for therealrisette

[xss]

[Chihiro fidgets nervously with his hands as he stalls outside Rise's door. There's a chance she might not even be here, or could be busy, but he didn't want to chance asking over the journals first. He knew he'd lose his resolve if he didn't just get up and do it in person.

...Of course that doesn't mean he isn't on the edge of losing said resolve now. But he's been here so long that it doesn't feel right anymore to keep living this lie. Everyone's been so nice to him and accepting... continuing to deceive them out of fear when even he was unhappy with things just didn't seem like the best thing to do.

Ideally he'd rather tell this to someone strong and male. Someone who could help him train in secret. But after how poorly that went at Hope's Peak... well, maybe it was better to confide in someone different first. And he couldn't think of anyone better than the person who's always been nicest to him.

Taking one last shaky breath he finally reaches up and knocks on the door.]

Rise-san...? Are you home?

Comments

[therealrisette]

[The knock is quickly answered by the door slowly creaking open. And an inquisitive peek outside by a very familiar twintailed girl... sans twintails at the moment, apparently.]

Oh, Chihiro-chan!

[Both her eyes and her smile light up the second she recognizes him, and she opens the door much wider. It seems she has her hair down because she's been lounging around her room in pajamas today.]

Come in~! I was just thinking it'd be nice to have some company...

[She quickly ushers the smaller 'girl' inside. By the time she has the door closed, she finally notices how... nervous (?) her friend is. She knew Chihiro was usually shy and timid, of course, but still...]

Is something wrong?

[She continues to lead Chihiro to the giant pillow that took up one side of the room, guiding him to sit with her if he'll follow along. As far as she knows, Chihiro is a younger girl dealing with a lot of the same insecurities Rise suffered when she was around 'her' age. Maybe that's why she took such a special interest, but she'd also be here for a friend no matter what the reason.]

[xss]

H-Hello... [Stepping in once the door is more open and cautiously looking around before following her to the pillow. He takes a seat, being mindful of his skirt and smoothing it out.

He's glad that he's apparently not disturbing her, or at least that's what he surmises when she tells him she was thinking about having company anyway.]

Well um... [fidgeting with his hands again] I have... something r-really important to talk to you about...

[therealrisette]

Something important?

[Aww, the poor thing looks even more nervous than usual. Rise scoots in closer, slipping an arm around Chihiro's shoulders and giving 'her' a supportive little squeeze.]

Hey... you don't have to be so nervous! We're friends, right?

[Time to crank up that idol charm with her most reassuring, big-sisterly smile. If Chihiro's already made up his mind to talk about this (whatever it is), she just wants him to feel more comfortable doing so. She's curious too, of course, but doesn't want to put any pressure on the poor kid.]

[xss]

[He tenses a moment when he feels her arm on his shoulders... but he takes a big breath and tries to steady himself]

R-Right. We are! S-So there's... nothing to worry about...

[...why does it sound more like he's trying to convince himself of that rather than just agreeing with her.

He takes another deep breath, placing a hand on his chest as it to soothe his beating heart]

Um well... Rise-san...

[Here goes...!]

I'm... I'm actually a boy.

[therealrisette]

That's right!

[Another squeeze, snuggling herself in close to Chihiro. She's... probably not making this easier, but how could she possibly know that? She just wants to support her friend, and she's very affectionate by default...

She's very patient with him, though, letting him take as much time as he needs to calm himself and say what he needs to say.

And then it hits.]

You're...?!

[The arm around his shoulders goes a little slack, but she doesn't pull away. She just looks him over, blinking in disbelief.]

No way! But you're so cute!!!

[There's shock and disbelief in her voice, of course. But no anger, or betrayal. She's... actually a little impressed. If he really is a boy, he fooled her completely!]

[xss]

[that moment when he feels her arm go a little slack feels like an eternity to him and he braces himself for what will happen next...]

Huh...?

[...but in the end he's... well blown away]

You're not... mad? Even though I've been deceiving you...?

[therealrisette]

Huh?

[Mad? Why would she be mad? It's not like he did anything bad or took advantage of it!]

Of course not! It's a little surprising, though. You're really convincing!

[That's... probably not what he wanted to hear, oops.]

I thought you were just really shy... but you must have been scared someone would notice, huh?

[Yep, that's genuine sympathy there. First thing after being told the cute girl she'd been trying to be a big sis to is really a boy, and not only does she not get mad, she empathizes. It helps that one of her closest friends back home was in a similar situation.]

[xss]

Um... Well actually it's more like the opposite...

I was always bullied for being weak and quiet, and told I needed to "man up". So I... um... I tried to escape that. By just dressing like this...