Silence | Book 1

1-p2: Ties

「Did you enjoy your first week?」Hibiki's mother asked him in Japanese, over their fancy hotel dinner. He smiled as he took a bite of his pasta, nodding enthusiastically. Compared to his parents, he was rather underdressed, wearing a simple, black sweater, jeans and black canvas shoes.
「At what time was that presentation?」His father asked over bites of filet mignon, while his mother took the opportunity to brush his hair behind his ears with her well-manicured fingers. He put down his fork and knife to make quick signs with his hands.

'It's at 7:30, it's a motivational thing. The whole, do your best or else you're a failure at life nonsense.'
「They're right you know, if you get less than an A+ we'll throw you off the yacht and leave everything to Kazuo. 」
His mother gave his father a dirty scowl, but Hibiki just grinned and signed back at him.

'The one you haven't used since I was 9?'
「Well, you never had a bad grade, so we didn't need to use it.」With a wink and a grin his father butted back at him, before ruffling his hair. Rather annoyed, Hibiki puffed his cheeks up and tried to straighten it out again – only to have his mother lay a hand on his shoulder. A little surprised he looked up to see his her smile, and despite his messy hair he smiled back.
「Your father doesn't mean it. We're so proud of you, you've done very well.」He got the universal sign of a proud mother; namely a hand on his cheek as she pinched it firmly. Although he was getting treated like a five year old kid, he still couldn't help but smile widely.
「We should really go use that yacht sometime though... how about we go to Monaco this summer?」His father suggested.
His mother let go of him and just shook her head, letting out a slight, disappointed sigh.
「I thought you liked the Mediterranean?」His father said without skipping a beat, causing his mother to cross her arms. Hibiki instead grinned and nodded, making a circle with his thumb and index to say he was okay with it.

On the hotel bed before him, his required academic clothes had been laid out: the usual formal clothes, with a white shirt, tie and black slacks, but then there was also something called 'scholar's robes' which as far as he could see was just a piece of cloth you threw over your shoulders and a black, square cap.

The British really like playing dress up, don't they?
With a slight sigh, Hibiki picked up the tie and ran the silk through his fingers. He smiled wryly, wrapping it around and pulling it taut. The silk slipping between his fingers sent shivers down his spine, so he quickly tossed it aside and set to getting dressed.

I look like I got lost in the wrong country, in the wrong time... Although he tried to look confident, his own image in the mirror managed to ruin even his ego. With a loud groan he let his shoulders slump forward, his arms dangling all limp.
A few rapid knocks on the door got him to stand up again, and he had to catch the cap as it slid off of his head.
「Hibiki, are you ready?」He heard his father ask.
With the cap still in one hand, he opened the door. Immediately he was overrun by both his parents, his mother grabbing both his cheeks a little too excited to see him like this.
「Oh, look at you Hiki-chan, you're so cute.」She rubbed both his cheeks, and he simply closed his eyes and wished to be anywhere else. With his hands caught between her and with one muted since he had to hold his cap, he still tried to sign back to defend himself from getting completely humiliated.

'I'm not cute.'
「You're my baby, you'll always be adorable.」His mother said with a last pinch of his cheek. He frowned back and let out a soft huff. Desperate he tried to look at his father for help, but instead saw him try to hide a slight smile. With a shake of his head he escaped his mother's grasp and laid the cap on the bed.
Meanwhile his father had noticed the tie thrown haphazardly on the bed. The held back smile turned into a sterner look, and Hibiki tried to defend himself even before his father could say anything.