As you know from the last chapter, Zeo Zaggart will be out of commission for a while. Enjoy this short story about Benkei.
Chapter 7 Benkei's Illness
It was a rather busy day at Benkei's Bath & Beauty. These kind of days usually made Benkei feel happy inside and glowing outside as he counted his stacks of money. He usually was happy, and directed customers toward the most expensive and useful items. But today was different. He only felt...sad?...ill? Yes, that was it. He must be under the weather with a cold.
"Excuse me," Benkei told his head store manager, second-in-command only to him. "I'm going to leave you in charge. I think I'm sick." Benkei handed her his smiley face 'I'm in charge #1' badge.
Out in Anti-Zeo Zaggart Land, Benkei went to Gingka's Gangly Burgers; not to eat, but to ask his friend if he could figure out what kind of illness was keeping him down in the dumps.
"Hi Gingka," said Benkei.
Gingka was surprised to hear his normally cheerful friend sound so melancholy. "What's up, Benkei?" he asked, concerned. "Why are you so sad and gloomy?"
"Oh Gingka, I think I have a cold," Benkei sniffled sadly.
"Aww... That's too bad." Gingka rummaged around his pockets. "Sorry, I don't have any medicine. You should check out the pharmacy counter at the department store."
Benkei nodded and left for Damian's Department Store. Once he got there, he did as Gingka had advised him and went straight to the pharmaceutical isle. He picked out some generic brands of cold medicine and some anti-depressants. Then he went home and lay on the sofa after taking his medication.
Ding dong! Benkei must have dozed off, because it was mid-afternoon when the doorbell awoke him. He headed over and opened the door. It was Kenta.
"Hey buddy," said Benkei in the same gloomy, sad voice.
"Benkei, Gingka told me you felt ill, so I decided to come and cheer you up." Kenta smiled, and appeared to be holding something behind his back.
"What's that you have behind your back?" asked Benkei.
Kenta smiled even more. "It's a present!"
"Ooh!" Benkei came out the door. "Is it a steak? A steak would help me get well really quick."
"Nope!" said Kenta, still smiling. He pulled out the present from behind his back and shoved it in Benkei's face. "Ta da!"
Benkei frowned. "Orange juice? You brought me orange juice?"
"Yeah!" Kenta was excited. "It has lots of vitamin C and thirty other essential vitamins and minerals!."
"Well, thanks Kenta," said Benkei. Kenta then left. As much as he liked his friend and wanted to cheer him up, Kenta didn't want to get sick. Benkei went back to the sofa to rest up.
A few hours later, the he made himself a pizza and ate the whole thing. He even choked down some of the orange juice that Kenta had given to him.
As he finished eating, the doorbell rang again, so Benkei went to answer. It was Tsubasa. Tsubasa also appeared to have a gift for Benkei behind his back, but Benkei just spoke in his gloomy tone. "Hi Tsubasa."
"Oh, you really don't sound good," said Tsubasa. "I brought you flowers. When you can smell them, that means your cold is gone."
"Thanks, but I can smell them from over here," said Benkei.
"Oh, well then, bye." Tsubasa left.
Benkei took some more cold medicine, but still felt rather sick. The bell rang again, and this time it was Yu at the door. He did not appear to have brought a present.
"Ben ben, let's go for a walk!" exclaimed Yu. "The fresh air will make you feel all better."
"Gee, thanks Yu." Benkei headed out.
Yu led him to King's castle, thinking King could surely help Ben ben. Upon arriving, Yu and Benkei were led up to where King was.
"What can I do for you?" King asked.
"Ben ben is sick. His medicine isn't helping him. What should we do?" asked Yu.
"Well," said King. "I'm not sure I can help you here. I don't even know what kind of illness or cold Benkei has. If I were to give you advice, I would tell you to go to the one person in town who has time and knows all."
"And who would that be?" asked Benkei.
"Ryuga."
"Ryuga," said Yu. "Can you help Benkei? He is sick."
Ryuga just frowned. "What? You want me to play doctor? You want me to use a stethoscope and tell you what kind of illness he has? You have to be joking!"
"Yu is not joking," Yu responded in third person.
"Fine fine, I will give you a diagnosis," said Ryuga. "But that's it. His illness is quite simple. Benkei is suffering from a severe case of Kyoya withdrawal. The only solution is for him to see Kyoya again."
Yu turned to Benkei. "Is it true, Ben ben?"
Benkei started crying. "It is! I miss Kyoya so much! Kyoya! Kyoya! Kyoya!"
Ryuga rolled his eyes. "Please cry in the street and not in my store," he told Benkei, pushing him and Yu out the door and shutting it behind them.
People all around heard Benkei crying out "Kyoya! Kyoya!" Gingka actually thought that something terrible had happened and rushed to the scene. He cheered up Benkei a bit by giving him a steak, but the only solution was for Kyoya to come back from his vacation. Well, that may or may not happen for a while.
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