The Sound of a Silent Life

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"Yeah!" Shouko nodded at him playfully. Just when she was about to say that she would buy one, she suddenly thought it would be a bit inconvenient to hold that thing while playing hide-and-seek with everyone. If she left it on a bench in the park, someone might pick it up.

Retracting that thought, she changed her words to the female staff member in front of her:

"That sister, I'll buy it when I go home later. Otherwise, it'll be inconvenient while playing with my friends."

The female staff waved her hand casually and chuckled.

"Hehe... Don't worry, sister will be here all day."

After speaking, she took the opportunity to reach out and rub Shouko's head. Feeling the vigilant gaze of the little boy beside her, she reluctantly withdrew her hand.

Masao, who was behind them, saw that Shouko and the others had finished chatting and persuaded them:

"Let's go. Let's head to the usual spot in the park and wait for Xiaoxin and the others."

At first, he and Nene had come here, taken a quick look, and planned to leave. He felt that if he had money to buy this kind of thing, he'd rather spend it on a few more comic books.

"Yeah."

Several people waited a long time on the park bench before Shin-chan, his sister, and Bo-chan arrived. After sitting down and resting for a bit, they started playing hide-and-seek.

Tsuna initially insisted he'd sit on the bench and watch them play, mainly because he thought it was childish. But in the end, after Shouko's persistent cuteness and coquetry, he genuinely began to enjoy it.

Later, when it was Yuzuru's turn to be the ghost, she even cheated by telling Tsuna, who was the ghost in the previous round, that the first person he saw was Hachiko. So, it wasn't his turn to be the ghost anymore—it was Hachiko's. She figured Hachiko's tail must have been sticking out, which is how Tsuna-ge found both her and him.

What could he do in the end?

Tsuna looked speechlessly at the black-haired little girl who was arguing with him. In a moment of confusion, he gave in and actually let Hachiko be the ghost. The key point was that Yuzuru even explained the rules of the game to Hachiko again:

"Hachiko, stand here and don't move. Then bark thirty times, and you can come out to find us. As long as you see one of us, you can bark."

After explaining it to him, Yuzuru ran off to hide. Seeing this, the others followed. Only Tsuna remained, realizing he'd just had a brain spasm. He stood there silently, feeling like his life was moving backwards.

However!

On the other hand, he wanted to see if his Hachiko was really that smart—smart enough to play hide-and-seek.

The result did not disappoint him.

Hachiko actually barked around thirty times in place. When he turned around and saw Tsuna, he barked again. Then he completely ignored him and ran off to find the others. It only took him two or three minutes to find everyone.

Yuzuru was found by Hachiko. On the way back to the ghost den, she complained to him:

"Hachiko, you're too much. We were so close, yet you found me so fast. Do you want me to be the ghost?"

"Woof!" Hachiko barked beside her.

Yuzuru, who was sure she'd be the next ghost, then said sullenly:

"I don't want to be with you anymore!"

After saying that, she angrily sped up her pace. Hachiko, still following closely, barked twice but saw no response from her, so he obediently quieted down.

"I knew we were the best, and I like you the most!"

When Yuzuru returned to the ghost den and saw that only she was missing from the group, she squatted down excitedly and hugged Hachiko. The people behind her were confused, not understanding why.

Hachiko: Peanuts for me! Peanuts for me!

Finally, the tired group said their goodbyes at a crossroads and went their separate ways. Tsuna, his three companions, and the dog walked home leisurely.

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Afternoon.

Someone was bored and slumped on the sofa watching TV. On the tatami next to the coffee table, Shizuka and Daisuke were chatting about the latest gossip. Mostly it was Shizuka sharing, and Daisuke responding enthusiastically.

Tsuna felt that his father was really emotional, and his mother didn't even notice he was just humoring her.

"Click..."

Tsuna heard the sound of the door opening with a key outside the living room. He didn't need to guess—it had to be Shouko coming to play with him. She was the only one with a key here. Of course, he also had a key to her house.

"Tsuna, Tsuna!!" Shouko's voice arrived before she did.

Shouko, who had already changed her shoes, ran to the entrance of the living room and saw three pairs of eyes looking at her. She hurriedly greeted the two people by the coffee table:

"Good afternoon, Uncle and Aunt..."

"Hehe... Good afternoon." Daisuke greeted her with a chuckle. He caught the flicker of embarrassment in Shouko's eyes, chose not to stare, and picked up an orange from the coffee table to peel.

Shizuka, standing next to him, asked curiously:

"What's wrong, Shouko? You sounded anxious just now."

"Oh... It's nothing. I just forgot to buy the time capsule from that sister when I came back from the park at noon."

Shouko waved her hand to show it wasn't urgent. Then, fearing they didn't understand, she explained the whole story.

After explaining, she added:

"That sister must still be waiting for me to return, so I came to find Tsuna to go to the park and buy it."

"Time capsule, huh. I didn't expect people still sell that kind of thing."

Shizuka snatched the peeled orange from Daisuke's hand, broke off half, and handed it to Shouko with a sigh.

Shouko took the orange and asked in confusion:

"Auntie, you also know about time capsules?"

"Shouko, Mom's not an antique. She still knows what time capsules are."

Tsuna didn't have the same self-control as his father. When he heard Shouko's words, he couldn't help but laugh and quickly explained. He'd already sensed a dangerous aura.

After hearing that, Shouko realized something was wrong with her wording and quickly said:

"Sorry, Auntie! I didn't mean to call you old."

Shizuka swallowed the orange and waved her hand to show she understood:

"It's okay, Auntie knows you didn't mean any harm."

After speaking, she slapped Daisuke's arm and glared at her son. The distance was too far—she didn't want to walk over to hit him.

"Let's go, Tsuna. Let's see if that sister is still there."

After confirming Aunt Shizuka wasn't offended, Shouko swallowed the orange and stood up, pulling Tsuna off the sofa.

"I know, I know. Don't worry. Didn't the staff say they'd be there all day?"

Tsuna quickly pulled himself out of his lazy slouch.

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"Be careful on the road."

"Tsuna, take good care of Shouko."

"Okay."

"Don't worry, Mom."

After the two kids left, Shizuka lazily lay on the coffee table, muttering,

"Time capsule..."

"What's wrong?" Daisuke asked, seeing his wife repeat those words over and over again.

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