Wow. When I first wrote this chapter, it sucked. I mean, it really sucked. So I ask that you all take a moment and silently thank Mainframe for being brave enough not only to read my crap, but to offer suggestions that actually make it worth reading. Now that I'm done with the self-deprecation, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know if it makes you cry (that would make me very happy, sadist bitch that I am). And I promise, despite my ramblings below, I'm not crazy. Not yet. I just get hyper right before I post a chapter, then anxious. Right now I'm still at hyper.

lynndyre - Umm...umm...I never said he wouldn't be fine in a little while. Heh heh. Okay, that's a sad excuse. Honestly, I suppose it's for the dramatic element. I mean, even if he will be fine shortly, being ripped apart has to hurt like hell.

libby - Man, I wish the arguments my friend and I have were fake. At least we haven't argued seriously in a while... I'm glad you like Watari so much! Everyone should own one. No, that wasn't supposed to make sense.

Moonfairyhime - Glad you liked it!

Triskell - I'm glad you think it's dark, since that was exactly what I was going for. I've really never written many dark things before, and it's a bit of a stretch from just simple angst.

Schatten Wolfendorf - I'm glad you liked it! I just had to call Terazuma 'grumpy pants'. Couldn't help myself. Humor in a darkfic...how sad. And what you said about the last chapter didn't sound aggressive at all! It was a very good point, and it's odd how those things work when you come up with the plot as you write it. That method has it's good and bad points. Heh heh...I just looked at your author profile and it's all Spanish (duh). Go figure I took French in high school, huh.

Kata - Aww, I'm sorry...but it would get rather repetitive if someone tried to rape poor Watari in every chapter. The last chapter was only so good because Mainframe helped...sad, sad me isn't good at detail and tends to be lazy. Hmm...no, the demon didn't rape Hisoka. Sorry if that disappoints anyone. I did briefly consider having the demon shred poor 'Soka's genitalia, but decided against it. Maybe some other time... I have a feeling you'll really like this chapter, my most lovely reader and friend! Wanna know something sad? I judge how good my chapters are based on your reviews, because you always give such great feedback!

Chapter 6

Watari sat in his lab impatiently, waiting for Tsuzuki to come back from his bathroom trip. They had all but memorized the 'script' the night before and felt confident that they could pull it off. 'I hope this works...if it doesn't, we won't have any choice but to hurt him.' Sighing, the blonde closed his eyes and leaned back farther in the chair. He frowned slightly, his thoughts drifting to a subject he had been avoiding. 'When this is over...what's going to happen? Things can't just go back to normal... Seii is going to be a wreck, that's for sure. He's going to blame himself for everything...not being strong enough to stop the demon, not being able to help his friends... I don't know how the hell I'm going to manage to convince him that he's blameless in this! Will he even listen to me? Gods, I hope he doesn't avoid me...' Watari sighed, checking his watch.

'How long does it take Tsuzuki in the bathroom?' the scientist thought, shivering slightly. He pulled the lab coat around closer around him, watching his breath come in puffs of mist. 'What's going on with the temperature? Is the heater broken?' he wondered.

"Guess who?" the demon whispered in his ear, flicking his tongue over the sensitive lobe.

Watari jerked, letting out a startled cry as he nearly jumped out of his chair. He stared at the demon with wide eyes, his heartbeat pulsing in his ears. Trying to calm himself, he furrowed his brows at the demon.

"What did you do to Tsuzuki?" he demanded, a cold rush of fear passing over him. Tatsumi-kage smirked and gave him a reproachful look.

"Why, nothing yet. I thought I would save him for last, since he is more important to Tatsumi than you are."

The scientist's frown deepened, watching the demon carefully. The face was so familiar to him, but the look in those blue eyes was chilling. They held none of the warmth that Tatsumi possessed, none of the gentle concern the Kagetsukai tried so hard to keep hidden. 'Tsuzuki's okay right now, he'll be back soon,' he reminded himself. 'This isn't necessarily a bad situation. No, this can work in our favor...'

"You don't have to keep reminding me, I already know," he lied. The demon's smirk grew wider, a satisfied gleam in his cold eyes.

"It's nice to see that you've finally accepted reality."

Watari glared at the demon, feeling a pang of guilt at how the rehearsed argument would appear to his lover. 'I'm sorry Seii...I'll explain all this to you if it works,' he thought.

"It's not your damn business to begin with!"

Tatsumi-kage shrugged gracefully.

"Do tell me, how is that bird of yours doing?"

The blonde jumped out of his chair, shoving it backward in the process. He glared up at the demon, a feeling of hesitation briefly gripping him as his lover's body towered over him. Shaking of the feeling, Watari spoke.

"You son of a bitch! How dare you bring that up! You're gonna pay for hurting 003!" he shouted angrily. The demon took a step toward him but paused as Tsuzuki re-entered the lab.

"Watari...?" he asked hesitantly.

Watari pointed an accusing finger at Tatsumi-kage.

"I was telling this bastard that he's going to regret hurting 003!"

Tsuzuki was silent for a fraction of a second, then took a deep breath.

"Calm down, Watari. If you do anything, you'll hurt Tatsumi-san."

The scientist whirled to face his friend. 'All of a sudden I don't know if this will work...' he thought with a growing sense of dread. The importance of their performance weighed heavily on him, nearly causing the blonde to falter in his resolve.

"That's all you think about, isn't it?!" he cried. Tsuzuki blinked, then furrowed his brows.

"Someone has to! All you seem to care about is...is...that bird!" he shouted back, biting his lip when he saw Watari flinch.

"At least I'm not so pathetic that Seii had to find a new partner just to get away from me!" the blonde retorted, realizing with a small shock that his anger was only partly contrived.

"I..." Tsuzuki lowered his head slightly, unable to remember his line. He glanced briefly at the demon, who stood watching them with a bored look on his face. Taking a deep breath, the Shinigami improvised.

"If...if you're so special, then why did he love me instead?!"

Watari looked as if he had been struck. The words sunk into his heart like lead. He balled his fists up, shaking slightly.

"Did, Tsuzuki, did! He doesn't love you anymore, he loves me. And you can't stand that, can you? You're so used to everyone falling to their knees in front of you, and it kills you that your precious Tatsumi won't do that anymore, doesn't it?!"

The older man glanced nervously at the demon once more, beginning to panic. 'This isn't going right, but I can't stop now,' he thought in frustration. Gritting his teeth, Tsuzuki turned his eyes to his best friend.

"Maybe. Maybe he doesn't love me anymore...or maybe he's resigned himself to the fact that I love Hisoka, so he's settling for you," he whispered coldly.

"At least I didn't lead the one I love into Touda's flames!" the scientist screamed, his fury and pain boiling over.

The demon sighed.

"Would the two of you stop being so obvious? If you can recall, I have all of Tatsumi's memories, and thus know that this argument is fake," he growled. Watari winced, sparing a glance at Tsuzuki. The man refused to look him in the eye, instead glaring intensely at the demon.

"I probably shouldn't ask, but what are you going to do?" Watari asked.

Tatsumi-kage tilted his head in thought.

"As much as I enjoy seeing you so helpless, I'm afraid one of you is going to have to die. The question is, who? Should it be the current boyfriend or the old flame? Which would cause your Tatsumi more suffering? I wonder..."

"Isn't it enough that you hurt Hisoka?" Tsuzuki cried angrily.

The demon gave him a cold look.

"No, it isn't enough. It will never be enough. Nothing I do will ever be enough."

Watari stared at him thoughtfully, his mind racing.

"Why are you doing this? What made you so angry?"

The demon looked him in the eye, slight emotion stirring in the blue depths. The blonde's breath caught in his throat as he stared into the sapphire depths. He thought he glimpsed sadness, desperately trying to ascertain whether it belonged to the demon or his lover. The eyes blinked, opening again only anger in their depths. Watari felt a lump rise in his throat, as if something important had died inside of him.

"All you Shinigami ever think about is yourselves. So selfishly, you never consider how your actions affect others. You want to have everything but aren't willing to give anything up in return. You want to stay on Earth without the inevitability of dying, no matter if someone else has to die for you to accomplish that," the demon spat.

"What do you mean?" the scientist asked quietly.

"I loved someone once...a fellow demon. I loved her deeply, and one of you destroyed her."

"One of us personally?"

The demon pursed his lips, giving a tight nod of his head.

"But of course. Your precious Kagetsukai took her from me, filled her eyes with death. How would you feel if your friend and lover was murdered?!" the demon demanded, beginning to lose his temper.

"If he did something to outside of his job description to justify it, I would understand. It would hurt a lot, but he would have made his own decision," Watari replied.

"Really? Why don't we find out for certain." Tatsumi-kage turned to look at Tsuzuki for effect, causing the shadows on the walls to stir threateningly, splitting into tendrils that snaked across the room, poised to strike Tsuzuki. The blonde's eyes widened, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. 'This can't be happening,' he thought frantically. As Tatsumi-kage started to attack, Watari shoved the demon, gripping his arms to avoid falling. Tatsumi-kage growled, re-directing the shadows to the scientist's back.

"Watari!!" Tsuzuki screamed in horror, rushing forward in a vain attempt to stop the attack. He watched helplessly as the shadows reared back, ripping through Watari's back with lightening speed. The blonde gasped audibly as the shadows tore through him, ripping his insides apart and exiting through his abdomen. His amber eyes widened as he stared at the demon, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly. The pain crashed through him like a wave, his frame shuddering. With a cry, he released Tatsumi's jacket, his knees hitting the tiled floor with a sharp crack. Tsuzuki let out an anguished sob, rushing forward. He grasped the blonde's shoulders, burying his face in the silky blonde hair. Watari tried to speak, only to have blood gurgle out of his throat, dripping down his ashen skin to collect in the pool that was rapidly expanding around him. 'I...I can't breath,' the scientist realized dimly, struggling to stay awake through the pain. 'This...is this how it's going to end? I just...just wanted to see him smile at me again...' His body convulsed and he turned on his side, coughing up blood. He felt his consciousness slipping away. 'Please...' he thought desperately, 'please...Seii...' Hot tears fell unnoticed from his eyes and he took a shuddering breath before his chest was still. He never saw the look of horror in Tatsumi's eyes, the gleam of recognition beneath welling tears.

"Watari...wake up," Tsuzuki sobbed, shaking his friend's limp body. "Why..." he whispered, turning accusingly toward Tatsumi. His eyes widened at the sight of the Kagetsukai staring at the blonde, his face devoid of all color. Tsuzuki felt a small surge of hope fill him, and he cautiously spoke.

"T-Tatsumi-san...?" he ventured. He watched as the older man silently knelt down, the warm blood soaking into the knees of his dress pants. The Kagetsukai reached out, sliding his hand over his lover's golden hair, his fingertips grazing the pale cheek. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against the blonde's. Taking a shuddering breath, Tatsumi pressed his lips against Watari's, hoping against all hope that he would feel some sign of life. When he felt no breath mingle with his own, he moved slightly, lowering his face to the crook of the blonde's neck. He held the cold body of the man he loved, oblivious to the blood soaking into his own clothing.

Tsuzuki watched the scene painfully, not bothering to wipe away the tears that traveled down his cheeks. His mind flashed back to Hisoka, to seeing his partner's lifeless body laying on the cold, unforgiving bathroom tile. He knew, as much as he hated to think it, that the demon had not held back in his attack on Watari. And now, as Tsuzuki sat staring at the figures of his former partner and his best friend, he could see tears of despair traveling down Tatsumi's face. There was no sound, only quiet tears that broke his heart. In all the years he had known the Kagetsukai, he had never seen him cry. Tsuzuki knew, with a growing sense of dread, that something inside of Tatsumi had died.