Shifting Times | One-Shot Collection |

Shifting Times

Synopsis: Mitsuzane has questioned something about himself for years but has been too afraid to deal with it due to everything else going on in his life. His friends finally get him to talk and things just go from 0 to 100 really fast.

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Being a teenager came with a lot of problems. Mitsuzane knew that better than most. Not only did he have to deal with all the regular things that came with his age, but because of his family name he had even more to deal with. There was so much expected of him. Things he didn't know if he would ever be able to do.

There was something that Mitsuzane had started to question about himself a few years ago. He kept silent about it for a multitude of reasons. He was afraid to tell anyone and also with everything else he didn't want to bother anyone with this problem. Not to mention he was scared of not being the perfect kid he was meant to be.

Now it just felt so hard to do. Mitsuzane had planned for ages to tell his family what was going on in his head but things never fell through. Now all that was left of their family was him and Takatora. And with how their relationship had been crumbling, Mitsuzane couldn't find the courage to tell Takatora anything. Takatora was so busy anyway. He shouldn't bother him like that.

Somehow, though, Mitsuzane's friends picked up on the fact that something was wrong. He tried to deflect them for a while, scared of the prospect telling them. Eventually they got him to cave and tell them what was going on in his head.

"I... don't want to be a boy. It just doesn't feel right."

It had been a terrifying thing to admit, but he was treated kindly. Everyone was supportive of him and wanted to help him feel better. Mitsuzane wasn't sure about how to do that. At least, not without having to tell his brother. That was not a conversation he was looking forward to possibly ever having to have.

While with his friends, he was able to be who he wanted to be. He was allowed to experiment with different things to see how they fit him. And before long that made him confirm what he had been questioning.

"I'm a girl. I'm not a boy."

That statement was taken well. He... she? Mitsuzane still wasn't sure about changing pronouns. It scared him that someone might overhear and get mad about it. Maybe if he looked more like a girl he wouldn't be so afraid. Either way, he felt like he belonged somewhere.

Unfortunately Mitsuzane was still very hesitant to tell his brother this development. It was a lot and this was such a small issue compared to everything else that was going on. Mitsuzane didn't want to be a burden. And the last thing he wanted was for his brother to find a reason to be disappointed in him more than he probably already was (his grades had definitely been slipping way more than they ever should).

Some of the girls on their dance team handed him a few dresses to have since he definitely was not about to try and buy one. Mitsuzane had yet to ever try them on. But tonight he finally did. He desperately had wanted to wear one ever since they gave him them. He put one on and stared at himself in the mirror.

It didn't look right. Why couldn't he look more feminine? He looked wrong in the dress as much as he really liked it. All because he still looked like a boy. No one would take him seriously if he looked like this. It hurt to realize that. Unless he could look like a girl he'd never feel like he could belong in a dress like this.

There was a knock on the door. Before Mitsuzane could react, it opened. Takatora stood at the door frame, staring at him. There was a very long moment of silence. Mitsuzane felt sick. This wasn't supposed to be how this happened. He was meant to have a lot more time before ever being found out.