Tokyo Psychic

Page 197

Just as Akira Kurusu turned around and continued walking towards the train station, the untimely rumble of wheels scraping against the ground sounded behind her again.

Turning around, I saw that Yoro Nai had followed me again, sneaking around like a cat.

"You must have your own home, right?... Never mind, I'll take you home. Just tell me the address and I'll use navigation."

Akira Kurusu stopped in place again, and Rakuna Kaname also stopped in place, dragging her guitar.

“SPACE,” Yoro Nai said crisply.

"That place is closed today, tell me about your other home."

The girl fell silent, looking at Lai Qixiao with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

"I can't take you home."

"Why?" Yao Lena couldn't understand why the boy in front of her, who had given her delicious candy, let her smell the guitar, and listened to her playing, would refuse to let her come along—in her mind, doing that would make them very, very close friends.

"You can only bring people you like home to spend the night." Akira Kurusu tried to persuade Rakuna with childish words that even a cat could understand.

Unexpectedly, the cat-like girl nodded vigorously after a few seconds of troubled thought.

Guitars, matcha, scents—all sorts of complex things were categorized into the girl's simple and naive way of thinking.

Those heterochromatic eyes blinked once, then shone brightly in the streetlights.

"I like you."

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(Today's chapter is a "two-in-one" and a "three-in-one" chapter, totaling 10,000 words! Please vote with monthly tickets!!!)

163. The Secret of Wanting Renai (Part 2)

"I like you."

Kaoru Rakuna accomplished with effortless ease what a certain 17-year-old rock band lead singer from Kumamoto Prefecture, who loved listening to "Sora no Hako" (The Empty Box), was petite, raised in a strict family, and was a high school student, had failed to do in two months.

Her silver-white, medium-length hair shone brightly under the streetlights. Her heterochromatic eyes, bright yellow and deep blue, gazed at the boy in front of her. A faint smile suddenly appeared on her childlike face. The smile was so pure and untainted by any other qualities, like a glass case displaying an exhibit in an art gallery. You could feel the genuine closeness and affection that was impossible to refuse from her eyes, her smile, and even the slight changes in her tone.

Akira Kurusu knew perfectly well that at this moment, with just a little guidance and seduction, he could easily capture the entire attention of this naive girl, distorting this sincere and pure "friendship" into an experience she would never forget...

But is Lena really that easily swayed?

Akira noticed that her gaze occasionally fell on Mutsuka Wakaba... Just then, the girl took a step back, revealing a somewhat puzzled look in her eyes.

Cats are indeed very sensitive to danger.

So Akira Kurusu reminded himself that Rakuna was just a 14-year-old junior high school student, and a girl from an all-girls school at that, with no experience of interacting with the opposite sex, and a strange girl who couldn't be judged by common sense.

We should view her current "liking" in a correct and objective way.

Rakuna doesn't understand romance at all. She just thinks she and Akira Kurusu are good friends, so it's only natural for her to try to get closer...

Perhaps he should be considered slightly higher than a "friend," after all, he saved the girl's true "home."

Thinking this through, Akira Kurusu began to ponder how to send Yoru Nai back to her parents.

Remember that Lena has a guardian.

While she was pondering, Kaoru suddenly became a little impatient. She stepped closer in her ankle boots and tried to look into Akira Kurusu's eyes by standing on tiptoe.

Yoro repeated what she had just said.

"I like you."

Then, she tilted her head and looked at Akira Kurusu, "And you?"

Out of consideration for the little girl, Akira Kurusu wanted to naturally reply with "I like you too"... Just as she was about to make such a statement, she noticed that Mutsuka Wakaba suddenly looked somewhat confused or even shocked, so she silently swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Times are changing too fast. Although they all belong to the category of "middle school students", there seems to be a sad barrier between "junior high school students" and "high school students".

Kaoru seemed to notice Akira's embarrassment during his silence, and took a small step forward, almost pressing her entire body into Akira's arms.

Under Wakaba Mutsu's incredulous gaze, Kaname Rakuna nuzzled her head into Kurusu Akira's palm... she was practically a stray cat trying to befriend humans.

"Do you want to get a cat?" Wakaba Mutsu sensed the wavering deep in Kurusu Akira's heart.

"Let me find a place to stay tonight... Besides, we can't let this girl stay overnight, her guardian will be worried." Akira Kurusu stroked Kaname Rakuna's hair, and the girl's eyes narrowed immediately, seemingly enjoying Akira Kurusu's touch.

In the night breeze, I suddenly heard Kaoru Nai's light, airy voice.

"It's ok."

Just a moment ago she was clingy, but now she's calmly backing away.

It was time for Lena to go home. "There's one last tram," she said, picking up her guitar and turning to leave. But the way she kept turning back to look at herself revealed the girl's reluctance to leave.

"See you tomorrow," she said.

Realizing Akira Kurusu's predicament, she decided to leave despite her reluctance.

"Hey! We can't stand it anymore!" Morgana suddenly leaped out of the moonlight and stood in front of Yoro.

It shouted at Akira Kurusu behind the girl, "Phantom Thief! Haven't you realized that this guy is actually 'homeless'?!"

Of course, Yoro has a family, but that's not the "place to belong" she truly longs for.

The girl who poured all her passion into playing the guitar dreamed of a haven called "SPACE," the performance hall that nurtured her love for the guitar.

It is often said that cats are fickle, and even when they move house again and again, they can always quickly adapt to new environments.

But that was just for survival, to stop a heart from wandering... No one really thought that the cat was also confused, wondering why her favorite little nest disappeared overnight, and why that "SPACE" filled with laughter would never be opened again.

No one told her the answer, nor did anyone explain when "SPACE" would open... Of course, someone did try to explain it to Kaoru, but she simply couldn't understand it.

She couldn't understand the complex and profound ideals her grandmother described when she closed "SPACE," nor could she empathize with those around her... The girl's simple world could only contain the happiness and contentment of playing guitar, tasting matcha, and communicating with cats.

But Yoro is not a real cat after all, and this magical girl who is like a cat will grow up sooner or later... whether she likes it or not.

Perhaps it was precisely to change the current state of Yoroi, and at the same time to change those bands who regarded "SPACE" as their "ideal destination" and shouted "I want to play here for the rest of my life," that the old man who nurtured one band after another through "SPACE" personally closed this concert hall that connected countless memories and bonds.

So, the "homeless" Yoro Nai wandered between the school and her grandmother's newly opened café, blindly waiting for an answer that had become meaningless.

Although Yoro later found a nice "place to stay" in that cafe, the encounter over a few short months could never replace the "SPACE" that allowed her to take her first step in exploring the world through music.

Just as she was preparing to settle for the status quo, stay in "MYGO," and make the band her life... a miracle happened.

On the day that Kaoru played with the stray cats in the open-air parking lot converted from the abandoned "SPACE" site, the performance hall she had dreamed of countless times, the "SPACE" that had been completely dead, was "resurrected".

The boy who saved "SPACE" is quite funny.

The girls in it are also very interesting.

Kaname Rakuna likes the new "SPACE" and everyone in it.

I almost forgot, it's no longer called "SPACE" and there are no more band activities there... It's now the secret base of the "Mind Thieves".

This is a secret that Rana promised the phantom thieves not to tell anyone.

......

"You mean, you want me to take in a junior high school student from an all-girls school overnight as a high school student? Do you want to see me arrested by the police tomorrow?!" Akira Kurusu was still trying to correct Morgana's point of view.

"Why don't you just go home with her?" Morgana unexpectedly uttered a surprising statement.

"Do you think she's willing?" Akira chuckled, but as soon as she finished speaking, a very slender hand pressed down on his wrist.

Kaoru took a tug at Akira Kurusu's sleeve and shook it gently, "Let's go together."

Akira Kurusu thought for a moment but still didn't intend to stay overnight at Rakuna's house. However, out of concern for her walking alone at night, she decided to accompany her on the train.

"Let's go."

The phantom thief allowed Rakuna to lead him to the tram station.

Ruoye Mutsu took the guitar from Rakuna's hands and then gently stroked her head.

The girl shook her head happily.

“It really looks exactly like a cat…” Wakaba Mutsu murmured to herself.

Little girls can't resist something so cute.

......

They saw the two-legged creatures leaving Shimokitazawa in droves.

Morgana, who had been following them all along, was finally relieved. He licked his dusty paws and then disappeared into the shadows of the building.

No one noticed the black cat disappear into thin air.

at the same time.

Sakura House, Bedroom.

Jing Qinrencai was scratching her head, looking at a bunch of incomprehensible reading comprehension questions on her English test paper.

I'm feeling inexplicably irritable.

The message I sent to Akira Kurusu ten minutes ago is still in the "unread" status.

They clearly said I could ask them any questions I didn't understand, what a despicable liar... At this moment, Izayoi had selectively forgotten that Akira Kurusu's original words were, "Ask me anything you don't understand, I'll help you answer it when I have time."

Occasionally, she would reflect on whether she was too dependent on Lai Qixiao. When she encountered a problem, her first reaction was not to try to solve it independently, but to seek Lai Qixiao's help or ask for his opinion.

Jingqin Rencai had thought about whether she should be independent and grow up—but the result of independence was not to rely on Laixi Xiao.

The most direct consequence of this "independence" is that the already limited number of common topics between the two people will immediately decrease to almost nothing.

When Ishigami Rina thought that if she didn't have Kurusu Akira, she would really lose the courage to live in Tokyo, she silently gave up those wild thoughts.

Knowing that she was often treated like a child by Akira Kurusu, she had no way to "resist" the situation except by throwing tantrums.

If Akira Kurusu were here, she would definitely think to herself that Serina Ii's so-called temper tantrum was just a girlfriend being affectionate with the boy she likes.

Izayoi also vaguely realized that her relationship with Akira Kurusu could not be simply explained by the word "friends".

When others bring up the topic of love, even a 17-year-old girl can't help but dream and yearn for it.

Then, focus your expectant gaze on the boy who is closest to you, the most outstanding, and the one you like the most.

But the thought of what if she guessed wrong, what if she did something wrong, what if she upset Akira Kurusu... made Jinnai Izare fear that Akira Kurusu would leave her like the girl who had once promised that "we would be best friends for life," so Jinnai Izare didn't even dare to try to imagine it.

Especially after hearing that Akira Kurusu was dating An and Subaru from Class C, and hearing various rumors about Akira Kurusu's relationships with the girls in the band, Nina Igarashi had to try even harder to ignore the distance between herself and Akira Kurusu.

It's fine if we're just friends.

Even if in the future, when our hair turns white and we become those old ladies and gentlemen with hunched backs, leaning on canes, chatting and rambling on the streets of Shigenchaya, we can still greet each other with a smile and say, "Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening."

You can complain about the flaws in a digital record from your youth, you can laugh at how each generation of young bands is worse than the last, and you can reminisce about the stars and idols who have become tombstones.

Walking into a coffee shop while shopping can easily waste an entire day.

I hope televisions can still be used by the elderly, and I hope coffee shops don't always chase trends... I've heard that recently a lot of combinations like "fruit + coffee" and "alcoholic coffee" have emerged.

A few days ago, when Mr. Sakura Sojiro heard middle school students nearby mocking the "uncool and plain" types of coffee, he was so angry that he almost plucked out his beard.

Well, by the time she and Akira Kurusu are both old and gray, LeBron will have been bankrupt for quite some time.

Anyway... at worst, everyone can sit on the swings or slides, watch the children playing around, and chat about a mundane, uneventful past:

For example, when Lai Qixiao attends class, he likes to stand his books upright and play games with his phone inside the book cover, giving the teacher a sense of humiliation that "knows he is playing games but can do nothing about it".

For example, every day in April, when Akira Kurusu received the lunchbox from her junior classmate Yoshizawa, she would always pick and choose with her chopsticks, stuffing the side dishes that looked very high in calories into her own lunchbox.

For example, one week when Akira Lai took her to school, he would secretly buy a carton of milk from a convenience store near the school and slip it into her backpack every day...

Jing Qinrencai put down her pen and rolled around on the bed.

Facing the stark white light, the person and thing on my mind was Akira Kuriki.

She had almost forgotten how much time had passed.

As she felt her eyes welling up with tears, the girl hugged the pillow she had tormented beyond recognition and murmured to herself.

"It seems like it's been a long time since I went to school with him..."

......

【PM. 9:03】

A magnificent Japanese garden.

A stylishly dressed old woman leaned against the vermilion door, staring unfriendly at the boy who wanted Lena to hold her hand.