"Snap!"
Tsuna turned his head to look at Shouko in confusion, not understanding why she suddenly slapped him out of the blue.
Although the slap felt more like a tickle, it was still inexplicable.
Tsuna quickly tried to recall anything he might have done recently to offend Shouko.
But he couldn't think of anything—he had been quite honest and well-behaved lately. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the homework book in Shouko's hand and asked hesitantly:
"Did you hit me because of the homework?"
Shouko ignored the question, put down the pen in her right hand, and reached out to pinch his fair cheeks.
"From now on, you can only look at me through glasses."
These words confused Tsuna a bit, but he quickly caught on, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Okay, I promise. But you have to promise me one thing too."
"No problem!" Shouko agreed without hesitation. After all, she didn't believe he would do anything bad to her.
"Then I want to rest my head on your lap for ten... no, five minutes." He waved five fingers at her.
Tsuna gently removed her hands and stated his condition without hesitation, looking at her with a sly grin.
Shouko looked at him curiously.
"What's a lap pillow?"
Tsuna looked at her innocent expression. She really didn't know what a lap pillow was, so he gave her a rough explanation:
"It means I want to lie on your lap with my head for five minutes."
"Okay." Shouko agreed immediately, thinking it was no big deal. She had cuddled with him more times than she could count since they were kids.
Although they hadn't slept together since third grade, that seemed like a minor detail.
Besides, it was only five minutes, and they wouldn't be doing anything weird. The important thing was that it was just the two of them—no one else would see.
"Then finish my homework first," Tsuna said, clarifying that he wasn't some kind of pervert and that homework came first.
Shouko quickly finished the homework in three or four minutes, then walked over to Tsuna's bed and sat down, patting her thigh.
"Come on."
Tsuna jumped onto the bed without hesitation, but glanced at Shouko, who looked calm, and asked softly,
"Are you sure? Once I lie down, there's no turning back." His eyes showed a hint of hesitation.
"Yeah, only five minutes," Shouko nodded, slightly annoyed by his stalling.
Tsuna lay down immediately. To be honest, it didn't feel quite like the romantic lap pillows he had read about in light novels.
How should he describe it? It felt like a pillow—just a little firmer and warmer. And he could clearly smell Shouko's natural fragrance.
But that wasn't special. He could smell her scent every day. Another thing was the angle—he could clearly see that Shouko didn't have a double chin.
As for "beautiful scenery," there wasn't anything noteworthy. After all, his lovely Shouko was only in sixth grade.
The complete opposite of him was Shouko, who felt strange sensations in her heart when he lay on her. It felt a little itchy, but she couldn't scratch it.
The room also felt hotter and hotter... Her face felt the same, but maybe it was because she was wearing too many layers...
Seeing him quietly close his eyes, she wanted to touch him, but was afraid of waking him.
---
"Shouko and I will go to school first. Mom, Dad, don't be late," Tsuna reminded them as they stood at the door.
Shizuka stood in the corridor, watching them, and joked:
"I know. If your dad isn't there, the principal might feel embarrassed to start the performance."
"Be safe on the road."
"Yeah."
"I'm heading out."
As for Yuzuru, she was still asleep. Because of the singing competition today, all students except the sixth graders could arrive at school later.
As soon as the two entered Class B and sat down, Miyoko nervously walked over to Shouko:
"What should I do? What should I do? I'm already nervous, and we haven't even gone on stage yet!"
Shouko thought of Tsuna's advice from last night and comforted her:
"Miyoko, when the time comes, just think of the audience as potatoes."
"I can't! I can't!" Miyoko quickly shook her head.
Her panic made Shouko, who was already feeling a little nervous herself, even more anxious. But since most of the class was in the same mood, there wasn't much she could say.
Tsuna gave her a blank look and decided to take a nap. After saying goodbye to Shouko, he lay down on the desk and dozed off.
Over the past month, the choir had stopped going off-key. The key reason was that Shōya had been conducting well, even if his part was limited to the intro and middle sections.
Everyone thought he had changed for the better—but that wasn't entirely true. Every few days, he'd still beat up the boy who originally complained about him. Since the competition was approaching, Takeuchi just scolded him and let it go.
As for Shimada, he'd already learned piano, and after a month, had memorized the accompaniment.
"Okay everyone, quiet down. We're about to begin. If you need to use the restroom, go now—you won't get another chance once we're on stage."
Half an hour later, the homeroom teacher, Takeuchi, shouted at the class.
He then gently reminded Shouko:
"Nishimiya, please wake up Miyamura next to you."
His tone was completely different from his earlier roar.
Before Shouko could respond, Tsuna sat up straight, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"No need, I'm already awake."
Takeuchi's voice had already woken him up.
Upon hearing this, a few students at the front spoke to Takeuchi and then left the classroom together.
"Shouko, I'm going to cafeteria downstairs to buy something. Do you want anything?" Tsuna asked, rising from his seat.
Shouko looked up at him, puzzled.
"What are you getting?"
"It's a secret." Tsuna saw that Shouko didn't want anything, so he walked over to speak with Takeuchi at the podium. Takeuchi agreed without hesitation.
Shouko watched Tsuna leave the room mysteriously and was about to follow him when a voice behind her interrupted:
"Shouko, let's go to the restroom too."
"Okay," Shouko nodded. She figured she'd find out what he was up to eventually—and she should give Tsuna some privacy at school.
---
"Shimada, are you sure about this? Isn't this going too far?"
Shōya, sitting in the back row, watched as nearly half the class had left. He turned to Shimada beside him and asked in a low voice, sounding hesitant.
Shimada glanced at Keisuke, who stood nearby with his fingers interlocked, ignoring them. He nodded firmly but stayed silent.
Seeing this, Shōya fell silent too.
---