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

Their relationship is definitely closer than before.

Or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

Because of the information she had just discovered, a worried Saeko Busujima followed her juniors to a kendo equipment store.

After the third semester begins this year, she will graduate directly from junior high school.

Therefore, she gave up her position as the head of the Kendo Club in advance. Today, she was invited by the girls in the Kendo Club to have lunch with them, as they wanted to thank her for taking care of her as the head of the club.

In the afternoon, I accompanied them around the area and helped them choose products from brands they trusted.

Actually, two other guys in the club also privately invited Saeko Busujima, using the same excuse.

Saeko refused all of them except for the girls' invitations, which naturally showed that she was considering someone's feelings.

"Wow, look! It's my senior's poster!"

Wakana was the most lively of the girls in our group. As soon as we entered the store, she pointed excitedly at the advertising board next to the shelf.

Shh! Keep your voice down, everyone else in the store is watching us!

"That's right, we already knew about this, didn't we? You were the one who showed us that senior's video ad last time!"

"Seeing it in person at a specialty store is a completely different matter."

Saeko Busujima didn't react much; she simply looked at the poster quietly.

Looking at the poster of himself and Yuan Qianye back to back, each holding a sword to one side, he was somewhat lost in thought.

If I remember correctly, this poster was taken shortly after we signed with Xishantang last year.

At that time, I wasn't very comfortable in front of the camera. My movements weren't a big problem, but my expressions never met the photographer's requirements.

Later, Qianye led him in playing a game on the sidelines, writing characters on his palms and then swallowing them whole. The two practiced face-to-face several times, and the subsequent filming went smoothly, even starting more than forty minutes ahead of schedule.

The girl named Asaka beside her was perceptive and clearly noticed that something was wrong with Saeko Busujima. She cautiously spoke up.

"Senior, something's definitely on your mind today, isn't it?"

Saeko snapped out of her daze, looked at her, gave a polite smile, and shook her head.

"Sorry to have worried you. I just suddenly remembered what happened when we were filming this commercial. It's nothing serious. Okay, let's go pick out what you want to buy."

Girls often struggle with making choices when shopping, but with Saeko's advice and explanations, everyone decided on the items they needed to buy in less than ten minutes.

After paying their respective bills, the group walked out of the store together. They had done what they needed to do that day, and it was time for them to go home.

On the way to the tram station, we could chat for a while longer.

Generally speaking, the topics girls talk about when they get together are nothing more than makeup, clothes, campus gossip, and... boys.

This refers to what is known as a romantic relationship.

It's no longer unusual for middle school students to be dating in today's society.

Given Japan's current severe low birth rate, public opinion is even tolerant and encouraging of this issue.

In fact, all three girls around Saeko have their own boyfriends.

If you have such a common topic, you will naturally talk about this aspect.

"...My boyfriend has suddenly become much colder towards me lately for some reason, and we've stopped texting each other goodnight."

"It's what they call a burnout period. Once the initial novelty wears off, everyone goes through this phase."

"is it?"

"I'm in the same situation here. Once I went to his school to wait for him to finish his club activities, intending to go home together, but I saw him walking and chatting with another girl. That girl even fed him candy. It was really infuriating!"

"No way!"

"That's so awful! What did you do next?"

They started chatting enthusiastically again.

Then, it was the perceptive Asaka who was the first to notice something was wrong.

It's been a long time since Busujima-senpai joined the conversation!

That makes sense. My senior has to maintain her academic performance and focus on kendo, so she probably doesn't like these kinds of boring topics...

When they turned their heads, they saw Saeko Busujima looking at them with bright eyes, appearing very interested.

That senior... she's actually interested in our relationship?!

"Everyone."

Saeko suddenly spoke with a smile, pointing to the tea and snack shops along the roadside.

"It's still early. If you're not in a hurry to go home, how about we go in together for a while and have some afternoon tea? Consider it a return gift for your treat to dinner."

Were they really so interested that they would specifically invite us for tea just to hear about such a trivial topic?!

Asaka was still quite surprised, but the others were already excitedly shouting "Yay!" and immediately surrounded Saeko as they entered the store.

Just as Asaka had predicted, after the tea and snacks were served, Saeko deliberately guided Wakana to continue the conversation about her philandering boyfriend without any hesitation.

"...Of course, the result was that I rushed forward and grabbed my boyfriend's arm to assert my ownership. The girl, no, the mistress, saw this and immediately ran away feeling guilty!"

"Asaka is really amazing." Saeko admired her courage, but she also had a concern: "But your boyfriend must have some issues with this too."

"Of course he has problems, but if I were to break up with him because of this, wouldn't I be fulfilling the wishes of that mistress and actively pushing them together? I'm not that stupid."

These words made Saeko, who was discussing this topic with someone her own age for the first time, nod thoughtfully, as if she had realized something.

"The so-called boys are all simple and oblivious guys. Later, I asked him privately why he did that, and his answer was that he didn't realize there was anything wrong with it at the time. He thought that everyone was friends and it was normal to joke around together."

Asaka chimed in, "Could it be just an excuse?"

"It doesn't matter whether it is or not. Anyway, I like him very much. This is not an irreparable mistake. I just need to be warned once and not do it again."

The other girl at the table nodded in deep agreement.

This kind of value system in relationships between the sexes is quite common in Japan today, where male chauvinism prevails and women's rights have been neglected.

Women tend to be more tolerant of men, both in dating and marriage.

Many married housewives feel resentful about their husbands' frequent absences at night, even though they know they are out partying in brothels. However, as long as their husbands can pay the household expenses on time and ensure the family's basic needs, such as food, clothing, and care for the children and elderly, are met, they are happy.

So even fundamental errors can be ignored or even forgiven. This is the general trend of the version, which has been going on for a long time, and according to the current trend, it will probably continue to be maintained.

"...Anyway, after that incident, I reflected on myself. Before, the most I did was hold hands with him, and kissing depended on the situation. We've been dating for over a year, and it's really not fair to only go that far, so..."

"so?"

"So... I... I granted him the request he had always wanted."

"Liar!"

"No way! Wakana! You've already... crossed the line into adulthood!?"

Shh!!! Your voices can be heard outside the store!

No wonder the other girls at the table were so surprised. Even Saeko couldn't keep her usual calm expression after seeing Wakana say those words with a shy and embarrassed look. Her face turned red instantly.

How come someone who is clearly your junior has already become your senior in that kind of thing?!

"It's not what you think, it's just..."

Wakana stretched out her small right hand, clenched her palms together, then opened them again.

Then, under the gaze of others, she gently touched her lips.

"...That's all there is to it!"

"What do you mean 'only to this extent'? This is already... really ahead of its time! It feels like you're already at this level, you could be completely taken advantage of at any moment!"

"No, I will hold the line until the very end, at least until high school."

Saeko didn't quite understand what Wakana meant.

After Asaka whispered a detailed explanation in Saeko's ear, Saeko's face turned even redder.

What...what is all this...?

Hands and mouths...

Will I really be happy?

This kind of thing wasn't taught in physiology class at all.

Everyone else noticed Saeko's reaction.

Wakana, who had been talking about her own life, now wanted to hear other people's stories.

Of all these, she was most interested in Saeko.

"Um, senior, you're so outstanding and beautiful, and so popular with the boys. Yuan must get jealous all the time."

"No, not really... huh?!"

The beginning was fine, but the last sentence completely stumped Saeko.

"Why are you suddenly bringing up Qianye?"

"Aren't you and Yuan a couple?"

"what?"

I had no idea that something so wonderful could happen to me.

"Oh, really? Ah... well, the girls in the kendo club all think you two are already officially dating."

Why would you think that?

"Because you two are together most of the time, participate in competitions together, are equally excellent, and even participate in interview programs and shoot advertisements for various products together. You have such a strong sense of being a couple. Even though you haven't made it public, we just can't help but think so."

"I see..."

Saeko's face showed no dissatisfaction, and even a hint of shyness.

It seems... this is quite enjoyable, so my usual feeling was right. Not to mention Yuan, the senior must have a lot of goodwill towards her.

The others, realizing this, became bolder.

"Even if you're not dating yet, it feels like it'll be soon. Senior, I recommend you hurry up and work hard. After all, a guy as handsome, smart, and athletic as Yuan is more precious than a panda these days."

amount……