Anime High - Chapter Four

“I-I’m your mother?” Mitsuki asked the tall boy in front of her.  She was gazing up at him with concerned and perplexed eyes.

“Yeah, my name is Jasper, remember?” the boy answered. “I was born on July 29, 1883.”

“Let’s go talk about this somewhere less public.” Tamaki spoke up. “We don’t want anyone taking notice of this.”

The three went to a café and sat in a booth away from the bar.  There, they resumed their conversation.  Jasper had indeed sparked Mitsuki’s memory about her life during the late nineteenth century.  She had been living with her parents in a castle not too far from Berlin.  While there, a couple had visited with their three children, one of which had been Katasha.

“So, you say that you lived in that same castle until you were seven, right?” Tamaki inquired.  By his tone, Mitsuki could tell that Tamaki did not like Jasper in the slightest.

“Yes,” Jasper answered. “My father placed me in an orphanage then.”

“Tamaki, Katasha had two older brothers, right?” Mitsuki asked Tamaki.

“Yeah,” the blonde answered. “Jack and Mark.  They always visited us with Remus and Esana.”

Mitsuki pondered what she had heard so far about Jasper.  She did not recall the late nineteenth century well at all.  However, this particular conversation did ring a few bells about that time.  Jasper had been born in July of 1882, right around the same time she had been living with her parents.  Along with that, Remus and Esana visited them on numerous occasions whenever both families had all members present.  Mitsuki remembered that one of the couple’s sons had brown hair and dark blue eyes like Jasper.  He had been a particularly ruthless fellow, much like Esana.  The man and Tamaki had not gotten along well either.

Suddenly, a light bulb lit itself in Mitsuki’s brain, and she gasped in horror.  What if…?

“Jasper, do you remember your father’s name?” she inquired softly.

“Mark,” Jasper replied gravely. “Mark von Monroe.”

Tamaki slammed his fist, “That bastard…!  He did that to Mitsuki!!”

Mitsuki remained silent as Tamaki fumed and Jasper hung his head.  Yes, such memories troubled her and Jasper did look a lot like his father, but she saw no reason to be infuriated at her own son.  In a way, she enjoyed having Jasper with her once again.  She wanted to get to know him better and discover what he had been doing all these years.

“C’mon, Mitsuki, let’s go,” Tamaki said, grabbing her hand.

“Can’t Jasper come with us?” Mitsuki inquired.

“Why?  He’s just a--”

Mitsuki placed her pointer finger over Tamaki’s lips, “He’s coming with us.”

Tamaki grimaced and nodded.  The three of them headed out towards the library.  Mitsuki called Haruhi to let the gang know that they would be having an extra guest that night.  Haruhi sounded interested as to whom the guest was, to Mitsuki’s delight.

As the three walked through town, Mitsuki started a catching-up conversation with Jasper.

“So, where have you been staying at?” she inquired.

“I’ve stayed at numerous places over the years, but I’ve finally settled down with a f-friend.” Jasper answered bashfully.

“And who is this friend?”

“D-Destrey…”

“The Destrey?!  Katasha’s son?!”

“If you mean shaggy black hair and gorgeous black eyes, the yeah!”

“Gorgeous, huh?”

“Y-yeah…  I have a c-crush on him…”

Mitsuki grinned, “Do you know if he likes you back?”

“I h-hope so.  He’s pretty guarded, so I don’t say too much about my feelings.  I don’t wanna ruin what we have right now.”

“Destrey’s a psychopath…” Tamaki muttered.

“N-no, not at all!!” Jasper stammered. “That’s the Destrey from the past.  He rescued me from the orphanage when I was ten.  We were separated from World War One until a year ago, but we own a business together now.  It’s the DJ&Co. down on First Street.”

“The one that sells organic and homemade products?” Mitsuki asked.

“Yeah!”

“I’ve bought some stuff from there a few times!  You two have quite the thing going--!”

“Mitsuki!!” Tamaki interjected.

By this time, they were at the library, and Haruhi and Kaoru were waiting for them on the steps.  They explained that everyone else was in the café section awaiting the new guest.  Jasper seemed surprised that he was the guest of honor.  Mitsuki told Jasper and Haruhi that her and Tamaki would be a minute and for the two to wait inside.

When Haruhi had lead Jasper inside, Tamaki opened his mouth to speak.  However, Mitsuki stopped him.

“We will discuss your irritation later.  For now, let’s go have a good time with the others.  We will talk tonight.” she said.

Tamaki reluctantly nodded and followed Mitsuki into the library.  Jasper was introduced to the gang.  They all seemed to like Jasper well, but then again Jasper was a likeable person according to Mitsuki.

“Hey, Jasper, do you like cake?” Hunny inquired cutely.

“Yeah, I do,” Jasper answered.  He sat down with Hunny and Mori and was instantly given a plate of cake.

“Where are you from, Jasper?” Kyoya asked.

“Oh, I live just west of town in the country.” Jasper answered.

“What’s that like?” Hikaru asked.

“It’s open and peaceful.  My partner and I own a few acres of land and some animals.  If you like the country, it’s really a nice life.” Jasper answered.

“So you’re gay?” Kaoru asked.

“Y-yeah…”

“You like boys?!  That’s cute!!” Hunny exclaimed.

Jasper blushed and the conversation continued.  Mitsuki noticed that Tamaki was hanging outside the crowd for once.  She got the vibe that he really didn’t like Jasper, seeing as Jasper was from another man.  She disliked the subject of Jasper’s…origins, but they had agreed to talk that evening, so it could not be avoided.

During dinner that night, Arashi came into the dining hall from work.  When he saw Jasper, a small smile crossed his face.

“Hey, squirt,” Arashi said, acknowledging Jasper. “I guess you’re not a squirt anymore, but hey.”

“Y-you know him, too?!” Tamaki asked in shock.

“Yeah,” Arashi answered. “Mitsuki and I are twins, so naturally we talk about these things.”

Tamaki rolled his eyes and went back to eating.  Mitsuki finished her food and went and sat on the couch.  She could sense tension in the air, especially between her brother, husband and son.  She could also sense the tension growing at a fast pace.  Tamaki disliked Jasper, and Arashi was sensing Mitsuki’s feelings of unease as a result.  She was drawing that night, knowing full well that a rift was growing between her and Tamaki; a rift that had never been present in two-thousand years.