A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! It must be the longest I've taken to update this story. This gets harder and harder to write for some reason!! But no worries, it is not because I've lost interest, but because it's coming to an end and I want to make it right. I had the first version of this chappy ready on monday, but I just hated it and I couldn't bring myself to post it because then I wouldn't have been able to continue it as I'd liked with a bad base. Do I make sense? To top it all, I've had a hell of a week, having to go from one job interview to the next. Whoever said birthdays are something to celebrate, let me remind them that with age comes responsibility!! I wanna be six again! Waaaaaah!!
Anyway, wish me a happy birthday, ne? It's the 18th! Just like 'Soka-chan!!
WARNING: (You wish it was a lemon warning, but no, heh heh.) I haven't *ever* seen or read anything about Touda. All I have put into this fic is what I've picked on here and there (ok so, I did read some, heh, I just don't remember much). If it's not accurate, or OC, I beg you take it as a poetic licence, instead of bad writing. Also, angsty angst this chappy, but probably not in the way you were expecting it to be. As I said, this chapter was hard to write because, believe it or not, I try to give each chapter a porpuse. And this one just wasn't happening. I finally found it's porpuse, and I hope you don't think I teased you too badly. You'll know what I mean (I hope).
Enjoy!
A DEVIL'S THRILL
Tenkuu had become deadly quiet. Something had awoken the twelve shikigami that were now at the entrance of the palace a few hours earlier than usual. Something was wrong with their master and they were all waiting anxiously for one of them to be called.
They could always sense when one of them was about to be called into a fight, but this time it felt different. Biakko was pacing the hall; Souryuu and his children were simply staring at each other expectant. They were all showing their concern one way or the other; all standing together. All but one.
To Touda the feeling wasn't that strange. He was sited resting his back against the wall; hiding his face from the other shikigami to conceal his own worry. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.
No, the feeling wasn't strange at all. Tsusuki had only called him once in all the years he'd been his shikigami. It was only natural he remembered the sensation. This time it was going to be him.
Before long, he felt the calling and his own self beginning to abandon the Gensoukai. He saw the others faces stricken with shock when he rose from his seat. He saw Suzaku's eyes filling with tears and saw her mouth the words of a silent plea that could have been directed at him or to a god that wasn't going to listen to her.
He left without a word of comfort to his said colleagues. Why should he comfort them? None of them trusted him; none of them would comfort him when it was all over.
The imponent serpent roared through Meifuu's skies, going towards his master's calling.
Most shikigamis are considered nothing more than tools for their masters to use. Most of them were nothing but weapons. But Tsusuki was different. He was their friend. He knew them, visited them, talked to them. He cared. Even Touda, that cared about almost no one, had fallen under the spell of the warm hearted shinigami.
His master needed him.
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"Tari?" the gentle voice leaked through the scientist dreamscape; which was very annoying because he was having a really nice dream about Tatsumi and handcuffs and... "C'mon, sweetie, wake up."
The shadow master shook Watari once more, but the other man just batted his hands away with a frown.
"Just five more minutes..." the scientist muttered, burying his face on the pillow.
Tatsumi took the cup of coffee he knew he had to bring with him if he wanted to succeed in waking the scientist and placed it in front of the other man's nose. It was hard for the secretary to keep the smile out of his face, even under the current circumstance. As soon as he'd seen Watari's peaceful face, a strange feeling had stirred in his stomach; it was like jitters, but good.
The sweet aroma of strong coffee invaded Watari's nostrils, luring him out of his dream, that sadly had been already disturbed by the outside world. Groggily, he sat up, eyes still closed, and felt a gentle hand on the small of his back helping him up and a kiss on his forehead.
"Morning." Tatsumi said sweetly, forcing Watari to open his eyes.
"Uh?" the blond looked around confused, trying to wake up his brain as well as his body. This was his lab; he wasn't supposed to be in his lab. Unless all had been a dream, which he wasn't sure. But if it was a dream, then what was Tatsumi doing there? And why was he treating him so nice? "How did I get here?" he asked sleepy.
The secretary ran a hand through Watari's messy hair.
"I brought you here. I thought it'd be a better place to sleep than my office floor."
"Oh..." Watari took the mug between his fingers, savouring the feel of the warmth on his still asleep hands. "So...*sip* mmm, this is nice. *sip*..."
"What is it?"
"Oh, nothing...I'm just wondering..."
Tatsumi once again felt amazed of how much he knew Watari, that he didn't need the other man to tell him what was worrying him. He sat next to him, sliding an arm around his waist.
"We need to talk, is that it?" Watari nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Don't worry about it. But right now we have to meet Hisoka and help him look for Tsusuki. Something happened..." Tatsumi frowned, not really knowing how worried he should appear near Watari, that had already shown to be jealous of Tatsumi's affection for Tsusuki.
Watari surprised him by kissing his lips lovingly and standing up with a little effort.
"Then we should hurry, ne? God knows what that airhead will do if he's upset and there's no sweets around to cheer him up."
----------------------
Tsusuki was fighting the darkness that was threatening to engulf him. His eyes felt incredibly heavy but he had to stay awake. Touda had been summoned and almost immediately Tsusuki could see the imponent fire serpent roaming Meifuu's skies.
He'd expected to feel relief as soon as he saw Touda and the black fire that promised him peace once and for all. But instead all he felt was guilt. Yet more guilt on top of the one he'd been feeling; guilt because as soon as the black flames of the serpent's body surrounded him, he remembered Hisoka's trembling body in his arms, asking him not to leave him; willing to die by his side as long as he didn't have to part with him.
As soon as Touda realised he was still in Meifuu instead of the world of the living, he realised there was something off with the picture. Last time one of them had been called inside Meifuu it had been because Muraki- the monster he was supposed to have killed- had somehow sneaked one of his dolls into it.
He spotted the limp form of his master laying on the ground, eyes half closed, and Touda feared that he'd been too late; that whatever had made Tsusuki call him had gotten the upper hand. But as soon as he was by his side, Tsusuki opened his eyes lazily. His master looked like hell, again reminding Touda of the last time he'd been called.
"What is it? Why did you call me?" Touda said anxiously, looking around for any sign of danger.
"Touda..." Just that word cost Tsusuki an incredible amount of effort. To him, his own voice sounded like in slow motion though he knew he had to have said it at a regular speed. He wanted to say it; 'Kill me, lets finish what we started.' But the words didn't come out.
He used every bit of energy he had left on his body to sit up and lean his back against the trunk of a tree. His vision was blurred; it had been blurred for so long now that he was getting used to it, idly finding amusement in the way the shapes distorted through his clouded eyes. It was obvious to him; staying for Hisoka wasn't enough. The boy would get over it, he'd find another partner; another confident. Surely someone more suited to help him than himself. But if Hisoka's request wasn't enough to bound him to life, why wasn't he saying what he wanted to be saying?
The serpent disappeared, giving way to the young man that now occupied it's place. Touda in human form was every bit as imponent as the serpent; but that morning his face was showing a kind of concern he reserved only for Tsusuki. He could feel his master was very close to loosing control of his powers, like he'd done a few times before, but that had never been enough for any of his shikigami to turn against him; as it would happen in any other case. Tsusuki had built a kind of relationship with his shikigami that went beyond power. Even with Touda. His master- his friend- sounded awfully tired and weary. The shikigami immediately realised he didn't need the serpent; he needed an ear.
He walked towards Tsusuki and knelt beside him.
"Why did you call me, Tsusuki?" he said again, this time with no anxiety in his voice, just kindness.
'C'mon, say it!' the shinigami thought. But every second that passed, his resolve seemed to be faltering further. Every time he thought about the peace death had in store for him, the intense, beautiful green eyes would come to mind and that peace didn't seem so appealing anymore.
Hisoka had asked him to stay, he'd been willing to die just so he could be with him. And Tsusuki had agreed for the young man's sake. But now it was him who couldn't be away from the boy. It was him who couldn't conceive the idea of parting with him. For peace wasn't possible anymore if he was away from the one person who could chase his own demons away with just one smile.
With a shaky breath, Tsusuki looked at Touda and smiled apologetically.
"I...I don't know...I thought..." he closed his eyes, trying to put some order to his thoughts. It was hard though; his brain was still numbed and he wasn't sure of what he wanted anymore. He did know though, that he couldn't make a decision so permanent as that with his mind so fogged with confusion.
"You wanted me to kill you, didn't you?" the shikigami said carefully, trying to keep the apprehension from his voice. Tsusuki nodded, shutting his eyes tighter and shedding a few involuntary tears. "What made you change your mind?"
"I..." Tsusuki shook his head helplessly. 'I wish I knew', he though. "Just,... help me up will you?"
"I can do that." Touda helped Tsusuki to stand. The other man was practically leaning all his weight on the shikigami and Touda wondered if he shouldn't just look for help, because the prospect of having to drag his master all the way back to EnmaChou wasn't exactly entertaining. "I wouldn't have done it, you know?" he said in passing, as he strained another step out of him.
Tsusuki turned to look at him curiously.
"What?"
Touda's face was stern, trying to hide any hint of emotion.
"Kill you. I wouldn't have done it. I know what you think of me and I don't blame you. But don't ever call me again if that's all you can use me for."
A smile crept to Tsusuki's face. He should have been angry at the shikigami's confession that he was going to purposely ignore a direct order. Had he been any other shikigami master, he'd probably would have been. Being Tsusuki, Touda's statement only made him smile.
"You really care about me, don't you?"
Touda shrugged.
"I'd care a lot more if you moved your fucking feet a little instead of making me carry you."
Amethyst eyes turned big and shimmery.
"Touda, you...you..."
Touda had to avert his eyes from the sight of his master. No, Tsusuki was *not* cute!!
-------------------
Hisoka looked guilty, Tatsumi looked serious and Watari looked sleepy and grumpy. 003 was still sleeping, this time on her master's shoulder. The three gathered at the selected meeting point at EnmaChou's entrance with nothing of Tsusuki to show.
"Nothing?" Hisoka asked, though he already knew the answer. The other two shook their heads no and the young man sighed. "We've already searched his apartment, the pastry stores, even the Earl's! And there's no way we'll find him on the forest! It's huge and we have to hope he's not on the move, because then it would be just impossible!! I'm pretty sure I've been walking in circles the whole time!"
Watari patted Hisoka's back groggily.
"I'm sure he's ok..." the scientist prayed Tatsumi wasn't about to take his hand off his back, because he was sure to stumble backwards if he did.
Watari was way too sleepy to support his own weight without help. Oh, ok, so maybe it was just that he enjoyed Tatsumi's touch, but the weight part was true as well.
"It's definitively strange that we can't seem to find him. I'm starting to worry about him. Maybe the blow was harder than we thought?"
Watari leaned against Tatsumi, hugging his waist loosely. The secretary tensed up, pushing up his glasses, that had yet again slid down his nose and trying to ignore Hisoka's amused stare.
"Love, really, don't try to lift our spirits, you suck at it."
Hisoka shook his head.
"I'm going to keep looking. Let's split up again and meet here in half an hour, ok?" The young man waved a hand at them and started to walk away.
Watari snuggled closer to Tatsumi.
"I'm so tired." he said, slurring a little. "I'm sore in very strange places. I was having this really nice dream about you wearing handcuffs and then I..." He was cut short by a hand covering his mouth.
"Shhhhhhh!!!" Tatsumi looked nervously at the retreating figure of the young man, hoping beyond hope he hadn't heard. "I'm sorry I had to wake you." he whispered. His hand moved from Watari's mouth to his cheek, gently caressing it. "I promise I'll let you sleep all day after we find him, ok?" he said sweetly.
Watari got a strange gleam in his eyes and pressed himself to Tatsumi's chest, batting his eyelashes comically.
"So, sleeping with the boss does have it's advantages."
Tatsumi encircled his friend's body, holding him closer to him, and buried his face on Watari's soft hair.
"Is that the only advantage?" he teased, nibbling Watari's ear.
The other man giggled and they were about to kiss when they heard Hisoka calling after them.
"Tatsumi-san, Watari-san! I've found him!!"
As soon as Hisoka had seen Tsusuki walking towards him, helped by Touda, he'd felt the intense wave of emotion coming from his partner. There was so much confusion and pain coming from the older man that he thought he was going to brake down into helpless sobs if he didn't do something to keep the feelings away. Either that or he helped Tsusuki out of them; that sounded more like an idea, considering he'd caused his partner's misery.
Hisoka couldn't help himself; he ran towards Tsusuki and threw his arms around the other man's neck. Of course, being as week as he was, Tsusuki stumbled and fell backwards, taking Hisoka with him. But the young man didn't let go.
Tsusuki stared at the mass of blond hair confusedly, instinctively putting his arms around the slender body.
"'Soka, are you ok?" He asked, startled at the boy's inexplicable show of affection. Hisoka nodded, never lifting his face that was pressed against his shoulder. Tsusuki smiled, thinking that Hisoka looked so much like a little kid. The young shinigami could look so innocent at times, and the sight filled Tsusuki with a warm feeling that was more than welcome. "'Soka, we should really get off the floor."
Hisoka pulled away, blushing. He helped Tsusuki to sit up and noticed for the first time the circles under his partner's eyes. At least he could feel Tsusuki felt better now.
"You look like hell. You should really get some sleep and then...I...I need to talk to you about something."
Tsusuki looked down and nodded.
"I need to talk to you too, 'Soka." his face lit up then. "But the sleeping first idea sounds great!"
"Well,..." Watari said, seeing the scene before him. "There wasn't any reason for us to worry, see? You should give Tsusuki some credit."
Tatsumi frowned, staring at the long haired shikigami, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. Touda looked at Tsusuki one last time before nodding and starting to walk away.
"C'mon." Tatsumi led Watari to were Tsusuki and Hisoka were. "Let's help them back to the building and then I'll personally walk you to your apartment."
---------------------
Suzaku was ready to smack Biakko on the head. The shikigami hadn't stopped pacing the hall even for a minute.
Their anxiety started to wear down when half an hour had passed and they still felt the bond they had with Tsusuki. Surely Touda wouldn't take that long to kill their master. Maybe Tsusuki had called him for another reason, as unlikely as that was.
But as soon as Touda was back, all twelve of them rounded the other shikigami. Some with a hopeful expression, some with a look of disdain to the one amongst them that was never to be trusted.
Touda looked wide eyed from one to the other for a moment.
"Is he ok? You didn't hurt him, did you?" Suzaku asked nervously.
Touda just smiled and walked away from them.
TBC
I know this chappy sucked a little T.T But it was absolutely necessary, as usual, heh, heh. This chapter was either too short with a crappy ending or too long and not ready until sunday. I thought this was better. O-O
A contesty contest!!
1) Should Hisoka tell Tsusuki about what he did?
2) Does anyone remember when was the first time Watari appeared on the manga? (trick question...I think, heh *-*)
3) Since we're almost done here (almost) bare in mind that not only you'll get a prize just for reviewing, but the person who has reviewed the most gets the real life Tsusuki doll. (I stole it from Muraki, don't tell him, ok?)
On to the prices!!
Serenity, Serenity! You got here first! Honestly, you're making me feel bad about Hijiri!! T.T Waaaaaah! Now I want him to be all happy and paired too!!
Anyway, you still like, so I'm kewl. I made a special chocolate cake, extra big so you can share it with all your friends there...you know, the sweet tooth, the fiddler and the PMSsing guy. *lol*
Miyahara Yuuki, how did you do with your exams? I so wanted to wish you luck!! But I didn't got here on time, I'm sorry!! I hope it went well. Do tell me? Here you have strawberry cake for you and a lucky charm. I know, I know, you don't pass a test with just luck, but it can't hurt, ne?
Madiha, thanks for all the nice things you said!! I'm glad you like my ficcy!! A blueberry pie for you. *squeals* I love blueberry!! It's my favourite!!
Sheera's Greywolf!!! Thanks for the smooch!! I'm afraid to give you something with sugar tho...*sweatdrop* Energetic youth! Thank you again and chocolate cake for you!
last waltz!! Please put that gun away!! *cry* I'm guessing you're thinking about using it now, because I took so long to update, that's why I'll give you a tasty strawberry cake!!! *looks around in a paranoid fit*
Kyraille Fade!!! I missed you girl!!! Heh, heh, I knew you'd come back sooner or later...*evil grin* Anyway, I forgot to review the last chappy of your fic. I always forget this things, I'm awful. Do you want me to review it so it looks all nice on the review page or is it enough if I tell you I *luved* it!!!!? Since you liked the lemony bits, lemon pie for you!!!
?, How are you doing ?, ? Filipinos, eh? That's tropical weather and near the Caribbean or I need to check my geography knowledge? I'm not American either; never been anywhere near the states. I'm just a lunatic that for some reason likes to write in English better. I dunno why!! It's sounds prettier!! I promise a very, very quick update. Blueberry pie for you.
Tifa!! I've heard that US dubs generally are something to fear. In fact, Cowboy Bebop's dub in spanish was dubbed directly from the US one, and I tell you, tho it doesn't suck, because Mexican dub is very good and they're are practically experts in the anime dubbing area, you didn't have to know the original lines to know some things didn't add up. Anyway, I'm from Argentina, that's spanish for you. Just because you asked, you get a chocolate cake filled with "dulce de leche", our own little piece of heaven. If I ever live abroad, I don't know what will I do without it. You'll love it!!
Prudence-chan!!! Skipping math is bad! Baaaaaaaaad!!!! ^-^ Specially because math is hard and if you miss something then you won't understand nothing *ever* again. *has a flashback to high school and falls to the floor sobbing* Anyway, thank you for doing such a sacrifice to read my fic!! Heh, heh. Since it's your first time reviewing, here you have a Tsusuki plushie for you!!
Yay 75 reviews!!
Ja ne!!
Anyway, wish me a happy birthday, ne? It's the 18th! Just like 'Soka-chan!!
WARNING: (You wish it was a lemon warning, but no, heh heh.) I haven't *ever* seen or read anything about Touda. All I have put into this fic is what I've picked on here and there (ok so, I did read some, heh, I just don't remember much). If it's not accurate, or OC, I beg you take it as a poetic licence, instead of bad writing. Also, angsty angst this chappy, but probably not in the way you were expecting it to be. As I said, this chapter was hard to write because, believe it or not, I try to give each chapter a porpuse. And this one just wasn't happening. I finally found it's porpuse, and I hope you don't think I teased you too badly. You'll know what I mean (I hope).
Enjoy!
A DEVIL'S THRILL
Tenkuu had become deadly quiet. Something had awoken the twelve shikigami that were now at the entrance of the palace a few hours earlier than usual. Something was wrong with their master and they were all waiting anxiously for one of them to be called.
They could always sense when one of them was about to be called into a fight, but this time it felt different. Biakko was pacing the hall; Souryuu and his children were simply staring at each other expectant. They were all showing their concern one way or the other; all standing together. All but one.
To Touda the feeling wasn't that strange. He was sited resting his back against the wall; hiding his face from the other shikigami to conceal his own worry. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.
No, the feeling wasn't strange at all. Tsusuki had only called him once in all the years he'd been his shikigami. It was only natural he remembered the sensation. This time it was going to be him.
Before long, he felt the calling and his own self beginning to abandon the Gensoukai. He saw the others faces stricken with shock when he rose from his seat. He saw Suzaku's eyes filling with tears and saw her mouth the words of a silent plea that could have been directed at him or to a god that wasn't going to listen to her.
He left without a word of comfort to his said colleagues. Why should he comfort them? None of them trusted him; none of them would comfort him when it was all over.
The imponent serpent roared through Meifuu's skies, going towards his master's calling.
Most shikigamis are considered nothing more than tools for their masters to use. Most of them were nothing but weapons. But Tsusuki was different. He was their friend. He knew them, visited them, talked to them. He cared. Even Touda, that cared about almost no one, had fallen under the spell of the warm hearted shinigami.
His master needed him.
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"Tari?" the gentle voice leaked through the scientist dreamscape; which was very annoying because he was having a really nice dream about Tatsumi and handcuffs and... "C'mon, sweetie, wake up."
The shadow master shook Watari once more, but the other man just batted his hands away with a frown.
"Just five more minutes..." the scientist muttered, burying his face on the pillow.
Tatsumi took the cup of coffee he knew he had to bring with him if he wanted to succeed in waking the scientist and placed it in front of the other man's nose. It was hard for the secretary to keep the smile out of his face, even under the current circumstance. As soon as he'd seen Watari's peaceful face, a strange feeling had stirred in his stomach; it was like jitters, but good.
The sweet aroma of strong coffee invaded Watari's nostrils, luring him out of his dream, that sadly had been already disturbed by the outside world. Groggily, he sat up, eyes still closed, and felt a gentle hand on the small of his back helping him up and a kiss on his forehead.
"Morning." Tatsumi said sweetly, forcing Watari to open his eyes.
"Uh?" the blond looked around confused, trying to wake up his brain as well as his body. This was his lab; he wasn't supposed to be in his lab. Unless all had been a dream, which he wasn't sure. But if it was a dream, then what was Tatsumi doing there? And why was he treating him so nice? "How did I get here?" he asked sleepy.
The secretary ran a hand through Watari's messy hair.
"I brought you here. I thought it'd be a better place to sleep than my office floor."
"Oh..." Watari took the mug between his fingers, savouring the feel of the warmth on his still asleep hands. "So...*sip* mmm, this is nice. *sip*..."
"What is it?"
"Oh, nothing...I'm just wondering..."
Tatsumi once again felt amazed of how much he knew Watari, that he didn't need the other man to tell him what was worrying him. He sat next to him, sliding an arm around his waist.
"We need to talk, is that it?" Watari nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Don't worry about it. But right now we have to meet Hisoka and help him look for Tsusuki. Something happened..." Tatsumi frowned, not really knowing how worried he should appear near Watari, that had already shown to be jealous of Tatsumi's affection for Tsusuki.
Watari surprised him by kissing his lips lovingly and standing up with a little effort.
"Then we should hurry, ne? God knows what that airhead will do if he's upset and there's no sweets around to cheer him up."
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Tsusuki was fighting the darkness that was threatening to engulf him. His eyes felt incredibly heavy but he had to stay awake. Touda had been summoned and almost immediately Tsusuki could see the imponent fire serpent roaming Meifuu's skies.
He'd expected to feel relief as soon as he saw Touda and the black fire that promised him peace once and for all. But instead all he felt was guilt. Yet more guilt on top of the one he'd been feeling; guilt because as soon as the black flames of the serpent's body surrounded him, he remembered Hisoka's trembling body in his arms, asking him not to leave him; willing to die by his side as long as he didn't have to part with him.
As soon as Touda realised he was still in Meifuu instead of the world of the living, he realised there was something off with the picture. Last time one of them had been called inside Meifuu it had been because Muraki- the monster he was supposed to have killed- had somehow sneaked one of his dolls into it.
He spotted the limp form of his master laying on the ground, eyes half closed, and Touda feared that he'd been too late; that whatever had made Tsusuki call him had gotten the upper hand. But as soon as he was by his side, Tsusuki opened his eyes lazily. His master looked like hell, again reminding Touda of the last time he'd been called.
"What is it? Why did you call me?" Touda said anxiously, looking around for any sign of danger.
"Touda..." Just that word cost Tsusuki an incredible amount of effort. To him, his own voice sounded like in slow motion though he knew he had to have said it at a regular speed. He wanted to say it; 'Kill me, lets finish what we started.' But the words didn't come out.
He used every bit of energy he had left on his body to sit up and lean his back against the trunk of a tree. His vision was blurred; it had been blurred for so long now that he was getting used to it, idly finding amusement in the way the shapes distorted through his clouded eyes. It was obvious to him; staying for Hisoka wasn't enough. The boy would get over it, he'd find another partner; another confident. Surely someone more suited to help him than himself. But if Hisoka's request wasn't enough to bound him to life, why wasn't he saying what he wanted to be saying?
The serpent disappeared, giving way to the young man that now occupied it's place. Touda in human form was every bit as imponent as the serpent; but that morning his face was showing a kind of concern he reserved only for Tsusuki. He could feel his master was very close to loosing control of his powers, like he'd done a few times before, but that had never been enough for any of his shikigami to turn against him; as it would happen in any other case. Tsusuki had built a kind of relationship with his shikigami that went beyond power. Even with Touda. His master- his friend- sounded awfully tired and weary. The shikigami immediately realised he didn't need the serpent; he needed an ear.
He walked towards Tsusuki and knelt beside him.
"Why did you call me, Tsusuki?" he said again, this time with no anxiety in his voice, just kindness.
'C'mon, say it!' the shinigami thought. But every second that passed, his resolve seemed to be faltering further. Every time he thought about the peace death had in store for him, the intense, beautiful green eyes would come to mind and that peace didn't seem so appealing anymore.
Hisoka had asked him to stay, he'd been willing to die just so he could be with him. And Tsusuki had agreed for the young man's sake. But now it was him who couldn't be away from the boy. It was him who couldn't conceive the idea of parting with him. For peace wasn't possible anymore if he was away from the one person who could chase his own demons away with just one smile.
With a shaky breath, Tsusuki looked at Touda and smiled apologetically.
"I...I don't know...I thought..." he closed his eyes, trying to put some order to his thoughts. It was hard though; his brain was still numbed and he wasn't sure of what he wanted anymore. He did know though, that he couldn't make a decision so permanent as that with his mind so fogged with confusion.
"You wanted me to kill you, didn't you?" the shikigami said carefully, trying to keep the apprehension from his voice. Tsusuki nodded, shutting his eyes tighter and shedding a few involuntary tears. "What made you change your mind?"
"I..." Tsusuki shook his head helplessly. 'I wish I knew', he though. "Just,... help me up will you?"
"I can do that." Touda helped Tsusuki to stand. The other man was practically leaning all his weight on the shikigami and Touda wondered if he shouldn't just look for help, because the prospect of having to drag his master all the way back to EnmaChou wasn't exactly entertaining. "I wouldn't have done it, you know?" he said in passing, as he strained another step out of him.
Tsusuki turned to look at him curiously.
"What?"
Touda's face was stern, trying to hide any hint of emotion.
"Kill you. I wouldn't have done it. I know what you think of me and I don't blame you. But don't ever call me again if that's all you can use me for."
A smile crept to Tsusuki's face. He should have been angry at the shikigami's confession that he was going to purposely ignore a direct order. Had he been any other shikigami master, he'd probably would have been. Being Tsusuki, Touda's statement only made him smile.
"You really care about me, don't you?"
Touda shrugged.
"I'd care a lot more if you moved your fucking feet a little instead of making me carry you."
Amethyst eyes turned big and shimmery.
"Touda, you...you..."
Touda had to avert his eyes from the sight of his master. No, Tsusuki was *not* cute!!
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Hisoka looked guilty, Tatsumi looked serious and Watari looked sleepy and grumpy. 003 was still sleeping, this time on her master's shoulder. The three gathered at the selected meeting point at EnmaChou's entrance with nothing of Tsusuki to show.
"Nothing?" Hisoka asked, though he already knew the answer. The other two shook their heads no and the young man sighed. "We've already searched his apartment, the pastry stores, even the Earl's! And there's no way we'll find him on the forest! It's huge and we have to hope he's not on the move, because then it would be just impossible!! I'm pretty sure I've been walking in circles the whole time!"
Watari patted Hisoka's back groggily.
"I'm sure he's ok..." the scientist prayed Tatsumi wasn't about to take his hand off his back, because he was sure to stumble backwards if he did.
Watari was way too sleepy to support his own weight without help. Oh, ok, so maybe it was just that he enjoyed Tatsumi's touch, but the weight part was true as well.
"It's definitively strange that we can't seem to find him. I'm starting to worry about him. Maybe the blow was harder than we thought?"
Watari leaned against Tatsumi, hugging his waist loosely. The secretary tensed up, pushing up his glasses, that had yet again slid down his nose and trying to ignore Hisoka's amused stare.
"Love, really, don't try to lift our spirits, you suck at it."
Hisoka shook his head.
"I'm going to keep looking. Let's split up again and meet here in half an hour, ok?" The young man waved a hand at them and started to walk away.
Watari snuggled closer to Tatsumi.
"I'm so tired." he said, slurring a little. "I'm sore in very strange places. I was having this really nice dream about you wearing handcuffs and then I..." He was cut short by a hand covering his mouth.
"Shhhhhhh!!!" Tatsumi looked nervously at the retreating figure of the young man, hoping beyond hope he hadn't heard. "I'm sorry I had to wake you." he whispered. His hand moved from Watari's mouth to his cheek, gently caressing it. "I promise I'll let you sleep all day after we find him, ok?" he said sweetly.
Watari got a strange gleam in his eyes and pressed himself to Tatsumi's chest, batting his eyelashes comically.
"So, sleeping with the boss does have it's advantages."
Tatsumi encircled his friend's body, holding him closer to him, and buried his face on Watari's soft hair.
"Is that the only advantage?" he teased, nibbling Watari's ear.
The other man giggled and they were about to kiss when they heard Hisoka calling after them.
"Tatsumi-san, Watari-san! I've found him!!"
As soon as Hisoka had seen Tsusuki walking towards him, helped by Touda, he'd felt the intense wave of emotion coming from his partner. There was so much confusion and pain coming from the older man that he thought he was going to brake down into helpless sobs if he didn't do something to keep the feelings away. Either that or he helped Tsusuki out of them; that sounded more like an idea, considering he'd caused his partner's misery.
Hisoka couldn't help himself; he ran towards Tsusuki and threw his arms around the other man's neck. Of course, being as week as he was, Tsusuki stumbled and fell backwards, taking Hisoka with him. But the young man didn't let go.
Tsusuki stared at the mass of blond hair confusedly, instinctively putting his arms around the slender body.
"'Soka, are you ok?" He asked, startled at the boy's inexplicable show of affection. Hisoka nodded, never lifting his face that was pressed against his shoulder. Tsusuki smiled, thinking that Hisoka looked so much like a little kid. The young shinigami could look so innocent at times, and the sight filled Tsusuki with a warm feeling that was more than welcome. "'Soka, we should really get off the floor."
Hisoka pulled away, blushing. He helped Tsusuki to sit up and noticed for the first time the circles under his partner's eyes. At least he could feel Tsusuki felt better now.
"You look like hell. You should really get some sleep and then...I...I need to talk to you about something."
Tsusuki looked down and nodded.
"I need to talk to you too, 'Soka." his face lit up then. "But the sleeping first idea sounds great!"
"Well,..." Watari said, seeing the scene before him. "There wasn't any reason for us to worry, see? You should give Tsusuki some credit."
Tatsumi frowned, staring at the long haired shikigami, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. Touda looked at Tsusuki one last time before nodding and starting to walk away.
"C'mon." Tatsumi led Watari to were Tsusuki and Hisoka were. "Let's help them back to the building and then I'll personally walk you to your apartment."
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Suzaku was ready to smack Biakko on the head. The shikigami hadn't stopped pacing the hall even for a minute.
Their anxiety started to wear down when half an hour had passed and they still felt the bond they had with Tsusuki. Surely Touda wouldn't take that long to kill their master. Maybe Tsusuki had called him for another reason, as unlikely as that was.
But as soon as Touda was back, all twelve of them rounded the other shikigami. Some with a hopeful expression, some with a look of disdain to the one amongst them that was never to be trusted.
Touda looked wide eyed from one to the other for a moment.
"Is he ok? You didn't hurt him, did you?" Suzaku asked nervously.
Touda just smiled and walked away from them.
TBC
I know this chappy sucked a little T.T But it was absolutely necessary, as usual, heh, heh. This chapter was either too short with a crappy ending or too long and not ready until sunday. I thought this was better. O-O
A contesty contest!!
1) Should Hisoka tell Tsusuki about what he did?
2) Does anyone remember when was the first time Watari appeared on the manga? (trick question...I think, heh *-*)
3) Since we're almost done here (almost) bare in mind that not only you'll get a prize just for reviewing, but the person who has reviewed the most gets the real life Tsusuki doll. (I stole it from Muraki, don't tell him, ok?)
On to the prices!!
Serenity, Serenity! You got here first! Honestly, you're making me feel bad about Hijiri!! T.T Waaaaaah! Now I want him to be all happy and paired too!!
Anyway, you still like, so I'm kewl. I made a special chocolate cake, extra big so you can share it with all your friends there...you know, the sweet tooth, the fiddler and the PMSsing guy. *lol*
Miyahara Yuuki, how did you do with your exams? I so wanted to wish you luck!! But I didn't got here on time, I'm sorry!! I hope it went well. Do tell me? Here you have strawberry cake for you and a lucky charm. I know, I know, you don't pass a test with just luck, but it can't hurt, ne?
Madiha, thanks for all the nice things you said!! I'm glad you like my ficcy!! A blueberry pie for you. *squeals* I love blueberry!! It's my favourite!!
Sheera's Greywolf!!! Thanks for the smooch!! I'm afraid to give you something with sugar tho...*sweatdrop* Energetic youth! Thank you again and chocolate cake for you!
last waltz!! Please put that gun away!! *cry* I'm guessing you're thinking about using it now, because I took so long to update, that's why I'll give you a tasty strawberry cake!!! *looks around in a paranoid fit*
Kyraille Fade!!! I missed you girl!!! Heh, heh, I knew you'd come back sooner or later...*evil grin* Anyway, I forgot to review the last chappy of your fic. I always forget this things, I'm awful. Do you want me to review it so it looks all nice on the review page or is it enough if I tell you I *luved* it!!!!? Since you liked the lemony bits, lemon pie for you!!!
?, How are you doing ?, ? Filipinos, eh? That's tropical weather and near the Caribbean or I need to check my geography knowledge? I'm not American either; never been anywhere near the states. I'm just a lunatic that for some reason likes to write in English better. I dunno why!! It's sounds prettier!! I promise a very, very quick update. Blueberry pie for you.
Tifa!! I've heard that US dubs generally are something to fear. In fact, Cowboy Bebop's dub in spanish was dubbed directly from the US one, and I tell you, tho it doesn't suck, because Mexican dub is very good and they're are practically experts in the anime dubbing area, you didn't have to know the original lines to know some things didn't add up. Anyway, I'm from Argentina, that's spanish for you. Just because you asked, you get a chocolate cake filled with "dulce de leche", our own little piece of heaven. If I ever live abroad, I don't know what will I do without it. You'll love it!!
Prudence-chan!!! Skipping math is bad! Baaaaaaaaad!!!! ^-^ Specially because math is hard and if you miss something then you won't understand nothing *ever* again. *has a flashback to high school and falls to the floor sobbing* Anyway, thank you for doing such a sacrifice to read my fic!! Heh, heh. Since it's your first time reviewing, here you have a Tsusuki plushie for you!!
Yay 75 reviews!!
Ja ne!!