Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

As expected, when she walked in, Mahiru immediately spotted Mashiro sitting calmly in the center of the room.

Her smile froze, and a look of utter disbelief appeared in her eyes, as if she had seen something truly impossible.

"Ma… Mashiro?!"

Hearing her name, Mashiro lifted her head.

Her gaze, previously emotionless, now brightened noticeably.

"Mahiru?"

The familiar voice confirmed Mahiru's suspicions. She sat down beside Mashiro, excitedly grabbing her hand.

"Mashiro, it's been so long!"

Mashiro thought for a moment, then nodded. "It really has been many years since I've seen you, Mahiru."

"Where have you been?" Mashiro asked, half-amused.

"I've been in Japan the whole time," she replied.

"Previously when we meet, I just went to the UK for a trip."

"Oh." Mashiro nodded, not sure if she fully understood.

"I'm really happy to see you again."

"I'm happy too!!"

While Mashiro's expression remained calm, Mahiru's face was full of joy, and even her eyes glistened with a few excited tears.

After a moment of excitement, Mahiru couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"Mashiro, why did you suddenly come to Japan from the UK?"

"To study painting," Mashiro said simply.

"?!"

Given Mahiru's background, she couldn't help but comment, "Aren't you the world's top oil painter?"

"Who could possibly teach you how to paint?!"

Mashiro shook her head, her orange eyes sparkling.

"The kind of painting I want to learn isn't oil painting"

"There are plenty of people who can teach me"

Mahiru instinctively imagined someone coming to teach Mashiro to paint... but could she even come up with anyone!?

'Mashiro and Mahiru... they're characters from completely unrelated stories, and now they've become a family here?!'

Just thinking about it felt a little surreal.

As for how he knew... wasn't it mentioned before? Mashiro was going to live in the same building!

And Mahiru just so happened to live downstairs!

Akifumi didn't think there could be this many coincidences in the world, and there was no one else suitable but Mahiru.

'This really is a touching scene,' he thought to himself.

The names Mahiru and Mashiro were so similar, why hadn't he noticed?

It was like Luffy and Lucci—could you say they were brothers?!

Besides, there were so many people with the same last name in Japan, and while "Shiina" wasn't a common surname, there were several Shiinas in this building alone.

So when he came across someone with a similar name, his thoughts naturally went in that direction... not worth wasting energy on.

"Ahem.."

Akifumi interrupted the touching reunion: "So, what's your relationship?"

Although he had a guess in his mind, he still wanted confirmation from them.

"She's my aunt's daughter."

As expected!

So Mahiru was taking care of Mashiro?

Good, good!

"Actually, I have a lot of questions too."

Mahiru looked at Akifumi. "Why is Mashiro here at Akifumi's house?"

"Because Mugi brought me back," Mashiro answered before Akifumi could speak.

"?!"

Mahiru gave her a confused look. "Mugi!? Are you really that close to each other?"

"Because I like him, so I call her Mugi"

???

At this moment, Akifumi finally realized why so many people in his past life had said that Mashiro, once peeled, was truly dark!

Just listen to this conversation! Look at Mahiru's expression now!

You don't even need to think to know she was already going down the wrong path.

"Wait, Mashiro, don't talk yet."

Mashiro tilted her head like a confused kitten, but she stayed quiet.

"Mashiro's parents and my parents are good friends. Last night, they called and asked me to bring her back first."

"She calls me Mugi because she likes that name."

"And since there are two Shiinas here, I had to call Mashiro by her full name to avoid confusion."

"Now, do you understand, Mahiru?"

Mahiru's face flushed slightly at suddenly being called by name.

A feeling of shyness bloomed in her heart, but she still nodded.

"I understand."

Akifumi's explanation was simple and straightforward, unlike Mashiro's vague responses, which made people want to overthink things.

"So troublesome," Mashiro muttered.

As if to say, these few words could explain everything, why was there a need for all this extra talk?

Hearing Mashiro's complaint, Akifumi and Mahiru both rolled their eyes in unison.

'You're the last person who should be saying that!!'

This thought only surfaced in their minds.

At that moment, Mahiru remembered something about Mashiro:

"I almost forgot, Mashiro has a lot of shortcomings in daily life."

"?!"

"But now that she's older, she shouldn't need anyone to help her change clothes, right?"

"Rita will help me."

"..."

The slap in the face came too quickly, like a tornado.

Seeing Mahiru's dumbfounded expression, Akifumi laughed.

"To get what you want, you have to pay the corresponding price."

"Mashiro becoming the world's top oil painter at such a young age didn't happen for no reason, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Mashiro nodded happily, despite not understanding what was being said.

"Don't respond so quickly when you don't know what's being said!" Mahiru gave her a helpless look.

"True," she finally agreed.

"Akifu... Mugiho-kun, you know Mashiro?"

Since Mashiro was calling him Mugi, surely it was okay for her to call her that too?

Comforting herself with this thought, Mahiru's eyes flickered.

Not bothering with such a small detail, Akifumi smiled and said,

"I'm also into painting, so I occasionally follow other masters in different fields."

"That makes sense," Mahiru nodded.

Then, feeling troubled, she asked, "Mugiho-kun, you're just responsible for bringing Mashiro back, but will someone else come to take her away later?"

"Mashiro should be the older sister, not 'this child,'" Akifumi added, reaching out to ruffle Mahiru's head.

Mahiru: "..."

She decided to ignore that part!

Looking at her, Akifumi couldn't help but laugh.

While age-wise, it made sense, psychologically, it was hard to admit.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be you, Mahiru," she said.

"Eh?" Mahiru blinked. "I've never heard of this!!"

"Do you want me to do it?"

"That's not it!"

Faced with a pitiful Mashiro, Mahiru explained, feeling a little guilty.

"It's just that no one told me from the beginning."

Akifumi half-jokingly said, "If there's really no one, Mashiro can stay with me."

"Anyway, there are two empty rooms."

"Mugi, you're so kind." Mashiro's eyes sparkled again.

"Mugiho-kun, though I know you're joking, some things shouldn't be said so casually."

Mahiru's face darkened, and a sinister smile appeared.

A dark aura surrounded Mahiru, and the atmosphere grew tense.

"You're so scary, Mahiru!"

Akifumi smiled and nodded, "I'm sorry."

"Anyway, I'll go make dinner first, and we can discuss the rest after eating."

Saying that, Mahiru walked toward the kitchen, feeling flustered.

"Is Mahiru angry? Is it because of me?"

"No."

Akifumi, like a cat petting its kitten, gently ruffled Mashiro's long, smooth hair, enjoying the feeling.

"Some things only Mahiru can handle herself."

If it can't be solved, then maybe a little push from behind later...