"Don't come too close..."
"Slap!..."
This statement naturally earned a slap from Shouko. While it didn't hurt, it shattered the atmosphere in the ward.
"Move closer, there's no room here." Shouko nudged herself into his embrace.
"If I move any further, I'll fall out, okay?" Tsuna reluctantly felt behind her. There was only a palm-sized space. Perhaps Shouko had forgotten who was the patient?
Unfortunately, Shouko ignored him and nudged herself into his embrace, pressing her face against his chest before stopping.
"Shouko-san, is this bad?"
Shouko nudged her cheeks, pausing only to find satisfaction.
"Who told you there's no room there? If I don't squeeze over to your side, I'll fall out myself..."
Tsuna glanced at the empty bed behind her. It looked like there was enough space for Yuzuru.
But he didn't say much. It would be good to sleep in his arms tonight. She was sure she'd been as frightened as her parents today.
"Come over to you?"
Shouko glanced up at him, silently moving to the empty space behind her. Tsuna also moved a little further away.
Before she could move, he reached out and hugged her.
He could clearly feel Shouko's body stiffen suddenly, but it quickly returned to its limp state.
"Go to sleep, Shouko..." Tsuna patted her back gently, just like when he'd coaxed her to sleep when she was little.
"Hmm..." Shouko snorted softly.
After a while, just when Tsuna thought Shouko had fallen asleep, she suddenly spoke again, "Tsuna, put these away for me."
Tsuna looked down in the moonlight and saw Shouko holding two hearing aids that had just been removed from her ears.
Without hesitation, he took them and placed them on the bedside table.
"Okay, go to sleep. It's late, and you have school tomorrow." Tsuna patted her back again.
Shouko nuzzled his chest like a kitten. "Auntie's asked for leave for me, so I don't have to go to school tomorrow."
"You should go to bed early, though. If you keep up any longer, you'll end up looking like a shrew."
Shouko didn't catch his words this time, but she got the gist of what he meant.
It was simply urging her to go to bed early.
"Goodnight, Tsuna."
"Yeah, goodnight," Tsuna nodded.
Five or six more minutes passed, and he couldn't find any sleep. He decided to think about who had done this to him...
"Tsuna...?"
"Huh? You're still awake?"
Tsuna heard the hesitation in her voice, a little puzzled.
Before she could reply, he felt her suddenly move a little more violently in his arms, gently slapping his hand away from her back.
Just as he was about to look down, he saw her suddenly pull out a piece of "clothing" from under the covers and hand it to him.
That distance can be said to be...
He could clearly smell the unique fragrance of the girl on that "clothing"...
"Help... Help me put it down... It's a bit uncomfortable to sleep with it on..."
He suddenly felt that he could see the rouge on the girl's face clearly without the help of light.
"What... What's wrong?" Shouko lowered her head and was a little embarrassed to look at him.
She knew that her face must be very red now, but she was glad in her heart that she had turned off the light long ago, otherwise, he would have seen it...
"No, it's okay, I'll put it next to your pillow."
Tsuna shook his head hurriedly. He didn't expect that he was so engrossed in looking at it just now.
He just said that Shouko was still young and he didn't feel much. He raised his hand to take the clothing from her hand, and clearly felt the residual warmth on it and the softness of the fabric...
"Good night, Tsuna." After confirming that he didn't do anything with her clothing and put it next to her pillow, she hugged him and closed her eyes.
"Good night..."
He was now madly tempted to smell the hand that had taken the garment.
Ultimately, he suppressed the perverted thought.
Shouko's sudden action had also disturbed him, and sleepiness had returned.
It wasn't long before he fell into a deep sleep, embracing Shouko.
After confirming that he was asleep, Shouko considered gently escaping and going to get him something to eat.
But after much deliberation, she couldn't bear to miss this opportunity...
After all, Tsuna had said he wasn't hungry, so he must have been right...
That was it!
After silently finding a reason to comfort herself, she couldn't help but burrow into his arms, wishing she could become one with him.
Early in the morning, Shizuka pushed open the door to the hospital room, carrying two packed lunches, and quietly entered.
"These two kids are really..."
She shook her head helplessly, looking at the two sleeping in the same bed and the familiar little pink dress next to the pillow.
If she remembered correctly, she had picked it out with Yaeko Nishimiya during their shopping trip.
Before she left yesterday, she told Shouko that if she felt sleepy, she could go to the front desk and rent a single folding bed.
Shouko also reminded her once when Tsuna woke up after calling her.
But she didn't know how the two children ended up sleeping together again...
"Click..."
She took out her phone and took a few pictures before putting the lunch box on the bedside table.
She didn't choose to wake them up, but sat on the empty chair and watched the show silently on her phone.
She clicked on the TV series she was still following, and just as she was about to watch it, a news notification for the area popped up at the top of the screen.
"On the morning of April 7, an unidentified floating corpse was found in Futaba Bay."
Shizuka deleted the news without hesitation and continued to watch the show quietly.
"Mom, how can you watch a TV series with the volume on next to a patient so early in the morning?" After a while, Tsuna complained speechlessly, feeling a little sleepy.
Upon hearing this, Shizuka paused and looked up at him. "You still realize you're a patient? What other patient would enjoy the same comforts as you?
A single bed, two people hugging each other as they sleep."
"I'm just worried your future daughter-in-law won't be comfortable sleeping in a chair," Tsuna rubbed his bleary eyes.
"Heh..." Shizuka knew immediately that Shouko hadn't been honest with him, so she ignored him and continued watching the show.
Tsuna opened his eyes, hesitated for a moment, staring at the ceiling, and finally asked, "Mom, how did I get to the hospital? Who is the Culprit?"
Miyamura Shizuka joked, without even looking up, "Hachiko found you by your scent.
When you're fine and discharged, you can accept Hachiko as your godfather, and your dad won't have any objections."
"Hehe..." Tsuna smiled speechlessly.
"So who's the Culprit?"
"Read less detective comics and novels."
"And where was I found?"
"In an alley just up the new shopping street," Shizuka said without hesitation.
Tsuna stopped asking questions and continued to stare at the ceiling in thought.
He had already realized from his mother that he couldn't get anything out of her, and the same was probably true for his father.
As for asking Shouko, who was sleeping soundly in his arms...
he didn't think Shouko would know more than him...
(End of this chapter)
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