Chapter 1: The Sad Truth
What is equality?
This world has never been truly fair.
Those born perfect are praised like kings,
while those who are "different" are ignored, mocked, and left behind.
I… was born deaf and mute.
Every day, every step, I am reminded of my difference.
I see the world through eyes that will never hear,
and ears that will never understand.
"Hey, look at him… Izumi," the voice cut through the quiet of the corridor.
"Hey, mute!"
I lowered my head, trying to hide the pain.
In a school of 1,400 students,
not a single hand reached out.
Only laughter echoed, watching me fall to the floor,
trapped in a world that does not care.
A student next to me was being bullied.
"Lend us 500 yen."
He just bowed his head, trembling,
daring not to resist.
I hated seeing this—
I hated a world that lets things like this happen.
I closed my eyes for a moment, swallowing the hurt.
"Why like this?" I whispered to myself.
"Why was I born different?"
Yet in the middle of that despair, a realization struck:
I cannot let this world destroy me.
Even if they laugh at my weakness,
I have to find a way to stand tall.
And though I cannot hear or speak,
I know one thing for certain:
I will find a way to change this world—or at least myself.