Sorry it's been so long since I've updated (almost two months!) I've been going through some tough times with motivation and struggling with my own gender. It's been okay and I've been writing time to time so expect some more writing!

Also, Kou is a fiery queer feminist and nothing will convince me otherwise.

The next weekend, Nitori woke up early. She checked her phone, eight in the morning, and crawled out of bed. Rin had begun to kick in his sleep, so she went back to sleeping in her own bunk instead of with him. She rummaged through her closet and got one of her few dresses. She had to keep it hidden very well; sometimes team members or classmates would go into their dorm. Once, Nitori walked in to find one of the dorm heads inside of her and Rin's room, inspecting their room. Had it not been for Nitori putting her dresses in a vent, the man would have found the dress and expelled Nitori for 'sexual acts'. She decided not to wear a wig; she learned not to try on clothes while wearing a wig.

Nitori grabbed her wallet that Rin had put money into, kissed Rin on the forehead, and left. Luckily, everyone else was still asleep so Nitori slipped out easily without anyone noticing. Even if they did notice her, they wouldn't recognize her because she was wearing makeup and styled her hair differently. Of course, that would make everyone suspicious of someone for having a girl over after curfew.

"Oh you made it!" Kou looked up from her magazine to see Nitori standing in front of her. Nitori stood oddly, tugging on her dress. The skirt was a little too short for comfort. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show up!" She stood up and adjusted her bag. It was light beige, matching her cream colored skirt and white blouse. "So you need clothes, correct?"

Nitori nodded. She seemed to be anxious. This was the second time she had gone out into public in a skirt without Rin; she'd rather not have the first experience happen again. "I need some, yeah."

"Any swimsuits? There's a place in here that sells some rather gender-neutral swimsuits, so we should go there." Kou grabbed Nitori's hand. Nitori let her.

At the store, Nitori held up a swimsuit. It wasn't swim-meet qualified, but she fancied it. Its bottom was light pink in a shorts style with ruffles on the waistband. The top was also pink and was in a cut-tank top style, meant for someone with a small chest size. Nitori loved it; she had to have it. "That one?" Kou already had 4 plain black swimsuits in her hand. "It's a little expensive." Nitori turned to her with puppy dog eyes. "Well, I'm not sure Rin's going to be happy about this, but," Nitori's eyes grew wider and her smile got bigger. "I guess." Nitori laughed and grabbed the clothes.

She ran to the cashier and handed her the clothes and money. "Is that all, hun?" The lady had a thick accent. Nitori liked accents; most people in their town didn't have one. When the cashier told her the price, Nitori almost passed out. Rin was going to hurt her if he was to find out how much she spent!

"T-Thank you." Nitori took the bag hesitantly. She wasn't scared that the woman would figure out her sex, but rather how Rin would take it that she spent a lot of money on swimsuits.

Kou stood by the entrance waiting for the other girl. "Took you long enough! Are you hungry? Lunch'll be on me." She adjusted the strap on her purse. She had a bag of her own with clothes.

Nitori nodded, realizing she had not eaten that day at all. Kou looked around for a sign pointing to the food court. "I think there's one over there!" She grabbed Nitori's hand and the two ran to the large food court.

Kou had been drinking a milkshake when Nitori asked her the question. She honestly couldn't believe that Nitori would ask her such a weird question.

"Are you and the Captain dating?" Nitori asked quickly, face slightly red. She had already finished her chocolate shake.

Kou laughed and wiped her lips, trying to stifle her giggles. "Excuse me, I'm sorry." She continued to laugh. "No, I'm not interested in him. Plus…" She twisted a lock of her red hair around her finger. "I'm kinda…dating someone already." Nitori's eyes went wide. Kou had never mentioned that she was dating someone.

"What? Who?" Nitori was too enthusiastic.

Kou leaned forward, trying to make sure nobody heard her. "I'm dating Chigusa, my friend." Nitori gasped and smiled. "Now only you and Rin know, okay? Try to keep it a secret, got it?" She sat back. "Since everyone freaks out at a person being gay nowadays, we have to keep it a secret." She furrowed her brows. "I hate it."

"Me too." Nitori pulled on her skirt. "Sometimes I almost pass out in public because I'm afraid of people knowing my sex. " She shook her head, hair brushing her face. "I don't want to hide who I am. I want to be able to be me."

Kou sighed and crossed her arms. "Are you going to get surgery?"

Nitori shook her head solemnly. "Not really. I don't really want it. I just want people to acknowledge I'm a girl and treat me like one. Plus, I can't really afford it. Are you going to tell anyone?"

"No." The red head pulled her phone out. "Everyone at Iwatobi would hate me if I told them. After Nagisa came out…" She went silent. "He was so depressed that he almost quit the team." Nitori pouted a little, not believing that teens could be so cruel. Nitori remembered what happened at the cafeteria and she started to feel tears well up in her eyes. She didn't want to remember or experience it again.

"Kou. I-I'm going to talk to the principle next week." Kou's eyes widened and she shot forward. "I've had to hide my dresses and skirts in the vents so that when the weekly inspection comes around that they won't be found. I'm going to tell him about myself and ask him if I could wear a skirt or have my ID changed to female." Her voice shook. "I'm scared. I haven't told Rin yet." She sighed and rubbed her head. "What if they kick me out?"

The red head grabbed her hand. "They won't. I know they won't." She rubbed her thumb along Nitori's skin. She stood up and threw their trash away and came back to their table. She turned her head, hearing some men whistling at her. "Disgusting." She scowled.

"Just ignore them and they'll leave you alone." Nitori whispered, knowing the men were a few feet away from them. Kou scoffed.

"Watch me." She stood up angrily and made her way to the mens' table, Nitori following her. Three grown men sat at the table, staring at Kou and Nitori's legs. "Excuse me." She got their attention away from her legs. "Please stop."

One of the men, who looked like trouble, stared at Nitori behind her. "That's a cute friend you've got there." He nodded his head.

Kou scoffed, crossing her arms. She shifter her weight onto her right leg. "She's got a boyfriend. Plus, you never will have a chance with her; she doesn't like creeps like you." She turned around and grabbed Nitori's hand.

"What about you, miss?" One of the others grabbed Kou's free hand. "You look available."

Kou snatched her hand away. Nitori didn't know if she should step in or not; Kou looked like she was handling it well. "No, I'm dating someone already." She hissed. "Now, I suggest you leave us alone. Along with any other underage girls you perverts are thinking about hitting on. If not, I have pepper spray that I'm not afraid to use." Nitori was impressed by Kou; she looked furious and deadly. No wonder the Captain feared her.

Kou turned and stomped away with her hand holding Nitori's.

"They what?" Rin, on the other hand, was not impressed with Kou. "Do you know what they could have done to you?" He almost shrieked. Kou and Nitori were sitting on Rin's bottom bunk, heads bowed. They both had been expecting Rin to praise them, not scold them.

Nitori would flinch every time Rin would raise his voice a little. "Sorry." She kept her head down.

Kou, being the girl she is, wasn't going to apologize. She did feel bad that she had worried Rin, but she didn't feel bad for standing up for herself. "I'm not going to apologize. They were harassing me so I stood up for myself. They're the ones who should be scolded and punished, not me." She looked at Rin. "But I'm sorry for worrying you. We're okay."

Rin went to the two and hugged them. "Next time that happens, call me. Your big bro will come and beat them up, okay?" Kou and Nitori laughed. "So. What did you buy?" He wanted to change the subject.

Nitori held the bag and stood up. She walked over to the door to their bathroom. "Wait just a minute and I'll show you!" She closed the door.

"So you guys had fun?" Rin sat on the bed next to Kou. He never was fond of scolding Kou and Nitori, so he would often act like nothing happened after it. "You know, other than those men?"

Kou nodded. "We bought some clothes for her, since she needs it. Speaking of the clothes, where is she keeping them?" She asked, gesturing to their open closet. "I don't see any of her dresses in there."

The older red head smiled slightly. "Well…" He laughed. "She's keeping them in the airvent." Kou's eyes went wide and she gasped. "It's okay. I bought a trunk and lock for her so she can keep them in there and nobody can get into it and find her clothes." He explained.

Kou sighed. "One day she's going to have a closet full of dresses and skirts. I can't wait for that day." She grinned. At that time, Nitori opened the door and poked her head out. "Are you wearing the swimsuit?"

Nitori's face was pink; a little embarrassed to show the siblings. "Y-Yeah." She opened the bathroom door and stepped out. She was wearing the pink swimsuit she bought. Rin's face was as red as his hair and he gasped. "Don't I look cute?" Nitori smiled, looking down at the ruffles.

"V-very cute." Rin covered his face. "How much did that cost?"

Kou and Nitori's laughs turned to groans. "Uhh…" Nitori laughed quietly. "Kou, you tell him." She slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it.

Kou gasped. "You little-" She couldn't believe Nitori would throw her under the bus so quickly. "Ahaha…It was a little expensive." She tried to avoid the exact price.

Rin tilted his head, standing up and knocking on the bathroom door to try and coax Nitori to come out. "How much?"

"Uh…around 6104 yen…" Kou mumbled. Rin almost passed out.

"Hey, Ai." Rin started pulling on the door knob. "Come out, please."

"No!" Nitori was taking the bathing suit off. "You'll hurt me!"

Rin laughed. "I won't hurt you, I promise!" Rin lied. He needed to teach Nitori how to save money better.

Nitori cracked the door open and Rin flung it open. Nitori sat on the bed next to Kou, both giggling like small children. "What am I going to do with you two girls?" Rin groaned and sat on his desk.

Nitori looked up at the ceiling and to Kou. "Hey Kou, I have a question."

"Yes?"

Nitori seemed a little nervous to ask it. "What makes a person a girl? I want to be a perfect girl one day."

Kou smiled. "Do you call yourself a girl?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be a girl? Do you like being a girl?"

"Yes and yes."

"Congrats you're a girl." Kou grinned. "Nothing to it. Plus, you make a better lady than me. You have way more better manners than I do." She said, making Nitori blush.

"Alright you two. Stop it with the girly talk you're grossing me out." Rin joked.

Kou had a playful gleam in her eyes. "Well Nitori's a lucky girl. She doesn't bleed every month." Rin screamed and Nitori blushed. "And you don't have to worry about your breasts hurting sometimes and cramps too!"

Rin yelled at her to shut up. "S-shush Kou!" He hated hearing Kou talking about her issues.

Nitori couldn't help but laugh at the bickering siblings. They weren't perfect, but Nitori envied their relationship.

'If only our relationship was like that.'

I guess Nitori's family is going to be introduced next, huh?