Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei, the band named The Cure or their song Lullaby.

Another song fic. Lyrics are in italics.

This story is set after Tatsumi and Tsuzuki's break-up but before Hisoka comes into the picture.

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Tsuzuki opened his eyes to find himself trapped in a giant spider's web. He could still feel the poison in his system, he couldn't move. He recalled with bitterness the events leading up to this moment.

He had set himself up as bait to catch the spider demon who had been eating more than his fair share of souls. The plan failed. Or rather that part of the plan worked; all to well. The spider demon came after him. It was the rest of the plan that was shot to hell..

The timing was all wrong, Tsuzuki was told that the beast would feed in two days, but the demon came to the hotel room disguised as a human. Gushoshin was with him. His latest partner had just quit.

On candy stripe legs the spiderman comes softly through the shadow of the evening sun stealing past the windows of the blissfully dead looking for the victim shivering in bed searching out fear in the gathering gloom and suddenly!

Tsuzuki was on the bed looking over the information the librarian had. There were some rather gruesome photos. Even with all his experience he still felt a shiver looking at them.

He heard a knock at the door. He went to answer it and found a man in a candy stripe suit. The man was unusually friendly towards him. He said he was there to check some wiring. The shinigami had felt something wasn't quiet right.

A movement in the corner of the room!

The man was looking behind him, to where Gushoshin was. But how could an ordinary human see Gushoshin in spirit form?

"Who are you really?"

The man's lips curved into a sinister smile. "I'm so glad to drop this charade." The man threw out something like a net to catch him but Tsuzuki was able to evade it.

Gushoshin shrieked alerting Tsuzuki to the spiders coming from behind him. The shinigami grabbed the librarian and crashed through the window.

"It will not be so easy to escape me."

The spiders chased after them relentlessly. Some landed on Tsuzuki's back and his dress shirt wasn't thick enough to protect him from their fangs. The neurotoxin acted instantly making him lose his ability to fly. Gushoshin screamed and Tsuzuki released him. The shinigami kept falling, then suddenly stopped when he landed in a giant web.

The last thing Tsuzuki remembered before passing out was hearing "Dinner is going to be extra tasty my pets."

And there is nothing I can do when I realize with fright that the spiderman is having me for dinner tonight!

Where was he now? He tried to looked around and only saw hundreds of small red lights everywhere, which he then recognized as the spiders eyes. Those spiders were everywhere. The effects of the toxin were wearing off when Tsuzuki saw that the spiderman was watching him.

"Welcome to my parlor said the spider to the fly."

The spiderman then choose to shed his disguise. Tsuzuki watched with morbid fascination as the demon went through his grotesque transformation. The candy stripes unwound and reformed into his legs, which grew longer, larger and hairier . The human face seemed to be eaten from inside as bones rearranged themselves and first came out the sharp black pointed curved fangs protruding out from under his chin, then symetric boils came around the face transforming into eerie evil reddish black eyes. The rest of his body contorted to complete the form of the demon spider.

Quietly he laughs and shaking his head creeps closer now closer to the foot of the bed and softer than shadow and quicker than flies his arms are all around me and his tongue in my eyes

Tsuzuki could feel the web shift ever so slightly as the spider came closer to him. He felt cold without the welcome warmth of his trench coat. As the shadow of the predator fell upon him he felt an even colder chill run down his spine. He wasn't usually afraid of shadows, there was a time when they were a source of great comfort to him, but that time was long past.

It was feeding time again for the spider. How many souls were lost to this foul being? He had saved Gushoshin this fate at least. That was his only consolation as he felt the monster's forceful bite, causing blood to stain his own face. The blood ran down over his eyes, obscuring his vision. Not, that there was really much to see except the multiple eyes reflecting his own reflection back at him, dying in this monster's embrace. The fiend relished how his blood taste even going so far as to lick the blood off his face.

A broken cry escaped his lips.

"Be still be calm be quiet now my precious boy don't struggle like that or I will only love you more for it's much too late to get away or turn on the light the spiderman is having you for dinner tonight"

Then suddenly the monster was gripping him harder than before. He could feel all those hairy legs over his skin as they tore at his clothes. He scream and strained against the web. Then he felt the monster changing taking a form which had human like hands at the end of each limb. The shinigami's skin crawled as those hands stole across his body. These hands were cursed and stealing even more of his life force with every touch.

And I feel like I'm being eaten by a thousand million shivering furry holes and I know that in the morning I will wake up in the shivering cold

It was then that the smaller spiders came in to join the feast.

'Please let this all just be a bad dream. Let me wake up!' Begged Tsuzuki as he felt himself being drained of his energy from but he could not escape this nightmare.

The monster was pleased at capturing such easy delectable prey. He knew shinigamis had power, and thought he had never encountered one face to face until now was quite surprised that one could taste as sweet as this. This one he would savor for as long as possible. His reverie was interrupted when he noticed shadows moving in an unnatural manner. The darkness flew up like it had a life of its own and swallowed up all his pets then drew away to reveal smears of what remained of his pets. He growled menacingly.

Tsuzuki looked and his hazy vision finally brought to focus a sight for sore eyes. "Ta-Tatsumi?"

"Tsuzuki!" The secretary was enraged to see his co-worker's disheveled state. The blood flowing over that gentle face imitating bloody tears, caused his lips curled in disgust. How dare that villain manhandled Tsuzuki-san!

Tsuzuki saw the look of disgust but misinterpret it. 'He hates me. He really hates me. I'm sorry.' He thought before he fainted. Before he saw the fear and concern in eyes shielded by glass. Before he was cut free by shadows.

"Gushoshin take care of him while I handle his pest."

"Tsuzuki-san?" Called the chicken, who knowing he was useless in a fight at least knew who to call for help.

"You are going to pay." The accountant informed the demon. "For what you have done to him."

"You should be the one to pay for my pets!"

The shadow master rallied his shadows once more.

and the spiderman is always hungry...

The demon was changing; having absorbed so much power from Tsuzuki it would be a shame to waste it. Besides, with such potent energy he could revive his pets given time. He grew larger and more menacing snapping his fangs, weaving his web and shooting corrosive slime at Tatsumi. If he ate this trouble maker he would surely have more power.

Gushoshin tried to flee with Tsuzuki but found that the smaller spiders were coming back to life. The librarian tried to beat them away but more were coming.

"NO!"

Tsuzuki's eyes opened to see his former partner in trouble. Tatsumi was partly stuck in the web. The monster was still shooting acid, but the shadows shielded the secretary. He also saw the librarian fighting as hard as he could. "I won't let you hurt them!" He barely had energy to stand but he did. He then summoned his shikigami Suzaku.

The phoenix tore through the web quite easily, releasing the shadow master. The secretary sent the killing blow with satisfied eyes. 'Anyone who hurts Tsuzuki will pay.'

Suzaku burned away the rest of the spiders, leaving nothing to be revived. Her mission completed she disappeared.

The secretary turned to see his co-worker swaying then slumping to the ground. "Tsuzuki-san!" He shouted as he rushed to his side.

Tsuzuki opened his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to come." Came the faintly muttered words.

"Rest for now." Ordered the secretary. He could feel how low Tsuzuki's life force was, but he also knew that his friend would recover, given time. Given time maybe even that broken heart would also heal. "I'll see you home, then you can meet your new partner tomorrow."

Tsuzuki's head bowed lower and a stray tear came down.

"Tsuzuki-san?" Fear gripped the shadow master's heart.

"But I'm so hungry." Wailed his former partner.

Tatsumi's hand smoothed over unruly brown locks. "Alright I'll cook you dinner, but it will cost you your bonus."

"Your cooking is worth it." Tsuzuki said with the smile the miser craved for, almost as much as he craved for money. "Tatsumi."

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Owari

October 30, 2004

This is my longest songfic so far.