Rendezvous in the Sea

Alright! Let’s do this! The end of my second Monday! A busy one at that!

Today on this lovely April Monday, I made sure to be as productive as possible so I can do everything that I can to be fully prepared for my somewhat forced appointment with the Exuberant Kiyoshi Tadokoro! I was strict with my makeup this morning, using no colorful Eyeshadow or Lip gloss and no blush, only using a monochrome palette. My face felt like an old Film noir. Hopefully, this will intimidate Kiyoshi!

The intensity of my attitude today made class go by so quickly, I vigorously wrote notes down like a mad person. The anticipation for this meeting is making my brain go at the speed of light. I completely forgot that Kiyoshi is even in my class. I can only imagine that he was glaring at me once or twice throughout the day.

As a consequence of my forgetfulness, I will have to make my meeting with Minato way shorter than I wanted. With no time to waste the moment the bell rang for the end of the day. I hopped out of my seat and hurried to the field where Minato will be practicing after school. Although, I was too fast apparently. I had to wait for him to arrive. Luckily I didn’t wait long! I was able to talk to him before he got into Practice Mode, as he called it.

I somewhat overly explained to him that I’ll only stay for a little bit, but not revealing what the reason why that is. Before he got into his Practice Mode, I was still able to share a pleasant in person conversation with him. I was able to detail the fun I had yesterday at the baseball game and how lucky I am that I get to see more in the future.

I felt a little embarrassed, not just for me, but for Minato as well. When he went to the field, his teammates were making small teasing gestures and saying some rather cheeky things. Nothing rude or harmful, more like friendly mocking. I compare it to a hard pat on the back. Still, it was a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, I was able to brush it off without affecting me in any way. Probably, because I had one other thing in mind, and it was the first time I’d experienced anything like that. Not to mention that I didn’t even think that would be a thing in the first place. High school interactions are certainly strange.

Now that I’m finished with the things I want to enjoy. I quickly made my way to something I’m less than excited for.

◑ ◒ ◓ ◐

“Okay, this must be the place.” I said softly as I looked around.

Nothing too out of the ordinary. Normal house, normal street, normal looking neighbors, just a little further from school than my home. Let’s do this, I guess…

Thinking to myself, I had only one goal in mind. To get this meeting done and over with as fast as possible. I have to clue what Kiyoshi wants, and I still don’t really care all that much. I just want to go about my High School experience with as little stress as possible. With that said, it took me several moments to knock on the door.

Knock-knock

Oh, dang it! I was doing so well. But now all of a sudden my heart decided to run a 5K in my chest.

The door opened naturally, there he was blank faced as ever.

“Huph, I figured you’d be a little late… No matter, I planned for this. Please. Come in.” Kiyoshi answered, with demeaning politeness.

I walked in slowly into his home and took my shoes off. Looking around for anything that might jump out at me, but everything also appeared very normal. We then made our way to the upstairs, assuming that is where his room is.

“Wah-?-!” I gasped.

I had no clue what to expect. With the way Kiyoshi acts I was guessing something from the medieval or gothic. Then again with his constant unpredictability, I very well could have been something flowery, or heroic. To my surprise, everything looked very… normal. Just like the house, the neighborhood.

But this… This is something I definitely was not expecting.

“You-you… Assemble Gundam models!!!” I squealed.

I have a bit of a confession. There’s a bit of a small hobby that I have, that I haven’t really brought up due to my family moving, and I haven’t had the chance to get to all of my storage boxes yet. Most of which are filled with Gundam models and model kits.

“Ah, yes. My older brother and I used to assemble them often.” Kiyoshi mentioned.

“Wow, ‘Robot Spirits RX-78 GP04G Gundam Gerbera’ and ‘MG RX-78-02 Gundam Origin version’. And… WAH! The ‘GFFMC MS-05S Zaku I Char Custom Metal Composite’!” I was in shock at the number of models that Kiyoshi had, and knelt down to examine them more clearly.

“Hhm, now that I have you comfortable and clueless.” Kiyoshi announced quietly, to just barely get my attention.

As I was distracted marveling at Kiyoshi’s models, I slowly turned to him.

“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!!!” In a loud and sudden declaration, Kiyoshi sounded like something one would only hear in an opera house!

“Wait! Wah?! Boo-Boo-” I gasped, now closer to the floor.

Somehow, some way. Kiyoshi never fails to one up himself with every random opportunity. Someone like this deserves to be on display at Broadway theatre or something grander. The Majesty that is Kiyoshi, is also not who they say they are.

“Your-your a girl! With boobies!” I swiftly pointed at Kiyoshi’s chest in confusion.

“Incorrect.” Kiyoshi quickly remarked.

“Wh-what?!” I squealed.

“Now that I have gifted to you my corporeal form, you shall willfully reveal to me your own truth.” Kiyoshi declared with seriousness.

My own truth? Kiyoshi was willing to remove his shirt to reveal that a Sports Bra underneath to suppress the breast he actually has. This strange predicament is exactly what I should have anticipated. The only thing is, how could I have possibly outsmarted Kiyoshi?

“I-I'm not going to show you anything! If that's what you are getting at.” I growled lightly.

“Of course not.” He softly replied.

“Hmm.” Sitting on the floor, I released a wary sigh.

“I simply want to hear you say it out loud.” Kiyoshi mentioned, still exposed with his Sports Bra out in the open.

“Okay, so, I'm actually a boy, a boy that wears girl clothes.” I explained hesitantly.

“Interesting.” Kiyoshi chimed the thought as he sat on his bed.

“What? That’s all?!” I remarked in confusion.

“... Feel free to elaborate.” Kiyoshi mentioned.

“Um, well, at first I just thought that everyone knew I was a boy. Then as time went on, it felt like everyone liked me as a girl. So, I guess, I just went with it because I thought I needed to keep this White Lie, that way everyone would still like me…” I explained, slowly and unsure of what exactly to say.

“Hhum, you did receive quite the zealous welcome.” Kiyoshi mentioned.

“So, there… Are you happy? Detective?” I mocked.

“Yes, well. I am to some degree. However… You went with this image, and likely will continue with it, rather comfortably. Would you prefer to be a girl?” Kiyoshi walked around his room, still with the Bra exposed, as if he was conducting an investigation.

“Yeah, I mean no, err, maybe… I don’t know! I-It’s not like I hate being a boy!” I mutter in frustration with myself.

“What about you?! What do you want to be?!!!” I quickly pointed at Kiyoshi in annoyance.

“I don't want to be anything, because I am a boy. I just happened to have breasts and a vagina. You could say that I'm a boy trapped in a girl's body.” He calmly explained.

“That doesn’t make any sense!” I rattled my body around in confusion.

“... You see, everything has no purpose to make sense. Life would be much too dull if every single person was able to perfectly conceptualize one another with a simple glance.” Kiyoshi wisely and confidently asserted.

I just looked at Kiyoshi in confusion as my scattered brain tried to keep up with the numerous events that have taken place within the past 10 minutes.

“Hahh, my point is, the only person that should care about who you are is yourself.” Kiyoshi summarized.

“So, want me to tell everyone that I’m a boy?” I meekly asked.

“No, not at all. I’m just saying be whoever you want to be. Girl, boy, other. That’s your choice.” Kiyoshi explained.

I looked at Kiyoshi for a moment.

“Why are you doing this anyway?” I asked.

“To put simply. It's nice to know that there is someone with a likeness to that of my own.” He explained intellectually.

“So, like a friend?” I slowly remarked with a somewhat lofty tone.

“Ah! No, absolutely not! It’s called managing your resources.” Kiyoshi quickly responded and got his shirt to put back on.

“Whatever…” I rolled my eyes.

“Anyhow, this meeting was very illuminating. I appreciate your audience.” Kiyoshi declared.

“So am I free to go?” I smirked.

“Yes, you are. And no need to worry about anything, your Secret, is safe with me.” Kiyoshi explained.

“Is that so?” I asked as I stood up.

“Yes, of course. My reasons are purely academic.” He remarked.

I just stood in place for a moment, thinking of what to say next.

“What are you doing with your face?” Kiyoshi asked suddenly.

“Oh, um… Huh? I guess I’m happy.” I replied and felt my face, not even realizing that I had a comforting smile.

“Okay, I’ll walk you out.” Kiyoshi opened the door and we headed to his front door.

“Hehe!” I randomly giggled as I walked out the door.

“Now what?!” Kiyoshi asked with concern, trying not to chuckle himself.

“Heh, I’m just relieved that this ended positively. Thanks for wanting to hang out. Despite the method, your intentions were pure, and I admire that.” I explained with a bright smile.

“Tch, I’m intentions and methodology are perfectly sound! Anyway, see you tomorrow!” A flustered look off to the side as he justified his actions, right before closing the door on me.

Oh, I’d say that Kiyoshi was blushing a little bit.

What a surprise, and a very pleasant one at that! I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Never realized that actually talking about my woes out loud and with someone that I can, somewhat, relate to would be so helpful! With the strange bond I now formed, I feel like I’ll be able to get through High School with little to no issue!

I saw that dawn was just moments away, so I quickly got my phone out to text my Mom that I’m on the way home. Just like that I arrived home in a timely manner. I skipped the whole way, like a giddy kid! Like I flew the way back!

“Tadaima!” I announced in a very sprightly manner as I walked in my home.

“Ah, tadaima! My love!” Mom replied with glee.

“How was your day?” Motoko routinely asked.

“It was great! I think I made a really good friend!”

With my joyous announcement and a hopeful gleam in my eyes, I’ll continue to look forward to the future with positivity!