Chapter 59: Nowhere to Run
"You're Aqua-kun's mother?"
Akane couldn't help but cry out in shock. This bombshell revelation sent her brain into a temporary state of gridlock. Before she could utter another word, Aqua's hand was clamped firmly over her mouth.
Ai blinked a few times, a look of confusion crossing her face. It took her a full thirty seconds to process the situation before panic set in.
"That's not it! Aqua and Ruby are President Saito and Kyoko's children. They have nothing to do with me!"
Ai diligently repeated the cover story Ichigo Saito had taught her years ago, delivering it with stiff precision.
However, that lie was long outdated. The latest version of the "truth" was already updated to: *The blond twins are Hikaru Hoshino's children.* While not yet announced to the media, it was an open secret among the film crew.
Ai's cagey behavior only served to confirm Akane Kurokawa's suspicions, causing her eyes to widen even further.
*A national idol with secret children...* Without a doubt, this was a massive scandal for the entertainment industry. Ai had reached the pinnacle of the Japanese idol world, and her transition into acting and singing was going smoothly. Many believed she had the potential to eventually stand at the very top of the entire industry; conversely, many peers viewed her as a thorn in their side.
If this "black material" were sold to rival idol agencies, it would likely fetch an astronomical price...
The thought crossed Akane's mind instinctively, but she immediately forced it away. Not only that, she felt a wave of shame for even having the thought in the first place.
Hikaru Hoshino had given her, a total unknown, the chance to play a major role; she couldn't repay kindness with ingratitude.
And then there was Aqua-kun... who had been supporting her all this time.
Feeling the presence of the person behind her, Akane felt a sense of peace, and her agitated emotions gradually settled.
"You mustn't go spreading that around, okay?"
Hikaru first gave Akane a "kind" smile and a pointed stare, then immediately reverted to his relaxed demeanor. "Alright, Aqua, you can let go now. Akane is a good girl; there won't be any problems."
As soon as Aqua lowered his hand, Akane nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at grain.
Clearly, the fact that Ai had children was not yet ready for the spotlight, so they had to be extremely cautious and limit the number of people who knew.
However, Hikaru trusted Akane's character. Despite being a child, her lips were tighter than many adults. Plus, with Aqua keeping an eye on her, things should be fine.
"Alright." Hikaru clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. "Let's get back to discussing how to catch Shin'ichiro Ishigami—the arsonist from just now."
"We've found a way, but we need your help, Akane."
Finding everyone looking at her, Akane was a bit dazed. "Me?"
"You've already proven your deductive skills." Hikaru pulled out his phone, searched for Shin'ichiro Ishigami's account on Twitter, and handed the phone to Akane. "While tracing real-world info through the internet falls more under social engineering than pure deduction, I still want to see if you can find some useful information from this."
Akane pursed her lips and took the phone, her brow furrowing slightly as she carefully browsed the information on the screen. As her search deepened, the aura around her began to shift bit by bit.
*Truly amazing technique.*
Hikaru observed Akane in silence. When he saw this in the anime, he thought it was just a typical "anime superpower," nothing special. Now he realized he had been superficial. Standing right in front of Akane and experiencing it with his own eyes, he truly felt the power of this talent.
Because this was a "scientific" world, irrational abilities stood out even more. For example, Akane's deductive profiling, or Ai's idol talent.
*But I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have power like theirs.*
Hikaru pushed a non-existent pair of glasses with his index finger, looking somewhat melancholy.
"I think..." Akane suddenly spoke. She glanced at Hikaru, choosing her words carefully. "I might have found where Shin'ichiro Ishigami is."
Aqua and Hikaru wore the same look of astonishment, clearly shocked by Akane's speed.
"So fast!" Ruby said, speaking for both of them with her mouth wide open.
Akane placed the phone back on the table, returning to Ishigami's main profile.
"First, the region—he's local to Miyazaki Prefecture. There shouldn't be any doubt about that."
"He hasn't adjusted his privacy settings, so his following list is transparent. Not only does he follow Uncle Hikaru and Auntie Ai..."
Hikaru's lip twitched at the "Uncle" title.
"...he also follows many violent horror movie channels, and even international terrorist organizations. He has very clear violent tendencies."
"His posts and liked content also reflect this. But he hasn't posted any personal information on this account, so I searched for the same username across multiple platforms." Akane flicked her fingers across the phone, demonstrating her process. "I found several other accounts. Based on the posting style, I can infer that some belong to Ishigami."
"Then, I followed those accounts to find associated users—mutual follows, or people who frequently comment and like his posts. There's a high probability they are acquaintances of Ishigami."
"Since it's cross-platform, there were many accounts. I had to do a quick screening, for example, filtering for those also located in Miyazaki."
"Then..." Akane held up the phone, showing Hikaru the final result. "This gentleman is also in Miyazaki, and he frequently posts photos of his daily life."
She opened a photo, zoomed in to the maximum, and drew a red circle in the bottom right corner.
In the image, the owner of the phone was sitting at a large round table, talking to another figure whose features were blurred. On the table were some beer bottles and simple side dishes.
And under the table, in the area Akane had circled, was a black cat.
Hikaru suddenly realized something, but Aqua's reaction was faster.
"That's the cat from Shin'ichiro Ishigami's profile picture!"
"Yes." Akane nodded. "These two obviously have a deep connection offline. They should know each other, or perhaps even live together."
"By analyzing this person's movement patterns, I can narrow down his range bit by bit."
Akane then opened a map, starting from the entirety of Miyazaki and slowly zooming in. As her movements quickened, roads, houses, and fields appeared within the map's markers. Hikaru even saw the area where they ate today—near the site of the arson.
Finally, Akane Kurokawa locked onto a street corner not far from their location and gave her conclusion.
"He lives right here."
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