A Cursed Speech User, but Also Yukimura’s Childhood Friend

Blurb:

The moment she opens her eyes, she finds herself an orphan with no parents. In a daze, she remembers that her name is Inumaki Himawari, but nothing else.

A passerby takes her to the police station. On the way, she looks at this strangely "clean" world, her eyes full of confusion.

With her competitiveness and good luck, she is subjected to covert bullying by her peers on her third day at the orphanage. She puts up with it and puts up with it, until she develops a strange superpower: "Language Control."

She looks at the black marks that appeared along with her power and feels a trace of unease. As the targeting continues, that unease turns to anger.

The next day, she sneaks away in the middle of the night.

At the same time, the Yukimura family finds a poor, ownerless "kitten." She's adorable, with black marks at the corners of her mouth. Most importantly, she can't speak.

After arriving at her new home, she can't adjust and often tries to sneak away.

With patient care, she gives up on escaping and settles in. Gradually, all sorts of little things bought especially for her begin to fill the house.

In the days that follow, she happily plays with the resident blue kitten and grows up in a loving home.

Scene One:

So boring.

One day, Himawari goes with Seiichi to the tennis club. Sitting on a bench, she props her chubby little face in her hands and follows the yellow ball as it flies back and forth through the air.

You hit it to me, I hit it to you. What's so fun about that?

Her lips move beneath her mask.

The yellow ball suddenly stops in midair. Two seconds later, it drops straight down.

Seiichi and Genichiro, both holding tennis rackets: "?"

Himawari guiltily looks away.

I didn't see anything!

Scene Two:

After drawing a mildly unlucky fortune, Himawari is holding Yukimura's mother's hand as they get ready to head home when she spots a little raccoon waiting to be adopted by the roadside.

Together, they launch a cute attack: puppy-dog eyes.

In the end, she successfully takes the raccoon home. While caring for it, she makes the surprising discovery that it's a raccoon that can write.

They take a sketchbook and chat by writing one sentence each.

Who am I? Where am I?

Is this world even normal?

Otherwise, why am I seeing the raccoon we picked up holding a sketchbook and pen and chatting with my daughter?

Yukimura's mother, who had been watching with an affectionate smile, begins to wonder if her entire understanding of the world has been switched out.

Scene Three:

After entering Rikkai University.

Himawari, who is forbidden from figure skating because of a leg injury, is coaxed by Seiichi into joining the tennis club as its newest manager.

After watching matches regularly, Himawari builds up a whole pile of questions. When she gets home, she takes a sketchbook and acts as a reporter, interviewing the tennis club captain.

Question:

[Why do you have to shout out the name of your tennis move before a match?]

[Doesn't that tell the other person what your next move is?]

[And if you're going to shout it, why shout so loudly?]

[Doesn't it feel embarrassing?]

The tennis club captain being interviewed: "..."

The captain himself is silent for a few seconds before slowly replying, "Well... I don't know why they shout it out, either. Maybe everyone's still going through their chuunibyou phase."

He thinks of all the problem children in the tennis club and silently makes excuses for them.

[Content Warnings]

1. This is mostly a cozy, lighthearted slice-of-life story.

2. Lots of original worldbuilding, slow burn, and an OOC warning.

3. A crossover with various anime. Characters from other series will appear from time to time, but tennis remains the main plot.

4. Himawari has healing abilities, and Yukimura's illness will also be cured by his childhood sweetheart.

Theme: Love can grow slowly over time