Author's note(s): Hey, guys! It's been about a month since my last update! Yay for fast update! For me anyways... Also, Happy early Mother's day and guess what? I graduate in about 12 days from high school! Then, it's off to school to pursue a degree in theatre! Awesome, right? Oh, the beta for this story is Aihara Awayuki!

Story fact(s): It's Karai's chapter, only one more to go before we get to an actual plot-filled chapter, instead of filler chapters. This chapter has terms that are actually Judo techniques. To be honest, I don't know how a Judo match goes so please don't criticize the fight. Also, Kaisei Academy is an actual school in Japan, just so you know.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Episode V: A Host's Admirer Challenge

~OHSHC; Local Sports Dojo~

Thump!

Karai panted as her opponent went down before pinning said opponent.

"Pin!" the referee exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the mat. "Victory goes to Saito of Ouran Academy!"

Karai and her opponent stood up and shook hands with the other. They nodded in acknowledgement and walked to their respectable teams.

"Great job, Saito!" the kendo sensei patted her on the back. "You've got a match coming up in an hour against Kaisei Academy. Rest up, okay?"

Karai nodded and the sensei walked off. She walked over to the bench and sat on it. The third-year girl leaned back against the wall and sighed, relaxing. Then, a bottle of water was dangling in front of her face. Karai looked to see that water was offered by Mori and took it.

"Thank you," Karai mumbled, twisted the cap off and sipped.

"No problem," Mori grunted back, taking a sip of his own water.

"Mori-senpai! Karai-senpai!" a familiar voice caught their attention.

The two looked to see the rest of the Host Club and Ukmo sitting in the bleachers. Tamaki was waving at them, with the addition of the Hitachiin twins and Hani. Mori and Karai looked at each other and back at them, waving back.

"Morinozuka!" the sensei shouted, grabbing his attention. "You're up!"

Mori nodded, capping his water and walking to the mat, sword in hand. A whistle was blown and the match was over in two minutes.

"Victory goes to Morinozuka of Ouran Academy!" the referee exclaimed.

Karai watched as the silent giant was surrounded by female admirers from the Kendo Club. Mori seemed unfazed as the girls cooed and squealed over his victory. The Kendo sensei was able to calm the ladies down and tell to go stretch for their matches. Mori silently thanked him with a nod before heading to sit beside Karai, placing his sword beside him.

A couple of beats passed before Mori groaned, rubbing his neck. This caught Karai's attention, raising an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?" Karai asked, watching him.

"There's a crick in my neck," Mori growled, continuing to rub his neck. "And a lot of tense muscles on my shoulders too…"

Suddenly, Mori felt warm hands gently removed his hands and start rubbing the back of his neck. Mori blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who's that?" Mori asked, wondering if a fan was behind him.

"Relax, it's me," Karai chuckled lightly, pressing her thumbs into his shoulders. "I've been told that I'm an excellent masseuse. You have a lot of tenseness in your shoulders and neck."

"Hmm…" Mori moaned softly, allowing her to massage him.

This was the longest he has heard from the girl and he wanted to hear more from her. She wasn't lying when she said that she was an excellent masseuse. He felt his muscles loosen and relax as she rubbed hard but gently.

Karai stopped rubbing. "How's that?"

"Feels good," Mori replied, exhaling deeply. "Thank you."

"No problem," Karai smirked, repeating what he had said earlier.

The two exchanged a look before sharing chuckles together. The third-years didn't notice a particular jealous stare from a few feet away.

~OHSHC; Ouran Dojo~

"Karai-senpai?"

Karai turned from kicking a punch bag. She looked down to see Misaki Koike, a first year in Kendo and Judo with her. She was a shy girl both on and off the mat. She had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. At the moment, she was wearing a training robe with a determined look in her eyes.

"I challenge you to a Judo match!" Misaki exclaimed, alerting the others.

The rest of the members, other than Karai and Misaki, gasped. Another girl stepped forward, timidly. "Misa-chan, why?"

"Boys fight each other to get a girl's attention for either," Misaki explained to the girl, "Why can't girls do it as well? I want Mori-senpai's attention."

The room gasped again as Karai rolled her eyes. Takashi's attention, huh?

"Do you accept, Karai-senpai?" Misaki asked firmly.

"Yes."

~OHSHC; Music Room #3~

"What do you mean you were challenged?!" Ukemo's voice echoed throughout the room.

Karai stood there, unfazed as the others flinched slightly. She was used to her foster sister's shrill voice when it was like this.

"Who challenged you?" Ukemo asked, calming down when she saw that they weren't the only ones in the room.

"Misaki Koike," Karai replied, making Ukemo blink.

"Isn't she in our science class?" Naomi asked Mayumi, who was sweeping the floor while her sister wiped tables.

"Yep," Mayumi replied instantly. "I heard her going on about challenging someone but she didn't say it was Karai-senpai."

"Takashi, isn't she in Kendo?" Hani asked, pausing from chomping down on his cake. Mori just nodded in response.

"She's also in Judo," Kyoya explained, writing in his notebook. "Hold on, has Sakura skipped on cleaning up?"

"She had a debate tournament this afternoon," Haruhi explained, putting away dishes. "She said she had texted you about it."

Kyoya narrowed his eyes, looking at his phone. One unread message, it read. "So she did, huh?"

"Why has she challenged you?" Ukemo asked Karai, washing dishes while her sister dried them.

Karai gestured to Mori, who was reading a book. Hani blinked, looking at his cousin.

"Takashi?" Hani asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why Mori-senpai?" Mayumi asked, leaning against the bloom.

Hikaru, who was playing a game, chuckled. "I bet it's for his attention."

"Yeah," Kaoru smirked, sitting beside his brother. "Karai and Mori-senpai were getting cozy at the Martial Arts Competition last weekend."

"What?" Mayumi and Naomi asked in unison, blinking between the two.

"They were not," Tamaki huffed, sitting across Kyoya. "They were just sitting beside each other."

"Well, what about when Karai touched his shoulders?" Hikaru huffed, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Takashi had tense muscles so Karai massaged them out for him," Hani explained through a mouthful.

"Oh," Hikaru and Kaoru pouted, disappointed that their teasing was overthrown.

"You think that's why Misaki challenged Karai-senpai?" Haruhi asked, looking back.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Kyoya spoke up. "Mori-senpai is pretty popular with the ladies of our school. That goes outside the club, too, into different clubs."

"I still have a bad feeling about this match," Ukemo whimpered, looking at Karai's blank face.

~OHSHC; Ouran Dojo~

"Misa-chan, what happened?"

Two days before the match, Misaki walked in the gym on crutches and her left leg in a cast. The other club members surrounded her while Karai practiced with Mori on Kendo. The two silent giants paused in their training to see the commotion.

"I was practiced at home, and I fell...down a flight of stairs," Misaki explained, smiled in pain.

"Now, you won't be able to do the match against Karai-senpai," a boy stated, looking at said person. "You're going to have to forfeit…"

"No, she won't. I'll do the match," a voice spoke that made Karai tense slightly. "Besides, I have a score to settle with her opponent."

Karai narrowed her eyes, looking at the person who spoke. Mariko Adachi, a first year like Misaki, was shorter than Karai, but was built more for sports than her. She had short chin-length black hair and dark eyes. She was friends with Misaki, but she was also Karai's rival when it came to martial arts.

Mariko walked up to Karai, glaring at her. The two stared each other down. Mariko then spoke, "You're going down, Saito. I will show you twice then to mess with my best friend…" She turns to Mori. "Senpai, will you judge the match?"

Mori, eyebrow raised, nodded. He grunted in confusion, quietly, afterwards. Mariko, satisfied, turned on her heels and walked to meet her best friend. Mori turned to Karai, whose aura was turning to anger. The Kendo champion opened his mouth, but in an anime-like way, Karai knocked Mori over with her sword by bringing it to the back of his legs and swinging forward.

~OHSHC; Music Room #3~

"Mariko is going to fight you?"

"Takashi is judging the match?"

Both short third-years had shock written on their faces. The day was a day where the Hosts never did anything but plan for future cosplays. Something that Kyoya failed to mention to the girls that had silence the contract. Sakura was not there and the only one who noticed was Kyoya.

Where is Untaki? Kyoya thought with inward growl. She signed a contact!

The Hitachiins and Akiyama twins played a card game in the corner while Haruhi studied for a test that was coming up the next day. Tamaki was by the piano, studying sheet music. The tall third years had told the events that had changed the course of the match.

"Yes," Karai and Mori replied back in unison.

"Mariko? Your rival?" Ukemo repeated, pacing in front of the other third years. "Maybe you should drop out of the match." She paused to look at her sister, who sent her annoyed glare. Ukemo gulped, "Maybe not, but she has vendetta against you. Granted I don't know why, but she did. She could tap into it during the match."

"She would have to be fool to do so," Karai commented, crossing her arms. "Judo means gentle way, so the fighters must have a calm, steady mind to execute the moves it takes to pin an opponent down. I won't get injured if that's what you're worried about, Ukemo. It shouldn't matter if I win or lose, but I won't back out of the match. That is a defeat itself and I won't go down without a fight."

Ukemo looked worried for second, before shaking her head in understanding. "Alright, I won't say anything else on the matter. You know what you're doing, Karai, and I won't doubt you anymore."

Karai nodded in response. "Thank you, Ukemo."

~OHSHC; Ouran Dojo~

The day of the match was upon Karai and Mori as the Host Club and all the fighting clubs gathered to watch.

As far as anyone could tell, Mariko and Karai had a rivalry going on, but it was more one-sided on Mariko. Karai just found Mariko annoying and a bother to her training in the martial arts. At some point in middle school, Mariko felt that Karai was a threat to her and challenged the tall blonde's ability. Needless to say, Mariko and Karai had a fight that was neither won nor loss. It has been tense between the two ever since.

As the two opponents stood on opposites sides of the mat, Mori stood in the middle, waiting for the fight to start. Each of the girls were dressed in a gi.

"Are the players aware of the rules and regulation for a Judo match?" Mori asked, holding his arms up.

"Hai," Karai and Mariko nodded in unison.

"Excellent," Mori nodded, walking back a bit. "Players bow to your opponent." The two girl did so. "Take your positions." The girls obeyed, staring the other down with a fierce glare. "And...begin!"

As soon as Mori said, both girls advance on each other, delivering different Atemi-waza techniques. The building was filled with a different encouragements for both girls. Karai was able to block those out and focus more on the match itself. A few seconds, Karai tried to punch Mariko, but Mariko grabbed her fist before she could. Mariko twisted Karai's arm behind her back, causing the blonde to double over in pain. Mariko was attempting to break her arm when Mori called out,

"Penalty! Attempting of injuring opponent! Release!" Mariko grumbled, letting go Karai. "Point goes to Saito!" Said girl was flexing her arm to make sure that she could still use her arm. "Players, take your positions once again." The girls did so. "And...begin!"

The dojo was filled with cheers as the two girls fighting went back at each other. This time, they two went both Atemi-waza and Katame-waza techniques. Multiple times, Mariko tries to injure Karai with different striking and throwing techniques, but all were evaded. Karai was too fast for Mariko.

Soon, Karai attempted to throw her opponent to the mat when Mariko managed to kick Karai in the stomach. This cause Karai's face scrunch in pain, leaving her defenseless for a moment. Mariko took the opportunity and threw her to the mat. Karai's eyes widened when she saw that she was held down by Mariko's foot. Mori started to call the match off when Karai does a strike on the upper thigh of Mariko. Mariko groaned, falling to the floor.

Karai managed to take the opportunity and pined Mariko to the matt, laying perpendicular on top of Mariko. Front against Back. Mariko struggled to throw Karai off of her, but Karai managed to pin her arms and legs to the mat as well.

"Pin!" Mori tapped the mat, causing Karai to release Mariko. "Victory goes to Saito!" The whole dojo was filled with cheers. Karai and Mariko bowed in respect for the other.

"Saito-senpai, I know that it was just for the fight, but be honest with me." Both rose and looked at each other as Mariko continued to speak. "Why do we have a rivalry with each other?"

Karai gasped slightly before responding, "To tell you the truth, I found you a bother and a distraction to my training. It's only you that think of our relationship as a rivalry."

Mariko nodded, "I understand. From this day forward, I will think of us as acquaintances in martial arts. Deal?"

"Deal," Karai bowed to her.

"No deal!" a familiar voice exclaimed, causing the whole dojo to reveal that it was Misaki. "Mariko, I thought you were my friend. I can't believe that you would betray me to her."

"And I can't believe that you think that I'm betraying you," Mariko replied, narrowing her eyes. "I'm merely getting rid a unnecessary rivalry…"

"I injured myself training for the fight you just fought in," Miskai retorted, indicating her crutches.

"Oh please," Mariko rolled her eyes. "Hey, everyone! Misaki is faking her injury so she wouldn't have to fight Saito!"

Exclaims and shouts of shock echoed throughout the room.

"H-hey, it's not true!" Misaki blushed embarrassed. "Quit telling lies, Mariko!"

"It's not a lie when it's true," Mariko shouted, glaring at her. "You're the one telling lies, Misaki!"

Mariko surprised everyone again by walking over to her friend, removing her crutches. Misaki's reaction was delayed, proving Mariko's point. Misaki was able to stand on her injured leg. The crowd managed to surround the two while the Hosts and Ukemo walked up to Karai.

"Congratulations, Karai!" the Hosts stated, smiling proudly.

The girl nodded her thanks, but soon her body started to ache. She gasped in pain almost collapsing to floor. Mori managed to catch her, causing her to look.

"Thank you," Karai told him, an appreciated gleam in her eyes.

Mori nodded back. "No problem."

And done!

End of chapter(s):...

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~Luv, Flutejrp