Visibility

By: Aviantei

Chapter 02: Viewpoint

If Watanabe Airi were to describe the world as she saw it to someone that could see, she would have to wonder if they would understand what she meant. After all, the world was just a series of blurs, some of them that could be focused on and made into clearer images, depending on how well Youta described them. Other than that, it was a matter of using sounds and the rest of her senses to "see" the world around her, or at least give her a general idea of what her surroundings would look like to someone that could properly see.

Thankfully, the classroom had died down after one day of the new students' arrival, giving Airi some peace and quiet while she ate the lunch her and her brother had put together the previous night. Airi could handle a little bit of excitement as well as the next person, but things became a little unnerving if there were so many people around her, clouding her already inaccurate vision. It was much nicer to be able to eat away at her bento of leftovers and fresh rice, only the odd classmate to come up and introduce themselves because they had been missing from the previous day's hubbub.

Youta bridged the gap unlike anyone else did, stepping into conversations and describing the people to his sister, giving her a mental "face" to match up with a name, a voice, some gestures. It helped her experience the world better, like how Youta was able to help out with schoolwork so Airi wouldn't have to attend a school that specialized in teaching kids like her. While she wasn't ashamed of her disability in anyway, but she didn't want to be defined or restricted in what she could do with herself because of it.

Halfway through a bite of egg that Airi decided she had to do something about her brother letting her get away with cooking and eating things that didn't end up tasting any good, Airi tilted her head up. She was sure there was a person there, but every now and then their presence seemed fuzzy, like they were trying to avoid being noticed. At the very least, standing at the front of the classroom as a rather odd way to accomplish that, if it was even the person's goal in the first place.

"Ah, I don't think I recognize this person," Airi said choosing her words carefully. Youta was called to attention in an instant, forever attentive to his sister's needs. "I know I've talked to you, but I might have forgotten your name. I'm sorry if I've forgotten it, but I have the feeling we haven't been introduced to each other properly yet. Correct me if I'm wrong, though."

"Hey, Ai-chan, who you talk—oh," Youta sounded confused, but shifted, almost like he hadn't realized the person in question was there in the first place. A few gestures later that showed he had regained his composure, the older Watanabe sibling set out to give his usual report. "Male, about average height, light blue hair, kept short, eyes the same color and… I'm not certain how to describe them, but they've certainly got an interesting shape."

Whether the newcomer was offended about being described in such a way, he didn't show it. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya," he said, voice completely calm. It was soothing, almost like a lullaby and a librarian rolled into one sound. "I was wondering if I could eat lunch with you to make up for leaving so quickly after you tried to talk with me yesterday."

"Ah, that was you!" Airi said, smiling in recognition. Suddenly the blank spot in her memory was filled, the hole that mad been missing the impression of a person now gone. Sure, she couldn't remember all of her new classmates in exact detail, but at least now she had names for the presences that had surrounded her. She would just have to learn their faces over time. "There's no need to apologize, I'm sure I startled you. It's nice to meet you, Kuroko-san, please feel free to eat with us."

Youta made a disgruntled gesture to the side, but Airi let it pass. His overprotective nature was showing again, and he would just have to get over it. It was annoying at times that the person that heard the most about how she hated to be given special treatment was the one that most needed to learn that she was simply not a doll that could be broken apart so easily.

"Thank you very much," Tetsuya said. There was the scuffle of desks as he and Youta worked together, a seat for Tetsuya now sitting on the other end of the Watanabe twins' side by side desks. A bento and chopsticks clattered as the newly arrived boy began to eat his lunch. "I still feel like I should apologize for leaving so suddenly yesterday. I'm just not used to being noticed by people so easily and…"

Youta's animosity was seeping off him in waves, causing Tetsuya to fall silent. Airi chose to step in before they scared their new lunch mate away without even giving him the chance to eat first. "Well, I tend to be good at noticing things that other people don't, mainly because I can't see," she said. She couldn't have been certain, but she was almost sure that Tetsuya had blinked. "Since my view of the world is based on completely different things than others', what's normal to me may be obscure to you. I should be apologizing for startling you so much."

Airi could tell Tetsuya was probably shocked, not expecting her casual tone. Youta was frowning beside her, in clear distaste of how she brought it up, on how she made it obvious. In her quest to not being treated different for it, she wanted people to recognize it. It was a part of her, like the color of her hair, or how she dressed. Youta absolutely hated that.

In fact, her brother was staring down the newcomer with such an intensity that Airi could even feel it, despite the fact that it wasn't directed towards her. She nudged her brother lightly beneath the desk, frowning when she was certain he had looked her way. Why was it that boys always took things like "look after your sister" as an excuse to be jerks to all the other males around them?

"What do you mean that you're not used to being noticed by people?" Youta asked. He masked his annoyance well, but Airi could still feel it. Not wanting to make a scene, she kept the observation to herself, scooping more of her rice into her mouth. "You'd think that with hair like that you'd stick out like a sore thumb."

Whether or not Tetsuya gauged the tension, Airi couldn't be certain. He still replied in that calm voice of his, and was surprisingly in agreement with Youta's analysis. "I used to think so, too, as a kid," he said. "But in the end I just ended up being a person whose presence nobody noticed. If I put myself out there, people will see me, but not usually until then, unless they're used to me." The sound of taking a drink interrupted Tetsuya's words. "You didn't notice me either, Watanabe-kun, so I think you understand what I mean."

Airi suppressed a giggle in her vegetables, Youta scoffing as he began to devour his own bento. Airi briefly wondered if that was how he suffered through her sub-par cooking: by not tasting any of it. Knowing that her brother would have plenty of things to say once he had enough time to think about it, she stepped up to the metaphorical verbal plate.

"So, Kuroko-san, are you in any clubs?" she asked. "I was actually wondering what types of club they had here so I could hopefully find one to join. I understand that my selection criteria are going to be different from others', but if you could help at all, it would be greatly appreciated." Airi hadn't been able to participate in clubs since elementary school, and she had found out she missed the activity in the past few years.

Tetsuya seemed to hesitate before answering. "Well, I know it may not be what you're looking for, but I am in the basketball club," he said. There was a clatter of chopsticks falling against the desk from Airi's side.

"Hold on," Youta said, a serious note entering his voice. It wasn't done out of rudeness, but Airi could hear the change and felt concerned for it. "You're telling me that you're in this school's basketball club." A moment of silence where Airi guessed a nod had been placed. "And you played last year at that."

"I was on the starting lineup."

Youta made a large movement, but it was too sudden for Airi to figure out what it was. "Agh, you gotta be kidding me! A guy like you's part of the team that won the Winter Cup last year? Why don't you seem more famous, then? Your lack of presence seems to be something that works against you in this case, Kuroko."

"You may think so but it's actually better this way."

"Um," Airi said, speaking up for the first time since she had asked her initial question. It was accurate to say that at this point she was completely lost, detached from the conversation thread that she had started, to boot! "I understand that this is something interesting, but you know I don't really follow sports, Nii-san. Care to tell me what the Winter Cup is?"

"Yeah, that's right," Youta said, more to himself than anything. "I thought I might have mentioned it to you whenever I was checking out the stats in December, but I guess not. The Winter Cup is one of the three most important high school basketball tournaments in Japan. The Seirin Basketball Club ended up taking place in winter even after their second year of founding, beating out the top schools. It was a real surprise, I'll tell you that!"

"Thank you for your praise," Tetsuya said. Airi wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that he sounded a little bit happier when he said that. It was hard to tell, because there was something else in his voice that threw her off. He didn't say anything else, either, so she couldn't confirm her suspicions.

Airi put on a smile, pushing the strange tone of voice out of her mind. "That's really amazing!" she exclaimed, meaning every word of it. "The fact that you won on a national level must mean that you're all really talented, right?"

"Well, it's more like we worked hard for it."

"Being able to work hard to achieve something without giving up is a talent in itself," Airi said sagely. The words were more than a bit corny, but she believed them to be true. "With that in mind, I bet that your teammates are all very dedicated and used that to become excellent players. Not many people can say that they're on a national championship team."

There was a silence that Airi couldn't account for. Youta was neutral, which was a nice change, and the blind girl didn't know her classmate well enough to figure out how he was feeling. Other than his presence, Tetsuya was just there. She knew that much for sure.

"I guess it is something to be proud of," Tetsuya finally said, relieving Airi's nerves considerably. It wasn't until he had spoken up that she realized she had been afraid of having said something wrong. "If you want to, you could come and watch us practice until you find a club to join."

There it was, and the atmosphere changed. Tetsuya fell silent, probably due to Youta glaring daggers at him. There were a few instances where she could hear her classmate trying to speak, but not getting very far. Whatever form of apology he meant to say was lost before it could make it off his lips.

Airi smiled, probably providing the exact opposite of her brother's expression towords Tetsuya. "I'd like that," she said. "I admit that I don't know much about sports, but I'm certain I could learn the rules well enough that if Nii-san described what was going on to be, I'd have an idea of what the games look like. Since Nii-san already has a handle on basketball, I'm sure it won't be too difficult to pick up on."

Both of the males were quiet. Even Youta, who usually took any opportunity to be useful to Airi, didn't say a word. Airi could feel her expression slipping, even her genuine excitement being damped by the mood at the cluster of desks.

"I'm sorry," Tetsuya managed, his voice quieter than it had been. Airi allowed herself to frown, disappointed. She had been hoping for something better than the usual awkward silence that she got from most people once words regarding vision were brought up.

"Please don't feel the need to apologize." Youta made a disgruntled noise at Airi's side, providing a direct contradiction to her words. They were going to have to talk about this later, but the younger twin certainly wasn't in the mood to start a scene in front of the class. "I understand that I'm blind very well, Kuroko-san, I don't need you to point it out by treating me any differently. I believe I mentioned that in my class introduction. I know it may seem like a strange thing to do around someone who can't see, but I take no offense to the use of words and phrases that include 'looking' and 'seeing'. They're part of the Japanese language for a reason." She realized the hard tone she had been sing and made herself relax. "But if it makes you feel any better Kuroko-san, I do happen to accept your apology. Just understand that there are ways I don't mind you accounting for my disability, but feeling like you're going to hurt my feelings by bringing up something I can't do won't help. I'd really appreciate it if we could become friends who don't have to worry about such things."

The tension relaxed a little, Tetsuya seeming to feel better. The fact that he had been lectured seemed to make Youta satisfied for now, and Airi could tell he was relaxing as well. Peace had been restored, and everyone seemed to settle back into a grove of normalcy. Putting her trust into reading others, Airi took a shot in the dark.

"You really should smile more, Kuroko-san."

The lack of denial let Airi know she had been right. Youta seemed smugly satisfied as usually happened whenever Airi was able to pick up on something, surprising others.

"Now, as we were discussing, do you have practice today?" Airi asked.

"Yes, we do," Tetsuya confirmed. "If you have something else to do, you don't have to come right away. This is short notice, but I don't think the coach will mind if I introduce you to her. Although she may try and recruit you because of your height, Watanabe-kun."

Youta blinked in surprise, not expecting himself to be dragged into the conversation. "I'm flattered by your coach's theoretical offer, but no can do. I need to help out Airi, so I gotta join whatever club she's in, if she picks one."

Airi frowned. "If you want to join a club without me, I'll do just fine, Nii-san," she said. "But speaking of clubs, what other types of clubs are available here? I'd definitely like to see what all there is to offer before I go making any rash decisions."

"That depends on what you like," Tetsuya said. "Since the school was only founded two years ago, there's all the expected choices, but you can always form a new club if necessary…"

"No, no, I don't think that's something I'm ready to handle. I believe I'll just stick to researching and watching the famous Basketball Club until I find something suitable…"

Walking into the gymnasium, Youta kept his mouth shut, letting Airi get her bearings first. While the boy had gotten quite good at being able to give descriptors for just about anything at a glance—a person's height, the dimensions of a room, the number of people in a crowded area—Airi was equally good at figuring out those things without any other prompting than what she could hear and otherwise. Together, Youta felt as if they put together a good enough picture of the world for her, like she could still see. He couldn't know that for sure, since he couldn't read his sister's mind, but Airi seemed satisfied enough with the visions they put together as a team. That was good enough for now.

He wondered how she did it. There were times when he would enter a room, try to figure it out by instinct, but he always missed something. Airi could tell where things were and find people without the other party saying anything. The best Youta could do was conjure up a memory of what the place had looked like the last time he had seen it, and sometimes he got nothing at all.

In a way, Airi was a genius.

The thought was cut off as Youta started recognizing faces of the people who were currently on the court. Hyuga Junpei, Kagami Taiga, Izuki Shun, Mitobe, Koganei, Tsuchida—the entire championship lineup including the other three second years whose names Youta never bothered to learn because they never seemed to step foot on the court (and even when they did, it wasn't that impressive). They were all warming up in front of him, like some sort of dream. It took Youta a moment to remember that he was supposed to be letting Airi know what was happening, and turned to his younger sister.

"Oh, are you two the Watanabe twins that Kuroko was talking about?" a voice asked. Youta recognized the person immediately, but couldn't get the words out. "It's nice to meet you two. I'm Aida Riko, the team's coach." Aida smiled, and Airi seemed to recover first.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Watanabe Airi," she said. Airi dipped into a bow. Youta took the hint and bowed himself.

"Watanabe Youta. It's nice to meet you," he said, completing the formalities. "Thanks for letting us sit in on your practice. It's a great honor to be able to see the winners of the Winter Cup in their home turf."

Aida was beaming, her expression showing off the pride in her team's accomplishment. "Well, it's not like we can just slack off or anything just because we won a tournament!" she said. "We've gotta work extra hard so that we can do even better this year! Not to mention we need to whip these new first years into shape! Though you picked a good day to come in, we're going to be running a practice match so that'll be more exciting than drills."

"I'm sure anything will be interesting if you put enough enthusiasm into it," Airi said. "I really am impressed, though. Not only do you take a title so quickly, you have a coach that's become so accomplished at such a young age…" Airi seemed to pause, but Youta couldn't tell what she was thinking. He was no good at reading people, either, even if the target was his own sister. "Oh, would it be alright if I had Nii-san describe you to me?"

"Sure."

Even though the question was sudden, Aida didn't seem to be caught off guard in the slightest. Whether this was because she was perceptive enough to pick up on the situation or Kuroko had already told his team about Airi's circumstances, Youta decided that it didn't matter. He instead looked over the coach—in real life in front of him and not just some magazine article—taking notice of what Airi needed to distinguish Aida in her mind from everyone else.

"Ah, she's a bit shorter than you, has reddish hair," he started. "She's got some hairclips to pull her bangs to the left, kind of like yours, and her eyes are a bit brown. Oh, and she picked out the blue sweater for her uniform." The only thing left for him to comment on as a descriptor would be her bust size, but Youta decided it was best to keep that information to himself. Most girls didn't take well to a guy spouting off their measurements like it was the weather report, especially when they were in the smaller range. "Is that enough for you, Ai-chan?"

Airi nodded slowly, processing the information. Youta wondered what the image in her head was like, if it was anything like the person in front of them.

"That's enough," Airi confirmed. She seemed a bit worried for a moment, then smiled. "Although I wasn't expecting the coach to still be in high school. You're even more accomplished then I imagined, Aida-san."

"Oh, well, I was kind of raised for this, so it's no big deal," Aida commented. She may not have meant to, but Youta realized her sentence could also be interpreted as I coached a team into the national level championships like it was nothing. The less egotistical I've been training for something like this for a long time was more likely. The young coach was even blushing at the praise. "Ah, damn, look at the time! I gotta get these guys started on warm ups. You guys relax on the sidelines, alright?" And with that she was running off, blowing her whistle and shouting orders.

Airi laughed happily. "She's certainly lively."

"Yeah," Youta said. "Come on, let's get seated." A few chairs were set out, as if waiting for them. If he was wrong, Youta figured moving around wouldn't be a big issue. He escorted Airi into a chair and sat beside her, describing the club members in terms of descriptions and stats he remembered from magazines. Every now and then he would have to pause to explain how certain positions and plays worked, filling in Airi's lack of knowledge of the game.

The only thing that gave him trouble was accounting for the faces he didn't recognize. The number of first years coming into the team had to have doubled since last year, probably drawn in by the chance of playing on the championship team.

And Airi wanted to know everything, which was a daunting task. It was hard enough trying to catch her up with the rules of basketball when she was constantly asking for descriptions of people or their warm-up exercises, or the explanation for sudden noises coming from either the club members or something outside. It had been a while since Youta had needed to try so hard to keep up with his sister's requests, almost like having to keep a little kid's attention at a carnival.

With another blow of Aida's whistle, which Youta found himself still going to attention at the sound, the practice game was announced. In order to properly give all of the first years a chance to try and play, it was decided that halfway through the game the teams would switch out entirely, aside from a few second year players, one of which included Kagami Taiga.

For a few minutes Youta forgot to think as the redhead stepped out onto the field, almost jumping out of the urge to play. It was only Aida's whistle that pulled Youta back to reality, reminding him to at least try and keep up with the pace of the game for Airi's sake. She at least seemed to appreciate his efforts, even if he obviously wasn't getting everything he should be saying.

Almost as if to make it easier on him, she asked, "What's Kuroko-san doing?"

"Um, well…" Youta looked around the sidelines, not seeing their mutual classmate anywhere. He could have sworn that Kuroko had gone to practice, seen him somewhere, heard Aida call his name. "I don't know. He's not on the court, and I don't see him on the sidelines. Maybe something came up and he had to go home?"

Airi frowned—not too much, just a little that told that she was mildly disappointed. Youta didn't know to describe it, but after that it was like she zoned out, didn't pay attention to anything, except he knew that wasn't the case. Whatever Airi did when she got like this, it was what let her understand the world in whichever way she did. Whenever she was done, she looked a little bit more confused.

"No, he's here, I'm sure… Can you try looking around again?"

Youta suppressed a sigh, taking another look around the gym. He even checked for a third time, just to say he had put in the effort. No matter how many times he checked, Kuroko just wasn't there.

Youta spent the rest of the practice wondering why one team only had four members to it when the other was fully stocked and had Kagami on its side. It was almost unfair. Despite the disadvantage, the final scores were almost a tie.

Youta's kind of useless at noticing Tetsuya... I kind feel bad for him because of this...

But wow! A super huge thanks to an unnamed Guest, Seithr-Kairy, AngelHeartObsession, soubi12, koreanlover21873, Xxdreamergirl95xX, Spiritless Soul, Naenia99, KT-Desu, SilverStar56, sin kx, BlackWhiteDarkness, and InvisibleGoldStar for each of your respective reviews, favorites, and follows! Each and every one of these means a lot to me! I'm especially impressed by how much response this got even though it's only been out a few days, too...

One of the challenges with Airi's POV sections is describing things without visually describing them. Airi's perception of the world makes this a tiny bit easier... but not by much. I'm trying my best to work it out, though. If I happen to make any slip ups, I'd like to be pointed out to those...

I originally had another section written for this chapter, but it flowed better with chapter three, so you'll have to see it then. Sorry about that. ^^"

Also I try to make my stories flow organically, so all apologies if things move a bit slow before the main plot arc kicks in. I hope that what I write is enough for your enjoyment until we get that far.

Next time, a certain basketball club not-hazing ritual, story time, and a discussion on some of the practical manners of medical treatment. Please look forward to it!

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