Teacher Yoshinaga explained a few things, then asked the parents to leave.
After listening to Teacher Yoshinaga's words, Shizuka reached out and touched Tsuna's head, speaking with a little reluctance in her eyes:"Mom will go back now. You stay here and be obedient."
Shizuka paused halfway through her words before continuing,"Mom will pick you up on time, okay?"
This scene was playing out in the Sunflower Class. Parents were telling their children to go to class with peace of mind, not that they didn't want them anymore.
When Tsuna heard the second half of her sentence, he looked up and stared at Shizuka's face. He was a little speechless inside, but didn't show it on his face.
He said, "Your acting is too bad, Shizuka. But don't worry, Mom, I'll go to class here with peace of mind."
Shizuka saw that Tsuna had seen through her. Before she had time to be surprised, she heard Tsuna calling her name again. But she wasn't angry, because she had heard the second half of Tsuna's sentence.
Shizuka didn't say anything after that. Tsuna had always made her feel at ease since he was a child.
After gently patting Tsuna's head, Shizuka stood up from her chair and walked to the classroom door.
Tsuna sat at his desk, hands resting on the table, watching her.
He turned around and waved goodbye. She smiled back at him as she reached the door, then opened the wooden door and left the classroom.
Teacher Yoshinaga stood at the podium and watched the scene without much emotion—after all, it happened every year.
Crying began to sound in the classroom; first one child, then others joined in one after another.
Teacher Yoshinaga quickly went up to help comfort the children in front, then turned to help those in the back.
Tsuna sat in his seat, wondering if Shouko had started crying and making a fuss because of Aunt Nishimiya's departure. He was a little worried.
But before long, Tsuna couldn't bear the piercing noise anymore.
He stood up from his chair and walked to the child crying the hardest on the right side. It was a bit funny seeing him with tears and snot.
The nearby parents also noticed Tsuna approaching. They turned to check on his parents, only to realize they had already left. They were a little surprised by Tsuna's calmness, thinking he must have come to help comfort their child, and wanted to thank him.
Suddenly, they saw their child's snot about to drip into his mouth. They quickly took out tissues from their bag and then toilet paper to wipe away what had already dripped in.
After cleaning, they quickly pointed at Tsuna and said,"Kaito, look, this boy is so brave—he didn't cry at all!"
When the child paused and looked at Tsuna, the parents immediately said, "Isn't that right, Kaito? Do you want to be brave? Mommy will come to pick you up at noon."
The child cried loudly in between hiccups, "Yes! I... also want to... be brave."
After speaking, he raised his hand to wipe the tears and snot from his face, trying to show that he wasn't crying anymore.
Tsuna felt a little disgusted seeing that. He suddenly wanted to say something cheeky like, "Your mother doesn't want you anymore," but he took a deep breath and held it in.
Finally, after ten minutes or so, most of the children were comforted, and the parents left one after another with the help of Teacher Yoshinaga and Tsuna.
Tsuna also walked back to his seat in the middle row, toward the back.
Teacher Yoshinaga stood between the podium and the blackboard. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue and brushed her sweaty bangs to both sides.
After composing herself, she clapped her hands to attract the children's attention.
Teacher Yoshinaga looked at the twenty or so children sitting in their seats and said in a friendly tone:"Children, quiet down first. I wonder if you've noticed that there are small toys inside the hole under your desk?"
After she finished speaking, most of the children looked into the holes under their desks. A few already knew about them.
Tsuna also reached in and took out a fluffy kitten doll. He looked at it for a few seconds, then tossed it back. It was cute, but boring.
After a few seconds, Tsuna suddenly thought Shouko would like it, so he took it out again and carefully checked whether his rough handling had damaged or dirtied it.
Teacher Yoshinaga stood on the platform and watched the children take out toys in surprise or exchange them with their neighbors. It was a very interesting sight.
She paid special attention to Tsuna. When she saw that this little adult-like boy cherished the kitten doll and wouldn't even let the girl next to him touch it, she found him even more adorable.
Suddenly, a child on the far left began to cry loudly again. Teacher Yoshinaga hurried over to comfort her.
When she reached the crying child and comforted her softly, the girl said between sobs that she had wanted someone else's toy, but they refused to give it to her. That's why she cried.
Tsuna, still in his seat, felt very annoyed when he heard this.He realized he usually didn't respond to other kids crying—but this time, it got under his skin.
Teacher Yoshinaga remained calm beside the child—she was used to situations like this.
After resolving the issue, Teacher Yoshinaga walked back to the podium and asked everyone to stand up and introduce themselves. Afterward, she said she would tell a short story.
----
Time passed quickly, and soon it was noon. Teacher Yoshinaga told the children to stay in the classroom and wait for their parents.
Tsuna raised his left hand to catch Teacher Yoshinaga's attention. She noticed and asked curiously,"What's wrong, Tsuna?"
"Teacher Yoshinaga, I want to go to the Sakura Class and wait for my parents there, with my friends."
Teacher Yoshinaga thought of the cute little girl sitting next to Tsuna earlier. She immediately nodded and agreed with his request.
Tsuna didn't have anything to pack. Holding the kitten doll in his left hand, he stood up, walked to the classroom door, said goodbye to Teacher Yoshinaga, opened the wooden door, and left.
Teacher Yoshinaga walked to the door and watched as Tsuna headed toward the Sakura Class.
The children in the Sunflower Class had overheard the conversation, but none asked why Tsuna was allowed to leave early.
In their minds, Tsuna had already become the "boss" of the kids. Whatever the boss did, they didn't question it.
Tsuna walked to the door of the Sakura Class and raised his right hand to knock.
"Please come in." Soon, the voice of Teacher Ageo came from inside.
Tsuna, hand still resting on the doorknob, gently opened the wooden door. He saw Teacher Ageo looking at him from the podium. Bowing slightly, he said politely:
"Excuse me, Teacher Ageo. I'm here to look for Shouko."
Teacher Ageo saw that it was Tsuna, smiled, and waved her hand to show it was fine. She motioned for him to go ahead and find Shouko.
Tsuna hadn't looked at the students yet. After straightening up from his bow and looking in Shouko's direction, he realized the parents in the Sakura Class hadn't left yet.
The moment the door was knocked, the parents' attention turned to it. Their children waited until the door was opened before noticing the child standing there.