Chapter Twenty-One
Victor and Leo arrive at the Kyoto Station by bullet train from Tokyo.
As they make their way out of the exit, a woman in a black chauffeur’s uniform holds up a black sign with their names in white calligraphy.
Victor raises an eyebrow when he notices it’s the same woman who met him at JFK Airport.
Like before, she turns and walks away, making them follow her.
“Who hired her? She’s a terrible chauffeur,” Victor says to Leo.
“She’s the sister of a superior, and she lost a bet. So, there’s a sense of entitlement,” Leo explains.
“So, can you please explain why we didn’t just walk through a mirror to get here like we did to go from New York to Chicago?” Victor asks while placing his bags in the trunk.
Leo grins, “You didn’t enjoy flying in first class, and the views from the bullet train?
Besides, we needed to give your instructor time to prepare for your arrival.
” Victor gives him an unamused look. Leo’s smile fades as he softly sighs.
“There might have been a rumor through the grapevine that going through a portal isn’t safe right now. ”
“Should I be worried?” Victor asks.
“Nah, we’re good,” Leo reassures.
Victor tries to use his ability to see if Leo is telling the truth, but he still isn’t used to reading what he’s looking at.
As Leo loads the trunk, Victor focuses on Leo’s aura.
It swirls around, but Victor can’t tell if it’s a good sign or if Leo is deceiving him.
Leo closes the trunk; the car drives off.
Victor shakes his head in annoyance and then looks over at Leo.
Leo smirks with his hands in his pockets. “It’s a nice day. Let’s go for a walk.” Victor raises an eyebrow, still annoyed over the situation, but complies and follows him.
They hop on a train and head to the Gion-Shijo station. After exiting the station, they start walking toward the Yasaka Shrine.
“I visited Kyoto a few years ago,” Victor mentions as he looks around.
“I came with my ex-boyfriend. We enjoyed our time, but unfortunately, it was raining most of the time we were visiting. We didn’t see that many geishas walking around.
But we saw a small performance at this center, not far from here. It was elegant.”
They stop at a corner, waiting to cross. Leo looks down the street, which is blocked off to traffic. He places his hand on the small of Victor’s back. “Well, you’re in luck,” Leo mentions. “We’re going to see a tea ceremony.”
“Oh?” Victor responds. He looks down the same street as Leo and notices several geishas.
As they walk down the street, many geishas stand outside, greeting patrons as they walk into the establishments. Halfway down, they stop in front of a tea house. A geisha wearing a light blue kimono comes down the steps and greets them.
“Mr. Oliveira, irasshaimase.” She bows graciously. “We are pleased to see you again. This way, your favorite table is ready.” Leo bows and thanks the geisha before they follow her inside. They take off their shoes and put on house slippers upon entering.
Victor and Leo follow the geisha to a table in the middle of the room, a few spots away from the stage. They sit on cushions, and another geisha kneels in front of them and pours the tea. When she’s finished, she stands and bows before taking her leave.
Victor picks up his tea and inhales the aroma.
When he takes a sip, the lights go down.
The musicians start playing their traditional Japanese instruments.
The air fills with the scent of cherry blossoms, even though it’s not the season for them.
The music feels as if it’s surrounding Victor.
As he looks onto the stage, two geishas start to perform their dance.
They move with poise and elegance. A few minutes later, another pair joins them on stage.
The four perform an intricate dance with their fans.
As Victor looks on, a bright red parasol opens in the back of the stage.
It appears that no one is holding it. As the four geishas slowly make their way off the sides of the stage, the parasol moves closer to the audience.
The parasol lifts, and a single geisha appears. The geisha is Chiyo Yamada.
Chiyo is dressed in a kimono in various shades of blue. The patterning resembles flowing water. Her obi belt is in various shades of gold, orange, white, and black, representing koi swimming.
Victor almost didn’t realize who it was until he made eye contact with her, and she winks back. He was so mesmerized by her performance, he doesn’t notice his tea floating. When he looks around, he sees water floating around like dragons flying.
Leo looks around and then over at Victor, who is amazed at what is happening. Leo smiles a little and can’t take his eyes off Victor. He looks away right before Victor looks over at him.
Victor lets out a little chuckle, knowing Leo is trying to pretend he wasn’t gazing at him before he looks back at Chiyo. The lights start to fade, and the music ends. The lights come back on, and Chiyo is gone. The audience applauds loudly.
Victor turns to Leo as a geisha pours them some more tea. “That was amazing. And I take it that everyone here are people of magic?”
“That’s correct, my young empath warlock,” Chiyo responds, sitting behind Victor and Leo, and has changed into a light red kimono with floral print, accessorized with a soft pink obi bow.
Victor jumps, startled, and holds his chest. “Why must everyone just pop up out of nowhere?” The geisha smiles gleefully as she pours another cup for Chiyo.
“I’m sorry, my young empath warlock, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Chiyo giggles as she takes a seat on the cushion beside Victor. “Did you enjoy the performance?”
“Yes, I enjoyed it very much. Everyone on stage was gorgeous, including you,” Victor responds.
Chiyo bows her head with gratitude. “Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu, my young empath warlock.” Chiyo and the geisha both bow their heads to one another before the geisha takes her leave. “I heard that you had visited Kyoto before. Was there any place you would like to visit again?”
“How did you know I was here before?” Victor asks.
Chiyo plays coy as she brings her tea up to her lips. “A little bird told me.”
Victor side-eyes Leo, who shrugs. “Well, I don’t know where to begin,” Victor states. “I would enjoy being able to see it all again. I hope my instructor will give me some time between lessons.”
“Well, I hope she does,” Chiyo responds, setting her tea on the table.
“Victor, meet your Water Specialty Instructor, Chiyo Yamada,” Leo mentions.
Chiyo gives Victor a wink. “And I never got to apologize about seeing you naked in your bathroom back in New Orleans.”
Victor drops his smile and glares at Chiyo. “That’s right, you appeared in my bathroom. Who else saw me naked?”
“I think only she and I,” Leo responds. Then softly says, “Maybe Eddie.” Leo takes a sip of his tea, looking away as Victor gives him a look of disgust and betrayal.
Chiyo leans over to Leo and speaks in Japanese. “I bet you saw him naked more than once.”
Leo looks at Victor, holding back a coy smile, and responds in Japanese. “Maybe a couple of times. Not on purpose, of course.”
Victor glares at both of them. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Chiyo answers with a smirk while sipping her tea. “Have you started reading your books?”
“That’s what he’s been doing on the flight and train ride over,” Leo answers.
Chiyo gives Leo a confused look. “You didn’t go through the mirror?”
“No, we might have run into someone who may be after Victor and would pull him into the mirror realm,” Leo informs.
Victor chokes on his tea. “I’m sorry? What did you say? You said I had nothing to worry about.”
Chiyo and Leo look at each other. Chiyo gives Leo a nod to respond.
“We feel that someone is after you,” Leo proclaims. “First, it was Magenta, and then when you raged out with Karl and me. If someone is after you, you would be most vulnerable walking through mirrors. There have been others that were captured in the mirror realm and never came back the same or never came back at all.”
“So, does this mean we won’t go through mirrors anymore?” Victor asks with concern. “Just for the time being. We are looking for protection spells and artifacts to protect us,” Leo reassures.
“In the meantime, we took precautions at the hotel and where we will be training,” Chiyo adds. “Just make sure you always keep the artifact from Superior Charles on your person at all times.”
A couple of geishas walk up and set down bento boxes on the table.
Victor’s eyes grow wide with happiness. “Oh, this looks good.” He picks up his chopsticks and starts digging in.
As Victor eats away, he begins to feel dizzy.
The room starts spinning around him. He remembers the restaurant in New York.
Fuck, not again, Victor thinks to himself.
Looking around with blurry vision, he sees that everyone is passed out. He notices two black figures walking his way. As they get closer, he feels water splashing on his face before he falls over and blacks out.
Victor sits up and looks around. He’s no longer in the teahouse; he’s in a glowing forest.
He notices he is now wearing a platinum silver suit. As he looks around, he can see the auras glowing around the plants, trees, and animals in his view. He gets up to his feet and starts walking around. There is no moon or sun in the sky. All he can see are the stars moving across the sky.