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.
Today was the second Monday of January, just over one year after Shoya's confession to Shoko. The sun was shining, but the air was cold regardless. It was not too early in the day nor was it particularly late. Shoya Ishida's eyes shot open. A thought immediately ran through his mind. "Crap, I'm gonna be late!"
Frantically, Shoya put his best suit on. "Ah, crap, my tie!" he thought as he evaluated himself in the mirror. It seemed to him that his tie had been misplaced after he helped Tomohiro film something as of recently. He made his way downstairs to look for it.
Today was a very important day for him, as well as most of his friends. Today was the day of the Coming of Age Ceremony. Today, almost everyone from his graduating class, from all over town, would be coming to the city hall to celebrate their common transition into adulthood. Shoya, who was more used to sleeping in than getting up and celebrating, was in a hurry to get ready for this event at the moment. Thankfully, he was overreacting; he was not as behind as he thought he was- he was actually ahead of schedule.
Shoya went downstairs, talked to his mother and Ms. Nishimiya, who was receiving a haircut, and was able to find his tie due to the help of Pedro. After putting his tie on, Shoya got on a bicycle, one that he purchased with his own money, and began to ride to the city hall. On the way, a few thoughts popped into his head. First, Shoya thought about how strange it would be to see everyone from his elementary school now. "I wonder what they'll think of me…" he thought, considering everything that happened back then. Shoya cleared his head of these thoughts. He was no longer the same boy, the one who was terrified of his past and wanted nothing more than to be separate from it. The next thought that popped into his head was related to this. "That's right. I'll never be separate from my past… She's proof enough of that…" A huge smile spread across his face as he rode on.
Along the way, Shoya passed Maria, his neice. "Oh, that's right, she's in elementary school now." he thought as he waved to her and had a brief chat with her. After riding a bit further, he found Yuzuru, who appeared to be taking photographs for the event. "Oh wow, she seems like a professional…" Shoya thought as he chained his bike to a designated parking spot. Shoya was more correct than he expected; Yuzuru became president of her school's Photography Club, so she had permission to leave school and take photos of the event. Of course, she would take advantage of this privilege and join in with the celebration.
After chatting with Yuzuru, as well as a few other friends who showed up, Shoya went into the building for the beginning of the ceremony. One thing was on his mind at the moment though: "Where is Shoko?" Earlier in the day, Ms. Nishimiya showed Shoya that Shoko was busy helping Miyoko and Naoka get ready for the ceremony, but he didn't imagine she would be this late. Shoya smiled to himself. "It's nice that Naoka's become nice to her…"
Suddenly, Shoya received a text from Miyoko. He looked over and saw the girls seated several rows in front of him. He was totally stunned by Shoko. It had been a little while since they last saw each other in person, so to not only see her, but to see her dressed up in a kimono, with her hair up, he was completely awestruck. A smile took over his face upon seeing the woman he loved. He simply signed to her the word, "Beautiful."
After a speech, the new adults were given freedom to meet and mingle amongst themselves. They all gathered for Yuzuru to take a commemorative photo. In the photo, everyone was present, even those who Shoya thought he had driven away at many points along their friendships. Satoshi, whom Shoya once believed he drove away because his past resurfaced; Miki, whom Shoya once believed he drove away because of the way he spoke to her; Tomohiro, whom Shoya once believed he drove away because they began to disagree over a movie; Miyoko, whom Shoya once believed he drove away because he outed her for her cowardice; Naoka, whom Shoya once believed he drove away because he tried his hardest to push her, as well as Kazuki and Keisuke, away; and Shoko whom Shoya once believed he drove away because of- well- all of elementary school, were all present. More importantly than just being present though, they were all amicable, if not entirely friendly towards one another.
After they stood together for the photo, most of them split apart.
Satoshi left first. He found two people who shaped his life very much, and he wanted to talk to them. To explain, they were a couple who constantly were in contact with Satoshi during the most impressionable time in his life. Through words they did not realize were harmful, they made Satoshi self conscious of his looks, and they unintentionally shaped his desire to become a teacher, which he has since moved past. Although Satoshi was not sure whether he could adequately call these two, who have had a profound effect on his life, "friends," he wanted to catch up with them anyway. So, he departed to do so.
Tomohiro was the next to leave. He started getting teased about something he had been sensitive of for most of his student life- his ability to make friends. In the past, he would make names up to provide a buffer against the teasing; however, he was not fooling anyone, so the teasing didn't stop. Because Tomohiro actually had evidence to back up his claims now, he was extra aggressive when it came to defending them. So, naturally, he chased after his teasers.
Everyone, including Yuzuru, went to the designated room for Suimon Elementary alumnus. That is, everyone except for Shoya and Shoko. These two had a wealth of memories of their classmates; hardly any of them were fond. However, as the people they are today, they are ready to tackle this. Any sour memories, any arch-nemeses, anything foul, can all be overcome. Shoya was no longer the loner who spent his free time working and avoided socializing. Shoko was no longer the pushover who would hide how she truly felt about things. The two of them were no longer enemies. So, after building up the confidence to enter the room, they did so, together.
Eyes did not fall directly onto them as they walked into the room, something they were both thankful for. Shoya was worried on Shoko's behalf, and Shoko was worried on his behalf. The room was beautifully decorated, but less interesting than the decorations to either of the two were the faces, old and new. It seemed to Shoya that everyone he once knew was a completely different person now. He glanced from face to face. "Ah, so Kazuki's back from France, huh?" he thought idly while his hand tightened around Shoko's. "Oh that's right… Keisuke is a dad now…"
Shoko gave a shy smile. She was no longer worried that she would be the target of bullying, but she was a little worried about Shoya being teased because of association. She was incredibly aware of how people were looking at them. It seemed that they were getting a few stares, most noticeably from Naoka and Mr. Takeuchi. Shoko considered this. "Yeah… I feel bad for Naoka…" she thought. Shoko was well aware of Naoka's feelings for Shoya, and how hard Naoka tries to be civil with her is something Shoko is truly thankful for. However, Naoka's jealousy of Shoko would seep into conversations or onto her face, especially when Shoko and Shoya were being affectionate towards each other. This often made Shoko wonder how he never realized that Naoka has feelings for him.
Apparently, Mr. Takeuchi, their old teacher, had some sort of reaction to the two holding hands as well. Shoko was aware of the relatively recent interactions between Shoya and Mr. Takeuchi, and she wasn't sure that the attention they were getting from him was a good thing. Shoya saw the worried expression Shoko was giving him. "It's okay… We'll be okay." he said, giving her a reassuring look while signing. Mr. Takeuchi approached the two, each of whom wore a guarded expression on their faces.
"Well, if it isn't Shoya and Shoko!" Mr. Takeuchi said, establishing a jovial tone.
Shoya was still guarded, but he wanted to at least match his level of politeness. "It's nice to see you after so long, Mr. Takeuchi." he replied.
In the past, Mr. Takeuchi had taken Shoya for a fool, which he did so with reason. However, he was no saint himself. He seemed to be sympathetic to Shoya's actions in the past, and Shoya was under the impression that he was probably still sympathetic to them. He would often snicker at the jokes Shoya made or turn a blind eye for some of the cruel things Shoya did to Shoko. So, the way Shoya saw it, Mr. Takeuchi was not particularly better than the class that tormented Shoko. The last time Shoya had seen Mr. Takeuchi, which was a little over two years ago, he had left with this impression unchanged.
However, it was later revealed to Shoya that Mr. Takeuchi had perhaps changed. During Shoya's hospitalization, Shoko and Satoshi both begged him to allow them to film inside the school, which was something he declined previously. Mr. Takeuchi was previously under the impression that anyone who associated with Shoya was a scumbag, especially after Satoshi splashed water onto his face. However, their persistence had opened Mr. Takeuchi's eyes a little to the type of man Shoya had truthfully become, and he ultimately gave the two permission to film on the school grounds. Now, after an additional two years, Mr. Takeuchi was eager to be enlightened once again.
"Shoya, Shoko…" Mr. Takeuchi started off. "I know I'm late in saying this, but… I'm sorry." He was signing now, so that Shoko could understand. Both Shoya's and Shoko's eyes widened, clearly shocked that he had somehow learned sign language. "Hehe, Ms. Kita taught me a little." he explained. "But, that's beside the point. I realize that I turned a blind eye to too many things… both of you suffered, and I never really stepped in to stop it. I always just shrugged it off, or even just sympathized with the bullies… And even if I can't take back this error, I am still very sorry…"
Shoya and Shoko were astonished. On the list of people they would expect to say something like this, Mr. Takeuchi was near the bottom. They looked from each other to him. Shoya spoke up first. "Well… I guess it's true that you can't take anything back, but nobody can." he started. Shoya briefly thought about his past with Mr. Takeuchi; it was filled with oversights of misdeeds. He then thought about how Mr. Takeuchi let his friends film at the elementary school, or how he put effort into learning sign language. "It kind of reminds me of… me…" Shoya thought before speaking up once more. "I can't really speak for Shoko, but I at least forgive you."
Shoko decided to voice her thoughts now. Although she had not spoken much today, due to the nervousness of being in a crowded room, she felt it necessary to speak right now. "Mister Takeuki…" she said slowly, composing herself. "To me, it is enough thadd you feel sowwy foah what you've done. Though I neveh saw how you handled thinnz as wong, I didn' want others to suffer foah anything. So, as long as Shoya says he fohgives you, I foagive you too."
It was Mr. Takeuchi's turn to be surprised now. Shoko had been working with a hearing impaired instructor for the past two years, so she had learned, from someone very qualified to explain annunciations, how to pronounce words and speak properly. Although, it was still not perfect, so she tended to avoid speaking out loud in crowded places like this one.
Mr. Takeuchi was thoroughly impressed, once again, with the man that Shoya had become. Once, because he surrounded himself with incredible people, he had started to realize that Shoya was not some scumbag troublemaker. Now, he realized that Shoya had grown up to be a better man than he was, and the people Shoya surrounded himself with were just as amazing. Hand in hand with a girl he had caused nothing but grief in elementary school, accepting the apology of the man who was once his teacher, Shoya kept proving that he had changed. Hand in hand with the person who caused her nothing but grief in elementary school, accepting the apology of the man who did nothing to prevent this, Shoko proved that she, too, had changed.
Shoya and Shoko made their way to the table, where the catering was laid out. Miki, Naoka, and Miyoko were all gathered closeby, while Yuzuru was busy assaulting the cake. "Umm, Yuzuru, I believe that everyone is only allowed to take one slice…" Miki said with a nervous expression.
"I know." Yuzuru said while placing a huge slice on her plate. "Mine's just bigger than everyone else's."
Shoya smiled at the interaction, but he saw something that almost made him feel like turning back around and walking away. Standing behind Naoka, originally in Shoya's blind spot, were Kazuki Shimada and Keisuke Hirose. These two used to be his best friends, but more recently than that, they were his worst tormentors. Although he initially wanted to turn around and leave, as the man that Shoya had now become, he believed that he would be ready to face them. He no longer had trouble looking people in the eyes, so even if it were these two, he believed he could manage. Shoya should be especially worried about talking to Kazuki Shimada, who was definitely the worse of the two; however, Shoya had actually established some contact with him as of recently.
For context, after Shoya awoke from his coma, he learned from Naoka that Kazuki and Keisuke were the ones who rescued him from the river. Furthermore, after he and his friend group lost the Amateur Film Contest, Shoya learned that Kazuki had been the one who produced the music. Shoya asked for Kazuki's email address from Tomohiro and reached out to him. The two had ended up on amicable terms.
Even Shoya knew that it would be weird to barge in on a conversation, though. So, with Shoko, he made his way towards the cake- or at least what was left of it after Yuzuru had finished her assault.
For the rest of the ceremony, things went very normally. They were approached a few times by their other classmates, but it was always more catching up than having a deep conversation. Even though Shoya prepared to have to talk to Kazuki or Keisuke, neither of them approached him, and he gave them the same treatment. "Well, I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't come talk to me…" Shoya thought while scratching the back of his neck. He smiled. "At least those doors aren't necessarily closed to me…" By this, he meant that he was on decent enough terms with them both that it wasn't impossible that they would talk again.
Yuzuru spent a little bit of time going to each room to take photographs, so that not all of them were centered in Suimon Elementary. "It's getting late." Yuzuru said after getting back to the group. "I'm gonna head to my school for a bit. Enjoy the celebration, guys." She waved the new adults goodbye after saying and signing this.
Shoya and Shoko looked at each other, then to Yuzuru. Neither of them were too keen on letting Yuzuru walk by herself, especially since it was going to be dark soon. Shoko spoke up. "Guys, let's meet up foah food lateh. Weah goigg to walk Yuzuwu to school." she said. Shoko grabbed Shoya's hand, and the three of them departed.
Back at Taiyo Girl's Academy, Yuzuru was uploading photos of the event to her computer. As the president of the Photography Club, certain responsibilities like social media presence were given to her. On top of this, she had to be aware of the quality of her photos. Luckily for her, she had been pretty skilled at photography for several years now. It's not as if it came naturally, but anything she did that she could consider as "practice," she would do as a hobby anyways.
After finishing up at school, she locked the room up and made her way home. Immediately after walking into her apartment, she kicked her shoes off and flopped onto her bed. She pulled her phone out and checked for any messages that she would have missed during the ceremony. She kicked her feet in the air and took a bite out of some cake that she brought home. "Nothing yet…" she said wistfully, followed by a sigh.
After dropping Yuzuru off at her school, the two made their way to a restaurant, one that they and their friends chose to hold the celebration at. There, the ones who were already twenty, except for Shoko, ordered alcohol. They chatted about the future, something that seemed to be on all of their minds. Naoka brought up how successful her and Miyoko had become. "-so we're getting ready to release a new line, we just need someone tall to model for it." she said, while staring at Shoya.
Miyoko, who either couldn't read the situation or didn't care, stopped Naoka by saying, "You've got someone tall, I'm modeling for it you know!" The other young adults laughed at the interaction.
"So, what about you two?" Satoshi asked, directing the question towards Shoko and Shoya.
"Oh, well, you know, I'm still going after being a hairdresser." Shoya said with a smile. "And I guess I also still help out with amateur films, you know?"
Peoples' eyes shifted from Shoya to Shoko. "Well, I need to spend a liddle extwah time woahking on my speech; but othuh than that, I think I'll be able to stawt haiahdwessing soon!" she said excitedly.
Satoshi smiled, but the smile was followed with him shaking his head. "No, no, we all kind of figured you two would stay on that path." he started, gesturing towards both of them. "I mean, what about you two together? I mean you have been dating for over a year now, have you guys thought about moving in together?"
Shoya blushed, and Shoko, after Miyoko translated what Satoshi asked, blushed as well. Shoya rubbed the back of his head, as if to calm himself down. "U-um, we have thought about it. We were thinking that we would wait until after we both finish with college before we do anything."
Satoshi nodded. Miki added a new question, her curiosity not sated. "Well, are you two going to Tokyo, or are you going to keep it local? I'm sure Yuzuru would be lonely without you two!"
Shoya scratched his head, but Shoko spoke before he was able to. "We'ah pwobably moving to Tokyo, but I know Yuzuwu will be fine." she said, confident. Shoya was a little worried for Yuzuru, but seeing that Shoko had confidence in her own statement gave Shoya a little confidence too. "I hope she'll be okay too…" Shoya thought to himself.
Shoya reminisced about the past. He was happy that things turned out so bright. As a kid, he imagined that his future life would be nothing special, boring, and just not worth living. But now, things were looking up for him. He was with the person who made him happier than anyone else, so no matter the specifics of what the future held, he would be happy. Shoya imagined, briefly, how living with Shoko would be. "Well, we'd be sleeping in the same bed… And we'd cook for each other…" he thought with a big goofy smile on his face. Naoka gave a pained look, as if realizing what Shoya was imagining, but since she saw how happy they were together, it never came up in conversation.
It started to get somewhat late, and Tomohiro and Naoka had both gotten a little drunk. Satoshi and Miki both took responsibility for Tomohiro, as in, they made sure that he got home safe. Miyoko did the same for Naoka. Although neither were drunk, for obvious reasons, Shoya walked Shoko home. Tonight was the last night that she would be in town for the next few months, so they wanted to spend some time with each other. Ms. Nishimiya was not home yet, and even if she were, Shoya was now a welcome face in the household. The two walked into the apartment, slipped off their shoes, and walked down the hallway.
They made their way to Shoko's room, where they planned on spending some time cuddling. Suddenly, Shoya heard Yuzuru's voice coming from her own room. He tilted his head. "Oh, she's just talking on the phone…" he thought to himself. He didn't want to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help but hear the tone of her voice. "She sounds happy… I think you were right, Shoko. She will be okay when we're gone..." Shoko looked curiously at his expression, since she couldn't hear Yuzuru, but Shoya just dismissed it as him just daydreaming.
The two stretched out and relaxed on Shoko's bed. Shoya turned over and looked at Shoko. "Falling asleep next to you every night, waking up next to you every day…" Thoughts like these popped into his head as he stared into her eyes.
Shoko looked up at him and smiled warmly. She stared back into his eyes and laced her fingers through his. "Waking up early to make food for you, one day starting a family with you…" Thoughts like these popped into her head as she moved in closely and buried her face into his chest.
An hour or so later, the door opened. "Oh, Shoya's here too, huh?" Ms. Nishimiya thought to herself, upon seeing the extra pair of shoes on the ground. She slipped her shoes off and set her bags down. She wandered down the hallway to see if anyone wanted or needed dinner. She poked her head first into Yuzuru's room. Yuzuru was chatting happily with someone on the phone, and had an empty plate that Ms. Nishimiya assumed had some sort of sweets on it. Not only was Yuzuru completely distracted, but she seemed to already have eaten.
Ms. Nishimiya then checked in on Shoko's room. Most girls' mothers would become incredibly defensive upon seeing their daughter and a boy in the same bed, but Ms. Nishimiya just smiled. She knew what type of man Shoya was, so she had no worries in the world. "Besides, they deserve some time together…" she thought as she walked back out. "I'm so happy that my daughters are so happy…" she thought as she prepared food for herself and began to eat.
Shoya woke up the next morning from an alarm he set. He looked at his phone. "Wake Shoko up for the train." was displayed on his phone. He blinked away some exhaustion and yawned. He gently shook her shoulder to wake her up peacefully. Her eyes opened gently and fell onto Shoya's calm face. "Good moahning…" she said with a serene tone in her voice. Shoya craned his neck down and planted a kiss on her forehead. Shoya got up and put on his coat while Shoko got ready to leave. After getting ready, Shoko went to Yuzuru's room; she was getting ready for school herself. They hugged each other goodbye, but it wasn't a sad one. Yuzuru knew that they would stay in contact, and Shoko knew that Yuzuru wouldn't be lonely.
Shoya walked Shoko to the train station and waited with her for a while, sitting on a bench. Shoko, who was still sleepy, rested her head on Shoya's shoulder. Since not many other people were around, Shoya lightly ran his hand through her hair, trying to help her fall asleep. She fell asleep pretty quickly, so Shoya kept alert for the train.
A little while passed, and the train came by. Again, Shoya lightly shook Shoko awake. Before boarding the train, they held hands and stared into each other's eyes for a bit. "I love you, Shoya." Shoko said. This phrase, she had plenty of practice saying.
"I love you, Shoko." Shoya said into her good ear, and he leaned in for a kiss. After their lips separated, Shoya looked at the train. "Make sure you don't miss the train, I wouldn't w-" Shoya was cut off from his forewarning by Shoko, who pulled his collar and drew him in for another kiss. The surprise of it gave him butterflies in his stomach. After this, Shoko turned and boarded the train. A beautiful, loving smile was on both of their faces, individually. With a warm smile on his face, and his index and middle finger extended, Shoya signed something he often did.
"See you later, Shoko."