"No way…"
"Don't even think about it."
Tsuna didn't even lift his eyes, his right hand naturally falling onto the fluffy head in his arms, his fingertips tapping twice with an intimate, light yet firm touch.
"Just two or three! I promise no more!" Shouko stood on her tiptoes, looking up at him, trying to meet his gaze to increase her persuasiveness.
Her right hand stretched out earnestly, wiggling three fingers. "Look, I swear!"
"Then do you remember what we agreed upon a week ago?" Unfortunately, Tsuna wasn't buying it, and he wiggled his raised index finger.
"Huh? Agreement? What agreement?"
Shouko's round, large eyes instantly blinked a few times, trying to fill them with pure, innocent light.
Her head even tilted to the side in cooperation, her tone forced into confusion. "Why do I have no impression at all?"
"…"
Tsuna watched her feign ignorance, raised his hand, and pinched her soft cheeks, pulling them gently outward with resolve.
"We agreed that before the hickey on your neck disappeared, you could only make one at most."
As he spoke, he accurately pointed to the faintly visible red mark just above her collarbone. "You just made that last night."
Seeing that her acting cute and charming had no effect, Shouko grabbed his mischievous hands and began to argue.
"Tsuna, think about it, okay? The situation is different now!"
"The day after tomorrow, we're taking the school's rented bus to the school trip destination.
If other girls see how handsome you are and ask for your contact information, and if we're out playing, wouldn't that disrupt our travel plans?"
"…"
At first, hearing her praise his handsomeness, Tsuna's lips couldn't help but curl upward, but that last sentence made him feel a bit strange.
She was just jealous, using the travel plans as an excuse.
"Alright."
As soon as he said that, Shouko's eyes instantly brightened by several degrees.
"But…"
"I promise you!"
"Dong!"
Tsuna unhesitatingly flicked her forehead with his finger, annoyed. "You could at least let me finish."
He felt that with Shouko's personality, even if she were sold, she would still help others count the money. Fortunately, he was by her side, so such a thing wouldn't happen.
"Oh…" Shouko rubbed her faintly reddened forehead.
"Only two more. No more."
"Mm-hmm-hmm~ Alright, alright~ No problem!" Shouko nodded furiously, her face full of a smug "I'm very reliable" expression, though she hadn't thought it through at all.
"…" Tsuna narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her for a moment, then looked away before she could feel guilty.
He walked to the computer chair and sat down, and as soon as he crossed his legs, without him even needing to remind her, Shouko giggled foolishly and settled into his lap, her arms familiar as they wrapped around his neck.
"Tsuna, you look at your materials. Don't mind me."
"…"
He looked at the study materials for the agency that his father had left him on the computer, but he couldn't read a single word. His heart was completely restless.
Not to mention the two moist, soft lips in his arms that were already pressed tightly against his neck.
Her tongue was even restlessly licking and sucking gently, repeatedly pressing against that small patch of skin.
Her moist breath puffed onto that area of skin again and again.
Even though the air conditioning in the room was strong enough, a dry heat surged up from within, burning through his whole body, his cheeks especially hot.
"Dong!"
"Don't bite."
"Oh, oh, oh."
Shouko, whose rhythm was disrupted, wasn't annoyed. She responded with a smile and continued her unfinished work.
"This position is a bit in the way, hard to apply force!" Her lips rubbed against his neck, her voice soft and whiny, but with a cheeky expression.
"That last one was a warm-up! It doesn't count! Tsuna, I haven't even started making them yet." Her soft breath puffed onto his skin.
"…"
After shifting to a few more positions, all using the same excuse, the person holding her couldn't tolerate it anymore and gave her a crisp flick on the back of her head.
"Dong!"
"Shouko, that's enough. Do you really think your little tricks can fool me?"
"Oh… then just one last one, okay?"
She held up one finger as a guarantee, and seeing his tacit approval, she immediately stood on tiptoe and quickly pecked him on the lips as a down payment, her movements as swift as a sneaking kitten.
Then she lowered her head and contentedly threw herself into the great task of "meticulously crafting" the last hickey.
"…"
Was that his tacit approval? He clearly didn't have time to speak. Shouko simply didn't give him a chance to open his mouth.
"Done!" Shouko admired her spoils, smiling so widely her eyes disappeared, and nudged Tsuna's arm.
"Tsuna, as a reward, I'll allow you to make some for me too!"
After speaking, she strained to lift her small face, her finger pressing hard on her pale neck. "Look, plenty of space!"
"No need." Tsuna deliberately waved his hand, his tone so perfunctory even he didn't believe it.
"No, no! You must!"
As soon as he tried to decline, Shouko reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up, eagerly pulling at his hand resting on the edge of the table.
"Don't you understand reciprocity?!" Her finger also tapped on her collarbone.
Tsuna, who had only intended to make a token gesture, saw her so anxious she was almost stamping her feet and couldn't hold back, letting out a muffled laugh.
Not only did he not stand on ceremony, but he tightened his arms and pulled her directly into his embrace, his warm breath immediately rubbing against the delicate skin of her neck.
The next day…
Shizuka looked at their prominent necks early in the morning, feeling a bit speechless.
At the dining table, she and Daisuke chose to ignore them, unable to look, completely unable to look.
Their necks also earned them a round of teasing from Yuzuru, but Shouko didn't indulge her and immediately started lecturing her.
——
Two days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the school trip arrived.
Tsuna and Shouko had already packed all their change of clothes and other items into their backpacks.
They arrived at the entrance amid Shizuka's reminders every ten minutes.
"Tsuna, remember that if you have any problems you can't solve in Osaka, go find your grandpa. If that really doesn't work, call me, remember?"
"Hai, hai, hai…"
Tsuna nodded perfunctorily. At first, he would repeatedly promise to take good care of Shouko, but after hearing it so many times, he didn't quite know what to say anymore.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll protect and take good care of Tsuna in Osaka! I definitely won't let any bad girls outside snatch him away!"
Shouko patted her rebounding chest muscles, making repeated assurances.
"…"
He only felt that things were upside down, but he didn't expose her. He held her hand and, under his mom's repeated reminders, they left the house.
"Click…"
"Alright, Tsuna and Shouko are children again. Why do you need to remind them so much?" Daisuke walked out of the shadows behind them.
"Besides, their school trip this time involves two classes."