by Jet Lupin
At the bottom of the gorge, the path evened out, and at the end of it was a heavy wooden gate. Flood lights shone brightly on the other side. Gekko leaned out the car window and punched a number into a keypad. The wooden gate swung inward, and they rolled through. Four buildings ringed in a courtyard, all of them connected by a series of covered walkways. Well-placed lights kept the night at bay, but where their influence stopped; the darkness was total.
As the van rolled up to the closest building, the headlights illuminated a tall figure standing out front, waiting. Half their hair was worn up in a ponytail, the remainder hanging down behind their ears, revealing the white on the sides of their head. They approached the van as Phil and the others started to emerge.
He got a better look at their high cheekbones and thin figure, Phil wasn’t sure if this was a man or a woman. Maybe neither.
The person bowed to Shige, which Phil was starting to get used to now, and rattled off some quick Japanese before Shige stopped them. Closer now, Phil took in the chiseled jaw, the strong features not as delicate as he first thought.
“In English.”
The new person raised a brow. “Mōshiwake arimasen, watashi wa rikai shite imasen.”
“While he is here,” Shige gestured to Phil, “we’ll speak English. I know you speak it to Abby when she’s here.”
“Shige-sama, naze watashi wa kore o okonau hitsuyō ga arimasu ka?”
Shige shut them down with a glare. Their gaze shifted to Phil for the first time since Phil and company had shown up. Phil didn’t like what he saw there.
The new person complied. Each word was a struggle, though not because they didn’t know the language—they spoke it very well. It was clear they would rather not. “I… It’s good that you’re here, Shige-sama. Unfortunately, Chiyo-dono has already retired for the night. I’ll show you to your room.”
“You forget yourself. Introduce yourself to the people you haven’t met before.”
This new person’s mouth compressed into a fine line, their disdain for the order very clear.
“Introduce yourself to my guest,” Shige insisted.
Phil leaned towards Shige, whispered in his ear, “You don’t have to do that.” Things were already so much tenser than they should have been. This was going to make things worse. Shige patted Phil’s hand, but ignored him.
“Well?”
The person stood up straighter and turned the slightest bit to face Phil and Jonquil. “My name is Kaoru. I am the caretaker of Ten no Mon, or Gate of Heaven if you prefer.” They didn’t bow the way they had to Shige, barely made eye contact.
They reminded Phil of Abby when they’d first met. Beautiful and cold. But unlike Abby, they didn’t seem to want to tolerate Phil’s presence, as if talking to him was the same as making nice with a bug when they’d rather squash it.
“Allow me to show you to your rooms.”
They took off their shoes and entered the building. The hallway smelled like fresh wood. The walls and ceiling were old, clean, and stained with age, but the floor was new and bright. It creaked as they followed Kaoru. Sconces on the wall brightened their path, not candles or gas lights, but electric. Ancient and new. Phil dared to hope for a stable internet.
Kaoru took long, energetic strides, creating a gap between them. Phil was too tired to keep up. Shige stayed by his side. As long as Phil could still see that black and white hair swaying, he wouldn’t rush.
The property was huge and could easily house dozens of people, but not only did Phil not see anyone, he didn’t sense anyone. If Chiyo was on the grounds, then she was asleep or her mind rendered inert some other way. His mind picked up a kind of static when they passed rooms with occupants in them, but none of it was loud enough to be disruptive. Someone must live here besides Kaoru and the brothers. Everything was too well maintained for the three of them to do it on their own.
“Is everyone here a nonhuman?” From the shifters back in the states, Phil could pick up hints of things from them if he tried. With his abilities so unstable, it was weird that he didn’t get anything more.
Shige nodded. “Everyone but Chiyo.”
Well, that was weird.
Chiaki broke off, finding her own way. Jonquil was dropped off first in a nice little room near the kitchen.
Kaoru led them to a room in a quiet corner of the house away from everything else. They got to the door first, and when they spun to address Phil and Shige, their lip curled as if they smelled something bad.
This room was as big as his whole apartment. There was nothing in it but a low table and two legless chairs, making the space feel bigger. Navy curtains hung over the huge windows. A hint of greenery illuminated by the room’s lighting peeked through a gap in the heavy cloth.
Kaoru crossed the room to a door beside the windows. “The bath is through here.” A push on the door revealed a room made of carved stone jutting out from the valley’s side. A tub hewn from stone took up one side of the room. A spigot hovered over one corner of it, feeding water into the stone basin. Across from that was a squat wash basin with a stool, a mirror, and some hygiene supplies. “Please clean your body before you get in the tub. The toilet is in a separate room.”
Back into the main room, Kaoru approached a section of the wall decorated with a mural of clouds on a tangerine background. A gentle push on it and it slid aside. They dragged out a futon wall and spread it out on the floor opposite the window.
Done, they stood up, straightening their clothes. “Your dinner will be here shortly.” They turned their attention back to Shige, their face brightening. They could have tried to hide their emotions a little… “If you’ll come with me, Shige-sama, I’ll show you to your room.”
Phil tested out the futon. He’d never slept on the floor like this before. He hoped it wouldn’t be murder on his back. Shige joined him on the futon, though, he kept some space between them. “There’s no need. I’m staying here.”
Kaoru’s body jerked as if Shige had slapped them. They locked their gaze on Shige, ignoring Phil’s presence entirely. “Surely you’d both be more comfortable with your own quarters?”
“I’m only going to be here a couple of days. This will do fine for now.”
Phil didn’t usually humor bullies. Someone didn’t like him? As long as it didn’t affect his job or his life, he didn’t care. But in those cases, the offender had always been human, and he’d never been trapped in an isolated mountain hideaway with them. Shige would be back soon, and as much as he wanted this time together, he wasn’t sure it was worth the trouble. But he also didn’t want to have that discussion in front of this person.
Kaoru collected themself, drawing their shoulders back, head held high. “As you wish.”
Phil cleared his throat once they were alone.
“Don’t you think—”
“Hold on,” Shige interrupted.
Kaoru returned seconds later with another bedroll, this one made of much nicer material. They spread it out some feet away from Phil’s. The elaborate embroidery on the comforter depicted a scene, in a symphony of blues and greens, a figure resting beside a waterfall, surrounded by odd looking animals. Kaoru spent twice as much time setting up Shige’s bed, their hands moving reverently over the fabric. Another resident brought in a tray of food, enough for one person, but there were two cups accompanying the decanter of sake.
Shige frowned at the comforter as if it offended him. “Get rid of it.”
Kaoru paused where they knelt. They started to respond in Japanese, but corrected themself before Shige did it for them. “It’s important to everyone here…”
“Then hang it up.” Shige pinched the bridge of his nose. “Frame it. I’m not using that. Just get it out of here and bring me a plain blanket. Please.”
Kaoru said nothing, taking their time to carefully folding the comforter before leaving again. The tension in the room left with them. There wasn’t much time before they came back, but Phil couldn’t wait.
“OK… What the hell’s their problem?”
“They...? You mean Kaoru?” Shige laughed tiredly. “Where should I start?”
“That thing with the blanket.” Without question. “Was that guy on it supposed to be you?” The way Kaoru had acted, it meant something to them.
“Yes, I think so.”
All the amusement in the room died. Phil crept closer. “Do they worship you or something?” It had been like those pictures of The Last Supper, painted on velvet that hung in many a dining room.
“A long time ago, I helped some yokai hide from humans. Human development squeezed them out of their homes. It started as just showing them places to stay out of harm’s way, but I kept finding more and more. It’s a long story, but Kaoru is one of the more… grateful among them.”
“Did the same thing happen in California with Tate and the others?” Jonquil had hinted that he and the other shifters back home owed Shige. This might have been why.
“Something like that.”
Kaoru was taking their sweet ass time, and that food smelled amazing. Phil brought the tray over to his side of the futon. He had no qualms about eating in bed. Especially when he was this hungry. Phil popped what looked like a little stewed vegetable into his mouth. Everything tasted amazing right now, even though he had no idea what he’d just eaten.
“You do that with sensitives, too?”
Shige sighed, but crept close. “I never asked for that sort of devotion. They were grateful, like I said, and they sought me out. When I found I needed protection while I slept during the day, it got harder to send them away. There’s no getting rid of them.” His hand crept up Phil’s leg, raising goosebumps on the skin. “So, no… Despite evidence to the contrary, I am not a collector. Chiyo’s the only one I’ve protected. Before you.”
Why protect them at all?
Phil wanted answers, but at any moment, Kaoru might come back. Something about that person rubbed Phil the wrong way. The less information Kaoru had on him, the better.
While Phil picked at his meal, Shige filled their cups with sake. Phil had never had it hot. It felt good going down, warming him from the inside out.
“What’s the deal with Kaoru? They’re so….”
Shige swirled the sake around his cup. “Venomous? Spiteful?”
“Bitchy,” Phil said, not caring if he was overheard. “Catty. I didn’t say two words to them before they decided they didn’t like me.” A situation Phil wasn’t a stranger to, but if he was going to be left here, he needed to know what to expect.
“It’s more complicated than that. He had bad experiences with humans when he was young. Chiyo’s the only human I’ve brought here until now. He took time to warm up to her, though, he didn’t see her as a threat. He might be jealous of you.”
He… so a man then.
Phil snorted into his own cup. “Jealous? Of what?” He had eyes. He’d never seen a man so pretty in person. But, he supposed how Kaoru looked had little to do with the man’s sense of self-worth.
“Of you, of course.” Shige poured more sake into Phil’s cup. “You’re getting my undivided attention. Kaoru and the rest that live here, my…”
“Subjects,” Phil assisted between bites of food. Shige rolled his eyes.
“Charges. I treat them all the same. They created a hierarchy among themselves. Kaoru set himself on top, and thinks he’s more deserving of my time because of it, according to what Abby’s told me. I don’t approve, but I can’t stop it if I’m not here.” He shrugged.
“Why does he want your time? He seems like the ambitious type. He gonna throw an idea for a business at you?”
“No.” At this, Shige heaved a deep sigh. “He wants my cock.”
Phil nearly spat out his sake. “Wow, only a little narcissistic.”
Shige chuckled and emptied his second cup. “It’s true. He’s always been sweet on me.”
“Does that mean you and he… before?”
“I don’t have those kinds of thoughts about him.”
Phil finished his food and stacked his plates on the tray. “Why not?”
Shige stared at him like he was an idiot. “Why? Why should I?”
“I mean, he’s good looking.” And doted on Shige, a trait he seemed to value.
Suddenly, there was a rustling outside, and Phil turned towards the window. He leaned forward in time to see a small white animal dart across a patch of dirt. It stopped as if peering into the window before it scurried under a bush.
Shige rolled his eyes. “Besides which, that I don’t screw anyone who works for me.”
He felt the remark coming, but he couldn’t stop it. “Anymore. You don’t screw anyone who works for you anymore.” Phil clamped a hand over his mouth.
There. He hadn’t meant to say it, but it was out there, and it felt so good. Phil went from walking in on Shige and his lawyer in the middle of a three-way, to being kidnapped, almost dying, and convalescence, to pulling his life back together. There’d been no time to address some of the things they should have, but, apparently, his mind thought now was perfect.
Shige’s grip on his sake cup was fierce. “You want to do this now?”
No.
“Yes.”
Phil agreed; the timing was terrible, but since they were in the middle of it, they might as well get it out of the way.
“I needed to feed,” Shige said, breaking the silence. “He kept pawing at me. And you told me you didn’t want me. Saying no got harder. We weren’t together. You decided that.”
“It’s my fault? We had a fight, so it was OK to go fuck him?”
“You said that you didn’t want me. You didn’t want me to touch you. Should I have waited for you to change your mind?”
“No…” Already, regret seeped in. Phil shouldn’t have started, but there was no stopping now. “But what if we fight again? What if Kaoru throws himself at you?”
That was the heart of it. How could Shige not want him? Hell, in another time and place where Phil hadn’t already seen his ugliness, if Kaoru threw himself at him, Phil could admit he might cave. Yet he was supposed to believe Shige was above that? He’d already shown that he wasn’t.
“What do you want me to say? I did not do it to hurt you. It had nothing to do with you. You should never have seen it, but I would have told you. And I’m well aware of how fickle you are now. But even if things were truly over between us, I wouldn’t fuck him. He’s like a child to me. I met him when he was just a boy, and I see him that way now. It would be like sleeping with a relative. Are you satisfied?”
“I’m going to take a bath.” Shige stood, snatching up the sake decanter.
Phil flinched when the door slammed behind him. And he was left behind wondering what was the point of that. Phil was hurting and now so was Shige. They’d gone over things Phil already knew. Things with Shige were complicated. Shige hid things, omitted details, but he hadn’t outright lied. Feeling hurt was the only reason to doubt. But should his hurt outweigh the facts?
Another fact was that they both needed breathing room and Phil needed to apologize. Not for his own upset, but for lashing out the way he had. He’d always meant to bring this up when he decided to stay, but there were other ways to go about it.
Twenty minutes passed and Shige hadn’t returned. Then thirty. Kaoru hadn’t shown up either. Phil put his empty tray outside the door and prepared to make sure the missing party he actually cared about hadn’t drowned.
Steam tinged with sulfur wafted out as he opened the bathroom door. Shige was in the tub, his back to Phil, the sake bottle resting on the rock beside him. His hair was drawn up into a high bun, exposing the pale triangle of his neck and shoulders.
“Did you come to join me?” Shige sounded off, like something was wrong with his throat.
“I hadn’t intended to.” Now that he saw Shige was mostly alive and breathing, he was going to wash up and go to bed.
“Are you still upset with me?” Shige’s voice warmed, wet and
forlorn. As the only mind Phil could sense on the property, Shige’s mind gave a dose of self-loathing and regret that his own anger had made blinded him to it.
Something wasn’t right. “I never said it properly, but I am sorry for Pimentel.” He sobbed. “We dissolved our contract with him. I’ll never have to deal with him again.”
“That’s good to know.” Phil couldn’t bring himself to ask if Pimentel still worked for him. But Shige yielding the information was a step in the right direction.
Phil came around to the side of the tub. Shige’s face was bright red and dripping wet. Phil couldn’t tell if it was from water or tears.
“Yeah, I’m upset. With myself.”
Shige reached out and caressed Phil’s cheek with wet fingers. “For what? You’re perfect.” He leaned over the edge of the tub, sloshing water everywhere to grab Phil’s hand. He pressed it to his face. “Someone like me doesn’t deserve someone like you.” Shige’s cheek was flushed and warm. Were he a human, Phil would have worried he was running a fever.
“Are you drunk?”
“Tipsy. It wasn’t easy.” Shige wiped his nose on the back of his arm. “Are you coming in with me?”
“I think I can come in for a while. Let me wash up.”
Phil had seen public bathhouses in anime and videos on the internet, so he knew what was expected. This was way more private, but washing himself with someone else present, even just Shige, was uncomfortably intimate. Covering his groin with a cloth, he climbed the short set of steps to the tub. The heat bit his skin as he introduced more of it to the steaming water, but it subsided to a pleasant tingle in no time.
He sat across the tub from Shige on a stony shelf carved into the side. His face was still very red, but he’d stopped sniffling.
Shige frowned at him. “Why are you so far?”
“I don’t know bathing etiquette. I mean, is it OK to sit right next to you?”