The Sound of a Silent Life

The next day.

"Yuzuru, you have to study hard in the new semester. If you have any problems, come to the sixth grade and talk to your sister."

The three of them walked toward the front of the teaching building. This time, Tsuna and his class were on the far left, while Yuzuru's class was on the far right. Before they parted ways, Shouko grabbed Yuzuru, who was about to leave, and gave her some sincere advice.

"I know, sis," Yuzuru replied patiently after hearing her out. Then, she turned her gaze to the invisible man standing quietly behind her sister and said slowly, "Tsuna-san, I'm counting on you to take care of my sister."

"I'm pretty good at taking care of him," Shouko cut in proudly before Tsuna could say a word.

Tsuna could only swallow the reply that had been on his lips. He glanced at the girl beside him with a soft smile and said jokingly, "Yes, yes, I'll be relying on you to take care of me again this year."

"Then I'm heading to class!" Yuzuru quickly interrupted and darted off before either of them could respond.

"Yuzuru, slow down!" Shouko called out, then chuckled as she watched her sister disappear around the corner.

"Let's go too," Tsuna said.

"Okay."

The two of them walked toward the door of Class B according to the sixth-grade signs and saw that a few students were already inside—some chatting, some napping at their desks. The tables and chairs were arranged the same way they had been at the start of the school year, with about a meter of space between each seat.

Tsuna surveyed the layout and immediately deduced that their homeroom teacher would not be Teacher Minagawa this time. He turned to Shouko and whispered, "Looks like our sixth-grade homeroom teacher isn't Teacher Minagawa."

"Tsuna, you—"

"Let's go in and sit first. I'll explain it to you later." Tsuna cut her off gently and guided her to two window seats in the middle row. The few students already in the room barely noticed them, and nobody seemed particularly familiar with each other yet.

"Haha! Hurry up, there aren't many spots left in the back!" a cheerful voice echoed from the doorway about ten minutes later, grabbing everyone's attention.

When Shouko turned and saw it was the hedgehog-haired trio, she lightly nudged Tsuna, who looked half-asleep beside her, and whispered, "Tsuna, I didn't expect them to be in our class."

She remembered them clearly because they had insulted Tsuna once, and he hadn't let her retaliate, which left an impression on her.

Tsuna just gave the trio a passing glance. To him, they were insignificant. He turned back and continued chatting with Shouko.

The three boys walked straight to the last row of seats, ignoring the glances thrown their way. On the way, Kazuki Shimada—light yellow hair, white long-sleeved shirt despite the summer heat—gave Tsuna a long, unreadable look.

"Just two empty seats in a row! Naoka, let's go!" Miki exclaimed as she pulled Naoka toward the classroom door, pointing to the open seats excitedly.

"I know, I know—let's hurry!" Naoka grabbed Miki's hand, walking quickly and not wanting to stand in the doorway and attract attention.

Some of the boys in the room noticed the girls entering and leaned toward their friends to whisper and steal a few glances.

---

About twenty minutes later, once all the students had arrived, a young man wearing a blue-and-white tracksuit, black-rimmed glasses, and medium-length black hair walked into the classroom and stood at the podium.

*"Pa pa pa!"* He slapped the blackboard to try getting everyone's attention, but it barely worked. Frustrated, he cleared his throat and shouted, "Alright, quiet down!"

Once everyone finally looked his way, he picked up a piece of white chalk and wrote "Takeuchi" on the blackboard. He then turned to the class and said seriously, "I'm your sixth-grade homeroom teacher. My name is Takeuchi. You can just call me Mr. Takeuchi."

The students gave no particular reaction, but Mr. Takeuchi didn't seem bothered. Scanning the classroom, he announced, "We'll start with simple self-introductions. From the front row, far left—come up one by one."

*"PAH!"* After waiting for a while without anyone getting up, he smacked the podium, startling some of the students. "Let's move it! Come up now!"

Shouko wasn't frightened, but she did feel he was strict. She leaned close to Tsuna and whispered, "You were right. He's definitely different from Teacher Minagawa. He seems pretty strict."

Tsuna just shrugged and answered gently, "It's fine. As long as we behave and study hard, he won't bother us." He wanted to pat Shouko's head to comfort her, but decided against it since they were in class.

"Mm." Shouko gave him a sweet smile and stayed quiet. She planned to memorize the names of her new classmates so she wouldn't accidentally call anyone by the wrong name later.

At that moment, a sweet-looking girl with flaxen double braids and round glasses stepped up to the podium. She bowed to Mr. Takeuchi first, then to the class, and began in a practiced voice:

"Hello everyone, I'm Kawai Miki. I enjoy helping others… \[a few hundred words of self-praise omitted]. Lastly, I've been the class monitor for five years. Please vote for me when we elect a new one!" She ended with a dazzling smile aimed at the boys in the class.

Seeing that, Shouko instantly turned to glance at Tsuna—only to find that he looked disinterested, maybe even a bit sleepy. She let out a soft, relieved sigh.

Mr. Takeuchi, however, looked visibly annoyed. Did she not understand the assignment? he thought. I asked for a simple self-introduction, not a campaign speech! Is she running for principal or what?

When she finally stepped down, he sighed, kept his irritation in check, and simply said, "Next."

"Your turn, Tsuna." After a few more students, Shouko gently nudged the drowsy boy next to her.

"Alright." Tsuna yawned, stood, and walked toward the podium.

Mr. Takeuchi's demeanor shifted immediately. Seeing Tsuna approach, he stepped aside with a respectful gesture, silently inviting him to the center.

"My name is Miyamura—"

Before Tsuna could finish, a mocking voice rang out from the back of the room:

"Isn't that the sissy?"

The entire class turned to the source of the comment. Shouko hadn't caught the words clearly, but when she noticed everyone staring at the back row—and Tsuna looking in that direction too—she followed his gaze and saw it was the hedgehog-haired boy who had stood up.

Before she could react, a stern voice rang out again:

"Eh!!" Mr. Takeuchi slammed the podium. "Shōya Ishida ! Is it your turn to speak? Sit down."

If he hadn't been the teacher, he might've punched the kid himself. Of all times to open his mouth, he picked **now**—right when this student was introducing himself.