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Tsuna looked at her cute face, which didn't look fierce at all. He thought that if she really were to face any bullies, she could probably defeat them just by being adorable — any true Lolicon villain would probably drop dead on the spot.
"Alright, let's finish these quickly," Tsuna said, trying to comfort her.
"Hehe!" Shouko puffed her cheeks in a tsundere way, gave a quick double snort, and pointed at the half-finished pile of origami on the table. "While you were daydreaming, I almost finished folding everything!"
Tsuna had just opened his mouth to praise her when their conversation was interrupted by Teacher Minagawa, who had just come back from outside. "Alright, everyone, quiet down. I have something to announce."
Teacher Minagawa had been present at the start of the handicraft period but was called away by the principal earlier.
As the class turned to look, Teacher Minagawa's eyes landed on Miu, who was fidgeting and waving her hand below the podium. "Matsuoka, is there something wrong?" she asked with a hint of amusement.
Miu stood up from her chair, met her gaze directly, and spoke solemnly, "Teacher Minagawa, could you maybe... not say anything? My sixth sense tells me it won't be good news."
"No, sit down," Teacher Minagawa replied with a small laugh. She didn't want to punish her, but she had to keep order first.
Clearing her throat, Teacher Minagawa spoke seriously, "Ahem! There will be a parent-teacher meeting this Friday."
"Ah!?"
"Why!?" Complaints erupted around the room.
Even Tsuna raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. They hadn't had parent-teacher meetings in the first and second grades, so why now in third grade? And wasn't it strange? He quietly wondered why Japan even had something like this, although, given that he always got perfect grades, he didn't really have to worry.
"Pa! Pa!" Teacher Minagawa clapped her hands sharply on the podium to regain control. Just as she was about to explain further, Miu raised her hand again, eyes still full of desperate hope.
"Matsuoka, what is it now?" Teacher Minagawa sighed.
"At the meeting, can't you just announce my grades as Tsuna's?"
"No."
"Then… can you not call my parents at all?"
"No. If they don't show up, the teacher will call to ask why."
"Then—"
"Enough. Go stand in the back." Teacher Minagawa finally cut her off, tired of her endless suggestions. Since she still needed her to hear the announcement, she didn't send her out into the hallway, just to the back of the room.
"Why does there have to be a parent-teacher meeting anyway!?"
Miu grumbled as she shuffled to the back and leaned against the wall.
"Alright, let me continue," Teacher Minagawa resumed once she was settled. "On Friday, remember to inform your parents. Only one needs to attend. If they truly can't come, ask them to call me. You also don't need to bring lunch that day after the meeting ends in the morning, you and your parent can go home."
She paused, scanned the classroom to see that everyone nodded or murmured in understanding, then added, "Alright, continue folding."
Checking her watch and seeing it was nearly the end of class, she called, "Matsuoka, come back to your seat."
"Oh, oh." Miu hurried back to sit down. The room returned to its calm rustling of paper. Teacher Minagawa, now seated at the podium, flipped open tomorrow's lecture notes to preview silently.
Shouko, sitting beside Tsuna, leaned over and whispered softly, "Tsuna, did you hear? There's a parent-teacher meeting on Friday." Though Shouko couldn't always hear clearly, she was good at lip reading, but still liked to confirm with Tsuna, so she wouldn't miss anything.
Tsuna nodded gently. "Yeah, it's okay. Aunt Nishimiya should be free."
Although in his heart, he had another thought: that Aunt Nishimiya might actually be quite busy lately, as she seemed to be up for a promotion.
"Mm." Shouko smiled sweetly at him. She knew he was trying to comfort her, but still liked hearing him say it.
Just then, Teacher Minagawa, packing her materials, called out: "Class dismissed! Be careful on the road home." Without waiting for the bell, she walked straight out of the classroom.
"Dong... dong... dong...!" The school bell rang right after he stepped into the hallway.
"Let's go too, Shouko." Tsuna was already putting away his textbooks and notebooks, sliding them into his school bag.
As he stood, Miu piped up behind him, her tone full of hope, "Tsuna, can we swap test papers for the meeting?"
Before Tsuna could answer, Chika, standing beside Matsuoka, interjected flatly, "Miu, your mom isn't going to believe you suddenly got perfect scores in every subject."
"Chika, don't say that! I'll tell her it's because I was..." Miu struggled to finish the sentence.
"That you were hiding your true power all along to surprise her," Tsuna supplied lightly.
Miu's eyes lit up, and she excitedly slapped Tsuna's shoulder in thanks, "Yes, yes! That's exactly it! Tsuna knows me so well, hahaha...." Tsuna stepped aside, dodging her slap with a resigned look.
"But Miu, Teacher Minagawa will be there too," Shouko added softly as she finished packing up.
"Then… get rid of her!" Miu suddenly acted like a yakuza from a late-night drama, raising her hand in a chopping motion and sliding it across her neck dramatically.
Tsuna, laughing helplessly, gently took Shouko's hand and guided them both away from Matsuoka before her antics could spread.
"I'm back, Aunt Shizuka!" Shouko called brightly as she slipped off her shoes in the entryway.
"Welcome home," Shizuka answered, walking out from the living room with a soft smile.
"Mom, there's a parent-teacher meeting on Friday," Tsuna added after he and Shouko changed into slippers and carried Shouko's schoolbag inside.
"Friday?" Shizuka blinked, her smile faltering slightly as she popped an orange segment into her mouth.
"What's wrong, Aunt Shizuka?" Shouko asked, sensing something off.
"When I went to pick up Yuzuru, Mr. Yoshinaga mentioned they're having their graduation performance that same Friday," Shizuka explained, a note of regret in her voice.
Shouko hesitated, a little disappointment flashing across her face. "Then… maybe Mom should go to Yuzuru's performance instead." She tried to sound casual, but her tone wavered.
Tsuna silently peeled an orange from the table, thinking inwardly that Aunt Nishimiya might be too busy to come anyway.
"It's alright, Shouko still has Aunt Shizuka," Shizuka said gently, wrapping her arm around Shouko and pulling her into a warm hug.
Shouko nodded against her shoulder. In truth, she had never seriously thought of asking Grandma Ito to come; she felt bad making the older woman climb to the third floor. And in her heart, she also felt Yuzuru's graduation performance was more important.
Though she still wanted her mother there, she knew sometimes things couldn't be helped.
In these small moments, between jokes about swapping test papers, origami folded with care, and the gentle warmth of a home waiting at the end of each day, Tsuna realized something quietly comforting.
Even if the world kept changing outside, and the days sometimes felt too fast or too slow, some things stayed: Shouko's soft voice by his side, Yuzuru's quiet resilience, and the faint scent of oranges in the Miyamura living room.
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