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

"Phew—" Yang Nai leaned back in her chair, looked at her younger sister beside her, and said meaningfully, "This day has really been very fruitful."

Yukino did not respond to this.

She watched the street scene receding outside the car window, the various pedestrians, and the flickering streetlights.

I just feel that I'm not good enough, far from good enough.

…………

056: No regrets in youth, national champion! (14000)(9)

"Is it really okay for the few of us to just travel with you like this?"

On the Nozomi Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, ten minutes after the train left the station, Takanashi Touka finally couldn't maintain her composure and whispered a question in Minamoto Chiya's ear.

Given his personality, Chiyo was actually somewhat averse to getting too close to others.

However, Shika is one of the few exceptions.

Her voice is clear and melodious, like a flowing spring; it's very pleasant to listen to her speak.

In addition, she also had a faint guava scent.

It's not very noticeable if you don't get close, but it becomes more obvious when you get closer.

This is also a scent he really likes. While it may not have a refreshing effect, it certainly makes people feel happy.

"Don't worry, I'm representing the school in the national finals. What's wrong with bringing a few family members along? Didn't you see that our advisor also brought his wife? Our school is well-off and won't care about this little extra expense."

After hearing what Yuan Qianye said, Shika cautiously peeked out from her seat and looked in front of her.

Indeed, as he said, the consultant sat with his wife, and both of them were very quiet.

The teacher spread out a kendo competition flowchart on his lap and used the notebook on the table in front of him to search and study the background of each participating team's opponents. His wife was reading a book, occasionally breaking off a segment of orange and putting it in her mouth.

Not only that, but several members of the kendo club who didn't get a chance to compete and were only there to help with errands and other logistical tasks during the competition were also accompanied by their families.

I guess they were thinking that they shouldn't work for nothing, and that they should take advantage of the school's benefits during this trip to Osaka, treating it as a family trip with their train tickets reimbursed.

Seeing this, Shihua finally felt relieved.

The two of them sat side by side.

On the other side of the carriage, Eriri, Rikka, and Saeko Busujima sat in a row, chatting happily.

After the last celebration banquet, this kendo girl easily won their favor with her good character and her gentle and approachable manner, and was truly accepted by them and became their friend.

Furthermore, because Saeko Busujima is a year older than them and is quite strong, she is subtly showing a tendency to become the leader of this small circle of friends.

"Speaking of which, it's such a pity that Yukino couldn't come with us, otherwise it would have been even more lively." Rikka thought with regret. She had originally planned to take a stroll around Osaka after the competition, instead of rushing back.

Take lots of group photos to commemorate the trip, visit famous scenic spots, and taste local delicacies—that will make the trip worthwhile!

But now that one of my friends is gone, I'm naturally less enthusiastic.

Eriri also felt a bit sorry: "There's nothing we can do, Yukino has to attend an advanced math class... But I didn't hear her mention that she would be attending classes after coming back from summer vacation, it's really strange that it happened so suddenly."

Saeko Busujima then revealed what she knew: "When I was chatting with Haruno-nee via text message earlier, she casually mentioned that Yukino-san seemed to have asked to attend the training class herself."

"Is that so!" Rikka exclaimed in surprise. "Just how much does she love studying? Not only did she go abroad to study, but now that she's finally back, instead of taking a proper rest, she's rushing off to a study class."

"After all, she's Yukino..."

"That's true, after all, it's Yukino..."

Yukino Yukinoshita is an upright and hardworking girl with a strong competitive spirit and is very strict with herself and others.

What would be outrageous for others doesn't seem so strange for her.

"There's nothing we can do. When we get to the competition, we'll cheer for Chiya and Saeko together, including hers."

"Ok!"

"Thank you." Saeko Busujima smiled with narrowed eyes, her gaze shifting to the long, cloth-wrapped object that Rikka had been holding since getting on the bus: "But Rikka, I noticed you've been holding this the whole time we met."

Eriri was also reminded and asked curiously, "Oh right, what is it? You didn't put it with your luggage, is it something very important?"

Rikka smugly hummed, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense: "This is the culmination of my hard work all night! You'll see what it is when the competition comes! It'll be absolutely awesome!"

Whether he's handsome or not... Minamoto Chiya, who overheard Rikka's original words, didn't care.

He just hoped that Rikka would stop playing his ridiculous videos in front of others, making him feel so cool and causing him social death, like before.

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.

Osaka City is located on the Osaka Bay in the southwest of Honshu Island, Japan. It is the industrial, commercial and water, land and air transportation hub of the Kansai region!

It is also the second largest city in Japan!

This year's National Junior High School Kendo Championship Finals were held at the Osaka Stadium.

Rikka was very excited as soon as she got off the Shinkansen.

Eriri borrowed a camera from her father and hung it around her neck, snapping photos everywhere!

Although she seemed a bit too lively, Shihua remembered the hard times she and her sisters had gone through with their mother, so she didn't try to suppress her nature anymore.

I just told her not to be too noisy or disruptive, and not to stray too far from the group.

However, with Eriri by her side, she wasn't too worried.

Eriri, this blonde tsundere, may not be very frank about many things and blushes easily at times, but in terms of daily life, she is much better than her unreliable younger sister.

The high school kendo finals are scheduled for August 12th.

The instructors of the Kendo Club chose to take them to a hotel near the competition venue a day in advance.

This move also reflects the desire to give their students ample time to rest and be in top form for the competition tomorrow.

However, by the time they had put their luggage in the hotel, it was only a little past one in the afternoon.

It would be rather inhumane to just wait in the hotel until the competition starts tomorrow morning.

So the instructor waved his hand and declared the rest of the time as free time.

Just be back at the hotel before 7 p.m. and keep your phone on at all times so that we can contact you in case anything happens.

However, he still privately approached the students who would be participating in the competition tomorrow, especially the two most crucial ones, Minamoto Chiya and Busujima Saeko!

I accompanied them from the tenth floor of the hotel all the way to the zebra crossing on the roadside.

Throughout the journey, we were extremely careful and repeatedly reminded them to be mindful of their safety while shopping, not to run or jump around recklessly, and to refrain from eating raw, cold, or spicy foods. If they were to get an upset stomach now, their chances of missing tomorrow's match would likely be ruined!

The best team result that the Kendo Club of Kawalan School has ever achieved is third place in the regional competition. Saeko Busujima performed very well in her first year of junior high school, just like this year, but unfortunately her teammates were not up to par.

This year is very different; we have Yuan Qianye, this rising tiger!

Before leaving, he patted his chest and assured the principal that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would at least bring back the national third-place trophy, and there was a great chance of winning the championship!

He's already made that bold claim; he's genuinely worried about anything going wrong! You can never say he's too worried!

Chiya and Saeko Busujima understood this and repeatedly assured each other that they were just going out for a casual walk to appreciate the local customs and culture of Osaka. They also assured each other that they would take care of their health and not eat anything indiscriminately before sending their instructor back.

"Phew—being a teacher isn't easy." Yuan Qianye breathed a sigh of relief, turning her gaze away from the teacher who had walked away.

As the captain of the kendo club, Saeko Busujima knew more about the inside story and casually replied, "After all, this time, in addition to carrying the hopes of the entire school, the teacher also hopes that we can reach the heights he did not achieve during his student years. Perhaps he hopes that we can win the championship even more than we do ourselves."

Yuan Qianye softly hummed in agreement.

The two of them walked side by side, following the Takanashi sisters and Eriri who were walking ahead.

The climate in Osaka is not much different from that in Tokyo; it feels very hot and humid when walking through the streets and crowds in August.

The shopping districts are all pretty much the same; the layout of the buildings and shops, and the signs, all seem familiar in Tokyo, but there's one thing that feels fresh.

Perhaps because this area is about to host a summer festival, many places, including streetlights, bushes along the sidewalks, and signs in front of shops, display traditional festival flags and various promotional slogans that are very characteristic of the region.

Rikka also saw the mascot that Osaka had launched during the World Expo handing out flyers on the street... But even though she loves to join in the fun, she felt uncomfortable after just one glance and deliberately took a detour to avoid it.

That mascot looks so Cthulhu-like, it makes me feel like my sanity is about to drop to zero if I look at it for too long!

To be fair, with the festival just around the corner, the stalls set up on various streets are quite fun.

I strolled around the arcade in the mall for a while, and then went to a coffee shop to order desserts and cold drinks. By 5 p.m., the streets were much more lively!

Minamoto Chiya had previously received grateful assistance from Fukuzawa Yukichi, the wealthy woman from Touma!

With the family having a decent amount of savings, Shihua let Liuhua go to various stalls to experience small games like shooting balloons, carving sculptures, and catching goldfish.

But to be fair, although Rikka is considered an idiot by her older sister, she is incredibly lucky!

She went to the lottery booth where people could try their luck with a rope, and there were three chances to win for 1,000 yen.

The first two times she won, she only received consolation prizes: a manicure and a bottle of bubble solution.

But the third time it burst out with golden light!

She directly drew the top prize from the stall: a brand new, unopened Switch game console!

Although it's not particularly expensive, if you were to buy it properly in a department store, it would cost around 30,000 yuan including tax.

Even if you don't use it after you get it, you can easily sell it for 25,000 at the seafood market!

Toka, who had been muttering to herself about how naive her younger sister was and how she would be fooled by a game that only fools elementary school students, was now staring wide-eyed in disbelief as she paid for the game.

She truly didn't expect that in today's society there would still be vendors so honest as to actually put the grand prize into the prize pool!

She took a closer look at the stall owners... two well-mannered young men wearing glasses, who looked quite young, and seemed to be college students.

Ah, that's not surprising...

Rikka received the grand prize and jumped for joy!

She openly stated that she would treat everyone to dinner with her own pocket money! She was incredibly generous!

Eriri, seeing this, was also itching to try her luck and took out her 1000 yen bill three times, but her luck was obviously not as good as Rikka's. She only got a keychain and a hair clip, and the rope was empty.

Even so, this trip was still very rewarding!

Rikka, carrying her spoils, asked, "Chiya, which stall do you think I should visit next?"