This story takes place after the events of my previous fanfiction, "Two Weeks or Tokyo!" I do not own A Silent Voice or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. In the case of some characters, they will speak while signing, so there will be either quotation marks and italics or just quotation marks. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

The birds, back in their nests, recalled and reminisced over those who looked over them.

Tomohiro Nagatsuka could be called Shoya Ishida's best friend. He was the first one who was there for Shoya, just as Shoya was the first one who was there for him. While Shoya was still unable to look the crowds of people around him in the eye, Tomohiro broke into his field of vision with force. They would hang out, watch movies, and create a movie together. Even though there were ups and downs, Tomohiro almost always had Shoya's back. More than anyone at the time, Tomohiro encouraged Shoya to make a move on Shoko. So when Shoko was about to depart for Tokyo, Tomohiro urged Shoya to say "the thing he had been meaning to ask her." When Shoya asked about the gardening accessory that Shoko gifted him, he was utterly disappointed.

The last time the two were hanging out- as in, several days ago- Shoya did tell Tomohiro that he planned on going to Tokyo to confess to Shoko. According to Tomohiro, he knew that this would happen, which was more likely to be true than Shoya liked to admit. The bottom line was, though, that he deserved to know all about it.

Shoya began to text Tomohiro.

Hey, Tomohiro. I've got some good news. I'm sure it was either really obvious from the context, or Yuzuru already told you, or something, but Shoko and I are dating now. I wanted to thank you for all the encouragement and apologize for brushing it off all that time ago!

Tomohiro, at his parents' house, stared at his phone and smiled.

Of course I knew. I was just waiting for you to tell me yourself, Ya-Sho. But congratulations, you're a really lucky guy!

Shoya looked at his phone in surprise; Tomohiro had responded unexpectedly fast. He began to read and chuckled a little. "This guy… he never changes." he thought as he read the first two sentences. He then stared at the last sentence and smiled to himself. "You're right… I'd even say I'm the luckiest guy ever…"

After a little bit more talking to Tomohiro and making some plans to hang out with him at some point in the week, Shoya got out his phone and began to text Miyoko, who played a lot more active a role in helping him.

Miyoko was sitting in her room. The university that she attended had not yet let its students out for holiday, so she and Naoka just sat in their dorm. Due to the winding to a close of the semester, most of her classes were extra stressful. That is, stressful until she took her exams; all the classes she had taken her final exams for had become lax. Thankfully for Miyoko, most of her exams were done, and her final exam, which she would take on Monday, she was confident in her ability to ace it.

Stretched out on her bed, she glanced at her phone, which she had set down for a while before as she stared at the ceiling in thought. "Oh, Yuzuru texted me?" she thought as she swiped to see the text.

hey im bored. up to anything interesting?

Miyoko giggled a little. To her, Yuzuru was sort of like a little sister. She seemed to come to her for advice, or out of boredom a lot. Though these conditions didn't offend Miyoko, it made sense that Yuzuru spent more time with the people actually around her. She began to text Yuzuru back.

Well that didn't take too long. I'm guessing you aren't hanging out with Shoko and Shoya anymore, then?

youre great at picking up on things like that. and yeah, i figured id give them some privacy.

Well, to answer your question, I'm not really up to anything. I guess I'm pretty bored too lol

great! that means that you can help me out with something I really need to do!

Miyoko smiled at her phone. "This girl, always needing me for something…" she thought with a giggle as she texted, asking about the details. Suddenly, her phone vibrated to notify her that she received another text. This time it was from Shoko. "Heh. I sure am popular with the Nishimiyas tonight." she thought as she began to read.

Miyoko! Thank you so much for all your help, I'm so happy right now! I'm sure you know, but Shoya and I are together! Oh my goodness, I really owe you one! (｡◕‿◕｡)

Shoko had the same idea that Shoya did. Very soon after Shoya left the Nishimiya apartment, she told her closest friends, be it those she met in college, or those she made close to home. The only person she avoided telling was Naoka, since that would be cruel of her.

Miyoko smiled. Of course she knew. Even if Yuzuru hadn't told her a few hours earlier, she would've been able to guess what happened just from the context of the messages. But she was really happy for the two, so she conveyed it through her texts.

Ahhh Shoko, I'm so happy for you! You can't believe how long I've seen you two and thought "When is one of them going to confess?" Congratulations!

Balancing the conversations between the two Nishimiyas was no big issue for Miyoko; it's not like there was anything better to do anyway. She could hang out with Naoka, but she was studying for her final exams, and if she saw any of the messages it would probably ruin her night. "I could just study for my own exam…" she had pondered. "Nah, I'll wait until tomorrow."

Suddenly, a message from a third person appeared on her screen. Having to balance three conversations at once stressed Miyoko out a little, but seeing who it was sending the message relaxed her.

Hey Miyoko. It's Shoya. I have no doubt that Yuzuru, who rarely shuts her mouth, has already told you every last detail, but Shoko and I are together now. You really helped me out big time, you have no idea how happy I am right now, and how happy I've been. Thank you, Miyoko, I really owe you one.

Well, you're half right. Yuzuru did tell me that you guys are together now, but she spared the details. I want to hear all of them!

The reason she was so calm when having to go through an additional conversation was because she really wanted to know all about it. Miyoko always thought the relationship between Shoya and Shoko was fascinating. After Shoya came up to Miyoko and told her all about the terrible things he had done in the past, admitting his guilt, all because he thought she should know, she realized just what type of person he had been in elementary school; both thankful for leaving before she herself could experience it, and regretful that Shoko had truly nobody by her side as a result. However, Shoya consistently showed how he was changing. And changes that Miyoko was originally ignorant of were taking place with Shoko as well. Because of Shoko, Shoya changed from a bitter, lonesome person into a kind, calm, friendly person. Because of Shoya, Shoko had changed from a masquerade of constant contentedness, while on the verge of suicide, to an expressive, happy person. Miyoko too wanted to change; she didn't want to be a coward, which she found herself to be painfully often. However, seeing these two incredible people interact gave her hope in and for herself.

Miyoko managed to get every detail out of Shoya. Every little thing he said made her smile, filled her with happiness and hope. The way that they talked about each other to her was enough to make her night. Later, she was making dinner, and Naoka commented on the the air about her

"You look like you woke up on the right side of the bed this evening." Naoka said as she took out some juice from the fridge.

Miyoko laughed and smiled. "I guess you could say I've really enjoyed today, Nao." she replied, prompting Naoka to tilt her head in confusion.

Late in the night, after the other conversations had ended, Shoya was just chatting with Shoko. Even the Shoya, who was known for sleeping a lot, would stay up late if it meant he was talking to her. They would simply talk until one or both of them fell asleep. He stared at his phone, smiling. Before, Shoya would love the conversations, but he always had feelings of uncertainty and guilt nagging at him, which were both recurring problems for him. He felt like, no matter how flirty she had seemed during their conversations, she couldn't have been flirting with him. "No…" he would think. "That's just her sweet personality…"

He also felt guilt a lot during the conversations. Shoya was by no means a compulsive liar, but he had to omit details a lot in their conversations recently, something that he really regrets. Whether he only half answered a question about what happened during his day, or completely lied about how he was feeling at a given time, he didn't think Shoko should know certain things, because he felt like it would ruin everything if she found these out.

However, now, he felt like he could really talk to her, whether it was because he could understand her in person without signs, or if it was because he could actually text complete truths.

Currently, the two were talking about the embarrassing moment from that afternoon.

I'm so sorry! Has my mother apologized? I can't believe she got so drunk…

It's okay! My mother was just as bad LOL! And no, not yet. But she's probably embarrassed! I guess it's good that all of that nonsense is out of their system for now lol

Yeah, definitely. I hope they don't try to bring it up again… though I can't say it would be anything more than just embarrassing…

Shoko's face burned as she sent that message. "I'm definitely going to sound like a creep…" she thought as she huffed and kicked her feet in the air.

Shoya was completely taken aback by this. He stared at the message, heat rising to his face and ears as he pieced together what it implied. He gulped as he texted back.

Yeah, if I'm being honest, the conditions that they set aren't the bad part. It's just the fact that THEY were the ones saying it…

They both were blushing and nervous, but since they were in a relationship, they decided it was sometimes necessary to address things together. This seemed like one of these things. They talked about it for a little, clarifying everything for themselves. Obviously, they really wanted to end up marrying, and eventually have kids, but the former of the two would have to wait until they were both out of college and also agreed that they would want to move in together before marriage.

Breathing a sigh of relief for the sake of clarification, they continued chatting until Shoko's spelling through her texts made it incredibly obvious that her eyes were only half open, and they both said their "good night"s.

Shoya stretched and got up to get a drink of water from the kitchen before going to sleep himself. As he walked down the stairs, he heard the troublesome duo chatting it up from the kitchen table. He did his best to avoid them as he went to the fridge, but being spotted was unavoidable.

"Shoya." Ms. Nishimiya called out to him.

Shoya turned to face her, and responded with a, "Yes, ma'am?"

"I'm really sorry about earlier. You see… it just makes me really happy, the possibility of having grandchildren. A year ago, I would have never let any boy close to Shoko, especially one named Shoya Ishida. But I'm really thankful that you really are part of the family now."

"Yeah, and your sister is having another kid very soon, and I'll probably be taking care of him the most. But dealing with boys is so much tougher, so I went ahead and asked for a granddaughter." Shoya's mom added with a smile.

"Oh yeah, I guess I kind of was a problem child, huh…" Shoya thought after his mom made the comment about boys. He shook his head to clear his mind and replied to the both of them. "I-it's no big deal. Actually, Shoko and I talked tonight, and we think marriage, kids… we think those are, you know… a good idea." Shoya began talking somewhat regularly, but seeing the looks on their faces, overjoyed from the contents of what he was saying, made his voice waver and his mind wander. "A-anyways, um, I'll be seeing you then. Good night, mom. Good night, Ms. Nishimiya." He said his last piece as he hurried back upstairs.

"Damnit, I didn't even remember to get any water!"

Next morning, Miyoko woke up and walked around her room, swinging her arms as she waited for her phone to buzz. She remembered that she had promised to help Yuzuru out this morning, but Yuzuru was probably still waiting for the right moment to initiate things. Miyoko rubbed her chin and recalled how the conversation went.

...you can help me out with something I really need to do!

Oh? What do you need help with, exactly?

well, i kinda realized im a third wheel to them. i kind of wish i had more friends, so that i wouldnt burden them, ya know? so since youre really popular at our school, can you show me how to be popular?

Oh! Little Yuzu wants to learn some fashion, huh?

ahh! how are you so good at reading between the lines? yes please! if i try on some of shokos clothes while shes out with shoya, can you tell me what looks good and what doesnt?

Aww, I can already imagine it! Little Yuzuru putting on Shoko's blouse, and it being too wide and long…

shut up! XD are you gonna help or not?

And so, Miyoko cracked her back, popped her fingers, and stretched for a few minutes until Yuzuru finally messaged her. "Good timing!" she thought as she reached over to her phone. Although embarrassed, Yuzuru showed some of the outfits that Shoko had, mostly asking Miyoko for advice on how different colors and designs looked on her. It really surprised Miyoko that Yuzuru didn't own any tops other than her uniform, a hoodie, and T-shirts.

Miyoko pointed out the ones that looked good, and the ones that didn't. It made her really happy that she was recognized as popular, and that Yuzuru came to her for this. After Yuzuru finished, she folded Shoko's clothes back and put them where they were last.

thank you, miyoko. i really owe you one.

"Wow, a lot of people "really owe me," huh? I wonder how I'll cash all this in…" she thought with a smile as she set her phone down.

Yuzuru was relieved that Miyoko wasn't too harsh about anything, and that she said some of the outfits looked good on her. She was really glad to have those two back in her life, but she was certain they would begin resenting her if she hung around them all the time. So, she wanted someone to fall back on. "I definitely gotta hang out with Miyoko when she gets home for the holiday…" Yuzuru thought. Not only would it be nice, not being a burden on her sister and Shoya, but Miyoko was easily her next best friend, so hanging out with her would be fun.

While Yuzuru had been trying on different outfits at home, Shoko and Shoya went to a park, even though it was a little chilly. This was the same park they went to towards the start of summer vacation, a few months ago, almost directly after Shoya isolated himself from all of his friends except the Nishimiyas. They wanted to do summer break over; not once during that break did they feel happy, until they met at the bridge one fateful night. They went to parks, saw movies, saw fireworks, but nothing felt real. Shoya was pained with the fact that his friends had turned on him, so he had burnt bridges and made things worse. Shoko felt like this was all her fault, and was wracked with guilt. These painful feelings persisted in both of them throughout their whole summer break, until it culminated at the night of the fireworks festival. Two weeks later, they had begun their inseparable bond, despite the fact that it was not yet put into words. This point onward, the two lived for each other.

So now, now that they were happy, now that their minds were clear of the negative, now that they were together, they went to relive those summer days that could have, and should have, been some of the happiest ones of their lives.

Hand in hand, they departed from the train, and went on their first official date.

Together.