At this time, a woman's voice complained outside the infirmary: "Really! What's your attitude!?"
As soon as the first complaint ended, another woman's voice rang out: "That's right! He even refused to lead the way. How can a security guard like that protect our children?"
Everyone in the room turned toward the door in confusion. Tsuna suddenly remembered a female boxer he had seen online in his previous life. At the same time, the two children behind Principal Takakura sprang up from their chairs and ran outside, crying loudly as they shouted, "Mom!"
Principal Takakura hurriedly stood up and walked out quickly.
Principal Takakura had just stepped outside when a woman's anxious voice called out: "Oh my! My precious boy! Let Mommy see—are you badly hurt?"
Shizuka and Yaeko did not plan to go out to argue with each other. After all, they were adults. If they wanted to save face for each other, they would just solve it in the house.
Shizuka, holding Yuzuru, took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. But another woman's sharp voice made it impossible: "You must pay! That little devil kicked my baby in the face!"
At that moment, Principal Takakura quickly said, "Let's go inside and talk first. The other child's parents are already there."
When the two parents walked in with their children, Tsuna turned to look at them. The parent of the mushroom-headed kid wore a sarcastic expression, while the parent of the crew-cut boy looked plain and was just as thin as her son.
Tsuna was looking at each other, and the two women were also looking at them when they walked in.
The mushroom-headed parent didn't react much when she looked at Yaeko, but when her eyes landed on Shizuka, an inexplicable sense of delight flickered across her face. Although Shizuka was dressed plainly, the sharp-eyed parent could immediately tell that her outfit was expensive.
The mushroom-headed parent tore her gaze away, but her momentum faltered as she spoke. Frustrated, she slammed her hand on the white table beside her and shouted in Shizuka's direction, "Tell me—how are you going to fix this? Your little brat beat up my son like this!"
Seeing that the mushroom-headed parent had spoken, the crew-haired parent also joined in: "That's right! He even kicked my son's handsome face!"
Shizuka looked at them as she held Yuzuru, a sneer playing at the corners of her mouth. She chose not to respond. Yaeko felt anger rising within her, but Shizuka raised her hand to calm her and handed Yuzuru, whom she was holding, over to Yaeko.
Teacher Yoshinaga quickly stepped forward to mediate. "Fuji's parents, Haru's parents—please calm down and watch the surveillance video first." As soon as she finished speaking, she took Principal Takakura's phone, pulled up the footage from that moment, and held it out for them to watch.
After watching the surveillance footage at double speed, the mother of the crew-cut boy seemed to hesitate, wanting to back down. But the mother of the mushroom-headed boy wasn't having it. Seizing on the moment where the boy's mouth moved as he passed her son, she suddenly turned, pointed at the boy lying on the bed, and shouted:
"It must be that the damn kid scolded my baby when she passed by him, which led to the fight!"
Because the speech was too fast, the boy lying on the bed couldn't hear clearly and only looked at the other parent pointing at her with a silly expression.
But Yaeko and Shizuka were bulging with blue veins when they heard it. Tsuna was also angry but knew that he couldn't beat an adult with his small body.
Shizuka took a deep breath, calmed down, and said, "Then how do you want to solve it?" Shizuka finished speaking. Yaeko and Tsuna looked at her in surprise.
The mushroom-headed kid's mother never expected the other side to back down because of her words. Raising her right hand with all five fingers extended, she pointed at them and demanded bluntly, "500,000 yen! If you pay, we won't pursue this matter!"
Shizuka looked at them and nodded, and asked calmly: "500,000 per person? You will not pursue it?"
The mother of the short-haired kid heard it. She hurriedly interrupted, fearing that the mother of the mushroom-headed man would refuse.
"That's right! 500,000 per person, we will not call the police to pursue it!"
The mushroom-headed kid's mother was slightly annoyed when the mother of the buzz-cut kid interrupted her. She had thought the other woman was cowardly at first, but her attitude changed when she heard the demand for 500,000 yen.
She didn't even consider whether the other side would pay if they were so eager to demand it. The mushroom-headed kid's mother thought there was no hope, but to her surprise, the other party nodded in agreement. She couldn't help but think they were foolish—and strangely wealthy for no good reason.
Shizuka looked at their faces and then calmly said, "You are not pregnant, right?"
The mother of the buzz-cut kid thought the other woman was trying to change the subject by force. She pointed at her and said sharply, "Don't waste time on useless talk! It's 500,000 yen each!"
Yaeko and Tsuna hurriedly tried to calm Shizuka, but Shizuka ignored them and walked straight toward the two people.
"Pa!" There was a clear sound. Everyone in the room looked at Shizuk, who suddenly attacked in a daze.
"Pa!" A sharp slap echoed through the room. Everyone turned to see Shizuka, who suddenly struck out with surprising force.
She slapped the mother of the buzz-cut kid, then turned her head, smiled coldly, and said, "Fine—500,000 yen each." Without hesitation, she clenched her fist and punched the woman hard in the stomach.
The mother of the mushroom-headed kid snapped back to reality after the slap, feeling a burning sting on her left cheek. She had never imagined that the 500,000 yen demand was for the aftermath of the beating. Her expression instantly twisted into fury, and she lunged forward, reaching to grab Shizuka's hair.
Trying to fight back, the mother of the crew-cut boy clutched her stomach and bent over, as if struggling to hold back the pain. Shizuka caught the movement from the corner of her eye and swiftly dodged.
With her head thrown back, another sharp "slap" landed. Principal Takakura quickly turned and said to Teacher Yoshinaga, who was closest to them, "Quick! Teacher Yoshinaga, calm Tsuna's parents down first—I can't stop them alone."
Teacher Yoshinaga understood what Principal Takakura said, but she found it difficult to intervene, fearing that Shizuka might accidentally harm an ally.
Yaeko hugged Yuzuru tightly, her anxiety growing as she feared her best friend might be at a disadvantage in a one-on-one situation—but all she could do was worry.
The short-haired boy and the mushroom-headed boy quickly moved away from their parents, wary of getting accidentally hurt. But their retreat caught Tsuna's attention. "My mom's already stepped in, so I can't fall behind," he thought. "She can take on adults, but it's not so easy with kids." Gathering his resolve, Tsuna clenched his fists and charged at the two boys.
Teacher Ageo, who was sitting at the head of the bed, noticed Tsuna running over and hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Tsuna! They are adults, you can't help them." After saying that, she stood up and wanted to hug Tsuna.
Teacher Ageo's words grabbed everyone's attention again, and all eyes turned to Tsuna as he ran toward the two children. Shizuka caught sight of him in her peripheral vision and couldn't help but think to herself, "Well done. You truly are worthy of being my child."
Shizuka snapped back to her senses, dodged the short-haired boy's mother's hands, and with a backhand, grabbed the other woman's hair. "Pa! Pa! Pa!" She then raised her hand and slapped the woman's left cheek several times.
The two children saw that Tsuna was targeting them and cried and ran back, fearing that they would be caught by Tsuna.
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In 2002, 500,000 yen would have been approximately between $3,690 and $4,329 USD, depending on the specific exchange rate at the time.