yeah i couldnt resist doing another akakudo w

Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.

Classical music played across the large ballroom, the music leaking out into the hallways through the open doors of the said ballroom. Chatters from the guests filled the room, although they were hardly filled with joy, nervous remarks exchanged with the person beside them as their faces lost all their colour. The housekeepers rushed around, some requesting the guests to stay calm, others trying to preserve the scene which was the centre of attention.

Crimson painted the expensive marble floor of the washroom while a man laid immobile on his back in the middle of the cold flooring, lifeless eyes wide open as they stared into nowhere. His similarly expensive suit was stained with red, the wound on his chest being the source of the liquid. A smell with a hint of iron drifted around in the washroom where only still air was present, causing some of the guests who peeked from the door to gag.

He hadn't expected to run in with such a sight – something he thought would only happen in mysteries. Something he thought would happen to others rather than to him. But he didn't mind; an occasional thrill and suspense would be a nice change of pace from his considerably mundane life.

In mysteries, there would be a victim, a culprit, and a detective.

The victim was there – Ishikawa Minato, the chairman of the Ishikawa group. The culprit was, of course, gone, perhaps blended somewhere in the crowd. And the detective, well, was not who he'd expected it to be.

With a hand covering her nose, a young female crouched closer towards the body, careful to not stain the hem of her dress as her calculative eyes studied what was in front of her before proceeding to take pictures of the crime scene. Her chestnut hair was tied messily into a ponytail as she was in a hurry to start investigating the scene before the police arrived. He was sure she expected the police to not give her the green light to investigate, which was why she wasted no time in sniffing around the crime scene.

It wasn't much of the gender that was unexpected for him, but more of her age.

She was just a year older than him – by the name Kudo Shin'na – and had come to Kyoto from Tokyo in place of her father, who was originally invited to the party hosted by the victim. Her father was a famous mystery novelist – she had told him when they got acquainted during the party – named Kudo Yusaku. He had heard the name before and was surprised that he had sent his daughter, instead of his former-celebrity wife. She told him that her mother was with him in Los Angles, thus only she could come instead since she was in the country unlike her.

He watched as the female examined the body, the careful steps she took around the scene taken note by him. He remembered how her eyes turned serious before she dashed out of the ballroom they were in once they heard a scream, as if it was an instinctive response, a normal occurrence for her. She seemed used to such things, and he wondered how could a high school student stay unaffected in such a gruesome environment.

"excuse me..."

A hesitant maid peeked from the washroom door to address the female. The maid informed the female about the police that would take around 10 minutes for arrival. The female nodded and told her to gather the guests in the ballroom, to not let anyone leave, and to say that it was a direct request from the police.

He watched as she continued to take lead in the situation and found himself intrigued by the expression on her face that suggested she was enjoying the mystery at hand.

"You seem rather familiar with these kind of situations, Kudo-san."

He could help but blurt out what he had been thinking. His voice clearly broke her concentration from the scene and prompted her to send a rather displeased gaze towards him. He smiled, amused, and continued his words, allowing his smooth voice to echo across the washroom.

"It is hard to think that you are just the daughter of a famous mystery novelist."

"You'd be surprised," she had rolled her eyes before a smirk curled upon her lips. "but yeah, I'm not just the daughter of a famous mystery novelist."

Her way of speech – laced with a tinge of boyishness – was the complete opposite of the polite, soft-spoken tone he used towards her. Given the senior position the female held against him, the politeness was expected. Although just acquainted, the older female immediately decided to discard the honorifics she had used to address him at first while he maintained them.

"Do you know the victim, Akashi?"

"Yes," he nodded after a pause. "Ishikawa Masato. The chairman of the Ishikawa Group and tonight's host. He runs multiple businesses that have partnerships with my father's. He was quite a pleasing man, I am rather surprised someone would want to kill him."

"That's how things are." Kudo uttered as-a-matter-of-factly, shifting her weight onto one leg as she crossed her arms. "Does he have any known enemies? Business rivals or an angry lover, perhaps?"

"Not that I know of." Akashi shook his head. "However, rather than a lover, he does have a wife."

"Is she at the party?"

"Of course."

"What about family, does he have any others that are here?"

"His younger brother is present. He lives in this mansion with Ishikawa-san and his wife. His secretary is present as well."

"His secretary?"

"Ishikawa-san asks her to come to every party. It is very usual for him."

She nodded and seemed to think for a while before returning her gaze to him. The look of her cobalt eyes had changed compared to when they were getting acquainted. There was less friendliness and seemed more stern, thoughtful, perhaps. He found himself drawn into the analytic nature of her eyes, the curiousity reflected in them as she looked up to him. It was entrancing.

"Help me point them out later."

The inspector in charge had shooed her off the crime scene upon arrival thus leaving Kudo with no choice but to retreat to the corner of the wall where Akashi was positioned at, a smile on his face while he tried to suppress the amusement that was dying to show. With a huff, the girl let her back lean against the wall as her arms moved to cross themselves over her chest. As if the frown on her face wasn't enough, her eyes narrowed themselves as they stared at the middle-aged inspector who trudged off to start questioning the guests.

"So, Ms. Detective," he started. "What do you plan to do now?"

He only smiled at the dry look she offered him and watched as she straightened her posture to place a hand on her hip. There was a show of authority in her body language, one that he didn't mind due to the factor of age.

"Isn't it obvious?" A smirk curled on her lips and she directed it towards the male. "We solve the case."

"We?"

He blinked, puzzled at her inclusion of him.

"Of course." A nod. "You'll come in handy when talking to the guests."

"I am just a tool then?"

The word felt amusing as it rolled of his tongue, surprised that he'd use it to address himself instead of someone else. He wouldn't hold himself as someone to be used but from the way she worded it, that was the only conclusion he could come to. However, Kudo provided another interpretation of her words instantly. An eyebrow was raised at his question before she shook her head, chin lifted to present her case.

"A partner, I mean. A partner. You know, like Holmes and Watson."

"Holmes, you say?"

There was a glint in her eyes as she mentioned Holmes' name which could only indicate admiration, idolization. The idea of mimicking the dynamics of Holmes and Watson probably sounded as euphoric to her as it was to him.

Getting involved in murder cases wasn't really something Akashi would do for a hobby, but he was curious. He felt like staying with his senior for a little more longer. She was interesting, unlike the people – females in particular – he meets in his daily life as a young heir (most probably it was the utter lack of femininity from the other, but Akashi would rather conclude it was the peculiar fascination for murder cases). He felt like seeing through her whole detective game, to see if she was as good as a detective she portrayed herself to be.

"Exactly."

There was a tune at the end of her word before she trotted off, sending a glance towards the male as a sign for him to follow along. As he trailed behind her, Akashi put up his own theory to what had occurred in the high-classed washroom: The killer – who held a personal grudge against the victim – stabbed Mr. Ishikawa's in the chest and left him to bleed to death while they escaped from the manor, bringing the murder weapon along therefore explaining the absence of it. The killer would be someone from the guest list who is not in the ballroom anymore.

Well, who it was he wouldn't know.

The gazes given to them were unwelcoming, given the fact that the three who Kudo narrowed down as main suspects couldn't recognize Kudo and while they could recognize Akashi, they didn't seem obliged to send them warm greetings. The woman who stood tall and confident in her beautiful, extravagant dress was the wife – Ishikawa Yuiko. The woman beside the wife, who held her head just as modestly as her dress, was the secretary – Tanabe Miwa – and the meek looking man in his early forties was the younger brother of the chairman, as well as the director of the Ishikawa group – Ishikawa Hiroshi.

"I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." The female uttered upon approaching, throwing a sympathetic look Akashi recognized to be a look of pretense.

"Don't be," a scoff. "That man deserved it."

"I'm sorry?"

"Forget it. Who are you anyway?"

It was apparent that Yuiko was looking down on her – in figurative and literal sense, considering the two and a half inch stilettoes she wore on her feet. Her chin was held high, displaying her superiority over the brunette. Akashi could see that Kudo disliked dealing with people like Yuiko, but she kept her calm and proceeded to introduce herself.

"I'm a detective, Yuiko-san. The inspector asked me to help around."

She was lying through her teeth, but it seemed that other than Akashi who knew what was going on, the three 'suspects' couldn't see through it which made Akashi wonder about the amount of practice she must have gotten to become such an expert (or if it was just natural talent.)

"What would you like to know?"

Hiroshi spoke up from beside his sister-in-law, voice confident, unlike what the two teens expected from him. Although he was comparatively more submissive compared to his sister-in-law, it could be seen from the way he maintained his good posture, the way he maintained eye contact with her and the way he held his chin up as he spoke that he was actually an assured man.

"I'd like to know how your relationship is with the chairman and whether anything comes to mind regarding the incident, a person who would want the chairman dead, perhaps?"

"That's unthinkable!" Hiroshi exclaimed. "Everyone loved my brother. No one would want him dead."

"Oh please, Hiroshi. Spare us the fake sentiment." Yuiko said, rolling her eyes. "Obviously there are people who would want my husband dead. You are looking at one already."

Her perfectly manicured hands were gesturing towards Hiroshi, who could only shoot a look at disbelief at his sister-in-law. Kudo raised an eyebrow at this, not even trying to hide her curiousity regarding the matter. Yuiko read the expression Kudo displayed and decided to continue her finger pointing at Hiroshi.

"Hiroshi was supposed to be promoted to vice chairman last month. However, Masato appointed another employee as the vice chairman instead, although Hiroshi was more excellent in his work."

"That must have been frustrating."

Akashi uttered, cocking his head slightly to the side in interest. It seemed like a probable motive for him. Kudo seemed to have come to the same conclusion, studying Hiroshi who bit his under lip before nodding solemnly.

"It was," he admitted. "However, I already sorted things out with my brother! He promised to promote me next year, to chairman instead. Why would I kill him when he gave me that promise?"

"Chairman?" Kudo questioned. "Was Ishikawa-san planning to retire?"

It seemed that Yuiko had the same question in mind, shooting a suspicious glare at her brother-in-law while maintaining her superior posture. From what he could see, Akashi deduced that neither Yuiko nor the secretary, Tanabe, knew about the topic and were thrown off by the unexpected news.

"Yes, that's what he told me." The man uttered. "He said he was tired of the trade business and planned on opening a new business under a new group focussing on an entirely different sector, so he wanted me to take over the Ishikawa group."

"That's absurd, I haven't heard about it at all!"

Yuiko was clearly unpleased, raising her voice just enough to emphasize how she felt. Tanabe, on the other hand, look dejected, as if blaming herself for not knowing her boss' plans. She sighed and moved further away from the family. Kudo narrowed her eyes at the secretary, having a gut feeling that she was hiding something herself, though she wasn't sure what.

"He didn't plan on telling anyone yet. Although..."

Hiroshi glanced at Akashi, fidgeting slightly as he contemplated whether or not to continue his words. Akashi raised an eyebrow and sent a look that prompted Hiroshi to speak up.

"I assume Akashi-san knew about it. He's my brother's closest partner after all..."

Kudo had removed her eyes from Tanabe and slid their gaze over to Akashi, getting more and more interested as the plot progressed. She asked him whether what Hiroshi was saying had any truth in it, in which he nodded to confirm.

"My father did mention about Ishikawa-san seeking advice on starting a new group which would target a different sector. However—"

"What the hell are you brats doing?"

The loud voice of the inspector interrupted Akashi at the last second and Kudo almost threw her hands up in frustration. As he walked over to them, Akashi could literally feel the anger oozing out from the inspector who was already prepared to yell about interfering with the investigation. Kudo positioned herself to make a run for it, however seemed to decide against her decision at the last minute.

"I told you not to interfere with police work, didn't I!?"

The inspector started lecturing Kudo about the interference and it was obvious that she was hardly listening. Her mind seemed more preoccupied with finding a way to continue investigating the case. She tried to argue with the inspector that what she was doing was in fact not interfering with the investigation but instead helping it progress. However, the inspector wouldn't listen and continued lecturing her. She looked like she was going to strangle herself if the lecture went any further, so Akashi decided to lend her a hand.

"Excuse me, inspector."

The inspector responded with a scowl as he turned to face him, unpleased that a mere teen decided to interrupt him.

"What do you want, brat?"

Akashi wasn't offended with the inspector's tone of voice. Rather, he held a calm gaze as he put himself between Kudo and the inspector, offering a smile as he did so. It wasn't a gentle nor a friendly smile though. It was more scheming, holding malice from every inch of his features. The inspector seemed taken aback by this as he straightened his slouch to a certain degree, looking directly into Akashi's mismatched eyes.

"I do not appreciate the tone of voice you are using to speak to my acquaintance," he uttered, pausing before the word 'acquaintance'. "I suggest that you apologize to her immediately, before I decide to speak to your superiors about this."

The inspector only responded with a click of the tongue before ordering them to not interfere with the investigation and returning to his detective's side to continue questioning guests. Kudo breathed out a sigh and thanked Akashi as she glanced over to the three suspects, hoping that the small interruption wouldn't affect their willingness to answer her questions. But alas, it did. Especially for Yuiko, who waved a hand in dismissal as she strutted off with Hiroshi and Tanabe trailing obediently behind her.

Kudo groaned and crossed her arms over her chest, sending unamused glares at the inspector for ruining her questioning session. Akashi chuckled to himself, finding her frustration a tad too amusing.

"It seems that you are in a pinch, Kudo-san." He said, stating the obvious.

Kudo rolled her eyes, "Unfortunately. Although, I have an idea of where the murder weapon is."

He raised an eyebrow in curiousity. There were hardly any pointers to what happened to the murder weapon. What made her certain that she knew?

"Pray tell."

She gave a brief but convincing theory on what the weapon may be and how it could have been disposed after the killing, leaving no trace whatsoever of it at the crime scene or on the killer themselves. She included a summary of the disposal method and Akashi nodded at her explanation, rather impressed at the theory she had built from only whatever there was at the crime scene.

"However, that would mean you have no evidence to tie the killer to the killing."

"Exactly," she sighed. "I can build up a theory easily but if there is no evidence to support it, I can't prove who the killer is. Plus, I still don't have all the facts regarding the relationships the chairman has with the three we were questioning just now."

She seemed distressed, Akashi noted as he observed her ruffle the fine strands of her bangs with a frown and a sigh. Was not being able to solve a case that dooming for her?

"Oh," she blurted as if she had just remembered something. "What were you going to say about Hiroshi-san's testimony? The one the inspector interrupted."

"Ah, that." Akashi acknowledged. "I was about to say that, although my father mentioned that Ishikawa-san was seeking advice on starting a new group, he mentioned nothing about him retiring from his position in the current group and Hiroshi-san becoming the new chairman."

"So, Hiroshi-san could be lying..." she muttered. "What about Tanabe-san, the secretary?"

"Tanabe-san?"

"Have you heard anything about her and the chairman?" she elaborated. "Anything at all."

"No, unfortunately."

Another exasperated sigh.

"I guess I could try Hiroshi-san again... He might be considerate enough to cooperate."

"If you'd like," Akashi offered, feeling a little sorry for her. "I could try asking Yuiko-san and Tanabe-san for you. They could be more willing to talk if it is me asking."

Kudo accepted his offer after some thought, agreeing that rather than a completely stranger, they would prefer to be questioned by someone who held the same social status as them. After being drilled on main points he should ask – to which he reluctantly listened to – Akashi went off to find the two women, while Kudo went to look for Hiroshi.

Akashi left after thanking the two females for their time to regroup with Kudo. Both of them had an alibi so he personally concluded that they were not the killer the police and Kudo were looking for.

As he walked through the ballroom, he found himself fiddling on his phone, searching up the name 'Kudo Shin'na'. There were multiple articles on her, about how she solved numerous cases in Tokyo, about how she was called the 'Saviour of the Japanese Police', and about how she was the ace of her middle school's football team until she missed the penalty goal for one of the matches, which cost them the match and officially marked the end of her football career.

He wondered, what had made her decide to pursue the path of becoming a detective. Was it something she decided to pursue as a distraction from her failed football career? Or was it something she decided from the start? Curiousity bubbled inside him and he wondered if he could hold it in. A detective wasn't something he ran into every day and he wanted to know more. It was unlike him to be this intrigued by a person and he wondered why. Was it because of the apparent contrast between who she was and who he was?

She was like fire, passionate and driven towards her goal of mystery solving while he was like ice, numb from the joys of victory and merely obeying his father's words. Although they could speak on the same level, they were complete opposites.

A hand on his arm snapped him out of his thoughts and beside him was Kudo, an expectant look etched upon her features. She seemed to be in a better mood than before, the reason being the fact that she had cornered the detective that was with the inspector before regrouping and had managed to pry out information regarding the questioning of other guests from him. How she did it, Akashi would rather not know. Although so, it was evident that she was still unpleased at the lack of evidence for a confession.

"Hiroshi-san doesn't have an alibi during the estimated time of death; 9:00pm to 10:00pm." She started to brief him. "He went out to the balcony for a smoke at 8:55pm. There are guests who confirmed that he left the ballroom at that time, but no one could corroborate his testimony of being at the balcony. He also mentioned that Ishikawa-san and Yuiko-san would fight from time to time – though it wasn't serious – and that Tanabe-san might be having an affair with Ishikawa-san. If Yuiko-san had found out about the affair, she might have killed her husband..."

It had become mumbling towards the end that Akashi had to call out her name a few times to bring her back to reality. She blinked and uttered and apology before a smile broke onto her features as she looked directly up to him.

"So, how did it go with the wife and secretary? What did they tell you?"

She was practically brimming with anticipation that he couldn't help but smile. Akashi gave her a very detailed summary of what the two women had told him – about their alibi, about Tanabe's short-lived affair with Ishikawa and about the rocky relationship between the two brothers caused by Ishikawa's constant demeaning of Hiroshi – and she bit her under lip in thought. It seemed that she had reached a verdict, but the absence of physical evidence was troubling as without it, there was only circumstantial evidence fuelled by personal perceptions of those involved.

"It's right there and yet..."

"Can't you ask to test for a luminol reaction?"

There must have been some blood spatter on the killer's clothes when he sliced Ishikawa's throat thus a simple luminol test would reveal any traces of blood on the killer's clothing although the blood has been washed away.

"He could have changed his clothes. It's his home after all."

She sighed, then perked up shortly after, her expression indicating that she had become aware of a possible solution. Her eyes darted around the ballroom and she rushed off towards one of the maids when she caught sight of her. Akashi was thrown off guard by the abrupt movement from the female and could only watch as she bolted out the ballroom after she inquired something from the maid.

Akashi chose not to chase after her, deciding to wait until she returned to the ballroom with hopefully a conclusion to the mystery at hand.

She had returned to the ballroom with a smirk on her face that could only mean that she had gotten what she needed. She made her way down the ballroom, approaching the cranky inspector who was talking to Yuiko, Tanabe and Hiroshi right by her with a piece of cloth held tightly in her hand that was laced with a handkerchief.

"I know who the killer is."

Akashi watched as she presented her reasoning, a flawless act presented step-by-step with confidence, and only confidence. The protests from the inspector eventually died out as he was drawn into the scenario she was depicting for them. She revealed how the murder weapon had vanished from the scene, explaining that the killer used the blade of a cutter knife with tissue paper wrapped thickly around the bottom to act as a holder and that when the crime was over, the killer broke the blade into many pieces and - with the tissue paper - flushed it down the toilet before fleeing the scene. He watched as she directed a slender finger towards Hiroshi, announcing him to be the killer who they were looking for.

"W- What are you talking about!? You have no proof!"

"Proof?" She mocked. "If it's proof you're looking for, I have it right here."

The cloth she held with a handkerchief was raised and spread out, revealing a bloodied white shirt. Hiroshi's face paled immediately once he saw the shirt and the inspector demanded where she got it from.

"From the compartment under Hiroshi-san's desk." She answered coolly. "Though, I would never have found it if it wasn't for the small... accident."

Akashi noticed her hand absently touching the back of her head before she returned the attention to Hiroshi, who seemed visibly flustered by the female detective's discovery. His body shook as his eyes widened terribly and soon enough he fell to his knees, his head hung low in frustration.

"Did you actually kill Masato just because he wouldn't promote you?"

It was Yuiko who had spoken up, her face contorted into an expression of disgust, although the tone of her voice was quiet, and gentle.

"That was only the trigger." Hiroshi scoffed, a dry smirk on his lips as he was pulled up to his feet by the police detective who cuffed him soon after. "That bastard never appreciated anything I did for him or the group; constantly criticizing me, calling me incompetent. Then he goes and promotes a more inferior employee as vice chairman? Ridiculous! I just couldn't take it anymore!"

"That's enough." The inspector firmly instructed. "Take him to the car."

Kudo was practically radiating as she smiled with satisfaction from ear to ear. The inspector had thanked and apologized to her for the string of events between them and he had also told her that she was welcome to help out in the crime scenes at any time. The recognition from the inspector was probably just as gratifying as being able to solve the case, Akashi assumed.

"Is your head alright, Kudo-san?"

She shot him an offended look before registering what he actually meant. Akashi opened his mouth to apologize for his choice of wording, but she waved a hand and told him she was fine.

"I accidentally knocked over his pen holder and the pens rolled under the desk." She said. "I forgot I was under the desk and bumped my head into the hidden compartment."

"Quite lucky, you might say."

To this, she only offered a nod.

"You heading home?"

"Yes," he nodded, glancing at his watch. "It is already almost midnight. Would you like me to give you a ride to your lodging?"

"You don't have to. I'm sure I can get a taxi—"

"I insist."

The ride home was silent, sparing the few moments where they talked about general topics like school, hobbies and sports in the back seat as his driver carefully drove through the streets. Kudo didn't seem surprised when Akashi mentioned he was one of the representatives for his school's basketball club and when he pointed it out, she gave a brief explanation about how his height, build and various other physical pointers gave it away.

"Why did you decide to become a detective, Kudo-san?"

Akashi finally allowed himself to ask the question that had been bugging him since the party. He wasn't sure if the information would bring any significance to him, but he wanted to know, and it was a topic that could rid the silence that lingered in the car.

"Well," she twirled a finger around her now loose hair and rubbed the strands as she told him. "It's really just because I wanted – want – to become like Holmes. He's amazing, y'know?"

The grin she displayed was one of high regard, admiration, just like the glint he had seen in her eyes prior to their detective game. The man was a fictional character, but the way she regarded him was as if she was talking about a real person, a mentor.

"I see."

Her expression reminded him of someone back from his middle school days, someone who looked at him and others with the same admiring eyes, someone who he had caused despair to.

"Oh, you can stop here."

Her voice brought him back to earth and he requested the driver to stop. Kudo thanked him for the ride and just as she climbed out the car, Akashi called out to her, taking out his phone as he did so. The brunette looked back at him with puzzlement, an eyebrow raised as she bent slightly to look at him from outside the car.

"Would you mind exchanging numbers, Kudo-san?" He asked. "I'd like to keep in touch, perhaps call you when there is a case near me?"

She chuckled at his words, pointing out that she would have to travel two hours from Tokyo just to investigate. But she took out a notebook and pen from the purse she had brought to the party and scribbled something on a page before tearing the paper off the notebook.

"I await your request then, Akashi Seijuro-kun."

There was a tease in her voice and a smile as she offered the paper to him. On it were 12 digits, forming a phone number.

He accepted the paper and thanked her with a smile before returning the wave she promptly gave as she walked off. He watched until she disappeared into the hotel she was staying at and requested the driver to drive.

There was a peculiar feeling of content as he entered the number into his contacts, his fingers lingering over the kanji characters of her name. It was strange. But he didn't mind.

The corner of his lips curled into a smile once again and he found himself admiring the night view with rare anticipation for the coming days.

i think i've mentioned this before but i suck at writing mysteries ww
will/might upload this to ao3 as well !

Thanks for reading!