Shoko suddenly looked up, her expression unusually serious, and declared, "How about calling him Yami?"
"Awoo~" The puppy let out a soft whine, its tone sounding oddly like a protest. Its tail, which had been wagging enthusiastically just moments before, slowed to a lazy sway.
Daisuke didn't think the name was all that great, but he didn't want to hurt the child's confidence. So, he spoke gently, choosing his words with care:
"Shoko, you can take your time thinking of a name. There's no rush, talk it over with Tsuna and decide together."
Shizuka looked at Shoko in astonishment—she hadn't expected her sweet, gentle Shoko to come up with that name after thinking for so long. But she quickly recovered her expression and joined in with a smile.
"That's right," she said warmly. "When your uncle was thinking of Tsuna's name, he started from the moment I got pregnant. He kept thinking about it until the baby was born."
Tsuna thought Shoko looked especially adorable when she said the name. He was just about to say something when Shizuka suddenly stood up from the tatami and brushed off her skirt, cutting him off mid-thought.
Everyone looked up at her.
Shizuka waved her hand casually and chuckled, "Don't mind me. You two keep thinking about the name. I'm going to make lunch. It's already noon. Aren't you hungry?"
With that, she turned and walked off toward the corridor.
After Shizuka left, Daisuke got up, scooped the puppy into his arms, and walked over to the sofa. He sat down, turned on the TV, and started playing with the little dog, completely absorbed.
That left only Tsuna and Shoko sitting together on the tatami, continuing their discussion about the puppy's name.
Just then, Shizuka's head suddenly popped back into the living room from the corridor. She stared straight at Daisuke and called out, "Honey, have you eaten lunch?"
Daisuke shifted his gaze from the comedy show on the TV to Shizuka standing at the entrance of the living room. He shook his head and replied, "Don't make anything for me. My lunch box is on the dining table, just heat it for me."
Shizuka nodded and turned to head toward the dining room.
Knock, knock, knock...!
A sudden knock came from the front door. Tsuna stood up from the tatami and walked over to answer it.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yaeko standing outside. Tsuna greeted her politely, "Good afternoon, Aunt Yaeko."
Yaeko reached out and gently patted Tsuna's head, smiling. "Tsuna, have you had lunch yet? Or would you rather come to eat at Auntie's house?"
Tsuna quickly shook his head and replied, "No, thank you." Knowing that Yaeko had probably come to pick up Shouko, he invited her to wait at the entrance and went to call Shouko.
Shouko told Tsuna that she would come back to play with him after her nap, then followed Yaeko home. Meanwhile, Shizuka finished preparing lunch, not just for the family, but for the puppy as well.
After lunch, Daisuke suddenly had some urgent work to handle, so he returned to the office. Shizuka placed the puppy in its dog house and laid a pee pad across one-third of the floor. With nothing else to do, she and Tsuna went back to their respective rooms to take a nap.
In the afternoon, Shouko and Yaeko arrived at the Miyamura house, with Yaeko carrying Yuzuru in her arms. Upon seeing the puppy that Shouko had been excitedly talking about during lunch, Yaeko found it surprisingly well-behaved, but even so, she was still too cautious to bring Yuzuru too close.
The whole afternoon was spent chatting with Shizuka and Yaeko. Shouko held the puppy, stroked its head, and thought about its name, while Tsuna teased Yuzuru. In the end, they decided to name the puppy Hachiko.
Daisuke opened the door with the key from outside the house. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw everyone dressed neatly in the corridor. Curiously, he asked Shizuka, "Are you ready to leave?"
Shizuka nodded and replied, "Did you forget? Didn't I tell you last night that Tsuna and Shouko start school tomorrow, and we're going out for dinner together this evening?"
After Shizuka reminded him, Daisuke realized he had been too sleepy last night while Shizuka kept chatting with him, so he only nodded perfunctorily. Snapping back to attention, he hurriedly nodded again and said he remembered.
Looking around, Daisuke noticed someone was missing. "Is Ms. Nishimiya not coming?"
Standing at the entrance, changing her shoes, Yaeko replied softly, "She said the old lady wouldn't join in the fun and has already prepared her dinner."
Daisuke nodded, then turned and walked to the garage to drive his car, and asked Shizuka to share her location with him.
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The next morning time: 8:30.
"Tsuna! It's time to get up and go to kindergarten." Shouko stood on Tsuna's bed and gently rocked Tsuna who was sleeping soundly, calling him in a babyish voice.
But it didn't work at all. Tsuna turned over comfortably. Later, Shizuka came up from the first floor and asked Shouko to go down first and wait.
After Shouko left, Shizuka immediately changed her face, directly lifted the quilt covering Tsuna, raised her left hand, controlled her strength, and slapped him on the butt.
Tsuna opened his eyes groggily and looked up at the woman in front of him. Shizuka gently raised her hands and rubbed his chubby cheeks while murmuring.
Tsuna lightly pushed her hands away and rubbed his eyes. Shizuka called out, urging him to come downstairs quickly for breakfast, then walked away.
Tsuna got out of bed, changed into his kindergarten uniform, the one he hadn't worn for a month, grabbed the yellow hat from the bedside table, and headed out the door.
——————
Shizuka parked the car in the kindergarten parking lot. Tsuna held Shouko's hand as they stepped out through the left door. Each of them carried a lunchbox and a water cup in their other hand.
Tsuna stayed close to Shizuka as they walked forward. Teacher Ageo, waiting by the kindergarten gate for her students, immediately noticed the two adorable children.
As Shizuka and Tsuna approached, Teacher Ageo greeted them warmly and asked with curiosity, "Did Tsuna and Shouko have a good winter vacation?"
Shouko looked up happily and said to Teacher Ageo, "Happy." Tsuna said perfunctorily, "Because school is about to start, I am not happy."
But Teacher Ageo understood what Tsuna meant, school was about to start, and she had to go back to work, so she wasn't exactly happy either.
Shizuka chuckled softly, patted Tsuna's head, then let the two head to the Sakura class on their own and left first. After saying goodbye to Shizuka, Tsuna took Shouko inside the kindergarten.
Once inside the Sakura class, Tsuna sat down in the middle, carefully placing his lunchbox and gently setting Shouko's water cup into the table's cup holder..
At this time, other little girls and boys gathered around and talked to them about the interesting things that happened during the winter vacation. Shouko also told them that she and Tsuna adopted the cute and well-behaved Hachiko during the winter vacation. They were envious.
After more than ten children had arrived, Teacher Ageo walked into the Sakura class, closed the wooden door behind her, and stepped up to the podium. She raised her voice to address the class:
"Children! Look at the teacher here. I will give a gift and a small red flower to whoever sits the most upright and behaves the best."
The once noisy classroom instantly quieted down. While the children might not care much about the gift, the small red flower from Teacher Ageo was something special. Sometimes, children would proudly stick the red flower on their clothes, and when they left the kindergarten, they could feel the envious eyes of their classmates.
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I have an announcement for everyone: I'd like to propose a trade~~1 Review = 2 ChaptersSince I have some free time right now, this offer will stand until I publish another chapter.