Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Team’s First Gathering

After school that day, the late afternoon sun cast a warm, golden hue across the desks of Year 1 Class B.

“Ugh~ It’s finally over. I’m completely drained~”

Fujiwara Chika stretched her arms high above her head with a languid groan, then spun around in her chair to face Yuuki Asuna.

“How was it, Asuna?” Chika asked, her signature bubbly smile returning. “Are you confident you aced it this time?”

“Hmm… I’m not entirely sure.” Asuna offered a noncommittal smile as she packed her stationery. “The test felt fairly simple to me, but this is Shuchiin Academy. Maybe everyone thought it was easy. I really have no idea where I’ll rank.”

“Eh? Simple?” Chika blinked, momentarily stunned, before her expression twisted into an exaggerated mask of envy. “I talked to everyone during the lunch break, and they all thought this exam was brutal! You actually thought it was easy… Asuna, are you secretly a genius? Wuwuwu, you betrayed me!”

Seeing the pink-haired girl feign such deep grief, Asuna laughed. “What betrayal? Speaking of which, Chika, aren’t you a pure-enrollment student? Your grades should be excellent too, right?”

“Sigh. Pure-enrollment is just a status. It has absolutely nothing to do with actual grades or personal ability.” Chika let out a soft sigh, her tone shifting into a rare moment of patience as she explained the school’s social ecosystem. “Ultimately, the whole ‘pure-enrollment’versus’mixed-enrollment’ thing just boils down to family background. Take me and Kaguya, for example. Saying it out loud feels a bit embarrassing, but to put it bluntly, the people society considers daughters of wealthy families have been studying at Shuchiin since childhood.”

She leaned her chin on her hand. “The mixed-enrollment students who join midway through are generally split into two camps. The first type are those admitted exceptionally due to top-tier grades or specific talents, even if they come from ordinary backgrounds.”

“The second type are the ones who paid massive donations to the school, essentially buying their way in. A huge chunk of the pure-enrollment crowd looks at that second group as nouveau riche, and genuinely believes they aren’t worthy of stepping foot inside Shuchiin.”

Chika shook her head in distaste. “The labels are just a toxic hierarchy of contempt born from that elitist mindset. Honestly, I’m on the exact same page as your Utsunomiya on this—that kind of snobbery is childish, arrogant, and should have been stamped out ages ago.”

Asuna had been listening intently, but that last sentence made her cheeks flush. “What do you mean, ‘my’ Utsunomiya…”

“Hmm? Is he not yours?” Chika tilted her head, flashing a sweet, innocent smile that completely betrayed her teasing intent. “Then do you mind if I ask him for his contact info? I actually really like guys with that kind of aggressive, dominant aura~”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“See? You’re panicking.” Chika made a triumphant little face, looking entirely too pleased with herself. “You’re flustered, and it’s incredibly obvious. That’s possessiveness, Asuna. And when you feel that fiercely possessive over a guy, that’s the emotion we call love!”

Asuna sighed, a helpless smile tugging at her lips. “The Love Detective is on the case again, huh?”

“Of course~” Chika beamed, though her expression soon turned thoughtful. “But… did you hear the rumors? Your Utsunomiya and my Kaguya are apparently fighting for the absolute top spot in this exam. The results drop tomorrow. Who do you think is going to win?”

Before Asuna could even formulate an answer, a sharp, deeply jealous voice cut through the classroom air.

“Hmph. What do you mean, ‘her’ Utsunomiya? Are you two Pokémon trainers negotiating a trade?”

Chika looked up to see Iwanaga Kotoko glaring daggers at her. The petite girl was dressed in her signature white beret, both hands gripping her cane, with Asagiri standing quietly right beside her.

“Oh, Iwanaga.” Chika greeted her with a cheerful wave, entirely unfazed. She stood up from her desk and, before walking away, leaned in close to Asuna’s ear.

“Go for it,” Chika whispered, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial pitch. “As your friend, I know you can absolutely crush this rich loli. A mere five billion yen is nothing compared to your charm. Fighting!”

Once Chika skipped out of the room, Asuna turned her attention back to Kotoko, who was still practically radiating jealousy. For some inexplicable reason, a heavy wave of guilt washed over Asuna, causing her voice to soften.

“Kotoko…”

“Save it.” Kotoko cut her off instantly, lifting her chin with a haughty sniff. “Hmph. Let’s go. We’re getting food before heading home. It was incredibly mean of you two to go shopping without me last time. You owe me a meal to make up for it.”

Seeing that Kotoko’s attitude remained as familiar and demanding as ever despite her obvious jealousy, Asuna breathed a quiet sigh of relief. They hadn’t known each other for very long, but surviving life-and-death scenarios together had forged a genuine bond between them.

“Take you?” Asagiri finally spoke up, his voice carrying a dry, teasing edge. “If Asuna and I walked around the city with you, wouldn’t it just look like a pair of young parents taking their daughter out for a stroll?”

Kotoko bristled instantly, her eyes flashing. “You two are just freakishly tall! I have a completely normal build!”

Asagiri nodded slowly, appearing to seriously consider her argument. “So claims Iwanaga Kotoko, who stands at a towering one meter fifty with her shoes on.”

“What is this, a footnote in a textbook?! You’re just calling me short!” Kotoko stomped her foot against the floorboards, her jealousy flaring back to life. “And why do you casually call her Asuna, but I get the full-name treatment? No, no, you have to call me…”

“Alright, Kotoko.”

Asagiri’s smooth, sudden interruption acted like a physical switch. The fierce, feral girl baring her fangs vanished, instantly replaced by a docile maiden with a bright red blush spreading across her cheeks.

“Hmph,” Kotoko mumbled, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. “I originally wanted you to call me ‘dear’ or something… but just my first name… is acceptable, I suppose. Developing a relationship requires taking things step by step. I’m still a relatively slow and traditional girl~”

Asuna stared at her in utter disbelief. “You? Slow? Traditional? The second you lay eyes on Asagiri, you turn into a whistling kettle. How on earth are you slow?”

“Heh heh.” Kotoko laughed coldly, her confidence returning. “If I weren’t slow, Asagiri and I would already have kids by now.”

Asuna rubbed her temples. “…You are truly unbelievable.”

Standing beside them, Asagiri deadpanned, “I have no objections.”

“Go away, go away.” Asuna shoved Asagiri’s shoulder, shooting him a scolding glare. “Stop encouraging her.”

Clearing her throat to reset the conversation, Asuna tentatively brought up a new idea. “Speaking of which… since the three of us are hanging out, shouldn’t we invite Megumi Kato as well?”

Kotoko blinked, feigning total ignorance. “Who? Which Kato? A friend of yours?”

Asuna just stared at her in silence.

Seeing Asuna’s flat expression, Kotoko covered her mouth and giggled. “I’m just joking. Go ahead and call her. My grand plan for a solo date with Asagiri is already ruined anyway, so we might as well make it a party~”

“Ah, you never change…” Asuna sighed, pulling out her phone to dial Megumi’s number. The line connected after a few rings.

“Hello? Megumi? Asagiri, Kotoko, and I are heading out to go shopping and grab dinner. Are you free right now? We’d love for you to come along.”

Megumi’s characteristic soft, unhurried voice drifted through the speaker. “I just finished school and was about to head home. Shopping and dinner together… Hmm, that sounds nice. Where are we meeting?”

“I’ll text you the address right now.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Half an hour later, amidst the bustling crowds of the Shibuya shopping district, Asuna and Kotoko stood near the designated meeting spot, looking around in total confusion.

“Didn’t Megumi say she was already here?” Asuna muttered, scanning the sea of pedestrians. “Why don’t I see her?”

While the two girls searched in vain, Asagiri simply turned and walked straight toward an apparently empty patch of sidewalk a few feet away. He raised his hand.

“Megumi, over here.”

“Utsunomiya-san.”

It wasn’t until Megumi stepped forward to meet Asagiri that Asuna and Kotoko finally registered her existence.

It defied all logic. Megumi was wearing her Toyogasaki Private Academy uniform, and even without any special makeup or styling, her fair skin, perfect proportions, and delicate features easily classified her as a genuine beauty. By all standard metrics, she should have been turning heads in the middle of Shibuya.

Yet reality dictated otherwise. Until she was standing directly beside Asagiri, she had been completely invisible to them. Her lack of presence was nothing short of supernatural.

“Wait a minute, something’s not right…” Asuna suddenly caught a detail, her brow furrowing as she shot Asagiri a sharp, slightly jealous look. “What did you just call her? Megumi? You’re dropping honorifics already?”

Kotoko nodded vigorously, gripping her cane like a gavel. “Exactly, exactly! That is way too intimate! Unacceptable!”

Megumi looked between the two girls, her expression entirely placid. She tilted her head slightly, her voice maintaining a perfectly flat, monotone cadence as if reading from a script.

“At this moment, am I supposed to act shy about being called by my first name? Should I cover my face and spin around, or blush and steal a glance at Utsunomiya-san’s profile, only to immediately look away the second he notices me?”

Asuna let out a helpless, exasperated laugh. “Megumi, you’re always way too calm about this stuff… And doesn’t narrating your own shyness out loud completely defeat the purpose?”