The next day at school, Shōya walked into the classroom, most of his classmates casting strange looks at him—but he didn't care much. He stuffed his schoolbag into the hole in his desk and ran out to play.
Early in the morning, Tsuna and Shouko walked into the classroom and returned to their seats when they saw a familiar figure running in.
"Haha... I didn't expect our class to be first. Tsuna, are you envious?"
Miu mocked him directly. She had known Tsuna for so long, and he had always been first—except for this time. The key point was that she was first.
She had already blocked out everyone in Class A from her mind.
Before Tsuna could say anything, Shouko noticed the looks from the people around them and quickly pulled Miu to her side, whispering:
"Mei, if you say something like that right now, you'll get beaten up."
"It's okay, I believe Tsuna will protect me," Miu said softly, patting her chest.
Tsuna rolled his eyes at her, shook his head, and added, "No, no, no, Miu, you're overthinking it. If they hit you, I might even sneak in a few more punches."
Miu gave him an understanding look and lowered her voice. "I know what you mean. You're probably jealous that I took your first place, so you want to hit me." She crossed her arms, feigning fear.
Tsuna rolled his eyes again and went back to sleeping on the table.
Miu grabbed an unoccupied chair and started chatting with Shouko, later joined by Miyoko.
"Shimada, what did you mean yesterday?" Five or six minutes later, an angry roar echoed through the normally noisy classroom.
Shouko and the other two stopped talking and turned to look. What they saw was the buzz-cut boy from before, clutching Shimada's collar with both hands.
Shimada didn't immediately respond to the buzz-cut boy's words. Instead, he observed the looks from the rest of the classroom before making up his mind. He spoke slowly, aggrieved:
"Ishida forced me to leave yesterday. I was planning to go back after using the restroom, but he insisted on dragging me over the wall."
Everyone was stunned by Shimada's words, but most didn't believe him—until someone spoke up for him.
Soon, a girl, noticing his expression, chimed in, saying:
"I think what Shimada said might be true. He's only been called to Mr. Takeuchi's office once or twice in the past six months, and neither time was for fighting. He's usually very kind."
The others thought it made sense. Based on Shimada's past behavior, he might really have been forced by Shōya.
Once someone broke the silence, more followed. One or two students in the classroom began to speak up for him, and even the buzz-cut boy began to feel a little uneasy.
But then he remembered how his Mom had cried yesterday because of those two people. In the end, he punched Shimada in the face and walked back to his seat without looking back.
Shimada rubbed the side of his face, then muttered a few words in self-defense with a wronged expression. When he saw the reaction he wanted, he walked back to his seat.
He even moved his desk and chair to the edge, away from Shōya's position.
Seeing this, some people even imagined a script in their minds that portrayed him as the victim. They speculated that Shōya had been afraid of being scolded more harshly for climbing over the wall alone, so he dragged someone with him.
Tsuna lay on the table and watched the whole thing. He had guessed that Shimada would probably sell Shōya out to save himself, but he hadn't expected it to be so decisive.
The six-year relationship between the three of them now seemed fake.
---
"Shimada, why are you sitting there?"
Soon, Shōya and Keisuke returned to the classroom. Seeing a large empty space next to them, they glanced around, and upon seeing Shimada, they exclaimed in confusion.
Shimada didn't respond and continued working. Shōya, thinking he hadn't heard clearly, was about to repeat himself, but was interrupted by a loud bang.
As the bell rang, Mr. Takeuchi walked into the classroom with a Japanese textbook in hand. Without a word, he slammed the textbook onto the podium with a loud bang.
"Pah!" Chalk dust flew from the falling textbook, forming a dazzling streak of light in the morning sun.
The sudden noise startled some distracted students who hadn't noticed him. Just as they were about to complain, they saw Mr. Takeuchi's gloomy face and quickly fell silent.
The sharp-eyed Tsuna also noticed there were bruises on both sides of Takeuchi's face. They were hard to spot unless you looked closely.
Seeing Shōya's nonchalant expression, Takeuchi's anger from yesterday suddenly surged back. Even the pain in his face seemed to return.
"Pa! Pa! Pa!" He slammed the textbook on the podium several more times before roaring,
"Ishida and Shimada! Stand up and explain what happened yesterday!"
They both stood up at once. Shōya knew he couldn't afford to offend the four-eyed bastard at this moment.
Seeing them stand up, Takeuchi couldn't help but pick up the Japanese textbook and throw it at Shōya.
"Speak up! You're usually so talkative—why are you silent now?"
The textbook hit no one, but it still startled Shōya.
He hadn't expected someone to throw something in front of so many people. He was about to open his mouth to argue when Shimada, sitting in the corner, suddenly interrupted him.
"Yesterday, Shōya pushed me into it. I really wanted to go back right away," he said, his voice tinged with tears.
Shōya and Keisuke simultaneously turned to look at Shimada.
Tsuna, sitting at his desk, found this particularly amusing. He could see the shock on both their faces—especially Shōya's, who had a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Homeroom teacher Takeuchi certainly didn't believe it and wanted to hear Shōya's explanation. But before he could say anything, Shimada quickly added a few more words, implying he'd been forced.
Then he ran out of the classroom, looking like a widow caught in a scandal.
After he ran out, several students spoke up to defend him again, including the buzz-cut boy who had hit him earlier.
"Speak up, Ishida! Aren't you going to say something?!" Takeuchi was already convinced that Shimada had been forced.
After all, so many people in the class spoke against him—even the class monitor, Miki. But Shōya remained silent, staring blankly at him the entire time.
"I... I... I... didn't..."
Tsuna saw that the kid was dumbfounded.
"Okay, you're too embarrassed to speak, right? Come with me to the office. The others will study on their own this class, and Ito will go find Shimada Kazuki."
Takeuchi left the classroom with determination.
And Shōya followed him blankly.
---