𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤, 𝔻𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝔻𝕦𝕤𝕥 |ℍ𝕒𝕜𝕦𝕓𝕒 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕦𝕣𝕦|

九: ℙ𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕋𝕨𝕠

Leaves crunched underneath your foot as you stepped out of your car. A pleasant breeze ruffled your hair while you walked up the stairs to the Hakuba estate.

You knocked on the door once, twice, thrice. After a few seconds, the door swung open to reveal Hakuba's housekeeper.

"Oh, Ms. (y/n). What's the matter?"

She opened the door even wider to let you in. You stepped inside and took your shoes off, holding them in one hand.

"I came here to ah, do some testing. I hope you don't mind. I'll be in the laboratory for the time being."

She nodded. "Of course. I understand. Let me know if you need anything."

You thanked her once again and began navigating through the house. This was something you always struggled with: finding your way around his house. The Hakuba estate was insanely huge, even though it was occupied by very few people.

"I swear, they could film an entire movie just on this property," you grumbled as you turned the corner, only to run into a dead end.

"Ah, shit. Not this way then. Maybe the other way, perhaps...?"

After many more minutes- you weren't sure how many exactly; you lost count- you arrived at the door leading downstairs to the laboratory.

"Finally, found the destination."

You slipped your shoes back on and opened the door. There was a light switch next to you and you flicked it on. A single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling provided just enough illumination for you to watch your step as you made your way down the stairs, all the way to the end.

Another door greeted you, except this one was made of steel and had an electronic scanner next to it. You pulled out your badge and entered the six-digit password- which was conveniently written on the back of the badge- before holding it up to the scanner. There was a loud beep and it flashed green. You heard a loud click, indicating that the door was now unlocked, and stepped inside.

The lights turned on the moment you set foot inside. Bright fluorescent lighting illuminated the sterile, shining equipment in the lab and the various tables set up. Not a single speck of dust was to be found anywhere, and it was so clean, you probably could've performed surgery in there.

A few white lab coats were hanging off a rack nearby. Smiling, you grabbed one and slid it on as you made your way over. Something about wearing a lab coat just made you feel powerful and in control.

Let's see if I can remember how most of this stuff works. Saguru taught me how to work most of this, but it's been so long, I'm afraid I've forgotten. Plus, I'm afraid of breaking this by accident. This equipment is incredibly expensive, and there's no way in hell I'll be able to pay it off.

You examined each piece of equipment. Most of this stuff was pretty complicated and scary-looking, but you knew what each one was and what they did for the most part.

Ok, so we have the standard lab equipment, such as microscopes and Bunsen burners. Those I can use for sure. There's also some more specialized stuff. I'm not sure I can remember how to work that stuff.

But what I'm looking for isn't here. Specifically, equipment used in forensics. I can't find any of them here. I suppose I could take these to the forensics labs, but I'm going to get so many questions that way. I can't have that. Therefore, I'll have to work with what little I have on my hands somehow.

You set your bag down and pulled out the small plastic bags that held the evidence. You placed them carefully in your pocket and walked over to where the microscopes were located.