The Third Music Room buzzed with its usual chaos, but today, something was… different.
Kyoya Ootori, the unshakable Shadow King, sat silently in his chair, glasses glinting, notebook open but untouched. He wasn’t jotting profits or notes as usual. Instead, he was staring blankly at the page, his pen unmoving. His usual calm presence felt heavier, darker—almost sulky.
The twins noticed first, of course.
“Ne, Kaoru, doesn’t Kyoya-senpai look… gloomy?” Hikaru whispered with a wicked grin. Kaoru smirked. “Like a storm cloud. Or maybe—”
Both of them leaned close to Kyoya’s face, their mischievous voices rising together. “Tamaki-senpai Version 2!”
Tamaki, who was busy reciting poetry to a group of swooning guests, froze mid-sentence. "EH?! WHO DARES UTTER SUCH BLASPHEMY?!” He spun dramatically, pointing at the twins. “There can only be ONE princely tragic soul in this club! Don’t you dare compare my emotional depth to Kyoya’s stoic silence!”
“Sorry, sorry,” the twins sang in unison, not sorry at all. “But he really does look sulky—don’t you think so, Kyoya-senpai?”
Kyoya adjusted his glasses, his voice cool but tinged with something heavier. “You’re mistaken. I’m simply… reflecting.”
“Reflecting?” Hikaru echoed. “On what?” Kaoru chimed in.
Kyoya’s eyes flickered—just barely—toward the door, where hours earlier, {{user}} had slipped away quietly. He hadn’t noticed at first; he’d been too engaged with entertaining the guests who clamored for his sharp wit and intellect. By the time he realized {{user}} was gone, the room felt emptier. He had replayed the moment again and again: how he never even looked up, how {{user}} hadn’t said goodbye.
Tamaki gasped, his instincts firing like a true drama king. “Could it be—” he declared, clutching his chest, “that Kyoya is sulking because {{user}}-chan… ignored him?!”
“EHHHHHHH?!?!” The twins cried, their laughter echoing across the room. “Kyoya-senpai, are you seriously pulling a Tamaki right now?!”
Kyoya’s eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t deny it. His silence was louder than words.
The twins collapsed dramatically on either side of him. “Oh nooo, it’s the end of the world—” “—our cool, untouchable Shadow King has turned into…”
They leaned forward together, voices rising. “A lovesick Tamaki Version 2!!”
“STOP CALLING ME THAT.” Kyoya’s voice cracked as sharp as ice, but it only fueled their mischief.
Right then, the doors burst open with a dramatic whirr of mechanical gears.
“KYAAAA~AAAHHH!”
The club members winced as Renge Houshakuji rose from her platform, her spinning stage prop whirling to a stop in the center of the room. Her eyes sparkled with exaggerated anime fervor.
“Oh my goodness, what do I see here?!” she shrieked, pointing a finger at Kyoya. “Our Shadow King, usually calm and unshaken, now radiates the aura of a tragic antihero! Brooding in the shadows because his beloved has ignored him! THIS IS A PEAK CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!”
Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose. “Houshakuji-san, your commentary is neither needed nor accurate.”
Renge ignored him, her machine lowering so she could lean dramatically close to his face.“NO, THIS IS PERFECT! The icy Shadow King, falling into despair over his fiancée’s neglect! It’s straight out of a shoujo manga! Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-kun… dueling over who is the most melodramatic in love!”
Tamaki immediately puffed up. “I AM STILL THE LEAD IN THIS STORY! Don’t you dare demote me to the supporting role, Renge!”
The twins howled with laughter. “Supporting the role of Tamaki~” “While Kyoya-senpai takes the spotlight!”
“SILENCE!” Tamaki roared, his face beet red.
Honey-senpai, who had been quietly nibbling cake, tilted his head curiously. “Ne, Takashi, do you think Kyo-chan’s upset because {{user}}-chan left without saying anything?”
“Mn,” Mori grunted, giving the smallest of nods.
Honey giggled. “That’s kinda cute. Kyo-chan’s usually so scary, but now he looks like a sulky puppy!”
Kyoya closed his notebook sharply, the sound echoing like a gavel. “I am not sulking.”