Hanbun, Aoi.

In 1971, the year after the Osaka Expo, a girl called Nireno Suzume is born to the owners of a small-town eatery in Gifu Prefecture. At first, she is a healthy child who runs around the hills and fields every day, but in elementary school, she becomes deaf in one ear due to illness. Despite this, her loving parents and childhood friend Ritsu, born on the same day at the same hospital, give her encouragement. After graduating from high school, Suzume sets her sights on writing manga for girls with her unique creative powers and leaves for Tokyo.