"It's time to prepare for dinner. Mom, please stop teasing them now."
Shizuka called out with a warm chuckle as she stepped into the entrance of the living room, catching the final echoes of her mother-in-law's laughter.
Tsuna turned toward his mother's voice, catching the amused look in her eyes. He knew perfectly well that Shizuka had heard every exaggerated word Grandma Yu had just thrown at him and Shouko.
"Okay, okay." Yu nodded from her seat on the sofa, still fighting back a sly grin. She knew full well when enough was enough; teasing children was a treat, but overdoing it would spoil the sweetness. She reached out and gently took Shouko's hand in hers, giving it a soft squeeze as she asked in a warm, gentle voice:
"Shouko, would you like to stay and have dinner with Grandma tonight?"
"Ah!?" Shouko squeaked, her eyes widening so much they looked like two startled coins. She quickly shook her head, her cheeks turning pink as she stammered out, "Five-five-five… Five is too many, Grandma!"
Tsuna, who knew exactly what she meant and what his grandmother's earlier joke had planted in her mind, was the first to react. He gently corrected her, trying not to laugh: "Shouko, Grandma's just asking if you want to stay for dinner."
"Oh… Oh! I—I'll go back first then!" Shouko squeaked again, her face flushing an even deeper red. "Mom should have dinner ready at home, too." She wriggled her hand free from Grandma Yu's soft grasp and half-fled out of the living room, nearly tripping over her own feet in her hurry.
Tsuna sighed helplessly, quickly following her to the entrance where she was struggling to get her shoes back on. He bent down and said in a low, worried voice, "Don't take Grandma's words too seriously, okay? She's just teasing."
Shouko nodded quickly, her ponytail bobbing as she mumbled, "I know… I know…" She pushed her foot into her sandal and tugged the strap tight, still refusing to meet Tsuna's eyes.
Tsuna couldn't help but add softly, "And don't run so fast next time. You'll trip on the step. Be careful."
Shouko paused with her hand on the door, glanced back at him shyly, and whispered so low he almost missed it, "Okay… I'll come see you later."
***
Then she slipped out the door, shutting it behind her with a quiet click.
Shizuka, who was still standing at the edge of the living room, watched her son and the little girl exchange hushed words at the door. She tilted her head, curiosity flickering across her features. "What did she mean by five is too many?" She asked, brow furrowed in genuine confusion. "Did I miss something?"
Tsuna straightened up, closed the door carefully, and turned back with an innocent look so flawless it would have fooled anyone but his mother.
"Grandma wanted to give Shouko five watermelons to take home. She said it was too many. She can't carry that many."
Shizuka narrowed her eyes suspiciously, glancing past Tsuna into the living room where Yu sat looking far too pleased with herself. Turning back to Tsuna, she raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Really." Tsuna nodded without blinking, utterly deadpan.
Shizuka sighed, shook her head, and ruffled his hair as she walked past. "Alright, alright… but you're a terrible liar, you know that?"
Tsuna forced a laugh, watching her go, and let out a long, silent sigh. *What an exhausting family… he thought helplessly.
***
A few days later, in their classroom, the faint clatter of colored paper being shuffled around filled the quiet hum of afterschool club time.
Shouko sat cross-legged beside Tsuna, carefully folding bright origami. Every now and then, she peeked over at him, frowning at the faraway look on his face.
"Tsuna…" She called softly. He didn't respond. She poked his shoulder, voice tinged with worry. "Tsuna! Are you feeling sick? You've been sighing all day lately."
Tsuna blinked as if waking from a dream. He tossed the piece of colored paper he had been fiddling with back onto the table and leaned back in his chair. "It's nothing. Lately, I feel like time is crawling."
Shouko tilted her head, the tiny crane in her hands forgotten. "But I feel like time's flying by! We'll be done here in just over two years…" She said the last part with a soft, almost wistful smile.
Hearing her say that, Tsuna felt another sigh well up in his chest. He caught it this time, pressing his lips together to keep it in.
Yes. It was already the second half of third grade. It had been three whole years since the day he and his mother had brought Grandma Yu home from the hospital.
He still remembered how listless Grandma had seemed after just three days in their house — how she'd sat on the tatami, staring out the window and complaining endlessly that it was too quiet, too boring, too far from her favorite mahjong friends. Only he and Shouko had been able to distract her, dropping by her room after school to talk or play cards.
In the end, his parents had given up and driven her back to her cozy little neighborhood, where she immediately sprang back to life. His father had installed three or four small surveillance cameras in her home so that Shizuka could peek in through her phone whenever she wanted, just to be sure. At first, Grandma had refused fiercely, but Daisuke's gentle persuasion had broken her stubbornness in the end.
After they sent her home, his mother watched the live feed the next day and shaken her head in disbelief. "Look at her, she's laughing with her friends again. She is like a different person…" Grandma had never come to stay again after that.
A lot had changed in those three years.
Yaeko — Shouko's mother — had gone from a hardworking assistant to a full-fledged department director in Daisuke's office. She hadn't climbed the ladder by favors or connections; she'd clawed her way up with sheer grit and results.
When she'd landed the role, her schedule had doubled overnight. The rare days off she'd squeezed out of nowhere before became the standard four days off a month, which still felt too few.
Managing her own teams had made her more assertive, too. She had to be, or nobody would listen. But that new edge meant she spent less time with her children. Yuzuru had sulked about it at first, grumbling that Daisuke hardly looked busy at all compared to his mother's exhaustion, even though they worked under the same roof.
Shouko, though… Shouko had Tsuna. She'd never once complained about the nights her mother came home late or too tired to chat. She'd just sit by Tsuna's side, telling him about her day instead.
And Yuzuru? She'd eventually come around, too. She still had her sister, Hachiko, and the Miyamura family to spoil her. Even if she muttered under her breath sometimes, she'd grown used to the rhythm of their life.
The Miyamura family itself? Still the same, except maybe wealthier. Daisuke bought new fishing gear every year like clockwork. Shizuka spent less money on herself than on filling her phone's memory with stolen snapshots of Tsuna and Shouko doing everything from homework to feeding stray cats.
Tsuna, meanwhile, had devoured the sixth-grade and junior-high curriculum like a snack. Now he was breezing through high school material before he'd even graduated from elementary.
Daisuke had put his foot down about Tsuna's more… unusual ways to make money, though, and Tsuna had listened, grudgingly.
Even Hachiko had changed. Once a bundle of puppy energy, the loyal dog was now a grizzled middle-aged guardian who spent more time dozing in the sun than pulling Yuzuru down the block.
Minato Elementary hadn't changed at all, though. The buildings were the same. The classmates, too. When Tsuna entered second grade, there had been a brief moment when their homeroom teacher wasn't Minagawa, but within days, Minagawa was back; the reason for the switch was never explained.
Some kids had once whispered that Shouko was an oddball, but three years later, nobody bothered anymore. If you ever thought about picking on her, you had to deal with Tsuna first, and Tsuna had a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who tried. Words wouldn't work. If you used your fists, you'd find your parents paying medical bills the next day, while the principal and Minagawa quietly looked the other way.
"Why so quiet now?" Shouko's voice snapped him back. She was leaning closer, her big eyes searching his face. "Are you sure you're not sick?"
Tsuna blinked and forced a smile, shaking his head. "I'm fine. Just thinking about old times, that's all."
Shouko's curiosity flared. She set down the half-folded paper crane and leaned in even closer. "Then tell me about it!"
Tsuna clicked his tongue and turned away dramatically. "No."
"Stingy boy!" Shouko scrunched her nose at him, crossing her arms with an exaggerated pout, but the grin tugging at the corner of her mouth betrayed her amusement.