"Wake up... wake up!" After running to the first-floor stairwell, Shouko held onto the wall with one hand and fanned herself with the other, hoping to cool herself down.
For some reason, she'd just reached the doorway and stopped, staring at Tsuna, entranced.
"Would you like to come over for breakfast?" Shizuka asked, not noticing the shyness in her voice.
"No... no, godmother, I've already eaten at home. I'll wait... for Tsuna in the living room."
Afraid Shizuka would emerge from the dining room and see her like this, she hurriedly replied before running into the living room, turning on the fan, and starting to blow.
As for why she didn't turn on the air conditioner? It was too slow to start up, and she waited until the living room temperature cooled down. She said her temperature had already dropped.
A few minutes passed.
"Are you awake, Master Miyamura?" Shizuka, who was in the dining room, watched as Tsuna walked in and pulled out a chair, teasing.
Tsuna ignored his mother's teasing, nodding "Hmm," before picking up his sandwich from the table and munching on it.
"Yo, yo, yo\~" The more he ignored her, the more Shizuka teased him, "Miyamura-kun, are you planning on being the cool, cool type in junior high?"
Tsuna, still chewing his sandwich, nearly snapped at his mother's words. He quickly swallowed his food and pleaded,
"Mom, I was wrong. Please forgive me..."
Seeing this, Shizuka stopped teasing him and poured him a glass of warm milk from the table, fearing he might choke.
After he took it, she asked, "Do you want me to drive you there?"
"No, Shouko and I can just walk there slowly. We'll get to know the way first, and it's not that far."
Tsuna took a sip of his milk and, without a second thought, shook his head and declined.
"Okay, then, eat faster. Shouko's been waiting for you since early morning, and you're still sleeping in." Shizuka nodded and began to urge him on.
Tsuna quickly finished his sandwich and gulped down his milk before quickly standing up and leaving his seat, afraid she'd say anything more.
"Let's go, Shouko," Tsuna said, walking to the living room entrance and knocking on the doorframe.
"Yeah,"
Shouko glanced at him, then quickly looked away. After turning off the fan, she stood up from the tatami and followed him.
"Mom, I'm going out!"
"Auntie, I'm going out!"
"Be careful on the roads! Look out for cars when you cross the street!"
"Got it." x2
————————
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, that's the name, that's for sure."
"It looks big!"
"Yeah, it is."
The two stood in front of the school gate, looking up at the name, 'Namikaze Minato Junior High School.'
According to information his mother had found, this Namikaze Minato was also a famous Japanese writer.
Naming the school after him aims to pass on his literary spirit and cultural values, inspiring students to pursue knowledge and scholarly accomplishment.
Of course, there are also schools in Japan named after educators and thinkers.
Leveraging the influence of celebrities, they create a positive cultural atmosphere for schools and convey specific educational philosophies.
However, Tsuna said that in his previous life, he had never heard of such a famous writer in Japan. He did know that the father of the 7th Hokage was Minato Namikaze.
"Then let's go in?" Shouko took Tsuna's hand and hesitated when she saw two fully armed security guards standing at the school gate.
Sensing Shouko's nervousness, Tsuna tightened his grip on her hand, offering a soothing,
"Okay, let's go ask where we can find the class assignments."
After Shouko took a deep breath, the two of them held hands and ascended the stone steps to the school gate.
Tsuna explained the situation to the security guard, who, understanding, pointed to the classroom buildings inside and explained that the class assignments could be found downstairs in Building No. 1.
The two thanked him and entered the campus, where they would spend the next three years.
The first thing they saw was a large playground. In the center was a grassy soccer field, and around the perimeter was a red running track.
Tsuna estimated it was at least twice the size of the one they had used in elementary school.
Not far from the playground were three classroom buildings, each designed in the classic Japanese middle school style, with light-colored walls and dark roofs.
Three different numbers were affixed to the roofs.
Following the security guard's instructions, the two walked for three or four minutes until they arrived at Building No. 1, only to find it already crowded with people.
"There are still a lot of people watching. How about we walk around the campus first?" Tsuna, not wanting to get lost in the crowd, suggested to Shouko.
"Yeah," Shouko nodded and let Tsuna lead her. It took them twenty to thirty minutes to leisurely explore the entire school: the terraced seating along the playground, the gymnasium, the outdoor swimming pool, the convenience store, the garden dotted with greenery, and the walkway lined with cherry blossoms.
Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms were not yet in bloom.
After the tour, Shouko was quite satisfied, and her anticipation for junior high school life grew even stronger.
"I'm looking forward to campus life more and more, and the new friends I'll meet."
As they rested on a brown bench under the teaching building, Shouko couldn't help but turn to share her joy with Tsuna.
Tsuna, staring intently at the student class roster, still surrounded by a crowd, reached up and rubbed Shouko's head.
"Classmate, we're really strict about premature dating here." A soft laugh echoed from the side, drawing both of their attention.
Tsuna's gaze was that of a girl in a white dress with long, dark brown hair standing next to Shouko. She looked at him and Shouko with a slight smile.
A hint of playfulness on her face? But it vanished in an instant, and Tsuna thought it must be an illusion.
After all, a middle school student probably doesn't have that much control over their expressions.
"No, no, no! Tsuna and I aren't a couple yet! So we're not in a relationship!"
Shouko was the first to react, waving her hands excitedly, her head shaking in unison.
"Shouko, calm down." Tsuna ignored the girl who suddenly spoke up and quickly reached out to stop Shouko.
He was afraid she'd shake her head if she continued.
"Tsuna, how come you've become three?" Shouko looked at Tsuna dazedly.
"..." Tsuna was speechless.
"Hehe..." Seeing Shouko stop, the girl chuckled and left.
Tsuna watched the girl leave, feeling completely bewildered.
She couldn't possibly have come here to tease Shouko, could she? Besides, Shouko and he didn't know each other, so she couldn't possibly be that bored, could she?
And if she did that, the chances of getting beaten up would be pretty high...
(End of Chapter)
---