Yae was quite different from others since birth. She had extremely sensitive ears, being able to detect sounds from very far away. This also meant that ordinary sounds would seem ike torture to her. Simply someone opening a door would feel like a nail was sliding down a chalkboard. While Yae knew of her condition, she was always raised to not make a scene about anything. Born into a relatively wealthy family, her parents simply cared about keeping up their appearances in order to make friends with other similarly wealthy families. They would never take her to a doctor out of fear that the other families would see her as infectious. And in school…

"Where is Yae-san?"

"Who knows, she always leaves."

"What a weirdo."

Yae hated what they would say behind her back, but she knew she couldn't be in her classrooms, especially during breaks. Despite this, she studies hard in her own time and did quite well in tests, where the class would be at its most quiet. Her family would occasionally go out to trips around the country, to some of the loudest places. Including plays, concerts, movies, and extremely crowded places. This would cause Yae great pain, but no matter what, she didn't want to cause trouble for her family. So eventually she was able to hide her pain altogether. No matter how much it hurt, she would keep a stoic smile. Just like a doll.

"Oh, look, she's enjoying the show!"

"Our little girl is appreciating high art!"

Yae:[Please just stop the music. I don't want to be here. But, I can't show any emotion, for my parents.]

Yae would continue her mask to the point where it seemed perfect. No trace of pain could be gleaned from looking at her. Like a doll, she simply sat there and smiled, like what was expected of her. However, even this wasn't enough for her parents with time. In the middle of the night, her parents had a conversation.

"Hey, don't you think it's creepy how our daughter only ever smiles?"

"Yes. Even during the sad moments, she only smiles."

"We must fix her. What will the others think of us if we have a daughter that can't emote as she's told?"

"We'll be the laughingstock of the group! I will put her in strict training! We'll also need to fix those horrible bags under her eyes. So unbecoming of our blood!"

Despite being three rooms over, Yae could clearly hear them. She could never get a full set of sleep due to her hearing and would need to build up her stamina with occasional naps. Due to this problem, she was always awake when everyone would sleep. Upon hearing her parents say those things, Yae could even hear her own heart break. On that night, she ran away from home, never to be seen again.

Yae:[Why? I did that for them. I did it so they wouldn't hate me! Why!? What's the point of living in such a fancy house when every day is torture!?]

…

After a few days, Yae was starving. She had to force herself to eat garbage to survive. On her fifth day of staying on the streets, she was seen by a certain someone. This bald man, with a bit of a belly approached.

"Hey there, isn't it too late to be outside?"

Yae looked up at the man with dead eyes.

[Ah, that look. This girl could be interesting.] "Tell me, did you run away from home?"

Yae twitched. Any mention of her home hurt her.

"I see. Come over to my house. I simply can't let a girl die on the streets. I have another daughter I adopted, her name is Take-chan. Here's a photo of us."

Yae was still hesitant.

"Now, now, don't feel down. I won't hurt you. My name is "Seisaku". I'm a politician, I swear my record is clean."

Yae finally took his hand and followed him home. There, she would be met with love and affection she had never felt before. A father that took care of her, a sister that was interested in her due to it being "normal". She eventually opened up to them about her condition and they apologized for being too loud around her. That apology made Yae cry. She would eventually agree to be adopted by his new father.

…

One day, she could hear her father laughing about something with "fate".

…

After some time, her father asked her what her dream was. She had never given too much thought, but she did like seeing the actors do their thing when they weren't painful. Silent movies were her favorite. At that moment, he put on a movie for her in silence. This wasn't a silent film, so Yae wondered what was the point. But her doubts were quickly put to rest once she saw the contents.

Yae:[I was captivated from the moment I saw her. She was but a minor character and she died really quickly, but she was the most important to me. Despite there being no sound, I could still understand everything from her movements, her expressions, her atmosphere. She was only there for 10 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. I was so grateful that there was someone like this.]

Yae went to see the name of the actress.

Yae:"Nakano Ichika."

Yae:[From that day, I became a big fan. I was so glad whenever she starred in something. When she showed up that day in Umihotaru, I had to do my best to not panic. I had met my role model. After I met her, dad had a plan for us. I wasn't sure why dad wanted me to challenge her, but I was willing to do it for him. However, my hesitation went away when I saw her summer commercial.]

{Ichika:"I'll make this a summer you'll never forget!"}

Yae, as always, didn't have sound on. But this time, she had no idea what emotion she was supposed to convey besides general happiness.

Yae:[She made a song as well? Nah, I won't give it a listen. She...What happened to her?]

…

The first day of the Sunrise Festival. Yae saw as Ichika ran away from something with tears in her eyes.

Yae:"Huh?" [...Dad may not like this, but I have to at least see what's going on. She was crying...could that be related to why she was so lifeless in that commercial?]

…

Yae:[Ichika-san is the reason that fat principal isn't here anymore? That's weird. Maybe my words did help her a bit. But...That wouldn't be enough to fix her...You were my motivation, but today is the day.]

…

Back to the auditorium, Yae finished her performance, having captured everyone's heart. Ichika looked down in defeat.

Yae:[Today is the day I surpass you.]

As she stopped, the crowd roared. For someone they had never seen before, they were truly surprised as to the raw talent on display. Yae's ears almost exploded in the pain, but she smiled, like a doll to hide her pain. Ichika, who looked back up, noticed something was wrong. Ichika knew the general aspects of acting, and it was clear she was acting out the pain.

Ichika:[Ah, I can't just tell the crowd to calm down. What should I do?]

At that moment, Ichika's look became resolute.

Ichika:[I have to try!]

Yae couldn't move, the pain was too much for her. She was reaching her limit, her knees began to buckle. But suddenly a soothing voice echoed throughout the entire auditorium.

Everyone suddenly became quiet. The audience and Yae looked to their sides as they saw Ichika coming out slowly. She was singing the song she made after the summer commercial.

"Hey..that's…"

"Yeah, that's the song."

"I thought it was her who sang it a few hours ago, but this version is way different."

"Her voice...is so wonderful."

Yae:"W-What are you...?"

Yae's eyelids suddenly felt heavy. She panicked, it had been such a long time since she felt like this. She dropped to her knees as Ichika reached her.

Ichika:[I don't know what your circumstances were for you to challenge me like this and badmouth my sisters, but that doesn't matter. You're in pain, and I simply can't let that go. You said you had sensitive ears, so I can only hope my amateur voice can help even a little.]

Yae:[This feeling...I can't…]

Yae's eyes began to close.

Yae:[To think...that at the very end...I would lose to my idol after all…]

Yae fell asleep on Ichika's lap. For the first time in years, she was able to sleep soundly. Ichika signaled the audience to keep quiet so as to not wake her up. The audience, in complete silence, pointed to Ichika, signaling her as the winner.

Ichika:[Just let big sister take care of your problem.]

End of Chapter 112