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When Ena came home from school with Airi in tow, she was shocked when she saw her little sister with her hair chopped off. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It’s none of your business!” Ayumi blubbered, tears welling up in fear—her sister’s friend was watching her. “I—I can do what I want, okay!?”
Ena huffed, marching closer. “Why are you getting so defensive!? I was just asking about your hair!”
Airi stepped in between the two, noticing that Ayumi was hyperventilating. “Ena, can I talk with her alone?“
Airi looked into her eyes. “…Are you okay with that?”
Ayumi nodded, trying to hide her puffy eyes with her sleeve. It was embarrassing, getting this emotional in front of Airi like this.
“I’m still so confused,” Ena stammered, still dumbfounded by the sudden change. “Wait, come back, Airi!”
But Airi already took Ayumi by the hand and sat down on the bathroom floor. “Ugh…”
“Hey, breathe.” Airi instructed, giving Ayumi some time to calm down. “I’m sorry if I got the wrong idea, but do you wanna be a boy? Is that it?”
After a few seconds, Ayumi weakly nodded, his puffy and eyes concealed by his knees.
“Shh,” Airi rubbed his back, her embrace enveloping his aching soul with warmth. “It’s scary. It’s really scary, isn’t it? Let me tell you something… I’m just like you.”
“…What?” Ayumi looked up, his swelling eyes looking upon the girl in front of him. “What do you mean?”
“I was born a boy,” Airi spoke gently. “I was able to grow out my hair, wear the clothes that made me comfortable...”
His eyes widened, glossing over with hope for a new tomorrow. “I really wanna be a boy… I really do. I hate being a girl.”
“You aren’t a girl,” Airi said firmly. “You’re a boy if you want to be, okay? All that matters is that you’re taking the steps to feel comfortable. It’s a long journey.”
”But I have all these things that I don’t like,” Ayumi mumbled, his fists clenching red. “I have a stupid name, stupid period, stupid uniform, stupid… everything!”
“You can change your name,” Airi assured, squeezing his hand. “You can take birth control. You can get a new uniform. I’ll fight for you to have all of those things, okay?”
Ayumi thought it over for a second. “Akito. I wanna be Akito.”
“Akito?” Airi tilted her head, scooting closer to him. “Like the singer?”
“Yeah… Can I be Akito?” He grinned.
“You can be whoever you want.”