Tokyo: I can enlighten all obsessions

After leaving the infirmary, Toru Kamiki did not rush to leave the school.

He bypassed the noisy teaching building and arrived at the hidden back door area behind the gymnasium, which was known as the "bad student smoking corner".

Just as Saori had said, that place was a gathering place for several hooligans from outside the school and delinquents from within the school.

Ten minutes later.

The back alley, which was originally filled with the smell of tobacco and shouting, has become as quiet and civilized as a library.

Kamiki Tetsu stood at the alley entrance, slowly lowering his rolled-up sleeves while looking at the notebook in his hand.

At his feet, four or five delinquent teenagers with brightly colored hair were squatting in a row, their faces covered with bruises as if they had "repented," and they were vying to tell this "helpful passerby" about their experiences.

Although these guys aren't very bright, the fragmented information they provide, when pieced together, is enough to reconstruct the current situation.

"What a bunch of hopeless idiots..."

Kamiki Tetsu frowned as he looked at the scribbles recorded in the notebook.

According to the group's statements, the situation was far more chaotic than imagined, but also more logical.

First, a scene of indiscriminate chaos.

The group of thugs originally planned to stake out Hoshino's house and curry favor with him, but before they even saw him, they started fighting amongst themselves.

The reason given was so ridiculously stupid it was outrageous.

They ended up fighting all night downstairs at the apartment building just because of a reason like, "I think the way you looked at Hoshino's photo just now wasn't pure."

Second, the victims are not only students.

According to one of the local thugs, he saw a pizza delivery guy being chased and beaten for three blocks by the landlord next door with a hose because he lingered in front of Hoshino's house for two minutes longer than expected. The landlord, who usually struggles to walk, was running faster than an Olympic athlete.

Kamiki Tetsu closed the notebook and calmly analyzed the situation in his mind.

Whenever someone of the same sex gets close to Hoshino Ruri, her rationality is consumed by jealousy, which then escalates into a violent battleground.

It's no wonder that Saori specifically reminded herself, "It's very unsafe lately, don't wander around."

"I see. So that's what Saori was worried about—these rabid dogs in heat."

Kamiki Toru glanced back at the group of thugs on the ground who were still glaring at each other over "who is Hoshino-kun's dog," and nodded thoughtfully.

"What a worrier."

Kamiki Tetsu shrugged, completely disregarding the "danger."

After all, for petty thugs at the physical level, no matter how many come, they're just experience packs of money to give him.

As for that "charm" ability that can turn the landlord into a berserker...

He touched the stiff Fukuzawa Yukichi bill in his pocket, feeling confident.

"With Yukichi-san protecting me, what does mere charm matter?"

After confirming that the information was correct, Kamiki Tetsu ignored the group of idiots behind him who were still arguing about "being dogs" and turned to walk out of the alley.

Now that we know that place is a dangerous spot where "anyone who gets close will turn into a mad dog"...

"Then I, a sober and normal person, have an even greater reason to go and see what's going on."

After passing through the bustling shopping street and saying goodbye to the housewives carrying green onions and the police officers on bicycles, the surrounding noise gradually subsided.

Kamiki Tetsu stopped in his tracks.

Before me stood a not-so-new two-story wooden apartment building.

The paint on the exterior walls had peeled off, revealing the dark gray cement underneath. Only the incongruous blue corrugated iron roof reflected a blinding light in the afterglow of the setting sun, like a fingernail that had turned discolored due to necrosis.

It was an ordinary residential area, but the air was filled with an indescribable, sticky feeling.

Next to the utility poles downstairs from the apartment building, the garbage bags that should have been neatly stacked were torn to pieces, and several broken baseball bats that had not yet been swept up were scattered on the ground. There were even dark red marks left in the corner of the wall, as if they were from some kind of fight.

What's even stranger is that, despite it being lunchtime, the area around the apartment building was eerily quiet.

Even stray cats that occasionally pass by will, as if sensing something, bristle and walk around when they get within ten meters of this building.

"Is this it?"

Kamiki Tetsu stood downstairs, hands in his pockets, looking up at the second floor.

Although he couldn't see inside through the curtains, he could sense that something invisible to the naked eye was continuously overflowing from that room, as if it were trying to drag everything around into a quagmire.

"That's really outrageous."

He patted his wallet in his pocket, confirming that Mr. Fukuzawa Yukichi was still firmly guarding his sanity, before stepping towards the apartment building's stairwell, which seemed to be waiting for its prey with its mouth wide open.

"Hey! You over there!"

A loud, aged yet powerful shout, accompanied by the heavy thud of a cane striking the ground, suddenly came from the side.

Kamiki Tetsu paused, pulling his foot back from the first rusty step.

He turned his head to the side.

In the shadowy corner of the staircase, a hunched figure appeared out of nowhere.

He was an elderly man who looked to be at least ninety years old.

He was wearing a faded old T-shirt, his face was covered with age spots, and his skin was as dry and withered as a crumpled piece of parchment. He was leaning on a cane wrapped with duct tape and smelled of mothballs.

But his old eyes, which should have been cloudy and unclear, were now wide open like copper bells, staring intently at Shinmoku Tetsu, burning with fierce flames.

"I haven't seen that face around here... Where did you come from, you stray dog?"

The old man pointed his cane at Shinmoku Tetsu's nose, his posture like that of a lion guarding its territory, showing no signs of being an elderly man who needed assistance to walk.

"Sneaking around like that... could it be someone trying to get close to my Hoshino-chan too?!"

The deliberately emphasized word "my" gave me goosebumps.

Looking at the old man in front of him, who clearly struggled to even stand, yet was now unleashing an astonishing murderous aura due to "protecting his food," Toru Kamiki's eyes twitched involuntarily.

When the thug mentioned "the landlord chasing and beating the deliveryman," he thought it was an exaggeration.

In retrospect, this was even considered subtle.

Even someone who has one foot in the grave and should be indifferent to worldly desires can be forcibly awakened to an aggressive "courtship instinct".

"They can even set a ninety-year-old, withered tree on fire..."

Kamiki Tetsu sighed inwardly once again, silently raising his assessment of the "succubus lady's" danger level by another notch.

Facing the cane that might even have been stained with the blood of countless deliverymen, Toru Kamiki sighed helplessly, then reached into his inner pocket.

"This is really troublesome. I wanted to keep a low profile."

next second.

"Whoosh."

He tossed aside a black leather ID card holder with one hand, the silver badge printed on it reflecting a cold and dignified light in the setting sun, and shoved it directly in front of the old man's wrinkled face.

"Look carefully, old man."

Kamiki Tetsu's voice instantly turned cold, no longer that of a carefree high school student passing by, but carrying a chilling bureaucratic pressure:

"Subordinate to the Inner Palace, Special Agent Investigator."

He squinted, looking down at the withered old man who was a head shorter than him, his tone icy:

"I am currently carrying out a special mission directly assigned by the Imperial Household Agency, the purpose of which is to investigate potential threats to the safety of the Imperial Family."

Upon hearing the words "Imperial Household Agency," the old man's previously fanatical and cloudy eyes trembled violently.

For people of their generation, the authority represented by this word was a hundred times heavier than that of the police and the law.

Kamiki Tetsu watched with satisfaction as the other party stiffened, a wicked smile creeping onto his lips as he continued to apply pressure:

"Your current actions constitute a serious crime of 'obstructing the performance of official duties'."

He reached out and gently brushed aside the cane pointing at him, then leaned close to the old man's ear and whispered in a devilish voice that only the two of them could hear:

"If you dare to block our way again..."

"Watch out, or I might confiscate your entire dilapidated apartment under the pretext of 'possessing reactionary and dangerous goods,' and then wipe out your retirement savings for the rest of your life!"

Leaving the seemingly petrified old man behind, Kamiki Tetsu walked straight into the dark interior of the apartment.

The hustle and bustle of the outside world seemed to be neatly cut off the moment I stepped into the corridor, as if by an invisible knife.

It's eerily quiet here.

There was no noise from the television, no chopping sounds from residents cooking, and not even the typical sound of water flowing through the pipes typical of old apartments.

In the deathly silence, only the creaking of the wooden floor beneath his feet could be heard.

But what's even more unsettling than the eerie silence is the smell permeating the air.

It wasn't the stench of piled-up garbage, nor the fishy smell of backflowing sewers.

That's a kind of...

A sweet aroma that defies precise description.

It's like mixing hundreds of cheap perfumes together, heating and evaporating them, and finally mixing in something like an overripe, almost rotten peach, and the smell of some warm bodily fluids fermenting.

It bypasses the nasal cavity, seemingly drilling directly into the blood vessels through the pores, transforming into a pair of invisible, soft little hands in this narrow, enclosed space, recklessly teasing the nerves.

heat.

After just two breaths, Kamiki Tetsu felt his throat go dry, and an uncontrollable surge of heat rose in his lower abdomen. His cerebral cortex began to uncontrollably secrete dopamine, desperately seeking an outlet.

"This taste... is a bit strong."

He frowned, raised his hand to cover his mouth and nose, and forcibly suppressed the restlessness in his body with reason.

Following the sweet, almost tangible scent, Kamiki Tetsu stepped onto the second floor.

There is absolutely no need to confirm the house number.

At the end of the corridor, in front of the iron gate, a strange "altar" had been erected.

Countless bouquets of flowers—layer upon layer—blocked the entrance, almost submerging half of the door panel.

Some were still vibrant and glistening with dew, while others had withered and rotted, oozing brownish slime and emitting a strange odor that was a mixture of decaying plants and lust.

And amidst that breathtaking sea of ​​flowers, there were also various offerings:

Expensive jewelry boxes, limited-edition bento boxes from convenience stores, and even several letters written in blood that read "I will always love you."

"This is insane..."

Kamiki Tetsu looked at the scene before him, which seemed to be a sacrifice to the dead or an offering to an evil god, and his eyes twitched slightly.

Is this what they call a "heartthrob"?

He held his breath, carefully avoiding a moldy box of chocolates at his feet, and approached the cold iron door.

Just as he was about to activate his [Spiritual Vision] to see through the door and investigate, a pop-up window appeared on his retina without warning.

Strong emotions and obsessions were detected.

As he looked at the line of flashing text, Kamiki Tetsu's lips, which had been tense due to the rotten, sweet smell around him, suddenly turned up uncontrollably, forming an exaggerated arc.

At this moment, in his eyes, it was like walking down the street and suddenly discovering that the garbage heap in front of him was actually a disguised mountain of gold.

"Heh... As expected of you, Hoshino-chan."

He reached out and gently patted the cold iron door, his voice filled with heartfelt emotion:

"To think they could squeeze such an intense level of obsession out of these guys whose minds are only filled with lust..."

"They are incredibly capable."

Kamiki Tetsu composed himself, narrowed his eyes slightly, and focused his gaze on the security door covered with various colored letters.

"Let's talk about dispelling obsessions later, let me see first..."

He muttered to himself.

"Is the source of this anomaly you... or is it simply a problem with this room?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a glint of light flashed deep in his pupils.

[Spiritual Vision] activated.

However, the very next second after the spiritual vision was activated.

Kamiki Tetsu's brows furrowed sharply, and he let out a confused nasal sound:

"……Um?"