Thinking too much is useless; let future me worry about the future. Anyway, it's just recognizing faces—not a big deal.
Click...
Tsuna closed the door, turned around, and quickly walked to his desk to sit down, waiting for the laptop screen to light up.
He wanted to take advantage of not feeling sleepy yet and continue writing Your Lie in April, a light novel he had been working on for almost half a year without finishing.
Adapting the manga from his memory into a light novel was still difficult, but it was almost done. He was now nearing the time when Miyazono Kaori would pass away after a failed surgery.
Ding dong...
Just as he was thinking about the subsequent plot, the phone beside him lit up, interrupting his thoughts.
He didn't need to think to know that the person who could message him at this hour was Shouko from the room next door.
"Tsuna, Tsuna, are you asleep?"
"Already asleep."
"I can't sleep. Can I come over to play?"
Tsuna glanced at the time on his phone and immediately refused Shouko's request.
"Do you want to see what time it is?"
"Almost 11 o'clock. What's wrong? (Rabbit tilting head in confusion expression.jpg)"
"..."
As soon as the two ellipses representing speechlessness were sent, Shouko on the other side replied instantly.
"Then I won't come over. How about a voice call? (Smile.jpg)"
While Tsuna was still typing, the chat page instantly switched to a voice call page. He could only helplessly click to answer.
So Shouko's sentence wasn't asking for his consent?
"Tsuna, I can't sleep. Do you think it's because of that cup of coffee tonight?"
"Possibly." He placed his phone next to his laptop and continued staring at the screen, thinking about the plot.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have been curious enough to sneak a drink."
As soon as she finished speaking, she pressed further: "Tsuna, are you still writing? How come I hear keyboard sounds?"
"Yeah, Your Lie in April will be finished in just the last one or two volumes."
"Oh, oh."
After a while, there was no sound from Shouko on the phone. Just as Tsuna thought she had fallen asleep and was about to hang up, her muffled voice came through:
"Tsuna, after Miyazono Kaori dies, will Arima Kousei and Sawabe Tsubaki end up together?"
She had heard Tsuna tell this story before, so she knew a few details, such as Sawabe Tsubaki's unrequited love.
"That's the space left for the readers' imagination. As for this question, I haven't even thought about it myself."
Tsuna stopped what he was doing and, following Shouko's words, recalled memories from his previous life. It seemed that the author in his previous life hadn't answered this question either, although some readers had asked.
"Oh..." Shouko's nasal sound came through.
The two chatted intermittently like this, mostly initiated by Shouko, until Tsuna heard her light snoring through the phone. Only then did he stop what he was doing.
"Goodnight, Shouko."
He didn't hang up the phone. Instead, he closed the computer, got up, took his phone, walked to the side of the bed, and sat down. After plugging in the charger, he crawled into bed and closed his eyes.
Sleepiness crept in, accompanied by Shouko's light snoring.
---
"Today's big goal! Deep cleaning!"
"Okay!!"
"Okay..."
"Tsuna, did you stay up late yesterday? Can you be more energetic?"
"Exactly!" Shouko, who was beside Shizuka, held a broom and nodded in agreement.
"Where's Dad?" Tsuna awkwardly changed the subject. As for why Shouko was fully armed for the family deep cleaning, he didn't want to ask anymore.
After all, every year, she would come over to help for free, and sooner or later, she would join this family...
"Something came up suddenly. He went to the office and will be back later."
"..."
Tsuna guessed that this Old Man most likely didn't want to deep clean and had run off to fish with his buddies. He had just seen him sneaking out with his gear when he went downstairs.
"Shouko, I'll trouble you with the storage room."
"Mhm!"
"Alright, let's get moving. We'll finish cleaning this morning, then go buy New Year's goods in the afternoon."
As she finished speaking, Shizuka lightly pushed Tsuna, who was standing still, then turned around to tidy up the master bedroom.
Shouko didn't say much either. She handed him the broom, turned around, and walked towards the storage room.
She had also wondered why Miyamura Auntie asked her to clean the storage room.
It was simply because it was the easiest job. Things in the storage room were usually covered with plastic film to prevent dust, so she just needed to wipe the shelves and replace the plastic covers.
As for sweeping and mopping, Hachiko would do it.
Hachiko was a robotic vacuum and mop machine given to Uncle Miyamura by his business partner two months ago. Uncle Miyamura was afraid Auntie would get tired, so he accepted it and brought it back for her.
Its name was given by Yuzuru, after Hachiko.
Seeing that everyone had left, Tsuna also took his cleaning tools back to his room.
His room, the second-floor hallway, and the stairs needed sweeping and mopping...
Before the morning mist had dissipated, frost flowers climbed the edges of the shrine stone lanterns, forming ice crystals. Crows swept past the tips of withered cedar branches, shaking off powdery snow.
The vermilion torii gate was bathed in the bluish-gray sky light. Scattered clog prints of early worshippers marked the stone steps leading up to the shrine. The scent of cypress bark incense mixed with the sweetness of amazake drifted from the offering hall.
The moment the sun climbed over the Karahafu roof eaves, the white paper streamers of the Shimenawa suddenly glowed with golden edges, and the accumulated snow on the Kadomatsu bamboo leaves began to fall in strings.
"Let's go, we're going to Shouko's house for dinner." Shizuka stood up and lightly patted Tsuna's head as he lay sprawled on the sofa.
Because of the deep cleaning, she had shamelessly troubled Granny Nishimiya to prepare a little extra food for her and Tsuna for lunch.
"Mhm." Hearing this, he got up from the sofa and followed Shizuka out of the living room.
Shouko had left after finishing cleaning the storage room. She went home to help Granny Nishimiya prepare lunch.
Dong... dong... dong...
Dong... dong...
"Yuzuru, it should be Tsuna and them. Hurry and open the door!"
Yuzuru, who was resting her head on Hachiko in the living room, heard the knocking sound and Grandma's urging voice from the kitchen.
But she was still playing a match-three game, and the countdown was about to end. She didn't want to be distracted...
So she made a decision against her ancestors' wishes and patted Hachiko, who she was using as a pillow:
"Hachiko, could you please open the door? I'll secretly give you extra food for lunch."
"Woof..."
Hachiko reluctantly stood up, walked out of the living room, and headed toward the door.
Click...
"Hachiko?"
Shizuka saw the door open. When she pushed it open, she saw only Hachiko standing in the entrance hall and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Mom, stop looking. Hachiko opened the door."
"Woof!" Hachiko seemed to understand Tsuna's words and nodded in agreement.
"..."
Seeing this, Shizuka didn't ask any more questions. She knew her Hachiko was smart, but she didn't expect it to have this skill...
After all, normal people either come out and open the door themselves or ask someone else. Who would ask a dog to open the door? Whether it could understand was another matter...
"Auntie, please sit in the living room for a while. The food will be ready soon." At this moment, Shouko came out of the dining room wearing an apron and reminded them.
"Okay." Shizuka nodded. After changing her shoes in the entrance hall, she still walked toward the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help with.
Tsuna, who was beside them, didn't think too much. After changing his shoes, he naturally walked into the living room with Hachiko.
"Onii-san, I can't beat this level. Help me play."
"Is that why you asked Hachiko to open the door?" he asked, but his hand still took Shouko's phone that she handed him.
"Just tell me if Hachiko successfully opened the door. Besides, this is all thanks to my good teaching." Yuzuru stood up with her hands on her hips.
It was the pure confidence of a black-haired little girl.
"Woof..." Hachiko ignored the two of them, walked to Yuzuru's feet, and continued to lie down and rest.
"Impressive, impressive." Tsuna casually said something perfunctory, then sat down to help her play the level she was stuck on.
Yuzuru naturally leaned close to him to watch, clapping and praising him when he continuously cleared a large number of blocks.
"Come out and wash your hands for dinner, Tsuna, Yuzuru!"
"Okay!"
"Let's go." Tsuna returned the phone in his hand to her, then stood up and left the living room, walking toward the source of the sound.
---
"Let me think, later we need to buy Kadomatsu, Shimenawa, Kagami Mochi, and ingredients for New Year's Eve Soba."
Shizuka looked at the road and vehicles ahead, listing the things they needed to buy one by one.
The three people in the back seat listened silently, without making a sound to disturb her.
Shizuka drove the car into the parking lot of a large shopping mall, unbuckled her seatbelt, and turned back to look at the three of them, saying:
"I'll leave the Kadomatsu and Shimenawa to the two of you to buy. As for the rest, Yuzuru and I will just buy them."
Her original intention was still to let the two of them walk around more.
"Mhm."
"Okay."
"I object!"
"Objection overruled."
After the four got out of the car, Shizuka pulled the resisting Yuzuru away. After walking a short distance, she leaned close to Yuzuru's ear and said something unknown.
The originally fiercely resisting Yuzuru instantly quieted down and obediently let Shizuka hold her hand and walk toward the mall.
This made Tsuna, who was standing still and watching their backs, feel very curious.
"Tsuna, let's go too."
"Mhm." He held Shouko's extended hand tightly and took a step toward their destination.
On the street covered in silver, the eight-story glass curtain wall building transformed into a dazzling crystal palace. Giant Christmas pendulums hanging on the outer wall swayed with the cold wind, reflecting star-like light spots.
Housewives clutched their shopping bags and weaved through the sale section, while couples holding hot cocoa snuggled in front of the display windows.
Students in uniforms squeezed in front of the gacha machines, letting out bursts of cheers. Office workers in suits and ties hurried through the elevator lobby, carrying gift boxes tied with ribbons.
An old woman in a mink coat stopped beside the revolving door. Her pearl earrings swayed as if resonating with the Swarovski swans in the display window.
Her shadow was cast onto the third-floor Gucci display window, overlapping with a pair of high school sweethearts.
"It's so lively."
Shouko looked at the bustling mall, stopped, and began searching for the store where she needed to buy goods.
"After all, Christmas just passed, and the New Year is also coming soon." Tsuna's gaze swept over the Christmas decorations that hadn't been taken down yet.
"Auntie asked us to buy Kadomatsu and Shimenawa. That store should sell them."
She raised her finger and pointed to a store on the left with tourists going in and out. After he looked in the direction she pointed, she continued with a smile: "Let's go, Tsuna."
Tsuna held her back: "Don't be in a hurry. Let's walk around first and see if there's anything fun. It won't be too late to buy later."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
The two then started browsing the mall. Along the way, Shouko also saw Shizuka and Yuzuru browsing in the distance. After confirming that she hadn't noticed them, she pulled Tsuna and walked toward another path.
"Tsuna, I want to relive this."
"Isn't that bad? There are so many people."
Tsuna glanced at the bustling aisle before putting his attention back on the pink rocking car Shouko pointed to.
"Then let's go!" Shouko pulled the bewildered Tsuna and quickly left.
She originally wanted to just insert coins and ride it, but her peripheral vision caught sight of two classmates in the distance...
If they were seen and even had photos taken, it would be social death. It might not matter much in front of strangers, as they might never be seen again after one encounter, but this was different...
Ring... ring... ring...
Tsuna stopped and took out his phone from his pocket. Shouko, who was beside him, looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Seeing it was his Mom, he didn't hesitate to answer. "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Your date is almost over, it's time to buy things and go back. Yuzuru and I are just missing one thing."
Shizuka's teasing voice came from the phone. Tsuna casually said a few perfunctory words and hung up.
After explaining to Shouko, he held her hand and walked toward the earlier store.
Kadomatsu are made of bamboo and pine branches and are placed at the entrance to welcome the New Year deity.
Shimenawa, on the other hand, are hung above the lintel, symbolizing a sacred area.
"Sister, you're so slow. It takes so long to buy just two things..."
When the two returned to where the car was parked, they heard the complaint from the black-haired little loli in the back seat, whose window was rolled down.
"No choice, these two things are harder to find."
Tsuna lied without batting an eye, put the things in his hand into the trunk, brushed off the snowflakes that had fallen on him, and got into the car.
"Mom, this direction doesn't seem like the way home, does it?" Tsuna looked at the scenery moving backward outside the window and asked in confusion.
Compared to the road in his memory, this was completely the opposite direction.
"Yes, we're going to eat. Your Dad booked a table, and your Aunt and Granny Nishimiya have already arrived." Shizuka nodded, her eyes still focused on the road and vehicles ahead.
"Really? Mom is off work already?" Yuzuru's gaze shifted from the phone in her hand to Shizuka in front, asking excitedly.
"Yeah." Shizuka nodded with a slight upward curve of her lips.
The four quickly arrived at the restaurant Daisuke had reserved. After giving the reservation information and the last digits to the waiter, they were led to a private room.
Shizuka pushed open the door, nodded to the two inside, then walked over and sat beside Nishimiya Yaeko, chatting with her about recent gossip.
As Yuzuru saw that Hachiko wasn't there, she could only walk over and sit beside Granny Nishimiya. She was smart enough not to disturb the other two.
Before long, Daisuke and one of his fishing buddies also entered the private room. He briefly introduced the people inside to his friend, with a 'special' introduction for Tsuna.
---
"Tsuna, tomorrow is Omisoka (December 31st). Where should we go to have fun?"
Shouko lay on someone's bed, replying to messages from Ajitani while asking Tsuna, who was sitting in front of the computer, where they should go. Her bare feet were still swinging back and forth.