Engines- A Kami-Iida Story

Chapter 15

Denki’s POV

    This is how I die. I grabbed onto his hand and he took off and now, I was going to die if I wasn’t careful. I felt the air rush by until it stopped suddenly. He had stopped in front of a small area of vendors, but it was too late. I had already tripped due to the sudden stop and was about to fall face-first onto the cement. I braced myself for impact, until I felt someone catch me. I opened my eyes again to see him, with an arm around my waist. I felt my face turn red as I just looked back at him. He seemed a bit red as well, oddly enough. This moment felt like it could last forever, but within a few seconds, he had brought me up back to my feet and backed away. 

    “Sorry about that, I just didn’t want you falling.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

    “Don’t worry about it! Thanks for helping me to not fall and hurt my obviously super handsome face.” I said, chuckling a bit as I posed slightly. He seemed to hesitate, but then laughed a bit as well. He’s acting a bit odd, but it may just be him having been caught off guard. The two of us turned and walked towards a flag display with some small descriptions underneath them.

    “Let’s look at these! It’s important we educate ourselves on these matters to engage with the public appropriately.” Iida said, gesturing towards the descriptions on the board. I leaned in to read the various descriptions.

   

    Homosexuality/Gay Pride Flag: 

    The rainbow flag is representative of the gay portion of the LGBTQ+ community, but is also used as a overall pride flag for the community as a whole. The progress variant (as shown above) includes an arrow with colors representing members of color, transgender individuals, and individuals who have been lost to HIV/AIDS. 

   

    Bisexual Pride Flag:

    The pink, purple, and blue flag is representative of the bisexual portion of the LGBTQ+ community. Bisexuality, by definition, is someone who is attracted to two genders, with gender having an effect on how they feel attraction towards a person. The colors originally represented an attraction to women and men, but with the expansion of the community, the term can be used for attraction to any two genders.

    Pansexual Pride Flag:

   

    The pink, blue, and yellow flag is representative of the pansexual portion of the LGBTQ+ community. These are people who feel attraction toward people regardless of gender. The colors are similar to the bisexual pride flag, with the yellow representing other genders, like nonbinary. 

    Asexual Pride Flag:

    The black, gray, white, and purple flag is representative of the asexual portion of the LGBTQ+ community. Asexuality is a lack of any sexual attraction. This, however, doesn’t mean a person cannot experience romantic attraction.

   

    Lesbian Pride Flag:

    The flag with orange, white, and pink stripes is the lesbian pride flag. This is a term used by women who are attracted to other women. Another term that is commonly used is WLW (women loving women)

    As I read the various descriptions, I noticed that there was a flag that was unlabelled.

    “What flag is that one?” Iida said, pointing to the flag, with it’s blue, white, and pink striping.

    “Transgender pride flag.” I said, without hesitation. I knew that one from memory. I saw him go to ask why I knew, but he seemed to decide against it. He instead looks through the rest of the flags intently. I stood and admired him, as he studied the board. He always got super focused when he was really curious about something, and he had the best face when he was focused. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, his lips pressed together, just an amazing sight. It was impossible not to stare at him when he was like this. 

    Eventually, we both finished reading and he pointed over to the girls, gathered in a group. We both walked to them to see the commotion, and saw that Yao-Momo and Jirou were in the middle, as Jirou held out what looked to be a necklace with a little charm on it. I couldn’t hear what she said, but the next I knew it, Momo had grabbed Jirou’s collar and kissed her cheek. I had never seen Jirou so red, but it was kind of funny. The rest of the girls clapped, while Mina smiled triumphantly. I knew she was the one behind this, but I wonder what else she has in store for today. I stand and listen to the group talk, until I turn to notice that Iida was gone. 

    “Iida? Where are yo-” I stopped when I saw him in the crowd. It looked like he was talking to someone. I stood on my tip toes and saw a cameraman and a lady who looked to be a reporter. He seemed so nervous, and I worked to make my way toward him. When I finally got close enough, I stood and listened to him talk to the reporter.

    “Hello! I am Ingenium, the Engine Hero.”

    “So, Ingenium, why are you here today?” The reporter asked, putting a mic up to his face.

    “We at UA believe that we should be talking to the public more often, and the ability to support this community is one we couldn’t pass up.”

    “Interesting. Rumor has it that there is a closeted gay person at UA, could you give us more information on the matter?”

    “It isn’t my place to say. I do not want to forcefully out someone.”

    “So you aren’t denying that it could be you?”

    “W-well I uh.. I’m not saying that I’m not but- I just..” Iida said, beginning to stumble over his words at the question. Is he gay? Is that why he’s nervous? I decided I needed to step in and hopefully get him away from the press.

    “I think Ingenium is done for questions for today. It’s nice to see all of you at the lovely pride though! Enjoy the rest of your day!” I said, grabbing Iida’s arm and tugging lightly to help pull him away. Sadly, it didn’t help either of us. Instead, they began to interrogate both of us.

    “Is this your partner? Or is this just the person you are covering for?”

I continue to try to pull away, only to be blocked by more people. This was getting bad. 

    “We are determined to find the person who the rumor has talked about! Why are you hiding them from us? What other secrets are the students of UA hiding?”

    I begin panicking and close my eyes. I was either about to be outed on TV or I was going to put UA in a really dangerous situation with the media. I was about to answer when a figure appeared in front of me, shielding me from the reporter. 

   

    “Get away from my students.”