Chapter 1: Weak (Started: October 28th, 2022. Finished November 7th, 2022)

It's late at night at Hope's Peak Academy. Most students are at home or in their dorms. Students aren't supposed to go out at this time due to a set curfew. But for one student, that is the least of their worries.

Chihiro popped their head out the corner to look around. Upon seeing no one, they continued forward.

Chihiro Fujisaki is a responsible student. They never cause trouble and are one of the more social students in their class. They aren't one to disobey the rules, so why are they out past curfew?

Soon, Chihiro found themselves in front of the door to the weight room.

The truth is, Chihiro is a very self-conscious person. When they were younger, they were subjected to a lot of bullying due to their "classmates" claiming they weren't "manly" enough. And that's the second truth bullet, while Chihiro is a boy, he dresses up as if he were a girl. They believed that if they dressed as a girl, the bullying would stop. And while it did stop, Chihiro since then believed that they were weak because they weren't able to overcome their fears and was now living a lie. But tonight, Chihiro promised to change that.

"Now's my chance... I'm going to get stronger...and accept who I am... Strong enough so that when someone says "even though you're a boy" I'll be okay. I'll get better!"

Chihiro was ready to enter the room but before they could enter the room, a familiar voice stopped them.

"Chihiro? I must say I wasn't expecting you to be out this late." That was the voice of Celestia Lundenberg.

Celestia Lundenberg but called Celeste at her request, was Chihiro's classmate in Class 78. She was the Ultimate Gambler, but her classmates knew her for other reasons than that. Celeste was an apathetic person. No one was close to her besides her classmate Hifumi Yamada, but they were close in all the wrong ways. Therefore, she wasn't all that interested in making friends. Her relationship with Chihiro was non-existent. They rarely interacted, but when they did interact, they were friendly with one another.

Chihiro was shocked by Celeste's sudden appearance, but also worried.

"Oh! H-hey Celeste. I didn't think I'd see you either." Chihiro said, "Why are you out so late?"

"I could ask you the same, but I already did." Celeste jokingly said, "However if you must know, I was simply off to get some tea."

Chihiro for a second was relieved that this was going to be a simple short interaction but that was when it took a turn for the worse for them.

"But I must ask why you chose to go to the weight room at such a late time. Certainly, you could have scheduled it for an earlier time."

Chihiro was hoping this question wouldn't be asked but their luck had run out before they knew it. Chihiro wasn't a good liar and trying to lie to the Queen of Liars was a bad idea.

"W-well…." Chihiro started, trying to figure out something but thinking of a good lie was simply impossible against Celeste. It had started to become too much for them to handle and eventually they broke down into tears right in front of her.

"Chihiro?" Celeste didn't expect such an immediate meltdown from the programmer. She knew that Chihiro could be sensitive to some subjects but not to this extent. "Did I say something wrong?"

Chihiro managed to choke up some words between sobs "I'm…sorry Celeste. I'm so weak!"

Celeste was confused. "I-I beg your pardon?". She was stuck on what to do. While she could read people's emotions well, she didn't know how to handle them well enough. She had never been put in such a position before in her whole life. But she couldn't just have a crying person sit there and walk away. While she was apathetic, she wouldn't do this to her classmates. Reluctantly, using what she has learned from observing other people, she reached down and put a hand on Chihiro's shoulder.

"Chihiro," Celeste began, "I'm not one to do this, but would you like to join me for tea, and we could talk this over?"

This was a hard question for Chihiro to answer. Could they trust Celeste with this information? They know she could be manipulative at times due to her relationship with Hifumi, but they also knew this was very out of character for Celeste. And they can't just sit out here and cry.

"S-sure." Chihiro managed to get out.

After getting the tea, both Celeste and Chihiro returned to Celeste's room. During their walk, Chihiro had managed to calm themself down. They were still scared but with everything Celeste has done, they felt like they didn't have a choice.

They eventually arrive and get seated. Chihiro was the first to speak up.

"Thank you for this Celeste."

Celeste smiled and replied "It's my pleasure. You're much calmer now, yes?"

"Yeah." Chihiro said, nodding.

"So," Celeste said while taking a sip of her tea, "Would you like to talk about what happened?"

Chihiro first took a sip of their tea in hopes it'd calm them down further. This was it, no backing out.

"Celeste, can I trust you?"

"Oh? Why must you ask that?"

"What I'm about to say is personal to me," Chihiro said in a pleading voice, "I haven't been opened about this, even to Makoto or Mondo. Can you promise you won't make fun of me?"

Celeste wasn't the type of person to make deals like this. But she knew Chihiro was a very innocent person. So she nodded "I promise I won't."

Chihiro began, "Celeste, most of my life I have been living a lie. I've struggled with my appearance. I got bullied a lot for it when I was younger. They said….."

Chihiro had stopped. Celeste spoke up, "What did they say?"

"They said…I wasn't manly enough."

"But…you're a girl? How is that a proble-"

"Because I'm a boy Celeste!"

This was a shocking revelation for Celeste. She could see through a lot of people, but she could have never seen this coming. 'Chihiro is a boy?' she thought.

"I-I'm sorry?" Celeste said out loud "Could you repeat that?"

"It's the truth Celeste! I promise you." Chihiro looked like they were about to tear up again before Celeste spoke up again

"I'm sorry, I was just shocked is all. But I must admit, I would have never known you were a boy if you hadn't told me that right now."

Chihiro was starting to feel relieved, but they still needed closure on that bit. "So..you're not going to make fun of me?"

"I have no reason to. You're my classmate after all." Celeste said while smiling. "I do want you to continue however before you start thanking me."

Chihiro had some tears flowing down their cheeks but continued "Celeste you know how you said you wouldn't have known I was a boy unless I told you? Well that's how some people thought of me back then. They said I didn't look manly enough to be a boy. I thought….if I wore some sort of mask, those people would go away. My mask was being dressed as a girl. It did help, those people did go away. But, when I came to Hope's Peak, I knew I couldn't stay like this forever. That's why I wanted to change. To prove those people wrong!"

Celeste now fully understood Chihiro's situation. "I see. Would you like to hear my input?"

"Sure."

Celeste wasn't one to open up much about her life before Hope's Peak, but Chihiro had hit something deep inside Celeste. Something that made her come to this decision.

"Chihiro" She began "I understand where you're coming from. I…myself was in a similar situation years ago. It's something I don't like to talk about. But just understand, there will be people who judge you, call you weak and try to make you feel bad about yourself. So you must adapt yourself to combat yourself against them and prove them wrong."

Chihiro didn't expect that answer from Celeste, but it was an answer they had no problem with.

Chihiro's tears had now started to flow again. Chihiro got up and went over to where Celeste was sitting and hugged her. Celeste would have berated Chihiro for getting tears on her dress, but for some reason, she didn't have a problem with it this time. And so, she returned their hug.

"Thank you Celeste! Thank you so much!" Chihiro cried out.

Much to Celeste's surprise, her eyes started to sting. She couldn't remember the last time this had happened. All she could do was continue to embrace Chihiro and let her tears flow quietly.

This was the beginning of something special for the both of them.