Mute Or Just Scared? (Mitsukuni 'Honey' Haninozuka Love Story)

Found Out

I stood there, unsure what to do. What could I do? They knew my secret now. This strange group of boys knew that I could talk. They probably thought the whole mute thing was just an act. Regardless of how nervous and scared I was feeling, I fought the urge to cry.

"You know, Kyoya-senpai-"

"-I thought you said she was mute." The twins were speaking in that creepy way again. At this point, I could only hope that this Kyoya person knew more about my issue.

"Miss Akashima is what you would call a selective mute." I looked over to see the boy with glasses talking. He must have been Kyoya. "That means even if she can talk, she is still unable to do so around certain groups of people. For her, it is people in general. Her parents are hardly an exception to that. However, the cause of this is currently unknown."

"We should have her sing at the Host Club!" the taller blonde shouted excitedly. Apparently, he hadn't been paying any attention to what Kyoya had said.

"Tamaki-senpai, I don't think that's a good idea," the brown-haired boy said to him. At least one of them was on my side.

Of course, this Tamaki guy wasn't giving up that easy. "It is a wonderful idea!" He kept going on and on about it until the smaller blonde stepped in.

"That's not very nice Tama-chan," he told the older-looking boy. "Suzu-chan is too scared to talk to us, so singing would only be harder for her." For being so small, he sure was smart. And pretty mature. It made me wonder just how old he really was. "It wouldn't be nice to make her do it."

Tamaki seemed stunned. Was this out of character for this kid? To me, it was a bit of a shock to see someone sticking up for me. If it weren't for the whole mute thing, I would say I was speechless.

After a few whispered words among the boys, they slowly began to leave. None of them said a word, which confused me. But me being how I am, I just brushed it off and wandered back to where I'd left my book. As I made my way back to the door, I noticed the really tall guy and the little blonde boy were still here.

Wondering why they were still here, I walked up to the duo. Why are you here? I tried to say the words, but once again nothing came out. However, the taller one seemed to pick up on what I wanted to say.

"She wants to ask why we haven't left, Mitsukuni," the tall one said. So the little one was Mitsukuni? Huh... Mitsukuni... that has a nice sound to it.

The one called Mitsukuni smiled and answered the question for the two of them. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. Tama-chan gets a little carried away sometimes."

Mitsukuni's voice was sweet and gentle, like a child's. Wait... how old is he? I mean, he looks really young, but he is wearing a high school uniform. Maybe a really young-looking first year? Or maybe he's a genius who skipped a few years of school?

Without realizing it, I was now staring at him. When he gave me a confused look, I looked away, embarrassed. Sometimes not being able to talk really was the worst. I couldn't explain why I was staring or ask what I wanted to know. I really should start carrying around a notebook again...

Thinking up an excuse, I decided to try to ask their names. Flipping through my book, I searched for the word "name." When I found it, I showed it to them and pointed to each of them, hoping they would get the hint. Lucky for me, they did.

Mitsukuni introduced his friend as Takashi Morinozuka. His own name was Mitsukuni Haninozuka. I had heard of those two families before. The Haninozukas and Morinozukas were famous for martial arts. Unless you were a commoner, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to know that.

As they turned to leave, I grabbed Mitsukuni's sleeve. Even though I really wanted to say something, I knew I couldn't. So I just settled for mouthing the two words I wanted to tell him. He just smiled at me and left.

Thank you.