Awkward. Speechless. The air froze like thin ice on a winter pond, and I stood there with empty hands.

The memories were fresh as wet ink, each scene bright as a lantern. Of course I remembered; how could I ever forget?

Anger rose like a black tide, and Yun Shi wanted to cleave someone with a machete just to vent. But the cramps bit like thorns around her belly, and the pain dragged her back.

Home at last, she slipped on a pad like a small shield, and warmth slowly returned to cold limbs. But there was one more person in the house, a stray she dragged home from the road like a storm-tossed cat—Maya Hanazaka, the pervy yuri girl. She sat ramrod straight, face burning like a fever, eyes nailed to her knees.

Every time Yun Shi remembered being shoved down and groped, heat and shame flared like twin sparks. She wanted to throw this girl into the sea and let the waves pound her, the way Maya usually pounded her.

Worse, the secret was out, lifted like a veil in a sudden wind.

It was the most important secret, locked like a jade box no one should touch. Not even close friends—Sham was the only exception, tied to her by another thread. Anyone else knowing was a knife. Especially this pervy yuri girl. Simple truth: Yun Shi didn’t like her.

With a blush like sunset bleeding through clouds, Yun Shi lunged forward. She grabbed Maya’s collar like a hawk seizing prey. “Talk. What did you see—no, what did you touch?”

She didn’t bother to lower her voice; her words landed like stones in still water. She wasn’t in her school uniform. She wore a white shirt with a hem falling near her knees, like a short, careless dress. Shorts hid beneath. Her legs were porcelain-white in the open air, cool light on smooth curves, dangerous as a siren’s call.

Maya’s face flared red like a traffic light at night. She stared at the floorboards like they could swallow her. Words dried in her mouth like sand.

Of course. She’d always treated Yun Shi with fists and thorns, a target to beat daily. One day, a crack opened, and she found a girl beneath.

A girl...

Girl...

Maya still couldn’t believe it; the truth rattled in her chest like a loose bell. To Yunshi Bianqi, she’d only ever granted the label of femboy at best. When would she have suspected the truth? Today, her own face got slapped by fate.

That cute face, that tsundere bite—no fake. A real girl.

Her hand had felt it. Small, yes, but a curve that never grows on a boy’s chest. And the voice—no matter how you listen, it rings like a girl’s bell. Who could still insist she was male? Maya couldn’t.

She used to believe the rumors swirling around Yun Shi like gnats, and so she ignored the obvious things. Think about it. What guy looks this soft? What guy quibbles like a schoolgirl? What guy has a period?

“Say it. Did you… touch?” Yun Shi’s voice came like a blade from a glacier, cold lodged to the bone.

“I…” Maya trembled like a leaf in wind. She didn’t dare admit it, but denying felt like stepping into a wolf’s jaws.

“Damn it… you know now. Then I’ll have to kill you.”

“Wait, I didn’t mean to!” The words spilled like pebbles down a slope.

“Shut it! You pervert. Lewd girl. Yuri freak. Breast-groping maniac. Ecchi.”

“Hey, don’t look at me like I’m some scumbag protagonist. Which anime did you crawl out of as the heroine?”

“Ha? You’ve got the nerve to say that? Who calls me scum every day? Who looks at me like a roach? Who throws me out of the building? Who ships me to the nurse’s office every time a girl shows up near me? Who beats me black and blue—every single day?”

…………

No way to deny it. Every line hit like a bell, clear and true.

“I… how was I supposed to know you were actually a girl? If I knew, I wouldn’t have laid a hand on you…”

“You—you—you dare say that!”

“I—I’m sorry! I was wrong. Don’t hit me!”

“The biggest mistake of my life was meeting you, you yuri perv, taking advantage of me!”

“A little grope won’t kill you!”

“Then what was that ‘push-down play’ supposed to be?”

“Force majeure!”

“Force your ass!”

Maybe it was the period talking. Yun Shi’s temper burned hotter than summer noon, harsher than with Sham. It wasn’t that she hated Maya Hanazaka; it was the raw panic of a secret stripped bare. The future was a foggy cliff, and fear fanned her anger like wind feeds a fire.

Maya didn’t get angry. Maybe she saw the flicker of unease in that stormy gaze. So she stood there and took it, like a boulder taking rain.

“Damn it…” The word fell like a dull hammer.

Maybe she was tired. Maybe the cramps sapped her strength like a slow leak. Yun Shi let go of Maya’s wrist; Maya tipped backward and landed by the headboard like a tossed pillow.

“Um…” Maya’s eyes were a knot of threads. Yun Shi plopped on the edge of the bed, flattened eyes like dead fish in still water. “What? Weren’t you always loud? Weren’t you the one calling me scum every day? Come on, then. Come hit me like always. Can’t do it? Now that I’m not a ‘boy’ in your eyes? Hmph. You’re a pervert, a tantrum in human form, an annoying soul-stain.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“…”

Silence pooled like dark ink across the room. For the first time, Maya apologized to Yun Shi—the girl.

“Don’t you think it’s too late to say that now?”

“I know… but I can’t bring myself to hate a girl…”

“Tch. Annoying.”

Yun Shi turned away like a cat flicking its tail, pretending anger while the heat ebbed like a receding tide. Maybe the table had turned for once. Seeing guilt on Maya’s face, her fury thinned.

“You’re always like this. No questions asked, you swing at me first. What is that? Even I get tired. I just wanted a normal life, but the idiots at school decided I’m scum. And me… I just wanted a friend. Is that so hard?”

“…”

“You too. You slap labels on me. Scum. Playboy. You know nothing.”

“…”

“So I stopped hoping for friends. I’d make the same choice even if I were a guy. You’re all the same, puffed up on your own opinions. I hate that.”

Of course she was angry. She hated being stared at through colored glass. Yet every day she walked under a forest of eyes, sharp as needles. For what? Because girls gathered near her like birds on a wire, and jealousy spread like mildew. That jealousy cost her the chance to make friends. To this day, she had few she could name. Maybe only Sham and Mizuki counted. As for Mizuki of Mizusaki, she was just a friend of a friend. Maya Hanazaka? Not even close.

She was lonely. She was stubborn. Tonight, she emptied the whole jar of bitterness onto Maya—the yuri girl. The secret was out, so why pretend? Let the storm spend itself.

Maya stayed quiet. Then she shifted closer, a shadow moving toward a colder shadow, and wrapped her arms around Yun Shi’s back.

“!”

Yun Shi glanced over her shoulder, startled, eyes wide as a deer in moonlight. Maya held the small girl like a fragile vase, guilt pooling in her voice.

“I’m sorry…”

“…”

“You’re right. I’m self-righteous. I don’t understand, and I take things that aren’t mine without meaning to. And you… I was jealous, because you’re close to Mizuki. She’s my best friend. She’s the only one who accepts me. You know I only like girls. You can imagine what happens when that gets out. People hate me like I’m a stain.

“But Mizuki… only she still treats me the same. Only she still calls me friend. I don’t want to lose her. When I saw you close with her, I panicked. I know I’m selfish. One day, Mizuki will marry some man like a river flows to sea. But I wasn’t willing. I didn’t want to lose her…”

“So I did this to you. I had to know how strong someone needs to be to stay by Mizuki’s side. If you wanted her, you had to pass through me. But… I didn’t know you were…”

A warm drop slid down Yun Shi’s neck like rain off a eave. Maya was crying. For the first time, Maya Hanazaka cried in front of someone, weak as wet paper.

“I didn’t realize I was hurting someone. I didn’t know what you were holding inside. I just wanted to reach a day when I could approve of you, so I could hand Mizuki to you with a calm heart. But… I’m sorry.”

Yun Shi couldn’t keep anger lit in that rain. Anyone would let it go after hearing this. She had painted Maya as a hateful thornbush. Now she saw a soft core. Maya only feared losing her dearest friend, and her way of defending was clumsy.

How could she stay mad?

What Maya wanted to protect mattered like a lighthouse to her. She wasn’t wrong; her method was. Yun Shi only wanted one thing—an apology. She had it now. That was enough.

“You really are an idiot. Just like Miyuki Kiseki.”

“But I don’t hate idiots. You included. Don’t cry.”

Yun Shi never wanted to see girls cry. Maybe it was a leftover echo of a past self. Maybe it was this new heart. She didn’t know. She only knew she didn’t want to see Maya like this.

“Think what you want… but I never truly hated you.” Maya tightened her arms like ivy, as if to fold Yun Shi into her.

“Maya Hanazaka…”

“…”

“I…”

“…”

“I can’t let go of everything now. But… let’s let it pass for the moment.”

Old things don’t have to be chained to the ankle forever.

“So… can you let go of me now?”

……

After the awkward silence drained away like fog, the knot between them finally loosened. Maya still wore tear tracks like silver threads, but her smile rose like sunrise. Yun Shi turned her head aside and let it be, too lazy to scold, too tired to look.

"Didn't expect you to be this gentle—like a warm spring rain. I kind of see why Mizuki looks your way."

"Don't start. She only sees me as a friend. And if she learns I'm a girl, the whole house of cards falls."

"By the way, I've been wanting to ask. If you're a girl, why pretend to be a boy?"

"..."

That question lands like a blade at my throat.

Yun Shi turned her head away; her eyes skittered like startled sparrows. Guilt swelled first; words wouldn't come.

Do I lie? How do I spin a thread that won't snap?

What do I do—waves push from all sides.

Torn to shreds, Yun Shi froze, hands empty of plans, a moth hovering near the flame.

"You don't want to talk?"

"I..."

"Forget it. If you don't want to say, I won't pry. You'll tell me one day, when the snow melts and stones show."

"Sorry..."

"Alright. Bottom line—no one can know your real identity, right?"

"Mm... please keep it secret."

"Not even Mizuki?"

"Mm."

"Okay then. It's hard for a girl, walking alone in the rain. If trouble comes, find me; I'll be your umbrella."

Truth be told, Maya Hanazaka was flaky and often teased Yun Shi. But after this talk, she saw the girl anew. Maya, sometimes, could be leaned on; an extra lantern to guard the night.

"I'll think about it, Maya Hanazaka."

"Are you doing that tsundere thing? Tsk tsk, so cute."

"Shut up! Don't use your tricks for girls on me—my thorns are up."

"Yeah, yeah. I should head back. Your place is small, like a sparrow's nest."

With that, Maya rose, the chair whispering like bamboo, and she moved to leave.

"Wait."

"What now?"

"Didn't you say you went out to buy pads?"

"Mm? Yeah. Mine showed up too, same tide as yours."

Maya's teasing eyes slid over like a cat's. Heat climbed in Yun Shi's cheeks; she wrenched her face away.

"I bought enough to share a little."

"Huh?" Maya blinked, caught off guard, like a bird paused mid-flight.

"So... you don't need to go buy them again. And you helped me—kept my secret—shut the door against the rain."

Yun Shi kept her back to Maya, a shadow masking her face.

"For the record, I'm not thanking you. I'm just tossing you charity. Hear me?"

Staring at Yun Shi's petite back, Maya went blank for a beat, then a crescent smile curved.

"Then I won't be polite. Thanks~"

"I don't want your thanks, Maya Hanazaka."

"Just call me Maya."

"Someone like you deserves the full name."

"Is that so."

Faced with Yun Shi's barbed words, Maya said nothing. She pulled a few pads, slipped them into her pocket. She turned the knob; the door breathed; she drifted out.

"See you tomorrow, Yun Shi."

This kid's heart is soft as new leaves.