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It was bizarre what had happened. The robot the students had built came to life and well, saved them from Monokuma and had given them a switch she had promised would let them out before returning to her inert self. As the students did one last trip around the school to gather the things they didn't want to leave behind, Makoto Naegi decided to have one last conversation with his friend Chihrio before they left the school.
“Will that device really let us escape…?” Chihiro asked.
“I’m sure of it. We just have to believe in Usami!” After all, the robot had miraculously saved them. Makoto wasn't quite sure of everything, but he had to believe in their future and in their ability to work together.
“You seem really excited, Makoto.”
“What!? Is it that obvious?” Sometimes Makoto wondered if his head was transparent and everyone could see what was inside.
“Yeah. I’ve never seen you with such a wonderful smile. I bet you have all kinds of stuff you want to do once you get out of here. I can feel that desire overflowing from you.”
“Well I’m sure you feel the same way, right?”
Chihiro looked hesitant and said nothing.
“…Chihiro?”
“I…don’t know. I don’t know what I should do once we get out of here. I have a goal, I know what I want to become, but... how to reach that goal, I have no idea. Makoto… what should I do?” Tears were running down her face. This was clearly something very distressing to her.
How could Makoto comfort her? Simple encouragement wouldn't be enough. Think...what was something Makoto knew would help Chihiro with this fear? Well, she did like getting involved in a project, maybe if she treated this like one?“Just let yourself get immersed in it,” Makoto suggested.
“…Yeah. We talked about that, didn’t we? I do feel like I’m starting to understand. But still…”Chihiro still looked nervous.
Makoto took a deep breath, “Listen, Chihiro. You don’t need to rush things,” he said, “Just keep your goal in front of you, and move toward it at your own pace. Changing your outlook is good, but it’s not as simple as just rushing headlong toward something. It’s okay for you to figure out the right speed to move at.”
“Makoto…”
“Even if that means taking things slow, as long as you don’t give up, you’ll always be making progress.”
“Yeah… you’re right! Thank you. I feel like… maybe I’m not afraid anymore,” said Chihiro, blushing.
Makoto felt his heart warm up, “That’s good! I’m glad I could help,” he said.
Chihiro looked down with a slight frown, and then met Makoto's gaze. “Th-Then… do you mind if I take my first step… right here? If I don’t do it now, I feel like… once I get outside, I won’t be able to do it.”
This was puzzling but Makoto did want to help. “Of course I don’t mind. But is it really something you can do right here?” he asked.
“Y-Yeah…”
Chihiro closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly… and then, “I want to tell you something, Makoto. If you can, please don’t be too surprised…I…I…I’m… a boy.”
There was a pause as Makoto absorbed what Chihiro had just said, seeing her-no, him looking at him expecting an answer, Makoto figured some response was needed. “You - you're a boy?” Well, that wasn't a very intelligent response, but at least he had managed to contain his surprise. He really hoped no one else had noticed.
Chihiro looked as sheepish as Makoto felt. “Y-Yeah… I tried to be more like you. Does it… not suit me?”
“N-No, that's not the issue. It's just, I'm so used to thinking of you as a girl, I'm going to need to work on that...” Makoto trailed off when he saw his friend was crying again.
“I-I know it must be hard to buh-believe, so...so i-if you really want proof… you can go ahead and…ch-check,” Chihiro dug his E-Handbook out of his pocket and extended it to Makoto to see.
Makoto gently pushed the device away. “I'm sorry, Chihiro,” he said, “I should have considered your feelings about this. You don't need to prove anything to me. If you say you're a boy, then that's good enough.”
Despite his effort to be reassuring, Makoto's head was still reeling. Chihiro – he was a man. No different from me…
Chihiro must have seen some of that because looked ashamed, and tears were running down his face.“I did surprise you, didn’t I?”
Makoto didn't want his friend to feel that way. As far as he could tell, Chihiro had nothing to be ashamed of. “Well… I’m surprised you’re a boy, yeah. But I’m more surprised at how bold you were.”
“W-Well, that’s… It’s just cuz I had to be. To become who I really am, to have the strength to tell the world who I am… To reach my goal… So… can I tell you my story?”
From there, Chihiro explained how he had taken on the identity of a girl.
He told Makoto how he’d been teased for being so frail as a child, and how that had affected him.
He told Makoto how he retreated into a feminine identity and embraced the assumed “weakness” of it.
“But…Being here with everyone, talking to you so much… I decided that I wanted to change. I didn’t want to be weak anymore. I didn’t want to lie to anyone. I wanted to become my true self, so that we could all become true friends!”
“Chihiro…”
“So, Makoto…After hearing all that, it might just cause you even more trouble, but…Even though I pretended to be a girl… Even though I’ve been lying to you this whole time…Will you still… be my friend?”
“…Yes, of course!” This, Makoto could say with absolute certainty.
“Huh? You mean it…?”
“I respect your strength and your courage so much…”
“R-Respect…!? No, I’m not that strong. I don’t think I could tell anyone else but you…”
“Don’t say that!”
“Huh…?”
“You’re stronger than anyone I know! It’s hard for anyone to acknowledge their own weaknesses, you know? But you faced your weakness, and you took steps to overcome it. So don’t say you’re not strong. Because you are!”
“Makoto… Ehehe… Thank you. You’re always there to encourage me like this. Whenever I get scared and want to stop, you’re right there behind me, pushing me forward. So…Until I’m strong enough to be my true self in front of everyone… I hope you’ll be there to support me. Maybe I’m just being naïve, but…can we keep spending time together like this, just talking about whatever comes to mind?”
“Absolutely! We’re friends, right? You can talk to me about anything, whenever you want. And I feel like I can talk to *you* about anything. So there’s no reason we can’t stay close. I’ll be counting on you too, okay?”
“Okay!”
Even if Makoto couldn't always be there for Chihiro, he would always do his best to support him, and Chihiro would do the same for him. After all, friends made one another stronger, and just knowing someone believed in you could be enough, even while alone.