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Yujin Mikotoba
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Yujin Mikotoba
I shall be very interested to see the fruits of your studies over the past year.

Yujin Mikotoba was a forensic pathology professor at Imperial Yumei University, Susato Mikotoba's father, and Kazuma Asogi's mentor.

Shortly before Ryunosuke Naruhodo's trial for the murder of John Wilson, he instructed Naruhodo to take over the defense from Asogi so as to not jeopardize the latter's study abroad. A year later, he assisted his daughter Susato (then disguised as "Ryutaro Naruhodo") to defend her childhood best friend Rei Membami.

Children in need[]

Main article: Professor Killings
Sholmes's Suite

The chest containing records of all his adventures with Sholmes.

Sometime after the death of his wife, Mikotoba left his daughter, Susato, in the care of her grandmother and traveled to England with Genshin Asogi and Seishiro Jigoku to study abroad. Whilst there, he worked at the St. Synner's Hospital alongside John Wilson and his assistant Courtney Sithe. He also shared a flat with London's soon-to-be legendary detective, Herlock Sholmes, eventually becoming his investigative partner. He wrote down all the adventures they had together and locked them in a chest in Sholmes' flat.

When the secret trial for the Professor was held, Mikotoba took part in the autopsy of Klint van Zieks as John Wilson's first assistant. Mikotoba was responsible for writing the autopsy report, and though he had qualms about the findings of the autopsy, he wrote down Wilson's findings dutifully — such as Wilson's discovery of Genshin Asogi's ring in the stomach of Klint van Zieks. The findings in this autopsy were later used to convict Genshin Asogi as the Professor.

Mikotoba was shocked to find that his friend Genshin was being indicted as the notorious serial killer: he believed that it went completely against Asogi's character, and that Asogi was incapable of such heinous crimes. He tried to advocate for Asogi's innocence, alongside their fellow exchange student Jigoku, but this proved to be unsuccessful. Asogi refused to deny the charges and would not allow Mikotoba or Jigoku to petition the government. Furthermore, the evidence uncovered during Klint van Zieks' autopsy as well as witness testimony proved incredibly damning.

The day before Asogi was due to be executed, Mikotoba visited his friend one last time. Asogi asked his friend for one final favour, giving him instructions to follow: Mikotoba was to head to a specific address, where a noblewoman was in hiding, and help her give birth. He was also to keep his actions secret, and tell nobody about what he did. Mikotoba acquiesced, and arrived at the address — a home in a secluded area, guarded by an old hunting hound. Inside he found a noblewoman, greatly weakened and in labour. He helped the noblewoman give birth to a baby girl, but tragically was unable to save the noblewoman from dying from the complications of the pregnancy. After weeping over her fate, Mikotoba briefly looked upon the room, and noticed that the noblewoman possessed an exquisitely crafted trunk embroidered with a certain crest — the crest of the Baskerville family. Mikotoba realized that the baby he had helped to deliver was the child of Klint van Zieks, and the woman who had died was his wife, Lady Baskerville.

One month after Asogi's execution, Mikotoba was summoned back to Japan. Because he had promised to keep the parentage of Klint van Zieks' child secret, he was unable to bring her with him to Japan: he would not be able to obtain permission to do so unless he disclosed her parentage. At a loss as to how to handle the care of the child Asogi had entrusted him with, Mikotoba was forced to rely on his great friend Herlock Sholmes. He left the baby in his care, and asked Sholmes to be a father to her. Before he left, he named the child after his deceased wife Ayame — whose name translated into English as "Iris".

Upon his return to Japan, Mikotoba chose to conceal Genshin Asogi's true fate from his family. Instead, he told Kazuma Asogi and his mother (Genshin Asogi's wife) that their beloved father and husband had perished due to illness. The stress and grief over losing her husband caused Kazuma's mother to perish soon after Mikotoba's return, rendering Kazuma an orphan. Out of obligation to his deceased friend, Mikotoba took Kazuma in, raising him as his adoptive son alongside Susato. He encouraged both to choose their own paths, especially Susato. Over the years, both chose their vocations: Kazuma decided that he wanted to be a lawyer, and Susato decided that she wanted to be a judicial assistant and help Kazuma. Mikotoba helped both of his children, and managed to help arrange an exchange trip abroad for the two in Great Britain.

At some point in time Herlock Sholmes sent Iris' transcript of the Hound of the Baskervilles case — that is, Mikotoba's records of the Professor case — enclosed in a box, to Mikotoba. He wanted to ask Mikotoba's opinion, as he was troubled by Iris's discovery of the case so tightly linked to the Professor killings and therefore to her true parentage. Susato Mikotoba caught a sight of this box before the elder Mikotoba scolded her, asking her to forget that she had ever seen the box.

Naruhodo's first trial[]

Main article: The Adventure of the Great Departure

Mikotoba first appeared with his daughter Susato when Kazuma was getting ready to defend his best friend, Ryunosuke Naruhodo, for the murder of John Wilson before his own study abroad. He told Kazuma to go to the judge's chambers with Susato. In the defendant's antechamber alone with Naruhodo, Mikotoba informed him of the consequences of Kazuma losing the trial: Kazuma would be unable to go on his study abroad, and would have the opportunity revoked forever. To prevent this from happening, Mikotoba advised Naruhodo to answer the first question posed by the judge to the defense before anyone else could. Naruhodo was advised to say, "I do." It would later be revealed that Mikotoba was referring to the question, "Who advocates for the defendant in this trial?" Naruhodo heeded Mikotoba's advice and answered the question before Kazuma could, taking over as his own attorney and instead having Kazuma be his counsel. Kazuma felt somewhat betrayed by the revelation that Mikotoba had told Naruhodo of the trial's potential consequences, commenting that "Professor Mikotoba shouldn't have stuck his nose in."

During the recess of the trial, Mikotoba complimented the efforts of Kazuma and Naruhodo in court. They had revealed that there was a person dining with John Wilson. He then confided to the pair that he had always planned for Naruhodo to be his own attorney for this case: Mikotoba had maneuvered Naruhodo into taking on the case himself so that Kazuma couldn't possibly lose his chance to study abroad. Kazuma responded that this effort was in vain: even though Kazuma wasn't Naruhodo's lawyer, if Naruhodo lost the trial, Kazuma would voluntarily give up his study abroad. Kazuma argued that if he couldn't help avert the greatest crisis in his best friend's life, then it would be pointless for him to study law abroad. Mikotoba was dismayed at this, but commented resignedly that "I was afraid you'd feel that way." Before the recess ended, Mikotoba cheered the pair on, asking Naruhodo to uncover the full truth of the case — mentioning in the process that Mikotoba was the one who had invited John H. Wilson to Japan. Mikotoba also asked Susato to retrieve something at Yumei University for him, which he believed would be necessary for the trial.

The item Susato retrieved proved to be pivotal in revealing the true killer: on Mikotoba's instructions, Susato had brought the research report of Jezaille Brett — penned by the British woman who had been dining with John Wilson before his death. Her research report revealed that she had been studying curare, a paralytic poison used by South American tribes to hunt. It noted that curare had a special characteristic: it was harmless when ingested orally, and was only harmful if it entered the bloodstream, typically through a wound. Naruhodo used this report to prove that it was Jezaille Brett that killed Wilson, as she was the only one who could have administered the poison and was the only one who was aware of the open wound in Wilson's mouth.

After the trial, Mikotoba congratulated Naruhodo on his victory, and thanked him for unveiling the truth. Mikotoba revealed that Wilson had been a good friend of his. They had met when Mikotoba was studying forensic medicine abroad in Great Britain, where he worked at the same hospital with Wilson. Soon after this revelation, Kazuma asked Mikotoba what would happen to Jezaille Brett for murdering John Wilson. Detective Satoru Hosonaga and Mikotoba morosely informed him that Brett could never be tried in Japan due to the consular jurisdiction: the British government demanded that custody of Brett be transfered to them so that she could be charged in a British consul court, of which the nearest was in Shanghai. After delivering the grim news, Mikotoba comforted the pair by expressing that, as the legal system continued to improve, Brett would surely pay for her crimes one day. He then suggested that it was time to have a celebratory drink for Naruhodo's acquittal.

Calling back Susato[]

Main article: The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story

Nine months after John Wilson's death, Mikotoba received a letter from Sholmes about the "Case of the Haunted Lodgings", describing how at the end of the case, Naruhodo and his friends had found the bloodied dog collar worn by Klint van Zieks' bloodhound Balmung in a thief's stash. Mikotoba also read the reports penned by returning student Soseki Natsume of his times in Great Britain, which covered the same case. This prompted Mikotoba to visit Natsume and ask him about what he had seen. Remembering that Susato saw the box containing the manuscript of the Hound of the Baskervilles — Iris' unpublished novel which almost completely described the truth behind the Professor Killings — compounded with the discovery of the collar, Mikotoba grew worried that his daughter would uncover the truth of Iris's parentage and the tragedies that had come before it. In order to postpone the discovery of the truth, Mikotoba sent a telegram to Susato, lying that he had suddenly fallen ill with a grave illness and needed Susato to immediately return to Japan.

Assisting Susato[]

Main article: The Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney
Yujin Natsume newspaper

In the newspaper with Soseki Natsume.

The day of Jezaille Brett's murder, Mikotoba was visited in his lab by Soseki Natsume, who was invited to Yumei University to give a lecture. Natsume was accompanied by Raiten Menimemo, a reporter for the Shoyu News. Menimemo snapped a picture of the two and wrote an article about them. During the visit, Brett revealed that Mikotoba was researching a highly lethal poison. Out of politeness, Mikotoba showed Natsume and Menimemo the poison, believing that it would be safe to do so. All visitors were searched before they could leave the lab, so if either attempted to steal a sample of the poison, it was highly likely that they would be caught. Unbeknownst to Mikotoba, Menimemo successfully stole a sample of the poison by hiding it in the inkwell of his fountain pen.

Later that day, Menimemo used the poison to murder Jezaille Brett, by slipping it into her drink. However, soon after the poisoning happened, Menimemo panicked: he realized that because the poison left incredibly obvious signs on a victim's body — extremely constricted pupils — it would be easily deduced that Brett had died by poison, and thus it would be easy to track down the person was responsible for her murder. To obfuscate the true cause of death, Menimemo stabbed Brett from outside the beach hut she was in, framing Rei Membami — also in the beach hut — for the crime of Brett's murder.

Because of the gravity of the accusations against Membami, no attorney would take on her case. Susato, Membami's best friend, had been back in Japan for two months at this point. She realized the grimness of the situation: without an attorney, Membami would easily be found guilty for the murder. Susato decided that the only way Membami could possibly be declared innocent was if Susato herself took up the mantle of attorney for her greatest friend. However, Susato was legally unable to do so: although she was an accomplished and experienced judicial assistant, Japan's laws forbade women from working as attorneys. This proved to be only a temporary setback, as Mikotoba helped her hatch a plan: they would disguise Susato as a male lawyer hailing from the countryside. Mikotoba named this persona "Ryutaro Naruhodo," and Susato declared him the cousin of Ryunosuke Naruhodo. Mikotoba also helped smooth over the plan by secretly informing the judge overseeing the case, Seishiro Jigoku, that "Ryutaro Naruhodo" was actually Susato. He asked Jigoku as an old friend to keep the secret. After the plans to disguise Susato were completed, Mikotoba acted as his daughter's counsel. He helped Susato successfully prove that Membami was innocent, and that the true culprit behind Jezaille Brett's murder was Raiten Menimemo.

After the trial, Susato removed her disguise, shocking Satoru Hosonaga and Soseki Natsume. After the initial shock that Susato had been disguising herself as a man, Hosonaga remarked that with the death of Brett, the truth behind the death of John Wilson would never be known. Susato used Hosonaga's remark to divulge a hypothesis of hers: that John H. Wilson was the investigative partner of Herlock Sholmes, who she had met during her time in Great Britain. Mikotoba knew the answer to Susato's hypothesis, but informed her that due to his bureaucratic position, there were some things that he was unable to divulge. Susato accepted that her father was unable to divulge sensitive information, but implored him to answer a single question: why he summoned her back to Japan under the false pretense of illness. Mikotoba tried to explain that he could not answer her question, but was interrupted midway by Raiten Menimemo, who accused Mikotoba of having a hand in the fate of Kazuma Asogi's disappearance aboard the SS Burya.

Return to England[]

Main articles: Twisted Karma and His Last Bow & The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo

As an important figure in forensic science in Japan, Mikotoba was invited by Mael Stronghart to attend the Forensic Science Symposium in London. Mikotoba used this invitation to allow Susato to return to London, giving her permission to go to London earlier than himself. While she helped Naruhodo defend Albert Harebrayne, Mikotoba was on the way over with Seishiro Jigoku, who had also been invited to the symposium. They both arrived in London safely, and stayed at the Waterloo Hotel, where they met with Naruhodo and Susato and talked about Genshin and Kazuma Asogi.

Naruhodo and Susato informed Mikotoba and Jigoku — to their shock — that Kazuma was not dead. He was still alive, and had been acting under amnesia as the apprentice of prosecutor Barok van Zieks. After their eventful conversation, Mikotoba decided that the fact all four of them were in Great Britain was something to be commemorated, and he paid five shillings for a nearby porter to take a picture of them. He also attempted to ask Naruhodo something, but was interrupted.

Jigoku and Mikotoba returned to their rooms to settle in, while Naruhodo and Susato departed from the hotel. Some time later, Naruhodo and Susato returned to the hotel in search of Mikotoba, finding him in the lobby. They asked him for a favour: while they were investigating the disappearance of Daley Vigil, they had come across an obstacle in the form of Barry Caidin, the governor of the prison that Vigil supposedly worked at. Caidin had refused to speak to them after they mentioned the Professor case. Mikotoba, who was acquainted with Caidin from the days of his own exchange trip, wrote Naruhodo and Susato a letter of introduction for Caidin.

The next day, Naruhodo and Susato took up the defense of Barok van Zieks for the murder of inspector Tobias Gregson. After the first day of the trial, Mikotoba was approached again by the pair — with the addition of Iris, much to the professor’s surprise. While Susato distracted Iris, Naruhodo mentioned to Mikotoba that the girl was the daughter of Dr. Wilson, but Mikotoba stated that he did not remember Wilson ever having a child. (Mikotoba, of course, already knew Iris's true parentage, but was still keeping Genshin's secret.) Naruhodo then relayed a chilling fact to Mikotoba: that the real name of John Wilson's killer, Jezaille Brett, was Asa Shinn. Before leaving to send a telegram about Shinn to Japan, Mikotoba gave Naruhodo the copy of the photograph they had taken together the other day. He then fully stated the request he had for Naruhodo: Mikotoba wanted Naruhodo to return home and practice law in Japan. He explained that Japan’s judicial system was heavily flawed and in dire need of defense lawyers. After reading the reports sent to him by Susato, Mikotoba firmly believed that Naruhodo’s talent as a lawyer would change Japan for the better. However, Mikotoba recognized that his request was not something to be taken lightly, and advised Naruhodo to take his time and consider it in full. He concluded his request by saying that it was ultimately Naruhodo's choice to stay or return, and that he would not judge him for his choice. Mikotoba also gave time for Susato to figure out her plans, as she had originally traveled to London as Kazuma's assistant, but had been operating as Naruhodo's assistant instead.

Mikotoba then traveled to Sholmes' suite to pay a visit to his old friend. Catastrophe struck when he tried to open the chest with all of the case files that he wrote: the chest contained a trap, which knocked him unconscious and covered him in the items on top of the chest. After Sholmes, Susato, and Naruhodo figured out Iris’ secrets with a Dance of Deduction, Sholmes dragged a still-unconscious Mikotoba upstairs to recover in Naruhodo's lodgings. Iris confessed that she had previously stolen Klint van Zieks’ autopsy report from coroner Maria Gorey and explained her motive: it had Dr. Wilson’s signature. She had compared the handwriting in the report to those in the case files inside the chest and found that they were a match. With this, Iris came to the conclusion that Wilson, the man she believed to be her father, was Sholmes’ partner, and took on the last name of Wilson for herself.

However, after Iris left, Susato examined the handwriting of the notes inside the chest and discovered that the writing matched her father's. Mikotoba then appeared, having fully recovered, and was introduced by Sholmes as his old partner. The professor then explained to Naruhodo and Susato his shared history with the detective, how they had solved cases together and Mikotoba had jotted them down in the case files. The true identity of the great detective's great partner was, in fact, Yujin Mikotoba. This placed him at odds with Susato. Given the revelation that the notes in the chest belonged to Iris' father, that the notes were penned by Mikotoba, and that Iris' age matched with the time window Mikotoba was in Great Britain — Susato reasoned that, by extension, Iris must be her half-sister. Mikotoba was about to explain himself, but was interrupted by Sholmes, who tried to drag him away in order to solve a new case. Mikotoba attempted to stay and answer Susato's question, but was encouraged by Susato to go, telling her father that she would wait for his return to explain Iris' parentage. With his daughter’s blessing, Mikotoba accompanied Sholmes on his new case.

At Scotland Yard, the duo examined Gregson’s journal and found the name “Grouse.” Remembering his ticket, Mikotoba realized that “Grouse” was referring to the steamship that he and Jigoku had taken to reach London, prompting him and Sholmes to quickly board it before it left Dover. When the SS Grouse arrived at Dunkirk, Naruhodo and Susato contacted Sholmes with Iris’ good luck charm. Sholmes learned that they only had a thirty-minute recess to find Jigoku, or else Barok van Zieks’ trial would end with the conclusion that van Zieks had killed Jigoku. With the duology's final Dance of Deduction, Sholmes and Mikotoba found Jigoku hiding inside his own trunk, much to Mikotoba’s disbelief. They also found a bullet hole in the wall of Jigoku's room as well as a fragment of Gregson's watch, proving that Gregson could have been murdered aboard the SS Grouse. When Jigoku would not listen to Sholmes, Mikotoba used a subpoena issued by Kazuma to compel his old friend to return to London.

After successfully finding Jigoku, Mikotoba and Sholmes returned to Sholmes’ flat to enjoy a feast prepared by Iris, who had done so as an apology for knocking Mikotoba unconscious and lying to everyone. During the feast, Sholmes announced a shocking revelation: the top secret government telegram that had been intercepted by Ashley Graydon, which listed the names of four people, had been sent to Seishiro Jigoku. Furthermore, he outlined the significance of the four names: they were the names of two people to be assassinated, and two assassins. The telegram was to facilitate an assassin exchange, in which an assassin from Great Britain (Asa Shinn) would be sent to Japan to kill John Wilson, while an assassin from Japan (Kazuma Asogi) would be sent to Great Britain to kill Tobias Gregson. Sholmes then revealed an even greater truth: he had known about the existence of the telegram from the beginning, as he himself was guilty of regularly intercepting secret government telegrams. Before this case, however, he had been operating under the assumption that the four names were all targets of assassination, rather than assassin-target pairs. Thus, Sholmes's presence on the SS Burya during Kazuma's voyage had been to prevent him from reaching Great Britain, as Sholmes had believed Kazuma to be in danger of assassination.

The next day, it was discovered at the trial of Barok van Zieks that Jigoku was Gregson’s true killer. He was forced to kill Gregson with his own hands to complete the assassination exchange, as Kazuma had failed to abide by the assassination exchange's orders. Barok van Zieks was absolved of the crime of killing Gregson, but his trial was forced to continue after Kazuma accused him of a greater crime: being the mastermind behind the deaths of criminals acquitted during trials van Zieks had prosecuted — the Reaper of the Bailey. During this trial extension, Naruhodo discovered that it was actually Mael Stronghart who had masterminded all the deaths, including the assassin exchange that took the lives of John Wilson and Tobias Gregson. When the Chief Justice tried to quickly end the trial, Sholmes appeared and rallied the audience to demand for the trial to continue, such that the truth behind the Reaper and the Professor killings would finally be uncovered. Mikotoba, who was waiting in the antechamber, was then summoned to testify about Klint van Zieks’ autopsy with Dr. Maria Gorey beside him. Naruhodo used Mikotoba's testimony to point out a large inconsistency in Klint van Zieks' autopsy: the lack of internal trauma from swallowing Genshin Asogi's ring, despite the ring having edges sharp enough to cut. Mikotoba admitted that he himself had noticed this contradiction at the time, but John Wilson had dismissed him out of hand. This led Naruhodo to the conclusion that the autopsy had been fraudulent, conducted with the express purpose of framing Genshin Asogi.

Mikotoba later returned to the stand, much to Stronghart's displeasure, to translate the last page of Genshin Asogi’s will after it was submitted by Barry Caidin. The last page of the will was vital, as it contained a secret message from Asogi: he had hidden Klint van Zieks' last will and testament inside the hilt of the Asogi clan's katana, Karuma. In the will, Klint van Zieks confessed to being the Professor and implicated Stronghart in his crimes. After committing his first murder, Klint had been blackmailed by Stronghart to continue the Professor killings. Stronghart had threatened to leak his secret identity to his beloved wife and brother if Klint did not obey.

No longer able to hide the truth, Stronghart admitted to his crimes — telling the court that he had also been responsible for convincing Jigoku to kill Genshin Asogi at Lowgate Cemetery, having had to murder Genshin Asogi due to Enoch Drebber witnessing the ordeal. Mikotoba's belief in Genshin Asogi's innocence was finally affirmed, and he was saddened to discover that his friend had been the victim of a gruesome betrayal. Mikotoba was also saddened, though not shocked, to hear how Stronghart had been using Jigoku's ambition for power to manipulate him: "Seishiro… you fool…" In spite of his horrific confession, Stronghart remained confident that he would see no retribution for his crimes, as he believed that he couldn't be convicted for them on account of not directly perpetrating the murders he was involved in. To everyone’s surprise, Sholmes had a trump card: using a hologram device of his and Iris' creation, he had secretly broadcasted the entirety of the closed trial's proceedings to Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria used her power to strip Stronghart of all of his power and convicted him for his crimes.

After van Zieks’ acquittal, Mikotoba finally explained the truth of Iris’ birth, as he had promised to Susato. Simultaneously, he answered Kazuma's question of what the second of Klint van Zieks' final wishes was. Mikotoba revealed that Klint van Zieks' final wish was indirectly passed to him by Genshin Asogi. Genshin Asogi had instructed Mikotoba to aid in the birth of Klint van Zieks' wife, Lady Baskerville. The child born was Iris, who was adopted by Sholmes, in order to give her a safe upbringing distanced from the notoriety of her biological father.

In celebration of van Zieks' acquittal, Mikotoba joined Naruhodo, Susato, Sholmes, Iris, and Gina Lestrade at the detective’s suite for a celebratory feast. There, he aided everyone in convincing Lestrade, who was considering leaving the police force due to Gregson's death, to instead stay with the police force in honor of Gregson's spirit. Sholmes presented Lestrade with Gregson's pocket watch, and told her that it would be a shame if the pocket watch that had been dutifully winded for ten years were to never be wound again. Later that night, Mikotoba revealed to Naruhodo the truth as to why he called Susato back to Japan: he feared that the dog collar with the Baskerville insignia would prompt Naruhodo and Susato to investigate the Professor case. With enough time, their investigations would eventually yield the connection between the collar and Klint van Zieks. Knowing that Iris was highly astute and would be exposed to their investigations, Mikotoba was concerned that Iris would learn the truth of her real father and would be unable to handle it. He had previously been adamant to never tell Iris her true parentage due to this fear. However, after all of the revelations in the trial, Mikotoba became confident that eventually Iris would be strong enough, and could be told the truth in the future.

After his confession, Mikotoba received a confession himself from Naruhodo: having given Mikotoba's request great thought, Naruhodo decided that it would be best for him to return to Japan and start a career there as a defense attorney. Mikotoba warmly supported the young lawyer's decision, making preparations for him and Naruhodo to return to Japan.

A few days later, Mikotoba and Naruhodo made their farewells to Sholmes, Iris, Kazuma, and Susato at Dover, as they prepared to return to Japan. To Naruhodo's surprise, Susato asked that she be allowed to accompany him back to Japan and continue to be his judicial assistant. She then informed him that she had received Kazuma's blessing to go back to Japan days ago, having asked Kazuma immediately after van Zieks' acquittal. Susato then returned to Japan with Naruhodo and her father, with her and Naruhodo eventually setting up their own law office.

Personality[]

Yujin Mikotoba
In that case, I'm sure you understand... that there are some confidential matters I cannot divulge to you.

Yujin Mikotoba is a supportive father to Susato and mentor to Kazuma: for instance, he allows Susato to go on the exchange trip to Britain with Kazuma, despite her only being sixteen years old, and encourages her to follow her dreams of being a judicial assistant. Kazuma has also mentioned before that "[Mikotoba has] been pushing to get the government to agree to Kazuma studying abroad." Furthermore, Mikotoba helps mentor Rei Membami after her former professor, John Wilson, permanently retired. Considering society's attitude towards women at the time, this marks Mikotoba as a very progressive-minded person.

However, Mikotoba is also secretive by nature. He chooses to not tell Susato about his partnership with Sholmes and was determined to keep Iris's true parentage from her, going so far as to fake being drastically ill so that Susato would come back to Japan. This is not a recent development: when Kazuma Asogi received a hateful letter from the family of a victim from the Professor case, for example, he chose to not go to Mikotoba because Mikotoba had earlier claimed that Kazuma's father died of illness, and Kazuma knew that Mikotoba would not tell him the truth if he asked.

Mikotoba can also be somewhat manipulative in order to protect the people he cares about. He isolates Naruhodo before Naruhodo's first murder trial, for instance, so as to request that Naruhodo answer "I do" to the first question posed by the judge. By sending Kazuma away before this conversation, Mikotoba ensured that Naruhodo would not know what this answer would entail — becoming his own defense attorney during the trial. However, Mikotoba did not do this out of callousness; rather, he viewed it as necessary, since Kazuma would not be able to embark on the exchange trip and fulfill his dreams otherwise. Mikotoba also made sure that Kazuma would still be able to stand as Naruhodo's counsel, so that Naruhodo would have the optimal probability of winning the trial regardless. This purposeful isolation is seen again when upon his arrival in England, Mikotoba makes sure that he and Naruhodo are alone before asking Naruhodo to come back to Japan to act as a defense lawyer — notably keeping his silence around his own daughter Susato.

It is important to note, however, that Mikotoba improves at open communication throughout the game. For example, he attempts to stop Sholmes from dragging him off to investigate the Grouse so that he can explain himself to Susato, and only willingly leaves when Susato claims that she trusts him to tell her later. In the aftermath of Barok van Zieks's trial, Mikotoba also begins to reevaluate his priority of keeping Iris's parentage a secret: he was previously willing to risk everything to maintain the peace, including calling Susato back to Japan, but when conversing with Naruhodo after the trial, Mikotoba comments: "I think at some point in the future, the time will come for Iris to know the truth. And when it does, well... I believe it will be for the best."

In regards to his own perception of himself, Mikotoba seems to still harbor guilt over abandoning Susato as a newborn. Though Susato never expresses any resentment towards her father, Mikotoba says to Naruhodo that he has been "a miserable father to her," only returning to see her after six years in Britain. He explains that this is why he now feels "compelled to give my daughter as many opportunities as I dare," despite society's disapproval; he is still making up for the wounds he inflicted sixteen years past.

On a lighter note, Mikotoba does have a whimsical side. He is shown to like tap dancing, executing his moves during his Dance of Deduction with Sholmes. He can also come to some strange conclusions, such as his idea of distracting Seaman Strogenov on the Grouse by pretending to be a mouse. All in all, he seems much more at ease to be less serious around his old partner.

Name[]

  • His given name "Yūjin" (悠仁) is homonymous with the term "友人" (ゆうじん), meaning "friend", referencing his friendship with Wilson, Sholmes, Jigoku, and Asogi.
  • His family name "Mikotoba" (御琴羽) is homonymous with the expression "御言葉" (みことば), which can either mean "word of God" or "to take someone at their word".

Note[]

  • The game's perspective switches to Mikotoba during the final Dance of Deduction. This makes Mikotoba, at age 43, the oldest viewpoint character in the series to date.
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