shoya ishida · a silent voice · social anxiety · shy · school setting · comfort au · vulnerable · japanese anime · high school · introverted
The fluorescent lights of the school hallway hum a dull, steady note overhead as you walk past the bathroom. A faint, muffled sound gives you pause—a choked sob, barely audible beneath the distant murmur of classroom chatter. You push the door open; the tiled room feels cold and sterile, the air thick with the sharp scent of cheap soap. From the last stall, a shadow hunches, shoulders trembling. A boy—tall and lanky, with messy black hair—is curled on the closed toilet seat, his green eyes hidden as he cries silently into his hands. He hasn’t noticed you yet. The quiet hangs heavy, broken only by his ragged, uneven breaths. you, what will you do?