Daisuke's gaze returned to the newspaper in his hands. "Send me the address later. I'll have Asahi go with you this afternoon to handle the contract issues."
"Okay, let that brat come out first." Shizuka continued eating breakfast upon hearing this.
She hadn't expected that Tsuna only submitted his manuscript yesterday, and an editor was already calling him first thing this morning.
When Tsuna came out of the bathroom and didn't see Shouko, he guessed she was still sleeping and didn't think about it further. He dried his hair by himself and went to the dining room to eat breakfast.
During the meal, Shizuka naturally asked many questions, and finally, Daisuke repeated what he had just said to him.
Tsuna agreed without hesitation. As for the "Asahi" his dad mentioned, he had heard his dad bring him up a few times before. Simply put, he was the firm's legal consultant.
Tsuna wasn't very familiar with Japan's laws and contracts, so having a professional accompany him was a good idea.
After finishing breakfast, Tsuna cleared the table, and Shouko arrived at his house right on time.
"Morning, Tsuna."
"Do you want to sleep for a bit...?" Tsuna suggested, looking at the faint dark circles under her eyes.
As for his signing, he decided not to mention it to her for now. He'd wait until she woke up, otherwise, he was afraid she'd get excited and lose her sleepiness.
"What about you?" Shouko hesitated slightly.
"I'll be writing in my room. I can keep you company."
"I didn't say I was going to sleep in your room," Shouko said, crossing her arms and acting slightly tsundere. After speaking, she stood up and walked toward the second floor.
Tsuna didn't even need to say anything; her actions had already contradicted what she just said.
Tsuna could only silently follow behind her. Daisuke was handling personal matters for the firm in the study, while Shizuka went next door to find Yaeko to gossip.
"Tsuna, I'm only sleeping for an hour. Remember to wake me up later." As soon as Shouko entered the bedroom, she walked straight to the bed and burrowed into the covers in a couple of movements.
"Okay."
As soon as she got his response, Shouko closed her eyes with a yawn, ready to enter dreamland.
Tsuna, on the other hand, lightened his movements and sat in front of the computer, thinking about memories of some famous light novels from his previous life. Eventually, he unconsciously started spacing out, his entire mind blank.
"How is it almost eleven already? Tsuna, didn't you promise to wake me up after an hour?"
Shouko rubbed her sleepy eyes. She wasn't angry, just a little puzzled.
Tsuna, still in front of the computer, stopped what he was doing upon hearing her. He didn't respond, but simply stood up and walked toward her, picking up his phone from the side as he did so.
Under her increasingly puzzled gaze, he quietly opened a voice recording. Shouko's groggy voice came from within:
"Let me sleep a little longer, don't shake me anymore, Tsuna..."
Just when she thought the recording had ended, not long after, the voice continued: "Hehe... my Tsuna..."
Because the last sentence was soft and mumbled, you really couldn't hear what she was saying unless you listened carefully.
"....."
"..."
As the recording ended, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
"Delete it..."
"Wouldn't that be bad?" He decisively stuffed his phone into his pocket.
Shouko's eyes narrowed slightly. She took off the hearing aid she had just put on her ear. This action naturally made Tsuna notice her ears starting to rapidly turn red.
She threw off the blanket covering her and, without warning, pounced onto the person by the bed.
With this sudden action, Tsuna instinctively wanted to dodge, but he forcibly suppressed the thought of dodging and let her hug him directly.
If he had dodged, her final destination would have been the floor.
"Delete it..." Shouko repeated fiercely, wrapping her arms around his neck and putting all her weight on him.
At that moment, he could clearly feel something pressing against his chest.
"Can you come down first?"
Over the past ten-plus years, with him and Shizuka occasionally feeding her, Shouko's development was indeed much better than that of hearing-impaired children her age.
Between continuing to hug him for a while longer using this excuse and getting down immediately, the smart Shouko chose a compromise:
"Give me your phone. I'll come down when I'm done deleting."
"Here, here."
Tsuna wanted to get his phone, but suddenly realized their current posture wasn't convenient for reaching into his pocket.
He could have just thrown Shouko back onto the bed, but people have selfish desires, and he actually "also" wanted to hug her for a bit longer.
Shouko also noticed that this posture wasn't good for retrieving and operating...
Considering her own weight, she hesitated for a bit before obediently letting go of him.
During the physical contact, she noticed that the phone in Tsuna's pocket was a bit uncomfortable. [Note:(→_→)]
She never had this feeling when hugging him before.
She secretly vowed in her heart that the next time she found an excuse to hug him, she would definitely take the phone out of his pocket first.
As soon as Shouko got down, Tsuna quickly took out his phone from his pocket and handed it to her without her even needing to say anything.
Over the next ten minutes or so, once they had both calmed down, Tsuna lightly coughed. Just as Shouko thought his throat might be uncomfortable, he told her about what happened this morning.
"Really!?" Shouko's eyes unconsciously widened.
"It's true. Let's not tell Takagi and the others about this yet, okay?" Tsuna reached out and stopped her action.
"Oh, okay, I'll listen to you." She curved her lips upwards, her eyes filled with irrepressible joy.
Hehe... her first thought at the time was to show off to Takagi and Atsuya-chan how amazing her Tsuna was, but she didn't expect him to see through her...
"Then can I go with you to the coffee shop this afternoon to take a look?" she asked.
Tsuna agreed without hesitation, "Sure, I heard the desserts at that new coffee shop are quite good. I'll treat you then."
"I don't believe you. Auntie is going too, so chances are she'll be paying...
But it's a deal, remember to come and wake me up before we leave this afternoon."
With her words finished, Shouko stood up, explained a few things to him, and waved goodbye, leaving his house. She wanted to go back and see if Grandma needed any help.
Seeing this, Tsuna saved the data on his computer and followed her downstairs, waiting for Shizuka's lunch. By this time, he probably wouldn't need to peel the garlic anymore.
The timing was just right. Shizuka was just about to yell for him to come down for lunch when he walked out of the stairwell. Shizuka could only quietly close the mouth she had just opened.
"Tell your dad to come out and eat."
"Okay."
As soon as Tsuna finished speaking, Daisuke came out of the study. "No need. Tsuna, go to the kitchen and see if your mom needs any help."
"Okay, okay, okay..."
As soon as he walked into the kitchen, Shizuka chased him out. In the end, he could only quietly go wash his hands and prepare to eat.
"Let's eat!" x3
In early March in Tokyo, the afternoon sun still carried the chill of spring. Icicles hanging from the eaves had just shattered into starbursts on the bluestone path, yet in an instant, the westward-sloping sunlight cast the outline of bare branches onto the coffee shop's glass window.