A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

Chapter 299: Nishikata, What Part of Your Body Did You Use to Come Up with This Plot?

Nishikata stared at the half-finished milk in his cup. The sound of cicadas buzzed outside the window as he continued telling his "friend's" story.

"In high school, the boy finally confessed to the shrine maiden. She was shocked, but didn't give him an answer — and then, without explanation, she disappeared."

"..."

"Later, the boy happened to meet her again at the hospital. From her mother, he learned that the shrine maiden had cancer — and only half a month left to live."

After saying that, Nishikata even sniffled slightly.

The story sounded tragic and sorrowful, but Akira and Ayumi felt no sadness at all.

Instead, a vague sense of unease crept into their hearts.

"What happened next?" Takagi sat up straight, intrigued despite herself.

"The shrine maiden smiled and comforted the boy. As he was about to leave, she murmured softly, 'I wanted to keep it from you and have a snowball fight together after I got better. I guess that won't happen now.'"

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft — just enough for the boy to hear.

"Miyamura," Ayumi whispered, leaning closer, "shouldn't we stop him here?"

Akira noticed the unsettling glint in Nishikata's eyes, fixed on his cup, and shook his head quickly.

"I think we should either run… or stop him before it gets worse. I have a really bad feeling."

Before Ayumi could respond, Nishikata's expression suddenly brightened with excitement.

"The boy suddenly turned around to look at the shrine maiden! He shouted, 'A snowball fight, right? I'll make it happen!'

Then — he grabbed a handful of feces and threw it at her!

'There's no snow, but we can use this instead!'

And so, the two of them happily began a snowball fight with poop inside the hospital room!"

"Pfft—!" Ayumi, who had just taken a sip of milk, almost spat it out.

Takagi clapped a hand over her mouth and quickly saved the recording she'd been secretly taking, marking it as a favorite.

"The nurse walking in on that scene would be an apocalypse," Akira said dryly, quietly sliding a little farther away from Nishikata. Then, incredulously, he asked, "Nishikata… what part of your body did you use to come up with that plot?"

"W-what?! I already told you — it wasn't me! My friend wrote it!" Nishikata waved his hands frantically, his ears turning red.

"Alright, alright," Akira said flatly, nodding in mock sincerity. "Your friend. Got it."

Just then—

Click…

The sound of a door opening cut through their laughter.

"Akira, I'm home!"

Pat-pat-pat…

Shouko's small feet, clad in white socks, padded down the corridor. She appeared at the living room entrance, holding a bulging plastic bag.

The bright smile on her face froze when she saw everyone. "Why are you all here?! You didn't even tell me."

"Welcome home, Shouko-chan!" Ayumi greeted her first, cheerful as ever.

Takagi and Nishikata followed suit.

"You guys play first — I'll go put these away in the kitchen," Shouko said, shaking the bag lightly before heading off.

When she returned, Ayumi glanced around and asked curiously, "Shouko-chan, didn't Auntie Miyamura go out with you? Why hasn't she come back yet?"

"Auntie dropped me off and left. She didn't say where she was going." Shouko shrugged, then noticed the three books stacked neatly on the coffee table. "Wait, don't tell me… you all came today just to get autographs?"

The three nodded in unison.

Then, turning serious, Nishikata carefully tore off the plastic wrapping from the books. Opening the first page, he handed it to Akira with exaggerated sincerity.

"Miyamura-sensei! Please sign for me!"

Akira's mouth twitched, but he silently took the pen and wrote his pen name.

"Ah, and could you please add the date, too?" Nishikata said quickly, pointing to the space beside it.

Akira exhaled through his nose but obliged, adding the date neatly beside the signature.

When he finished, Nishikata immediately shifted toward Shouko. Before he could speak, she had already written down her own pen name with a practiced motion.

After all three autographs were complete, the group began chatting casually — Shouko sharing a bit of gossip, while Nishikata leaned in close to Akira to talk about light-novel writing techniques.

Each time Nishikata asked a question, Akira took the time to answer seriously, and before long, even Shouko, Ayumi, and Takagi were listening intently.

It wasn't until Auntie Shizuka finally returned home that the trio left, thoroughly satisfied with their signed books.

The blazing afternoon sun scorched the streets; even the shade of the trees seemed to shrink away. The cicadas' cries weakened, and when the sun finally slid westward, the heat began to ease just a little.

"Shouko, you're really not coming shopping with Auntie?" Miyamura Shizuka asked, glancing back as she changed her shoes in the entryway.

Shouko shook her head quickly. "No, Auntie. You and Mom can go — I want to work on some illustrations this afternoon."

"Alright, then," Shizuka said with a gentle smile. Taking the bag Shouko handed her, she reminded her of a few things before heading out.

Click.

As the door closed, Shouko lingered for a moment, then turned and bounded back into the living room — where Akira was still lying on the sofa.

She hesitated for a second, feeling an odd flicker of guilt, then said softly, "Akira."

"What? Do you want to lie down?" He scooted a little to the side, eyes still closed.

"…"

"The illustrations," she said pointedly.

"Oh. Then go ahead and draw."

He didn't even open his eyes.

"Hmph…"

Shouko waited, but when he didn't move, she puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Marching up to him, she started thumping his chest lightly with her fists.

"Okay, okay, I surrender!" Akira laughed, catching her hands. "I was teasing you. I'll change right now — go grab the clothes for me."

Shouko gave him a little head-bump of protest but decided to forgive him. She turned and ran off toward the hallway.

Akira waited… but after a moment, when he didn't hear the door open or close, he frowned.

Shouko reappeared almost immediately — holding a neatly folded white shirt.

"You didn't just go into my room for that, did you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, I did," Shouko admitted frankly, tossing the shirt to him. "Change first. I'll go prepare the props."

"Props? Don't I just need to pose a few times? What props?"

Shouko only smiled mischievously, her eyes glinting. She didn't answer — just turned and left the room.

"…"

Akira's gut told him something bad was about to happen. Every instinct screamed: Run.