"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Kyousuke."
Nishimiya Shoko lowered her head and handed her notebook to Hojou Kyousuke.
"Did you put your hearing aid back on? Do you need help?"
Instead of responding to Shoko's apology right away, Kyousuke first asked with concern.
"It's already on," Shoko replied obediently.
"When you're talking to , don't use the notebook. Just speak directly. I'll do my best to understand you."
He paused, then added, "And why are you apologizing? This isn't your fault. If anyone should be apologizing, it's the others."
"But... it's because of that all this happened. The hearing aid is mine..."
"That's not true!" Kyousuke interrupted Shoko, reaching out to ruffle her fluffy brown hair.
"Don't think you're a burden just because you have a hearing impairnt. And don't go around saying sorry all the ti!"
"But..."
Perhaps because Kyousuke's tone was a bit stern, Shoko's eyes instantly filled with tears.
"If you really feel like you're causing trouble for others, then work on becoming stronger, not just saying sorry. The first thing you need to do is learn to speak properly with !"
"Mhm! I'll work even harder, Kyousuke."
'I can't let Kyousuke down! Go, Shoko!'
Hearing Kyousuke's words, which weren't bla but rather consideration for her, Shoko smiled again and made a silent vow.
"Next ti sothing like this happens, don't just stand in front of like that, okay?" Kyousuke added, his tone softening.
"Mhm." Shoko nodded cheerfully, but under the table, her small fists clenched tightly.
'But I want to protect you too, just like you protect .'
Nearby, Naoka Ueno felt even more uneasy after hearing Kyousuke's words.
When Takeuchi-sensei's voice had echoed through the classroom earlier, her heart had skipped a beat.
She knew the conflict had started because she'd asked Shoko for her hearing aid.
For a mont, she imagined her grandfather standing in front of the teacher, bowing repeatedly, and her heart filled with regret.
She regretted handing the hearing aid to Ishida Shouya and even resented Shouya for what he'd done.
'Why did things turn out like this? I just wanted to get closer to Kyousuke, but now he's saying these things to .'
Though she knew it was her fault, Naoka couldn't help but bla Shoko.
'It's all her fault. If it weren't for her, my routine with Kyousuke wouldn't have been disrupted.'
'Kyousuke's break ti wouldn't have been taken up, and I could've talked to him more.'
Now, hearing Kyousuke's words, especially the line, "If anyone should be apologizing, it's the others," Naoka felt even more conflicted.
After a mont of hesitation, Naoka decided to follow her conscience.
She wrote a note and handed it to Shoko.
"I'm sorry, Nishimiya. It's my fault for throwing your hearing aid to Ishida."
Shoko, who had never really heard an apology from anyone before, was montarily stunned.
Her hands fluttered nervously in front of her chest.
She instinctively wanted to say, "I should be the one apologizing," but then she rembered Kyousuke's words and the impatient looks her classmates had given her in the past when she'd apologized.
Quickly, she wrote in her notebook:
"It's okay, Naoka. You were just curious. It was Ishida who wanted to throw my hearing aid away."
"But if I hadn't thrown it to him, none of this would've happened."
"It's fine. You didn't an to."
"You really don't bla , Nishimiya?"
"Mhm, it's not a big deal."
Shoko's face was serene, and she even drew a simple smiley face at the end of her note.
"..."
Naoka lowered her head, her emotions a tangled ss.
If Shoko had lashed out at her or kept apologizing like she had yesterday, Naoka could've continued to resent her without guilt.
But now, feeling Shoko's gentle, almost all-encompassing kindness, Naoka began to understand why "n like quiet, pitiful won."
Still, she kept these thoughts to herself and turned to Kyousuke.
"I'm sorry, Kyousuke. It's because of that Ishida tried to hit you."
"Haha, no need to apologize to . Ishida didn't even touch . If anything, I should thank you for giving a chance to teach him a lesson."
Hearing this, Naoka's heavy heart lightened, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"From now on, can I help you teach Nishimiya to speak?"
Kyousuke was surprised.
He could tell that, for so reason, Naoka had disliked Shoko.
Why was she suddenly offering to help?
But regardless of her reasons, having another person join in was definitely welco.
"Of course, that'd be great. What do you think, Shoko?"
"That's wonderful! Thank you, Naoka!"
Shoko clasped her hands together, her face lighting up with joy.
But in her excitent, her words beca unintelligible again.
Realizing this, she quickly lowered her head to write in her notebook.
"No need to write, Nishimiya. From now on, I'll try my best to understand you, just like Kyousuke does."
'Yes, this is the perfect solution,' Naoka thought.
'If I can't stop these two from spending all their breaks together, I'll just join them!'
Setting aside her earlier negativity, Naoka was thrilled with her brilliant plan.
'Finally, my routine with Kyousuke won't be disrupted. The only downside is that Nishimiya's still in the middle.'
'Oh well, I'll just consider it doing a good deed.'
Naoka glanced at Shoko, who was still beaming, and sighed inwardly.
———————————————————————
anwhile, in the teacher's office.
"Ishida Shouya, what's going on with you?"
Takeuchi-sensei sat in his chair, facing Shouya, who stood with his head bowed.
"Nothing."
"What do you an, 'nothing'? Why were you fighting?"
"I didn't hit anyone!"
Hearing this, Shouya thought about how his two attempts to attack Kyousuke had failed miserably, leaving him battered instead.
He couldn't help but defend himself.
"So, you were the one who got hit?"
At these words, Shouya suddenly felt the pain all over his body.
It hadn't hurt earlier, but now it was unbearable.
If only he'd studied more, he might've known this was the adrenaline wearing off.
"I didn't get hit either."
"Then how did you end up on the floor and knock over the storage cabinet?"
"I just... fell."
"How can you be so dismissive?"
"I'm telling the truth."
"I'm calling your mother to co to school tomorrow."
Shouya, who had been indifferent until now, finally panicked.
He rembered Kyousuke's words: "At least don't add to her burdens."
"This is my business. Why do you need to call my mom?"
Shouya looked up, his neck stiff with defiance.
"If you can't talk to properly, then I'll have your mother talk to you."
"I'm telling the truth. I didn't hit anyone, and I fell on my own."
"Then why were Kyousuke and Nishimiya gathered around you?"
"Because..."
"It seems I'll still need to call your mother."
"Because I tried to hit Hojou, but he dodged, and I fell into the cabinet!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shouya felt a wave of humiliation.
Thankfully, it was class ti, and the office was empty except for him and Takeuchi-sensei.
Otherwise, he'd have been even more embarrassed.
"..."
Hearing Kyousuke's na, Takeuchi-sensei fell silent for a mont, feeling a pang of sympathy for Shouya.
'Why did you have to provoke him?'
"Then why did you try to hit Hojou?"
"I wanted to throw Nishimiya's hearing aid out the window, and he stopped ."
Shouya had already given up.
Right now, avoiding a call ho was his top priority.
Takeuchi-sensei's temple throbbed, and he felt a headache coming on.
"You idiot, why are you bullying Nishimiya again?!"
Yesterday, the principal had called all the sixth-grade horoom teachers to his office to discuss which class Nishimiya should be assigned to.
The other teachers had all refused, leaving Takeuchi-sensei to take on the responsibility.
He'd already resigned himself to his class coming in last place in the choir competition.
All he'd hoped for was to avoid any other trouble.
Who could've guessed that Shouya, who was usually just a bit mischievous, would turn into a full-blown troublemaker when it ca to Nishimiya?
And worse, he'd provoked Kyousuke, who was even more dangerous.
In less than two days, the two had clashed twice over Nishimiya.
Thinking this, Takeuchi-sensei looked at Shouya more carefully.
The boy was clutching his arm, wincing in pain, and there were bruises visible on the parts of his body not covered by his clothes.
'At least he didn't win against Kyousuke. That's a small rcy.'
"Do you want to go to the nurse's office first?"
As a teacher, seeing Shouya's pitiful state, Takeuchi-sensei couldn't help but sigh.
"No, Takeuchi-sensei. Does this an you won't call my mom?"
"Sigh, Shouya."
"Yeah?"
Hearing his teacher's tone grow serious, Shouya tensed up, unsure whether Takeuchi-sensei would let him off with a lecture or still call his mother.
"You don't want to worry your mother, do you?"
"No."
At the ntion of his mother, Shouya lowered his head again.
He'd caused her trouble once more.
"Then stop bullying Nishimiya, and don't provoke Kyousuke. That's my advice to you."
'Huh? I get not bullying Nishimiya, but why shouldn't I provoke Kyousuke?' Shouya didn't fully understand, but he nodded quickly.
"Okay! I won't bully Nishimiya anymore!"
"You... never mind. Just take care of yourself."
Takeuchi-sensei could sense Shouya's lingering resentnt toward Kyousuke.
He'd considered saying more but decided against it.
'Why am I acting like such a responsible teacher all of a sudden?'
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