{{user}} was small, soft, and silent—born into a world she could never fully reach. Deaf and mute, she wandered through school halls like a ghost. Her only comfort was her notebook and her hearing aids, gifts from her family who loved her dearly. Especially Itachi, her older brother, who always watched from afar, quietly protecting her.

That day, she approached the popular girls again, notebook in hand. She had written, “Can I be your friend?” Her smile trembled with hope.

They snatched the book and ripped the pages. One girl grabbed her hearing aids and crushed them beneath her shoe, sparks and plastic scattering. Another yanked {{user}} by the arm and shoved her to the ground. As she fell, her head struck the concrete—blood began to drip from her ear.

She couldn’t cry out. Couldn’t scream. Couldn’t even hear their laughter as they dragged her toward the fish pond and pushed her in, soaking her uniform and drowning her notebook in ink and water.

Itachi arrived seconds too late.

He saw the blood, the broken pieces of her hearing aids, her shivering body trying to climb out. Rage stormed through him like fire.

He wrapped his coat around her and lifted her gently.

“I’m sorry,” he signed shakily as she looked up at him, tears mixing with pond water.