Danganronpa/D4DJ One-Shots

Engender Gender

"Oh, no..." Chihiro moaned in despair, biting his lip as he stared up at the tall, intimidating steel doors of Hope's Peak's locker rooms. In the past, he would use his Programmer Talent to mess with the locks on the door, or create devices that could mess with the locks on the door, so that he was able to access the female locker room without arousing any sort of suspicion. Unfortunately, tonight, for some reason, none of the usual tricks were working, and no matter how hard Chihiro tried, the door to the female locker room stayed shut.

His shoulders slumped. "I guess I could just... wear my gym outfit back to my dorm." It was late enough that, probably, no one else would run into him in the academy halls. Even the athletes like Yuka, Ibuki, Dalia, Sakura, Nekomaru, and Tenko were long gone by then, and this was all by design. This had been Chihiro's workout routine for as long as he'd been a student at Hope's Peak Academy. No one could ever know the truth. They couldn't know that "she" was actually a boy, because his life would be over! They'd bully him into oblivion! Calling him masculine was like calling fire cold. No, Chihiro was much more suited to a gentle, feminine life, that just made exercise a little bit harder...

No, wait! If I leave now, I'll have to make CERTAIN I come back here tomorrow before anyone else so I can get my clothes... Surely, there would be questions as to why Chihiro left her dress in the locker room, implying she went home wearing her gym outfit. Unless I could say that I was just so tired that I forgot? Or that I did it on purpose and said I'd get my dress in the morning?

Doubtless, Chihiro could pull it off, because of how implicitly everyone trusted him, but Chihiro didn't like lying! And yet...

The poor thing was so focused on spinning a believable, comfortable lie that he didn't hear the other student until it was too late.

Huh? One of the first years? What are they doing here so late? Aoi had a gym bag slung over her shoulder, but it wasn't hers, rather, she was dropping it off for someone. That way, its owner could just go to the locker rooms immediately the next morning and her gym clothes would already be there waiting for her. And since Aoi was leaving them overnight, it wasn't like it was going to get in anyone's way. Or at least, that was the plan. And yet, as Aoi approached the locker rooms, she caught sight of another student staring up at the doors, unmoving.

Who is it? And what are they even doing? She crept closer and called out. "Hello?"

Chihiro shrieked, jumped, whipped around, and slammed his back against the locker room door.

"Oh, hey, woah, woah, woah!" Aoi raised her hands. "Please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I promise, I'm a friend." She gave Chihiro a sheepish smile, but inwardly, she was chiding herself for being so thoughtless.

"O-o-oh, no, it's fine," Chihiro fought hard to keep his voice light, high, soft, pleasant, feminine, and utterly unbothered and unflappable.

"Were you... trying to get it?" Aoi's gaze turned towards the locker room doors.

"Oh! Uhhh, yes! But, uhhh... For some reason..." He was sweating bullets, heart louder and faster than a machinegun.

"Don't worry about it," Aoi chuckled, pulling out her e-handbook and pressing it against the identification lock on the female locker room door. While Aoi smiled kindly, holding the door open for Chihiro, he could only gawk. At first, Aoi thought it was kind of cute and flattering, but the longer it went on, the more awkward and uncomfortable she became. Celebrity though she was, Aoi wasn't a fan of being idolized.

What she didn't know, though, was that Chihiro wasn't staring up at her with such awe because of her generosity. W-wait... She's a woman?

ooo