Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"Delicious."

The slightly sweet black tea soothed her taste buds. Xiangzi hadn't had such delicious black tea in a long, long time. If Mu hadn't come to find her, she probably would never have come to this shop again.

My mood relaxed along with the delicious food.

But Mu's next words ruined it.

"Su Shi is very worried about you and wants to ask you out," Mu said in a low voice.

Xiangzi's expression froze.

He put down his teacup and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, as if playing a tune—a method Xiangzi used to distract himself when he was agitated.

Her emotions, like boiling water trapped in a kettle, were suppressed and emitted a whimpering sound.

"Then say you can't reach me." Xiangzi looked out the window.

Mu silently picked up the orange juice and put the straw in her mouth.

The orange liquid rose up the straw.

Mu's calm demeanor once again provoked Xiangzi, and even though he knew it was a physiological problem that Mu had had since childhood, he couldn't control his emotions.

Xiangzi immediately took out a pill from his bag and swallowed it, but the medicine certainly wouldn't take effect so quickly.

She still couldn't calm down.

“Su Shi also said she would always wait for you,” Mu said again.

"Are you still planning to continue being Nagasaki Motoyo's messenger pigeon?!" Xiangzi slammed his hand on the table, drawing everyone's attention.

"..." Mu lowered his head, reverting to his usual withdrawn demeanor.

"I've had enough..." Xiangzi rubbed his head and sat back down, feeling like the world was torturing him. "Can't people just talk properly?"

"Auspicious..."

"Stop, don't call me yet." Xiangzi raised his hand between her gentle movements. "Let me calm down for a while."

Xiangzi tried hard to control her emotions, taking several deep breaths. When she finally calmed down, she found that she had already paid the bill with Yuzawa Tsugumi.

Forget it, I should have paid for it anyway.

Xiangzi turned around and walked back to his seat, sitting down in front of Mu.

Anyway, there are only two weeks left.

Confusion and self-pity are for those who have the time and energy.

She doesn't have it now.

"I want my dad's guns; only you know where they're hidden."

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping Your True Self: Chapter 33 Polyphony and the Wolf-Tailed Girl

"A gun?" Mu blinked.

"Ah."

"Where did you put the gun I gave you that night?"

"Is it because Sho is no longer a magical girl?"

Mu's words were like poking another shard of glass that was already crumbling.

The peaceful life that Xiangzi had painstakingly maintained shattered into pieces.

"Just tell me where it is."

But she maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, or at least what she perceived as calm.

Mu's eyes trembled slightly. She gripped the glass tightly, looked down at the liquid inside, and seemed lost in thought.

"..."

Xiangzi lowered his head, trying to subtly adjust his expression so that his face wouldn't be too distorted.

"Never mind." Xiangzi looked up, quickly finished the rest of Earl Grey's drink, and then immediately stood up. "I'm having some emotional issues. I'll ask you another day."

It might be better to leave now.

"I go first."

"..."

Mu stood there blankly, like a koala that had crashed, not even hearing what Xiangzi said.

Xiangzi sighed, turned around and walked out of Yuze Cafe.

After leaving the store, I walked a few steps and left the shopping street, arriving at the main road.

"Take a break, yes, take a break." Toyokawa Shoko strolled beside Shoko. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Xiangzi kept his head down and ignored her.

“If ‘the lamp’ were still here, she would definitely say these things to you,” Toyokawa Shoko said with a mischievous grin.

The pupils shrank to their maximum size in an instant.

"Get out of my way—!"

"----!sorry----!"

Xiangzi watched the passersby who had been frightened away by her, and heard people around her whispering that she had gone crazy.

She turned her head to look at the other side.

"Can you please stop bothering me?"

“I haven’t had as much freedom since you started taking your medication,” Toyokawa Shoko said slowly, leaning against the wall. “Give me a few more minutes, just to get some fresh air.”

"It's up to you."

Walking down the street, all you hear is the noise of passing vehicles, all you see are dusty skyscrapers and bustling traffic, and all you smell is the gasoline fumes from car exhaust.

With that annoying self right there beside her, even if Toyokawa Shoko didn't say a word, Shoko could still see her striking red and black magical girl outfit come into view.

All the senses mingled together, forming a chaotic and filthy montage in Xiangzi's mind, like a piece of distorted junk rock music, noisy, clamorous, world-weary, and oppressive.

Xiangzi slowly squatted down and covered his head.

Fortunately, the medicine finally took effect.

Toyokawa Shoko turned the corner and disappeared.

Not only did Xiangzi's emotions calm down, but it seemed that even his desires disappeared, and he became somewhat lightheaded.

When she came to her senses, she found herself standing at the entrance of a shopping mall, receiving stares from passersby.

It was indeed strange for someone to stand blankly at the entrance of the mall with their head up. Xiangzi shook his head and simply walked into the mall.

My phone sent me a message from Mu, a location.

Xiangzi breathed a sigh of relief.

I've finally accomplished something.

There was still some time before Chu Hua got off work, so she could go get her things later.

Actually, part of it is also due to the effect of the medicine. The doctor said that when it first takes effect, people feel lightheaded, less desireful, and more like... a sage.

Without goals and desires, people become lost.

She wandered aimlessly through the mall.

People always travel in groups, and Xiangzi was like a note that had strayed from the musical score, wandering aimlessly in the shopping mall.

As I walked, I could faintly hear the sound of a piano coming from somewhere.

Like the child in the fairy tale who found the candy house deep in the forest by smelling the candy, Xiangzi found the street piano placed under a load-bearing pillar in the mall.

A girl with a black wolf tail hairstyle sat in front of the piano, clumsily playing "Canon in D Major".

Xiangzi was drawn to the piano music and stopped beside it, listening quietly.

How long has it been since she last touched a piano?

I haven't touched it for more than half a year since my dream was shattered.

My hands are itching to get started.

Xiangzi looked around and saw that a crowd had gathered around, listening to the girl play the piano.

Her piano playing was clumsy and not very smooth.

But how to put it? Xiangzi could hear the performer's understanding of the music. Maybe she wasn't very good at playing the piano, but she could definitely play some other instrument.

This Canon wasn't played according to the score; it had a lot of improvisational elements, and the more Xiangzi listened, the more it stirred his heart.

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Xiangzi stepped forward, stood beside the girl, placed his hand on her right side an octave higher, and began to improvise with her.

Xiangzi closed his eyes and listened quietly for a while, then found a suitable time to let the third part join in the performance.

When the girl heard the third voice join in, she merely glanced at it indifferently and did not stop playing.

Xiangzi was very skilled; he not only improvised in sync with the girl's pace, but also used his left hand to guide her on how to coordinate correctly.

As Xiangzi joined in, more and more people gathered around. Even after the song ended, they did not stop playing, but instead entered a state of complete improvisation.

Many people raised their phones to record, and stood in a circle around the piano.

More passersby heard the music, saw a crowd gathered, and joined in.

I don't know when it started, but the street piano in the mall is surrounded by layers of people.

Xiangzi bent down and stood to the right of the girl, his right hand on the high register, transforming the simple polyphonic canon into a more complex and delicate retrograde canon, while his left hand tapped and gestured, instructing the girl on how to properly coordinate with him.

Xiangzi went from following to guiding and commanding.

Although the girl wasn't very skilled at the piano, she managed to keep up with Xiangzi's pace.

Two girls who had never met before met at a street piano in a shopping mall. They didn't know each other, but their performance was perfect.

She only ended the impromptu performance with a clenched fist as a pause, when Xiangzi felt he had had enough.

Deafening applause erupted from all around.

Xiangzi bowed to the surrounding audience to express his gratitude.

The girl, whom he had never met before, also stood up, closed the piano lid, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xiangzi to thank the audience.

They played for an unknown amount of time, and both of them had a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads.

"Just started learning piano? Your playing is quite clumsy, but your improvisation skills don't seem like those of a beginner. What have you been practicing before?" Xiangzi wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.

"I learned piano in elementary school, and now I play bass," the girl said.

"Bass? You must be a really good bassist."

"Miscellaneous praise."

"My name is Toyokawa Shoko, nice to meet you." Shoko extended her hand.

“Hachiman Kairin.” Kairin grasped Shoko’s hand.

Xiangzi caught a glimpse of the ring on Hailing's left middle finger.

The ring looked familiar; I once had one exactly the same.

========

P.S.: What was Mu Tou thinking when Xiangzi left? Mu Tou was thinking about where he had hidden Xiangzi's father's gun.

Ps2: The setting of Hailing playing the piano is based on the experiences of the person behind the character. Okada Yume started playing the piano in elementary school and later switched to bass.

The Tale of Nirvana: Keeping the True Self: Chapter 34 The Triangular Bloom: In the Prime of Life

This world is so big.

The world is not what I imagined.

This world is awful.

These are Chu Hua's feelings at different times after leaving her hometown.