Ti flies. Two years have passed in the blink of an eye since Tsuna t the Nishimiya family.
Tsuna was about to celebrate his third birthday.
Over the past two years, he had tried countless ways to summon the mysterious system, but none of them worked. Despite his efforts, life went on—ordinary and uneventful—until one day, sothing unexpected happened.
A lot had happened around him in those two years, but the Miyamura family remained largely unchanged: an unreliable father, a carefree mother, and a frequently speechless Tsuna.
Tsuna had beco the "star kid" of the neighborhood—a quiet, well-behaved, and exceptionally cute boy who never cried or threw tantrums. People often said that the soul of a college student seed to inhabit the body of this little child. Tsuna couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.
Shizuka and Daisuke were first-ti parents, doing their best to care for their precious son. They couldn’t even imagine that there was anything strange about Tsuna. How could they question their baby, who seed perfect in their eyes?
Tsuna walked over to the full-length mirror, staring at the reflection of the soon-to-be three-year-old version of himself.
He studied his face closely, taking in every detail. After a long pause, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Hehe... I am even cuter.
Shizuka, kneeling on the tatami mat and flipping through a magazine, glanced up at Tsuna’s reflection. "Tsuna, you’re getting more and more conceited."
Tsuna raised his right hand, wagging his finger as he replied without even looking away from the mirror, "You’re too nagging, Mom."
Shizuka felt a vein twitch in her forehead. Without a word, she quietly walked up behind Tsuna, who saw her coming in the reflection but didn’t say anything.
In one swift motion, Shizuka scooped Tsuna up and trapped him with her legs, preventing him from squirming away. She rubbed his little chubby cheeks playfully, determined to teach him a lesson.
"No, no, please, Mom!" Tsuna cried out urgently, his face contorting in exaggerated desperation. "You’ll make my skin peel off!"
Shizuka paused, seeing his cute, pleading expression. She gently rubbed his now red cheeks, then leaned in and kissed him on the forehead.
With that, she let him go and walked back to her seat. Tsuna sighed in relief, wiping the residual saliva from his face, feeling a bit embarrassed.
——————
A few uneventful days passed, until one day, Shizuka ca ho with so unexpected news that stirred up a whirlwind of emotions in the household.
The Miyamura family was sitting in their living room, watching a cody show on TV. Daisuke reached into the small basket on the table and picked up an orange, beginning to peel it with casual precision.
Suddenly, Shizuka’s face changed, and she nervously spoke to Daisuke, who was still focused on the fruit. "Dear, do you know...?"
Daisuke froze mid-peel, a knot forming in his stomach. He looked at her cautiously, asking, "Know what?"
Shizuka didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, she continued peeling the orange in her hand with a quiet calm. Then, she said, her voice tinged with uncertainty, "I heard from Yaeko—Shouko was diagnosed with hearing impairnt by the doctor."
"Ah? Ah...!!" Daisuke’s face paled, his nervousness growing. He swallowed hard.
Shizuka casually broke off a piece of the peeled orange and stuffed it into Daisuke’s mouth. She watched him, noticing his sudden tense reaction. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she asked, "What’s with that reaction? You really didn’t know?"
Daisuke tried to cover up his unease, swallowing the orange with difficulty. "Did the doctor say if there’s any way to treat it?" he asked, quickly shifting the topic to avoid answering her earlier question.
Shizuka, however, didn’t seem to pay much attention to his reaction. She broke off another piece of the orange and handed it to Tsuna, who was quietly watching TV. As she did, her thoughts turned back to the conversation with Yaeko, and she turned to Daisuke.
"No, we still need to visit more hospitals for further tests, just to be sure it’s not a misdiagnosis," she replied quietly.
Daisuke, relieved that the focus had shifted back to the topic, sighed softly and nodded. He thought about Shouko’s innocent smile next door, his heart heavy with concern.
"Sigh... Shouko is still so young, and she might have to rely on hearing aids and sign language in the future. I really hope it’s just a misdiagnosis."
"Yes," Shizuka murmured, seeing Daisuke sigh in what she assud was concern for Shouko.
Tsuna, who had been quietly observing the scene, realized from their conversation that his mother’s attention had once again been diverted by his father. This ant that the secret stash of money hidden behind the TV would likely remain undisturbed—for now.
Feigning innocence, Tsuna tilted his head cutely and said sweetly, "Mom, Dad hid so small change behind the TV."
"What!?" Shizuka snapped, turning to Daisuke with startling speed, grabbing him by the collar.
---
A few more days passed.
The Nishimiya family visited several hospitals, each confirming that Shouko had hearing impairnt. From then on, she would have to rely on hearing aids and sign language for communication.
Sitting at the dining table, Suneo and Yaeko both held diagnostic reports, their faces somber as the weight of the news hung in the air.
Suneo, taking a sip of cold water from his glass, stared at one of the reports, then broke the silence with a strange question. "Why did you hide your genetic defect?"
Yaeko, already at the edge of her patience due to Shouko’s condition, imdiately understood that Suneo was trying to place the bla on her.
Suppressing her anger, she snapped, "The doctor said it! The cause of Shouko’s hearing impairnt is a viral infection that was passed on to her by the man!"
Suneo let out a small laugh, his tone casual as he raised his cup again. "Anyway, it’s your fault, isn’t it? Shouko had a problem because of your stomach."
Yaeko’s face flushed with fury. She slamd her hands on the table, making the glass of water spill over the diagnostic report.
Yaeko didn’t even care about the ss. Her finger pointed accusingly at Suneo as she shouted, "This happened because I didn’t know it was that kind of disease!"
Suneo, unaffected, leaned back in his chair and took another sip of water, indifferent to her outburst. "Sure, it’s still your fault."
"Was it because you didn’t get vaccinated?" he added, as though it were no big deal.
Yaeko’s eyes burned with rage. "So if... if I had known!"
Suneo raised his hand, cutting her off. "Calm down. We’ll talk about this tomorrow." He glanced at his watch, signaling for the conversation to end.
Yaeko, realizing it was late, didn’t want to disturb the neighbors. She took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed. "Fine. We’ll talk tomorrow."
After cleaning up, Yaeko went back to the master bedroom, where she held Shouko close through the night. Suneo slept in the guest room, further distanced from the family.
The following morning, Yaeko answered the doorbell, surprised to see Suneo’s mother standing there.
"Mom!?"
"Ha... What? Don’t you want to welco ?"
"No... no, please co in," Yaeko stamred, quickly taking the bag from her mother-in-law, who dodged her attempt. Yaeko smiled awkwardly and ushered her inside.
They all sat down around the dining table once more—this ti, with two additional glasses of water. On one side sat Suneo and his mother, while on the other side, Yaeko and her mother, Nishimiya Ito, took their seats.
Since it was so late last night, Shouko had already fallen asleep in the second bedroom.
Suneo broke the silence, speaking first. "Let’s talk about the child’s condition."
"What!? What child’s condition?" Suneo’s mother asked, her voice laced with surprise.
Suneo quickly explained Shouko’s hearing impairnt to his mother, taking another long sip from his cup as he did.
His mother’s hand covered her mouth in shock. "What? Shouko has a hearing impairnt!?"
"Yes, in short, we were deceived," Suneo replied, his voice calm as he set the cup down.
Yaeko watched the scene with a deep frown, her suspicion growing. Their act seed too rehearsed.
Suneo muttered under his breath, "We never expected Yaeko to give birth to a child like this!"
Yaeko could no longer hold her anger in. Slamming her hand on the table, she shouted, "What do you an, a child like this, huh!?"
Suneo slamd his hands down on the table, retorting coldly, "Isn’t it true? Isn’t there sothing wrong with Shouko?"
"Then what? What do you want!?" Yaeko shot back, her voice shaking with fury.
Suneo’s response was chilling. "Find a ti to secretly send her to a welfare ho!"
Everyone fell into stunned silence. Yaeko, hearing this from the man she had been with for nearly eight years, could hardly believe her ears.
Her eyes filled with tears as she whispered, "Let’s... divorce..."
At her words, Suneo’s mother didn’t hesitate for a second. Her voice was cold and unforgiving. "Fine! If you can’t bear the thought of sending her away, then keep the child yourself. Our family wants nothing to do with a freak like that."
Yaeko’s tears flowed freely now, her heart shattered. She could only stare at the cruel faces of Suneo and his mother, unable to do anything but sob quietly as her world crumbled around her.
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