GAIRO ERUMU
Chapter 4
The four shinigami were seated around a small table in quiet café early the next morning. Tsuzuki, half asleep, having been dragged out of bed by his partner, was proving that he was still able to put away more pastries than the other three combined, even if he wasn't awake enough to taste them.
Hisoka gave the man a disgusted looked before turning back to Wakaba. "Are you sure it was him?"
Wakaba still seemed somewhat shaken from the nightmare that Terazuma had woken her from in the early hours of the morning. "Pretty sure, yeah."
Terazuma placed a fresh cup of tea in front of her, his eyes softer than usual in his concern.
Wakaba picked up the cup and noticing that her hands were shaking put it back on the table. "I don't know how I'll ever get to sleep tonight. You didn't dream about him?"
Hisoka shook his head. "No my dreams were normal, except for…" He trailed off and looked thoughtful. "No," He shook his head again. "I dreamt about other things."
Tsuzuki looked up from his pastries and eyed his partner. "You slept okay, right?"
"Shut up." Hisoka glared at the older man, who eeped and ducked down, returning to his breakfast.
Hisoka drained the last of his coffee as Terazuma checked his watch. "You guys better get going. The moron here," he gestured to Tsuzuki. "Has to be there early."
Tsuzuki glared at his co-worker, but didn't comment. Standing he scooped up several of the remaining pastries, wrapped them in a napkin and tucked them into his pocket for later.
Hisoka and Wakaba also found their way to their feet and headed for the door, Tsuzuki trailed behind them. At the door he turned back and flashed a slightly nasty smirk at Terazuma. "You'll take care of the check, won't you Hajime-chan?" Waving in the face of man's irritated growl, Tsuzuki darted out the door.
XXX
The atmosphere in the corridors of Kugutsu High School was subdued. There was none of the laughter or chatter that had rang through the halls the day before. Students were milling around in small groups, talking in hushed voices.
"Did you notice that Hontura-chan was absent yesterday?'
"They found her in pieces…"
Hisoka and Wakaba made their way towards Wakaba's first class listening to the snippets of conversations taking place around them.
"Her family's really torn up…"
"How do you think…?"
"Do you think she dreamed about him?"
"Kruger…"
Wakaba turned to Hisoka at the door of the classroom. "Will I see you at lunch?"
"Aa, I'll meet you outside by the tree where you were sitting yesterday." Hisoka waved as he headed off to his first class.
Wakaba made her way to the desk she had sat at the day before and looked to her left to see Tanaka Aya looking at her with wide eyes full of fear.
"Hontura Kya was absent yesterday, and today we find out that she's dead. Wakaba-chan, have you seen Yui? I haven't seen her at all this morning. I don't want her to be absent today, what if tomorrow she's…she's…" Aya broke off on a sob, putting her hand to her mouth.
Wakaba reached out and grasped the girls other hand, squeezing it tightly, offering what little reassurance she could.
XXX
Hisoka went into his first class and made his way to a desk near the back of the room. Taking his seat he noticed that there were a few more empty seats than there had been the day before.
The teacher came into the classroom and his gaze swept over the class, his eyes hooded. With a deep sigh, the man opened a text book and began to lecture the class on modern imperialism. Immediately the majority of students sank into boredom.
Hisoka sighed and rested his head on his folded arms, he'd done the student thing too many times, and had heard this lecture before, or at least several variations of it. With his head resting on his desk he let his senses expand and spread. He could feel confusion, fear, and sorrow in a hundred different forms from the students of the school, and approaching the classroom he could feel a deep coldness, a darkness that felt like…
Hisoka's head shot up and he focused his attention on the door. After a few minutes a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.
"Muraki!"
Shooting to his feet, Hisoka began to back away from the doctor who was the embodiment of evil to him, but hands grabbed at him from all sides.
"Where are you going Kurosaki-kun?" Asked one of his classmates, holding tightly to his sleeve.
"Yes Hisoka-kun, Muraki-sensei wants to see you!" Another told him, blocking his retreat.
"Let me go!" Hisoka cried, trying to pull loose from the hands of the teenagers that restricted his movements.
Muraki walked into the room and calmly made his way to Hisoka, who was struggling vainly to break free of the imprisoning hands.
"Hello boy."
The familiar voice sent shivers down Hisoka's spine and he froze. The doctor reached out for him and cupping one pale hand around the back of Hisoka's neck, drew him close, until their cheeks touched and Muraki's smooth voice sounded in his ear.
"Can you imagine what I'm going to do to you?"
Hisoka could feel the man smiling, but the familiar sense of Muraki had faded away at the close contact. The darkness remained and evil radiated from this being in sickening waves, but it no longer felt like the doctor. The hand on the back of his neck tightened painfully as the thing with Muraki's voice continued to taunt him.
"Our first meeting under the sakura will seem like a day at the park in comparison."
Quelching down his fear and an overpowering sense of disgust he managed to find his voice. "Who or what are you?"
"Don't you recognize me boy?" The man asked drawing back.
"You are not Muraki, you can't fool me that easily." Hisoka growled before crying out in pain. The hands that held him had suddenly dug into his arms and shoulders, dug through his flesh. Once again Hisoka tried to tear himself free, but the fingers piercing him held him fast and the attempt sent jolts of fresh agony singing up his arms.
The man in front of him shrugged. "Oh well, white was never my colour anyway." The voice changed from Muraki's smooth one to one that was hoarse and gritty.
Hisoka looked at him closely. He no longer looked like Muraki, in fact, he barely looked like anything that could be described as human. This had to be Kruger. What skin Hisoka could see was completely scarred and distorted by burns. The man's features were twisted and in places the skin was totally pulled away revealing the raw looking flesh beneath it.
Stepping forward again the man grabbed a handful of his hair and jerked his head back. Hisoka met the coal black, glittering eyes.
"I know what you are, I've dealt with your kind before, and I saw your dreams boy, you have enough fear, anger and spiritual energy to feed me for a long time." Freddy opened his mouth and his mouth and his tongue emerged, snakelike, impossibly long and twisting like a living creature, seeking.
Hisoka grit his teeth it stoked up his cheek and across his forehead before withdrawing.
"You taste sweet boy." Freddy grinned, releasing his grip on Hisoka's hair.
Hisoka sagged forward, gagging.
"Now it's time to really play." Freddy raised his hand and displayed the blades he wore.
Hisoka looked up and…
And a stinging pain erupted across his left cheek…
And he gasped, opening his eyes to see the teachers' partly concerned, partly angry face above him.
"Kurosaki! How dare you sleep in my class!"
Hisoka jerked out of the teachers' grasp and got to his feet a little unsteadily. The dark sleeves of the school jacket hid the injuries on his arms and shoulders, but he knew if he looked down he would see the blood dripping off his hands.
"Infirmary…" Was all he managed to utter before he was running out of the room, towards the only sense of comfort he had been granted in his existence.
"Tsuzuki…"