Guard dog

'You know, the amount of time the average person finds themselves essentially kidnapped and held against their will is probably skewed because of you', Inei jibed, 'Most victims are probably only kidnapped once and then they either die or just have it never happen again. Maybe you should apply for a Guinness record spot.'

Not being amused by his imaginary counterpart, Benjiro replied', I don't need to hear you spouting your pseudoscience around me. You know for a fact that events are a product of their environment.'

'Which is just a fancy way of saying that you've been tempting fate and just waiting for something like this to happen', Inei jabbed.

As much as Benjiro would have loved to smack his alter ego upside the head, he couldn't exactly fault the logic there. Because, once again, he found himself essentially held hostage by the members of a bunch of punks. More specifically, by the members of Haruoka's gang, Fearless. True, to Inei's logic, whether it was conscious or not, he had kind of been expecting something to happen with them eventually. The last time he had spoken with his pupil had been sometime a week or two ago, when he had invited her to his house to learn how to cook. While he had weirder nights, that one was still one that he considered the most confusing. Getting a hard slap across the face drew him from his daydreaming.

"Hey, pay attention", barked a girl who seemed to be the leader, "I asked you a question: Now, what do you have on our Big Sis and what are your plans with her?"

A mixture of fear and, oddly enough, irritation was flashing through his eyes as he tried to understand the intent behind his questioning, "I d-don't know wh-what you're talking ab-bout. I d-don't have any p-plans for H-Haruoka at all. I've j-just been t-trying to t-teach her English. B-Besides, even if I d-did, she hasn't sh-shown up for lessons in n-nearly two or th-three weeks. So she k-kind of owes me f-for time lost."

Benjiro winced and yelled in pain as the girl yanked his hair and used her other hand to clap his one ear, "Don't you dare f**king talk about her so casually. All that time you force her to spend close to you..."

'Wrong, she shows up of her own volition, Benjiro mentally corrected through the pain, 'Even if it is highly reluctant, she does show up.'

"Having her act like some scared little girl so you can feel superior", she continued

'Wrong again. If anything, she just chilled out a little. Don't know anything about being scared.'

"Just the other day, I saw her carrying a little bento box with her", Shiro recalled, "She never carried one of those before."

Benjiro's eyes began darting around as apprehension was starting to build.

"Using her to scare off all those stupid fanboys of that stuck up rich girl because you're too much of a coward to do anything about it yourself..."

'OK, she's got me there', he acknowledged.

"But no matter how much I want to pound some manners into your little skull-"

Benjiro rolled his eyes, 'Like you haven't been already', earning him another fist in the gut.

"-I think I'll leave this up to Sis herself", Shiro proclaimed as she whipped out a phone.

...

At the school locker rooms, the girls soccer team was getting changed for that day's practice. Everyone was jabbering away about the inane details of everyday life. School issues, nagging parents, annoying siblings, the lack of money for personal hobbies and the like. Among them, there was one solitary girl who was remaining oddly pensive.

"Haruoka", Captain Furuka called out, drawing the thoughtful and unreadable gaze of the muscular girl towards her, "I know that you've got a lot to deal with, you know with your studies and all, but I need you to get your head on straight. If we win this next game, it'll be enough to send us to playoffs. Can you promise me that you'll prioritize?"

Daitan bit her tongue to rid herself of any excess thoughts, "Sorry, Captain... you're right, there's a lot on my mind. But don't worry, I'll deal with it."

Furuka was a little unsure, but accepted the response anyway. Just as Daitan was about to close her locker, she heard her phone buzz. There were only so many people that knew her number, so whoever was contacting her either was being stupid, or something that needed her direct input had come up.

"What is it", Daitan grumbled out.

Right outside the locker room, Furuka paused as she heard a locker slam shut, feet scurrying and the door flung open. Daitan stumbled out the door, not even caring that she had a small cut on her knee as she bolted for the school.

"Haruoka, where are you going", Furuka called, "We're about to start practice."

Her captain's words didn't even register as panic began corroding Daitan's sense of reason. All that mattered was getting to her out of control subordinate. And somewhere beneath the fear of what would befall her should any harm fall upon her new boss' family, was something that she barely recognized. There was a tinge of concern among the fear.

....

Benjiro was torn between being left at the mercy of a random punk girl and that terrible sense of nostalgia that Inei reminded him of earlier. Back when he had lived on the army base, he remembered his Dad telling him about a saying that the Aussie and American recruits used to describe just how miserable they felt all the time. What was it again? Blood sweat and tears? No, that wasn't it. Benjiro slid his back down onto the cold floor with his hands folded, resting on top of his chest. Huh, those dots on the ceiling panels looked like the speckled goldfish he saw in pet shops.

"Pleh!", he grunted as his captor delivered a swift kick into his ribs.

"What are you doing spacing out", the girl growled, "You'd better pay attention soon. I want to see how much you scream when Sis gets started."

'Ugh', he groaned while rubbing his sore ribs, 'Those are probably bruised now. Well, that's going to suck...'.

"Oh", he breathed out, lightly slapping his fist into his palm in realization, "Now I remember, that's what it was. 'Embrace the suck.'"

Both of them jumped a little when they heard the door slam open and saw Daitan stumble in. Benjiro would have been lying if he said his heart didn't seize up a little.

"Perfect timing, Sis", the girl greeted, "This little guy was starting to act u-"

Her words were cut short when she had the breath knocked out of her, courtesy of Harouka mailing a deadly uppercut into her diaphragm.

"What the f**k were you thinking, Shiro", Daitan practically screamed at the gasping and retching girl at her feet. Shaking her head, not waiting for an answer, Haruoka walked past her, "Get on your feet, Scarecrow. We're getting the hell out of here."

Benjiro had been expecting a few things. Haruoka coming to play valiant rescuer had crossed his mind once or twice, but he had silently laughted them off as possibly the most ironic role reversal fantasy. They had gotten a few steps outside the door before the girl had pulled herself up from the floor and lumbered towards the pair.

"Wait", she breathed, still recovering from the vicious blow to her chest, "Sis, what are you doing? I finally got this little freak where you wanted him, to do whatever you wanted and you're just leaving with him? And, why in hell's name are you standing up for him?"

Daitan turned around to face her friend, "Shiro, I told you, this is private. Need to know basis. That kind of thing. I told you I'd handle it. So, if you don't want to land yourself in any deep s**t, either you leave this alone, or you deal with me."

Shiro stumbled back looking completely dumbfounded, "What the f**k is your problem, Sis. This guy is threatening you, isn't he?"

Haruoka knit her eyebrows, "Where'd you get that stupid idea?"

An accusatory finger was pointed at the tall boy standing behind her, "I know that tall, pale and pathetic over there was supposed to be your tutor, but I also remember those rumors from a couple months ago. The younger brother of the Cyclops? What a f**king joke. That guy's barely talked about as a rumor. And even if someone that badass did exist, I can't imagine that someone that's as much of a coward as he is could be that guy's family."

A stab of inadequacy went through Benjiro. It was something that he had heard depressingly often. Even back before his brother was revered as a living legend, the people that personally knew him had trouble believing that such a monster had such a meek little brother. Sure, it was true, but it didn't hurt any less. But Shiro wasn't done laying down circumstantial evidence, "Then we go and fight the Kusakabe gang because he landed himself in trouble. The Captain I know would've let him and his little girlfriend to die and not lose a minute of sleep over it."

'Ouch', Inei flinched, 'This girl may just have a bigger mean streak than Ken does.'

'You're telling me', Benjiro concurred, 'Even if he didn't really care about others, he still preferred to keep his fights, in house.'

"And then, I see you carrying around a homemade lunch and you refuse to cough up any details. I know for a fact that this guy must be threatening you in some way. I don't know whether it's to have a guard dog, or just for lout, but I know there's something."

Benjiro had almost forgotten about that little incident, although his Dad certainly hadn't. He'd sometimes ask when the pretty tomboy was coming back for more cooking lessons. Looking over, Benjiro was afraid that Daitan was about to explode, if the little tinge of pink in her cheeks and slightly quivering chin were any indication.

"Shiro, I told you to stay out of this, and you deliberately went behind my back. When I disbanded Fearless, I told all you girls that we'd go our separate ways, but if we needed something, we'd jump in, no questions asked. Don't you think that if I was actually in trouble, I'd have told you?"

Shiro threw her hands out to the side, "Of course I-"

"Ah ah ah", Daitan held a finger up to silence her, "I wasn't finished yet. Do you think I'm weak?"

"What? No."

"Do you not trust me?"

"You're my Captain, of course I trust you."

"No, you don't", Daitan said lowly, "If you really trusted me, you wouldn't think that I've lost my edge. If you trusted me, you'd know that I would ask you for help. And if you really trusted me, you'd have let me in on your little plot here instead of going over my head and potentially having all our heads stabbed onto a pole."

With every accusation, Daitan took a step forward, making Shiro retreat and try to shrink herself a little more.

"Far as I'm concerned, you've stopped being my friend when you started to think that I'm some naïve little girl that's just waiting to be swept up", it hurt to say these things to her friend, and it hurt even more to see Shiro look so broken. But it was all necessary if she was going to keep her friend safe from the wrath of the Cyclops, "Now, you're going to leave the Scarecrow and me alone. And as of now, you're out of Fearless until I say you can be let back in. And if you keep this s**t up, me and the girls will deal with you. Now get lost."

Not even waiting for a response, Daitan spun on her heel and gestured for Benjiro, who was both awestruck and a little guilty at seeing the falling out before him. When the two of them were at the doors to go to the soccer field, the muscular girl suddenly stopped and leaned up against the wall, "I basically just told one of my friends to go to hell, didn't I?"

Benjiro wasn't sure if he should say something, and remained silent.

"You think I did the right thing?"

The young man fiddled his fingers, "I th-think you did wh-what you felt was r-right."

"Yeah, but was it worth it. I mean, what did I even give up my girls for?", she sighed as she looked out at her soccer teammates doing drills, "To just kick some ball up and down a field for a chance at friendships that won't last, scholarships I'll never get, and a trophy that'll just gather dust on a shelf?"

Leaning against the wall, Benjiro let out a thoughtful sigh, "I can't say that what you did was right, but you decided where y-your priorities were."

"Yeah, and in the meantime, people are probably thinking that I've been tamed", she spat the last word like she'd tasted something bitter.

"Since when have you ever given a damn about what other people thought?"

Daitan turned and looked surprised at the boy who had never spoken so boldly or openly with her before.

"Sure, you may not be an official gang leader anymore but, so what? You found something that mattered to you more than being angry for no particular reason all the time. You found a goal that you wanted to work towards. And in doing so, you've learned how to be more grown up about certain things", he paused to rub his arm, "A little at least."

He turned to look at her. For once, he held her gaze with those mesmerizing, kaleidoscope eyes. No sign of fear, judgement, only understanding and acknowledgment, "That doesn't mean that you're weak, it just means that you're giving yourself a chance to grow. And that's a lot more than I can say for most people. Believe me, I know what holding onto that kind of anger does to a person."

Benjiro adopted a pensive look. The look of someone who was much older than his physical age would have you think.

"I can't say, if this is the right path. But if it helps you regardless, I'd like to stick around and help you learn some more English."

Daitan stared at the floor for a minute, processing the last few minutes. When she raised her head, Benjiro quietly gasped. The tomboy in front of him had a soft glow in her cheeks, her eyes were still fierce, but held a certain inviting softness and for once she was smiling. Not her usual smirk, or her sadistic leer. No, she had a genuine look of happiness. In her chest, that now familiar, warm, and easy feeling was reaching from her scalp to her toes.

Shaking her head, she walked out the door towards the field, "I'll see you tomorrow for that lesson."

And when she was out of earshot, she whispered, "And I hope you're ready to watch me pursue what I want, Benjiro."