"Good morning, Principal Takakura." Shouko greeted timidly when she saw him looking her way. Even after being at Futaba Kindergarten for so long, she still felt a little scared every ti she saw his stern face.
The new parents nearby had the sa impression. They'd assud the man shoveling sand in the sandbox was a security guard—he looked far too intimidating to be anything else. It ca as a surprise to learn he was actually the principal of Futaba Kindergarten.
After all, he'd never appeared in any enrollnt photos, and most parents had only dealt with the class teachers during registration.
"Haha... it's Akira and Shouko. Good morning!" Principal Takakura turned around, recognizing the two children with a warm chuckle.
Shouko imdiately hid behind Akira, clearly startled by his grin. Even Akira had to admit that Principal Takakura's smile was... hard to digest.
Before the principal could feel too dejected, a loud, familiar voice interrupted the mont.
"Boss! Are we not going to Tokyo Bay today? Are you burying people in the sandbox instead?"
They all turned toward the source—and sure enough, it was Shinnosuke. Though nearly seven years old now, he hadn't changed one bit. He casually waved to Shouko and Akira.
"Shin-chan, I'm the principal of Futaba Kindergarten, not a mber of the Gangster," Principal Takakura replied dryly.
Of all the students, only Akira and Shinnosuke weren't fazed by his appearance. But their unique sense of humor kept him on his toes.
Before the principal could continue the conversation, Shinnosuke had already run off and was now bothering a pretty young mom nearby.
With greetings exchanged and Shin-chan distracted, Akira took Shouko's hand and led her up the stairs toward their new classroom, right next to the old Sakura class.
The classroom layout was almost identical to their previous one. But there were only nine desks now—several children had dropped out over the past two years due to various personal or family reasons.
Akira picked a seat for both of them, and after stashing their supplies in the cubby holes under the desks, other kids began to gather around Shouko, eager to chat.
So used sign language, so wrote notes, and so spoke softly. It was a noisy but heartwarming scene.
Akira rested his chin on his arms and watched Shouko chatting and laughing with her classmates. A soft warmth filled his chest as he recalled the past two years.
During that ti, Shouko had beco the heart of the Sakura class. With her adorable looks, sociable nature, and gentle personality, she quickly earned the love of everyone. Her spoken language was also the clearest among the children with hearing impairnts (excluding the two "normal" kids—Akira and Shinnosuke).
Ms. Yoshinaga had once asked Shouko on behalf of the class how her speech had improved so much. Shouko's answer: Akira had practiced pronunciation with her every day for three years. If she made a mistake, they'd start over, and he'd quiz her on the previous day's lesson at random.
The other kids were envious—and even a little jealous. Most of them had no normal friends their age, and even if they did, no one would invest that much effort day after day. Their parents were too busy just making ends et.
"Children! Back to your seats!" Ms. Ueo entered the classroom, her voice rising above the chatter.
The kids quickly scrambled to sit down. Akira refocused, watching Ms. Ueo as she sat near the podium, nodding at the children.
With a cheerful tone, Ms. Ueo addressed the class, "Tomorrow, so reporters from Futaba TV will be visiting. They want to ask you a few questions."
Akira imdiately rembered—every year, senior class students were interviewed on cara.
Shouko raised her left hand and asked curiously, "Ms. Ueo, what's an interview?"
Ms. Ueo nodded and began explaining patiently, but the mont the words "on TV" ca up, the rest was lost on the kids.
Shouko turned to Akira, eyes sparkling. "We're going to be on TV tomorrow, Akira! That ans Mom, Uncle, Auntie—everyone will see us!"
"Yuzuru and Grandma too!" she added, not forgetting anyone.
"Then we better behave well tomorrow," Akira said, chuckling at her excitent.
"I always behave!" Shouko puffed up proudly.
Before she could go on, Ms. Ueo clapped her hands. "Alright, alright. Settle down, everyone. The reporters aren't coming until tomorrow."
"Okay~!" the kids chorused back.
As usual for the first day of school, Ms. Ueo led the class in fun gas, followed by a storytelling session featuring The Calabash Brothers and Snow White—an odd but amusing combination.
In the afternoon, it was Daiki Miyamura who ca to pick them up. On the way ho, Akira leaned forward from the back seat and asked curiously, "Dad, why are you picking us up today? Where's Mom?"
Daiki glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Your mom and Shouko's mom went out for so fun."
Shouko, sitting beside Akira, asked, "Uncle Miyamura, where's my sister?"
"No idea," Daiki admitted. "I got called while I was fishing."
"Okay~."
He dropped them off at the front of their house. As Akira and Shouko waved goodbye, Daiki leaned out the window and called out, "There's snacks in the fridge. If you're hungry, help yourselves!"
And with that, he drove off.
Akira wondered if fishing really was that addictive.
They entered the house, changed into slippers, and stepped into the living room—but didn't see Hachiko.
"Could Auntie Miyamura have taken Hachiko with her?" Shouko asked.
Akira shook his head. "Doubt it. When Mom and your mom go out, they definitely don't bring Hachiko. He's probably at your place."
So they changed back into their shoes and walked over to the Nishimiya house nearby.
"Knock knock knock!" Akira knocked on the door—even though Shouko was right next to him. He couldn't help but chuckle. Auntie Nishimiya always said not to assu Shouko had her house key.
"I'm coming!" ca Yuzuru's voice from inside.
Akira was montarily confused. Yuzuru wasn't tall enough to reach the doorknob yet.
But when the door opened, he was t with the sight of a delicate little girl—three-year-old Nishimiya Yuzuru—riding Hachiko like a tiny warrior.
Behind him, Shouko gasped. "Yuzuru! You can't ride Hachiko like that!"
Yuzuru, unfazed by her sister's scolding, hugged Hachiko's neck and shouted, "Hachiko, run!"
The poor dog hesitated, then slowly walked toward the living room, careful not to shake off his rider.
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POWER STONE!!!
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