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The shop owner watched the two drunks drive away while cursing, took a deep breath, adjusted himself, and said calmly to Yaeko behind him, "Nishimiya, you can clock out now. There's nothing else to do."
Yaeko nodded happily. Who wouldn't be glad to get off work early?
——————
Knock, knock...!
"Tsuna, open the door." The family of three was watching TV in the living room when they suddenly heard a knock at the door. Shizuka, who was sitting on the sofa, raised her foot and lightly nudged Tsuna's backside on the tatami.
Tsuna got up with an exaggerated sigh, gave Shizuka a look, then jogged to the door with a smile. "I'm coming, don't rush me."
"Woof…" Before the door even opened, Tsuna already heard a familiar bark.
Sure enough, when he opened the door, he saw Shouko and her sister and their dog standing outside, with Yuzuru's little fist still mid-knock.
"Tsuna! Look, I brought all the stuff for folding little stars!" Shouko beamed, raising the colored paper in one hand and a glass jar in the other.
Tsuna couldn't help but smile at how cute Shouko looked. His hand naturally reached out to ruffle her hair. Shouko squinted her eyes happily, enjoying it and looking even more adorable.
Tsuna could feel his heart skip a beat at that moment. He was sure he wasn't into little girls…but here he was.
Yuzuru, who'd been completely ignored beside them, couldn't stand the sugary atmosphere any longer and burst out, "Hey! Can we come in first!?"
"Woof!" Hachiko barked in agreement.
Only then did Tsuna snap out of it, quickly pulling his hand back and stepping aside. "Come in, come in," he said with an awkward laugh. He waited until they'd all come inside before closing the door.
"Come on over here, let Auntie hug you!" Shizuka called from the living room as soon as she saw Yuzuru come in. She spread her arms wide and raised an eyebrow at Yuzuru, telling her to be a good girl. Shizuka had once wanted a second daughter, but eventually gave up on the idea.
"Hachiko, use 'tongue lick' on Auntie Shizuka!" Yuzuru commanded playfully.
"Don't even think about it." Shizuka shot Yuzuru a dry look when she saw Hachiko getting ready to run over, then stood up, marched over to Yuzuru, grabbed her, and smothered her in a hug, rubbing her little cheeks until Yuzuru squealed with laughter, begging for mercy.
"Hachiko's getting smarter by the day…" Daisuke, sitting on the tatami, chuckled as he watched the dog obediently wag his tail and sit to the side.
Tsuna, meanwhile, was holding the glass jar in one hand and Shouko's free hand in the other. When he reached the living room entrance, he saw Shizuka happily gnawing on Yuzuru's chubby cheek like she was eating her up. On the side, Daisuke sat chatting with Hachiko, who nodded or barked back from time to time as if he actually understood.
Tsuna looked away and suggested to Shouko, "Shouko, why don't we go fold little stars in my room instead?"
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the living room turned to look at him. Yuzuru, trapped in Shizuka's arms, reached out her tiny hand toward Shouko for help.
But Shouko didn't care where they folded the paper, so long as Tsuna was there. "Okay!" she agreed right away. She noticed Yuzuru's pleading hand but ignored it, knowing Aunt Shizuka was just playing.
"Sis!" Yuzuru pouted as Tsuna led Shouko away, silently deducting a point from Tsuna in her mind; he will have a harder time marrying her sister now.
Too bad Tsuna couldn't hear her internal grumbling, or he would've laughed out loud.
When they reached the stairs, Tsuna gently let go of Shouko's hand. "Shouko, go on up and wait for me, I'll grab some snacks," he said, handing her the glass jar.
"Okay!" Shouko took the jar and happily headed up the wooden stairs.
A few minutes later, Tsuna returned to his room with a tray, set it on the table, picked up a cup of warm water, and handed it to Shouko, who was already folding paper. "Drink some water first, Shouko, no rush."
Shouko set down her colored paper, took the glass, and took a big gulp without hesitation. Then she handed it back to Tsuna, lips still glistening, and said, "Tsuna, you drink too."
"I've got my own." Tsuna chuckled, holding up his own glass to show her and waving hers away.
"Oh…" Shouko nodded, a little pouty at first, but immediately brightened again as she picked up the colored paper. "Then let's fold little stars!"
Tsuna smiled, sat down next to Shouko, and picked up the paper she'd prepared. They folded together while chatting well, mostly Shouko did the talking. Tsuna just nodded or responded with a few words here and there.
"Hey, don't you have any glue?" When they got to the last step, Tsuna looked around but didn't see any glue.
"I forgot…" Shouko mumbled, looking troubled.
"It's okay. I'll go get it," Tsuna said gently, patting her head before heading downstairs.
"Mom, where's our glue?" he called out to Shizuka, who was watching TV with Yuzuru curled up next to her.
Without looking away from the TV, Shizuka replied, "Check the storage cabinet in the dining room."
Tsuna nodded and went to look. After rummaging around for a bit, he found the glue, but there was barely any left. He figured it might be enough and carried it back upstairs.
"Alright, Shouko, let's keep going." Tsuna set the glue on the table and continued folding, passing the stars to Shouko to stick.
"Tsuna, it won't come out!" Shouko complained when only a few stars were left, squeezing the bottle with all her strength.
Tsuna took it from her and tried to, but nothing came out. He stood up and asked gently, "Should I go buy a new one?"
"No, no! I'll go home and get some!" Shouko quickly stopped him, didn't give him a chance to answer, and dashed out of the room.
"Hey, slow down! Don't run!" Tsuna called after her, worried. He didn't get a reply, but her footsteps did slow a little.
Knock, knock, knock...
Nishimiya Ito opened the door to see Shouko standing there. Before she could even ask, Shouko blurted out, "Grandma, do we have any glue at home?"
Kei thought for a moment, then stepped aside to let her in. "Go check the storage cabinet, I can't remember if we have any."
"Okay." Shouko quickly slipped off her shoes and ran to check.
A few minutes later, she came back empty-handed. She hadn't found any glue. Deciding there was no point in wasting more time, she made up her mind to buy it instead.
"Grandma, I'm going out!" Shouko shouted back into the living room as she pulled on her shoes and hurried outside.
——————
The two drunks had driven for a while.
The bald man behind the wheel thought he saw red and blue lights flashing up ahead. He nudged the tattooed man, who was dozing off in the passenger seat. "Hey, looks like a DUI checkpoint ahead."
"Then turn around!" the tattooed man barked impatiently, eyes still half-shut. His stomach was churning.
"Okay." The bald man muttered, slowly turned the car, then floored the gas once he thought they were clear.
The tattooed man cracked an eye open, saw the street lights flashing by way too fast, and yelled, "Slow down!"
When he looked over, he realized the bald driver's eyes were shut again. He smacked his arm hard. The bald man jolted awake, blinking in confusion.
"How the hell are you driving!?" the tattooed man shouted. But right as he finished yelling, he saw, up ahead in the headlights, a small figure dashing out of an alley. It was so quick and blurry that he couldn't even tell if it was a boy or a girl.
But he knew they weren't slowing down. He slapped the bald man's arm again, harder.
"Hey, hey, hey! There's a kid! Watch out!"
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Thanks, Failure_Me, ArdaPendragon, Omega989, and Jabed_0998, for the Review.
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