Silence | Book 2

1-4: Revision

In the days that followed, Hibiki had committed himself entirely to studying. Armed only with pens and markers, he attempted to slay his law textbook once and for all. Bit by bit he whittled down the page count left, filling notebooks with summaries and flowcharts to make sense of it all.

That very afternoon was no different. Hibiki had made himself comfortable on the couch, a printed out text in hand which he was diligently reading, while using a neon orange marker to highlight the most important sentences. Maki laid beside him, curled up against his leg. Whenever he took a break from reading, he'd give Maki a few scratches behind the ears.

At the kitchen table, Kazuo spent his afternoon thumbing through the newest volume of a comic book. From time to time Hibiki would summon him to fill his glass of water, or anything else he required. He would do so immediately, to make sure that Hibiki could focus entirely on studying without any distractions.

Of course, that only worked as long as Hibiki didn't make any distractions for himself. Finally fed up with sitting and reading, Hibiki threw his text down on the coffee table, and grabbed his empty glass. Casually he sauntered over to the kitchen, and filled it himself.

Kazuo pretended not to see over the edge of his comic, trying his best not to be part of Hibiki's self-hindrance. So in turn Hibiki leant back against the counter, and watched him read while taking slow sips of his water. Kazuo turned his head, and held his book closed with one finger between the pages.

「Could I assist you with anything, Yukimura-sama?」His voice was formal and respectful, but Hibiki pierced right through that and instead made a quick, barely-committed gesture at the comic book in his hand.

「It just came out, it's a new sci-fi, and I quite like it thus far.」

'I remember you used to read comics like that for me when I was younger.'

Hibiki signed, once he had put the glass back down on the counter.

「That's been a while though. Five years ago, at least?」

'I think so, I stopped liking them'

「I believe you said they were for children, back when you wanted to be an adult.」

Hibiki immediately huffed.

'Being an adult sucks'

「So how is the studying going?」

Hibiki glared at Kazuo, but the latter waited patiently for a response.

'It's boring'

He signed with rather quick, apathetic gestures.

「I'm afraid that's a process everyone has to go through from time to time if they want to achieve something.」Kazuo nodded, but Hibiki instead opted to not hear the words of wisdom.

'I wish it was Saturday already. Everything was arranged, right?'

「Of course, it's planned and taken care of.」Kazuo said, and Hibiki gave an approving nod.

'What did you tell my parents?'

「That you're going out with a friend.」

Hibiki nodded again, but this time it was a looser gesture, relieved even.

「I know it's not my place to speak about this...」Kazuo started his sentence softer than usual, even shifting his posture to fully face Hibiki as he thought of how to continue. 「But can I advise not to keep this a secret for too long? I understand it's delicate, and that you need time, but your parents should also know this important part of your life. Otherwise it will only estrange you.」