Recap:

Misaki's POV

Before he could even turn, I ran into his arms and embraced him. "Thank you so much, Usui," I whispered into his ear.

...

Did I just talk?

THE TIME FOR CHANGE

Takumi's POV

I stood there frozen in shock. Did Misaki just talk? Did words actually come out of her mouth? And not just that. What literally gave me a heart attack were her words: Thank you so much, Usui. Her first words after not talking for over ten years were directed towards me, telling me she was grateful towards me. I was always a hindrance to everyone I've encountered. This was the first time anyone had ever thanked me for anything. And that someone just happened to be Misaki, the one person who hasn't spoken since she was five, the one person I truly cared about. I was honestly the happiest guy in the world!

I stared at Misaki as she covered her mouth. Her eyes filled with disbelief. I chuckled. Even she was shocked that she spoke.

"Now are you baffled because you spoke or was it because it was directed towards yours truly?" I asked, trying to hold back my smirk.

"D-don't l-laugh at me-e, U-sui!" Misaki stumbled through her words. She covered her mouth again and looked down, embarrassed that she couldn't speak properly.

"Hey, I was only teasing," I said, raising her chin up to look at me in the eyes, feeling guilty. I knew it was too good to be true for Misaki to be able to speak fluidly after not talking for so long. Her verbal vocabulary was probably very limited and words didn't come out naturally. "I'm so proud of you for speaking. It's been over a decade since you last spoke, so it's not going to be perfect, but I'm here to help. Don't be afraid, we can work together to improve your speech."

Misaki's eyes started to water as she gave me a small smile. I felt my heart almost lurch out of my chest when she gave me a small nod.

"So shall we practice? Why don't you tell me how you felt about speaking for the first time?" I gently prodded.

"I mean, I lit-literally just sp-spoke! I d-d-didn't even know that I could t-talk! I com-ple-pletely forgot what I sound-d like! Now, hear-ing my voice just inc-credib-ly shocks me. B-but I guessss I w-will be str-truggling for a w-while," Misaki explained slowly.

"I was just as shocked, but if it means anything to you, I think you have a beautiful voice. It may sound a bit raspy after years of disuse, but it's pretty attractive. After waiting for so long, it sounds like music to my ears," I said laughing.

Misaki's face slowly started to turn pink. "Sh-shut up," she said quietly as she started to clean up all our toys from the ground. I chuckled as I knelt down and helped place all our belongings in a bag.

"So do you want to go back home or head back to the hotel?" I asked as I slung the bag of toys over my shoulder.

Misaki looked down, "I guess, I c-could go ba-back h-ome," she said quietly.

"C'mon, let's go home Misa-chan!" I sang as I swayed our intertwined hands back and forth.

She slapped me lightly with her other hand, but nonetheless kept my hand in hers.

When we arrived back at the orphanage it was already nighttime. I slowly opened the door, making sure not to wake anyone up as Misaki quietly walked behind me.

I shut the door and turned around to see the faces of everyone.

"Takumi, Misaki, where have you guys been!?" scolded Satsuki, "We were all worried sick!"

"We're so sorry if we did anything to make you run away, Misaki! We don't want you to feel alone!," said Sakura and Shizuko as they ran up to hug her.

"Yeah we'll be here for you from now on. Feel free to open up to us," said Aoi.

"Don't worry kids. I'm the one at fault," Maria said, making her way through all the children. "I'm so sorry, Misaki. I know how much your decisions mean to you and I shouldn't have pushed you. When you're ready, you're always welcome in my office and we can try again," she said, opening her arms.

Misaki smiled and nodded at everyone before walking into Maria's embrace.

I softly chuckled. I don't know what Maria was talking about but as long as Misaki's ok, that's all that matters. And looks like she's trying to hide the fact that she could talk from everyone, so I'm not going to expose anything. Misaki can tell them when she's ready.

"Was it difficult to find Misaki? You took a whole day before returning." said Subaru.

"Yeah, it was really hard. I was able to finally find her in the woods," I said. Well, it was true but it didn't take me a whole day... but they don't need to know that.

"Oh my gosh, Misaki! That's such a cute dress! Where did you get it?" squealed Lily.

Misaki had a look of panic on her face, so I quickly answered for her.

"Since she was in the woods the whole time her clothes got ripped up and dirty, so I bought her this outfit," I replied.

"Oh really! How sweet! You have a great sense of style," stated Rin as she fluttered her eyelashes at me.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Misaki roll her eyes.

"Well we're really tired now, so we'll just be heading to bed," I said as Misaki and I made our way up the stairs.

"Yeah, you're right. You guys must be exhausted. Sleep tight!" chirped Satsuki.

We arrived in front of Misaki's room. "Well, good night Misa-chan," I said with a small smile.

She nodded at me and turned to her room. "Hold up Misa-chan. You didn't say good night. You can't hide the fact that you can talk from me, now can you."

Misaki turned to look at me with a blush on her face. "G-good night, U-sui, " she practically whispered.

I smiled, "Thanks," I said as I turned to my room. I walked down the hall and could hear her mutter, "Baka." I laughed as I entered my room.

What an eventful day.

~Next Day~

Misaki's POV

I stood outside the door to the counseling office. I didn't bring my white board, as an incentive for me to stick with my plan of speaking. Even with my resolve, I was still nervous. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," came a sweet voice, that was no doubt Maria's.

I walked in and slowly shut the door behind me. Maria stood upon seeing me.

"Misaki! I'm so glad you've come, I didn't expect you to return to my office so soon! I just want to reiterate how sorry I am if it seemed like I was pressuring you."

I took another deep breath. "I-it's ok. I tho-thought about it and I th-think y-you're right. Do y-you think y-you can help me-e?"

Maria gasped and looked at me with wide eyes before her face broke out into a huge smile. "Yes sweetie, of course! Anything you need! Did you want me to try to find you a speech therapist to help with your speaking?"

I nodded. "And do you th-think I could-d pos-possibly come in m-more of-ten to pra-practice sp-speak-ing with y-you?" The words my friends said to me yesterday rang clearly in my mind: We'll be here for you from now on. Feel free to open up to us. It was time I started trusting other people and opening up.

"Definitely possible! You can meet with both me and the speech therapist once a week so that you get practice with us twice a week. Does that sound ok?"

I nodded again. "U-sui can h-help me pra-practice too," I responded with a smile.

"Takumi? You made up with him?" Maria asked, before another smile broke out on her face. "That sounds great! You're such a smart girl and a hard worker. I know that with this, you'll improve your speaking in no time."

"Thank you so much," I said with a bright smile.

"Would you look at that? You're already able to say a full sentence properly!" Maria exclaimed.

I chuckled and thought back to how those were my first words to Usui. I had said them perfectly back then too. I wonder why.

The following days, I practiced speaking consistently with Maria, my speech therapist (Yuna-san) and Usui. With everyone else, I remained relatively silent, fearful of them hearing my distorted speech. I know eventually I'll have to come out and speak to them, but for now, I want to take things slow. Taking one step at a time.

"Ok one more time. 'Can I have some water?'" Usui prodded.

I nodded and repeated, "Can I have some w-wa-ter?" I sighed in defeat. I was never going to get it.

"Hey! Don't look so down! You improved a lot! Before, you struggled with every word, now it's just 'water'. You're doing great, Ayuzawa," Usui said with a smile and patted my head.

I returned the smile and replied "Thank you."

"You've got the hang of that too! And you didn't have any issues when you first talked to me either." he said, with a smirk.

I nodded, "I th-think I got the hang of 'Thank you so much' and any-anyth-ing along-ng those li-lines."

"That's good, that means we're surely making progress," he said. He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed behind his head.

We shared a comfortable silence as I looked through the list of phrases we were practicing. Once again, we were in the library. It's really a shame that no one else uses it, but fortunately, that means that this became mine and Usui's place for a quiet, private getaway. I was consumed in my thoughts when Usui sat up abruptly.

I looked at him, startled. "W-what?"

"Ayuzawa, what were your last words or phrases before you took your vow of silence?" he asked, suddenly.

I looked at him confused as to why he wanted to know such a thing.

"I think the words you last used might've had some sort of psychological connection to you. Maybe if we work around that idea, we'll be able to help improve your speech faster," he explained.

I was still confused as to what he was rambling on about, but ran through my memories regardless, trying to think of my last words or phrases. I froze.

"Do you remember them?" he pondered.

I nodded. "Th-they were to my pa-parents… be-before the acc-acci-dent."

"Oh... I'm sorry, Ayuzawa. I didn't mean to bring up a painful memory. It's ok if you don't want to share."

I shook my head, adamant on sharing my discovery. "It was: Thank you so much! I love you mommy. I love you daddy."

Usui and I stared at each other, stunned… I had recited my last phrases perfectly. And within those phrases was 'Thank you so much'.

Meanwhile, in England...

A woman with short brown hair, wearing a white blouse and a pencil skirt hesitantly approaches the grand doors. She hears the conversation happening inside; it sounds like an argument. She stands there, afraid to knock on the door, afraid to interrupt the argument to be summoned inside.

"Are you just going to stand there or what?"

The woman jumped and looked back at the voice that startled her.

There stood a girl that looked about 16 years old with sharp, dark eyes. Though she was many years younger than the woman, she had an aura around her that screamed confidence and her gorgeous looks and figure could easily make people envious. She had strawberry blonde hair and wore a beautiful dress, making the woman pale in comparison with her average professional outfit.

The woman didn't understand why she felt inferior. After all, she worked with children of all sorts of ages, including young adults like the girl in front of her. The woman shook her head and cleared her throat. "Yeah, I was just about to head in right now. Will you be coming in as well?"

"Well, it's not like I have a choice," responded the girl, before the girl pushed past the woman and gave two quick knocks on the door before entering, not bothering to wait for permission to enter.

Seeing the girl casually walk in, the woman followed suit.

"Watanabe-san, how delightful for you to join us today," boomed the voice of the old man. He took a quick glance at me and said, "You as well, Sato-san."

"Hello Grand Duke," the woman greeted with a slight bow. "May I inquire why you needed to speak with me? I was made aware that you needed the guidance of a social worker. However, to my understanding, there are plenty of social workers in the UK. Was there a reason you requested me specifically and flew me here all the way from Japan?"

"Yes, Sato-san. I do everything for a reason. You handle all the cases of orphans living at the Nikko-home orphanage, correct?" asked the Grand Duke.

"Yes, sir, I do. Do you have any inquiries regarding the orphanage?" the woman asked, confused.

"Hm, not necessarily the orphanage, but a certain orphan within the orphanage. A boy by the name of Usui Takumi," came the Grand Duke.

"Oh yes, he was one of the newest orphans that joined the orphanage." The woman was confused as to how the Grand Duke came to know of this child's information. "However, with all due respect sir, you are unable to adopt him because he is past the age of 6," she explained.

The Grand Duke laughed, "Oh I know. That's the reason I sent him there. But I'm not looking to adopt him, I'm looking to possibly reclaim him."

The woman was stunned. She remembered Takumi's record. He was abandoned as a little boy and left to live on the streets. And now the people that abandoned him want him back? I could be misunderstanding the situation, but I need to protect Takumi! "Y-you're Usui Takumi's biological family? But there's no record of any relatives. I'm not sure if something like this is possible if you don't have a record of playing him in the orphanage or foster care system yourself," she stuttered.

"Sato Kaori!" his voice boomed, "You truly care for the children in that orphanage don't you?"

"Y-yes, sir," came her nervous reply.

"Then you will do as I say, unless you want the orphanage to suffer for your actions."

"Y-yes, sir," she whispered defeatedly. "What is it that you desire?"

"We'll discuss that after, but first…" the Grand Duke turned towards the girl.

"What did I need to come here for? If I just do what you ask, you can fix my problems right?" she asked. After listening to the little fiasco between the old man and the woman, she figured it was better to get straight to the point.

"I am quite aware that you are going through your own turmoil with your family, Watanabe Rea. Currently, the Walker family is going through some unprecedented times as well. If you just do as we ask, we can fix you little… issue,"

"Deal. What do you want me to do?" the girl, Rea, replied with no hesitation.