When he got home, the door was closed.
Shin-chan stood on tiptoe, reached the doorknob, and pressed it down.
The door opened.
"I'm back!"
He stood in the entryway and kicked off his shoes. One flew beside the shoe cabinet, while the other flipped over and landed upside down in the middle of the hallway.
From the living room came the sound of something falling to the floor.
Misae rushed out of the living room. The moment she saw Shin-chan, her whole body seemed to freeze in place.
"Sh-Shin-chan?"
Shin-chan stood in the entryway, tilting his head at her.
"Mom, your belly got bigger again."
Misae hurried over and pulled Shin-chan into her arms.
Shin-chan's face was squeezed against Misae's shoulder, his lips puckering as his voice came out muffled.
"Mom, I can't breathe."
Misae didn't let go. Her voice trembled slightly.
"You're finally back."
Shin-chan reached out and gently patted the top of Misae's head.
Just like how Misae usually patted his.
"Mom."
"Mm."
"Your belly is poking me."
"You little brat. Do you know how worried Mom was?" Misae let go of Shin-chan and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand. "Alright, come in."
Shin-chan followed Misae into the living room. On the table was a glass of milk and a rice ball with two bites taken out of it.
Misae looked at him.
"You got thinner."
"No." Shin-chan pinched his own cheek. "It's still round."
"Did you eat properly while you were outside?"
"I did. In the doggy village, they even gave me a bone this big." Shin-chan spread his arms as wide as possible. "But I couldn't bite through it."
Misae was silent for a second.
"Why were you biting a bone?"
"Because all the doggies could bite through it," Shin-chan said confidently. "I thought I could too."
Misae took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
Sometimes there really was no point trying to reason with this child.
She reached out, turned Shin-chan around, and checked him from front to back, left to right.
Arms, legs, the back of his head.
No wounds. No scrapes.
Only a little dust on his face.
Misae wiped the dirt from his face with her hand.
"Mom, that hurts."
"Bear with it."
After wiping the left side, she wiped the right.
Shin-chan's face was rubbed into a wrinkled mess.
Misae finally pulled back her hand and looked at him.
Shin-chan tilted his head up. Suddenly remembering something, he reached into his clothes and rummaged around.
He pulled out a scroll.
"Grandpa Third gave me this."
Misae looked at the scroll. The cord around it was neatly tied.
"What is it?"
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu." Shin-chan recited it once like he was reading from a textbook. "A forbidden jutsu. Ordinary people can't learn it."
Misae's brows furrowed slightly.
"Is it dangerous?"
"Grandpa Third said it isn't hard. Not hard for me." Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "He didn't say whether it was dangerous."
Misae glanced at the scroll again and hesitated for a moment.
"Then you have to learn it properly."
"Mm." Shin-chan nodded.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and then the door was pushed open violently.
Hiroshi stood at the entrance, panting heavily. "Shin-chan!"
After the small figure came out of the living room—
Hiroshi rushed in without even taking off his shoes, scooped Shin-chan up from the floor, and hugged him tightly.
Shin-chan's face was pressed against Hiroshi's shoulder. "Dad, you smell bad."
Hiroshi didn't let go. Instead, he hugged him even tighter.
"You little brat."
His chin rubbed against Shin-chan's face.
"Dad, your beard." Shin-chan scrunched up his face. "It hurts."
Only then did Hiroshi loosen his hold a little and lower his head to look at him.
"Let Dad take a look."
He checked Shin-chan from head to toe, then turned him around and checked again, doing exactly what Misae had just done.
"You're not hurt, right?"
"No." Shin-chan shook his head, then touched his own face. "But Dad's beard stabbed me."
Misae walked to Hiroshi's side.
"Why are you back? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I took leave."
"Took leave?"
"When I heard Shin-chan was back, my head was full of this kid." Hiroshi put Shin-chan down and rubbed the top of his head. "So I said my son was back, and I had to go home."
"Is it okay to take leave like that?" Misae looked at him.
"Who cares?" Hiroshi crouched in front of Shin-chan, placing both hands on his shoulders. "My son is back. Even the biggest matter has to wait."
Shin-chan tilted his head and looked at Hiroshi.
"Dad."
"Mm?"
"You're really cool."
Hiroshi's nose instantly stung, and he picked Shin-chan up again.
Misae wiped the corner of her eye with one hand and hugged them too.
Shin-chan was squeezed between them, his face pressed tight again.
"Dad, Mom."
"Mm?"
"You're both squeezing me together. I can't breathe."
Misae and Hiroshi let go at the same time, looked at each other, and both laughed.
"Alright, alright. As long as you're back."
Hiroshi sat down on the sofa and patted the spot beside him.
Shin-chan climbed up and sat next to him.
Misae also sat down, picked up the glass of milk on the table, and handed it to Shin-chan.
Shin-chan took it and gulped down two mouthfuls, leaving a white ring of milk around his lips.
Misae reached out and wiped it away for him.
Hiroshi leaned against the back of the sofa, his gaze circling around the living room.
"Huh."
"What is it?" Misae looked at him.
"Where's Shiro?"
Misae froze for a moment, then lowered her head to look at Shin-chan.
"Shiro didn't come back with you?"
Shin-chan put the cup down and licked his lips. "Shiro stayed in the doggy village."
Misae and Hiroshi froze at the same time.
"He stayed there?" Hiroshi sat up straight. "Why?"
"Because Shiro has to learn a jutsu." Shin-chan spread both arms wide, as far as they could go. "A jutsu that can make him as big as a mountain."
"As big as a mountain?"
"Mm." Shin-chan nodded. "Doulo said only doggy royalty can learn it. After learning it, he can protect the people he wants to protect."
Misae's brows furrowed slightly, and she glanced at Hiroshi.
Hiroshi opened his mouth and was about to say something.
"But," Shin-chan spoke again, "I can call Shiro back."
"Call him back?"
"It's called the Summoning Jutsu. I can go 'poof' and call Shiro over."
"Summoning Jutsu? You even learned that?" Hiroshi was a little surprised. "That's impressive, Shin-chan."
"Hehe." Shin-chan scratched his head. "Not really."
Then he lowered his head, looked at his own hand, then at the open space in the middle of the living room.
"Then I'll call Shiro back now."
He stood up, walked to the empty space, and pressed his hand to the floor.
His face turned red from straining.
But nothing happened.
Shin-chan stayed in the pose with his hand pressed to the floor and blinked.
"Weird."
He tried again.
Still nothing.
"I clearly felt it."
He tried a third time.
Still nothing.
Shin-chan opened his eyes and looked down at the floor.
"Dad."
"Mm?"
"This floor might not be very good for it."
~~~
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