Ishida Shouya's sudden outburst barely caught anyone's attention.
He wasn't exactly known for being normal, after all. The students glanced at him briefly before shifting their focus back to Nishimiya Shouko.
"Let's see… You can sit behind Sahara Miyoko."
The homeroom teacher assigned Nishimiya a seat in front of Hojou Kyousuke.
"Hojou, you're a good student. Please look after Nishimiya."
"Okay."
Hojou Kyousuke moved his desk back slightly before stepping out to bring in the desk assigned to Nishimiya.
'Ugh, why is he so eager? Do all boys like that frail, helpless type?'
Ueno Naoka watched from the sidelines, biting her lip and gripping her pen tightly.
When Kyousuke finished setting up the chair, Nishimiya held out her notebook with a bright smile on her babyish face.
"Thank you for helping me, Hojo-kun."
Kyousuke, who was mentally more mature than most of his classmates, immediately saw it—the mix of gratitude and an attempt to curry favor hidden within her smile.
All that just for moving a desk and chair?
Then again, it made sense.
As he had suspected, transferring schools in the sixth grade wasn't a good sign, especially for someone with a hearing impairment.
Nishimiya's previous school life had likely been anything but pleasant.
Understanding this, he took her notebook and wrote back:
"You're welcome. Also, I'm Hojou Kyousuke. Nice to meet you, Nishimiya-san."
Seeing his response, Nishimiya beamed and quickly picked up her pen to write something else.
Before she could, Kyousuke lightly tapped her shoulder and gestured toward the teacher, signaling that class was about to start.
"Mm-hmm."
She nodded, letting out a faint sound.
Huh? She can speak? So she only has a hearing impairment?
Kyousuke had assumed she was completely nonverbal.
But if she could make sounds, then with the right guidance, she should be able to speak properly.
Class passed quickly.
The teacher was uninspired, and the students were mostly doing their own thing.
Kyousuke listened just enough to confirm he already knew the material.
He focused more on the Japanese language portion—despite learning Japanese from infancy, he had ingrained habits from his exposure to Chinese that were hard to shake.
When the lesson ended, several girls crowded around Nishimiya, including one of the class's key supporting characters.
The protagonist and her supporting cast are all here.
Now the question is—are they her friends or her antagonists?
Leaning back in his chair, Kyousuke watched Nishimiya's back thoughtfully.
A girl with light brown hair tied into a ponytail and glasses, Kawai Miki, was the first to introduce herself in Nishimiya's notebook.
Other classmates were also eager to meet her—after all, it was rare to have a transfer student so late in elementary school.
Nishimiya quickly wrote something back, likely further introducing herself.
"Nishimiya-san, can you speak Japanese?"
Ueno Naoka suddenly called out from where she sat on her desk, crossing her long, fair legs.
"Jeez, Naoka, watch how you say things."
Kawai Miki chimed in lightly, though her words were less a scolding and more a setup for Naoka's joke.
The two laughed together.
Kyousuke expected Nishimiya to have no reaction—after all, she couldn't hear them.
But to his surprise, she turned to Ueno and held up her notebook.
"Could you repeat that?"
What? She isn't completely deaf?
If she can hear even a little, she should be able to learn to speak properly, right?
Kyosuke found this odd.
If Nishimiya could make out sounds and produce speech, then with the right approach, she could surely learn to communicate verbally.
Caught off guard, Ueno Naoka hesitated.
If she repeated herself, the joke would fall flat, making her the fool instead.
She stumbled over her words, unable to respond.
Seeing Ueno's silence, Nishimiya turned her notebook toward Kawai Miki instead.
"She was asking what everyone usually calls you," Miki wrote.
"Shou-chan."
"That's the same as Ishida."
Though Ueno had just been embarrassed, she still kept watching Nishimiya interact with the class.
It was obvious she was interested in the transfer student.
Of course, only she knew the real reason she lingered—it wasn't Nishimiya she was focused on, but Kyousuke, who was watching Nishimiya.
If she spoke to Nishimiya, she would be noticed by him.
A small but significant thought in a girl's mind.
"Huh?"
Ishida Shouya, who had been messing around at the back of the classroom, perked up at the mention of his name.
Hirose Keisuke, the chubby boy pinned under him, and Shimada Kazuki, the light-brown-haired boy leaning against the window, also turned to look.
"Lucky you, Ishida," Shimada said smugly.
Kyousuke disliked Shimada more than anyone in the class—not because of his narrow eyes, but because of his cunning nature.
Though Ishida led their trio's antics, Kyousuke had noticed that many of Ishida's actions were provoked by Shimada's subtle instigation.
Sure enough, though Ishida had ignored Ueno's earlier comment, Shimada's remark immediately set him off.
"Huh? Lucky my ass," Ishida snapped before going back to roughhousing with Keisuke.
The break ended quickly, and their homeroom teacher, Takeuchi, entered the room to start the next lesson.
Kyousuke glanced up—it was physics.
He yawned and prepared to nap.
With his system backing him up, he had no intention of grinding for academic success.
He could rely on his built-in cheat instead.
But then he noticed Nishimiya looking around, confused.
Oh, right.
Takeuchi's monotone, lifeless lecture—she can't hear him at all.
From their earlier interactions, Kyousuke had gathered that Nishimiya could understand speech, but only if it was loud, slow, and paired with clear lip movements.
Takeuchi, on the other hand, couldn't care less about teaching—he merely droned through the textbook in a dull, conversational tone.
Even Kyousuke, seated in the back, struggled to follow along.
As Kyousuke had suspected, Nishimiya was struggling.
She had transferred to a new school where the students seemed friendly—Kyousuke had helped her move her desk, Kawai Miki had introduced herself, and everything seemed promising.
Maybe this time, she could finish elementary school in peace?
Clinging to that hope, she listened intently.
Born with fewer advantages than others, she could only compensate by working harder.
Studying was the most straightforward way to do that.
At her previous school, teachers had found her presence inconvenient, but they tolerated her because she excelled academically.
That courtesy, however, had never extended to her classmates.
But she had no choice.
There was nothing she could do.
Her hope was quickly shattered—Takeuchi spoke too fast and too softly for her to follow.
She couldn't understand anything or take notes.
Seeing her classmates flipping pages and writing, she had no idea what to do.
She glanced around, hoping to figure it out.
Asking for help would only make her a burden.
And being a burden meant being hated.
Just as Kyousuke was about to offer assistance, Ueno Naoka lightly tapped Nishimiya's arm with her pen.
"Give me your notebook."
Though Ueno spoke quietly, Nishimiya understood her intent from her gestures.
Her brown eyes widened in surprise before she obediently handed over the notebook, clenching her fists in anticipation.
Huh.
She's actually this considerate? Could she become the protagonist's best friend?
Watching Ueno diligently write down the lesson notes, Kyousuke found himself genuinely surprised.