The buzz-cut man in his seat looked over at the sound and saw a book flying toward him, his pupils widening in surprise.
Luckily, it didn't hit him — but it did hit the girl next to him. Shōya froze, but a cry soon snapped him back to reality.
"Ishida, are you blind?"
"If you and Ito have a conflict, go to the open space and fight it out!"
"Little Nao didn't provoke you — you must have aimed that throw directly at her, didn't you?"
"Ito, Little Nao is always helping you, and you didn't even block it?"
"That's right. You think Little Nao will like you after that? Keep dreaming."
"You boys are such idiots!"
Before either boy could speak, a few girls in the classroom began defending the girl who had been hit, mixing in a few jabs about male stupidity.
Tsuna, watching from a distance, was stunned.
Hearing this, Shouko whispered under her breath, "My Tsuna wouldn't be like you guys."
Only then did she realize she had spoken her mind aloud. Guiltily glancing around, she found everyone's attention was elsewhere, and she stuck out her tongue.
On the other side of the classroom, the buzz-cut kid glanced back at the crying girl slumped over her desk. Hearing the gossip and pointed comments from the other girls, his temper flared instantly. He rushed forward to start a fight with Shōya.
Keisuke, sitting in the corner, saw this and wanted to help. But just as he was about to move, someone tapped his shoulder. Turning, he saw it was Shimada and shrugged off the hand.
After that small exchange, Keisuke understood Shimada's intentions and suppressed his urge to help Shōya.
It wasn't long before the buzz-cut man was losing badly, and the boys around them showed no interest in helping. Some were simply watching for entertainment, while others were afraid of becoming Shōya's next target.
Just as Shōya's clenched fist was about to strike the buzz-cut kid's face, the homeroom teacher arrived in time to stop them.
He spoke briefly to the two boys, then returned to the podium — where he promptly resumed playing with his phone, focusing entirely on Shoya's behavior.
As for the buzz-cut kid, Takeuchi dismissed him with only a casual remark. The girl who had been hit, comforted by her friends, cried quietly.
Some of the more observant students noticed something odd about Takeuchi's recent behavior.
Since the singing competition, his attitude toward the class had become increasingly insincere, and he had begun ignoring Shoya's lessons entirely.
Take today's incidents as an example — both fights were supposedly a matter of mutual responsibility, yet he focused solely on Shōya.
He even ignored the graffiti on Ishida's desk that morning. Did that mean he wouldn't care even if things went too far?
This thought crept into the minds of some students who disliked Shōya.
But thoughts alone weren't enough — they would need to test them in practice to find out.
---
*"Dong… Dong… Dong…"*
"School's over."
Takeuchi, lifeless for most of the day, suddenly revived at the sound of the final bell. He closed his textbook, said a few parting words, and left the classroom without another glance.
"Tsuna, let's go too," said Shouko, packing some books into her bag. She turned and patted someone still asleep beside her.
Shouko watched quietly as Tsuna sat up straight and stretched.
Then, Miyoko walked over with a black backpack. Looking at the newly awakened Tsuna, she asked curiously,
"Miyamura, you sleep in class every day — how come your grades never drop?"
As she finished, a thought struck her, and she covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Is there some secret to your grades?"
"Miyoko, what are you talking about? Tsuna's grades have always been great, okay?
Any lessons I didn't understand during the day, Tsuna would always review for me at night."
Before Tsuna could answer, Shouko jumped in.
She almost added that Tsuna had already learned high school material, but she held back. Miyoko probably wouldn't believe it — she'd think it was a lie.
And honestly, if Shouko hadn't occasionally seen him pull out a high school workbook at night, she wouldn't have believed it either.
This was exactly the reaction Miyoko was hoping for. She chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, your Tsuna is the best."
Blushing, Shouko glanced around the classroom. Seeing most people had already left, she puffed up her chest and whispered playfully,
"Yeah — mine!"
"Let's go." Tsuna ignored their banter, gathered his things, and stood up.
He was used to it by now. Miyoko was just a low-budget version of Miu — at first, he had thought she would be gentle. And she had been… at first.
---
"Auntie Miyamura! I'm back!" x2
As Tsuna unlocked the door, Shouko and Yuzuru shouted in unison.
As for why Yuzuru was there? He had come to take Hachiko home.
At the noise, Hachiko bounded out of the living room. Yuzuru called bluntly toward the back,
"Auntie Miyamura, I'm taking Hachiko. He won't be back for dinner!"
After receiving a reply from Shizuka, Yuzuru turned to Tsuna, who was changing his shoes at the entrance, and said with a playful smirk,
"Tsuna-san, my sister's leaving her here for you for now. Be gentle with her."
"Yeah, don't worry," Tsuna replied seriously.
"Yuzuru, you—" Shouko started to scold her, but Yuzuru had already anticipated it and dashed out with Hachiko.
Left behind, Shouko lightly hit Tsuna on the arm. He let her — it felt more like a massage than a hit. When she was done venting, she frowned at him.
They played around at the entrance for a while before stepping inside.
In the living room, Shizuka was staring intently at an advertising flyer. Curious, Shouko asked,
"Auntie, what are you looking at?"
Shizuka picked up the flyer and waved it lazily toward them.
"This? It's an advertisement for the Sakura Festival someone gave me while I was grocery shopping today.
I was thinking — maybe this weekend or next, our two families could go for a picnic together. What do you two think?"
---