Being Different

Pairing: Yuuna x Nanami

Genre: Friendship/Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own Sono Hanabira or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Um…this is kinda a personal topic for me to write. For those who don't know me, I have autism, which means I have a learning disability. And…I mostly don't fit in with others because of this. And in the real world…people are not going to be patient with me. And I get frustrated with those kinds of people a lot.

So…Nanami may not be the type to have this, but…that's all I have for her. Reo is too feisty to be autistic nor Runa cause she's sassy.

So ummm…please enjoy.

"Oda-san, read it right!"

"Oda-san, this is obvious! You should know how to solve this by heart by now!"

"Why are you taking so long!? So many people are waiting!"

Nanami Oda hears these almost every day. That's because…she has autism. A learning disability. Her mind just isn't as quick as others. She takes her time answering questions when being asked, her writing is a bit slow and she has a hard time interacting with others appropriately. She CAN speak just normally. She cannot find the right words to speak however she wants to. Life is just that difficult for her, even in school.

Ever since she enrolled at St. Michaels Girl's School, most of the girls were treating her like she's a total stranger. They complained about her learning disability and the teachers tried to keep things calm. But for Nanami, the teachers are no big help at all. To her, it seems as though they get paid to be patient, not by their own will. She's concerned that the girls around her are right.

However, she is about to be proven wrong when she walks down the halls to see a school idol walking. A BEAUTIFUL second year student with long, soft blonde hair with two ribbons tied on both sides of her head and beautiful ocean blue eyes. She greets everyone who are swooning before her.

"Yuuna-samaaaaaa!"

"Oh, Yuuna-sama is SO beautiful!"

"Beautiful AND rich! I heard she comes from a family of doctors~!"

"Oh help me! I need a cure for my aching heart! Hehehehe!"

"I wanna ask her out!"

Yuuna giggles at their comments and then turns to notice the cute pig-tailed girl just standing there, feeling left out or something. She gives a soft giggle and walks up to her, slightly leaning down toward her.

"Hello there~" Yuuna says, her soft, gentle voice like a caress for Nanami's ears. "Good morning~"

"A-ah…g-good…morning…" Nanami replies slowly.

The girls scowl at the pig-tailed girl.

"Is she seriously talking to that special needs girl?"

"I don't think Yuuna-sama realizes how this girl is."

"Not her fault. For all we know, Oda-san will probably waste her time like she does with the others."

"She cannot go near Yuuna-sama if that's the case."

Fortunately for Yuuna, she doesn't hear those girls and just pets the cute pig-tailed girl.

"What's your name?" The blonde asks.

"Na…Nanami…Oda…" The cute girl replies. "My name is Nanami Oda."

"What a lovely name. Nanami-chan~" Yuuna says. "My name is Yuuna Matsubara."

"Ummm..Matsu….Ummm…Matsu…." Nanami tries to repeat Yuuna's last name but the blonde giggles.

"Just call me Yuuna, okay~?" Her smile never leaves her face and to Nanami, it's like an angel's smile.

"Yuuna-sempai!" Nanami blurts out.

"Very good~" Yuuna says. "Ah, I was wondering. We are short staffed at the Environmental Protection Committee. Do you want to perhaps volunteer?"

"Ummm…what is that?" Nanami asks.

"It's basically Student Council," Yuuna replies. "We could use someone like you to help out. Maybe you can be one of my assistants?"

The girls gasp at this and just HAVE to approach them.

"No, no, no!" One girl says. "Why are you asking HER to be in the Student Council? She cannot perform tasks correctly!"

"I can always teach her," Yuuna says.

"No, you don't understand!" Another girl says. "Oda-san is autistic! It's IMPOSSIBLE to train someone with learning disabilities! They will just fail over and over again!"

Yuuna frowns. "So? It's not her fault for having this disability."

"Think about it, Yuuna-sama," a third girl says. "She's not worth your time. She's not worth anyone's time in the Student Council."

"Pick someone else who is actually intelligent," the first girl says.

The three girls turn and walk away. And so does everyone else who were watching. Yuuna's frown fades and turns to Nanami, who is just standing there.

"Don't listen to them," Yuuna says. "They don't know what they're talking about."

"Yes they are," Nanami says, having a sad expression on her face. "They say these things all the time. Maybe I'm just not good enough for the student council after all."

Yuuna gently puts a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey. Like I said, I don't mind teaching you. Even if it's repetitive. Nanami-chan…come to the student council to try out. If you still don't like it, you can leave. But please, do not hesitate to try new things."

"R-really? I can go?" The pig-tailed girl asks.

Yuuna nods. "Meet me after school and you can ask me anything you don't know. I will try my best to teach you."

Nanami brightens and nods happily. "Y-yes! Thank you so much, Yuuna-sempai!"

Without thinking, Nanami hugs the blonde, catching her by surprise. But then, Nanami quickly realizes what she did and pulls away.

"S-s-sorry!" Nanami bows in shame. "I, I'm being weird, am I? I've been told to not hug people who I don't know, yet I did it without thinking."

"Do not be sorry~" Yuuna says as she pats Nanami's head. "I think it's adorable~"

"R-really?" Nanami asks.

"Yes~" Yuuna nods. "Well then, I have to go. I will see you later, okay~?"

"Y-yes!" Nanami replies.

The two go their separate ways.

Later*

After school, Nanami meets up with Yuuna and they go to the student council together. From there, Yuuna introduces Nanami to the other members and asks them to give her a warm welcome. Fortunately, they don't react badly and they welcome her in open arms. Then, after the meeting, Nanami has a lot of questions to ask, including some of the document sorting. Yuuna does everything she can to help Nanami learn bit by bit. At the end of the day, Nanami still doesn't understand, but at least she got some work done. Yuuna congratulated her for working so hard.

Before Nanami leaves though, Yuuna stops her for a second. She pulls her aside and stands in the middle of the room.

"So…what do you think of the Student Council?" Yuuna asks.

"Ummmm….uhhhh…" Nanami is not sure how to answer properly. What if whatever answer she gives will result in a bad reaction? Does it mean she would give the wrong answer instead of the right one? Does she have to answer correctly in order for the person to react in a good way?

"There's no right or wrong answer," Yuuna says softly. "This is just you opinion. I am perfectly fine with however you answer."

"Then ummmm…" Nanami takes about 10 seconds in order to find the right words. Maybe even 20 seconds. "I…love the Student Council. Because…because…" She pauses again. "Because ummmm…"

"Yes~?" Yuuna smile never leaves her face.

"Because…I am…with you," Nanami says and then quickly catches herself. "Ah! S-s-sorry if that's not a good enough reason! I am terribly sorry, Yuuna-sempai!"

"No, no, it's okay~" Yuuna giggles a bit about Nanami spazzing out like that. "I think that's an excellent reason to go to the Student Council. You really liked me helping you, don't you~?"

"Yes…." Nanami says quickly.

"Then, that's a better reason to stay~" Yuuna pats Nanami on the head. "I look forward to seeing you next meeting~"

"S-sure!" Nanami says.

A Week Later*

A week goes by without trouble. Every day, Nanami sees Yuuna down the halls, greeting her with a "hello" and "good-bye" and then attending a few meetings at the Environmental Protection Committee. And Yuuna helps out Nanami throughout the meeting and work. For the first time in her life, Nanami feels absolutely safe around Yuuna. The beautiful rich blonde is so patient with her it's hard to believe it. But Nanami is happy. Heck, Yuuna even steps in to join her dear little friend at lunch. For the whole week, they've spent so much quality time together and above all, they are very happy.

However, the same cannot be said for the three girls. They have had it with Nanami being with Yuuna all the time. They just cannot stress it enough that her learning disability just gets in Yuuna's way. They will have to settle this once and for all. To break Nanami's spirit so that she will quit the student council.

During lunch, while Nanami is waiting for Yuuna, the three girls take this chance to approach Nanami.

"Can we talk to you for a minute?" The first girl asks.

Nanami just sits there, spacing out. The second girl snaps her fingers in front of the pig-tailed girl's face.

"Hey! We're talking to you!" The second girl shouts and that gets the tiny girl's attention.

"Y-yes?" Nanami asks.

"Listen," The first girl says. "You need to stay away from Yuuna-sama. Now!"

"B-but I don't want to," Nanami says. "She helps me out. She helps me out a lot."

"Cut it," the third girl says.

"I said she helps me out!" Nanami shouts.

"Hey, do you not think we heard you the first time!?" The first girl stomps toward Nanami, invading her personal space. "You don't have to repeat yourself over and over!"

"Ahhhh! Now you're scaring me!" Nanami cries.

"Only childish people do that," The second girl says.

"What? Are you a baby? You're not 5-years-old anymore," The third girl says. "I barely know any teenage girl who acts that way."

"You don't know how to cope with people that yell at you, do you?" The second girl says.

"Anyways, back on track," The first girl says. "Stay away from Yuuna-sama. Got it?"

"I….I ummm…." Nanami stutters.

"Do I need to repeat myself? What does it TAKE for you to get it!?" The first girl says.

"Stop this!" Yuuna's voice stops the commotion from the corner of the building.

All of the girls turn toward the blonde, who is glaring only at the three girls. She walks over and pushes the first girl away and gets in front of Nanami, holding out her hand.

"Yuuna-sama!?" The three girls gasp.

Nanami doesn't say anything. The blonde turns her head to the side and gives a nod and a smile before turning to the girls with a serious expression.

"Now then…care to explain to me what is going on?" Yuuna inquires.

"Y-Yuuna-sama…" the second girl says. "We were just…"

"Telling Oda-san to quit it," the first girl says, deciding to be completely honest. "We were trying to tell you that she'll just waste your time sooner or later. Then you will HAVE to kick her out of the student council. She's mentally retarded, Yuuna-sama."

Yuuna gets angry. "How dare you use that word…in front of me…and Nanami-chan?"

"Yuuna-sama?" The girls are confused by her reaction.

"Using that harsh word is not really nice at all," Yuuna continues. "To me, Nanami-chan is just fine. Sure her learning abilities are slow, but does that mean she's incapable of everything? Of course not."

"What makes you so sure?" The third girl asks. "You have never been in Oda-san's shoes."

"Maybe so, but even so, you shouldn't treat people with learning disabilities this way," Yuuna says. "What about you? Why don't YOU start thinking before you act? Why don't YOU think about how you are in Nanami-chan's shoes?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The first girl asks, crossing her arms.

"Think about this," Yuuna says. "If you were in Nanami-chan's shoes, people would probably say the same things you say to Nanami-chan, do they not?"

"W-well ummm…." The girls try to find the words to answer.

"If you were in Nanami-chan's shoes, someone would tell you that you would waste their time, isn't that right?" Yuuna says.

"Well that's…" the second girl starts but Yuuna cuts her off.

"Learning disability or not, they are still people," Yuuna says and then walks over to hug Nanami. "So don't pick on the weak just because you're mean and petty. In fact, Nanami-chan and I? We are now close as sisters. In just a week."

The girls look at each other and then relent.

"Fine. Whatever. Be with this time waster." The first girl says.

With that, the girls leave. Yuuna turns to Nanami, who is crying.

"Yuuna-sempai…Yuuna-sempai….!" The small girl sobs.

"It's okay…they're gone…" Yuuna whispers and hugs her dear little friend tenderly.

Later*

"Good work, Nanami-chan~" Yuuna says one day after the meeting. "You learned something~"

"I-I did?" Nanami asks.

The other members nod in agreement.

"The documents are sorted correctly after you practiced over and over," Yuuna says. "You even spoke during the meeting. You are getting better at this after another week, Nanami-chan."

"I-it's all thanks to you….O-Onee-sama…" Nanami smiles a small smile. Then she realizes she said something without thinking again. "Ah! I-I'm sorry if it sounded weird to everyone!"

All the members just smile.

"That's a lovely nickname."

"She looks like an Onee-san figure, after all."

"Fits her so well~"

Yuuna nods in agreement. "You can call me that if you like, Nanami~"

The small girl is surprised by how Yuuna just freely called her by her given name. "O-okay…Onee-sama."

A/N: Guys…tell me in the comments if you like what autism means to you. I just want your opinion because i have seen a couple videos on others dealing with autism. They say a couple times "It's not a disability. It's just another ability." Like…i highly doubt that's even true, even for someone like me. I just don't see myself having anything special.

Anyways, I just wrote this based on my feelings about my autism. It…may not be accurate, but it's as close as I can get based on MY experience.

Have a nice day.