"Look, look, she's so cute!"
"Don't push, I'm watching."
"This girl is adorable."
"My type, my type!"
"She's obviously cute!"
"She definitely has a soft and sweet personality!"
"What if she's a yandere…?" [T\N: (⊙_⊙;) ]
"You again! Can you shut up? And you don't need those eyes—you can donate them! How could a girl who looks this cute be a yandere?"
Slowly walking up to the podium, Shouko completely ignored the whispers from the audience—or rather, she couldn't hear what they were saying.
After Shouko took her place at the podium, she glanced at Tsuna in the back row. Seeing him give her a cheering gesture, she suddenly felt less nervous.
She bowed slightly to the students, then straightened up with a faint smile on her lips.
"Hello everyone, my name is Nishimiya Shouko (a few dozen words omitted). Finally, I hope to spend three happy years with all of you!"
She finished her words and bowed again.
"Pa, pa, pa!"
Tsuna, sitting in his seat, was the first to applaud, followed by Takagi, and then everyone else in the classroom.
"See, see! I knew her voice would be soft and sweet!"
"I like it even more!"
"A punch from this cute girl would make me cry for a long time, right?"
"…"
"Ahem!" Nokitsu, who was standing beside Shouko, coughed, stopping her from leaving and raising a hand to calm the others.
"What's wrong, Nokitsu-sensei?" Shouko looked up at her, puzzled.
Everyone in the classroom shared Shouko's confusion, but Tsuna, sitting in his seat, roughly guessed what the new homeroom teacher meant.
Teacher Nokitsu shook her head, urging her not to worry. Then, looking at the crowd, she said, "Okay, let me say a few words."
"Nishimiya-san just missed something."
"Huh?" Shouko froze for a moment, then quickly realized what she had forgotten.
Seeing that she understood, Nokitsu patted her shoulder and gestured for her to continue.
"Let me do it, Nokitsu-sensei," Shouko said with a smile.
Nokitsu stepped back a few steps, her face stern, eyes fixed on the students.
"I'm hearing impaired—"
Shouko's words sent the once-quiet classroom into a frenzy. Most people were shocked, while a few thought she was joking.
Some students had seen people with hearing impairments before, and their speech wasn't as clear as Shouko's. Most relied on notebooks to communicate.
Of course, there were also four or five sharp-eyed students who had already noticed something about Shouko.
This included Takagi. She had felt that Shouko's speech was slightly different when chatting with her before, but she didn't pay much attention.
Later, however, she accidentally noticed the hearing aids in Shouko's ears, and the clever girl immediately guessed the truth.
"Pa pa!" Teacher Nokitsu patted the blackboard behind him, naturally quieting the students. He said seriously:
"Let Nishimiya continue. If you have questions, we'll talk after class!"
Shouko calmly lifted the hair near her ears, revealing the flesh-colored invisible hearing aids she wore.
"Don't look at me differently just because I have a hearing impairment. As you can see, I can communicate with you normally and also read lips.
I'm telling you this so you'll know I'm not a student who needs special care."
"Pa… pa… pa…!"
As soon as Shouko finished speaking, Teacher Nokitsu led the applause. Seeing this, the students also applauded again.
"Okay, you can go down now." Teacher Nokitsu couldn't help but raise her hand to pat Shouko's head gently.
"Yeah." Shouko didn't resist and, after Nokitsu withdrew her hand, slowly walked down from the podium.
A boy with a crew cut in the corner of the classroom withdrew his gaze from Shouko, then quickly pushed his friend beside him.
"What?"
"Did you hear that? Did you hear that!?"
"What's wrong?"
"It's obvious you don't get it."
"Are you going to tell me or not? If not, I'll keep spacing out."
"You see, this cute girl has a hearing impairment. She looks strong and cheerful on the surface, but deep down she must still have some insecurities."
"Well, then what?"
"At this time, if I become her friend, constantly accompany and encourage her, and give her courage, won't she fall deeply in love with me—and won't her heart then belong only to me?"
"… (speechless)"
"Come on, admit it—my plan is perfect, right?"
"Well… good luck, I believe you can do it."
"Haha! Just for saying that, when I marry her, I'll give you a big Gift!"
"Hehe…"
After Shouko returned to her seat, Teacher Nokitsu urged from the podium: "Okay, quiet down. Next student, come up quickly."
The self-introductions of Class 2 students took about thirty minutes to finish. Right as they wrapped up, the bell for the end of class rang.
"Okay, break time is ten minutes. Class dismissed!"
As the bell rang, Teacher Nokitsu dismissed them and slowly walked out of the classroom.
As soon as she left, the classroom grew noisy again. Some students went to the restroom, others wandered the corridor.
Several girls quickly gathered around Shouko's seat.
As for Tsuna, seeing Shouko surrounded by so many people, he found it difficult to approach, so he just slumped over the desk and closed his eyes.
This also made Shouko, who had initially wanted to chat with Takagi after class, give up the idea.
"Nishimiya-san, can I ask you a quick question?" The gray-haired girl standing directly in front of Shouko was the first to ask, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
"Please, please!" Before Shouko could even nod, the girl clasped her hands together and pleaded earnestly.
"Miyamizu-san, you don't have to be so polite. Just ask directly," Shouko quickly reassured her.
"Right. I'm curious—why is your pronunciation so standard? Do you have a method?
I also have a friend with hearing impairment, so I wanted to ask for her."
As soon as she said this, the other girls gathered around Shouko, perked up with curiosity.
Shouko hesitated, unsure how to respond, because her method…
"What's wrong? Is it inconvenient to share?" the girl asked cautiously, noticing her hesitation.
"It's not that it's inconvenient," Shouko explained. "It's just… here's the reason why my speech sounds so normal."
(End of Chapter)