Anime Crossover : Living in the Heart of Tokyo

After class, little girl Nishimiya Shouko couldn't stop thanking and apologizing to Hojou Kyousuke.

She thanked him for protecting her and apologized for the trouble she caused.

In response, Kyousuke simply smiled and ruffled her hair, telling her it was just something any normal person would do, and she didn't need to worry about it.

That wasn't true at all! It was only Kyousuke, only him, who would want to protect her like this!

With that thought, Shouko felt that the prank earlier didn't leave any negative impact on her.

Unlike the times when she had been bullied at her previous school, she didn't feel secretly sad.

Instead, all she could think about was how serious Kyousuke looked while reprimanding the troublemaker, with his sharp words and protective actions.

After that, nothing else happened until the end of the school day.

Sitting in front of Shouko, Sahara Miyoko had become friends with her, and they spent time discussing last night's Doraemon episode.

...............…

"How was school today, sis?"

At the dinner table, Shouko's younger sister, Nishimiya Yuzuru, asked her.

Upon hearing this, both their mother, Nishimiya Yaeko, and their grandmother, Nishimiya Ito, paused and turned to look at Shouko.

This wasn't the first time Shouko had transferred schools, and similar scenes had happened several times before.

In the past, Shouko would always smile serenely and assure her family that everything was fine, but they all knew that wasn't true—it meant everything was actually far from fine.

But this time was different.

Yuzuru looked at her sister and saw a smile she had never seen before.

Yuzuru was too young to fully understand the meaning behind it, but she knew her sister was truly happy, in a way she'd never been before.

This made her smile too, without even realizing it.

"I made a really good friend today, and he..."

Shouko put down her chopsticks, her face bright with excitement as she started to speak quickly.

"Slow down, sis!" Yuzuru interrupted.

Seeing Shouko's excitement, both their mother and grandmother exchanged surprised glances.

Maybe this time, Shouko wouldn't need to transfer schools again?

Shouko tried to calm her racing heart.

She had been waiting to share the day's events with her family ever since she got home, but her mother had only just come back after working all day.

"I made a really good friend today!" Shouko repeated.

"Really?" Yuzuru asked skeptically.

She remembered that before, some bad kids had pretended to be Shouko's friends, only to prank her later.

She was worried it was the same this time.

Her mother and grandmother had similar concerns, but they didn't say anything.

Grandma didn't want to dampen Shouko's spirits, and their mother, Yaeko, always believed that Shouko needed to make her own judgments—even bad friends could help her grow stronger.

Shouko puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish, her face full of adorable frustration.

"Hojou Kyousuke is a real friend! He protected me today!" Shouko exclaimed.

"Huh? Did someone bully you today?" Yuzuru immediately caught on and looked worried.

"Well, one student was imitating the way I talk to tease me, and then Hojou Kyousuke made him apologize to me."

Shouko went on to explain in detail how Ishida Shoya had teased her in Japanese class, and how Kyousuke had argued with the teacher to make Ishida apologize.

Kyousuke even insisted Ishida apologize three times because the apology wasn't sincere enough.

Watching Shouko excitedly mimic the way things had happened, her hair flying around in her joy, both her mother and grandmother exchanged glances.

They were happy for Shouko, but also concerned.

Given Shouko's special circumstances, even her younger sister had been affected and had become a target of bullying at school.

Over the years, they had seen so much of human cruelty.

Not only had teachers let them down, but even the children, who were supposed to be innocent and carefree, had shown their worst sides in front of Shouko.

To suddenly hear about someone like Hojou Kyousuke, who treated Shouko so well, seemed almost too good to be true.

And in Shouko's story, Hojou Kyousuke had even stood up to the teacher when they wouldn't defend her, forcing the teacher to make Ishida apologize in the end.

It sounded almost like something out of Doraemon. He was like a superhero!

"Is it really true?" Yuzuru asked, voicing her mother's and grandmother's concerns.

In their family, the roles were clear: their mother, Yaeko, was strict and quiet, always holding high expectations for Shouko.

Grandma soothed Shouko's heart, and the youngest, Yuzuru, was the one who said the things they couldn't.

"It's true!" Shouko puffed up her cheeks again.

Hojou Kyousuke really was a great person!

"Well then, Yuzuru, if Shouko has made a good friend at her new school, we should all be happy. This way, you can go to school without worrying," Grandma said.

"Mm-hmm, Yuzuru, you should go to school too!" Shouko immediately forgot about her small frustration and eagerly tugged at Yuzuru's sleeve.

Yuzuru, who had been talking just a moment ago, suddenly fell silent, her head lowered.

"Yuzuru…" Shouko and Grandma both looked at her with concern.

"Yuzuru." Yaeko spoke firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to your new school."

Yuzuru looked up.

She knew that her mother's decision wasn't something she could change, so she didn't argue.

Besides, she was just a little girl who wanted to play with children her age, not stay at home with Grandma every day.

It had been because of Shouko's situation that she hadn't been able to go to school before.

But now that Shouko seemed to be able to go to school without any problem, Yuzuru saw no reason why she shouldn't go too.

"Okay, Mom," she said quietly.

The atmosphere at the table lightened immediately, and everyone resumed eating happily.

Shouko continued to share more stories from school.

Although her mother, Yaeko, still wore her usual serious expression, the occasional glimmer in her eyes showed she was happy for Shouko.

That night, Yuzuru dreamt of Shouko at school, singing beautifully with a bright smile on her face.

Behind her, there was a boy whose face Yuzuru couldn't quite see, but he was clapping for her.

Meanwhile, after school, Ishida Shoya didn't join his usual friends, Shimada Kazuki and Hirose Keisuke, in their daily daredevil games.

He rushed home alone, not even greeting his mother when he entered, and silently trudged upstairs.

"Shoya, Shoya?" Ishida Miyako, his mother, called from the store area.

"What's wrong, Shoya? Didn't you go out with your friends today?"

But Shoya didn't respond, his head down as he climbed the stairs.

"Stop, Shoya." Miyako caught up with him at the stairs and called his name twice before he finally stopped.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, it's just that Kazuki had to go to a cram school, so we didn't hang out."

"Shoya, what's wrong with you? I'm just concerned!" Miyako said, her voice tinged with worry.

"I'm fine!" Shoya shouted before running up the stairs.

"Shoya…" Miyako stared at the empty staircase, her heart heavy with concern.

She couldn't think of anything that would have made her usually carefree son act like this.

Maybe she needed to call his teacher?

With that thought, she quickly walked to the phone and dialed his homeroom teacher, Takeuchi.

"Hello, is this Teacher Takeuchi? I'm Shoya Ishida's mother."

"…Yes?"

"Ah, I was wondering if something happened at school today. He came home acting strange."

"…I see. I'm sorry to hear that. I'll make sure to talk to him about it."

"Thank you, I'll take care of it."

"Goodbye."

After hanging up the phone, Miyako stood there, her hand still on the receiver, lost in thought.

Why had her son changed like this? She had thought he was just a mischievous boy, but now he seemed like a kid who would bully a disabled classmate.