Graduation (卒業, Sotsugyō?) is the sixty-first chapter of the Koe no Katachi manga and the ninth chapter of Volume 7.
Summary[]
Shōko has decided to accept the offer to work with Nemuhiko Nora and move to Tokyo, now with the support of Shōya and her mother. Happy to hear about Yaeko’s support, Shōya wants to figure out what his dream is soon. He finds who he assumes to be his sister sleeping in his room before realizing it’s Naoka, who was waiting for him. She flirtatiously asks what he’ll do if she refuses to leave his room, to which he nonchalantly replies that he’ll throw peanuts at her before beginning to flick them at her. Naoka tells him she just wanted to talk and the two speak outside near a park.
Naoka tells Shōya that she’ll be moving to Tokyo and that she heard about Shōko going as well. She asks Shōya why he doesn't go with them if he likes Shōko so much, to which he replies that he’s decided to stay home and work towards taking over his mother’s salon. Naoka realizes that Shōya wants the same occupation as Shōko and corrects him when he says that he wants to be a hairdresser, him believing Shōko wanted to be a beautician.
Naoka tells Shōya that he doesn’t know three things, the first being his and Shōko’s shared desire to become hairdressers and the second being that Kazuki and Keisuke were the ones to pull him out of the river. She explains that the two boys did like Shōya before turning on him, believing that they wanted to erase their friendship with Shōya. She then apologizes to Shōya, admitting to writing on his desk and to picking on Shōko in sixth grade. Despite her feeling of guilt, Naoka admits that she still doesn’t want to like Shōko.
Shōya responds to Naoka by saying that while he used to understand Kazuki and Keisuke, his own actions were the reason they became the people he understood the least. However, after all this time, Shōya feels like he can overcome that lack of understanding at any time. He tells Naoka that her motivation to better understand Shōko will present itself when the time is right and that she has plenty of time to make amends with her. Beginning to cry, Naoka playfully calls Shōya soft and runs off before saying the third thing he doesn’t know, telling him to use his brain for once.
Shōya sees Shōko for the first time since his outburst and tells her that he wants to become a hairdresser. While blushing, he clumsily tries explaining that he wants to take over his mother’s salon and isn’t just trying to copy her dream or creep her out, still wanting to celebrate her next birthday together. Shōko politely nods while blushing herself and tells him that she was thinking the same thing before saying let’s do our best together. The two share a sweet together that Yuzuru manages to capture with her camera, wishing the both of them good luck.
A few months pass with everyone enjoying their time together before graduation finally arrives. Shōya and Tomohiro help pack Shōko’s things into her mother’s car the day she is set to leave for Tokyo. Yaeko thanks the boys for their help and asks them to keep an eye on Yuzuru while she’s gone. After Shōko tells Shōya she’ll see him later, Tomohiro nudges him to tell Shōko what he’s been meaning to tell her before she leaves, not expecting him to ask about the animal sticks she gave him. When Yaeko drives off after Shōya’s question, Tomohiro makes his disappointment very clear, believing Shōya would’ve admitted feelings for Shōko when he prompted him.
Regardless, Shōya finds out that the sticks Shōko gave him are garden ornaments. He then asks Tomohiro if he still has Kazuki’s email address, wanting to ask if he’ll be going to the coming-of-age ceremony. The chapter ends with a two-year timeskip to the Suimon Municipal coming-of-age ceremony.
Characters[]
In order of appearance:
- Yaeko Nishimiya
- Yuzuru Nishimiya
- Shōya Ishida
- Naoka Ueno
- Shōko Nishimiya
- Miki Kawai
- Satoshi Mashiba
- Tomohiro Nagatsuka
- Miyako Ishida
- Miyoko Sahara