Chapter 58: Akane Holmes
"My name is Akane Kurokawa Holmes, and my address is 221B Tokyo Street."
"I am skilled in boxing and Bartitsu, and I am proficient with swords and staves. In my spare time, I enjoy medical research and occasionally attending public hangings. You don't seem to mind being interrupted, so I believe we shall get along quite well."
Hikaru Hoshino's mouth hung open. "You got into character way too fast—"
Akane Kurokawa smiled slightly and interrupted him again without mercy.
Not long ago, it was this very man who had asked her to demonstrate her psychological profiling abilities. Perhaps because Akane had already envisioned such a scene in her mind, she now performed it with remarkable ease. A light of profound wisdom flickered in her indigo eyes. Looking into them, one didn't feel they were facing a five-year-old girl, but rather a powerful, stoic 18th-century gentleman.
"Based on my observations, you've just returned from Tokyo."
Hikaru gave her a "dead fish" stare. "Yes, I went back for a trip. Everyone knows that."
"The dark circles under your eyes are heavy; you likely haven't slept much these past two days. You are under significant psychological pressure, though you try to appear relaxed. Your skin carries a faint scent of body wash, one that differs from the brand provided by the hotel, suggesting you took a bath at your home in Tokyo. There is a trace of cigarette ash on the hem of your coat; to my knowledge, you do not smoke."
Akane reached out and rubbed the hem of Hikaru's coat with her fingers.
"It smells like Seven Stars—14mg tar content. It's a popular brand in Tokyo but rarely seen here in Miyazaki. Given the position of the ash, you likely picked it up from a taxi seat. The conclusion is obvious: you returned from Tokyo yesterday morning."
"Spot on. But why do you know so much about cigarettes? Also, where exactly is 'Tokyo Street' in Tokyo?"
Akane ignored Hikaru's nitpicking. "The final piece of evidence that led to my conclusion was a key clue."
The Hoshino family stared at Akane blankly. Two pairs of blue eyes, along with one red and one purple, all projected the exact same look of confusion.
Under their collective gaze, Akane reached into Hikaru's trouser pocket and pulled out a boarding pass. Printed clearly on it were the words: "Tokyo - Miyazaki."
Hikaru suddenly grew intrigued. "What do you call that? Is that psychological profiling too?"
"No, that is deductive reasoning," Akane replied. "It's the signature method used by Sherlock Holmes."
"Does Akane usually like reading detective novels?" Aqua asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
Akane snapped out of her "Great Detective" state and became shy and fidgety. "It's... a personal interest of mine. Um, I actually only started reading books on criminal profiling recently. I felt it might help improve my acting."
"Actually, I'm not very good at deduction yet; I was just putting on an act. As for me..." Akane's voice grew timid as she spoke. "I'm better at immersing myself in other people's thought patterns. I try to investigate as much as I can, then I interpret it myself, often adding my own settings to fill in the blanks."
"Occasionally, the real situation doesn't match the settings I've added at all, and then my deductions go completely off the rails."
"It's already very impressive," Hikaru praised her sincerely.
"Amazing! It's like a superpower from a cartoon!" "I want to learn that superpower too!" Ai and Ruby chimed in, making Akane even more bashful.
"You really did immerse yourself in Holmes, didn't you?" Hikaru rubbed his chin. "That was good. Give us another segment."
"Try 'deducing' Aqua."
Aqua's face darkened.
Before he could refuse, Akane had already entered the zone.
"Good morning. I am Akane Kurokawa Holmes, and this is my assistant and friend..." Akane looked around before settling on a candidate. "Ruby H. Watson."
"You can speak freely; don't hold back. She won't understand anyway."
Now it was Ruby's face that darkened. Aqua wanted to see to what extent Akane could mimic a person, so he spoke up cautiously: "I want to know what kind of person I am from a detective's perspective."
Hikaru added at the right moment: "Aqua wants you to give him a 'sharp review.'"
If viewed from Akane Kurokawa's own perspective, Aqua was undoubtedly a gentle and considerate person. Though he looked cold on the surface, he often did things for others silently behind the scenes.
But if viewed with an investigative eye... the suspicious points were numerous.
First was his precocity. Akane considered herself a relatively mature child, but Aqua gave her the illusion of not being a peer at all. Ruby, on the other hand, was very much like a child—even if she was more "abstract" than an adult in some ways. Perhaps among the four children in the cast, only Kana Arima's mindset matched her actual age, possessing a child's characteristic arrogance and innocence.
People usually only reminisce about childhood after being forced to grow up; if she could help it, Akane didn't want to grow up so fast either. Kana Arima was the version of herself she dreamed of being—including that innocence.
Akane let out a sigh and fully committed to the role.
Two faint stars appeared in her eyes, and it felt as though the soul of a great detective had descended upon her.
"Let me begin with some trivial observations."
The young girl stood up and walked around Aqua twice with great solemnity.
"You are mature. It is a maturity that does not match your age. You know this is unusual, so you do your best to hide this fact in front of strangers."
"You are beginning to brush the hair off your forehead more frequently. This indicates that I am correct, and you are feeling agitated because of it. I see a deep sense of sorrow within you; without a doubt, you are currently in pain."
"Let me guess... is this pain because of a regret from the past? Or is a regret happening right now that you are powerless to stop?"
Aqua stopped fidgeting and put on his best poker face.
"Wait, this isn't deduction; this is just reading micro-expressions, isn't it?" Hikaru interrupted Akane's observation. He felt that if she kept going, Aqua's deepest secrets would be stripped bare.
"Don't be in such a hurry. These were merely the insignificant appetizers."
Having been interrupted, Akane did not break character; she still appeared aloof and cold.
"Your blond hair and blue eyes come from the adult male beside you. He is your father; this is obvious as he has publicly admitted to the fact."
"And my assistant, Ruby H. Watson, is your twin sister. She shares your dazzling blond hair, but her eyes are a magnificent rose-red. Your true name is Hoshino Aquamarine, meaning 'aquamarine,' and her name is Ruby, meaning 'ruby.' Very fitting names."
"One could boldly guess that your mother's eye color might perhaps be purple..."
Akane began habitually adding her own "settings," but she suddenly felt something was off. Sensing she had overlooked something, she slowly raised her head and locked eyes with someone else.
In front of her were Ai's eyes—shimmering with starlight, like pure amethysts.
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