Design Flaw

Kyohei stepped out of the elevator into the culinary school’s  ground floor lobby.  He crossed to the security guard standing by the front door.  “Miss Hongo said you wanted to see me?”

The guard pointed through the glass door.  “Her.  She says she knows you, but show won’t surrender any weapons.”

Kyo followed where the man pointed.  Jo was standing outside the door, just standing there, just looking in.  As always, her facial expression was emotionless.  She would have stood there for hours if she was left alone, Kyo knew, and ordinarily, that wouldn’t bother him.  It would creep out everyone in the school, and cause him (more) embarrassment, but it wouldn’t bother him.  Unfortunately, it was raining out, and Jo’s red coat didn’t have a hood.  The Angel of Death was soaking wet.

Kyo stuck his head out the door.  “Jo.  You’ll catch you death of cold.  What’s the problem?”

“He wants my guns,” she answered.

Kyo sighed.  “Jo, it’s a cooking school!  You are not going to find a cybot in a cooking school.”

“Want to be ready.”

“Jo.  Pleeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

Jo smiled slightly.  “Ok, Kyo.  For you.”

“Thanks.”

Jo came inside, and the security guard sat behind the desk and began recording the two guns in his computer.  “Nice guns,” he said.  “You shoot competitively?”

“I shoot at bad guys.”

He shrugged.  “Name.”

“Jo.”

Kyohei said, “No ‘e.’”

“Jo what?”  the guard asked Jo.

“Just Jo.”

He shook his head.  “The program needs a surname.  Let me see your--”

Kyohei said, “She doesn’t have it, Stan.  You name it, she doesn’t have it.”

The guard shook his head.  “Then I can’t do this.  It’s not me, Kyo, it’s the system.”

Kyo sighed.  “Then we’ll say they’re my guns, ok?  Can we do that?”

“Are you leaving with her when she’s done?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, it can work, if she doesn’t come back, and if her boss stops by or calls to explain on Monday, yeah, Kyo, it can work.”  Stan started typing.  “I’ll need to see your ID.”

Kyo handed it over and Stan typed in the information.  But then he said, “Firearms registration number.”

Kyo sagged.  “Oh, no---”

“Wait, let me try this,” Stan said.  “I’ll see if I can enter that the application’s pending…and it took it…now it’s thinking about whether it wants to print…here we go…”  A printer spat out a form.  “Sign here.”

Kyo signed.  Stan made a mouse click, and then another form came out.  “Here’s your receipt, Kyo.   Don’t lose it.  When you guys leave, use it to get the guns back.”

“Thanks, Stan.”

In the elevator, Jo couldn’t keep her eyes off Kyo.  “You did that for me?”  she said, her voice departing from a monotone.  “That was very nice of you, Kyo.  Thank you.”  She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Uh…you’re welcome.”

At the class room, Kyohei took Jo’s coat and saw the tattoo on her left arm had appeared and was glowing.  But instead of being purple, as it was when Jo was in a rage, it was a dark green.

Kyo winced.  “Jo!  Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Hon.  Why?”

“‘Hon’?”

“I’m sorry.”  Jo sounded upset.  “I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I?”

“What--Jo--”

Jo started crying.  “I’m always doing that, and you hate me.”

“What--Jo--wait--”

A girl and a lanky boy came over.  “Kyo?” the girl, Azumi Kazami asked.  “What’s--oh, Jo, is it?  I’m Azumi Kazami.  We met that night, I think--”

“Yes,” Jo sniffled.  “I’m sorry, it’s just that Kyo got mad at me--”

“I’m not mad!”  Kyo yelped.

Azumi swatted Kyo on the shoulder.  “Kyo!  Mind your manners.  Can’t you see you’ve see you’ve upset your friend?  Apologize, now.”

“But--”

“Consider it an order form your team leader.”

Kyo sighed.  “Jo, I’m sorry I…got mad at you.  You’re not embarrassing me.”

“I’m not?  Really?”

“No, really.”

Jo smiled.  

Azumi said, “See how simple that was?”  She turned to Jo.  “I’m sorry about this.  He’s awful.  He makes you sound like a total ogre. But you seem very nice.”

Kyo said, “She’s usually not like this.  And the tattoo usually appears when she’s ready to kill something.”

“Huh?”  Jo looked down at her arm.  “Hmm.  Never did that before.   What does that mean, Kyo?”

“How should I know!?”  

Jo’s lip trembled, and Kyo feared she would start crying again.  He reassuringly put his hand on her shoulder and said, “I’m sure it’s nothing.  If you feel ok then, I don’t know, maybe it means that you’re ok.  Now, I have a lot of work to do, so why don’t you sit over here until we’re done?”

Jo smiled as she sat on the stool Kyo had indicated.  “Ok, Sweetie.”

The other boy in Kyohe’s three person group, Daiki Ichimonji, laughed.  “‘Sweetie’?  Kyo, my man, I guess we know why you’re getting all the cash.”

Azumi teased, “And now I know why you won’t go out with me.”

Kyo stammered, “I…she…but…God hates me.  Guys, c’mon, let’s get back to work.”