Tsuzuki moved closer to the living doll. What the heck is going on here? Tsuzuki rubbed his eyes again, but Hisoka was still there.
"Hisoka?" he called out. The doll looked up at him, apparently responding to the name. "I thought, I mean, you were," Tsuzuki struggled to find the right words. "Well, you, uh," Tsuzuki continued to fumble over his words. "Are you tired?" he asked when he noticed Hisoka's droopy eyes. "Why don't you go to sleep?" He then remembered that gravity was not his friend. "You take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." He grabbed one of his pillows and a spare blanket. Hisoka gave him a surprised look.
"Who are you?" he finally asked.
"I'm Tsuzuki," he said as he smiled. "You're still Hisoka, right?" The living doll nodded. "Oyasumi," Tsuzuki said as he closed his eyes. The grandfather clock ticked loudly, but it didn't bother Tsuzuki tonight.
Tatsumi's nose twitched. An unusual smell had crept up the stairs and into his room. Maybe the garbage truck broke down in front of their house again. Maybe he could do something to help get it moving. Tatsumi got changed into his usual suit and left his room. He stopped in front of Tsuzuki's room. He didn't want to wake Tsuzuki up yet, but he should still check up on him. He gently turned the door knob and peered in. To his surprise, the room was empty. A blanket and a pillow were lying on the floor. "That Tsuzuki," he muttered as he picked up the blanket and pillow and began tidying up the place a little. He smiled when he saw the little Hisoka doll lying in Tsuzuki's bed wrapped up in a blanket. Tsuzuki really is a child at heart. His nose twitched again.
"Tatsumi!" Tsuzuki's voice bellowed through the entire house, "are you awake?" Tatsumi sighed. That Tsuzuki, he never thinks about what he's doing. His screaming like that could wake up Sleeping Beauty. "TATSUMI!!" Tatsumi dashed down the stairs to see what the matter was. What if Tsuzuki needed help? What if he was hurt? Tsuzuki came out of a kitchen in a baby blue apron with a spatula in one hand and salt in the other. "I'm sorry, Tatsumi. Did I wake you up?" Tatsumi heaved a sigh of relief.
"No, I was already awake."
"That's good, I was afraid I woke you up." Tsuzuki smiled, "I made breakfast."
"Well, I'm starved. What did you make?"
"Well," Tsuzuki started scratching his head with the spatula, "I don't know." He shrugged and went back into the kitchen. Tatsumi followed.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Nah, you just relax. I have everything under control." Tsuzuki merrily went on making breakfast. "Ne Tatsumi, Are you taking another day off?"
"Yes. I've made arrangements to have someone cover for me for a while until-"
"Until I get better? I'm fine now, Tatsumi."
"I don't want to leave you alone just yet."
"You don't have to watch over me. Besides, I'm not alone. I have Hisoka." He handed Tatsumi a plate of food. "By the way, some guy called. He said that you have to come in this morning for a couple of hours. Something about new management or merchandise or whatever, it confused me."
"Did he say what time?" Tatsumi asked as he forced down a spoonful of Tsuzuki's cooking.
"Can't remember."
"I'd better go now then," He said when he finished off his plate, "are you sure you're going to be ok by yourself?"
"Hisoka's with me."
"All right, I'll see you in a couple of hours."
Tsuzuki opened the door to his room and tiptoed over to the bed. Hisoka was still asleep. He looked like an angel. Do angels dream while the sleep? A teardrop rolled down Hisoka's face and the angel opened his eyes.
"Ohaiyou Hisoka," Tsuzuki smiled. "Are you hungry?" Hisoka's nose twitched, and he shook his head. "Well, if you're not hungry, do you want to play some games?" He pulled a bunch of board games and a PS2 out from under the bed. Hisoka shook his head again. Tsuzuki was puzzled that Hisoka didn't want to do anything he suggested. "What do you want to do?" Again, Hisoka shook his head. "I know," Tsuzuki exclaimed, "why don't I show you my photo album?" Before Hisoka could respond, Tsuzuki had already made himself comfortable next to Hisoka with the album in his lap. Meanwhile the clock still ticked.
Tatsumi stepped out the office. To his surprise, he was greeted by an old friend.
"Tatsumi," he said.
"Muraki," Tatsumi said.
"How's Tsuzuki? I hope he's enjoying my little doll. It pained me to part with it."
"The doll is fine. Tsuzuki loves it. If you don't mind I'll be on my way." Tatsumi ignored Muraki and went into his car.
"Maybe I should give them a little visit," he said to himself after Tatsumi left.
"That's when Tatsumi took me to the beach," he said pointing to a picture of him and Tatsumi. He said that the sea air would help me, but look at him. Even at the beach, he still wears that suit of his."
"Tatsumi," Hisoka said, "I've seen him somewhere."
"Of course," Tsuzuki said, "He was the one who bought you for me. He had to pay three times as much."
"Stop it," Hisoka said under his breath.
"Huh?"
"Stop it!"
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to let you know how much more special you are than those other dolls."
"Stop it! Stop treating me like an object!" Hisoka got up and ran out of the room. Tsuzuki chased him down the stairs and into the living room. Hisoka opened the front door, and quickly slammed it shut again. He locked the door and faced the confused Tsuzuki. The doorbell started ringing. Tsuzuki started moving towards Hisoka and the door. Hisoka shook his head, and Tsuzuki stopped. "No don't. It's the dollmaker."
"What could he possibly want?" Tsuzuki asked Hisoka while carefully peeking out the window from behind the curtains.
"I don't know."
"Maybe he'll go away."
"Maybe," Hisoka shook his head, "but he'll come back; he never leaves anything unfinished."
"Well, don't worry, Hisoka. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Muraki," Tatsumi said to the man standing in front of his house, "what are you doing here?" Muraki smiled.
"I just want to see how my doll is. It was quite precious to me." Muraki moved closer to Tatsumi. "Does my presence bother you?"
"Yes, it does. Please leave my home."
"I can be patient till next time," Muraki smiled. Tatsumi unlocked the door and entered the house.
"Tsuzuki!" he yelled the minute he stepped into the house. "Why must you always leave your toys lying around like that?" He picked up the little Hisoka doll and handed it to Tsuzuki. "Put him back in your room," then his voice got gentler, "and come back downstairs, I bought you some ice cream." Tsuzuki's face brightened up and with the doll in his arms, he rushed upstairs to his room.
"Hisoka," he asked, "why did you become a doll again when Tatsumi came home?"
"It'll make everything more complicated. Only you and the dollmaker know. I want to keep it that way."
"Ok. You can trust me. I'll keep your secret." Tsuzuki then went downstairs for some ice cream.
Author's note: I really have to apologize for all the ooc in this story, especially in this chapter. I think I made Tsuzuki too childlike, and Hisoka doesn't seem to have much of a personality. Also, the story assumes that Muraki and Tatsumi knew each other prior to buying Hisoka, and those scenes with Muraki aren't supposed to be as pointless as they sound. Well, anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review.
