Tokyo Trickster

He looked at Hanekawa Tsubasa, "You look a little embarrassed, Hanekawa-san."

"Do you know me?" Hanekawa Tsubasa assured that he had never met such a special peer.

"I'm from the sixth grade at Imori Private Elementary School, Ren Amamiya," the cute boy waved his right hand, which was wearing a thick blade-proof glove, at her. "We are from neighboring schools... I've always heard your name from various teachers."

"For example?" Hanekawa Tsubasa lifted the hair that was blocking her view, as if her curiosity was aroused.

"The Demon Elementary School Student Who Has a Chance of Being Admitted to Tokyo University, the Eleven-Year-Old Study Star... In short, it's a nickname along these lines."

"Oh, that's so shameful."

"Really? I was wondering what kind of girl 'Hekawa Tsubasa' is that every teacher would praise her so much. Now I see it."

"Well...what do you think? About Hanekawa Tsubasa." The girl was in a trance and forgot to maintain the smile and calmness that permeated her life.

"I'm a little disappointed, but of course, it's also somewhat expected," Amamiya Ren put her hands on her hips and smiled smugly, "I originally thought you would be a very proud person, someone I need to work hard to catch up with. But now I feel that you're probably still a long way from being as good as me."

"You're just kidding. I've never heard of anyone like you."

"There's a Chinese proverb that goes 'A single move astounds everyone.' When you get into junior high school, you'll naturally recognize and remember my name," Amamiya Ren shook her finger with disdain on her face. "I despise those elementary school test questions. While you were playing and attending classes, I had already taught myself all the subjects for the first year of junior high school. I even learned social labor practice and personal skills training."

"Social labor practice?" Hanekawa Tsubasa had unknowingly moved close to Amemiya Ren, carefully looking at his workbench. By the time she reacted, the two of them were already sticking close to each other.

Girls of the same age always mature much earlier than boys, and she feels a little shy.

"Of course!" Amamiya Lian took off her gloves and introduced to her seriously, "I have been learning from the master craftsman in the wood carving factory here in the past few months. This is my latest achievement."

"It's like...a flower?"

"Hey, it's just a semi-finished product, this is just an embryo!" Amamiya Lian patted Hanekawa Tsubasa's shoulder, "Since you and I are destined to be together, I'll give it to you as a gift when I finish it!"

Weird. This was Hanekawa Tsubasa's first impression of Amamiya Ren.

But it was also the first time she met a peer who could completely keep up with her thinking.

During the conversation, no matter what the topic was: current affairs news, difficult subjects, understanding of interesting scientific facts, or even exploration of further studies and school selection, Amamiya Ren knew everything about it.

For a moment, he forgot the pain in his body and enthusiastically shared with Amamiya Ren the thoughts that had been hidden in his heart for many years.

It is hard to believe that the topic between the two elementary school students even has a logical depth that surpasses the understanding of education and society by a thirty-year-old office worker.

It was not until the evening that they realized the shortness of time when a man in a work shirt approached on a bicycle, "Xiao Lian, is this your friend?"

"New friend," Amamiya Lian shook her head and began to pack up, putting the materials and tools into the drawer of the workbench, and then pushed them into the wood carving shop next to her. "I'll give you the wood carving tomorrow when it's done. I think I need to go home for dinner..."

The store manager was lying in a chair smoking a cigarette, too lazy to even lift his eyelids.

"How can you talk like that?" The man slapped Amamiya Ren on the back of her head and smiled at Hanekawa Tsubasa. "His mother accidentally cooked too much food. If you find it troublesome to go back to the main city, you can stay at our house."

"Hey, didn't you say you only made three beef sandwiches?"

"Don't eat it."

"What's the meaning?!"

"Don't yell, you'll thank me later..." There is something I didn't say. You don't cherish such a lovely girl at all.

"Hey!" Amamiya Ren was still arguing with the man.

Hanekawa Tsubasa wanted to say that she was not hungry, but her empty belly echoed with the cries of her stomach, so she finally followed them silently into a cozy single-family house.

This is Amamiya Ren's home.

She was received very warmly and was even taken to visit Amamiya Ren's new bedroom.

An emotion I had never experienced before surged in my heart.

Hanekawa Tsubasa, who was already a high school student, leaned against the door. She looked at the bedroom that had not changed at all from many years ago, but her eyes lingered on Shiomi Kotone. Her emotions fluctuated violently, which was rare.

She had already made sufficient mental preparations. Before the spring break, she thought that even if she met Amamiya Ren's girlfriend, she could maintain a normal mentality...

The perfect squad leader was finally shaken when he saw Kotone Shiomi.

Amamiya Ren once said that Hanekawa Tsubasa was a false absolute perfectionist, and that most of the time her motivation for doing things was not because of "kindness" or "justice", but because of "correctness".

This "correct" "perfection" was born from. An absolutely miserable tragedy, her family: Hanekawa Tsubasa's life experience is extremely rough. Her biological mother gave birth to her at the age of seventeen, but she didn't know who the man was. She chose to get married in order to raise children and money. But soon after the marriage, Hanekawa's biological mother hanged herself in front of her crib, and the young Hanekawa was adopted by the "first father" who had no blood relationship. In order to raise children, Hanekawa's "first father" remarried. Then, this father died of overwork due to overwork. The mother left behind was the "second mother", that is, the current mother, and the current father was her remarriage partner. When this series of events ended, Hanekawa was not yet three years old. The truth should have been concealed, but Hanekawa's parents were outspoken and told her the truth before Hanekawa went to elementary school.

The relationship between family members was extremely cold. Hanekawa Tsubasa had a cold relationship with her current parents, and the same was true for her parents. I don't know when the love between her parents disappeared, but they still had to maintain that kind of relationship until Hanekawa became an adult. The relationship between family members had become incredibly cold. In the house where she grew up, the most common filling was domestic violence and insults that completely defamed her dignity and personality.

However, Hanekawa Tsubasa, who grew up in such an environment, has a perfect personality. She has excellent academic performance and is very good at all subjects, including sports. She likes to help others and is the kind of person who will rush to help you if you have a problem. She is kind-hearted and treats everyone with the same gentleness. If she sees a dead cat on the road, she will bury the body in a place with good feng shui. In the eyes of both teachers and classmates, Hanekawa is a very perfect person. Perfection is her way of survival and her innate character.

Even Hanekawa Tsubasa, who is essentially a monster, still calls Amamiya Ren a "weirdo". Of course, by the time she is about to graduate from junior high school, the title of "weirdo" has become "monster". In other words, Amamiya Ren can be said to be a "monster among monsters", but he himself is not clear about this.

After experiencing the "Clown Town" case, Amamiya Ren's insight has grown to an exaggerated degree. "Hekawa, you just keep doing the right thing, never considering whether these things are out of your own emotions. Helping classmates or burying the cat's body is not out of sympathy, but just because it is the right thing to do." It was the dusk when the school bell rang, Naoetsu High School was bathed in the red wine-like intoxication, and Amamiya Ren, who was about to go to Tokyo, was packing his schoolbag. He looked at Hanekawa Tsubasa who was standing on the podium at a loss.

The separation came without any warning, just as Amamiya Ren suddenly revealed, he put on his schoolbag and held the transfer application form in his hand, as if they were meeting for the first time again.

Amamiya Ren patted Hanekawa Tsubasa's shoulder with a smug smile on her face, "Class monitor, don't get bogged down in contradictions because of my experience. If you can't figure out what is right... you just need to stick to what you think is right. I don't hate Hanekawa Tsubasa like this."

"Why are you suddenly saying this?" Hanekawa Tsubasa frowned.

Amamiya Ren walked towards the door of the classroom, "Do you remember the wooden carved flowers I gave you a few years ago?"

"..."

"See, you're wavering," Amamiya Ren said, "The bottom line is that you don't trust my abilities enough and are worried that I won't be able to survive in Tokyo."

Hanekawa Tsubasa seemed to want to say something but stopped.

Amamiya Ren has already walked out of the classroom. "You just need to stick to your own 'right'. After all, this is how you have always survived."

"You're such a freak, Amemiya-san. It's as if you can see through other people completely with just a few words." Hanekawa Tsubasa did not refute Amemiya Ren's remarks. She just trembled with fear and excitement.

"Thank you, monitor. I have never seen such a library-level amount of knowledge like yours."

Amamiya Ren smiled like a passionate anime hero. He raised his fist and waved it, "If there's a chance, let's fight again in Tokyo."

It was obvious that this boy had always regarded Hanekawa Tsubasa as his destined rival and best friend. So he spoke lines of Chuunibyou and thought about the duel and victory.

Hanekawa Tsubasa watched him go away, feeling extremely powerless. She smiled brightly, but her heart was filled with disappointment. She whispered, "He keeps saying 'correct' and 'perfect', as if he knows everything about others, but he always lives on his own and is immersed in his own world."

She looked around the classroom and felt it was too empty.

For Hanekawa Tsubasa, Amamiya Ren is like a salvation.

Two people who were destined to leave a mark in the Japanese education world met by coincidence in the same school, dispelling each other's loneliness. Their thinking abilities, which surpassed their peers' horizons and knowledge, were compared with each other, and they also satisfied the "communication" that was necessary for each other as students and could not be provided by others.

This boy brought a fiery spark to her sad life.

He has a family relationship that makes Hanekawa Tsubasa extremely envious, and in turn gives her the clearest and purest friendship.

Hanekawa Tsubasa shouldn't have asked for more, but she always thought for countless days and nights how nice it would be if she could live with Amamiya Ren forever.

Everything she desired was fulfilled in this boy.

This is a greedy fantasy.

It is an emotion that goes against what is “right”.

With her back against Amemiya Lian's door, the cold wooden door panel was like countless babies' palms, caressing her spine, and her heart rate was accelerating.

Hanekawa Tsubasa now realizes that she might be doing the wrong thing...she is getting involved in a relationship where there is no place for her.

(PS: I stayed up all night watching the APEX competition, so today’s post is only 4K words.)

(PS2: Shinobu Oshino will appear tomorrow. Gold velvet cake, start!)

17-year-old Ace: 178. Phantom Thief and Vampire (4.9K)

This city is wrapped in a torrent of desire...

As Amamiya Ren walked on the Naoetsu cross-sea bridge, his ability called "Eye of Fool" born in the Velvet Room was activated. He could see overwhelming and exaggerated colors spreading from the end of the world to the entire sky, which was so dazzling and complex that it made people sick.

The last time I saw such a scene was in Yasababa City.

But compared to the sky of Naoetsu, Hasiwaba is much clearer. To make a metaphor, the former is the wall of Pike Place Market in Seattle, USA, which is covered with millions of pieces of chewed gum, while the latter is like being carefully washed with a high-pressure water gun.

(Hot knowledge: The Gum Wall is one of the most disgusting attractions in the world. It is located in Pike Place Market in Seattle, USA, and is one of the exterior walls of the Market Theater. It has been selected as the "dirtiest attraction" many times.)

In the Velvet Room, Lavenda suddenly opened her eyes. She looked at the door that was shaking continuously, as if some ghostly being was trying to break in through the impression space.

Is it Judas? A collection of regretful consciousness. The secretary frowned, threw away the half-knitted sweater in her hand, ran behind the desk and opened the window. The original impression of the space was a sunny coastal town, but now it was filled with bizarre things.

This city is a disaster area of ​​distorted desires, and it barely maintains a superficial balance due to the influence of a few special characters in reality.

Now, with the invasion of "Judas", this carefully maintained balance has been broken, and the hideous true face of Naoetsu has emerged from the bottom of the sea.

It was like countless whales cut by blades, their blood dyed the sea red, their roars crossed the tsunami, huge reefs rushed out of the water, the dome of the Byzantine building, due to the erosion of the sea water for many years, it became cracked and gray. Next came the main body of the palace, like the centralized building of Hagia Sophia.

The blood leaped high into the sky along the waves. In the colorful sky, the round sun hung in the thin clouds, decorated with gorgeous patterns, like the vertical pupils of a giant snake.

Lavenda looked at the drastic changes in the impression space and sighed deeply, then she raised her index finger and turned towards the door of the Velvet Room.

At this moment, the door burst open and a salty sea breeze blew from the ruins of the game hall.

"Megiddorahon." She said this, and her fingertips flexed. A bright white light appeared in the room. It floated in the air, and then expanded at a speed that could not be captured by the naked eye. By the time the invader reacted, the shock wave was already approaching.

The identity and appearance of "Judas" are not known for the time being. Only a vague cry of pain is heard, and a pale, hunchbacked figure quickly moves away.

"You don't dare to attack Margaret, but you dare to attack me?" Lavenda's face was as cold as frost. If Judah didn't run away, she would really find a way to strangle K. to death.

What on earth does this guy want to do? She held the [Power] tarot card with "Superman Amamiya Ren" printed on it.

Lavender had to admit that she was not as good as Margaret. She could only watch Judas act recklessly in the impression space, erasing the existence of those humans from the collective cognition...but she was powerless to stop or save him. (See Chapter 169 for details)

In reality, Naoetsu just experienced a light snowfall to celebrate the New Year, and suddenly the clear sky turned into dark clouds.

Amemiya Ren stood at the edge of the bridge, looking up in astonishment at the dark sea of ​​clouds and low pressure. The vast sea surface was also turbid and ink-black. The sky was dark and the earth was gloomy, with darkness overlapping darkness. A bright and sharp sword stretched out from the dark space and pointed at the back of his neck.

Facing the sea, Amamiya Ren widened her eyes and cold sweat dripped down her cheeks.

My heartbeat seemed to become extremely slow.

Every inch of the scene is clearly visible and moving slowly, like a movie film played by hand.

He turned around, tore off the end of the gun bag, and pulled out Cong Yu Wan.

Wow... The rising waves hit the bridge heavily, washing and rolling, covering Amamiya Ren's ankles.

Then, in an instant, Amamiya Ren disappeared, and dense flames broke out in the air. The sound of metal colliding almost drowned out the thunder in the sky.

"【Chronos】."

The Phantom Thief called out to his Persona.

This is a time stop of nearly four seconds.

He saw a tall woman with golden hair standing less than three meters in front of him, holding a two-meter-long sword in her slender hands.

The other person has a gorgeous face that no human can possess, eyes that sparkle like rubies, skin as pale as snow, and a demonic charm flowing out from every detail of his facial features.

Her waist is higher than that of an average person, and her graceful curves extend to her long legs.

Sharp fangs sticking out of bright red lips mark her identity—

vampire.

Amemiya Ren doesn't know whether Cong Yu Wan is useful against vampires...but as long as it is a ghost story, it is ultimately created by "information dissemination", and its essence comes from human cognition.

According to Cong Yuwan's exaggerated lethality to shadows in the impression space.

In the first second of pause time, he dodged the vampire's blade.

Standing beside her, he sheathed the Cong Yu Wan and assumed an Iai stance.

The second passed.

Visualization, breathing, and carp mouth.

Pull out and strike, cut down.

This is the back and forth of the kasaya slash and the reverse kasaya slash, with three sword swings overlapping in an instant.

The fantasy swordplay called Swallow Return is completed.

The third second passed.

He swung the knife vigorously, slashing at the vampire's limbs.

The last blood vibration.

Time resumed its flow.

Under the vampire's horrified gaze, Amamiya Ren had appeared behind her, rubbing her sore wrists.

I couldn't feel my limbs anymore. Severe and abnormal pain shot through my body, as if the divine sword was coated with a deadly poison for vampires.

She thought that she must give birth again as soon as possible.