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Howl's first thought as the door opened was Drat, Sophie's been into my spells again.
The space beyond was most definitely not the town of Porthaven. It was an indoor space, for one thing, a large room with austere, strangely smooth walls. The only living being in sight was a rather short, dark-haired person in monkish black robes brightened by a tall orange collar that looked like it had come loose from a wooly pullover.
"Where in heaven is this, and who in the world are you?" said Howl, belligerently.
"Good guess," answered the other, with a sly smile. The voice seemed to be a man's, contrasting peculiarly with the delicate features and porcelain skin. Mysteriously, colorful, slender plumes nodded from the fellow's eyelashes and eyebrow on the right. "However, it's not really heaven. You seem pretty inept for a spy."
"And you're pretty short for a demon."
"Oh, please. Admittedly some youkai have desirable or aesthetic appearances, but they're not known for being able to achieve true beauty. And speaking of appearances, what have you done to your hair? Surely that's not natural."
Howl realized that his mouth was hanging open. He shut it with a snap and tossed the golden locks in question. "Says the fellow with feathers stuck to his eyelid!"
The other just smiled complacently - and moved. Somehow Howl ended up with one arm twisted up behind his back. "Come along, Goldilocks. Kenpachi-san will have some questions for you."
Howl muttered and made a pass with his free hand. The man at his back cursed and let go of him abruptly.
"Using kido on me! You've made a mistake, you -" Now the fellow had a curved sword in his hand.
Howl, his eyes on the angry, sculpted face, reached back to where he thought the door was. To his relief, his palm hit a familiar knob. "No, not at all. You have, though."
He slipped through the door just in time. As he slammed it, he heard a thunk! from the other side, like a giant dart hitting a dartboard.
He quickly turned the knob green side down and leaned against it for a moment, panting. Then he filled his lungs and screamed "Sophie!"