Crossover anime, Hachiman's childhood friend's growth diary

"Ah, I remember that too, but since it's an important gift, wouldn't it be better to choose something that can be kept as a keepsake?"

"Yes, what Senior Su Shi said makes sense."

The two of them talked back and forth, and for the time being, they narrowed down the gifts to some collectible souvenirs.

"Nagasaki-san, Ijichi-san, this is a list of suitable gifts that I found online. You can take a look."

Hachiman took a small piece of paper out of his pocket. He had found it on the computer in the student council office that morning. Although there were many unreliable gifts on it, it was good for broadening his thinking.

Over the next period of time, the three brainstormed and came up with many different gift ideas, but they were all rejected one by one.

By the time the lunch break was almost over, only a few gifts remained on the note.

At that moment, the golden magnetic levitation ahoge suddenly stood up high, and Hongxia found a name on the note that had not yet been noticed by anyone.

"How about a custom-made doll?"

"I think it's pretty good too, and customizing it would make for even more special gifts, right?" Nagasaki Motoyo turned her gaze away. "What do you think, Hachiman-kun?"

"...I can give it a try, but I don't know how much it would cost to customize it."

Actually, Hachiman initially thought that custom-made dolls were a good idea, but the current problem is that customization requires extra labor costs, which is a double blow to his already poor situation.

"It's alright, Hachiman-kun, I'll take out my allowance too!"

Nijika generously contributed her saved allowance, and Hachiman responded by placing all his remaining money on the table.

However, both of them had very limited pocket money, totaling less than 3000 yen.

This amount of money can only buy a regular plush toy at best; it's definitely not enough for a custom-made one.

"How about we choose another one?"

166. The wealth gap begins to manifest.

"Wait a minute, my mom has given me a lot of pocket money these past few days. Can I leave for a little while?"

"No, Nagasaki-kun..."

Before Hikigaya could finish speaking, Nagasaki Motoyo turned and left the cafeteria. When she returned, she had several large-denomination banknotes in her hand.

"I have 5000 yen here. I don't know if this is enough?"

She glanced at Hachiman with some uncertainty, while the latter's eyes widened in surprise.

Etc., etc!

If I remember correctly, Nagasaki Motoyo's family must have been very short of money since they had just gone from a dual-income household to a single-parent household, right? So Hachiman thinks that the 5000 yen was probably not pocket money, but rather living expenses left for her by her family!

Seeing that Hikigaya hesitated to accept her money, Nagasaki Motoyo frowned, somewhat confused and worried.

Why did Hikigaya accept Nijigasaki's money so naturally just now, but he hesitated so much when it came to me?

Perhaps sensing some favoritism, Nagasaki Motoyo's voice lowered:

"Um, is there any problem?"

“It’s not about whether there’s a problem or not… Nagasaki-san, this money must be very important to you, right? I’ll figure out a way to get the gift later, you don’t need to make things difficult for yourself.”

Hikigaya's calm voice came through, and his words seemed to further confirm Nagasaki Motoyo's earlier guess.

Somewhat unwillingly, she bit her lip, her whole body trembled, and then, as if she had suffered a huge blow, Nagasaki Motoyo shrunk up as if she had been deflated.

"Why do I say that? I also want to contribute to the gift for Glass Spray."

Nagasaki Motoyo spoke with a bitter smile, slightly fiddling with her hair.

"No..." Hikigaya was surprised, not knowing why the other party would suddenly come to this conclusion. "This money should be your mother's living expenses, so if possible, it's best not to use it here."

Unable to find a good reason right away, he could only offer a tactful reminder.

living expenses?

Nagasaki Motoyo was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to her senses.

"No, Hachiman, you've misunderstood. My mom said this is my allowance."

"...No, there's no benefit in lying to me."

"I'm not lying!"

For some reason, Nagasaki Motoyo raised her voice in a somewhat anxious manner.

"Although I don't know why, my mom's work seems to be going very well lately. She said the company gave her a lot of bonuses and she's going to take me on a trip during the summer vacation."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Hachiman began to wonder if he was still asleep and if he was actually dreaming.

"Hachigaya-kun, I haven't understood what you guys are saying since this started?"

Hongxia, standing to the side, looked confused.

"Wait a minute, this is really hard to explain..." Hachiman didn't know how to explain it to Nijika, so he paused and looked at Nagasaki Motoyo again. "So, this really is pocket money?"

"um, yes."

Nagasaki Motoyo said it with absolute certainty.

Are you kidding me?

Hachiman felt he couldn't quite accept it—no, not that he couldn't accept it, but that it was just too fantastical.

Just a month ago, the Nagasaki family was on the verge of collapse, their home destroyed. Now, tell them that Nagasaki's mother, through her own efforts, has significantly improved the family's living conditions in just one month.

Hmm, could it be that the other party did something bad?

Thinking of this, Hachiman shook his head violently, banishing the malicious thought from his mind.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Hachiman could only attribute it to the magical law that he was unlucky in love but lucky in money.

Yes, that must be true. In reality, there are many examples of successful women who achieved great success after getting rid of useless burdens.

After Nagasaki Motoyo's explanation, Hachiman finally agreed to accept the money.

With the addition of Nijika's 3000 yen contribution, Hikigaya now has a total of 8000 yen, which is a huge sum for an elementary school student, but it may not be enough to fund the custom doll.

Hikigaya recalled his previous experience of taking Ichinose Honami to have a hair clip customized, but dolls and hair clips are not quite the same, and the time and effort required are different, so the price difference will definitely be significant.

Anyway, let's give it a try.

Having decided on the gift they wanted to buy, Hachiman decided to go to the shopping street with the two of them after school today to see if they could customize a doll at a reasonable price.

"But if it's a custom-made doll, how exactly should it be made?"

At this moment, Hongxia suddenly asked a strange question.

"Don't worry about that, the doll maker will take care of it."

"No, I mean whose image should the doll be based on?"

Nijika said with a smile, while Hachiman blinked in confusion:

"Of course it's Nishimiya herself. Do you expect her to use our faces?"

"Um, I was thinking, wouldn't it be more valuable if we turned everyone into dolls together?"

No, what you're saying sounds a bit like a horror movie...

Hikigaya thought of a horror movie he had seen before, where the villain liked to turn people into dolls, and the souls of the dead would be trapped inside the dolls and never be able to reincarnate.

Putting aside this strange idea, Hikigaya reconsidered Nijika's opinion and suddenly realized that what she said made a lot of sense.

It's like a graduation photo, where everyone in a class is captured on camera, allowing them to reminisce about their graduation years later through the photos.

Of course, this only applies to a certain group of people. For example, Hachiman has never looked back at his elementary and junior high school graduation photos, because just seeing his silly self makes him feel a little ashamed to look back.

In addition, if you accidentally see that annoying face from junior high school, the dark history that you finally managed to seal away will flood back into your mind.

Ugh, so why do graduation photos even exist in the first place?!

"Hachiman, are you alright? You don't look well."

The gentle voice beside him pulled Hachiman's thoughts back to reality from his worst and most awful middle school days. He waved his hand, calmed down, and began to rethink Nijika's words.

Admittedly, custom-made dolls are a good idea, but this would also increase the production cost. Their budget is already tight, so it would be difficult to afford the cost of multiple dolls.

Therefore, Hachiman concludes:

"We'll see how things go then. Let's focus on Nishimiya first, and if the price is right, we can add other people, how about that?"

"sure."

167. Humans really are incapable of understanding each other.

After that was settled, Hachiman began to work with the others to prepare for the afternoon's plans.

There's not much to worry about when contacting the store. After Ichinose Honami's experience, Hachiman is considered one of their long-time customers, so he might be able to get some discounts.

The current problem is how to keep it from Nishimiya Shoko herself.

After the school bell rang, as usual, Nishimiya Shoko put today's notes into her red schoolbag, then went to Nijika's seat and spoke in sign language:

"Hongxia, can we go home together today?"

"Okay, wait a moment!"

Huh my foot! Little Hongxia, have you forgotten that we're going to prepare a gift for Xigong this afternoon?

Hikigaya watched the two talking helplessly from the back of the classroom, and couldn't help but sigh. Then, he deliberately made a loud cough by putting his fist to his lips.

"Cough cough!"

For some reason, everyone's eyes turned to them, with the woodcutter reacting the most intensely.

Upon hearing the strange cough, the other person seemed to sense something, quickly scanning the classroom before crouching down and "lurking" next to Hachiman in full view of everyone.

He knelt beside Hachiman, like a ninja completing a mission in a TV drama, and said in a low voice:

"Lord Hikigaya, is there anything you need?"

"No, I was just clearing my throat..."

The two stared at each other.

The next moment, Zaimokuza's eyes rolled back and it began to tremble violently on the floor, while Hachiman was so frightened that he jumped off his seat.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Hachiman, ignore him. This is punishment for misunderstanding the order!"

Several elementary school students rushed over and quickly dragged the timber stand away, leaving Hachiman standing there dumbfounded.

Are these kids' brains messed up?

Fortunately, after this self-directed and self-acted farce that was both laughable and pathetic, Nijika finally noticed the situation on Hachiman's side.

The two stared at each other for a second, then the former suddenly paused, his previously cloudy eyes suddenly becoming clear.

Oh no, I almost forgot that I was supposed to go shopping for gifts with Hikigaya-kun!

Recalling such an important matter, Nijika made an apologetic gesture towards Nishimiya Shoko:

"Oh, I'm sorry, Shoko-chan, I suddenly remembered I have something to do later!"

"It's ok!"

Despite saying that, Nishimiya Shoko's expression turned lonely the moment she couldn't go home with her friend.

"I'm so sorry, Shoko-chan, I promise I'll go home with you tomorrow!"

Upon hearing Hongxia's promise, the unease on the girl's face gradually disappeared.

"Uh-huh."

Finally got it done.

Hikigaya let out a long sigh of relief. While the two continued chatting, he left the classroom early, only stopping at the stairwell at the end of the corridor.

At that moment, Hongxia hurriedly ran out of the classroom.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hachiman!"

"I didn't wait long, where is Nishimiya-kun?"