White Roses

Pairings: Hisoka x Tsuzuki

Warnings: Spoilers, violence, angst, and possibly gratuitous scenes. Disclaimer: Hey everybody, sorry this took so long! I don't own Tsuzuki, or Hisoka, or even sadistic little Muraki! But I do own all eleven tankoubon of Yami no Matsuei! The power. . .the POWER! *grin*

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Don't gloss over it, Asato. You are. . .a murderer." No. . . "This rose is you. . .and these clipped buds are the humans you've slaughtered. . ." Ruka. . .help me. . . "For the rose that is yourself, you'd let family die. . .even yours." You're wrong. . .I. . .I. . . "Well then what are those behind you?" No!!!. . .no. . . "Asato-kun! Come on, I'm going to teach you how to cook curry!" Stay back. . . ". . .Asato-kun? Daijoubu?" Don't. . .Ruka. . . ". . .Asato-kun? What are you doing? Asato-kun?!!" "Nooo!!" Lurching, Tsuzuki sat up in his bed and shivered. Glancing down at his immaculate hands, all he could see was blood.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hisoka stepped out of the shower, toweling off his caramel blond hair as he studied himself in the mirror. With a critical eye, he twisted around to look at his back, then turned forward again, letting the warm glow of the lamplight cast smooth shadows over the planes of his body. His body was thin, almost effeminately willowy, and his skin was unusually pale. Leaning forward, he tilted his chin to the side and studied his jaw line. Life hadn't given him enough time to grow facial hair, leaving his face smooth like a young child's. /Still, I'm not too bad looking. . . I mean, I could be a little taller, my shoulder's a little broader, but I'm in pretty good shape for my size. . . and my eyes are a fairly nice color, though no where near as gorgeous as his eyes. . ./ Hisoka stopped for a moment, leaning against the mirror as he mused over his violet-eyed partner. Tsuzuki had slowly seeped into his veins; getting Hisoka to smile behind his books, actually snort while laughing at his rendition of 'Do You Hear the People Sing', and once even helping Tsuzuki play a prank on Watari by gluing all his beakers to the counter top. Hisoka shook his head bemusedly at the memory. Hisoka wiped away the stray droplets of water on the counter top with his towel, and then tossed it into the hamper. Suddenly, a searing pain throughout his limbs made him convulse and fall to the tiled floor. Lifting a hand to clutch his throbbing forehead, the curse scars that had begun to pulse with light drew a frightened gasp from his throat. Shaking, he tried to find a position that would ease the burning torture across his skin. Then, as quickly as it came, the light in the scars dimmed, and faded away, along with the pain. Taking a shuddering breath, Hisoka propped himself against the doorway. /I can see it. . .the red moon. . ./ Squeezing his eyes shut, Hisoka slowly rocked back and forth, trying to find solace in the soft sounds of the night outside. But he couldn't escape the feeling that the red moon was watching him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Tsuzuki-san. Kurosaki-san." Hisoka looked up crankily from a pile of forms he was filling out. Putting the papers down, he flashed a quick glare at Tsuzuki who was preoccupied with a game of Tetris on his computer.

"Ahem. Tsuzuki-san!" Tsuzuki jolted in his chair and looked guiltily over his shoulder at Tatsumi.

"Ah, h-hai Tatsumi-san." He grinned sheepishly, little puppy ears appearing on top of his head. His tail wagged hopefully.

"Tsuzuki-san. You and Kurosaki-san have another assignment." Tsuzuki's tail fell to the ground, and his ears drooped in forlorn disappointment. Tatsumi barely kept himself from rolling his eyes and continued in his typical brisk manner.

"The girl's name is Arakawa Anko. Supposedly she died two months ago, but her soul has not arrived yet. This should be a fairly easy case for you two. We want you to track down her spirit, and help it arrive at its proper destination. Here is some information on her whereabouts prior to her demise." Tatsumi passed Hisoka a thick packet of documents took a moment to lean over Tsuzuki's shoulder and shut off his computer.

"Hey! I was about to break my old record!!" Tsuzuki squawked indignantly.

"Yes, but new Tetris records won't pay back all the damage you did to the library now will it?" Tsuzuki blanched at the memory of his many debts and sunk down into his rolly-chair. Seemingly satisfied, Tatsumi turned to leave.

"Oh, and I expect the case to be finished by the end of the week." Tsuzuki gaped in alarm.

"But today's Friday!!" He sputtered. Shutting the door behind him, Tatsumi smirked as he pretended he didn't hear Tsuzuki's last comment. Tsuzuki harrumphed, glaring daggers at the door.

"You shouldn't be so sour you know. After all, its your fault we're in this mess." Hisoka muttered sardonically. Tsuzuki jumped up, punching his hand with his fist.

"You're right! Lets be on our way then!" Tsuzuki, grinning his head off like a Cheshire cat, grabbed Hisoka's wrist and bolted for the door, throwing it open as he bounded through. Hisoka shrieked, and clamped his hand over his mouth, turning beet red at the girlish sound that had left his mouth. Dammit, couldn't he have gotten at least a little further through puberty before he died? And what happened to Tsuzuki's so recent sadness? Watari laughed, as they zipped past, casually waving at them with a beaker in his hand.

/Hn. . .something seems off about those two today. . / Watari jumped as a flask behind him exploded, leaving his ponderings behind in favor of a set of latex gloves and a dustpan.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hisoka scowled, shoving his hands into his pockets as he glared at the slush-soaked pavement in front of him with vehemence. The wind turned the air frigid as it blew furiously past, tossing Hisoka's bangs into his eyes. Grimacing, he spat out another chunk of his hair and swiped at it with numb fingers. How long had it been since they had set out? Four hours, five? And any minute, Tsuzuki would be sure to pipe up with-

"I'm hungry." The vein above Hisoka's eyebrow began to twitch ever so slightly.

"Tsuzuki. We are not stopping for cake."

"How about a cinnabon?"

"No."

"Pie?"

"NO!"

"What about-" Hisoka wheeled around, clenching his jaw so tightly that the muscle began to throb, as though it was trying to escape the suddenly not too friendly location of Hisoka's face.

"Tsuzuki!!! Goddammit!!!! Just once, can't you think with your head and not your FUCKING stomach!?!!!" For a split second, pain flashed across Tsuzuki's face. Caught up in his own frustration Hisoka failed to notice.

"Hisoka, calm down, onegai? Come on, we haven't tried this street yet-" Tsuzuki reached for Hisoka's arm, a smile plastered over his worried expression. Hisoka flinched, overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of powerful emotions coming from his partner.

"Let go of me!" Hisoka shoved Tsuzuki away and fell backwards onto the sleet-soaked pavement. The two of them froze, eyes locked for a moment in tense silence. Tsuzuki tore his gaze away, and began to walk down the alleyway.

"Tsuzuki-"

"No Hisoka, you're right. I'm being pesky, ne?" Tsuzuki's laugh was strained.

"I-I've been too lazy. You wait on that bench for a while. I'll go check out this alleyway, okay Hisoka?" Tsuzuki wheeled around and headed down the alleyway.

"Tsuzuki, I'm sor-" Tsuzuki waved a hand at Hisoka as though he were chasing away a fly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll find the girl's spirit and everything will be fine!" With that, he ran off, leaving Hisoka to berate himself in the middle of the street.

/ Stupid, Hisoka. . .the one guy who treats you like family and you chase him away. / Sighing deeply, Hisoka lifted himself from the ground and wearily made his way to the bench.

/ Why does Tsuzuki always put on such an outrageous poker face? In the entire time that I've known him, he's always been sensitive and kind. I know he had some sort of troubled past, but he never opens up about what really happened during his life. What is he so afraid of? / Shivering slightly, Hisoka pulled up the collar of his trench coat.

/ If anything, I'm the one who's been cruel here. Why do I always let my temper get the better of me? All it does is hurt the people I care about. I don't.I don't want to hurt Tsuzuki again. / Staring worriedly down the dark stretch of alleyway, Hisoka muttered to himself.

"Tsuzuki. . .you baka. . .where are you? Hurry up and get back here so I can say I'm sorry. . ."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tsuzuki wandered about the streets of the city, trying to distract himself from the tumult of dark feelings in his heart. The dreary monotonous landscape did nothing to soothe his mood, and soon his thoughts wandered back to Hisoka.

/ I can't really blame him for pushing me away, after sensing what I'm really like.after all, I don't really belong here anyway. . ./

Tsuzuki stopped in the middle of the road, closing his eyes and hugging himself as his age-old guilt overwhelmed him.

"I don't belong here. . ." he whispered softly to the night air.

"All too true, my lovely one. . ." Muraki's voice rang darkly through the streets, raising the fine hairs on Tsuzuki's neck on end. Smirking as he sauntered forward, the sadistic doctor began scattering white roses around Tsuzuki's feet. Tsuzuki recoiled from them, backing away from the whole scene into a grove of sakura trees.

"Muraki, w-what are you doing here?!" Tsuzuki gasped as Muraki strode confidently forward, pressing himself against the Shinigami's body. Leaning in, he breathed softly into his ear.

"The question is, my friend. . .what are you doing here? Or anywhere for that matter?" Stepping away, Muraki softly cupped Tsuzuki's cheek in his hand.

"After all, why should a creature such as yourself deserve second chances, hm?"

"Damn you. . ." Tsuzuki growled, releasing an enormous amount of ki in Muraki's direction. The ki glowed around the two of them, illuminating the satisfied smirk on Muraki's face. Tsuzuki convulsed as it bounced back at him, effectively wrapping him in chains of his own ki. An expression of horror grew in Tsuzuki's eyes as Muraki leaned down to lift him into his arms.

"Tsk tsk, Tsuzuki-san, you've been caught in my little trap. I set up this grove with a reflective spell. Any ki you release here will bounce right back at you, so I wouldn't be too hasty." Pulling a strip of paper from his pocket, Muraki continued.

"Of course, now it's ridiculously easy for me to do this. . ." Muraki pasted the spell onto Tsuzuki's chest, watching as it crackled with power.

"Sleep tight, Tsuzuki-san. . ." Tsuzuki futilely struggled against his invisible bonds, fighting the haziness that tinted his vision. His gaze wandered, focusing on a lamppost, then Muraki's face, then a white rose next to his eye, and then all went black.