"Beep… beep… beep…!"
As the alarm clock rang again, Tsuna reached out to turn it off, changed into his usual morning run clothes, and went downstairs to greet Shizuka.
"Be careful."
"Okay."
"Creak…"
Tsuna closed the front door, turned around, took a deep breath, glanced at the dark blue sky out of the corner of his eye, started walking, and finally settled into a steady pace.
In front of the dew-kissed vending machine, a girl in a pleated skirt bent down to pick up a fallen melon bun.
As the wind swept through her hair, it carried the sound of an omamori bell. The smell of maple syrup drifted from the bakery around the corner, mingling with the peeling vermilion paint on the shrine eaves, blending into the gradually warming morning mist.
"I'm back."
After exchanging a few words with Shizuka in the kitchen, Tsuna went into the bathroom. When he came out, he saw Shouko waiting in the living room.
As usual, under her insistence, he could only obediently accept the service from Shouko.
Then, at Shizuka's reminder, Tsuna spent about ten minutes finishing breakfast and headed to school with Shouko.
He was quite looking forward to today's graduation ceremony, mainly because spring break would begin in a few days, although it was only about two weeks long.
At exactly eight o'clock, the two entered the noisy classroom right on time.
As soon as Shouko sat back down, she eagerly asked, "Tsuna, do you think we'll only have half a day of school today and then get off?"
"Probably…"
He thought about the Principal's skill at talking nonsense over the past three years and felt it was unlikely. After thinking it over, he decided to change the subject:
"By the way, Shouko, have you thought of a pen name?"
"Hmm…"
"A pen name? What pen name? Is Shouko going to write light novels too?" At this moment, Ajitani returned to her seat and, hearing the two talking, felt confused and surprised.
This sentence successfully grabbed the attention of both of them. Shouko spread her hands helplessly, "Atsuya-chan, you're overthinking it. I don't have that ability, and you know that."
"I know…?" Ajitani paused. She didn't quite understand what Shouko meant.
Rubbing her temples with both hands, she began to recall the important thing she had forgotten: "Let me think, don't give me any hints…"
A few minutes passed, and finally, Tsuna, who was sitting next to her, couldn't bear it anymore and reminded her, "It's about Shouko's pen name as an illustrator."
Upon hearing this, Ajitani put her hands together and stubbornly said, "I was just about to say that, but Miyamura beat me to it."
"…" Tsuna then 'forcibly ignored' the two of them, said something to Shouko, and laid down on his desk to sleep.
Shouko nodded in agreement and started chatting with Ajitani, who sat in the seat in front of her, about her pen name, mainly discussing what kind of pen name would be suitable.
Later, Takagi walked into the classroom, and as soon as she returned to her seat and put down her bag, she was pulled into the conversation by Ajitani.
As for Nishikata, seeing that Tsuna was already asleep, he chose not to disturb him or join the conversation with the three girls. Instead, he went to chat with the group of boys gathered in the upper left corner of the classroom.
"Dong… dong…!"
As the class bell rang, Tsuna was woken up by Shouko shaking him. Just then, Teacher Fujiro walked into the classroom. The noisy classroom gradually turned into whispers.
"Now, let's tidy up the classroom items and see if there are any textbooks or equipment to return. If you've borrowed books from the library, you'll need to return them in the next few days."
Upon hearing this, the students below started getting noisy again. Perhaps with little time left, Teacher Fujiro on the podium did not speak to stop them but just watched them silently.
"Is that all?"
About ten minutes passed. Teacher Fujiro looked at the few books and a few rulers placed on the podium, feeling a little confused.
After getting confirmation from the Class Monitor, she asked the Class Monitor to organize the students in the class to gather outside the auditorium, while she took these items to return them.
Amidst the sounds of desks and chairs being pushed and pulled, Teacher Fujiro was the first to leave the classroom with those few things.
Ajitani also organized the students to line up in the corridor and led them down.
At nine-thirty, the third-year students gathered outside the auditorium and walked in after the final instructions from their homeroom teachers.
They found their respective class seats and sat down under the organization of their homeroom teachers, quietly waiting for the Principal's speech from the high platform.
As soon as they sat down, Shouko, sitting next to Tsuna, excitedly poked his arm. "Tsuna, look quickly, I found Mom and Auntie."
"Where?"
Only after his gaze turned towards her did Shouko raise her hand and point in one of the directions behind them.
Tsuna looked in the direction she was pointing and saw his Dad, Mom, and Yaeko Auntie.
Shizuka and Yaeko were a little distance apart. He judged that Yuzuru, who was blocked from view, must be sitting between them.
"Students, please quiet down. Our graduation ceremony is about to begin."
As the Principal's words from the high platform echoed around the auditorium, Tsuna no longer paid attention and looked towards the spotlight with Shouko beside him.
Seeing the noise gradually subside, the Principal began the graduation ceremony. First, he asked the seated parents of the students to stand up collectively, and the school song began to play over the broadcast.
After the music ended, he asked everyone to sit down, and the Principal began to review the students' growth process, followed by encouraging them for the future.
He spoke very excitedly at the front, but the students below only felt bored.
After the speech, he began calling the student representatives of each class to come up to the stage one by one to receive their certificates in the order of the classes.
For the male and female student representatives, Class Two chose Tsuna and Ajitani. As the students from Class One went up to the stage, the two hurried to the side to prepare.
"Miyamura, I'm a little nervous, what should I do…?"
"…"
"Take a deep breath, it will be over soon." He thought of the most useful method in a short time.
Because it was really their turn very soon, nothing he said now would help, only taking a deep breath. As for telling her to imagine the parents and students below as potatoes, he couldn't say it.
Moreover, that sentence would be 100% ineffective, at most it would make her laugh, although making her laugh could also distract her.
"Oh, okay, I'll try."
After saying that, Ajitani began to take deep breaths as he said, but before she could take a few breaths, she was rushed onto the stage by Teacher Fujiro who was nearby.
The Principal looked at the pair and even felt a little satisfied, so he spoke a few more sentences. Finally, after the two bowed and accepted the certificates with both hands, it was the turn of the representatives from Class Three.
Meanwhile, Shouko in her seat looked at the two under the spotlight, and a strange emotion flashed in her heart.
"Here."
As soon as Tsuna returned to his seat, he handed the red certificate in his hand to Shouko, who seemed to be thinking about something.
Shouko looked at the certificate, which had Tsuna's name, the Principal's seal, and the school's official stamp printed on it. She didn't think much and accepted it. As for the small emotion she had just felt, she cast it aside.
After the awarding of graduation certificates was finished, it was time for the speech from the local education committee, followed by the speech from the student representative. The graduate representative had to express gratitude to teachers and parents and recall campus life.
Initially, the Principal had Teacher Fujiro look for Tsuna, but he politely refused, mainly because he felt it would be too awkward at that time…
Ultimately unsuccessful, the Principal asked the student from Class Four with the second-highest grades in the third year to represent and give the speech, stating that she was the first one he looked for, and she readily agreed.