Tokyo Detective Chronicles

Guided by his servant, Fushimi arrived at an unfamiliar door deep within the mansion, raising his hand with an unusual hesitation.

He actually didn't quite know how to get along with Aoi Morikawa.

Kanata Morikawa is undoubtedly a good older brother, but he may not be a good parent.

To keep his younger sister away from the filth and dangers among psychics, he went to great lengths to isolate Morikawa Aoi from psychic society, and apart from the necessary inheritance of flower-making skills, he almost never let her come into contact with anything else related to the ordinary world.

Therefore, Morikawa Aoi, who is now fourteen years old, still maintains a fairly low and stable level of spiritual vision.

In the greenhouse built for her, Morikawa Aoi only needed to be an ordinary junior high school girl, enjoying youth, school, making friends, and dreaming about the future... She had plenty of free time and all the support given by her family.

What is truly remarkable is that Aoi Morikawa did not develop the ruthless and demanding personality of a spoiled young lady.

She attends the junior high school of St. Laurent Girls' Noble School in Tokyo, where she has excellent grades. I heard that she was elected president of the junior high school student council this year.

In Fushimi's limited memory, Morikawa Aoi always wore a neat long dress or a plain-colored kimono.

His white hair was neatly tied up, and his azure eyes were clear.

She always had a calm expression, spoke softly and rarely, and mostly sat quietly by his side, only answering softly when asked a question.

She perfectly matches everything the outside world imagines about the "Ms. Morikawa".

To be honest, Fushimi could understand Morikawa Kanata's instinctive care as an older brother, but he also shook his head inwardly because of it.

Being a parent involves more than just loving and protecting someone...

If it were an ordinary wealthy family, there would be nothing wrong with it, but since Morikawa Kanata knew that he would die before his sister,

After that, even if he had a backup plan, how could a naive little girl face the fierce division of the family and the blow of losing her only relative on her own?

But this is ultimately a family matter of the Morikawa family, and it's not his place to interfere.

I recall the first time I met Aoi Morikawa a few years ago.

Back then, she was a thin, small girl who hid behind her brother and looked at him warily.

As we got to know each other better, she would occasionally reveal a side of curiosity, shyness, and liveliness befitting her age, but most of the time she remained expressionless.

Until the last six months, for some reason, every time Morikawa Aoi saw him, she would either make an excuse to leave in a hurry or simply avoid him altogether.

The two hadn't spoken alone for a long time.

If it weren't for Morikawa Kanata's rapidly deteriorating health, Fushimi wouldn't have been so willing to trouble her.

"I hope... I'm not disliked."

He tapped his knuckles, knocking on the thick, solid wood door, the sound echoing clearly in the quiet corridor.

"Please come in."

A sweet, slightly lazy female voice rang out.

Fushimi took a deep breath, raised his hand and pushed open the door. Even though he had prepared himself mentally, the scene before him still startled him.

In the dimly lit room, heavy curtains completely blocked out the afternoon sunlight, and the huge television screen was the only source of light.

At this moment, intense and dazzling lights and shadows are flashing across the screen; it's a two-dimensional fighting game that Fushimi has never seen before.

In front of the screen, on a tatami mat covered with a soft carpet, a small figure is sprawled out among a pile of cushions and giant dolls.

She was a girl with messy, white hair, wearing a loose pajama set with pixelated cartoon monster patterns, and incredibly short hot pants that revealed her legs covered by half-stockings.

She tilted her head unceremoniously, gripping the game controller with both hands, her fingers moving so fast they seemed to blur.

Within easy reach, there were several empty Coca-Cola cans, opened bags of original flavor potato chips, and some snack packaging that I couldn't identify.

The girl opened her mouth wide and yawned.

Seemingly feeling a little itchy, she casually reached out and stroked her fair belly exposed by the hem of her pajamas, her small hand reaching all the way into her hot pants to scratch it.

Immediately afterwards, as the character's health on the screen continued to decrease, the girl began muttering some internet slang and profanities, accompanied by strange "hehehehe" laughter.

Fushimi, who was standing at the doorway staring blankly with dead fish eyes, was completely unaware of what was happening.

If it weren't for the Morikawa family's signature white hair, Fushimi would never have associated Morikawa Aoi with the otaku in front of him.

Morikawa Kanata... how exactly are you a parent?!

The girl seemed to only then remember that someone had just knocked on the door.

"So fast, Yui? Just put the things on the table."

Aoi Morikawa didn't turn her head, assuming the sound of the door opening was from a maid, Yui, who had come to bring her tea and snacks.

She was intently watching the television screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard as the second game began.

Fushimi opened his mouth, about to speak.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to back out and knock on the door again to avoid embarrassing her...

But then the girl spoke again lazily, her tone slightly coquettish:

"Hey Yui, since you're already here, why don't you play a couple of rounds with me? The new version just updated, and it's so boring trying out moves by myself."

Before he could finish speaking, Fushimi saw a white orb of obsession, no bigger than a grape, emerge above Morikawa Aoi's head.

Fushimi: "..."

But then again, playing games with her might also help strengthen our relationship?

Then he wouldn't stand on ceremony.

Fushimi walked over to the cushion behind the girl, sat down, and picked up another idle game controller next to him.

Player 2 has been connected.

"Huh?"

Aoi Morikawa was somewhat surprised, a sly smile appearing on her face. She clearly hadn't expected Yui to be so agreeable today.

Her eyes remained glued to the screen, and her tone became a little lighter: "I won't hold back!"

The battle begins.

Aoi Morikawa controlled a female character dressed in a gorgeous kimono and holding a paper umbrella. Her movements were fluid and her combos were executed with great skill. She had clearly put a lot of effort into studying the new version.

Fushimi randomly chose the most plain-looking swordsman character, and his movements were a bit clumsy, after all, it was his first time playing this game.

However, as long as it's a fighting game, the underlying logic should be pretty much the same.

An upward slash... followed by an aerial follow-up attack... cancel the recovery animation upon landing and then follow up with a special move...

At first, Aoi Morikawa won easily thanks to her understanding and skill in the game.

"Hey, Yui, you're not feeling so good today~"

The girl shook her head smugly, her white hair swaying gently with the movement, looking quite happy.

Fushimi smiled but didn't say anything, simply pressing the restart button silently.

As Fushimi becomes more familiar with the game mechanics and controls, and with the enhancements to his limbs, reflexes, and dynamic vision provided by the Spectrum Orb, the tide begins to turn.

He became able to almost predict Morikawa Aoi's every move, easily parrying and dodging, and then launching a counterattack the instant her attack was delayed.

In the second game, Fushimi narrowly won.

"Huh? Wait a minute—!"

In the third game, Fushimi won decisively.

Fourth game...

"Wait, wait, wait! How could we possibly follow up with that move?!"

Aoi Morikawa stared wide-eyed, her fingers hovering over the controller as she watched the character fall on the screen, her face filled with disbelief.

"Is this right? It can't be!"

Unconvinced, she played a few more games, but without exception, she lost every single one.

Just as Fushimi was wondering whether he should add some water...

"Waaah..."

The girl finally gave up, turned over coquettishly, fell from the mat onto the tatami, rolled over with her eyes closed to Fushimi's feet, and naturally rested her head on Fushimi's crossed legs.

"Could you give me a break a little, Yui?"

She seemed to have been staring at the screen for too long. She frowned, rubbed her eyes, and then raised her hands to pinch Fushimi's cheeks.

Only now did she finally realize that something was wrong. Why was Yui so quiet today?

Moreover, the texture of this face is wrong. Shouldn't Yui's face be soft?

She pinched her lips, then pinched her nose.

This is clearly a boy's face shape, and... his skin is quite good.

Aoi Morikawa slowly opened her eyes.

A pair of deep blue pupils met a pair of familiar dead fish eyes.

Fushimi Iori was looking down at her, her face still bearing the strange expression of her cheek being pinched, with a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth:

"Good afternoon, Xiao Kui."

Aoi Morikawa: "Huh?"

Her expression froze, her mind went blank for a moment, and she even thought she hadn't woken up yet.

Just then, there was a knock at the door: "Miss, excuse me."

Yui pushed open the door and entered, carrying a tray with fruit, snacks and black tea.

Looking up, I saw Morikawa Aoi resting her head on Fushimi's chest.

Yui: "..."

She placed the tray on the table beside her without changing her expression.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you both."

She bowed deeply, then turned and left, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

While instructing the other servants not to disturb them, he couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion:

The head of the family was right after all... I don't know when Lord Fushimi and Miss became so close. I'm so happy for them...

in the room.

Aoi Morikawa's gaze shifted back and forth between the closed door and Fushimi, whom she could see by looking up.

"Huh?"

"Wait... Yui... Iori's older brother?"

"Aaaaaaah!"

She sprang up from Fushimi's arms like a cat caught in a tantrum, her long white hair whipping through the air in an arc.

Her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed, spreading to her ears and neck.

She stood there helplessly, looking at Fushimi who was still sitting on the ground, and then at the messy game room around her.

A sense of shame, no less than that of having one's diary read aloud in public, washed over me.

He looked like he was about to burst out of steam.