Tokyo Psychic

Page 209

I vaguely remember that six years ago, when I was in elementary school at Misaki Hatsune Academy, the school was called "Private Gekkokan Academy". I never expected that not long after I entered junior high school, it would be renamed "Private Yuki Academy".

Misaki Misaki's only impression of the surname "Yuki" was probably when she and Toyokawa Shoko, who was visiting the artificial island, happened to pass by the high school in the fourth grade of elementary school and accepted an invitation from the school's sponsor to conduct a "Shadow Partial Manifestation Experiment"... After all the disasters happened, a club called the "Special Extracurricular Activities Club" asked her and Toyokawa Shoko about the various circumstances of the incident in the hospital room.

As the illegitimate daughter of the Toyokawa family, Misaki Misaki has been very good at identifying the person of the "highest status" in a space as quickly as possible by observing the gazes and expressions of people in the environment.

I vaguely remember that the senior students in the higher education department respected a boy who looked very aloof and remained silent throughout.

Everyone calls him "Yuki-kun" or "Ry".

It wasn't until March 5th of the following year, just before spring break was about to begin, that Misaki Miku saw the name "Yuuki Risa" again on the school forum during computer class.

Aside from a long list of various competition champions and incomprehensible titles, the perfect scores on those tests alone are enough to amaze even a primary school student.

However, since that day, there have been no more updates on the campus forum regarding "Yuki Risa".

The dynamic date was forever frozen at "March 5, 2016".

......

After being sent to Tatsumi Artificial Harbor Island by the Toyokawa family, Misaki Miku spent a very peaceful childhood.

The school on the artificial island has excellent educational conditions, which will allow her to successfully complete her studies from elementary to high school.

If it weren't for Toyokawa Shoko's sudden intrusion, she might never have had the idea of ​​returning to Tokyo.

Misaki Misaki constantly reminisces about the day she spent briefly with Toyokawa Shoko... Even though it was a disastrous day, and even though six years have passed, she still clearly remembers every single moment they experienced that day.

She knew very well that supernatural forces must exist in this world... "Shadows," a twisted and terrifying existence that seemed like a demon.

As she grew older, she also began to suspect that the "Kiritō Group," which funded the private Gekkōkan Academy, was conducting research on supernatural entities.

The high school club that visited the ward at that time was perhaps, just like the story in the manga, a team responsible for dealing with these "supernatural phenomena".

But from the moment "Moonlight Pavilion Academy" was renamed "Yuki Academy," Misaki Misaki vaguely and confusedly perceived the changes around her:

Online discussions about the Kirijo Group dwindled until they disappeared completely.

The photo of the third student council president, "Kiritō Mitsuru," which was hanging in the teaching building, was removed.

The artificial island where superpowers were being secretly researched has been taken over by the String Scroll Group.

No students at the school mention the abandoned school name "Moonlight Hall" anymore.

After being transferred to the elementary school, Mr. Miyahara no longer frequently mentioned the names of his most outstanding students, and the "Special Extracurricular Activities Club" could no longer be found on the school's forum.

After arriving in Tokyo, Miku Miku repeatedly tried to mention her childhood experience to Shoko Toyokawa when she contacted her online.

Without exception, Toyokawa Shoko showed lingering fear and worry, but she completely forgot about the conversation just a few hours later.

Only after she made a concerted effort to reiterate the details did Toyokawa Shoko suddenly recall the relevant information...

But no matter what Misaki Miku tried, she could not convey to Toyokawa Shoko any of the precious day she felt redeemed, or any of her emotions and thoughts.

All related memories seem to be shrouded in an invisible fog, and the cognition of all those who experienced them has become blurred.

......

Miku looked at the school uniform bathed in moonlight, then stood up and drew the curtains.

The bedroom was immediately plunged into complete darkness.

She lay on the bed, covered with blankets, perhaps only in this dark environment, which resembled a sewer, could she feel a little safe.

Today's experience left Misaki feeling incredibly exhausted, and she fell into a deep sleep almost immediately after closing her eyes.

But just as her consciousness was fading, she seemed to have returned to "Private Moonlight Academy" once again.

The clothes she was wearing had been changed into a primary school uniform.

Her younger sister, Mitsumi Hatsuka, sat in the seat next to her, her face beaming with an innocent and childlike smile...

I remember the triangle Hatsune Miku.

This is a graduation ceremony from elementary school.

Senior members of junior high and high school clubs came to the observatory to organize a performance.

The very spacious theater at the observatory turned off all its lights.

Until suddenly, a soft, moon-like light illuminated the stage.

And so, all the memories seemed to begin to shift out of place...

Misaki Miku vaguely remembered that she had performed on stage with the drama club.

But after waiting for a long time, the drama club's stage play never came. Just as the curtain was drawn back, they suddenly heard a very rough friction sound coming from above the stage.

It's like a heavy object being dragged along by something.

It was probably because the connection part, which resembled a steel wire, suddenly broke, and a huge moon model fell down, but was held up in mid-air by the remaining steel wire, so it did not fall directly to the ground.

A blue-haired boy with bangs that covered half of his face lay on the moon model.

Misaki Miku remembers him... his name is "Yuuki Risa".

Yuki suddenly opened her eyes and looked down at Mitsu Miku.

It was a dark golden eye, devoid of any emotion, empty, numb, and filled with despair.

It's like a corpse that's been pushed forward by past mistakes until even death crosses over to reach the other side of "meaninglessness".

With just one glance, Misaki Miku felt as if she were being swallowed up by a despair that made her feel like the whole world was collapsing.

Just as her ability to think was about to be stripped away—

Crack...crack...deep inside the stage, behind the curtain, the sound of ice breaking was suddenly heard.

A figure with the exact same appearance as the boy on the moon model stepped out from behind the curtain.

Yuki Risa was covered in a thick layer of white frost. He held a rapier in his hand, pointing the blade at "himself" above his head.

In that instant, the observatory seemed to disappear into the distance, the younger sister beside him vanished, and one by one, the classmates in the theater disappeared.

The air became exceptionally cold.

When Misaki Miku regained consciousness, the scene before her had transformed into an enormous, magnificent door.

The environment she was in now resembled the moon, which she had seen in various images before.

The sheer weight and size of the door standing before Miku Miku's triangle surpassed all descriptions she could conceive.

The boy holding the sword in the theater has already struck the pose of Jesus' ascension, becoming a sculpture frozen on the door.

A loud crashing sound could be faintly heard coming from the other side of the door.

As if responding to the voice behind the door, "Yuki Risa," who had just been lying on the moon model, approached the door that reflected the light of the universe step by step.

Yuki, who had been transformed into a sculpture, seemed to suddenly regain the strength to move.

As Yuki Risa tried to approach the gate, a very obvious clenching mark appeared on his throat, and at the same time, countless cracks emanating light appeared on his body.

At extremely close range, Miku clearly heard a calm voice drifting from the gate.

"Go back."

......

The next instant, it was as if my soul had been detached from its body and then forcibly stuffed back into it.

Miku Miku shivered, suddenly sat up in bed, and took a deep breath.

The curtains, which had been drawn, had somehow been pulled open to the sides.

The clear moonlight shone on her, like sharp knives placed on ice, icy cold and sharp enough to pierce the skin.

......

【PM. 9:52】

The tram carriages were empty.

Akira Kurusu sat alone by the window.

As if sensing something, he suddenly looked up at the window behind him.

My eyes followed the city's tall buildings upwards until I saw the bright, clear moon.

Something terrible must have happened in a very far place.

The tram stopped at the station, and the sliding doors opened and closed with a loud sound.

The silver-haired little girl entered the carriage carrying a heavy encyclopedia of Personas.

"Ravenda, you sensed it too, didn't you?"

“Yes, my ‘master’.” The girl in front of her was just a phantom, but she still bowed gracefully to Akira Kurusu as always, then carefully sat down in Akira Kurusu’s lap while holding the book.

Lavenda opened the encyclopedia in her hand and pointed to the name of the Persona called "Adam Camus of Original Sin".

The text is glowing.

“The ashes left behind after the Messiah’s ascension are more active than ever before; it’s spontaneously attempting to revive,” Ravenda said in a voice as soft as rubbing a silver spoon against porcelain or as gentle as a feather falling. “Something terrible is about to happen.”

"Messiah" is the persona that Shiomi Kotone, a former contractor of the Velvet Room, awakens after reaching the end of her personal journey.

After she completed her great mission of saving the world, the remains of this Persona in the Velvet Room became incredibly precious "materials".

"......I see."

Ravenda closed the book, placed her small hand on the cover, and her pretty face tensed up. "You don't seem to have fully understood what I mean."

Akira Kurusu hesitated several times before saying something, then said, "Shiomi-senpai won't be coming back."

“Yes,” Ravenda said, “but just as there exists another version of you in this world with completely different circumstances, theoretically there should also exist a similar but different ‘Shiomi Kotone’.”

Should I be looking forward to this?

"Rather than anticipating, you should be more vigilant... Please don't forget the mission that the 'Messiah' Persona was given at its inception."

Akira Kurusu reached out and stroked Ravenda's head. "Did you come here specifically because you were worried I would make an irrational choice?"

After a brief silence, Ravenda shifted her position slightly, making it easier to snuggle into her contractor's arms.

She couldn't help but sigh, "After all, your intuition is always very sharp, and our enemy happens to be hiding in the spiritual temples of those sinners. If this target really is related to the 'Messiah'..."

“We have no reason to lose,” Akira Kurusu suddenly said. “Although I don’t know what kind of person ‘Shiomi-senpai’ is in this world, I believe he must be someone I respect.”

"Perhaps the enemy we are about to face is like 'Toudou,' which we faced recently, and is an existence born from anomalies and errors."

"..."

The tram arrived at the station again.

As new passengers entered the carriage, Ravenda, who was in Akira Kurusu's arms, vanished without a trace—in fact, no one could have seen her anyway.

Even the conversation between Akira and Ravenda just now didn't happen in reality.

The surveillance footage from the train carriage showed only that Akira Kurusu suddenly turned around and looked out the window, then leaned against the window and stared blankly for a long time.

My phone, which was in my pocket, kept vibrating.

Akira Kurusu picked up her phone and, sure enough, it was a Line message from Nina Iori.

[Jingqinrencai: Help! Help! I've forgotten how to solve that geometry problem in my math homework yesterday!]

[Three Jumps (Kurasu Akira): You mean... you didn't hand in your homework yesterday?]

[Izakura Rena: With so many mistakes, I'll definitely get killed by Professor Ito if I hand it in!]

[Three ships jumping: You're typing too slowly, give me a call.]

The phone screen was immediately filled with the "Call Request" page.

When Akira heard the anxious and embarrassed voice of Izanagi, many of the frustrations that had been weighing on her heart instantly dissipated.

177. Akira Kurusu: Yes, I like mature older women (two-in-one)

(Additional updates at the end of the month: 1/10, 2/10)

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Late at night, listening to the girl I like complain about her academic troubles, explaining math problems over the phone, saying goodnight to each other, and putting my phone back in my pocket after turning off the screen, I vaguely felt the reality of youth.

A warm night breeze blew aside her messy bangs, and through her large, non-prescription glasses, one could see Akira Kurusu's deep gray eyes, which seemed to be filled with inexplicable thoughts.

The phantom thief walked out of the tram station. The white-collar worker who was going to work the night shift squatted down at the exit to tie her shoelaces, then stood up and hurriedly walked down the tram, brushing past him.