DISCLAIMER: Burst Angel is owned by Gonzo. This chapter and those that follow include English-language dialogue written by Eric Vale and Andrew Rye, translated from the script written by Fuhmiko Shimo. Used without permission. But I am not making any money off this story, so I would hope that if the writers get wind of this, they are flattered instead of ticked off …

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Meg opened the microwave and used a spatula to serve the two square slices of deep dish pizza onto two plates, one for herself and one for Amy.

Sei noticed. "You didn't think to set one for me?" she snapped.

"You mean you would actually eat junk food for once?" Meg asked as she got two sodas out of the fridge.

Sei relented a little. "Ok, that's a-" Her phone rang. Sei frowned at the caller ID. Then she answered it. "Hello? …. Yes?… Could you hold on a second?" She put her hand over the phone. "We have a hit off your flier, Amy. A student from the Love and Happy Culinary Design School."

Meg said, "Wow, that was fast. What's he sound like?" She took a bite out of her pizza.

"He sounds … Nice. What should I do?"

Meg swallowed. "Do? Invite him over an interview him, of course. Haven't you given a job interview before?"

"No."

Meg thought it over. Sei was right: She'd pulled Amy out of her last hideout just as RAPT had been breaking down the door, and had recruited Meg and Jo after they'd wiped out a Cyberoid mafia. Richard had been sent over by a temp service sight unseen. So the Chinese mob princess had never in her life given a real job interview. "Well, that's what I'd do," Meg said: "Ask him to come over and see if we like him." 'And maybe we'll leave you alone with him for an "in depth interview,"' she added to herself, envisioning Sei alone with a hunk.

"If you think so, Meg-"

"Sei. He's gonna hang up if you don't talk to him."

"Of course." Sei turned back to her phone. Meg half expected her to blush. "Hello?…Yes, I would like you to come over here for an interview…It doesn't have an address? Well, I'll text you the current location for your car's nav system….You don't have a car?…." She sounded alarmed: "When did that happen?…Are you all right?… Good, I'm glad to hear it…"

Meg frowned. Was that warmth in Sei's voice for someone she had only spoken to for less than a minute?

Sei went on: "…Well, was it insured?….No, I will meet you. Hang on; can you talk and text at the same time?…Great, I will send you a location…." Sei pulled the phone away from her ear and keyed something in. Then she put it back to her ear. "Got it? … How soon can you be there?…No, it's not in one of the buildings. Just wait at the southeast corner of the intersection. What do you look like?….Then I will see you soon, Mr. Kyohei Tachibana." She hung up.

Amy asked, "What was that all about?"

"He doesn't have a car," Sei explained. "He has-had - a motor scooter that was caught in the crossfire of a shootout this morning. He'd wanted to use public transportation, but I said I'd pick him up. And now that I think about it- yes, that'll work-" She tabbed her phone and held it to her ear. She smiled. "Hi, Kyohei…Yes, I'm going to want to do grocery shopping at the same time. I'd like you to make a list….Uh, I'm not sure. Think 'nutritious' and 'substantial' and 'lots of it'….Yeah, the fridge is kind of empty at the moment…" She giggled. "Yes, that does tend to happen…See you soon … 'Byyyy-eyyyyee." She hung up.

Meg said, "Wait- aren't you jumping the gun a bit?"

"What do you mean?" Sei asked.

"You haven't even hired this guy yet, and you're shopping with him?"

"You think that's too soon?"

Meg thought, 'What the-we're talking about grocery shopping with a cook she hasn't hired, and she acts like she's having a boyfriend move in. Holy crap, what is going on here?'

She said, "Uh…Sei, maybe you should hire him first?"

"Yeah, I see your point, Meg, but we are out of food and I thought it would help."

"Uh, there is that." And Meg thought: 'What is wrong with her? She's almost blushing. You'd think he'd invited her to the prom.'

Sei looked around. "Where's my phone?"

Meg said, "In your hand."

"What? Oh, yes, of course." She clipped the phone to her belt, put on her coat and grabbed her car keys, then said, "How do I look?"

"Fine," Meg said.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should put on a little make-no, wait, there's no time if I'm going to-"

"SEI!" Meg said. "It's a JOB interview. HE is supposed to make a good impression on YOU. He doesn't care what you look like."

"He doesn't? But he sounded so nice-"

"Sei. Please."

"Of course, Meg. Butterflies. All right. Here I go." She took a deep breath and headed out the door.

Meg sat there with one hand over her eyes.

Amy said, "Damn. You don't suppose she's a little nervous, do you, Meg?"

"No, y'think?"

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"Pro bono job done," Jo said as she shambled into the room she shared with Meg. She began to shed her work clothes. "No food left." The adrenaline rush that usually drove Jo into a frenzy had subsided and now she was turning into a lump.

"Oh, hi, Jo," Meg said from her vanity as she finished applying her facial mask. "Sei got a call from kid at Love and Happy; she's going to meet him and buy groceries with him. But Judas Priest, she was flustered! You'd think she was going on a blind date or something. I never thought 'd say this about Sei, but I'm really worried she will screw this up…"

Jo had changed into her orange night shirt and flopped face first onto the bed.

"…and you couldn't care less. I'll be sunning myself on the roof. If you need me."

Jo snored.

"Sweet dreams."

On the roof of the trailer, Amy had put on her own facial mask. They tried to relax on the chez lounges Meg had set up, but found that to be impossible when Amy's stomach started growling, and Meg heard it. "Jeez, it's not like you ate two hours ago. Oh, wait, you-"

Meg's stomach growled.

Amy giggled.

"All right, I'm hungry, too." Meg stood and looked out over the car dealership. She didn't see anything looking like Sei's sports car around the interchange.

Amy asked, "How long has it been?"

Meg checked her phone. "Almost two hours."

"Maybe he's a gorgeous hunk and they're making out."

"I don't care what they do as long as we eat first." She speed-dialed Sei's number.

Sei answered on the second ring. "Yes?"

"Sei," Meg said, "where are you?"

"Grocery shopping with our new cook. Just be patient. We'll be back soon."

Amy demanded, "Give me that!" and snatched the phone away from Meg. "Hurry it up! My stomach is starting to make strange noises….Hello?" She looked up at Meg. "She hung up. How did she sound to you?"

"Like normal, I guess…."

A few minutes later, Meg receive a text from Sei: 'Leaving store with our new master chef.' She read it to Amy.

"'Master chef'?" Amy said. "Really?"

"Really."

"Jeez!" Amy giggled. "Maybe our plan worked too well and she's falling in love with him."

"Oh, crap! I hadn't considered that."

"Why not? What's wrong with her falling for the new cook?"

"Amy - Sei? Relationships? Can you say, 'impending disaster'? As in remember why we're glad Leo doesn't work here every day?"

"Oh, crap. Well….maybe it's not that…bad… then… yet…right?"

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Twenty minutes later, Meg and Amy were lying in the lounge chairs when they heard the sports car's engine. Voices. Then Sei shouted from below them: "Hey, it's me! And I brought the new cook along."

Meg thought, 'He's already the new cook? That was one fast interview.' She said, "I'll be right down."

As Amy headed into the trailer, Meg climbed out of her lounge, stretched, then vaulted over the side of the trailer. She landed in a crouch, one knee down, arms out, then looked up at …

She thought: 'What in the name of God is going on here?'

The brown-haired kid was about as tall as Sei and SKINNY. Not even vaguely an Adonis. And he flinched when Meg looked at him. No - it looked like he had been panicking and was now on the brink of a heart attack. 'What the-' Meg thought, 'don't tell me this kid has never seen a facial mask. There's no way this kid will give Sei what she needs!'

Meg stood and brushed some hair out of her eyes as she heard the trailer's door open behind her. "It's about time!" Amy said from behind her. "I take it that's our new master chef?"

Sei beamed. "It is."

The kid bowed slightly. "Hello."

Meg's eyes narrowed. 'This is not what I had in mind,' she thought. 'Back to the drawing board…once we get rid of this guy.'

Sei's smile never wavered. "His name is Kyohei Tachibana."

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Meg crept back to the bathroom, sneaking glances over her shoulder to make sure Sei was still preoccupied showing - what was his name - Kyohei around. She found Amy wiping off the last of her facial mask.

"Amy," Meg hissed, "what the hell happened?"

"What do you mean, what the hell happened?"

"That does not look like an Adonis to me, Amy."

"It's a cooking school, Meg, not a male escort service. And now that I think about it, some of the guys in the gallery could have been models."

"Great. Well, Jo's back, and once we give her a coffee IV, we'll have to regroup and rethink, after we get rid of this twerp."

"Are you sure Meg? He is kinda cute, and I think Sei likes him."

"Cute? Sei does not need 'cute.' We will not get peace and quiet with 'cute.' Sei does not need someone to 'like.' Sei needs to have a male centerfold grab her hair like it's a-" Then Meg remembered she was talking to an 11 year old. "Never mind. Point is, this kid won't do. He has to go."

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

"Scare him. Two plus hours with the Dragon Queen of the Universe has probably left him ready to rabbit. A few choice words here and there, he'll run screaming for his mommy. Then we start over and do this right."

"Ok, Meg, if you say so."

Amy headed for the living area just as Jo shuffled out of her and Meg's room. "Gotta go. What's all the hubbub about?" she asked sleepily.

Meg grabbed a towel as she let Jo go past her to the toilet. "Got this kid from the school, Kyohei Something Or Other. He is not what we need, and we're going to get rid of him."

"Why?" Jo yawned. "He a bad cook?"

"What? Jo, no, remember - no, never mind. Just get mad about something."

"What?"

"Anything. '48 World Series."

"Oh. That sucked."

"Yeah, and just remember how much money you lost."

"Mmm-hmmm."

Meg wiped her face as she went into the living area. Sei and Amy were on one side of the table, what's-his-name - Kyohei - like it mattered - on the other side.

Kyohei said, "And by 'all,' do you mean your families live here, too?"

"Left to their own devices," Sei explained, "these girls eat only junk food. They need a cook like you who can whip them up something substantial." Sei glanced over her shoulder. "That's Meg." She looked at Amy. "And this is Amy."

Meg snapped at Kyohei, "Turn around!"

Kyohei flinched.

"Turn around," Meg repeated, "a hundred and eighty degrees."

Kyohei stood up and turned. "Ok. Like this?"

Actually, he was kind of cute, but Meg made a point of snorting in disgust. "Don't you think he's too young?"

"Can the attitude," Sei said. "You wouldn't know it, but he's an excellent cook attending a certified culinary school."

Kyo blushed. "Well, I don't know about 'excellent.'"

Meg thought, 'Yeah, I would know because we found the bloody school! What's with you, anyway?' But she held her tongue as Amy crossed to Kyo. 'Amy, please put the screws on!'

Amy sniffed the air and giggled. "He smells like cake!"

"Oh…" Kyo said. "yeah, I was practicing earlier."

"So, hey," Amy said, "didn't you think our little flier was cute?"

"Was that your work?"

"Yeah. I was kind of worried about who would respond to such a cool flier, but I guess you're all right. And besides, it looks like you could handle a little pain now and again."

Kyo flinched and Meg thought, 'Good one! He HAS to be almost ready to bolt.'

Meg said, "Don't get your hopes up. He's got a pansy looking face and he's as thin as a rail. He won't last two weeks."

"Girls," Sei said, "Kyohei is saving up so he can study abroad. Wouldn't it be wonderful if through this we could help him achieve his dream?"

Amy and Meg gawked. Meg thought, 'Since when does Sei think about anyone but herself?' Then they both laughed.

Amy managed, "He takes this job, he can study four broads!"

"'Achieve his dream,'" Meg said. "Funny stuff. Jeez, Sei, when did you grown a sense of humor?"

That struck a nerve in Kyohei. Meg thought, 'Mockery - unplanned but good. And he's probably been laughed at a lot for wanting to be a chef. C'mon, Kyo, there's the door.'

Leave it to Sei to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. "Just ignore them," she said. "So how about it? Would you like to come work for us?" There was no mistaking the warmth in her voice this time.

"Y-yes, of course," Kyohei said, "if you'll have me."

Things had definitely gone completely out of control. 'Sorry kid,' Meg thought. 'I almost hate to do this to you, but we need a stallion and you need to get out of here. Time to bring out the big guns.'

"Wait a minute," Meg said. "Doesn't Jo get a vote?"

Kyo asked, "Jo?"

"Oh," Sei said, "is she here?"

"Yeah, she got back while you were out," Meg explained. "Said something about finishing that pro bono job she was talking about."

Amy chimed in: "I bet she's off somewhere watching those super gory horror movies she likes. She always does that after a job." (Meg thought, 'Way to go, Amy!')

They heard a fist rapping on the bathroom wall - they'd run out of toilet paper. 'Perfect!' Meg thought. 'Time to pull the pin.'

"Hold on!" Meg called. She turned back to Kyohie. "Look away."

"Huh?"

"Don't you say anything but 'huh' or 'what'?"

Meg grabbed a fresh role of toilet paper out of an overhead cabinet and darted back to the bathroom.

"Jo," she hissed, "you have to talk to this cook."

"Huh?"

"He's lookin' at me funny. Hell, he tried to grab me when no one else was looking. A real creep and a weirdo and maybe there's a bounty on him. I need you to put him in his place."

"All right."

Meg led Jo back to the kitchen.

"Jo," Meg said, "so this is the new cook. What do you think of him? 'Cause I think he's a tool." And she thought, 'C'mon, Jo, get mad. He just needs one good scare and he's gone. You've threatened to kill people for spilling soda on someone else two tables away. Let's see that Angel of Death in all her glory!'

Unfortunately, the Angel of Death had left the building and been replaced by the Angel of Please Excuse Me While I Quietly Slip Into A Coma.

"It's a guy?" Jo said groggily. "Whatever. Like I care." She sat down against the counter and her eyes fell shut.

Sei smiled. "Ok then. Mr. Kyohei Tachibana, we will be counting on your services."

'She IS smitten with him,' Meg thought. 'Great, just freakin' great!'

Kyohei said, "Thanks."

Sei's phone chimed. She checked a text message. "Excuse me." She headed for the cockpit.

Kyo turned back to the other girls. Amy appeared to be sizing him up, coming around to the idea of Kyo working for them. But Meg hadn't given up hope of finding some way to get rid of him.

Jo yawned.

Kyo flinched, then took a half step towards Jo. "Excuse me, miss, but were you in-"

Meg pounced on Kyo. "What kind of line is that, 'excuse me, Miss?'" She grabbed his ear. "You'd better not be trying to hit on her!"

"I was just talking."

Meg let him go.

"Couldn't be…" Kyo murmured.

Sei came back from the cockpit with news of a job. Kyo asked what he should do while the girls were working.

Sei smiled at him. "I'm sorry, but would you mind going home until I call you? It shouldn't be long."

Meg crouched by Jo. "Jo. We've got a job."

Jo stirred and started to take her night shirt off.

Meg pushed her hands down. "Jo, stop it!" She glared at Kyo. "You! Get out of here already."

She pushed Kyo out the door, and unfortunately, he did not break his neck on the steps.

Then Sei leaned out the door. "Why don't you stop by after school tomorrow? … See you then." She closed the door. She smiled.

Meg slid the door open; Kyo was still standing there, looking back the trailer, dumbfounded.

"What the heck are you staring at?" Meg demanded. "We said scram!" She shut the door.

"Meg, that was uncalled for," Sei said.

"I don't like him," Meg said. "Maybe we should find someone else."

"Nonsense. I think he's more than up to the job." She smiled. "I'm satisfied that he'll fulfill our needs, so it's settled - he's hired. I'm actually disappointed we have this job now; I think it would be nice for him to stick around for a few more hours. Still, well done, girls."

'Yeah,' Meg thought, 'I am so glad you're happy…for the next five minutes. There is a god, and he hates me.'

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The job went through varying stages of strange and disastrous. Kyohei somehow got himself kidnapped because the syndicate goons thought he was their "buddy." Then a cybot got in on the act. Meg felt bad - It had been her screwball idea that had ultimately got Kyo into this mess, and yet he could end up dead. She took advantage of the chaos to loosen Kyo's straight jacket with a well-placed shot, then SHE was captured by the Cybot. But she got an e-mail out to the others and Kyo was there again when they were rescued by Jo in Django.

Which brought the girls back to the hangar and another small pile of wreckage. Meg braced herself for Sei's expected explosion.

"That's it?" Sei said.

"Best I could do," Jo said.

Meg thought, 'Here it comes.'

Sei said, "So we spend time money and ammunition, we don't get the enemy's identity, and this pile of junk is all you brought back. Grandfather is so not going to be happy about this."

'That's it?' Meg thought. 'What happened to the Dragon Queen?' She was so surprised, she didn't pay attention to what Amy said.

They found dishes and plates on the kitchen table and no sign of Kyo. Sei found a note and read it aloud: "'I'm sorry I caused you guys so much trouble. To make up for it, I made you dinner before I let. Enjoy and goodbye'?"

"Crazy," Meg said. "Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all." 'Just not a stallion,' Meg thought. 'We'll have to work on this tomorrow.'

Amy had already chowed down. "Guys - you have to try this!"

Meg took a taste. "She's right! And he made this all by himself."

Sei tried it. She smiled. "I guess the kid does have talent."

Amy said, "I want to eat like this every day!"

"I'm sure we can convince him to come back," Sei said.

Meg chuckled. Nope, Kyo was still not the man for the job, and she, Amy and Jo…well, she and Amy would have to put their heads together and figure out their next move. But thanks to Kyo, Sei's mood was a little better than normal, so they were on the right track. 'Thanks for stopping by, Kyo,' she thought. 'Goodbye and Godspeed.'