Seeing the unconvinced look in Miu's eyes, Tsuna took off the watch on his wrist and handed it to her.
"Here's the watch. You can call the number on it and see for yourself." It was just a phone call anyway, so it would be good for her to remember it.
She didn't bother to be polite, took the watch he handed over, and called the number. The people nearby didn't really believe it, but they were still curious about what the person on the other end would say.
"Hello! Who is it?" As soon as the call connected, a rough voice came from the watch.
"Why is it a man? Didn't you pay a lot of money to have a child? Can boys also have children?" Miu started to overthink things.
"Bakayarō!" The other person cursed and immediately hung up.
"Pff..." Tsuna almost burst out laughing, but held it back with sheer willpower.
Unlike someone else, when she saw Miu lower her head, looking dejected, she hurried forward to comfort her. "Miu, it's okay. These are all lies."
Miu ignored what Shouko said, suddenly raised her head, and, abandoning her previous defeated look, exclaimed excitedly to everyone as if she had discovered some great secret:
"I know!! It turns out boys can give birth too! That's why a boy answered the phone!"
"...…"
Tsuna took the watch from Miu and said softly, "Let's go. Let's head back."
He had already seen that the child was hopelessly dumb, and it was time for her Mom to prepare to create a new account.
Then the group went back to their homes to look for their mothers.
In the evening, a middle-aged man with a full beard walked up to a telephone pole and tore down the ad about "having a child" without any hesitation, cursing:
"Baka! If I find out who wrote down my number, I'll make sure they have a place in Tokyo Bay!"
"Try it on, Shouko. I think you'll look great in it." Shizuka handed Shouko a yukata with white as the main color, orange as the secondary, and cherry blossom petals in dark orange.
"Isn't the fireworks festival tomorrow? Auntie, you bought it this early?"
Shouko, who was sitting on the tatami beside the coffee table in the living room, took the yukata and examined it.
Shizuka smiled and waved her hand. "Try it on first. I haven't seen you in a yukata for a long time."
"Let's go to Auntie's room to change. I'll help you tie your hair and everything." Before Shouko could say anything, Shizuka grabbed her and pulled her to the master bedroom.
The person left behind sat alone by the coffee table, peeling oranges.
After five or six minutes, Shizuka brought Shouko to the living room entrance and called out to Tsuna inside: "Look! Isn't she beautiful?"
Tsuna turned and looked at her, mentally searching for the right words to praise her.
Shouko really did look nice in that yukata. This time, she even tied her hair up. But he had known her since childhood—she was only in sixth grade, about eleven or twelve years old, and hadn't grown up yet.
He wasn't one of those lolicons, come on...
"It looks good, Mom. You've got a great eye for picking yukatas!" Tsuna gave his mother a thumbs-up.
Shizuka naturally accepted the compliment, smiling as she waved a hand.
"Of course. It took me more than thirty minutes to pick this one."
"Auntie, I'll go change back to my casual clothes now."
"Okay."
"This one's for you." After Shouko left, Shizuka walked into the living room and took out a gray men's yukata, handing it to Tsuna.
Tsuna took it and looked at her in confusion. "Why do I have one too?"
"I bought one for Shouko. How could I forget about you?"
"...Okay."
There were still a few hours left before the fireworks festival began. Tsuna sat at the coffee table, feeding Shouko orange slices. After confirming the headcount, he asked:
"Is Grandma Ito not going?" He had already guessed, but still asked out of courtesy.
"Mm..." Shouko swallowed the orange slice and continued to make something up. "Grandma said she wanted to go to bed early. With so many people there, it'd be inconvenient for her at her age."
Shizuka, who was chatting with Yaeko on the sofa, suddenly turned and said, "You two should get changed now. We'll leave soon after."
Shouko refused the feeding, stood up from the tatami, and nodded. "Okay, Auntie. Come help me put up my hair."
As for why she didn't ask her own mother, it was because her mother had to help Yuzuru get dressed, too.
Seeing this, Tsuna could only stuff the rest of the half-peeled orange into his mouth, say a word or two to Yaeko, and then go upstairs to the second floor to change into the gray yukata.
His mom had already bought it; if he didn't wear it, it would just be a waste of her thoughtfulness. Besides, he suspected she got it so she could take nice photos.
Why did he think that? Because his dad had brought back a camera last night, though unfortunately, he didn't know what brand it was.
"Are you stunned?" Tsuna asked teasingly when he saw Shouko come out of the master bedroom in her yukata, staring at him.
"No... I just haven't seen you in a yukata before." Shouko quickly looked away, replying shyly.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Tsuna was about to continue joking when his mother behind Shouko caught his attention. He asked in exasperation.
Shizuka, camera in hand, snapped several photos before waving him off. "It's nothing. Don't mind me. You two keep going."
All Shouko could say to Auntie was that she had truly passed on her good looks to Tsuna. The way Tsuna looked in a yukata could likely secure him an endorsement deal at a kimono or yukata shop.
(Daisuke: What about me!?)
At that moment, Yaeko walked out of the living room holding Yuzuru's hand. Seeing Tsuna, she couldn't help but joke:
"Hehe… Tsuna does look pretty handsome in that outfit. I wonder how many girls he'll charm when he grows up."
"It's not that serious, Auntie."
"Yes, yes, how could Tsuna possibly charm any girls in the future?"
Shouko chimed in quickly.
"..." Tsuna was speechless.
Before he could say anything else, Daisuke opened the front door and said in a gentle voice, "Let's go. We'll drive over there; it shouldn't be too crowded right now."
The others didn't say much more. Everyone went to the entryway to change their shoes and headed out. The three wearing yukatas had special wooden clogs.
The adults wore simple, casual clothes. Before leaving, they all greeted Nishimiya Ito, who was staying home.
As for Hachiko, he stayed behind at the Nishimiya house to keep Ito company.
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