-Deaf Affections-

Disclaimer: I did not create DOA or any of the characters. Any song lyrics in this story are not mine, they belong to their respective bands.

Introduction: This story is about a girl who lives the normal life of any other teenager, except for the fact that she's deaf... Her actions, gestures, sounds, expressions, and notebook help her communicate with her friend's and family. How does she deal with every day activities? How does it affect her schoolwork and attitude, and most important of all, how does she hold a relationship when listening is most critical? (In this story Ryu does not know Hayate or Kasumi etc.)

Chapter 1: Understatement

Ash his heart onto the ground Pull his guts out by frustration Be careful you might kill hiiiiiim! Just cause he can't hear what you say Doesn't mean that he's not listening! If you listen to his words He might like what you say...

Ayane now half-awake hummed along to the song as it blasted from the stereo. She rushed around her room getting dressed and gathering her schoolbooks for another day of rough work. Ayane pulled on some jeans with a white tank top. She inspected herself in the mirror, happy with her attire.

So you've been going out for years And I'm sure that you've been happy! Happy with your role... You've been looking up to him As is you've forgotten of your own life! Forgotten of your own face... Burn and start again!

The song continued and Ayane put her books in her bag, zipping it up and throwing it on her bed. "Ayane! Turn the music down! It's 6:20AM!" A grumpy voice yelled from the downstairs. "Everyone is awake!" Ayane responded over her stereo. "Hayate isn't. Be considerate!" Her dad yelled back. Ayane slumped over to the volume button and turned it down. "Damnit Hayate, wake up already" Ayane said falling on her bed resting her eyes.

Meanwhile Hayate was sleeping despite the noise coming from Ayane and the downstairs. He slept like a rock and snored unaware his alarm was beeping. He groaned as he turned his back from the repeating sound. He fell back into his childhood dream...

"Isn't she wonderful?" "Yes very, cute as a button!" "What do you think she will say first?" "Baby talk probably, she's only a week old" "Kasumi...Kasumi...can you say mama?" "Say mama" "She's not listening" "Shouldn't she be responding or something?" "Kasumi..." "She's not even trying to communicate!" "Look! She doesn't even flinch when the dog barks!" "You don't think..." "What?" "She's deaf?" "Yes..." "Oh god..." "...Call the doctor..."

Hayate suddenly woke up as he slammed his fist down on his alarm. He had been having that dream ever since Kasumi was born. He mumbled as he turned on the television and crawled out of bed. "Will I ever stop worrying about her problem?" Hayate sighed as he scratched his head. He pulled on some pants and blacked out as he fell on his bed. "I hate Mondays!"

Ayane looked at her clock noticing it read 6:40am. She had dozed off for a little too long. "Shit! I still need to eat breakfast and get in the bathroom!" she said running out of her room. She ran past a groggily Hayate and made her way to the bathroom. "Damn someone's in there!" she muttered. She yelled back at Hayate. "Who's in here?" "It's probably Kasumi, don't go in the-..." he was cut of as Ayane opened the bathroom door. Hayate turned around and staggered down the stairs. Kasumi was taking a shower, but due to her condition she wouldn't hear even hear her sister.

Ayane put on some makeup and fixed her hair so it was no longer messy. She applied hair spray and straightened her bandana. The showerhead stopped suddenly. "Crap!" Ayane panicked as she ran out the door before Kasumi would notice. "Just because I'm deaf doesn't mean they can take advantage of my personal time...it's not like I can't smell the hairspray" Kasumi thought to herself as she grabbed her towel.

Ayane thinking she got away stealthily ran downstairs to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Hayate practically had his head in his bowl of cereal as he struggled to stay awake. "So did you get hammered or stoned last night?" she laughed pouring a bowl of cereal. "You no I don't do those things" Hayate said lifting his head out of his bowl. "Then why are you so tired?" she said pointing a spoon at his nose. "Because it's too damn early in the morning!" he yelled catching Ayane off guard. "Sorry!" she said sipping the milk from her breakfast. Ayane quickly finished the bowl and threw it in the dishwasher. She bumped into her mother as she rounded the corner. "Ayane go tell Kasumi to get some breakfast" her mother said. "Fine..." Ayane said rolling her eyes.

Kasumi was upstairs in her room staring out the window. The sky was ashy with dark clouds, a possibility for rain. "I hope it rains...it makes everything clean and pretty." Kasumi thought as she bit her nail. Ayane had walked into the room staring at her sister. She noticed some money on the dresser and she quickly pocketed it without thinking. "Alright eight bucks! She won't notice" Ayane laughed as she crept up to Kasumi at the window. Ayane tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "What now..." Kasumi thought as she turned And met her sister's eyes. Since Ayane was too stubborn to learn sign language, Kasumi always had a small notepad ready. She took it out from her pocket and handed it to Ayane along with a pen.

After a few seconds of scribbling, Ayane handed it back. "Time for breakfast. Hurry up!" was the messily written message. Kasumi nodded and began writing on the paper. Ayane was about to leave when Kasumi shoved the notebook back into her palm. "I would like my money back please" was inscribed in perfect letters. "Huh? But how did she?" Ayane stammered as she pulled out the crumpled roll of bills, throwing it on the dresser. Kasumi smiled and pointed her finger at Ayane and then to the door. "Whatever..." Ayane mumbled as she slouched out of the room.

"Always taking advantage of me..." Kasumi pondered as she grabbed her purse and made her way to the kitchen. She entered sitting next to the half-awake Hayate. She poked him and he awoke suddenly. "Yea Yeah, Uh what do you want?" he groaned trying to focus his eyes. Kasumi glared at him crossing her arms. "Oh yeah, you can't hear me..." he muttered standing up and grabbing his keys. "Ayane I'm starting the car be ready soon!" Hayate yelled exiting through the front door. Their mother entered the kitchen and noticed Kasumi. "Aren't you going to eat?" she said with her hands. "Not hungry" Kasumi gestured back. Ayane watched Kasumi as she stared into space. Ayane grabbed her arm and Kasumi took out the notepad reluctantly. "Why don't you do something better with you're time?" Ayane scribbled. Kasumi read it and a smirk appeared on her face. "Like what? Not a lot a girl can do when she can't hear..." Kasumi wrote back. "Watch TV" Ayane wrote as she passed the notepad back. "I don't like reading captions" Ayane stared at the paper for awhile before writing down a witty response. "Your life sucks." Kasumi laughed and wrote back "I manage." Ayane quickly glanced at the paper and looked at the clock. She grabbed Kasumi's arm rushing her out to the car.

"It's about time, didn't you hear the horn?" Hayate said as they entered the car. "Oh the irony in your sentence kills me" Ayane snickered motioning to Kasumi. "Shut up..." Hayate mumbled pulling out of the driveway. The car sped down the road as Hayate turned on the radio. Kasumi looked out the window watching the images come and go. Ayane stared into the side mirror as she sat in the front, watching cars trail behind them. The day got brighter and the air cooler. Within moments they arrived at the school. All three siblings got out of the car and entered the bland building. They went their separate ways as they disappeared into the crowded halls.

Kasumi's first block was gym, her most hated class. She disliked changing into sweaty clothes and participating in guy sports. Sadly Kaumi had no friends in that class, so she sat on the bench and waited for the class to start. She doodled in the little notebook, expressing her train of thought. Kasumi drew a girl outside in the rain, looking down at the ground. In a way, it looked like herself. The coach's whistle blew and the class started. The game for the day was soccer, a good sport but Kasumi didn't care. She played defense so she wouldn't have to move a lot. Her team ended up winning in the end, but she didn't seem to take notice. Kasumi just stood with her hands behind her hips as she stared at the ground until finally she could go get changed. She returned to the bench dressed in new clothes and began drawing again.

Across the other side of the gym a boy watched her, interested in her image. He was named Ryu Hayabusa, quite popular among the school. "Hey who's that girl over there?" Ryu asked his friend pointing over at the quiet Kasumi. "Sister of Hayate, heard she has problems" Jann lee said looking back to Ryu. "Like what? She looks innocent and normal to me" Ryu said scratching his brow. "Dunno, go ask her. Be warned though, Hayate is very protective of his sister" Jann Lee said walking back to the locker room. "Heh, whatever" Ryu said, now approaching Kasumi. She looked at the clock and noticed it was time to go to her next class. Kasumi got up and began walking to the door, oblivious to the fact that Ryu was calling to her. "Hey, Wait!" Ryu yelled as he caught up to Kasumi. She did not notice and kept on walking until he tugged on her arm making her stop. "I'm going to be late!" Kasumi thought as she turned around and met Ryu's chest. She looked up into his eyes and stepped back to get a glimpse of his whole body. "What's you're name? I'm Ryu..." He stuttered as he looked at her blank face. Kasumi obviously heard nothing as she took out the little notebook.

"Hey aren't you going to answer? What's you're problem?" Ryu asked staring at her face. Kasumi finished her message and ripped the piece of paper out and shoved it into his hand. Ryu looked at it weirdly and stared at the paper. "I'm deaf" was written across in big letters. Ryu stared at the paper for a few seconds and looked back up to apologize but Kasumi had already left...leaving him dumbfounded.

------------- Well I hope this was a decent beginning. This story just kind of came to my mind a while ago. You can guess already that Ryu wants to win her heart, no matter what....