Tokyo Psychic

Page 269

As always, Genjuro Shin showed her innocent smile.

“I understand,” she said, extending her right hand generously towards Okumura Haru. “Thank you for the reminder, Ms. Okumura. I was indeed presumptuous!”

After exchanging a polite handshake with Okumura Haru, Genmaki Shin turned to look at Kurusu Akira.

She said with such certainty, "I will definitely come to like you!"

The girl, shimmering like gold, walked away with her hands behind her back, muttering, "And then...?"

The lead singer added in her sweet voice, "You'd better like me sooner rather than later~!"

After saying goodbye to Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsuya, Tsurumaki Shin left the venue.

Only the old and new members of the Phantom Thieves were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, Akira Kurusu suggested, "How about we all go to a coffee shop for a drink?"

Futaba Sakura nodded vigorously, making no attempt to hide her little scheme, "Let's go to LeBron together!"

......

at the same time.

LeBron's coffee shop.

Sakura Sojiro was staring at the coffee pot in his hand, questioning the meaning of life.

How did his daughter, who had been autistic for more than half a year, suddenly recover?!

(There are about two or three more chapters before we enter the Murasame arc.)

244. The upcoming summer vacation trip

The lights were soft and warm.

The air conditioner behind the dining table seems a bit old; it makes a slight whirring sound when it's running.

It was like Sakura Sojiro hiding in the kitchen, chugging cold water to calm his turbulent emotions.

At the dining table in the corner of LeBron, the sofa, which could only comfortably accommodate four people, became slightly crowded with five more squeezed in.

The reason it's described as "slightly crowded" rather than completely impossible to sit down is probably because both Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu are rather slender and petite, something that Kurusu Akira has experienced firsthand every night when she goes to sleep.

He looked at Okumura Haru and Sakura Futaba sitting across the table and suddenly felt a dryness in his throat.

Akira Lai picked up the glass on the table, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Looking at the faint water stains left on the rim of the cup because of her use, and then at the "phantom thieves" opposite her, Wakaba Mutsu's face suddenly turned a little red.

She clenched her small hands and placed them on her knees, her legs together, making her already petite figure appear even more slender due to her sitting posture—like a well-behaved and cute doll, making one feel as if one could reach out and grab her in the palm of one's hand and play with her at will.

Okumura Haru remained calm and composed, and Sakura Futaba did not seem to show any aversion or resistance.

Just as Akira Kurusu placed the glass she was holding on the table, a series of footsteps approached from the kitchen—

The oven was turned on, and Sakura Sojiro carried the desserts that everyone had ordered to the dining table.

He glanced at Sakura Futaba without leaving a trace, then stared at Kurusu Akira at the table with a sharp, almost interrogative gaze.

"Kid, I think you should explain yourself."

If Akira Kurusu had met with Futaba Sakura alone, Sakura Sojiro would have naturally remembered the boy's words from some time ago that he would "help to comfort Futaba," and would have been sincerely grateful for his actions.

but......

The atmosphere changed a bit when Sakura Futaba sat with the other girls.

Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu were people Sakura Sojiro knew.

He had seen Lai Qixiao take those two girls to the attic and be all lovey-dovey.

Sakura Sojiro wasn't against Sakura Futaba dating Kurusu Akira.

After all, Akira Kurusu is indeed an outstanding young man, and Sakura Sojiro has been observing his character and abilities on a daily basis... His only flaw is that he is too much of a womanizer.

Akira Kurusu usually flirts with young ladies who seem to be quite sophisticated, while Sakura Sojiro simply observes with a spectator's attitude.

However, seeing his adopted daughter about to fall into Akira Kurusu's clutches, Sakura Sojiro felt he could no longer stand idly by.

This was the first time Sakura Sojiro spoke to Kurusu Akira in front of his "friends," and also the first time he spoke to Kurusu Akira in a rather impolite tone.

Unexpectedly, Akira Kurusu had already devised a countermeasure—

In the previous time-travel sequence, he explained to Sakura Sojiro how Sakura Futaba's condition had changed and how their relationship had suddenly become closer. This time, he simply repeated the same explanation to her:

Akira Kurusu vividly described how he coincidentally became friends with Futaba Sakura in a game. After two months of online interaction and verbal guidance, he successfully helped this autistic girl overcome her inner struggles and return to a sunny daily life.

Of course, he didn't mention at all how far his relationship with Sakura Futaba had developed, leaving it entirely to Sakura Sojiro to fill in the blanks based on these words and Sakura Futaba's expressions.

......

We've managed to get through it.

Amidst the strange, even disdainful, gazes of a group of girls.

Akira Kurusu watched Sakura Sojiro leave LeBron after lighting a cigarette, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Haru Okumura finally spoke, "Joker, it's really going to be a while before we see you again."

“Yes.” Akira Kurusu handed the water glass in her hand to Mukaru Wakaba, who immediately picked up the kettle and filled it with water.

This pampered girl was already used to taking care of every detail of Lai Qixiao's daily life.

Haru Okumura observed their interaction, but silently picked up his water glass and took a sip.

Akira Kurusu then replied, "I should hurry back to that shrine during summer vacation. I need to use all the time between now and the end of the second semester to recover my strength as much as possible."

“Cong Yu has been waiting for you for a very long time once again.” When the familiar “Phantom Thieves members” were mentioned, Okumura Haru’s expression softened slightly. She thought of the girl who was living inside the divine sword. “But this time, it’s not everyone going back to your hometown with you.”

“There’s nothing fun about Suiori,” Akira Kurusu said, looking at Haru Okumura in front of her. “You should take advantage of the summer vacation to find some of your former selves from your overly comfortable lives.”

The original "Mind Thieves" have lost their former spirit of defiance due to changes in their lives, and their mental power has been weakened as a result.

After all, it was precisely because of their "rebellion" that they awakened their Personas.

Now that this source of "resistance" has been lost in life, the strength that even Ferremont once praised has become weak.

Narukami Yu is a good example—this senior who mastered the power of the "world" has weakened at an extremely rapid pace in the years since he returned to Tokyo.

In his daily life, there was no need for him to use his Persona to fight, and no more of his companions were in danger.

If it weren't for a private investigator suddenly going mad a few months ago and trying to assassinate his sister, perhaps this former savior would have had to go through many more things before returning to his peak.

Of course, it was also thanks to Goro Akechi that Narukami Yu was able to return to his golden, proud seventeen-year-old self in just a few minutes.

However, unlike Narukami Yu, the first generation of the "Mental Thieves" did not completely lose their experiences and feelings in their current lives, even though they regained their memories from outside of time through Personas.

Those warm, peaceful, and blissful daily routines are like shackles binding them.

If they want to defeat that formidable foe at the end of the second semester, they must find a way to adapt to all of this.

(It was originally a two-in-one file, but it was rejected by the review committee. I released it in half, and the remaining part is being urgently revised. It should be finished in about three hours.)

245. They wanted to vent.

Futaba Sakura did not go home.

Since we've finally managed to get out and have some fun, we should definitely make the most of it.

LeBron's shop door opened and closed, and the wind chimes swayed, making a pleasant sound.

Sakura Sojiro, who was smoking against the wall, hurriedly put out his cigarette when he saw his adopted daughter leave first.

"Futaba, where are we going?"

"Come visit a friend's house!" Sakura Futaba replied in an unusually cheerful tone, unlike Sakura Sojiro's usual demeanor.

Sakura Sojiro frowned. "Friend?"

"Hmm...we're going to Amamiya's house!" Sakura Futaba noticed Sakura Sojiro's expression, but ultimately didn't dare to call the leader of the Phantom Thieves by his name in front of him.

Sakura Sojiro's already gloomy face was now as black as the bottom of a pot.

But his lips trembled, and in the end, he said nothing.

It wasn't until Sakura Futaba and Okumura Haru walked past each other, arm in arm, that Sakura Sojiro finally mumbled, "Come back early tonight."

"I see!"

He watched as Sakura Futaba, bathed in sunlight, joyfully skipped away, and in the end, he could only sigh.

On the bright side, at least the child can finally return to a healthy and happy normal life.

But watching his daughter jump into the fire pit step by step, Sakura Sojiro still felt uneasy.

A summer breeze swept through the streets, and the bakery owner's calls mingled with the laughter of departing boys and girls.

......

Push open the door to room 302 of "Fujikiju".

Haru Okumura bent down to take off his expensive Mary Jane shoes, which could buy an entire apartment, and walked into the space where Akira Kurusu now lived with a look of curiosity on his face.

Akira Kurusu turned to look at the girl with a sweet, cotton-candy-like aura and easily discerned her thoughts—

"It's a world of difference compared to LeBron's loft."

Okumura Haru stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Kurusu Akira with a hint of resentment. "I asked you to move into my villa before, but you always refused."

“Things are different now,” the phantom thief said confidently. “Back then, it was almost finals, and that Lion Child was going crazy trying to cause us trouble. I simply didn’t have the energy to waste on these trivial matters.”

“Back then, Xing and Xia almost thought you had erectile dysfunction.”

“Go ahead and slander me,” said Akira Kurishi, her face filled with sorrow. “Anyway, there’s no way to explain it now.”

Because one of the Phantom Thieves had the ability to rewind time, Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu could roughly understand the content of their conversation.

After hesitating for a moment, Toyokawa Shoko asked Okumura Haru with some curiosity, "In another timeline, what am I doing before I became a Phantom Thief of the Mind...?"

As the heir to the Toyokawa Group, she felt that she couldn't possibly disappear without a trace like an unknown passerby.

Upon hearing this, both Okumura Haru and Sakura Futaba's expressions changed drastically.

Even Akira Kurusu's expression looked strange.

They exchanged a glance, and after a moment's hesitation, Akira Kurusu explained to Shoko Toyokawa.

"Xiangzi should remember when we first met, right?"

"Um... for various reasons, I was kidnapped by the underworld."

"On that vehicle, when you feel desperate, you will encounter an alien creature called 'Kyubi'." Akira Kurusu's eyes flickered. "Then, you agree to make a contract with it and become a magical girl."

"Magical girl?" This was the first time Toyokawa Shoko had heard such a "novel" term.

Although I did occasionally learn about the "magical girl" character from snippets of conversation with classmates, I really couldn't imagine that I, who "didn't become a phantom thief," would become... the protagonist of a cartoon?

“No, no, no, it’s very different from the uniformed warriors on children’s channels that you’re imagining,” Futaba Sakura said, crossing her arms. “It’s a long story, but you just need to understand it as… the ‘magical girls’ in reality are essentially just tools created by that guy called ‘Kyubey’ to collect despair.”

"Collecting...despair?"

“That’s right,” Futaba Sakura nodded repeatedly. “It specifically selects emotional girls who are in distress, uses wishes and contracts to turn them into magical girls, and then tries to make them despair through various means in order to collect these negative emotions.”

"But your expressions suggest that things are not that simple."

"Hmm... because magical girls are always facing a powerful enemy called 'witches.' But in fact, every 'witch' is a manifestation of a desperate magical girl, and this manifestation is irreversible. Becoming a witch means becoming the mortal enemy of humanity. Kyubey's goal is to mass-produce magical girls and then collect their despair, and witches are just a byproduct of this process."

"Does it sound like I've turned into a witch?"

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko's question, Okumura Haru and Sakura Futaba both remained silent.

That was one of the most terrifying enemies they had ever faced.

Her name is "The Witch of Despair". Accompanying her is Mutsumi Wakaba, who is standing next to Shoko Toyokawa, her hands trembling with fear. Mutsumi is the witch known as "The Doll Witch".

Within an hour of their birth, these two witches nearly evaporated the entire city of Mitakihara from the ground.

Even the well-trained Psychic Thieves had to devote considerable time and effort to defeating the "Witch of Despair" and the "Witch of the Doll."

According to Homura Akemi, who orchestrated all of this, if they hadn't been lured to Mitakihara before the battle, Tokyo would have been the city destroyed.

The two witches will undergo their ultimate evolution amidst the destruction of Tokyo. Even if the Phantom Thieves and all the magical girls joined forces, they would have to sacrifice at least half of their members to defeat them.

Of course, as their circumstances changed, they not only lost those desperate experiences, but also never even came into contact with Cupid.