Author's note: Please excuse this note to let me show my complete thanks to the following people, who were a big help in convincing me to continue with this story...you people are so nice and supportive, I only hope that I don't let you down. A big thanks to Lexa, Aishuu Shadowweaver, miZu-cHan, sotty-chan, frank, sakurakumagorou, diamond, akasha_death, ShiniJekka, Starza, Shaynie, Elle-FaTe2x1, Andrew, nekoi, aelaishia, Kia, Amy, Dorian Gray, and Inferno. And a big thanks and hug to scarlet.tennyo...just for being her, and for being my best friend.
Anyway, any reviews are a big help to my consciousness, and they really make writing my story down worth while. I love everyone that reviews me, and I am very grateful that I've gotten so many already. So hugs to everyone! ^__^ Keep it up, onegai.
Of Paper Flowers and Purple Skies: Chapter 2:
Hisoka awoke again, yet decided that it was better if he just kept his eyes shut. His head didn't appear to be hurting anymore, but he didn't want to take any chances. He just lay there, and went through all the previous occurrences in his head.
He had awoken several times before this, to a splitting headache. Watari had always been there, like clockwork, with those aspirin/sleeping pills that Hisoka was starting to rely on. After all, not only did they get rid of his headaches, but they also helped him to catch up on some much needed sleep, with little to no nightmares. He had had one nightmare though. He couldn't really remember it, but it had something to do with Kyoto and Tsuzuki.
Tsuzuki.
Hisoka slowly blinked open his eyes to turn to Tsuzuki. He was in the exact same position as before, and his feel had chanced very little, but it was just slightly better. That was good. Anything leading in a good direction was welcome in Hisoka's book, especially concerning Tsuzuki.
That's strange, he thought. Usually Watari was there when he woke up. His questions were soon answered as he heard Watari's voice drifting in from the other room.
"I don't know what to think...nothing like this has happened before... It's the first time this has occurred..."
"Watari-san..." drifted in another voice, tired and worn, deeper, which could only mean one person. Tatsumi. "I am very confident in your abilities as a scientist, but you really must deal with this quickly. He has to wake up sometime... Can't you do anything?"
As he was listening, Hisoka could read into Tatsumi's thoughts. Strange, though, usually he had natural walls up. He probably thought that Hisoka was asleep, and that he would be for a while. Either that, or Tatsumi's feelings were so strong that they were breaking free of his firmly held boundaries. That wouldn't be very surprising to Hisoka though. Especially after what had happened in Kyoto, you'd have to be blind not to notice the shadow master's feelings for Tsuzuki.
"I could try to make something to wake him up, but...it won't be perfected for at least a few days..." came Watari's tired voice again. Had he done anything but watch over the two of them for the past few days? Hisoka wondered. Apparently not, by the sound of his voice.
"Thank you...Watari-san...for all of this."
"Hey, somebody's got to do it? Who better for that job than someone who is willing to do it, like me?" The tired smile that accompanied those words could be heard in his voice.
"Still," Watari continued. "I think that we should keep this away from bon. He has enough to worry about as it is, it will only bring even more exhaustion unto him..."
"Hai, I agree." Their voices appeared to be getting louder as they approached the infirmary again. "Ne, Watari-san, have you gotten any sleep at all since this all began?"
"...no, not really," came the sheepish reply. They were almost in the room, so Hisoka quickly shut his eyes.
"You should try to get some rest, I'll watch over them."
"...alright." The sound of bedsprings sinking could be heard. "Just make sure that if bon needs anything, the medicine is on the table."
"...go to sleep, Watari-san." And almost as soon as those words were out, Watari's breathing slowed, rendered unconscious by his exhaustion.
"...Kurosaki-kun, I know that you are awake, so you can stop pretending now..." came Tatsumi's voice.
Hisoka timidly opened his eyes to look at Tatsumi. Apparently, his voice was the only thing that let on that Tatsumi was concerned, as his outward appearance remained as stoic and self-controlled as always.
"You heard all of it, didn't you?" he asked, sighing at both his and Watari's carelessness.
Hisoka could just nod and confirm Tatsumi's words, as his eyelids started to droop again. It was amazing to him how much sleep he seemed to need to catch up on.
"Don't worry, Kurosaki-kun, everything will be fine. He'll be fine, just be patient. Go to sleep now, you look tired."
Hisoka gave Tatsumi an appreciative glance, before shutting his eyes and letting sleep claim him. Funny, Hisoka seemed to be completely comfortable as Tatsumi sat there watching over both of them.
Yet Tatsumi frowned. Everything would be fine, it would just take time. Fortunately for them, that's something that shinigami possessed a lot of.
Shaking his head slightly, Tatsumi settled down in a chair and started his silent vigil over the three sleeping forms in the infirmary.
Hisoka awoke again, and felt disoriented from all of the sleeping. Was it day...or night? How long had he been there? Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find that his headache had almost completely disappeared.
Glancing around, he was also surprised to see that Tatsumi wasn't there anymore. In fact, neither was Watari. Looking up at the ceiling, he felt stupid that he wanted someone there to be with him. They were probably talking to Kachou about what they had discussed before. Wait, there was someone there. Tsuzuki.
Turning to look at Tsuzuki, he sighed. Still no real change. What if he didn't wake up? No, he would, Watari had said that he was working on a potion to do that. Still, it was strange. He hadn't really ever seen Tsuzuki sleep, and now that he has seen him like this, he won't wake up. His eyes remained shut.
Tsuzuki's eyes. They were perhaps the only things that he couldn't force to be happy. It's true, when he was actually happy, they shone. Yet when he wasn't, they were the only things that belied his actions. Beautiful is the only way that Hisoka could describe those amethyst orbs, yet they were so much more than that. Yet would he be able to ever see them again?
He shook his head, and pulled himself into a sitting position. He shouldn't be thinking things like that. It was far too quiet without anyone around. Even Tatsumi said a few things to you when you were with him. Hisoka needed something to occupy himself. He made a mental not to have Watari ask Gushoshin for some books to read.
He looked up at the ceiling and was so occupied with being bored that he almost didn't notice Watari's presence approaching, looking up just before he had entered the room.
"So, I see that you're finally awake, bon," Watari said, smiling. He seemed a lot less tired than he had been before.
"What do you mean by 'finally', Watari-san...?" Hisoka asked cautiously, wanting Watari to answer his question.
"You've been asleep for a few days now, bon. For a while, I thought that I'd have to make you a potion like I had to for him," he said, waving his free hand in Tsuzuki's direction. "And before you ask, yes, Tatsumi did fill me in on things."
Hisoka could only just nod, and then turn to look at Tsuzuki again. "Ne, Watari-san, what did you make for him?"
Watari shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing really. Just an energy enhanced healing solution containing vitamins, specially formulated for someone who has the exact same size and DNA structure of a man like Tsuzuki..."
Hisoka's mouth hung open for a second, before he realized that it was uncharacteristic for him to be surprised, and he looked away, blushing.
Watari could only chuckle at that. "Like I said, bon, you were out for a while... Time enough for me to catch up on some sleep, design a formula, customize and perfect it, and then give it to Tsuzuki at the least..."
Hisoka shook his head. For any normal scientist, the whole process would've taken a while, but this is Watari that they're talking about; he enjoyed challenges such as that one.
"So he's already been given it...?" he asked, turning once again to look at Tsuzuki.
"Yes, he should be waking up some time today..." Watari said, smiling at Hisoka. Shaking his head, he looked down at the books in his hand. Sometimes bon and Tsuzuki could be so hopeless...especially when it came to each other.
They never seemed to realize what they had in each other. Tsuzuki certainly didn't...not recently anyway. Yet, somehow Watari knew that Hisoka had been perfectly clear about himself while they were down there, in the flames. If Tsuzuki completely ignored that...than he didn't know what he would do.
Yet even the boy sometimes seemed to be clueless. Didn't he realize how much Tsuzuki cared for him? Sure, Tsuzuki was an idiot a lot of the time, but Watari had a sinking sensation that that facade was put up so that people wouldn't worry about him.
In truth, the only person that could bring Tsuzuki up from where he had fallen into was Hisoka. He had shown that when Hisoka had been there with him in the fires. He wondered that if instead of the boy, if it had been either Tatsumi or himself, would Tsuzuki have been as agreeable to coming back? He seriously doubted it.
Still he wondered how long it would take either of them to trust each other. Given their backgrounds growing up, which he had looked up and studied in his free time, he knew that they both were capable of trusting, they just had never been given a situation where it wouldn't end up hurting either of them in the end. No matter, though. As long as they both were shinigami, they had an eternity to build up a relationship...either that, or to shatter one...
Watari shook himself out of his reverie, and handed Hisoka the books that he held in his hand.
"Here. Gushoshin asked me to bring them to you. You won't be getting out of here for at least another four days, so you might as well occupy yourself with these. If you finish them, just tell me, and I'll get Gushoshin to bring another few up from the library."
Hisoka looked down at the books in his hands. He figured that he could probably go through around two a day, so the offer for more books to read would be one he would gladly take up on.
"Thank you, Watari-san," he said, almost immediately opening the cover of one and burying himself in it.
"Don't mention it, bon," Watari mused, as he made his way over to the other side of the room. "Are you hungry?"
"A little," came a muffled reply. "But it can wait, I'm not that hungry."
Watari shook his head at the boy. His secluded early life left him to be an eternal bookworm, eating through the novels about as fast as Tsuzuki could make it through a meal.
Hisoka was firmly enveloped with the plotline in the book, when he thought he saw a movement next to him. He looked up to ask Watari what he was doing, but Watari was still across the room in the other direction. There was only Tsuzuki. Thinking nothing of it, he went back to his book, only to see something again. Only this time his thoughts were confirmed.
Tsuzuki was changing positions. He was waking up.
Hisoka couldn't bring himself to think of a reaction, so he did the only thing that he could think of; he buried himself inside his book once again.
Watari sensed that something was different, and he looked up from what he was doing to see Hisoka reading, looking slightly uncomfortable, and Tsuzuki stirring from his self induced coma.
Striding across the room, Watari opened the blinds next to their beds, letting in the sunlight. It was actually a very beautiful day outside, to be stuck inside the infirmary.
Tsuzuki very slowly summoned the will to wake up, finally looking up to see Watari leaning over him, sunlight haling his face, smiling down at him.
"Yo. Finally opened your eyes, Tsuzuki?" he beamed.
End of Chapter 2
Author's Note #2: Well...there's chapter two. Tell me what you think, and if it's still well liked, I'll be more than happy to continue it for you, so just review. I'll just bow out now...
(Murasaki: ::claps:: Wow...you actually were almost confident in your writing...what drug have you been taking, and where can I find it?)
(::smacks her again:: I said be quiet, you...)