A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

Time passed peacefully, and before they knew it, the first weekend of the new semester had arrived.

Over the past few days, that hedgehog-head Ishida Shouya hadn't caused any visible trouble, but Akira had a nagging feeling he was scheming something behind the scenes. As for Shouko, she'd begun making friends with some of the girls in her new class—though their intentions didn't seem entirely sincere.

"Akira, what are you thinking about? You're zoning out."

Shouko, sitting at the living room table peeling an orange, looked at him curiously as she passed him a segment.

He blinked, snapping out of his daze, took the orange slice from her hand, and shook his head. "Nothing important." Then, smoothly changing the subject, he added, "I was just wondering—are we really going to the park later to play hide-and-seek with Shinnosuke and the others?"

As for Nini's legendary house-playing game, by now that surreal pastime had almost disappeared. Akira had noticed that ever since fifth grade, Nini hardly brought it up anymore. Maybe even she realized how weird it was.

"Let's go. We can head there now and see if they're already there."

Shouko stood up after finishing her orange and straightened her skirt.

"Alright."

Akira stood as well and followed her to the house.

After changing into their outdoor shoes, they both called out toward the dining room:

"Mom!"

"Auntie! We're heading out now!"

"Be careful, and call me if anything happens," Miyamura Shizuka replied from inside.

The only response she received was the sound of the door closing.

"Should we call Yuzuru?"

Just as they stepped outside, Akira remembered the little black-haired girl who had taken Hachiko for a walk earlier. He turned to Shouko. "Want to ask her to come too?"

"Mhm."

Shouko nodded, let go of his hand, quickly returned to the front door, and shouted inside:

"Yuzuru, do you want to go to the park and play hide-and-seek with Shinnosuke and the others?"

The first response wasn't human—it was Hachiko's familiar bark from the living room.

"Woof woof woof!"

Followed immediately by Yuzuru's excited voice:

"Yes! Yes! I'll take Hachiko too!"

Moments later, Yuzuru appeared, holding Hachiko's leash, with Nishimiya Kei trailing behind.

Standing on the wooden hallway, Kei glanced at Yuzuru putting on her shoes and then looked at the two holding hands at the door. She smiled gently and reminded them,

"Have fun, but stay safe, okay?"

"Don't worry, Granny Nishimiya. I'll watch over them."

Akira raised his hand and promised.

Kei looked at Akira, who already carried himself with a grown-up air, and chuckled softly.

"Hehe… Grandma believes you."

Time sure flew by—these two were already in their final year of elementary school.

"Pssh. I don't need Akira to watch over me."

Yuzuru scoffed as she finished tying her shoes, then called out excitedly to the dog,

"Let's go, Hachiko!"

"Woof!"

Hachiko wagged its tail enthusiastically and padded outside.

Akira and Shouko bid goodbye to Granny Nishimiya and closed the door behind them.

—

As they walked along the familiar route, Shouko suddenly tugged on Akira's hand and pointed ahead.

"Akira, look! Isn't that Nini and the others?"

He followed her gaze and spotted a familiar group gathered in front of a small tent near the entrance to Futaba Park. A colorful banner was strung above it.

'Time Capsule: Write a Letter to Your Future Self—Ten Years from Now'

Just one glance, and Akira could tell the booth was probably aimed at children and couples.

"There's a huge crowd."

Yuzuru looked up curiously. "And Nini and Kazama are there too! Let's go check it out!"

She tugged Hachiko's leash and dashed off.

"Slow down, Yuzuru! Don't run Hachiko into the crowd!"

Akira called after her, concerned.

"I got it~!"

Yuzuru waved back without slowing at all.

By the time Akira and Shouko caught up, Yuzuru was already chatting away with Nini and Kazama.

Looking around, Akira realized two familiar faces were missing.

"Where are Shinnosuke and Daiki?" he asked. "I don't see them."

Nini greeted the two and answered with a small shrug.

"Daiki couldn't come—his sister needed help with something. As for Shinnosuke, he got in trouble taking Himawari out, and Auntie Misae is scolding him at home. They're both grounded today."

"..."

Akira had no words for Shinnosuke. That guy and his siblings were walking chaos.

"Akira, look!"

Shouko pointed toward the long table inside the tent, eyes sparkling.

On the table were large, colorful capsule toys—each one designed to hold a small letter or item. A nearby Staff Member in uniform noticed Shouko's hearing aid and instinctively began using sign language to explain.

"Um… You can talk. I can kind of hear and read lips," Shouko said shyly, interrupting.

"Oh! I see."

The Staff Member quickly switched to speaking and smiled gently.

"These are time capsules. You can write a letter or put a keepsake inside, then seal it. After ten years, you dig it up and open it—like a message to your future self."

Shouko's eyes lit up.

Writing a letter to her future self… Would her future self be married to someone by then?

Even if she wouldn't get a reply, the idea was strangely exciting.

She glanced sideways at Akira, who was still chatting with Kazama, then turned back to the staff.

"How much is one of these?"

The woman grinned.

"Since you're so sweet and cute, I'll give you a discount. Normally they're 800 yen, but I'll let you have one for 500."

Akira walked over at that moment and raised an eyebrow.

"Shouko, you're thinking of buying one?"

He wasn't one to spend money on gimmicks, and burying something for ten years only to forget where it was didn't seem all that smart. But if it was for fun—and for the memory—maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

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POWER STONE!!!

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