Chapter Text
Sighing, Izumi stood behind his friends, the basketball tucked under his arm. “Sorry you guys came all this way, I didn’t even play in the match, it was a waste of time,” he muttered, leaning back.
“Don’t say stupid things.” Koji kicked the football into his side. “We don’t mind supporting you, even if you don’t play today. Right, Kishi?”
Kishi paused, stopping as she leaned her head up. The wind blew her vibrant orange hair back, only kept in check by the high ponytail she always wore. “Hey, Koji, Izumi, I want to ask you something.”
Both boys stopped, staring at their closest friend in confusion.
“Do you see me as a girl?”
Kishi’s question caught both of them off guard. She glanced over her shoulder, a serious expression on her face. It was weird.
Koji was the first to break the silence that fell in the group. “Honestly, not all the time.” Kishi narrowed her eyes for a second as Izumi went to stop Koji from saying any more. “Don’t get me wrong Kishi, you look like a girl and sound like one but… you don’t act like one so sometimes, I can forget.”
“Koji, you don’t tell a girl she doesn’t act like one,” Izumi hissed, lowering his voice. “It’s not like girls and guys have specific ways they have to act, girls can like sport and be active and guys can like makeup and dress up, it doesn’t make them less of who they are.”
“I know that!” Koji growled, stopping when he heard the light laugh echoing from Kishi’s throat.
She slowly turned, the tears dripping off her cheek. “I’m so glad you feel that way.” She took a deep breath, wiping her tears away as she smiled. “Koji… can I ask a favour from you, or rather, your brother?”
Koji blinked, gently nodding. “Sure.”
“Great.”
~~~
Izumi leaned back, glancing back at the bathroom. “What do you think they’re doing in there?”
Tutting, Koji scowled, placing the drinks on the table. “Like I would know.” Glancing up, Koji spotted the clock. “I should get the game up, Tai will get mad if he misses it.”
Laughing, Izumi covered his mouth. “How sweet of you.”
“Quiet.”
Opening the door, Koji’s brother- Tai- pushed Kishi into the living room. “We’re all done,” he sang, presenting Kishi like a masterpiece he had been working on for years. “Don’t the bangs make him look super cute?!”
Kishi blushed a little, scratching the back of her head. Gone was the long hair that she had kept so carefully under control, instead it was all short and messy. So, so, so messy. Her heart beated like crazy, waiting for her friends' reactions.
“Woah, Kishi-chan! You look so cute!” Izumi jumped up, ruffling Kishi’s hair, pausing for a second. “So… fluffy.” Grinning, Izumi continued to pet Kishi’s hair.
Koji stood in front of Kishi, his eyes narrowed on her. “So… you’re a boy.” Jolting, Izumi spun, about to launch into another there-is-no-stereotypes-in-my-presence speech when Koji cut him off. “Tai said ‘him’ and he never makes mistakes.” Kishi slowly nodded, shaking slightly.
They were going to hate him. They were going to think he was weird. They were going to leave him.
Koji stepped forward, bringing Kishi into a tight hug. “I’m glad you’ve finally found yourself, Kishi. I won’t promise to never mess up but I will try.”
Returning the hug, Kishi didn’t try to bottle his emotions anymore, crying into his friend’s embrace. Izumi petted his head, rubbing circles on his back until he calmed down, sniffling every so often.
“Wait… does this mean I can’t call you Kishi-chan anymore?” Izumi narrowed his eyes as Kishi chuckled lightly.
“Preferably. Is that okay?”
Izumi paused for a second. “Of course, it is but what’s your new name?”
“I was thinking since Kishi means night, I would name myself Shoyo, meaning sun. Like I’m finally stepping out of the shadows, you know.” Koji and Izumi stared at him. “What’s wrong, you don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that… we were just expecting a less… linguist answer,” Izumi joked, making Shoyo growl.
“What does that mean?! I’ll whoosh you so hard you won’t hear yourself go blam till you're knocked out!”
Screaming, Izumi ducked to the side, muttering dangerously. “That’s more like the Ki-Shoyo we know.”
Shoyo’s anger quickly disappeared at the mention of his new name, ending up crying again. Tai chuckled, hitting Shoyo on the back of his head with a glass of water. “With all that crying, you’ll be really dehydrated, you should drink up.”
Shoyo nodded as he followed Tai into the living room, spotting the match on TV. “You know, I never understood why you liked it so much. Koji I can understand cause he can at least play the sport but football and volleyball are completely different and it's not like anything cool happens in volleyball,” Shoyo grumbled, making Tai laugh.
“You’re right, I’m not a great player but I am getting better and besides, from where I sit, volleyball is the most amazing sport there is.”
Jumping in the air, the tiny giant made his spike.
Shoyo couldn’t breathe. He leaned in close, unable to hear Koji’s annoyed grumbling about having another volleyball nut, he was completely blown away. Tai grinned, watching Shoyo from the corner of his eye.
From tonight, Shoyo will never be the same. Not only in his gender but everything. Shoyo was beginning the next phase of his life.