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.
"Hiya, Ya-Sho! Where's Shoko?" the excited Tomohiro asked.
Shoya looked at him in confusion. "Umm… you told me this movie had to only be us two, so Shoko said she'd stay home." he said slowly, as if he was anticipating that Tomohiro would say something stupid. Tomohiro, who always had his mind on filming as of recently, told Shoya that they should hang out and work on a project together. Shoya hadn't spent quality time with Tomohiro for a good while, so he wasn't opposed to this. He knew that "making a movie" with him would only entail just over an hour of filming. The rest of the time together would be spent brainstorming and goofing off, which led to more fun and natural ideas.
As if to unknowingly meet Shoya's expectations, Tomohiro confidently said, "Good! Then you remembered that there's no room for women in our relationship, Ya-Sho! That's why you're my number one assistant director!"
Shoya laughed and shook his head a little. "This is going to be pretty fun." he thought happily as the two walked to the filming location.
Back at the Nishimiya household, Shoko and Yuzuru were spending some quality time together. Yuzuru was helping Shoko learn how to better enunciate words through repetition. She spoke while signing, and explained the little errors through signs.
"Yes." Yuzuru said while signing. Yuzuru was thankful that the person in front of her was her sister. She had repeated the same word twice now, and she had yet to lose her cool.
"'Es!" Shoko said excitedly, hoping to have gotten it right. Yuzuru shook her head and repeated it. They spent the next twenty minutes going over common words, and although she had yet to become perfect at pronouncing them, she definitely improved noticeably at it.
Pretty soon, Yuzuru had to study a bit for her upcoming tests, so this time, Shoko was the one to help her. Yuzuru didn't have much left to do in her first semester of high school, but what was left was difficult, so she often would ask Shoya and Shoko to help her out.
On the other end, Shoya was in the process of making a movie with Tomohiro. "Huh. This one is actually interesting, but I don't think we can pull it off with only two people…" he thought while looking through the script. The movie was essentially supposed to be about two shoguns from two poor shogunates, who eventually become best friends and unite their rule and lands. Their country, together, then becomes prosperous and successful. "-and then on horseback, he slashes the ninja who tried to capture his best friend!" Tomohiro said. Tomohiro had been explaining some of the plot to Shoya, but it was so unrealistic that only the two of them could achieve any of this, that Shoya hadn't given his all in listening.
"Well… I like the script. But how are we going to find actors? I can't imagine anyone but Satoshi, myself, and Shoko would be willing to help right now." Shoya said, concerned.
Tomohiro confidently smiled. "Oh ye of little faith…" he began. He then went on to explain how they could just buy actors, which Shoya saw as unrealistic with their current, unemployed-tier budget. Tomohiro did specify that it would be just the two of them today, but Shoya was beginning to suspect that they would probably need to get the help of other people.
They sat down at a fast food joint and discussed it. Tomohiro was adamant that they could find random people off of the streets, but Shoya was pretty confident that this would not be the case. "Also, Miyoko and Naoka aren't back." Shoya brought up. This was a compelling point; if they were going to produce a film that required costumes, they would definitely need the help of those two.
"Can't we just buy costumes, then?" Tomohiro asked. Shoya sighed and shook his head. Again, money would be an issue.
In the end, they decided to modernize the plot somewhat, so that they could realistically make this without help from the costume department. Instead of being shoguns during Imperial Japan, they would be gang bosses in modern day Japan. Tomohiro rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This does seem like it could work… but we'll have to change a lot." he said, accepting Shoya's revisions. Shoya let out a sigh of relief.
They decided to spend the rest of their time hanging out on working on the script. Tomohiro eventually gave in and admitted that they would need the help of other actors, but they would save that for a later date. They also would definitely need Yuzuru's camera, so they'd have to find a way to bribe her somehow.
It was beginning to get late, so Shoya went home. After laying down and staring at the ceiling for a bit, he began to do what he usually does. He pulled his phone out and began to text Shoko.
Hey Shoko, how are you? I just got done hanging out with Tomohiro!
Meanwhile, on Shoko's end, things were pretty chaotic at the moment, so it was some time before she noticed Shoya's message. She and Yuzuru had gotten into an argument. Yuzuru was still worried about how she could fit in better (especially since her semester was going to end soon), and had asked Shoko if she could borrow an accessory or something of the sort. She did not, however, tell Shoko her reason for wanting one. Despite the fact that Shoko was okay with letting her borrow something, she realized that this probably correlated with her shirt hanging in their bathroom. "Ooh could've juss told me!" Shoko said.
Yuzuru was playing dumb. "Told you what? I don't even know what you're talking about!" she said angrily. She didn't want anyone to know about that except Miyoko; she felt really careless about making such an error as leaving a shirt behind. Even though Shoko was supportive and caring, Yuzuru felt like she would be a permanent buzzkill and a hypocrite if she admitted to everything. If Shoko found out that she actually was trying on Shoko's clothes, she could probably infer that this was because she wanted to look prettier, and then Shoko would probably assume that she was jealous or wanted more friends. Either way, it was nothing Yuzuru wanted to happen.
Shoko was no fool. She could tell that something was up with Yuzuru, especially by how defensive she was getting, so she persisted in prodding her. This only resulted in making them both mad at each other, but nothing ended up being proven. So, by the end of it, they just went to their rooms and shut themselves in for the night. Shoko was really worried for her sister. She took extra care not to say anything too harsh, but even still, she could tell that Yuzuru was extra sensitive about this whole thing, whatever it may be.
Before going back and checking up on Yuzuru, and apologizing to her, Shoko laid down on her bed and began to text Shoya. She felt bad for not seeing his message sooner, but she was certain he understood.
Hey, Shoya. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner, I was arguing with my sister. I can tell that there's something wrong with her, but I can't really get her to tell me what's going on. You remember when we thought there was a burglar over here the other day?
Hey, it's alright! Take however much time you need, you know? And yeah, I remember!
Shoya could tell that she was upset, so he was trying to make his messages cheerful in the hopes that Shoko may cheer up too.
Well, Yuzuru already told us that it was because there was laundry laying out, but I know she's lying. It just worries me.
I sort of figured she wasn't being up front… but what makes you think that too? Out of curiosity!
Shoko went on to explain her reasoning; how she thinks that Yuzuru feels alienated from them and is trying to compensate by making friends. Little did she know, she hit the nail right on the head. The idea that Yuzuru was feeling this way really worried Shoya and Shoko, but there wasn't a whole lot to be done about it. It wasn't as if they would try to exclude her from everything; a lot of the times they would hang out together, Yuzuru would just leave on her own volition.
Shoko had to leave her phone for a few minutes so that she could talk with Yuzuru. Yuzuru was embarrassed, but ultimately happy that Shoko was coming to comfort her. They talked it out, and Yuzuru owned up to everything, on the condition that saying this wouldn't change how they act around her. In the end, Yuzuru didn't take the accessory. She decided that she would ride out her last week of first semester like normal.
Phew… I'm so glad that everything is okay!
They were back to texting at the moment. Shoko smiled at her phone, always pleasantly surprised by how sweet and cheerful the man she loves can be. They talked about their days individually, now that there was no chaos. Shoko was intrigued by the plot of the movie Tomohiro wanted to make, and Shoya was delighted to hear that Shoko was spending so much time learning how to pronounce words.
I really admire how much you're improving! I'm sorry if it's a little cheesy, but I feel like I've been able to understand you really well. Like all the barriers that prevented us from communicating just disappeared, you know?
Shoko stared at the message from Shoya. "Gosh…" she thought as she tried to accurately put into words how much that meant to her. That night, they beamed smiles at their phones, overjoyed to be talking with the other person in general, but even more so to see all the wonderful things that they were saying.
The next day, Yuzuru went to school, unworried about any accessories, and Shoya and Shoko cheered her on the whole way.
Today, Shoya and Shoko had plans for hanging out, unsurprisingly. Because Yuzuru was at school and Ms. Nishimiya was at work, they would have more privacy at Shoko's place. Of course, neither of them were ready to move any further, but being the only ones there would probably feel nicer than the alternative.
They individually wondered how okay Ms. Nishimiya would be if she found out that they were hanging out at her apartment without anyone else. "I mean… she seemed okay with pretty much anything else." Shoya thought as he entered the otherwise empty apartment.
Shoya realized that never before was he really free to wander around this apartment. Every other time he had been there, he had some sort of objective. Like recently, he had to search the apartment for a potential burglar. In the past too, he had shown up to the apartment to help the two prepare a cake for their mother and to pick up Yuzuru's camera. Shoya shuddered at thinking of the latter, given the context of what followed directly after.
After forgetting about that for the time being, Shoya asked Shoko if he could get an actual tour of the apartment. There were still rooms he was interested in seeing. It also made him a little happier to know more about Shoko and her family today than he did the day before. Shoko led him through the individual rooms, showing him all the ones that he never got the opportunity to see. Once they got to the room that used to belong to Shoko's grandmother, they paused and paid their respects. Shoya had never actually met Ito Nishimiya, but everything the girls told Shoya about her made him sad that she had passed. "I know she's looking down over us and smiling…" Shoko thought a little sad, yet a little happy.
After the tour, they sat down and had a simple, at-home date. They both sat at the table, across from one another, chatting, getting to know each other even better, one word at a time. Shoya tried his hand at cooking something for Shoko, who was waiting to be pleasantly surprised. Even though his food was a little lacking, the fact that he had made it for Shoko made her genuinely enjoy the flavor.
They then turned on the TV and watched for a while. Shoya was beginning to get really comfortable with having his arm wrapped around Shoko. The feeling of having her close gave him all the confidence in the world, and seeing a smile on her face when he would gave him just as much joy. They were both very shy, but in no time at all, they began to be very comfortable with being close to one another.
Shoko recalled back to a time when she was far more shy. This was right after he had recovered from his coma, and wanted to change himself for the better. He wanted to be able to walk around his school, looking everyone in their faces and not avert eye contact. However, upon entering the school and becoming the object of everyone's attention, he was overwhelmed. Shoko offered to pull him around, leading him. She definitely recognized her feelings for him, but she was completely nervous about how he felt about her. Deep in her mind, she worried that she lost any chance she might have had after attempting to jump off of her balcony. However, when she offered to pull him around- and he offered his hand- she was totally taken off guard and embarrassed. "But look at us now… closer than ever…" she thought, entranced by Shoya's presence as she scooted in closer and relaxed. "I could stay like this forever…" they both thought.
As the time got closer for Yuzuru to get out of school, they began to make their way to the Salon. They were both really glad that Yuzuru, who didn't care about school last year, devoted so much of her time to studying. So, since she was giving it her all, they felt that the least they could do was to help her. Plus, Shoya really enjoyed hearing Shoko try to pronounce words in English. "So damn cute…" he thought with a smile as he corrected any errors the two made.
Shoya walked the girls back home. "Oh, is that…" he began to think as he realized that Ms. Nishimiya was standing outside, waiting. Whether or not it was because it was dark outside and she had been just a silhouette before, or because he was worried she would want to say something embarrassing, Shoya got a slight chill over his spine as he realized that she was there. He exchanged a look with Shoko, who had noticed her as well.
Yuzuru called out to her mother. "Hey, Ishida was just walking us home. So don't get all mad at him or anything!"
Ms. Nishimiya only chuckled a little and shook her head in response. "No, no, it's nothing like that. Yuzuru, please go on ahead and wait inside." she asked. Clearly, she wanted to talk to Shoya and Shoko; something that very much worried Shoya. Yuzuru gave a confused look to the two, who were equally confused, but she shrugged and went inside.
"Shoya, I hope you'll translate for her…" Ms. Nishimiya began. "You see, I have no problem with you two spending time over here together, even when you're unsupervised." The way she began this made Shoya realize that he must've left some evidence that the two had been hanging out. As he was rubbing his chin, wondering what gave it away, she continued. "But I want to be very clear that you two won't use my bed for anything…"
"Oh shit…" Shoya thought with embarrassment. He translated it to Shoko, and subsequently covered his own face. "She thought we were… uggh…" They had both realized that they must have left Ms. Nishimiya's door open after Shoya asked for a tour. As Shoko was explaining to her mother that they didn't even step foot in her room, and they most certainly weren't doing what her mother was implying they were doing, Shoya was still trying to calm himself down. In the end, the three of them laughed about it, but Shoya wasn't convinced that Shoko's mother was convinced, so she probably secretly thought of him as a pervert.
Shoya went home and talked to his mother about it, since- even though he was embarrassed- it was pretty funny. He had some dinner, had some family time, then went to his room to text Shoko and Tomohiro. Tomohiro was talking all about details about the movie that they were trying to iron out the kinks in, while Shoko was apologizing for the embarrassing misunderstanding with her mother from before.
The next day, during the morning, Shoya and Tomohiro met with Satoshi to try and decide more things about the film Satoshi had already made clear that he wanted to be the actor if Tomohiro was going to film again, so they felt like it would be wrong to exclude him. "Hey, Shoya. Long time no see, man!" Satoshi said excitedly. Clearly, he had been in contact with Tomohiro still, since he was the designated actor. However, he hadn't talked to Shoya in some time, since the university he ended up deciding on was somewhat far away.
Shoya was happy to see Satoshi again. Satoshi seemed to be the only person that had always been genuine no matter what, at least from what Shoya gathered. Satoshi, who made it very clear that he hated bullies, and wanted to punch whoever bullied Shoko in the past in the face, was kind enough to not follow through with it after everything was spilled initially. However, Shoya felt like he deserved to be punched anyways. So, upon offering Satoshi the option to punch him, Satoshi, who had been perfectly peaceable until then, didn't hesitate to strike Shoya hard. However, there are no hard feelings between the two. At the time, they both really felt like Shoya deserved it. Besides, he apologized afterwards.
"So, I heard from Miyoko that you and Shoko are together now, huh?" Satoshi brought up, making small talk before they worked on the movie. "That's really awesome man, I knew you'd be the one to do it."
Shoya smiled to himself. It wasn't anything new for Shoya to hear, but at least Satoshi had an attitude of "Congratulations!" instead of "Finally! Took you long enough!" Shoya recalled a point when Satoshi was the only guy other than Tomohiro to talk to him, but having more than one made him happy. "Man, I need to talk to Satoshi more…" Shoya thought. He organized his thoughts, and the three guys began to think of ways to make the movie less of "just an idea," and more of a genuine project. After an hour or so of discussing, Shoya and Satoshi exchanged contact information- much to the grief of Tomohiro, who wanted to be Shoya's only male friend- and the boys went back to their respective homes.
After this, Shoya and Shoko met up to spend some time together before they had to go help Yuzuru study. Shoya was feeling a little embarrassed about last time, so they decided to hang out at Shoya's house instead of Shoko's. Since there was legitimately nothing to do in Shoya's room (since he still hadn't bought much since he sold anything), they hung around downstairs and watched TV. Shoko had a genuine appreciation for TV dates. Whenever they would go out to see movies, she would hardly be able to follow what's going on. She was sometimes able to follow by reading the lips of characters, but watching movies in theaters was over all not particularly investing for Shoko. However, everywhere Shoko went to hang out, whenever she would, the TVs would have captions on to accommodate her. Thankfully, nobody minded, since they all liked Shoko.
For the next little while, they hung out and watched TV. When Yuzuru came over, the three migrated to Shoya's room and studied for a little while. After a little bit of studying, and Yuzuru was confident in her ability to perform at school tomorrow, Shoya began to walk the girls home. They had to stop to get bread then feed the koi, since it was a Tuesday. "Man, it's been ages since I've fed the fish with the Nishimiyas…" Shoya thought happily as he tore pieces of bread apart and let them fall into the river.