It had been over three months since the car accident happened nearby, but life continued as usual.
The day after the accident, Akira took Shouko to see the crash site, but by then the scene had been cleaned up. Unless you looked very closely, it was hard to tell that a car had even overturned there.
When they got home, Akira noticed something was off about Shouko. After gently asking, she admitted nervously that she'd gone to the convenience store the night before—using the same path—just ten minutes before the little girl had been hit.
As a result, she was scolded for over half an hour by Yaeko Nishimiya, and even Shizuka Miyamura joined in. When Akira tried to defend her, Shizuka yanked him aside before he could get a word in.
Only after Shouko apologized sweetly and promised not to do it again did the lecture finally end.
About half a month later, Akira still heard from his father and the neighbors that the little girl had been so traumatized she hadn't gone to school for nearly two weeks. In the early days, she wouldn't even leave her house.
"Matsuoka."
Akira stared lazily from his seat near the window as Mr. Minagawa called out to the absent-minded girl from the front of the classroom. As expected, there was no response.
At the start of each month, Mr. Minagawa would rearrange the seating chart. Everyone got a new deskmate—except for Akira and Shouko. Somehow, they were always left together.
The teacher tried again, voice calm. "Matsuoka Miu."
"Miu..." Ito Chika, standing beside Miu, nudged her gently.
Miu blinked, coming back to reality. She looked at Chika, who signaled with her eyes to look forward. Miu turned her head toward the podium, locking eyes with Mr. Minagawa.
"Miu Matsuoka."
"Yes!" she stood quickly, snapping to attention.
Holding up the Japanese textbook, Mr. Minagawa instructed evenly, "Start reading from the third line."
Miu didn't even glance at the page. "I don't understand Japanese," she said, puffing out her chest in defiance.
Mr. Minagawa stared at her. "Then sit down."
But Miu didn't move, still standing and facing the podium.
The corners of Mr. Minagawa's mouth twitched upward slightly. "Class dismissed."
"Yeah!" The room burst into cheers.
"Go stand outside."
Miu shuffled to the hallway dejectedly, leaning against the wall with a grumble: "Why me again..."
She was a regular in the hallway. Every couple of days, she got herself sent outside, and no one in class was surprised anymore.
"Alright, let's continue." Mr. Minagawa lifted the textbook again, unfazed.
Akira sighed and slumped over his desk.
Shouko, listening attentively, turned to him in concern. "What's wrong, Akira?"
"Miyamura Akira." Mr. Minagawa's voice cut in before Akira could reply.
"Yes!" Akira jolted up with a screech of his chair. He really didn't want to join Miu out in the hallway.
"Pay attention and sit down."
Akira sat back down with a nod.
The teacher didn't press further and resumed the lesson.
He always noticed how listless Akira looked in class—but the boy always scored perfectly on exams. Mr. Minagawa had even called his parents once, wondering if Akira's behavior was due to cram school. The answer was simply, "Haha, Akira's been smart since he was little."
After that, he stopped bothering Akira too much—as long as he wasn't disrupting the class or sleeping, it was fine.
Akira turned to Shouko and whispered, "Don't worry. Just focus on the lesson." He wanted to reach out and pat her head, but Mr. Minagawa's subtle cough froze him in place.
"Okay!" Shouko beamed, nodding happily. She didn't remind him to pay attention—she'd tried that already back in the first week of school.
At night, she'd even role-play as a teacher, reviewing lessons with him. He would listen quietly—until test scores came out and he became her tutor. But he wasn't nearly as strict as he'd been when teaching her pronunciation before.
Still, she liked all versions of Akira.
"What are you laughing at, silly?"
Akira asked under his breath. He had just told her to focus, and now she was giggling.
She didn't answer.
He nudged her gently. Her ears turned pink as she quickly muttered:
"N-Nothing! You better study hard too!"
"Ring… Ring… Ring…!" The school bell rang.
Mr. Minagawa didn't delay. He closed his textbook and left, casually instructing, "Students on duty, remember to clean the classroom."
Akira packed his books, looked at Shouko, and said softly, "Let's go."
"Akira, didn't you forget something today?" Shouko was still packing up, looking up at him with wide eyes.
Akira blinked. He racked his brain—birthdays, promises, anniversaries—nothing came to mind.
Then a familiar voice chirped behind him.
"It's your and Shouko's turn to be on cleaning duty today!"
He turned to the blackboard and saw it clearly: "Akira & Shouko" under the cleaning list.
He gave a silent thank-you to Miu Matsuoka. He didn't dare say it aloud—no need to boost her already inflated ego.
"Is that so? You two go ahead today," he told Miu and Chika.
Ito Chika nodded with her usual calm. Miu, of course, made a whole scene—squealing, hugging Shouko, and rubbing her face against her cheek.
"Then Miu, how about staying to help us clean?" Akira separated the two and gave what he thought was a great suggestion.
"See you tomorrow!" Miu fled instantly, dragging Chika with her like a rocket.
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POWER STONE!!!
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