"Dong... Dong...!"
As the bell rang, everyone in the classroom returned to their seats, and students playing outside the hallway hurried back.
"Dong Dong..." Two or three minutes passed, and a woman in a suit and silver-rimmed glasses entered the classroom and knocked on the blackboard behind the podium.
"Okay, everyone, sit down and be quiet."
"Teacher, did you come to the wrong classroom? This is Class B," Miki was the first to ask, her curiosity surging.
Most of the students in the classroom shared the same thought, except Tsuna and Shouko, and a few were simply surprised.
The woman on the podium was Teacher Minagawa, their teacher for five years.
Teacher Minagawa glanced over, raised her hand, and gestured for Miki to sit down first before slowly explaining,
"You're not in the wrong place. Your homeroom teacher, Takeuchi, resigned last night, so I'll teach you today."
Everyone in the classroom was startled, except for Shouko and Shōya, who remained unmoved in the back row.
But they were only briefly surprised. After all, whether that four-eyed jerk resigned or not was of no concern to them, and it wouldn't affect their graduation.
When Minagawa heard the news in the principal's office, her expression mirrored that of the other students.
She couldn't understand why that idiot, who had endured a whole year, couldn't bear it in just three days?
To be more precise, there was only one day left; the next day and the day after, they had exams, and he wouldn't have anything to do.
"So, what about Class A, with you here, Minagawa-sensei?" Tsuna raised his right hand in confusion.
Minagawa knew the voice's owner without even glancing. She knew why she was there was partly because of him.
"That's none of your concern, Miyamura-san. Class A will be taught by another teacher.
Okay, enough small talk, let's get started."
Minagawa saw that some students were about to ask questions and spoke up, cutting them off.
The rest of the day, except for the first period in the afternoon, when they went to the gymnasium to take graduation photos, was spent under Teacher Minagawa's guidance.
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"I'm back, Aunt Miyamura!" x2
Three days flew by in a flash. After the two finished their last exam and walked home, Tsuna had just opened the door when Shouko and Yuzuru couldn't wait to call inside.
Shizuka emerged from the living room, her phone still on the call screen. She looked at the three of them and said gently,
"It's just right. I just called Yume Koyama of Barracuda Photo Studio and booked her for a photoshoot this afternoon."
When changing his shoes in the hallway, Tsuna thought of the kindergarten graduation photo and asked curiously, "Isn't it another graduation photo?"
"Yeah, your dad and Aunt Nishimiya will be back by then," Shizuka nodded, leaning against the wall.
As she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered something and looked at Shouko, who was standing next to Tsuna. She whispered,
"You can call your friends and have them come over, just like last time."
Shouko nodded happily.
They returned to the living room. Yuzuru said something to Shizuka before waking Hachiko from his sleep and bringing him back home.
Shouko used Tsuna's phone to call her friends.
Miu, Chika, and Miyoko said it was no problem and they would definitely be there on time.
But when it came to Shin-chan and the others, they all apologized, saying they were busy.
Shin-chan and Bo-chan's family went on a trip yesterday. Masao, who went to the same school as them, were busy— one with their sister—so they couldn't get away for the time being.
On the other hand, Nene couldn't be reached by phone and was considered a semi-missing person.
Kazama wouldn't be on home for a week.
"Okay, it's just a group photo. They're not free this time, so we can make it up next time they're free."
Tsuna caught the flash of disappointment in Shouko's eyes and, without hesitation, raised his hand to gently rub her head, offering a soothing reassurance.
"Yeah, yeah."
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"Knock, knock, knock..."
Shizuka, who was watching TV in the living room, heard the knock on the door. Without hesitation, she slapped Tsuna, who was standing beside her, and urged, "Tsuna, open the door."
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Tsuna reluctantly stood up and went to open the door.
"Click..."
As the door opened, Tsuna was the first to greet her, "Long time no see, Sister Musae."
"Tsuna?" Musae looked at the handsome boy in front of her, a little incredulous. She still remembered him clearly from six years ago...
That was fine, it was six years ago, and they hadn't seen each other in six years.
She was still a little surprised, though. Shin-chan hadn't changed much, after all. But it could also be because she'd been there every two or three weeks for a meal, so she'd gotten used to it.
Tsuna pulled a pair of disposable slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them on the floor in the entrance for her. Looking up, he noticed her expression and said, speechless,
"What with the look on your face?"
"Nothing, it's just been a while since we've seen each other, so I didn't recognize you," Musae quickly laughed it off, not wanting to be judged negatively.
She changed her shoes and followed him into the living room. After greeting the others, she sat down next to Shouko. She was a little surprised by Shouko's change, but with Tsuna there, she wasn't surprised again.
Not long after, the three people who had been notified at noon arrived at Tsuna's house. After waiting another ten minutes, Shizuka and Yaeko emerged, finished their makeup, and everyone gathered at the Miyamura residence's main entrance.
Musae, as Shizuka had requested, moved to the front so she could capture everyone and the equipment in the open space behind the house.
Soon, everyone had taken their seats. Compared to last time, there were a few fewer people and a dog, but the adults still stood in the back.
Tsuna and the others stood in front of the adults.
Shizuka and Tsuna were still the center of attention, with Shouko and Yuzuru on either side.
Shouko was flanked by Miu and Chika,
while Yuzuru was flanked by Hachiko and Miyoko.
"Shouko, you won't kiss me this time, will you?" Tsuna, having taken his place, suddenly remembered the last time and leaned close to her ear, whispering.
This was met with a merciless slap on the arm from Shouko.
Seeing her plan exposed, Shouko turned away, signaling her disapproval.
"I'll count down to three, and everyone yell 'Cheese!'" Musae raised his left hand, holding up three fingers, and shouted to the crowd.
"Three!"
"Two!" "One!" "Woof!"
"Cheese!" x10
As ten people shouted in unison, Musae snapped the shutter, and Hachiko's 'woof' brought a heartwarming end to their elementary school days.
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