Anime Crossover : Living in the Heart of Tokyo

The group continued towards the udon shop when suddenly, a voice called out from behind.

"That cake looks so delicious!"

Hojou Kyousuke turned around to see Yamauchi Sakura standing in front of the dessert shop's glass display, staring at a cake with wide eyes.

A small droplet of liquid even appeared at the corner of her mouth.

As he walked over, he saw the cake—a glossy mousse with a black base, adorned with a yellow planet and a little winged fairy floating above it.

He wasn't sure how it tasted, but it certainly looked stunning.

"No way! That cake exceeds the maximum sugar intake for one meal," Kyousuke coldly refused her request.

"Look, this is my health check-up from the other day."

"My body is completely healthy!"

"The doctor said there are barely any girls in all of Tokyo as healthy as me!"

Sakura, seemingly anticipating his rejection, whipped out a health report from her overalls pocket.

"Please, just this once."

As Kyousuke looked at the report, Sakura wrapped her arms around his, starting to plead in an exaggeratedly cute way.

After accompanying Sakura to countless hospital visits over the years, Kyousuke had become quite adept at reading the indicators on health reports.

Sure enough, her health was perfect—not even a trace of any pancreas issues, and no signs of being suboptimal.

The softness of her arms against his made his heart race, like it was being scratched by a kitten.

"Alright, alright. But you can't eat any other sweets this month," he compromised, feeling a bit guilty for being so strict with her.

While other girls happily enjoy sweets and coffee dates with their friends.

Sakura had always had to watch from the sidelines, just because he had some odd childhood rules.

They entered the store, paid, and came out with the cake.

"So, are we still going for udon?" Kyousuke asked the girls.

"How could we eat udon after cake? That'll just make us fat! You really don't understand girls, do you?" Sakura's eyes never left the cake.

"Then how about we go to my place? Naoka and I have some barley tea; it'll help balance out the sweetness after the cake," Shouko suggested softly.

Naoka agreed, and they all headed to Shouko and Naoka's apartment.

The apartment was slightly smaller than Hojou's, but they slept on tatami mats and didn't have a kitchen, so the space seemed larger.

In the living room, they gathered around a low table.

Kyousuke carefully placed the cake on the table.

Thanks to his excellent arm strength and control, despite Sakura's several attempts to mess with it, the cake remained intact, with the design untouched.

He took the cake knife, and Sakura eagerly grabbed her small fork.

"More! More!" she whispered excitedly.

Ignoring her pleas, Kyousuke judged the portion carefully and gave her the piece with the little fairy on it.

"Ah, I want more!" Sakura pouted, looking at the tiny piece she had gotten.

He gave the planet part to Naoka and a golden star to Shouko.

For a while, they all ate in silence, enjoying the cake.

Shouko smiled softly as she looked at the beautiful star-shaped decoration on her cake.

She didn't care about the udon or the cake; she was happy simply being with Hojou and the others. As long as she could hear his voice, she was content.

As she watched Kyousuke take small bites, her heart filled with happiness.

For her, hearing Hojou's voice and listening to every word he spoke felt almost surreal—like a beautiful dream.

She thought back to when Kyousuke held her hand and guided it to his face, teaching her pronunciation one word at a time.

Even though she couldn't get it right, he never got frustrated. Instead, he would furrow his brow and find another way to explain.

During those moments, what kept her going wasn't just the desire to speak properly—it was the seriousness in his expression, the movement of his lips, the sway of his little tongue, and the warm breath brushing against her face.

'I can't disappoint him!'

Her face flushed slightly as she silently vowed to herself.

At the end of elementary school, they had a choir competition, and Shouko didn't win first place.

She wanted to cry because she felt she had let Kyousuke's hard work go to waste.

But then she remembered what he told her—that she should become stronger instead of always apologizing.

She buried that guilt deep inside and cheered up, showing her best self to both Hojou and her mother.

She knew that both of them loved seeing her smile, seeing her happy.

She knew her friends, Sakura and Naoka, also had feelings for Kyousuke.

He was so exceptional; it was only natural that many people liked him.

She didn't feel jealous, though.

She never thought about being with him like that.

Deep down, she always knew that because of her hearing impairment, she was never quite enough for someone like Kyousuke.

Shouko didn't want her future children to face what she did.

She knew that Kyousuke would never be like that.

But she also understood just how difficult it was for a hearing-impaired child in this world.

Not every hearing-impaired child was fortunate enough to meet someone like Kyousuke.

She believed that she was blessed by the gods to have met him.

She didn't know if her hearing loss would be passed on to her children, but even if it didn't, someone as wonderful as Kyousuke deserved to be with someone just as amazing, not someone who relied on a hearing aid to hear others.

[TL Note - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Whut do you mean?]

Whether it was Sakura or Naoka, as long as they could make Kyousuke happy, Shouko would always bless them.

She speared a piece of cake with her fork and ate it slowly.

'It's so sweet.'

Shouko smiled in satisfaction as she watched Kyousuke and Sakura playfully bickering across the table.

"Ah, let me have a bite of yours, I swear it'll be the last one!" Sakura reached over to Kyousuke's plate with her fork.

Unfortunately for her, Kyousuke pressed his hand on her head, creating an impenetrable defense.

No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't get near the cake.

She could only watch helplessly as he ate the last bite.

After finishing the cake, Shouko went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of barley tea.

She drank it down in one go, and Sakura let out a loud burp.

"Sakura, how many times do I have to tell you not to drink so much cold tea in one go? It's bad for your stomach! Go warm yourself up with the cushion!"

"No way! Rub my stomach like you used to."

Sakura lay down on the tatami, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"We're not in third grade anymore. You're a girl, you can't have a boy rubbing your stomach."

"What's the problem? You're not any other boy."

"By the way, can you still go to school?" Kyousuke asked.

Unlike the others, Sakura went to a prestigious all-girls school that didn't allow students to be late.

"Oops! The cake was so good, I completely forgot!" Sakura jumped up in a panic.

"I have to go now, Shouko, Naoka, see you next time!" She hurriedly put on her shoes at the entrance, preparing to rush downstairs.

"Hey, Sakura, your strap on the right side is falling down." But Sakura didn't hear him and had already rushed to the next floor.

Kyousuke quickly said goodbye to Shouko and Naoka before chasing after her.

.............................

[TL Note]

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