At that moment, a child sitting on the far right of the second row raised his right hand and asked curiously.
Principal Takakura and Tsuna's attention was caught by his words.
Tsuna looked at the child from the back seat and simply thought the child's head looked like a potato, and it was a buzz cut.
Tsuna shifted his gaze from the child back to Principal Takakura and saw that Principal Takakura's face looked a bit stiff, as if someone had exposed something.
"Shinnosuke, I am the principal of Futaba Kindergarten, and I would never do something like dumping corpses in Tokyo Bay." Principal Takakura looked a little helpless. His appearance had been misunderstood countless times since childhood.
Shinnosuke was a little dissatisfied with Principal Takakura's answer and excitedly opened his mouth to ask, "Then... then—"
"I don't know how to do street gunfights or commit suicide." Principal Takakura seemed to know what he was going to say and directly interrupted him, explaining with a speechless expression.
Tsuna watched the potato-headed kid named Shinnosuke stop talking after hearing what Principal Takakura said and lie down on the table in a somewhat frustrated manner.
Clap! Clap! At this moment, applause came from the door of the Sunflower Class. The sudden sound drew everyone's attention.
The children who had dared not cry suddenly saw the familiar Teacher Yoshinaga standing at the door and immediately began to cry. This action directly startled both Teacher Yoshinaga at the door and Principal Takakura on the podium.
Teacher Yoshinaga quickly walked to the crying child nearest to her to comfort them. Principal Takakura also walked toward a child who was crying loudly. However, Principal Takakura suddenly noticed that the closer he got, the louder the child cried.
"Hahaha..." Tsuna watched the interaction between Principal Takakura and the child and couldn't help laughing. He couldn't believe Principal Takakura didn't realize that most of the children were crying because of his face.
Principal Takakura realized it eventually, responded with disappointment, and returned to the podium. Tsuna noticed that Principal Takakura and the surroundings began to change in color and tone.
After more than ten minutes, Teacher Yoshinaga finally calmed all the crying children. She walked back to the podium, stood beside Principal Takakura, and coughed twice to draw the children's attention.
"Everyone, look at me. Now, Teacher Yoshinaga will introduce this uncle to everyone. He is the principal of our Futaba Kindergarten, Principal Takakura, and he loves to play with children."
Principal Takakura and Teacher Yoshinaga had already discussed this and instantly perked up. After Teacher Yoshinaga finished the introduction, he followed up:
"Yes, I am the principal of Futaba Kindergarten. I'm not a bad person, so you can all relax." After saying this, to seem more friendly, Principal Takakura raised the corners of his mouth and gave what he thought was a kind smile to the children in the audience.
Tsuna, who was watching from the audience, was startled. The children who had just been calmed down started crying again. This time, several more children joined in, which deeply saddened Principal Takakura.
Teacher Yoshinaga held her forehead and smiled bitterly on the podium, then stepped down to comfort the children. Tsuna also joined in. He really couldn't take the ear-piercing crying anymore. It was tolerable when there were only a few, but now it was unbearable.
After comforting one or two children, Tsuna walked to the podium and tried to console the dejected Principal Takakura.
"Principal Takakura, don't be sad. There are still many children who aren't afraid of how you look."
Tsuna's words felt like a knife to Principal Takakura's heart. Instead of being comforting, they made things worse. At that moment, the voice of Shinnosuke, who had spoken earlier, came from behind Tsuna:
"Yeah, boss, when the time comes, just secretly throw them into Tokyo Bay." Shinnosuke walked up behind Tsuna and patted Principal Takakura's leg to comfort him.
Shinnosuke's words, though not loud, were enough to make every crying child in the Sunflower Class fall silent, all eyes turning toward the three people on the podium.
Principal Takakura instantly perked up. He knew it wasn't right for the children to be the ones comforting him, and even though this sort of thing happened several times a year, it still left a mark.
Teacher Yoshinaga then walked up to the podium, pulled a tissue from her pocket, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and ushered Tsuna and Shinnosuke back to their seats. She asked Principal Takakura to return to his office first.
---
Dong! Dong...! Dong...! Three heavy bell chimes rang from outside the Sunflower Class, signaling the start of the lunch break.
Tsuna took out his lunch box from under the table, walked to the podium, greeted Teacher Yoshinaga, and explained his reason. She nodded in approval. Tsuna then ran to the door, pulled it open, and dashed out of the Sunflower Class.
Several children who wanted to eat lunch with Tsuna were left behind, watching as he ran off without even inviting them.
Teacher Yoshinaga looked at Tsuna's vanishing figure and chuckled, shaking her head as she whispered to herself, "Tsuna, who always seems like a little adult, turns into just a regular kid when it comes to Shouko."
Tsuna ran to the door of the Sakura Class and raised his hand to knock. Teacher Ageo's voice came from inside.
"Children, it's time for lunch break. If you need to use the bathroom, go now. If your lunch box needs to be heated, bring it to the teacher." She clapped her hands to indicate it was break time.
Tsuna still knocked politely on the wooden door, and Teacher Ageo's voice came again. Tsuna opened the door, greeted her, and walked straight to Shouko, who was sitting in the middle.
Shouko was delighted to see Tsuna enter the classroom.
She made room for him and couldn't wait to say, "Tsuna, Tsuna! I met lots of new friends today!" Her pronunciation was slightly unclear due to excitement.
"Shouko is amazing." Tsuna listened patiently. Once he understood her meaning, he raised his free hand and gently patted her head.
Tsuna placed the lunch box on the table and sat in the space Shouko had made.
Overjoyed by the praise, Shouko continued to chatter about her morning adventures. Since the other children in the class were hearing-impaired, only Tsuna and Teacher Ageo could understand her.
Every time Shouko told a funny story, Tsuna responded. When the story was about her, he praised her in different ways. Meanwhile, he slowly unwrapped the black cloth around the lunch box.
After unwrapping it, Tsuna pulled out two lunch boxes, opened them to see which had more meat, and placed that one in front of Shouko. He also took out a small wooden spoon and a pair of chopsticks. The spoon was for Shouko, and the chopsticks were for himself.
After handing the spoon to Shouko, Tsuna spoke gently: "Alright, Shouko, let's eat while we talk, okay?"
"Yeah... yeah!" she nodded eagerly.