Ms. Ue'o, who had a good grasp of Shouko's family situation, knew it wasn't easy for Nishimiya Yaeko to juggle multiple jobs. She half-squatted down, gently patted Shouko's head, and turned to Miyamura Shizuka with a warm smile.
"Ms. Miyamura, please take Shouko to the Sakura Class first. Seating is still random for now—it hasn't been officially assigned."
"Got it. I'll leave Shouko in your care, Ms. Ue'o," Shizuka replied with a polite nod before guiding the two children into the kindergarten.
Just as they stepped through the gate, Shizuka suddenly paused, pulling the two kids back. Akira blinked up at his mom, confused. Shizuka turned back toward Teacher Yoshinaga, who'd been watching them with a playful smile on her face.
"Oh, Teacher Yoshinaga!" Shizuka called out, prompting the teacher to look over, slightly startled.
After a brief pause, Shizuka continued with a sheepish smile, "I forgot to ask about my Akira…"
"Hehe…" Yoshinaga chuckled softly, clearly amused by the mother and son's antics. Regaining her composure, she answered calmly, "Just have Akira head to the Sunflower Class."
Turning to the boy, she added with a warm smile, "Go ahead and sit down in the Sunflower Class, okay? Once everyone's here, the principal will stop by to greet the class."
With that, Shizuka and Akira gave a courteous "see you later" to Teacher Yoshinaga and made their way toward the Sakura Class.
"Whoosh!" Akira passed the bento box to Shouko to carry and swung open the wooden door to the Sakura Class. Several students and parents were already seated inside.
From the doorway, Shizuka nodded politely at the other parents, then let go of Akira's hand and gently patted his head.
Akira looked up, puzzled.
Shizuka subtly tilted her head in the direction of the Sunflower Class.
"Shizuka-chin, do you have a stiff neck or something?" Akira asked aloud, completely misreading her silent cue.
"I mean you should head back to your own class. I've got things covered here."
She gave him another soft pat before nudging him along.
Shouko, now much calmer than the day before, no longer clung to Akira. Nishimiya Yaeko had spent the entire previous evening helping her daughter understand what kindergarten was, even teaching her some sign language.
"When it's lunchtime… let's eat together again, Akira," Shouko said, her pronunciation careful and slow.
Akira accepted the bento box back, said his goodbyes, and turned toward the Sunflower Class.
"Oh! Akira!" Shizuka called after him. "I forgot to mention earlier—the bento has two portions inside. Shouko's lunch is in there too."
Akira didn't turn around. He simply raised his free hand and waved it left and right to signal that he understood.
When he reached the Sunflower Class, he immediately noticed a man standing on the podium—an adult in a yellow plaid shirt and matching pants, wearing square brown glasses. He was telling what sounded like a really bad joke.
The man turned his head and noticed Akira at the door. His short, curly black hair, five-o'clock shadow, and dark skin gave him a fierce, intimidating look.
"Hehe… Little man, are you with the Sunflower Class too?" he asked with a wide grin.
That grin, oddly enough, looked even more terrifying than his neutral expression.
A cold sweat trickled down Akira's back. For a moment, he felt the urge to hurl the bento box at the man's face and run.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Akira asked cautiously, "Uncle… are you the principal?"
He figured the man must be the person Teacher Yoshinaga mentioned earlier.
The man started clapping, amused. "Wow, smart kid—you guessed it right away!"
"My name's Takakura Bunta. I'm the one who founded this Futaba Kindergarten."
Akira relaxed a bit upon hearing that and gave a polite bow. "My name is Miyamura Akira. Please take care of me."
"All right, Akira-kun! Come in and grab a seat, don't just stand there," Takakura Bunta said, stepping forward.
But the moment he moved, Akira instinctively stepped back.
Takakura Bunta froze, looking momentarily hurt. Akira could almost hear the sound of imaginary glass shattering.
Thinking it must've been his imagination, Akira nodded awkwardly and hurried to the seat he'd used yesterday.
He stuffed his sun hat and bento into the desk cubby, then glanced around the room.
The Sunflower Class was eerily quiet. No one was chatting or playing.
He noticed one or two kids on the verge of tears, clearly trying their best not to cry.
Meanwhile, Takakura Bunta had resumed telling cheerful little stories from the podium.
"Big bro, you're amazing! You actually talked to the boss!"
A girl with her hair tied into little buns, sitting to Akira's right, whispered to him in awe.
"Boss? What do you mean?" he asked.
She leaned in, whispering, "That scary guy on the podium. My mommy said if I misbehave in kindergarten, he'll lock me up and not give me any food."
She patted her chest like she was calming herself down.
"Hehe… thanks for the warning," Akira said with a nervous chuckle, now understanding why the whole class was acting so tense.
Before he could say more, the little girl had already turned back to face the podium, her posture rigid.
Akira followed her gaze—Takakura Bunta had stopped talking and was now looking straight at him, his lips curled into a knowing smirk.
Akira shuddered. Then, half-seriously, he asked, "Director Takakura… do you have a side job or something?"
All at once, several kids in the class looked at Akira with sparkles in their eyes. They had no idea what a "side job" was, but anyone bold enough to talk back to the boss had to be super cool!
Takakura Bunta let out a soft chuckle and replied, "A side job, huh? Well, I do fill in as a teacher now and then. Does that count?"
"Are you sure you're not secretly tossing people into Tokyo Bay?" Akira shot back with a skeptical look.
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