I know, this took sooo long to come out, I'm divided between so many projects at the moment I'm amazed I can keep them all moving. (As those who like Film and Screen know, it's moving very slowly, but it's coming, I swear!)
Please don't kill me…
Chapter 7
Tatsumi strode through the corridors of Enma-cho, muttering darkly under his breath.
"When I get my hands on you Tsuzuki, I'll…"
"You'll what?" Said an overly geneki voice from behind him.
Tatsumi whipped around to find Watati following behind him, his amber eyes sparking with suppressed mirth.
"It's not everyday we catch the esteemed secretary of the Shokan talking to himself!"
Tatsumi let out a long suffering sigh. "What are you doing Watari?"
"I'm returning to work, in case you hadn't noticed this is the way to the lab." Watari grinned unabashedly. "So what are you planning to do to poor Tsuzuki?"
"I'm sure I will think of something suitable."
"Why?"
Another long drawn out sigh. "Have you noticed the time Watari?"
"Um, yeah. It's twelve thirty, I just finished lunch."
"And have you seen Tsuzuki today?"
Watarti's eyes widened. "You mean he didn't come in?"
"No, he hasn't and he hasn't called either. I've already had to cover for him once with Kanoe today…"
"You lied to Kanoe?"
"I prefer to think of it as stretching the truth. I would wager I know what Tsuzuki's doing…"
The cheerfulness left Watari's face. "He's out looking for Bon."
Tatsumi nodded. "But he cannot just take off like this, he still has a job to do."
"But Tatsumi…"
"No. We all want to find Kurosaki-kun, but disappearing like this is not helping. Now instead of one missing Shinigami, we have two. How do you think Enma would react to that?"
Watari paled.
Tatsumi nodded again as he saw that his co-worker understood the possible implications. "I can cover for Tsuzuki for a little while, but we need to get him back here before his absence is noticed. We will continue to look for Kurosaki-kun, but we have to make sure that the job gets done as well."
Watari looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, last time he didn't come into work he'd gone to see Oriya…"
"Which you were well aware of…"
"Maybe he went back there again?"
Tatsumi considered this. "Perhaps. I'll go to the Kokakuro after work and see if he stopped by there."
Watari flashed him a small grin. "Why don't you let me go, knowing you, the Kokakuro will be closed before you finish working."
Tatsumi gave him a mildly annoyed look. "Very well. Make sure that you tell me if you learn anything."
"Aye, aye sir!" Watari said, saluting.
XXX
Hisoka sat in the car beside Shori looking out at the scenery passing by. Although the expression on his face was completely neutral, his thoughts were racing a mile a minute.
Six years.
Six years had passed since he was thirteen. He focused on his reflection in the window, he defiantly didn't look like a nineteen year old.
And Kazutaka had lied to him.
Hisoka turned that thought over in his mind. Had Kazutaka lied to him? He tried to remember if the doctor had said anything about the amount of time that he had forgotten and came to the conclusion that he hadn't. He had merely said that Hisoka was sixteen, which both his empathy and his reflection in the glass seemed to confirm as truth.
What's wrong with me?
And then there was this Tsuzuki Asato who Shori had said was his brother…
But he was an only child…
So who was Tsuzuki Asato?
XXX
Tired, Tsuzuki stretched his arms over his head and tried to ignore the presence of the man walking beside him. It felt as if they had covered most of Tokyo over the course of the day and finally Tsuzuki began to realize something.
And he was stunned by the revelation that had finally hit him.
Muraki was as clueless as he was.
The man in white, who always seemed to be in control of every situation around him (usually to Tsuzuki's dismay), had no idea where Hisoka was and only a minimal idea of how to go about finding him.
He found the thought both comforting and frightening.
Comforting because if proved that Muraki was not as infallible as he usually seemed.
Frightening because it meant that Hisoka could be anywhere.
But for some reason Muraki seemed to be positive that he would not have returned to Meifu when he brought it up, and Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed slightly as he wondered what Muraki knew that he didn't. Maybe now that Hisoka was away from Muraki, he should try one of his ofuda birds again. His lips tilted up slightly at the thought and a small kernel of hope bloomed in his chest.
Yes, as soon as he could get away from Muraki he would…
"You seem pretty lost in your own little world." Muraki's voice cut through his musings "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Nothing that would interest you." Tsuzuki returned with feigned nonchalance.
Muraki stopped walking, ignoring the crowd of people that moved around them and the dirty looks that he drew for blocking part of the busy sidewalk. He drew out a cigarette and lit it, his silver blue eyes never leaving his companion who had paused, looking back at him. "Tell me Tsuzuki-san, do you ever think about what we talked about at the Noh play?"
Tsuzuki looked over at Muraki, startled, where had that come from? But, he acknowledged to himself, it was like Muraki to keep him off balance and to aim for his weak spots. "No." He said in a hard voice, denying that he thought of Muraki's words regularly.
A knowing smirk crossed Muraki's lips. "So you've accepted it then?"
"I've accepted that I'm human in every way that matters. Why would I take your word over the words of the people who care about me?"
Muraki laughed, shaking his head. "The bouya told you you're human."
Tsuzuki bristled. "Yes."
Muraki's laughter doubled. "What would the bouya know about being human?"
Tsuzuki shot him a suspicious look. "What do you mean by that?"
The laughter died, but amusement still lingered in Muraki's face and voice. "Kurosaki Hisoka is no more human than you are."
Tsuzuki's mouth gapped open. "W-what?"
"After I found my grandfather's research on you I became curious and began to look for other instances where foreign DNA could enter a human blood line, and by luck or fate I discovered the Kurosaki."
Tsuzuki looked at him blankly.
"Imagine, the bouya was conceived by a man who was possessed by a demon, as was his father, back for generations. With every new heir, the demonic matter in the Kurosaki blood would become stronger. If the Kurosaki line was allowed to continue uninterrupted, there is the possibility that someday in the future their offspring would have become full demons."
"No, you're lying!"
"Why would I lie?" Muraki pulled off his glasses and cleaned them on a handkerchief. Holding them up to the m up to the light he peered through them to make sure they where clean. "Think on this then. My curse took three years to kill him. If he had been a normal human, he would have been dead within a week." Putting his glasses back on, he turned his piercing gaze on Tsuzuki. "Did you really think it was coincidence that I met the bouya that fateful night?"
XXX
Walking once more through the grove of sakura tree, the setting sun shining through the trees made molted patterns on the ground as he once again walked the path that he had already walked several times before. There was that tree up ahead of him, and the two figures that seemed to be forever at its base, himself, bound and gagged with ropes and chains that no amount of prying or pulling had been able to loosen, and himself as a young child, lost, confused, hurting, unwilling to leave the only chance he had of finding his home.
The small figure looked up as he approached and he found himself meeting his own eyes in a younger guise.
"Look!" The childish voice cried out and he pointed at his bound counterpart. "Look!"
He moved closer and saw what caused the beginnings of hope to glimmer in the tremulous voice.
One link of one chain bore a slight crack…
He grabbed at the chain and pulled with every ounce of strength that he had.
"I want to go home…"
XXX
"Hisoka-kun?"
Hisoka awoke with a jerk, startled out of his dream, and for a moment he had no idea where he was.
"Wake up sleepy-head, we're here."
"We're here?" Oh, right. Car, Shori, he must have dozed off and had that dream again. "Where are we?"
"The Kokakuro. This is the restaurant that my friend recommended to me. Apparently this is a popular place with high level politicians and famous people come here often. It's a good place to be seen." Shori tossed her long black hair back over her shoulder as she undid her seat belt. "At least a good place to get noticed." A smirk pulled at the corner of her lips.
Hisoka blinked at the slight mixture of bitterness and smugness that he was picking up from the woman, but it quickly faded and she turned and gave him a warm smile.
"So, are you ready for dinner?"
