01: The Problem with High Heels.
Shouko Nishimiya, nineteen.
Petite build.
Mai Sakurajima, twenty, was taller than her.
Ritsu Kawai, twenty, was taller than her. Shouko thought she was around the same height. But then she noticed that Ritsu-san would always be walking with her shoulders hunched and neck buried into whatever book she was reading.
Ritsu-san was taller than her, but not by much.
Still taller though.
Mayumi Nishikino, thirty-one, was easily the tallest woman Shouko had ever met. She was perhaps even taller than Shouko's mother.
Even the shortest person in the entire boarding house, Sayaka Watanabe, twenty-one, who was shorter than Shouko by a couple of inches, was still taller than her somehow.
Because, all the women she mentioned, they had one thing in common which she could never have.
They were not damaged goods.
They were not deaf.
They could speak, properly.
And the most important thing of all – They could all walk in high heels.
She couldn't.
Another thing she couldn't do.
Even Ritsu-san who hated dressing up and made a fuss about abandoning her books for the night had a pair of high heels in her closet.
Shouko didn't.
She never wore high heels.
She was never invited to a celebration.
She never stepped foot inside a high end restaurant.
A restaurant where every woman wore heels.
Except Shouko Nishimiya.
She wouldn't have come. She shouldn't have come. She was making them look bad. Mai-san was a celebrity. She was coming out of a long hiatus. She had invited them all to dine with her at this fine establishment as a small token of gratitude for what he did.
He.
Hachiman Hikigaya.
He didn't have a suit. More than likely he didn't want to come. Shouko had learned over time that he didn't know how to react when people treated him nicely.
When Sakuta Azusagawa-san had come over to thank him and then tell him about Mai-san's plans for eating out, he hadn't believed him at all.
He thought Sakuta had come to fight him – after all, the methods he used to solve Mai-san's problem was downright despicable.
He thought Sakuta would see him as the lowest of scum.
Shouko didn't know how his mind worked.
But she could tell that he hadn't had expected Sakuta to crack a joke and lightly jab him in the chest, jokingly, then say something which Shouko wasn't able to pick up.
When she asked him later, Hachiman had told her that Sakuta had made a bad joke.
'You will look like a Yakuza member in a black suit.'
Yet.
Yet.
Shouko Nishimiya thought he looked quite handsome, tonight.
Hachiman didn't have a suit. He thought he could use that as an excuse to avoid coming to this fancy place where there would be a lot of people.
But Sakuta had anticipated that.
He had given him a business card.
The place rented out suits.
Like that, Mai had tried to help Shouko.
She wanted her to come.
She really did.
But Shouko didn't have high heels.
Mai took her out shopping.
They went from one shop to another.
They had a nice time.
But,
But,
Shouko Nishimiya never wore high heels.
Her mother never wore high heels as well.
Impractical. Expensive. Feminine.
The words of her mother rang out as she tried out the heels.
The words of her mother rang out as she lost her balance and fell.
The words of her mother.
The words of her mother.
That's all she heard.
Even though she couldn't hear a thing.
Regardless, her first pair of high heels were bought by Mai Sakurajima.
Mai gave them to her and told her to wear them tonight if possible.
If possible.
Because from what she saw, it was clear that it won't be possible.
Mai Sakurajima meant well.
She wanted to thank her for helping her.
She wanted to buy her a beautiful dress for tonight.
She wanted to dress her like a beautiful princess.
Because, Hikigaya-kun is clearly a guy, and so, they need visual aids to figure stuff out, Mai-san had said to her.
Mai-san wouldn't take no for an answer.
Shouko Nishimiya tried a number of times.
But Mai Sakurajima was adamant.
And so, Mai Sakurajima picked a beautiful dress.
Impractical. Expensive. Feminine.
Shouko tried to drown out the voice of her mother.
It was a lovely dress.
She wore it tonight.
But not the high heels.
They were left behind.
Like her.
Standing the farthest way from the rest of the crowd who were checking out their reservation for tonight.
She was better left behind.
It was all her fault.
Damaged goods, that's what she was.
Shouko had tried them on again when she came back home.
The high heels were beautiful.
Fit for a beautiful woman.
She wasn't beautiful.
She wasn't fit.
She tried them on, took a measured step and fell.
She tried again.
This time she narrowly missed the edge of her bed.
It would have left a bruise.
She tried again.
This time she managed a couple of steps.
One.
Two.
Yes.
One foot after the other.
Yes.
She could do this.
She could -!
The corner of the wooden table would have hurt a lot. There was a nasty splinter which she had been meaning to take out.
As she lost her balance and fell, she closed her eyes.
The words of her mother rang out in her ears.
Then, her words were replaced with a firm grip on the upper portion of her right elbow.
The grip was firm.
But not hurting.
She didn't fall.
She didn't get hurt.
She wasn't bleeding.
She was being, held.
She was being, balanced.
She was being, protected.
Perhaps, even being cherished.
Shouko couldn't hear his voice.
But she could pick up the pitch and vibrations of his voice.
She could also read his lips given the good lighting of her room.
"Are you alright?" Hachiman-san asked.
Shouko found the concern in the pitch of his voice.
But there was no hidden irritation or anger.
Her mother would have lashed out in anger and irritation.
Her mother would have asked a different set of questions.
'Are you stupid? What were you thinking? Why do you want to wear high heels? You need to be strong, Shouko. You need to be able to stand on your own two feet. How long will I take care of you? Think about your little sister? How long will she take care of you? You need to learn to take care of yourself. If you fall down, you need to learn to get back up on you own.'
"Here, let me help you up."
Shouko Nishimiya focused on the words as they waved past his lips.
Hachiman Hikigaya.
She couldn't hear his voice.
But she wanted to, so, so much.
Sadly, her wants and needs didn't matter.
Her mother said so.
After all, she always wanted things which she couldn't have.
She wanted him to hear her talk.
She wanted him to understand her better.
She wanted him to help her walk in high heels.
She wanted him to look at her.
Her beautiful dress.
And,
And,
"That's a beautiful dress, Nishimiya."
Shouko thought whether he could read minds as clearly as she read his lips. The lighting wasn't as bright as that of her bedroom, but she could make do.
She smiled.
She looked down.
She wanted him to see her in high heels.
All the other woman wore them in the restaurant.
They walked confidently.
They didn't fall down.
They were not like her.
Shouko Nishimiya was damaged goods.
"Glad you didn't wear those god awful high heels."
…
…
…Clearly she misread his lips, right?
How could he find them awful?
The high heels were lovely, she told him with a flutter of her fingers.
Then she remembered he didn't speak her language.
Shouko had to take out her phone.
Only she didn't need to.
Because Hachiman-san understood her.
"You disagree?"
Most of the times he understood her, regardless of his inability to speak sign language.
It was a mystery for the ages.
He also asked questions which were easy to communicate and answer.
All Shouko needed to do was nod her head.
All he needed to do was make a point.
He picked Ritsu Kawai.
"Look at Kawai." He said with a nod of his head at her direction. "She looks downright envious of you."
Shouko felt her eyes widen.
Why would Ritsu-san be envious of her?
Hachiman-san answered her unasked question.
"Let me correct myself. She is envious of your choice of comfortable footwear."
Shouko Nishimiya looked at Ritsu Kawai. She looked at her high heels in particular. Then, Shouko looked down at her simple footwear.
Then she looked up to find answers in a set of thin dry lips and a pair of deep, dark, eyes.
Hachiman-san always had the answers she was looking for.
"High heels are nice and everything, but they are incredibly uncomfortable. Or so I heard." He added the last bit quickly.
Shouko Nishimiya always wanted things she couldn't have.
Her mother's words rang true in her ears.
His lips were not as hard to read.
"And ballet flats are way cuter."
Hachiman-san blushed and looked away as he said those words.
He didn't leave her side.
He waited on her.
He was there for her.
Shouko Nishimiya realized two things at that moment.
She couldn't walk beside him in high heels.
For now.
…The other thing was a secret.
For now.
A/N: By popular demand, I present to you my second fic about Shouko and Hikigaya. I decided to post this chapter separately and as it own things, because my other Shouko fic is kinda perfect the way it is.
In this fic, I will post just a couple more one-shots about these two and then I will be done.
So yeah, hope you will enjoy this fic.
Take care.