Hisoka hated going out at night when he wasn't able to sleep. Bad memories. Still, he left his apartment that night to take a walk in the world of the living. He wasn't sure why he couldn't sleep, maybe because he had nothing to dream about or simply because his air-conditioning was broken and he hated the heat. Once again, bad memories.

            I should have gone to work yesterday.

            The city was particulary empty at three in the morning. He noticed, after walking for half an hour, that their were few people walking the streets, and fewer cars. That was both good and bad. Good because of his empathy; he wouldn't feel overwhelmed by people's feelings, as there weren't many emotions to be felt. Bad because he didn't feel safe when he was almost alone. Strange things happened when he was alone.

            Tatsumi must have spoken to Tsuzuki and now Tsuzuki hates me, oh, just great. Hisoka tried to keep those thoughs out of his head as he walked, trying to count his steps. No, really, isn't strange that Tsuzuki didn't try to contact me to see if it was true? He's mad.

            Hisoka shook his head and sighed deeply. He looked around and frowned, apparently while his mind was away, his legs had taken him to a place that he had never seen before. He had worked in the city for three years and found it amazing that he could still get lost; the city wasn't that big.

The street was awfully quiet. Hisoka stopped walking and looked at the building across the street. There was an arcade and a bar there. Maybe he could ask for some directions. He took a step forward but stopped when a wave of anger hit him so hard it nearly knocked him off his feet. One of the boys punched an arcade machine and screamed something, the others following suit.

            Great. Just great. Hisoka thought, massaging his temples and pressing himself against the wall to distance himself from the arcade. He managed to stagger away from the arcade, and ended up getting more lost then before.Where, now? He decided to rest up a bit before trying to teleport himself back to JuuOhCho. It was nearly six in the morning, he'd wait in the building till the rest of the staff was there and begin his work. That sounds like a good idea.

            Sounded like a good idea until he ran into someone and fell back, landing on his rear. He stood up, cussing under his breath and dusting off his clothes. "Don't you look where you goi—" Hisoka gasped, dead in his tracks. Or, maybe, I could be kidnapped, raped and killed, instead.

            "Hello, boy."

            Then, Hisoka felt a hand grabbing his hair and his head being forced against the wall twice. 

*****

            The first thing he noticed when he woke up was that he was laying on his side, and his arm was numb. Daylight filtered through a window. He wasn't home.

            Hisoka looked around, curious at first, then terrifyed, remembering who had taken him. He tried to move his arm only to find that his hands were bound behind his back. From the feel of it, it was the same hair that Muraki had used on him during their second encounter Hisoka had learned, the hard way, that struggling against the bonds would only make them cut deeper. His hands were already sticky with blood, he would have to be cautious, lest his wrists get cut deeper. He moved his legs and sighed in relief, noticing that they weren't tied. Good. His legs weren't going to help him that much, the doors were probably all locked, and he was too weak to teleport. No, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

            He forced himself to a sitting position, wincing as he back cracked from staying still for too long, and looked at his surroundings. A large, empty room, with stone walls and no furniture, except for an old chair in the corner. A window set in the wall beside him showed a setting sun. Where the hell am–

            "Did you sleep well, boy?"

            Hisoka tensed, looking at the doors that had just been opened and a painfully familiar man walked into the room.

            "Damn you, Muraki!" The boy growled, scrambling towards the closest corner and pressing his back against the wall, trying to stay as far as was humanely possible from the doctor. "I'm sorrt to inform you that Tsuzuki won't be coming this time. I'm not his partner anymore."

            "Tsuzuki-san is coming." Muraki said, sitting in the old chair across the room. "He may not even know you are missing. He was already looking for me before I took you."

            Hisoka raised his eyebrows. "Eh...?" he shook his head, angrily. "What the...Look, I'm tired of being used as bait! If he was coming anyway, why the hell did you bring me here?"

            "A few days ago, he sent a messenger to find me." Muraki said, lighting a cigarrette and crossing his legs. "I expected him yesterday, but he didn't come. I wanted to make sure he came today. I'm....curious, to know why he'd come to me so willingly."

"He wouldn't."

            Muraki shrugged and fell silent, smoking pensively. Hisoka chewed his bottom lip, looking at the ground, an annoying question in his mind.

"What... if he doesn't come today?" he asked, looking at the window. He couldn't see the sun anymore.

            "Then I'll have to be a little more persuasive... and I'll have no further use for you." The doctor said, emotionlessly.

"I don't suppose that means you'll let me go...?" Hisoka asked, head still low but looking at his captor, eyebrows raised in a questioning fashion.

            Muraki simply shook his head.

            "Damn you, Muraki." Hisoka breathed, leaning his head against the wall, feeling like a lamb that's about to be sacrificed. This is getting predictable, he bitterly thought, trying to concentrate on teleporting, even though he knew Muraki had doubtlessly put a spell on the room to prevent his escape.

            They didn't say another word for two hours, Hisoka silently worrying that he'd have to get out of his predicament by himself. After considering all his options, he bitterly concluded that he couldn't free himself, Tsuzuki would have to save him. He would having to relay on the older Shinigami

            Muraki looked at his watch. "Eight to ten," he commented.

Three hours and fity minutes left. Trying to break the partnership with Tsuzuki had been a mistake, as much as Hisoka hated to admit it, he needed to be rescued.

            Hisoka wondered if Tsuzuki knew that he had to come today. It would be just like that fool to forget an important appointment. ...or maybe Tsuzuki was just mad at him for deserting him...? He had reasons to be. He had plenty of reasons to be not only mad, but furious, after all Hisoka had promised in Kyoto that he'd stay with Tsuzuki forever and 'forever' didn't last for more than two years.

            Well, you've always complained that he babied you too much. Now you've got your wish, dummy, Hisoka chided himself. You're on your own. What happened? You got kidnapped. Lovely. It was ironic... he didn't know if should laugh or cry. Rather then waste the energy, he turned his attention to the past.

            The past he had to remember wasn't pleasant, Hisoka found himself unable to think of anything happy. In his short time he had been alive... and dead, he hadn't accomplished much. He had no happy memories to recall, except the time he spent with Tsuzuki. Only a few happy hours... in nineteen years of existance.

            "Ten fourty-five." Muraki announced, looking at his watch.

            Hisoka raised an eyebrow, angry. "What is that, a countdown?" he spat, suddenly aware that he had very little time left.

            Muraki just shrugged, and said nothing else after that. Hisoka spaced out again. It didn't last too long, for once again Muraki spoke, lightening his tenth consecutive cigarrette. "Waiting is becoming boring."

            "Oh really? And what do you suggest we do?" Hisoka asked, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

            Muraki stood up and slowly walked to Hisoka, who pressed against the wall as though he could will himself through it. "Anxious, aren't we?" Muraki crouched an inch from him, a sadistic smile on his cold lips as he blew smoke towards Hisoka. The boy coughed, and on impulse, kicked Muraki's arm, sending the cigarette flying out of the man's hand. "Not a smart move, boy." Muraki said, angrily.

            "Go to hell!" Hisoka spat, angrily. Going to die, going to die... but at least my pride will be intact, he thought, closing his eyes as Muraki forced him against the wall, his body pressed against Hisoka's own, crushing him. It's a vicious circle, you see. When you think it's over, it just starts again.

*****  

            Tsuzuki ran.

            He didn't know exactly when he had learned Muraki's rules, but one thing was certain: the consequences for breaking those rules were catastrophic and couldn't risk that, not this time. The 'prize' was too precious to be lost.

            So he ran, hoping he'd get there in time. It was foolish to send a messenger, since Muraki already knew what it looked like, he ended up inciting the doctor's curiosity with that. Tsuzuki had expected him to do something...and had sorely underestimated the doctor. Muraki had Hisoka; that simply annihilated Tsuzuki's plans. The meeting had been so well planned...

            Screw plans. Improvisation would have to do it.

            Messengers were useful and efficient. Tsuzuki knew where Muraki and his hostage were, and wished with all his heart that it wasn't too late. It had been so difficult to pull Hisoka out of the shell that he had created to protect himself, to prevent people from coming dangerously close to him. It had been three years and Tsuzuki was still struggling with the last bits of it, the ones that kept Hisoka away from the rest of the world. He wasn't about to give up on all the work that he had done.

            It was an old house with two floors. All the windows were closed and so was the front door, a large oak slab that offered no resistance against Tsuzuki's weight as he put it down with a simple -yet strong -push. Adrenalin could do miracles.

            He looked around. There were at least five rooms on the lower floor, plus six or seven on the upper one, and he didn't know in which of them Muraki was. It would take time that Tsuzuki didn't have to check all the rooms one by one, so he summoned the white messenger bird again.

            "Find Hisoka, Fast!" he commanded. The bird flew upstairs with Tsuzuki following it closely. The small magic creature headed to the main suite. "Well, wasn't that obvi-" but instead of pointing to the room, the bird stopped in front of a wall. "What? What are you waiting for? I don't have time to fool around." Tsuzuki said, losing his patience. He liked to fool around, indeed, but not when the only person he actually loved was in danger.

            The messenger simply tilted its head toward the wall, disappearing after that. Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow and knocked on the wall, it was hollow. He groaned, Muraki had always been fond of riddles and brain-teasers. The doctor had probably thought that it would delay Tsuzuki. But Muraki hadn't considered that the shinigami had very keen allies. The wall hid a door, Tsuzuki felt around for a doorknob or a lever and, finding none, angrily kicked it with all his might.

            Muraki looked up from his hostage's neck at the sound of a door being violently kicked in. He stood up, fixing his tie that he had carelessly tried to take off and walked to the middle of the room with a smile tugging on the corner of his lips.

            Hisoka breathed a sigh of relief, closing his legs and pressing his knees together as hard as he could. You keep arriving in the nick of time, don't you, Tsuzuki, he thought, both glad and angry at that. He had been so anxious, so scared and annoyed for nothing. Of course, there was still Muraki, and the fight that he'd soon put up with Tsuzuki and all the blazing hell that would take place in the room, like usual. Put two pyromaniacs in a room, together, and see what happens: exactly what happens during Tsuzuki and Muraki's battles. 

            A few minutes later the old door of the room was slammed open, and in the doorway stood a furious Tsuzuki.

            Hisoka closed his eyes, trying the best he could to keep the other shinigami's emotions away from his head but, even when his shields were strong, they weren't strong enough to block such a tidal wave of negative emotion. He felt his head begin to ache, and the room became hotter than it had been before. Signs that his empathy was going haywire. Great, that's all I need right now.

            "Tsuzuki-san." Muraki said, calmly looking at his watch. "It's five to midnight. Would you care to account for your delay."

            Tsuzuki frowned but didn't say a word. Muraki smirked, shaking his head.

            "Two years ago you'd have more consideration for the boy. But this time there was no hurry. Rearranging priorities?"

            Tsuzuki just hoped that Hisoka understood Muraki's intentions, or he'd be in trouble. If the doctor managed to make Hisoka think that Tsuzuki had given up on him, he'd lose confidence and probably accept their defeat. Might as well surrender to the white rapist. And Tsuzuki had promised Hisoka that he would never let that happen again.

            Well, you failed miserably. Tsuzuki ignored the thought, pulling a fuda from the pocket of his trenchcoat, ready to call upon his shikigami. Muraki took a few steps back and Tsuzuki took that as a withdrawl until he noticed what the doctor's real plan was and groaned in frustration.

            He couldn't hit Muraki without hitting Hisoka now, they were too close. He could try to attack Muraki and risk hurting Hisoka, he would heal anyway, but the problem was that Tsuzuki didn't know how the boy would react to that. Hisoka might take it as a sign that Tsuzuki didn't care about him anymore. That would be violating one of Muraki's rules too: 'don't try to win'.

            The doctor was close enough to Hisoka to do something that couldn't be reversed, and Tsuzuki wasn't willing to take that risk. He tried to think of an attack, any attack that would hit Muraki without harming Hisoka, but there didn't seem to be any.

            "Muraki!" Tsuzuki cried, angrily. "Stop being a coward!"

            "A coward, Tsuzuki-san? How so?" Muraki asked, smugley.

            "Using Hisoka as a human shield. Can't you fight one on one? Afraid you might lose?" Tsuzuki hoped that all the taunting would make Muraki leave Hisoka's side and try to attack him. Muraki didn't flinch. Kuso... "What do you want, Muraki?"

            "First to know why you were looking for me."

            "Why would I look for you?" Tsuzuki asked, clenching his hands into fists, crushing his fuda in one of them.

            "I saw the messenger, Tsuzuki-san. A white bird in the dark nightly sky isn't one of the most discrete things in this world. I expected you to come soon, but you took so long that I decided that I didn't want to wait anymore. So I lured you here with him," Muraki pointed at Hisoka nonchalantly.

            "I'm here already, now let him go." Tsuzuki said, frowning.

            "I don't think so."

            Tsuzuki took a step forward, but the doctor didn't move, still standing dangerously close to Hisoka. Still not safe to attack, Tsuzuki cursed, placing the crunched fuda back into his pocket. He wished for a moment that he had a gun, like Hisoka, to shoot Muraki between the eyes. Maybe, if the doctor didn't consider him a threat anymore, Tsuzuki could get close enough to pull Hisoka to safety. I have to move him, but how?! It hit him, suddenly, and he cursed himself for being so slow. "I'll tell you," Tsuzuki started, rolling his eyes. "but not here."

            Muraki raised an eyebrow. "'Not here'?"           

            "Yes. Not here. Outside." Tsuzuki pointed at the oak doors, supressing a victorious smile.

            Muraki smiled, shaking his head and walking back till he leaned against the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest and flexing one leg. "You turned out to be a good dealer, Tsuzuki-san." He said, eyes fixed on Tsuzuki, a sadistic smile on his pale lips. "But I'm not interested in a deal. It is so like you to fall for every bait I set. I didn't expect it to be different this time. Why don't y—Argh!"  

            Hisoka didn't know when he had the idea, or what led him to actually act it out. Maybe the need to be more than an useless hostage, to prove to Tsuzuki that he could do something to help him even if he couldn't solve all his problems alone. They were a duo, for crying out loud! They were supposed to do things together.

            Hisoka kicked Muraki's leg with all his strength, thanking the doctor's mistake of not tying them like he had done with his hands. Taken by surprise, Muraki fell to the floor, eyes wide, not knowing what had hit him. He had never expected Hisoka to actually do something.

            Tsuzuki stared, raising his eyebrows, unsure of what to do next. Hisoka groaned.

            "Attack, Tsuzuki, now!" he cried, looking angrily at his partner. He kicked Muraki again as he tried to stand up. The doctor glared at him.

            "Why, you little...—"

            "Attack!! Do it, now!" Hisoka cried again, as Tsuzuki seemed to be hesitant.

            "But, you are..."

            "Damn it, Tsuzuki!! I'll heal later! ATTACK!!!"

            Tsuzuki took the fuda from his pocket again, placing between his fingers and raising it to his face. "I call upon you as one of the twelve gods that protect me." he said, placing his hands together. "Come forth...Suzaku!"

            Hisoka closed his eyes as the flaming phoenix attended the call, the room suddenly too hot and too bright for him. He heard Suzaku's high pitched cry and the cracking of the fire that consumed the room, the glass of the windows breaking, almost exploding, a voice that he couldn't recognize screaming and, before he passed out completely, Hisoka felt a hand shaking his shoulder, someone calling his name.

*****

            "Hisoka...? Hisoka, wake up! Hisoka!"

            Hisoka groaned, pressing his hand to his temples, trying to make the throbbing headache go away. "I'm awake. I'm awake." He said, opening his eyes to look into purple ones that were all he could see. "Tsuzuki, you're too close." He pushed his partner away, shaking his head and sitting up.

            "Are you okay?" Tsuzuki asked, concerned.

            "Aa. Aside from my head, nothing hurts." Hisoka said, looking around. They were still in the same room, but now the ceiling and the walls were burnt. The curtains were only a pile of ashes on the floor and the glass of the windows had been broken.

            And, in the middle of the room, Muraki laid unconscious.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

            "Truth is, you could slit my throat, and with my one last gasping breath I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt." (You're so Last Summer, by Taking Back Sunday).

            Almost done. One chapter to go. My beta rewrote the whole fic. So, it's half his now even when he hates it.