56 Philia

Once everyone else had vacated, there was a tense silence to follow. The one eyed man slowly approached the younger boy, causing him to back away. A large, calloused hand reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close.

Kenshiro took a deep breath.

"Heya Beni", he said in a wooden voice, "Kind of an odd way to meet again, heh."

The two stood for a moment, nothing being said. Kenshiro felt a pair of skinny arms wrap around his lower back.

Despite the atmosphere, Benjiro cracked a tiny grin, "T-True, we r-really need to stop m-meeting like this."

The older brother made an amused snort. He slightly tightened his hold, "You're okay. That's good. I'm glad you're alright."

The younger brother tightened his own hug in response.

"I m-missed you, Keni", his voice quavered.

The two separated and Kenshiro motioned for him to sit back down as he took a seat across from him.

"So...", Keni cleared his throat, "What are you doing here? I figured you'd be into a lot of things, but I know for damn certain you'd never get involved with something like this."

Benjiro slumped back into his chair, 'If this were a movie, I'd take a large swig of alcohol before giving a very well comedically timed explanation of everything.'

As short of an explanation as could be was given about that days events and what had precipitated them. His relationship with the former gang leader was certainly a curious one. From the sound of it, she was a serious handful.

"Has that Haruoka girl been giving you trouble", Kenshiro ventured.

"Just so l-long as I don't ann-noy her. But I've f-finally been mak-king some progress. It t-took a few tries, and n-now she s-seems to be learning."

A small 'hmph' made its way from Kenshiro's mouth. His little brother could be such a tough one to figure out. For someone who supposedly didn't try to get involved with people, he certainly had a way of seeing through the murk of outward human nature. An account of their run in with the Kusakabe gang and the ensuing battle that happened soon afterwards certainly made for an interesting tale. If any other kid were sitting across from him, Kenshiro would assume they were making some sort of story up, but then again most people, regardless of age, made it a point not to lie to him.

A trademark, hard stare was given to Benjiro, just observing him and his overall demeanor. He was shaken up, but considering everything that had happened, he was doing better than any random that could've been nabbed.

"You holdin' up alright?"

Benjiro glanced to a corner of his field of vision. The carpet had a very interesting rhombus pattern. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, it was just that he didn't know how to answer. It had been years since he had seen Keni, but despite that, he knew that his long lost, older brother was a loyal person. The minute someone like him decided you were someone worthy of his friendship, there was little you needed to be afraid of. In the same vein, if you made even a casual enemy... they had a lot to be worried about. And for as active and twisted an imagination that conjured and concocted many a cruel coup de grace, just the thought of getting into a fight made his heart quiver.

"I-I'm alright. A b-bit banged up but I-I've been through worse."

"I wasn't asking whether you've been through worse. I was asking if you're doing doing okay right now."

Benjiro instinctively flinched.

Kenshiro raised his hands in a placating fashion, "Sorry, that was a little harsher than I meant to sound."

The younger brother just shook his head to dismiss the apology. Even in seeing him in the company of such dangerous men, Benjiro knew that harming him wouldn't cross his one eyed brother's mind.

"Are y-you going to h-hurt someone?"

Kenshiro set his rough hands as gently as he could on Ben's bony shoulders, "That's not something you need to worry about. I have my own way of doing things, and since those boys are technically under my command, it falls to me to make sure nobody who shouldn't get hurt, doesn't."

It always seemed to go this way whenever it came to the brothers. There was a genuine connection between them, but there was always a wedge between them. Neither could exactly comprehend the way the other thought and it caused a serious clash in lifestyle that caused no shortage of clashing between them.

"Ken, I d-don't want you t-to get mad", Benjiro implored, "W-When you g-get mad, people g-get hurt. And y-you also get hurt. A-And then you g-get in trouble."

"It's not about me getting mad", Kenshiro tried to explain, "If I don't discipline my men when they f**k up, it makes all of us look bad."

"B-But you d-don't know h-how to hold back. You've almost k-killed people before. I h-haven't seen you in y-years. And f-from what I've h-heard it would-dn't be out of the q-question to know if you've k-killed someone."

Annoyance surged in Kenshiro's head, and oddly enough there was also a pinprick of guilt mixed in as well. It wasn't like he didn't know what he was, but after hearing so many people plead or accuse him of certain things, you tended to not give a damn most of the time. However, there came a few moments of, dare he think it, vulnerability where hearing a few choice words made your judgment cloudy.

"I said this wasn't any concern of yours", his voice steadily rose, "How I conduct myself is my business, and I don't take advice from people who prefer to bury their heads in the sand and just hope things blow over!"

By the time he finished explaining himself, Benjiro looked like he was actively trying to bury himself into the crook of his chair. Kenshiro cursed at himself for getting out of hand. It took a moment to get his raising heartbeat under control.

"Sorry about that", his voice clearly strained, "Look, I'm not asking you to be happy about any of this, but if I don't take care of this, things may escalate and more people could get hurt. And we're trying to be as discreet as we can."

Benjiro's eyes refused to focus on any one thing for more than a second, "S-Some of those g-guys were itching f-for a fight, but a lot of th-them seemed to not want to be there."

The scarred man leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, that's the sign of a bad leader. You can't expect your guys to be totally comfortable with every decision, but if you can't even manage to keep your guys motivated, the reins are in the wrong hand."

With a shake of his head and a straightening of his pants, Kenshiro got out of his chair and told his man outside to bring everyone else in one by one. Benjiro watched as everyone walked in and out of the office. After Saori's meeting, she still looked rattled, but significantly better than before. When Daitan walked out of her meeting, she still maintained a composed front, but she also looked perplexed about something.

"Kawamura", Kenshiro called as the man approached and bowed, "Bring the car around, I'm going to escort these three home."

"Understood sir, but what about the fourth one?"

Kusakabe during the whole ordeal had been markedly pale and jittery. He looked like he either wanted to yell or punch something but was too scared to act on either of those impulses. The giant captain's half blind gaze did little to convince him that he should act otherwise.

"Tell the chef to prepare for a large dinner of an extra dozen guests", Kenshiro relayed, "Mr. Kusakabe and his friends will join us for a meal tonight so we can reaffirm our relationship."

Hearing those words, Hachirou noticeably perked up, a harrowing grin displayed on his face.

"We'd be honored to attend."

'It's about time we got recognized for being the badasses we are', he thought to himself.

With the matter settled, Kenshiro took the other three high school students and took them to a waiting car outside and got behind the wheel. Despite not being a limo, it still had a built in divider for privacy. After asking for everyone's addresses, they vacated the area. Benjiro and the two girls remained silent for a majority of the drive to their respective homes.

"S-So, what did he s-say to each of you?"

Saori seemed to latch onto the chance to talk with someone in a normal capacity, "He apologized to me about the whole thing and assured me that I was under his protection from now on. Isn't that cool?"

Indeed, the words the Yamanaka girl heard from the Cyclops were that of an apology, but the tone they were spoken left her feeling as though someone were in terrible danger. They both turned towards Daitan who had yet to say anything since they were all in the same office.

"I don't feel like sharing."

The other two looked disappointed, but it was purely a matter between her and the man that had a peculiar request of her. She recalled the meeting:

"I have a request of you."

"What would that be, sir?"

The Cyclops seemed amused by her behavior, "I'd like you to keep an eye on my little brother for me."

A sick stirring churned in Daitan's stomach, "So, he really is your family."

Kenshiro made an almost melancholic snort behind his rough hands, "A lifetime ago, yeah. I can't be around him all that much, but I notice that he seems to have taken an interest in you."

That caused Daitan's face to reel in surprise.

"Oh no, not that kind of interest. It's just that when he's always been pretty timid. This kind of life isn't for him. I want you to make sure he stays away from it and that he stays safe. But I also think you may be one of his special people."

Seeing the confusion on the tomboy's face, he explained, "Beni's a pretty shy kid, but when he sees someone that he wants to help, there's nothing that will stop him from doing everything he can to see them do well."

That was what had been asked of Daitan, and while she had no reason to say no, mostly because she had a feeling it wasn't really a request. It was a simple job, but the way the man known as The Cyclops talked about his little brother, it completely shook her image of him. The protection of her girls had been assured, so it wasn't like was getting nothing, but what really confused her was the thought of the scarecrow giving a damn. To say the least, it had been a long day for everyone involved.