Chapter 80: Frills
It had been about a week since the play had ended. Roughly a day after the play, true to Akiko's fears, in a few dark corners of the school, people were whispering about some rather dirty dealings from her days in junior high. At first, she was rather nervous about being noticed in such conflicting lights, but contrary to what she was expecting, the rumors were met with rather staunch defense. There were still a few creepers that tried to proposition Akiko, but there were far more people who not only saw her as the victim in the whole matter, but as the overcomer. Akiko hadn't exactly become popular, but it seemed like more people were beginning to notice the seemingly ordinary girl in a more positive light. If someone appeared to be giving her a rough time, her usual trio of friends were quick to come to her defense, and a good Samaritan was ready to tell them to screw off.
At the opposite end of the spectrum sat the actual Good Samaritan, Benjiro. Some people knew about Akiko's avoidance of her club and her sudden burst of courage to return to the stage, but only Benjiro had a complete scope of the changes in his neighbor. What he couldn't have predicted was the change towards him that would happen. The two of them weren't dating, but Akiko had become much closer with him in recent days.
Now that the year was just about over, and she didn't have to get up early to go to club, Akiko was free to arrive to and leave school at a normal time. She took full advantage of this fact to walk with Benjiro whenever she could, as well as eat lunch together like they were, presently. He was munching on the lunchbox set that Akiko had taken upon herself to prepare for him. While Benjiro didn't exactly consider himself a bad cook since he learned a few things from his Dad, he was nowhere near what his neighbor could cook. His current position was all thanks to an accidental topic from when the pair were eating together earlier in the week.
...
"-and after that, Maria just told that one creep that either he could get lost or she'd get the police involved", Akiko jabbered. While listening to someone talk for a long time wasn't something Benjiro enjoyed, he dealt with it as best he could.
"You seem a l-lot more b-bright than before", he observed.
Akiko ceased her talking and looked at the lanky boy with a pink tinge in her cheeks, "Well, I... I haven't exactly had too many reasons to be outspokenly happy about things before."
Both of them smiled painfully at that thought. It was one that Benjiro could relate to, but especially hated seeing in another person.
"J-Just glad that you're d-doing bet-ter", he concurred.
Akiko simply nodded and the two ate in relative silence for a moment. Benjiro grew confused when he saw her looking at him eating. When he asked her what was on her mind, she asked,
"How often do you buy stuff from the school store? That has to cost quite a lot over time."
Benjiro bit his lip, "Eh, kind of. Whenev-ver there's n-no leftovers, Dad always m-makes sure I h-have a little walk-king around money f-for stuff."
A thoughtful look crossed Akiko's face, before she nervously tapped her fingers together and suggested, "If you'd like... I could make an extra lunch in the morning."
The ragged haired boy was a little surprised and was a little unsure at first. But the expectant look on the girl's face was enough for the offer to be hesitantly but gratefully accepted. While the two ate, the music room door slid open and in walked Daitan. Benjiro politely greeted her while Akiko merely gave a halfhearted grunt in response. She sat down next to the other two students without any preamble and just began eating her own store sandwich. He had never really noticed before, and it was clear that Daitan didn't either, but she chewed really loudly. Not quite as obnoxious as chewing with your mouth open, but awfully darn close.
"Yikes, are you eating broken glass", Akiko complained.
Daitan rolled her eyes, "What's your problem this time?"
"You're chewing loud enough that we can tell how solid your food is before you actually swallow it."
The tomboy didn't say anything in response, but she shot a questioning look at her skinny tutor. His eyes looked away for a second before looking apologetically back and lightly nodded his head. She kept her face mostly neutral, but Benjiro noticed that her mouth was slightly tighter than before. Silently praying, the young man begged for no more potential conflict to break out.
"What's with the matching lunches anyway", Daitan prodded.
'Why do I get the feeling that I might be in trouble', Benjiro thought as his stomach sank.
"Because I made it for him. I noticed he seemed to be spending a lot of money at the cafeteria, so I offered to make a second one for him", Akiko grinned, "And obviously, he accepted my gracious offer."
Temperatures inside the room remained fairly consistent, but for some reason, Benjiro suddenly felt chilly.
"Is it good", Daitan calmly asked.
"Y-Yeah."
Lunch was usually a time of peace and respite, but for once, Benjiro was glad when the bell rang for them to proceed back to class. Akiko stepped out the door first, with Benjiro quick behind her before he felt a sharp tug on his neck. A hand smacked right by his head on the wall. Daitan looked him straight in the eye with her usual piercing gaze. At first, the young man felt like cowering, thinking she was mad, but when he got a better look at her face, something was different.
"Hey, what are you doing, you brute", Akiko protested.
The look on Daitan's face was replaced by her Commander's face, "Unless you want that nice lunch of yours to be vomited back up and force fed again, I suggest you leave", she breathed.
Akiko took the hint and backed away, but not before giving her neighbor a look that said, 'Don't worry, I'll be waiting for you when school ends.'
When the short girl had disappeared, Benjiro turned back to Daitan. Her Commander face was gone, and the expression from before was back. She still was aloof, but once again, something was different. Unlike the other times, her face shown a small tinge of what looked like nervousness.
'That can't be right', Benjiro pondered, 'This girl literally got herself into bareknuckle brawls for the hell of it. What about any part of this situation is making her nervous?'
Thoughts of what he said to his pupil the night Kenshiro came to visit him revisited him.
'Oh no, did she think that I was insulting her when I said that and only waited until now to actually get back at me', he began panicking, 'But if that were the case, why didn't she-'
"Is that lunch she made really good", Daitan interrupted his thoughts.
Dumbly Benjiro nodded his head. She glanced away for a second before refocusing her gaze, "Do guys like it when girls get all... fluffy on them?"
While the direction of the talk was getting stranger, morbid curiosity drew Benjiro in, "What do you m-mean?"
Stranger still, Daitan shifted her feet as if she were uncomfortable and it was making the young man quite uncomfortable himself, "Ya know, like when they do little favors and", she bared her teeth in disgust, "Act all weak and frilly around guys they like?"
"W-Weeeell", Benjiro drug out.
"Spit it out already", she shouted.
"Sorry! (Ahem) M-Most guys do l-like that k-kind of st-stuff. Th-They like providing b-but they also l-like it when a g-girl does n-nice things for them. It m-makes them consider if th-that girl would be a g-good wife in the f-future", he explained.
Daitan processed the information for a moment until a teacher came along and said, "Hey, if you two don't want detention, you'd better get to class."
"Alright, I get it", she grunted before turning back to Benjiro who she noticed she still had pinned against the wall, "Sorry about that."
'Can this day get any weirder', the lanky boy marveled.
"Listen, tomorrow don't bring any lunch yourself, and don't accept any from the Chihuahua either. You got me."
"Yes", he eeped.
At the end of the day, true to her word, Akiko was waiting for Benjiro to walk back home.
"So what did that brutish girl have to talk to you about", she asked before narrowing her eyes, "Did she ask you out or something?"
Benjiro waved a placating hand, "N-No, I'm not even s-sure myself."
Akiko's eyes narrowed further, "Are you lying to me?"
For some reason, Benjiro felt every bit as nervous as when Daitan had him pinned, "No, I'm n-not."
Akiko simply grunted and didn't say another word for the rest of the walk home. When Benjiro awkwardly tried to bring some sort of topic up, he was rewarded with either a one word response or none at all. The walk ended without even a 'See you tomorrow' and the mop headed boy was left even more confused.
Across town in a dimly lit apartment, Daitan stood in front of a stove with what could be considered cooking ingredients. A few bruised vegetables, some instant foods and a couple other odds and ends. Observing her tools, she took a deep breath, "It'll be fine. You know how to ride a motorcycle, you know how to beat up a half dozen goons, you can command the respect of your whole crew and nothing fazes you. How hard can cooking of all things be. I'll show that yipping dog."
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