After riding for more than 20 minutes, Tsuna slowly pedaled up to the door of his house.
On the back seat, Shouko still wasn't satisfied. Hugging Tsuna from behind, she whined sweetly, "Can we ride a bit longer, Tsuna?"
"Let's rest first," Tsuna answered softly, a little out of breath.
Shouko noticed the sweat on Tsuna's forehead and the tired look on his face when he turned to talk to her. It was the first time she'd seen him look like this, so she immediately changed her tune: "Okay, then let's rest first."
Tsuna locked the bike at the door so it'd be convenient if they wanted to ride again later. He walked inside with Shouko, changed into slippers at the entrance, took off his helmet, and headed to the living room.
His parents weren't there, but he saw a small note his mother had left on the coffee table: "I'm going next door for a bit. Beautiful mother."
Tsuna narrowed his eyes as he read, especially when he saw the last line and that silly emoji. Thinking about his mother's childish side, he couldn't help but chuckle. Just then, Shouko's voice came from behind:
"Tsuna, drink some water." Shouko hadn't followed him straight into the living room but had gone to the dining room to pour a cup of warm water. She brought it over carefully.
"Thank you." Tsuna took the cup, tested the temperature, and then drank it all in one go. "Come wipe your sweat."
Shouko pulled out a couple of tissues from the coffee table and handed them to him.
After taking them, Tsuna picked up a small black plastic fan and began fanning himself slowly.
"No need for that, Shouko. I can do it myself." Tsuna guessed what Shouko was planning and reached out to take the fan from her.
"No! I want to do it!" Shouko dodged his hand, but Tsuna still reached for it.
"Why not just turn on the air conditioner?" came Daisuke's calm voice from the entrance to the living room.
Tsuna stopped playing tug-of-war with Shouko and looked toward Daisuke, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway. Puzzled, he asked, "Dad, why didn't you go out with Mom?"
"She took Hachiko to see Nishimiya. I'm going fishing." Daisuke grinned and lifted the fishing gear he was carrying.
Tsuna glanced at the rods and gear, remembering that every time Daisuke went fishing these past few years, he'd come back with one or two big fish. At first, everyone believed him, and even Shouko praised him excitedly.
But one time he claimed he'd gone sea fishing, only to come home with a few river fish. Ever since then, his mother always played along with the praise, but only cute Shouko genuinely believed him every time.
"Good luck, Uncle!" Shouko picked up the remote to turn on the air conditioner and wished him well.
"Be safe, Dad," Tsuna added calmly.
Daisuke chuckled, walked over, and gently patted Shouko's and Tsuna's heads. He promised to bring back a big catch and then left.
When they heard the door close behind Daisuke, Shouko quietly stepped closer to Tsuna, then threw herself into his arms and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Tsuna… you must be so tired."
Tsuna raised his hand to pat Shouko's head and comfort her. "It's just a bike ride. How could I be that tired?" But as he felt her cling to his sweaty body, he teased her in a whisper, "And I'm all sweaty. You'll smell my stinky self like this."
Seeing that Tsuna seemed to want to push her away, Shouko said excitedly, "No! My Tsuna always smells nice!" Then she snuggled in even closer.
Suddenly remembering something, Shouko stopped moving, looked up at Tsuna, and said cheerfully, "Tsuna, let me give you a massage!"
"No." Tsuna refused immediately. He felt too embarrassed to let Shouko give him a massage, if she were a bit older, maybe.
"Just for a little while?" Shouko pleaded, raising her left hand and showing just one tiny finger.
In the end, Tsuna couldn't stand Shouko's puppy-dog eyes and gave in, letting her massage him for a minute or two before stopping her. Seeing that he'd agreed, Shouko stepped back slightly, grabbed his hand, and began pressing gently.
"Shouko, where'd you learn this?" Tsuna asked curiously, noticing how practiced she seemed.
"Yesterday! When I was watching TV with Aunt Shizuka, I saw it. They were showing how to massage," Shouko answered proudly.
She only caught the beginning, though, after the man and woman on TV started kissing, Yaeko quickly covered Shouko's eyes and changed the channel.
"Okay, Shouko, that's enough. I feel a lot better already." Tsuna stopped her when he saw she was about to keep going.
"Really?" Shouko looked disappointed. She'd just gotten started!
"Really!" Tsuna was about to say more when they heard the front door open, and Shizuka's voice rang out:
"I'm back, Shouko!" She saw the locked bike at the door and guessed the kids were home.
"Welcome back, Aunt Shizuka!" Shouko called back happily. She opened the living room's wooden door and skipped over to the hallway to greet her.
Tsuna lay back on the tatami and turned on the TV with the remote.
"Back so soon?" Shizuka asked, holding Shouko's hand as they walked into the living room.
Shouko quickly explained to him: "Tsuna got tired from riding, so we came home to rest."
"You could ask Tsuna to teach you how to ride! Then you could carry him instead." Shizuka giggled, tapping Shouko's forehead affectionately.
"That's right!" Shouko's eyes lit up. She imagined riding with Tsuna hugging her from behind—when she got tired, he'd take over.
She immediately let go of Shizuka's hand, ran over to Tsuna, and gently tugged his arm. "Tsuna, Tsuna! Will you teach me to ride a bicycle?"
Since starting elementary school, Tsuna felt like Shouko had been acting sweet with him more and more often. There must be some tiny demon inside her. For no reason, he suddenly thought of that twin-tailed little devil he'd met at school, whose true nature he'd seen the first week.
"Let's go, then."
"Be careful!" Shizuka called after them.
Tsuna snapped out of his thoughts, realized he'd rested enough, and stood up. He told Shizuka he'd be careful, then took Shouko's hand and led her out of the living room.
"Come on, Shouko, put on your helmet." When they reached the entrance and changed into their shoes, Tsuna handed her the white safety helmet.
After putting it on and securing her pads, Shouko tilted her head in confusion when she saw Tsuna wasn't wearing his helmet. "Tsuna, why aren't you wearing yours?"
Tsuna shrugged and said gently, "I'm just teaching you how to ride. I don't need it."
"No!"
Shouko immediately crossed her arms, put her hands on her hips, and glared at him with a fierce pout.
"Okay, okay." Tsuna chuckled and stepped forward to rub her cheek. Did she think her pouty face looked fierce? This pose and expression would catch so many people's hearts in Japan at once.
For no reason, Tsuna felt like Shouko's training route was drifting off-track… Why did it feel like she was turning into a little ghost girl?
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