Mesmerizing. There weren't many words that could encapsulate what was happening in front of Kagome, but 'mesmerizing' came fairly close. While Haruhi had gone to get dressed, a group of laborers had entered the room and began setting up. Each of the hosts were either directing the aesthetics of their section or physically helping the workers lift and carry things, much to Kagome's surprise. She had fully expected them all to lounge about and not do anything.

Piece by piece, the room slowly morphed into a renaissance town market, with brightly colored scarves and banners decorating the ceiling, interspersed with chimes and bells that softly swayed with the air conditioning. Even the tables and chairs were replaced with wooden pieces, beautifully carved and painted into intricate designs. Every host had some sort of stall or attraction, the most notable being the fire pit near Honey and Mori's hosting section, where smoked meats would be offered (and probably largely denied, knowing most girls at Ouran preferred to keep a dantier image. Kagome, on the other hand, was practically salivating at the familiar smells of cooked meat).

"Finally," She murmured, "Some actual food."

The sound of shifting metal alerted her, and Kagome turned to face the newcomer. She didn't expect to see Mori himself, wearing a common tunic and donning a broadsword at the waist. On his shoulder was a heavy looking chest, probably more suitable to be picked up by two people.

"Excuse me," Mori said, and smiled when Kagome 'eeped' and moved out of his way.

"Won't you hurt yourself, Mori-senpai?"

Mori looked untroubled. "I am strong."

With amused disbelief, Kagome shook her head. "I am too, that doesn't mean I'm looking to throw my back out any time soon."

To her surprise, Mori placed it gently on the ground, and picked up one of the handles. He gestured to the other one, as if to tell Kagome to put her money where her mouth was. Kagome grinned, and picked up the other side of the chest to help place it exactly where Mori wanted. When they were done, Kagome thought Mori had a stifled little smile on his face, but her view was blocked once he ruffled her hair.

"Good job."

Kagome laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, shrugging off his praise. "Used to it."

"You went camping a lot," Mori stated, but Kagome found herself nodding as if it were a question. His lips quirked. "I like camping."

A small but sincere smile graced Kagome's face. "It's the best," she agreed.

When the club opened to the general populace, Kagome was surprised to see the sheer number of girls pour in and exclaim their delight over the attractions. She had personally thought the effort to detail had been wasted, but the way the guests swarmed the stalls and bounced excited questions off of each host proved her wholly and entirely incorrect. The expectations for this club were insanely high, and doubt about her own abilities were starting to rise.

"They do this often?" Kagome asked Haruhi, who shrugged and greeted her arriving guests.

"About once or twice a month. Or once a week, if Tamaki-senpai is feeling particularly… inspired."

"That's amazing."

Haruhi nodded, still struggling with her sword; her futile movements ceased as Kagome leaned forward to help adjust the sword. To her amusement, it was a wooden broadsword.

"Even this is too heavy, Haruhi?"

The other girl scowled. "You carry it, then. It keeps bumping into my knees when I get up to serve the ladies their tea."

Kagome did take it, ignoring the titters from the girls. It wasn't a bad thing, the wooden sword. Kagome was guessing that Haruhi was actually dressed as a knight's squire, who were usually boys who fetched and retained their knight's equipment.

Her brows furrowed at the difference in blade types- truthfully, Kagome had never used a broadsword in combat or training. The most "out there" weapons Sesshomaru had her practice with were Mongolian bows or modern guns, the latter of which she wasn't a fan of.

"Wow, Higurashi," said one of the girls, a mousy thing with big glasses. "You got here before the rest of us did."

Kagome hummed.

"It's because she and Haruhi disappeared from class together after the teacher let them do an errand," giggled another, and the small crowd of girls let out a rather juvenile 'ooh'.

"You can call me Kagome," Kagome said. She couldn't help but smile at their silliness. "and Haruhi was being a gentleman and helping me out while I was crying over something silly. A real knight in shining armor."

At the warmth of her smile and Kagome's joke at her own expense, the other girls relaxed a bit, especially as Haruhi came back and attended to each of their cups with a pleasant grin.

The broadsword had a heftier build, meaning it was slower and probably relied on the weight of it to help inflict damage. She didn't like that; in a real fight a split second could mean the difference of life and death. Combined with how heavy the armor probably was… definitely not Kagome's forte.

A tall and looming shadow interrupted Kagome's thoughts, and she looked up to see Mori. She blinked up at him curiously.

"Here," Mori muttered, placing a bowl in each girl's hands. It was smoked meat with a portion of plain white rice. Kagome's mouth watered.

"You mentioned it earlier," Mori said, and patted their heads before taking his leave. The girls called out their thanks to him, and their upperclassman just raised a hand as he walked away

Kagome, who had actually skipped lunch earlier, was very touched. She thought it would take more time for the others to warm up to her, but Mori was clearly trying to negate that anxiety.

While she took bites of her bowl, Kagome felt Haruhi's stare on her and looked up to see it. She blinked at the smug grin on Haruhi's face, then flushed when her friend elbowed her in the sides.

"I-it's totally not like that," Kagome argued.

"I didn't say anything," Haruhi shot back.

"I just said I liked the smell. I wasn't even talking to him."

"I hope you ladies don't mind if I eat a quick meal," Haruhi apologized, "I know it's a bit rude, but I don't want to waste food."

When the girls chorused a "No, of course not Haruhi!", they looked faint at the beaming grin sent their way.

Wow. They're really wrapped around her little finger, Kagome thought. Could I really do that? My classmates don't even seem to like me much…

"It's true though," the mousy girl from earlier piped up. "I don't think I've seen Mori-senpai do that for someone else's guest before."

Hm?

"Must make you feel rather special," sighed another.

Oh please don't let this make them jealous…

Quickly swallowing another piece of meat, Kagome smiled disarmingly. "I'm very grateful to have an upperclassman like him. Don't you girls think he's great?"

"Oh, yes!" cried the girls, and began to discuss how much of a gentleman Mori was.

Kagome, simply happy with the attention off of her, continued to enjoy her rice. If the chopsticks hid her shy little smile, well, then that was her business, wasn't it?

AN: sorry for the wait! goin' through it. and for the pairing... now I'm kind of feeling Mori, haha

maybe I'll keep it a secret~

hydrate and eat some fruit

val