Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

Underneath the apartment building, Akifumi closed his umbrella and removed the two heavy bags hanging from his hand, leaving behind a few centimeters of dark bruising.

"Ugh."

The pain shot through his nerves, and he couldn't help but suck in a breath, making his small contribution to global warming. He glanced at the two bags, now mostly soaked, and let out a bitter smile.

"Why did I even bother?"

Not only had he gotten himself drenched by meddling, but it was also likely he wouldn't even hear a word of thanks in the end.

"Thank you, and... I'm sorry..."

At that moment, the girl's cold voice sounded from beside him.

Huh?

Akifumi looked up to find her gaze fixed on the bruising on his left hand, her face marked with clear guilt.

"Sorry."

It seemed the worst-case scenario hadn't come to pass.

Akifumi smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Honestly, it's like when you come across a box of abandoned kittens on a rainy day—you don't really need any special reason to help. Maybe you won't take them all home or give them an umbrella, but at least you'd try to find them shelter and some food."

There's no real reason, he thought. He just did it because he wanted to. Simple as that.

"Unlike you, I already thought about the consequences before acting."

So...

"There's no need for thanks or apologies."

What a kind person, she thought to herself.

Even though her words were simple and truthful, what Akifumi had done was never something most people would do. Most would just ignore it, but the person being saved should never take it for granted.

The girl spoke seriously:

"Perhaps it seems like a small thing to you, but the fact remains, you saved me."

"Whether you accept it or not, a 'thank you' is the least I can do, and it's truly from the heart."

Akifumi felt a little warmer hearing her words. Her tone was different now—she seemed more energetic and alive than before.

He shook his head in resignation.

"Well, since you're insisting on it, I'll graciously accept your thanks."

He was relieved to see she wouldn't do anything foolish now.

With that in mind, Akifumi handed her the umbrella he had borrowed.

"I've reached my place, so you can keep this umbrella."

"It's one of those shared umbrellas from the convenience store. Just make sure you return it afterward, okay?"

Without giving her a chance to refuse or reply, Akifumi turned and waved as he walked into the elevator.

The girl stood still, staring at the elevator until it reached the 12th floor. Only then did she look away.

She muttered to herself with a resigned expression,

"But... I won't even need this umbrella anymore."

Laughing quietly, she pressed the button for the elevator and took it up.

It stopped at the 11th floor.

Meanwhile, back in his apartment, Akifumi scratched his head.

"Wait, I feel like I've seen that girl before."

"Where have I seen her?"

...

"I really don't want to go to school."

Lying face down on his desk, Akifumi grumbled in a disheartened tone.

"If you say stuff like that on the first day of school, you're definitely asking for trouble, Akifumi," came the dry remark from Kato.

"And especially you, being the top student of the grade... the teacher would probably cry if they heard that."

"Don't believe in that nonsense, Kato! There's no scientific proof behind it!"

Bad luck doesn't just come out of nowhere, right? As for whether the teacher would cry...

"Well, I just won't let the teacher hear it, right?"

With that, Akifumi remembered the important thing he had almost forgotten.

"Oh right, thanks a lot for your help earlier, Kato!"

He pulled out a ¥10,000 bill from his wallet and handed it to Kato with both hands.

Kato looked surprised. "I thought this ¥10,000 was some sort of friendship fee to become your friend."

Akifumi rolled his eyes. "Where do you think I'm coming from, some campus bully?"

"Well, you did borrow money from me the very next day after we became friends. Anyone would wonder what your true intentions were."

"Couldn't it be because I trust you and believe you'd understand, so I didn't hesitate to do something that might be misunderstood?"

"That's a heavy trust, huh."

At those words, Kato's typically expressionless face briefly flashed a small smile—so fleeting that Akifumi wasn't sure if it was real.

He blinked in confusion.

"Did Kato just smile for a second?"

It was so brief he couldn't be sure.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Akifumi casually asked, "So, how did you spend your Golden Week, Kato?"

"I went to Hokkaido with my parents to visit my sister."

Kato wasn't an only child—she had an older sister, Kato Hiromi, now married and probably called Mrs. Yoshinaga.

"An older sister, huh... That sounds really nice."

Having been an only child in both lives, Akifumi had often wondered what it would be like to have a sibling—especially an older sister or younger one.

It must be nice, right? At least then, when his parents were out running around, there'd be someone there to take care of him.

"How about you, Akifumi? How did you spend your Golden Week?"

"I stayed at home."

He paused to think and then added, "Stayed at home... really, just stayed at home."

"Hey, don't look at me like 'this guy's so pitiful'!"

Even though he didn't mind this kind of break, the way Kato was looking at him stung a little.

"Well, I guess it's kind of hard to understand since you're a shut-in, but staying at home must have been pretty fun for you, right?"

"It was fun!"

They chatted casually about their holidays, and before long, the bell for class rang.

Hiratsuka Shizuka entered the classroom on time.

"Quiet down."

Under Hiratsuka's strong presence, the once noisy classroom fell silent in under three seconds.

"Before the lesson starts, let me introduce a new transfer student."

"Come in, Shiina."

With Hiratsuka's voice, the door opened, and a girl entered, walking to the front of the class.

"Please introduce yourself, Shiina."