Replay

4-2 Polarization

A/N: @blueflowerpetal1 drew a lovely fanart for this story. Blake looks stunningly cool--thank you very much! To clarify, I'm alright with fanworks, and I appreciate anyone who takes the time and effort to do so.

Despite having mentioned the anime in these notes, I've never watched it lol. I've heard that they added several original scenes, so I might check those out sometime. I love the new ending song, and its lyrics are perfect for Yuzuha...

"'sup."

"Hey, Hayato," I greeted as the 2nd Division member squeezed his way into the backseat and shut the door behind him. His uniform rustled as he made himself comfortable, but I didn't hear that click. With as flat an expression I could muster, I looked back from the driver's seat. "This is my car, and I'd really prefer you use your seatbelt."

The bald boy scratched his head and laughed. "Sorry, sorry! I haven't ridden a car in so long that I just kinda forgot. Honest." He reached sideways to tug on his seatbelt.

I took you out to lunch last week and asked the same thing. Maybe you refuse to wear your helmet properly on your bike and I had no right to complain since you were driving, but in my car, I will make you adhere to safety regulations.

"Oh, hi." Emma switched off her phone and gave Hayato a wave from the front passenger seat. "I don't think we've met before."

I shifted the car out of neutral and slowly lifted my boot from the clutch as I drove away from his house, my eyes focused on the dark road.

"Yeah, we haven't. I'm Sasaki Hayato, but feel free to call me Hayato."

"Sano Emma. And likewise, you can just use my first name."

"Gotcha, Emma-chan. By the way, didn't you arrive with Frank last meeting? How'd you guys meet? You seem kinda close."

Ten seconds of silence elapsed.

"Huh?" I said. With one eye on the piercing red taillights of the cars cruising ahead, I glanced sideways at Emma, who watched me silently, and at Hayato through the rearview mirror, whose silhouetted head turned from Emma's direction to mine.

I'd first met Emma at Takemichi's hospital room, but that was as myself. As for 'Frank,' my Toman identity.... "We met during the fight against Moebius at the festival. Takemichi, his friends, and I were trying to defend Draken from some rebels in the 3rd Division."

"Yeah, that," Emma said. "B—" She paused. "He helped save Draken, so I thanked him, and we got along after that."

I saw in my periphery her honey-colored irises, reflecting the pale streetlight, again flit towards me as she spoke. Perhaps she'd not responded earlier to allow me to construct my cover myself. I nodded, knowing she'd see it.

Emma and I had become accustomed to addressing each other by first name, but while she caught herself from uttering my real name, Hayato already knew my real name from tutoring, anyway. Couldn't I just reveal that both knew I was 'Blake' so that they wouldn't have to tiptoe around each other, both trying to pretend to the other that I was 'Frank'?

But Hayato had seemed to draw the conclusion that I was a trans woman, and Emma might be misled to, confusedly, reveal my actual gender. It was considerate of both of them to keep my secret, or in Hayato's case, the 'secret' I'd deceived him into believing—with my position in Toman at stake, I'd have to sustain this lie.

"Hey, Hayato," Emma said. "You know what the emergency meeting's about? What happened?"

The Black Dragons should've encountered Toman a few hours ago, sometime after school. While the meeting to address the Black Dragons had occurred at least a day after Takemichi's clash with Taiju and involved only the admins in the story, this world's events shouldn't have deviated too far. The message for the meeting popped up only an hour ago, and I wasn't able to investigate the exact cause.