"No, I want you to promise me first." Shouko shook her head and refused without thinking.
Tsuna could only nod in agreement. He felt that she would not make any excessive demands at that time.
Besides, since it was so mysterious, he was still quite curious about what conditions she would put forward.
"But..."
He changed the subject and looked at her with a slightly raised corner of his mouth, which made Shouko, who had originally calmed down, get worried again.
"No...but what?" Before he could continue, Shouko couldn't help but ask.
She couldn't stand him like this for even "a little bit." She always felt that he was holding back some bad ideas.
Seeing that he'd achieved his desired effect, Tsuna chuckled and slowly said, "You'll have to agree to one condition of mine then."
Fearing she might object, he quickly added, "But don't worry, it won't be anything outrageous."
Shouko finally nodded in agreement. After taking a sip of the boiled water on the coffee table, she feigned indifference and asked,
"Tsuna, can you reveal a little bit about the details?"
"No," Tsuna flatly refused. He feared she wouldn't buy it if he revealed it, so it was better not to tell her.
"Click..." Just then, the sound of a key opening the front door from the living room could be heard from outside.
"That must be Mom coming back," Tsuna said, breaking off half an orange and handing it to Shouko, adding a little to make sure she hadn't heard.
Just as Tsuna had finished speaking, Shizuka's voice rang out from outside: "I'm back!" Her tone was tinged with joy and excitement.
Shizuka changed her shoes at the entrance and entered the living room. The first thing she did was snatch the orange from Tsuna's hand.
Tsuna silently picked up a new orange from the coffee table and began peeling it, asking, "Mom, did something good happen to you?"
He couldn't help but feel curious, noticing that her smile hadn't dropped since she entered the living room.
Shouko returned an untouched orange to him, snatching the one he hadn't finished peeling and nodding in agreement. Shizuka sat down on the tatami next to Shouko, picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and swallowed the orange before slowly explaining,
"Your grandpa just called me and said you should visit him after your exams and your vacation."
"Grandpa?" Tsuna paused chewing, memories that had been sealed for years beginning to stir in his mind.
He remembered that his grandfather seemed to live in Osaka and ran an open-air hot spring resort with his uncle.
As for why it was "years," it was because he hadn't seen his grandparents in years.
During summer and winter vacations, Dad didn't have the time to travel so far for a few days, and Mom couldn't bear to leave him home alone.
Besides the holidays, Grandpa was always the busiest, so they never thought about visiting him.
But when they had some free time, Grandpa and Grandma would still come all the way here for a week or two, leaving the hot spring resort with his uncle and his family.
They'd say they were visiting their daughter, but Tsuna knew they were just here to have fun, and seeing their daughter was just a sideline.
Running that resort year-round would drive Tsuna crazy.
This thought gave Mom a source of joy; after all, she hadn't seen Grandpa in ages.
"Well, ask your dad when the time comes to see if he has time."
Shizuka noticed a flash of disappointment in Shouko's eyes as soon as she finished speaking and instantly guessed the reason. She raised her hand to rub Shouko's head and comforted her:
"Don't worry, I will take you and Yuzuru with me when the time comes. When you go home, ask Yaeko if she is free to go together."
Although she said the last sentence, Shizuka already knew the answer in her heart. It was very likely that she didn't have time to go, and the Grandma Ito that was not mentioned was even more impossible.
"Yeah, I'll ask Mom if she's free then!" Shouko nodded excitedly. As long as she didn't miss Tsuna for days, it would be fine.
Tsuna had long suspected his mom would bring them along, and he had no problem with it. He just wasn't sure if his grandfather had mixed-gender bathing.
Meanwhile, in the principal's office at Minato Elementary School,
A middle-aged man with a Mediterranean appearance sat cross-legged on the sofa, an unburned cigarette between his fingers. His gaze fell on Takeuchi, who sat on the sofa across from him, and he said in disbelief,
"So, you're planning to quit after this class, right?"
When he first heard the news, he thought he was joking until Takeuchi showed him the offer letter.
He couldn't figure out why a private school would hire such a loser.
Takeuchi abandoned his usual humble demeanor in the other man's office. He grabbed the middle-aged man's cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and unceremoniously lit it. He casually replied,
"Yes, as soon as Miyamura Tsunayoshi graduates, I'll resign."
The middle-aged man was furious at his expression, remembering the favors he'd given him over the years and the countless messes he'd cleaned up, all of which he'd had to clean up after himself.
The contrast between his previous humble demeanor and his current arrogance was stark.
The middle-aged man's hand instinctively raised, ready to strike him in the face as usual.
But Takeuchi, accustomed to this initial attack, dodged it with a flick of his head, then took a puff from his cigarette.
He exhaled a puff of smoke at the middle-aged man across from him, then stood up from the sofa and left with a sneer on his face.
He hadn't said anything unnecessary, not even mockery, which he felt was unnecessary.
His goal had been achieved. He'd wanted the other person to be so frustrated, so helpless, that he'd waited too long for this scene.
Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to fight back; that would have been a thankless task.
After Takeuchi left the principal's office and closed the door, he heard the sound of something hard being smashed inside and couldn't help but laugh.
---
"Mom, I—"
Miyako, who was cutting hair at the salon, interrupted Shōya Ishida beside her before he could finish his words.
"Shoya, if you have anything to say, can you wait until I'm done? I can't concentrate right now."
Shoya glanced at the other customers waiting, swallowing his words about his experiences at school. He nodded and quietly returned to the inner room.
---
"Okay, Shōya, did you have something to tell me earlier?"
As dinner arrived, Miyako, sitting at the table, suddenly recalled something Shōya had said that afternoon and asked in confusion.
"It's okay."
Shōya stopped eating, looked up at her eyes, and finally shook his head. He didn't want to say anything now.
Miyako shrugged at this, not intending to ask too many questions, nor did she notice his abnormality.
---