Kyouko Goes Dental - Chapter 1

"Mother fu-"

"Language, please."

"uh—riend...er."

"Thank you, Sakura-san."

Tomoe Mami glanced up from her tea for a moment to see her red-haired companion tenderly rubbing her jaw.

"Is everything alright, Sakura-san?"

Kyouko groaned. "I thought we were past this, Mami. My name is Kyouko. Call me that. You know I don't do well with all that formal crap."

"My apologies, Kyouko-san."

Kyouko snorted, realizing that was the closest she'd get to informal with Mami. The two girls continued eating breakfast in silence, the tension in the atmosphere of Mami's apartment increasing with every passing moment. Briefly, the silence was broken.

"Do you seriously drink tea with everything?" Kyouko asked, reaching for another of Mami's homemade cinnamon buns.

Mami scowled. "Tea is a much healthier alternative to what you normally drink."

"Orange juice?"

Mami rolled her eyes. "This morning is an exception, obviously," she said, noting the large glass of orange juice sitting where either a mug of coffee or bottle of soda would normally rest.

Kyouko smirked, and took a bite of her cinnamon bun...and promptly spouted a long string of expletives which earned her a glare from her drill-haired companion.

"Would you like to tell me what's wrong this time, Sakura-san?"

"Would you like to explain why you insist on being so damn proper all the time?"

"Some of us were brought up with some semblance of manners...that, and I had hoped that if I was irritating enough you would just tell me what seems to be the issue instead of dancing around it every time I ask." Mami finished her speech with an impish smile.

"I learned manners, too. I just choose to ignore them."

Mami shook her head and went back to her tea.

Kyouko spoke up again, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I will have lunch later. I rarely eat breakfast. My stomach and I aren't always on the best of terms in the morning. Tea helps."

"Any excuse to drink tea. If you're not going to eat, then what's the point of making all of these pastries?"

"Well, you'll need something to snack on throughout the day, of course, and Akemi-san lives off of frozen dinners and cup-noodles, so I like to take her some of the left-overs."

"Ah."

Silence fell once again, and Mami glanced upward just in time to see Kyouko take another bite of the cinnamon bun. She braced herself for an imminent stream of swear words that never came. Instead, she looked up to see Kyouko, nearly in tears, clutching her jaw.

"You have a tooth-ache."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Language, Kyouko-san. How long has it been since you've been to the dentist?"
The intense laughter that erupted from Kyouko was surprising as well as quite unnerving.

"Let's see...the last time I went to the dentist was...never."

"Well, we'll just have to remedy that, Kyouko-san."

"Excuse me?" Kyouko's smile faltered.

"I'm making you a dentist appointment." Mami said, smiling. Kyouko could have sworn she saw the devil in those bright canary-toned eyes.

"I'm not going to the dentist."

"You have to get this seen about, Kyouko-san, before it turns into something more serious than it already is."

"It's not serious."

"You were nearly in tears."

Time to play my trump card, Kyouko thought."And just what, pray tell, am I going to pay for this with? My charm and good looks?"

Mami snorted. "As if you could. We have National Health Insurance."

Kyouko sighed, exasperated. "Yeaaaaah. Funny thing about NHI, Mami. I'm almost certain it doesn't cover someone like me."

"You aren't. I'll just use the money I'd use on myself if I didn't have coverage."
Mami stood up from the table and walked over to the telephone desk and began flipping through her contact book. Finding the page she needed, she removed the telephone from the receiver and began to dial a number.

Kyouko stood, ready to bolt.

"Don't even think about it Kyouko-san!"

"Fu—scr—fu—Damnit, Mami! I'm not going to the dentist!"

"You're sure you won't reconsider?"

Kyouko took this as a sign of relenting, which she was grateful for. "No, Mami. I'm not going."

"Then I guess you leave me no choice."

Kyouko knew what was coming. Before she could make a move, orange ribbons erupted from the floor binding Kyouko and bringing her to her knees.

"Damn you. Damn you to hell, Tomoe Mami."

"Language, Kyouko-san," Mami said, sticking out her tongue, "Don't make me have to gag you as well."

"What about school?" Kyouko cried out, desperately. "You'll miss school!"

"It's still early. I will contact Akemi-san and have her stop by my homeroom and get any work I missed this afternoon."

Kyouko sighed, resigning herself to her fate. It seemed she wasn't getting out of a trip to the dentist.

Mami picked up the telephone once again and dialed the number.

"Hello. This is Tomoe Mami...I'm doing well, Yuuki-san...yes, I need to make an appointment...yes, I know I just had my six-month cleaning...It's for a friend...Today, if possible...It's an emergency...No, she isn't on it…please don't ask why...I'll be covering her...out-of-pocket, yes...eight-thirty?...that's wonderful, thank you. "

Kyouko sighed again as the conversation ended. She wasn't a charity case. She didn't need Mami's pity, but apparently she was going to have to accept it...just this once.

After disconnecting with the dentist's office, Mami dialed another, more familiar number.

"Akemi-san. I'm so glad you picked up...Yes. Listen, Kyouko-san is having some dental issues, so I've made her an appointment, I wanted to ask...You want to come with us?...the same lessons? What are you talking about?..."

Mami gave Kyouko a funny look. Kyouko just shrugged in response. Homura didn't always make sense.

"...Alright, Akemi-san, if you say so...her appointment is at eight-thirty. Meet us at my apartment at seven-forty-five. We should be able to catch the eight o' clock train...Alright, Akemi-san. Goodbye."

Mami once again disconnected the line, and rested the phone back in its receiver. Kyouko, still bound by the ribbons, looked up as Mami sat down at the table once again, and picked up her teacup.

"My tea is cold."

Kyouko gave her a deadpan stare, not even dignifying the non-sequitur with a response. They sat in silence for a few moments before Kyouko finally spoke up.

"Could you...let me out of this? My feet are starting to fall asleep." she said as shifted her weight from side to side.

"Will you run?" Mami replied, lifting blonde eyebrow.

Kyouko exhaled slowly, a dejected tone slipping into her voice. "No. I guess not."

In an instant, the binds loosened and disappeared. Rather than find a chair, Kyouko stayed on the floor, her legs splayed out in front of her. Kyouko tilted her head toward the ceiling and leaned back on her elbows. "You have to be an extreme dominatrix to be blessed with a power that can tie people into a bondage hold. It's pretty kinky."

"Are you implying these powers are a gift, Kyouko-san?" Mami asked, ignoring the lewd remark, as her expression darkened considerably.

Kyouko was caught off-guard by the abrupt change in demeanor, "No. I'm not. Sorry for wording it that way," she apologized, pulling herself upright.

"Don't worry yourself over it."

Once again, an uncomfortable silence overcame them. Kyouko knew she had upset Mami. It probably wasn't an opportune moment, but her brain couldn't catch up with her mouth in time.

"What was your wish, Mami?"

Mami flinched at the directness of the question, and turned to face the window.

"Oh don't be so dramatic. Turn and look at me. The 'dramatically gazing out of the window' bullshit is so over-done. You know my story, even if I wasn't the one to tell you. Our furry friend saw to that."

Mami turned to glare at Kyouko. "I really should get a swear jar."

"What would I put in it?" came the curt reply.

Mami mentally scolded herself for her tactlessness. Kyouko didn't say anything more, so Mami didn't apologize. Kyouko was thankful.

Before Mami could say anything else, there was a light knock at the front door.

"Come in, Akemi-san. You're early."

"Good morning, Tomoe-san, Sakura-san. I trust you are well?"

Kyouko threw her hands up. "I'm going to suffocate from all of this formality. You're both slowly killing me. I hope it makes you happy." Ignoring Kyouko, Mami replied.

"I'm doing fine," she said with a smile plastered to her face that Kyouko knew was fake, given the current conversation. "Would you like tea or a pastry, Akemi-san?"

"No thank you, Tomoe-san. I am not very hungry."

An awkward air settled around them until, yet again, Kyouko dispelled it. "Homura, you're not going to school today, right?"

"That is correct. I am going to make sure you do not give Tomoe-san any trouble." Homura said, maintaining a slight air of superiority.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever. I'm not so immature that I'd pull anything like that, but anyw-"
Kyouko was interrupted by a scoff from Mami, "I had only just released her from her restraints when you arrived, Akemi-san."

"I see."

"This isn't the point! The point is why are you in your school uniform when you aren't even going to school?"

"I-that is- I don't...have any other clothes, really...aside from sleep-wear." Homura blushed slightly, her hand reaching to touch bright red ribbon that held her hair out of her face. The other two girls looked at each other in shock. Only once had they seen Homura emotional about anything, really. This was a rare occasion indeed, and it clearly bothered Homura to an extent.

Of course, rather than leave it alone, Kyouko began to laugh. Loudly. "Are you serious?" she began, her laughter increasing in volume, "Why? I know you can afford it. Your apartment is ridiculous."

Homura seethed as Kyouko began to quiet down. "Clothes are merely functional." Homura said, regaining her normal, aloof composure, "I never attend social gatherings or anything similar, so I see no need to waste money on frivolous outerwear." Mami could tell she was lying, but couldn't think of a delicate way to propose a shopping trip. Kyouko, however, saved her the trouble by throwing all delusions of subtlety out of the window.

"Ha ha ha! You're like one of those anime girls with the one outfit wardrobe! What a special kind of person!"

Homura's cheeks turned a deep shade of red, while Mami tried hard to contain her expression. It was a little funny, after all.

"Akemi-san," Mami began comfortingly, trying to ease the tension, "why don't we take a shopping trip this afternoon? Provided Kyouko-san feels up to it after the dentist, of course."

"Why would I want to hang out with you two?" Kyouko offered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I suppose you will have to check your...busy schedule, Kyouko-san," Mami finished with a glare.

Before Kyouko could come back with another retort, Homura spoke up. "I think...that I would like that, Tomoe-san. I don't really remember the last time I did anything that qualified as leisure time."

Mami smiled gently, "I think it could be fun."

Kyouko rolled her eyes and stood up from her position the floor. "Well, whatever. I guess I'll tag along. There are worse people to hang around. Although…correct me if I'm wrong," she said, pointing at the clock, "but I think we need to leave, or I'm going to be late for my appointment in hell."

"How lovely. I would never imagine you as the punctual type, Kyouko-san."

"Shut up, Mami. I just want to get this shit over with."

"So rude."

"Shut up."

Homura sighed as they left the apartment, Mami locking the door behind them. At least it was something different.