Tokyo Psychic

Ascend the stairs step by step, and push open the ordinary wooden door.

The moon-like girl who guided the "phantom thief" forward and whom he repeatedly mentioned sat quietly by the bed.

This was the first time Homura Akemi had met Kotone Shiomi.

Time quietly returned to normal, but the atmosphere in the house instantly froze at midnight.

Kotone Shiomi looked up at Homura Akemi, "Who are you?"

Homura Akemi looked down at her right hand; the ring that should have been on her ring finger was long gone. "The person who helped you."

"I don't need your help." Shiomi Kotone felt a strange hostility towards the girl in front of her because there was a feeling about her that she found very annoying.

“Kurusu Akira needs your help,” Homura Akemi said calmly. “You must arrive in Tokyo before March 25th.”

"It sounds like a trial day."

"It is indeed a day of trial."

"Who are you?" Shiomi Kotone repeated the initial question.

Homura Akemi thought for a moment about what Akira Kurusu would say, and then imitated his tone, "Just a magical girl passing by."

If Shiomi Kotone had died a few years later, she would definitely have recognized the girl in front of her as the heroine of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica".

Unfortunately, she never got to see that anime.

Homura Akemi said, "Next, you will have a dream, and when you wake up, all the problems that are bothering you will disappear."

When Shiomi Kotone tried to ask anything more, all she could hear was the endless tolling of bells.

......

The moon, a roughly halved, irregular circle, resembled a pool of shimmering silver water where ice had broken. Soon after, the moon disappeared, and the entire sky froze. It remained a pale blue, but it was already morning.

Before sunrise, the whole world is like a dream, only the moon is real.

After the sun rose, the whole world became real, except for the moon, which seemed like a dream.

Dawn at Tatsumi Artificial Harbor Island is filled with the sound of the moon shattering as it falls into the sea.

185. You are someone I can never forget (Two-part series)

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December 22, 2022.

【PM. 10:12.】

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

Jing Qinren lay on her desk, holding a pen, absentmindedly making marks on the textbook in front of her.

Occasionally, his gaze would fall on the wall beside him, and he couldn't help but imagine Sakura Futaba being kidnapped by the Phantom Thieves just across the wall... The recruited genius hacker was currently typing rapidly on the keyboard, creating countless afterimages, manipulating the online world with a domineering attitude, deciphering one top-secret file after another, and clearing away those spies who wanted to investigate the Phantom Thieves.

"Damn it, I really want to be 'extraordinary' too..."

When Ishigami saw the phone charging next to her textbook, she instinctively picked it up and started searching for information about Seibu Dome.

Seeing the spacious venue in the photo, and the audience seats spreading out like waves, I began to imagine myself standing on the stage, singing in front of a huge crowd.

The excitement and exhilaration of standing on the path to her dreams made her tremble uncontrollably.

In the end, he completely forgot about the pre-reading assignment, and instead lay on the bed with his phone, rolling around and laughing uncontrollably.

......

At this moment, in Sakura Futaba's room:

"Charge! Shohoku fans!"

The girl, with snot and tears streaming down her face, punched and shouted at the computer screen.

The video playing on the screen was clearly the recently popular movie "Phoenix Squadron: Resurrection of the Phoenix!"... The movie hadn't been taken down yet, so this video resource was obviously copied from the theater server by Futaba Sakura.

Accompanied by a multitude of light effects, "Soaring Feather," now recognized by the transformation device, emerged from the sea of ​​fire, covered in wounds, and stood in front of the child surrounded by monsters.

She pressed her index and middle fingers together on the voice changer, and amidst the tearful cheers of Futaba Sakura, she shouted, "Shoha, transform!"—The pink cloak opened, followed by a pink battle suit and a pink and gold helmet.

The strange executive in front exclaimed in surprise, "Victory Shoha Hero? You're a Shoha fan! How can you still transform!"

“Because… the child is crying, and a hero cannot ignore a child’s tears.” Xiang Yufen raised her right hand, fingers spread towards the sky. “Secret organization ‘Annihilation’! This is your time to step down!”

"You?!" the villain retorted in his signature way.

To address these questions, the film reaches its climax—the fans summon the "Victory Armor" to the beat of an explosive background music, which terrifies the villains as they explain its power, and then annihilate them with an almost overwhelming force.

As the movie ended, Futaba Sakura was already in tears as she watched the scrolling credits for the acknowledgments.

Switching to the movie's discussion thread, the number of replies has reached an astonishing number.

[Ice Eyes B75: I'm so touched! It's been three years since I've seen a fan of Xiangyu appear on screen again!]

[Zhizhi's Su: Miss Yue Yu's acting skills are as impressive as ever!]

[Hanasaki River 258: As expected, the "Phoenix Squadron" is the soul of tokusatsu!]

[The Greatest Terror Beneath the Abyss: Even long-retired fans of the Phoenix Squad can be resurrected... Does this mean the "Phoenix Squad" series is finally coming to an end? Damn it, my youth is ending too.]

【...】

Yue Yujia put down her phone.

As a tokusatsu actress who plays the main character "Koujakuin Suzuko (Shohoku Pink)" in the latest "Phoenix Squadron" theatrical version, it's only natural that she would browse the comments section after the movie's release.

The praise from fans and netizens, as well as the generous salary, were the main motivations for her to agree to the director's request to make a comeback.

Six years have passed since she graduated from that school. Yue Yujiali lay on her bed, turned her head and saw an old storage box on her bedside table. She remembered the in-ear headphones that a certain boy once treasured inside... The headphones were quite old, and even the latest smartphones no longer supported them.

That high school era, filled with flip phones and MP3 players, has become a page turned in history books, along with her tumultuous youth.

I'm so bored.

Yukari Yueyu thought to herself that since graduating from university, she seemed to have been in less and less contact with her friends.

They're practically settling down in the entertainment industry.

Every day, I wake up to a schedule sent by my agent. I'm busy going back and forth between various film and television sets. I basically eat all my meals on set. When I have free time, I just want to go to a sauna or indoor hot spring to relax. At the very least, I buy some beer and stay at home watching TV and spacing out.

That's how work works; it gradually alienates passionate and innocent young people, turning them into cogs in the machine that are more suited to the workings of society.

Becoming a cog in the machine is certainly good; one can adapt to the monotony of life without suffering setbacks and hardships. After all, there are always various forces pushing her to make the most of every day, at least in a seemingly valuable way.

Only occasionally, when the night is quiet and she sees those old, hazy objects in her bedroom, Yue Yujiali can't help but wonder if she has unknowingly forgotten something very important.

She opened the storage box and saw the in-ear headphones inside.

The headphone plug was rusty, a very faint copper rust, with a hint of green that turned almost blue in the light, giving it a melancholy look, as melancholy as the eyes of a young boy.

I must have forgotten something very important.

Yue Yujia covered her pounding heart with certainty.

Even though I can't remember anything about these headphones, I feel a heart-wrenching pain. Tears well up uncontrollably in my eyes, as if a tremendous sadness and shame are crashing through my empty heart.

As if she had done something wrong, Yue Yujia collapsed to the ground, unable to recall what she had forgotten. She could only wipe away the tears welling up in her eyes, overwhelmed by endless sorrow.

Snapped.

At that moment, it felt as if someone gently patted her shoulder from behind.

Yukari turned around as if she had been electrocuted, as if a boy wearing headphones and expressionless was standing behind her.

But when she turned around, she only saw photo albums on the bookshelf.

That photo album that she had almost completely forgotten.

It seems that she has never opened it since the moment she graduated from university... It's as if an invisible force is deliberately hindering her cognition, making her subconsciously ignore the existence of the photo album.

Yue Yujiali staggered to her feet, walked to the bookshelf, and pulled out the photo album.

The words on the cover were blurred, but they were still legible—"To: Yukari Yueyu, Special Extracurricular Activities Club, Gekkokan Private Academy."

Upon seeing the familiar words, Yukari Yue felt a burning sensation, as if lightning had struck her mind.

Many vague memories suddenly became clear.

A towering tower reaching the heavens, a god announcing death, and a boy who sealed away the god...

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, and then Yukari covered her mouth, trying to suppress a sob that was almost a scream.

The reason for her crying was not because she recalled the moments she spent with the boy named "Yuki Ryou" and the sacrifices he made to save the world, but because she felt ashamed and hated herself for having forgotten everything about him without realizing it.

Her ordinary life almost buried her in the tide of social vulgarity, and she wasted two whole years without even realizing it.

Yue Yujia clenched her fist and slammed it onto the desk with trembling hands.

The Persona summoner in the drawer trembled, like a long sigh awakening after being forced into silence for a long time—so tragic, yet so memorable.

Opening the first page of the photo album, I immediately saw those familiar boys and girls.

Yukari Yue pressed her index finger against the face of the boy in the group photo who would never return, her tearful eyes revealing a resolute determination.

Then, she quickly walked to the bedside, picked up her phone, and called her agent, saying, "I need to ask for leave from tomorrow's press conference."

Before her agent could even ask, Yue Yujiali hung up the phone, then opened her phone book and found those familiar numbers that she had subconsciously ignored time and time again over the past two years, and dialed them one by one.

It was like a tacit understanding, or a coincidence of fate.

On the same night, the members of SEES, who had also forgotten everything and sunk into oblivion for two years, recalled their past battles fought side by side.

So, this group of adults, who had once joined hands to save the world and were no longer children, agreed to reunite on the artificial island that held their youth.

Two years felt like a long, slumbering dream, and when I awoke, everything had changed.

The original SEES, even the colossal Kirijo Foundation, no longer exists. The Personas who participated in the great cause of saving the world are now deeply immersed in their own lives, yet they all want to give up this stability and return to the original path for the same reason and obsession.

......

【PM. 10:13.】

Akira Lai inserted the key into the lock of the security door and turned it.

After dropping Lena off at home, it was already 10 p.m.

As he pushed open the door, he instinctively said, "I'm back."

The two girls sitting in the living room answered in unison, "Welcome home."

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other with shy smiles on their faces.

Ruoye Mu has gradually learned to express her emotions in front of others.

Lai Xixiao changed her shoes at the door and then went into the house. She then discovered that there was not only a piano in the living room, but also a very long table with three computers on it that looked like they had high-end configurations.

"Isn't it a bit wasteful to buy all of these?"

"Just call the Toyokawa family and ask them to pay for it."

"Young Miss is getting more and more used to her identity. Congratulations!" Akira Kurusu exclaimed in amazement that Toyokawa Shoko had successfully corrected her way of thinking from "maid" back to "young lady".

Toyokawa Shoko didn't answer Kurusu Akira's question, but instead pushed Wakaba Mutsu forward to shield her, saying, "You should praise Mutsu more. She managed to tidy up all these things perfectly all by herself today."

Ruoye Mutsu obediently put her hands behind her back, looking like a primary school student waiting for the teacher's praise.

Akira Kurusu walked over and stroked Mutsuka Wakaba's head. "Mutsuka is great! Is there any reward you want?"

The girl's eyes lit up with joy and happiness after receiving the praise. "The reward... can you teach me how to play the game?"

Why do you suddenly want to play games?

“Because Ren likes playing games,” Wakaba Mutsu whispered, “I want to try to like what Ren likes.”

Even a mind thief would quickly succumb to the girl's loving gaze.

"I can teach you now... I made a date with Subaru to play games together later."

“I want to learn too.” Toyokawa Shoko poked Wakaba Mutsu’s cheek with some dissatisfaction and said to Kurusu Akira in a threatening tone, as if to say, “If you don’t teach me, I’ll bully Wakaba Mutsu in front of you.”

So, about ten minutes later, Lai Qixiao opened the downloaded "Two People on a Journey" and found the voice channel that Anhe Mao had just created in Discord.

Two young ladies stood beside him, their faces serious.

Both Wakaba Mutsu and Toyokawa Shoko were well-behaved girls who had never played any video games, but Toyokawa Shoko was slightly better than Wakaba Mutsu... because after working part-time for half a year, she had learned a little bit about computer usage.

However, when Akira Kurusu took out the Call of Duty co-branded game controller given to him by Subaru An and plugged it into the computer case, this knowledge was still beyond the scope of Shoko Toyokawa's knowledge.