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

"Listen to me, Hachiman, my parents went on a business trip a few days ago, and my sister said she's going to stay at a classmate's place for the night. I'm so bored by myself."

The girl's complaints brought a smile to one's face, but Hachiman paused, a warning bell ringing in his mind.

"Ijichi-kun, have you said those words to anyone else?"

"Huh, there's no one else besides Hachiman."

"Okay, remember not to tell anyone else afterwards."

"why?"

Just as Hachiman was pondering how to explain the safety issue to the other party, Nijika brought up another topic: "Hachiman-kun, why haven't I seen Komachi-chan these past few days?"

Of course, I told her not to come.

Hachiman shook his head, looking for a more suitable excuse: "She's been in the club all week."

"Oh dear, will Komachi be snatched away by the club?"

It's not an urban legend, so why would a guild steal Komachi?

"What do you mean?" Hachiman asked, turning to the side.

Nijika said with a serious expression, "Hachiman, club activities can be troublesome sometimes. Ever since my older sister joined the Aone Club, she hasn't wanted to play with me anymore, so you'd better watch out!"

The Seion Club? This kid must be talking about the Light Music Club.

Wait!

Upon hearing Nijigasaki's well-intentioned reminder, Hachiman suddenly felt a strange sense of crisis, as if something was blocking his chest.

"No, no, no, let's change the subject. Club activities are fine, but my Komachi will never leave me!"

"I agree, I will never let anyone take my sister away!"

The two inexplicably reached an agreement, and then found themselves in an awkward atmosphere that was hard to describe.

After sighing, Hikigaya stood up and said, "What would you like to drink, Ijichi-kun? I'll treat you."

"Sigh, no need." For some reason, Nijika's expression was a little strange. "Besides, isn't Hachiman's family not very well-off..."

"Wait, who said that?" Hachiman asked, his face full of disbelief.

Hongxia thought for a moment, then tapped her chin and replied, "Because no one has ever seen Hachiman go to the convenience store, and they've occasionally seen you touching the change under the vending machine."

"No, it's just because something fell down!"

Hikigaya hurriedly explained.

Well, he didn't have much pocket money, but with the literature department's funding and his frugal lifestyle these past few days, he could still afford to treat someone to a drink.

"Ha, you're overthinking it. Don't worry about me."

"I see. Then I'll leave it to you, Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya arrived at the vending machine in the park, pondering Nijika's purpose in finding him as he inserted the coin.

If there are no surprises, it should be about Nishimiya Shoko.

Lately, the kids in the class have been acting strangely toward Nishimiya Shoko, especially this afternoon, when Ishida Shoya's behavior has escalated into outright bullying.

As Nishimiya Shoko's only friend, Nijika must be very anxious right now.

With a heavy heart, Hachiman pressed the "OK" button on the MAX coffee and strawberry yogurt screen.

While waiting for the can to fall from the cabinet, Hachiman reached into his pocket and gently stroked the broken hearing aids.

If we don't take action now, the situation will definitely get worse.

With a "thud," two bottles of drinks fell into the exit. Hachiman squatted down to pick them up and returned to his original position a moment later.

Wait, Hachiman is drinking coffee! He seems like an adult...

Unbeknownst to Hikigaya, his image in Nijika's mind had subtly shifted once again.

"Here you go." He handed over the strawberry yogurt.

"Thank you, Hachiman."

"You're welcome."

"Ahem." Nijika observed Hachiman's reaction out of the corner of her eye. "Um, actually, there's something I'd like to ask Hachiman for help with."

"what?"

"Oh dear, I don't know how to say it. If Hachiman-kun doesn't want to, he can refuse..."

As she spoke, the ahoge (cowlick) on Hongxia's head drooped limply.

I feel it's not quite right to leave this question to Hachiman Hikigaya; I should think about it myself.

Sensing the girl's inner turmoil, Hachiman calmly took a sip of his MAX coffee and said casually, "Nishimiya-san, how have you been lately?"

"Hey?"

Hongxia, who had already planned to give up, froze.

How did Hikigaya know that she was going to ask Shoko-chan about it?

"What's wrong? Is there something amiss?" Hachiman asked.

With the questions that had been weighing on her mind finally lifted, Nijika looked incredulous: "How did Hachiman-kun know what I was going to ask?"

"No, it was just a coincidence."

"Haha, I see..." Nijika lowered her eyes, her voice somewhat dejected, "Shoko-chan, she hasn't been doing too well these past few days."

"Hmm." Hachiman nodded, signaling Nijika to continue.

"It's Ishida and the others. They've been coming over to tease Shoko-chan all the time lately, and sometimes they go really far... I don't understand why Shoko-chan tries so hard to make friends with everyone, but no one likes her."

If it were just a matter of dislike, that would be one thing, but the reality is that Nishimiya Shoko is facing immense hostility.

Well, although Nishimiya Shoko has shortcomings such as not being able to read the room and not being very tactful, that is not a reason for Ishida Shoya to bully her.

Regardless of the reason, bullying is the worst kind of bullying, and Hachiman knows this better than anyone else.

The problem is, what should we do now?

Hikigaya originally thought that the class's loners would focus on him because of the choir competition, but things didn't go as planned.

Saint Seiya wouldn't fail twice in the same place, and Hachiman knew he needed to change his approach.

So, what to do?

All Hachiman could think of was the worst way that was unique to him.

"Hachigaya-kun, do you think I should ask Takeuchi-sensei for help?"

"It's useless." Hikigaya snorted coldly. If Takeuchi had wanted to, things wouldn't have developed to this point.

Conversely, Takeuchi's inaction was the real instigator of Ishida Shoya's actions.

"What should we do then..."

Hongxia was somewhat discouraged. In her mind, the only way to solve a problem was to seek help from adults, but now even that path was blocked.

Otherwise, next time Ishida Shouya bullies Shoko-chan, why don't we just fight back?

Seeing the girl's dejected look, Hachiman felt a pang of sadness and couldn't help but pat her head.

Oh no, the brother's radar activated at the wrong time...

He withdrew his fingers the instant they touched the blonde hair. Fortunately, Nijika was still immersed in her grief and hadn't reacted yet. Hachiman clutched his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ichichi-kun, leave this to me."

"Huh?" The sudden words disrupted Nijika's train of thought. "What does Hachiman mean?"

Hachiman leaned back in his chair, his gaze unwavering as he stared straight ahead.

"I should have a way to help Nishimiya get out of her current situation."

"Is that really possible?"

How will you know if you don't try?

"That's great, Hikigaya-kun, thank you for helping Shoko-chan." Nijika bit her lip, a thin layer of mist clouding her vision.

Hikigaya looked away: "Don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this for Nishimiya's sake."

"what?"

"Well, Komachi also goes to this school. If she finds out what happened in our class, I, as her older brother, will feel terrible."

"Hey, but what's the difference?" Nijika didn't quite understand, and felt that Hachiman was just being stubborn.

"Of course... Anyway, don't worry. While I can't guarantee it will be handled properly, I can at least make sure that Ishida and the others won't bully Nishimiya anymore."

"Huh?" Hongxia blinked, still somewhat confused.

With that, Hachiman finished his MAX coffee in one gulp and tossed it precisely into the nearby trash can: "It's about time. Let's call it a day."

—Next, it's time to clean up the social mess.

029 A False Relationship

The next day at noon, Hachiman, holding a bowl of soba noodles, looked around the cafeteria.

A moment later, he found his first target.

"Squad leader, may I sit here?"

"Ugh?"

Kawai Miki, who was eating alone, paused for a moment. After recognizing Hachiman Hikigaya, she instinctively wanted to refuse, but in order to maintain her image as a top student, she forced herself to agree.

"Sure, Hachiman."

"Thank you, I just couldn't find a place to eat."

Hikigaya plopped down next to Miki Kawai. Although he outwardly agreed, he noticed that the other man had moved a few centimeters to the other side after he sat down.

This was within his expectations.

Why did you suddenly sit down here, Hikigaya-kun?

Miki Kawai thought Hachiman was relatively pleasing to the eye, but he exuded an aura of introversion, which immediately lowered his image in everyone's mind.

Moreover, he had provoked the class's anger during the recent choir competition, making her feel even more that she shouldn't associate with such a person.

Thinking this, Kawai Miki couldn't help but speed up her eating.

"Ah, I'm starving."

At this point, Hachiman took the initiative to bring up the topic.

"Ah, um." Kawai Miki forced a smile.

"Squad leader, don't you think that Nishimiya is too much trouble?"

"N-no, it's not like that. Hachiman is being too malicious towards Nishimiya. It's only right that we help Nishimiya."

"But that girl can't hear or speak properly. It's all her fault that we didn't win a prize in the choir competition. Why doesn't she go to another class?"

Miki Kawai rolled her eyes inwardly. She felt that Hachiman was completely crying wolf. If he hadn't threatened to quit before the match, how could everyone's performance have been so bad?

"But didn't Hachiman withdraw from the competition? I thought you didn't care about that."

"How could that be? I just didn't want to participate because Nishimiya-kun was there."

"is it?"

Upon learning the truth, Miki Kawai suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

So that's what Hikigaya thought. Indeed, their training would be much easier without Nishimiya Shoko.

She said softly, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Anyway, the competition is over. Hachiman, you should get along well with everyone from now on."

"We'll see, but Ishida really taught Nishimiya a lesson these past few days, and it was so satisfying to watch!"

"Hey, Ishida-kun is probably just playing with Nishimiya-kun."

Currently, the main people teasing Nishimiya Shoko are Ishida Shoya and Ueno Naoka. Kawai Miki has not directly participated, but Hikigaya has seen Kawai Miki pretending to dissuade Nishimiya Shoko from being bullied more than once.

Heh, what a disgusting bitch...