Ever Blossom

さくずっと

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Matsushita Yoko ©. The fanfiction belongs to me.

Warning: EXTREMELY STRANGE YAOI (ACTUALLY IT'S MORE OF SHOUNEN-AI… OR TORI-AI (?)). There, I got it out in caps, and if you still flame after reading this or you have not read this warning, you're a lame-ass loser. Takatori cries!!

Plot Cockroach: I never could write anything normal, could I? Alas for Windy! He writes the weirdest things ever because this hurts Takatori's feelings! Anyway, this was sparked as I was re-reading the second part of the first book… Um… Hmm, I think that was the one where they first met the deranged Muraki-sensei. I don't know which Gushoshin went with them to Nagasaki, elder or younger… but ah! They're identical anyway! I just decided that this would be the first strangest pairing here! Meow ha! I love being in the limelight, the radiant me! ^___^ *Ego inflating*

Summary: Gushoshin gives Tsuzuki up to Hisoka, wishing them the best. The only witnesses to this event are the falling Sakura in Nagasaki, on a cool spring day…

Pairing: Gushoshin x Tsuzuki x Hisoka (triangle)

Spoilers: First book, Nagasaki. The Vampire case they're working on.

Note: The characters look like that from the manga. I liked the Japanese title better but I cracked my head for the English one… Oh, my poor head! I'm hungry! Supper's gonna be served in two hours time! Must work fast! ^___^

_________________

The weather was cool and crisp as they walked briskly along the path, brushing past people and taking in the sights. It was actually quite nice, though the atmosphere was a little tense with their upcoming assignment. Well, maybe only Gushoshin felt the tension. Tsuzuki smiled and kept chattering gaily – he didn't seem a bit worried at all!

The librarian sighed inwardly. While he was serious in work, he hadn't really the heart to stop Tsuzuki's incessant flow. He somehow made things pleasanter, his voice easy and calm. It kind of made Gushoshin feel chatty as well.

"Since the investigation might take a long time, I've booked you at a hotel nearby," the feathered librarian stated matter-of-factly. He rolled his eyes as he remembered another message. "Oh! Right… the details were forwarded to me. I'll get them for you later."

Tsuzuki laughed good-naturedly. "Gushoshin, you're really good at this! It was their mistake to only make you a librarian."

"Thank you."

Kind as Tsuzuki was, praise from him was always akin to flattery. He really was charming – even though he was technically underpaid, underfed, and overworked. However, he was also one of the veterans there. He'd been in the bureau for years and years… They thought that this might change him; from the loving person he was, into a cold-blooded killer… but how wrong they were! He never changed, but he did get a little jaded, always acting like the 96-year-old twit that he was. There were times when he would just stare into the skies and look on into the horizon…

Eternal.

And that was what attracted people to him. Asato Tsuzuki didn't know, and perhaps he never would, but… he was one who would never be lonely in the world were he to open up a little. A bit of kindness often goes a long way, and he had done more than that.

"You took time to come with me… are you taking a break from your book keeping job?"

Gushoshin was startled from his reverie as Tsuzuki's voice broke through his thoughts. Flustered, he squawked his answer. "No!"

The brunet smirked wickedly. Gushoshin sighed.

"I brought this laptop I use to work," he explained, pointing at it. Tsuzuki scrunched his nose up at the sight of it.

"You're really focused on work," the brunet commented absently. At that, Gushoshin couldn't resist a dig at their resident bag of bones.

"It's you who are too unfocused!" Gushoshin replied. "Anyway, because of the budget, the hotel room is only a single," he went on, knowing that this would crush Tsuzuki, a lover of both food and good accommodation. He was right.

"Oh, all right," the man relented. "There's nothing I can do… who told us to be so poor?"

Gushoshin enjoyed this little show of emotions greatly. But just as he was about to respond, Tsuzuki gave a pausing jump, startling him. He gazed at the brunet, who looked a little dazed.

"What is it?"

"No… it's nothing," Tsuzuki stared around, as if scanning for something… or someone. He changed the subject quickly, his lavender eyes flickering over the stout librarian. "Well, let's continue discussing the Nagasaki 'Monster Case'! What are the facts, and what's the situation now?"

"Actually, I don't know that much," Gushoshin admitted, a little mournful. "There's only a little bit of information."

"I see." Tsuzuki looked a little distant. "Well, the bureau was established to deal with these sort of things! What's the cause of the deaths?"

"…They're all the same," Gushoshin responded, a little hesitant. "All their blood has been sucked dry by a 'Dracula'. It's that strange?" He rubbed his beak, musing. "The deaths were a result of blood loss. However, it's not known why all the blood in their bodies is gone."

He paused, letting the slow-moving Shinigami digest the information before continuing. "There is also something else – upon the necks of the victims, puncture wounds are found. This is why everyone is calling it the 'Dracula Case'."

"So, that's how it is…"

The tapping of feet was heard in a distance as they walked on, but being buried in thoughts, Tsuzuki failed to notice an approaching shadow until he himself collided into the figure. Startled, he yanked at the flailing person… a girl. "Whoa! Are you alright?"

For a moment, he froze. Gushoshin observed this silently, a little puzzled himself. It seemed to him that something had passed between them… some sort of force, before it vanished. He shrugged it off, glaring at the two of them as the girl defiantly yanked her arm off his grasp.

"Hey, Tsuzuki! Are you going to hold on to her hand forever?" Gushoshin demanded, feeling jealous all of a sudden. It was silly, really, but at that point of confusion, nothing else really mattered.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" a very flustered Tsuzuki snapped his head up. "I wasn't paying attention…"

She ran off.

"Hey! Wait!" the brunet stared after her. "Miss! Please wait! …She's gone."

"You were dumped?" Gushoshin began to laugh, more of relief than anything else. Tsuzuki frowned at him.

"No, idiot!" he kept glancing back; looking slightly troubled. Pausing to inspect himself, he caught sight of a red stain on his shirt. "Hey, what's this?"

"It must be that girl's lipstick."

"Anyway! I'm hungry! Let's have a bite! Since we're at Nagasaki, we might as well eat a lot!" Tsuzuki stepped forward, his fading smile rekindled at the thought of food.

"Agreed!"

But events turned them away from their break. It seemed that someone was just murdered. People gathered round, people whispering loudly as they crowded round the scene.

The twelfth case that year…

Tsuzuki gave a sudden start as he saw the puncture wound on the victim's neck. He began to run back to where they had commenced, Gushoshin shouting after him. But the brunet wouldn't be stopped. "It was that girl! She's the key to solving this case!"

"What?? You're too brash!" Gushoshin huffed after the Shinigami, who was a lot lighter in foot than he was. But Tsuzuki didn't listen.

"She couldn't have gone very far!" the brunet replied, looking around wildly. "Help look for her!"

"Hey! Hey! Wait a second!" Gushoshin trailed after the Asian man, stopping to pant. "Tsuzuki! Tsuzu—geez!"

He walked quickly down the sidewalk, knowing that however he tried, he would never be able to catch up with the quick-footed brunet. Gushoshin couldn't help in his mind being a little muddled and strung up. Everything had been going so well! He was going to eat with Tsuzuki, and meet his new partner. Why did things have to happen this way? Why did someone have to die just as they arrived?

It was then when he began to get worried. Tsuzuki didn't meet his partner yet! Without a partner, things could get difficult. What if this Dracula was dangerous, even to Shinigami? What if Tsuzuki got hurt… or worse, killed? What if…

"Ah, screw the 'what ifs'!" the librarian dashed down the street. He had to find Tsuzuki before anything else happened! As he turned round a corner, a strange sight met his eyes. A blond boy was holding a gun to Tsuzuki's head. Was he the killer?

But as Gushoshin looked on closely, he was relieved to find that he was apparently not. The boy was referring to Tsuzuki as 'Dracula'. So, this was Tsuzuki's new partner. There seemed to be a misunderstanding, though. It actually seemed that the brunet was about to be shot; he heard a familiar click of a gun.

"WAAAAAAAAIT!"

"Gushoshin!" Tsuzuki squealed. "My savior!"

"Hmph!" the feathered librarian was unmoved. "What idiotic thing are you doing this time?"

This sparked off a quarrel. Tsuzuki accused the blond of attacking him, heated up and yelling, while the boy was bland and this provoked the brunet. Gushoshin was determined to shut them both up. "You're just like two kids arguing!"

"He's your new partner!" Gushoshin pointed at the boy.

________________

As time passed in their room, Gushoshin could see that he was slowly but surely losing the brunet to this new partner of his. Tsuzuki love caring for people – and Hisoka was a person who needed care, whether he admitted it or not. This was proven when they discovered the boy's murder through the library sorting.

Gushoshin sipped at the mug as he gazed at Tsuzuki, who was silently contemplating something. Only the two of them were left in the room; Hisoka was out. He hadn't come back with the brunet, the two of them facing off just some time ago.

The librarian was in a great state of mind. He didn't want to 'lose' this Shinigami he had worked with to Hisoka… and yet he knew, through his discovery, that Hisoka had a history pent up with sadness, needing love, needing to rediscover himself, to discover what he had lost, and what he had meant to have.

And therefore, he knew of only one thing he could do.

"Tsuzuki-san," Gushoshin spoke up quietly, "That child's family dates back to ancient times. It is a noble family laced deeply with pride and social standing. Hisoka's parents were also full of pride… after they found out about his powers, they found him disgusting and distanced themselves from him."

Tsuzuki swallowed hard, but Gushoshin evidently wasn't finished yet.

"If even the tiniest bit of his powers was shown, they'd not hesitate to lock him up in an underground cage."

Now, that got Tsuzuki's rage bubbling forth. "They did this to their own child?"

"As a child, Hisoka never truly understood, but as he grew up, he began to realize that he wasn't a normal person. He was…"

"A monster." The brunet now knew, he finally understood why Hisoka had been so cold, and still was. Gushoshin was troubled as well, but having Tsuzuki comprehend, having him know this little truth, it would help heal a heart… or perhaps two, or more. The librarian looked up at the Shinigami, into his dark, depthless lilac colored irises, and felt a little better, for his sake.

"Hisoka-san distances himself away from you," he commented. "That's a thing that can't be helped… because all his life, he'd lived on his own. Although now he's not alone anymore, he's still…"

Upon seeing the happy-go-lucky Shinigami contemplate the facts, silent as death, Gushoshin couldn't help smiling. He had yet another charm; he worried over emotional things far too much. This was Asato Tsuzuki, as he was, and always will be.

"But Tsuzuki-san! You don't have to be so worried!" Gushoshin's advice came lightly, heavy as his heart was. The next few words weren't easy to get out, but he knew that there was no turning back now. "You just have to break through the barrier to his heart. In fact, he's been waiting for this person to step right into his heart!"

"Is that so?" Tsuzuki could help looking disturbed. "It's not exactly easy!"

At that, Gushoshin chuckled. The busybody Asato Tsuzuki, scared of bugging the daylights out of others?

"Isn't getting involved in other people's business your forte?"

The brunet blushed a rosy hue, embarrassed but undeterred. After all, Gushoshin had said that right. Tsuzuki thanked the librarian, starting out of the door, most probably to investigate, though they both knew better what he was to do. As the door clicked shut as a final sound of his leaving the room, Gushoshin slid down, relaxing on the bed.

As much as everything in the world was falling, the stars came crashing down, what was done was right, and even he, 'selfish' as he was, knew it. The feathered librarian stared out of the window, his gaze tracing the Sakura that was fluttering down through the glass. It was spring in Nagasaki – strange to him, as the flowers in Enmacho bloomed all year round.

But as long as they blossomed, Gushoshin would remember the day when one heart was exchanged for two.

~*~ おわり ~*~

Note: Oh! YAY! I did a weird pairing I did it I did it YAY! Uh, I'm not even sure if this IS a romance, heh! ^__^ But ah, I haven't read any with this pairing. Except one really adorable one in which Gushoshin and the whole block was affected by a love potion except for the idiot Asato-SAN. XD

Anyway, in reply to a feedback of which the address I know not of, I refer to Tsuzuki as 'Asian', and for mainly three reasons. The first and most prominent reason is the fact that Tsuzuki was born in Japan, an Asian country. I collected this information somewhere… I don't know the exact Era or date, but it was Japan. Because of his eye color, he went through the hardship of never belonging. Next is his name. It's typical. XD I like it! Lastly, in The King of Swords, Tsuzuki didn't know a word of English, and was about to be arrested before he was rescued by a flying bottle (cough). Besides, with his dark hair and complexion, he looks cutely Japanese. (Yes, so I'm obsessed with them, hey!)

Nah, I won't take offense. Most people dislike me actually because I'm partly Asian. I guess it's bound to be sensitive, when a fan likes a character, but doesn't want him to be associated with Asian culture. I feel sad, really, but ultimately it's how one looks at it.

Hmm, as for the name format… Let's see… I took Tsuzuki to be a given name. I've never met anyone surnamed Tsuzuki before, but I know a Sato. 0_o Doing a rain check, I think I found that Tsuzuki is a given name. Asato is his family's name. I stick to one format – that's surname followed by given. The American format is okay, but Mamo-chan once told me that it was an insult to his kind, because it dishonored his family name… yadda, yadda, yadda… how his father would never approve of it… yadda, yadda… gah! Where was I again? Sorry! I know I love talking ohh I love talking please email Windy if you wanna yay thanks for reading!!