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

He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was getting late. "I'll go prepare dinner. As for the two of them, let them have some peace and quiet for now. It's good for them to experience some setbacks now and then."

"I'll prepare dinner. As for Qianye... I think it would be better if you went and talked to them now. Also, please pass on my apology for me."

Now, Chiya Minamoto feels that if any of the other girls around him were half as considerate and understanding as Saeko, he would be willing to marry them all and support them for the rest of his life!

Gen Chiya put his arm around her waist and said in an unusually serious tone, "I will seriously consider how to make it up to Saeko."

Saeko covered her mouth and chuckled: "Don't worry about it so much. I was just acting according to my own will."

"Then I'll go. Keep dinner simple, don't make it too complicated."

"Hmm... wait a minute, Chiya." Saeko suddenly called out to him, pointing to Rikka's room: "Let's go check on Yukino's situation first. Compared to Utaha, who has been trying various strategies, Yukino was focused on breaking through me head-on. So I had no choice but to subdue her directly. I used too much force several times, so she's probably still in pain in some parts of her body."

"Row."

"It would be best to also bring a first-aid kit or ice packs."

"I don't think Yukino is injured either."

"That's not the point."

Saeko stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes gleaming with shrewdness.

Yuan Qianye instantly understood her hint.

Whether or not someone gets hurt is not the point; the key is the act of "caring" itself, and the opportunity that may be created to bring people closer.

"Also, I feel like I might be too busy in the kitchen by myself, so please pass on a message and ask Eriri to come and help out as well."

"Okay, I understand."

Gen Chiya took two steps closer, and under Saeko's slightly surprised gaze, he lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her smooth forehead.

Saeko paused for a moment, then gently touched her forehead where she had been kissed, a tender and happy smile spreading across her face.

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.

In Rikka's room.

Yukino sat at her desk, her expression calm, but her aura exuded a melancholy.

She was indeed very frustrated. She could frankly admit that in terms of physique, or rather, pure combat strength, she was completely incomparable to Saeko Busujima.

This is an objective fact, and she accepts it.

But what she couldn't accept was that, despite giving it her all, she couldn't even manage to spill a single drop of tea from the other person's cup.

In that case, what do all the falls, pain, and sweat I shed while learning Aikido count for?

It all felt like a waste of time; all that practice was pointless. In the end, I ended up just like Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had no experience whatsoever, getting completely crushed by Saeko.

This realization made her feel more frustrated than simply failing, and even gave her a sense of emptiness, as if her self-worth had been denied.

"Um... Yukino."

Eriri rubbed her hands together and carefully approached her, trying to comfort her in the most relaxed tone, "Actually, I think it's not shameful for you to lose to Saeko-nee. Think about it, she's a national-level kendo champion, just like Chiya! In terms of fighting skills, she's undoubtedly at the top level among her peers!"

Think about it, how many female high school students are there in the whole country? If you meet her... it's like me meeting you in academics, there's absolutely no chance I could beat her, so you don't need to worry so much. It would be strange if you actually beat her. There's no such thing as a perfect person in the world, good at academics and athletically talented... um, you know..."

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered an exception—someone who was both the top student in the grade and a kendo champion—and quickly skipped over it.

"Anyway! I really don't think you need to care! Look on the bright side, even if this match doesn't count, the final result is still that you're one point ahead of Kasumigaoka. You beat her, which is enough, so there's no need to be disappointed. Therefore, let's celebrate our victory... Yay~"

Eriri tried her best to cheer up her best friend, but to little avail.

Finally, she raised her hands, but only received a polite but somewhat reluctant pat in response from Yukino.

She clearly hadn't taken Eriri's words to heart and was still wallowing in her own emotional low.

"Thank you, Eriri. Actually, I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much. I'm just a little tired, so I thought I'd just be alone for a while."

"Ah, yes, it's true, you must be tired after such a long competition. I won't bother you anymore. Do you need me to massage your arms or..."

"Knock, knock, knock!"

A knock sounded on the door, followed by Yuan Qianye's voice: "May I come in?"

Eriri glanced at Yukino, and seeing that she didn't have any special reaction, she immediately smiled and said, "Sure."

Gen Chiya pushed open the door and entered. His gaze swept over Yukino, whose eyes were lowered, and he chuckled before turning to Eriri and saying, "Saeko is preparing dinner in the kitchen. She said she can't manage it all by herself and would like to ask you to help out."

"Huh? Me?"

Eriri pointed to herself, somewhat surprised, but quickly met the look in Minamoto Chiya's eyes that clearly said, "Leave it to me."

She instantly understood and nodded obediently: "Ah... okay, I'll go right away."

"I'll go help," Yukino stood up. "Eri isn't very good at this."

"No! You just said you wanted to rest by yourself for a while!"

Eriri reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward and gently placing her hands on Yukino's shoulders, pressing her back into the chair, her tone carrying an undeniable firmness.

"You just get some rest! Leave dinner to me and Saeko-nee!"

She didn't give Yukino another chance to argue, immediately turned around, and gently closed the door behind her as she left.

After Eriri left, the room fell into a brief silence.

Chiyo didn't speak immediately, and Yukino remained facing the desk without turning around.

Chiya Minamoto came to Yukino's side and placed the first-aid kit on the desk.

She pulled over the chair that Eriri had just been sitting in and sat down in front of Yukino.

It wasn't until he raised his hand and reached for her wrist, which was resting on her knee, that Yukino finally reacted, instinctively pulling her hand back and asking, "What are you doing?"

"What can I do?" Yuan Qianye asked matter-of-factly. "I'll take a look at your wrist. You must have suffered quite a bit just now."

"I'm fine," Yukino said stiffly.

"Whether it's something or not, we'll only know after we see the details."

Yukino stared at him warily: "Instead of checking on your girlfriend first, you insist on trying to get physical contact with another girl here under a seemingly legitimate excuse, especially when there's only a wall separating you..."

She waited a moment, then suddenly realized: "I understand. You're enjoying the sense of transgression in it. You can't quell your inner desires without doing this, is that right?"

Yuan Qianye chuckled: "It's great to see you so energetic and still have the strength to talk about me. Also, think whatever you want. I'm just here to check on you out of a benevolent heart to heal the sick and save lives, so don't resist. It's better for both of us to finish this as soon as possible."

In the end, Chiya Minamoto successfully grasped Yukino's wrist.

Of course, his resolute attitude played a part, but more importantly, deep down, Yukino didn't actually have as strong a resistance as she showed.

The way he was holding her hand and lifting it up to examine it closely reminded her of a time when she was very young, when he had gently wrapped a band-aid around her finger, which she had accidentally cut herself on the edge of a piece of paper.

I remember being much more compliant back then than I am now, and I explicitly expressed my gratitude afterward...

"Your wrist is a little red. I feel like this mark will last for a few days before it slowly fades away," Yuan Qianye concluded, holding his childhood friend's wrist.

Yukino interrupted her recollection and withdrew her hand: "We've seen it, that's enough, isn't it?"

Yuan Qianye rummaged through the first-aid kit: "It's really not a big problem, but to make it heal faster, it's best to apply a little ointment to promote blood circulation and speed up the dissipation of bruises. I remember there's some..."

“I’m not that delicate,” Yukino interrupted him. She didn’t like being treated as a fragile, delicate person, especially since she had just experienced such a crushing defeat.

"To put it more academically, your symptoms are minor subcutaneous soft tissue contusion. Since it is an injury, it is necessary to use specific methods for treatment. What does this have to do with whether you are delicate or not?"

Yuan Qianye found the ointment he wanted and reached out his hand without saying a word.

This time, instead of grabbing her wrist, he directly took her hand, which was slightly curled up on her knee.

Yukino's hands were small, with slender, fair fingers. Now, completely enveloped in his palm, they appeared even more miniature. A soft, delicate touch came from his palm, with a girl's unique gentleness, as soft as cotton candy, seemingly not much different from when she was a child.

Yukino was quite uncomfortable with the situation and tried to pull her hand away, expressing her displeasure.

But Chiyo didn't give her that chance. He gripped Yukino's hand tightly and said, "Saeko asked me to apologize to you."

With the topic of conversation in mind, Yukino's resistance lessened a bit: "She doesn't need to apologize, she didn't do anything wrong. A competition is a competition, and everyone should rely on their own abilities within the rules."

"That's what I told her too, but she's still a little bothered by your slightly rough behavior just now, and she's worried that this incident will affect your relationship. Don't be fooled by how popular she is at school and how many friends she seems to have. But based on what she told me, she doesn't really have many close friends, and you're one of them. So, find an opportunity later and tell her your true feelings yourself."

Gen Chiyo smiled and didn't apply the ointment to Yukino immediately. Instead, she placed her palm on Yukino's reddened wrist with a seemingly professional touch and massaged it back and forth with appropriate pressure.

"I understand." As soon as the topic ended, Yukino seemed a little uncomfortable again, after all, their interaction had clearly upgraded in terms of intimacy.

"Don't move around." Yuan Qianye stopped Yukino from stopping again. "This is a massage technique I learned on a medical science channel. It can effectively promote blood circulation. Although it will hurt a little, for your health, I can only ask you to bear with it for a while."

"..."

This has absolutely nothing to do with pain!

Yukino closed her eyes slightly. After several failed attempts, she simply turned her head to the other side and gave up.

However, her retreat was misunderstood by someone as a form of tacit approval, which emboldened him to become even more reckless.

In the ambiguous silence, Yukino's seemingly calm face grew redder and redder until she finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"What are you doing!" Her voice wasn't loud, but her tone clearly carried a questioning tone.

"I'll massage you to improve blood circulation," Yuan Qianye replied matter-of-factly.

"..." Yukino remained silent, her face flushed red, her gaze even more intense as she stared intently at him.

What decent person would repeatedly knead and grope someone's fingers and palms in such a vulgar and manipulative manner while giving them a massage?!

"Alright, if you don't like it, we can just apply the ointment directly." Yuan Qianye realized that she had been a bit too hasty and moved on to the next step with slight regret.

"Based on your behavior from now on, I'll consider whether to report what you just did to your current girlfriend," Yukino threatened him expressionlessly.

"It doesn't matter, I have nothing to hide." Yuan Qianye was completely unfazed: "You did suffer a lot from Saeko because of your stubbornness, and as her boyfriend, I naturally have to take responsibility for the consequences of her actions. As for Shiyu, I am of course loyal to her, but her situation is much better than yours, so I believe she can understand."

"Don't you think it's ridiculous to say the word 'loyalty' when you're dating two girls at the same time?"

"I don't think so. Who says you can only pledge allegiance to one person? They are all my beloved ones, and I am certain that I will continue to walk hand in hand with them in the future. Isn't that enough?"

Yukino didn't reply to him.

Discussing this topic with him is futile; this has been proven in practice before.

She turned her gaze back to the window, her mind only focused on getting this over with and getting this annoying guy out of there as soon as possible.

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.

In the kitchen.

"Saeko-nee, I'm here to help."

"Thank you. I'm sorry, it's getting a little late. If I were to prepare by myself, it would probably take a long time, but with Eriri's help, it will be much easier."