pleas to assist.

"Princess Natsuki Garrideb. One of three royal siblings," Shirleigh slowly rose from her seat. "Did the others end up like you, I wonder?"

"What do you want?" Princess Natsuki glared, unmoving.

The princess knew that the person standing before her was with the victim she had stabbed just moments prior. What she did not know, however, was that the person before her was fueled by a rage that only a great emotion can cause.

"You caused a great deal of harm to someone I have been spending a lot of time with recently," Shirleigh stepped forward, her movements absolute. "Fortunately for you, I have been told that Watson is recovering well. If it turned out that you had taken her life, I fear that I would have had to take yours."

For the first time since her stabbing spree, a sense of fear overcame Princess Natsuki. Not much, but just enough to make her hesitate before drawing a switchblade from her skirt pocket.

Shirleigh's gaze fell upon the blade and an overwhelming emotion washed over her. Before she could process what she was feeling, the princess had lunged at her. With the slightest of movements, Shirleigh barely managed to move out of the dagger's path, the steel kissing her cheek leaving a trail of blood in its wake. The two of them stared into the other's eyes for a brief moment until the princess found herself on the cold, hard floor of the dressing room, one of her hands pressed against her jaw. It was apparent she had been struck down with a singular blow.

Shirleigh loomed over the assailant, her shadow enveloping the figure on the ground. She shook her right hand, a pain coursing through her knuckles.

The words her sister told her just hours earlier echoed in her mind.

"Do not lose yourself to your emotions," Miriam took her younger sister's hand in her own. "They should empower you, not overpower you. Remember this."

Feeling the wrath inside grow stronger, Shirleigh turned away and gazed into the mirror. She brought her hand up to her face, brushing the fresh wound upon her cheekbone. She couldn't help but think how upset Juniper would be to see that she had sustained more harm.

"The authorities will be here to apprehend you soon enough," Shirleigh stated, breaking the silence. "Now, princess, what have you to say for yourself?"

A laugh escaped through Princess Natsuki's gritted teeth, her eyes wild.

"Everything I have done," she started. "Was for the one I love."

»»————-　♔　————-««

"Miss Watson, a Shirleigh Holmes is here to see you."

Juniper perked up at the sound of her flatmate's name. She had been catching up on some reading for the past few hours as Miriam tapped away on her laptop, no doubt taking care of business.

Miriam silently closed her laptop and glanced at her phone before rising to her feet.

"I have somewhere to be," said Miriam tucking her laptop under her arm. "I am overjoyed to see that you have recovered so well. I will be back soon to check in on you again."

To anyone in the Holmes family, Miriam had told an obvious lie. Juniper, however, was none the wiser.

"Thank you for visiting me," Juniper waved. "I shall see you soon."

Miriam smiled and opened the door, her sister standing on the other side, was dressed in a tweed ulster coat and a baker boy hat.

"You're hurt," Miriam noticed the bandage on her sister's face. "I suppose I should see the other party? How bad was it?"

"It's nothing I'll get arrested for," Shirleigh responded. "I did, however, wind up with a souvenir."

She held up her hand, and between her index and thumb fingers was a small ivory object.

"The tooth of a princess," she mused. "How many can say they have one?"

Miriam sighed before laughing to herself. She took up her sister's other hand in her own, gave it a comforting squeeze, and walked down the hallway toward the exit.

"I'll be back later," Miriam called out. "Be on your best behaviour."

Shirleigh silently chuckled and turned toward the door that separated her from her partner. She took hold of the door handle and twisted it gently. She slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Shirleigh!"

Juniper would have jumped out of her hospital bed if it weren't for her healing wound. She beamed with pure delight at the sight of her enigmatic companion.

Shirleigh approached her bedside and crouched beside it.

"How are you feeling?" she questioned maintaining strong eye contact. "How bad was it?"

"I'm feeling more like myself," Juniper assured her friend. "Apparently I had been stabbed with a four-inch dagger. It wasn't the worst thing I have had to endure but it was terrifying nonetheless. I get discharged later today, so I'm glad about that much."

Shirleigh lowered her head in solace.

"But, what happened...?" Juniper caught sight of the bandage on her companion's face. She had reached out but ended up withdrawing her hand. "How did you get this?"

Shirleigh shook her head to dismiss the topic and Juniper frowned.

"I owe you an apology," said Shirleigh.

"Hm? What for?"

"For my sudden outburst toward you that night," Shirleigh's jaw tightened. "If I hadn't allowed myself to become so upset with you—"

"This is exactly what I was afraid of."

Shirleigh looked up at Juniper who stared at her clenched fists.

"It was my reason for not letting you visit me," she explained. "I told Miriam that I feared you would think you were responsible. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have pressed you about something you did not wish to discuss."

Shirleigh shifted in place, something noticeably still nagging at her.

"What is it?" Juniper asked. "Is something the matter?"

"It's just..." Shirleigh averted her eyes in an expression Juniper had only caught a glimpse of once before. "...when you were cross with me, you-you were saying...some things, but I...couldn't understand a word you were saying..."

"Huh...?"

"It tends to happen when you are upset," Shirleigh added. "You begin to speak fast and your accent gets thick and it is difficult to figure out what you are saying..."

Juniper stared at her partner in bewilderment, but watching how flustered she had become made her feel warm inside and she started to laugh.

"Are you serious?" Juniper wiped a tear from her eye. "Then why did you leave the flat?"

"Just the thought of you being angry with me..." Shirleigh folded her hands together in her lap. "I did not wish to see you upset. It makes me...feel...not good..."

Juniper covered her mouth in hopes that it would stifle her giggles. She had never seen Shirleigh struggle with her words before but her obvious embarrassment was something Juniper was going to cherish.

"Well, I'm sure you would be glad to hear that I am not angry with you," said Juniper.

A bashful smile formed on Shirleigh's lips for just a moment.

"The coat looks great on you, by the way. The hat could use some work, though..."

Shirleigh let out a hearty laugh.

"Hm?"

"You tend to compliment my appearance quite often," Shirleigh said. "One would think that you have become infatuated with me."

Juniper's face turned a bright shade of red at the suggestion and immediately dismissed the thought. Shirleigh chuckled and coughed in an attempt to cover it up.

"You have a beautiful smile," Juniper commented. "You should do it more often."

"You're doing it again."

"Is there something wrong with handing out compliments?"

Shirleigh shrugged indifferently.

"Speaking of compliments," Juniper said. "Your performance with Walker's band was amazing! If it weren't for your sister, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to tell it was you for certain."

"'For certain?'"

"Your eyes," Juniper explained. "They are your most distinguishable feature in my opinion. Oh, that reminds me! What happened with Ichiro's case? Were you able to find the princess?"

"I did," Shirleigh told her. "And the mysterious guest who stabbed you."

"Really? Who was it? What was their reason?"

"They were one and the same."

"No way, seriously?"

"And you helped solve it despite being out of commission."

"I...I did...?"

Shirleigh reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a familiar charm.

"You had this in your grasp when I went to investigate the scene," Shirleigh said, staring at the ornament. She dismissed thoughts of her partner's cold skin at the time. "This gold flower is the symbol of the Imperial House of Japan. These are only issued to members of the royal family, each of them has this incorporated into their daily wear in some way, shape, or form. The princess has hers attached to a hair stick. Or at least she did until it fell off during your encounter."

"Oh..." Juniper gazed at the chain. "I can't say that I recall doing such a thing."

"All that matters is that you are well and that the case is closed."

"Really? What about the part about the princess knowing Ichiro's identity?"

"She was a member of an opposing clan."

"What? You mean she was shinobi, too?"

"Princess Natsuki hails from a notorious yakuza family, one that has been in control of Japan's underground for many decades," Shirleigh began. "In recent times, multiple shinobi clans emerged in an attempt to bring them to justice. After the Garrideb family made their way into the Imperial Palace, his clan picked up on their intent of turning Japan into a country ruled by dictators and criminals. They hoped to stir social unrest by retrieving different forms of regalia. She is one of three siblings who created their clan to challenge those like his."

Juniper couldn't help but notice how her companion avoided using Ichiro's name, but she simply smiled. "You have to tell it to me in detail one day so that I can add it to my mind basement."

"I shall," Shirleigh agreed. "When will you let me read it?"

"Huh?"

"Your mind basement."

"Oh, uh," Juniper began playing with her hair. "Well, it's more for looking back on previous cases in case you decided to forget something. It is less for...leisurely reading..."

Shirleigh hummed. She wished not to pursue the matter further if that was the decision her partner had made. However, she did want to read Juniper's notes on their previous cases together and hoped that one day she would let her view them.

"How are you faring?" Shirleigh inquired.

"Hm?"

"The last time we had visited a medical facility, you were a bit out of sorts."

"Oh, um, I'm doing well this time around," Juniper answered. "It's just...hospitals and the like seem to trigger anxiety attacks for me ever since my volunteer accident..."

Shirleigh remained silent.

"I was helping those affected by the horrible storms that ravaged the islands when seemingly out of nowhere, another formed directly above us. I had escorted all of my patients indoors to safety, but for some reason, I ventured back into the storm. Perhaps I had forgotten something but it was a reckless decision on my part... One that cost me my leg..."

Juniper squeezed her thigh as she recalled the traumatic event that led to her prosthetic. She bit her bottom lip to fight back the angry tears that threatened to escape her eyes.

"It was terrifying," she added. "To be quite frank, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. But I did, and now I have to carry around this hunk of metal with me wherever I go. I found myself never wanting to talk to anyone about it. I'm not entirely sure why. I suppose that if I never spoke about it, I could deny that it ever happened, especially since I hadn't come to terms with it myself. But you knew already, didn't you?"

Shirleigh lowered her gaze.

"I thought as much," Juniper chuckled. "Miriam had also told me that you would figure it out sooner or later. And yet I still refused to talk about it... When did you figure it out?"

"When we first met."

"Wha—"

"The way your stockings bunch up—"

"Around the knee and ankle," Juniper finished. "Your sister explained as much..."

"You heavily favoured your right leg because you were more confident leading with it whether it be walking or sitting. You have a tendency to cross your right over your left and never the other way around as if to hide it. You also sleep on your right side, which is evident in the way your hair and gown look in the morning. This is because your right side provides more of a stable sleeping position than your left since you have to remove your prosthetic each night."

"Now you're just showing off," Juniper muttered.

But Juniper, rather than feeling upset, felt lighter now that something so heavy had been lifted from her shoulders. 

"I wanted to talk to him..." she said aloud.

Shirleigh tilted her head to the side.

"To Ichiro," Juniper clarified. "I wanted to ask about his arm..."

"He will be visiting the flat later tonight," Shirleigh told her partner. "He wants to 'thank us properly'."

Juniper noticed how Shirleigh rolled her eyes as she rose to her feet.

Shirleigh pulled up one of the chairs in the room to Juniper's bedside. She sat down, crossed her legs and closed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.

"Are you not busy at the moment?"

"I'm supposed to be at the station speaking with Lestrade about our royal serial stabber but I think I will remain here a bit longer for the time being."

A moment of silence lapsed.

"The Irregulars are so neat," Juniper commented gazing at the television. "I am quite saddened that I was unable to be there with you all. Everyone seems to get along so well. It is also nice to see a powerful female band. I do wonder why they chose to call themselves 'The Irregulars'..."

"Each member has either been rejected by society or has been deemed 'irregular' by those they encounter, hence the band's name.

"Sometimes they are an all-woman band. Sometimes they're not. Walker often teeters between male and female, often falling on one side more than the other some days. They are a band of musicians, a band of rockers, but most importantly a band of young and talented friends."

"Oh, Walker is genderfluid, then?" Juniper covered her face in embarrassment, "I didn't mean to assume anything. I had used gender-neutral pronouns when referring to them in my notes but..."

"That's fine. When in doubt, those are safest," Shirleigh reassured her partner. "You were unaware, so it is not your fault. Their attire often changes with how they identify at the moment, so that is something you can look out for."

Juniper nodded, taking a mental note, and the two of them remained together until Juniper was free to leave.