A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

Ueno Naoka seemed a little afraid to look directly at Shouko's radiant smile. Seeing her take the jacket, she quickly walked back to her seat.

Back at her desk, Shouko's words echoed in her mind. If it had been Shouko at that time, would she have helped?

Most likely… not. At best, she would've told Saitou-sensei or someone else and kept her distance. That was the kind of girl Naoka had been. And yet…

Meanwhile, seeing that Shouko had no intention of returning the jacket, Akira suddenly wanted to tease her. He chuckled:

"Shouko, why are you still holding my clothes? Ueno already washed them. Just give it back to me — saves me the trouble of washing it again."

He reached his left hand toward her.

Shouko lightly slapped his hand away, narrowing her eyes at him as if trying to read his intentions. Failing to catch any clear hint, she wrinkled her nose at him and replied:

"I don't think it's clean enough yet. I'll wash it again and return it to you later."

Without another word, she pulled out the notes Akira had helped her with last night and started reviewing.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was noon.

"Lunch break! Ishida, pay attention!"

Takeuchi-sensei's voice rang out as he exited the classroom. As soon as he left, the once quiet class turned into a lively mess.

"Wake up, Akira, we're going to eat with Miu and the others."

Shouko gently shook the shoulder of the boy dozing next to her.

"Ngh~ Alright, alright…"

Akira sat up straight, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He grabbed his black bento box from the drawer.

"Take me with you! Don't leave me behind!"

That familiar voice chimed in — Sahara Miyoko.

Akira didn't even need to turn around to know it was her. Of course, there was no reason to refuse. The three of them headed to Class A to find the twin-tailed girl and her group.

Clap clap clap...

Just as they reached the back door of Class A, snapping sounds echoed through the room. In the back row, several boys were competing in who could snap their fingers the loudest — and right there with them was Matsuoka Miu.

"Akira, why are Miu and those boys rubbing their fingers together like that?" Shouko asked, puzzled.

Before Akira could reply, Ito Chika spoke up from inside the room:

"They're competing to see who can snap louder."

"I know this one!" Sahara Miyoko chirped. She beamed as she continued, "This whole snapping thing started in Class A last week. But no one in our class has picked it up yet."

Hearing her say that, Akira vaguely recalled seeing similar silly games that caught on in elementary schools.

There weren't any smartphones or gadgets at the time — just kids sharing jokes, talking about yesterday's anime, or getting into weird little trends like this.

As for where these games came from? No one really knew. They just spread — and stuck around long enough to become part of childhood.

"Miu, let's go downstairs and eat," Akira called out casually.

"You guys go first! I'm about to win!" Miu grinned, still focused on the competition.

"Then we're going ahead."

"Okay." x3

The four of them — Akira, Shouko, Sahara, and Chika — found a long brown bench on the first floor and sat down to enjoy the bentos their parents had lovingly prepared that morning.

"Sorry for the wait~!"

Matsuoka Miu soon skipped over with her bento and plopped down at the end of the bench.

She immediately launched into a victory monologue, proudly describing how none of the boys could beat her finger snaps.

Akira, growing tired of her bragging, suddenly smirked.

"I know a way to make the loudest finger snap."

The moment he said it, the other four turned to look at him. Miu narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Does he really? Or is he bluffing again?

But she hesitated. After all, Akira was smart. He had built little crafts, even made a working kite before. Maybe… just maybe…

"Akira-kun, you actually know how?" Sahara asked curiously.

"When did I ever say I didn't like playing with the boys?" Akira replied, clearly expecting a different question.

Shouko looked puzzled.

"I've never heard you mention this trick before."

"I saw it on TV once. That's all. But—" he leaned toward Miu, smirking, "—do you want to know how it works?"

Of course, he couldn't tell them he had been pranked with this in Hawaii in his previous life.

"Stop dragging it out! Just tell us!" Miu barked, clearly impatient.

"Alright, alright." He set down his chopsticks and began the demonstration.

"Extend your dominant hand. Use your other hand to grip your ring finger and pinky. Then snap."

He snapped his fingers with a sharp crack.

"But be careful," he added. "Grip too tight and it might snap too loud."

Excited, Miu and Sahara started mimicking his hand position. But just before Shouko did the same, Akira reached over and stopped her.

She blinked in confusion, but quickly recognized the look on his face — he was pranking them. Before she could speak up—

"KYAAA!!"

Miu's scream pierced the air.

She stood, eyes blazing. "Miyamura Akira!!"

Without waiting for an explanation, she ran over and punched Akira two or three times in the arm.

When she was done, she glared at him, huffed, and returned to her seat with flushed cheeks.

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POWER STONE!!!

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