When class ends, it's time for last period. Since there isn't anything much for the class to discuss, some people start packing up to leave. A lot of them though, they gather around me. My friends form a barrier so they can't crowd me, but it doesn't stop them from asking questions.

“Maka-san, why'd you decide to be a girl?” one starts.

“I didn't,” I grouch, “I told you, I've always been a girl, it just took a long time to figure it out.”

“Why? Shouldn't something like that be really obvious?” Marissa Bolton asks this time.

“Mmm...” I grumble. “I... don't really want to talk about it...” I wouldn't be comfortable talking about my relationship with my misogynist father in front of all these people, even on a good day...

When they don't get anywhere with that, one guy asks, “So, how are you a girl if you've already had sex with girls?” The other guys start nodding as if that makes perfect sense, but the girls look disgusted. I'm not sure if it's directed at me or the guys, but I join them, and glare at the one who asked the question.

“How many times do I have to tell you people? That never happened. Those rumors are fucking stupid,” I growl. Somehow, they all look surprised by my response. “What? You guys really believed I had sex with some of my best friends? Who even does that?!”

That finally has them all back off a bit, abashed and awkward momentarily.

“Why are you so mad?” a girl in the back pipes up.

“Because today sucks! I'm stressed and everything hurts and everyone's watching my every move and I have no idea what bullshit the administration is going to throw at me next!”

“Hey, Maka-san.” When someone calls my name, I'm almost ready to bite their head off before I realize it's Folle, the class rep. He's trying to part the crowd so he can see me.

“You have been having a hard time lately, sorry I came after you a couple times about the uniforms and everything. I didn't know so much was going on that you weren't talking about. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us so we can try to be accommodating?”

That... is actually really considerate. Somewhat dumbfounded, I repeat the thought aloud. Then, shake my head to clear it. “Thanks, Folle-san. But I, umm, think I'm fine for now. All I could really ask is that you all treat me like a human being, not some sort of interesting science experiment...” Because that's kind of what this feels like, everyone surrounding me, examining me, asking all these personal questions...

“Alright, I'll keep that in mind.” He scratches his chin and nods before backing out from the crowd.

Soon after, the bell rings and I leave with Leona. “Are you up for a checkup today?” she asks uncertainly once we're in the hall. That reminds me, Mejja told her to get back to it by Wednesday while I was breaking down last night.

“Yeah, I'm feeling better, but what about my energy level? I didn't burn any off today.” She must have been going easy on me after last night.

“Let's do what we can. Do you feel well enough to exercise though?”

“It could always be worse,” I sigh. I hope she'll give me another massage later...

When Leona climbs up on my back, I frown. Even with all the pain, Leona's weight alone isn't enough to make me strain anymore.

“Umm...” When I hesitantly point that out, she frowns.

“I see, you really are strong, Seiko... Give me a minute, I'll go get more weight for you.” She runs off toward the dorms, flying out of sight, and I wait briefly. I'm especially nervous being alone now of all days, but I'm standing outside one of the less used doors and there's no one else around.

Leona returns quickly, just like she said, carrying one of my larger hand weights. It feels way heavier than it should. I really want to burn off the rest of this energy and get my full strength back...

This time, she climbs up while holding the weight, the extra mass heavy enough that I have to push myself again.

Forcing my body to run laps around the school building hurts like hell, but also eases my cramps somewhat, however that works. I keep going until my legs are ready to give out, and I feel like I'm suffocating inside my vest.

As soon as we get to the infirmary and I drop Leona back to the ground, the vest comes off. I take a nice, long drink of water before flopping down on a bed.

“So, how was the big day, Maka-chan?” Doctor Belinda asks.

“It was… Honestly, not quite as bad as I was worried about. I mean, some people said some shitty things, and my classmates asked a lot of personal questions, but no one outright attacked me or anything. I just wish my period would give me a break, I'm way too stressed right now…” And what about the other girls? Will they eventually ease up around me...?

“Yeah, unfortunately that's just one of the things you have to get used to. It comes when it wants and all you can do is live with it.”

“Birth control is an option,” Leona suggests while she's getting ready.

“It is, it tends to ease some of your period symptoms,” the doctor explains. “However, it does have its own side effects. I'd rather see how Maka-chan does for the first few months with her natural hormone levels. And when she isn't so unbelievably stressed.”

Leona nods in silent agreement to the doctor's plan, then climbs up on the bed. She pins me and checks my energy level, and it's not great. Just carrying her around a bit didn't do too much. But it'll have to do. But... it feels like she's actually starting to put in effort to keep me pinned when I push up against her hands. Whatever the case, she gets started.

When Leona presses her hand into my abdomen, it hurts and feels good at the same time. It looks like she's going to pull back when I wince, so I tell her I'm fine, I don't want to mess her up. I try to keep breathing despite the heavy, pressing atmosphere that wants to turn me inside out.

When Leona fills me with another rush of power, I clench my teeth, feeling the air itself shift and the bed sheets crackle at my pained, twitching shudders. It's like-

Gone. As always, it all fizzles away, almost too fast to comprehend. I sigh out a shuddering breath while Leona recovers, then works on sending the data off to Mejja. “Hey, Leona?” I ask when she looks like she's done. She turns back, and I ask, “Can you help me with some stuff? I never got to do gymnastics, so I'm really far behind, I'm like, not flexible at all and, well, you saw today...” I blush, not able to meet her eyes.

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I don't want to admit it, but it feels like being bad at these things, the kind of stuff that's expected of girls like basic balance and flexibility... It makes me feel like less of a girl than the others.

It's just... they all laughed at me for it, and I can't shake the thought that that's what they were all thinking as they watched me fail. Like, 'haha, he can't do it because he's not really a girl.' Just the thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. I don't even want to imagine them thinking things like that about me...

“Sure, that's fine.” Leona thankfully agrees to my request. “When do you want to start? When you're off your period?”

“Oh, well, I was kind of thinking as soon as I can, but it would hurt a lot, wouldn't it...?” Can I really take another what, two or three days of them all laughing and making fun of me while I fail my way through everything?

I bite my lip. Part of me wants to ask for a massage. I know it would make me feel better, but another part of me is saying that I can't just keep asking her for this. I don't want to be that selfish...

“Seiko, I could give you a massage, how does that sound?” Leona suddenly offers. Did she just read my mind?

“S-sure... I umm, I can do the same for you, you know... when you're on your period...” I try to offer, as awkward as I feel. I have to at least try to make up for everything she does for me.

“Sounds good. Now, if you lie down... Actually, can you take your skirt off?”

“M-my skirt?” I stutter. Clearly realizing what she said a moment late, Leona's cheeks glow slightly pink.

“Sorry, what I meant was, you'll want to change into your gym clothes because you can't do gymnastics in a skirt, and it kind of gets in the way for a massage, so you could take it off for the massage, then put on your gym shorts after. But it's not actually necessary,” she pulls back, “if you just flip the front up, I can get to your pelvis without any trouble.” Wow, it sounds like she skipped a whole bunch of steps in her head, which is why it sounded so bad coming out of her mouth.

“W-well...” It's not like I have an issue with her seeing or touching me. I trust her with my body. I let her give me a massage buck naked. But that was back in our room, in private. The infirmary isn't exactly a private place, and even if the doctor isn't butting into our conversation, she's totally listening to everything we say.

“Sure, fine.” I end up trying to play it off coolly, like it doesn't worry me at all. “It'll make changing easier anyway.” Still trying not to let my nerves show, I unbutton my skirt and pull it off. That leaves me in nothing but my still somewhat disheveled top and a pair of plain bluish panties. Not exactly a helpful state of dress when I'm trying to relax...

I try to ignore that and lie my head back while Leona gets to work. She's done this a couple times and has somewhat started to learn which pressure points work best for me, but she still has to refer back to some instructions on her mobile repeatedly. I hardly notice though, each touch and press, whether gentle or firm, chips away at my aching cramps.

Leona works for a few minutes, and I make sure to communicate, let her know what works and what doesn't. Help her learn all the most effective places and the best way to do it. When I sigh and call for her to stop, she does so immediately. It actually makes me feel bad, the way she practically jumps off the bed to remove herself from my personal space when she does.

“A-ah, not like that,” I wave my hand frantically. “I'm not uncomfortable, I actually feel a lot better. I was just thinking that we could probably stop here.”

“Oh,” she sighs, “that's a relief. I thought that last spot was a step too far and I made you uncomfortable.” It was right at my pantyline, but still...

“No, nothing like that,” I assure her. “I'll try to be more clear about that from now on, alright?”

“Sure.” With that settled, I quickly change into my gym clothes. We wave goodbye to the clearly bemused doctor, and head to the gym. I'm definitely feeling better. As usual after a massage, the throbbing pain is gone, just a little twinge of discomfort in its place. Now this I can deal with.

I feel super awkward as soon as we reach the gym and see the men's basketball team practicing. Even so, we grab a couple mats, laying them down out of the way, away from the section of the gym they're using. Trying to ignore the guys and their watching gazes, Leona works me through the same stretches as we did in gymnastics, and more.

There are actually a whole bunch of pair stretches, and it feels like she's focusing on the ones that don't rely on the partners being around the same height. Mostly ones that have me on my back, using her as an anchor to do different leg and torso stretches.

She asks a number of times to ensure I'm still comfortable and it doesn't hurt too much, especially in the more awkward or compromising positions, like the one where she presses on my knees to spread my legs open as wide as she can. I try to keep communicating, to let her know when I've reached my limit on any given stretch, but for the worst ones, I can hardly even breathe as my muscles scream at me, demanding I stop doing this to them.

However, as Leona runs me through a number of different stretches and exercises, we do eventually repeat the same, or at least very similar stretches sometimes, and I do feel my muscles starting to accommodate. It's clear it'll take time, but I'm sure I can make progress with this. I can catch up to the other girls if I really try.

Leona continues helping me stretch for a lot longer than I was expecting – after all, we only did it for a few minutes in class. She must go on for at least fifteen or twenty minutes now, probably longer. When she does finish, I stand back up, kind of wobbly. Then she takes me through a handful of exercises, the bare basics, so I can start training my miserable balance. She keeps her arms out for me while I try to stand on one foot, and end up flailing and wobbling.

But she keeps me upright, and bit by bit, like stretching, I begin to get used to it. I start to feel heavy though, spending so much time on just one foot like this. I'm getting tired.

“Le-”

“Watch out!” at the shout, I turn, just in time for a basketball to sail straight-

It misses. Skims right past my cheek before I can respond at all, bouncing off the mat, then into the wall right behind me. The springy rubber sound marks it thumping away again across the gym floor. I keep looking ahead, to the guy practically sprinting toward us.

“A-are you alright? Shit, I'm sorry!” He looks so panicked, it actually distracts me for a moment from the fact that I nearly just got nailed in the face with that ball.

“Y-yeah, I...” my hand comes up to my cheek automatically. “...Fine...” I think it barely grazed my skin a little. I shake myself, watching him sag slightly with relief. Being a basketball player, I'm not surprised by how tall he is, but he's kind of scrawny and lanky, so he's not too scary looking.

“Good, I'm really sorry about that.” As soon as he's confirmed no one's hurt, he glances over to the guys waiting, then waves and runs off to grab the ball. I slowly exhale, sinking into Leona's still-outstretched arms. Ok, I think that rattled me a bit.

“Are you alright?” Leona asks me again, once the guy has run off.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, just startled. And tired.” Right, that's what I was saying. “Before- You know, before that, I was going to say I'm getting tired, so we should stop here for today.”

“That sounds good, Seiko.” We put the mats back up in the corner of the gym, then Leona points over at the shower room. “Shower here, or back at the dorm?”

I pause, considering it. Now that everyone knows, I don't have to worry about using the showers anymore, do I? And they're empty after school, so no other girls to worry about. “...Sure.” I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I don't want to never be able to use the girls' showers. I'm a girl and I have the right, just like everyone else.

We head into the shower room. I had my hair tied up for working out, but it got kind of messy, so I retie it before I strip and get in the shower. Besides some lockers and toilets, the main section of showers is just a couple walls, each with rows of showerheads all along. I take one all the way on the end so Leona can stand nearby, keeping an eye out in case of anything happening.

Nothing does though, I finish up quickly and towel off. I change my tampon and pull on clean underwear, but only have my uniform to put on. It's not too sweaty because Leona didn't have me working out all day, but in the future, I should bring a change of clothes with me too...