Tokyo Psychic

Page 153

Ruoye Mu followed closely behind Kurusu Akira, heading towards the gate of the house.

Her bright eyes reflected Akira's retreating figure, her heart pounded, and even her steps were light as if she were dancing.

Where will we go next?

Wakaba Mutsu inexplicably began to anticipate.

2022 5 Month 15 Day.

The Phantom Thief stole the Wakaba family's one-of-a-kind doll.

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(Compared to the previous ten-plus days of sleeping at 6 or 7 AM... sleeping around 2 AM is already very healthy. In short, the seven-in-one is complete!)

(It's the beginning of the month, and all the monthly tickets have been refreshed. I'm begging everyone to give me their monthly tickets!!)

133. Stray Cat and Domestic Cat (Two-in-One)

The morning mist flowed along the brick wall, like a silk ribbon left behind, wrapped around the wrought iron railings.

As the early summer sun rises high between the buildings, a hot breeze sweeps in from one side of the street, blowing thin ribbons of fabric into the city sky.

The white-haired girl suddenly let go of the handcart carrying the guitar case, staring intently at a wisp of white vapor drifting in the sky with her heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one yellow. She then tried to take a step to chase after it, reaching out her hands to try and grasp it.

Not long after she left, she remembered that her guitar was still behind her, so she turned back dejectedly, wanting to find it first.

The streets of Ginza 3-chome quickly became crowded during the morning rush hour. When the traffic lights changed, the surging crowds quickly passed between her and her guitar, blocking her entire view.

The girl waited for the next green light, then quickly passed a bakery. Suddenly, her slender fingers hovered in mid-air. She looked at the empty corner, blinked, and a puzzled expression appeared on her childlike face.

"The guitar... the smell is gone."

She crouched down and slowly approached the spot where the guitar had been.

Like a cat, it gently twitched its small nose, and its beautiful eyebrows immediately furrowed. "The smell is awful..."

She suddenly straightened up, having just passed a street corner, and then stared wide-eyed at the direction of the pedestrian overpass, "...rat."

She clearly saw that her guitar, which was being carried on a handcart, was being pulled towards the pedestrian overpass by a disheveled-looking woman.

The girl's pupils seemed to shrink into vertical slits when she saw the other person's back, but that was just an illusion; she wasn't actually a cat.

She quickly jogged after him. Fortunately, the person who stole her guitar seemed to have been out of shape for a long time, so it was particularly difficult for him to carry the guitar and cart up the overpass.

The girl caught up with the woman without much effort. She stood behind her, pointed at her back, and shouted, "Guitar!" Her voice was high-pitched and thin, like a wildcat trying to scare away an enemy after being startled.

The woman turned around in disbelief and saw the cat-like girl. She immediately quickened her pace, grabbed her guitar, and tried to run away.

Just then—"Hey! You're doing something bad!"

At the other end of the overpass, a girl with brown hair, who also looked very petite, issued a very stern rebuke.

Without a word, Jing Qinren stood in front of the woman. She didn't know where she got the courage from; perhaps it was out of admiration and longing for the Phantom Thief, perhaps it was because she subconsciously imitated her idol, perhaps it was because of her strict family upbringing...

In short, Izayoi Rina did indeed stand in front of the hunched-over woman, looking at the girl who was approaching like a cat behind her, "This is your guitar, right!"

The girl with white hair and heterochromatic eyes raised her index finger, pointed to herself, and said softly, "Mine!"

Jing Qinrencai then said aggressively to the woman in front of her, "You heard that too, right? Give it back to her right now!"

The woman was truly frightened by Izanagi's stern appearance. Feeling the gazes gradually focusing on her, she quickly let go of the handcart and ran away from Izanagi.

After confirming that the woman, whose frame was much larger than hers, had left, Izayoi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Izayoi never imagined that someone like her could exist in a bustling city like Tokyo. It's unclear whether she makes a living by stealing or simply enjoys stealing... If Akira Kurusu were here, she could probably give her a clear answer, and perhaps even offer a brief, albeit somewhat sassy, ​​lesson in life experience?

She had just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the white-haired girl pounce on her, nuzzling her affectionately like a kitten that had been wandering in the jungle for a long time and finally met its own kind.

Just as Ishihara Rina was about to refuse her overly enthusiastic invitation, she saw the girl point at her and say, "Rakuna."

"Hmm?" Izuru looked at her with some confusion.

The white-haired girl nodded, pointed to herself, then to the celery in front of her, tilting her head cutely, "Name?"

"...Nina."

Those heterochromatic eyes suddenly became vacant, as if they were smiling, "I like Nina!"

"Isn't it a bit strange to call someone by their full name on our first meeting..." Izare Rina couldn't help but complain. Looking at the girl in front of her, who looked quite young and was probably a middle school student, she reached out and touched her forehead. "What's your full name?"

She was completely unaware that her tone of voice, whether complaining or comforting the little girl, was exactly like that of Kurusu Akira.

Upon hearing Jing Qinrencai's question, the girl frantically searched her pockets and finally managed to find a student ID in her wallet and hand it to her.

"Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy, Elementary School, 3rd Year, Class A... Kaname Rakuna? Wait, you're that... guitarist of 'MyGO'!"

Kaname nodded indifferently, clearly uninterested in topics like self-introduction, then stared at Serina with shining eyes, "Nina, Live is amazing."

"Ok?"

“I’ve heard Nina perform.” Kaname happily grasped Serina’s hand. “Nina’s voice is powerful.”

Being constantly called "Ren-cai Ren-cai" made Jingqin Ren-cai inadvertently think of the Siamese cat next door, and she quickly shook her head.

Previously, "Nina" was the pronunciation of the name "仁菜".

She corrected the strange girl in front of her, "It's impolite to call someone by their first name on a first meeting!"

Rana shook her head dismissively, then pointed to herself and said, "Rana!"

The name "Rana" is pronounced as "Rana".

Then she pointed to the celery in front of her and said, "Nina!"

Rakuna hugged Serina with a bright smile, as if waiting for her to stroke her, and said happily, "We're friends!"

Jing Qinren quickly looked around and, after noticing that the surrounding gazes had changed from scrutiny to kindness and tolerance, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, we're friends."

When Yoruichi heard that Serina had accepted her request to be friends, she was satisfied and let go of her hand, reaching into the pocket of her denim shorts to rummage around.

Jing Qinren quickly took out her phone to check the time... Oh no, it's already 8:30.

She had promised to help Akira Kurusu at the book signing event preparation site... She turned around in a hurry, even forgetting to say goodbye to Kaoru, and hurriedly walked down the overpass as if she were running away.

The rollers made a continuous, loud sound as they rubbed against the floor tiles.

When going down the stairs, the sound became a broken "crackling" sound.

Jing Qinrencai turned around abruptly as she walked down the pedestrian overpass.

He noticed that Yao Lenai had actually picked up her guitar case and trolley, and he struggled to keep up with her.

Seeing that Izanagi Rina had turned around, she immediately responded with a light, airy smile, "Nina~"

Jingqin Rencai sighed, ignored her, and raced towards the autograph session.

Unexpectedly, the sound of the handcart scraping against the ground started again, prompting Lena to quickly follow Iori Rina.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Izare Rina turned around and looked at Kaname Rakuna. Seeing her innocent and pure smile, the annoyance and anxiety that had risen in her heart because she was about to be late dissipated. "I have something to do, you can't follow me!"

Lena staggered closer, saying, "I... need to help."

That's what she said.

Jingqinrencai was clearly stunned for a moment.

Yoro Nai has caught up, she said, "Because we are friends."

Looking at this inexplicable girl, Jing Qinren was quite annoyed. "Don't joke around, I'm very... uh?"

All her complaints were silenced.

Because Rakuna was reaching out, she was skillfully and gently scratching Iori Jinna's chin.

She said, "Nina, don't be angry."

Then, he asked Lena to take out her phone, and trustingly put it into Izanagi's pocket. He then took her sleeve and said, "Let's go together."

Looking at the phone tucked into her pocket, Iori Rina suppressed her impatience and led Yoro Nai toward the mall in front of them. "Why did you give me your phone?"

“Phone, Line, MSN…” Kaoru shook her head. “Friends, we need to add each other’s contact information. Because Tokyo is so big, we can’t find Nina just by her scent.”

Jingqin Rencai simply snatched the shopping cart from Yao Lena's hand and strode into the mall. "I know, I'll add it for you when I'm done with my work!"

Lena nodded, and anyone could see how happy she was. "That's great."

......

Half an hour later.

The other side of the mall.

A taxi slowly came to a stop. Lai Xixiao fastened her wallet, put it back into the shoulder bag that Ruoye Mutsu always carried, and then led her out of the car.

Ruo Ye Mu watched Lai Qi Xiao's every move quietly until the car door opened and the warm sunlight shone on her face. Only then did she slightly increase the force of her embrace and hug Lai Qi Xiao's arm.

At the entrance of the mall, agent Mr. Munehisa Iwai had been waiting for a long time.

The middle-aged man, who looked like a gangster, approached very nimbly and called out Akira Kurusu's "stage name".

"Mr. Akira Kurusu, everything is ready for the autograph session. There are scripts prepared to deal with all sorts of questions from fans. If you feel you're not good at handling the enthusiasm of your readers, you can prepare some questions in advance."

Munehisa Iwai looked at Mutsumi Wakaba, who was standing next to Akira Kurusu, and asked, "Would you like me to take this young lady to the rest area to join your friends?"

"Friends?" Akira Kurusu was taken aback. He remembered that he had only invited Serina Iza to help... after all, she was readily available unemployed labor.

Munehisa Iwai led the two upstairs. Underneath a banner that read, "Celebrating the first volume of 'No Game No Life' with one million copies sold on its debut...", he pointed to a dessert shop that his agency had booked in advance, "Over there."

Akira Kurusu looked over and, sure enough, saw Serina Izakura's figure.

As expected, she hunched over like a cat, burying her head in a huge matcha parfait.

But beside her... there was another cat-like girl, also enjoying a cup of matcha parfait.

Up close, you can see traces of melted matcha on her still-childish face.

Using her Persona's [Memory Reading] ability, Akira Kurusu recognized the other person as the lead guitarist of "MyGO," named Kaname Rakuna.

Compared to the well-mannered eating habits of Izanagi, Rakuna's actions of waving a spoon and scooping up ice cream seem rather rude, which is probably the difference between a house cat and a stray cat.

Where did this celery stalk find its kind?

However, the book signing was about to begin, so he had no time to care about these trivial matters.

Akira patted Mutsumi Wakaba's arm beside her, "Mutsumi, can you go sit with them for a while?"

Ruoye Mu nodded quietly and then walked towards the dessert shop.

......

I entered the autograph session venue.

Akira Kurusu was surprised to see Kazuhiko Yoshizawa with a blank expression in front of the two rows of bookshelves.

Despite being a high-ranking executive at the firm, he personally attended the book signing event to supervise his subordinates' work... How diligent Mr. Yoshizawa is.

"You're here." Yoshizawa Kazuhiko stared at Kurusu Akira with a forced smile. "Good luck at today's autograph session."

He looked extremely reluctant.

Just as Akira Kurusu was beginning to wonder why the old man suddenly had such a sour face, he saw the other man hand him two copies of "Life is a Game".

Yoshizawa Kazuhiko said in an almost commanding tone, "Sign."

"Mr. Yoshizawa, at your age, still has such refined tastes?"

Yoshizawa Kazuhiko seemed completely oblivious to Kurusu Akira's teasing. His facial muscles twitched violently for a moment before he practically forced out a sentence through clenched teeth: "It's Kasumi and Sumire who want it."

Akira Kurusu opened the cover, picked up the pen on the table, unscrewed the cap, and signed her name smoothly. She also drew half a rose at the end. Then she opened the cover of another book, "Game of Life," and drew the remaining half of the rose almost symmetrically before signing her name again.

If you open the two books and overlap their covers, the simple line drawing of a rose can be pieced together to form a complete rose.

"I'm done."

He stacked the two books and handed them to Yoshizawa Kazuhiko. Under the other man's murderous gaze, he calmly tightened the pen cap. "Mr. Yoshizawa, is there anything else you need?"

“…No.” Yoshizawa Kazuhiko said stiffly, holding the book and mechanically backing away, but no matter what he did, his eyes were fixed on the boy behind the table. If looks could kill, Kurusu Akira would probably have been killed thousands of times over by now.

The staff members waiting around were all terrified.

They only breathed a sigh of relief after Yoshizawa Kazuhiko had completely left.

"Akira Kurusu-sensei, are you ready?"