"Tsuna… what do we do now? Take her to the police station?" Shouko leaned in and whispered.
The little girl had nearly cried when asked about her parents, which made Shouko uneasy. The worst possibility was that the child's parents might no longer be alive.
"Little one, your dad…"
Shouko tried to raise her hand to stop him, but it was already too late.
"Where are your mom and dad? Where do you live?"
The little girl stopped crying loudly at his words, though she was still sobbing. She sniffled, trying to steady her voice, and spoke in a small, tearful tone.
"Mom and Dad… are at work… Home… is at home…" As she spoke, she slowly moved closer into Tsuna's embrace.
"Eh…?" Shouko looked at her, even more confused now.
Seeing that the little girl wasn't dirty anywhere, and that her cute face had already been wiped clean by Shouko, Tsuna allowed her to burrow into his arms.
"Eh!!!?"
"Let's go. We'll take her to the nearby police station. She should live around here."
As he spoke, Tsuna decisively picked her up, and the little girl naturally wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Eh!???"
"…" Tsuna looked at Shouko, who kept saying "eh," and felt a little speechless.
Shouko tugged on his sleeve and shook it. "Tsuna, I think she can walk on her own."
"This way we can walk faster, and she's not heavy."
Seeing that her words had no effect, Shouko snorted lightly and said nothing more. Instead, she began asking the little girl questions.
"Little one, why are you here? I remember Futaba Kindergarten has a special car service for pick-up and drop-off, right?"
The little girl shook her head with reddened eyes, not saying a word.
Seeing this, Shouko didn't press further and instead asked, "Are you hungry?"
As she spoke, she reached into her bag, wanting to take out a snack to coax her.
The setting sun bathed the path in warm light, and a gentle breeze brushed softly against their faces. Tsuna walked ahead holding the little girl, with Shouko by his side.
Behind them, a long shadow stretched out, formed by the overlapping silhouettes of the three of them. From a distance, they truly looked like a family, a father holding his child, with the mother accompanying them as they strolled home.
"Look how much she resembles you when you were little. You would cry until you were exhausted and then fall asleep," Tsuna said softly with a smile, glancing at the quiet girl in his arms.
"Wh-where does she look like me!?"
Shouko punched him lightly in the waist, deliberately softening her movements so as not to wake the child.
"Doesn't she?"
"No, no, no." Shouko shook her head like a rattle drum. "When I was little, with you around, how could I have cried like that?"
"…"
"When we were little, Aunt Yaeko locked you at home and wouldn't let you come find me. The next day when we met, your eyes were swollen like lightbulbs, remember?"
"That's impossible. Absolutely impossible! I won't believe it unless you have a photo."
As she grew older, her kindergarten memories became blurrier, and Shouko would never admit to something so embarrassing.
"A photo? Are you sure?" Tsuna glanced at her with a half-smile.
"Yabai…" Seeing his expression, Shouko suddenly thought of someone.
Her mom. Although she had toned it down in recent years, when Shouko was little, she had grown up not only with Tsuna but also with the sound of her mom's camera shutter.
"When we get home later, I'll ask Mom for her secret album and we'll know if it's true."
Tsuna's gentle voice interrupted her thoughts. Though calm, it carried an unmistakable hint of mischief.
"Go ahead and look." Shouko pursed her lips and retorted stubbornly, though guilt flickered in her eyes. "Mom's album has plenty of embarrassing photos of you too."
They chatted about kindergarten memories until they arrived at the police station. By then, the sun had fully set, streetlights were lighting up one by one, and the moon had risen in the night sky.
————
"Sumimasen." Shouko entered the police station first and approached the auxiliary police officer at the front desk. "We found a little girl by the stream…"
At that moment, Tsuna walked in behind her, still holding the dozing little girl.
Seeing Shouko explaining the situation, he remained silent, simply observing the police station.
After understanding the situation, the auxiliary police officer stepped out from behind the sturdy counter. Seeing the sleeping child in Tsuna's arms, he hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to take her.
Tsuna didn't think much of it and gently handed the little girl over.
But just as the officer reached out, the child suddenly startled awake.
Her eyes opened hazily, and the moment she saw the unfamiliar officer, her small mouth puckered, ready to cry.
The next second, however, she recognized Tsuna's familiar face and forcibly held back her tears. Her small body stiffened as she struggled to endure it.
But when she noticed Tsuna clearly trying to hand her over, the last thread snapped.
"Wah—!"
The little girl's wailing instantly filled the police station. Shouko subconsciously covered her ears.
The auxiliary police officer froze with his hand still mid-air. Seeing that he didn't dare take her, Tsuna could only pull the crying child back into his arms, gently patting her back and coaxing her softly.
"…"
When she finally quieted down, her small hands clutched tightly at Tsuna's clothes, as if afraid he would give her away again.
Seeing this, the auxiliary police officer could only shrug helplessly.
Beside him, Shouko's cheeks puffed out as she glared angrily at the little girl. She had never received this kind of treatment when she was little.
"Boing!"
Tsuna raised his hand and flicked Shouko's forehead lightly. "What are you thinking?" he whispered.
"Ow!" Shouko yelped, shrinking her neck and quickly putting away her sulky expression.
"Can you contact her parents quickly?" Tsuna asked, looking at the auxiliary police officer, urgency creeping into his tone.
The officer nodded with a confident smile.
He skillfully pulled a lollipop from his pocket and dangled it in front of the little girl's eyes. His movements were practiced, clearly muscle memory. This trick always worked.
Putting on a warm smile, he asked in a coaxing voice, "Little one, tell…"
Before he could finish, the little girl didn't even lift her eyelids. She buried her face deeper into Tsuna's neck, curling in tighter like a startled quail.
The air fell silent.
The lollipop froze mid-air, and the smile on the auxiliary police officer's face slowly cracked.
Tsuna, Shouko, and even the little girl in his arms were quiet for a moment.
"How about taking a photo and asking Teacher Yoshinaga?" Shouko suddenly raised her hand like she was in class.
Compared to Teacher Ishizaka, she still preferred Teacher Yoshinaga.
"Hm? You know her teacher?" The auxiliary police officer was clearly surprised.
"Mhm." Shouko nodded and pointed to the Futaba Kindergarten badge on the little girl's collar. "We recognized it from her uniform. Tsuna figured it out on the way."
Her eyes sparkled. "That's right. We know her teacher."