After the beauty school festival, it was getting dark. You could almost hear winter’s footsteps approaching as the sun spent less time in the sky with each passing day. Ichika and I parted with Iguchi and Chiaki at the subway station and headed home.
As we approached the park, Ichika squeezed my hand. “Mind if we pause here for a bit?”
It was after sunset, so no children were frolicking there, and streetlamps cast a dim glow on the playground equipment. Ichika headed straight for the jungle gym where I’d always used to hide, but didn’t go inside it. Instead, we scaled the ladder, clambered to the top, and sat on the roof. Ichika had been a high-spirited child; back in the day, this was one of her favorite places.
“That school festival was fun, huh?” she remarked.
“Yeah, it was.”
“Mike-san looked stunning.”
The beauty school students had finished getting her ready just before the evaluations began. My classmates and I had left the green room and returned to the auditorium, sitting in the audience to watch. Iguchi and Chiaki had heard me come out, but they didn’t say a word about it the entire time.
Mike-san stood onstage in her white dress, her fully styled hair, makeup, and accessories transforming her into the picture of sophistication. The instructors praised the easy-to-grasp concept of the look her group had presented, lauding each department’s success in carrying out their duties. The evaluation also pointed out one flaw after another, but you could tell the critiques were tough love.
After the instructors gave their remarks, it was a guest judge’s turn to take the microphone. They seemed to remember Mike-san from earlier. “If I recall correctly, you modeled a suit on the runway earlier. I’m impressed you could change your look so quickly. Did you do that on your own?”
“No. Everyone helped me get ready.” It wasn’t just her group who’d lent her a hand. All the students present had played a part.
“I feel like I’ve had the chance to see two assignments from your team. You executed both very well.”
Mike-san’s group bowed their heads appreciatively at the compliment, and the auditorium filled with applause.
“You didn’t end up getting rid of that dress, huh, Riku?” Ichika asked.
Her question brought me back to the present. “No, but I can’t wear it now. It got all chopped up.”
I looked at the sky. The stars appeared even closer from here, and the adrenaline from the fashion show lingered within me. Taking a deep breath, I revealed the desire bubbling in my heart. “I’d like to enroll at that school.”
“I think it would suit you perfectly.”
“Is there someplace you’re interested in, Ichika?” I chose my words carefully to avoid revealing that I knew about the junior college.
After a slightly uncomfortable pause, she mustered the courage to tell me, “I went to an info session at a junior college today.”
“Oh, yeah?” I said casually, letting her get away with it.
“They have general education and nutrition departments, but what really caught my eye was the early childhood education department.”
“You want to teach preschool…?” Never in a million years had I expected her to choose that profession. I’d known Ichika a long time, and she’d never seemed particularly interested in children. I’d seen the ECE department listed on the junior college’s pamphlet, but I figured Ichika was interested in general education or something.
“I thought about going to the same school as you, but I wondered if maybe there’s something else I can do.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked me straight in the eye. “If I’m a preschool teacher, I can let little boys wear skirts, if that’s what they want.”
Her small hands rested atop mine. They felt chilly from the night air. “If they aren’t allowed to do that kind of thing as children, they’ll grow up thinking it’s taboo. Maybe having one teacher who understands their feelings could ease their worries—even if just a bit.”
Ichika and I had been together since childhood. She’d seen firsthand how teachers kept me from wearing skirts, how boys teased me, and how girls treated me with contempt. She’d always been my one and only ally.
“I think you’d be a good teacher, Ichika.”
“Then you can leave the kids to me.” She squeezed my hand. “You’re in charge of the adults, okay? You can teach them what to wear and how to apply makeup.”
“Me?”
“You’re an avid learner, and you always come up with such smart ideas. I think you’ll get even more gorgeous attending that beauty school.”
I lifted her hand and brought it to my lips. I could smell the fragrance she’d dabbed on her wrist. It was the same as mine, but it smelled completely different—a womanly perfume. That was something I could never obtain, but I always had it by my side.
“Can I visit your room again, Ichika?”
“Of course. I want you to teach me more about makeup too.” She shivered in the evening breeze.
“Just makeup…?” I wrapped my arms around her.
She tensed in surprise for a moment, then leaned into me gently. Even through her clothes, I felt her slender-yet-soft frame. I closed my eyes as I breathed in her scent. The envy I’d always felt toward her seemed to have completely disappeared.
“Ichika?”
“Yeah?”
“You’d make sure to tell me if I didn’t look good in makeup or skirts anymore, right?”
From here on, our bodies would continue to diverge. Hers would become more feminine, while mine would grow more masculine. Someday, the clothing I liked wouldn’t flatter me. Would she really tell me when that day came?
“What’re you talking about?” Ichika gazed up at me from within my embrace. “No matter what you wear, you’re always you, Riku.”
My lips parted to utter her name, but she planted a kiss on them before the word escaped.
“Ichika…please don’t ever change, either.”
As long as she was by my side, I could just be me—whichever “me” that was. There was no greater comfort than someone accepting you exactly as you were.
I lowered my head as if in prayer to meet her lips once more.
You’re my goddess, precious and beloved above all others. My one and only treasure.