Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 373, Mikoto's Passion
Sakuradamon Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters, Forensic Division.

The forensic department was empty. Higashiyama Takeshi, Kamioka Hideo, and Nakado Kei had all left. When Uesugi Muneyuki arrived at the forensic department, there was only the low hum of the automatic coffee machine. Uesugi Muneyuki was holding a beautifully decorated gray-blue gift box, but was surprised to find that there was no one in the forensic department.

What's wrong with me?

Uesugi Muneyuki had no choice but to sit down at Mikoto's workstation. For a moment, he seemed to return to the time when the two of them were still in Tokiwa Junior High School in Gunma, and he listened to Mikoto talk about forensic medicine in the school clinic. He also seemed to return to the days when he first started working at the Metropolitan Police Department and was crammed into the forensic department with Higashiyama Kamioka and others. Well, it didn't last long.

Mai-senpai's methods deeply shocked him.

After committing numerous crimes, Mai-senpai has gained extensive experience in creating accidents. The accidents she creates are by no means random coincidences. Before committing a crime, Mai-senpai will carefully investigate and design a series of seemingly small, independent, and insignificant events, allowing them to be precisely chained together like dominoes.

For example, in the gym incident, she didn't directly take any action from beginning to end. What she did was manipulate extremely minor metal fatigue or coincidental vibrations to cause the limit screws to fail, cause the steel ring in the air pressure buffer device to leak a little air due to lack of inspection, and drip a few drops of lubricating cleaning fluid under the anti-slip mat at just the right moment.

It's reasonable to have a few drops of cleaning solution after cleaning in the morning, right? And it's reasonable for gym equipment to malfunction due to improper operation and lack of maintenance, right?
As for the female coach, she was a familiar summoned by Mai-senpai using illusion magic to simulate her, but the female coach is real; she just didn't come to work today.

Instead of directly attacking the victims (such as with a knife or gun), the senior student used the surrounding environment and everyday objects as "weapons".

Kitchen, bathroom, office, repair shop, street... anywhere could become her meticulously designed death trap.

Water, electricity, fire, gas, sharp objects, falling objects, mechanical failures, vehicle malfunctions, and even sunlight reflection can all become part of her fatal chain.

Moreover, her methods vary from person to person.

That's terrifying, my Mai-senpai.

Uesugi Muneyuki still felt a bit scared when he thought about it. He had witnessed firsthand how Mai-senpai designed and triggered a series of traps. In fact, her traps were not always successful, but if she tried a few more times, she would eventually succeed.

This is a terrible woman.

What's even more terrifying is that Uesugi Muneyuki can sense the erosion of the surface world by the inner world. In other words, when you can create a large number of unexpected events to achieve your goals, it's hard for you to care about the order and morality of the surface world.

For example, once a gambler realizes that he can earn a month's salary, a year's salary, or even ten years' salary simply by betting on big or small, he will never want to work again. FX warrior Kurumi is used to making 5 million yen a day by trading forex (although she has to pay about 500 million yen in taxes). The 150 yen salary she earned after working part-time at a convenience store for a month seems ridiculous.

Most beings in the underworld end up on the path of self-destruction because of this.

This is also why Mai-senpai lacks a sense of immersion in the real world; she has become accustomed to darkness if she had never seen the light (referring to her encounter with Uesugi).

But Uesugi Muneyuki can't do that, or he can't do it entirely.

The reason is simple: if he could fight his way from Seattle to North Carolina in a Musou-style battle against American planes and cannons, he would definitely not care about the laws of the real world.

However, the beings in the underworld who did this to the United States were all shot in the head by the SWAT team. If that didn't work, they deployed Apaches and F-35s, and the beings in the underworld would only die instantly.

It is indeed strong, but not strong enough!
Uesugi Muneyuki drew a line in his mind: the power of the underworld could be used, but should be used sparingly, and "imaginary defense" was not allowed, unless the other party was also from the underworld, otherwise it would be very bad if it attracted the official forces to strike.

Of course, the bottom line can be flexible; we can adjust it when he becomes stronger in the future.

Damn it, why am I not a Celestial? I can't even manage a balanced team, so I'll just have to go for Human Instrumentality!

Familiar footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor—it was Mikoto. She had just emerged from the dissection room, still wearing her light blue surgical gown, casually draped in a white coat, and fitted cropped trousers with ankle boots. A hint of fatigue lingered on her face. She was looking down, sniffing her rolled-up sleeves, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Mikoto-nee." Uesugi Muneyuki called out softly to her.

"Sōsetsu?!" Ishihara Mikoto's eyes lit up when she saw that Uesugi Sōsetsu had come to find her, but then a hint of panic flashed across her face.

"Ah! What brings you here?" She almost instinctively took a small step back, quickly raised her hand to smell her wrist, then awkwardly put her hand behind her back, a slight blush rising to her face: "This...this place smells bad, I just came out of here..."

As Uesugi Muneyuki took a few steps closer, he could smell a faint odor of disinfectant and an indescribable, chilly smell that belonged to the autopsy room, but it wasn't strong, and there was no stench of corpses.

"All I can smell is the scent of Dr. Ishihara working diligently." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled and handed the gift box to her. "It's a little surprise for you."

She took the box with a puzzled look, untied the ribbon, and lifted the lid. When she saw the neatly arranged and exquisitely packaged pantyhose of various colors inside, she was stunned. Her cheeks then flushed even redder, all the way to her ears. She first looked at him incredulously, and finally couldn't help but laugh: "Pantyhose, like something you would give. Zong Xue, I don't understand what I'm expecting."

"These are antibacterial pantyhose from the Fukusuke brand, specifically for the anatomy lab," Uesugi Muneyuki said with a smile. "Silver ion antibacterial, liquid-proof. Mikoto-nee works so hard, you deserve a reward." "The so-called reward is for your Mikoto-nee to wear pantyhose under her anatomy suit pants?" Ishihara Mikoto touched them, feeling that the thickness was about 80D, very soft and comfortable. The deep sea gray color was also a versatile choice for the workplace, and it might indeed have antibacterial, butt-lifting, and liquid-proof effects. She could barely feel Uesugi Muneyuki's sincerity, but she quickly sneered and took out Atsugi-style ultra-thin micro-pearl pantyhose and gray-based silver-patterned plaid jacquard pantyhose from the box: "Are these also for wearing during anatomy?"

“When Mikoto is working, she should be wearing armor to protect the truth and the dignity of the deceased. But when she takes off her armor, she’s a lovely woman who deserves to be treated gently.” Uesugi Muneyuki said softly, “Going to help with autopsies again?”

“I just…” Mikoto subconsciously wanted to explain that she was actually facing the same problem as Uesugi Muneyuki—she had temporarily lost her forensic qualification because of her resignation, so her autopsy was actually illegal, or rather, could not be used as legally valid evidence.

This kind of thing is actually very common in Japan (there are too few forensic doctors), and people generally don't care, but they are afraid of stepping on the scale.

“You don’t need to explain, Mikoto-nee. Do you think I don’t know you?” Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head: “You love this job, and you taught me how to do it. Mikoto-nee’s style is the style of professionalism and courage. I only feel at ease. Go ahead and do it. I will always be behind you to support your dreams.”

The famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "What you love is your life."

"Mmm." Mikoto stared blankly at Uesugi Muneyuki, her eyes seemingly a little moist. Her initial inferiority complex had been somewhat dispelled by Uesugi Muneyuki's words, replaced by a feeling of being understood and a touch of shyness. She bit her lower lip slightly, wanting to say something, but in the end, she simply squeezed his large hand gently in return and whispered, "...Thank you. So thoughtful...I'll wear it properly."

She truly loves forensic medicine, dissections, and listening to the whispers of corpses, telling the buried truths. She has no intention of giving up her career, which is why she prefers to wander in Tokyo. Otherwise, with her looks, how could she possibly live a life of constant displacement?
In this respect, she is actually a bit like Erina. Neither of them wants to return to family life, and they both firmly love their careers and regard them as the realization of their self-worth.

However, Japan's post-feminist era and extremely difficult workplace environment made it difficult for her to move forward. Erena chose to persevere, Mikoto chose to give up, while Minami... wanted both love and career!

"Come here, give me a hug. My Mikoto-nee doesn't smell bad at all, she smells the best." Uesugi Muneyuki opened her arms.

"Is this all the support you've got?" Mikoto Ishihara said with a slight reproach, clearly very pleased. She took out a lychee-flavored lip balm from her bag, intending to apply it to her lips and give them a kiss, when she heard someone push the door open and come in.

"Ah!" Mikoto was startled. Like a frightened deer, she instantly pulled her hand back, quickly closed the stocking gift box, and hugged it tightly to her chest. At the same time, she quickly took a step back, widening the distance between the two of them. The blush on her face had not faded, but her eyes had already switched back to the calm and self-possessed look she had when she was working.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you found anything on the autopsy table." Nakado Kei walked into the forensic department with a sheet of autopsy records outside, picked up the lipstick that Mikoto had dropped while picking up the box: "Please keep this couple's trash safe, otherwise throw it away as medical waste."

"Oh, my dear Nakado-san, I heard you like listening to classical music when you're doing dissections? Should I play a Bach aria on the G string, and by the way tell you that humans have three great desires?" Uesugi Muneyuki retorted.

“I know, like the lecherous harem man of Sakuradamon.” Nakado rolled his eyes, his hair a mess. “What’s up?”

“Not for now,” Uesugi Muneyuki said meaningfully.

"Temporarily???" Nakado Kei really wanted to smash Uesugi Muneyuki's face, but because this guy could always find an unbelievable way to explain things and often made divine pronouncements, he could only hold back: "Then I'm going to catch up on my sleep. Do you need me to close the door?"

"No need, I need to talk to Sister Mikoto."

........................

Meanwhile, at a high-end gym in Ebisu, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

Several police cars were parked downstairs, and patrol officers with their hands behind their backs cordoned off the entire area with yellow tape.

Kenichi Itami, the acting head of the Fifth Department, looked at the gym's surveillance footage with a very puzzled expression.

"This is strange. There's no trace of Ms. Sakura on the nearby subway surveillance cameras, so how did she end up in the vicinity?"

Just then, a subordinate came to report: "Inspector! We've found Ms. Sakura! She's off today and is at Chiba Disneyland! She has an alibi!"

“Nani???”

At the same time, Kashiwagi Jin of the Third Series stared at the pattern of bloodstains on the ground and subconsciously clenched his legs: "The spray radius is 4 meters... This is a ruptured artery!"

"Strange, the key limiter screw was loose, the shock absorber steel ring was leaking, and coincidentally, a few drops of cleaning fluid were accidentally spilled during cleaning this morning, causing lubrication issues."

"What kind of strange coincidence could there be in the world? It's less than one in a million!"

The demon hunter badge of Detective Kashiwagi rang.

There must be something fishy about this matter!
Hmph~ Uesugi can't handle cases properly right now!
My chance has come! Watch me perform!

(End of this chapter)