#yoshio ootor

[ootori-sibs]

The apex predator of Ouran

Chapter five

Tw more cannibalism mentions, underage drug use (weed)

He was standing by the food table, enjoying a glass of champagne because there was no one to ask his age there. It was a lovely ball so far; Tamaki had been there for five minutes and he'd already been the subject of a few passing conversations, both his pseudonym and Tamaki himself. It was nice, garnering attention without having to try too hard. He also liked the anonymity of the situation.

"Ladies and gentlemen," another announcement called out, Tamaki barely glanced up but did a double-take when he saw who was standing there, "we are pleased to announce; Kireina Mōkin!" With a name meaning beautiful bird of prey, Tamaki could tell you exactly who it was without having to look. He looked away, excited to see what his best friend would be wearing- and he found himself choking on his drink.

In a black train that hugged his legs and fanned out into crimson silk frills, he wore tight fitting trousers that had beads and thin metal braids hanging from it's belt. On the top he wore a white silk shirt with one of those corsets designed for men that Tamaki had been looking at for theme inspiration, it was black and gold and he wore a black feather boa around his shoulders, with a chainmail shawl attached to it. His mask was black lace with a gold rim and diamonds hanging from it like dripping water. With no glamour on, his beautiful black plumage was on display; his arms were the closest thing he had to wings, with many long feathers adorning them, he had a couple poking out from under his mask and there was a thick ruff of them over his collar bones.

For a moment, Tamaki couldn't breathe. He wasn't sure why but it felt as if the world had suddenly stood still, or at least moved in slow motion as Kyoya made his way down the stairs. As much as he wanted to compliment his friend on his pseudonym and outfit, he decided not to approach Kyoya quite yet… the night was still young after all.

Instead, he decided to interact with the other people at the ball, using his inmate social skills to charm each and every individual he came across. He ended up talking to a young lady who had horse ears and painted hooves, she was rather polite and sweet and Tamaki was sure he knew that voice- of course he did, this was a ball for high society, but there was something specific he noticed. It didn't really matter to him, though, the girl was good company and he found himself enjoying the conversation. He tried one of his classic host tricks on her and she froze, taking a step back.

"Wait, you are human, right?"

He was surprised at that, he wasn't sure why she'd need to ask that. "Yes, why?"

The girl, having introduced herself as 'Sukoshi Bītī', breathed a sigh of relief. "Well mom says we have to make sure we're not talking to any carnivores, I just wanted to be safe." She smiled at him like that was a normal thing to say and Tamaki felt his blood boil.

"I'm sorry to have scared you then, Saori." He said her name the same way Ms Abe had spoken to Kyoya, turning his back on her and making his way across the ballroom. Tamaki usually wouldn't ever abandon a girl during a ball like that but he would not stand for someone to say something that would hurt his Kyoya like that.

Speaking of his devil, Tamaki noticed 'Kireina' talking to a gentleman in a dark red suit, with horse ears and a tail, a light brown mask and a red hat. It was a rather simple suit, and Tamaki could tell it was probably the most expensive thing the boy owned. Kyoya was interacting with the boy, they were engaged in a casual discussion and Tamaki wasn't sure Kyoya realised who the boy was. Then again, Kyoya was smart, and it wasn't really Tamaki's place to speak for him… even if the sight of that cruel young man cracking a joke that made Kyoya chuckle- no matter how politely, made Tamaki's heart hurt for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

Outside of the ballroom, he bumped into what looked like a second lionbird; a shirtless gentleman covered in brown feathers, with black suit pants and a long leather suit jacket slung over his shoulder. He wore a matching leather mask that had rubies around the edge, and there were several chains hanging from his belt. Taking a long drag from what looked like a cigarette but definitely didn't smell like it, the man glanced at Tamaki and smiled. "Hey Souh, you can throw one hell of a party."

"Uh, thank you?" Tamaki paused, unsure how exactly the man knew who he was, "how…-?"

"How do I know who you are?" The man chuckled, dropping his smoke and stamping it out, "you're the only blonde bastard around here, of course I know who you are."

Tamaki frowned, "but Honey-"

"The only blonde bastard above 5 feet." The man rolled his eyes, holding his hand out to Tamaki, "my pseudonym is Kakkoī Tori, what about yours?"

He shook Kakkoī's hand, a little hesitant, "Shiroi Ai, can I ask you a question, Tori-san?"

"Sure," Kakkoī shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Are you one of Kyoya's brothers?"

Kakkoī Tori froze, looking Tamaki up and down with growing amusement. "You're smarter than you look, Ai. You're right, you're looking at the coolest of the trio; Akito Ootori himself." As if to punctuate the sentence, Akito flexed his arms, grinning like a maniac. Tamaki briefly remembered meeting this one when he visited the Ootori mansion for the first time, he remembered it was alongside Kyoya's other brother, and that Akito had been a lot more formal then. However, he also remembered Kyoya warning him that Akito had 'behavioural issues' so he could be abrasive. Tamaki didn't think he was too loud or anything, it was just out of place for an Ootori to behave like that- he wondered where he got it from.

"I see you're questioning my behaviour." Akito spoke, crossing his arms with a smirk. Tamaki was very alarmed at this point, wondering if lionbird's could read minds. "It's called: pregaming before a social event so your father doesn't force you to interact with people." He said this like it was a miraculous invention, and Tamaki realized it meant that the man was drunk- or at least mildly intoxicated. "How old are you again? 18 right?"

"17," Tamaki corrected him, nervously watching him take a metal box out of his pocket, "why?"

Akito took another of those suspicious cigarettes out of the box, lighting it against his feathers. "Really? I could have sworn you were older than Kyoya," he shrugs, "no matter, do you want some? It's illegal anyway so I doubt your age matters if you've got a responsible adult with you."

"You're drunk," Tamaki answers, eyeing the man hesitantly, "hardly responsible- is that cannabis?"

"Mhm," he nodded in the affirmative, "it's high quality too, shipped in especially for me. I won't tell your dad if you don't tell mine."

Tamaki nodded, slowly taking the blunt and looking at it, "what do I do? Just breathe in?" Akito nodded, watching him closely as Tamaki put it to his lips and breathed in, instantly coughing as the smoke entered his throat. The blunt was taken from him and Akito began rubbing and patting his back gently.

"You're fine, you're fine, it's okay." His reassurances really sounded more like he didn't want to get in trouble but Tamaki didn't mind, he just wanted to get that horrible taste out of his mouth. "You alright there, kid?"

"Ugh, yeah I thin-"

"Why is Souh coughing?" A voice asked from behind them. The both turned around with matching expressions of horror as they both recognised the voice and tone used. Yoshio Ootori stood there, clutching his cane as his slightly straggled feathers glowed bright oranges and reds. He wore a tuxedo without a shirt but with a waistcoat, the slightly greying feathers on his collar bones visible. His mask, despite being completely counterproductive, had his company's logo on the top center, with a black background and gold trim. He wore white gloves, over hands that were currently clutching his cane as he glared at the blunt in his son's hand. "Akito, what is that?"

Sickly shades of yellow and pale orange danced across Akito's feathers as he very quickly burnt the entire thing to ash, bowing his head. "Nothing father, I was just enjoying the night air."

"I don't care if you smoke, Akito, I care if you just offered Souh some." He then turned his attention to Tamaki, sighing, "I'm a doctor, I know that pale face and rapid coughing are common in people who've never tried marijuana before. Souh, please tell me you haven't just tried some of that."

Now, Tamaki wasn't a coward. He was in no way the kind of person to tattle on someone for the hell of it. However… this was Mr Ootori, and Tamaki would be kidding himself if he wasn't terrified of the man. He couldn't bring himself to even speak, he just nodded, hanging his head in shame.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mr Ootori muttered something to himself before sighing heavily. "Now I don't think you're the kind of young man who's interested in breaking the law, so tell me, Souh; what made you agree to this?"

Tamaki paused, unsure of why he actually agreed; maybe it was because Akito was a little intimidating, but no- that couldn't be it. He couldn't exactly say he was scared of Akito… he looked at Mr Ootori silently, unsure how to answer in a way that would satisfy such an intimidating man.

"Are you nervous about something, Souh?" Mr Ootori asked, his tone surprisingly gentle, "how much did you have? Perhaps you're simply trying to distract yourself."

He just blinked at Mr Ootori slowly, "just… just one… puff? I don't know what it's called but I only breathed in once…" he shut up as soon as possibly could, hands shaking. Tamaki didn't know why this colossus of political and social power was speaking gently, he'd never heard the man talk like this before and it scared him more than a harsh tone. Maybe Mr Ootori was right, however; Tamaki might have been trying to distract himself from what he'd just seen.

Mr Ootori nodded slowly, looking a little relieved. "Alright, thank you for telling me, Tamaki." The use of Tamaki's given name made him even more uneasy, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible- he felt like he was going to cry. "Why don't you go and find your father? I think he was near the champagne when I last saw him, Fiyumi's there anyway and I know you're comfortable with her, so she can help you."

"Thank you, sir." Tamaki quickly bowed, hurrying back inside, glad to have been released. He leant against a wall, trying to catch his breath, his heart hammering in his chest. He could hear Mr Ootori roaring at Akito, although the words weren't as clear as the tone. Tamaki decided it was best he get as far away as possible, taking Mr Ootori's advice to head to the champagne table. To find his own father or to just get another drink, Tamaki hadn't decided yet.

Back at the drinks table, he reached for another glass of champagne, only to get his hand slapped away. “Nope, not for you. You’re too young.” Glancing up, Tamaki met the eyes of someone who could only be Fiyumi; a black wrap dress with diamonds on her earrings, belt and necklace. Her glossy black plumage on full display as she hooked arms with her husband, lifting her shimmering black latex and lace mask to look at Tamaki closer. “So that’s what your outfit looks like, huh. It’s not as garish as I expected, fair play.” She then glanced behind her and Tamaki followed her gaze to see an extremely bright suit.

A red waistcoat with a cream jacket, a matching red mask with some white feathers coming off of one corner. Tamaki’s main concern was the red hearts on the back and cuffs of the jacket, and the cream hearts on the shirt and mask- it looked kind of cluttered and it definitely wasn’t as grand as most of the outfits at this ball. That brown- slightly grey hair was the most disappointing detail, as it told Tamaki exactly who was wearing the suit.

Fiyumi carefully pulled Tamaki to stand in front of that man, “I hate to intrude on your fun, but Tamaki seems like he needs a little adult supervision. Father found him on the verge of embarrassing you, so perhaps just keep an eye on him for a bit.” Tamaki looked up at his father, both of them as displeased at the idea as each other. His father dragged him forward, to stand beside him, murmuring an agreement.

The moment Fiyumi left, Tamaki’s father turned to him and sighed, “what on earth have you been doing, Tamaki? Embarrassing me in front of the Ootori’s? Just because you’re friends with Kyoya doesn’t mean you can forget your manners.”

Tamaki sighed heavily, crossing his arms. “Don’t blame me, it’s not my fault that Kyoya’s brother has no qualms about breaking the law.” He hated it when his father tried to lecture him, it seemed very hypocritical for that kind of person to lecture anyone so Tamaki always felt a sense of disdain when this happened.

His father groaned, looking confused but not questioning it, “just don’t embarrass me, this is a very important social event.”

Wondering if his father had forgotten about who organised the ball, Tamaki left the champagne table, thoroughly annoyed. He put his energy into socialising with the other people at the ball, making sure everyone was comfortable and happy. It was where he excelled; keeping people entertained. He bumped into the twins whilst socialising, their matching suits were incredibly stylish but he was more concerned with the fact that they told him they’d seen Kyoya leave the room with a boy that had horse ears.