"Tsuna, the kite got away!"
Shouko watched helplessly as the wind tugged the kite from her grasp, her voice tinged with dejection as she called out to Tsuna, who was sitting on a nearby bench.
Tsuna looked at the kite drifting farther and farther away, sighing helplessly. He quickly stood up, walked over to Shouko, and began to comfort her.
Chika noticed the situation too. She reeled in her own kite, walked over, and said gently, "Shouko, you can fly mine."
As for Miu, she and her kite had long vanished somewhere down the field.
"Are you sure?" Shouko asked hesitantly. She still wanted to keep playing.
"It's fine. I'm a bit tired anyway and want to rest."
Chika smiled lightly and waved her hand, signaling not to worry about it.
Shouko happily accepted the swallow-shaped kite from Chika and said gratefully, "Chika, when we go back later, I'll treat you to a drink."
"Thank you," Tsuna added. If not for her, he would have had to do quite a bit of convincing.
"Be careful—don't run so fast, Shouko," Tsuna called out as she dashed away with the kite, unable to stop himself from worrying.
Unfortunately, Shouko didn't reply. Maybe she hadn't heard him.
Chika pointed toward the bench where Tsuna had been sitting earlier. "Come on, let's sit over there."
"Alright."
After Tsuna nodded, he watched Shouko skillfully fly the kite on her own—this time without needing his help like before. Only once he was sure she was doing fine did he turn away and follow Chika to the bench.
"Tsuna, look! It's flying even higher than before!"
Shouko's excited voice carried over the breeze as the kite climbed the sky.
Tsuna didn't respond—he was laughing about something with Chika. (Just normal friendly chatter, don't worry—no flags here, promise.)
Shouko turned back to the kite, then to the two sitting together. Without hesitation, she quickly reeled in the string.
"Chika, I'm a bit tired too. Here, you can have the kite back—I want to rest for a while."
Shouko approached with the kite in hand, her tone calm and polite.
"That fast? Well, if you want to fly it again later, just tell me," Chika said with a light smile, taking the kite before running off to play again.
"Tired? I'll fan you," Tsuna said with a small grin, pulling a folding fan from his pocket.
"Humph, humph!" Shouko huffed twice, pretending not to care, though she couldn't resist glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
"Don't be angry, it's just a little kite," Tsuna said softly. "If you want one, I'll make you a prettier one myself."
He thought she was just sulking over the kite and that a little coaxing would do the trick.
The idea that she might actually be jealous didn't cross his mind—after all, he hadn't done anything wrong, and Shouko was still too young to understand that sort of jealousy.
Shouko blinked in surprise, her eyes lighting up. "You can make kites?!"
Whatever little tantrum she'd had instantly vanished.
Tsuna felt vindicated—so it was just about the kite. He chuckled. "Yeah, I learned it in Hawaii befo—wait, I mean, I learned it from watching TV."
Shouko tilted her head, half-skeptical, half-excited. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. We'll buy the materials this weekend, and I'll make one for you."
He couldn't quite handle the adoring look in her eyes—it was too cute.
"I knew Tsuna was the best!" she said with a bright grin.
The two of them sat together on the bench, chatting leisurely.
Flying kites and everything else were long forgotten—Shouko's mind was now full of anticipation for the weekend.
---
"Wake up, Shouko, it's time to go back."
Tsuna gently shook Shouko, who was resting her head on his lap.
"Hmm…?" She sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, still half in a dream.
Yawning, she looked around but didn't see Chika or Miu. "Where are Chika and Miu?" she asked drowsily.
"They went back first. I wanted to let you sleep a bit longer, so I didn't wake you."
Tsuna rubbed his slightly numb thigh, noticing a small damp spot from where she'd drooled.
"Let's go then."
Shouko patted her cheeks to wake herself up, though it didn't help much. Still sleepy, she stood and stretched.
Under the setting sun, the two walked home slowly, hand in hand.
---
Splash!
The sudden sound of something heavy falling into water drew Tsuna's attention. Shouko hadn't noticed yet—but then a startled cry followed.
"Shouya actually jumped down!"
Shouko looked toward the commotion and saw two familiar boys standing on a stone bridge, peering down into the river below.
"That guy's going to kill himself playing around like that one day," the thinner boy muttered. The people nearby couldn't hear him, but Shouko, reading his lips, caught his meaning.
"Haha! You guys should jump too! It doesn't hurt at all!"
A dripping wet figure surfaced in the river, laughing loudly up at the bridge.
"Really?" the heavier boy asked nervously.
"Why would I lie to you?"
Splash! Splash!
Both of them jumped.
"Haha! See—" Ishida Shouya's laughter caught mid-breath when he noticed a pair of bystanders. He turned and saw Tsuna and Shouko watching from the path.
He knew Tsuna. Everyone did. The top student for three straight years—his name came up after every exam thanks to their teachers' endless praise. As for the girl beside him, he'd heard rumors—something about her being disabled—but didn't know the details.
Seeing their calm, unimpressed expressions, and remembering how often teachers compared everyone to Tsuna, Shouya snapped, shouting defiantly,
"What are you looking at? Don't think being top of the class makes you anything special!"
"Psycho," Tsuna muttered with a smirk, squeezing Shouko's hand as they continued walking. He didn't bother arguing with someone acting like a clown.
Shouya, thinking he'd scared them off, laughed louder. "Coward! Sissy!"
He often saw Tsuna hanging around with girls, unlike himself—who thought they were annoying.
Shouko couldn't stand hearing someone insult her Tsuna like that. She turned, wanting to shout back, but when she saw Tsuna shake his head gently, she swallowed her words and followed his lead.
"Don't be angry, Shouko."
Tsuna reached out and ruffled her hair, his voice soft and calm.
Getting angry over insults like that was pointless. Japanese curse words were too mild anyway—nothing compared to the creativity he'd known back in China in his previous life. And besides, getting into a fight with a drenched idiot wasn't worth it.
---
(For those curious: Tsuna's "I learned it in Hawaii" line is a reference to Conan's running gag from Detective Conan.)
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