Mash-Up Anime World: Anything for Money

Hakuto watched as Rikka continued scooping up food with her spoon and suddenly remembered something.

He slowly walked over to her side and lightly tugged on her ahoge.

The moment her moe point was touched, Rikka immediately reacted, quickly putting down her spoon.

"Wait… Hero! What are you doing?!"

"You must not mess with my ahoge! It's the essence of the Wicked Eye's power!"

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to it. I just wanted to remind you of something."

With that, Hakuto let go of her ahoge and gently lifted the stainless steel divider on her lunchbox, revealing the hidden compartment underneath.

Just that small space at the bottom of the lunchbox was enough to make Rikka shudder. Her entire body trembled, and even her ahoge straightened like a line!

"T-This…?"

"A tainted substance!? How could such a thing be in the Hero's energy supply?!"

That's right—the hidden compartment contained cherry tomatoes. Their vibrant red color made them look incredibly appetizing.

Clearly, whoever picked them had taken great care to select only the finest ones.

"Consider it an extra supply from your Hero. You must eat them all~"

"Ahhh!! All of them?!"

Rikka stared at the glistening tomatoes and took a deep breath.

"It's just some tainted substance… The Wicked Eye shall purify it…"

Thinking this, she decided to act swiftly—

And without hesitation, she turned to Hakuto and pleaded for mercy.

"Hero…"

She put on her cutest expression, carefully tugging at his sleeve with a pitiful look in her eyes.

Hakuto sighed helplessly. He had expected this reaction from the start.

Of course, he never actually intended to force Rikka to eat them all. He was just trying to scare her a little.

…Wait. 

"Force her to eat them all"… 

Why did that phrase sound so inappropriate?

Shaking the thought away, Hakuto took half of the cherry tomatoes from Rikka's lunchbox. He popped one into his own mouth and tossed two to Hiratsuka, who was nearby.

The teacher known as the Iron Fist of Destruction caught them effortlessly, then studied them in her palm.

It was hard to believe these were just cherry tomatoes, given how perfect they looked. If they weren't a high-priced specialty, then…

Hiratsuka glanced at Hakuto.

This was the second time in a month that she couldn't figure him out.

The first time was when she saw someone as outstanding as him—both inside and out—willingly become a lovesick fool.

The second time was now.

From what she had observed, Hakuto was someone who always gave his absolute best in whatever he did.

Academics, sports… even something as simple as making a lunchbox.

But academics and sports were for himself. A lunchbox, however, was different. On the surface, it was just a meal.

But looking deeper, it carried a boy's effort and passion.

And yet, despite all that, Hakuto could so effortlessly shift that effort and passion from one person to another.

It was as if he could instantly switch playlists to match his friend's taste in music— Or seamlessly adjust to a friend's gaming controls.

Based on the exchange between Hakuto and Rikka, there was no doubt that he had made this lunch.

Now, the only question on Hiratsuka's mind was—

Did Sawamura receive a lunch from Shiratori today?

If she did, then there were plenty of reasonable explanations for Rikka's lunch.

But if she didn't…

To be honest, Hiratsuka couldn't even imagine such a possibility.

Because who in the world could just pick up a friend's gaming controls and immediately play as if they were their own?

With a thousand questions swirling in her mind, Hiratsuka held back from asking anything—for now. 

At least, not until Rikka was gone.

Hiratsuka looked at the two cherry tomatoes in her palm once more. After some hesitation, she finally picked one up and slowly put it into her mouth.

Before long, Rikka had finished her lunch.

"Energy replenishment complete! Now I can handle any challenge that comes my way!"

Meanwhile, Hakuto was tidying up the leftovers. After all, they had eaten at Hiratsuka's desk, so cleaning up was the bare minimum.

As he worked, he reminded Rikka, "Don't forget why you're here."

Although Hakuto had a vague idea that Rikka wanted to establish some kind of base of operations, he didn't know the specifics of her plan.

Hearing his words, Rikka nodded, then stepped forward and stood in front of Hiratsuka with a serious expression.

To be honest, Hakuto rarely saw her looking this serious.

But just as she appeared to be acting formal, the next words out of her mouth were anything but.

"The Hero and I wish to establish a temporary base at the school."

"I hope the Destroyer… I mean, Sensei, will grant us approval."

Hakuto: "??!"

Hiratsuka: "??!"

For a moment, both of them were utterly speechless. Even Hakuto, who had been wiping the desk, froze in place.

It took him quite some time to process what had just happened.

"What Rikka probably means… is that she wants to start a club."

"The Hero is correct," Rikka confirmed.

Even though Hakuto had spent quite a while with her by now, he still couldn't immediately decipher what she meant.

But after thinking about it carefully, it made sense—if she was asking for Hiratsuka's approval, then a club was the only logical conclusion.

"A club?"

Hearing that word, Hiratsuka instinctively looked past Rikka toward Hakuto.

Her gaze clearly conveyed a question: What do you think?

If this was just Rikka's idea, Hiratsuka would have to think it over. But if Hakuto wanted to start a club… that was a different story.

If Hakuto said he wanted to form a club, she wouldn't hesitate to approve it. Even if he couldn't gather the required five members, she'd find a way to bend the rules for him.

It wasn't favoritism.

It was simply that their personalities were too different.

Rikka was reckless, hyperactive, and deeply immersed in her chūnibyō delusions. 

Hiratsuka would be more than happy to see her get involved in a club if it meant keeping her out of trouble.

As for Hakuto…

Seeing Hiratsuka's expectant gaze, he quickly waved his hands. "I don't have any plans to start a club."

The tiny spark of hope in Hiratsuka's eyes instantly faded. She sighed and turned back to Rikka.

"Starting a club isn't something you can do on a whim, Rikka. First, bring me the rest of your members."

Rikka pointed at Hakuto, then at herself.

"The Hero and I are the club members."

A long silence followed.

Hiratsuka, who had been about to reach for a document, stopped mid-motion. The next second, she sat up straight again.

Hakuto sighed and rubbed his forehead. He saw this coming from a mile away.

"Rikka, you need at least five people to form a club."

"Eh?! There's a requirement like that?!"

Even though Hakuto expected this reaction, and had long since gotten used to it, he still found himself at a loss for words.

Technically, he could just ignore this whole situation—after all, they didn't even meet the basic conditions for forming a club.

But out of professional courtesy, he decided to at least try.

"Sensei, would you be willing to… bend the rules a little?" Hakuto asked cautiously.

After all, he knew this was a school policy matter.

Hiratsuka folded her arms and gave him a look.

"Shiratori, do you know what you're asking?"

"Heh… haha…"

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