In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Yukino, who had recently returned to Japan, was closest to Eriri, forming a small, unspoken circle. Because of their friendship, Yukino harbored a certain degree of wariness towards Utaha, who also had long, straight black hair.

Shiyu and Yuan Qianye have made rapid progress in their relationship, reaching a point where they are inseparable. However, due to considerations regarding Qianye's career and other concerns, they have not yet made it public.

Kazusa and Chiyo Minamoto have a good relationship. They went on a date alone on Christmas Eve and participated in a prestigious piano competition together. Their relationship is more than friendship, but they are not particularly close. However, she is not very familiar with the other people. Although she was invited by Chiyo Minamoto, she seems a bit out of place in this circle.

As for Rikka, she was exceptionally warm and maintained very good relationships with all of the above.

However, she lacked leadership skills and was unable to effectively bring them all together in a harmonious atmosphere.

Fortunately, she was there, constantly talking and keeping the atmosphere lively, which temporarily made some of the disharmonious infighting within the small team as transparent as possible.

Fortunately, everyone was in a good mood on the first day of school, so there was no situation that worried Yuan Qianye.

However, he also secretly vowed to himself that he should reduce the number of gatherings like today unless absolutely necessary.

Shiyu, in particular, exudes an evil aura that seems to say, "You don't want them to know either." While touring and familiarizing herself with the school's facilities, she openly and unexpectedly approaches others several times in front of everyone.

Although she didn't do anything outrageous in the end, it still put a lot of pressure on Gen Chiya.

He felt that she was taking revenge for the time he had made her cry and scream before, but he couldn't teach this unruly woman a lesson in front of others, so he could only deal with it later.

At 11:40, after visiting the playground, activity room, library and some clubs, they arrived at the school cafeteria together.

The school cafeteria is similar to chain restaurants outside. You first select the dishes you want from an automatic ticket machine, pay, and then take the meal ticket to the cafeteria staff to prepare your meal.

Everyone ordered their own dishes, and Yuan Qianye paid the bill together.

There were quite a few people in the cafeteria, but Rikka spotted a seat that was empty and pulled Eriri over to grab it.

The others arrived a little later, carrying their trays of lunch and taking their seats together.

Eriri, Yukino, and Rikka sat on one side.

Utaha, Minamoto Chiya, and Kazusa sat facing each other on the other side.

"The food at Soubu High School's cafeteria is actually pretty good. Saeko and I used to eat here together a lot when we were in our first year." Shiyu ordered Chinese cold noodles. The noodles, which looked very chewy after being rinsed in cold water, were topped with finely shredded cucumber, carrot, wood ear fungus, egg, and ham.

She disassembled the disposable chopsticks and tried to use them without much force.

The force was just right, barely managing to separate them.

She tilted her head slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips, her eyes pleading with a mischievous glint in them, and naturally handed the clasped chopsticks to Yuan Qianye beside her.

Kazusa's gaze was immediately drawn to it, her pale eyes holding a hint of barely perceptible inquiry.

Yukino's delicate eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Eriri's reaction was much more direct. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she practically jumped up from her seat and snatched the chopsticks from Shiho's hand before Chiyo could reach out helplessly.

With a crisp "snap!" Eriri decisively separated the two chopsticks and slammed them onto her plate. "Kasumigaoka Utaha! Haven't seen you in a while, have you developed myasthenia gravis? You've even put on this weak act of not being able to break chopsticks?"

Shi Yu was not intimidated by her imposing manner. Instead, she stood up gracefully and gave the others a slightly apologetic smile: "Excuse me, these chopsticks seem to be unusable. I'll go to the window and get a new pair."

"Hey!" Eriri's face instantly turned red with anger, and her voice rose several decibels: "What do you mean?! Are you saying the chopsticks I touched were dirty?!"

Shiyu feigned surprise: "Oh? So you knew that yourself?"

The narrow-mindedness in her eyes was clearly visible.

"What...! You despicable, pretentious woman! What are you doing, acting in a stage play?! I thought you'd matured after starting high school, but you're still just as annoying!"

"I'll return those words to you exactly as they were. I thought you would have grown up a bit after you went to high school, but I didn't expect you to be stuck in the same place and not make any progress."

Shi Yu covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her gaze shifting downwards at just the right moment, revealing a look of pity.

"I...! You...!"

Eriri realized what was happening and was furious, but because she had been hit where it hurt, she didn't know how to retaliate for a moment.

Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes instantly turned sharp as knives.

She disdained engaging in pointless verbal disputes in public; it was unnecessary and would only lower her own standards.

But when a close friend is deliberately humiliated, the situation is completely different.

"All right!"

Yukino's aura suddenly turned icy, and just as she was about to speak, Gen Chiya spoke first, taking control of the situation.

He first looked at Shiyu: "I know you're excited because you saw us enroll and think we can be together in the future, but some things, even if meant as a joke, shouldn't be said casually."

Shi Yu met his gaze and quickly understood the displeasure in his eyes.

She wasn't tactless; she was just afraid that if she went too far, she would be the one who suffered in the end.

Although when that time actually came, she didn't dislike it; in fact, she was somewhat looking forward to it.

But if possible, she still hopes for a gentler approach in everyday situations.

Otherwise, she would have had to rest for a long time afterwards, wasting a lot of time in bed...

So Shiyu simply shrugged, softening her stance.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood, I apologize."

As she spoke, she picked up the chopsticks Eriri had broken, clearly retracting her earlier statement and intending to use them directly.

"Thank you. To express my apology, I'll treat everyone to drinks after lunch."

After she finished speaking, the look in her eyes as she looked at Yuan Qianye conveyed the message, "Is this alright now?"

Yuan Qianye nodded.

Rikka, who was standing nearby, quickly tugged at Eriri's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "There are a lot of people watching us..."

Eriri took a deep breath and then sat down as well.

She was very angry just now, but she's completely fine now.

Because she could clearly see that during the conflict between her and that jerk Kasumigaoka, Chiya was completely on her side and had protected her!

It's obvious which of the two women holds more weight in his heart!

Thinking about this, she even felt that the argument just now was nothing, and instead felt a little smug.

The little farce ended there. No, it can't really be called a farce. At most, it was just an insignificant everyday squabble.

"By the way, the clubs we just visited were all really great! Especially that one..."

Rikka started the conversation, and everyone started chatting again.

Everyone at the table started using their chopsticks.

However, unlike Eriri, whose mood had brightened and who was even a little smug, Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze quietly shifted between Chiya Minamoto and Utaha Kasumigaoka.

She silently savored the remarkably natural and efficient way Yuan Qianye had mediated between the two of them.

For some reason, a strong, indescribable sense of unease, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, quietly rippled in her heart.

That composure.

That unspoken understanding.

That perfect understanding of each other's thoughts...

Isn't that a bit too familiar?

…………

Chapter 005: One Step at a Time

After finishing lunch at the new school cafeteria, Yuan Qianye and his group walked out of the cafeteria and headed towards the school gate.

Midway through, Kasumigaoka kept his word and stopped in front of the beverage vending machine in the corridor to ask everyone what drinks they wanted.

Chiya and Rikka, the brother and sister duo, didn't stand on ceremony with her, but everyone else said it wasn't necessary.

Kazusa was just being polite; she simply wasn't very familiar with Utaha.

Yukino and Eriri, on the other hand, clash with her natural personality and don't get along well, so she's not keen on accepting them.

However, Kasumigaoka still bought five drinks on her own, and she was the first to hand out the water-soluble vitamin C and orange-flavored Fanta that Minamoto Chiya and Rikka had requested.

The remaining three bottles of drinks were chosen based on her basic understanding of the three people.

The rock sugar pear juice was given to Kazusa, the black tea special drink was given to Yukino, and Eriri received the only milk among the five drinks that came with a straw.

"..."

Eriri looked at the large font on the square milk packaging in her hand, which read "Extra Thick" and "Nutritious".

Then look at the image above—a child laughing with his arms outstretched, with a very prominent upward-shooting symbol behind him.

She felt that Kasumigaoka was subtly implying something about her, and the evidence was conclusive.

But she had no way to deal with it.

"...Thank you."

And she had to grit her teeth and follow behind the others to thank this vile woman in order to show her magnanimity.

After all, the argument during dinner was over, and if she were to start another argument now, it would only make her seem a bit immature.

And... this is also for Qianye.

She didn't want him to be caught in the middle and put in a difficult position. Since he was on her side, she should be more sensible and not cause him any trouble!

Even if the first day of school passes like this, there's nothing else to do if I stay at school any longer.

Unless you're a second or third-year student, staying at school allows you to enjoy club activities with your friends again after a long time.

For example, you can see people playing soccer and baseball on the playground, people practicing track and field on the rubber track, people doing long jumps in the sandpit, and you can hear instrumental ensembles playing over the activity building. The sounds are a bit chaotic, but they are quite good for high school students. At least you can clearly hear that it is the piece "Winds of Provence".

During the time she was quarantined with Kazusa, Chiya not only practiced piano and exercised, but also listened to her play many world-famous pieces.

"By the way, speaking of clubs, I know Saeko is in the kendo club, but I've never heard of you joining any club, Utaha," Minamoto Chiyo asked.

Kasumigaoka shrugged: "I could say I joined the literary club, but it was only because of school rules. I was a ghost member. Apart from going once at the beginning to say hello to the club's advisor, I never went again. So there's nothing to say about it."

Rikka asked curiously, "Since you're Shiho-nee, you must really enjoy reading, right? If that's the case, you should have a lot in common with the other members of the literature club. Why don't you participate in more club activities and make some friends?"

The person asking the question was her future sister-in-law, so Kasumigaoka was extra patient and had a pleasant smile: "There are two reasons. First, I'm not used to being with strangers and I don't like going to crowded places."

"Okay!" Rikka nodded in agreement.

Yukino glanced at Shiho before quickly looking away. Shiho was just like her in this respect; she was also quite uncomfortable in crowded places.

She's fine if the meaningless noise is less intense and quieter, such as in a library, museum, or upscale art gallery.