Lighten Up

A quiet Saturday was just what the doctor had ordered. Or at least, that's what Benjiro thought to himself. It had been a hectic week. Daitan was now his permanent tutor student. Since her grades had picked up recently, Daitan was allowed to attend morning and weekend soccer practices. Of course, after outlining some new study habits, they didn't have to meet every day. With the demand of keeping up with finding new looks for the Frankenstein play, that worked well for everyone. Pair all that with the recent drama from Hiromi and a lazy weekend just seemed like too attractive an offer to pass up. Keeping busy was always appreciated but it was beginning to feel like a bit much.

After sleeping in for once, and killing some time on his computer, Benjiro was feeling plain old bored. Applying some eyeliner and strumming out a few old favorites on his guitar only served to stave off boredom for so long. Going from eighty miles per hour to idling always had some tonal whiplash. Flipping his phone open, he decided to send his first text to Mine.

**Hey there. I'm sooo bored today. Can you think of something to break that up?** *Send*

It didn't exactly have the same feel as a letter, but knowing he could reach out so easily to his best friend warmed his heart. He wasn't sure of how texting etiquette worked, so he was somewhat disappointed with waiting upwards of a half hour. To be fair, he couldn't complain much. Mine had her own life a long ways away. Club activities, family stuff... her new boyfriend. Any one of those could be occupying her time. It didn't make the waiting any easier, but it did remind Benjiro to be patient.

'Yup', Benjiro concluded, 'Texting is definitely the inferior form of communication.'

After waiting a half hour, he decided that maybe someone who was close was better than far away.

"Hey, Dad", he called.

"Yeah, son, what's going on?"

Walking down the stairs, Benjiro saw his Dad sprawled out on the couch reading the newspaper.

"I am b-bored as hell", Benjiro explained, "Is th-there anything to do around here?"

A small 'hmm escaped Fumihiro's lips.

"Well, ordinarily, I'd suggest that we maybe do a little house cleaning."

Those dreaded words made Benjiro shudder. In truth, the housework wasn't all that bad, but even so, the thought of it made him shudder like any kid would.

"But since we did the cleaning just a week ago, there's not too much to do."

And just like that, a potential crisis was averted.

"Did you run out of books to read?"

This time, a small 'hmm' escaped Benjiro's lips.

'That is true', Inei chimed in, 'It's been a while since you just sat down and read. You've already devoured everything on the shelf in your room. So, to would help to take your mind off things.'

This was a realization that made Benjiro sit back and wonder when he had truly just sat down with one of his favorite pastimes. There was just a charming simplicity about plopping yourself down on a couch or desk with a good book and letting everything else fade around you as you journeyed through the imagination of the author.

"Actually, yeah. I th-think I'm out of b-books."

"Well, we both know a way we can fix that problem."

Pulling out his phone, Fumihiro did a quick search of local shops gave him seven results. And just his luck, there was one a decent distance from his house.

Shaking himself out of his revelry, Benjiro went to get himself presentable for a solo journey to the outside world. It was maybe a forty minute walk to the bookstore from his house, which he didn't mind at all. Getting lost in his own head was a common occurrence, but adding visuals and sounds to those fantasies went a long way. A few times along the way, Benjiro had to stop himself from full tilt running as he imagined himself as some sort of adventurer running through a jungle or lost city, trying to get to a room full of precious treasure. Chuckling to himself as he thought it over, his current destination could be seen as such.

After making one final turn, he finally saw it. The sign on the front said 'Yanagi Books'. It was a respectable size for a bookstore. Inside, there were sections labeled, Literature, Mystery, Comics/Manga, Romance, and so on. A quick trip to the Young Adult section and he felt like he was in heaven. The titles full of names and descriptions that appealed to they eye. Covers full of people wearing stylish outfits, brandishing awesome weapons and looking suave while doing it.

'Don't even think about it, Chief', Inei chided, 'Unless you know how to cosplay or method act, you're never going to pull off acting like one of them.'

Taking a second look at the covers, 'Yeah, I guess you're right. But even if I did, I'd probably get laughed at. Like this guy here', Benjiro looked at the one cool type character. He was wearing a pair of glasses that he was oh so dramatically pushing back onto his eyes, 'If anyone in real life tried adjusting their glasses like that, they'd either get laughed at until they died of embarrassment.'

'Or sent to a psych ward', Inei added with a chuckle.

After perusing for a few minutes, Benjiro settled on a light novel that looked a decent length with a premise that was just enough guilty pleasure to not be completely trashy. Deciding that maybe something from the mystery section would be good, he wandered over until he found a collection book of Sherlock Holmes stories. He had read one or two but didn't realize there were so many. The thought of so many intricate and diverse little mysteries was an interesting prospect. A few minutes and a few yen later, Benjiro was ready to walk out the door and head home.

That was until someone caught his eye. Her back was turned to him but Benjiro knew that it was Yamanaka. He wondered what she was doing in this little bookstore until he saw what section she was in. The reference book section, more specifically anatomical science. Sighing sadly, he felt pity for the poor girl, as well as some guilt that he hadn't asked her about it in some time. Although, thinking back, he hadn't seen much of her since the incident with Haruoka's rival gang. Not that he could blame her for wanting some space, but it still felt like the right thing to do.

Taking a few deep breaths, he walked forward , "Hello there."

Yamanaka jumped when he suddenly greeted her.

"Jeez, Nojiri, you can't sneak up on me like that. I almost had a heart attack."

Grinning evilly, "Ah g-good, I can st-still become invisib-ble."

Playfully smacking him, "You jerk. How the heck have you been?"

Benjiro gave her a quick rundown of everything that had happened over the past two weeks and change. When he finished, Yamanaka wasn't sure whether she should be impressed or a little worried.

"Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate. Can you handle all that?"

The mop headed boy looked down to the side, "I'm n-not sure, but I'll f-find a way to m-manage."

An awkward silence pervaded as the two struggled on what to say next. He glanced down, "Wh-What are you b-buying? M-More stuff for your r-research?"

Yamanaka looked down at the reference books in her hands and nodded glumly, "Yeah, these are the latest edition of A&P books. I wanna see if there's any new ground being broken, ya know?"

Benjiro gave her an understanding nod. Getting a good look at her face, gone was her normal cheery persona. It was as if she knew that pretending to be her usual self around the lanky boy was completely useless. While Benjiro was usually one to prefer quiet over noise, seeing Yamanaka be subdued... felt wrong. Her usual boisterous attitude, while somewhat abrasive was like a little ray of sunshine. Seeing that little ray blocked off by clouds didn't completely sit right with him.

'What can I do though', he wondered, 'I already told her that she's free to talk to me, but she doesn't seem in the mood. I can't really cook her something or offer to do something for her without it sounding weird.'

He was completely unsure of what to do. Glancing down at his bag, he stared for a minute at the books he had just bought.

"Why d-don't you t-take this", Benjiro said as he handed her his copy of Sherlock Holmes that he just bought.

Yamanaka looked a bit surprised and tried to push it back, "I can't take that, that's yours."

Benjiro insistently pushed the book back, his mixture of firmness yet reluctant, "N-No, just t-take it. P-Please."

Saori hesitantly accepted her impromptu gift and nodded her head in thanks.

"You n-need to take y-your mind off th-things every once in a w-while", he said while looking down, "If you j-just dwell on all that b-bad s**t, it'll e-eat at you."

Yamanaka held the book close as she contemplated Benjiro's words.

"Bes-sides, if anyth-thing can take y-your mind off th-things for a while, Mr. H-Holmes is a g-good way to do it. He's super s-smart but not condesc-cending. Everyone s-seems to g-get that part of h-him wrong."

Benjiro continued explaining a few of the many quirks of the renowned British detective while Yamanaka just sat and smiled while listening to him get carried away. After realizing that he had gotten side tracked, the young man turned red.

Rubbing the back of his head, "S-Sorry about th-that. I'm keeping you h-here too long."

Yamanaka giggled and waved her hand, "Nah, it's alright. It's just really rare to see you talk about something so passionately. It's a nice change of pace, Mr. Gloomy."

Benjiro pouted and raised a mock offended finger, "I'm g-going to let you g-get away with that. B-But only just c-cause it's not good to s-see a little r-ray of sunshine like you be bummed out."

She honestly wasn't sure why, but the way he phrased that made Saori's chest feel a little lighter than before.

The lanky boy left the bookstore a few minutes later. He was a book short, and the day was hardly half over, but it felt like a long one already.

'I just hope she finishes that book quickly', he mused, 'I never got around to reading "The Speckled Band."'