A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

In that instant, Akira could feel his heart rate spike.

"Akira, Akira, look over there! They're selling candied apples!" Shouko exclaimed, quickly changing the subject and pointing excitedly toward a food stall in the distance.

Akira had been just about to say something, but swallowed his words with a quiet chuckle. He shook his head and replied fondly,

"Alright then, let's go line up together."

When they reached the front of the queue, Shouko watched as Akira only asked the stall owner for one apple.

"Don't you want one?" she asked, confused.

"I don't really like apples," he replied calmly, waiting for her to finish paying. "You go ahead and enjoy yours."

Seriously — at a place like a fireworks festival, with all kinds of delicious snacks, why choose apples of all things? Even covered in sugar syrup, they were still just apples.

To Akira, apples were the most boring fruit. They weren't terrible, but they weren't interesting either. Like the steamed buns of the fruit world — plain, predictable. The default setting of fruit.

Shouko thought she saw a fleeting look of disdain flash across his face, but figured she was imagining it. She just nodded and said,

"Okay."

Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered something similar. Back when Miyamura Auntie used to bring apples, Akira would always peel and slice them neatly before offering them to her, saying, "Apples are good for your health."

Then he'd walk away and peel an orange for himself.

"Let's keep walking — maybe we'll find some more fun stalls," Akira said casually.

"Mhm! Mhm!" Shouko nodded excitedly.

They wandered through the crowd and soon found a ring toss game surrounded by a few onlookers.

The stall had layers of shelves covered in hand-crafted trinkets and stuffed animals. The larger prizes were represented by stand-in items — if you could land a ring on one of those, you could exchange it for the grand prize.

The stall owner spotted the young couple in yukatas instantly. He called out,

"Five hundred yen per game — ten rings per try, no time limit! Want to give it a shot?"

He recognized the signs: expensive yukatas, a boy-girl pair, probably a date. Kids that age always tried to show off — especially the boys. First, they'd miss a few throws. Then frustration would kick in. Then they'd keep trying until they burned through their wallets.

It was almost too easy.

"Why is your game 200 yen more than the others? They also give ten rings," Shouko asked curiously.

The stall owner smirked and pointed to a massive stuffed panda behind him — nearly a meter tall.

"That's why. That's the grand prize here."

Before he could finish his sentence, Shouko was already tugging Akira's arm.

"Akira, Akira, I want that one!"

Exactly the reaction the stall owner had hoped for. He chuckled.

"Heh... Little lady, you can't just have it because you want it. That's the top prize. Everyone around here is trying to win it."

"Let's give it a try," Akira said calmly, pulling out a 500-yen coin.

Before he could hand it over, Shouko beat him to it, fishing one from her purse and giving it to the vendor herself.

The stall owner blinked in surprise. He'd expected the boy to pay. But money was money — he wasn't about to complain.

As he handed over the rings, more tourists started to gather. The crowd was mostly there for the fireworks, but a good show was always welcome in the meantime.

"Stand behind that red line," the vendor instructed, pointing to a stripe painted on the pavement.

"Got it." Akira gently guided Shouko just behind the line.

He focused on the stand-in prize perched on the top shelf. Carefully, he tossed his first ring.

"Aw, too bad — just missed it," the vendor commented, suppressing a laugh.

Three or four more rings followed, all narrowly missing.

"Heh, this kid's even worse than the last one," someone whispered.

"Yeah, but it's fun to watch him flail around."

"Pfft. That's 500 yen gone."

Murmurs of amusement rippled through the growing crowd.

Seeing an opportunity, the stall owner made his move.

"Hey kid, how about I refund you 100 yen if you return the rest of the rings? Cut your losses."

He'd done this before — plant a few hecklers, bait the kid's pride, and watch them spend thousands in frustration. Easy profit.

Akira ignored him and turned to Shouko.

"Can you buy twenty more rings?"

Without hesitation, Shouko nodded and approached the vendor again, handing over another 1,000 yen.

"You got this, Akira!"

Meanwhile, Akira tapped his smartwatch and made a quick call.

"Dad, where are you? Can you come over for a bit?" He gave him the location and hung up.

The vendor scoffed.

"Even if you call your parents, I'm not giving a refund."

Some tourists started to drift away but paused when they realized things were getting interesting.

Soon, Daiki Miyamura appeared — followed by Miu, Chika, Yaeko, and finally, Miyamura Shizuka, who pushed her way to the front.

Seeing Akira and Shouko safe, Shizuka frowned.

"What's going on here?"

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Yaeko asked.

Akira held up his hands.

"Didn't I say it wasn't a big deal? Why did everyone rush over?"

"You've got a lot of nerve!" Shizuka scolded, pulling his cheek playfully.

"We thought you were being bullied! What if you were just pretending to sound okay over the phone?"

Akira quickly apologized and explained the situation:

"I just wanted to make sure, in case the stall owner caused trouble later. Shouko and I already have our hands full."

Before the stall owner or the crowd could say anything snide, Shizuka rolled her eyes and cut in.

"You haven't even won anything yet, and you're already bragging?" she said, poking his forehead.

"It's just a one-meter-tall doll. If you'd told us, we could've bought you five different kinds!"

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POWER STON!!!

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