Blonde eyebrows furrowed in frustration as a fist beat on a side door of the Ootori mansion. For the most part, all was silent within the walls of the household but this man was determined to get in. It was absurd to even think that someone would sleep in even past the hour of seven!
"Hello? Someone!" The man cried, ready to bang on the door once more before it swung open to reveal a rather disheveled – and pissed off – looking maid. The sight was only brushed off by the man as he offered her a wide grin and a laugh.
"Machi-san!" His voice pierced through the silent morning, causing the elderly maid cover her poor ears.
In the Ootori household – or at least within Kyouya's private wing – very little staff was awake or even present by ten o'clock, by their young master's request. Never in his life had he been a morning person, so in exchange for their late awakening, their hours were extended later into the night.
On the off chance that he actually be awake early enough for breakfast, Kyouya knew that he could simply call to the main house and have the extra workers serve him until his own had arrived. It was an arrangement that no one seemed to mind except for the people who didn't even carry the Ootori name.
"Suou-sama, I'd rather you not break the door. It's rather expensive and I'm sure Ootori-sama would not be very happy," the woman commented, stepping aside to let him in.
"That wasn't my intention, Machi-san! Honest!" Tamaki cried loudly, dramatic tears welling in the corners of his eyes as he slid his shoes off and slipped on a pair of blue house slippers. Not even past the threshold of the building, Tamaki had probably awoken a few other live-in servants.
"Will you be quiet?" The woman known as Machi whispered sharply, clearly tempted to slap a hand over the other's loud mouth. It was an action she was sure would not be reprimanded by the young master. "You know it's hardly 10:30, right? There's no chance that the young lord will be awake this early. If you expect any of the staff to wake him up, you're on your own," she said with a yawn.
No one ever dared to trespass into Kyouya's room uninvited, much less wake him up before his desired hour.
"But it's important that I be here! You know as well as I do that that Kyouya takes years to wake up and today's an important day! We're going t-" He was cut off by a loud "shush" and couldn't help the blush rising to his cheeks.
"I said shut up!" She whispered again before pushing him in the direction of Kyouya's bedroom. "If you want him up, fine. But don't tell him I let you in."
With a squeak of happiness, Tamaki all but skipped to Kyouya's room and slowly pushed open the door.
Over the years, Kyouya's room hadn't changed much. On the first level was something similar to that of a living room that Tamaki could remember spending such wonderful times with his best friend throughout the years. The furniture was mostly white leather and looked so clean that it looked uninhabited.
As he climbed the small flight of stairs to the second level, which was more of a balcony with a railing of steel and glass, Tamaki admired the artwork and few photographs on the wall. Although he would never admit to it aloud, Kyouya was a bit of an artist. Painting was a hobby of Kyouya's that only Tamaki had the pleasure of knowing.
"Kyouya!" Tamaki sang out, reaching the top of the stairs, his eyes traveling about the wide space. To the blonde, it looked as if a tornado had run through his bedroom, leaving papers scattered everywhere. "You shouldn't just leave all of this laying around for maids to clean up. Sheesh," He muttered under his breath as he walked forward to pick up the papers.
Although Tamaki knew better than to snoop around in someone else's business, he couldn't resist the curiosity as a picture of a woman stood out amongst them. "Who is this...?" Tamaki asked out loud as he flipped through a few papers. Relationship records, schooling information, medical documents.
Suddenly, it was as if a light bulb turned on in Tamaki's head. Kyouya was making a file of a woman he was interested in. The former host king couldn't help but snicker at this as he placed the messy stack on Kyouya's desk. He knew he'd be pushing his luck if he continued to flip through the papers without Kyouya's permission. The Shadow King always had a good sense about snoopers.
Crawling into bed next to his best friend, Tamaki laid down so the two were face to face. "Mon ami! Time to wake up!" He sang cheerfully, pushing on the dark-haired man's shoulder.
As usual, there was no sign of Kyouya waking up – or even being alive, for that matter. Not only did he hate rising early but he was also one of the heaviest sleepers Tamaki knew.
With a sigh of annoyance, Tamaki shook him harder to the point of rolling the man over, earning a groan. "So you're alive, Kyouya! Excellent. Now it's time to wake up!" Tamaki sat up on his knees to bounce the bed obnoxiously. Surely Kyouya couldn't sleep through a make shift earth quake!
Sitting up slowly and nearly falling back against his pillows more than once, Kyouya uttered a low growl. "And what do yo think you're doing at my house this early in the morning, you idiot?" He muttered, a deep purple aura surrounding him as he turned toward the blonde.
"K-K-Kyouya... Y-you're being scary," Tamaki stuttered while backing away from the vicious man.
"Who let you in? Tell me. He or she, along with the rest of his or her family, will be deported," Kyouya spoke lowly, his voice laced with sleep as he struggled to keep his heavy eyelids open.
"Mon Ami, please don't do that! Besides, if you don't get up, you'll be late to the party," Tamaki begged, falling off the mattress and rolling on the floor to lengthen the distance between the Low Blood Pressure Demon Lord and himself.
The words Tamaki spoke began to slowly sink in and the glow of purple disappeared as if it were never even there in the first place.
With a sigh, Kyouya looked over to his nightstand, checked the clock, and put his glasses on. "You idiot, the gathering isn't supposed to start until noon," Kyouya growled as his eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance. "I could have slept for another half hour. What were you thinking?"
Gulping loudly, tears began to gather in the corner of Tamaki's indigo hues. "Please don't be mad, Kyouya! I was just so excited. We only have a party twice a month and I just wanted to make sure you were ready and... and... and... Oh, Mon Ami! Please don't kill me!" He wailed dramatically, bowing down to his friend.
"Give me an hour," was all Kyouya said as he got out of bed and made his way into his bathroom.
Since the graduation of Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru, the hosts had made it a tradition to get together twice a month for a meal over the weekend. Whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it didn't matter to anyone so long as the group was able to catch up with each other and have a nice time. They'd also made a tradition that the person hosting the party would move in rotations. Much to everyone's pleasure, this time happened to be Haruhi's.
"Hey, everyone! We're here!" Tamaki shouted as he ran across the grass of the Suou estate's back yard with his best friend in tow by the wrist.
The former members of the Host Club all stood to greet the poor Shadow King with grins on each of their faces while waving. The thought "that poor man" ran through everyone's mind as he was tugged along by the energetic blonde.
"You wouldn't guess how hard it was to wake this log up and get him ready! He fell asleep tw-" Tamaki was cut off abruptly by Kyouya pinching his hand and shooting him a glare that said, "Say another word and you'll find yourself waking up, disoriented, and trapped on an island less that ten feet wide."
"I'm sorry we scheduled lunch so soon, Kyouya-senpai," Haruhi said sympathetically with a bow. "I suggested we push it back an hour but Tamaki wouldn't hear anything of it."
Kyouya waved her off and nodded. "No need to apologize, Haruhi. It wasn't your fault."
With the final greetings said and done, everyone sat down to a feast prepared by their favorite commoner. Although everyone was used to eating meals made by the finest chefs of the world, it was always a pleasure to eat what ever Haruhi made. There was a certain sense of warmth that her cooking held that no professional would ever be able to achieve.
"So, Hikaru, how's that new game of yours coming along?" Haruhi asked, dabbing her mouth with her napkin as she set her fork down and listened intently.
"Yeah, yeah! And what about that clothing line of yours, Kaoru?" Hani-senpai asked excitedly, swinging his feet back and forth.
Hikaru wrinkled his nose at the thought of his team of graphic designers. "It's been so-so. You would think that people under the age of twenty-five would know what's in style and what's actually fun. I swear, it's as if they were born adults, they're so boring. Luckily they work for me and I'm there to supervise what goes on." He smiled as he ate a piece of steamed broccoli.
Kaoru couldn't resist a laugh as he leaned back in his chair and placed both hands over his stomach. "Well, it's been pretty great, except for my main model for the children's line. She's such a diva," He spoke, rolling his eyes as his friends laughed.
"Yeah, Ageha can be a pain in the butt. When I offered her one of the games I was working on, she threw the DS across the room and stuck her tongue out at me! I wonder where she got such an attitude from," Hikaru pouted as he thought of the little devil that was his little sister.
"Oh yeah, I wonder," Haruhi mumbled sarcastically.
Sitting up straight, Kaoru folded his arms over the table and grinned at his eldest senpais. "How are your families doing, Hani-senpai? Mori-senpai?"
The shorter senpai – that sadly only grew three inches after graduation – couldn't help but smile. "All's been well. Reiko-chan loves the Haninozuka estate and has taken up watching the students practice karate. She doesn't say it out loud but I know she really likes kids," Hani-senpai couldn't help but speak fondly of his wife as his eyes softened at the thought of her. He'd been the first of the club members to marry, much to everyone's surprise, and thoroughly enjoyed the married life.
"And you, Mori-senpai?" Hikaru asked curiously as the taller senpai dabbed at his mouth.
"Very well," he said curtly, earning a bubbling laugh from his better half.
"C'mon, Takashi! Give them the news!" Hani-senpai placed a hand on his cousin's arm and shook lightly as he bounced in his seat.
With an embarrassed sigh, Mori-senpai cleared his throat and smiled. "Pregnant," he uttered, his cheeks flushing slightly with a pinch of pink as everyone erupted in cheers and offered him congratulations.
"That was fast, Mori-senpai!" Hikaru teased as the normally cool and collected man's mouth hanged open and his cheeks flushed even further.
"Enough teasing Mori-senpai. We're all really happy for you," Tamaki said with a smile as everyone began to slowly regain composure.
"Congratulations once again, Mori-senpai," Haruhi placed her hand on his arm and gave him a gentle squeeze as the color slowly faded from Takashi's overheated face.
Kaoru began to stir his iced tea with his straw as his eyes bounced from member to member. "We all know about Haruhi and the king's engagement already but what about you, Kyouya-senpai? You're the only one who hasn't told us about what's been going on in your life."
Kyouya's eyebrows barely rose as he set down his tea cup and folded his arms across the table.
"I can't say I've been up to anything that would catch anyone's interest. Simply business as per usual," he said in almost a bored tone, although the uncharacteristic gentle smile gracing his features would say otherwise.
"No girlfriend? No dates? Not even a one night-?" Hikaru was cut off by Kyouya's sharp glare and the clearing of his throat.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be so vulgar, Hikaru. But no to all of the above," Kyouya picked up his tea cup and took a hearty sip as Tamaki's eyebrows furrowed.
"But what about all those pictures and papers in your room, Okaa-san?" Tamaki asked loudly, causing everyone's ears to perk up as an audible choke sounded from Kyouya.
"Hikaru, look! The Shadow King has lost his composure!" Kaoru pointed out, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"But that's not the amazing part, Kaoru!" Hikaru shouted, standing up to stand by his senpai's side and taunt him devilishly. "Kyouya-senpai lied to us. He does have a girlfriend," his voice lowered as a smirk took its place on his mouth.
Standing up to take the opposite side of Kyouya's, Kaoru chuckled and placed a hand on his senpai's shoulder. "I bet he was just too shy. He's probably romantic like Boss and didn't want us all to find out that he's not as cold as he looks," he spoke in the similar low tone as his brother.
"I would suggest you stop or should you find yourself waking up in twenty-four hours in a vessel at the bottom of the ocean with less than two percent oxygen remaining," Kyouya threatened, a glare taking over his glasses and making his eyes completely unreadable as he smiled politely. "And Tamaki, why exactly were you snooping through my things? Whether they were laying about my room or not, they were not there for you to look through. Have you heard of something called privacy? Surely you could learn what privacy means in a cabin lacking electricity, signal for communication, and water at the top of Mount Everest, yes?"
With a girlish shriek, Tamaki hid behind Haruhi and cried. "I didn't mean to snoop through your things! I was just cleaning up for you and happened to see it! I promise, I'll never snoop again. Please, just don't send me to Mount Everest!" Tamaki begged as the palm of Haruhi's hand slapped against her forehead.
Sighing irritatedly, Kyouya pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose and looked directly at Tamaki. "To correct any further speculation, the woman is not my girlfriend."
"What is she then...?" Tamaki asked weakly, still hiding behind his fiancee.
"Business," Kyouya said simply, taking a sip of his tea and leaving everyone confused.
A/N: I know it's been a while since I've posted. I was supposed to have it up ages ago but I had a bit of a case of writer's block and was unable to complete it as scheduled.
I can't say that this is going to be updated daily like it was in the beginning but I'll try to post the chapters as quickly as I can. Like most, school has been going on and I've been tied up. I'll be writing a lot of the chapters, outlines, and notes in my notebook at school if I have spare time in order to help speed up the process but let me tell you, writing is so much more difficult than typing. I can't simply go back willy nilly should I make a spelling error and I'm a bit of a perfectionist when I write anything down on paper. I can't stand having it be a mess.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It just updated everyone on what the other hosts have been up to. Like the Introduction that included Noel, Haruhi and Tamaki's engagement, Hikaru's gaming, Kaoru's clothing, the character Ageha and her personality, and Hani-senpai's marriage is all cannon. I just added a few little bits here and there.
I've been debating on whether or not I should turn on anonymous reviews and I think I might in a little while. I'm really curious as to what people think of this.
But for now, if you have an account, review, review, review!
I really want to know what you all think.
- Kisai-chan