Chapter 1: Their first encounter

Notes:

Disclaimer: Kono Oto Tomare belongs to Amyu-sensei. Not beta-read so do excuse me for any errors.

Song of the chapter: Nani mo kamo ga Setsunai (Everything is Sad) by Generations from EXILE TRIBE

The first thing that caught Takinami's eyes when he entered the Doujima household were the near giant sunflowers in the back yard that could be seen even from the main entrance door. Keishi-san did always mention that his sister loved sunflowers and how they both grew those majestic plants as kids. The weather was a bit chillier that day, considering they were already in the middle of April. The wind scattered sakura blossoms everywhere and the path from the main door to the building were littered with those white-pink petals. Pausing a while to take a deep breath, the young man in his early twenties tried to focus on why he was here in the first place and formed the sentences that needed to be delivered in his head.

While his brain was still in the middle of a turmoil, Takinami's eyes scanned the surroundings restlessly, searching for any signs of people, for a single welcoming sign that this was a living house and not an abandoned mansion. The household sign was an old piece of chipped wood that nearly reached its limit, seeming to barely hang on the front wall. The yard separating the main wooden door to the house itself looked unmaintained with leaves and flower blossoms scattered all over the place. As the raven-haired lad advanced to the back portion of the yard and took a closer look, the only thing that seemed well kept in the outside vicinity were the sunflowers themselves.

The minutes dragged on without event, punctuated only by the ceaseless rhythm of the pear branches, tap tap tap. As Takinami kept searching for any sign of a human living in this old Japanese-styled mansion, a ball of misgiving grew in him, icy and hard to swallow. Perhaps he was wrong in asking to speak to the sister. Perhaps he should have formally relayed the news to the family's legal advisor and expected the matter to continue without his participation. And yet…the sister was the next-of-kin, and he had begged his superiors to let him take care of the task during his shore leave. This was the least he could do after all that Keishi-san did for him.
Besides, his senpai had always spoken impossibly well of her. Their entire squad had heard stories of the siblings' childhood together, knew of the long letters they exchanged while he was in the service, of her likes and dislikes and fears and passions. It was only fair to speak to her in person, to grant her this one kindness in a greatly unkind world.

Just like it always did each time the young man thought about how he would deliver the news to Keishi-san's sister, the constant headache Takinami had been experiencing the past few weeks abruptly spiked in intensity from a dull soreness to sharp pounding behind his forehead. When he thought that there was no calming the pain that hammered at his skull, one of the most beautiful sound that he ever heard invaded his eardrums.

It was ... a koto, he noted almost immediately.

For someone who was used to top class music given his upbringings, even Takinami had to admit that the sound was extraordinarily unique and beautiful. The person who played this music truly treasured each of his or her own sounds, like each one of them was precious. Without thinking, his feet guided him quickly to where the sound was coming from: the veranda of the furthest room in the backyard.

And there, in the middle of a seemingly spacious and few furnished traditional Japanese room, was a young woman with short black hair playing a silver 17-strings koto. Her left side was facing the veranda, while her eyes looked straight ahead, seemingly to focus on the family portrait on the wall directly in front of her. That portrait seemed to be the only personal item in the room where she was in, for the rest of the place was devoid of any furniture other than a big wooden drawer in the far corner. Her short hair wavering in the wind covered part of her face. The young woman didn't seem to notice that someone was watching her, putting all her concentration into her koto playing. As for Takinami, he didn't mind at all, as long as he could continue hearing that beautiful sound.

'I love music, that's why I stay away from it. Purely enjoying the music without suffering is the best.' A young Takinami talking with his older sister popped up in his mind.

'Sorry for suffering then…but I can't quit.' Answered his sister.

'Why not?'

'You see, that's because I met it and I can't help getting involved with it. I met the sound that has shaken my heart fiercely.'

Is this what his sister felt when she heard that sound?

For the first time since his family got killed because of the war, Takinami wanted to compose again. He wanted this woman to play the songs that he will create. He wanted, no, needed to hear the sounds that she will make with his scores. He temporarily forgot why he was here, and his mind was already working on the notes that he wanted to put for his newest song created for her. It was only when the sounds of the koto stopped completely that the young man was jerked back to reality. The short-haired woman has already turned completely towards the veranda and facing him directly. He could feel the female's questioning eyes on him. Keeping her gaze for a few more moments, she finally settled with a head bow in his direction, acknowledging his presence by pulling out another seat futon and putting it at some distance in front of her. Understanding her inviting gesture for him to sit and explain himself, Takinami crossed the veranda quickly with his long strides and settled quietly on the futon in front of her.

After another few stagnant seconds, the young man cleared his throat and tried to speak, but could barely manage a greeting and a reconfirmation that she was indeed Doujima Akira, Doujima Keishi's little sister and next of kin. Even though the resemblance between Keishi-san and the young woman in front of him was striking, Takinami had to make sure that he would deliver the news to the right person. What he was going to say to her wasn't without weight after all. The least he could do was spare this young girl the dreadfulness of hearing her brother's situation from a careless neighbor. He didn't know how to begin with what he had been sent out here to say. It was already a grave matter under usual circumstances, but Akira appeared wholly unprepared to cope with news that would change her life—for the second time in only as many months. She was thin, clad in a pale lavender furisode with an oversized purple shawl draped over narrow shoulders, raven bobbed short hair reaching just above her collarbones, face pale and drawn. She looked like stepping on cracked ice, like a piece of glass crashing to the floor, brittle and sharp to the touch.

He knew that the longer he waited the more difficult it would be for her to take into what he had to say. Just as Takinami was trying to focus on her again and inavertedly looked into her round chestnut eyes, he remembered exactly why he had come to the Doujima mansion on such a dreadful day, in civilian clothes and carrying a leaden burden in his breast pocket. The young man opened his mouth, finally gathering the courage to introduce himself and break the news. He had the phrasing decided in his mind, a slight variation on the regulation dialogue. You may have guessed why I am visiting you today. I am Takinami Suzuka of Tokise's 18th Mobile Group, here under Regulation 350 of the Code of Conduct. It is with deepest sympathy that I inform you of…

Even though he was prepared for pretty much any type of reaction from her, there was no predicting the sudden approach of Doujima Akira even before his words came out of his mouth. She quickly took his callused hands in her much smaller ones, proceeding to….write some letters on the palm of his hands? It took him some seconds to understand that the letters were 'brother' and 'where'.

With a jolt, Takinami realized that she was mute.

It should have been evident from the instant he saw her. The seemingly unfriendliness of not greeting her guest verbally when she finished playing her koto; the prolonged silence; how she never started the conversation and just nodded or shook her head at his inquiries. She couldn't answer him. Presumably she couldn't say anything.
How could it be, in all his stories and praise, in all the fond memories recounted from his bunk bed at night, in all the letters read emotionally aloud, Keishi-san had never told him that his sister was unable to speak? Various thoughts surfaced in Takinami's mind—to which disease had she lost her voice? Did she lose her hearing too, or just of her voice? Was it not possible to have her voice medically restored?—but at the forefront was the realization that this young woman must have an extraordinary personality if her disability never even factored into Keishi-san's descriptions of her.

The revelation of her condition had driven the prepared speech from Takinami's mind completely. All he could focus on at that instant was the trembling of her small hands. And the fact that he was about to tell this nineteen-year-old girl, who was mute, who had lost her parents when she was barely seven years old, that her brother, her only remaining family member, had been killed in action.

"Three weeks ago, our platoon was ambushed by the enemy, following a skirmish near Hiroshima. I am sorry to say that Doujima Keishi-san suffered fatal injuries during the attack."