I snuck into the house quietly assuming my little sister was out cold. She was up late last night which means she'll sleep until 5pm tomorrow.

My little sister, Hiro, is so pretty. She looks just like my mother when she was 15 years old. Hiro is thin and short with nice round hips and healthy looking legs. Her chest is slender and flat, which is strange since both Aunt Cass and my mom are not flat chested. Maybe she gets genetics from some other relative… She does however, such a pretty face with long angelic black hair framing it.

I'm just going to sneak into the room that Hiro and I share, and grab a book… Yet plans change.

I sat outside of the door and watched Hiro examine herself in the full length mirror. Then she looked around to be sure she was alone as she threw off her abercrombie shirt. My eyes widened at what I saw…

No, I wasn't staring at her breasts, but rather at the ace bandage tightly wrapped around them. I noticed how the bandage was cutting off the circulation to her chest which made me cringe. She began to unwrap it. I couldn't look away from her show… The marks from the bandage left an angry red ribbon embedded into her skin… very painful.

"Ugh," I heard her comment, "They grew more…" She grabbed a handfull of the fatty flesh on her chest and felt the size. Her frown grew as she observed her gorgeous curvy figure most women would kill for.

Then came her tears. The salty liquid trickled down her cheeks as she examined herself more closely.

"Stupid body," she hiccuped to hold in her tears. I noticed her struggle to keep her loud sobs at bay.

Hiro grabbed a pair of scissors which made me jump. Next thing I knew, she cut off a good few inches from her silky black hair. I couldn't bare to watch my baby sister in this much pain.

"Ow," she yelped as she put her bloody finger in her mouth to catch the bead of crimson blood. I turned around and quietly ran to the bathroom near our room since Hiro turned around to find a bandage.

Oh God… my baby sister… She is in pain… I could still hear her tiny sobs that stung my heart like a swarm of angry bees.

"Hiro, Tadashi, I'm home!" my dear Aunt Cass announced as she entered the house.

Shoot, now Hiro will know that I am home. Nevertheless I heard her bare feet slap against the floor as she ran down the wooden stairs. I could harely make out what the two were saying until Aunt Cass called for me. I tried to regain my composure and exited the safety of the bathroom to see my sister's distressed expression.

"Take a look, isn't Hiro more curvy?" my Aunt asked with a smile. She had always taken pride in Hiro's beauty.

I had no idea what to say so I stood there and examined Hiro. I noticed her chest was bigger since she had no binding on.

"Yeah, she does," I gave my honest opinion on the matter which made Hiro even more upset. She ran back to our room and slammed the door.

"What's wrong with her?" Aunt Cass asked.

"I don't know, but I'll go talk to her," I said.

I ascended the stairs in a graceful manner being extremely careful of where I step. It was like if I took the wrong step, a trapped door would suck me in. I walked into the room where Hiro was laying in bed on her stomach with her face burried into a pillow. Her sobs were as silent as possible, but they still could be heard.

I sat at the edge of her bed contemplating whether to rub her back or leave her alone. I went with my first choice. Hiro jumped slightly but eventually relaxed at my touch.

"Hiro, are you alright?" I asked. She nodded still refusing to look at me.

"You can tell me anything. I'm you're big brother, I won't judge you," I said in a calm voice.

"Yes, you will," her tiny voice was muffled by the pillow.

"I could never judge you! We've been through too much."

"You'll hate me."

"No I won't, I love you," this is more difficult than I thought. It was like pulling teeth!

"No!" she yelled. Finally she looked at me with tears staining her clean complexion.

I pulled Hiro close to me so that our bodies were pressed together. Her face rested in the nap of my beck as she continued to let her emotions run wild.

"I will not hate you," I said, "So tell me…"

She still refused. I began to become impatient. The silence had laid a thick fog of awkward between us. I felt like it was smothering me. The truth had to come out.

"Hiro, I saw you today," I blurted out, cutting through the fog.

"You.. what?" She looked at me in disbelief and fear.

"I saw you with the ace bandage, examining yourself. I saw the whole thing. If something is bothering you, please tell me."

There was a long pause. Hiro was still trying to process my words while I stared into her chocolate brown eyes trying to search for answers. All I saw was fear… She was so scared, a deer in headlights. I noticed her lips twitching as she tried to form a sentence, but no words came out.

"I-I," soft mumbled dribbled from Hiro's lips.

"Sweetie, it's okay," I said as I pulled her into a quick hug.

"Don't tell Aunt Cass," Hiro choked out.

"I won't, I promise," I hushed her by stroking her freshly cut hair.

"I-I'm a… boy," Hiro confessed. Her eyes quickly darted from mine as she stared into her lap.

I sort of knew this was coming. Hiro had always been a tomboy. She would wrestle with me in the mud and get dirty just for fun. She ignored her dolls and went straight for my robots. She would always wear my clothes saying she felt more comfortable shopping in the men's section.

"I can't believe this," I scoffed making Hiro cringe into herself more, "I let my baby brother bind himself with an ace bandage."

"What?" Hiro perked up. She- or I mean he looked into my eyes hopefully.

"I mean it. I'm going to buy you a binder and we will go shopping for clothes tomorrow, sound good?" I smiled.

"Why?" Hiro asked, "Why are you being so nice?"

"Because I'm your big brother. It's my job to be accepting of you," I kissed Hiro's forehead gently.

"Thank you, Tadashi!" Hiro exclaimed as he burst into tears and collasped on me, "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me," I sighed, "Little brother."

Hiro continued to cry tears of joy as I called him by more male pronouns.

"Hiro," I pushed him to look at me, "I don't care if I have a sister or a brother, as long as I have you as my sibling, I don't care."

"Tadashi," Hiro smiled through his tears. His happiness was like a breath of fresh air. My emotion was so radiant and bright that it lit up my day.

I knew Aunt Cass would find out eventually, but for now decided I would help Hiro become a boy. He must want different parts too… I couldn't imagine being stuck in a different body, unable to escape. Hiro may look like a boy, but underneath he is still female. One day he could get surgery, but for now he'll just have to be okay.

I felt tears trickle down my face. I don't know why, I guess Hiro's happiness is rubbing off on me…

Eventually, Hiro was asleep in my arms, cuddling close to me for safety. I swear, I will protect Hiro from anything, even if it means trading my life for his. Hiro is such a bright child with an amazing future. Just because Hiro identifies as a boy now doesn't mean any of that will change. I love Hiro for who he is inside, and I hope everyone else will too.

Ryker: This is one of my best pieces. I could've sworn I already posted it on here but I guess I didn't. It talks about the truth and reality which is many of my themes. I wish I was able to post it everywhere to spread the word but I guess this will have to do.

I put this story in a contest for a literary magazine and it lost, but Ice Cream won! Even though Beauty Within wasn't published, I still want to share reality and brains to people in the world. This could be happening right under people's noses. Now, try to be like Tadashi and very supportive. I love this topic since I am a genderfluid person xD