A Genius In The World Of Conan (Detective Conan Fanfiction) - Chapter 6: Deep Suspicion

“Kousuke-san, let me accompany you inside,” said the police officer disguised as a nurse as they arrived at the entrance of the restroom.

“Thank you, but I can manage on my own.”

“Alright, I’ll wait at the door. Just call me if you need anything.”

Even after Kousuke Akikawa politely declined, the officer’s expression remained unfazed, displaying the demeanor of a truly concerned and exceptionally courteous nurse.

At the far end of the restroom’s sink area was a window. For a slim adult or a child, it seemed possible to squeeze through.

Beyond the window lay a scene of clouds drifting across the morning sky.

In the faint light of dawn, there were few pedestrians around. Only the chirping of birds announced the beginning of a new day.

Since it was still early, the restroom was empty.

Kousuke Akikawa approached the sink and looked into the mirror in front of him.

It was only then that he finally confronted his new body for the first time since transmigrating.

In the world beyond the mirror stood a pale, lifeless young man.

His frame was thinner than average, and coupled with the bandages wrapped around his head, the hospital gown he wore, and the IV stand he was tethered to, he appeared less like a recent hospital admission and more like someone who had spent years confined within its walls.

‘I’m even more frail than I imagined. This body feels like a brittle branch, ready to snap with the slightest pressure.’

Unexpectedly, however, the young man in the mirror had remarkably well-proportioned features.

This prompted Kousuke Akikawa to silently marvel,

‘For someone with good facial symmetry, even with bandages covering their hair, such frailty still doesn’t detract from their appearance.’

Of course, Kousuke Akikawa hadn’t entered the restroom just to use the facilities.

Even with his extremely limited means of gathering information, he could at least learn some basics about himself by closely observing his new body.

He noticed that not only his cheeks but also the skin on his hands and neck appeared unnaturally pale.

This abnormal paleness extended to areas of skin typically exposed to sunlight, suggesting not just an underlying medical condition but also another possibility—

‘A chronic recluse, always indoors.’

He rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, lightly pinching the muscles on his arms and legs.

The laxity of the muscles further confirmed his deduction.

‘Dry and coarse skin, dark circles under the eyes—not from staying up late, but more likely anemia caused by malnutrition.’

‘At an age where I should still be in school, I haven’t been attending at all.’

‘Despite being capable of self-care, my severe malnutrition suggests one of two scenarios: living alone and giving up on life, or being overprotected—or even abused—by someone else.’

Reaching behind to feel the hair at the nape of his neck, Kousuke Akikawa made a judgment.

‘It’s the latter.’

The length of his hair clearly wasn’t what one would expect from someone who had long lived as a shut-in; it had obviously been trimmed regularly.

Though the original owner of this body seemed to have little will to live, the hair was properly maintained.

If the original owner truly cared about their appearance, they wouldn’t have let their body deteriorate to this state.

Thus, someone else must have been handling these things for him.

Gazing at his reflection—a body weakened by inactivity and malnutrition—

and recalling the hints provided earlier by the officer who supported him into the restroom,

the balance in Kousuke Akikawa’s mind tipped decisively toward the possibility of abuse.

‘Assuming the original owner was truly abused, the woman who was in the same car as him must have been the one living with him,’

Kousuke Akikawa thought to himself.

‘This doesn’t look good. It seems like the original owner had a strong motive to kill…’

He quickly unbuttoned the hospital gown’s top and carefully examined his frail body.

After closely inspecting both his upper and lower body, aside from some bruising likely caused by the recent car accident, Kousuke Akikawa didn’t find any old scars or injuries.

‘No external injuries doesn’t mean there was no abuse.’

‘Moreover, in this situation, the police concluded that the original owner might have committed suicide, which means this is something that was discovered after I was sent to the hospital for an examination last night.’

This implied that something within his body had given away that detail.

‘Did they find traces of certain substances in my body? Poison? Sleeping pills?’

‘Whatever it is, it couldn’t have been a spur-of-the-moment decision; it’s clear that the original owner had planned this in advance.’

‘Then the real question is, did the original owner attempt suicide before the woman died, or after?’

‘Speaking of which, the original owner actually has blue eyes, and his hair isn’t the typical black hair of a Japanese person, but chestnut brown.’

Apart from the handsome, albeit gaunt, facial features, what stood out most were his striking, deep blue eyes, resembling the night sky.

While inspecting his body earlier, Kousuke Akikawa also noticed that not only his hair but also the body hair on his other parts was chestnut brown.

This indicated that it wasn’t dyed hair, but natural.

‘Could he be mixed-race?’

As Kousuke Akikawa continued to inspect his body for any other details he might have missed, he suddenly caught a glimpse in the mirror of the restroom door being quietly opened.

‘They’re even watching me when I go to the bathroom. The police are certainly convinced that the original owner tried to commit suicide.’

Since his clothes had already been changed, there was no way for him to be carrying any tools that could harm someone.

Additionally, there was no one else in the restroom, so there was no risk of him hurting anyone else.

Therefore, the police were monitoring him to prevent him from attempting suicide again.

‘Since they’re watching me, it must mean the original owner’s suicide attempt happened after the woman he was living with died.’

‘Only in that case could ‘I’ possibly attempt the same thing again after realizing I wasn’t dead.’

‘The original owner must have been suffering from abuse for a long time and chose this particular day to kill the woman before attempting suicide?’

‘That sounds like premeditated murder. It seems like the police have already made the same conclusion.’

Kousuke Akikawa pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Japan is not a country where people are easily sentenced to death.

Even the most brutal criminals, who have killed many people, are often hard to convict with the death penalty.

Moreover, there is a significant difference in the sentencing standards between impulsive murder and premeditated murder.

Clearly, the latter is much more severe.

The more Kousuke Akikawa learned, the more he realized that his suspicion was growing deeper.