Wet: Undercurrent

by Renquist, Zenobia

  He smiled in spite of his growing dark mood. “I’m getting to that part.”

  “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt. Go on.”

  “The Mizuno family enshrined me and treated me like any other protective spirit of Japan. They offered me prayers I had no wish to answer and food I couldn’t eat. After several generations, the majority of the family forgot I was once a living man.”

  “I’m sorry.” Lulu repeated her soft apology a few times and tightened her hold on his hands.

  “The fault is not yours, Lulu. You are freeing me.”

  “We’ll figure out how later. Now how did you go from a chalice to a pool? How did you get to the US, for that matter?”

  “That would be the fault of a family feud. Twins were born to the Mizuno head during the height of the Meiji Restoration… uh… the late eighteen hundreds. The tradition of my family was to always have the first-born daughter marry a man who would be the head. The first-born daughter Kazuko was born after her twin brother Ichiro.”

  “Enter family strife.”

  “That’s putting it nicely. Ichiro wanted to do away with archaic family tradition so he could be the head of the family. Kazuko wasn’t about to relinquish her rightful place as the head wife. The family was divided -- those who wanted to continue tradition and those who didn’t want an outsider acting as a head of the family.

  “Ichiro stole the chalice that held me and took it to the American West, thinking he would hold me ransom until they agreed to let him lead. The family had started negotiations with a businessman about expanding West, so Ichiro used that contact to hide. When Kazuko and her men caught up with him, a fight broke out.”

  “Let me guess -- someone spilled you.”

  He tapped her nose. “Yes. Down a well, of all things. Ichiro held me over the well as a bluff. When one of Kazuko’s men tried to retrieve the chalice, it fell. The water that was me mixed with the water of the well. There was no way to separate the two. Kazuko immediately bought the land where the well sat and everything surrounding it.”

  “Fast forward a few decades, and your new home is a pool sitting in a secret room down a hallway that doesn’t exist.”

  “Go back a few decades,” he gave her a squeeze for interrupting him, “and a priest is brought over from Japan to bind me and the water of the well so I cannot escape. The straw rope and paper talismans you saw in the pool room comprise the barrier created to act as my prison. Over the decades, my prison went from being a well with a tent over it to a pool sitting in a secret room down a hallway that doesn’t exist.”

  “And the Mizuno family had to relocate to the US?”

  He nodded. “And the Mizuno head family had to relocate to America. The majority of the family remained in Japan. The head family, of which Kazuko had control, took up residence in America. Ichiro never wanted to live in America so he returned to Japan. For the mess he had caused, he and those who followed him were cast out of the family.”

  “Okay. So that explains how you’re a water spirit and how you got to the US. That even explains why Onsen is so prosperous. That doesn’t explain me. There’s nothing special about me.”

  “Now that isn’t true.” He turned her head so she met his gaze. “I have found many special things about you. Your ability to balance on one leg while your ankle is draped over my shoulder, for instance.”

  She grumbled, “I took gymnastics as a kid and kept myself limber over the years.”

  “I appreciate that fact.” He kissed her lips. She opened for him and twisted her body so her breasts pressed against his chest. As much as Hotsuma wanted to accept the invitation she offered him, the recounting of his past had cooled his arousal. And Lulu still needed to regain her strength.

  He pulled back from her mouth and raised her hands to his lips, kissing her open palms one at a time. “You need rest.”

  She pouted but nodded with a resigned sigh.

  “I shall see you in the morning.”

  “Where?”

  “Return to the hot spring. I can transport you to the pool room from there.”

  “You can’t do it from here?”

  “My power is not that strong. Maybe after you break a few more wards. Because of the side effects, I think it’s best if you only break four a day.” The way her eyes danced with anticipation made him laugh despite his mood. “If not for the side effects of breaking the spell holding me, I would think you were using me for sex.”

  “Would that be so bad?”

  “Not at all.” He reshaped the water so he was standing and then pulled Lulu to her feet. He had to hold her steady while she gained her balance. He didn’t release her completely until she stood outside the tub. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lulu.”

  “You too, Hotsuma.”

  He pulled the tub stopper and followed the water as it drained from the tub. Lulu stood watching the water until the tub was empty. Hotsuma didn’t fight the current, letting it take him wherever it was headed. As he thought, his spirit stopped where the water left the hotel headed for the sewer. He couldn’t leave the hotel, not yet.

  Rather than dwell on that, he traveled around the hotel with no direction in mind. He found himself in Masato’s office, staring down at the man the way he had Lulu earlier from a fire extinguisher spigot. Unlike Lulu, Hotsuma didn’t plan to drip on Masato. His goal was to learn more about his estranged family.

  Since moving to the pool room, he’d lost touch. No one came to pray to him any longer. They didn’t give him offerings either. The only time he saw them was when they brought their children and spouses to the pool room for a blessing. Those visits were fleeting and rare in their occurrence because a spouse was only blessed after the birth of a child. Once under the family protection, divorce was no longer an option. That was the price of being a true part of the Mizuno family.

  Hotsuma didn’t miss the offerings but he did miss the prayers. That was how he had kept track of the family news outside of new additions. But spying worked just as well now that he could move around.

  “I need you to send a priest,” Masato said to whoever was on the other end of the phone line.

  That got Hotsuma’s attention.

  “No. I want one from Japan. The priests here aren’t as strong. I think there’s something up with the barrier.” Masato made a disgusted noise. “Atsuji, stop bullshitting me and just do it.” He growled at whatever Atsuji must have said. “Fuck you and the proper way to ask. I’m the head of this damn family. You need to fucking act like it. Send me a priest from Japan. Now!” He nodded again. “Got it. Bye.”

  A priest, huh? Hotsuma wasn’t worried. In two more days, Lulu would have set him free. Masato could perform all the ceremonies he wanted. Hotsuma wouldn’t be there to see them.

  He traveled back to the pool room to rest. He didn’t have his full strength back. Soon. Very soon. Once the wards were broken, Hotsuma would have to figure out what to do with his life. He was a water spirit, after all. There wasn’t much he could do.

  Chapter Four

  “You could go inhabit a wishing fountain and bring good luck to the people that toss in quarters. Only quarters and higher, though. People who toss in pennies are too cheap to have their wishes granted. Exceptions for little kids, of course.” Lulu grinned at Hotsuma. It was the first thing that came to mind when he asked her for suggestions for his life after gaining his freedom.

  “Very funny,” he said in a dry voice.

  “I thought so.” She started brushing her teeth and tried to ignore the sense of unease that settled over her. Things she had taken for granted -- brushing her teeth, washing her face and so on -- felt weird now that she knew Hotsuma inhabited the water. She knew he wasn’t in all water, but it still made her feel guilty.

  He currently inhabited the water in the tub. He’d filled it up on his own and greeted her when she woke up that morning, nearly scaring her to death. But she was glad he was there.

  The frenzy of the day before had worn off. No more si
de effects from the barrier lingered. That meant Lulu could look at Hotsuma and see if she was really attracted to him.

  “I’m serious, Lulu.”

  She spit out her toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. “So am I. You’re a water spirit, Hotsuma. There’s not much you can do.”

  “That’s not what you said last night.”

  The tingle that started in her clit from Hotsuma’s comment let her know the attraction wasn’t solely the blame of the barrier spell side effects. That was good… at least she hoped it was good. She and Hotsuma had the same issue. Once the spell was broken, what came next? Where did that leave their relationship? If that was even what they had.

  Hotsuma had joked about her using him for sex, but he was the one using her to break him out of his prison. Did he see this thing as a relationship to be cultivated or a mutually beneficial business arrangement that would end once she’d finished her part?

  “Putting that aside.” Lulu faced the tub and wished Hotsuma had formed the water into a body like he had last night. She felt more than a little silly talking to a tub full of water. “Maybe you can bargain with your family. Things have changed, right? You could stick around here and continue bringing the family luck so long as they promise not to lock you away again.”

  “Your plan is sound, and I would agree if I hadn’t heard Masato requesting a priest be sent from Japan to strengthen the barrier spell.”

  “What?”

  “I went to Masato’s office last night. He has called for a priest.”

  “But… I mean, okay, that looks bad. But did you try talking to him? He’s a businessman. I would like to think he can be reasoned with.”

  “I would like to think the same, but I haven’t seen evidence of it.”

  Lulu chewed her lip in thought. If a priest was headed their way, that meant they might not have two days. How bad would the side effects be if she broke all the wards at once? Or a better question -- how much would it hurt? The fourth ward had knocked her off her feet… as it were. What would eight do to her?

  Then again, Hotsuma said it was the energy of the spell building up inside her. Maybe if they had sex after breaking each ward, or even did a little foreplay, that might keep her from being turned into a crispy critter.

  She said, “We need to break all of the wards today then.”

  “That’s too dangerous for you.”

  “Not if we have sex while I’m doing it. You said sex dispels the energy, right?”

  “Yes,” he said, though his voice sounded hesitant. “I don’t want you hurt, Lulu.”

  “If it looks like it isn’t working the way I think it will, then we’ll stop. I can always finish it off tomorrow morning, bright and early. And once the barriers are broken, you don’t have to chance staying here. You can come back to Voda.”

  “Voda?”

  “It’s another spa hotel. You would have free rein of the place since no one would know you’re there. You can feel up all the women you want.”

  He chuckled. “You refer to yesterday before I brought you to the pool room. I was merely stretching my legs. You cannot blame a starving man for indulging when a buffet is set out before him.”

  “Well, there you go. All you can eat is waiting for you at Voda.”

  “And what about you?”

  “Me? Well, I work at Voda, so it’s not like you wouldn’t see me.”

  “You work at Voda? Then why are you here?”

  Crap. Okay, that was stupid. She couldn’t exactly tell him the truth, but she didn’t want to lie, either. “No one vacations where they work. Besides, I wanted to check out the competition.” That wasn’t a complete lie. She was there on vacation, sort of. And she was there to check out the competition, though her checking was for work, not out of idle curiosity.

  Her boss had given her seven days to assess Onsen to find out how they maintained their usual income during this time of financial belt-tightening while Voda had to fight to break even every month. It took her three days of studying the inner workings of Onsen to see there were no differences. The staff, the service, the food -- nothing about Onsen was better than what Voda offered.

  The resorts even shared the same generic naming sense. Onsen was the Japanese word for hot springs. Voda was the Russian word for water. Lulu had joked with her boss about adding in the K -- changing it from voda to vodka -- to gain more customers, but they’d both agreed they would probably get people expecting a drinking vacation instead of a spa visit.

  On day four, Lulu had stopped working so she could enjoy the vacation part of the trip. No more scrutinizing every little thing and taking mental notes to be transcribed as emails she would send to her boss later. The difference was Hotsuma. She had no intention of telling her boss, or anyone else, about him.

  “And how does Onsen measure against Voda?”

  This was not the direction she wanted the conversation to go in. “They’re about the same, if you take away the exoticness of the Japanese theme. So it wouldn’t be a culture shock for you.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “There are other hotels too. Or you could skip hotels altogether and go hang out at a water park. That could be a lot of fun. You would have to be a lot more covert when you’re getting your jollies, but you would never be bored with all those people having fun around you.”

  That’s right. Turn the conversation away from Voda and her stupidity for mentioning it. It would be great if Hotsuma did go to Voda. Great for the hotel and for her. He would be close and their relationship could continue. The hotel would prosper too. But Voda was doing pretty well without supernatural help. Would Onsen still thrive, though? Lulu didn’t want to be the cause of such an old and grand hotel going under, competition or not.

  She said, “Hotsuma, maybe you should try to talk to Masato and negotiate with him to stay here as a free entity. If he doesn’t want to deal, you’re already halfway free so you could just leave.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good. You do that. I’m going to breakfast. I’ll see you in the hot springs in an hour or two.”

  “See you there.”

  Lulu watched as the tub stopper lifted and the water drained. Yup, it would definitely be weird using water for the rest of her life.

  She finished dressing and headed to the dining room for the hotel’s complimentary continental breakfast. Hunger made her walk fast. She had woken up starving. After all that sex and then skipping dinner… Skipping dinner?

  “Oh, shit,” she said under her breath.

  “Good morning, Lulu.”

  She turned and smiled at Richard. “Good morning. I’m so sorry. A friend surprised me at the hotel last night. We got to talking and dinner totally slipped my mind. I’m really sorry about that.” Again, not totally lies. Hotsuma was a friend, even if she had just met him. And they had been talking last night once she was too tired to have sex.

  “I understand. I was a little disappointed, of course. But it’s fine.” He looked around her. “Where’s your friend now? Not hungry.”

  “He’s not that kind of friend. Eating with, I mean.”

  Richard’s smile vanished. “Oh.” He shook his head a little and pasted his smile back in place. “Yeah. Duh. Of course a pretty girl like you would have a… friend.”

  She almost felt sorry for the man. But if this got him to leave her alone, then she was thankful. “I’m still interested in learning about that painting. I missed dinner last night, but there’s no reason we can’t talk now while my friend is away.”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  Breakfast passed with Richard in teacher mode. He’d dropped the flirting attitude and regaled her with fact after fact. No jokes inserted for flair and nothing to lighten the tense mood. Lulu almost breathed a sigh of relief when he excused himself. She was glad she didn’t since Masato took his place.

  The fact that he appeared a minute after Richard left made her think he might have been waiting for her to be alone.

/>   “Good morning, Ms. Swade. I hope you don’t mind if I join you for a bit?”

  “I’m honored the owner of the hotel wants to even speak to me.”

  “How are you enjoying your visit?”

  “Quite well. You have an amazing hotel. Richard was telling me more about the history.”

  “Yes. We discussed financing a trip for a few of his students each semester so they could study the art.”

  “That’s generous of you.”

  The more small talk they engaged in, the more nervous Lulu felt. Why was Masato even talking to her? From the brief introduction Richard had given for her, there was no way Masato would interrupt his busy schedule to seek her out. She didn’t get a flirting vibe off him. Or maybe her anxiety at being found out was keeping her from noticing. Whatever the case may be, she wanted to escape.

  “You stopped using the soap, I see.”

  “Soap?” The musk and incense smell that went away after having sex with Hotsuma. She’d almost forgotten she had told Masato it was the hotel soap. “Oh. I… it was drying out my skin so I went back to my usual brand. Nothing against the hotel brand, mind you. I just have sensitive skin.”

  “I’ll relay your concerns to the manufacturer. It would be bad for a spa hotel to have products that damage the skin of our patrons.”

  “That would be unfortunate.” She sipped her orange juice and tried to think of a way to get away from him. What did he want?

  “No, it would have been unfortunate if you kept using it. I’m glad you stopped before it did any permanent harm.”

  Lulu almost choked. She knew a hidden threat when she heard one. Masato might sound cordial to anyone listening in on their conversation but she was close enough to hear the malice. She managed to force a smile. “Thank you for your concern.”

  “Not at all. I am the hotel manager as well as the owner. It’s my job to keep an eye on our patrons to ensure they stay out of trouble during their visit.”

  Another threat. How much did Masato know? Or was he fishing? “I feel special to have the owner checking up on me personally.”