Disclaimers: We do not own these characters! They belong to the creator and publishing companies. We are simply borrowing them to have some fun!

Sol: Hey out there! Anyone reading yet? Thank you once again to DarkSapphireDragon for your continued support, it makes me very happy.

Nemesis: Ahem! She means make US very happy. Now once again, please give is some tiny, minuscule indication that you're reading. We do take everything and anything, harsh flames and blanks accepted! Just sign your name and indicate you're reading!

Chapter 6: Candlelit Encounters

Tatsumi opened the door to Hakushaku's mansion. Yumi was immediately fascinated by all of the rare artifacts and kept straying off to the side to gaze at them. Miyu played with the zoom on her camera and happily recounted the events that had taken place in the alley.

"And then Yumi fired up the Ra thing and presto! Instant ash! I wanted to do a chalk outline for a before-and-after kind of thing, but the ashes all kept blowing away! Yumi and Hisoka made me go, cause cops heard Makaku's screaming."

Eventually, after a few detours, they reached a set of double doors. Tatsumi smiled and adjusted his glasses. "The count wishes to meet you both. Please try and be as respectful as you can. And if the opportunity arises ask if he looked over the latest account proposals I sent him." Tatsumi opened the door and ushered them inside, closing it quietly behind them.

Miyu snapped a few shots of the elegantly decorated table lit beautifully by a roaring fire in the background. She couldn't resist and said, "Honey! I'm home!" Then she spotted a laptop sitting at one end of the table. "Check it out! The Dark Age meets the 20th Century! Very fashionable! Shaku-sama's got good taste." She took a picture and sat down and pulled the laptop closer to her. "Oh! A fan!"

Yumi pulled out a chair and sat down. "You're so nosy. Didn't Tatsumi just tell you to be on your best behavior?"

"I will be, and look who's talking miss gotta-see-everything-on-the-tables-in-the-halls."

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Unlike you, I don't have to handle everything... I just looked, I didn't touch a single thing. Anyways, what do you think you're doing now? Didn't your parents ever teach you it's not nice to take what isn't yours?"

Miyu bolted upright and slammed her fists on the table, causing one of the candles fall over and extinguish. "Don't you ever speak about my family!" She snarled.

Yumi jerked in surprise and then thought, "Oh yeah... her family... forgot about her issues with that. I suppose I could be more thoughtful." She spoke up, "Sorry... my bad." She shrugged and reached out, putting the candle upright, re-lighting it with some of her fire. Miyu went back to typing on the laptop and the room fell silent again. As she finished, Yumi caught a glint of silver flicker behind Miyu's shoulder. Before she could even gasp a white glove shot up to an empty mask in a motion for silence.

But Yumi was too shocked to care what the ghostly figure wanted. "M-m-m-m-Miyu!"

"What?" Miyu snapped.

"M-m-m-Miyu!"

"Will you stop stammering and te-"Miyu looked up. Yumi had gone pale and pointed with a shaky finger to something obviously right behind her. A hand settled on her shoulder and Miyu gulped and took her hands off the keyboard. Turning her head very slowly towards the direction of the hand she encountered a silver mask staring at her without a face.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Miyu bolted from the seat and cowered behind Yumi.

"Good evening ladies! I am Hakushaku, Lord of this manor. It's a pleasure to meet y-"

"Weird!" Yumi's scientific sense had kicked in and she jumped forward to touch his mask. "A classic example of disembodiment! There appears to be no matter to the figure. How is this possible?" Yumi's mind was racing; she then picked up a random candle and extinguished the flame, and held it next to the invisible form. She blew the smoke towards the figure to see if an outline appeared. "Sort of...but it's very faint." She then proceeded to re-light the candle and held it near the mask.

She was about to conduct more tests, when a voice spoke up, "Lord Hakushaku! Lord Hakushaku! The candle!"

Yumi turned to see a strange little figure with droopy skin and bulging eyes carrying a tea tray. "Wow!" She then headed over to him with a different candle and began walking circles around him. "Hmm...looks like the result of a failed mummification...this rotting flesh, the eyes falling out...wonder what step they messed up. Could it be..."

"I don't care what it is! Just make it go away! It's gross! Being dead is creepy enough...but ghosts and zombies!? I want to go home! I want Tatsumi! I want my Chichiri doll!" Miyu cried from behind the chair Yumi had vacated.

The count sweat dropped and said, "Ladies, please calm down. You are perfectly safe here."

"Oh, I'm not worried about my safety! I just want to analyze this thing..." Yumi said, still circling the little guy, still holding up the candle. She mumbled to herself, "The embalming process must have been cut short or done incorrectly...or perhaps he was a servant not deemed worthy enough for a full mummification..."

A while later, after Yumi's initial analysis of Watson and Tatsumi being brought in to calm the panicky Miyu, Lord Hakushaku asked for the short version of last night's hunt.

Despite the request, Yumi gave him a detailed description of the night before. Miyu, Still clinging tightly to Tatsumi who looked distinctly uncomfortable, tossed in bits of info she felt were important and relaxed a bit. The count then spoke, "Well, I'm glad to see both of you progressing along the path to become strong shinigami. So, are you getting used to it? Are you managing all right?"

Yumi spoke up here, "Well, now that you ask, I have a question for you."

"Yes Yumi-san?"

"I honestly don't mind this whole death and shinigami thing, but is there any way I could go back home for just two days?"

Tatsumi choked and Miyu fell forward a bit.

"Because, you see, my death occurred at a very inconvenient time. Right before I died I had been elected the head of the Japanese National Anthropology Society, and I had been planning a wonderful party for my acceptance of the position. I would really like to see how it turned out." Yumi looked at him with a smile.

"No. That's not possible."

"What about for an hour?"

"I'm sorry, but the answer must still be no."

"Please? I wouldn't even take a paid vacation for it."

"No."

"Please? If you let me I'll make Miyu give you a discount." Yumi pointed to the website still up on the laptop.

"Tempting, but no."

"Plea-" Yumi was cut off by Tatsumi intervening.

"Yumi-san, it is time to go. See you later Hakushaku-sama." Tatsumi said leading Yumi towards the door with his free arm. As she was being led out she turned around and asked one more thing.

"Can I run a few experiments on your servant?"

"NO!"

Right before they left the room, Miyu let go of Tatsumi's arm and reached for her camera; she placed a fuda on it as she took the time to carefully focus and snapped a shot of Hakushaku.

"You're still there."

If Hakushaku had a face he would have looked surprised. Instead Miyu quickly explained, "If you were a threat to me you would have been blinded or weakened by my spells."

Her usual smile spread across her face. "You have a groovie home! And I love working in the Shoka division! So many 'pretty things'!" She hugged Tatsumi's arm suggestively. "Do you like my website? I noticed that you had it up! Tatsumi worked really hard to help me get it started! He's nice, don't ya think?"

"It's a wonderful site Miyu-san."

Before Miyu left the room, she promised to bring Hakushaku a few of her favorite "Shoka Division" Pictures. Yumi turned to Miyu and snatched her camera for two quick pictures of the zombie-like creature.

After ushering the women out, Tatsumi bowed politely and turned to leave but Lord Hakushaku stopped him. "I read over your finance reports. An increase is needed in the personal spending allowances, is that correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Consider it done. Ask Miss Miyu if she would send those pictures to this e-mail address. I'm not sure when our next meeting might be." He turned back to his laptop.

Taking the card Tatsumi adjusted his glasses and took his leave, grinning.

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Yumi: Hakushaku-sama is so rude...how dare he keep me tied up for so long. I could have spent that time doing important research. I would like to research ways of getting more people to review. It is completely confounding me why we don't have ten reviews yet...it is such a mystery.

Miyu: Shut up you freak! I'm sure people aren't reviewing because I haven't brought up enough on Tomokazu Seki. If I made more references to him, I'm sure more people would review.

Yumi: NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR OBSESSION! There has to be a scientific reason and I will find it-even if it takes another year! But, until I find a scientific solution to get more to reviews, all I can do is ask and beg.

Miyu: Sticking out her tongue and glaring, everyone, please review.