Anime Crossover: There are a lot of beautiful girls who like me.

In her interactions with friends, enveloped by loneliness, she would always subconsciously keep her distance from these 'friends'.

Even when sharing 'happy' experiences with friends, the smiles on her face are mostly fake.

So when she saw the genuine smiles on Kitagawa Yu and Yanami Anna's faces, she was truly, truly envious.

However, what she didn't know was that Kitagawa Yu's smile was indeed because she had met and chatted with Hanami Anna.

But the smile on Hanami Anna's face...

"As expected, matcha-flavored chocolate is the best~" Anna Hanami put the last matcha-flavored chocolate ball into her mouth, her eyes narrowed with satisfaction.

That adorable appearance almost made Kitagawa Yuu take out her phone to take a picture and record it.

"Does Hanami-kun like matcha?" Kitagawa Yu asked curiously.

"NO~NO~NO~I like anything that tastes good~!" Anna Hachimi said, gently shaking her finger.

This time, not only Kitagawa Yu, but also Hakamada Sosuke, felt a little embarrassed and ashamed. Even Himegami Karen couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

"Hana-chan is so cute~"

"Hmph..."

While eating chocolate, Anna mumbled something indistinctly, thinking to herself, "Even if you praise me, it won't help. I won't let you get close to Kusakabe~"

then......

"Himemiya-san, let's sit here!"

The 'exclusive seat for the second-dimensional male protagonist' in the back row of the classroom, closest to the window, was 'forcefully' snatched from Kitagawa Yu's hands by Yanami Anna and shoved into Himemiya Karen's hands.

Then, Himegami Karen gave the seat to Kitagawa Yu to her right, and took the seat in front of her for herself.

Furthermore, there were no seats to the left or behind, which completely blocked Hakamada Sosuke's position as geographically close to Himegami Karen.

Even the seat in front of Kitagawa Yu, which was to the right of Himegami Karen, was given to the newly acquainted Roasted Salt Lemon by her almost maxed-out social skills.

As a result, the only seats closest to Karen Himegami in the entire classroom are the seats in front of her and the seat to Yu Kitagawa's right.

Then, whether Hakamada Sosuke was deliberately trying to keep his distance from her to avoid being 'misunderstood' by Himegami Karen, he actually chose to sit to the right of Kitagawa Yu rather than in front of her, which made her grit her teeth in anger, and the swastika on her forehead was about to pop out again.

Is she really that much worse than Himegami Karen? She was always so popular at school, from elementary to middle school!

However, what angered her even more was yet to come.

There were no classes scheduled for the first morning of the new students' enrollment.

After the entrance ceremony ended, everyone returned to the classroom. Under the guidance of their homeroom teacher and history teacher, Ganxia Kunami, who had short orange hair and looked petite, cute, and a bit ditzy, they cleaned up, arranged their seats, and introduced themselves. Then it was lunchtime.

"Kitagawa-san, Himemiya-san, want to go have lunch together? I heard the food at our school cafeteria is pretty good."

Seemingly to conceal his true intentions, Hakamada Sosuke deliberately added Kitagawa Yu's name to the invitation list.

Even when he extended the invitation, his gaze remained fixed on Kitagawa Yu's face, only glancing at Himegami Karen out of the corner of his eye.

However, his little scheme was noticed not only by Kitagawa Yu and Hanami Anna, but even by the oblivious Himemiya Karen. So this time, Hanami Anna and Himemiya Karen were both in perfect unison hoping that Kitagawa Yu would refuse him.

The problem is... Kitagawa Yuya also wants to have lunch with Hanami Anna!

To be honest, the way the girl in the meme eats really makes your mouth water!

so......

“Okay, I’m fine with it~” Kitagawa Yu deliberately ignored Yanami Anna, who was staring at him expectantly, and said with a smile.

This made Anna Hanami's eyes widen instantly, and she felt uneasy.

"Hey! How could you agree so easily! Kusakabe looks like a delinquent, aren't you scared!?" Anna's round eyes seemed to be questioning her silently.

Meanwhile, Hakamada Sosuke secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and could finally look at Himegami Karen 'openly and legitimately'.

"What about Himegami-san?" Hakamada Sosuke asked, his voice filled with nervous anticipation.

On the other side, Anna Hanami, who was still angry with Kitagawa Yu, thinking that Kitagawa Yu was "too easy to talk to" and "not a good friend", also quickly turned her head to look at Himegami Karen.

"I--"

A troubled look appeared on Himegami Karen's face.

Despite their different experiences, just like in the original story, Karen Himegami doesn't have a very good first impression of Sosuke Hakamada, who looks like a delinquent and always glances at her chest.

However, looking at the sunny and handsome Kitagawa Yu, and then at the cute Yanami Anna who was also looking at her with nervous and 'expectant' eyes, she finally forced a smile and nodded in agreement.

"Me too!"

What's so good about it! It's not good at all!

Chilling!

At this moment, Anna Hanami seemed to be possessed by the spirit of a pufferfish. She turned her head back and glared angrily at Yu Kitagawa, her whole body about to explode!

She could tell that Himegami Karen herself did not want to agree.

If Kitagawa Yu hadn't agreed first, Himemiya Karen, who didn't have a very good impression of Hakamada Sosuke, would most likely have refused the invitation.

so......

"It's all your fault!" On the way to the restaurant, Banai saw Anja secretly nudge Kitagawa Yu with her elbow.

"What?" Kitagawa Yu turned to look at her, feigning confusion, but inwardly he couldn't help but laugh.

Can't we at least have some teamwork in Chapter 8?

"What? The food here is just so-so, it's not nearly as delicious as Cao Jie described!"

Although it looks a bit old, it is very clean. Through the window, you can see rows of cherry blossom trees on both sides of the path you came from, as well as the canteen in the playground in the distance.

While shoveling rice into her mouth, which was supposedly one of the cafeteria's signature dishes, Hanami Anzu was covered in rice grains, and she couldn't help but complain.

Yes, you can tell she was really starving.

The energy replenished by those few chocolates had long been used up during the subsequent cleaning process.

However, as it turns out, the food in the cafeteria of an ordinary public school like Shilu High School is nothing special; at best, it's just average.

This can be seen from the number of students eating in the cafeteria.

Although high schools in Japan have a strong bento culture, many students, especially girls, like to bring their own bento boxes to show off their cooking skills and domesticity.

However, it is quite rare to see a school like Shilu High School, which has thousands of students but seems to have fewer than a hundred students eating in the cafeteria during lunch break.

However, on the wooden benches along the roadside, on the soft lawn under the cherry blossom trees, and in the atrium and corridors connecting the teaching building and the club activity building, you can see groups of students gathered together, eating their own bento boxes, rice balls, bread, or sandwiches, and chatting happily about their spring break experiences.

This makes the entire campus seem as vibrant and full of life as it is this season.

"Um... I heard it from a senior who went on to study here after junior high school... no, I mean a senior who told me." Hakamada Sosuke scratched his head awkwardly and explained.

Such actions and expressions, appearing on a guy who looks like a delinquent, were somewhat incongruous to Kitagawa Yu and Himegami Karen, except for their childhood friend, Yanagi Anna, who was already used to it.

However, for Hakamada Sosuke, this awkward situation was only just beginning.

Although Hakamada Sosuke successfully invited Himemiya Karen to lunch, Hanami Anna wasn't about to give up so easily, letting him keep trying to find topics to chat up Karen.

then......

"Has Kitagawa-kun seen that movie?"

According to a light novel whose name I've forgotten, almost 99% of first-year high school students form their own cliques within the first month of entering high school.

When people form small circles and choose friends, in addition to looking good together and making a good first impression, the most important thing is having the same interests and hobbies.

For example, liking to listen to the same style of music, or liking to watch the same type of movies and read the same type of novels.

So when Hakamada Sosuke asked Himemiya Karen if she had seen the highly-rated youth romance film "Love Like a Bouquet" that was released recently, and Himemiya Karen politely smiled and said "I haven't seen it,"

Hanami Anna then seized the opportunity to join the conversation, intending to do what she had done at the entrance ceremony: keep chatting with Kitagawa Yu to prevent Hakamada Sosuke from having any chance to approach Himegami Karen again.

However... Anzu Hachimi soon learned what it meant for ideals to be lofty while reality was harsh.

“I’ve heard of it.”

"???"

"What's wrong with you? Do you even know how to talk to girls? Are we even friends anymore? This is so uncooperative!"

Regardless of whether Kitagawa Yu said "I've seen it" or "I haven't seen it," Anna Banami had already figured out how to respond, but Kitagawa Yu just said "I've heard of it," directly ending the conversation.

This made Anna Hanami, who was originally planning to ask Kitagawa Yu what kind of movies he usually likes to watch after he said "I haven't seen it", suddenly stop, and even stopped eating.

With its chubby cheeks and rice grains at the corners of its mouth, it looks just like a little hamster that was eating but suddenly got startled. It looks silly and is so funny.

Kitagawa Yu tried very hard to maintain his facial expression and prevent himself from bursting out laughing.

However, teasing Anna Hanami a little is enough.

Although he really wanted Hakamada Sosuke to get together with Himegami Karen as soon as possible so he could 'dump' Hanami Anna, he wouldn't deliberately 'send a girl' to her, nor would he miss this opportunity to get closer to Hanami Anna.

Yes, Kitagawa Yu was completely uninterested in Himegami Karen's stunning figure, which made Hakamada Sosuke instantly fall in love and drool.

After all, Okita Sawa's looks and Devil Fruit level are in no way inferior to Himegami Karen's; she's even taller and has longer legs.

Furthermore, compared to Himemiya Karen, who lacks boundaries and is oblivious to the fact that she often gives other guys freebies, Okita Sawa is much more serious, so he really doesn't have any feelings for Himemiya Karen.

Aside from their initial encounter, he never once glanced at Karen Himegami's Devil Fruit again.

However, his behavior only made Himegami Karen like him even more.

"Actually, I rarely watch movies. Compared to movies, I prefer anime, manga, and light novels," Kitagawa Yu said, suppressing a laugh.

Anna Hanami is a typical optimist; her temper flares up quickly but subsides just as fast.

Seeing that Kitagawa Yu finally 'realized his mistake' and began to actively 'cooperate' with him, the resentment and dissatisfaction in his heart vanished without a trace.

"Huh? Anime, manga, and light novels? Kitagawa-kun's hobbies are pretty otaku-like~"

“That’s right, I’m a noble, seasoned otaku~” Kitagawa Yu admitted his status as a seasoned otaku, much to the surprise of the three of them.

This is where the benefits of having a thick skin become apparent.

"So, Kitagawa-san, do you want to join a club like the Manga Club or the Light Novel Club?" Himegami Karen asked curiously, snapping out of her daze before Hajime Anna could react.

"No, if our school has a light music club, I'll go visit and see if I can join. If there isn't a light music club, I might try to form one myself."

Kitagawa Yu explained as he ate the golden-brown, crispy, and tender fried pork cutlet in his pork cutlet rice bowl.

The 'crunching' sound was like the whisper of a demon, causing Anzu Hachimi, who had just come to her senses, to unconsciously swallow again.