Wow, did this ever take a long time!! If it helps, the next chapter is already half finished.

Sadly tho, the next chapter is also the last one, so be prepared for me to really babble on…

As always, I own nothing but the coffee that I drank, the pocky that I ate, a few passable jokes, and many, many thanks.

So enjoy!

Scene 18

Gushoshin the hatless clicked through random computer files searching for the name of the soul that Tsuzuki and Hisoka were supposed to be collecting as part of their last assignment. Tatsumi had been mildly irritated when he'd gone through the original file and been unable to find a name, just a location and gender.

Neither partner had been very helpful in naming the 'supposed-to-be-deceased', Tsuzuki finally admitting that he had never gone into the nursing home, and Hisoka claiming he couldn't remember, just that the case was finished and it was time to go home.

Another click and the file records were displayed.

Gushoshin read the name listed and let out a squawk

(Meanwhile)

Watari stood in front of Hisoka, Tatsumi and Tsuzuki stood off to the side watching.

"Are you sure this will work?" Tatsumi asked sceptically.

"Of course it will work!" Watari assured the secretary, ignoring Hisoka's snort of disbelief. "We'll hypnotize bon, and get him to remember what happened at the rest home. Then we'll find out why bon's been acting all weird."

"I have not been acting all weird." Hisoka protested.

"Right bon." Watari pulled out something shiny on a string. "I need you to focus…"

"Hey! That's my chocolate coin!"

Tatsumi elbowed Tsuzuki in the ribs and gestured for him to be quiet.

"…on the coin."

Tsuzuki whimpered.

Hisoka glared. "I am not Tsuzuki, you can't hypnotize me with chocolate, no matter how much pretty foil you put on it."

"Just focus." Watari let the coin swing back and forth. "You are getting sleepy…"

Hisoka grimaced. "I am getting nauseous..."

"Very sleepy…"

Tsuzuki fell asleep.

Hisoka looked over his shoulder at Tatsumi. Tatsumi shrugged and Hisoka turned back to Watari with an irritated expression on his face.

"You are getting very sleepy, you want to go to sleep…" Watari had his own eyes closed by this point, and was waving his free hand around. "Sleep…"

Tatsumi shrugged again, stepped behind Hisoka and gave him a sharp rap on the back of the head with a little black hammer. Hisoka slumped over unconscious.

Watari opened up his eyes at the sound and his eyes focused on the unconscious empath. "Hey look! It worked!"

The door of the office burst open and Gushoshin flew inside holding a sheet of paper that he thrust into Tatsumi's hands. "I found it!"

Tatsumi pursued the paper for several moments. "Oh dear."

"What?" Watari asked.

"The soul that they were supposed to collect belonged to one Muraki Yukitaka."

"Who's the President of Albania?" Tsuzuki cried, jerking awake.

(Twenty minutes later)

Watari wrung his hands together as they walked into the infirmary. "I don't understand why he won't wake up!"

Tatsumi shrugged innocently as he laid the unconscious empath onto one of the beds. "Maybe he's just very tired."

Tsuzuki stood silent, his eyes fixed on the file in hands, his hands shaking slightly.

"Tsuzuki?" Watari reached out to touch his friends' shoulder.

"I have to… have to… it's my fault, I… I have…"

Tatsumi turned to him in concern. "Tsuzuki-san…"

But Tsuzuki had already disappeared.

(Twenty minutes later again, on Chijou)

Tsuzuki stood outside the room that the nice nurse lady had told him belonged to Muraki Yukitaka. He swallowed hard and brought his hand up to knock.

The door swung open before he had a chance.

"M-Muraki!"

"Well hello Tsuzuki-san." Muraki (Jr. that is) said, smiling charmingly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Why I'm visiting my grandfather, what else would I be doing here?" Muraki swept his arm out in a gesture for Tsuzuki to come in. Tsuzuki scowled at him and stepped into the room. An old man with wispy white hair sat in a wheelchair by the bed.

"Hello Tsuzuki-san! I've been waiting for you."

Tsuzuki blinked at the old man. "You have?"

"I have something for you."

"You do?"

Muraki Sr. held out a neatly printed page of paper. Tsuzuki took it and looked at the man questioningly.

"What's this?"

Muraki Sr. smirked. "It's your hospital bill. Eight years of hospitalization, plus 81 years of incurred interest. Pay up."

Tsuzuki looked at the page and goggled at the figure at the bottom. "Would you be willing to take it out in trade?"

"For what?" Muraki Sr. looked sceptical.

"Well, I could get you a shikigami…"

Muraki Jr. raised his eyebrows. "That's not a bad offer, I think you should take it grandfather."

"Nah." Muraki Sr. scoffed. "I wouldn't know what to do with one anyways, I just wanted to give him the bill, that's all." The old man let his eyes drift close and his head slumped forward. "That's all…" He muttered as he slipped peacefully into death.

Muraki regarded his grandfather's passing. "I was wondering how long he would take to do that."

Tsuzuki quickly hid the bill behind his back. "Were you here when Hisoka was?"

The corners of Muraki's mouth twitched. "Why yes I was here when my little doll stopped by."

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing much, just a little spell so I could pull some strings, he is after all, my puppet."

Tsuzuki faced Muraki, his fists clenched in determination. "Let Hisoka go."

Muraki smiled in victory. "No."

"What do you want?"

The smirk faded and Muraki moved to stand directly in front of Tsuzuki. He raised one pale hand and let it trail down Tsuzuki's cheek, watching the way the shinigami winced at the contact. "You. I want you. I'll release the spell if you'll stay with me."

Tsuzuki closed his eyes in resignation. "Done."

XXX

The elegant man set his plate down on a small table beside the plush couch. THE DIRECTOR, taking his cue from his host did likewise.

"Are we ready to continue?"

The elegant man nodded and brushed back his dark hair. "We have a few more hours."

THE DIRECTOR got to his feet and hurried to turn the projector back on.

The scene opened up on a brightly lit room. It scanned the room before coming to rest on a spill of long blond hair and white lab coat leaning over a bed. The arm of the coat moved as if the owner were tapping someone's cheek. "C'mon bon, wake up!" A slightly agitated voice muttered softly.

Before the camera could move any closer, the dark imposing figure of the shadow master stepped into the scene. "What do you want?"

"Where is Mr. Tsuzuki?" Asked a high squeaky voice from off screen.

"As you can see, he's not here. He's probably gone to Chijou and we'll thank you not to interfere in the matter."

"We don't interfere!" The high squeaky voice proclaimed indignantly, "We just record!"

Tatsumi snorted and turned away from the camera as a low moan sounded from the bed.

"Let's go." The nails on a chalkboard voice demanded and the scene darkened only to brighten again on a well lit street, people wandering to unknown destinations. "There! Over there!" The scene turned to focus on a pair of men stepping out onto the street and immediately moved in closer. One of the men was extremely familiar, the other man was tall and pale with silver hair, and he seemed to be quite flustered.

"Get Away From Me!"

"But Kazu-chan, I'm still hungry!"

Muraki eyed the violet eyed man, then the restaurant that they had just left. There was a man in the window hanging an 'out of business' sign. His thoughts turned to his own dwindling fortune. "I can't afford you!"

"But Kazu-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"Quit whining at me! I can't take it!"

Tsuzuki pounced on the evil doctor and clung to the winter white coat, completely inu-chibi. "Please! Please! Pleeeeeeeeeese!

Muraki stared wide eyed at the century old chibi. "Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He began shaking his coat desperately, trying to dislodge the cling-on.

"What the Hell?"

The scene turned to show Hisoka standing a short distance away with Tatsumi standing right behind him.

There was a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob of relief and Muraki dragged the whining inu-chibi over to the other shinigami. "Get him off me!" He told Hisoka, holding out his coat and the offending chibi. "Take him and keep him away from me!"

Hisoka reached out and caught hold of inu-chibi Tsuzuki, who immediately turned and snuggled into his neck. "Baka." Hisoka muttered and whacked Tsuzuki smartly on the head with his fist. Tsuzuki sat on the ground and looked up at him with watery eyes.

"How do you put up with it?" Muraki asked in disbelief.

"You haven't spent time with Tsuzuki when he was being himself, have you?" Tatsumi asked smirking.

"Is he always like that?"

"Usually." Hisoka told him.

"In twenty minutes he put two restaurants out of business, destroyed a high-rise, cost me most of my savings, and he whined the entire time!"

"Yup, that's Tsuzuki." Hisoka reached down and scratched behind the inu's ears, gaining a whine of pleasure.

"Keep him away from me! If I see him again, I'll turn him into shish-ka-bob!" Muraki turned and began to stalk angrily away.

"Oh Muraki…" Hisoka called after him sweetly.

Muraki slowed and turned his head slightly.

"If we come across any more cases that involve you, especially if you've been killing people again, we'll send him to you for a week." Hisoka grinned evilly. "And we'll feed him chocolate first!"

"Well, who would have suspected." Tatsumi commented mildly, adjusting his glassed and watching Muraki hurry away.

Both Hisoka and a now normal Tsuzuki looked at him questioningly.

"Suspected what?" Tsuzuki asked.

Tatsumi smirked. "That evil can be defeated by irritation."

All three shinigami slowly turned towards the camera with a new light in their eyes and rather evil little smiles on their faces.

There were several audible gulps from off screen.

"I think that's about it for today, call it a wrap boys!" For once the high squeaky voice sounded a little nervous. There was a flurry of motion to the sides of the scene as most of the unalleviated and undignified film crew ran for it. There was only a moment of hesitation before the scene started to bounce wildly as the camera man joined the flight. Several times the scene flashed up to the sky passing a bobbing red cap as THE DIRECTOR ran along side.