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Ryo is a girl.
The realization hits Shuu like a lightning bolt to the brain.
It’s not he didn’t know, know about it, okay? Ryo has never hidden the fact she was a girl from them, and she has never truly hidden it from the Youja either, though a few didn’t seem to realize it at first. Intellectually, Shuu knows Ryo is a girl.
It just… never truly computed before he saw her getting down the stairs in her sailor fuku.
He knows he’s staring, that he should look away before she gets uncomfortable, but he can’t, because the fact Ryo is a girl is really slapping him across the face in style.
He thinks he can be excused; it’s the very first time he sees her in a skirt or in anything remotely girly. Given how often they have to fact, Ryo mostly spends her time in her subarmor, just like the rest of them. And when she isn’t… she wears jeans, and baggy pullovers and too large tee-shirts that don’t really hint away at what’s underneath. And Shuu… it’s not that he forgets, but his brain has firmly pushed Ryo into ‘one of the guys’ categories, he supposes.
Ryo doesn’t talk like a girl, most of the time. She doesn’t particularly care about her appearance. She roughhouses and play fight with him at the drop of a hat, and she argues, and she punches or slaps people too. She doesn’t bow and play demure, or keep her rage contained. Granted, Shuu’s Mama doesn’t either, but…
His stupid brain just didn’t really consider Ryo as a girl until now, because…
Wow.
Just… wow.
Shuu doesn’t really look at girls, because he’s not that type of guy, and he respects girls too much to act like a creepy, crazy hormonal teen. His Mama would kill him, his Grandma would kill him, Rinfi would probably try to smother him in his sleep and Chun Fa… Hmm, Chun Fa is a little young to try and kill him too, but she’d pout and refuse to hug him if he was being a jerk, and that’s the absolute worst.
So, uh, Shuu doesn’t look at girls and think they’re good-looking, but Ryo?
Ryo is damn cute, he can’t help but think.
The uniform – a long sleeved white blouse with stripes at the wrists and a dark blue sailor collar, and dark blue pleated skirt so dark it looks almost black, with a white strip just above the hem, and white loose socks over her black shoes – suits her. She has tied her hair in a low ponytail with a red ribbon assorted to the one tied at the front of her blouse. The uniform itself is vaguely familiar to Shuu, and he’s sure he has seen girls wearing the exam same outfit passing by his apartment block or riding the same bus as him. Uh. Who knows, maybe he had passed by Ryo in the street before on his own way to school without ever noticing.
Dressed like that, she doesn’t look like the stubborn, courageous warrior Shuu knows her as; she looks like an ordinary girl.
Just like Shuu’s sister Rinfi or his many, many cousins.
… is it wrong to think Ryo needs someone to watch out for her, just like he does for his relatives?
“Uh, is something… wrong?” Ryo asks hesitantly when she notices Shuu’s stare, and it finally shakes the Kongo bearer out of his stupor.
“Naw, nothing wrong,” he chuckles a little, rubbing the back of his head. “Just… thinking I know that uniform, that’s all. I was trying to remember if maybe we may had passed each other in the street without noticing.” That’s SO much safer to say than anything else, and it’s not even a lie.
Can’t accidentally insult Ryo by saying ‘I’m staring because you’re a girl’, after all.
Ryo chuckles nervously as well. “Well, it’s not impossible; there are a lot of middle schoolers and high schoolers in town. Nice gakuran,” she nods at Shuu’s own uniform, and he shrugs noncommittally.
“It’s nothing special,” he evades, then poke her in the arm. “Come on, Ryo, the others are waiting for us!”
“Can’t be late for the dreaded school reprisal,” the blue-eyed girl nods seriously as she goes past him, and Shuu stares again.
He isn’t super fond of the idea schools are reopening right now, because they aren’t sure yet it’s safe and that there aren’t any Youja still around, and he doesn’t like the idea of Ryo being alone at school all at once. Not that he had been fine with the idea of them going their separate ways before, even if they logically don’t have a choice, they do not go to the same school, but now…
Now it’s worse.
But he shouldn’t worry, he reminds himself. Ryo is strong and capable, and she doesn’t need help to kick Youja’s butts and if he tries to shelter her, he’s going to get yelled at both by her AND by his Mama for acting like every girl Shuu knows is in need of protection.
They’re not; usually, it’s other people who need to be kept safe from them – but to be fair, almost all the girls Shuu know intimately are martial artists with a good kick.
But… Ryo is a girl, for all she never acts like one, and his brain can’t still quite wrap itself around it, even as they all pile up in Nasutei’s car so she can drop them on a street corner on her way to get groceries.
Ryo is a girl, and that uniform makes her look cute and vulnerable in a way Shuu has never seen before, and it makes his brain run into loops as he considers implications it hadn’t before like… how dangerous it could be for her to be caught alone.
… if any of the Masho try to put a hand on her, Shuu swears quietly to himself as he watches Ryo from the corner of his eyes, or if any guy at school is giving her a rough time, he’s going to trash them black and blue.
‘Cause… nobody touches a girl he cares about. Ever.
Especially a girl whom he’s starting to think of as a sister.
*-*-*-*-*
Ryo is a girl.
Shin has known that since the very first day, when he first heard her speak in Shinjuku. He has a good ear for voice and even if Ryo’s voice is a little deeper than the average girl’s, it’s still a feminine voice.
True, Ryo doesn’t act or dress in a typical womanly fashion, preferring clothes that are either masculine or androgynous in look, but she remains a girl nonetheless. Thankfully, Shin is used to being surrounded by women, between his Mother and older sister, else little things like handling the laundry or working a schedule for the bathroom so they wouldn’t accidentally walk on each other would have been a lot more embarrassing.
And… it’s good for Nasutei to have another girl around. There are moments where they had to clean themselves while in the wild, and it would have been awkward as hell for her without Ryo to assure a close protection. Not that any of the Youja ever tried to snatch her or attack while they were at their most ‘vulnerable’, but it’s the principle of the matter.
Point is, Shin knows Ryo is a girl.
He just… never considered all the possible implications.
No, no, that’s not quite true; Shin HAS considered the most serious implications, especially if Ryo is caught by one of the Masho. It would be stupid or remiss of him not to. Thankfully, or at least a certain version of ‘thankfully’, the Masho do not seem to be particularly interested by Ryo’s gender, only by defeating all the Troopers.
It still gives Shin a few cold sweats, though, because you can never know if one of them won’t change his mind. Shuten Douji was obsessive enough as it was and even if he finally changed side, Shin can’t say he had ever cared much for the looks he threw at Ryo.
But things are going to be alright now. They’ve defeated Arago (though what of the Masho? Are they still alive? Are they poised for another fight?) and even if more Youja remain… Shin is sure they’ll be able to handle it.
Usually, he’s not afraid for Ryo, his dark thoughts about the Masho asides, because he knows her. Ryo is strong. Ryo is brave, and stubborn, and incredibly kind as well. She’ll lay her life on the line if she needs to, in order to protect them, protect Nasutei and Jun.
Ryo can handle any Youja.
But apparently, she can’t handle regular human pervs, as Shin is discovering with shock and anger – shock and anger not aimed at her, but at the bunch of high schoolers or perhaps students who are following her and cat-calling her!
It’s… it’s appalling, that behavior!
Who do those guys think they are, hitting on a more and more uncomfortable-looking Ryo like that? Have they no shame? Don’t they see they’re making her uneasy?
They have no right, Shin thinks as he rises from the towel he had been sitting on, absolutely no right to treat a lady like that, and especially not Ryo!
Shin had never seen such an abhorrent conduct on the beach before! Maybe it enrages him ever further.
It was supposed to be a quiet, relaxing day for everyone, a day of just having fun on the sand and in the water, enjoying a sunny, warm Sunday together.
Ryo had looked happy to come.
Now, she looks distinctively uncomfortable as she walks slowly, hands burdened by the ice creams she had offered to go buy for Shin and Jun, who’s building a sandcastle with Nasutei a little father on the beach. Ryo herself doesn’t like ice cream, Shin remembers dimly as he makes his way toward her, careful not to let his anger show – much.
The waves are already growing agitated anyway, his link to Suiko making the water wild if his temper runs short. He tries to be mindful, he really does, because he’s all too aware of what could happen if he really lost it, but seeing Ryo in this position…
“Aww, come on sweetheart, aren’t you going to give us an answer?” She owns you nothing, especially not an answer to whatever you’ve been asking her, Shin thinks, dodging a little kid running around with a kite.
“Sanada-chan, won’t you say ‘hello’? That’s your name, right? It’s on your swimsuit’s tag!” You keep her name out of your mouth, you swine, Shin thinks, his expression growing more and more crossed.
“School swimsuit, right? Isn’t that cute? But I bet you’d be sexier in a bikini!” Ryo doesn’t want to look sexy, nor does she need to, especially not for you! She’s a fourteen, nearly fifteen years old who wears her school swimsuit for a reason, and it’s not to be hit on by perverts! Shin’s rage is reaching a boiling point.
Dimly, he’s aware that Touma and Shuu both have started to move, either noticing the waves’ agitation or the fact he was stalking away. He’s not sure where Seiji is, but it’s not important right now. Nothing is more important than Ryo.
“Ryo! You got the ice creams?” he asks a little too loudly, a friendly smile on his face, though his eyes are not smiling. At all. If looks could kill, he thinks those three boys who must be what, seventeen? Eighteen? Probably older still, not that he cares. Anyway, if looks could kill, they’d be dead.
Especially given the sheer, naked relief in Ryo’s eyes when she looks up at him.
Shin feels like reeling, and his anger on her behalf becomes a cold, simmering thing.
He has never seen her look like that before. Ryo is a Samurai Trooper who has faced the Demon Emperor Arago himself and channeled power beyond most mortals’ imagination but right now, she looks awkward and lost and terrified of the unwanted attention she’s receiving. Point her at a Youja or a Masho and she’ll face them head on without fear. But she can’t do the same to a human, because she’s too damn nice and awkward as hell when it comes to talk to people who aren’t the Troopers.
And those boys… those bastards… they’ve abused that.
“Shin…” she says, and her can hear the slight tremor in her eyes, see the way she tries not to nervously glance at the three boys who have followed her since the ice cream shack, apparently; and Shin smiles at her reassuringly.
“Jun is going to be so happy; he’s been clamoring for a cold treat for hours. Better not make him wait any longer, right? Maybe you should give Nasutei the other. I do not think I want that ice cream myself after all.” Not unless it’s to throw it into the nearest jerk’s face. He doesn’t touch her, nor does he nudge her, but Ryo gives a jerky nod and walk past him in Jun and Nasutei’s direction.
Shin shifts, moving in the boys’ path before they had a chance to try and follow her. His smile is still perfectly polite, but they all take a step back.
A wave comes crashing hard, making a few people gasp as they’re caught in the current.
“Gentlemen,” he says, feeling Shuu and Touma come up behind him, and he finally sees Seiji, coming from the other direction with a narrow look on his face. He has felt Shin’s agitation too, or perhaps Ryo’s unease, and he’s quick to realize the reason for both.
Behind him, Shin can hear Shuu crack his knuckles. The three older boys take another step back, clearly rattled. “I couldn’t help but notice how you followed my friend. Is there any reason you were harassing her?” he asks sweetly, eyes colder than an iceberg.
And if he shows a little too many teeth then, well… it’s not like any of the other Troopers will mind.
*-*-*-*-*
“Ah, Touma, have you seen Nasutei? I… I need to talk to her.”
Touma pauses in his reading and looks up to meet Ryo’s eyes.
Or rather, not met her eyes, because Ryo is looking downcast. She’s sweaty and definitely nervous, and Touma immediately close his book with a final thump, concerned already.
“Haven’t seen her, sorry. Everything alright there, Ryo? Are you feeling unwell?” he asks worriedly.
It’s a legit concern, considering how weakened she has been after summoning that white armor. The whole fight against Arago and getting absorbed and lending their last forces to Ryo had been draining for Touma and the others, but for Ryo herself? It had been even worse.
Following their victory, Ryo has slept and slept for days, one other Trooper and a very fussy tiger keeping watch on her, only waking up by short intervals, barely long enough to drink water and broths Shin and Shuu had prepared and use the bathroom. More than once, Ryo hadn’t been able to hold her meal down, and the results had been… messy.
Nasutei had had to give her a sponge bath at least twice because Ryo couldn’t stay awake long enough or steady enough on her legs to take a shower, let alone a bath.
Ryo is doing much better now, but still… the worry is lingering in the back of Touma’s mind.
Ryo bites her lip. “It’s… I’m fine,” she says with a particular intonation which does nothing to reassure Touma. “Just… I need to ask Nasutei for something,” she evades, and Touma frowns.
“If you need help with anything, I can help you, you know,” he points out. “You don’t need to wait for Nasutei.”
Ryo just shakes her head and keeps avoiding his gaze. “It’s… it’s not something for which you can help Touma,” she explains in a clipped, awkward voice, and Touma’s frown just deepens.
Does Ryo trust him so little?
He knows he’s the youngest of the Troopers and sometimes he gets teased for it, but he thought he had proved he was reliable and smart enough for two. Nobody ever hesitates to come to him for advice or to check up a random bit of knowledge Touma might confirm for them.
Nobody except Ryo, it seems.
Touma finds it a little annoying but also concerning. What sort of help Nasutei could provide Ryo with that Touma can’t, uh? Unless it’s to ask if Nasutei has found more stuff yet about the white armor but if that was what Ryo wants to ask her about, she would wait until everyone was there, so they all have the same information.
“Yeah?” Touma challenges the Rekka bearer. “Try me. Whatever your problem is, I’m sure I’ll solve it.” So perhaps he’s bragging a little here but come on, Ryo could trust him!
“You can’t Touma!” Ryo snaps, her mood changing like quicksilver and Touma has to blink and lean back because what the hell? Ryo can have a temper, they all know that, but to change mood so fast? That’s not normal.
“Ryo…” he starts uncertainly, wondering what’s wrong. He wants to help, sincerely, especially now because Ryo looks like she’s torn between wanting to cry or snarl in pain or self-combust in shame and misery. Probably all at once.
“Ryo? What’s wrong?”
And here comes Nasutei, arms full of paper bags. Right, she had gone to the shop for more groceries. Apparently, having five teens in one house was bad for the fridge and cupboards’ content, because teenagers, especially teenager warriors with mystical armors, were a ravenous pack always raiding the kitchen for snacks.
“Ryo is sick,” Touma says quickly, because of course Ryo is sick despite her claims she’s fine, and if she wants Nasutei to help her specifically, then fine, but Touma isn’t going to cover for her.
“I’m not sick!” Ryo snaps, and she cries, a little and wow, that stings. “I… I…” she swallows. “Nasutei, I’m so sorry to ask, but… where do you keep your pads?” she asks in a rush, so fast Touma must repeat the sentence in his head twice before a lightbulb comes up.
Pads? What pads? Why would Ryo need…?
And then it dawns on him and Touma has to stop himself from hiding his face in his hands.
Oh. Oooooh. THOSE pads.
Right, he remembers, swallowing.
Ryo is a girl. And being a girl comes with… stuff. Stuff no self-respecting teenager likes to talk or even think about, be they male or, apparently, female. Touma knows biology and how the human body works, any middle schooler who paid attention in class knows the effect of puberty, so he knows what’s going on, and why and how it’s happening, and part of him is wincing in sympathy for Ryo (and for Nasutei, too) because given the expression on her face, it’s not pleasant at all, even if she says she’s fine.
And technically, she IS, because it shows her body is healthy and working as it should. That’s what make it worse.
Ryo is a Trooper, but Ryo is still a girl like any other.
She gets periods too.
Touma can’t believe he forgot that. For a genius, he can be very, very dense. His Mom is right; for all he takes after her in temper, sometimes, Touma is really his father’s son, uh?
No wonder she didn’t want to talk with him, he thinks, cheeks red as Nasutei quickly put the bags on the table.
“Oh, Ryo,” she says with a gentle voice. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought to show you… There is a box at the bottom of the last drawer by the sink in the bathroom next to my room, and I always make sure to keep extra on the top shelf of my bedroom’s cupboard. Have you… have you run out?” she asks in sympathy, sounding like she knows exactly what Ryo is living through. She probably does, too.
The two girls seem to have forgotten Touma is here. At least he hopes they have forgotten and aren’t just ignoring him.
Ryo gives a jerky, teary nod. “I’m sorry,” she says in misery. “I thought I had enough, and I didn’t want to bother you with it, and I forgot I needed to buy more in advance because it didn’t seem important at the time, but it’s… the flow is more important than usual, and they kept overflowing, and it hurts, it hurts so bad, I think I preferred getting poisoned by Naaza!” she whimpers, arms tight around her middle, and Touma didn’t need to know that! “I already took meds, but they aren’t acting, and I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s… It’s never THAT bad.” Ryo looks ready to burst into sobs.
Are periods really supposed to be so painful? That can’t be right. His Mom never acted like… Uh. Actually… come to think… that might explain one fight or two his parents had…
Nasutei’s face turns grim, though she puts her hands on Ryo’s shoulders comfortingly. “Right. You go upstairs right now and change, and then you’ll go to lie down on your bed, okay? I’ll go prepare a hot water bottle and some tea and bring them to you, alright? If it doesn’t help, we’ll check what I have in the first aid kit that can safely be used to relieve cramps. How much pills have you taken already?”
“Three,” Ryo mutters, arms still wrapped around herself. “It’s a lot already…”
“It may depend on dosage; I’ll have to check if…” Nasutei says as she guides Ryo out of the room and their voices get muffled by the walls and the distance.
Right.
Touma is… going to stare into space for a moment and try to forget the last ten minutes have ever happened.
Except for the fact that Ryo is a girl, of course.
That, he needs to keep committing to memory, least he’ll run into that type of awkward situation ever again and self-combust from the shame.
Turn that, after all, there are situations he absolutely cannot handle, and it’s best to leave them to TRUE experts.
*-*-*-*-*
“Aww, they’re so adorable!”
Seiji stops mid-step and slowly, very slowly turns back.
It’s not the fact Ryo said those very words that startles him, no. It’s the way she said them, with a mix of squealing and pure happiness that Seiji has only ever heard when his sister Satsuki has spotted something she finds to be really, really cute.
It’s the sort of little details that keeps reminding Seiji that Ryo is a girl, even if she doesn’t often act like one of Seiji’s sisters. Granted, Seiji isn’t close to many girls besides his sisters, so it’s not like he knows how they all act, but… Yayoi is always formal and composed, wrapped in quiet dignity, while Satsuki is cheerful and bubbly and very open.
Ryo is neither; Ryo is intense and brave, and open and kind, but she pays little attention to things Seiji knows girls are usually interested in.
He has seen her throw fashion magazines in the bin without a glance or perhaps a grimace of disgust if the cover really offended her and he has seen her pass by clothes stores windows without a second glance. Trainers are her favored type of shoes, and he doesn’t think he has ever seen her wear anything but jeans asides of her school uniform.
Seiji has never heard Ryo discuss or even mention subjects he knows Satsuki can get passionate about, such as boys’ bands and who’s the cutest member of such or such group, or popularity polls for actors, or whatever her magazines like to talk about, be it make-up tips or jewelries or hairstyles or the newest up-and-coming idol.
Instead, Ryo talks about soccer, and about treks in the woods and the mountains, and about animals – all sorts of animals; she’s quite knowledgeable about them, owning to the fact her Father (who’s apparently never around, which makes Seiji twitch) is a professional wildlife photographer and Ryo is interested in his work and the articles that his pictures serve to illustrate. She plays ball with Jun, and does katas with her sabers, and wrestles with Shuu, and she…
She just doesn’t act like a typical girl, so it’s easy to forget she’s one. Or at least, to converse with her normally, without second thought. It’s something Seiji truly appreciate, for all he also thinks something isn’t quite right in the way Ryo is presenting herself.
It’s like she doesn’t know how to be a girl herself, and in a way, it’s both sad and painful.
But once in a while, it truly hits him that Ryo is indeed a girl and not ‘one of the boys’, no matter what and how she acts.
Seiji knows the others all had moments like this too, even if they don’t truly talk about it. It can be finding a pair of panties or a brassiere in the laundry (the less say about how red his or Shin’s face have turned when handling the garments, the better), or see Ryo in her school uniform before she hurries off to go change, or just see her and Nasutei sitting together on the couch, the two of them at ease in a way they never fully are with the rest of the Troopers.
Or it can be moments like this one, where Ryo has stopped and crouched down in front of a pet store to better admire the kittens sleeping or playing in an enclosure by the window. Her face looks soft in a way Seiji has only see when she’s petting Byakuen.
It makes him smile, just a little.
Somehow, he’s not surprised that the most girlish reaction he has ever seen of Ryo is over baby animals.
It fits.
Quietly, he walks back toward her and smile a little at the display. Ryo has crouched on the ground to get a better view, eyes shining and smile wide. She’s not touching the window, but if she leans any closer, she will. “Thinking of getting another pet, Ryo?” he gently teases her, and she laughs, carefree, gaze never straying from a pair of stripped kittens who have taken to cuddle with each other.
“I think one big, oversized cat is already enough for me to handle,” she points out fondly. “Besides, I do not think my place would be great for a housecat. If they get out, they might get lost in the woods and injured by a wild animal, or they might get shot at by a hunter during hunting season. A lot of the villagers have hunting licenses,” she explains as she gives Seiji a glance. “There are still bears and boars near the village, though they rarely close to the house, and the occasional deer that will come devour a garden plot. People are… taking steps. They’re usually careful, but every year or so, someone will accidentally shoot a cat thinking it was a fox.”
“Not a fan of hunting?” he asks in sympathy. Seiji himself has no opinion on the matter, but it’s clear Ryo does.
“I know it’s a necessity, if only for population control, but…” she shrugs noncommittally. “Ooooh, look at this one,” she points suddenly to another kitten, a tri-colored one who’s yawning. “Isn’t she the cutest? Oh, yes you are,” she giggles.
“How do you know it’s a female?” Seiji can’t help but ask as he crouches next to Ryo.
“Because almost all calico cats are females,” Ryo explains happily. “Their colors are linked to the X chromosome, so to get the three colors, they need to receive a X chromosome from each parent – hence, calicos are female. A male calico is an anomaly; they’re very rare and buyers can pay more than a million of yens for them.”
“More than a million…!” Seiji chokes a little. He didn’t know that – though he’s not really surprised Ryo does. This is the girl who went out with Jun and taught him how to differentiate and recognize by sound all the different birds that can be found nesting near Nasutei’s house, after all.
“Crazy, right?” Ryo chuckles as she gets up and Seiji follows her lead. “A purebred calico would already be sold for several thousand hundreds as it is. But having the money to buy a pet doesn’t mean you’ll be good for them,” she adds, her smile dimming as she turns away and start to walk. “So, I really hope this little lady will have a good family.”
“So do I,” Seiji murmurs, giving the kitten a thoughtful look.
He does have the money… and so does Nasutei, if she’s ever interested – and she might, if Seiji lets it drop Ryo likes cats and saw one she’s fond of. Besides, if finding a kitten a good home can make Ryo smile and show more of this girly side of her, well…
It is something Seiji is ready to do without second thought.