Other Side of the Page: Chapter 22

The night passed.  We had our fun and fell asleep on top of each other on the couch in the lobby.  We awoke, tangled up in each other’s limbs, to the sounds of someone pounding at the front door.  I got up and threw on a shirt and my boxers while Kaydence jumped off the couch and grabbed her clothes before diving up the stairs.  Slowly, I started to open the door.  I opened it a crack to find John and Damien waiting outside.  I swung the door open the rest of the way, allowing them entrance.  Immediately, they started arguing with me.  Damien wanted to go back and fight his father while Johnny of course wanted to go back and fight Matori.  Neither Damien nor Johnny, though, wanted to go back and fight Sukooru.  Of course, I knew the reason behind that.  John still had a spot in his heart for the young woman that gave him a home and love, while Damien still had a spot in his heart for the young woman who was his would-be cousin.  I couldn’t blame them, nor could I wait another minute to find out about Damien’s past.  They were arguing just before they came in, but once they saw me in my boxers they couldn’t help but laugh.1

“Yeah, sure, just get in here!”2

I closed the door and walked back to the couch to put my pants on.  Meanwhile, Damien lit a fire while Johnny went for the bar.  I zipped up my pants and turned around looking at John.3

”Hey, you’ve got a visitor here to see you.  He’s up in my room.  I promised Dani I’d take care of him for a while, and that I’d chew you out for not being around the house lately.”4

He was obviously stunned.  He downed the drink he had just poured and jumped over the bar before making a mad dash up the stairs.5

“I’m coming, Akira!  So much for being father of the year.”6

Damien chuckled as he sat on the couch to watch the flames he’d just started in the fireplace.  I sat down next to him and looked him over, only to have him give me a strange look as if to ask ‘what the hell is wrong with you’.  Finally I opened up to him.7

“I know, Damien.”8

Ok.  So I could have been more specific.  But keep in mind I had just woken up after being disturbed from a very peaceful sleep.9

“What the hell are you talking about?”10

“I know that you were the knight for a prince named Alexander.  I know that you were born in the midst of the Great War, which happened over two hundred years ago.  I know that you and Sukooru came pretty damn close to being cousins and that is why you won’t bring any harm to that family.  They took you in as one of their own.  I know a little more about your past, but I want to know everything.  Before last night, I only knew about the past twenty years of your life.  Now I find out that there’s about ten times that much waiting to be learned about you.  So teach me.”11

He cracked a smile and looked between the fire and me.  For a while, we just sat there as he dove into his own thoughts.12

“How did you find out?”13

I gave a shrug.14

“In a way…your cousin kind of told me.”15

“Suk was here?”16

“No.  She left a book of her family history in her house when she turned ownership of that house over to Miko.  Miko and I found the book, but never opened it.  But last night I went and got it and Kaydence and I looked through it and sure enough there you were.”17

He sat there, nodding for a while.  There was a long period of silence that passed between us.  I could tell he was planning something.18

“Mike…over the past few years that we’ve known each other, I’ve done my best to look out for you and the other team members.  That’s the way it works around here.  We have each other’s backs.  But there have been times that I’ve disappeared for days, sometimes weeks on end.”19

“Yeah.  That’s what we call personal time.  I let you guys live your lives and I try not to interrupt with whatever you have going.  You ask for vacation time, and I do my best to accommodate you with a proper amount of time to do whatever it is you feel you have to do.”20

“Haven’t you ever been curious as to where it is I go on my personal time?”21

I shook my head and got up from the couch, walking around for a bit.22

“Like I said, D, what you do on your time is your business.”23

“So why is my past any different?”24

I walked behind the bar and grabbed the Glass Johnny left behind from his drink.  I washed it out before answering him.25

“I guess you’ve got a point.  Your past is your business.  But when your past might interfere with my business of keeping things safe around here, that’s when it becomes my business.  You have a history with the Orochi family.  The first thing I want to know is, will that prevent you from killing Sukooru?”26

“If I must kill her…if that is what it comes down to, I would do everything I could to get the job done.”27

I took out a clean glass and threw a few ice cubes into the glass.28

“Well I’m glad to hear that.  I guess I wanted to confront you with this in a manner that wouldn’t invade your privacy.  Damien, I have to know more about you.  But it is up to you.  You’ve given me your word that you’re still good to go on this one.  Personally, that’s all I need.  But I am curious to learn more about you, especially now that I know that there is more to learn.  But I’m leaving that up to you.  If you want to teach me more about you, then I’d be more than willing to learn.  And I think it would help Kaydence as well.”29

I poured some vodka into the glass and came back around the bar to the couch, holding the glass out to him.  He took the glass and I proceeded to throw a log onto the fire.  He takes a sip of the vodka and looks intently at me for a minute before diving back into his thoughts.  His eyes pierced the fire and I sat down next to him.  Finally he came out with an answer.30

“I’m sorry, Mike, but now isn’t the time.  I agree, you should know more about my past, but this just isn’t good timing to go on any field trips.  I would certainly enjoy taking you and Kaydence to see what my life is like when I’m on vacation, but we just haven’t the proper amount of time it would take to go there and back.  Perhaps, when all of this with Argus and the Orochi family is over and done with, then I can take you two to see Kalandra, Alexander, Mac, and Troy.  But this isn’t the time for the three of us to go on a field trip and leave Johnny here by himself.”31

“Wait a minute.  You mentioned Alexander.  You’re telling me that prince is still alive?”32

He gave a shrug, taking a sip of his vodka.33

“Oh, young grasshopper, you have much to learn.  And I have so much to teach you, my friend.  Yes, Alexander is alive.  But that’s a long story in and of itself.  I’ll save that for another time.”34