A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

Akira burst into the house without even taking off his shoes. He went straight down the hallway and lifted Yuzuru Nishimiya off of Hachiko's back.

"Ah! Let me go! Hachiko, bite him—Akira-kun's bullying me!" Yuzuru flailed wildly in his arms, whining dramatically. Akira could only stare at her, speechless at how fast she started spewing nonsense.

Hachiko just turned to glance at Yuzuru, then lazily trotted into the living room, tail wagging.

At that moment, Shouko changed into indoor slippers at the entrance, walked over, and gently karate-chopped Yuzuru's head.

"Yuzuru, Akira is Hachiko's human," Shouko said coolly. She seemed like she wanted to say more, but chose to hold back.

Still held in Akira's arms, Yuzuru slowly stopped struggling, stunned by the surprise chop to the head. Akira looked down and noticed her eyes were red and puffy. He quickly let go, awkwardly wanting to say something comforting.

Yuzuru thought she could keep it in, but when she looked up and locked eyes with Akira, the dam broke. She burst into tears and ran into the living room, shouting in a trembling voice:

"I hate my sister the most!"

Shouko blinked in surprise as Yuzuru ran off. She didn't catch exactly what was said, but it was clear her little sister had just yelled something before fleeing.

"Akira, go check on her. I'll finish changing my shoes." Shouko gently pushed him forward.

Akira nodded and followed her into the house.

By the time he entered the living room, he found Shouko and Grandma Nishimiya seated at the coffee table, chatting about fun things that had happened in kindergarten that day.

Yuzuru, meanwhile, was curled up beside Hachiko, hugging the dog tightly and crying.

"Hachiko… I'm never playing with you again," she whimpered between sobs.

Hachiko lay flat on the tatami, unsure what to do. He wanted to lick the tears off her cheeks but couldn't reach. To Akira, it looked like even Hachiko was baffled by the situation.

"Good afternoon, Grandma Nishimiya," Akira greeted politely at the doorway before walking over and sitting down with them.

"Hehe… good afternoon, Akira," the old woman replied kindly.

As it turned out, Yuzuru had taken advantage of a moment when Grandma Nishimiya was in the bathroom to sneak onto Hachiko's back.

Later, Akira got bored and turned on the TV to watch a comedy variety show. Shouko and Grandma Nishimiya finished their chat and joined him on the tatami, watching the show together.

After a while, Grandma Nishimiya checked the time, said something to the two kids, and stood up to head into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

Yuzuru eventually cried herself to sleep on Hachiko's back. The dog noticed she had dozed off and didn't dare move a muscle. Akira turned around at the sound of quiet sniffles finally fading, and saw her sleeping peacefully.

He stood up, intending to carry her to bed so she wouldn't catch a cold. But as he approached, he saw her small hands clutching Hachiko's fur tightly. With a sigh, he grabbed a nearby blanket and gently laid it over her.

Around 6 PM, Shizuka Miyamura and Yaeko Nishimiya returned from shopping. Shizuka went back to her place to help with dinner. Yaeko came in, and as soon as she stepped into the living room, she saw three children sitting quietly.

Akira was peeling an orange, looked up, and politely greeted her before going back to his task. Shouko sat beside him, waiting patiently for her share. Yuzuru still lay by Hachiko, occasionally giggling in her sleep. Hachiko had fallen asleep as well.

Meanwhile, back at school…

"Kids! The uncles and aunties from Futaba TV Station are coming soon!" Ms. Yoshinaga came back into the classroom after answering a call, clearly excited. She shut the wooden door and raised her voice to grab everyone's attention.

Ms. Ueo looked out over the chattering class and motioned for silence, before calmly explaining what to expect from the visit.

Not long after, knock knock knock—there was a knock at the door.

Ms. Ueo and Akira immediately knew the reporters had arrived. The rest of the kids hadn't noticed yet and were still chatting away.

Ms. Ueo waved to them again and called out, "Come in!"

All eyes turned toward the door. It slowly creaked open, and a pretty woman holding a microphone stepped into the classroom. Behind her came a camera crew and several assistants.

Sitting at his desk, Akira couldn't help but think: If Shin-chan were here, he'd definitely run up and start chatting with her.

"Akira, Akira, look!" Shouko tugged on his sleeve. "That lady with the mic is so pretty!"

She was about to continue raving about the cool cameramen when she caught sight of someone unexpected.

Her eyes widened. She smacked Akira's arm again and pointed. "Akira, look! Shin-chan's with them!"

Before Akira could turn, the familiar voice had already reached him.

"Miss, would you like to eat chocolate cookies with me?"

Shin-chan had dashed up to the reporter, offering his signature grin.

"Huh?" The reporter was caught off guard but quickly regained her composure. She knelt down with a smile, patted his head, and asked, "Aren't you in the Rose Class? What are you doing here?"

"Because of love!" Shin-chan declared proudly without missing a beat.

The reporter blinked, her professional brain freezing for a split second before she let out a nervous laugh.

Shouko stared in amazement. "Shin-chan's incredible. He just walked up and talked to a beautiful lady like it was nothing…"

Akira twitched. He and Shouko clearly had different takeaways. Yeah, he's calm, alright… but even the reporter was caught off guard.

Ms. Ueo quickly stepped in, scooping Shin-chan up and whispering for him not to cause trouble. The reporter breathed a discreet sigh of relief, clearly flustered by the unexpected energy.

She turned to the cameraman behind her. He gave her an OK sign.

The reporter took a deep breath, adjusted her posture, and smiled brightly.

"Hello, everyone! I'm a reporter from Futaba TV. We're doing a live broadcast, and we'd love to interview you all!"

"I'll ask some simple questions, and if you want to answer, just raise your hand, okay?"

"What's a live broadcast?" a boy on the far left asked curiously, raising his hand.

"It means everything happening here is being shown on TV in real-time—so your parents and everyone else can watch you right now!"

Some kids immediately panicked, sitting stiffly like mannequins. Others waved excitedly at the cameras, shouting:

"Mom, can you see me!?"

The excitement got the better of one little boy, and his pronunciation—already a bit messy—was so garbled that even Ms. Ueo couldn't understand what he said.

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