Thank you everyone who still deals with this madness of a fanfiction... and to those who comment or fav... sorry I'm so slow on updating,but I still have school
"Tsuzuki!" a voice shouted, running footfalls coming closer, then a punch and I went flying into the sidewalk. A familiar face appeared above me, blonde hair crowding around the emerald eyes with that sharp angered glare I knew quite well.
"Hey, Hisoka… what's up?" I asked smirking slightly. "Oh! Wait you…" I joked.
"How could you leave your partner? Twice? And to go after the man who murdered him?" he shouted luckily no one was paying attention.
"I told the chief that if I wasn't back in a day or two that you could come, I was not sure if it was a false alarm or not…" I responded, "And how did you figure it was Muraki?" I asked getting up.
"From the clues in your office…" he responded.
I sighed, "Sorry, but I didn't want to get you involved with him again…" I paused turning to smile at Hijiri, "You haven't even said hello to Hijiri,"
He looked slightly dumbstruck, but shook his head and greeted Hijiri in his uncaring tone, "Hello, I'm surprised that we meet again…"
Hijiri nodded smiling, "Yeah, but I'm glad to see you both even if it isn't on the best of circumstances."
Hisoka turned back to me, "You really have a bad habit of dragging poor people into your cases…" he started.
"Hey… he met Muraki, I had to tell him to stay away from him and some of the reasons why," I responded, "I'm just afraid, what may happen to Tomo-chan, I do hope she doesn't have the terrible fate that our other cases suffered…." I stopped, meeting Hijiri's pain filled stare.
"Tsuzuki," Hisoka started once again, but Hijiri interrupted him.
"What do you mean, Tsuzuki-san?" he asked.
"As I told you before, most of the clients that Muraki has die at the end of the cases," Hisoka sent me a sharp look silencing me.
"Tsuzuki, you know shinigami are supposed to work in pairs, and with Muraki around we almost need a couple more, you shouldn't be going after him by yourself… the first time you did that you nearly died, you were lucky I was there… though I was also the cause for you being there and getting hurt." He stopped before he ran his self-esteem further into the ground.
"I know, I know, but I wasn't sure it was him and I didn't want all of Enmacho frolicking around again because of me," I responded.
He sighed as if forgiving me, but with him it was never that easy, "Just don't do it again," he paused, "So what have you gathered about this case?" he inquired.
"Demons are attracted to her, as if she gives off a particular scent, but she has no contract with any demon, and as far as I know she shouldn't be on Hell's most wanted dead list… Muraki mentioned something about the Hotaku clan, she's somehow related to it, or he might be making up some false information again," I sighed.
"What exactly are the Hotaku?" he asked.
"They're a powerful group of demons that work separate from Astraroth's group, apparently one of the larger groups that is fighting against Astraroth's control. They are definitely one of the more dangerous groups and are sometimes hired for assassination jobs." I explained, "Should we start walking back to the hotel?" I asked.
Hijiri nodded looking slightly shocked at my explanation, but looking determined to try to help Tomo.
Hisoka looked at me as if trying to detect something hidden beneath the surface, "Tsuzuki something is bothering you, isn't it?" he asked quietly.
I met his gaze for a few moments and then kept walking, "There is something wrong with this whole thing and I can't figure out what it is," I paused, "I'm sorry for dragging you both into this," I apologized, "I also can't shake the feeling that when this is through one of us won't be around anymore," I continued keeping my face away from them.
We continued in silence as if the air wanted to reverberate that statement through the air, the sun was clawing its way into the sky to spread its bright rays everywhere.
I let out a breath, "We should keep an eye on Tomo-chan and you, Hijiri," I paused drawing another breath, "Hisoka you stay with Hijiri, the demons won't be after him, so it will be easier to keep him safe and you are less likely to run into Muraki."
He nodded slowly, as if hesitant, "You don't want to have to deal with him right?" I asked.
He nodded again and spoke, "Yes, but the last time you had me watch the person, you personally interfered and nearly got yourself killed." He argued.
"Yes, but we have to watch more than one person and you can't deal with demons by yourself and Muraki!" I responded urgently.
"Maybe I could handle myself better if you weren't babying me all the time and actually bother to teach me how to control my powers," he bit back.
I flinched and let out my drawn air, looking away I tried to figure out what to say, but everything escaped my grasp, I turned back slowly, only one option, "You want to be taught?" I asked softly.
He nodded confused at my sudden change in attitude, "Alright, come along and bring Hijiri with you," I said softly, then shifted to an open field.
He appeared a moment later, Hijiri clutching him desperately, "So what now?" he asked.
"Hijiri come stand over here by me," I said quietly as I pulled out a charm, then set up a barrier when he had reached me. "I set up a barrier quite easily because of my amount of power, which can be put into multiple areas. You are a different matter, as you know, you are strong in defense and empathy," I paused until he nodded looking slightly impatient. "Okay, okay, imagine you are projecting a wall about you… no don't talk, you need to be able to activate your powers without depending on strong emotion… too much emotion, will destroy you…"
A small barrier expanded from his skinny form, reaching out a foot or two before falling in on itself, he growled and tried again.
I waited until he got tired, I put the charm back in my pocket and pulled out a slim blank strip of paper, the paper I used to create my charms. "It will take too long to build up from nothing, but at least you'll be able to protect yourself, this," I waved the paper, "Can be used in nearly any situation, it's best to create your own, so let's get to it."