日本語 101
Japanese 101

Baka 馬鹿 means Stupid / Idiot 
Kanojo 彼女 means Girlfriend
Riji-kan 理事官 means Main Investigating Commanding Officer
Yappari やっぱり means Just as I thought
Nazo Wa Subete Toketa 謎はすべて解けたmeans All the of the Mystery is solved

Poking at the wet smelly mop beside her curiously, Aoyama Sho was reduced to hiding in a cleaner’s closet inside a female toilet during lunch time instead of eating her lunch in the school canteen with the rest of the students.

However, the young girl was far from feeling discontented, in fact, she was much happier in the cleaner’s closet than anywhere else in this school, “Why didn’t I find this perfect hiding spot earlier?”

Taking a seat on some old newspapers which she had placed on the dirty floor, Aoyama Sho took out her vibrating mobile phone to copy down the messages she had received from the various S.T. members.

Kurosaki Yuji:
(6aR,9R)-N,N-diethyl-7-methyl-4,6,6a,7,8,9-hexahydroindolo-[4,3-fg]quinoline-9-carboxamide

Staring blankly at the message which Kurosaki Yuji had sent her, Aoyama Sho almost had the urge to smack the quiet martial artist--chemical Scientist of S.T. for his untimely joke.

“Very funny, Kurosaki!” The young profiler fumed at the unreadable message briefly, before wondering what made Kurosaki responded to her, instead of his usual spokesman, Yamabuki Saizo when she received another incoming text message from the S.T. members’ discussion chatroom.

Yamabuki Saizo: 
Kurosaki and I are angry with you, Aoyama Sho!

Aoyama Sho winced at the use of her full name from Yamabuki, she could tell from his message that they were more than simply angry with her. She was sure that if she was within their reach, they would not hesitate to smack her for causing them endless worries.

Kurosaki Yuji:
… …

Yamabuki Saizo:
Kurosaki is upset that you did not contact him immediately when you needed his help.

"Ah...." That explained his strange reply earlier; the quiet Kurosaki was feeling upset which was why he chose to respond to her instead of letting Yamabuki translate his speech.

Yuuki Midori:
Aoyama-chan, I am also very angry with you for not telling us anything! I actually have to hear from that woman to learn about you and she even said that it seems that we are not as united as she originally thought!!!

Blinking her eyes at the continuous messages received from her individual team members, Aoyama Sho was surprised that the ever peace loving Yamabuki and quiet Kurosaki would admit their anger at her and the fact that Matsudo Murasakio Riji-kan would care enough to keep S.T. members posted about her involvements with the Yokohama Police Department.

Scratching her head embarrassedly, Aoyama could feel her cheeks warming up at the knowledge that they have been keeping an eye on her all these while. Despite her departure and lack of communication, the concern among team members could still make her feel warm and touched at the same time.

Akagi Samon:
Stop your headline-grabbing childish behaviour!

It seems that her silence had affected her team members more than she expected that even the ever cool-headed Akagi Samon felt the need to say something about her adventures in Yokohama. Smiling as she read his message, Aoyama knew that he must have read the news report written by the media on the Daitoshi’s case to leave her such a comment.

But she also noted something distinctively different about the S.T. members during her absence. No one could ever say that the members of S.T. were affable because it was simply not in them to act loving to anyone. In fact, all of them were quite reluctant to show their emotions at all. This is the reason why most people in the Police Department find them hard to get along with.

But unlike before when most of them have the problem of expressing their emotions, they were now more direct in their wordings and were not afraid to express their feelings to her. While they still avoid telling her that they have missed her presence, but their show of anger at her departure had shown her how much they cared.

“Err… I hope that Baka has enough sense not to mention that I am working undercover, or I suspect the entire S.T. will be here shortly…” Aoyama Sho grimaced at the messages received and sighed tiredly at the thought of S.T. members coming after her because they felt that she was in trouble or having Akagi Samon chewing her out for going out to the frontline without his expressed permission.

Imagining the tongue-lashing that Akagi Samon would give her was enough to send her cowering like a misbehaved child.

Sighing softly again, Aoyama Sho might have huffed at the overprotectiveness of her fellow teammates but she could not help smiling as she read Yamabuki’s latest message. Even though they were not too pleased with her sudden departure from the team, they were still as supportive as before and would aid her whenever she needed their assistance.

Yamabuki Saizo: 
What Kurosaki meant earlier was the Systematic name, the actual chemical formula is more commonly known is C20H25N3O. However, we are not sure that it is the exact formula present in the blood sample that the Yokohama PD has provided us. But it is close and Kurosaki has identified the drug in use as a form of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.

“Lysergic Acid Diethylamide? A new kind of LSD?” Aoyama mused aloud, “But that does not explain the injection marks unless it is not the usual tablets forms that Mizuki took before her death? Or was the product still in the testing stage? But did the new form of LSD kill her or the drowning did? That would make the difference in the case to decide whether it is a murder or an accidental death...”

Akagi Samon:
The actual cause of death should be a respiratory arrest, probably due to overdose as Kurosaki could smell it in her blood and there was a severe lack of oxygen in the cells retrieved from her lungs. But there was no sign of haemorrhaging in the lungs. The autopsy also did not find any partially digested tablets in the stomach.

Aoyama Sho tilted her head to the side in consideration as she tried to piece all the hints which her teammates have given her into a big picture. Her eyes shone with a glint of enlightenment as she finally worked out Akagi Samon’s hidden message.

“Yappari! There is something strange about Mizuki’s death. The perp must have first injected her with the diluted liquid LSD to make people think that she had jumped to her death due to hallucinations. But this perp appeared to have little or no medical knowledge which would explain why the injection marks on Mizuki’s arm looked unnatural and the overdose of LSD. The fact that the respiratory arrest occurred due to overdose would mean that the victim was dead before she was dumped into the river. That is why there is no sign of haemorrhaging or other damages to the lungs. Because it has stopped working before entering the water,” Aoyama Sho concluded smugly to herself with a nod.

“Nazo wa subete toketa!” Aoyama Sho grinned with a snap of her fingers and jumped happily in the limited space, unknowingly repeating Kindaichi’s favourite line as she celebrated the moment.

Taking out her mobile phone excitedly, Aoyama Sho was about to call Kindaichi Hajime to share with him of her discovery when she suddenly remembered their fight last night. Like a balloon deflated suddenly, the mood of the young profiler went downhill instantly.

'Don’t you dare do anything you are not allowed to because I will be watching you like a hawk! You will let me know whatever you are planning in that brilliant mind of yours and are not supposed to act on it unless you have my permission to do so! Understand?' The voice of Kindaichi Hajime echoed at the back of her mind, reminding her of a similar unpleasant memory she had previously.

Closing her eyes to relive her past memories, Aoyama Sho could still feel their lingering anger and accusing tone of her past, "You're such a disappointment! Haven't we reminded you before that you are not allowed to do anything without our permission? Know who you are and behave like how you are expected to be! Any more mistakes and you will be punished! Remember that well, Kanata and Haruma will be informing us if you messed up again! We will not accept anything lesser than perfection from you!"

The young profiler screwed her eyes shut as she clenched her jaw to suppress her anger at her parents and the pressure they have placed upon her since birth.

It was always about becoming that perfect little girl who she could never be no matter how hard she tried. There is nothing less than perfect was expected of her because she had been trained since young to do everything perfectly. Nothing less than a hundred mark for any test, possessing the ability to play the piano and violin professionally whenever her parents request of her to perform for their guests and the knowledge of all proper etiquette drilled deep into her mind to avoid any embarrassment for her parents.

She hated that perfect little girl because it was supposed to be impossible to be perfect despite her parents’ claims. No matter how hard she tried, they will never be satisfied, or at the very least acknowledge her effort.

Nobody ever had a kind word for her, until she met S.T.. As harsh as Akagi Samon was to her at times, he would also let her know that she had been appreciated for her work. All it took was a simple, "You deserve to take a good rest," from him, after all, she had done and she would feel a great sense of achievement. A simple word of thanks was something she never received from her parents but yet she could find it so easily whenever she was with others.

Especially so with Kindaichi and his family.

But that stupid Kindaichi Hajime had to spoil it by commanding her!

“Stupid Kindai-Baka,” The young profiler frowned at the list of missed calls she received from the young detective since the start of the school and grumbled miserably to herself, “I hate having