" I could feel you calling for me."
The eternal youth, Hisoka Kurosaki, entered the room silently. He stood by the door, watching the nurse do her rounds, invisible to her eyes. The old man lying in the bed, silver hair turned grey now, was the only one who could see him. It brought him a sick sort of pleasure to see the old man's eyes widen. He could feel the familiar pull, the voice that was no longer as strong or fierce as it had once been.
" How pathetic. It would have been better for you to have just died in Touda's flames" he said, walking over to the bed.
The nurse passed right through him, shuddering and mumbling about being cold, before walking out of the room. The oxygen mask over the ex-doctor's face prevented the man from speaking. Not that it mattered. Hisoka could hear the man's thoughts.
" I'm not your doll!" he snarled, casting a heated glare in the man's direction.
The same disgusting thoughts. That night under the sakura. The curse. Hisoka could also make out other images. A woman long dead. The swordsman who lay in the cold earth. He was surprised that none of Muraki's thoughts were about Tsuzuki.
" Ah, but you never really did like Tsuzuki, did you? He was just a means to an end. An endless fount of power that you almost had in your grasp. Too bad you messed up."
Resting a hand on the rail, Hisoka stared down into the face of his tormentor, his rapist, his murderer. A man who had killed countless amounts, playing with humans like he did his dolls. No, he treated the dolls better than he treated his humans. Humans were flawed by nature. Something to be thrown away when broken.
" Your mother was wrong Muraki. You are not a doll. You are just as human as all of us" Hisoka said softly, cupping Muraki's cheek gently.
That was what had scared Muraki. The knowledge that someday he would grow old. That someday he would die. A human's body was flawed in many ways; once broken a human's body could not be fixed. When a doll broke, you could simply glue the pieces together.
" Was it because of her that you ended this way? Did not being able to save her lead you to this madness?" he asked, frowning slightly. " No. Normal logic can not explain your behavior."
He moved his hand away, staring almost fondly down at the man. " I suppose I should thank you. If it had not been for you, I would have grown up to become a sacrifice. I would have never met Tsuzuki" he said softly, removing the oxygen mask from Muraki's face.
Bending over at the waist, he pressed a kiss against Muraki's lips. A farewell kiss. Even now the curse marks on his body were beginning to grow dim and fade. He could tell that Muraki was on Death's doorstep, he was a shinigami after all.
" Your precious doll forgives you" he said, smiling gently. " I forgive you."
He then picked up the pillow and held it over the Muraki's face until his heart stopped beating.