Their Love of Silence

"Yes, Ms. Ruu. We have given your daughter an opportunity to redeem her exam results, but she failed once again. So, the teachers would like the parents help with the education of their children. As you know, parents also play an important role in... And that's why we would like your cooperation in helping with the education process of your daughter..."

"The school is trying to support her as best as possible. And to that regard, we have decided to provide her with a mandatory summer school. The teachers are willing to provide your daughter with extra lessons during the summer break that will begin next week. So, we would like the support of you as Hino's parent to ensure that she will be fully taking advantage of this opportunity."

"... Yes, sorry to have to take your time today, especially when you have work. But, yes, that will be all. Hino, you can return to your class. It's about to begin. Thank you once again for taking your time with us, Ms. Hino."

As the two was walking out the door, her mom kept on reproaching her, "Good. The summer classes will be good for you. I will make sure you attend every single class."

And unexpectedly, outside of the room Sora was standing there in front of the door.

While Hino was was pleased to him, her mom on the other hand instantly became annoyed from the sheer sight of him. "What do you want?! Stay away from my daughter."

Sora simply replied, "I have something to talk with sensei," and walked past them to enter the class.

"Stay away from that boy, Hino. He's a bad influence to you," Those her the last words her mom left her before leaving the school."

Hino usually enters her class wearing her earphones and continues wearing them until just right before class starts. And with it the sounds from the other students would barely be audible to her. But now, the voices of her classmates are clear. It came from all around her and it became hard for her to organize them.

"Hey, Ruu-san just came into class. Don't you think that's weird? She usually arrives pretty early."

"Yeah, now that you mention it. That is unusual for her."

"Hey, have you heard, she was the only one who didn't pass the exam."

"Even after taking a redo exams and after receiving more time to study she didn't pass."

She wasn't sure if she correctly heard them or not since there were too much noise, but that's what it sounded like to her. There words which she clearly heard were:

Exams. Redo. Test. Fail.

Those words found their way into her head, though she wasn't sure where they came from.

She tried to stop hearing them. But she couldnt'. Her ears were wide open. They voices kept on entering. And inside they kept on ringing. The more she tried to stop thinking about them, the more they rang. Then memories of the things her mom said join in.

"You failed, Hino."

"Hey, she was the only one who failed."

"... retake the test and she failed."

Shut up...

"Ruu-san, you didn't pass."

"WE PAID FOR YOUR LESSONS!"

SHUT UP!

...

Please shut up...

Leave Hino alone... please...

The moment the school bell rang Hino immediately left the classroom and ran towards the rooftop.

But even when she was running, even after having left the classroom where the noise came from, the voices continued to follow her. They kept on firmly clinging on to her no matter how fast she ran.

She finally made it to the rooftop. The voices were still there but the winds helped blow some of them away.

She sat at her usual spot. She opened the mangas she brought and began reading them. But no matter how hard she tried to focus on her manga they kept on coming back and echo within her mind. She couldn't even properly read a page.

"BUT I BET YOU WERE'NT EVEN PAYING ATTENTION!"

"I BET YOU DIDN'T CONCENTRATE"

SHUT UP!

"BECAUSE YOU WERE FOCUSING ON LISTENING TO YOUR MUSIC, RIGHT?!"

NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE!

With each thought, her breath gradually became irregular and unsteady. Her inhales and exhales were deeper. Her chest felt tighter, and her mind feeling even more weighted.

"OH AND LET'S NOT FORGET YOUR BOOKS!"

THE BOOKS DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!

"YOUR DAD AND I WORK HARD EVERY DAY TO PAY FOR YOUR SCHOOL AND YOUR LESSONS."

HINO TRIED!

Hino tried...

Slowly Hino begin to settle down. One by one the voices disperse into the open air. And her breath started to get back in rhythm.

Please... leave Hino alo-

But before everything could return to normal, the door to the rooftop opened. And a group of girls she didn't recognize entered.

"Hey, are we even allowed to be here?

"Don't worry about it. I mean, there was a girl who came running here. Oh look there she is."

The alone sitting Hino, with her clothes and hair all messed up from the running, met eyes with the group of five girls who just came.

"Wait, isn't that Ruu-san from the class beside us?"

"Yeah, I think so too."

"I've heard she didn't pass the test. Even after redoing test."

"Yeah, I've heard about it as well."

"Hey, what do you think she's doing up here?"

"Don't know, but don't you guys think it's kinda sad that she's all alone up here?"

"Yeah true! Actually, she always seemed kinda miserable always being alone and distant and everything."

And suddenly. The noise came back.

"She seemed kinda miserable, doesn't she?"

"She didn't pass the test."

"Alone. Distant."

Her head ached even worse than it did before. Her breathing grew frantic and wild. Her vision started to wet and blur. She tried to cover her face with the manga's she's holding. But...

"Guys, look at her..."

"Is she... crying?"

Argh! It hurts!

The pain came in through her ears. Words sharper than swords pierced them. Once inside they wouldn't even leave but instead hurt her even more.

"Hey, is there something wrong with her?"

"Do you think we should help her?"

"I don't know... let's just leave..."

Please... Leave Hino alone

What did H-Hino do...?

L-Leave Hino alone...

Even her own mind stuttered.

Until one point the voices she was hearing were replaced by the sound of her sobbing and the sporadic breathing.

She hugged and rolled into herself further, covering her tears with the manga she was holding, even though she knows it wouldn't help her much. Even if the girls couldn't see her tears they could still see her body shaking.

She tried to fight back the noise and the tears with her own thoughts, but they only helped to make her cry even further.

Stop!

Please!

Hino didn't do anything.

Please...

PLEASE!

Leave Hino alone...

Please leave Hino alone...

Shut up... shut up... shut up...

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

Shut up...

Shut up...

Stop...

Please...

LEAVE ME ALONE!

...

P-P-Please...

L-Leave Hino a-alo-

"Hino, here." Among all the noise, for once, there was a faint gentle voice.

It sounded familiar, but with so many things entering her head she wasn't sure who or where it came from.

It was soft. And quiet. But somehow it cleared the noise in her head.

Trusting the voice Hino looked up and removed the manga covering her face. She saw that the girls weren't there anymore. But she couldn't find anything where the voice could originate from. Was it all just in her hea-

Hino looked to her side and there she saw the person who spoke with soft sound. She was right. The voice was indeed familiar.

"S-Sora-san...?"

"Here." Sora moved closer to her and placed something over her head. And with it, everything was silent. "You can use my headphone."

It was warm. And it was better at suppressing the noise better than hers.

Without any further comment or words, Sora moved his body back and simply sat beside her, leaning on the railings of the rooftop and enjoying the silence of the rooftop.

S-Sora-sann... why...?

S-Sora...

It was too loud wasn't it?

Y-yeah... It was r-really loud...

You can use my headphone for now.

S-Sora...

And without warning Hino sprung herself to him. Sora who has simply chilling was caught off guard by her sudden jump, but he reacted quick enough and caught her with his body.

"I-It was l-loud... It w-was so l-loud..." Hino stammered with her words, as she held on to his clothes, her head leaning on to his chest. Hino resumed crying, and even harder this time, letting it all out.

"T-They wouldn't leave Hino al-lone... T-They just c-can't stay q-quiet..." Slowly she began to let out everything she had in her mind. Everything she wanted to say at the time but couldn't, she finally had the opportunity to say them, even if they weren't towards the actual person.

"S-Sora... y-your b-book... Hino is-s sorry... I'm s-sorry." As she cried there, she explained everything that had happened after her mom took her from the store. She disclosed everything to him. The lessons, her mom's threats, what happened to his book.

Sora was overwhelmed by everything she was saying, but, he still placed his hand on her hair to say that everything is okay.

Before Hino told him, he could already understand what he felt and how annoying the noise could be. But it was still painful to have to hear what she said.

Hino unceasingly confessed everything and, without speaking a word, Sora simply sat there, embracing her and listening.

Among all the people who kept on talking, she turned to the person who would simply stay silent and listened to her.

No debates. No arguments. No patronizing. No lectures.

He doesn't even need to talk.

Just be there with her. And listen when she wants to say something.

After a while, her eyes were still watery, but she was feeling much better and the voices were no more.

Hino pulled herself back.

"W-What hap-ppened to the g-girls?" Her voice was still shaky.

"I simply told them they weren't allowed to be here."

Hino wiped the tears in her eyes with her fingers.

"Hino... you're going to have to take summer school right?"

"Yeah..." She answered, not too fond about it.

"I'Ill also take the lessons."

"Huh?" It sounded too good to be true. Did she heard him properly? Why?

"I'll accompany you during the summer school."

Hino still couldn't believe what he said. "Sora-san why?"

"It's okay. You wouldn't want to be alone, right? Since you aren't allowed to go to the café anymore, we could talk during summer school. I'll study with you. It will be a nice opportunity to review."

For weeks, which had spanned into a month, her eyes were completely desaturated and bleak. But now, once again, it glowed purple. The color of the galaxy. The color of dreams and of worlds.

Hino once again leaped onto Sora, wrapping her hands around him and hugging him with gratitude.

Tears started to form, but this time it was from the joy.

"T-Thank you Sora-san... T-Thank you s-so much..."

Sora returned the hug and told her another thing. After that Hino calmed down and once again detached himself from him. With her mind now clear, she realized how embarrassing it was for her cry over him like that and she began to fluster.

Sora realized this and instead brought out a different topic, "I've finished reading 'My Place of Comfort'."

Sora succeeded in taking her mind off things, as Hino's attention was completely on what he had said. But she actually was a bit afraid. She knows Sora doesn't like romance. "W-What did you think about it?"

Sora thought about his answer for a bit. Thinking back on the story and how it went.

After a while he has his answer.

"It was nice. It was really nice."

Romance, huh...? I guess romance can be pretty nice...

They sat there and simply conversed between themselves throughout the lunch time. Sora went on about his thoughts on the book. He said it was nice, but for some reason there were more critic than there were praises.

But at least once again, they could spend time and, in the silence, undisturbed, they could chill and talk about the things they love.

And later that day, they still had to part ways, because Hino was still not allowed to go out, but for once, Hino was going home in glee and in high spirits.