---
"This one is different," Tsuna explained.
Then he took a plastic ring from Shouko beside him and stared intently at the grand prize substitute on the top shelf again.
Shizuka rolled her eyes at him helplessly, then chuckled and stepped aside to join the others. She picked up the camera she had used earlier, turned on the recording mode, and pointed it at her son.
She had already made up her mind—she was going to record Tsuna's embarrassing moment. When he and Shouko got married, she would show it to him over and over again and laugh at his childhood bragging.
Of course, if he actually won, she would still show the video at the wedding so he could have a good laugh at his younger self, hahaha!
But if he failed, she would say a few words of comfort.
"Hehe…" The stall owner couldn't help laughing when he saw Tsuna miss the target four or five times in a row.
But then the stall owner's expression froze in disbelief as he saw the green plastic ring land perfectly on the grand prize substitute. Before he could recover from the shock, he heard the little boy's chuckle:
"All right, take the grand prize."
The stall owner's stunned expression spread—first to one person, then to another, and eventually to the surrounding tourists.
Even those closest to Tsuna were slightly incredulous that he had actually won, though they still attributed it to sheer luck.
"I knew Tsuna was the best!" Shouko cried excitedly as she hugged him the moment he won.
"Haha… No—"
Before he could finish, Shouko had already let go and rushed over to the stall owner, extending her hand. Her meaning was clear.
The stall owner glanced at the woman filming nearby, then back at the little girl, unable to argue. With a reluctant look, he handed her the panda stuffed animal wrapped in clear plastic.
Shouko took it with effort—it was harder to pull than expected—but when she finally got it, she felt like owner's heart cracked a little.
Still, she didn't care too much. It wasn't really the owner's anyway.
"Sis, can I hug the panda doll?" Yuzuru's voice brought some of the still-shocked tourists back to reality.
Some people started whispering again, and others stubbornly believed it was just luck—they could do it too.
"No, I just got it," Shouko pouted.
Yuzuru was stunned. This was the first time her sister had rejected her so directly.
Miu, who stood next to Yaeko, also wanted to ask but swallowed her words after seeing Shouko's rejection.
Shizuka saw this and chuckled, trying to comfort her:
"Haha… Okay, Yuzuru, your sister just got that doll. She hasn't hugged it enough yet."
"Okay, boss, I still have over twenty rings in my hand. Which one is the second prize?"
Tsuna ignored the crowd. He felt like he had just found the right rhythm, it would be a waste not to keep going.
The stall owner looked troubled but didn't hesitate. He pointed to one of the substitutes on the second shelf.
"Here. The second prize is a half-meter-tall white rabbit."
He figured the kid had just gotten lucky. Winning the big prize occasionally was normal—he wouldn't be that lucky again.
Quickly confirming that belief, the stall owner casually rearranged things. Some stubborn tourists didn't even bother watching anymore and left in defeat.
After Tsuna had snatched two second prizes and four third prizes, the stall owner finally realized what was happening. With a forced smile, he offered a deal:
"Haha… kid, you've only got a dozen rings left. How about selling them? Uncle'll take them all for 1,000 yen, okay?"
Seeing Tsuna remain silent and clearly planning to continue, he quickly raised the offer:
"2,000 yen? Come on, look—none of your friends even have free hands now."
"All right, Tsuna, that's enough." Daisuke was a bit annoyed.
He didn't know what beef Tsuna had with the vendor, but Tsuna had already made his point. Besides, they now had four bags full of goldfish.
He wasn't sure where this kid had learned all those skills—was he just naturally talented?
When Shouko and the others caught something earlier, they'd been excited and admired Tsuna. But after that, the praise felt half-hearted since each of them had two dolls now—except for Shouko, who had to hold hers with both hands.
"Okay, boss. 2,000 yen," Tsuna finally said, obeying his father's words. He looked up and smiled at the vendor.
The others dispersed; the excitement was wearing off. The vendor had already planned to close early, and with the grand prize gone, no one else was interested.
Eventually, the group slowly strolled back to the parking lot, stuffed the dolls into the back seat of Daisuke's car, and got ready for the next leg of the day.
The dolls they carried caught the attention of countless tourists, some even asking Shouko where she had gotten the giant panda doll.
---
After Shizuka and the others placed the dolls in the car, she pulled out her phone to check the time and asked gently:
"All right, the tour starts in about an hour. Want to keep shopping?"
"Then let's continue shopping. See you later, Uncle and Aunt." Chika waved goodbye to the group and left with Miu.
"Then Shouko and I will go see if there's any good food we haven't tried yet," Tsuna said, taking Shouko's hand as they watched the two leave.
"Be safe."
"Take good care of Shouko."
"Sis will take—"
Shizuka hurriedly called out after the two retreating figures:
"Tsuna, don't come back carrying so much stuff. You're here to enjoy yourself, not to shop!"
She was worried Tsuna would try another shooting game and come back with even more dolls.
Tsuna simply raised his free hand and waved back without turning around—a signal that he'd heard her.
"Shouko, want to go anywhere?" Tsuna asked after they'd walked a while, looking up at her.
"Hmm…" Shouko stroked her chin, thinking for a moment before slowly replying.
"I heard there's a shrine up on the hill nearby. Why don't we check it out?"
"It's 8:25 now. There probably aren't many people left up there, right?
Besides, the shrine staff are likely resting, and anyone who wanted to shop has already gone down. I also heard it's halfway up the mountain. You sure you're not scared?"
Tsuna narrowed his eyes at her, suspecting she had an ulterior motive for wanting to go.
Shouko couldn't stand his look and gave him a light slap on the arm, saying, annoyed:
"You're here to protect me, aren't you? What's there to be afraid of? But if you don't want to go, we can just keep looking at stalls."
"Let's go!"
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