"Transgender? What the hell does that mean?"

"I-it means that...I'm a girl, Daddy."

"Nonsense. You're my son."

Chihiro Fujisaki couldn't help but replay the conversation that had led her to being forced onto this bus. Her suitcase full of belongings rested on the empty seat beside her, and her laptop bag sat on her lap; she was the only one on the bus. She played with the folds on her skirt as she looked out of the window, watching the trees pass by. She felt like a prisoner who'd been convicted of a crime she didn't commit.

"Don't you understand? I'm different, my brain is different—"

"Damn right it is! No son of mine is gonna pretend to be a girl, something is wrong with that brain of yours!"

"No, Daddy, that's not true! Mama, please!"

"Don't worry, honey, there's a new camp outside of Tokyo that fixes children like him."

"Wait! Wait, please, please don't send me away!"

Chihiro's pleas had fallen on deaf ears. It made her wish she had never told them. It made her wish she'd just stayed quiet. It made her wish that she was normal.

Apparently, this place was called "Hope's Peak Academy," or something fluffy and nice like that, but she knew just by reading up on it in the three days her parents gave her to try and change her mind that it was not going to be a nice place. She'd been strong, though, been stubborn, and had refused to revoke her statements. She had denied herself many things in her past, but the one thing she wasn't going to deny was her identity.

The old bus came to a screeching stop, and Chihiro was jerked forward in her seat a bit. Keeping a tight grip on her bags, she finally stood up when she was sure the bus wouldn't move forward any more, and the driver motioned her up to the front. The doors opened with a terrible squeal, and Chihiro flinched as she got off, standing in front of the camp's entrance.

The midday sun was making her hot in her green jacket and knee-high socks, and it was now that Chihiro was glad, at least, that she'd decided to wear her umbrella skirt for today. Standing in front of the camp entrance was a dark-haired man whose smile was too fake to be believable. Swallowing the bile in her throat, Chihiro walked towards him, trying to keep a good face, to be strong. It was the only way she'd get through this.

"Hello, Chihiro Fujisaki, is it?" He asked, holding out a hand. Chihiro stared at him coldly and didn't take it. Realizing she wasn't planning on being cordial, he removed the hand. "Jin Kirigiri. I'm the head counselor of this camp. It's nice to meet you." Still, she said nothing. "Now that you're here, how about I take you to your cabin? We're in quiet time right now, so none of the campers are allowed to be outside."

Chihiro didn't say a word as she followed Jin, silently imagining herself in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, and the man in a police uniform. As she followed him, in her mind's eye, she was strong, and she slid out of the handcuffs and jumped him, then freed all the prisoners and went on a jailbreak.

It was all she could do to keep herself from crying.