Okay, I've decided that once this story is over, deadlines are obsolete. I'll get chapters done when I get them done, and it won't take me a month or more to do it! I'll take my time and hopefully, story quality will go up. To let you guys know, Mainframe helped me improve this chapter, as she is doing with chapter 6 (which really needs help, poor thing). She generously offered her time and effort to help me patch up some holes in the writing and improve on some things. I'm confident that the combined effort will show in this chapter. So thank you, Mainframe, for your contributions, suggestions, editing, support, ect. I hope everyone enjoys! Oh, and in case anyone cares, my website has moved. New link can be found in profile, yadda yadda.

libby - LOL. I should have had her say that, but Wakaba's just too nice...

Schatten Wolfendorf - Hmm...it may seem predictable, but I promise I had no idea that Hisoka would be the next victim! I like to come up with the plot as I write instead of pre-planning everything, because I like to let it progress on its own. Thus, when I wrote that, I hadn't yet thought of having the demon go after Hisoka next. Sorry it turned out to be predictable! I'll have to remember that next time when I look over chapters before posting...

Watercolor-Dragon - You and Muraki Asato, I swear...you should start an Hisoka-hating club! LOL. You guys know I love you, and for some reason, I seem to be prone to Hisoka-torture...

Moonfairyhime - I'm glad! Thank you.

miko - Well, I just don't have the heart to kill 003. I'm too much of an animal-lover. I'd much rather kill humans...er, write about killing humans. Yeah.

Chapter 5

"Watari, have you seen Hisoka anywhere?" Tsuzuki asked, arriving late to work yet again. The scientist tilted his head in thought.

"Hmm...nope. I don't think he's come in yet, actually. That's odd."

The older Shinigami's eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"But...'Soka's never late!"

Watari frowned.

"That's true...maybe someone should go check on him. Normally, we'd worry anyway, but since that demon's running around..."

Tsuzuki nodded.

"I'll call him. If he doesn't answer the phone, I'll go check on him. Better do it before Tatsumi...oh. Umm...that wasn't..."

Watari lowered his head and shrugged, pretending to look busy.

"I know, Tsuzuki. Just...just call him, would you?"

The older man hesitated, knowing that he had upset his friend. 'I never keep my mouth shut...' After a minute of awkward silence, Tsuzuki sighed and focused on the task at hand.

He picked up the phone, dialing his partner's number. He let it ring twice, then three times... 'Maybe he overslept,' he reasoned. It rang again. 'Maybe he's just...just busy. I bet he meant to call but forgot.' Tsuzuki felt his resolve falter as the phone rang again against his ear. 'What if he's not home? But where would he be this early...' Letting it ring once more, Tsuzuki finally forced himself to hang the phone up. 'Hisoka...' His eyes widened as he remembered the conversation they had had the day before.

"I'm sorry, 'Soka. I just don't want to see that bastard hurt anyone else... He's already come after me and Watari, and I'm afraid he's going to try to hurt you next," he admitted softly. Hisoka stared at him in unguarded surprise.

"...Tsuzuki...I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

Tsuzuki stood, jogging to the lab quickly.

"Watari! I'm going to find Hisoka. Tell Konoe-san if he gets mad, okay?"

The blonde looked up and frowned.

"I could go with you, you know. It might...might be dangerous..."

Feeling bad for his words earlier, the older man forced a smile and shook his head.

"I appreciate it, but you should stay here in case something comes up."

Watari hesitated, then nodded faintly.

"No problem. If anything happens, come back here and get me, though!"

It was quiet as Tsuzuki approached Hisoka's apartment. He tried the front door only to find it locked, glancing up at the still-drawn curtains in the windows. 'Maybe he's just sick,' he thought with worry. 'If that's the case, then I'm sorry. He can get mad at me later, but...' Taking a deep breath, Tsuzuki teleported into the boy's home. Pausing to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he walked around the apartment. After a quick survey of the living room, he tried the kitchen, taking in the immaculate counter tops. 'Nothing out of the ordinary here...' Moving on, Tsuzuki paused at the edge of the hallway, opening the spare room Hisoka kept. He turned the light on, squinting against its harsh glare. Staring from the pale carpeting to the cream walls, he felt his heart speed up. 'No need to panic yet...maybe he's in his room. Probably just overslept, right?' Turning off the light and closing the door, he made his way swiftly to the boy's bedroom at the end of the hall. Opening the door, he walked quietly over to the small bed. 'Not here...why isn't he here?!' Turning on a lamp beside the bed, he got to his knees and peeked underneath the bed frame. Seeing nothing, Tsuzuki stalked over to the closet, yanking the door open. He shoved clothes out of the way, but found no sign of his partner. He turned off the lamp and backed out of the room, a steadily growing sense of dread gripping his heart. As he turned to the other side of the hallway, he noticed a beam of harsh light shining from under the bathroom door. Tsuzuki's heart sped up, his mouth going dry. He slowly approached the door, hesitating with his hand hovering over the knob. He mentally prepared himself for anything, flinging the door open and stepping back.

"Oh...my god..." he whispered, his face going white. He stared at the prone form of his partner, lying in a pool of blood and other fluids. Tsuzuki's breath left his lungs and he stumbled backward slightly, catching himself on the doorframe. 'So much blood...' he thought numbly, his wide eyes fixed on the broken body of his partner in work and life. The unforgiving florescent light shone down on the boy, highlighting the chalky color of his skin. His right arm was ripped open to the bone, still bent in a defensive angle. Tsuzuki made a pained noise, averting his eyes from the sight, only to cry out at what he saw next. Hisoka's abdomen had been torn open, his guts pulled out slightly, resting on the reddened tile. The blood was everywhere, marring the perfection of his porcelain skin and splattering the white walls like an obscene painting. Tsuzuki felt warm, shaking his head to try and rid himself of the feeling. He couldn't be sure, but...it looked like the boy's throat had also been cut.

"Hisoka," he called weakly, grasping his partner's cold shoulders. "We...we have to get you to the infirmary. I...I don't know what to do," he said as he began to shake with suppressed sobs. "You're gonna be okay, right? It'll be okay. Watari can fix it. Just...uh...I need to pick you up. I can't carry you...no, we can teleport. But...I need you to hold onto me. Can you do that, 'Soka? Please? Can't you...can't you help me out?" He eased closer to the body, cringing as he was forced to kneel in the blood. Reaching out, he ghosted a shaking finger over his partner's cheek, choking back a sob at the sight of Hisoka's dulled green eyes. He was afraid that when the boy woke up, he would be furious at Tsuzuki for entering his house without permission. He leaned down, carefully draping his arms over the boy's chest. Taking one last look at the bloody mess, he teleported back to the office.

"Holy shit, what happened?!" Watari cried, jumping up as Tsuzuki teleported in holding Hisoka's body. He ran to get the others, dragging Terazuma and the Gushoushin with him.

"Tsuzuki...back up. You're in the way," he ordered, trying to be professional. The older Shinigami looked up at him with a heartbreaking expression, but scooted away as told. Sighing, Watari knelt down, judging that it would be pretty stupid to move the boy in his current state. 'Shit...if he's still alive, he's gonna be in some serious pain.' He gently took Hisoka's left arm, checking his wrist for a pulse. It took him several minutes, but he finally felt a feather-light pulsation of circulating blood.

"He's alive, Tsuzuki. I can feel his pulse. It's very weak, but he's alive," he said, trying to soothe his best friend. The other man looked up, not having taken his eyes off his partner's fragile body. His frightened eyes shone briefly with a surge of hope before returning to the boy's figure. Watari sighed, focusing on his task. 'Tsuzuki...you can't do this to yourself. I mean, look at what a mess you are! You're covered in Bon's blood, for god's sake!' He stole a quick glance at Tsuzuki. 'You don't even look like yourself right now...' Watari let out a slow exhalation of breath, shaking his head forcefully to keep himself focused. Days of worrying about his own lover and searching vainly for information on the demon was beginning to take its toll on the blonde. He could barely think coherently enough to help Hisoka, let alone try to take care of Tsuzuki. Frowning deeply in frustration, he motioned for Wakaba. She stepped up to him nervously.

"Get him out of here," he hissed, pointing to Tsuzuki. She nodded, kneeling next to the man. The blonde watched her whisper in his ear for a minute, then stand, extending her hand. The man took it, allowing himself to be led away reluctantly.

It was several hours before Tsuzuki heard anything about his partner's condition. He sat in his office staring at the wall for most of that time, his mind wandering between his worry for Hisoka and his bloodlust for the demon. Wakaba had forced him to give her his trench coat for cleaning, but his pants and shirt were still covered with dried, flaking blood. He didn't even notice the coppery smell or the stiffness of the fabric, nor did he pay heed to the three cookies that Wakaba had covertly slipped onto his desk as she left. The image of Hisoka's torn body was burned into Tsuzuki's retinas, haunting him. 'Why didn't I keep an eye on him? I should have watched him more carefully. Hisoka...it's always my fault that you get hurt. Always my fault... I'll watch over you, and I'll help Tatsumi get rid of that demon. Please be okay, 'Soka.' Tsuzuki hung his head, trying to hold back the stinging tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

"How is he?" Wakaba asked anxiously. Watari smiled at her.

"He'll be okay...eventually. Those wounds were pretty serious. I can't tell if they were meant to kill or just to scare us. At any rate, he's gonna be out of commission for a while. Would you go tell Tsuzuki that Bon's all right? And no, he can't see him right now."

The girl nodded, running off. Watari sighed, easing himself into a chair in the infirmary. He looked from 003's sleeping figure to Hisoka's unconscious one and felt fresh anger bubbling inside. 'This is getting deadly... We've got to get rid of this demon soon. But with Bon injured, it's up to Tsuzuki and I to come up with a plan. I could ask Wakaba and Terazuma for help, but...it's too dangerous. I don't want to put them in this kind of danger. And Terazuma would murder me if anything happened to Wakaba, anyway. Great...the two people Seii cares most about. I wonder if the demon planned it that way? I still can't figure out who this demon is! He's not in any database or book.' He frowned, biting his lip. 'If we don't get rid of him soon, I bet he's gonna go after Tsuzuki next...' Glancing back at Hisoka, Watari stood, exiting the room.

The door opened, startling Tsuzuki. He looked up, then relaxed slightly.

"Watari..."

The blonde in question smiled, sitting atop the desk.

"Look, I realize you're pretty distracted right now, and I don't blame you. But we need to figure out what to do about this damn demon. I can't find any information about him, so we don't have anything to work with. If we don't stop him soon, he's gonna take us all down, Tsuzuki. Can you think clearly enough to help me formulate a plan? You're not doing Bon any good by sitting here and moping. If you want to protect him, what better way than going straight for the demon?"

The violet-eyed Shinigami stared at the floor for a moment.

"We should...get someone to guard Hisoka. If the two of us stay together, then when the demon shows up again, we can...um...attack him. I could call Suzaku - "

"No, no Shikigami. They're too powerful to use. We'd end up hurting Seii too badly," Watari interjected. "One of us could distract him, while the other sneaks up to incapacitate him."

"But that doesn't change the fact he'd still be possessing Tatsumi. As far as we can tell, the only way to solve that is to make Tatsumi force his own way out, right? How can we do that? It'll have to be something big."

Watari sighed in frustration. 'Wait...what was it I was thinking earlier? The two people Seii cares about most...' He didn't notice as the other man's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Tsuzuki! I have an idea. I'm not sure what reason we could come up with, but what if you attack me? If it looks like you killed me or something, I'm sure Seii would drive the demon out in his panic! We could...we could stage an argument! Pretend that all the crap the demon said turned us against each other. I could pretend to be jealous that Seii still loves you, and...um...you could accuse me of caring more about Seii's welfare than Hisoka's and say that's why Bon got hurt!"

Tsuzuki stared at his friend in shock for a moment. He started to open his mouth to ask what Watari had meant by that statement about Tatsumi's love, but worried that bringing it up would be too painful. He could plainly see the effects of everything that had happened, by the blonde's red-rimmed eyes and his shaking hands. 'It might be too much for him right now. Does he really think that...that Tatsumi...loves me? God, Watari...' Finally closing his mouth, he shrugged weakly.

"Well...um...that could work, I guess. We should probably work out the details soon then, huh?"

Watari paused, noticing his friend's reticence.

"...It would just be an act, Tsuzuki. I'm not jealous of you, please stop giving me that look. Just forget the details of what I said, okay? Why don't you come over to my place tonight? You can stay over and we can discuss it. In fact, you'd better pack a bag, because we should go ahead and stick together. We can ask Terazuma to watch over Bon. If necessary, I'm sure Konoe-san will be more than willing to order him to. Although I'd rather not piss Konoe-san off right now, since he's spending all his time covering our asses on this one. I just keep waiting for Enma to show up," he said lightly. The scientist hopped off the desk and headed to the door.

"I'm gonna go ask Mr. Grumpy Pants now." He paused when he reached the doorway, going back and hugging Tsuzuki tightly.

That night, they went to Watari's apartment straight from work. He turned on a small lamp beside the couch and sat down on the floor next to Tsuzuki.

"Okay, have you thought of anything yet?"

The older man sighed and shook his head.

"No...I've been too worried about Hisoka," he admitted. The blonde shrugged.

"Hm, I suspected you might be. Well, I've got it figured out. This," he said, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper, "is our script. We have to be really convincing or this is gonna sink. Screaming, stomping feet, tears of rage...we've gotta make it real."

"How are you doing, really?" Tsuzuki asked. "This has got to be hard on you."

Watari shrugged uncomfortably.

"Uh, well, you know...I do what I have to. I mean, if I have to hurt Seii in order to save his ass, then I'll do it. Personal feelings have to be set aside for the good of all."

"You two have really gotten close, huh? The way you talk about him...even in such a serious situation... I'm glad, though. I'm glad he opened up enough to let someone in. And I'm glad you did the same. You can't fool me, Watari Yutaka. You're just like him in that regard. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't hide..."

"Wrong. You hide too, Tsuzuki. You just hide different things than the rest of us. You put your vulnerabilities out there, while the rest of us hide ours. But we're getting off subject here. What I'm most worried about is the aftermath of this little fiasco."

"What do you mean?" Tsuzuki asked.

"How do you think Tatsumi Seiichiro, the proud secretary and powerful Kagetsukai, is going to feel when this is over? In his eyes, it will all be his fault. That's what the demon's counting on. He intends to destroy us, one way or another. By breaking Seii's spirit, he's keeping him from fighting the possession. What we have to do is make him fight. We have to give Seii more of a reason to push back."