The Sound of a Silent Life

Knock, knock, knock…!

"Open the door—Shouko should be coming back." Shizuka heard the knocking and patted Daisuke, who was eating an orange beside the coffee table. "Okay, okay,"

Daisuke swallowed the orange in his mouth, hurriedly stood up, and walked out of the living room.

As soon as he opened the door, just like Shizuka said, it was the silly Shouko, holding a small bottle of glue in her hand.

"Come in quickly." Daisuke smiled, reached out to pat Shouko's head, then stepped aside to let her in first, closing the door behind her.

Shouko thanked Daisuke, then quickly walked to the entrance, changed into slippers, and ran straight up the stairs to the second floor.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Tsuna." Shouko pushed open Tsuna's door, breathing lightly. She looked up at him with a small grin and raised the newly bought glue in her hand.

Tsuna's eyes stayed on her face from the moment she opened the door—or more precisely, on the sweat on her forehead.

Tsuna got up, pulled out two tissues from the box on the table, and walked over to Shouko, gently wiping her forehead while muttering to himself, "Why'd you rush so much? Look how sweaty you are."

Shouko stood still, neither dodging nor explaining herself. She just stared blankly at Tsuna's gentle movements and his eyes, which seemed full of worry just for her. For some reason, she felt like she'd earned a little treasure.

When Tsuna had wiped away almost all the sweat, he noticed Shouko still staring at him, lips slightly parted. On a whim, he decided to tease her. He chuckled and joked, "What? Spacing out?"

He'd expected Shouko to blush, flustered, and stammer out a denial, but her reaction wasn't anything like what he'd imagined.

Shouko slowly raised her arms, wrapped them around Tsuna, buried her head in his chest, and nodded against him with a muffled, "Yeah…"

The teasing mood vanished instantly, replaced by a warmth that made the air in the room feel thicker somehow.

——————

Yaeko was walking the familiar road home after work. When she turned a corner into an alley, she spotted a crowd gathered up ahead. Usually, at this time, when the izakaya closes, this road should be empty. She couldn't help but feel curious.

"Excuse me, what happened up there?" Yaeko stopped a bald man who had just stepped back from the crowd and asked.

The bald man wasn't annoyed at all. He rubbed the back of his head and happily shared what he knew:

"There was a car accident up ahead. The whole car flipped over and skidded into an electric pole."

"Huh!?"

After learning the basics, Yaeko glanced around. There were no police cars or ambulances yet. She asked the bald man, "Has no one called the police?"

"They did, but they haven't come yet."

Yaeko had only been curious about why so many people were crowded there. Now that she knew, she thanked the bald man and continued on her way home at a leisurely pace.

As for squeezing through the crowd to look? She had no desire at all. A car accident and a corpse? Bad luck to even see it.

————————

The next morning.

Tsuna suddenly opened his eyes to a grim realization: when school was in session, he loved staying in bed. But on weekends? He always woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep no matter how much he tried.

Muttering about how quickly weekends vanished, he got up and went downstairs.

"Good morning, Aunt Yaeko." Coming out of the bathroom, Tsuna walked into the dining room and saw Yaeko sitting at the table. He greeted her politely.

Yaeko looked up with her gentle smile. "Good morning, Tsuna. Why are you up so early today?" She then turned back to continue chatting with Shizuka

.

Tsuna looked at them helplessly, grabbed a sandwich, and sat down to eat. Halfway through, he felt like he might choke, so he poured himself a glass of warm water. He ignored the fresh milk on the table; he just couldn't get used to drinking milk so early in the morning.

"It's about time—I'll get going now." Yaeko stood up, gave Tsuna's hair a light ruffle as he ate, and said goodbye.

"Okay, be safe on the way." After walking Yaeko to the door, Shizuka returned to her seat and took another bite of her sandwich. After a few chews, she pulled out her phone and started dialing:

"Mrs. Kitano, it's me. Did you hear about the accident?…"

"Mrs. Nohara, did you hear what happened last night?…"

"Good morning, Mrs. Fujino—did you see the police cars and ambulances nearby last night?…"

"Mrs. Nobi, have you eaten yet? Someone died last night—did you know?…"

"Is Mrs. Watanabe awake yet? I heard a child was in an accident nearby last night—did you hear anything?…"

Tsuna, chewing his sandwich beside her, couldn't help stopping mid-bite, listening in on Shizuka's string of calls with wide eyes.

When she finally set her phone down, Tsuna couldn't help asking, "Mom, what's with all the calls so early? What's going on?"

Shizuka explained patiently, "There was a car accident nearby last night. One dead, one injured, and a child who got frightened—but thankfully, the kid wasn't hurt. I don't know all the details yet, so I'm asking around. Give me ten minutes."

She met Tsuna's skeptical eyes and raised her eyebrows. "What? Don't believe me?"

About twenty minutes later, Tsuna was thoroughly proven wrong. Shizuka put down her phone after the last call and gave Tsuna a smug look, daring him to speak first.

In the end, Tsuna couldn't stand the suspense or her triumphant grin. He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win, Mom! Tell me."

"Hehe…" Shizuka snorted twice, triumphant.

Finally, the two sat at the table as Shizuka filled Tsuna in:

Turns out the little girl—Naoka Ueno—had gone to a nearby convenience store late at night. Just as she stepped out of the alley, a speeding car came barreling toward her. She froze in place, terrified. But the car lost control, flipped over, and slammed into a power pole before it could reach her. The driver died on the spot, and the passenger was still being treated and hadn't woken up yet.

When she finished, Shizuka gave Tsuna's head a light pat and said seriously, "Be careful when you go out, got it?"

"Don't worry, Mom." Tsuna made an exaggerated 'OK' gesture and shot her a reassuring look.

"Oh, by the way!" Shizuka suddenly remembered. "That little girl's a first grader at Minato Elementary. Do you know her?"

"Naoka Ueno…?"

Tsuna repeated the name under his breath a few times, but couldn't place it at all. In the end, he just slowly shook his head.

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Thanks for the Review Alain1786