The Final Case
*Whoosh*
It was a night of torrential rain.
No... Perhaps it wasn't rain at all, but spray drifting from a waterfall.
Not that it mattered. It would all be gray anyway.
My earliest memory is of my second birthday.
That was when I first became aware of myself and the world.
It was rather dull.
The whole world was gray.
It's not that I couldn't perceive color.
I knew that blood was red and the sea was blue.
But even so, the world was gray. A dull, stupid gray.
Of course, not everything was gray.
There was one thing, and one thing alone, that had color.
The only thing that fascinated me. That I treasured. That I wanted so desperately to break.
And now...
That one thing is dying.
I look down at someone lying at my feet.
Someone, struck by the bullet I'd fired, is breathing heavily.
She'll probably stop breathing soon.
I feel as though I can barely breathe myself.
Odd.
I thought I could savor this moment...
But it's not nearly as enjoyable as I expected.
I told you... it wouldn't be.
How did you know?
Because... you're the same kind of person I am...
...An undeniable truth.
*Cough!*
How pitiful...
What exactly is so pitiful about me?
You're the one dying here.
Our long struggle will soon end with my victory.
There's nothing pitiful about me.
But... you said you weren't enjoying it.
...
You spent your whole life struggling to escape that gray world...
And once I'm gone... you'll be trapped in a world that's completely gray.
So... how could I not pity you?
I don't... understand.
As you said, you and I are the same kind of person.
Then why are you different from me?
How can you manage to laugh in this wretched world?
How can you mingle with those idiotic creatures called humans?
How can you possess that which you call hope?
...What are you, some kind of social reject?
How many times do I have to tell you this?
Go out, meet people... Dine with them... Do something stupid for once...
Then... it'll come naturally... Naturally...
...What a dreadful suggestion.
If you were hoping to deal one last blow to my sanity before you died, I'd say that was an admirable attempt.
Keke...
Well... if you ever change your mind...
Why don't you...
Start... here...
Friend...
Someone pressed something soaked in blood into my hand.
The rain kept falling... and some time passed.
The someone no longer moved.
I looked at what I held in my hand.
It was a small key.
And dangling from its key ring was...
A tag that read 221B Baker Street.