My childhood sweetheart is Nishimiya Glass

Chapter 344: Tomohiro Forever
"Hmph hmph hmph..."

On the way to the park, Nishimiya Yuzuru hummed an unknown song, her wicked gaze fixed on Hachiko's back as he walked ahead.

For a moment, she really wanted to ride on Hachiko's back, but reason prevailed and she banished those thoughts.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'll definitely buy better next time..."

A plea for mercy, tinged with a slight sob, drifted intermittently from behind the dense cherry blossom trees ahead, as if shattered by the wind.

Nishimiya Yuzuru froze in place, and almost simultaneously, Hachiko beside him also stopped, the two of them hovering in perfect sync as if they were copying each other.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting unfamiliar sounds into this corner of the park that should have been familiar.

Hachiko's ears turned alertly toward the source of the sound, his moist nose twitched a few times, and his limbs tensed up quietly. A hint of seriousness in the face of an intruder quietly replaced the relaxed state of his stroll.

Unlike Hachiko's alert state, Nishimiya Yuzuru was not frightened at all; instead, he craned his neck to look at the source of the sound.

Without waiting for a signal, she took the lead and walked forward. Hachiko could only follow helplessly. Once the trees that had been blocking their view had moved away, they could see what was going on.

In the park's play area, a chubby boy was squatting on the ground picking up snacks scattered on the ground next to two swings, while opposite him was a boy and a girl dressed as high school students.

The astute Nishimiya Yuzuru guessed that the three were all 'high school students,' and it was very likely that the incident involved school bullying.

Before the man and dog could even make a sound, the couple not far away had already noticed them.

"Hey! Kid, what's going on here—"

Before the boy could finish speaking, Nishimiya Yuzuru and Hachiko exchanged a glance, and she turned and ran away.

Hachiko seemed to misunderstand, and with a quick head movement, it easily broke free of the leash that was around Hachiko's neck.

"Woo..."

With a clearly audible low growl threateningly emanating from his mouth, Hachiko lowered his upper body, leaned forward, and exposed his sharp teeth, which gleamed with a dangerous glint, as he stared intently at the couple opposite him.

Nishimiya Yuzuru, who had just slipped a few steps, stopped in his tracks.

Wow! Hachiko has such a fierce and menacing side; this is the first time she's ever seen it like this.

However, unlike the two high school students opposite her who were frightened, she only felt that Hachiko was a bit of a contrast, and also had a lot of cuteness.

Before Hachiko could even make any further moves, the couple opposite him couldn't withstand the pressure and ran away.

As for that chubby kid? He was completely frozen in time, not even bothering to pick up the snacks falling from his hands.

I trembled as I imagined a scene of a 'death stare from a large, fierce dog'.

Actually... Hachiko is just a medium-sized dog, and it has now fully recovered its adorable appearance, and it immediately put a leash on.

"Hey...are you alright?" Nishimiya Yuzuru stepped forward and, seeing the chubby boy's dazed expression, couldn't help but wave in front of him.

Hachiko, standing behind Yuzuru, watched him warily, ready to stop him at the first sign of trouble.

"Ah!? Ah... um... umm."

The chubby boy snapped out of his reverie, quickly nodded and began to thank them. He even picked up the snacks that had fallen on the ground and shared them with Yuzuru Nishimiya.

"Little fatty, did you get bullied at school?" Nishimiya Yuzuru grabbed two bags of her favorite potato chips without hesitation and asked curiously.

"..." The chubby boy's gaze fell on Hachiko beside her. Seeing that it was no longer so wary, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, while not forgetting to complain:
"I'm not fat, I'm voluptuous, okay?!"

"..."

Yuzuru Nishimiya's gaze rudely swept over him, and his black, tousled hair and what he considered his voluptuous figure left her speechless for a moment. Seeing her silence, the chubby boy followed her to a bench and introduced himself, "My name is Tomohiro Nagatsuka, and what's yours, young man?"

"I?"

While Nishimiya Yuzuru was still stunned by the other person's blind gaze, Nagatsuka Tomohiro's hand gave her a familiar nudge:

"Yeah, kid, what's your name? You're probably still in middle school, right? Thanks a lot for getting me out of that situation just now."

"..."

"Yuzuru Nishimiya." With that, she tore open a bag of rich tomato-flavored potato chips and unceremoniously picked up two chips and stuffed them into her mouth.

At school, many people mistook her for a boy when school first started, but after talking to her, it became clear that she was a girl...

"Oh right, I forgot to ask earlier, why did they bully you?"

Yuhiro Nagatsuka shook his head without explaining, and Yuzuru Nishimiya didn't ask any further. After all, they were just strangers whose names he had just learned, and this might be the last time they met.

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment, with only the crunching of potato chips remaining. Suddenly, Yuhiro Nagatsuka asked, "Young man, which junior high school did you go to?"

"What? Are you going to wait for me at the school gate?" Nishimiya Yuzuru glanced at him, and Hachiko, who was lying on the ground next to him, also looked up at him.

"..." Nagatsuka Tomohiro was speechless. "I was just asking out of curiosity, okay..."

"Namikaze Middle School".

"Oh, okay." Nagatsuka Tomohiro nodded, and before Nishimiya Yuzuru could say anything more, he continued to ask:

"What's the dog's name? I have a vague feeling that it can understand what we're saying?"

"An illusion, an illusion." Yuzuru Nishimiya waved his hand. "Its name is Hachiko."

The two people and the dog sat on a park bench, chatting casually. Most of the time, it was Nagatsuka Tomohiro who asked the questions, and Nishimiya Yuzuru who passively answered.

Whenever the atmosphere cooled down, he could find a new topic. Later, after the two became somewhat familiar with each other, he even reached out and touched Hachiko's back.

Hachiko didn't even glance at him...

------

"Luckily, Ah-Xi reminded us early, otherwise we would have had to change our clothes again."

As the two emerged from the aquarium, a fiery sunset painted the sky. Shoko, clutching a comically-looking penguin plush toy in her left arm, grumbled softly:

"Who would have thought that watching a dolphin show, sitting in the front row, would also give you a chance to get wet and tantalized?"

"By the way, Tsuna, where do you think we should go on our next date?" Shoko asked again when he didn't answer.

"The Binlan Aquarium on Futaba Street?" Tsuna blurted out.

Shoko slapped his arm without hesitation. Earlier that day, Ayumi Ajitani had already complained about Tsuna's perverse sense of humor on LINE.

At the same time, he didn't forget to praise Takagi's mother's cooking skills.

"Ayumi already complained to me at noon today that the place you mentioned is a seafood market!"

"..."

Tsuna smiled, said nothing, got on his motorcycle, and waited for Shoko to put on her helmet before starting the engine and heading home according to the navigation.

(End of this chapter)