The Desolate Mansion (Fukase x Oliver fanfiction)

Part 3

Oliver entered the room but could no longer find the tiny creature, so he glanced at the paintings and quickly discovered that they were all of the same boy he saw in the painting from the lounge. The portraits showed the boy from various stages of his life, which ranged from infant to early teens, and were arranged in chronological order that lead down the room. In some of the paintings, the boy held the white doll that was walking around just moments ago. The atmosphere in the depictions progressively became more dismal. Once Oliver reached the last portrait, the boy smiled with a forlorn look in his eyes, which left an unsettling feeling. He tried to look away from the painting and then noticed right below it, "Welcome back Oliver" was written in fresh paint.

"W-what...?" Oliver stuttered in shock.

"My, my...I wasn't expecting a visitor," said a soft raspy voice in a playful tone.

"W-who's there?" Oliver stuttered and turned around, but no one was there. He wanted to convince himself that he was imagining things.

"It's been a long time since I've had a guest," the voice whispered into Oliver's ear. "And what a lovely guest you are!"

Oliver glanced over his shoulder, but saw no one behind him again. The message below the portrait disappeared, and he tried to convince himself that this was all just a prank.

When Oliver turned his head forward again, he met the gaze of a strange boy who oddly resembled the one in the portraits. The differences, however, were that this boy had pasty white skin that was deformed all over the left side of his body, a solid red left eye, and a big red X on the bridge of his nose. He looked no more than two years older than Oliver. The red haired boy wore a red and white top hat with eyes, a long white coat with texture on the left side similar to his face, a red ribbon tied around his coat's high collar, black trousers, and red and white boots.

"Hello, dear visitor." The mysterious boy smiled mischievously and stretched out his hand towards Oliver for a handshake. "My name is Fukase, and welcome to my home~"

Although Fukase seemed friendly, Oliver couldn't help but stare in fear and surprise as if he had seen an apparition. He had difficulty processing what was going on since the mansion was supposed to be abandoned. Oliver still had doubts about whether or not anything he saw in the mansion was real. After a pause, he managed to mutter, "...Hello." He feebly shook hands with the red haired boy. Fukase's hand was so freezing cold that Oliver felt his own body temperature drop significantly.

"Since you're my guest, Oliver, I insist that you join me for some tea," Fukase cheerfully said as he loosened his grip in the handshake. "Follow me~"

Oliver silently followed Fukase as the older male led the way. He kept a distance from Fukase and thought about running away, but decided against it - he was curious about the supposed resident of the mansion and had many questions. While they made their way through the hallways, the lights turned on without anyone touching the light switches. The blonde boy was no longer fazed by such things anymore, and believed that he was indeed dreaming.

They soon reached a garden and seated themselves at a table on the patio. Lanterns hung overhead and brightened the patio while the moon and stars illuminated the night sky, making parts of the garden somewhat visible at a distance. Tea sets and a pot of hot tea were already on the table, as if it was all prepared just moments before the two arrived. A small white being then appeared, and carried a tray of sweets to the table. It was the tiny doll-like creature Oliver saw earlier, and he was amazed to see it was able to carry something much larger than itself.

"What is that creature anyways?" Oliver asked and stared at it in awe as it poured tea into their teacups.

"Oh, this little fellow?" Fukase picked up the creature and placed it on his shoulder. "His name is Point. He's..." He paused for a moment to think. "...a pet. More or less."