Tokyo Psychic

Page 204

As she spoke, Izare Nina looked nervously at Kurusu Akira, who had been listening quietly to her the whole time, and said, "Don't laugh at me!"

“No one is laughing at you,” Akira Kurusu said, reaching out to stroke Serina Iza’s head. Seeing the girl squint and look very pleased, Akira’s eyes became even more pitying.

"Is it really possible for Nina to find a guy who meets all the criteria you mentioned to date?"

"I don't know," Izana grumbled, shaking her head and shaking off Akira's hand. "Anyway, I don't care whether I have a boyfriend or not! I have Amamiya, the band, and everyone in the club, that's enough!"

"What if I quit the band and the club?" the phantom thief casually asked Serina Izayoi.

The innocent and bewildered look on Jing Qinren's face vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of fear and unease as if she had done something wrong.

Did I say something wrong? Serina's expression clearly conveyed this.

Akira Kurusu flicked Serina Izayoi's forehead with her index finger. "This is just a very distant possibility. Why are you suddenly acting like you can't take care of yourself at all if you leave me?"

"It's all Amamiya's fault for suddenly saying such frightening things..."

So you're not denying that you can't take care of yourself without me?

"Who...who can live without you!" Izanagi completely forgot that she was in a train car, her face flushed red with anxiety, and her voice rose considerably.

The passengers in the carriage all turned their attention to the young couple, their eyes instantly softening with kindness and emotion.

Jing Qinrencai belatedly realized her lapse in composure. She stood there, clenching her fists as if she had lost her soul, tears welling up in her eyes.

Fortunately, the tram had already arrived at Shimokitazawa Station.

Taking advantage of the electronic announcement, Lai Qixiao took her hand and walked out of the carriage without saying a word.

With a cold expression, Iori Rencai tried to break free from Kurusu Akira's grasp.

But Lai Xixiao held her small hand tightly, giving her no chance to break free.

With tears welling in her eyes, Jingqin Rencai looked at Laixi Xiao and stood there, refusing to leave.

Akira Kurusu used her thumb to wipe away the tears from the corners of Serina Izayoi's eyes, and then almost forcibly dragged Serina Izayoi out of the waiting hall.

After walking out of the crowd, and after a few minutes, the shame, anger, and grievance in Jing Qinren's heart dissipated completely.

When Lai Qixiao bought a box of takoyaki from a roadside vendor and handed it to her to eat as they walked, the girl had already regained her usual carefree and innocent smile.

"You're not angry anymore?"

"Humph."

Akira Kurusu didn't discuss with Nina Izayoi who was right or wrong just now, but gently stroked the girl's hair, saying, "I will never leave you."

Izana paused for a moment, then broke into a radiant smile... She held up her slender little finger and brought it up to Akira Kurusu's face, "Then let's pinky swear!"

"Pinky promise, sir." Lai Qixiao spoke in a tone as if coaxing a child, almost forgetting how many times he had made such a childish and naive promise to her.

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172. Yao Lenai: It's such a struggle to eat a single bite of your cat food (3-in-1)

"Good evening, Ms. Ijichi."

Pushing open the STARRY store door, you see PA, the sound engineer you don't usually see, sweeping the stage with a broom.

"You're here so early, Hongxia and the others haven't gotten out of school yet..."

Next to the counter, Ijichi Hoshika opened a bottle of lychee-flavored Ramune soda and handed it to Iori Rencai, whose face was flushed. "Are you hot?"

"Hmm? Thank you..." Jingqin Rencai took the soda, took a few sips, and then, after confirming that no one was paying attention to her, she became bolder, abandoned her pretentious ladylike image, and began to drink heartily.

Akira Kurusu found the contract for today's live performance on the counter, and skillfully wrote down the names of each member of the "End Band" on it using a pen.

“I edited the band’s live video for you last night.” PA put the cleaning supplies in the bathroom, washed her hands, and then walked over to Lai Qixiao while drying her hands with a napkin. She took out the tablet computer behind the counter and found the live video of “End Band”’s debut performance in the concert hall yesterday in the editing software.

Akira Kurusu took the tablet computer and casually pulled a wired earphone from the pocket of Izanagi's shorts and plugged it into the computer.

Such overly intimate contact is something that even girls would almost never do... Even family members wouldn't be so offensive. Yet, Izare Jinna accepted Kurusu Akira's behavior, which was tantamount to "sexual harassment," without any resistance. She calmly drank her soda and enthusiastically shared with Ijichi Seika the obscure songs she had discovered that day, as well as discussing popular teenage idols.

Ichi Seika glanced discreetly at Akira Kurusu's hand as it reached into Serina Izumi's pocket.

She thought to herself, "These are shorts, and through the thin fabric inside, it's practically like... Oh well, let the young people handle their own affairs."

When the store manager of STARRY saw Akira Kurusu's handsome face, she felt that it was not surprising that a girl like Nina Izare, who was a super looks-obsessed girl, would have such a high level of affection for him.

Akira Kurusu took out the earphones, still warm from Iori Jinna's body temperature, connected them to the tablet, and pressed the play button on the screen.

The intro, featuring Izanagi's voice distorted through post-production, immediately grabbed his attention. What followed was a series of changes across several vocal ranges, accompanied by clear guitar sounds and the accompaniment of drums and keyboards... Even Akira Kurusu couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

He placed his palm on the top of Jingqin Rencai's head and rubbed it. The girl immediately showed a happy expression, but soon glared at the boy behind her with some annoyance, "Don't always treat me like a child!"

This is practically a coquettish statement... no, Nina's expression and tone are definitely coquettish. Her eyes are practically dripping with affection...

Ichiko Hoshika's eyelids twitched a few times, then she took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the overly mushy couple... Wait a minute? She suddenly realized something very important.

Ijichi Seika's gaze swept back and forth between Kurusu Akira and Iori Jinna.

So they still haven't officially started dating?!

......

"It was just a compliment on your singing."

Seeing Nina Izare's sullen expression, Akira Kurusu finally gave up on continuing to tease her and generously praised the girl's performance, "Nina is really talented. Even though it was her first time performing in a Livehouse, she was surprisingly uninhibited."

Just as Jingqin Rencai was showing an excited yet shy smile, about to say a few sentimental words, a soft and high-pitched voice came from inside the counter, like a kitten calling for its kind.

"Live?!"

Then, accompanied by a rustling sound, Kaname, wrapped in an air-conditioning blanket, sat up and stared at Akira Kurusu and Serina Iori next to the counter with her bright heterochromatic eyes.

"Nina! Ren!" Kaoru Nai crawled out of the blankets and came close to the two of them.

"Rakuna got out of school so early? ...I have to say, she's a middle school student after all." Akira Kurusu ignored the "fierce" look on Serina Izayoi's face as she puffed out her cheeks and tried to bare her teeth at Rakuna. She reached out and touched Rakuna's head, but didn't touch her cat ears, and was a little disappointed.

"Mmm... mmm..." Kaname squinted her eyes happily, enjoying Akira Kurusu's caresses. In this respect, she was exactly the same as Nina Iori, who liked to have her head patted, her chin scratched, and her cheeks rubbed by people she was close to.

When did Lena arrive here?

"15 PM...? 16 PM?" The girl tilted her head, somewhat confused, and began to ponder.

"What have you been doing since you came to STARRY?" Seeing Kaname's overly cute appearance, Akira Kurusu couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Sleep... um?" Kaname noticed that Akira Kurusu was holding her face and looked at the boy in front of her with some confusion.

But the next moment, the girl's eyes gradually closed, accompanied by a very pleasant nasal sound.

Okabe Akira's hands had already skillfully moved along Kaoru Nai's hair to massage her cheeks, and finally one hand massaged her earlobes and cheeks in turn, while the other hand scratched her chin.

Soon, Yoro Nai showed an expression as if her bones and muscles had completely gone limp, and she even made a comfortable "snoring" sound.

Jing Qinren slammed her hands on the table with a loud bang, yelling, "What are you doing?!"

Akira Kurusu didn't say anything, but reached out and cupped Izana's face in his hands, replicating the "massage service" he had just given Rakuna on Izana.

The previously aggressive Izana softened immediately, becoming even more submissive than Kaname. If she hadn't just sat on a high stool, she probably would have collapsed and couldn't stand up by now...

She didn't know what was wrong with her; it felt like an electric current was running through her body, and her heart was beating very fast. Rather than "shy," perhaps "happiness" would be a more accurate description of the feeling.

But Akira Kurusu's movements quickly stopped because Rakuna held his hands and stared at him with her wet eyes, "Continue."

The girl's voice was very soft, and her hands were so soft, they really felt like a cat's paw pads.

Ijichi Seika, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't stand it anymore. She took the "End Band" performance contract and went to the storage room to start organizing the drinks and ingredients that might be needed that night.

When she finished her inventory work and returned to the hall, the scene had become exceptionally harmonious.

Akira Kurusu sat behind the counter, with a wired in-ear headphone inserted into her left ear and Yoro Nai's right ear, the headphone wires connected to a tablet computer.

Jingqin Rencai lay on Kurusu Akira's lap, and the three of them watched the performance video on the tablet together.

The sound engineer, PA, was there chatting and laughing with them about the interesting things that happened after STARRY closed last night.

"Don't be fooled by Xingge's cold and indifferent expression. She actually asked me to help you edit this video... She even sat next to the computer and gave me feedback while we were editing."

"Hey! PA!"

"Haha, the tsundere attribute has become obsolete, hasn't it?" PA got up and left as if nothing had happened.

At this point, the performance video on the screen had been played for the fourth time.

Akira Kurusu took off her headphones and put them into Serina Izare's ears; they were taking turns using them.

However, Igarashi no longer had the inclination to listen to it again, because the other girls in the band were all going to STARRY, and STARRY was about to open for business, so she was too embarrassed to lie in Kurusu Akira's arms and act like a spoiled child in a public place.

After putting away her headphones, Yoruichi probably knew she wouldn't be able to listen to music anymore, so she clapped for Iori Nina.

"Nina, you're amazing."

"Hmm?~" Upon receiving praise from Kaname, Iori Nina immediately revealed a very smug expression.

Unexpectedly, Rakuna's praise ended there. She immediately bent down and took out her very old-looking guitar from the guitar case next to her. Without caring about the distance, she threw herself into Kurusu Akira's arms, looking at him with bright eyes, "Is that how you play that part?"

As the girl spoke, she hummed a melody and then plucked the guitar strings back and forth with a pick, perfectly replicating Akira Kurusu's impromptu solo after the climax.

Akira Kurusu looked at the guitar that looked like a cat scratching board in Kaoru's hand and said, "That's right, Kaoru plays it very well."

"Mmm!" Kaoru was so happy that she handed the guitar and pick to Akira Kurusu as well. "One more time!"

“I could actually use my own guitar.”

"My guitar is so cool!"

Looking at the battle-scarred guitar in her hands, Akira Kurusu could clearly feel the burning passion within it. "It's really cool."

"Grandma gave this to me!" Yao Le Nai's pride and joy when she spoke were just like a kitten showing off its prey to its owner.

So Akira Kurusu didn't refuse and, holding Rakuna's guitar, re-performed the solo she had just played.

To make it easier to subdue the little girl, he even called out the Persona "Dioscuri".

The door to the stairwell opened for STARRY.

As Toyokawa Shoko, carrying her schoolbag, stepped down the stairs, she saw "Dioscuri" floating above Kurusu Akira's head. She almost couldn't resist throwing her schoolbag at Akira's face—

Is this how you use your persona to please young girls?

Ferremont would cry in the Sea of ​​Hearts!

But it must be said that the effect is truly outstanding.

Kaoru listened intently to Akira Kurusu's performance, her expression suggesting she was even considering sitting directly in his lap to get a closer look at the unique "smell" and "sound" emitted when the guitar was played.

Izareina clapped for Akira Kurusu with great admiration and pride, but when she noticed Kaname Rakuna who was almost pressed against him, she showed a very sour expression.

Suddenly, the idea of ​​learning guitar popped into my head.

Shoko Toyokawa walked down the stairs, pushed open the door to the recording studio, threw her schoolbag onto the small sofa by the door, and then quickly approached them.

The round-toed leather shoes made a crisp, clattering sound on the floor.

Above the black floor and leather shoes, there were small white socks with lace trim, which glaringly caught Akira Kurusu's eye.

His gaze followed Toyokawa Shoko's small leather shoes and pretty white socks, along with the soft lines of her calves, all the way up until he finally saw the young lady of the Toyokawa family. "Good evening, Shoko."

Toyokawa Shoko looked at her boyfriend expressionlessly. "You seem to be enjoying this."

Did Xiangzi never experience being pursued and liked by two cats at the same time?

"We have never kept any pets at home."

"I thought that the young lady's family would at least have a pet dog like a golden retriever."

"Why do you say it's a golden retriever?" Toyokawa Shoko asked, looking puzzled.

"They appear honest and loyal, but are actually very cunning and shrewd. They occasionally come up with bad ideas. To put it bluntly, they are full of evil intentions, which fits the temperament of a chaebol."

"That's not true! And please don't insult this cute little dog!"

"..."

Ijichi Seika, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, finally lost her patience and decided to bring this group of teenagers, whose romantic relationships were so chaotic that they could proudly call themselves a "legitimate rock band," into the recording studio.

As the soundproof door closed, she belatedly realized...

My sister seems to be in this band too?

Suddenly I'm kind of hoping they can just "end" like their band name suggests.

About ten minutes later, Yamada Ryo and Ijichi Nikka arrived at STARRY in their school uniforms.

"Sister! Where is Morgana?!"