"Tsuna, do you know this girl?" As Shouko recovered, she immediately began to question him.
Her focus was completely different from Tsuna's from the beginning; she only knew that the girl was quite pretty.
Tsuna was genuinely at a loss for words, reaching out and pinching both of her cheeks, helplessly saying,
"Aside from sleeping at night, when have we ever been apart?"
"That makes sense..." Shouko realized she'd asked a stupid question and let him rub her cheek as an apology.
He pinched for a moment, then, noticing the glances from some passersby, let go.
Shouko, lost in thought, suddenly looked up into his eyes and demanded, fiercely,
"I remember!"
"On August 23rd, I wasn't with you during the day."
"Tell me! Did you meet then?!"
"Ah... it hurts."
Unable to bear her imagination, Tsuna raised his hand and slashed her head with a knife.
Only then did Shouko, clutching her head in her hands, apologize.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have doubted you."
"I'm glad you know. And you're so nervous! You were the one who told me not to go that day." Tsuna reached out and gently rubbed her head.
"Then...then...then..." Shouko blinked at him, hesitating before speaking slowly.
"So, was this girl you met on August 23rd?"
Seeing her jealous expression, Tsuna patiently explained:
"Shizuka and I were together the whole day. You can ask her when we get back; she can vouch for me."
He didn't want to be like the protagonists in those Mary Sue dramas, who patiently hold back on something they could explain in a single sentence, leading to a drama that raises blood pressure.
And Shouko's jealousy wasn't just because she loved him. Otherwise, why would she be jealous? It was pointless.
No... why does that sound so much like a lickspittle...
"I believe you." At that, Shouko finally lost her pathetic expression, a slight smile rising from her lips.
She watched Tsuna's gentle explanation, and she already believed him, though that didn't stop her from asking her godmother about it later.
Because of this incident, when Tsuna turned back to look at the student class assignment sheet, a few people were gathered. He stood up, handed it to Shouko, and whispered,
"Let's go and see which class we've been assigned to."
"Yes," Shouko said without hesitation, placing her hand on his.
The two of them walked over to the student class assignment sheet and began to examine it slowly.
"Tsuna, look, Ueno Naoka and Kawai Miki are in the same school as us."
Shouko took Tsuna's hand and excitedly pointed to a name on the sheet for first-grade class 3.
"Yes, yes, can we find our own name first?" Tsuna glanced at the name she pointed to and urged.
When he had previously scanned Class 1, Grade 1, he had also seen the names of 'Ishida Shouya', 'Hirose', and 'Shimada' on it.
He had never expected it to be such a coincidence that the three best friends were actually in the same class, what a fate.
In the end, both of their eyes landed on the last sheet of the Class 2, Grade 1 list.
Shouko found her name listed under 'Takagi Sana'.
And Tsuna found his own name under the name of 'Nishikata Naoto'.
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"I'm back!"
"Welcome home."
Shizuka, who was lying on the sofa in the living room watching TV, turned her head and watched the two people walk into the living room, and asked curiously:
"Did you see which class you and Tsuna were assigned to?"
"Yeah." Shouko walked to the coffee table and sat down. She nodded and then said happily,
"Tsuna and I are both assigned to Class 2, Grade 1."
"Come, have a drink of water first."
Tsuna sat down next to her, picked up his and Shouko's exclusive cup on the coffee table, poured some warm water into it, and handed it to Shouko, who was chatting with her mother.
"Thank you." Shouko took it, took a sip, and put it on the coffee table, then hesitated for a moment before asking Shizuka, who was following the drama as if intentionally or unintentionally:
"Aunt Miyamura."
"Huh?"
"That's...that's..." Shouko turned her head and glanced at Tsuna cautiously. Seeing that his expression did not change, she continued:
"That's right, on August 23rd, what were you and Tsuna doing?"
"Let me think..." Shizuka paused the TV with the remote control, closed her eyes, and took a moment to recall. After a while, she opened her eyes and slowly spoke:
"I remember that you were not there that day, and I asked him to be my bag carrier for a whole day."
"What's wrong?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Shouko breathed a sigh of relief when she heard it, and quickly waved her hands to indicate that it was nothing, and asked casually out of curiosity.
As she finished speaking, she stole a glance at someone peeling an orange beside her, only to be caught in the act.
"If you want to watch, just watch. I won't say anything."
He'd already anticipated that Shouko would come back and ask her mother; he'd guessed it from her hesitation.
"I was just asking casually. Do you believe me—"
"I do." Tsuna reluctantly broke off a half-peeled orange and fed it to her lips, cutting her off.
Shouko couldn't tell which was sweeter, the orange in her mouth or her heart.
Shizuka looked at the two of them and muttered, "That's weird."
Then she picked up the remote, clicked play, and continued watching.
"Shall we buy school supplies and materials this afternoon?" Tsuna paused his playful banter with Shouko, suddenly remembering some things he hadn't bought a few days ago, and asked.
"Yeah," Shouko nodded without hesitation.
She wasn't interested in any plans for the afternoon; she just wanted to be with Tsuna.
Shizuka's eyes were fixed on the embracing hero and heroine on TV, and she didn't forget to remind them:
"Remember to tell me if you don't have enough money."
"It's enough, no need."
"I'm just worried that you'll be embarrassed to ask me for it, and then let Shouko pay for it?"
"It's okay, I can do it!" Shouko patted her chest and interrupted.
"..." Tsuna was speechless.
————————
"Welcome to visit next time!"
The two walked out of the bookstore. Shouko looked at Tsuna carrying the eco-friendly bag with the bookstore logo and asked doubtfully:
"Are these enough?"
"These are just for you to practice. You can buy more difficult ones later when you learn them." Tsuna glanced at the surroundings before casually replying to her.
From the moment he left home until he bought the materials and left the store, he had felt a pair of eyes on him and Shouko.
The focus was still on Shouko.
He suspected it was Nishimiya Suneo. After all, he had never seen him harass Shouko once since returning from Osaka.
(End of this chapter)
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