Since that day, the Miyamura family and the Nishimiya family went out for dinner, and Tsuna's ordinary winter vacation life began like this:
December 25: Tsuna Teased Shoko.
December 26: Tsuna and Shoko went to the park to play.
December 27: Tsuna played house with Shoko at the Nishimiya family; the two of them were parents, and Yuzuru was the child.
December 28: Daisuke started his 7-day New Year's holiday. When Tsuna interrupted the couple's peaceful time in the living room, he was promptly sent off to the Nishimiya household to play with Shoko.
December 29: Yaeko, who had taken a day off to rest at home, found a high-paying part-time job for the New Year's holiday. When Tsuna kindly reminded her to take care of her health, she smiled and praised him with a gentle pat on the head.
December 30: Because tomorrow is New Year's Eve in Japan, the Miyamura family took Shoko to the mall to buy items for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Yaeko is working hard at her part-time job.
December 31: Sunny! (New Year's Eve) The two families happily ate soba noodles together on this day, which meant cutting off the hard work and pain of the old year. Yaeko quickly finished and rushed to the part-time job.
January 1: Sunny! (New Year's Day) The Miyamura and Nishimiya families placed bamboo decorations at the door of their homes, which meant welcoming the gods and bringing good luck. They offered "kagami mochi" (two round cakes stacked on top of each other) to the New Year God, which meant the balance of yin and yang, and good things come in pairs. The two families happily ate together.
January 2: The Miyamura family took Shoko to the shrine to pray for a new year without illness and disaster and a smooth journey. Shizuka asked for a peace charm for everyone.
January 3: Shizuka didn't want to move, and the Nishimiya family went out to eat lunch with the Miyamura family. They also learned that Yuzuru called "Mom" last night.
January 4: Daisuke, who was at home, ended his vacation. Yaeko also finished her part-time job last night and bought snacks for Tsuna and Shoko.
——————————
"Knock... knock... knock!" Early in the morning, Tsuna stood at the door of Shoko's house and knocked on her door.
"Okay! I'm coming." Yaeko's voice came from inside. Tsuna stopped knocking.
After a while, the door opened from the inside. When Yaeko saw that it was Tsuna, she gently reached out her left hand to pat his head and asked softly,
"Tsuna, have you had breakfast?"
After greeting Yaeko, Tsuna asked in confusion, "You've already eaten, Aunt Nishimiya? Aren't you going to work today?"
Yaeko stepped aside to let Tsuna in. Once he walked to the entrance, she closed the door and replied, "Auntie has the day off today. Do you want me to take you out to play?"
Hearing this, Tsuna quickly waved his hands and shook his head. "No, no, Auntie Nishimiya, you should take a good rest. I'll take Shoko to Futaba Park today."
Tsuna knew that Yaeko only got one day off a month and worked two or three jobs at the same time.
"Then you and Shoko should be careful and watch out for cars when you go out to play," Yaeko said gently, stepping onto the wooden corridor in her slippers with a soft smile.
Tsuna nodded in response to show he understood, then reached into the shoe cabinet beside him and put on his slippers. He walked into the living room and called out to Shoko, who was sitting on the tatami, playing with Yuzuru.
Shoko happily stood up from the tatami, took Tsuna's hand, and led him out to the corridor, cheerfully muttering, "Let's go Tsuna."
Yuzuru, lying in the crib, watched the two with her big, watery eyes. She reached out her tiny hands, trying to grab Shoko as she stood up to leave.
When they reached the entrance, Tsuna helped Shoko put on her white shoes and carefully tied her shoelaces. After standing up, he made sure her clothes were warm enough, then turned back toward the kitchen and called out,
"Aunt Nishimiya! Shoko and I are heading out to play!"
"Okay. Be careful!"
After walking for ten minutes, Tsuna took Shoko's hand and walked to the entrance of the park. Tsuna stopped and his heart trembled. Shoko turned her head to look at Tsuna in confusion and asked: "What's wrong, Tsuna?"
Not far ahead, Tsuna saw the 1,000 yen bill dropped on the ground. It felt like recognizing Michael Jackson at a glance in the vast crowd.
Tsuna stretched out his other hand to point at the yen and explained to Shoko: "There is a 1,000 yen bill that someone dropped."
Shoko looked in the direction Tsuna pointed and saw the 1,000 yen bill. Then Tsuna took Shoko forward and was only one or two steps away. Unexpectedly, a stupid kid came out of nowhere and stepped on the yen.
Tsuna and Shoko slowly shifted their gaze from the foot stepping on the yen note to the face of its owner. Standing before them was a silly-looking boy in a thick green down jacket, his round face framed by a crew cut. Judging by his appearance, Tsuna guessed he was probably in the final year of kindergarten.
"Hehehehe~". The kid smiled foolishly, completely ignoring Tsuna and Shoko in front of him, bent down to pick up the yen he was stepping on, and was about to put it back in his pocket.
"Hey! Wait a minute." Tsuna watched his movements and quickly stopped him.
Hearing Tsuna's voice, the kid glanced at the two in front of him and said with a hint of disdain, "What are you staring at?" Suddenly, as if realizing something, he quickly hid the money behind his back. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, he added nervously, "You're not thinking of robbing me in broad daylight, are you?!"
Shoko heard the second half of the boy's sentence and misunderstood, thinking Tsuna intended to rob him. The image of a police officer catching a thief on TV a few days ago flashed through her mind. Panic rising, she quickly shifted from holding Tsuna's hand to clinging tightly to his arm with both hands.
"Tsuna, if you rob money, the police will catch you!" she said anxiously, her voice trembling. "Let's not take it, okay? I'll give you my New Year's money when we get home."
As she spoke, her imagination ran wild—visions of Tsuna being arrested and taken to jail played vividly in her mind. Her eyes turned red, and tears welled up, on the verge of spilling over.
Seeing Shoko on the verge of tears, Tsuna immediately guessed she must have imagined something unpleasant. He quickly reached out to comfort her. "No, no, no, Shoko, why would I want to steal that money?"
To prove his sincerity, Tsuna turned to the boy in front of him and grinned. "I'm not here to steal, but whoever sees it gets a share!"
The child raised his empty hand, scratched his head, and asked Tsuna with a puzzled look, "What do you mean by that last sentence?"
Tsuna sighed lightly and spoke to him in a simple way that he could understand, "It's this yen that we saw at the same time. Give me half, or I'll tell the police, uncle." Tsuna knew that most children of this age were afraid of the police uncle, and if he said that, he would probably be fooled.
The child thought it over and decided to give half of the 1,000 yen he had, so he wouldn't lose everything. If he told the police uncle, he might lose it all—and maybe even get arrested.
The child quickly changed his mind, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a 500-yen coin, which he handed to Tsuna. Tsuna chuckled as he took the coin. Seeing that Tsuna was sincere, Shoko finally released her grip on his arm.