Where no man has gone

To describe Benjiro felt worse for the wear would be a great understatement. He wasn't sure about tone, but in his head he at least thought he was offering solid advice that was perfectly objective. Well maybe not perfectly, as he had no clue how the insane woman operated. Although considering what he just walked away from, he would've guessed it was at least seventy five percent comprised of violence and homicide. She hadn't left any marks on his body, but that didn't make the physical pain any less real and with the expanded vocabulary he had just learned the emotional ones were every bit as real.

Walking to his home, more dazed and confused than usual he didn't realize he had arrived at his street until he was standing at his door. He spent a moment thinking about how he had got there on autopilot, but then decided he didn't care. Also apathetic about the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon, he drew himself a bath. Sinking into the warm water helped to reduce the aching and somehow push away the weight he felt in his mind. Closing his eyes, he just let the water create some white noise. The quiet rippling as the water lapped against the sides of the tub, the echo that carried throughout the bathroom relaxed him to an almost comatose state.

With the stress of the day and the terrors of the night, he felt heavily drowsy. Muscles relaxing and fatigue setting in, his head slipped below the water. Half aware of his current state, he automatically knew to draw breath through his nose before his head submerged. The other half was drifting between the barrier of reality and imagination. In this state of cheapened sensory deprivation, his thoughts were more uncaged than normal.

'Mr. Watanaba wants us to write about family. But when was the last time I had a complete family? It's mostly just Dad and me. I haven't seen Kenshiro since that night, and the rest of my family doesn't want anything to do with us.'

Holding his hand above the water, 'Not the first time I've felt like I was drowning', he cynically mused. Bringing his hand in front of his face, 'But then again, there were some people that gave me a hand during those times. They didn't have any obligation to help, but they just did. Just because it was something they wanted to do.'

Crossing both arms across his chest, like he was inside a coffin, 'Maybe that's what a real family is like. They don't expect anything from you, they just do things because they love you and want the best for you.'

Feeling the immense strain on his lungs, Benjiro snapped his eyes open and jolted his upper body out of the tub. Out of breath and a little dizzy, he felt like he had a moment of pure inspiration. The idea was right in front of him, staring him in the face, yet obscured as if by the very mist in the room. Wrapping a towel around his lower half, he was about to grab something to write with, but then heard the doorbell. He was about to open the door but realized it would be unwise in more ways than one to greet someone at your door when you're three quarters naked. The doorbell sounded again, "Just a minute", he hastily called out.

Tearing upstairs, he threw on something that was passable as an outfit. Careening back to the door, there stood Akiko. For a brief second a look of relief flashed across her face but was quickly replaced by mild impatience. Crossing her arms, "Jeez, what took you so long?"

"What are yo-", and then a slight dawning entered his mind.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

Benjiro raised his hands to try and give an excuse but then realized there was no point. He had forgotten and there was no point hiding it. With a defeated sigh he mumbled, "Just g-give me a m-moment."

Grabbing his kit which had a thin layer of dust from inactivity, the pair walked across the street. Walking into the house, they passed by the two younger brothers again who were quite surprised to see Benjiro again.

"Hey, Nojiri, what brings you here?" asked Daisuke.

"Yeah, are you here to eat again, cause we just finished up dinner", Haruo added.

"No, he's here because we have some stuff we're working on together", Akiko interjected.

Giving the two boys a sarcastic smile hidden with a hand, "I l-lost a bet."

The two brothers started cracking up and Akiko quickly elbowed Benjiro in the back of the ribs, "And if we don't get moving soon, we're not going to get any work done, so", she grabbed his bicep, "Come with me now and we can begin."

Stumbling as she practically dragged him up the stairs, Benjiro felt he had the last laugh. Or at least the laugh in counting. They came to the end of the hall. A high pitched "HMM?" escaped from Benjiro's throat when he saw a sign reading "Akiko's room" hung on a door. Turning to look up at the lanky boy, she glared at him, "Just remember, this is strictly business. Get any funny ideas and I'll rip your nuts off."

Raising his free hand up in the air, "Underst-stood."

The downstairs of her house was colorful and the inside of Akiko's room was no exception. Compared the rest of the house though, the colors were much easier on the eyes. Pastel colors and compared to his own room it seemed quite soft. Not as girly as he would've expected, but enough to make him feel out of place. Pointing at the table at the center of the room, "OK, you sit there and we'll get started."

Akiko walked over to the mattress and picked up a worn yellow paged packet and handed it to Benjiro, "I'll start off by reciting a few of the lines. I want you to follow along and make sure I'm saying the right things. You'll also be playing ever other character just to fill in the gaps. You got that?"

Staring skeptically at the packet, he slowly nodded. Turning around, Akiko took a few deep breaths, shook her arms and legs and did a few quick tongue twisters to get herself warmed up. Turning around and gripping the invisible steering wheel, she decided she had psyched herself up enough, "It's a perfect night for mystery and horror. The air itself is filled with monsters."

Beginning the opening narration, she moved about the room as if she were some sort of scoutmaster telling scary stories around a campfire. The way she looked as though she were truly enjoying herself made Benjiro grin.

"-Henry, darling." She paused for a moment, "I said, Henry, darling."

Quickly snapping back to reality he cleared his throat and quoted, "Oh, Elizabeth."

They continued the scenes thus, Akiko moving seemingly without effort through the lines. Thinking about it, he supposed that the more effortlessly it seemed an actor could do a scene, it most likely took a long time to get to that point. Forty minutes passed, but unlike before, this one seemed to go by much more smoothly. Completing one more scene, Benjiro slumped over the table and coughed a few times and swallowing, his throat ached. Akiko looked a little guilty, "Oh, my bad. I guess talking so much without a break is straining your throat."

Massaging his throat, he grunted in affirmation. Heading out of the room, "Hang on, I'll brew us some chamomile tea." Arriving back about fifteen minutes later with two mugs, she offered one which he sipped too soon, making his mouth burn. Watching him bob his head back and forth in pain made her snicker, "Well, that's what happens when you take a sip of something that just got done brewing, you fool."

After letting him calm down from burning the roof of his mouth, "So, any thoughts on what we've recited so far?"

"W-Well, I'm imp-pressed with h-how you c-can r-recite the lines without l-looking."

A genuine smile crept onto her face before being replaced by a more prideful one, "What do you expect. I've put a lot of work into this. It's only natural that you should see results."

Setting the cup down, he turned to Akiko, "I th-think it's m-my turn."

Frowning, "Aw, but we were getting so far", she complained.

Crossing his arms, "W-We had a deal, r-right?"

Bringing her hands together in prayer, "Please, can't we just continue for like another twenty minutes?"

Benjiro reached over to grab his tea, 'I've been waiting years to try this.'

He proceeded to take a long and loud sip of tea while looking straight at the short girl in front of him. She looked conflicted, but plopping herself onto the bed and responding with a "Hmph", he figured that was her way of admitting defeat.