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In hindsight, the warm weather should have been a clue that something was amiss, but when Sousuke woke up in the fountain, his first thought, after scrambling out of the water, was “Shit.”
Whose house was this? No, not a house. Whose mansion?
His head throbbed like he’d been drinking, and lots of it. What the hell had happened last night? Had his coworkers dragged him out again? He looked down at his sopping wet clothes. Jeans, a hooded sweatshirt. Friends then. That’s right, Rin was getting married!
“One more bar,” he’d slurred after Asahi had talked him into it, because Asahi didn’t know Rin like Sousuke knew Rin, and didn’t realize, exactly eight seconds after agreeing, that Rin would vomit everything he’d consumed since dinner onto the sidewalk. Sousuke had gone out to hail a cab. That was the last thing he remembered.
How had he ended up here? More importantly, where was Rin? Sousuke pulled out his cell phone, but the swim in the fountain had guaranteed him an upgrade. Great. He was soaking wet at some bigwig’s house in God-knows-what part of Japan, and he’d lost the groom.
Haru was going to kill him.
First things first, he had to go inside and apologize to whoever lived here. If they were any kind of decent people, they would let him use the phone. His shoes made horrible squelching noises as he crossed the manicured garden. It looked like something out of those English period dramas he occasionally watched when he couldn’t sleep. Something sinister growled from behind a towering hedge. Sousuke picked up his pace, jogging until he’d reached the edge of the hedge row, and sprinted toward a pair of French doors when he spotted something in his peripheral vision, something large and four legged.
He’d never seen a dog that size.
Was this a yakuza compound? Was he going to have to fight his way out of here? The whatever-it-was snarled as it charged him. Forget it. He’d take begging for his life over being mauled and launched himself at the doors as soon as they were in reach. When the handle turned, he could’ve wept. Sousuke dashed inside and forced his weight against the door to close it. The snarling thing sniffed at the glass between them and trotted away.
Sousuke paused to catch his breath—and his throbbing head in his hands. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this hungover. It was lucky that the inside of the mansion was cooler than the garden or he’d be sick. The room where he stood was filled with plants and offered an exit to the left or right. He took the left, hopeful that he would find the front door without running into anyone. With any luck, he’d recognize the area and pretend to knock on the door.
He had no memory of getting into the cab, no receipts in his pockets, but the driver must have dropped him and Rin off here. Or Sousuke had stayed in the cab after taking Rin home and he was here alone. Without a phone, he had to rely on a witness to tell him whether Rin had been here or not. Sousuke would never live it down if he stranded him.
He was following a bright, elegant corridor that turned at a right angle and ran along a series of closed doors opposite soaring windows. The light fixtures were gilded, and the floor underfoot looked like marble. Whoever owned this place must be worth a fortune!
Near the end of the hallway, he became aware of voices: two people speaking with each other, one sweetly high pitched, the other sonorous. As he drew closer, Sousuke could make out the words.
“. . . and the young master said he’d go into town today, so I plan to accompany him once he’s out of bed.”
“What am I to do all morning?” asked the deeper voice.
“Hm? I thought you had an audience with the King today?”
“That is not until this afternoon.”
“Ohh, my lord, were you hoping that I’d entertain you? If you’ll miss me sooo~ much, then come along on our shopping trip. I didn’t realize I’d left you so wanting last night.”
“You!”
Fantastic. Sousuke had walked into a lover’s spat. He could run past the open doors and hope he wasn’t spotted, or remain quiet and hope the pair would stop flirting long enough for him to speak up. He decided the best approach was to clear his throat and call out, in a booming voice honed by shouting across pool decks, “Excuse me, is anyone home?”
Momentarily, a young man with chin-length pink hair pinned back from his reddish eyes poked his head out of the room. With a glance at Sousuke, his face fell.
“Oh, not again!” he cried, identifying himself as the higher of the two voices. “Where did you enter from, the hedge?”
Sousuke pointed to his wet clothes. “I had an incident with your fountain.”
The young man clucked his tongue and called for someone named Ludwig that showed Sousuke to a second-floor bedroom. There, he showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes that fit surprisingly well, even though the style was peculiar. Who wore mesh sleeves?
As Ludwig had instructed before he’d left him to bathe, Sousuke found his way back down an intimidating staircase and across an entry hall that could swallow his apartment twice, back to the hallway and the room attached to it where he had met the young man—a dining room, he realized on entering. The young man was not in sight, but an impressive looking person with long red hair and tanned skin sat at the table eating a plate of food. When he noticed Sousuke in the doorway, he motioned to a chair.
“Sit. Aster is having them prepare you something.”
Sousuke deduced that Aster must be the young man. “I’m looking for a friend of mine,” he said. “Rin. I don’t suppose you've seen him?”
The redhead’s eyes narrowed. “That so-called sorcerer’s brother?”
“Uhh, no. Matsuoka Rin? He’s a swimmer. I thought we might have come here together.”
“You are the only intruder today.”
Reddening, Sousuke bowed his head. “I apologize.” The man dismissed it with the flap of his hand. His skin was covered in intricate white markings, like tattoos, and gold jewelry on his fingers and forearms. Is this how rich people lived?
“Since you aren’t from here, you may call me Dante.”
“I’m Sousuke. I appreciate the hospitality.”
“It’s Aster’s mansion, not mine, although I suppose it’s common property now.”
To be that young and own a place like this? Aster didn’t look a day over eighteen.
“I really don’t want to impose,” Sousuke said, still standing. “Would I be able to use your phone?”
“My what?”
“Telephone. I need to call my friend and make sure he’s okay.”
“Oh, you must also come from that imposter’s world.”
Sousuke blinked. What was that supposed to mean? He presented his dead cell phone and laid it on the table. “Mine took a swim. I promise I will reimburse any charges.”
“I’m afraid they don’t have anything like that here,” said a new voice.
A man about his age wearing a blue jacket entered the dining room and fell, yawning, into an adjacent chair. From his sandy bedhead, Sousuke guessed he had just woken up.
“Morning,” said the man.
Dante nodded in acknowledgement.
“I’m Eiden,” the man added as he addressed Sousuke. “This is gonna sound pretty strange, but bear with me.”
A few minutes later Sousuke had been debriefed on the situation. Several decades ago, the former Grand Sorcerer of Klein Continent—that’s where he was at the moment—had created portals to other worlds and safely locked them behind a spell. But because of recent essence fluctuations, whatever those were, portals were opening on their own and several people from Sousuke’s world had wandered into Aster’s garden. The only way to get back was to wait for the portal to re-open, which it would do in two hours or so. (“Or two months!” Aster had added with a laugh when he rejoined them.)
This Eiden was the current Grand Sorcerer, Dante was apparently a king and ruled a nearby desert nation, Aster was a vampire who only appeared young, and Sousuke was never, never drinking that much ever again for the rest of his natural life. He rubbed his aching head.
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Eiden said and patted his arm in a friendly way.
“Is that how you got here?” Sousuke asked. “Through one of the portals?”
“Sort of. I was summoned, so I guess you could say my portal was intentional. Oh! Looks like your breakfast is here.”
A slender, beautiful man in black and red robes presented a plate to Sousuke and stood back with a nervous expression.
“Please eat, if you’d like to,” he said, folding his hands together. “I prepared some of Mr. Eiden’s favorites. I apologize for my shortcomings; we don’t have the same foods here.”
“You didn’t have to go to the trouble!” Sousuke said but gratefully downed the proffered cup of strong tea. The man looked especially pleased.
“I’m Yakumo,” he said and took the open seat beside Eiden. Servants came in carrying more plates and set them before Eiden and Yakumo, and an empty space to Sousuke’s left.
Sousuke introduced himself again and tried the food. His bleary eyes widened. “This is fantastic,” he said and shoved in a second bite.
Yakumo blushed. “I’m so glad you like it. There’s more, so please don’t hold back.”
He ate like he looked, daintily, and seemed to melt whenever Eiden cast a word his way. Sousuke was trying to think of something to ask him when a shadow fell on him from the doorway. On instinct he turned to see who it was and almost choked on his food.
Makoto! What was he doing here? Had he gotten into the cab along with them? He must’ve come through the fountain too, but the others hadn’t mentioned him. Did that mean he’d just arrived? Sousuke owed him an apology. He quickly wiped his face and hands and stood.
“Makoto. Oh, thank god. About what I said last night . . .”
The man in the doorway blinked in confusion but broke into a warm smile. “You must be our newest guest.”
What the hell? Oh—OH. He was dreaming! That explained everything. One of the guys from the party last night must have talked to him about some fantasy anime. Did that mean he was actually passed out somewhere weird? At least he wasn’t really in—what was this place called again?
“I think he’s going to faint,” Makoto said to the others and swiftly guided Sousuke into a chair. He knelt beside it and took his hand. “I’m Father Olivine. Do you know where you are?”
“Asleep?” Sousuke said weakly.
“Why don’t you finish your breakfast and then we can talk?”
“Should we cancel our trip into town?” Eiden asked.
“No, I think we’ll be fine on our own,” said Makoto-who-was-actually-Father-Olivine. He took the seat next to Sousuke and pressed his hands together over his plate before eating.
To Sousuke’s right, Eiden leaned closer.
“Pinch yourself,” he said. “You think you’re dreaming, right? Pinch yourself, try to wake up, only I promise you won’t. I had bruises on my arms for weeks when I first arrived.”
“How long have you been here?” Sousuke whispered.
“About twelve months, I think. What year is it where you’re from?”
Sousuke told him. Eiden seemed to take it in stride and stole something off of Yakumo’s plate.
“Why don’t you return through one of the portals?” Sousuke asked.
“I don’t know that I want to go back. That might sound crazy, but I like it here. Back then I was kinda bouncing from job to job. Here I’ve got a purpose, and friends, and . . .” He gestured to the other men around the table. “But it sounds like you’ve got people who are important to you. So don’t worry. That portal will reopen in a few hours and you’ll be on your way home.”
Under Eiden’s reassuring smile, Sousuke found enough appetite to finish his plate, and thanked Yakumo and Aster profusely when the breakfast party broke up.
“If you change your mind about leaving, just let Ludwig know,” said Aster as he slipped his arm through Dante’s. “I’m sorry to be a poor host, but I’m sooo~ busy!”
Sousuke shook his head and stood up to bow. “Not at all. Thanks for the food.”
Eiden clapped his shoulder. “Good luck.”
“Can I take a message back for you?”
“I appreciate it,” Eiden said. “But I sent one with the last visitor.”
He promised to get in touch if he ever came back to Japan, a feat that would be impossible, Sousuke realized as the group left, since Eiden had not asked for his full name or email.
In the end, he was left with Father Olivine, who was finishing a cup of tea.
“Shall we take a walk in the garden?” Olivine asked, canting his head to the side in such a familiar way that Sousuke’s heart ached. But recalling the monster that had chased him earlier, he gulped.
“Wouldn’t it be cooler to wait inside?”
“Ah, I see you’ve met Momo,” said Olivine with a laugh. “Aster’s pet. He’s harmless, apart from the slobber.”
Harmless? That snarling thing? Then again, Rin was awfully intimidating when he was worked up and he’d cry before he bit you.
“Is that so?” Sousuke rubbed his neck. “Then a walk is fine.”
“You mistook me for someone else earlier,” Olivine said as they strolled the garden paths that surrounded the fountain. “Is he a friend?”
“Ahh.” Sousuke glanced away so Olivine couldn’t see his face. Considering the relationships he’d witnessed earlier, he didn’t think what he had to say would shock him. “Well, sort of. We’re . . .” He’d never told anyone this before. Why was he talking about it with a total stranger? “Well, we’re going out. Probably.”
Olivine lifted his robes to avoid catching them on an errant branch. “You aren’t certain?”
“I was until last night.”
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“Thanks, but I don’t need to bother you with my problems.”
“It’s not a bother. Part of my work is listening to people who need to speak. If you change your mind, anything you say to me is said in confidence.”
Sousuke wasn’t even sure where to begin. Flustered at the prospect of discussing something so personal with a stranger, he cleared his throat.
“A couple of my friends think he’s got feelings for someone else. They’ve been telling me to break it off, that I’m just rebound.”
“I see.”
Sousuke rubbed his face. “My best friend’s getting married soon. Makoto and I were at the bachelor party last night. I had too much to drink and told him I love him. He looked shocked, like he’d never even considered it, and I started to think maybe what my friends were saying was true.”
They had reached the fountain. Olivine brushed leaves off of a stone bench before sitting down. It was wide enough that Sousuke felt comfortable sitting beside him.
“I don’t have much experience in these matters,” Olivine said, “but is it possible that his surprise was pleasant?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“Let me ask another way. If your friends hadn’t led you to believe that something was wrong in your relationship, would you have interpreted his surprise negatively?”
Sousuke considered. “Probably not. He’s kind of innocent that way. When we first got together, he seemed confused why I was even interested.”
“And why are you?”
Was Olivine serious about hearing this? Yes, from the open expression on his face, Sousuke supposed he was. He tilted his own face toward the sun.
“He’s kind. He’s probably the kindest person I’ve ever met. When I’m with him, I feel . . .” He searched for the right word. “Calm. Settled.”
“Do you believe he would deliberately harm you?”
“No, he’s not like that.”
Drawing a deep breath, Olivine sat back and also lifted his eyes to the sky. “Sometimes the people in our lives mean well, but they can introduce doubt. I don’t know Makoto, though I believe that I can feel a bit of him through you. He has a very gentle energy. He may be just as uncertain.”
Sousuke nodded.
“It wasn’t until very recently that I learned to voice my own desires,” Olivine said. “My advice to you is this: After you return home, confess to him again. Properly. Have faith in the feelings he has for you.”
“You’re right,” Sousuke said, sitting straighter. “I don’t know why I let those guys get into my head.”
“Fear is often louder than the truth.” Olivine smiled. “I doubt we’ll meet after this, but know that I’ll be praying for you both.”
“You’re a good guy, Olivine,” Sousuke said. Together they watched the water.