Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 513

"I'm going too." Hailing smoothed her messy hair and said somewhat sullenly, "I'm going to take a shower, wait for me."

"Are you alright?" Xiangzi asked.

Hailing shook her head and said it wasn't a big problem, but you'd have to wait for me for a while. That was roughly the gist of it; her attitude was very firm, and she didn't seem like she could shake him off easily.

So while Hailing was taking a bath, Xiangzi and Miaomeng bought two cans of hot drinks from the vending machine downstairs, sat on the steps, and passed the time.

Miaomeng took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, twisted off the filter, lit it, and put it in her mouth. The unfiltered smoke swirled in her lungs before coming out again. Miaomeng deliberately turned her head, and the smoke hit Xiangzi's face, causing him to cough.

"you--!"

Xiangzi angrily grabbed the cigarette from her mouth, stubbed it out, and threw it into the ashtray in the nearby trash can.

"Smoke, smoke, smoke, I'll smoke you to death!" Xiangzi's eyebrows shot up, he was furious. "When did you start smoking, you bastard?"

"Uh, a while ago?"

"Several cycles ago?"

"Five or six."

"You've been smoking for almost half a year?! How come I didn't know?!"

“You don’t care about me, so you definitely don’t know.” Miao Meng pouted, turned her head to the side, and tried to turn the tables. “I’m so wronged. When I’m wronged, I have to find a way to relieve the pressure, so I have to find something.”

"You're not allowed to smoke anymore." Xiangzi held out his hand, making her take out the cigarette box.

"You say you won't do it, but what are you going to do to compensate me? I can recover even if I'm cut in half, are you afraid I'll get lung cancer from it? That's ridiculous."

Despite saying that, Miaomeng obediently took out the cigarette box and placed it in Xiangzi's palm. She still had some in her pocket, and her lighter was still there. Xiangzi, clearly inexperienced, thought that was the end of it.

Xiangzi threw the whole pack of cigarettes into the trash can.

“I don’t like it,” she said. “My dad smokes too, and it’s the same brand as yours.”

Miaomeng certainly didn't care for women's cigarettes; she only chose particularly strong brands, just like someone in Xiangzi's memory.

"Did I bring up some bad memories? Well, I apologize." Miao Meng shrugged. "I won't be using this brand anymore."

"Still smoking?"

"Uh... try to do as little as possible."

"Hmph." Xiangzi gulped down a mouthful of hot milk tea.

After a brief period of quiet, the cicadas chirped softly in the summer air.

“Hey, I said Er (Nine) Qi VI Nine Seal Scattered Dad 6.” Miao Meng suddenly spoke up, “You haven’t been relaxing lately, have you?”

"Where have we found the time to relax?" Xiangzi rubbed his forehead. "How long have we been stuck here this month?"

"It's been a long time, I've lost count."

“It’s been close to forty times,” Xiangzi said. “For more than three years, I still can’t see any hope of safely getting through Witch’s Night.”

"Look on the bright side, you still have us with you." Miaomeng raised her hand and put her arm around Xiangzi's shoulder. "At least you're not going back and forth alone."

"......"

Xiangzi lowered his head in silence, offering no response.

Miao Meng lowered her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of Xiangzi's expression hidden in the shadows, but clearly, she couldn't see it.

This used to work, and Xiangzi would be moved and say thank you a couple of times, but it stopped working after the number of reincarnations increased.

When Xiangzi silently lowered his head, he was definitely thinking about something else.

Each cycle begins on June 1st, and the events of Ryukyu, Soseki, Kamahama, and Medien will be experienced again each time.

Chuka can go to Ryukyu alone. Before setting off, she cancels the school trip plan. Mutsu and Nyanmu go to Kamihama to find all the flowers of the Forgotten Land.

Meanwhile, in Takihara, Homura has found a way to calm Mami down, so the trip to Kamihama will no longer be full of danger.

Incidentally, if Meow Dream goes to Kamibara with her, they can eliminate this major threat before Medien leaves Kamibara. This way, when facing Nirvana in the end, they can avoid the nuclear bombs raining down on the entire world.

By this point, they were already very familiar with the game, as if they had played it countless times and could beat it with their eyes closed.

But what happens next?

Xiangzi closed his eyes in anguish, not wanting to recall the past.

She didn't know how to describe the experience of facing Nirvana face to face.

Each process was different, but without exception, they all ended in failure.

Nirvana has a way to sever the connection between the Soul Gem and the body. Only those who transcend the categories of magical girls and witches and possess super-causality can move within this area.

In other words, it doesn't matter how many people there are.

In the end, only Xiangzi was able to go up and fight.

But ErqiliuI3ba Liuyueyi, she can't win.

No matter what, I can't win.

Xiangzi covered her forehead, her mind filled with the sarcastic smile on that face that looked exactly like her own. That sneer was like a nightmare, deeply ingrained in her mind.

With each failure, the failure on Mitakihara's side will also cause Homura, who has the ability to reset, to bring them all back to June 1st, starting a new cycle.

They and Homura from Mitakihara are like a group of failed entrepreneurs, struggling again and again, repeating this cycle.

squeak-

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from behind. Miaomeng turned around and saw Hailing walking out of the apartment wearing a vest that showed off her muscular arms, a pair of work pants that made her lower body look very stable, a baseball cap on her head, and a bunch of fancy bracelets and necklaces on her hands and neck.

The outfit features a fitted top and loose bottom, creating an equilateral triangle shape that gives a sense of stability, making it a popular choice for many street dancers.

He looked like a seasoned pro.

Miao Meng wasn't surprised at all; instead, she greeted her.

"Hey, cool girl."

"Let's go." Hailing picked up her small bag and pulled down the brim of her baseball cap.

"Then let's go." Miaomeng turned her head and patted Xiangzi's shoulder. "Or do you want to go home?"

“Chu Hua won’t be back from Ryukyu until tomorrow, and there’ll be no one home for her.” Xiangzi sighed. “Let’s go, I’ll go with you.”

“That’s more like it.” Miao Meng grinned. “It’s no big deal to relax a little. We still haven’t made any progress on the remaining three Bremen Orchestras. We can have a chat about them.”

"..."

When will we finally be able to transcend this?

Xiangzi didn't know.

More importantly, when will I be able to stop seeing her die in front of me?

When Xiangzi thought of that face, his heart suddenly ached.

She didn't want to see that scene again.

The Tale of Reincarnation: Bonds - Chapter 680 Sometimes You Need to Relax

The low ceiling, dim lighting, and two hundred pairs of sneakers bouncing to the rhythm formed the main theme of the event.

As the rhythm of the music changes, the dim lighting also changes accordingly.

Xiangzi stood on the stage, looking at the audience below, and then glanced at the people around him: the drummer was Miaomeng, the bassist was Hailing, and the guitarist was Mu. They were all acquaintances. Since the rock and roll song they were performing was purely instrumental, a lead singer was not needed, so Chuhua, who was still at sea at the moment, was not required. (Chuhua: Achoo!)

She lowered her hand in a daze, beginning to recall why she was there, why Mu was there, why she was in an underground livehouse, and why she was standing on the stage...

"Let's go play!"

Miaomeng put his arm around Hailing's shoulder like a buddy, holding a can of beer he bought at the convenience store—after smoking was banned, she immediately went to buy a bottle of beer.

Hailing seemed to dislike her, but in reality, her outfit made her look perfectly at ease standing next to Miaomeng. The two looked like best friends who had known each other for a long time and went to bars together, walking arm in arm on the sidewalk at night.

The traffic light ahead was red, but Miaomeng simply put her arm around Hailing's shoulder and led her across.

Xiangzi followed behind, trying to stop them, but they had already crossed the road. Xiangzi looked around and saw that it was indeed quiet and there wasn't a single car in sight. He gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and followed them across the road.

After crossing the road, she silently followed behind the two, her eyes slowly turning into a dead fish-like gaze as she stared at the two people in front of her, who were arm in arm, looking like a bunch of cronies.

When Miaomeng mentioned going out for nightlife, Xiangzi thought it meant going to that little bar that they had turned into their hangout, ordering a couple of drinks, and chatting while listening to jazz music.

But this wasn't the way to the bar at all, and Xiangzi had no idea where she wanted to go.

"you--"

While they were chatting and laughing, the two people in front of them crossed the road again.

Xiangzi hesitated for a moment at the zebra crossing before continuing to cross the road, following Qi Siqi and the others.

"Where exactly do you want to go?" Xiangzi asked, catching up with Miaomeng.

"Let's go somewhere fun," Miao Meng said with a smile, her cheeks flushed from the ethanol mixed with her blood. "I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"What kind of place is it...?" Xiangzi frowned. "It's not some kind of... place that can't be seen in the light of day, is it?"

“This is where I usually work,” Hai Ling said, turning her head to the side. “It has a proper business license, and I’ve never been owed wages.”

"work to earn a living?"

“Hmm.” Hailing nodded. “I have to find a way to support myself, otherwise I’ll just have to eat energy bars every day.”

As they were talking, Miaomeng and Hailing suddenly stopped.

Xiangzi couldn't stop in time and crashed into their backs.

"We've arrived?" Xiangzi blinked.

"Look." Miaomeng gestured to the side.

Xiangzi looked in the direction she pointed and saw a fluorescent sign on the street corner. It was obvious that the shop on the basement floor was just down the sign.

You can still see a few people walking inside here and there.

It was an underground livehouse, and it was at its busiest time of day. Hailing usually made a living by working part-time as a band member and mercenary, so it was perfectly normal for her to work in a place like this.

"As expected, I should have had a premonition."

The imagined quiet bar and chat room were nowhere to be found; the two of them just wanted to have some fun. I'd wasted so much time following them around like a puppy.

Xiangzi turned around and wanted to leave.

However, a petite figure carrying a guitar bag walked over from the street corner next to the sign, forcing Xiangzi to stop.

"Mu?" Xiangzi looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a feeling that Xiang will come," Mu said calmly.

Since becoming Mortis, Mu's "feelings" have been incredibly accurate, to a frightening degree, like a prophecy.

Then she used this ability to locate Xiangzi—is that really the case?

Xiangzi raised an eyebrow.

“Impossible. I know your ‘premonition’ very well. It’s impossible for you to know exactly where I’ll be.” Xiangzi crossed his arms, his eyes drifting from Mu to the side, finally settling on Miaomeng. “…Unless someone tipped him off.”

"Haha... How could that be?" Miao Meng scratched her head awkwardly, took a step back, and tried to hide behind Hai Ling.

But Hailing nimbly moved aside, exposing Miaomeng to Xiangzi's gaze once more. She took out her coin purse and turned to walk towards the vending machine next to her.

"I'll buy some drinks."

"Wait, I want one too—" Miaomeng said, trying to follow.

"—Stop right there!" Xiangzi coldly called out to her.

"......"

"......"

The streets fell silent, as if frozen. A cool breeze swept by, and a tumbleweed, which shouldn't be in a big city, rolled between the two of them.

Miaomeng creaked as she turned her head and twitched the corner of her mouth.

She was prepared to die.

That's when.

“Xiang, I came here on my own.” Mu walked to Xiangzi’s side and took her hand. “Miaomengzi just told me where you were going.”

You should be asleep by now.