Akira thought that Shouko didn't hear him clearly, so he repeated in a gentle voice,
"Do you want to play house, Shouko?"
"Yeah!" Shouko nodded excitedly, quickly stood up, took Akira's hand, and led him to the open space at the back of the classroom.
As usual, Shouko chose to be the mother, and Akira took the role of the child.
After a while, more children started to notice them and eagerly joined in.
Playing house was a game the girls especially enjoyed. Most of the participants were little girls, but a few boys joined as well.
When one little boy found out Shouko was playing the mother, he immediately tried to be the father. However, Akira refused to give up the role and claimed it based on his seniority in joining the game.
In the end, everyone chose their roles peacefully. Akira was the father, Shouko the mother, and the others played the eldest son, the youngest son, the daughter, the pet, or even the furniture.
Shouko had never played with so many children before. At first, she was overjoyed, laughing and excited.
But later, when she gave instructions as the "mother," she was met with defiance from the little "daughter," who even began to rebel—wanting to steal Akira away and become his wife instead.
Shouko had never encountered such a situation before. Seeing the girl trying to take her Akira, she snapped:
"Akira is mine! Mine!"
She was too flustered and spoke too quickly. And since everyone—except for Akira—had hearing impairments, no one understood what Shouko actually said, not even Akira.
But Shouko didn't care. When she saw the "daughter" trying to reach for Akira, she became frantic, her expression unreadable, and her eyes grew red with frustration.
Akira, still trying to make sense of what Shouko had said, was caught off guard when she suddenly threw herself into his arms and began to cry.
Startled, Akira instinctively tried to pull her away, thinking she might be hurt.
But Shouko only held him tighter, burying her tear-stained face into his chest, soaking a patch of his school uniform.
The other children weren't too concerned. They simply kicked Akira and Shouko out of the game and restructured the roles among themselves.
Seeing that Shouko refused to let go, Akira gently held her and moved them a little farther away from the others.
He didn't understand why Shouko was crying so hard, but he still spoke gently and comforted her patiently for a long time before her sobs finally subsided.
Even then, she began hiccuping softly, her hands still clinging to him—though not as tightly as before.
Leaning in close to her left ear—the one with the hearing aid—Akira asked softly,
"Why are you crying all of a sudden, Shouko?"
Shouko's reply came in hiccuping, trembling whispers:
"That girl… wanted to be the mom… and you didn't say no… you didn't even try to stop her…"
She stopped there, lowering her head with a silent hiccup.
Akira was both amused and confused. He hadn't expected that to be the reason for her tears.
"I promise," he said gently, "from now on, whenever we play house, I'll only be the dad if you're the mom. Okay?"
He repeated it again, slowly, to reassure her.
Then, Shouko finally let go of him, took a small step back, looked up with tear-reddened eyes, and extended her little pinky with all the seriousness she could muster.
"Pinky promise. If not, I won't believe you."
Seeing her red eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and that stern little expression—hiccuping and determined—Akira couldn't help but smile. She really was cute.
He extended his own pinky and hooked it with hers, and together, they chanted the childhood vow:
"We've made a promise for a hundred years, and it won't change. Let's make a promise: you and I will be together for a hundred years."
They didn't add any curses or punishments like "If I break my promise, may I swallow a thousand needles!" They just believed in the vow.
After they finished, Akira pulled a small pack of tissues from his pocket and gently wiped Shouko's tears. When he was done, he chuckled softly and reached up to ruffle her hair.
From a distance, Teacher Ueno had been watching the whole scene. She regretted not pulling out his phone in time to record it—but he also didn't want to risk the camera noise ruining the moment.
Meanwhile, when Shouko threw herself into Akira's arms crying, Mr. Takakura had been walking a few steps behind.
But Akira had eyes only for Shouko. Even when she stepped back and looked up, her gaze didn't shift to anyone else.
Elsewhere, the remaining group playing house had descended into chaos.
Some were fighting over who got to be the dad or mom. Some "sons" wanted to marry their "mothers," and some "daughters" wanted to marry their "fathers."
Pets rebelled and wanted to be the owners. Ex-husbands and ex-wives returned to fight for positions. Furniture wanted to be promoted to parents.
Things got so intense, it nearly turned into a full-on battle.
In the end, everyone started crying, and Mr. Takakura, holding his head, had to intervene and calm them down.
Akira stood nearby, holding Shouko's hand, watching the mayhem unfold.
The girl who had tried to play Akira's "daughter" earlier saw him nearby and, bursting into tears again, ran toward him for comfort.
Akira and Shouko both saw her coming.
Shouko's face immediately turned wary and defensive (though still adorably so), and Akira made a split-second decision—he let go of Shouko's hand.
Shouko, thinking Akira was about to go comfort the girl, quickly reached for him again to stop him.
But a familiar shadow fell across her field of vision. That same warm embrace once again enveloped her. The chest of his school uniform was still a little damp, but the hug felt exactly the same.
The girl skidded to a stop when she saw this and immediately unleashed the Lion's Roar, bawling on the spot.
Mr. Takakura, who had just calmed down one sobbing child, turned around at the sound and saw the new commotion.
With a click!
Akira heard the sound and instinctively flinched, thinking his overly affectionate mom had come to take another photo of him.
But when he turned his head, it was actually Mr. Takakura, phone in hand, snapping a photo of him and Shouko.
Akira was speechless and couldn't help but grumble in his heart.
Seriously? There are still crying kids everywhere, and you choose this moment to take a photo of me?
Are two four-year-olds really so cute that you want to ship us like this?
Seeing Akira look at him, Mr. Takakura guiltily put his phone away and pretended nothing had happened before continuing to comfort the loudest crying girl.
After all the kids had finally calmed down, Teacher Ueno returned to the front and instructed them to form a line. She then led them all to the second floor nap room of Sakura Class to get ready for their afternoon nap.
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