She (TakashiMorinozukaxOC)

Chapter 22: His Apprentice

Jenni hopped happily down the hallway. Her gi and karate gear in her bag bounced on her hip while she hummed a tune to herself and licked at her snow cone. Cherry flavor, of course. She was surprised to find the snow cone vendor on school grounds. Seemed that the poor man had gotten turned around on his way to the market district, but at least he had made a sale to her. After karate club, she was usually pretty hungry and in need of something sweet. 

She opened the door to Music Room 3 excitedly, with her snow cone in her hand and a smile on her face, she announced, "You guys will not believe what just happened!" 

But the tension in the room was palpable. And upon seeing the scene before her, Jenni had a foot towards the exit. 

Ritsu Kasanoda was on the floor, bowing deeply on his knees in front of Takashi, who sat at a table with Honey. Takashi had a weird kind of look on his face. One that teetered on embarrassment and unease. 

She was surprised to find him here or anywhere within the vicinity of Takashi. Ritsu, afterall, was already on Takashi's shit list, even though he really wasn't bad at all. He just had a sort of face that made him look angry all the time.

Jenni stopped herself from her retreat as Honey's threatening eyes met her.

She fixed her skirt and cleared her throat, "So," she drew out, "What's, uh, going on here?" 

"Just leave him alone," Tamaki said calmly, "like he said, he wants to be Mori-senpai's apprentice. So that means Mori-senpai should decide what to do. This isn't something that any of us should be interfering with." 

"Since when do you disagree with interfering?" Jenni asked, stepping into the room as she took a large chunk off her snow cone with her tongue.

"Tamaki," Takashi said, and within an instant gave the younger boy a look so pleading that Jenni almost wanted to laugh. 

"Well, since you insist Mori-senpai, I will do everything in my power to assist you!" Tamaki agreed. 

"Yeah, right," Haruhi groaned, "you wanted to get involved so badly you couldn't even help yourself." 

Tamaki sprung right into action. Jenni took a haphazard seat on the arm of the couch Haruhi was sitting at. "You and Mori-senpai are alike, but there is one thing that you are lacking-- a lovely item!" 

Jenni paused mid-lick on her snow cone, just listening to the absurdity. 

"Sure, he's distant when you first meet him, but what if we add Honey to his shoulders? Suddenly he's a forest teddy-bear for all the other creatures to adore!" 

She locked eyes with Takashi, and he shook his head at her warningly. Jenni's lips quirked into a painful smile while she attempted to stifle her laugh. She could only imagine how awkward this was for him, but maybe it served him right after being such an odd character when it came to Ritsu and her talking to Ritsu. Even though she hardly knew the guy. 

However, the situation was too hilarious, and Jenni's lips began to curl into a large smile. A laugh escaped her throat, and she threw her head back in that way that made her curtain bangs fall behind her ears. 

"Just by placing Honey next to him, suddenly people have a new-found admiration for Mori-senpai. Suddenly he's a quiet, young gentleman. I'm not imagining when I say most of Mori-senpai's charm is directly related to his friend Honey-senpai!" 

Jenni was at a loss for words. She remembered when she had first met Takashi, and how polite and inviting he was despite his quiet nature. 

Takashi was just quiet. But he was also kind, and caring, and warm. He wasn't cold, in fact, he was the opposite. And Jenni watched as the chaos unfolded, and Honey began to cry about Takashi using him for social gain.