Ajitani was still confused. "You... why are you looking at me...?"
After a moment of silence, she instantly realized how problematic that sentence was, especially saying it in front of Shouko and Miyamura...
"Sho... Shouko-chan, listen to me!" She quickly grabbed Shouko's hand beside her. "I really don't have any other intentions towards Miyamura!"
Shouko didn't say anything; she just quietly looked at her, wanting to hear her continue explaining, but her heart was still inclined to believe her words.
"Really, you have to believe me!" Ajitani became even more flustered when she saw Shouko not speaking. "Let alone Miyamura's birthday, I even know Nishikata's, and yours and Takagi-chan's!"
Shouko saw that Ajitani was already a bit incoherent, but before she could stop her, Ajitani listed the birthdays of everyone present one by one.
"Wait..." Seeing her continue to list the birthdays of other boys in the class, Shouko raised her hand and forcefully covered her mouth. "Ajitani-chan, I believe you, really!"
"So let's go pay together!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she didn't give Ajitani a chance to hesitate, stood up, and pulled her hand towards the counter.
"I didn't expect the Class Monitor to be so hidden," Nishikata said, looking at the backs of the two walking away, especially when Ajitani had just announced his birthday.
Tsuna nodded. "Indeed, I couldn't have imagined the Class Monitor would be so idle."
How could she not be idle? Who would remember other people's birthdays for no reason? It seems being the Class Monitor for three years in middle school had been too idle...
Takagi didn't speak. She quietly glanced at Nishikata, who was still surprised, and continued to enjoy the dessert that had just arrived.
When the two returned, they resumed their previous cheerful and laughing demeanor.
Tsuna simply observed for a moment, then stopped paying attention, instead playing on his phone.
The gathering didn't break up until around five in the afternoon. After lunch, the group went shopping at the Futaba Department Store, either on their way to enjoy dessert or already enjoying it.
As for managing weight and losing weight, that would be left for their future selves to worry about. Today was so happy, of course, they should enjoy themselves first.
—————————
The morning light from outside the window shone into the room, brightly falling on Tsuna's face.
"Ring... ring... ring...!"
As the alarm rang, Tsuna struggled to open his sleepy eyes, skillfully reaching out to turn off the alarm.
As soon as the unpleasant sound stopped, a strong wave of sleepiness surged into his heart. He yawned and barely managed to wake up.
Today was the first day of school, and there was no chance for him to go back to sleep.
To celebrate the start of school, he had even given himself a day off, no need to wake up early for a morning run...
He walked to the closet, took out the school uniform he received at school yesterday with Shouko, and began to change without hesitation.
It was a deep navy (close to black) stand-collar student jacket uniform, similar to the traditional Japanese boys' "gakuran" style.
Inside, he wore a pure white long-sleeved shirt, with a dark red tie tied at the collar. The tie had a simple pattern.
Because it was the beginning of April and still a bit chilly, he hesitated repeatedly but still put on the jacket uniform.
He wouldn't let anyone suffer, even himself. Even if he felt hot later, he could just ask Shouko to hold it for him...
He put on straight-leg pants of the same color as the jacket, paired with a black leather belt. There was a gold school emblem on the left chest of the jacket. The overall style was stable and low-key. Perfect!
"Not bad, not bad. Paired with this face, this school uniform looks quite handsome."
As soon as he walked downstairs, he heard Shizuka's praise, and it wasn't teasing... He felt a bit unaccustomed to it...
Tsuna gave a few perfunctory replies before she shooed him into the washroom. When he came out, Shizuka had already prepared breakfast, and Daisuke was at the dining table reading the morning paper.
"The class list wasn't out yesterday, was it?" Daisuke put down the newspaper and asked casually.
"Yeah," Tsuna nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "They said it would be available today."
"There's nothing much to see anyway, you and Shouko being in the same class won't change," Shizuka took an empty cup and started pouring milk into it.
Breakfast ended with bits of conversation here and there.
"Click..."
"Tsuna, ohayo!"
"Shouko is as cute as ever no matter what she wears," Shizuka looked at Shouko, who walked into the dining room, seriously appraising her.
Tsuna nodded, very much agreeing with his mom's words. She would be cute even without wearing anything...
Her jacket was a short navy blazer with a wide collar, clearly showing the white shirt underneath, tied with a red ribbon at the collar.
A pleated short skirt of the same color, the skirt length above the knee, and paired with black over-the-knee socks. The combination perfectly highlighted Shouko's cuteness.
She also wore a gold school emblem on her left chest, just like his jacket.
While Tsuna observed Shouko, she was also observing his outfit.
Both of them silently gave each other's school uniform a thumbs-up in their hearts.
Her Tsuna was handsome no matter what he wore. If only... she really wanted to hide him away, just for herself to see...
"You two, stop staring at each other. If you don't leave now, you might be late," Shizuka reminded them helplessly.
It was different from when they were in middle school. From home, it would take about 20 minutes to get to 'Ginkgo Sakura School,' and that didn't include waiting for traffic lights, etc...
Coming back to their senses, the two said goodbye to Shizuka and Daisuke, grabbed their backpacks from the side, and went to the entrance to change shoes.
Tsuna waited for Shouko to put on her brown round-toe leather shoes, then opened the door. Before he could turn back to take her hand, he felt a cold little hand slip into his.
"I'm leaving!"
"I'm leaving."
"Tsuna, take good care of Shouko at school!"
"Be careful on the road."
"Click..."
The only response to the two was the sound of the door closing.
"Shouko, you didn't wash your hands when you put on your shoes just now, how could you hold mine?" After walking a few steps from the house, Tsuna couldn't help but want to tease Shouko.
"Hmph," Shouko lightly snorted and bumped him with her shoulder.
The morning breeze in April still carried a chill, but the cherry blossoms were already eagerly blooming on the branches.
The intersection seemed to pause, a dense crowd solidified into a silent tide under the traffic light.
The moment the green light turned on, the two streams of people collided with a roar.
On the left were the freshmen in navy stand-collar uniforms, their backpack straps still gleaming with the new leather luster.
On the right were salarymen in suits and ties, their ties askew and stuck to their wrinkled white shirts from being squeezed.
The security guard at the school gate no longer stopped visiting students for registration but silently watched the students, full of laughter, sighing in his heart about how young they were.
The two walked into the school with the lively crowd of students.
"I wonder if Takagi-chan and the others are here," Shouko looked around, her eyes immediately locking onto the crowded area in the distance.
"Probably..." Tsuna looked at the crowded notice board at the bottom of Teaching Building 1, feeling a bit resistant in his heart, not really wanting to squeeze in.