Shizuka and Daisuke walked out of the washroom, looking at the couple who had been eating breakfast for over thirty minutes.
"You two have been eating for long enough. How long has this breakfast been going on?"
Finally, Shizuka couldn't stand it anymore. She waved her hand to chase them away, telling the two to go play somewhere else, as she still wanted some alone time with her husband.
With these two here, they were mainly an eyesore, and there were some intimate actions they couldn't do in front of them. Being an old couple, they were still afraid of embarrassment.
Tsuna and Shouko could only reluctantly move their location, and were again chased out by Yu in the living room. So, they could only return to the second-floor bedroom.
Back in the bedroom, one was inspired to write, while the other continued chatting with friends on her phone.
Not long after, they heard Shizuka calling from the first floor:
"Tsuna, Shouko! Get ready to go to the Shrine to pray!"
"Okay!"
Tsuna responded, turned back to repeat it to Shouko, who was lying on the bed and hadn't heard clearly, and then went downstairs with her to wait for Shizuka, who was changing in the master bedroom.
Daisuke went next door to call Yaeko and the other two.
Two cars and eight people. It took over thirty minutes to reach the famous local Shrine due to traffic jams. As soon as Tsuna got out of the car, he saw the sea of people.
He couldn't help but compare it to the Shrine on the mountainside and found it couldn't compare at all. The fact that that Shrine chose to rest on such an easy money-making day was something other Shrines couldn't match.
For a moment, he suddenly felt like staying in the car and letting them go, but it was just a thought.
"Tsuna, you must hold my hand tightly, or you won't be able to find me if you get lost," Shouko said, holding his hand tightly, threateningly.
"..."
He was a little speechless. He had told Shouko this set of words several times when they were in kindergarten and elementary school. It could only be said that the roles were reversed...
However, his hand still firmly held hers, following closely behind Daisuke, with Shizuka and Nishimiya Yaeko chatting and complaining behind him.
As time passed, it was their turn to pray. After praying, the group walked towards the next destination.
"How much longer until it's over..."
Yuzuru, who had been disliked and chased by Shizuka to stay with Tsuna, couldn't help but complain softly just after finishing the prayer.
"Hmm..." Tsuna recalled the process from previous years. "Next, there should only be buying the ema, where you can write New Year's wishes, and the consecrated omamori, and then drawing a fortune slip. That should be it."
"..." Yuzuru didn't want to say anything after hearing that and was silently led away by Shouko.
The first two things were quickly finished. When it came to the last one, drawing a fortune slip, both Tsuna and Shouko got 'Great Luck', while the others all got 'Luck'.
Looking at the slips in everyone's hands, he knew without thinking that there were definitely no slips other than Great Luck and Luck in that box.
After all, it was the New Year, and no one wanted to draw a bad fortune slip.
After everything was done and there were no omissions, it was already noon. The two families simply found a restaurant to have lunch, and dinner was the same as yesterday.
It was more lively when everyone ate together. Daisuke was an only child and didn't have any relatives visiting, and Shizuka's relatives were too far away to come.
Moreover, at this time, the hot spring ryokan was also extremely busy.
As for visiting guests, most of them would come from the 2nd to the 3rd, unless the relationship was relatively good, like the one before.
Dusk was like ink, silently spreading across the sky.
"Tsuna... is Miyamura Grandma going back tomorrow?" Shouko curled up in someone's quilt, only her head showing, asking doubtfully.
"Yes."
Tsuna stopped what he was doing when he heard that. He heard the reluctance in Shouko's words and comforted her:
"We can go to Grandma's house to play later. It only takes about ten minutes by subway."
Hearing him say that, her emotions that had just been brewing disappeared. This was indeed a fact; it only took about ten minutes by subway...
"By the way, Tsuna, if you're staying at home tomorrow and the day after, shall I go out with Takagi-chan and the others?"
"Yes, be careful."
After he spoke, the only sounds left in the room were the typing sounds of the keyboard and phone, and Shouko's occasional laughter when she saw funny videos.
If she saw something particularly interesting, she would even crawl out of the quilt and jump in front of someone to share it with him.
The scent of pine branches leaking from the window seam on the first night had transformed into the stench of rotten water on the fifth night.
"So tired, it seems I still underestimated the ability of girls to shop."
As soon as someone came out of the bathroom after drying his hair, he couldn't help but collapse onto the soft bed.
He was able to persist like this because he often went for morning runs, while Nishikata couldn't continue halfway today.
He thought it would just be visiting an aquarium, and that would be it, but he didn't expect them to visit all the famous scenic spots nearby.
They really left at over eight in the morning and, except for breaks for meals, they kept sightseeing until past eight in the evening before returning home.
He picked up his phone from the bedside table, entered the password to unlock it, clicked on 'LINE', and opened the chat box of the person at the top.
"I'm going to sleep now, good night."
Not long after, this message showed as read.
"(Rabbit nodding.jpg)"
"Tsuna, I'll come wake you up tomorrow, good night."
The notification sound of the two messages woke up someone who had already closed his eyes. He quickly glanced at them, replied with a 'Okay', and set his phone to silent mode.
This time, he fell asleep directly without counting sheep.
——————————
"Ring... ring...!"
"Ring... ring... ring...!"
"Slap!"
A hand skillfully slapped the alarm clock. Someone lying on the bed opened his eyes, sat up, but his eyes closed involuntarily again.
"Get up, Tsuna! Get up, Tsuna!"
It wasn't until the custom ringtone alarm on his phone rang that he opened his eyes again. Listening to Shouko's sweet voice coming from his phone, a hint of impatience flashed in his mind.
However, he quickly shook it off, reached out to turn off the alarm on his phone, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and stood up to change clothes.
After getting everything ready, he scanned the items in the room one by one. On the bedside table were all the intimate photos of him and Shouko from kindergarten to junior high.
On the display shelf were group photos from the Art Club and the track and field club, along with trophies and certificates from the first, second, and third years, and the desktop computer on the desk.
After double-checking that there were no omissions, he closed the room door and went downstairs, preparing for his morning run.
"Tsuna, are you taking graduation photos today?"
As soon as he stepped out of the stairwell, he heard his mom's curious question from the dining room.
"Yes, is something wrong?"
Compared to two years ago, the boy's voice had changed slightly.
"Nothing, go for your run. I was just curious."
Tsuna said nothing more when he heard that. He turned around to change into his running shoes at the entrance, opened the front door, glanced at the lit-up house next door, and started to pick up his pace.
The chill of early spring still hung like a thin blade in the morning mist of Tokyo.
Female students in navy blue uniforms walked over the crunching frozen ground, their thermos flasks in the side pockets of their school bags lightly swaying with each step. The white mist they exhaled was tinged with pale gold by the warmth of the freshly opened red bean cream buns.
Allowing the scent of caramel mixed with butter to enter her nostrils, amidst the rustling of uniform skirts rubbing against briefcases, she silently counted the last seven mornings before the cherry blossom season arrived.
"Tsuna, morning."
As soon as he came out of the steamy bathroom, he heard Shouko's energetic voice. Before he could look in the direction of the voice, Shouko walked up to him, snatched the towel from his hand, and pulled his hand toward the living room.
"I'll help you dry it."
Shizuka and Daisuke in the dining room had long been used to this behavior from the two of them and chose to ignore it, continuing to eat their breakfast.
"Art Club Leader, slow down," Tsuna advised helplessly. He was afraid that if she walked too fast, she would slip and fall.
Shouko slowed down when she heard that but didn't forget to look back and stare at him with her beautiful eyes.
In the past three years, Shouko had successfully become the Art Club Leader through her efforts, becoming a senior that the juniors in the Art Club greatly relied on.
At the same time, her painting skills had improved significantly through three years of study and hard practice.
She was completely different from when she first joined the Art Club and could only draw circles. Not long ago, Tsuna asked her to try drawing the appearance of 'Kaori Miyazono' based on his description.
The final result had some flaws, but it was close to perfect.
In terms of appearance, under her mom's careful care and nurturing, Shouko was so charming that sometimes he couldn't resist the power of her cuteness and coquettishness.
"Okay, Tsuna, go eat breakfast," Shouko turned off the hairdryer in her hand and couldn't help but secretly sniff the scent of his hair.
"Have you eaten?"
"Mm-hmm."
Tsuna nodded when he heard that, stood up, left the living room, and walked toward the dining room.
"After graduation, what are your plans for this spring break?" As soon as he sat down, Daisuke, who was reading a newspaper next to him, put it down, looked up at him, and asked.
"Hmm..." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I failed the submission three years ago; I want to try again this spring break."
After saying that, he continued to eat breakfast. He roughly guessed the meaning of his dad's words.
If he didn't have anything to do this spring break, his dad probably wanted him to go to his office to study or something.
"Hmm, that's fine too," Daisuke nodded and continued to pick up the newspaper to read.
He had also read a little of the light novel Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day that Tsuna wrote, and he felt it was pretty good.
It wasn't a bad idea to try submitting it again this spring break.
Shizuka ate her breakfast silently the whole time. On this matter, she chose to let her husband make the decision.
In five or six minutes, Tsuna quickly finished his breakfast, glanced at the time, told the two of them, and left for school with Shouko, who was waiting in the living room.
——————————
On the streets of Tokyo in early March, the branches of the thin cherry blossoms, though not yet in bloom, had already sprouted new green leaves.
The leather shoes of office workers and the loafers of students tapped on the ground in a staggered rhythm, weaving together the morning melody of spring.
The deep navy suits and navy blue uniform skirts fluttered in the wind, and the metal buckles of school bags and tie clips sparkled in the sunlight.
In the instant the train passed with a ding, the sweet scent of pineapple buns shared by the boys mixed with the light perfume of the female office workers, brewing into soft whispers in the still chilly wind.
"Art Club Leader, good morning."
"Good morning."
"Nishimiya Senior, good morning!"
"Good morning."
Tsuna just walked side by side with Shouko, watching her respond one by one to the girls who greeted her in the morning, with one or two boys mixed in.
But Shouko just nodded to them without speaking.
This was also a way for seniors and juniors to greet each other in Japanese schools.
"Art Club Leader is really popular, including the one just now, eight or nine juniors have greeted you," Tsuna couldn't help but tease as they were about to reach the classroom door on the third floor of building two.
"Slap..." Shouko lightly slapped his arm, a hint of dissatisfaction in her words:
"Five girls just greeted me, and their eyes were all fixed on you. What do you think that means?
And Tsuna, if you smiled more, you would definitely be very popular with girls."
After saying that, she gave him another light slap to express her little jealousy and dissatisfaction.
"..."
He knew deeply that he must not be mischievous at this time and say things like he would definitely be more gentle and smile more at those girls, otherwise, it wouldn't be just one or two slaps next.
He didn't even know if he would have bento for lunch, after all, he didn't want to go to the convenience store downstairs to buy bread or rice balls to eat...
In the past three years, Shouko's cooking skills had also improved. It could be said that she had perfectly grasped his appetite, as if she had a notebook specifically recording his preferences.
The two of them skillfully entered the classroom through the back door and sat down in the back row by the window.
In the past two years, it was as if the positions of the few of them were connected by an invisible thread of fate. No matter how they changed, Nishikata and Takagi were always sitting behind him and Shouko.
Even at the beginning of the third year of junior high, Ajitani was moved in front of Shouko.
"Miyamura-kun, this yearbook... could I trouble you to write in it?"
As soon as the two of them returned to their seats, a girl couldn't wait to come forward, took out a page from the graduation yearbook decorated with a gilded bow, and handed it to Tsuna.
Graduation season—graduation season—certainly can't be without things like yearbooks that record friendships.
"Okay, I'll give it back to you after class," Tsuna took it without hesitation, not even glancing at Shouko's face next to him.
After all, they had been classmates for three years. If he refused, how awkward would the other person be? It was better to leave them with some good memories.
The girl saw him take it, nodded, happily returned to her seat, and turned to share her joy with her good friend.
Meanwhile, Shouko's face didn't change at all. It was still the same as before, only her eyes were fixed on someone.
"Here, here, you can wait a bit. It would be bad if it was exposed," Tsuna, who finally couldn't stand her gaze, handed over the yearbook he had just received.
Not long ago at home, the two of them had unilaterally agreed that if a girl gave him a yearbook, he shouldn't refuse, but accept it, and then give it to her to write in.
"Tsuna-kun is really popular, including the one just now, more than half of the girls in our class have asked you to write in their yearbooks, and that's not including the more timid ones."
Shouko took the yearbook page, modified someone's previous words, and returned them with a sarcastic tone.
Unfortunately, Tsuna didn't fall for it and, mimicking her, said sarcastically, "Is That jealous burning like the fire I see? Why is there suddenly such a strong smell?"
The result of this sentence was naturally a five-minute break in their relationship. Only after she finished writing in that yearbook did she truly scold someone for being sarcastic.