Chapter 1
Okay, in normal standards not having a case can be considered a good thing. Not having a case means a lot of things of course:
1. People are actually dying at a normal pace and people who are supposed it live aren't dying, and people that are supposed to die aren't living.
2. There isn't any magical phenomenon going on (at least none that we can detect).
3. Muraki has finally croaked or is too bored to kill people.
Of course, it's impossible for number 3 to happen because Muraki is known for killing people out of boredom!!
Anyways, there hasn't really been a case for Tsuzuki and me. This makes him more than thrilled, and Tatsumi more than pissed off. Why, you ask? Well, considering that Tsuzuki has ordered out food for the past several days (I won't even go into the desserts), I can understand how Tatsumi feels. And there ain't a damn thing he can do about it because every time he yells at Tsuzuki, Tsuzuki turns on the waterworks.
Even if he's not too bright, Tsuzuki learned quickly that Tatsumi's biggest weakness was his tears.
So we have no cases. Unfortunately, this means I'm bored as shit. With no actual cases Tsuzuki and I are stuck around an office with a worn-out air conditioning unit. I've read the same book eighty times already (I feel too lazy to get a new one), and these lack of cases had me worried.
Sure, it's all fine and dandy not having cases for a few days. What about a whole month? You see my point?
It's been a little over a month since I had that dream. This makes me feel even uneasier. Since Muraki created that dream to screw with my head, he would have to send it to me. And since he hasn't sent it to me, it obviously means he's not around to send it to me.
Tsuzuki doesn't seem worried. Not that I want him to be worried. But I can tell that Tatsumi and Kachou are a bit anxious. Tatsumi hasn't made it obvious (I can only tell a tiny bit due to my empathy), but Kachou's been projecting like mad. But of course, in times of crisis's-that-are-on-the-rise-but-you-can't-detect-when-it-will-occur-so-you're-scared-shitless, you can't make it apparent to your employees.
They don't have to tell me. I already know.
And if there are any ups to being stuck in Meifu with no work, I sure as hell haven't seen any. This is quite obvious one day in the office. On this particular day I discovered that Tsuzuki and I weren't the only people with hardly any cases.
"HISOKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a pair of female voices shrieked behind me. I was reading the same damn book when they came up behind me. My instincts told me to throw down the book, get up, and run like hell. I was quick to comply.
Unfortunately, the keepers of the voices had a better warm-up than I did. After running about ten feet, both were able to tackle me to the floor.
"HISOKA!!!!!!"
"We bought some pink lace ribbons for you!!"
"Pink and white!!!"
"Oh!! And we just ordered a Pink House dress to go with the ribbons!!!"
Yuma and Saya. They lived (more or less) to make my afterlife a living hell. Not only were they more annoying than Tsuzuki, they seemed convinced that I:
a.) was three years old.
and b.) was a girl.
And it didn't help the fact that the other inhabitants in the office not only didn't come to my aid, but also encouraged the two idiots to put the girly stuff in my hair.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the most mature person here, and I died when I was sixteen!!!
Luckily for me, Tatsumi came to my rescue my calling me into his office. He had to further his rescuing by bodily removing Yuma and Saya off of me.
I didn't get away unscathed, however. Saya managed to tie one of the white lace ribbons very tightly in my hair. So tightly it was hurting my scalp. I followed Tatsumi into his office while trying to remove the damn thing from my head.
Tatsumi sat down at his desk. "Have you seen Tsuzuki-san?"
I nodded as I gave the ribbon a hard yank. This hurt my scalp more and made the knot tighter. "He was here in the morning, trying to mooch some money off of me so he could buy sweets. I gave in and he went out during lunch break."
Tatsumi looked irritated, and I knew why. Lunch break ended fifteen minutes ago, and Tsuzuki wasn't back yet. As someone who was known for not only being lazy but also having long lunch breaks, we both could guess he was pigging out somewhere on a lot of desserts.
"Well, I would've preferred to tell you both this, but..." he trailed off.
I started feeling uneasy. "But what?"
"Muraki is gone."
The uneasy feeling grew. But I needed to know. "Is he dead?"
Tatsumi shook his head, squashing any hope I had built up. "No, he is very much alive. And that's the problem."
"Um, why?"
"Because we have no idea where he is."
My blood ran cold. Muraki...gone? And we couldn't track him?
Tatsumi sorted through some papers on his desk. "I have no doubt that he's taken his business elsewhere. The problem is not only do we not know where, but that country's JuOhCho doesn't have a clue as to how to deal with him."
I closed my eyes and let out a shaky sigh. I didn't know if I could deal with this. I never wanted anyone to go through what I, and all of Muraki's other victims, had to go through. But since Muraki was considered MIA, there was little doubt to how much destruction and despair he could cause.
"Can I leave it up to you to tell Tsuzuki-san, Kurosaki-kun?" asked Tatsumi. I could sense he was feeling worried, though he was going a great job shielding it.
I slowly nodded. "I don't know how he'll take to it, but if he freaks out I'll try to help him out."
"Arigato, Kurosaki-kun."
"Yeah, no problem." I gave the ribbon another hard yank and it finally came out. Unfortunately it took a few strands of hair with it.
***
It wasn't too hard to find Tsuzuki. I did have to go to Chijou, but luckily I found him coming out of a restaurant with a carrying box. When he spotted me, he looked both thrilled and panicked. I knew he was thinking Kachou sent me to fetch him for yet another lecture.
"Hisoka! Um, hi!! Oh, this isn't what it looks like!! I DID go out to lunch, but the line was so long!! I knew Kachou would get angry, so I got him three slices of apple pie!!"
See what I mean?
I raised my hands. "I didn't come here to get you. I wanted to talk."
His face brightened right back up. "Great!! Let's go sit somewhere!!" He hooked his arm in mine and dragged me to a bench. I was blushing dark red, and it didn't help with the stares and whispers we were getting.
He sat down and dragged me down with him. I landed practically on his lap, which caused more stares and whispers. If he heard the whispers he was pretending not to.
"Have some apple pie!!" he squealed, shoving a rather large piece into my mouth. It would've taste good for anyone other than me, since I didn't like sweets.
I had the feeling he was trying to avoid the subject I was trying to bring up.
"I hade do dell do sodeding," I choked out, trying to chew and swallow the pie without choking.
"Oh, okay!! What is it?" I can tell his good mood was starting to slip. A sinking feeling crept over me, and I suddenly didn't want to tell him.
Then don't tell him, you retard!! my idiot self-doubt told me. All the bad shit that's happened he believed to be his fault!! Why in the hell would you tell him that Muraki is out there, doing who-knows-what to people?! He might try to kill himself again!!
What about the nightmare?! my self-reliance butted in. He didn't seem fazed by it!! And he was insulted that you didn't even call him!! He'll figure out about Muraki sooner or later anyhow!! And if you don't tell him he'll get pissed off and even more insulted!!! He'll feel like you don't trust him or even care about him!! And you obviously DO care about him!!
I felt myself blush. Of course I cared about Tsuzuki. He was my partner and my first best friend. But sometimes I wondered how deep our friendship was...
"Is something wrong, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki cut through my conflicting thoughts. Now he was feeling worried; not only for me but also for what I was about to tell him.
I blushed harder as I realized I had been silent a good five minutes. I cleared my throat. "Tsuzuki, I'm afraid I have some bad news."
He blinked. "Are you stopping our partnership?"
"NO!!" I grabbed his hand without realizing it. "I would never due that."
He looked very relieved, but I knew he said that as a diversion.
"It's about Muraki."
His relief vanished. Now he looked downright scared.
I swallowed before continuing. "He's left Japan. And we don't know where he is."
Tsuzuki was very silent for a long while. He ducked his head, and I was afraid he was going to cry. Any form of his tears affected Tatsumi, but his very sad tears affected me, too.
Then he lifted his head. And he was wearing a smile.
"Aw, don't worry Hisoka," he chirped. "We'll find him. We'll stop him from hurting anyone else."
All of his shields were up, but you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to tell how distressed Tsuzuki was.
I reached up and took his hand. "Tsuzuki-"
"Don't worry, Hisoka. I'll be fine." He faked a yawn. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to head back to the office and ask Tatsumi if I can go home early." Then he walked away.
I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't move. I knew deep down that he needed comfort. Tsuzuki wasn't the type to initiate anything, but in this case it seemed like he wanted to. Meaning, if he wanted my comfort he would come to me for it.
I didn't have to wait long. That same day he gave me a call. Well, it was night. Okay, it was three a.m.
When I went to see him he immediately broke down and clung to me tightly. Due to years of detachment I'm not much of a comforter. Luckily Tsuzuki didn't really care.
"We'll find him," I told him, echoing his very words. "We'll find him, and then we'll kill him."
Tsuzuki sniffled. "Gomen. I know I should be a little stronger, but I don't want him to hurt anyone else..."
I brushed the tears off his cheeks. "He will pay for everything he did." I couldn't promise him that we'd find him before he started his rampage. It would be cruel to even bring it up.
Tsuzuki nodded. "I know. We'll take him down."
"That's right."
He sighed softly, but still clung to me. Not that I wanted him to let me go or anything.
I blushed. Why was I thinking this way? Sure he was my best friend any everything. But I doubted that friends thought about each other this way.
At the moment I didn't care. Tsuzuki wanted my comfort and he was getting it.
***
Things were hectic for the next few days. Everyone knew Muraki was missing. When we weren't trying to find clues to his whereabouts, we were trying to keep our sanity. Yuma and Saya with their hideous Pink House dresses didn't help the situation any.
After a few days, Kachou called Tsuzuki and I into his office. As we went there we heard some people from other departments talking.
"Is he new?"
"No, he's from another division!!"
"Which one?"
"I don't know!!"
Who was 'he'? I wondered as we made out way to Kachou's office. I didn't have to wonder for long.
Kachou and Tatsumi were in there with someone I didn't recognize. He was Japanese, though.
"Tsuzuki, Kurosaki-kun," said Kachou. "This is Aaron Tomoe. He's a Japanese American from America's JuOhCho."
I raised an eyebrow. America's JuOhCho? I eyed the guy as he turned in his seat to look at us. He looked about my age!
"Why is he here?" I asked Kachou.
Tatsumi fixed his glasses. "Tomoe-san said a series of murders have been occurring in his district, America's New York State. America's JuOhCho has looked into Japan's JuOhCho's files, and they have come to the conclusion that Muraki committed these murders."
There you have it!! A cliffhanger!! What'd you think? Drop in a review, but please be nice if it's a flame.
Okay, in normal standards not having a case can be considered a good thing. Not having a case means a lot of things of course:
1. People are actually dying at a normal pace and people who are supposed it live aren't dying, and people that are supposed to die aren't living.
2. There isn't any magical phenomenon going on (at least none that we can detect).
3. Muraki has finally croaked or is too bored to kill people.
Of course, it's impossible for number 3 to happen because Muraki is known for killing people out of boredom!!
Anyways, there hasn't really been a case for Tsuzuki and me. This makes him more than thrilled, and Tatsumi more than pissed off. Why, you ask? Well, considering that Tsuzuki has ordered out food for the past several days (I won't even go into the desserts), I can understand how Tatsumi feels. And there ain't a damn thing he can do about it because every time he yells at Tsuzuki, Tsuzuki turns on the waterworks.
Even if he's not too bright, Tsuzuki learned quickly that Tatsumi's biggest weakness was his tears.
So we have no cases. Unfortunately, this means I'm bored as shit. With no actual cases Tsuzuki and I are stuck around an office with a worn-out air conditioning unit. I've read the same book eighty times already (I feel too lazy to get a new one), and these lack of cases had me worried.
Sure, it's all fine and dandy not having cases for a few days. What about a whole month? You see my point?
It's been a little over a month since I had that dream. This makes me feel even uneasier. Since Muraki created that dream to screw with my head, he would have to send it to me. And since he hasn't sent it to me, it obviously means he's not around to send it to me.
Tsuzuki doesn't seem worried. Not that I want him to be worried. But I can tell that Tatsumi and Kachou are a bit anxious. Tatsumi hasn't made it obvious (I can only tell a tiny bit due to my empathy), but Kachou's been projecting like mad. But of course, in times of crisis's-that-are-on-the-rise-but-you-can't-detect-when-it-will-occur-so-you're-scared-shitless, you can't make it apparent to your employees.
They don't have to tell me. I already know.
And if there are any ups to being stuck in Meifu with no work, I sure as hell haven't seen any. This is quite obvious one day in the office. On this particular day I discovered that Tsuzuki and I weren't the only people with hardly any cases.
"HISOKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a pair of female voices shrieked behind me. I was reading the same damn book when they came up behind me. My instincts told me to throw down the book, get up, and run like hell. I was quick to comply.
Unfortunately, the keepers of the voices had a better warm-up than I did. After running about ten feet, both were able to tackle me to the floor.
"HISOKA!!!!!!"
"We bought some pink lace ribbons for you!!"
"Pink and white!!!"
"Oh!! And we just ordered a Pink House dress to go with the ribbons!!!"
Yuma and Saya. They lived (more or less) to make my afterlife a living hell. Not only were they more annoying than Tsuzuki, they seemed convinced that I:
a.) was three years old.
and b.) was a girl.
And it didn't help the fact that the other inhabitants in the office not only didn't come to my aid, but also encouraged the two idiots to put the girly stuff in my hair.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the most mature person here, and I died when I was sixteen!!!
Luckily for me, Tatsumi came to my rescue my calling me into his office. He had to further his rescuing by bodily removing Yuma and Saya off of me.
I didn't get away unscathed, however. Saya managed to tie one of the white lace ribbons very tightly in my hair. So tightly it was hurting my scalp. I followed Tatsumi into his office while trying to remove the damn thing from my head.
Tatsumi sat down at his desk. "Have you seen Tsuzuki-san?"
I nodded as I gave the ribbon a hard yank. This hurt my scalp more and made the knot tighter. "He was here in the morning, trying to mooch some money off of me so he could buy sweets. I gave in and he went out during lunch break."
Tatsumi looked irritated, and I knew why. Lunch break ended fifteen minutes ago, and Tsuzuki wasn't back yet. As someone who was known for not only being lazy but also having long lunch breaks, we both could guess he was pigging out somewhere on a lot of desserts.
"Well, I would've preferred to tell you both this, but..." he trailed off.
I started feeling uneasy. "But what?"
"Muraki is gone."
The uneasy feeling grew. But I needed to know. "Is he dead?"
Tatsumi shook his head, squashing any hope I had built up. "No, he is very much alive. And that's the problem."
"Um, why?"
"Because we have no idea where he is."
My blood ran cold. Muraki...gone? And we couldn't track him?
Tatsumi sorted through some papers on his desk. "I have no doubt that he's taken his business elsewhere. The problem is not only do we not know where, but that country's JuOhCho doesn't have a clue as to how to deal with him."
I closed my eyes and let out a shaky sigh. I didn't know if I could deal with this. I never wanted anyone to go through what I, and all of Muraki's other victims, had to go through. But since Muraki was considered MIA, there was little doubt to how much destruction and despair he could cause.
"Can I leave it up to you to tell Tsuzuki-san, Kurosaki-kun?" asked Tatsumi. I could sense he was feeling worried, though he was going a great job shielding it.
I slowly nodded. "I don't know how he'll take to it, but if he freaks out I'll try to help him out."
"Arigato, Kurosaki-kun."
"Yeah, no problem." I gave the ribbon another hard yank and it finally came out. Unfortunately it took a few strands of hair with it.
***
It wasn't too hard to find Tsuzuki. I did have to go to Chijou, but luckily I found him coming out of a restaurant with a carrying box. When he spotted me, he looked both thrilled and panicked. I knew he was thinking Kachou sent me to fetch him for yet another lecture.
"Hisoka! Um, hi!! Oh, this isn't what it looks like!! I DID go out to lunch, but the line was so long!! I knew Kachou would get angry, so I got him three slices of apple pie!!"
See what I mean?
I raised my hands. "I didn't come here to get you. I wanted to talk."
His face brightened right back up. "Great!! Let's go sit somewhere!!" He hooked his arm in mine and dragged me to a bench. I was blushing dark red, and it didn't help with the stares and whispers we were getting.
He sat down and dragged me down with him. I landed practically on his lap, which caused more stares and whispers. If he heard the whispers he was pretending not to.
"Have some apple pie!!" he squealed, shoving a rather large piece into my mouth. It would've taste good for anyone other than me, since I didn't like sweets.
I had the feeling he was trying to avoid the subject I was trying to bring up.
"I hade do dell do sodeding," I choked out, trying to chew and swallow the pie without choking.
"Oh, okay!! What is it?" I can tell his good mood was starting to slip. A sinking feeling crept over me, and I suddenly didn't want to tell him.
Then don't tell him, you retard!! my idiot self-doubt told me. All the bad shit that's happened he believed to be his fault!! Why in the hell would you tell him that Muraki is out there, doing who-knows-what to people?! He might try to kill himself again!!
What about the nightmare?! my self-reliance butted in. He didn't seem fazed by it!! And he was insulted that you didn't even call him!! He'll figure out about Muraki sooner or later anyhow!! And if you don't tell him he'll get pissed off and even more insulted!!! He'll feel like you don't trust him or even care about him!! And you obviously DO care about him!!
I felt myself blush. Of course I cared about Tsuzuki. He was my partner and my first best friend. But sometimes I wondered how deep our friendship was...
"Is something wrong, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki cut through my conflicting thoughts. Now he was feeling worried; not only for me but also for what I was about to tell him.
I blushed harder as I realized I had been silent a good five minutes. I cleared my throat. "Tsuzuki, I'm afraid I have some bad news."
He blinked. "Are you stopping our partnership?"
"NO!!" I grabbed his hand without realizing it. "I would never due that."
He looked very relieved, but I knew he said that as a diversion.
"It's about Muraki."
His relief vanished. Now he looked downright scared.
I swallowed before continuing. "He's left Japan. And we don't know where he is."
Tsuzuki was very silent for a long while. He ducked his head, and I was afraid he was going to cry. Any form of his tears affected Tatsumi, but his very sad tears affected me, too.
Then he lifted his head. And he was wearing a smile.
"Aw, don't worry Hisoka," he chirped. "We'll find him. We'll stop him from hurting anyone else."
All of his shields were up, but you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to tell how distressed Tsuzuki was.
I reached up and took his hand. "Tsuzuki-"
"Don't worry, Hisoka. I'll be fine." He faked a yawn. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to head back to the office and ask Tatsumi if I can go home early." Then he walked away.
I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't move. I knew deep down that he needed comfort. Tsuzuki wasn't the type to initiate anything, but in this case it seemed like he wanted to. Meaning, if he wanted my comfort he would come to me for it.
I didn't have to wait long. That same day he gave me a call. Well, it was night. Okay, it was three a.m.
When I went to see him he immediately broke down and clung to me tightly. Due to years of detachment I'm not much of a comforter. Luckily Tsuzuki didn't really care.
"We'll find him," I told him, echoing his very words. "We'll find him, and then we'll kill him."
Tsuzuki sniffled. "Gomen. I know I should be a little stronger, but I don't want him to hurt anyone else..."
I brushed the tears off his cheeks. "He will pay for everything he did." I couldn't promise him that we'd find him before he started his rampage. It would be cruel to even bring it up.
Tsuzuki nodded. "I know. We'll take him down."
"That's right."
He sighed softly, but still clung to me. Not that I wanted him to let me go or anything.
I blushed. Why was I thinking this way? Sure he was my best friend any everything. But I doubted that friends thought about each other this way.
At the moment I didn't care. Tsuzuki wanted my comfort and he was getting it.
***
Things were hectic for the next few days. Everyone knew Muraki was missing. When we weren't trying to find clues to his whereabouts, we were trying to keep our sanity. Yuma and Saya with their hideous Pink House dresses didn't help the situation any.
After a few days, Kachou called Tsuzuki and I into his office. As we went there we heard some people from other departments talking.
"Is he new?"
"No, he's from another division!!"
"Which one?"
"I don't know!!"
Who was 'he'? I wondered as we made out way to Kachou's office. I didn't have to wonder for long.
Kachou and Tatsumi were in there with someone I didn't recognize. He was Japanese, though.
"Tsuzuki, Kurosaki-kun," said Kachou. "This is Aaron Tomoe. He's a Japanese American from America's JuOhCho."
I raised an eyebrow. America's JuOhCho? I eyed the guy as he turned in his seat to look at us. He looked about my age!
"Why is he here?" I asked Kachou.
Tatsumi fixed his glasses. "Tomoe-san said a series of murders have been occurring in his district, America's New York State. America's JuOhCho has looked into Japan's JuOhCho's files, and they have come to the conclusion that Muraki committed these murders."
There you have it!! A cliffhanger!! What'd you think? Drop in a review, but please be nice if it's a flame.
