After a whole day of discussion, the final decision was that Yaeko would raise Shouko. The house was also given to Yaeko, and she alone would bear the remaining mortgage for the next ten-plus years.
The man had paid only the down payment when they purchased the house, and now firmly refused to pay any child support.
The next morning, Yaeko and Suneo went to the ward office (Civil Affairs Bureau) and officially filed for divorce. That afternoon, Suneo packed his belongings and left with his mother without a hint of hesitation.
Before leaving, he didn't even glance at Shouko, who had reached out for a hug he ignored his biological daughter as if she were invisible.
"Is Uncle leaving?"
As soon as Suneo stepped out the door, he heard a childish voice from the side. Turning his head, he saw Shizuka standing under a large tree not far away, holding Tsunayoshi in her arms.
"Yes, little Tsuna. Next time, if I get the chance, Uncle will bring you something delicious, okay?" Suneo instantly changed his expression, flashing a warm smile at Tsuna.
If Tsuna hadn't been in Shizuka's arms, Suneo would have wanted to give him a hug before leaving. He couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if this child were his, so sensible, so intelligent.
"Are you ready, Suneo?" his mother called from the black car parked nearby. Seeing him still lingering outside, she leaned out of the window and urged him impatiently.
Suneo didn't hear Tsuna's reply, but after being urged, he had no choice but to leave. He said to Tsuna, "Uncle is leaving. See you next time, Tsuna."
He also greeted Shizuka, then got into the back seat and drove away.
———
Shizuka entered the Nishimiya home with Tsuna in her arms. After taking off her shoes at the entrance, she stepped onto the wooden corridor and walked into the room.
She greeted Nishimiya Ito, who was kneeling on the tatami to look after Shouko. Then, she gently put Tsuna down and asked him to go play with Shouko, while she headed to the low table to comfort Yaeko, who looked lost.
Over the past two years, Shizuka and Yaeko had become close friend,s able to talk about anything with each other.
When Shouko saw Tsuna, she immediately tried to break free from Nishimiya Ito's arms to go play with him.
Nishimiya Ito gently placed Shouko on the tatami, then stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Shouko quickly crawled across the green tatami to Tsuna, threw herself into his arms, and wrapped both her arms and legs around him.
"Ah~ah! (Hug!)" Shouko opened her mouth and said, "Ah, ah."
Tsuna had no idea what language she was speaking, but judging from her actions, it was probably a request for a hug.
He sat on the tatami and wrapped his arms around Shouko's waist, afraid she might slide off and hit her head on the floor.
He thought to himself: 'This child is pitiful… born with a hearing impairment, and her bastard father ran away without hesitation.'
Shizuka saw the two children sitting quietly on the tatami, hugging each other, and felt that the scene was particularly heartwarming. She chuckled softly.
"Are you laughing at me?"
Yaeko, who had been sitting with her head down, heard her best friend suddenly laugh and thought she was being mocked. She looked up at Shizuka with a wronged expression.
Shizuka quickly waved her hand and explained in a low voice, "No, no, I just felt that the way those two children are getting along is heartwarming." As she spoke, she raised her left hand and pointed.
Yaeko turned to look in the direction Shizuka was pointing.
The dynamic between Tsuna and Shouko suddenly shifted. After making sure she was stable in Tsuna's lap, Shouko opened her mouth and pressed it against Tsuna's soft cheek, starting to suck gently. She didn't bite just sucked quietly.
Tsuna had grown used to this over the past two years. In the beginning, Shouko would sometimes bite him with her newly grown teeth, but after realizing it hurt him, she changed to simply sucking instead.
By now, Tsuna didn't bother resisting. If he did, Shouko would cry.
Yaeko chuckled at the sight. Watching her adorable daughter cling to Tsuna like that, she felt that everything would be okay. Raising Shouko on her own might not be as hard as she feared.
Finally, Shizuka scooped up Tsuna, whose cheek was now half-red, and carried him off to get dinner ready. Seeing that Yaeko had brightened up a little, Shizuka said nothing more.
Shouko, who was happily sucking, lay on the tatami with a pacifier in her mouth. She watched Tsuna being carried away but didn't make a fuss.
——————
As soon as she stepped into the room, Shizuka saw that Daisuke had already returned. She asked in surprise,
"You're back so early today? Did you finish things at the office?"
Daisuke, focused on the TV as he peeled an orange, replied without turning around,
"Yeah, I left it to them to handle."
Shizuka handed Tsuna to Daisuke and turned toward the kitchen.
"Alright then, you take care of Tsuna. I'll go prepare dinner."
Daisuke put down the half-peeled orange, took Tsuna in his arms, looked at the red half of his face, and joked,
"Hehe... Why don't you let Shouko kiss the other side of your face, too? That way, it'll look more symmetrical."
He didn't care whether three-year-old Tsuna understood what he was saying.
Tsuna ignored his father and stared at the TV, planning in his head that the next time he hid money, he would tell Mom first.
He thought to himself, "I'm only three years old. Other than teasing Shouko and teaching her how to pronounce words properly, though it doesn't seem to help yet, there's not much I can do. It's already impressive that she doesn't wet the bed at her age. Helping her family? That's way beyond me right now."
At night...
The Miyamura family sat around the dining table for dinner. Tsuna sat in his own small green children's chair, eating the meal specially prepared for him by Shizuka, using a spoon.
Shizuka was talking to Daisuke about the Nishimiya family's situation.
"Are you still hiring?"
"Yes. Why? Is Yaeko going to need multiple jobs?" Daisuke asked, swallowing the food in his mouth. Hearing Shizuka mention it reminded him of Yaeko's circumstances.
Shizuka nodded and took a spoonful of rice from her bowl. "Yeah. She has to take care of the kids and manage the mortgage, too. Her previous salary probably isn't enough to cover everything. I want to help her find another job."
"You can talk to her tomorrow," Daisuke replied.
————
The next day, Shizuka spoke to Yaeko about the job opportunity.
That same day, Yaeko went to Daisuke's office for an interview and passed without a hitch. It was a good professional fit. From then on, Yaeko began working two jobs.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.
One afternoon, while having lunch in the office cafeteria, Yaeko had just opened her lunch box when she suddenly felt nauseous for no apparent reason. She assumed it was just due to fatigue, after all, she had taken on an additional part-time job just a week ago.
Daisuke happened to walk by with the lunch his wife had prepared for him. When he saw Yaeko covering her mouth and staring blankly at her food, he asked with concern for his colleague, "Nishimiya-san? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yaeko was holding the iron chopsticks, about to take a bite, when she heard Daisuke's caring words. She waved her hand to reassure him, saying, "Don't worry. Maybe it's just because of my irregular schedule lately, I feel a little nauseous."
Daisuke frowned slightly, sensing something more. "Nauseous...? Have you taken a test since the divorce?"
At his question, Yaeko suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation. Since the second day after the divorce, she had been so busy she hadn't given it any thought.
Seeing Yaeko's embarrassed silence, Daisuke's suspicion grew stronger. "I'm about 80% sure. You should go get checked today. I'll mark you as present for the full day."
Yaeko nodded, quickly packed up the untouched food, grabbed her bag, and headed to the nearby drugstore to buy a pregnancy test.
Back home...
Shizuka was chatting with Nishimiya Ito at her house when she was suddenly surprised to see Yaeko return so early.
Tsuna stood at the dining table, feeding Shouko who sat quietly, completely ignoring the grown-ups' conversation and unable to help much.
After saying something to Shizuka, Yaeko put down her bag and the drugstore packaging, then hurriedly took the pregnancy test stick out and rushed to the bathroom.
Shizuka, noticing what Yaeko had taken, was a little surprised. She told Nishimiya Ito not to worry and that Yaeko needed to take the test herself.
Then she stood up and approached the closed bathroom door, asking anxiously, "Yaeko, how is it?"
When there was no response for a long time, Shizuka waited another ten minutes before asking again.
A slight sobbing sound came from inside, and Shizuka quickly opened the door and saw Yaeko squatting beside the sink, holding her head and crying softly. The pregnancy test stick was thrown into the white round sink.
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Sorry for not uploading, got caught up on reading Genius Archer's Streaming.