Innerscape, Part 1, Induction

Love and other trials

Takh Ahn was dozing in the warm afterglow of sex when his lover murmured, "I should hate you." 

"You're just a sore loser," Takh laughed as he spooned closer to Seph's back.

The two were relaxing on a very untraditional bed in the bowels of Osaka castle. Players could furnish their private housing however they wished, and Seph had chosen what he called a comfortable 'fusion' style, with a huge, western bed and porcelain toilet facilities. Only the shoji screens and tatami matting belonged to the period.

"I don't mean about the game," Seph said as he sat up and swung his legs out of bed. "I mean for now."

"Huh?"

Takh came up onto one elbow, the beginnings of a frown creasing his forehead. "What're you talking about?"

The soft glow of the hibachi was the only light in the room. It painted Seph's face in odd highlights as he stared up at the rafters for a long moment.

"Forget it. Don't you have to go now?"

"Well, yeah, but-..."

"Then go!"

The sudden anger in Seph's voice caught Takh by surprise, and he stared at his lover in confusion. Normally Seph tried to delay his departure for as long as possible.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Flinging back the covers, Seph hopped out of bed and padded to the bathroom. The door closed behind him.

"Seph!"

The chill of impending loss kept Takh frozen in place as silence settled over the room.

Silence reigned in the bathroom as well. No sound of flushing, no thunder of water from the shower. Nothing.

How could nothing feel so bad?

"Seph?"

No answer, no sound.

The side of the bed where Seph had been was still warm, but Takh suddenly felt cold. Surely Seph could not end things like this? In-game relationships rarely lasted long, but when they ended there was usually some reason...

Scrambling from the bed, Takh hurried to the bathroom, but when he reached the door he stopped, his outstretched hand not quite touching the antique looking doorknob. Made of beaten brass, the knob looked completely out of place.

Why would Seph choose such an outrageously Western feature in a traditionally Eastern game? It did not make sense...

...but neither does this...

Giving the knob a vicious twist, Takh threw the door open, but he already knew what he would find - the bathroom was empty. Seph had logged out. Without even saying goodbye.

Takh stood on the cold tiles, his heart as cold as his feet as certainty set in. This was not just some tiff that would blow over. It was the end.

He had had in-game lovers before, casual affairs that lasted a day or ten, but never like this, never with someone who made him feel so real. Perhaps that was why it had never occurred to him that Seph might not feel the same way.

Everything had been so right between them. They had fit together, right from the start.

...why?...

Had Seph just found someone new?

...or did I do something?...

A low buzz from the other room sent Takh hurrying back into the bedroom. It was his chrono. He had just five minutes to get back.

Pulling on his armour with feverish haste, he took one last look at his lover's bedroom before keying the exit command. Would he ever see it again?