Of Sound and Heart
Maka was seated at a luxurious, black grand piano in one of the many numerous music rooms of Shibusen. The glimmering sheen reflected everything near the instrument all thanks to the golden chandelier overhead. She looked at the side of the piano before she had sat down and could clearly make out the details of her countenance. Her large olive eyes, drooping blond pig tails, and pale, soft chin. Compared to the next girl, she wasn't anything special. She might have even been below average, considering her rather small chest and hot-headed disposition to any and everything. Thankfully, the first thing people seemed to notice was her long legs- long, boney legs. Either way, she thought that was at least something, right?
The black and white keys seemed to hum beneath the tips of her fingers, all ten slender extensions poised perfectly still above the piano. Her elbows stuck out awkwardly, and she knew this, but she didn't know exactly how to correct herself. Inherently, she had shied away from music her entire life. But this piano…it had attracted her. She didn't know why, but as she walked like the lost little lamb she had to be, she glanced inside this one room. Instantly, she had been captivated. She floated to the shining black instrument like it had taken control of her mind, and she sat down. But then what? How was she supposed to play the piano?
Her fingers began to shake, and her chin hovered just above her chest. She bit her lower lip, feeling the painful tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She gasped and snapped her head up at the feeling of a hand on her arm. She glared at the intruder, a silver-haired and red-eyed boy around her age. He moved his hand apologetically away from her, but kept the same bored gaze in his eyes. Belatedly, Maka realized she was the true intruder here, in this situation, in this room. The silver-haired boy opened his mouth and started speaking, but no sound came out- not any that Maka could hear. She simply stared at him, blank expression covering up the pain she was still suffering from moments before. He stopped talking when he realized she wasn't paying much attention to him. He shrugged, irritated, and started to speak again, but Maka raised her hand, and began to gesture toward him in sign language.
I'm deaf, she informed him. However, to her dismay, she realized her probably didn't understand what she just motioned. She smiled sadly at him when she stood up and began to swing her leg over the grand piano's seat, but the boy caught her wrist and kept her close. She looked at him and openly gaped when he began to sign back to her.
I knew someone who was deaf before I moved here- he was my best friend. Do you want to stay? He spoke while he signed, then gestured at the piano when he had finished. Maka's eyes shrunk in latent contempt. She replied to his query with a stern expression.
I can't hear, she emphasized the last word, implying the idiocy of his offer. He shrugged at her unspoken words and held his lazy gaze strong.
So? You don't have to be able to hear music to listen to it. You can feel it, you know. He turned away from her, sat down in front of the instrument, and rolled his sleeves up.
Maka stared at the onyx instrument which mocked her with its taunting silence. Slowly, she held her hand up and reached for the piano when he began to glide his spindly fingers across the keys; closing the gap between her and the piano took a horrendously less amount of time than she though it would. Truly, this was terrifying and exhilarating for her all at once. She gasped as soon as she touched the piano because of the coldness of the smooth material, and also because of the vibration from the red-eyed boy's playing.
Her entire life, music, and sound in general had been a concept she could never fully grasp. She had been born deaf, never once knowing what the chirping of a bird sounded like, or the voice of her mother, or the beating of a heart. These things were just ideas that escaped her. Because of this, she felt like an alien around musicians and anything requiring the ability of simple hearing. As stupid as the feeling was, her had mother explained, she couldn't help but feel humiliated when her lack of hearing was expressed. She must have been broken, and irrevocably so.
But this humming beneath her palm, the sound tickling her hand, that's when all of her fears exploded into a churning ball of fire in her throat. She felt brave, she felt capable, she felt strong, she felt real and alive. She felt like a human being for the first time in her entire life. She closed her eyes and leaned in to the sensation of sound beneath her hand, smiling wide and completely content with standing there for as long as this heaven-sent boy stayed with her. The vibrations tickled her wrist, and then all the way up to her elbow, her shoulder, and then somehow to her ears. She felt her body shake when she laughed. Why had she never done this before? Had it never occurred to her that maybe sound was more than an idea, but an actual feeling? And one that made her…whole.
When the piano's ticklish song abruptly halted, Maka was left with a burning vibration in her hand, a feeling she didn't like- the absence of sound. She frowned at the instant as the boy's playing ceased, and looked over at his curious eyes with a sad look in her own. She wanted to ask him why he had stopped such a beautiful thing, but she couldn't bring her hands to move like they should. They felt, oddly and comfortably enough, like gelatin, which she enjoyed beyond words. He dusted his silver bangs from his forehead and began to sign again, slowly.
Do you want to be my meister?
She watched him, her eyes watering, and signed quickly and furiously, how can we be a team when we're inherent opposites, never meant to be together?! How could you even entertain the idea?
That doesn't have to be the truth! He returned with irritation. Just now, didn't you enjoy the music? You can't hear, but you liked how the music felt- you liked the music. You did. You're just afraid to grow, alright, and that's okay, but you shouldn't be. You need to experience new things to figure out what you want from life, not whole up in your little silent world. He finished standing on his feet, looking at her with a mixture of irritation and that same laziness.
I am not! Maka responded furiously. That's not what I'm doing at all!
Then prove it. Be my meister. Show me that you aren't afraid to be more than what you already are. He finished with resolution, then quickly added, if not… He looked at the door over their shoulders, then back into Maka's sad eyes.
Maka was silent as she thought over this boy's words, and it suddenly dawned on her that she didn't even know his name, or he hers. They were two strangers, one seeing into the other's soul, and the other shaking like a leaf in the wind. Because this oddly hair-colored boy was right. He was dead right, and Maka knew it. She was comfortable where she was, sulking in the cold and dark silence. There was no sun to burn her like she felt in her bones it would. There was no silent laughter that mocked her with a happiness she could never truly taste. And here this strange stranger was, offering that seemingly intangible happiness to her. She yearned for that glowing sun delivered by this red-eyed boy just then; she was desperate to feel its warm rays under his guiding wing. Slowly, she began to sign to him.
What's your name?
S-O-U-L, he signed.
Maka smiled, and then tasted the sound of his name on her lips, even though she couldn't hear it. She felt the rusty vibrations in her throat; she hadn't had the courage to speak in years. And here this boy named Soul brought it out of her so easily. She smiled at him, wiped at her watery eyes with indignation, and stood tall beside him.
S-"Vibrations", she gave him his sign name with a cheeky smile and sat down. She patted the cushion beside her, looking up at him.
What's your name, Soul asked.
M-A-K-A. Soul's meister.
He smirked at her, and then sat beside her. They both looked down at the obsidian keys in a nervous silence. Carefully and delicately, Soul brought his hand on top of Maka's, shyly interlacing his fingers with hers. She blushed at his touch, ducked her head down, and squeezed his fingers in her soft grasp. She smiled sheepishly, and then looked up at him with her emerald eyes. He returned the smile, that irritating lazy glaze dulling his red eyes- but, somehow, even then…even then, his eyes were lively and reassuring. Maka felt a vibration against her hand like she had never felt before, something more amazing than that of sound, one she could feel on every square inch of her body.
His hold on her only tightened.
A/N: I know this is short, but it's still enjoyable, right? I wanted to play with some sort of lack of senses, and since I figured blindness was exploited too much, I went for deafness. Also, I think it creates a really good paradigm with Maka and Soul, which I tried to make as obvious as I could in this. Thanks for reading, please review.
Peace.