Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei. It belongs to its owner, Yoko Matsushita. Please don't sue.

Free talk: Yeah, this is my first YnM fic. So please, be very gentle. It's TxH and a bit of MxH, my favorite pairings in YnM. It's rated PG-13 for now, but I'm sure I can move it up a little (wink, wink!). Yes, this is shonen-ai (yaoi, actually)…but there's hetero here too (hetero and yaoi together in YnM! How unusual!)!

This is dedicated to my fellow YnM fans, Muraki-chan and Momo.

Bewitched Souls

Chapter I: Missing Souls

No spell could protect her now.

She was just around fifteen, small and lovely. Her hair was a deep golden blonde, her eyes a stunning blue. She wore a pale green dress, now a little torn and dirtied from the chase.

She was backed up against the cold wall, in a dark abandoned alley in a shady part of the town. She glanced around, her blue eyes filled with fear and desperation. There was no one in sight, just a few overturned garbage bags, several prowling street cats hissing angrily at the sight of her. Above her, dark clouds hid the full moon. Her breathing came in short, rapid gasps as she searched for a way out of the alley.

Without any warning, some force seized her, forcing her to stiffen, paralyzing her whole body. She could not move, like a mannequin she stood there, waiting in the darkness. She tried to struggle, to get out of her frozen state, but to no avail. She tried to shout out for help, but found that the muscles in her throat were locked into immobility as well.

If I could only move, if could only speak, I could cast a spell. Oh Goddess, please, please–

Then, there were footsteps.

Soft and distant at first, the footsteps steadily grew louder and nearer as seconds passed. Her heart leapt in both fear and relief. However, when she saw whom those footsteps belonged to, terror struck her heart. She renewed her struggles and soft, desperate, whimpers escaped from her throat, tears streaming down to her cheeks.

There was a soft, swishing sound and suddenly it was like something hot penetrated her sternum, grasped her heart, and wrenched it from her body. Her mouth opened for a scream, but no sound came.

"HISOKAAAAAAA!!!!"

Hisoka Kurosaki turned around at the sound of that voice, unable to ignore it since it would have been heard all over Meifu, the land of the dead. Then he instantly regretted his decision. As soon as he turned something black and huge hurled itself at him and in a matter of nanoseconds, he was engulfed in a fierce bear hug that nearly forced the breath out of his lungs and sent a sudden wave of emotions washing over him. He staggered a few steps back, breathing hard.

"Tsuzuki no BAKA!" Hisoka quickly pushed away the offending hugger. Panting slightly, he gave Tsuzuki a resounding thump on the head, sending the poor man sprawling on the floor. "What do you think are you doing?" he demanded, looming over his Shinigami partner, hands on his slim hips. Shinigami were supposed to travel in pairs, partners in their job with death, and not for the first time in his afterlife, Hisoka wondered to himself, What did I do to deserve a partner like Tsuzuki?

Asato Tsuzuki rubbed the red lump on his head. "You're so mean, Hisoka!" he complained. "I was just greeting you a good morning." Purple puppy dog eyes, wide and adoring, stared up at Hisoka.

Emerald green eyes glared back at Tsuzuki. "You were mauling me," Hisoka said through clenched teeth. You should know better than to get too close.

"But, Hisoka–"

"Maa, maa! Arguing so early in the morning?" Yutaka Watari said as he strode into the room, a cheerful grin on his face. Wearing a soiled white lab coat, his thick blonde hair tied back into a messy ponytail, brown eyes glinting mischievously behind his glasses, Watari very much looked like a mad doctor some imagined him to be.

"Good morning, Watari-san," Hisoka greeted politely, ignoring Tsuzuki's whining.

"Good morning, too, boya." Watari stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes. "Does anyone know why Konoe-kachou called the meeting this early in the morning?" he asked sourly. He glanced around the conference room, noting the still empty chairs. "Well, it seems we're the earliest. Even the GuShoShin aren't here yet. Figures. Whoever calls a meeting at 6 am in the morning, anyway?" He ran his fingers through his thick hair and adjusted his glasses.

"I think Konoe-kachou wants to discuss something urgent with us," Hisoka answered. Watari glanced at the sixteen-year old. Dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans and a light green turtleneck shirt that enhanced his eyes, Hisoka looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. No doubt, the boya was used to waking up early in the morning.

Watari turned to Tsuzuki. "And how did you wake up so early? You're usually late."

Tsuzuki flicked a quick look at Hisoka, who was already sitting on one of the chairs. "Hisoka told me to get up early or else," he replied in a hushed voice.

"Or else what?"

"I didn't bother to find out."

Watari chuckled. Hisoka was certainly doing a great job with his older partner. Patting Tsuzuki on the head, he said, "Come on. Let's get to our chairs. Kachou can arrive any minute now."

Tsuzuki nodded. He brushed away the dust on his white, long-sleeved polo shirt and sat on a chair beside Hisoka. Then he immediately put his arms on the table, and rested his head on them and closed his eyes. Hisoka swatted him on the head and said, "Stay awake, baka."

Watari looked at the two. So things are back to normal, he said to himself. It had been nearly a month since the incident in Kyoto. A month since Tsuzuki and Hisoka emerged from the flames.

The door was suddenly flung open, revealing Tatsumi Seiichiro and Konoe-kachou. They strode into the room, a tight look on their faces. Trailing behind them were the GuShoShin, the two bird-like brothers.

"Ah, good morning, Tatsumi. Good morning, Kachou! Good morning, GuShoShin!" Tsuzuki greeted cheerfully.

Both Tatsumi and Konoe-kachou did a double take at the site of Tsuzuki sitting on one of the chairs. Watari smiled at their reaction. His smile faded when he saw the grim looks on the chief and his secretary's faces.

When everyone was seated in his or her proper places, Konoe-kachou began, "Thank you for coming this early. Tatsumi will brief you." He nodded at Tatsumi who stood up and gave out some manila folders.

Hisoka took one and immediately opened it. Inside were photographs and some sheets of paper. Taking out the photos, he saw that they were shots of women. A sudden chill rushed up his spine. The women were lying on the ground, their stiff bodies arching into horrible contortions; their eyes were wide and staring, mouths open in a silent scream. He looked up at Tatsumi.

"They're all dead. Their bodies were found in that…way," Tatsumi said.

"Cause of death?" Watari asked, adjusting his glasses. He sat up a little straighter, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

"They don't know. They didn't find any wounds in the body. Nor were any punctures or harmful substances found in the body to suggest that they were poisoned or drugged. When an autopsy was performed, they found that the heart was…crushed."

"Crushed?" they said in unison.

"That's not the only mystery. The women's names were not listed in the Kiseki…and their souls…cannot be found." Tatsumi's blue eyes narrowed. "Their souls are missing."

T.B.C.

Free talk, part 2: And that was the start of my first Yami no Matsuei fic. Please be gentle. I'm sorry for the lack of shonen-ai goodness in the first chapter (there will be in the next), but I want this fic not to solely focus on the relationship between Tsuzuki and Hisoka. I want this to be not just the usual Tsuzuki-fell-in-love-with-Hisoka-they-hook-up-and-haooy-kind of fic. There's too much of that already. Yes, I assure you, there will be a lemon (lots of it). And yeah, Muraki's going to be here too.