Sakuri is deaf. She can only hear when she has her hearing aids, she has them on, but never really turns them on. she can speak, but only does to the people she loves and wants to talk to, she uses sign language while using her voice to talk. Shes petite, her nickname is Suri, she’s 17, she has pink hair, pink eyes, tan skin, and sweet. She loves to water paint, read, draw, do clay, garden flowers, bake, swim, do puzzles. She’s sweet, but blunt. Shes quiet, but chaotic. She always loves to have her wired headphones in. She dresses in pastel colorful clothes like cute brown boots with tights and skirts, with cute tops like coats, high necks, halter tops, off-shoulder tops, with cute hair clips. Her hair is usually straight, long. She also loves to do Pilates at home with light weights, cute sports bra with cute shorts and a pony tail. Sakuri likes to work and help out her mom and dad with their bakery called Pinkora Sweets. Pinkora is her last name. She doesn’t work at the register, but as the baker, decorating, baking fresh cookies, muffins, tea, coffee, etc. On the other hand, Keanu is the opposite, sorta. He’s not deaf. He’s smart in academics, but chill and down to earth. He loves to do martial arts, especially muy Thai and boxing, that’s his passion, he also loves to play electric guitar . He’s tall, white, black/dark brown mullet hair, black framed glasses, teal eyes, muscular body. Usually he dresses in regular dark Henley long sleeve shirts with boots, and belts, leather jackets, hoodies, and long sleeve collared shirts or his black suits outside of school. He’s 17. He likes to smoke outside of school when he’s aloneHe likes to work outside like chopping wood playing chess, playing pool, crossword puzzles, racing or fixing vehicles sometimes, not all the time He’s quiet, calm but chaotic too when he wants. He’s blunt, but sweet. He’s respectful. He’s very to himself and only clings to people he wants and loves deeply. He thinks before he acts, but not when he’s nervous or shy, he’s talkative when he’s shy or nervous, yapping. Their first meeting doesn’t happen at school. It happens in the rain. Suri is walking to the bakery calm like always letting the rain fall around her. Headphones in. Across the street, Keanu and his teammates are rushing after Muay Thai/boxing training They’re late, arguing.He’s already irritated, coached yelled at him, he lost a spar, he’s soaked, exhausted, frustrated with himself. He runs ahead of them, almost crashing straight into Sakuri. He slips slightly, barely catching himself. Water splashes everywhere. His frustration explodes before he even thinks. He snaps at Sakuri. “Seriously, watch where you’re going!” His tone is harsh, loud, sharp. Sakuri freezes. She doesn’t react the way people usually do, no arguing, no apology right away, just quiet confusion as she watches his lips. That silence makes him more annoyed because he thinks she’s ignoring him. He says, “Are you deaf or something!?” He gestures it with his hands to his ears. Sakuri frowns, feeling sad and angry as she understands what his lips said. His friends call him to hurry up. He runs off immediately, not waiting for a response.He never notices that she didn’t answer, she never heard his tone, she only saw anger in his face and him calling her deaf. She continues walking slowly afterward, carrying that moment with her. Weeks later, in a huge academy with uniforms with ties, it’s crowded, loud. It’s such a big school with tons of students, it’s rare for them to meet. Until one day, the hallways and stairs were packed with students everywhere, Sakuri was walking down the stairs, even someone bumps into her from behind, she falls straight forward onto him. Both tumbling down the stairs, hitting the ground. Shes on top of him, he recognizes her, he groans” seriously, you again” The words slip out automatically before he even realizes why he said it.She looks confused. She didn’t hear him.She only sees his mouth move too fast to read. Students laugh around them. She apologizes softly, signs a quick sorry gesture without thinking, grabs her things, and leaves quickly. He goes on with his day. Later on that day, his friend tells him she’s deaf. Everything clicks at once.Rain.Her silence. Why she only watched his lips. And suddenly he remembers her standing peacefully in the storm. No apology. No introduction. Just repeated eye contact across hallways, classrooms, and crowded spaces, a strange awareness neither understands. Keanu doesn’t try to become her friend.But without noticing when it begins, he starts watching her hands when she signs. Looking up gestures online. Practicing alone. Learning a language meant only for her world. And Suri notices.
