Chapter 23:

Chapter 23, A Test of Skill

Haruhi looked over at the sound of her name and saw Kyoya jog up to her. She looked around slightly in confusion before looking at the time on her phone.

"Um, morning Kyoya-senpai," Haruhi said cautiously, looking back at him after putting her phone in her bag. "You feeling okay?"

Kyoya paused before letting out a soft but genuine laugh. He couldn't fault her for asking such a question since he wasn't a normally a morning person. Nor would he normally walk to the gate of school. "I am fine. I was up early to finish up some projects for class. I also received a call from Asuda about the recent turn of events. As my car neared the gate, I saw you walking up to school and thought it better to talk to you one on one about the new plans to be put in place."

Haruhi nodded hesitantly and both continued to walk towards the school.

"I am arranging it so that you have the same hosting hours as Satoshi and Yasuchika from here on out, meaning that your priority will be towards the Karate, Judo and Kendo clubs rather than hosting. On the days that you need to go to Nekozawa-senpai's house for your Arcana lessons, you will be leaving thirty minutes before hosting hours are done so that you have plenty of time to get there. I will arrange for you to have transportation if needed, though I do recall Nekozawa-senpia offering. You will also be excused from class about ten minutes prior to the final bell on the days that the martial art clubs meet so that you have time to get there and get ready, much like those who are already listed as members. Know that when you arrive for your first session today that they will want you to demonstrate what you know so that they can assign you the proper belt and, if needed, assign you some gear."

"The instructors won't have a problem with me coming in so late?" Haruhi asked.

"Not at all," Kyoya replied. "It is still early enough in the sessions that new members won't be questioned but they will be off to the side in the lesson so that they can get caught up with everyone else depending on how the demonstration goes."

"How did you manage to pull all of that off?"

"What do you mean, Haruhi?"

"I know you have a fair bit of pull in the school Kyoya-senpai, but I don't think it is that much regardless of how scary your family's reputation is. Not to say that you couldn't because I have seen you pull together stuff for the host club on the fly before, but this would have taken quite a bit to pull off, even for you."

Kyoya laughed softly. He could understand what she was referring to and took no offense. "All I did was inform the teachers of what was happening. School has only been active for about a month so it is natural that some clubs may get new members while the year is still fresh. They take into consideration what year each student is in as well as the locations of their classes. Depending on the distance to the dojo, the teachers let those students out early so that they can get there in time to get ready."

"I didn't know that," Haruhi stated shocked.

Kyoya simply shrugged.

"Will it cause problems if my priority isn't the Host Club anymore?"

"Do you still have a debt to pay back?" Kyoya retorted, a smug smirk on his face.

Haruhi let out a laugh as she shook her head no.

"Then there is your answer. The only issues any of can foresee would come from Tamaki and the twins, as is normal. Although it may have died down some since the Fair, they are still themselves."

"That's true. Well, thank you for letting me know what has come about. I will see you at club time."

Kyoya nodded and watched Haruhi move quickly towards the main doors before Jumping a few times before some of the other cars arrived with students. He had to admit, the practice she had while in the Vortex was evident.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

The day continued into the afternoon with little out of the norm, well coming from Haruhi at least. To everyone else, it was a complete shock. Hikaru and Kaoru had tried to get Haruhi to tell them why she wasn't in her normal uniform but she either didn't answer them or gave a cryptic one. She had barely managed to escape Tamaki thanks to Nekozawa showing up. The two Mages sat in the rose garden, joined after a few minutes by Kyoya to let Umehito know the slight changes in plan. The Dark Arts practitioner agreed and readily accepted the new norm as well as stating that future lessons might be more beneficial if they were held there for not only Haruhi's sake but also for Kirimi's. It was becoming apparent that the little ball of energy had a talent for the Dark Arts as well as Light and Balance, which made everyone proud of her. Both mages explained to Haruhi that since Kirimi had shown talent in more than one skill set of Arcana, she had more opportunities to expand her knowledge as well as possible jobs in the future when she was older and had better control. Haruhi was proud that the youngest Nekozawa had such options open to her and hoped for the best for the young girl.

When the last lessons of class came around, Haruhi was excused a bit earlier than the others so that she could make it to the dojo. She counted herself fortunate that she didn't have the class with the twins and packed her things quickly. When she walked up to the teacher, she was handed a slip that had direction to the dojo located on the other side of the school. She thanked the teacher before walking out of the class and smiled at seeing Satoshi and Yasuchika waiting outside for her.

"Hey guys," she greeting with a smile.

"Heya!" Satoshi waved. "Ready to show sensei what we and our brothers taught you?"

"I am as ready as I'll ever be, but I am still worried about joining so late."

"It's okay. The first couple of months have tryouts and secondary lessons for new comers," Yasuchika explained. "It is when the third month of sessions start that people are denied entry and have to either wait for the next round of tryouts or for next year."

"What is the difference between the lessons you two are head of and what I will be going into besides gender?"

"Not much actually. Both the male and female divisions do the same routines but the girls are taught more defensive tactics than the males are, for obvious reasons."

Haruhi nodded and followed her two kohai towards the dojo.

"Here," Satoshi said handing her a small bag. "Taka and dad had these made for you."

Haruhi opened the bag and smiled at the light cream fabric and padded gear. Satoshi nodded for her to go in. When Haruhi entered, the few people inside turned and a couple waved towards her. Haruhi waved back before removing her shoes and walking over. The two that waved back were both females. One had long brown hair tied into a high ponytail and the other had short strawberry blond hair. The one with her hair tied back was dressed in what she recognized as the armor worn in Kendo and the other was in a soft eggshell white karate gi.

"You must be Fujioka," one of the two girls said. "I'm Kira, Captain of the Girls Karate and Judo club. This is Tanya, she is Captain of the Kendo Club."

"Nice to meet you both," Haruhi said with a bow and her Host smile.

"I'm guessing your gi and armor is in that bag."

Haruhi nodded.

Kira pointed to a set of doors behind her. "Changing rooms are back there."

"Thanks."

Haruhi gave a soft bow before she moved calmly passed both girls towards the changing rooms and gave a bow in greeting towards the teacher as she passed. She found an empty stall to change in and quickly got out of the dress. She had technically only worn it for a day but she had tried it on while still in the Sanctuary and hated the thing already. She preferred the male uniform over the near skin tight dress, well, only the top was tight. The lower half of the dress flared out awkwardly and she didn't like it at all, nor could she understand why or even how people thought it was comfortable and flattering. She preferred her clothes to be practical, not floofy or frilly. Haruhi relaxed slightly once she was in the looser fabric of the gi, it was a far sight more comfortable than the dress. She made sure it was tied the way Hunny had showed her and stepped out of the changing room with her bag. She set it near one of the walls before bowing softly to both of the female captains again when she walked over.

"You put it on well," Tanya said with a smile. "Haninozuka-sensei and Morinozuka-sensei were telling us what they have gone over with you. Must say that I'm looking forward to seeing it."

Haruhi tilted her head to the side before glancing around the room and couldn't help but smile as she saw Hunny waving enthusiastically and Mori leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a faint smile on his face. She waved back and refocused on the two girls in front of her.

"Since you have been part of both their dojos prior to actually coming in, we are just going to see how well you have retained what they showed you. From what they say you have done so far, you may be at least a Green belt in Karate and Judo. We don't really have a belt system with Kendo though we do have a ranking system. Based on your skills depends on if you place you as a Rokkyu, Nikyu, or Ikkyu."

Haruhi nodded in understanding. She remember when Hunny and Mori explained the ranking systems of both clubs to her. Normally she would have been given just a white belt for just starting and had to build from there in terms of skill but since she technically had been trained prior to actually joining, they were willing to see if she had the skill to earn the belt offered or maybe one higher. The same applied with Kendo. The beginners were ranked in the numbered increments of Rokkyu with the highest being ranked in Nikyu. She knew that to be ranked Ikkyu would be an honor but she had to prove she was worth it.

"We will do Karate and Judo first since it will loosen you up for Kendo," Kira stated.

"Hai," Haruhi said calmly with a sharp nod.

At the sound of the doors opening, everyone turned and Haruhi felt her heart pickup a bit at who entered. Her eyes widened as Trekiva and Asuda walked in with Kyoya showing the way. Abraham and Fernando weren't that far behind with her dad coming in last with some other teachers. Both girls bowed quickly and Haruhi was hard pressed not to run up and hug both of them but managed to stifle the urge and bow politely in greeting as was proper. She could hear the voices of a few other teachers and rose when one of the other girls tapped her shoulder. Haruhi saw a soft wave from Asuda as Trekiva began talking with the teachers. Kira and Tanya quietly explained that the two teachers that walked in were in charge of the sessions for the boys and were expected to watch since both males and females participated in the same tournaments. With them watching, they could determine how best to build a team for events. It was also so that there were another set of eyes could keep track of how the fights went and each action could be properly graded. It was also explained that guests were common to witness the sessions if they were family or close to ones participating in some way, but ultimately the teachers had the say on how things went and how many people could watch. Haruhi nodded softly and both she and Kira moved towards an area of the dojo that had lines painted on the tatami mats to indicate it was a ring. Kira had her do some warm ups to get ready while doing some herself. Once both were ready, they got into their stances.

Hunny had told Haruhi many times that since she was smaller, much like he was, she had a lower center of gravity meaning she could move a little faster when closer to the ground as compared to most others in the sport. It was also a lot easier to throw an opponent and pin them due to having a smaller frame. Since she was also a bit thinner she had an advantage in dodging her opponent, tripping them and keeping them on the ground or in getting out of certain holds. Unknown to Haruhi, but very evident to those watching and her opponent, was that when she got into her stance, her face went completely blank. Hunny was impressed that she managed to pull it off since not many could get into the neutral mindset so quick but then again, this was Haruhi, if she set her mind to it, she could do almost anything. Kira made the first move as she sprinted forward. With no outward expression, Haruhi turned just in time to flip Kira over her shoulder and hold her to the ground. After a moment, one of the teachers called out and Kira tapped Haruhi to indicate she could let her up. When both where standing again, they bowed to each other and got into another stance.

Kira let all expression drain from her face and moved forward. Internally she was impressed with how quickly she was taken down and kept there. Most couldn't keep her down since she was thinner than most that joined. She subtly noticed that Haruhi had roughly the same physic she did. She began to use strategic strikes against her opponent and had to keep from smiling as Haruhi managed to block every strike and land a few of her own. To someone watching, Kira's strikes would seem like they were made out of desperation or erratic rather than skill but if one looked more closely they would see that each strike was a precise test of her opponent's defenses. Haruhi's movements, on the other hand, were more direct but she was as fluid as water.

After a few more strikes, Haruhi felt the pulse of her instincts kick in and immediately dropped to the ground and swung her leg out which caused Kira to fall backwards. She only heard one word echo in her head, "repetitive". Once Kira got back up and into her stance again, Haruhi moved forward first and got a solid hit into Kira's stomach, sending her back a couple inches and catching the girl off guard. Using her momentum, Haruhi spun again tripping Kira but instead of letting her fall completely, pulled the older girl over her shoulder and flipped her before pinning her to the ground again. The teacher called out again and both girls got up, each panting slightly.

"Well done," one of the teachers said as they walked over. "I don't think I have seen Miss Akite this winded outside of a tournament. You have definitely earned your green belt."

Haruhi looked towards the teacher and bowed respectfully. "Arigato, sensei."

The teacher nodded their head in acknowledgement and Kira smiled widely. "The last time I was pinned like that was during my last tournament. They only managed to do it once before I got them."

"I had excellent teachers," Haruhi stated with a smile.

She glanced over and saw Hunny bouncing excitedly and a smug smirk on Yasuchika's face. Part of her really wanted to smack that look off his face but she held it in check since he did have some right to be smug, he had taught her how to do that too. She heard soft applause and looked towards Trekiva, Asuda and Kyoya. She saw the Shadow King push up his glasses with a soft smile, Asuda was clapping softly as was Trekiva. Abraham nodded with a soft smile and Fernando looked to be in utter awe and shock, while Ranka was just as bouncy as Hunny was. Fortunately he managed to keep down the urge to run over and squeeze her in a congratulatory hug.

"Well now," Tanya said as she moved closer with a light wink. "Lets get you limber again for some Kendo, little sprout."

Haruhi tilted her head slightly in confusion to the odd nickname.

"That's what she calls Green belts," Kira explained with a chuckle.

"Oh," Haruhi stated softly. "Okay."

Tanya smiled and began to go through a couple warm up kata with Haruhi. Tanya kept up the warm ups despite being warmed up mostly to see how well Haruhi moved and smiled at the fluidity of her movement. It's like watching a river, she thought. I may lose to her. Be awesome too. With how quickly she beat Kira, I'm going to have a hard time keeping up.

Once Tanya got bored of the warm up kata, she had Haruhi put on the protective gear for Kendo. Once fully in the gear, Tanya did a few more warm ups with Haruhi to keep her limber despite the weight of the gear, and to also help her get used to putting it on. With a nod both got into position and put on the required helmet. Haruhi knew that it was normal to give a shout before striking but even in practice with Mori, Satoshi and even Asuda, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She faintly heard Mori explaining that to the teacher and caught the nod of understanding before refocusing on Tanya. The older girl got into the proper stance and Haruhi mimicked the action easily. After the teacher gave the signal to begin, Tanya let out a yell and moved forward to strike only for Haruhi to counter and get a point.

Tanya stumbled slightly due to the sudden impact but shook it off and got back into position. Once she was ready, Tanya waited for the signal to start. Haruhi took in a breath and felt another pulse.

"Strike quick, strike fast, leave the enemy curious," she heard in her mind, the voice soft and sweet but carrying a deadly edge.

Haruhi recognized the voice as her instinct and knew that even though this was only a sparring match, she needed to treat it like a life threatening situation. She had learned that from Asuda and Trekiva while in the Sanctuary.

*~*Flashback ( Haruhi )*~*

After a few attempts to actually try to land a hit on Asuda and after getting hit quite a few times in response, Haruhi was tired and sore. She heard Asuda take in a deep breath and exhale in a sigh.

"You are thinking too much," he stated calmly as he walked over. "You need to empty your mind and just act."

"I'm trying," Haruhi huffed, irritation and slight disappointment clear in her voice. "It's just that there is so much to remember about what counts and what doesn't as well as all of the steps to the kata. It is easier against a dummy than it is against you because you can hit back."

"I understand that and, in most cases, you will mostly be against a dummy while in lessons, but you still need to know how to defend yourself against an actual person rather than a fake one. Someone that means to hurt you won't stand still and not hit back if they truly wish to harm you."

"I know but.."

Haruhi didn't have a chance continue because something lunged towards her and the only warning was her instinct telling her to hold her weapon up. She felt herself pushed to the side due to the impact and before she could gather her thoughts she had to bring the bokken up to block another rather hard strike from the front. She only had enough time to catch her footing between each strike before she felt her instinct begin to seep into her mind and boost her speed, balance and strength. After a few more hits, she was able to retaliate with a swing hard enough to force the bokken out of her attackers hand. When she spun to give a strike of her own she froze with the bokken only an inch from Trekiva's smiling face. She hadn't realized it but as her instincts merged to the forefront, her eyes had turned crimson and were slowly returning to normal now that the danger had passed.

"Treat each stance and lesson as if it is your last," he said calmly, walking around her to get the bokken that had landed a few feet away. "Even if it is only practice. Your mind is an asset in many ways but when survival is at stake, your instinct is the only thing that will help you."

Haruhi nodded and lowered the bokken clenched in her hand. She had learned something very important but she still felt a mixture of guilt for nearly hitting the elder vampire, terror at how hard and fast he struck and anger at what had happened. Seeming to sense her troubles, Trekiva laughed softly and wrapped her in a warm hug while telling her that it was fine and that she did well.

*~*Flashback End ( Haruhi )*~*

Haruhi was pulled out of her thoughts when Tanya's yell as she charged and quickly countered before striking fast and hard enough to send Tanya's shinai flying out of her hand.

"Woah," Tanya muttered.

She looked at Haruhi with wide eyes and couldn't help but smile. That was the first time she had ever been disarmed in a match. Tanya bowed her head in acceptance that she had lost since she had been disarmed and took of the helmet showing a large smile. She waited until Haruhi took off her helmet before speaking.

"That's the first time someone actually got the shinai out of my hand!" she yelled excitedly. "That was awesome!"

"Indeed," the teachers agreed. "I am willing to give you the rank of 1-Ikkyu but you will need to take the written exam for it. Are you willing to do so on Thursday with some of the other students?"

"I am," Haruhi nodded.

"You will not be the only one taking one of the written exams, nor will you be the only one taking that particular test."

Haruhi nodded again and bowed to both the teacher and Tanya.

"I look forward to having you on the team," she smiled.

Haruhi smiled back and Kira walked over.

"Same here," Kira added with a bright smile.

Haruhi smiled again and thanked the two captains before grabbing her bag and going into the changing rooms to get out of the Kendo gear and her new gi. Once she was back in her uniform, and her gear packed away in her bag, Haruhi walked back out carrying the bag on her shoulder. Tanya and Kira walked over and congratulated her on making it into the clubs before going to change to leave. When they were out of sight, Haruhi walked over to Kyoya and the others.

"That was great Haru-chan!" Hunny cheered.

"You did well," Mori stated with a soft smile.

"Indeed, Haruhi," Kyoya agreed. "I am glad that I came here first rather to the music room to deal with Tamaki any longer than I had to today."

"What happened this time?" she asked, partially dreading the answer.

"Apparently he went to your house to try and give you a ride to school. Since neither you or your father was there, he panicked and let his inner mind theater take off with him in the passenger seat."

Haruhi face-palmed and groaned. "Sorry, Kyoya-senpai."

"No need to apologize for that moron's idiocy. I, unfortunately, am used to it."

"Shall we go to club and finish hours or did you cancel them?"

Kyoya looked at his watch. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind a bit of motion sickness, we could get there rather quickly and still get ready."

"Shadow step?" Hunny asked with a smile.

Kyoya only nodded before walking outside and moving to an area where others wouldn't see. Once the hosts were together, Haruhi said a quick goodbye to everyone that had come to watch, getting a few hugs and a kiss on the cheek from her dad, before the Shadows swarmed around them and formed them inside the changing rooms in the music room. Mori caught Haruhi before she stumbled due to the switch in momentum as Kyoya quickly went over the slight last minute change of roles he had for the cosplay that was supposed to be on Friday last week. Apparently Kyoya had asked Hannah and her dad about a change of costume so that Haruhi would play the role of a daughter of the port's Governor, he would be the Minister of Affairs or her personal tutor, which seemed more likely to her, while Hunny and Mori would still be soldiers of the Fort however with a slight change that they would be more specifically her personal guard. Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru were still going to be pirates and none of the trio knew about the change. The twins didn't have anything set for Yasuchika and Satoshi since they weren't wholly certain on if they would have been able to make it that day so they didn't bother to make anything, even as a back up.

Haruhi nodded and went to get dressed behind the curtains that had been set up during her first year in the Host Club as a changing room. After a few moments, she came out in a long cream dress that Hannah had offered that was sleek and form fitting but still comfortable. It came with similarly colored gloves that went to her elbows and although it came with a veiled hat that matched it perfectly, she didn't put it on. Haruhi did however take the fan, which she found was actually a bladed fan when she accidentally pushed a small button on the base of the grip. She had quickly pushed the pointed tips back into the fan with the help of the floor before she came out. She was also glad that the shoes were flats rather than heels, she hated heels.

She stepped out to see Mori and Hunny dressed in something similar to the officer's uniforms they had when the club had done that theme of cosplay last year and had met Kirimi while she was looking for Umehito. The only differences were that the shirts had longer sleeves that went to their wrists with some gold embroidery along the cuff and white sashes across their chests. Kyoya's was similar to the outfit he had worn when they had done just the nobles but had a set of glasses that seemed to just rest on the bridge of his nose.

"Shall we get into position?" Kyoya asked calmly.

Everyone nodded and when they walked out, Kyoya quickly reminded Tamaki that there was only a few minutes before club started so he couldn't do his typical greeting because if he did they have no time time to answer the multitude of questions the moronic trio had about her attire or to the customers when they walked in. Before the Host Club King could pout, Kyoya dragged him over to stand by the chair and forced him to stay there while letting Haruhi sit in the chair to stick with the theme. Haruhi managed to take in a deep breath to relax and smile her host smile before the doors were opened. Club and school were going to be more interesting interesting now that she was essentially doing Cram Studies.