The Sound of a Silent Life

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"Miu, slow down," Chika called out worriedly from behind. She quickly took out her lunchbox and hurried over to their seats.

The four of them always ate lunch together at two desks pushed together, and by now the rest of the class was completely used to it.

They were also used to seeing Tsuna sitting there every day with three girls. At first, a few boys whispered and pointed fingers behind his back, but when they realized Tsuna didn't even bother to look at them, they quickly lost interest.

As for exclusion or bullying? That was impossible. Besides chatting with Shouko and a handful of familiar classmates, Tsuna never bothered to talk to anyone else. And if anyone even thought of bullying… well, after seeing how he once beat up a few boys who tried to pick on Shouko, using moves far beyond what kids their age should know, no one dared.

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"The boys in our class are so childish," complained a yellow-haired girl sitting cross-legged in the middle of another little group of girls eating lunch on the other side of the room.

"Yeah, they actually read comics and watch cartoons," agreed the red-haired girl sitting to her left.

The gray-haired girl on her right spoke through a mouthful of food, "I stopped watching that stuff back in third grade." After swallowing, she added, "And I heard some of them even pick their noses and eat them."

"Ew!" The others all squealed in disgust at the same time. The purple-haired girl frowned and scolded, "Aimi! We're eating. Don't say gross stuff like that!"

"Sorry, sorry, my bad," Aimi apologized awkwardly.

"And yesterday," the blue-haired girl chimed in, "I saw Tanaka from our class randomly doing finger guns in the hallway when he passed by the class monitor. What was that about?"

"If you ask me, the only normal and mature boy in our class is Miyamura," the yellow-haired girl said, putting down her chopsticks and speaking with a softer voice.

The red-haired girl nodded in agreement, then teased lightly, "What brought that up all of a sudden?"

Missing the teasing, the yellow-haired girl raised her left hand and started counting on her fingers. "Look, Miyamura doesn't run around playing soccer or basketball with those sweaty boys — so he never smells bad."

"How do you know? Have you smelled him?" Aimi cut in, genuinely surprised.

That question made the yellow-haired girl's cheeks turn pink. She remembered once catching a faint clean scent when Miyamura walked past, but of course, she couldn't admit it. Instead, she snapped, "Aimi, can you let me finish?"

"Emi, go on, we won't interrupt," the red-haired girl said quickly, covering Aimi's mouth. They all understood what she was really thinking.

Blushing slightly, Emi continued, ticking off her second finger. "Miyamura always has the best grades. And the most important thing is, he's always with Nishimiya. At first, I thought he'd be a bit weak, but when Nishimiya was bullied, he was the first one to stand up and protect her. Isn't that… kind of cool?"

Seeing her like that, the red-haired girl couldn't help but laugh. "Wait, don't tell me you actually like Miyamura?"

At first, the others didn't react, thinking she was just praising him. But once the red-haired girl said that, they all turned to Emi with eyes shining; part teasing, part gossip, part caution.

Feeling cornered, Emi blurted out loudly, "I think you like him! Why else would you say that?" As soon as she finished, she sneaked a glance toward Miyamura Tsunayoshi, trying to see if he'd heard.

The red-haired girl, less brave, whispered back, "Who'd like a boy who always sticks around girls?" But then even she sneaked a glance, only to see Tsuna hadn't even noticed.

At this age, fourth to sixth grade, it felt deeply embarrassing if classmates found out who you liked. And anyone who openly spent time with the opposite sex risked teasing. But if you could ignore that teasing… years later, you might look back and smile.

At his table, Tsuna watched the lively group of girls across the room and said helplessly, "Shouko, you'd better not become like them. They're… too much." He hesitated, unable to put it into words.

"Mm." Shouko quietly followed his gaze and nodded obediently.

———

**Dong… Dong… Dong…!**

Teacher Minagawa stood in front of two lines of students in the gym, holding a volleyball. "Alright, school's over. Students on cleaning duty, remember to go back to the classroom and tidy up before you leave." Then he lifted the whistle on his chest and blew it.

As Tsuna and the other team members were dismissed, he quickly walked over to Shouko and said softly, "Let's go back to the classroom to get our schoolbags."

Usually, when PE was the last class, most students brought their bags to the gym. Teacher Minagawa didn't mind. But Shouko always preferred to leave hers in the classroom and get it afterward.

"Okay." Shouko nodded, then turned and called out to the two girls still waiting. "Miu, Chika, you go ahead first. I'll get my bag. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Chika waved cheerfully.

"Then we'll go first. You two enjoy your little world together," Miu teased with a grin.

Hearing that, Shouko's face turned red and she protested, "Miu! Don't say stuff like that!"

She instantly regretted ever telling her about it. Stealing a glance at Tsuna, she saw he was calmly drinking water, paying no attention, and let out a tiny sigh of relief.

After finishing his drink, Tsuna naturally stepped to her side and said softly, "Come on, let's go."

They walked back to the classroom together. Tsuna reached out to hold her hand, but Shouko shyly pulled away and whispered, "Tsuna… we're still at school. What if the teacher sees?"

Tsuna just nodded, understanding. Ever since fourth grade, Shouko had been shy about holding hands on campus. But once they left the school gates, she'd always reach for his hand first.

"Tsuna, check you didn't forget anything," Shouko reminded gently after she'd packed her things. "It'd be annoying to come all the way back."

"Okay." Tsuna shrugged lazily, walked over to his seat, crouched down, and checked his desk. Normally he wouldn't have bothered, but this time… something unexpected turned up.

He froze as he slowly pulled out a small pink envelope with a neat red heart sticker sealing it. It was the first time he'd ever gotten something like this, so he stared for a moment, surprised.

And Shouko, who'd been quietly watching him, froze too when she saw him take out a love letter from his desk.

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