"Knock, knock..."
"I'm coming." As Yaeko's voice rang out, the knocking stopped.
"Who is it? Knocking on the door so early in the morning? It's not another salesperson, is it?" Yaeko muttered softly as she walked from the kitchen to the door.
She was thinking to herself that if it really was a salesperson, she would definitely have to talk to him properly.
As the doorknob turned, Tsuna, standing in front of it, was the first to react. Even before the door was fully opened, he called out,
"Good morning, Aunt Nishimiya."
Seeing it was Tsuna, Yaeko's slight irritation at the knock on the door dissipated. She greeted him and then asked, perplexed,
"Tsuna, don't you have your keys?"
Seeing her make room, Tsuna stepped inside without hesitation. He slowly explained,
"I didn't bring my keys. I saw Shouko hadn't come out yet, so I came to check."
"Click..." Yaeko closed the door and looked at him, confused, as he was changing his shoes in the entranceway. "Aren't you taking graduation photos today? And you're still going to school at the usual time?"
Seeing him look up at her, confused, Yaeko instantly guessed the answer: it seemed she had misunderstood.
In the past, Shouko had always set her own alarm to wake up, and Yeako would only knock on the door after making breakfast.
Seeing that Shouko hadn't come out today, she assumed she didn't need to arrive so early for graduation photos, so she didn't knock on the door.
After changing into slippers, Tsuna finally understood what was going on. Stepping onto the wooden porch, he turned back and whispered,
"I'll go wake Shouko up. Auntie, you probably haven't finished breakfast yet, have you?"
"Yes,"
Yaeko agreed without a second thought.
They'd been close friends since childhood, and it wasn't like he was just waking her daughter up—it wasn't going to mean anything. Why would she overthink it?
"Knock, knock..."
Tsuna reached Shouko's door, placed his hand on the handle, and was about to turn it and go in, but suddenly remembered something and knocked first.
Receiving no response, Tsuna repeated, "Shouko, are you up yet?"
Finally, after confirming that she wasn't changing clothes, he opened the door.
He was quite dreading those erotic scenes in Japanese anime where the hero wakes the heroine, fearing the awkwardness they'd face afterward.
"Ah!!! Pervert Tsuna!!!"
"Bang!" Tsuna, having caught a glimpse of the erotic scene, slammed the door shut.
A brown bear cartoon pattern on a white background, a light pink dress with a slight curve...
He then remembered that Shouko couldn't hear clearly without her hearing aids, let alone through the door.
Yuzuru, rubbing his eyes, emerged from the kitchen, seeing someone with reddened ears. Confused, he asked,
"What's wrong, Tsuna?"
It was Yeako who had rushed over to check on her after hearing Shouko's screams.
"No, no, it's okay. Have you finished breakfast?" He forced down his inexplicable restlessness and turned to look at Yuzuru with a serious expression.
"No, I'll go back to breakfast then." Yuzuru nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, her eyes straining. Only after hearing his words did she turn and head towards the kitchen.
Hearing this, Tsuna followed her footsteps and headed toward the dining room.
He felt that if he stayed here all the time, Shouko would not dare to come out at all, and he also needed something else to divert his attention.
"Have you had breakfast, Tsuna?" Yeako asked gently when she saw Tsuna following behind Yuzuru.
"Yes," Tsuna replied casually as he walked to the dining table, pulled out an empty chair, and sat down.
He didn't see Grandma Ito in the dining room, most likely she was still asleep, so he didn't ask any more questions.
"Would you like some more food?"
Seeing him shake his head in refusal, Yeako asked, perplexed. "Where's Shouko? Is she up?"
As she finished speaking, she saw Tsuna nodding frantically. She thought the child was acting a little strangely today.
After a minute or two, seeing Shouko still hadn't emerged from her room, Yeako began to grow a little irritated.
Just as she was about to get up and call her, she heard her door open. She abandoned the idea, but decided to talk to her tonight.
"Hurry up and wash up! What time is it?" Yeako urged, not noticing the unusual expression on her face.
"Okay." Shouko, a little hesitant to look at the person at the table, hurried to the bathroom.
Cooling down with cold water would be a good idea.
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"We're going out." x3
"Be careful on your way."
Standing in the hallway, Yeako watched the three people leave before turning back to the dining room to clean up the mess.
"Sister, what's wrong with you? Are you guys having a conflict?" Yuzuru, who was halfway there, finally noticed something unusual about the two and asked worriedly.
She hadn't heard them chatting all day. She had been the only one talking since she left the house.
Tsuna would also say a few words, but he was a quiet person, so she didn't think it was a big deal.
"No, how could your sister and I have any conflicts?" Tsuna waved his hand and responded without hesitation.
Shouko nodded in agreement.
Yuzuru glanced back and forth at the two of them before she felt relieved. She was afraid that the two of them would have a quarrel, and then Tsuna would be cruel and not let Hachiko come to play with her.
After all, she had always used her sister as collateral to exchange with Hachiko, and her sister also liked to be with Tsuna all the time, so she didn't think there was a problem.
Seeing her hesitation, Tsuna added,
"Well, don't worry. Even if you and Hachiko have a fight, Shouko and I won't be upset."
He raised his hand to rub her head, but before he could place his hand, Shouko gently slapped it away.
She slapped his hand away and then moved it up to rub Yuzuru's head, not forgetting to steal a glance at someone and let out a soft, nasal "Hmph."
Tsuna, observing her adorable expression, tried to rub her head again, and it worked. She didn't shy away or swat it away.
He didn't know what to say...
Jealous? No, no, no... absolutely not.
The thought flashed through his mind, but he shrugged it off.
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"See you at noon." Yuzuru waved to the two of them from the stairs before turning and leaving.
"Shouko, I really didn't mean it this morning," Tsuna said sincerely to Shouko after watching Yuzuru leave.
"Hmph." Shouko snorted twice and walked up the stairs without saying anything else.
She'd already forgiven him in her heart over breakfast, but he'd seen it all, so it was only natural for her to pretend to be angry.
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