TITLE: Blush
AUTHOR: MikeJaffa
SYNOPSIS: Meg gets flustered and Kyo gets a black eye
SILLY MUSE WARNING: Put down all food and drink while you read this.
RATING: M/R for frank discussion of sexuality'
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Burst Angel, and I hope those who do don't decide to waste time and money suing me.
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"Ok, buddy," Hayao Ichimonji said, "give. How did you get the black eye?" He, Shiho Kazami, and Kyohei Tachibana were sitting around a small table in an outdoor restaurant a couple of blocks down from the culinary school they all went to. They had just finished eating their lunches, the price Kyohei had extracted for explaining how he'd got the shiner.
"Miss Hongo was furious," Shiho said. "She kept you in the headmaster's office for, how long?"
"Two hours," Kyohei said. "They wanted me to admit the others beat me up; I stuck to my story I had walked into a door. They were ready to sic the cops on them, which, trust me, would have been bad for the cops. But I couldn't…" He started laughing.
Shiho said, "She doesn't want you to go back there. And if they abused you, I don't either-"
"No," Kyohei managed, "it's actually hilarious." He calmed down. "You guys have to keep this under your hats, ok? Please do not breathe a word of this to anybody."
The other two students exchanged glances and nodded.
"Ok," Kyo said. "You know Jo, right? White hair, red eyes?"
"Yes." Shiho shuddered. "I know she saved our lives that time, but she scares me."
"Scares me, too," Kyohei said, "but the thing is, she's a total amnesiac. She doesn't know where she's from or anything. And last night, I found out just how much else she doesn't know. Sei had gone out with Meg and Amy again, and she'd asked me to…house sit, which I did, and I knew something was up because Jo wasn't watching her horror videos. She let me watch the Cooking Channel, without a word of complaint. She spent most of her time reading her tablets and thinking. I could tell something was eating her, but I didn't want to ask. And then, after the others got back …"
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No sooner did Sei, Mag, and Amy come through the door than Meg bounded over to the kitchen's hot plate and took a deep breath, basking in the aromas of the late night snacks Kyohei had made for the girls. "Ah-h-h-h-h. Kyohei, my love, what would I ever do without you?"
Amy quipped, "Gain ten kilos?" She giggled.
"Shut up!" Meg snapped. "Seriously, Kyohei, since you've been cooking for us, I can not imagine how I could live without my personal chef. I am a total Kyohei addict; I almost can't stand the sight of junk food anymore. We're all going to have learn French so we can follow you to Paris when you go to learn to be a pastry chef."
Kyohei chuckled. "There goes the continent."
Sei inspected food Kyohei had prepared and didn't hide her approval. "I am sure there is plenty of time to consider how much contact Kyohei will want to have with us after he goes to France. I for one, hopes he will not be a stranger."
Kyohei blushed. "Thanks, Sei."
"You're welcome, Kyo. Would you care to join us for a quick bite before you leave?"
They settled to eat around the kitchen table. Jo picked at her food, which wasn't unusual, but she didn't even reach for the hot sauce, which was.
Meg picked up on it. "Jo? Are you ok?"
"It's…I…" Jo said. "What the hell, Meg, you'll tell everyone sooner or later. I just want you to know that I support your decision. I don't understand it, but if that's what you want to do, it's fine with me."
Meg nodded slowly. "Thank you, Jo."
"No problem."
"Jo?"
"Meg?"
"What the heck are you talking about?"
"Your sex change operation."
Kyo, Sei, and Amy stopped eating and gawked.
Meg managed one word: "WHAT!?"
"I was reading about it all night," Jo explained, totally deadpan, as if she was describing how to clean one of her handguns, "these women who think they are men trapped in women's bodies, and eventually they have a-"
"Stop right there!" Meg snapped. "I am not having a sex change operation. I am not a man trapped in a woman's body. I am a woman living in a woman's body and basking in the full flower of her womanhood. A sex change operation is the last thing I want."
"So you don't want to be a guy?"
"Hell no! Where did you get that idea?"
"I found your catalog."
"What catalog?"
"The one with fake penises girls can strap on. If you don't want to be a guy, why are you looking at them?"
Kyo would later marvel that he didn't choke on his food. As it was, he laughed so hard he could hardly stand up. Sei and Amy were likewise incapacitated.
But the best part for Kyo was how, after all the hassles these girls had caused him, Meg's face turned beat red and she stammered in the face of Jo's typically implacable stare.
"Uh, yeah, uh…" Meg cleared her throat. "Jo, can we talk about it some other time?"
"Why? We're all friends here." Jo turned to Kyohei. "Kyo? Do you know?"
"Uh, I can guess," Kyo managed.
"Kyo-No," Meg warned.
"It's all right, Meg," Jo said. "Kyo? Why do you think Meg is looking at a catalog of fake penises?"
Meg shook her head, her facial expression leaving no doubt as to Kyo's fate if he said one more word.
But the only thing Kyohei could think was, 'This is too good.'
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Shiho stammered, "A-a-and you told her?" She was half doubled over from laughter. Hayao's head was down on the table as he weakly pounded it with his fist.
Kyo couldn't speak; he just nodded.
"Oh, God…" Shiho laughed some more. "How…how did Jo take it?"
Kyo managed, "Her face turned as red as her eyes and she said, 'Oh.'"
Hayao raised his head. "And that's when Meg slugged you?"
Kyo nodded. "I think she would have beaten me to death if Jo hadn't stopped her. I figured it was time to beat a retreat and leave, but I almost wish I'd stayed for five more minutes."
Hayao asked, "Why?"
"B-because," Kyo managed through more laughter, "as I closed the door, Jo was asking Meg why she had circled the double-ended one."
The three teens howled.
"Ok," Shiho finally managed, "I guess it's like you said: You walked into a door. Miss Hongo won't hear any different from us." Hayao nodded.
"Thanks, guys." Kyo finally calmed down. "I shouldn't have enjoyed that. I don't think they're bad people at the end of the day, just good people doing crazy stuff. And all in all, Sei is a pretty good boss. But man, after all the embarrassment they've caused me, it was just too good to see them blush."