Shin'ō Academy

"Good. It's a nice one; don't choke up and stop using it for too long." For some reason, Benihime thought it necessary to apologize for his moistened kosode. When she did, Daiki shook his head. "Baka~. I told you, don't hold it in. If you're sad, cry. If you feel alone, use a friend. I can't relate to what you're going through, but I'll do what I can." With that said, Daiki released his hold on Benihime completely, placing his hands instead on either side of his waist. "So, friend, what are we going to do about this empty feeling?"

"Hai hai, since you like it so much. I'll try..." she said seeming to find comfort in this young man. She seemed to be enjoying herself just a little bit, enjoying the chat and seeming to need this sort of companionship to keep her more morbid and empty thoughts at bay. As they spoke it seemed that Daiki took a bit of offense to her apologizing and went on to explain that she should use what was at her disposal to help her through her problems. "Well, like I told you at the start of this weekend... I got trust issues, but, I'll keep it in mind~" she mentioned feeling a bit better about her life at this moment. Daiki let go of her and she felt a bit strange about it, like she wasn't really sure she wanted the contact to end, but, it seemed the most natural. As for her empty feeling she sighed and heard her stomach grumble. "Hm, I think... food. Wanna go for snacks? I don't think I've eaten in a couple of days." and from this moment she'd be able to move forward, both in her friendship with Daiki and her studies, able to put aside that feeling of emptiness until it was nothing but an annoyance at the back of her mind.

"Your Zanpakutou got past the trust issues, apparently. If there's one thing I've been able to do so far, it's follow up on a good lead," he said. At this point, he was simply waiting for a suggestion of some sort as to how this void would be filled. Within moments, he received an answer, thanks in part to the apparent hunger of Benihime. "Great idea! You know, the kitchen staff hasn't come back in just yet. We could raid the place. Honestly, I'd like to offer something better, but... I don't have the Kan since I didn't return home this weekend. What I have, I'm saving for a special occasion."

A smile crossed the redhead's face as Daiki spoke of his ability to follow a proper lead when given. "Hai hai, I mean, just don't like stab me or anything~" she said given the way her Zanpakuto had gotten past her apparent issue. Soon enough the young man was agreeing that it was a good idea to get some food, and was speaking potentially on raiding the kitchen since the staff hadn't properly returned. A bit of a chuckle came from the young woman as he explained that he wished to offer more but that he had other plans for the money he saved and didn't have any extra because he hadn't returned home. "Iie, I wasn't suggesting anything other than raiding the kitchen. Also I know when the kitchen staff returns... I haven't gone anywhere in like nine months remember~" she said. "And... I know where they hide the good tea~" she said beckoning the young man along.

She'd lead to the kitchens used to serve the students and then even further in to the pantry including a special section for the staff. "So, pick your poison~" she said opening up a small drawer and revealing various air-tight tins filled with tea leaves and labeled with various flavors while she began rummaging through the rest of the place for the types of thing she normally ate while everyone else was gone.

"Don't worry; I'm not the stabbing type," the raven-haired male responded. It seemed Benihime was on-board with the idea of raiding the kitchen here at the academy; rather, it was what she'd been getting at all along. Daiki followed along from the moment she moved toward the kitchen, and found joy in the pantry even farther beyond. "So, the instructors get special treatment. We can't exactly be having that. I'm having some of this Fukuoka," he said as he reached out to retrieve a small jar of tea leaves with the desired label. "Are there cakes? I wouldn't mind filling up on those."

"That's good. Very good~" she said as she rummaged through the cabinets eventually finding what she was looking for, among the contents. Confections eaten normally with tea known as Wagashi. They were an assortment of these cakes purchased from a nearby shop and kept on hand. A bit of a grin came to the girl's face as she heard the kind of tea this young man chose. "Figures you would chose that, also I am way ahead of you about the cakes... this weeks wagashi box includes... Dango, Daifuku, Taiyaki, and Botamachi~" she said opening the box and revealing an assortment of various sweets. "Sugoi! This week is a good one, look it!~" she said with a wide eye seemingly excited by the prospect. Once the sweets were properly inspected, she'd take the box and head back out, going on to pick up the tea she wanted and the necessary material for the making of said tea.

"Daifuku? Sugoi~" Having decided on his tea of choice, Daiki grabbed the other half of the remaining materials needed for a proper tea ceremony. While retrieving these items, he gazed upon the assortment of wagashi, choosing in the end that he had a couple of clear preferences among them. Several seconds later, he would be in the dining hall, pouring boiling water into a pair of cups.

"Hai hai~" soon enough the pair of adolescents was setting up to enjoy something of a tea ceremony between the two of them. This would go on until the pair of them were done. It seemed the girl's spirits were lifted by the time she spent with Daiki and beyond this she seemed to enjoy his companionship as much or maybe even more than what she shared with Shusuke.

Before she knew it, between her studies and her free time spent with Daiki something like six weeks had passed and they were now only a bit more than a month left until graduation. They were leaving one of the major halls after a lecture on the history of the Seireitei. The young woman had hung back as she always did, waiting for the rest to leave. She no longer had her eye bandaged and there was a small thin scar on her face along her left eye, but it was hidden by her bangs as usual even before the thing appeared. "I hope that was the last one, these are starting to get tedious..."

"Good news, and bad news," said Daiki, who stepped out from behind the redhead after the end of their history lesson. "The good news is, that was the last scheduled lecture on History of the Seireitei. The bad news, though..." He took a brief, slightly ominous pause while stepping out ahead of Benihime, turning to face her with a horrific expression upon his face. "That was not the last lecture on History of Soul Society. We've got at least three more lectures to go before graduation."

"Hm?" she said seeming to get a bit excited by the fact that there was good news. In fact, it seemed that this was their last lecture on the History of the Seireitei which seemed to please her. Until of course, the ominous pause which led to the knowledge that they had at least 3 more lectures on the History of the Soul Society. This caused a bit of laughter from the young woman. "I want to believe you're kidding... like really badly. Ugh, I don't like lectures... boring. I could read the history book in the time it takes for the lecture to take place. I know... I've done it already." she said rolling her eyes and seeming to be exasperated. But after a second she smiled just a bit. "Eh, good thing you're here to keep me company~" she said finally standing and getting ready to leave for the day. "So, what's up?~"