Tokyo Psychic

Page 183

But Ichi Nijika's gaze fell on Yamada Ryo's serious and meticulous profile, and she still longed for the dream that was born when she first fell in love with rock music.

She turned around, looked earnestly at Akira Kurusu, and said, "If the band gains fame and receives an invitation from a management company, I hope the band can go professional. At that time... could you please support me?"

"Once the industry becomes professional, the relaxed and carefree atmosphere we have now will be gone. Profitability will become a very important metric for the band."

"I know, but..."

"I will support you."

152. Thus, Ijichi Niji Natsu became the sun (four in one)

The water splashed against the bowls and chopsticks, making a splashing sound.

The television is currently playing episode 15 of Ultraman Tiga.

Nine-year-old Ichiki Nikka lay on the dining table, watching her mother bend over wiping the table with a rag. A lonely and dissatisfied look crossed her eyes as she swung her legs, which were dangling between the floor and the chair. "Is my sister still not coming home for dinner tonight?"

"Mmm," the mother replied with a short, abrupt sound.

"Is it another band performance?" Ichiji Nijika tapped the stool leg with her heel, her annoyance and anger practically written all over her face.

[After wiping the table, the mother quickly went into the kitchen to turn off the tap. When she returned to the living room, she heard Ichiji Nijika's question. "Yes," she replied curtly.]

Then the two looked towards the dark end of the corridor, at the room that should have belonged to "Ijichi Hoshika," which had been dark for many days.

[When her mother was busy with work, Ichika Kyouka was always alone in the overly empty house.]

[The one who had patiently accompanied and cared for her, Ichiji Seika, had unknowingly faded from the family's presence.]

My sister... was taken away by the band.

[Thus, when Ichiji Nijika was nine years old, such thoughts gradually took root—]

I hate bands.

On the living room television, a child recites lines in a forlorn voice, "Dad only cares about racing... He doesn't need me at all."

......

Tokyo, 19:25. STARRY.

After watching the girls of "MYGO" deliver an outstanding live performance on stage, Ijichi Seika couldn't help but applaud them.

Dozens of fans who came specifically to support the event gathered below the stage.

A red-haired boy carrying a suitcase approached the counter and politely asked Ijichi Seika, "Did the band finish a live performance or practice today?"

"No."

"If I want to support them, shouldn't I be able to sponsor them here? I can't find any sponsorship channels on their social media accounts."

Ichi Seika looked at the elementary school uniform of "Private Jigaku Academy" that he was wearing and felt that the boy looked familiar. "They went to participate in a club study trip and may not be back for three days. Let me see... They have a live performance here on the 20th. You can talk to them in person then."

"Excuse me!" The boy bowed deeply, then picked up his suitcase and left.

Ijichi Seika listened to the dull sound of the suitcase being placed on the steps, as if every inch of its interior was crammed with papers...

Is it just my imagination?

Ichi Seika watched as he struggled to carry his suitcase up the steps one by one. Just as she was about to go out to help, she saw a tall man in a suit and sunglasses rush down the steps, steady the middle school-aged boy, and carry his suitcase up the stairs for him.

But soon, her attention was drawn to the performance of "MYGO".

The lead singer, named "Takasatsu-den," looked around at the cheering crowd and let out a weary sigh.

The girls on stage exchanged glances, and smiles of joy appeared on their faces in unison.

Those smiles made Ijichi Seika feel nostalgic, and she couldn't help but hope that Ijichi Nijika could also feel happy because of the band, just like them.

After thanking the audience, the members of "MYGO" left the stage, making room for the next band.

He had just stepped off the stage, and before Shiina Tatsuki could even praise Takamatsu Akari's performance, he turned around and found that Kaname Rakuna had already run off with her guitar and disappeared.

After a difficult search in the somewhat crowded livehouse, I finally found the stray cat running around next to the counter.

She struggled through the crowd to get closer, and then heard Kaname Rakuna naturally extend her hand to Ijichi Seika, "Matcha Parfait!"

Ijichi Hoshika seemed to have gotten used to taking care of the cute but troublesome girl who was like a cat. She found a paper bucket and skillfully began to make a matcha parfait.

Yoro stood there with her arms outstretched for a while, then, feeling tired, she put her hands down.

"Are you here to see Nina again?" Ijichi Seika asked Kaname in front of her while sticking some chocolates and candy sticks onto the matcha parfait.

Yao Lena shook her head, "Nina isn't here."

Then she looked around for a while, as if to confirm a certain answer, her expression slightly disappointed, "Mona... isn't here either."

"Mona, are you talking about Morgana?" Ichiji Hoshika handed the matcha parfait she had made to Kaoruna, a distinct sense of frustration appearing on her usually indifferent face. "That guy has been disappearing intermittently lately, and I can't control him... Is it because he's in heat? Should I take him to get spayed?"

Yao Lenai kept shaking her head, "Mona is guarding the house, Mona is a good cat."

"Where did it go to guard the house?" Idi Zhixingge remembered seeing Morgana in the hall just a few minutes ago.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the black cat came running down the stairs with a dozen or so 10,000 yen bills in its mouth. It quickly jumped onto the counter, placed the bills on the table, and pushed them to Ijichi Seika with the tip of its nose.

Meow...meow meow, is a continuous meowing sound.

"Mona said it was tipped by a passing customer. It's a small gift from the customer, and it hopes the shopkeeper can help it buy a box of salmon sashimi," Lena translated for Morgana.

"Really...?" Ijichi Seika looked at the girl in front of her who "could understand cat language" with a strange expression, very doubtful.

But when she saw Morgana on the table nodding frantically, pointing at Yoro Nai with its paws and then at the banknotes next to it, Ijichi Hoshika covered her face, unable to tell whether it was a person who had turned into a cat or a cat who had turned into a person.

"I understand. I'll go to the convenience store to buy it for you after I get off work."

Ichiyoshi tried to say it that way, regardless of whether Morgana understood it or not.

Shiina Riki watched as Rakuna picked up Morgana by the scruff of her neck, holding a matcha parfait in her left hand and carrying the cat in her right, and walked to the sofa to rest. She then took out her wallet, looked at the menu above her head, counted out a few bills and coins, and handed them to Ijichi Hoshika.

“I’ll pay for her,” Shiina Tatsuki said.

Ijichi Seika took the money from Shiina Tatsuki, counted it, and then put it in the drawer.

How was it performing at STARRY?

Ichi Seika asked the girl in front of her.

Shiina Riki was taken aback, not expecting to hear such a caring question from the seemingly aloof woman in front of her.

After a brief hesitation, she didn't mince words about equipment or environment, but instead expressed her true feelings: "I had a great time performing, and I'm very grateful for your care."

Ijichi Hoshika smiled faintly, then lowered her head and continued working on her tasks.

The girls from "MYGO" had arrived next to Yoro Nai and started watching the arrogant Morgana.

Shiina Riki sat down on the high stool next to the counter and looked back at her teammates.

After a while, a thick wad of banknotes was pressed onto Shiina Tatsuki's hand. "Your share of the profits from today's performance."

Shiina Tatsuki didn't even bother to count it before immediately realizing the enormous amount, and quickly tried to decline, saying, "This is too much..."

"Remember to patronize STARRY's business again next time," Ijichi Seika's words cut off her refusal.

Shiina Tatsuki took the money, hesitated for a while, and then jumped off the chair, bowing deeply to Ijichi Seika. "Can we perform here again tomorrow? The band has a new song to rehearse."

"You are welcome anytime."

After making their promise, Shiina Tatsuki didn't return to her friends yet. Instead, she looked around STARRY and only realized after the performance that the decor, layout, and even the arrangement of the various rooms revealed some heartwarming details.

For example, the band "End" had just debuted, but their posters had already been made and were hanging on the wall next to a recording studio...

"Miss Ijichi, what made you start this livehouse?" Shiina Tatsuki murmured to herself in a low voice.

Why did we even open this livehouse...?

As Ichi Seika looked at the glass jar filled with mango jam on the table, she thought of the girl who was traveling in Atami, and the faint smile on her lips gradually disappeared.

......

[During the time when Ichika was obsessed with the band, one day, her mother took the initiative to find the band's rehearsal place and talked to her about many things.]

[For example, I hope that Ijichi Hoshika can take care of Nijika a little during breaks from band practice, and stop making Nijika cry and leaving her feeling lonely, such as taking Nijika to see a live performance...]

[But Ichiji Hoshika was engrossed in the process of pursuing their dreams with her friends and reaping a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, so she dismissed those words with a nonchalant attitude.]

However, that was the last time she saw her mother.

[Xingge and Hongxia's mother tragically passed away in a car accident involving a rear-end collision.]

At this moment, Ichichi Seika finally realized what she had missed.

To escape reality and hypnotize herself, she completely gave up the idea of ​​going home, isolating herself in the band's rehearsal room all day.

[Until she received a call from her father.]

After a long time, Ichiji Hoshika, her expression numb, finally returned home.

All the furnishings were exactly as they were when I left. From the entryway to the living room, and then to my own room, everything had been carefully cleaned, yet despite the thoroughness, a sense of unfamiliarity and clumsiness still lingered. My father's once upright back seemed to have snapped suddenly; he leaned against the sofa, his temples streaked with gray.

All the doors and windows of the house were tightly closed, yet a pervasive sense of desolation permeated the air.

"Xingge, take your sister out for a walk," the man, who should have been at the office, said, looking haggard.

"Hongxia...where is she?"

"She hasn't left her room all day."

Ichika tentatively approached her younger sister's room and knocked on the door. "Nijika?"

A long silence fell over the room.

After about a few minutes, a hoarse voice came from inside, "Sister...Sister?"

"I'm back... I'm sorry."

The door opened.

As if to atone for her sins, Ichiji Hoshika almost impatiently asked her younger sister, "Shall we go out together, buy some of our favorite snacks, or go to the nearby park..."

"No!" Ijichi Nijika interrupted Ijichi Seika almost immediately.

"Dad said...you haven't gone out for many days."

"I'm not going out!" Ijichi Nijika fled back to her room, and just as she was about to lock the door, Ijichi Seika quickly pushed it open and squeezed inside.

She tried to project an air of authority as the older sister, but saw Ijichi Nijika retreat in fear and disgust until she slammed against the wall, slowly collapsing to her knees and covering her face.

[This was the first time Ichika had seen her younger sister cry so bitterly.]

The girl's cries were tinged with heartbreaking despair and sorrow. She covered her face, tears streaming through her fingers.

【Ichika Hoshika reached out to her younger sister and pulled her up, "Shall we go out for a walk together?"

[Slap. A crisp sound. Ijichi Niyaka slapped away Ijichi Seika's outstretched hand, as if venting her blind and helpless anger and sorrow. She cried out to her sister, "I can't go out at all! My hair... I can't tie my hair up properly! Mom is gone!"]

A bone-chilling cold instantly froze his entire body; his once-beating heart seemed to freeze as well. Hot blood seeped through the fragile inner walls, gushing out from the hole.

[Ichi Hoshika noticed the burning, wet sensation on her face, and at that moment truly realized that the woman who would bring her medicine when she was sick, knock on the bathroom door when she forgot her underwear, and shout "Welcome home!" when she returned home would never appear in her life again.]

Tears seemed about to spill from her eyes, but she forced herself to suppress the overwhelming sorrow and regret churning within her heart in front of her younger sister.

[Never before has Ichiji Seika hated herself as much as she does now for choosing to run away from her mother's death, and she also hates herself more than ever for ignoring her sister's feelings.]

She wiped away her tears forcefully, then searched the room frantically. Her mother had kept all her hair ties, and now they were nowhere to be found… In the end, she could only tear the ribbon from the dessert box to tie Ichiji Nijika's hair.

"Now that your hair's all tied up, let's go out together... how about we go see your sister's band's live performance?" Ijichi Hoshika tried hard to calm herself down.

[When Ichika heard "band," she instinctively wanted to refuse, but her older sister pulled her up from the ground without saying a word.]

【...】

Music can always convey emotions that words cannot express.

This is Ijichi Seika's most perfect performance to date.

Hundreds and thousands of days and nights of practice, the love cultivated through life and performances—none of these seem to compare to the complete immersion required to perform for one's family.

[And the emotions conveyed were indeed passed on to Ijichi Nijika, who, watching Ijichi Seika shine so brightly on stage and hearing the cheers of countless people below, finally understood what kind of thing this band, which had once "taken away" her sister, truly was.]

As Ijichi Seika left the stage, she saw Ijichi Nijika standing motionless backstage, seemingly stunned. This time, she finally felt she had the right to say those words as her older sister.

"Hongxia, let's go home together."

From then on, Nijika Ijichi fell in love with rock music and idolized Seika Ijichi, wanting to become a musician as dazzling as her.

To fulfill Nijika Ijichi's dream, Seika Ijichi gave up her own band and, leveraging her accumulated connections and fame, established a livehouse for the two sisters in Shimokitazawa—STARRY.