AN:         Woot!  Another chapter up and done.  Thank you very much to everyone who replied, and a special thanks to my friend Dace and to dragonflower1 who helped me with random plot filler.  Also, thank you Kara Angitia, and nobody's home  who helped with random plot filler that wasn't exactly what I would call random, but it did help shape the story a little.  Anyway, enjoy, because it took me a while to actually write, and is much longer than other chapter.

Chapter III

A Few Choice Words

Hisoka walked into his office to see Tsuzuki standing, back straight, lower lip trembling, almost ready to cry.  The dark haired man noticed his partner enter the room and was immediately at his side, giving him a look that begged sympathy.  The younger man could only roll his eyes in response, though he did refrain from calling the other an idiot.

"Hisoka…" the brown haired man whined, drawing out the name.  "Tatsumi got mad at me."

This time to boy did call his partner an idiot.  "Tatsumi is always made at you.  You're lazy and you never get your work done."

"You don't have to say it like that," Tsuzuki whined again, before turning somewhat serious.  "But he was really angry with me this time, and I hadn't done anything wrong.  I was on time, and I wasn't eating."  He leaned over to whisper into Hisoka's ear.  "I think something's up with him."

Tsuzuki might not have been the most reliable person when it comes to office work and the like, but the older shinigami seemed to have, even without Hisoka's empathy, the ability to sense the moods of those around him.  "Would you like me to go talk to him?"

By 'talk to him' Hisoka really meant go to the secretary with some work related business and use his empathy to learn if anything was, in fact, wrong.

Tsuzuki was about to respond to the affirmative, but the object of their concern had started to glare at them.  The sweet-loving shinigami took a step bad and moved behind the younger man, who could only roll his eyes once again.

"Good morning, Tatsumi-san," Hisoka greeted when the secretary approached.

"You two had better get to work," Tatsumi suggested, mush more harshly that was strictly necessary.  He then gave Tsuzuki a disdainful glance before turning his attention back to the younger shinigami.  "You really shouldn't let useless fools like this distract you from your work.  He might end up dragging you down to his level.  You have the chance to make much more of yourself than he has."

Tsuzuki whimpered, and Hisoka could only glare at the secretary.  That was simply cruel and unnecessary, and yet it didn't feel as though the insults were truly aimed at Tsuzuki.  It was as though his words were simply a defence mechanism.  Something else was bothering Tatsumi, and he was taking it out on the first available target, the relatively innocent Tsuzuki.

Tatsumi started to leave, but turned around suddenly.  "Watari should be returning to the office today.  If you happen to see him, tell him to stop by my office.  I need to talk with him."

The dark haired shinigami had the intelligence to wait until the secretary was out of hearing range before whining.  "I told you he was being mean!"

Hisoka raised his hand to pat his partner on the shoulder reassuringly, though Tatsumi wasn't so much being mean as being preoccupied.

.-+~*~+-.

Tsuzuki was the one who first spotted Watari after their run-in with the secretary.  He'd been walking down the hallway when he noticed the light in the scientist's lab was on.  The laboratory had previously been closed up, because Tatsumi stated quite forcefully that he wouldn't be paying anyone to clean up Watari's mess.  The blond haired shinigami was going to have to clean up his own mess, on his own time.

As it was, someone had snuck in there earlier to tidy up a little.  The broken glass and chemical spills had been cleared away, and the equipment that looked remotely salvageable had been placed on one side of the room.  The room was by no means clean, but at least when Watari got around to repairing the damage he would have some place to start from.

Tsuzuki watched his friend stare at his lab.  The blonde was… almost lost.  If Tsuzuki didn't know any better, he would have said Watari was almost on the verge of tears.  But then, Watari never cried over anything, no matter how bad.  He was even better than Tsuzuki at keeping a positive, up beat attitude, except his was actually real.

Putting on his disguise of perpetual hyper-ness, Tsuzuki stepped into the room. 

"Knock, knock, Watari!  Is anybody home?" The brown haired shinigami's voice was cheerful.

Watari quickly wiped his face with the sleeves of his lab coat before turning around, though the room wasn't quite bright enough for the older shinigami to tell if his eyes were actually red or not.  The blonde was smiling though.  "Oh!  Good morning Tsuzuki.  An impressive mess I've made isn't it.  It's almost as spectacular as one of your mishaps."

Tsuzuki had to cover up the hurt from that comment.  It stung a little, hearing something like that from his friend, even if he did know it was only a joke.  Still, he smiled and laughed along with the mad scientist's joke.  "Yeah.  Almost."

Once Watari's laughter subsided, Tsuzuki noted that the blonde scrubbed at his eyes again with his sleeves.  "I've got something in my eyes," he tries to explain.

Tsuzuki nods, believing the excuse.  He then changes the subject.  "So how was your vacation?"

The blond scientist tensed visibly at the question, and Tsuzuki couldn't figure out why.  It confused him even more when the blonde responded with, "It was fine.  I got a lot of paperwork done."  Paperwork wouldn't have made the blonde tense like that.

Tsuzuki shifted from foot to foot, smile on his face, trying to think of something to say.  The only thing that came to mind was, "Tatsumi wants to talk to you when you get the chance."

"He does?"  Watari asked, sounding startled.  He couldn't understand what the secretary would want from him, unless, of course, it was to yell at him yet again, and he wasn't interested in that.  "Did he say way?"

Shaking his head, the older, bubbly man took a step back, about to make a tactful exit.  "No.  He just wanted to talk with you."  He looked patiently at Watari, waiting for the blonde to say something.  When the man didn't, Tsuzuki turned tail and all but bolted from the room.  The mad-scientist was moping, and Tsuzuki was afraid he was going to have his head bitten off, or exploded, or something to that affect.

"Oh," Watari replied to an empty room.  There was no way he was going to meet with Tatsumi that day.  They would simply get into another argument.  He didn't believe he had the mental capacity to survive that.

Rolling up his sleeves, the scientist then pulled his long blond hair into a loose bundle at the nape of his neck.  No use getting his hair caught in his mouth as worked, or in the way of his hands.   He couldn't help the loose strands that fell into his eyes, however.  He just learned to live with them.

.-+~*~+-.

Tatsumi threw the last of his reports on his desk in annoyance.  Through no fault of their out, the workers in his division were spending more and more money on their assignments, the costs of supplies in the mortal world had gone up, and the Earl didn't even consider giving them a larger budget.  Slumping in his chair, the secretary pushed his glasses back up on his face before pinching the bridge of his nose.

He was, in some way or another, rather glad that no one had told Watari to come to his office.  As much as he resented the blonde's comments about his obsession with money, he had no desire to get into an argument with the man.  The easiest way to handle the whole situation would simply be to hand the blonde a memo.  No yelling, no arguments, and Watari still had to pay for the damage to the building.

It was nearly late evening before he finished with his paperwork; and assessment of the budget.  He assumed nearly everyone in the office had left, though there were still a few lights on.  No one would have left the lights on by accident, at least no anymore.  He'd made quite the lesson out of the last person who'd been forgetful in that regard.  Whoever had left the lights on was still in the building.

Tatsumi wasn't surprised to see that Terazuma was one of the few still working that late.  The secretary had very little to do with the man, but Terazuma was one of the only people who hadn't succumb to Tsuzuki's charms.  He wasn't sure why, but nearly everyone who came into contact with the violet-eyed shinigami couldn't say no to the man.  Konoe, who saw Tsuzuki almost as a son, was the worst, followed closely by Hisoka, who loved him, and himself, who had always had a soft spot for his former partner, despite his comments to the contrary.  Only Terazuma was immune, though his hatred for Tsuzuki left him blind on some occasions.

As he considered this, Tatsumi suddenly realized that Watari was also immune to Tsuzuki.  The two men were good friends, and the blonde almost always gave into the other man's schemes and pleas.  In return, however, when the scientist wanted something or put his foot down, Tsuzuki was quick to listen.

Tatsumi shook his head.  He envied to two men that.  If he were a little more like the two of them, the division might have had a little more money.

He ran into Terazuma at the photocopier and gave him a short greeting.

"Are you going home?" the darker haired man asked in response.

Tatsumi nodded.  He'd gotten a headache from staring at figures all day.  "And you?"

"No," the other man replied tersely, though it wasn't malicious.  It was simply how the shinigami responded to everything.  "Wakaba and I need to compare notes on the case we're working on.  We've both hit dead ends."

The secretary nodded once again in understanding.  Shinigami always worked in pairs.  There were almost never exceptions.  Unfortunately for Terazuma, he was even less partnerable than his rival, and it wasn't entirely due to his personality, either.  Wakaba was the only person who could change Terazuma back after he'd transformed, so it only made sense for her to partner with him.  The two didn't care for each other all that much, however, and never got together outside the office to work on a case.

"Don't forget to turn the lights out," Tatsumi reminded before turning to head home.  Wakaba poked her head out the door and waved hello, and the secretary barely nodded yet again in response.  He didn't stop moving until he was startled by the lights still on in Watari's lab.  Right then, it wouldn't have surprised him if the mad scientist had left them on, but he heard voices coming from inside.  He couldn't say what possessed him to, but the secretary opened the door with out knocking, and let himself in.

"Watari," he said, catching the blonds attention, completely ignoring Hisoka and Tsuzuki, though he had to hide the mild surprise he felt at seeing them there.  "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

The blonde's eyes darted briefly towards his two friends before he offered the secretary a weak smile.  Tatsumi took that moment to note that Watari had made great progress in cleaning his lab, though it seemed that the two other shinigami had helped him.  Tatsumi didn't understand why, but for some reason, this made him angry.  He know it was unreasonable, so he tried to dismiss it.

The secretary looked up and saw Watari's smile becoming progressively sicklier.  "Yes?"

"I'd like t talk to you about how you plan on paying for the damages to the building."

The blond scientist swallowed visibly, uncomfortable to be having this type of discussion in front of other people.  "I assume it will be coming out of my pay check."

The taller shinigami nodded, and then ploughed on.  "I'll also be cutting all funding to your lab."

Watari's face fell, but he waited patiently for the secretary to continue.  When the taller man didn't, he asked tentatively, "For how long?"

Tatsumi's lips quirked up in an odd smile.  "Permanently."

That single worked roused the scientist's anger, and Watari slammed his had down on the counter, startling the two unwilling observers.  "You can't do that!"

Tatsumi remained calm.  "I can, and have."

"But how will any research be conducted.  How do you expect to get tests done?"

"Any tests that need to be done can be run at another division, and can be paid for from the budget."

"That's bull shit!" Watari exclaimed, his whole body trembling.

Both Tsuzuki and Hisoka could only stare at the two arguing shinigami, at a complete loss for words.  Watari was right.  There wasn't enough money in a case budget to pay for tests at another division's lab.  It wasn't so much that, as Watari's reaction.  They'd never seen him angry, and had never heard him swear.  The both wondered if they should leave, but feared drawing attention to themselves.

"It's hardly 'bull shit,'" Tatsumi replied coldly.  "You lab's 'mishaps' have cost this department far too much.  Your spectacular failures are unnecessary here."

Watari clenched his firsts together and ground his teeth, trying to rein his temper. Anyone in the room could see that Tatsumi's words had struck a chord with the blonde.  "I hardly think my contributions to this department cost more money than sending everything to another lab.  And my experiments are hardly 'failures,' as you put it.  They've saved this department more money that I can count."

"I doubt you have any basis denying what I'm saying, Watari-san, since I'm the one who does the budget, not you."

"If this is because of what I said to you the other day, then I'm sorry!" the blonde exclaimed.  "I was angry, and lashing out.  Please don't do this."

"My decision is hardly influenced by what you say or do, Watari-san," the secretary replied, his voice hard.  Everyone in the room knew the man was lying, but however untrue, they understood what was being implied.  It was something along the lines of, "I don't care about what you think, and your friendship means nothing."

The mad scientist bit his lip, trembling and trying not to lash out again.  His face remained calm when he spoke, but his voice was trembling with barely suppressed rage.

 "You don't care about what your friends think, do you Tatsumi?  As long as you have money, you don't need friends.  You only want lackeys, you selfish bastard!"  Watari was all but yelling when he finished.

The taller man raised one eyebrow in what seemed to be amusement.  "Better a selfish bastard than a flighty failure of a scientist who blew himself up in a lab explosion."

Freezing, eyes wide, Watari's mouth fell open.  Tsuzuki and Hisoka felt much the same way, though for very different reasons.  It was more than bad manners to bring up a shinigami's death.  It was a forbidden topic, and Watari had been one of the most vehement about sticking to that rule.  The blonde knew only what other people were willing to tell him about their pasts, an in return, no one asked him about his own.

Tears were forming in the blonde's eyes, but he refused to cry in front of the others. Quickly grabbing his coat, Watari left the room with little more than a glare and an "I'll see you tomorrow."

.-+~*~+-.

Tatsumi hadn't bothered to close the door behind him when he went into Watari's lab, so both Terazuma and Wakaba could hear everything that was said.  They weren't normally the type of people to listen into other's conversations, but they were afraid it would come to blows and they might have to intervene.

Terazuma winced at Tatsumi's final comment, and the usually chipper girl returned it.  More might have passed between them, but Watari stormed out of his lab and into the hallway.  The blonde's hair was loose, falling to cover his face, but anyone could see the man was on the verge of tears.

Terazuma was about to storm into Watari's lab and demand an explanation from the secretary for his actions, but Wakaba placed a firm hand on his shoulder.  "Let me talked to Tatsumi-san.  You go see if Watari needs anything."

The dark haired man nodded in reply.  It was the better plan.  That way they wouldn't have to risk him trying to tear off the secretary's head if he got to frustrated.  Not that he could, but this way it wouldn't come to blows.

He quickly jogged off in the blonde's direction and called out to him.  The shorter man stopped and turned around, eyes dry and a faint smile on his face.  If Terazuma hadn't known better, he would have said nothing had happened.  He stopped short of the man, at a loss for words.  He had no idea how to comfort someone who didn't look to be in pain, so he said the first thing that came to mind.  "Would you like to go out for a few drinks?  I'll buy."

Watari looked to consider the offer quite thoroughly.  "Alright," he finally replied, not wanting to have to spend yet another night at home, by himself. Especially not after what his friend had said to him.  It surprised him that Terazuma bothered asking him, let alone offering to pay, but he was rather glad to accept.

They headed out to a small bar Terazuma knew, and then proceeded to order a few rounds.  Not much conversation passed between the two of them, both lost in thought.

The silence in the bar slowly started to bother Watari as much as the solitude had, and eventually, after only two drinks, he stood up; somewhat tipsy, but not off balance.

"Thank you for the drinks, Terazuma-san, but I think I'm just going to go home and get some rest."

The taller shinigami seemed to accept this, and waved Watari off.  Once outside the bar, the blonde stuffed his hands into his coat pocket to protect them from the cold.  One hand came into contact with a folded square of paper, and he pulled it out to read what was on it: a little bit of scribbled writing.  A small, deranged smile crossed the blonds face.

.-+~*~+-.

Muraki was writing in his journal when he heard a faint knock on his door.  He planned on ignoring it, but it came again, and was rather persistent.  Closing the journal, the doctor placed it in the desk drawer and locked it before getting up.  He opened the door and was pleasantly surprised.

"So what happens when two people meet by chance for a fourth time?" a rather dishevelled looking blonde asked, a faint smile on his face.

Muraki couldn't help but return the smile with a charming grin of his own.  "I do believe the one must ask the other inside."

The silver haired man held the door open for Watari to enter, then closed and locked it behind him.

AN:  Ha ha!  It's finished, Tatsumi's a complete an utter bastard, and I actually like Muraki.  I didn't plan it this way, I just needed a reason for things to happen, and this seemed feasible.  Poor Watari.

For YuYuHakushoismyLIFE, a muck is a place for online Role Playing.  For the one I'm on, it's a sort of AU world where you can play any anime of video game character you want, within reason.  It's rather amusing.

I hope you enjoyed, it, hope someone else shows remote interest in playing on the muck, and please feed the author.  She'll love you for it. ^.^