"Dong… dong…!"
As the school bell rang, students quickly returned to their seats. The ones still lingering in the hallway outside rushed into the classroom in a small stampede.
Monts later, a woman in a sleek suit with silver-rimd glasses entered the room and knocked on the blackboard behind the podium.
"Everyone, take your seats and quiet down."
Kawai Miki blinked and stood up, puzzled. "Teacher, did you co to the wrong classroom? This is Class B."
A murmur of confusion rippled through the room. Most of the students looked equally baffled—except for Akira, Shouko, and a few others who simply looked curious.
The woman at the front was none other than Ms. Minagawa, the horoom teacher who had taught them for five years.
Raising her hand calmly, Ms. Minagawa motioned for Kawai Miki to sit down and then spoke evenly:
"I didn't co to the wrong place. Your horoom teacher, Mr. Takeuchi, officially resigned last night. I'll be filling in for him today."
The class went still for a beat, shocked—except for one quiet figure and Shoya Ishida in the back row, who barely reacted.
Still, after a mont, the surprise faded. Whether that "guy" stayed or left didn't make much of a difference now—they were graduating in just a few days.
Ms. Minagawa herself had been equally surprised when the principal inford her that morning. Why would he step down now—after making it through nearly an entire school year? There were only three days left. Technically, just one, since exams started tomorrow.
"Then, Ms. Minagawa, if you're here… who's covering Class A?" Akira raised his hand with a curious expression.
Minagawa didn't even need to look to recognize his voice.
"That's not sothing you need to worry about, Miyamura. Another teacher has taken over. Now, let's move on—no more questions."
Any lingering curiosity was quickly shut down as class began.
The rest of the school day passed uneventfully, with Ms. Minagawa teaching most of their final lessons. The only break ca in the afternoon when they headed to the gym for their official graduation photo.
"We're ho, Auntie Shizuka!" ×2
Three days flew by in a blink. As soon as they handed in their final exam, Akira, Shouko, and Yuzuru walked ho together. The mont Akira opened the door, Shouko and Yuzuru dashed inside excitedly.
Miyamura Shizuka erged from the living room, her phone still open on a call screen.
"Perfect timing," she said warmly. "I just confird a ho photoshoot this afternoon with Yu Ozawa from Barracuda Studio."
Akira, still taking off his shoes, looked up. "Is it… another graduation photo? Like the one from kindergarten?"
Shizuka smiled. "Exactly. Your dad and Aunt Yaeko will be back in ti too."
As she spoke, she glanced over at Shouko.
"Feel free to invite your friends again, just like last ti."
Shouko's face lit up with a nod.
They all moved to the living room. Yuzuru asked Shizuka sothing quietly, then took their dog Hachiko for a quick walk. anwhile, Shouko used Akira's phone to call up her friends.
Miu, Chika, and Sahara Miyoko quickly confird they'd co without hesitation.
But others, like Taichi, had already left town with their families. Aya and Daiki were swamped—one with family commitnts, the other helping his older sister.
Nini's phone couldn't be reached at all. And Kazama wouldn't be back from school for another week.
"It's alright," Akira said, noticing the flicker of disappointnt in Shouko's eyes. He reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "It's just a photo. We can take another one later when everyone's free."
"…Mhm," Shouko replied softly, a small smile returning to her face.
"Knock knock knock…"
From the couch, Miyamura Shizuka looked up and nudged Akira. "Can you get the door?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," he grumbled, dragging himself up.
The door opened with a soft click.
"Long ti no see, Yu Ozawa," Akira greeted.
Yu blinked in surprise. "Akira?"
She stared for a second. The last ti she'd seen him, he'd been a tiny kid with missing teeth. It had been six years.
"Well, you've grown," she finally said, laughing it off.
He rolled his eyes and handed her slippers. "You look like you saw a ghost."
"I just didn't recognize you at first, that's all," she chuckled, brushing it aside.
She stepped in, greeted everyone inside, then took a seat next to Shouko—who also looked noticeably more mature than the last ti Yu had seen her.
Before long, Miu, Chika, and Sahara Miyoko arrived as promised. Ten minutes later, Shizuka and Yaeko erged, dressed and ready after finishing their makeup.
Everyone assembled outside, in front of the Miyamura family ho.
As requested, Yu set up her cara equipnt at the front—framing the group and the house in a single perfect shot.
Soon, everyone found their spots.
Though there were a few fewer people than last ti—and one less dog—the layout felt familiar.
The adults stood in the back row. The kids gathered in front.
Shizuka and Akira stood in the center. On either side of Akira were Shouko and Yuzuru.
Next to Shouko stood Miu and Chika. And beside Yuzuru were Hachiko and Sahara Miyoko.
Just before the shutter clicked, Akira leaned over and whispered to Shouko:
"You're not going to try and steal a kiss like last ti, are you?"
In response, she gave him a swift slap on the arm and turned away, feigning offense—but her ears turned slightly pink.
"All right, everyone!" Yu called out, raising her hand. "I'm going to count down from three. On 'one,' shout 'Cheese'!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!!"
"Woof!"
"Cheese!" ×10
As the shutter clicked, Hachiko's bark rang out—perfectly tid, adding a warm, happy punctuation to the mont.
It was the last photo of their childhood.
And the first page of everything that would follow.
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POWER STONE!!!
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