Title: The Beginning
Summary: Why Hisoka doesn't like New Year's Eve, and what Tsuzuki does to try and solve that. (TsuzukixHisoka)
Notes: I adore Yami no Matsuei, and writing a fanfic for it is fun. I'm not too happy with the ending, but other than that, I think this story turned out okay. Except for the title. I still don't really know where that came from. But... meh, it's my first Yami no Matsuei fanfiction. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I would like to own Yami no Matsuei, if only for the oppurtunity to write an omake of Hisoka screaming, "I KEEL you, Muraki! I KEEL you D-E-D, dead!" 'Cause admit it, that would be hilarious.
The Beginning
Another day, another case, and Hisoka was nearly caught up in the monotony of it all. It wasn't a bad feeling, to have a steady routine that was rarely distracted by oddities. Although, no, that wasn't necessarily true: there were always oddities as a Shinigami. It came with the job, really. But after awhile, all those strange things melded together and became normal.
Today's case was a normal one, a standard lost soul clinging desperately to a loved one. This time, a daughter. The dead mother wanted to make sure she did well in the winter play despite her grief. Tsuzuki had dealt with the hysterical mother while Hisoka had stood, twenty feet away, and tried to block out the barrage of emotions from his senses. It hadn't helped that the mother was unnaturally adept at broadcasting.
But the mother had been sent on after she witnessed her daughter's show -- Shinigami weren't technically allowed to grant requests like that, but Tsuzuki had always been sympathetic in that way -- and now Tsuzuki and Hisoka were resting in their rented hotel room, absent-mindedly scanning through the data for the next case.
"Do you think we could get this done tonight?" Tsuzuki asked out of the blue, poking at the file. "I'm not eager or anything, but then we could have all tomorrow to sleep in and eat a nice, big breakfast and--"
"I am not going outside, Tsuzuki," Hisoka cut him off.
"But Hisoka--"
"It's almost midnight, you idiot," Hisoka said. "We wouldn't finish until three in the morning, I bet, and I don't want to be up that late."
Tsuzuki pouted momentarily before perking up slightly. "It's almost midnight?"
"Yeah," Hisoka said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "It's 11:48. We've been looking over this stuff for awhile."
"Yay, it's almost midnight!"
Hisoka gave his partner a puzzled look. "Why's that so exciting?"
"It's New Year's Eve, Hisoka!" Tsuzuki cheered, looking much more excited about that fact than a seventy years dead person should be. Tsuzuki jumped off the bed, ignoring Hisoka's cry of protest as he scattered a stack of papers onto the floor. "We have twelve minutes until the new year begins!"
Hisoka rolled his eyes, laying down on the bed to retrieve the papers from the ground. "It's not that big of a deal," he muttered. "After all, we are dead."
"You're no fun, Hisoka! New Year's is always a big deal!"
"Hn," Hisoka vocalized, not bothering to comment. Truth be told, he had never understood the importance of New Year's Eve, even when he was alive. Though he did remember them vividly. The Kurosaki family was very important in the village, and every New Year's Eve, there would be a party in their mansion.
Not that Hisoka had ever attended, mind. He had been too young for awhile, and then there was the Cellar... Hisoka remembered how overwhelmed he would get on New Year's Eve. All those emotions streaming from so many different people, ranging from excitement to happiness to love to anticipation to lust. Many ever-changing emotions rushing through his mind, made all the stronger by the general aura of excitement around the complex and the copious amounts of people.
New Year's Eve was usually the only time of the year that Hisoka had been able to feel pleasant emotions from people in his house. And it always hurt, on New Year's Day, to know that he would never be able to feel those emotions himself.
But that was before the Curse, before his death, before Tsuzuki--
"But Hisoka, New Year's Eve is wonderful," Tsuzuki was saying through a mouthful of muffin. Hisoka hadn't noticed him unwrapping the treat and was rather surprised to have been so caught up in his thoughts. "Everyone's always so happy. And it signifies the beginning of a new year, which gives people hope. I think it's a great holiday."
Hisoka didn't say anything to that, remembering his previous thoughts; he didn't want to depress Tsuzuki, who clearly enjoyed New Year's Eve a lot. He opted for staring blankly at the case file in front of him, silently wishing for Tsuzuki to change the subject.
Unfortunately for Hisoka, Tsuzuki had been his partner for nearly two years now, and was becoming adept at picking up on such avoidance techniques.
"What's wrong, Hisoka?" asked Tsuzuki, sitting down on the bed next to him. His face lacked the characteristic cute grin and his purple eyes seemed oddly serious. Hisoka knew that face, and inwardly, he groaned; Tsuzuki didn't let up once he got That Face on. Hisoka knew from experience. Tsuzuki was going to find out about what was bothering Hisoka, and there was absolutely nothing Hisoka could do to stop it.
"Nothing." Which didn't mean he couldn't try.
"Hisoka!"
"It's nothing."
"Hisoka..."
Tsuzuki was really good at That Look, and Hisoka was not enjoying the attention that was being applied to him. Thankfully, Tsuzuki's shields were firmly in place, because Hisoka didn't know if he would have been able to deal with Tsuzuki's emotions on top of his scrutiny.
"I don't like New Year's Eve," Hisoka stated, giving into Tsuzuki's questioning. Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow and settled back against the headboard of the bed, clearly waiting for more of the story. Hisoka sighed. "My family would have a party every New Year's Eve. Everyone -- everyone would be really excited all the time and I'd feel it all. I'd look forward to it, because all those feelings were -- different -- from what I usually got, but... It was hard. I never actually went to one of those parties."
The best thing about talking to Tsuzuki about things like that was that Tsuzuki never needed to ask questions after Hisoka had told him the problem. Tsuzuki simply watched him and let down his shields just an inch, so Hisoka could feel the compassion radiating faintly from his form. Then Tsuzuki smiled.
"I understand," he said, and before Hisoka could question his meaning, Tsuzuki went on, "When I was alive, I was never invited to any of the parties either. I hated that."
Hisoka looked at Tsuzuki, surprised; Tsuzuki gazed past Hisoka's shoulder at something unseen.
"But," Tsuzuki continued, looking pensive, "I liked watching other people be happy. I didn't feel like I was a part of it, but at least I could see it. And they were so happy." He looked at Hisoka and grinned. "It let me hope that I could be a part of it someday. Y'know?"
"I guess," Hisoka admitted.
"And I am," Tsuzuki continued, "We both are. We're part of it. It's different this year because we're on a case, but if we were back in Meifu, we'd be a part of it. Neither of us is left in the dark anymore."
Hisoka didn't say anything, but he offered Tsuzuki a small smile that expressed what he needed. Tsuzuki grinned brightly and glanced at the clock.
"It's almost time!" he cheered, eyes eager. Hisoka glanced at the clock, noting that it read 11:59. The second hand ticked slowly toward the three.
"I remember something else about New Year's Eve, Hisoka," Tsuzuki said, watching the clock with avid interest.
"What's that?" Hisoka asked. The second hand made it past the five.
"My sister told me about a custom Westerner's have," he began, and Hisoka started. Tsuzuki rarely -- if ever -- mentioned his elusive sister. "It's something you do on New Year's Eve."
"Oh?" The second hand was nearing the eight.
"Because New Year's Eve is about beginning the new year right, with the people you love."
Hisoka blinked and suddenly noticed a warm, pleasant feeling emanating from Tsuzuki. Caring mixed with trust mixed with -- Hisoka broke off on his train of thought, realizing that Tsuzuki was probably waiting for an answer, and he said, "What is it?"
The second hand crept past the eleven, and suddenly Tsuzuki's hand was on Hisoka's cheek. Tsuzuki turned Hisoka's face away from the clock on the wall gently and smiled.
"This," he said, and he kissed him.
All around Japan, cheering broke out as the clock turned from 11:59 to 12:00, and the New Year began. On the fourth floor of a small hotel, a tall dark-haired man pulled away from a smaller green-eye one and took his hand off the other's cheek.
"Happy New Year, Hisoka," Tsuzuki said.
Hisoka wasn't sure if he necessarily liked the blush that overtook his face or the fact that he couldn't move if he had wanted to. He wasn't even sure if he had liked the unexpected kiss. He knew logically that he shouldn't, but for some reason, logic was being shoved into the background for this one.
However, Hisoka was fairly certain that New Year's Eve wasn't all that bad anymore.