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Yamato Endo was not having a good day.
His chest hurt. His back hurt. His stomach hurt.
Nevertheless, he wanted to check on the situation with Suzuri and find out why the guy he had hired hadn’t finished the job yet.
As he stood on top of the building and chatted good-naturedly with the people below him, he tried not to adjust his binder. He had been wearing it for too long; in his excitement to get here, he had forgotten to take it off.
And now, Endo decided, was the time for his epic stunt. He leaped off the edge of the building, feeling his coat flutter behind him and the wind brush against his tattooed skin.
He would stick the landing and further intimidate those Furin fools. And he would look so cool.
However, he quickly realized that jumping from a building multiple stories up wasn’t a good idea, for multiple reasons.
First, as soon as he landed, bolts of pain shot through his chest, legs, and stomach. “THAT HURT!” he yelled, feeling the very strong urge to rip off his binder in the middle of the street.
Then, he felt wetness bloom between his legs and knew there was now a huge stain on his pants.
Endo straightened up, putting his hands on his hips and trying not to collapse as his abdomen seemed to turn in on itself.
The conversation that followed was quite amusing and almost made him forget the pain he was in.
It was especially exciting when a fight ensued, even though one move would reveal the red stain on his black pants.
But those Furin people wouldn’t care. They accepted everyone, no matter how they expressed themselves. In Endo’s view, that was the only good thing about them.
But that would be pathetic of him, wouldn’t it? He, the great Yamato Endo, taken out by period cramps?
A boy with black and white hair—very unique, Endo thought—launched a kick at him. He quickly blocked it, feeling excitement pump through him. At the same time, however, his chest felt like it was on fire, and at every move he made, he felt more blood leak into his pad.
As Endo fought Tsubakino and the others, he felt his stomach and chest hurt more and more. He panted, and his vision began to blur.
No, he thought. I just want to play with these fools. That bunhead isn’t useful to me anymore, so I’ll just entertain myself with these chumps.
Tsubakino, movements as fluid and graceful as ever, punched Endo in the face and then kneed him in the abdomen.
Endo stumbled back and fell to the ground. His entire pad—plus his underwear—felt soaked. He clutched at his chest, breathing hard.
Tsubakino towered over him, face hard and hands clenched at his sides.
Endo quickly shifted away from the other man, but he was too late.
“Hey, what’s that stain?” Tsubakino asked him, disbelief plain in his blue eyes. “Did you get hurt before coming here? …Or wait—”
Endo stood. “None of your business,” he spat.
Even if Furin would accept his identity, he didn’t want to be reminded of his body.
Endo had always been imposing. In elementary and middle school, people often made fun of him for his height.
“She’s so tall,” they would sneer. “It’s unnatural.”
She.
No matter what he did—cut his hair, train his voice, bind his chest—people always looked at him and saw a girl.
That changed when he got into Furin. Being in a school surrounded by other boys made him feel the most euphoric he had ever been. And no one questioned him. He just fought and fought and fought and had a blast doing it.
And now, he was so tall and muscular and intimidating that no one dared call him a she. Not that anyone knew about his body now.
Only Takiishi.
In fact, Takiishi had gotten him a binder, the one that Endo was wearing right now.
Endo groaned as cramps stabbed into him like a knife. Shit…
The boy with black and white hair joined Tsubakino. “You’re weaker than I thought,” he sneered at the tattooed man.
“Hey, that’s not nice!” said Endo with a smirk. “We all have our bad days, you know? Especially you. You seem to have a lot more baggage than most people.”
Sakura threw a punch at him. “Take that back!” Tsubakino joined him, launching a kick straight at Endo’s head.
Endo sighed and moved to retaliate, but fell to his knees as another cramp stabbed into him. Thankfully, this allowed him to dodge Sakura and Tsubakino’s attacks.
The tattooed man slowly raised himself to his feet, wishing that pain medication would fall out of the sky straight into his hands.
Suo joined Sakura and Tsubakino. “Our friend Endo really is having a bad day,” he commented good-naturedly.
Endo ground his teeth together, his head beginning to hurt. “All right, now I’m pissed!”
“Hey, someone got you earlier, didn’t they?” asked Sakura. “That’s why you’re bleeding so much. But wait, what’d they do, rip off your—”
Endo groaned, very not in the mood for this, and bending over, folded his arms over his stomach.
Tsubakino looked the tattooed man up and down and then said hesitantly, “This is just a guess, but… are you on your period?”
A dead silence fell over the street.
Don’t look at me like that, thought Endo.
“Y-yeah,” he muttered, deciding that swallowing his pride and asking for help was his best option right now.
Don’t call me a girl. I’m not a girl.
Tsubakino knelt beside him, long hair swirling behind him at the quick movement.
“Then let’s get you some pain meds, man! I obviously don’t have any personal experience, but I’ve heard from Shizuka how bad these things can get.”
Tsubakino helped Endo up, and the latter held tightly onto him. He didn’t miss the others whispering behind him. And he certainly didn’t miss how Suzuri’s eyes bored into the back of his skull.
Just shut up, Endo thought. And if you call me a girl, I’ll kill you.
Tsubakino led Endo to a nearby show pub, conversing urgently with a long-haired girl Endo hadn’t noticed until now.
The pub’s dressing room was expansive, with mirrors and dressers and, thankfully, a couch. Endo sat down as the girl—Shizuka—rummaged through a bag of toiletries.
“Do you prefer pads or tampons?” she asked him.
“Pads,” he responded, feeling his entire body tense up.
Shizuka blinked in confusion at him. “But you fight a lot. Wouldn’t tampons be better for that?”
Endo had no desire to voice his irrational fear that every tampon he used would get lost in his body forever and eventually become a part of him. So, he said nothing.
“Well, that’s okay.” Shizuka handed him a pad and guided him to a nearby bathroom. Once Endo had done his business, grimacing at the smelly, blood-soaked mess that was his old pad, he left and immediately lay down on the couch. He had also taken off his binder in the bathroom, and the pain in his chest slowly began to ease.
Shizuka quickly walked out of the room, telling him that she was going to get a heating pad and some pain medication. As soon as she returned with said heating pad, plugged it in, and placed it on Endo’s abdomen, the latter felt immense relief as the warmth soaked into his body. That combined with the meds made him feel the best he had ever been today.
“You’re Yamato Endo, aren’t you?” Shizuka asked him.
Endo gave her a small smirk. “The one and only.”
Shizuka sighed. “I had no idea that you… You know, had periods, too.”
“Yeah, and they suck ass.”
The girl smiled. “Yeah. They do. Is the heating pad helping?”
“Uh-huh.” The pleasant warmth had almost wiped out his pain.
Shizuka fidgeted nervously. “So… do you need anything else?”
Endo folded his muscled arms behind his head. “Nope.”
After a brief silence, Shizuka blurted out, “I don’t think you’re a girl.”
Endo stared at her. “Huh?”
“I don’t know if that was the right thing to say, but I don’t think you’re a girl in the slightest. I think you’re… scary.”
This made Endo laugh more than he thought he would. “You’re right, I identify as a threat.”
Shizuka smiled. “But you are a boy, and sometimes boys have periods. Your body doesn’t define who you are as a person. You do.”
Endo’s eyes grew wide. “You’re being awfully nice,” he murmured.
“To be honest, I’m still really terrified. But I don’t like seeing people in pain.”
That made Endo smile. “I do!”
An hour later, Endo was feeling much better. He and Shizuka walked out of the room and were immediately confronted by Kanji.
“If you did anything to her—” he began.
“Relax, relax,” Endo told him with an easy smile. “We were just talking.”
“Talking with the girl you wanted to kidnap!?”
“I was scared,” said Shizuka. “But he didn’t hurt me. We actually had a nice conversation.”
Kanji scoffed. “Yeah, well, he’d better not come back next month.”
Endo grinned. “Don’t worry, I have no reason to stay here anymore. But your Furin friends… Well, we’ll meet again soon.”
Shizuka looked away. “I care for everyone at Furin so much! And I know there’s nothing I can do or say that won’t make you hurt them.”
She gazed up at Endo, her eyes filling with tears. “But please—”
Endo chuckled. “Me and those Furin fools have business to take care of.” He traced the infinity tattoo on his neck. “But us two—not anymore. Just don’t tell anyone about… you know.”
Shizuka nodded. “I won’t!”
“Now, I’m not normally one to make promises, but you helped me out when you didn’t have to, so I’ll let you call on one favor from me. Just one.”
The girl swallowed nervously. “Okay… But it would feel wrong. Because you want to hurt my friends.”
“Yeah, I get that, but the offer still stands.” Endo grinned. “Do with that what you will.”
As he left the pub, he was keenly aware of the others’ eyes on him.
He was looking forward to when they met again. Then, he and Takiishi would destroy them all.
But Endo wouldn’t forget Shizuka’s kindness.
Your body doesn’t define who you are as a person. You do.
Sure, he had periods. Sure, he had to bind his chest. But that didn’t make him any less of a man.
I guess today was a good day, he thought.