Authors Note: Hey guys! Okay so I know I told you I was ahead and was going to try and pump out two chapters this week, BUT I want to write up the tournament chapters soon, which includes A LOT of research for which characters to put in (I'm going to try and put as many Inuyasha fighters in it as possible - considering there aren't that many within the Ouran world) and I don't overly want to just make up random OC's for it, though I could if I absolutely had to. So I've been doing research so that I can write some EPIC fight scenes. They say write what you know, and I don't know much about fighting hence the research area. I ultimately know who will be in the finals, but I need to make fillers for the beginning and middle of the tournament.

So POLL QUESTION: Which characters would you like to see in the tournament fight for a chance at Kagome's hand? And yes I am willing to make cameo of other fighters from different anime if there is someone you like from another anime. (It just means a little bit more research on my part to make their fighting and personality as true to their character as possible.) So who would you like to see enter the tournament, including who would you like to see fight each other! (including who you want to see fight Mori, Naraku, and Kagome.

Let me know! (If no one has any suggestions I am literally just pulling names out of a basket. lol)

Reviewer Responses:

darkvampirekisses: Ha ha! I'm glad you like that! I actually laughed out loud when I realized that was exactly what she had done! Sometimes us writers let the characters move to their own beat. Kagome found a way without magic to still sit him! Even though in this story he isn't a demon (or apparently even very skilled as a fighter at all) and her sitting him was always one of the best strengths she has in the anime. Teach a dog his place ya know. (No actual dogs are being harmed in the writing of this review or story.)

BabyLoveBug95: Hey welcome to my fanfic! I am always happy to see new reviews! Glad you like it! I actually am one of the Sesshoumaru and Kagome shippers, but for my first fic I was watching Ouran High School Host Club and I was like." I could see Mori and Kagome together." and thus an idea and chapters were born. Stepping a little out of my comfort zone by doing a crossover fic (which I have never done before) so I am always put at ease to know that it is going well and that people like it! Hopefully I don't disappoint in future chapters!

And without further ado! Enjoy!

Kagome had never been more sore in her life. Her training had been intense, and even though Sango was one of her oldest friends, she had shown no mercy when it came to helping her build up her endurance and her EVASIVE skills. That giant boomerang that she had always trained with her whole life, could definitely snap bones if given the opportunity. Kagome nearly shuddered at the thought. Last night before supper Kyouya had sent her a text message outlining what her duties would be in the club. Mainly the prep of desserts and drinks, amongst the occasional other errand should Haruhi needs help with any errands. She had messaged back to see what the plan was for tomorrows dessert and then had made a quick plan as she coordinated with her chef to make a bunch of desserts for the club. Somethng simple, a strawberry tart with lemon custard and whipped cream. Her housekeeper was kind enough to go pick up a few extra groceries, and while her chef prepared the pastry shells while she ate supper, she assisted with the rest of the prep and apologized for the late notice of the multitudes of desserts. The chef had waved her away with a happy smile, and told her he would personally deliver the ingredients in time for her to prepare them for the club the next day. All in all it had been a very late night, given the numbers of desserts they had to bake in preparation for the club.

She yawned and asked the driver drop her off on the corner of a street, getting out to wait for Haruhi. She had been surprised to receive the text message from Haruhi as she had left the club room yesterday, asking to chat and walk with her to school today. She turned as she caught sight of a blue blazer, and turned to see Haruhi walking towards her.

"Hey, did you have to wait long?" Haruhi asked with a gentle smile. Kagome returned it as they turned and started walking towards school together.

"Nope, not at all. I just got here." Kagome replied with a smile. "So what's up?"

"How are you doing with everything? I mean a lot of pretty intense stuff has happened. I just wanted to make sure you are doing alright." Haruhi looked over at the slightly taller Kagome.

Kagome let out a small sigh. "If you're referring to what happened with Naraku, then no... I'm not really okay... But I don't really know if I'm ready to talk about it yet either..." She gave Haruhi an apologetic look. Haruhi's big brown eyes seemed to soak up everything.

"That's alright. Well, why don't we talk about what's going on with you and Mori-senpai?" Kagome stopped in her tracks, making Haruhi stop and turn to look at her.

"How did you...?" Kagome asked bewildered.

"He spends a lot of time with you, as opposed to how much time he usually spends with Hani-senpai. It seems like you two have gotten pretty close." Haruhi smiled. Kagome let out a sad smile, and continued walking in silence, Haruhi in step with her.

"Well... truthfully I like Takashi..." Kagome held a sad smile on her face.

"That's a good thing, isn't it? Why not just tell him how you feel? It seems like you are trying really hard to avoid him lately." Haruhi watched her new friend in curiosity.

"Truthfully, Haruhi... just as I realized that I like him my father set up a tournament. And I'm going to be engaged to the winner, which means I'm not free to choose who I love..." She trailed off, looking up at the sky with sadness.

"What is it?" Haruhi asked her, a small frown marring her features.

"Naraku Imagawa's family has always been second in this tournament only to a Taisho... since it is a tournament to arrange a marriage for me, normally I wouldn't be allowed to compete, which means that my fate is basically sealed."

"Normally? So there's an exception then?" Haruhi tilted her head at her.

"Yeah... my father isn't thrilled about Imagawa's possibility of winning. So this year he said he will let me compete, under the guise that I am proving my worth as heir. If I win the tournament I have to pick between Naraku and whoever gets third place. So I'm stuck with a cruel heartless man, or someone I have never met."

"Well... isn't Mori-senpai pretty good at martial arts?" Haruhi asked, lifting a hand to point vaguely to the side.

"I've never seen him myself, but I hear he is." Kagome nodded as they continued walking.

"So why not ask him to fight for you?" Kagome blushed at the blunt way she put it compared to Kaede the night before.

"That's pretty much what Kaede said to me too, last night. The problem is, I'm not allowed to be alone with him, nor am I allowed to tell him how I feel... and there is no way I'm saying anything personal like that in front of everyone else in the club." She shook her head, that was not a headache that she wanted to deal with.

"What if you request him? You won't technically be alone with him and no one will be supervising you... hopefully." She shrugged, thinking of other times the hosts had invaded someone's customer sit down.

"I am also not allowed to attend the club as a guest. To do so would be bad for my image as heir and might attract unwanted attention from the press, which would leave my engagement in poor standing..." Kagome gave her friend a desperate look.

"Oh... your father really pinned you into a corner... didn't he?" Haruhi put a finger on her chin, deep in thought as they walked.

"Yes, he did. But he likely did that on purpose. He is pretty smart and doesn't like to leave loose ends. It's part of what makes him such a cutthroat business man."

"So... if you can't tell him how you feel directly... you should be fine to tell him the rules your father gave you. And ask if he would be willing to fight in the tournament. I'm sure he will pick up on how you're feeling if you ask him to fight for you. I mean it would be indirect, but the worst thing that could happen is if he doesn't win, but the best result would be that he could win." Haruhi pointed out as they passed through the gates of the school.

"Yes... but if I ask him to join... there is another possibility that I will have to fight him. If I lose then I'm leaving my fate in his hands. And... it's hard for me to have that kind of trust. Because of my past..." She trailed off.

"Is that such a bad thing though? I mean I've known Mori-senpai for a little bit longer than you, and from what I've seen from him and the other host club members, Mori-senpai is very protective of those he cares about. He wouldn't hurt you or let your trust be in vain. It wouldn't hurt to try would it?" Haruhi asked her. Kagome was about to reply when the twins appeared on either side of Haruhi.

"What are you two talking about?" They intoned with cat like grins. Immediately Kagome straightened, her protective mask in place.

"Nothing. Thanks for the walk Haruhi, I'll see you guys later." And with a regal nod she could only have picked up from her adoptive father, she strode away.

"Well that was odd.." Kaoru watched after Kagome, confused as to why she had suddenly reverted to her old self from before she had met them.

"Yeah, what were you guys talking about Haruhi?" Hikaru peered at her curiously.

"Nothing that concerns you." Haruhi brushed them off, wanting to keep Kagome's confidence in her. She walked on ahead, making the twins catch up and listened as they started talking about their mothers latest fashion line.

Kagome on the other hand was sorely distracted all day long, trying to figure out how to approach Mori and what exactly to say to him.

Kagome stopped whisking the whipping cream and turned to look at Haruhi who was keeping her company in the prep room. "Mitsukuni got a cavity?" She asked in surprise. Haruhi had been informing her of all the crazy shenanigans that had happened in her absence while she had focused on training.

"Yeah, it was a REALLY tense three days. And Mori-senpai was pretty tough on him." Haruhi put some plates down with strawberry and lemon custard tartes, Kagome finished whisking the whipped cream and using the whisk as a scoop, started plopping ridiculously perfect plops of whipped cream on top of the tartes.

"Wow... I can't actually picture Takashi behaving that way towards Mitsukuni... He's so dedicated to him..." Kagome's motions held a fluidity that Haruhi certainly admired in her cooking and baking skills. She watched as Kagome finished topping the tartes with whipped cream, and setting the bowl down, picked up a container of perfectly red juicy strawberries, and placed one large strawberry on the top of the whipped cream. Haruhi placed the completed desserts on the serving trolley.

"Yeah, in the end Mori-senpai purposely made Hani-senpai mad at him and threw him to the ground and said that he hated him. He did it so that he would be punished for his actions because he felt responsible. Tamaki-senpai made sure Hani overheard Mori say so, and then they were okay again..." Haruhi told her friend. Kagome's large blue eyes were unreadable as she looked over at Haruhi. Haruhi grabbed the last dessert and placing it on the cart she left the room, leaving Kagome to her still scattered thoughts.

Kagome placed the, now empty whipping cream bowl in the sink, and with a squeak of the handle, watched expressionless as water pinged into the bowl and swirled as it filled up. She couldn't deny that she had been going out of her way to avoid Mori, even after her talk with Haruhi that morning. She simply didn't know how to broach the topic that she couldn't spend time with him like she used to...like she wanted to. To do so and to explain it fully would mean she would have to admit that she had developed feelings for him, and she would be in loads of trouble if Sesshoumaru found out that she had admitted such a thing to Mori. At first she thought she would be okay so long as she stayed in the main room with everyone, but every time she glanced at Mori, he had been watching her with an intensity that made her stomach twist and her face flush. She could tell that he didn't understand why she had suddenly pulled away from him.

Eventually the pressure from feeling his gaze on her was too much for her to handle and she had not so tactfully retreated to the safe confines of the prep room, her heart pounding and guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. This was a dangerous game she had allowed herself to get thrown into.

How do I allow myself to comfort him or even feel his comfort without being near him? I should probably just stop this nonsense before things get too serious. This was such a stupid idea. There is no way I am going to be able to be near him and not be drawn to him even more than I already am. Did Sesshoumaru know this would happen? Was he testing my resolve somehow?

She was still staring at the bowl as the water rushed over the rim into the sink, her mind a chaotic mess of thoughts and emotions. She just kept staring at it, lost in thought until a blue blazer clad arm reached from behind her and turned the sink off. She gasped and jerked up to stand rigid. The arm retreated, and Mori's cedar and pine scent drifted into her senses. She bit her lips, her brows lowering in worry and concern. Neither of them spoke as a drip of water echoed in the room as it dropped from the tap into the already full bowl.

Mori stared down at her in concern the longer it took for her to turn around. And more than anything he needed to see her look up and smile at him, to know that things were okay between them. The tense atmosphere between them was making her stomach feel heavy from the guilt.

"I should get home to train..." Kagome said, turning stiffly with a fake smile plastered to her face, deciding to take the cowards way out. She moved to step away from him, when both his hands came out and trapped her in between them, he leaned down so that he could look at her at eye level, leaning forward as he did, making her back into the counter. Her eyes widened as his stoic and serious grey eyes watched her. Her shoulders twitched as she forced herself to hold still under Mori's penetrating stare. Her heart was beating so quickly it actually hurt. A hand coming up to clench the fabric in front of her heart, his gaze following the motion.

"Kagome." He frowned slightly and even with the microscopic movement in his stoic mask, she knew he was confused and hurt by her actions. She sighed and looked away.

"I'm sorry Takashi... A lot happened that day at the festival." She owed him an explanation and she may as well start from the beginning since he went out of his way to corner an explanation out of her. The corners of his lips turned down into a slight frown.

"That guy..." His deep voice murmured as he remembered Naraku, his gaze narrowing slightly in anger as he remembered Naraku forcing a kiss on her. An anger simmering deep down in his gut, his fingers clenching the counter behind her a little bit tighter. Kagome looked up at him out of the corner of her eyes at his reaction, her perceptive gaze not missing a single thing.

"I... definitely was shocked to see him again... and I admit he terrifies me. But, he's not what I was referring to." She sighed and looked away again. "When you and Mitsukuni came to my house I had just finished a meeting with my father. Leading up to the tournament... I have a lot of rules to follow. The first being I'm not allowed to date, because the winner of the tournament will end up being my fiancé. But he also said I'm not allowed to spend any individual time... with you... I also am not allowed to just come and visit the club anymore, but he did give me permission to join it, because he knows that spending time with you all has been good for me." She couldn't meet his eyes as her cheeks felt warm, anxiety swarming her and praying that he wouldn't make her explain further. To do so would be breaking one of Sesshoumaru's rules.

"You're not allowed to see...me?" His tone was calm, but questioning. Her heart hammering in her chest as she realized that there was no way around this. She was going to have to explain, but it unnerved her how close he was. Under different circumstances she should have felt happy, but all she could feel was dread. But wait... Sesshoumaru had said not to show favoritism towards any of the competitors, he wasn't yet a competitor... so she could at least admit this and then ask him... right? What did it really matter now though? She was already breaking the rules by spending time alone with him in the prep room.

"I'm not allowed to spend time alone with you... because he knows that I like you, Takashi..." She couldn't meet his gaze, so she missed the way his eyes widened as surprise and a blush flickered onto his face. The normally strong silent type, who had always received a declaration of love with silence and a stoic stare. His heart began beating in his chest as he stared at her, trapped in between his arms, though he was well aware that she could have escaped him if she tried hard enough. He stared down at the petite raven haired beauty with exotic blue eyes. She was blushing and still unable to meet his eyes.

"But I'm not free to make that choice myself. My fate is left up to that stupid tournament... he doesn't want me to risk saying or doing the wrong thing and making promises to anyone... I felt like-" She sucked in a breath, stopping herself from explaining how hearing those rules had made her feel like she had had her heart ripped out of her chest. And then she remembered how she had cried on his shoulder at the castle ruins afterwards. She bit her lip, to hide it from trembling, not speaking because she didn't trust that she would admit further feelings for him.

What she didn't expect was for Mori to close the distance between them and she gasped as his soft smooth lips brushed against her forehead. She sucked in a breath, as her arms came up to grip the counter at her back, her hands trembling as they softly pushed against his strong firm hands, that twitched at the contact. One of his hands lifted and came around the small of her back as he pulled her closer and locked her into an embrace. She turned her head away as her cheek was pressed against his chest. He held her tight as she quietly sniffled, tears coming to her eyes.

This was all she wanted... yet she was not allowed to reach out to him and grab the happiness she so desperately wanted. Little did she know it was in this moment that he decided to fight for her. A hand coming up to twine his long fingers in her silky raven locks as he held her.

Not once did he verbally acknowledge her confession, though he knew that actions spoke louder than words. And he hoped that his actions were enough to tell her he understood what she felt and what she was going through.

She closed her eyes, forcing her tears to slide silently down her cheek. This was all she wanted, and only once she realized it had fate seemed to be cruel to her.

"Takashi...Will you join the competition...? Will you... fight for me?" She breathed, not sure if he even heard her, but too afraid to say it any louder. His response was immediate, pulling her closer, and his mouth grazing the top of her head as he brushed a kiss into her hair.

"I will. I made a promise to protect you." Her eyes snapped open in surprise and her fingers trembled as she clutched at the kimono that the host club members were all wearing that day, the soft fabric warm from his body heat. He clutched her tighter in response as a slow awareness that they would not have hidden moments like this again filtered into their thoughts. She could hear his heartbeat as he ear was pressed against it, her own she was sure was fluttering wildly, but Mori, ever the calm and steady one, had a solid and sturdy and soothing heartbeat. She let the rhythm calm her frazzled nerves.

She didn't know how long they stood there, but she knew pretty soon the other hosts would wonder where Mori was. She flattened her hands on his chest, and with a tired sigh she pushed out of his embrace, her face flushed, and she finally she looked up into his eyes, the lights reflecting off his grey eyes making them dazzle like diamond dust. She was entranced, a blush rising to her cheeks. He also seemed relieved to have her looking him in the eye once more.

"Thanks, Takashi..." She whispered. And he let his arms drop to his side as he stood straighter. Lifting a finger he gently stroked her cheek, wiping away a tear from her face, as her ocean blue eyes shimmered with emotion. She looked up at him with wide eyes, gulping down the words she really wanted to say to him.

"Hn." He nodded at her and then turned and stopping at the door to the prep room, gave her a soul scorching stare, then left the prep room. Once the door closed behind him, she let out a breath, her hand trembling as she pressed a hand to her forehead where he had kissed her. A blush rising to her cheeks as she recalled his very soft lips brushing against her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

How was it he had made her feel so cherished with such a simple action, and that he understood what she was going through without having said hardly anything? She closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, shoulders drooping. She had just broken at least two of Sesshoumaru's rules on the first day. It was hopefully fine just this once since no one saw or heard them, but either way she should let Sesshoumaru know what happened, and then she would decide what to do from there. Assuming Sesshoumaru didn't automatically forbid her from further club activities. She let out another long frustrated sigh.

This was going to be a major problem.

Author's note:

In case you missed the Poll question above, here it is again!

POLL QUESTION: Which characters would you like to see in the tournament fight for a chance at Kagome's hand? And yes I am willing to make cameo of other fighters from different anime if there is someone you like from another anime. (It just means a little bit more research on my part to make their fighting and personality as true to their character as possible.) So who would you like to see enter the tournament, including who would you like to see fight each other! (including who you want to see fight Mori, Naraku, and Kagome.

Let me know! (If no one has any suggestions I am literally just pulling names out of a basket. lol)