Anime High - Chapter Two

Tamaki and Mitsuki met up with Kyoya at a local restaurant for dinner and discussed what the plans were for the weekend.  Kyoya was a senior at the Academy whom had travelled abroad from Japan and was staying with some wealthy relatives.  He was tall with short black hair, wore designer glasses, and had dark gray eyes.

“Don’t worry about the ticket, Tamaki,” Kyoya said. “I’ll pay.”

Tamaki nodded and thanked him.  Mitsuki began eating a plate of pancakes hungrily, sharing some of it with Tamaki.  They ate in silence for a few minutes until Arashi came up with a couple of Tamaki’s friends, Hikaru and Kaoru.

“Hello, Tamaki,” Kaoru said. “I see you have Mitsuki with you.”

“Yeah, where’s Haruhi?” Tamaki answered.

“She’s getting some snacks for the sleepover tonight.”

Tamaki nodded and put his arm around Mitsuki.  Whenever the gang got together, they went to the library and then to Kyoya’s house.  The next day, they would run around town cosplaying.  It was their club routine that Tamaki and Kyoya had created.

After finishing dinner, the group headed to the library in Town Square, where the three other members of the group were.  Hunny was eating some cake from Comet Coffee Café, and Mori was calmly sitting on the steps.  Haruhi was waiting for Kaoru, her boyfriend.  Mitsuki could clearly sense Hikaru’s jealousy.

Inside the library, there was a small café plus the actual library itself.  It was here that the twins and Tamaki did most of their schoolwork.  Considering that Katasha had a three-year-old on her hands, going to the library was the best choice.  Gaara was usually at his part-time job or working on his college degree, but Mitsuki never wanted to risk anything more than a verbal fight, so they went out on numerous occasions.

“Arashi, do you want to fail history class?” Mitsuki asked, watching her brother doze off.

“Mmm…I have a C…” Arashi mumbled.

“It’s almost time for conferences.  I dunno what the teacher’s gonna say.”

“You’re in AP History, so what business is it of yours?”

“Well…”

“I know studying isn’t the only thing you do with Tamaki at night.”

Mitsuki blushed a crimson red and gazed at her paper.  She could feel Arashi’s sly gaze on her.  Despite being much older than they looked, Tamaki and Mitsuki acted like typical teenagers.  Their bodies were unable to age past a certain point, so their brains never developed fully.  That went for Arashi as well.  Only a select few knew about their secret, including Kyoya.

“Hey, Mitsuki, how much more homework do you have left?” asked Haruhi.

“Oh, just some English.  Why?” Mitsuki answered.

“Well, there looks to be a storm rolling in, so Kyoya thought we should go to his house.”

Mitsuki nodded and smiled at Haruhi.  They woke Arashi up from his cat nap, and then the group headed to Kyoya’s mansion on the rich side of town.  The mansion was goliath compared to the shack Tamaki and the twins resided in.  It had two fountains, three balconies, and a swimming pool in the backyard.

Kyoya’s room was on the second floor.  Whenever the gang got together, there was always an extra pair of clothes for all along with a sleeping area as well.  This was the lavish and reliable support system that Tamaki and the twins could rely on and were more than grateful to have.

Since there was an October storm brewing outdoors, the gang stayed inside and had some electronic entertainment.  They had card games, video games, and anime to occupy them along with each other’s company.  Tamaki, Mitsuki, Kaoru, and Haruhi were playing a game of Pokémon, when a crash of thunder came from outdoors.

“Yikes!!” Haruhi and Mitsuki squealed.  They instantly stumbled to the nearest enclosed space, that being a wardrobe.  Both girls did not enjoy thunderstorms too well.

Tamaki sighed, “What business could you girls possibly have in a wardrobe?”

“N-Narnia, that’s what!” Mitsuki stammered in reply.

“Are they in the wardrobe again?” Mitsuki heard Kaoru ask.

“Yeah.  You might wanna take care of Haruhi for now.” Tamaki answered.

Mitsuki and Haruhi were clinging to one another when their lovers opened the wardrobe doors.  Tamaki picked Mitsuki up bridal style, seeing as she was much smaller than he was.  He carried her over to her sleeping bag and set her down.  She crawled into it, shaking.  Tamaki lay down beside her and stroked her hair.  Mitsuki gradually relaxed, and her eyelids began to flutter.

“Is it okay if you put in your headphones, and I go join the others?” Tamaki asked her.

“Can you…stay be me…just a lil’ longer?” Mitsuki murmured.

Tamaki smiled softly and nodded.  He got Mitsuki’s MP3 player from her book bag and helped put the ear-buds into her ears.  Then, kissing her softly on the lips, Tamaki lay down beside her as she sank into a peaceful doze.

~*~

Mitsuki awoke during the night to rain pounding on the outside of the house.  The thunder and lightning had ceased, but the rain was still pouring.  She noticed also that her ear-buds had fallen out.  Tamaki had disappeared to somewhere and most everyone else was asleep, including Kaoru and Haruhi.  Hikaru and Arashi were playing a Legend of Zelda game.

“Arashi?” Mitsuki spoke up.

“Oh, you’re up,” Arashi answered, turning his head to her.

“Where did Tamaki go?”

“I think he went to the dining hall with Kyoya.”

Mitsuki nodded.  She stood up, rubbed her eyes, and walked down the long corridor.  She stopped once she heard voices and stayed put out of sight.  One of the voices was definitely Tamaki’s.

“You know, Tamaki, you could stay here if you like.  There’s plenty of bedrooms here, along with food and water.” Kyoya said.

“Thank you, Kyoya, but I don’t want to place our burden on you.  It’s enough that you help us out like this.  We’re indebted to you a lot as it is.” Tamaki replied.

“I know your home situation right now.  Nobody should have to live like that.  Besides, Gaara probably makes it hell for you.”

“Y-yeah…It seems to be pretty tough on the twins as well.”

“Possibly.  Are you sure that you don’t want to stay here?”

“I’m sure, Kyoya.  Even if Mitsuki and I are both working part-time, we gotta get out of this mess financially.  We don’t want to lean on anyone too much.”

Tamaki ran a hand through his thick blonde hair.  Mitsuki could tell he was stressed.  School, work, their home life, paying the electric bill and having no running water; it was so heavy on his shoulders.

Then, the blonde stood up and stretched.

“I’d better go check up on Mitsuki.  She has nightmares whenever a thunderstorm rolls in.” he said.

Mitsuki quickly dashed back to the sleeping room and wriggled into the sleeping bag.  Though she wished they could stay with Kyoya until Tamaki graduated, they would be going back home on Sunday.  Kyoya had already done enough for them, and they couldn’t be indebted to anyone too much.  As far back as her memory went, they had never depended on anyone before, and they wouldn’t start now.

Just then, Tamaki walked into the room with Kyoya.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Tamaki asked, laying down on the blanket beside her.  

“Um…yeah.  The rain woke me up.” Mitsuki answered.

“I see.  Any nightmares?”

“No.”

Tamaki smiled, “Good.”

He put his arm around her and closed his eyes.  Mitsuki briefly glanced up to see Kyoya looking in their general direction.  Though the room was dark, she could see his face clearly.  There appeared to be a certain emotion in his eye…a certain look of dislike and envy.

Did Kyoya…like Tamaki?