In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

For the rest of the time, she rested her chin on her hand, occasionally glancing out the window or at him sitting in front of her, enjoying his meal.

Yuan Qianye felt a little apologetic: "Don't you feel bad seeing me like this since you can't eat right now?"

Kazusa shook her head: "No, don't rush, eat slowly, there's no need to rush."

She likes sweet things, but she's not a glutton; she wouldn't feel envious just watching others eat.

Yuan Qianye nodded and looked out the window: "It is indeed as you said, a very beautiful view."

Today the weather was sunny, not cloudy or smoggy, with excellent visibility and a great view of the entire city.

The Edogawa and Sumida Rivers reflect the streetlights under the night sky.

The Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay and the Metropolitan Expressway, with their densely packed, surging car taillights resembling the constant flow of cells in the human body, are particularly spectacular at night.

Kazusa was secretly pleased to receive his approval: "It's just a pity that there doesn't seem to be a light show tonight."

"Thanks to you, I was able to enjoy the Christmas Eve special set meal and see such an unforgettable night view. I'm already quite satisfied with that. To be honest, this is my first time at Tokyo Tower."

"Didn't your school organize any visits for you when you were in elementary school?" Kazusa asked with an innocent and naive expression.

Chiya Minamoto explained with a smile, "Not all elementary school group visits choose Tokyo Tower as their destination."

"I see..."

They chatted casually like this for ten minutes, and then only the skeleton of the tomahawk steak in front of Yuan Qianye remained.

He put down his knife and fork, and took a napkin to wipe his mouth.

The waiter came over to clear the plates; we'd finished the main course, and there would be dessert later.

Kazusa then picked up her phone and checked the time.

Yuan Qianye noticed her movement: "What, do you want to go back?"

"I'm fine. I can go back home whenever I want. I'm worried about you. It's almost nine o'clock. If you don't go back at this time... Is everything alright at home?"

If Touma Yoko were here right now, she would probably look at her daughter with a rather surprised expression.

This is truly a rare case of a daughter who can stand in other people's shoes and consider their perspectives.

Yuan Qianye didn't think too much about it: "It's okay. I told them before I came out that I would be back late tonight. Besides, I'm a boy, so they won't worry too much about me."

Kazusa was puzzled at first, but then she realized that the person sitting in front of her was the middle school kendo champion: "By the way, back then, my mom even made me watch the broadcast video of your kendo competition."

"Aunt Youko is also interested in Kendo?"

It's not that I'm interested in Kendo, but rather in you.

Kazusa was shy and found it difficult to say this directly. After stammering and brushing it off, she congratulated him on winning the championship.

She was dragged along by her mother to watch it. She didn't understand the rules of kendo, and after watching for a couple of seconds, she felt that the process was too simple, since the winner was decided in just a moment.

In addition, she didn't know much about Gen Chiyo at that time, so she naturally didn't have much interest in watching it seriously.

As a result, Kazusa doesn't have many specific battle scenes from the Minamoto Chiya tournament left in her mind.

She made up her mind that once she got back, she would search for his competition videos again, understand the rules, and watch them carefully once more.

The dessert for Yuan Qianye was served: Black Forest chocolate cake.

When he was halfway through his meal, Touma Yoko sent him another message.

But it wasn't sent to Yuan Qianye; it was sent to her daughter.

Are you happy tonight?

Just five short words.

Kazusa stared at her phone screen, then secretly glanced at Chiya Minamoto sitting opposite her.

She had the answer in her heart, but her fingers hovered over the virtual keyboard, unable to type out a reply.

It seemed as if Touma Yoko could sense and understand her daughter's emotions even from a thousand miles away.

After seeing that his message had been read, he sent another message.

[You're not blaming Mom anymore, are you?]

This time, Kazusa only thought for a moment before replying.

I never blamed you.

Reply complete.

That smug little flavor...~

When Touma Yoko, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, saw the news about her daughter, she chuckled happily and rolled over with a pillow between her thighs.

At this moment, Gen Chiya had also officially finished his meal.

I took a sip of water and wiped my mouth.

The restaurant provides fresh breath mints, so there's no need to chew gum.

"Then let's go for a walk around the neighborhood, just like you said before."

"Ah."

Kazusa had not experienced many happy moments in the past.

But now, she desperately wants to share with him all the few happy moments she has in her memory.

"Thank you for your patronage. This way, please."

The restaurant waiter respectfully escorted them to the restaurant entrance.

The doorman bowed and nodded as she presented a small gift.

A bouquet decorated with many Christmas elements.

There was also a gift bag printed with the restaurant's name, containing two towels.

Towel Genchiya carried it himself.

As for the bouquet, Kazusa took it and held it in her arms.

"Please take care, and welcome back next time."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Touma Kazusa is starting to regret it.

She shouldn't have replied to her mother's message just now!

After leaving the restaurant, her mother seemed to get excited, sending one message after another, endlessly.

What do you mean, "Think about it carefully, tonight, you and Qianye, can be considered a date?"

What, "Did he say you were cute tonight?"

"Based on my experience, holding hands is already a wonderful thing for middle school students in their dating stage. It's better to leave other things for later."

What nonsense is this? What mother would say such things to her daughter? It's utterly baffling!

So, unable to bear it any longer, Kazusa finally blocked her mother.

It doesn't matter much. I can just unblock her after tonight.

"You've been so busy ever since you left the restaurant," Yuan Qianye joked with a smile.

Touma Kazusa put her now-quiet phone back in her pocket: "I don't know what happened, but I received several spam text messages."

“Spam text messages are really annoying.” As he spoke, Yuan Qianye suddenly reached out and grabbed Kazusa’s arm, pulling her towards him.

Kazusa had no idea what was happening. She only heard the sound of wheels rolling and a bicycle whizzed past her.

The two of them had now arrived at the long, straight road in Shiodome near Tokyo Bay.

To the left, a lawn separates the area, beyond which are driveways and various urban buildings.

The right side is also separated by a large area of ​​lawn, and then the terrain drops sharply, with a row of cement road posts connected by iron chains to form a barrier.

Further out, you'll reach the beach, and every short distance you'll see a sign prohibiting you from climbing over it.

As you walk along this road, you can see many people taking walks in the evening, as well as people riding bikes, skateboarding, rollerblading, and so on.

Just now, Chiya was worried that Kazusa would be grazed by the bicycle, which was traveling at a considerable speed, so he reached out and pulled her back.

"Thank you." Kazusa watched the bicycle disappear into the distance, then belatedly thanked Minamoto Chiya.

"It's alright." After what just happened, Yuan Qianye came out from the inside and stood on the other side of He Sha, protecting her inside.

Kazusa didn't say anything, and her expression didn't change much, but at this moment her steps became much lighter than before.

"This place is not quite the same as when I last came here."

What has changed?

"There used to be no lawns on either side of the road, but now the road is smoother and the streetlights are brighter."

"The city is developing."

“There used to be people setting up stalls here, selling nothing rare or unusual, but the presence of vendors and people gathering together made it feel lively.”

Kazusa reminisced about the past. She looked down slightly at the solid line on the side of the road, aligned her feet with it, and slowly walked forward step by step.

Do you like this change?

"!!!"

Kazusa suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Yuan Qianye was looking up at the sky when he took another step and realized that the person beside him hadn't followed.

"What's wrong?" He turned around and looked over.

"No...it's nothing!"

Kazusa cut off the jumbled thoughts in her mind, lowered her head, and started walking quickly again.

Let's leave that question behind.

Chiya didn't ask any more questions, and Kazusa didn't answer either.