Note:

1. There're a lot of references to Sora as 'he' and 'she' in the chapter below. This is because Sora views herself as a female and the trio views Sora as a male. So , be careful not to be confused.

2. "Italics" are conversations Sora typed out

3. "Normal" conversation

4. Italics are thoughts.

Onwards!

"I'm prescribing 2 weeks of painkillers & anti-inflammatory medications, Sora-san. For now, what you need is a lot of bed rest. As for your throat, I'm afraid I can't commit to a healing period. " The doctor said as she stepped back, allowing the nurse to insert the intravenous drip into her hand. "Let's have a full medical review of your condition in 2 weeks time and we shall see if it's possible to start you off on voice therapy then... "

Sora grunted and coughed silently. Her diagnosis was not that far off from the doctor at the hospital, and she could not deny that they might be right. Each movement feels as if she was trying to wade through cement, with her muscles being rubbed against thousands of razor blades. Her head was not spared, either. In fact, right now, she can't tell if it was the room that was slowly spinning or if it was just her head.

There came a sudden knock on the door. "Sora-san!" She heard Nishimura-san call out. "Your friends are here. I've taken the liberty of bringing them up."

Crap! She was expecting them but not so soon! She wasn't really even in her disguise, just a pair of sweatpants and a large woolen hoodie. She will just have to make do with it, she decided as she tried to sit up, assisted by the nurse. She grabbed her glasses and nodded to the nurse to open the door.

Time to face the firing squad. She took a deep breath in order to steel herself for the onslaught that is inevitable with the arrival of the Trio...

… And promptly started coughing as her throat and vocal cords got aggravated by the deep influx of air.

"Sora!" Pon was the first to come in, followed by Mako and Kirishima. They froze in alarm when they saw a small, hooded figure on a large king-sized bed bent over coughing as a female doctor in a white lab coat hurriedly held a glass of water to his lips.

The small figure was undeniably Sora, and he looked a pathetic sight. To them, it looked like he was trying to hack up a lung. The large hoodie he wore dwarfed his frame and hid any signs of injuries that Tokaji and his gang dealt him. His face, visible despite the shadow cast by the pulled-up hood, was pale, with split lips and dark purple bruises at the jawbone and temple. Despite the injuries, Sora gave them a small, sheepish smile from underneath the hood. He typed something on the tablet held in his lap and turned it so that the screen faced them. There was only one word on the screen.

"Yo!"

What ..? Kirishima exchanged a startled look with Pon.

"Apart from the various traumas, Sora-san is also suffering from vocal cord paresis caused by trauma to the throat." the doctor answered their unspoken question as she turned to face them. "Hence, she won't be able to speak, and will be having breathing and swallowing difficulties for the time being. I would like to request for this visit to be kept as short as possible. My patient needs to rest."

With that, she nodded to them and left the room.

"That's why you wouldn't pick up our calls." A look of realisation dawned on Kirishima's face. "You cannot talk."

Sora nodded slowly.

"Che… We thought you got kidnapped or something. " Kirishima snorted, folding his arms as he leant against the wall near Sora.

"Aww…. You were worried?" Sora couldn't help but tease. It has only been a few days since they saw each other but Sora missed them. It's a different feeling hanging out with them, compared to Genji and the others. With the latter, she sometimes felt like a little brother tagging along an older brother and his friends. With the trio, however, she never had the feeling of being a 3 + 1, despite the fact that the three guys had known each other for a much longer time. Maybe it's because she doesn't see them often enough to feel that way.

"We were hoping the kidnapper rid you off our hands." Kirishima deadpanned. "So much for that. Guess we were hoping against hope."

Sora feigned hurt , gagging and holding her battered hands over her heart. It caused the opposite of her intended effect, as Kirishima immediately noticed the bruises and wounds on her exposed hands. He gave Sora a critical once-over, eyeing the bruises and cut lips. "You look like crap."

As blunt as ever… Sora rolled her eyes and glared sourly at him. Thank you, Captain Obvious…

Kirishima merely smirked at Sora's obvious annoyance. Serve him right for all the trouble he put them through. "So did the doctor say how long you'll take to recover?"

"She didn't commit but," Sora typed on her tablet, "she did say to have a medical review after 2 weeks."

Kirishima frowned at her answer. The other injuries must be pretty severe if the doctor refused to provided even an estimated healing period.

"So what the hell happened?" Pon was the first to start the 'interrogation', having made himself comfortable on one of the chairs that Nishimura-san has kindly brought up. "They said you disappeared when Genji called for the ambulance."

"It was an ambush." Sora typed on her tablet. "By Tokaji Yuuji. He came at us with a bunch of guys."

"Tokaji that bastard." Pon swore lightly.

Sora ignored that, biting her lips slightly as she pondered further about Pon's question. "I don't remember what happened after that. The next thing I know, I woke up in Ryushin Hospital."

She remembered staggering out of the school. Everything after that until her awakening in Ryushin Hospital was a blank. What had happened after she blacked out? How did she land in Ryushin Hospital? Who brought her there? Wait, she remembered seeing a pair of shoes in front of her ... Shoes? Shoes? Fat lot of good that will help in filling in the blank parts of her memory.

"Why did you sneak into the school as Asamori Sora?" Kirishima interrupted her reverie, sharp eyes staring intently at Sora. "You owe us an explanation for the damn wild goose chase you led us on!"

And so… the real interrogation begins… Can't say she has not been expecting this since revealing her presence.

"I told you before about wanting to finding out about my mum's side of the family, didn't I? To do that, I needed a cover to get into Suzuran." She wrote her answer on the tablet. "I'm not a Japanese citizen. That's why I engaged Hideki-san's services to get me another identity to apply to the school."

"Then what's your real name?" Pon asked curiously, leaning forward in his chair. He pulled his mask down, revealing his perplexed expression. "We have been calling you Sora or even Asamora all these while. Who are you really? "

"Sora is my middle name. My mother gave me that middle name. If you must know, my father's family name is actually Deschanel." She flashed the tablet, just as Nishimura-san brought refreshments for the folks. She wasn't too concerned with Nishimura-san knowing about her secret.

Pon's eyebrows shot up into his hair. "De.. What? -" He shook his head. "Never mind."

A vein twitched in her temple at his obvious mispronunciation, yet it's not like she can correct him verbally, so she left it as that.

"But that's not true." Mako spoke up suddenly. He moved from his position by the doorway, where the dim light of the room had not reached, and stood next to Kirishima. "You don't need to be a Japanese citizen to enroll in any Japanese public schools. So why did you really sneak into Suzuran as Asamori Sora?"

Pon and Kirishima turned to eye her beadily. Sora gulped. Given the amount that they had already found out, and the trouble they have gone through just to find her, she had expected them to want an explanation regarding her cover identity as Asamori Sora. Besides, this incident with Tokaji made her realise that she may need additional help in maintaining her cover. Who better to ask than the trio, with what they already knew?

Honesty is the best policy here, so she had initially been prepared to be honest - but not to the extent of revealing her gender.

"And also, you and Izaki were beaten up so badly by Tokaji that you both needed to be hospitalised." Mako continued. "You had to be in great pain, so something must motivated you to leave whilst in a badly beaten state. It doesn't make sense, even if it was to protect a 'cover identity'."

Clearly, she underestimated the trio. She had clean forgotten how sharp Mako can be. Her fingers hovered over the tablet touch screen. Should she or should she not tell them?

She hadn't acknowledged this but Sora realised now that she was tired of maintaining her gender cover, tired of searching for answers to questions and secrets her mother seem keen on hiding, tired of feeling alone and displaced in this world.

She didn't want to lie to her friends and the trio had proven to be friends in need. They have more than earned her trust with their actions. Whether the outcome, they deserved to know the truth. Sora took a deep breath.

Here we go…

With a shaky hand, she wrote on the tablet and turned it towards them, apprehensively waiting for their reactions.

"I'm a girl."

"Don't joke." Pon said, looking annoyed when he read the words on the screen. "I know we have been teasing you about being effeminate but seriously..."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Giving a silent sigh, she pushed her hood back and removed her glasses with one hand. With the other, she ruffled her dark hair in an effort to push her bangs forward. She had cut her hair short before enrolling at the school but her hair grew quickly and now reached her chin, so the dark mob of hair framed her face in a messy bob cut.

I'm not about to drop my pants or anything else just to prove I'm a female.

Silence.

Sora chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

The silence in the room is enough to scare the Grim Reaper off.

3… 2… 1…

"You have got to be kidding me!" Pon yelled, falling off his seat. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at her, almost as if he was willing Sora to tell him that she is joking about being a girl.

Unfortunately, Sora is not joking and yes, she is a girl. On hindsight, she should have installed video cameras to record their reactions, or at least taken photos. Had she not been feeling so nervous, she certainly would have enjoyed their reactions.

Mako took off his shades and came closer. "You're a girl." He mouthed the words soundlessly over and over again. Strangely enough, Sora was reminded of a goldfish and she bit down on an insane urge to laugh. She doubt any of them would appreciate it if she did.

Kirishima didn't fare any better, although his reaction is slightly more controlled than Pon's.

Slightly.

He shot up from his slouching position against the wall as if he got electrified. His brown eyes were wide and he was slack jawed as he alternated between staring at the screen and staring at Sora. Yet, Sora could detect sharp calculation in his dark eyes.

Sora cowered behind the tablet, smiling weakly at the trio.

"I really am not lying." She added on hurriedly.

"Wait, wait, wait... " Pon said, drawing back with one finger held up. His brows were creased into a frown as he recalled the earlier conversation with an eighteen year old Japanese male. " Just to be sure… Are you sixteen years old or eighteen years old?"

Sora blinked at that question. How was her age relevant? "I'm sixteen."

Pon nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Let me get this straight. You are a sixteen year old girl -" Sora nodded at that. "- masquerading as an eighteen year old guy in Suzuran. -" A second nod."- All in the hopes to find out about your family here in Japan. -"A third nod. "- And your name is really Sora?"

A last nod of confirmation from Sora, and Pon slouched back on his seat. He palmed his forehead, leaning his head back onto the back of his seat. "I need a drink. Something stronger than beer."

Mako nodded in agreement, placing a hand on Pon's chair as he sank down on the chair next to Pon's. He looked equally shell shocked, a far cry from his usual expressionless self.

Sora frowned at their reactions. This is a tad too big of an overreaction, in her opinion. "Hey guys, come on. So a friend of yours who is a girl happens to go to the same school as you. Is it that big of a deal?"

"Are you kidding? Of course it's a big deal!" Kirishima burst out incredulously, making the three of them -her included- jump. Silent up till now, his outburst took them by surprise. "Suzuran is an all boys school! You're a female on your own here! Are you aware of what a dangerous situation you're in? We at Suzuran ain't church boys and saints!"

"That's why you can't tell anyone!" She knew that was why Solange had been so afraid for her. "If my cover gets blown…"

"We won't tell anyone." Kirishima interrupted bluntly. "But there is still a risk that people are gonna find out. Take this beating from Tokaji, for example. You could have exposed yourself!"

"Well, what would you expect me do, then? Up till now, I've only been hitting dead ends in my investigations." She typed hurriedly, slamming her fingers onto the tablet keyboard harder than necessary. Just as well she had a temporary loss of voice in this situation.

Kirishima ran a hand through his hair and turned away from her, taking in and letting out a deep breath. Strangely enough, he found it easy to accept that Sora is a girl.

The cover identity, the running away after the fight with Tokaji. Her actions had all made sense. Like it or not, Japan is a patriarchal, male dominant society. It would have been much easier for her to move around as a male than as a female, given the type of answers that she is seeking, which would probably get her delving into the darker side of Japan. A sixteen year old lone female would definitely not last long in their neighborhood.

Her masquerade, however, doubled that danger. If she was discovered, only God knows what kind of danger she will run into.

"You should stop this." Kirishima said, a determined set to his jawline. "It's too dangerous."

Sora stiffened. She may not have known Kirishima long but she knew him well enough to recognise his stance. He's not backing down. Things may get tricky if this doesn't get resolved now, especially since he knows her secret. She needed him to help her, not stop her.

"No. I can't stop, not right now. You have to understand, " Sora typed hurriedly, ignoring her spelling errors in her haste to get her point across. If she can speak, she would probably sound close to beseeching. "I hadn't made much leeway in my investigations until I came to Suzuran. The people I've been talking to won't talk to me at all if they know I'm not from Suzuran, or worse yet, a foreigner."

Wisely, Mako and Pon remained silent, watching the exchange between the both of them.

"Masquerading as a guy is my last resort." Sora typed quickly. "I can't figure out any other move to make in order to get the answers I want."

"Fine." Kirishima admitted after a long pause, sounding like he had just swallowed a sour lemon. His facial expression certainly looked like it.

Sora, Mako and Pon stared at him - Her in surprise and them in disbelief. Kirishima admitting defeat? "This is a first..."

"Well, don't get used to it!" Kirishima glared harshly at them, her especially.

Sora hid a smile, feeling as if a load had just dropped off her back. They hadn't turned their back on her. She felt almost giddy with relief.

The feeling of euphoria evaporated as a knock came on the door.

"Sora-san," the nurse said meekly as she opened the door, "It's getting late."

Surprised, she turned to look out the full length windows. True enough, the city was a blaze of shimmering lights amidst the pitch black sky. She hadn't noticed it was already so late.

"Yeah… We should get going." Kirishima said as he stood up. Mako and Pon murmured their agreements as they mimicked his movement.

Sora lurched forward, grabbing Kirishima's wrist in order to get their attention. He turned sharply, looking down at her hand holding on to him.

She let go and flashed them her tablet, "Thanks a lot, guys. I really mean it."

Mako gave her a curt nod, putting his shades on. Likewise, Pon grunted and pulled his mask on. As one, they turned to leave the room, promising to keep her updated on the situations in Suzuran.

Sora turned her head slightly to see Kirishima looking at her intently.

"You get well quickly, ya hear?" he said softly, somewhat awkwardly. With that, he turned away and followed his friends out the room, throwing a careless goodbye wave.

A/N:

My original plan (i.e. 2 years ago) had been to drag this cat & mouse game between Sora and the Trio far, far longer. Oh well... How's the above?

Somehow, the trio managed to find a way to make themselves a mainstay in my story. ^_^lll

The part on Kirishima's outburst... Well, let's be realistic about the dangers and benefits of Sora masquerading...