A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

Due to Takeuchi-sensei's careless and indifferent teaching style, the delinquents in class—including Ishida Shoya—had grown increasingly brazen over the past month, acting without restraint.

The moment Ishida Shoya returned to class, his eyes swept the room—and quickly locked onto Akira. His tone snapped with hostility:

"What are you looking at!?"

A few students nearby quickly looked away, afraid of becoming his next target.

Shouko frowned and tugged lightly at Akira's sleeve.

"Akira, don't look at him… He's mean and not even good-looking."

She was genuinely afraid that Akira would get dragged into something unnecessary.

"Mhm. By the way, was there anything in math class you didn't understand?"

Akira turned away from Ishida, looking gently into Shoko's eyes.

Just as she was about to answer, a cheerful voice cut in:

"Yes! Akira, could you teach me too?"

They turned their heads to see the class monitor, Kawai Miki, standing behind them with a math textbook in hand.

Akira's expression flattened.

"Class Monitor, please use names. Thank you."

Though Kawai had become friendly with Shouko lately, Akira had noticed something off. Outwardly, she was the picture of a top student—polite, helpful, refined. But when no one was watching, she had a sharp tongue and a habit of badmouthing others.

He hadn't caught her speaking ill of Shouko… yet.

"Okay, Miyamura, could you help me with this math problem?"

Kawai didn't seem bothered by his tone. She approached, placed her textbook on his desk, and pointed to a question.

Akira glanced at it briefly, then shrugged.

"Sorry, Class Monitor. Takeuchi-sensei rushed through it—it's a bit complicated. I haven't figured it out either."

"Alright then… I'll come back when you've got it."

Kawai picked up her textbook and walked back to her seat, her posture subtly stiff.

Shouko watched her go, then tilted her head slightly and whispered,

"Akira, didn't you teach me that problem just last night? How could you forget?"

Before he could answer, a light, teasing voice interrupted:

"Shouko, do you really not understand, or do you really not understand?"

The girl who spoke walked up and gently rubbed Shouko's cheek.

"Miyoko, did you say that wrong? Why are there two 'really's?"

Shouko blinked innocently, not resisting the touch at all. Her speech was still a bit awkward, her thoughts tangled.

The girl—Sahara Miyoko—only smiled mysteriously and retracted her hand.

"Hehe… One day, when someone else steals your Akira away, you'll understand what I meant."

"What are you saying?! Akira's still… still not mine…"

Shouko protested, flustered.

Akira, meanwhile, watched this exchange with quiet amusement. Sahara Miyoko—Shouko's new friend—was genuine. She was honest, warm, and sincere in a way Kawai Miki wasn't. He could feel it in the way she talked to Shouko—playful but never mean-spirited.

And despite knowing that Shouko could speak, she had still earnestly asked her to teach sign language so she could better communicate with friends who were hearing-impaired in the future.

"Yes, yes, he's still not yours~"

Sahara teased again, then waved goodbye and walked back to her front-row seat.

Shouko stared after her, replaying her words and Akira's earlier response in her head.

Suddenly, something clicked.

Her face turned red—then redder. She looked at Akira and quietly asked:

"Akira… You didn't want to teach Kawai because you were afraid I'd overthink it, right?"

"Yes."

"…"

Hearing such a straightforward and sincere answer, Shouko's cheeks turned scarlet. She buried her burning face on the desk, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

In the back row, Hirose Keisuke listened to Ishida Shoya's so-called revenge plan and immediately objected.

"Shoya, that's really going too far!"

Even Shimada Ikki, who usually encouraged trouble, frowned.

"Yeah, this time your idea's a bit much."

Ishida scoffed at them.

"What? It's just a little lesson, nothing serious. Worst case, I'll pay for their clothes."

Then, thinking that wasn't enough, he added:

"It's hot out anyway, and I already found some usable buckets."

Keisuke looked conflicted. He wanted to flat-out refuse, but worried about straining their friendship. So he changed tactics:

"I won't go with you… but I'll cover for you."

"Fine, fine. Such cowards."

Ishida rolled his eyes, then turned to Shimada.

"I'll help Keisuke cover for you too. You're doing this alone—if anything goes wrong, you're the only one getting blamed. Takeuchi'll be on your case for sure."

Shimada had a point, and Ishida accepted it with a nod.

"Alright, sounds good."

"But how do you even know she'll go to the restroom during class?" Shimada asked.

"Just wait. She will." Ishida's voice was casual, almost lazy.

Dong... dong... dong...!

The bell for the last class of the day rang.

Takeuchi-sensei walked into the classroom and, without even glancing at the students, muttered:

"Japanese class. Same as always—start reading in turns."

He pointed lazily to the leftmost side of the class, ignoring the quiet grumbles from below.

As the first student began reading aloud, Shouko leaned over to Akira and whispered:

"Akira, I'm going to the restroom."

She reassured him with a small smile and then walked up to the podium, softly repeating her request to Takeuchi.

Without even looking up, he waved her off with a grunt.

Two or three minutes passed. Then Ishida suddenly clutched his stomach and stumbled toward the front with a pained expression.

Takeuchi didn't even bother asking. It was the fifth time that day.

"Tch… Go already." He waved his hand in irritation.

Ishida nodded, holding his stomach—but the moment he stepped outside, he darted in the direction of the sixth-grade girls' restroom floor.

His plan was already in motion.

-------------

POWER STONE!!!

Support me at patréon com/Lukas25