Kasanoda Ritsu was a first year, in the lowest class of Ouran Academy; not that he cared about class anyways, he wasn't all that interested. He was there because his family was powerful, influential, but only slightly. The world was big and his world was small, no matter how much he wished it wasn't; he lived inside the walls of a yakuza's home, and the yakuza's entire world was within Japan and the other yakuza families with all their pride and tradition. Everything he was supposed to be tapered down to the thin, sharp edge of a blade. He was supposed to inspire fear. It was what he had to do.

Everything he wanted to be surrounded that, enveloped that. His true personality wasn't something to be feared, but it wasn't the right one for what he was born to do. He knew in his heart of hearts that he didn't want to be the sharp, stinging edge of the blade, but the sturdy hilt it sat on, supporting it. The thing that foreshadowed fear, but didn't harm.
But he was born to be the boss, the symbol of his family's power.

He had no choice, really.

He even looked the part- tall and bulky, with the kind of look you'd expect from a servant of hell; bags under his eyes, creases in his brow, a permanent frown etched against his cheeks. Even the way he spoke, in short shouting bursts, instilled terror in most. He was scary. He was supposed to be scary. People who saw him thought twice about even doing a double take. He had the power to make most people freeze in their step.
This power didn't feel good to him. He knew it should have considering his resolution, but he couldn't find the reason why it would.

At first, he had resigned himself to this fate. He had decided he would be left alone until his family decided they needed a new heir. And then, even that wouldn't be his choice. Some unlucky woman would be forced into a marriage with him for the sole purpose of creating an heir, and it would be all he could do not to send her into tears at the very sight of him. He already felt bad for the poor thing.
He would just be alone with all his family's honor and traditions. That was what he decided to do.

She was not a variable in that equation. He couldn't have guessed something like her happening.

On that day, he had decided not to go straight home like usual; he wanted to take a breather, just walk around and think by himself. And so, rather than go from the academics building to the main courtyard, he had taken a detour to the back of the school, where the walls of roses were.

The garden was calming. He loved the flowers that grew there and the heavy scent they gave off.
The garden was quiet. Usually. For the most part, it was only the rustling of leaves, the twitter of birds, or the far off sound of murmuring conversation that disturbed the silence.
However, he found on this particular day that there was a sound he'd never heard before, soft whimpering, coming from somewhere.
It sounded like the whining of a sick cat, or perhaps a hungry puppy, or some other small wounded creature. It concerned him, to think that anyone could leave an animal hurt and defenseless.

The sound got a little louder near a column of blue and red roses, where an old stone gazebo stood, hedges and vines growing around it undisturbed. It had an abandoned sort of beauty to it. The sound he had been hearing seemed to originate from it, echoing off the dome roof. He approached cautiously, ready to back away if the animal was feral.

He was surprised, however, to find not an injured animal but a small girl, head buried in the silk and taffeta that covered her knees. Her head, with it's tightly braided pale hair frizzy with static, snapped up as he approached. Dry leaves crunched under his dress shoes, and he raised an eyebrow at the sight before him.
The girl stared up at him, puffy pink eyes wide. She looked like a frightened animal, hurt and unable to move away from danger.

She swallowed back her whimpers, rubbing her nose on her cuff. "Pl-please forgive me if I disturbed you! I'm very sorry! I-I'll move-rather, I'll go, I, I'm so very sorry..."
She made a move to stand, and he reached out to grab her shoulder. "AAAH?! Don't be stupid, sit down!"
"Eeee!"
She squeaked, and fell back on her rear as he pushed down on her shoulder. He immediately recoiled, realizing that he'd been unnecessarily rough with her. Not that it was any surprise, he was always this way no matter who he encountered.
"Uh... S-sorry, I didn't mean to push you..."
He shifted nervously on his crouched feet, rubbing the back of his neck as an awkward silence between them ensued. "It, uh... It's just, you don't have to go anywhere, you're not intruding on me or anything. Actually, technically I'm the one intruding here. So, l mean, it's okay."

They were quiet, and his eyes darted over to her small frame to asses her; she looked less like a wounded deer and more like a bashful girl, silently sizing him up.

"Uh..."
She blinked. "It's all right, it was just an accident."
"Oh... Okay."

This was rather strange. Normally people would be scared stiff of him by now. If this were any other person in the hallway, they'd be trembling and avoiding his terrifying gaze. This girl was staring straight at him. Her eyes kept his gaze solidly, in a way that held no malice.
It was a strange turn from her earlier expression. It almost seemed like his presence had CALMED her.

"So... Are you okay, miss?"

"I do suppose so.""

"You... Sure?"

"Haha...It seems like you need more convincing of that than I do."

He frowned. "Uh... No, I mean, you're not afraid of me?"

She cocked her head. "That depends. Are you going to hurt me?"

"Well, of course I'm not."

"Then no."

It sounded like such a logical answer.

-

"Why are you hiding in a garden gazebo?"

The girl's expression darkened, and she rested her chin on the tops of her dress-covered knees.

"I did something that was really horrible."

He looked over his shoulder at the girl he was now seated next to, the cold shade of the stone table casting a gloomy silver pallor on her.

"My friend Haruhi invited me to go to the Host Club today. I don't really like being around a lot of people, but thought as long as I stayed with Haruhi I would be okay..."

She bit her lip in distress. "There were so many people, I couldn't go inside. I got really scared. And then these two boys came up to me, a-and they kept telling me to follow them inside, and they got really close to my face, so I panicked! I tried to get away from them but this other smaller boy yelled at me from across the room- something about cake? And then this blonde boy- he was RIGHT THERE in front of me, really really close, and he grabbed me by the chin! I don't remember what he said, but I just got so scared I-!"

She whimpered, gripping her shins and quivering as if she were in the moment again. Kasanoda frowned.

"You what?"

A soft breath. And then...

"I... I kicked him. In the stomach. W-with my knee... And then I ran away..."

She took another breath, and this one caught in her throat. "E-Everyone was staring at me! I'm sure the whole entire school hates me now. I'm so horrible. I'm the worst person there is." She blurted, her voice wavering. "I just want to hide..."

He was starting to feel sorry for this girl. She really seemed like she felt sorry for her reaction, even though to him it was completely justified. The Host Club guys did come on pretty heavy, so he wasn't surprised that there was someone who was uncomfortable with their approach. There were as many types of people as there were stars in the sky; not everyone could be up to diving headfirst into their little world.

He smirked, shaking his head. "It doesn't seem like you did anything wrong to me."

She raised her head up from her dress folds, expression perplexed. He continued, "Well, they're a service for girls, right? They're supposed to be there to make every girl that comes through their doors happy. Not every girl wants to be immediately approached; some girls are shy, y'know? If that's the best they can do, they're a pretty shoddy service. Even I can tell that much."

He chuckled to himself. "And anyways, those guys have helped me before but they've also done a lot of stupid stuff as well. Honestly, I'm glad you socked Blondie one! It serves him right for thinking he's some kind of gift to humanity, entitled to anything..."

The girl didn't look as gloomy as she had before; a nervous smile began to form on her face.
"Come now. I'm sure he means well. Haruhi always tells me about him and the rest of them..."
She sighed. "Although, I guess they're not going to want to befriend me now, after a first impression like that."

"Well, that's their loss."

The girl seemed surprised by his statement, and he felt his mouth twitch up into a small smile. "I don't think you're a bad person."

She sat still for a second, as if unsure how to react. And then, a warm smile spread across her face. A very genuine, kind smile.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me."

He nodded, relaxing back against the stone bench in the gazebo. "Well, you're a friend of Haruhi's, so you can't be that bad. If Haruhi is friends with you, then I'd like to be friends with you too."

The girl nodded, reaching up to straighten a braid next to her ear. "Okay. Then, I would very much like to be friends with you! So, what's your name?"

Kasanoda shifted, putting his hand out between them. "Ritsu Kasanoda. And what's your name?"

She looked up, past her fluffy bangs and thick eyelashes, and her eyes were those of someone very contented. She placed her fingers gently over his own, pushing down as if to shake his hand.

"Trinity Renee Thatcher."