Thanks a lot to the kind reviewers! I've received many good comments and suggestions on the story, and I am really glad that many of you like the story so far. This chapter will feature Miyako and Iori, as promised.

Title of this chapter is taken from the Green Day song of the same name. Rather random choice for a chapter title, but I was listening to this song as I was editing this chapter and I thought the meaning might fit.

By the way, in case you haven't noticed yet I tend to use British spelling and not American spelling. I personally prefer the former even though I'm aware most of the readers are from America.

As usual, I recommend people to read in ½ page size to give off the feeling of reading a book.


Chapter Four: Give Me Novacaine


Hikari was startled.

A moment ago she was walking comfortably in the corridor, after sharing lunch with Takeru, Daisuke and Ken, and then in another second she felt her arms being pulled by someone and she was thrown into the girl's bathroom, with three girls that she recognized were from her class surrounding her. She didn't know them quite well, as they acted coldly towards her since her first day of school, and had never really tried to talk to her. They looked at her in disgust, and Hikari gulped, wondering what they wanted with her.

'We've had enough of you, Yagami Hikari.'

The brown-haired girl blinked as her crimson eyes focused on Matsumoto Saki, the tall girl standing in the middle, who had her arms crossed and her head held high while looking down at the petite girl proudly. Hikari put her hands on the sink behind her for support. She was scared now, not knowing what to expect next.

'Who do you think you are, always flirting with the boys and pretending to be innocent?' She flicked her long black hair, showing off how smooth it was, and pushed Hikari towards the wall. Hikari's gasped as her back made contact with the concrete wall, but no sound came out of her mouth, and that caused the three girls to burst into giggles.

'What do you mean "flirting", Saki-chan?' Nakamura Naoko, the girl with short blue hair, corrected her friend in a tone that Hikari did not find pleasant. 'She can't even speak!' Hikari frowned as she didn't really understand what was going on, and then out of the corner of her eyes she saw the third girl jump towards her, giving her a sound slap on the cheek. Her eyes widened in shock, and she raised her hand to touch her cheek, feeling the heat condensing on it.

'Don't you dare pretend you don't know what you're doing!' Sakai Yui lowered her hand and looked at Hikari triumphantly, hissing in a low voice. 'Ever since you came, the boys won't stop talking about you. "Oh, How cute is poor Hikari-chan!" "I feel really sorry for her since she looks so poor." "Must be hard for her", and all that kind of bullshit.' She mimicked some boys' voices, and Saki, seemingly the leader, slapped Hikari's hand away from her cheek and grabbed the collar of her uniform, pulling the petite girl up to face her stern gaze.

'Listen, little girl, we don't give a damn if you can talk or not,' she hissed. 'We are sick of you getting all the boys' attention, especially those three's.'

Needless to say, Hikari immediately knew which three they were referring to. It's been almost a month since she transferred to Odaiba Junior High, and she had been spending a lot of time with 'the golden trio' during this period. She didn't know what was wrong with spending time with people who really cared about her. Wasn't that what 'friends' meant? She was just enjoying her time with her friends, and they seemed to enjoy her company as well! It wasn't even the case that she wasn't friends with other classmates. Other people talked to her too! What had she done wrong?

'We know your trick,' Saki threw Hikari to the ground and Naoko took over. 'You're acting all needy and pitiful to get their attention. They normally don't even spend time with other girls, but you,' she raised an accusing finger at the startled girl, who was now curling her knees in front of her body, 'you little slut just want to get all three of them for yourself! How selfish is that!'

Hikari wanted to rebuke her, to defend herself and say how wrong they were, but when she opened her mouth she remembered the difference between she and the other girls: she could not talk, and they had long snatched her sketchbook away from her. Without that, there was no way she could maintain a conversation with those three, not to mention that they wouldn't be as patient as Takeru, Daisuke and Ken were.

The three girls laughed at her helpless state, making suggestive comments that Hikari could only flush in frustration, and she was mad that she wasn't able to fight for herself, but had to endure their verbal torture. She could feel hot tears threatening to flow out of her eyes, and she blinked hard to control herself. Crying in front of them was not going to ease the problem here.

'This is just a warning, Yagami.' The other two girls retreated to her side. 'Let me give you a piece of advice here: those three are special, and special people don't hang out with pathetic slut like you.' She said dangerously as she pointed at her eyes, then back at Hikari. 'We'll be watching you. If you're smart enough you'll know what to do.' With that last message, the three girls made their exit, throwing her white sketchbook on the floor and leaving Hikari behind by herself in the empty bathroom. She let out a sigh of despair, and held the sketchbook tightly in front of her chest. She then crawled to the corner of the bathroom and began to silently sob.


The golden trio knew something was wrong when Hikari entered the classroom a few seconds after the bell rang. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying a moment ago, and she was basically dragging her legs towards her seat. The usual bright energy that she displayed was gone. Daisuke and Ken shot Takeru a worried look, and the blond frowned at the girl as she took her seat. Hikari tried not to make eye contact with any of them, as she was wary of the glances Saki, Naoko and Yui sent her. Fortunately for her, they sat in the front of the classroom, so when the teacher came they turned their attention back to the direction of the blackboard.

'Hikari-san, what's wrong?' Takeru whispered with concern in his voice.

It took Hikari some strength to force a small smile on her face and shook her head, her eyes still not looking at the blond sitting next to her. It pained her heart to know that she had to be careful of her action now, after she had just been threatened by three bossy girls of her class about her closeness with the three most popular boys of the school.

Indeed, when she thought about it, they had no reason to associate themselves with a disabled girl like her. She wasn't worth it. She shouldn't try to step inside the circle of the three boys who had been best friends since the first year of junior high. She was just a transfer student who constantly needed assistance. It's not even like they needed her to be with them.

Hikari did not know where her position was in their friendship. She did not provide them anything, and she had to laugh at herself for naively thinking that they were happy to have her as a friend. Really, what could a mute girl like herself give them? All she had done was slow down the flow of their conversation and make them feel awkward at times, such as when Daisuke suggested that they should go to karaoke together, only to have his head instantly smacked by both Takeru and Ken. She knew the mahogany-haired boy meant well, but she wondered if they would be happier if she just stopped hanging out with them. They could hang out with any girl, or any one, they wanted, given their popularity in the school, and she did not see why they had been hanging out with her a lot for the past month.

They just pity you, a voice in her head hissed. You are nothing but a disabled girl that needs help all the time, and admit it, all boys like to feel like they can protect a helpless girl. Wake up, you silly, needy girl.

She recalled what Naoko said to her in the bathroom. 'You're acting all needy and pitiful to get their attention. They normally don't even spend time with other girls…' Indeed, Hikari seldom saw them interact with other girls, apart from the girlfriends of their team members when they were hanging out with their respective sport teams, or girls who did not show that much interest in them and were able to keep a normal conversation with them without any calculated flirting. Girls who were, to quote from the golden trio when they joked about it, 'normal'.

She did not feel like she belonged to that category, though.

She arrived at the conclusion they really wanted to be friends with her not because of who she really was, but because of her disability, and their possible feelings of pity and guilt. Thinking about that made her heart ache, as she did not want to believe in it. However, whenever she recalled the stern glances they sent to others when they whispered about her, or the awkward silence when someone made an implicit comment about her inability to speak, she felt like she was nothing but a burden to them, and it was as if they were doing to just to show her that they were doing it.

For the rest of the day, Hikari avoided eye contact with the three boys, and tried to ignore Takeru's constant query as much as possible. When the last school bell of the day rang, she quickly gathered her stuff and left the classroom, leaving behind three confused and concerned boys, and three smirking girls who silently high-fived each other.


Hikari kept her head down as she walked on the streets. In a way, she hated herself for acting rude to her friends. They just wanted to know what happened with her, and all she did was gave them a cold shoulder. Some kind of good friend she was.

Yet, her mind also reminded her why she ignored the three closest friends she got in school. You're not worth it, a voice kept murmuring in her head. Worthless girl. Poor girl. Flirt. Slut. Karaoke. Awkward silence. Needy. .

Shut up! Hikari stopped her footsteps as she put her hands on her head, hoping to send the negative thoughts away as she scratched her head hard. She didn't expect the confrontation during lunchtime to affect her so much. Really, all she ever wanted was to make friends and enjoy a school life that she had always looked forward to, but now she was pushing people away, isolating herself from them. She didn't know what she should do anymore.

She took a deep breath, and relaxed her shoulders. She must look horrible now, she thought, and she had to tidy herself up before she met up with her other friends. She slapped her face lightly to instil some energy back to her mind. After making sure that she had recovered, at least on the surface, she proceeded to walk towards her destination and found the coffee shop she was supposed to be at. Her companions were already there.

'Hikari-chan! Over here!' A girl with long purple hair waved animatedly at her, and a younger boy sitting on the opposite side of her turned his body to see her. When the dark-haired boy saw her, he smiled and waved too.

'Sorry for making you guys wait.' Hikari signed as she took a seat next to the other girl, as she put her bag on her laps.

'Don't worry about it. We just got here too.' The boy responded with sign language too, as he took a sip of the milkshake he had in front of him.

'Iori and I got off early, so we came here first and we already made our order.' The purple-haired girl said as Hikari noticed that they had a plate of sandwich on the table. 'What do you want, Hikari? Does hot chocolate sound good to you?' The brown-haired girl nodded and mouthed 'Thank you, Miyako' to her as the girl named Miyako went to the counter and bought her the drink. When she came back, she urged for the girl to tell them about her recent life in Odaiba Junior High. Hikari told them about the school by using sign language, which both Miyako and Iori seemed to understand, and showed them pictures of the school that she had taken with her digital camera. She told them how some classmates accepted her disability while some seemed to ignore her because of that, and she tactfully did not mention about the confrontation she had had this afternoon.

'I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying your school life,' Iori signed. 'I hope that I can also get the same opportunity to go to Odaiba Junior High soon.' Before today, Hikari would have told the twelve-year-old boy that she would definitely hope his chance will come soon, as it was hard for special students like them to be admitted to the school. However, she didn't know what she should say, after she had just gone through a psychological turmoil today, so she just awkwardly nodded and smiled. Miyako, though, sounded furious that not everyone welcomed her friend with open arms.

'What kind of prehistoric mind do these insects have?' She exclaimed, ignoring the glances that some other people in the coffee shop sent her. 'Seriously, I don't see why they should make it seem like you are at fault there, Hikari-chan.' Iori just shared a look with Hikari, and, knowing Miyako, they both decided just to let Miyako rant on about the issue. Frankly, Hikari thought it was understandable that some were reluctant to approach her due to her disability. She reckoned that over time they would change as long as she was nice to everyone, although after this afternoon now she wasn't so sure.

Miyako suddenly paused in the middle of her sentence, as her eyes were locked on the entrance. 'Hikari-chan, those three there had been staring at you for a while now. Do you know them?' Miyako recognized the three boys were wearing the white uniform of Odaiba Junior High, and when Hikari turned her attention to the entrance to look at the three boys, her eyes widened in surprise. The very three people that she had been trying to avoid were standing there, looking at her with uncertainty and surprise. They just kept staring at her for a while, until the blond of the three finally led the two towards their table.

'Hey Hikari-san,' he began, his eyes flicking between the said girl and the two other people she was sitting with. 'We are worried that…'

But Takeru never finished his sentence. To Miyako and Iori's surprise, Hikari quickly grabbed her bag, jumped out of her seat, and ran towards the exit. They were all shocked by the sudden movement of the girl that they did not react in time to follow her, and when Takeru finally found the strength to move his legs and dashed out of the coffee shop as well, she was already nowhere to be seen. Sighing in defeat, he returned to the coffee shop to find a pair of red orbs staring straight into his eyes with fury.

'Takaishi, Ichijouji, Motomiya, sit.' She pointed at the empty seats authoritatively. 'You better explain to me what just happened.'

The golden trio looked at her, puzzled and stunned. They had not even introduced themselves, yet she already called out their names without mistake.

'Oh c'mon,' Miyako snorted as she pointed at the school badge on her uniform, and it was only then that the three boys realized she was wearing the uniform of Odaiba Senior High, 'I may be a year older than you guys, but I attended Odaiba Junior High too, and it doesn't take a fan girl to recognize you three.'

Hearing that, the three timidly sat down together, while Iori raised a furious eyebrow at them as Miyako took the seat opposite to them. 'I don't know what's with Hikari-chan, but I've already sent a text message to her asking what is going on. Meanwhile, tell me your story.'

The three exchanged a look, sighed, and began to explain everything they knew, from how they met Hikari nearly at the beginning of the month to her strange behaviour in the afternoon today. Takeru did not mention the part where he told Hikari about his issue with trusting people at school, for he deemed it unimportant to mention to someone he barely knew.

After they had finished their story, Miyako folded her arms and appeared to be in deep thought. 'Iori, what do you think?' She turned to the dark-haired boy sitting next to her, and he gestured something to her wordlessly, causing the three boys to look at him curiously. They hadn't heard the boy speak since they entered the coffee shop.

'It's very rude to stare at people like that,' Miyako snapped, and Daisuke groaned annoyingly in response. 'Seemingly that you've spent so much time with Hikari-chan, you should know that.'

'Are you the same as Hikari-san?' Ken politely asked the boy, and the boy nodded in response, his eyes not hiding the anger he felt about the three.

Miyako kept thinking about what she had just heard. 'So you are saying Hikari-chan has been acting normal until this afternoon, so something must have happened during lunchtime…'

'I don't mean to be rude,' Takeru raised his voice to catch the fifteen-year-old's attention. 'But we have explained everything already, and we still do not know who you are.'

'Oh yea, I haven't introduced ourselves yet,' Miyako suddenly remembered. 'Took you long enough…' Daisuke murmured, making Ken elbow him in the stomach. Miyako decided to ignore his comment and went on.

'I am Inoue Miyako, and this is Hida Iori.' She pointed at the boy sitting next to her. 'Iori, this is Takaishi Takeru, Ichijouji Ken and Motomiya Daisake.'

'Daisuke.' The mahogany-haired boy corrected.

'Whatever,' Miyako looked uninterested. 'Before Hikari-chan transferred to your school, she and Iori attended the institution that I volunteered at.'

'Is it a training school for people who can't talk?' Ken asked genuinely.

'Yes, and it rarely approves of their students going to a typical school since there could be all sorts of trouble, because people living in the modern world are too narrow-minded and cannot seem to accept that they are a lot more fortunate than those who have disabilities.' The three were rather stunned by her blunt confession, but they knew what she meant. While they spent a lot of times with Hikari at school, they occasionally caught glances of their classmates or schoolmates who looked at her, as if she was some kind of rare creature that carried a weird sketchbook with her everywhere she went.

'Then why did they allow Hikari-san to study in our school?' Takeru asked

'Hikari-chan really wants to go to school like everyone else, like she used to years ago.'

'Used to?' Takeru pressed on the matter, recalling his question for Taichi after his first basketball match. 'So she wasn't mute by birth?' Miyako eyed him carefully, as if checking to see if she could trust him, before she continued speaking.

'Hikari-chan had an accident when she was eight. After that, she lost the ability to speak.' The three boys held their breath hearing that. Apart from Takeru, Ken and Daisuke also had had their suspicion about Hikari's condition for a while, but they thought it would be inappropriate to confront the girl directly about that. 'She then enrolled at the institution and learned sign language, along with other subjects that the normal curriculum has.'

'What kind of accident was it?'

'Why are you so curious?' Miyako stated, and Takeru opened his mouth and closed it. 'Look, I'm already telling you guys more than I should, since Hikari-chan said she was glad to have met three really good friends at school, and that I don't think you three are the cause of her distress.' She thought about her words again, and then added, 'at least not directly.'

'What do you mean?' Daisuke was annoyed. He didn't like the girl that much the moment she ordered them to explain the whole affair, and now she made it sound like they were at fault when they had done nothing wrong.

'I'm going to talk to Hikari-chan tonight to see if my suspicion is correct.' She gave the three boys a dirty look before looking at her phone. 'Hikari-chan has texted me that she was sorry about her outburst, and that she will send you guys an apology message later too.'

'She doesn't have to…'

'It's not really her fault,' Miyako interjected Ken's sentence, 'but that's Hikari-chan. Even if some terrorists take over the government and kill random people on streets, she will think it is her fault that such a thing happens in the first place.'

The three boys just sat in silence, not knowing how to respond to that.

'I want to be your friend, Takeru-kun.'

Her words suddenly appeared in Takeru's mind. The blond clearly remembered how shocked and relieved he felt, when Hikari showed him those words on her white sketchbook. That warm feeling was starting to resurface in his stomach. She was his friend, and he really treasured this friendship a lot. While he didn't know if he had personally done anything wrong to upset her, he still cared about her and wanted to keep being friends with her.

'Inoue-senpai,' the blond broke the silence, and the other four occupants of the table all turned to look at her. 'When you see Hikari-san tonight, please help me tell her that,' he gulped, 'I want to be her friend too.'

Miyako looked at him with a face like he had just cracked a horrible joke, while Iori, Daisuke and Ken just stared, not understanding the underlying message of his words.

'Could you do that?' Takeru asked hopefully, and Miyako could see the glint of expectation in the blond's ocean blue eyes. She didn't fully comprehend why, but she did see his lips curved slightly upwards when she said yes. She couldn't help but remember that day later on, for when she met up with Hikari that night and passed Takeru's message to her, the brown-haired girl had the same soft expression on her face.


End of Chapter Four


Sorry for the delay, but given how busy I am now I'll have to say updates will probably be every two weeks or so from now on.

Can't really say I'm very happy with this chapter, but I want to have a bit of junior-high drama/bullying in it to make it more realistic. It won't be a major plot of the story and will end in next chapter, but it will help in pushing Takari forward.

Reviews will be deeply appreciated! See you next time!