When The Sakura Stops Falling Chapter 2
Just over a month had passed since that fateful day where Tsuzuki and his partner Hisoka had been sent to retrieve the soul of Sakuraiji Ukyou, and true to his word the brunette shinigami had spoken to his chief privately. Just has he had told the doctor he would do, as expected Konoe had been rather taken a back at first, but had nevertheless patiently listened. Of all of the employees in the summons division, it was Konoe who could be said to know Tsuzuki the best especially how important it was for the other man to know those who were innocent were made to suffer. Naturally Hisoka had been upset that his partner had instead of waiting for him as arranged, returned back to Meifu on his own. What was even more irritating was the discovery on the younger guardians return after an aimless search was finding the case had been solved and closed. Essentially rendering all the time spent being dragged all over the office building, being fawned over and in some cases ogled by various women who reminded him of the dreaded Hokkaido shinigami Saya and Yuma, totally pointless. It had taken a whole week of seething and making their co-worker grovel for them to be back on normal terms, requiring an intervention from Tatsumi the feared secretary who controlled the wages with an iron fist. So despite still feeling some residual resentment about being ditched, his respect for the shadow master outweighed it leading to some efforts to restore the status quo. Even if over the past few days he had been even more distracted then usual which nobody really thought was possible and there was the teens empathic senses niggling at the back of his mind suggesting that something was wrong. What the something wrong could have been was anyone's guess as sweet loving brunette wasn't telling anyone. Least of all his green eyed co-worker, who resisted the urge to grown as he yet again caught Tsuzuki staring intently at a small rectangle piece of card that was becoming ever-present. Several other Summons Division employees had attempted to enquire as to this new object of fascination only for it to be quickly pocketed with a shy smile and an apology from the cards holder currently in the secretary's office.
"Tsuzuki-san I've been aware for some time now that there is something bothering you, something which seems to be distracting you from you work." Icy blue eyes regarded him over the large desk which dominated the aforementioned secretaries office.
"It's nothing honestly Tatsumi I'm fine. Thank you for being concerned about me but I'll be alright honest." Natural instincts to try and placate his former partner coming outin full force. Not that the concern wasn't appreciated form his work mates, it was just he was trying to juggle the guilt he was feeling recently. Guilty for his sympathy for a man whom he knew he really shouldn't feel anything for, and he doubted that Tatsumi would understand. However long he had considered the other to be a good friend, said good friend wasn't so easily fended off on this occasion. Clearly indicated by the action of a hand pushing rimless glasses up the bridge of a nose, a habit other employees quickly learnt to be wary of. The action an indication of annoyance or uncertainty but often you wouldn't know which it was until too late.
"Tsuzuki…." Came the reply in a quiet but equally deadly serious tone, "We've known each other for quite some time now. Naturally as your co-worker I have an active interest in your welfare, but I also worry for your well being as your friend. Young Kurosaki-kin does so as well, it's not fair to keep things from him. After all he is your partner and you need to be able to function together as a team." The brown suited man paused, providing a moment for reflection on what had been said. At the end of the day this wasn't supposed to be a reprimand. No rules existed forbidding that a member of the department maintain privacy on certain issues of importance. Sparing a sideways glance at his colleague still sitting across from him he gave a barely audible sigh. Choosing to busy himself with tidying up the papers on the desk between them leaving the silence to continue permeating the room. A moment too late he realised to avoid the inevitable appearance of an inu-tusuzuki which would normally follow any show of worry or care for the others wellbeing. This would be no exception.
"Tatsumi is really worried about me?" the purple eyed guardian of death asked in a child-like tone of voice. Sure enough when Tatsumi raised his gaze he was greeted with the sight of a chibi Tsuzuki with white dog ears, tail and even paws. "Tatsumi is a really good friend to me and that makes me so happy!" he chattered away to himself happily as his colleague tried to suppress the small smile tugging at his lips at the sight of the other bouncing out of his office into the main work space of their division. Once in the open plan office the chibi brunette quickly made his way over to his partner and sat down at his desk with a contented expression. Hisoka didn't even need to look up from his reading to realise the older man had returned because of the waves of happiness pouring out of him.
"What has gotten into you all of a sudden?" he asked trying to feign disinterest, more then anything he wanted the other to calm down a little bit. The strength of emotion was threatening to overwhelm his empathic senses which he was still learning how to handle. Unlike the others in their workplace who couldn't help finding it endearing when Tsuzuki got like this, for the teen it was simply an annoyance. Not to mention a huge Tsuzuki sized distraction, who was now once again staring into space without a care in the afterlife oblivious to the scowl being thrown in his direction. The final straw had to be the happy humming from the desk beside his, "Baka!" he snapped at his colleague in sheer frustration, "I'm going to do some research in the library… do me a favour and stay away from me until you've calmed down okay?" Without waiting for answer or anything to indicate his request had been heard the teenage guardian of death stiffly got up and all but stormed out towards the library.
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Meanwhile back down on Chijou, the world of the living, a certain silvery blond doctor was sitting alone in his home in Tokyo, a glass of wine in one elegant hand and a phone in the other. The handset of the latter currently being held away from his ear, the voice of the person on the other end of the line clearly audible regardless. As the voice shouted and hurled insults and accusations at him, none of which he made any attempt to refute or defend against. After all such a reaction from his other surviving school friend had been expected.
"You really are a piece of work Muraki! You know that don't you?" The caller continued to rage down the phone line, "Ukyou and I search high and low for you before you miraculously appeared on my door step. Only for you to immediately take off again once you regained consciousness and now after the poor thing is dead and buried. Now? Now you call me and ask for me help?" the voice starting to become horse from the constant shouting. Mibu Oriya, the wakadanna of the Kokakurou had over the years put up with many things from the white clad man he was raging at, but right now he was not the mood for any more of his friends games. "Why can you not just let it go? It is over! Everything was destroyed in the fire, you need to forget about him you for own sake. Please Muraki, I'm asking you as your friend to let it go. There really is no need for you to continue on like this."
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Meanwhile back in Meifu Tsuzuki couldn't help the feelings of guilt he was feeling about driving his partner away his desk, but he really needed to speak to the chief. He also desperately did not want Hisoka of all his co-workers to find out the truth. Over the past month since that fateful mission he'd been talking to his boss Chief Konoe in the strictest confidence about the young woman's case. So far things would appear that the fates had not made a liar out of the brunette death god, for this he was grateful. There still remained one other more pressing issue. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the doctor. Couldn't stop dwelling on how difference they had been acted, how human they had seemed. With these thoughts swirling in his head they made their way to seek out the one person in the Judgement Bureau they felt could be trusted no matter what, Konoe.
Even if the elder shinigami, would occasionally grill him and give him a generally hard time over small things, they had still known him longer then any of the other death gods in their department. Pondering over these things, black clad legs carried him through the office until he found himself standing outside the office of the division chief. Knocking lightly on the door, waiting patiently for the invitation to enter which came after a brief moment or two. The other's gruff voice filtering through the wooden barrier between them.
"Come in!" the pale blue suited shinigami shouted in response to the noise signalling somebody was waiting to see him. A few moments later he looked up from his paperwork to see the site of a unusually sombre Tsuzuki, amethyst eyes imploringly looking in from the door frame. "Aaaah! Tsuzuki, come in.. come in. Do please sit down won't you? If there is anything bothering you, let me know. Or do I owe this visit to that young woman's case… as I already told you everything I can. I have spoken with the count and he's going to be speaking on her behalf with Lord Enma…."
"Eeehh….Actually chief… it's not about her. I'm here about Muraki-san; I know he has caused us a lot of problems. Myself especially." He paused nervously, realising he had just cut the other off. Figuring he can't make it worse now he decided to continue, "Not to mention there is his history with Hisoka, but I haven't stop thinking that maybe we can use this situation? Perhaps somebody… I mean, perhaps I might be able to persuade him to focus on being a doctor again? On saving lives like he clearly believed in once, rather then destroying them". The purple eyed shinigami had swiftly moved from doorway while Konoe had been speaking. Cutting his superior off like this had not been part of the plan, but that didn't stop him from slamming his hands down on the large desk. The gesture full of defiance as his gaze showed an uncharacteristic seriousness which hinted at the hidden strength he welded. Everyone knew of Tsuzuki, even in the afterlife he was somewhat famous and infamous for being the only death god to have achieved control of a dozen shikigami, but was still the most happy go lucky slacker in the whole division. At this moment the department head was not sure which was more disconcerting, that the other had spoken his nemesis's name with such respect using the honorific, or the look on his face as he was still staring at him intently.
"Tsuzuki I am not sure I understand what it is you are asking me to do here," he cleared his throat, and straightened his tie in a unconscious gesture, "It's true we have been aware of the Muraki family for some time now. They were and still could be said to be a fine lineage of doctors… if they are somewhat willing to bend the rules and take risks to further medical knowledge." A further pause to check the coffee cup on the desk to his left hoping to find some remaining dregs only to come up empty. "From what I have seen the latested and most likely now the last of their line. Is much more daring then his predecessors and given his obsession with you, I fail to see what you think you can do."
"It's precide because he is so fixated with me that I think if anyone could snap him out of his delision it would be me!" the younger male snapped, as he followed his boss out of the office to the break room. The latter intending to get a refill on his coffee. "Before I saw him in the hospital I never would of believes for a moment that he could be capable of having feelings for anyone else but himself. You should of seen him… he looked so lost, I've never known him to be anything but confident and smug. He always has control, he's manipulative to a fault and he never gets scared, not even when I tried to destroy us both." Tsuzuki paused mid rant when they both entered the break room. Not wanting his other colleagues to become aware of his current moral dilemma and hoping to avoid the wrong thing being said in front of a certain pair of co-workers.
"Be that as it mat, I still do not see a reasonable justification to send you to Tokyo to keep tabs on him. He is not in your jurisdiction Tsuzuki. Also how can we possible be sure it is not some sort of trap?" The chief responded gruffly, continuing the argument against the idea as he poured another coffee for himself and motioned for his member of staff to join him at an empty table. "You know the rules better then most, shinigami have to work in pairs."
"To keep an eye on each other, to make sure that they don't interfere with he loved ones they have left behind." Tsuzuki finished for him, sounding slightly dejected. "But it's not like I can tell Hisoka about this Chief, he'll hit me and tell me I'm an idiot" he whined becoming his chibi-inu form once again. "And Tasumi won't agree to help me either, please chief is there no way you can get some sort of special permission?" he continued to plead his case and giving the other the puppy eyes for added effect. Unfortunately for him, Konoe had know him far to long now for him to be seriously affected by these tactics and continued drinking from his coffee cup with a thoughtful expression.
"There is nothing I can do, but you could always ask the count yourself if he would be willing to assist you? It's well known in the Judgement Bureau how awfully fond of you he is." Konoe rubbed his chin as he considered any other options open to his employee, "Other then that all I can suggest is that you find some way to involve young Kurosaki in this, or find somebody else who can partner with you then come back to me. Now if you'll excuse me I have important work t be getting on with back in my office." Before the other shinigami could say another word of protest, the higher ranking of the two abruptly stood and left. Leaving the other feeling rather deflated and unsure of what to do next. The feeling of defeat weighing heavily on his shoulders as he remained seated at the small table, laying his head on his hands completely oblivious to the passage of time. That is until the silence was broken by a young voice from above him.
"Thought I would find your lazy ass in here baka." Hisoka scolded his partner as he entered the room, he was making his way back from the office library. "It's a good job we're not on a case at the moment or I'm certain Tatsumi would be on your back by now. Come on I'll walk back to our desks with you, then it won't look odd that neither of us were there." Without waiting for a reponse, the jade eyed teen made a move towards the door, and their aforementioned desks in the main office. His empathy clearly picking up that the tall brunette was being troubled by something or other, but this was hardly new if the past few weeks were anything to go off. Besides he had already made his mind up, he would wait for his partner to come to him for help and he was going to stick to his choice.
Trailing behind him looking very much the part of death warmed up in his trademark black suit, paired with white shirt and black tie, Tsuzuki began mumbling to himself incoherently before suddenly brightening up. Hisoka's talk about being reprimanded for now being at their desks had suddenly given him a spark of inspiration. The only issue now would be persuading the crazy scientist shinigami known to most of Meifu as Watari to agree to help him with his plan.
"Erm… Hisoka? You couldn't cover for me a little longer, as I just remembered something really important I need to ask Watari about. So I am just going to quickly run by his lab to see if he's there. Thank you, you're the best partner a guy like me could ask for!" dashing off suddenly down the corridor before the shorter male could protest at his sudden departure or about how the older death god had fluffed up his hair in a playful fashion.