"..."
"Slap!"
Tsuna ignored Junko's eyes, which were brimming with gossip not far away, and slapped Nishikata's arm to help him ease his tension.
He also slapped away the hand gripping his wrist.
If Nishikata kept holding on, Tsuna was afraid some gossip might reach Shouko's ears.
"Are you still nervous now?"
"Hiss…" Nishikata rubbed his slightly reddened arm. "It seems I'm really not that nervous anymore."
Only the lingering burning sensation remained. He was afraid that if he nodded and said he was still nervous, he might get slapped again.
"There are still two dishes here. Come and take them out quickly."
Junko's slightly regretful voice interrupted the chaotic thoughts running through Nishikata's mind.
"Okay!" Tsuna replied readily.
Nishikata jolted, snapping back to his senses. He nodded almost at the same time as Tsuna, and the two immediately turned and walked toward Junko-nee.
"Tsuna, wait."
Shouko's voice sounded from behind them.
Tsuna stopped and looked back, only to see her exchanging a glance with Takagi beside her.
After a brief moment, Takagi nodded and walked over to Nishikata. "Come on, Nishikata. Let's take the two dishes Junko-nee mentioned outside first."
Once Nishikata had been sent away by Takagi, Shouko suddenly grabbed Tsuna's wrist.
She did not say a word. She simply pulled him along and turned into the narrow passage leading to the backyard.
Beyond the door lay the inn's small patio garden, a place for guests to relax.
A cool night breeze drifted through the air, carrying the faint, distinctive scent of sulfur from the hot springs.
The winding path was paved with gravel, and a few low stone lanterns dotted the dry landscape garden, reflecting patches of lingering snow.
At this hour, the patio was quiet and dimly lit. Only one or two guests, wrapped in thick towels and wearing wooden clogs, slowly made their way along the stone path toward the open-air hot spring in the distance.
The crisp clatter of wooden soles striking stone echoed intermittently through the quiet night.
Pulled suddenly into this chilly stillness, Tsuna looked at the tranquil scene before him, so different from the lively dining room earlier, and felt puzzled.
"What's wrong? Aren't we going to eat?"
Shouko did not answer his question. She lowered her head and fumbled in the pocket of her school uniform.
The faint, flickering light from the stone lanterns stretched their shadows across the dry landscape garden.
After a moment, Shouko opened her small, warm palm.
A necklace lay quietly in it.
The delicate silver chain gleamed softly under the dim yellow light, and the ice-blue crystal pendant at its center swayed gently, scattering fragments of starlight.
Tsuna barely had time to take a closer look.
"Clink."
A cool touch and a faint, crisp sound followed as the ornate little item was pressed into his slightly open palm by Shouko.
"This is… a gift my grandmother forced on me this evening. It's too valuable. I can't accept it." Shouko's voice was low and hurried.
"A gift?" Tsuna lifted the necklace and examined it. The pendant glimmered faintly beneath the moonlight.
He could tell at a glance that it was expensive. Since his grandmother had given it to Shouko, it clearly meant she approved of her as a future granddaughter-in-law.
If he brought it back to her, he would probably be scolded by both elders.
As for buying one like it, that had never even crossed his mind. He vaguely felt that even if he combined his manuscript fees with Shouko's, they still might not afford it.
Tsuna gathered his thoughts and shifted his gaze from the necklace to Shouko's face.
"Did your grandmother give it to you in front of everyone this evening?"
As his words fell, a cool breeze brushed past, stirring the stray strands of hair on her forehead.
A subtle, almost imperceptible emotion flickered across her face.
"Mm-hm." Shouko nodded, though she did not quite understand why he asked.
"Everyone was chatting in the living room. Grandma suddenly put it in my hand and said it was a gift for me."
"..."
Tsuna quickly took a photo of the necklace with his phone. Then he took Shouko's hand and, without explaining, gently placed the necklace back into her palm.
"Since Grandma gave it to you, just keep it." His tone was firm, carrying a faint smile. "This is her approval of you."
Before she could hesitate, Tsuna took her hand and led her back toward the dining room.
"Come on. It's time to eat. If we're gone any longer, everyone will think we're hiding somewhere to eat alone."
"Eh, eh, eh…"
---
"Yo, you two were gone for quite a while. You didn't sneak off to eat alone, did you?"
Itohara's comment instantly drew the attention of everyone at the table to Tsuna and Shouko.
More precisely, to their necks.
Although the subtle marks there were already an open secret, seeing the two return together now, with faint smiles lingering on their lips, made it seem as though they were silently declaring that they had just done something good.
"You two wouldn't be…"
"Alright, alright!" Ajitani cheerfully cut him off, raising her voice. "Grandpa, Grandma, everyone's here now. Can we start eating? If we wait any longer, the food really will get cold!"
She pretended not to hear the rest of Itohara's sentence, successfully redirecting everyone's attention back to the far more important matter of eating.
Shouko quietly let out a breath of relief and sent Ajitani a grateful look. Their eyes met, sharing a wordless understanding.
"Why are you so talkative today, kid?"
After Tsuna and Shouko sat down and both said, "I'm ready to eat," Junko casually slapped Itohara's back.
"I…"
Seeing him about to argue, she silenced him with a single glance.
The atmosphere at the table gradually warmed. Lively as ever, Ajitani took the lead, animatedly sharing amusing stories from the past few years.
Junko enthusiastically played along, occasionally asking follow-up questions. Grandpa and Grandma listened with gentle smiles.
Itohara tried to interject several times, but Ajitani skillfully expanded the topic each time, smoothly sidestepping his attempts.
In the end, he could only swallow his words and resign himself to being a quiet listener.
---
"Tap."
Under the soft glow of the stone lantern, the bamboo water pipe dipped heavily under the weight of spring water before neatly flipping over.
The crisp sound echoed gently into the deep night of the courtyard.
Misty steam from the hot spring drifted like a thin veil.
Ajitani's gaze involuntarily fixed on the rounded fullness floating above the water in front of Junko, gently swaying with the hot spring's ripples.
Unable to contain her curiosity, she leaned closer and whispered:
"Junko-nee… do you have some exclusive secret recipe? Can you share it? I can pay for it!"
She spoke boldly, her eyes lingering enviously on the full, rounded "scenery" rising from Junko-nee's chest.
Unconsciously, her gaze dropped to her own chest, submerged in the water but noticeably flat, as though time had completely stopped there.
Reality struck immediately.
Her shoulders slumped, and she let out a mournful cry with a crumpled expression.
"Ugh… did I really not buy the growth pack?!"