Leaving the Past Behind

[Leotrak]

Ahsab is right, dude Just keep on posting your writings ^_^

Though, I -am- glad to be mentioned as the latest fan

[Extremist_Line]

Well, would you look at that! The fic that has been in progress for...one month now? Will finally be officially finished. And while I'm on vacation, no less. I do the damndest things for you people.

*******************************************************
Epilogue: Prejudice

Sometime in the summer, 2008

I pulled the headphones out of my ears as I heard the rumble of an approaching airplane. It quickly glided down to the runway and touched down. I wrapped the headphones around my PSP and slipped it into my pocket. I reached into my other pocket and pulled out my phone.

'Standing right outside the entrance. Black truck.' I texted out to her with my shiny new Japanese text-enabled phone.

In a few minutes, I saw her signature glasses and blue hair, which she had decided to grow longer, coming through the front entrance of the airport. She rushed me and wrapped me in a tight hug. She then pulled us apart and then gave me a gentle kiss.

'Hey Luke, I missed you so much.'

'I missed you too Shizzy. How was the flight up?'

'Horrible. All sorts of people got pissed at me because they thought was I just ignoring them. Good thing you taught me a little bit of English writing.'

'Yeah, sorry I couldn't pick you up in Japan. So, you ready?'

She nodded.

'Just put all your stuff in the back.'

'Ok, hey Luke, can I ride in the middle?'

'If you want, it's not going to be comfortable though.'

'As long as I'm near you, I'm perfectly comfortable.' She signed with a smile.

'If you say so.' I signed, then opened the door for her. She slid into the middle of my spacious truck. I placed her things in the backseat and got into the driver's seat.

'So, what do you think of America so far?'

'...'

'I don't blame you. Let's go.'

I turned the key and started up my truck. After we buckled in, we started the long trip back to my house. The national airport was a few hour's drive away from my house, and Yamaku wasn't funding Shizune's trip here, so they couldn't fly her to the local airport literally a five minute walk from my house.

At least I got to turn the radio as loud as I wanted to. Shizune leaned her head on my should and fell asleep not too long after we started off. She must have had an exhausting trip...

The details of the trip were not much to tell. Unfortunately, having a mute girlfriend can make long trips boring.

But eventually we reached my house. Or rather, my parent's house. I was still living there while going to the local community collage.

After I parked the car, I gently shook Shizune to wake her up. She let out a soft little moan as she stretched. I noticed that after we started dating for a while, she started making more vocal noises than she had made before.

....Yeah.

Anyways, she looked around a bit and signed to me:

'Is this your house?'

'Parent's house, but yeah. They're anxious to meet you.'

We got out and I took her luggage for her. My cat seemed a little confused by the new presence. Shizune gently scratched her behind the ears, causing her to quickly warm up to my girlfriend.

'You have a nice cat Luke.'

'Thanks. C'mon, let's go in.'

After opening the door, I saw that my mom was sitting in the living room.

"Oh, welcome back Luke! Is that your girlfriend?"

I signed everything over to Shizune for her. She signed back to me.

"Yes, I'm Shizune Hakamichi. Nice to meet you Mrs. Fisher."

My mom looked pretty confused.

"Oh, I never told you, did I? Uh, Shizune is deaf."

"...Oh, I see."

Shizune tried to get an innocent look on her face after I signed that.

"Luke, I need to talk to you a second."

"Oh, ok." I looked over at Shizune. 'She wants to talk to me. Sorry about this.'

'It's ok. I thought something like this might happen. Take your time.'

I walked into the next room with my mom. She called my dad, who got up from his recliner and came in.

"Honey, why didn't you tell us your girlfriend was deaf?"

"Was there a need to? What difference does it make?"

"Luke, you have a disabled girlfriend!"

"...So? What's wrong with that?"

"It's...weird! Why would you date a disabled girl?"

"Wha...Why not? I love her, and she loves me! You sent me to a school for disabled students, surely you considered this a possibility?"

"But there's no way we expected you to get a girlfriend!"

"Well I did."

"Hey! Don't act like a smart-ass to me! Also, what if you start a family with this girl? Could you handle your children being disabled too?"

"Mom, she told me that it doesn't run in the family. Minor nearsightedness is the worst thing my kids could get, I think that does run in her family."

"How is her family anyways?"

"Fine. Her brother is a bit...eccentric, but otherwise they're fine."

"Well...I still don't want you to risk it. I can't handle the thought of having disabled grandchildren!"

"Jesus, it's not like it's mental retardation, it's just deafness. Can't you give her a chance?"

"...Fine. Go get her, we already have dinner ready."

I walked back into the den. She was still patiently waiting, sitting on the couch.

'Shizune...they don't like you. I'm sorry. For some reason they're prejudiced against you because you're disabled.'

'It's ok. I don't care what they think anyways.'

I smiled and helped her up, pulling her into a hug.

'Thanks. They seem to be willing to give you a chance though.'

She nodded. We went back into the dinning room where my parents were already sitting. Me and Shizune sat together opposite of my parents.

"So, how exactly did you two meet?"

"She was the class representative for my class. I was told to meet her the first day. She and her friend helped show me around and explained things to me."

"How did ya'll talk if..."

"That friend, Misha, acted as an interpreter, like I've been doing. When we started dating by ourselves, we wrote back and forth on a notebook of her's before I took a sign language class."

"I see."

They continued to glare at Shizune as we ate. Shizune didn't look at them much. Truly she didn't care that they disapproved of us.

"So, Miss Shizune? Why exactly did you decide to start dating Luke?"

'...'

"We started out pretty rocky. But, we quickly got over it and fell in love. He even managed to change how I acted towards other people."

"Oh? How so?"

'...'

"I used to be kind of cold, mean you say, to some of the people around me. But, Luke helped bring me out of that. I realized that I should treat people a lot better after seeing what happened to Luke."

"Luke! You told her!?"

"Yep."

I could tell they were angry.

"Mom, I changed her! What's the problem with that?"

"Nothing! But you didn't have to tell her that you almost brought a gun to school!"

"She doesn't care."

"Luke..."

"Alright, that's it." I turned to Shizune. 'Come on, let's go.'

I started to get up and she got up with me.

"Luke, what are you doing?"

"We're done. We're going out for a bit."

I could see the anger in their eyes as we walked out the door, over to our pool deck, and sat on the swing together.

'Shizune, I just can't stand them anymore. Sorry for this.'

'It's fine. Like I said, I don't care what they think, I love you so matter what.'

'And I love you too.'

We shared another kiss. Gentle and loving, nothing too hot.

I had a worrying feeling that my parents were watching us, but like Shizune, I decided not to give a crap if they did.

After breaking the kiss, I kept my arm around her, she laid her head on my shoulder, and we just enjoyed each other's company.

After a while, we decided to head back inside, holding hands. When we entered, I saw that my parents were standing there waiting for us.

"Um...Luke, can we talk?"

"Sure." 'They want to talk with me.'

'Ok, you guys can just stay here though. Not like I can eavesdrop.'

"Alright, go ahead."

"Well...can she read lips?"

"Not in English."

"Ok...well, we just wanted to say that we're sorry. We saw you two out on the swing, and it looks like you two really do love eachother."

"We acted very unacceptable for no good reason. We were prejudiced against her just because she was disabled. And that's no good reason to be prejudiced."

"Thanks guys." 'I think they've finally warmed up to you Shizzy.'

She smiled.

"Um, can you forgive us Miss Hakamichi?"

'...'

"Of course, and please, call me Shizune."

"Ok Shizune. So...anything we can do for you?"
************************************************************
A few hours later...

'Hey! That was my powerup!'

'Sorry!'

Later that night, Shizune and I were playing on my old SNES. Parents said they would let us share the room as long as we don't...well, you know.

She yawned, instead of her old mute yawn, she let out her new cute little one. I'd love to hear her voice...

'You look tired, want to go to sleep?'

'Yeah.'

We had already changed into our pajamas, so we went ahead and slipped under the covers together.

'I'm glad you got to come over, but my parents really treated you badly. I'm sorry.'

'Really, it's ok.'

'If you say so, good night Shizune.'

'Wait! There's something I need to tell you.'

She sat up, looked me right in the eye, took a deep breath, and then uttered in a quiet, soft voice:

"I love you Luke."

I stared at her blankly for a few seconds. I was in shock of what had just happened. She just spoke to me...

I pulled her into a kiss. I couldn't help it after hearing her speak just for me.

After that, I signed to her:

'How long have you been training to do that?'

'A few weeks. Misha really helped me out.'

'Well, thank you so much Shizune. We've signed and wrote that we love each other several times, but to hear you actually say it...it just has so much more impact.'

She smiled. I reached over and shut off the light. Shizune pulled herself in close to me and laid her head on my chest.

I wondered what else we'll do while she visited.
************************************************************************
Phew. There, it's done. Are more one-shots possible? Maybe. I can't think of anything that hasn't already been done with Hanako, and I don't want to seem like I'm using the same thing and just replacing her with Shizune.

However, at the request of kosher, I will be making a version of this for Hanako. Keep an eye out.

So, I want to know something else: Which one did you guys like better? This or Hangovers? Please state whatever your reason is for liking one or the other. I was planning on a poll for this, but it feels unnecessary.

[kosherbacon]

"Fine. Her brother is a bit...eccentric, but otherwise they're fine."

That's one way to put it...

This chapter was well worth the wait. Now get back to vacationing!

[Wren]

Great entry EL! And yes back to your vacation. Have fun!

[Xuan]

Er, I absolutely loved this chapter but I want to confirm something: Could Shizune actually talk in KS?

[Leotrak]

Er, I absolutely loved this chapter but I want to confirm something: Could Shizune actually talk in KS?

No, but as written above, Misha helped her practice. It's not as if Shizune has no vocal chords, she just never used them - until now

Anyway... Can't give you an answer to that question, EL. I don't want to hurt the story's feelings ">_>

[kosherbacon]

I've always worked under the assumption that can speak if properly motivated to. Like if she gets secksed by Lilly or Misha.

[Member22]

Another awesome chapter... was a great read as always! Its good that you have included the issue of ignorance and stigmatizing of disabled ppl... although the conflict was resolved a little bit too fast... but still was great nonetheless

Also, another minor suggestion... wouldn't Luke have already told his parents about Shizune over the course of his senior year?

However, at the request of kosher, I will be making a version of this for Hanako. Keep an eye out.

I was just about to ask you to do that... thanks Kosher for the request!

So, I want to know something else: Which one did you guys like better? This or Hangovers? Please state whatever your reason is for liking one or the other. I was planning on a poll for this, but it feels unnecessary.

Its quite a tough choice as both of them are well written... But I have to give the point to Hangovers because it had more chapters, hence we readers saw Luke and Hanako's relationship develop over a longer period. This one was also great, but maybe a few one-shots or chapters showing the dynamic of their relationship i.e the ups and downs, Luke learning sign language etc would likely make it equal (or better) than Hangovers.

[Extremist_Line]

Also, another minor suggestion... wouldn't Luke have already told his parents about Shizune over the course of his senior year?

Mmmaaaayyybbbbeeee.....
I sorta thought about that. I just assumed that Luke had told them he had a girlfriend, but didn't tell them she was disabled.

But I have to give the point to Hangovers because it had more chapters, hence we readers saw Luke and Hanako's relationship develop over a longer period. This one was also great, but maybe a few one-shots or chapters showing the dynamic of their relationship i.e the ups and downs, Luke learning sign language etc would likely make it equal (or better) than Hangovers.

Actually, Hangovers and Past have the same number of chapters as long as you include the prologue and epilogue, and they take place over the same period of time: one week.

I'll see if I can think up some more one-shots to add. The ups and downs? Hm, maybe.

Anyway... Can't give you an answer to that question, EL. I don't want to hurt the story's feelings ">_>

I don't see how telling me which one is better will hurt my feelings, assuming that's the question you're referring to.

[Leotrak]

Anyway... Can't give you an answer to that question, EL. I don't want to hurt the story's feelings ">_>

I don't see how telling me which one is better will hurt my feelings, assuming that's the question you're referring to.

Note how I said the -story's- feelings Was a half-hearted attempt at a joke anyway, hehe

Personal preference goes out to Hangovers, but it's only winning by a small margin (Hanako > Shizune, IMO ) <-- No, that's not the whole reason as to why Hangovers comes first for me, but I can't put my finger on the rest of it...

[neumanproductions]

You know, if my parents sent me off to a school for the disabled they probably wouldn't expect me to bring home a girlfriend either. I have a hard enough time doing that in my current position.
Anyways, very nice of you and how you have melded your OC thus far. Perhaps I'll have to use my OC in the future; when i'm done with my other series; which by the way has been updated after a month. Yep, I'm so slow.
You've been going strong so keep it up EL!

[Mirage_GSM]

First of all, I think I could like the Shizune in your story. She's a lot nicer to Luke than she was to Hisao though - and that has to be an understatement...

You know, if my parents sent me off to a school for the disabled they probably wouldn't expect me to bring home a girlfriend either.

The way I read it, it wasn't that his parents didn't expect Luke to bring home a disabled girlfriend. It was that they didn't expect Luke to bring home a girlfriend.

Also, another minor suggestion... wouldn't Luke have already told his parents about Shizune over the course of his senior year?

I sorta thought about that. I just assumed that Luke had told them he had a girlfriend, but didn't tell them she was disabled.

In this case that should have been a no-brainer considering the school they sent him to...I remember making the same objection in Hangovers.
To me it seems odd to go to a foreign school for over a year and not staying in touch with one's parents - even if they aren't on the best of terms. Also Luke seems to have returned to the US some time earlier. I know my mom would have grilled me for every last detail before we'd have gotten home from the airport

Er, I absolutely loved this chapter but I want to confirm something: Could Shizune actually talk in KS?

I've read about Shizune learning to speak in several Fics now. Though there are forms of muteness that are caused by a genetic defect, most deaf-mutes are unable to speak simply because it is difficult for them to learn to articulate themselves without hearing the results of their efforts and compairing them to others' speech.
So, yes, I think it is very probable that Shizune could learn to speak. What I find hard to believe is that a girl as determined and competitive as Shizune would not have tried to learn to speak much earlier. She isn't the type to just relax and continue to depend on Misha, if she had a chance to overcome part of her disability.
As for which story I liked better, victory goes to "Hangovers" - not because I like Hanako better than Shizune (That's a bonus for me ), but because in some places Hangovers is more believable than LTPB, e.g. the respective scenes where Luke discloses his past: Hanako was already admiring Luke for saving her from Shizune at that point. Shizune all but thought he was a pervert by that time (exaggeration) and still this is the reason why she chooses to sleep over in his bed after she freaked out over a kiss the day before?
Also, like stated above, Shizune seems a bit OOC in how fast she seems to make friends with Luke. Yes, Hanako is even less the type to make fast friends with anybody, but the reason you gave her was better.
Anyway, I liked both stories. Hope to read more of your stuff in the future.

[Extremist_Line]

In this case that should have been a no-brainer considering the school they sent him to...I remember making the same objection in Hangovers.
To me it seems odd to go to a foreign school for over a year and not staying in touch with one's parents - even if they aren't on the best of terms. Also Luke seems to have returned to the US some time earlier. I know my mom would have grilled me for every last detail before we'd have gotten home from the airport

Joy, another plot hole to add to my collection.

Not really much I can say here in defense. Only thing I can think to say is maybe his parents were hoping it would be one of the rare 'normal' students?

What I find hard to believe is that a girl as determined and competitive as Shizune would not have tried to learn to speak much earlier. She isn't the type to just relax and continue to depend on Misha, if she had a chance to overcome part of her disability.

Oh! Two plot holes in one post! That's a new record!

I guess my defense would be that it would be a lot easier for Luke to learn sign language than for Shizzy to learn to speak. Besides, she probably had to learn a lot more speaking in order to make the flight(s) from Japan to the US.

e.g. the respective scenes where Luke discloses his past: Hanako was already admiring Luke for saving her from Shizune at that point. Shizune all but thought he was a pervert by that time (exaggeration) and still this is the reason why she chooses to sleep over in his bed after she freaked out over a kiss the day before?

Eh, you've got a real point there. I guess it would have been a lot better to just have Shizzy leave that day and agree to be better friends with him. I just have a thing for the whole bed-sharing thing so I tend to try to insert it into as many places as possible.

The only justification I have is that Shizzy felt sorry for him and understood that he was simply desperate because he was shunned after the incident, and that she knew how he felt because she hadn't been in a relationship because of her harsh attitude. Sharing the bed could be considered a PG form of pity sex without the sex I suppose. And Shizzy seems like the kind of person who would do that.

Anyway, I liked both stories. Hope to read more of your stuff in the future.

I really do need to see if I can get to work on another fic.

I think I might go ahead and post that one story I've almost finished and has been just sitting around and festering for about three months. Maybe it'll encourage me to get back to work on it.

[Mirage_GSM]

What I find hard to believe is that a girl as determined and competitive as Shizune would not have tried to learn to speak much earlier. She isn't the type to just relax and continue to depend on Misha, if she had a chance to overcome part of her disability.

Oh! Two plot holes in one post! That's a new record!

Actually, that one is not on your conscience. Shizune hasn't learned to talk in official canon either. When I first read Act I, I thought that maybe there was a condition that rendered one both deaf and mute, but in a quick wikiwalk I learned that muteness is caused by
a) a genetic defect (improbable in combination with deafness)
b) psychological reasons like social phobias or depression (definitely NOT Shizune)
c) Autism (not here either) or
d) physical damage to vocal chords or larynx (e.g. larynx cancer)
So my conclusion is that, yes, Shizune could learn to talk if she put effort behind it, and she would be the type to put effort behind it.
The one possible explanation I can think of is that she would be too self-concious to try, as deaf people talking can sound like they are mentally challenged. Maybe she did try it before and was ridiculed for it.

Eh, you've got a real point there. I guess it would have been a lot better to just have Shizzy leave that day and agree to be better friends with him...
The only justification I have is that Shizzy felt sorry for him and understood that he was simply desperate because he was shunned after the incident, and that she knew how he felt because she hadn't been in a relationship because of her harsh attitude. Sharing the bed could be considered a PG form of pity sex without the sex I suppose. And Shizzy seems like the kind of person who would do that.

I wanted to elaborate on that scene a bit more, but it was getting really late yesterday... uh, this morning. so:
There was another reason I liked Hanako's scene better than Shizune's. It was more personal. Luke actually told Hanako his story himself; he only showed Shizune a newspaper article (btw, the full names of the culprits usually aren't published in the media... maybe "Luke F." or something). I do understand why you did it though - it's no fun writing it the same way twice.
Maybe you rushed Shizune's story a bit because you wanted to keep the same timeframe you did with Hanko's?
So I said the transition between almost pervert and potential boyfriend was a bit harsh... Let's look at the other side of the equation.
At the end of the first date, Shizune gives him a hug, doesn't protest when he hugs back but then completely explodes when he tries to kiss her. That seems a bit over the top. In that situation, any rejection stronger than "Sorry, but no" (maybe followed by an aprupt departure) would be nothing less than bitchy - and probably enough to cause loads of angst in Luke. That way she could still consider him a potential boyfriend and he could still fantasize that she hates him - and the sleepover offer wouldn't be quite as jarring.
So the reason why Hangovers was the better story was probably because you wrote it first and used up your better ideas for it. It's difficult to write about the same stuff without becoming repetitive, but you managed to avoid that.

[Extremist_Line]

btw, the full names of the culprits usually aren't published in the media... maybe "Luke F." or something

You sure about that? My...cousin's full name was published in newspapers when he killed both his parents and a neighbor that came to investigate. That's where I got the idea for the newspaper article.

Maybe you rushed Shizune's story a bit because you wanted to keep the same timeframe you did with Hanko's?

I'll admit that I did rush, but I rush just about every story I write. I want to get past all the introductions and start writing the interesting stuff, you know? Plus I get kinda bored after I get a couple of chapters in. That's why there's like three half-finished stories in my archives.

At the end of the first date, Shizune gives him a hug, doesn't protest when he hugs back but then completely explodes when he tries to kiss her. That seems a bit over the top. In that situation, any rejection stronger than "Sorry, but no" (maybe followed by an aprupt departure) would be nothing less than bitchy - and probably enough to cause loads of angst in Luke. That way she could still consider him a potential boyfriend and he could still fantasize that she hates him - and the sleepover offer wouldn't be quite as jarring.

Yeah, I guess that would have been better. Really, the whole reason that arc was added was to keep the story from being entirely just 'sunshine rainbows and flowers' happy, much like how I had the bittersweet ending to Hangovers (even if everything turned out fine in the end, much like here). I also really wanted to show this side of Lukeand myselfthat isn't really seen, which is that 'hopeless romantic' side, who desperately wants love but can't have it because of the incident. I guess that I wanted to make sure his angst was justified, so I went for it as harsh as I could. If I could go back and change this story, I would.

So the reason why Hangovers was the better story was probably because you wrote it first and used up your better ideas for it. It's difficult to write about the same stuff without becoming repetitive, but you managed to avoid that.

Yeah, I think you're right. That's why there's only a single one-shot for this, because I've already done just about every scenerio for a one-shot that I could do for this with Hanako. I guess it's also because Hangovers is the 'canon' story, since it coincides with kosher's Broken Dolls, so I don't see a reason to expand on this one.