Tokyo Psychic

No one understood better than these bodyguards who served Shin Tsurumaki—Shin Tsurumaki, the heir of the Tsurumaki family, possessed physical abilities and athletic talent comparable to the protagonist of a gag manga.

Customers gathered below the STARRY stage also began to pay attention to the lively scene behind them.

In the center of the crowd, Miku Miku, wearing a baseball cap, lowered her head deeply.

Her fingers pressed against the brim of her baseball cap, her knuckles turning white from the force.

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(After I wake up, there will be one more "four-in-one" chapter. After I finish writing it, I might try to add a little more depending on my writing style, and try to write another "three-in-one" chapter after the four-in-one chapter.)

(By the way, I'd like to recommend a book by one of our group members.)

174. Don't sleep too soundly at night (two-in-one)

(Bonus chapters: 6/10, 7/10)

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Click, click... The spotlights in the hall went out one by one, plunging the hall into a deep, oppressive darkness in an attempt to create atmosphere.

The glowing phone screens, one by one, became like twinkling stars in the darkness.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Miku quietly raised her head to peek around and finally understood why this livehouse was named "Starry Night".

She took a deep breath and was about to take out her phone and open the camera app like the people around her when the "End Band" came on stage.

Six spotlights suddenly lit up, illuminating the eyes of the boys and girls...

Everyone saw a different scene.

Jing Qinrencai saw the stars swaying in the darkness, and the faces filled with sincerity and enthusiasm behind the glimmer of light.

Kawara Momoka saw the stairwell framed by LED light strips in the darkness. From a distance, it was just a small rectangle, like a glow-in-the-dark sign in a fire escape, guiding lost and trapped people in the disaster toward a hopeful life.

What Yamada Ryo saw was the roaring crowd of the Budokan audience, the cheers of the crowd becoming a dark tide, submerging the mundane past, passing through his body, until they sculpted one unique image after another.

It was as if Ichi Nijika was seeing that concert from many years ago. She saw her older sister, who had given up on the band, next to the counter... Ichi Seika was drinking a bottle of cola. Noticing her younger sister's gaze, she raised her cola and clinked glasses with her from afar.

Akira Kurusu stared at Kokoro Tsurumaki below the stage, where the young lady of the Tsurumaki family was enthusiastically taking pictures of the stage with a very professional-looking camera.

Noticing Akira Kurusu's gaze, Kokoro Tsurumaki immediately flashed a bright smile, but she had no intention of disturbing the band preparing for their performance. She simply mouthed "Good luck."

Finally, it was the band's keyboardist... Toyokawa Shoko's hands were on the keyboard, but when she looked down at the stage, she had an unusually complicated expression on her face.

Using her perception as a Persona user, she easily spotted Miku Miku, who was looking up at her from the crowd.

A feeling of disgust and aversion welled up inside her, even though the other person was using the name "Misumi Miku." They were still related by blood, and no matter what terrible things Misumi Miku had done, Toyokawa Shoko felt she should naturally feel a certain closeness to her...

But at this moment, when STARRY met her across the stage, Toyokawa Shoko felt an indescribable nausea.

It was so disgusting that it felt like she was getting goosebumps all over her body, and then the sticky gaze of the triangular Hatsune Miku gave her a chilling feeling.

She stiffly averted her gaze, no longer looking at Mitsu Miku.

Akira Kurusu, who was exchanging glances with Kokoro Tsurumaki, noticed something unusual about Shoko Toyokawa behind her. Following her girlfriend's gaze, she spotted Mitsuko Mitsuki in the crowd.

Akira Kurusu remembered that this was the guy who had been stirring up rumors online a while ago, and his eyes immediately turned hostile.

Izayoi, holding the microphone, introduced the band's name and the songs they would be playing to the audience. She subconsciously glanced at the rhythm guitarist next to her and found that he was staring intently at the audience below the stage. Following the direction that Akira Kurusu was facing, she saw Kaname Rakuna sitting in the rest area.

The white-haired girl was haphazardly strumming the strings of the tattered guitar, when suddenly, as if sensing something, she tilted her head back and winked at the stage...

Feeling increasingly resentful, Iori Rina glared angrily at Akira Kurusu, who seemed to be targeting the middle school student. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she took advantage of a moment when the stage was not illuminated by the lights to step on Akira Kurusu's instep.

The phantom thief remained silent, only staring at Miku Miku with an even more ferocious gaze.

At this moment, he was actually thinking to himself how to appease Jing Qinrencai, who was repeatedly getting angry beside him.

Misaki Miku seemed startled by Akira Kurusu's gaze, and quickly lowered her head, then kept backing away until she completely disappeared into the shadows of the crowd.

The pre-recorded intro came from the speakers; it was "Because I Cannot Be Someone Else," the debut song of the "End Band."

As the prelude to the live performance began, Akira Kurusu was forced to abandon several "training" plans she had just come up with specifically for "domestic cats".

Even faster than thinking, he instinctively placed his right hand, holding the pick, on the strings.

Next to her, Serina took a deep breath, clearing her mind of all the jumbled thoughts. When she saw Kaname Rakuna in the distance, she felt an unprecedented intensity in her singing...

"Today's も変われないままだっていいんだ"

"Kun と歌っていたい (I just want to sing with you too)"

"..."

Perhaps it was the anxiety and uncertainty she felt about wanting Rakuna, or perhaps it was the emotions hidden deep within her heart that made Izana unwilling to seek out or believe in them... Izana didn't know where she got the courage from, but when she sang these lyrics, she actually looked at Akira Kurusu's profile.

With his psychological abilities, the Phantom Thief naturally discovered the emotions that Serina Iza was trying to infuse into her seemingly shouting song.

As soon as Akira turned his head, he saw Serina Iza staring intently at him.

Just as he was pleasantly surprised, thinking that Iori Rina had finally come to her senses, the girl seemed to belatedly realize how "bold" she had just been. She immediately shrank her neck and forcibly turned her head away, no longer daring to look at Kurusu Akira.

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[Jingqin Rencai used the skill "Singing"...]

【...】

[Exceptionally effective!]

The Phantom Thief's willpower has been weakened!

The Mind Thief is wavering...

【...】

Now we can forge an even deeper relationship with the phantom thief!

The choice of celery seed greens is—

Unfortunately, Izare Nami doesn't yet have the courage to deepen her relationship with the phantom thief.

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The stage environment was slightly dim, but Akira Kurusu could still clearly see that the cheeks and ears of Niina Iori were flushed.

But the air conditioner should already be set to the lowest temperature...

Jing Qinren lowered her face, not daring to look at him again.

Fortunately, the three-minute live performance ended quickly, the spotlights on stage were quickly turned off, and the atmosphere became subtly awkward.

Standing at the edge of the hall, Miku Miku gazed at the boy and girl on the stage, her expression growing increasingly gloomy and troubled.

Especially when he saw Toyokawa Shoko taking full view of her boyfriend's ambiguous relationship with other girls but doing nothing about it, his twisted jealousy almost swelled to its limit.

Misaki Misaki fantasized countless times about standing beside Toyokawa Shoko, forming a band with her, chatting together, and so on... Hundreds and thousands of chaotic thoughts tangled in her mind, eventually becoming the murky filth that constantly stained the girl's pupils with rationality.

She took off her baseball cap, took several deep breaths, and then turned and walked towards the STARRY stairwell.

As they passed the rest area, Kaname, who was fiddling with her 'cat scratching post', suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She abruptly arched her back as if her fur had been bristled, hunched her shoulders and head, and stared warily and nervously at the girl walking ahead.

The girls in "MYGO" all noticed their guitarist's sudden change in behavior.

"She seems to be that 'Sumimi'..."

"Is she spreading rumors about the band ending?"

"How come I remember this being her first time at STARRY?"

While everyone was whispering among themselves, Miku Miku had already walked up the stairs and quickly disappeared from their sight.

They were originally going to continue discussing the "Triangle Hatsuka" thing, until Chihaya Aine held up her phone and exclaimed, "Wow! Nyanm-chan has updated her video again!"

The atmosphere of shared hatred and righteous indignation that had been building up for their friend dissipated almost instantly.

Once Morgana lazily emerged from the shadows of the storage room, no one cared that Miku Miku had left.

......

it is finally over.

Exhausted, Ichi Nijika lowered her arms. She had taken every training session seriously, and two consecutive hours of high-intensity drumming made the young girl feel as if her arms were a strange, spliced-together mess.

It's gone beyond just soreness; it's practically numb.

"Nijika is so focused..." Yamada Ryo exclaimed from the side, "Doesn't she find it too hard?"

"Of course it's tough, but more than that, I feel fulfilled and satisfied," Ichiji Nijika said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "It's so lucky to be able to form a band with everyone."

“In fact… it’s already quite remarkable that we were able to gather members who can play different instruments,” Momoka Kawara took off her guitar and put it in its case, pressing the metal clasp… After a click, the case was closed tightly, marking the end of the live performance.

Ryo Yamada nodded in deep agreement, "They're incredibly lucky to have found not only such amazing keyboardists and guitarists, but also such a talented vocalist."

Just as Akira Kurusu was about to suggest taking Serina Izana along the night road to escort her back to Shigen Chaya, the girl immediately turned off the microphone in a panic and ran off the stage, disappearing from sight in no time.

The lead singers had all run away, leaving only the five remaining members to bow to the audience.

It was already quite late, and since no one had eaten dinner, after a brief farewell, Akira Kurusu and Shoko Toyokawa left STARRY together.

......

The nights in Shimokitazawa are as black as graphite, and the incandescent light of the streetlights shines through the railings, casting piano-key-like shadows on the ground.

The girl walked ahead of Akira Kurusu with her hands behind her back, her steps light and elegant. As the hem of her short skirt swayed, her dainty leather shoes and white socks with lace trim seemed to dance on piano keys.

Toyokawa Shoko suddenly turned around and found that Kurusu Akira had a thoughtful expression on her face.

I have a feeling you're thinking something very rude!

"Then congratulations... this is not an illusion."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Xiangzi actually has this kind of curiosity."

“Sometimes I’m curious about guys’ preferences, after all…” Toyokawa Shoko said somewhat shyly, playing with a strand of hair falling from her forehead, “After all, you’re my boyfriend.”

I thought you were going to say 'fiancé'.

"How embarrassing! Getting engaged at sixteen..."

"Then I'll tell you the truth?" Akira Kurusu was still pulling at her, deliberately teasing Shoko Toyokawa.

Perhaps it was because the little girl's shy yet happy smile was so beautiful that I couldn't help but want to admire it more.

"If you keep doing this, I'm not going to talk to you anymore!" The girl's shyness finally broke through her inner defenses.

Akira Kurusu gave Toyokawa Shoko a thumbs up and said frankly, "Since Shoko has said so, I'll tell you the truth... I stopped to admire Shoko's feet because I thought they were very beautiful."

"Huh? I...I'm still wearing my shoes!"

"That night when you were crying and screaming, didn't you kick my chest several times?" Akira Kurusu said meaningfully.

"Ahhh, stop talking!"

About thirty meters away from the two of them.

Miku ...

The streets were so quiet at night that the inappropriate noise of teenagers could be heard clearly.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she stood up and walked out of the darkness of the alley.

In the realm of streetlights, that enormous shadow resembled a palace rising from the ground, its structure and form gradually perfecting itself.

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(I'm almost at the end of the first volume's main storyline, so I squeezed in some writing time to organize and revise the outline for the second volume's connecting plot.)

(This change directly resulted in the "four-in-one" chapter I wrote this afternoon being scrapped... This "two-in-one" chapter was only just written. Don't worry, the promised extra chapter will definitely be completed, but the final "three-in-one" chapter will probably be released very late, so everyone can go to sleep now.)

(This word count patch is a necessary measure because Hedgehog Cat stipulates that VIP chapters cannot be revised to less than the word count of the first revision.)

(Because of Hedgehog Cat's rule that VIP chapters cannot be revised to less than the word count of the first revision, this word count patch was forced upon us...)

175. "Yuki Risa" (two-in-one)

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