Urano looked at her.
Renka's smile was soft and gentle, not forced, not playful. It was the kind of smile that came from someone who had already thought carefully about what they wanted to say.
She raised her hands and signed calmly.
"Thank you for coming. I knew my festival cancel bait would work."
Urano opened his mouth, ready to say that it hadn't worked, that he didn't come because of that. But the words never came out. He paused, then slowly closed his mouth again.
There wasn't really any other answer he could give.
He looked away toward the fence and said.
"So… why did you call me here? What is this small help you want."
Renka watched him for a moment. Then she suddenly raised her hands and clapped once.
The sharp sound cut through the quiet rooftop.
Urano flinched slightly and looked back at her. Renka noticed his reaction immediately. Her expression softened, and her hands lowered before she began signing again, this time more slowly.
"I'm sorry… for the past week."
Her fingers hesitated, then continued.
"I thought I could make you give up. I searched about you so I could troll you in every way."
Urano stayed silent, his eyes fixed on her.
"But the more I searched," she signed, "the sadder it got."
His eyes widened just a little.
Renka took a small breath and continued with gentler movements.
"I knew I had to stop. If I continued, it would become violating someones privacy. But I wanted to know… why you keep yourself so distant. Why youre trying so hard to be a nobody."
She looked directly at him, her gaze steady.
"Why is someone as kind as you living as if theyre unwanted."
Urano froze.
He stared at her as she continued, her hands moving carefully, explaining without exaggeration.
She told him how she had seen him pull a stray cat out of thick mud without hesitation, not caring when his uniform got dirty. How she once saw him helping an elderly person walk part of the way home, carrying their bag. How she saw him at the orphanage, standing quietly, handing over money to the adults there.
She signed how he smiled then. Just a little.
Uranos throat tightened.
"You…" he said quietly, surprise clear in his voice.
Renka smiled faintly and signed again.
"I went to that orphanage to check... There were many mute children there… like me."
Her hands slowed.
"Thats when I understood why you learned sign language."
She looked at him thoughtfully.
"Youre very close to that orphanage, right? I was wondering why."
Urano opened his mouth to say something, but she gently raised her hand, stopping him.
"You dont have to answer," she signed.
"Ive already crossed your privacy."
Her expression dimmed slightly before she continued.
"I also learned about last years sports festival."
Urano stiffened. This time, there was clear unease in his eyes.
"How…" he asked slowly. "Are you a stalker…?"
Renka immediately shook her head.
She raised her hands again and explained carefully.
"I only noticed something strange afterward."
She signed about the donation record, how his name appeared under support for the basketball event.
"But you never played basketball," she signed. "Your name wasn't even in the team list or the club."
She explained how the basketball event was almost canceled due to lack of funds, and then suddenly, the problem disappeared.
"So I thought… someone must have pushed you," she continued. "With reasons or with promises. Maybe saying it was for friends, or the team."
Her hands slowed as she finished.
"I didnt know the details," she signed.
"I just guessed… because Ive seen things like that happen before."
Renka lowered her hands and looked at him quietly, letting the words settle between them as the wind passed softly across the rooftop.
After a moment of silence, Urano stepped forward. His fist clenched tightly at his side, knuckles whitening as his voice finally broke through.
"Why?" he asked. "Why are you telling me all this?"
Renka didnt flinch. She lifted her hands and signed slowly, carefully.
"Because you looked like you were carrying all of it alone."
Uranos eyes widened slightly.
She continued, her movements becoming a little quicker.
"I know were practically strangers. But I know how heavy that kind of weight feels."
Her hands didnt stop.
"Im mute. People have assumed things about me my whole life."
She signed each word clearly.
"That Im broken. Or pitiful. Or useless in a group."
Her fingers paused for just a second before continuing.
"Ive seen them smile at me while thinking something completely different."
Urano stayed still, watching her hands.
"So when I realized you were hiding your kindness on purpose," she signed.
"I recognized it. It felt familiar."
She took a small step closer, her eyes softening.
"Im not telling you this to make you feel indebted."
"Im not asking for forgiveness for the notes, or for looking into your past."
She stopped for a brief moment, then raised her hands again.
"I just didn't want to pretend I hadn't seen it."
"You deserve to know that at least one person noticed the real you."
Uranos body went still. His shoulders tensed, and his gaze dropped to her hands. His fingers slowly curled in on themselves.
For a long moment, he didnt move.
Then, in a small voice, he spoke.
"Who said you're mute?"
Renka's eyes widened. She looked up at him, clearly caught off guard.
Urano slowly raised his head, meeting her gaze.
"From the first time I met you," he said, "I never felt like you were mute."
She froze, unsure how to react.
"You're the noisiest person Ive ever met."
Renka stared at him, confused, as he continued.
"I dont hear what you say," he said quietly, "but I can clearly feel it."
Images crossed his mind, the way her hands moved when she signed, the notes she left behind, the way she expressed everything without holding back.
"Everything you do," he said, "has a voice of its own."
He looked straight into her eyes.
"If you could make sound with your mouth," he added after a brief pause.
"you'd probably be the worlds most…"
He stopped for a second.
"Noisy."
As he said that Renka's eyes widened a huge blush appeared on her face she raised her hands to sign something but she doesn't know what to say at this moment her hands just moving making random sign.