Shizuka, chewing her food at the table, suddenly realized something was amiss. She swallowed her food, turned to look at her son, who was also eating, and asked, perplexed:
"Did you do something to piss off Shouko?"
It was nine out of ten wrong. The afternoon rain was heavy initially but stopped after about ten minutes. And Shouko hadn't come to play at their house all afternoon.
So, nine out of ten, something was amiss.
Sitting at the table, Daisuke simply glanced at Tsuna and quietly continued eating. On the other hand, Hachiko paused his meal and looked up at the mother and son at the table, as if he, too, was curious about the situation.
Tsuna's first reaction was to think of the inappropriate incident that had occurred that afternoon.
But he was absolutely sure his mother was in the bathroom at the time and couldn't have witnessed it, so the question was probably just a curious inquiry.
He immediately understood and collected his thoughts, saying calmly, "No, maybe Grandma Nishimiya needed help from Shouko for something, so she didn't come."
Shizuka thought it made sense. After all, it was just a casual question. It was impossible that this kid had done something excessive to Shouko, and he would never do such a thing.
This matter jucame a small episode at the dinner table and waremainednresolved.
---
It was around eight o'clock in the evening. The two people and the dog were watching TV in the living room when they heard the sound of someone opening the door with a key outside. Hachiko was the first to greet them from the living room.
"Hachiko! Did you miss me?" Just as Hachiko ran out of the living room, Yuzuru's joyful voice was heard.
"Sorry to bother you..." Shouko's voice followed closely.
Unlike Shouko, Yuzuru ran to the living room entrance with Hachiko and politely asked Shizuka:
"Aunt Miyamura, can I take Hachiko home to watch TV? Grandma is asleep, and I'm scared to be alone."
However, before Shizuka could nod in agreement, Yuzuru had already guessed the answer and immediately left the living room, leaving behind a message:
"Thank you, Aunt Miyamura!"
Shizuka looked at her hurried appearance and suddenly remembered that she always asked politely, but then ran away without waiting for an answer.
It was really just a polite gesture, just that one moment, and Shizuka couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.
Seeing her hurriedly changing shoes at the entrance, Shouko, remembering the slightly damp ground outside, worriedly urged:
"Yuzuru, slow down! Be careful not to fall!"
Yuzuru didn't slow down but waved without turning back, mumbling a perfunctory, "I know, sis."
Shouko stood at the doorway, shaking her head at her sister's perfunctory wave. She reluctantly decided to have a good talk with her when she got home.
She watched Shouko and Hachiko safely return to their own home before closing the door behind her.
Shouko entered the living room entrance and briefly glanced around, deliberately avoiding looking at anyone. Curiously, she asked Shizuka,
"Where's Uncle Miyamura?"
"He's in the study. He's busy at work. Don't worry about him," Shizuka explained.
Then, she patted the tatami mat beside Shouko, motioning for her to sit down beside her.
Shizuka watched her walk over to sit down beside her naturally. Everything seemed natural, but her sharp eyes still noticed something special.
From the moment she came in until she sat down, her eyes never fell on the brat, and Tsuna was staring at the TV the whole time.
If it were normal, when Shouko came to play with him, the two of them would immediately look at each other. Why wouldn't they exchange glances like this?
Combined with the thought that had suddenly occurred to her that night, Shizuka's instinct told her that the two were probably hiding something from her.
Shouko watched as she saw her constantly rubbing her chin since she sat down. Worried and curious, she asked:
"Auntie, what's wrong with you? Is your chin hurting?"
Even then, she stole a glance at her, but seeing her completely ignoring her, staring intently at the TV, she felt a small irritation.
Shizuka was brought back to her senses by her words. She quickly waved, "It's okay, it's okay." She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Shouko's ear, wanting to ask something.
But realizing that Shouko, with her hearing aids, might not be able to hear clearly, she retreated to her seat and gestured to her,
"Did something happen between you and Tsuna?"
Before Shouko could respond, she added, "Did that brat bully you? Tell Auntie, and I'll teach him a lesson for you." After the gesture, Shizuka felt a surge of relief. She'd signed up for sign language classes out of concern for communicating with Shouko, but then realized she hadn't used it at all...
Unexpectedly, she could use it again now. She wasn't sure if she'd made any mistakes, and she also tried to check her hand gestures to see if they were correct. It had been a few years since she'd been using them.
Shouko looked at her, a little bewildered, confused as to why she had to sign instead of speaking. Just as Shouko was about to raise her hand to explain, Tsuna's slightly helpless voice reached both of them:
"Don't worry, Mom, I wouldn't dare bully Shouko. And don't let your imagination run wild, okay?"
He had another thought in his mind: "Are you experiencing premature menopause?" He didn't finish.
Of course, he only dared to think about it in his head. If he spoke it out loud, he might have trouble even getting out of bed tomorrow\...
"I don't think you'd dare, but are you hiding something from me?" Shizuka eyed her son suspiciously.
Tsuna made up a random excuse, then stood up from the tatami and walked over to Shouko.
"Come on, let's go to my room and talk. You haven't done my homework yet." He gently pulled her up and led her hand out of the living room.
"Don't ask Shouko to do your homework, kid!" Only after they reached the stairs did Shizuka's voice slowly reach him.
Shouko only heard her excited voice, but couldn't make out the specific words.
Judging by her slightly speechless expression, she probably meant some kind of lecture.
At this, Shouko couldn't help but chuckle.
"Did you forget something?"
Back in their room, they sat facing each other in chairs. Tsuna suppressed the strange thoughts that kept bubbling up in his mind, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of the chair, his lips curling slightly.
Upon hearing this, the first thing that came to Shouko's mind was what happened this afternoon... But then she thought again and felt that something was wrong, so she started to recall what she had recently promised him.
Tsuna watched her thinking, so he didn't choose to interrupt her or give her any hints. His eyes casually glanced at the loose cherry pink pajamas she was wearing.
---