A/N: Sorry for disappearing, but I am finally back. This one was requested by Shortie87. I am a huge sports fan and when I made the list, I could picture a shinai being used in so many different kinds of sports. So since the World Series has recently come to a close, here is a baseball story for you!
IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN! I am in the process of plotting a new Christmas story. I have posted a poll on my author page. It is up to you to decide which host Haruhi should be paired with in the story. Vote for your favorite! You have until 12/5 to get your votes in. For those without an account, you can vote in the reviews. Thank you!
#38… Baseball bat – Especially when playing indoors with a rubber ball or paper ball.
Once upon a time… Uh, sorry dear reader, wrong story.
Sports have always been a favorite past time in a majority of the world population's lives, and some fans take their devotion to their team to the extreme. Certain members of the Host Club are not to be excluded from that… intensity. Point and case, remember the newspaper club episode, the twins had challenged Tamaki to soccer (aka football in other parts of the world), or at least a kicking contest. This challenge almost got Haruhi killed, injured the president of the newspaper club, and ended up causing a lot of trouble for Kyoya and the other members of the club (who were not Tamaki).
Now, let us go back to right after they finally finished dealing with the newspaper club. Around the other club they had played a variety of commoner games, but after… well after, Hikaru and Kaoru decided to challenge Tamaki yet again. Maybe this is where Tamaki got his idea when he challenged Mori to a series of duels (dear reader, this is in reference to Bitter2. In order to win Haruhi, Tamaki challenged Mori… he lost), who knows. What we do know is that the twins being the little devil hosts decided to be… well devious little devils.
After the Host Club (dear reader, it was mainly Kyoya because he may be the only one that could maneuver through the maze without getting lost), found Tamaki and Haruhi acting like little lost puppies, they retreated back to the club room for some hot tea and cake; and that is when the redheads struck. As soon as the cake had been set down in front of Tamaki, they challenged him to an eating contest (dear reader, they knew better than to challenge Hunny because no one could eat cake as fast as their senpai). Not wanting to lose to Hikaru or Kaoru, the blond took them up on their offer and then lost. How you ask? Well it was simple really, as soon as the contest started, Hikaru called out, "Oh no, I think Haruhi tripped and hurt herself!" Worried for his precious daughter, Tamaki abandoned his cake and lost the contest.
In his defeat, Tamaki cried out, "You shady twins! You did that on purpose!"
"We did?" They asked in a bored tone (of course they had).
His face turning red, the president of the club yelled, "I challenge you to baseball!"
"I don't know if you realize this or not, but we don't have enough players for one complete team, let alone two," Hikaru rolled his eyes.
Not one to let opportunity to pass him by, Kyoya approached the group, and as he pushed up his glasses, he stated simply, "No, but you could have a batting contest. I believe the U.S. has a homerun derby during their all-star games. You could do something similar."
"Yah, and to make sure no one gets hurt, we can use those white balls with the holes and plastic bats!" Hunny exclaimed.
"Those are called whiffle balls, Hunny-senpai," Haruhi murmured from her place next to Mori.
"Whomever hits the most balls is the winner," the Shadow King smirked already calculating how to make this a Host Club event.
On the day of the big event, hundreds of girls showed up at the baseball field (and maybe a few guys) in order to witness the members of the Host Club go head to head in a batting tournament. Many carried signs cheering on their favorite host, excited to see this display of manly prowess. However, a slight mishap occurred (and dear reader, Kyoya fully blamed the twins); the plastic bats were nowhere to be found. They had disappeared without a trace. How were they supposed to hold the event without any bats?
Just as Kyoya was about to place a call to the Black Onion Squad to gather bats and get them to Ouran stat, Mori stepped forward and made a suggestion, "The kendo club has more than enough spare shinai that we can use. They will work just as well as the bats."
"Are you sure Mori-senpai?" Tamaki asked hesitantly.
"Hai! When we were younger, my brother and I would use our shinai as bats. My father did not approve, but they are very effective."
"Thank you Mori-senpai. Can you have your club members bring them here immediately?" Kyoya inquired. His outward appearance did not change, but internally, he was wiping the sweat from his brow. The crowd's flames of MOE were already burning out of control and a delay may turn them into rabid animals (ok, maybe I am overreacting here dear reader… maybe). In addition to that, there was the worry that if the flames grew any further, fire damage might be seen on the buildings closest to the diamond.
Within minutes the kendo club appeared carrying the extra shinai and began passing them out. Since all members of the Host Club were encouraged by the Shadow King to participate (dear reader you may want to read that as ordered and threatened), each had been handed three shinai (just in case one broke) and the games could begin.
The baseball team graciously allowed the Host Club to use their diamond and the pitchers for the team agreed to throw the balls. All of this was done so that Tamaki and the twins (and anyone else) could complain that something wasn't fair. Everyone was equal.
Since the twins were the original members challenged, they opted to go first. Hikaru stepped up to the plate and swung hard as the whiffle ball came hurtling his way (not very fast mind you because they don't travel that quickly, and they don't hurt when hit by one dear reader). Spinning around, he looked up to see how far the ball traveled… it was sitting on the ground behind him. Out of ten pitches, he only hit five.
Kaoru did a little better. At least he didn't spin around like he was a ballerina and hit the first ball. He actually hit six of the balls thrown to him, unfortunately one of them was with his head and therefore did not count.
It was not Tamaki's turn. He strode up to the plate hoping for nothing more than to beat the twins and to impress Haruhi. Just as the first pitch was about to be thrown, the sound of heckling reached his ears. Whipping around, he found both twins standing there yelling at him. This was not to be born! He had to retaliate! "You two evil doppelgangers. Shut up! Mommy, make them shut up!" (Dear reader, I never said he was mature about it.)
"Yah, like mommy is going to do anything!" Hikaru chortled.
"Calling mommy to come to your rescue?" Kaoru teased.
Shaking their heads and laughing, they exclaimed, "PATHETIC!"
Air was sucked in loud and hard, and the hosts believed that the entire mob would have heard that ungentlemanly noise. Fixing their gazes upon their leader, his eyes had grown and you could see more white than anything. He was quickly losing his color. This was not good.
"Mori-senpai, Hunny-senpai, if you please?" Kyoya simpered and watched as his fellow hosts produced rope from who knows where and promptly tied up the twins right before they were gagged. Turning to his best friend, the Shadow King ordered, "Now Tamaki, I do believe it is your turn. Please pull yourself together and begin. Is this the face you want to show the princesses?"
The threat in those words were undeniable, but that is not what called Tamaki to action. Kyoya was right. This was not the face a princess should see. Shaking off the distraction, he stepped up to the plate, ready to swing. He was not very good and swung at air more than anything, taking two or three swipes at each ball with his eyes closed; however, he managed to hit six balls with the shinai and not his body. And he kicked up a lot of dust.
Next came Haruhi, and she landed on her butt twice before hitting one ball. Yes, only one out of ten. She truly was not the most athletic person in the Host Club.
Smirking, Kyoya passed Haruhi on his way to the plate and he whispered, "Really Haruhi. I thought your lessons with Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai would have given you better results than this."
She wanted to slap him, but was afraid of how much her debt would increase. Instead, she made her way to the dugout and sat down next to Mori. Unable to sit too close lest their secret be revealed to the girls, Haruhi sat as close as possible feeling his strength and allowing his presence to comfort her. The ruffling of her hair brought back the smile to her face.
Honestly, Kyoya wasn't sure how well he was going to do. He felt like they were playing yet another commoner's game and he always seemed to do poorly in those. Taking his stance in the batter's box, he waited for the first pitch and swung hard. Missed. However, the second pitch would have probably been a homerun had it been a real baseball. All in all, he only missed three. Much better than the hosts who came before him.
Hunny, too excited to wait, ran onto the field as soon as the last pitch had been thrown and was at home plate seconds after Kyoya stepped away. He had played this game as well when he was younger, and he had to admit that this was one challenge that was proving to be fun indeed. With each pitch thrown, he hit each ball sent his way. Jumping high into the sky and doing a flip between each swing after his "bat" made contact with the ball. Ten for ten.
Last up to bat was the person that suggested using the shinai in the first place: Mori. Quietly and stoically he approached the box. He was ready to face his enemy. Pitch one. He hit the ball harder and farther than any previous batter. After four pitches and four hits, he changed his shinai. That last hit had caused the bamboo to crack. Six more pitches, and six more hits. Each time sending the ball further and further out into the outfield, and on the last hit, his bat split in two. He was the undeniable winner in this contest. Yes, Hunny had hit the same amount of balls, but no one could question the strength and power of the current kendo captain.
A hush fell over the crowd. They were in awe witnessing such power. After a minute of stunned silence, the flames of MOE increase, the screams became deafening, and the girls began to swarm the field.
Victory came to neither Tamaki nor the twins that day. They had lost, although Hikaru and Kaoru liked to point out that they didn't do as poorly has Haruhi. Just for the teasing she endured, Kyoya knocked off a 1000 yen because he felt sorry for her… and because picture sales for her increased tenfold after her disastrous showing.
The bats were found floating in the swimming pool the next day. No fingerprints were found, but video surveillance showed two people dressed all in black with masks covering their faces, dumping the plastic toys. There was no proof, but Kyoya was sure Hikaru and Kaoru were behind the deed.
After their loss on the baseball diamond, many thought this would be the end to the challenges, however a week later, Tamaki announced, "I challenge you two demons to hockey!"
Smirking, Kyoya got ready for the next wave of profits.