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

This is my home!

In front of the old rental house, Su Shi happily introduced the place where she grew up to others.

"Hey, there's a seesaw here?"

Hongxia pointed to the seesaw in front of the door, a look of surprise on her face.

Upon hearing this, Hikigaya glanced in that direction briefly.

Well, it's more of a simple metal device than a seesaw. The design is very basic and the appearance isn't exactly attractive, but for elementary school students who don't have much else to do, it's a fun toy.

Hachiman recalled his childhood experiences, when discovering an abandoned prefab house would excite him for a long time, and he thought it could be used as a secret base in the future.

"This was specially made by my parents last year. It took them a lot of effort."

"Su Shi's parents are amazing!"

Hongxia sighed, and upon hearing her friends' praise, Su Shi's lips couldn't help but curl up.

"Okay, everyone, please come in!"

Just as Su Shi took out her key to open the door, a lively greeting came from inside.

"welcome!"

"Mom?" Su Shi looked at her mother in surprise as she walked out of the rented apartment. "Don't you have to go to work today?"

"Today is the first time Su Shi-chan has brought her friends home to play, how could Mom miss it?"

After saying something playful, Su Shi's mother greeted the people outside the door.

"Hello everyone."

"Hello Auntie!"

As the most eloquent and socially adept member of the group, Hongxia responded without fear.

The golden hair caught Su Shi's mother's attention, and she hesitated before asking:

"Um, you must be Xiao Hongxia, right? Su Shi told me you're very cute!"

"Hehe, no, not at all."

Hongxia scratched her head shyly.

On the other side, Nishimiya Shoko, though somewhat embarrassed, timidly stepped forward and used her familiar notebook as a means of greeting.

"Good afternoon, Auntie. My name is Nishimiya Shoko. I have hearing problems, please forgive me."

"Hello, Little Glass."

Even though her daughter had explained the situation beforehand, when she actually met Nishimiya Shoko, who had a hearing impairment, Suze's mother still couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.

As for Komachi and Hikigaya, everyone already knew them, so they just exchanged a simple greeting.

"Everyone, don't stay outside, come in and have a seat."

At Su Shi's mother's invitation, the group filed in.

Upon entering the room, the light dimmed immediately. Hachiman squinted for a while to adjust before his vision gradually became clear.

Compared to last time, the trash inside the house was cleaned up very well, and there was a pleasant air freshener scent in the air.

"What would you like to drink? We have juice and barley tea."

"juice!"

The sound of juice being dispensed rang out in unison throughout the house, and Hachiman echoed in agreement. A minute later, Sose's mother brought out several glasses of chilled orange juice from the kitchen.

"Um, is Uncle not home today?"

While everyone was drinking juice and chatting, Hachiman suddenly asked a question.

Upon hearing this unexpected question, Su Shi's mother was visibly taken aback for a moment, and then answered hesitantly:

"He's still working outside. What does Hachiman need him for?"

"No, I was just asking casually."

Hikigaya covered his face with the orange juice glass and then carefully observed Motoyo's mother's expression.

That's really suspicious...

A few minutes later, Su Shi's mother received a phone call and then went out temporarily. The remaining elementary school students started playing their usual games in the room.

"I'll roll the dice now, ta-da! Oh, this time I'll be the mom, and Senior Su Shi will be the dad!"

Nijika skillfully assigned roles in the game, while Hachiman was naturally excluded, sitting alone with his chin in his hand, acting as if he were invisible.

But don't get me wrong.

This wasn't isolation, but rather Hachiman's voluntary decision to give up. After all, it was better for him to go to school than to force himself to play house.

Midway through their play, Nishimiya Shoko got up to go to the restroom, and when she returned, Hachiman noticed that the child's expression was clearly a little off.

What happened?

Driven by curiosity, Hachiman subtly moved to her side and whispered:

"Nishimiya-kun, I have something I want to talk to you about. Can you come out with me for a bit?"

"Ah, um."

The two left the rented room together and stopped in front of the seesaw by the door. Hachiman asked:

"What's wrong? You don't look well. Did something happen?"

"She's the leading figure in vegetarianism!"

Nishimiya Shoko's speech was already somewhat slurred. It was fine most of the time, but when she got anxious, it was impossible to understand what she was saying.

"Wait a minute, Nishimiya, calm down."

Realizing her nervousness and loss of composure, Nishimiya Shoko panicked. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

"sorry."

"It's okay, so what's wrong?"

Because she hadn't brought her notebook, Nishimiya Shoko could only use sign language, along with her less-than-perfect pronunciation, to speak slowly:

"Hachiman, I just... accidentally saw something, but I... really didn't mean to!"

Her eyes were slightly red, and she became increasingly agitated. A few tiny tears welled up in her eyes and slowly rolled down her fair face.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Hikigaya stepped forward with concern.

"I'm fine! But...but...!"

Nishimiya Shoko covered her face in bewilderment, and the next moment, tears welled up like a burst dam.

To be honest, Hachiman had no way to deal with a crying girl. He could only stand by helplessly and wait. Fortunately, Nishimiya Shoko stopped crying soon.

The girl slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with sympathy and unease.

Then, under Hikigaya's bewildered gaze, Nishimiya Shoko uttered something astonishing.

"Hikigaya-kun, did Suze's parents abandon her?"

"what?"

Nishimiya Shoko clutched her chest, her expression pained as she described to Hikiya what she had seen in the bathroom a few minutes earlier.

That was a divorce agreement.

After listening to Nishimiya Shoko's description, in order to prevent her from continuing to misunderstand, Hikigaya immediately drew a conclusion.

"No, Nishimiya-kun, you've misunderstood."

"what?!"

Compared to children from ordinary families, Nishimiya Shoko, who suffers from hearing impairment, understands the meaning behind the divorce agreement better.

Just a few years ago, Nishimiya Shoko's father abandoned her and her pregnant daughter, Nishimiya Yaeko, at home in the same way.

So when Nishimiya Shoko saw that form in the bathroom, she couldn't help but empathize with it.

And thinking that Ichinose Motoyo might experience the same thing as her, she was immediately plunged into great sadness because she didn't want her companion to get hurt.

"This is a rather complicated explanation..."

Hikigaya frowned, looking troubled, wondering how best to explain things to the elementary school student in front of him.

After a long pause, he offered a more tactful explanation.

“Ichinose’s father had many problems, so strictly speaking, Ichinose was not the one who was abandoned.”

"Ugh?"

Because she lacked a lot of knowledge, Nishimiya Shoko found it difficult to understand Hikigaya's words, but relying on her natural trust in him, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

091 The Lone Ranger at Night

It seems this child has something else he hasn't mentioned.

Hikigaya seemed to sense something from Nishimiya Shoko's unusual emotional fluctuations, and immediately changed the subject.

"Nishimiya-kun, please keep this a secret, especially from Ichinose Kei."

"Yes, I will!"

With Hikigaya's reassurance, Nishimiya Shoko gradually dispelled her doubts, and her eyes regained their sparkle.

but.

After learning about her friend's difficulties, especially the news of her parents' impending separation, Nishimiya Shoko could no longer find the lighthearted feeling she had at the beginning.

But for some reason, she felt a little more at ease.

Well, it's because Su Shi's situation is different from hers.

At that time, apart from her mother and grandmother who were still by her side, she was almost all alone, and all she could see was a vague future waiting for her.

But Su Shi is different; she has so many friends around her, so much companionship and care from others, and... support from Hachiman.

Nishimiya Shoko firmly believes that the boy who once helped her will step in again this time, bringing the most precious hope to Suze-senpai when she is in despair.

"Hachiman, you must help your senior when she needs it!"

Using sign language to express her inner thoughts, Nishimiya Shoko cheered up and showed a friendly smile.

Unfortunately, Hachiman was unable to fulfill her request; rather, what he wanted to do was completely contrary to her wishes.

Thinking about this, Hachiman's mood became much more bitter.

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now and go back."

"it is good."

The two returned to the rented apartment.

"Ugh, Hachiman, why were you guys gone for so long!" Nijika complained, waving her little fist. "Dinner's going to get cold!"

"dinner?"

On the picnic blanket in front of them, they arranged the food into the shape of building blocks or similar toys.

Seeing this, Hikigaya gave a wry smile, apologized, and returned to his seat.

While everyone was distracted, he quietly went to the bathroom and carefully covered the glaring divorce agreement with something.

Honestly, Ichinose's mother is far too careless. If Ichinose Motoyo were to see these things, the consequences would be unimaginable.

but.

Ichinose's mother must have been extremely busy lately because of that gambling addict.

Hikigaya could understand her difficulties; her utterly shameless husband had probably drained her energy, so it was normal for her to make mistakes.

While organizing the agreement, Hachiman tried to control his gaze, but he couldn't help but see some of the contents of the form.

Ichinose's mother had already signed her name and stamped her seal, but the other party's signature area was still blank, and there was a huge X mark on it, as if to express the signer's dissatisfaction and anger.

I see...