Tokyo Psychic

Page 117

*

*

-------

(Fourth update, please vote, please give me your monthly tickets, please give me your wrath!!)

(The story returns to its usual routine starting in the next chapter.)

105. The Unspoken Rival (5,000 words)

The fury of the rain in the sky gradually subsided, and a light drizzle began to fall. The horizon was a hazy gray, like the sinking of a collapsing sea of ​​clouds, or a whale fall—a magnificent life, even its ending a grand epic.

The end of one life has inspired countless others to be reborn.

Under the bus stop sign for Shibuya Station in Aoyama-1-chome, a white-haired girl wearing sunglasses and holding a laptop bag stood in the crowded underground passage.

She gazed at the words on the bus stop sign, her pale blue eyes, hidden behind her glasses, appearing empty and unfocused.

"Kurata-senpai!" A vibrant voice came from behind.

"Mmm..." Morfonica's lead singer responded absentmindedly.

However, Kurata Mashiro's very slow reaction clearly displeased the girl behind her, so she reached out to pat her shoulder.

"Wait a minute," Kurata Mashiro suddenly raised her voice, startling the girl behind her.

Then she watched as Kurata Mashiro raised his hands and reached into the sky, muttering things like, "It's the blue butterfly again," "Principal? Phantom Thief?" "Although I don't understand at all, please talk to me a little longer, God."

She quickly looked around and, sure enough, felt the gazes focusing on her. Her face immediately turned bright red. "Kurata-senpai! Stop! This is so embarrassing!"

Even though she was wearing sunglasses, as the lead singer of Morfonica, one of the "Top 5 Most Popular Girl Bands" this year, and given her title of "Kurata-senpai," people quickly recognized Kurata Mashiro's true identity.

If Kurata Mashiro were here, wouldn't that mean Morfonica...?

The crowd immediately became restless. The dampness from the rain and the heat from the air conditioning in the underground passage made the group of high school girls feel flustered.

Just then, the pink-haired girl carrying a violin case ran up and gave Kurata Mashiro a hard shove in the back, urging anxiously, "Run! We've been recognized!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone shouted, "It's Morfonica from Moon Forest!"

The girls in the band fled in panic, and the lower-grade student who was left behind hurriedly dialed the manager's number, causing chaos at the train station.

Fortunately, as Morfonica fans, they had heard some of the terrible rumors about the students of Tsukimori, so they were very restrained in their actions.

Don't be fooled by their delicate appearance; these young women might actually be able to effortlessly lift a fully loaded suitcase half their height with one hand and carry it up and down stairs!

......

The infirmary of Xiujin High School.

Dr. Takemi, who was on duty today, looked at the wound on Akira Kurusu's right hand, which was only slightly bleeding, and her expression immediately became somewhat subtle.

She looked at the two girls who had accompanied Lai Qixiao, "If you had come any later, this would have healed by now... You'd better come up with a different excuse for skipping class."

Akira Lai sat up straight and said, "To be honest, it's actually Anhe over there who needs to be diagnosed."

An and Subaru, who were sitting to the side, immediately coughed a few times in response. Exhausted and weak after awakening their Personas, coupled with being caught in the rain, they did look rather sickly.

Wu Jianmiao's gaze swept back and forth between them before she silently walked toward the medicine cabinet.

Shoko Toyokawa was caught between the two. The girl, who was not good at lying, kept her head down and silently flipped through a medical magazine the whole time.

Having successfully appeased Dr. Takemi, both Anwa Subaru and Toyokawa Shoko, who were standing next to Akira Kurusu, breathed a sigh of relief.

Without making a sound, the phantom thief put on a sports jacket, covering the wound on his right arm that had healed to the point where only a few faint marks remained.

He really went to great lengths to provide alibis for all the members of the Phantom Thieves.

Thanks to the relaxed education policy promoted by the Ministry of Education... this year's high school students are too idle. The news that the students from Singapore and Malaysia received a notice from the Mind Thieves spread throughout the school in less than ten minutes.

After the three members of the Phantom Thieves conquered the palace, they took out their phones and saw a flood of conspiracy theories and gossip posts on the school forum.

Until the Singaporean and Malaysian virtuous officials truly repent in the public eye, they must stay in the infirmary as much as possible.

With the torrential rain and exam week upon us, and only the three of them having records of leaving school, they all seemed highly suspicious... Fortunately, they had the excuse of club activities to cover it up, plus their current alibis. If anyone still suspected them of being the "Mind Thieves," they would probably have to quickly change their minds.

While Takemi was rummaging through the medicine cabinet, An and Subaru quickly took out their phones and started typing in the Phantom Thieves' temporary chat room.

[Pleia: How much longer are we going to sit here?]

[Joker (The Attic Thinker): Based on my past experience... within about half an hour, the Singaporean and Malaysian virtuous men will suddenly realize their mistakes, change their minds, weep bitterly, and finally reform.]

[Oblivionis: So, you guys have to take another exam this afternoon?]

[Anhe Subaru: Yeah... Oh no! He turned himself in and went to jail, what am I going to do with my award certificate?]

[The Attic Thinker: Good question. It seems my scholarship is also uncertain.]

[The Attic Thinker: Luckily, I signed a contract with the record company beforehand, so I should be able to make a living.]

[Jingqin Rencai: Certificate? Scholarship? Record company? What on earth happened? Didn't you go to change the principal's mind??]

[I am a hacker expert (Navi): Too many questions at once, Jingqin.]

[Celery and Vegetable: Where are you guys now?!]

[The Attic Thinker: Focus on preparing for the exam; let's go out for dinner together tonight.]

[The temporary chat group has been disbanded by "Attic Thinker"]

In the classroom of Class 2-D, Jing Qinren, who was preparing for the afternoon's exam, looked at the chat box that could no longer be opened and suddenly felt a toothache.

She had a strange feeling of being isolated, as if everyone was secretly sprinting on a track where she hadn't even started yet... It must be her imagination! Jingqin Rencai put down her phone, took out a "mistake collection" from her bag, and began to flip through it.

*

When the first exam of the afternoon began, the clear and melodious bell rang loudly in the sky above the campus.

On the top floor of the administration building, Xin Ma Xiaolian, who was sitting in his office fiddling with an old-fashioned cell phone, suddenly showed a confused and thoughtful expression.

What was I about to do?

Xinma Xiaolian felt as if he were wandering in a very long dream, and suddenly he woke up. The rushing desires and chaotic thoughts that came like a tsunami in the dream all came to an abrupt end.

He looked down at the phone book on his phone screen, and one unfamiliar yet familiar number after another pierced his eyes without warning, causing him to feel intense fear and a nauseating nausea amidst the stinging pain in his heart.

Almost as if to escape all of this reality, he pressed the Home button, switched to the home screen, and looked at the young woman as his phone wallpaper and the purple hydrangeas on the ground behind her. His last hope was instantly shattered.

pat.

The phone slipped from my weak fingers, carrying with it some precious and fragile emotions, and fell heavily to pieces.

After that, the office was so quiet that you could clearly hear the sudden increase in breathing, and the sound of rain pattering all around.

Xinma Xiaolian clutched his head in bewilderment, countless fragments of memories flashing through his pupils.

"What have I been doing all these years...?"

He let out a groan that sounded almost like he was vomiting blood.

......

Perhaps it was because the hellish "opening exams" lowered the students' expectations for their grades to the lowest possible level.

After the first day of the joint entrance exam ended, the corridor was filled with a thriving atmosphere.

In the exam room of Class 2-D, people kept handing in their papers and leaving.

It's already time to get out of school. The last exam today is "Science Comprehensive".

Jing Qinren looked at the exam paper filled with her own handwriting, carefully checked it, and then raised her hand to hand in the paper.

There was no one to greet her outside the classroom. Jingqin Rencai watched as the boys and girls who left the exam room reunited with their respective groups and then went home in twos and threes. She picked up her schoolbag from the wall, put it on her back, and walked alone towards the club building.

It seems like there are suddenly more eyes around...

Jingqin Rencai sensed that the students from all grades she encountered along the way seemed to be paying more attention to her than usual, and they would discuss it when they whispered among themselves.

She wasn't good at dealing with these changes in environment and atmosphere, so she took out her phone, opened her usual social media apps, and browsed the latest updates of the bands she followed.

"Morfonica" will be holding a concert at Seongseong Stadium, and tickets are now available for purchase.

Imagine Dragons has announced that its activities for the coming year will be concentrated in China...

Jing Qinren quickly scrolled through these posts and then typed "End Band" into the search bar.

I quickly found the account that used a photo of six overlapping hair ties of different colors as its profile picture.

The band "End" gained 11 more followers on social media yesterday.

Huh? The lead singer of "Sumimi," the famous Mitsuba Hatsuka, actually followed our band today!

Jing Qinren clicked on the list of "new followers," and the more she looked at the familiar IDs and avatars, the more surprised she became.

This is the daughter of comedians Wakaba and Mori Minami!

This is Mashiro Kurata, the lead singer of "Morfonica"! And bassist Nanami Hiromachi!

Why are all the students from Tsuki no Mori here for team building? Wait, isn't Mikami Hatsuka a student of Hanasaki River...?

As I walked across the rooftop walkway, its floor slippery from the rain, I suddenly heard two students passing by exclaim in surprise.

"Ah! Look over there!"

"The police are here!"

"Wait a minute, why have all the newly appointed leaders been arrested?!"

Out of instinctive awe for the Metropolitan Police Department, Izayoi looked up and followed their gaze toward the school gate of Shujin.

A team of seemingly capable and well-trained criminal police officers walked out of the administration building, and several gray-haired men were restrained by their hands and escorted to a police car parked outside the school gate.

Jing Qinrencai vaguely remembered seeing these people's faces on several important occasions, but she couldn't remember their names or specific positions at all. She only knew that they had very prestigious titles, and that a stomp of their feet on the podium could make the teachers and students around them hold their breath.

If you were to force her to recall things about these people, it would probably just be some rambling, reciting platitudes.

I subconsciously quickened my pace and almost ran to the club activity room.

A sign reading "Department of Mental Health Education" hangs next to a metal sliding door.

The Mind Thieves had been waiting in the music room for a long time.

The air conditioner in the music classroom had been running for quite some time, blasting heat and continuously sending warm air into the entire space.

Despite having just completed the Phantom Thieves' covert operation, this "secret base" was completely devoid of the tense and serious atmosphere that Ishizawa Rina had imagined.

Lai Qixiao held a pair of binoculars and peered out the window towards the school gate.

A little while later, the telescope was passed to An and Subaru.

Anwa Subaru then passed it on to Toyokawa Shoko.

Perhaps they had been caught in a downpour, for all three of them had towels wrapped around their heads and shoulders, looking like a tourist group sent from Saudi Arabia.

Soon, the three of them burst into gloating laughter.

"As expected, Xinma Xiaolian reported all the customers who had participated in his 'business' and provided a clear and complete chain of evidence. The news we can watch in the next few days is going to be very exciting."

"What's next? Should we register an official account for the Phantom Thieves as well?"

"No need, that would be too conspicuous. We'd rather take this opportunity to promote the 'Phantom Thief Channel'."

Hearing the door open behind her, Akira Kurisu exclaimed, "Iishin, you're finally here."

Looking at the three "Dubai nobles" in front of her, Jing Qinrencai said somewhat sullenly, "Am I the only one taking the exam seriously?"

“Nonsense, I took the exam seriously too,” Akira Kurusu said, rubbing her hair with a dry towel. “I just handed in my paper quickly to avoid catching a cold.”

When faced with the topic of "exams," An and Subaru fell silent.

Toyokawa Shoko and Anwa Subaru had already borrowed a hairdryer from the infirmary to dry their hair. They were wearing towels because their clothes were soaked and they couldn't find any spare clothes to change into. Because the temperature had dropped so much, they were dressed quite warmly so that even if they got wet, there wouldn't be any problem with them being exposed.

Akira Kurusu took the binoculars back from Shoko Toyokawa. "Next, we need to go home, take a shower, change our clothes, and then go out for a celebratory dinner... a victory celebration."

He corrected his wording.

Toyokawa Shoko looked at Kurusu Akira's profile, hesitated several times before finally agreeing with a somewhat regretful expression, "I understand."

She quietly reached out and touched Lai Xixiao's fingertips, then withdrew her hand without leaving a trace.

But An and Subaru noticed these little actions.

After awakening her Persona, she could clearly feel that all her senses seemed to have become more acute than usual.

An and Subaru bit their lips, but a happy smile quickly spread across their faces. "Once you've confirmed the location and time, be sure to contact us on Line!"