Tokyo Psychic

Page 214

Toyokawa Shoko bit her lip. "Ask her what she wants to do."

Akira Kurusu picked up her phone, tapped the chat bubble, and then typed on the numeric keypad, "Mizoku-kun, is there anything I can help you with?"

[Hatsuka Sanka: I'm very sorry about what happened that day. Although the reasons behind it are actually very complicated, I did something stupid...]

[Sanjiao Chuhua: I hope we can meet sometime to talk. Xiangzi and I are actually very good friends, so I'd like to clear up this misunderstanding.]

"Good friends?" Anwa Subaru asked Toyokawa Shoko curiously, "Have you known each other before?"

Looking at the screen, Toyokawa Shoko keenly caught the key word: "you," which meant limiting the meeting to her boyfriend himself.

She then considered the context, and her expression suddenly turned gloomy.

"I don't know this guy."

"Then... Ren, should we go see her?" Anwa Subaru noticed Toyokawa Shoko's embarrassment and awkwardness, so he cleverly changed the subject.

“It is indeed necessary to meet her.” Akira Kurusu recalled the relationship between “Hatsuka Triangle” and the Toyokawa family that Shoko Toyokawa had mentioned, and made a decision after a brief moment of thought.

[Four ships jumping: We can meet.]

[Four Jumps: Which time do you think is most suitable, Triangle Student?]

It seemed as if they were eagerly awaiting Akira Kurusu's reply.

Misaki Miku typed a line of text almost the instant Akira Kurusu sent the message.

[Sanjiao Chuhua: How will things be after school tomorrow?]

[Four Jumps: I have to attend band practice, I won't be free until after 7 PM.]

[Sanko Chuka: Let's meet at 7 o'clock then, at STARRY.]

【...】

After dealing with Misaka Hatsuka, Akira Kurusu sensed that Toyokawa Shoko beside her was about to explode at any moment.

Even the now fully mature Toyokawa Shoko feels incredibly ashamed, embarrassed, and angry about the fact that her blood-related aunt is eyeing her boyfriend.

"Why did you agree to her request?" Toyokawa Shoko tugged at Raiki Akira's hand.

“No matter what, she is still your father’s ‘sister’,” Akira Kurusu said. “Don’t forget, I will also be considered a member of the Toyokawa family from now on.”

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(Due to review reasons, I have to publish this chapter in two parts, so there will be another chapter tonight...)

(It's the beginning of the month, and all the votes have been refreshed, so please cast your votes a little! Tonight, the latest side story, "Wakaba Mutsumi's First Night," will be serialized in the full subscription group.)

182. New Home

Akira Kurusu has almost forgotten how long it's been since she last tried taking a nap.

Originally, I just wanted to lie in Wakaba Mutsu's arms and take a nap. I set an alarm and planned to sleep until the band's rehearsal time.

Smelling the rich fragrance of shower gel and laundry detergent mixed with the girl's body heat, Akira quickly fell asleep.

As Wakaba Mutsu leaned against the pillows on the sofa, he was also surprised that the phantom thief, who was always invincible in his memory, would show such a sleepy expression.

She stroked Akira's messy hair, then slipped her fingers inside and gently combed it neatly.

Sixteen-year-old Mutsumi Wakaba is leaving home for the first time. Before she has truly learned to live independently, she has to learn to take care of the boy she likes.

Ruoye Mu placed her palm on Kurusu Akira's chest, which rose and fell slowly with her breathing, and then looked up at the unfamiliar living room in front of her. Although it was far from the luxurious villa, it had a warmth and happiness that she had never dared to hope for before.

The afternoon was peaceful.

Toyokawa Shoko went out; she planned to put a piano in the living room.

An and Subaru returned to their bedroom next door, 301, where they needed to practice the drum part of the new song a little longer before Ebizuka Tomokazu and Rupa returned.

Holding Akira in her arms, Wakaba Mutsu quickly felt sleepy in the quiet and pleasant environment. After her eyelids drooped several times, they finally closed completely.

The boy and girl fell asleep embracing each other on the sofa.

By the time the alarm clock rang, the golden sunlight outside the window had turned into a mesmerizing wine red.

Akira Kurusu tried to reach under the pillow behind her neck to take out her ringing phone... but her hand was stopped halfway by something soft.

She belatedly realized that she was lying on Wakaba Mutsu's lap.

Wakaba Mutsu opened her eyes groggily, and upon seeing Kurusu Akira, a very faint smile appeared on her face. "Good evening."

Then she found Lai Xixiao's phone on the coffee table next to her and handed it to him.

Akira turned off the alarm on her phone. Instead of replying to the backlog of Line messages, she cupped Mutsuka's face in her hands and, under the girl's bewildered gaze, played with her face back and forth.

"Xiao Mu just smiled."

Wakaba Mutsu looked at Kurusu Akira with a blank expression, clearly unaware of the situation, and then became somewhat worried, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"Is it not allowed?" Wakaba Mutsu asked Kurusu Akira cautiously.

"I just think Mu has a very beautiful smile."

A faint blush rose on Ruoye Mu's cheeks. She tried to look around to avoid Laixi Xiao's gaze, but she couldn't move her head properly. So she could only look at him shyly.

I didn't know what to say. I felt a tingling, itchy sensation in my heart, like a kitten kneading. So I hugged Lai Qixiao and buried my face in his chest, rubbing against him repeatedly.

"I'm going out." Akira Kurusu played with Mutsumi Wakaba's silky long hair and the small ears beneath it.

After a long while, they heard Wakaba Mutsu reluctantly say "Mmm," and then obediently let go of Kurusu Akira.

As we parted, I heard the girl sitting on the sofa say in a very soft voice, "Go home early."

As Lai Qixiao reached the entrance, she turned back to look at the girl kneeling on the sofa, staring intently at her back. Her pale golden eyes seemed to speak volumes as she gazed at her without blinking. Her beautiful face, bathed in the setting sun, was half shrouded in shadow, as if radiating a childlike, mischievous smile. The other half seemed to be veiled in light, silent and still. Her slender body cast a long shadow, making her appear even more frail and endearing.

"I'm going out," Akira Lai repeated.

Ruoye Mutsu nodded gently, then said, "I will take good care of the house."

Even as the door closed, Lai Xixiao felt her steps become somewhat heavy.

This is a sense of responsibility.

Akira Kurusu savored this weighty feeling before walking down the stairs.

The scorching twilight cast his shadow on the white wall beside him, and he was no longer alone.

As I passed by room 301, I noticed that the door was open and that Ebizuka Tomo was tapping on a rolled-up sheet of music to distracted Goto Ichiri.

Goto Ichiri, clutching his guitar, trembled under Ebizuka Tomo's stern rebuke.

An and Subaru noticed Akira Kurusu passing by the door and smiled sweetly at him.

Following An and Subaru's smiles, Kita Ikuyo also noticed this exceptionally handsome senior band member and happily waved to him.

Rupa smiled and nodded to Akira Kurusu.

Only Ebizuka Tomo suddenly remembered that this guy had almost seen his naked body, so he sullenly turned his face away and pretended not to see him.

Goto Ichiri also wanted to greet Kurusu Akira, but Ebizuka Satoshi had already hit her on the head with the sheet music in his hand.

The girl could only cover her forehead and sob, promising that she would practice diligently.

......

As always, the door to STARRY was opened.

The girls who had finished their band activities have all gathered together.

However, STARRY was much more lively than usual today.

When Akira Kurusu pushed open the door, she immediately noticed the five beautiful young women next to the counter.

They were wearing the school uniforms of Tsukinomori, and with their looks that were widely circulated online... it turned out that the entire "Morfonica" group had gathered at this performance hall.

Kurata Mashiro saw Kurusu Akira walk into STARRY and approached her enthusiastically, "We meet again! Amamiya-kun!"

"What brings Miss Kurata here?"

"Ah, I heard that everyone has been practicing in this performance hall recently, so I thought I'd come and join in the fun."

Akira Kurusu glanced at Seika Ijichi behind the counter, her smile a mixture of bitterness and joy. "If the news of the performance gets out, this hall won't be able to hold all your fans."

Kurata Mashiro, however, said with experience, "It's okay, we've been through this before, so we usually request that today's tickets be changed to online reservations when performing in a Livehouse."

"..."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Akira Lai followed his bandmates into their usual recording studio.

As soon as I sat down on the sofa, I saw Izanagi Rina approaching with a curious look on her face, circling around Akira Kurusu.

"what are you doing?"

"Amamiya smells especially nice today!"

"what happened?"

“I’ve never smelled it before! And…” Izare Nina thought for a moment before saying, “And Amamiya seems a little different than before.”

Although that's what she said, she couldn't figure out exactly what had changed, so she kept asking Lai Xixiao if she had used any special perfume.

As Toyokawa Shoko watched the two playfully bickering, she inexplicably felt like laughing, but then realized it wouldn't be appropriate to laugh out loud, so she forced herself to put on a serious expression.

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(This is the second half that wasn't posted yesterday; today's update is being written.)

183. Steel Sister Complex and the Cat Thief

December 22, 2022.

There are three days left until the "Morfonica Seibu Dome Concert".

The mercury-like lights shone on Jing Qinrencai's sweaty face. The girl who used to stammer and be unable to give a complete self-introduction to passersby on the street can now naturally face an entire audience in a performance hall.

The members of the "End Band" bowed to the audience below the stage and then began to leave.

The next band to take the stage was Morfonica, and the fans who had booked tickets immediately erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Jingqinrencai showed a somewhat envious expression.

She sat on the sofa in the rest area and asked Akira Kurusu, who was sitting next to her.

"Shouldn't they be able to perform at the Budokan?"

Shoko Toyokawa said as if reciting a familiar story, "Morfonica has already performed at the Budokan. The concert we're going to attend next is scheduled at the Seibu Dome, which is a venue that can hold 35,000 people, three times the capacity of the Budokan."

Only then did Jing Qinrencai belatedly realize, "Then wouldn't we be...?"

“We only had two songs, and we were performing as guests. It had nothing to do with our abilities; we were just being taken care of by our seniors,” Toyokawa Shoko explained to Izare Nina. “If we can make the most of this opportunity, our popularity will see a very significant increase.”

Yamada Ryo, who was holding an iced cola, leaned closer and said slyly, "Maybe we can even surpass 'Diamond Dust' in terms of fan count."

Jing Qinren suddenly straightened up, like a kitten with its fur standing on end, and looked around nervously, "Diamond Dust... What happened to Diamond Dust?!"

Everyone present knew about the relationship between Izanagi and the new lead singer of "Diamond Dust." They looked at each other for a while, and even Momoka Kawahara, who seemed the most nonchalant, couldn't help but cover her forehead, speechless.

The girls from "MYGO" quickly gathered around. As a new group that was also taken care of by industry veterans and was a band specially invited to the concert, they had a lot in common—of course, most of their common topics revolved around Toyokawa Shoko.

Before Yao Le Nai could even put his guitar back in its box, the "End Band" came off stage and hurriedly approached Lai Qixiao to share their "family heirloom" with him.

Akira Kurusu seemed to have anticipated Rakuna's performance, so she took out the matcha-flavored milk candy she had bought in advance at the convenience store on the way.

When she saw the candy, Kaname's eyes widened, and she kept moving her fingers around the candy between Akira's fingers.

Chihaya Aine couldn't find a topic to talk about with the girls, so she went over to keep Akira company and play with the cat.

The store manager of STARRY stood behind the counter with her arms crossed, glancing at the young people, especially her own sister, and couldn't help but sigh.

Morgana has gone missing again today.

Ichi Hoshika searched all the places where Morgana usually slept, and her desire to take the restless black cat to get spayed or neutered grew stronger.

......

Morgana also longs to go back to STARRY and be a carefree house cat, running around and playing.

But it really can't escape.

Originally, he was just staking out the route home from a nearby middle school, preparing to track down a target identified in the Phantom Thief Channel. However, he unexpectedly encountered a little girl who wanted to pet a cat. Seeing that she had offered him a sausage as a lure, Morgana obediently lay down on the ground and let her do whatever she wanted with him.