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.
"Let's see... they should be somewhere around here if I remember correctly."
You pulled open a cabinet and found what you were looking for.
"Yes! Blank microscope slides!"
You continued to dig through the cabinet until you had pulled out all the supplies you'd need. Coverslips, pipettes, and what's this?
There was a box of something sitting in the way back. Pulling it out, you discovered that it was a box of pre-made slides with different materials, such as onion skin and different types of cells.
There were about three of those boxes collectively. You pulled them out and began digging through them. You gathered specific slides that would assist you with your little investigation.
I don't have any of the equipment forensics use to identify substances, so I'll need something to compare this evidence with. Hopefully, I'll get a match today.
In the end, you pulled out four slides, each of them with a fiber-like appearance, such as cotton, linen, and silk.
There was also one more, which you had grabbed at the speed of light the moment you saw it.
A slide with a sample of a spiderweb on it.
Once you had gathered all your materials, you began setting up your experiment. Using a pair of tweezers, you lifted the evidence out of its bag and deposited it onto a slide. You took out a paper-thin coverslip and gently placed it on top of the evidence.
Now, you were ready to begin.
You walked over to the most high-powered microscope in the room. An electron microscope with an LED screen that eliminated the eye strain of having to stare down a tiny lens, unlike a normal microscope.
Pressing the power button on the side of the screen, the company's logo appeared in white on the center of the screen as it was loading. While you waited, you placed the slide onto the stage and adjusted its position and height.
The screen finished loading, and you were now able to see the slide.
It was wack. Think long, smooth strands that were twisted around each other like a cable wire. What really stood out were the spikes with a circular base- that was the best you could describe it as anyway- where the strands originated from.
"Hm. Interesting," you murmured as you shifted the stage over to the left, then the right to get a better view of the evidence. The lens you were on currently was the one with this lowest magnification, so you switched to the next one, which was about ten times higher. You began re-adjusting the position and height of the stage, waiting for it to refocus. Once it was refocused and you could see it in better detail, you pressed a button on the side of the screen. You heard the distinctive click of a camera shutter and the screen temporarily went white.
You smiled to yourself as you amped up the magnification to one hundred times the original amount. A neat feature of this microscope was that it could take pictures of whatever you were examining. That way, you didn't have to memorize what each slide looked like or take pictures with another device.
Removing the evidence slide, you began examining each of the pre-made slides and taking multiple pictures of them. The whole process took about twenty minutes.
You were beginning to feel worn out. You had been sitting in the exact same position for the last half an hour, staring intently at a small screen and barely moving a muscle. Of course you were going to get tired.
You got up after you finished taking all your pictures and paced around the room, stretching your neck, arms, and all the muscles in your body that felt stiff. After that, you went on your phone for a few minutes to check for any missed notification, texts, or calls before going back to work.
You navigated to your photo gallery and began determining if anything matched up with the evidence. You had renamed your photos to what they were pictures were, so it wasn't that hard to pick them off one by one.
"Let's see... cotton fibers and silk fibers... nope. They don't resemble the evidence. They're similar, but not identical. Delete."
You deleted the photos until you were left with just two. You had avoided looking at what sample slide this was a picture of up until now, but it was a perfect match to the evidence.
"Come on, just get this over with," you grumbled to yourself as you read the subtitle.
You felt your heart stop. The outside world's noise died away and all you could hear was your shaky breathing and the pulse of your heart in your ear.
"No way.... this is a photo of a... spider... web..."
You pushed yourself away from the desk and got up. You began to pace the room furiously, chewing on your thumbnail until you drew blood. You winced a bit at the pain but thought nothing of it. It was the least of your concerns at the moment.
No way. Is this even real? After all the evidence I've managed to gather and all the trails I've managed to put together. It all fits so perfectly that it's unsettling...
But wait, this could be just a mere coincidence. It could be a different fiber that there wasn't a sample of in this lab? I should give myself the reason of doubt.
You scurried back to the microscope and checked the deleted pictures before comparing them with the one of the spider web.
Nope. It wasn't a coincidence at all. Same wire-cable like strands and spike things. It was a perfect match.
"Ooh boy... what have I just gotten myself into?"
You powered the microscope off and cleaned up your area, putting back materials where they belonged.
You had just found the missing link in the chain. All that was left was to piece it all together and make an arrest.
But how? Spider was on tour in Europe. There was no way in hell you'd be able to afford a flight there by yourself.
You grabbed your purse and pulled out the journal and letters. Ignoring the journal, you found the next letter and tore it open.
Dear (y/n),
By now, I assume you have figured out who the culprit is. Well done. At this point, I know what you are planning to do, and I also know you might encounter some troubles during this time. Especially financial.
This is why I have enclosed another envelope here. Please take a look for yourself.
Sincerely,
-Saguru Hakuba
You were curious as to what he had enclosed. Turning the envelope upside-down, you shook it a few times. A smaller envelope fell out and landed on the table in front of you.
You picked it up and unsealed it, completely unprepared for what greeted your eyes. Not even in your wildest dreams could you have predicted what was enclosed.
Cash.
Cold, hard cash.
Your jaw dropped and practically hit the floor as you took out all the money and leafed through the bills.
T-There has to be at least 100,000 yen in here... no, even more than that.
There was another note enclosed in the envelope.
I think you're prepared now, (y/n). But just in case you don't know by now, I want you to go to buy a plane ticket to Europe with this cash. The culprit should be hiding there.
I'm counting on you, (y/n). You're the only one who can solve this.
You folded up the note and everything else, placing them in your bag securely.
Ok. Simple as that. Just go to Europe and figure out where Spider is.
But there are so many obstacles in the way...
Your first course of action was to pull out your phone to google flights when you realized there was no service or WiFi down here.
"Ugh, figures," you snapped as you packed up your bag and walked to the door. You hung up your lab coat and flicked the lights off behind you. "I'm underground, of course there's going to be no service."
You said your goodbyes to the staff and got in your car, driving home. You were surprised you didn't get into an accident or anything, as you weren't paying attention to your surroundings at all. Your mind was filled to the brim with this recent development. And all that cash, of course.
The moment you parked your car in your driveway, you sprinted upstairs to your room and locked the door behind you.
"Ok, the first course of action. Find a flight. But I have to make a good decision here and book wisely, otherwise, I'll just be wasting money."
You searched for Spider's official website and pulled it up. After a quick search of his page, you discovered that his tour locations and dates were listed there.
"Let's see... he's about to leave France and his next stop is... the UK. So I'll have to book a flight there."
You opened up a new tab and searches for flights from Narita to Heathrow.
"So according to Google, there's a flight that leaves on the seventeenth- that's one week from now- at 12:15 pm and lands at 9:25 pm. It's a round-trip with one layover in Moscow. Sounds good to me."
You checked all other flight options and determined that this was the best one.
"Now here comes the difficult part. How do I actually manage to get there without anyone stopping me? Specifically, my parents."
You tipped your head back and thought for a bit, calculating dates and times.
Your eyes widened and your head snapped up.
Wait... the seventeenth. Hold up-
You ran over to your door and unlocked it, sprinting downstairs to the family calendar located in the dining room. This was the calendar your family used to mark all major events, such as business trips and birthdays.
"Where is it, where is it...?" you groaned as your finger traced over the calendar before coming to a stop on the marked date.
"Yes! I knew it!"
There was an event marked "business trip to America" on that day by your parents. Luckily, they had also included the departure time and the airport.
"Airport: Haneda and the departure time is 9:30 am. Thank god that obstacle's out of my way. I don't have to worry about running into my parents at the airport."
You paused and pondered that possibility.
"Well, even if they do, they technically can't do anything about it since I'm eighteen... right? Hopefully? Since I'm, you know, legally an adult?"
"Anyway, that's out of the way, so I can proceed," you reasoned with yourself as you walked back upstairs to your room.
"I can't buy a plane ticket with cash in this form. So I'll have to go to the bank sometime soon to deposit this. I'll also have to pick up my passport at my safe box while I'm there as well. Don't think I need to get a new visa to the UK because I've been there before with Saguru unless it expired..."
You groaned. "Ugh, I don't wanna do that. That's going to be such a hassle if I have to."
Picking up the cash, you leafed through the bills again. And just for fun, you held them in a pile in the palm of your hand before using your other hand to brush them out, making cash rain down around you. Just like what they did in the movies.
"About this cash... there's only a certain amount I can deposit at once, right? In that case, I better split this up into multiple deposits throughout the day."
You glanced at the time and the calendar hanging off the wall next to your desk.
"Six pm and today's a Friday. The bank's open tomorrow. I'll go then."
You put the cash away in a secure spot and sighed to yourself. This chain of events had progressed so fast, it left you feeling winded and numb.
"What... have I just gotten myself into?"
Looooooong overdue update whoops-
I actually have a microscope like the one described in the story. Sadly, it broke a few years ago.
😢
It was cool while it lasted, though. I still have it lmao.
Word count: 2724 words
Page count: 24 pages