"Didn't think I'd gotten enough fame for you detective's to start coming after me."
"You've cause quite a ruckus, but you wouldn't mind if we had a little fun with this, do you?"
...
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"My goodness! You're growing so tall, Y/n!"
The little girl giggled as her mother lifted her up into the air. She had recently turned 4 years old and as usual her mother was showering her with affection to the point Y/n might've grown spoiled. The two were happily playing together when her father came back from work with a heavy sigh. Y/n ran up to him and any fatigue shown on his face washed away.
He picked the little Y/n up into his arms and pinched her cheek with a sympathetic smile. "Y/n, are you getting along with the Shikanoin boy?"
She looked up at her father, confused, but still nodded at the mention of her friend's name.
"Good girl. The Shikanoin family will be helping us with some things from now on, okay?"
"Why do we need help, daddy?"
The man did not reply to her question and set her down on the ground. Y/n was a stubborn girl and followed after her father, begging for an answer. She did not ever receive one directly, yet later that night she had overheard her parents' conversation, one she wished she did not hear.
It happened long past her bedtime, when her parents believed she was asleep. She crept out of her bed and gently placed her ear onto the closed door. Through the wood, she heard slight mumbles of her parents' distressed voices. Upon not being able to hear clearly, she quietly opened her door ajar to hear better.
"F/n, you must rest! You shouldn't stress yourself out too much!"
Y/n watched her father shake his head and brush his hair back with his hand.
"You know I can't do that. The recent murder cases have been rising and..." Her father's voice trailed off and he did not dare finish that sentence. When Y/n looked to see her mother's reaction, there was terror in her eyes and she fell to the floor, her entire body shaking.
Y/n began to cry. She didn't know why, but everything scared her at that moment. Voices that most likely belonged to her parents echoed through the air. Her father's voice frantically yelling, her mother reaching to comfort Y/n before she went out cold, then red and blue lights accompanied by sirens.
Perhaps she was not fated to live a wondrous life.
Piles of paper were laid out on top of the dining table. Y/n and Kazuha examined the pictures and documents with frightening concentration. There was information about potential murder weapons, interviews of people that had seen Gorou before he was found dead, and what the three all had their eyes on, information on a potential murderer.
So far, the only information on the murderer is a tall male with h/c hair, dressed in all black. Y/n examined the blurry photo of the murderer, thinking it could be her father, but something seemed... off. It definitely seemed like her father yet something was telling her that this man was different, someone she should know besides her father.
Y/n rubbed her eyes and looked at the picture again, but Heizou stopped her this time. He shook his head, insisting she went to bed. Despite her defiance and eagerness to help, she was still inevitably dragged back to Heizou's room to sleep.
"Mommy! Can I go get ice cream with Heizou after summer camp? Please?"
Her mother laughed at her daughter's great excitement. How could she refuse when her daughter stared at her with such sparkling eyes? The woman nodded and wheeled her wheelchair over to the table, looking for her wallet. She planned on giving Y/n 5 dollars before sending her off with the Shikanoins, but alas was unable to find any trace of her wallet. Maybe her memory was growing foggy.
Upon seeing her mother's disappointed face, Y/n grabbed her mother's arms. "It's okay, mommy! I don't need an ice cream, okay?" She giggled.
Mrs. Aikawa's smile became melancholy. It hurt her to see her daughter already becoming independent and caring for others' problems at the young age of 7. She wished she could spoil Y/n more like any mother would, wished she could allow her daughter to enjoy her childhood by getting to do whatever she wanted. Yet all she could do was wave off to the small girl as she ran towards the Shikanoins.
Y/n did not understand why her mother worried about her so much. All she knew was that she was having fun, as she ran around the trees with ice cream smothered at the edges of her lips, her best friend chasing after her because she had stolen that last bit of his dessert every now and then. As she laid with him on the grass trying to find constellations in the night sky nearly every night. As they played, pretending they were detectives whenever they were together. She wouldn't wish for anything else. She felt that her life was great as it was.
Shikanoin Heizou was Aikawa Y/n's only friend. Their friendship started with a murder case and it may as well have ended with a murder case. The very same day when Y/n had left to summer camp with Heizou, her mother was murdered by a mysterious man with rigid h/c hair peeking out from under his black hood.
