She (TakashiMorinozukaxOC)

Chapter Twelve: Of Nightmare and Daydreams

"Set! Go!" 

She stood her ground. In front of her, eyes narrowed at her frame. He stepped forward, and she stepped in a circular path. Soon, they were opposite ends of the mat. 

It was Friday-afternoon karate at the Haninozuka dojo. As promised, Jenni had joined shortly after she joined the karate club at school. Honey constantly commented that she was better at karate than Judo-- not that her Judo wasn't great, but when she was in karate Jenni always had a certain spark in her eye. The way she analyzed her opponents always intrigued him and his tall counterpart. Hiro, her current sparring partner, advanced with a shout. Jenni bolted out of the way, and turned swiftly to kick him in the side. 

"Point!" Honey exclaimed. 

They reset. 

"Go!" 

This time, Jenni moved first, and rather quickly at that. In a flash, she threw two punches in quick succession. Hiro blocked the first, but was unable to block the second. They reset, and when Honey called the third round to start Jenni moved in a flash. Hiro landed on the ground softly. At first stumbling, then fumbling onto his rear end. 

After she helped him back up, Jenni wiped the sweat from her brow. 

It was her fourth spar in a row-- they had been competing all week to see who would represent the dojo at an upcoming competition at the high school. That next week was the Ouran Cultural Exhibition, and during it was a short, city-wide martial arts competition in Kendo, Judo, and Karate. 

When Honey announced that the lesson was over for the day, Jenni sighed. She practically collapsed to the floor-- tired from exertion. Laying on her back, she breathed deeply. A shadow crossed over her. Jenni peaked an eye open at Takashi; he offered a hand to her. She took it and allowed him to help her to her feet. 

She had to have been sparring for at least a half an hour-- about half of the entire dojo time. Takashi was in his keiko-gi and hakama from the kendo meeting before karate had started. Anytime Honey was in the dojo, though, Takashi usually sat as is perching in the corner of the room. Like a watch dog or a gargoyle. However, once the lesson would end it was like he'd snap out of a trance. 

Jenni couldn't decide if he was meditating the whole time or if he just had incredible patience. It had to be both; Jenni struggled with meditating. She didn't like being still. In fact, she hated it. Always moving, always running and fighting and jumping and dancing. 

"How was kendo today?" she asked. They walked across the threshold of the dojo and towards the exit. 

"Fine," Takashi answered. Once to the door, they slipped on their sandals and headed towards the garden. Honey had already skipped off to his estate to eat some yummy cupcakes!. Of course, he'd also be reporting back to his father and Takashi's father, who would be the deciding forces as to who represented the dojo's classes in the coming competition. Nerves settled in Jenni's stomach at the thought of not being able to compete. After all, it was what she was there for-- to learn and compete in martial arts. 

As if sensing her anxiety, Takashi glanced down at her and said, "You'll compete." 

She paused in the garden's walkway. She looked down and shrugged unsurely, "You really think so?" 

A hand went to her shoulder. She looked up into silvery eyes. Overhead, the sky was turning orange due to the sun's departure. He looked down at her, a small smirk playing on the corner of his lip. For a second, she forgot where they were, and could only focus on the twinkling black and grey steal of his eyes. 

"Yeah," he said, "You're a great fighter, Jenni." 

He released his hand from her shoulder. Jenni smiled up at him brightly, "Okay," she placed her hands on her hips and started walking to the house once again, "I'll see you in the weight room later!"