Eye of the Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own, or pretend to, Yami no Matsuei or the characters therein.

See the anime or manga of the same title for better portrayal of the characters.

Important Note: This fic contains boy with boy relations. Bluntly, snugglies.
Also known as "yaoi fluff." Hence the rating.

Bare feet pulled out of tennis shoes and sank a little in the cushiony sand. Picking them up, he gazed up and over at his partner. A taller man, somehow overdressed in his black business suit and sweeping, long black trench coat, stood several feet away, his slick black shoes sitting in the sand next to him, socks tucked within. He stretched his arms above his head, smiling as the soft sea breeze brushed his face and mingled in stray strands of soft, dark chestnut hair. A small smile graced his attractive features and his violet eyes lit up with the excitement of a child. "Want to go out to eat after this, Hisoka? I'm getting hungry."

The boy sighed, rolling up his jeans to his calves.

The man studied his partner and frowned. "Is anything wrong?"

"Hm?" The shinigami looked up, distractedly confused. "Oh, nothing. I'm picking up on… things. That's all."

Tsuzuki blinked several times, then relaxed. Of course; the beach was full of emotion – strong emotion, probably. Unless this was one of those beaches where excited children never came. "Come on," he said, "We can get a better look at the cave from down along the waterline."

Nodding silently, Hisoka followed his partner down the grass-covered dune. A soft white mist hovered over the sands, complimented by the darkening grey sky. The November day was chilly at best and getting colder. Hisoka was beginning to regret not bringing a proper coat and shoes he didn't care about getting sand in. Running to catch Tsuzuki, he shook his head. The sooner they caught this one, the better. The fog was getting thicker and colder. As they walked, Tsuzuki put a hand to his partner's shoulder and tensed, alert for threats that couldn't be seen. Reflexively, Hisoka's muscles tightened and relaxed, his empathic abilities alerting him to the new sensation and adjusting to the familiarity of Tsuzuki's emotions. He didn't allow himself to fall completely at ease, instead he kept his senses up and his body ready to defend at a moment's notice, ready for an attack or threat, the same as his partner.

"Tsuzuki?"

The man had stopped, looking around expectantly. "The fog isn't getting thicker any more. I think we're at the center."

Hisoka stopped as well, finding no argument with his partner's logic. It was just as well, he was becoming otherwise occupied. It wasn't just the cold making him shiver so. He gazed about, eyes a little scattershot, searching for the source of his agitation. Undercurrents of raw emotion lurked in the air, but so far no source was in sight. Hisoka clasped Tsuzuki's hand and pulled him through the damp, thick air.

"Hisoka!" His partner called after him. He sounded distant, and Hisoka found reassurance in the hand wrapped around his palm and fingers, radiating confusion. Ignoring his partner's emotions, Hisoka homed in on the strength of the emotional currents. Rapidly, he became more and more certain of his path through the mist, Tsuzuki's hand still clutched

in his own.

The wave of raw emotion that hit him in the chest was strong enough to send him physically flying backward. The youth slammed into Tsuzuki, who caught him more as a reflex than an awareness. Blurrily, he heard the other man curse.

"Oooo," a small voice purred. "It's been so long since I've met one like you." A girl materialized and glided easily through the mist. "Or you," she said, eyes moving to Tsuzuki. "Purple's my favorite color. Would you let me keep those?"

"They're not real," the man blurted, hoping she'd take his false shinigami body's excuse. His arm was tight around Hisoka; now that he had a hold on the boy, he realized his was shaking terribly and having some trouble standing right.

The ghost's twin appeared next to her, ducking around from behind her and gazing imploringly at Tsuzuki and Hisoka with eyes identical to her sister's. "Please… you must… help me…"

"Quiet!" Snapped the first. She returened her gaze to Tsuzuki and caught sight of Hisoka. "OO! Emeralds! I must have them too. You'll let me have them, won't you?"

"Please…"

Another girl identical to the first two appeared, and Hisoka and Tsuzuki really stared. Triplets? This was definitely a rarity. The third walked straight up to Hisoka and held out her hand. "My name is Kimiko. I just turned four!" To prove it, her thumb was curled neatly against her palm, fingers spread. Her eyes shone. Her body was far from four.

Tsuzuki didn't quite know what to make of this growing menagerie of identicals. They all looked the same but were vastly different. A fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh appeared. By the time eleven rolled around, Tsuzuki had both arms wrapped around Hisoka, who wasn't doing well at all. It came as no surprise. This one ghost was turning into a great many, all quite human in their behavior. Three were making sandcastles. A fourth was looking for shells absently. Another fought with the first over Tsuzuki's eyes and what they should be used for. The second girl was still pleading with the shinigami to help her. The third wanted cookies. Tsuzuki wanted to go back to Meifu and defer the case to Watari, who was much better with things like this.

"Tsuzuki," Hisoka said thickly, now leaning heavily against his partner and pressing something into his hand. An ofuda.

"They aren't all sisters, are they?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Not nearly that simple." Hisoka rasped, sucking in his breath sharply. "Don't be so worried, just do as I tell you."

Sometimes Tsuzuki regretted his partner's empathy for more than one reason. "What do I need to do?"

"See the girl over there, the one looking for shells? Approach her."

Tsuzuki obeyed. The girl looked up and flinched slightly. "Yes?"

Propping himself up on Tsuzuki's arm, Hisoka eyed her sympathetically. "What's your name?"

"Hatsuda Mitsuki… What are you going to do to me?"

"We won't hurt you," Hisoka assured her. "Do you want to leave the beach?"

Her eyes widened, dull brown irises staring out at them in shock. "How did you…?"

"Lucky guess," Hisoka said quietly. "My partner is going to touch your forehead. It won't hurt, okay?" The boy switched to leaning on Tsuzuki's shoulder as the man knelt and gently pressed the ofuda to her forehead, activating the spell. The girl smiled briefly before she, the others, and the mist vanished, leaving only the empty, roaring sea. The open water was comforting, but haunting. Tsuzuki straightened, offering Hisoka his arm. The boy leaned on it gratefully, still looking a little ill. A black trenchcoat fell around his shoulders. Hisoka looked up, glaring.

"I'm fine." He said, but didn't seem too keen on shrugging the coat off to prove it.

"Whatever you say, partner." Tsuzuki turned and began walking back to the slope down which they'd come. Hisoka picked up his shoes and chased after him, recovering. Tsuzuki pretended not to notice the scowl as the sandy-blond boy fell into step with him. He smiled instead. "I can carry you if you want, it's no trouble."

"I said I'm fine! They're gone, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Tsuzuki said with a sigh. "They are."

Back in their hotel room, cheap as per Tatsumi's strict regulations, Hisoka sank into the large bed, pulling the covers under one arm and lay with his back to the edge where Tsuzuki sat. "You sure you don't want to change before you fall asleep…"

"No, I don't. Go take your damn shower!"

Tsuzuki's eyes met the back of Hisoka's head with a worried expression, but he stood nonetheless and went to clean up. He couldn't complain; the boy had washed his feet off before collapsing into the bed. There was no sand to be worrying about. Tsuzuki sighed and turned on the water, snatched up a towel, and slipped under the hot spray. The ghost still bothered him, of course. Even in his line of work that kind of phenomenon was rare. He didn't know what to make of it. They certainly weren't sisters. And how did sending only one send all of the others? Resignedly, he put it out of his mind. It was over, there was nothing more. Rinsing the rest of the soap off his body, Tsuzuki turned off the shower, toweled off, and wrapped the cloth around his waist as he left the bathroom.

Hisoka was awake, staring at the closed laptop on the small table beside the bed. His hair hung around his face, shadowing his features. Tsuzuki tried to find his clothes and something to sleep in when Hisoka yelped. Startled, Tsuzuki looked up.

"Are you all right?"

Pale-faced and wide-eyed, Hisoka nodded. "Yeah, you… you scared me."

"If I did scare you, you are most definitely lying," Tsuzuki said, pulling a shirt over his head (following his pants and undergarments). The man looked almost unusual in pajamas. He walked over and flopped on the bed next to Hisoka. "So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hisoka said, trying to hide a shaky voice. Tsuzuki rolled out of the bed and turned off the overhead light, leaving only the light on his side of the bed on. He fell back into the bed, stretching out under the coverlet casually. He lay on his side, facing Hisoka.

"Come on give," Tsuzuki prodded gently, getting a little worried. The ghost shouldn't have affected him this badly.

"Gushoshin called," Hisoka said casually as though trying to change the topic. Curious, Tsuzuki let him change it.

"Did the soul make it?"

"Yeah," Hisoka said. "He apologized for not being quick about information."

"Information? You mean…"

Hisoka sniffed. "It's all right, I had her figured out anyway."

"Eh?"

Hisoka rolled onto his side, avoiding Tsuzuki's eyes. "All of those girls belonged to one body, Tsuzuki. Gushoshin reaffirmed this, his information said she had Disassociative Identity Disorder."

The brunette looked bewildered. "What is that?"

Hisoka sniffed. "You geezer. Ever heard of a split personality?"

"Yeah… OH! So it was sextuplets!"

Rolling over, Hisoka muttered. "You're an idiot. I'm going to bed."

"Gaah, wait, Hisoka, I'm sorry! What is it?"

The boy rolled halfway over, one eye open, sighed, and rolled back over to face his partner. "That was one girl, Tsuzuki. One girl's body housed all of those personalities."

"How'd she get so many?"

"When people suffer trauma, sometimes they can't take it and new personalities form to take the abuse instead. That girl," Hisoka said carefully, "suffered trauma when she was very young and created personalities to absorb the pain. Later she committed suicide before any of her personalities could object and stop her. That's where we found her. On the beach near where she died and her body washed up in the cave."

Tsuzuki's eyes darkened. "What sort of trauma did she suffer so young?"

Hisoka curled up into a little ball and closed his eyes, shivering a little in spite of the blankets. "She was beaten and raped for two years, imprisoned in a closet."

Tsuzuki drew closer, thinking back to the beach. "You knew," he stated softly.

"The mist was her remembering everything that had happened to her. She couldn't take it."

Tsuzuki slid further under the blankets and draped his arm lightly over the boy, brushing his hair out of his face. "No wonder… Gods, why didn't you say something?"

"I had to find her original personality. You couldn't do it – you didn't know what was going on. Sextuplets indeed…"

Tsuzuki couldn't bring himself to smile at the weak attempt at scoffing him. Shifting slightly, he pulled his partner close and held him against his chest, pulling them up to the head of the bed. Hisoka refused the pillow, snuggling up against him instead. Tsuzuki wrapped his arms around him obligingly, sparing one shortly to turn off the remaining light. Hisoka tensed, fear building in his chest. Tsuzuki's cheek brushed his own and rested against his hair. "It's okay," he said quietly. "You can sleep, I'll protect you."

Somehow, Hisoka found this reassuring and relaxed. His muscles eased under the soothing warmth of the blankets; the gentle rhythm of Tsuzuki's breathing calmed his rampant fears. Protective arms held him close.

Tsuzuki, halfway between sleep and consciousness, felt Hisoka take a deep breath and release it slowly, relaxing his tense muscles and slowing his breathing until it was no more than a soft, slow rise and fall against his arms and chest. He snuggled closer to Hisoka, perfectly content. He was almost asleep, his grip around the boy never loosening, when a low growl reached his ears.

The shinigami came full awake, alert amethyst eyes looking around, trying to sense danger. The growl came again, low and threatening.

Tsuzuki suddenly chagrined, his body relaxing defeatedly. They, and even more astounding, he, had forgotten completely about dinner.