[April 25, 2022.]
[Two days remaining until the Kawasaki trip begins.]
[AM. 8:25.]
Setagaya Ward, Yongen-Jaya.
The sky over Tokyo was hazy, with a feeling of impending heavy rain, but not a single drop actually fell, perhaps it had kidney stones.
Kurusu Akira stopped a passing traffic police officer at the intersection. "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to Takemi Medical Clinic?"
The traffic police officer looked troubled. "It might be a bit hard to explain in just a few words."
Kurusu Akira's heart skipped a beat. According to Sakura Sojiro, this clinic was already considered a community hospital in Yongen-Jaya. Where else could a community hospital be hidden?
He didn't believe it. "Could you please lead the way?"
This is where the advantage of good looks came into play—even if this traffic police officer had started work at six in the morning, carrying the fatigue of sleep deprivation and the boredom of monotonous work, his mood would brighten upon seeing a beautiful girl or boy.
The traffic police officer took out an old-fashioned walkie-talkie, briefly exchanged a few words with his colleague, and then led Kurusu Akira to that community hospital.
The two wound through the alleys, and it took nearly ten minutes to find a deeply hidden rental house. After some renovation, it was used as a clinic. The old main building and the new decor seemed a bit incongruous.
A signboard hung at the entrance, with broken LED lights flickering erratically: [Takemi Medical Clinic: Limited sales of rejuvenating miracle medicine, special price only 4999 yen per box!!]
After being led here, Kurusu Akira thanked the traffic police officer and then walked up the steps alone.
Compared to "hospital," "clinic" was indeed a more fitting term to describe this place.
A young woman with short, inky black hair sat in a white coat behind the counter with a barred window. Her delicate and soft features cast elongated shadows in the dim light, appearing more three-dimensional. However, her slightly upturned eyes and pursed lips eliminated the gentle temperament she should have possessed, leaving only a faint sense of coldness and rationality. A black short dress connected to a bright red leather belt formed a strong contrast with her white coat, and punk-style decorative leather chokers further highlighted the slenderness of her neck and the exquisite collarbones.
Intellectual and rebellious, two contradictory styles were perfectly integrated in her.
She must be the doctor here, though she looked to be only college-aged, and coupled with her dazzling appearance that would shine at a high-end hotel ball, it made one doubt whether she truly possessed the skills to treat patients.
"Excuse me, are you Doctor Takemi?"
"I'm Takemi. Is there anything you need from me?" Doctor Takemi's voice was as clear and pleasant as a spring striking smooth pebbles. Then she saw Kurusu Akira's Shujin Academy uniform and his highly recognizable face. "Oh, it's you, the famous transfer student."
"Hmm? Have we met before?" Kurusu Akira was a bit surprised.
She twirled a strand of hair at her temple with her finger. "That day after school, you brought a pretty junior with a sprained ankle to me... Hehe, good for you. You've only been a transfer student for a week and you've already captured the heart of the cutest little girl in the first year. I heard she's not only good at gymnastics and very flexible, but she also has a twin sister who also does gymnastics. Your high school life is going to be quite colorful from now on."
"I don't think I've ever been inside the infirmary," Kurusu Akira selectively ignored the long passage of adolescent fantasy that Doctor Takemi had described for him.
"The infirmary door wasn't closed at that time," Doctor Takemi replied, looking at Kurusu Akira with interest.
"Let me reintroduce myself. Takemi Tae, director, cashier, attending physician, nurse of Takemi Medical Clinic... and also the infirmary teacher at your school. Normally, you can find me in the infirmary every Tuesday and Thursday. So, is there anything wrong with your body?"
As she spoke, Takemi Tae's gaze even began to drift to the area below Kurusu Akira's waist.
Kurusu Akira swallowed his anger. "I'm very healthy. I came to visit Iseri."
Upon hearing this, Takemi Tae's eyes quickly took on a look of profound admiration. "Iseri is also a very cute girl... You, you're truly amazing."
"Just neighbors."
"Say no more, I understand."
So, Kurusu Akira expressionlessly gave up on explaining.
Doctor Takemi stood up. She pushed open the small door of the counter and then opened the clinic's main door, which was right next to it.
----------------
The electric fan hummed on the ceiling, like a mischievous fly, provoking and teasing with the sound of its flapping wings, but it never came close, deliberately stirring up impatience in people's hearts.
Takemi Tae slapped the power switch, as if swatting a phantom fly. The lights came on, and Kurusu Akira's figure was vaguely reflected on the black screen of the office computer.
Out of professional habit, the Phantom Thief cautiously observed the clinic.
The outside of the dusty window was filled with chaotic traces left by the wind and rain, like a rough sketch rushed by a fine arts academy graduate late at night. The fluorescent tube lights embedded in the ceiling emitted a gentle halo. There was a small bed with curtains, and the neatly wiped table was covered with bottles and jars. The air was filled with a pungent smell of alcohol.
Kurusu Akira looked at the black shadow projected on the curtain, took two steps forward, and pulled it open. "Iseri?"
Iseri Nina lay weakly on the hospital bed, her head turned to the side, a needle connected to an IV tube stuck in the back of her right hand. Hearing Kurusu Akira's voice, she turned back with some surprise.
"Amamiya?!"
"Call me President."
"Oh... oh! President!"
Seeing that Iseri Nina was still quite energetic, Kurusu Akira felt relieved. He found a stool, took out his phone, and sat next to her, starting to tap away.
Takemi Tae gave them a meaningful glance, then left, leaving the space to the two high schoolers.
Kurusu Akira, who was looking down at his phone, keenly noticed Takemi Tae's strange look before she left and immediately felt wronged.
'How could I have any thoughts about a brat like this?'
Kurusu Akira racked his brain, listing all his 'XP' entries in his mind. The petite, flat-chested Iseri Nina, who was his age, didn't seem to match any of them... Actually, there were a few... Unfortunately, he didn't like Lavenza substitutes.
Speaking of romance, he really wanted to date a sweet, quiet, gentle, and game-loving performing arts idol girl—
Come to think of it, isn't that still a Lavenza substitute?
The Phantom Thief covered his face in agony.
Ever since Philemon assigned him a Lavenza in the Velvet Room, he felt like he was stuck for life.
He opened his phone. Before nine in the morning, his phone was set to [do not receive app notifications.]
When he clicked into Line, he saw Yoshizawa Kasumi chattering, asking about his preferences for today's bento side dishes.
Wait, this was the oldest message, and it seemed to have been posted at 6:30 AM.
6:24. [My Sister Can't Be This Cute: "Senpai! Today's bento side dishes are pan-fried fish balls, pan-fried scallop adductor muscles, cheesy baked shrimp, and curry seafood steamed egg!"]
6:40. [My Sister Can't Be This Cute: "Ah! Is Senpai still sleeping?"]
6:40. [My Sister Can't Be This Cute: I'm sorry... Did I disturb you?]
7:15. [My Sister Can't Be This Cute: Senpai?]
[...]
8:10. [My Sister Can't Be This Cute: Senpai? Are you there?]
Now. [My Sister Can't Be This Cute: Senpai? Are you there?]
Seeing the numerous "Senpai" messages, and the humility and caution revealed between the lines, Kurusu Akira, who had never seen such a display, almost stopped breathing.
Fortunately, Yoshizawa Kasumi's hair was not pink.
Otherwise, according to ACGN's traditional plot, he would probably have to figure out when to enter the Mementos to change this girl's heart.
Kurusu Akira replied to her cautiously, [I'm sorry, I was busy with my part-time job this morning and didn't see the messages.]
The moment this message was sent, it changed from "unread" to "read."
[My Sister Can't Be This Cute: "It's okay! Senpai should also rest well and not work too hard!"]
Faced with such blatant affection, Kurusu Akira could only offer a dry thank you, then quickly switched to the main page, feeling an unspeakable unease in his heart—
When Yoshizawa Kasumi first came to the club room to bring him a bento, she had asked to "join the club." She probably thought about it all night and was now regretting it.
Kurusu Akira flatly rejected this hard-won application. He could not accept phantom members who could not participate in club activities.
Then he realized he was completely wrong.
Because Yoshizawa Kasumi immediately said with a crestfallen face, "Actually, I just hoped to have a quiet place to practice gymnastics. The original dance studio has too many people, and I heard boys sometimes peek when they pass by, making it hard to concentrate on practice. So I wanted to ask if Senpai could occasionally allow me to use a small space here during lunch break and after school."
So, everything she said about wanting to join the club was just a setup; the real killer move was waiting for him here.
But the emotions and atmosphere at the time were perfectly set, the reason was legitimate and reasonable, and Yoshizawa Kasumi looked so pitiful and humble. If he had really refused, he might have truly seemed inhumane.
Kurusu Akira was a bit confused for a moment, wondering if Yoshizawa Kasumi wanted to practice gymnastics or the art of love.
Anyway, starting the next day, his club room had an extra yoga mat and a full-length mirror.
He still remembered Yoshizawa Kasumi's expression of shame and reluctance before she left: "I haven't even repaid your previous kindness, and now I have to ask for your help again..."
He had a feeling she never intended to repay the kindness.
...
Can 15-year-old girls be this high-level now?
Kurusu Akira sighed with emotion, then opened the new game "Fate/Grand Order" downloaded on his phone.
He remembered this game ranked quite high on the sales charts yesterday. He might as well play it to pass the time.
About half an hour later.
Kurusu Akira sat by the hospital bed, starting to question his life.
'Am I really the legendary "prisoner"? Every game I play seems to be about staying in prison forever.'
At this moment, the frosted sliding door of the side window opened. Takemi Tae saw that only a tiny bit of medicine was left in the IV drip bottle above Iseri Nina's head, so she walked over to remove the needle.
Kurusu Akira quickly stepped aside. "Please."
Takemi Tae, while tearing off the IV tapes on Iseri Nina's hand, glared at Kurusu Akira next to her. "Why are you standing so far away?"
"I didn't want to disturb your work."
"...Come here quickly!"
Kurusu Akira readily approached. "Is something wrong?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Takemi Tae unceremoniously placed Iseri Nina's right hand, where the needle had just been removed, into his hand, then sternly instructed, "Help press it."
"Oh." Kurusu Akira, not understanding, held Iseri Nina's slender, delicate, and overly cold hand.
Seeing him like this, Takemi Tae could no longer bear it. "Why do you have no sense of responsibility or duty as a boyfriend?"
Iseri Nina felt the warmth enclosing her right hand and heard Takemi Tae's words... Her face instantly turned completely red.
"I told you we're just neighbors." Kurusu Akira immediately felt powerless.
The other party carefully scrutinized his handsome face, which was no less striking than a Johnny's idol trainee, and then looked at Iseri Nina, who was holding his hand and blushing. She shook her head, "According to my personal recommendation, I suggest you buy a box of this..."
With that, she took out a lavishly packaged cardboard box from the medicine cabinet and handed it to Kurusu Akira.
On the package was written [Rejuvenation Elixir].
"There's a discount now, special price is only 4999 yen per box. Buy one to keep with you, I guess you'll eventually use it."
"Let's go, let's go!" Before Kurusu Akira could decline, Iseri Nina, whose hand he was holding, bumped his shoulder with her head, her face red.
Takemi Tae watched Kurusu Akira being pushed and shoved away by Iseri Nina, her heart filled with emotion.
----------------
When they arrived at Shujin High School by car, it was precisely lunchtime.
Iseri Nina had to go to the faculty office to ask the homeroom teacher to sign her leave slip.
Kurusu Akira, holding special privileges, first went to the classroom, then took two volumes of "Jojos bizarre adventure: Stardust Crusaders" borrowed from Sakamoto Ryuji and headed towards his club room.
It was class time, and the corridors and stairwells were empty, with only Kurusu Akira's footsteps echoing back and forth.
As he walked up the stairs in the club building, he suddenly heard a heavy dragging sound on the marble floor tiles from above.
Kurusu Akira looked up along the stair railing and vaguely saw a graceful shadow.
He stepped up the stairs, and the dragging sound suddenly disappeared.
Kurusu Akira quickened his pace on the stairs. He then saw a slender girl carrying a bulging cloth bag, as large as her upper body, running as if escaping towards the rooftop.
This was... the senior he saw at the school gate that day, who arrived in a luxury car?
Where did she get such strength?
After a brief hesitation, Kurusu Akira chose not to follow, but instead headed towards his own music classroom.
One staircase, thus clearly separated the destinations of two people.
----------------
Pushing open the club door, the outside was overcast, and the lights cast a cold glow.
A girl was indeed sitting by the white wall of the classroom, wearing a black tight gymnastics suit. She was on a yoga mat, doing a slow breakdown of a handspring, her toes touching the ground, her right hand supporting her body as she flipped. The black practice suit was stretched tightly against her lower abdomen and waistline. The indoor lighting cast her silhouette on the wall. Her neck was long, her legs were long, every curve exuded youthful beauty, clean and pure, reminiscent of a black swan treading water.
Her crimson hair was tied into a single ponytail, lightly bouncing as she struck various graceful and elegant poses.
Kurusu Akira held the manga book, his extraordinary composure as a Phantom Thief taking effect. He forced himself to look away from Yoshizawa Kasumi without changing his expression, silently found his favorite window-side seat, and then opened the bento box already on the desk.
He broke apart the disposable chopsticks and clasped his hands together.
"I'm starting."
He then began to crudely and quickly devour the food in the bento box, but there was no time to mourn for the departed shrimp and carp, as Iseri Nina's milk carton arrived on the scene next.
Thump. The music classroom door opened, and a chill wind squeezed in.
"President!"
Iseri Nina, who had just recovered from her illness, seemed to have regained her usual spirit. "I brought you a box of..."
She looked at Yoshizawa Kasumi, who was practicing yoga by the wall, her voice growing softer and softer, finally looking at Kurusu Akira, who was cleaning up the leftovers, with a suspicious gaze.
Iseri Nina: "Is this a club activity?"
Kurusu Akira poked his chopsticks into the rice: "Don't mind her, she's not a member of our club, she's just freeloading on the space."
Iseri Nina: "Is President dating Yoshizawa?"
Kurusu Akira: "I am a psychic from a mysterious organization, how could I possibly date an ordinary girl?"
This seemingly chuunibyou line instantly killed the conversation.
Yoshizawa Kasumi, who was eavesdropping nearby, blinked, and some strange calculations began in her mind.
Iseri Nina, hearing the word "psychic," immediately thought of her encounter last night and fell silent.
She pulled a chair and sat next to Kurusu Akira, poking at her phone screen while drinking milk.
Kurusu Akira finished his bento, and likewise took out his phone to play "FGO"; it wasn't time to quit the game yet. Because this morning at Takemi Medical Clinic, he had used his last 9 Saint Quartz to summon Artoria Pendragon, affectionately known as the "Quilt King."
Out of respect for this retention, he decided to play for another week.
"EX-Calibur!!!" Amidst the powerful battle cry of the King of Great Britain, a golden wave of light engulfed the skeleton soldiers holding swords and spears in front, leaving behind a field of critical stars.
Yoshizawa Kasumi seemed not to care if they were paying attention to her, simply sitting on the yoga mat and performing various difficult poses according to her daily training routine, like a rose that had shed all its thorns, displaying its youthful and delicate beauty.
Until lunchtime was almost over, Yoshizawa Kasumi put away her yoga mat, put on the school skirt and sports jacket she had placed aside, took the empty bento box, and after exchanging thanks with Kurusu Akira, left the music classroom.
Iseri Nina instinctively started to follow her out, but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist by Kurusu Akira.
The music classroom door closed.
In the empty space, the intermingled breaths of the boy and girl were exceptionally clear.
"Now is the club activity time for the Psychological Health Education Department." Kurusu Akira winked at her, making the girl want to run away in fear.
The Phantom Thief pressed her onto a chair. "Everything you saw and heard last night is an unchangeable fact. Iseri Nina, there are dangers in this world beyond your imagination, and having come into contact with this truth, you can no longer return to your ordinary daily life."
Iseri Nina looked at him timidly. "Who exactly are you?"
"Good question. The first in the grade of Shujin High School, a LeBlanc waiter, STARRY's ace salesperson, and the president of the Psychological Health Education Department—of course, I prefer you to call me... a Phantom Thief here."
Kurusu Akira snapped his fingers.
Dioscuri immediately appeared behind him, swiftly tearing down the banner that read "Psychological Health Education Department Activity Room" hanging on the wall, revealing the words "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" underneath. Kurusu Akira had painted this himself in his spare time.
In Iseri Nina's eyes, this scene meant that Kurusu Akira snapped his fingers, and the banner on the wall immediately prostrated itself like his loyal guard. All the mystery and darkness, along with the appearance of the English letters "Phantom Thieves of Hearts," swarmed over, surrounding her completely.
Iseri Nina swallowed. "Phantom Thief?!"
Kurusu Akira walked to the podium. "The Phantom Thief. You must have heard this name."
"Ah, is it the Kamo Group in Shinjuku..."
Hearing this, the Phantom Thief calmly turned around, appearing profound and unfathomable in Iseri Nina's eyes.
Actually, he was just thinking about where to start explaining to this girl.
The layers of the world? The Velvet Room?
After all, this girl could no longer remain uninvolved; only by understanding those truths could she better protect herself.
Perhaps there was a more intuitive way.
He looked back at Iseri Nina. "We're going to Chiyoda now."
Many things are difficult to describe with just words.
It's better to take her into the Mementos again... Just staying in the superficial areas won't be dangerous, and it can also test the enemies' reactions.
Both the City Hall and the headquarters of the "AU" operator were on the Phantom Thief's schedule.
Iseri Nina's vision went black. "But class is about to start."
"What class? Isn't today 'Campus Safety Training'?"
"The teacher will take attendance..."
"It's fine, we'll just use the club activity as an excuse."
"Who would believe such a perfunctory excuse!" Iseri Nina was both curious and afraid of the psychic world, and also worried about her future academic performance.
Kurusu Akira waved his hand, telling Dioscuri to hang the banner back in its original place. "Just based on my entrance exam score, which was over two hundred points higher than the second in the grade."
Iseri Nina fell silent.
Kurusu Akira continued, "This club has always focused on caring for students' mental health and releasing stress. Iseri Nina, I now believe you have some underlying psychological issues that require appropriate treatment."
"My mental health is perfectly fine!" Iseri Nina was genuinely scared, but the sense of security she felt lying in Kurusu Akira's arms last night made her involuntarily yearn for that world beyond the ordinary.
Kurusu Akira lifted her by the back of her collar, like picking up a cat.
Iseri Nina initially wanted to resist, but the thought of resistance was always heavily hindered when put into action, and in the end, she let him pull her along half-heartedly.
...
5:20 PM.
The bus stops during rush hour were always crowded. Adults accustomed to bowing and scraping seemed unable to stand straight anymore; their bones weren't broken by the iron rods of company performance or industry reform, but their spines were broken by life. Once they stood up, their dependent families would fall heavily to the ground, shattered into pieces. Mobile phone screens reflected numb faces.
Energetic students mingled within the crowd, chatting eagerly with their companions, yet they did little to change the overall atmosphere of the environment.
The piercing screech of wheels grinding against tracks at high speed echoed through the pitch-black tunnel.
With her mind filled with miraculous knowledge, Iseri Nina walked behind Kurusu Akira, looking utterly dejected.
Mementos, Persona, runaway incidents, stealing hearts, mental shutdowns... all these supernatural things left her completely bewildered. If she hadn't seen them with her own eyes, she probably would have just dismissed them as fabrications born from Kurusu Akira's chuunibyou.
In the end, she only managed to figure out two things: "Amamiya Ren is a Phantom Thief" and "Amamiya Ren is very impressive."
This made Kurusu Akira, who was just starting his journey as a mentor, feel a sense of frustration that she wasn't living up to her potential.
Iseri Nina tugged at the corner of his shirt. "However, I think I understand now why the Mementos looks like a train station."
She looked ahead at the crowded masses slowly disappearing into the train cars. All her experiences since leaving Kumamoto rushed back to her, suddenly condensing into an indescribable sense of oppression and gloom, leaving her slightly dazed. "So this is Tokyo..."
"In Kumamoto, the city is pitch black at five in the morning, and the shops start closing one by one after eight or nine at night... Before, when Tokyo was mentioned, I could only think of Kimura Takuya and Tokyo Tower. Now, it suddenly feels like this place is on fire, with flames burning from day to night, and continuing endlessly back into the day."
Because of their perfectly suited height difference, Kurusu Akira couldn't help but reach out and pat her head.
"There are always many people rushing about day and night for their livelihoods and their future lives. This city lights up the streetlamps twenty-four hours a day to illuminate the path forward for them, preventing too many lost souls from falling into neglected gutters and drowning. Tokyo is just such a warm yet dangerous city."
"Warm yet dangerous, huh?..." Iseri Nina silently watched this bustling and noisy scenery. Everything was soaked in the red light of dusk, with the intense warmth mixed with the hard, cold clanking of metal.
One could imagine that even at the break of dawn, there must be countless people toiling away, rushing through this labyrinth woven with sparks.
"Amamiya! Nina!" Just then, a voice calling out to them could be heard from the crowd.
Kawaragi Momoka, carrying two guitar cases, struggled to run onto the platform. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
When she saw Kurusu Akira's eyes, Kawaragi Momoka felt a bit uncomfortable and quietly looked away.
Kurusu Akira seemed completely unbothered by what had happened last night and patted her shoulder as usual.
"Let's go, to STARRY."
The suspended monorail in the distance writhed like a gray earthworm, greeting the setting sun. The colorful flow of traffic, like a mottled centipede, crowded into the resplendent smog, emitting hoarse screeches as if mimicking human anxiety. As these sounds were scattered into every corner, the city's night truly began.
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