A Sign of Affection (ゆびさきと恋々)

I...

Itsuomi-san's place?

Somehow, we ended up coming to his place to eat.

Oh, my family's living overseas right now, so don't worry about that.

Overseas?! So he lives alone...

My brain's about to short-circuit.

Th-The... The nerves!

The Answer

I've never seen him drinking before.

Stay calm... Stay calm!

Did you have fun today?

I had put the sign for "fun" in the Sign Language Guide, but still...

I had fun.

I had fun.

Great. Same here.

I had fun, too.

Huh?

Itsuomi-san...

He's hugging me?

Oh. He was just grabbing his phone.

Did something happen?

Has anyone ever told you that spending time with you makes one sleepy?

Has anyone ever told you that spending time with you makes one sleepy?

Nope.

What did he mean by that?

It's just really comfy

Itsuomi-san...

Well, I'm too nervous to be comfy.

If there is such a thing as compatibility between people's wavelengths,

I wonder where he and I stand. I hope we're compatible.

I caught a glimpse of the screen...

What language is that?

While he seems like he lives in a different world,

I'm in his arms right now.

He's wrapping me all up.

Being with him brings out something that completely takes over my mind...

The clingy side of me.

Hey, quit hanging on to me.

Here. Mint's favorite toys and other stuff.

Yeah.

Tell your folks I said hi.

Sure.

Mom sounded awfully envious of your family trip.

What should I get her as a souvenir?

Don't bother with that crap. Just make sure you have a good time.

Okay.

I'll be back for you in a couple of days, so be good, Mint.

Ow!

Sheesh, I'm such a fool...

"You."

"Fool."

Tch. That fool.

Looks like we're stuck here for a while.

Sure does.

Yikes! I gotta make this a fun chat!

Rin-chan.

You can take a nap if you're tired.

I-I'm good!

Yeah?

Hey, Kyouya-san?

Hmm?

What kind of seasoning powder do you like?

Huh?

What am I even asking?!

I do like the junk-food flavors,

but plain old bonito's gotta be my number one.

He actually answered! He's so nice!

How about you?

I, uh...

Cod roe, maybe?

Oh, that's a good one.

Right?

Please get this traffic jam over with already!

That's my kid sister.

Took that pic at her 3-5-7 ceremony in Japan.

She's cute

She's cute

She's a lot younger than me.

Though, well, this pic's from three years ago.

International Culture Studies 2nd-Year

Economic Studies 2nd-Year

You'll be a 3rd-year soon, like Rin-chan, right?

Hmm? Yeah.

But she said you were older than her.

Oh, that's because...

Hmm?

"Parking... all day"?

Could you read my lips?

Let me write it down.

I went on a working holiday

Oh, working holiday. I think you go abroad for that?

I'm 22 now

Twenty-two...

Three years older than me.

In-your-face as always!

What's up?

What's up?

Where's your family now?

Oh...

Hmm...

Sign Language Guide

Oh, my sign language guide!

He's been going through it, huh?

Germany?!

Germany

His family's over there, huh?

I used to live there, too

That's so cool!

Germany

They have great beer.

I used to live there, too

That's so cool!

Germany

His words and mine are conversing on the same page.

I can't hear his voice, but I feel like he's talking to me affectionately.

I want to know more... and I want him to know more about me.

I used to live there, too

That's so cool!

Germany

So that's why you can speak German

How about you?

How about you?

Me?

Me?

That's so cool!

Germany

So that's why you can speak German

Are your folks good at sign?

My family doesn't use sign language.

Really? How do you communicate?

Using phones, handwriting, or gestures.

Sometimes through mouthing.

Mouthing? Like lipreading?

Using phones, handwriting, or gestures.

Sometimes through mouthing.

Like lipreading?

Not just that. Verbalizing is part of it, too.

I see.

So it's like speaking out loud?

Do you do that too? Or do you not?

Really? How do you communicate?

Through phone, handwriting, or gestures.

Sometimes through mouthing.

Like lipreading?

Not just that. Verbalizing is part of it, too.

I see. So it's like speaking out loud?

Very rarely.

Just with my family.

How did you practice?

I paid attention to people's expressions and mouth movements when they spoke.

And along with that, I focused on the pronunciation of vowels.

That must've been a lot of effort.

But you only speak to your family, huh?

People used to tell me I had a weird voice.

But if I wrote that down,

it'd ruin the mood.

Sorry.

Sorry.

m 0 0 l 100 0 100 100 0 100

Very rarely. Just with my family. How did you practice? I paid attention to people's expressions and mouth movements when they spoke. And along with that, I focused on the pronunciation of vowels.

He remembered the promise he made me at the laundromat.

Ghana

France

Wow, there's so much!

Burkina Faso

Myanmar

Whoa!

It's got little hearts! Cute!

I laughed out loud!

Hello?

Oh, Itsu?

I hope you walked Yuki-chan back.

Nah. She's home right now.

Home?!

Whose?

Mine.

Hey, what the hell?

So, what's up?

I mean, not much...

It's just, uh...

Is it good?

Don't do anything weird.