Chapter 50: An Encounter with a Mini Detective

Hours later, the sound of the helicopter rotors still seemed to linger in their ears, and the Hawaiian sea breeze carried a pure, salty scent. Instead of flying directly to the training base, Nekono Yuuya and the others checked into a luxury hotel near Waikiki Beach.

They planned to spend a day on Oahu first.

After settling into the hotel, Nekono Ikuya went downstairs to meet up with Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei. Since they planned to go surfing next, Nekono Ikuya simply removed all his disguises. He walked out of the room with his original appearance—black hair and blue eyes.

As he passed through the hotel lobby, a slightly immature but exceptionally earnest voice caught his attention.

"...So, waiter, the wrinkles on your cuffs and the grit on your shoes, typical of Shanghai, suggest that you recently went to the beach, rather than 'being on standby in the lobby' as you said."

Nekono Ikuya looked over curiously and immediately spotted a black-haired boy who looked to be only five or six years old, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

The boy had his back to Ikuya Nekono, so from Nekono's angle, only the round back of his head was visible. A tuft of black hair stuck up on the back of his head, rebelliously standing out and looking particularly cute.

Although he couldn't see the boy's face, Ikumi Nekono could already imagine his confident and proud little expression, and perhaps his eyes would have a sharpness rarely seen in children his age.

Intrigued, Nekono Ikuya immediately stopped and leaned against a pillar to watch.

The dark-haired boy's observation skills were quite remarkable. Don't believe him when he says it's easy; in reality, the wrinkles on the waiter's cuffs weren't very noticeable, and the unique sand on the beach wasn't so easy to distinguish from the ordinary sand nearby.

His logic in speaking is also quite remarkable for a child his age.

...but I'm not very good at reading people's expressions yet.

Nekono Ikuya was so embarrassed by the black-haired boy's merciless deduction that the waiter had lied that she was so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear.

I'm really afraid this boy might accidentally accuse someone with a bad temper and get beaten up.

By the way, where are his parents?

The boy, young Shinichi Kudo, deduced the waiter's little lie and, feeling a little smug and satisfied, was about to leave. But when he turned around, he saw Ikuya Nekono leaning against a pillar not far away, observing him with great interest.

"!!!" Suddenly realizing someone was behind him, Shinichi Kudo was startled.

"Oh my?" Nekono Ikuya's eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised as well.

However, what surprised Nekono Ikuya was not that Shinichi Kudo happened to have a pair of blue eyes, which he preferred, but rather Shinichi Kudo's appearance.

His appearance...

Nekono Ikuya looked at Kudo Shinichi's face with curiosity, but couldn't find any trace of disguise.

However, this face looks exactly the same as the face of a child that Ikuya Nekono knew before. There really isn't any difference!

In Earth Online, some players are being lazy and don't want to put in the effort to create their characters' faces, so they're secretly importing other people's models and starting the game directly? GM, come quick!

Just kidding.

Nekono Ikuya was pondering the relationship between the boy in front of her and Kuroba Kaito. It was really hard to believe that two people who looked so alike weren't related by blood.

Does Kaito Kuroba have a twin brother?

Young Shinichi Kudo subconsciously observed Ikuya Nekono. Nekono had black hair and blue eyes, an Asian face, and appeared to be dressed as an ordinary tourist, but the quality of his clothes was excellent, suggesting a comfortable family background. His outstanding demeanor further confirmed this.

As he observed, Shinichi Kudo couldn't help but glance at Ikuya Nekono's elegant and handsome face and his deep, emerald-green eyes. He blinked, thinking, "This older brother is just too good-looking!"

Yes, but her demeanor is somewhat aloof.

Nekono Ikuya was smiling as she watched Kudo Shinichi, who was looking up at her cautiously, and then suddenly spaced out.

It's been confirmed again that this isn't Kuroba Kaito, whose acting skills suddenly improved and he pretended to be someone else to play a prank on him. It's a new kid who uses the same character model as Kuroba Kaito.

Ah, I remember when Kaito Kuroba first met him, he was also stunned for a long time like this. I really miss it. Looking at Shinichi Kudo, who was still in a daze in front of him, Ikuya Nekono couldn't help but imagine Kaito Kuroba, and he immediately felt double the joy.

Then, Ikuya Nekono playfully winked at Shinichi Kudo, her aloof demeanor vanishing as she became approachable.

Shinichi Kudo snapped out of his daze, his gaze becoming alert again, now tinged with an irrepressible curiosity.

He hadn't forgotten the surprise on the older brother's face and the curiosity in his eyes when the boy saw his face.

Just moments ago, the other person's eyes held a hint of amusement that was hard to decipher!

What was this older brother thinking just now? Is there something wrong with his appearance? Detectives are all curious, and young detectives are no exception.

Shinichi Kudo, who wasn't a detective yet, felt a burning curiosity, like a cat's claws scratching at him. He really wanted to know.

"big--"

"——Ikuya!"

"Big brother, who are you? What brings you here?" Shinichi Kudo was about to ask when he was interrupted by another voice.

Another older brother, who had the same black hair and blue eyes as him and seemed to have a gentle demeanor, walked over quickly, asking with a puzzled expression, "Yu Mi, what are you doing here? Aren't we leaving?"

Shinichi Kudo looked left and right and noticed that both older brothers had beautiful cat-like eyes. They clearly knew each other.

"Nothing much, just encountered an interesting little detective, so I stopped to observe. Let's go, of course let's go, let's go now."

After saying that, Nekono Ikuya turned to Kudo Shinichi, who was looking up at him, and waved casually: "See you again sometime, my lovely little detective, bye~"

Then he went to meet Morofushi Kagemitsu and walked away in an instant, without even waiting for Kudo Shinichi's reply.

"Wait a minute—?" He hadn't even had a chance to ask the older boy's name yet!

"Ikuya, is that Ikuya?" Shinichi Kudo subconsciously raised his hand, only to find that Ikuya Nekono had already gone far away.

no?

He watched as Nekono Ikuya, who had been very interested in him just a moment ago, turned away without a second thought after being captivated by his companions.

"..." Shinichi Kudo's eyes narrowed to a crescent moon. This older brother's attitude changed way too quickly; how heartless.

However, he couldn't help but smile and shyly touched the back of his head.

But the other person called him "Little Detective," Little Detective! Hehe.

Shinichi Kudo's affection level increases.

On the other side, Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly caught up with Nekono Ikuya, his head still turned back. "Ikuya, what were you talking about with that child? Is there anything special about that child?"

Nekono Ikuya couldn't wait to see Furuya Rei—even though they had only recently parted ways, he walked slightly faster than usual.

But he didn't ignore Morofushi Kagemitsu. He turned his head and smiled at Morofushi Kagemitsu: "Actually, we haven't had a chance to talk yet, but that child is really special. He's like a miniature detective, quite cute, isn't he? And—" Nekono Ikumi drew out the last word.

Zhu Fujingguang added, "And what else?"

“And he looks exactly like a kid I used to know, like, like, the exact same.” Nekono Ikuya said with great interest, “Isn’t that interesting?”

That's so interesting! I'll tell Kaito Kuroba when I get back, and tell him to take a good look at his family tree. Maybe he'll find some hidden cousins ​​or even lost twin brothers.

"Little kid, is that Kaito you mentioned before?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Oh," Morofushi Kagemitsu replied. He had nothing to say about Nekono Ikuya recently getting along well with a kid who was either in elementary school or kindergarten.

Nekono Ikuya has always had a childlike heart.

Yeah, she's just sometimes too childlike. Actually, Morofushi Kagemitsu was quite surprised for a while when he first found out about this. But he wasn't surprised anymore; after all, it was Nekono Ikuya.

Nekono Ikuya walked forward happily. The reason he got along well with Kaito was simple: they could both disguise themselves.

Kaito's disguise technique was naive yet ingenious, quite different from his own, but still very skillful. They often disguised themselves at each other for fun, and Ikuya Nekono would occasionally teach Kaito some things.

It feels like he's taken on a very smart and clever little apprentice; Nekono Ikuya adores Kaito. But if he had to define it, he'd prefer to call Kaito a friend, a very special kid.

"Hmm," Morofushi Kagemitsu hesitated, "Aren't the parents of that child here? Isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to just leave him there like this?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu hesitated and turned his head. He didn't seem to have seen the child's parent before.

"Don't worry, his parents are right here. If I'm not mistaken, he's the child that Fujimine Yukiko is with." As for whether he's Fujimine Yukiko's own child, Nekono Ikuya, it's unclear.

Anyway, Nekono Ikumi was mainly looking after the black-haired boy, but occasionally he would also glance at him with admiration and see Fujimine Yukiko. That's why he left so confidently.

Yukiko Fujimine is very well-known. Although she disguised herself, she didn't actually change her appearance, and Ikuya Nekono was still able to recognize her. He had seen Yukiko Fujimine's movies and really liked her acting.

It's a pity that Yukiko Fujimine fell in love, got married, and retired from acting at the age of 20. It's such a shame she retired so abruptly.

When Morofushi Kagemitsu turned around, he saw that there was an adult woman next to Kudo Shinichi. She looked very attractive from behind, so he felt relieved.

"Ikuya, Hiro, you guys are so slow! The ice is almost melting!" Rei Furuya complained in a fake voice as he looked at the late-arriving Ikuya Nekono and Kagemitsu Morofushi.

He held three glasses of iced drinks in his hands; their vibrant colors matched the beach and ocean perfectly, giving off a refreshing vibe.

Rei Furuya first handed a drink to Kagemitsu Morofushi, then brazenly pressed one of the remaining two drinks against Ikuya Nekono's face, giving him a light chill.

Nekono Yuuya hissed softly, looking into Furuya Rei's purplish-gray eyes. Furuya Rei looked back innocently.

Rei Furuya: What's wrong?

Continue freezing as if nothing had happened.

Nekono Ikuya: Okay.

He readily admitted his mistake: "It's my fault. I was distracted by an interesting little detective. Kagemitsu went to find me." He deliberately blinked at Furuya Rei twice, his eyelashes curled up.

Nekono Ikuya: wink.

Furuya Rei smiled smugly, his words as light and cheerful as leaping musical notes: "Okay, I forgive you."