How hard could it be? Chapter 14: Sepaku na haka, a yami no matsuei fanfic

How hard could it be?

Warning: Torture. Lots of torture… Naturally, Tsuzuki is the one being tortured. XD But I guess you're getting bored of that. Let's change that, and let me hear some suggestions from you guys. ^_^ Okay?!

Disclaimer: Regular disclaimers apply. (With a few add-ons.) This is a fictitious story. (DUH!) All names, places and titles, are mere coincidences. Thank you.

A/N: Please, please forgive me for not uploading for so long… And for changing my penname so much, it's not my fault! Really. Someone's bound to find me, and I don't want to be found! The stupid telephone company cut off out our phone connection due to some mistake (theirs) on the billing issue thing… And the more I think about it, the more I want to rip off their heads. And I had my school exams at the week before that and you know I can't connect to the Internet without a phone connection! And I couldn't get a hold of a computer in school (long story) and besides, the server's slow; and I can't go out to an Internet Café 'coz I don't know how to commute and I don't have the money to go… Oh, poor, poor, me.

And I have to apologize for the last chapter… I know it sucked. Pretty bad too. I know. 'Coz I wrote that when I had a writer's block and it was a forced chapter. So I hope I could make it up to you guys on this one… Oh, gomen, minna-san, the lemons have been canceled… Due to rain check… Gomen! I didn't want to, but I needed to!!!

ManderNaner: To one of my favorite reviewers, (well, I love all the ones who reviewed and read my story, so don't kill me just yet…) please forgive me; I have not been able to send you the drawing of one Kasunagi Kori… There was something wrong with the uploading the pics stuff things when the Internet connection was still working… Oh, woe to me…

Chapter 12: Sepaku na haka (Shallow graves)

+*+*+*+

The weather was fine, judging by the way the wind blew and by the way the sun shone that morning, even with the amount of snow falling on the street and the school fields.

Well, whoopee-doo… Like I really care…Stupid weather… Obviously one teenager woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Well, actually more like the freezing side of the bed… he wasn't really interested about the weather, unlike one seemingly enthusiastic professor who could really use a reality check, and could do nothing wrong except smile all day not minding the tired murmurs and sleepy faces of his students. And that's what that professor loved about himself. No matter how gloomy it is he could still smile. Even though he knows that after the 25th of December, he was going to be on leave…

Okay so maybe the correct words are that he's going to retire from the school. It was like taking out a microprocessor that operated his main data boards and… That's exaggerating. To put it simply, he just felt sad. He had announced the news to his classes yesterday and now this batch of juniors is down in the dumps. They had reasoned out that without him, their classes weren't going to be the same. They almost reverted to making a protest; they said they were going to raise placards and torches lit with fire with huge megaphones all around… He only stopped them by saying that his family needed him back in France… Which was half true, and… And… Oh well.

He smiled at the green-eyed walking mass of agitation sitting at the front row of the class, head in his hands and was scowling at almost everything. He scowled at the wall, at the blackboard, at his classmates, at his paper, at his chair… Except at him self of course. At first glance you could already tell that he wasn't in a very good mood.

(As if he had ever been. Hisoka: hey! I resent that! Aki: Go away! I'm doing a very serious story here!)

And he just scowled deeper. Maybe because it had something to do with the fact that he was accidentally on purpose signed up for the school play. By one lovesick Makino Lena. Well, as far as school rumors go, it was because one innocent as a guilty criminal Lena thought that Kurosaki Hisoka was actor material. All because she also thought that he was just acting up the 'go-away-because-I-am-in-no-mood-to-talk-to-any-of-you' act so that the hormone raging teen-aged girls would leave him alone.

And so that she could have him all to herself on rehearsals.

"Sir, can I please be excused?" Hisoka asked as Kori looked at his paper.

"Certainly." Kori smiled wider, identical green eyes twinkling. He carried on checking the other student's seat works as Hisoka went off from the classroom.

+*+*+*+*+*+

"Where the hell are these damn lavatories anyway?"

He halted in front of a window and let the sun bask him under its light. He sighed in exasperation. For almost 2 weeks he had been studying there and he still got lost in the hallways. What can he do? The school was enormous. And every room looked identical. Except maybe for the number plate things on the doors. He had accidentally run in to two lip-locking students in one room… Which made him blush up to the roots of his hair. And he was still on the same floor as his classroom.

"Are you lost?" A voice asked from behind him. Hisoka spun around and met a pair of heliotrope eyes. They shone under the sun's rays like a pair of two perfect lilacs… Pale as they are, cold as they are… Concealing every bit of emotion underneath them…

"What do you want, Tsuzuki?" Hisoka snapped.

"I was on my way to class and I see one lost student standing in front of me." He fixed his tie, which was hanging loose in its place and was running a hand through his hair when Hisoka decided to just walk off.

"Whoa, whoa, time out! Wait! Did I say something wrong?"

"No, you didn't say something wrong. You are just plainly bugging me. I need to go to the lavatory if you don't mind, and if you do I'm going to have to kill you. Again." Hisoka walked off.

Tsuzuki followed suit.

"Oh come on, Hisoka. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Tsuzuki, just leave me alone? Now?"

"I won't. Until you tell me what the hell did I do that made you so mad at me! You've been downright cold for two days already! And I am honest to goodness glad that you're even talking to me right now!"

Hisoka walked faster. He did forget last night… Oh, that was my fault too. Why couldn't I resist the temptation of putting up that stupid, stupid ofuda?! Sigh. All's done for reasons. The bell just rang and already the students were heading for the doors. Any minute, they'll be witnessing their little argument…

"It's you! Okay? So leave me alone! I've got to go."

"What about me?! I stand beside you, you walk away, I talk to you, and you've got nothing to say! And you always have to do something! What the hell is wrong with me?"

How could you be so dense?! Hisoka thought. Don't tell me you don't remember!

"I'll remind you. With just three words." Hisoka stopped in his tracks and faced Tsuzuki, his eyes sparking anger and his hand was shaking as he pointed accusingly at Tsuzuki as he hissed the words. Their little quarrel was now attracting attention, from one seemingly curious girl from around the corner of the stairway.

"You! Meifu! Watari!"

"What?! Oh, you're so angry with me for being there? What has Watari had to do with it?" Tsuzuki's voice was starting to rise.

Breathing heavily, Hisoka gave up, raised his hands in mock surrender and smiling indignantly, he turned again and walked away, leaving one stunned Tsuzuki standing at the hallway, now surrounded by students as they went to their lockers.

Hisoka pocketed his hands, and never looked back.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Breathe. Just let it out, and breathe.

Tatusmi Seiichiro was known all throughout in Meifu as the stern secretary, the one Tsuzuki always insisted on getting a life and always the one who needed to lay-off from the numbers… And he was also known for his patience and his ever so calm state. If you don't mind counting out the time that he had actually bellowed at one seemingly careless as a six-year old child Shinigami who did nothing else but:

1. Annoy his 16-year old partner, who acted much more maturely than he did, and every one including him,

2. Eat pretty much everything relatively related to sweets, and

3. Blow up the library.

Which was beginning, no, was already a hobby to him. Not even minding the years-long bill he accumulated after each disaster he did. And today, Tatsumi Seiichiro was definitely going to lose it. Terribly. Awfully. Really. If he couldn't help it, he might just blow up the whole place too and drown every one in the room with his Almightily Loyal Shadows if they didn't shut up. Seriously. Thank god for those who realized that he needed peace and quiet and curse those who deliberately or not realize it.

"Here you go." A steaming cup of pure black coffee was thrust under his nose. Apparently, one had taken into the hobby of making him coffee whenever he was in one of those 'moods'. And it helped him a lot to. Maybe because it was Watari, or maybe it just helped him calm down.

"Thank you. Really." He gratefully took the cup in his hands and literally shoved the papers away and settled the cup in front of him.

"Why are you even working here when you know you wouldn't be able to concentrate?" Watari sat opposite him at the staff table.

"Because it would be much easier to get the files needed right away?"

"Thought so."

"Or maybe because someone had accidentally started a fire in his lab and without knowing it, he had left it burning---"

"Okay! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to burn your office… You do forgive me, right?"

"Let me see…" Tatsumi leaned back in his chair.

"Look, I never really intended for that to happen… And besides, I was on my happiest of days! Well of course, it wasn't really, I mean I was on my happiest of days last week when I created---"

"Watari---"

"---I didn't expect it to happen---"

"---Watari, I---"

"And the steam just popped out of nowhere and I---"

"Watari!"

"What, what?!"

"I was only kidding. I forgave you already, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Is it okay?" Watari asked, glancing at the coffee as Tatsumi took a sip, chuckling a bit at Watari's sudden panic.

"Excellent." Tatsumi replied, choking a bit on the strong flavor.

"How's the research coming?"

"Terrible."

"You could do better than that."

"How about it's really terrible?"

"My it must be really terrible! The only word you could utter is terrible!"

"Its plainly bullshit. This case waltzes in our door, gift wrapped and tidied up without a single trace of evidence---"

"Correction: There is evidence… though it really doesn't help one bit…"

"Exactly."

"We have the lock of hair. I mean, it is pretty clear that it was an albino who killed the man…" Watari peered at Tatsumi who was now massaging his forehead.

"Yes, we could see that, but the hair," Tatsumi said, as he took a sip again, his hand still working on his temples. "It doesn't have any chance of giving us any information since it was merely cut, not pulled."

"Oh yeah, the bulbs, I mean the roots are not intact."

"You should know, you're the scientist and I don't even need to have a medical degree to know that this is as clean as a whistle. And we wouldn't know if it truly is the one we are suspecting..."

"The only way we could trace to whom this person is through empathy---"

"Which Hisoka would obviously decline on…"

"---Which Hisoka would definitely decline on. But he would still do it… After he freaks out." Watari looked down at his feet.

"He's the only one we could count on this evidence…" Watari mumbled. "Tsuzuki thinks this is Muraki's work, but I don't think so. Muraki has a goal, he would definitely leave clues as to what he's up to, since I think he wouldn't give up on Tsuzuki…"

"Look, he left the hair, problem is, Muraki hasn't done anything." Tatsumi cupped his head in his hand and let it lean on the table.

"How'd you know?"

"I checked up on him the last time. He was as silent as a child. Oriya-san confirmed that."

"We could only assume. We would never know."

"I guess."

+*+*+*+*+

Seconds, minutes, hours passed, occasional shuffling of feet resounded through the silent room, or rather work place/laboratory/bedroom of Watari Yutaka; the sounds mingled with the occasional sigh, the occasional tsk, tsk-ing and the occasional murmurs of oaths and curses under their breaths. Everything was pretty much occasional. The only not occasional thing they did was breathing. But that is totally out of the zone. Since there were only three of them In the room, and only one of them was the resident scientist/computer expert/doctor and forensics expert, (yes, he sometimes took on the job of observing dead bodies…It comes with the case.) was Watari, he was the only one manning the computer, typing, researching, and slamming his fists on the traumatized keyboard, battered due to the longevity of use and reconstruction (the number of times he had accidentally murdered his keyboard was… no one really counted, did they? And he wasn't able to cover the amount on the keyboard since he had burned down some offices… And Tatsumi is such a thrifty person…) and the only one who was really silent was Tatsumi. Terazuma had agreed to help out, (reluctantly… You wouldn't want to be in the same room as Watari if he had just had a very suspicious 'Sugar high' and he, Terazuma, was reckoned to be a guinea pig at times.) On account of sudden blackmail and getaway of three (naturally) unfair ladies. They handed all the work with him, saying they'd rather do the beckoning of souls down in Chijou rather than be a pain in the office, screaming at every murdered cadaver. (That was pure exaggeration, but who cares? They didn't want to be left alone with them either. Imagine: A Kagetsukai with a bad temper, and a Mad Scientist. Title explains a lot.) Tatsumi let them be. He didn't really mind who helped as long as there was anyone willing to. (Okay, that pretty much leaves out Tera-chan too, but he couldn't really say no, could he?)

"This is so… Damn it…"

"What? Why?" Tatsumi asked as he continued his 365th lap from one wall to the other, papers in hand. He had discarded the coat and had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt due to the stiffness of the room. Terazuma continued to sulk behind mounds of paperwork and previous police cases.

Watari tore his eyes away from Tatsumi's neck and tried to concentrate. "I tried matching skin residues we found from one victim and the skin residues on this new victim…"

"It didn't work out, did it?" Tatsumi stopped halfway to look at the frustrated scientist, respective hands reaching to his hair and let it remain there, as if to tear it from the scalp, but Watari was merely restraining to throw the keyboards on the floor.

"No, every time I match the DNA sample, I get the same result."

"The victim?"

"No, DNA samples from Latex gloves and furry mittens.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I was being sarcastic. HE IS JUST SO DAMN GOOD! A PERFECTIONIST!"

"That's good to know," Tera muttered. "Tatsumi isn't alone."

"I heard that." Tatsumi continued to do his laps.

"I was only kidding!" Tera smiled brightly. But it faded as soon as the shadows rose behind the Kagetsukai. "Never mind."

"I am going to give up on this if heaven doesn't help me. Let me see; let's go back to our very first evidence! I knew I have it somewhere…" Watari crouched under his desk.

"You really should be keeping important documents in an orderly place." Tatsumi sighed in exasperation.

"Mmph-mmph-mmph-mmph!" Watari's muffled voice said. Apparently, he had dived into mounds of (unfinished) paper work.

"Pardon?"

"I said don't worry 'cause I have it here! Ta-da! See?" Watari waved a piece of paper inside a Ziploc bag.

"…" Tatsumi merely blinked.

"…" Terazuma just shrugged.

"Guys, couldn't you be a little more verbal than stare at me?" Watari frowned. "Oh, never mind it. Here." He tossed the package at Tatsumi.

"Tell me something I don't know." Tatsumi stopped midway on his 370th lap and walked over to Watari's desk. Terazuma craned his neck to get a better view.

"Parchment contains two letters. English letters. 'K' and 'E'."

"What does it mean?"

"A place?" Terazuma suggested. "Ow! Watari, you should keep deadly weapons out of reach…"

"Oops, gomen ne… Anyway, it might be a place…"

"How about a riddle?"

"Tatsumi-san, this is an assassination. Not some psycho's murder." Tera said.

"Yeah, I think he's right. But you might be right. This must be one of those psycho assassins!" Watari said brightly, as he noticed the small twitchmark forming on Tatsumi's brow.

"Ah, right… Well, how about we find something that can be connected with the letters? People, names, places, whatever; the wider we expand our search the harder, but it will help. How about checking on the composition of the paper, Watari-san?"

"You want me to burn our only evidence?! Our only clue?!" Watari asked.

"Is there any other way to find out its content?"

"Nope." Watari stood up and walked to his work table. "You want me to start now?"

"No, wait, what if we just search first, fingerprints, stuff---" Tera suggested as he placed a letter opener on another table, finger nursed by his shirt.

"I already checked it. The only way we could look for the company that makes these kind of papers is by burning it."

"I'll go call on the others, the more, the easier, ne?" Terazuma had scurried off before Tatsumi could answer. He sighed and sat down on the chair Watari had vacated.

"Don't worry, Sei-chan…" Watari placed the Ziploc bag on the table and placed his arms around Tatsumi's neck, and nuzzled Tatsumi's ear from behind.

"We should… Take a break… And wait for the others…" Tatsumi sighed.

"The best suggestion I've heard the whole day." Watari grinned.

+*+*+*+

"Is it just me, or is the weather getting colder by the second?"

She disliked cold, snowy weathers. Who didn't? And so she wore the thickest pairs of gloves and her thick mink trench coats. White of course, and elegantly made just for her. She wore only those made by top designers. She was in one of the richest families, and she was very well taken cared of. She bought anything she liked, ate whatever she pleased, and went to wherever she could think of. Naturally, she'd be in Italy right now, this coming semester break, which was, in a few days… Three weeks, no school. It was December 8, and she had to fetch a person, a doctor, more likely, to get her parents looked after. He was the only one available since the doctors around their area went to their duties, were either out of town or on sick leave. And she and her sister were the ones out of school to get them.

"Its just you." The girl beside her said, quite tonelessly. She was looking grim and ready to burst any moment. She was thinking, hard. Black eyes glazed, staring as if she was in Pluto rather on Earth.

"There's something wrong. Don't force me to take it out by force, so spill." She pulled the coat tightly around her small frame and walked without a hitch and merely glanced again at the now stiff adolescent.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong." The girl smiled hesitantly.

Still a kid; she will still deny that fact even if it kills her. She remembered Dmitri telling her that. She nevertheless, ignored it. She will find out anyway. But it would just make her angry and she might just not talk to her again.

"Now, which way do we go? North, South, East, West?" She faced the younger one, who in turn, shrugged.

"I think I see him…" She pointed out a man in a white coat. "Wow. Gorgeous. Is he a doctor or what?"

"Pay respects still okay? No matter how gorgeous, he's here to help. Besides, he's the only one who could help us out." She pulled on the younger kid's hand and they trudged.

"Well, here goes…" They crossed the street and approached the man with glasses, who was sitting on a small round coffee table, drinking coffee casually and was reading the newspaper.

After classes were the best time to spot gorgeous guys who just came from work… Mall hopping enabled her to do that, with her girlfriends, or sometimes her sister. Today, she has to skip that ritual, since she wouldn't be able to live if her parents died, would she?

"Ano… Excuse me, are you…?" She grinned sheepishly as she stopped in front of the man's table.

"You must be… Ms. Makino?" He asked casually, his voice so husky and low; (should I say sexy?) that it sent shivers down her spine. He was looking at her, and she could just die; his eyes were… mysteriously silver, his hair equal of color and fell over one eye sexily; she could feel her cheeks starting to flush. He folded the newspaper neatly and placed it on the table. He motioned for them to sit down, and they sat gratefully.

"Yes, I am… This is my sister. We were told to find you here. Are you the doctor?" She asked, as she ignored her sister's persistent pulling.

"Muraki Kazutaka, at your service." He smiled at her, that made her melt more, but she tried not to. She nudged her sister in the ribs and glared at her.

"You have wonderful brown eyes. So is your sister's. Where is the mansion?" He asked, getting up.

"Thank you… I… We shall escort you to the vehicle… Across the road." She smiled back, feeling her cheeks burn. They stood up too.

"Shall we?"

"Yes. Certainly…" She grinned at her sister, who glared at her, and they led the way to the car that was waiting at the opposite side of the Café.

"Muraki-sensei… I…" She started.

"Yes?"

"We thank you very much for accepting the job…"

"It is me who must thank you." He smiled.

+*+*+*+*+

Morning after:

This is wrong.

He grumbled past a group of students.

This is very, very wrong. Not only was he in a very bad mood, waking at the wrong side of the bed again, was late when he arrived at school, and he was feeling very odd. As if someone was near him but wasn't. And Tsuzuki was of no help at all; trying to get his attention at every second he laid his eyes on him. He was definitely going to lose it if the case does not call a leave from school.

"Hey, Hisoka!"

Great.

He turned around and groaned. It really wasn't a good day.

"What?" Hisoka asked, rather coldly.

"Why, aren't you a bit cold. What's the matter?" Brown eyes looked tired, her radiant glow faded a little, Hisoka noticed. Usually, Lena was the bright, vivacious girl that always cooed innocently at him from behind every corner, every minute that she sees him. It's a good thing she isn't the Head of the official 'Hisoka fan-club'. Or else he would be hanging half-naked from the ceiling. He knows, because Lena had told him that once; it was sort of her plan, she had told him, either seriously or not, he wouldn't want that to happen.

"What do you want?" he asked as he inched away from her, trying to ditch her on his way to the third floor. It was still a good five minutes till the bell, and he wouldn't want to be near her. Not that she had a disease or anything; it was just that he didn't want to talk to anyone that day; specially Tsuzuki who was as dense as a 50-feet wide log.

"I just wanted to let you know that the sem-break would start next week, and I hope you memorize your lines for the play. You know that you are the lead actor, and I am looking forward to practice with you…" She batted her eyes at him as he walked. She followed. Much to Hisoka's dismay. He groaned internally and hoped it would stop… his misfortune, he means.

"Um, I think I will be busy over the break."

"Oh, me too." She sighed. "I need to take care of my parents. See, there's this virus they caught, when they went to China, and they're like, confined in their bedroom, and so the doctor needs assistance. Since all the helpers are on leave."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Then she smiled. "Would you like to come over?"

"No, I'm busy… We're going to… We're going out of town! Yeah! That's it!" Hisoka said; he was such a terrible liar.

"With whom?"

"My… friends… and relatives." Okay, that was half true.

"A lover…" She murmured, looking down.

"Pardon?!"

The bell rang.

"Well, I guess I'll see you then!" She said, smiling brightly again.

"Okay…"

"Ja!" She grinned.

Hisoka could only stare at her as she left.

+*+*+*+*+

Shallow graves.

She kicked the soil and looked down coldly on the tombstone that marked her parents' burial ground. They lay six feet under and she wanted to reach out for them. But she restrained herself; she reminded herself of the watchful stares from the people around her; and it latched her in place.

But, they were too shallow. Six feet was not enough to contain her from digging their bodies and who knows what she could do with it? They never gave her father and mother a proper burial. Attended by only two persons, it was not enough. Burying them with nothing but their clothes and a few ragged blankets they had found somewhere in the trash and their bodies cold. She knows how it feels to be in that kind of position, situation; the cold soil on her sides, her face, her mouth, her skin… She disliked it. And she definitely, definitely hated the feel of it. She did not need to go underneath it. The pain, the anguish she received when her parents were there, lying underneath the unmerciful eyes of the pale moon, shedding its light on almost everything, but her, as if to condemn her to sin that she had not committed but accepted painfully. It was not her that pulled the trigger of the gun, who pulled her mother's hair; who took her father's life and wasted it. Who dragged her brother away from her helpless arms, instead, she was the one who let it all happen, when she knew she had the power to make it all stop. Yet she watched, anger before thinking, she let her emotions befall on her and take her down, blinding her of the possibilities that lingered by. And she wanted to take that time back, that time when she was cowering in regret and distress, watching her mother's lifeless eyes and desperate lips moving just to pray and say, "please, help my child, help her…" And she could do nothing, not even hug her close. She was afraid. She was outraged. She was desperate. She was alone. They were they; those who had no mercy in their souls. And now, she was one of them.

Everything was a just shallow grave to her. Yes. All of them were walking carcasses whenever she saw them. And she was deathly afraid of it. A shallow grave where she can definitely dig up whenever she was afraid, and then she would hide underneath it, all the soil, the musk, the blood, and the gore.

Two years has past. They were dead. That's all she could see. Nothing else. They were lying there, silent; peace on their faces, and she prayed that they were in a good place. She wished so hard that they would not see what she was doing. What she has done. She didn't want them to come back and tell her off, because she was working too hard. She was young; she has dreams. She has goals She wanted them so badly that she might as well risk her life to achieve it. And now she was searching, searching blindly, not wanting to see ahead in fear that she might not be able to reach again.

She stood placidly atop earth of the grave and never did she glance at her escort: two hefty fellows, black-haired, and black-eyed, dour on their faces and tension obvious on their stance. She began chanting a prayer most appropriate for the occasion. She was summoning her parents' spirits, though not literally, it was more of a prayer for forgiveness, and for support. She closed her eyes, clasped her hands together and bowed her head, her elegant mane falling gently over her hands. In a soft voice, she mumbled, as she knelt and midway, she stopped, placed a flower of pure black, a rosebud. As a child of six, she thought of things a lot, being curious and all, and she thought: Ironically, flowers were supposed to mean that somehow, souls of the lost are still alive, metaphorically and literally. But aren't flowers dead, technically? She thought of this a lot of times, but she couldn't really give anything else, since her mother loved these kinds of flowers. And it was weird to be doing it again. She had missed a whole year of not visiting. But she was freezing inside her that she really didn't care that much. If only he, her savior, didn't insist on going there. And somehow, it felt aberrant.

"In the name of the almighty creator, I ask your guidance, father." She brought two fingers towards her forehead. "In the name of the holy spirits that guide us and bound us together, I ask your forgiveness, mother." She touched both shoulders and with a last touch on her abdomen's surface, brushing lightly on the cloth, she said, "And in the name of the holy son, saviour and salvation from eternal darkness… I ask your grace, brother. Amen." She opened her eyes. Such heavy words for a child; but she was not ordinary. She would never want to be. She tore her eyes away from the tombstone, and looked deep in the eyes of the man she knew she would hate as long as she will live, emerald green eyes glowing with the intensity of her fury, her hands trying to win the battle inside her head, whether to launch herself at him, for saying out loud that her father was a disgrace. And she loathed him from that day forward. She swore to herself on that day, that she was going to kill him. Someday. When the time is right. And she was going to wait in vain, and she did not want to find out; that will spoil the fun. Revenge was so sweet.

And at that last glance before she left, she wished from the bottom of her heart, that she might not have to see again. After her business was finished.

+*+*+*+*+

He was surprised. Really. Usually, he would be feeling all tired since he had a very bad dream, and weirdly, he couldn't remember it. Yet he seemed to lose his ability to look after himself, just wanting to look after him. He was under infatuation's spell and he wished he wasn't, and he also wished he stayed like that. It was complicated. He didn't know what to do. Gravely he needed to take his mind off of him, somehow… He wanted him so badly, that he recalled that night… When he did something really stupid, and just a few days ago, he, the youth, ran away from him, when he saw him embracing the (mad, note: crazy) scientist. He closed his eyes and sighed. Why was his head aching so much? Why was he so tired? Why does he have the feeling that someone was too close to him, and why was he in the hotel room, staring at the ceiling questioning himself on why he was like this? He was so frustrated, so confused, and he wanted to just sleep and let it all go away. That's what he did back then, right? He slept; no he was in a coma. But then, it didn't go away, and he had killed himself. The watch that concealed the scar on his right wrist was enough proof of his sanity. And he remembered the argument yesterday.

Yesterday, he stood at the doorway of the classroom, bidding his class good-by, dismissing himself earlier than the bell, and just then, he caught sight of something gold, something so familiar and someone looking very irritated, pretension of the combination derived from blue and yellow, mixed in the right way, added with the refraction of light, made it look seductive, mysterious, and odd. He passed him, without looking, and he was looking a bit ashen. He wondered, why? And that incident had marked its place in Tsuzuki's mind that he couldn't help it; he remembered it clearly, and that morning, he had stared off in space, wondering what he had done wrong:

With a final glance at his students, he ran after him. He froze when the youth stopped in front of the window, still not minding his presence. 'He's got his shields on, and he's looking tired…' He said to himself. He smiled a bit.

"Are you lost?" he asked the youth, whose hair was as bright as the sun, blending with the rays that his eyes were the only ones that were his, green jewels laid upon a blanket of light; spun around and met his gaze.

"What do you want, Tsuzuki?" The boy snapped at him.

"I was on my way to class and I see one lost student standing in front of me." He fixed his tie, which was hanging loose in its place and was running a hand through his hair when Hisoka had decided to walk on.

"Whoa, whoa, time out! Wait! Did I say something wrong?" Tsuzuki asked a very agitated Hisoka; did he do something again? Or was it just that he was too dense to sense it?

"No, you didn't say something wrong. You are just plainly bugging me. I need to go to the lavatory if you don't mind, and if you do I'm going to have to kill you. Again." Hisoka had walked off.

Tsuzuki had followed, determined to see what was wrong with Hisoka.

"Oh come on, Hisoka. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Tsuzuki, just leave me alone? Now?"

He frowned, and Hisoka, still walking, had almost shouted out his angry words with enough venom so that tsuzuki had to stop squirming from the sudden fury emanating from the boy; the boy had his own shields falter a little.

"It's you! Okay? So leave me alone! I've got to go." He didn't look at Tsuzuki. And he didn't see Tsuzuki's angry face.

"What about me?! I stand beside you, you walk away, I talk to you, and you've got nothing to say! And you always have to do something! What the hell is wrong with me?"

Hisoka stiffened a little, and he looked more agitated than a few seconds earlier.

"I'll remind you. With just three words." Hisoka had said and had stopped in his tracks; he faced Tsuzuki, his eyes sparking anger and his hand was shaking as he pointed accusingly at Tsuzuki, who, looked back with equal rage; you couldn't blame him, he felt irritated too, he was so confused; as he hissed the words.

"You! Meifu! Watari!" The boy had said, which made Tsuzuki more confused.

"What?! Oh, you're so angry with me for being there? What has Watari had to do with it?" Tsuzuki felt his voice rising. Watari had done nothing! Hisoka didn't even explain well.

Hisoka raised his hands in mock surrender and smiled indignantly, back at him; he turned again and walked away, leaving him stunned andi standing at the hallway, now surrounded by students as they went to their lockers.

He watched Hisoka pocket his hands, and then, disappeared.

He shouldn't have done that. He knows. He was in Chijou and transported from the hallway and into his hotel room. And he didn't even mind going to school today, since the case didn't really need anything at the moment. December was much colder than last year's, he had thought, and as he looked up at the ceiling again. He sighed again.

The phone was ringing and he didn't get up to get it. It stopped after 15 rings. His cell phone rang; at the fifteenth ring, he thought that maybe it was Tatsumi and he better go answer it, and that's when he decided to pick it up.

"…"

"Tsuzuki-kun, what are you doing? Why aren't you answering the phone?" An exasperated Tatsumi asked.

"I was out."

"Why did it take long to answer your cell phone then?"

"I left it." Tsuzuki said placidly. He heard Tatsumi sigh and then he said, "Gomen ne, I am very tired, can you please tell me what's wrong?"

"I am very tired too, Tsuzuki, and I just wanted to let you guys know that we found something very interesting. Can you come here, alone? Hisoka might not… like it." tatsumi said.

"Yes." And without even hearing what tatsumi had to say, he flipped the phone shut after he turned the power off. He tossed it aside, and he closed his eyes shut again. He better put an end to this madness, and maybe, he could just call off his partnership with Hisoka, so as not to burden the boy… Maybe because Hisoka thought he was keeping secrets from him, and so, he thought also that Hisoka didn't like it one bit. But he wasn't keeping anything. But somehow, he always hurt the boy without meaning too, and it would be better for him.

He stood up and fixed himself. First thing when he gets there in Meifu, he would tell that to Tatsumi. And Kachou.

He disappeared…

+*+*+*+*+

~To be continued~

A/N: Yoshi! Another chapter finished. Hope I didn't make a mistake on the title… I am so exhausted… For the long wait I gave you guys, I shall force myself to immediately produce eight more chapters, this is the hiatus but the next chapter to the preamble, and now, let the play begin…

But before I forget:

Questions from the insane mind of Aki Konoe:

1.Did the last chapter suck?

2.Who's got an idea on how the story should go?

3.Is it dragging? (The story)

4.I need you guys to vote on which I must put more in the story:

-Angst

-Fluff

-Mush (Though I must say I don't like it…)

-Morbidity

-Gore

-Gloom

-And lastly… LQs… (Love quarrels…)

5.Would any be so kind as to give information on how to make my own webpage? I'm a naïve kid, and I would really love your help.

A/N: Anyways, thanks guys. I hope you won't kill me. And please I do hope you stay with my story, I am working really hard on it, really, and it actually meant to sacrifice my grades on my report card… Sheesh… Oh well. I enjoy it.

Sincerely,

Aki Konoe

-Yaoi Clan memeber of SPC's Yaoists-

P.S. Guys, who's up for a Gundam fic, one shot, but very much Yaoi? (technically, it is more like a parody… Duo did it… See? He's bending like a plastic ruler! Wahoo! I'm so good at making people realize their true identity… Sniff… yaoi!)