NABC Page 14
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I wish Yuto-kun was in the same school as me...
When school was over, Yuto-kun was waiting for me at the school gate on time. He said he was relieved to see that I looked well.
[But... Mom said at dinner that Aunt Kotori and Uncle Itsuka moved out, so Yuto-kun will be living alone from now on, right? Won't he feel lonely? Shoko, you have to be even nicer to him from now on!]
After finishing her diary, Shoko carefully closed the notebook, locked it, and put it back deep in the drawer.
She looked up at the window and saw that the light in Yudou-kun's room in the house next door was not on.
Goodnight, Yuto-kun.
She said it silently in her heart.
Volume 1: Chapter 18: The drama of a villain suddenly realizing his mistakes disgusts me. [Please continue reading!]
Tuesday afternoon, one week later.
The sun is just right, the breeze is not dry.
Nishimiya Shoko arrived alone on the familiar bridge by the Shuimen River.
This was a small task assigned to her by her school teacher—to feed the carefree carp in the school pond every Tuesday.
Because the school's pond is undergoing dredging and maintenance, the carp have been temporarily housed in a large temporary aquaculture area set up by the Shuimenhe Park Management Office, not far from the bridge.
Shoko really liked this mission.
This made her feel that she could also do something well and provide a little help to others, even if it was just to a group of small fish.
Moreover, and most importantly, every Tuesday at this time from now on, Yuto-kun will accompany her.
She took out the prepared fish food from her small cloth bag, carefully crushed it, and sprinkled it little by little into the temporary water area not far from the bridge.
Soon, colorful carp gathered from all directions, vying for the food on the water's surface.
Shoko was so engrossed in watching that a slight smile unconsciously curved her lips.
"Shoko, doesn't that golden one look just like the Koi King from an anime?" A gentle voice rang in her ear, carrying a familiar smile.
Shoko knew it was Yuto without even turning around. She picked up the notebook on the bridge railing and quickly wrote:
"Hmm! It ate the most! Yuto-kun, do you think they'll overeat?"
The person next to him chuckled and shook his head: "Don't worry, a fish's belly is a bottomless pit, they're very clever."
Shoko laughed along.
She continued to feed the fish attentively, enjoying this rare moment of peace and companionship.
This kind of time repeats itself every week.
Feed the fish, chat with Yudou-kun about trivial things, watch the river flow quietly, and feel the breeze on your cheeks.
For Shoko, this is the most beautiful embellishment in her ordinary daily life.
……
It was another Tuesday afternoon.
As usual, Shoko came to the bridge.
She skillfully took out the fish food and prepared to begin her work.
As usual, Yuto stood quietly beside her, gazing at her with gentle eyes.
Just then, a slightly unsteady sound of footsteps came from the other side of the bridge.
Shoko subconsciously looked up and stopped feeding the fish.
A boy wearing a faded old school uniform, with messy hair and a haggard look on his face from chronic sleep deprivation.
His eyes were dim, his steps hesitant, as he walked step by step toward the center of the bridge.
Shoya Ishida...kun?
Why is he here?
Shoko's heart skipped a beat, and her hand holding the bait involuntarily clenched tighter.
Some distant memories flooded back—the stolen hearing aid, the malicious mockery and ridicule…
She subconsciously moved closer to Yuuto-kun.
Ishida Shoya clearly also saw Nishimiya Shoko.
His steps faltered, a flicker of panic and pain crossing his face, but it was quickly replaced by a resolute determination.
He took a deep breath and continued walking towards the glass.
He hasn't had a good time these past few years.
Since that incident in elementary school, he went from being a leader of the kids to being isolated, experiencing firsthand the bitterness of being bullied in return for being a bully.
He began to reflect and understand how deep the damage he had caused to Glass.
He started learning sign language, just so that one day he could apologize to her in person... no, in person.
Today, he finally mustered up the courage.
Ishida Shoya stopped about two or three steps away from Shoko. He lowered his head, not daring to look her in the eye, and his voice was unusually hoarse with nervousness and guilt: "Nishimiya... I... I..."
He saw Nishimiya Shoko looking at him with a blank and slightly frightened expression.
He suddenly remembered that Nishimiya Shoko had a hearing impairment, and she couldn't hear him at all when he spoke like that!
He slapped his forehead in frustration and hurriedly pulled a brand-new notebook and pen from his old satchel—something he had bought specifically for today.
He squatted down, placed the notebook on the ground, and wrote down, stroke by stroke, the sentence he had rehearsed countless times but could never bring himself to say.
His hands trembled slightly from nervousness, and his handwriting was somewhat crooked.
【Nishimiya-kun, I'm sorry】
[In the past... I did many terrible things to you.]
I...I don't know how to make it up to you...but I'm so, so...sorry!
After he finished writing, he stood up, held the notebook up to the glass, and then suddenly bent down and bowed deeply.
Shoko looked at the words on the notebook, then at the haggard-looking Ishida Shoya in front of her, who was completely different from the arrogant and domineering elementary school student she remembered. She was overwhelmed with emotions.
Her feelings were complicated; she felt somewhat lost and helpless.
The memories of those hurts were so vivid, but at the same time, the innate kindness deep within her heart prevented her from speaking ill of such a humble apologist.
She remembered her mother teaching her to be tolerant, and her teacher saying to forgive those who have made mistakes.
She even... for a fleeting moment, wanted to reach out and tell him, "It's okay."
Her fingers twitched slightly, and her lips moved gently, as if she wanted to say something or express something in sign language.
However, at the very moment she raised her hand—
"boom!"
A dull thud broke the stalemate on the bridge.
A figure shot out from beside Shoko like an arrow.
Just a moment ago, Ishida Shoya was bowing his head and waiting for his judgment. As if he had been hit by a speeding car, he was thrown backward and crashed heavily to the ground, his notebook flying out of his hand.
"Pfft—cough cough!" Ishida Shouya felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if his ribs were about to break, and a sweet taste in his throat, almost causing him to cough up blood.
He struggled to get up, but found that he had no strength left in his body.
He looked up in astonishment at the "culprit" who had suddenly appeared and kicked him away.
When he saw the man's face clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted.
“It...Itsuka...Yuto?!” Ishida Shouya exclaimed in disbelief, “You...how did you get here?!”
Indeed, standing before him, looking down at him, was none other than the earless guardian, the demon king of Minato Elementary School, who had left an indelible mark on his childhood memories—Yuto Itsuka!
Under the direct sunlight, the person's figure appeared somewhat erratic, causing Ishida Shoya to subconsciously squint.
Ignoring Ishida Shoya's surprised question, Itsuka Yuto slowly bent down, stared at Ishida Shoya on the ground, and said, word by word, "I find the drama of villains suddenly realizing their mistakes disgusting."
"What do you think is the difference between a school bully and a rapist?"
"Essentially, both of them inflict indelible harm on another person's body and soul. Tell me, what makes you superior to those scumbags?"
Volume 1: Chapter 19: Time is about to accelerate!
Ishida Shoya was jolted, his face drained of all color.
The fear surging within him at that moment was more suffocating than the excruciating pain in his chest.
"I...I didn't..."
"I'm not... I just... just back then..."
He wanted to say that his behavior wasn't that serious, and that he was just an ignorant child at the time.
He... he was just young and ignorant.
He regrets it now.
But these feeble excuses were impossible to utter under the other party's piercing gaze.
“‘I’m sorry’ is the cheapest thing in the world.” Itsuka Yuto straightened up and stopped looking at him.
"It makes the perpetrator feel at ease, as if all past sins can be wiped clean, but what meaning does a flimsy apology have for the victim?"
Yuto Itsuka turned around and took Shoko's hand.
Shoko stared blankly at everything the whole time.
Her kind nature caused her to waver slightly when she saw Ishida Shoya kneeling down to apologize.
She was used to yielding and using forgiveness to resolve conflicts.
But Yuto's words stopped her from thinking that way.
For the first time, she began to ponder the true meaning of forgiveness. Was her constant concessions and apologies truly the right thing to do?
Is it because of my own weakness that those harms have intensified, and even... implicated Yuuto-kun?
"Let's go!" Yuto's voice pulled her back from her chaotic thoughts.
She nodded, letting him lead her away from the bridge step by step.
She didn't look back at Ishida Shoya again.
Ishida Shoya, who remained where he was, seemed to have all his strength drained away, and knelt down on the ground.
He always believed that as long as he sincerely repented, worked hard to learn sign language, and sincerely apologized, everything would be back on track.
He thought he was atoning for his sins.
But now he realizes how insignificant his pitiful self-pity is in the face of real harm.
"I didn't...I didn't..." he murmured repeatedly, lying on the ground, "I really...didn't think of it..."
Tears mixed with dust, covering his face.
……
……
Even after that incident, Ishida Shoya did not give up.
He seems to have turned apologizing into a paranoid ritual.
Every Tuesday afternoon, without fail, he would appear on that bridge, rain or shine.
He no longer tried to approach her, nor did he speak. He simply stood at a distance, and as she finished feeding the fish and prepared to leave, he bowed deeply to her retreating figure.
At first, Shoko felt uncomfortable and would subconsciously quicken her pace.
But gradually, she got used to that figure that was like a background backdrop.
She stopped dodging and stopped responding; she simply went about her business calmly and then left peacefully.
Yuto-kun's words were like a seed that took root and sprouted in her heart.