The Sound of a Silent Life

Seeing Mr. Takeuchi's dark expression, Shōya could only sit down obediently. Since Tsuna had spoken up for him on the podium, he didn't dare say anything else and could only wait for another chance to teach him a lesson.

"Miyamura, please continue," Mr. Takeuchi said, forcing a reluctant smile when he saw Tsuna hesitate.

Tsuna nodded and introduced himself briefly, "Hello everyone, my name is Miyamura Tsunayoshi. I hope to get along well with all of you over the next year." With that, he stepped down.

"He's Miyamura Tsunayoshi? He's kind of handsome."

"What!? That's *the* Miyamura Tsunayoshi!?"

"Why did that hedgehog-head call him a sissy?"

"Naoka, Naoka! Look, that's Miyamura Tsunayoshi!"

"I see, I see! Stop shaking me!" Naoka had been staring at his face ever since he stepped onto the stage. She mentally compared him with someone else, and that "someone" was thoroughly defeated.

"Okay! Quiet down. Next one!" Mr. Takeuchi couldn't bear the whispers spreading across the room and sternly cut them off.

"I'll explain later." Shouko wrinkled her nose at Tsuna as he returned to his seat, then stood and walked to the podium with a trace of dissatisfaction, leaving Tsuna slightly confused.

Shouko walked naturally to the podium, far more confident than in her first year. She looked at the class and said softly, "Hello everyone, my name is Nishimiya Shouko. I hope we can all be friends, and that I'll make many new ones this year."

She paused, then lifted the hair from around her ears, revealing a flesh-colored hearing aid. With a gentle smile, she added, "I have a hearing impairment, but I can communicate normally with everyone—no need for notebooks or sign language."

"Ah!!! Then ~ ~ are you ~ ~ not ~ ~ deaf " a mocking voice interrupted before she could finish. It was the hedgehog-haired boy again, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling straight at her.

Most students turned toward the commotion, while the rest curiously stared at the hearing aid on Shouko's ear.

Mr. Takeuchi looked ready to explode. First it was, the son o President Miyamura, now it was the goddaughter of his wife. He turned toward the culprit with a furious glare, about to shout—when a loud *clang* interrupted him.

A hard object had struck the wall and fallen to the ground.

He swallowed the angry words forming in his throat. Shouya's pupils widened; he froze completely, suddenly realizing no words were needed.

Shouko remained on the podium, eyes fixed on someone, having witnessed the entire scene.

"Teacher Takeuchi, I need to go to the back and pick up the thermos cup," said a calm voice that broke the silence.

The calmness alone made Shouya shiver, collapsing into his chair. Everyone's eyes now turned toward Tsuna.

"Teacher Takeuchi?"

Startled from his thoughts, Takeuchi stammered, "Ah...? Oh—go ahead, Miyamura. But don't do that again. The teacher will handle unruly students next time." If that cup had actually hit someone, he might have needed to call an ambulance.

Tsuna nodded obediently like a well-behaved child. "Yeah, I won't do it again."

He stood and walked slowly to the back of the classroom, picked up the black thermos from the ground, and examined it carefully. "The thermos my mom bought is of good quality. The water didn't even spill."

As he passed the hedgehog-haired boy's seat, he gently patted his shoulder and said calmly, "Watch your mouth." Before moving on, he gave a long, cold look to the yellow-haired boy sitting beside him.

"Ahem!" Teacher Takeuchi cleared his throat when Tsuna returned to his seat. "Okay, Shouko, you can sit down now. Next!"

As for whether Tsunayoshi's actions warranted a call home—well, let's just say Mr. Takeuchi didn't *see* anything. All he saw was a student picking up a thermos. And even if Shōya tried to report it, all he could say was that class discipline was disrupted.

"Okay," Shouko replied and quickly returned to her seat. The moment she sat down, she began scolding Tsuna for his recklessness, her eyes already turning red.

Seeing that she was about to cry, Tsuna quickly tried to calm her down. "Okay, okay, I get it. I won't do that again, alright? Don't cry, I'm not hurt."

Some students nearby couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Shouko's emotions shifted quickly—especially when Tsuna was coaxing her. Once she recovered, her tone changed as she glared at him and demanded, "Why are you so good-looking!?"

"Eh!?" Tsuna was completely thrown off. One second she was crying, and the next she was interrogating him? Why was he good-looking? Blame the Miyamura genes, he supposed.

*Clap clap!* Mr. Takeuchi clapped twice to draw everyone's attention. "Alright, now that self-introductions are done, I need a few boys to come help move the textbooks."

Several boys volunteered out of boredom, and as Mr. Takeuchi left with them, he called back, "You all stay quiet!"

"Okay, now back to what we were talking about." As soon as Mr. Takeuchi left, Shouko turned her gaze back to Tsuna with a fierce expression. Tsuna, speechless, tried his best to play dumb and avoid eye contact.

"Shouya, are you okay?" The chubby black-haired boy sitting to Shouya's left—Hirose Keisuke—asked with concern.

Shouya just shook his head, silent.

Hirose, not satisfied with the vague response, was about to ask again when a teasing voice interrupted: "Alright Keisuke, give him a moment. Shouya's probably still in shock."

"I'm not!" Shouya snapped. "Ichiki, don't treat me like that! I'm just not feeling well—I didn't say I was scared!"

"Really? I was just trying to comfort you. I figured you were shaken, haha," Shimada said, smirking as he met Shouya's eyes.

Shouya bristled. "Afraid? Me? No way. It was just a stupid water cup! Next time I get the chance, I'll definitely teach him a lesson. He won't get away with doing that to me!" Deep down, he was afraid of looking weak in front of his friends.

The cup hadn't even hit him, so he hadn't felt any pain. But now, provoked by Shimada, his fighting spirit was reignited—and so was his grudge.