I know I said I would update this like three weeks ago, but a lot of stuff has happened. Finals and Christmas and trying to sort out some things for the next semester. I have been really stressed. However, I had a chance to edit it tonight so decided better late than never. The story has been finished, I just like editing it to ensure there aren't as many mistakes. So don't worry, this story will be finished. Now that that's out of the way, let us continue!
Tsuzuki looked at a bank clock across the street: 7:39 am. Crap! He turned another corner, spectacularly skidding across the sidewalk and avoiding some other people on the street. Hisoka was going to be so pissed when Tsuzuki finally got to the office. The previous night the boy had looked at Tsuzuki with that terrifying glare and warned him not to be late again or else there would be consequences. Those consequences probably involved bodily harm to Tsuzuki's head. Hisoka had a talent for turning things that shouldn't be considered weapons or aerodynamic into lethal and aerial ammunition. Honestly, the kid once tossed a desk on Tsuzuki. A desk! Tsuzuki felt his body push itself more as he caught sight of the building he had spent many years working at. He was almost there!
Not only would Hisoka be pissed and probably give Tsuzuki the silent treatment for the rest of the day, but Tatsumi was threatening to dock Tsuzuki's pay if he was late one more time. To think, he might actually have to go without desert for the rest of the month! He really needed to get a better alarm system. Maybe he could spend the night at Hisoka's. That was guaranteed to get him up in the morning, if only because of Hisoka's incredibly high and screechy voice.
A few more steps launched Tsuzuki through the doors. After practically flying through the hallways, disrupting some of the workers who were already there, Tsuzuki managed to burst through the door to the office he and Hisoka shared. Tsuzuki put on his best winning smile and jumped into his desk. Time to start trying to win back Hisoka's favor.
"Sorry I'm late!" he cried, plopping down his bag and shucking off his coat. Hisoka didn't reply. Tsuzuki began frantically searching for some paperwork to start on before continuing. "Traffic was awful," he finished weakly. He could practically hear Hisoka roll his eyes at the pathetic excuse. The kid probably knew that Tsuzuki was lying. Scratch that, there was a one hundred percent chance Hisoka knew Tsuzuki was lying. Being partnered with an empath really had its ups and downs sometimes. Not that the excuse would have worked on a non-empath partner. In reality, the line for cinnamon rolls was really long and once you're in line for a cinnamon roll, you can't just leave because of work. It also didn't help that Tsuzuki had a nice box of cinnamon rolls sitting proudly, if not a bit mockingly, on his desk. And you could smell them from a mile away. Hisoka probably knew the reason for Tsuzuki's tardiness before Tsuzuki even managed to get through the doors. But hopefully Hisoka understood the importance of getting a nice, healthy dose of sugar in the morning. Hisoka's silence was starting to bother Tsuzuki. Normally, by this time Hisoka would have hit him at least three times.
"Hisoka's not with you?" Wakaba asked. Tsuzuki's head whipped up, startled by Wakaba's sudden appearance behind him. It was then that he noticed the desk his partner normally sat at was empty. There wasn't even a used coffee cup on the desk. It looked exactly the same from the night before. There were no pens sitting out on the desk (Hisoka hid them so that Tsuzuki wouldn't steal them). There were no new papers spread out. The chair was pushed in and Hisoka's jacket wasn't hanging on the rack or on the back of the chair. It was as if Hisoka hadn't come to the office at all. Tsuzuki checked the clock on the table, 8:00 am. Yep, Hisoka should have definitely been here for at least an hour, maybe more if he didn't sleep well the previous night.
"No. He's not," Tsuzuki confessed, his mind beginning to wander, searching for explanations. Hisoka never missed work. He never stayed home. Even if he had gotten caught up in the library, there still would have been some sign the kid had made it to the office. Hisoka came when he was sick, when he was tired, when he hadn't eaten in days. Work was his escape from his loneliness. It was a chance to prove that he was capable of something. It was a place where he could prove he wasn't a monster. Hisoka would never miss work.
And yet, he wasn't here. Tsuzuki felt a block of ice begin to spread over his chest, taking away all feeling from his limbs. He bit his lip and started to pick at the skin around his fingernails. His eyes scanned the room; looking for anything that would help return his breathing to normal. His heart began to twist uncomfortably and his stomach started to flip. Suddenly, the cinnamon rolls made Tsuzuki feel ill.
After what felt like an eternity, Tsuzuki decided to take action. Hisoka always came in. If he wasn't here, then something terrible had happened. He stood up, the chair scrapping against the floor. He had promised himself long ago that he wouldn't let Hisoka get hurt under his watch. There was still a chance that he was blowing this out of proportion. There was still a chance that everything was all right. But he had to make sure.
"I'm going to see Tastumi," Tsuzuki said. Perhaps the secretary had sent Hisoka to do some errands.
"Don't you have work?" Terezuma grumbled. He lit another cigarette and glared at Tsuzuki, his eyes burning with the desire to start another fight. Tsuzuki thought about snipping back at the man, but decided differently. The fact that Hisoka hadn't show up was much more troublesome than Tsuzuki cared to admit. Something was wrong with the kid. Terezuma could wait. He wasn't important. Tsuzuki pushed past Terezuma. The man grumbled something under his breath but made no move to provoke Tsuzuki further. He understood the importance of keeping your partner safe. The previous comment was probably just force of habit, Tsuzuki decided as he made his way through the halls. This time, he had to control himself so that he wouldn't run like a possessed man. He couldn't afford to lose his head now. He arrived at Tatsumi's office. Taking a few seconds to compose himself, Tsuzuki then knocked on the door before walking in.
"About time you showed up. Is Kurosaki with you?" Tastumi asked, not looking up at Tsuzuki.
"Actually he's not." Tatsumi looked up, setting the papers down.
"But he's always here," the secretary said. Tsuzuki nodded.
"I want to geo check on him. I think something might be wrong," Tsuzuki said. Tastumi nodded.
"Come back when you find the kid. You still have paper work to get through. If it's not on my desk by this afternoon, I'll dock both of your pays." Tatsumi glared at Tsuzuki, making Tsuzuki slightly less anxious. If Tatsumi was willing to threaten Tsuzuki like that, then he must not be that worried. Hisoka was going to be fine. Tsuzuki could feel it.
"Don't worry! I'll be back before you know it and then I'll work extra hard," Tsuzuki said cheerfully. He waved goodbye to the secretary before popping out the door. The first place Tsuzuki decided to look was the library. While it was highly unlikely Hisoka was there, it was the closest thing to him at the moment. Hisoka often came in early to read before starting work. It could be that he lost track of time and simply fell asleep. Tsuzuki smiled as he thought of Hisoka curled up with a book. He knew that sometimes reading would help Hisoka sleep, especially if his insomnia was really bad. Of course, Tsuzuki was still banned from the library. So he had to sneak past the Goushoshin brothers. Not that it was an incredibly hard task. The two often had their noses buried in books as well.
After around thirty minutes of searching in all of Hisoka's normal reading spots (the kid had a lot) Tsuzuki hadn't managed to find him.
He decided it would be best if he tried Hisoka's house next. The worry in his stomach didn't lessen any more. In fact, it increased as the day went on. Something really terrible must have happened for Hisoka to stay away from the office. Could it be that he ran into Muraki again? Tzusuki's stomach dropped. He couldn't even fathom that. If Hisoka ran into Muraki, then he was probably with him right now. The doctor loved to torture Hisoka almost as much as he loved to pursue Tzusuki. Tsuzuki tore out of the library, running as fast as he could towards Hisoka's house. He heard the two brothers calling out in surprise and probably threatening him. But Tsuzuki couldn't think about that at the moment. He had let his mind wander to the worst possible scenario. And now the images of Hisoka with Muraki being tortured wouldn't leave Tsuzuki's thoughts. He could practically hear Hisoka's screams for help, screams for Tsuzuki. But Tsuzuki wasn't there.
No! He had to stop thinking like this. Hisoka was fine. He was not with the man who murdered him. He was safe. He wasn't alone. He was safe.
"Please be there," Tzusuki begged. If Hisoka wasn't, then Tsuzuki would be in a panic. He didn't know where Muraki would be. The man had a habit of disappearing. He had a horde of powers that Tsuzuki didn't know the slightest thing about. Muraki was the type of person who would only be caught if he wanted to be caught. Though, Tsuzuki would not react well if he found out Muraki was behind this. He would tear down the doctor for sure if he so much as laid a finger on Hisoka. There would be hell to pay. Tsuzuki may not seem violent, but he could get dangerous when provoked. He doubted Muraki would enjoy that side of him.
Throughout all his thoughts of revenge, Tsuzuki's body had acted on its own, carrying him to Hisoka's house. When Tsuzuki realized that he was there, he began to feel the consequence of sprinting the entire way. His lungs ached, his legs burned, and his heart was beating at an incredible pace. But Tsuzuki wasn't done yet. He threw open the door, letting it smack against the wall with a resounding crack.
"Hisoka?" he called out. The house echoed back at him. "Hisoka, are you here?" he called again. There was no response. Hisoka's shoes weren't by the door. That either meant he left for work this morning and never made it, or he never made it home last night. Tsuzuki prayed it was the former. He didn't want to think what could happen to the child in the twelve hours they had been separated.
Still refusing to leave, Tsuzuki made his way through the house. Perhaps Hisoka just left his shoes on. Perhaps he had gotten them wet and went to dry them. Looking through the house now, Tsuzuki realized just how few possessions Hisoka actually had. There were mostly books around the house, filling every nook and cranny. Tsuzuki had to laugh as he realized there was a book sitting in the kitchen sink.
Apart from the books, there were also a number of fish tanks decorating some tables as well as some picture frames. Most had Tsuzuki in them. Though other familiar faces could be seen in the frames. In the living room a plush couch took up most of the space. It was there mostly so that Hisoka could sleep there if he didn't feel like going to his room (this was normally caused by a burnt out light in the hall). An armchair lay directly beside it. This was for when Tsuzuki came over. It was just close enough to the couch that Tsuzuki could run his hands through Hisoka's hair while the child read.
And of course, there were lights everywhere. Lamps, flashlights, ceiling lights. There were sources of lights in almost every corner of the house. Tsuzuki felt a little smidgen of pride when he realized that the candles had been put away and Hisoka appeared to no longer be hoarding extra light bulbs. Perhaps he was a good influence on the kid after all. Tsuzuki's pride didn't last long as he flicked on a lamp.
So Hisoka wasn't here. He almost always had lights on. Tsuzuki bit his lip and made his way further into the small apartment. The only other place Hisoka would be was in the bedroom. Tsuzuki knocked on the door before pushing it opened. The bed wasn't made, but Hisoka rarely made his bed so that didn't mean anything. What was worrying Tsuzuki was the lack of Hisoka in the bed. Actually, the sweatshirt Hisoka normally slept in as well as the sweatpants were still on the floor. So Hisoka definitely left this morning, or didn't come back last night.
Tsuzuki picked up the sweater and chuckled. It was an ugly purple thing that he had bought on an assignment back in 1980. He didn't pack accordingly and was really cold since the weather decided it wasn't going to be spring yet. He had forgotten all about the sweater until he noticed Hisoka wearing it one day after Tsuzuki stopped by unexpectedly. He didn't think anything of it until he went home to look for his sweater, thinking he and Hisoka could match one day, only to realize that the one Hisoka was wearing was his. It was actually kind of adorable.
He jumped at the sound of the door opening. The sweater was dropped and kicked under the bed as Tsuzuki ran out into the living room. He didn't want Hisoka to know that he knew he had his sweater. That would just embarrass Hisoka, and not in the way Tsuzuki normally liked to embarrass him. Tsuzuki understood that it was like Hisoka's security blanket and he understood that Hisoka didn't like being compared to anything child-like. But he would scold Hisoka for making him worry so much. Honestly, Hisoka was supposed to be the responsible one.
"Hisoka, where have you been?" Tsuzuki asked. He put on a bright smile and turned towards the door. His smile dropped when he saw who was at the door.
"My little doll is waiting for us, dear Asato," Muraki grinned. Tsuzuki clenched his jaw. He was right. Muraki had Hisoka. He had probably hurt Hisoka a great deal. And now, he was going to try and get Tsuzuki to come with him.
"What have you done to him?" he growled. He was desperately trying to keep his anger from bursting out. He was close to summoning Touda so that he could roast Muraki alive. But Muraki had Hisoka. Tsuzuki couldn't risk it just yet.
"Not to worry. This time I'll take you straight to the boy. Then we can discuss the best way to let him go," Muraki said with another grin. Tsuzuki reached in his pocket to pull out a fuda.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. My men have direct orders. As soon as my heart stops beating, so does the child's," Muraki laughed. Tsuzuki pulled his hand out of his pocket. This time was going to be the last time Muraki ever hurt Hisoka.
This was mostly a filler chapter, but some important stuff does happen that will come into play later. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. See you soon.
