Title: Abandoned (6/?)
Author: WolfPilot06
Email Address: WolfPilot06@hotmail.com
Content: AU, angst, shonen ai/yaoi, NCS, angel dudes, long Oriya monologue, possible Oriya OOCness

Pairings: Muraki x Hisoka, Tatsumi/Watari + Hisoka, (future) Tsuzuki x Hisoka, Terazuma x Wakaba
Summary: Tangled in a web of fate far beyond his comprehension, the young angel Hisoka must struggle to survive in a world that wishes nothing more than to see his death.
Distribution: Fanfiction.net (user ID: WolfPilot06), Clampesque board, Phantom Moon
Author's Note: I'm aiming for a longer chapter here!  Everybody's favorite kimono-wearing bishonen shows up now, but don't be surprised if he seems rather OOC. ^^; I seem to lack the ability to write Oriya in character. -.-;;

Much thanks to Imbrii, my wonderful and multitalented beta, who has helped me work out several plot holes, completely change the plot, and provides the voice of reason for my otherwise crackpot ideas. ^_^

And many thanks to all my readers; you really don't know how much your support and enthusiasm means to me.  I am forever indebted to you. ^o^

--

The noise in the great hall was overwhelming.  Angels of every color gathered here, talking amongst themselves without regard for whomever they brushed up against or shoved out of the way.  At the end of the hall opposite the magnificently carved oak doors, fifteen angels sat on a raised dais, observing the activities on the marble floor before them. 

Suddenly, the doors slammed open with a crash.  The angels fell silent in shock, staring at the three figures silhouetted in the doorway.  The dark blue wings of the angel in the forefront were spread slightly, every line of the man's being glowing with rage.  Gasps came from the gathered angels as the shadows in the room began to undulate and writhe, a few lifting themselves from where they lay upon the cold marble ground to stretch towards their owners threateningly.   

"Azriel!" the man thundered, stalking forward.  The crowd melted before him like a hot knife slicing through butter, the angel's anger palpable in the stifling summer heat.  The two other angels who had entered with him followed silently, the expressions on their faces as grave as their leader's. 

"Tatsumi-san, what is the meaning of this interruption?" a voice said coldly from the dais.  One of the fifteen had risen to his feet, eyeing the intruders with contempt in his steel-gray eyes.  He fanned out his ash-colored wings, as if hoping to intimidate the tall angel before him.  To either side of him, the fourteen other angels tensed, readying themselves for the inevitable confrontation.

"Azriel," Tatsumi repeated in a frosty tone, "You dare ask why I am here now?  Can it be that your brains have rotted away during the century that you have lounged upon your raised chair, softened by the simpering of your sycophants and encouraged by your inherent stupidity?"

"I would warn you to watch your tongue, Tatsumi!" Azriel flared, "Greater angels have been sent on for less, and we both know that I only hesitate to send you on because our God favors you.  If you so provoke me, though, I will not stop from sending you on."

Sapphire met steel in a clash of wills, both angels beginning to glow with the aura of their powers.  The air stirred slightly as the tension in the room rose.  The crowd began to back away slowly, looking nervously between the two as the shadows twisted wildly upon the walls and floor.  Watari stepped forward, his face devoid of any of its usual cheerfulness.  He placed a calming hand on Tatsumi's shoulder and turned to Azriel.

"Enough of this show of manliness," he said dryly, but his eyes flashed angrily, "Let's get to the heart of this matter.  Why have you refused our request to send a search team out for Kurosaki-kun?"

Nearby angels started muttering at this, not a few shooting dirty looks at the trio facing the Council.  Watari noticed that a few Council angels looked a bit abashed and refused to look at them, while others looked rather surprised.  One angel remained unruffled by the ongoing conflict, sitting with his chin resting upon his interlaced fingers and his eyes closed. 

Azriel's expression changed then, the corner of his pale lips twitching slightly as if he was trying to keep from smiling.

"Ah, that," he said, in a tone that clearly indicated that he thought that the matter was below him to even consider, "We simply do not think it is worth the expenses and trouble to send out a patrol for a single foolish angel.  For all we know, Watari-san, that…child may have merely wandered off.  Perhaps he spotted a patch of flowers he liked."

Watari shot a startled look at Tatsumi as the secretary actually growled at Azriel's condescending tone, the dark-winged angel's knuckles whitening with rage.  Konoe-Kacho stepped in then, his face no longer that of a foolish old man.

"Azriel," he said sternly, "That is unkind of you.  Our God commands us to be merciful and kind to all.  How can you prejudice against a young angel like this?"

"God," Azriel replied icily, "Has abandoned that 'angel'.  It is not our responsibility to save abominations."

He froze as he felt a cool, slick substance brush against the vulnerable skin of his throat then.  The blond angel did not need to look to know that a thin tendril of shadow had wrapped itself around his neck, pooling against his collarbone and tightening whenever he so much as took a breath.  Slowly, carefully, Azriel turned his head towards Tatsumi, looking into steely eyes the color of midnight. 

"Are you insane, man?" Azriel choked, wheezing as the shadows tightened imperceptibly around his neck. "Attacking and threatening one of the Council?"

"Why, whatever are you talking about, Azriel-san?" Tatsumi asked with deceptive mildness.  Then his characteristically stoic expression disappeared, his features twisting in pure hatred.

"I do not care if you are one of the Council," he said softly, "I will kill you nonetheless if you insult Kurosaki-kun again, you unworthy bastard.  God must have been blinded by your alligator tears if he trusted you enough to even let you into Heaven."

"Release him, Tatsumi." A voice rang out.  The speaker was the angel who had so far been quiet through all the happenings.  He stood, quietly pushing back his chair as he opened his blue-gray eyes to regard the furious Tatsumi.  "This matter concerns not only him, but all of us."

There was a moment of silence as Tatsumi looked at the other.  With a twitch of his fingers, the shadows wrapped around Azriel's neck released the Councilor and slithered back to their places, resuming their inert existence.  Azriel rubbed his throat with one hand, glaring at Tatsumi hatefully.  Stormy eyes regarded both calmly.

"Tatsumi-san, I would ask that you remain calm while in the Great Hall.  While I understand your plight, you must remember that decency and kindness are foremost in our minds." His gaze flickered to Azriel before continuing, "Azriel…I must ask.  Why was this matter regarding Kurosaki Hisoka not brought to our attention?"

Watari realized something.  His face tensed as he looked at Azriel with sudden understanding.

'So that's it.  Azriel didn't even tell the Council about Hisoka's disappearance!' 

"Kyerith," Azriel spoke, clearing his throat with the barest hint of nervousness, "I did not think that it warranted a full Council discussion-"

"Bullshit," Kyerith said calmly, drawing a few startled gasps from the other angels, "An angel disappears, and you do not think it warrants a full Council discussion?" His eyes narrowed, "And you acted in the Council's name, refusing a perfectly reasonable request for a search?  I must say, Azriel, that if someone's actions were to be questioned here today, they would not be Tatsumi's."

Azriel paled then, licking suddenly dry lips as he tried to find an excuse.  Kyerith held up his hand, forestalling the other's words. 

"There is no time to be wasted listening to you prattle on about how you thought you acted in the best interests of the Council or whatever else your mind may have come up with," he said and pinned the blond angel with an icy stare, "What we must do now is act quickly to find Hisoka." Blue-gray eyes then moved to regard Tatsumi, who had noticeably calmed since Kyerith began berating Azriel.  "Tatsumi-san: I give you permission to take a group of ten or so angels down to Earth to investigate this matter.  If you should find Hisoka, you are to bring him immediately back to Heaven and treat him for whatever injuries he may have sustained during his sojourn in the humans' world. That is, if the Council agrees."

There was a brief pause before the other angels nodded, one at a time, with the deliberate exception of Azriel, who had sunk back in his chair with a sort of pouting petulance at having been chastised before an entire hall of angels. 

"Thank you, Kyerith-san," Tatsumi murmured, bowing slightly.  He turned and left, albeit in a much calmer state than when he had first burst through the massive oaken doors.  The gathered angels began to talk amongst themselves, the noisy din that had filled the hall before rising again.  Watari lingered for a moment, approaching the stormy-eyed Councilor cautiously.

"I would like to add my thanks to Tatsumi's," Watari said quietly.  Kyerith raised a dark, elegant eyebrow. 

"There is little to thank, Watari-san," Kyerith replied offhandedly, "What I did was not for Hisoka, Tatsumi, or you.  Rather, what has happened to Hisoka involves us all.  His disappearance is merely one of many other disturbing signs that I have observed lately."

Watari was taken aback.  He had thought that Kyerith had intervened with sympathy for Hisoka, but now it seemed as if he had interfered simply because he was concerned about the fact that an angel had gone missing without his knowledge.  The blond scientist frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Kyerith cut in before he could. 

"Watari-san, unless I am much mistaken, Tatsumi-san requests your presence on this mission," Kyerith said delicately.  It was a clear dismissal.  Watari stared at him for a moment before turning to leave.  He paused in the doorway.

"Kyerith…sir, if you could excuse my brashness," Watari hesitated, "Do you believe, like Azriel, that Hisoka is an abomination?"

Kyerith merely looked at him silently.

--

There was something to be said about being a demon, he decided.  It wasn't all blood and carnage, though there was certainly more than enough of that in his life, and that aspect of his demonic existence was, of course, enjoyable.  In fact, the shaded glen that he and his merry men – or rather, merry demons- were resting in currently was quite devoid of blood.  Right now, he was enjoying the advantage of demonic hearing. 

It had started sometime that morning, a low buzz on the fringe of his senses, like the faint hum of an electric light in an otherwise quiet room.  He had dismissed it first as a mosquito and even swatted the air about him lazily in hopes of dissuading the mosquito from making a meal of his blood.  But the buzz had continued all through the day, and had, in fact, grown even louder.  Now he could distinguish the sound of multiple wings beating against the air, wings that were certainly larger than those of any bird in existence. 

His demons were more than aware of what was coming, though they had only begun to hear the approaching angels a little over an hour ago.  Their reply was to begin working themselves into a frenzy, stirring the leaves in the trees with drafts kicked up by their blood-red wings and filling the grove with the sound of their cacophonous chanting.  He and his second-in-command remained aloof, him resting under an elm tree with his arms crossed behind his head and his second-in-command standing nearby, watching with thinly veiled amusement as their demons began to perform a hopping little dance.  Thoughtfully, he reached out and plucked a long piece of grass, placing it between his lips and enjoying the taste of a feeble life quickly extinguished.

The air began to throb with power, a few small dust devils rising and dissipating as rapidly as they came into existence.  Oriya smiled.

Lazily, the longhaired demon rose to his feet, casually brushing a few strands of hair from his face as he eyed the angels who had suddenly appeared in the middle of his grove.  The leader of the angels was a grave-faced man who looked to have died in his early thirties or late twenties, possessing a midnight blue gaze that was currently trying to bore a hole through Oriya's skull.  Oriya did what most people would do in such a strange situation: he waved. 

"How do you do, my fine gentlemen?" he drawled, noting the expressions of disgust on several of the angels' faces that came from his words.  Angels- such funny creatures.  Always so stiff and upright, never willing to just loosen up and have some fun.  Really, he should invite them to a slaughter fest one day, see how they liked it.

"I think you know why we are here, demon." The leader said icily.  The shadows in the grove began to ripple almost imperceptibly, causing some of the lesser demons to stir uneasily.

"Ah, a shadow master," Pleased with his own perceptiveness, Oriya looked at Tatsumi with renewed interest, "You must be the infamous Tatsumi Seiichirou.  So, tell me.  Have you choked anyone with their own shadows recently?"

The brunette angel's eyebrow twitched slightly, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists.  Behind him, Oriya's second-in-command chortled silently and painted an imaginary one in the air.  'Score, Oriya one, angels none.' Oriya almost smiled.

"For your information, I do not randomly kill people for fun." Tatsumi replied even more coldly. 

"I take it this isn't a social call," Oriya said dryly.  He settled himself back down on the grass, stretching out languidly and watching the angels' increasing irritation with something close to glee.  "You have something you want to ask me.  Go ahead and shoot."

Tatsumi's eyes darkened as he drew himself up to reply, his wings automatically spreading in an awe-inspiring array of gleaming midnight-blue feathers.  Oriya would have been impressed if he had not had his own magnificent pair of deep crimson wings and was not surrounded by dozens of feathered sycophants on a daily basis.  Things being as they were, Oriya yawned in the face of the intimidating display.

"Where is Kurosaki Hisoka?" Tatsumi demanded.  Oriya looked disinterested.

"Sorry, don't know anybody by that name.  Try again later.  Maybe I'll come upon this 'Hisoka' of yours in one of my rounds." He deliberately smirked at Tatsumi, "I'll be sure to say that you were looking for him."

Another angel, this one with dark brown hair and piercing yellow eyes, stepped forward, curling his lip in disgust as he looked at the demon leader.  He flexed his hands at his sides, an answering ripple of power going through the air.

"Stop playing games, demon scum," he snarled, "You have one of ours.  Give him back, or face the wrath of God!"

"You are scarcely 'God', little man," Oriya said flatly.  He rose again to his feet, brushing the dirt from his clothing and eyeing the stony-faced expression on Tatsumi's face. "Seii-chan, who is that insolent little upstart?"

"First of all, my name is not 'Seii-chan'," Tatsumi growled, "This 'insolent little upstart' is Lazar."

"'God will help', eh? (1)" Oriya spat the piece of grass upon the ground, grinding it into a pulpy mess with the heel of his foot.  "Well, let me tell you something." He approached and casually draped an arm around the golden-eyed angel's shoulders, ignoring the hisses and curses that came from the others.  Deliberately, he brought his mouth close to Lazar's ear, lips brushing against the cringing man's skin with every word. "God will not help…He never does."

He smiled then, drawing away with sinister grace. 

"Isn't this all proof that He will never help?" Oriya asked, wheeling about slightly with his arms outstretched.  He snorted contemptuously. "Some goddamn God.  Lets us evil demon types feed on the poor, defenseless humans with only a group of incompetent, feathered idiots chasing after us.  Thanks for the free meals, God.  Love this world you created." He smiled mirthlessly, a tinge of red coloring his dark brown eyes. "No, really.  Thanks."

Tatsumi was unimpressed. Calmly, he adjusted his glasses, hiding the rage simmering beneath his otherwise emotionless exterior. 

"I do not care whether you respect our God or not," Tatsumi said bluntly, "Your very existence proves that you do not have faith in Him.  All I want now is Kurosaki-kun back.  You really expect me to believe that you don't have him?"

"I don't 'expect' you to believe anything I say, Seii-chan," Oriya said with the faintest sardonic tone, "After all, we demons haven't a worthy or truthful thing to say, right?  Believe or not, angel dearest, we speak the truth more often than you feathery light types do." He walked up to Tatsumi and stood face to face with the angel, locking gazes with him. "I'm afraid you'll have to believe me when I say I don't have this 'Kurosaki Hisoka' of yours.  Go ahead and search this entire area. We don't have this winged compatriot of yours."

Oriya had the pleasure of seeing frustration and distress enter Tatsumi's eyes as the divine being realized the truth of his words.  For a moment, Tatsumi looked sick, dismay and fear warring for dominance in his face.  Stiffly, the angel regained his composure and turned to go, signaling for his companions to do likewise.  Oriya watched impassively as the unearthly creatures spread their wings, preparing to take off into the blue expanse of the sky, a rainbow of multi-hued feathers and wings in the midst of God's earthly beauty.  For a moment, Oriya struggled with himself, but curiosity won and he found himself raising his voice slightly.

"But tell me, Seii-chan, just who is this 'Kurosaki Hisoka' and why does he warrant so much attention?" Oriya called.  Tatsumi made no indication of turning to reply. "Because the name sounds vaguely familiar…maybe if you told me a bit about this missing angel of yours, I'd be able to give you a more concrete answer."  He could tell from the sudden tension in the dark-winged angel's shoulders that he had his attention.  Tatsumi turned slowly to face him, eyes wary and searching.  Oriya spread his arms expansively and did his best to look disarming.  "I only want to help you, my friend."

"Demons never do anything for free," Tatsumi shot back, crossing his arms across his chest. "What do you want?"

"If I said 'you', how would you take it?" Oriya said almost impishly, devilish amusement dancing in his eyes.  Tatsumi snorted.

"I doubt I'd make tasty demon food," the angel said dryly.  Oriya grinned in reply.  Tatsumi seemed to be having some sort of internal conflict as he thought of Oriya's offer.  A longhaired, blond angel came up next to him and whispered something in his ear, to which Tatsumi nodded and looked back at Oriya. The demon waited expectantly.

"As I have told you, his name is Kurosaki Hisoka.  He's relatively small, looks like a child of sixteen, and possesses…" Tatsumi hesitated, "He possesses white wings." He glared at Oriya murderously, "And he was sent to investigate you and your band of demons."

"Ah, Seii-chan, now I believe I know who you're talking about." Slowly, he met Tatsumi's gaze, malicious mirth glimmering in his eyes.  "You're never going to get him back, my friend."

The dark-winged angel's face contorted in sudden rage.  Shadows undulated wildly, not a few reaching for Oriya as if longing to wrap themselves around his neck to deprive him of his immortal life.  Oriya's amusement died and he suddenly became serious, brushing a few stray strands of hair from his face.

"I confess that I had a part in his disappearance, Seii-chan, but not as you think I did," Oriya admitted, putting his hands up in defense as Tatsumi took one furious step towards him, "Now, hear me out."

He waited until Tatsumi had calmed slightly and the shadows had settled down with only the occasional twitch to show the shadow master's irritation before he spoke again. 

"We've heard of your Hisoka, shadow master," Oriya said gravely, "After all, it's not often that God creates an angel, is it?" Tatsumi's face paled slightly, "From what I hear, he's a cute sort with empathic powers.  Now, you have to understand: empathy, added on top to enhanced angel powers and a pretty face, makes for ideal demon bait.  For thirteen years, the demon world has been roiling with excitement, holding its metaphorical breath for a chance to see this mighty weapon of destruction that God created.  There's not a demon in Hell who wouldn't jump for a chance to drain Hisoka of his powers.  It's been demon lord against demon lord, vying for the prize when he finally came out of Heaven." 

Oriya chuckled darkly, "Let me tell you: right now it's a pretty convenient time to move up in the ranks.  Higher-ups have been dying by the legion, making plenty of room for us inferior demons to get promoted.  Now, personally, I don't care much for power, though it can come in handy once in a while.  I'd much prefer the occasional bloodshed, a few screaming mortals and a soul or two for torturing purposes to fighting other demon lords for a chance to lick the King of Hell's feet.  Imagine my delight when someone approached me with a proposition that could, theoretically, cause bloodshed at a level never before imagined…"

Eyes closed in delight, Oriya unconsciously licked his lips in an expression of pleasure, oblivious to the look of sickened disgust on several of the angels' faces.  The demon leader opened his eyes again and winked maliciously at Tatsumi. "Of course, I almost killed the man when he came to me.  It's not really my thing to stop and converse with my dinner before killing it.  Luckily, this mortal had enough power to hold me off until he could tell me most of his proposition.  By the third time he mentioned 'chaos' and 'blood', I was hooked.  We devised a plan to get Hisoka out of Heaven, and I put it into action."

He paused and shrugged slightly before continuing.  "It was actually a pretty good plan, simple and with no unnecessary complications.  There was even quite a bit of fun in it for me; all my merry demon gang and I had to do was kill off humans by the drove, which we did regularly anyway.  You Heavenly people just had to keep sending angels after us, and we'd kill a few before capturing one or two and holding them hostage.  We'd then make an exchange- your Hisoka for the angel hostages."

He noticed Tatsumi's angry and slightly puzzled expression and smirked, "Yes, we've heard about how the Council hated God's little creation.  It's not exactly the best kept secret in Heaven." Oriya chuckled at his own pun and smiled broadly at Tatsumi, "But your Council made things easier for us by doing something we never predicted it'd do.  They sent out Hisoka himself to investigate us- an inexperienced, innocent young angel without a clue what he was doing and no idea of his powers, and they sent him after a notoriously murderous group of demons." He shook his head in disbelief and looked at Tatsumi with dark mirth shining in his eyes, "Sometimes I really wonder if your Councilors have their heads screwed on straight."

"They don't," Tatsumi gritted from between clenched teeth.  Behind him, the longhaired blond angel from before appeared to be vaguely ill, exchanging a glance with an older angel that spoke volumes.  While the other angels merely looked outraged at the demon's actions, these three looked truly concerned about the disappeared angel.  That would identify the other two as the famous Chief of the Angel Detective Department, Konoe-Kacho, and the erratic scientist of Heaven, Watari Yutaka.  Oriya plopped down on the grass again and began to fiddle with the grass absently, quickly losing interest in the topic at hand.

"And then what happened?" Watari asked tightly, "You caught him and did what?"

"Actually, 'Taka-chan," Oriya replied with deceptive cheeriness, "We didn't catch him.  The mortal did." He shrugged, "Don't know what I'd do with a pretty little morsel like your Hisoka, anyway.  It's not as if I want the power he has…though, truly, the idea of torturing an innocent is a rather attractive prospect." He looked pleased at the idea, "Yes, so we found that he was the one coming and told the mortal man about it.  He set a trap, captured the kid, and is probably a million miles away by now."

"Who was that man?" Tatsumi demanded, "How did he know so much about us?"

"To your second question," Oriya replied laconically, now lounging upon the ground comfortably, "I don't know.  To your first…even if I told you, it wouldn't matter."

"Tell us.  You never know." Watari said with a tight-lipped smile.  Oriya tipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Very well.  His name is Muraki Kazutaka," He smiled, "And, like I said before, you're never going to get Hisoka back.  I'd give up on him if I were you."

"But you're not," Tatsumi growled.  He signaled to his angels, "We've found out all we can in this hellhole.  Let's go."

Oriya stood and waved nonchalantly at the backs of the departing angels. 

"Have a nice day!" he called, "I'll be sure to tell you if Muraki calls!"

Grinning widely, he turned back to his demons.

"Now, wasn't that fun?"

--

TBC

--

C&C, like usual? The more replies, the more likely I'm to have the next chapter out! ^_~

(1) "Lazar" means, "God will help", hence Oriya's comment.

I suppose Hisoka will reappear in one of the upcoming chapters….

**Wolf**