"Click..."
Closing the door, Shizuka asked Tsuna a few simple questions before turning back to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner.
Tsuna changed his shoes, walked into the living room, and watched a comedy variety show on TV with Daisuke, who had returned at some point.
It wasn't until Shizuka's call of "Dinner's ready!" came that the two got up, turned off the TV, and walked towards the dining room.
At the dinner table, Shizuka told them about the newly moved-in Uzaki family, and Tsuna also learned that the new neighbors were a family of five.
However, he didn't pay much attention, quietly eating his dinner until Shizuka finished that topic and a new topic shifted to him...
"Tsuna, what time should parents arrive for your graduation ceremony tomorrow?"
He swallowed the food in his mouth, "From nine to nine-thirty, they should arrive at the auditorium. The seats there are already marked with class names."
"Are there any dress requirements?" This time, Daisuke spoke up to ask.
"Hmm..." Tsuna quickly recalled what Teacher Fujiro had said at the time: "No, casual wear is fine. Students will just be wearing their school uniforms."
"Alright." Daisuke nodded and stopped asking questions, quietly eating his meal.
"Not needed?" Shizuka was a little surprised. "I remember back in my middle school, boys had to wear black suits, and girls had to wear dark suits or traditional kimonos."
As for parents, there weren't as many requirements; casual wear was fine for them too.
"Mom, how long ago was your middle school? I think you went to a private middle school, right?"
Shizuka glared at him, giving him a fierce look for him to figure out on his own. Wasn't the sentence he just said implying she was old?
"..." Tsuna was a little speechless. The sentence he just said was really just offhand; he didn't mean anything else, okay...
Daisuke quietly watched the two, saying nothing, until Shizuka's topic shifted to him again.
Dinner lasted about thirty minutes, with chatting taking up a large portion. Because Tsuna had eaten a lot while shopping earlier, he ate half as much as usual. The same went for Shouko.
She ate even more than Tsuna, explaining the whole afternoon's events to the people at the table.
Yaeko didn't say anything, quietly eating her meal. The two pixels of her lips curving upwards went unnoticed.
But if Shizuka had been there, she definitely would have noticed.
Ito directly spoke her congratulations, while still thinking about whether to save some food for her to eat later when she got hungry.
Among them, Yuzuru was the one who kept complaining, saying that Shouko went to eat delicious food without her. After dinner, she even spoke ill of her to Hachiko.
"Don't be angry, Yuzuru, I'll bring you something delicious tomorrow."
Shouko felt a 'little' helpless and speechless about her behavior. As for feeling angry, that emotion hadn't surfaced.
Besides, whether Hachiko could understand her string of complaints was still a question.
One could only say that Hachiko wasn't easy either...
"Really?"
"Really." Shouko paused for a moment, "Aren't you coming to Sister's graduation ceremony tomorrow too?
Once it's over, Takagi-chan and I will take you, and we won't bring Tsuna, how about that?"
Shouko watched her hesitate for a moment, then still nodded in agreement. After saying a few more words to her, she happily went out to find Tsuna.
As for what Yuzuru was hesitating about? She wasn't hesitating, but thinking about when her Sister's graduation ceremony would end tomorrow.
As for a certain man, he was thrown to the back of her mind the moment her Sister said it. She wasn't a three-year-old kid anymore, didn't she understand her Sister?
Even if she said she wouldn't bring him, she would definitely bring a portion back for him by the end.
Night mist crept over the eaves, the izakaya's noren swayed gently in the draft, a few petals of night cherry emerged from the cracks in the stone steps, just falling into the circle of light from the patrol officer's flashlight.
"Click..."
"Tsuna, what are you doing...?" Shouko asked curiously without fully pushing open the door or making a sound.
If it were half a month ago, he would definitely be drawing illustrations, and even earlier, he would be writing. But now, it was really hard to guess.
Tsuna stopped what he was doing, looked up helplessly at the girl at the door. "You should knock first at this time."
Now Shizuka and his own Old Man would knock before entering his room. Only Shouko was still the same.
Not respecting his privacy at all... What if he was doing something inappropriate one day? Like doing push-ups shirtless?
How bad would that be for both of them...
"I forgot, next time for sure, next time for sure, hehe..." Shouko stuck out her small tongue, raised her hand, and tapped her head, trying to get away with it by acting cute.
"..."
Shouko walked over and sat down beside him, looking at the tablet on his desk, a little confused. "Didn't it already pass the review? Why are you still drawing illustrations?"
"These are for the next volume. This time I won't be so rushed, I can take my time, and I want to add more illustrations." Tsuna explained and continued drawing the picture in his hand.
"Hmm... makes sense. Wait for me, I'll go back and get my tablet too."
When he looked up at her again, all that was left was the sight of her quickly walking downstairs.
"I'm back."
"Click..."
Shouko closed the door, turned around, walked a few steps to the empty chair beside him, sat down, and asked curiously, "Tsuna, what should I draw now?"
Tsuna took the tablet she had bought a year ago from her hand. "No, I guess you've probably forgotten. Your main task now is to think of your illustrator name."
"..." He hit the nail on the head. If he hadn't said it, she really would have forgotten. She could only respond with silence...
"I'll definitely give you the answer before the graduation ceremony ends tomorrow, okay? Let's draw illustrations now."
In the end, Tsuna still nodded in agreement. Anyway, if Shouko really couldn't think of one, using her real name was fine. If she gained fame, she could take on more jobs in the future.
As for Shouko, did she really like drawing illustrations? Yes, but not that much. The main reason was to have a legitimate excuse to be close to him...
The two chatted and drew, without the tension of half a month ago. There was no rush with the illustrations until Shouko glanced at the time, saw it was getting late, and stood up to leave.
"Good night, Tsuna."
"Good night. Remember to go to bed early tonight."
"Okay."
"Click..."
The door closed. Tsuna tidied up his desk, got up to go to the bathroom, then got into bed. He sent her a "Good night" message on his phone and closed his eyes.
"Good night, Tsuna"
"(Kiss.jpg)"
The previous message was withdrawn at light speed just one second after being sent. Today's sentence also ended with good night.
Moonlight poured into the room from outside the window. The vending machine at the end of the alley emitted a cold light. The white steam from the convenience store's oden mixed with the aroma of plum wine was crushed in the moonlight by the night wind stirred up by the last train.
"Beep... beep... beep... beep...!"
"Beep... beep... beep...!"
"Bang..."
Tsuna sat up, rubbing his messy, frizzy hair. He had just opened his groggy eyes before closing them again.