XVII.

. . .

Hibiki, Marcy, and I did pretty good at strengthening our bonds, as our teacher would call it. Marcy and I would crack jokes with each other and all in all, we did get along fairly well. Nothing on the level of Diana and I’s friendship, but it was still progress.

I decided to let go against what Hibiki had called me earlier, hell, I’m sure he probably forgot about what had happened with the amount of fun the three of us were having.

“Can I come tonight?” Marcy asked me as I glanced over at her. “To your party?”

I nodded. No ounce of hesitation in my movements. I had agreed, full heartedly. I didn’t even think about what I was agreeing to exactly, but I liked her. She was nice, nice to me.

“Awesome!” She responded as Hibiki chuckled. I glanced over at him as he smiled at me as well. He was definitely comfortable at how much of an impression I was making on everybody.

I was comfortable too. Almost too comfortable. As if I were forgetting something. Oh wait, that’s what I’m forgetting…

“Just… don’t drink the alcohol in the cabinet, please,” I added. Yeah that’s what I was forgetting.

“That’s fine, I can get some myself. Rich knows a guy who knows a guy,” Hibiki responded as I looked over at the entrance of the gymnasium.

I was fully expecting to see Diana, but I didn’t. It was my sister, I completely forgot that she shared this class with me. I glanced back at Hibiki and Marcy, “...should I go talk to her about what happened? I mean, hell, she’s seen Diana a bunch of times, it’d be weird not to let her know…”

Right, that’s also what I was forgetting. Diana. I couldn’t just try and put on a facade that I didn’t support her. Hibiki knows I’m trans and… well he seems to be an ally.

“If you want. It’s not like you can’t tell her later though,” Hibiki responded as I was already making my way over to Akane. Her expression changed to one of confusion as she stood with her friends.

“What do you need?” She asked, very bluntly may I add. She looked annoyed, almost as if she didn’t want to be seen with me.

“Diana got outed,” I told her. Immediately, the expression placed on

her face shifted to one of shock, disgust, and most importantly, anger.

Before she could speak once again, she gulped, “What?”

Trying not to cry, as her expression was getting to me, I repeated myself, “Diana got outed. Everyone knows.”

“Is that why she ran out of the gym?” Akane asked me, but Marcy didn’t tell me that. Hibiki looked scared for that exact reason, he did not want me to know that information.

God dammit, I’m such a fucking bitch, why haven’t I been here for her?

“King? Are you okay? You look like you’re going to cry.”

“...I haven’t been able to comfort her. I’ve talked to her once since I’ve been to the office for telling the substitute teacher to fuck off.”

The emotion on her face quickly vanished before reappearing, contorting into one of disgust, but I could tell there was something more beyond that.

The way her lips were barely parted, the way her eyes had a glistening tone in them, her eyebrows furrowed yet very carefully crafted to give her an appearance that aligned more with sympathy and sadness.

I couldn’t maintain eye contact with her for much longer after seeing that, after putting myself in Diana’s shoes, trying to envision how I would feel if I had been outed against my will. But I couldn’t possibly be thinking about how I would feel, because I wouldn’t feel anything at all.

I never feel anything.

“When you see her, don’t leave her side,” Akane blurted out, very confidently.

“I promise I won’t.”

“You don’t need to promise me anything, King Okamura.”

. . .

His gaze was lingering on me, judging me. His mouth quietly speaking, my fate resting on his tongue.

“...do you truly know what it is you need to contain?” His voice let out, directly into my ear.

Shaking, I barely mustered the courage to respond. “Yes.”

“Good,” he replied. Before attempting to question me again, he moved his position, not letting a foot touch the ground. I could feel his lips parting as his glaring got deeper. He spoke, “Do you know what it is you need to take care of?”

“Diana Bianchi,” I glared into the mirror standing in front of me, staring at myself, deep into my eyes, questioning myself.

Who am I becoming?

“Good job, King,” the fox swiftly responded before vanishing into the air with his flames as two men walked into the bathroom. I didn’t even care to glance at them.

Dirty and disgusting; the words that I heard escape their mouths. They had to be talking about her. About Diana. I wish I had good confrontation skills, but if I can’t even criticize myself, I can’t be making judgement about others.

I inhaled before exhaling, then my lips went on autopilot and I spoke without even realizing it, “You’re the only dirty and disgusting ones here.”

The two men’s faces turned into confusion, but also slightly shock and distaste. I didn’t care if they wanted to beat me up, if they wanted to harm me, if they wanted to talk shit about me.

Depending on their actions, they wouldn’t like the consequences. I know that they wouldn’t.

I walked out of the bathroom unscathed, who truly knows if they were talking about Diana Bianchi.

. . .

After gym, which I refused to change for, even if it was optional depending on what you were currently wearing, I had art class with Kazuki and Akira now. I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to work on my art piece, considering there still was a substitute.

And thank god it wasn’t Miss. Chiba, I would’ve thrown a fit. Not in the elegant or professional way I usually act either.

Do I tell Kazuki and Akira? I wasn’t entirely certain if they would enjoy the news. Would they ask me a bunch of questions about the scenario? Would they be wondering about what exactly the problem was? What exactly happened? How I acted?

We all sat there in silence after giving each other small, proper waves, gestures signaling we were aware of each other's presences. The silence was aching, begging me to speak.

Beckoning me to be honest with myself, to be honest with Akira and Kazuki, to be honest about Diana.

“...Diana was outed,” I let out.

I didn’t like the expressions that came after. I didn’t like anything that came after. I didn’t like everything that came after.

Obviously Akira and Kazuki wouldn’t be transphobic. They weren’t. They already knew Diana was transgender. They know I’m transgender. But, it was their expressions that had me second guessing myself for a moment.

“How?” Akira questioned.

“Miss Chiba saw her deadname is parenthesis.”

Akira inhaled as Kazuki took her position, he spoke, “Why would they leave that in there?”

“Since she hasn’t legally changed her name, they legally have to,” I cleared my throat, the noise coming out loudly, I added, “I don’t have a name in parenthesis in the system because King is my legal name.”

“Did you change it?” Akira pondered.

“No, I was born King Okamura, and I will die King Okamura.”

Akira and Kazuki looked confused, but they didn’t question it, this was about Diana.

“Did she… leave?” Akira inquired.

“No,” I responded. “Well, actually, I don’t know. I don’t think so, but Akane said she saw Diana running out of the gym, before I had gotten there. Marcy and Hibiki refused to inform me about that.”

“And why the fuck are you on friendly terms with Hibiki fucking Kaiyo and Marcy?” Kazuki, very ticked off, butted in.

“Hibiki isn’t transphobic. I told him I’m trans. And he didn’t seem to care. He did call me a faggot, but since I want to be popular, …I left it where it was.”

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“You don’t know anything about Hibiki,” Kazuki responded, his eyebrows furrowing more. His gaze turned dark. It reminded me of Pyro in the bathroom.

I knew there was something staring at me behind me, which is why I turned around and I saw Xoka. She was lingering, listening into the conversation. I really didn’t mind, she tends to join the conversation without conversing. No one knows she’s here aside from me, and maybe Goryo if he was here with us.

“...Hibiki acts nice to me…?” I added, my tone growing in curiosity. What did Hibiki Kaiyo do to Kazuki Kano?

“He does not give two shits about you. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t caught onto it yet.”

“What do you mean, Kazuki?”

“Hibiki has his secrets. All of them do.”

All of them? Secrets? What was he talking about? I, very much, was completely and utterly clueless about whatever it was that he was babbling about now. He was probably high.

“...how do you know that?” I asked.

Akira glanced at me before whispering under her breath, “King. Kazuki used to be on the soccer team, he was extremely popular.”

I was silent. Kazuki’s glare began to dissipate. He sighed, “They don’t like that I’m queer.”

“...you’re queer?” I questioned, he glanced down before going very slightly flustered.

He nodded, but he didn’t expand on that topic. Maybe he’s hiding a secret himself…

Or maybe Akane is hiding a secret. And maybe she’s hiding it from me.

“It’s okay, I mean, if I didn’t support that, that’d be weird,” I chuckled lightly. I wanted him to tell me what exactly he was.

That’s when Akira’s face changed into guilt. Something tells me that she clearly knew she said something she shouldn’t’ve.

. . .

It hadn't even occurred to me that I had lunch during art today, considering I was too busy worrying about other more important things. I wasn’t entirely certain who I was going to be sitting next to, who I was going to be sitting with.

On my way to lunch, which I was walking to with Akira and Kazuki, someone tapped me on the shoulder, their graze feeling slightly feminine. I turned around and I was greeted by Hibiki.

“Hm?” I inquired as he chuckled, extending a hand.

“Come,” he responded as I grabbed his hand, he dragged me with him as I left Akira and Kazuki behind.

The only people I was sitting with were Diana, who I hadn’t seen for about two to three hours by this point, Celeste, and Keslyr. Along with Hibiki, but you already knew that information.

“Diana!” I let out as I saw her glance at me, giving me a small smile as she chuckled. She felt like the Diana I knew.

“Hi, King,” she replied. Her tone wasn’t exactly cheery, but I wasn’t getting the whole depressed vibe from her anymore, which made me feel great. I didn’t want Diana to be in pain, not in the slightest.

I took a seat next to her as I waved softly at Keslyr and Celeste. “Hey,” I let out, both of them responding with a greeting of their own.

“We were just talking to Diana about how we support her,” Celeste added into the conversation, giving me a vital piece of information I certainly needed.

“That would include me, of course,” Hibiki added. I, of course, already knew that, but I wasn’t entirely certain Keslyr, Celeste, or Diana knew themselves.

Celeste would seem like she would, though rather she should know, but Keslyr didn’t exactly scream ally vibes to me, but it was nice to know that she was on our side.

I decided to confess, “Well, I mean, Diana and Hibiki know already but… I’m trans myself, so I can understand where Diana’s coming from. I get her whole experience.” It was a blatant lie, I don’t get her experience at all. I’ve never felt dysphoria, I’ve always been this way. I have always been King Okamura, the male.

“That’s good to know!’ Keslyr chuckled, Celeste already knew too. But I didn’t want anyone else to know about that just yet.

“Cool,” Celeste replied, nonchalantly. I knew she would, she’s always been keen on holding a secret, she holds a lot of those.

I glanced at Diana, “I’m sorry. I needed to be there for you, but I wasn’t.”

She sighed, “Trust me, King. I understand. Popularity is more important right now than my emotions. I can talk to people, but I can’t always talk to you.”

Conversations weren’t really my strongest aspect, they were, in fact, my one fatal flaw. “I guess you’re right,” I responded with the only thing I could get out by this point.

Keslyr was looking at Diana and I, she seemed to have a sympathetic look on her face. I had made an assumption that maybe she understood. However, I shouldn’t assume anything about her. I don’t know her on an emotional level. She could be lying to get closer to Diana and use information against her.

She is dating Rich after all.

“You can always talk to me, Diana,” Keslyr contributed. I glanced at her and smiled lightly, so did Diana. Diana nodded in agreement, but she didn’t utter a single word. Celeste looked at Keslyr before turning her gaze to Diana once more.

I honestly forgot Hibiki had been here as he wasn’t letting anything out from his thoughts, but he was certainly stuck pondering. I could tell from the way he was sitting, the way he was looking down, the way he wasn’t looking at any of us, that he was definitely wondering about something. He felt secluded, maybe even isolated. It reminded me of Diana, his display almost like a mockery of her in a way.

But, with what I know currently, would Hibiki Kaiyo really go out of his way to mock Diana Bianchi in front of three people that we’ve already established would not mind Hibiki’s stance on the situation?

“So, King, have we already rallied enough people to invite to your place tonight?” Keslyr butted in, Celeste’s expression going blank for a second before changing to one of confusion.

“You’re throwing a party…?” Celeste asked, her tone genuine, layered with a tint of concern and worry.

I cleared my throat before responding, I didn’t want my voice to be masked in guilt, I needed it to come out confidently, seemingly perfect. I glanced at Celeste first before opening my mouth, letting the words flow out, “Yes, it’s been planned since yesterday.”

“Yesterday!? You’ve had one day to plan a party!? And then Diana gets outed and you don’t stop throwing it!? Seriously!?” Celeste let out, her voice louder than her usual petite and proper etiquette.

“Celeste, I… I told King it’s fine,” Diana lied. To be fair, she technically wasn’t lying, she did tell me. She just told me right now.

“I wouldn’t want Diana to be uncomfortable and… she’s gonna come! And… you can come too… you can be there for her with me!” I responded, sounding genuine, but some of the guilt came out with it.

“I can hear it in your voice, you… feel guilty, don’t you?” Celeste butted back in, her rebuttal certainly was a fair one, I’ll give her that.

“Enough!” Keslyr commanded, her voice very much reminded me of a leader, a commander, what Diana used to be. “King wants to throw the party and Diana has already put her two cents in, Celeste. Your opinion on whether or not it is morally right does not matter right now, this party is happening.”

“And why are you so insistent on this whole thing, Keslyr?” Celeste argued back.

“Guys, seriously…” Hibiki, finally speaking, mumbled. I don’t know how I heard him; no one else did.

“Because I want King to become popular! You heard Hibiki tell everyone about him!”

“My boyfriend’s opinion on King shouldn’t determine whether or not this party is ‘morally correct’ as you put it, Keslyr!”

Then someone slapped Celeste in the face after she stopped yelling at Keslyr. We all found ourselves directing our gazes to the direction, if we weren’t currently looking there to begin with.

The smack was loud, it reverberated throughout the cafeteria. Everyone was looking at our table, it went completely silent. Nobody in the cafeteria even dared to let out a word to anybody. We were all focused.

Rich had smacked her, I had no idea he had this lunch. But I’m sure that Keslyr did, along with Hibiki and Celeste. The only question on my mind was one I didn’t truly know how to answer. Why wasn’t he sitting with us? “And why are you sitting with him?” He glanced at Diana for a moment before directing his gaze to Keslyr.

“Hm?” She inquired, I knew something like this was on the rise but I didn’t realize it was now. “Who, King?”

“No, you know who I’m talking about,” he muttered back, looking at Diana with disgust plastered on his face before smirking lightly. “King, you support this thing?” He pointed at Diana with a fragile finger, his masculinity peeking with freight.

I glared at him with a deep shadow cloaked over my face, “Excuse me?” I managed to let out. “Not to brag or anything, but I believe that every person deserves respect. And if you can’t give Diana that much, you should probably go reflect on yourself.” Even if I wasn’t that great at conversations, I did make a good critical thinker.

His face went a little blank for a moment before he chuckled. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. You were trying to comfort him while he was mentally breaking down because his real name got revealed.”

I stared at him, “No. Her real name is Diana. Not Enzo. Just because she was born that way doesn’t make it true.” I went silent for a split second before continuing my rebuttal. “You’re just someone that’s so sensitive with his masculinity that you find her attractive.”

He blushed a little bit, certainly out of humiliation, before responding with a deep tone, “Unlike you, I actually know how to make myself appear masculine. What are you anyway? Some sort of sissy?”

I snickered lightly before smiling, “Bold of you to call me that. Aren’t you the guy that gets too sensitive when his cock is rubbing up against his girlfriend's pussy lips?”

I saw Hibiki struggling at that point to maintain his composure. Rich and Keslyr both were visibly blushing now, together, in unison.

“King, what are you-” Keslyr weakly added, but she stopped dead in the middle of her sentence when Rich looked like he was now wanting a fist fight in the middle of the cafeteria.

“I wouldn’t. If you don’t wanna embarrass yourself more than I’ve already humiliated you, that is,” I chuckled before snapping my fingers.

. . .

I was in the bathroom taking a big piss, I didn’t feel like I needed to shit, but I still tried just to be safe. Nobody was in here, nor did anybody come in here.

I left the stall and went to wash my hands, Xoka and Pyro both appeared behind him and tried talking to me.

“Really? You’re really going to do that in school? Why not do it for Diana!?” Xoka inquired, her tone genuine, her voice loud.

I sighed, “Pyro. Can you answer that question?”

“I can only do it if it involves King. Diana being outed does not involve King,” he responded, answering Xoka’s question. He was decently concerned however.

“Okay, that’s fair, I guess,” Xoka managed to respond. She looked porcelain, she certainly seemed doll-like. I wouldn’t put it past myself to truly believe a facade like that.

She and Pyro both stood there in silence for a moment before I finally spoke up, “Do you guys think I should throw a party?” I really wanted more input, input from people I could trust. I needed it, I didn’t really want input from Keslyr, but I didn’t know if I should still throw this party or not.

“I believe so, yes,” Pyro responded. I liked his feedback more than I had ever trusted Xoka’s, she’s younger than him, I know that.

Xoka glanced at me through the mirror, with a sympathetic look on her face. “I think you should do what you think is right,” she responded. She reminded me of Keslyr in a weird, peculiar way.

“I will have it then,” I responded. “Besides, Diana’s a year 11 just like me. She can live for a year and a month.”

Xoka nodded before vanishing, along with Pyro, who had seemed enlightened by my decision. “The party will happen, and whether Celeste likes it or not, I will be inviting everyone Hibiki wants.”