"Kon'nichiwa!"
Ajitani bowed slightly toward the siblings. Shouko, realizing what was happening, quickly raised her hand to greet them as well.
Her greeting, however, was not nearly as formal as Ajitani's.
After waiting for a moment, neither of them received a response from Mitoi Iori. Instead, Junko reacted quickly, lightly elbowing him and snapping him back to reality.
"H-hello!"
He bowed deeply toward Ajitani, almost startling her.
"Haha… sorry about that, Ajitani." Junko gave his arm a merciless slap, then chuckled as she explained,
"This brat has attended all-boys schools since he was little, so he hasn't seen many pretty girls. He got lost in thought for a moment."
"…"
"Thank you." Being complimented on her looks, Ajitani immediately thanked Junko.
"Junko-nee, could I trouble you to tell me where the restroom is?" Shouko's voice, neither too loud nor too soft, perfectly broke the awkward silence.
Hearing this, Junko seemed to receive an unspoken signal. Her voice immediately took on the brisk tone of a hostess.
"Come, come, come. I'll take you right now!" she said, naturally linking arms with Shouko and Ajitani.
"We'll head downstairs later, and I'll give you a tour of the first floor so you don't get lost."
"Junko-nee, isn't the restroom by the staircase… m-mm…"
"That one's clogged and hasn't been fixed yet. Hasn't been fixed yet, haha…"
As she spoke, she briskly led the struggling Shouko and Ajitani into the stairwell.
Before Tsuna could retract his gaze from the stairwell, a dark figure suddenly darted in front of him, very familiarly wrapping an arm around his neck.
Mitoi Iori's face, wearing a lewd grin, was almost pressed against Tsuna's nose as he whispered urgently:
"Hey, hey, cousin! What's the relationship between the girl next to cousin-in-law and you guys? Are you close? Hehe… could you introduce us?"
"Not close." Tsuna unhesitatingly slapped his arm away and shook his head in denial.
"…"
"You wouldn't bring her here if you weren't close," Mitoi Iori said, rubbing his arm and staring at him in disbelief.
"Then why are you asking?"
Without giving him a chance to continue, Tsuna tossed out those words, turned to open the door, and prepared to go inside. Before entering, he glanced back at him, silently asking if he wanted to come in.
Seeing that someone was still sleeping inside, Mitoi Iori shook his head without thinking.
Tsuna said nothing more. He walked in, closed the door, and nudged the pretending-to-sleep Nishikata.
"No need to pretend. The door's already closed."
As expected, Nishikata opened his eyes, sprang up in a carp-like motion, and muttered while shaking his head:
"The Class President's charm really hasn't faded over the years."
"…."
Tsuna rolled his eyes, ignored the comment, lay back down, and began scrolling on his phone.
As for greeting his grandparents, he would wait until Shouko and the Class President returned.
He also needed to bring Takagi over, whether she was sleeping or playing next door.
---
Meanwhile, outside the room, Mitoi Iori was far less relaxed.
His mind was running wild.
There was a boy sleeping in cousin's room earlier. Could that have been the boyfriend of that pretty girl just now?
No way, right? He looked so ordinary!
"Ihara, are you standing there like a door god? Or are you peeking at your cousin?" Grandpa Bito's voice rang out sharply from the living room doorway.
"If you're that idle, go downstairs and entertain the guests!"
"Oh, oh, oh!"
Without any chance to hesitate, Grandpa Bito's sharp gaze swept over him like lightning. The next second, Mitoi Iori snapped out of his grin, turned around, and dashed down the stairs with a flurry of hurried footsteps.
---
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Tsuna, Tsuna, time to get up and get ready for dinner."
"Okay! Coming right now!" Tsuna propped himself up, casually raking through his sleep-tousled hair as he answered.
The sounds outside the door stopped, and the room fell quiet again.
Cool moonlight filtered through the window, laying streaks of silvery light across the dim room.
Tsuna stood up and fumbled for the overhead switch. With a soft click, warm yellow light chased away the haze.
He squinted briefly, then walked over and patted the still-sleeping Nishikata.
"Wake up. Time to get ready for dinner."
"What time is it?" Nishikata's muffled voice came from beneath the pillow.
Tsuna's gaze shifted from the window to Nishikata's half-buried face, drowsy and unfocused.
After a brief glance, his eyes dropped to his phone, which read 19:47.
At the bottom of the screen, a line of bright red unread notifications stood out, especially the four characters "Nanase-sensei" beside a missed call and unread message.
Tsuna swiped the screen dark, slipped the phone into his pocket, and said calmly:
"It's almost eight. Let's go downstairs. If we drag this out, they might finish eating."
"Oh, oh, oh," Nishikata nodded groggily. Catching sight of Tsuna already opening the door, he hurriedly called out,
"Miyamura, wait! Let me put on some pants first!"
---
When Tsuna and Nishikata entered the first-floor dining room, the warm aroma of food immediately filled their senses.
More than half of the steaming dishes were already laid out on the table.
Under the lights, Ajitani was gesturing animatedly, making her grandparents beam with smiles.
Her grandmother's eyes crinkled into crescents, while her grandfather held a teacup, nodding repeatedly as he listened.
Mitoi Iori sat beside his grandmother, grinning foolishly, his gaze glued to Ajitani's smiling face, completely oblivious to everything else.
A little farther away, Shouko and Takagi emerged one after the other from the kitchen doorway, each carrying a plate of dishes.
From inside the kitchen, faint clattering sounds could still be heard, likely Junko busy with the final preparations.
When Tsuna and Nishikata appeared at the dining room entrance, the laughter and chatter paused subtly.
Grandpa set down his teacup. Grandma wiped away tears of laughter. Takagi's and Shouko's gazes turned toward them.
Only Mitoi Iori remained lost in his own world.
Grandma's gaze briefly swept over Tsuna's neck before quickly shifting away, though Tsuna noticed it clearly.
"We'll talk later. You two go wash your hands and get ready to eat."
Her gentle voice stopped Tsuna's introduction of Nishikata before it could leave his mouth.
He nodded and led the still-dazed Nishikata toward the kitchen.
"Miyamura…" As soon as they entered, Nishikata grabbed Tsuna's sleeve and whispered,
"I suddenly feel nervous. What should I do?"
He hadn't felt nervous before, but seeing the Class President and Takagi-san, who had clearly already greeted Miyamura's grandparents, made the tension finally sink in.
It was only because he had slept until now that the nervousness had just begun to surface.