A/N: So...yeah. This is my first fanfic for A Silent Voice. I've seen both the movie and read the manga, and while I do like it to an extent, I wouldn't say it's a huge favorite. I actually have VERY conflicted feelings about certain scenes and characters (Ueno can go die in a fire). I admit, I haven't encountered many deaf people, nor do I know much about sign language, especially Japanese sign language, so I apologize if my attempts at writing about deafness are clumsy and awkward. If there are any inaccuracies and mistakes, feel free to inform me. But one thing always niggled at my mind during both the movie and the manga: What did Shouko do between her last encounter with Shouya and reuniting with him again? Did she make other friends? Did she find some semblance of happiness? Did she meet other deaf people? I know she has some kind of life outside of the people she dealt with in elementary school, so I wanted to try exploring that. Plus, she really deserved to be thrown a bone, as I felt the manga was a little too happy to crap on her all the time, even when she did nothing to deserve it. This fic is also a piece I wrote for the Writers' Anonymous Forum's Flower Language Challenge. My prompt flower was apple blossom, which can mean a sign of good fortune.

Head leaning against the glass of her mother's car, Shouko Nishimiya watched as scenery ran by her faster than her eyes could keep up. It had only been a week since she was taken out of school yet again, for the same reason she had been taken out of every other school over the course of her life: bullies. It was always the same. She'd go to a new school, try to make friends, they'd be put off by her deafness, other kids would torment her on a regular basis, she'd tell her family, they'd take her out of school after several months...the same monotonous pattern she had become all too familiar with. The same pain, the same feelings of wanting to disappear, the same bruises and injuries, the same loss of many hearing aids...nothing had changed.

Would it ever change? This painful monotony? She didn't know, and as far as she was concerned, her future seemed dark, with no sign of a light at the end of the tunnel. But today, she and her mother were going to finalize her transfer to yet another school. It was a relatively new school that had finished construction two years ago, and was about fifteen minutes from her house by car. Hardly anyone knew about it unless they really put in the effort to look for it. Shouko had seen her mother on the computer a few times, researching the school and writing things in a little notebook. Nevertheless, Shouko kept her expectations low.

The world seemed to spin as she watched her mother talk with the faculty, their lips moving, forming no sound to Shouko's silent ears. Her mother's shoulders sagged. A young woman dressed in a fancy suit smiling as she handed her mother a clipboard with paperwork to sign. An elderly man in a thick sweater vest handing her mother an ID and a handbook. Shouko's student ID and handbook, she theorized. Shouko stared out the window, wishing she had brought a book to read. The sky was overcast, with grey clouds that obscured sunlight. Shouko wondered if she was the dark cloud that hung over everyone she came into contact with, burdening their lives with her existence.

A sensation pulled her out of her dark thoughts. The warmth of a hand on her shoulder. Shouko looked up, meeting eyes with a friendly looking woman with dark hair tied into a ponytail. Her pale blue eyes were full of mirth as she began gesticulating with her hands, making signs.

"Hello, Shouko-chan!" Her wild, quick moving hands moved with dramatic flourish, faster than her lips could keep up. "I'm Mogumo Rumi, and I'll be your personal aide and interpreter throughout your time in school. I'm so happy to meet you!"

Shouko smiled back, giving an acknowledging nod.

Rumi started signing again. "I'll be present throughout your classes to interpret your lessons and lectures. Though I should probably let you know…" Rumi playfully bonked her own head with her fist. "Math isn't one of my better subjects."

Shouko chuckled. She found herself liking Rumi already, and she had never been given help with understanding her lessons before. Not like this, anyway. She never even had an interpreter before this. Was this a sign of some sort? Shouko signed back at her.

"It's nice to meet you…" Shouko stopped. What was Mogumo in sign language? She never heard that surname before. She knew the syllables, but how could she spell it out in signs?

"It's like this," Rumi signed the characters of her name with her hands. Shouko mimicked the signs, hoping she got it right. When Rumi signed yes, Shouko smiled again.

After several more discussions, the meeting ended, and Shouko and her mother returned to their apartment. Tomorrow was the first day at her new school. One part of her was looking forward to the change. Maybe, just maybe, this would be better than all the other schools she had attended before this. But the cynical part of her reasoned that it didn't matter how many new schools she went to. She would always end up being bullied, singled out, made out to be the source of every single problem, and ostracized. Why should she believe otherwise when it never worked out before?

She plopped down on her bed, staring at a dark ceiling, eyes blurring as stray tears threatened to come out. What else could she believe in? She needed something to get her through every day. It didn't help that she was falling behind in her education. Transferring schools all the time didn't exactly give her time to study. Even so, the world couldn't be this cruel all the time, could it? With that thought in mind, she drifted off to sleep, leaving herself at the mercy of darkness.

Shouko's grandmother drove her to Chiyuu Elementary School, since her mother worked early in the morning. When they pulled up, her grandmother met her eyes and immediately started signing, though her hand movements had slowed down with age.

"Have a good day at school, dearie."

"I will."

"If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know right away. I'll come pick you up at 3:00 sharp."

The last thing Shouko wanted was to make her grandmother worry. But even if someone did pick on her, what exactly could her grandmother do to stop it? Any help she could provide would only go so far, if at all. She appreciated the advice regardless, nodding in her direction. Shouko went inside, mentally preparing herself for anything bad that might happen. She wasn't expecting this school to be different from all the others she had to deal with. Every second she was in her classroom, she expected someone to throw a crumpled up ball of paper at her head, smack her with something, or see some kids whispering about her behind her back. Just because she couldn't hear their cruel words, that didn't mean she couldn't tell people weren't talking about her. She steeled herself, ready for the school day.

Oddly enough, nothing of the sort happened. Nobody felt the need to comment on her presence, nobody's eyes widened when she showed them her notebook and wrote that she was deaf, and with Rumi around, she could actually keep up with the lessons. Most of the kids in her class just did their own thing, not paying her any notice, and whenever they did look at her, she didn't see mischief or malice in their eyes. One girl with blonde pigtails waved at her with a smile, and Shouko shyly waved back. This had to be a dream. Shouko had never gone through a school day where she wasn't subject to some kind of abuse. At one point, she pulled on her cheek to make sure she wasn't asleep.

She was fully awake, and the students barely noticed her. This wasn't a dream? When lunch came around, Shouko remained at her desk, eating her bento all by herself. As she savored the taste of the chicken her grandmother made, she noticed a red blur zooming above her eyes. Then a hand entered her vision. Shouko looked up to find the pigtailed girl from before sitting in front of her with a big smile on her face. A spray of freckles dotted her face and nose, and her eyes were a pale, dull blue, but were brimming with delight. Shouko's body turned rigid. Who was she, and why was she sitting in front of her?

But in an instant, her body relaxed when the blonde girl's hands moved, signing quicker than Shouko could keep up. "Hello! I'm Tamaki Yuu."

So Yuu was her name. It had a nice ring to it. Shouko signed back, introducing herself. She liked the swift, elegant movements of her hands, devoid of the awkward clumsiness that was common among people who were just learning to sign. Yuu seemed to actually know what she was signing.

"How do you know sign so well? Most kids our age don't know JSL at all."

"My dad is deaf, and my mom is hearing, so they taught me how to sign. I've been learning it since I was a toddler. Pretty cool, huh?"

There was no trace of fear, indecision, or disgust in her eyes. She was so dumbstruck she couldn't help but gape at this brand new person. Yuu was treating meeting a deaf person like it was the most normal thing in the world. Everyone else she knew were usually either bothered or disgusted by the idea of someone who couldn't hear, acting like they were mind-sucking aliens from another planet. From Shouko's perspective. Being shunned by everyone just for not being like them was practically normal for her, so seeing this random girl cheerfully signing at her was almost surreal.

Yuu straightened up, sliding her own pink, strawberry patterned bento box onto Shouko's desk. "Want to have lunch with me?"

Shouko used two fingers to rub her forehead. Did she see her hands right, or were her eyes playing tricks on her? Someone actually inviting her to spend lunch with her? Nobody had ever done that. Yuu repeated the signs again, and Shouko understood perfectly. This wasn't a dream. Was this some kind of harbinger? Was good fortune smiling down on her at long last? She didn't know. For all she knew, the whole thing might be some cruel dream, mocking her and telling her that her very existence was a blight on the human race. Maybe the cruel words people spewed at her all throughout her life were true.

But against the doubts that simmered like boiling lava, the corners of her mouth rose as she signed yes.

The girls shared their meal together, and their hands gesticulated wildly, as though they were putting on a performance in front of an invisible audience. Shouko doesn't know what to say, but her hands were moving all on their own, as though a layer of chains had finally been unlocked, allowing them free reign to flail all around, motion bursting with emotion. Yuu's arms were always open, palms facing outward, and she never lost eye contact all throughout their conversations. Her eyes and mouth were jovial, with none of the hostility and hatred Shouko was used to. Not even when Shouko told her why she transferred here.

"Goodness. That sounds awful. Nobody deserves to be put through that," Yuu frowned, but encouraged Shouko to continue. "It's a good thing you transferred here when you did."

"Well, I did cause everyone problems, and I am used to it by now."

Yuu's eyes shrunk and her mouth fell open in shock, like Shouko had witnessed a murder. "You're not the problem, Shouko-chan. They're the ones who were mean to you. There's no excuse for all the crap they put you through. Anyone who puts you down, treats you like a burden, and makes you feel awful about yourself isn't worth your time," She slammed her hand on the table twice. Shouko shuddered at the harsh vibration that went from her skin to her brain. Yuu meant every word she said. Shouko could feel it in just how hard she smacked the table.

"Seriously, just hearing about those bullies you had to put up with makes me want to punch them so hard they'd lose their teeth!" Yuu's palm met her fist. "If anyone gives you a hard time here, you let me know. I won't show any mercy!"

As much as Shouko appreciated Yuu's concern-far more than Yuu could possibly comprehend-Shouko wasn't keen on the idea of violence as a solution. "Now now. There's no need to go that far."

Yuu's shoulders relaxed before she went back to signing again. "Shouko-chan. The school's not perfect, but I assure you, there's a lot of deaf students here, and everyone is always treated with respect. The teachers aren't like the stupid ones you had to deal with. What you went through in your other schools is wrong, and you deserve so much better."

Did she, really? Shouko wasn't sure about that. A life of constant disappointment and sorrow could really erode one's self-esteem. But the rain clouds that seemed to hang over her were beginning to part just slightly, thanks to the ray of sunshine in front of her. She did find herself liking the school, and in just one day, she already found herself a friend.

That had to be something, right?

After lunch, the rest of the day went by peacefully. At one point, Yuu told her that the school had a small society of deaf students that operated like an after school club, said club being called Talking Hands. Students got together, bounced ideas off of each other, had fun, held study groups, and often hung out during the weekends whenever possible. "If you want, you should stop by when you can. I bet they'd love you. But it's okay if you don't want to as well. It's entirely up to you," She empathized.

Rarely did anyone ever suggest that Shouko meet others like herself, or even respect her wishes. Maybe meeting other deaf people like herself wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe…

Shouko pointed to herself with her index finger, then to Yuu, and clasped her hands together, shaking them once.

Yuu smiled. "Of course we can! I don't see why not. I'd love to be friends with you!" The blonde girl twined her arms around Shouko, pulling her into a hug.

Her signs were like a message from heaven itself. Every day, for as long as she could remember, Shouko would cry herself to sleep, cursing herself for having been born deaf, not being normal, and driving people away just for being around. She hated herself every day she lived, wondering why people hated her so much. Her family loved her, sure, but she even called that into question at times. Her own mother couldn't be bothered to learn any kind of sign language, and seemed more concerned with trying to make her into something she wasn't. Her grandmother and little sister loved her without reservation, but still, she wished she could make friends with others.

Now, her wish had come true.

All she could think to say came out in bursts of sobs as she buried herself onto Yuu's shoulder. A warm, gentle hand rubbed her back, up and down, soothing the pain she had held in for so long. Questions rang in her mind. How could someone like Yuu like her so much? What did she see in Shouko that was worthy of being loved. Shouko never considered herself someone who had any desirable traits. The second people found out she was deaf, they kept her at a distance, or if she tried to get close, pushed her away, disgusted. They told her she dragged them down and cramped their style just by being around them. That she should just take her notebook and go away.

She remembered coming home from school one awful day, her trembling body soaked to the bone, hair eskew, completely emotionally broken. She had fallen to her knees in front of her confused sister. With trembling hands, she signed that she wanted to die. That she couldn't go on living, that there was no light in her future.

Now, her future seemed to burst with radiance.

Gradually, Shouko's sobs fizzled out like the last trickle of a flowing river, and her tears followed suit. Yuu made no mention of the tear stains on her shirt, signing that it's nothing a run through the dryer can't fix. "It's starting to get late. Do you want to walk home together?"

Shouko shook her head. "My grandmother's picking me up."

"Sure. But I'd love to have you over at my house sometime. My mom makes great madeleines!"

When they walked out of school at the end of the day, it was here that Shouko noticed the cloud like blossoms covering the trees in frothy blooms. She had barely noticed them when she first arrived, but now was entranced by their wild, unrestrained beauty.

"The cherry blossoms sure are pretty," She signed.

Yuu gave a chuckle before her hands gesticulated towards the trees. "Those aren't cherry blossoms. They're apple blossoms. But yeah, they are beautiful."

Apple blossoms...she read in a book once that in the language of flowers, apple blossoms could mean a number of things. One of them claimed apple blossoms were harbingers of good fortune. A sign of good things to come.

Did these blossoms signify the good fortune that befell her today? Shouko hoped they did, because she had never been this happy before now.

When she and Yuu parted ways, Shouko saw her grandmother's car pull up and went right inside.

"How was your day, Shouko-chan?" Her grandmother asked, her hand movements slow as always. But Shouko liked that. She could keep up with what her grandmother was trying to say. "Nobody gave you a hard time, did they?"

Shouko flashed a radiant grin. "Today was wonderful."

Underneath the warm fragrance of the apple blossoms, Shouko and her grandmother drove home. For the first time in her entire life, she had a reason to look forward to school.

She hoped the apple blossoms would remain in bloom.