"Is this student not injured?"
As soon as Mr. Takeuchi led the two into the teacher's office, he heard Teacher Minagawa's concerned voice—though Mr. Takeuchi found it irritating.
"Good afternoon, Teacher Minagawa," Tsuna greeted politely.
Teacher Minagawa smiled and responded, then asked in confusion,
"Hehe... Good afternoon, Miyamura-san. Did you get into a fight again because of Shouko this time?"
From her impression over the past few years, Miyamura's fights were always because someone bullied Shouko, so she assumed it was the same situation again.
"No, not exactly. It was mostly because of me this time," Tsuna replied casually.
He spoke naturally, without the restraint most students would have when called to the teacher's office and faced with multiple teachers.
"Really?" Teacher Minagawa was a little surprised, but not overly so. After all, it wasn't a serious matter. Despite Miyamura not taking his classes seriously and often getting into trouble to protect Shouko, he was still an exemplary student overall.
Teacher Takeuchi, who had returned to his seat, interrupted their conversation.
"Hey, hey, hey, Minagawa, this is my class matter. Why are you chatting with my student?"
Teacher Minagawa fell silent and resumed eating her lunchbox. Seeing that she said no more, Teacher Takeuchi took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Shōya.
"Call your parents first."
He had already understood the whole situation and felt it was better to let the parents handle it. No one was seriously hurt, and he didn't want to waste any more energy on it.
Shōya took the phone and naturally called his old lady, then handed it back for Takeuchi to speak. Tsuna, standing beside her, used the phone watch his mother had given him a few years ago.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Shōya's Call connected first.
Takeuchi turned on the speaker so Shouya could also hear and explained gently:
"Hello, I'm Ishida's sixth-grade homeroom teacher. He had a conflict with another student. Please come to the school. Don't worry—he's not injured."
"Okay, okay, I'm on my way," the voice replied in a rush before hanging up.
Takeuchi and Shouya turned their attention to Tsuna.
"Hehe... What's wrong, Tsuna?" Shizuka answered her son's call with a chuckle.
"Mom, I—"
"Wait! Don't say anything, let me guess," she interrupted.
Tsuna rolled his eyes at the air.
"Are you hurt? What about the other person?" she asked sharply.
Every time her son called from school, it was because of a fight. No exceptions.
"I'm fine. The other guy just got hit in the shoulder."
"Alright, I'll hang up now. I'm driving—it's not convenient to talk. I'll be at the school in two or three minutes."
"Okay. Drive safe."
After Tsuna hung up, he noticed Takeuchi staring at him strangely.
"What is it?" he asked in confusion.
"Nothing," Takeuchi replied quickly, shaking his head.
---
"Tsuna's been gone a while," Shouko said, swinging her legs as she sat on the bench, looking a little worried.
Chika swallowed her food and tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry, Shouko. What if Tsuna had to wait in line for hot water?"
"Yeah, Shouko, if you're hungry, just eat. You don't have to wait for him," Miu added, chewing on her food.
"It's fine. I'm not hungry yet. I'm just a little worried," Shouko replied.
As she spoke, she spotted a familiar figure at the school gate. She stood up abruptly, placed both her and Tsuna's lunch boxes on her seat, and told them,
"Chika, Miu, please watch over our lunch boxes. I think I saw Aunt Shizuka. I'm going to confirm."
"Shouko..." Miu had just started to call out when Shouko dashed away.
Shizuka, who had just finished speaking with the security guard, spotted Shouko the moment she stepped inside the gate.
"Shouko, what are you doing here?" she asked curiously.
Shouko ran forward, relieved to see her godmother—but when she heard her next words, she couldn't make sense of them. She paused for a moment, trying to comprehend, and then asked in confusion:
"Auntie, what are you saying? Is this even Japanese? Why does it feel like I don't understand anything? This is a school—where else would I be?"
"Tsuna didn't get into this fight because someone bullied you?"
Shizuka facepalmed, suddenly realizing the truth.
As soon as she finished, she saw Shouko turn and run back.
"Shouko, slow down! Be careful!" she called out, hurrying after her. How could she not know that her son had gotten into a fight this time without even telling Shouko?
Back at the bench, Miu saw Shouko rushing back.
"Shou..." she began—but Shouko was already running off again.
---
Tsuna sat in a chair, bored, staring at the ceiling. Shouya didn't look any better. Even Takeuchi was quietly eating his lunch. The other teachers were either eating or reviewing documents.
"Tsuna!!"
Tsuna stood up and stretched. At first, he thought he was hallucinating from boredom—he'd just heard Shouko's voice.
Suddenly, a soft figure leapt into his arms. By the time he reacted, the small figure was already examining him closely.
At that moment, Shouko ignored the seven or eight pairs of eyes on her in the teacher's office and continued inspecting him.
Tsuna was about to stop her, but he noticed her red eyes and sweaty forehead. He reached into his pocket to get a tissue to wipe her sweat—but she grabbed his hand and started checking his palm.
"Speak up! Are you hurt anywhere?"
After confirming that his hand was uninjured, Shouko gently released him. But he hadn't said anything, and she couldn't be sure he wasn't hurt elsewhere.
Hearing her voice, now tinged with a cry, Tsuna quickly reassured her:
"I'm not hurt at all. I just wanted to wipe your sweat with a tissue."
He pulled a small packet of tissues from his pocket, took one out, and gently wiped her forehead.
Once Shouko confirmed Tsuna was telling the truth, she turned her glare on Shouya, who stood awkwardly nearby.