Tsuna’s life slowly settled into a steady rhythm.
Morning runs, school, studying with Mutsumi, exercising with his seniors, and then more studying again with Reborn.
On weekends, he would spar with the Body Improvement Club members, each having their own strange fighting style based on their interests.
“SUPLEX!”
“WAH—!”
Tsuna got slammed onto the mat by Goda for the 3rd time.
“John Cena’s spirit lives within me!”
“That’s not a reason to german suflex people!”
Meanwhile, another senior obsessed with action movies tried teaching him a flashy spinning kick that nearly broke his own back during demonstrations.
The club was chaotic, but strangely warm.
And somewhere along the way, Tsuna realized he genuinely enjoyed spending time there.
If there was anything especially noteworthy recently…
It was probably Mutsumi introducing him to one of her friends during a study session.
“Tsuna-kun, this is my friend, Kyoko!”
“Nice to meet you, Tsuna-kun.”
Kyoko smiled gently.
Tsuna awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“Nice to meet you too…”
Not to brag but this is my first time talking to another girl other than Mutsumi.
Tsuna was over the moon.
From then on, the three of them occasionally studied together until the final exams arrived.
And before Tsuna realized it…
Finals were over!
The day the rankings were released, Tsuna nervously stared at the posted results.
When he saw the results, his eyes widened.
“I…”
He quickly checked again.
“I PASSED!”
Relief crashed over him instantly.
Not only had he passed every subject, he wasn’t even near the bottom anymore.
His overall ranking placed him around the upper-middle percentile of the class.
All those studying… actually paid off!
A huge smile spread across his face.
Mom’s definitely going to cry hearing this…
“Oh my, Tsuna!
You improved so much!”
Mutsumi walked beside him while looking genuinely impressed.
“Congratulations, Tsuna-kun!”
Kyoko added warmly.
Tsuna rubbed his nose shyly.
“Thanks… It’s because you guys helped me.”
Mutsumi immediately puffed out her chest proudly.
“Of course!
My teaching was incredible after all.”
Kyoko giggled beside her.
“Your ego’s getting bigger again, Mutsumi.”
“Hehe.”
Mutsumi’s smile then softened slightly.
“I guess our study sessions will end now that finals are over…”
Tsuna froze for a moment.
…That was true.
The realization oddly made his chest tighten.
These past few months… studying with them had quietly become one of the happiest parts of his life.
“Um…”
Tsuna looked away embarrassed.
“If we become classmates again in junior high…”
His heartbeat suddenly sped up.
“…Could we still study together sometimes?”
For a brief second, Mutsumi looked surprised before she again.
“Of course.
We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Friends.
That single word made warmth spread through Tsuna’s chest.
“Th-That’s right!”
Kyoko nodded encouragingly.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Tsuna-kun.”
Tsuna lowered his head slightly to hide his smile.
“…Thank you.”
He looked back again at the rankings.
“Also… congratulations on getting top ranks again.”
Mutsumi remained first in the school, and Kyoko wasn’t far behind.
They were still far ahead of him.
So far that Tsuna could only chase after them for now.
But for the first time, that distance no longer felt impossible.
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After receiving his exam results, Tsuna headed toward the Body Improvement Club for afternoon training.
Honestly, he still couldn’t stop smiling.
For the first time in his life, he actually got good grades.
Not amazing like Mutsumi or Kyoko, but compared to the old him?
It felt unbelievable.
As Tsuna opened the gym’s door…
“CONGRATULATIONS, TSUNA!”
“!?”
Tsuna nearly jumped in shock.
The entire Body Improvement Club suddenly surrounded him.
Tsuna was confused.
It’s not like I won the Muscle Olympia Contest…
Goda grabbed both his shoulders dramatically.
“You did it, little brother!”
“Your hard work bore fruit!”
“You got high scores in your final exams!”
The massive men loudly celebrated as if they had personally won a championship.
Tsuna blinked repeatedly in confusion.
“How did you guys know!?”
Then his eyes slowly moved toward the corner of the room.
Reborn flexed his fake biceps.
“I informed them.
Good achievements should be shared.”
“You really do as you wish…”
Tsuna was helpless against Reborn’s whims.
Unfortunately, the gym bros completely ignored Tsuna’s lament.
One of them suddenly lifted him onto their shoulders.
“What—!?”
“Our little brother’s about to graduate!”
“He studied while training every day!”
“TRULY MANLY!”
Tsuna’s face turned bright red from embarrassment while being carried around the room.
“P-Put me down!
This is too much!”
“Hahaha!”
Even Tenga laughed loudly while crossing his arms proudly.
“You worked hard for that score, Tsuna.
Be proud.”
“Yeah.
You used to look like you were about to cry whenever math was mentioned.”
Hideki commented.
In the beginning, Tsuna felt happy since he was free from math while exercising when Hideki suddenly started teaching him how to calculate calories and nutrients.
He was traumatized.
“That’s because math is terrifying…”
Tsuna complained.
“Excuses are forbidden in the path of self-improvement!”
“Fight on!”
“BODY IMPROVEMENT CLUB!”
“FIGHT ON!”
The club members suddenly started chanting again while Tsuna was still being carried around helplessly.
At some point, Tsuna found himself laughing too.
It was loud and embarrassing, but strangely warm.
Reborn quietly watched from the side.
For someone once mocked as No Good Tsuna, this much progress in just a few months was honestly remarkable.
Eventually, the club members finally put Tsuna down. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Goda suddenly grinned.
“As a reward since you got good grades…”
Crack.
He rolled his shoulders.
“…Today’s exercise session will be extra intense.”
Tsuna froze.
“…Eh?”
Reborn smirked.
“A reward indeed.”
“Isn’t this just punishment!?”
Tsuna bitterly cried while trying his best to perform several sets of pull-ups.
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That evening, Tsuna returned home still exhausted from the gym
“I’m home…”
The moment he entered, Nana suddenly rushed toward him with sparkling eyes.
This feels familiar…
He narrowed his eyes.
“TSUNAAA!”
“…!?”
She tightly hugged him before he could react.
“Reborn told me your exam results!”
Tsuna instantly turned toward Reborn in surprise.
How did he get here so fast!?
The hitman was watching the news in the living room.
As if he wasn’t even in the gym just earlier.
“I merely updated her.
It’s my job as a home tutor.”
“You might as well update the whole neighborhood about it!”
“Good idea.
Thanks.”
Tsuna was too exhausted to even bother arguing.
“But Tsuna!”
Nana held both his shoulders while looking at him emotionally.
“You really worked so hard…!”
Her eyes looked watery already.
“You studied and exercised every day… and now your grades improved this much…!”
Tsuna scratched his cheek shyly.
“I-It’s not that amazing…”
“It IS amazing!”
Nana immediately denied it, tears in her joyful eyes.
“Tsuna!
I’m so proud of you!”
“M-Mom, that’s embarrassing…”
But despite his complaints, seeing her happy made Tsuna strangely motivated.
“Hiring Reborn-kun was the best decision ever!”
Until she said happily declared that.
Tsuna didn’t know whether to agree or not, so he chose to ignore it.
However, her next words stunned him.
“Really, I’m glad.
I always knew you could do it if you tried!”
At those words, something warm quietly spread inside Tsuna’s chest.
For so long, people only called him with mocking nicknames.
No Good Tsuna.
Useless Tsuna.
Yet his mother… had always believed in him anyway.
Even when he himself didn’t.
“…Thanks, Mom.”
Nana suddenly gasped dramatically.
“Wait here!”
She hurried into the kitchen before returning with extra food.
“Today calls for celebration!”
“This amount is way too much—”
“You’re still growing!”
Tsuna stared helplessly at the mountain of food placed before him.
Reborn nodded approvingly.
“Indeed.
If you dream of becoming large and bulky like your gym bros, then that quantity is appropriate.”
“I like my big bros, but I don’t want to be that kind of thick….”
Tsuna sweated as he imagined himself with the same kind of physique.
Still…
As Tsuna looked at the warm dinner table and his smiling mother.
He quietly felt something.
Maybe…
things really were starting to change little by little.
While Nana was prepping more food, Reborn approached Tsuna.
He smiled.
“You did well, Tsuna.”
With that casual praise, Reborn passed by him and sat on the dining table.
Meanwhile, Tsuna was frozen after hearing that praise.
He then smiled.
For some reason, a praise from Reborn felt oddly fulfilling and satisfying to hear.
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After finals, school life slowly shifted toward graduation preparations.
At least… that was what Tsuna thought.
“Mutsumi is absent?”
Kyoko nodded worriedly.
The entire class was surprised.
Even the teachers seemed concerned
Mutsumi almost never missed school.
“She’s probably just sick.”
Someone guessed.
That was what everyone thought at first.
But the next day, Mutsumi was still absent.
“She must have caught a really bad cold.”
Kyoko said while forcing a smile.
“I’ll try contacting her later.”
Tsuna nodded.
Yet several days passed.
Mutsumi still never returned.
Her continued absence caused the mood of the entire classroom to plummet.
The same guy who proposed she was sick was now wondering anxiously if Mutsumi was diagnosed with a terminal disease.
Worse of all, she wasn’t replying to Kyoko’s messages either.
Tsuna couldn’t stop himself from worrying.
Fortunately, their teacher eventually informed reassuringly to the class.
“Mutsumi-san’s family said they’re currently away on vacation.”
That explanation eased the class somewhat.
Though honestly… It felt strange.
Mutsumi would’ve normally told her friends beforehand.
Still, Tsuna tried convincing himself everything was fine.
Yet every morning without seeing her somehow made school feel emptier and cold.
Only after she disappeared did Tsuna realize how precious those ordinary moments with her had become.
A few weeks had passed.
And Mutsumi still never came back.
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During that time, Tsuna devoted himself even harder toward self-improvement.
Even after finals ended, he continued studying daily to polish his fundamentals.
Sometimes on his way to school, he would pass by the area where Mutsumi lived.
A massive estate stood there quietly.
The mansion beyond the gates looked silent and empty.
Whenever Tsuna saw it, he remembered their childhood.
Because they lived nearby, they occasionally crossed paths and exchanged small greetings.
He found himself unconsciously hoping to see her again.
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At the same time, Tsuna slowly began changing how he treated home.
The trigger surprisingly came during a conversation with his older brothers about what they regretted the most.
Unexpectedly, the first person to tell his story was a club member who was usually cheerful and nice.
“My biggest regret… is my mother.”
The room became silent.
“I was raised by her alone after my father died early.”
The senior said quietly.
“We were poor.
Really poor.”
He laughed weakly.
“But back then, I didn’t understand anything.
She worked every day just to feed me.
Took care of me alone.
Supported everything I wanted…
and I still complained.”
Tsuna listened quietly.
“When kids mocked me for being poor… or for not having a father… I got angry at her instead.”
The senior lowered his eyes.
“I still remember her expression every time.
She’d smile awkwardly and apologize… for being my mother.”
Nobody spoke.
“But every morning, she still woke up early to make my favorite warm soup and egg rice before school.”
His hands trembled slightly while holding the phone.
“One day… she died.”
The room fell completely silent.
“When I held her hand at the hospital…”
His voice cracked slightly.
“It was cold…
that was the first time I realized.”
He smiled bitterly.
“This was her first time living too, but I kept acting like she was supposed to know every answer.”
Tears quietly gathered in his eyes.
“I spent my whole life believing she’d always be there.”
The senior looked at one particular photo on his phone.
“I love photography.”
His smile trembled.
“I had pictures of landscapes, my friends, the sky…
but only one photo of my mother.”
He was angry at himself.
“In that one picture, she looked exhausted, but she was still smiling awkwardly at the camera because she wanted to be happy for me.”
His breathing shook slightly.
“I couldn’t forget this moment.
How could I?
This was the day she gifted me my first camera on my birthday….
after I selfishly wished for it despite us struggling financially.”
The senior couldn’t finally help but release his tears.
“Only then did I notice how rough her hands were.
Why her hair turned white early, and why her back always hurt.”
His voice shook visibly with his voice cracking.
“All of it… was because she spent her life trying to give me mine.”
Tears rolled down his face.
“I promised I’d give her a better life someday, but I never got the chance.”
The senior wiped his eyes roughly before looking at Tsuna and the other gym members.
“So don’t wait.”
His voice was gentle now.
“Take care of your loved ones while you still can.
Don’t leave yourself with regrets like me.”
After he finished, the entire members of the Body Improvement Club hugged him while crying in tears.
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Tsuna quietly returned home.
“I’m home…”
“Welcome back, Tsuna!”
Nana greeted him brightly from the kitchen.
Dinner was already prepared.
Just like always.
For some reason, the senior’s words suddenly echoed loudly inside his mind.
Tsuna stared at his mother.
At her smile.
At the warmth waiting for him every single day.
And before he realized it, he walked forward and hugged her tightly
“Tsuna!?”
Tsuna buried his face against her shoulder.
Why did I stop doing this…?
Was it because I got embarrassed as I got older?
People only had limited time with their loved ones.
If not now… then when?
Tsuna tightened his arms slightly.
From that day onward, Nana became increasingly surprised by her son’s sudden changes.
“Tsuna?
You’re washing dishes?”
“I-I live here too, you know…”
“Tsuna!?
You’re helping carry groceries!?”
“If I let you carry the groceries, then I exercised for nothing!”
“Eh?
You want to learn cooking?”
“I want to help.”
Sometimes he even asked Nana to teach him household chores properly.
Other times he accompanied her to the supermarket.
And after hearing her complain about shoulder pain once, he even started learning basic massage techniques from the Body Improvement Club members.
Nana never fully understood what caused such a sudden change in her usually timid son.
But she didn’t mind at all.
Because for the first time in a long while, she felt like she was truly spending time with her son again.
…
Last chapter!
See yah next week!
Extra chapters when we reach 500 pw!