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Polaris was happy. She had come out as a trans woman a few weeks ago and she felt absolutely euphoric every time Makoto and Chihiro called her by her preferred name and pronouns. The rest of the class, however, has yet to know. She wants to put an end to it.
“Makoto,” she spoke up. She was currently laying her head on his lap, his fingers in her hair as they watched a movie on his laptop. It was a little awkward with her long frame but not uncomfortable.
“Hm?”
“I want to come out to the rest of the class.”
“Really?” Makoto gasped.
“Yes. I believe I’ve kept this a secret long enough.”
“Aw, Polaris,” Makoto wrapped his arms around her as she sat up. “I’m so proud of you!”
“Thank you,” Polaris hugged back as best as she could, which resulted in her just wrapping her arms around Makoto’s. “I would like you and Fujisaki to do it with me in case I lose confidence.”
“You? Lose confidence? Impossible.”
“Shut up. Let’s go.”
After collecting Chihiro, the three of them made their way to the dining hall as Chihiro suggested they tell Hina and Sakura first.
“Are you sure? I don’t think Asahina is super fond of me,” Polaris questioned.
“Yeah. Even if you’re not her favorite person she’ll be super cool about it and respect your pronouns,” Chihiro explained.
Makoto slipped his hand into Polaris’s. He looked up at her with an expression that read ‘you got this’.
Sure enough, when they got to the dining hall, Hina and Sakura were sitting at a table together sharing a box of donuts. Hina’s eyes lit up when she saw her friends.
“Hi, you guys! Come on, come sit with us!”
“Hina, we’re the only ones in here. They can sit wherever they want,” Sakura reminded her.
“Thanks, Hina,” Makoto took a seat across from the couple, Polaris sitting next to him, and Chihiro sitting next to her.
“So what’s been going on with y’all? Want a donut?” Hina asked, nudging the donut box towards them and handing them a couple of napkins. The boys thanked her and both of them took chocolate donuts with sprinkles. Polaris mumbled a thanks and took a plain glazed.
After that Makoto started rambling about whatever new anime series he started watching and Chihiro chirped on about the AI system he was developing. Polaris silently ripped apart her donut and nibbled on it, trying to hold off talking as long as possible.
“What about you, Byakuya?” Sakura asked. “I don’t think we’ve spoken with you for a few weeks.”
“Yes, well, I wouldn’t say anything exciting happened,” Polaris pinched the donut to keep from wincing at the name. “I’ve been reading a manga series about a serial killer that Makoto recommended to me, I’ve been learning some conversational French from Celest, I am a girl, Kuwata broke my glasses so I had to get new ones-.”
“Wait wait wait, you’re a what?!” Hina shouted. She hadn’t meant to, she was just caught off guard.
“I’m a girl. I am a transgender woman.”
Makoto put his hand on Polaris’s thigh as a gentle reminder that he’s proud of her.
“Ah, so you’re a girl now?”
“No. I was always a girl. It just took me some time to realize it,” Polaris didn’t mean to be snippy, Hina was just asking a question. Polaris just felt like she needed a protective barrier for some reason.
“What is your name and pronouns?” Sakura asked.
“Polaris. She/her.”
“That’s a lovely name,” Sakura smiled. “I apologize for calling you by the wrong name before.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Hina chimed in.
“It’s quite alright. You had no idea.”
“You can stay and chat with us if you guys want,” Hina offered.
“Thanks for the offer, Hina, but we’re actually very busy today,” Makoto explained apologetically.
“Another time then.”
“See ya later!”
As the three of them left the dining hall, Polaris breathed a sigh of relief.
“That… wasn’t as horrible as I thought it was going to be.”
“You’re doing so well, Polaris,” Chihiro smiled up at her.
“Yeah but we’re not done yet,” Makoto reminded them. “Who’s next?”
They were on their way outside to tell Taka and Mondo but someone bumped into them in the hallway. More accurately someone bumped into Polaris.
“Byakuya, dude, I just had a vision of you!” Hiro exclaimed while gripping Polaris’s upper arms.
“Don’t touch me,” she spat.
“Right, right, sorry,” Hiro let go of Polaris.
“What was your vision, Hiro?” Makoto asked.
“Y’know, now that I think about it, it might not have been you.”
“Spit it out, Hagakure. You already decided to stop me.”
“Okay, well, there was this lady who looked a lot like you right? Blonde hair, super tall, same eyes, but she was a little older. It looked like she was at a press conference of sorts. She said something about a family corporation but the exact words she said are fuzzy.”
Polaris froze. Though Hiro couldn’t specify what was said about the “family corporation” she couldn’t help but assume the worst. However, she did have a couple of older sisters who look similar to her.
“Did she mention a name?”
“I think she said her name was Togami Polaris? I could be wrong though.”
Dammit.
“Hagakure, I can’t tell you how much of that vision is true but I can confirm one thing,” Polaris huffed and crossed her arms. “I am, in fact, the lady in your vision. I’m a trans woman.”
“A trans woman? Sweet,” Hiro gave a thumbs up. “Is your name Polaris?”
“Yes.”
“Nice,” Hiro scratched the back of his neck. “Listen, sorry for saying the wrong name before.”
“It’s alright. Just don’t make that mistake again.”
“Right. Well, see ya later, Polaris, Makoto, Chihiro,” Hiro waved to each of them individually before walking away.
“That one was easier.”
“Yep, now come on. We still have to talk to ten more students.”
The group finally made it outside to find Taka and Mondo under a tree by the running track. Taka lit up when he saw them.
“Hello, friends! Have you come to hang out with us?”
“Not exactly,” Chihiro chuckled as he sat on the ground. Makoto followed.
“I’d rather not sit on the ground. This is an expensive suit,” Polaris explained.
“Ah, so the Super High School Level Prick will drop his standards low enough to be in our presence but not sit on some grass?” Mondo taunted.
“Mondo, be nice,” Chihiro scolded, placing his hand on Mondo’s. “Togami came out here to say something important.”
“Oh? What is it you want to share with us?” Taka asked.
“I want to say that I’m a trans woman and I would appreciate if you refer to me only with my preferred name and pronouns. My name is Polaris and I use she/her pronouns.”
“Polaris! That’s a wonderful name! A name truly befitting of high-class royalty such as yourself!”
“Thank you?” Polaris assumed it was a compliment.
“You actually a girl?” Mondo questioned.
“Yes.”
Mondo seemed to ponder it for a moment. “Alright. Just let me know if anyone bothers you about it. I’ll take care of them.”
“I appreciate it, Oowada. Our time here is done. We will take our leave now. I will return your boyfriend when we’re done.”
“Alright, chick. Bye, Chihiro.”
“Have a good rest of your day!”
“Bye guys, see you later,” Chihiro blew kisses to the two boys.
“Alright, five down, eight to go.”
They wandered the school until they got to the library where they found Kyoko and Celest sitting on the floor in between the aisles. Celest appeared to be reading a book about lolita fashion and Kyoko was reading a murder mystery novel.
“Hey, Kyoko, Celest,” Makoto greeted. The two girls looked up at him.
“Hello, Makoto,” Kyoko nodded her head. “I see you brought some friends.”
“Yeah, I hope we aren’t intruding,” Makoto said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” Celest confirmed. “Are we in the way?”
“No, not at all,” Chihiro waved his hands in front of his chest. “We’re here because Togami wanted to say something.”
“That she’s a trans woman?” Kyoko guessed.
Polaris gaped at the detective. She shouldn’t have been so surprised but it still caught her off guard.
“How did you-?”
“Just a hunch really. Am I right?”
“Yes,” Polaris nodded. “My name is Polaris and I use she/her pronouns.”
“That’s great, I’m happy for you,” Kyoko gave Polaris a small smile.
“Polaris, come here,” Celest stood up and took Polaris to the desk. The taller girl sat down. “Can I touch you? Just your hair.”
“Go ahead.”
Celest got to work. Polaris couldn’t quite see what Celest was doing, all she could tell was something was being done to her hair. Polaris saw that Makoto was blushing and Chihiro was smiling brightly. When Celest was finished, she stepped back and gave Polaris a small pocket mirror, where she saw what had been done.
Polaris had a small white bow in her hair. Celest had taken one of her own bows and tied it into Polaris’s hair. It was so small and seemingly unimportant but to Polaris it was such a great thing. It already made her look that much more feminine. She was so incredibly happy over such a small thing that she found it stupid but she didn’t care.
Don’t cry. It’s just a bow.
“It’s so cute!” Makoto broke the silence.
“Yes, thank you,” Polaris wanted to touch the ribbon but chose to stroke the hair underneath it instead.
“You can keep it if you want, I have many more,” Celest took her mirror back.
“I appreciate it, Celest. Kirigiri, I would prefer if you didn’t psycho analyze me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kyoko didn’t look up from her book.
“Polaris, I’ll see you tomorrow for your French lesson, oui?”
“Oui.”
“Alright. We should get going. Bye guys!” Makoto said.
“Au revoir,” Celest waved goodbye. Kyoko waved goodbye without looking up from her book.
Polaris put her hands on her face to hide her blush when they entered the hallway. She was so happy.
“You’re so pretty, Polaris,” Makoto smiled.
“Shut up. How many more?”
“Six.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
They went to the music room next. They figured there would be someone there, and they were correct. Sayaka, Leon, Mukuro, and Junko were all there. Polaris was not looking forward to this.
Junko looked up at the three and snickered when she saw Polaris. “Nice bow, fag.”
Polaris grimaced. Junko teased her relentlessly for a few days after Polaris originally came out as a gay man. She couldn’t even imagine what Junko will put her through this time.
No one said anything to Junko, which was understandable. Mukuro was also bullied by her sister, so she wouldn’t go against her. Sayaka knew if she said anything that Junko would attack Mukuro instead. And Leon didn’t think too highly of the LGBTQ+ community, choosing to actively avoid any of the queer men in his class (everyone except him and Hifumi).
“That’s a very cute bow, B- Togami,” Sayaka said cheerfully. Mukuro nodded in agreement next to her. Leon rolled his eyes and shook his head. Junko mocked Sayaka.
“Thank you, Maizono,” Polaris took note of how Sayaka avoided saying her dead name.
She knows.
Polaris just stood there tight-lipped. She knew there were three sets of eyes on her (Leon was looking away) but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. The other classmates had been easy so far but she knew at least two people in this room wouldn’t accept her. Not knowing exactly how they’ll react scared her even more.
“Are you gonna say something? If you’re just gonna stand there looking dumb I’m gonna leave,” Leon spat, still not looking at the three.
“I am,” Polaris gathered her nerves. Makoto squeezed her hand. “I’m here to say that I’m a trans woman. My name is Polaris and I use she/her pronouns.”
Leon huffed a laugh of disbelief. Junko guffawed.
“Oh my God, are you being serious, Togami?” Junko laughed while she held her stomach as if it were the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “You? A woman? I didn’t take you as one who jokes!”
“I’m not joking,” Polaris was getting upset. Why would this be something she jokes about?
Leon got off the stage and headed towards the exit, making sure to bump into Polaris on purpose. Polaris heard him mumble something about “goddamn traps”. The three just stared at the door in disbelief.
“Whatever you say, tranny,” Junko boomed. “I’m gonna bounce. See ya later, queers!” She walked out the door as well, silence falling over the room.
Sayaka got off the stage and approached Polaris, Mukuro following closely behind.
“Sorry about my sister,” Mukuro said. “She really doesn’t like gay people ever since she tried to date a girl only to cheat on her with a guy who ended up being gay. Nothing against you.”
Polaris nodded in response.
“Sorry about Leon, too,” Sayaka added. “I wish I had some explanation as to why he is the way he is but I really don’t know.”
“You don’t have to apologize for them,” Polaris responded bitterly.
“We’re really thankful you came out to us,” Mukuro said quietly.
“Yeah! We would never want to make you uncomfortable by calling you the wrong name or pronouns!”
“I appreciate it, both of you.”
“It’s no problem!” Sayaka smiled brightly.
“We need to get going,” Chihiro reminded them.
“Alright.”
“Polaris, you can always come to me if you need anything okay?”
Polaris nodded. The three of them left the music room. Polaris groaned.
“That was terrible.”
“I know,” Makoto rubbed up and down her arm. “But, we’re almost done.”
“Yeah, just two more.”
“Those are the two I’m least looking forward to. Let’s just get it over with I guess.”
They had found Hifumi in the hallway. He decided to stop and ramble on to Makoto about the new doujin he’s working on, completely ignoring the other two. Makoto looked very uncomfortable.
“Listen, Hifumi, we can talk about that some other time,” Makoto cut Hifumi off when the details started to get more explicit. “Right now, Togami wants to say something.”
Hifumi looked at Polaris with a spark in his eye. “My my, Mr. Togami, that ribbon in your hair, it belongs to Miss Ludenburg, yes?”
Polaris stiffened. “Yes.”
Hifumi chuckled. “Well, it looks like even the gayest of men can fall susceptible to the beauty of a goth queen.”
“What? No, she gave this to me.”
“Hm? Why would Miss Ludenburg do that?”
Polaris was getting frustrated. “Because I’m a girl and she wanted to make me feel pretty!”
“Oh?”
Polaris looked away from Hifumi. “I’m a transgender woman. My name is Polaris.”
“Ah, what an interesting development,” Hifumi chuckled to himself. “‘The prettiest girl in class falls for an ordinary boy, but she has a secret. She’s actually a boy!’ Such a riveting story! Females will love it!”
“Absolutely not,” Polaris reset her sharp gaze on Hifumi. “Not only is that grossly incorrect it’s very fetishized and I don’t give you permission to use me as inspiration for one of your weird sex comics.”
“My my, Miss Togami, feeling defensive are we? You should take it as a compliment. What man doesn’t love a surprise?”
“That is the worst excuse of a compliment I’ve ever heard. We’re done here,” Polaris dragged Makoto behind her and she turned on her heel and went down the hallway. Chihiro followed behind.
“He makes me irrationally angry. Who’s left?”
“I can’t do this.”
The three of them stood in front of Toko’s door. They all knew the writer wasn’t going to take the news well. She backed off for about a week when news got out that Polaris was dating Makoto and had no interest in women but came back stronger with even more inappropriate comments despite Polaris telling her to stop. No one knew how Toko would react this time.
“I know you don’t want to but it wouldn’t be fair to her if we told everyone else but her,” Chihiro, ever the friendly one.
“I hate to agree, but Chihiro’s right,” Makoto responded. “Besides, maybe she’ll back off once you tell her you’re a woman?” Makoto didn’t sound sure of himself. Toko isn’t mentally stable. She might do something crazy.
Polaris sighed and knocked on Toko’s door. She stepped back when Toko opened the door a small crack. Her eyes widened when she saw who knocked on her door.
“M-Master! You n-never come to m-me,” Toko shifted her gaze and saw Makoto, her face shifting into a glare. “Oh, you b-brought him.” Toko tried to shut her door but Polaris stuck her foot in between the door and the frame. She was happy to be wearing shoes in that moment.
“Fukawa, I need to talk to you,” Polaris glared at the other girl. “I need you to listen. Don’t say anything until I tell you to, understand?”
Toko nodded.
“I’m a transgender woman. My name is Polaris and I use she/her pronouns.” Polaris tried to read Toko’s expression. Unfortunately, Toko always looked disgusted so it was hard to tell what she was thinking. “You may speak if you have something to say.”
“Y-you’re just m-messing with me r-right? There’s n-no way you’re a w-woman.”
“I’m not messing with you. I’m a woman.”
“N-no. That’s n-not fair. You’re j-just trying to p-push me away b-because you h-hate me.”
“I do hate you, but that has nothing to do with me being a woman-” next thing Polaris knew, she was on the ground, heat coming from her nose, with her glasses on the other side of the hall. She held her nose and groaned in pain.
“Shit, Polaris!” Makoto crouched down next to her, checking for injury. “Are you okay?”
Polaris removed her hand from her face. In the blurry mess she could see a blood-colored stain on her hand. She heard Makoto wince next to her.
“Who are y-you to say y-you hate a w-woman?” Toko hissed from her room, her door more open now.
“Toko, what the fuck? You can’t just punch people. And I’m pretty sure this counts as a hate crime.” Makoto glared at Toko while he helped his girlfriend stand up. “Polaris, keep your head tilted back, I’m taking you to the nurse.”
Chihiro pulled out a tissue and handed it to Makoto. “Here, have her hold it to her nose.”
“Thank you,” Makoto handed the tissue to Polaris, who held it to her nose. During the commotion, Toko had closed and locked her door.
“You two go to the nurse,” Chihiro said. “I’ll tell the headmaster what happened.”
“Thank you, Chihiro. C’mon, Polaris.”
Polaris’s nose hadn’t been broken, thank god, but the nurse did say there would be bruising for about a week. Polaris held an ice pack to her nose to keep the swelling down. The bleeding had already stopped. She had told the nurse her new name and pronouns to which she promptly said she’ll make the appropriate changes to her medical files as soon as possible.
Makoto sat in the nurse’s office with her, looking guilty as anything. He would look at Polaris and quickly look away when he saw the ice pack.
“If you’re going to say something, just say it.”
“I’m sorry!” Makoto said it quickly.
Polaris hummed. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“But I encouraged you to tell Toko and now you’re hurt!”
“Technically, Fujisaki was the one who said to tell Fukawa, you simply agreed with it.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Alright, Miss Togami,” the nurse interrupted with a smile. “Everything is looking good. Just keep a cold press to your nose every once in a while to prevent swelling and try to avoid touching your nose too much.”
“Thank you,” Polaris stood up, Makoto following to guide her to her room.
About an hour later, Chihiro is knocking on Polaris’s door. Makoto got up and answered the door.
“Sorry I took so long! May I come in?”
Makoto looked back at Polaris, who nodded. Makoto let the small boy in.
Chihiro gawked at Polaris’s nose. It was already starting to turn purple. “Aw, that looks like it hurts.”
“It’s fine, it’s not broken, just bruised,” Polaris shrugged. “I just need to put ice on it every few hours to prevent swelling.”
“I’m so-”
“Don’t apologize,” Polaris held her hand up in front of Chihiro’s face. “None of us thought she would hit me.”
“Oh,” Chihiro looked at his lap, then remembered he had something for Polaris. “Oh! These were left in the hallway,” in his hands were Polaris’s glasses, dirty but not appearing to be scratched, and the white ribbon that Celest gave Polaris earlier. Polaris felt her hair only to confirm that the bow was, in fact, no longer there.
“Thank you,” Polaris cleaned her glasses before putting them back on, wincing slightly as they touched her nose.
“Headmaster Kirigiri said that Toko will be suspended for a week. Not allowed out of her room either. Like house arrest.”
“Only a week?” Makoto asked.
“Yeah, since it’s only her first offense. They don’t like expelling students here very much either for fear of ruining a student’s future. But, he told me if she’s violent towards someone again then she’ll be expelled.”
“Okay,” Polaris sighed a breath of relief. She was happy she wouldn’t have to deal with Toko for a week.
“Also, I told the headmaster that you’re trans. He needs your student handbook so he can change your gender and stuff. He said you’ll have it back by tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Fujisaki,” Polaris got her e-handbook from her desk drawer and handed it to Chihiro.
“Alright, I’m going to go now. See you later?”
“Sure.”
Chihiro smiled as he left the room. As soon as the door was closed Polaris walked over to her bed, where Makoto was sitting, and rested her forehead on her boyfriend’s shoulder.
“Today was… a day.”
“Yeah,” Makoto ran his hand up and down Polaris’s back. “But now it’s over. I’m so proud of you.”
Polaris let out a breathy chuckle. She looked up at Makoto. “How often are you going to say you’re proud of me?”
“As often as I can,” Makoto cupped Polaris’s face with his hands. “Because I am proud of you. And I’m proud to have you as a girlfriend. You’re beautiful,” he kissed her cheek, “and intelligent,” other cheek, “and funny,” forehead, “and strong,” a kiss to the lips, “and you’re so amazing,” another kiss to the lips.
Polaris giggled when the kiss broke. Makoto was such a romantic and he showers her with so much praise she feels absolutely euphoric. She put her hands on his shoulders.
“And you’re a dork,” Polaris pressed her lips against his. Makoto playfully nudged her shoulder. “But, you’re my dork,” she kissed him again.
“I love you so much, Polaris.”
“I love you, too, Makoto.”