Teacher Ageo patted Shouko's back and let her go, letting the children behind come one by one.
"Come on, Tsuna." Teacher Ageo let go of the last girl and opened his arms to Tsuna.
"I don't need it..." Tsuna said, embarrassedly. He had never hugged a girl other than Shouko and his mother.
"Little brat, you are still shy at this time." Teacher Ageo hugged Tsuna gently and soon let go.
"Okay, kids, the kindergarten has a rule that you can't accept gifts from parents and students casually, but your intentions are felt by the teacher."
Teacher Ageo finally only accepted Tsuna's gift and asked all of them to take the gifts back, completely ignoring their request to accept it only this time.
After their persuasion failed, they could only obediently return to their seats to pack up the gifts they received, and then told Teacher Ageo that they would come to see her later and left to go downstairs to find their parents.
Tsuna stepped into the corridor to wait for Shouko, who, feeling dejected, retrieved the little white rabbit doll. She then took out the gift she had prepared for Tsuna from her schoolbag, slung the bag over her shoulder, said goodbye to Teacher Ageo, and headed outside.
"What is this?" Tsuna asked, gazing at the red amulet in Shouko's hand, which had his full name, "Miyamura Tsunayoshi" in the center with a thick yellow thread.
Shouko said a little embarrassedly: "I asked my mother to take me to the shrine to pray for it, but the words on it were sewn by my grandmother."
"I like it very much, thank you!" Tsuna hurriedly took the amulet. He didn't expect that it would be the busy Aunt Nishimiya who took Shouko to the shrine to pray for it.
Tsuna looked at Shouko's expectant eyes and found it difficult to speak. He hadn't prepared anything... He could only reach out his left hand and touch Shouko's stupid head.
Shouko saw that Tsuna had just raised his hand and touched her head, and her eyes began to turn red slightly.
Tsuna sensed the disappointment in Shouko's eyes and quickly wanted to explain himself. He planned to go home and grab a small item to play with first. He genuinely had no idea that they were supposed to exchange gifts upon graduation, especially since Shouko had never mentioned it to him.
"Tsuna, how about... how about this?" Shouko interjected, interrupting Tsuna.
"If you promise me one thing, I won't be sad!" After Shouko said this, her expression changed instantly as if the person who had been lost before was no longer herself.
"Okay!" Tsuna nodded and agreed without hesitation.
Shouko smiled brightly. Tsuna looked at Shouko's expression and felt as though he had unwittingly fallen into a trap. However, considering his beloved Shouko, he dismissed the thought as impossible and concluded that he must be overthinking the situation.
Shouko stammered, "Then... then I... I want you to stay with me forever, okay?" As she spoke, her cheeks gradually flushed a deep shade of red.
"Silly girl, even if you hadn't said that, I would still stay with you." Tsuna looked at the bashful Shouko, raised his hands, and gently rubbed her rosy cheeks.
"Then let's make a pinky promise!" Shouko exclaimed, raising her left hand excitedly and extending her little finger.
"Okay!"
"We'll make a promise for a hundred years!" the two said in unison, looking into each other's eyes.
"I knew the two kids were up there and wouldn't come down. They must be up to something mischievous. Fortunately, I recorded everything. Shizuka's unpleasant voice echoed from the end of the corridor.
When Shouko heard Shizuka's voice, she felt so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into the ground. Tsuna felt nearly the same way; she even recorded the key points!
"It's just getting exciting." Daisuke's voice came from behind Shizuka.
"You two, stop teasing Shouko and Tsuna," Yaeko said with a chuckle, though her demeanor suggested she was not truly trying to persuade them.
"Let's go, Shouko." Tsuna took Shouko's hand, who was bowing her head as low as possible, and walked down the stairs directly in front of the three people, feigning calmness. The three followed behind in silence.
——————
After returning home, Yaeko and Daisuke went to work, while Shizuka prepared lunch, leaving the two of them sitting in the living room, feeling bored.
"Tsuna, let's take a group photo together this afternoon."Shizuka walked into the living room at that time and looked at the two adorable kids leaning against each other while watching TV.
"Why are we taking a group photo?" Tsuna asked, a bit puzzled as he continued to gaze at the TV.
"Of course, it's to commemorate your graduation. I contacted them yesterday and asked them to come to our house." Shizuka walked over to the coffee table, picked up the orange, and began to peel it.
Tsuna heard what his mother said, and it was useless to refuse. "Okay, what's it called?"
Shizuka broke the orange in her hand into two halves and handed it to the two people watching TV: "It seems to be the Barracuda Photo Studio. A girl named Musae Koyama came to our house with equipment."
"Such a familiar name..."
"Do you know her?" Shizuka asked curiously.
Tsuna thought for a while, and finally shook his head: "I don't remember..."
"She's Aunt Nohara's sister! Didn't we meet her when we were playing in the park with Shin-chan not long ago?" After swallowing the orange in her mouth, Shouko patiently explained to Tsuna.
Tsuna felt embarrassed to admit that he could never remember such long names of other Japanese people. However, after Shouko reminded him, he was able to recall it.
"What a coincidence!" Shizuka exclaimed, a little surprised. Tsuna thought to himself, How could it not be a coincidence? Japan isn't a large country. He wanted to voice his complaint, but was interrupted by Shizuka.
"Let's eat first; Yaeko and the others will return in the afternoon."
Shizuka glanced at the clock hanging in the living room. Hachiko was currently at Nishimiya's house, where there was dog food available for him, so there was no need to call him back.
——————
After lunch, Shouko and Tsuna took a nap on the second floor. Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Daisuke returned from the office with Yaeko.
"Wake up, Tsuna! The photographers are coming." Shizuka stretched out her hands to gently shake the two adorable children on the bed.
Tsuna doesn't remain in bed during naps; he wakes up immediately. However, Shouko held onto his little arm and refused to let go. Noticing that he was awake, Shizuka allowed him to wake Shouko.
"Wake up, Shouko." Tsuna pinched Shouko's small nose. After a moment, Shouko opened her eyes and angrily swatted Tsuna's hand away.
"Tsuna, I'll suffocate to death if I do this," Shouko exclaimed, snorting as she turned her head away, pretending not to look at Tsuna.
But after a while, she didn't hear Tsuna's voice, so she slowly turned around to see what he was doing, and saw that he was looking straight at her with a smile on his face. She raised her hand and patted Tsuna's arm, then got out of bed, put on her slippers, and ran downstairs.
"Shouko, go slowly, be careful not to fall." Tsuna quickly put on his shoes and followed Shouko.
"Knock, knock, knock... Hello! Is Mrs. Miyamura home?" A familiar female voice called from outside the door, causing Tsuna to pause. He recognized it as Koyama Musae's voice.
"What a coincidence! Tsuna, you aren't Mrs. Miyamura's son, are you?" Musae watched as the door swung open and immediately recognized the familiar face behind it. She had taken pictures of Shin-chan and the others in the park, and Shouko and Tsuna had left a lasting impression on her.
"Well, Sister Koyama, please come in first." Tsuna stood in the entrance hall, retrieved a pair of disposable slippers for guests from the shoe cabinet, and placed them on the ground for Musae.