She (TakashiMorinozukaxOC)

Chapter Five: Sleepless Nights

Jenni stood in front of a fold-out mirror. In front of her, her reflection sported blood-shot eyes, and hair pulled up into a loose knot at the top of her head. She hadn't put her contacts in, so her large glasses framed over her green eyes. 

Sighing, she ran her hand down the length of the puffy pink dress. If it wasn't so puffy it wouldn't be so bad. Jenni liked a simpler look, or rather, she was more used to simple looks. She didn't grow up with a lot of money. She hadn't been able to go to homecoming all of high school. In fact, other than a wedding or two, she hadn't had much need to wear dresses or to dance with a partner. 

"I'm not sure if pink is your color," the stylist said. The blush color stuck to her skin and made her uneasy. It was too light-- maybe if it was a darker pink or a red or--

"Green," Hekima announced. 

"Aw," Satoshi and Honey groaned. Honey said he liked the pink a lot. Jenni wanted to stop trying on dresses-- she'd wear anything at that point. Hekima's stylist, by the name of Hitachiin, practically pushed Jenni off the small platform her and her assistant had brought with her. 

"My sons really like that one, too," she said to Takashi, who had plucked an emerald green, satin dress from the rack.

"Hika-chan and Kao-chan are going to be first years this term, right?"

Ms. Hitachiin, who had light orange hair and a pretty face and thin frame, nodded with a smile, "That's right, Honey. Don't they grow up so fast, Hekima-chan?" 

It turns out that the two were more than stylist and client-- rather two good friends who happened to work together and for one another. 

"They do. I love you boys, but I have to admit it's fun to have a pretty girl to put pretty dresses on!" 

The room deadpanned a little at Hekima's admission. 

"Go change, Jenni-chan!" 

She wanted to groan. It was the fifth dress she had tried on that day. Mrs. Hitachiin had brought a whole brigade, filling the rack she had brought with whatever she had on hand in Jenni's size. Every color of the rainbow; every style, cut, top, and skirt known to humankind. 

With a ruffle, it had a slit in the skirt from the middle thigh and down to the floor where it stopped. The top was a classy Monroe-like V-neck. It fit her body well-- the skirt wasn't too flowy and the top not too showy. It hugged her body and curves nicely. 

As she exited the small changing cubicle set up in the Morinozuka's lounge room, Satoshi and Honey gasped and clapped like school children. Jenni walked to the podium with her head low, tired of the whole event. She was expecting this dress to be a flop like all the others, but when she looked in the mirror she had to admit--

"I actually like this one," she smiled shortly at the corner of her lip. The room practically sighed in relief. Even during dojo today, her attitude had been poor. Takashi hadn't told Honey about what had happened last night-- that would require admitting that he had been spying on the poor girl. 

He felt weird about it, even though it wasn't anything completely inappropriate, the premise of him looking through her window at night and seeing her paint, read, and cry uncontrollably, was unlike him. The light woke him up at night even through the curtains. It was like he was hyper-sensitive to the unusual presence in that usually-empty room. 

The thoughts and worried exited his mind when he saw her come out in the dress. He had seen her in tight biker shorts, athletic wear, her gi, loose t-shirts and shorts and jeans that hung on her hips. Sometimes she wore skirts, and she looked cute in them, but they were always fairly casual.