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

Ah, since the kids at school have all heard about what happened last night, it's not surprising that the faculty and staff would know as well.

Quietly waiting there, the moment the soba noodles were ready, Hachiman silently took his plate and sat down in a corner of the cafeteria, avoiding the crowd.

How should I put it? I haven't felt this lonely in a long time.

...

A few hours ago, at the Ichinose residence.

Ever since her mother was called out by several police officers last night, Su Shi has been living in fear, so she looked exhausted when she woke up this morning.

What exactly happened to Dad and Mom?

Feeling a slight ache in her temples, young Su Shi got out of bed and faced her rented room alone, with no appetite to make breakfast.

She had originally planned to just grab a piece of bread to eat, but just then, an idea flashed through her mind.

Mom and Dad must be very tired when they come home in the morning. If they had a hot meal to eat, it would probably greatly relieve their fatigue.

Well, it must be!

With this in mind, Su Shi roused herself and went to the kitchen, where she spent half an hour preparing a hot breakfast.

She dragged a chair to the table and sat down, gazing expectantly at the door, waiting for her parents to return.

"Why aren't Mom and Dad back yet? The food is getting cold."

As time passed, around seven o'clock, familiar footsteps finally came from outside the rented house. Su Shi immediately jumped off the chair and excitedly went forward to greet them.

"I am back."

"Mom, welcome back...wait, isn't Dad with you?"

Upon discovering that only her mother was outside the door, Su Shi blinked in confusion. Didn't her mother say she was going to bring her father back last night?

Hearing her daughter's question, Su Shi's mother hesitated for a moment, then turned her gaze to the inside of the house:

"Su Shi Jiang, did you make this? Mom is starving, can we eat it now?"

"Hmm, but don't we need to wait for Dad to come along?"

Su Shi nodded in response, but for some reason, a bad feeling suddenly arose in her heart, and in the next second, the ominous feeling turned into reality.

"...Su-Shi-chan, I'm sorry, Daddy might not be living with us anymore."

"Ugh?"

The overly straightforward message caused Su Shi's brain to freeze.

Seeing her daughter's shocked expression, Su Shi's mother stood still in front of the table, and then revealed a pained expression.

"Actually, Mom and Dad are getting a divorce soon, and then it will be just the two of us living together."

"Sigh, what does divorce mean?"

Faced with this question, Su Shi's mother didn't know how to answer properly for a moment. After a moment of silence, she reached out and hugged her tightly.

"Su Shi, actually yesterday..."

With her mother's explanation, Su Shi gradually understood the whole story of what happened yesterday.

In short, her father was detained by the police for assaulting a primary school student who was about the same age as her, and he will face various charges from the police in the future.

Why would a father target an elementary school student? Isn't that strange?

Also, what do the various charges mean?

Just as Su Shi was about to press for more information, her mother shook her head and evaded the question with some nonsensical excuses.

Until she finished breakfast and arrived at school, Su Shi still didn't understand her father's motives for doing this.

"Why did it turn out like this?"

With a dazed look, Su Shi put down her schoolbag on the table and sat blankly in the chair, her mind replaying her mother's last words. Did they really have to live separately from her father from now on?

Doesn't that mean abandoning your father...?

Shouldn't family members help and support each other when facing difficulties?

The girl's thoughts gradually fell into a dead end, while Su Shi was lost in thought. In a corner of the classroom, several children gathered together, secretly discussing something.

"I heard the Ichinose family is getting a divorce."

"Yes, but I heard the main reason was that someone from our school got into a fight with her father, right?"

"That's a lie, how could an adult possibly lose to a child!"

"How would I know? Maybe they used some underhanded methods."

"Ichinose is so pitiful."

Out of concern for her classmates, a few kind-hearted classmates came over and said a few words of comfort, but Su Shi's mood did not improve as a result.

But she still politely said thank you, and then continued to wander aimlessly through the dead end.

The morning classes passed by in a daze, and when the bell rang for the end of the last class, Ms. Koba came to the classroom and found Ichinose Motoyo.

"Ichinose, are you free right now?"

"Ah."

They left the classroom together and walked all the way to the infirmary. Ms. Koba closed the door and then spoke in a very serious tone:

"You've heard the rumors circulating in the class, haven't you?"

"...Yes, I'm sorry, teacher."

In Ichinose Motoyo's mind, it was because of her family that the strong learning atmosphere at school was affected.

In fact, even without what happened last night, people wouldn't have studied so seriously.

Teacher Xiaoba was speechless for a moment, and after a few seconds of contemplation, he sighed and answered.

"No, I'm not blaming you. I was in charge of handling your father's matter yesterday, so it's my responsibility that I didn't stop the spread of the news in time."

After the incident last night, Ms. Xiaoba had already made some preparations, but she did not expect the rumors to spread so quickly that they far exceeded her expectations.

In just half a day, the entire school knew about Ichinose.

While there might be a reason why one party involved deliberately shirked responsibility, the parents and students who spread those rumors are truly annoying.

Ms. Koba thought to herself, then looked at the listless Ichinose Motoyo.

"The school has taken stronger measures to stop the spread of rumors, and I'm here today to tell you some of the truth about last night."

the truth?

Upon hearing this, Su Shi slowly raised her head, her eyes changing from confusion to surprise.

Does Ms. Xiaoba have a way to clear her father's name?

She knew her father was innocent!

Under Ichinose Motoyo's expectant gaze, Ms. Koba organized her words and began to speak slowly:

"Actually, your mother should be the one to talk to you about this, but as a teacher, I can't just watch rumors hurt my students, especially that child."

As Teacher Xiaoba spoke, he took out a lighter and lit a cigarette, but realizing there was a minor in the room, he immediately extinguished it.

"Excuse me."

"Ah, Mr. Xiaoba, don't worry about me."

Su Shi was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that Teacher Xiao Ba had a smoking habit, but even more unexpected things were yet to come.

After cleaning up the trash on the table in the infirmary, Teacher Xiaoba revealed everything that Su Shi's father had done without reservation.

In addition to the initial information, there were also allegations of fraudulently claiming student aid, borrowing money to gamble at a pachinko parlor, and using violence against Su Shi's mother.

This information was given to her by Hikigaya and was also confirmed by the police.

However, the above information did not appear in the rumors, but was carefully covered up.

I'm sorry, Hachiman, but the teacher won't approve of that kind of twisted approach.

After hearing these words, Su Shi stared blankly ahead, her mood extremely complicated. She confirmed each word carefully, hoping that Teacher Xiao Ba had made a mistake.

"Teacher Xiaoba, is everything you said true?"

"Well, I didn't mean to make you resent your biological father, but I just think you have the right to know."

"The right to know..."

Ichinose Motoyo blankly repeated her teacher's words, feeling no less hurt than when her mother said this morning that she wanted to live separately from her father.

So, just like Ms. Xiaoba said, her father is a bad person?

“Your father did many things he shouldn’t have done, but that’s not your fault, so you don’t need to feel guilty, and you shouldn’t blame your mother either.”

"Ah."

Su Shi obediently tapped lightly.

She hadn't lost her composure yet, so after listening to Ms. Xiaoba's explanation, she understood why her mother had made up her mind to divorce her father that morning.

But reason and emotion are not the same thing. No matter how disgusting he is, that man is still Ichinose Motoyo's father.

She had always misunderstood her father; in reality, he was a complete scoundrel.

After realizing this, the girl felt as if something was missing in her heart, as if a huge void had formed, and her emotions kept overflowing.

Seeing that Su Shi's face was getting worse and worse, Teacher Xiaoba tried to comfort her, but no matter what she said, the other party remained unmoved.

Until the topic shifted to a certain person.

"Ichinose, the person who clashed with your father was Hikigaya. As for why that guy did it, you should understand now that you know the truth."

...

After finishing his soba noodles, Hachiman returned his plate to its designated spot with a blank expression. It's worth noting that not all faculty and staff members were prejudiced against him.

At least while he was eating, a young female teacher walked over as if no one else was there, patted him hard on the shoulder, and left with the inexplicable words, "Young man, I have high hopes for you."

But how to say it.

This kind of explanation is just making things worse, isn't it?

After finishing lunch, Hachiman returned to the classroom.

After a morning of fermentation, the rumors had spread to almost the entire school, including Class 3-A.

Back in class, Hachiman heard that the school administration reacted strongly to the rumors and took strict measures during lunch break to prevent them from spreading further.

Ugh, I've caused trouble for others again.

Thinking about all this, Hachiman arrived at his seat, yawned, and slumped his weight onto the cool tabletop.

How comfortable, let's take a nap.

Unfortunately, just as Hachiman sat down, a chubby elementary school student timidly walked over.

What was this kid's name again?

Just as Hachiman was desperately trying to recall the other person's name, the chubby boy spoke up:

"Hachigaya-kun, the rumors must be false, right? How could a student like you possibly lay a hand on that girl's father?"

If we deny it here, it would imply that Ichinose's father has a problem, and all of Hachiman's previous efforts would have been in vain.

After a brief moment of thought, Hachiman decided to do the opposite.

"No, the rumors are all true. I provoked them first."

"I knew it!"

"what?"

Hachiman was stunned.

The scene I had imagined didn't happen. Instead, the chubby boy ran to his seat and excitedly chatted with his companions, while waving his fist and casting an admiring glance at Hachiman.

Oh no, the misunderstanding seems to have deepened.

Before Hikigaya could explain, another sound from somewhere else distracted him.

"Hachiman, someone is looking for you outside."

The sound drew their gaze to the doorway, where a familiar head of chestnut-yellow hair first came into view.