The room smelled faintly of urine and sweat. The walls were a sickly beige, though the bricks had once been white. The paint on the bars lay cracked in some places and peeling in others, reminding all who entered here that this was the receptacle for broken dreams and crumbling fantasy. Kozo Fuyutsuki grimaced, studying the single occupant of the drunk tank. A professor of metaphysical biology had no reason to visit this place. Unless, of course, he needed to bail someone out. Which he had.

The young man gazed back, a mingle of defiance and sheepish sarcasm in his eyes. He had a wad of tissue pressed against his nose, soaked with blood. For a long time, neither of them said anything.

"So…" the older man finally said. "You're Gendo Rokubungi."

"That's the rumor," the younger man murmured. It sounded as though there was liquid in his throat. He grimaced, and slid across the bench to a sink, to spit bloody phlegm into the bowl. "Excuse me," he added.

"I'm here to pick you up," the professor continued.

"I figured as much," came the reply. "You don't happen to have any Aspirin?"

"No."

"Of course not. Just…thought I'd ask." Rokubungi leaned against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. He removed the handkerchief, revealing a purple bruise on his upper lip. Bandages wrapped around his left arm, and two of the fingers on that hand were immobilized, taped together. He looked a mess, Fuyutsuki mused. He shook his head.

"I've been appointed your academic adviser," Fuyutsuki added, leaning against the bars.

"Ah," the younger man said, smiling lightly. "Good deal. That's good. You sound like you're all keyed up to advise me right now."

"Do I? I thought I was keying up disgust," Fuyutsuki sniffed.

"From a college professor? That means a lecture," Rokubungi retorted. Well, Fuyutsuki mused, That's true enough.

"I'm trying to decide what advice to give to a young man who picks fights he can't win," the professor said. "Especially one with a mind like yours. For a smart kid, you're pretty dumb."

"In all fairness…they attacked me," Rokubungi insisted. "I've yet to determine what the source of their grievance was. I'm still paying for it, in fact. Can we leave? I'd like to get some breakfast."

"You're hungry? After all that?" Fuyutsuki teased.

"I feel sick," the young man grumped, "However, I imagine I should eat something."

"I'm here to bail you out, not buy you breakfast," the professor snapped.

"I'll buy. You bail," Rokubungi said, waving a hand vaguely. Shaking his head, the professor turned to the police officer charged with overseeing the tank.

"I'll take him out, now. Do you need anything else from me?"

"Paperworks in order, so no," the officer said. "Just see if you can keep him out of here in the future. We're thinking of setting aside a room for his personal use at this point."

"Thanks, Takagawa, you've always been a gentleman," Rokubungi sneered, slowly easing up to his feet. Shifting unsteadily, he began to walk forward. As he passed by the bars, Fuyutsuki made a face. The young man was in desperate need of a shower.

"Really, what would your parents think?" he muttered.

"My mother is dead and my father doesn't care," Rokubungi said, grinning. "So neither do I. Lead on, professor." Fuyutsuki sighed, turning towards the exit. Rokubungi stumbled a bit, and on impulse, Fuyutsuki hooked a hand behind his elbow, to steady the younger man. Rokubungi ripped his arm away, and Fuyutsuki recoiled in shock. "I can walk on my own," the younger man snapped.

The police officer grabbed his collar and pushed the younger man into a wall. "That is not the way we show the good professor our thanks," the cop snapped. "So if you can't be gracious, you can cool it in the tank until you figure it out."

"That's not necessary, Officer," Fuyutsuki insisted, holding up a hand. Rokubungi was very still, his eyes still defiant but clearly in no shape to resist.

"You sure, Professor?" the officer asked. "No charge to you. You already bailed him, so you can grab him when you feel like it. We don't mind, do we?" He put his mouth near Rokubungi's ear, to emphasize how willing he was to toss the young rooster back in the cage.

"I'm sure. Let's just…put it behind us. Fair enough?" Fuyutsuki waited patiently as the cop let the words linger in the air.

"Hear that, my boy?" the officer finally said. "You've got a nice sponsor here. Think about that." He leaned into the man once more, pressing him hard into the bricks, before releasing him and stepping back. "He's all yours, sir…Heaven help you."

A quick query with the front desk informed Fuyutsuki of a donut stand a half-block away, with decent coffee and pastries. Rokubungi grunted in a noncommittal way. Fuyutsuki thanked the police woman at the desk, and led the young man out of the police station and into the world. Turning north on the street, he studied the profile of the young man before leading on.

Gendo Rokubungi was a lean faced fellow. He had a look that could only be described as 'hungry,' and a reputation that said poor things about his character. His default expression, as far as Fuyutsuki could decide, was a smirk, but the eyes held no amusement. They looked hunted, and paranoid. Fuyutsuki was trying not to dislike the kid, but it was hard. Rokubungi's attitude made disliking him very easy. Natural, even. It was a shame, in a way. The young man might be a good-looking fellow if it wasn't for those eyes.

The walk was in silence, as was the breakfast. Rokubungi purchased a cheese Danish and a cup of black coffee, and nibbled at one while sipping the other. "It confuses me," Fuyutsuki finally murmured, "Why a student in biology would behave in such a reckless manner."

"As opposed to a student in math? Or theater? What field of study allows me recklessness?" The young man grinned, and Fuyutsuki saw that one of his teeth had been broken, sheered off in the middle.

"Do you know you have some broken teeth?"

"Do I look like I care?" Rokubungi said, his tone breezy.

"A bit, as carefully as you're eating that pastry," Fuyutsuki countered. Rokubungi sniffed, the grin devolving to the default smirk and drifting a little further down than that.

"It's trivial," he mumbled.

"No honest idea why you got into a fight? Why you were jumped?"

"I have only the vaguest of notions. Of course, it was probably my fault. It always is, you see." He sipped at the coffee. "I have a way with people that is not diplomatic, I am told."

"Please, elaborate," Fuyutsuki asked, his voice oozing sarcasm.

"An academic adviser who cares. I am touched to the core," Rokubungi snapped. He radiated a sudden and unexplainable anger, a challenge to try to continue to care. Fuyutsuki furrowed his brow. What moods the kid went through!

"I don't," he retorted. "It is what it is, and you have a sharp mind. And a bad attitude. If I can salvage you, I would like to."

"Salvage me…I like that. I like that a lot," Rokubungi snapped. "Thank you so much for the offer, Professor."

"If I recall correctly, you requested me as an adviser." Fuyutsuki snapped. Rokubuni looked down, still rebellious. Fuyutsuki nodded, dropping a 1,000 yen bill on the table. "Keep the change," he told the clerk. "As for you," he added, slapping Rokubungi on the back, "I'm sure you know my office hours. Come by tomorrow." Rokubungi had gasped, trembling from the shock of the blow.

"Of course…Professor…" he grumbled, dropping the Danish on a napkin. He stared at the money the professor had left behind. He didn't want to eat anymore.

Fuyutsuki took a cab back to Kyoto University, not feeling the urge to go home yet. The meeting hadn't left him rattled, but it had put a bad taste in his mouth. He had the urge to try to get some work done, to lose himself in grading papers or looking over one of his articles. Something to shake the awkwardness of that first encounter. Gendo Rokubungi…he found himself scoffing at the thought of the man. Reputations in academia could make or break a fellow, even more so in Japan than other places. Rokubungi possessed a reputation that should have seen him sunk to the bottom of the nearest lake, for fear of contaminating anyone else with his poor karma. Fuyutsuki wondered why he had even offered the fellow the time of day, much less bailed him out. He felt the millstone gathering weight, the chords wrapping around his neck. Knowing Gendo Rokubungi was the surest way to a bad end, he mused.

That wasn't a fair assessment, though. He realized that, realized it even as he pondered the thought of a tarnished reputation. He had gained a following among his students for keeping an open mind, being an approachable man. Fuyutsuki craved talent and knowledge in people, and was willing to overlook a lot of other failings in people to cultivate their virtues. So…why did he feel differently with Gendo Rokubungi? There just seemed something about the man that…felt off. It was the only thing Fuyutsuki could think of.

The man had a bad vibe. An off-color, a raw note of discord in his background.

Tipping the driver, he strolled to the annex where his office was. As he entered the structure, the smell of school welcomed him back. The scent of linoleum, papers, the odd musty smell that all academic structures seemed to gather into themselves. This is a place of learning, it seemed to say. Here, you will break the shackles of ignorance. Come, and be liberated. He smiled sardonically. Waxing poetic, are we?

His heels clicked against the floor as he headed towards his first-floor office, not surprised to see the light still on. There would only be one other person here at this time. He leaned into the open door and surveyed the room. Stacks of books and papers, his desk by the window, a table in the center for meetings. The blackboard dominating the far wall, scribbled with higher-order mathematical theorems specific to metaphysical biology. The young woman with the fine figure and dark hair pondering the board. A wave of something like desire moved through him, and as quickly as it came, he stomped it down like an insect. He knocked on the door-frame, and crossed to his desk. She turned, and her delicate face lit up in pleasure.

"Fuyutsuki-sensei," she beamed. "I'm sorry. I was just wanting to look over this again."

"Miss Ikari," he said, smiling. "I'd figure you'd have gone home by now." That was a half-truth, of course. They often competed for the prize of 'Last to Leave.' She generally held that title more times than he did.

"I was planning on it," she said, grinning tiredly. She pointed at the chalkboard, covered in higher order mathematics. Metaphysical biology had a higher math-focus than even mainline biology, though most of the math in this field was theoretical. It was a science that existed primarily in thought-experiments, and relied upon the chalkboard more than the laboratory, at least at this point in its existence. She gestured to the board. "I keep thinking the figures are wrong, but I can't quite figure how."

"Sometimes, you just need to work on something else to clear the mind," he suggested, dropping his jacket on the desk. He glanced up at the words he had put on the top of the board: Absolute Terror Field. "I'd say step away from it and work on something else, for a bit."

"I'd like to, but I just hate leaving something unfinished," she sighed. The professor chuckled, rubbing his eyes. "I guess you met Gendo Rokubungi today," the young woman said, breaking the brief silence. Fuyutsuki turned, giving her a sharp look. She was beaming at him, daring him to be snippy.

"And how would you know that?"

"I suggested to him that you be his adviser," she said cheerfully.

"I beg your pardon?" The professor felt caught off guard at the frank statement.

"Yeah," she continued, erasing half a line of letters and numbers that had given her some irritation. "He had asked if there was anyone at the University worth speaking to about academic advising. I pushed your name forward." She turned to him, cocking an eyebrow. "That was okay, right?"

"How do you know Gendo Rokubungi?" Fuyutsuki asked, dropping into his office chair. The admission left him feeling uneasy. He liked to think he had a pretty good grasp on who Yui Ikari was, had formed an image of her in his mind that fit to a very specific set of criteria. An image that had formed, he had to admit frankly, from a certain attraction to her. He generally looked down upon professors that became involved with students. Granted, she was a research assistant, but the point was still too fine. If just for that, if not plain professional courtesy, he had not acted upon any thoughts or feelings that had arisen from his work with her. Still, it was a difficult thing to do. He had never known a woman like her, and he was certain she was one-of-a-kind.

To know that she associated with a fellow like Rokubungi….

"He approached me in the library," she said. "He wanted to ask about the department. I felt it was a good opportunity to enlist someone away from regular biology. You know…the boring stuff." Yui winked at him, and he slumped.

"Aside from this, do you have any clue who Rokubungi is?"

"I hear he's a bit of a bad boy," she said, giving him a sly look.

"I just bailed him out of a drunk tank," Fuyutsuki said. "He had been in a fight."

Yui raised an eyebrow. "Goodness. Sounds like a handful."

"…You knew that already, didn't you?"

"Am I that transparent?" she asked coyly.

"So why sic him on me?" Fuyutsuki grumped, stretching his arms.

"I didn't 'sic' him on you, I suggested he contact you," she said. "Doesn't he look like someone in need of guidance?"

"He looks like someone in need of a lot more than that," Fuyutsuki sighed. "Fear not, though, I've told him to come by my office tomorrow."

"Thank you, Fuyutuski-sensei," Yui said. "I do appreciate that." She brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, turning back to the board once more. She might as well call it a night; there were only so many ways one could twist the numbers. She put down the chalk, turned towards her things, and caught Fuyutsuki staring at her. "What?" she asked, feeling defensive.

"I'm just worried about you," he admitted. "Have you met this Rokubungi character before?"

"No, but I have heard about him," Yui replied. "Why?"

"For him to seek you out, for you to display any interest in him…just…I want you to be careful, all right? Nothing more, nothing less." He held up his palms, metaphorically washing his hands of the whole thing.

"For a professor, Fuyutsuki-sensei, you know very little about things," she said with a small grin.

"Enlighten me," he said, dryly.

"I've always been careful to guard my heart," Yui explained, retrieving her purse from its spot in a chair. "It's a product of the position I'm in. You never know who wishes to take advantage of it."

"Your…familial connections?" he asked. He knew very little about Seele, save for what few scraps Yui had shared with him. From what little he could glean, it sounded like an important group. One that could attract flies like Gendo Rokubungi looking for an "in."

"Of course," she said. "I've got a talent for reading people. I read you like a book." She smiled, and he blushed, looking away. That was an inappropriate thing for a research assistant to say to a superior, but it did nothing to change the fact of the statement. Fuyutsuki, after all, would be the first to note the strange power the woman had in navigating people. "I know a lot more about Gendo than you think."

"Gendo," he huffed. "If you're on a first-name basis already, you may be overestimating your talent."

"And I insist I have a better grasp of him than you do," she sniffed. "I would even go so far as to say I have a better grasp of him than himself."

"You see hidden depths, there?" he mused.

Yui slung her purse over her arm, and draped her dress-coat over the other. She fixed Fuyutsuki with a look of concern. "Well…don't you?" Fuyutsuki considered the question, struck by the honest sincerity of it. Sometimes, it was hard to tell if Yui was being manipulative, or being genuine. This seemed genuine, though. Was there something more to the young man? Something Fuyutsuki had overlooked? Hard to say, really. He didn't have all the facts, just his prejudice.

Before he could press her on the subject, she had already started out the door. "Please let me know how tomorrow's meeting goes!" she said, her tone bright. Fuyutsuki gazed after her, and reclined in the chair. Hidden depths…were there hidden depths to the young man? He would find out tomorrow, one way or the other.