Tokyo Psychic

Page 131

“Welcome,” Sakura Sojiro said, fiddling with the bottles and jars behind the counter as always.

He saw Akira Kurusu and Subaru An, hesitated for a moment, but still asked them, "What are you planning to have for lunch?"

“I’ll do it myself later, no need to trouble you,” said Akira Kurusu, carrying An and Subaru up to the attic.

Although she said she was not a pampered young lady, she was a very elegant and dignified girl, sitting quietly on the overly simple little bed.

And indeed, as An and Subaru had said, she curiously reached out and patted the bed, without any disgust or aversion. Then, she looked at the phantom thief who was about to go downstairs with a sullen expression, "How about coming to 'Fujiki-ju' tonight? My bed is quite big."

"That's so inconvenient. You have two other girls with you, right?"

"It's just bringing my boyfriend home to sleep together, they won't mind."

"Let's think about it later," Akira Kurusu said as she came downstairs. "Do you want chili in the curry?"

"Sure."

Hearing the weak and listless voice, Akira Lai guessed that she had probably already lain down.

......

After descending from the attic, Lai Qixiao bypassed the counter and went into the kitchen.

Sakura Sojiro observed Akira Kurusu's busy figure for a while, and finally couldn't help but ask him.

"girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Is she the young lady? She looks like a princess, even a little prettier than that Toyokawa."

“She might be a princess in distress whom I picked up,” Akira Kurusu replied, as she added the curry that had been heating up for a long time into the pot.

"When are you planning to move out?" Sakura Sojiro asked him again after a while.

"Late May, or maybe earlier, or maybe later."

"Be careful, young people should know how to restrain themselves and not cause trouble for the woman," Sakura Sojiro couldn't help but admonish. "Be responsible!"

"I haven't thought about living together yet," Akira Kurusu said, scooping curry into a plate and pouring it over rice before carrying the steaming plate up to the attic.

An and Subaru lay on the bed, hugging Akira's pillow with their eyes half-open. When he got close, An grabbed his sleeve and said coquettishly, "Feed me."

Lai Qixiao sat down next to her, "Then sit up straighter."

An and Subaru sat up with some difficulty, then held the spoon full of rice to her lips. Akira Kurusu said, "Open your mouth." The girl immediately cooperated and bit the spoon.

“There’s a bit too much rice,” she said, taking a bite before blinking at Akira’s lips. “You should have some too…give me the spoon.”

Akira Kurusu handed the spoon to An and Subaru, and An also scooped up a spoonful of rice drizzled with curry and fed it to Akira Kurusu.

It's hard to imagine that a plate of curry rice took two people almost forty minutes to eat.

After returning the plates, Akira went up to the attic and found that An and Subaru had taken off their school uniforms and folded them all on the bedside table. Then, they lay down wrapped in his blanket. When they saw him come back, they pulled the blanket off and waved to him.

Lai Qixiao is setting an alarm on her phone. "We're going into the exam room at 3:30 pm, so we can still sleep for a long time."

An and Subaru didn't sleep much last night and were very sleepy, eagerly waiting for him to lie down.

Lai Xixiao sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoning her clothes one button at a time, and then lay down in bed.

The bed is small; it's just right for one person, but it feels cramped for two, and they have to hug each other tightly to lie down.

The girl, wearing only her underwear, tiptoed closer, took Lai Qixiao's shoulder, and slowly nestled into his arms, hugging his neck.

“You can’t do bad things,” An and Subaru said. “It still hurts.”

Despite the pain, she still seemed eager to try, as if she had forgotten that she was in the attic of the coffee shop.

Akira Kurusu looked at the girl's lovesick expression and was momentarily speechless. "You've been watching too much hentai and doujinshi, Subaru."

An and Subaru nestled together, lazily finding their preferred sleeping position, and then stopped moving. "I really should watch less of this in the future... Paper-thin characters are too unrealistic; they have no educational value whatsoever."

“Teaching…” Akira was amused by the otaku girl’s ramblings. She put her arm around her waist and gently patted her back with her other hand, coaxing her to sleep. “Get some rest.”

Sunlight seeped in little by little through the attic window, and combined with the girl's softness and body warmth, along with a faint fragrance, it created a beautiful moment in the simple space that made one forget fatigue.

*

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*

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(This isn't a good fit for internet cafes, so I'll just write four chapters. I'm currently traveling. I'll move to a new place tomorrow, hoping for a more comfortable writing environment.)

(Special reminder: May 27th is Motoyo Nagasaki's birthday. That is, two weeks later in the book.)

(Finally, I'd like to recommend a book by a member of the group; it's an original work.)

116. What are they doing in the attic? (Two-part summary)

Jingqin Rencai pushed a small cart with a huge cardboard box on it, making a clattering sound as the wheels hit the paving stones, walking along the path in Shimokitazawa.

The cardboard box was quite heavy, and the cover was printed with "Wholesale Frozen Chicken Wings (One Piece)" in katakana. As the cart moved forward, the box began to sway in a strange manner.

“Morgana, stop fooling around,” Jingqinrencai whispered.

The cardboard box then shook even more violently.

After a while, a pale cat paw emerged from the gap at the top of the cardboard box. The black cat named "Morgana" surprisingly showed a "relieved" expression in an extremely human way. It pushed aside the cat food and canned cat food that were pressing on it and lay on the edge of the cardboard box panting.

"Human, are you trying to suffocate me?!" Morgana, who called himself "Igor's apostle" in front of Akira Kurusu, shouted at Izana Inoue, but to ordinary people, his words were just enthusiastic and ordinary meows.

Jingqinrencai couldn't understand Morgana's reprimand and thought it was just being coquettish. Somewhat conflicted, she stuffed it back in, saying, "We'll be at STARRY soon, so please wait a little longer."

Morgana was so enraged that she instinctively reached out to scratch the human in front of her... but she remembered her relationship with the phantom thief halfway through her claws and retracted them.

Forgive her.

Morgana thought sadly that he was a creation of God who possessed the power of Persona, yet he had fallen to such a miserable state.

That damned mind thief dared to arrange for his subordinates, who lack an awakened Persona, to commit such a blasphemous act against us... Unforgivable!

It thought resentfully, and unable to communicate, it could only slink back into the cardboard box to avoid being harmed by the celery again.

Jing Qinrencai looked at the cardboard box in surprise, "Morgana is so smart! I'll feed you cat treats later!"

"You really think I'm a cat?!" Morgana felt its proud and noble spirit being severely damaged, but to avoid further humiliation, it stubbornly stayed in the cardboard box and endured the insult.

Jingqin Rencai continued pushing the cart and stopped in front of STARRY.

Ijichi Seika had been waiting nearby for a long time. When she saw Iori Jinna approaching, her face remained indifferent. "Where's the cat?"

Jing Qinren pushed the cart closer and then pointed to the cardboard box, "Here it is."

Ichi Hoshika approached and reached out to open the cardboard box. Inside a pile of bottles and jars lay a black cat with glossy fur, bright blue eyes that were lively and sharp, and white fur near its paws, like a night-time thief wearing white gloves.

Black cats are considered very auspicious symbols in Japan, representing protection from evil, good fortune, and business prosperity. For a long time before the Meiji Restoration, merchants in Japan liked to keep a black cat at home for protection and peace.

This is also one of the reasons why Ijichi Hoshika was willing to agree to Akira Kurusu's request to "take in Morgana" on Line.

"She's actually quite pretty. Amamiya called her a 'wildcat'?" Ijichi Seika had seen Morgana's photos.

"A wildcat?!" Upon hearing this, Morgana flew into a rage and was about to fight to the death, but when he saw the celery standing to the side, he rolled over in his sleep and pretended that he couldn't understand human speech.

Ijichi Hoshika reached out and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, her palm rubbing against the cat food and litter bags in the box, making a rustling sound.

Morgana offered no resistance and allowed himself to be manipulated, then was lifted up by Ijichi Hoshika.

It stared blankly at the human in front of it, but what felines call "blank expression" is actually just staring at people with its eyes glazed over, which has no effect other than making people feel cute.

“I’ll keep it at STARRY from now on,” Ichiji Hoshika said as she put Morgana back in the cardboard box.

She made a decision: "I will take care of it when you are not available."

Jingqin Rencai added to Kurusu Akira's introduction, "According to Amamiya, it's very good at catching mice."

“Very good.” Ijichi Hoshika looked at Morgana approvingly, then took the cart from Iori Rina’s hands.

She asked Jingqinrencai, "Will you have lunch with us? Hongxia and Liang will be coming."

Izare Nami shook her head. "I have the last exam this afternoon, and I'm going to school with Amamiya. I've already asked Mr. Sakura to make lunch for me."

Ichika said goodbye to her, "Take care on the road."

Jing Qinren walked away quickly with her schoolbag on her back. Hearing the voice behind her, she immediately turned around with a bright smile and waved to her.

......

"I am back!"

Jingqinrencai pushed open the door of LeBron's store.

The two customers in the shop were elderly people who lived nearby, and a steamed egg was placed in front of them. They liked the lively and polite girl next door, so they gave her a friendly smile.

Sakura Sojiro, who was behind the counter calculating with a calculator, said without looking up, "Your lunch is ready. Go get it from the kitchen yourself."

"Where's Amamiya?" Nina Igarashi asked Sakura Sojiro curiously as she put her schoolbag on the empty dining table and walked toward the kitchen.

Sakura Sojiro's expression immediately turned somewhat strange.

"In the attic."

"Hmm...Isn't he coming down for lunch?" Jingqin Rencai glanced at the time on her phone. "He has an hour and a half left before he has to go into the exam room."

"He's probably busy," Sakura Sojiro replied vaguely.

Jing Qinren frowned in confusion. "Should I go and call him down for dinner?"

"He'll come down by himself when he's hungry."

“What if he doesn’t come down? He won’t have time for lunch!” Jing Qinren said seriously. “Skipping lunch is not an option.”

“He’s chatting with his classmates…and they should have already had lunch,” Sakura Sojiro said, feeling the indignant gaze of Izare Nina. He realized she was about to run up and pull the classmate who was preventing Kurusu Akira from having lunch properly, so he quickly stopped her.

Sakura Sojiro couldn't help but sigh. Why was this kid so serious?

"Anyway, don't bother him... You don't like people just barging into your bedroom, do you?" Sakura Sojiro patted Iori Nina on the shoulder and earnestly advised her.

Jing Qinrencai then turned around with a sullen face, slowly moved her feet into the kitchen and picked up a plate of seafood risotto.

She placed the plate on the table, put her hands together, and whispered, "I'm starting to eat."

*

Akira Kurusu's phone, which was under his pillow, suddenly vibrated. The alarm he had set in advance went off; it was Serina Ii setting the intro to "The Empty Box" for him.

He opened his eyes, looked down at An and Subaru curled up in his arms wearing only their underwear, then reached under the pillow to pull out his phone and turn off the alarm. "Get up."

An and Subaru were fast asleep, their arms around Akira's shoulders.

It seems he really is exhausted.

As Lai Xixiao stroked her flat and delicate belly, feeling the girl's slenderness and warmth pressing against him, a very soft spot in his heart was suddenly touched, and he wanted to hug her tightly.

He had already hugged her tightly, but worried about hurting her, he quickly softened his grip, then played with her soft, long hair, waking her up every now and then...

About ten minutes later.

Anwa Subaru opened her eyes half-asleep, slowly realizing where she was. Her face flushed instantly, and she smiled shyly and happily at Kurusu Akira, gently shaking his hand that was resting on her lower abdomen in a coquettish manner. "Can you help me get dressed?"

Akira Kurusu, holding An and Subaru, slightly rose and brought the neatly folded school uniform and skirt from the bedside table closer.

An and Subaru sat in his lap, lazily stretched, and then, following his guidance, raised their arms and slowly put on a shirt, buttoning it up one button at a time.

Then came black pantyhose, a short skirt, and finally leather shoes, as Akira Kurusu helped her off the bed.

"Does it still hurt?"

“It’s much better now,” An and Subaru turned around and hugged him tightly, their eyes sparkling. “Want to try again tomorrow?”

"How did you manage to book it so quickly?"

"First come, first served."

"Aren't you afraid of pain now?" Lai Qixiao put her school uniform jacket on herself.

“I suddenly wanted to try it again…” An and Subaru’s faces were flushed. They nestled in his arms and shyly bit his ear. “I don’t know why, even though it hurts a lot, I feel a strange sense of satisfaction and happiness.”

Akira Kurusu got out of bed and put on her shoes.