How hard could it be?
Prologue: AssignmentThere was nothing that could bother the youth lying on his bed in his apartment. The atmosphere spoke for the room: cold, solitary, and solemn… The moon shone brightly on his face as he slept, reflecting the serenity that should've been with his soul ages ago, living continuously as a teenager and growing up to a wonderful life with a loving family… That should've been his fate.
In a few more hours, the sun will rise; he will wake up from his slumber. He will wake up again in this hell of a nightmare. He has a body, but does not have one. He exists yet he does not. He is a teenager of the age of sixteen, yet he never ages. He is a mere spirit, guiding the other spirits into the world peacefully… He is, after all, a shinigami. Otherwise known as an angel of DEATH.
As the sun rises in the east, where his window faces, he begins to feel the cool wind sweeping through the room. The sun's soft rays slowly creep upon his pale face, illuminating it; his eyes open slowly. He sits up, yawns, and gets up.
7:00 am. The phone rings, and he answers it. Tsuzuki spoke. The amethyst-eyed man…
"What do you want?" Hisoka grunted.
"It's too early for phone calls, you know." Hisoka said as he looked at the clock beside his lamp.
"Ohayou, 'Soka-chan!"
Tsuzuki said, obviously eating something by the way his voice was a bit muffled. Hisoka has a strong suspicion that Tsuzuki's eating waffles, or pancakes, or muffins…
"What? Do you have anything important to say? Or even something close to important---"
"I cawed because ya nid to go hir right now."
Tsuzuki said. At least, tried to say through the mouthful of food--- he swallows--- "It's an emergency meeting. Kachou needs us at 7:30"
"Why so early?"
Hisoka mumbled as he looked at the ceiling, irritated.
"We usually have meetings at around 8:30…" Hisoka grumbled to himself.
"What was that? I know it's too early, really, Tatsumi woke me up at 5:00 am just to make sure I won't be late---" Tsuzuki rambled as he ate.
"Never mind." Hisoka snapped. "Anything else?"
"Uhm… There're some waffles here! I'll save some for you…"
He heard Watari shout in the background. "That is, if Tsuzuki doesn't eat them all first!" There were gales of laughter.
"Hey--- I'm not like--- Hisoka hung the phone up. They're acting like kids again. He knows that hanging the phone up with out prior notice is rude, but he didn't feel like being polite. He couldn't tolerate too early phone calls. He could not understand how a man of the age of a hundred and three could act so childish… just like a six-year-old kid.
He took a shower and as he looks at his arms, he could not help but feel sadness… He finishes and dressed. He steps out of the drizzle of water, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the carpet and approached the closet. As he looked in the mirror, a reminder of an eternal pain, he traces the markings on his body. His expression was placid. No emotion passed through the mask of that teenager in the mirror. His eyes were empty, like his life. Technically, his living days, his life is just starting again… He doesn't know how to react accordingly, but he does feel emotions… It's just that, he can't show them.
He looks away. He could feel the pain that soared through his body when the curse befallen him… until now…
He closes his eyes shut, trying to cease the pain and collapses on the floor; tears streaming down his face, yet there wasn't anyone there to see them and comfort him…
* * * *
Tsuzuki nibbles on his waffle as he resists on eating the waffles he had saved for Hisoka. He looks at the clock in front of him on his table. It was 7:29, still no Hisoka. Hisoka was never late. Their office hours start usually at 8:00 and he would be the first one to arrive… besides Tatsumi, that is. No 'Soka-chan came. He worries that something might've happened to him. With the knowledge that Muraki's still alive, Tsuzuki finally decided to look for Hisoka; he stood up and headed to the door. As he turns the knob and opens the wooden barrier, he came face-to-face with the young shinigami with the clear green eyes he worried for.
"'Soka-chan! Thank goodness you're here." Tsuzuki said with relief.
"…" Hisoka enters without a sound. The same cold treatment he gives his partner everyday. Well, almost.
Tsuzuki, used to it, said, "The meeting's about to start… It's already 7:30, not even a minute late…" He handed a folder to Hisoka. "It's about the new case." He explained.
"What's it about?" Hisoka asked.
"An assassination. He let some info slip."
"Oh." Hisoka scanned the information on the first page, freshly printed on the 8" x 11" bond papers held by his right hand. "I guess he did it on purpose."
Puppy dog Tsuzuki said, sounding interested yet absentmindedly, " You thinks so?"
Hisoka turned his head to face him, but when he looked at Tsuzuki, the cause of interest was the piece of chocolate mousse cake on Wakaba-san's table.
Hisoka sighed in great disbelief. "You know, sometimes, when I truly believe that you're serious with something, you really ruin it."
"Ne? What was that?" Tsuzuki asked, his eyes still on the cake.
"There's no use talking to you, never mind."
"Wakaba-chan, can I have that cake?"
"Sure!" A wavy-haired girl with the ribbons handed the cake and a fork to Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki had just started eating when Tatsumi, the stern secretary opened the door.
"Good morning, gentlemen, Kachou needs us now. Shall we?" He gestured outside the door.
Hisoka dragged the whining Tsuzuki outside the door and into kachou's office. Tsuzuki looked longingly after the cake. Hisoka could only glare at him.
Kachou, the old man in charge of the staff, was re-scanning the page where the case information was. As the three of them entered, they stood in front of him. Watari was there too, and Gushoushin, both staring at different monitors and tapping on the keyboards, analyzing the information from various sources.
"Tsuzuki, Kurosaki, I want you two to go to Tokyo right now." Kachou said without looking up. "We need you to prevent an assassination. Fortunately, the assassin had left some information lying around that will, more or less, lead us to him. You two shall disguise again. If you can, catch him, if you should, kill him. After extracting information."
"But… Why right now?" Tsuzuki asked, obviously wanting to go back for the cake. Hisoka nudged him.
"Because," Tatsumi pushed his glasses up, "There had been one hundred and fifty-eight cases unresolved. The next target and the first on the list, is the student named Takenori Miko, he and his friends unfortunately found some drugs in one of the cargo ships when they boarded the wrong boat. Good thing there weren't anyone."
"Surely the mafias had known and would be so glad as to exterminate the guy." Watari said, not minding to look at them. "Next one in the list: Honda Makiko, a rich businessman, tops the business world. Mafias are naturally smooth criminals. Never let another be on the top, therefore, they let others do their job so as not to be caught."
"So…"
"We must protect them at all costs, find out some info and then kill the assassin." Hisoka said.
"Actually, yes, but not the killing part. If necessary, yes." Tatsumi considered.
"Ha! We could do the job well! Kachou, daijobu, I'll make sure those guys are safe." Tsuzuki said. He looks determined… in his opinion…
[Huge water drops on every head in the room except Hisoka, who was feeling agitated at the moment.]
"…" All.
"Stop talking so big and do the job!" Hisoka said.
"Hai, hai…" Tsuzuki cowered like a puppy as Hisoka's aura emitted red flames.
"You can go." Kachou said as he frowned again and tried to analyze some data.
"Seems like everything's settled. All clear? Oh by the way, Tsuzuki, here." Tatsumi handed the puppy a card. Tsuzuki's smile came and gone in an instant.
"Oh. It's the savings-card-thing again."
"Problem? I can take it back---"
"Lie! Lie! We'll be off." Tsuzuki went after the young shinigami who was headed to the door.
"Bon! Wait up!" Watari ran after Hisoka and handed him a DVD. "You'll need it." Hisoka thanked him and went outside.
A/N: Hey peeps! This is my first fanfic to be actually typed and I know, I know, the characters are not mine. I'm borrowing them. Anyway, if there are errors, please give me some reviews. But actually I double-checked things so, I reckon there'll be only a few. ^_^
The title is from a movie… I don't remember who directed it… Gomen. ^_^