Tsuna didn't pay much attention to the parents' and children's gazes. He closed the wooden door of the classroom, hid the cat doll in his left hand behind him, and walked straight to the last row of seats.
Teacher Ageo stood on the podium and watched Tsuna walk down. She clapped her hands to attract everyone's attention.
While discussing the precautions she hadn't yet completed, Yaeko sat next to Shouko, smiled and nodded at Tsuna, and listened to Teacher Ageo on the podium as she talked about the rules for children with hearing impairments.
Tsuna greeted Yaeko and then looked at Shouko.
Shouko had not taken her eyes off Tsuna since he walked in. When Tsuna looked at her, she instinctively gave him half of her seat.
Tsuna didn't say anything polite to Shouko. He moved the cat doll behind him to a place where she couldn't see it, and then sat down.
As soon as he sat down—he hadn't even had time to take out the cat doll—Teacher Ageo clapped her hands, signaling that she had finished speaking. She then asked the parents and children to leave and return the next day.
"That's right!" Teacher Ageo's voice interrupted the parents just as they were about to stand. Confused, they all looked at her.
Teacher Ageo picked up a piece of chalk with her right hand, turned around, and wrote a string of numbers on the blackboard behind her, saying as she wrote:
"This is my contact information. Write it down, and you can call me if you have any questions."
The parents took out their mobile phones to record it, then held their children's hands and walked forward to greet Teacher Ageo before opening the wooden door and leaving.
Yaeko also finished recording at that time, put her phone in her bag, and reached out to take Tsuna and Shouko's hands to get up and leave.
Tsuna hurriedly gave Shouko the hidden kitten doll. Fearing she might not hear clearly and might struggle with pronunciation, he leaned close to her ear with her hearing aid and slowly said:
"Shouko, this is a gift the kindergarten prepared for me to give to you."
When Tsuna took out the doll, Shouko's eyes seemed to light up. She happily stretched out her hands to take the gray kitten doll and cherished it dearly.
Tsuna looked at her dotingly. Although Shouko didn't say anything, it was clear from her actions that she loved it.
Still holding the kitten doll, Shouko reached into the hole of the desk with her free right hand and pulled out a gray puppy doll.
Without hesitation, she stuffed it into Tsuna's arms.
This time, it was Tsuna who was surprised.
He realized he actually liked the furry little toy.
Yaeko sat in her chair and smiled softly at their interaction, choosing not to interrupt. It was a peaceful and heartwarming moment—until a sudden "click!" interrupted the scene.
Upon hearing the sound, Tsuna instantly realized the childish and big-hearted mother had arrived. He and Yaeko looked up in unison at the source of the sound.
As expected, it was Shizuka, covering her mouth with her left hand as she laughed quietly, while holding her phone in her right hand. In Japan, phones make a shutter sound when taking photos, and it cannot be turned off.
Shizuka saw them looking at her and quickly waved her left hand, signaling them to ignore her and continue. Then, her phone made a few more "click" sounds.
Shouko couldn't hear the phone, but she saw Tsuna and her mother both looking in the same direction.
She followed Tsuna's gaze and found that Aunt Miyamura was holding her phone and sneakily taking pictures. She suddenly felt shy, thinking that Aunt Miyamura had surely taken some ugly photos of her.
Tsuna felt a bit exasperated and asked, "Shizuka, when did you get here?"
This time, Shizuka didn't mind Tsuna calling her by name, thinking he was just embarrassed. She chuckled and answered, "When? Probably around the time you gave Shouko the kitten doll."
She paused, pulled a tissue from her pocket, and pretended to wipe her eyes as she continued dramatically:
"Tsuna, you're so mean. You gave such a cute cat doll to someone else."
Tsuna and Yaeko knew Shizuka's personality well and could tell she was acting.
But Shizuka slowed her speech to make it sound like she was crying, which allowed Shouko to catch the second half of her sentence.
Shouko suddenly felt that Aunt Miyamura must be genuinely sad. A little panicked, she quickly stood up from her seat, looked at the doll with reluctance, and walked over to Shizuka, gritting her teeth as she offered it to her. (N: Shouko is super cute)
She spoke softly and unclearly: "Ah… Aunt! This… is for… you. Don't… be sad."
Shouko didn't wait for Shizuka to take it, but instead watched her raise her left hand and gently stroke her head.
Shizuka patted Shouko's head and felt a little emotional. She put away her phone, squatted down, raised both hands, and began rubbing Shouko's cheeks.
She thought Shouko was far cuter and more fun than her child.
Shouko stood still, holding the kitten doll. She didn't dare resist and could only let Shizuka pinch and rub her cheeks.
Tsuna stood up and walked forward, wanting to interrupt his mother's weird behavior.
"Mom, that's enough. You're going to break Shouko's face."
Shizuka stopped and glared at her son. She came closer to check on Shouko's face and saw it was only a little red—no serious harm—so she leaned in and playfully bit Shouko on the cheek.
Shouko's cheeks, initially only slightly red, quickly turned a deeper shade, and steam seemed to rise from her head, startling Shizuka.
Yaeko stepped forward at that moment to ask them to stop playing around, reminding them that Teacher Ageo had been waiting on the podium to lock up.
Hearing that, Tsuna and Shizuka both looked back at the podium.
Teacher Ageo, noticing their glance, quickly waved her hand and told them not to mind her. She had been watching the heartwarming scene and found the two families quite entertaining.
Seeing that it was getting late, Shizuka stood up and took the hand of the confused Shouko, walked over to Teacher Ageo, said goodbye, and then waited by the door.
Yaeko also stepped forward, took Tsuna's hand, said something briefly to Teacher Ageo, and then left with Shizuka.
Once they walked out of the kindergarten gate, Shizuka took a deep breath, turned to Tsuna and Yaeko, and said:
"I'll drive the car over. Wait here for me." As she spoke, she intended for Tsuna to hold Shouko's little hand.
But when she saw that Tsuna's other hand was holding the puppy doll, she frowned, snatched the doll from him, gently placed Shouko's hand in his, and said:
"Let's trade." Then she raised the corners of her mouth, smiled sweetly, and shook the puppy doll at him.
Tsuna held Shouko's hand and watched his mother's absurd actions with exasperation.
Yaeko, still holding Tsuna's other hand, quietly observed the interaction and smiled. For once, she felt completely at peace.