Summary: Tendou has some unknown disease, and Renge is the only one who notices. One-sided Tendou/Renge.
A/N: Somehow, I find Tendou and Renge interesting. :)
Standard disclaimers apply.
02. Tingle
Takatori Renge had a mission. Something has been bothering her for a long time, and now, she has firmly decided to get into the bottom of things. She scanned the whole room from her spot, trying to find the person who was to answer her inquiries.
Bistro La Salle was having a major cleaning session today. The place looked like a mess - tables and chairs upturned, curtains removed, cabinets opened. Dust was present everywhere, and almost everybody was here to help.
She focused back to the mission at hand. She knew this was not a good time especially that a lot of people were here.
However, she was decided. She was going to find out what was going on.
Finally finding her target, she locked her eyes on him.
Renge silently made her way through the commotion towards him. He was standing on a chair, checking something on the ceiling. Once she has confirmed that nobody was looking, she tapped him lightly.
"Um, Kagami -san? Can I ask you something?"
Kagami looked down at the 21-year old, wiping his brow. "Ah, Renge-chan? What is it?" He got down from the stool.
"Um…" the former soldier started, looking anxious and a bit hesitant. She was surprised at herself, realizing how easily she has changed perspective, given that earlier she was very determined to ask.
Noticing the sudden shift in her mood, Kagami knit his eyebrows, beginning to get worried. "Renge-chan, is something wrong?"
Renge shook her head, and looking back at him, she finally said, "Do you think something is wrong with Sishou?" She said this in a gloomy whisper, as if expecting some unknown disease to spread if her voice was any louder.
"Eh? Tendou?" Kagami looked around the restaurant, eyeing the lanky man who was currently painting some chairs on the corner. He blinked. "Not really… Why? I haven't really noticed anything wrong with him."
"Really?" Renge chewed her lip as if trying to understand something. "Don't you notice something when you're talking to him?" she asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"Kagami scratched his head, surprised at her behavior. Seeing her all secretive like this, especially concerning her beloved master, was a bit weird. She was usually perked up when talking about Tendou, sometimes even competing with Jyuka's optimism.
" Kagami-san, when you talk to him, don't you feel a bit... intimidated?"
Kagami tilted his head. Oh, so is that it? "Ah, well… isn't he always?" And then realizing what he said, he added, "...intimidating, I mean." Kagami started slowly walking towards the kitchen. "I mean, he always talks like that, doesn't he? With his 'path to heaven' speeches and stuff."
"Ah, I see!" Renge smiled, following him. "So it's what you consider… normal?"
"I guess so…" Kagami said, nodding.
"Ah! So it's not some sort of power or disease…"
"Huh? What's that?" Just when Kagami was thinking that their conversation was going sane, it took a turn to the worst.
"You know!" Renge continued. "Like when he tapped my shoulder one time, it was like I was shocked or something. I was very surprised, and I backed off a bit. "
Kagami's eyebrows furrowed. "Eeh, Renge-chan? What are you talking about?"
"And not only that!" the brunette continued. "When he looks at me or when we are talking, I feel like my stomach is churning, but in a good sort of way. It's weird since I'm not really hungry most of the time. Well, not that I don't like shishou's cooking or anything… Anyway, sometimes it's a bit too intimidating, and I feel like my face is going puffy like this," she finished, while pressing both palms on her cheeks.
'What in the world is this girl talking about…' Kagami wondered. He started weaving through what Renge was saying earlier.
Then it hit him. 'Could she be…?' Kagami's eyes widened. "Renge-chan…"
Renge was still talking. "So I thought that it was some kind of disease, since I am not experiencing those things with others..." Renge continued, not noticing Kagami's change in expression. "Ne, Kagami-san does he have that effect on you too?" Renge asked, seemingly excited that someone shared her sentiments.
"What?! No, of course not!!!" Kagami sputtered, a horrified look on his face.
"Eh?" Renge questioned, brows furrowed. "But I thought you said it was normal...?"
"Normal?!" Kagami exclaimed. Hiyori, who was cleaning some rugs, raised an eyebrow at him. He smiled at her sheepishly. Recollecting himself, he tried to explain, "Renge-chan.. that…"
Renge finally noticed Kagami's tired face. "Kagami-san?" she asked, blinking. Then her eyes widened. " So it is some kind of disease?"
The cop looked at her, exasperated. 'If it's some kind of disease, then you're probably the one with the sickness.' "Renge-chan… I think I'm not the one you're supposed to be talking with," he said.
Renge blinked again.
"What is this all about, Kagami?"
It was Misaki who asked the question. Kagami was standing next to Renge, who was sitting on a stool, and Misaki, Hiyori, and Jyuka rounded up on them.
To Kagami's convenience, Tendou volunteered to buy and cook tofu for their lunch. Immediately after Tendou left, he had gathered everyone else. To his dismay, however, Yumiko-san left earlier -- mentioning something about attending to some important business -- and won't be back until later in the afternoon. She was the one good at these kind of things, he mused. She was the one to help him with Hiyori, after all.
Kagami cleared up his throat to think of the right thing to say. "Well, Renge here…has something to say," he finished somewhat lamely.
Misaki blinked. "Okay," she said, "And? What are you supposed to be? Her lawyer?"
"Ah, no.. she... Aagh!" He looked at the brunette sitting on the chair. "Renge, just tell them what you told me--"
"But Kagami-san, I don't really think everyone needs to know about it." She pointed her index finger on her chin. "It doesn't really matter anymore, does it? After all, it's normal that…"
"Ah, it's... not really normal, Renge..." Kagami cocked his head, his voice lowering.
"Arata, is something the matter?" It was Hiyori who asked the question this time. Kagami looked up. The others looked like they wanted an answer as well.
"Ah, well…" He once more turned to the woman beside him and asked her one more time, "Renge, just, please do me a favor and tell them what's going on…"
Renge looked dubious, but agreed nonetheless. "If you say so, Kagami-san, " she smiled and then turned to the others.
"You told.. Kagami… all of these things?" Misaki asked Renge, trying to contain her giggles.
Renge nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I thought that maybe he knew whether sishou is fine or not, since they are close friends and all.."
Kagami shook his head, looking amused. Hiyori was smiling helplessly, and Jyuka was grinning.
"Ah, yes, yes… you kind of have a point there," Misaki said, now slightly laughing. "But even though Kagami is Tendou-kun's best friend... of sorts, he—" she turned to look at the somewhat harassed man, "— isn't really the person you should be talking to about this."
"Oh. Why?" Renge asked.
Misaki sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter now anyway. Let's jutst go to more important things…" Her face turned serious, though there was a slight twitching in her lip.
"Renge-chan," Misaki said. "For how long have you noticed these things regarding Tendou-kun?"
"Um, let's see…" With a firm look on her face, she answered. "Three-thousand two hundred and thirty hours, four minutes and..." she paused to look at her watch, "thirty seconds."
Everyone blinked. She was keeping track… in hours? "Okay, and that is..?" Kagami urged.
"Oh! Sorry about that… Um," she counted with her fingers, a scrunched expression on her face. "Roughly about four months, two weeks, 10 hours, five minutes… and counting." She decided, nodding to herself.
"I see." Misaki stood up, walked away from Renge, and faced her again. For a moment, her face betrayed no emotion.
Suddenly, she seemed to decide on something.
"Okay, Renge-chan, listen carefully to me."
Renge sat up promptly, nodding.
Kagami's eyes widened. "Oi, Misaki-san, you're not meaning to tell--"
"Yes, I am." She faced the others, her eyes glinting. "She has to know one way or another."
Hiyori and Jyuka nodded simultaneously. Kagami helplessly looked on. "Well, if you say so…"
"Renge-chan... " Misaki walked towards her again, and taking a deep breath, looked at her squarely. "… you like Tendou-kun."
Jyuka managed a small squeal of delight. Hiyori smiled, and Kagami just shrugged.
Renge stared.
"Well, of course I like him, Misaki-san!" she replied. " I wouldn't have chosen him as my master if-- "
"No, no! That's not what I meant!" Misaki smacked her forehead in exasperation. It was a lot harder than she thought. "You like, like him…"
Renge just cocked her head.
"You…" Misaki started slowly, "like Tendou-kun… like, um…" she turned to the others, asking for some help.
"…like Kagami-san likes Hiyori-nee-chan!" Jyuka supplied happily, clapping her hands.
For a second, it was silent.
Then, Kagami coughed. Hiyori tried to smile.
Misaki raised her eyebrows, a little surprised by the straightforward answer. "Er, yes, like that… to put it bluntly." Misaki turned to face the girl again.
Once more, Renge blinked. She stared at Misaki's face, then at Kagami and Hiyori. For some time she just looked back and forth between the woman in front of her and the embarrassed couple.
Then her face scrunched up as if trying to figure out something. Tapping her chin, her face stared doing a series of funny expressions - cocking her head, nodding with eyes closed, raising her eyebrows.
All the while, everyone else was silent, patiently anticipating her reaction. And then something akin to realization enveloped her features. She was about to open her mouth to say something when the door chime suddenly jingled.
Everybody stood up straight when they realized that it was Tendou, back from getting his tofu. Not noticing the tight atmosphere in the room, he marched steadily towards the kitchen.
When he finally disappeared behind the curtains, everybody let out a sigh of relief.
It was still silent until the sound of running water was heard. Then Renge spoke.
"Um, so… what am I going to do about it?" she asked, settling down on her chair once more. She looked uncertain, and it was though she was trying to fully comprehend the situation. She gripped the material of her skirt.
Everybody looked at her, suddenly not knowing what to say.
Misaki pondered on her situation. Having been trained as a trooper, she probably has not felt cared for by someone for a long time. Tendou was probably the first person who treated her as a human being, and not as a killing machine. And working at Bistro La Salle gave her further the opportunity to mingle, and she has made a lot of friends since then.
But being in love was an entirely different thing. This kind of affection was new to her, and she did not know how to approach it. She looked up to see Kagami start to speak.
"Well, I don't think you should really do something about it," Kagami said, scratching his head. Everybody looked at him.
Suddenly feeling conscious, he spluttered, "N-not that you should ignore it! What I mean is… Um..." Hiyori touched his arm, smiled at him, and nodded. Kagami calmed down, and nodded back.
She made her way towards Renge. Kneeling in front of her, she held her hands.
"Renge-chan," she started.
"Hai," the girl replied, her voice above a whisper. Her head was bowed down. Some chopping noises were heard from the kitchen, but they were ignored.
"What Arata means to say… is that you don't have to suppress what you feel. Be yourself," Hiyori said, squeezing her hands. "It is a wonderful feeling... being in love."
Renge listened, silently absorbing what Hiyori had to say.
"And… maybe someday when you're ready," she smiled again, "you can tell onii-chan about how you feel."
Renge looked at her. Though her face still showed uncertainty, her lips were tilted a bit upward.
Looking up, she saw the others smiling at her and giving her encouraging looks. Her smile deepened.
"Now, let's all help prepare for lunch, shall we?" Misaki said.
Renge nodded. "Hai!"
The others turned to walk towards the kitchen, but Renge spoke once more. "Um.."
Everybody turned to look at her.
"Does this mean I have to give shishou some flowers?" she asked innocently.
It was a good thing that the whooshing sound of Tendou's cooking did not make her voice sound any louder.
It seemed that their little talk worsened the situation. When they started working again after eating their lunch, Renge was in a fit. She totally avoided her master, making excuses whenever he wanted her to help him with something.
"Well, it's still all new to her, after all," Misaki told Hiyori, who was polishing the countertop with a piece of cloth. "She just needs some time."
"Yes," Hiyori replied. "She'll be fine, won't she, Misaki-san?"
They watched, amused when Renge escaped to the toilet as Tendou was again making his way towards her direction.
Misaki nodded. "Yes, just fine."
Reviews, especially constructive criticisms are very much loved and appreciated.
