A/N- So... I kinda vanished for... a long time. Sorry 'bout that. I'm back though~! ^^ And I just realized, this story has 40 reviews now. Thanks so much, guys~ Seriously, it means a lot to know you guys like this so much!

And also, to anyone who cares, the main plot arc should be coming up in the next few chapters- so, I'm not sure how much longer this is going to be but probably not more than 5 or 6 more chapters ^^


Len, Gumi, and I were sitting under the shade of a large tree at school, with the branches hung over so everything was covered in different, shifting shades of green. I had invited Gumi to sit with us for lunch, and was glad to see that she and Len were getting along well.

I mostly sat in silence and let them talk, since I was having a bit of a hard time following the conversation, but I was occupying myself by trying to imagine how their voices would sound, if I could hear them. Len's would be a little higher than someone our age's would normally be, maybe, but seemed like it could be smooth and warm, too.

Gumi's would be deeper, maybe nasally sounding? I wracked my thoughts, trying to remember how a 'nasally' voice would sound. The word seemed like it would fit with the girl's appearance, but it shocked me more than a little that I came up completely blank for how it would actually sound. I stared up through the branches above me, the colors shifting from light to dark as a breeze played through them, and tried to remember.

Hmm... It's like the sound of a stuffy nose, right? But... that doesn't seem right...How would a stuffy nose sound, anyway? I managed to occupy myself for quite a while with that thought, and was disappointed when I had only succeeded in confusing myself even further than before. After a while, a hand on my shoulder startled me out of my thoughts, and I turned my attention back to Len and Gumi.

Gumi was about to say something, but Len put up a hand to signal for her to wait. Then, he pulled a piece of paper out of his backpack, as well as a pencil and began writing something. This routine was quickly developing between us, that whenever Len had something really important to tell me he would write it down, to make sure I didn't miss anything crucial.

He handed the paper to me, and I skimmed it quickly. 'Gumi said that some of her parents' friends are audiologists (ear doctors) and she was telling me that maybe they could get you an appointment, and see if maybe it would be possible to fix your hearing. Would you want to talk to them?'

Wait... there was a chance, that they could actually do that...? I nodded my head quickly, a smile spreading across my face. "Of course, if that wouldn't be to much trouble- I'd like to see if they can fix it." Gumi smiled, and reached over to poke my arm.

"Why didn't... tell me... deaf before?" It took me a moment to realize what she meant- I had never outright told her about my lack of hearing, after all. I assumed that Len had told her, or she was just more observant than I initially thought and had figured it out herself somehow. Either way, it was undeniably easier with her knowing than trying to keep it from her.

"No reason, really..." I shrugged, and Gumi thankfully brushed it off without any further inquiry. That was something I appreciated about her- if I didn't want to tell her something, she didn't pressure me to say it. Gumi turned to tell Len something, and I could make out was that she was going to talk to her parents' friends and figure out if they would be willing to see me.

The bell for the end of lunch rang soon after that (I knew because I could see all of the scattered groups of students get up and start heading towards the building.) The rest of the afternoon's classes went smoothly, but with me paying much less attention than usual since I was so lost in thought.

What would it be like, if the people Gumi knew really could fix my hearing? I hadn't been all that long without it, only a few months, but I longed desperately to have it back- I may not show it much around others, but it does hurt to be so different and separated from everyone else, even if I'm still living and functioning alongside them.

By the time the school day was over, I had come to terms with the fact that no matter how much I wanted the problem to be quickly and easily solved, that might not be the case. I could only hope and pray that it would be something simple, because the thought of living the entire rest of my life as I was then was a terrifying notion.

When I walked out of the front of the school building, I saw that Gumi was waiting there, as well as a pink-haired girl I had seen around school a few times before but didn't know personally. Since I didn't see Len or Rei nearby yet, I decided to wait with them.

"Hey, Rin!" Gumi exclaimed, and I waved in reply. "This... Luka. My parents'..." I missed most of it, so I just nodded dumbly.

Gumi said something to Luka quickly, and the pink-haired girl nodded energetically. I was entirely clueless as to what they were talking about, and apparently Gumi caught on quickly enough, and copying what she had seen Len do earlier, she wrote in her usual girlish handwriting, 'Luka's parents are friends with mine. They're the ones that I thought might be able to help you'

I nodded in recognition, but before any of us had a chance to say anything else, I saw Len and Rei waiting to walk home. Luka gave me her phone number, and it was only after I had found Len and Rei and we had begun to walk home that I realized one of them would have to speak on the phone to Luka's parents for me, as I couldn't read their lips through the phone.

Len and I spent most of the walk home filling Rei in on the possibility of me getting my hearing back, and although he seemed a bit hesitant at the idea that it would undoubtedly cost a lot of money, he agreed that is was worth at least going to see if it might really be possible.

Len came over to our house again, and the three of us managed to slip upstairs and into my room without catching mom's attention. I handed Rei the scrap of paper with the phone number, and waited with bated breath as he dialed it into his phone.

"Hello? Is... Luka... audiologists? Heard... help my sister..." I could hardly make out any of what he was saying, as he was speaking at a normal speed and not being careful to slow down or enunciate so that I could understand him. He stopped speaking for a moment, and I assumed the person on the other line was saying something. I could feel my heart rate increasing with every second that passed, and by the time Rei hung up the phone only a few minutes later, I felt as though I would explode from suspense.

"... you want the long... short version?" I tilted my head to one side slightly, before saying a moment later,

"Short."

"They said... see you next the long version?" I shrugged, deciding that if there was more to the story than that I should probably hear it. Or... read it, whichever. Rei typed frantically onto his phone for a minute, before handing it to me to read.

'So, they said they can see you next week, but they also said that with how you initially lost your hearing, they're not sure if they'll be able to do much. But they'll try, don't worry!" I skimmed the text quickly, nodding before handing back his phone. The little bubble of hope that had existed in my chest was rapidly deflating- Even if it wasn't a definite 'no', it was still depressing to hear that instead of a more positive reply.

"Don't worry... Sure it'll be fine." Len said, reaching over to pat my head in a softly reassuring way. Even though a part of me knew he was right, my positive mood from earlier that day was still shattered, no matter how irrational it was.

Now all there was to do was wait- wait, and find out if I would ever have a chance of living a normal life again.


A/N- Well, wasn't that cheerful? XD I hope you guys enjoyed it, though- and as always, reviews are much appreciated, even though I probably don't deserve it after being gone for so long! ^^