10. Betrayal.
T: Yet another cliff hanger (I apologise for this fact) yet other than this the warnings remain the same. I still own nothing you see here other than the plot bunny!
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"It is that detective that is the real criminal here, who thinks to corrupt Hisoka's mind and the doctor who is striving to help him break free."
The words a nothing more than a complex fiction, this he knows instinctively and, a brusque tone edging into his voice, he enquires,
"Why do you say such a thing?"
"Because it is the truth."
"One taken from the lips of your precious doctor, I've no doubt."
Without warning she strikes him hard with the back of her hand and then says,
"If I were your mother you would have long since learned no to use such a tone with your elders, or to be so very rude."
The childish feeling that his aunt's presence has instilled in him increases with these words and, his tone now a deliberate insolence, he responds,
"Then it is thankful that you are not my mother, for it means that I can do what I need to in order to make you see sense."
"You are so certain of yourself, Hijiri and yet I wonder if that confidence will remain when I tell you that it was my husband, rather than Muraki-sensei, who told me of that detective's true nature." The words are unexpected and, sensing the momentary shock that they insight in him, she enquires, "Do you see now how very ignorant you have been?"
He has wish to respond to this enquiry, to tell her how impossible it is that Tsuzuki could harm Hisoka, yet is stopped as she raises her hand in a clear halting gesture.
"My mind has been set, Hijiri and the time that you would waist in pointless argument could be better used to help my son."
That his cousin remains hale and strong is his highest priority and, offering out his hand, he says,
"I'll help you carry him to your car."
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"…speak to him for a moment." He concludes, his tone neutral despite the shear sense of frustration he is feeling.
"And as I have told you, Tsuzuki-san, you have to have an appointment."
"Could you not just see if he is free…" High stress situations are not, precisely, his strong point and yet, given what is at stake, he knows that he has to give 100. Thus, mustering a 'heart warming' smile, he enquires, "Would it make a difference if I told you that I have come on Kurosaki Rui's request?"
The sectary allows a frustrated sigh escape from her lips and, reluctance clear in her every movement, she vacates her seat and heads for her employer's office. Knocking gently on the doorway the sectary pushes it inwards and, still highly uncertain, crosses over the threshold.
She appears again but a few moments later, a smile fixed onto her lips and thinly veiled resentment in her eyes.
"He'll gladly spare a moment of his time, Tsuzuki-san." She remarks before she settles again onto her chair.
Taking a breath he thanks the woman with as much kindness as he can muster and then, opening the doctor's door, steps into the 'unknown'.
The man has his head down as he steps into the room and for a moment he can see only silver hued hair and harsh, angular, shoulders.
"…excuse me…"
The doctor's head lifts and several things catch him, the first being that the other's right eye has been mutilated to a point that it no longer looks human, the next that, though the other's smile matches Hijiri's rendition, there is little else of 'his' killer about him and, finally, that there is something terribly familiar about the other's appearance.
"So you show yourself at last," The other remarks as he pushes himself up off his chair.
He stumbles to form a response, to gain back the confidence and the control he had felt but moments previous, yet, for some unknown reason, he can do little other than stand motionless.
"I have felt someone dogging my steps since Nagasaki and I find an odd sense of poetry in learning that my hunter is one in the same as the man I have chased after for over a decade."
He remains immobile and mute until the other sets a cool hand against his skin, then he manages to enquire,
"Who are you?"
"I am Muraki Kazutaka, grandson of Muraki Shouhei."
It is a name he recalls well, that brings with it memories of his past and, desperate to break free those recollections, to break free also from this man, he all but runs from the room.
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T: Next chapter Friday, until then why not review!!