A/N: Used to be "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". This is from my old account, TerraAftershock, which I can't log into because the email is dead. I'm going to keep running the rewrite, which for the first few chapters will be just editing, but it'll likely turn out very differently—I've lost all my notes, but I remember most of it! The original was too OOC and contrived, relying too much on the Big Misunderstanding ™ that I've grown to loathe, but I can't help feeling there's something good hidden in this mess.
I know this is almost impossible, but if someone happens to have the first version sitting around their computer, I'd love to have it! I've lost it. TT_TT
And I've been thinking I might rewrite some of my one-shots as well, so if you have any requests please tell me!
Chapter One
This hopeless feeling
This fear of falling down
But I'm not crashing now
For all this bleeding
It wasn't worth the sound
A million screaming out loud
- Safe and Sound, written by Gerard Way
The apartment was almost completely black and eerily still. Hisoka felt a prickling energy run up his arms and legs, but shook it off. I shouldn't have come here...
"You said you had information." He watched Adrian cross the room to open the curtains. A mass of neon lights poured through the window, tinting the room in countless colors.
"Yes, we'll get to that." Adrian turned. His eyes traced Hisoka head to toe, and the empath could feel lust radiating from him.
Panic flooded his limbs and exploded painfully in his chest. He tried to swallow down his heart, which had lodged itself at the back of his throat.
"Tell me now." he demanded. He tried drowning the fear in anger, but the fear won.
Adrian closed the distance between them. Hisoka couldn't move, his fight-or-flight response frozen. He felt a hand cradle the back of his skull, lips touch the pulse point just below his jaw. Adrian smirked at the pulse's break-neck tempo.
"Hm? You're not frightened, are you?" By now, Adrian's lust was strong enough to drown out Hisoka's own terror, twisting up his torso in a tight spiral. Stop. Fucking stop. His overloaded empathy refused to cooperate.
"Information. Now." A chuckle vibrated over his shoulder.
"Very well." Something was slipped into his back jean pocket- a packet of papers or an envelope. Hisoka reached for it, only to have Adrian grab his wrist. "You can look at it later."
Adrian pulled him away, guiding him towards the bedroom door. Hisoka's mind became a jumble, one thought overlapping onto another, onto another. He couldn't speak.
He was pulled inside, and the door shut with a low, echoing thud.
Tsuzuki glanced at his watch and frowned. 8 am. Where the hell is Hisoka? He walked over to the hotplate set in the hotel room's table, heating up water for tea. After a few moments, a light signaled that it was hot enough. He stirred in a packet of instant tea, blew some of the steam away, and took a sip.
Between the hotplate and the TV set, the notes from their latest investigation were spread haphazardly. Today they'd be handing it off to another pair, but they'd found little to add to the report. Eight male prostitutes murdered, three weeks of investigation, and not a single lead to show for it. He glanced idly over the pages, wondering (as he always did) if Muraki was involved somehow. It seemed they were never able to fully escape the doctor.
Tsuzuki jumped as the phone rang. He sighed, shook his head, and answered.
"Hello?"
"Good morning." The voice was that of someone younger, a teenager perhaps. "May I speak with Hisoka?"
"Who is this?"
"My name is Ryu Hiraoka. You met me last week. Do you remember?"
"Ah." One of their investigation contacts. Now he remembered. "Well... Hisoka isn't here right now. He never came back last night, actually. He said he was with you."
"With me? No, he wasn't. Not for long. He left before 10 to talk to Adrian. We were gonna meet up this morning." Tsuzuki's frown deepened.
"Adrian?"
"One of the last clients Hitoshi met up with before he died."
Tsuzuki bit back a curse.
"Do you know where he lives?" he asked. "I'm going to find Hisoka."
The address lead to a white apartment building. Tsuzuki raced to the fourth floor, praying Hisoka was alright. Why does he always run off? Even after all that time as partners, Hisoka still put himself into dangerous situations without talking to Tsuzuki. Did he still not trust him on some level?
Finding number 402, he knocked loudly.
No one answered.
He reached out to try the door, and to his surprise it opened without fuss. He stepped inside.
"Hello? Adrian? Hisoka?"
"Can I help you?" A dark haired man walked out into the entryway. He wore only a pair of tan dress pants, and was toweling his hair dry.
"Ah! Sorry." Tsuzuki fought back his embarrassment, getting down to business. "You're Adrian Melmouth?"
"That's me. You are?"
"Asato Tsuzuki. I'm Hisoka's partner."
"Oh!" Adrian looked almost amused. "I suppose you're looking for him then? Come in."
Tsuzuki stepped through the door hesitantly. Adrian led him into a large living room.
"Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Tsuzuki?"
"…. No thank you."
"Very well." He poured himself a cup of green tea. "How long have you and Hisoka been together, if I might ask?"
"Huh? Oh! Not that kind of partner. We work together."
"Ah, forgive me. I assumed… no matter." This guy is seriously creepy, Tsuzuki thought. Something about the way he talked, the looks he gave… and his Japanese was far too formal, almost antiquated. "What is it that you do?" Adrian asked.
Tsuzuki froze. It wasn't as if he could just say "investigation", that would clue Adrian in to his status as a suspect.
He was saved having to say anything by Hisoka walking into the room. His hair was damp, just like Adrian's, and he had a far-off expression.
"Hisoka!" He rushed over. "Why didn't you tell me where you were going?"
His partner looked horrified for a moment, then his face fell back into its emotionless state. "We'll talk about this later." Tsuzuki tried to argue, but only got a glare from Hisoka.
"I hate to interrupt," Adrian stepped forward. "But before you leave-" He pulled out his wallet, removed a wad of yen and tucked it into the breast pocket of Hisoka's shirt. "For services rendered."
"What services?" Tsuzuki snapped. "Tell me what's going on."
"That's between you and your partner." Adrian herded them towards the door. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Tsuzuki, but I really must be getting on with my day." And before he could argue Tsuzuki was pushed out the door, followed by Hisoka. The door shut with a loud klatch.
He turned to Hisoka.
"What the hell is-" But Hisoka disappeared, heading back to Meifu.
Three days. Hisoka hadn't spoken to him in those three days since they'd returned. He wouldn't look at him. They'd written reports on their part of the investigation, and not once had Hisoka looked anyone in the eye. Wakaba, Watari, everyone asked him what was wrong, and each time Tsuzuki had to admit that he didn't know.
To add insult to injury, the "information" turned out to be things they already knew.
On the fourth day, a member of the Internal Investigation Bureau knocked on his office door and informed him that he was needed in the office of Tatsuya Namikawa, the bureau chief. When he arrived, he saw Hisoka leaving, looking pale and ill. He tried catching his partner's eye, but to no avail.
"Come in, Tsuzuki-san." He obeyed.
Namikawa was a stern, older gentleman who'd been a World War II veteran. He glanced from the papers on his desk to Tsuzuki, adjusting his thick, square bifocals.
"There seems to be some inconsistencies in your reports. I'd like to ask you for a short explanation of the last two days of your investigation." Tsuzuki frowned, but nodded.
"We were getting to know some friends of the victims; a young man named Ryu Hiraoka and his younger friend Keitaro Honda. The night before we returned, Hisoka said he was with Ryu, getting information."
"How late was Kurosaki out?" Namikawa watched Tsuzuki over the tops of his glasses.
"Actually... he didn't return. I ended up finding him at a suspect's house."
"Did he tell you that he was going to get information from this suspect?"
"No, sir. He didn't tell me anything." Clearing his voice, Namikawa went on.
"What was his behavior like? His mood?" Tsuzuki bit his lip for a second, trying to find a delicate way to put it.
"He seemed... distressed. Greatly distressed." When he didn't elaborate, Namikawa sighed.
"Do you know where he got the large sum of money?"
"It was given to him by the suspect, Adrian Melmouth."
"Did Melmouth mention why?"
Tsuzuki gritted his teeth, remembering Adrian's smug attitude.
"He said it was for 'services rendered', but he didn't explain."
Finally, Namikawa waved him off.
"Thank you, Tsuzuki-san. You may go."
"Sir, do you know what's going on? Hisoka never explained."
Namikawa hesitated, then said "I'll send you a copy of the main report once it's compiled."
Tsuzuki left, frustrated and completely in the dark.
"Muraki, where do you find ones like that?" Adrian grinned. Over the phone, Muraki laughed.
"I'm glad to see you're enjoying your role in this."
"From your description of his personality, I didn't think he'd cooperate at all. I was pleasantly surprised."
"Did he cooperate?" Muraki said lightly. "I suppose he is an empath, after all..."
"Oh, is that why he was so... responsive?"
Muraki laughed again. "Don't let your libido distract you, Adrian. Stay on target, and you can borrow him whenever you want. You still have work to do."
"I suppose. Will we be meeting again to discuss work?"
"I'm afraid not. I have family duties to attend to." He picked up a photo on his desk, showing a baby boy in the arms of a charming young mother. "But perhaps you'd like to join? You'll be able to meet Cheya."
"Oh? Then perhaps I will... what does one bring to a first birthday party?"
