When The Snow Falls

Japan was the furthest Daniel had ever been from England. He'd spent time in European countries on holidays and he had never gone outside the British Isles during his first life. Japan was all new to him.

He already missed his home country. The streets of Tokyo were certainly more pristine and clean than the chewing gum splodged pavements of London and the people were certainly politer and the sun was shining, but he wouldn't mind seeing grey clouds fill the sky and feel a light drizzle of rain.

Daniel brightened up when he remembered why he was here and who he was with. He got out of bed and pulled on a plain shirt and a pair of dark jeans. As he was 17 now and attending sixth form rather than school, he didn't need to wear a uniform. Considering the last uniform he'd worn was the Kingston Royal Academy uniform he was quite glad.

Felix was already at the breakfast table with his parents when he arrived. Mr and Mrs Albury had founded a major business in Japan that was doing quite well so they were staying in Tokyo to keep close to it.

Mr and Mrs Albury were nothing like parents he'd ever had. They were warm, teasing and very friendly. When Felix had asked them if he could come and live with them for two years, they hadn't batted an eyelid. He even had the biggest room in the apartment.

Daniel had honestly been expecting that the parents who would leave their son in England for five years just so he could get a British education to be nasty and uncaring, but they were nothing like that.

Felix grinned and waved when he saw him and pulled out a chair for him. Daniel was unsure if Felix had told his parents they were dating, however he was sure they had some idea as Mrs Albury looked like she was having the time of her life watching them.

"Good morning," Mr Albury said and picked up the teapot. "Tea?"

Daniel sat down and Felix started loading up a plate with toast.

"I will have tea, thank you," he replied and was about to reach for the jam when Felix handed it straight to him.

Felix knew him very well now.

"You two do get on well," Mrs Albury commented. "Are you looking forward to your first day at sixth form?"

The last two weeks had been spent moving in and looking around Tokyo. Now it was time to resume education. Daniel wasn't sure how to feel about that. Admittedly he had gone through the whole compulsory school system in his previous life, but going to school in Japan was going to be a lot different to going to school in England.

They were going to be attending an international school that catered to parents wanting a British education for their children. Daniel hadn't picked up a lot of Japanese yet so he was quite glad. Felix had done most of the talking for him at the places they had been so far.

"I'm not dreading it," he replied honestly.

"I feel the same way," Felix agreed. "It's just the next chapter in our education."

"How is the tea?" Mrs Albury asked.

Daniel picked up the teacup and gave it a taste. He should have realised it wasn't standard tea as there was no milk at the table. It was green tea.

"It's not bad Mrs Albury," he answered.

"If you attend social events with us you will likely end up having to drink green tea so I'm glad to hear that you like it," she paused. "Please stop calling me Mrs Albury, I'm Vanessa."

Daniel flushed awkwardly. It felt odd to call Felix's parents by their first names. It wasn't like he and Felix were married or anything like that.

"Stop calling me Mr Albury," Felix's father said. "I'm Colin. I'm not your teacher. You're... friends with my son."

Felix's father had a surprisingly stern look on his face. Daniel turned to look at Felix who was looking like he was trying not to laugh. Daniel gave him a sharp nudge before replying.

"Yes… Vanessa and Colin."

Felix's mother beamed at him as did Felix's father. They were definitely the opposite of his current set of parents.

"Are you both ready and packed for sixth form?" Vanessa asked.

"We're not starting our first day at secondary school Mum," Felix sighed. "Of course we know what we're doing."

Vanessa didn't take the hint.

"Are you sure you know the way there? Do you think I should walk you both there?"

Felix shook his head. "Please don't ruin our reputation. It doesn't look good if you walk in with your mother. That's mother-in-law for you, Daniel."

Judging from the lack of reaction from that comment Daniel could tell that Felix's parents did know they were dating and had decided not to say anything.

If they had noticed, had his own parents? He was sure the Earl would have had something to say if he did find out. Then again things had definitely been different when he'd got home after finishing at Kingston Royal Academy.

The Earl had been fairly quick to allow him to finish his compulsory education in a foreign country after Felix had asked his permission. Daniel had known that his second father had been keen for him to go to another prestigious educational institution in England.

Instead the Earl had relented and let him go to Japan. Daniel had been expecting a condition to be attached to it, but there had been nothing.

Things really had changed.

***

They reached the school with no major mishaps. The sheer amount of traffic crossings to wait at had been an interesting experience. Even a one way street had one. He wasn't sure yet if it was legal to cross the road without them, but he had noticed that no one else had done it. The legality of crossing varied in every country.

The entrance to the sixth form was also found without any trouble. They both had timetables and maps sent to them so they had already known roughly where to go. The inside was brightly coloured and modern which matched with the exterior of the building which was mostly glass and funky coloured shapes. Daniel had a minor distaste for Victorian architecture after Kingston Royal Academy.

"It's quiet here," Daniel noted after looking around the completely empty entryway. "Are we too early?"

Felix checked the time on his phone. "We're right on time."

Daniel heard the sound of approaching footsteps and turned to see someone approaching them. He was short and had blond hair that was artfully tousled. He went to push through the door ahead of them and paused before turning back to look at them.

"I haven't seen you two here before… Are you two the new students?" he asked eagerly.

From the boy's accent Daniel could tell that he was from England, but he couldn't tell exactly where from. His detective skills told him that the boy had to have lived in Japan for at least a couple of years as his accent had become less distinct.

"I am," he replied.

"I thought so. I'm Oliver Bentley by the way. Do you need to go and see the head of sixth form?"

"We are supposed to," Felix confirmed.

"I'll take you to his office," Oliver offered helpfully and talked a mile a minute on the way there about all his club and what subjects he did.

Daniel just nodded without listening to what Oliver was saying. Felix was doing a better job at listening and replying.

The talk from the head of sixth form was mainly about work ethics and passing exams being as equally important as making friends. Then he proceeded to promote all the after school clubs available to students. Daniel g.r.o.a.n.e.d internally when he heard clubs mentioned. He never wanted anything to do with an after school club again after his brief time with the Pudding Club.

They emerged from the office to find Oliver still waiting for them..

"Do you two have the same first lesson? I can help show you two where to go."

"I have History first. I also have a map so I don't need any help," Daniel said shortly.

He had a feeling that Oliver was being friendly towards them so he could recruit them into whatever club he was a member of. There was something telling him that Oliver was hanging around for something.

Oliver's face fell and then he cheered up a second later.

"Okay. Shall I give you both a tour at lunchtime?"

Daniel opened his mouth to say no and felt a pinch at his side from Felix.

"Uh sure," he said.

He looked up to find Felix smiling at him. Oliver also smiled at him and they made arrangements to meet at lunchtime.

"Why did you make me agree to a tour we don't need?" he hissed at his boyfriend in their way to the first class.

"We're not at Kingston Royal Academy now. We're in a different country at a different school. You don't need to alienate yourself. You can make friends."

Daniel knew Felix was right. He was just so used to being alone and his time at Kingston Royal Academy had soured his already weak d.e.s.i.r.e to make school friends. But he wasn't there now and he was starting a new chapter of his life.

He now understood how Felix had managed to not make any enemies at Kingston Royal Academy until his investigation into Jack's death. Felix was very open and friendly to new people just like his parents.

"I will try my best," he promised. "It will take some time to change."

History was a relatively easy lesson to sit through. They both had two months of lesson material to catch up on; however Daniel knew it wouldn't be that hard. He chosen History in his previous life at this point and the syllabus hadn't changed that much. It seemed like his next two years would be a breeze in terms of schooling.

He hit a block in that theory with their next lesson.

Japanese was much harder and he didn't have a base for it. European languages were a lot simpler to learn with a good base knowledge of Latin. Latin was not going to help him learn Japanese. He was not looking forward to Kanji.

The school lunches were very interesting to Daniel. They were allowed to choose between bento boxes. He selected the one with the best looking sweet layer. His sweet tooth had returned in full force after the Pudding Club had been formally disbanded by the school board.

The tour occurred after they had finished their bentos. Oliver met them at the entrance and began showing them around the common room, study room and the other sixth form facilities.

Then Oliver took them around the main school. Daniel could tell the distinction between the two parts of the school. The paint on the walls became brighter and the amount of posters and wall displays increased. The school pupils all wore black blazers with the school logo on the right side and a striped tie. Daniel g.r.o.a.n.e.d when he realised it reminded him of the Kingston Royal Academy uniform.

Oliver showed them into the school canteen which was a lot larger and more crowded than the sixth form's version and led them up a corridor.

"How was your Japanese class? It gets easier once you get the hang of particles."

That was encouraging for Daniel. He wasn't going to be beaten by a language yet.

"What's the hardest part about learning Japanese?" he asked.

"Writing it," Oliver answered without hesitation. "I've mastered Hiragana and Katakana. Kanji is difficult. It's good that I haven't been anywhere that isn't a city- I wouldn't be able to read the signs."

Oliver pointed out the science laboratory corridor.

"The science is good here. The practicals aren't bogged down by health and safety like they are in the UK. Or they weren't until my friend Harry ruined it. We had no idea the screaming jelly babies practical could go so wrong."

Daniel had a feeling he didn't want to know what had happened. Oliver was right about science practicals being boring thanks to health and safety. The ones from his first life before strict health and safety regulations had definitely been more enjoyable.

"I'll end the tour here," Oliver announced outside a room in the next corridor. "Would you like to come in?"

Daniel looked around for signs to indicate where they were. The corridor was the English section and it was still lunchtime. There shouldn't be a lesson running.

Oliver produced something from his bag and stuck it on the door. It was a sign that read something significant.

Mystery Club.

Daniel glanced at Felix who winked at him.

"You weren't listening to him earlier were you?" his boyfriend whispered. "He runs the mystery club. I thought you would want to join."

"We've got some good mysteries to investigate," Oliver chipped in and pulled out a set of keys. "Would you two like to join?"

It seemed that no matter where he was or what life he was in, Daniel could never get away from mysteries.

"We'll join."