a week later...
Sakaki looked at her phone, then at her surroundings. Yeah, she was at the place Tomo said to meet her, deep in the heart of Nichoke. But where was Tomo? It was cold, and she didn't want to be out for much longer. She'd always hated how loud and crowded it was here, even if it was where...girls like her were able to live a little more openly than in the world beyond.
"Lost, gorgeous?" came a familiar voice from the alley. Sakaki spun around to see Tomo Takino leaning against the wall. She was wearing a policeman's jacket and cap, but there the uniform ended. Underneath that she was wearing a very tight leather top and miniskirt, black boots reaching up to her knees. She was picking underneath her fingernails with a utility knife. A small orange glow was the only sign of her cigarette.
"Tomo!" Sakaki cheered. Tomo smiled, stamped out her cigarette, and gave the taller girl a massive bear hug. Sakaki looked her up and down for a second. "I, uh..."
"Oh, you get the friend discount, don't you worry," Tomo said coyly. Sakaki blushed furiously. "That's, uh, not what I–"
"I'm teasing, I'm teasing," the wildcat said, punching her lightly in the arm. "C'mon, I know a place that's quiet."
They walked through the alleys and side streets, eventually finding their way onto a pretty much deserted road. Tomo sat down against the side of the building, and encouraged Sakaki to do the same. She offered Sakaki her carton. "Cig?" she asked. Sakaki shook her head. Tomo took one out, popped it into her mouth, and with one fluid motion lit it with a Zippo she kept stashed in her bra.
"So, what's been up with you?" Tomo asked. "Not like you to willingly socialize. Like this, anyway."
We'll work our way up to that topic, she thought. "Oh, nothing much. School. Work."
"Yeah, vet tech, right?"
"Yeah."
"You were always meant for that." Tomo said it with a small hint of...was it jealousy? "I guess I was always meant for this."
"And what, exactly, is 'this'?" Sakaki asked. Tomo sighed. "It took me exactly five days to realize I don't want to ever be a cop. I don't even want to see, or be perceived by, cops for the rest of my life."
"Wow, what caused the shift?"
"It'd always been that way. I just said I wanted to be a cop so Yomi'd get off my back about it."
"What do you actually want to do?" Tomo took a long drag, then sighed deeply. "I don't know anymore. I feel rootless. So now I'm doing this," she said, gesticulating at her general getup, "because someone needs to pay the bills. Yomi's in school full-time and Kagura's off competing somewhere every other week. I'm terribly lonely all the time. Might as well...you know...make money and not feel so lonely all the time." She looked positively miserable. "But it's awful work. Most of the time it's weird men who pay me ridiculous sums for my underwear. Fine by me, I guess. But other times it's not so pleasant."
"I bet." Sakaki was extremely worried about her friend. Tomo looked like she'd aged seven years in the last couple of months.
"Yeah, well, at least I was able to use my connections to get Kaorin somewhere safe."
"Wait...what do you mean, 'somewhere safe'?"
Tomo was silent. Her expression read that she had just said something she shouldn't have.
"Tomo..." Sakaki said threateningly.
"I made a promise," Tomo said with terrifying calmness, unfazed by Sakaki's tone. "She'll contact you when she's ready. She's safe. That's all you need to know." She took another drag. "I gave her your phone number, after all."
Sakaki turned pink. Tomo remembers my phone number...?
The two girls sat there in silence for a few minutes. Sakaki decided it was finally time to talk about It.
"Hey, uh, Tomo...there's something I want to tell you."
"Anything."
"I'm...I'm trans."
Tomo sat there for a minute. "As in, you have a...?" She made a crude gesture with her right hand, as only Tomo would.
"Y-yeah."
Tomo cracked a smile. "That's hot."
Sakaki blushed. "Eh heh...well, I thought that now that we're out of high school, I should be more open about who I...who I am, you know, and–" Her ramble was cut off by Tomo kissing her. "Quiet, you, it's okay, you don't have to explain yourself."
"Do you...do you..." Sakaki was trembling. "Do you still accept me?"
Tomo looked almost offended. "Of course I do, you dumbass cat, why wouldn't I?! All of us in our little gang have some sort of trauma or secret or other, why can't you? You're still the Sakaki I knew in high school, I literally couldn't give less of a shit that you have a dick." She put out her light. "I'm getting tired, wanna crash at our place tonight?"
She thought about it a moment. "Sure."
Tomo smiled wickedly. "Alright, but I have dibs on having you in my room tonight."
Sakaki laughed. "Sure thing, wildcat."