So this is something a bit new for me but I decided to branch away from Ao no Exorcist momentarily to work on a new fiction. The only character I own is Shi Tawakemono. All others belong to the Persona 4 franchise which belongs to Atlus. But please enjoy

If you had told Shi Tawakemono that she would end up in the situation she was now, she would have laughed in your face and told you that you were mad. She had never been one for believing in fate and religion. She had lost that faith long ago. Instead, her trust had been placed in science, in facts that she could trust and see. As the forensic pathologist in Inaba and a resident CSI, she was often called upon to help with robberies and break ins but murder was never on her schedule. Until little over a year ago. When the fog rolled in and brought with it a terror that shook the little town and turned Shi's world upside down.

As the resident pathologist, Shi would often spend most of her time doing routine autopsies and freaking out the rookies. She would call them down to her office, have them watch as she sliced through skin and muscle and dissected heart and stomach to identify their cause of death. The older officers would get a laugh out of it as well, watching as rookie after unfortunate rookie ran to the sink to empty their stomachs. As she watched the most recent victim of her twisted humour run away, she got a call. She stepped out of the dirty area of her autopsy room, stripped off her gloves and gauntlets and picked up her phone. "Tawakemono." She said; her tone professional.

"Dr Tawakemono? I'm afraid we need you at a crime scene." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What is it?"

"A death." She froze. "We...well you should come down here for yourself and see." The voice at the other end said before hanging up. She stared ahead momentarily before quickly removing her scrubs, grabbing her medical kit and her jacket and heading for her car. Her pager went off with the location as she drove. The radio continued its mindless, idle gossip about some news anchor's affair with a council secretary who was married to a singer. She rolled her eyes and switched to her CDs, the strings of a quartet playing some of her favourite songs echoing out of her speakers. She switched it off as she pulled up to the scene, watching as a high-school student was led to a nearby police car as she stepped out.

"Shi-san." A rough male voice called, she turned to see the voice's owner waving her over. She walked towards him.

"Dojima-san, I heard you've got a death for me." She said, placing her kit down on the ground. As she did so, a gurney was wheeled towards them, a black bag atop it. "Is this the victim?" She asked. He nodded and she turned to the bag and unzipped it. A young woman's face looked back at her, eyes blank and glassy. "Isn't she the one that's been on the news lately?" She asked. Again Dojima nodded. "So why did you call me?"

"Because of how we found her." He turned and pointed at a nearby aerial. "She was hanging from that aerial." He said. She turned to him before looking back at the body. There was no sign of injury. A third shadow fell over them and she turned to see Dojima's new partner, looking at the body, his face turning paler. He turned on his heel and ran off, a hand clamped over his mouth. A few moments later, there was the inevitable sound of him vomiting. Dojima looked annoyed whilst Shi smirked. "Adachi! How long are you going to keep acting like a rookie?!" He yelled.

"Sorry sir." Adachi said weakly, slowly coming back to them as she zipped the bag back up. "It's just, I'm not..."

"Used to it?" Shi asked. Adachi nodded, looking pale as she signalled the two morgue attendants. "Take her to the morgue and get everything set up. I'll see what we've got here and then do the autopsy." She said. The two attendants nodded and took her away. She turned to Adachi and Dojima. "I trust you two will be present at the autopsy? And I'd like to be present when you talk to the one who found her." She added. Adachi turned pale again.

"We will be. And frankly, I'd prefer it if you were with us Shi-san. Maybe she'll talk to a woman." Dojima said. He paused. "You haven't been properly introduced to my partner have you?" He asked. Shi shook her head. Dojima turned to Adachi. "Adachi, this is Shi Tawakemono. She's the department's forensic pathologist and CSI. Shi-san, this is Tohru Adachi." Adachi held out his hand to her.

"Nice to meet you." He said. She glanced at his hand momentarily before taking it and shaking it. She offered him a smile to help make him feel slightly better. "Sorry that I threw up in front of you." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't worry about it. Death is not something one should so easily face." She said. She turned back to Dojima. "So, what can you tell me about our scene?" She asked.

"No sign of anyone carrying her up there. No one heard anything, saw anything. If this is a murder, the perp is a ghost." He said. "The only witness we've got says she saw the body hanging upside down from the aerial." She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Hanging upside down? Really? Well that is interesting." She saw their looks of curiosity. "If this is a suicide, then she willingly put herself in a position that would stop her breathing. She willingly endured positional asphyxia. If this was a murder, then why put her up there?" She said. Dojima nodded in agreement whilst Adachi still looked confused. "Shall we speak to the witness?" She asked. The three of them walked over to the car where the school girl she had seen when she arrived sat.

"Miss Konishi? I'm Detective Ryotaro Dojima; this is my partner Tohru Adachi and Dr Shi Tawakemono. We want to talk to you about what you saw." Dojima said. The girl looked up at them before fixing her gaze upon Shi.

"I was walking back from school. I had some things I needed to take care of at home. And I...I..." She stammered as she remembered what she had seen. Shi decided to step in and crouched down on the girl's level.

"Miss Konishi, I understand this is difficult for you but we need to know everything. That way we can solve this. Please, tell us what you know." She said softly. The girl looked at her for a few moments before nodding and continuing.

"I looked up. I don't know why, I just felt the need to and I saw...her. Hanging upside down from the aerial. I didn't know what else to do so I just called the police." She said. Shi nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You did the right thing." She said. She looked at Dojima. "I know all that I needed to know for now. So I'm going to head back and get ready for the autopsy." She said.

"I don't think we need to know anything else so you're free to go for now Miss Konishi. If we need you, we'll contact you to come to the station." Dojima said. The girl nodded and walked off as Shi headed back to her vehicle. "Looks like we're in for a long night." Dojima said, rubbing his forehead.

"If you want, you can use the phone in my office to ring Nanako-chan. Let her know you'll be late." Shi said before turning to Adachi. "As for you, as a punishment for emptying your stomach at the sight of a body, you've gotta go buy us dinner." She said, grinning at his expression.

"But...But..." Adachi began. Shi reached across her seat, unaware that Adachi's gaze had travelled to her hips, the material of her trousers clinging to them as she leaned into her car, and grabbed her purse. She pulled out a few thousand yen and handed them to him.

"If you can get me some steak skewers I'll be happy." She said before climbing into her car. "And get some for yourself, you look half-starved." She said before driving off. Adachi stared at her retreating car lights before a cough from Dojima disturbed him.

"Well, you're lucky." He said. "Shi-san isn't normally that nice to the new kids." He smirked. "She must like you." He said before turning. "Come on, we'll go get that food and head over to the morgue."