(( A.N. PLEASE READ PLEASE READ PLEASE READ DO NOT BLAME ME IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BC YOU DIDN'T READ THIS I FUCKING REPEAT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FUCKING PLEASE READ THIS IN-DEPTH SUMMARY BEFORE YOU READ THE FIC!

OKAY, I assume I have your attention. Here's the thing peeps... I would not consider this story itself "dark", at least not super much so, but... It's definitely weird and disturbing, and my own personal explanation for it is pretty dark, so, trigger warning posted now.

At first, I was just going to mention this idea in passing in Kirishima's chapter in "My Hero Reunion Matchmaking Service", but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would require a much more in-depth explanation in order to be as respectful as I could be about it. An explanation that I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to include my own personal involvement with. However, I decided after thinking upon it that I really shouldn't feel as shamed as I do about needing to be open and honest about my reasoning for needing to write and share this fic and include personal details into it this time, so, here is it... (If you really think you can handle it and don't want spoilers for the fic go ahead and skip but I really highly suggest you read all this first.)

I would normally never explain in depth the plot of a fic before I allow you to read it but this is a special case. In this fic I am exploring a sort of and sort of NOT trans headcanon for Tetsutetsu. He is not exactly trans, but neither is he exactly 'cis', either. In this fic, Tetsutetsu is female, as is most of his family. However, they all go by 'he' and 'him' pronouns bc their bodies are naturally hard bc of the steel quirk, and makes them resemble men. Most of them are at peace with their true female sex, however, society's reaction to their appearance made it much safer for them to pretend to be the opposite sex, as people tended to assume of them.

Additionally, and this is where things could get uncomfortable for those with dyphoria or with pasts of certain kinds of abuse, so please take note: The females in Tetsutetsu's family have a side-effect of their quirk, that their vaginas are miniature sword scabbards. This is based on some dreams/nightmares I had as a child, as a result of sexual abuse, where huge, monstrous/demonic men would either try to stab me or hammer spikes into me like a vampire hunter. Before I saw a therapist some time later, something I did to cope was, if I was being stabbed with a sword, I would pretend that my own genitals were a sheathe or scabbard, to lessen the horror of the dream. Lately I've been thinking, if I were a hero in BNHA, what kind would I like to be? At first I thought "Recovery Girl" bc Chansey is my favorite pokemon, lol, but then I thought, yanno what - I think I could be like this kind of Tetsutetsu, and the family I've made up for him here. The Steel Magnolias. Iron Wombs. Metal Mothers. Hell yeah, that's the kinda hero I'd wanna be in this universe!

But please take note, people from all walks of life: This time, I wanted to represent myself personally and women like me more than anything, and I am a GNC (that is 'Gender Non-Conforming) female. I am at peace and enjoy being my sex, but my body does not look how society deems females should. I am tall, almost 6 feet tall, big boned/beefy, and I'm friggin' hairy, lol. I wear girly clothes like maybe a couple times a month, otherwise it's just a bunch of frumpy-dumpy geek tees. I'm not a butch lesbian but people often make that assumption just looking at me. Either that, or sometimes they assume I'm a transwoman. Either way, just... Please believe me, the struggle? I Get It.

So, it might possibly upset some people that I'm not writing Tetsutetsu exactly as a transman or transwoman, but instead as a GNC female/woman pretending to be a man for his safety and the safety of his family. Some people consider "pretending to be a man" to be an offensive way to present it, however, please take note that historically, females who were not really trans HAVE pretended to be men in order to gain certain privileges they were denied by the basis of their sex, or to live with someone they truly loved, or to stay more safe in certain situations. I am presenting this as the latter of these cases. So please recognize that I am not trying to offend anyone, I am trying my best to make it relatable overall for everyone, but this is also a piece that is mostly dedicated to myself this time. That doesn't mean that transmen and transwomen can't still relate to a lot of things Tetsutetsu mentions in this fic, in fact they definitely can and I have absolutely no qualm if you see your experiences mirrored here. The more the merrier as far as representation goes, but this time, I really felt the need to represent a little part of myself more than anything.

So please be gentle on this one, and I really hope you enjoy it, although I definitely understand if you have a less than positive reaction instead and I do apologize if so. I hope this fic brings a smile to more faces than not, as that is what I'm going for. And if it manages to do that for you, I'd be really grateful for a kudo or kind word. :)

Alright, without further ado, enough of the longest/most spoiler-y summary ever, here's the actual fic... XD;; ))

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"Hey, Kirishima... Do you want to... I don't know, go out together sometime, or something...?"

What the hell...?

Kirishima looked up from his meat platter, his chopsticks holding up a piece of peppered beef halfway to his open mouth. They were technically already 'out together sometime, or something'. They were out at dinner after a hard day of work. So, obviously that meant something a little different than how Tetsutetsu was presenting it at face value...

Which was super fucking weird. Tetsu was normally so brash and in-your-face. Hesitating while supposedly asking to do something totally normal, that they were already doing? That was really unlike him...

He'd seemed like his normal self when he asked him to go get a bite to eat after work, as they did at least once or twice a week after work, but then once the meal arrived he suddenly got quiet and mostly just stared at the food, when he'd normally inhale it. Yeah, something was up... And it didn't take long for Kirishima to work out why once he asked that, at least in part. So he whispered back to him carefully, "W... What do you mean, man... Like go out... On a date...?"

Slowly, and quietly, way too weirdly quiet, Tetsutetsu nodded back to him, and under his breath, he added, "Would it be okay if we... Went somewhere private? Just to talk..." He added, just in case anyone overheard.

Eijirou quickly nodded, and began chomping down the rest of his meat so they could hurry and get out there. Seemingly satisfied with that answer for now, Tetsu ate his own meat and spinach salad with his usual enthusiasm before taking care of the bill and leaving with his friend.

Right... Friend... Kirishima had never really gotten the impression that they were more than that, although their friendship was deeper than most others, and they had many things in common, even being born on the same day... Without yet even prying about it, Kirishima could tell there was a lot his friend was keeping to himself right now...

As they walked down the street together, Kirishima quietly came to inquire, "So, did you want to get a room together, or...?"

Tetsutetsu suddenly turned and glared at him, "HEY, r-remember what I said! I said I only wanted to talk tonight! B-But... Nn, yeah, I would appreciate having somewhere private to discuss this..."

What the fuck, dude... What on earth had him so rattled? He was acting like a damn tsundere like freaking Bakugou... Kirishima had never seen him like this before... He only nodded back in understanding and continued to follow him, but he didn't know what to make of his friend's extreme nervousness...

Tetsutetsu also paid for the room, and Kirishima couldn't help but notice he held the door open for him when going in. How very chivalrous of him... Come to think of it, he'd always been the type to hold doors for both women and men, hadn't he...

Then he closed and locked that door behind them, and seemingly at ease enough now, Kirishima glanced back at where Tetsu was now leaning against the door. "So what's eating you, man? What's all this about...?"

He didn't respond right away. He crossed his arms over his chest first, and then finally huffed, "I... I have a pretty big secret, Kirishima. A secret I've always had, that I've never really told anyone... Well... I want to tell you this secret. I trust you enough to..." Despite that he still looked away and kept tight-lipped until Kirishima cleared his throat for attention. Then the silver-haired young man turned back and glared at him, baring his sharp teeth in a growl. "Shut up! D-Don't rush me! This is a big deal! Um, so..." He stopped just briefly to clear his throat. "Y-You know how... Most of my family is made up of a lot of dudes? Like almost all dudes?"

Kirishima nodded. He'd been invited to a few family dinners and vice-versa for Tetsutetsu. "Yeah, it's a total sausage-fest, why?"

Tetsutetsu steeled a look at him then. Almost literally, since he was so steel-like. "It... It's actually not, dude... It's really the exact opposite of that... My family is actually secretly mostly female... Including me."

Eijirou's eyes slowly widened. "...W... Wait... Are you...?"

"Yes, I'm serious..." Tetsu answered, looking down. He expected the initial shock and disbelief, so he braved through it.

Thankfully Kirishima got his shit together pretty quickly after that. "T-Tetsu! I... I'm really honored you trusted me with something like this! S-So... Does this mean... Do you consider yourself trans? Like, a transman?"

His friend seemed to hesitate at that. "No, not exactly... I mean, there are transmen and transwomen in my family, and I love them, but as for most of us... As for me...?" He sighed. He seemed confused and a little saddened by this question. "Look, I'll tell you, but... This shit is kind of really stupid complicated... And it might make you uncomfortable. In fact, I'm pretty sure it will..."

Well that's why he was hesitating. Good ol' Tetsutetsu had always been the chivalrous type, always the type to think of how others would feel before him. But tonight he obviously needed things to be focused on him... "It's okay, Tetsu. Go ahead and take as much time as you need. I'm listening, and I'd never judge you. Do you maybe want to sit down...?" He looked weirdly stiff and uncomfortable standing there against the door, even for a guy that could turn himself to steel...

He swallowed against an apparent lump in his throat, and nodded, before following Kirishima further into the room. The two of them came to sit next to each other on the edge of the bed. They were still close, but they left a couple inches of space left between them. Tetsutetsu gripped his fists, and settled them on his knees, staring down at his lap. "The thing is... It's different in my family than it is in most families... Obviously, even though we're female, we're very different from the vast majority of females in the world... Some rude assholes probably wouldn't consider us female. Because our steel quirk makes our bodies hard, muscular and masculine-looking. Regular human females get breasts at puberty and have them throughout life. The women in my family only develop small breasts while pregnant and nursing. Otherwise our chests look like a man's. And down there, it's very unlike a normal woman too... But, before I get into that! I wanna tell you more about my family, because they're amazing!"

Kirishima blinked at his sudden enthusiasm, and nodded along, "Huh? Oh, yeah! Tell me all about this, and them! I'm really interested!"

Tetsutetsu blushed a little. "Okay. I will. But you gotta promise not to tell anyone, ever! I know you won't, or I wouldn't be telling you any of this already, but... It's just really, really important. Literally our lives are depending on it. And that comes to rule number one... Even though we're female, and most of us are okay with and even proud to be female... We never ever call each other 'she'. In my family, 'he' and 'him' is not gendered. It's used for everyone. We only call someone 'she' if they explicitly ask to be referred to that way. It doesn't happen often. By far most of us are okay with with world believing we are male. Like, at home, I'll sometimes call my mom 'mom', but when we're in public? It always has to be dad. People can't know what we really are. For our own safety..."

Eijirou blinked at that, his rare temper flaring up a bit. "W-Wait, what do you mean for your own safety? Is someone targeting your family? Tell me, I'll smash their face in-!"

Tetsu snorted derisively at that. "Idiot... Quit getting all riled up. There's nothing you can do, because it's not a specific person that's against us. It's like, almost half the entire fucking world..."

Kirishima went quiet again, then slowly came to place a hand on his friend's knee in support. "It's sad... People are a lot more accepting than they used to be, but there's still a lot of assholes out there, huh..."

He slowly nodded in agreement, going on, "And in our case, there's a lot more at stake than just ridicule. The women in my family make sure the other females in the clan know young... Not to tell anyone but someone you truly trust with not just your own life about our secret, but the lives of the entire family. Because... Our genitals, they're not typical for a female either... We have a special extra vulnerability because of our quirk..."

Lightly squeezing his knee, Eijirou looked right into his friend's eyes, tears brimming in his own. "I... I'm really honored you've put so much trust in me, bro! And I promise, no matter what you look like, I'll still accept you! I'll protect you and your family's secret, and you're always gonna be my best friend, no matter what!"

Tetsutetsu smiled at that, but he also looked a bit guilty. "Thanks, man... Though, I know Bakugou is your best friend too... And just so you know, I promise I'm not trying to come between anything you two have going on. I just really... I've felt lately, that I needed someone to finally know, and... I really wanted it to be you..."

Kirishima blushed, took back his hand briefly from Tetsu, using it instead to rub the back of his neck in nervousness. "Uh... I mean, yeah, you're right, but... Me and Bakugou, we're kind of in an 'on and off' sort of situation. I told him I sometimes date around and he told me he didn't care. Hero work comes first for both of us, of course, so it's understood that there's a lot of times when one of us has time for fun or romance, but the other has to work... And well... I don't know if Bakugou knows if he wants to be with me or not. Sometimes he wants to be close, but a lot of other times he keeps me at such a cold distance... I kinda think he's hung up on a certain someone too..."

The Real Steel hero snorted, and openly rolled his eyes. "A certain someone... How does Deku not notice..."

Kirishima joined him in the eye-rolling. "Pft. Dude, he's so oblivious and stupid-shy he can't even admit he wants to bang at all, let alone acknowledge anyone specific to do it with. I'm telling you right now, anyone who wants to get in Deku's pants is probably going to have to turn in an application to him, or else he'd probably never figure it out!"

They both had a good snort-laugh over that, until Tetsutetsu sighed away his mirth, and addressed his worries once more. "So, seriously though dude... I'm just warning you now... This is some really weird shit. Like, the fact that me and my family look like dudes is one thing, we get enough shit for that - Like, one time? When the quirks first started showing up? My great-grandmother was feeling extra feminine when she was pregnant with my grandma, so she tried to present femininely, and started wearing dresses and stuff - Because she felt so connected to motherhood, when she had the baby inside of her, you know? She felt overwhelmed by it and wanted to express it. But then... Some fucking piece of shit punched her in the face! Eight months pregnant and he punched her in the face! And then, not long after that, my great-grandmother's younger sister... She was murdered. Mutilated. Because of some awful man's reaction to seeing this part of our quirk... Then another woman was murdered, and another... That's when the family came together and decided collectively. That for the safety of us all, we would start hiding our true sex and gender. We would go by 'he' and him', let people assume we were men, and only tell the truth to people we really knew we could trust, with our very lives..."

Kirishima felt so badly for him... "So... How do you feel personally about that, then? Like, if you felt like you were free to do so safely, would you prefer to go by 'he' or 'she'?"

Tetsu simply shrugged. "I mean, it wouldn't really matter to me either way, as long as there were no negative implications behind either word. Like... I'm more used to being called 'he' by now, but... I guess I just wish 'she' wasn't gendered quite so strongly... There are expectations that come with being considered a 'he', but there's also a lot of benefits and privileges, and freedoms. When you are a 'she', suddenly there's ten times as many expectations and ten times fewer privileges and freedoms... But if you're worried if I feel like I'm having to suppress my true self, well, you can chill about that. The women in my family don't like being forced to do things like this all the time, but we acknowledge that it affords us a lot of privileges that regular women don't get. We don't 'get' to dress up as often, but then, we also don't 'have' to, you know? Like I don't know, I wouldn't mind getting dressed up like a girl every once in a great while, for a special occasion, but-" He blushed intensely at that admission, looking away from his bud while he added, "If people expected me to dress like that, all the time? Every fucking day? And gave me shit if I didn't? Oh my fucking god that would drive me fucking insane! I don't know how most women put up with it! I like being a big dumb guy who gets to do guy shit most of the time - I like burping and farting and cursing and just being fucking comfortable! And like, even though I DO have a couple nice dresses and girly tops hidden away at home, I don't ever buy women's pants - Because, like, pants without pockets are just total fucking bullshit! They're just trying to make you buy a fucking purse!"

Kirishima snorted a little in amusement at his tirade, but then shyly spoke up, "You... Have a dress? So, you do dress up like a girl sometimes...?"

The spectacular shade of red Tetsu had turned was clashing pretty badly with his silver hair... "I-It's nothing weird! Like it's not some kind of secret fetish or anything, but - Once a year, my family holds these parties, just for us, right...? It's the one time of year we all get to dress up like girls and call each other 'she' and 'mom' and 'auntie' and 'sister'. Male relatives are invited too if they want, but everyone has to get dressed up in girly clothes, that's the rule of the party... And we all do stereotypical 'girly' stuff, like give each other spa treatments and apply make-up... It's the one day we really get to indulge in our femininity, and really be proud of our true sex and gender, despite how we appear... It helps us not feel so lonely when we have to be big tough guys the world expects us to be the rest of the time. It's nice... I mean, I still like being a regular guy most of the time, but it'd be nice if I could do that kind of stuff just a little more often than once a year, too..."

Eijirou pouted a bit at first. "Would you say... That is, do you think you might do stuff like that more often if you felt like you had the choice? Dressing up, that is? Like, do you think if you felt like you freely could, you'd rather be...?"

Tetsutetsu finally looked back at him then, almost glaring, but a little too pained, a little too close to crying, trying too hard to keep it back. "I'd rather just be who I really am, yes! I'd rather just call my mom my mom all the time, and I wish my dad and all my cousin's dads didn't have to stay at a distance or dress as women to stay near us for our protection! But I -don't- have that choice, Eijirou, we don't have that choice! Not when then not just MY safety is on the line, but the safety of my whole family! An individual's expression and identity can't matter over their life, their physical safety, let alone when it's a the safety of an entire clan on the line..."

Kirishima reached over then putting a hand on his shoulder. "It... Should matter. You should be able to live your life freely, but... I understand why you feel obligated not to. I'd do the exact same thing in your position, I'm sure... Still, it is nice your mom and aunties throw those parties for you guys, at least. They sound like a ton of fun, bro! Actually, to be completely honest... I've kind of secretly always wanted to try dressing up really girly, just once! Do you think your mom and other relatives would be okay with me coming to the next party you guys have...?"

His friend hesitated a little there, but seemed hopeful too. "I'm not sure. I'll definitely ask, and I know they like you, so they might think about it, at least. They usually don't let guys outside the family come unless they've, like, promised to marry one of us. Which I do NOT want you to do, by the way!" He added quickly, and paranoid. "It's just-! I really like you, Kirishima, but I also really like Kendo, I wanna ask her out sometime, and I know you really like Bakugou, so, I know we should probably just stay friends in the long run, but... I just trust you so much! I know I'll probably never trust another guy as much as you! I... I want my first time to be with you-!" He hid his face in his hands then, mortified by having admitted that. "I mean-! Only if you still want to, after you understand what's going on with me, down there... I completely understand if you don't want to. It's your right to say no for any reason, and I don't want you to feel obligated... "

Eijirou stayed quiet, but stared at his friend intensely. Giving him time, silently supporting him, waiting. But also, just a bit in shock at the admission, and not sure how to respond to his friend just yet until he understood the cause for his alarm...

Tetsu took a long, deep breath, and sighed it out. Slowly he lowered his hands again and peeked back at Kirishima. "It... Might be best to just show you the damn situation. Is that okay? To just like, strip my clothes and show you what's going on...?"

Thickly, he nodded back. He'd had a few brief experiences in the past by this point, but Tetsutetsu's virginal fear made him feel a bit virginal around him too.

Standing up, the silver-haired hero reached for the steel clasps holding his costume together, and released them, letting the fabric and metal fall to his knees. Eijirou was already staring just a bit. Despite everything he'd said, he almost still expected there to be a penis attached to that muscular body, but there wasn't. It was flat, with silver hair hiding the privates beneath. Tetsu then kicked off his shoes and the rest of the hero costume, and sat back down on the bed. "Alright... Ready..." He seemed to be asking himself as much as Kirishima...

The red-head nodded, anxious but eager. A lot more anxious but almost as eager, Tetsutetsu laid down on his back on the bed, and opened his legs wide. He mentioned with an embarrassed grunt, "Just look for now though! No touching yet! You see... Every female in my family is different... We all have a mold made for the exact shape of our own individual... Scabbards..."

Eijirou shyly dipped his eyes down to look, and indeed, amazingly, incredibly, there was, just underneath the clitoris, protruding just slightly from where his vagina should be... A small silver oval-shape, with a very narrow slit in the middle. Familiar with battle, Eijirou would have recognized it even if Tetsutetsu hadn't told him what it was. It was indeed a scabbard, seemingly by design and the expected length within to be for a tanto, or surely no more than a wakizashi. His vagina was actually a real scabbard. But then...

"Wait... The mold you mentioned, for your scabbard...?" Kirishima's eyes were quickly getting wider and wider as realization dawned on him.

Thankfully Tetsutetsu took it upon himself fo finish for him. "It's a blade, a sword... And I... I get sexual pleasure... From having it put inside my scabbard! BUT! It can only be my special knife from home, the one specifically for my scabbard! Using the wrong shape or size of knife can really hurt you... Obviously!"

"...Whoa..." Was all Kirishima could think to say right away...

Getting nervous, he quickly closed his legs and sat up after that. "S-S-So! If you want, you know... Just saying, j-just in case my grandma or my aunties aren't comfortable with you being at the next party... W-Well, even if you don't want to be with me in a sexual way, maybe we could have our own Steel Magnolia party, just the two of us? Oh, uh, that's what they call those parties by the way. Steel Magnolia parties. Not sure if you get the reference, but, y-yeah..."

It took him a minute to form the words in his brain, but once he did, Eijirou exploded with excitement, his eyes shining like stars, "Oh my GOD, YES! I totally want to have a Steel Magnolia party with you! I'll order a dress and some make-up and fruity smelling bath junk and when it all comes in we'll get another room and just pamper ourselves like girls! And yes, Tetsu... Whatever it is you want me to do later with your body... We'll do that too. Just... You're sure your sword won't hurt you, like, at all...?"

"Yes, dumbass... I've used it on myself before..."

Kirishima began to cough. "Ehem! Right! So then, as long as that's the case, there shouldn't be a problem... So... Shall we take a temporary rain-check on this? Just until we get our party favors~?"

Tetsutetsu smiled, but then it quickly turned into a grimace of pain. Tears were forming faster in his eyes than he could contain them. "Eijirou... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS, BRO-!"

"OOF!" Kirishima grunted as his best friend threw his arms around him and squeezed tight... And neglected to mention that the idiot had forgotten to put his clothes back on first, with his 'buns of steel' out in the air...

After all, in Kirishima's opinion, hugging your very best friend was better as a 'pussy out' kinda look.

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(( LOL. Um. Well, yeah, hopefully that didn't traumatize anyone, and hopefully you guys are into it so far, even though I know it's hella weird. That's it for the intro on this one, and I will try to get their fun and (hopefully) 'sexy' Steel Magnolia party chapter out soon! XD ))