The doorbell rang.
Miya walked to the Genkan and pulled open the door.
Shin-chan poked his head out from beside Miya, glanced at the visitor, then squeezed his whole body past her.
"Sir."
Maruboshi Kosuke lowered his head and looked at the little tyke before him. His lips twitched. "Shin-chan."
"Sir, why are you here?"
Maruboshi Kosuke fell silent for a moment, as if choosing his words.
"I came to see you."
"Me?" Shin-chan pointed at his own nose.
"Mm." Maruboshi Kosuke nodded. "I wanted to take you for a walk."
Shin-chan turned back to look at Miya.
Miya hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Don't come back too late."
"Okay."
Shin-chan followed behind Maruboshi Kosuke and went out.
Night had already fallen, and the streetlights flickered on one by one.
"Sir, let me tell you something."
Maruboshi Kosuke looked down at him.
"I studied Sealing Technique all day today." Shin-chan clasped both hands behind his back. "Those symbols were like tadpoles, swimming all over the place."
Maruboshi Kosuke said nothing and listened quietly.
"Then I came up with an idea and used Shadow Clones to help me look." A smug expression appeared on Shin-chan's face. "I made tons and tons of them."
"And then?"
"Then they were just like me. Their eyes turned into spirals." Shin-chan's shoulders slumped. "When Dad came back, he made me dismiss them all."
Maruboshi Kosuke's lips twitched.
"But I didn't give up." Shin-chan puffed out his chest again.
The two of them walked down the street. There were gradually fewer houses around them, while the trees grew denser.
Shin-chan talked the whole way, from Sealing Technique to Miya's dinner, then from dinner to pretty older ladies.
Maruboshi Kosuke listened quietly the entire time, occasionally nodding and giving a brief "Mm."
They reached the Training