Shizuka arrived at the parking lot near the fireworks festival first, while Daisuke was still behind and some distance away from everyone.
Because of the overload, Daisuke had to drive another car, but everyone had agreed to meet at a nearby parking lot. As soon as Tsuna got out of the car, he saw that many tourists around had changed into the exclusive yukata for the fireworks festival, though a few came directly in casual clothes.
Most of them also carried a small bag or a vegetable basket in their hands, which contained food made at home or bought at convenience stores.
Although there were some small stalls selling cooked food around the festival, they required lining up when the crowd grew, and the prices were relatively higher.
"You little brat, letting your dad drive here alone. Aren't you afraid he'll cry secretly in the car?"
At this time, Shizuka checked that nothing was left in the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and, as soon as she got out, raised her hand and rubbed her son's head as he looked around.
Tsuna retracted his gaze, turned to his mother with a speechless expression, and patted her hand away. "Dad's not as fragile as you think, okay?"
Shizuka ignored his words, chuckled twice, and turned to chat with Yaeko beside her.
On the other side, Yuzuru was chatting with Shouko, leaving Tsuna alone like a lonely old man, forced to just look around.
Nearby, aside from the usual things, there were quite a few female high school students wearing their school uniforms, attending in groups of three or five. Some were alone, likely waiting for someone.
(The male high school student who was automatically ignored: Feed me peanuts! Feed me peanuts!)
There were, of course, some young couples at the fireworks festival. I had already seen four or five pairs.
Not far ahead, a high school girl with brown, short, shoulder-length hair wearing a blue and white yukata stood beside a casually dressed high school boy.
If you looked closely, you could see the boy hesitantly extending his left hand, then shyly pulling it back, over and over, as though he wanted to hold the girl's hand.
In the end, the girl impatiently grabbed his hand and said something. Unfortunately, I was a bit too far away to hear clearly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." At this time, Daisuke arrived, carrying a small bag with a convenience store logo on it.
Shizuka took out her phone to check the time and chuckled. "Let's go! Let's visit the nearby stalls and have some fun."
As soon as she finished speaking, she reached out and held Yuzuru's hand, interrupting her conversation with Shouko. Yuzuru blinked in confusion, her story cut short.
Before she left, she turned and threw a bewildered look at Tsuna.
Yaeko, who had witnessed the whole thing, just chuckled and took Yuzuru's other hand.
"Take good care of Shouko," Daisuke said before silently following the three of them.
Tsuna stared speechlessly at his mother's retreating figure.
"Then let's go, Tsuna."
In front of him stood Shouko in a yukata, the corners of her mouth slightly raised in a sweet smile. She slowly lifted her right hand and stretched it toward him.
Without hesitation, he held a delicate hand and smiled back.
"Yeah, let's see what fun and tasty stalls there are."
After the two of them walked off hand in hand, the high school girl Tsuna had observed earlier caught sight of the scene. She turned to the boy beside her with a hint of frustration:
"See? These two brats are way braver than you. You've been hesitating for over ten minutes to hold hands."
"I'm just afraid of being seen by my friends or someone I know..." the boy mumbled under his breath.
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Since they had arrived early, the area wasn't too crowded yet. As soon as the couple walked into the aisle formed by rows of stalls, Shouko excitedly dragged Tsuna along to browse around.
Before long, Shouko pulled him to a stall decorated with red and blue curtains. Around the stall were several shallow tanks filled with goldfish of various colors.
Shouko's eyes locked onto the goldfish swimming in the tanks. She shook Tsuna's hand and pointed eagerly at the fish.
"Tsuna, this, this! Let's play this, okay?"
"Hehe... Wanna give it a try? Five hundred yen per game, ten nets, ten minutes," the stall owner chimed in before Tsuna could respond.
(Five hundred yen ≈ 3.37 dollars)
"Okay."
Seeing that Shouko wanted to play, Tsuna instinctively reached into his pocket to get money. But halfway through the motion, he froze—he suddenly remembered his yukata, picked by his mother for appearance, didn't have any pockets.
When changing earlier, he had left all his loose change in the pants he'd worn previously.
Shouko figured it out immediately and chuckled. "Haha... I've got it."
She pulled a 500 yen coin from the small white purse hanging on her left hand and handed it to the stall owner.
"Okay, have fun," the stall owner said, passing her ten delicate paper nets and giving Tsuna a small plastic basin to hold the goldfish.
Without hesitation, Shouko split the ten nets in half and handed five to Tsuna.
"Tsuna, let's do five each," she said warmly.
He shook his head. "It's fine. I'll just watch you play."
Tsuna crouched and placed the clean water-filled basin at Shouko's feet so she could place the fish in it directly after catching them.
Shouko ignored his refusal; her mind was already made up.
Predictably, on her first attempt, the thin paper net tore instantly due to a lack of control. Shouko lifted the net, now with a large hole in the center, and grumbled:
"Ah... it tore so fast..."
Before anyone could comfort her, she perked up again. "Okay! I'll try harder!"
Less than a minute later, she only had five nets left—and the basin was still empty.
"Tsuna..." Shouko called out to him in a dejected tone, clearly seeking comfort.
"It's okay. These paper nets break easily, it's not your fault," Tsuna reassured her.
But before his comforting words could take effect, the stall owner cut in gruffly:
"Kid, you shouldn't say that. I dare say my nets are the second toughest among all the goldfish stalls!"
"..." Tsuna was speechless.
He took a deep breath and turned to Shouko with a gentle tone: "Shouko, let me try. Which one do you want? Point it out to me."
"Uh-huh..."
Without hesitation, Shouko handed him the remaining five nets and stepped aside.
The stall owner, seeing he was being ignored, just snorted, muttering nothing as he waited to see the boy embarrass himself in front of the girl.
After all, only the creator knows—the net practically breaks on contact with the goldfish. As for the kind that breaks from touching water? That's asking to get punched.
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