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

Hikigaya sized up the man in front of him. He had a handsome appearance and gave off a refined and cultured vibe. When he spoke, he deliberately squatted down to keep himself at the same height as the two of them, as if he was very comfortable interacting with children of this age.

Is this guy a staff member of the Shogi Association?

Moreover, he actually said he didn't know how to play shogi, which is obviously a lie.

Although I don't know the other party's true purpose, it doesn't matter if it's just one game.

Hachiman considered it for a moment and then gave up his spot.

But the person didn't come over; instead, they moved to where Hongxia was.

"Can I play against him next time?"

"sure."

The naive Nijika immediately nodded in agreement to the other party's request, while Hachiman sensed a strong sense of malice.

Hey, what's going on here...?

"Thank you very much. My skills are just average, so if possible, please be gentle with your touch, little friend."

"Ah good."

Not knowing why the opponent insisted on that boring, purely beginner-friendly setting, Hachiman sighed and helplessly restored the board.

As the match began, the young man continued to live up to his persona, asking questions as he went, which gradually made Hachiman become a little irritated.

Ugh, this feels a bit troublesome, I'll just deal with it casually.

So, Hachiman, who had originally planned to proceed normally, changed his approach.

Because the opponent was also a "newbie," the game was essentially a battle of two complete novices, with absolutely no strategy or strategy involved.

But to Hachiman's surprise, after a few dozen moves, the man suddenly changed his strategy and placed a piece in an unbelievable spot.

The young man slowly raised his head and looked into Hachiman's eyes, as if to say, "Come on, let me see what you're going to do next."

This guy is definitely here to cause trouble, isn't he?

Ignoring his opponent's aggressive gaze, Hachiman hesitated for a moment, but still followed his original strategy, deliberately placing his piece in a position that seemed advantageous but was actually riddled with traps.

Upon seeing Hachiman's decision, the young man sighed softly, a clear look of disappointment on his face, his previously forceful demeanor instantly vanishing.

So, he was mistaken?

128 Elementary School Detectives

In the next few minutes, Hachiman deliberately made several bad moves, which directly caused the originally favorable situation to become unsustainable and quickly led to a complete collapse.

Even Nijigasaki, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore and even secretly whispered some advice in his ear. Unfortunately, Hachiman ignored her completely and continued to follow his original line of thought.

"Um, I lost."

After realizing he was powerless to turn the tide, Hachiman surrendered with a relaxed expression.

Now, it was the young man who had always called himself a novice who was at a loss.

"It's okay, it's okay. Actually, I learned a little bit about it in elementary school, and I just suddenly remembered it now."

That reason is just too strange; it's not like she's a reincarnated person...

Hikigaya silently complained to himself, then packed up the chessboard. The young man also stood up regretfully and returned to his other place with a complicated expression.

But for some reason, I always felt a strange sense of unease.

"Ba Yi, you already have two elementary school girls as your apprentices, and that's not enough. You're even thinking of pretending to be a newbie to lure a third person... and a boy at that."

Beside him, a lovely silver-haired girl tapped her folding fan impatiently.

"Senior sister, you've misunderstood!" Kuzuryuu Yaichi hurriedly explained his views to the girl, "Well, how should I put it, that child's talent isn't enough to enter the professional field, and most importantly, he has absolutely no interest in shogi."

The silver-haired girl listened with great interest, then suddenly stopped playing with her folding fan as if she had heard something amiss.

"It's true that I'm not interested, but I'd like to know how you came to see my talent."

"Sigh, that kid's skills are just those of a beginner."

Recalling the scene of his match with his opponent, Kuzuryu Yaichi did not think he had made any oversights. After all, he was the master of two female disciples and had some experience in judging people.

In response, the silver-haired girl opened her paper fan, revealing a mocking expression:

"No, you've completely misunderstood."

"...Senior sister, I would like to hear the details."

"Bayi, when you were playing chess, you didn't pay any attention to where your opponent was looking, did you?"

Because of her unwavering devotion and indescribable feelings for her junior brother, Sora Ginko kept a close eye on the match at Hachiman's place, and as an observer, she was able to make a more detailed assessment of the situation.

"Perspective? Why should we care about that?"

"In my opinion, that child was actually anticipating your reactions."

Upon hearing this, the unease in Kuzuryuu Yaichi's heart was finally explained. He hurriedly turned around, but the two children there had already disappeared.

"is that a lie?"

.倻..

After that inexplicable young man left, Hachiman saw a middle-aged man with gray hair walk in through the door. The man smiled and said something to Mr. Hachiman.

Soon, the latter gave a slight bow, turned around, and waved to Hachiman with a relaxed expression.

Oh, is something the matter?

"Let's go, Hachiman, we should have two hours of activity time next."

"it is good."

The two had already agreed to visit Ichigo Production together, so Hachiman didn't refuse. After telling Nijika, he grabbed his bag and quickly left the room.

Because they had planned their route in advance, the two of them quickly arrived at the street where Ichigo Production was located by train, led by Hachiman.

Next, let's check the address on the official website.

Hikigaya strode through the unfamiliar city, with Mr. Kohachi following behind, amazed by the speed of his movements.

Could it be that this kid is a die-hard fan of Ichigo Production?

This was the first time that Mr. Koba had seen Hachiman look so impatient. He forgot to take a step for a moment, and only came to his senses when the other reminded him, and then sped up to catch up.

Before long, the two stopped in front of a very ordinary three-story building.

"This is it."

Hikigaya looked at the map in his hand, which was marked with various symbols, and glanced up at the location of Ichigo Production's company.

Looking at its appearance alone, there's nothing particularly special about it; it's like the kind of place a typical small or medium-sized company would set up. To be honest, Ichigo Production isn't exactly a traditional large corporation, and its only brand is that young idol named Hoshino Ai.

"Want to go in and have a look?"

After finishing speaking, Mr. Koba stood still, eagerly awaiting Hachiman's reaction.

"No need, let's go to the next place."

"Are you sure you don't need to go in? If you're embarrassed, I can ask for you."

It seems that Mr. Koba considers him a fan of his idol, but even so, it's impossible for an idol to stay in the agency all day long, right?

According to Hikigaya's stereotype, a popular idol like Hoshino Ai is either doing gigs or rehearsing in the dance studio.

Even if they occasionally appear at the agency, they can't just meet with ordinary people. If other fans find out, they will definitely be fiercely criticized, and their popularity may plummet, eventually leading to their being abandoned by the agency.

There's no way around it, the world of teenage idols is just that cruel.

With these random thoughts in mind, Hachiman confirmed again:

"Teacher Xiaoba, you really don't need to go. The place we're going to next is the key."

As Hachiman spoke, he touched the business card and voice recorder in his pocket. He had originally planned to bring a video camera with him, but he had lent it to Kizuna before, so he couldn't get it for the time being.

"OK then."

Teacher Xiaoba didn't know what the child was thinking, but she decided to listen to him for now.

The two circled around the entrance, then walked in another direction. After turning a few corners, Hachiman stopped again.

In front of them stood an impressive office building, with smartly dressed office workers frequently passing by its automatic doors. However, this was not what Hachiman wanted to see. He took a few steps and arrived at the back of the office building.

There, too, is a three-story building of moderate size.

"here it is?"

Ms. Xiaoba looked at the building in front of her with some curiosity. For some reason, she had a strange feeling of familiarity about it.

"Teacher Xiaoba, I need to go inside for a bit. Could you please wait here for me?"

"Don't you need my help?"

"Well, no thanks."

The next action will be more convenient than if Kiba were to come alone; if Koba-sensei were to come along, it would only attract more attention.

129 Unscrupulous Bosses Still Visible

Looking at the somewhat eerie staircase at the entrance, Hachiman couldn't help but shiver. He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs. A few dozen seconds later, the company's main entrance came into view.

Behind the somewhat worn glass door is a small reception desk, and directly opposite it hangs the company's name—Strawberry Agency.

Two similar companies appeared on almost adjacent streets, which would arouse suspicion in anyone who saw them.

The moment he saw the sign at the entrance, Hachiman reached into his pocket and discreetly pressed the power button on the voice recorder.

The glass door remained open, and there were no administrative staff at the front desk. The messy files piled on the table looked like they hadn't been tidied up in a long time.

As the saying goes, the condition of a company's front desk is its face, which is why many companies, even those on the verge of bankruptcy, still make their entrances look bright and beautiful.

However, I didn't see this style in the Strawberry Agency. Perhaps their boss felt that it didn't matter how the front desk staff were, as long as they did their core work well.

This idea isn't necessarily wrong, but it feels a bit perfunctory...

but.

The fact that no one was watching over him greatly facilitated Hachiman's next move. He lowered his body and slipped in smoothly along the wall.

After walking a few steps, I saw several desks in the empty space. There were no computers on them, and the desks looked very dirty.

Is it possible that there are no employees working at all in this place?

The faint stench in the air caused Hachiman's impression of the company to plummet, and he also began to have some bad premonitions.

Could this be what they call a shell company?

Of course, it is too early to draw conclusions now.

With this in mind, Hachiman continued to explore deeper into the company. After passing the first office, he heard rhythmic music coming from a half-open wooden door.

Hachiman's knowledge wasn't extensive enough to identify the origins of these songs, but he could roughly determine from their style that they were currently popular songs.

They walked slowly towards the door, cautiously peering inside.

On the uneven wooden floor, three young women were practicing a dance move in front of a mirror.

Oh, it's a dance studio?

Although it's called a dance studio, Hachiman felt it was more like a temporary room.

The walls were covered in dust, as if they hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

The wooden floor is also covered with small pits, and you might slip and fall if you step on them by accident.

Even more outrageous, only a quarter of the walls inside the dance studio were fitted with full-length mirrors; the rest were just half-length mirrors that had been bought from who-knows-where.

Looking up at the ceiling, Hachiman noticed that the dance studio didn't seem to have air conditioning; there was only a small electric fan running above it, making strange noises from time to time, as if the blades were about to pop out of the room at any moment.

"Isn't this a bit too poor?"

Hikigaya's lips twitched slightly as he sighed helplessly.

Just then, a phone rang abruptly in the dance studio. A girl who was rehearsing in front of the mirror suddenly stopped, took her phone out of her bag, and hurriedly ran out of the dance studio.

"not good!"

Because the opponent's movements were so sudden, Hachiman didn't have time to hide before they came face to face.