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

"Ha... Haha, that's a bit strange. I could definitely blow it before, so it seems I haven't fully mastered it yet... By the way, Eriri, don't look at me with that helpless look like you're concerned about a child. Are you trying to be like my older sister?!"

"No, and I was born in March while you were born in June. So, physiologically speaking, it's true that I'm your older sister."

"Damn it, Eriri!" Rikka plucked something from the side of her skirt: "Watch closely, it will definitely surprise you!"

The next moment she brought it to her lips and blew it rhythmically three times.

"This is actually a whistle." Eriri was genuinely surprised. She had always thought that the delicate little seashell-shaped thing that Rikka had pinned to her skirt was just an ornament, something to look good and to show off her unique personality. She never expected it to have such a function.

but……

"Rikka, is this all you wanted to show me?"

"Of course not, look up at my house."

"Your home... Ah!"

Eriri did as she was told, puzzled, and the next moment she saw a dark shadow rapidly approaching from the sky!

The crow flapped its wings and arrived beside the two in an instant, landing on Rikka's head.

"Hmph~" Rikka, like a trainer who has successfully summoned her proud Pokémon, put her hands on her hips, faced her friend, and almost raised her nose to the sky: "How about it? Pretty amazing, right? I spent a lot of effort training Blackwing to be what it is now... Hmm!"

In Eriri's line of sight, Rikka, who was puffing out her chest and looking smug at her just a second ago, quickly shrank her neck and looked embarrassed the next moment.

The reason was that the crow that had obediently landed on her head suddenly lowered its head and pecked at her with its beak before she could finish speaking.

Eriri immediately became worried.

"Rikka, are you alright?"

"It's okay, it's okay! This guy is probably just joking with me."

It didn't hurt much. The Black Wings made a pecking motion at her head, but it didn't use much force.

The next moment, Rikka raised her hand with considerable dissatisfaction and held the Black Wings in front of her: "Hey you, what's wrong with you all of a sudden? Have you forgotten my kindness? I feed you so many pecans every day, those are high-end stuff that even I don't dare to eat too much of."

The black-winged bird turned its head away with remarkable intelligence, avoiding eye contact with her.

Eriri watched in amazement, saying, "It seems bigger and smarter than the last time I saw it."

"After all, I spend every day with it and teach it all sorts of things," Rikka said, puffing out her chest and patting herself on the back.

"That's great, I'm thinking of getting one myself." Eriri carefully reached out her hand and received a friendly interaction from the black-winged bird, which stretched out its head and gently rubbed against her. This made her eyes light up, and her previous indifference towards birds changed drastically.

In terms of pet preference niche, crows instantly surpassed cats, dogs, and rabbits to become the top-tier (T0) pet.

"I'll raise it. It'll keep my crow company."

As Rikka spoke happily, she took out a tissue and gently wiped her forehead.

It's April now, and the weather is getting warmer.

The weather was exceptionally good today, around 3 pm when the sun was at its strongest. It was quite hot to talk outdoors in an unshaded area.

"Alright, I've already shown you my summoning technique, Eriri. Don't just stand here like an idiot, let's go back and talk."

"Ah."

Just as Rikka and Eriri finished speaking, the Black Wings suddenly encountered another unexpected event.

It landed on Liuhua's shoulder, and as if it had been suddenly startled, it flapped its wings loudly.

The action was so dramatic that anyone who didn't know the situation would probably think the girl had been attacked by wild crows.

"Ugh!..." Rikka hugged Black Wings again, her expression serious: "What's wrong with you! You're acting so strangely today!"

The black wings squealed, its entire body now tightly gripped by Rikka, leaving only its mouth able to make a sound.

"Is it hungry? Does it want you to feed it?" Eriri offered her opinion from the side.

Rikka shook her head seriously: "No, it has a lot of food at home. If it wants to eat, it can just go and get it itself. It's obviously not about food. It's been acting too strangely today..."

After thinking for a moment, Rikka suddenly realized something and her face showed horror: "You, you didn't break all my treasured items, did you?!"

"A collectible?"

"It's my figurines. This guy has a history of this; he smashed my Hellfire Claw. He even knew how to hide the evidence, stuffing everything under the desk. It took me ages to find out!"

"Forehead……"

Is this really something a bird could do?

Eriri found it unbelievable.

But at this moment, the black wing that Rikka had caught did indeed lower its head slightly, making a gesture somewhat like a human feeling guilty.

This bird is truly intelligent!

Eriri was speechless.

"If you do something bad again, don't expect me to forgive you so easily!" Rikka said fiercely to the Black Wings, then turned to Eriri and gestured with her forehead: "Let's go."

"oh oh!"

Driven by her anxiety about her precious collection, Rikka unconsciously quickened her pace.

Eriri followed beside her, and while paying close attention, she only noticed that the black wings were making a series of "caw caws" that sounded like helplessness or powerlessness, and the volume was getting lower and lower.

Its behavior gave her a strange feeling of "whatever, I can't do anything about it, and I'm too lazy to try anymore."

While Eriri was lost in thought, Rikka had already rushed into the house.

"I am back!"

The loud greeting of returning home, without any attempt to conceal its volume, prompted Shihua to quickly walk out of the living room.

Rikka, who was in a great hurry, did not notice her older sister's flushed face, flustered expression, and difficulty breathing.

Eriri noticed this, but she didn't think much of it. She simply bowed slightly and said politely, "Sister Toka, I'm sorry to bother you."

"Ah...! Eriri's here, welcome, welcome."

Shihua stood with her hands behind her back, a few steps away from the entrance hall, at the other end of the corridor, showing no intention of coming closer.

After Darkwing arrived home, it became much more docile, no longer trying to break free or barking.

Rikka figured that this guy probably felt he had nowhere to run and had confessed his crime, so she simply let him go.

She took out slippers and, while inviting Eriri to change, said, "Sister, Eriri has guests at her house, so she'll be staying overnight."

"Okay, what does Eriri like to eat? I'll go out and buy some more groceries later." Toka glanced at the living room without changing her expression before turning her gaze back to answer her sister's question.

Eriri quickly waved her hand upon hearing this, saying, "Sister Toka, there's no need for you to go to such trouble. I feel embarrassed by your actions."

"Don't be shy. You're a friend of Rikka Chiyo, but you're also a guest. Besides, I was planning to go to the supermarket anyway, so this is just a side trip."

"That's right, that's right, don't be shy, sister. I know what Eriri likes to eat. She likes Arctic surf clams, sweet shrimp, and tuna belly. If you see any fresh ones at the supermarket later, you can buy more."

"Don't use my name to talk about what you want to eat!"

The interaction between the two little ones in the entryway didn't attract much of Shika's attention; most of her mind was still on Chiya, who was fast asleep in the living room.

She doesn't usually put her hands behind her back, but she made that gesture because she had just done something she felt guilty about, and it was an unintentional reaction to cover it up.

That burning, almost scalding touch still seems to linger on her fingertips, unable to dissipate for a long time.

"Chiya is asleep on the sofa in the living room, so please keep your voices down..." Toka said as she watched the two of them walk over after changing their shoes, but before she could finish her sentence, she quickly changed her mind and said, "...Never mind, I'll just wake him up."

After saying that, she raised her voice and called out "Qianye" twice towards the living room.

Rikka was puzzled: "Hey, let him sleep, there's no need to wake him up."

"After all, Eriri is here, so we have to entertain her..." Toka gave a vague reason.

But the reason she suddenly changed her mind was that she thought of Qianye's current state of being unguarded and clearly displaying a posture like a tall pillar supporting a tent.

Rather than letting him rest properly and preventing his sister and friends from seeing him in such an indecent state, it's more important to protect his personal image.

Yuan Qianye "slowly woke up," but there was no need for Shihua to make a special announcement; he would have woken up on his own at a suitable time.

He was genuinely annoyed at that moment.

It was a close call; we were just a hair's breadth away from success.

From his God-like perspective, he clearly saw that Shihua had already reached out and carefully touched the tip of the tent.

And they were no longer satisfied with that, so they slowly gathered their index finger and thumb together to measure the size of the tent more specifically.

Yuan Qianye felt his blood rush to his head, but he still managed to remain rational.

Now that things have come to this, this is a golden opportunity. If we don't seize it, we will truly be letting down all the hard work he has put in all this time!

At first, Shika was cautiously observing his facial expressions and posture, but when she completely squatted down and got closer, her eyes wavered and her gaze was completely focused on the Eiffel Tower.

Yuan Qianye had already planned it all out. He slowly approached Toka's face, his expression unreadable—whether he wanted to get closer to observe her more closely, or perhaps he was more infatuated with wanting to explore her through his sense of smell... In any case, the moment she made that gesture, he instantly woke up and caught her face to face.

Her reaction to her current actions, and the flushed, burning cheeks, left her speechless!

She must leave herself with no way to deceive or escape from the feelings she has long been aware of for her nominal sworn brother, with whom she shares a roof but has no blood relation!

Tear her heart apart and be completely honest with herself!

But just as he was about to make his move at that crucial moment, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance, along with Rikka's carefree announcement of "I'm back!"

This caused Shihua to shrink back instantly, like a frightened bird.

A perfect opportunity, and it was missed!

Yuan Qianye straightened up from the sofa, his face cold, completely unlike his usual gentle demeanor with a constant upturn of the corners of his mouth.

The Takanashi sisters and Eriri both thought it was a normal reaction to being woken up from a dream, but only he knew how much he regretted the missed opportunity.

Even if Rikka returns even a minute later, he can still successfully implement his plan.

As long as he confirmed at the time that he already knew about Toka's ambiguous actions, it wouldn't matter if Rikka appeared again and interrupted his good time.

Since the truth had already been revealed, he could have pretended nothing had happened at the time and then secretly questioned Shihua late at night. Depending on how things developed, the title "Sister Shihua" could very well have changed from a simple term to a flirtatious one.

Gen Chiya felt a deep resentment, both towards the idiot Rikka who suddenly appeared at this crucial moment and towards herself.

If I had been a little distracted and paid attention to what was happening outside, and woke up earlier, even though it was a bit rushed, it would have been better than getting nothing at all.

In the end, Shika, who had finally managed to expose a flaw, escaped unscathed, while Shika herself was left breathless and unable to calm down after being touched by Shika's extremely slight touch.

"Then I'll go to the supermarket first. Just send me any food requests on your phone later."

Just like a criminal who is extremely guilty after committing a crime and wants to flee the scene of the crime, Toka saw Chiya get up from the sofa and quickly followed her sister's instructions, then walked briskly towards the front door.