Ruri was dry heaving.

 

 

 

Immediately after Toshi did his little trick of showing how he could lag the world, causing Ruri to experience nausea and vertigo. She staggered a bit, grabbed the side of the building, and started to vomit. Alas, she hadn't been hungry that morning and skipped breakfast, so all she was retching up was bile. Toshi held onto her to prevent her from falling, apologizing, "I'm sorry! I forgot you can have this bad of a reaction!"

 

Surprisingly, as Ruri reacted, a few people approached to check on the pair. They were concerned about Ruri's health and the possibility of contagion. Unfortunately, it was because they feared that Toshi might get sick too. The first person to suggest this received a fierce glare from Toshi, which sent her away in a hurry. Toshi remained focused on his friend, offering some consolation, "Well, they did notice you... kind of." He winced slightly.

 

Ruri eventually recovered and backed away from Toshi, "Wha... what the Hell are you???" The look on her face was hard to describe. At best it was fear, at worst, revulsion.

 

Ruri's response shook Toshi to his core, "What?"

 

Ruri moved a few more steps away, then hesitated, "You talked about GOD. Are... are you a demon? or Spirit or..." She fell silent. She was recovering from the sensation of the world inverting and she was still regaining her bearings. It took a while for her to recover her senses, but slowly her mind cleared. Her focus shifted from her disorientation to the profound effect her words had on Toshi.

 

He stood there, staring at the ground. Shaking. His eyes started to tear up. He tried to speak but seemed unable to form words.

 

"Oh, Crap," Ruri muttered as she rubbed her eyes. She stepped closer to Toshi, "Look..." He looked like he was about to collapse. As he started to sway, Ruri grabbed him and guided him back to the bench. Sitting him down, she continued, "Okay-okay! You're okay! I'm sorry. I... crap. You're going through something crazy as well, and I..."

 

"Don't hate me." He croaked out, "Please? I couldn't-" His voice gave out. He bowed his head forward as he hunched his shoulders to try and hide from the world, "I don't know what to do."

 

"I don't hate you. I'm just having a crisis... here?" Ruri's voice was soft yet filled with distress. She pressed the palms of both her hands into her eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath so she could let it out slowly and center herself. She grabbed Toshi by both shoulders and said urgently, "Toshi! Toshi?" She shook him gently. He lifted his eyes, his expression resembling the pain and exhaustion she used to see in the mirror after being beaten up countless times back when nobody cared.

 

Before Toshi came charging into a certain bathroom to save her.

 

Ruri inhaled sharply through gritted teeth, "Toshi? I'm sorry. I just... freaked. Okay. I don't hate you! We. Are. Friends. No matter what." Toshi's eyes seemed to drift off her like her words weren't registering. She shook him and said firmly, "Look at me!" She regained Toshi's attention.

 

Locking eyes with her friend, Ruri pointed between Toshi and herself, and back several times in quick succession, conveying the message 'You and me.' She continued, "Whatever this is, we'll get through this, okay? I've got you. You're not alone. I'll figure this out, and I'll fix everything." Toshi blinked and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. She moved closer, ensuring her eyes eclipsed his world, "Promise."

 

Toshi stared for several more seconds before he abruptly hugged her tightly. He kept trying to talk, but words wouldn't come out. He eventually gave up and just held her tight.

 

Ruri placed her hand on the back of his head, offering comfort, "It's okay. I'm sorry. You know... sometimes I forget you're a boy. You are this... I don't know. You are so fearless and smart, and you act like you've got everything figured out. I've never met anyone like you, and I just assume your life was perfect for some reason." She gently smoothed down his hair and gave him a reassuring pat on his back, "You'd be surprised how many people talk to me about how lucky I am to be your friend. How great it must be to just stand next to a guy who has such a charmed life."

 

Toshi turned his head to look up at Ruri. She smiled back and squeezed his shoulder, "Then I remember you're more screwed up than everyone else here combined. You've most likely been through more suffering than they could imagine, and you only look like you're an amazing guy because of everything you've had to overcome."

 

Toshi dropped his gaze to look off into the distance as he let these words sink in.

 

Ruri moved to give him more space, but kept one arm around his shoulders, "I'm only now realizing you've got your own Hell and you've been dealing with it alone because you didn't think anyone would believe you, right?"

 

Toshi just nodded.

 

Ruri closed her eyes as she nodded slowly, "Well, whatever is going on, you're not alone anymore. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out together." She gently took his chin and pulled until he met her gaze. She gave him a reassuring smile, "This time, I'll protect you."

 

Toshi swallowed and finally found his voice, "Thank you. So... very much." He closed his eyes and leaned into her, "I don't even know where to begin. But you are my first friend and I don't know how I could take driving you away."

 

Toshi clenched a fist as he felt his emotions fragmenting. Inside he was screaming at himself to 'man up', but every attempt to push his feelings back down failed. His mental emotion box was broken and he couldn't keep things inside it anymore. However, knowing Ruri was by his side made him feel something new. Something that he couldn't remember ever experiencing before.

 

He felt reassured.

 

The conversation ground to a halt. Eventually, Ruri spoke, "So... what can you tell me?"

 

Toshi sat up, "Rather than just guessing, maybe we should go ask an expert."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruri squinted at Toshi, "Come again?"

 

---

 

"Fuck."

 

 

 

Hinako looked surprised at Harou's response to her catching him in her room, "Well... if you insist." She took a step towards him.

 

Harou held up his hands and took a step back, "Whoa whoa whoa! H-hold on!" He glanced sideways at the panties he was holding in his hands. Then dropped his shoulders as he hung his head in shame, "Can we keep Toshi in the dark about this?"

 

Hinako stopped closing in on him. She narrowed her eyes and jutted her chin towards him, "Maybe. Why don't you tell me who hired you."

 

Harou jerked his head up, "Who hired me? Wha-?"

 

Hinako closed in aggressively, forcing Harou to take a step back, "Don't play me. I noticed you on the cameras we have around the house. You've been casing the place for quite a while. I didn't want to ruin my brother's friendship over stupidity, but frankly-"

 

Harou shook his head vigorously, "Hold it! You got the wrong idea. I'm..." He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, ~Okay... time to use plan B.~ He opened his eyes, "I'm a huge fan of yours!" He held the panties protectively in his hands, "Since you retired, I've been feeling like a ship lost at sea! I just wanted a memento to remember you!"

 

Hinako's left eyebrow raised to the point it was threatening to succeed from her face, "What... are you babbling about?"

 

"Why... you're Honey Whitefox!" Harou stared at her with the widest of eyes, "I figured it out, but I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. You have no idea how long I've been a fan of yours! I've been to several of your concerts." He spoke with a great deal of passion and conviction, because the truth was, Honey Whitefox WAS his favorite idol back in his original world. He was twisting the truth, but it was close to how he felt, "I was even there at the one where you-"

 

"HOLD IT!" Hinako closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You think... I'M... Honey Whitefox?" She put her hand on her hip as she looked at Harou like he was insane, "You know he's a guy, right?"

 

"HA! Yeah RIGHT! That's what you want everyone to think! I know you are secretly a cross-dresser so you could pursue your music career!" Harou clenched his fist and went into a 'guts' pose, "I understand entirely that you couldn't make it as a female idol so you had to dress as a boy!"

 

He looked up to the ceiling as he started to preach, "It is just so inspiring that you refused to give up on your DREAM and did whatever it took to let the world hear your music!" He dropped his eyes back down to look at her with admiration, "I know people say your music is repetitive, but that's only because the music must be experienced with the choreography!" He held his hands out to gesture like he was looking at a sphere, "It is part of a holistic..."

 

"NO." Hinako clapped her hands in her face, "I'm not Honey Whitefox!"

 

Harou shook his head while he waggled a finger in her face, "No no no! I know for a FACT Honey Whitefox lives here. It took a while to figure out your home address-"

 

Hinako pointed at the wall that separated their rooms, "My Brother is Honey Whitefox!"

 

Harou went quiet.

 

He licked his lips and slowly turned his head to look at her sideways.

 

Hinako nodded as she widened her eyes.

 

Harou laughed and made a sweeping dismissive wave of his hand, "NAH! That's... that's not..." He let his voice trail off, "Not..." He went quiet and spoke with a whisper, "Possible?"

 

Hinako turned to walk over to her desk. She opened a drawer and searched through the junk, then pulled out a creased and bent picture. She offered it to Harou. He took it and stared.

 

It was a picture of Toshi in his full Honey Whitefox costume with Hinako's arm around her brother's shoulders.

 

Harou dropped the picture and let it flutter to the floor as he covered his mouth while turning away, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

 

Hinako squinted at him, "Uh... why?"

 

"Because I tossed off to a picture of him thinking it was YOU!" He staggered to the side, then put her underwear down on her desk, "I... uh... I'm sorry. I-"

 

Hinako snorted, "Can it. So you just faked being sick to get in his support group so you could meet me?"

 

Harou turned to Hinako with an offended expression, "What? NO. We both caught the same illness. I don't know why, but when I figured out who his sister was, I just assumed it was destiny... Fate! You have no idea how many times I prayed to meet Whitefox in person!"

 

Hinako jogged her head from side to side, "I guess your wish came true." She paused then added, "Are you gay?"

 

Harou's body language instantly changed to become far more confrontational, "WHAT? No." He shook his head, "Would I be stealing your underwear if I was gay?" He turned his back on her. A few moments later he continued, "Honest? Toshi is a great guy. More than that, He's a great friend. I like him a lot. I... I just..." He wrung his hands, "Ever since I spent that week in the hospital, I have all these weird thoughts in my head. I couldn't get Honey Whitefox's underwear out of my head. I had to have it!" He let his shoulders drop in defeat, "I... I'm... I'm just sorry."

 

Harou lowered his gaze as he anxiously waited for her reaction. In his mind, he reviewed how good he was acting, ~C'mon... I'm awkwardly cute, and I share the same illness as your brother! This is just a minor slip-up. Any girl would understand, right? Bite down so I can real you in!~ He silently hoped for her to let this slide.

 

The silence dragged on until finally there was the sound of rustling cloth. Hinako spoke, her tone sounding softer and offering forgiveness, "Well... fine. HERE."

 

Harou turned around while suppressing a smirk, ~Victory!~

 

Harou's brain detonated.

 

It wasn't the fact that Hinako was standing there, offering her underwear to him that caused his brain to explode.

 

It wasn't the fact she was offering him panties that she had, up until a few seconds ago, been wearing.

 

It was that she had also taken off her jeans and stood there naked from the waist down.

 

 

 

 

As Hinako watched Harou unflinchingly stare at her crotch without a hint of embarrassment, a grin began to slowly spread across her face, "You know..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I think it's only fair if we trade."