(a/n) – sorry for the delay, i recently discovered the doujin/fic "Together with House-Husband" and the One Day series of doujin's and have been on a reading spree. they're quite cute/amusing

Emiya Clan – Ouran 04

Martial Arts had a long and honorable tradition in Japan. For practitioners of the various Arts – whenever the need arose to come together and trade blows – subdued, solemn affairs were all that were necessary. After all, they came to engage in combat against each other, not put on a show for an audience.

So of course, when it came time for two members of the Ouran Host Club to engage in a friendly duel, it was a loud, flashy affair. The Kendo hall was clearly too small for what Tamaki had in mind, so he somehow managed to obtain permission to use the basketball club's gymnasium. The court was taken up by small temporary fixtures of raised flooring and short walls. Wall-scrolls and other decorations were chosen carefully to invoke the romantic period of the Bakumatsu. Refreshments drawn from recipes of the era were in abundance, served in old-style tableware. A small, but understated sign at the entrance proclaimed the entire gymnasium to be the Ikeda-ya Inn

And of course the entirety of the Host Club was in attendance, dressed as – who else? – the Shinsengumi.

"What is all this?" Takeshi's eye twitched as he took in the supposed venue for the match. He had come late, having to borrow another student's armor and wait for a tare, his hip padding, to be made out for his name. The equipment was currently piled into a bag slung over his shoulder and he was dressed in his normal school uniform.

"Tamaki-sempai planned this all out," Haruhi said as she walked over to him. "From what Hikaru told me, we tend to have these cosplay events quite frequently." She tilted her head to the side and Takeshi turned to find the the Suoh heir dressed in a much darker set of clothes than the rest of the club members. He had an unusually stern expression on his face as he spoke to the girls seated around him, yet the students still shrieked with happiness.

Takeshi surveyed the floor a bit more, finding Hikaru and Kaoru in the same blue and white uniforms Haruhi was wearing. The two were bent over each other as usual, much to the delight of their own customers, and Takeshi felt his own mood darken. He didn't see Hani anywhere, though another cluster of giggling schoolgirls suggested where he might be. He saw Kyouya moving across the floor, also costumed in Shinsengumi colors. "How come Tamaki-kun is wearing different colors from the rest of you?"

"I think it was suggested we not cosplay with any specific figures in mind and let the customers choose their own interpretations, but he went ahead and wanted to dress as Ryouma Sakamoto."

Takeshi nodded, "The leader of the whole movement."

"Yeah," Haruhi sighed. "He's not very subtle."

Takeshi turned back towards the girl, like all the rest of the cosplaying members, she was sporting hair extensions drawn behind her head into a loose ponytail. A hachimaki and a pair of wooden swords completed the ensemble. "Who are you supposed to be?"

She sighed. "Young, effeminate-looking swordsman? Who would you guess?"

"Hajime Saito."

Haruhi threw him an amused glare. Takeshi stared back with an innocent expression as several girls ran up to her, squeeing their heads off.

"Kyaa! Haruhi-kun makes such a cute Souji Okita!"

"Oh darn," Takeshi deadpanned. "I guess I was wrong." He shifted his bundle and threw another look around the room. "Where's Mori-kun?"

"They left an opening in the middle where the match will actually take place," Haruhi said. "Mori-sempai's been sitting there since I arrived. You should probably get changed and join him there soon. Although, I'm not sure how long Tamaki-sempai will want to continue the, ah, preshow events."

"Good advice." He nodded and turned towards the locker rooms.

"Takeshi-sempai?"

He paused and looked over his shoulder.

Haruhi was still smiling at him, but there was a slightly worried tinge to her expression. "I know you don't want to disappoint the club members, but don't overwork yourself if you're not feeling well."

Takeshi said nothing, though he did acknowledge her words with a stiff nod as he set off again. He managed to wait until he was out of her vision before running his hands across his brow. His Reaction headache was slightly worse today, though he had assumed he was getting better at hiding it. Evidently not, if Haruhi could spot and comment on it so casually. He'd have to do something about that...

ooo

Several minutes later, Takeshi stepped into the central area, doing some last minute adjustments to the straps on his armor. His shinai and helmet were tucked under one arm as he pulled at the kote over his hands so they were positioned securely.

Mori was already kneeling in a calm-looking pose at the far side of the mat, his hands placed lightly on his knees and his back straight. He didn't move or open his eyes, but something in his presence shifted, and Takeshi knew the other student had taken note of his arrival. Without further comment, Takeshi also lowered himself to his knees, mirroring the other's position.

His arrival hadn't gone unnoticed. Gradually, club's customers began to form a ring around the fighting mat, while other students from around the school appeared in the stands that lined the building's walls. Takeshi assumed this was Kyouya's doing, dividing up ticket sales between the 'regular' and the 'premium' spectators, a notion he felt was confirmed when several Kendo club members were called in to drag a hysterical girl from the ground crowd and back up into the bleachers after checking her ticket.

Handwritten signs were unfolded all around; the majority of them were for Mori, not unexpected as he was a far more notable figure amongst the population. There were still several made out for Takeshi, though they tended to be displayed by non-host club customers. Taking a brief survey of the sign holders, Takeshi sincerely hoped there was a betting pool in place, with most of his supporters being driven by rivalry against Morinozuka, or by greed. It was a much more comforting alternative than the other conclusion that could be drawn, considering a majority of the people cheering for him were male students.

The rest of the hosts had joined the crowd lining the edge of the arena now, and Takeshi picked up his helmet as Mori did the same. Tamaki had stepped into the middle of the mat, his voice raised as he made one of his flowering speeches to the assembled audience. Takeshi wasn't paying attention to any of it. Most of his training in swordplay was simple one-on-one spars with Miya-kaasan, and he had no experience with formal duels. Though he knew the basics of Kendo, most of his information came from a few quick suggestions from Shirou-tousan.

"Your only targets are the helmet, the waist, and the gloves," Shirou had told him. "Most strikes will be slashing attacks, the only acceptable thrusting target is at the throat, but that's usually only allowed for higher-level players. If you're not sure, I'd avoid it. Also it's like playing pocket billiards, you need to call your attacks before you make them or it will not be counted."

Takeshi ran the list through his head as he watched Mori and mirrored him movement for movement. The two of them bowed towards the crowds, then stepped forward towards the middle and crouched at two marked points at a short distance from each other. They remained in sonkyo for several heartbeats then stood up again as three Kendo Club members stepped onto the mat, surrounding them.

Takeshi was still rising to his feet when Mori suddenly surged forward with a quick slash to his head. He reflexively moved to swat it away but Mori stepped in, quickly locking his blade with Takeshi's own. Takeshi started to backpedal to free up some space, but his opponent continued to press forward, maintaining the lock. He tried twisting his blade to the side but Mori responded by freeing his own blade with a flick of his wrist and cranking it around towards his side with another lightning fast slash.

Takeshi easily swung his blade around to catch the attack and found himself locked once again as they re-angled their blades more or less into a vertical position. He stepped back slightly, but this time Mori let him go, taking care to keep the tip of his shinai in contact with his own. When Takeshi pulled back his blade for an attack, Mori stepped into his newly opened guard.

"Men!" the normally taciturn student shouted as he brought down the tip over his helmet. All three judges raised a red-colored flag as the crowd erupted into cheers. "Takeshi-kun!" shrieked an entire section of the crowd.

So that's how it is... Takeshi narrowed his eyes behind his mask. Mori's strikes were definitely fast, but they weren't very close to his Mother's speed. Blocking the attack was within his abilities, even with his weapon so far out of position, but he had taken the chance to trace the path of his opponent's attack and tried to figure out which portions of his own style matched it the best. He wasn't sure he was very comfortable with this slow block-lock-strike sequence.

Their blades met slightly as they stepped back into position, then one of the judges barked out a command to resume. This time Takeshi took the offensive, opening with a waist-high cut towards Mori's left side. As Mori moved to block the attack, Takeshi quickly swung it down and around to come across his right flank. Mori quickly stepped to the side to delay the impact while he arced his own blade towards Takeshi's head again. Takeshi swung his blade up and around to fully parry the attack, then stepped forward himself to bounce it across Mori's helmet. His opponent quickly leapt back out of it's range, letting the blade swing through empty space, then stepped forward with a slashing attack towards his glove, "Kote!"

Faster than the eye could see, Takeshi's blade was back up, bouncing Mori's shinai and his arms upwards briefly. That brief opening was all he needed and he stepped forward with a slash to his left side. "Do!"

White flags went up from the judges and the audience erupted again. Mori's fanbase wailed in anguish and a large section of the stands applauded. Takeshi idly noted that the Hikaru and Kaoru were both cheering and booing, evidently choosing to have supported different competitors. He was confused slightly, until he saw the mass of female students behind them looking completely lost, as if they weren't sure which combatant to cheer for themselves. The smirks on each twins' faces furthered his assumption that they had chosen to cheer for opposite sides for this exact effect.

Mori, for his part, rubbed at his sword hand as he stepped back to the starting marker. His expression was impossible to make out through the metal grille, but Takeshi was sure the other boy was revising his own opinion on his chances. He threw a quick glance towards Hani on the sidelines and grimaced as he saw the usually boisterous blonde also staring at him with a somber expression. Well, there goes remaining under the radar. Hopefully the regular students wouldn't look to deeply into this fight, but just to be sure...

He touched blades with Mori once again and waited. Once the signal was given, Mori stepped in with his own fast attacks. Takeshi quickly parried it to the side, then his eyes widened slightly as Mori used the momentum from the rebound to power a fast slash to his other side. Takeshi moved to parry it once more, but Mori twisted his wrists and flicked it under his guard and thrust it straight for his throat.

Takeshi leaned back and twisted out of the path for the attack, bringing his shinai around to slap it out of the way as he straightened. There were more excited screams from the crowd at the unusually fast pace of the match, but Takeshi ignored it as he ducked a reverse from Mori. Inside, he was grinning as the pace increased to a speed he was much more comfortable with. He brought his blade around at eye level, where Mori caught it near his cross guard and riposted. Takeshi brought his blade down to knock it out of position again, then twisted into the attack as he cranked his wrist around for an overhead slash.

Mori ducked into the attack, letting Takeshi's shinai pass over his shoulder, then brought his arm up and around towards his side. Takeshi whirled his blade through an infinity loop, bringing it back around to lock with Mori's blade just before it could reach him. With a flick of his wrist he disengaged and then stepped forward for a rising thrust. His overextension was not lost on his opponent, who caught the attack on the lower half of his blade, then stepped forward into another quick attack to bounce it off Takeshi's helmet again. "Men!"

...

Flags and the audience went up as Mori stepped back quickly, then dropped into a kneeling position. He and Takeshi bowed at each other, then they both worked their helmets off as a mass of yellow uniforms rushed the victor. The other boy's face appeared to be wearing his usual disinterested expression, but a lifetime of living with Akitsu-kaasan let Takeshi read all sorts of interesting emotions in Mori's eyes. He grimaced openly, but probably not for the reasons the crowd might have assumed he was.

"Ah, that looked tough," one of the twins said as he walked up. "You shouldn't feel too bad, though. You actually got a point off of Mori-sempai."

"He's quite skilled," Takeshi agreed. "I can see why you were curious..." he trailed off as he stared at the redhead, who flashed him a grin.

"Hikaru. Still, you're not so bad yourself, Takeshi-sempai."

"Is that why you were cheering for me?" Takeshi asked.

"Hm? No, we just wanted to encourage the betting pools." The Hitachiin twin grinned, "If we show a bit of faith in you, it makes the other students wonder if there's something we know that they don't. It made them question their assumptions slightly, and so you got a lot more bets than you would have otherwise."

Takeshi frowned, "You rigged the betting pools, Hikaru?"

"Yes, I hear Kyouya-sempai is very pleased with himself," Haruhi said as she walked over to them. "Kaoru, why are you teasing Takeshi-sempai?"

"Bzzt," the redhead tsked. "I'm Hikaru and I'm doing nothing of the sort."

"No, you're Kaoru," the brunette stated bluntly. She pointed towards the other crowd, "Hikaru's over there, pretending he's you."

Takeshi blinked as Hika– er, Kaoru whistled, clearly impressed. "Not bad, Haruhi. We'll have to introduce you to our favorite game sometime."

"Maybe later," Haruhi frowned. "Takeshi-sempai, you weren't in on the whole betting thing were you?"

"Not at all," Takeshi said. "I was assuming there might have been one, but didn't actually learn of it until Kaoru-kun just told me now."

"Then why did you throw the fight?" Haruhi stared at him, a slightly disappointed expression on her face. Kaoru's eyes widened and he turned to stare at Takeshi.

Takeshi blinked. "I what?" he asked.

"You threw the fight," she repeated. "You didn't look disappointed at all that you had lost; in fact, you looked more relieved, as if you had expected the results."

"Ah? So our newest member has a devious streak in him after all," Kaoru said happily.

"I am not devious," Takeshi bit out. "And I didn't..." he met Haruhi's piercing stare, then averted his eyes unhappily. "Well, I guess I might have."

Haruhi arched an eyebrow.

"I do think I could have done better back there," Takeshi admitted. "At the same time, my family's sword style is... vastly different from kendo. Thanks to a certain pair of someones," he glared at Kaoru, who merely smiled back at him, "I had no time to practice what types of attacks were valid and which could get me disqualified. So I was mostly reacting to attacks Mori-kun threw at me first."

Haruhi tilted her head as she studied him carefully. Finally, her expression relaxed slightly and she nodded. "I suppose I can accept that for now, but you should probably apologize to Mori-sempai. He might want a rematch."

"I'd rather not," Takeshi said. "Especially if it would be another event like this, I dislike drawing attention to myself."

"Yet you went ahead and joined us," Kaoru pointed out.

"I have my reasons." Takeshi's near-constant headache throbbed slightly at the reminder and he quickly schooled his expression.

"Well," Haruhi said. "You should probably get cleaned up. We'll get Mori-sempai to do the same. Kyouya-sempai was saying he'd have costumes waiting for you in the locker room."

Takeshi looked back and forth between Kaoru and Haruhi, as if just realizing they were still in their Shinsengumi cosplay. "Why? Isn't the event over?"

Kaoru grinned, "Of course not, Takeshi-sempai. Now it's time for the victory celebration and the after-party!"

Takeshi groaned as he watched Hikaru and Hani pull Mori out of the crowd of admirers and shove him towards the locker rooms. He winced again as Haruhi reached out and gave him a gentle shove in the same direction.