"You've barely eaten anything, Tsuna, you're such a wimp…" Shouko drew out her words, her eyes full of mischievous amusement.
"..."
Tsuna suddenly felt a little speechless. His fingers, which had been pinching her soft cheek, "retaliated" with a gentle squeeze.
Seeing that she not only didn't cry out in pain but instead stuck out her tongue even more smugly and made a face, his competitive spirit was immediately ignited.
"You think I'm a wimp, huh?"
He snorted softly. The hand that had been pinching her cheek moved to both sides, applying a little more force to push inward, squeezing her plump little face into a round pufferfish!
"Waaah… Tsuna, you're bullying me!"
Tsuna turned a deaf ear to her whimpering protest, only finding her nasal, pleading appearance even more tempting to tease.
His other hand, also smiling, covered her tender, pinchable cheek. With a hint of mischief, he gently rubbed and pressed her delicate skin with his fingertips.
Sure enough, after only a couple of rubs, a red mark appeared where his fingertips had moved away.
Seeing that feigning pity was useless, Shouko immediately dropped her wronged expression, opened her mouth, and "chomped" down on Tsuna's fingers, which were still pinching her face!
Tsuna was quick-witted. Just before her pearly teeth closed, he sharply leaned back and pulled away, and his other hand, which had been pinching her face, quickly flicked her nose.
It made a soft "boing" sound.
The setting sun stretched their playful figures, and the evening breeze wove through them, chasing after their laughter.
"Want to go for a walk outside the school now?" Tsuna laughed, dodging Shouko's weak little fists, then stood up and looked back at her.
"Mhm, mhm." Shouko responded, reaching for the plastic bag hanging from the chair leg, pinching the edge, and lifting it up.
The plastic bag made a rustling sound. She naturally moved closer, walking half a step behind him and to his side.
Tsuna squinted his eyes, suddenly finding the setting sun a bit dazzling. He slowed his pace and very naturally took the bag from her hand.
——
The stream gurgled, reflecting the golden glow of the sunset. They walked leisurely along the bank, treading on the damp earth.
On the slope above, three or five children who hadn't yet returned home from school were chasing a rolling ball or each other, their small shouts piercing through a few swaying wild irises.
"Tsuna, where do you think we should go tomorrow?" Shouko's fingertips aimlessly plucked at the iris leaves sticking out of the grass.
She suddenly pulled out a complete one, not even looking at it, just pinching the base of the leaf with her thumb and forefinger, letting it sway limply and strike the air as her wrist lazily rotated.
"Whoosh…"
"Aren't you going out with your Ajitani and Takagi-chan tomorrow?"
"I changed my mind. I'll go out with them the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow will continue to be our two-person world!"
She flicked her wrist, using the long leaf to cut a short, clear "whoosh" sound through the air in front of them.
"Okay."
"Hey, Tsuna." She stopped her gestures, tilting her head to look at him. "Then tomorrow, shall we go check out the activities held in the classrooms of the teaching building?"
"Whoosh…"
"Aren't you afraid of the crowds there?"
"I'll just hide behind you then!" Shouko suddenly put her hands on her hips, a hint of pride in her voice.
"Did you hear something?" Tsuna suddenly raised his index finger to his lips, his gaze slowly sliding from Shouko's smiling face toward the distant bank.
"Huh? What sound?"
"Nothing… it's nothing."
Seeing him like this, Shouko suppressed her curiosity and waited for his explanation.
Tsuna pricked up his ears and listened for a while longer before turning his gaze back to Shouko's face. "It sounds like crying, right up on the slope."
Saying that, he raised his hand and pointed to a general area on the slope.
"Cry… crying?"
Shouko repeated softly, then immediately shivered violently, hugging Tsuna like a startled cat, clinging tightly to his waist.
"No, no… it wouldn't be that kind of thing, would it?!" She lowered her voice, which was a little distorted.
"..."
Tsuna felt the person in his arms squirming restlessly without stopping. For a moment, he couldn't tell if she was genuinely scared or just pretending.
He patted Shouko's back. "Come on, let's go up and see." Seeing that she was still huddled and unmoving, he pulled her away a bit and led her up the slope.
——
"Waaah waaah waaah…"
"Your parents don't want you anymore!"
As soon as they walked up the slope, they saw it not far away. Four or five children were running in circles around a crying child on the ground, taunting her and pointing as they ran.
Tsuna looked around. He was still hesitating when Shouko had already started running over.
"Sho—" She was so fast he couldn't even stop her.
"Hey!" She yelled at the little brats as she ran. "What are you doing?!"
The group of children glanced back at Shouko, intending to continue their mischief, but when they saw a man following behind her, they immediately chickened out.
The one in the lead turned and bolted, and the rest of them also scurried away, disappearing without a trace.
"Waaah waaah waaah…"
Shouko saw that the child was still crying nonstop, so she knelt down and started comforting her.
Tsuna, standing to the side, looked at the little girl's clothes and muttered to himself, "These clothes, why do they look a little familiar?"
"Little one, where are your mommy and daddy?"
Shouko had just wiped the snot and tears from her face, and at this question, her eyes instantly welled up with tears again.
"Oh, oh, oh…" Shouko, not understanding the situation, could only continue to pull out tissues.
Watching Shouko still fumbling to comfort the child, Tsuna also knelt down and asked the little girl in a softened voice:
"Little one, are you in the senior class at Futaba Kindergarten?" As soon as he finished speaking, Shouko and the little girl with two pigtails looked at Tsuna simultaneously.
Unlike the confusion in Shouko's eyes, the little girl's eyes lit up the moment she saw Tsuna.
The tears that were about to fall were forcefully held back, making her look somewhat comical.
"Mhm…" The little girl nodded, sniffling, and raised her teary eyes, asking a little shyly in a low voice, "Then… then how did Big Brother know?"
"Because this older sister and I also came from Futaba Kindergarten." Tsuna took the tissue from Shouko's hand and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Is your current teacher Teacher Yoshinaga?"
Seeing that the little girl had no hearing problems, he made a guess.
The little girl shook her head, her eyes red. "It's Teacher Ishizaka."
"Teacher Ishizaka?" Shouko was confused. A new teacher at Futaba Kindergarten?
Tsuna gently nudged Shouko, answering her confusion.
"Shouko, have you forgotten? Teacher Yoshinaga got married, and then she changed her name to Midori Ishizaka, didn't she?"
The little girl, who was softly sobbing opposite them, heard this and couldn't help but believe Tsuna's words a little more.