A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

Seeing that it was getting late, the group of friends said goodbye and returned to their respective classrooms.

As soon as Shouko sat down, she thought about how Miu had just been upset. In Shouko's memory, aside from when Teacher Minagawa called Miu out to the corridor, Miu's moments of anger could be counted on one hand.

Then, thinking back to the finger snap trick Akira had taught her earlier, Shouko suddenly felt a strong desire to try it herself.

She quietly turned her head to look at Akira. Noticing he wasn't paying attention, she raised her right hand under the desk, about to try it out. However, just as she was about to do so, Akira's voice interrupted:

"I suggest you, Shouko, don't try it."

Before she could question him, Akira added with a light chuckle:

"Of course, as long as you don't regret it after trying. Don't snap too hard, or it will hurt."

His last sentence piqued her curiosity. Ignoring his teasing smile, she raised both hands to the desk and began following the procedure Akira had taught her.

"Ahh..." Shouko winced as a sharp pain shot through the tendon in her wrist, but it faded quickly.

Akira watched her cute reaction and shook his head with a light chuckle. Curiosity really can be dangerous, he thought. What followed was a series of little punches from Shouko, but she hardly used any force. It seemed she was still afraid of hurting herself. Hehe...

The last gym class of the afternoon arrived quickly. The class headed to the gymnasium with their school bags in tow.

As the bell rang, the students lined up, and Takeuchi-sensei stood at the front, shouting:

"As usual, find a classmate to partner up with, do some warm-up exercises, and then you can go off and play on your own."

Akira looked at him speechlessly. He clearly remembered that during the first gym class of the year, Takeuchi-sensei had dragged out a whiteboard to plan and organize the class activities properly. Now, it was just warm-ups and then free play.

At the start of the school year, Shouko's aunt had called and told him that Shouko couldn't do any strenuous exercises due to her hearing impairment, as it might worsen her condition. So, initially, he had only let Shouko do the warm-ups and then sit out to watch the others. Eventually, the whole class followed suit, and Akira simply went to a corner of the gym to play with his phone. He wasn't worried about getting caught.

Shaking off these random thoughts, he walked over to Shouko's side. Just then, she hesitantly said:

"Akira… I already promised Miu to be her partner today, so—"

"Alright, I'll find someone else," Akira interrupted her with a smile.

He noticed her guilty expression and added softly:

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just want to ask Takeuchi-sensei something."

Akira thought it would be good for Shouko to play with girls her age. He felt that while he always tried to stay by her side, it didn't allow her the space to grow and interact. As long as she wasn't playing with boys who acted out, it was fine.

He gently ruffled her head before turning to walk toward Takeuchi-sensei, who was lounging in a corner of the gymnasium.

Sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, Takeuchi-sensei quickly noticed Akira approaching. He quickly stuffed his phone away and looked up:

"Miyamura, what's up? Something on your mind?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you about something, Takeuchi-sensei." Akira didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down next to him.

This piqued Takeuchi-sensei's curiosity. He looked at Akira and asked:

"What do you need to ask me, the teacher, about?"

Over the past month, he'd observed Akira in class. Akira rarely participated but was always attentive despite being listless. Even though Takeuchi-sensei had a slacking attitude, he noticed that Akira's grades never slipped.

Moreover, unlike others in the class, Akira hardly interacted with his classmates. Takeuchi-sensei could tell Akira wasn't shy or introverted, but rather seemed to disdain the childish behavior of the others.

"Takeuchi-sensei, does our school have a class singing competition for sixth-graders every year?"

Akira's question immediately interrupted Takeuchi's wandering thoughts. He quickly snapped back to reality and nodded.

"Yes, there is such a competition every year during the second semester. What about it?"

Akira's lips curled into a slight smile, though it quickly flattened again. He shook his head:

"Nothing, just need your help with something, Takeuchi-sensei."

Takeuchi-sensei raised an eyebrow, sensing some hesitation in Akira's tone. But Akira quickly added:

"Don't worry, it's not a big deal. When the time comes, I'll have my dad add some prize money to the competition."

Takeuchi-sensei was intrigued. He knew that in previous competitions, the winner received nothing but a paper certificate and a brief mention in front of the whole school.

He was getting curious now but didn't want to admit that Akira had tempted him.

"Tell me first, stop with the tempting words."

Akira quickly pulled away when he saw Takeuchi-sensei's hand moving toward his head. He smiled, then began to explain his request.

"Such a kid, making a big deal out of nothing…" Takeuchi-sensei muttered to himself as Akira walked away. He chuckled and pulled out his phone again.

"Akira, what did you talk to Takeuchi-sensei about? You were gone for so long." Shouko, who had been resting, asked as Akira returned to his seat.

Because Akira had gone straight to Takeuchi-sensei, chatting and laughing with him, the entire class had noticed. Everyone was curious about what they discussed.

Shouko's question made the other students' ears perk up, eager to find out what had happened.

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

POWER STONE!!! 

Support me at patréon com/Lukas25