Fanfic / Elementary My Dear Natsuki

Elementary My Dear Natsuki refers to a series of "braided novels" that are a crossover between My-HiME and Sherlock Holmes, written by Dezo Penguin. The name refers to the the collective works, and is named for the first installment.

The series is told from first person perspective with Natsuki Kuga as the narrator, using an adaptation of her backstory from My-HiME, inasmuch as she was orphaned at an early age by the untimely death of her mother, and is estranged from her father. Borrowing a bit from Dr. Watson, she is seeking new lodgings for her diminished budget when a mutual friend directs her to Shizuru Viola, who, as it turns out, is a "consulting detective". She is often consulted by Scotland Yard inspector Haruka Armitage and her faithful assistant Yukino Chrysant, in a role the author claims is heavily modeled off of another Victorian detective series, Lady Molly of Scotland Yard.

There is an overarching Myth Arc that involves District One and their dealings in the Underworld.

The individual arcs, covered under the umbrella title, are:

• Elementary, My Dear Natsuki
• Come, Natsuki, The Game is Afoot
• Deep Waters, Natsuki
• You Know My Methods, Natsuki ^note Due to struggles in writing the story, the Author had skipped it, though it still exists in a phantom state, until it actually gets written.
• The Final Problem
• The Empty House

There are also three side stories, not relevant to the overarching arcs, but still tied to the main work:

• Hidden Depths
• A Glimpse Through the Masques
• Writer's Block.

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This work includes examples of the following Tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer: It wouldn't be Tomoe Marguerite if she didn't fit this trope. She has a strong desire to be with Shizuru, which Shizuru finds distasteful because of her psychotic delight in harming others.
• All There in the Manual: You Know My Methods Natsuki was a planned installment that wasn't written, but a synopsis for the plot exists for readers to be aware of the relevant plot points.
• Antiquated Linguistics: The stories are set in the late 1800s, and the author makes use of words and phrases such as "I felt my gorge rising"^note  I feel nauseous and "gave the lie to all the calumnies directed at her nationality about meanness over money" ^note  showed it was slander to call her people stingy. This is justified, as the author is trying to capture the feel of a genuine Holmesian story.
• Ascended Fan:In-Universe. Natsuki is a fan of detective fiction and gothic literature, and ends up being the one to chronicle Shizuru's exploits, much the way that Watson did for Holmes.
• Asians Love Tea: Shizuru Viola incorporates elements of both her My-HiME and My-Otome characterizations. In story she is half-Japanese and half-Italian (justifying her Viola surname). She practices tea ceremony and wears kimono regularly as a way of acknowledging her Asian heritage.
• Asshole Victim: John Smith in "Deep Waters, Natsuki". So much so, in fact, that when his crimes are uncovered, Sergay is spared the rope for shooting him.
  • The "Honorable" Ronald Adair, who Natsuki found out was syphilitic and still sleeping with prostitutes. Natsuki was hired, in Shizuru's absence, to investigate him, and revealed this fact to his fiances family, resulting in a broken engagement and Adair teaming up with Tomoe to frame Natsuki for murder.
• Audience Surrogate: In one of the side-chapters, Natsuki suffers a bout of writer's block with regards to their latest adventure. Shizuru points out that from a literary perspective, Natsuki has to be the audience, write from their point of view, so that they experience the story unfolding as she did. With some judicious edits, of course.
• Batman Gambit: More than a few through the various installments.
  • In "Come, Natsuki, The Game is Afoot", Dashiell plays ghost to drive his brother-in-law insane. Shizuru notes that it was probably he who put the notion of hiring a detective in his niece's ear. He wanted to be exposed, because, as Shizuru explained, if he'd simply accused Colonel Warburton of murder and of Brother–Sister Incest, no one would necessarily believe him. But because of the lengths he went to, no one doubts him for a moment.
  • Tomoe frames Natsuki for murder in order to draw Shizuru out of hiding. She also knows that Shizuru is probably good enough to unravel her plot, so she makes certain that if the case against Natsuki unravels, all clues will point to her associate, Miya Clochette. And she fully expects them to tail Miya, so she has an ambush ready when they do.
  • Nagi leaves a ledger for Sergay to indicate that John Smith had been robbing from the Searrs family and caused the death of Rena Searrs, fully expecting that Sergay would be enraged enough to kill Smith on the spot, thus going to the gallows and ending up with Nagi free to find solicitors who would give him a freer hand with his trust fund, while also eliminating Smith, who knew that Nagi was the person who carried out Rena's murder.
  • Shizuru deliberately refers to Yukino by a lower station, not to be cruel to Yukino, but so that Natsuki will have the benefit of seeing how deeply Haruka's loyalties run when she comes to Yukino's defense.
• Benevolent Boss: Mr. Arnold, the employer of Akane and Kazuya, actually apologizes for the mistaken belief that Kazuya had stolen a piece of jewelry from his wife (with Natsuki noting that not many employers would apologize to their servants), and even offers to pay Shizuru's fees on Akane's behalf (Akane hiring Shizuru in the first place to clear Kazuya of the theft) to make amends for the false accusation.
• Boom, Headshot!: The final fate of Tomoe Marguerite. No tears were shed. Natsuki delivers the killshot.
• Combat Pragmatist: Natsuki makes it clear that she doesn't believe in a "fair fight" when it's a matter of life and death.
• Cute and Psycho: Tomoe is noted for having a beautiful face. She's also noted for being perfectly fine with slaughtering a perfectly innocent cabbie just to steal his cab and use it in a murder attempt.
• Dual Wielding: Natsuki has a pair of pistols colloquially known as "Lemon Squeezers".
• Driven to Suicide: Colonel Warburton, after it was revealed that he had murdered his sister to cover up their Brother–Sister Incest.
• Fair Play Whodunit: Ample clues are left for the audience to decipher the answers to the mysteries. Intertwined portions of My-HiME, My-Otome, and Sherlock Holmes stories can also provide a leg up on solving the capers before the solution is announced.
• Faking the Dead: Shizuru goes back into the burning mansion of the Obsidian Prince, seemingly to her death. As it turns out, this wasn't her intent, but she wasn't thinking clearly.
• Framing the Guilty Party: Tomoe enlists Miya Clochette to shoot Ronald Adair in her bid to frame Natsuki for murder. She also makes sure that if Shizuru can unravel her web and free Natsuki from the threat of the gallows, all evidence will point back to Miya, not herself.
• The Gadfly: Shizuru delights in teasing Natsuki. But Natsuki notes that it is gentle and without malice. Early on she describes it as a form of intimate friendship.
• Gayngst: Shizuru is determined, through the early installments, to hide her attraction to Natsuki, fearful that she'll be rejected.
• Great Detective: Shizuru Viola stands in for Holmes. And the author has Haruka borrowing from Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, with even Shizuru saying she's a fair detective in her own right.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Natsuki starts out the story a heavy smoker (justified by the time period in question). She comes home after meeting her informant, Porlock, to find that Shizuru is smoking a pipe and has filled the rooms of 221B Baker Street with smoke from a strong shag blend, as a means to illustrate her feelings on the subject of Natsuki's smoking. Natsuki vows to quit immediately, and tosses her remaining supply.
  Shizuru: Oh, thank God!
• Heritage Disconnect: Natsuki, in this story, is half German/half Japanese by blood. She explores neither side of her heritage, considering herself English by upbringing, because, as she tells Shizuru, trying to explore her Japanese heritage reminds her of the mother she lost, and she has no interest in her German heritage, as her father sees his only duty as providing funds for her to live on, but no love or affetion, and once she reached nineteen, he'd cut her off.
• I Should Write a Book About This: Inverted. Natsuki didn't set out to write a story, just to set down the events of "The Adventure of the Reigate Squire" down to keep them straight in her head, only to find out that it reads much like her favorite detective stories. After some teasing from Shizuru, Natsuki submitted it to The Strand and found that not only did they publish it, they also paid well for it and asked for more. She comes to suspect that Shizuru had been hoping for just such an outcome.
• If I Can't Have You…: Tomoe, when she realizes that Shizuru loves Natsuki and ONLY Natsuki, decides to take Shizuru out with her.
• In Love with Your Carnage: The genesis of Tomoe's obsession with Shizuru. Recovering from her injuries at the Obsidian Prince's estate, she witnesses Shizuru taking out guards and setting the mansion on fire, which draws her immediate adoration and desire.
• Let Off by the Detective: Shizuru doesn't reveal to Warburton's daughter that it was Dashiell who pulled a "Scooby-Doo" Hoax on her father. She later tells Natsuki that Dashiell's motive, not one of greed or political convenience, but of love for his late wife, made him entirely sympathetic to her. The fact that Warburton took his own life after his crimes were revealed probably aided her decision.
• Malaproper: Haruka, per the norm. As usual, Yukino is left to correct her errors.
• The Mole: Reito Kanzaki is working for the Obsidian Prince.
• Morality Pet: Shizuru to Natsuki. At the close of "Come Natsuki, The Game Is Afoot", she refrains from beating the former purser, who concealed that her mother's death was murder and not simply a tragic accident, because of an image of Shizuru that flashed in her head.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Tomoe was already trying to kill Natsuki as part of her duties for the Obsidian Court. When she learns that Shizuru is in love with Natsuki? She frames Natsuki for murder with the intent of drawing Shizuru out of hiding, or getting Natsuki hung. Whichever comes first.
• Mythology Gag: The author cleverly refers to canon Holmes Stories as Noodle Incidents, while using the Noodle Incident stories from Holmes as the cases that Shizuru and Natsuki investigate. Also, characters and plot points from both My-HiME and My-Otome are given frequent reference. Haruka and Yukino, for example, take their names from their Otome counterparts, while their characterization and Haruka's Malapropers are taken from their Hime incarnation.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Tomoe compares Shizuru to herself to justify her infatuation with her. Shizuru, unfortunately, agrees with her. Natsuki points out that there is a large difference. Shizuru killed people who were threatening Natsuki's life, while Tomoe would kill for the thrill of killing.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Twice over in "The Empty House". Yukino is shot in the leg by Miya Clochette, but is fortunate enough to have it be a through-and-through that didn't hit the bone. Natsuki, herself, takes a knife to her right shoulder by Tomoe, but notes that if she'd been shot, it would have shattered bones and likely destroyed the arm's mobility for the rest of her life, whereas the knife wound would eventually heal.
• Pragmatic Adaptation:In-Universe. Natsuki, while writing about the case that was, in original Holmes canon "The Adventure of the Priory School". In this version, Natsuki actually broke James Wilder's jaw upon learning about his involvement in the kidnapping scheme. Shizuru wisely advises her to leave that part out.
  • Natsuki also later reveals that the sorts of dramatic face to face conflicts that readers love to see in fiction don't often occur between Shizuru and her quarry, so Natsuki has to invent scenes where they do in order to satisfy her audience in The Strand.
• Precocious Crush: Nina, in "Deep Waters, Natsuki" is revealed to have a crush on Sergay.
• Police Are Useless: Averted. In the very first story arc, "Elementary My Dear Natsuki" Shizuru points out that while she solved the crime, the police had to do the actual legwork of rounding up the killer and his associates, pouring over the ledgers and invoices of the business to find the fraudulent accounts, and present it all to the Courts in a way that would ensure that those charged were convicted.
• Post-Mortem One-Liner: "Keep your bloody hands off of my Shizuru."
• Their First Time: After Shizuru makes her return from the seeming dead, she and Natsuki return to their quarters at 221B Baker Street, where, after a conversation about what they actually mean to one another, they consummate their relationship, the first time for each of them. They find a tea service left by Mrs. Hudson, who also left a note, "It's about time!"
• This Is Reality: Natsuki notes that the sort of grand confrontation between master detective and criminal masterminds that readers enjoy rarely happen, since, as a consulting detective payed by the official police, the actual authorities would be responsible for, and want credit for the arrests of such individuals.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: For all her brashness, Haruka is agreeable enough when it comes to her police work. She may have a sense of Black-and-White Morality, but she can be persuaded to say Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!. When Natsuki is implicated in the death of a member of high society, Haruka doesn't have her arrested right away, simply asking her to trust the investigation.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Haruka has a Royal Title to her name. However, as Natsuki comes to understand, the title of "Inspector" matters far more to her, as something she worked to earn, than the titles of the gentry, which were mere accidents of birth. And while she may be prone to Malapropers Shizuru acknowledges her as one of the best minds of Scotland Yard.
• "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: In the segment Come, Natsuki, The Game's Afoot, Colonel Warburton has been haunted by a female spectre. In truth, his brother-in-law was disguising himself as his late wife to avenge her death, as the Colonel murdered her to cover up their incestuous relationship.
• Serious Work, Comedic Scene: This is a My-HiME AU that puts the characters into the setting of Sherlock Holmes with Shizuru in the role of Great Detective, while Natsuki maintains much of her backstory, being orphaned at an early age when her mother was murdered. It's largely a very serious work. There are a few lighthearted moments, however:
  • In one story, since Shizuru can't convince Natsuki to stop smoking, she takes it up herself, selecting a blend of shag that "made 'ship's' seem like a breath of fresh air", stating "if you can't beat them, join them." Natsuki immediately vows to quit and throws out her cigarette case. Shizuru's reply? "Oh, thank God!"
  • Nagi has just been arrested for murder by the Malaproper prone Haruka Armitage. She tells him that he's "an arse", and Yukino corrects her, saying "That's 'assassin', Haruka." To which Haruka replies, "Actually, I meant that last one."
  • Shizuru has just returned after being believed to be dead, and she and Natsuki return to 221B Baker St. where they consummate their relationship. They discover that Mrs. Hudson (who is Midori Suguira in all but name) had been up to deliver tea and had left a note: "It's about time!"
• Shipper on Deck: Mrs. Hudson (who is Midori in all but name) leaves a note for Natsuki and Shizuru after they make love for the first time. It's short and to the point, "It's about time!"
• Shout-Out: The author, as a part of the Shown Their Work, makes references to literature contemporary to the time period being described, including The Castle of Otranto by Walpole, The Mystery of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, and Lady Molly of Scotland Yard by Baroness Orczy.
• Shown Their Work: The author makes numerous references to bits of historical trivia, literature, and even weaponry for the time period chosen. Natsuki, for example, keeps a pair of hammerless revolvers known as "lemon squeezers" hidden in her coat pockets, specifically chosen so that they could be both easily concealed as well as drawn for combat without the hammer snagging on clothing.
• Smug Snake: Nagi. To absolutely no one's surprise. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have the Plot Armor he had in My-HiME.
• Somber Backstory Revelation:
  • In one side story, Shizuru has convinced Natsuki to dress in an elegant kimono. Natsuki says it's like putting a fancy dress on a Whitechapel whore. Shizuru balks, pointing out that it is a part of Natsuki's heritage, and that she looks lovely. She demands to know the real reason Natsuki is protesting. Natsuki quietly explains that while she was the illegitmate daughter of Saeko Kuga and Baron Kruger, after her mother's death she'd been raised in an English boarding school, and all of her social cues, even those she eschews, are those of Victorian England. Wearing a kimono, she explains, only serves to remind her that she is out of touch with her heritage, and why.
• That Came Out Wrong: A delayed example. In "The Final Problem", Shizuru turns back into the burning mansion, saying Farewell to Natsuki. Six months later, when Natsuki angrily tells Shizuru that she'd believed her dead, Shizuru realizes how it must have looked, and apologizes, saying she only meant to remove herself from Natsuki's life, believing Natsuki had rejected her. She hadn't intended it to come across as a suicide.
• Time Skip: "The Empty House" is set six months after "The Final Problem".
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Nao doesn't consider Shizuru kissing Natsuki to be worth her interest.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: District One tried to kill Natsuki. Shizuru learns of this. She calmly and casually murders their entire top echelon and then burns the mansion of the Obsidian Prince to the ground.
• Wham Episode: "The Final Problem" Ch.20, Shizuru calmly kills the Obsidian Lord in front of Natsuki. Natsuki realizes only then that she'd killed every high ranking member of the Obsidian Order. Ch. 21 combines it with an Anguished Declaration of Love.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Natsuki makes frequent note of the fact that she chooses to wear traditionally male clothing, but also notes that it's not to disguise or conceal her gender, and her femininity shows through quite readily.
• Yandere: Tomoe attempts to Murder the Hypotenuse. And when she learns that Shizuru and Natsuki return each other's affections, she attempts to kill Shizuru. Natsuki's having none of it.