ME

I arrived home in time to help make a stew pot with Papa, who had already done the shopping during school. It has actually been kind of nice lately helping out with dinner in place of my sister. We tend to talk and exchange stories about our day.

It's funny how we do our male bonding doing a stereotypically girly thing-I wear Yasuko's freaking cooking apron too. I mean, Papa hasn't complained, but I'm waiting for him to turn around and say, "get that damned girly apron off; you're not Yasuko."

He diced the meat, potatoes and carrots while I took care of the thinner vegetables. I wasn't entirely focused on my work at the moment. I was really debating whether or not to tell him that I kissed a boy. I won't lie-in hindsight, I liked it. I liked the kiss. His lips were soft and warm, like you'd expect most any kisser's lips to be. It wasn't even a make-out session or anything-just a short peck.

But for Pete's sake, how was Papa going to take this at my hands? I've never done anything you wouldn't expect a boy to do. He respected my choice to be a man of the house and to follow in his footsteps. He likes that I show initiative to take over the store. I always got high grades to please him. I am overall a respectable boy.

At the mere mention of maybe having an interest in guys, some fathers disown their sons or are immediately ashamed, and vice-versa. Even if they don't show it, a lot of dads are not keen on their kids being homo. But I'm worse off. I have no clue what I am at the moment.

I've never let anybody know, but I am in a constant identity crisis. I'm not what I appear to be. No, I'm not a spy or cyborg or nothing.

I am what doctors call "androgen insensitive". I'm supposed to be a boy-it's in my DNA. But Mother Nature screwed me over and made me look like a chick at birth. My parents were probably confused as well; I looked like a perfectly energetic girl on the ultrasound, but the amniocentesis said I was a boy. They must've thought that I was a demon child because they put me up for adoption like right after I was born.

On top of that, I wasn't even born in my parents' native country; nobody native to Japan has blond hair and pale green eyes. They were in there for a little business vacation when Mom went into labor. Like I said, I was dumped off right after, so I guess they didn't really want me anymore. It really didn't help to know that the few Christian factions here found no demons lurking in me. The people at the orphanage called me "Kinriko"-a combination of "gold" (Kin) and "jasmine child" (Riko).

Papa adopted me a few months later and brought up with Yasuko. He was a widower like Mr. Fujioka, but his history is a little more grim. (I don't prefer to discuss that.) As far as they knew, I was a normal little girl.

But a few years later, he learned about my condition on a doctor's visit. He was then given the choice to call me a boy or a girl. So rather than making the "wrong" choice and taking a chance of me being miserable, he let me wait until I was older to make a choice for myself. I guess that because I heard I was supposed to be a boy, I started to think of myself as one. I even took on the name of one of his European affiliates-Keindrich.

Personally, I regret it now because it's a pain in the ass to translate into Japanese-plus it's way to close to my original name. But it's the choice I've made and I'm sticking to it.

Wait hold up-why was I being so defensive? It was an accident and no matter what persuasion I was, I had a valid choice in my lifestyle!

Nonetheless, it was going to be hard on me. I sighed and wiped off my knife. "Papa."

"Yes, Keindrich?" He was still chopping a carrot.

"I got kissed by a boy today." No response. "It was an accident, honestly. He got bumped into by a kid and then...that happened."

"Yikes," was all he said. He took that rather well. "Who was this boy?"

"His name is...is Tamaki Suoh. He's a-"

He whipped around and leaned on the counter for support. "Tamaki?!" He put his knife down and groaned. "You got smooched by the same guy that's into Haruhi Fujioka?"

Tamaki was gay for Haruhi? Say what now? "Wait, you know Haruhi?"

"Yes. Wait, you know Ryoji Fujioka, right?" He continued his work. "He's an employee at the transvestite bar downtown. He sometimes shops for accessories for himself and his daughter, Haruhi. You and him chat a lot during lunch break. He started with the jokes about you wearing a dress." Ranka Fujioka-Haruhi's freaking okama Dad. How in the hell did I not see the connection?

And Haruhi was a girl, with a real va-jay-jay. If that didn't screw with your mind, then nothing would. But then again, there was nothing contradicting the fact; a prepubescent boy could in turn be mistaken for a girl.

I turned pale and slunk down against the counter. "I...didn't know...Haruhi...was...a girl..."

"Apparently, this Tamaki boy is into Haruhi. He's a hopeless romantic and has been taken in by her for a year now. She, being more fair than humanly possible and having that crazy of a dad, does not seem all that eligible for him. Ryoji and Tamaki are too like-minded in desiring a majority of her love."

He scooped up the veggies I cut and threw them in with a bit of an attitude. We got way too distracted by our conversation just now. "The lovelies need some help, as do you."

I got up and took off my apron. "With what?"

"Like I told you as a child, there is no joy, sorrow, excitement, confusion, or learning experience quite like that of raising a family. I think you are old enough to start actually dating. In fact...I'm a little surprised you've waited this long to start experimenting." So it was totally cool by him if I was gay or straight or lesbian or whatever I was? Wow, that went way better than I had hoped!

He examined his reflection in his knife. "I guess Haruhi could be a suitable companion for you. However, there are better matches out there, I'm sure. And judging by your reaction, I'll assume you don't really have an interest in her."

"Sorry to disappoint," I muttered

"Listen, though, Keindrich," he continued. "People can be cruel and coercive toward others. You're still rather young and certainly naïve. Don't give your heart out right away. Beware, especially of that Casanova Tamaki."

I blushed. "I told you, Papa. It was only by accident that we kissed!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, son. I can guarantee that it won't be the last 'accident' you get into." He winked at me.

"Papa, I'm legit!"

"Geez, you're such a whiner." He wrapped an arm around my neck and gave me a noogie. "Quit being such a little worry-wart. You're turning into an old man like your sister."

"Dad!" Okay, that was a low blow. But she did worry a lot-

Wait a minute, so Honey and Sango were referring to Yasuko at the wake, not Papa...Ooh they are so dead!

The pot began to bubble up and pour over. He panicked and threw the lid on. "Sh~hoot, that was close."

Ten hours later, another chapter is born. Yay technology. I decided to delve into Keindrich's relationship with dear old Dad a bit more. I think he came out alright. Wish mine was this cool-headed, but he's almost there.

Normal requests. And I guess I'll be hearing from some people at one-o'-clock in the morning XD G'night, my lovelies.