Chapter Text
To Nanase Haruka, the world was just so loud.
It was something that his best friend, Tachibana Makoto, found extremely amusing as an observation considering Haruka was clinically deaf.
His deafness was something his parents had fretted over whenever the doctor explained to them why their two-year-old son hadn’t started talking yet. However, Haruka had since found it mystifying that they had once cared so much about him since soon after they left him in his grandmother’s care at the age of five and barely ever visited him anymore.
His grandmother had been the one to learn and teach him sign language which the two of them used with ease now that Haruka was eleven years old. Makoto was also fluent, having diligently learned when he was six years old after the two of them met at their local swim club. It was a convenient friendship since right after they met each other, Haruka discovered that Makoto actually lived just down the hillside from him with his family.
Haruka always found it bothersome to be around most people since getting to know anyone was always so tedious. Strangers were always using so many gestures that had no meaning to him and trying to yell at him as if an increase in volume could get through his undeveloped eardrums.
But Haruka didn’t really think he would be any more social if he had been born of hearing. His deafness also didn’t quell the loudness of the world which was just plain irritating since Haruka would have thought that his so-called disability would have at least afforded him that luxury. The world was tediously intolerable.
Even in the small town of Iwatobi, a quaint Japanese fisherman village, people were always rushing around and entering uninvited into his personal space. Haruka always felt uncomfortable outside the confines of his grandmother’s house that smelled like cherry blossom scented detergent and yesterday’s cooked fish; it was his haven.
Begrudgingly, there were a few other people who Haruka had reluctantly let into his world. Prominently, there was Hazuki Nagisa from the swim club who was a year younger than him and Makoto and had been way too overzealous when Makoto initially explained that Haruka was deaf upon their first meeting. The tiny blonde-haired boy who Haruka had referred to as a ‘sprite’ before Nagisa diligently learned some signs to be able to haphazardly get through a conversation while Makoto still had to fill in the blanks whenever Nagisa’s signs devolved into him just wildly flailing his arms around. But even though Nagisa was sometimes difficult to understand, the boy never gave up on learning sign language and still received lessons from Makoto sporadically. Haruka understood that Nagisa didn’t learn things very easily, especially anything that would be considered academic, and recognized how committed Nagisa was to being his friend. He even found it acceptable for Haruka to refer to him as ‘little sprite’ as a sort of sign-nickname. Aside from that, all the other people in Haruka’s life were adults or Makoto’s friends who he would tag along with whenever Makoto convinced him to come along.
But most consistently, Haruka’s world consisted of one very important thing; swimming. Whenever he jumped into the water at Iwatobi Swim Club, he truly felt at peace in that submerged world. There was no sound in the water and it was what brought Haru the most contentment.
“[Ready for race day]?” Makoto asked after he lifted Haruka out of the pool one day after practice was over.
It was a consistent pastime for Haruka to use his deafness to feign ignorance that he never realised when practice ended even though both he and Makoto knew better. Haruka wasn’t an idiot and could tell just the same as everyone else when practice was over, but he liked to use everyone else’s ignorance to his own benefit. But Makoto didn’t like consistently being in the awkward position of having to ‘wrangle’ Haruka out of the pool after practice, so the taller, brown-haired boy would now stand at the end of Haru’s lane to reach out and help him out.
Haru scowled in response to Makoto’s exasperating question since both boys already knew the only reason Haru entered into swimming competitions was because it was mandated throughout the club for anyone who surpassed a set lap time; and Haruka currently held the fastest time consistently for freestyle for the past three years.
Makoto and Haruka walked home afterwards, saying goodbye to Nagisa who had to walk in the opposite direction once the boys were changed and exited from the swim club. Nagisa’s wild flailing as he waved goodbye was enough to make Haruka dizzy, so he turned to head home first while Makoto waved back to the small blonde for the both of them.
Neither of the two of them said anything further on their way home, a common occurrence between the two best friends. Makoto was talented enough at being able to have short conversations with Haruka while they walked, but sign language really did work best when those communicating stood still and faced each other. Haruka could also read lips, a detail he didn’t often divulge because then people tended to speak exaggeratingly slow and enter into his personal space to show off their obscene mouths. Again, for Haruka to be able to read Makoto’s lips, it required for the two of them to stop for better communication and Haruka really would rather get home and read his new Waterfalls and Other Springs magazine that was due to come in the mail today.
At Makoto’s house, which was before Haruka’s on the hill their neighbourhood was built into, the taller boy waved Haruka goodnight in a much less offensive fashion than Nagisa had, before the brooding black-haired, blue-eyed sixth grader made his way up to his house at the top of the hill that further led up to the local shrine.
“Tadaima,” Haruka called out accompanied with a short sequence of knocking along the genkan wall to indicate to his grandmother that he was home; knock-knock, knock-knock-knock.
His grandmother appeared out into the hallway from the kitchen and waved warmly at him in the least offensive greeting Haruka ever received.
His grandmother was the most aware of how daunting and disquieting Haruka found the world and was even more accommodating to it than even Makoto.
“[Dinner’s almost ready. Go get washed up],” his grandmother informed him to which he nodded in assent before climbing the stairs to deposit his school and swim bags in his room before moving on the washroom to clean up.
From the mirror above the sink he looked at the reflection of the bathtub while he washed his hands, really wishing he had enough time for a nice soak before dinner, but the grumbling in his stomach told him that his body didn’t agree with his priorities. Plus, his grandmother always had dinner ready for him after swim practice and knew he needed his strength for the swimming competition tomorrow.
After changing into a pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt, Haruka made his way downstairs to set the low table as was his responsibility before his grandmother brought over the dishes for their dinner.
Once everything was on the table, Haruka watched his grandmother kneel down before he took his place across from her and they both said their thanks for the food.
Dinner was always a passive occurrence in the Nanase household. It was his grandmother’s belief that it was rude to communicate while there was hot food on the table that would otherwise go cold if one spent their time distracted. Haruka agreed easily with such a philosophy, enjoying his grandmother’s company and appreciating her grilled mackerel dish with steamed rice and miso soup.
It was Haruka’s duty to clean up after they were finished with dinner, clearing the table and washing the dishes before he would bring out his homework with his grandmother sitting with him, usually reading one of her many novels. Haruka was reminded that he still had his magazine waiting for him, but with his competition this weekend, he was required to complete his homework before he could partake in his own leisure.
“[How was your practice?]” his grandmother asked once they were both reseated at the low table, dinner having been cleared.
“Good. Makoto said there will be three other swim clubs in attendance,” Haruka spoke, indicating to his grandmother that he was paying enough attention to her and willing to read her lips instead of the two of them signing to each other this evening.
His grandmother was always considerate to let Haruka decide how they would communicate during their evenings together. Haru found communicating to be a draining experience no matter what language he used, Signing or Japan regardless, so it was the little things like his grandmother giving him the freedom to choose that he appreciated greatly. He was never annoyed at his grandmother when they would speak to each other, but she was aware enough of the issues he had with interacting with others even without the language barrier.
In his childhood Haruka had seen enough doctors and specialists to know he had some level of ongoing depression and other social disorders, but his grandmother gave him the freedom to orient himself in the ways that made him the most comfortable. She had once explained to him that one good friend was more precious than many and that his love of swimming reassured her enough that he participated enough in the world to not need to prove anything else to her, or anyone else for that matter.
He truly appreciated his grandmother.
“Are you only swimming free?” she asked with a knowing gentle smile to which Haru responded with a small nod before he decided to open the English book in front of him.
He scowled down at his homework, to which he missed his grandmother’s amused smile, because he never saw the sense of learning such a ridiculous and convoluted language. He was already bilingual which was more than enough for someone who would rather forgo talking with most others, so he never understood why he would ever have the need to engage in a conversation in a third language.
Haruka laboured over his homework for an hour before he at least had all the questions filled out. Without proofing over his assignment, he shut his book and excused himself to go upstairs. His grandmother nodded before she too stood up and made her way into the living room to put on the television. Haruka saw that it was one of her programs with the closed captioning on since she always made sure that it was obvious Haruka could join her.
But all Haruka really wanted to do was draw himself a bath and read his magazine while he soaked and unwound.
Several minutes later, Haruka was stripped down to his jammers, because only uncivilised people bathed completely bare, and settled into a tepid bath, because again only ridiculous people bathed in hot water.
Haruka enjoyed his magazine thoroughly, taking his time to read each article and admire every picture of the waterfalls he had never seen before and sparkling blue waterways that made his mind feel at ease, before the light in the bathroom blinked to indicate that it was time for him to get out of the bath and get ready for bed.
Whereas Makoto had the startling habit of just barging into Haruka’s bathroom in the morning to rouse him from his bath to get ready for school, his grandmother had much more tact by flicking the light to prompt him to get out of the tub.
Obligingly, Haruka got out, although with a slight sigh because he still hadn’t gotten through his entire magazine before he toweled off and donned his sleepwear. It didn’t take him long for him to fall asleep after he climbed into bed that night. Makoto always said he struggled to fall asleep before race days but Haruka didn’t find it any different than any other night. He was only racing tomorrow because he had to and then he would return home and finish his magazine.