6 Yuzuru Nishimiya would no longer worry about her sister committing suicide.

After school, little Shoko Nishimiya kept apologizing to Kyosuke Hojo, who simply smiled and patted her head.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the day until school ended. Miyoko Sahara, who sat in front of Shoko, had also befriended her, and they even discussed the episode of Doraemon that aired the previous night.

"Big sister, how was school today?" asked Yuzuru, Shoko’s younger sister, at the dinner table.

Upon hearing this, their mother, Yaeko, and grandmother, Ito, both put down their chopsticks. The whole family turned their gaze toward Shoko. This was not the first time Shoko had transferred schools, and they had seen this exact scene play out several times before. In the past, Shoko would always maintain that serene smile and tell her family that everything was fine, yet they all knew that this meant everything was not fine at all.

But this time was different. Yuzuru watched her sister flash a smile she had never seen before.

"I made a very good friend today. He..." Shoko set down her bowl and chopsticks, her face bright with excitement as she spoke in a rapid, animated stream of words.

"Sister, sister, slow down!"

Seeing Shoko like this, their mother and grandmother looked on with surprise. Perhaps this time, they wouldn't have to transfer again?

Shoko calmed her racing heart. She had been wanting to share what happened today ever since she got home, but her mother had only just returned from work.

"I made a really good friend at school today!"

"Really?" Yuzuru asked skeptically. In the past, bad classmates had pretended to be friends with Shoko only to torment her, so she was deeply worried this might be the same. While their grandmother and mother shared this concern, they didn't voice it. Their grandmother didn't want to dampen Shoko's spirits, while their mother held onto a persistent hope that Shoko could make her own judgments—even if a bad friend might eventually help her grow stronger.

Shoko puffed out her cheeks, wearing a cute, indignant expression. "Kyosuke Hojo is a real friend! He protected me today!"

"Huh? Shoko, did someone bully you today?" Yuzuru immediately caught the point and grew anxious.

"A classmate was mocking the way I talk to tease me, and then Kyosuke Hojo made that classmate apologize to me."

Shoko then recounted in detail how Shoya Ishida had teased her during Japanese class, how Kyosuke Hojo had stood up to the teacher, and how he had forced Shoya to apologize. Watching Shoko excitedly gesture as she spoke, her hair even bouncing with her joy, their mother and grandmother exchanged glances—happy for her, yet unable to shake their underlying anxiety.

Due to Shoko's special condition, even her younger sister had been implicated, becoming a target for bullying at school. Over the years, they had seen too much of the cruelty of human nature; ignoring the teachers, even the children who should have been innocent and carefree often showed their worst sides in front of Shoko.

Now, with someone suddenly appearing who was so kind to Shoko, they found it truly hard to believe. Moreover, in Shoko's story, this classmate named Kyosuke Hojo had directly confronted the teacher when the teacher refused to uphold justice, eventually forcing the teacher to make the prankster, Shoya Ishida, apologize. Kyosuke had even gone so far as to force the boy to apologize three times in a row because his initial attitude was insincere.

It sounded even more incredible than Doraemon—he was like a superhero.

"Is that for real?" Yuzuru asked the question that was on her mother's and grandmother's minds. The family dynamics were set: their mother was silent and held high expectations for Shoko, while their grandmother soothed the wounds in Shoko’s heart. Things that were difficult to say out loud were usually left to the youngest, Yuzuru.

"Of course it's real!" Faced with her sister's persistent doubt, Shoko’s face puffed up like a bun. Kyosuke Hojo was clearly a wonderful person!

"Alright, Yuzuru. We should be happy that Shoko made a good friend on her first day at a new school. That way, you can go to school with peace of mind too."

"Yes, yes, Yuzuru, you have to go to school too!" Hearing her grandmother’s words, Shoko immediately forgot her small moment of irritation and anxiously tugged on Yuzuru’s sleeve.

Yuzuru, who had been speaking just a moment ago, fell silent and lowered her head.

"Yuzuru..." Both her grandmother and Shoko looked at her with concern.

"Yuzuru," Yaeko Nishimiya spoke, her tone brook no argument. "I will take you to the new school tomorrow."

Yuzuru looked up. She knew her mother’s decisions could not be changed, so she did not protest. Besides, she was just a little girl who longed to play with peers rather than staying home with her grandmother every day. Before, she hadn't been able to attend school because of what happened to her sister, but now that it seemed even Shoko could go to school properly, she had no reason not to go.

"Okay, Mom."

The heavy atmosphere at the table lifted instantly, and everyone began to eat happily. Shoko shared more about what had happened at school. Although Yaeko Nishimiya remained expressionless, a flicker in her eyes revealed that she, too, was happy for Shoko.

That night, Yuzuru dreamed of her sister at school, singing beautifully with a full, radiant smile. Standing behind her sister was a boy whose face she couldn't clearly see, clapping incessantly.

Meanwhile, after school, Shoya Ishida did not go with Kazuki Shimada and Keisuke Hirose for their daily "test of courage," which usually involved foolish acts like jumping into the river.

Having rushed out of school alone, Shoya returned home without greeting his mother or saying "I'm home," instead trudging dejectedly up the stairs.

"Shoya? Shoya?"

Miyako Ishida pulled back the curtain between the shop and their living quarters, walking in to call out to him. "What's wrong, Shoya? Didn't you go out to play with your friends today?"

But Shoya just continued climbing the stairs with his head down, offering no response.

"Stop right there, Shoya." Miyako chased him to the foot of the stairs and called his name twice more before finally getting him to stop. "What happened?"

"It's so annoying, nothing happened! Shimada had to go to cram school, so we didn't go out."

"Shoya, is that any way to talk? I'm just worried about you!"

"I'm fine!" After shouting this, Shoya ran quickly upstairs.

"Shoya..." Miyako watched the empty staircase, her heart filled with worry. She couldn't imagine what could have turned her usually carefree son into this. Perhaps she needed to call the teacher?

With that thought, she walked to the phone and called the homeroom teacher, Takeuchi.

"Hello, is this Mr. Takeuchi? This is Shoya Ishida’s mother."

"..."

"Yes, I wanted to ask if something happened at school today. The boy hasn't been himself since he got home."

"..."

"Oh, is that so? I'm so sorry. I will make sure to discipline him properly. Sorry for the trouble."

"Yes, that will be all."

"Yes, thank you for your patience. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, Miyako touched the receiver, lowered her head, and fell into silence. Why had her son become like this? She had always assumed he was just a bit mischievous—which was normal for a boy—but she never expected him to become a bad child who would torment a student with a disability.