Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 246, Uesugi goes into battle!
Seeing Hironaka Mariko, who was standing in front of him with her limbs spread apart and her tongue sticking out thirty centimeters, looking both displeased and excited, Uesugi Muneyuki mischievously patted her, and Hironaka Mariko had no choice but to immediately revert to her original form.

"Is Fujidai sincere?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked.

No one understands Fujidai better than Mariko Hironaka. The entire Odaiba building is her own cursed haunted house, and everyone who enters the Odaiba building will be tainted by her aura.

“Very sincere, utterly sincere.” Mariko Hironaka nodded: “It will be held after the press conference. Mai Shirakawa was invited that day. Kameyama said at the board meeting that even if it costs ten or even nine times more, he will invite you. Moreover, the dressing room at Fuji TV is also opened for you.”

"Rakuya? What's that?" Uesugi Muneyuki raised an eyebrow, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

"It's the secret facility within Fuji TV used for entertaining important figures. Remember the Nakai entertaining incident I told you about last time?" Mariko Hironaka said with a strange laugh, "As long as you're willing to appear on the show and maintain a stable partnership with Fuji TV in the future, you can choose any of Fuji TV's female anchors you want."

"Speaking of which, Tsutsumi Reimi, who recently joined the company, is really good. Nakai really likes her and specifically asked for her, but I scared her off. Uesugi, Yaranaka?"

"Forget it, I'm not short of women around me." Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but complain, "Besides, it's too dangerous at the TV station. What if I'm discovered and recorded? If they have something on me, I'll be a slave to Fuji TV for life."

“What are you afraid of? I’m here!” Mariko Hironaka said with a wicked smile, “I can make the camera malfunction, I can make the recording be tainted with curses and turn it into a midnight horror videotape, and I can also shut the person involved up.”

Oh?
Hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki was also somewhat tempted. If he could guarantee his safety and avoid being caught doing anything wrong, it wouldn't be bad to occasionally have a friendly match with the Fuji TV news anchor. It would be a win-win situation without any responsibility.

"Moreover, Kameyama is really sincere." Hironaka Mariko sighed at this point, "After all, I am also a female anchor from Fuji TV, and Kameyama has not let me down. Uesugi, Kameyama plans to create a super IP around you, from interviews to regular talk shows to TV drama adaptations. Our station really wants to win together with you."

It's clear that Mariko Hironaka has a deep affection for Fuji TV; in fact, she even blurted out the station's name at the end.

Fuji TV was, after all, the first major case Uesugi Muneyuki had ever handled and the first television station to broadcast it live, so he thought it was acceptable. Mai-senpai had also said that he should increase his exposure and fame so that the beings in the underworld would back down.

After some thought, Uesugi Muneyuki made a decision.

It's done!

Make a name for yourself and get great scores!

Uesugi Muneyuki quickly called back, agreeing to participate in the recording of Fuji TV's variety show.

Overjoyed to receive a positive response, Fuji TV immediately summoned a large group of screenwriters overnight to begin designing the script.

It needs to be sensational enough, and invasive enough to satisfy every viewer's voyeuristic desires, while also staying close to Uesugi Muneyuki's bottom line so as not to make him angry.

The ambiguous and unclear relationship between Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai is the most important part of the entire program!

"Speaking of which, is it really a good idea to rashly appoint a trainee who isn't even a full member as a sign-holding girl?" At the planning meeting, an employee immediately expressed his concerns about Director Abiru's decision: "Director, this special appointment may affect the external evaluation of our station. We need a proper reason, don't we?"

Director Abiru frowned and nodded in agreement, but he couldn't very well say that he had accidentally learned that Yamaguchi Maho and Uesugi Muneyuki had a relationship and wanted to use this idol to test Uesugi Muneyuki, could he?

"Let's just use this as a cover then." Abiru Kazuhiko suddenly remembered something: "By the way, it seems that Miyawaki Sakura, who's in the same group as Yamaguchi Maho, not only knows Uesugi Muneyuki, but is also quite familiar with Shirakawa Mai, right?"

"Yes, Director." This time, all the middle and senior managers at the planning site nodded. There were people from Fuji TV who witnessed Shirakawa Mai taking the initiative to greet Miyawaki Sakura that day.

“It is indeed strange to specifically invite a trainee to participate in a prime-time program. Well then, let’s do this: let’s invite Miyawaki Sakura as well, and say to the public that she is the main focus. That way, Yamaguchi won’t stand out so much. Miyawaki Sakura is also familiar with Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai, so it’s suitable for them to do a program together.” Abiru tapped the table with her pen.

The fees for idols to appear on shows are ridiculously cheap. They'd be overjoyed if they were given just a few thousand yen for an appearance. For these prime-time, top-rated variety shows, idols are even willing to pay out of their own pockets to appear. Not to mention Abiru, the head of FNS's production department, even a scriptwriter in the production team could easily leak some information and find plenty of idols willing to pay extra to get their faces on the show.

Although YKC48 has shown signs of decline, its popularity among the public is still sufficient, so even if a top member is slightly overrated, it won't raise much suspicion.

So when Fuji TV was about to send the message to Sakura Miyawaki, Sakura was stunned by a giant pancake falling from the sky.

Just because she's familiar with Mai and Uesugi-san, she got a prime-time slot?

Wow, that's amazing! They even managed to get screen time during prime time!

This is a sure win.

A pure and lovely Kagoshima girl excitedly rolled around on her bed, clutching a framed photo of herself with Shirama.

Cherry Blossom's Aspirations!
I, Miyawaki Hideyoshi, who warms Oda Mai's high heels, will one day become the king of the idol world!
Let's start today~
After rolling around in bed for a while, a shadow of gloom suddenly appeared on Sakura's face.

There's still no progress on what I was told "over there," and if this continues...

Forget it, if I can't even be a good idol, how can I continue the investigation?

You have to be a good role model first before you're qualified to explore deeper into the world!

Sakura quickly cheered up again. ……………………

Amidst the intensive preparations, on October 13th, Uesugi Muneyuki arrived at the Fujidai Odaiba building's photography studio as scheduled, accompanied by Ikeda Erena.

The two arrived quite early, but when they arrived, the entire recording site was already packed with people. Lighting technicians, makeup artists, stylists, photographers, scriptwriters, prop team members were all there, and dozens of people were standing outside.

"Why do we have to come to the TV station to record a program again?" Rena Ikeda, dressed in a standard urban lady style suit, pencil skirt, stockings and high heels, complained, "It's such a waste of a good day off."

"Hehe, it gets tiring to look at corpses and go on field missions all day. It's quite interesting to come to the TV station occasionally and see what Fuji TV has prepared for me," Uesugi Muneyuki laughed.

"...I have a feeling you only came here because of your Mai-senpai." Ikeda Erena rolled her eyes at Uesugi Muneyuki, clearly annoyed. "Pervert!"

"Whether I'm a pervert or not, you know best, Master Erena!" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at Erena.

With just one glance, Ikeda Erena felt her whole body go weak. The tall, beautiful woman, who could be both happy and angry, murmured "You pervert~" before letting him go.

After all, being with him made me a little... lewd.

"Uesugi Muneyuki-san has arrived!"

Upon seeing Uesugi Muneyuki appear, a staff member immediately shouted at the top of their lungs.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed to Uesugi Muneyuki like stars orbiting the sun.

Director Abiru was also present. He came over and shook hands with Uesugi Muneyuki, indicating that they had arrived early and should rest for a while, as the studio was still being prepared.

"Hello everyone, I'm Uesugi Muneyuki. Nice to meet you all." Uesugi Muneyuki greeted everyone briefly, and then YKC48's manager, Imamura, led a girl dressed in a female idol outfit to Uesugi Muneyuki: "Hello, Uesugi-san, I'm YKC48's manager, Imamura. This is our group's trainee, Yamaguchi Maho. She will also be participating in today's program. Nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you." Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at the female idol standing in front of him.

Maho Yamaguchi was clearly dressed up carefully today. Her long hair fell over her shoulders and was tied into a cherry blossom pink bow with a ribbon by her ear. Her school-style white shirt was tucked into a dark blue plaid pleated skirt, and her straight legs, wrapped in sheer black stockings, gleamed with a pearly luster under the spotlight.

"Hello, Uesugi-san, I'm Yamaguchi Maho." The girl's expectant and excited eyes made Ikeda Erena, who was standing next to her, instantly sense something different.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Uesugi Muneyuki didn't think too much about it. This female idol wasn't particularly outstanding in terms of looks or temperament. She was just a little pretty, but she wasn't as good-looking as Erina, let alone Minami and the others. He just nodded politely and prepared to go to the preparation room with Erina to rest, and also to check if his tall beauty had dressed as he had asked.

"Um!" Seeing that Uesugi Muneyuki was about to leave, Yamaguchi Maho quickly said, "Uesugi-san, we've met before, do you remember?"

Erina frowned: There's something wrong with this woman's eyes!

"?" Uesugi Muneyuki looked puzzled. He tried to examine the idol for a while, but still couldn't recognize her.

It didn't matter to Uesugi Muneyuki, but to Yamaguchi Maho, Uesugi Muneyuki's reaction was tantamount to putting her whole body on the crater of Mount Fuji and roasting her like a plum!
As expected, both the agent and Fuji TV's Director Abiru showed doubt on their faces when they saw this scene, and at the same time, a sense of displeasure at being deceived welled up in their hearts.

Is Maho Yamaguchi lying?
"That's...that's it!" Yamaguchi Maho panicked. She could feel the looks on her manager Imamura and Director Abiru's faces as if they were looking at a con artist. Tears were already welling up in her eyes. In desperation, she quickly loosened her hairband and pulled her hair up into a bun at the back of her head: "That's it!"

This reminds me of Uesugi Muneyuki.

Seeing the girl's bun hairstyle and examining her face closely, the hazy memories finally surfaced in Uesugi Muneyuki's mind.

Oh, it's someone I linked with. More than a year later, they're still wearing clothes. I almost didn't recognize them.

"Oh, it's you." Uesugi Muneyuki finally recognized Yamaguchi Maho, but his face showed even more confusion: "Weren't you called Sakura Maho? Why did you change your surname?"

“That’s a pseudonym.” Yamaguchi Maho breathed a sigh of relief when Uesugi Muneyuki finally recognized her. At the same time, memories from Princess Connect flooded her mind, and a blush crept onto the girl’s face. “It’s…it’s so nice to see you again…”

"Yes, please take care of me." To everyone's surprise, Uesugi Muneyuki didn't react at all. He nodded, said something indifferently, and then turned and left.

Erina Ikeda, who was standing next to her, breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be the little Yakuza.

Just then, the studio was filled with the announcement: "Mai Shirakawa-san, you're here!"

Upon hearing this name, Erena instantly bristled and went into battle alert.

A new storm has emerged.

This is the real enemy!
(End of this chapter)