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

"Um, I'm really sorry, my brother was just talking nonsense. Please don't take it to heart, Mr. Koenji."

“Hmm, it’s alright.” Koenji shook his head. “However, Ichinose-san, if you want to cooperate with our company, you’d better discuss it with your parents again.”

"But..."

Upon hearing this, Honami Ichinose seemed to recall something painful, silently lowering her head with a hint of unease and tension on her face.

Is there a problem?

Koenji maintained his smile and tentatively said:

"What's wrong?"

“I’m sorry, Mr. Koenji, but actually my family’s financial situation isn’t very good, so I’m worried that if I tell my parents, they definitely won’t support my decision.”

"That's it..."

If the parents don't support it, then there's no point in talking about anything.

Having already foreseen the outcome, Koenji, relying on his years of professional experience, decided to try one last desperate attempt.

"Why don't you give it another try? Ichinose-san, I think your personality and appearance are very suitable for being an idol. In fact, you're a natural-born idol!"

"Oh, really? Mr. Koenji, you're exaggerating."

It sounded like a polite remark, but Ichinose Honami seemed to be the type who couldn't take a compliment, and she blushed and cupped her face in her hands after being told that.

Well, this child is really easy to fool.

"No, no, to be honest, this is the first time I've seen someone as suited for an idol career as Ichinose-san. Hey, maybe she can even rival the famous Hoshino Ai!"

"Hoshino Ai?"

Upon hearing the name, Honami Ichinose tilted her head in confusion, while at the same time, Koenji's expression instantly froze.

"Sigh, don't you know Hoshino Ai, Ichinose-san?"

"what..."

How could something like this happen?

Hachiman sighed deeply. If he let the two of them continue talking, their true identities might be exposed.

Before Ichinose Honami could completely expose his true colors, he intervened and interrupted their conversation.

"Sister, Mom actually knew a long time ago that you like idols."

"Oh dear, how could Mom have known..."

Reminded by Hikigaya, Honami Ichinose blinked as if waking from a dream, her eyes seeming to be apologizing to him.

No, it's not Ichinose Honami's fault. After all, they didn't have much time to rehearse, so it's already quite good that they were able to fake it like this.

So from now on, it's his own stage.

“Mom and Dad have never stopped you, so I think if you ask them for help seriously, there might still be a chance.”

Upon hearing this, Koenji silently gave Hikigaya a thumbs-up under the table.

In general, even if an outsider like him talks until he's hoarse, sometimes it's not as useful as a sincere word of support from family.

"And if my sister can debut successfully, she will definitely earn a lot of money, which will make our family's life more prosperous."

"But... I don't know if I can succeed."

Observing Ichinose Honami's conflicted expression, Koenji knew that he would probably not get a satisfactory result today, but the seed had already been planted, and he just needed to wait for it to take root and sprout.

After a moment's thought, Koenji spoke softly:

"Ichinose-san, how about this? Don't rush into signing the contract. Go back and talk to your parents first, and then contact me after you've reached an agreement with them, okay?"

"Ah, yes, thank you for your trouble, Mr. Koenji."

"It's okay, let's leave it at that for today..."

"Wait a minute, Mr. Koenji, before that, I have a question I would like to ask you."

"what?"

Koenji paused in tidying his briefcase and glanced at Hikigaya.

"I've heard that a lot of unpleasant things have happened at your company recently. I'd like to know if these rumors are true."

"What rumors are you referring to?"

Koenji's heart sank.

Meeting the other person's slightly uneasy gaze, Hikigaya showed them the phone he had borrowed from Honami Ichinose.

Koenji squinted at the screen and looked in that direction. The screen showed the homepage of an unknown chat forum, and the top post directly exposed that Strawberry Agency had engaged in illegal contract signings and withheld wages.

Koenji adjusted his glasses, his tone showing no sign of panic, but rather righteous indignation:

"FakeNews! Our company's operations are handled by a professional team, how could we possibly do such a thing? Could you please send me a link to this forum later? I need to send a lawyer's letter to the rumor-mongers on it!"

Hachiman was also surprised. He had expected the other party to deny it, but he did not expect them to be so shameless as to try to turn the tables at this time.

No, perhaps it's just a bluff...

Thinking about all this, Hachiman slowly put away his phone and continued:

"But according to the poster, the other party has been with the agency for about half a year. During this period, he has not received any announcements after shooting commercials, and he has not even had the opportunity to do a roadshow."

"I already said this is fake news!"

Koenji responded in an unfriendly tone, but half a second later, he suddenly realized something.

Speaking of which, the only member who has been with the company for six months is that girl named Xiaohua.

Haha, I never expected that girl, who usually acts like a well-behaved girl, would actually post things on the forum that are detrimental to the company. Unforgivable!

"Mr. Koenji is a good person, so I trust you, but how should I put it, I'm still a little worried."

Hachiman continued relentlessly.

Perhaps realizing that he had to give a reasonable explanation here, Koenji was silent for a moment, then let out a long breath.

"I think this is probably slander against us by some companies with ulterior motives."

134 Hachiman is not a heartless mouthpiece

Koenji sighed deeply, then rubbed his forehead with a look of deep melancholy.

"As you all know, our company has become quite well-known in the industry recently, but with fame comes trouble. Starting about six months ago, many studios have been spreading rumors and slander against us online."

Koenji spoke with great distress, blaming all the company's problems on competitors in the industry and online trolls who spread these rumors.

Upon hearing these words, Hikigaya almost lost his composure.

So it turns out it was all someone else's problem. Hmm, you're really awesome.

On the other hand, Koenji's explanation is at least superficially plausible. After all, the entertainment industry is a mixed bag, and it's common for people to smear each other. Some companies even make their fortunes by exploiting the misfortunes of others.

"Then why don't you, Mr. Koenji, address this issue?"

“You’re still young, child. You don’t understand the difficulties of protecting your rights. We’ve already sued many studios, but it’s all in vain.”

Beside her, Ichinose Honami, who had remained silent from the beginning, seemed to be listening intently to Koenji's explanation, a hint of sympathy appearing on her face. Then she reached out and tugged at Hachiman's sleeve:

"Hachiman, so Strawberry Agency is in such a bad situation. It seems that the contents of this post are all fake, right?"

"Since Mr. Koenji says so, then it must be false."

"Well, it's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Those online trolls are really hateful and despicable! They almost ruined the friendly and trusting relationship between us."

Who trusts you?

Hachiman silently muttered a complaint to himself, then said:

"Mr. Koenji, but I have another question."

"Why is there still more?"

Seeing Hikigaya manipulating the phone again, Koenji gradually became a little impatient.

This brat has been making things difficult for me from the very beginning. If it weren't for the fact that his sister still had some use to him, I would have slapped him long ago.

"That person on the forum said they had decisive evidence that could prove there were problems with the Strawberry incident... well, anyway, that's what they said."

"There is no such evidence. Let me see it."

Even so, Koenji still looked at his phone screen with unease.

Hikigaya casually scrolled to the bottom of the forum, where a familiar contract screenshot appeared before them.

Upon seeing this, Koenji's pupils contracted.

"Mr. Koenji, the contract states that the company's training period will end within three months. [Name missing]"

"Wait a minute, this..."

"Please let me finish." Hikigaya interrupted him forcefully. "The contract also states that after the training period, the agency will guarantee that the contracted artist will have performance opportunities."

"But according to the poster, after three months of training, they didn't get a single performance opportunity except for advertisements."

"That's strange. Could this contract also be fake?"

Koenji wiped the cold sweat from his brow and, without thinking, echoed Hachiman's words:

"Ah, this contract is obviously fake..."

"Wait a minute, Mr. Koenji, the poster also said that if anyone doesn't believe it, they can call her to confirm."

At this moment, Honami Ichinose "suddenly" discovered an important piece of information.

"Also, I took a look at this contract, and it seems to be exactly the same as the one you sent yesterday."

Faced with this almost irrefutable evidence, Koenji could no longer maintain his composure.

"Wait a minute, Ichinose-san, let me explain."

He swallowed slightly to ease the dryness on his tongue, and stammered:

"Ah, I remember now, the guy who posted this is indeed a member of our company."

"But this girl has only herself to blame. You have no idea how bad her performance was during training. We warned her several times, but she didn't change."

“We wanted to terminate our contract with her, but she used depression to delay and threaten us, so it ended up like this.”

Koenji felt that his explanation was perfect, as it avoided the company's improper and irregular practices while also arousing Ichinose Honami's sympathy.

Unfortunately, he realized he had made a huge mistake only after he had said it.

"you liar!"

Just as Koenji was about to explain the scandal of the person who broke the news to the two of them, a cute girl stood up from the booth next to her and then stood in front of him aggressively.

"Little Flower Sauce, why are you here?"

...

Let's rewind to one day earlier.

After taking a bus, Hikigaya arrived at the gate of an ordinary junior high school that could be found anywhere else.

Looking at the bustling entrance after school, with strange glances constantly being cast his way, Hachiman sighed deeply.

Honestly, why did you have to meet in a place like this...?

Fortunately, the wait wasn't too long before a beautiful figure strode out of the main gate.

It’s Ichinose Honami.

She was wearing a black school uniform with a youthful vibe, and her long pink hair cascaded down to her waist. The moment she saw Hachiman, the girl revealed a bright smile from the bottom of her heart.

"Brother Hachiman, it's been a long time!"

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Upon meeting, Honami Ichinose ignored the lone wolf aura emanating from Hikigaya and squatted down to give his carefully tidied hair a good ruffle.

Wait a minute, what's wrong with this guy?

Although he doesn't have the legendary "bangs syndrome," he still gets a little upset when a girl inexplicably messes up his hair.

Yes, it's true...