Chapter 3

Mori's grandfather came around every couple of weeks to check on his grandson's kendo practice. The remaining weeks were spent monitoring his other grandsons: Honey, Satoshi, and Chika during their own martial arts practice.

"Morinozuka, out," his master gestured for him to get off the grounds earlier than usual. "You're done for today."

He was obedient, though confused at the sudden change. It was barely 8 AM, and his practice often lasted until noon. The boy changed out of his kendo gear swiftly, bowing to greet his grandfather who stood at the doorway. Mori grabbed his bag of things and slung it over his shoulder while following the elder Morinozuka out of the dojo.

His grandfather was silent, having no need for words when Mori understood him just fine. He followed him out of the dojo, and down a few familiar streets. When they reached their own residence, his grandfather shook his head and kept walking.

They reached another dojo after cutting through the park. It was the beginning of autumn, the cool wind began to pick up its speed while they walked to their destination.

"Again," Mori heard a gruff voice yell through the doors.
A thud followed.
"Higher!" The voice growled.
Another thud.
"Is that it? I've seen you kick higher."
Thud. Thud. Thud. Multiple thuds.
"Knock me down like you mean it."

His grandfather quietly opened the doors to the grounds of another gym, an elderly man holding down a punching bag while the athlete kicked vigorously. Mori could only see the back of the man keeping the bag in place, the kicker was covered entirely.

"My grandson could knock her down," Mori's grandfather called out. Mori's eyes widened at the statement.

Hana stood in place behind the punching bag, and then moved aside to see where the voice came from. She bowed immediately out of respect when she saw the elder Morinozuka. But to also hide her face in front of Mori who stood behind his grandfather. She wiped her forehead of sweat away while she still faced the ground, embarrassed by how she must have looked.

How strange, she thought. She never felt self-conscious of her sweatiness before as a child while they fought. It must have been because they both were in the same position.

"Nonsense, my granddaughter can pack one hell of a punch against yours."

The grandparents stood for a couple moments, staring at one another while their grandchildren stood behind the elders.

"Should we put it to the test?" Mori's grandfather glanced at Hana who straightened up at the question.

Hana's grandfather turned to his granddaughter. She wouldn't dare to shake her head in front of the enemy, but her eyes told a different story. I can't. You know I can't. I don't train like before. The elder Sawada shrugged.

"Get on the mat, Hana."

The girl couldn't protest. There were no excuses. They were trained as warriors. Warriors do not complain. They faced adversity without question.

Hana took a deep breath and stepped on the mat, head down.

"You too, child," the elder Morinozuka commanded. Mori could only follow his grandfather's orders like Hana did. He put his bag down on the side and stepped onto the mat barefooted, his head also down.

They had no idea this was going to happen. But quite frankly, neither had their grandparents. Put two egos together, and they were bound to go head to head.

"Ten minutes," Sawada proposed. "No punches to the face."
Morinozuka scoffed. "No punches to the face? Your precious little girl can't take—"
"—She can take it. But her job cannot."

Mori's grandfather relented. He knew about Hana's career. It was fair. "Ten minutes is far too little."
"Too little time? Not for Hana. You know her speed," Hana's grandfather boasted.
Morinozuka grumbled and then modified the rules. "Fifteen minutes. First person to hold the other down for 10 seconds wins."

Sawada nodded and turned to the grandchildren who still had their eyes toward the ground. It wasn't an awkward atmosphere, rather familiar to all four of the people in the room. It was just the impending injuries that the children were wary about.

"You heard the rules. Begin."

They looked up at each other. He gave her a small nod. She reciprocated the gesture. It was a mutual understanding.

Go ahead.

Hana was the first to get into the sparring position. She waited for him to do the same. They circled each other cautiously, waiting for an opportunity. A slight change in expression. A waver of some sort to attack. But they knew better than that. They weren't about to repeat the same mistakes as they did as children.

"God damn it, we're running out of time!" Hana's grandfather called out.

It was true. They were allowed to take a couple minutes back in the day when they had a whole hour to spare. But today, it was a quarter of the time they usually sparred at.

Hana waited. She was extra cautious today, knowing that she was at a disadvantage given that she lacked in much less training than he had. Mori contemplated on letting her attack first. Except he knew that as soon as she came forward, there was no going back. She could bring him down in seconds. It would be a wrestling match. It was no good for either of them.

He could finish her off once and for all. 10 seconds on the ground was all he needed. He could end this mess without any injury as long as he charged at her first, and as long as he kept his weight down on her, there was little chance she could attack back.

The girl watched as Mori strategized in his mind. If he was anything like she thought, he was going to bring her down in one swoop. No injuries.

It was her preferred method too.

But she could tell from her peripheral vision that her grandfather wanted none of that bullshit about sustaining as little injury as possible and finishing this battle in one go. It was dishonourable to him. It was a stab at his pride. Hana, unfortunately, couldn't let that happen.

He came faster than she expected. But it was exactly what she needed when he came low enough to catch her lower body and to bring it down to the ground. He lowered his shoulders enough so that she could hoist herself on top of them, briefly doing a handstand right in the air and bringing him right onto his back with her weight that made him lose his balance.

They were flat on the ground and Hana was the first to get right back up. There must have been less than 10 minutes left to go. Hana waited as Mori was in the midst of getting back on his feet before pouncing on his back, her knee digging into his left deltoid to prevent him from moving his arm.

"One… two… three… four… five…" Hana listened to the count.

Mori grunted and managed to twist his body so that Hana would lose balance to fall off of him. He wasn't going to lose this. Hana let go and got to her feet, realizing that it was too dangerous to stay on the ground. It gave him an opportunity to quickly flip her over.

In the midst of standing, Mori grabbed her leg and refused to let go. He had her ankle under his grip, and soon he was able to grab a hold of her other leg to bring her body right beneath his. He was sticking to his plan of putting his weight above hers so she had no chance of getting up.

Mori was quick to grab an arm that was going to throw a punch at his torso, and instinctively grabbed her other arm in the process to pin her down. Hana grunted and tried to resist.

"One… two…. three… four… five… six…"

Her legs were now free.

That was her plan.

She was going to kick. Hana shifted her pelvis from side to side such that Mori couldn't straddle her hips if she was in the midst of moving. He couldn't put his whole weight down on her like that. When she gained enough momentum, his body had enough distance from hers so that she could bring her legs up for a kick right in his lower abdomen. He grunted in pain, but refused to loosen his grip on her arms.

She kicked again, forcing Mori off of her right in the nick of time.

"Stop."

Hana breathed a sigh of relief, her back still on the ground. Mori was beside her, also panting.

It was a draw after fifteen minutes.

That was her whole plan all along.

They were bruised but there was no blood. The two were relieved of the outcome. The grandparents left and waited for them outdoors while they changed. Hana changed in the change room while Mori figured it would be a quick change to just change in the gym where there was nobody else.

Hana came out earlier than expected with a fresh change of clothes. She changed into her casual clothes with a pair of jeans and a fresh, loose fitting white t-shirt paired with her black leather jacket. Her shoes were now a pair of dark ankle boots with a chunky heel. Hana was dressed fashionably for the autumn season. She kept her hair up in a ponytail and her gym bag was thrown over her shoulder.

Mori was still in the midst of changing, shirtless.

Hana gasped at the sight of his back. Her hand was over her mouth when Mori turned to see the girl in her regular clothing. The sound of her heels resonated through the gym, quickly traveling towards the boy who still had his clothes strewn all over the bench.

"Turn around," she ordered. Hana hissed at the sight. She lightly stroked the dark purple patch on his back. Her cold fingers helped. "Do you want some ice for that bruise? It must be throbbing."

Mori turned around and shook his head. Hana looked down at his torso to find another patch of purple and blue in his abdomen. Hana's mouth parted in horror.

"I'm so sorry." She kicked him hard. But his body felt like a rock. It was only now that she noticed he was all muscle. There was no way she could have known that she would bruise him like that.

Mori threw on his shirt before she felt even guiltier than she already had.

It was only then Hana had realized he was in the midst of changing. She felt the blood rushing through her cheeks, quickly turning red. Hana turned away out of embarrassment and also out of respect, even though it was much too late. He was done changing and he was waiting for her to turn around.

She had her hands on her cheeks, hoping that the cold temperature would cool the redness off. To Mori, Hana only looked terribly guilty, clutching her face out of anxiety.

"I'm fine," he cleared his throat. He patted her on the shoulder, turning her around. She nodded, adjusting her high ponytail in an attempt to not look him in the eye. She was too embarrassed. Luckily, Mori was oblivious to it all, still under the assumption that Hana was guilty for hurting him.

"It's nothing," Mori tried again to comfort her. He noticed the jacket slipping own her arm to show a bit of her forearm that had been bruised by him. "Your arm," he gently took her hand and showed her the bruise that began forming.

His grip was gentle but firm, the warmth from his hands transferred over to her own. Hana was in the midst of looking at his own hand and hadn't even noticed the bruise. His hands were warm, calloused and rough. He fought with them, she could tell. It must have been from Kendo, Hana presumed.

"You are bruised too," his voice brought her back from the daze. Hana looked further down to see splotches of dark yellow fading into greys and blue.

"Concealer will do the trick," Hana gently took her arm away and smiled at him, praying that her face had recovered from blushing earlier. Mori was captured by her smiling eyes, assuring him that she was alright too.

"Please take care of yourself. You'll be sore tomorrow, I'm sure," Hana murmured. "Get some rest."

Mori nodded. "You too."

He patted her shoulder, as gently as he could. He knew she wasn't fragile but… he couldn't dare to hurt her more than he already had. She nodded.

They walked together, feeling oddly relaxed by each other's presence.

They weren't aware of their grandparents having tea that day. In fact, just the two seeing each other happened to be a surprise. The elder Morinozuka saw an opportunity and seized it. He took along his grandson when he realized that Sawada scheduled their morning tea at 9:30 AM and not 8 AM as Morinozuka suggested. There must have been a reason, he thought.

It was just as he deduced, Sawada had been training his granddaughter that day.

The elders walked in front of their grandchildren, who trailed behind them through the park. Mori had on his windbreaker with his sweatpants. Walking alongside Hana, he noticed her eyes that were thinly lined and her eyelashes longer. He could have only seen the difference from before when he had pinned her down to the ground, her face merely inches away. Her lips weren't chapped anymore, now they had a sheer pink tint to them.

Mori certainly felt odd to be walking alongside a model. He couldn't deny that she was beautiful, especially in the sunlight now that the sun was up. She turned to say something and caught his gaze. Mori didn't turn away, thinking that if he did he would have looked suspicious.

"Sorry for fighting back," Hana apologised. "I had to defend my grandfather's honour," her voice lowered so that the elders wouldn't hear her.

"You were supposed to," Mori answered, turning to look forward at their grandparents. His heart was still beating fast for being caught looking at her.

"I would have gone with your strategy," Hana admitted. "Gone down in 10 seconds. But… I thought a draw would have been more beneficial to us both."

That was a smarter move. He thought.

She strategized like he did. Only that she was one step ahead, and Mori could not deny that she was smarter than she let others believe. She was always the one to be underestimated. It seemed like that for her entire life.

Hana seemed to be in a comfortable position, letting the world underestimate her. She didn't quite put on a façade, like he saw with his friend Kyouya. She was kind and genuine to anyone who approached her. It was not manipulative. It was a form of defense, hiding behind the curtain of prejudice. Another strategy to fight against the world. It was very much like her to do so.

The two accompanied their grandparents for tea at a home owned by Hana's grandfather. A traditionally built home; it was quite spacious for one person. The space gave her grandfather enough room to keep fit. They stepped into the home, sliding the wooden doors and taking off their shoes.

"I'll make the tea," Hana was quick to serve the guests. She settled herself in the kitchen and began boiling the water. The rest of the group settled in the tea room, sitting on their knees by the table on top of the tatami mats. There was a comfortable silence as the elders meditated. Mori heard the kettle whistle and the water being poured. He got up to open the door for Hana, under the expectation that her hands were tied with the tray of tea and the cups.

Hana swiftly passed the tray over to Mori who placed it on the table while she closed the doors. Hana settled down beside her grandfather, with Mori doing the same on the other side. She poured the tea for all four.

The children let the elders sip their tea before they did.

"You have grown, Hana," Morinozuka commented. He no longer saw the child he knew from years ago. She was now dressed like a woman, her eyes larger than he had remembered with hair that could have easily reached her waist if she let it down from the ponytail. She poured tea with her painted nails, a deep maroon colour. She was sophisticated, carrying herself with elegance. No longer the clumsy girl she was on the mat.

Hana lowered her head in respect, acknowledging the elder's comment.

"Takashi, as well," the Sawada elder sipped his tea. "You are in your third year at Ouran like Hiro, no?"

Mori lowered his head too, nodding.

Morinozuka placed his cup gently down on the table. "Hiro…" he tried remembering how the Sawada grandson looked like. He couldn't quite picture him. It was always Hana that came to mind when he thought of the Sawada grandchildren.

"Why didn't you train him?" Morinozuka wondered.

Sawada took a look at his granddaughter. She glanced back, also curious to hear his explanation.

"Because I saw more potential in this one," Sawada answered. "You saw potential in all your grandsons, no?"

Morinozuka nodded. "They came out of the womb kicking and screaming, of course."
"As did this one," Sawada winked at his granddaughter.

Mori saw a small smile creep onto Hana's face. She took a sip of tea and placed her cup down. Hana reached for the tea pot to refill everyone's cups, but Mori took it instead. It was his turn to serve.

The elders let their grandchildren serve them without question. They both watched their children carefully, their quick glances at each other did not go unnoticed.

"Who would have thought our grandchildren would be peacefully serving us tea?" Sawada chuckled. Mori's grandfather joined in, laughing.

"We had always thought you two would grow to hate one another," Morinozuka explained. "Quite the opposite, don't you think?"

Mori nodded. Hana smiled out of politeness.

The grandfathers only laughed at their responses.

"Takashi, you are graduating soon. What plans do you have after Ouran?" Hana's grandfather asked.
Mori cleared his throat. "Philosophy at Toudai," he answered.

Hana had begun to notice a pattern in Mori's speech. He was straight to the point, conveying his message in the quickest, most efficient sentences. There was no rambling when it came to him.

The elder Sawada gave an approving nod. "And for your other grandson?" he directed the question at Morinozuka.

"Engineering at Toudai," Mori answered again.

"Ah," Sawada mulled over those choices. "Interesting."

Mori's grandfather glanced at Hana. She was in the midst of refilling their cups as it was her turn. "You must be busy, Hana. Any future plans?"

Hana shook her head while she placed the tea pot down. "Not… at the moment, Morinozuka-san."

Morinozuka shrugged. "It is still early. You have another year to decide, after all."

Sawada patted his granddaughter's back. "She's busy with work as well. Yet she still makes Honours at Lobelia."

Hana's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't ever told him that. Or really, anyone. Her grades were often overlooked by her mother who couldn't care less. Her father was too busy working to spend time with his family. While Hiro was less than thrilled to hear about anything to do with academics, he was in love with his music. Hana's academic achievements were celebrated independently.

Mori watched as she ducked her head down after grandfather made the comment. Hana received attention from the public because of her career. They knew her face. They admired her. But they never quite knew her. To see her surprised at such a comment, Mori had begun to see her in a way no one else saw.

"She must have better things to do than to spend time with this old goon," Morinozuka pointed to the elder across the table before chuckling at his own joke. Sawada was unimpressed. Hana cracked a small smile and sipped her tea quietly.

"You took him out of kendo practice, didn't you? Irresponsible old goon for a grandfather you have, Takashi."

Takashi cleared his throat in an attempt to stop himself from chuckling. It was disrespectful. But he also tried to fight a smile on his face. He pursed his lips in a straight line and also took a sip of his tea like Hana did.

It was Morinozuka's turn to scowl.

"Hana must have a busy schedule," Mori's grandfather pointed out. "You trouble her."
"She makes time for her old goon," Hana's grandfather smirked. "I am the more superior grandparent."

Mori refilled their tea cups while Hana patted her grandfather on the shoulder.

"Morinozuka-san has raised four grandchildren," Hana quietly reminded.
"Damn straight, even your granddaughter respects me," the Morinozuka elder felt triumphant. He gave an approving nod to Hana who could only politely smile back.
"And do any of them come visit you on their own accord?" Sawada pointed out.

Mori's grandfather looked at his grandson who finished refilling their tea cups.

"They are busy with practice, while receiving guidance from Morinozuka-san," the granddaughter murmured. She gave her grandfather a pleading look to not embarrass himself, or her in his next sentence.

"Your granddaughter speaks the truth, far from the old goon that raised her," Mori's grandfather grumbled.

"Listen here, you—"
"Ojii-san," Hana clenched her teeth. She put a hand on his arm and tried to preserve the last of his dignity.

"I could have easily knocked you out if it weren't for my granddaughter," Sawada grumbled, he sat back down.
"And I could have taken you like the old days," Morinozuka raised his voice.

Mori put a hand on his grandfather's shoulder.

The elderly calmed down and sipped their tea. Just like that, they went from laughing to wanting to punch each other's guts out. Hana wondered what it must have been like if their grandparents had tea without them. The grandchildren looked at one another, sharing a glance of relief.

There was a moment of relaxation as all four of them drank more tea in silence. Hana slyly checked the time on her phone. It was after 10 in the morning and she had to be on set by 11.

She bowed her head to the Morinozukas, citing that she had to get to work within an hour's time. She turned to her grandfather and bowed to him as well.

"I'll see you whenever I can," she promised.

The elder Sawada nodded and patted his grandchild on the back, giving her permission to leave.

"Takashi, walk her out," the elder Morinozuka commanded. Mori swiftly got to his feet to follow Hana out of the home, and to walk her out of the gardens and onto the street. "You should head home too, Takashi."

Mori turned to bow at Sawada and his own grandfather before seeing himself out with Hana.

A brief moment of silence between the elders passed by as they poured each other tea.

"Hana is quite the fighter," Morinozuka admitted. "Quite the young woman as well."
"Of course," Sawada scoffed. It was his grandchild. "Takashi is still tactful, as always."

The elders took another sip.

"They think they can outsmart us by staging a draw," Sawada chuckled. Morinozuka joined in with laughter.
"Takashi would have easily taken her down if it hadn't been for his mercy," he added.

Sawada stopped laughing.

"Hana easily had him with her knee at his deltoid. There was an opportunity for her to keep him down for good and you and I know she didn't take it."
"Takashi had her in position while she was pinned down."
"And she kicked him off like the champion she deserved to be."
"She only got to kick because Takashi gave her the space."

The elders glared at each other.

It was just another regular day where they had tea together.

"You don't have to wait with me," Hana urged him to go home. Her driver would be here in a couple minutes, she claimed.

Mori didn't budge. Instead, he made himself comfortable against the stone wall beside the gate of the Sawada residence. He reverted back to his aloof stance, a familiar sight. Hana didn't want to argue with the boy, letting him wait with her as he pleased.

"Do you think they're throwing punches at each other right now?" Hana just realized that they had left their grandparents alone for more than five minutes. Mori heard genuine concern in her voice and he too, paused for a moment to think about what their grandparents were up to.

They glanced at each other, sharing the same expression of suspicion.

"No… right?" the girl answered her own question. "I mean, my grandfather is… well, you know. Morinozuka-san… seems less hot tempered than my grandfather."

Mori nodded in agreement.

"It's fine," he assured.

Hana exhaled. She adjusted the strap of her gym bag on her shoulder and stifled a yawn. She had gotten about five hours of sleep the night prior as she tried to finish up an essay for her English class. Luckily she finished, though she still had to edit the paper before submitting it later tonight.

"So, Philosophy huh?" Hana tried making small talk.

Mori nodded.

"Why?" she asked.

"It's interesting," he answered. His sentences were always short. It didn't give her much to work with when it came to small talk, but that didn't matter. They always had comfortable silences either way.

"I envy you," Hana murmured. "For having direction in your life," she explained. She looked down to the ground, contemplating her own thoughts.

Mori watched as she fidgeted with her painted nails, her eyes in a daze. He didn't know what she was thinking but he didn't want to pry unless he deemed it appropriate. A few minutes passed, and Mori broke the silence.

"You don't?"

You don't have a direction? was what he meant. She understood him just fine.

She was quiet for so long that Mori thought she hadn't heard him, or even chose to ignore his question. But instead, she whispered something to herself, just loud enough for Mori to hear.

"Not yet."

A/N: In regards to their university majors, engineering for Honey was mentioned in the manga, I believe. But Philosophy for Mori was a choice made by me, haha. Anyway, the story is moving along (at a glacial pace) - I appreciate your patience for sticking by. Mori is a difficult character to write, but he's still very... intriguing, so to speak. He gives me a lot to work with, but it's also difficult to develop his character with such little dialogue coming from him. If you all are willing to bear with me, I appreciate it. Thanks for reading!