Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tenko Chabashira was feeling anxious.

Today was the day. She’d spent weeks preparing for this moment, from lobbying the Hope’s Peak faculty to approve her idea to getting all the logistics in order. It had taken weeks of arguments and explanations, but she’d finally been granted permission—presumably because the faculty were sick of dealing with her—and now, all of her hard work was going to come to fruition. It was exhilarating, yet at the same time nerve-wracking.

She wasn’t in over her head, was she? This project was important to her, of course, but could she really step up to the plate and become the leader she needed to be? Neo-Aikido wasn’t exactly suited for something like this, so she wouldn’t be able to rely on her martial arts. All she had at her disposal was her natural charisma, which even she knew was…lacking. She wasn’t shy, but her friends had told her time and time again that her energy could often be overwhelming for those who weren’t used to it. What if she scared people off? That would be directly counter productive to her goal! She would have to dial it back a bit if she wanted this all to end well.

Unfortunately, she was late on the very first day. As she rushed through the hall, papers practically spilling out of her bag, she silently berated herself for getting distracted. Instead of going straight to her assigned clubroom after the final bell, she’d gotten caught up in berating Shuichi for some offhanded comment he’d made about Kirumi’s hair. How dare a degenerate male feel his opinion on a girl’s beautifully styled hair be important enough to vocalize? She’d expected it from other boys, but this was Shuichi! He was one of the better men she’d met at Hope’s Peak, and even though it was just a small slip up, he needed to be properly reprimanded. Before she knew it, she’d been talking his ear off in the now empty classroom for fifteen minutes when she was supposed to be at the club room ten minutes after the bell! She’d sprinted away the moment she realized, and now that she was standing before the door, she steeled her nerves and swallowed her pride.

Everything had led to this. If she were going to leave her mark on Hope’s Peak Academy, this was how she was going to do it. This was her legacy.

With a deep breath, Tenko stood tall and pushed through the door, eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry I’m late, everyone! I got caught up in something, and—”

The moment she laid eyes on just how many students had gathered, her voice caught in her throat. There were…so many people. They sat in chairs set up in a curved row before the desk at the front of the room where she was meant to stand, all eyes on her. Tenko felt her face began to burn and swallowed.

She recognized most of the people who had come. There were her classmates like Kaede, Korekiyo, and Miu, as well as students from the infamous class 77-B such as Nekomaru Nidai and Ibuki Mioda. Still, she had been expecting maybe five attendees at most, not a dozen. Were there really this many people interested in what she had to say?

“Uh…”

“Glad to see you made it, Tenko!” Kaede said with a wave and a smile. “It’s not like you to be late, so I was getting kind of worried. But hey, I managed to recruit a few people like I said I would. I tried to get Shuichi to come, but he started acting all weird.”

Tenko bowed at once. “Th-Thank you very much, Akamatsu-san! I appreciate this a lot!” She took a moment to regain her composure before scurrying behind the desk and setting her bag on the surface, looking out at the people who had gathered. She took a long drink from her water bottle before clearing her throat and beginning her address.

“H-Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for coming. My name is T-Tenko Chabashira. Welcome to the very first meeting of the Hope’s Peak Gay-Straight Alliance!”

She anticipated some sort of light applause, but when she received nothing but blank stares in response, Tenko darted her eyes back and forth before continuing.

“My goal with this organization is to educate students on LGBT subjects they might not be knowledgeable about as well as foster greater understanding and tolerance among the student body. This is also meant to be an environment where queer students can share their experiences without fear of ridicule, so I look forward to the discussions we’ll have here. Um…w-well, should we start with introductions?”

Kaede eagerly raised her hand. “I’ll go first!” She stood and gave everyone a smile and small bow. “I’m Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist! I’m a first year, and I’m bisexual! It’s so nice to be here with you all today.”

As Kaede sat back down, Miu rolled her eyes and rose. “Not like any of you losers don’t already know, but you’re lookin’ at the gorgeous girl genius with the golden brain! Miu Iruma, Ultimate Inventor! I guess I like chicks or whatever, but guys can definitely be hot, too. None of you, though.”

“Miu, do you have to be so rude? It’s an introduction!” Kaede said in a huff.

“Can it, Bakamatsu. If I wanted to listen you run your mouth, I’d just—”

Whatever Miu was going to say was cut off by Kaede covering her mouth and pulling her back down into her seat. Next to them, Kaito stood with a wide grin and gave a salute.

“I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars and the Ultimate Astronaut! Nice to meet ya! I’m not actually gay or anything, I’m just here to support my buddy Tenko!”

Tenko felt the urge to shout that they were certainly not buddies, but held her tongue.

Korekiyo stood next, arms crossed and eyes closed. “Keh heh…you may call me Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. I suppose the proper term for my own interests would be something along the lines of ‘pansexual’. I certainly look forward to studying how you all discuss such fascinating subject matter.”

The next to rise was someone who Tenko recognized immediately, his very presence making her uneasy. “My name is Nagito Komaeda, the second years’ Ultimate Luck. Not that I’d ever deserve to stand alongside such talented people like you all, but…I think I belong here. Thank you for giving me a place in this world.”

Tenko cocked her head. “Um…you’re welcome?”

Next to him was a smug-looking girl with giant blonde pigtails who was holding the hand of another girl who looked like a nervous wreck. Tenko definitely knew that face, but she couldn’t quite connect it to a name. She was a girl Tenko saw every day and who everyone knew, but what was her name? Her name, her name…Suddenly, it dawned on her, and the color drained from her face.

“J-Junko Enoshima?!”

Junko winked. “The one and only.”

“What are you doing here?!” Tenko shouted. This was bad. If Junko was here, then that could only mean that she planned on making a mess out of things and ruining everything. That girl made trouble wherever she went, and now was surely no exception. But the girl next to her…wasn’t that Junko’s girlfriend?

“Jeez, am I really so unwanted? You’re gonna make me cry. How despairing.” Junko snickered to herself before turning her head to her girlfriend. “You see how I’m treated, Mikan? Everyone hates me. I might as well just leave you and Ibuki here to enjoy yourselves…”

“I d-don’t hate you, Junko! A-And I’m sure she’s just surprised is all,” Mikan squeaked.

“Maybe so, maybe so. Either way.” Junko wiggled her fingers at everyone with a mischievous smirk. “You heard the girl. Junko Enoshima, Ultimate Fashionista, here to grace you all with her presence. Like the gimp in training over there, I’m a card-carrying pansexual.” After a few moments of silence, she turned back to the girl next to her. “Your turn, babe.”

“O-Oh! Right!” She stood up and bowed far deeper than necessary, so much so that Junko had to hold down her skirt to prevent her from flashing the others. “M-M-My name is Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse! U-Uhm, I g-guess I’m b-b-bisexual…? It’s w-wonderful to meet you all!”

“I! BU! KI! MI! O! DA! Put it together and what do you get? Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician!” Ibuki leapt out of her chair with her arms in the air and an eager smile on her face. “Ibuki loves herself some cute girls, and by the looks of things, this place has plenty of ‘em! Ibuki’s so excited to see what kind of stuff we get to talk about here!”

The next person simply raised his hand and waved, remaining seated. “Name’s Rantaro Amami, Ultimate Adventurer. I don’t really have any interest in the whole romance or sex thing, so I guess a place like this is right for me, huh? Thanks for setting this up, Tenko. Let’s all have a good time together.”

Next up was an absolute hulk of a man, heavy chains hanging from his neck and acting as some sort of makeshift lanyard that a whistle attached to. “I’m Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager! Labels aren’t really my thing, but my heart is open to everyone and anyone. If you ever need someone to confide in, I’m your man!”

As Nekomaru sat, the girl next to him stood with an uncertain look on her face. She was a frail little thing, standing just barely shorter than Himiko. She held her hands together in front of her and raised her voice slightly.

“Um…my name is Chihiro Fujisaki, I’m the Ultimate Programmer. I…don’t really know what I am, so I was hoping that by coming here, I could maybe figure that out. I hope we can all get along.”

She gave a small bow before returning to her seat. Naturally, Tenko thought this girl was absolutely adorable and immediately felt the need to protect her from the men who would undoubtedly try to take advantage of her, though any thoughts of Chihiro were promptly replaced when she looked at who the only person left was.

“Nyeh, I guess I’m in the same boat as you. I’m here to figure myself out, I guess.” Himiko stood and curtsied before extending her arms. “Be amazed by Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Mage!”

As Himiko sat down, Tenko couldn’t help but smile fondly at the apple of her eye. She was so cute! A part of her had been hoping that Himiko would show up today, but she knew better than to get her hopes up. Now that Himiko was here, though, Tenko was even more nervous than she’d been before. She couldn’t embarrass herself in front of her soulmate!

“Well, it looks like we’re done with introductions! Ah…” Tenko shuffled around in her bag for a moment before holding up a stack of papers. “I prepared these forms for us all earlier! You can put down your name, pronouns, the kinds of topics you’d like to discuss here, and anything else you’d like me to know about you!”

Junko raised an eyebrow. “We’re doing more introductions? Why didn’t you just have us say all that before?”

Sweat beaded down Tenko’s face. “U-Uh, well…”

“That’s a lot of different information though, isn’t it?” Rantaro suggested. “It’d be easier to keep track of it all if she had it on paper.”

“Y-Yeah! What he said!”

Junko shrugged, having seemingly lost interest already, while Himiko approached the desk Tenko was standing behind. “I can pass them out. I’ll be your assistant.”

Tenko felt her heart soar and a wide smile spread across her face. “Thank you so much, Yumeno-san! I appreciate it a lot!”

Himiko nodded before taking the forms and passing them out to everyone present. Kaito stared at his, blinked, and raised his hand.

“What is it, Momota-san?”

“I don’t have anything to write with.”

“Christ.” Miu stuck her hand in her bag before tossing him a ballpoint pen. “Leave it the himbo to not come to school with a writing utensil. Anyone else need a fuckin’ pen?”

“Aw, look at you being so generous. So sweet.” Kaede said, wrapping her arms around Miu.

Miu’s entire face went red and her eyes widened the instant Kaede made contact. She began to fruitlessly struggle against her embrace. “H-Hey! I never said you could touch me, cowtits! Lay off!”

As Miu continued to spout profanities, Tenko felt a pang of jealousy in her chest. Miu was the one girl in her class she didn’t like, but even then, her relationship with Kaede was heartwarming. Tenko was by far the most excited when Kaede accidentally let it slip that she and Miu were dating regardless of the fact that she herself wasn’t Miu’s biggest fan (seriously, what did Kaede see in that girl?). Even after months of the two of them being together, Tenko still smiled whenever she would catch Kaede stealing a kiss every now and again. Even so, she couldn’t help but be envious. Why couldn’t she get a girlfriend, too?!

Himiko collected the forms once everyone had filled theirs out and returned them to Tenko. Thanking her, Tenko shuffled through the papers and scanned the responses. What she was most interested in was what everyone wanted to discuss during these meetings, and a few of the answers she saw caught her eye.

Polyamory!

Gender stuff???

i dont know what nonbinary means and at this point im too afraid to ask

Tenko frowned. She considered herself well-versed in a variety of queer subjects, but even then, she was no expert on all of them. She would have to do her research if she was to properly talk about some of things. For now, though, she would stick to the material she’d already prepared.

“Okay! Now that introductions are over, how about a little ice-breaker so that we’re all comfortable with each other? This is supposed to a space where everyone feels like they can speak their mind free of judgement, so let’s—“

“Ice-breakers are so boring,” Junko said, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. “God. If you’re going to make us talk, at least have us do something that isn’t going to make me want to shove my head in a blender.”

Tenko winced as Mikan gasped. “J-Jun-Jun, you shouldn’t say things like that…”

“Jun-Jun?” Miu practically cackled. “Holy shit, that’s so gay!”

Junko squinted. “Seriously? Do you even know where we are right now? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. You look like someone who gets lost a lot.”

A whine escaped past Miu’s lips and she recoiled, her face twisting into one of distress. “W-What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“Hey, come on! There’s no reason to antagonize one-another,” Nekomaru said, nodding his head. “All of us came here for a reason, so we should listen to what Tenko has to say and do what she asks of us.”

With a smile, Tenko let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Nidai-san. The ice-breaker is just a simple question that anyone can feel free to answer if they’d like to!”

“Sounds easy enough,” Rantaro said, shrugging. “So what is it?”

“Have you ever faced ridicule for your sexual orientation or gender identity?” Tenko asked.

No one said a word. As the awkward silence lingered, Tenko found herself starting to sweat. Was every meeting going to be like this? Would there even be another one after today? She’d thought running a club based around something like this would be simple, but apparently getting people to open up took more than just one question.

Just as she was about to answer the question herself to get the ball rolling, Mikan tentatively raised her hand and kept her head down. Tenko’s eyes lit up.

“Tsumiki-san?”

“W-When I started going out with Jun-Jun—I mean Junko!—a girl from the reserve course r-ran into me in the hallway and said that if I were in her f-family, they would brand and disown me, or b-beat me until I didn’t like girls anymore. She just kept yelling at me until she d-didn’t want to waste her time anymore. I still d-d-don’t know what I did wrong,” Mikan’s voice broke as she began to tremble, squeezing her eyes shut. Though appearing enraged at first, Junko’s features softened and she pulled Mikan into a tender hug that seemed to calm her down. Tenko had heard the rumors about Junko’s fabled soft side when it came to her girlfriend, but seeing it in person was still difficult to process.

“Jeez, that’s messed up,” Kaito said, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“It’s f-fine. Junko was there to comfort me.”

Junko smirked. “I ran into that chick a few days ago, actually. I don’t think she’ll be pulling anything like that again.”

“Well, my experience certainly was never as intense as Miss Tsumiki’s here, but my parents were never fond of my proclivities growing up,” Korekiyo began. “They came to accept it eventually, though I was often reprimanded simply for expressing an appreciation for beauty. The only one to support me was my sister.”

Rantaro spoke up next. “Some of the girls who ask me out don’t react well when I tell them I’m not interested. They mostly assume I’m gay and just trying to save face, and the ones that don’t say that I’m broken. I don’t really take that stuff to heart, but hearing it so many times doesn’t exactly feel great.”

Kaede held up her hand with an awkward smile. “Back in middle school, I, uh, asked out this one girl I had a crush on. It didn’t go well. On top of getting rejected, everyone started treating me differently even though I was the same old me. That killed my self esteem for a while, even though I got over it eventually.”

“Oh yeah, you told me about that last semester.” Tenko crossed her arms as a grin spread across her lips. “See? A lot of us were made to feel like we were weird or lesser because of who we are. Unfortunately, that’s reality for most queer people all over the world, but it’s our shared experiences that bind us! We’ve got to stick together so that no one will ever bully us again!”

Holding back laughter, Junko pulled out a dangerously sharp nail-file and got to work on her nails. “Right, ‘cause I’m sure the homophobes in the school are going to be scared of a posse of pissed off gays. If you want a more effective solution, my advice is to punch them in the face. Or scratch at their eyes. Works like a charm.”

“Mm, those sound like good ideas and all, but not everyone is capable of doing that, you know,” Ibuki pointed out. “Tenko’s right! If we have a community like this, none of us will feel alone anymore!”

“That’s…a good point,” Chihiro mumbled before speaking up. “We might even be able to recruit more students to the club. Making people feel less bad about themselves is a good purpose for a club, right?”

“Exactly, Fujisaki-san!” Tenko pumped her arms in the air with a renewed vigor. “That’s the mission statement of the Hope’s Peak Gay-Straight Alliance! Our goal is to educate, inform, and support! I swear, I’ll revolutionize this school and make it the most LGBT friendly academic institute in the country!”

“Such admirable aspirations!” Nagito exclaimed with shining eyes. “The hope you hold in your heart is exhilarating! You have my full support, Tenko!”

Tenko gleefully looked on as more and more smiles began to appear. She even caught a glimpse of Miu trying to hide her own. This was all so exciting! If everything went well, she could truly turn this club into something beautiful and help people along the way. She’d dedicated so much of her life to protecting people with her Neo-Aikido, and now she could achieve that goal without even having to beat anyone up. And Himiko was here!

“Gee, Tenko, you sure do look happy,” Himiko said. “Are you that excited?”

Tenko put her hands on her hips and nodded.

“Yumeno-san, I believe this the start of something magical.”

Chapter Text

“Alright everyone! Week two! I hope you’re ready for some patented Tenko Chabashira education, ‘cause I’ve got a whole lot to say today!”

A part of Tenko expected to see a dropoff in attendance compared to the first meeting, but miraculously, everyone who had shown up last week had returned. It made her heart feel full and brought a smile to her face. Hopefully, the club would only grow as the semester went on, but Tenko couldn’t focus on that. For now, her efforts were best utilized in making sure every meeting went perfectly.

“Yo, Tenko,” Rantaro said, giving a two-finger salute. “Been a long day. I’m about ready for another meeting, though. What have ya got for us this week?”

“I’m glad you asked! For our first real meeting, we’re going to be covering a topic near and dear to my heart,” Tenko said as she pulled her laptop from her bag and placed it atop the podium, powering it on and connecting it to the room’s projector. “Does anyone have a guess?”

“You’re going to talk about how great being a lesbian is, aren’t you?” Himiko asked, yawning. “I figured you’d choose that as a first topic.”

“Right you are, Yumeno-san!” Tenko happily hummed to herself as she pulled up a powerpoint presentation. The first slide was a pink background decorated with the planetary symbol for Venus as well as various stock images of women showing affection to one another, whether it be by kissing or holding hands. Several students groaned at this, particularly the ones who were classmates with Tenko. “First thing’s first! Aside from myself, raise your hand if you identify as a lesbian!”

After several seconds of no hands being raised, Tenko’s spunk promptly disappeared. “R-Really? No one? Mioda-san?”

Ibuki shook her head. “Sorry, Tenko! Ibuki might love herself some cute girls, but there are plenty of cute boys out there, too!”

Kaede scanned the room with her finger on her chin. “Mmm, yeah, I’m pretty sure all us girls are bi…oh! Fujisaki-san? I know you said you came here to figure yourself out, but are there any labels you’re leaning towards now?”

Chihiro quickly shook her head as her face reddened. “N-No. Nothing. I’m sorry.”

“Am I really the only lesbian here?” Tenko frowned. “Aw…well, I guess that’s okay! It’s not like any of you girls are dating any degenerate males anyway. Now, to start today’s meeting—”

“Hold it.” Junko drew everyone attention over to herself with a raise of her finger, closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair. “Give it a sec, would you? Should be aaany moment now.”

Tenko tilted her head in confusion, but just as she opened her mouth to ask what Junko was talking about, there was a knock at the door. “Oh! Someone new must be interested in the club!” With a high pitched squee, she eagerly made her way over to the door and opened it only to be met with an empty hallway. “Huh? But…”

“Down here, moron!”

Tenko looked down and yelped in surprise, startled by the furious pink eyes glaring up at her. They belonged to a short little girl with long pink pigtails wearing a modified version of the Hope’s Peak uniform as well as a peculiar hairband that made her look like she had the horns of a devil, a white bow with pink polka dots attached to one of the horns.

“Hey, you made it!” Junko wiggled her fingers at the girl and winked. “Was wondering if you’d show up.”

“Big Sis Junko!” With excited eyes, the little girl pushed straight past Tenko and pulled Junko into a hug. “The main building is so big, I almost got lost! But I followed your directions just like you told me, so it all worked out in the end!”

“Um…” Tenko closed the door behind her and awkwardly scratched at the back of her head. “Enoshima-san? Who’s this?”

“She’s a big girl, she can introduce herself.” Junko smirked and put her hand on the child’s head. “Go on.”

The little girl put her fists on her hips with a proud smile. “My name is Kotoko Utsugi! Don’t forget it! I'm from the junior high division, so don’t underestimate me just because I'm young! I’m one of the Li’l Ultimate Dramas, but I’ll be the Ultimate Actress pretty soon!”

“Oh! Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kotoko-chan!” Tenko extended her hand towards Kotoko with a friendly smile. “You’re friends with Enoshima-san?”

Kotoko’s face twisted into one of disgust as she backed away from Tenko. “Big Sis Junko is Big Sis Junko. We aren’t friends, we’re sisters. Duh.”

“Kotoko here’s one of the kids I’ve basically adopted,” Junko explained. “I was telling them about this place earlier this week and she seemed interested, so I let her know when and where we were meeting.”

Mikan smiled at her. “It’s g-good to see you again, Kotoko. I hope you’ve had a nice week.”

“It was pretty fun, actually! Yesterday, Monaca and I spent all day at the park and were like princesses of the slide! Hey hey, Big Sis Mikan, you and Big Sis Junko should come with us next time!”

As Mikan practically glowed over the invitation, Kaito put a finger in his ear and furrowed his brow. “This kid’s cute and all, but what’s she doing at a club for high schoolers? Is that even allowed?”

“Don’t call me cute, and who cares if it’s allowed? I wanted to know what this place was like, so here I am! Deal with it.”

Though a bit dejected by her prior rejection, Tenko clapped her hands together and maintained a smile. “So then, Kotoko-chan! Are you a part of the LGBT community? Or do you think you might be?”

Kotoko nodded. “Oh yeah, I’m a lesbian. Boys are yucky,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Tenko gasped as her hands flew to her face, her eyes practically shining. “You are?” Another high pitched squee and Kotoko winced. “Aaah, that’s great! So am I! You and I are kindred spirits, Kotoko-chan!” She wrapped her arms around Kotoko and spun her around while laughing, much to Kotoko’s dismay.

“H-Hey! Don’t touch me, creep! Put me down!” she screamed, flailing around.

Mikan spoke up as best she could, her voice barely audible over Kotoko’s wailing. “U-Um, Chabashira-san, Kotoko really doesn’t like being touched!!!”

Tenko gasped and set Kotoko down at once, the younger girl’s burning red face stoking guilt in her gut. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Kotoko-chan! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!”

Kotoko jabbed her finger forward. “If you do that again, I will make your life a living hell. I promise.”

“Aw! That’s my girl!” Junko said as Kotoko pulled up a chair, forcing Nagito aside so that she could sit between the two. “Really though, Tenko, you’re gonna want to keep your hands to yourself, especially when it comes to strangers. You might end up bringing up some buried trauma.”

“R-Right. My bad. Ah…” Tenko bit her lip and mentally punched herself as she walked back to the podium and cleared her throat. She had to remind herself that just because she was around people like her did not mean she could go around behaving as she usually did. It was difficult to admit, but when it came to girls as adorable as Kotoko or Himiko, she could be just as bad as a degenerate male. She knew she was weird—people told her as much every day—and this club was meant to be a safe place for queer people, not weirdos. She would have to curb her enthusiasm for sure if she wanted to keep herself from making a poor first impression on any more potential new members.

Tenko perked right back up, a smile spreading across her lips as she put her fists on her hips. “Alright! Let’s get this show on the road. First thing’s first. Who can define the term ‘lesbian’ for me?”

“Are we gonna ask stupid questions at every meeting?” Miu scoffed. “It means a chick who’s only into chicks, duh.”

“Correct! Five points for Iruma-san! Now—”

“Might I interrupt for a moment?” Korekiyo asked with a raise of his hand.

Tenko scowled. Of course a degenerate male would feel inclined to give his opinion on matters that didn’t concern him, but he at the very least asked permission first. “What is it, Shinguji-san?” she asked, venom in her tone.

“While that may be the common definition recognized by most people around the world, let us not forget those who consider themselves lesbians that are also attracted to individuals of non-binary gender identities.”

“Oh, I wanted to ask about that! What the heck does that even mean?” Kaito asked, making up his face. “Like, someone who doesn’t have any binary or something? Hey, Fujisaki! You’re a programmer, right? You must know all about that kind of stuff.”

Chihiro seemed to shrink in her chair. “Uh…that isn’t the sort of binary he’s talking about…b-besides, I’m not well versed in gender stuff at all. You’d be better off asking someone else.”

Nagito chimed in. “I can answer this, actually. To put it in simple terms, non-binary means that you’re not a boy or a girl. One of my classmates is non-binary, actually. Sagishi.”

“Oh yeah! We all thought they were a guy at first because they looked like that Togami fella, but one day they came to school impersonating Yukizome-sensei, and Ibuki was like ‘Woah!’. Ibuki doesn’t remember exactly what they said, but they told us they weren’t a guy or a girl!”

Kaito furrowed his brow. “How does that even work? I don’t get it.”

Tenko loudly cleared her throat to bring everyone’s attention back to her. “That’s a subject for another day! For now, lesbians.” She hit the spacebar on her laptop to move to the next slide of her presentation, an image featuring an assortment of historical figures important to lesbian history as well as a long timeline at the top, albeit with text much too small to read. “Who’s ready for a history lesson?”

“Tenko, I thought this was supposed to be fun,” Himiko groaned. “No one wants to feel like they’re in class again…”

“Oh, but it is fun! And important! For instance, did you know that in ancient Greece and Rome, relationships between men were super common and even accepted, but that there’s barely any recorded information about relationships between women? In fact, the degenerate males back then were threatened by just the idea of female homosexuality! They thought that lesbians would go around stealing all the women they thought belonged to them—and really, who could blame them?—and that they were some sort of biological mistake or something!”

Rantaro couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. “You’ve got a strange sense of fun, huh?”

Tenko frowned, her eyes scanning the group of people before her. Sure enough, they all looked remarkably bored. Even the more kindhearted ones who kept their smiles up and eyes on her were only feigning interest. Was this all really that dull? Or was her presentation simply lacking? She wasn’t being overzealous, was she?

Kaede must have noticed the change in her demeanor. “You clearly put a lot of effort into this presentation, but I think we’re more interested in hearing you speak from the heart, if that makes any sense. Lectures don’t really seem to be what we came here for. More so discussion, you know?”

“Discussion…” Tenko pursed her lips. For as eager as she was to expound her encyclopedic knowledge of lesbianism to her fellow club members, she had to keep in mind exactly what sort of environment this organization was supposed to provide for people. Himiko was right. No one wanted to listen to her ramble after a long day of classes.

Stupid Tenko! You got too caught up in your own emotions again. You don’t want to drive people away, do you?

Taking a deep breath through her nose, Tenko calmly shut her laptop lid and powered down the projector. She pulled up a chair before the podium and sat with her hands folded in her lap.

“Right. Discussion, not a lecture, and I’m the club president, so I’m supposed to lead the discussion. I get it. In that case…I’ll talk about my own experiences!”

Himiko gave a thumbs up and a slight smile. “Much better.”

“Oh joy, you guys get to listen to Tenko talk about being a lesbian.” Miu huffed, rolling her eyes. “Now you’ll be subjected to the same shit me and the rest of the class have to deal with every day. I liked her better at the start of the year when she was shy about it.”

Kaede slapped her arm and pouted. “Be nice, Miu.”

“Hah! Why should I?”

“Being nice to people is just what you do! We’re all friends here, you know,” Nekomaru said.

Junko snickered. “Yeah I wouldn’t exactly call us that.”

“Why is everyone in this club so weird?” Kotoko asked, looking up at Junko.

“Hey!” Himiko raising her voice was certainly enough to draw everyone’s attention over to her, some even jumping in surprise. She pouted and crossed her arms. “Tenko’s trying to talk, so pay attention!”

Tenko’s heart soared as blood rushed to her cheeks, a large smile spreading across her face. “Th-Thank you, Yumeno-san! I appreciate that! Uh…where should I start…?”

“Start wherever you’re comfortable, Tenko,” Kaede said.

“Mmm…okay! Well, I’ve always liked girls since I was a little kid. The boys I knew were always gross and mean, but the girls were super pretty and smelled really nice. I knew girls didn’t usually like other girls, but I didn’t care! Then, when I got sent to train with my Master and found out just how despicable boys were, I knew that there was no place in my heart for a man!”

Chihiro shuffled in her seat. “Do you…really hate boys that much?”

“Yes!” Tenko blurted, then holding her tongue between her teeth. “I mean—no. There are…some boys out there that aren’t complete scum. Gokuhara-san and Saihara-san aren’t too bad. You know what I’m talking about, right? A girl as cute as you has got to have degenerate males bothering you every day!”

“Nope,” Junko answered for her with a smug smile. “Her best friends are both guys, actually.”

“Really? Then…they must be some of the good ones.”

“You realize you’re insulting like, half the members of this club, right?” Kotoko asked.

“Yes, but—l-let’s stay on topic! Uh, where was I?” Tenko mused for a moment before continuing. “For me, being a lesbian is a pretty big part of who I am. So many girls are made to feel ashamed of themselves, so I decided a long time ago that I would be true to myself for the rest of my life!”

“People are really weird about girls liking other girls,” Himiko mumbled. “I was only at my old school for a year, but it was an all girls school, and there were a loooot of couples. I don’t think any of them really took it too seriously, though. Nyeh…”

“Oh yeah, those are called ‘Class S’ relationships. Here in Japan, lot of girls will date girls all through high school, but then when they graduate, they’re expected to settle down and find a husband. It’s just another example of society not taking women seriously.”

Rantaro tilted his head. “So…these girls will kiss and do all that other relationship stuff, but none of it’s real?”

“Not exactly. Most of them are actually pretty invested in the relationship, but there are still some girls who don’t take it seriously. Sometimes, one of these girls will date someone that’s really into them, and that never ends well.” Tenko balled her fists and scowled. “All those poor girls who end up getting their hearts broken by someone they thought loved them. It makes me sick!”

“That does sound pretty shitty,” Junko said, inspecting her nails. “Hey, Miki. How’d you feel if I told you that I was only with you for the fuck of it? Not that that’s true, obviously, so don’t you go thinking that.”

Mikan pressed her fingertips together and frowned. “Awful. I used to w-worry about that sometimes, actually…the fact that so many girls go through that is terrible.”

“I suppose so long as they fulfill the duties expected of them upon reaching adulthood, their romantic escapades in their teens are overlooked. Seen as harmless,” Korekiyo suggested. “As long as they’re available to men, they’re free to engage in whatever kinds of relationships they wish to during their youth. Such an unfortunate reality.”

“Exactly!” Tenko snapped her fingers. “You’re totally right, Shinguji-san! That’s part of the reason why I make it a point to make sure everyone knows that I‘m not on the market for any degenerate male that wants to get their dirty hands on me!”

Putting a finger on her chin, Kotoko leaned forward in interest. “So is that how you define your sexuality? Your lack of attraction to boys? That’s kind of the opposite of me. I just think girls are real cute!”

“Oh, I do, too! It’s just the thought of a man asking me on a date or touching me…blech! It makes me want to puke!”

“Any guy who does that is just gonna end up getting flipped over your shoulder,” Himiko said with a slight smile. “You can be a lot sometimes, but it’s cool that you’re so sure of yourself.”

Kaito grinned and held out his thumb. “Right on! Confidence is important, especially confidence in something like your sexuality. You’ve come a long way from our first semester, Tenko.”

Tenko couldn’t help but blush. Even if the praise was coming from a guy, Kaito wasn’t exactly wrong. At the beginning of the year, despite her blatant preference for other girls, anyone so much as insinuating that she was a lesbian would make her freeze up and result in insistent denial, especially if it was Himiko. Over time, though, she found herself growing more comfortable around her classmates, and as a result, more comfortable discussing her sexuality. By the time summer break came around, she had been dubbed “Gayest Member of Class 1-B”, a title which she now carried with pride despite her initial apprehension.

As the discussion continued, Tenko made a few mental notes for herself.

Okay, Tenko. Don’t talk too much. No rambling! It’s going well, see? All you have to do is let other people contribute to the conversation. And temper your enthusiasm! People don’t like it when you shout at them!

“Hey Tenko,” Himiko began, “what’s the name of that theater troupe you talk about sometimes? The one that only has girls in it?”

Tenko gasped and a wide smile overtook her features. “Oh my gosh! Let me tell you all about Takarazuka Revue!”

…Maybe a little rambling was okay.

Chapter Text

“Hello, everyone! I hope you’re ready for another fun meeting of the Hope’s Peak GSA!”

Tenko waltzed into the club room with a pep in her step and a grin on her face, drawing everyone’s attention over to her immediately. That grin only grew when she laid eyes on a familiar face.

“Kotoko-chan! You decided to attend another meeting!”

Kotoko crossed her arms and looked away. “It’s not like I have anything better to do after school on Fridays. Besides, this is a good excuse to hang out with Big Sis Junko and Big Sis Mikan.”

“Well, it’s good to see you anyway!” Tenko cleared her throat and clapped her hands together before taking a deep breath. “Everyone! Today’s meeting is a special one! I, Tenko Chabashira, have decided to bring in a guest speaker!”

“Wow, week three and we’re already switching up the formula?” Junko smirked. “Maybe you’re not as boring as I thought you were.”

Tenko’s gut told her to retaliate, but her brain told her that she would have to get used to ignoring Junko’s snide remarks just as she had done with Miu. “Now, I don’t actually know much about today’s topic and don’t think I’d be able to lead a discussion on it too well, so that’s why I asked senpai here to join us today!” She stepped further into the room before beckoning out the door. “Alright, come on in!”

For a few moments, nothing happened, until this week’s special guest awkwardly entered the room, scratching at their chin with an uncertain expression.

Chihiro gasped, hands flying to cover her mouth. “M-Makoto?! I didn’t know that you were—”

“Slight correction,” Nagito said, raising a finger. “That person may be the spitting image of Makoto, but it isn’t actually him.”

Ibuki waved her whole arm. “Hiya, Sagishi! Funny seein’ you here!”

“Uh, hi.” Sagishi looked to Tenko with an uncertain face. “I guess I should introduce myself, huh?”

“Mhm, mhm!”

“Right. Well then, hello, everyone! I’m Makoto Na—ah, no, sorry. I’m the Ultimate Imposter. I don’t…have a name, so everyone just calls me Sagishi like Ibuki said. ‘Cause you know, sagishi, imposter? Uh, yeah.”

“Glad to have you here, Sagishi-senpai!” Tenko gleefully shut the door behind them before pulling up two chairs and adding them to the semi-circle, then sitting down next to Himiko and crossing her legs. Sagishi tentatively sat down next to her and rubbed their shoulder. “The topic for today is non-binary gender identities!”

Kaito sighed. “I still don’t get it.”

“That’s what Sagishi’s here to explain, dumbass!” Miu said, rolling her eyes. “Isn’t learning this shit the whole reason your straight ass is here to begin with?”

“Hey, don’t call me a dumbass! And yeah, it sort of is, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be confused sometimes!”

Nekomaru put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Hey, you’re trying, and that enough is admirable. You’re doing great, Kaito!”

“Nyeh…” Himiko gripped the brim of her hat and pulled it down to hide her face. “So much yelling. You’re all way too loud.”

“I agree, which is why we should get into the meeting,” Tenko said, her smile slightly fading. She wished she could pull Himiko into a hug to comfort her, but after the previous week’s incident with Kotoko, she’d made a promise to herself not to touch other girls without their permission (men, of course, were fair game—she wasn’t about to ASK them if she could flip them over her shoulder whenever they got too close). Of course, she could always just ask Himiko if it was okay to give her a hug, but doing so in front of so many people would be far too embarrassing. “Let’s begin by defining the term ‘non-binary’ for those who aren’t too sure what it means. Senpai?”

“Right.” Sagishi mused for a moment, finger on their chin, before beginning. “Well, I guess it really just means someone who doesn’t fit in with conventional ideas of gender. Some people are somewhere between a man and a woman, some are both, some are one or the other depending on the day, and some are neither.”

Kaito nodded along in understanding, arms crossed and eyes focused. “Okay, that makes sense, but…how does that work, like, physically?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, I know that it isn’t what’s in your pants that makes you a guy or a girl, but isn’t the goal in the end for transgender people ultimately to go from one to the other? You know?” Kaito made a snipping motion with his fingers and Chihiro—among others—suddenly appeared to be very uncomfortable. “How do you transition into nothing?”

Sagishi frowned. “Um…well, I don’t speak for everyone, but…you don’t? Well, no, that isn’t true.” They shuffled in their seat and began to bounce their knee. “Okay, how do I put this? A lot of people will take the steps to transform themselves physically so that they have the body they want, but for others, that stuff doesn’t really matter to them too much. I’ve never had to take medication or anything because I’ve never even lived my life as a boy or a girl. I’ve always been non-binary—well, I prefer X-gender, but they’re the same thing.”

Kaito tilted his head and made up his face. “You lost me.”

“Right, sorry.” Sagishi sighed, turning to face Tenko. “I don’t really think I’m the best person to teach this kind of stuff. It’s not something I think about a whole lot. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no no no! You’re doing great! It’s fine if you don’t have an answer to someone’s question; it’s not like you have to be an encyclopedia on this just because you’re X-gender,” Tenko reassured them.

“I just…don’t really get it,” Kaito said, scratching his head. He seemed to be genuinely disappointed. “But I guess I don’t have to get it. You’re not a guy or a girl, and that’s that. The details are different depending on the person, yeah? So I’ll just hit up the internet later and read answers from all sorts of people!”

That seemed to lighten up Sagishi’s mood a bit, a slight smile growing on their face. “Yeah, you’d probably be better off getting answers from people who think about this stuff more than I do.”

“Aw, don’t sell yourself short, Sagishi!” Ibuki chimed in. “Like Tenko said, you’re doin’ great! You’ve got to be more confident!”

Sagishi shook their head. “I mean it, though. I don’t think about this stuff often, if ever. My gender isn’t something that important to me. It’s just who I am, if that makes any sense.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Junko added. “It’s not like I wake up every morning going ‘Oh boy, I sure do love being pansexual!’. As far as I concerned, my sexuality is just another box on a long, long list of character traits. Meanwhile, someone like Kaede probably thinks about her sexuality a lot more. Isn’t that right?”

“H-Huh?” Kaede blushed, evidently having been unprepared to be called out like that. “Um, I don’t—”

“What, you callin’ her a slut or somethin’?” Miu sneered. “Listen here, bitchlet, the only one allowed to insult Kaede is me, got that?”

Junko put on a smug smile. “Wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. With you as her girlfriend, it’s no wonder she’d go sleeping around with other people.”

Miu recoiled without missing a beat, whimpering and holding her arms defensively in front of herself. “N-No way! I’m a great lay! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Relax, Miu, that isn’t what she meant,” Kaede said, giving Miu’s hand a reassuring squeeze. Tenko felt her heart flutter at the gesture. “She isn’t exactly wrong. I was ostracized because of who I am, so…well, I guess that part of myself is pretty important to me as a result.”

“People often cherish the very thing they are persecuted for,” Korekiyo noted. “It’s perfectly understandable.”

Chihiro cleared her throat and slightly leaned in, much to everyone’s surprise. She rarely spoke up on her own. “Um…Sagishi-senpai, it’s fine if you don’t have an answer, but what would you say to someone who thinks they might be non-binary? Like, how do they know?”

“That’s a good question.” Sagishi tapped their foot and mused for a few moments before giving an answer. “I’d tell them…to consider trying it out. If it fits them, great, if not, there’s no harm done. These sorts of things can be difficult to figure out, and it can take a while to settle on a label, but I think the time spent is worth it in the end. As for how they would know? Well, one sign would be if they don’t feel particularly like a boy or girl, or if the idea of being perceived as one or the other makes them uncomfortable. Or maybe it’s the opposite and they identify with male and female characteristics, and they might be genderfluid. There’s a lot that goes into this, but the only person who can really say for sure is the individual themselves.” They grinned. “Does that help?”

Chihiro’s lips curled into a smile. “It does, thank you. U-Um—I wasn’t asking for myself, by the way! I was just curious, that’s all!”

“It’s good to be curious, Fujisaki-san! Nice job!” Tenko gave her a thumbs-up and Chihiro’s cheeks flushed pink. “Hm…come to think of it, I wonder if Keebo-san considers himself non-binary.”

“Keebo? Nah.” Miu leaned back in her chair and picked at her ear with her pinky—apparently the effect of Junko’s insult hadn’t lasted very long. “He and I have talked about this before, actually. He never really gave it much thought until a while ago, but he definitely considers himself a guy even if he doesn’t actually have a dick down there. Yet.”

Mikan nervously squeezed Junko’s arm. “Y-Yet?”

“Oh, yeah! I’ve been workin’ on a prototype for a few weeks now!” Miu pulled out her phone with eager eyes. “Wanna see the schematics? They’re crazy, I tell ya! Fully functional with a bunch of extra features!”

Kaede snatched away the phone and held it out of Miu’s reach, much to the inventor’s annoyance. “She hasn’t actually consulted him about this, by the way. Word of advice? Don’t let Miu show you the plans for anything she’s working on, and if she approaches you with a finished product, run.”

“What the fuck, Kaeidiot?! Don’t try and sabotage me! I’m just trying to show off my work! What the hell makes you think you can—”

All it took was a quick chaste kiss on the lips to reduce Miu to a blushing, blubbering mess. Kaede patted her head and shook her own.

“No misbehaving during club meetings.”

Tenko practicaly swooned, her heart soaring. Still she felt a pang of pain in her chest. She was jealous, of course. She understood that fully—and how couldn’t she be? Someone like Miu could have a cute girlfriend who put up with her antics, but she couldn’t? That wasn’t fair! That wasn’t fair at all! What did Kaede even see in that girl?

“Uh, Tenko? Are you about to explode?” Himiko asked, frowning. “Your face is all red…”

“Huh?” Tenko blinked several times to snap herself out of her stupor. “Oh yeah, I’m great! Thanks for worrying about me, Yumeno-san.”

Himiko seemed unconvinced. “Uh huh…remember to breathe, or your lungs could shrivel up inside of you and fall off, and then you’d die.”

Tenko was fairly certain that that wasn’t how it worked, but she wasn’t about to tell Himiko that.

“Thanks for coming out, everyone! I’ll see you all next week, unless we’re classmates, in which case I’ll see you Monday!”

Tenko waved as her club members filed out of the room at the meeting’s end, several of them still chatting about the day’s topic. Another successful meeting completed! Even if she wasn’t the one running this one, it still felt good to have another meeting go so well. People were invested, everyone contributed to the conversation, and she didn’t embarrass herself even once! Things were certainly looking up for her. At this rate, the club would grow more and more until every queer person in the school knew there was a place for them to go whenever they were in need of support.

“This was nice, Tenko. It’s a wonderful little thing you have going on here,” Sagishi said, stopping before the door. Alongside Tenko and Himiko, they were one of the few people left in the club room. “It’s admirable that you were able to make a club like this.”

“Thank you, Sagishi-san! You were a big help today.” Tenko steepled her fingers and awkwardly laughed. “I consider myself pretty well-versed on these kinds of things, but not so much about X-gender stuff, so I appreciate you agreeing to help me out.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m happy to contribute.”

“You didn’t have to help, though, but you did anyway. Know what you deserve? A reward!” Himiko held out both empty hands, closed them, turned them over and produced a pair of gumballs. Sagishi smiled, impressed, and put them in their pocket.

“How’d you do that?” they asked. Tenko felt a grin coming on.

“It’s maaaagiiiic,” Himiko said with a proud look on her face. “Hey, you should come to more meetings. We’d love to have you.”

Sagishi nodded. “Sure thing. I’m sometimes pretty busy on Fridays, but…I like the atmosphere of this place. It’s comforting, you know? I’ll be sure to attend when I’m available.”

“That’s great!” Tenko said, practically beaming. “If you know anyone else who might be interested, make sure to tell them about us! The more the merrier!”

“Definitely. It was wonderful meeting you properly, by the way.” With that, Sagishi stepped through the door and waved. “See you later, Tenko. Himiko.”

“Later, Sagishi-senpai!” Once Sagishi was far enough away, Tenko turned to Himiko and squealed in excitement. “That went great! I was really nervous having someone else lead the meeting today, but there weren’t any problems at all!”

“Well, it’s only the third week,” Himiko pointed out. “It’s not like you’re used to it by now. Still, it’s kind of cool that this club is actually pretty successful. I was surprised when so many people showed up for the first meeting, and it seems like they’re interested in sticking around.”

“Right? Aaah, it’s so exciting! At this rate, we’ll have a hundred members by the end of the semester!”

“I don’t think that math checks out,” Himiko said. “Hey, do you wanna head back to my dorm? The chemistry homework seems really hard, so I’ll probably need some help…”

Tenko instantly turned as red as Himiko’s hair. It was an innocent invitation of course, but still the sheer notion of being alone with Himiko in her room was enough to send her heart into overdrive. Doing homework with Himiko—it was like she was dreaming!

“You’re all red again.”

“I’d love to help you with you homework, Yumeno-san!” Tenko blurted. “I’m not great at chemistry, but for you, I’d memorize the whole textbook!”

She held her tongue in her teeth the moment the words left her mouth. That was weird. That wasn’t something normal people said—God, why couldn’t she just be normal? At this rate, she’d end up pushing away the very object of her affection and be alone forever. Much to Tenko’s surprise, though, Himiko did not shoot her a weird look or flee in disgust. Instead, she smiled.

“Thanks. I’m right down the hall from Angie, by the way, so it isn’t far from your room.”

And as Tenko gleefully bounced through the hall with Himiko at her side, the question of why Himiko knew where her room was never crossed her mind.

Chapter Text

“I’ve got karaage, broccoli, and edamame today. How about you girls?”

“Tonkatsu and shredded cabbage for me! This stuff’s my favorite.”

“I got some miso ramen from the school store. Girls like me don’t have any time to waste on stuff like making lunches.”

“Nyeh, I just have a sandwich and some fruit today. Nothing much.”

Eating lunch with her friends—well, Miu was more of an acquaintance than a friend—was more often than not the part of the day Tenko looked forward to most. Not only did she get spend time with Himiko, but recently she had been bouncing ideas for the GSA off of them in order to get feedback. Kaede, of course, was eager to contribute while Himiko occasionally offered her own opinion. Miu was never any help, but Tenko didn’t expect much from her.

There was one particular thing that had been on her mind for quite a while now, and while she wanted to ask about it right from the start, they were still missing someone…

“S-Sorry I’m late! I tripped on the way here, and then there was someone who didn’t know where the infirmary was, a-and—p-please forgive me!”

Mikan hastily made her way over to where the other four girls were sitting with their backs against the gate of the school’s rooftop and sat next to Kaede, setting her own lunch down in front of her. It was wrapped in a pink cloth patterned with cute red hearts.

“No worries, Mikan! Thanks for agreeing to have lunch with us today.”

“Um, you’re w-welcome. I usually have lunch with Junko, b-but she said she was fine with me eating with other people for the day. I th-think she’s with Mukuro and Makoto now?”

Himiko made up her face. “I feel bad for them. So, what do you have for lunch? Your bento wrap is cute.”

“O-Oh! Th-Thank you!” Mikan seemed to light up as she carefully unwrapped her bento and opened the box to reveal a lunch that Tenko could only describe as absolutely adorable. It had been arranged and decorated to resemble some sort of bear mascot character that Tenko didn’t recognize, cute little pink hearts floating all around it. “Um, it’s lettuce, sushi rice, ham, shredded carrots, some b-broccoli, there’s some shrimp and cherry tomatoes, the h-hearts are actually fancy pasta, and the bear is mostly made of nori.”

“Wow!” Tenko exclaimed, eyes practically shining. “That looks delicious! Enoshima-san must have made it for you, right?”

Mikan bit her lip and nodded, pink rising in her cheeks. “M-Mhm. She always makes my lunches.”

“Aw, that’s adorable!” Kaede held her hands over her chest with a wide smile on her face. “I swear, you two have got to be the perfect couple.”

“H-Huh?! N-No, we’re not p-perfect!” Mikan shook her head in adamant denial.

“But you totally are! You’re obsessed with each other, you never fight—well, except for that one time—and you’re basically always together. How can you get more perfect than that?”

As Mikan babbled in a desperate attempt to refute Kaede’s insistence, Tenko noted the tense look on Miu’s gradually reddening face. She was chewing her noodles with such force that it seemed as if she were about to crack a tooth.

“Um…you don’t look so good, Miu,” Himiko said. “Are you alright?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fuckin’ peachy. Just wish I knew that I apparently wasn’t enough for Bakamatsu over here.”

“What?” Kaede groaned. “Miu, come on. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

Miu sniffled as tears began to fill her eyes. “No no, it’s fine! I get it! You should just go get yourself a better girlfriend since I’m so awful! See if I care!”

“D-Did I do something wrong?” Mikan asked with worry in her voice.

Kaede shook her head. “You’re fine, Mikan. I’ve just gotta deal with this for a sec.”

Though it took a bit of coaxing, Kaede eventually was able to pull Miu aside and console her, wiping away her tears and undoubtedly reassuring her that she was not, in fact, an awful girlfriend. She pressed a gentle kiss onto Miu’s forehead and Tenko’s lips curled into a small smile.

Miu was…difficult to understand. She was usually loud, and rude, and vulgar, and annoying, and irritating, and an overall extremely unpleasant person to be around, but whenever she got like this, Tenko couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy for her. She was like an overeager little puppy, unintentionally messing things up only to cry when she didn’t understand why she was being scolded. It was almost endearing in a way, but that didn’t very well justify her behavior. Still Tenko still wondered just what it was about Miu that drew Kaede to her. Was there some hidden sweet and tender side that only Kaede got to see? Was she secretly a really good kisser? Or was Kaede just attracted to people who couldn’t go five minutes without insulting her? She didn’t understand. Miu was weird.

Tenko was weird too, though.

“Oh oh oh! I almost forgot!” Tenko suddenly exclaimed minutes later once Miu had returned to normal and their lunch was well underway. “I’ve got another idea for club that I want to ask you all about!”

“What is it this time?” Himiko asked, popping a frosted grape into her mouth. “Is it exciting?”

“Yeah, yeah! So, I was thinking about the name, right? Hope’s Peak Gay-Straight Alliance. Isn’t that such a mouthful? And it’s so boring, too.”

Kaede blinked, her head resting on Miu’s shoulder. “You think so? Huh. That sounds fine to me, honestly.”

Tenko shook her head. “Maybe, but I don’t think it’s very inviting. It sounds all official and business-y. I propose we change it! It’s still only just been founded, so it isn’t like it’s too late to come up with a better one. I wanted to know if you girls had any suggestions!”

“Oooh, I’m good at naming things!” Himiko piped up, her sudden burst of energy making Tenko giggle. “What sort of vibe are we going for? Playful? Mystifying? Threatening?”

“I want something that’ll make queer kids go ‘Wow, this place seems like it’s run by people like me!’ instead of ‘This place seems like it’s run by a bunch of stuffy old men’. Something fun! Something cool!”

“How ‘bout the Alphabet Mafia?” Miu said, snickering at her own joke. “See, it’s funny ‘cause a room full of gay people is like, one of the least threatening things out there.”

“How are you homophobic and dating another girl at the same time? That doesn’t even make any sense,” Himiko said with a huff.

“Actually it’s more common than you might think, but let’s save it for a meeting.” Tenko looked at Kaede with eager eyes. “Akamatsu-san?”

Kaede tapped her chin and thought for a while. “Hm…isn’t “alphabet mafia” American slang? I kind of like that idea, actually. How about the Skittles Squad?”

Tenko stared. No one smiled.

“That bad? Aw, I really like it! Skittles are tasty and they come in the colors of the rainbow, so I figured it would be nice…”

“Nyeh, maybe for a middle school, sure, but that sounds kind of…lame. No offense, Kaede.”

“U-Um, I have an idea, if that’s okay.”

“Go for it, Tsumiki-san! Every suggestion is appreciated!”

Mikan pressed her fingers together and looked to Tenko with an awkward smile. “W-What about, um, Prism? It’s a p-pretty word, and um, prisms are used for dispersing light and…r-rainbows are…aah, I’m s-sorry!” she squeezed her eyes shut and rapidly shook her head, tears already beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. “It was a stupid idea! P-Please forget I said anything!”

“Woah woah woah, no need to cry! It wasn’t stupid at all! I really like it, actually.”

“Yeah!” Kaede threw a smile Mikan’s way and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s attention-grabbing and sounds fun. You picked a great name, Mikan.”

“R-Really?” Mikan asked, sniffling. “Th-Th-Thank you. I’m s-sorry for freaking out so easily. I’ve been trying to be more confident, but it’s r-really hard…”

Tenko could certainly relate to that. She may have been an extrovert with plenty of energy to spare, but at the beginning of the school year, confidence was something struggled with greatly. She was particularly insecure about her sexual orientation—she was awful about hiding the fact that she was attracted to girls and would start nervously stuttering if anyone so much as implied that she was. She’d been able to overcome that insecurity once she realized that her classmates were more than accepting, though this did not very well mean she was now a beacon of confidence. She was still too loud and inconsiderate and she talked too much and she didn’t even have the courage to ask out the girl she liked!

“Don’t even worry about it. Enoshima’s attitude is sure to rub off on you eventually,” Miu said. “Hah! Rub off…”

“Anyway. Did you have any ideas, Tenko?” Himiko asked.

Tenko scratched at the back of her head and shrugged. “Not really. I was thinking we could call it The Rainbow Room, but what if we hold a meeting in a different place? It’s better for the name to be about the people and not the location.”

“Agreed. I have an idea for a name that’s pretty neat, though, if you wanna hear.”

“Ooh, what is it?”

Himiko crossed her arms and gave a proud grin. “The Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket.”

Miu burst out laughing the next moment and Himiko shot her a dirty look. Meanwhile, Tenko’s eyes shined and a wide smile crossed her lips.

There it was.

“That’s perfect, Yumeno-san! Oh my gosh! You girls love it, too, right? Right?!”

“Wait, you’re serious?” Miu asked, wiping away a tear. “Oh yeah, ‘cause callin’ us a bunch of fruits is definitely the way to go. What are ya, stupid?”

Himiko glared at her. “I’m not stupid. Don’t call me that.”

“Miu, play nice. I like it, Himiko! It’s sort of got the same vibes as Skittles Squad and it’s tongue-in-cheek without being too on the nose. And it sounds cute.”

“It is a nice name,” Mikan agreed with a slight smile. “You must be pretty used to naming things since you’re a m-magician. A good name can add a lot of flair to a trick.”

“I’m a mage who performs spells,” Himiko corrected, “but yeah, I’m pretty good at naming all sorts of stuff. Heh.”

Tenko bounced in place and squeed in excitement. “It’s so, so good! You’re taking a word used to insult queer people all the time and reclaiming it for something meant to benefit them! And the name is super duper cute! You’re the best!”

Himiko’s face burned. She popped an orange slice into her mouth before pulling her hat down over her eyes in embarrassment. “Th-Thanks, nyeh…”

“It goes even deeper than that, too! There are all sorts of different types of fruit that are unique in their own special ways, but at the end of the day, they stand in solidarity as fellow fruits just like queer people do!”

“Y-Yeah, that’s definitely what I was going for.”

“This is why you’re the best assistant a girl could ever ask for! Ooh, come to think of it, I should totally get started on the paperwork to make you the official vice-president!”

Miu groaned and rolled her eyes. “Jeez, we get it already! Layin’ it on a little too thick there, Tenko. Ya can’t seduce a gal by being so blatant like that.”

Himiko pulled her hat down even further while Tenko went beet-red and started to babble incoherently. A small smile bloomed on Mikan’s face and even Kaede couldn’t help but giggle.

“Alright, alright, no need for teasing. We’ve got the perfect name now, so we should finish up our lunch before the bell rings.”

“Fine, fine. I don’t know why you’re so—hey! W-What the hell?!” Miu cried as Kaede swiftly stole a slice of her chashu right from the bowl with her own chopsticks. “I never said you could have any, cowtits! Get your own fuckin’ soup!”

Kaede didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she simply held a piece of tonkatsu in front of Miu’s face. She stared for a moment, her face burning red, before quickly biting it right off of the chopsticks and pouting.

“Idiot…”

Though her heart was still pounding from Miu’s earlier comment, Tenko couldn’t help but look on with a fond smile on her face. They were so cute! Sharing food was the exact kind of cutesy couples’ act that she so desperately longed for, and even though she may have been single, she could at the very least live vicariously through Kaede and Miu.

“Hm?”

Tenko looked down and to the side upon feeling something nudge her leg. There Himiko was, eyes averted, cheeks pink, and hand full of blueberries held out.

“Nyeh…h-here.”

Tenko was pretty sure she died for a few seconds.

Chapter Text

“Hellooo everyone! And happy Valentine’s Day—Ooh! New person!”

The first thing Tenko noticed upon stepping into the club room that day was the fact that there was an unfamiliar face sitting between Komaeda and Kotoko. He wore an open leather jacket with a popped collar over his school uniform, but his most distinguishing feature was his hair. Tenko…wasn’t really sure how she’d describe it. Really she just wondered what in the world was going on there. Regardless, this was meant to be a space free of judgement, so she figured it best not to pay it any mind.

“‘Sup, Tenko? Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too!” Kaito said with a wide grin. Tenko turned her attention from the stranger to the heart-shaped box on Kaito’s lap, wrapped in black and tied with a red ribbon. “I’m gonna assume that’s the topic for today, yeah? Unless you want to throw us a curveball and talk about something completely different.”

Tenko made her way over to where she always sat next to Himiko and took her seat. Her eyes wandered over to Kaede. She was holding a heart-shaped box as well—two, in fact—only these ones appeared to be mechanical in nature. Next to her, Miu sat with her arms crossed, one leg over the other, and a perpetual blush on her face.

“Yup!” Tenko said. She could feel her face starting to heat up. “I’ve uh, got a lot for us to talk about to day, so you better have come ready to do some thinking.”

“Oh, Valentine’s Day…” Nagito let out a blissful smile and wrapped his arms around himself. “What a wonderful day. So much love and hope in the air.”

Tenko turned to look at him, but her attention was stolen by the sight of a single humble-looking box that resembled a first-aid kid resting on Junko’s lap. Junko reached into it and pulled out a piece of chocolate that she popped into her mouth with a carefree smile.

“Tsumiki-san,” Tenko began, her heartrate beginning to climb. “You have…a lot of tiny bruises all over your neck. Are you okay? Did something happen?”

Mikan became the same shade as the lipstick smeared on her collarbone and she began to babble incoherently, much to the amusement of her girlfriend. Junko put an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek, and while Mikan’s face still burned, she at the very least calmed down.

“I-I um…I don’t have a s-scarf or anything to cover them. I’m s-so sorry…”

“Aw come on, no need to apologize. Wear those little love bites with pride, Miki. Gotta let everyone know you’re mine,” Junko cooed in Mikan’s ear, making her shudder.

“Yeah, wear ‘em with pride!” Kotoko repeated. “They’re so that everyone know just how totally in love you and Big Sis Junko are!”

Tenko felt her heart throb.

God she needed a girlfriend.

“A-Anyway.” Tenko cleared her throat and took a deep breath, putting back on a friendly smile. “We have someone new joining us today! Would you like to introduce yourself?”

The stranger rose from his seat and put his hands in his pockets. “Name’s Mondo Owada. Nice to meetcha.” He began to sat down before Junko shot him a look. He shook his head and groaned. “Fine, fine. My title’s the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader—my crew’s the Crazy Diamonds. Sure you’ve heard of ‘em. I’m a man’s man, meaning I like men. Women, too. Big fuckin’ whoop.”

“It’s good to meet you, Owada-san! What made you interested in our club?”

Mondo shrugged. “Chihiro’s been’ comin’ here for a few weeks, so I figured I might as well check it out.”

“And your boyfriend recommended you get involved with a school club before the year’s up,” Junko said with a mischievous snicker. Mondo blushed and grumbled. “Where is he anyway? Figured he’d want to come with you.”

“He’s got student council meetings on Fridays for the next couple of weeks, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Oh, boo, what a shame! We’re severely lacking in gay couples on the male side of things. Was hoping you’d add some diversity to the place.”

Mondo grit his teeth. “The fuck are you doin’ here anyway? Lemme guess, your girlfriend drags you here after classes are up to prevent you from terrorizing innocent children.”

“Hey, I don’t do that all that often anymore. I’ve turned over a new leaf, honestly! And for your information, I was actually the one who suggested we join this club.”

“Hah! Like I’d believe that. You probably give nothing but trouble here.”

Junko smirked. “Well. Can’t change me completely, you know. It’s in my nature just like having bad taste in men is in yours.”

That about did it. Mondo got up and stomped towards her with his fists balled and veins bulging in his forehead. Kotoko slid right out of her seat to hold out her arms and block his path.

“Why, you little…I’ve just about had it with you! I oughtta—”

“Can’t you two at least try to get along?” Chihiro said, quiet as a lamb. Somehow it managed to cut through Mondo’s raised voice and stop him from continuing any further.

“Gah…ugh. Ya got me.” Mondo sighed and returned to his seat, bouncing his knee in frustration. “Sorry, buddy. I don’t know why you let her get away with the shit she says.”

“She’s just trying to rile you up; she doesn’t actually mean anything by it,” Chihiro assured him. Junko flashed a smug grin and flashed a peace sign. “You shouldn’t let her get to you. She’s…not all bad. I promise.”

“Aw, Chihiro! You’re too kind. But I’m not. Mondo, do better.”

“You’re the scum of the Earth, Enoshima.”

Tenko massaged her temples to try and prevent a migraine from brewing. Junko usually behaved herself for the most part, but now that she had someone who was seemingly a favorite target of hers, she was sure to be as relentless as everyone said she was. Tenko would have to try her best to keep things from going too far.

“So! All that stuff aside, like I said earlier, today’s meeting is all about Valentine’s Day! Or at least, our experiences with it as queer people. To start us off, with a show of hands, who here actually likes Valentine’s Day?”

More people than expected raised their hands—Chihiro, Mikan, Nagito, Nekomaru, Korekiyo, Kotoko, Ibuki, and even Himiko. Some she understood perfectly fine why they’d enjoy such a day, others not so much.

“Really? Wow, that’s surprising. Anyone want to explain why?”

“Like all holidays, I find Valentine’s Day to be an absolutely fascinating day of the year,” Korekiyo began, crossing his arms. “Its history and the methods in which it is observed in the cultures that recognize it are of great interest to me.”

“I just like seeing people happy!” Nekomaru exclaimed with a hearty laugh. “It’s a day absolutely filled with the sort of lovey-dovey stuff I live for!”

Himiko’s lips curled into a smile. “Same. Seeing people smile makes me feel good, so I like days like this.”

“That makes sense and all, but don’t a lot of people get super bummed out this time of year?” Kaito asked. “I mean, just walking around school today, there were plenty of happy couples, but tons of people looked pretty down.”

Miu scoffed. “Sure, if they’re lonely. Only losers get depressed on Valentine’s Day.”

“Well, that’s just not true,” Kaede said. “Maybe today reminds them of a bad relationship they had. And even if they are just lonely and single, that’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You don’t need to be in a relationship.”

“You can say that again,” Rantaro added with a chuckle. “Were you lonely before Kaede asked you out? You seemed pretty content to me.”

“O-Of course I wasn’t! Unlike the rest of those virgins desperate for attention, I don’t need anyone else!”

Kaede frowned. “So you wouldn’t be sad if I said I wanted to break up?”

The color drained from Miu’s face as her eyes widened. She nervously sputtered. “W-W-What the fuck? I didn’t say that! Don’t put words in my mouth! A-And don’t joke about that shit! Unless…you weren’t joking?”

Though many others practically groaned at the over-the-top display of insecurity they’d seen time and time again by now, Tenko couldn’t help but smile as Kaede pulled Miu into a tight hug. They may have gone through this song and dance at least once a day, but she didn’t want to see Miu cry on Valentine’s Day of all days.

Ibuki shot Kaito an inquisitive look. “Huh! Hey, Kaito, Ibuki couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t raise your hand. You don’t like Valentine’s Day?”

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s fine, I guess, but I don’t really see the point in having a special day to show your love with someone else, you know? I’d rather express that love to the fullest every day!”

Tenko silently blessed Maki’s soul—she didn’t get straight people. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out what made Maki fall for someone as dense and pigheaded as Kaito, and while she may have wished she’d given her heart to a more deserving woman instead, she was happy for them nevertheless. Still, Kaito may not have been a bad guy, but he was just so…obnoxious. Not only were his ideas of how men and women should behave as archaic as the artifacts Korekiyo kept stashed in his room (though he was gradually improving—he was here, after all), but he was so loud, and would ramble on for so long, and could never seem to take a hint, and—

Oh God, he was just like her.

“Nyeh, Tenko, you’re making faces again.”

“Aah! Sorry, sorry, just thinking!” Tenko forced the red from her face and cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah, that’s more or less how I feel! Not to mention all the stupid traditions! Why is giri chocolate still a thing? It’s the current year!”

“You know you can just like, not participate in those traditions, right?” Junko said as if it were obvious. “Like, take this honmei chocolate here.” She broke off a piece of chocolate and held it up for all to see. “Women are supposed to make this stuff for the men they like, but Miki made it just for me, and last I checked, I ain’t no man. Miu made chocolate for her girlfriend, too.”

“Come on. That isn’t the same thing and you know it,” Mondo said with a huff. “You gals are already in relationships with other gals. Of course girls are going to give chocolate to their girlfriends just like they would their boyfriends.”

Junko shrugged and tossed the chocolate into her mouth. “True, but it’s not like single girls can’t give chocolate to the girl they’re crushing on, too. Hell, even if they’re straight, they can just not do it. It’s easy. Giri chocolate, honmei chocolate, tomo chocolate, you could forget about all of that and just spend time with the people you love if you wanted. Valentine’s Day could just be like any other day.”

“If that’s what ya think, then why’d Tsumiki-senpai make you chocolate in the first place?”

Mikan whimpered and Junko pulled her even closer. “First of all, I don’t answer for her, and second of all, because it’s fun. Duh,” she said, very much answering for Mikan. “I don’t know about you and the Ultimate Hall Monitor, but Miki and I happen to be into the whole cutesy mushy-gushy romantic shit. It’s enjoyable, you know? But that doesn’t mean there’s any sense of obligation just ‘cause it’s Valentine’s Day. You have to rid yourself of those expectations and do shit just because you want to.”

Tenko was…actually somewhat impressed. Sure, there was that air of condescension that Junko always had whenever she spoke, but she’d still made a solid point without flat-out insulting anyone in the process.

“But…even if you rid yourself of those expectations like you said, other people might still hold you to a certain standard,” Chihiro said, twiddling her thumbs. “And they’ll get mad at you if you don’t do what they think you’re supposed to do. N-Not everyone is like you, Junko. We can’t just ignore ridicule from people.”

Junko sighed. “Chihiro, it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s supposed to be a day where you get all lovey-dovey with your boo, not worry about getting gifts for people you don’t give a shit about. Why let all that get to you when you could just not?”

“I’ve gotta agree with Enoshima here,” Kaede said with a nod. “Like, I know we’re Japanese and all and gift giving is a pretty big part of the culture, but it seems that stuff like giri chocolate is losing popularity anyway.”

“See? Kaede gets it. Be like Kaede,” Junko said, snickering to herself. “Besides. We’re a bunch of gays and Kaito—our mere existence breaks tradition.”

“Yeah! Don’t let society get you down!” Kaito said with a genial grin. He apparently didn’t notice the thinly-veiled insult. “Speakin’ of which, how’s today been for you gals?” he asked, gesturing to Kaede and Miu as well as Junko and Mikan. “No one’s given you a hard time, right?”

Miu crossed her arms and smirked. “A couple faculty members said some shit about our behavior being inappropriate or whatever, but I just made out with Kaeidiot in front of them to shut ‘em up. Old geezers don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about, I swear.”

“‘Kaeidiot’ is an affectionate nickname, by the way,” Kaede said, patting Miu on the thigh.

“I didn’t get anything like that. Then again, basically every faculty member is scared of me. As they should be.” Junko let out a bark of a laugh and began to smother Mikan in even more kisses than she already had that day. “As for the students, of course they never say anything. Most of ‘em are jealous. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend today with Junko Enoshima? I imagine Mondo and his boy toy get more weird looks than Miki and I ever would.”

Mondo glared. “Then you imagine wrong. Taka and I don’t do that sort of over the top PDA shit you seem to love so much. We’re partners, not boyfriends.”

“Touché! But I can tell you want to do that kind of stuff, you know. Can’t hide anything from me.”

“What? The fuck are you talkin’ about, Enoshima?”

Junko giggled. “You’re a big ol’ softie underneath that rough exterior. I bet you just want to cuddle up with that special someone and whisper sweet nothings into their ear as you fall asleep. You know who’d be really receptive to affection like that?” Her gaze unsubtly shifted towards Chihiro, who became as red as a tomato as a result. “Eh? Eeeh? Bait’s right in front of ya, you’ve just gotta bite!”

“Jun-Jun, you shouldn’t tease people like that. Other people’s l-love lives aren’t something for you to get involved in…”

“Aw, but it’s so much fun! And Chihiro and Mondo would make a way better couple than him and Taka. For starters, that height difference? Adorable. She’s quiet and timid, he’s macho and—”

Tenko loudly cleared her throat to draw the attention back to her, and miraculously, Junko actually stopped talking. “Enoshima-san, I won’t tolerate bullying during club meetings like this. I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you won’t stop.”

“It’s f-fine, really!” Chihiro spoke up. “She’s just teasing—she does this all the time. I don’t mind, honestly.”

Mondo grumbled. “Speak for yourself. Shit pisses me off.”

Tenko held her tongue between her teeth and shot Junko a dirty look. She refused to lose out on a potential new member of the club because of that girl’s callous behavior. Somehow, Junko’s expression softened and she let out a defeated sigh.

“Fine, fine, I’ll restrain myself. See? I can be nice when I want to be.”

Tenko had a feeling that Junko’s definition of “nice” was drastically different than most other people’s, but she wasn’t about to chastise her even further. Arguing with Junko Enoshima wasn’t something she had any intention of doing anytime soon. Instead, she just thanked her and made the decision to continue with the meeting.

“Um…w-was Junko wrong, actually?” Chihiro asked, wringing her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry to bring it back up, but do you actually want that kind of relationship?”

Mondo sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. “Beats me. I guess I wouldn’t mind, but Taka and I don’t see each other all that often outside of school and you know how he is with public displays of affection like that. ‘S just the way it is.”

“That sounds like such a boring relationship! Do you guys at least kiss and stuff every now and again?” Kotoko asked.

“I mean, yeah, sometimes. Not nearly as much as Enoshima and Tsumiki-senpai, that’s for sure. Hell, Ikusaba and Naegi’ve been together barely a month and they’ve probably kissed more than Taka and I have, not that we’ve been together super long.”

Junko gagged. “Please don’t mention those two again, otherwise I can’t promise I won’t vom all over the floor.”

“I’m ignoring that.”

“Hm…well, it is Valentine’s Day. Today’s the perfect time to express your feelings to him, Owada-san! Are you two going to see each other again today?”

“Yeah. We always hit the gym together after his meetings on Friday. What, you sayin’ I should let him know that I wouldn’t mind being more affectionate? For real?”

Tenko grinned at him. “Of course! Proper communication between partners is super important, you know!”

“Nah, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like that kind of relationship is something I’d rather have, just something I’d be cool with, you know?”

“Does Ishimaru-san know that?”

“Doubt it.”

“And how do you know that he doesn’t want that type of relationship?” Tenko pumped her fists in the air and leapt right on out of her seat, bursting at the seams with enthusiasm. “You’ve got to talk about these things, otherwise things might get all awkward and weird between you two! Every partnership needs healthy and frequent communication, even if you might not think it’s important!”

Mondo looked skeptical at best, but faced with Tenko’s sparkling eyes and burning passion, he couldn’t very well continue to deny her. With a defeated huff, he crossed his arms and averted his eyes. The faintest hint of pink overtook his cheeks.

“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll tell him when we meet up later, okay? Christ.”

Tenko squeed in glee and the high-pitched sound caused several club members to cringe—though of course, Ibuki was just fine. “Great great great! And you’ll let us all know how it all went at next week’s meeting, right? Come on, keep us updated!”

“…Yeah. Yeah, sure. Why not?”

Tenko’s grin somehow grew. Junko made some sort of snide comment that went in through one year and out the other—she couldn’t pay her any mind, not when her precious club was growing right before her very eyes.

“Perfect! In that case, welcome to the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket, Owada-san!”

Mondo cocked his head to the side and thinned his eyes. “The Hope’s Peak what now? Ain’t this place the Gay-Straight Alliance?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I uh, might’ve changed the name without letting the rest of you guys know. Hah hah…”

Himiko’s arm shot up and she proudly grinned. “I came up with it.”

Tenko felt sweat starting to bead down her face as everyone stared at her with judging eyes. The fact that she was playing favorites was clear as day.

…In the future, maybe decisions like that were best left up to a vote.

“Um…I’m sorry to bother you, Chabashira-san, but could I maybe talk to you for a second?”

“Sure thing, Fujisaki-san! Yumeno-san, I’ll catch up with you in just a second.”

“‘Kaaay. I’ll be right outside.”

As Himiko and the rest of the club left the room for the day, Tenko put her hands on her hips and met Chihiro’s eyes. She was nervous, evident by her swaying and chewing of her lip. Tenko figured she should probably make herself seem more approachable, but how was she supposed to contain the look of absolute delight on her face when Chihiro was just so darn cute?

“So, what is it?” Tenko asked, still absolutely beaming. “No need to be shy; you can tell me anything! I’m a really good listener, you know!”

“R-Right. Ah…I don’t really know how to say this,” Chihiro said. Her voice was barely above a whisper. She was so tiny, and her voice was so soft, and every move she made was perfect. Tenko could barely hold herself back from freaking out over how close they standing. She was the epitome of feminine beauty—the perfect woman in Tenko’s eyes, even. She was everything adorable about girls rolled into one! “I was thinking about what Sagishi-senpai said last week, and um, well, I guess…if it isn’t too much trouble, w-would you mind using they/them pronouns for m-me during meetings? I think I want to try them out at least for a little bit.”

Tenko blinked.

“Oh. Oh! U-Uh, yeah, sure thing! It’s no trouble at all, Fujisaki-san! I can totally do that, yup, 100%!”

A small smile appeared on Chihiro’s face and Tenko could not help but feel a pang of guilt in her chest. On one hand, she’d potentially be losing an incredibly cute girl, but on the other hand, she most definitely wanted Chihiro to do whatever made her happiest. She was being selfish by feeling anything other than complete support.

“Th-Thank you, I appreciate it a lot,” Chihiro said, letting out a sigh of relief. “I’ve been thinking about it all week, but I’m still not sure if people will be completely onboard with changing the way they see me or even the way they talk about me. I’m glad I have someone to confide in.”

“I’m glad you’re glad!” Tenko said with an awkward and forced laugh. “But, um, you’re friends with Owada-san and that baseball player, right? Can you not talk about this with them?”

The color seemed to drain from Chihiro’s face. “U-Um…Mondo and Leon are, well, um, w-we’re friends, but I don’t know if I can really…n-never mind!” she cried, shaking her head and bowing. “Th-Thank you again! Have a nice weekend!”

They were gone before Tenko could say anything in response, scurrying out of the room like a frightened little rabbit. Tenko’s outstretched arm fell alongside her expression. Her chest tightened and her shoulders slacked.

“There you go messing things up again, Tenko…”

Chapter Text

Tenko thought she was a pretty decent person. As such, she had no clue as to what she possibly could have done to deserve this.

Sitting across from her with his legs crossed and signature cheshire smile that made Tenko scowl was Kokichi Oma. Despite his expression and generally happy-go-lucky demeanor, she felt nothing but pure negative energy from him. His aura was as putrid and rotten as the corpse of a rat that had been left on a sidewalk beneath the sweltering sun for a week. Even the most minor movement from him filled Tenko with contempt.

Tenko didn’t like Kokichi.

Kokichi embodied everything she hated about degenerate males. He lied as easy as he breathed, he was second only to Miu when it came to the amount of perverted comments he would make on a daily basis, and he felt the need to incessantly insert himself into any conversation he thought he could squeeze even the smallest amount of enjoyment from. All of those were nothing compared to his greatest crime, though.

Tenko remembered it as clear as day and thought back on it every time Kokichi so much as looked in her precious little Himiko’s direction. It was around halfway through the first semester, and by that point, most members of class 78-B was well-acquainted with each other. Everyone except for Kokichi. Sure, he may have taken it upon himself to become the class jester, but that didn’t mean he ever opened up to anyone. Kokichi was an enigma—he was still an enigma—but one day, Angie had made some seemingly harmless comment about him and Himiko going well together. Tenko wasn’t sure exactly what she was talking about, maybe it was because they were about the same height or something like that, but she’d remember what Kokichi said in response for the rest of her life.

“Me and Himiko? Hey, keep it down! She might find out about my crush on her!”

He knew Himiko could hear them, obviously. She was only a few seats down from him fiddling with a pencil, and when she heard that, her face became as red as her hair. It made sense in her head. For some reason, Himiko seemed to be a favorite target of Kokichi’s when it came to teasing, and boys teased girls they liked. That day, she’d dragged Tenko off to the courtyard and spilled her heart about everything that was running through her head, about what to do about the first person to ever have a crush on her (that one hurt Tenko more than she’d be willing to admit), about what she’d say to him, and Tenko listened like the good friend she was. In a way, she was somewhat grateful to Kokichi for that comment he’d probably not given half a moment’s thought to. That day was the first real time she and Himiko had hung out together, just the two of them, and the first real time they’d had a genuine heart-to-heart.

The next day, Himiko gathered her courage confronted Kokichi about his supposed crush. She told him that she didn’t know how she felt about him, that he was still really off-putting, but that she’d be willing to give him a chance and go on a few dates.

And Kokichi laughed.

“It was a lie! You didn’t really think I would fall for a kid like you, did you?”

And Himiko cried.

Tenko hated seeing Himiko cry.

She comforted her, of course. She bought her her favorite ice cream and they watched her favorite anime on the projector in one of the empty lecture halls and eventually Himiko dozed off on Tenko’s shoulder. It was probably the best day of Tenko’s first semester at Hope’s Peak, but still. Himiko was sad. Kokichi had made her sad, even if it wasn’t his intention.

So. Tenko didn’t like Kokichi. She didn’t like Kokichi at all.

Shuichi was here too, though, and he was cool.

“I’m glad I was able to convince you to finally show up to one of these things!” Kaede said, bouncing in her seat. “You were so stubborn the first week that I thought you’d never bite. But, uh, did you have to bring your sidekick?”

“I didn’t bring him here, he followed me.” Shuichi pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. “You know how he is.”

“Followed you?” Kokichi tilted his head, innocently putting a finger on his chin. “I didn’t follow you. I just so happened to want to visit the club Tenko made on the same day you did. That’s not too big of a coincidence for you to believe, is it?”

“You coulda fuckin’ sat anywhere else though,” Miu grumbled. She and Kaede were sandwiched between Kokichi and Shuichi, the former to Miu’s right and the latter to Kaede’s left.

“Aw, but why would I want to be anywhere but at my favorite sow’s side?”

As expected, Miu recoiled. “S-Sow?! I’m no fuckin’ s-sow! I’m—”

“Let’s get started with this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket!” Tenko said, clapping her hands together. “Would our, ahem, guests like to introduce themselves? Saihara-san?”

Shuichi took a moment to stand up and give everyone a polite bow. “Um, hello. My name is Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ultimate Detective, huh? So you’re one of those poor souls that has to share their title with someone else. That’s gotta suck,” Junko said. “Wonder if you can even hold a candle to Kyoko.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Shuichi said with a sad smile. “I’m really nothing special. I only even earned this title by chance.”

Kaede looked as if she were about to say something to counter that, but unfortunately, Kokichi spoke before she could. “And I’m Kokichi Oma! Ultimate Supreme Leader here. What’s up?”

Tenko would usually ask what it was that made the new members want to attend a meeting, but the last thing she wanted to do was ask Kokichi anything that would result in him running his mouth or making rage-inducing comments. Instead, she turned her attention to Mondo and gave him an inquisative look. “Owada-san! How’d it go last week with Ishimaru-san?”

“Went fine,” Mondo answered with a nonchalant shrug. “Still not gonna be making out in the middle of the hallway like a certain someone, but he’s cool with holding hands and shit like that. So thanks, I guess. For motivating me.”

“No need to thank me! I just like making sure that every couple is open and honest with each other.”

“Really?” Kokichi asked. Tenko grit her teeth at the sound of his voice alone. “You don’t seem to care much whenever Kaito and Maki fight. Is it because you’re heterophobic?”

“I’m not—” Tenko huffed and inflated her cheeks. “Harukawa-san and Momota-san never fight. She just yells at him and forgives him for whatever it is he said or did the next day. That isn’t a fight.”

“That’s even worse though, isn’t it? Since he never even argues back. Sounds like a toxic relationship to me. Why don’t you ever seem interested in helping them out, huh?”

Tenko closed her eyes.

She wanted to hurt him.

“This week,” she began, talking a long exhale to calm her nerves, “we’re going to discuss queerness in men. Unfortunately, I…yeah, I’m not at all qualified to talk about this.”

“No surprise there. That’s exactly what I’d expect from the lesbian who loves girls more than anything. You probably don’t know much about how same-sex stuff typically goes for guys, huh?” Junko asked.

“Then it looks like it’s the men’s time to shine!” Kaito said with a confident grin. “You gals are always the ones leading the discussions here, so it’s our turn now!”

Miu scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Dunno what you’re getting all excited for. You do know you’re the token straight guy, right? It’s not like you actually get in a say in any of the shit we talk about.”

“Kaito? Straight?” Kokichi tutted and shook his head, wagging his finger all the while. “I guess he hasn’t come out to you guys yet. What a shame. And here I thought he was getting less insecure.”

“W-What? Kokichi, quit spreading rumors about me!”

Nagito raised his hand before they could continue their spat, much to Tenko’s relief. “I know the words of someone as worthless as me aren’t worth anything, but as luck would have it, I happen to be a gay man.”

“Called it,” Miu said with a snicker.

“I’d be happy to lead this week’s meeting in Tenko’s place,” Nagito continued. “I believe I’m the only gay man in the club, but Shinguji-san, Owada-san, and Nekomaru should be able to contribute as well.”

“Hey hey, you’re not the only gay guy now that I’m here!” Kokichi sang. Tenko glared at him.

“You’re not gay,” she said.

“Aren’t I? Pretty sure I am. What makes you think I’m not?”

“Because you—” Tenko caught her tongue between her teeth. She wasn’t about the bring up the Himiko situation in front of everyone, not that it really meant anything here. “How is anyone supposed to believe you when everything you say is a lie?”

“Huh. And here I thought you were supposed to be supportive of all queer people.” Kokichi shrugged. “Guess that’s only the case when it comes to girls. Wow, Tenko. I’m shocked, really.”

“Christ, no way we’re letting this become a thing.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Junko as she hopped out of her seat and walked over to Kokichi. She put her hands on her hips and bent over to get a good look at his face. Her sky-blue eyes seem to scan every inch of him, from the tip of his shoes to the highest strand of hair on his head—it was actually pretty unnerving. Finally, she stood up straight, nodded to herself, and returned to her seat.

“According to my 100% accurate gaydar, yeah, this kid’s gay as hell.”

Tenko frowned. “What do you mean ‘your 100% accurate gaydar’? This is the first I’m hearing of this! How are we supposed to know that—”

“See how I’ve got to prove myself to her?” Kokichi asked the club. “People are always imposing their own ideas of what someone’s sexuality is onto others, especially when it comes to boys. Even when I was a closeted little kid, all my classmates had already slapped a label on me and refused to hear otherwise. They ended up being right, but still, isn’t it messed up that I didn’t even get a say?”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Rantaro said with a knowing smile.

“That’s the unfortunate reality of growing up queer, isn’t it?” Kokichi continued. “If you carry yourself a certain way, people will assume one thing or another, and for what? It isn’t as if someone’s personality is necessarily linked to their sexuality. Most of the time,” he said, throwing Tenko a wink. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to leap out of her seat and strangle him. “Just look at Mondo! No way people would assume he liked boys unless he told them.”

Mondo scratched at the back of his head, and for as much as he looked like he’d hate to admit it, Kokichi was right. “Yeah, that’s true. Some of the guys in the gang used to make say some dumb shit about gay people sometimes when I was right next to them. I knocked some sense into ‘em, but I guess when you’re around a bunch of guys like that you kind of just assume everyone’s straight. It is what it is.”

“A damn shame is what it is,” Nekomaru asserted. “That lack of consideration that the people around someone might be hurt by their comments is way too common. Just because you can’t tell from a look doesn’t mean that they’re not gay, or bi, or anything else.”

“You’re a shining example of that, exactly. Just look at you. Large, muscular, boisterous—the opposite of what most people’s idea of a homosexual man is. Myself, on the other hand?” Korekiyo snickered in that somewhat unsettling way he always did. “That being said, these ideas are not completely unfounded. If one were to come across a flamboyant man with interests that are culturally considered to be feminine, I could not blame them for making the assumption that that man was gay. However, it is the insistence that this man must be gay that irks me. Part of the beauty of humanity is its diversity! To think in absolutes when it comes to people is…unforgiveable.”

“Right you are, Kiyo! Even if you did get a bit creepy at the end there.” Kokichi hopped right on out of his chair and held his arms out, walking around the inner circle as he spoke. Tenko scowled—what in the world was he doing? “And you know what else we queer guys have to deal with? Shame! Oh, the shame!”

Kaede crossed her arms with a skeptical look. “Most queer people have to deal with that, you know.”

“True, true, but I believe that guys face a different kind of shame. Riddle me this. Do you think Hope’s Peak has about an equal amount of queer guys and girls?”

“Uh…probably? I’m not really—”

“And yet,” Kokichi gestured to the people around him, “as it stands, of the whopping seventeen people here, only seven of us are guys. And Kaito’s allegedly not even queer! Isn’t that weird?”

“Is 41% weird? 35% if you want to nix Kaito,” Junko said.

“Maybe not in a vacuum, but think about what that means. Assuming Hope’s Peak has an about equal proportion of queer guys to queer girls, closeted or not, aren’t we underrepresented? The answer is yes, obviously, and I know why.” Kokichi put his hands behind his head and grinned. “It’s because guys have more to lose by coming here.”

Tenko turned to Nagito—he was supposed to be the one leading the discussion today, after all—and to her surprise, he didn’t appear to be at all annoyed by Kokichi stealing his spotlight. He almost seemed glad, even.

“Could you elaborate on that?” he asked. Tenko got the feeling that he already knew the answer he was going to get and was just going along with whatever it was Kokichi was getting at.

“Gladly! See, if a girl goes to a club like this, most people won’t bat an eye. After all, girls are super into this sort of activism these days, right? They just want to be good allies! And even if they are actually gay, who cares? This is Japan—they’ll end up marrying a guy anyway. For boys, though?” Kokichi folded his hands over his chest and shook his head with an absolutely distraught expression. “We might as well be outing ourselves to anyone who sees us walk through that door. After all, any guy even remotely interested in learning about queer subject matter HAS to be gay himself, right? And oh boy, we can’t have that! We can’t have that at all!”

The louder Kokichi got, the more Shuichi seemed to shrink in his seat. He made sure to keep his eyes in the shadow of his hat’s brim and shot Kaede and apologetic look. “I…really am sorry for leading him here, Kaede. I know you really wanted me to come, but…”

Kaede put a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder and smiled at him, which only resulted in both he and Miu’s faces turning red. “You’re fine, Shuichi, honestly. Besides, it’s not like he’s causing any trouble. He’s just…passionate.”

“If you’re a man, do you know what being gay means? It means you’re weak,” Kokichi continued. “Or worse, not even a man at all. Or maybe you’re a pervert! Or maybe you’re a weak pervert who isn’t even a man at all. At the end of the day, your sexuality is tied to your morality or your worth as a man, and you know why that is? It’s because for so many men, practically all they think about is sex with women! So if you aren’t the same, then there’s something wrong with you.”

Rantaro let out a laugh, though there was no joy in it. “The amount of times I’ve been called broken, phew. And I’m not even gay. But, since I’m not interested in relationships with women, other guys tend to look at me weirdly. You’re right.”

“Believe me, I know. And don’t even get me started on the stuff bi and pan guys have to deal with. Not that it’s exclusive to them, but imagine how it feels to be told that you don’t even exist! That’s gotta sting.”

“It’s fuckin’ annoying, I’ll tell you that,” Mondo said, grumbling. “Way too many people have said that I’m just a gay guy lookin’ to save face by sayin’ I like women. Shit pisses me off.”

“B-Bisexual girls get that stuff, too!” Tenko asserted. It came out far less confident than she’d intended. “People say that it’s just a phase or that they’re only pretending to like girls to get attention from men all the time!”

Kokichi shrugged. “You’re not wrong. But isn’t this meeting supposed to be about queer men? You’re not going to let your biases get in the way of your own club, are you?”

Tenko’s face burned with a combination of indignation and embarrassment. It hurt to admit to herself, but Kokichi was right. This wasn’t the time for that. Luckily, Himiko nudged her to get her attention before giving her a small smile, and Tenko’s heart melted. Even if she didn’t say it, Himiko understood her.

“Huh. Gotta say, Kokichi, I’m impressed,” Kaito said with a thumbs up. “I understood all of that! I feel like I really get the stuff you guys go through now.”

Kokichi cocked his hips and put a hand on his waist with a self-satisfied smile. “Wow, a compliment from Kaito of all people, what a rarity! What, do you have a crush on me?” His usually pale face took on a rosy complexion as he covered his cheeks with his hands. “Kyaa! Promise you’ll be gentle with me, Kaito-kun…”

“W-What? Hold on, I didn’t say anything like that!”

As Kaito desperately tried to defend himself against Kokichi’s outlandish accusation, some of the club members actually snickered at his misfortune. Tenko sighed. Maybe…maybe Kokichi wouldn’t be such a bad fit for the club after all.

Kokichi, Miu, and Junko were bullies—that enough was certain. They were different types of bullies, though. Junko bullied people out of pure cruelty. To her, making other people miserable was simply a way of entertaining herself, and that made her by far the worse of the bunch. Miu bullied people in order to feel better about herself. In spite of her usual overly confident attitude, Tenko was fairly certain that she actually had a pretty poor perception of herself, evident by how easily she backed down if anyone actually called her out. Kokichi, though? He didn’t bully people out of malice or boredom or anything of the sort. In fact, he didn’t set out to bully anyone at all. Kokichi was…like a jester, and a lot of the time, people were hurt by the things he intended to be jokes. He didn’t want to hurt or annoy people, he just did, and he seemed to be perfectly content with that.

Obviously that didn’t justify his behavior. Just because he wasn’t mean for meanness’ sake didn’t make him a harmless sweetheart, not when he understood full well that his words often cut deeper than he intended. Tenko still didn’t like him, and she thought it unlikely that she ever would. She and Kokichi just weren’t compatible.

“Huh?”

While everyone else was paying attention to Kaito and Kokichi’s back and forth, Tenko’s eye was caught by the sight of Junko, Mikan, and Kotoko making their way towards the door. “Oh, are you girls leaving early this week?”

“U-Um! W-We have to, uh, we’re just going—ah…”

Junko flashed a peace sign, keeping her hand against Kotoko’s back. Meanwhile, Kotoko’s head hung low, her pigtails hiding her face from view. She seemed to be…trembling?

“Kotoko’s feeling sick, so we’re heading out. Later, Tenko.”

“B-B-Bye!”

The three of them hastily left without attracting the attention of anyone else.

Aw, poor Kotoko-chan. I hope she feels better soon, Tenko thought.

“You’re all just egging him on by reacting like that,” Shuichi said in what was practically a mumble. “He’ll stop if you just ignore him.”

“Wrong. I might even double down and go even harder, who knows?”

“Hey, let’s stay on topic,” Himiko said, leaning forward in her seat. “You had a good thing going there for a while, Kokichi. Keep it going.”

Kokichi crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. “Hmm…okay! Talking everyone’s ear off about gay stuff is pretty fun, actually. Makes me feel like Tenko!”

Before Tenko could say anything in retaliation, Kokichi continued. “In conclusion, when it comes to guys who aren’t straight, our sexuality is used against us to delegitimize our gender because so much of what people think of as ‘a man’ has to do with our relationships with women. Modern ideals of masculinity are so rigid, and since a lot of queer guys don’t embody those ideals, they’re not seen as men as all. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.”

Kokichi bowed, and much to Tenko’s annoyance, Kaede and some others actually gave him a small round of applause. What were they thinking boosting his ego like that?!

“Sheesh, all this stuff is bumming Ibuki out! Come on, come on! There’s got to be some positives to all this!”

“Of course there is! Being a gay guy is great!” Kokichi assured her with a wide smile. “Here, I’ll teach you guys some slang.”

Tenko pouted. Just like that, Kokichi of all people had managed to take over her club. It was annoying, yes, but…well. At least he wasn’t causing any issues.

Yet.

“Don’t tell me, is Kokichi the reason why it took you so long to come to one of these things?”

Tenko, Himiko, Kaede, Miu, and Shuichi had decided to return to their dorms together after the day’s meeting, much to Tenko’s delight. She always enjoyed walking with company. Still, she wished the subject matter Kaede had picked had been anything else. She’d had about enough of thinking about Kokichi for the day.

Shuichi shrugged. “Sort of. I figured he’d follow me if I decided to attend a meeting, which he did, and I didn’t want to mess up Tenko’s club. That, and the fact that I don’t really think I should go to a place like that.”

“What, ‘cause you’re straight?” Miu asked. “Who cares? Kaito’s a member, ain’t he?”

Shuichi pursed his lips. “I just…don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”

“Nyeh, that’s funny. Kokichi talked about this exact thing earlier.”

“Come on, Shuichi, you’ve got to be more confident!” Kaede said. “Who cares if some people you shouldn’t give the time of day think you’re gay or not? It’s not like there’s anything wrong with that.”

“I know, but…it’s just…sorry, but I don’t really want to talk about this. Not right now.”

Kaede gave him a cute little reassuring smile. “That’s fine. You’ll always have me to talk to whenever you feel up to it, okay?”

“Hey! Watch what sort of signals you’re sending, Bakamatsu. You’ve got a bangin’ girlfriend standing right next to you.”

“You know, Miu, I feel like you get friendship and romance mixed up a lot. We’re going to talk about that when we get to your room.”

Miu rolled her eyes. “Oh joy, I get to listen to you lecture me. Fine, fine, I’ll let you talk my ear off. As long as we get to make out afterwards.”

Kaede said something about Miu not taking her seriously, but Tenko wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, she found herself thinking…maybe Miu was onto something? Tenko wasn’t the most perceptive person around, but even then, the way Kaede looked at and talked to Shuichi was different from how she talked to other people. Really, the only other person she seemed to use that soft and gentle tone with was her own girlfriend.

Tenko raised her eyebrows as realization dawned on her.

Did Kaede…have a crush on Shuichi?

Let’s not get involved in any of that. I don’t want to know what Iruma-san would shout at me if I even implied it…

“So, are you gonna come back next week?” Himiko asked with a small but hopeful smile. “It’s nice having you around.”

Shuichi took a while to think of a response, and eventually, he let out a breath and nodded. “Yeah, I think I will. It’s not like I do anything after school on Fridays, but…as long as I’m around, Kokichi probably will be, too. He tends to go where I go.”

Tenko sighed. “Don’t worry about it, Saihara-san. Having Oma-san join will be worth it as long as you’re there, too. You’re one of the good ones, you know!”

“So you’ve said,” Shuichi replied, and much to Tenko’s delight, he chuckled. It was always nice seeing someone usually so quiet and reserved actually crack a smile. Most of the time, only Kaede or Kaito could manage making him smile, so Tenko felt a bit of pride at her achievement.

Two more members! How exciting! Even if one of them was Kokichi, that was acceptable. Her little passion project was growing way faster than she expected it to. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they reached twenty members.

Hm…I should do something to celebrate!

And as the five of them continued to their dorms, myriad ideas—good and bad—ran through Tenko’s mind.

Chapter Text

Chihiro did not like mirrors.

They knew it was silly. Mirrors were just a tool, after all—it wasn’t as if one could hurt them. Still, every time they walked past the standing mirror propped up against the wall of their room, they couldn’t help but frown at the sight of their own body reflected back at them.

Chihiro ended up falling into a familiar routine tonight. They went to switch off the lights in preparation for bed when their reflection in the mirror caught their eye. They stared at themselves and frowned. They knew they shouldn’t have been doing this, knew where it would lead, but they couldn’t help themselves.

Chihiro was cute. That fact was as obvious as the moon in the night sky. People would tell them that all the time, so it had to be true, right? They had an adorable, feminine face, slender limbs, and a tiny, lithe frame that was bound to make anyone with eyes want to pick them up and give them a hug. They were the very picture of cuteness, but despite what everyone may have believed, they absolutely resented that fact.

They eyed their lace-trimmed camisole and pyjama shorts that barely even reached their thighs. At the beginning, they’d only begun dressing like this so that they wouldn’t be bullied as much, but after so many years, they’d grown comfortable with it. Dressing like this felt right, but at the same time so terribly wrong. They were deceiving people, weren’t they? Chihiro wasn’t a girl like everyone thought they were…right?

They sighed and forced themselves to meet their own eyes.

“She,” she said. She cringed at the sound of it. It was what she was most used to, but it wasn’t the truth. Not really.

“He,” he whispered. That should have been the right one, but at this point, it felt foreign. How long had it been since he’d been referred to like that? The closest it ever got was Mondo calling him Little Bro, but even then, he always used the same pronouns as everyone else.

“…They?” they said. That one was new and unfamiliar. It at the very least didn’t fill them with dread, but at the same time, was it truly accurate? They still weren’t sure. It would take more time for them to get used to it, that enough was certain.

Sagishi’s explanation at the Fruits Basket meeting a couple of weeks ago had gotten Chihiro thinking. The idea of not being a boy or a girl was definitely appealing. Not having to label oneself as one or the other was an idea that filled them with glee, but whether or not it was truly right for Chihiro was a question whose answer would take a while to make itself clear.

Chihiro stood as tall as they could with their shoulders back and chest forward. “H-Hello, my name is—”

No. Wrong. The voice was too high. They cleared their throat, took a deep breath, and tried again.

“Hello, my name’s Chihiro Fujisaki…! It’s nice to meet you!”

Wrong again. They may have lowered the pitch, but the inflection was still feminine. Again.

“Hi, I’m Ch-Chihiro Fujisaki, and—”

Unconfident. Again.

“Yo, the name’s Chihiro Fujisaki. Nice to meet ya.”

That just sounded wrong. Chihiro wasn’t Mondo or Leon, they were Chihiro. Talking like that just didn’t fit them. For as much as they wished they weren’t, Chihiro was as demure and polite as they came. Changing their manner of speaking without dozens of hours of practice wasn’t really feasible.

There was a knock on the door and Chihiro yelped. It was well past lights out in the dorm—who could have been here this late? They scurried across the room to their door and cleared their throat against, trying their best to speak from their chest.

“Um…wh-who is it?”

That failed.

“‘S me.” Oh, it was just Mondo. That was a relief. “Forgot to return the flash drive you lent me, and I was walkin’ back from Taka’s anyway, so.”

“O-Oh, alright.”

Chihiro stepped back, unlocked the door, and pulled it open. They were met with the image of Mondo looking down, only when he got a good look at them, his cheeks burned red and he looked away immediately.

“Gah…here.” He held out the flash drive and Chihiro took it without a second thought, though the look on his face made them wonder.

“Thanks…um…is something wrong?”

“Nah, it’s nothing. Just…ugh.” Mondo sighed and shook his head before meeting Chihiro’s eyes. “Sorry, you know how it goes. Wires got crossed. Can’t really blame me when you’re dressed like that.”

Chihiro was suddenly very aware of just how much skin they were showing and their arms flew to cover themselves up, though not to much avail. They silently cursed at themselves. Mondo could walk around shirtless just fine, but they got embarrassed just from showing their shoulders and legs?

“I was just about to go to bed, sorry.”

“Nah, I get it. It ain’t like it’s anything to be shy about.” Despite his words, Mondo still very much seemed to be at least a little uncomfortable. “That’s all I needed. Night, Little Bro.”

Chihiro bit their lip as Mondo turned away. They weren’t sure what made them call out to him, but regardless of the reason behind it, that was what they did.

“Um, Mondo? Would you mind actually staying for a bit? I want to talk to you about something.”

“Huh? Yeah, sure.”

Mondo entered the room and Chihiro tried not to focus too much of the sensation of their heart pounding in their chest. This was fine. Mondo was one of the three people who knew their little secret—one of the two people they had actually told, since Junko figured it out just by looking at them a single time—but more than that, Mondo was their friend. He could be trusted. He was someone they could confide in.

Chihiro shut the door behind Mondo and sat down next to him on their bedside, biting their lip and nervously twiddling their thumbs in their lap.

“What’s up?” Mondo asked.

Chihiro took a deep breath. There wasn’t any point in delaying this any further, they supposed. “Mondo, when you look at me…do you see a boy, or a girl?”

Mondo frowned. “Uh…damn, that’s a hard question.”

Chihiro frowned as well, and it was then that Mondo began to look worried.

“Shit, that probably wasn’t the answer you were looking for. Honestly, I don’t really know. It’s like my brain still registers you as a girl even though I know you’re a guy. That make any sense?”

“I think so?” They wrung their hands and mumbled something. “But…am I a boy?”

“Eh? Whaddya mean?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I don’t think I make a good boy. But I don’t feel like a girl, either. So maybe I’m neither?”

“I mean, yeah, that could be it. But what do you mean you don’t make a good boy? We’ve talked about this, dude.”

Chihiro sighed. “I know, I know. Boys can be small and frail and feminine and it’s okay, but it’s like every time I look at myself, I can’t see a boy. I just see…me.”

“…What’s wrong with that?”

“H-Huh?” Chihiro tilted their head.

“Look, I don’t know a whole ton about this sort of thing, you know that. If what’s bothering you is the way you look, I’m always down to hit the gym with you. If it’s the way other people look at you, then you already know that shit doesn’t matter. And if it’s the way you look at yourself…well, that’s a whole other can of worms. I’m not the best guy to go to for answers there.”

“I’m not looking for any answers, really,” Chihiro said. “Just someone to vent to.”

Mondo clapped his hand on their shoulder and smiled. “In that case, I’m your man.”

Chihiro smiled back. Mondo may not have been the most well-versed when it came to gender and the myriad troubles it often presented, but he was at the very least a good friend.

“Thanks, Mondo. I, uh…the other day, I asked Tenko if she could try using different pronouns for me, so I can see how it feels, you know? They/them. I think I’m going to ask the other Fruits Basket members to do that, too, but for now…do you think you could try it out?”

“Sure thing.” Mondo put his hand on Chihiro’s head and ruffled their hair, which made them laugh as it always did. “‘Sup? This is is my little buddy, Chihiro. They’re the Ultimate Programmer. Pretty cool, yeah? They’re the sweetest thing you’ll ever meet. They’ve got a lot of love to give, so make sure you’re nice to them, got it?”

Chihiro felt a pang of warmth in their chest and their smile brightened enough to light up the room.

“How’s that?” Mondo asked.

“I’ll have to get used to it, but…it doesn’t feel wrong. I don’t hate it. Thank you, Mondo. Really. It’s nice to know that I have someone to confide in.”

“I’ve always got your back, Chi.” Mondo gave them one last pat on the back before rising to his feet. “Aight, I’ve got to hit the sack. Early day tomorrow. You, uh, won’t tell Enoshima about this, right? If she founds out you and I were alone in your room this this late, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I won’t, I promise. Goodnight, Mondo.”

“Night, little dude.”

Once Mondo had left, Chihiro let out a deep breath, locked the door, and went to face themselves in the mirror once again. They still didn’t exactly like what they saw, but it at the very least didn’t make them deeply uncomfortable. They were fine for the night.

“You’ll figure it out,” they told themselves, folding their hands over their chest. “I’m not worried about you.”

And with that, they switched off the lights and made themselves comfortable in bed. Tomorrow would be a new day, a new day to ponder the questions that were constantly on their mind and a new day to be themselves.

Chapter Text

“My name is Angie Yonaga! I am called the Ultimate Artist. It fills my soul with joy to be here with you all today.”

Before today, Tenko wasn’t sure if Angie would ever show up to one of these things, but had been secretly hoping she would. It wasn’t as if she was particularly fond of Angie—her carefree attitude and often disturbing manner of speaking was too out there even for Tenko—but she was Himiko’s only other friend, really. Despite her eccentricities, Angie got along with anyone and seemed to have taken a particular liking to Himiko. For the first few weeks of school, Tenko was certain it had to be because Angie had a crush on her as well, but she eventually came to the conclusion that Angie just thought Himiko was fun—which she was, of course.

Angie hummed a happy song as she took her seat right next to Himiko, her smile unwavering. Tenko took a quick glance around the room and frowned.

“Kotoko-chan isn’t here this week, huh? I hope she isn’t still feeling sick.”

Junko shrugged. “Yup. Think it’s some sort of stomach bug. She’ll be back next meeting.”

“Aw, that’s no good. Enoshima-san, Tsumiki-san, could you let her know that I hope she feels better soon?”

“Same goes for me,” Kaito said. “I know how it feels to spend all day puking your guts out. It sucks.”

“I’d like it if you could extend my well wishes as well,” Sagishi said.

Ibuki chimed in. “Ibuki, too!”

“Nyeh, me, too.”

“Same here,” Rantaro said, raising his hand.

Mikan’s eyes practically spun in her skull from all the names she would have to remember. “O-Okay! We’ll tell her r-right after this meeting, I p-p-promise!”

“Speakin’ of which, what’ve you got for us this time around, Tenko?” Kokichi asked, holding his hands behind his head. “Something exciting, I hope.”

“Well, it’s not a conventional topic. This one was a request, actually! I had another topic in mind, but someone asked me to do this one a few days ago, and of course I wasn’t going to say no to such a great girl.”

Kaede waved. “Hi! Said great girl here.”

“Today’s discussion topic doesn’t have to be queer, but I guess it’s still a type of atypical relationship, and that’s all queer really means, so…So! Who’s ready to talk about polyamory?”

“Poly-what now?” Kaito asked. If there was one thing Tenko could count on him for, it was to provide her with an opportunity to explain something.

“Great question, Momota-san! In simple terms, polyamory is when—”

“Uh, Tenko?” Kaede raised a finger to get her attention. “Actually, do you mind if I take this one?”

Tenko blinked. Well, Kaede was the one who suggested this topic to begin with. She supposed she didn’t mind having her thunder stolen as long as it was by her.

“Go for it, Akamatsu-san!”

“Thanks! So, for those who don’t know, polyamory is what they call it when someone has multiple romantic partners at the same time. It’s different from polygamy, which is having multiple spouses.”

Kaito tilted his head. “…Ain’t that just cheating?”

“Sure sounds like it,” Miu agreed.

Kaede frowned. “No, they’re completely different, actually. Cheating involves deception—going behind your partner’s back. Openness and honesty are super important in polyamorous relationships. Most people in polyamorous relationships at least know who else their partner is dating. Besides, a lot of the time the people involved date each other and not just one other person.”

“How exactly does that work?” Sagishi asked.

“Easy! Person A and Person B are dating, and Person C is dating both of them, too.”

“Oh, so they’re each dating the same two people,” Sagishi said with a nod of understanding. “Okay, that makes sense.”

Himiko put a finger on her chin, tilting her head and furrowing her brow. “That’s kind of weird…how do you have feelings for more than one person at a time like that?”

“Hey, cheaters do it all the time,” Kokichi pointed out. “Difference here is that everyone’s worked out a system that keeps them all satisfied.”

“Dunno ‘bout that one. People who cheat generally only have genuine feelings for one person and just stick with the other ‘cause they have ulterior motives,” Junko said. “Maybe the sex is better, maybe they’re loaded, or maybe they’ve got connections the cheater would rather not lose. There’re all sorts of possible reasons.”

“Sounds to me like they’re just indecisive. How hard can it be to just pick one person and stop messing around?” Miu asked, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

Kaede pouted in turn and Tenko couldn’t help but feel bad for her. She cleared her throat and momentarily stood up.

“L-Let’s try and reserve judgment until Akamatsu-san’s finished, alright? Come on, we’re the Fruits Basket! We’re not supposed to judge different lifestyles just because we might find it a bit weird.”

Kaede’s smile returned, albeit much more restrained. “Thanks, Tenko. Ah, what was I saying…? To answer Himiko’s question, I’m not really sure how to explain it. Some people are capable of loving and being with more than one person, but a lot of people aren’t. It’s a lot of effort and a big risk to give your heart to multiple people, you know? But, hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.”

“So…what you’re saying is that it’s possible for me to date two girls at once…and it wouldn’t be cheating?” Kaito asked, chin in his hands.

“As long as Maki were okay with it, nope!”

“Huh. That’s kind of cool…but I don’t really think I’m the type of guy to go for more than one gal. That just isn’t my style, you know?”

“Of course! Like I said, it absolutely isn’t for everyone. Knowing all of this doesn’t have to change the way you think about your own relationships if you don’t want it to.” Kaede clapped her hands together and grinned. “Now, there are a few different types of polyamorous relationships. Stop me if I’m going too fast!

“First up is what I think is the most common type of poly relationship: the triad or ‘throuple’. This is the sort of relationship I described earlier where all parties involved are dating each other. Now, these sorts of relationships can involve more than three people, but it can get a bit hectic. Three’s definitely the most common.”

“Nyeh, I’m not sure I really get it…could you give an example?” Himiko asked.

“Sure thing!” Kaede said gleefully. She thought for a moment before taking Miu by the hand and pulling her to her feet.

“Uh, the fuck? My ass was comfortable, for your information.”

“I’m sure it was. So! Miu and I are dating already, which means I like her and she likes me.”

Miu scoffed. “Well, ya got one of those right.”

Kaede ignored her. “But say we both happened to develop feelings for another person—the same person. Hm…” She scanned the room with her eyes, going over each and every person present, before smiling at the person Tenko figured she had in mind from the start. Shuichi attempted to hide his face beneath the brim of his hat as Kaede pulled him up. “Shuichi! Let’s say we both have a crush on Shuichi. If he’s okay with being with the both of us, then we all can date each other! Easy! That make sense, Himiko?”

“Huh…yeah, I guess it does now that I can visualize it better.”

“Nice example and all, but implying that I’d ever be into Shuichi should be a crime.”

“Don’t be mean, Miu. You two are supposed to be friends,” Kaede pointed out.

“Mean? I’m just being honest!”

Kokichi snickered. “I dunno, Miu. If I were you, I’d consider it a miracle that more than one person could stand you enough to actually want to date you.”

“H-Hey!” Miu shouted, her face beginning to burn. “At l-least I have a girlfriend, you fuckin’ shrimp-dicked twinky virgin!”

Kokichi feigned an offended gasp. “Using homophobic slurs now are we? That’s not very appropriate for this environment, you know!”

Kaede continued before Miu could retort, not bothering to let go of either her or Shuichi’s hands. “Anyway. The next type is usually called a ‘vee’. It’s where someone is in a relationship with two people, but those people aren’t romantically involved at all. So I could be dating Miu,” she held up Miu’s hand, “and Shuichi,” she held up Shuichi’s as well, “but these two would stay just friends. Again, this type can involve four or even more people, but three’s the most common.”

“That reminds me of home!” Angie said with a bright smile. “On my island, every guy’s got multiple wives! Why stop at just one, ya know? Atua says the more love, the better!”

“Yup! That’s the sort of polygamy that’s common in a few cultures. When it comes to just dating, I find that this type’s probably the type where jealousy is the most common. It can be really hard sharing the person you love with someone else and it’s easy to feel insecure about the amount of attention they give you.”

Rantaro let out a breath and shook his head. “Phew. Yeah, that sounds like a hassle. Props to the people who are able to maintain healthy relationships like that, though.”

“Yeah! So, next is what’s called an ‘anchor relationship’. This can mean a couple different things, but I’ll put it in simple terms. Depending on the wants and needs of the people involved, poly relationships can be hierarchical or not. An anchor relationship is basically the primary relationship someone has, while their other partners are less serious. So, if Miu and I are the anchor relationship, I could date, say, Shuichi and Tenko on the side while she dates Keebo.”

“H-Huh?!” Tenko exclaimed, her face reddening. “M-Me? Tenko? Tenko Chabashira?”

“Sheesh, relax. It’s just an example, Miu said. “As if I’d ever actually date Keebo. So what if he’s a modern marvel of technological innovation? So what if I’ve spent hours tinkering around inside of him? S-So what if he’s made mostly of a titanium alloy that—“

“Miu, you’re drooling! Ugh.” Kaede momentarily released Shuichi to pull a handkerchief from her breast pocket and clean her girlfriend’s overheating face. Shuichi awkwardly rubbed his hand and began to sit down, much to her dismay. “Aw, come on, Shuichi! I’m not done explaining yet!”

“O-Oh. Sorry.” Shuichi stood up straight and allowed Kaede to take his hand again once she’d finished with Miu. The shadow his hat casted on his face did little to hide just how much he’d been blushing this entire time.

“Alright, then we’ve got total relationship anarchy. A lot of people like to call this an open relationship, but that can mean a couple different things depending on who you ask. This is basically where everyone involved in a relationship dates whoever they want. Rules, labels, and hierarchy get thrown out the window and it’s free-for-all for everybody! I could be dating Miu, who could be dating Keebo, who could be dating Kokichi, who could be dating Kaito—“

“Hey!”

“And it’s possible for none of them to even know about each other! From what I understand, this type of polyamory is more for, uh, sex than it is your typical fulfilling romantic relationships. People who do this fully romantically aren’t too common because having all those people involved can mean things get messy fast. Basically, a bunch of friends with benefits form one giant polycule.”

“What’s a polycule?” Kaito asked.

“It’s just what you call the web of people involved with each other. Me, Miu, and Shuichi alone would be a polycule, or it could be the whole school.”

“That’s…a lot to take in,” Mikan said, pressing the tips of her fingers together with concern on her face. “H-How do people deal with all of that…?”

“Well, everyone’s different! Some people want to know everything about their metamours—that’s your partner’s partner, by the way—and others couldn’t care less. There are all sorts of different types of polyamory and different types of poly people, so there’s no one blanket answer for everyone.”

Mikan bit her lip. “I d-don’t think I could do something like that. I’d always be worrying that I wasn’t enough for Junko…”

“Aw, you’re more than enough, babe!” Junko said, playfully nuzzling Mikan’s neck. “But let’s not sugarcoat things, you’d get way too jealous and probably scare away anyone I showed romantic interest in. Hell, I’m the same. You’re all mine.”

Mondo averted his eyes as Junko shamelessly nipped at Mikan’s ear. “Gyah…I guess I wouldn’t mind sharin’ Taka. I’d probably feel a bit burned, sure, but…like you said, Akamatsu. Heart wants what the heart wants.”

“What about you, Kaede?” Angie asked, squishing her cheeks and leaning forward with interest. “Would you be in a relationship like that?”

“E-Eh?”

Korekiyo nodded. “Kehehehe. It’s a valid question, is it not? After all, you do seem to know an awful lot about this.”

Kaede blushed and promptly released both Miu and Shuichi’s hands upon realizing just how clammy her own were becoming. “M-Me? Aha…well, I uh, guess I wouldn’t mind. I’ve never really thought about it, you know?”

She’d never been the best liar.

“If I found the right person—and if Miu was okay with it, of course—I could probably date another person. I’ve got a lot of love to give, you know?”

“Yeah, that’d never work out,” Kokichi said as he laughed to himself. “Not when you’ve got a walking inferiority complex for a girlfriend. I’m surprised she didn’t start crying the moment you held Shuichi’s hand!”

Miu scowled at him. “That’s because I’m smart enough to know that he’s not a threat, shit-for-brains. I’m a boss-ass bitch, so it’d be a miracle if Kaede could find someone even half as attractive as me! I ain’t down for sharing either, so even if she did, it wouldn’t matter.”

Tenko couldn’t help but notice the momentary shift in expression on Kaede’s face. What was that? Disappointment? Insecurity? It definitely wasn’t a positive emotion, that enough was certain. Kokichi apparently took notice of this as well, raising his eyebrow with a curious yet knowing expression before shrugging in nonchalance.

“Meh, we’ll see about that.”

“And that’s why I hate the word ‘throuple’—oh wow, is it that time already?” Kaede let out a nervous laugh around an hour later as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “Sheesh, time sure flies when you’re with good company, huh?”

“Aw, you think I’m good company? I’m flattered, Kaede, really,” Kokichi said.

Tenko rose to her feet, stretched, and clapped her hands once. “Alright, we’ll wrap up there for the week. You did a great job hosting today, Akamatsu-san!”

“Thanks,” Kaede said with a slight blush, bashfully scratching behind her ear. “I feel like a got a bit rambly here and there, but there were a lot of questions—which I expected, really. It’s not a very simple topic.”

“Matters are the heart are always complex, no?” Angie asked. “Atua thinks you’ve done a great job explaining such a difficult subject to the ignorant. Gold star for you, Kaede!”

“Well then, I’ll see everyone next week!” Tenko said, giving everyone a small wave. “Have a great—“

“W-Wait!”

The club members turned to Chihiro, still sitting firmly in their seat even though everyone else had stood up by now. Their face was a burning red and sweat rolled down their skin as they nervously raised a shaky finger. “U-U-Uhm, I’d like to, make an annou—a request for everyone, if it’s alright. Is th-that okay?”

Tenko already knew what they were about to ask, of course, and nodded enthusiastically. “Sure thing, Fujisaki-san! The floor’s all yours!”

Chihiro stood up and stumbled a little, gripping the hem of their skirt so tight that their knuckles had gone white. They looked as if they were on the verge of tears until Mondo put a hand on their shoulder and gave them a reassuring smile.

Junko grinned widely and threw a thumbs up Chihiro’s way. “Knock ‘em dead, Chi!”

Finally, Chihiro forced themselves to look up at everyone and speak in an audible voice, though that did not mean it didn’t shake and waver. “S-So, ah, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. Um…after Sagishi-senpai explained what being nonbinary meant, I started to think that m-maybe that might apply to me? B-Basically what I’m asking is if you guys could try using they/them pronouns for me, at least for a while. So…yeah.”

“What, you think you might not be a girl?” Kaito asked, then shrugging. “Sure thing, little dude! I’ll use whatever pronouns you ask of me.”

Himiko nodded in agreement. “Me, too! I’d love to be a part of your gender identity journey!”

Sagishi gave a smile that was probably the largest anyone had ever seen from them in the almost two years they’d been attending Hope’s Peak. “I…wow. I’m really happy to hear that I could inspire you like that, Fujisaki-san. Congratulations.”

“Th-Thanks! I really appreciate everyone, really!” Chihiro said with an awkward laugh. “Um, I hope you guys won’t be upset with me if I ask you to use something different in a few weeks. I’m still…figuring things out.”

“Nah, ‘course we won’t! How can you know what fits you best if you never take anything out for a test drive?” Junko asked, ruffling Chihiro’s hair before resting her hand on their shoulder. “If anyone gets pissy about it, they’ll have me to deal with, and God knows no one wants to be on my bad side.”

“You’ve got me, too. No one’s gonna mess with my Little Buddy,” Mondo said.

Tenko figured she would have been devastated over the loss of a cute girl just like she was when Chihiro had first come to her with this, but with the sight of Junko Enoshima’s hand on one of their shoulders and Mondo Owada’s on the other, she couldn’t help but smile. Chihiro certainly had some strong supporters behind them. If this was what made them happy, then who was Tenko to judge?

Good for her! Tenko thought. Err, them.

And as the members of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket left the club room for the day, the pure joy radiating from Chihiro warmed Tenko’s heart…while the unease on Kaede’s cooled it right back down.

“Hm…hey, Yumeno-san?” Tenko began, looking down on Himiko as she locked the door behind her. “You can keep a secret, right?”

“I’m a mage—I have more secrets than anyone in the school!” Himiko said with a dramatic flair. “Nyeh, uh, sure, as long as it isn’t anything illegal. You didn’t kill someone, did you? ‘Cause I think I might have to tell the counselor about that.”

Tenko shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s about Akamatsu-san. I, uh…” she looked all around her to make sure none of the club members were still in earshot, and when she figured the coast was clear, she knelt down and whispered in Himiko’s ear.

“I think she might have a crush on Saihara-san!”

Himiko waited for a bit, and when Tenko did not continue, she blinked and looked at her with a blank expression.

“Well, duh.”

Chapter Text

“B-But what if she never wants to go to club again? What if she hates us for not protecting her?”

“Relax, babe. Kotoko’s not that kind of kid. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“But we should have been more cautious! W-We could have told Tenko about her trigger word beforehand, or—”

“Miki.” Junko held Mikan’s hands together and pressed her lips gently against them with a reassuring smile. “Calm down. You can’t blame yourself for this. Besides, you did a great job at helping her through her panic attack even though you were hella nervous, so don’t feel so guilty.”

Fat tears still threatened to spill from Mikan’s eyes despite Junko’s comforting words. Mikan was generally willing to go wherever Junko wanted her to, but now that she was standing right outside of Monaca’s door, she was having second thoughts. She was supposed to be Kotoko’s big sister, and big sisters protected their younger siblings. She’d messed up just like she always did. Because of her inaction, Kotoko had to relieve the suffering and torment she’d be subjected to all over again. They’d barely spoken a word to each other in the almost two weeks since it’d happened—surely Kotoko wanted nothing to do with her.

“I…I just don’t want her to hate me. And I’m worried about her! W-What if she never participates in any clubs again because of this? What if she never makes any new friends?”

Junko shrugged. “That’s her prerogative. Believe me, though, she’ll be fine. I mean, you were a mess not too long ago, but now you’ve got plenty of friends and the best girlfriend in the world, right? If you can end up alright, then I’m sure she can, too. So don’t stress yourself out over this, okay?”

Mikan sniffled and her lips curled into a tiny smile as Junko thumbed away her tears. For as guilty as she still felt, Junko had a point. Surely Kotoko would be fine eventually even if it took her a while. There was no point in lamenting the fact that she’d failed to protect her; all she could do now was be there for her. Mikan wasn’t thinking straight—she never did whenever she was anxious. Luckily, Junko was always there to ground her and make sure she didn’t spiral any further.

For as good as Junko was at comforting her in times like this, there was always a particular look on her face that Mikan did not quite understand, and reading people’s facial expressions was one of the few things she was good at. Her cheeks held a perpetual flushness to them, and not only that, but her eyes seemed to sparkle in the light. Mikan had an inkling as to why, but never felt brave enough to ask directly. She figured now was a good a time as any.

“Um, Junko…do you…like it when I cry?”

Junko donned a cheeky smile. “‘Lil bit.”

“O-Oh,” Mikan whispered, her shoulders falling slightly.

“Aw, don’t look so sad, doll face! Or do.” Junko crossed her arms and huffed. “It’s conflicting, ya know? On one hand, I want you to be happy all the time, but on the other hand, have you seen the way you look when you cry? Your eyes go all wide and wet, your bottom lip starts quivering, there’s that exhilarating look of despair on your face…” Junko shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, her blush intensifying. “God, you don’t know what you do to me. But! I’m not going to let my dacryphilia take priority over being a good girlfriend. Not cheering you up when you’re sad just ‘cause it’s hot when you cry would be, like, textbook abusive behavior. So turn that frown upside down, sweetie.”

Junko tapped her on the nose and Mikan giggled. She truly had been like this from the start, hadn’t she? Mikan knew they were both abnormal in the bad sort of way, and while that was usually a source of great insecurity for her, she loved that about Junko. That was what made Junko Junko, after all.

“But enough about my kinks—we can talk about those later,” Junko said with a wink. She knocked on the dorm room door, and moments later was greeted with the smiling face of one of her little sisters looking up at her from her wheelchair.

“Big Sis Junko! Big Sis Mikan! You’re here!” she said.

Junko grinned at her. “Hey, Princess. Whatcha up to?”

“We’re playing Mario Kart! Kotoko’s been on her phone since she got here, though.”

“Figures. You don’t mind if Miki and I step in for a sec, do you?”

Monaca shook her head. “Of course not. Hey, everyone! Big Sis Junko and Big Sis Mikan are here!”

Mikan smiled at the children sitting on the bed as she entered. Most people called them “problem children”, but they liked to call themselves “Warriors of Hope”. Mikan…didn’t really understand why, but she didn’t understand why Junko liked to call her small circle of friends “Ultimate Despair”, either. She figured it was just a fun little thing to do.

While Jataro, Nagisa, and Masaru were sitting together on Monaca’s bed, Kotoko was sitting alone in the corner with her eyes glued to her phone. Usually she’d be ecstatic at just the sight of her beloved big sisters, but now, she didn’t even acknowledge their presence. Mikan frowned at the sight; she hated seeing Kotoko like this.

Masaru shot Monaca an impatient look. “Come on, Monaca! We’re almost done with this circuit!”

“Now now, Masaru. Don’t be rude. Say hi!”

“Yo!” Masaru waved. “Okay, can we keep playing now?”

Monaca crossed her arms, and though she seemed annoyed, she acquiesced and rolled over to sit among her friends before picking up her controller and unpausing the game. “You're going to need to be more polite to these two. Honestly, don’t you have any manners?”

Junko snickered. “Wow, Princess. Look at you bein’ all mature. You almost sound like an adult already.”

Mikan winced—she knew what was coming.

“W-Why would you say that?!” Monaca asked, crocodile tears already welling in her eyes as her face went red. “Monaca! Is! Not! An adult! Monaca! Is! A! Little! Girl!”

Junko had done that on purpose, hadn’t she?

“And what a nice little girl you are. Anyway, you rascals mind clearing the room for a bit? Miki and I have got to talk to Kotoko for a sec.”

Nagisa frowned. “Can’t you talk to her while we’re here?”

“No can do, little dude. ‘S a private matter.”

“But we’re in the middle of a game!” Masaru cried.

Junko sighed before reaching into her bag and producing a single bill, which she promptly handed off to Monaca. “It’s ¥10,000. Go nuts.”

“Ooh!” Masaru tossed aside his controller without a second thought, as did the other players. “Thanks, Big Sis Junko! Come on you guys, let’s go to the gift shop!”

The kids promptly vacated the room and Mikan was left wondering just why an academic institution had a gift shop to begin with. Then again, the higher-ups of Hope’s Peak seemed to be willing to do anything for more money.

Junko gestured for Mikan to follow her before making her way over to the silent girl sitting crouched in the corner of the room. Kotoko did not so much as look up from her phone, not even when Junko knelt down so that they were at eye-level.

“Hey, kiddo,” she said in a calming voice. “A little birdy with bad taste in men and a gun fetish told me you’ve been skipping a lot of classes lately. Props to you—you don’t need half the shit they teach you—but something tells me you aren’t doing that because you realize that compulsory education is a scam. What’s up?”

Kotoko didn’t answer. All she did was briefly meet Junko’s captivating blue eyes before gluing her own back to the screen of her phone.

Junko clicked her tongue. “Silent treatment? Aw, don’t do me like that! You’re gonna hurt my wittle feewings.”

“U-Um, you can talk to us if there’s something bothering you,” Mikan said. She’d never been quite as good at connecting with the kids as Junko was, but Kotoko—along with Monaca and Jataro—had taken a particularly liking to her. “Or we could take you out somewhere if you want? D-Do you want to get ice cream?”

Kotoko shook her head. “No. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Why not?” Junko asked with a curious tilt of her head. Mikan knew she already understood the answer, but it was always good to ask and never assume at times like these.

“The…the more people I’m around, the bigger the risk,” Kotoko answered, biting her lip. “I don’t want them to remind me of the bad men.”

Junko nodded in understanding. “Makes sense. So long as you stay alone with your friends, you’re more or less safe, huh? But the instant you go out into the world, you’re at risk of hearing your trigger word. That can’t be fun.”

“It’s not. It sucks. I…I hate it!” Kotoko whimpered, finally tossing her phone aside and pulling her knees to her chest. “It’s so dumb. I’m so dumb. It’s just a word, I know it can’t hurt me, but everytime I hear it I just…it’s like I’m back at the studio again, and I just can’t, and, and—”

“Shhh, don’t go freaking out on me now. It’s okay.” Even though it was intended for Kotoko, the smile on Junko’s face made Mikan’s heart melt. No one would expect someone as callous and foul-mouthed as her to be good with kids, and yet here she was. “You’re not dumb for being traumatized, Kotoko. The way you happen to react to a certain word isn’t your fault, either. It must be hard living your life every day knowing that you could be set off just by someone passing by and saying the wrong thing at the right time.”

“It is! It’s so hard! It’s harder than math tests, or pushing Monaca up hills, or tap dancing all day. Why do I have to be like this? Why can’t I just be normal?”

Kotoko began to tremble and her lip started to quiver, but before she could burst into tears, Junko laid a comforting hand on her head. “Kotoko, baby girl, none of us are normal. Not me, not Monaca, and definitely not Mikan. That girl’s a fuh-reak, that’s for sure.”

“Jun-Jun, I’m standing right here…”

“And you’ll never deny it. Point is, you shouldn’t feel bad about not being ‘normal’. What happened to you is the reason you are the way you are, and none of it is your fault. You were hurt by monsters—the scum of the Earth—and because of that, you’ve got a sensitivity that other people don’t have. It’s nothing to feel guilty over, it’s just trauma. You’re traumatized.” Junko blinked. “You know that, right?”

“…Being traumatized isn’t cute at all.”

“Hm. It might not be a particularly cute trait, but it doesn’t do anything to diminish how cute someone is if you ask me,” Junko said with a shrug. “Everyone’s got their baggage. Yours is just heavier than most. It’s hard to carry now, sure, but believe me when I say that the older you get and the longer you carry it around for, the stronger you’ll become. The time will come where it doesn’t affect you as much, even if it never goes away.”

Kotoko sniffled. “But…I know you’re a genius and all, but how do you know that?”

Junko’s smile softened and Mikan thought she sensed a small bit of sadness lurking behind those soothing eyes of hers. “Like you said, I’m a genius. So, what do you say to coming back to club tomorrow? Miki and I will let Tenko and the rest know about your trigger word, don’t worry.”

“That’s just giving them a way to hurt me.”

“You really think I’d let anyone lay a finger on you? Come on, what kind of big sis would I be if I didn’t do a little murder to protect my baby sis? You trust me, don’t you?”

Kotoko still looked unconvinced, so Mikan slowly raised her finger to chime in. She’d most definitely forgotten to tell Kotoko this last week, but now worked, too.

“U-Um, we told everyone that you were sick, and Tenko asked me to tell you that she hopes you feel better. So did Ibuki, and Rantaro, and Sagishi, and Kaito, and Himiko. They all seemed like they missed you.”

“R-Really?” Kotoko asked, slowly raising her head. “They were all…worried about me?”

“Yup. Anyone with a heart would worry if a totes adorbs little girl like you suddenly got sick.”

Eyes cast down at the carpet, Kotoko bit her lip and was quiet for a while. The look on her face reminded Mikan of herself. Usually when Junko pulled her back from the edge of whatever abyss she was on the verge of falling into, it always took her a few moments to regain her balance, but eventually…

“Okay!” Kotoko’s smile returned in full force alongside her healthy glow as she sprung to her feet and put her hands on her waist. “I like club, so I’ll keep going as long as I feel safe there, and with you two around, of course I’m safe! I trust you both! Oh oh oh! But before that, you have to beat up Masaru.”

“Really now? What’d he do?” Junko asked. Her tone dripped with satisfaction.

“We were fighting about who gets to go see a movie with Monaca—I won the argument, obviously—and you know what he said? He said that the only reason I’m a lesbian is because of what the bad men did!”

“Oh n-no. That’s not a very nice to say…”

Junko’s expression fell. “Seriously? He said that like, to your face?” Kotoko nodded and Junko crossed her arms, shaking her head in disappointment. “Man, that kid…”

“I know, right? He’s such a…a dumbass!”

“He’s a little shit, but he’s my little shit. I’ll tell him off with you when they get back.”

Still Kotoko’s face burned red and she puffed out her cheeks. “That doesn’t even make sense! I’ve always liked girls! I’m not gay because I was hurt by men—that’s so stupid!!!”

“The stereotype that gay people are only gay because they were sexually abused in their youth is weirdly prevalent even today…but hey, let’s save it for club, yeah?” Junko put back on her cheshire grin and took Kotoko’s hand. “So about that ice-cream offer…”

Kotoko eagerly agreed, and as the three of them made their way out the door, Mikan found herself staring at Junko’s face while Kotoko rambled on about all the flavor combinations she was going to get. She looked so…content. Usually she wore some sort of smug or exaggerated expression, but now, she didn’t look anything like the abrasive queen bee everyone knew and loved—or hated—but rather like a perfectly normal girl. Of course, Mikan knew she was anything but that.

Junko was a genius in every sense of the word. She was practically a walking supercomputer with emotional intelligence far exceeding anyone’s expectations for her. She mostly used that emotional intelligence to quickly get to the very root of people’s insecurities and weaponize it against them—she was still very much a bully, after all—but she also used it to help people…when she felt like it. She just had a soft spot when it came to certain people close to her, and by some miracle, Mikan was lucky enough to be one of them.

Mikan practically swooned.

“You’re not lucky,” Junko said out of seemingly nowhere, giving Mikan a wink that made her heart soar. “You’re you.”

Chapter Text

“So, yeah. Just don’t use the word ‘gentle’ around her and we won’t have any problems. Get it? Got it? Good.”

Junko sat in her chair and crossed her legs, beginning to idly run her fingers through Mikan’s hair as if she were already bored of the topic. Apparently, the two of them hadn’t been entirely truthful regarding Kotoko’s sudden illness. It wasn’t that she’d come down with a stomach virus or something along those lines, but rather she’d been deeply affected by something Kokichi had said as a mindless joke. That alone stoked deep fear in Tenko’s heart—if something as innocuous as the word gentle was enough to trigger a panic attack, who knew what sort of trauma Kotoko bore? Tenko knew it was rude to ask, though, and she certainly didn’t want to speculate, so she tried not to think about it. Apparently, others didn’t feel the need to extend the same courtesy.

“The hell happened to make her freak out over somethin’ like that?” Miu asked.

Junko shrugged. “Not my place to tell you. You’ll probably never find out unless she somehow ends up trusting you a whole bunch, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.”

“You should apologize,” Himiko said, crossing her arms and pouting at Kokichi. “It sounds like you really hurt her.”

Kokichi tilted his head and held his finger against his chin with innocent eyes. “Why? It’s not like I meant to. It’d be one thing if I knew about it, but I’m not going to apologize for my ignorance.”

“You should apologize because it’s the polite thing to do,” Kaede insisted.

“Eh? You guys have weird definitions of politeness. It’s so…conformist.”

“You’re not completely off base, but if I have to listen to you debate anything with anyone, I’m gonna off myse—“ Junko met Mikan’s disapproving eyes and caught her tongue between her teeth. “…I’m going to not have a great time. Ugh, so much less bite. Anyway. Yo, Kotoko!” she called at the door. “All set, so come on in!”

Tenko wasn’t surprised that it took Kotoko a while to actually open the door. Surely she wasn’t exactly eager to waltz back into club after what happened to her last time she attended. What did surprise her, though, was the fact that when Kotoko did enter, she wasn’t alone.

“What the—” Junko thinned her eyes and leaned forward in disbelief. “Oh, fuck me! What the hell are you two losers doing here?”

The normal-looking girl wearing an unfamiliar uniform sighed and gave a small wave. “Good to see you too, Junko.”

Tenko did recognize the other one—Toko Fukawa. Toko shuddered and took a cautious step back. “G-Great, Junko’s here. This was a mistake, we should leave.”

“Huh? No way, I came all the way from my school for this!”

“Shoulda stayed there, Donkomaru,” Kotoko said with a disgruntled huff.

“You two know each other?” Chihiro asked.

Kotoko nodded. “Her school did some sort of dumb collaboration with Hope’s Peak and sent a bunch of their students to Towa City to chaperone the elementary school division’s field trip. Me and the other Warriors of Hope got stuck with her. Stupid Donkomaru.”

“Could you please not call me that? It’s just Komaru.”

Mondo raised an eyebrow. “Field trip, huh? So what was Toko doin’ there?”

“I skipped class to hang out with her,” Toko answered, biting down on her thumb. “I would have just gone to school if I knew I’d have to deal with a bunch of d-devil children all day.”

“I guess introductions are in order, huh?” Komaru adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag before bowing. “I’m Komaru Naegi! I don’t go here, but some of you might know my brother. His name’s Makoto!”

Toko’s frown only seemed to deepen. “T-Toko Fukawa. Ultimate Writing Prodigy.”

“You guys know how Hope’s Peak instruction days start and end a half hour later than other schools? Toko was telling me about this club she was interested in, and I figured a half hour was plenty of time for me to get over here and check it out with her. To those I don’t know, it’s nice to meet you all!”

Tenko smiled. When she’d started this club, she most definitely didn’t expect to receive interest from people who weren’t even students here. “It’s great to have you, Naegi-san! Fukawa-san! You can take a seat wherever you’d like!”

“Egh. Just make sure it’s not near me, please,” Junko said as she pinched her nose. “I didn’t even think it was possible for anyone to smell worse than Mukuro. Then I met Toko. That was the first time I’d ever been wrong in my life.”

Komaru and Toko took their seats right by Junko.

“They both smell fine, sheesh,” Komaru said. “You’re going to end up alone if you keep treating people the way you do, you know.”

Junko gestured to Mikan with a baffled expression on her face as if she couldn’t even comprehend what would drive Komaru to say such a thing. Tenko could already feel a migraine coming on; she knew Junko was going to be an issue from day one. Now, in addition to Mondo, she had to deal with her bickering with Komaru and Toko. This was sure to be an exhausting endeavor.

“Are you two together?” Himiko asked with her head in her hands and a curious look on her face. “You seem like a couple.”

Red hues overtook both Komaru and Toko’s faces and they briefly met each other’s eyes before looking away. Komaru awkwardly scratched at the back of her head. “We, uh, don’t really like to put labels on things. We just…are.”

“Gal pals, got it.” Junko pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head—wow, she did not like these two. “Hey, Tenko? Let’s get this show on the road.”

Tenko nodded and pumped her fists. Two new members, and sapphic ones at that! How exciting! She had to be sure to make a good first impression.

“Right! Welcome to week seven of the Fruits Basket, everyone! I hope you’ve had a great week. Today, we’ve got a topic I’m sure most of us are already intimately familiar with: bisexuality! Raise your hand if you’re bisexual!”

Many hands went up, and before Tenko could count them all, Junko did so for her.

“Not counting the pansexuals—that’s me, the gimp, Sagishi, and Angie—that’s eight out of twenty. Forty-percent. We could up it to fifty-five if we counted the people chillin’ in the closet.”

“And tell me, who do you think those might be?” Korekiyo asked.

“Chi-Chi, the little magician girl, and dollar store Kyoko.”

“I’m a mage,” Himiko corrected. “And how can you know what I am when I don’t even know what I am?”

“Honey, I already told you all before. There’s no fooling Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Gaydar.”

Shuichi adjusted himself in his seat and hid behind the brim of his cap. “You’ve got it wrong. I’m not…like that.”

“Aw, you’re just gonna let call you a lamer version of Kirigi? Come on, stand up for yourself!” Kokichi said with an encouraging grin. “Don’t just take it lying down!”

Chihiro bit their lip. “I’m…well, I guess there’s no point in denying it,” they said with a sigh. “You can add me to that list.”

“Either way, we’ve got quite a bit of bisexuals in club, and it’s no surprise. Japan—or at least, Tokyo—has got a higher queer population than you might think, and most of them are bi! I think. I, uh, can’t remember where I read that, but it probably still holds up,” Tenko said.

“That makes sense!” Ibuki chimed in. “Tokyo’s hella gay if you look at it from the right angle, and whenever Ibuki finds another queer person in the wild, they’re usually bisexual.”

“I think everyone should be bi,” Miu said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Why limit yourself to just one gender? Seems lame to me.”

“That’s…vaguely homophobic, but I feel like you have a point somewhere underneath all that,” Kaede replied. “Do you wanna talk about your own sexuality?”

Kokichi scoffed. “As if she doesn’t do that every day.”

“Can it, beta. The way I see it, there are plenty of hot guys and plenty of hot gals out there, so why should I only go for one group? These doors are open for anyone, baby!” Her confident grin melted. “Ah, at least, they were. I’ve, uh, got Kaede now, so…”

“Wow, you actually used Kaede’s name for once. That’s a first,” Himiko said.

“Hm…” Angie puffed out her cheeks and tapped her finger against one of them. “If your doors are truly open for everyone, then that would make you pansexual, no?”

Kaito raised his hand.

“No one’s going to define pansexuality for you because then we’ll spend all meeting debating,” Junko said. “Use context clues.”

Kaito lowered his hand.

“Uh…shit, I dunno. Never really given it much thought before,” Miu said.

“Well, wouldja date Sagishi?” Kotoko asked curiously. “Or Chihiro, I guess.”

Sagishi scooted their chair back and frowned. “I’d appreciate it if I wasn’t used for hypotheticals…”

“Boring! Fine, in that case, would you date a nonbinary person?”

Miu tilted her head. “I guess so? Sure, why not. That doesn’t make me not bi, though.”

“Doesn’t it?” Himiko asked. “Hold on, this is making my head hurt…”

“Well, a couple weeks ago we agreed that lesbians could be attracted to nonbinary people, so I don’t see why the same can’t be said for bisexuals,” Kaede said.

“If that’s the case, then what does pansexuality even mean?” Komaru asked, confused. “I mean, it’s gotta have a definition, right?”

“For me, it’s just that I don’t care about gender like, at all,” Junko said.

Korekiyo chimed in. “In my case, it is that I am attracted to people regardless of their gender identity.”

“And I love people of all genders! After all, all of Atua’s creations are beautiful.”

Tenko noticed that Kaito had been physically taking notes the entire time and sighed. Bless that poor degenerate male’s heart. “Momota-san, you’ll just end up hurting yourself if you try and come up with clear cut definitions here. A lot of queer stuff can be messy, and when it comes to the distinctions between bisexuality and pansexuality, different people are going to have different ideas.”

Kaito made up his face, and though he didn’t look entirely satisfied, he nevertheless tucked away his notepad and nodded in affirmation. “Right, I get it. This isn’t something I can study for like I would a physics exam or something.”

Himiko raised her hand. “I have a question.”

“And I have an answer!” Tenko said with a wide grin.

“So like, let’s say you have a girl. And this hypothetical girl has liked boys all her life, but thinks she might also like girls. Only she’s only ever really found one girl attractive. What would she be?” Himiko asked. “Straight girls find other girls attractive all the time, right?”

“Hm…” Tenko tapped her chin and looked up at the ceiling. “It depends on what you mean by that, really. I think people of all genders can appreciate the aesthetic beauty of other genders without it affecting their sexuality at all. It’s one thing if this hypothetical girl just thinks another girl is pretty, but if she wants to do stuff like hold her hand and kiss her, then that’s not very heterosexual behavior.”

“Nyeh. Huh. Okay.”

Junko nudged Mikan with an amused grin. “She’s not gonna pick up on that? Like, at all?” she whispered.

Mikan frowned. “I g-guess not…?”

“That’s actually something I struggled with a lot in junior high,” Kaede said. “I figured ‘Oh, wanting to kiss other girls is totally normal! Doesn’t mean anything at all; every girl has little girl crushes on their classmates’. Took me a bit to actually accept the fact that I wasn’t straight.”

Mondo crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Can’t relate, which I guess goes to show how different this kind of stuff can be for guys and gals. The first time I ever found another man attractive sent me into a spiral of denial ‘cause I figured that meant I had to be gay. Wasn’t any ambiguity to it.”

“Well of course the experiences of bi men and bi women aren’t going to be the exact same. Remember our conversation the other week?” Kokichi asked.

“That was more like you giving a speech for an hour, but yeah, I ‘member.”

Komaru looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. “It’s pretty different when it comes to dating, isn’t it? At least, straight dating. Like, most guys probably aren’t going to care if their girlfriend is bisexual, but I’ve come across a surprising amount of girls who flat out won’t date bi guys for some reason.”

“Bisexual girls are super fetishized by men all the time!” Tenko huffed. “They think that girls being with other girls is hot, of course, and if those girls are also into them it’s even better! Degenerates!”

“Meanwhile, bisexual men are tossed aside by women because being with another guy apparently isn’t attractive,” Kokichi added with a sigh. “As if sucking dick is the least masculine thing you could do. Just look at Mondo!”

Mondo glared at him. “You’d better watch your mouth, pipsqueak. I get enough of this shit from Enoshima, I don’t need any more from you.”

“What? I’m complimenting you. Because you’re so macho!”

Surprisingly, Toko actually contributed to the conversation unprompted. “It isn’t just like that when dating people of the opposite gender…the s-stereotype that bisexuals are more promiscuous is still alive and well, so some people are afraid of getting cheated on.”

“That’s a stereotype? For real? Huh, never heard of that. Where does it come from?” Kaito asked.

“I don’t know where or how it started or anything like that, but the logic is that they cheat on their partners to get what they don’t have,” Kaede said. “For example, people who believe that stereotype would assume that Mondo would cheat on Ishimaru-san with a girl or that I’d cheat on Miu with a guy.”

Miu scoffed and crossed her arms. “R-Right, like that’d ever happen. Just ‘cause you’re Bakamatsu doesn’t mean you’re dumb enough to not realize what a total catch I am! As if you’d ever cheat on me, haha…”

“Girl, you have some serious insecurity issues you’ve got to work out,” Junko said with a mockingly pitiful frown. “That shit isn’t cute.”

“Hey!” Kaede glared at her. “Don’t make fun of her! And you say that like you’re not dating Mikan—no offense.”

“N-None taken.”

“Oh, please. Anything’s cute so long as it’s on my baby girl.” Junko wrapped her arms around Mikan and pulled her in to press a long kiss onto her cheek. “On yours, though? Yikes.”

Mikan bit her lip. “Jun-Jun, p-please play nice. You don’t have to antagonize everyone…”

“I’m doing no such thing. Is it a crime for a queen to simply speak her mind?”

“Of c-course not, but you might ruin everyone’s good time, and then club wouldn’t be fun anymore.”

Junko blinked. “For them.”

Mikan frowned, looking at Junko with wide upturned eyes. That was enough to crack her smug expression. “P-Please?”

“Ugh. Fine, fine. You’re lucky you’re so cute,” Junko said with a huff, though she couldn’t keep herself from smiling at the sight of Mikan’s happy expression.

Toko shuddered, looking to Komaru for confirmation that she wasn’t hallucinating. “D-D-Did that just happen? Did that girl actually get Junko to do something? Just by asking?”

“Wow! So that’s your weakness, huh?” Komaru asked with a smile. “Your girlfriend? Aw, that’s actually really sweet. Maybe you’re not so bad.”

Junko pointed a long red nail at her and her eyes darkened. “I’ll kill you. I’ll make it hurt, too. I’ll even do it in front of your brother to fill him up with despair.”

Komaru’s smile promptly died. “I take it back. You’re beyond redemption.”

“Nyeh, so like, it’s totally normal for bisexual people to be attracted to one gender more than the other, right?” Himiko asked, completely ignoring the little spat centered around Junko. “It doesn’t have to be completely equal?”

“Naturally,” Komaru answered. “Having a preference doesn’t make anyone more or less bi. Toko and I are both mostly into men, for instance, but we like women too.”

“Ibuki likes girls!” Ibuki chimed in with a wide grin, as if everyone didn’t know that already. “Boys, too, but mostly girls!”

Mondo shrugged. “I don’t got a preference. Either works for me.”

“Hm…” Himiko nodded in understanding. “Okay. Doesn’t have to be 50/50. Got it.”

“Gee, Himiko. You’re askin’ more questions than even I usually do. Someone’s curious, huh?” Kaito asked.

Miu stifled a laugh. “Yeah, bi-curious. Saw that coming a mile away.”

“Maybe. I dunno. I’ll figure it out, though,” Himiko said. “Thanks, you guys. This was super helpful.”

An uneven smile spread across Tenko’s face and her heart thumped. One of her primary goals when she founded the Fruits Basket was to help people figure themselves out, and with Chihiro trying out different pronouns and Himiko coming to understand her own sexuality more, the club was doing exactly that! It was working as intended—her baby was successful! Not only that, but they were getting new members every meeting as well!

Tenko once worried that this idea was stupid to begin with. Hope’s Peak had plenty of student organizations, sports teams, and clubs, so why would anyone join one where they just get together once a week and talk about queer stuff for an hour? But her insecurities had definitely been proven unfounded by now. People had made friends, learned so much, and uncovered parts about themselves they may have never found if it hadn’t been for their experiences here. She truly had created something beautiful.

…Plus…if Himiko really was bisexual…then that meant there was a chance.

“Tenko is way too happy about this,” Junko pointed out with a snicker.

“H-Huh?! I’m just glad she’s figuring herself out, that’s all!” Tenko retorted, her face the same shade of red as Himiko’s hair.

She grabbed her water bottle and took a long drink in an attempt to cool her burning body. God, if Kaede’s crush on Shuichi was apparently so obvious, it was a miracle that Himiko didn’t know about Tenko’s own crush on her! Or…did she?

She tried—and failed—to catch an inconspicuous glimpse at Himiko out of the corner of her eye. Himiko met her eyes immediately, smiled, and waved.

Tenko fell out of her chair.

Chapter Text

“No. No, no, no! Absolutely not!”

“Aw, don’t be like that! I heard y’all recently hit the twenty member milestone, so I figured I’d come pay you a visit!”

“And just what makes you believe a degenerate like you is welcome here, huh?!”

“Isn’t this place supposed to be open to everyone?”

Tenko would have thrown a punch or flipped the boy over her shoulder just a year ago, but she’d been trying to temper her…well, temper, recently. Normal people didn’t go around assaulting others for what most would consider minor transgressions. Still, she was finding it difficult to resist now that he had gone and shown up at her club.

She’d never met Teruteru Hanamura before, thankfully, but she’d heard plenty of stories. Class 77-B’s resident chef was a lewd and lascivious lecher whose comments were supposedly even more off-putting than even Miu’s. Miu may have been perverted, but at least she didn’t go around actively propositioning her classmates for absolutely disgusting acts! When it came to Teruteru, not even men were safe from his antics.

“‘Everyone’ doesn’t include sex pests. I suggest you get out of here before things get messy.”

To Tenko’s disgust, Teruteru actually smiled. “Ooh, a violent one, are you? That’s alright. I like it rough.”

Tenko’s cheeks flared and she drew her arm back to strike. She would have laid the little runt flat out on the floor if it hadn’t been for the sound of Himiko’s voice interrupting her.

“Ooh, do I smell cookies?!” she asked, bounding from her seat over to the door with shining eyes. “Those smell amazing!”

Tenko sniffed the air. She’d been so preoccupied with getting Teruteru away from here that she hadn’t even noticed the pleasant aroma wafting through the air.

Teruteru—having flinched from Tenko’s sudden movement—slowly unveiled a tray of freshly baked cookies from behind his back and gingerly smiled. “Uh…this is to celebrate the membership milestone, but I guess if I’m not welcome here…”

“Huh? No way! Come on, come on!” Himiko bounced on the balls of her feet and gave Tenko a heart-stopping angelic grin. “What does he mean he’s not welcome here, Tenko?”

Tenko swallowed as sweat beaded down her forehead. “Um, w-well, this guy’s, uh...bad news.”

“Bad news how?” Himiko asked, her eyes moving back and forth between Tenko’s and the fresh tray of cookies in Teruteru’s hands.

…Maybe just one meeting was okay.

“N-Never mind. Hanamura-san, you can attend today’s meeting. But! You better not misbehave or else!”

“Oh believe me, I know how to behave when it’s asked of me. I’m no brat unless someone wants me to be.”

Tenko wasn’t sure if she’d make it through the next hour.

The girls stepped out of Teruteru’s path and allowed him to step into the room. Several members seemed to perk up at the sight (and scent) of cookies that Tenko had to admit smelled absolutely delicious. Despite this, others looked at their guest with uneasy expressions.

“T-Teruteru? Oh, um…I d-didn’t expect to see you here,” Mikan said, steepling her fingertips. “You brought cookies?”

“Why, yes I did. What better way to celebrate reaching twenty members than with some gourmet Hanamura style chocolate chip cookies?”

“Eating that probably isn’t a good idea,” Toko said with a deep frown. “I’ve heard all about class 77-B’s Sexy Soup Incident…”

“Hey, that one isn’t on me! That was all Hiyoko’s fault. Just goes to show that you shouldn’t go messin’ with a chef’s art.” Teruteru huffed before putting a smile back on. “But enough about that. Hello, beauties! The name’s Teruteru Hanamura, Ultimate Chef. A pleasure to meet you all.”

Angie put a finger on her chin. “Oh? I heard you were the Ultimate Cook!”

“That may be the case on paper, but I prefer to be called a chef. You guys are all about respecting people’s wishes ‘round here, right? So I’ll ask you to call me a chef, not a cook.”

“Chef, cook, who cares? Come on, hand out the cookies already!” Himiko eagerly pleaded.

“Oh, do feel free to help yourselves! There’s plenty to go around and I happen to have another sheet in the kitchen oven down the hall.” Teruteru set the tray down on one of the tables against the wall and went to take a seat only to be petrified by the gaze of Junko Enoshima when he got too close.

“Don’t even think about it. You get anywhere near me or my Mikan and I’ll make you feel the worst despair you’ve ever felt, got it?”

Teruteru could only nod, swallowing before backing up to the other side of the room. He sat down next to Nekomaru and put a hand over his rapidly beating heart. “That woman is…terrifying.”

“She can actually be pretty nice,” Nekomaru insisted. “Or at least, less of a bully than you’d expect.”

“Ugh, stop telling people I’m nice. You guys are ruining my image.”

Tenko didn’t bother taking a cookie or two like everyone else did. She trusted Teruteru about as far as she could throw him—well, that saying didn’t actually apply here seeing as how she was certain she could chuck him across a room if she wanted to. Regardless, if he’d gone and laced the cookies with some sort of aphrodisiac like in the fabled Sexy Soup Incident, someone needed to be sober enough to beat him up.

“Um, Himiko?” Kaede began with concern in her eyes. “Are you sure you should be eating that many cookies? You’re going to end up with a cavity…”

Himiko, who had about half a dozen cookies in her hands, shook her head. “Nuh-uh. I’m a big girl and I brush my teeth when I wake up and before I go to sleep, so I won’t get any cavities. Besides.” She took a bite of one cookie and a blissful smile spread across her face. “These are way too good to just eat one or two.”

“I know, I know, I’m a genius,” Teruteru said smugly, smoothing back his hair. “The key is to use the sort of butter that—“

“No one asked about your cookie recipe!” Tenko spat. “Now, we’re starting the meeting! Today we’re going to talk about asexuality and aromanticism!”

“Dial it back a few notches, Tenko. You’re yelling at the rest of us,” Kaede said.

Tenko gasped and covered her mouth, embarrassed. “Oh! Aah, sorry, sorry! I’m calm, I swear!”

“Oh, hey. I fit the bill this time around,” Rantaro said with a laid-back chuckle. “Thanks for givin’ me some spotlight, Tenko. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, but it isn’t like I’m doing this specifically for you,” Tenko said, though she couldn’t keep from smiling. “We were always going to get to this topic eventually. Ah, still! I’m glad you feel seen, Amami-san!”

“You’re not gonna have me take the reigns like Sagishi, Kaede, and Kokichi did, are ya? I think I’d rather let you keep the spotlight.”

“Great! So, as usual, we’ll start off with a definition,” Tenko began. “In simple terms, asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to other people. Aromanticism is the same thing, only for romantic attraction. Simple, right?”

Teruteru made up his face. “You’re not messing with me, are you?”

“Messing with you?” Tenko frowned. “Uh, what do you mean?”

“Makin’ stuff up ‘cause you’ve got something against me.” He crossed his arms and shook his head in disappointed. “Tsk tsk. From what I heard, I didn’t think you were the type to pull this kind of thing.”

“Do you—“ Tenko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Easy, Tenko. Easy, she thought. “Do you think I just made up asexuality?”

“Of course I do! How else are you gonna explain not being attracted to anyone? Come on now, doll, I ain’t gullible.”

Tenko exchanged a look with Rantaro, who only shrugged and shook his head. He was used to this by now.

“Don’t call me that, and I would never lie about this sort of thing. Look it up if you don’t believe me!”

“No need. I know when I’m being played.”

“Aw come on, Teruteru! Tenko’s being totally serious here!” Ibuki said. “Just because you don’t think something is real doesn’t make it true. You have to keep your mind open to all sorts of new ideas, especially in a place like this, you know?”

Kaito held up a thumb and grinned. “Ibuki’s right! I didn’t even know about half this stuff before I started coming here, but it’s surprisingly easy to understand if you pay attention.”

“If you’re going to be a degen—a jerk, then you might as well leave now, because this space is judgment-free,” Tenko said in a stern tone.

Teruteru’s confidence seemed to crumble under the very much judgmental eyes of the Fruits Basket members, whose expressions ranged from disapproval to annoyance to anger. He backed his chair up slightly before clearing his throat.

“U-Uh, yeah. I got it, don’t worry.”

Tenko’s smile returned. “Good. Now then, from what I understand, this stuff can be pretty iffy—then again, what sexuality isn’t iffy? A lot of asexuals still have a libido, and some of them even have sex with their partners!”

“Eh? What’s the point in that if they’re not into it?” Mondo asked.

“Hm, how do I put this…?” Tenko muttered, taking a moment to think. “Basically, for them, sex isn’t necessarily a sexual act.”

Mondo blinked.

“What.”

“I can take this one,” Rantaro said, chuckling. “The important bit here is the sexual attraction part of asexuality. Just ‘cause you don’t think anyone’s hot doesn’t mean sex can’t still be fun. For some ace people, sex can just be a fun and intimate thing they do with their partner and that’s it.”

“‘Ace people’?” Komaru asked.

“Short for asexual. Aro’s short for aromantic, of course, and allo’s short for allosexual. That just means anyone who isn’t ace, basically.”

“So you’re ace, right?” Teruteru asked, skeptical. “You’re not attracted to anyone?”

“Nope.”

“And how’d you figure that out?”

Rantaro smirked and rested his arms on the back of his chair—he always insisted on sitting on chairs backwards for some reason. “Took me a while to realize it, to be honest. A few of my sisters were always trying to set me up with their friends, and I met plenty of great girls ‘cause of that, but I was never interested in dating any of them. A couple of them thought I might be gay and tried to set me up with guys instead, but no dice. I was about fifteen when I asked them not to do that anymore ‘cause I figured I wasn’t into anyone at all. I met a similar woman during one of my expeditions, and after a long conversation with her, I had a nice little label for myself. Aromantic and asexual.”

“And you’ve got no interest in sex at all?”

“Nah, that’s not my thing. It doesn’t gross me out or anything, it’s just not for me. Ditto with dating.”

“Y-You aren’t lonely or anything?” Mikan asked in a small voice. “You don’t worry that you’re u-unloveable?”

“‘Course not. I’ve got plenty of friends who I’m pretty sure love me, not to mention a dozen sisters. The only way I’d be lonely is if I lost all of them around the world or something like that.”

Miu scoffed and crossed her arms. “Shit, this sounds pretty cool to me. You don’t have to worry about annoying stuff like dating. Wish I could be like—ow!” She rubbed at the stinging hand print on her thigh and shot Kaede a dirty look. The pianist glared right back. “Christ, Bakamatsu! If you want to spank my thighs so much, all you had to do was wait until we get back to your dorm!”

“Man, you really do say the worst things at the worst times, huh?” Kokichi added, snickering. “It’s no wonder she’s about to leave you for Shuichi.”

Kaede’s face became even more red. “I’m not—ugh! Quit saying stuff like that, Kokichi! All you’re doing is causing problems!”

“That’s what I do best though, isn’t it?”

“Come on, you guys, no fighting!” Tenko said with a frown. “Let’s try and stay on topic, yeah?”

Though evidently still quite annoyed, Kaede reluctantly nodded as she squeezed Miu’s hand in an attempt to get her to hold back her tears and not set off on what was sure to be a lengthy verbal tirade against Kokichi. Meanwhile, Shuichi leaned away from Kaede as Kokichi simply shrugged, careless as ever. Tenko huffed. Whatever was going on between these three—well, four if Kokichi was to be included—they needed to work it out before someone ended up getting their heart broken.

“Um…you touched on this a bit during our first meeting, but a lot of people have bullied you because of your orientation, right?” Chihiro asked. “Could you go into more detail? If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Nah, I don’t mind. I wouldn’t exactly say I get bullied, though,” Rantaro said with a shrug. “I don’t consider myself a victim or anything. A lot of people don’t take rejection very well and will lash out at someone who they actually like. Others just aren’t really open to new ideas, especially if they think it’s not normal. Some people might call me broken, but hey, that’s just the way it is.”

“I’m surprised you’re not more…resentful,” Tenko said.

“What’s the point in that?” Rantaro’s eyes closed as he shook his head. “Look, I get it. A lot of people out there have had to endure some pretty awful things because of who they are, so it makes sense that they’d have a lot of anger inside of them, but me? I’m not that kind of guy. If I let all that stuff get to me, all that’d result in is me being depressed, and that’s not the sort of person I want to be.”

Komaru grinned, stars shining in her eyes. “Wow. You’re really confident, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m confident, just…content.”

Much to her dismay, Tenko found she couldn’t help but feel envious. She wished she could be content with herself. She like so many others had faced judgment and ridicule because of her sexuality, and as a result, she’d grown to become incredibly defensive of it. She’d lash out at people over the slightest comment whether they meant any harm or not. For as much as she wanted to be like Rantaro, she’d been so deep in the closet she could barely reach the door handle just a few months ago. Was it possible for her to go from being so reserved about her orientation to being content with everything surrounding it in such a short amount of time?

Teruteru made up his face and put his chin in his hands. “Huh. I didn’t think someone like you could even exist…this has got to be a rare thing, right?”

“Probably. I can count the number of ace or aro people I’ve met on one hand, but just because I haven’t met a whole lot doesn’t mean they’re not out there. Your experiences shape the way you look at the world, but it’s important to remember that other perspectives exist.”

“You’re pretty wise, Rantaro,” Himiko said, popping yet another cookie into her mouth. “You’ve picked up a lot of wisdom from travelling the world, huh?”

Rantaro chuckled. “Guess so.”

“Damn, you’re a total catch!” Teruteru said with a frown. “You’re humble, well-traveled, and a major hottie! Listen, if you ever change your mind, feel free to shoot old Teruteru a call.”

Nekomaru crossed his arms and shook his head. “Don’t be pushy, Teruteru. If he says he’s not interested, he’s not interested.”

“Aw, man. I haven’t felt a loss this big since Mikan started dating Enoshima…”

Junko sneered, instinctively pulling Mikan closer to her. “As if you had a chance to begin with, perma-virgin. Stick to your right hand and spare everyone around you the despair of being hit on by you.”

“Isn’t it sort of tone-deaf to insult someone by calling them a virgin right after we just talked about asexuality?” Komaru asked with concern in her tone.

“Nah, Rantaro’s cool. He’s a voluntary virgin, whereas the horny chef over here constantly tries to get in people’s pants and strikes out every. Single. Time. What, you expect me not to give him shit for it?”

Komaru sighed. “I expect nothing less from you, Junko. Nothing less from you.”

“So, are we letting him come back next week?”

Tenko paused her rearranging of the chairs once the meeting had concluded to meet Himiko’s eyes. “Who, Hanamura-san?”

Himiko nodded. “Yeah. He didn’t give too much trouble and his cookies were really good.”

“Mm, I don’t know…” Tenko crossed her arms and frowned. “He may have not been that much of a degenerate today, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable having someone like him get used to being around. I swear, if he says something gross about you or Fujisaki-san, I’ll—”

“I mean, we let Miu, Junko, and Kokichi come, right?” Himiko pointed out. “And they give trouble all the time. I think it’s fine as long as he behaves himself.”

“But what if people are uncomfortable being around him?”

“Nyeh, then they’ll let you know. We all trust you more than you think, Tenko.”

Heat rose to Tenko’s cheeks as her arms fell loosely to her sides. Was that true? Did people really trust her?

“…Really?”

“Yeah. We’ve all been coming to these meetings the past few weeks and talking to each other about some pretty personal things, so of course we trust you. You’re the one who organizes this after all.”

Tenko grinned. She hadn’t thought about it since the founding of the Fruits Basket, but she’d actually made a few friends! Mikan often joined them for lunch and occasionally brought Junko along with her, she’d been chatting with Angie even more, and she enjoyed any conversation she had with people like Chihiro or Sagishi. Of course they trusted her by now.

“Huh, I guess you’re right! In that case, I’ll allow him to attend more meetings if he wants, but don’t get the wrong idea! I’ll be watching him like a hawk the whole time!”

Himiko giggled, snorting in that adorable way she sometimes did. “Cool. I’ll have to ask him to bring more snacks. Maybe macrons or cupcakes…oh! Uh, nyeh, I wanted to ask you something else, too.”

“Fire away! I’ll answer any question you’ve got for me, Yumeno-san!”

“Are you busy this Sunday?”

“Sunday? Nope! I’ve got all the time in the world!”

“Nyeh, o-okay, that’s good.” Himiko’s face gradually became more and more red and she touched the tips of her fingers together, averting her eyes. “Um…I was wondering if you’d maybe wanna do something with me then? I’ve got a magic show at a library in the city, and some of the tricks—SPELLS! I meant spells! A-Aah, some of the spells I have planned need an assistant, so I was wondering if you maybe would possibly want to help me out maybe?”

Tenko grinned. “I’d love to! I’d do anything to help you out with your magic for sure!”

“Really? Nyeeeh, that’s great!” Himiko said, sweat rolling down her face. “O-Okay, I’m gonna go work on that, I’ll text you the details okay thanks see you later!”

She was gone before Tenko could even say bye. Tenko put her hand on her hips and stared at Himiko as she ran down the hallway with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Huh, she was acting kind of weird at the end there,” Tenko mumbled. Her face was red, she was sweating, she was stuttering…it was almost as if she were embarrassed! But what was there to be embarrassed about? All she was doing was asking if Tenko would want to be her assistant for an upcoming magic show, and of course Tenko would say yes to such an offer, so there was no…reason…for…

The color drained from Tenko’s face and her shoulders slacked. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her.

…Himiko had just asked her on a date, hadn’t she?

Chapter Text

“Thanks so much for getting here on short notice, girls! I’m freaking out! I don’t know what to do!”

Tenko paced back and forth across her dorm room with panic in her eyes, occasionally stopping to calm herself by punching the bag of sand hanging from the ceiling. Meanwhile, Kaede and Miu sat atop the tatami mat, Komaru and Toko leaned against the wall, and Junko and Mikan sat on her bed. She certainly wasn’t used to having guests in her room—especially not a bunch of attractive girls—but she didn’t have any time to worry about that right now.

“No problem, Tenko. You know we’re always here for you when you need us,” Kaede said with a smile. “Himiko finally asked you out on a date, huh? That’s so exciting! I’m happy for you!”

“Exciting, but also terrifying!” Tenko squealed. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to go on a date! I barely even know how to talk to girls!”

“You’re talking to a bunch of girls right now,” Toko mumbled.

“That’s why I asked you all here today. You girls are all in relationships, so you’re probably able to teach me how to do romantic stuff, right?” Tenko asked with desperation in her voice. “I don’t want to embarrass myself or make Himiko think I’m lame!”

Junko ran her razor sharp file across her nails and looked up to meet Tenko’s eyes. “She already likes you. She isn’t going to change her mind just because you act a little goofy on a date. But hey, if you want to be taught the art of love, we’ll show you how it’s done.”

“Why just us, though?” Komaru asked. “Why not Momota-san and his girlfriend, or Owada-san and his boyfriend?”

“‘Cause we’re sapphic like her, duh,” Junko answered. Komaru tilted her head and she rolled her eyes. “It means we’re girls who like girls. She’s Tenko, so I doubt she’d want any degenerate males giving her dating advice, let alone in her room.”

Tenko nodded. “Exactly! You all know the way to a girl’s heart as a girl, so I knew you’d be able to help me!”

Mikan shuffled in her seat and frowned. “A-Ah, I’m not so sure I’m the best person to t-talk to about this stuff. I’m not very good at being romantic…”

“Well, that’s a lie and a half. You’re hella romantic,” Junko insisted. “Remember what you did for my birthday last year? You bought that huge ribbon and—”

“P-Please don’t mention that here!” Mikan squealed as her cheeks flared pink. “I-I’d love to help you, Tenko!”

A sigh of relief escaped past Tenko’s lips. For as terrified as she was, she at the very least would have the help of her friends. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she had to face this alone from start to finish.

“Well, what do you wanna know?” Kaede asked with an eager smile. “Whatever questions you’ve got, just say the word and we’ll walk you through it!”

“Um…what do I say when I get there? I can’t just say hi like I would any other day! It has to be special, right?”

“If you want it to be, sure. Himiko already likes you, so just be yourself!” Komaru said.

Toko shook her head. “That might not be a good idea. I don’t know if you’ve n-noticed, but Tenko isn’t exactly the most charming girl in the world.”

“That!…Might be totally true, but it’s better to be yourself than someone you’re not, right? Himiko likes Tenko, not some super charming and suave gal that makes all the girls around her swoon,” Kaede countered.

“Right. She isn’t me,” Junko said with an affirming nod. “Just be your normal dorky, ditzy self and you’ll have Himiko dropping her panties for you by the end of the night.”

“Junko!” Kaede crossed her arms and shot her a disapproving look. “Himiko’s not that kind of girl. She’s sweet and innocent!”

Junko clicked her tongue and wagged her finger. “Ah, but you see, appearances can be deceiving. It’s always the ones that seem innocent that are the dirtiest. Ain’t that right, babe?”

Mikan covered her burning face with her hands and let out a flustered whine. Tenko, meanwhile, found herself growing dizzy at the mere thought of Himiko “dropping her panties”, as Junko had put it.

“Ugh. Come on, girls, we’ve got to give Tenko something concrete to work with,” Kaede said. Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh, I know! I’ll pretend to be Tenko, and Miu, pretend you’re Himiko for a sec.”

“Ew.”

“Don’t be mean—just do it.”

Miu cringed. “No way. Why would a gorgeous girl genius like me debase myself like that?”

“Because it’s the nice thing to do to help out your friend,” Kaede said as if it were obvious, “and because I won’t talk to you for a whole day if you don’t.”

Fear flashed on Miu’s face before she quickly sat up straight, put her hands on her hips, and grinned. “I-It is I! Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician—err, Ultimate Mage! Thanks for agreeing to go on a date with me, Tenko!” she said in a nasally voice.

That’s an awful impression of Yumeno-san, Tenko thought. Her voice is lower than that, not to mention way cuter!

Kaede smiled. “Hello, Yumeno-san! Wow, you look absolutely adorable tonight. I mean, you’re always adorable, but tonight is just—wow!”

Miu blushed—Tenko wondered if she remembered that Kaede wasn’t calling her adorable. “Th-Thanks. You look pretty, too. Like magic. Magic is pretty. But you’re prettier.”

“You know Yumeno-san talks about more than just magic, right?!” Tenko said in a huff. “You don’t sound like her at all!”

“Well, tough shit! I’m an inventor, not a fuckin’ actor!” Miu spat. “I didn’t volunteer for this anyway!”

Komaru held up her hands in an attempt to diffuse the tension. “Okay, okay! We’ve got greetings out of the way. Just keep it simple, Tenko. No need to try and be all fancy.”

With a long exhale, Tenko bit her lip and nodded. “Okay. Just keep it simple, got it. Uh…what about gifts? People usually bring something nice for their dates, right?”

“Right!” Komaru scanned the room before grabbing a nearby five kilogram dumbbell. “Toko, you be Himiko.”

Toko cringed. “W-W-We’re keeping up the roleplay? If you say so…”

Komaru cleared her throat and held out the dumbbell with a bashful smile on her face. “I got you some flowers, Himiko! They’re roses. Same color as your hair, you know?”

Wringing her hands in front of her, Toko’s frown deepened and she took a step back. “Flowers are an awful gift to give to a date. If someone gives you flowers, then you have to b-buy a vase, keep them watered, keep them in the sun, and you end up feeling awful if you let them wilt.”

“Oh! Okay! Then…it’s a box of chocolates!”

“That’s no good either,” Tenko said, shaking her head. “You end up eating it all at once and making yourself sick. Plus, when it’s all gone, you don’t have anything to remember the night by. Anything edible is bad.”

Komaru’s smile started to die down. “In that case…it’s uh…a pretty necklace?”

“That’s even worse. If you buy someone expensive jewelry, they’ll just feel the need to get you something expensive too, and they might not have the money for that. But if you get them something cheap, they might think that they don’t mean that much to you because you weren’t willing to spend a lot of m-money on them. Jewelry is a no-go.”

Komaru’s shoulders slacked. With a sigh, she set the dumbbell down and crossed her arms. “Alright, I give up. Maybe a gift is a bad idea. But I guess if she gives you one, you do have to be apologetic over not getting her something, too.”

“God, you guys are bad at this. It’s a miracle you aren’t single,” Junko said as she rolled her eyes. “Listen, Tenko. If you’re going to get her something, make it something personal. Make it one of those dumb magic boxes for kids to mess around with or something. Better yet, don’t get her anything at all. You’re her gift.”

Tenko’s heart thumped in her chest. She could be Himiko’s gift? But…what was so special about her? A good gift was supposed to be something the recipient would cherish, but Tenko was just Tenko. She couldn’t possibly be a gift.

“Newsflash, ‘just Tenko’ is what Himiko likes. Literally be yourself and you’ll be fine.”

“What the—did…did you just read my mind?” Tenko asked, bewildered.

“You could say that, sure. Now, what else do you wanna know?”

Tenko bit her lip and thought for a moment. “Well…I might be fine once we really get things going, but I’m not sure how to end it. What should I say when the date’s over?”

A mischievous grin split Junko’s lips and she leaned forward. “It’s not what you say, it’s what you do. You gotta kiss her, duh!”

“Wh-Wha?!” The tips of Tenko’s ears went red and her body stiffened. “M-M-Me? Kiss? Yumeno-san? N-No way!”

Kaede raised a finger. “You don’t have to do that. Maki and Kaito didn’t kiss until they’d already been together for two months.”

“Boooriiing,” Junko said. “Any good date’s got to end with a kiss. And besides, what if she wants to kiss you? You have to know what you’re doing, yeah?”

“I…I guess you’re right,” Tenko said with a shudder. “I don’t want to be a bad kisser…”

“‘Course you don’t. Don’t worry, though, ‘cause Junko Enoshima’s gonna give you a little demonstration on how it’s done. Miki, you’ll be a dear and help me out, won’t you?”

Mikan blushed, her eyes shifting back and forth from Junko’s eyes to the other girls in the room. “W-We’re going to k-kiss? In front of everyone? A-Ah…i-if you want to, I don’t mind…”

“Good girl,” Junko purred, sending a shiver down Tenko’s spine.

This better not awaken anything in me, she thought.

“Listen up, Tenko. Despite being a couple weeks older than me, Himiko’s still sort of like a little kid, so you’re not going to want to be too sensual. You’re probably going to end up giving her one of those kisses you see on those shitty sitcoms made for horny preteens by even hornier old dudes. Keep it PG. Like this.”

Junko put her hands on Mikan’s shoulders, closed her eyes, and went in for a brief and chaste kiss. Tenko observed intently, making sure to take note of everything from how far forward Junko leaned to the precise location of her hands. Despite the fact that it was most definitely nothing in comparison to the kisses Mikan usually received, still her face burned with embarrassment.

“Didja get all that?” Junko asked.

Tenko nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! I can do that for sure!”

“Yeah, anyone can. But you know, you shouldn’t forget what I said earlier about appearances. Maybe she’s not into that Disney Channel shit. Maybe she’ll want something more.”

“S-Something more?” Tenko asked. Her mind began to drift to impure places before Junko clarified.

“Yup. In that case, you’ve got to give her a kiss that shows her you really like her. Something like this.” With lidded eyes, Junko brushed Mikan’s hair behind her ear and gently caressed her cheek. Mikan let out a shaky breath as Junko leaned in closer and closer, slowly, as if she wanted to savor the time spent apart.

When the couple finally locked lips, it was far more passionate and sensual than the juvenile kiss they’d shared before. It was more like something out of a romance film than a schlocky TV show. It went on for so long, in fact, that Tenko found her own body temperature rising, and a quick glance at the other girls confirmed that she was not the only one. That was to be expected with a girl as gorgeous as Junko kissing a girl as cute as Mikan so deeply right in front of her, but it was still a little much.

“Mwah.” Junko at last pulled away and snickered at the sight of Mikan’s heavy breathing and practically spiraling eyes. “See? Easy. You can do that, right, Tenko?”

“…Huh? Oh! Me! Y-Yeah, I can totally pull that off, haha…”

“That’s the spirit, attagirl! But you know…” Junko’s voice fell as she twirled Mikan’s hair around her finger. “There’s still the matter of what you do after the date.”

“A-After the date?”

“Mhm! See, you’re gonna wanna get in real close.” Junko tilted Mikan’s head upwards with her finger and leaned in once again, her lips mere centimeters from Mikan’s. “Make her melt in your hands.” She lightly scratched at Mikan’s chin and she let out a bliss-filled whine. “Make it so that you’re all she can think about. Make it so that you’ve got her practically begging for you.” She traced her fingertip down Mikan’s neck, across her collarbone and shoulder, before rubbing at her arm. “And then, just when she’s about to break,” her hand traveled even farther south towards Mikan’s chest, “you—”

“Alright, alright! We get it already!” Komaru shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. She huffed and fanned herself with her hand, glaring at Junko. “Sheesh! What are you, some kind of exhibitionist?”

“I think Mikan’s about to pass out,” Kaede said as she undid the top button of her shirt to cool herself down. “Mikan? Do you need a glass of water?”

“N-No, I’m f-f-f-fine,” Mikan said. Her dizzy swaying suggested otherwise.

Mikan may have not needed any water, but Tenko most certainly did. She grabbed her canteen from her nightstand and gulped down its contents in one go before wiping the sweat from her brow. “Phew! I, uh, don’t think things will go THAT far, but…thanks for the demonstration?”

Junko winked. “I’m here to educate.”

The girls—minus Junko, who looked on in amusement—took a minute to calm themselves before Miu continued.

“As hot as that was, we still don’t even know where the fuck you’re even goin’ for this date of yours. Tell me it’s not a movie or some boring shit like that.”

“Jun-Jun and I’s first date was at that fancy r-restaurant just off campus. Are you going there?” Mikan asked.

“Oh right, I never even told you girls.” Tenko put on a proud smile. “It’s at a library!”

Silence.

“…Your first date’s at the library?” Komaru asked in disbelief.

“Yup yup! She asked me to be her assistant for a magic show she’s putting on for some kids!”

More silence.

“So this ‘date’ of yours is…you helping her perform magic tricks for some grade schoolers,” Junko said, unamused.

“Mhm!”

“Wow, you two really are made for each other,” Miu said, nudging Kaede in the side. “You’ve both only got one brain cell.”

Chapter Text

“A wonderful show again, Yumeno-san! From every staff at this library, you have my thanks.”

Himiko proudly put her fists on her hips and Tenko’s lips curled into a smile at the sight of it. Himiko had dressed her for the occasion, gifting her a forest green tuxedo jacket and matching top hat complete with frilled shorts and black tights underneath. She had to wonder just where Himiko got the money to buy a whole outfit for her on such notice—the fabric certainly felt premium.

“Nyeh, it’s no problem. Performing for the kids is always fun, not to mention it gives me something to look forward to during the week,” Himiko said to the head librarian. “It’s kind of what I live for.”

“It shows. You’re amazing at it! The way you can captivate the kids and make it look so effortless is astounding! You know, we have all sorts of guests come in from time to time for our children’s program, and you’re the only one they actually behave themselves for.”

“That’s not surprising at all!” Tenko chimed in with a wide grin. “How can anyone take their eyes off of Yumeno-san when she’s in her element? It’s the most exciting thing in the world!”

The librarian awkwardly laughed and gestured for Tenko to quiet down a bit. Now that Himiko’s show was over, the noise level had to be kept to a minimum. “Absolutely. And you were wonderful as well, Chabashira-san. Do you two work together frequently!”

“Nope! Err, no,” Tenko said, quieter this time. “This was my first time acting as her assistant, actually. She usually handles it all herself.”

“Wow, I would have assumed you’d done this dozens of times by now,” the librarian said with a smile. “You were perfectly natural. You two certainly have a natural chemistry together when performing.”

Tenko blushed. Himiko blushed as well. Both of them looked away and scratched at the backs of their heads.

“N-Nyeh…”

“Well, I don’t, u-uh, we aren’t—aah…”

“Now then, I’ve got to get back to work, but it was such a pleasure having you two today. You’ll be back again the week after next, yes?” the librarian asked. Himiko only nodded. “Wonderful! I’ll see you then! Have a safe trip back to your dorms!”

“Bye!” Tenko said, her voice cracking. Her hands flew to cover her mouth before sliding up to cover the rest of her face. God, could she embarrass herself any more?

Himiko cleared her throat and adjusted her hat atop her head, pressing her lips together. “We should start heading back about now, otherwise we’ll miss the train.”

“R-Right!” Tenko lifted the briefcase Himiko had brought along and took hold of the handle of her suitcase. Both were incredibly heavy, even for someone as physically fit as Tenko. “Um, Yumeno-san, do you usually carry all this stuff yourself?”

Himiko nodded as they made their way towards the library exit. “Nyeh, yeah. I usually use a dolly, but uh, one of the wheels broke earlier this week, so…I would have been out of luck if you didn’t agree to come with me. Thanks again.”

“Oh, it’s no problem! You know I’m always here for you, Yumeno-san! Whatever you need, just say the word and I’ll make it happen!”

As they stepped out to the front of the building, Himiko bit her lip. “Yeah…um…Tenko? Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course you can!”

Himiko stopped and Tenko followed suit. She began to awkwardly wring her hands in front of her and sway side to side. “Uhm…why are you always so nice to me?”

Tenko’s smile died and the color drained from her face. Oh no. She wasn’t scaring Himiko away, was she? No, this couldn’t have been happening! On their first date of all times, too? What was it? Was it something she said? Was she being too enthusiastic? She wanted to wither away right then and there. She’d gone and messed up her relationship with the most perfectly girl in the world just like that.

Or maybe she’s just asking you a question, Tenko thought. She balled her fists at her side and swallowed her anxiety, forcing the deafening thoughts filling her head to calm themselves.

“Well, why wouldn’t I be? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, but you don’t treat me like a normal friend. Like Kaede or Shuichi or something. You sort of…baby me.”

Tenko tried her hardest not to frown. “Oh. I guess I do, don’t I? Haha…Iruma-san’s said that too, you know. Um…I don’t know. I guess I just want to make sure that you’re always comfortable. I want you to know that I’ll always be there if you need me.”

“Nyeh nyeh, I get that, but why me? What makes me different?”

Don’t say it’s because she’s cutest girl you’ve ever seen.

“Because you’re the cute—BECAUSE you’re you, Yumeno-san! You’re special!”

Himiko frowned. “Special,” she repeated, letting the word hang on her tongue.

“Y-Yeah. Special. Like…I don’t know, I just really like being around you,” Tenko explained, tugging at her collar. “When the school year started, everyone sort of gravitated towards at least one other person, but you never really did. You kind of kept to yourself. So I took the initiative and decided to be your friend! No girl should be alone, especially not someone as adorable as you.” She caught her tongue between her teeth the moment the words left her mouth. She was not supposed to say that out loud.

To Tenko’s surprise, Himiko didn’t make a weird face or run away or anything. She didn’t look uncomfortable at all. In fact, she actually smiled.

“Nyeh. Oh. Okay. That’s a relief.”

Tenko sent up a silent prayer to whoever was out there looking out for her.

“Relief? Did you think I had some sort of ulterior motive?”

“No, I was just worried you were only nice to me because of my…condition.”

Tenko furrowed her brow, concerned. “Condition? What condition?”

Himiko stared back at her and crossed her arms. “Seriously?”

“Seriously! Yumeno-san, you aren’t terminally ill, are you? You’re going to be around for graduation, right? Right?!”

It wasn’t at all meant to be a joke, but it was enough to get Himiko to crack another smile that soon softened. “My autism, Tenko.”

Tenko blinked.

“…You’re autistic?”

“What?!” Himiko’s cheeks flared red as she pouted and balled her fists. “What do you mean?! Don’t pretend like you didn’t know, it’s not nice!”

“B-But I didn’t!” Tenko said, holding her hands up in defense. “You’ve never brought it up before, so how was I supposed to know?”

“By the everything about me! Literally everyone else in class knows!”

Tenko began to babble and stumble over her words, absolutely bewildered. This was definitely news to her. “I’m…I’m sorry, Yumeno-san. We’re friends, so I should know something like that by now.”

The red began to fade from Himiko’s face as she sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “No, don’t apologize. I overreacted. You’re right, you couldn’t have known if I never told you. Sorry for blowing up at you, I just…” She pursed her lips and stared at her feet, shuffling over to the wooden bench near the library’s entrance. Tenko followed behind and sat next to her as she put her hands in her lap.

“When I was in grade school, there was this girl who was really eager to be my friend. Like you. She’d share all of her crayons and stuff with me, always pick me as a partner when we played games, stuff like that. I was…really happy, because I had a hard time making friends. But one day, I overheard her talking to some boys about how she just wanted to make sure I didn’t end up having a meltdown or something. She didn’t think I could take care of myself, either. Her heart was in the right place, but…I hate it when people baby me.” Himiko bit her lip and balled her fists. “I’m not a little kid—I mean, I was back then, but I was just as capable as everyone else. I thought you only treated me so nicely for the same reasons that girl did.”

“H-Huh?! Of course not! Yumeno-san, you’re like, the sweetest girl I know! You’re super talented and super fun to be around and super cute! Everyone should want to be your friend!”

Himiko blushed, pulling down the brim of her hat to hide her face. “N-Nyeh…thanks, Tenko. You’re pretty cool, too.”

Tenko blushed in turn, holding up her hands and shaking her head. “Me? Tenko Chabashira? Cool? N-No, I’m really not.”

“Yes you are!” Himiko insisted eagerly. “You’re always going out of your way to help people, even boys, and you have a really strong sense of justice. Plus, you’re the one who founded the Fruits Basket in the first place, and just look at how successful that’s been. A lot of people have made friends there. It’s helping Chihiro figure themselves out, and…nyeh. Me, too.”

A crooked and shy smile spread across Tenko’s lips as she pressed the tips of her fingers together. She could deny it out of humility all she wanted, but Himiko had a point. She had done a lot of good lately, hadn’t she? Maybe it was okay for her to be proud of that.

“You don’t have to be so humble, you know,” Himiko said. “You’re a good person who’s done good things. And you’re…nyeh…my b-best friend, so. That’s something worth being proud of.”

A tiny breath escaped past Tenko’s lips and she felt her heart thump in her chest. She and Himiko locked eyes, and for a while, the sounds of cars passing by and the chatter of the dwindling Sunday crowd around them faded into nothingness and all she could hear was the sound of her own pounding heartbeat and Himiko’s soft breathing.

“I…thank you, Himiko.”

Himiko’s eyes widened and pink overtook her face. Tenko realized what she’d done a moment later and her own face went red. Tenko called everyone, even degenerate males, by their last names out of politeness just as her master had instructed her. Just this once, though, she’d messed up.

“A-Aah! I’m sorry! I meant Y-Yumeno-san! Yumeno-san!!!” she shouted, flailing her arms about in a panic. Himiko buried her burning face in her hands and leaned forward in embarrassment. “I wasn’t trying to be insulting, I swear! I didn’t mean to be disrespectful!”

Himiko’s tiny body began to tremble and that was when Tenko knew that this mistake was not one that would be forgiven. She’d gone and messed up again. Why was she like this? Why couldn’t she keep her emotions in check and behave like a normal, well-adjusted girl should? Neo-Aikido had helped in calming her down considerably, but even now, she really was still just that same over-eager rambunctious little girl she used to be. She still spoke without thinking, and because of that, she’d gone and weirded out the girl she had a crush on.

Tenko reached out to touch her fingers to Himiko’s back before recoiling. She didn’t want to make things even worse.

“Yumeno-san, I—”

Himiko suddenly sat up and looked at Tenko with wide, wet reddish-brown eyes, her face matching the shade of her hair. She took a deep breath, held her hands in her lap, and spoke loud and clear.

“Do you want to go out with me?!”

And just like that, something in Tenko Chabashira’s brain broke.

“…Huh?”

“I know I like girls now and I know I like you! Like, like like you! And you mention how cute I am a lot and gush over me so I think you like me too but I’m not really sure and I could just be reading into it and maybe I’m messing up our friendship but that’s a risk I’m willing to take because I like you and think that we should be girlfriends!” Himiko paused to take a deep breath lest she pass out right there on the bench. “I’m not wrong, am I? I know I have a hard time reading people, but you wear your feelings on your sleeves, so…n-nyeh…”

“…Huh?”

Himiko frowned. “Tenko?”

“You…like…me?” Tenko asked, her voice thin.

“Y-Yeah,” Himiko said, nodding. “I’m comfortable around you, and my heart beats really fast when you give me hugs, and you’re really pretty…”

Tenko’s lip started to quiver. “You think…I’m pretty?”

“Mhm. Really pretty.”

Tenko had always thought that she’d cheer and shout her joy to the heavens whenever she got her first girlfriend. She was supposed to get up on whatever high surface was nearest and announce to everyone that she, Tenko Chabashira, had finally achieved what she’d been longing for since her adolescence. She’d scoop the girl up in her arms and spin her around before giving her a million kisses and swearing her undying love. She’d dedicate her life to protecting her girlfriend from anyone who sought to harm her for the rest of her life.

She was supposed to be loud. She was supposed to be boisterous. She was supposed to be squealing like a little girl or tightly hugging Himiko right now.

Tenko didn’t do any of that, though. Instead, all she could do was sit there and cry.

“T-Tenko!” Himiko exclaimed as fat tears rolled down Tenko’s face. “Aaah! W-What’s wrong? Why are you crying?!”

“I’m s-sorry,” Tenko said, wiping away her tears with the backs of her hands. It was a fruitless effort. They just kept on flowing. “I just—I didn’t think you’d ever—I wasn’t sure if this would ever actually happen. I w-wanted to confess to you eventually, I did, but I didn’t want to scare you away.”

“Nyeh. You could never scare me away,” Himiko said with a small smile. “I know you too well already.”

Tenko sniffled and swallowed the lump in her throat in attempt to regain her composure. Even if Himiko was okay with all of the strange things she sometimes said and accepted her in all her Tenko-ness, she still wanted to at least not be a sniveling mess right now.

“Yumeno-san, I, ah, like you a lot, too. I…I’d love love love to go out with you.”

Himiko’s smile grew to a grin. “Nice,” she said. “So…I guess we’re girlfriends now.”

“Yeah,” Tenko squeaked. “I guess we are.”

Himiko looked up at the clouds drifting overhead and pressed her lips into a line. Her hand slowly inched across the bench before her fingertips brushed against the back of Tenko’s own. While Tenko was most definitely screaming internally, all she could do was grin and trynot to sweat too much.

They sat just like that for a while, fingers intertwined as they watched the cars and people go by without a word.

You…actually got a girlfriend, Tenko thought to herself. A super cute girlfriend who actually likes you for you! Hah! Way to go, Tenko!

Wait, how do I do girlfriend stuff?

We’re going to kiss eventually aren’t we?

Am I going to have to meet her parents?

Oh God, is she going to have to meet mine?

“Nyeh! W-Wait!” Himiko suddenly said, sitting up straight. “We’re gonna miss the train!”

“Oh! We totally forgot about that!”

The two of them scrambled to their feet and Tenko hastily grabbed the briefcase and the suitcase. She was worried about missing the train, of course, but…she wouldn’t mind waiting with Himiko.

As they scurried down the sidewalk towards the subway station, Tenko caught some final words from a young boy standing outside the library with a friend.

“See?” he said, confident as could be. “I told you they were married.”

Chapter Text

“I’m a good person. I’m a good person, so what did I do to deserve this?”

Those were the first words Tenko heard upon stepping through the club room door, holding Himiko’s hand in one hand and her messenger bag in the other. They came from Junko, who was hunched over in her seat with her head in her hands. While Mikan was sitting next to her as usual, on her opposite side was someone unfamiliar, a black-haired girl with grey eyes and a splash of freckles across her face.

“You’re being dramatic. I’m only here to watch over you. It’s just for today,” the girl said calmly.

“I can’t handle that. I have to deal with Mondo, and Toko, and you. This is it! This is the day I die.”

“I’m sort of flattered you didn’t include me,” Komaru muttered. “Really, Junko, you should be nicer to your sister. You’re always together anyways, what’s another hour?”

Junko sat up and her gaze hardened. “You don’t get it. This club is supposed to be my time to get away from Mukuroach. She’s invading my safe space, and for what?! ‘Cause she’s worried about me? Fuckin’ lame!”

The girl—apparently Junko’s sister?—sighed. “I’m not worried about you. I know you can handle yourself. I’m simply taking interest in a club that my sister has been a part of for several weeks. Is that so wrong?”

“But I don’t want you here!” Junko whined, bouncing in her seat like a child. “C’mon, go hang out with Makoto and watch paint dry or whatever it is boring losers like him do for fun. Leave me be!”

“Um,” Tenko awkwardly waved as she made her way over to her usual seat. “Hello! It’s good to see another new person here! Would you like to introduce yourself?”

The girl nodded and rose to her feet. “Yes. My name is—”

“Mukuro Ikusaba!” Junko interrupted. “Ultimate Soldier and hella bisexual. She’s also my older twin sister. I know, I know, it’s impossible to tell when she looks like that, ugh.”

“Twin sister?” Himiko asked, furrowing her brow. “But…your family names are different.”

“Come up with whatever answer you need to in order to explain that,” Junko said.

Mukuro sat back down and smoothed out her skirt against her thighs. “I’m here to scout out what sort of club this is. Junko’s a member, and as her sister, it’s my duty to be knowledgeable about anything she involves herself with.”

“Which is why you waited until almost the end of the semester to show up, right.” Junko crossed one leg over the other and huffed, rolling her eyes. “Too busy making out with your boyfriend to give your precious baby sister the time of day. I get it.”

“I f-figured you’d be happy that she’s spending more time away from you,” Toko said.

“Not when she’s gone off the deep end from obsession to neglect.”

Komaru made up her face. “But you’re complaining about her being here today? Ugh. I don’t get you.”

“I would simply like to sit in and learn what a typical meeting here looks like. Pretend I’m not here,” Mukuro said, closing her eyes and lowering her head.

Tenko was about to say that she would absolutely not ignore someone like that, but Junko spoke up before she could. “So, I see you two are finally a thing,” she said, pointing a finger at Tenko and Himiko’s hands. “Good for you, good for you. The disaster lesbian herself managed to land a catch.”

Tenko blushed and rubbed at the back of her head. “Y-Yeah, uh, Yumeno-san and I are a couple now!”

“They’ve been holding hands all week,” Kokichi said. “They’ve got to be super sweaty by now, right?”

Himiko pouted. “They don’t get sweaty if you use the right hand moisturizer.”

“C-Congratulations, you two!” Mikan said with a bright smile that sent an arrow flying through Tenko’s heart.

“Ooh, can I be the flower girl at your wedding?” Kotoko asked with an eager grin.

“Way to go, Tenko!” Kaito gave her a hearty thumbs-up and laughed. “You finally got your girl! That’s what I like to see!”

“Kaito, that’s the eighth time you’ve congratulated her this week. I think she gets it,” Shuichi said. “But…we are happy for you two. Really.”

Angie put palms together and hummed, a perpetual smile on her face. “Atua told me that you two would join together in romantic union soon, and of course, His word came true! The matrimony of my dear friends fills me with glee!”

“Matrimony? W-We aren’t married!” Tenko shouted.

Kotoko snickered behind her hand. “Yet.”

“L-Let’s get started with the meeting already!” Tenko cleared her throat and took a deep breath—who knew that having a girlfriend could be so mortifying? How was she supposed to get used to all the teasing?! “Um, today, we’re going to be talking about relationships! And I’m now realizing that this timing couldn’t have been any more fitting!”

“Relationships? That’s it?” Kokichi put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair with skeptical eyes. “What’s queer about that?”

“I mean, we had a week where we talked about polyamory, and it ain’t like that stuff is explicitly gay or whatever,” Mondo pointed out. “Precedent’s been set.”

Kokichi shrugged. “Seems to me like Tenko just wants an excuse to gush about Himiko for an hour.”

“Hey, we came up with the schedule at the beginning of the semester,” Himiko said. “We would have gotten to this last time, but Kaede pushed everything back a week ‘cause she wanted to talk about poly stuff.”

Kaede shrugged, arms crossed and eyes averted. “Happy accidents, I guess,” she grumbled.

“Woah, what crawled up your ass and died?” Junko asked in an accusatory tone. “Aren’t you supposed to be all bubbly? You’ve giving me Toko vibes, and that’s not something you want.”

“…Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I’m fine.” Kaede let out a breath and sat up straight, putting on a slight smile. Miu, meanwhile, remained set in her look of dissatisfaction. She looked as if she’d rather be anywhere else. “I shouldn’t take this out on you guys. My bad.”

Junko took one glance at the two of them and a wide grin crept up her lips. “Trouble in paradise? Ooh, juicy. Spill.”

“It’s none of your fuckin’ business, bimbo,” Miu spat. “Stay in your lane.”

“Maybe not, but the point of this place is to share, isn’t it? C’mon, don’t be shy! We won’t judge!”

Kaede frowned and shot Junko a sad look. She shook her head for just a moment. “Junko, could you…not? Just this once?”

Junko opened her mouth to retort, but her eager expression faded the next moment. She looked to Mikan, then Kotoko, then Chihiro, and sighed. “Fine, fine. Jeez, you guys are no fun…”

“You girls had a fight, huh?” Tenko asked. “Aw, I’m sorry. But…it’s common for couples to fight sometimes. It’s nothing to feel bad about.”

Komaru nodded. “Honestly, I’d be kind of weirded out if I met a couple that never fought. It’s not like every disagreement has to turn into a full blown fight, but perfect couples like that don’t really exist.”

“Not true,” Mukuro said. “Junko and Mikan have had a total of one fight. Since then, they’ve never so much as argued with each other about anything of importance.”

“Didn’t you say you were just here to watch like some sort of voyeur?” Junko rolled her eyes. “Guess you could never pass up an opportunity to praise me.”

“I’m not praising you. I’m simply making a correction,” Mukuro said. There was the slightest hint of irritation in her tone, faint enough that only Junko herself picked up on it. Junko raised an eyebrow and gave her sister a look before turning away in disinterest.

“My point still stands,” Komaru continued. “It’s normal to have fights every now and then. Obviously you don’t want to fight all the time, but still.”

Kotoko crossed her arms and pouted. “We’re not going to spend all meeting just talking about fights, are we? There’s so much more to relationships than the bad stuff! C’mon, what about the love? The passion? The codependency?!”

“The…codependency? I don’t think you quite understand the meaning of that word,” Kiyo added.

“She’s right, though!” Ibuki said. “Relationships are great! All the kissing and the smooching and the making out, not to mention lip-locking!”

Toko thinned her eyes. “Something tells me you’ve never been in a relationship.”

“Nope! But Ibuki’s kissed lots of people, and it’s gotta be nice to have that special somebody—or somebodies—to be your dedicated kissing partner!”

“Well, kissing’s cool and all, but physical affection is only one part of a relationship—and not even all of them! Can’t forget asexual people!” Kaito said, throwing Rantaro a grin. “To me, the best part of a relationship is that special emotional connection you get to develop with your partner. There’s nothing like that feeling you get in your chest when you’re with them.”

“Your girl’s that Harukawa gal, right?” Teruteru asked. “My man, my man. She seems like a dangerous one. I never would’ve thought she’d give herself to any guy, but you must have something special.”

“They do say that opposites attract,” Nagito added. “Kaito’s loud and extroverted, Harukawa-san is reserved and doesn’t talk a lot. Miu’s callous and abrasive, Kaede’s kind and friendly. Mikan is meek and submissive, Junko is bold and domineering.”

“I feel like that saying isn’t really all that true, but there’s some logic behind the idea,” Chihiro suggested. “It’s like…people are often attracted to traits that they lack, right? So someone shy might be attracted to someone more extroverted.”

Junko pursed her lips. “You say this, and yet you question why I ship you and Mondo. Come on, Chi-Chi.”

“Junko…”

“What?! Don’t try and pretend like you don’t see it!”

“You know, just ‘cause two people have a strong bond doesn’t mean they need to get together,” Mondo said, his voice thick with aggravation. “I get that you don’t have real friends, so maybe you wouldn’t understand that, but that’s how it is.”

“She has plenty of friends,” Mukuro said quickly. “Well. All the friends she needs.”

Tenko raised an eyebrow; this girl sure was quick to defend her sister. She expected the opposite given how poorly Junko treated her. She would certainly have to get to know Mukuro more…and do a better job at keeping Junko in check during these meetings.

“Enoshima-san,” she began with a stern look. “Remember. No teasing or bullying or anything like that. This is supposed to be a safe space, remember? Not a hostile one.”

Junko rolled her eyes. “Don’t know how I’m supposed to refrain from hostility when I’m sorrounded by losers, but whatever. I have enough self control to behave myself.”

“Good,” Tenko said, happily smiling. “On that note, though. I’ve got a question for you! Tsumiki-senpai, too!”

“Then ask it.”

Tenko leaned forward with eager eyes and her head in her hands. “How did you girls end up getting together?”

“Ooh, I wanna know, too!” Himiko chimed in. “You two aren’t alike like, at all. You’re an odd couple. There’s got to be a story behind it, right?”

“O-Oh! Um…” Mikan smiled shyly as her cheeks dusted pink. “It’s s-sort of a long story—you wouldn’t want to hear it…”

“Well I definitely do,” Teruteru said. “I for one was pretty surprised when y’all got together. I’ve still never heard the full details, though.”

“She said it’s a long story, sheesh. Go read the other fics if you really wanna know that bad,” Junko said.

Tenko blinked. “What?”

“The TL;DR is that I asked her out, she said yes, and now we’re together forever. A riveting story, I know. Let’s hear about something more interesting instead.” Junko threw an innocent smile at Kaede and Miu. “How about you lovebirds? Now that’s a story I’ve got to hear.”

Kokichi raised an eyebrow, amused, and smirked. “Sounds fun. C’mon, spill the details!”

Kaede looked uncertain, but still she sighed and nodded her head. “Fine, fine. Some of you already know the story, but I’ll tell it anyway. I, uh, had a crush on Miu way back at the beginning of the year. I thought she was really pretty and sort of sweet once you actually got to know her, which most people never bothered to do. I talked about her all the time with Shuichi here, and he convinced me to confess, so I did.” Kaede glanced at Miu, just for a moment, and snickered. “Her reaction was…really cute. It was like she couldn’t believe someone was actually confessing to her.”

Miu mumbled. “Because I couldn’t…”

“We went on a few dates, and before I knew it, we were a couple.” Kaede’s smile faded slightly and the sadness in her eyes became much clearer. “That’s all there is to it, really. We’ve been together ever since.”

“Which is a miracle, by the way. I mean, come on. I’ve got no idea how anyone tolerates Miu for more than a few hours a day,” Kokichi added with a sly smile.

To the surprise of absolutely everyone, Miu hadn’t a single word to say in response. There were no vulgar insults or witty comebacks. Only silence as Miu sunk even further into her seat, her eyes cast down at the floor.

Kaede, however, certainly had words for him. “Jeez, would you cut it out with that sort of talk already? I get that you two don’t like each other, and that’s fine, but you don’t always have to be the one to insult her first. It’s like you rile her up on purpose for no reason—she’d leave you alone if you just quit messing with her, you know!”

Tenko looked to Himiko nervously. Tensions were rising; she had to settle things down.

“Um, Akamatsu-san, Oma-san, could we—”

“Aw, look at you being all defensive of her! What a good girlfriend you are,” Kokichi said with that same aggravating cadence he frequently used to get a rise out of someone. “Doesn’t it annoy you that she doesn’t put in the same effort at all, though? She can’t be a very fun person to date. She’s always belittling you and I doubt she’d be defending you like this if the roles were reversed.”

Shuichi reached out a tentative hand as Miu started to tremble, red rising to the surface of her skin by the second. “Kokichi, really. That’s enough.”

“Then you don’t know her at all!” Kaede spat. “Of course she would! Miu—Miu loves me!”

Kokichi stared. “Love, huh? Hm.” He appeared to think for a few moments, tapping a finger on his chin, before snapping his fingers. “Riddle me this, then. What kinds of relationships work the best? The healthiest, most functional, whatever you want to call it.”

“The kinds where the couple bring out the best in each other,” Toko said as if it were obvious. “Relationships work the best when both people can be their best selves when the other person is around. It shouldn’t be dependant, either, but the power dynamic should be balanced.”

Kokichi clapped his hands together and laughed. “Ding ding ding! Correct! Leave it to the romance writer to hit the nail on the head. Tell me, Kaede. Does Miu here bring out the best in you? Do you bring out the best in her?”

“Seriously, quit it!” Shuichi shouted. Tenko was shocked—she couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard him raise his voice. “What are you even trying to do here? Do you just want to cause trouble for people?”

“Hey, don’t go pointing fingers at me. I’m just trying to get these two to seriously consider why they’re together in the first place. Come on, Shuichi. You’re not going to look me in the eye and tell me that these two have a totally healthy relationship, are you?”

“That isn’t your place to judge, especially considering your bias against Miu,” Kaito added with his arms crossed. “Why are you doing this during the Fruits Basket meeting? Now isn’t the time for that.”

“Considering our topic this week, I’d say it’s a perfect time,” Kokichi replied, shrugging. “Strong, healthy relationships don’t look like Kaede and Miu’s. You need honesty, respect, trust, and open communication. Miu isn’t even honest with herself—how can she be honest with her girlfriend? She sure doesn’t respect Kaede considering the names she calls her every day. There’s obviously no trust considering how insecure she is about being dumped at any given time, and open communication? Hah! Miu couldn’t be candid if her life depended on it.”

“Alright, alright, cut it out!” Himiko shouted, balling her fists at her side. “You’re being a bully, and just because it’s Miu doesn’t make it okay! Just look at her!”

Sure enough, by this point, Miu was silently crying. She sniffled, heavy tears rolling down her face, and everyone’s attention on her did nothing to make it better. She shot up out of her seat and ran right out the door and down the hall, abandoning her bag on the floor.

“Miu!” Kaede called. She glared at Kokichi, anger almost palpable on her face. “God, you’re such an asshole!”

She grabbed Miu’s bag and stormed out of the room in pursuit before Kokichi even had a chance to retort. Everyone’s eyes fell on him, judging and resentful, and he let out a disappointed sigh.

“Jeez, talk about an overreaction. But that’s Miu for you. Anyway, I sense I’m not exactly welcome anymore—for the day, at least—so I’ll head out early, too. Later, skaters!”

No one said a word as Kokichi happily jaunted out the door without a care in the world. Tenko’s blood boiled. How could he still act so care-free after what he’d just done?

“Gah, he’s such a…” Shuichi shook his head. “I’m sorry about him, everyone. Really.”

“There’s no need to apologize on his behalf, Shuichi. You’re not his keeper,” Nekomaru said. “The only person responsible for his actions is himself.”

“I know, I know, but he wouldn’t be here in the first place if I wasn’t. I wanted to just come here as a normal club member without bringing any trouble with me, but he goes where I go.”

“Hmm, it sounds like you two have quite the unhealthy relationship!” Angie said. “You’ve tried talking to Kokichi about his poor attitude, no?”

“Of course I have, but…that’s just the way he is.”

Mondo slammed his fist into his open palm. “Sounds to me like he just needs a bit of a lesson in why you don’t go messing with people like that.”

“Nah, that doesn’t work,” Kaito said as she shook his head. “Maki Roll’s hit him before and all it did was make him go on about how quick she was to get violent.”

“Like Shuichi said, that’s just the way he is,” Junko said, shrugging. “You can’t change some people. He isn’t the type to really care how many people’s feelings he hurts—believe me, I’d know.”

“Is…is that really true?” Chihiro asked. “I don’t think anyone is beyond redemption. All he needs is a good friend, right?”

“That’s being naive,” Mukuro replied, her expression as cold as ever. “For some, there isn’t any point in trying to change them. All that ends up doing is potentially hurting even more people.”

Komaru frowned. “You’re not talking about yourself, are you?”

“Nah, no way,” Junko answered in her sister’s stead. “She’s been getting a lot more bold since she started dating Makoto and actually became friends with Sayaka. Back in the day, she used to do whatever I told her to. These days, sometimes she asks ‘why’.”

“That’s a good thing! I’m glad that you’re coming out of your shell a bit more, Mukuro.”

“Don’t encourage her! I miss when she worshipped me.” Junko held the back of her palm against her forehead and gave a dramatic sigh. “It’s like she doesn’t love me anymore. Oh, the pain! The pain and the betrayal!”

“Of course I love you, Junko,” Mukuro blurted. “I’ve always loved you and I always will.”

Junko dropped her facade in an instant. “Yeah, I know. Hey, do you guys wanna know who her first crush was?”

The color drained from Mukuro’s face. “W-Wait, you don’t have to—”

“It was me!” Junko cackled, practically falling out of her chair. “You should have seen her face when someone told her that we couldn’t get married! Man, she cried for a whole day!”

Mukuro hid her face behind her hands, though the red tips of her ears were still clear as day. “Please don’t leave out the fact that we were seven…”

“And that’s all the time we have for today!”

Tenko clapped her hands together to signal the end of the meeting and gave Mukuro a welcoming smile. “Well, how was it, Ikusaba-san? Uh, sorry about the drama at the beginning there. That usually doesn’t happen, I swear.”

“It was…interesting. You all certainly aren’t boring. I see why Junko’s taken to attending every week.”

“Thanks. We try not to bore people to death here,” Himiko said. “Sooo, are you thinking of maybe coming to another meeting?”

Mukuro shrugged. “I won’t rule it out. My schedule on Fridays is mostly clear, so. I think you can expect to see me next week.”

“And that’s all she wrote for me, folks! Alas, now that the ugly twin has decided to attend these meetings, my time here has come to an end.” Junko stood up from her chair and began to dramatically bow, much to everyone’s confusion.

“Aw, what?!” Kotoko said. She pouted and anxiously bounced in her chair. “What do you mean?”

Komaru crossed her arms. “You’re seriously saying you’re leaving club just because your sister decided to join…?”

“Look, I come here to get away from the annoying people in my life. Mukuro is the annoying people in my life. Why would I spend an hour every week here when I could spend that time spreading despair or getting my head crushed between Mikan’s thighs?”

Mukuro blinked. “If you don’t want to me to attend these meetings, I won’t.”

“Nah, don’t let your sister control you like that, Ikusaba,” Mondo said. “If you wanna join, join. Don’t worry ‘bout her. Didn’t we just spend a whole meeting talkin’ about unhealthy relationships?”

“Listen to him, Sis. Stay by all means, just don’t expect to see me here again.” Junko rose to her feet and slung her purse over her shoulder. “You ready to go, babe?”

Mikan pursed her lips and wrung her hands in her lap. “Um…I’d a-actually like to remain a member of the club…”

“Aw, what?” Junko asked, her expression falling. “Seriously? But Mikaaan, I don’t wanna!”

“P-Please? I r-r-really enjoy coming here every week, and I like seeing my friends. Mukuro is my friend, too, so…b-but if you don’t want to come anymore, that’s okay.”

Junko threw her arms out in frustration. “Well, now I can’t quit. No way I’m leaving my sweet little nurse with these bozos.” She sighed and shook her head, though there was the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. Tenko got the feeling she wasn’t planning on truly quitting the club to begin with. “Be grateful, everyone! As long as Miki here’s still interested, you’ll be graced with my presence every week.”

“Fuckin’ A. What a gift to us,” Mondo mumbled.

As the club members gathered their things and started out the door, Himiko looked to Tenko with concern in her eyes. “Should we check on Miu and Kaede? I’ve never seen Miu get like that before.”

“Maybe…but I think we should give them some space for now. It’s better to wait until Akamatsu-san lets us know if Iruma-san’s ready to talk to people.”

“Nyeh, right. We don’t want to be meddlers. I hope she’s okay…”

Tenko gave her a hopeful smile. “I’m sure she will be. Iruma-san wouldn’t let Oma-san get her down for too long. She always bounces back!”

“Hm…hey, do you wanna watch me practice a new spell in my dorm room?”

“Sure, I’d love—wait, your dorm?”

“Tenko, you’ve been to my room before. Relax.”

Tenko blushed and turned her head when she heard her name quietly whispered. Ibuki winked at her before disappearing out the door, as did Junko. As did Teruteru.

Sometimes she wished she wasn’t so easily embarassed.

Chapter Text

Kaede didn’t hate anyone. Hate was too strong of a word, after all. Kokichi was making her second guess that sentiment, though.

As she hastily made her way down the hallway, Kaede’s head buzzed with all sorts of inflammatory thoughts. Why couldn’t Kokichi and Miu just tolerate each other? Why did they always end up hurling insults at one another? Why had Kokichi been especially cruel today? He usually stuck to surface-level insults like calling her vulgar names, but today, he had dug deep and picked at her worst insecurities and flaws. Kokichi could be callous when he wanted—everyone knew that by now—but he still never reached Junko’s level of cruelty until now.

She shook her head and derailed that train of thought. Kokichi didn’t matter right now. Miu did.

“Miu?!” Kaede shouted, her voice echoing throughout the empty hall. Even though she’d left right after Miu did, she was nowhere to be seen. “Damn it! Miu, where are you?!”

In truth, Kaede was used to this by now. Miu running away for one reason or another wasn’t exactly uncommon, and every time, Kaede would track her down and comfort her over whatever it was that set her off. It was just part of their relationship, and a part that she didn’t exactly hate. Miu was…a mess of a person, truthfully, and Kaede liked that she could make her feel at least a bit better about herself even if only temporarily. It wasn’t the most functional relationship, and Kaede knew that, but…it was theirs.

A loud “FUCK!” drew Kaede’s attention to a nearby empty classroom. Evidently it wasn’t empty anymore. She quickly approached the door, slid it open, and stepped inside. Immediately, she was greeted with the sight of Miu standing over a toppled anatomical model, fists tightly balled at her side and dark eyeliner streaming down her face.

“Miu…” Kaede slid the door shut and started towards her girlfriend with her sad smile. “Are you okay? I—”

“D-Don’t!” Miu shouted, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear it today!”

Kaede frowned, confused. “You…don’t want to hear what?”

“The same shit you always say when this happens.” Miu’s tone suggested that she was trying to sound angry, but the tears on her face and the pain in her eyes made it so that Kaede barely even registered that fact. “Don’t listen to him, we can work on things together, I like you for you—It’s all b-bullshit, isn’t it?”

“What? Miu, what are you talking about?”

Miu sniffled, wiping her tears with her sleeve. “I’m just your l-little project, huh? You’re only dating me because you think you can fix me! Admit it!”

“…Huh?” Kaede shook her head and stepped towards Miu again only for her to step back. “Miu, calm down. You aren’t thinking straight.”

“Don’t lie to me! It has to be true, because…” Miu’s voice broke and she began to tremble, tears flowing from her eyes even heavier. “Why else would you be with me?”

That just broke Kaede’s heart. She closed the distance between them in an instant and pulled her into a tight hug, and though Miu struggled against her embrace for a moment, she quickly gave in and wrapped her arms around her in return. Miu cried into Kaede’s shoulder, her sobs raw and unrestrained.

“Hey. Kokichi’s…well, Kokichi’s a dick sometimes. Don’t let what he says get in your head like that. I’m with you because I want to be, okay?” Kaede said in that familiar reassuring tone. She ran her fingers through Miu’s soft blonde locks and rubbed her back with a comforting hand.

Miu sniffled, her grip on Kaede’s vest tightening. “But…I’m not enough for you, am I?” she sobbed.

“Of course you are, Miu. You’re my—”

“I said don’t lie to me!”

Miu shoved Kaede away, trembling. There was fear in her eyes despite the venom in her voice. “Kokichi was right, wasn’t he? You…you like Shuichi more than me.”

Kaede held her tongue between her teeth—she’d been hoping Miu wouldn’t bring that up. She didn’t like lying to her, but…Miu was already insecure enough. She didn’t need that making her sense of self-worth even worse.

“I don’t,” she said. “Shuichi and I are just friends. You’re the one I asked out, remember? Not him.”

Miu shook her head. “But you like him, right? You’d date him if you could.”

“No,” Kaede lied. “Look, you’re letting Kokichi get to you. What he says doesn’t mean anything.”

“Kaede.”

Kaede felt her heart stop from just a moment. Miu was still crying, still shaking, but…her voice was oddly serious. This wasn’t like her typical bouts of emotional turmoil that could be quelled with honeyed words and a few kisses here and there. This was something different.

“Stop…stop lying to me.” Miu’s voice broke and she held back a sob. “I can’t fuckin’ handle that. Just tell the truth already.”

…Even if the truth hurts you?

Kaede’s hands balled into fists and she bit down on her lip. In that moment, she was filled with nothing but hatred for herself. She liked Miu. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her or make her feel any worse about herself than she already did, but here she’d gone and done exactly that. She was always subtly flirting with Shuichi even if she didn’t know it. She’d stand closer to him than she did other boys, was more open about touching him than she was anyone else whose name wasn’t Miu, and God—what was she thinking giving an entire lecture about polyamory to the Fruits Basket? It was as if she were trying to tell Miu that she liked someone else. That she wanted more.

That Miu wasn’t enough.

“I…” Kaede breathed. “I do. I like Shuichi.”

Miu’s shoulders slumped and any semblance of hope on her face was promptly extinguished.

“So that’s it, then…?” Miu said, her voice wavering. “You don’t like me anymore? W-What did I do…? Did I get old? Am I too much to deal with? Am I too annoying?!”

“No, it’s nothing like any of that! Of course I still like you, I just—” Kaede squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying her hardest to find words. “I just like Shuichi, too, that’s all. B-But that doesn’t mean anything!”

Miu whimpered. “How could you say that? I-If you like him so much, then why don’t you break up with me and date him instead!? That’s what you want to do, right? You could have him anytime you want! You know he’s got a thing for you, too, s-so cut the bullshit and get on with it already!”

Kaede bit her lip so hard she thought she would break skin. This was something she hated about herself and had been exactly what she was worried about when she and Miu began dating. She knew she could have romantic feelings for more than one person at once, but she’d been hoping that would stop once she got her first actual girlfriend.

It did not.

She was nearly consumed by anxiety back when she first realized her feelings for Shuichi. It shouldn’t have been a big deal—all it was was a little crush—but she was dating Miu. If anyone would be upset about their partner liking someone else, it was her. Miu was insecure as they came, and even if she didn’t show it, she was incredibly possessive. Kaede knew the truth would devastate her and here she was being proven right.

“Miu, I…” Kaede breathed. What was she to say? At times like these, it was always best to be honest…even if the consequences were potentially heartbreaking. “I’m not going to do that. I want to be with you. You’re the person I asked out, not Shuichi. I’m sorry that my feelings for him hurt you, I really am, but…this is just how I am.

“You’re my girlfriend, and that means I have to consider your feelings about things like this. It means I have to be completely honest, which I haven’t been, so…I’m sorry. I want you to know that ideally, I’d be able to date you and Shuichi, but if you don’t want that, then I have to respect it. That’s how relationships work.”

“But…” Miu sniffled and palmed away at her tears. “It’s what you want.”

Kaede stepped closer. “It is. But I need your blessing for that, and if I don’t have it, then that’s that. Things stay exactly like they are now.”

“I don’t…” Miu’s voice fell. “I don’t wanna share you.”

Another step. “Then you don’t have to. It’s up to you, Miu.”

“I don’t wanna hold you back from being happy, either!”

With a final step forward, Kaede slipped her hands into Miu’s and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “I’m happy being with you. Miu, I lo—”

Kaede caught her tongue between her teeth and Miu’s eyes widened.

“W-What?”

“Nothing,” Kaede blurted, her cheeks reddening further and further by the second. “Forget I said anything.”

Miu gasped. “You were gonna say you love me, weren’t you?”

“I—I didn’t—I don’t know, uh,” Kaede sputtered. The gears in her mind came to a grinding halt as her heart started to pound beneath her ribs. This was what she got for not thinking her words through first! But…she and Miu had been together for a while now. It was okay to say stuff like that so long as she meant it, right?

To Kaede’s surprise and satisfaction, Miu’s lips split into a grin and she let out that familiar laugh that Kaede had grown so fond of. “Hahaha! I knew it! I knew it all along! Of course you’d go and fall in love with me, who wouldn’t? I’m the fuckin’ best!”

Kaede pouted and crossed her arms. “Miu! J-Jeez, you don’t have to rub it in…”

“Oh fuck no, I’m not ever letting you live that down,” Miu said, wiping away the last of her tears with her sleeve. “You’re such a dork! A hot dork, but still a dork.”

“Glad to see you’re feeling better,” Kaede grumbled. Still she smiled, always glad to see Miu in better spirits. “Hey. I know it can’t be easy for someone like you to date…someone like me, but I’m serious. I don’t want you to ever feel less valued just because I have feelings for another person, okay? And…since you don’t like it, I’ll stop being so touchy-feely with Shuichi.”

Miu rolled her eyes. “Fuck that noise! You know what? Go for it!”

“Wait, what?” Kaede asked, bewildered. “You’re…okay with it? Just like that?”

“Yeah, fuckin’ why not? I wanna see you take your beta boy toy and make him a man! Besides, if and when you finally snag him, I get to brag to the world that my girlfriend has two partners!” Miu put her fists on her hips and held her head high…only to deflate a moment later. “Just…don’t go neglecting me, alright? I know you hate having to deal with me crying all the time.”

Kaede smiled—ecstatic to have been validated by someone who meant so much to her—but its intensity tempered quickly. “Thank you, Miu. That means a lot to me, but…I don’t hate it when you get like this. I like cheering you up and making you smile.”

“But we go through the same song and dance all the time. Don’t you wish we were more like, I dunno, normal couples?”

“Not really. Look, we can’t be Maki and Kaito, or Junko and Mikan, or even Tenko and Himiko. We can only be us, alright? And this,” Kaede gestured to the space around her, namely at the fallen anatomical model and the tears staining her and Miu’s tops, “for better or worse, is us. It doesn’t have to always be, but for now, it is what it is.”

“Mm, true. Even if we aren’t perfect, there’re a lot of jealous bitches out there that would kill for what we have!” Miu cackled and Kaede couldn’t help but laugh in turn.

“You can say that again. So, do you want to go back to club, or?”

Miu scowled. “And see that little shit-stain Kokichi’s face? Fuck no! Let’s head back to your place and see what happens.”

“Isn’t that just code for make out?”

“Sure can be! Or we can get started on our master plan to get you into Shuichi’s pants!”

Kaede usually would have blushed and chastised Miu for saying such a thing, but now, she could only cover her mouth and laugh.

Miu could be a lot to handle at times. She was loud, she was often rude, she was vulgar, she was supremely sensitive, but…most of all, she was Kaede’s, and at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered.

Kaede insisted on setting the anatomical model Miu had toppled upright, and once she’d done that, the two of them walked together hand in hand out of the room. She was glad Miu was back to her usual confident self, but what she didn’t know was that her girlfriend was screaming on the inside and doing everything in her power not to visibly freak out.

Love was definitely an effective word.

Chapter Text

“Alright, everyone! We all knew this day was coming, but it’s finally here! Today is the last meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket for the school year. It’s been so, so much fun, but all good things come to an end eventually!”

“Wait, are you not doing this next semester?” Chihiro asked, fear in their eyes.

“Oh, don’t look so sad, Fujisaki-san! Of course I am! I’m just saying that for now, this is it.” Tenko sighed. “We have two weeks of studying and final exams and then a two week break before the next year starts. No more fun!”

“You mean no more fun via the Fruits Basket,” Junko pointed out. “Dunno about you, but I make my own fun wherever I go. In fact—”

“We get it, Enoshima. Your life is perfect except when you’re miserable and even then you’re better than all of us put together,” Mondo grumbled.

Junko gasped, placing a hand over her chest and feigning offense. “Why, I never! Such rudeness! I suppose that’s to be expected from a delinquent such as yourself. You should be ashamed of yourself, young man!” she said in a haughty voice.

Himiko crossed her arms. “Before we get into the meeting, Tenko and I want to address something. Tenko?”

“Right! Recently, Yumeno-san and I have noticed an increase in tension among some members of the Fruits Basket. While we believe that light banter is perfectly fine and to be expected with this group of people, we have to ask that no one be needlessly cruel or overtly antagonistic towards any person whether they be affiliated with the club or not.”

“Hah!” Miu exclaimed. She held up her middle finger towards Kokichi and grinned smugly. “Suck it, loser!”

“You know that applies to you, too, right?” Himiko asked. “No more being super mean to people.”

“I’m not mean! It’s just that none of you understand my sense of humor.” Miu crossed her arms and turned away. “Fuckin’ smooth-brains, I swear.”

Kokichi crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, hands held behind his head. “You know, I can’t help but feel that this is targeted. Isn’t it a little cruel to pick on someone like this?”

Himiko shook her head. “It’s not targeted. This goes for Junko, too. You three aren’t very nice, and sometimes you take it too far. We don’t want anyone to feel like they can’t come here every week without being bullied.”

Junko shrugged, seemingly unaffected. “Mm, that makes sense. Gotta make sure everyone’s comfortable, you know? And I guess with me being me, some people might be a little scared, and who can blame ‘em? I’m terrifying.”

“Y-You’re not terrifying at all, Jun-Jun,” Mikan said, taking Junko’s hand into her own. “Well, not when you don’t w-want to be.”

“I’m not? Huh. I’ll have to fix that.”

“If you ask me, I’d say that’s a great new rule!” Kaito said with what had by this point become his signature hearty thumbs-up. “We’re all friends here! There’s no place for bullying in what’s supposed to be a safe space!”

“Hm. It’s only bullying if they take it that way,” Kokichi said. “Miu didn’t have to be a huge drama-queen and run off crying, but she did, and I guess that makes me the bad guy. And to think we could have had a productive conversation on her flaws as a person. Isn’t that sad?”

Tenko glared. “See, that’s what we’re talking about! Why are you trying to provoke someone into arguing with you? This isn’t a debate club! No one’s supposed to be crying over what someone said to them!”

“Even if all they were told was the truth?”

“Kokichi, that’s enough,” Shuichi said. His tone was uncharacteristically stern, as if he were a father scolding his child for misbehaving. “Tenko and Himiko are in charge of the club, so if they say to cut something out, you do it.”

Kokichi stared at him for a while, unblinking, before closing his eyes. “If you say so.”

“Hah! Look at you, Shuichi! Finally grew a pair!” Miu said, laughing. Shuichi blushed and hid behind the brim of his hat.

“With that out of the way!” Tenko began with a smile on her face. “For today’s meeting, since it’s the last one for a while, we’re not going to be talking about any sort of queer subject matter. Instead, I’m asking you all for some feedback! I, uh, wasn’t exactly sure how me running a club would go, so I want to hear what you think I’ve done well and what I can improve on!”

“Well, considering our steady increase in membership as well as our retention rate, I’d say you’re doing quite the fine job myself,” Korekiyo said. “Not only have you provided adequate education for those curious about particular subject matter, but you have also provided a platform for those more knowledgeable than you to present. It’s quite admirable.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a great time coming here every week!” Kaede chimed in. “Sure, things aren’t always perfect, but it’s not like any of that is your fault.”

“Technically, those negatives you have in mind could be attributed to her lack of proper moderation,” Mukuro said.

Himiko frowned. “Nyeh, yeah, that’s why we’re making no bullying an official rule starting next semester.”

“But will you be able to properly enforce it? You can’t just ask someone not to break the rules. You have to make them. Idle threats of making them leave isn’t enough.”

Tenko leaned forward in her seat and pursed her lips. “Alright…then what do you suggest I do, Ikusaba-san?”

“You have to discipline them,” Mukuro replied, an icy edge to her words. “People won’t learn without proper punishment.”

Junko rolled her eyes. “Sheesh, sis, turn it down a notch, wouldja? Tenko’s not going to go around judo flipping people for saying mean words.”

“It would not be the first time!” Angie added with a gleeful smile.

“Logistically, all Tenko really has the power to do is ban someone from club. She can also report someone if things really get bad,” Sagishi said.

“Nah, things’ll never get to that point! We’re all buddies here, after all,” Kaito said.

A few members raised an eyebrow at that notion. Kaito wasn’t stupid—well, not nearly as stupid as most other degenerate males—but he could certainly be…dense.

“Then there’s no need to come up with some sort of elaborate punishment! How about…people who ignore warnings get a temporary ban from club, and for repeat offenders, it’s permanent?” Kotoko suggested.

“That’s as good as we’re gonna get, probably.” Himiko jotted that down in her phone’s notes application and nodded. “Good job, Kotoko-chan.”

“Lame. I wanted the rule breakers to be sent up in a rocket ship that would come crashing back down to Earth and drill all the way to the core. Gotta make ‘em repent for their crimes, ya know?” Junko said. She didn’t smile or laugh or do anything of the sort.

Tenko wasn’t sure how serious she was being.

“Alright, noted! Now, how do you all feel about the topics we’ve been covering so far? Are they interesting enough to fill an hour? Do you think they’re varied enough? They aren’t boring, are they?”

“Hell yeah! I’ve been loving it!” Nekomaru bellowed, arms crossed over his chest. “They’re not even a little bit boring, trust me.”

“They’re all definitely interesting enough to fill the time we’ve got. Heck, sometimes we almost go past an hour,” Kotoko said as she kicked her legs back and forth. “Plus, I like how it’s not all the same stuff every week!”

“I know what you mean, kid! We can talk about pansexuality one week and something like polyamory the next. We’re always on our toes,” Kaito said.

“Hey, which one of you decides the topics for these meetings anyway?” Miu asked.

Tenko and Himiko both raised their hands. “I only had the first three weeks planned back when we started! Yumeno-san and I got together and decided the rest of the semester later.”

“That reminds me. We lost a topic, right? Thanks to Kaede’s impromptu polyamory lecture. What was it?” Kokichi asked.

Himiko put a finger to her lips. “It’s a secret! We’re saving it for next semester.”

“Oh, so it’ll be our first topic, right?” Komaru asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll just have to wait and see,” Himiko said, wiggling her fingers to give her answer a dramatic flair.

“Do you have the schedule for next semester set already?” Ibuki asked eagerly. “You should give us a sneak peek!”

Mukuro blinked. “If you really want to know that badly, you could just ask Junko. I’m sure she’s already figured out what we’ll be discussing next semester. Possibly the order as well.”

Junko groaned, throwing her head back and sinking further down her seat. “Oh my God could you please get off my dick for like, a day? That’s all I ask. That’s all I want.”

“You should be grateful that your sister thinks so highly of you. Not all of us get to have relationships with our siblings that like,” Teruteru said with a small frown.

Komaru crossed her arms. “Could you make up your mind already?! Do you want her to worship you or ignore you?”

“Depends on my mood,” Junko answered.

“Ugh! You are so—”

“Girls, girls!” Tenko chimed in with a disappointed look on her face. “Come on, no fighting, remember? You can talk it out after club.”

Himiko nodded in affirmation. “Mhm, mhm. Nyeh, you can argue all you want, but don’t forget that you’re still friends at the end of the day.”

“Me? Komaru? Friends?” Junko’s expression darkened, as if a shadow had fallen upon her face. “The very idea of that is…surely cause for despair.”

“Ech, Junko’s getting all w-w-weird. Let’s get back on topic before things get worse,” Toko said, cringing. “Tenko, ask another question. Please.”

“Sure! Um, no one has to answer this if they don’t want to, but…has coming here every week made anyone feel any better about themselves?” Tenko asked, uncertain. “I know not everyone interested in this sort of stuff is exactly filled with pride, but I hope I’ve been able to at least make some people feel less self conscious or ashamed.”

The room was filled with an awkward silence and Tenko felt her heartrate begin to increase. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be jumping at the opportunity to explain just how much of an effect the Fruits Basket had had on them, but she’d still been hoping everyone was comfortable enough by this point to at least be willing.

Much to Tenko’s surprise and pleasure, the first to speak up was Himiko of all people. “Yeah! Nyeh, I wasn’t really sure what I was before we started doing this, but. Well. Tenko is my girlfriend now, so there’s that. Now, I’m pretty comfortable saying I’m bi. Yaaay.”

Tenko’s eyes lit up as her cheeks went pink. Just hearing Himiko refer to her as her girlfriend was enough to make her heart flutter. “Oooh, that makes me so happy to hear, Yumeno-san! I’m glad you could figure yourself out!”

“Me, too. I was always kind of sort of maybe sure I liked girls, but it’s nice to have a label to identify with. Himiko Yumeno, Bisexual Ultimate Mage...it has a nice ring to it.”

“Good for you, Himiko,” Kaede said with a kind smile. “It took me a bit to come to terms with my own sexuality, so it’s good that you could didn’t have to do it alone.”

“Yeah, you had this ragtag bunch of fruits there with you,” Miu said, snickering.

“I know you’re only saying that as a joke, but really. I like having this place to come to.” Himiko’s lips curled into a small smile. “It…it makes me feel not so weird.”

Chihiro was next to speak up, shyly raising their hand with their eyes glued to their lap. “I guess I’m a pretty good example for this. I, uh, don’t think I ever would have looked into this whole gender thing if I never started attending these meetings, so thank you for that. All of you. I’m still not entirely sure what I’ll end up settling on, but…I’m glad I’ll have you here for me when the time comes.”

Junko folded her hands over her heart and looked at Chihiro with an adoring gaze. “D’aaw, Chi-Chi! You’re gonna melt my stone cold heart if you keep up that kind of talk!”

“Ugh. Quit makin’ it weird, Enoshima,” Mondo said with a huff. His expression softened and he smiled, patting his friend on the back. “Really though, Little Buddy. Whatever you decide to do, I’ve got your back. We’ve got your back.”

“Hm. You have quite the bodyguards,” Mukuro said. “Mondo Owada on one side and Junko Enoshima on the other. They’re sure to make people think twice about messing with you.”

Kotoko snickered. “Wow, Chihiro’s scary without even having to lift a finger!”

Chihiro suddenly looked frightened. “S-Scary? I don’t want to be scary!”

“Hey, just ‘cause your besties are threatening doesn’t mean you’re scary. You can totally be hella friendly and approachable! At least, so long as everyone knows that getting on your bad side means getting on my bad side, and that’s a place no one ever wants to end up,” Junko said with a sinister smile.

As Chihiro quickly shook their head and waved their hands to discourage anything potentially dangerous Junko might have been thinking of, Nagito raised his hand in the air, an unassuming smile on his face.

“Might I contribute?” he asked.

“Go for it, Komaeda-san!”

“Thank you.” His smile faded a bit. “I may not be worthy of even being here among you all—such talented and amazing people—but I’ll always appreciate being given a place here. Truthfully, I…was never really completely content with my own sexuality. I never hated myself for it, but for the longest time, it was just another abnormal thing about myself for me to push down. I may be open about it now, but that never meant that I held any pride or confidence in it at all. But…coming here every week has made me feel…at home. Like I’ve found kindred spirits who accept me as I am. I’d like to extend my humblest gratitude to you all. Thank you.”

Tenko found unexpected tears welling in her eyes. Something she had created had truly helped people, hadn’t it? It had brought them together, helped form friendships, and assisted in them accepting themselves. All of this brought on simply because she felt that Hope’s Peak quality of queer education was unacceptable, and as the advocate she was, she had to do something about it. She couldn’t help but wonder how different she would have been if she’d had a place like this to come to growing up.

“Gee, thanks, Komaeda! You’re very welcome,” Miu said, a smug grin on her face. “You know, you’re not as much of a weirdo as people say you are. I’ve got no idea why you’ve got such a reputation.”

“Spend a day in classes with him and then try and say that,” Teruteru muttered.

“You guys, I…” Tenko blinked away tears as Himiko slipped her hand into hers and smiled up at her. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Oh, but it is we who should be thanking you! You’ve created a beautiful thing, Tenko!” Angie said.

“Yeah, definitely! It’s so cool that you went through all the work of starting a club to begin with. I know the school’s got a super annoying process, but you made it through anyway! That’s some real dedication!” Kaede clapped her hands together in glee.

Himiko threw her arms up and hopped out of her chair. “Three cheers for Tenko, everyone!”

“Huh? W-Wait, Yumeno-san—”

“Hip hip!”

“Hooray!”

“Hip hip!”

“Hooray!”

“Hip hip!”

“Hooray!”

Himiko sat back down, laughing as she did. “I didn’t think you guys would actually do it. Nice.”

“Hey, gotta give some appreciation for our president!” Kaito said. “Lookin’ a little red there, Tenko. You doin’ alright?”

Tenko was, in fact, looking quite red. Even hiding her face behind her hands, her embarrassment was as obvious as the sun in the sky.

She wondered how she’d get through the rest of the meeting without fainting.

Chapter Text

“It’s good to be back, baby!”

Those were the first words Tenko said upon bursting through the doors of the Fruits Basket club room. She’d been kept away from her cherished project for over a month now and missed it more and more with each and every passing day. It had been difficult to focus on things like studying or enjoying the short break the students of Hope’s Peak received between school years when all she could think about was getting back to her baby. By now, the Fruits Basket had grown beyond anything she could have imagined back when she was still conceptualizing it. She’d been anticipating its membership would consist only of her and maybe a few others, but in only one semester, it had grown to have over twenty members! Surely that had to be a record for the fastest growing student organization in Hope’s Peak history. The school had an incredibly large amount of clubs to begin with, and as a result, that meant that most of them had rather low membership. The Fruits Basket, though? Tenko couldn’t help but feel prideful.

Much to her pleasure, Tenko found that her friends had already gathered in the room before she arrived. She’d sent Himiko ahead to arrange the chairs properly while she hastily cleaned up their classroom—of course the first week’s duty would fall to her—and was glad to see that she was sitting there with a wide grin on her face. Himiko waved.

“Welcome to the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! Are you interested in joining?” she asked, just barely able to hold back her laughter.

“Oh, I’d love to! I’ve heard so much about how great and amazing and cool this organization is, not to mention all the wonderful members!” Tenko gave a chipper wave to all the familiar faces—and some fresh new ones as well—that she’d been so eager to see. “Hello, everyone! Welcome to the first meeting of the school year for the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket!”

Kaito cheered, throwing his hands up in the air. “Whoo! We’re second-years now! Feels great!”

“Speak for yourself. Us third-years have to start worrying about entrance exams already,” Teruteru said with a groan. “I can’t even enjoy my last year at this school ‘cause of all the stress!”

Kotoko tilted her head. “Uh, no you don’t. What’s the point of going to Hope’s Peak if you still do all that boring university stuff? Your futures are secure just by being students here; you could get a job at any restaurant in the world.”

“Oh. Right,” Teruteru said, suddenly realizing how obvious that was. “In that case, I’m gonna enjoy my senior year to the fullest!”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll spend plenty of time hanging out with all your friends,” one of the new faces said, snickering behind her hand. She was a cute blonde girl with her hair in a large ponytail. “You know the ones. Right hand, lotion, dirty magazine…”

“Ugh. N-Now I’m picturing it,” Toko said with a shudder.

“Alright, I see a few unfamiliar faces, so how about to start off with introductions?” Tenko asked as she took her seat. “Who would like to start us off?”

“I can,” another girl said. She was a fair-skinned girl with freckles and her red hair had been styled into a simple bob. Tenko could already guess what her talent was by the expensive-looking camera hanging from her neck. “Hello, everyone! I’m Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer. I don’t exactly fit the bill for the type of person who’d attend these sorts of meetings, but I have a lot of LGBT friends and felt like I should show my support, so here I am! It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh hey, I’m straight, too!” Kaito declared. “Cool! Now I’m not the odd one out anymore!”

Shuichi frowned. “But I’m not—ugh. Never mind…”

The blonde girl from before rose next. “Hiyoko Saionji, Ultimate Traditional Dancer! I’m bi, but none of you are my type, so don’t go getting any ideas.”

“Oh shit, when’d you come out?” Junko asked, leaning in with interest. “Was wondering when you were going to admit it to yourself.”

“None of your business, Enoshima!” Hiyoko said defensively. She sat back down and crossed her arms, her face a burning red. Tenko got the feeling she was holding something back.

Next to Mondo, a well-built young man with deep black hair, striking red eyes, and prominent eyebrows stood up straight and gave a salute. “Good afternoon, my fellow students! My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass! You may know me as the recently elected president of the student council! As a representative of the Hope’s Peak student body as well as a bisexual man myself, it brings me great joy to be able to be here with you all!”

Himiko gasped as realization dawned on her. “Oooh, you’re Mondo’s boyfriend!”

“Why, yes I am, little one! We’ve been in a romantic partnership for nearly six months now!”

Mondo smiled—cautiously. “Good to have ya here, man. It’s a chill time, usually. Just…watch out for her.”

Junko looked around as if she were searching for something. “Huh. Wonder who he means.”

Himiko giggled and lightly nudged Tenko. “He sorta reminds me of you,” she whispered.

“H-Huh?” Tenko asked, blushing. “He does?”

“Mhm. You have the same energy.”

Tenko didn’t get much of a chance to respond, as the final new member soon made herself known.

“Hello!” she began with a warm smile and friendly wave. Tenko gasped—how did she not realize who was right in front of her the moment she entered the room?! “I’m Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Idol! I’m not supposed to say this, but you all can keep a secret, right?” she leaned forward and her voice fell to a whisper. “Not only am I interested in boys, but girls, too! Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

A single wink sent an arrow straight through Tenko’s heart. This couldn’t be real. The Sayaka Maizono was attending one of her club meetings? Impossible! It was strange enough that they were in the same year at the same high school, but now they were members of the same club?

“Nice to meet ya, Sayaka!” Kaito said. How dare he call her by her first name so soon after meeting her?! “It’s cool that you’re here, ‘cause Tenko’s a HUGE fan of yours! Talks about you all the time.”

Sayaka giggled. “Really? Oh, I’m flattered!”

“Yup! She’s got all your CDs, a bunch of posters, and I’m pretty sure she went to one of your handshake events once. What was it she called you again? You’re her oshi? I don’t know what that means, but—”

“Uh, Kaito?” Shuichi began with a nervous look. “You might want to stop talking now…”

Kaito was met with Tenko’s absolutely enraged expression, her eyes seeming to burn a hole into his very soul. He frowned and leaned back in his seat. “R-Right, my bad.”

Tenko huffed and silently counted to ten to calm herself down. She was good enough at embarrassing herself in front of girls she admired on her own, she didn’t need Kaito’s assistance. “Now, let’s get right into it. For those who’re new to our little club, the way we run things super simple. I introduce a topic and then we all talk about it for an hour!”

“Oh, there’s no kind of structure or anything? That sounds like it can get chaotic…” Mahiru said.

“It does, sometimes, but Tenko and I are gonna be better at moderation this semester,” Himiko replied. “And chaos can be kind of fun, anyway.”

“So what’s today’s topic?” Hiyoko asked. “I hope it isn’t boring.”

“None of our topics are boring! Today, we’re gonna be talking about our gay awakenings!” Himiko said, excitedly bouncing in her seat.

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. “Gay…awakenings?”

“Yup! In other words, the moment you realized you were queer. When, where, how, stuff like that. A couple of us have touched on this in other meetings, but this week, I want us to go really in depth!”

“Which means the heteros can’t participate. You sure picked a hell of a week to start coming to these things, eh, Koizumi?” Miu said.

Mahiru only shrugged. “I don’t mind, really. Like I said, I’m mainly here just to show my support.”

“So, who’d like to start us off?” Tenko asked. “Don’t be shy!”

A devious smirk crossed Junko’s lips. “Actually, how about we give the new blood a bit of time to shine? Sayaka? Care to volunteer?”

Tenko shot a glare Junko’s way—she definitely did that on purpose—before softening her expression upon seeing Sayaka nod.

“I would love to! Although, I don’t really think that mine is all that interesting. For some backround, I started doing auditions for idol groups during my last year of junior high, so I was around fifteen. You can probably guess that there’d be a whole lot of girls my age at those, huh?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about what those things are like. A bunch of sweaty girls in leotards trying to out-sing and dance each other? Sounds like Tenko’s paradise,” Miu said, snickering. Kaede nudged her in the side to get her to cut it out.

Tenko’s face went red and she held her head low. That made her sound like some sort of creepy pervert! Much to her surprise, however, Sayaka didn’t say that it was gross or anything along those lines.

“Exactly. Honestly, it might have been my paradise, too,” Sayaka said. Tenko’s eyes widened and she looked up only to see the idol with her blushing face in her hands and a blissful smile on her face. “I couldn’t stop thinking about just how pretty so many of the other girls were. I thought I was just envious at first, but then I realized that I didn’t want to be any of these girls, I wanted to be with them. And that was when it dawned on me that I’m bisexual!”

“Huh, fun story. Didja take any of those girls home and show ‘em just how strong those lungs of yours are?” Junko asked.

Kiyotaka gasped in offense. “Enoshima-san! Please, refrain from such vulgarity! Especially in front of a child!”

“One, Kotoko’s more mature than you think. Two, what sort of thing are you thinking? All I’m asking if she ever challenged one of them to a contest to see who could hold a note for longer. Sheesh, lighten up,” Junko said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. “So rude, assuming the worst of me. You know what? You next. That’s your punishment.”

“What? How is that your call? Remind me again who’s supposed to be running this thing?” Hiyoko asked.

“While your defense is appreciated, Saionji-senpai, rest assured that I need no assistance in this situation! I’ve honed my skills and have become quite adept at dealing with Enoshima-san and her flippant remarks!”

“She made you tear up with one sentence just a month ago,” Mukuro pointed out.

“The Kiyotaka Ishimaru of a month ago and the Kiyotaka Ishimaru of today are two very different men! Now then, Enoshima-san, I’m afraid I cannot actually answer this discussion prompt,” Kiyotaka said, crossing his arms.

Junko tilted her head. “Oh, really now? And why’s that?”

“Because to provide details as to the circumstances would be to break a promise made in private.”

“Mm. So it was during the time you and Mondo were in the sauna together for a couple hours, huh? Gotcha.”

“H-Huh?!” Kiyotaka exclaimed in disbelief. “How…how did you know?!”

“Because you’re even more predictable than everyone else in the world. Yo, Mondo. You cool with him spilling the beans?”

Mondo thought for a few moments before shrugging. “It’s no sweat off my back. Just try not to go too in depth, Taka, yeah? Lot of the shit we said back then is way too personal.”

Kiyotaka let out a deep breath and nodded. “I understand. In that case…I never really thought about things such as love or romance in my youth. I had to dedicate all of my time towards my education, you see. I’d always planned to be married and have children one day, and there were some girls I found attractive here and there, but that was the extent of my experience. Until one day, Bro and I decided to settle an argument by engaging in a test of endurance! As Enoshima-san said, we sat in a sauna for hours, and during that time, many things were said! Things I will not repeat! But! It was then that I realized that the feelings I held for him were not entirely platonic! And while I was slightly hesitant at first—homosexuality is frowned upon in my family, you see—I knew then and there in my heart that I was attracted to men as well! And that is the story of how I had my ‘gay awakening’, as Chabashira-san put it!”

Light clapping scattered among the attendees and Kiyotaka bashfully rubbed at the back of his neck. Though he tried to hide it, Mondo’s smile was as noticeable as his pompadour.

Miu thinned her eyes. “…You call your boyfriend Bro?”

“Hey, no judging. Besides, you call your girlfriend Bakamatsu or Kaeidiot all the time,” Himiko replied.

“Sure, but that’s different from going around calling her ‘Sis’. It’s weird.”

“You know what else is weird? The fact that we’re even talkin’ about this. Who’s up next?” Mondo asked with a gruff of aggravation. “You there, new girl. Might as well round out the newbies.”

“If it’s none of Enoshima’s business, what makes you think it’s any of your business?” Hiyoko asked with a sneer.

“Hey, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but don’t be rude,” Mahiru said.

Hiyoko’s expression softened at once and she crossed her arms, looking away and pouting. “Hmph. Fine! If you really want to know, I met a certain someone who made me think that maybe I’m into girls after all! And that’s that!”

“This certain someone has a name, no? Would you care to tell us?” Angie asked, a curious look in her eyes.

“Duh! But I’m not telling you! No way!”

Mikan pressed her fingertips together and pursed her lips. “S-So both you and Ishimaru-san had your uh, g-gay awakenings when you met a certain person…? That’s really nice.”

Himiko took Tenko’s hand into her own and smiled up at her. Tenko swore she felt her heart skip a few beats.

“I figure that’s pretty common,” Komaru suggested. “Well, for bi people, at least. It’s like you spend your whole life up until a certain point not really considering that liking the same sex can be an option until you meet that one person who gives you butterflies in your stomach and makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.”

“Was that how it was like for you, Naegi-san?” Tenko asked.

Komaru shook her head. “Nope! I always kind of knew I liked girls. Didn’t ever have to think about it, really, aside from realizing that it wasn’t universal and that I was part of a minority group because of it. That happened when I was a little girl, so I guess you could say that was my gay awakening. Kind of boring…”

“It’s not boring at all!” Tenko said. “Plenty of queer people always just sort of know. There doesn’t have to be a single moment where you realize it or anything like that.”

“Yup yup, that’s the same boat I’m in,” Kokichi said, folding his hands behind his head. “On that note, I’m curious! What was your bi awakening like, Shuichi?”

“M-Mine?” Shuichi sputtered. His eyes darted over to Kaito—briefly—before his cheeks went red. He shook his head in adamant denial. “I keep trying to tell you, I’m straight!”

“Fruitiest straight guy I’ve ever met,” Junko said, snickering behind her hand. “Dude, everything about your twinky ass screams ‘raw dog me, I’m a bottom’.”

Kaede crossed her arms. “Junko!”

“You…really haven’t changed at all from the last time we talked, have you?” Mahiru asked with a disappointed sigh. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Mikan…no offense.”

“Oh n-no, it’s f-fine!” Mikan said. “U-Um, we don’t mind, r-r-really.”

“Hey hey, Miki. Go ahead and tell the world about your gay awakening,” Junko urged, an eager grin on her face.

Mikan blushed, babbling for a bit and vehemently shaking her head. “B-B-But it’s embarrassing!”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Tsumiki-senpai. Remember, this is all voluntary!” Tenko said. “We wouldn’t want to make anyone share any information they’re not comfortable sharing.”

Junko pouted, jutting out her bottom lip and gazing at Mikan with wide, shimmering eyes. “Pwease? You’ll do it for your bewoved girlfwiend, won’t you?”

Sayaka gasped and covered her mouth in shock. “Oh no! No one can resist Junko’s puppy-dog eyes!”

Tenko doubted that statement, but even then, she couldn’t help but feel slightly more endeared to Junko when she was making that face. Something about her in that moment was strangely alluring. Mikan tried to avert her eyes, but she of all people was especially powerless against Junko’s wiles. She finally let out a defeated whine and nodded her head.

“I-If you really want me to, then…I can. F-For you.”

“Yay! You’re the best!” Junko pulled her into a hug from the side and pressed a loving kiss onto her cheek. “I’m so buying you that expensive-ass medical kit you were eyeing the other day.”

Mikan’s lips curled into a shy smile. Tenko had to admit that for all of Junko Enoshima’s faults—and there were many to speak of—these two were cute together. Mikan’s timid nature and Junko’s often overwhelming bravado made for a nice contrast.

“Um…it was when I was a little girl, f-fourth grade,” Mikan began. She looked as if she would have been shaking from the anxiety had Junko not still been hugging her. “I always s-sat by myself during recess because I didn’t have any friends, and the other kids would always get upset if I tried to p-play with them. One day, a g-girl and her friends invited me to spend recess with them, and I was r-really excited! We p-played together for a while, and it was really f-fun, but…near the end of the period, she pushed me off the jungle gym and started saying how s-stupid I was for actually believing that they’d want to be my friends…”

“Seriously?” Mondo asked in a mixture of disbelief and disgust. “Christ. That’s awful. It’s fucked up that you went through the kind of shit, Mikan.”

“Ugh. Rotten little brats like that are the worst,” Kotoko huffed.

“Th-Thank you, but…” Mikan pressed her fingertips together and bit her lip. “A-Ah…all I could think of at the time was…how pretty she looked.”

Kaito cocked his head. “Eh?”

“She had the silkiest blonde hair, and her freckles looked so beautiful in the sun, and her eyes were sparkling…” Pink flooded Mikan’s cheeks and she let out a shaky breath. Her eyes looked almost hazy. “Heheh…to think that someone as pretty as she was chose to spend her time on me…it made me so happy…”

“Mikan,” Junko said. It wasn’t snappy or a demanding or anything of the sort, but rather a simple, unassuming utterance of her name.

Mikan suddenly blinked several times as if she were snapping out of a trance. “O-Oh! I’m s-sorry, um, where was I? Ah, I g-guess th-that was when I realized that I liked girls.”

Everyone stared, their expressions ranging from confusion to concern to judgment. Mikan’s face burned under their gaze and she hid behind her hands as Junko patted her on the head with a proud smile.

Tenko frowned, speechless, and exchanged a slightly worried look with Himiko.

… Maybe Tsumiki-senpai isn’t as innocent as everyone thinks she is.

“Um…okay!” Tenko said, awkwardly scanning the room. “Well, I guess that just goes to show that not everyone’s experience is the same! There are a ton of ways to realize that you’re queer, and they’re all equally valid!”

“What about you, Tenko?” Mahiru asked with curious eyes. “You’re a pretty open and unabashed lesbian, right? How’d you realize it?”

“This was one of the first things I shared with the club, actually!” Tenko eagerly bounced in her chair and Mahiru couldn’t help but giggle. “Basically, I’ve liked girls since the day I was born! Girls are pretty, and they smell nice, and they’re nicer, and just! Better! I never liked boys, but when my Master taught me how awful men could be, I knew then and there that I was super gay!”

“Phew. Tell me about it,” Mahiru said. “Men aren’t all bad, but they’re so…unreliable, you know? It’s like they never live up to the expectations you set for them. Sometimes I wish I was a lesbian just so I wouldn’t have to deal with them.”

Kaito frowned. “You gals are really mean to guys, you know. We have feelings, too!”

“They don’t mean any harm by it, Kaito. They’re just…expressing their frustation,” Kaede assured him, though she didn’t seem so sure herself. “You mostly take pictures of girls when your subjects are people, right, Koizumi-san?”

“Mhm. Women are a lot more aesthetically pleasing. There’s an inherent sense of beauty you just don’t get with men, you know?” Mahiru said. “It’s not like I never photograph men, but I get bored of it pretty fast and usually end up deleting those ones. I do have this one low-angle shot of Nagito at the beach that I like, though.”

Junko stifled laughter—poorly—and Mahiru turned to her with a frown. “Is…something funny?”

“No no, it’s nothing. It’s just. Miu said that you’re incompatible with the subject of this meeting, but now I’m realizing that you’re actually perfect for it.”

Mahiru thinned her eyes. “What are you on about, Enoshima?”

“Come on. Just listen to the way you’re talking about men and women. You don’t think there’s anything strange about it at all?”

“If you’re implying what I think you’re implying, then I’m sorry to disappoint you, but no. Just because I have problems with men—like most girls do, by the way—and can appreciate the beauty of women doesn’t mean I’m gay.”

“You keep telling yourself that, but just know that you’ve manage to ping the gaydar of Junko Enoshima, and I’m never off base in these situations.”

“Well, if it’s Junko’s gaydar, then that’s all there is to it! Mahiru’s a lesbian, wrap it up, people!” Hiyoko said, arms crossed and a glare in her eyes. She looked absolutely furious. “Moron. She’s straight, so stop trying to tell her she isn’t!”

Tenko furrowed her brow, and from the look on Junko’s face, it seemed as if they were thinking the same thing. So that’s who Saionji-senpai was talking about earlier, she thought.

“Hey hey, play nice. No fighting,” Himiko reminded them. “Junko, you shouldn’t try and tell people what they are. It’s not nice.”

Junko shrugged. “Hey, I was right about you, wasn’t I? Just give it a while; she’ll come around.”

Mahiru scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure I will. Jeez…”

Teruteru was next to volunteer to recount what surely must have been his absolutely riveting tale of sexual awakening—truthfully, Tenko had tuned him out already, instead focusing her attention on the fading red from Hiyoko’s face and the growing red on Mahiru’s. She pursed her lips and leaned forward, hands held together in concern.

Somehow, some way, the Fruits Basket always managed to attract those afflicted by troubles of the heart.

Chapter Text

Shuichi wasn’t wearing his hat today.

Almost everyone in class 78-B noticed it the instant he first stepped foot through the classroom door. Comments about it were frequent throughout the day, whether it be people complimenting the way his hair looked or saying how strange it was to see him without his hat on. It’d become an integral part of his physical identity by this point, so for him to suddenly come to school one day without was certainly cause for interest.

Shuichi had smiled when asked why. “I just figured I should try something different for the new school year, that’s all.”

But that wasn’t all, not in the slightest. For the whole day, he’d been noticeably…brighter. Shuichi generally kept to himself, seldom speaking unless he was spoken to and taking a back seat in conversations he was part of. Today, however, he was actually smiling and chatting with his friends far more frequently.

Except for Kokichi, of course.

As the class waited for their last teacher to come in for the day, Kokichi watched Shuichi from afar with his head resting in his hand and a bored look on his face. He was talking with Kaede and Miu—apparently they’d been spending even more time together lately—about something or other. The smile on his face was a welcome sight. It wasn’t as if Shuichi never smiled, but now, he looked genuinely happy. It was a wide smile that lit up his face and made him seem as if he was glowing.

Kokichi never made him smile like that.

Miu said something surely outrageous and Kaede gasped before lightly slapping her on the arm. She sighed and rubbed Shuichi’s back—God, what was she doing?—as an apology. Miraculously, Shuichi actually laughed. It was pleasant as the peal of a church bell and sweet as one of Kaede’s compositions.

Kokichi scowled. He wanted that laugh all to himself.

“Hiya, Kokichi! Whatcha lookin’ at?”

Kokichi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Angie. It’s nothing. I’m just staring into space is all.”

“Hm, that doesn’t sound right to me!” Angie leaned in so that she was practically touching cheeks with Kokichi and tracked his gaze. “You’re looking at those three, aren’t ya?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. So what if I am?”

“Well, that’s no fun! Instead of just looking, why don’t you just go up and join their conversation? Atua says the more the merrier.”

“It isn’t just Atua who says that, and I’m fine right where I am, thanks.”

“Oooh, I get it. You want to avoid Miu. In that case, why not join Gonta, Kirumi, and me? We’re talkin’ about the bugs Gonta met this week!”

“When I say ‘I’m fine where I am’, that means right here in my seat. Not over there. Right here.”

“Nyahahaha! I see! So you’d like me to move my seat next to yours.”

Kokichi opened his eyes and glared right at her. “You’re trying my patience.”

“Ya know, Kokichi, you’ve been awfully moody all day! Is there something wrong? You’re usually way more upbeat!”

“Gee, I dunno. Maybe I’d feel better if you buzzed off and quit bothering me.”

“But then we wouldn’t get anywhere!”

Kokichi had just about had it. People generally tried to avoid him, and now, when he wanted to be left alone, here Angie was refusing to go away. He wasn’t exactly surprised. Angie was one of his more annoying classmates, and that was saying something considering the people he was with. She was always sticking her nose where it didn’t belong and going on and on about her God like it was a bad joke. She usually bothered someone else, but unfortunately for him, she’d already picked her target.

He leaned in closer, eyes dark and serious. “Listen here. I’m gonna say this one more time. Fuck. Off—”

“Ah.” Angie suddenly closed her eyes and nodded as if she’d had some sort of epiphany. “So that it what it is. I see, I see…”

Kokichi furrowed his brow. “What?”

“I sense turmoil in your heart. You desire that which you cannot have.”

He blinked and backed up, an uncharacteristic look of shock on his face. “What? The hell are you talking about?”

“I’m right, right? I’m quite skilled at reading faces! Yahaha!” Angie laughed, and despite the joy on her face, Kokichi was definitely not smiling. “‘S just another gift from Atua.”

“No no, back up. The hell are you talking about? Turmoil in my heart???”

“Mhm, mhm!” Angie put her elbows on the desk and held her head in her hands with eager eyes. “Your aura is darker than it usually is. The vibe I’m getting from you is one of…longing. You’re pretty sad, aren’t you?”

Kokichi thinned his eyes in his confusion. Well, this was interesting. He supposed he could play along. As such, he donned his patented cheshire grin and leaned forward with renewed intrigue.

“You think I’m sad? Wow! What am I sad about?” he asked.

“You believe something that belongs to you is at risk of being stolen. But…you never claimed it as your own, did you?” Angie asked with a tilt of her head. “Finders keepers, Kokichi.”

Kokichi blinked. “Are you saying this wouldn’t be happening if I made it clear that it belonged to me in the first place?”

“Mmm, dunno! After all, when someone really wants something, it doesn’t really matter if someone else has already claimed it. They’ll take it anyway.”

She was wrong, obviously. It would not have made a difference if his feelings for Shuichi were as obvious as the sun in the sky. After all, Shuichi would never reciprocate, leaving anyone who wanted to free to encroach on Kokichi’s territory like Kaede and Miu were doing right now. The only real way this could have been avoided is if Shuichi felt the same.

That would never happen.

Shuichi Saihara was, as far as Kokichi was concerned, the only person worth his time in his entire class. He was smart, but humble about it—almost to a fault. He wasn’t even a little annoying, something Kokichi couldn’t say about anyone else he’d been stuck with. More than that, though, he was the only one who understood Kokichi. He’d never admit it, but the two of them had a special sort of relationship, one that went beyond detective and sidekick. They were friends, sure, but it was deeper than that. They had a bond that only the two of them could understand.

Kokichi hummed. “Interesting, interesting…but you’re wrong,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not sad at all! You should give more general answers if you want to get really good at fortune telling, you know.”

Angie’s smile did not even so much as twitch, but in that moment, her eyes grew dark. The Ultimate Artist had become the most threatening person in the room in just a moment.

“Oh, Kokichi. It isn’t good to lie to your friends.”

Kokichi’s smile faded. “Lie? Me? Never. I hate liars. But you wanna know who I hate even more? People who pretend to know what they’re talking about when they’re really just talking out of their ass.”

“Aaw, there’s no need to be shy!” Angie said, giggling. “Your secret’s safe with me! Love is a beautiful thing, and I would hate to mess anything up.”

“Love—” Kokichi hissed and caught his tongue between his teeth. “Listen, I don’t know who told you all of this, but they were lying to you. So drop it.”

Angie ignored him. “But! Atua has some advice for you. He says that if you’re feeling lonely, then you shouldn’t work so hard to push other people away from you. It’s counterproductive! You should listen to Him—Atua is never wrong.”

“Really now? Is Atua saying that, or are you?”

“Well, both of us, of course! After all, I just act as Atua’s voice in times like these. Ooh, but perhaps one day, He will appear to you as well! All you have to do is—”

“Sorry, not sorry. Not interested in joining your cult. None of us are; you’ll have better luck preying on the first years.”

“Cult? Oh no no no! All I want is for my cherished friends to be bathed in Atua’s light and for their souls to be saved! And you are my friend, Kokichi, no matter how much you want to deny it!”

Kokichi grumbled. “Friends should leave friends alone when they tell them to go away.”

“Nope! Friends help friends in times of need, and you, my friend, are in need of guidance. So listen close.” Angie leaned forward and her voice fell to a whisper. “You must seize your treasure before it is lost forever.”

Kokichi balled his fists—she really did have no idea what she was talking about, did she? This war was over before it even began. The fact that Shuichi had a thing for Kaede was plain as day. He’d been hoping Miu’s involvement would throw a wrench in things, but considering how close the three of them had been lately, Shuichi clearly didn’t mind. It didn’t matter what Kokichi said or did. He’d lost, and that was that.

…But that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least make things more interesting.

“….Hey, Angie? Aren’t you friends with the people trying to steal from me, too? Why are you helping me instead of them?”

Angie pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “Hm…Atua says you need guidance more than they do.”

Kokichi smirked. “Is it really your god telling you that? Or is it just what you want to do?”

Angie’s smile faded and the light in her eyes dimmed. She stared at Kokichi in silence, unblinking, unmoving, before that smile returned in full force. “It is…hard to tell sometimes.”

“Heh. Guess it doesn’t matter. Then I’ve got a proposal for you,” Kokichi began, a devious grin splitting his lips. “What do you say to a little team-up?”

Angie laughed. “I would say that sounds like a great idea!”

A million different ideas popped into Kokichi’s mind one by one. He could cause enough mischief on his own, but with a side-kick? The possibilities were endless. So Kaede and Miu could have Shuichi, he didn’t mind.

They certainly wouldn’t be getting him for free.

Chapter Text

“Hello, everyone! Welcome to this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! I hope you—GYAH!”

Tenko stumbled backwards and assumed a defensive aikido stance at once. She certainly wasn’t expected anybody to be standing right next to the door when she entered, least of all a tall and burly man. She had been about ready to take his head off with one chop before she got a good look at his face.

“Uh…Sakakura-sensei? What are you doing here?” she asked.

Leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets was Juzo Sakakura, head of Hope’s Peak security. He may not have been a teacher, but Tenko was more familiar with him than she was most other faculty. She’d participated in a few off-the-record training sessions with him, Sakura Ogami, and Akane Owari, but that was as far as her relationship with him went. Just what in the world was he doing at her little club?

Juzo stood up straight and met Tenko’s eyes. “Chabashira. I was interested in your club, so I decided to pay it a little visit. That’s all.”

Tenko cocked her head to the side. “R-Really? Wow. I’m flattered, but I don’t think faculty are allowed to join school clubs.”

“Didn’t intend to. I just wanted to watch you guys, see what kind of stuff goes on around here. Just for the day.”

“Ugh, you sound like a narc,” Miu said, rolling her eyes. “You’re not gonna blab to the headmaster about how inappropriate we act or some shit like that, are you?”

Tenko turned to face Miu. “Iruma-san, don’t be—”

…Why was Angie sitting between Shuichi and Kaede? And awfully close to Shuichi as well? There was no assigned seating or anything like that, but club members generally sat in the same spot every week. Kaede certainly didn’t look happy about it, and Shuichi looked outright uncomfortable. That was weird.

“Not interested in that. Look.” Juzo sighed and pulled up a chair. He opted to sit off to one of the corner rather than in the circle with everyone else. “Pretend I’m not here. Just have your meeting same as you always do, yeah? Simple.”

Tenko was certainly skeptical, but she trusted him well enough. She exchanged a look and a shrug with Himiko before taking her seat. “Well, it’s nice to have you here for the day, Sakakura-sensei! Now then, I’m going to warn you all before we get into this meeting that the topic for the week is probably going to be uncomfortable for a lot of us, but it’s still something I think is important for us to be able to talk about openly and honestly.”

“W-Wait, we’re not talking about s-sex, are we?” Toko asked with fear in her ears. “Egh…that sounds awful…”

Junko shrugged. “Might not be. Who knows? You might learn a little somethin’ or two. I’m sure Komaru would appreciate you being more educated.”

“What?! Junko!” Komaru shouted.

Toko scowled and pointed a finger in defense. “I’ll have you know that I’m p-plenty experienced! P-Probably more than most of you!”

“Toko!” Komaru shouted, again, her voice cracking this time.

“The smut that you keep in a hidden folder on your laptop doesn’t count,” Junko countered. “And honey, I promise, I already have far more experience than you ever will.”

Kotoko snickered. “With Big Sis Mikan, of course!”

“We aren’t talking about sex!” Tenko yelled, hoping to stop Mikan from becoming a blushing and stuttering mess. She failed. “Sheesh…what we are talking about today is homophobia.”

The room’s mood was promptly dampered. Some shifted uncomfortably in their seats, others simply grimaced. That wasn’t a fun topic at all.

“Jeez, talk about a mood-killer, huh?” Mahiru said with an awkward laugh, likely in an attempt to lighten the mood. An admirable endeavor, but an unsuccessful one. “But hey, Tenko’s right. It’s important to talk about these things.”

“Exactly. That being said, I understand if not everyone is okay with sticking around for this, so if you’d like to step out, I’m giving you an opportunity to do so. No judgment if you do, of course.”

Tenko waited, and to her surprise, no one left. Not even Nagito or Chihiro, both of whom appeared to be particularly unnerved by the upcoming subject matter. That was good, at least. She’d been anticipating at least a couple people wouldn’t want to participate.

“Tch. What’s so scary about talking about how stupid homophobes are for an hour?” Hiyoko asked, rolling her eyes. “Unless there’re some undercover homophobes here that’re scared we’ll rip ‘em a new one. Isn’t that right, Kaito?”

Kaito looked bewildered. “What? I’m not homophobic! Not even a little! Come on, would I be here if I was?”

“She’s just picking on you because you’re straight, Kaito, and because she knows it’ll get a rise out of you. You shouldn’t take it so hard,” Shuichi advised.

“Nyahahaha! Right you are, Shuichi!” Angie said. She looped her arms around Shuichi’s and hugged him with a bright smile. “You are very perceptive! As expected of an Ultimate Detective, of course.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Uh. What—what is this?”

“As much as I absolutely could spend an hour just talking about how dumb homophobic people are, that isn’t the point of the meeting today,” Tenko began. “I want to talk about where it comes from, how it’s affected us, how we can fight it, things like that.”

“Where it comes from, huh? This looks like a job for the Ultimate Anthropologist!” Ibuki said with a bright smile, gesturing to the man in question. “Whaddya got for us, Korekiyo?”

“Hm…well, there are a multitude of theories and perspectives as to where the concept of homophobia stems from just as there are for where same-sex attraction does. Some say it’s an innate biological revulsion, though empirical support for that perspective is incredibly lacking. Others believe it stems from humanity’s shared idea of morality. This was popularized in the 20^th century by Freud’s own theory that homosexuality is caused by a child receiving poor parenting in their youth. I, of course, personally believe in a different theory as to where the roots of homophobia lay.”

Mondo frowned. “’S religion, ain’t it?”

“Precisely.”

“Hey, we’re not going to upset anyone by talking about this, are we?” Kaede asked, concerned. “I mean, I don’t want to be disrespectful towards anyone’s religious beliefs.”

Everyone, of course, turned their attention to Angie.

“Now now, do not concern yourself with me. Remember, Atua loves all His children. No exceptions. There is nothing in His good word that shows preference for anyone of any sexuality. Everyone loves everyone back home!” she said, her face still practically glued to Shuichi’s arm for some reason.

“Naturally, there are a number of religions that do not discriminate against or even mention those of marginalized sexualities, however, the effects that Judeo-Christianity and its branches has had on the world as we know it cannot be understated,” Korekiyo continued. Despite the subject matter, he seemed oddly pleased to be discussing it. “From the western world to the east, its tenants and ideals have rooted themselves firmly into the very foundation of society.”

“…You know, homosexuality actually used to be pretty common in Japan. At least, between men.”

The club turned their eyes on Juzo, who promptly looked away.

“Just. I don’t know if you guys know that.”

“I thought you were just going to watch,” Kokichi said, hands folded behind his head. “That isn’t news to us, though. Any fruit worth their juice knows that—if they’re Japanese, at least.”

“And how the hell am I supposed to know what you know and what you don’t? I was only trying to teach you kids something,” Juzo grumbled.

“Of course, with the onset of the Meiji Restoration, practices such as shudou as well as the occupation of kagema became far less prevalent before same-sex relationships were criminalized entirely. Japan wished to emulate the west, you see, and as such, they adopted much of their cultural beliefs. As a result, Japan’s openness towards homosexuality—at least, of the male variety—faded away.” Korekiyo sighed. “Cultural imperialism is such a fascinating matter. I’ll have to show you all my thesis someday.”

“Hard pass,” Junko said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s not pretend like that’s the only reason it’s still so prevalent around here, though. Plenty of people ain’t even religious and are still hella homophobic.”

Kiyotaka crossed his arms. “Which is where the cultural aspect of it all comes into play. Even among those who don’t subscribe to a particular religion, homosexuality is often seen as…depraved. They think we’re perverts, or pedophiles, or that there is something wrong with our brains.”

Kotoko pouted. “Hmph! Masaru says that me being a lesbian is unnatural—as if him flicking his boogers at me is any more natural! What’s so gross about me wanting to kiss girls instead of boys, huh?!”

“I’m s-sure he doesn’t mean it. Masaru just says mean things when he’s upset sometimes,” Mikan assured her. “He d-doesn’t think Junko and I are gross, does he?”

“No. But that’s because he thinks it’s hot that you two are together.”

“Well, he’s definitely a heterosexual little boy,” Junko mumbled. “Anyway. Logical fallacies with the ‘it’s unnatural’ argument aside, literally every actual argument I’ve ever heard opposing homosexuality is just that people think it’s gross. That’s it. Usually from guys.”

“Oh yeah, homophobia from guys is pretty different from homophobia from girls, huh? Why is that…?” Himiko asked.

Mondo sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Easy. They see it as a threat to their own masculinity. The guys in the gang started treating me differently when they found out I was bi. It’s like they thought I was just dyin’ to take ‘em out back and have my way with ‘em or somethin’. Daiya and I handled it, but that shit still pisses me off.”

“Oma-san talked about this last semester,” Nagito said. “A lot of men see same-sex attraction in other men as being unmasculine, so they get defensive whenever they run into gay men because it makes them insecure in their own masculinity, right?”

Juzo crossed his arms and huffed. “All the time. You know how many times I’ve heard shit like ‘You do you, bro, but I’m not like that’? It’s like they think that just being around dudes who like dudes will make them gay or some stupid shit like that.”

“Speaking from experience, huh?” Miu asked.

“What?” Juzo shook his head in adamant denial. “No. I’m not like that. I’ve just seen it happen a lot is all.”

Junko took one look at him, blinked, and shrugged. “Uh-huh. It’s a similar case for girls, too, but the fragility of femininity is much less of a factor.”

“Girls tend to be less…I guess cruel about it,” Mahiru said. “It manifests in small ways, like not inviting someone to sleepovers or making sure you aren't looking at them in the locker room. If they are direct about it, it’s usually just because they think it’s gross, and you know how some girls are about conformity. At least, that’s what Sato’s told me.”

“Sato?” Sayaka asked.

Mahiru nodded. “She’s a lesbian friend of mine from the reserve course. She’s basically where I get all my knowledge on queer stuff from—oh, am I allowed to say that?”

“I don’t think anyone cares. We’ll talk about slur reclamation in another meeting, anyway,” Himiko said. “I’m pretty new to the whole ‘being queer’ thing, so I don’t have much experience dealing with this kind of stuff directly. What was it that Junko called me…?”

“Baby gay,” Junko answered.

“Right. I’m a baby gay—ugh, why does it have to have the word baby in it?” Himiko shook her head in annoyance. “You guys probably have a lot of experience with homophobia, right?”

Kokichi nodded and gave a loud, exaggerated sigh. “Plenty. Kaito here calls me slurs every day. It hurts, but I let him do it. We all cope with our gay awakenings in different ways.”

“I don’t—” Kaito groaned. “Nope! Not letting you get to me!”

Kaede rolled her eyes. “For an actual answer…yeah, I have. Like Mahiru said, it’s usually in indirect ways from other girls. Back in middle school, I’d always be conveniently left out of conversations about crushes and relationships and stuff like that. No girl ever wanted to partner with me in gym class, either.”

“Me, neither!” Tenko exclaimed. “I mean, yeah, sure I always got flustered touching other girls for partner stretches, but they all thought I’d grope them or something! As if I’m as depraved as some typical degenerate male! Me! Tenko!”

“How cruel! I’d let you be my gym partner any day, Tenko,” Teruteru said with a wink. Nekomaru’s glare was enough to silence him.

Mukuro twiddled her thumbs in her lap for a few moments, deliberating on whether or not to speak up, before steeling her nerves. “The men in the mercenary group I used to work with were…odd. They didn’t seem to think less of me because I liked women. As far as they were concerned, I was just one of the guys.”

Junko scoffed. “Right, a tiny Japanese girl with a crazy penchant for accuracy was just one of the boys.”

Mukuro ignored her. “It was refreshing, in a way. Growing up, I’d only ever gotten weird looks from people whenever they found out I’m bisexual, but with them, I felt…accepted, in a way. Until for my fourteenth birthday, they got me a prostitute. As a joke. And that’s when I realized that my sexuality was a source of humor for them an nothing more.”

“They got you a prostitute?” Sayaka said, gasping. “But you were just a little kid!”

“Didn’t matter to them. Besides, at fourteen, I might as well have been coming of age.”

Shuichi shot her a sympathetic look. “That’s awful. What did you do?”

“I made sure the woman was paid for her time, sent her home, and beat the men who arranged it. Not so much so that they wouldn’t be able to do their jobs, but enough so that the point would stick.”

“Wow, badass!” Ibuki said with stars shining in her eyes. “And they didn’t even kick you out or anything?”

“No. They knew better than to get rid of their most valuable asset.”

Junko snickered. “And to think, they lost you because your baby sis called one day and told you you were going to high school. That’s hilarious.”

“So they didn’t outright hate you for your sexuality, but more saw it as a joke, huh?” Rantaro asked. “Yeah, I know that feeling, believe me.”

“That’s a-awful, b-but at least they didn’t hit you,” Mikan said, offering a slight positive perspective. “A lot of people get v-violent about these things…”

“So they do,” Nagito said. “I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been beaten up for being gay. Probably…over a dozen or so.”

Teruteru’s eyes widened in shock. “Hold on, hold on, people’ve hit you? For that? And you’re sure they weren’t just doin’ it because they thought you were creepy?”

Nagito shook his head. “Considering the slurs they yelled at me while kicking me in the ribs, I doubt it.”

“Komaeda-senpai…” Tenko offered a sympathetic frown. “I’m so, so sorry that’s happened to you. There are some really bad people in this world who will hurt people just trying to live their lives. It’s sick.”

“Yo. If you ever feel the need to get back at ‘em, just send a list of names my way and Mukuro will take care of it,” Junko said.

“Oh no, that’s fine. I’m not interested in getting back at anyone or anything like that. If anything, I’d just want to ask why. Why they felt it was okay—even the right thing—to do something so horrible to a person.” Nagito smiled, but it was not one that reached his eyes. “I…I used to think that I deserved it. That it was justified for something like that to happen to someone like me. After all, I’m the lowest of the low, so it was fine if bad things happened to me.”

“You don’t still think like that, do you?” Mahiru asked in concern.

“No, of course not. I’m not ashamed of being gay. It’s just a part of who I am.”

“Hope your parents are cool with it, at least,” Mondo said. “It’s one thing to have to endure that shit outside, but when it follows you home? Ugh. My old man was angry as hell when he found out, but Daiya knocked some sense into him.”

Sagishi smiled. “Your brother talked to him? That’s nice of him.”

“No, I mean he literally knocked some sense into him. A couple of punches was all it took before he realized that getting upset over his son liking other guys was stupid.”

“Oh.”

Junko snickered and nodded her head in approval. “Good on him. You know what I always say: Violence is usually the answer.”

“Wow, what a great lesson to be teaching your impressionable little sister,” Komaru said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. “Don’t listen to her, Kotoko. Violence doesn’t solve anything.”

“Doesn’t it, though?” Kotoko asked. “If someone’s consistently bullying you, they’ll probably stop if you punch them in the nose.”

“That…doesn’t actually fix anything though, does it?” Chihiro asked. “They might leave you alone, but it doesn’t make them change their mind about you. It probably makes it worse.”

“D’aw, Chi-Chi, you’re so innocent it’s adorable,” Junko said, reaching over to pinch their cheek. “If you ask me, I couldn’t give less of a shit if some guy hates me because more girls want to spend a night with me than with him. Obviously that guy isn’t worth my time, so why bother wasting the energy on him?”

Kaito raised an eyebrow and rolled his shoulder. “I don’t know about that one. I mean, most people care about what other people think, right? Even if you don’t care about what they think of you, don’t you want to change their minds about LGBT people?”

“Not really. That’s too much effort, and stupid people are going to be stupid no matter what.”

“It isn’t as if you couldn’t do it,” Mukuro said. “You’re intelligent and eloquent enough that it wouldn’t take you more than, say, five minutes to change a homophobe’s mind.”

“That’s assuming they operate on logic,” Juzo mumbled.

“Exactly! See, this guy gets it.” Junko jabbed a thumb at Juzo with a satisfied grin. “I don’t argue with those people ‘cause there’s no point. They’re going to believe what they want to believe, and it’s not as if they could hurt me, so who cares?”

Toko wrung her hands in her lap, eyes glued to her feet. “W-W-What if they weren’t just harassing you, though? W-What if they were targeting Mikan?”

Junko’s eyes went dark. “I would kill them. Obviously.”

“Oh oh oh!” Ibuki chimed in. “You said you ran into that one girl who bullied Mikan a couple of months ago, right? Fuyuhiko’s little sis! What’d you say to her? What’d you do to her?”

“Her?” Junko scoffed. “Please, she wasn’t worth the energy or the cleanup. I just scared her a little and told her to stay away from Mikan if she valued having ten functioning fingers. She’s yakuza, so she should be used to those sort of threats.”

“That’s not killing her,” Himiko pointed out. “…Huh. I guess if you did that, there’d be one less homophobe in the world.”

“But assuming you’re a normal person who doesn’t go around threatening to break people’s fingers—”

“I said I’d rip them off, actually.”

“—there are things you can do to actually change people’s hearts,” Komaru said. “Bigots don’t have to always be bigots. You can talk to them, convince them they’re wrong, things like that. It’s hard work, sure, but if it means that they don’t go around hurting queer people, I think it’s worth it.”

Juzo made up his face and shook his head. “But why should we be the ones who have to do that? Why do we have to get hurt just to change the minds of a couple of morons? That responsibility ain’t on us.”

“But if you truly believe in something strongly enough, it is your responsibility to change the hearts and minds of nonbelievers, no?” Angie asked, blinking. “If you don’t, then you allow them to continue spreading their filth and hatred wherever they go. Is that not neglectful?”

Kaede frowned, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I see your point, but…not everyone’s made for that. Like, you can’t expect someone as sensitive as Chihiro or Mikan to go around debating people on their right to exist as they are.”

“Which is why it’s so important to have allies like me!” Kaito said with a proud and beaming grin. “You guys can’t always be the ones picking fights. You shouldn’t have to, for one, but on top of that, it’s dangerous! Hate crimes are pretty common! That’s where Mahiru, Shuichi and I come in!”

Miu rolled her eyes. “Straight people give themselves way too much credit.”

“They do, but Momota-san does have a point,” Tenko said. She sighed. For as much as she hated giving Kaito credit for…well, most things, he wasn’t exactly wrong. “It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. If we genuinely want to eradicate things like homophobia forever—or at least to the point where it isn’t common—allies are important. Queer people mostly aren’t the ones with the power to write new laws.”

“Which is why things like vocal support are so important,” Shuichi began. “You change public perception with things like education, media depiction, things like that. If the people in control of those things are on our side, then it’s a net positive for queer people.”

“Even if their support is just so that we give them money?” Himiko asked.

“Honestly? Yeah. I mean, what’s important is that the message is spread, right? We can’t just sit around and pretend like the way people treat us is okay, we have to stand up for ourselves! We have to fight back!”

Angie squeed, throwing her arms around Shuichi in a tight hug. “Ohoho! Look at you, Shuichi! So well-spoken, so masculine!”

Rantaro practically did a double take. He sat up straight in his chair and looked around the room with a bewildered expression on his face. “Everyone else is seeing this, yeah? I’m not just going crazy?”

“We’re ignoring it,” Kaede grumbled. “It’s been like this the past two days. Just. Don’t pay it any mind and it’ll stop.”

“If you say so…”

Junko raised her hand. Tenko stared at her for a few moments—when did Junko of all people raise her hand for anything?—before calling on her.

“Enoshima-san?”

“Anyone else notice Shuichi kept saying ‘we’ and ‘ourselves’? You guys are going to have to stop doubting my gaydar eventually.”

Shuichi’s cheeks burned as he rapidly shook his head. “N-No! I just meant people in support of LGBT rights, that’s it!”

Kokichi leaned forward with a cheshire grin. “Hope you’ve enjoyed that closet you’ve been hiding in, because you’re going to have to come out sooner or later.”

“Good meeting, everyone! Remember what we talked about! Really, you can always come to me for support if you need it! I’ll see you all next week!”

Tenko waved out the door as her beloved club members took their leave. She felt especially good after today’s meeting. While it certainly wasn’t an easy topic to cover, she was glad they did, and no one cried or anything! Another meeting success!

Juzo waited for everyone but Tenko and Himiko to leave before rising from his chair and approaching them. “Chabashira. Nice job today. You’ve got a nice little thing going here.”

“Thanks a bunch, Sakakura-sensei! It’s been super fun running it! So many people show up these days, and we talk about so much, and we’ve helped people realize stuff about themselves, and—”

“Hey, you’re gay, right?” Himiko asked.

Juzo stared down at her in shock as Tenko gasped. “Yumeno-san!”

“What? It’s just the vibe I got,” Himiko said with a shrug. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I might be wrong, anyway.”

Juzo’s look of shock melted into one of deep contemplation. He held his tongue between his teeth and looked away, a lingering sense of dissatisfaction on his face. “…Tch. Y-Yeah. I…I am. Don’t let it slip to anyone. I’ll just deny it. It’s my word against a student’s.”

Himiko smiled. “Knew it. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Tenko was actually impressed. As far as she knew, it had taken Himiko quite a while to figure out that Tenko had feelings for her, and now here she was correctly guessing a stranger’s sexuality based on vibes? She supposed that recognize romantic feelings and recognizing one’s sexuality were two separate skills, but still.

“Really? Wow! Good for you, Sakakura-sensei! If you ever want to attend another meeting, feel free to show up! You don’t have to ask or anything!”

Juzo shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nah, no can do. It’s a bad look if a faculty member starts attending student club meetings, especially…a club like this. This was just a one time thing. Sorry.”

“Oh, there’s no need to apologize!” Tenko said, though in her head, she did feel a bit of disappointment. “I understand completely.”

“It wouldn’t be weird if you were affiliated with the club,” Himiko said.

Juzo raised an eyebrow. “Affiliated how?”

“We don’t have a faculty advisor. I know they’re optional at Hope’s Peak, but it would be nice to have one. Nyeh, that way, Tenko and I don’t have to deal with the annoying higher-ups either…”

“You’ve got a point, but that wouldn’t exactly help with people being suspicious of me.”

“I don’t think it’d be suspicious. You and Tenko know each other, right? I think people will just think that you’re helping out a student you’ve taken under your wing.”

“That—” Juzo pursed his lips and thought for a few moments. “…Huh. I guess so.”

Himiko grinned, proudly putting her fists on her hips and standing tall—at least, as tall as she could. “See? I’m smart. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, though.”

“Nah. Nah, I will, why not? If you kids need someone to help you out with this stuff, it might as well be me. That sound good, Chabashira?”

“That sounds great!” Tenko shouted, absolutely beaming and bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Thanks so much! Should I talk to the club office about it?”

Juzo shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle it. We’re still on for Tuesday sparring after classes are up, yeah? We’ve got to work on your grappling.”

Tenko nodded eagerly. “Mhm! Mhm!”

“Cool. I’ll see ya then.” Juzo stepped through the doorway and glanced back to wave at the two girls with a small smile on his face. “Was nice meetin’ ya, Himeno. Take care.”

Once Juzo was far enough away and had turned the corner, Tenko squealed in that high-pitched way she always did before picking Himiko up and hugging her tightly. “Oh my gosh! Yumeno-san, look what you did! We have a faculty advisor! Thanks to you!”

Himiko giggled, her face growing red. “N-Nyeh, it was nothing. He just looked like he wanted to be more involved, and I figured it wouldn’t too hard for that to happen, s-so…um…you can put me down now.”

“Oh! Right, sorry, sorry!” Tenko promptly set Himiko back down on her feet and averted her eyes as she blushed, hands stiff at her side. “I’ll, uh, try not to be so…physical. I’m sorry.”

“Huh? O-Oh, okay.”

…Was that disappointment in Himiko’s voice?

“That’s not a problem, is it?”

Himiko shrugged. “It’s fine. Nyeh…but…I’m your girlfriend, so you can…touch me. If you want.”

“T-Touch you?” Tenko repeated, voice cracking.

“Y-You know. Like how Miu and Kaede or Junko and Mikan are. That would be nice. If you want.”

For just a moment, Tenko swore she had died and gone to heaven.

Chapter Text

Mukuro Ikusaba was a girl who liked routines.

She was an early riser by nature. She would wake before sunrise for her morning jog, which was comprised of three laps around the perimeter of the Hope’s Peak campus with a cooldown run from the field house back to her dorm room. After a shower, she would freshen up as usual, eat a light but healthy breakfast, and head off to classes for the day. There was a time where she would eat lunch alone in her classroom, but recently, she’d taken to eating together with Kyoko, Sayaka, and Makoto. Classes would end and she would head off to the gym, spend an hour there, then briefly return to her room to retrieve her personal firearms before venturing to the shooting range in the school basement (what a strange institution this was…) and making certain she hadn’t lost her touch for another hour. She’d go back to her room afterwards, complete any assigned work, and make herself a nice dinner that she usually ate by her lonesome. After that, she simply let the whims of the day carry her wherever they pleased.

Routine was a nice thing. It offered her structure. Unfortunately for her, her sister was Junko Enoshima.

Junko hated schedules like a fashion guru hated clashing colors. Routine was a boring and monotonous thing to her, and Junko was anything but. Junko was spontaneous. Junko was sporadic. Junko was chaotic. As a result, Mukuro’s routines were more often than not broken by her sister dragging her off for hijinks and sometimes shenanigans. If Junko wasn’t making her do something directly, she was throwing a wrench in her plans some other way.

Like today, for instance.

The door to Mukuro’s dorm room opened before she could even touch the knob, though not enough to see into the room proper. Mukuro was met with the sight of her sister standing there with her typical mischievous grin. She glanced down and immediately took note of the fact that Junko was wearing a bathrobe. Mukuro’s bathrobe. Great.

“Junko,” Mukuro began, stonefaced. “Why are you in my room?”

“I’m sure you can take a guess.”

“Mikan is here, too, isn’t she?”

“Yup!” Junko opened the door wider to unveil Mikan sitting in bed with the sheets bundled up against her chest, hair a mess and red prominent on her face.

“E-Eep!” she squealed, hastily retreating under the sheets. “I’m s-s-sorry, Mukuro! P-Please forgive me!!!”

Mukuro closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no sense in chastising someone like Junko, and she could never blame Mikan for anything.

“I’ll rephrase the question then. Why are you using my room for this instead of your own? Or Mikan’s?”

Junko shrugged. “Easy. Miki and I were walking back from listening to Kaede practice piano for a bit, the mood struck, and your room was closer. I have a key, so. We weren’t exactly going to wait.”

“Junko. You live six doors down.”

“And that’s too far.”

Mukuro blinked. “I need to get into my room.” She held up her duffle bag—something much larger than one would expect a girl of her size to be able to carry with minimal effort. “I can’t exactly wander campus with a bunch of firearms on my person. It isn’t safe.”

Junko clicked her tongue and shrugged. “That sounds like a you problem, Sis.”

Mukuro should have figured that she wouldn’t budge. Junko rarely did anything that didn’t directly benefit her in some way, and she certainly wasn’t going to interrupt intimacy with her girlfriend, especially not for Mukuro of all people. She sighed.

“Okay. Then can I store them in your room until you two are done?”

“Nope! ‘Cause then I’d have to give you the key, which is in my purse in the corner over there, and that would take too long. We’ve already spent thirty-four seconds talking, and I’d rather not waste any more time I could be spending rocking Mikan’s world.”

“Then where am I supposed to—”

“Good luck! Bye!”

Junko practically slammed the door in Mukuro’s face, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel the slightest hint of irritation at the gesture. It was her room and she had the right to use it when she pleased. She would be entirely justified on barging in and kicking the both of them out right then and there. But…it was Junko. She would never do that to her beloved baby sister. All she could do was let out a deep sigh and accept her situation. This was fine. Finding a place to temporarily keep her guns shouldn’t be too hard.

Reminder to self, wash the sheets tonight, she thought as she took a single step down the hall only to pause the next moment. She could still hear Junko’s voice through the door.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, sweetie! But you’ve been nice and patient for me, and good girls get rewarded, don’t they?”

There was a sound that made Mukuro furrow her brow. Was that…was that buzzing?

A shudder ran down her spine.

Scratch that, she thought. Burn the sheets instead.

“Wait, your sister kicked you out of your own room…so that she could have sex with her girlfriend?”

Mukuro set her duffle bag down and fell onto the bed with an exasperated breath. She stared up at the ceiling fan and tried to ignore the migraine she felt herself developing.

“Yes,” she said. “Thanks again for letting me in. I would rather not sit against the wall or on a bench with a duffle bag full of deadly weapons for…however long it takes them to finish.”

“Don’t mention it. You can use my room for whatever you want whenever,” Makoto said with a friendly smile. “But, uh, isn’t that kind of…messed up? I mean, the fact that she feels entitled to just use your space like that without even asking you.”

Mukuro shook her head. “No. Junko can do whatever she wants. She’s Junko.”

“And it doesn’t upset you?”

The question made Mukuro purse her lips. She thought for a few moments before giving the faintest of nods. “It does. But what I feel doesn’t matter.”

“That’s what you always say. I…still don’t get it.” Makoto sat down next to her on the edge of his bed and looked down at her, his expression skeptical. “You’re always bending over backwards to do whatever Junko wants. Why?”

It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked that question and she was certain it wouldn’t be the last, either. Mukuro wasn’t stupid. She knew that her devotion to her little sister was—by most people’s standards—abnormal, but that didn’t matter to her. If Junko could be perfectly content with her own abnormalities, then couldn’t Mukuro as well?

“Junko is more important than me. Without her, I am nothing, so I do my best to keep her happy. It’s what I’m here for.”

“That’s…not the healthiest attitude to have towards yourself,” Makoto said, scratching at his chin. “Huh. You know, I think most people would expect the Ultimate Soldier to stand up for herself more.”

Mukuro frowned. “Makoto.”

“Ah, right, right! Sorry, I know you don’t like being called that. I’ll probably mess up and do it again. It is your official title, so it’s kind of a hard habit to break…”

“It is, but it’s inaccurate. A soldier is someone engaged in service of a military—typically that of a nation. I never was. I should be the Ultimate Mercenary, but for whatever reason, the higher-ups gave me the title of Ultimate Soldier. I swear, it’s like they don’t even vet these things before making them official…”

Makoto tapped his fingers along the edge of the bed and raised an eyebrow. “…Huh. You weren’t scouted normally like other students, right?”

“No. Junko was invited to attend by the steering committee. She told them that as a condition of her enrollment, I had to be admitted as well. They acquiesced.”

“And you were with Fenrir up until then. So Junko disrupted your life as a mercenary…because she wanted to go to school with you?”

Mukuro couldn’t help herself. She blushed, her lips curling into a tiny smile. “She missed me. We hadn’t seen each other in a few years by that point, so it makes sense. To think that Junko would reject the most prestigious high school in the world if they didn’t also take me…it makes me happy. She really does love me.”

“She sure shows it in weird ways,” Makoto muttered. “The steering committee was probably aware of your talent, but knowing that it was your sister who got you into the school is making me wonder something.”

Mukuro turned her head to meet Makoto’s eyes and blinked. “What is it?” she asked.

“Do you think Junko chose your title for them?”

It took a moment for her to register exactly what it was Makoto had just said, but once she did, she sat up straight with a bewildered look on her face.

“What.”

Makoto raised his hands in defense, evidently having not been prepared for such a strong reaction. “I mean, doesn’t it make sense? That she’d see you more as a soldier than a mercenary, I mean.”

“No. Explain.”

“Uh, alright. How do I put this…?” Makoto ran his fingers through his hair and was silent for a few moments as he deliberated the best way to get his point across. “Mercenaries work for whoever pays them, right? They’re not exactly loyal to anyone unless they have a contract with them—at least, that’s how I understand it from what you’ve told me. But soldiers are loyal to whatever country they fight for, right? Sometimes to a fault.”

Mukuro’s eyes went dark. She did not like where this was going.

“You do whatever Junko wants, whenever she wants it, and you almost never ask questions. You do it out of a sense of duty. You do it because she tells you to, and because it makes her happy. It’s not like you actually get anything out of it aside from a sense of accomplishment, I guess.” Makoto shrugged, seeming unsure of himself. “Maybe that doesn’t make sense, I don’t know. It’s like, you may be a mercenary to everyone else, but you’re her soldier.”

That made far too much sense, actually—how had Mukuro never considered that before? The steering committee was generally quite attentive with the titles they bestowed upon their students—Byakuya wasn’t the Ultimate Heir, he was the Ultimate Affluent Progeny—so for them to make the obvious mistake of calling Mukuro a soldier when she very much was not would be uncharacteristic of them. Of course Junko was behind it.

“That’s—” Mukuro shuddered and let out a shaky breath. “That’s…probably exactly it. How did you figure that out?”

Makoto gave a bashful smile and shrugged. “Lucky guess?”

Mukuro bit down on her trembling lip. Was that all Junko saw her as? Nothing more than a soldier to follow orders? No, that was wrong. Junko loved her, and she knew that. Even they were thousands of kilometers apart, they’d always been together. Just because Junko had a few friends and a girlfriend now did not mean that Mukuro mattered any less, right? There was a reason she’d insisted Mukuro attend Hope’s Peak with her. She wanted to be by her big sister’s side after so long of not seeing her. Junko loved her. Junko had always loved her. They’d been sisters for seventeen years, so—

…Junko also got bored of things easily.

“Hey, are you okay?” Makoto asked, concerned. He put his arm on Mukuro’s shoulder and scooted closer to her. “You don’t look so good.”

Mukuro’s voice cracked. “Junko and I…we’ve always only ever had each other. When we were kids, and our father would yell at us for killing our mother—her body, ah, couldn’t handle twins, and she died right after giving birth to me—we would comfort each other. When he passed away and we were left all alone, we would comfort each other. When we were homeless and starving, we would comfort each other. Junko made sure that we were strong. Junko made sure that we could fend for ourselves. Junko made sure that we—that I—didn’t crack under the pressure of it all. She could never just—” She squeezed her eyes shut and rapidly shook her head in adamant denial. “Junko loves me. She has to. She has to.”

“Of course she does, Mukuro. I’m sure.” He rubbed her back, comforting her, before pulling her into a hug from the side. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry. I just…you should have some more respect for yourself.”

Mukuro felt compelled to hug him back, and so that was exactly what she did. “I’ve been…trying to. Junko’s said so herself. Before, I never would have even thought about dating anyone, but now I have you.”

“See? Progress,” he said with a reassuring smile. “And, uh, I may not know her nearly as well as you do, but Junko’s growing, too. Most of us thought she wouldn’t make any friends by the end of the year, but none of us outright hate her, and she hangs out with Chihiro and Sayaka often enough. Plus she’s got a girlfriend who she loves, like, a lot.”

Mukuro scoffed as her own smile began to return. “That’s an understatement. But you’re right. We’ve both changed since we started school here, in small ways and in bigger ways. I really should stop worrying about her not loving me anymore—that’ll never happen.”

“Exactly. And you’ve been going to that one club together lately, right? Chabashira-san’s?”

“Yes. It’s…certainly an interesting time. I feel like she shines in an environment like that. It makes me happy to see her having so much fun.”

Makato snapped his fingers and nodded to himself. “I’ll start going to those with you, then.”

“Huh?” Mukuro tilted her head. “You don’t have to do that. I’m not sure if you’re exactly the target demographic for the Fruits Basket anyway.”

Makoto thought for a few moments, his eyes turning up to the ceiling. “Aren’t I? I mean, I guess I like guys, too. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never really given it much thought, but it’s not like I’m against the idea.”

“It can get hectic. There’s also a lot of ongoing drama that you won’t understand unless someone explains it to you.”

“I’m used to hectic, and hey, you can keep me in the loop.”

“In that case…well. It would be nice to have you.”

Mukuro smiled. Having someone like Makoto in her life was a new experience, but a welcome one. She’d never really had friends before, or at least, someone with whom she could share her thoughts and feelings (aside from Junko on the rare occasions when she was feeling particularly generous—and Mikan may not have been the best at giving advice, but she was certainly a good listener), let alone a boyfriend. She was grateful for him, truly.

Her phone vibrated in her skirt pocket and she let out a relieved sigh. “That’s the vibration pattern for Junko. They must be done; that was quick.” She took out her phone and opened up the text she’d received from her sister. Her face went beet-red and she hastily shoved it back in her pocket and squeezed her eyes shut. “Damn it, Junko…”

Makoto raised an eyebrow. “What was it?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just…” Mukuro huffed and crossed her arms. “I just don’t know why she feels the need to send pictures.”

Chapter Text

“It’s nice to meet you all! My name is Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student for the 78^th class. I’m not exactly sure what type of club this is, but it sounds pretty interesting from what Mukuro’s told me, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Naegi-san!” Tenko said with a welcoming grin. “It’s always nice to get a new member!”

Himiko gently nudged her in the side. “You’re going to have to call Komaru something else now, you know.”

“Huh?” Tenko blinked before realization dawned on her. “Oh. Oh! Aw, jeez, I don’t usually have to deal with this…”

Komaru loosely waved a nonchalant hand, shaking her head. “It’s fine, it’s fine. You know you can just call me Komaru, right? We’re friends, Tenko, no need for formalities!”

“Oh please. She still calls her girlfriend by her family name. You’re not special,” Hiyoko said.

Tenko put a hand on her chin and thought to herself. Calling Komaru by her given name was absolutely not an option—she could never be so rude. In situations like this, she generally just opted to call one person by their family name and the other by their full name, but the idea of always calling her “Komaru Naegi-san” whenever her brother was around was not particularly appealing.

“…Naegi-chan?” Tenko tried, clearly unsure of herself. “I’m older than you, so that works! Yeah! Naegi-chan it is!”

Komaru made up her face. “Aw, man. That makes me feel like a little kid, but I guess it’s fine.”

Suddenly, everyone’s attention was stolen by Junko, who loudly choked back a sob before bursting into tears, hiding her face in her hands. Mikan laid a comforting hand on her back while Kotoko put her hand on Junko’s leg with concerned eyes.

“It’s over,” Junko cried. “I’ve lost. I can’t believe I a-actually lost!”

Sagishi frowned and leaned forward in worry. “Lost? What did you lose?”

“Ignore her. She’s just bein’ an attention whore,” Mondo huffed.

“I’m outnumbered!” Junko threw her arms up in frustration, any remnant of her previous sadness or tears having been completely done away with. “Look at this. There’s me, Mikan, Kotoko, and Chihiro. That’s it—that’s my posse. And what are we up against? Mondo, Taka, Komaru, Toko, Mukuroach, and NOW her boyfriend??? This isn’t fair at all!”

Mukuro’s shoulders slacked. “I thought I would be a part of your posse…”

“I’m n-not up against anyone!” Chihiro denied, adamantly shaking their head. “I’m friends with all of those people!”

Komaru looked to her older brother and sighed. “Yeah, this is what it’s going to be like every week, Makoto. But hey, that’s what we get for choosing Junko Enoshima’s extracurricular of choice.”

“Enoshima-san, please remember our rules regarding being civil,” Tenko said, trying her best to sound assertive. “We’re all here to learn, not pit any groups against each other.”

Junko rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Boo, it was just a joke. You’re no fun.”

“Speaking of learning, uh, what exactly are we talking about this week?” Makoto asked. “You don’t tell us until the actual meeting, right?”

“Mhm. Only Tenko and I know beforehand. It’s to keep you all on your toes,” Himiko said. “And because sometimes plans change and we decide we want to talk about something an hour before the meeting starts.”

“And the illusion of organization shatters,” Kokichi said, snickering.

Tenko shot him a glare before turning her attention back to Makoto. “To answer your question, this week’s topic is a sort of continuation of last week’s, so it’s going to be another potentially heavy one. We talked about homophobia last week, so today, we’re going to talk about internalized homophobia.”

Hiyoko raised an eyebrow. “Internalized homophobia? What the hell is that?”

“Exactly what it says on the tin, duh. It’s like regular homophobia, except you take all that shit and turn it inwards on yourself,” Miu said. “It’s basically a giant cope, and like, the worst one you can choose when you’re figuring all that stuff out.”

“Yup yup! To rephrase that, it’s when queer people take the negative beliefs, stereotypes and all that about us and start to actually believe it,” Tenko said. “Though, I guess internalized homophobia is sort of specific, huh?”

“Some researchers have taken to using the term internalized sexual stigma instead,” Korekiyo added.

“Ooh, that works! Now, I can’t say I’ve ever actually experienced it myself, but I do know a few people who definitely have.” Tenko crossed her arms and thinned her eyes at one person in particular. “Iruma-san.”

Miu, of course, was absolutely bewildered, blinking several times and looking around to make sure it really was her Tenko had called out. “M-Me? What the—what the hell are you talking about?!”

“Do you remember that time we got lunch together on the roof? You, me, Yumeno-san, Akamatsu-san, and Tsumiki-senpai. You said, and I quote: ‘It’s funny ‘cause a room full of gay people is like, one of the least threatening things out there.’ End quote. Why did you say that?”

Miu scoffed, rebounding back from her moment of insecurity just as soon as she’d lapsed into it. “‘Cause it was funny, duh! Why else?”

“It wasn’t, but really. Think about why you thought it was funny,” Tenko said. “Is it because all your life you’ve heard that queer people are weak? What makes a room full of queer people any less threatening than a room full of straight, cis people?”

“Ugh. The joke doesn’t work if you think too hard about it.”

“Isn’t the point of these meetings to think hard about things?” Sayaka asked, finger resting on her chin. “I mean, there has to be a reason why you thought that was funny, right?”

Miu’s eyes nervously darted side to side and her knee began to bounce. “W-Well…gah, come on! Everyone knows the stereotypes! Sensitive, limp-wristed—I was just feeding in to that!”

“Right, but a part of you believes it,” Kaede pointed out. “Come to think of it, wasn’t one of the first things you ever said to Mikan ‘That’s so gay!’ just because she calls her girlfriend by a cute pet name?”

Miu only whimpered in response, leading Kokichi to snicker behind his hand. “She’s folding like a lawn chair. Typical Miu.”

“Shut up, you damn twink! Why the hell am I being targeted anyway, huh?!”

Tenko held up her hands in defense and offered up an amicable smile. “I’m not trying to pick on you, really! I just genuinely want to know why you say those things and think it’s okay, that’s all.”

“Shit, I dunno! What’s so bad about a gay gal like me just making fun at her own people sometimes?”

“The fact that it makes it seem like you actually believe those stereotypes,” Mahiru replied. “Maybe this isn’t my place, but I think you should try and stop making those sorts of jokes, especially to people who don’t find it very funny.”

Korekiyo chimed in. “Oftentimes, joking about a particular subject matter serves as a defense mechanism against guilt. Being humorous about something inherently trivializes it, and as a result, diminishes the shame that would have otherwise been felt.”

Kaede leaned forward, her expression tense and serious, as she took Miu’s hands into her own. “Is that it, Miu? Do you feel ashamed?”

A small, quiet whine escaped past Miu’s lips and she recoiled back. “What is this, a therapy session? Okay, fine! Sometimes I do feel some type of way about being the way I am, alright? Is that what you want to hear?”

“There’s no need to be so defensive. It’s good to talk about these things,” Shuichi said, offering an encouraging smile. “Do you know why you feel that way?”

“Because,” Miu mumbled. Her eyes fell to the floor. “Look, when you’re in my line of work, you know who all your peers are? A bunch of crusty old men with wives. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what their reaction to being upstaged by a teenage girl with a super hot girlfriend is.”

Kaede blushed. “Aw, Miu!”

“It’s like they don’t even take me seriously! Fuck, I bet they’d prefer if they had a boyfriend to pin all my success on, even though I can invent circles around them any day of the week.” She huffed, stomping her foot in frustration. “So, yeah, that shit gets to me sometimes.”

“When you hear the same things over and over again, you might start to believe it,” Nagito said, melancholy in his voice and painting his eyes. “I know it doesn’t mean much coming from someone like me, but I understand how you feel, Miu.”

Nekomaru nodded in staunch affirmation. “Still, joking about it is just another way of avoiding the problems. What you really need to do is confront these prejudices and work hard to deal with them.”

Kaede wrapped her arms around Miu’s and nuzzled her with an adoring smile. “That’s right. And she’s got her super hot girlfriend to help her every step of the way.”

The entirety of Miu’s face promptly turned red. The simply babbled for a few moments, utterly speechless, before forcing out an exasperated breath. “Sheesh! This is why I never say nice shit about you. Give ‘em an inch and they’ll take a mile, I swear…”

Nevertheless, she pressed a quick kiss onto the crown of Kaede’s head.

Tenko smiled at the display of affection, as she always did, but somewhere deep within, she felt a pang of…jealousy? No, that wasn’t it. Envy, then? That was more likely, but envious of what? She glanced down at Himiko, who was kicking her feet and snacking on a pack of gummies that she’d somehow managed to convince Hiyoko to give her.

…Huh. She never did anything like that with Himiko.

“Shit, I guess making a joke out of it is better than the alternative,” Mondo said. “Trust me. You don’t want to just let that shit stir inside of you for years and years. It ain’t fun.”

“Oh yeah, you probably have experience with this, huh, Mondo?” Makoto asked.

“Plenty. When ya grow up how I did, you just sort of go along with all the typical shit you hear about gay people, you know? And believe me, with the guys I hung around, I heard it a lot. Made it so that I started to hate myself when I figured I liked guys.”

“That probably didn’t help your inferiority complex stemming from a warped idea of masculinity, huh,” Junko said.

Mondo grit his teeth at her, though looked away the next second. “…Yeah, it didn’t. Made me feel like I was less of a man. I said some pretty bad shit to a couple of the boys back home. Not even gay themselves, just comfortable with each other.”

“I’m guessing you don’t still feel like that now, huh?” Kaito said. “How’d you overcome it?”

Mondo shrugged. “Time, mostly. Comin’ out to my brother kicked it off. This one time, one of our guys managed to fix up his bike after spendin’ a long time on it. He was so excited that he hugged his bro, and I just…snapped at ‘em. I screamed at ‘em, telling them to cut that shit out and think about how it makes them look and all sorts of stupid shit like that. Daiya called me out for it. Pulled me aside, asked what was wrong, and it all came pourin’ out.” He let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his hair and shaking his head. “If it hadn’t been for him saying the right things back then, I’d probably still be the same repressed asshole I was back then.”

“You have a wonderful brother,” Taka said. “Having supportive family members is a blessing many LGBT people unfortunately lack.”

“Daiya is really cool,” Chihiro chimed in. “I got to meet him over summer break last year. He’s such a nice guy, and a great older brother, too!”

Junko thinned her eyes. “Wait, you visited Mondo’s hometown last summer? Just the two of you?”

“No, Taka and Leon came, too,” Mondo asserted. “Keep dreamin’, Enoshima. It ain’t gonna happen.”

“I feel like that isn’t uncommon,” Tenko said, crossing one leg over the other. “Lashing out at people you think are queer as a way of dealing with your own queerness. It always makes me so sad to see! We should all be getting along, not fighting each other!”

“U-Um, I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen research that suggests people who are more outwardly h-homophobic are more likely to exhibit repressed homosexual desires,” Mikan said. “S-So it isn’t surprising that it’s common.”

Mahiru looked down at the girl to her left and tilted her head. “Hm. Kind of reminds me of you, Hiyoko.”

“What?!” Hiyoko blurted, aghast. “When have I ever been homophobic?!”

“Oh come on, let’s not pretend like you haven’t said some questionable things about our classmates in the past. Nagito, Ibuki, Mikan…”

“Mikan?” Junko repeated. She stared at Hiyoko with malice in her eyes and a scowl on her face. “Really now? What sort of things?”

“Hey now, let’s keep it civil,” Tenko said. “No fighting, remember?”

“I didn’t mean to call her out or anything. She’s gotten a lot better, really,” Mahiru said. “Worst she ever did was calling them gross, that’s all.”

Ibuki frowned. “Aw, man. You thought Ibuki was gross?”

“No!” Hiyoko blurted. She shook her head in adamant denial and squeezed her eyes shut. “I said a lot of stupid stuff back then because I didn’t know how to deal with myself and took it out on you guys, okay? I never actually thought any of that stuff!”

“Pft. Performative homophobia? You see something new every day!” Kokichi said.

“Well, internalized homophobia manifests differently depending on the person,” Tenko explained. “Even if someone doesn’t actually believe the things they’re saying, they might say it anyway just to convince other people that they do, or maybe to convince themselves.”

To Tenko’s surprise, Mikan offered Hiyoko a gentle reassuring smile. “I-It’s okay, Hiyoko. As long as you’re happy with yourself now, I don’t mind any of the stuff you said about me in the past!”

“Before you respond, remember that Junko’s sitting right next to her,” Makoto said, awkwardly scratching at his chin. “Careful.”

“Ugh. Yeah, whatever…”

“Most people just repress,” Mukuro mumbled.

“Huh? You say somethin’, sis?” Junko asked.

Mukuro shook her head. “Most people just repress. When they experience internalized homophobia, at least. If they’re aggressive like Mondo, they lash out. If they make a joke out of everything like Miu, then they cope with humor. Most people don’t fall into either of those two categories. So they let all of their feelings bubble up inside of them and start to hate themselves.”

Himiko frowned. “You aren’t speaking from experience, right?”

“No. I will admit that I have felt ashamed in the past, but I could always talk myself out of it. It’s not like it makes logical sense. The gender of the people I’m attracted to has no bearing on my worth as a person.”

Tenko half-expected Junko to make some sort of comment about how she had no worth to begin with, but much to her surprise, she made no such comment.

“It’s nice that you could just convince yourself there was nothing wrong with you,” Shuichi said. A restrained sadness filled his eyes. “I wish it were that easy for everyone…”

“Alright, dude, you’re not even trying anymore,” Junko said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “If you’re going to come out, come out. Don’t half-ass it.”

“Hey now, everyone moves at their own pace,” Sayaka countered.

“No no, she’s right,” Shuichi said. He took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes for a few moments before exhaling. “To be completely honest, I’ve worried about how people would look at me if they found out. I’ve always thought that they’d see me as some sort of freak or deviant or pervert, and I started to believe it after a while. And the thing is, I would never think that about any of you guys. Ever. In my head, it applied to me and only me. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I could never shake that feeling.”

Shuichi bit his lip and took a few moments for himself. No one said a word to fill the silence. “I’m a late bloomer compared to some of you guys, really. The thought that I could like another guy never even crossed my mind until I started going here and, uh, met someone. Something about him captivated me, and I spent so long trying to deny it. I told myself ‘I shouldn’t be thinking about another boy like that’. I thought maybe I was just craving some sort of intimacy and was convinced I could get it with him. I told myself all sorts of things to try and justify it, but eventually, I had to admit to myself that I did like him in that way. I even gathered up the courage to, uh, try and ask him if he wanted to just hang out alone one day—a date, really—but…that was the day he got a girlfriend. And I guess that sort of killed any chance I had at coming out for a while.”

Of course, Kaito was gazing at Shuichi, completely focused, with such intensity that he was completely unable to even realize that everyone in the room had turned their attention to him. Some, namely Kokichi, glared, while others simply judged in silence. Tenko supposed she couldn’t blame him too much. Kaito may have been dense enough to miss the signs—and considering it was Shuichi they were talking about, she was sure there had to have been plenty—but he had not truly done anything wrong. Starting a relationship with Maki wasn’t exactly a crime.

Angie put her hands on her face and tilted her head in curiosity. “What changed? You’re telling us this now, after all.”

Shuichi smiled faintly. “I started coming here. It’s like with every week, I felt less and less ashamed. That, and I had some confidence boosting help from some friends.” His smile grew as he looked towards Kaede and Miu, who both smiled back in turn.

Tenko felt a warmth spread outwards from her chest and into her entire body. Once again, her silly little pet project had helped someone, and it was Shuichi this time! One of the few boys Tenko actually liked (though she would be hard-pressed to admit it out loud)! She giggled to herself and bounced in her seat, delightfully beaming.

“Nyahahaha! Look at you, Shuichi! Congratulations! Oh, I am so proud of you!” Angie said, throwing her arms around Shuichi and pulling him into a tight hug. She kissed his cheek over and over again. “Mwah! Mwah!”

Kaede and Miu’s smiles promptly died.

“Aha, thanks…” Shuichi said.

“That’s my little bro!” Kaito said, holding up two thumbs with a wide grin. “Yeah, Shuichi! I’m totally treating you to dinner later. This calls for celebration!”

Kokichi blinked, his expression unreadable. Tenko always hated it when he got like that. “Nice. Good for you, Shuichi. And good on you two for giving him the confidence boost, really,” he said to Kaede and Miu, bitterness coating his tone.

“Hey, someone had to kick him in the ass and get him to stop moping,” Miu said with a haughty smirk. “Might as well be the gals he’s gonna—”

“What are friends for!? Haha!” Kaede blurted, her face burning red and sweat already beginning to roll down her brow.

Junko stifled a laugh. “Smooth.”

Meanwhile, Makoto leaned off to the side and whispered to Mukuro. “This is what you meant by hectic, huh?”

“Oh, Makoto. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Chapter Text

Tenko was a little selfish.

Her favorite thing to come out of the Fruits Basket wasn’t the fact that she got to bring people together. It wasn’t the fact that she helped people discover things about themselves, or had educated those who would have otherwise likely never have gotten the opportunity to learn, or even that she’d gotten a girlfriend out of it. No, her favorite thing was all of the friends she now had.

Komaru, Toko, Mikan, everyone—Tenko cherished them with all her heart. Making friends had been so difficult for her as a kid, and it certainly wasn’t easy even once she started attending Hope’s Peak, but now she seemed to have them in abundance. At this point, she could actually do things like go on fun little trips with people, which was precisely what she was doing right now.

Miu had suggested the idea, which was surprising, seeing as how most people were sure she wouldn’t want to spend any more time with certain individuals than she had to. After all, a couples-only trip to the beach for Golden Week seemed like the last place she’d want to be, but Miu was strangely insistent. Everyone seemed to agree that it was an appealing plan, and the rest was history…aside from a brief spat between Junko and Mukuro regarding whether they’d go to a private beach or a public one. Junko was adamant that private beaches were boring while Mukuro argued that such a large group visiting a beach that was likely to be packed would be a nuisance. As expected, Mikan broke the tie and opted for a private beach visit—it made sense that she’d want as few people to see her in a swimsuit as possible.

It was still so strange seeing Mukuro actually talk back to her sister, but Tenko definitely enjoyed it. She was proud of her. Mukuro always let Junko walk all over her, so it was good that she was actually stood up for herself and rejected Junko’s will. Way to go, Mukuro!

After a fun day of enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful sea, the large group of friends were—for the most part—sat around a modest beach bonfire that Mukuro had put together in practically no time. Sitting around in a circle like this, Tenko felt as if she were attending a smaller version of a Fruits Basket meeting. They all chatted together about this and that as the sun set beneath the horizon, only for Kaede to clap her hands together and suddenly stand up.

“Alright! I wanna play a game to wrap up the night! It’ll totally help us to get to know each other better!” she said.

Miu rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of that? Don’t we all already know each other pretty well?”

“I still don’t know any of you guys from class B, really,” Makoto said. “I guess I wouldn’t exactly call us strangers anymore after last week’s meeting and today, but I’d still like to know more about you.”

“Plus, Maki Roll’s here!” Kaito said with a wide grin, putting his arm around Maki and pulling her close. She grumbled and held her head low in an attempt to hide the growing pink on her cheeks. “C’mon, she never hangs out with everyone like this. This is a rare opportunity!”

“Exactly! Ooh, but we’ve all got to be here for it. I don’t want Junko and Mikan to miss out.” Kaede threw a happy smile Tenko’s way. “You said they went over by the rocks a few minutes ago, right, Tenko? Would you mind bringing them over?”

Tenko could never deny a request from a cute girl, and so she promptly sprung up to her feet with her hands on her hips. The exaggerated gesture made Himiko giggle. “On it, Akamatsu-san! I’ll be back before you know it!”

“Thanks a bunch!”

As Tenko hastily made her way over to where she’d seen Junko and Mikan slip away near the large group of boulders settled in the shallows of the water, it occurred to her that there was a high possibility she’d find them in a…comprising position, considering Junko’s habits. That was enough to make her second guess retrieving them, but she’d told Kaede she would, and there was no backing out now. She steeled her nerves and continued onward with determination on her face.

She found the two of them soon enough—thankfully still in their swimsuits—but not at all in a state she would have expected to see them in. They sat next to each other, Mikan’s head resting against Junko’s shoulder, and Mikan was…crying? Why was she crying? Was she not having a good time? Tenko frowned. She may have told Kaede she’d retrieve them, but she also didn’t want to interrupt a moment like this. As such, she did the only logical thing and hid behind a nearby boulder.

It wasn’t eavesdropping if she was just waiting for them to finish, right?

“She hates me,” Mikan sobbed. “I j-just know it. She hates me!”

“She doesn’t hate you, Mikan,” Junko said, and there was something off about her voice. She spoke in a tone Tenko had never heard her use before, a tone that made her momentarily seem like a normal person and not…well, Junko Enoshima. “That’s just the way Maki is.”

“B-B-But the way she looks at me! It’s like she wants me to die! W-What did I do?!”

“Maki looks at everyone like that.” Junko took Mikan’s hand into her own and rubbed her back with the other. “She’s not exactly the friendliest gal, if you haven’t noticed. Really, you shouldn’t take it so personally.”

Mikan sniveled, shaking her head in denial. “N-No, I can feel it. She…she w-wants to hurt me, or make me go away, or—”

“Mikan. Hey.” Junko squeezed Mikan’s hand and leaned in closer, touching her forehead to hers. “Would I lie to you?”

Mikan bit her lip. “No…”

“And how often am I wrong?”

“M-More often than you’d ever admit, but…r-rarely.”

“So, when I say ‘Maki Harukawa doesn’t hate you, she’s just like that’, why don’t you believe me?”

Mikan did not answer, and Tenko felt her heart begin to ache.

“I’ll tell you why. It’s because you still think you’re the most hateable girl in the world, even though we’ve been through this time and time again. But I’ll never get tired of telling you this. No one hates you. You’re wonderful, adorable, perfect. Anyone who doesn’t realize that isn’t even worth your time, okay? You can’t overthink these things.” She gave her a soft and reassuring smile—who knew Junko was even capable of that?—and placed a brief, gentle kiss on her lips. “I love you. Remember that whenever you start to feel like this again.”

After a few moments of silence and Junko wiping away her tears, Mikan hiccuped and nodded. “R-Right. I’m sorry. It must be p-pretty annoying to deal with me whenever I get all sad…”

“Please. You could never annoy me, Miki.” Junko winked and Mikan’s lips curled into a loving smile. “I love every part of you, even that mean ol’ brain of yours.”

It took every shred of willpower in Tenko’s body for her to not squeal as loudly as she could right then and there. That. Was. So. Cute!!! She’d heard plenty about Junko’s fabled soft side by now and had caught glimpses of it here and there, but here it was on full display right before her eyes! It was no longer a fable, but reality!

Oooh, I can’t wait to tell Himiko about this! Tenko thought, practically shaking in her sandals from excitement. She must have made a noise, though, because after gently caressing Mikan’s cheek, Junko turned her head to lock eyes with her.

“Eep,” Tenko squeaked.

“Need something?”

“U-Uh…I wasn’t spying on you, I swear! Akamatsu-san wants us all to play a game, that’s all!”

“A game, huh?” Junko turned back to Mikan and grinned. “Sounds fun. What do you say, Miki?”

“O-Oh! I would love to, but I thought you wanted us to do some more swimming?”

Junko shrugged. “Nah, it’s cool. I can see you soaking wet whenever I want anyway. C’mon, let’s not keep ‘em waiting.”

Tenko let out a sigh of relief—she was half expecting Junko to make her life a nightmare for spying on what was supposed to be a private moment. The last thing she wanted for her Golden Week was to end up as another one of Junko Enoshima’s victims. The three of them soon rejoined the rest of the party and sat down to complete the circle. Kaede was practically beaming with excitement when they got there.

“So, what sort of game are we playin’ here? Strip poker? Strip Monopoly? Strip ‘never have I ever’?” Miu asked.

“No stripping this time, Miu,” Kaede said, patting her girlfriend on the leg. “It’s a game I played back at music camp during middle school. All we had to do was partner up with someone, spend a few minutes talking to them, and when we all got together again, we’d go around in a circle and everyone would say something interesting about their partner.”

“That doesn’t really sound like a game to me,” Mondo said. “Like, what’s the point? How do you win?”

“You win by playing, of course!” Kiyotaka answered. “This sounds to me like an excellent bonding activity among peers! What a great idea, Akamatsu-san!”

Toko made up her face. “S-Someone’s going to be left out. We don’t have an even number of people because someone decided to invite an extra.”

Everyone turned their attention to the offender in question and Shuichi reflexively reached to pull down the brim of his hat, which was, of course, absent. Though Miu was the one who’d suggested a couples-only outing to begin with, it was her girlfriend who insisted Shuichi be allowed to attend as the sole exception. It came as little surprise. In fact, everyone but Shuichi seemed to know why he’d been invited over anyone else.

“Ah, sorry about that. It’s fine. I can just sit this one out,” he said.

“No way! We’re all playing, come on,” Kaede said, taking hold of Shuichi’s hand as he began to get up to leave the circle. “Hm…how about this? Miu does me—”

“Hah! What else is new?”

“—I do Shuichi, and Shuichi can do Miu. That way we all get to play.”

“Nah, I wanna hear you praise me. Shuichi can do you, you do me, and I’ll do Shuichi. Deal?”

Kaede sighed—lovingly—and nodded. “Deal. You’re a lot needier than you let on, you know.”

Kaito smiled and held up his thumb. “That all sounds good to me! We don’t have to take any time to talk with our partners, right? Since we already know ‘em pretty well.”

“Nope! We can just jump right into it! So let’s start with…” Kaede scanned the circle, finger tapping against her chin, before landing on a target. “Maki! You’re the odd one out here, since you’re not part of the Fruits Basket.”

Maki sighed. She’d been by far the most reluctant to attend this little outing to begin with, and she was never much one for games. “Something interesting about Kaito, huh? Fine. He’s the youngest person to ever complete JAXA’s astronaut examinations. That good enough?”

“Wait, really? Wow, that’s impressive!” Komaru said. “I mean, I know you’re the Ultimate Astronaut and all, but I guess I never really considered how much work that would be, especially for a teenager. I never would have guessed!”

“You callin’ him stupid?” Miu asked.

“What? No! I—I just—ugh! I’m not taking that bait!”

Kaito grinned and laughed to himself. “Thanks, Komaru! It was a lot of hard work, but it sure as hell paid off. Alright, my turn. Hm…what can I say about Maki Roll…?”

Maki thinned her eyes at him. “I swear to God, if you say what I think you’re going to say—”

“I’m not, I’m not! C’mon, I know better than that!” Suddenly, Kaito snapped his fingers and slammed his fist into his palm. “I got it! Did you guys know she has a talent for knife throwing? Seriously, ask her to show you sometime, it’ll blow your mind!”

“So the ultimate babysitter has a knife throwing hobby, huh? Checks out. I know I’d need a good form of stress relief if I had to deal with a bunch of annoying brats all day,” Junko said, crossing one leg over the other. “Hey, it’s good for injuring people trying to run away from you, though. Right, Sis?”

Mukuro nodded. “Yes, it’s often an effective way of incapacitating a fleeing target.”

“Moving on,” Maki practically hissed. “Shuichi. You’re up.”

“Oh, it’s my turn. Wow, uh, what can I say about Kaede? There a lot of interesting things about her…” He stared up at the sunset, making it so that he did not see the roses blooming on Kaede’s cheeks. Miu nudged her in the side and snickered. “Did you guys know she can transcribe music by ear? She’s incredibly fast at it, too.”

Kaede waved the compliment off and shook her head bashfully. “Psh. Plenty of musicians can do that. Just because I’m fast at it doesn’t make me any better than them.”

“Okay, well, how about the fact that you can memorize a song in no time at all? What was the name of the piece you told me you learned in only a day?”

“Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major. But it’s nothing special—it’s all just hard work and determination!”

“Nothing special? Kaede, you’re amazing! You—”

“W-We get it already!” Toko shouted.

“I’m with Slowko. You’re up, babe! Hit me!” Miu said, folding her hands behind her head and donning a smug, expectant grin.

Kaede smiled at her, resting her head against Miu’s shoulder. “Miu’s the youngest ever member of the US National Academy of Engineering. She’s an international member, of course, but still. It’s one of the most prestigious recognitions an inventor can get!”

“Hah! Guy who held that title before me was, what, twenty-seven or some shit? I’m not even out of high school! Man, am I great, or am I great?” Miu asked. Kaede couldn’t help herself after seeing Miu look so happy. She kissed her cheek and pulled her into a tight hug from the side. Tenko expected Miu to freak out as usual, but instead, she simply smiled even wider.

The open display of affection made Tenko’s heart throb, a sensation which she felt it best to ignore.

“Yes, you’re great, Miu,” Shuichi said with a lighthearted laugh. “Alright, your turn.”

“Shuichi’s fuckin’ packin’!” Miu blurted. At once, the color drained from Shuichi’s face and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

“Nyeh, packing? Packing what?” Himiko asked.

“Dick! What else? Kaediot and I were playin’ chicken fight with him and Kaito earlier, right? I went to grab him, but Kaito backed up at the last second and I ended up grabbing him by his trunks instead! They came off a bit, and—”

“Miu, we said we wouldn’t mention that!” Kaede protested.

“The dude’s got meat for days! I mean, I didn’t see much, but I saw enough to just know. You’d think a scrawny little thing like him wouldn’t be hung like a horse, huh?”

Kaito reached over to put his hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “That was my fault, man. I bobbed when I should have wove. My bad.”

“I…please don’t repeat any of that to anyone who isn’t here right now,” Shuichi said, his voice thin and wispy. He seemed as if he were on the verge of withering away into nothing but dust in the wind.

“Don’t let Kokichi find out~” Junko sang before bursting into laughter. “Hah! Oh, man. Alright, Mr. Hall Monitor. Try your best to think of something interesting about Mondo. Take your time.”

“Hmph! I don’t need to take my time, because I have a variety of interesting things about Bro ready to share at a moment’s notice!” Taka said. Mondo buried his face in his hands and Tenko was unsure if it was out of embarassment over being praised or over his boyfriend’s enthusiasm. “Did you know that he is capable of completely disassembling and reassembling his Kawasaki in under an hour?”

Tenko tilted her head. “And a Kawasaki is…?”

“‘S a motorcycle, don’t worry about it,” Mondo replied. “Yeah, I’ll let myself take some pride in that one. Not even Daiya can do that.”

“Hey, isn’t there a mechanic in class 77-B?” Makoto asked. “You should get in touch with him. That’s something you two could bond over.”

“Kazuichi? Yeah, no way those two would get along. That guy is threatened by any guy more masculine than him, which is most of them,” Miu said. “Then again, I’d love to see him get upstaged at his own talent. If you ever challenge him, you’ve gotta invite me!”

Mondo scoffed. “Sure thing, Iruma, sure thing. Anyway. Taka’s got big plans for his future. He’s gonna run for prime minister when he’s old enough.”

“Really? Wow, that’s incredible, Ishimaru-san!” Tenko said, stars twinkling in her eyes. “You’d make an amazing prime minister, I just know it!”

“Thank you very much, Chabashira-san! It will be quite some time before that future comes to fruition, but in the meantime, I plan on contributing to local government in as many ways as I can!”

Junko crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward, resting her head in her hands. “Gotta say, Taka, those are big shoes you’re looking to fill. Trying to make up for your grandpa’s failures, huh?”

Taka’s face darkened, just for a moment, before he firmly nodded his head. “Yes. With hard work and dedication, I will prove to the country that the Ishimaru name is not one to be shamed. I vow to do everything in my power to right the wrongs enacted by my grandfather.”

Truthfully, Tenko had absolutely no idea what the two of them were talking about, and considering Taka’s intense expression, she wasn’t exactly eager to ask in the moment. She instead looked to Taka’s left and smiled at Komaru.

“Naegi-chan! I bet you’ve got a ton of stuff to say about Fukawa-san, huh?”

Komaru nodded eagerly. “Oh yeah, totally! How about this one? Toko’s the only person in Japanese history to have nine books on the best sellers list at the same time! There are a ton of authors way older than her that would kill for that sort of achievment!”

Toko shyly pressed her fingertips together and stared down at her lap. “It’s no big deal. People like romance novels, so…”

“Huh. Hey, come to think of it,” Junko began, tapping a finger against her chin, “shouldn’t you be doing this twice? You know, one for Toko and one for—”

“Shut up!” Komaru shrieked, loud and sudden enough to make Tenko jump. “Cut it out, Junko!”

“Wait, what? Are you dating someone else?” Himiko asked.

“No! Don’t worry about it, Junko’s just being cruel for no reason as usual. Ignore her.” Komaru crossed her arms and huffed, taking a moment to cool down before saying anything else. “Alright, Toko. I know I’m sort of boring, but I’m sure you can think of at least one interesting thing to say about me, right?”

Toko raised an eyebrow. “B-Boring? How about the fact that you’re a freaking medium?”

“Medium?” Kaito asked, tilting his head. “What’s that?”

“It means she can talk to ghosts,” Makoto answered. “She’s been able to ever since she was a little kid. It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”

Komaru shook her head. “It’s nothing special, really. I’m sure anyone could do it if they tried hard enough.”

Tenko stared. “…You…talk to ghosts?”

“Yeah. Well, it’s more like they talk to me. Most of them are weird or creepy, so I just ignore them.”

“Are there any ghosts around right now?” Kaede asked.

Komaru looked around for a few seconds before shaking her head. “Nope, not as far as I can see. There was one who was staring at Mikan for like, an hour earlier, though. Gross old man…”

“W-W-What?!” Mikan gasped, her eyes widening. She swayed from side to side, dizzy, before ultimately collapsing in Junko’s arms. “G-Ghosts are so s-scary! I knew I felt c-cold!”

“Looks like I’m going to have to start carrying around salt to ward off any creepy-ass ghosts who want to get anywhere near my Mikan,” Junko grumbled. “Yo, Komaru! Teach me how you do it!”

Komaru rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, Junko. Sure thing. You’re up, Makoto.”

“Got it. Man, there a ton of interesting things about Mukuro,” Makoto said, making her blush all the way from her shoulders to the tips of her ears. “How about this? She’s got incredible aim, and not just with guns, either.”

“I was the best sharpshooter in Fenrir,” Mukuro mumbled.

Junko grabbed a small, smooth rock from beside herself and tossed it over to her sister, who snatched it out of the air as if by reflex. “Show ‘em what you can do, Big Sis. Your target is Miu’s cleavage. Go.”

Without so much as thinking, Mukuro sent the stone zooming through the air, and sure enough, she hit her mark. Miu drew in a sharp breath as the stone soared directly between her breasts and glared at both of the sisters.

“Fuckin’ ow! You coulda at least warned me first!” she spat. “B-But that did feel kind of nice…”

“Nice shot. Now you just have to follow it up by trying to come up with something interesting to say about Mr. Milquetoast over here,” Junko said.

“Hmph. There are plenty of interesting things I could say about Makoto,” Mukuro countered. “His luck, for instance, is incredible. We went to a maid café together a few weeks ago and he was the thousandth person to step through the front door that month. As a result, our meal was free.”

Junko rolled her eyes. “And his sister can talk to ghosts, big whoop. Being lucky isn’t impressive.”

“Junko, you’ve seen the things that happen to him on a daily basis. Even you have to admit that it’s amazing.”

“No way, it’s boring. If something unlucky happens to him, you can bet your ass it’ll turn out to be a blessing in disguise later. That’s all it is.”

Makoto furrowed his brow. “Is…is that really true?”

“Ugh. Of course you haven’t even figured that out. That’s why your luck is completely incapable of surprising me, you know. If we want to talk about actually exciting luck, we need to talk about Nagito.” Junko’s lips split into a wide and excited grin. “Come on, someone else has figured out how it works, right? No way I’m the only one.”

Mukuro crossed her arms, frowning. “One, we aren’t talking about Nagito right now. Two, you don’t need to belittle Makoto for not being interesting enough for your standards. That ruins the fun of the game.”

Komaru scoffed. “Barely anybody’s interesting by her standards. Let’s just ignore her.”

Tenko couldn’t help but smile a little. It was nice seeing Mukuro actually talk back to her sister, and the fact that it was to defend her boyfriend was sweet. The serenity in her heart was promptly disrupted by Junko’s loud declaration.

“You can’t ignore me because it’s my turn, bitches!” she cheered, throwing her hands up in the air with glee. “Fun fact: Mikan doesn’t have a gag reflex! Not anymore!”

“Anymore?” Himiko asked as Mikan hid her burning face behind her hands. “What happened to it?”

Kaede pointed a stiff finger Junko’s way. “Don’t answer that. That’s an inappropriate answer, so choose something else!”

“As if Miu’s wasn’t worse! Double standards much? But whatever, I’ve got plenty more interesting things to say about my baby girl. Like, her birthday is on International Nurses Day. Isn’t that funny? How about the fact that she knows which parts of the body are most sensitive to pain? She could torture someone forever since she knows what’s lethal and what isn’t. Ooh, another thing. This girl’s ability to read minds just by looking at someone’s face is insane. She’s like Sayaka, only it isn’t just intuition.”

“That’s…way more than just one interesting thing,” Shuichi said with a nervous laugh. “Impressive, though. Um, minus the torture part.”

“Th-Th-Thank you,” Mikan stuttered, blushing madly over receiving such high praise from Junko. “U-Um. Well, there are a lot of interesting things about Jun-Jun. It’s hard to pick just one, but um…d-did you know that she has an abnormally long tongue?”

No one said a word, only staring at her as the seconds ticked by. Tenko thinned her eyes and let her head loll to the side. “She has…a long tongue?”

“Nine and a half centimeters from the tip to my lips, actually,” Junko said with pride.

“…Can we see it?” Kaito dared to ask, sounding more hesitant than he ever did. Maki shot him a death glare that made him tremble in his seat. “What? I’m just curious!”

“Sure thing. Here! Bleh.” Junko opened her mouth wide and stuck out her tongue. It was, in fact, quite long—certainly the longest Tenko had ever seen. It even extended far past her chin.

Miu whistled, impressed. “Damn! That sure is somethin’! Lucky girl, Mikan!”

Komaru made up her face. “Lucky girl—ugh! The three of you need to be sent straight to horny jail, I swear!”

“Been there already, and I’m not afraid to go back!” Miu countered.

Mikan shook her head in adamant denial. “I’m n-not—that wasn’t what I m-m-meant! I just think it’s a unique part of her! That’s all!!!”

“Aw, babe, it’s okay. You can admit that it’s your favorite part of my body. My hopelessly huge boobs won’t be jealous.” Junko put her arm around Mikan’s shoulders and pressed a loving kiss onto her cheek, and once again, Tenko found herself feeling something in her chest. Her entire body felt hot—what was going on with her? She wasn’t jealous of either of them—she only had eyes for Himiko—but still she felt a profound sense of envy at the open display of affection.

She felt Himiko nudge her in the side and looked down to meet her eyes. “You okay? You look like something’s bothering you,” Himiko said.

“Huh? Me? Tenko? Y-Yeah, I’m cool!” Tenko hastily replied with a forced laugh. This was supposed to be a fun trip. There was no sense in ruining it by making Himiko worry.

Himiko’s smile returned. “Good. Now I get to say something cool about you. Everyone knows Tenko is the Ultimate Neo-Aikido master, but did you guys know that she actually helped developed it? She’s a pioneer!”

Tenko blushed. She was already bashful enough when it came to people complimenting her, the fact that it was Himiko served to make it even more difficult to keep her composure. Her embarrassment was promptly interrupted by the sound of Junko scoffing.

“Well duh. It’s a made-up martial art. That’s not exactly interesting,” Miu said.

“All martial arts are made-up!” Himiko shouted. “I’d like to see you develop one like Tenko has!”

“It’s just a more aggro aikido. That’s it,” Miu said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Tenko. You’re good at what you do and shit, it’s just not very impressive.”

Tenko blinked. Did she just receive a compliment from Miu of all people? A backhanded one, sure, but a compliment nevertheless.

“You d-don’t have to undermine her,” Mikan said. “Tenko works really hard to improve her craft every day. It’s a-admirable.”

“Sure, but everyone already knows that. We’re supposed to be saying interesting things about our partners!”

Himiko frowned, her expression a mix of shame and anger. She reached up to pull the brim of her hat down over her face only to remember that it was not there.

“Aw, what? You’re not about to cry, are you? Alright, alright, I take it back, jeez!”

“Don’t worry about what Miu thinks, Himiko. She has a weird sense of what is and isn’t interesting,” Kaede said, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Hmph. Whatever.” Himiko pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re the last one up, Tenko.”

“Right.”

Tenko held her chin in her hand and thought for a few moments. There were so many absolutely fascinating things about Himiko—how could she pick just one? On top of that, she needed to choose one that was sure to cheer her up. The last note she wanted to end this day out with her friends on was with an upset girlfriend. Luckily, the perfect thing to say popped into her mind just as Himiko was beginning to stare off into space.

“Oh oh oh! I’ve got one!” Tenko cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips. “Yumeno-san is the youngest person to ever be chosen by the Magic Castle as Magician of The Year!”

“What’s the Magic Castle?” Maki asked.

“It’s the world magic lover’s society! It’s got members all over the world, and Yumeno-san was chosen by the best magicians around! Isn’t that amazing?”

Himiko blushed and looked up at Tenko with surprise in her eyes, her arms slowly lowering to rest at her side. “N-Nyeh. I told you near the beginning of last school year. You remembered?”

“Of course I did! I never forget anything you tell me, Yumeno-san!”

Komaru folded her hands over her chest and looked on in adoration. “Aw! You two are way too cute!”

“Yeah, you are,” Makoto said. “You make a really nice couple.”

Before Tenko could even think of a response, Himiko pulled her into a hug from the side. Immediately, Tenko’s whole body turned the same shade of red as Himiko’s hair. The two of them had hugged before, of course, but only a few time, and it was always nervewracking. Here, though, with Himiko’s cheek touching Tenko’s bare skin like this? It was almost too much to handle!

“Alright!” Miu clapped her hands together before leaning forward with eager eyes. “Game’s over! It’s time to decide a winner! Who had the best little piece of trivia, huh?”

Kaede crossed her arms. “Miu, we don’t have to pick a—”

“My vote goes to Shuichi, and it’s not just because I’m the one who chose it. Junko’s a close second, though!”

“Komaru’s the obvious winner if you ask me,” Kaito said. “I mean, come on, talking to ghosts? That’s way too cool!”

As her friends deliberated over who the winner of the game was (a discussion which soon devolved into three or so people shouting over each other), Tenko couldn’t help but smile lovingly at the sight of Himiko bashfully wringing her hands in her lap, the pink only just now beginning to fade from her cheeks. It was times like these that reminded her that yes, she and Himiko were, in fact, a couple, and that day at the library wasn’t just something she hallucinated. They had been dating for quite a while at this point, but aside from holding hands, the two of them never really did what would be considered couple stuff.

Wait a second, Tenko thought. She looked at Kaede and Miu, Toko and Komaru, Mikan and Junko. Oh. That’s what I’m jealous of.

Chapter Text

Tenko was happy to be home.

For as fun and exciting Golden Week had been, she had been looking forward to getting back to her passion project for its entirety. In fact, all she could think of all week during classes was just how much fun she would have at the upcoming Fruits Basket meeting. She and Himiko had a fascinating topic lined up and it took every ounce of willpower in her body not to gush about it to Kaede or Shuichi.

Most of all, though, she was looking forward to spending some time with her friends that she had made outside of her class. Mikan didn’t join them for lunch at all this week and she’d barely seen the students from 78-A at all. She figured they were just busy, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss them.

Tenko entered the clubroom with a grin plastered on her face and Himiko’s hand held gently in her own. “Heeellooo everyone! Welcome back to the Fruits Basket! I’ve missed you all so much!”

“Hey, Tenko! We’ve missed you too!” Kaito said with a grin of his own. “I mean, sure we saw each other twenty minutes ago, but Fruits Basket Tenko is different from Class Tenko.”

Mahiru waved at them as they took their seats, friendly as always. “Good to see you again, Tenko. Himiko. And look, we’ve got some new members!”

Sure enough, sitting near Makoto were a pair of unfamiliar faces and one face that Tenko absolutely recognized. Her eyes lit up at the sight. It felt like only yesterday that Mahiru, Hiyoko, Kiyotaka, and Sayaka had joined all at once, and now they were getting another three members at the same time? The Fruits Basket had to be the fastest growing club in the school by now!

“Hello! I’m Tenko Chabashira, president of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! It’s nice to meet you! Would you like to introduce yourselves?”

The first new member was a tanned girl with chocolate brown hair done up in a high ponytail that reminded Tenko of swirled icing on a cupcake. She smiled and gave a friendly wave. “Hiya! I’m Aoi Asahina, Ultimate Swimming Pro, but you can just call me Hina. My friend here and I wanted to check this place out to see what all the buzz is about. Seriously, I never expected to see Junko and Mondo of all people join the same club.”

“I was here first,” Junko pointed out without missing a beat. “Just so you know.”

The next new member crossed her arms and smirked. She was an absolute hulk of a woman with arms so big all of her uniforms had torn sleeves. The scars on her biceps and one across her face made her come off as intimidating to those who did not know her, but Tenko knew better than most that she was a sweetheart.

“Tenko. I figured it was about time I pay respects to something you’ve worked so hard on,” she said. “Sakura Ogami, Ultimate Martial Artist. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Good to see you, Ogami-san! You’re going to love it here, trust me. It’s a lot different than sparring with Sakakura-sensei, but still super fun!” Tenko bounced eagerly in her seat before turning her attention to the final new person, a cute girl with lightly applied makeup and short, shining purple hair styled in a bob. “And what’s your name?”

The girl whimpered, seemingly shrinking into her seat. “You d-d-don’t remember me…? I’m s-sorry! Of course you’d forget all about me!”

Miu could barely stifle her laughter. “Nice one, Tenko.”

Tenko blinked. Had she done something wrong? She stared at the girl, leaning in slightly closer, and…wait…she was sitting where Mikan always sat—

“Tsumiki-senpai?!” Tenko shouted, eyes widening. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! You just—you look so different! And I haven’t seen you all week! You’re so pretty! N-Not that you aren’t always pretty, but it’s like, a different kind of pretty?”

“Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you,” Himiko said. “You look really nice.”

“Big Sis Junko gave her a makeover at the start of the week!” Kotoko proudly declared, as if she’d had anything to do with it. “She looks so cute with short hair, doesn’t she? And the makeup really brings out the color of her eyes!”

Mikan turned bright red—oh yeah, this was Mikan alright—and adamantly shook her head. “Th-Thank you! But J-J-Jun-Jun spent a lot of time making me look nice! You should be praising her instead!”

“No need, I know I’m flawless,” Junko said. She put her arm around Mikan’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Miki’s always beautiful anyway. I just changed up her aesthetic a bit. Less I want to take you home and protect you from everything bad in the world and more I wanna rail you in the bathroom between classes. Don’t get it twisted, though. Both of those things are always true.”

Sayaka leaned forward to get an even better look at the new Mikan Tsumiki, her eyes seeming to scan every inch of her. As much as Tenko hated to admit it, she was a little jealous. Just a little.

“I still can’t get over just how pretty your hair is,” she said. “It’s like Junko cast a spell on it. No wonder Tenko didn’t recognize you!”

“Th-Thank you,” Mikan said with a bashful little smile. “I, um, I’ve always hated my hair, so Junko spent a lot of time on it. It makes me h-happy that you like it.” She brushed her hair behind her ear and a glint of light shining from her finger caught Tenko’s eye.

“What’s that on your finger, Tsumiki-senpai?” she asked. She realized what a silly question it was not a moment later.

“O-Oh. Um, heh heh. Heh heh…” Stars seemed to twinkle in Mikan’s eyes as she wordlessly held out her hand to show off the jewelry adorning her ring finger, giggling to herself all the while. It was an undoubtedly expensive platinum ring fitted with what appeared to be a sapphire gem complete with diamond side stones.

Tenko held her face in her hands and looked on in awe. “Wow…Tsumiki-senpai, that’s gorgeous. It looks so perfect on you!”

Junko smirked in that smug way she always did. “‘Course it does, I know what fits my baby girl better than anyone else. We match, too.” She held up her left hand and tapped the matching ring on her own finger, only in place of a sapphire jewel was a ruby instead.

“That looks really good, too, Enoshima-san! What’s the occasion? Birthday? Anniversary?” Tenko asked, and she could practically feel the energy in the room shift. Everyone looked at her, some confused, some amused.

Himiko’s giggling caught her attention. “It’s sort of cute how you’re always out of the loop.”

A tiny squeak slipped past Tenko’s lips. Her eyes shifted from Mikan’s ring to her face, from Junko’s ring to her face, back to the rings, back to their faces. That was when realization set in, and the very next moment, she erupted right of her seat.

“YOU TWO ARE GETTING MARRIED?!” she screamed.

“Hah! Yeah I proposed at the end of Golden Week,” Junko said.

A million different thoughts and emotions flooded Tenko all at once. She wanted to jump for joy, she wanted to sob—also from joy—she wanted to run down the halls screaming even more (out of joy, of course). Two of her friends were getting married? Two girls? Mikan and Junko? This was too much for her little heart to take!

“Change of plans! The topic for today is marriage!” she blurted, barely even giving it a moment’s thought. Himiko didn’t seem to mind judging by the way her smile lit up her face. Tenko hastily sat back down and moved her chair forward to be even closer to the lucky couple. “Tell me all about how it happened! Please! I need to know!”

Aoi rolled her eyes. “This makes, what, the fourth time this week I’ve had to hear this story?”

“Hey, don’t hate. ‘S not my fault everyone wants to know,” Junko said with a nonchalant shrug. “I’ll make this quick. We were in Paris having dinner and we saw this other tourist dude almost kill his girlfriend by putting a ring in her drink, because that’s definitely a good idea. She said no, by the way. Anywho, that got me thinking about marriage and how it would actually be kind of cool to have a big kick-ass wedding celebrating the miracle that is Mikan and I’s relationship, so I went out and got us these rings when we landed back in Tokyo. The details of how I proposed are for Miki and I alone to know, though. Sorry not sorry.”

“I’m Junko’s fiancée,” Mikan sang, still giggling to herself as she leaned against Junko’s shoulder. “We’re getting maaarriiied…”

“She’s been like this all week! Ibuki doesn’t think she’s seen her like this since the two of them started dating!” Ibuki laughed before throwing her arms up and cheering. “This wedding is going to kick so much ass! They already said Ibuki could play the music!”

Mahiru’s brow knit in concern. “Um, I don’t know if your style really fits the mood of a typical wedding, Ibuki…”

“Junko is anything but typical,” Mukuro pointed out. “And Kaede can play piano during the ceremony itself. Ibuki is for the reception.”

“So you just decided to get hitched on a whim?” Nekomaru asked. “Gotta say, I didn’t take you for the type. Marriage is pretty traditional, and you’re the opposite.”

Junko shrugged. “True! It’s not like I care about having my relationship officially recognized by the government or whatever, I just think it’d be hella fun to throw a big-ass celebration all about Miki and I. You all know how much I love being the center of attention. Plus it’d be cool to go around calling her my wife. Makes me sound mature.”

“There’s an elephant in the room we’re ignoring,” Komaru said, her voice low. “You guys can’t get married here. There are a few wards that’ll grant you partnership certificates, but—”

“Girl, I just said I don’t care about the government. ‘S all symbolic, you know? Besides, if Miki wants, we can just get married someplace else. Even if it’s not recognized back home, who cares? Whole world still knows we’re wives.”

Korekiyo sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. “As it stands, Japan is the only nation of the international Group of Seven who does not recognize same-sex marriage in any capacity. It truly is disappointing.”

“If you ask me, you can’t really blame our government. How are you going to get people to start making babies if everyone’s marrying people they can’t have kids with?” Hiyoko asked.

“Right, because I’m sure gay people will just settle for straight relationships if they can’t get married. That’s totally how it works,” Kokichi said with a sagely nod. “That excuse is bullshit, really, and everyone knows it.”

Angie sighed, and for once, actually frowned. She leaned against Shuichi’s arm and shook her head in disapproval. “It is such a shame. Love is love! On my island, there are few restrictions on who can marry who. Forbidding love based on something like gender is a waste!”

“Agreed,” Tenko said with a sigh. “I love seeing people happy, and queer love is something that just brings me so much joy. I wish I got to see more of it, but as long as same-sex marriage is illegal, it isn’t very likely.”

“Which is stupid, by the way,” Aoi huffed. “Something like seventy percent of voters are in favor of legalizing it, right? So why not just make it happen?”

“Well, you know what they say about the nail that sticks out,” Sagishi began.

Sakura finished for them. “It gets hammered down.”

“Is that even true, though?!” Kotoko shouted, frustrated. “Big Sis Junko sticks out and she’s super-duper popular! And it’s not like most of you guys are closeted outside of school, right? And that’s gone pretty okay?”

Kaede put a finger on her chin and thought for a moment. “Mostly, yeah. Sometimes Miu and I will hold hands in public or kiss each other on the cheek, stuff like that. We get weird looks every now and again depending on where we are, but it’s usually smooth sailing. Then again, that might just be because we’re girls. What about you two?” she asked, looking to Mondo and Taka.

Mondo shrugged. “You know us, limited PDA in public. We’re not about that life.”

“Honestly, I think we just have to wait a while,” Shuichi said. “We’re only getting more progressive as time passes. Just because the government keeps shooting down any attempt to even get nationwide legalization as a talking point on the board doesn’t mean it’ll be like this forever. More young people join the voter base every year and they’ll elect representatives that reflect their values and desires for the nation going forward. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Bit idealistic, but I guess you’ve got a point,” Junko said, idly running her fingers through Mikan’s silky purple tresses. Tenko’s attention fixed on the gesture. A simple, common one, but it made her heart thump in her chest anyway. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to marry some hunk by the time you’re fifty.”

Shuichi went red. “I don’t—”

“Enough about Japan’s outdated policies on gay marriage, though. How ‘bout y’all?” Junko asked with a wide grin. “You wanna get married someday? Blondies?”

It took Miu a moment to realize Junko was talking to her and Kaede, and when she did, she practically merged with her chair with how far she sank into it. “Y-Y-You’re blonde, too! And shit, I dunno. I guess I wouldn’t mind gettin’ hitched eventually.”

Kokichi smirked in that particularly smug way he reserved exclusively for Miu. “Really? Wow, I would have expected you to think marriage is a scam made up to sell wedding dresses or something like that.”

“It is, but God knows Bakamatsu here would fall for it. And it would be lame of me not to indulge her, so...you know…”

Kaede’s lips curled into a smile, and she promptly pressed those lips against Miu’s cheek, pulling her into a tight hug. Tenko felt heat rising in her face. “Aw, Miu! You can just say you want matching dresses, you know. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about!”

“I didn’t say you could touch me, cowtits!!!” Miu yelped, voice cracking.

Toko mumbled. “T-T-Too bad polygamy isn’t legal…”

“Huh? Did you say something, Toko?” Himiko asked.

“No. I d-don’t want to get married,” Toko said, shaking her head. “Weddings are…too much to handle. So many people, and it’s so formal, and so expensive. It’s n-not like anyone would show up to mine anyway.”

“Aw, that’s not true, Fukawa-san! I’m sure everyone here would gladly accept an invitation to you and Naegi-chan’s wedding!” Tenko reassured her.

“Plus our entire family would come,” Makoto added. “We’ve got some aunts that would kill to see Komaru get married, so that’s already a bunch of people.

Komaru leaned forward, covering her face with her hands and groaning. “Ugh. But you know how Mom would be. She’d try and micromanage everything, from the venue to my dress and the food…”

“You could always just elope,” Mukuro said.

Toko shook her head in adamant denial. “No. Travel is bad. Too risky.”

“And this is why your world is so small. What about the hall monitor and delinquent?” Junko asked.

“I assure you, Enoshima-san, that you are more of a delinquent than Bro is,” Taka asserted. “That being said! I have no immediate plans for marriage, however, I hope to use my role as a politician to steer the country towards the path to nationwide same-sex marriage! Once that has been achieved, then I can begin to consider marriage!”

Mondo shrugged. “I don’t care one way or the other. I don’t need a piece of paper to validate us.”

“You are a biker, though. You might get hurt one day, and Taka might not be able to see you without a partnership certification,” Sakura said. “That’s just one reason to make it official.”

“Tch. That sounds like a problem our government should get around to fixing, not like something for me to go finding loopholes around.”

Kotoko blinked, surprised. “Wait, that’s actually how it works? So you could be dying in the hospital and your own partner wouldn’t be allowed to see you?”

Mikan nodded. “Y-Yes, unfortunately, that’s standard protocol for almost every hospital in the country. Just visitation is fine, but when it comes to actually staying with a patient, it’s limited to family only with few exceptions.”

“I’m starting to think that maybe Japan isn’t so progressive after all,” Sayaka mumbled.

“Aw, it’s adorable that you ever thought otherwise. What about you two?” Junko asked, gesturing to Tenko and Himiko. “Baby gay? Disaster lesbian?”

“Stop calling me a baby,” Himiko huffed. “I…nyeh, I dunno. I’ve never thought about that stuff before. I guess it could be nice.”

“Oh, you should totally do it, Himiko!” Kaede said with infectious enthusiasm. “You would look great in a cute little wedding dress! Right, Tenko?”

Unfortunately for Kaede, Tenko was not currently mentally present. She had checked out the moment after Junko had asked her question. The idea of standing at the altar in a dapper suit while Himiko walked down the aisle in a stunning dress was enough to turn her brain to mush. She and Himiko had only started dating a few months ago, it was far too soon to be seriously considering something like marriage, but how could she help herself? Himiko was absolutely perfect, and the notion of one day becoming her wife? That was almost too much to handle.

“Tenko?” Himiko poked Tenko’s cheek, pushing her to the side slightly. “I think we broke her…”

“H-Huh? Me? Tenko? Tenko’s here!” She said up straight in her chair and donned a wide grin. “Th-That would be pretty cool! I could invite my parents, and my Master would be so happy to see me get married!”

Himiko smiled. “If you’re that eager, then we should just get married now, huh?”

That was enough to break her. Tenko’s face burned red, and if she could see herself, she was certain she would be steam coming from her ears.

“T-Tenko? Are you alright?” Mikan asked, concerned.

“Tenko’s greeeaaat,” Tenko barely managed to squeak out. The sound of Himiko’s delightful little giggle was enough to return her to Earth, still with an uneven smile stuck on her face. It would likely remain there until the day’s end.

“Um…not to pry, but what about you two?” Chihiro asked, leaning forward with interest. Their eyes were pointed in Kaede and Miu’s direction, but that couple had already answered.

Shuichi looked to his left, to his right, before his eyes landed on Chihiro. He cocked his head to the side and pointed at his chest. “Me?” he asked.

Chihiro nodded. “Mhm. You and Angie. I assume Angie would like to, but—”

Their sentence was interrupted by the sound of Kaede violently choking—she really had chosen the most inopportune time to drink from her water bottle. Shuichi extended his hand in concern while Angie only laughed. Tenko wasn’t sure what was so funny. Miu pat her hand against Kaede’s back as she coughed, then glaring at Chihiro.

“They ain’t an item.”

Chihiro squeaked. “O-Oh! I’m sorry! I just—I just assumed—”

“Hey now, watch the way you talk to Chi-Chi,” Junko warned. “Who can blame them for thinking that anyway? I mean, do you see those two?”

Shuichi took the opportunity to promptly wiggle out of Angie’s grasp, leaving the artist to frown in disappointment. “We’re just friends,” he clarified, and Tenko felt even that was a stretch.

“Just friends, huh?” Kokichi asked with a smug smirk. “For people who are just friends, you sure have been spending an awful lot of time together lately. And she’s always all over you, too. Are you sure there isn’t something more going on?”

“Quit trying to stir the pot, Kokichi,” Shuichi demanded. “It isn’t funny.”

“Hey hey hey, no fighting, remember? This isn’t that sort of environment,” Tenko said. Kokichi only shrugged—the expected response—while Shuichi crossed his arms and averted his eyes. It was strange seeing him so…upset. “Um…let’s move on! A different topic. What are the weddings back on your island like, Yonaga-san?”

“Oh, I will gladly tell you all!” Angie said. She was back to her usual chipper self immediately, even if she wasn’t hugging Shuichi’s arm or leaning against his shoulder for once. “Everyone on the island gathers around, and…”

“Before we go, Tenko, I wanna talk to you about something.”

Tenko was halfway out the door after the meeting’s end when Himiko’s words froze her in place. Her heart began to pound in her chest and a bead of sweat rolled down her neck. Oh no. Oh no.

“W-What is it, Yumeno-san?” she asked, slowly turning around to face her girlfriend. Himiko’s expression was uncertain, her hat held in her hands and her body swaying side to side.

“Are you alright? You’ve been acting kind of weird lately.”

Tenko swallowed. “Weird how?” she asked, catching her tongue between her teeth the instant the question left her mouth. What kind of stupid response was that?

“Nyeh. It’s like…I don’t know. You freeze up around me lately. More than usual, I guess.” Himiko shuffled in place and cast her eyes down at the floor. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? I don’t know how good I am at this whole girlfriend thing.”

“N-No!” Tenko exclaimed. “No no no no, of course you didn’t do anything wrong! You never do! It’s me, not you, I swear! N-Not that there’re any problems! I just! Don’t! Um!”

Himiko met her eyes and Tenko realized that she had no idea where she was going with any of that. What was there to say? Himiko was right, there was something that needed to be addressed, but how would Tenko go about explaining it?

“You can be honest,” Himiko mumbled. “It’s just me…”

That was right. At the end of the day, it was just Himiko. Tenko trusted Himiko with her life, so she could tell her anything, right? There was no need for fear of ridicule when Himiko was one of the sweetest, most compassionate girls she knew.

Tenko let out a deep breath and reached out to take Himiko’s hands into her own after she set her hat down, pursing her lips and taking a few moments to gather her thoughts. “…Do you remember last week? When I told you about how I saw Tsumiki-senpai and Enoshima-san over by the rocks at the beach?”

Himiko nodded, smiling. “Yeah. It was a cute story.”

“Right? But ever since then, it’s like, I don’t know. I see other couples be all affectionate and stuff, and I can’t help but feel a little jealous.”

“Jealous? Nyeh, huh? Why would you be jealous?”

Tenko’s voice fell to a whisper. “Because…we aren’t really like that…”

“Oh.”

“Again, it’s not your fault, I swear! It’s just that Akamatsu-san is really lovey-dovey towards Iruma-san, you know? Even when Iruma-san is being…Iruma-san. And Tsumiki-senpai and Enoshima-san are always all over each other! I know not every couple has to be like that—just look at Owada-san and Ishimaru-san—but I see them and I just…”

Himiko blinked. “You want that.”

Tenko bit her lip, nodding. “Mhm…we hold hands and stuff, but we’ve been together for a while and we haven’t even kissed yet…”

Himiko stared at the floor and Tenko swore she felt her hands heat up. After a few moments of silence, she looked her in the eyes once more, roses blooming on her cheeks.

“Do you wanna?”

Tenko’s throat felt dry. “Y-Yeah.”

“Okay,” Himiko whispered. She licked her lips before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and puckering up. Tenko’s eyes widened.

“W-Wait, you mean now?!”

“Nyeh! Why wait?” Himiko asked, clearly embarrassed. “You’re here, I’m here, you want to, I want to, so let’s do it!”

Tenko glanced back, just to make sure no one was peeking in through the open door. Was this really happening? Was she about to have her first kiss right here, right now, in an empty clubroom? She wasn’t sure what she expected when it came to her first kiss, but it certainly wasn’t this! But, really, specifics didn’t matter. Regardless of where or when it happened, the important thing was that it was with Himiko, and that they both wanted it. She swallowed, nervous, before squeezing her eyes shut, kneeling down, and puffing out her cheeks.

This was how kissing worked, right?

“D-Don’t kneel down! I’m not that short!” Himiko shouted. “And don’t do that thing with your cheeks!”

“Sorry! I don’t what I’m doing!” Tenko replied, standing up straight. “Oh man, I hope I’m not bad at this.”

Suddenly, a memory returned to Tenko’s mind, and it dawned on her that she had undergone training for this. Junko’s words echoed in her mind.

“You’re probably going to end up giving her one of those kisses you see on those shitty sitcoms made for horny preteens by even hornier old dudes. Keep it PG.”

She recalled the precise way Junko had leaned forward, hands on Mikan’s shoulders, and the precise way she’d puckered her lips for the kiss. With Junko’s masterful technique in mind, Tenko took a deep breath with reignited vigor. She wouldn’t, couldn’t let Enoshima-sensei down!

Tenko was fully prepared to kiss Himiko just as she had been taught to, to give her the perfect first kiss, but all of that bravado was washed away when Himiko put her hands on her shoulders, stood on her toes, and leaned forward. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. She was not prepared for this at all. It was all she could do to squeeze her eyes shut and lean in ever-so-slightly in hopes that she would not mess this all up.

Himiko’s lips tasted…of apple juice. That made sense, considering the juice box she’d had during the meeting. They were sweet, and that sweetness drew Tenko in even further. And while she couldn’t explain it to anyone if she tried, somehow, Himiko tasted just like magic as well.

Himiko lowered herself to the heels of her feet and thumped her head weakly against Tenko’s chest. “Nyeh. Um…n-nyeeeh. Was that okay?”

And Tenko could only stand there, silent, breathless, heart full and so very much in love.

Chapter Text

Tenko Chabashira was not a stupid girl.

She knew herself well enough to understand that she didn’t have the best grasp of how to navigate social interactions in her day-to-day life. She knew herself well enough to understand that most people would consider her weird—but then again, she was a student of Hope’s Peak Academy. Everyone was weird here in some way. Most of all, though, she knew herself well enough to understand that there were plenty of people out there far stranger than she was.

All that aside, Tenko was proud of her emotional intelligence. Sure, she could be a little dense sometimes, but that didn’t mean she was completely unable to read people. In fact, her prowress in Neo Aikido granted her the unique ability to perfectly read the emotions of those she threw. She really was more empathetic than people gave her credit for. Yet, despite that, there existed one person in her class of sixteen who she had never been quite able to get a proper read on no matter how much she tried.

“My name is Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer! I like boys, girls, and everything in between! I know it isn’t very exciting to have someone as plain as me joining your special club, but I hope we can all get along!”

Tsumugi Shirogane was, in all definitions of the word, a weirdo.

At first glance, she was a completely unassuming and normal looking girl. Some would even call her appearance boring, especially compared to the other eccentrics in her class (Kirumi wore her maid outfit even during sporting events, and…well, there was too much to be said regarding Miu’s strange bondage attire). Tenko never thought much of her when they first began school together, but as time progressed, she became more and more unnerving. Tsumugi usually did not warrant a second look, but sometimes she would say odd things that stuck in Tenko’s mind for the remainder of the day or even the week. Things that made her question just how in touch with reality Tsumugi was. But maybe Tenko was being overly judgmental. Tsumugi could have just been daydreaming out loud for all she knew, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

…On the other hand. Tsumugi was friends with Junko.

That didn’t bode well.

“Welcome to the club, Tsumugi,” Himiko said. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“We have?” Kaito asked.

“Mhm. She talks about how pretty girls are almost as much as Kaede does, so I figured it was only a matter of time.”

Kaede made up her face. “I do not talk about how pretty girls are that often.”

“Puh-lease, you flirted with half the girls in the class on our first day of school. I figured you were ‘boutta go sluttin’ it up with all of them,” Miu said, rolling her eyes.

“Wow, you were possessive and jealous even when you weren’t screwing her, huh? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Hiyoko snickered behind her hand as Mahiru put her hands on her hips and looked at her in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Makoto attempted to subtly shift his seat away from Tsumugi’s with discomfort palpable on his face. “Haha, so uh, you invited her here, huh, Junko?”

Junko nodded, proud. “Yup. Hina’s here now, and you know what that means? It means I am severely outnumbered. It’s like more of my enemies join every day. You, Toko, Komaru, Taka, Mukuro—”

Tenko was surprised to see Mukuro gasp. She was used to more muted reactions from her, but in the moment, she appeared to be genuinely hurt.

“Junko, I’m always on your side. You know that.”

“One, don’t interrupt me. Two, your status as a member of Ultimate Despair hinges entirely on how I feel about you that day. You smooched your boytoy in front of me this morning and that put you on my shit-list until further notice.”

“Ultimate Despair?” Teruteru asked. “What’s that? Some sorta club?”

Aoi scoffed, rolling her eyes. “It’s the name Junko gave her social circle. You know. Herself, Mukuro, Mikan, her ex-boyfriend, and Tsumugi.”

“Don’t forget about the honorary members like the Warriors of Hope and Chi-Chi here.” Junko grinned and ruffled Chihiro’s hair, making them giggle. “We here at Ultimate Despair are like a happy family, trust me.”

“I’m not going to ask what a Warrior of Hope is. What’s on the menu today, eh, Tenko?” Mondo asked, clearly not in the mood to entertain Junko even further.

“Right! We were going to do this one last week since the last two topics were pretty heavy and I wanted to talk about something more fun, but, well, I may have gotten caught up in the moment and changed it last second. But! That was the past, and now is now! Today, we’re going to be talking about art! Specifically, queer media representation!”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “I—really? On the day Tsumugi joins? What a coincidence.”

“Ooh, I bet Big Sis Junko planned it that way! Right? Right???”

Junko shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s better to let you wonder.”

Tsumugi’s eyes practically popped out of her head with how wide they went, shining like polished jewels as she brought her hands to her face. “Oh, I love this! What a great topic!”

Tenko grimaced for just a moment and silently hoped that this wouldn’t lead Tsumugi to start ranting and raving about…whatever it was she was always going on about. “Yup! We can talk about whatever you guys want. Good representation, bad representation, your own experiences, anything!”

Komaru clapped her hands on her girlfriend’s shoulders, making her yelp. “Toko can start us off! She’s a writer, after all.”

“Aren’t all of her books pretty straight, though?” Sayaka asked, finger on her chin.

“Aggressively. Way to let your people down, Toko,” Kokichi said.

“H-H-Hey! Just because I’m bi doesn’t mean I have to write that kind of fiction,” Toko hissed. “My stories are supposed to transcend stuff like gender. N-Not that you would ever know, since you haven’t read any.”

Sakura crossed her arms. “In all fairness, more traditional stories are the ones most likely to see popularity in a market like romance novels, from what I understand. It’s the safe option.”

“Oh, but I’m sure Toko could write whatever kind of romance she wants and still have a ton of people read it based on her name alone! You’ve got a pretty dedicated fanbase, you know,” Komaru said.

Toko shifted in her seat and twiddled her thumbs. “…M-Maybe. I’ve never written stuff like that for a big audience before. It’s outside of my comfort zone, but I guess I could give it a shot.”

“That’s kind of surprising. I was under the impression that most queer artists generally include some aspect of their identity in their work,” Nagito said. “Even if it’s subtle.”

“Most might be an exaggeration, but it’s common for sure!” Tsumugi added. “A lot of the most popular yuri manga these days are written by sapphics! You know who Milk Morinaga is, right? She wrote manga like Hana & Hina After School and Girlfriends!”

By the lack of a reaction on anyone’s part, Tenko figured those names were unfamiliar to them all. Regardless, Tsumugi continued. “If you ask me, I think it’s because they understand just how important representation can be, especially for young people.”

Kaede smiled. “That’s true. Back when I was a kid, there was this one character on a magical girl show I watched before school every morning who I’m pretty sure had a crush on one of the other girls. That made me feel a little less insecure about myself.”

Tsumugi leaned in with intense interest. “What show was it?”

“Um…I don’t actually know its name? I haven’t thought about it in years. I think the characters were like, part animal or something—”

“Tokyo Mew Mew. Good choice! It’s a classic, but if you ask me, I think the reboot is even better.”

Nagito put his chin in his hand and thought for a moment. “Hm…I think I experienced something similar a handful of years ago when I watched Evangelion. The main character—”

“Hold on, we’re not just going to talk about nerd shit the whole time, are we?” Junko asked. “Like, I brought Mugi here for a reason, but someone tell me I’m not going to just be hearing the names of anime I’ve never seen for an hour.”

“Is that a bad thing? If anything, I think it goes to show how important proper representation is to a lot of people,” Tenko answered. “Especially when you’re young. Those are your formative years! If you hate yourself for who you are then, it’s that much harder to accept yourself later down the line!”

“That’s for sure. I definitely would have figured out my whole deal way earlier if I even knew what asexuality was when I was a kid. Could have saved myself some heartache,” Rantaro added. “You gotta let people know that there are all sorts of people out there, you know?”

Shuichi chimed in. “It’s not enough just to show that they exist, though, it’s important to show that they’re just people as well. It’s one thing to make a spectacle of a queer character, it’s another to normalize them.”

“Exactly! A writer needs to make sure they’re not relying on stereotypes for their depictions! Anime is…hit or miss when it comes to this,” Tsumugi began, swaying side to side as she looked up at the ceiling in thought. “There are plenty of amazing gay characters out there, for example. Ymir, Haruka and Michiru, Toya and Yukito…but there are also plenty of bad ones. Chizuru is just awful. Hisoka is a good villain, but problematic representation. And don’t even get me started on BL!”

“Um…you’re g-going to have to be more specific if you want us to know what you’re talking about, Tsumugi,” Mikan said.

“Oh, that’s right. It’s just like me to make such a plain mistake…” Tsumugi frowned and her shoulders slacked.

“I understand you, Shirogane-san,” Tenko said, even if she did only recognize a few of those names. “It’s unsurprising, though. A lot of writers, especially from the older generation, don’t have much experience interacting with LGBT people, so they write based on stereotypes, which only perpetuates those stereotypes, and the cycle continues.”

Junko shrugged. “Stereotypes can be fun, though. Do you know how many psycho lesbians Sayaka’s come across? And she hasn’t even been an idol for that long.”

Sayaka gave an awkward laugh, though it was clear that remembering made her uncomfortable. “Aha…it’s true, I’ve met some girls who were pretty aggressive about their feelings for me. But it always works out in the end, so no harm done.”

“Boom, vindication. And hell, just look at Komaeda,” Junko said, gesturing to the man in question. “Dude’s depraved and he’s gay. Walking stereotype.”

“I don’t believe I’m any more depraved than you,” Nagito replied with a scoff.

“That isn’t really the point though, is it?” Kaito asked. “It’s all about responsibility and stuff. Like it or not, people’s opinions of marginalized communities are going to be informed by the media they see them in, so you have to be careful with the messages you send.”

“Wow! That’s surprisingly profound, Kaito. Nice work,” Kokichi said.

“Thanks, man!” Kaito replied with a proud grin. A few moments passed before realization set in. “Hey, what do you mean surprisingly?!”

Mondo raised his hand. “Yo. Let’s actually get you started on BL, yeah? You’ve got me curious.”

Chihiro tilted their head, a faint band of pink spreading across their face. “You’re…interested in that kind of thing? I never knew…”

“Hey, all I said was that I was curious. Never read one. I dunno, it feels so…fake. If that makes any sense.”

“Ah, well, you have a point there!” Tsumugi said. “Most popular BL are written by straight women first and foremost for other straight women, and they tend to have certain blind spots when it comes to depicting what gay relationships between men are actually like. They’re very particular about having the couples fit the roles of uke and seme, there are all sorts of outdated tropes involved, and sexual assault is surprisingly common but is rarely treated with the tact it deserves!”

Mukuro thinned her eyes at her. “But…you still read them.”

“Of course!” Tsumugi replied, eyes shining. “Just because I recognize the problematic elements of BL doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy it! How can I stay away when so many stories are so compelling?! Oh, I’ll have to show you my favorite webtoon after this!”

Mahiru made up her face and thought for a moment. “I get what you mean, but on the other hand…does it have to be realistic? Isn’t escapism a big appeal of those sorts of stories for a lot of people?”

“That, and voyeurism,” Junko replied. “You’re not completely off base, though. Like, Kotoko’s got a bunch of manga taking place in all-girls schools where everyone’s a lesbian and men don’t exist. That’s definitely not realistic, but it’s part of the wish fulfillment of it all.”

“Kiss & White Lily For My Dearest Girl is a masterpiece! You should totally read it, Tenko!” Kotoko said.

“I’ll put it on my list!” Tenko said with a genial smile. “I think you have a point, though, Koizumi-senpai. A lot of straight romances are super duper unrealistic, but are still often the most popular. I guess it’s about…the potential for harm?”

Mondo shrugged. “Most of that BL stuff is probably harmless. Probably. So if a bunch of girls wanna drool over dudes making out, I don’t really see the big deal.”

“Even if it’s harmless, it’s cringe. And that’s the worst thing you can be,” Kokichi said.

Kaede ignored him. A wise choice. “Even then, it would be nice to have stuff that’s more, I don’t know, reflective of what it’s actually like to be queer, you know?” she said.

“There are plenty of works like that, too, though!” Tsumugi said. “Bloom into You, Sweet Blue Flowers, Storms Among Flowers—”

“Aren’t those all yuri manga?” Komaeda asked. “What about the rest of us?”

“I’ve got you covered there, too! There’s Our Abnormalities for gender stuff, Our Dreams at Dusk and Love Me for Who I Am for the whole spectrum, and Naruto for gay men!”

That certainly caught everyone’s attention. Miu burst out laughing, nearly doubling over out of her chair, while Mondo sputtered in shock.

“Fucking Naruto? Seriously?”

“What? Oh, you must not understand the intense love Naruto and Sasuke hold for one another,” Tsumugi said, frowning. “That’s okay, though! I have an entire presentation about just that that I can show you sometime!”

“No offense, but I don’t think anyone’s really interested in seeing that,” Himiko mumbled. “Different question. What type of representation do you prefer?”

“Me?” Tsumugi tilted her head and pointed a finger at her chest. “I don’t understand why you’d want to know how someone as plain and boring as I am feels.”

“Bitch, this entire meeting has been you telling us how you feel,” Junko scoffed. “Don’t stop now, keep it going.”

“Well, if you insist. Hm…I think my favorite type of representation is the casual type. I like it when queer characters just are. You know?”

“I think I get what you mean, but could you elaborate on that?” Sagishi asked.

“Gladly! I mean the types of characters who show up in media that isn’t necessarily queer. Like…Alluka Zoldyck in Hunter x Hunter! She’s transgender, but not much attention is drawn to that part of her, and her character is so much more than that! Or Juniper from Xenoblade 3, who’s nonbinary, but it’s never even mentioned in the game itself! They just exist, and everyone respects that.”

Tenko smiled. “That’s my answer, too. Most of the anime and manga you mentioned earlier are explicitly queer works where you know what you’re getting into when you start them, but I think this kind of character reaches a larger audience.”

“Exactly!” Tsumugi exclaimed, absolutely beaming. “It’s the same case with Shuichi and Makoto, don’t you agree?”

The room went silent.

Ah. There it was.

“W-What?” Shuichi asked in bewilderment. “Me? What do I have to do with this?”

Makoto let out a long breath. “This is what I was worried about…”

Tsumugi’s large smile remained. “It’s simple! You two are both bisexual, but it rarely comes up in conversation, right? Even in an explicitly queer space like this one!”

Hiyoko squinted. “This is your first time here, how would you even know—”

“On top of that, you may be in straight relationships, but that doesn’t make you any less queer!”

“I’m not dating anyone!” Shuichi corrected with a frustrated grumble. He shrugged Angie off of his arm, something he had had to do multiple times this week, and shook his head. “Angie and I aren’t a thing—I don’t know how many times I have to explain this!”

“Aren’t you, though?” Tsumugi asked, tilting her head. “Even if you don’t exactly have a label on your relationship yet, she’s definitely your love interest. Don’t you see? You have to think about these things in the context of a story! That’s all life is, really.”

Himiko looked to Tenko in concern as Junko cracked a satisfied smile and nodded to herself.

“That’s my Moogs,” she said.

There Tsumugi went again, conflating fiction with reality. That bad habit of hers certainly explained why Junko had taken an interest in her to begin with. Junko Enoshima had no interest in normal, every day people, and despite Tsumugi’s unassuming appearance, hiding behind those basic round glasses was someone who likely needed counseling. Desperately.

Angie hummed. “Hm…I suppose we are all just characters in Atua’s world, are we not? That makes sense!”

“No, it doesn’t,” Teruteru said, cringing. “If we’re all just characters, then who’s the protagonist, huh?”

“Tenko, of course!” Tsumugi answered at once.

Tenko shook her head and blinked in shock. “Huh? Me? Tenko? How am I the protagonist?”

“You’re the protagonist of this story,” Tsumugi clarified. By now, her hands were clasped together over her chest and her eyes practically spiraled in her skull. “Think about it! You’re the one who put the club together, after all. You decide the topics that determine the series of events that inform all of our characters! The focus may not be on you all the time, but every Friday after school, you’re the protagonist.”

“So that makes us, what, the supporting cast?” Aoi asked, crossing her arms with a skeptical look in her eye.

“Exactly! But that doesn’t mean we can’t get our own subplots! Just look at the love triangle between Shuichi, Angie, and Kaede!”

Kaede’s face burned. “There is no love triangle! O-Or love polygon, whatever!”

“Yeah, I know you can be kinda delusional sometimes, Tsumugi, but you’re seeing something that just ain’t there,” Kaito said, shaking his head. “Bro’s living the bachelor’s life.”

Tenko sighed. Once again, the time had come for her to play the mediator.

“You shouldn’t talk about other people that way, Shirogane-san. We’re people, not characters. All that comes from that is people getting hurt. I’m going to have to ask you to try and stay grounded when you’re in one of these meetings.”

Tsumugi’s enthusiasm began to wilt. “Stay…grounded? But…that doesn’t fit my character archetype…”

“You don’t have to play that role,” Chihiro began, voice quiet as a mouse, “just because it’s what’s expected of you. And it might be hard to break out of that box, but I think that it’s worth the effort to try. Not just for other people, but for your sake, too. It’s not healthy to think about life that way.”

Tsumugi stared at them with such intensity that they started to blush, leaning further back in their seat and averting their eyes. Finally, after what felt like forever, Tsumugi’s wide smile returned in full force and her eyes twinkled like diamonds.

“You. Are. So. Cute!” she yelled, squeeing. Tenko winced at the sound—she hoped she didn’t sound like that. “You’re the perfect compliment to such a vast cast of characters! Your cuteness is uniquely yours, you know? It isn’t the same as Mikan or Himiko’s at all!”

“We’re both pretty small,” Himiko said.

“Yes, but you embody a different type of moe!” Tsumugi explained. By then, Chihiro had already turned red as a ripe tomato from all the attention. “You’re more of the endearing lolita type. Like Megumin! You even dress like her!”

Himiko pouted. It wasn’t the first time that comparison had been drawn. “Megumin uses spell slots. I use the superior MP system. We are not the same. Hmph.”

“Fujisaki is a completely different style, though! The perfect petite and slender frame, the soft-spoken and shy personality, the submissive nature!” She squealed and wrapped her arms around herself in pure bliss. She’d lost it. “He’s the ideal otokonoko!"¹

Tenko’s heart dropped like a stone.

Chihiro’s eyes widened in horror and the redness of their skin faded to a pale white. Mondo stood up at once, wasting no time in issuing a swift correction.

“Wrong pronoun. Chihiro uses they/them, and they’re not a…whatever you just said.”

Tsumugi gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to misgender you, I swear!”

Chihiro did not respond, only holding their tongue between their teeth and shifting uncomfortably in their seat, eyes glued to their lap. Kotoko crossed her arms and looked to Tsumugi in confusion.

“I dunno why you’d call them that anyway. Chihiro’s not even male.”

Tsumugi raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. “Huh? But…”

“Thin ice, Mugi,” Junko growled.

“I’m sorry, really! I assumed everyone knew. I thought it was obvious…”

What in the world was she talking about? Chihiro may not have settled on a particular label for themselves quite yet, but they definitely weren’t a boy. Tenko had spent far too much of her time at Hope’s Peak internally gushing over how adorable of a girl they were for that to have been true. She was sure Tsumugi was speaking nonsense, but when she turned her attention to the person in question, she found that tears running down Chihiro’s rosy cheeks. Their entire body was trembling.

“I—” Their voice caught in their throat. “I’m sorry,” they whispered. “I’m so sorry!”

Chihiro squeezed their eyes shut and bolted out of the room without another word, their chair toppling against the floor. Mondo immediately reached out and called for them.

“Chihiro!”

“Chi-Chi!” Junko shouted. She glared daggers at Tsumugi, who whimpered in response. “You and I will talk later. Mondo.”

Mondo nodded, determination palpable on his features. “On it!”

With that, the two of them took off down the hall in hot pursuit of their friend and left the club room in a state of uncomfortable silence. Tenko tightly gripped the edge of her seat, knuckles white and teeth clenched. This marked the second time someone had ran out of the meeting in a bout of panic. The Fruits Basket was meant to be a safe space where people could feel free to be themselves without fear of judgment or ridicule, but…

“Nyeh, hey.” Himiko squeezed her hand and mustered up a reassuring smile. “That wasn’t your fault.”

“I know,” Tenko breathed. She wished she believed it.

Chapter Text

I had this coming.

Curled up beneath one of the desks of the building’s computer lab, it was the only thought running through Chihiro’s head. I had this coming, it’s my fault, it was only a matter of time. They hugged their knees against their chest and sobbed. The consequences of their years-long lie had finally caught up to them.

Really, they did not know what they were expecting. They supposed they would have kept the secret of their birth gender even past graduation, but really, how feasible was that? It was not as if it was unknown to everyone. They’d confided in Mondo and Leon early on in their first semester together. Junko knew from the moment she first laid eyes on them. The Steering Committee knew as well, of course, but they said nothing. It was only a matter of time before the truth came out one way or another, and Chihiro believed they were prepared for that.

They were wrong.

“Chihiro!”

Chihiro tensed up at the sound of their name being called from the hallway. Mondo. Of course he’d gone looking for them. They sniffled and squeezed their eyes shut, hoping to remain as silent as possible. They didn’t want anyone seeing them like this.

“God damn it! Way to fuckin’ go, Enoshima, look what ya fuckin’ did!”

Enoshima…? Junko was with him?

“What? How is this my fault?”

“You’re the one who invited you weird ass friend to the meeting, and do you see what happened?”

“And how was I supposed to know she’d go and say something stupid like that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you knew everything! That’s your real talent, ain’t it? Predicting things? And yet you didn’t see this coming from YOUR friend!”

“That’s not how it works. It’s not passive, it’s—” Junko let out a frustrated huff. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter? I swear to God, if Chihiro’s not alright, I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Hurt me? Get a grip, damn it. Look, do you want to stand here and fight, or do you want to find and help Chi-Chi?”

There was silence for a few moments, and then, a long sigh.

“Fuck. I wanna find ‘em.”

“Thought so.” Chihiro yelped at the sound of a soft bang at the door. Junko’s boot, most likely. “They’re in here.”

“What? How do you…?”

“Think about it for like, two seconds. Computer lab’s close enough to the club room that they could disappear into it easily, but it’s locked to most students once classes are up. And you know who has card access?”

Dread crept from Chihiro’s back to their chest. They wished Mondo and Junko would just go away. Chihiro was stupid, making their friends worry about them, and over a problem they’d created entirely on their own as well. None of this would be happening if Chihiro wasn’t so weak.

A knock at the door. “Chi-Chi?” Junko called. “You wanna let us in?”

Chihiro whimpered. They could have waited until the two of them simply gave up and left, but…that time would never come, really. They would find a way in eventually one way or another. It sucked, but they were trapped between a rock and a hard place as well as a soft place. Mondo was an absolute brick wall of a man, of course, and Junko was soft in more ways than one…when she wanted to be.

It took every ounce of willpower in Chihiro’s body for them to force themselves to crawl out from underneath the desk, switch on the lights, and pull the door open. Mondo let out a sigh of relief and Junko looked down at them fondly.

“Shit, little dude. You scared me.”

“Hey, Chi-Chi. Sorry about Mugi, she’s a lot to handle sometimes. Mind if we come in?”

Chihiro cast their gaze down at their feet and nodded without a word, stepping aside to allow the two of them into the computer lab. Junko shut the door behind her before hopping up on a desk and crossing her legs.

“You good?” she asked.

Chihiro sniffled, wiping away their tears with their sleeve and nodding. “I’m fine. Sorry, I just…I didn’t want it to—” Their voice caught in their throat. “I didn’t want it to happen like this.”

“You’re not fine. That was fucked up. Shit, I shouldn’t’ve let that happen.”

“It’s not your fault. You…you couldn’t have known.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m supposed to protect you, and I couldn’t do that. This one’s on me.”

Junko scoffed. “Mondo, I get that we’re Chi-Chi’s bodyguards, but let’s not start with the self deprecation. This is about them, not you, not me.”

“What? That’s not what I’m doin’, genius. All I mean is—”

“Please,” Chihiro said. “I don’t like it when you two fight. You’re my friends, and I want my friends to get along.”

“Asking Mondo and I to get along might be a bit much, but I’ll try if it’s for you, at least,” Junko said, shrugging. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Chihiro bit their lip and cast their gaze at their feet. They did, but how could they? They hated being a burden, and all they would be doing by rambling about their own silly issues was making trouble trouble for Mondo and Junko, and that was the last thing they wanted.

“I don’t know,” they mumbled. “I hate this.”

“This?” Mondo asked.

Chihiro’s frown deepened. “Everything about my whole gender…thing. I hate talking about it, I hate thinking about it, everything. I wish it would all just go away—that I could just be normal.”

Junko tilted her head, curious. “Normal how?”

“You know, normal. A normal boy who dresses in normal clothes and is a normal height and has a normal voice. But I’m not any of those things. Almost nobody in my life ever sees me as a boy, and it’s my own fault. It’s like—like I dug my own grave all because I didn’t have the guts to face the world as myself.”

Mondo placed a hand on Chihiro’s shoulder. “But…that ain’t all there is to it, huh? We’ve been through this enough times that I know you’d be ready to live as a guy if that’s what you wanted to do.”

“I don’t know what I want to do! I don’t know what I want to be!” Chihiro exclaimed, and they felt tears coming on once again. “A part of me wants people to see me as a boy, and that’s the part of me that hates the way I look. But there’s another part of me that likes dressing the way I do, and looking cute, and—” Their voice caught in their throat. “I don’t hate it when people call me a girl. That’s what I’m used to. I don’t know what the answer to any of this is. I don’t know what I am.”

“You’re Chihiro Fujisaki, genius programmer and my little buddy,” Mondo said, offering a reassuring smile. “It doesn’t matter what gender you are, Chihiro. Just that you’re you.”

Junko smirked. “Sweet sentiment and all, but that doesn’t really adress the problem at hand. He’s trying to figure out his identity, not brush it aside.”

Chihiro flinched, just for a moment, and Junko immediately snapped her fingers. “There. Why’d you flinch just now?”

“You’ve never used guy pronouns for me before. It sounds weird coming from you.”

“Is that it?”

“…No,” Chihiro admitted, chewing their lip. “I’m not used to it in general. Sure, Mondo and Leon do it, but…it’s almost foreign to me now. Whenever I go home for a break and my dad says it, it’s like I have to remind myself that he’s talking about me and not someone else. ”

Junko tapped her nails along the edge of the desk she sat atop and nodded. “Mm. And what if I said ‘Damn, Mondo, we’ve really got to help our bestie Chi-Chi out here. Just look at how sad she looks! I’ve never seen her so distressed before!’ How would that make you feel?”

Chihiro shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s what everyone calls me—or what they used to call me—but it’s a lie, isn’t it? I’m not a girl. Not really.”

Mondo opened his mouth, undoubtedly to offer more words of comfort, but Junko stopped him with a simple raise of her hand. “So you don’t like either of those, but it’s not because they feel wrong. It’s for other reasons. Masculine pronouns aren’t familiar anymore and feminine ones make you feel like you’re lying to people.”

“I guess so,” Chihiro mumbled.

“Well, which one do you hate the least?” Mondo asked.

“I…I don’t know. I don’t know!” Chihiro buried their face in their hands. “This is all so hard, and I’ve felt like this for so long—why couldn’t it be easy? Why couldn’t this be some bug in the system that I could just fix myself?”

“Because people aren’t computers, Chi-Chi. They aren’t logical and they sure as hell aren’t binary.”

“But you are.” Chihiro sniffled and looked up at Junko with desperate, pleading eyes. “Your talent—you’re like a supercomputer, right? You said it yourself. So you know what I am, right?”

Junko looked away, lips pursed. “I’ve got an idea, sure.”

“Then you can tell me!” They hastily grabbed Junko’s hands and smiled as best they could. “You can fix this, right? Just tell me the answer and I’ll know what to do.”

Junko’s eyes darkened and she frowned. “I’m not doing that.”

“But why?” Chihiro asked. They held on to any semblance of hope they had left even as their voice broke. “I’m your friend—why won’t you help me?”

“It’s exactly because I’m your friend that I refuse to tell you what to be. I can’t decide who you are. The only person who can do that is you.” Junko glanced towards Mondo for but a moment before rolling her eyes and giving Chihiro a reassuring smile, one that bewildered Mondo, evident by the shock on his face. “So I won’t give you an answer, but I will be there for you while you search for one, ‘kay?”

“And so will I, you already know,” Mondo said. “Seriously, little dude. Don’t feel like this is something you’ve got to do alone. I may not know much about all this gender stuff, but I’ve got your back no matter what.”

Chihiro wiped away their tears and met their friends’ eyes. Mondo at their back, Junko before them. The two of them had left the Fruits Basket meeting specifically to come and find Chihiro—to help them. Mondo was right. This was not something they had to deal with alone at all.

“What if I make the wrong decision?” they asked, their voice quiet as a mouse.

“Then you go back and make a different one, and if that’s not right, you do it over and over again until you’re comfortable. You’re not closing any doors just by stepping through one, you know.”

“But won’t that be annoying to other people? Always having to keep up to date?”

“The people that matter will understand, believe me,” Mondo said. “And anyone who has a problem with it can get bent. No one messes with my Chi-Chi—” He caught his tongue in his teeth at once, and Junko’s amused smile stoked red in his cheeks. “Wait, wait. That came out wrong.”

“So did Kotoko the first few times. See? Labels are hard.”

Junko ruffled Chihiro’s hair and they burst out laughing, blinking away what remained of their tears. They grinned, looking back and forth between Junko and Mondo, before pulling them both in for a tight, warm embrace.

“Thank you…both of you,” they said, nuzzling against both Mondo and Junko’s chests. Whichever path awaited them may have been a long and difficult one, but they took solace in the knowledge that they would not have to walk it alone. “You two really are the best bodyguards I could ask for.”

“Hah, yeah I know. And Mondo, watch where your hands are wandering.”

“You’re delusional if you think I’m trying to cop a feel.”

“I’d say I’ll cut your hands off myself, but it’d be more fun to show you what Mikan’s like when she’s jealous.”

Mondo shuddered, prompting Chihiro to snicker even more. “No thanks. Sweet girl and all, but somethin’ about her creeps me out sometimes. All of your friends do, ‘cept the kid.”

“Aw, thanks! I make it a point to cultivate my social circle to be as disturbing to you as possible. Speaking of which, I’ve got to make sure I rip Mugi a new one. God, the mouth on that girl,” Junko grumbled. “But I can do that later. For now, Chi-Chi cuddles.”

Chihiro giggled. “Junko cuddles. Mondo cuddles, too.”

Chapter Text

Chihiro had actually shown up to the meeting today.

The sight of them standing before the doorway with Junko lit up Tenko’s face like a lantern. She wasted no time in hastily making her way further down the corridor with Himiko’s hand in her own, though upon getting closer, she realized that Chihiro looked rather distressed.

“Fujisaki-san,” Tenko began, a tentative smile on her face. “You came! I, uh, heard from Owada-san that you were doing okay after last week, but I was still worried that you wouldn’t want to show up here again…”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Chihiro said, eyes darting between Tenko’s and Junko’s. Junko stood there with her hands on her hips and a self-satisfied look on her face. “I talked to Tsumugi earlier this week, and she already apologized enough.”

“Have you talked to anyone else about, um…what she said?” Himiko asked. She sounded unsure of how to phrase that question without potentially opening up any wounds that had surely only just begun to heal.

“Just Junko and Mondo. I’ve actually been avoiding it, but I guess it’s now or never, huh?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Tenko assured them. “Today’s topic might actually not be great for you to be here for, so if you want to just go home—”

“No. I have to do this, even if it’s scary,” Chihiro said. They closed their eyes and took a deep inhale through their nose, then lightly thumping their head against Junko’s chest. “And even if Junko wants to make it harder for me for some reason.”

Tenko’s smile returned in full force. She wasn’t quite sure what the exact details of Chihiro’s situation were—it was none of her business, really—but it surely took a lot of bravery to be willing to speak in front of the Fruits Basket after the events of the previous meeting. She felt the same type of pride for them in the moment that a parent would their child.

“Relax, Chi, you’ll be fine. I may have made it scarier, sure, but you’ll feel that much better once it’s done!”

“Oh no. What did you do, Enoshima-san?” Tenko asked.

“Nothing major. I just invited the girl they have a crush on is all.”

“Junko!” Chihiro shrieked, fruitlessly tugging at the fashionista’s sleeves. “You weren’t supposed to tell them!”

“What? It’s just the disaster lesbian and baby gay. ‘S no biggie.”

Himiko huffed. “What did I say about calling me a baby?! Call me an apprentice or fledgling or something!”

Junko snickered behind her hand, leading the other three to frown in response. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road now that the boss is here. It’s showtime, baby!”

Though evidently still anxious judging by their wide eyes and trembling lip, Chihiro nevertheless steeled their nerves and stepped through the clubroom door. Junko, Tenko, and Himiko followed behind, and Tenko cleared her throat to greet the club just as she always did.

“Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket!” she said as the others took their seats. “I, uh, know last meeting was kind of rocky, but that’s in the past! Today, we move forward, so let’s do that! To start, it looks like we have an unfamiliar face with us! Would you like to introduce yourself before we kick things off?”

While Tenko did not exactly recognize the girl, if this was the one Chihiro apparently had a crush on, she could certainly see why. Her skin was pale as snow and looked just as soft, its color only serving to accentuate her striking red eyes and jet black hair styled in a simple shoulder-length bob. Something told Tenko that a girl as pretty as her would like absolutely stunning all dolled up in an over the top outfit, but the only thing she wore that suggested even a hint of vanity was a pair of golden spherical earrings with a single red gem in the center of each. Aside from that, she donned a simple grey track jacket, short shorts, and black stockings, sitting with her hands folded atop her lap. She smiled as Chihiro nervously sat next to her.

“Celestia Ludenberg, Ultimate Gambler. Please, call me Celeste. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. If you must know, while I do prefer men, I am also open to relationships with people of other genders as well, if they are worthy,” she said, and Tenko couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her manner of speech. The accent was…European? Eastern European? That was probably it, but it wasn’t one she’d ever heard before.

“Really? You’re gonna keep that up even when you’re not in your whole get-up?” Hiyoko asked. “Way to half-ass the persona.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The reasoning behind my appearance is simple. I simply woke up late this morning and did not have time to fully dress myself. It takes quite a bit of time to put on the clothes I wear, I’ll have you know.”

Mondo made up his face, attention fixed on Celeste and Chihiro. “And Enoshima’s the one who invited you today, eh?” he asked, unamused.

“Yes, she is. I usually go out for tea on Fridays, but I owed Junko a favor, so here I am repaying it. That’s all.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Celeste,” Himiko said with a friendly smile. “Do you want to introduce the topic for today, Tenko?”

Tenko swallowed, nervous, and cautiously eyed Chihiro. If they said they would be alright, then she had to believe them, but…

“Right. Well then, everyone, the topic for this week’s meeting is, um…gender dysphoria,” Tenko said. Her words came out like a whisper and she let out a deep sigh as soon as she said them. “I know this might not be the best move after what happened last week, but that’s how it was on the schedule and Yumeno-san and I didn’t feel it was right to change it just because we thought Fujisaki-san might not be able to handle it because that’s pretty patronizing and—”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, Tenko!” Kaito assured her. “Hell, it’s a good thing if you really think about it. Gives everyone the perfect chance to actually talk about it when it’s most relevant to the club, you know? Sure helps people like me understand, too, since I’ve barely got any idea what that even means.”

“I agree! If you ask me, the timing couldn’t be more perfect, especially if Chihiro is comfortable sharing their own experience. Are you?” Sayaka asked.

Chihiro bit their lip, eyes glued to the floor, but nevertheless nodded. “Y-Yeah. I don’t mind. You guys are my friends, and this is a safe space, so it’s fine.”

Kokichi grinned. “Aw, isn’t that nice? We’re all one big happy family here. Take it away with a definition now, Tenko.”

Tenko shot him a dirty look. She was going to do that anyway, but the last thing she needed was a man telling her what to do, especially Kokichi. “Hmph. Gender dysphoria is any feeling of discomfort that comes from a sense that someone’s gender identity is incompatible with their assigned gender at birth…I think.” Tenko held her tongue between her teeth and awkwardly rubbed at her neck. “I know this stuff can be a lot more complicated that it’s made out to be, and I haven’t really done much research about it. I’m sorry…”

“You don’t have to be so apologetic, Tenko,” Sakura said. “We don’t expect you to be an encyclopedia on all things queer. All you can be is yourself.”

“Still, my money was on you knowing all sorts of stuff about this,” Miu said, a smug look on her face. “I figured you were Japan’s number one chaser of trans girls everywhere.”

“Miu!” Kaede and Shuichi exclaimed in unison, and their combined looks of disapproval made the inventor shudder, a band of red spreading across her face.

“Sh-Sheesh. When you both look at me like that, I—”

“Your definition was fine, Tenko,” Sagishi hastily said, trying their best not to pay much attention to Miu or the way she trembled in her seat. “A bit narrow, but a good enough starting point.”

Tenko sighed. “That’s what I was worried about. It’s such a broad subject! Do you want to start us off, Sagishi-senpai? Maybe that’ll help us all understand better.”

Sagishi glanced up at the ceiling and held their chin in their hand. “Hm…I don’t know if I can do that, really.”

“Eh? But you’re non-binary, ain’t ya?” Teruteru asked. “That’s part of the trans umbrella, so shouldn’t you have dealt with this stuff at some point or another?”

“Not really. Sometimes I look like a man, sometimes I look like a woman, sometimes I don’t look like either, and I’m perfectly comfortable with any of those.” They held up a lock of their black hair and twirled it around their finger. “When I’m not in any disguise like this, I suppose I look more masculine than anything, but there’s no discomfort in that. In fact, I love my body.”

Nekomaru crossed his arms, brows furrowed in confusion. “Hm. I’m not sure I get it. I thought the whole dysphoria thing was a part of being transgender?”

Sagishi shook their head. “Not for me. But I can only speak for myself.”

“Ah, what a silly assumption!” Angie said, waving her hand in dismissal. “It is the most common experience, yes, but there are plenty of transgender people who have little to no dysphoria!”

“Then how do they know they’re trans…?” Toko asked.

“Simple! The answer lies within the opposite of dysphoria: euphoria!” Angie clapped her hands together and laughed to herself, swaying from side to side. “Nyahahaha! On my island, there is in abundance of people who do not mind the gender they once lived as nor do they hate their bodies, but simply are much happier living as a different one!”

Kiyotaka nodded sagely, eyes closed and arms folded. “I see, I see. So their gender identity is rooted in joy rather than in suffering.”

“Note that this is like, a whole thing that people get hella invested in debating about on the internet. Or in courthouses sometimes,” Junko warned. “Careful you don’t piss off the audience.”

“What audience? Junko, with the things you say, it’s no wonder Tsumugi is the way she is…” Sayaka said, a small frown on her face.

Tsumugi opened her mouth, undoubtedly with the intent to defend herself, but Junko held up a finger before she could say anything. “Ah. I said not a word out of you at today’s meeting, remember? Your punishment’s not over.”

As Tsumugi whined, Tenko clocked Chihiro mumbling to themselves and twiddling their thumbs in their lap. “Fujisaki-san? Is there something you have to say?”

Chihiro blushed under the watchful gaze of Celeste. “Um…I guess I just don’t really agree with the idea that you need dysphoria to be trans. I mean. Does it have to be based on negative feelings…?”

“I th-think the argument is that being transgender has to mean something, otherwise anyone could just claim that they are,” Mikan meekly added. “I, um, don’t really have a stake in this, though.”

Korekiyo shook his head in disapproval. “I find several flaws in that line of reasoning, chief among them being the fact that gender dysphoria does not necessarily mean that one is transgender.”

“It doesn’t???” Aoi asked, bewildered.

“Doesn’t have to, no. It can stem from other things, too,” Mahiru said.

Celeste put a finger on her chin and leaned forward. “Are you speaking from experience?”

“…Kind of?” Mahiru let out an uncomfortable laugh and sheepishly ran her fingers through her hair, averting her eyes. “When I was going through puberty, for a while, I really hated my body. My chest, my hips, stuff like that. I actually seriously looked into seeing if I could get surgery to get rid of my breasts without my dad finding out.”

“What? Why the hell would you want to get rid of your boobs—your boobs are great!”

Hiyoko seemed to realize what she was saying only after she’d already said it. The color drained from her face as Mahiru raised an eyebrow at her, and the very next moment, the sound of Junko’s cackling caused her to go bright red. “W-What’s so funny, huh?! What, a girl can’t compliment her friend anymore?”

“Outstanding damage control,” Nagito said. He sounded like he meant it.

“Thanks, Hiyoko,” Mahiru continued, laughing behind her hand. “But it’s not that I hated them because they felt like they shouldn’t have been there or something, but more like I hated the way they made people treat me. Boys started acting like perverts or treating me like I was a delicate flower or something. I even cut most of my hair off at one point just so I’d look more like a boy. I used to stand in front of my bedroom mirror and just feel…wrong. It’s not like I actually wanted to be a boy, but I didn’t want people to treat me like a girl, because the way people treat girls is disgusting. Does that make sense?”

“Huh…wouldn’t that be more body dysmorphia than gender dysphoria?” Rantaro asked.

Junko shook her head and put a hand on Mikan’s shoulder. “Nah, those are related, but still different things. Dysmorphia’s what my Miki’s got. Do you…maybe wanna talk about it, sweetie?”

Mikan whimpered and shifted in her seat, eyes nervously flickering between her lap and Junko’s hand, but nevertheless slowly nodded after a few moments’ thought. “If it helps everyone understand, th-then I guess I can. Um…I h-hate the way I look. E-Everything about it. My hair, my face, my legs, e-even my voice. Most of the time, I feel like some g-grotesque, hideous, repulsive thing. Like my body is a cage I can’t escape from. It makes life r-really hard sometimes. Even just looking in a mirror is a challenge, but n-none of it has anything to do with how I feel about my gender. I like being a girl, even if I think my butt or my b-boobs are disgusting.”

“Whaaat? No way! You’ve got a pair of killer knockers, Mikan, and your booty’s bangin’, too!” Ibuki asserted, pumping her fists in the air.

Mikan blushed as expected, unable to stop her lips from curling into a small smile. “Th-Thank you, Ibuki. Um…it’s not always bad, though. Jun-Jun’s helped me deal with it a lot this past year, and some days I actually feel kind of pretty.”

“I could spend the rest of my life telling you exactly how pretty you are and I’d still die happy, babe.” Junko pressed a kiss, long and tender, onto Mikan’s cheek and wrapped her arms tightly around her from the side. Tsumugi squealed at the display of affection and covered her face in distress, evidently not handling her punishment well. “So yeah, that’s the distinction. Everyone get it? Got it? Good.”

“Those both sound really tough to deal with, sheesh,” Makoto mumbled.

“That’s how this kind of self-loathing goes,” Tenko said. “It’s almost a constant, eating away at you and making you miserable. But it’s not a death sentence or anything like that! There are ways to deal with it!”

Celeste tilted her head. “Such as?”

“Well, therapy’s always an option,” Himiko replied. “You can’t really go wrong there. Unless you get a bad therapist, I guess.”

“You can also change up your wardrobe! If your boobs cause you distress, then you can wear a binder! Or if someone wants some more definition to their chest, padded bras are there to help! Loose clothes, tight clothes, jewelry, masks, there are all sorts of things you can wear to mitigate discomfort depending on what type of dysphoria you have.”

“Then there’s the path that probably has the best results, even if it’s also probably the hardest,” Sayaka began. “They could just transition. Socially, medically, both.”

“Is that what you did, Chihiro?” Kotoko asked, eyes filled with curiosity. “I mean, that’s got to be why you’re so cute, right?”

Chihiro shook their head and shut their eyes. “No, I haven’t taken any sort of medication or anything. I just naturally look and sound like this.”

“Hmph, lucky you,” Hiyoko grumbled. “Unless that’s a bad thing. Still not entirely sure what your whole situation is, you know.”

“It’s…complicated,” Chihiro sighed.

“Complicated is fun,” Kokichi said, a grin splitting his lips. “Go on, tell us all about it!”

“Only if they want to, Kokichi,” Shuichi countered. “The last thing we want to do is make someone talk about a part of themselves they’d rather keep close to their chest.”

Chihiro let out a shaky breath and began to anxiously bounce their knee, much to the dissatisfaction of Mondo, Tenko, and judging by the look on her face, Celeste as well. “It’s okay. I came here today ready to talk about it, so I know I can do exactly that. Even if it is scary…”

“Take your time, little buddy,” Mondo said, offering a reassuring smile.

“Right, right.” Chihiro took a moment to compose themselves, deeply inhaling as their knee stopped its movements, and closing their eyes once again. “Okay, okay. I…um…was born a boy, but I guess you’ve all probably figured that out by now. I’ve never exactly been masculine, though. I wasn’t good at sports, I didn’t really like playing outside, I wasn’t rowdy like the other boys, so I uh, was bullied a lot. People always said that I was so weak for a boy, that I should man up, things like that. I wanted to get away from that bullying so badly that I just…ran away from being a boy, I guess. I started dressing as a girl, so people of course assumed that I was one, and before I knew it, I’d dug myself into an even deeper hole. I thought my bullying would get even worse if the truth ever came out, so I kept that secret for…most of my life, really. Before last week, the only people that knew were my family, Mondo, Junko, and Leon.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did those three come to know your secret?” Kiyotaka asked, speaking with as much tact and respect that he could muster.

“Junko just kind of figured it out when we started school last year and approached me about it before the end of the first week. Mondo and Leon I told because they’re my friends, and I guess I wanted them to know me for me, and not who I was pretending to be...or at least…who I thought I was pretending to be?” Chihiro sighed, again, and shook their head. “Sometimes, when people call me a girl, I hate myself because it feels like I’m lying to them. Other times it makes me happy that they see me that way. There are times when I want people to look at me and see a boy, but I don’t want to be shackled with the expectations that brings with it. Does that make sense?”

Tenko grimaced. She’d gushed so many times about what a perfect girl Chihiro was in the past, and even now she often found herself silently appreciating their feminine allure, and that entire time she’d been causing them distress? That was the last thing she ever wanted to do. Guilt pricked at the back of her neck, but she knew that that would get her nowhere.

“It makes perfect sense, Fujisaki-san,” she said. “And even if it didn’t, that would be fine, too. Queerness is rarely perfectly rigid. It can be confusing and messy, and that’s okay.”

“Thanks, Tenko. That’s what I try and tell myself, but it helps to hear it from someone else.”

“Hm…” Celeste leaned forward, getting up close and personal with Chihiro, with a curious look at her face. “Do you dislike your body, then?”

Chihiro leaned back in response, though only slightly. “U-Um…sometimes? I feel fine right now, for example, but maybe I’ll hate how short I am in a week. Maybe I’ll want to be more masculine, I don’t know.”

Celeste blinked. “What should we call you, then? Have you given it any thought? Should we continue as we do, or would you prefer something else?”

“Little too close for comfort there, Celeste. Ease up a little,” Aoi said.

“No no, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Ah…” Chihiro scratched at their chin as their eyes shifted from Celeste’s to nothing in particular. Tenko had to admit that it was cute seeing them so flustered. “I guess…they? But also she. He, too. Any of those are fine—use whichever you want.”

“Sick, that’s convenient,” Miu said. “Label changed at all? Not that labels matter—fuck those—but you know.”

Chihiro nodded, a smile blooming on their face alongside red roses. “Mhm. I’m around ninety-percent sure that I’m gender-fluid. That missing ten-percent means there’s room for error, though, so maybe I won’t feel the same way in a few years. But that’s okay. There’s no real finish line with this sort of thing.”

“Aw yeah, nice! Congratulations on the new pronouns, Chihiro! Or, the old ones, I guess. The new set!” Kaito said, enthusiastic as ever.

“Yes, congratulations indeed.” Celeste crossed one leg over the other and nodded to herself. “It can be quite difficult to find the resolve to remain true to yourself—not that I would know, of course. I’m happy for you, Chihiro.”

Chihiro’s smile wobbled until it was as loopy as the twin drills Celeste usually sported and they began to sputter, unsure of how to respond. Mondo simply leaned back in his chair, met their eyes, and gave an affirming nod. That seemed to be enough to calm them down.

Himiko nudged Tenko with a hopeful smile. “See? I told you it would all work out. And you were so nervous all week.”

Tenko awkwardly laughed. “Yeah, I was, huh? I don’t know, I just want this club to be a place that makes people happy, so whenever bad stuff happens, it messes me up for a while…”

“Nyeh, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve made all of us happy, and helped more people than you think. We might not even be together if weren’t for this club, nyeh…” Himiko mumbled, blushing. “See? Just look at those two.”

It took Tenko a moment to figure out where it was Himiko wanted her to look, but when she found it, her eyebrows rose in delighted surprise. From the looks on their faces as they offered words of support to Chihiro, they may have not even realized they were doing it! They surely did the very next instant, however, as did everyone else.

“Shuichi and Kaede are holding hands!!!” Tsumugi blurted, unable to restrain herself any longer. They looked down at once, their eyes widening, and withdrew their hands immediately, sweat running down their faces.

Junko let out a sigh of disappointment and tutted, wagging her finger. “Oh, Mugi. You failed. And here I thought you had more restraint than that. Well then, you know what the consequences are.”

Mukuro lowered her head, seeming to dread whatever it was that awaited her. “I’m sorry, Tsumugi. But you’re going in the contraption.”

Junko nodded in comfirmation. “We’re putting you in the device.”

And while Himiko seemed to be infinitely curious as to just what in the world they were talking about, especially considering the look of horror on Tsumugi’s face, really, Tenko did not even want to know.

Chapter Text

The Fruits Basket had been particularly rewarding lately.

After Chihiro’s coming out at the previous week’s meeting, they had been far happier, seeming to glow with every smile and every word from their mouth gleaming with joy. He would beam and wave at Tenko every time they past each other in the hall and each instance made her heart flip in her chest. Something Tenko had made had led to something so beautiful, and for that, she was grateful.

This week proved to be rewarding as well, as instead of the typical one new member per meeting Tenko had grown used to, she was met with two instead. One was a face she knew well despite not sharing classes and the other was entirely new. Regardless, she greeted both of them with a welcoming smile and wave just as she usually did.

“Welcome back to the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket, everybody! I hope you all had a great week. Would our new guests like to introduce themselves?” she asked.

The first newbie was a girl about Tenko’s height with pale mauve hair and a friendly smile on her face. “Hello, everyone! I’m Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer. I like people of any and all genders, so I guess I fit right in here, huh? To those of you I don’t know, it’s nice to meet you, and to those I do, um…hi again!”

“Ah, finally. I was wondering when our very own class representative would join the Fruits Basket,” Nagito said. “But don’t you have the Video Game Club to run?”

Chiaki shook her head. “I did, but I’m a third year now, so I figured it was about time I step down and let the underclassmen take over. The youth will inherit the Earth, after all.”

“Hiya, Nanami-senpai! It’s good to have you,” Tenko said. “Who’s your friend?”

Sitting next to Chiaki, between her and Nagito, was someone who Tenko did not believe she had ever seen before. He was an unassuming looking young man, his hair shortly cropped, a plain-looking tie overtop his white dress shirt. Compared to even some of the more normal dressing students of Hope’s Peak, he looked surprisingly…bland. It was a rude thing to think about someone—degenerate male or not—but Tenko couldn’t help herself.

“Oh, right. I guess I should introduce myself.” The young man rose to his feet and cleared his throat. “My name is Hajime Hinata. I’m, uh, not actually the ultimate anything. I’m a Reserve Course student.”

Ah, that explained why Tenko had never seen him before. Komaru seemed to perk up at this information, likely happy to no longer be the only non-ultimate in the room, while Nagito’s eyes swam with…something Tenko found difficult to make out. She supposed it would best be described as mania. A surprise, considering how according to some of his classmates, Nagito did not much care for those he deemed talentless—himself included.

“I’m here because Chiaki figured I needed something to help me unwind after classes end and thought this would be a good fit. It’s our senior year, so we have to start worrying about things like entrance exams…”

“What’s the point of even being in the Reverse Course as a third-year? You’re almost done,” Kotoko asked. “They’re not reserving you for anything.”

“Well, it is not unheard of for Reserve Course students to be granted peerage well after a school year has already begun. Perhaps Hinata-san will be accepted after summer break?” Celeste suggested. She looked “normal” this week, all dressed up in her gothic lolita attire and her hair done up in massive twin drills whose size rivaled Junko Enoshima’s own signature pigtails.

“We can only hope,” Nagito snickered, and the way he did made Tenko’s skin crawl. Nagito was generally easy to be around, but sometimes he gave her the creeps.

“Right…well then, it’s good to have you both here! I’ll go ahead and introduce the topic for today,” Tenko said. “This week, we’ll be talking all about coming out!”

Ibuki chimed in. “Ooh, coming out of where? My cage?”

“What she means is the self-disclosure of a queer individual’s orientation or identity,” Korekiyo explained. “For instance, Chihiro’s confessions at the prior meeting.”

“Oh, that kind! Ibuki understands!”

“There are all sorts of things you can say about coming out,” Tenko began. “Good experiences, bad experiences, its difficulty, its reception, if it’s even necessary, stuff like that. I’ll begin with my own coming out story!”

Kaito raised an eyebrow. “I thought your parents knew you were gay from the beginning?”

“They did, but let me tell the story!” Tenko barked. “So, as many of you already know, I’ve never really been the best at hiding the fact that I like girls. My mom and dad were never suspicious of me because of my resentment towards degenerate males, they just assumed I was scared of cooties, but the way I would talk about some of my friends from school wasn’t very straight. Labels are complicated, but they knew I was gay before I even knew what that meant.”

“Damn, they clocked you from a mile away, huh?” Miu asked, snickering and nudging Shuichi in the side. “Not surprising.”

“Yes, they did. When I eventually did figure myself out, I was terrified to tell them. My mom always talked about wanting grandkids, and I don’t have any siblings, so I didn’t want to disappoint her.” Tenko sighed, thinking back to just how scared she had been just a few years ago. She usually oozed pure confidence, but when it came to her sexuality, she used to crumble. It had taken her becoming more than comfortable among her classmates for her to break out of that. “…I got in trouble at school one day for using my Neo-Aikido to flip some self-righteous boy over a desk. He said that a girl as loud as I am would never be able to find a husband, and I let my anger get the better of me. When my parents talked to me about it, I kept yelling about how I didn’t need to find a husband, how I didn’t need any man in my life!” She smiled. In hindsight, it was not as embarrassing a memory as it could have been. “And then my mom said that girls don’t like girls who are so quick to resort to violence. I was super surprised! I asked her what she meant, and she and my dad told me that they knew I didn’t like boys and wanted to be with a girl instead. I started to panic and deny it, but they said that they loved me no matter what. I may have cried! Maybe!”

Teruteru made up his face, crossing his arms with a skeptical expression. “So your dad is a swell guy, but you’re still a misandrist…?”

“I don’t have to justify myself to you!”

“It’s nice that your parents accept you unconditionally like that, Tenko,” Mahiru said with a smile as bright as the sun. “Having an accepting family like that definitely makes life easier for queer kids.”

Kokichi shrugged. “Meh, opposite end of the spectrum for me.”

“You mean your parents didn’t take you coming out well?” Toko asked.

“Understatement. My dad throws a mean right hook, you know! My face was swollen for a week!”

Tenko frowned. Just hearing him say that was enough to make her stomach feel like it had been twisted into a knot. “Wait, he hit you because you’re gay? Really?”

“Mhm! Said all sorts of awful stuff about me, too, but the punch stuck with me the longest. Probably because I was reminded of it every day when I looked in the mirror,” Kokichi continued, a smile on his face despite the nature of his words. “That’s not even the worst of it. They threatened to kick me out, and publicly out and disown me, and even called in an exorcist to cleanse me!”

“An exorcist?!” Sayaka gasped.

“An exorcist! He strapped me down to my bed and splashed holy water in my face while chanting something in Latin. I scared him away by vomiting in his face, though.”

That one made Tenko made a skeptical brow. Regardless of how much of that was a lie or not, she personally knew plenty of people who had gone through similar, and it didn’t matter how much she did not care for Kokichi. No one deserved that sort of treatment, especially at the hands of those who were supposed to care for them the most.

“That’s awful, Kokichi…” Shuichi said. “They don’t still treat you like that, do they?”

“Nope! I told them it was just a phase and crawled right back into the closet,” Kokichi answered, folding his hands behind his head and nonchalantly leaning back in his chair. “I’m comfortable here, thank you very much.”

“Damn. Yeah, that’s not uncommon, unfortunately,” Rantaro said. “I know a couple of people who tried to come out of the closet but had to go back in for their own safety, whether it be because their family is just the worst or because that sort of thing is illegal in their countries. It’s always a shitty situation.”

Mondo huffed. “Which is part of the reason why people pressuring others to come out is such bullshit.”

“Speaking from experience, I take it?” Celeste asked.

“Nah, not really. I didn’t really mean to come out, it just kind of happened. Lot of screaming, some punches thrown…it was ugly. But I know people who’ve been pressured into coming out when they weren’t in a good space to do that type of thing.”

A nudge from Mondo was all it took for Taka to clear his throat, crossing his arms over his chest as his expression hardened. “Ah. I have…yet to ‘come out,’ as we put it.”

“Woah, seriously? Your family doesn’t know about you and Mondo?” Aoi asked.

“No, they do not. You have to understand that my family is rather conservative, and I worry that my coming out would lead to me being disowned.” Taka sighed. “That is part of the reason Bro and I are not so affectionate with each other in public, even if our relationship is no secret among the student body. If anyone wished, they could tell my mother or father about us at any point and potentially ruin me…”

Kaede winced. That seem to have struck a nerve. Multiple sets of eyes fell on her, and with so much attention, she must have felt that the proverbial microphone had been passed to her.

“Right…I was uh, kind of outed against my will,” she muttered, eyes falling to her feet. “There was this girl in middle school who I had a crush on. It took me weeks to gather up the courage to ask her on a date—nothing special, we were just going to go to karaoke and maybe lunch—and she looked at me like I’d just told her I wanted to violate her. Everyone knew I was into girls by the end of the day. They all started treating me like I was contagious or something.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Mukuro said. “You shouldn’t have let her get away.”

Kaede raised an eyebrow, likely wanting to ask her to elaborate on exactly what she meant by that, but chose otherwise. “Um, anyway. Eventually my parents caught wind of this sort of bullying by isolation, and that’s how they found out I was bi. I freaked out. I wasn’t ready to tell them, and I had had this perfect idea for how I’d do it in my head for the longest time, and I was so scared that they’d reject me. I wanted to do it on my own terms, when I was ready, and that was just stolen from me all because I trusted the wrong person!”

By then, Kaede’s face had gone red. That redness began to fade as Miu kissed her teeth and squeezed her hand in her own. Shuichi put a comforting hand on her shoulder and she took a deep breath to calm herself, not saying anything for a few moments, before continuing.

“I wasn’t ready,” she repeated. “It was supposed to be my moment. Something I worked towards. That’s why I…I don’t think I can forgive anyone who outs someone against their will, or forces them to when they’re not prepared.”

“So like Junko,” Kokichi said, a devious smirk on his lips.

“Eh?” Junko asked. “Oh, you mean with Shuichi. Look, that shit was bound to happen sooner or later. It was just obvious and I was sick of him dancing around it when everyone could see plain as day.”

Chiaki thinned her eyes at her and leaned forward in disapproval. “It doesn’t matter if you think it was obvious, Enoshima, it’s not your call to make.”

“You could really hurt someone like that, you know,” Hajime added.

Junko rolled her eyes. “There you go white-knighting for people who can speak for themselves again, Chiaki. Let’s hear what the person in question has to say, huh?”

Shuichi shifted in his chair, evidently uncomfortable now that he was in the hot seat. “Oh, man. Well, I’m not mad at Junko or anything for speculating. In my case, I don’t really think it helped or discouraged me from coming to terms with myself and coming out…? But just because that’s the case for me doesn’t mean it’s the case for other people.”

“Exactly. Even if you think someone might be a certain way, it’s best to keep it to yourself. You don’t know how they might feel,” Hajime asserted. “It’s not cool.”

“Not cool at all,” Nagito echoed, licking his lips for reasons Tenko had absolutely no desire to think about any harder than she needed to.

“Look, if you ask me, I think the whole ‘coming out’ thing is for losers anyway,” Junko said, pivoting away from her castigation at once. “Wanna know how I did it? I asked Mikan out in front of a bunch of girls in a locker room. That’s how you tell the world who you are, not with some lengthy Instagram post explaining how you’ve always known you were different from the other girls and blah blah blah.”

“Ibuki remembers that like it was yesterday! Isn’t that technically how you came out, too, Mikan?”

Mikan nodded, a blush in her face and stars in her eyes at Junko’s apparently dazzling declaration. “M-Mhm. You were the only one who knew I was bisexual before Jun-Jun and I started dating.”

“Somehow. Anyone with half a brain should have been able to tell just by the way you looked at me all the time,” Junko laughed. “I swear, all of you have broken gaydars. Hit up Soda for a repair or something.”

Chiaki huffed, pouting. “Your Junko-ness aside, you have a point in there somewhere. For a lot of people, the whole idea of coming out can feel a little…outdated.”

“Personally, I say no one’s entitled to know what kind of people you like taking back to your bedroom,” Mahiru said.

“It can be a bit different when it comes to gender identity, though,” Chihiro said. “Assuming you’d like people to use the right pronouns for you even before you start properly transitioning…but defining exactly what that looks like can be a little tricky.”

“Come to think of it, I guess just asking people to use certain pronouns can be considered coming out, huh?” Hajime mumbled, chin in his hands. “Depending on what you look like. No one would think twice if Chiaki said she used feminine pronouns, but if I were to say the same thing, you could assume that I fall somewhere under the transgender umbrella.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” Himiko said. “That’s like, an indirect way of coming out, nyeh.”

“I think coming out as trans is always going to be a bit different, though,” Chiaki mused. “Since a lot of people see gender as this super important thing about a person, right? When I told my parents I was pan, I was still just Chiaki to them, but if I were to tell them I’m actually a boy…I dunno. I’d still be myself, but I doubt they’d see it that way.”

“Well, that’s not always the case for some trans people,” Tenko said. “A lot of them really do become completely different people when they transition, whether it be because they’d always been pretending they’re someone they’re not or because being in the closet warped their sense of identity. So for them, coming out really can be like leaving your old self behind.”

Celeste’s eyes fell on Chihiro, who promptly froze under her piercing gaze. “Is that the case for you, Chihiro?” she asked.

“Um…I don’t think so,” Chihiro mumbled. “In my head, I’m still myself whether I’m a boy, a girl, or neither. Coming out didn’t really change that. What it did was just make me feel a lot more sure of myself, really.” A small smile crossed his lips. “I’m not as insecure as I used to be and I don’t worry as much. It’s like I was going through life with my hands tied behind my back, but now, I’m a lot more free.”

Sayaka nodded in affirmation. “I understand that perfectly. I may still be closeted outside of this club, but it’s so freeing to be able to express myself openly. Sometimes I feel like I’m always onstage putting on a performance for people, playing the persona of the perfectly normal, pretty, straight girl that everyone thinks I am. Or at least, everyone would like me to be.”

“I’m sure some of your more cultured fans would be very pleased to hear you swing both ways,” Teruteru said, mustering up as much of a suave intonation as he could. Thankfully, he was ignored.

Junko rolled her eyes. “I keep telling you to drop the yamato nadeshiko schtick and be yourself. I’m never anything but myself during interviews and photo shoots and all that jazz, and my fans adore me. Being into girls could even be sort of like a new gimmick for you. ‘Sayaka Maizono, the hit idol coming to steal the girlfriends her virgin fanboys don’t have to begin with!’”

“I wouldn’t want to turn something like my sexuality into a marketing tactic,” Sayaka said, shaking her head. “And I understand what you mean when you say things like that, Junko, but…it’s not as easy as you make it out to be. When people have an idea of what you’re supposed to be in their heads, any deviation from that can make them angry, and they might toss you aside entirely.”

“Reason number forty why I haven’t told my hag of a grandmother,” Hiyoko grumbled. “Or anyone in my family.”

“Not even your dad?” Mahiru asked, frowning.

Hiyoko shook her head, and Tenko could swear she saw a hint of genuine sadness in her eyes. “No way. I haven’t even had the chance to talk to him in months.”

“Whaaaat? But your dad’s super cool, right? You should totally come out to him next time you see him!” Ibuki said, practically bouncing out of her seat.

“I’m s-sure he’ll accept you. He’s not like the rest of your family,” Mikan added.

Mahiru could tell that some people were out of the loop by the looks on their faces, and as such, she took it upon herself to explain. “Hiyoko’s family is extremely traditional, probably more so than Kiyotaka’s—not that it’s a contest. Her dad married into it, though, so he doesn’t have the same background as everyone else. He treats her by far the best of anyone in her family.”

Uncertainty painted Hiyoko’s features and she uncomfortably adjusted herself in her seat, eyes glued to her lap. Himiko chimed in with some words of her own. “Nyeh, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Coming out sounds super-duper scary. I want to tell my parents all about Tenko, but I don’t know how they’ll take it…”

“You don’t think they’ll accept you?” Angie asked, tilting her head a little too much for Tenko’s liking.

“That’s not it. I guess I don’t want to stress them out even more.” Himiko began to kick her feet, fingers gripping the sides of her chair. “Having a special daughter must be hard enough, I don’t want them to have to deal with the stress of having a queer special daughter.”

“But Yumeno-san, you’re so much more than those labels!” Tenko proudly declared, hoping to bring the light back to her beloved girlfriend’s eyes. “You’re an Ultimate! You’re adorable! You’re the best mage in the world! Everyone already knows you’re perfectly capable of handling yourself, so there’s no reason for your mom and dad to worry about you at all!”

Himiko pursed her lips. “You’re right, but, nyeh…it still makes me nervous. But I don’t want to feel like I’m hiding a part of myself from them.”

“If you truly want your folks to know the real you, then I think it’s important for them to know the other important people in your life,” Nekomaru advised. “A good way to show them who you really are would be to introduce Tenko to them as your girlfriend.”

Tenko felt as if Nekomaru had just punched her straight in the stomach. Meeting Himiko’s parents? It was an inevitable milestone on their journey as a couple, yes, and they had been together for a while now, but that did not make the prospect any less terrifying.

“…I can do that?”

“Of course you can! Man, I wish I’d been able to come out to my parents by introducing them to my girlfriend,” Kaede said with a wide grin. “When do you think you’ll visit home next? During summer break?”

Himiko put a finger to her lips and stared up at the ceiling. “Nyeh…I could take a weekend trip home if I really wanted to…Tenko?”

“Tenko’s here!” Tenko yelped. Already she saw the more cruelty inclined members of the Fruits Basket—Kokichi, Miu, Hiyoko—start to crack smiles at her obvious display of nervousness. “I’d, um, love to meet your parents, Yumeno-san! I think that would be a great way for you to come out!”

Himiko smiled, and that smile always sent an arrow soaring through Tenko’s beating heart. “That’s great! We can talk about travel plans later.”

Tenko could only nod, her throat dry and voice apparently lost to the abyss by that point. The sound of Hajime and Chiaki’s voices faded into the background as her own thoughts echoed in her mind like it was a vast cavern devoid of all but her most insecure thoughts, from all the ways she could potentially screw this up and all the ways Himiko’s parents could react. She would defend Himiko regardless if they did not take it well, but there was always a chance that they accepted her for who she was while also disapproving of Tenko…

Don’t dwell on the bad things, Tenko, she told herself. Just be yourself, and make a good first impression!

First impressions had never been her strong suit.

Chapter Text

When Tenko entered the club room with Himiko’s hand in her own, she was met with a splash of color.

She had already had her own colors painted just beneath her cheekbones, shades of orange and pink with a white stripe in the middle, and the sight of so many others before her lit up her face with a wide smile. Grey, black, purple, yellow, blue, every color of the rainbow was represented in at least some capacity, reminding her of just how vast her little club had grown in the months since it had been born.

“Wow, you all look great!” she said as she made her way over to her usual seat. Most had opted for simple representations of their respective flags painted somewhere on their body, generally their faces, while others had gone more abstract. Kaede, for instance, had done up her eyeshadow in a gradient of pink, blue, and purple. Meanwhile, a striped flag of black, red, and green—colors whose meaning Tenko did not recognize—was stamped right onto her cheek. “I thought it was just my class getting all colorful for later today, but apparently it’s everyone!”

“We thought it would be fun!” Mikan said. A pair of kiss marks colored like the bisexual flag lied on both of her cheeks, and considering the peculiar colors of lipstick Junko always carried on her, Tenko got the feeling they were authentic. She wore earrings today as well, one representing Venus and the other Mars. “Chiaki and Mahiru spent most of our lunch period doing everyone’s facepaint and makeup.”

“And of course, Mukuro and I did the same for our class. ‘Cause God knows I don’t trust those bozos to do it properly themselves,” Junko said. Her flag representation lied in her eyeshadow as well, horizontal this time, and done up in a far more ostentatious and eye-catching style than Kaede’s.

Chihiro smiled and happily waved two flags, trans in one hand and genderfluid in the other. “Today’s going to be so much fun! I’ve never been to a pride parade before.”

“And it’s our first real field trip! That’s so cool!” Kaito said.

Shuichi laughed and awkwardly scratched at the back of his head as Angie put the finishing touches on his own facepaint, blue, pink, and purple wavy lines across either cheek that almost resembled the whiskers of a cat. “It is, but uh, did you really have to get your own pride flag painted on your body?” he asked, referring to the black and white stripes just below Kaito’s clavicle.

“Of course I did! Everyone else is, right? What, is there something wrong with that?”

“I’ll lecture you later, but for now, let’s get started! Everyone, welcome to this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! It looks like we have a new member today, as usual, so why don’t you introduce yourself?” Tenko gestured to the person in question, who stood up proudly with his hands on his hips.

“Greetings, all! I am designated as K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot, but you can all call me Keebo!” he said. When Tenko had first met Keebo, he generally forwent any sort of actual clothing—it was not as if he had anything to conceal, after all—but recently, he had taken to wearing a simple black gakuran and matching hat. Tenko assumed it was to get Kokichi to finally stop pointing out the fact that he was constantly naked, something that he truly did have no reason to be self-conscious about, but for as robotic as Keebo was, he still felt the embarrassment of a human. “I’ve chosen to begin attending this club weekly since the majority of my friends do the same, and I sometimes become quite lonely without them!”

“Aaw! Didja hear that, Shuichi? Keeboy called us his friends!” Kokichi said.

“He was talking about me, shit-for-brains,” Miu scoffed. “No shot you’re friends when all you ever do is torment the guy.”

“Are you sure about that? I mean, you spend a lot of time insulting Kaede, but you’re still her personal fucktoy. What makes it so that Keeboy and I can’t be best buddies?”

“Fucktoy? I’m way more than that! Believe me, people don’t give their fucktoys half the amount of special attention Bakamatsu gives me.”

“Don’t—!” Kaede shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “Take it away, Tenko!”

Tenko cleared her throat and did her best to keep her mind from wandering—speculating on the sex lives of her friends was weird. “Right! Well then, as you might have guessed, today’s meeting is all about pride! And we’ll be heading to the parade right after, so hopefully you can all stick around for that!”

Himiko smiled and began to lightly bounce in her seat from the excitement. “It’s cool that we’re talking about it before we go. I’ve never been to a pride parade before, so I need a crash-course.”

“And a crash-course is what you’ll get!” Tenko clapped her hands together and took a deep breath. “Okay, who can tell me how the first pride marches started?”

Of course, Korekiyo was the first to raise his hand, and Tenko called on him almost immediately. “As this club’s resident historian, allow me to recount the tale of the Stonewall Riots, or at least, an abridged version of events. I fear we’d be here all day if I were to go into detail. June 1969, New York City, a police raid is conducted on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar. Police raids on queer spaces was common, as these were locations where crime was in abundance. Illicit drug use, knowingly selling alcohol to homosexuals, cross-dressing, and more.”

“It was illegal to sell alcohol to gay people?” Tsumugi asked. “How awful!”

“Common practice in many places across the United States at the time. Now then, during this police raid, a large portion of patrons present refused to comply with the officers’ demands that they produce identification and for those dressed effeminately to subject themselves to having their sex checked by the female officers present. Women were also required to be wearing at least three articles of feminine attire. Those who failed to comply were arrested. As time went on, the patrons grew increasingly agitated and rambunctious, and by a certain point, a crowd of over five-hundred had gathered outside of the establishment. It is commonly said that the true violence began after a butch lesbian woman who had been hit in the head with a police baton pleaded for the crowd to do something as she was shoved into the police car.

“Objects were thrown, the windows of the police cars were smashed and they were overturned as well, with flaming belongings being thrown into them. Tires slashed, officers and patrons alike beaten, it truly was a riot that lasted well into the morning and resumed the night after. It made national headlines, of course, and after the end of the Civil Rights movement the previous year, many believe that the American people were about due for another era of social activism. Hence, pride and protest marches were held in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to commemorate the anniversary of the riots. Pride events spread globally from there, and now, here we are.”

The reactions from club members varied. Some seemed to already know the history and did not have much reaction aside from a small frown or two, others appeared shocked, and others stared in awe. “You’re tellin’ me this all started from a riot?” Teruteru asked. “Well, color me impressed.”

“Jeez, it seems like the American queers have more spunk in them than we do here, huh?” Aoi said.

Miu, to no one’s surprise, burst out laughing so hard she nearly fell out of her chair.

“It’s not like we’re completely passive,” Shuichi said, gently patting Miu’s back alongside Kaede as she began coughing through her fit of laughter. “There’s the Koza Riot and Sanrizuka Struggle, for instance, but…I can’t really think of any major events like that directly involving queer activism…”

“There have been struggles before, but no outright riots like what you get in the states,” Tenko explained. “Now, Japan’s first pride parade was Tokyo Pride back in 1994, so it’s still pretty recent. A lot of queer activism here is kind of young, actually.”

“Leave it to us to be late to the party, huh?” Hajime said with an awkward laugh. “But I guess if it helps us avoid stuff like riots and other violent conflict, then it’s not that bad, right?”

“That is an entirely separate conversation,” Mukuro said. “Sometimes violence is necessary to galvanize progress. A wise man once said that violence is the language of the unheard, after all.”

Junko nodded sagely. “Yukio Mishima…”

“Martin Luther King Jr., actually.”

Kaito’s hand shot up. “Question! I feel like I kind of already know the answer to this, but I want to hear it from you, Tenko. What’s the point of pride celebrations like this anyway?”

“Well, what’s the point of any celebration? It’s to come together and honor something worth honoring! Queer people all over the world are forced to hide who they are or made to feel like they’re monsters for it, so what pride parades do is show the world that we aren’t just stereotypes or weird sexual deviants, but all sorts of different types of people who only want to live as they are! After all, the opposite of pride is shame, and we as a community have had enough of that, thank you very much.”

“I dunno if it’s as black and white as that,” Mondo suggested. Noticeably, he and Taka were not dressed in any sort of pride apparel nor had they altered their appearances in any way for the occasion. “Just ‘cause you’re not proud of your identity doesn’t mean you’re ashamed of it.”

“Sounds like the internalized homophobia speaking to me,” Hiyoko huffed.

Mondo scoffed. “Not even a little. Look, I’ve gone through some shit ‘cause of the way I am, and I’m proud of the fact that I came out the other side of all of that in one piece. I’m not so proud of the fact that I like dudes alone, though. Don’t get me wrong, you guys go crazy, but to me it’s like…what’s there to be proud of? It’s not like I achieved something special. It’s just who I am.”

“I guess I’m in the same boat there,” Sagishi said. “And I’ve never had any sort of struggle because I’m x-gender, either. To me, it’s just another characteristic, like my height or my age.”

“Fair enough. It depends on the person, I guess,” Rantaro said. “Not only their experiences, but their philosophy on how they connect to the rest of the world. I’ve suffered here and there because I’m asexual, but it’s not like I’m resentful or feel like I have anything to prove. I just like the sense of community stuff like these kind of things bring.”

“I guess I’m one of those different cases, then,” Kaede said with an awkward smile. “Being bi caused me to be ostracized for a while, and because of that, I guess I just really hate the idea of hiding that part of myself from the world now. It’s like I want to scream at the top of my lungs ‘I’m Kaede Akamatsu, and I like girls!’, to make up for all the time I spent keeping that fact under wraps like it was a dirty little secret.” She held up her backpack and tapped a particular pin on the front pocket. “That’s kind of why I walk around with a pride pin on my bag. I don’t ever want to feel like I’m hiding any part of myself, you know?”

“I’ve always admired that about you,” Shuichi said. Kaede blushed at once. “While I was trying to bury who I was, you’ve always worn it on your sleeve—like Tenko.”

“Only less tacky,” Miu added.

“Hey!”

Shuichi continued. “Really. You’ve always been authentic, Kaede, and I want you to know that—”

“Hey, I think we’re forgetting about a category here,” Kokichi said, cutting Shuichi off completely without any sort of hesitance. “What about people like Celeste? She’s never faced any sort of hardship because of her sexuality, but here she is with a bunch of ugly pansexual jewelry.”

Celeste sneered. “Ugly?”

“Those bright colors clash with the whole goth vampire thing you’ve got going on, girl. It’s not a good look.”

“Sacre bleu! As if I would ever take fashion advice from a gnome who wears a tablecloth around his neck.” Celeste crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “But I suppose you have a point. I am fortunate enough to never have faced strife for my proclivities, but I enjoy pride activities nevertheless. It is, after all, a celebration of an aspect of myself, which I would never pass up an opportunity to take part in.”

Makoto scratched at his chin, uncertainty painting his features. “Uh…not to overstep my bounds here, but is that aspect of yourself really prevalent enough to be worth celebrating?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Celeste asked, tilting her head.

Ibuki answered in his stead. “I think he’s calling you straight-passing!”

“Ah. Aha. I do not know what that means.”

“What it means is that most people assume you’re straight, or that you can ‘pass’ for straight without even really trying,” Chihiro explained. “It’s a loaded term, but…think someone like Sayaka, or Nekomaru. They don’t really wear their queerness on their sleeves, and since they fit nicely into the gender roles expected of them, most people would probably never guess they were queer unless they were told.”

“I see. Well, regardless of my sexuality’s prevalence in my life, I still see it as perfectly reasonable that I would take pride in it.”

“That’s valid, too!” Tenko said. “Pride is for everyone, not just those who are obviously queer. Closeted, questioning, whoever!”

“Does Celeste even count, though…?” Toko mumbled. “She’s only gay on the weekends…”

Celeste scoffed. “You say that because I prefer men, yes? Is that not the case with your little girlfriend as well?”

“It is, but she’s still dating a girl,” Makoto replied.

“Come to think of it, have you ever even been with another woman?” Kokichi asked, ever one to instigate.

Celeste scowled at him. “What a rude thing to ask a lady! I am under no obligation to answer that!”

“Oh, I get it. You’re a total virgin!”

That was enough to set her off. Celeste’s face twisted into an expression so furious it was almost unrecognizable, her voice filled with such venom that it even corroded away her ambiguous accent. “Listen here you little shit, I don’t know who you think you are—”

“Friends, please!” Keebo quickly rose to his feet and held out his arms so as to call for peace. “There’s no need for us to fight! Listen to what Tenko just said. Pride is for everyone! It doesn’t matter if Ludenburg-san isn’t as gay as the rest of you, she’s still part of the community and deserves to be treated as such!”

“Nyeh, yeah, let’s not go questioning her queerness levels or something…” Himiko said. “That’s kind of weird.”

“N-No need to get upset, Celeste. Kokichi’s just being himself.” Chihiro bit their lip, gaze flicking between Celeste’s balled fists and her rage-filled eyes. Slowly, they reached out to brush their fingertips against the back of her hand. This seemed to sedate her, her features softening as she raised her eyebrow at the gesture. Any trace of anger left on her face faded when Chihiro slipped their hand into hers and gently pulled her back down to her seat. “He likes to poke at people and get on their nerves, but you’re collected enough to not let him, right?”

“Hmph. Right you are, Chihiro. I am.”

Junko whistled and gave Chihiro two thumbs up alongside a knowing wink, something that instantly made their face go deep red. “Kokichi’s desperate need to cloy for attention by making everyone his enemy aside, there’s always one of my favorite reason to engage in homosexual activities.”

“Because you like sex?” Teruteru asked.

“Not wrong, but that’s not what I had in mind. Kotoko?”

Kotoko crossed her arms and grinned. “To piss off your parents!”

“Eh? You go to pride to…piss off your parents?” Sayaka asked, tilting her head and resting a finger on her chin. “I guess I can understand that.”

“Aren’t your parents…um…you know,” Komaru began, hesitant. “In prison?”

Tenko gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened in concern. Sweet little Kotoko’s parents weren’t around? “Prison?! Oh no! That’s awful, Kotoko-chan. What did they do to end up there?”

“A lot of stuff, don’t worry about it,” Kotoko hastily replied, shaking her head. “But spite is a powerful motivator! My mom always used to tell me ‘You shouldn’t talk about other girls like you do, Kotoko! You’re going to be a perfect wife for a nice man some day!’. Pft, yeah right! I know she’d lose her mind seeing her pure little girl surrounded by a bunch of people she think should be locked up. That’s why I like going to pride so much.”

Junko snickered. “I sent the bitch a polaroid of all of us hanging out with some drag queens last year and got sent the most hilarious angry letter. She went on about how I was corrupting her daughter with my degenerate celebrity lifestyle—rich considering the sort of life she wanted for Kotoko, by the way—and about how she was going to sue me.”

Tenko made a mental note of the fact that Kotoko’s parents—her mother in particular—were, in fact, awful, and she should probably never bring them up again after this. “She sounds horrible. It’s good that you have a support system, though!” she said. “When you come from a homophobic background, going to such an accepting space like pride with your friends can be really rejuvenating.”

“It is! Even if Masaru is stupid and kind of homophobic sometimes.”

“If you think about it, in a way, these Fruits Basket meetings are exactly what you just described, Tenko,” Taka said. “Coming together with friends to discuss all sorts of queer subject matter in a safe environment. It’s less of an over the top celebration, yes, but the experience it provides is valuable all the same. I…can’t risk being seen at an event like the parade today, but coming here has been like going to a miniature pride celebration every week.”

Tenko’s heart nearly exploded. She would truly never get used to people telling her how much the Fruits Basket meant to them no matter how many times she heard it.

“I…thank you, Ishimaru-san. Really, thank you.”

“Hey hey, what are you guys most excited for today?” Himiko asked, eagerly bouncing in her seat. “I wanna go to the drag concert!”

“It figures you’d be drawn to the showy performance event,” Mukuro said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the parade floats.”

“Because Junko has one, right?” Makoto asked.

“Of course.”

“It really is sad how much this gal wants to screw her sister,” Miu said with a sigh. She continued before Mukuro could counter. “I’m lookin’ forward to seeing chicks walk around with their tits out! Sign me up!”

“I don’t think you really get that with pride parades here,” Shuichi told her, and the devastated look on her face pulled on even Tenko’s heartstrings. “B-But you’ll get to see guys in g-strings!”

“That’s not as exciting for me as it is for you!”

Chapter Text

Today was a very special day. Today was Tenko’s first time attending a pride festival not alone.

She’d tried to get her parents to come along with her in previous years, but it never worked out. They were always busy or coming up with some other reason why they couldn’t come. Tenko knew that while they were accepting of her sexuality, neither of them seemed to be interested in the sort of activism Tenko was. In fact, she could sometimes see her father getting uncomfortable when she talked about it. It hurt, in a way, but she figured she couldn’t force her mom and dad to take an interest in something they didn’t really care about regardless of how important it was to their daughter.

This year was her first year bringing another person with her, and boy was it a far jump from coming by herself. Not only did she have her girlfriend with her (months into their relationship and she could still barely believe it!), but over two-dozen of her classmates and friends. Most of them had split off to do their own thing in small groups, sure, but that didn’t change the fact that they came together. They were one big group, dead-set on enjoying the festivities and experiencing all that this year’s Tokyo Rainbow Pride had to offer!

Naturally, she and Himiko hadn’t left each other’s side since they got there. They did everything together, from stuffing their bags full of all sorts of complementary souvenirs to nearly laughing themselves to death at the drag comedy show. Drag wasn’t something Tenko was very interested in, but Himiko was definitely excited for it, and that was all the justification Tenko needed to rush and make sure that they got there early enough to snag a nice viewing spot.

Now, as Himiko snacked on what must have been her eighth cone of cotton candy that day—Tenko made a mental note to teach her girlfriend about proper nutrition ASAP—the two of them stood hand-in-hand and gleefully watched the colorful parade floats drive by. No matter how many years she attended this event, Tenko was always surprised by just how many floats there were. Some were ran by non-profit organizations, others by companies, and a select few by campaigning politicians. They may have been willing to show their “support” with gestures like making an appearance at a parade like this, but did it really matter when none of them would bother taking any sort of action to even try and better the lives of queer people in their country? Tenko was cynical, that was true, but she couldn’t possibly frown at them as they passed by when Himiko looked so cute as she enthusiastically cheered for every one of them.

“Oooh, we should do a float next year!” she said, eyes gleaming. “It’ll be super fun!”

“A float? You and me?”

“Yeah! We could put on a magic show on wheels, but pride themed!”

Tenko’s lips curled into an adoring smile, her heart fluttering as it always did when Himiko got all smiley like this. She was lethargic most of the time, sure, but that passion, that enthusiasm, was part of the reason Tenko fell for her to begin with.

“That sounds like a fun plan! We’d have to stick to short spells, though, otherwise people would only be able to catch a part of them.”

Himiko nodded rapidly, wide grin spread across her face. “Yeah, yeah! I could pull a pride flag out of a hat, or maybe make you disappear with a kiss!”

The mere thought of kissing Himiko in front of hundreds of people made Tenko weak in the knees. She blushed, doing her best to maintain her composure. “A kiss? Sh-sheesh, that’s really bold of you, Yumeno-san…”

Tenko’s rapidly beating heart came to a sudden stop as Himiko’s eager expression shifted to one far more ambivalent in an instant. Oh no. She hadn’t said something wrong, had she?

“You know,” Himiko began, thumping her forehead against Tenko’s arm, “you can call me Himiko…”

“Huh?”

Even as relief washed over her, Tenko’s throat still felt dry. Was that all?

“Nyeh, we’ve been dating for two months. Don’t you think it’s weird to still be so formal with your own girlfriend?”

Tenko stuttered like a dumbfounded child who’d just been caught with their hand stuck in the cookie-jar. She adored Himiko, she did, and they were close, but calling her by her given name? Wasn’t that a little too intimate?

“Um…I don’t know—” she said. It came out so fast she could barely understand what she’d even just said. “It isn’t a matter of formality to me, I guess, but more respect? I think?”

“Do you call anyone by their given names?”

Tenko shook her head. “Not at all! My master taught me that I have to be polite to everyone, even degenerate males.”

“Tenko, I don’t think using family names and honorifics is all it takes to be polite.”

“Maybe not, but, um…” Tenko held her tongue in her teeth. This wasn’t an argument she could win, was it? “I guess it’s, ah, kind of embarrassing at this point,” she admitted. “You saw how I got when I accidentally called you by your given name before we started dating.”

The tiniest of gasps escaped past her lips as Himiko hugged her arm, squeezing her as if she were a cherished stuffed bear. “Nyeh…I want to feel closer to you,” she said, her voice so soft it was barely audible over the cheers and shouts of the surrounding crowd. Even then, Tenko’s heart thumped at her words. Any more of this and she was sure to collapse on the spot from a heart attack at the ripe age of eighteen.

She was being selfish, really. Himiko had a point. Seriously, what sort of person still referred to their partner by their family name and an honorific? The least she could do was call her simply “Yumeno.” But, still, that wasn’t enough, was it? For as much as she hated to admit it, if she kept on referring to Himiko like she did, all that would result in was Himiko feeling more and more distant from her.

Tenko wanted to be as close to her as possible. That included in ways she wasn’t quite ready to come to terms with quite yet. Instead, she put all of her focus in their emotional bond—and, really, how strong could a bond like that be if one of the people involved didn’t even use their counterpart’s name?

“…I’m sorry,” Tenko muttered. She bit her lip before leaning over to press her lips onto the crown of Himiko’s head, something she was grateful to be able to do since she wasn’t wearing her hat. “I should have figured you didn’t like me always using your family name, huh?”

“It’s okay. It’s not like you can read minds like Sayaka.”

“Still, you’re my girlfriend, so I have to pay more attention to your needs. I promise I’ll be better about that in the future, ah…” Tenko voice caught in her throat as her face burned. “H-Himiko.”

Himiko looked up to meet her eyes immediately, her own sparkling. “Say it again?”

“…Himiko.”

“Again.”

“Himiko.”

She giggled, and how was Tenko supposed to do anything but laugh along with her?

“Again!”

“Himiko!”

“Again!!!”

“Himiko!!!”

Tenko was sure people would absolutely be staring at them if it wasn’t for the noise of the floats and the crowd, but she didn’t care. Let them stare. This was Pride, damn it!

Himiko stood on the very tip of her toes to wrap her arms around Tenko’s neck and press a sugary sweet kiss onto her lips, a gesture that was met by Tenko taking her by the waist and spinning her around like the princess she was. Himiko’s laugh as she nuzzled Tenko’s chest was like something straight out of a musical, and at that moment, Tenko was more sure of one thing than she was anything else in her life.

She loved this girl.

Their timing couldn’t have been better. Just as they turned their heads back to the floats passing them by, a particularly extravagent looking one done up in all sorts of over-the-top decorations drove by, and standing atop of it was the self proclaimed Queen of Hope’s Peak herself, a crown atop her head and a matching tiara atop her beloved girlfriend’s—or, Tenko supposed it was fiancée’s now. Junko waved at the spectators with her whole arm, the other one kept securely around Mikan’s waist, whose waving was far tinier and more reserved. Still she managed to maintain a smile.

“Happy Pride, bitches!” Junko called, and as the crowd erupted into emphatic applause, she dipped Mikan over and gave her a deep, tender kiss.

Tenko didn’t stop smiling for at least twenty minutes.

“I don’t know, I don’t know! What if this makes things weird between us, or what if he thinks I’m only asking because I want a boyfriend and he’s the best candidate, or what if—”

Miu pinched Kaede’s lips shut and rolled her eyes. “Relax, girl. The guy clearly already wants to get in your panties. Even Stevie Wonder can see that.”

While many of the other Fruits Basket members had opted to spectate the parade of floats making their way through the city, a few of them thought it would be more to their liking to head off to one of the more low-key areas of the pride. That was why Kaede and Miu had laid out a blanket beneath a tree atop the lush green grass of Yoyogi Park to sit on and relax, though clearly Kaede failed on that second front.

This was the day. It had to have been the day. Kaede had been feeling electric sparks ever since homeroom that morning, and once they had headed off to the parade, those sparks only multiplied. She leaned against him on the train, they held hands as they explored what the event had to offer, and had shared more than a few longing gazes throughout the day. If she was going to do this, now was the best time, but could she really bring herself to?

Her worry partially melted away as Miu lowered her hand and she gave a small smile. “Did…did you specifically reference a piano player just now on purpose?”

Miu scoffed, crossing her arms and looking away. “Don’t flatter yourself. He’s just the first blind dude I could think of.”

But Kaede noted the pink on her cheeks, the oh so subtle quiver of her lip and tremble of her voice. Miu was awful at hiding her emotions, that enough was obvious, but Kaede could tell even when she was lying to herself.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if this doesn’t work out,” Kaede admitted, unconsciously tapping out a B-flat major scale along her thigh. “It’s like—God, he’s my best friend, Miu. My best friend! And if I mess that up just because I can’t keep my own emotions in check, then what? We just never talk to each other again?”

“If he gets scared away by a girl asking him out, then he’s a pussy and you’re better off without him, trust me. A gal like you needs someone with a stronger backbone!”

Kaede blinked, head lolling to the side. “Miu, baby, have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Miu waved it off. “Look, I keep tryin’ to tell you everything’s gonna work out just fuckin’ peachy. You’ve seen the way he’s been looking at you all day, right? He wants a piece of that sweet Akamatsu ass, and who can blame him? Not me, that’s for sure! Heh!”

Kaede blushed and adjusted her skirt, suddenly very conscious of her own backside. “I don’t know. I’m bad at picking up those kinds of signs, you know? I didn’t even know you liked me back until we’d already been dating for a month…but maybe that’s just because you’re always giving mixed signals.”

“Hey, you knew what you were getting into when you asked me out,” Miu said. She began to mumble, eyes glued to lap. “And you shoulda known I felt the same way about you, dumbass.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ugh, are you really gonna make me say this shit in public?” Miu threw her arms up in frustration and huffed. “You’re a fuckin’ catch, duh. You’re stupid hot, way too nice for your own good, and you’re for real one of the most talented people at school.”

Kaede smiled warmly and laid a hand atop Miu’s. Usually Miu would have recoiled at just her touch, but this time, she began to rub her thumb against Kaede’s hand. “Aw, Miu…”

“But it ain’t just that.” The rosy pink shade faded into the rest of Miu’s face. Kaede knew this expression. The way her brows knit together, the way her eyes filled with anxiety, the way her lips curled. Miu always got like this when she was embarrassed, and it was adorable each and every time. “You’re smart, and you like, get people, ya know? No one’s ever understood me like you do. You help people, like, know themselves…o-or something. You did it with me and you did it with Shuichi, too.”

Now it was Kaede’s turn to be embarrassed. Miu complimented her every now and again in public, sure, but those were mostly relegated to one off comments that, while sweet, only took a small amount of effort on Miu’s part for her to say. Now, though? She struggled just to get the words out!

“Aw, Miu. You don’t have to say all that just to give me a confidence boost.”

“I’m bein’ honest here!” Miu shouted. By this point, her face was so pink she looked as if she’d just ran a marathon. “I’m not just dating you because your fingering game is insane, you know! You fuckin’—you fuckin’ believe in me when literally no one else does. Not my dumbass parents, not Keebo, no one. And you make me think that…that I can be better, you know?” she huffed, shaking her head and slapping her hands against her cheeks several times. “Jesus fuck, I swear if you keep doubting yourself and making me say nice shit about you, I’m never gonna forgive you. All I’m tryin’ to say is that you’re pretty cool or whatever, and if Shuichi can’t see that, then—”

By that point, Kaede had heard all she needed to. She took Miu’s burning face into her hands and kissed her right then and there, closing her eyes and leaning into it as deeply as she could. Miu always got way too embarrassed whenever they would kiss in public, so Kaede generally avoided it, but how was she supposed to help herself when Miu showered her with praise like that? Such a rarity just had to be rewarded, and judging by the way Miu kissed her back, Kaede figured she didn’t mind very much.

Kaede pulled Miu into a warm hug the moment their kiss came to an end and rested her head against her chest, affection and joy alike painting her face.

“I love you,” she said in a breath, squeezing Miu even further. “So much.”

Miu sniffled. She must have been tearing up, and Kaede couldn’t blame her.

“…I love you, too, Kaede.”

“Am I interrupting something?”

Kaede yelped and pulled away from Miu immediately as the other girl rubbed her eyes. There Shuichi stood, a pleased smile on his lips and three bags of popcorn in his hands. Kaede’s heart started to pound in her chest the second she laid eyes on him.

“Shuichi! You’re back!” Her voice cracked—smooth, Kaede. Very smooth.

“Yeah. They ran out of butter, so it’s just salted. Sorry, Miu.” Shuichi sat down atop the blanket and crossed her legs, handing one bag to Kaede and another to Miu. Kaede subtly set hers down, hands in her lap, while Miu glared at hers.

“The f-fuck do I look like eating unbuttered popcorn?” she asked, voice strained.

Shuichi frowned. “You were crying.” He turned to Kaede, who froze under his gaze. God, he looked ravishing today. “Was it over something serious, or is it just Miu being Miu?”

“Hey! Don’t undermine my emotions like that!”

“It’s…um,” Kaede bit her lip, meeting Miu’s eyes, uncertain. Just like that, Miu’s expression shifted from frustration towards Shuichi to pure, unbridled confidence in Kaede as she gave her an approving nod. “Hey, Shuichi? I’ve got something to tell you.”

“You do? Well, I’d love to know what it is.” Shuichi said.

Alright, Kaede. Here goes nothing.

Kaede took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding it for a few moments, and when they opened, she began her performance.

“You’re my best friend, and like, the perfect guy. You’re sweet as sugar, a great listener, and really good at giving people advice, even if you’re not so confident yourself. Since I met you, I’ve watched you go from a shy boy who hid behind his hat all to time to one of the most popular people in our class. You’re always helping people with their problems whether or not you get something out of it. I’m so, so glad that we’re friends, but…I’d be lying if I said I was satisfied with just that.”

Shuichi’s smile had melted by then, his face serious. Kaede had to force yourself not to look at him too hard. “Kaede, are you—”

“She’s not done yet!” Miu interjected, arms crossed over her chest. “Let a girl finish first, jeez.”

“I’ll be honest, this is absolutely terrifying for me. And it’s kind of silly, isn’t it?” A laugh escaped past her lips. It was meant to lighten the mood, but really, all it did was make her feel even more self-conscious. “I can perform for an audience of a thousand people no problem, but I get nervous asking out the guy I like. I guess I’m just worried that it’ll mess things up between us. I don’t want to stop being friends with you if you don’t feel the same way, and even if you do, I don’t know if you’ll be okay with me still dating Miu, and it’s all just so nerve-wracking. But I know I can do this. I know I can. It’s just Shuichi, Kaede, it’s just Shuichi.”

Another deep breath. Miu and Shuichi both cracked smiles—Kaede hadn’t even realized she’d already confessed.

“I like you. In the romantic sort of way. And I was wondering if…you’d maybe want to…be my boyfriend?”

The way her voice peaked at the end there made Kaede want to slap herself across the face and start all over. That was all the opposite of smooth! Her heart stayed frozen in her chest, and when she realized that Shuichi was still looking right at her with a smile somehow more beautiful than even Claire de Lune, it began to beat again.

“Kaede…I know.”

What.

“What?”

“I don’t think you have to be a detective to see that. I’m pretty sure most of our classmates know, too.”

Kaede let out a shrill, hoarse noise from her throat, like a key struck out of tune. “Is it…is it that obvious?” she asked in a whimper. “Miu?”

“Duh. Even Tenko and Himiko know, and those two are short more than a few brain cells.”

…Exactly how blatant had Kaede been these past few months?

“Oh. Okay. Good to know. I’m going to go walk into the pond now, if you don’t mind.”

“Hold on, hold on!” Shuichi grabbed for Kaede’s hand the very second she started to stand, and his touch alone set off an ascending arpeggio in her heart. “It’s fine, really! A-Actually, it was kind of um, cute, that you thought you were being subtle.”

“Cute?” Kaede squeaked. “Then why didn’t you say something earlier?!”

Shuichi bit his lip, embarrassed, but he didn’t look away or anything like that. His eyes stayed locked onto Kaede’s; she had his full attention. “Because it’s not really polite to try asking out a girl who already has a girlfriend. Especially if that girlfriend is Miu.”

“You wanted to…ask me out?”

“Yeah,” Shuichi said. “I did. I’ve never done it before, and I knew I’d probably mess it up, but then I started thinking that I should probably wait for you to make the first move. It’s not like I was in a rush. I’ve loved spending time with you and Miu lately and would have loved to take it beyond that, but if you never said anything, I would have been alright with that.”

Miu’s cackling cut through any sort of tension that lingered, snapping the both of them out of their romantic trance and drawing their attention over to her. “Oh man, that’s rich! My guy, you knew she liked you back, but you didn’t make a move because what, you were scared of me or some shit? Smart choice, but hilarious!”

“I wasn’t scared of you, I just didn’t want to make you jealous or put Kaede in a difficult position. But I guess all that worrying was for nothing, huh? Seeing as how you seem to be weirdly okay with this.”

“Hell yeah! I’m always rootin’ for my girl to get laid!”

Kaede shook the blush from her face and squeezed Shuichi’s hand. “Okay, so, I like you and you like me. Miu’s okay with me dating another person, and you are too, I think, so does that mean…?”

“Y-Yeah. I guess it does. I’d…I’d love to be your boyfriend, Kaede.”

A song began to play in Kaede’s heart. Liebestraum, baby.

All she could do was laugh, tears in the corners of her eyes. Miu joined as well, and not long after, Shuichi. The three of them laughed together, collapsed onto the picnic blanket beneath the clear blue sky, surrounded on all sides by love and pride and joy and celebration.

Miu clapped a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder and gave him a wide grin. “Welcome to the team! Don’t fuck up. For real, you don’t even want to know what kinds of things I’ll do to your twinky ass if you break her heart.”

Somehow, that was the nicest thing Miu had said to him all week.

“Believe me, I know, and I’m not planning on it. You two are going to have to hold my hand for a lot of this stuff, but at least I’m a fast learner?”

“Well then, I look forward to being your teacher, Shuichi. Miu and I both.”

“But…before that,” Shuichi sat up, a frown on his lips, and Kaede and Miu followed. “There’s something I have to do. I won’t feel right if I don’t.”

“Whatever you need to do, you do it. Miu and I will be right behind you,” Kaede said, putting her hand over his. The three of them looked at each other and smiled, and at that moment, Kaede felt more at home than she ever had.

There was a time, once, when Kaede Akamatsu believed she would be single for all her life. She’d failed at her first attempt at romance so badly that any further attempts had to end in disaster too, right? But here she was, happy, together with her girlfriend and her boyfriend. She wasn’t alone. She would never be alone.

Two hearts, Kaede. You have two of them, now.

Chapter Text

“For the last time, you’re doing it wrong. You throw it across the water, not at it. Pay attention this time.”

Kokichi drew his arm back and flicked it forward, sending the stone in his hand skipping across the surface of the pond once, twice, seven times. It was easy. All you needed with a little finesse, but really, he should have figured someone like Gonta would be about as precise as a shotgun.

“Gonta…not sure Gonta understand.”

“Nyahahaha, it’s easy! Here, let me show you.”

Angie began a detailed demonstration on how exactly to hold the stone in your hands and how exactly to throw it across the pond, and Kokichi rolled his eyes. She coddled him, just like everyone else. Sure, Gonta was a bit slow, but he was the same age as everyone else. What good did treating him like a kid do anyone? They wouldn’t always be around to baby him.

This sucked. It really, really sucked. The first real field-trip of the school year and here he was stuck with Angie and Gonta of all people. A part of Kokichi wished he had taken a page out of Mondo and Taka’s book and just not bothered coming, but if something interesting happened, he wanted to be around for it. What were the chances of that happening so long as he was stuck with these two, though? Maybe he should have tagged along with the Ultimate Despair gang (as someone with his own gang of misfits, he had to admit, the name had a nice ring to it), or followed Chihiro and that new Celeste girl to see how that relationship was progressing. Really, though, there was only person whose side he truly wished to be at. And, well, that wasn’t an option.

Once upon a time, Kokichi stuck to Shuichi like glue. It wasn’t even because of his feelings for him, no, but rather because Shuichi made everything a bit less dull. They understood one-another, even if Shuichi would never admit it. That was before the two of them joined the Fruits Basket. After that, they were together less and less with each passing day. Shuichi seemed more interested in spending time with Kaede and Miu—ugh—than with him. He hated him for it, just a bit, but at the same time, he got it. Why wouldn’t Shuichi choose to hang out with a pair of big titted cute blonde girls instead of with Kokichi? What did Kokichi have to offer?

“Aha! Gonta got three!”

Angie clapped and laughed, jumping up and down like some sort of toddler with a sugar rush. “Yes yes yes! Nice job, Gonta! Come, come, let’s try and go for more, yes? Kokichi, you’ll tell us your secret, won't you?”

“No way. You’ve just got to have a knack for it, and if you don’t, then there’s nothing I or anyone else can do to help you.”

“Ah, that’s a lie. Atua hates liars, you know…”

That was about all the Angie he could take for the day; if he had to hear about Atua one more time, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from drowning her in the water. Kokichi walked off without so much as a word and did not look back even as Gonta and Angie waved goodbye.

He was alone. Again. But not for long. Almost as soon as he’d left those two standing by the water, he spotted the object of his heart’s desire wandering the area, looking around as if searching for something. Of course, his pair of blow-up dolls were with him. Kokichi grit his teeth and started in the opposite direction.

“Oh, there! Hey! Kokichi!”

His heart thumped for just a second. He certainly wasn’t expecting to hear Shuichi call his name today, that was for sure, but he had to admit he loved the sound. Any joy he felt was snuffed out when he asked himself what the hell those three could possibly want with him, though. He stopped in place, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Time to mask up.

“Oh heeeey. If it isn’t my favorite people,” Kokichi said as the trio approached him, a cheeky grin on his face and arms folded behind his head. “What’s up? Need something?”

“This one does,” Miu said, gently nudging Shuichi in the ribs with her elbow. He awkwardly laughed, meeting both her and Kaede’s eyes, and a black knot wound itself in the depths of Kokichi’s core. “How long’s this gonna take?”

“Don’t be impatient,” Kaede said.

“Not too long, I promise. You two just, uh, wait here for a bit while I talk to Kokichi.”

Kaede smiled at him, nodding like an obedient little puppy, and Kokichi bit his tongue behind his lips. Something was different. Something was off. It would be one thing if it was just Kaede looking at Shuichi the way she sometimes did, eyes full of longing and love and all that other sappy shit, but even the way Miu looked at him was odd. Shuichi had always been one of Miu’s few friends, sure, but now? They were closer, somehow. It was obvious. And the way Shuichi smiled back at them…

Ah.

So today was the day, huh?

That was just great.

“Ooh, Shuichi wants to talk to me? First time for everything, I guess!” Kokichi said, laughing. He was the perfect liar, completely infallible, but he got the feeling that even those two blonde bimbos could tell it was artificial. “What’s up?”

“Um.” Shuichi looked around, searching for someplace suitable for what was sure to be a very fun conversation between the two of them. He settled on a solitary tree a ways away from the pond’s edge, far enough from anybody that they would have some privacy. “Can we talk over there?”

Kokichi obliged and sauntered off with him towards the tree with a bounce in his step, all the while a disgusting mix of emotions boiled just beneath the surface. He’d known he’d lost ages ago, but even having accepted that, to be faced with that reality now was like having a stake shoved through his heart. Shuichi was smart, sure, but God was he dumb. What did he even see in those two dumb bitches anyway? He couldn’t have just been thinking with his dick. He wasn’t that kind of guy.

The two of them came to stand at the base of the tree and Kokichi spun around with a wide grin, fists balled tightly behind his back. “So, what’d you want to talk to me about? I’m all ears!”

Shuichi took a breath—lord, what the hell was he so nervous for? He was acting like he was about to come out to his parents. Kokichi had to wonder what sort of reaction he was expecting. What had that detective brain of his convinced him was going to happen here? Clearly he wasn’t anticipating Kokichi to jump for joy, otherwise he would have done it right in front of his floozies.

“So, you might have noticed I’ve been spending a lot of time with Miu and Kaede lately. More than usual, I mean.”

“Really? No, I had no idea.”

“There are a couple reasons for that, but I guess it’ll all be pretty obvious in a second.” Shuichi nervously toyed with a lock of his hair, and somehow, Kokichi found himself missing that stupid hat of his. “You’re my friend—” was that right? “—so I feel I should tell you that, well, the three of us are together now. That is, we’re in a romantic relationship.”

It took all that Kokichi had to smile even wider, and every extra millimeter felt like hooks pulling at his cheeks.

“For real? That’s great! Everyone loves a good throuple. Plus, you being in the picture now means there’s another pair of hands on Miu’s leash, and trust me, Kaede definitely can’t handle her by herself.”

Shuichi frowned. Kokichi’s smile died in turn.

“You know what this means, right?”

“It means a lot of things.”

“One of those things being that if you ever planned on telling Angie to stop acting so affectionate with me, now would be the time.”

Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Come on, Kokichi. She wouldn’t start acting like that out of nowhere. I know you put her up to it.”

“And why would I do that, huh?” Kokichi grumbled. “What reason would I have to go meddling in your love life?”

“Because—” Shuichi caught his tongue in his teeth as his cheeks started to turn pink. Now he was embarrassed? “You know why. We both do.”

“Oh, so you knew the whole time, huh?” Kokichi spat. “Hah! Of course you did! Leave it to the Ultimate Detective to figure it out, and leave it to a coward to not do anything about it!”

“W-What did you want me to do?!” Shuichi countered, matching Kokichi’s raising of his voice.

“Something! Anything! But you just ignored it all this time while you went after those two goddamn blow up dolls!”

“Don’t call them that!”

“Or what? What are you going to do about it?” Kokichi shoved Shuichi back as he advanced, teeth bared in a snarl as his body trembled with fear. He hated this feeling. He hated the anger, the loss, the pain, all of it, but these were emotions he couldn’t just repress, emotions he couldn’t just mask. “Not a thing, because you’re spineless! You couldn’t take the initiative if your life depended on it! Hell, the fact that we’re even having this conversation is a miracle. Don’t tell me—Kaede made you do it?”

Shuichi huffed. “She didn’t make me do anything. I wanted to talk to you because I care about you, Kokichi, and—”

“Don’t give me that shit,” Kokichi hissed. “You’re just trying to feel good about yourself. If you actually cared, you would have talked to me months ago instead of doing it now that you’ve gotten what you want. Now that you know I’m not an obstacle to get over.”

Shuichi’s voice caught in his throat. “I—”

He was speechless. Kokichi couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction at that, of vindication. He wanted to hurt him. He wanted to make him feel even a fraction of the pain Shuichi had inflicted on him.

Kokichi let out an amused laughed and shook his head. “God, I can’t wait to see how fast this blows up for all of you. You know you’re not compatible, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just because you like being told what to do doesn’t mean you like it when people hurt you, and newsflash! Your dream girl? Total sadist.”

Shuichi’s face soured. “Don’t do that…”

“What, you think I’m wrong? Damn, detective or not, I guess we all have our blind spots. Have you ever actually paid attention to the things Miu says about how those two fuck? You’ve never noticed the bruises on her wrists? Even without the evidence, come on, it’s Miu. Anyone who willingly dates her for this long has to have some sort of weird discipline kink.”

“Stop it.”

“You know I’m right. And sex aside, you’re going to have Miu throwing a fit anytime she thinks Kaede’s neglecting her so that she can spend more time with you, and let’s face it, that’s going to be every day. You walked right up to a relationship set to explode any day now, you know that?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shuichi said with a rare sternness to his tone, one that Kokichi hadn’t heard since they’d started attending Hope’s Peak. “Look, Kokichi, I get it. You’re hurt. I hurt you. I’m sorry for that, I swear I am, but feeling hurt doesn’t mean you get to go around messing with people.”

Kokichi could do whatever he wanted. It wasn’t as if there were ever any consequences, none that ever came back to bite him. That was the thing about being disliked by everyone—you were free to act in whatever way you saw fit, because really, what could anyone do to punish you? Social ramifications didn’t exist for him. It didn’t matter how often Maki threatened him with physical violence (if she hit him, it meant he won) or how often Kirumi scolded him like an overbearing mother. He was at the bottom of the social hierarchy, a total bottom feeder, the lowest of the low.

And that made him untouchable.

“There wasn’t any reason to drag Angie into this. She never should have been involved to begin with. And all that just to make things weird between Kaede and I? Really?”

Kokichi scoffed. “I never said I was above being petty.”

“I know you aren’t, but friends don’t do stuff like that to each other.”

Even through his shirt, Shuichi’s hand on his shoulder felt like a splash of cold water that shocked his whole body. Kokichi shivered and shoved him off immediately. Somehow, that icy touch brought warm tears to the corners of his eyes.

“Don’t touch me,” he said. “Don’t even look at me. Just…go back to your walking onaholes.”

He didn’t even have the will to make that one sting.

Shuichi took a deep breath and closed his eyes as Kokichi blinked away his tears. He refused to cry over a guy like this, over something as stupid as a crush. Of all the guys to fall for, it just had to be this one, didn’t it?

“I know you’re scared of getting close to people, because you’re scared of getting hurt. And I know I probably just made that even worse, but…for what it’s worth, I don’t want this to be where it ends for us,” he said. “Yeah, you can be a lot to deal with sometimes, but that’s what makes you you. And it doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. We are friends. And I’d like to keep it that way. So I’m sorry I don’t feel the same feelings you feel for me, and I’m sorry I didn’t handle it well. I’m sorry.”

Kokichi wanted to hit him. Shuichi was being greedy, really. He wanted Kaede, Miu, and him all at once? A part of him didn’t buy it, and another part was all too eager to accept it right then and there. Shuichi had gone and fucked up (Kokichi did, too, but that didn’t really matter). His passivity hurt Kokichi, had been like a barb in his heart burrowing deeper with every passing day, but…he couldn’t hate him.

Damn it. Damn it. He still wanted him—still wanted him in his life. This was stupid. These feelings, this desire, was all so stupid. From now on, he’d have to see the object of his affections walking around hand-in-hand with someone who wasn’t him. Worse than that, he might even have to see him holding hands with Miu. Ugh.

But…even if it hurt, even if it meant Kokichi got burned, at the very least it meant that Shuichi was happy, and wasn’t that all love was about? Wanting to see the people you care about happy?

Kokichi decided that love was annoying.

“…If you’re asking for my blessing or whatever, then fine, you have it,” he mumbled. “But if you expect me to suddenly be all buddy-buddy with either of them just because you’re dating them now, you’re going to be disappointed.”

“Believe me, I know you well enough to not expect something like that.” Shuichi smiled just a little. “Are we cool?”

“Sure. We’re cool,” Kokichi said.

Shuichi let out a sigh of relief. A lesser Kokichi would have hugged him, but this one refrained. “Thank you. Now, that was a lot of yelling, and we are at a parade. Do you want to do something fun with Kaede, Miu and I?”

“You’re asking if I want to fourth wheel? Pass. I’ll go see what Keeboy’s up to instead.” Kokichi folded his hands behind his back and took a deep breath. Though the hurt still lingered, he was calm now, back to his regular self. “Who knows what he’s doing without me or Miu to keep him company?”

Shuichi didn’t put up a fight. “That’s alright. Then…I’ll see you in class on Monday.”

“If I decide to show up.”

“Hah, right. Later, Kokichi. I’m glad we had this talk.”

Kokichi only shrugged before walking away with his hands in his pockets. He said he’d look for Keebo, but he had every intention of simply wandering until the event came to an end. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to people right now. In fact, he wasn’t much in the mood for anything. He didn’t want to cry, or to scream, or engage in any of the usual responses to such a rejection.

He sighed and looked up at the clear blue sky overhead. Even with all the grime down here, it was still pristine up there.

“…I guess one loss is fine,” he mumbled. “I’ll just be sure to only get victories from here on out.”

Chapter Text

“…Are you sure Enoshima-san is coming today?”

“I’m s-sure! She just said she m-m-might be a little late, that’s all.”

Tenko Chabashira was not a very patient girl, usually operating at about an eleven at any given time of day, so being made to sit around in the club room and wait for Junko wasn’t exactly thrilling. Mikan insisted that she would be in soon, but ten minutes flew by in no time at all and there was still no sign of her.

“It’s really dumb to delay starting this much just for one person,” Himiko sighed, leaning over to rest her head against Tenko’s shoulder.

“Especially for her. I’d get it if it were Himiko or something, but it’s Junko.” Komaru crossed her arms and huffed, vexed. “Can we just start already? If she misses anything, it’s her loss.”

“We probably should, you’re right. Sorry, Tsumiki-senpai, but—”

As if on cue, a loud bang sounded from beyond the closed door to the hallway, followed by a voice that was all too familiar by now.

“Quit being such a pussy and just give in already! This is happening whether you like it or not!”

“Christ, would it kill you to not be so clingy for once?”

That second voice was unfamiliar, prompting Tenko to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Junko was the one to invite Kotoko to join the club all those months ago, so maybe this was another one of her friends?

“The only clinging I’ll be doing is to your throat when I strangle you. Now get. In. There!”

Tenko jumped as the door flew open and the stranger was thrown onto the tile floor, sliding a considerable distance before bumping his head against the leg of Makoto’s chair. Junko then entered with a proud smile on her face and bumped the door shut with her hip.

“Ta-da! One new Fruits Basket recruit just for you! No need to thank me, I know I’m great,” she said in a haughty tone, hands on her hips and head held high.

Chihiro gasped and covered his mouth, eyes filled with concern. “Yasuke? Are you alright?”

“Tch. ‘Course Fujisaki’s in this club…”

The boy, Yasuke, stood up and grumbled, rubbing at the welt that had to have been forming atop his head. Not that Tenko was an expert on fashion by any means—she just dressed how she liked, after all—but he looked…well, awful. His hair was a tangled black mess that definitely hadn’t seen a pair of scissors in ages, his wrinkled shirt wasn’t even buttoned up properly (leave it to a degenerate male to subject girls to the sight of his exposed chest!), and what in the world was he thinking wearing those sandals with that tie? Whoever he was, he was an aesthetic nightmare.

“Um…hello! I’m Tenko Chabashira, President of the Fruits Basket! Would you like to introduce yourself?”

“No,” he said flatly, already making his way towards the door.

Junko stepped in front of him to obstruct his path. “When are you gonna get it through your head? There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go through your entire high school career without joining a single club. I mean, what type of boring ass life is that?”

“Move. Just having to look at you is making me want to gag.”

“You seriously think you can get away? Look around you, genius! You’re outnumbered!”

Mikan’s face had already twisted into an angry expression Tenko didn’t even know she was capable of making. Tsumugi, Kotoko, and Mukuro were present as well, so Junko was correct. He was absolutely outnumbered.

Yasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for a while, before letting out a frustrated huff. “You’re impossible, you know that? Fine. I’ll humor you.” He turned to face Tenko, and—oh, his vibes were atrocious. “Yasuke Matsuda, Ultimate Neurologist. Where do I sit?”

“Pull up a chair next to Mugi—I don’t want you too close to me.” Junko happily hummed as she took her usual spot at Mikan’s side and thumbed away the crease on her brow, doing away with the nurse’s enraged expression at once. “Yasuke here’s a buddy of mine. Final member of Ultimate Despair, actually. Go on and tell the world just what kind of fruit you are, Yasu!”

“…What?”

“She’s asking what sexuality you identify with,” Mukuro clarified.

“Then just say that. Aromantic and heterosexual, not that it matters. Don’t touch me.”

Rantaro smiled and sat up. “Hey, would you look at that. Same hat.”

“I don’t wear hats.”

“Well then! Let’s get started! Welcome to this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket, everyone! This week, we’re going to be talking all about family!” Tenko said.

“Oho? Family?” Angie squished her cheeks together and leaned forward. “Is this topic impromptu due to your recent meeting with Himiko’s parents?”

“Nope! It was always on the agenda!”

It definitely was not always on the agenda. Really, Tenko just wanted an excuse to gush about her aforementioned introduction to Himiko’s family the previous week, but no one needed to know that. Besides, it was an easy enough subject to tie into the purpose of the club, so there was no harm done.

“I know you’ve been waiting all week to talk about it, so go on, tell us how it went!” Kaede said. She then flashed Yasuke a bright smile. “Hi hi! Kaede Akamatsu, Ultimate Pianist. This is my girlfriend, Miu!” she said, holding up Miu’s hand. “And this is my boyfriend, Shuichi!” She did the same to Shuichi’s, prompting him to blush.

A few people in their class found the burgeoning romantic relationship between those three to be, frankly, quite annoying—Kaede had been almost sickeningly sweet lately, Miu never shut up about how her girlfriend had two partners, and Shuichi was still finding his footing when it came to romantic relationships—but Tenko thought it was adorable. She was happy for them, even if it meant that Kaede was for whatever reason not perfectly content with just her relationship with a girl…even if that girl was Miu.

“It was so much fun! Yumeno-san—I mean Himiko’s mom made us cookies, and we watched old martial arts movies, and did you know that her dad is a former practitioner of aikido?! He has trophies!”

“Isn’t this club supposed to about LGBT stuff…?” Yasuke grumbled.

“Oh! Right! Um, Himiko, you came out to your parents! Let’s talk about that!”

A delighted smile crossed Himiko’s lips as she happily began kicking her feet. “Nyeh, nyeh! I was really nervous, but it actually went really well. I introduced Tenko as just a friend so that they could get to know her before I told them the truth, and they already liked her by the time I said that she was actually my girlfriend. My mommy said that they’d aaalways love me no matter what I was, and my daddy was happy that I found a girl like Tenko.”

“Aaw, that’s so sweet!” Mahiru said. “They sound super supportive. Good for you, Himiko!”

“I believe a better phrase would be lucky you,” Celeste said, crossing one leg over the other. “Many of us lose the gamble of life and are born into families that are unsupportive of our desires.”

“Like you, Celeste?” Hajime asked.

“Oh, not at all. My mother and father are fully supportive of my identity, you see. Another gamble in which I came out on top.”

Ibuki’s arm shot up, a wide grin on her face. “Ibuki’s parents are punks just like her, so they’re totally down with her smooching all kinds of girls! Ibuki’s actually pretty sure her dad swings both ways, too!”

“Wooow, good for you.” Hiyoko rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, bitterness coating her words. “Why don’t we aaall just spend the meeting talking about how great our super progressive and accepting families are, huh? That sounds like a fun time!”

Mahiru frowned. “Oh, Hiyoko. People are allowed to be glad their parents don’t reject them for who they are.”

“That’s not fair. Why did they get to be born into families like that while I have to put up with mine?”

“Well, none of us get to choose our families—our biological ones, at least,” Tenko said. “And it’s not like we all have nice parents like that. Ishimaru-san’s family is like yours, remember?”

Taka sighed and hung his head low. “They are, yes. Honesty is a virtue that we all now cherish a great deal, but I can’t be honest with them about who my burning heart desires. Not if I want to remain as part of the family.”

“A-At least you have your dad, right, Hiyoko?" Mikan said. "He loves you a whole lot, so if you ever want to confide in someone from your family, he’s—”

“What, you think I don’t know that?” Hiyoko scoffed. “You’ve got no idea what kind of stuff would happen if the rest of my family found out I’m bi and that he knew about it. I already almost never see him—they’d forbid him from even contacting me!”

Junko gave an exaggerated yawn, and already Tenko was on guard and prepared to diffuse should the need arise. “You let those losers have way too much control over you, seriously. I get that you’re supposed to be head of the family one day and blah blah blah, but is it really worth it if they make you miserable? I say call it quits and move in with your old man.”

“You don’t get it, Enoshima. With all that I’m inheriting and all the people that will depend on me, I can’t just walk away from it all. It’s a matter of tradition!”

“Is that what you tell yourself? Sheesh, no wonder you were so sexually repressed before,” Junko said with a snicker. “Look, Banana Bitch—”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“You’ve got at least one parent that loves you unconditionally. You say it’s not fair that some of us have supportive parents, but shit, do you even realize how lucky you are?” she asked. “Kokichi’s dad beat the shit out of him when he tried to come out. Mukuro and I’s parents are long gone, and trust me, our old man wasn’t exactly a saint when he was around. And don’t even get me started on Kotoko or Mikan’s parents, because I won’t fuckin’ stop.”

“Alright, alright, no need to be so aggressive, girls,” Tenko said in the best calming voice she could muster. “Saionji-senpai, I’m sorry you have to deal with such a regressive family. And Enoshima-san, you’re right, but telling someone they should be grateful for what they have when they open up about what they’re struggling with isn’t helpful.”

Junko winked. “When have I ever claimed to be helpful?”

“I don’t know how you lot put up with her every week,” Yasuke said, impatiently tapping his foot against the ground. “I’ve been sick of her since we met, and we grew up together.”

“You say you’re sick of me, but it’s not like you’ve ever tried to leave.”

“That’s because I developed a dependency on you after my mother died. After her, the next closest person to me was you, so I latched onto you as a coping mechanism,” Yasuke explained. “I’ve been through enough therapy to understand at least that by now.”

“That self-awareness is a virtue,” Kiyo said, crossing one leg over the other. “I suppose I’ve grown to be rather dependent on my sister myself…but, as she is the only family I feel I require, I see no need to remedy this.”

Komaru smiled and shot her brother a wave. “Oh yeah, support doesn’t have to come from just parents, obviously. Makoto here was actually the first person I ever told I liked girls.”

“I didn’t really get it at first, but I was only seven years old, so can you really blame me?” Makoto asked. “Still, having Komaru around made it a lot easier for me to come to terms with kind of being into guys, too.”

“What about you, Hina? Does your brother know you’re into girls?” Chihiro asked.

“Mhm! Our parents, too. It’s not exactly like I make it a secret. I don’t really think any of them care, but Yuta could tell I was nervous when I told him, so he put on a big show of saying how he’ll always support me no matter what and all that. Love that little guy!”

“It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? To have that sort of unconditional love from a family member,” Nagito began with a wistful sigh. “It’s something I’ll never know, so I have to admit, I’m a bit jealous.”

“Nyeh, what do you mean you’ll never know? Don’t tell me you have lame parents, too.”

Nagito shook his head. “My parents were tragically killed when I was in elementary school. I don’t have any living relatives, so ever since then, it’s just been me.”

“You’ve been all on your own for that long? That’s awful, Komaeda-senpai!” Tenko said. “But still, man or not, it takes a pretty strong person to persevere through all of that.”

“Not at all! If someone like me can do it, then I’m sure it was no problem at all for talented people like Junko or Mukuro. You Ultimates truly are the pinnacle of hope.”

Junko’s face twisted into something sour. “Um, bye? Hello? Ultimate Despair here?”

“Ultimate Despair indeed. And that makes you a stepping stone for hope, a—”

“Guys, can we not do this in the middle of a Fruits Basket meeting?” Chiaki asked, a frown on her face that said she’d been through this before, likely multiple times. “You do this every time you run into each other outside of these meetings. Let’s keep it that way, please.”

“Nah, it’s totes related to the topic this week. Think of it this way. Sure, I don’t have any blood relatives left—except Mukuro I guess but fuck her—but guess what? Ultimate Despair is my family now.” Junko ruffled Kotoko’s hair and kissed Mikan on the cheek, drawing out giggles from both of them. “These two, Mugi, and Yasuke are the only family I need. And Mukuro, but don’t tell her I said that.”

“I’m sitting right here.”

Tsumugi folded her hands over her chest and gasped, her eyes practically spiraling with adoration. “J-Junko! That means so much to me! To call me your family like that…it really illuminates our relationship dynamic, doesn’t it?”

Yasuke scoffed. “Sure. We’re family. You’re my bratty little sister.”

“Bzzzt, wrong! Mikan and I are the moms, obviously, Mugi’s the crazy aunt, Mukuro’s the nanny, and you, Kotoko, and the other Warriors are all our kids.”

“I, uh, think you might be getting a bit too caught up with the exact roles in this whole ‘found family’ thing,” Hajime said.

“I believe she still has a point, though,” Keebo said. “Professor Idabashi may still be my father, but since I began attending Hope’s Peak, I’ve come to consider many of you to be like my brothers and sisters!”

Miu grinned, her smile almost blinding. “Hell yeah! And you fuckers say I don’t have any friends.”

“Brothers don’t count as friends, genius,” Kokichi said.

“Choke on it, cockwhistle.”

“The notion of a sort of found family is a rather nice one,” Sakura said. “When someone isn’t able to get what they need from their blood family, it’s no surprise when they turn to places where they can.”

“That’s why the Warriors of Hope exist,” Kotoko said, her usually positive countenance darkening. “Our families were bad, so we found each other. And now we’re our own family.”

Teruteru frowned. “I’m still not exactly sure what exactly that little club of yours is. How’d it start?”

“Well, we were all in the same class in elementary school. The trouble maker’s class, apparently. All of us came from families that sucked. Totally sucked. So we stuck together and became friends, but…we would have to go back home after every semester, and things just got worse and worse.” Kotoko shifted in her seat, uncomfortably rubbing her hands together in her lap. “I would have to go home to my mom, Masaru to his dad, Monaca to her brother…it got so bad that we all made a pact to…to—”

Kotoko bit her tongue, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. “But it all worked out in the end, because Big Sis Junko found us!” Her smile returned in full force, stars shining in her eyes. “And she saved us! She got my parents and Nagisa’s arrested, made Monaca’s family start treating her like a person, and made it so that Masaru and Jataro’s parents don’t have custody anymore. She’s the best big sister in the whole wide world, so who cares about any biological family when I have her, Big Sis Mikan, and the other warriors?”

“That’s the spirit, Kotoko-chan!” Tenko said. She put on a smile and tried not to let her imagination run wild with ideas of exactly what sort of things Kotoko and her friends had to go through before Junko came around. “You don’t need to worry about the family you were born into when the family you made for yourself is so much healthier for you.”

Aoi blinked. “Wait, I’ve never heard any of this. You’re telling me that Junko…saved a bunch of kids from abusive households?”

Junko shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey. I’m not evil, just a bad person. I found a bunch of messed up kids and saw a golden opportunity to spread despair to their shitty families. In exchange for rescuing them, I got a small army of highly capable children willing to do my bidding with little to no reward. It’s a win-win if you ask me.”

Tenko got the feeling that she wasn’t being entirely honest there, but she knew better than to think too hard about why Junko Enoshima did the things that Junko Enoshima did.

“Still, you gave them a family, and that’s something admirable,” Yasuke said, leaning back in his chair. “Guess you’re not completely rotten to the core.”

“You said she’s like your sister, huh?” Rantaro asked. “I’ve got plenty of those. Love ‘em all to death, but I get it, she can be hard to put up with sometimes.”

Junko snickered. “I was way worse when we were dating, believe me. Fourteen-year-old-Junko was a menace.”

“Wait, you dated this guy?” Himiko asked with a sour expression. “That’s weird, nyeh…I can’t picture you with anyone but Mikan.”

“Not my proudest era,” Yasuke grumbled. “My mother and I…to say we were close would be an understatement. She was the only person I had in my life as a kid. But she developed Alzheimer’s, and before I knew it, I could hardly recognize her as my mother anymore. It changed so much about her—hell, her doctors wouldn’t even let me call her ‘Mom.’ That was around the time I met Junko, and as my mother slipped away, I held onto her instead. She was my substitute family, I guess, and once my mother passed away, there was no going back from that. These days I mostly try and keep my distance, but for all my efforts, I’m always pulled right back in. Guess there’s just no escaping family.”

“N-No escaping family, huh…” Toko repeated. Her head hung low and her voice was quiet, just barely above a whisper. “You’re probably right about that…”

“Oh, come on, everyone! Why don’t we lighten the mood a little?” Sayaka asked. Of course she would want to brighten things up around here. After all, an idol’s purpose was to spread love and happiness to the world! “Mondo! Your brother was a big support for you when you first came out, wasn’t he? Why don’t you talk about him for a while?”

“Daiya? Heh, what can I say about the guy? He’s the best for a reason.”

And as Mondo began what was almost an ode to her brother, Tenko listened with a smile on her lips, always happy to be making memories with her own little family.

Chapter Text

“Nyeh, looks like no Komaru and Toko today…”

“Toko is sick. Komaru is looking after her,” Mukuro explained.

That was strange. Sweet, but strange. Tenko cocked her head to the side. “She is? What about school?”

“It’s, uh, bad enough that she’s willing to skip until Toko feels better,” Makoto said, awkwardly scratching at the back of his head. “She’s selfless like that.”

Junko snickered, but at what, Tenko had no idea. “I heard it was a pretty bad cold. Must be sneezing a lot, huh?”

“Yes, Junko, she is.” Mukuro thinned her eyes at her sister. “Komaru told me that she’s not having a very good time, so we should be sensitive and not talk about her behind her back.”

Kotoko made up her face. “Wait, sneezing a lot? Ugh. I know what that means.”

“It means she’s going to go through a ton of tissues, right? I hope she has the nice kind with lotion infused!” Ibuki said. “Otherwise her nose will get irritated, and she’ll sneeze even more!”

Nekomaru crossed his arms. “Hm…I hope she has plenty of tissues. I’ve had to resort to using toilet paper to blow my nose when I had a cold in the past, and let me tell you, it’s not a point you want to reach.”

Teruteru shrugged. “It depends on what ply you’ve got, doesn’t it? If it’s thin—”

“Tell me this isn’t all you talk about in this club.”

Somehow, Tenko had almost forgotten that they did, in fact, have a new member today. She sat up straight in her seat and turned to face the most brooding member of her class, but someone she considered a friend nevertheless. Maki sat, as expected, right by Kaito’s side, a dark shadow cast over her eyes. Clearly she was here against her will.

“Err, no, we usually talk about queer subject matter…unless we get sidetracked,” Tenko said. “So let’s not get sidetracked before we even start!”

She rose from her seat and clapped her hands together to signal the official start of the meeting. “Alright! Welcome to this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket, everyone! We have a new member today, so how about you introduce yourself to everyone?”

Maki grumbled. “Kaito can introduce me.”

“What? No way, Maki Roll! It’s called a self introduction for a reason. Come on, play along!” Kaito said, nudging her in the side. Maki let out a long, frustrated sigh, before standing up and beginning her introduction.

“I’m Maki Harukawa. Ultimate Child Caregiver. That’s it.”

She sat down without another word.

“Geez, first Yasuke, now this girl? What’s with all the downers lately?” Hiyoko asked.

Yasuke blinked, not even bothering to look up from his manga. How rude! “I’m not a downer. I’m just not even a little interested. In any of this.”

“Then why’d you show up for another meeting…?” Tsumugi asked, finger resting atop her chin.

“Because Junko threatened to destroy every copy of the thesis paper I’m writing if I didn’t and I’ve known her long enough to know it isn’t a bluff.”

“Maki’s not a downer either, believe me!” Kaito said. “She’s a super sweet girl when you get to know her. You two will get along great, I just know it.”

Hiyoko scoffed. “I doubt I can get along with anyone dumb enough to go out with you, but sure.”

Tenko intervened before either Maki or Kaito could get another word in. “Alright alright alright! Our topic for today is on allyship!”

Miu rolled her eyes, evidently not too keen on that subject. “Oh joy, we get to celebrate boring straight people. Yay.”

“Aha, nice! It’s about time I get some appreciation around here,” Kaito said, holding his head high.

“Appreciation is one way to put it…but if you think we’re just going to spend the whole meeting praising you, then you’ve got another thing coming!” Tenko said. “Not even close! This meeting is all about way more than just grovelling at the feet at the straight people whose hearts aren’t rotten enough to think we’re perverts or subhumans. It’s about what it means to be a ‘good ally,’ their place in the community, and how they can better understand the very people they support.”

“You, uh, couldn’t invite more actual allies? Just for the day?” Teruteru asked, looking around the room. “We ain’t exactly got many to go around.”

“Does Keeboy count?” Kokichi asked.

“Hm, I would say so,” Keebo said. “I may not have a biological human body, but I do consider myself a boy. Regardless, I definitely support the LGBT community, so I don’t have any issue being called an ally.”

“Nice! Welcome to the Fruits Basket Allies Club, Keebo my man! Good to have you!” Kaito said with a hearty laugh. “We’re an underappreciated part of the club, but at the end of the day, still an important one!”

Tenko snapped her fingers, already growing irritated. She’d had a feeling this subject would be particularly grating. “Let’s start the meeting with that right there. Being an ally is the bare minimum you could do—especially for your particular breed of male—so where do you get off expecting praise for it, huh?!”

“Hey, I don’t expect anything. But it’s nice to get some appreciation here and there, isn’t it?”

“Appreciation is one thing, but it isn’t something anyone should pat you on the back for,” Sayaka said. “Like Tenko said, it’s the least you can do to support queer people at least on an emotional level.”

“Think of it this way, Kaito,” Kaede began with a genial smile. “At the bottom, we have bigots, or those that think queer people are gross or evil and should be punished or forced to conform. We don’t like those people. A step above them are people who’re neutral, or don’t really care about queer issues one way or another. These people are fine, for the most part, but can definitely be annoying. And right above them are allies, or non-queer people who are actively supportive of LGBT causes. That can range from something as simple as raising awareness or actively campaigning for change. Hey, you’re doing better than most just by coming to these meetings every week!”

Kaito’s grin was mirrored by Tenko’s scowl. Kaede had good intentions, of course, and nothing she said was wrong, but Tenko knew well enough that even the slightest bit of sugar would have someone like Kaito tooting his own horn.

“Thanks, Kaede!” he said, giving her the same thumbs-up he always did. Tenko had half a mind to bite it right off. “I really want to make sure I’m learning the proper lingo and all that. I’ve learned a lot from you all these past couple of months, all so that I can be a better ally!”

“That’s not enough. What you should be doing is paying us directly,” Kokichi said, his face deadly serious. “Do you know how difficult it is to be a homosexual in modern day Japan? I struggle every day. I’m suffering every moment. If you were the good ally you think you are, you would be supporting us monetarily.”

Kaito gulped. “W-Wait, seriously? Is that what I should be doing?”

Maki scoffed. “No. He’s messing with you,” she said. “You’re fine the way you are now.”

“Is that really for you to judge?”

“What?” Maki thinned her eyes at Hiyoko, who looked back at her with a smug expression on her face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean why do you get to decide how good of an ally he is? Shouldn’t it be up to the rest of us to come to a consensus on if he’s worthy or not?” Hiyoko asked. “See, that’s something a lot of so-called allies mess up on all the time. They end up forgetting their place and start talking as if they’re one of us, when they’re not.”

Maki glared. “I’m not—”

“Girl, didn’t you come out like, yesterday?” Junko asked. “Like, don’t get me wrong, I get what you mean, but it’s not like you get a seat at the gay council when you only just got your license in the mail.”

“I’m allowed to have opinions! I’m just saying that straight people step out of line way too often.”

“You really think so?” Mahiru asked, frowning. “Could you explain that a little better? I want to be sure I don’t say or do anything that might grate on anyone’s nerves.”

Clearly Hiyoko was caught off guard by Mahiru addressing her directly like that, the color draining from her face. “O-Of course. Well…I guess what I mean is that sometimes, people who call themselves allies really don’t act the part. It’s like they do the whole activism thing just for show without actually taking queer people’s feelings into account. It’s all performative.”

“Oh, so you’re saying that some people act like they’re allies, but really just want the support that comes with that?” Ibuki asked. “Yeah, that makes sense. They can talk the talk, but don’t exactly walk the walk.”

“Exactly. People like that will talk over queer people and assert their own beliefs because they don’t actually care about being supportive, even if they say they do,” Tenko said. “I hate people like that! If you want to support margianalized communities, then you need to listen to them when they speak!”

Celeste hummed. “Well, is it not within their right to question the things they are told? Listening is important, yes, but a far cry from blind affirmation.”

“If you ask me, I say they don’t get to have an opinion on queer shit. Just shut up and stay in your lane, you feel me?” Miu asked.

“How is that productive?” Maki grumbled. “It’s not like you’re going to get one definitive answer to a question from everyone you ask. If they’re not allowed to form their own opinions, then how are they supposed to act?”

“It’s majority rule, duh,” Hiyoko said.

“You can’t possibly believe that the majority opinion is always the right one. Especially not when there are a million variations of a single idea.”

“Ugh. Look, if that’s the case, then they should just shut up and let the community work it out. It’s not their place to get in on the conversation because they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Maki raised an eyebrow and crossed one leg over the other, clearly unconvinced. “And what if they do? What if they have valuable information or ideas to present? Are they going to be shut out only because they aren’t actually a part of the community, even if they might be more knowledgeable than actual members?”

“See, this is what I mean! Why are you even arguing with me about this? You and Kaito and the rest of you allies should be sitting there with your mouths closed and taking notes instead of running your mouth.”

Maki opened her mouth to retort, but before she could even get a word out, Hiyoko’s attention was stolen away by the low noise from Mahiru’s chest and the frown on her face. “That includes me, too, huh? Shoot, and I had something I wanted to bring up, too…”

“Huh? What, no, of course you can talk, Mahiru.”

“Nyeh? What makes her different from Maki?”

Junko leaned forward to loudly whisper. “The fact that Hiyoko wants a taste of her—”

“Junko! Jeez, you’re always so vulgar,” Mahiru huffed. “I was going to say that it might not always be the best idea to just shut someone who identifies as an ally down, because they might actually turn out to be queer. It’s not exactly a rare thing, is it? For someone who insists they’re not at all gay or trans to be super into queer activism to come out of the closet later down the line?”

“You’re right, it’s not rare at all!” Tsumugi said. “It happened to Shuichi, Fujisaki, and Himiko, too.”

“Hm, so what you’re saying is that every ally is bound to come out sooner or later, huh?” Kokichi shot Kaito a look as a cheeky grin spread across his lips. “Clock’s ticking, Kaito! Whenever you’re ready to confess, we’ll all be waiting to accept you with open arms.”

Kaito shook his head. “Nuh-uh, that’s not me. I’m straight as an arrow, but of course I’m super supportive of queer people. How could I not be when so many of the people closest to me are part of the community?”

With a scowl on her face, Kotoko crossed her arms and huffed. “Tell that to Masaru, the big dummy. He says it’s cool or whatever that I’m a lesbian, but then goes and makes weird, stereotypical comments about gay people every day! The other day, he called Big Sis Junko the man in her relationship—like, what?! What part of Big Sis Junko is masculine?!”

“I th-think it’s more that I’m pretty s-submissive,” Mikan whispered, steepling her fingers in her lap. “B-But um, I don’t think he means any harm when he says things like that. He was raised a certain way, and it can be hard to break those beliefs, i-if that makes any sense.”

“Implicit bias,” Korekiyo said as if answering a question on a gameshow. “Unconscious prejudices we all hold towards a group of people whether we like it or not. Even if one fancies themselves a queer ally, they are not immune to these biases instilled within them.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that! I dunno, though. I’d like to think I don’t have any of those biases,” Kaito said.

“A common one among men of your character is the belief that queer people are somehow physically weaker than others,” Sakura asserted.

“Well I definitely don’t believe that. I’ve been flipped enough times by Tenko to know that lesbians can hit pretty hard!”

Tenko felt a spark of pride in her chest at that, a spark that promptly snuffed out upon remembering that it was Kaito who’d given her that compliment. “Hmph. We sure can!”

“But what about the guys?” Junko asked. “There are only two gay dudes here, and between Kokichi and Nagito, you’re not exactly looking at a lot of muscle.”

“That may be true, but it’s not like you have to look very far to find Owada-san and Ishimaru-san,” Hajime pointed out, gesturing to the couple in question.

“Look, we’re gettin’ off topic. The point is that some people who are supportive of the queer community—or at least, say they are—still carry some backwards beliefs,” Aoi said. “If you ask me, though, I don’t think that automatically means they’re being superficial or something like that. It’s our job to educate them better, you know?”

Hiyoko scoffed. “And just why the hell should I have to waste my time telling some rando that it’s not okay to call lesbians ‘carpet munchers’ or whatever?”

“Well…how else are they going to learn?” Shuichi asked. “It isn’t our job, and it can definitely be emotionally draining, but I’d rather correct behavior like that than let it continue. I think we should generally offer a bit of grace to people who might not know any better.”

“Yeah! I mean, just look at Kaito. Do you think he’d be this informed on queer stuff if we told him to sit down and shut up every time he asked a question? Of course not!” Kaede said. “It’s important to properly educate people, because like it or not, allies are pretty important to the whole activism part of the community. We can’t always advocate for ourselves, especially not to people who don’t take us seriously to begin with.”

“You could say allies are sort of like ambassadors in that way,” Sayaka said. “Intermediaries, you know?”

“I guess you’re right. Queer people don’t always have the power to fight for themselves, especially not when it comes to politics and all that stuff,” Tenko begrudgingly admitted. “But! That doesn’t mean that we have to kneel before anyone or praise them or anything like that! I’m grateful for people like Koizumi-san, Momota-san, and Harukawa-san, but—”

“Could you please stop talking like I’m one of them?” Maki hissed, eyes dark.

Tenko blinked. “You’re…not?”

Kokichi slapped his hands against his cheeks and gave a loud, exaggerated gasp. “Don’t tell me! Maki Harukawa is homophobic?! Bigotry makes you unfit for child caregiving, you know!”

“No, moron. I’m not an ally because I’m queer.”

A silence fell over the room, blank expressions on most faces, save for Kaito, and of course, Junko, whose gaydar had once again proven itself infallible.

“What, you guys didn’t know?” Kaito asked. “Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird that Hiyoko kept talking about her like she was totally straight, but hey, it’s not my place to correct that if she’d rather keep it on the down low.”

“Oh. Oops, sorry for assuming, then,” Chiaki said with an apologetic smile. “So are you bi, or…?”

“I’m demisexual.”

Rantaro sat up in his chair, a slight smile on his lips. “Oh hey, nice.”

“The fuck’s that?” Miu asked.

“Ugh. This is why I don’t like talking about this,” Maki grumbled. “I’ll make it simple for you. It basically means I’m asexual until I get close to someone emotionally. You know what that is, right?”

“Of course I do, we had a whole meeting on that! So, what, you thought Kaito was hella ugly until he stole your heart or something?”

“No. I didn’t think anything about his appearance.”

“Right, right, and now you think he’s a total hunk.”

Red blossomed in Maki’s cheeks, the same shade as her glaring eyes. “Do you want to die?”

“You have my sincerest apologies for the assumption, Harukawa-san! I hope you can forgive me!” Tenko said, clapping her hands together. “I was trying to say that it really is nice to have allies around, but can’t stand it when they expect praise or brownie points or anything like that! People should be allies because they genuinely believe in a cause, not because they believe people will think they’re cool or whatever. It can’t be superficial support. To me, that’s what makes a good ally.”

Mahiru let out a breath of relief and put a hand over her chest. “Phew. For a second there I was worried I wasn’t being the best ally I could be. Gotta support my friends, you know?”

Junko smirked. “The best way to support Hiyoko here is to make a strawberry-banana smoothie with her. I’m sure that’d make her real happy.”

Hiyoko promptly shot out of her seat, fists balled and face red as, well, a strawberry. “What the hell does that even mean!?”

Junko simply leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, satisfied with herself. “Jokes aren’t funny if you have to explain them.”

Chapter Text

“So… she’s Toko… but not Toko?”

This was not the first time a member of the Fruits Basket had to explain to the club special circumstances regarding another member. Junko and Mikan had done it a few months back when they let everyone know about poor Kotoko’s trigger word, and Tenko, of course, understood perfectly. For whatever reason, Kotoko had gone through something or other that made it so that hearing a particular word sent her into bouts of panic and fear. To accommodate, all she and the others had to do was avoiding saying the word ‘gentle,’ and that was all. It was easy to wrap her head around and easy to remember.

Today, however, was a different situation. Tenko had never encountered this before, and by the looks on their faces and questions they asked, many of her friends seemed to have never even heard of it. Himiko especially didn’t really seem to get it.

“Not exactly,” Komaru said, hands folded behind her back as she nervously swayed side to side. “How do I put this…? Toko is Toko. Jack is Jack. They’re different people, but share the same body. Does that make sense?”

Hajime nodded. “Dissociative identity disorder. It’s a rare diagnosis.”

“Right, that’s what it’s called. Sorry, Toko doesn’t like to talk about this stuff often. I wanted to let you all know because we’re friends, and, well, Jack actually wanted to come to today’s meeting. But don’t tell anyone, alright? I feel bad enough that Toko isn’t explaining it herself.”

“Could always settle for the next best thing,” Junko said, clicking her tongue. “I’m sure we’re all just dying to meet the woman of the hour. You don’t want to keep her or us waiting, do you?”

Komaru begrudgingly agreed and approached the door with unease on her face. “Okay… but before you meet her, you should know that she can be a little um, much. But she’s harmless, I promise. She—”

“Alright alright, enough yapping. Let’s get this show on the road!” Kokichi said, eagerly bouncing in his seat with a wicked grin.

With one last sigh, Komaru stepped back to open the club room door, and in walked Toko Fukawa. Except… not quite.

Anyone could tell this girl wasn’t exactly Toko. Her hair was let down, for one, and Tenko had never seen Toko without her braids. She was a bit more pale, but the most striking difference was her red eyes that stood out even through the lenses of her glasses. Toko was meek and morose, like a mouse eager to skitter away to a dark corner whenever light fell on them, but this girl walked into the room radiating unbridled confidence.

“Ah, finally! Feels good to be let out of my cage!”

She smiled wide—oh yeah, she definitely wasn’t Toko—with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that send a chill down Tenko’s spine. She hadn’t done anything wrong yet, but this girl’s aura was dangerous.

“Yay, Jack’s here!” Kotoko said, positively beaming. “She’s the fun one!”

“You know her, Kotoko-chan?” Tenko asked.

“A few of us do,” Makoto answered with a wary smile. “You spend enough time around Toko and you get to know Jack eventually. Whether you like it or not.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Big Mac! You can just admit you like having me around, you know.”

Junko snickered and wiggled her fingers in a little wave. “Ain’t that the truth. You guys should see the Naegi house when Genocide Jack comes out to play. Infinitely more entertaining than when it’s just Toko constantly mumbling to herself while the rest of us try and have some fun.”

Maki thinned her eyes, incredulous. “Genocide Jack?”

“That’s my name! Genocide Jack, the Ultimate Murderous Fiend!”

Jack punctuated her prideful declaration by standing tall with her hands on her hips. Tenko threw an inquisitive look Komaru’s way and was relieved when she shook her head in response. She didn’t know if she could handle having an actual murderer in her club, but if it was all in Jack’s head, she supposed that was fine.

Himiko nudged Tenko in the side and only then did she remember she had a meeting to run. She stood up and cleared her throat.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you! We’re glad to have you here with us. Feel free to sit where Fukawa-san usually does! Now then, without further ado, welcome everyone to this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! For today’s topic, we’ll be discussing mental health!”

“Well ain’t that just perfect timing? You know, since we’ve got Mr. Hyde over here visiting us and all,” Teruteru said.

“Careful, pervy chef. Get on her bad side and Jack will cut you up real good!” Kotoko warned.

Teruteru apparently didn’t see it as much of a warning, leaning back in his chair with as suave a smile as he could muster. “I do love myself a dangerous woman. First Maki, now this one? Aren’t I the lucky one!”

Jack shook her head, though her toothy grin remained. “Nah, he’s not my type. Killing him is too far, but I can sure make him bleed!”

“No violence in the Fruits Basket!” Tenko asserted. “Now, I’d like to start us off by reminding everyone to be considerate when talking about this. It can be a sensitive subject for a lot of people, and the last thing we want to do is make any of our club members feel unwelcome or unsafe. We’ll be talking about things a lot of us have firsthand experience with today, so be respectful.”

“Oh yeah, we’ve got all kinds of broken brains in this room,” Junko said, very much not being respectful at all. “Celeste’s antisocial, Kokichi’s histrionic—so is Miu, probably—a couple of you definitely have some sort of PTSD, Himiko’s autistic—”

“Don’t lump autism in with those!” Himiko shouted, her cheeks red. “And don’t go diagnosing people randomly either!”

“See, that’s the sort of thing we want to avoid today, Enoshima-san. Do you know how damaging it can be to go around saying things like that about people?” Tenko asked. “You need to show more tact. That’s really offensive.”

“Why? It’s not like it’s anything to be embarrassed about since people can’t control how their brain works.” Junko shrugged and crossed her legs. Her expression didn’t show it, but Tenko got the feeling she was only trying to stir the pot. What else was new? “None of you have any idea whether I’m just saying shit to say shit or not, anyway. If what I said is true, though, then shouldn’t we be trying to destigmatize or something?”

Maki grumbled. “You don’t destigmatize by assigning people mental disorders. You destigmatize by discussing it openly and honestly. That’s the point of this meeting.”

“Exactly! Thank you, Harukawa-san. We need to speak truthfully for ourselves, not have other people speak for us. Now that I’ve made that clear, I’d like to begin the meeting with a confession.” Tenko took a long, deep breath and closed her eyes. Saying this next part out loud was always nerve-wracking, and it wasn’t as if she’d told many other people before. Still, these were her friends, so there was nothing to worry about.

“I, Tenko Chabashira, have ADHD.”

No one said a word. Tenko remained absolutely still, fearful over what their reaction might have been. But miraculously, when she opened her eyes, she found that no one really seemed surprised.

“Um, not to be rude, but was that meant to be a secret?” Kaede asked. “I always sort of figured that was the case.”

Miu scoffed. “Yeah, duh. Doesn’t take a detective to figure that one out.”

“You’re right about that. I knew since the first day of school,” Shuichi said.

“R-Really?” Tenko asked. Her voice came out as a small, embarrassed squeak. “Is it that obvious?”

Yasuke sighed, flipping through his manga without even looking up. “You exhibit multiple symptoms on a consistent basis. Of course it’s obvious. I’m guessing you were diagnosed as a child.”

“I was! It’s not easy getting an ADHD diagnosis here in Japan, you know! Especially not for girls!” Tenko said. She wasn’t sure why she was suddenly being so defensive. She guessed she simply wasn’t expecting to have been read so easily. “My Master recommended my parents take me to be evaluated not long after we met. It took a while, but eventually I got my diagnosis.”

“I take it you are unmedicated, no?” Celeste asked.

“Mhm! I was for a while, but I didn’t like the way it made me feel and my parents didn’t like how it changed my personality. It was like I wasn’t Tenko anymore. So I stopped, and I was better for it!”

“So you’re just raw dogging life, huh? I respect it, I respect it! Miss Morose could never, but I’m still around, so those pills she swallows must be pretty worthless!” Jack cackled like some sort of hyena, hands on her stomach as she threw her head back. “But ain’t this club supposed to be gay stuff? How exactly is this related?”

“Good question, Fukawa-san—um. Jack-san? I’ll answer with a question of my own! Who here can tell me what intersectionality is?”

Ibuki practically shot out of her chair with how quickly she raised her hand. “Ooh, ooh, Ibuki can!”

“Mioda-senpai?”

“Yes!” she said, pumping her fist in success. “So basically, it’s like this concept based on understanding how everyone’s identities come together and form specific combinations of privilege and discrimination! Liiiiiike Sagishi!”

Sagishi raised an eyebrow and looked around to make sure it was them Ibuki was talking about. “Me?”

“You! See, Sagishi is x-gender and plus sized, so they experience the discrimination that comes with both of those things and the discrimination that comes from being both at the same time!”

Miu stifled a laugh. “You’re saying they experience like, super discrimination because they’re trans and fat? Hah! Trans fat.”

“Well, yeah. It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Shuichi asked. “If society hates short people and people with red hair, then it’s not surprising that a short person with red hair would have it worse than someone who only falls into one of those categories.”

Himiko let out a whine and thumped her forehead against Tenko’s arm. “Nyeeeh. It’s so hard being me…”

“Mioda-senpai and Saihara-san hit the nail on the head! See, we’re all queer here—well, most of us—so that’s already one mark against us in the eyes of the society. And for those of us who have something going on with our heads, that’s another mark! So, I wanted to highlight that today.”

“Hm… I guess I’ve never really thought about it like that before,” Sayaka said, tapping a finger against her chin. “But it makes sense. It can’t be easy being gay and depressed.”

“Indeed. One problem exacerbates the other—not that being a sexual minority is a problem, per se, however it is something that can cause a person a great deal of distress depending on where they live,” Korekiyo explained. “Having to juggle that alongside mental health issues can’t be easy. Not that I have firsthand experience myself.”

Junko scoffed at that, apparently not believing him. “Yeah right. You keep living in denial, dude. Hey Komaeda, what about you? I mean, you’re a total nutcase and super duper gay. How’s that workin’ out for ya?”

“Quite well, actually,” Nagito said with an uncharacteristically smug smile on his face. “The self-loathing I used to feel regarding my sexuality is long gone by now, though it did used to exacerbate my own issues with mental health. Attending these meetings has helped me a lot in that way.”

“It is pretty important to have a support system like this, huh? But we don’t really tend to talk about stuff like this much in Japan…” Aoi said.

“It’s no wonder you’re all so miserable when you keep all those negative feelings bottled up inside. You’ve get to let it all out, otherwise you’ll end up exploding one day! And that can get really, really messy.” Jack said. “How do you think I got here? The mopey one just couldn’t cope with her shitty life, and then bang! I burst onto the scene like a goddamn superhero!”

“I’m not so sure I’d call you a superhero,” Makoto muttered.

“Didja say somethin’, Makoodle padoodle? Man up and speak up!”

“I-It’s nothing, Jack.”

“Ignoring… whatever that was, I’m curious. What’s it like on your island, Angie?” Mahiru asked. “Are people open about their mental health issues?”

Angie nodded. “Mhm, mhm! While we are all of course happy being embraced in Atua’s love, there are times when peoples minds are taken by a great darkness. The whole community comes together to support them, and in time, they come to not be so affected by their ails!”

“You mean there’s no like, weird ritual dance where they exorcise their brains or something?” Miu asked.

Kaede nudged her in the ribs. “Miu, that’s racist.”

“Seriously? Have you heard the shit she says about where she’s from?”

“There are no exorcising rituals, no, though we do have ceremonies intended to bestow good fortune upon the afflicted. Troubles of the mind are not something that can be cured in a day, you know,” Angie explained, wagging her finger. “They heal with time, and even then, the scars they leave rarely fade forever.”

“That’s… surprisingly wise coming from you,” Maki said.

Keebo raised his hands in Maki’s defense. “I’m certain she means that in the best way possible.”

“I think it’s nice to be able to talk about this kind of stuff with people you can trust,” Himiko mumbled, kicking her feet and wringing her hands in her lap. “Nyeh, I don’t really like talking about my autism much, but Tenko’s a good listener. She helps me when I feel bad about it.”

“Aw, that’s nothing to feel bad about, Himiko,” Chiaki said with a reassuring smile. “That’s just a part of what makes you… um… I was gonna say ‘special,’ but I hate it when people say that word for me, so I guess… unique?”

Himiko gasped, stars sparkling in her eyes. “Wait, you mean you’re like me?! But you’re some kind of social butterfly!”

“Nah, that’s not true. I just get along well with all my classmates,” Chiaki said, bashfully rubbing at the back of her neck. “But yeah, I am. I’m not good at talking to new people unless it’s about video games, really. Heck, I’m not good at much else besides video games.”

“Autism or not, you’re the class rep for a reason, you know,” Hajime said. “But that goes to show that it isn’t the same for everyone.”

“Why are we only talking about the boring mental issues?” Kokichi asked. He feigned a way too exaggerated yawn and shook his head. “ADHD, depression, autism—yeah yeah, everyone’s got those. What about the hard stuff? The exotic stuff? We’ve got a real live DID case in front of us and all you guys want to talk about is being sad or weird?”

Komaru shot him a glare. “Hey, if she wants to talk about it, she’ll talk about it. You can’t expect her to open up about stuff like that when she’s only just met most of you.”

“Ain’t like there’s much to talk about! I spend most of my time locked away in the dark, dank recesses of the other one’s head until it’s time for me to come out and have my fun while I can,” Jack said.

“Th-That sounds lonely…” Mikan said.

“Nah! Not when I’ve got so much to keep me entertained when I’m in the light! Cutting up cute boys used to be my favorite type of stress relief, but these days my heart’s been taken by my dashing White Knight! And Dekomaru, I guess.”

“Please don’t mention him in front of other people. Toko will die of embarrassment if she ever finds out.”

“That’s her problem! We used to be on the same page until you came along and mucked everything up. But having to win his affection on my own is a welcome challenge, and I guess it’s kind of fun having a kind of girlfriend.”

Kaito tilted his head. “‘Kind of’ girlfriend?”

Komaru rushed to explain before Jack could. “Labels are, um, weird? Toko and I are together, but Jack isn’t Toko, but Jack and I are sort of still kind of dating? I mean, it’s not like we go on dates or anything, but we’ve um. Kissed. And stuff.”

“What kind of fucked up polycule is that? If you’re trying compete with us, I don’t think you’re eligible,” Miu scoffed. “Kaede, Shuichi and I’ve got this throuple shit on lock.”

Tenko decided now was as good a time as any to wrangle the discussion back to the actual topic at hand. “Back to the subject, if we’re talking about coping mechanisms and stress relief, everyone’s got their favorites! I like to practice my Neo-Aikido! It’s a good way for me to get out all the excess energy I have at the end of the day.”

“I, um, like making myself little micro games to play,” Chihiro said. “It helps me feel less anxious.”

“Ah, you mean games like the app you developed for me last week?” Celeste asked.

“Mhm, games that are relaxing and don’t require a lot of time or attention. Just little distractions, really.”

“I take it most of you don’t actually have healthy coping mechanisms or ways of managing your disorders,” Yasuke grumbled.

Mahiru put her hands on her hips and glared. “You know, if you’re going to talk about people like that, the least you can do is actually look at us.”

With a heavy sigh, Yasuke set his manga facedown on his lap and raised his head, finally. “It’s obvious to me that the majority of you don’t handle your mental ailments properly. You should be in therapy or on some sort of medication, but instead you seem more content with just ignoring it. Kokichi, Miu, even you, Mukuro. It’d do you well to see a specialist.”

“Hey, Miu’s fine the way she is,” Kaede insisted.

“Except she isn’t. She constantly acts out for attention, can’t handle the slightest bit of criticism, and doesn’t seem to understand what are and aren’t appropriate topics of conversation.”

“Oh yeah? Well if you’re so smart, why don’t you go ahead and diagnose me, huh?” Miu spat. “You don’t even know me!”

“I’m a neurologist, not a psychiatrist. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to speculate on what you might have. All I can offer is advice. If you can put a label to it, you can understand it better and get the help you need. That’s all.”

With that, Yasuke promptly returned to his reading even as Miu grumbled expletives under her breath, Kaede and Shuichi rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down.

“Hmph. He said it like an asshole, but he has a point,” Kotoko said, crossing her arms. “You can spend your whole life wondering what’s wrong with you, but it’s a lot easier to handle if you know what to call it. My PTSD wasn’t so scary once I knew what it was.”

Teruteru raised an eyebrow. “A kiddo like you’s got PTSD? From what?”

“Hanamura-senpai, I’m afraid that is not an appropriate thing to ask someone after they reveal that information to you for the first time!” Taka said.

“Or ever. If they want you to know, you’ll know, so buzz off,” Hiyoko spat.

Jack leaned forward towards Hiyoko, to an uncomfortable extent, with a curious look on her face. “Hey hey, what about you, Banana Baby? What kind of stress relief do you get up to?”

“Banana—no way you came up with that on your own! What the fuck kinds of things have you been saying to her, Junko?!”

Junko burst out laughing and wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh man, having Jack around is great. I’ve been ranting to her since we met, so she’s already caught up on aaall your lore. For real, though, answer the question. How do you get your mind off your woes, huh?”

“I dance, obviously.” Hiyoko scoffed. “Traditional dances can be exciting or relaxing, not that you would know. Your only form of stress relief is probably making other people miserable.”

“Pot, kettle. We’re both bitches, hon. You’re way off base, though.” Junko snickered and leaned back in her seat, casually sliding an arm around Mikan’s shoulders. “I don’t think I have to say what my favorite way to relieve stress is. You guys know what I’m about by now.”

Mikan blushed bright red, as did Tenko, who shook her head in staunch dissatisfaction. “Let’s not make anyone uncomfortable, Enoshima-san. We should keep Fruits Basket meetings PG-13!”

“Never gonna happen, sorry not sorry. It’s not like any of us are dumb little kids who haven’t had the birds and the bees explained to them a million times. Or, what, is sex a touchy subject for you?”

Tenko’s eyes flicked over to Himiko and she practically shrieked when she realized she was looking right back at her.

“N-No!” she countered, wincing at the way her voice cracked. “I’ll have you know that I’m very comfortable with, um, that subject!”

“Right, which is why you’re the same color as your girlfriend’s hair right now.” Junko let out a long and dramatic sigh, shaking her head in disappointment. “Perma-virgins everywhere. It would be sad if it wasn’t so funny.”

Tenko’s heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to come up with a retort. She probably would have countered with some sort of unintelligible sound that would have just gotten her laughed at, so she was grateful that Mikan of all people came to her rescue, shooting Junko a disapproving little frown.

“Jun-Jun, you sh-shouldn’t bully people over stuff like that. It isn’t anything to be ashamed of.”

Somehow, that stung even more, even if sweet Mikan didn’t mean any harm by it. It was the affirmation that Tenko was, in fact, a ‘perma-virgin,’ that made her chest feel tight.

“Aw, she knows I’m just messing with her. Just some harmless ribbing between friends? Right, Tenko?” Junko asked, flashing an innocent grin.

Her throat dry, Tenko forced her heartrate to steady and tried her best not to be too obvious when she gave Himiko another look only to find that she’d hidden her face behind the brim of her hat.

A problem had arisen.

It would need to be addressed soon.

“R-Right…”

Chapter Text

Tenko Chabashira was in crisis.

She paced back on forth across her room, heart pounding in her chest like it wanted to burst free from its cage. She paused, let out a loud kiai, and struck the sandbag hanging from her ceiling in hopes it would calm her down.

It did not.

This was how she’d spent much of her free time these past few days. She’d get out of class, maybe spend some time with Himiko depending on their plans, return to her dorm room, and panic. Yes, that’s what this was. Panic. What else could it be when none of her usual ways of releasing pent up stress or energy were working? This was a problem, a big problem, and one that had to be fixed as soon as possible.

That was why she’d gathered her council today, just as she had before her first date with Himiko. If she didn’t know what to do, then surely they would, right?

Komaru sat cross-legged on Tenko’s bed. Even though Tenko hadn’t said a word since they got here and shut the door behind them, she still looked rather amused, a small smile on her lips.

“I get the feeling I know what you called us here for considering you replaced Junko and Mikan with Shuichi. Junko would probably give you hell,” she said, stifling a laugh. “Still, I’m surprised you’d let a boy into your room like this.”

Miu scoffed. “She knows we’ve got him on a leash, so he’s harmless. Besides, now that he’s part of the squad, it’s not like you can just call Kaeidiot and I without leaving him out. That’d be fucked up.”

“For the record, I would have been totally okay being left out whatever this is,” Shuichi said. “Feel free to explain whenever you’re ready, Tenko.”

She wanted to, she really did, but Tenko found her voice stuck in her throat. When she called her friends over, she hadn’t realized she’d actually have to talk about the problem she was facing. Could she do that? Could she actually say the words, speak without shame, be open and honest?

“Th-Thanks for coming over. I, uh, have a bit of an issue that I don’t really know how to deal with on my own,” Tenko began. “It’s about Himiko. Um… it’s about me and Himiko.”

“Relationship trouble? Aw, I’m sorry.” Kaede offered a sympathetic frown, ever the nice one. “We’ll do whatever we can to help, I promise.”

Tenko swallowed and stopped her pacing, though still her foot tapped against the floor like an anxious rabbit’s. She couldn’t even bring herself to look them in the eyes. Her throat was dry and her hands clammy, like she was next up in a national martial arts tournament, but she was only in her room. With her friends. This was fine. Everything was fine.

“This might be weird to talk about, and I could be wrong! But I don’t think I am. Maybe. Um. I think that… Himiko, uh… might want to…”

Her voice fell to a quiet little whisper.

“Have you-know-what with me.”

The space between her words and any sort of response felt like it dragged on for an eternity, when it reality it only took a few seconds for her meaning to set in.

It was Kaede who responded first. “Oh, you mean she wants to have sex with you?”

Tenko shrieked as her face was flooded with red immediately. It was one thing to think about it all day and another to hear someone actually say it to her, and now that that’d happened, she didn’t know if she could handle it. Just how in the world was she supposed to actually talk about something so embarrassing?!

“Yes!” she squealed. “I think! I mean, all of Iruma-san’s usual jokes have been flustering her more lately, and she’s been a lot more touchy, and listen to this! She asked me if I wanted to sleep in her room the other night! Her room!!!”

Toko crinkled her nose and thinned her eyes. “So what…? She’s your girlfriend. You had to have seen this coming.”

“I feel like Tenko doesn’t think about sex a lot.” Komaru turned to the girl in question and raised an eyebrow. “Do you think about sex a lot?”

“No! Never! I mean, no okay that’s a lie, I do sometimes, but not often! I fell in love with Himiko because she’s adorable and super talented, not because I want to get in her pants! Skirt! Whatever! I’m not that kind of girl!!!”

“Breathe, Tenko, breathe.” Kaede took a deep breath to demonstrate and Tenko promptly followed suit, letting out a long exhale. A few repetions and her nerves had settled down a enough so that she could actually listen. “No one here’s going to judge you either way. I get why you’re nervous since it can be hard to talk about, but we’re your friends, remember? We’re here for you.”

Tenko almost burst into tears right then and there. Questionable taste in women aside, Kaede really was too good for this world. Or too good for Tenko’s bedroom, at least.

“If we’re going to help you with this, we need to establish something first. Do you want to have sex with her?” Komaru asked.

Tenko swallowed, trying her best to ignore how dry her throat was. “I don’t know,” was all she managed to squeak out.

Miu scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It ain’t a difficult question. Do you wanna rub your bits on her bits or not?”

“D-Don’t phrase it like that!”

“Phrasing aside, that is the question,” Toko said. “This isn’t something you can just dance around forever in a relationship, especially not if you think it’s what Himiko w-wants.”

“You might just be thinking about it the wrong way,” Shuichi said. “It’s less about rubbing bits together and more about physical intimacy. It’s about sharing your body with someone you love as a form of affection. Or at least, it is in your case. Some people are more casual about it.”

“Speaking from experience?” Komaru asked.

“Hah! No way, this guy’s v-card hasn’t been punched yet. But my girl’s gonna be fixin’ that sooner or later, am I right or am I right?”

Miu playfully nudging Kaede in the ribs did little to soften Kaede’s death glare. That did come eventually, though, when Kaede turned her attention back to the person she was supposed to be helping.

“It’s like Shuichi said. Intimacy, affection, stuff like that. Is that something you want?”

What a stupid question—of course it was something she wanted. Tenko was a very physically affectionate person. She loved it all, from simply holding hands to picking Himiko up to give her a tight hug. Still, if just kissing had felt like a huge hurdle for her to overcome, how was she supposed to get over sex?

She closed her eyes and took another deep breath as she tried to visualize it (picturing something was supposed to help with these sorts of things, right?). Himiko Yumeno, the apple of Tenko’s eye, lying on her bed in nothing but her underwear and looking up at her with big, pleading eyes…

“Tenko? You okay? I swear you’re about to start spouting steam from your ears any second,” Komaru said.

Tenko’s face burned hot as the sun as she fell to her knees, mortified.

“Yes,” she confessed. She could feel the shackles of shame binding her already, like a sinner trapped in a confessional booth with nothing but time and guilt for company. “I want that.”

Kaede offered her a comforting hand on her shoulder and a reassuring smile. “There, there. There’s no need to be embarrassed. You want to have sex with your girlfriend, so what? That’s perfectly normal.”

“But I feel like I shouldn’t.”

“Is having a sex drive a crime now…?” Toko asked. “What’s the problem?”

Tenko fell further, lying face-first on her bedroom floor and letting out an agonizing groan. “I’m not supposed to think about stuff like that! I’m Tenko! I like small, cute things. I like frilly clothes and pretty girls. The love between Himiko and I is supposed to be pure. I don’t want to end up looking at her like some sort of…”

“Some sort of degenerate male,” Shuichi finished. “I get it now. You think that if you two take that next step, it’ll fundamentally change the way you think about her and other girls.”

Miu cracked an amused smile. “Hah! What, you scared you’ll end up no better than a man? Lesbians are allowed to be horny, you know, so get your head off the floor. The carpet munching comes later.”

“Jesus Christ, Miu,” Kaede mumbled. “Look, just because you’re a lesbian doesn’t mean you have to be all sugar, spice, and everything nice. Sex isn’t a dirty word. Wanting that kind of intimacy with the girl you love doesn’t make you any less you. And I get that you’re scared of your relationship changing after you cross the line, but you can’t expect things to stay the way they are forever.”

“I’m not sure why you would want that, actually. One of the best parts about relationships is how much they grow the longer you’re in them,” Komaru said. “Sure, sometimes they deteriorate and it doesn’t work out, but other times they blossom into something beautiful!” She slung her arm around Toko in pulled her close, and despite the writer’s whines, she ended up leaning into it. “Relationships evolve, Tenko! Trying to fight it so that everything stays the same forever is just going to end up blowing up in your face. You’ve got to let it grow, you know?”

Tenko wanted to sink into the carpet and never come back up, but she knew that wasn’t an option for her. One way or another she would have to confront this dilemma head on, and she had a choice to make. She could wait for it to approach her, biding her time like a meek herbivore just waiting to be pounced on, or she could face it with her head held high. The Tenko way. That was how she approached every problem that wasn’t related to Himiko, and she refused to let herself falter now.

She slowly rose to her feet and took a deep breath. Tenko Chabashira would not let fear win today.

… That didn’t mean all her worries were thrown out the window, though.

“What if I’m bad at it?”

“You’re gonna be bad at it,” Toko said bluntly. “Everyone is at first.”

“Speak for yourself. My Bakamatsu’s a damn prodigy, but that’s obvious. It’s no wonder she’s so good with her fingers when she’s a world class pianist.”

“Miu—” Kaede sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe she didn’t invite Junko and Mikan but did invite you.”

“We’re a package deal. Toko’s right, though. The chances of you going from total virgin to sex goddess just like that are less likely than Hajime giving Komaeda the ol’ reach around in the locker room after gym class. But you could say the same for Himiko, so who cares? Figuring out what works together is part of the fun.”

Tenko pursed her lips, receptive yet skeptical, and threw a look Kaede’s way. “Is that how it was for you girls? If you’re comfortable talking about it.”

Kaede awkwardly smiled in return as pink made its way into her cheeks. “Kind of…? I mean, like Miu said, I was pretty good at it from the beginning, but what that even means can be different depending on who you are. It’s a journey of you and your partner getting to know what does and doesn’t work for you, what you’re most receptive to, things like that. It’s sort of like learning to play an instrument. You’ve got to practice for a while, sure, but sooner or later you learn how to make sweet music.”

“You know, the fact that you’re both virgins might make you even more nervous, but that just means you two get to discover parts about yourself together! That was one of my favorite parts about Toko and I’s relationship early on. You might think you know what you’re into, but it’s a whole new world when you’re actually doing it with another person, trust me,” Komaru said.

“Just remember not to rush things,” Shuichi said. “Take it slow, and when the moment’s right, I’m sure everything will work out.”

Toko shrugged. “You should be talking to her about all this instead of us, though. We had a whole meeting about relationships where we talked about how important communication is.”

“You’re right, Fukawa-san! I should talk to Himiko about this instead!”

(She would not talk to Himiko about this.)

“Attagirl! Look at Tenko, movin’ on up in the world!” Miu grinned and Tenko felt a strange pang of gratitude in her heart. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Miu so supportive before, especially not of anything having to do with Tenko. She event went so far as to put her hand on Tenko’s shoulder like some sort of encouraging parent.

“Now go out there and fuck that magician!”

Four voices rang out in unison.

“MIU!”

Chapter Text

Tenko began this week’s meeting with a single loud clap that cut through the pre-meeting chatter and drew everyone’s attention to her at once. She was banking on things going well today to calm her constantly nagging nerves, and to achieve that, she had to stay focused and keep the meeting on track. She wouldn’t let herself falter today—now was the time for Tenko Chabashira to lock in.

“Alright, everyone! Welcome to the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! This week is a very special subject, so I want us to stay focused today, okay? No tangents, no unrelated arguments, none of that!”

“I’m sure we can all stay on topic for an hour. At least, I hope we can,” Hajime said. “So what’s the special subject for the day?”

“I’m glad you asked, Hinata-senpai! Today, we’re going to be discussing—” Tenko’s voice hitched in her throat, much to her own embarrassment. Still, she had to force it out. Now wasn’t the time to go stumbling over her words.

“The male gaze.”

Kotoko cocked an eyebrow. “Male gays? Like, Nagito and Kokichi?”

“Not quite. She is referring to the term most commonly associated with feminist critique of art, such as—”

Tenko practically barked at Korekiyo despite his innocent intentions. “Baah-buh-bup! Nope, not letting you mansplain this one today, Shinguji-san! I’m passing this one onto our resident media expert. Shirogane-san, you’re up!”

Tsumugi sat up straight and blinked, looking around the room to make sure she’d heard Tenko right. “Oh, really? Plain old me? Things didn’t exactly go too well last time I talked a lot at one of these.”

Himiko merely shrugged. “Nyeh, you don’t have to take the reigns or anything, but you’re still a good choice to at least define the topic.”

“You really think so? Aw, I’m flattered! Alright, then!” Tsumugi grinned and folded her hands in her lap, evidently pleased to have been thrown a bone. “From my understanding, the male gaze refers to the concept of depicting women in art from a perspective that frames them first and foremost as sexual objects for the benefit of a heterosexual male audience. Does that sound about right?”

“I think you hit the nail on the head!” Mahiru said with a smile. “I’ve actually read a lot about this, since gaze is such an important aspect of framing a subject in a photograph. I mostly take pictures of girls, so it’s something I’m always at least subconsciously thinking about when I do.”

“Uh… not quite sure I really get it,” Kaito admitted. “Got any examples? Visual aids are always helpful.”

Kokichi snickered. “Aw, are you asking her to show you naughty photos? And with your girlfriend right next to you, too. How shameful!”

Maki glared daggers at the boy while Kaito merely sputtered. “H-Huh? No way! I just want to get a better idea of what she’s talking about!”

“No fighting!” Tenko barked. Somehow all three were pacified at once, surprised by the authority in the her voice. “Momota-san has a point, though. Do you have any examples, Koizumi-senpai?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve got the perfect photo, actually.”

Mahiru pulled out a photo album from her backpack and flipped through it, stopping when she came to a particular photo and holding up the album for all to see. The photo showed a woman with long, wavy green hair posing nude on a moonlit beach, croisé devant, shadows falling over her body and obscuring her most intimate areas, moonbeams reflecting beautifully off the dark waves behind her.

Tenko blushed at the image, but shook her head to force the color from her cheeks. Now was not the time to be getting all embarrassed over a photo of a naked woman! Even if Himiko was blushing, too.

“Sato and I did a whole photoshoot like this over the summer, but I think this one came out the best. Look at the way it’s framed. She’s the subject of the photo, but it’s obvious it isn’t meant to be voyeuristic since she’s specifically posing for the camera. She’s also mostly obscured by shadows, but in a way that’s meant to be modest, not tantalizing. The camera is highlighting her, not just leering at her body. Now, imagine the scenario was a little different. If she were just dancing on the beach by herself and I took a candid photo of her that centers the attention on her chest while disregarding everything else, not only would that be a creepshot, but also playing into the male gaze.”

Kaito squinted. “Huh, okay. That’d be gross and all, but what about that is specifically ‘male’?”

“Because it’s reducing a woman to a sexual object rather than an autonomous individual,” Maki explained. “It’s the basis of objectification in art. Men look at, women are looked at. Men act, women are acted upon.”

“Oh, that makes sense! Look at you, Maki Roll! Didn’t know you were such an art scholar.”

Maki scoffed. “I’m not. I’ve just read a book or two.”

Next to Mahiru, Hiyoko grumbled and made up her face. “Isn’t it kind of weird to carry around a naked picture of one of your friends like that…?”

“I’d agree if it was just a picture she’d taken of herself for fun, but it’s not like this is meant to be sexual. Trust me, I wouldn’t be so willing to show everyone if it was,” Mahiru said. “It’s different when it’s art, you know?”

That didn’t seem to do anything to reassure Hiyoko that it was not, in fact, weird—or at least, it certainly didn’t make her feel any better about it. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

“Whatever. I guess it’s fine.”

“I don’t know about y’all, but I’d be flattered to be leered at the same way guys do gals,” Teruteru said with a shrug. “I mean, really, what’s the big deal? If a guy’s ogling you, it means he thinks you’re hot! Shouldn’t that be a total confidence boost?”

Tenko shot him a glare so sharp it could have drawn blood right then and there. “Were you even paying attention? Even if some degenerate male’s opinions on a girl’s appearance mattered, it’s the objectification that makes it such a big problem.”

Teruteru raised an eyebrow. “Not followin’ ya there. Again, isn’t that flattering?”

“Um, no? Do you have any idea what objectification even feels like?”

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t, who knows! Maybe one of you lovely ladies can put it into words for me?”

Tenko had half a mind to forgo words entirely and lay the little runt out on his ass right then and there, but a disapproving look from Himiko convinced her otherwise. Instead, Sayaka spoke up so that she wouldn’t have to.

“You may think it’s flattering to be desired that way, but it doesn’t feel good at all,” she began, a small frown on her lips. “People leer at you like you’re some kind of piece of meat to be ogled. They feel entitled to your body and they don’t care what you have to say about it at all. And some of the things people will say to you… ugh. I can’t even repeat them.”

“I’ve gotten letters from guys going into excruciating detail on how much they want to fuck me,” Junko said with a snicker. “I find it funny, obviously, but try and imagine the effect that can have on people with weaker hearts. Ever seen some of the threads those sweaty neckbeards write about poor little Chi-Chi?”

Chihiro shuddered and twiddled her thumbs in her lap. “I try not to think about those people…”

“Reminds me of this one cockwhistle I met at an engineering conference earlier this year. He told me to my face that my presentation was his favorite for two very big reasons.” Miu scoffed and rolled her eyes. “First off, I don’t need some creepy middle-aged dude to tell me how great my tits are, I have Bakamatsu for that. Second, we’re at an event that’s supposed to celebrate intellectual achievements, and the only thing you have to say to the genius teenage girl is that she’s got a great rack? Fuckin’ men, I swear.”

“This is exactly why I hate boys,” Kotoko huffed.

“Wow. I’m sorry you girls have to deal with that—I can’t imagine what that must be like. But… it’s not like all guys are like that,” Hajime said.

“Of course not, but it doesn’t really matter when we live in a patriarchy.” Mahiru shut her photo album and tucked it back into her bag as she spoke. “When women are objectified in art or in real life, it goes over most men’s heads because that’s just what’s normal to them. They don’t realize the effects it can have on women’s self-image and self-worth. Junko probably knows what I’m talking about, right?”

Of course she did, considering her profession. The fashionista nodded and crossed one leg over the other.

“Mhm. I’ve seen a ton of girls mess up their bodies for the sake of making themselves appealing to men. Sure, being pretty is part of the job, but it’s one thing to work on your appearance because you want to and another to do it because you feel like you have to, otherwise you aren’t worth anything. I can’t tell you how many girls I’ve seen be confronted about their eating disorders or whatever and not care because it’s coming from other girls and not the men they’re looking to please.” She shrugged. “But hey, that’s reality. My industry chews up young, impressionable girls and spits them out like bubblegum that’s lost its flavor.”

“Hm… so what Ibuki’s hearing is that straight men are evil.”

Kokichi snapped his fingers and grinned. “Exactly.”

“H-Hey, wait a sec! I’m not a bad guy!” Kaito protested, panic almost palpable on his face. “C’mon, I’m tryin’ my best here!”

Shuichi just gave him a reassuring look. “It’s alright, Kaito, neither of them are being serious. Although, that does make me wonder about something…”

“Nyeh, what is it?” Himiko asked.

“Ah, how do I put this without offending anyone?” Shuichi furrowed his brow and mumbled something before speaking up. “What about when women do this kind of thing?”

Tenko’s blood suddenly ran cold.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, it’s not like any of this stuff is something that only straight men can do. Can’t lesbians be just as objectifying?”

“No,” Tenko answered in a heartbeat. She crossed her arms over her chest, scoffed, and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s obviously different, not that you would know.”

“Hm, I’m not so sure it is, actually,” Nekomaru began. “It isn’t like all women who like women are perfectly respectful of the gals they’re into. That’s kind of a stereotype, in fact.”

Sayaka nodded in agreement, much to Tenko’s displeasure. What was she doing helping the enemy?!

“I have firsthand experience with that. Some of the girls I took dance and singing lessons with thought it was totally okay to touch me however they wanted while complimenting me because we were all girls. It’s not quite the same as when a boy does it, but it’s awful either way.”

“Maybe those girls just had a poor concept of boundaries and personal space?” Mukuro suggested. “They may not have necessarily been trying to take advantage of you.”

“No, at least some of them definitely were,” Sayaka said with a sigh. “You would think that wouldn’t happen, right? Us girls know how awful it feels to be treated like that by men, so the thought of turning around and acting the same towards girls you’re attracted to should be revolting. And yet…”

“Honestly, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me,” Nagito added. “Just as some men embody a more stereotypically feminine attitude, some women embody a more stereotypically masculine one, and that includes the feeling of entitlement to people they like.”

Junko snapped her fingers. “Exactly. See, Komaeda gets it. Gay gals can be just as piggish as straight dudes. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that lesbians are all pure angels. Ain’t that right, Tenko?”

Her wink made Tenko’s face flare bright red, knuckles white from gripping the sides of her chair so hard. “W-What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I mean, come on. You’re always talking like girls are sooo much better than boys, and your weird gender essentialism aside, don’t you think it’s time you confront some of those biases?” Junko laid a hand on her chest and cleared her throat. “Take me, for example. I’m a woman, and a hyperfeminine one at that. I’ve got the hair, the nails, the heels, you name it. At the same time, I am just as capable as being as sexually forward as the horniest of all desperate straight boys, and I’ve got a drop dead gorgeous girlfriend who can absolutely vouch for that.”

Junko slung an arm around Mikan and pulled her close with a smug smile, an intense blush burning on the nurse’s cheeks. Tenko’s face only reddened at that.

“W-Well, that isn’t, um—”

“Ditto with Miu. You don’t like her very much because you think she’s too crass for a girl, right? But aren’t you supposed to be a feminist? Shouldn’t you be all for women’s sexual liberation?”

“That’s completely different! I don’t like Hanamura-san for the same reason, and he’s a boy!”

Teruteru winced. “Ouch. Jeez, girl, go a little easy on me, would ya?”

“That may be true, but you’ve got to admit, you do tend to get on Miu’s case for even making mildly sexual jokes,” Kaede said, much to Miu’s satisfaction. “I’m not coming to her defense just because I’m her girlfriend, either, but you’ll say stuff like ‘girls shouldn’t say things like that’ and get all embarrassed. I know you don’t exactly think the highest of men, but honestly, sometimes it feels like you hold girls to a higher standard.”

Tenko could only imagine how bright red her face must have been in the moment, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Everyone was looking at her, silently judging her, and her heart felt as if it was about to burst out of her chest at any moment. This was supposed to be a Fruits Basket meeting, not her interrogation!

“I—I don’t. Um. That isn’t…”

Across the room, Yasuke sighed, flipping a page in his magazine and looking up to look Tenko in the eyes for once.

“You hold other sapphic women to a certain standard because it’s the standard you’ve set for yourself. You probably think that by expressing sexual desire, you’d be embodying behaviors mostly perpetuated by the ‘degenerate males’ you hate so much, and you’d like to keep as much distance from that as possible. As a result, you’ve likely repressed your own sex drive, which would explain why you get so flustered over Junko and Iruma’s dirty jokes.”

The color promptly drained from Tenko’s face as Himiko looked at her with a curious expression.

She wanted to disappear.

“Oh hey, he does pay attention to these things,” Rantaro said with a smirk.

“Huh. That sounds like it makes sense… is that true, Tenko?” Himiko asked. Of all the people to ask Tenko that directly, it just had to be her.

“Um, isn’t this a little off topic?” Aoi asked.

Celeste scoffed. “Do not try and save her. We are discussing the objectification of women, no? So let’s hear from the lesbian afraid of perpetuating that.”

Tenko’s heart felt just about ready to burst out of her chest. Surely this was it for her. She would collapse right then and there on the club room floor, Himiko would cry over her lifeless body, and that would be the end of Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master. It was one thing to be confronted by a small selection of her friends in the safety of her own bedroom, but here during a Fruits Basket meeting in front of way more people? She wasn’t sure if she could handle that.

And yet, here she was. Still breathing. Still alive.

Still not answering Himiko’s question.

“I… I guess Matsuda-senpai isn’t completely wrong,” she said, her voice quiet as a mouse. “I know it’s normal for girls my age to have, um, certain urges, but in my head, only gross annoying men lusted over cute girls. I’ve only ever wanted to defend them, not—! You know! Do… other stuff to them, even if I know it’s perfectly fine to have a healthy sex drive.”

Himiko fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Tenko tried not to look at her too much.

“N-Nyeh… I think it’s fine for you to want to do that kind of stuff,” she mumbled. “I don’t think it makes you a bad lesbian or anything.”

“Listen to your girlfriend. Honestly, thinking that is kind of dumb to begin with,” Mondo said, perhaps a little too bluntly. “Two of the horniest people you know are gals. Girls like sex, too.”

“I am starting to wonder if perhaps this topic isn’t the most suitable for Kotoko-chan’s ears,” Keebo said.

Kotoko rolled her eyes and waved him off. “Oh, please. I’m more educated than you probably are,” she scoffed. “Tenko, you’re being dumb. Girls are allowed to do anything boys do and usually do it better anyway, so you shouldn’t feel bad about wanting to do kissy stuff!”

Tenko frowned. Here she was being scolded over her own sexual repression by a middle schooler.

“You’re right,” she sighed as Himiko laid a hesitant yet comforting hand on her back. “Enoshima-san, Iruma-san, I’m sorry for being so harsh on you over your dirty jokes. I still don’t like them, but I wasn’t being fair.”

A wide, satisfied grin split Miu’s lips. “Never thought I’d see the day Tenko apologized to me for anything! Hah! Apology accepted.”

Meanwhile, Junko just shrugged. “You’re good, girl, that shit doesn’t faze me anyway.”

Tenko smiled, softly, but it was enough for Komaru to shoot her an approving thumbs-up from across the room. Warmth spread through her chest at the gesture. That warmth was promptly diminished upon catching Miu making an obscene gesture with involving her tongue and a pair of fingers in a V.

Kaede grabbed her by the wrist immediately to pull her hand down and quitely scold her. Tenko would have joined in, of course, had it not been for her focus being captured entirely by Himiko still staring down at her lap, her cheeks rosy and lips pressed in a tight line.

Ah. Tenko knew where this was going.

Himiko was quiet for the rest of the meeting, quieter than usual. She silently helped Tenko return the desks and chairs to their original positions once the meeting ended for whichever class had the room next, locked the door behind them with her vice president’s key, and kept her head down even as she walked down the hall with Tenko’s hand in hers.

Tenko hoped Himiko didn’t notice how sweaty her palm was. She probably did.

She’d been half expecting Himiko to not say a word the whole walk back to her dorm, which was why she was surprised when she spoke up a little over halfway there.

“U-Um. Hey, Tenko?”

“What is it?” Tenko responded almost before Himiko had even finished speaking.

Tone it down, you sound too eager!

“Nyeh… so, my parents are going to visit one of my uncles this weekend, and they uh, want me to watch the house while they’re gone. It’s been a really long time since I’ve spent the weekend by myself, and um, n-nyeh… I don’t want to be lonely.”

Himiko bit her lip and squeezed Tenko’s hand just a little tighter before finally looking up at her.

“Not to be weird, but do you maybe want to spend the weekend at my house?”

That simple question hit her with even more force than even her strongest strike. It stunned her, just for a moment, before she broke through her paralysis by sheer force of will.

“I’d love to, Himiii—ko!”

Her free hand flew to her mouth at once. Of all the times for her voice to crack! Relief washed over her at once, though, as Himiko’s own anxieties seemed to be soothed by her laughter. She giggled in that adorable way she did, laughing behind her hand, and beamed up at Tenko like she’d just been given the greatest news of her life.

“Thanks! I promise you won’t be bored! There’s lots of fun stuff at my house we can do together all weekend!”

Himiko probably didn’t realize what she was saying, but that didn’t make Tenko’s body burn with anticipation any less.

Chapter Text

Even if it was Tenko’s second time visiting Himiko’s home, she was even more nervous than the first.

Himiko’s parents were gone for the weekend, which meant it was just the two of them—though, that didn’t exactly mean they were alone. To say that when Tenko sneakily texted the girls’ groupchat she’d made (minus Himiko, of course) every chance she got to keep Komaru, Kaede and the others updated would be a stretch. Miu made it clear that none of them were interested in a play-by-play of their day, but how was Tenko supposed to keep everything to herself without exploding?

Today would be the day, that enough was certain. The situation was too perfect. Acts of a more adult nature had been on both their minds for a while now and here they were with Himiko’s house to themselves for a entire weekend. There was no way they reached Monday without anything happening between them, no way at all, so Tenko knew she had to mentally prepare herself, which for her mainly just meant working out for way too long before meeting Himiko at the train station. That would thoroughly exhaust most people for the day, but luckily enough, Tenko was not most people and had stamina in droves.

Is that a good thing? Is it a bad thing? What if she gets too tired? What if she gets annoyed that I’m not tired?

In spite of her nerves and constant texting, their first day together went surprisingly smoothly, even with the unspoken expectations between them occasionally making things awkward whenever one of them had a slip of the tongue and said something that could be interpreted as innuendo.

Usually it was Tenko.

Goes to show how far in the gutter my mind is!

Ultimately, for as big a deal as it was in Tenko’s heart, she was still just spending time with Himiko. It wasn’t as if they’d never gone on a date before, and this wasn’t much different than that. It just so happened that the date lasted a full weekend and took place partially in Himiko’s bedroom. That wasn’t nerve-wracking at all. Not even a little.

(Tenko could have passed out from the anxiety alone.)

They spent most of the day as they usually did once Tenko got settled in, talking about one thing or another and simply enjoying each other’s company. Himiko demo’d for Tenko a few new spells she’d been practicing and Tenko returned the favor by teaching her a special breathing technique to help calm her down whenever she got nervous, something Himiko was quick to point out Tenko could stand to utilize more. They watched Himiko’s favorite magical girl anime—which Tenko had also become a fan of over the past few months—and talked endlessly about the romantic subtext between the protagonist and her rival. Intentional or not, they were obviously in love with each other. Eventually the time came for them to make dinner, and Tenko quickly learned that Himiko was an absolutely atrocious cook. Just how would she have survived a whole weekend cooking for herself? Fortunately, Tenko had an abundance of experience preparing meals for herself and was happy to teach Himiko how to make katsu curry, and while it had taken them a while (Himiko was scared of the hot fry oil popping and hitting her—rightfully so, since frying anything was potentially dangerous!), the delicious result had been worth it.

Plus, Tenko got to check “make dinner together” off the long, long list of things she wanted to do with Himiko, so that was just a bonus.

For as fun as the day was, eventually the time came for them to take a bath and go to sleep. Tenko nearly passed out from the amount of time she spent stewing in the hot water of the bathtub, wanting to delay the inevitable for as long as she could, but she had to get out eventually. She’d made a video call the moment Himiko shut the bathroom door behind her, desperate for any last minute words of encouragement, though the results she’d been getting were… mixed.

“Tenko, for real, relax. I’m sure Himiko is just as nervous about this as you are,” Kaede said. She was wearing some kind of face mask with her hair wrapped in a towel as Miu painted her toenails just offscreen and Shuichi passed by in the background.

“Or maybe she isn’t thinking about it at all,” Toko grumbled, flipping through a book off to side of Komaru’s own call window. “Maybe you’ve misread the entire situation and are about to be really, really embarrassed.”

“Nah, you can see it in the little runt’s eyes sometimes if you’re paying attention. She’s got sex on the brain one-hundo percent,” Junko said, running her fingers through Mikan’s hair as her head rested upon her shoulder. “Congrats, Tenko. After tonight, you’ll officially be part of our exclusive club, Hope’s Peak Sapphics Who Fuck. I’ll admit, we haven’t been expecting you, but you’re welcome all the same.”

Tenko whined into the soft, pleasant-smelling duvet of Himiko’s bed. A lot was on her mind and Junko’s teasing was absolutely not something she needed right now.

“Did you use the bathroom already? You want to pee beforehand, trust me,” Komaru said. “It can make your first time even more awkward than it already will be if both of you are all hot and bothered and you have to interrupt the romance for a bathroom break.”

“Don’t forget about foreplay, by the way. Can’t go right for the crown jewel—you gotta prime ‘er up a bit first!” Miu advised.

“U-Um, don’t feel like you have to do anything you might not want to, j-just because you think you should. Neither of you have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” Mikan said.

Tenko looked back up at her phone propped up against a pillow, her eyes wide and a deep frown on her face. “I’m going to mess something up, I can just feel it in my heart. Uwaa… she’s never going to want to touch me again after this…”

Kaede crossed her arms in disapproval. “No way! Look, even if this doesn’t go smoothly, one bad experience isn’t going to ruin things between you two. You do know that Himiko likes you a ton, right? She wouldn’t have invited you over if she didn’t, let alone ask you to be her girlfriend.”

“Exactly. And if it does go wrong, you’ve got us to cry to, so look on the bright side!” Miu laughed. “Hey, Shuichi, where’re your words of advice, huh? Come on, you’ve got to contribute if you’re gonna stay in the group chat!”

Shuichi merely raised his hands in defense. “I don’t think I’m the most qualified to be giving advice on this topic. The most I can do is offer words of encouragement, which Tenko would honestly most likely be better off hearing from another girl.”

“Okay, then you’re a girl for the next five minutes. Congrats on coming out—I saw it coming a mile away. Now, pitch in,” Junko said.

“I don’t really get a say in this, do I?” Shuichi asked. He—or rather, she—sighed, lowering her head in defeat. “Look, Tenko, you’re going to be fine. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never just given up in the face of adversity, and you’ve never been beaten by anything without putting up a fight first. Your resilience is something I’ve always admired about you, to be honest. This is a big step in your relationship, and it may be tough, but I know you’ll get through it. I believe in you.”

Tenko’s heart swelled with warmth. Shuichi was right. Tenko Chabashira was many things, and headstrong was chief among them. She wasn’t about to let herself succumb to anxiety over something she should have been looking forward to instead! Was she nervous? Absolutely. Was she scared? Definitely. But at the end of the day, Tenko Chabashira never backed down from a challenge. That would go against the core tenent of bravery she’d learned through Neo-Aikido. She had to face this with her head held high!

“Alright… a-alright! I can do this! I can do this!!!”

She shot to her feet and pumped her fists in the air, determination almost palpable on her face. “I won’t let anything stop me! I’ll make my master proud!”

Komaru had to stifle a laugh, though Miu had no qualms with letting her own ring free. “Your master would be proud of you for having sex for the first time?”

“W-What? No, that isn’t what I meant! I meant he’d be proud of me for facing my fears and doing something scary, even though I’m not sure how it’ll work out! That’s bravery, right?”

Tenko didn’t get a chance to hear any response. The moment she asked her question, she heard footsteps approaching and gasped.

“Got to go—Himiko’s coming! Thank you! Bye!”

“Heh! Yeah, she sure will be—”

Tenko grabbed her phone and ended the call right as Himiko stepped into the room. Her pajamas were absolutely adorable, all pink decorated with little white rabbits. Her face was red as she walked forward. Probably from the heat of the bath.

Probably.

“H-How was your bath?” Tenko asked, stepping back towards the futon laid out at Himiko’s bedside.

“Nyeh… it was nice,” Himiko said. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Tenko’s and the floor.

Okay, so she’s nervous, too. Good. Or maybe not good?

“That’s great! Your bathroom is really nice. So is your bedroom.” Tenko gestured to the entire room, from all the cute decorations adorning the walls to the magic paraphanalia on shelves. “I uh, know I said that last time I was here, but. It’s kind of like an upgraded version of your dorm back on campus.”

Himiko’s lips curled into a small, shy smile. “Thanks. To be honest, I was kind of worried you’d think it was, like, baby stuff.”

“Baby stuff? No way! Come on, Himiko, I’ve known the kind of girl you are since I met you, and that’s the you I like.”

Her face somehow got even more red as she lowered her head, unconsciously reaching to pull down the brim of her hat before remembering that she was not wearing it. Himiko didn’t have a verbal response for that one.

“Um… I guess we should go to sleep now, huh?”

“Y-Yeah. I guess we should.”

Tenko took another step back towards her futon as Himiko made her way over to the light switch on the wall. She put a finger on it, threw a quick glance over her shoulder back at Tenko, and flipped it, casting the room into darkness save for the light of the moon peering in through the window. Tenko laid down on her back as Himiko made her way under the bedsheets and got comfortable.

“G-Goodnight,” Himiko squeaked.

Tenko gulped. “Goodnight.”

Neither of them said a word for what felt like a lifetime. The silence was suffocating. This wasn’t it, was it? Had Toko been right after all—was it possible then Tenko had been reading this situation all wrong the entire time? If not tonight, then… maybe it would happen tomorrow night, right? Yeah, that was it. Tenko and Himiko had the rest of their entire relationship to look forward to; there was no need to rush things. This was okay, even if Tenko’s chest hurt a little at the thought that she’d completely misinterpreted things. If Himiko didn’t want to have sex with her, then what was with all the longing gazes and lingering touches lately? Why were Miu’s crude innuendos flustering her so much more lately?

Maybe… maybe Tenko didn’t understand Himiko as well as she thought she did.

“You know… my bed is big enough for two people. You don’t have to sleep on the floor if you don’t want to.”

Or maybe Tenko was being stupid.

“Oh. Okay, then.” She rose to her feet and caught the glimpse of Himiko looking up at her, and the sight sent a jolt of electricity through her heart. Tenko steeled her nerves and slid right into bed, beneath the covers, still lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling. She was fairly certain that looking at Himiko again would kill her, so she forced herself not to.

The silence between them returned as quickly as it had left, and Tenko was absolutely still. Any sort of movement came with the risk of brushing against Himiko’s body, and in this context, she wasn’t sure if she could handle that. Even without touching her or looking at her, though, Tenko’s face still burned hotter and hotter with every passing moment. None of that changed the reality that she was lying in bed with her girlfriend and had the house entirely to themselves. Her heart thumped in her chest, faster and faster, until she couldn’t help herself anymore.

She only intended to look for a moment, but when she saw Himiko staring back at her with wide, anxious eyes, she knew there was no point in trying to look away.

Himiko squeaked. “Um… b-before we um, do anything, you should know that I um, nyeh, don’t have any idea what I’m doing.”

“Neither do I,” Tenko said, her mouth moving before her brain could process anything. “But… we’ll figure it out together, right?”

Himiko’s eyes softened. “So you do want to? With me?”

Tenko sat straight up. “Of course I do, Himiko! A lot! Like, a lot a lot!”

Himiko followed suit. “Really!? I thought you wouldn’t be interested!”

“What? Why would I not be interested in doing that kind of thing with you?”

“‘Cause I’m all, you know, shrimpy! Underdeveloped! I’m three weeks older than Junko, but just look at me compared to her!” Himiko frowned and cupped the empty space before her chest. “I thought, nyeh—I thought you wouldn’t be be interested in a body like mine.”

Himiko’s words hit Tenko like a ton of bricks. She shook her head and furrowed her brow, absolutely bewildered.

“No way! I love your body. I like small, cute things, remember?”

Himiko squinted. “It’s kind of suspicious when you say it like that.”

“What? No no, I don’t mean it in a weird sort of way! I’m into bodies like Ogami-san’s or Tsumiki-senpai’s, too, but yours is just—” Tenko let out a shaky breath. “Perfect.”

Himiko bit her lip and looked down at her lap. “I… like your body, too, nyeh. Your arms are strong and feel nice to rest my head on, and your abs are really nice. I, um… I want to see more of it.”

Tenko blushed. She always put a lot of work into sculpting and maintaining her physique, lean and muscular, and the thought of Himiko wanting to see more of it? Oh, that practically fried her brain.

“I—” Tenko swallowed, bunching the bedsheets in her fists. “I want to see more of you, too,” she croaked.

The corner of Himiko’s lips twitched into an embarrassed little smile. Tenko nearly screamed over just how cute she looked.

“Then… I guess we’re going to have sex now, huh?”

“Heh… y-yeah. I guess we are.”

Himiko squeezed her eyes shut and swooped in to steal a kiss right out from under Tenko’s nose, igniting a wildfire in her chest so hot it threatened to burn her right up from within. Tenko kissed her back with all the vigor she could muster, holding Himiko’s head in her hands, melting into her, before breaking the kiss once Himiko started to fumble with the end of her shirt.

“H-Hold on a second,” Tenko said, panting. Himiko obliged as Tenko hastily got out of bed and scurried over to the window and taking the drawn curtains into her hands.

She took a long, deep breath, followed by an exhale just lasted just as long. This was serious. This was a major milestone in her relationship, and that meant she couldn’t mess it up. She had to stay calm, had to remain vigilant. This wasn’t something she could just dive right into without a plan—no matter how excited she was, she wouldn’t let her emotions get the best of her!

… I’m about to have sex with my girlfriend!!!

Tenko squeed with a delighted little shake of her hips, smiled wider than she ever had before, and with that, drew the curtains shut to cut the two of them off from the outside world.

Tonight was just for her and Himiko.

The next morning, Tenko Chabashira stood proud before the open window as a changed woman, basking in the sunlight with a grin on her face and hands on her hips.

Good morning, beautiful world! she thought to herself. I, Tenko Chabashira, am no longer a virgin! Yahoo!

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and Himiko’s pressed her face into Tenko’s back with a delighted smile of her own. “Good morning,” she said. “You look like you’re in a good mood.”

“The best mood, Himiko, the best mood!” Tenko turned around to scoop Himiko up in her arms and press a kiss onto her forehead, then her lips, spinning her around in a display of pure joy. “I feel like there’s nothing in the world I can’t do as long as I have you with me.”

Himiko giggled. “Does that make me a stat-boosting item?”

“More like a permament buff!” Tenko replied—she was pretty sure she was using that word correctly. She hugged Himiko even more before setting her down and looking at her with a blissful smile, one that Himiko recipricated in every capacity.

“I love you,” Tenko said.

Himiko stood on her toes to kiss Tenko’s cheek, and it made her heart sing.

“I love you, too.”

Chapter Text

“You two do know you have to fight to the death to determine who gets to stay here, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Miu. There’s no need for bloodshed. What they need to do is settle this over a game of ping-pong.”

“Nah, you gotta make it fair! Shuichi’s awful at ping-pong, believe me.”

Here at the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket, members often had the opportunity to partake in such enlightening conversations as the one Miu, Nekomaru, and Kaito were engaging in. This club was a place of education, after all, so it was only natural its members would commonly have civilized intellectually stimulating debates regarding which Ultimate Detective was permitted to stay in the club. Obviously.

From her seat by Taka’s side, Kyoko Kirigiri of class 78-A shot Tenko an inquisitive look. “I take it there isn’t actually a rule preventing two students who share a title from attending these meetings.”

“Of course not! The Fruits Basket is open to all, talent or no talent, even if someone isn’t actually a Hope’s Peak student. We welcome everyone!” Tenko said.

“Maybe we shouldn’t, though? I mean, just think of how bad poor Shuichi must feel having to share a space with a detective who outshines him in every way. Are we really going to subject him to that?” Junko asked.

“Hey! Shuichi’s a great detective, not that you’d know!” Kaede barked back.

“Damn, a great detective who needs his girlfriend to come to his defense, huh?”

“I see Junko likes to cause trouble here as well. A small part of me was hoping she’d be better behaved.” Kyoko sighed and shook her head. “Oh well. I guess proper introductions are in order. My name is Kyoko Kirigiri, one of the two Ultimate Detectives alongside Shuichi here. Essentially my entire class is part of this club, so I wanted to investigate for myself.”

Tenko clapped her hands and grinned. “We’re glad to have you, Kirigiri-san! Now then, everyone, welcome to this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! We’ve got another exciting subject to discuss today, but first…” Tenko whipped her head around back to Junko with a look of disapproval. “Enoshima-san! I thought I asked you to keep Kotoko-chan home today because the meeting wouldn’t be appropriate for a girl her age!”

Junko raised her hands in defense. “Hey, I don’t control her.”

“I know a lot more than you think I do, for your information.” Kotoko scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not some dumb little kid.”

“Of course you aren’t! But I wouldn’t want us to make you feel unsafe or anything like that, especially with how inconsiderate some of our club members can be.” Tenko eyed Teruteru and Miu in particular, who both stared back at her innocently.

“Hah! As if any of you could ever make me feel unsafe. I’m the most secure girl in the world with my big sisters by my side,” Kotoko said proudly. “Talk about whateeever you want.”

“Yes, please do. I must admit, I’m quite curious to know what subject you have in mind for us today,” Korekiyo said.

Kokichi snickered behind his hand. “As if we couldn’t guess.”

“Right then!” Tenko stood tall, hands on her hips, and cleared her throat. “We have a very important topic of discussion today, so I’d like to remind everyone to take this seriously! Today, the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket will be discussing… sex!”

“Oof, I don’t know if I want to do that with my brother in the room,” Komaru said, looking at the boy in question and cringing.

He looked back at her with an equal amount of comfort. “And I’m not sure I want to do that with my sister in the room. How about whatever we say here stays here?”

“Deal.”

“Sheesh, girl, you couldn’t have waited a few weeks?” Mondo asked. “You get your v-card punched and immediately make that the Fruits Basket topic?”

“Hey now, she’s excited. Let her be,” Sayaka said. “A lot of girls have sex once and tell all their friends about it as soon as they can.”

“Nyeh… a-actually, it was six times.”

“Six times?!” Hiyoko echoed in surprise. “Not all at once, right? I know some girls can go all day, but damn!”

“No no no, not all at once! We were alone at Himiko’s house for a whole weekend, you know!” Tenko said. To her surprise, she… actually wasn’t very embarrassed right now? She figured she’d be absolutely mortified—talking about sex? With Himiko? In front of people???—but she felt surprisingly normal at the moment.

“Six times is nothing, anyway. The first time Miki and I had sex? Hoo boy. We—”

“W-W-Wait, I didn’t consent to talking about that!” Mikan shrieked, holding on to Junko’s sleeve for dear life. “It’s t-too embarrassing…!”

“Oh yeah! We’re going to be talking about our personal experiences today, but if that involves your partner, please make sure they’re comfortable sharing that with other people. No one wants their most intimate moments shared without their permission,” Tenko said.

Kaito nodded in understanding, then lightly nudging Maki in the arm. “Hey, Maki Roll. Should we—”

“Absolutely not.”

After the couples of the Fruits Basket took a moment to deliberate among themselves, the meeting could begin in earnest.

“Alright, going to be totally normal about this. Tenko, Himiko, how’d it go?” Aoi asked curiously.

“It was fun,” Himiko said, still not completely able to look anyone in the eyes as she spoke. “Scary, but fun, like… a rollercoaster.”

“Fun? Is that all?” Teruteru was practically bouncing in his seat. “Come on, give us the juicy details! We’re all dying to know.”

Tenko shot him a death glare, and that was enough to get him to back down. “Ugh. We’ll keep the specifics to ourselves, but it was an interesting experience. I was so sure I’d be bad at it!”

“Were you?” Angie asked.

“At first, yeah, but I followed some advice some friends gave me and just talked my way through it, and that’s when it got really good!”

Chiaki smiled. “Aw, that’s so sweet. What about you, Himiko?”

“Um. I just kind of did what felt natural to me. I didn’t read any tutorials or get advice from people, but I think I did a pretty good job.”

Miu raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘did a good job’? It’s not like you have to do much. Just lie back and let Tenko do her thing like a good pillow princess and bam, you’re done.”

“What the heck is a pillow princess?” Himiko asked, scrunching up her face. “And for your information, I did stuff, too! Stuff like—ah… nyeh… n-never mind.” She pulled the brim of her hat down over her face, though it did little to hide how red she’d become. Tenko couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was so cute that she was more embarrassed than Tenko was.

“Come on, Miu, you shouldn’t assume the role someone likes to take during sex based on vibes alone,” Kaede said, her tone like a scolding mother. “Just look at Mondo and Taka! No one can tell who does what with those two.”

Taka promptly cleared his throat and adjusted his collar, a single bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. “Nor will we be disclosing that information! The intimate physical relationship Bro and I share is private, and we would like to keep it that way, thank you very much.”

“Catcher, pitcher,” Junko called, pointing to Mondo and Taka respectively. “Back to the blondies, though, you two are a good example. It can be hard to tell who does what at first glance. Then again, it’s easy once someone actually gets to know either of you.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, it’s kind of obvious that Miu is like, extremely subby, isn’t it?” Komaru asked. “Despite all her big talk.”

“That’s only a single example. You need more than that to build a solid case,” Kyoko explained. “Otherwise it’s a fallacy. A person’s outward personality doesn’t necessarily reflect their behavior in the bedroom, nor does everyone conform to rigid roles.”

“I would hope we’re all mature enough to know that by now,” Mahiru said.

“Of course we are! That doesn’t make it any less fun to speculate, though.” Hiyoko smiled in that michievous way she always did. “And it’s always fun when someone ends up surprising you. That can say a lot about a person, right?”

“Hah! Don’t I know it!” Miu grinned and clapped a hand on Kaede’s shoulder. “You all probably think this gal’s some gentle vanilla angel, but—”

“Hey hey hey hey, keep the details to a minimum, please!” Kaede shrieked, burning bright red.

Miu rolled her eyes, annoyed, and scoffed. Clearly she wasn’t having any of this. “Oh, come on! What, you don’t want everyone to know how hot you are when it’s time to play, huh, Maestro?”

The mortification on Kaede’s face promptly drained, and in its place rose a calm, unassuming smile. Kaede slowly placed a hand on Miu’s thigh, and only then did Tenko sense the quiet fury boiling just beneath the surface.

“Miu, honey,” she began, her tone soft yet oh-so-threatening, “what did I tell you about calling me that in front of people?”

Just like that, every ounce of Miu’s bravado crumbled like a sandcastle destroyed in mere moments by a single wave. Fear and anticipation alike filled her eyes as she let out a small squeak.

“S-S-Sorry! It won’t happen again, I promise!”

Kaede must have believed her, because she patted her head before folding her hands in her lap. “I know it won’t. Good girl.”

The mood in the room was different after that, to say the least. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, until the silence was disrupted by the sound of Junko just barely managing to hold back laughter.

“Maestro, huh? I like it. I prefer Mistress myself, but yours fits you like a glove,” she said as Mikan hid her face in shame. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, though. Why hide that part of yourself?”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like everyone doesn’t know about the sort of kinky BDSM shit you and Miu get up to,” Kokichi said with an absolutely inappropriate casuality and nonchalant shrug.

Tenko nearly got whiplash from the double take she did. “Uh, w-what?”

“Yeah! What, did you not know?” Ibuki asked. “C’mon, Miu wears her kinks on her sleeve and Kaede loves her all the same! You just gotta put two and two together.”

Tenko did not know, actually. In fact, she had no idea, but everything seemed to click into place as she stared at the women in question. It was one thing for Miu to be into the sort of depravity that was too much for polite conversation, but Kaede? Sweet, kind, normal Kaede? There was no way! She was the farthest thing from a degenerate there was!

Kaede huffed and crossed her arms, evidently dissatisfied with the attention Miu had brought her. “It isn’t that I’m embarrassed by it. That’s just a side of me I’d like to keep private. It isn’t anyone’s business what sort of things Miu and I do when we’re being intimate. I like it, she likes it, and that’s all that matters.”

Shuichi muttered. “I have to admit, even I’m pretty curious why,” He only raised his head when he realized everyone had heard him. “I mean, it’s not like you and I have ever talked about it, even though I know that you know that I know.”

“I… Ugh, fine. I guess I can explain, then.” Kaede sighed and crossed one leg over the other, slouching forward and resting her head in her hand. “For me, sex lets me sort of become a different person for a while, one that doesn’t care about the things I worry about every day. It’s an escape, really. That version of me is totally free in every definition of the word, and a lot more, ahem, hardcore. Getting to be her for a while helps me blow off steam and indulge in some of my more out there desires, but that isn’t a side of me I want people seeing or even thinking about, because I’m worried it’ll change the way everyone thinks of me. Regardless of what I like to do in the privacy of my own bedroom with a consenting Miu, I’m still just Kaede at the end of the day, you know?”

Kokichi nodded in sagely understanding. “Right, right. Kaede the Friendly Dominatrix. Go easy on little ol’ Shuichi when he eventually gets in on that, would you?”

Miu and Kaede alike glared daggers at the boy. “As if! Shuichi couldn’t handle half the shit my girl does to me!”

“Right here, you guys,” Shuichi mumbled under his breath.

“Well… if it’s any consolation, I agree with you! Sadist or not, you’re still our friend Akamatsu-san!” Tenko said with a hearty smile, even if she was still coming to terms with the fact that one of her closest friends got off on hurting her girlfriend. She’d heard before about how she and Miu weren’t exactly vanilla, but now her imagination was running wild.

… And getting the better of her. It was best to shove those thoughts out of her mind.

“It’s perfectly normal to want to keep your sex life private and even keep it away from your friends,” Kyoko said. “It’s not as if I go around telling people about my own escapades.”

“Escapades?” Sakura cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t mean to pry, but I never took you for someone who gets around.”

Kyoko merely shrugged. “I’ve had my share of flings here and there. You meet a lot of people in my line of work.”

Junko whistled, impressed. “Wow, Kyoko. Never pegged you for a slut.”

“I wouldn’t call myself that.”

“Neither would the rest of us! Don’t be rude, Enoshima-san!” Tenko huffed. She didn’t need Junko scaring off any new club members, even if someone like Kyoko was certainly used to her by now.

“Rude? What’s rude about calling someone a slut? It’s only an insult if you take it that way,” Junko insisted. “We love sluts. Ain’t that right, Ibuki?”

“Hell yeah it is!” Ibuki exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. “It’s cool and all that most people think sex is something hella special you should only do with someone you love, but that’s never really worked for Ibuki, you know?”

“Aha. So you get around then, do you?” Teruteru asked with a suave smile.

“Mhm! Ibuki’s never been in a serious relationship, but she sure has hooked up with a lot of people! It’s hard not to. When the energy at a gig is at an all time high and everyone’s all sweaty, it’s like, don’t you just want to grab the nearest cutie and get all primal in the green room?”

“Oh, baby, I know exactly what you mean. It’s the same feeling I have when I get the perfect cook on a wellington. You know, I’ve actually always wanted to go to one of your shows—”

“Gross… cut it out already,” Himiko said, making up her face.

“Please, you’ll make people uncomfortable,” Sayaka added before turning her attention back to Ibuki. “I guess I understand that. Promiscuity isn’t really for me, but if you find someone who you connect with and both of you are alright with just hooking up, I guess it makes sense to just go for it.”

Mikan, ever the shy one, hesitated to speak up. “U-Um… so long as you take the necessary precautions, of course. It’s important to practice safe sex.”

“Yeeeaaah, Ibuki was a little reckless before she met you, but lucky enough to avoid getting burned!” Ibuki said, sticking out her tongue and knocking on her head in a silly little gesture. “Listen to Mikan, everyone! Get tested, wrap it up, all that good stuff!”

Himiko’s nose crinkled. “Does that stuff apply to Tenko and I? Since we’re both girls?”

“Of course it does,” Mahiru said, a little surprised. “Huh. The sex-ed at your middle school must not have been very robust. But yeah, there’re dental dams you can use for oral sex and little condoms for your fingers, too.” She wiggled her fingers and giggled. “It might sound kind of silly, but it stops stuff like cuts from getting infected.”

“What the—why the heck do you know about that stuff? You’re straight,” Hiyoko said.

Mahiru shrugged. “Like I said, sex-ed at school. Honestly, I thought this stuff was common knowledge?”

“Our nation’s standard of sexual education is far from perfect. It’s no surprise homosexual activity would be excluded from most curriculum,” Korekiyo said.

Kokichi rolled his eyes. “Okay, can you not say ‘homosexual activity’ like that? You make gay sex sound boring.”

“It can be,” Toko grumbled.

Kaito’s eyebrows raised in what appeared to be genuine surprise. “Woah! You’re not sayin’ Komaru’s bad at sex, are you?”

“What? No! I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of satisfying my girlfriend, thank you very much.” Komaru pouted. “She’s just not always in the mood is all, even when I am.”

“That’s the reality of being with someone with a low sex drive,” Kyoko said. “Not every couple is perfectly compatible in that way.”

Tenko took a moment to consider that notion. She didn’t think she had a high sex drive. Sure, she took care of herself every now and then like most girls her age, but it wasn’t as if she’d been chomping at the bit to have sex with Himiko. She’d mostly been too terrified to really be excited until the moment of truth arrived. They’d been together a few times since then, trying things out, familiarizing themselves with each other’s bodies, but what about the future? Was Himiko the type to jump at the opportunity for sex every chance she got, or would Tenko have to go several weeks before getting to touch her like that again?

“So… do you two just not bother whenever Toko’s not feeling up to it?” Makoto asked.

“Inquiring about your little sister’s intimate life, Makoto? For shame.” Celeste tutted and shook her head in disappointment. “And here I believed you were a better man than that.”

“H-Hey, I’m not trying to be weird, I swear! I’m just curious.”

Thankfully for Komaru, Toko answered in her place. “Sometimes. Other times I just let her do what she wants. It’s not like I h-hate it or anything, and it is kind of nice even when I’m not in the mood, but most of the time I’d rather do something else.”

Miu clicked her tongue and nodded in understanding. “Ah, gotcha. Gotta do what she wants even when you’re not up to it if you wanna keep her from getting too attached to the ol’ magic wand, eh?”

“Um? I’ve never actually used one of those,” Komaru said, a bit bashful. “They seem kind of intense.”

“For real? Girl, I have got to put you on. I’ll text you later,” Junko said.

Rantaro tilted his head. “Do girls just… share sex toy recomendations with each other? Or is this just a Junko thing? Sorry, I don’t really get it.”

“Oh yeah, totally. She’ll never admit it, but I sent Mukuro a link to a rose toy during one of her crankier weeks and I swear she perked right up.”

Mukuro sat up stiff in her chair, red rising right up to her ears. “That was not because of—”

“Sometimes all you need to destress is a little self pleasure, ya know?” Junko snickered and leaned back in her chair with a self-satisfied grin.

Meanwhile, Himiko wrung her hands in her lap, still nervous even now. “Nyeh… How come so many of you can talk about this stuff so easily? Isn’t it embarrassing?”

“A little bit, but it’s no big deal, really,” Komaru said. “If you ask me, I think people are waaay too weird about this sort of thing. Sex is such a big part of the books we read and the TV we watch, but it’s like when you actually start talking about it, no one wants to have a conversation. I mean, what gives?”

“Needless to say, sex is a taboo subject in some cultures and perfectly ordinary in others,” Korekiyo explained. “I’m certain the people of Angie’s homeland are quite comfortable discussing it, for instance, whereas it would come as no surprise to me if word of this particular meeting reached Hope’s Peak staff and Tenko was disciplined for it.”

Tenko’s heart sunk in her chest. No way she would actually get in trouble for hosting this, right? It wasn’t as if they were doing anything worthy of punishment. Surely a school that would allow her to establish a club like this to begin with—even if it took weeks of Tenko pestering them—would be fine with a bunch of gay teenagers having an open and honest conversation about sex, right?

Luckily, Tenko didn’t need to think about it any more than that, as Kyoko quieted her fears promptly. “Don’t worry. I have strings I can pull to make sure this club is left alone,” she said.

“Oh, the perks of being daddy’s little girl,” Junko sang. “While you’re at it, could you get them to throw a little funding our way? I’m feelin’ like a field trip to Ni-Chome would do this club some good!”

“You know you could get any amount handed to you if you just asked.”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

“Thank you, Kirigiri-san,” Tenko said, letting out a sigh of relief. “I know the higher-ups don’t really like there being a club like this at Hope’s Peak, so it’s nice to know that you’ve got our back in case anything happens.”

Kyoko simply nodded. “I think you’re providing a valuable resource for the students here, so I’d like to ensure you’re able to continue doing so.”

“You sure you’re not doing this to piss off your old man by supporting a club his bosses probably give him shit about?” Mondo asked.

To Tenko’s surprise, stoic honor student Kyoko Kirigiri actually smirked.

“That’s just a bonus.”

Chapter Text

“Did you know that a lot of people think we’re all dating each other?”

“That doesn’t actually surprise me and I’m not so sure how to feel about that.”

Chiaki Nanami was typically not someone who spent much time in the sun, preferring to spend her free time grinding away whatever her video game of choice was for the week instead of hanging out at the pool on a hot summer day. Here she was, though, relaxing on a sun lounger and squinting at her phone as she got her dailies in. She made a mental note to invest in an anti-glare screen protector to avoid predicaments like these in the future.

She was with Nagito and Hajime today—as usual—at a country club pool. None of them were actually part of a country club, of course, but being an Ultimate came with its perks… namely your friends pulling strings for you because they were feeling generous that day. Thank you, Junko Enoshima. Pools weren’t really her thing, though, and apparently they weren’t Hajime’s either, because Nagito was the only one of them to actually hop in. Instead of swimming, however, he simply leaned against the side of the pool closest his friends and chatted along with them.

“I’m flattered anyone would think I’m worthy of being romantically involved with you, Chiaki, even if it’s incredibly unrealistic.”

Hajime sat up in his seat to stretch, either not noticing or not caring about the way Nagito eyed his shirtless body. “Doesn’t everyone know you’re gay by now, though?”

“They probably assume we’re a… what’d Kaede called it? A ‘vee?’ Like Nagito and I are both dating Hajime, but not each other.”

Nagito’s face seemed to light up at the mere mention. “Now that is something I can get behind.”

Hajime merely shrugged. He was used to this by now. For the past year or so since he’d figured out Nagito was romantically interested in him, the two of them had come to a sort of understanding. So long as Nagito didn’t try and take their relationship any farther, they could remain friends without there being any sort of weirdness between them. Something like that sounded easy on paper, but was far more difficult in practice.

See, Hajime Hinata wasn’t exactly straight. He hadn’t settled on a label that fit him quite yet, but he’d had enough conversations with Chiaki and Nagito to understand that at the very least. Admittedly there was a short period where he seriously considered what it would be like to be in a relationship with Nagito, but at the end of the day, that idea didn’t really click in his head. The two boys were close, sure, but picturing Nagito Komaeda in a romantic context made Hajime feel weird. In a bad way. He didn’t want to mess up the relationship between the three of them and so much as entertaining Nagito’s advances was sure to do exactly that.

… There was also the small matter of the fact that there was also a short period of time where he seriously considered whether or not he had feelings for Chiaki. That one had ended with him deciding that he did, in fact. Hell, he even mustered up the courage to actually confess to her only to be gently rejected, which he now saw as a blessing in disguise. Chiaki and Nagito were his friends, and he didn’t need to mess any of that up by adding romance into the mix.

“Do you think you could do that anyway?” Hajime asked. “Like, date more than one person?”

Chiaki’s nose scrunched up at the thought. “Nuh-uh. It already sounds like a lot to date one person, so no way I could handle two or more.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You have to devote so much of your attention to them, and I already get exhausted easy. Like, going on dates and kissing and stuff…? I don’t have that sort of capacity.”

“Hm, I think you might be overthinking this one,” Nagito said, tapping his fingers along the poolside. “That’s just a shape relationships commonly take. It isn’t like that for everyone. A polyamorous relationship for you could look like, say, what we’re doing right now.”

Chiaki cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Nagito, then at Hajime, then up at the cloudless sky. “I guess so, huh? Still, though, I don’t think I’m the right person for that kind of thing.”

“Same here. Besides, I’d have to date one person before even thinking about dating multiple,” Hajime added with a light chuckle.

Nagito rested his head in his hands with a blissful smile on his lips. He had hope that his desires would be granted one day, if he was lucky, but for now, he was perfectly content just like this.

Hiyoko Saionji did not like Sato… whatever the hell her family name was. Seriously, everyone always called her by her given name no matter who they were—what the hell was up with that?

It wasn’t hate at first sight, though. They’d been friends once upon a time, but really that was mostly out of circumstance. Sato was Mahiru’s friend, Hiyoko was Mahiru’s friend, and so they naturally ended up spending a decent amount of time together at Hope’s Peak. Hiyoko never really thought much of her before a handful of months ago when she’d come to terms with the fact that she was most likely in love with her best friend, and that’s when the problems began.

… What? Ok, yes, Hiyoko had a thing for Mahiru—big deal. Anyone with eyes and a brain would. She was responsible and sisterly and talented and gorgeous to boot, so what wasn’t there to like? Of course Hiyoko would fall for her, who cares? Only a pig-faced loser would tease her for something like that.

Anyway, Sato. Sato was gay with a capital G and never made any effort to try and hide that fact regardless of the consequences. Hiyoko respected the chutzpah and all, but she also obviously had feelings for Mahiru, and that was unacceptable. She would have told her off if it weren’t for the fact that she knew Mahiru would be upset with her over it, so all she could do was silently glare daggers at her whenever the three of them went out for brunch like this and hope she got the message.

Mahiru’s lips curled as her eyes darted between Sato in front of her and the cafe counter. She leaned in to whisper. “Hey, Sato. Don’t look now, but I think that barista is staring at you!”

Like some kind of idiot, Sato completely ignored Mahiru’s advice to not look at turned her head right towards the counter. Hiyoko was a lot more subtle when she looked, and sure enough, a short-haired and admittedly pretty cute girl wearing the cafe’s apron was looking their way. She raised her eyebrows in surprise briefly before throwing Sato a cutesy smile and waving, then returning to her work to help a customer.

“Mm. She’s cute,” Sato said, idly sipping her coffee.

“You should ask for her number!”

“Why would I do that?”

Mahiru tilted her head in confusion. “Because she’s clearly interested in you…?”

Sato shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything if I’m not interested in her.”

“Aw, c’mon, Sato! How are you ever going to get a girlfriend if you completely ignore every girl who looks your way?”

Sato stared at the surface of her coffee. “Maybe I’m waiting for the right one to look at me,” she mumbled.

Hiyoko bit into her cookie (chocolate chip, obviously) with such force that she wouldn’t have been surprised if she cracked a tooth. It wasn’t enough that Sato was into Mahiru, but she seemed to be perfectly content never acting on those feelings. The most frustrating thing was that Mahiru was too oblivious to pick up on the obvious signs. How could she be so blind to the fact that Sato cared about her more than anyone else in the world? Or the fact that she was constantly on Sato’s mind? Or the fact that every day Sato yearned to know what it would be like to taste her lips just once, just so she could die satisfied—

At least, that’s how Hiyoko assumed Sato felt. It was an educated guess.

“Hey, Hiyoko, are you feeling okay? You’ve been quiet for a while,” Mahiru said, leaning forward.

Hiyoko looked up from her cookie and quietly squeaked at how close Mahiru’s face was. Her face burned bright red as she turned away, leading Mahiru to frown.

“I’m bored,” Hiyoko blurted. “We should go somewhere else.”

“Aw, I kinda like it here… but if you want to leave, we can.” Mahiru sipped at the last of her coffee before rising, tossing the empty cup in the trash, and giving one last look to the barista. “Are you suuure you don’t want to try talking to her, Sato?”

“I’m sure,” Sato said bluntly. She casually threw away her coffee and got up as well. “Hiyoko, was there anywhere specific you wanted to go?”

Yeah, your funeral.

“I don’t care, just somewhere more fun than a boring cafe.”

“Oh, a new confectionary shop just opened up near the train station. I was going to ask if you wanted to go later since I figured you’d be really into that.”

Hiyoko’s heart flipped in her chest and began to beat harder than the drums on one of Ibuki’s noise tracks. Mahiru really did know her better than anyone, and yet she still couldn’t see what was right in front of her.

“So, how are things going with your girls?”

Shuichi’s face was so hot that he barely registered Kaito’s question. Today was cardio day for the young detective, which meant running on a treadmill for an hour and sweating buckets while Kaito got comfortable on the bench press and Maki spotted him.

“I wouldn’t call them my girls,” Shuichi said, panting. “I’m only dating Kaede, and Miu is Miu.”

“Sure, but you know what I mean. You three are practically attached at the hip, so just like you’re their guy, they’re your girls. For real, you’re with them so often that you kind of leave me and Maki Roll out to dry.”

“Gah. Sorry about that…”

“Don’t be. No one—pull the bar in closer to your chest—no one likes being a third wheel,” Maki said.

“Third wheel? Aw, come on! The three of us are still the best buds we were before you and me started dating. Nothing’s changed between us, right?”

Whether Kaito was right or not didn’t really matter. The reality of the situation was that Maki was right—Shuichi did often feel like a third wheel when it was just the three of them. Sometimes it felt like his presence made it hard for them to do more couple-y things like kissing and the like, even if neither of them were the most typically affectionate in front of other people. The last thing he wanted to do was hold them back, and he couldn’t exactly do that if he was with Kaede and Miu and not them.

“Uh… I guess to answer your question, they’re both doing well,” Shuichi said. “Miu’s been working on a design for a thermal mattress so she doesn’t melt in this heat while sleeping. That already exists, but I think she’s trying to optimize it. And Kaede’s been giving piano lessons to some kids to pass the time.”

Kaito let out a long breath as he set the weights down on the rack and sat up. “Hey, that’s pretty rad!”

“And how’s the polyamory thing working out for you?” Maki asked, taking a drink from her water bottle. “Any problems?”

“No, not really. Well, actually there was this one time a couple days ago when the three of us were supposed to go out for dinner but Miu was too focused on her prototype and decided not to go. Kaede was fine with just she and I going, but then Miu got all upset… it was messy. We ended up just ordering food.”

Kaito whistled and towelled off the sweat from his face. “Jeez. Guess you’ve got to get used to that, huh?”

“Guess so. She just doesn’t like feeling left out. She’s got, uh, self-esteem issues.”

“We’ve noticed,” Maki scoffed. “You shouldn’t get used to something like that. You should fix it.”

“I don’t know about that one,” Shuichi breathed. He reached forward to lower the speed on the treadmill just to make things a little less intense. “Miu doesn’t like it when she feels like people are trying to fix her, even if we only want to help. Kaede’s learned how to talk to her and calm her down just fine, but I’ve still got a ways to go.”

“I mean, hey, it’s not like she’s your girlfriend, dude. Is that really something you have to worry over?”

“Of course it is. Kaede cares about her a lot and so do I. I want to be a good friend and a good metamour, and that means figuring out how to manage her quirks even half as well as Kaede can.”

Shuichi had to admit, for as nice as it was being Kaede’s boyfriend, it wasn’t exactly easy. Shuichi had experience navigating Miu’s Miu-isms before, but that was before they ever got this close. He doubted he’d ever be able to handle her like Kaede did, but still, he felt obligated to better understand the inner workings of her mind. Even if they weren’t sharing a girlfriend, Miu was his friend, and striving to truly understand one’s friends was important.

Kaito grinned and clapped a hand on Shuichi shoulder as his pace slowed to a walk. “You’re a good man, bro. Braver than me, that’s for sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think I’d last in your position,” Kaito said with a chuckle. “Have you met Miu? That girl is terrifying, especially when she’s jealous. Scary chicks like that are way too much for me.”

Raising an eyebrow, Shuichi side-eyed Maki as she downed the remaining water in her bottle, head back and eyes closed. She locked eyes with Shuichi the instant she opened them and glared daggers at him for staring, her piercing gaze far too intense to hold. Shuichi swallowed and kept his head down.

“Uh… sure, Kaito. Sure.”

Chapter Text

“Alright, kid, you’d better sit still and listen up, because you’re going to learn today!”

Believe it or not, Tenko Chabashira tended to be good around children. Her dad said it was because they felt she was one of them, only taller—which she wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about—while her mom insisted it was because she’d always been able to make them feel they could be themselves around her. Regardless of the reasons why, this was something she prided herself on. After all, there were plenty of little girls out there just waiting to become Neo Aikido disciples, and if she could get to the boys before it was too late, maybe they weren’t doomed to a life of degeneracy. Still, while she got along with children just fine, there were still plenty who managed to get on her bad side.

Today’s problem child was a redheaded boy by the name of Masaru Daimon, currently being forced to sit between Junko and Mikan to ensure he was on his best behavior. Apparently he was part of the little club Kotoko was in, the Warriors of Hope—whatever that meant (wasn’t Junko’s whole thing despair? Why would they be advocating for its antithesis?). While Kotoko was, of course, an angel in Tenko’s eyes, she truly had no idea what her friends could have been like. They were Junko’s disciples, and Tenko felt not even Mikan’s positive influence could offset that. Apparently her feelings were correct, since Masaru wasn’t exactly attending today’s meeting for any positive reason.

“School’s over! Why do I have to learn stuff?”

“Because you and your stupid homophobia is seriously pissing me off!” Kotoko shouted. “So this club meeting isn’t ending until you admit how dumb you’ve been!”

Masaru groaned, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “Alright, I’ve been dumb. Can I go now?”

“You have to actually mean it!”

From what Tenko understood, this child had been driving poor Kotoko up the wall with his gradually worsening bigotry. Even though his figurative older sisters were dating each other (phrasing, Tenko!), it wasn’t very surprising that a little boy like him would hold the beliefs he did. The sporty types who were so preoccupied with their own masculinity usually did. Thus, the subject of the first Fruits Basket meeting after summer break was a special request courtesy of Junko, who thought it best to teach her little brother a thing or two about tolerance.

Tenko turned away from Masaru to face the rest of her club, hands on her hips and a fire in her eyes. “Welcome back to the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket, everyone!!! I hope you enjoyed your summer break!!! For today’s meeting, we’re going to be talking about stereotypes!!!”

“Nyeh, volume…”

“Oh! Sorry, Himiko! I mean—” Tenko cleared her throat and spoke in a whisper. “Sorry, Himiko.”

“Kid’s got you all riled up, huh?” Kokichi asked with a mischievous snicker. “Come on, you don’t want to start off the first meeting of the semester all upset, do ya? Mellow out a little!”

“Tenko and mellow don’t exactly go together,” Kaede countered. “He has a point, though. It’s hard to teach someone something when you’re all angry like that.”

Tenko huffed. “I’m not angry. I just don’t have a lot of patience for bigots.”

“He’s not a bigot, he’s a kid. There’s a difference,” Mondo said.

“Please. He’s maybe two years younger than Komaru, and you wouldn’t make excuses for her, would you?” Mahiru said.

“Um.” Chihiro shyly raised his hand, a nervous expression on his face. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves. I don’t really know what’s going on, and isn’t there usually an introduction first?”

As loathe as Tenko was to admit it, Chihiro was right. Contrary to popular belief, there was actually a structure to these things that had to be respected. Thus, she frustratingly gestured to the boy in question.

“Go ahead, tell us who you are and why you’re here.”

“Fine, fine. The name’s Masaru Daimon, the Warriors of Hope’s very own hero!” he said with a proud, toothy grin. “I’m here because apparently I have bad opinions or whatever and this place is supposed to fix me. Ugh. You guys see why people don’t like you, right? It’s because you’re always trying to change the way we think!”

Nekomaru’s eyebrows lifted, surprised to hear something like that come out of the young boy’s mouth, but it was also clearly a sentiment he’d heard before. “Woah there. Just where’d you learn to talk like that?”

“Internet,” Junko answered. “He’s been listening to certain kinds of podcasts whenever he works out lately. I tell him the guys who run them are losers, but he doesn’t listen.”

Being a martial artist, Tenko had run into his type plenty of times before, usually on online forums. Those tended to be male-dominated spaces, after all, and filled with men who would consume and regurgitate the same sort of rhetoric Masaru had apparently fallen victim to.

Masaru scoffed. “These guys have a ton of money and a ton of girlfriends—how could they be losers?”

“Ah ah ah, one must not conflate material possessions with wisdom,” Angie advised.

“Kotoko-chan, why don’t you tell us exactly what your Masaru-chan has been? Just so we’re all on the same page,” Tenko said.

Kotoko nodded, still annoyed, but clearly eager to vent. “He’s just always so caught up in stereotypes! It’s like I can’t even mention anything about the Fruits Basket or being a lesbian without him making some obnoxious comment based on stereotypes! The first thing he asked when Big Sis Junko mentioned this place was if we just sat around watching Drag Race for an hour!”

Miu stifled a laugh with her hand. “Wait that’s actually pretty funny.”

“No it isn’t! That show doesn’t have anything to do with the things I like!”

“L-Let’s try and be constructive here,” Mikan suggested. “Um, Masaru, besides your podcasts, where exactly do you get your ideas of what queer people are like?”

“The internet in general, duh,” Masaru said. He bit his tongue immediately after, likely reminding himself it was Mikan he was speaking to and not just any random girl. “People post pictures and videos of you guys all the time. Sometimes they’re funny, but it’s most just gross.”

“And you base your opinions off of those instead of the queer people you’re around every day, huh?” Junko gave a disappointed sigh and shook her head. “You’re supposed to be smarter than that.”

“I am smart! But I’m not just going to ignore stuff like those weird crossdressers trying to get their hands on kids and stuff!”

Chihiro winced, making himself smaller in his seat and prompting Celeste to glare daggers at the boy. “Now now, little one. You may of course speak freely, but do keep in mind the kinds of people whose company you are currently in. We wouldn’t want any feelings to be hurt, no?”

Masaru’s face blanched at Celeste’s words. “A-Alright, creepy vampire lady…”

“Now, Masaru-chan. You know what a stereotype is, right?” Tenko asked.

“Of course I do! It’s like, an idea a lot of people have about a group or something, right?”

Korekiyo clicked his tongue, always eager to educate. “Not quite. To be specific, a stereotype is a widely held generalized belief regarding a particular category of people, often based in inaccuracies and falsehoods. You, for instance, are a boy, so for one to assume you have an interest in sports would be for them to make an assumption based on a stereotype.”

“But I do like sports.”

“Sure, but not all guys do, you know?” Kaito said. “Wouldn’t it be annoying if people went around assuming things about you that weren’t true based on one trait about you?”

Masaru scoffed. “Sure, but so what if people get stuff wrong about me sometimes? It’s no sweat off my back.”

“Well, not everyone is like you, Masaru. A lot of people are sensitive, especially about things they may have been bullied for in the past. That’s just one reason why you shouldn’t just assume things about people,” Sayaka explained.

“But why does it matter?” Masaru asked, groaning. “You guys suck at explaining things. If you wanna be activists or whatever, you’re doing a horrible job.”

“We aren’t activists, we’re just queer, and it matters because presumptions mess with the way you perceive people, and that means you treat them differently for no good reason!” Tenko said. “Take me, for example. I’m a lesbian. Now that you know that about me, how does it change the way you see me?”

“Well now I wouldn’t want you changing with other girls after gym class.”

Miu didn’t bother holding back her laughter this time. “Hold on, I kind of like this kid!”

Tenko, while annoyed, did her best not to shout. “Okay, and what makes you think that? Would you say the same thing about Kotoko-chan? What about Enoshima-san or Tsumiki-senpai?”

“Oh come on, it’s obvious! You’re into girls and you get to hang out in their locker rooms. Obviously you’re going to look at them all weird. Kotoko probably does the same thing, and Big Sis Junko and Mikan wouldn’t need to because they already have each other.”

“What?! I don’t stare at girls in the locker room, ew! That’s super creepy!”

“There are a lot of girls who like girls in this room, and I think most of us can say that we don’t do that. Heck, we probably felt really uncomfortable in locker rooms while we were still figuring ourselves out,” Komaru said.

Tenko threw her hands up in the air as if everything was obvious. “See? You make an assumption about someone—a harmful one—and now you’re treating them like a creep when they haven’t even done anything wrong. Don’t you see how that hurts people?”

Masaru made up his face and quiet for a few moments. Tenko almost started to think she’d gotten through to him before he made his next point. “What about positive stereotypes, huh? Like… that guy,” he pointed to Nagito, “he’s gay, right? So he’s probably got really good hygiene. Why wouldn’t you want people to think you’re clean?”

“For starters, you’re way off base. Just look at his hair—Komaeda showers maybe once a week max,” Hiyoko said with a snicker. “He smells like he sleeps in a dumpster!”

“Actually, I bathe regularly and sleep in a perfectly normal bed like the rest of you,” Nagito said, “not that it makes me at all equal to you. Still, I wouldn’t say I’m particular about hygiene. I’mnot very high maintenance.”

“Aw come on now, why would you admit that? Wouldn’t you want people to think you’re a squeaky clean guy?” Teruteru asked.

Nagito shook his head. “But that isn’t who I am. People should see us for our true selves, not who they assume us to be.”

“Exactly! No one likes being put in a box!” Ibuki declared.

“Look, kid, positive or negative, stereotypes like the ones you believe put expectations on people that they ain’t obligated to meet,” Mondo explained. “The bad ones give ‘em somethin’ to prove wrong, and the good ones just put pressure on ‘em that they never asked for.”

Rantaro whistled and chuckled to himself. “I’ve had a lot of people overseas assume some crazy things about me because I’m Japanese, good and bad. There was this professor I met in India studying abroad who figured I was some kind of study god whose grades always had to be perfect. I cared way more about what people thought of me back then, and not going to lie to you, trying to meet that expectation did a number on me mental health wise.”

“It’s worth noting that there are a number of stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community, seeing as how we are a queer club,” Kyoko began. “The idea that bisexual people are indecisive or promiscuous, for example, or that gay men engage in casual sex in combination with recreational drug use at higher rates than their heterosexual counterparts.”

“Not to mention the insane amount of lesbian stereotypes,” Mahiru scoffed. “There’s the U-Haul lesbian thing, or assuming that lesbians all go after straight girls, or that they have to fall either into the butch or femme category, or—”

“Okay okay, we get it, jeez! You’re such a good ally,” Miu said, rolling her eyes. “Am I seriously gonna have to be devil’s advocate here? Why are we pretending that some of this shit isn’t true?”

Kaede frowned. “Miu…”

“No, seriously! Just head to any nightclub in Ni-Chome on weekend, they’re full of half naked gay dudes swinging their meat around and sniffing powder in the bathroom. Gay guys like to party and they like to do drugs—we can see it right in front of our eyes. Heck, just look at Chihiro! They're a femboy—kinda—and a coder? The jokes write themselves!”

“You’re kind of falling into a trap there,” Shuichi said. “It’s true that certain stereotypes are rooted in truth, but what makes them stereotypes is that they’re applied broadly. A lot of gay people doing one thing doesn’t mean that every gay person does that thing.”

“Sure, whatever, but most do.”

“Not true. High visibility doesn’t necessarily correlate to high rates in reality. It’s just confirmation bias. You see what you want to see.”

Miu crossed her arms and glared at him. “Shit, why do you gotta argue with me?”

“You said you’re playing devil’s advocate. Doesn’t that invite arguments?”

“Yeah, but I get enough backtalk from you on the regular! You’re my girlfriend’s boyfriend—what, are you just tryin’ to embarrass me even more?”

“Oookaaay, reel it it, people,” Himiko said. “Nyeh, is this making sense to you, Masaru?”

Masaru leaned forward in his seat, eyes intense, lips pressed in a tight line as if he were deep in thought. “I… I guess? But if you guys don’t want people assuming stuff about you, maybe you should tell your friends to stop making you look bad!”

“Nah, that’s not the way to look at it, man. People have got to be free to be who they are without it reflecting on the rest of their community,” Kaito said. It was a surprisingly insightful piece of wisdom coming from someone like him. “Think of it this way. A lot of guys out there are total jerks to the girls in their lives and always trying to push them into doing certain things they don’t wanna do. You wouldn’t want people to think you’re like them, would you?”

“Ugh, no way. I’m not like that.”

“The stupid men you listen to all day are,” Kotoko mumbled.

Kaito nodded in understanding. “Of course you wouldn’t. And it’s the same way for all the queer people in your life who you hurt by throwing all those lame stereotypes around. Kotoko’s a sweet gal, but you assume all this bad stuff about her just because she’s not into guys. That’s not cool, man.”

Much to Tenko’s satisfaction, the look on Masaru’s face indicated that Kaito may have actually gotten through to him. He sunk low in his chair, actually looking a little guilty.

“Hm… I guess I can see what you mean,” he said. “But most of the time I’m just teasing her anyway. It’s not like I’m trying to be a jerk.”

“You don’t tease a girl by calling her a creepy perv, moron,” Kotoko said, still (justifiably, of course) upset.

Junko leaned over to place a hand on Masaru’s head with a put-on smile. “See? All’s well that ends well. Now say sorry so that you two can make up.”

“I’m not apologizing to her!”

“And I’m not forgiving him!”

Before the two of them could get into a full-blown spat, Celeste clapped her hands together once and drew the attention over to her, a serene yet slightly threatening smile. “A happy ending! But, Miu? Might I make a suggestion?”

“Eh? What?”

“It would be wise to not make jokes at the expense of mon chéri, otherwise I cannot guarantee your continued safety,” she said.

“C-Celeste!” Chihiro shrieked, suddenly turning pink as a flamingo.

Miu whimpered in fear and reflexively leaned back into Kaede’s arms, who shot Celeste a disapproving look that soon morphed into one one surprise. “Wait, mon chéri? When did you two start dating?”

“Over summer break,” Mukuro answered in their place. “It makes sense that you didn’t know until now. You aren’t in our class.”

Just like that, any lingering annoyance Tenko had been feeling over Masaru and his bigotry vanished into thin air and was replaced by an overwhelming joy. “Oh my gosh, no way!!! Ludenberg-san and Fujisaki-san are dating? Kyaaaa, that’s so cute! Congratulations!”

Chihiro pressed their fingertips together and shyly looked down at their lap. “Thank you, but um, we don’t really want to make a big deal about it.”

“Oh! I have so many questions, but if that’s the case, then I won’t bother you with them!” Tenko said. She really had been getting better at tempering her enthusiasm lately! “I know it’s private, but I do wish I could have been there to see you two get together.”

Tsumugi let out a forlorn sigh and pathetically held her head in her hands. “I hate it when subplots are resolved off-screen…”

Chapter Text

The first thing Tenko noticed upon stepping into the Fruits Basket clubroom was the almost comical-looking scowl etched onto Hiyoko’s face. She was always squabbling with someone, but usually looked more smug than angry. Not this time, though. Now she glared at the object of her ire like she was moments away from lunging out of her seat and attacking her.

Speaking of, the aforementioned object of Hiyoko’s ire wasn’t someone Tenko recognized, but given the fact that she was situated between Hiyoko and Mahiru, she figured she must have been a friend of their’s. She also assumed the girl must have been a Reserve Course student judging by the basic uniform and the fact that main course students tended to look a lot flashier—not that Tenko meant to stereotype.

“Oh! There you are, Tenko!” Mahiru waved at her as she stepped through the door, a wide smile on her face. “I brought a guest today!”

“So you did! Nice to meet you, stranger! I’m Tenko Chabashira, the President of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket! Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

The frumpy-looking girl stood up and gave a half-hearted yet still polite bow. “Hello, I’m Sato from the Reserve Course. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Sato, huh? What’s your family name?” Aoi asked.

Sato shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just Sato.”

“Sato here’s the lesbian friend I’ve mentioned a few times. I’ve been trying to get her to come to one of these for a while, but she’s got archery club at the same time,” Mahiru explained. “I guess their equipment got destroyed or something, though? So there’s no practice this week. Still not sure how that happened…”

Nagito put on an innocent smile. “What a mystery it is.”

Tenko’s smile, meanwhile, was much more of a grin. “Well it’s good to have you, Sato-senpai! I always love getting to know other lesbians! We’ve got to stick together, you know?”

As Tenko sauntered over to her seat next to Himiko, Sato simply shrugged as if she didn’t really have a response. “So, what sort of things has Koizumi-senpai told you about our little club?”

“Mostly that you all just kind of talk about gay things for an hour,” Sato said. “And that sometimes people who don’t get along very well will interrupt and argue with each other.”

Miu clicked her tongue. “Ain’t that the truth.”

Next to Sato, Hiyoko loudly cleared her throat in an exaggerated manner. “Ahem! She’s also talked about how sometimes, whatever new member or guest we have will match up really well with whatever the subject for the day is by complete coincidence.” She looked around briefly to make sure everyone’s attention was on her. “I know that because the three of us hang out a lot. You know. So it’s not Mahiru and this one alone.”

“Easy there, girlie, your insecurity’s showing,” Junko said.

Before Hiyoko could bark back with whatever vulgar insult she undoubtedly had already conjured in that head of hers, Tenko clapped her hands together to signal the start of the meeting. “Well, Koizumi-senpai is right about our new members and subjects, because this week’s meeting of the Hope’s Peak Fruits Basket is all about compulsory heterosexuality! It’s only fitting we’d have another lesbian joining us!”

“Compul—compulsory he—… compulsory heterosexuality?” Himiko asked, crinkling her nose. “Nyeh, is that some kind of spell?”

“Nope! Well, actually, you could say that. A powerful spell that acts as a curse upon women all around the world!”

Teruteru stuck a finger in his ear, clearly not following any of this. “And, uh, what exactly might that be now? I can put together a definition just from hearin’ it, but somethin’ tells me you’re gonna wanna elaborate.”

“You’d be right about that. To make it easy for you to understand, compulsory heterosexuality is basically the idea that in our society, women are compelled to show attraction towards men regardless of their actual feelings because that’s what expected of them. It’s a byproduct of heteronormativity,” Tenko explained.

“What’s that?” Mahiru asked.

Kaito puffed up his chest. “It’s the assumption that not only is being straight the default for everyone, but it’s what we all ought to be.”

“Aaw, would you look at that! Hanging around so many gay people for so long has got you picking up things we haven’t even talked about in club yet. How precious,” Kokichi said teasingly. Judging by the smile on his face, Kaito seemed to take it at face-value.

Sayaka, meanwhile, looked a little surprise to hear all this. “I had no idea there was a term for that… I assumed everyone was aware of it, but just never talked about it.”

“Oh, so it’s something all of you gals who like other gals have experienced, then?” Mahiru asked sincerely.

Kotoko looked appalled by the very idea. “That’s disgusting. No way.”

Sato merely shrugged. “There’s always been the pressure to be interested in guys. I only ever acted on it once, though.”

“You have? You’ve never told me about this,” Mahiru said.

“Because… I don’t want you thinking about me like that.”

“Like what?”

Sato was clearly hesitant to elaborate. Junko, of course, sensed her hesitation and pounced.

“Oh, come on. You can’t bring that up and then just brush it off.” She snapped her fingers repeatedly. “Chop-chop, it’s story time. We don’t have all day.”

Sato’s face burned red at Junko’s insistence. “I don’t have to—” She seemed to remember who exactly she was talking to, though, because only a few seconds later, she sighed in defeat. “Fine. There was a boy who liked me in my first year of middle school. I already suspected by that point that I wasn’t exactly straight, and I guess my parents did, too. I wanted them off my back, so when he asked me out, I decided it would be a good idea to date him for a while.”

Mahiru’s eyes were wide. She looked as if she could hardly believe her.

“He was nice. Easy to look at. It wasn’t long before I started to tell myself that if I just stuck it out long enough, I could learn to like guys and be normal. But… every time he went in for a kiss, I’d turn away and make up some excuse like I wasn’t ready yet or had bad beath. I hated holding his hand—it was always so rough. I’d gag a little whenever he’d call me his girlfriend. Eventually I figured there wasn’t a point in trying to force a change that wouldn’t come, so I told him I was gay and broke up with him.”

“Hold on, you came out to him right away?” Komaru asked.

“I never saw the point in staying in the closet. People would spread rumors anyway, so I might as well be open about it.”

Sakura raised a curious eyebrow. “What makes you think they would spread rumors? I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but there isn’t anything about you at a glance that indicates your sexuality.”

Hiyoko opted to answer in Sato’s stead. “You say that now, but you haven’t seen what she’s like when it’s just the three of us. She drools over Mahiru like a horned up dog in heat.”

“Hiyoko!” Mahiru yelped, cheeks red. “Jeez, not you, too. Just because Sato and I are close and she’s a lesbian doesn’t mean she feels that way about me.”

Sato pursed her lips and looked up at the ceiling; it didn’t take an expert on body language to see that she did, in fact, feel that way about Mahiru. Tenko couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy for her, the poor girl. Crushing on a straight girl had to have been painful, especially when the girl in question was your best friend.

“That’s kind of topical, isn’t it? If a girl doesn’t show interest in men and is close with a female friend of hers, a lot of people will suspect she has to be gay,” Shuichi said.

Tenko could name a dozen historical spinsters who were almost certainly romantically involved with their lady friends, but she knew she’d end up going off on a tangent if she brought that up. “Right you are, Saihara-san. It’s exactly that sort of expected conformity that form the basis of compulsory heterosexuality.”

Ibuki cupped her hands over her mouth and booed. “Boo, conformity! This all sounds super lame!”

“It is, but hey, we’re all rulebreakers here,” Kyoko said with a shrug. “In our society, people are compelled to follow the rules of social conventions, and heteronormativity is part of that. We can at least take solace in the fact that simply by accepting our own sexualities, we’re actively breaking free from those expectations.”

“Hm… but aren’t there still many who can’t say the same?” Keebo asked. “I’ve heard cases of people who insist on living a heterosexual life even if it doesn’t align with their actual interest.”

“Exactly, and that’s the worst part of it all,” Tenko began. “Let’s say you have a girl with a male friend. She’s never been interested in guys before, but she knows she likes spending time with him and automatically assumes those feelings must be romantic, when in reality she just appreciates his company for whatever reason. For her, the idea that there’s any other option isn’t even on the table. She feels she has to have a crush on him because that’s what she’s supposed to be. It’s a horrible, disgusting cage that makes figuring yourself out seem impossible!”

Kokichi shot her a smug look. “Ya know, I get the feeling you’re so passionate about this just ‘cause it slows the production of lesbians into the world.”

“Not true! I want all girls to be able to be their true selves, and comphet is an obstacle that so many of them face!”

“You might want to be careful there,” Sato said. “Comphet and compulsory heterosexuality aren’t exactly the same thing.”

Tenko’s eyebrows nearly shot up past her hairline. This was news to her.

“Um… what?”

“We’ve been talking about the social pressure to be straight, right? That’s compulsory heterosexuality—the theory part of this. Comphet is more of an urge or an impulse. At least, that’s how people use it in the lesbian spaces I hang out in,” Sato explained. “Apparently some lesbians will occasionally feel the desire to be with a guy… not that I can relate. I’m kind of a skeptic towards the whole thing.”

Toko grimaced. “Would that not just make them bi…?”

“A lot of people will tell you it does, a lot of people will tell you it doesn’t. Like I said, I’m a skeptic. For me, the thought of being with a man is genuinely repulsive, but I’m not so self-centered to think my experience is universal. The girls I talk to online say that sometimes they feel like their lives would be better if they were straight, and that manifests in the form of desire for a guy.”

Tenko blinked. You learn something new every day, apparently.

“So there are… out lesbians… who sometimes feel attracted to men?”

Sato nodded. Tenko suddenly felt a disturbance in the world around her. She was, of course, an open-minded advocate for queer people of all types—women especially—but she was having a hard time wrapping her head around this one. Thankfully, she didn’t have time to mull it over in her head much longer.

“Hmm. Hey, can’t this be applied to other demographics, too?” Hajime asked. “Maybe Tenko’s hypothetical girl is asexual, or maybe it’s a guy instead.”

“Oh! Hm. Well, I guess I don’t see a reason why it couldn’t… but it’s mostly a lesbian thing,” Tenko said. “Besides, it’s not like men and women have the same expectations when it comes to romance. I’m sure applying this concept to men would be very different. Probably.”

Mahiru scoffed. “Not everything has to be about you men, you know.”

“Gah, sorry. Just asking a question,” Hajime said, holding his hands up in defense.

Hiyoko promptly blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, a dumb one.”

“Come on, be nice,” Chiaki said. She opted to toss the metaphysical conversation ball Sato’s way, probably to nip whatever comeback Hiyoko had in the bud. “Do you think those feelings are more common in out lesbians or lesbians who haven’t realized it yet?”

“Easy, the ones who haven’t realized it yet. The out lesbians at least know who they are. The other ones are just figuring it out. They’ll go on and on about how nice girls look and set high standards for men and still think they’re completely straight.”

“Doesn’t every girl do that, though?” Mahiru said. “Ugh. Actually, maybe not the high standards part. But girls just look better from an aesthetic point of view—wanting to talk about that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

Sato cocked an eyebrow. “Right. That’s why you don’t really photograph men much.”

“Exactly. It’s a matter of aesthetics, that’s all.”

Mahiru didn’t clock the look of annoyance of Sato’s brow, but Tenko certainly did. So did Junko, who leaned forward with a mischievous little grin.

“Hey, Mahiru, let me ask you something. What’s your type?”

“My type? What exactly does this have to do with the topic?”

Junko waved her question off. “It’s relevant, trust me. Just answer the question.”

“Fine, fine.” Mahiru rolled her eyes with a huff. “Someone reliable. Someone responsible. Someone who doesn’t go back on their word and who I can count on. Someone—”

“Hon, I’m talking physically.”

Mahiru made up her face as if the mere thought was unsettling. Her reaction alone was enough to water the seed that was planted in Tenko’s mind the first time they met and had been steadily growing ever since.

“Um… I don’t know? I’ve never really put much thought into that kind of thing.”

“For real? The nineteen year old tradwife-in-training doesn’t know what kind of guy she likes? Come on, you’ve had to have pictured your own wedding before. Who’s the guy you’re with in all those fantasies?”

Even if Junko’s pestering was annoying, Mahiru didn’t just dismiss it like she usually would have. Instead she stared at the model intensely as she considered her question. Finally, she shook her head and looked away.

“I don’t have an answer. I’m not as shallow as you, so I don’t think about appearances often.”

“Weren’t you just talkin’ about how gals are more aesthetically pleasing or whatever?” Mondo asked. Mahiru didn’t have an answer for him, either.

“Mahiru, babe, we all have a type. I like my women soft,” she slung an arm around Mikan and pulled her close, “and my men fucked-up looking,” she gestured to Yasuke, who still did not look up from his magazine. “Mukuro likes twinks, Miki likes blondes, Mugi likes men that make it easy for her to pretend they’re her step-brother.”

“Hey!”

Tenko frowned. If there was ever a time for moderation, it was now. 

"Alright, girls, remember to—"

“Ugh! Could you stop trying to convince her she’s something she’s not?” Hiyoko spat. “If you think it’s funny, it’s not, and if you think you’re being helpful, all you’re really doing is getting on our nerves!”

Junko snickered. “Ooh, our nerves? What’s got you so riled up?”

“You’re always going on about your stupid gaydar or whatever and making fun of Mahiru just ‘cause she has high expectations for guys. Do you even know why she does?”

“Daddy issues, duh.”

“I do not have daddy issues, and I have perfectly reasonable expectations of men,” Mahiru asserted, seemingly cross with both Junko and Hiyoko. Hiyoko looked away, a slight look of hurt on her face, while Mahiru glared at Junko. “Yes, I prefer being around girls to being around guys. No, I don’t know what I like about a guy physically. Yes, I think women have a beauty that men lack. And you know what that makes me?”

For the first time since the meeting began, Yasuke’s eyes finally peaked over the top of his magazine, and he spoke two simple words.

“You’re gay.”

“I am not gay! I’m normal!” Mahiru gasped as her hands flew to her mouth. She only realized what the words coming out of her mouth were after she’d already said them. “No, wait, that isn’t what I meant! I mean—I’m not weird or unique or anything like that. Plenty of girls feel exactly like I do.”

“Nyeh. All those girls probably realize something about themselves eventually…”

Mahiru opened her mouth to retort, but found that no words would form. All she could do was press her lips in a tight line and stare down at her lap. No one said a word. Tenko half expected Miu or Kokichi to break the stifling silence with an unfunny joke before Mahiru raised her head to address Sato.

“You don’t think I’m… like you, do you?”

The question seemed to sting a little. Sato winced at Mahiru’s words.

“I thought you were when we first met. I suspected it even after you told me you weren’t. You know yourself better than anyone, Mahiru.”

Tenko could tell she was only trying to spare Mahiru’s feelings. The poor girl was heartbroken, completely at a loss as to how she was supposed to reconcile this. Instead of the blessed relief she should have been feeling at a time like this, she looked horrified.

Taka, ever the helping hand, decided he would be the one to break the silence this time. “Now now, Koizumi-senpai. I’m sure this must be distressing, and I’d like you to know that any one of us are here for you if you need someone to talk to.”

“She doesn’t need you,” Hiyoko growled, almost like a predator defending its territory. “Junko’s the one who started all this anyway.”

“Hey, all I did was crack the egg a bit. No harm done, right?”

Chihiro looked at her in disappointment. “You’re supposed to nurture eggs and let them hatch on their own. Trying to crack them yourself means you risk breaking them.”

Much to Tenko’s surprise, Junko’s expression actually showed a rare bit of self-reflection for a single fleeting moment. “… Huh. Pretty sure that metaphor is more for your type than hers, but if it works, it works. She’ll be fine. Probably.”

“Can you please not talk about me like I’m not even here?” Mahiru grumbled. She let out a long breath and shook her head before sitting up straight and putting her hands in her lap like a proper lady. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring the mood down. We can continue the meeting.”

Sato laid a gentle and comforting hand on her leg, a gesture that infuriated Hiyoko to no end. Her fury quickly faded into acceptance, however, and then, defeat.

“You’re sure you’re alright?” Sato asked.

Mahiru nodded. “Yeah. I’ve just got some thinking to do is all.”

She put on a bright smile in hopes of lightening the atmosphere, but it was only a small success. The rest of the meeting was sure to be an awkward one with this elephant now in the room, but Tenko had led plenty of those before. All she could do now was hope for the best.

Chapter Text

“Are you feeling alright?”

Those four words snapped Chihiro out of his daze and back into reality. He’d been so lost in thought that he’d somehow managed to forget the miracle of the scenario he was currently in—sitting right across from a beautiful girl on a cozy little cafe date. It was like something out of one of Toko’s novels, only this wasn’t fiction. Somehow, he’d actually managed to make it here.

“Um—” Words caught in his throat, only coming unlodged when he forced a cough. “Yeah, I’m fine. This croissant is just a little dry.”

Celeste gestured casually to the teacup before him and he remembered that washing the flaky pastry down was supposed to be part of the experience. Raising the rim of the cup to his lips, Chihiro took a small sip and let the sweet taste wash over his tongue and soothe his throat. This was, by far, the best tea he’d ever had, and it was no wonder when the Ultimate Tea Sommelier himself was the star employee of this establishment.

“It’s good, no?”

Chihiro nodded, still unable to meet her eyes. “Mhm. I don’t drink tea often, to be honest, but I definitely would if it all tasted like this.”

“Ah, but that would become mundane after a while,” Celeste reasoned. “It is only because we know mediocrity that we can truly appreciate greatness.”

“Oh… yeah, that makes sense,” Chihiro practically muttered. Truthfully, his neck was beginning to hurt from how long he’d been holding his head down, but he could handle the discomfort if it meant saving himself the embarrassment that came with looking Celeste in the eye right now.

Celeste cocked her head with a tight little frown upon her lips. After a few moments of silence, she casually reached across the table to place a finger beneath Chihiro’s chin and tilt his head up. His eyes caught hers only briefly before he averted them, cheeks burning bright red.

“Do I make you nervous, Chihiro?”

“Yes.” He caught his tongue between his teeth. “No. Sorry, I just—yes. I’ve, um, never been on a date before. This is all new to me.”

“Ah, new territory frightens you, I see.” Celeste giggled, almost delighted. “Don’t you worry now. You already know I like you. You are my boyfriend, after all.”

She must have noticed the way he recoiled at that ever so slightly. “Chihiro?”

“Right, I’m your uh, boyfriend, but… are you comfortable with this?”

“With what?”

“You know,” Chihiro vaguely gestured to the space around them, “this.”

The two of them certainly did not look like a boyfriend-girlfriend pair at a glance, not when Chihiro was all dressed up in a cute little dress Junko had bought for him. He’d only been with Celeste for a short time, but still was somewhat surprised they had never discussed this before.

“I mean, I know what your type is. The sort of tall, handsome vampire men you see in dating sims. I’m kind of the opposite of that.”

Celeste held a finger against her cheek and thought for a moment. “Hm. True, I have a particular interest in those types of men. But lest we not forget, I am fond of cute little bunnies as well.”

Chihiro felt as if she’d shot an arrow through his chest, heat creeping up his face to the tips of his ears. Celeste couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.

“Adorable,” she said. A moment later, he smile softened. She continued only after a quick glance around the cafe, speaking in a quieter tone than she had been. “Seriously though, Chihiro. I like you for you. You know that, right?”

The shift in tone was startling. Hearing Celeste speak without her faux-accent was still something Chihiro had to get used to.

“Um—yeah. I do. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Just don’t forget that I asked you out for a reason is all,” Celeste said, leaning back in her chair. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Chihiro chewed his lip as he considered her question. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass himself this early in their relationship and come off as some emotionally unstable high maintenance partner. On the other hand, this was bound to come up time and time again unless they nipped it in the bud, wasn’t it?

“I guess I just feel inadequate,” he mumbled. “I thought about this sometimes before we started dating. If I ended up with someone who wanted a girlfriend, I wouldn’t really be able to give that to them. The same goes for if I ended up with someone who wanted a boyfriend. I’m in this weird middle-ground that I don’t know if anyone would be interested in.”

Celeste raised an eyebrow, arms crossed over her chest. “And what about someone who wanted you?”

“Huh?”

“You’re getting too caught up on labels. It isn’t like I was looking for a boyfriend and you just happened to catch my eye. I asked you out because I like you—boy, girl, whatever.”

“Then why do you always call me your boyfriend instead of your girlfriend or partner?”

Celeste shrugged. “I just like the way it sounds. Do you not?”

“No, I do, but… I guess I feel like I just can’t live up to the image of what a boyfriend is supposed to be,” Chihiro said. “Does that make sense?”

“What does it matter?” Celeste asked. It came out sharper than she intended, and she must have realized it, because she winced not a moment later. “Sorry. Look, I’m not good at giving advice. I don’t know if I can really do the whole emotional comfort thing. My point is that you shouldn’t worry so much about not living up to expectations. All I want is for you to be yourself, and who cares what anyone else wants?”

Everything Celeste was saying made sense on paper, but was miniscule when held up against years of social conditioning. He knew now that he didn’t have to be a masculine man with masculine hobbies like Mondo or Taka, but couldn’t shake the feeling of what a boyfriend oughtto be. Makoto and Mukuro, Kaito and Maki—that was what typical relationships between men and women looked like, right? Even if Chihiro was not exactly a man, wasn’t that sort of relationship what Celeste truly wanted?

Before he even knew what was happening, Celeste’s face was suddenly mere inches away from his, her hands pressed against his cheeks to squish them.

“Are you listening?”

He nodded. Her hands were cold.

“Good. I like you.”

It was the third time she’d said it in the past five minutes, but for some inexplicable reason, this one struck at Chihiro’s core.

“Don’t try and change yourself to be what you think you should be. That’ll just piss me off,” she said with a scoff. “If there’s ever anything I want you to change, I’ll tell you. I expect you to do the same.”

“I don’t think there’s anything I’d want to change about you,” Chihiro said with a bashful smile.

Celeste’s cheeks dusted pink even as she averted her eyes and cleared her throat. “Aha… same here.”

As if a switch had been flipped, she suddenly sat up straight, shoulders back and hands folded over her lap with a serene smile on her lips. She was back to the Ultimate Gambler everyone knew just like that.

“Conflict successfully avoided. Do you see? All that is needed is a little conversation, and all is well.”

Chihiro let out a slight chuckle and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “I guess it’s just that easy, huh?”

“It will not always be,” Celeste said. “I am certain of that. Nevertheless, we will overcome any obstacle that gets in the way of our relationship. I have never been one to back down from a challenge.”

Chihiro, on the other hand, had most definitely backed down from a number of challenges throughout his life. Confidence had always been an issue for him despite his talent, and as a result, he often felt he simply wasn’t capable of handling certain problems he was faced with.

This was different, though. This was a relationship, not with family or friends, but a romantic partner. Someone he wanted to build something with. He couldn’t just give up at every little speedbump, not without hurting Celeste. That was the last thing he wanted. Messing up his first relationship over something minor was something he’d never be able to forgive himself for.

“Right. Then… I’ll do my best, too,” he said. “I feel like I can put my best foot forward if it’s for you.”

Celeste raised her teacup to her lips and ungracefully threw her head back in a poor attempt to hide the growing red on her pale cheeks. Chihiro couldn’t help but laugh. For as graceful and elegant as she carried herself, Celeste was kind of a dork, wasn’t she? Heaven knew how she managed to maintain her pokerface during games if this was how she was when it came to romance.

But that was just another cute thing about her.