"Teacher Takeuchi, Shimada had a stomachache and couldn't hold it anymore, so he went to the bathroom. I came to let you know."
Shōya then slowly approached the homeroom teacher, Takeuchi, to explain the situation.
Teacher Takeuchi wanted to curse when he heard this but swallowed the words in the end.
Now that the parents were already present, it wouldn't be good for them to hear such language. And if they did hear it, it would be even harder for him to say anything.
Besides, those two just had to go at this exact moment—neither early nor late. It was hard not to suspect they were causing trouble on purpose.
"Okay, go back to your place," Teacher Takeuchi finally said in an impatient tone. He didn't say anything more and didn't even look at Shōya.
Shōya cursed inwardly and walked back to the lineup in a huff.
Later, after the first class finished singing, Shimada slowly returned.
Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Takeuchi's irritation surged again, but he suppressed it, quickly stepping forward and asking with concern, "Are you alright? Are you feeling any discomfort?"
Shimada observed his expression, calmly shook his head, and returned to his seat.
"Shimada, are you sure you want to do this?" Shōya asked hesitantly as Shimada sat down.
Shimada's lips curled slightly. He patted Shōya on the back and reassured him, "What are you afraid of? Just go ahead and do it. I'll be right behind you. You're not alone.
And don't you want to teach that four-eyed bastard and that Miyamura guy a lesson?"
"I..." Shōya hesitated. He still felt the trouble he was about to cause was completely different from the previous times, even though...
He was 100% sure he wouldn't be the one held responsible this time...
**Pa!** Shimada, guessing he might back out, slapped him lightly on the back, gave him a look, and then stayed silent.
"...Okay." Shōya finally steeled himself. After all, Shimada would be there with him.
He still believed their brotherly bond wouldn't change. Shimada had been planning this for a month.
---
"Tsuna, Tsuna! I'm getting nervous again—what should I do!" With about three or four minutes left before they went on stage, Shouko started fidgeting again.
Tsuna looked at her, a little speechless, but couldn't show it. He said helplessly, "Let me think of a quick way to calm you down."
Logically, when people are nervous, distraction works best—something direct and immediate. Other methods take more time, and they only had a few minutes left. After eliminating a bunch of options, only one method remained that could *instantly* distract her... and it was 100% effective...
"Okay, next up is the sixth-grade Class B performing 'Monster Ballad!' Let's welcome them with applause!" the stage host announced.
"Tsuna, Tsuna! Did you come up with anything?"
"Well, I'm making a bloody sacrifice for you this time," Tsuna sighed softly.
Ignoring Shouko's pleading eyes, he gently cupped the side of her face with his right hand and, without hesitation, kissed her left cheek.
The effect was exactly as Tsuna had imagined. When he let go, Shouko's nervousness had melted away—though her face, red like rouge, was another problem entirely.
She stood there, dumbfounded, staring at him. Steam practically billowed from her head. No matter how many times Tsuna called her name, she didn't respond.
Tsuna hadn't expected this move to be so effective—it completely fried her mental CPU.
But the group had already started moving, and he couldn't leave Shouko behind, so he just held her hand and walked with her.
Before she could even process what had just happened, Tsuna had suddenly cupped her face and kissed her...
In front of so many people…!
How many must've seen that?!
There had been a pleasant scent when he leaned in... and most importantly, his lips were soft... hehe...
Although she had secretly bitten him in kindergarten, that had been six years ago. How could she remember what it felt like?
And now that they were older, she hadn't kissed him in secret in four or five years…
No, no! That's not the point!!
The point is... this was the first time he kissed me! Hehe... hehehe...
---
"Shouko! Shouko, wake up! It's about to start!" Tsuna took Shouko's hand and led her onto the stage. After helping her to her seat, he began calling her softly.
Miki, standing beside Shouko, noticed her expression and turned to Tsuna, asking worriedly, "What's wrong with Shouko? Is she feeling unwell?"
"It's okay, it's okay. Her CPU just overloaded. She'll be fine soon," Tsuna said, waving his hands in explanation. Then he leaned close to Shouko's ear and used his trump card:
"If you don't wake up, I'm going to kiss you in front of the whole school—students and parents included."
Shouko's previously frozen brain lit up instantly. She raised her hand to cover half her face and began to protest, her thoughts spinning wildly:
"No, no, Tsuna, you can't do that. My mom's here. Wait until tonight—when it's just the two of us—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she realized Tsuna was teasing her. She could feel the eyes of her classmates locked onto her.
Suddenly, she wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into...
"Alright, alright, it's time to get ready. Everyone, line up!" Tsuna, noticing the gazes on Shouko, quickly cleared his throat and shouted.
Seeing the students getting into position, homeroom teacher Takeuchi chimed in, "Yes, let's begin! Hurry and review the lyrics." He didn't even mind that Tsuna had stolen his line.
After two loud calls, the others finally turned their attention away from Shouko and began to focus on the lyrics.
After about five minutes of preparation, Takeuchi saw that everything was nearly ready. Shimada was seated at the piano, and Shōya was standing at the front. Takeuchi nodded at the host and quietly slipped backstage.
Seeing this, the host stepped forward to the red curtain, took the microphone, and addressed the audience:
"Sorry for the wait—Class B is ready! Let's begin!"
With that, he left center stage and retreated backstage. The red curtain slowly opened, revealing the students of Class B.
"Here we go, here we go! We have to capture this moment!" Shizuka, in the front row, quickly raised her camera and aimed it at the stage. The students around her watched intently.
As the curtain opened, the sound of a piano filled the auditorium, and the audience's attention shifted to Shimada.
According to the plan, Shōya would soon sing the opening line.
But just then, the piano music abruptly stopped—leaving Mr. Takeuchi and the rest of the staff stunned. This hadn't happened during rehearsals.
The audience, still waiting for the song to begin, watched as both the pianist and conductor suddenly clutched their stomachs and ran backstage.
"What are you doing?! Are you looking for death?!" Mr. Takeuchi roared at the two students—but they ignored him and ran out of the gymnasium.
Mr. Takeuchi's voice, unfortunately, was still being broadcast to the audience through the microphone...
---