Advice

Considering that it took anywhere between thirty minutes and an hour to complete the monster makeup, he didn't think it was entirely fair that it only stayed on for a few minutes before his and Higaki's after school sessions were over. He put so much effort into them, and for once, he had total creative license over what it was he wanted to do. It was his decision of what each face should look like, and nobody else's. But since time was limited and by the time they both got their work done, it would leave just enough time for them to part ways, even if that distance was only a streets' width and get an adequate amount of sleep.

Although it felt like things were less tense between actress and artist, they weren't sure what they would classify their relationship as. To call themselves friends would be a stretch, acquaintances was too light a word. They didn't get along, but calling them enemies didn't exactly work either. In terms of knowing things about each other, they could still practically be strangers. If he really had to put a label on it, Benjiro supposed he could've called themselves business partners, in a way.

But for as much as he liked having a creative outlet for his makeup, he still had to worry about the poetry competition which was nearing its deadline and had another two and a half weeks of not tutoring to worry about. Thoughts of what Higaki told him about his 'pupil' both did and didn't surprise him. With the use of context clues, he could assume that Haruoka had most likely been a troublemaker in her last school. And from the sounds of it, she was probably the kind of person that would eat children alive for breakfast. With the new perspective of her in his mind, Benjiro honestly wasn't sure if he had the courage to return to that library anymore.

Taking an exaggerated deep breath, he pushed the door open. Seeing that her 'tutor' had arrived, she merely gave him her regards in the form of being dismissive and derisive. It was amazing how a small piece of information shaped how he saw her. Just thinking about the fact that he was sitting next to someone so prone to violent outbursts made his chest feel like it was made out of cheap candlewax. But, despite his fear, he had a job to do, and it was his policy that if he took something up, even if it was something he absolutely despised, he should at the very least see it through to the end.

However, surprising even himself, as he tried to keep his usual low profile, Benjiro found himself feeling curious about the girl sitting on the opposite end of the table. It wasn't the first time he found himself stealing glances at her weird and frankly embarrassing attempts at studying, but this time felt different. The scant details and running theories he had about her middle school and early high school life were beginning to point to a singular point. He thought of asking Haruoka herself to confirm his thoughts, but he valued his joints and his emotional health, so even something like asking what was her favorite color seemed like a bad idea.

As if fate or happenstance would have it, the proverbial lightbulb went off in Benjiro's head. He might not be able to ask his pupil directly, but inspiration struck from the unlikely hint from his monster model, Higaki. The only problem was that there was still an hour and a half worth of not studying that was still to be accomplished before he could go off pretending to be Sherlock Holmes. The minutes dragged by like an arthritic old man trying to run a marathon while it was raining, 'Maybe I could just get up and walk away' he speculated, 'Or would that be too suspicious? Honestly I don't know. On one hand, she doesn't want me around, so she'd probably welcome my absence. But I've also never skipped out on our two hour shoot-the-breeze sessions, so she'd probably think something's up if I get up so suddenly and didn't return. Or she'd probably be too busy with doing a bad job of studying to even see me leave. I do tend to have that effect on people. I could probably walk into school leading a marching band and people would swear this is the first time they've seen me.'

Similar thoughts crossed his mind while the rest of the world remained perfectly quiet and serene. Taking a rare moment to pause from looking at her books, and losing what she had just tried to memorize in the process, Haruoka looked over and noticed Benjiro, 'Hmph, look at that dumbass', she thought, 'He's just sitting there staring into space, completely oblivious to the whole world while nothing happens in that empty skull of his. How did such a ditz even become my supposed tutor? He doesn't look like he knows how to look both ways before crossing the street.'

The two hours didn't come a moment too soon for either of them when it was time to call it a day from doing nothing productive. Benjiro looked on edge that he fumbled with his backpack straps for a moment. Grunting in amusement at his predicament, Daitan went out the door ahead of him. Dropping the act, Benjiro smiled to himself as he poked his head out of the library doors. He watched Haruoka's back for a moment, making sure she was headed a particular direction. Once he was certain she was gone, he started walking the opposite direction. The school was a decent size, and for some people it wasn't hard to get lost in, but Benjiro, while not the best at remembering formulas, did know how to memorize walking paths.

There weren't a whole lot of people left in the hallways left, two hours after school had ended, so while nobody was watching he slunk through the hallways like a secret agent or a soldier inside an enemy base. Every so often, he did hear footsteps and would run into the occasional club gofer, which was where Benjiro would try to straighten himself up and act naturally. After enough foolishness, he made his way outside to the soccer fields. He had only ever seen them at a distance, so they were a lot more expansive than he would've thought. Scanning around he spotted the girl's soccer team, 'By the looks of it, they're in the process of wrapping up', he observed. They were all wearing the same uniforms and Benjiro had never taken the time to see if anyone in his classes actually played, so he was a bit surprised when he saw a couple familiar faces in the mix. He went about scanning the faces but couldn't find the specific girl he needed.

"Can I help you?", a voice asked from out of his field of vision.

Turning, there was a girl that was about Benjiro's height, solidly built, hair in a ponytail and had a certain friendly air about her.

He swallowed and said, "Um, I-I'm looking f-for the captain. Is sh-she here?"

The girl straightened up a little, "That'd be me. My name's Shiori Furuka. Do you have some sort of business with me?"

Benjiro knit his eyes in confusion, 'This girl is the captain? She looks way to nonthreatening. She can't be the kind of person that would make a certain psycho back off.'

"Well?" she prodded, interrupting his character study

"(Ahem) Sorry ab-bout that", he apologized, "I s-sort of have busin-nes with you. I c-came to ask ab-bout one of your play-yers. D-Daitan Haruok-ka."

The friendly expression was replaced by a troubled one, "What has that girl done this time", she sighed.

Benjiro raised a hand as if to wave off her worries, but stopped when he realized that saying she hadn't done anything would be a lie, "W-Well, I'm n-not here to tell you someth-thing bad."

Furuka's hard expression softened just a little, "That's a first. So, what did you come here to talk about then?"

He clapped and rubbed his calloused hands together, "I c-came here to ask-k you if y-you could help m-me understand how Haruo-oka ticks."

The captain looked at the sky and exhaled deeply, "Come, let's grab a seat on the bleachers, this may take a while."

Following from behind, Benjiro slowly gulped, 'This is going to be informative, but I still can't figure out if that's a good thing or not.'

'Well, look at it this way: The more you know about your psychotic student, and the better you understand her, maybe you can find a way of breaking through that stony exterior.'

'That's easier said than done, Inei', Benjiro pointed out, 'And besides, considering how little it takes for her to get angry, there's a decent chance this could backfire.'

The Gordon Agrippa look-alike raised his hands in the air, 'Maybe, but you've already come this far. And the captain seems more than willing to divulge a few details.'

'I hope you're right, because if Haruoka finds out we talked to her captain, there's an even greater chance that she thinks we came here to complain and cry to someone who could permanently kick her out of the club.'

'Considering her extensive knowledge of the devil's vocabulary', Inei started to list, 'The ability to make people cry and her knowledge of how to manipulate wrists and elbows, you do have more than enough ammunition to do just that.'

'Tempting', Benjiro admitted, 'But that's not what we came here for, now is it?'

'This had better be worth it, kiddo' Inei warned.

'Hey, you know the old saying: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."'