Tokyo Psychic

Page 111

The intricate pattern on the back of the hand was glowing, and the eerie symbols embedded in the rings were burning with dark purple flames.

As she watched, the flames gradually died down, leaving only a lingering phantom pain.

The faint sound of a bass being played could be heard from the next room.

The rain suddenly intensified, pounding against the windowsill with a loud rumbling sound.

The torrential steam rushed into the bedroom through the cracks in the doors and windows, as if everything had returned to that morning in Kawasaki.

Then the phone screen suddenly vibrated; it was a Line text message from Akira Kurusu.

[The Attic Thinker: Have you left yet? I need to be in the exam hall at 8:30.]

Upon seeing that familiar profile picture, An and Subaru suddenly let out a long sigh of relief. A long-lost sense of security enveloped their entire bodies, allowing them to involuntarily find a sense of ease and tranquility amidst the lingering effects of death.

She leaned back against the headboard, turning her head to look at the window where rainwater was climbing haphazardly.

The dim world was instantly illuminated by lightning, and the stark white light shone on her face, making the shadows on her features appear even deeper.

A dark shadow swept past swiftly, then slowly folded its wings and came to rest by the window.

Deep red patterns instantly covered the entire bedroom.

......

The rain is getting heavier.

The streets were filled with the deafening roar of car horns. As always, Akira Kurusu bid farewell to Sojiro Sakura, walked out of LeBlanc, opened his umbrella, and tilted the edge slightly to cover Serina Ii beside him.

"The weather forecast said...it wouldn't rain today," Izana said, turning to the side and standing on tiptoe so that her gaze could pass over the edge of the umbrella where raindrops were falling and look at the dark gray sky.

"Can you really trust the weather forecast? I remember it rained when we were in Kawasaki, even though the forecast said it would be sunny."

“We’ve never been to Kawasaki.” Nina Igarashi turned to Akira Kurusu in confusion.

Akira Kurusu was visibly taken aback. "So you've never been there before..."

Then he silently looked at the misty street. The milk deliveryman, wearing a raincoat, rode his black carbon fiber bicycle past the two of them in the heavy rain, the sound of his wheels crushing the water splashing as he went.

"I'm going to school now," Akira Kurusu skipped over the topic.

Jing Qinrencai said "Oh" and followed him toward the tram stop.

Sakura Sojiro, who was taking out the trash, happened to see a boy and a girl leaving together under one umbrella. He thought of Toyokawa Shoko, who had visited LeBron James a while ago, and his eyes became somewhat subtle.

......

It seems a bit difficult for one umbrella to cover two people.

I remember it was drizzling when I first woke up, but as soon as I stepped outside, a downpour began.

The ten-minute walk from LeBron to the tram stop revealed that the stairwell was already packed with pedestrians.

The brightly colored umbrellas looked like flowers blooming in this gloomy rain.

"Rainy days are so annoying, my shoes are all wet." Jing Qinren looked down at her sneakers with distress. The toes of the shoes were wet, and the rainwater was seeping into the shoes little by little.

Along the way, she tried her best to lean against Lai Qixiao to keep her sneakers from getting wet, but it was all in vain. The rain was too heavy and the umbrella was too small. Not to mention her shoes, there were dark water stains on her shoulders.

Upon hearing what Ishigami said, Akira Kurusu, who was putting away her umbrella, looked down.

You could actually see her white bra through the neckline of her T-shirt, and... her entire body was flat.

Izuru seemed completely oblivious to the gaze directed at her, continuing to complain to herself, then bumping the back of her head against Akira's chest, "Hurry up and go inside!"

When Lai Xixiao saw that Jing Qinren's ears had turned bright red under her hair, she didn't say anything to expose her.

Jing Qinrencai had already fled into the crowd with her schoolbag.

After putting away her umbrella, Akira Kurusu slowly pushed through the pedestrians in front of her and caught up with Serina Izayoi. "Don't run so fast, be careful not to fall."

As she said this, Jingqin Rencai was already slipping on the wet floor.

The phantom thief grabbed her arm and steadied her.

The girl lowered her head and remained silent, as if she had done something wrong.

As he boarded the tram, "Dioscuri" floated above Akira Kurusu's head, flipping through a stack of film reels in his hand.

The carriage was still crowded. A man in a dark brown suit stood in front of Akira Kurusu, carrying a briefcase, and muttered a self-introduction-like line to himself, probably preparing for an interview.

The petite girl was still leaning on his arm, with popular rock music playing in her Bluetooth earphones.

The only difference is that this tram is traveling through a torrential downpour...

The moment the anomaly was detected, the [Memory Reading] ability was immediately activated.

The phantom thief looked up at "Dioscuri" above his head, who was stuffing a film reel into his mouth.

As Dioscuri began chewing the film, a series of ambiguous scenes flashed before Akira Kurusu's eyes.

Memories from the last "time rewind" began to replay, and combined with the information provided by An and Subaru that "time rewinders can sense each other," Akira Kurusu immediately had a terrible suspicion.

"We have arrived at the station..."

An announcement came over the loudspeaker in the carriage.

Akira Kurusu suddenly stood up, handed the umbrella and schoolbag to Nina Izayoi, then took off one of her earphones and leaned closer to say, "Nina, you can go to school by yourself."

"Huh?!" Jingqin Rencai straightened her back as if she had been startled.

Akira Kurusu had already left the carriage before arriving at "Aoyama Ichome" by following the flow of people.

He rushed out of the station and stood on the street in the pouring rain, staring gloomily in the direction of "Fujiki-ju".

A distortion of the world level emanated from there.

We were a step too late.

Akira Kurusu thought to herself, then looked at "Dioscuri" who had been following her all the way.

"Preparing to save the file."

Dioscuri nodded.

In the next moment, time in the entire world began to rewind...

*

【November 5th. 】

【rain. 】

[7:12 AM.]

Akira Kurishi stood in LeBlanc's attic, gazing at the streets shrouded in a light drizzle.

He picked up his phone and dialed An and Subaru's number.

The call was answered immediately, and a trembling breathing sound came from the other end.

"How many minutes do we have left?" Akira asked her.

Eight minutes.

Akira Kurusu pulled her school uniform over her shoulder, rushed down from the attic, ignoring Sakura Sojiro's surprised reaction, and found her motorcycle outside the LeBlanc gate.

Insert the key and turn it; the roar of the engine instantly echoed through the pouring rain at the Shigen Chaya.

He rode his bike, floored the accelerator, squeezed out the last bit of gasoline, and accelerated. Just as he was about to leave the street, he broke through the level of reality and drove into the space of impressions.

In the old neighborhood, only the hidden cameras that Futaba Sakura had set up captured this scene.

The Shigen Tea House returned to silence.

*

*

*

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(I slept for over ten hours as revenge, so my sleep schedule is probably back to normal. I'll resume regular updates tomorrow!)

(It's the beginning of the month, and all sorts of monthly tickets and death threats have been released. Please, everyone, give me some!!)

100. Anwa Subaru: Why is Tokyo so bad? (5,000 words)

[7:13 AM.]

"Tengmuju".

An and Subaru jumped out of bed, ran quickly to the window, and pushed it open forcefully. The cold water vapor rushed in, soaking the thin pajamas and creating countless tiny dark spots.

Beneath a steel-gray sky, Tokyo was drenched in torrential rain.

She looked out the window and around, but did not see the monster that Akira Kurusu had called "Vishnu".

The streets were congested with vehicles, and as the time ticked by, white-collar workers rushing to work or parents dropping their children off at school felt an indescribable anxiety and irritability.

[7:14 AM.]

Just like the last "time rewind," the first car horn broke the silence of the neighborhood, followed by a cacophony of noise that instantly turned the road into a deafening roar. The noise of people venting their emotions could even drown out the thunder in the sky.

A sudden gust of strong wind swept into the bedroom, carrying raindrops that shattered into fine sprays by the window, soaking my bare feet. A chill suddenly ran through me, making me shiver.

Anhe Mao closed the window and looked at the layout of the bedroom with some unease.

The bedroom was dark, as the lights were off.

A deep bass solo came from the next room.

[7:15 AM.]

Anhe Mao pushed open the door and walked out of the bedroom.

The windows in the living room were all ajar, and the cold wind blew in, making a loud, howling sound.

[7:16 AM.]

Upon hearing the door open, Ebizuka Tomo sent a text message: "We're composing a new song. Want to come over after you wake up?"

Anhe Mao picked up his phone and replied, "No, I have to go out."

She was still in her pajamas, so where could she go? But she couldn't confide the worry and panic in her question to her bandmates.

Another message popped up on my phone from Tomokazu Ebizuka: "Could you please close the window? It's really windy in the living room."

Anhe Subaru typed, "Okay."

Then Rupa also sent a text message, "Subaru, could you please throw away the trash bags we left by the door when you go out?"

An and Subaru continued typing, "No problem."

That concludes our communication on Line.

They live under the same roof, but they usually chat through social media... Thinking about it, that makes sense for a band. There are always moments of inspiration, and nobody wants to be disturbed when they're creating music or practicing their skills.

An and Mao ran to the window in their slippers, fastened the window, and the howling wind in the living room stopped abruptly.

[7:17 AM.]

There are three minutes left until the enemy attack we experienced in the last "time rewind".

An and Mao hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked to the entrance, opened the door, picked up the trash bag, and prepared to go downstairs.

The overwhelming rain, like a fine, sticky spider web, enveloped An and Subaru, who had just stepped out of the corridor, in the blink of an eye.

The girl looked up at the gloomy sky. Rain slanted down and fell close to her, clinging to her face like a dagger that flashed by, leaving only tiny droplets on her long eyelashes. A hazy mist of water and a growing panic in her heart.

[7:18 AM.]

Anhe Mao heard a long, drawn-out hissing sound coming from between the buildings. Although it was far away, it resonated clearly in her heart.

She quickly grabbed the trash bag and ran downstairs.

It was raining heavily, but the Fujiki couple left for work early.

The two men, nearing sixty, run an arcade nearby, and business is doing fairly well, supposedly because their son has loved playing video games since he was a child...

[7:19 AM.]

The hissing of the snake, which had been hovering high in the sky, suddenly became closer.

As An and Subaru were going downstairs, their heartbeats suddenly quickened. The pain of being torn apart by the eagle's claws during the last "time rewind" made them instinctively feel fear.