Reviving the Sun: Nostalgic Introduction
Author's note: Hateki and Kuyo's first meeting.
Warnings: shonen-ai, yaoi, language, violence, blood, murder, reincarnation and a few other things that will be brought up as they appear.
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own… nothing but the plot of this story at least.
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"Che!" Hateki was running, the sounds of a pair of gunshots and a loud scream echoing though the night air around him. He had just gotten off of work, bartending the early night shift at a local restaurant, and was on his way home when he hard the shots go off. Not really thinking, he was rushing towards the noise…
He found the center of the incident in a nearby alley; a middle-aged man was slumped on his knees, hands clenched over a bleeding wound at his shoulder. A younger man, probably in his mid twenties, was standing before him shakily holding an old handgun in his hands.
"Hey!" Hateki's shout startled the gun wielding man. The kid turned, stumbling as he let off another few shots in Hateki's direction. The crimson-eyed man dodged the badly aimed bullets, ducking towards the man and knocking him to the ground. The gun flew into the shadows lining the alley's edge and out of sight. Hateki stood, giving the grounded man a swift kick.
"Get out of here," he growled. The man stumbled to his feet, dashing clumsily out of the alley and away from that burning crimson stare. Hateki sighed and turned, going to the wounded man's side. "You alright?" he asked. The man didn't answer, only nodded stiffly and gasped. "Let's get you to the hospital," Hateki urged, gripping the man by his arms.
"Riho…" Hateki froze at the man's gasp and glanced around quickly. His eyes widened. There, hiding in the shadows near a rusty old trash can, a young dark haired girl was cowering, tears streaming down her small face. Hateki smiled, letting go of the man and kneeling to the girl's height.
"Riho-chan… right?" The girl nodded slowly. "I'm not going to hurt ya," Hateki promised. "I need to get your dad to the hospital. Can you help me?" The girl, Riho, nodded again, a little more confidently this time and stepped out of the shadows. Hateki smiled and stood, moving back to the injured man and hefting him over his shoulders. He held out a hand to the little girl.
"Come on," he beckoned. "We don't have a lot of time." The girl took his hand, brown eyes wide and trusting and followed him without a word.
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Hateki flopped down on one of the stiffly padded chairs of the hospital's waiting room with a loud sigh. His clothes were by now probably ruined from the amount of blood drying into the fabric and his shoulders were aching like nothing else from caring the man's dead weight. Ah… what he wouldn't give right now for a cigarette and some good painkillers…
"Excuse me…" A soft voice caught Hateki's attention. He looked up to see a young brunette man in a white lab coat standing in front of him. The stranger smiled back, his expression unreadable. "Are you the one that brought in our shooting victim?" he asked. Hateki nodded.
"The old man? Yeah, that's me," he answered.
"Do you know who he is?" the brunette asked. "He had no id on him…" Hateki shook his head.
"Found him in an alley with his… daughter," he replied, nodding to the small girl sitting in a chair a few yards away from them. "Didn't really have a chance to ask who he was." The young doctor smiled, green eyes catching his.
"Did you see the one who shot him?" he asked. Hateki shrugged.
"Not really… he ran when I yelled," he lied fluently. No use in turning in people who were more desperate than he was back in the gang. It wasn't his style. He looked up, surveying the young doctor.
"May I ask your name?" the brunette asked him. It was then that Hateki froze, just as their eyes met again. Time seemed to slow for a moment… then stop… freeze… and rewind in a dizzying blur of unintelligible images and sounds. And a name… from a voice so familiar… where had he heard… "Gojyo…"
"Kawasaki Hateki," he answered finally. "Have I met you before?" The green-eyed doctor frowned, his expression just as confused as Hateki's.
"I don't…"
"What's your name?" Hateki asked the flustered man.
"Tomotori… Kuyo," the brunette answered. "I'm an intern here in the emergency ward." Hateki shrugged and nodded.
"Suits you." Kuyo stared at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, somewhat defensively. Hateki frowned, then shrugged again.
"Mnh…" Kuyo chuckled at his response, then laughed aloud at the absurd tension of the situation. There was absolutely no reason for him to be defensive over a simple observation. The laugh was infectious and soon both of them were laughing uncontrollably. Unconsciously, Kuyo reached out and brushed a lock of Hateki's long, midnight hair.
"It's the wrong color…" he murmured, and Hateki froze, the tension returning to the large room.
"What?" he asked, voice low. Kuyo jumped, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"Sumimasen, I'm not sure why I said that."
"Che…" Hateki relaxed, leaning back in the chair. "You're kinda cute… for a guy," he noted. Kuyo's reaction was to blush, then to begin laughing again. The infectious chuckle spread until the two were once again doubled over with mirth.
"So, is the old man alright then?" Hateki asked when they finally calmed down enough to speak coherently. Kuyo nodded.
"The bullet missed anything vital. He should be fine within a few days." The green-eyed man frowned, glancing over at the young girl seated almost unnervingly calmly a few feet away. "Kawasaki-san…"
"Hateki," Hateki corrected automatically. Kuyo blinked, a little surprised by this man he had met only a few minutes ago. He smiled then, and nodded.
"Hateki… sa-" Kuyo winced when Hateki glared at him.
"Just Hateki," the crimson eyed man told him. "-san makes me feel old." Kuyo couldn't help but laugh at the simple logic there.
"Does the girl-"
"Riho."
"Does Riho have a place to stay for the night? I'm assuming our gun victim is her father…" Kuyo frowned as he said that. Hateki shrugged in response. He stood up and moved towards the young girl, who looked calmly up at him with solemn brown eyes.
"You all right?" he asked. Riho nodded. "Do you have a place to stay… someone to pick you up?" She shook her head. Kuyo knelt beside Hateki, facing the girl.
"Would you like to stay with your father?" he asked. There was a flash of… something… in her eyes as the girl nodded. Smiling, Kuyo left for a moment only to return a few minutes later with a young nurse, probably in her mid-thirties, with a warm smile.
"Maki-san will bring you to a room near your fathers. You're welcome to remain here until you father is well. Is that alright?" Kuyo asked. Riho nodded again, smiling up at him . She took the nurse's offered hand and the woman guided her away down the hall. "Has she said anything?" Kuyo asked, a worried frown on his face.
"Not a word," Hateki replied. "But she'll be alright. She's probably just in shock." The crimson-eyed man shrugged. "She's lucky anyway… at least her father lived." Kuyo couldn't help but catch the frozen tone in Hateki's voice at that comment. It seemed… sad.
"Are you alright?" the young intern asked suddenly. Hateki grinned, surveying his clothing.
"Ah, I'm fine. None of this is mine anyway," he said, gesturing to the blood on his clothes.
"I could probably find you a change of clothes," Kuyo offered. Hateki shrugged it off.
"Nawh, I'll be fine. I live pretty close to here anyway," he explained. "Plus, I can't say I'm much of one for hospital scrubs." Kuyo laughed.
"I have to get back to work. Perhaps I'll see you again?" he asked hopefully. Hateki grinned in response.
"When do you get off?" he asked. Kuyo checked his watch.
"Around 11:00," he replied. "I have a good hour to go." Hateki nodded.
"How 'bout I pick you up and we go for a drink?" he asked.
"I just met you…" Kuyo stated incredulously, more than a slight bit flustered. Hateki shrugged innocently in response.
"You any good at cards?" he asked. Kuyo gazed at him curiously… not sure whether he was being sincere or if he was joking. Hateki just grinned that arrogant, silly grin at him. "I'm not doing anything tonight," he explained. "Might as well have some decent company." Kuyo sighed finally in defeat.
"Alright," he agreed. "A game does sound interesting."
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As predicted, getting Goku into the Shokan division office without being seen proved to be more difficult than it was probably worth. And yet, despite much protest, Goku had somehow ended up in Watari's lab, much to the scientist's annoyance. Still, it was the best place to keep the boy if they didn't want to be found out. That, and apparently 003 had taken a liking to Goku as the tiny owl was currently settled on the boy's shoulder pecking at the gold band around his head.
Tsuzuki and Hisoka had already left them to plan their little 'update' for Tatsumi. A fairly accurate report, of course, but certain details concerning the impossibly old living boy they had found had to be left out. And yet, even as Watari glared at his traitorous pet settled on the golden-eyed boy's shoulder, he couldn't help but become a little curious about the gold diadem that 003 had taken such an interest in.
"Goku?" he asked, finally giving into his curiosity. The boy was watching Watari carefully, absently brushing 003 away from his headband as if he were used to small animals resting on his shoulder.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Why do you where that band around your head?" was Watari's question. Goku froze up a bit, brushing the mentioned golden band with his fingers.
"It's a youkai power limiter," he explained defensively. It was Watari's turn to act surprised.
"What?" he half shrieked. Goku's head tilted.
"I don't know if they're still living in the human world… or if they're even around anymore. I haven't sensed any in a long time, not since…" He stopped for a moment. "There used to be lots of youkai, just living normally together with humans. Then a group of them decided to revive an ancient demon lord who had refused to coexist with humans. Their experiments caused most of the youkai to loose control of themselves…"
"So you're a youkai," Watari finished. Goku shrugged.
"Sorta…" he tapped his headband again. "This thing keeps me in a human forma and keeps my powers in check so I don't loose control. Even without the minus wave, as we called it, I still didn't have very good control in my real form." Watari nodded.
"Fascinating," he murmured absently. "But that still doesn't explain how you survived for over a millennia."
"Sanzo told me to protect the scripture until he returned. It's not like I was keeping track of time. I'd done it before… waited for him to find me. I was locked in a stone prison for 500 years before I met Sanzo." Watari stared at him, then blinked and shook his head.
"I'm shocked no one has investigated you yet," he noted. "A creature as old as you… someone should have looked into it by now."
"Investigated me? For what?" Goku asked curiously. Watari looked at him.
"It's one of the things we do here, as shinigami. We investigate supernatural deaths, lost spirits and other general mishaps with the normal cycle of death," he explained. Again Goku's face held a frown of confusion.
"Shinigami?" he asked. Watari nodded.
"Guardians of death," was his explanation. "Though technically all of us are dead already. Its generally spirits who have some attachment to the mortal world that become shinigami. This particular division investigates parts of Japan. Each shinigami is assigned to a district to investigate any strange murders or deaths in the area."
"So that's why you were looking for me," Goku concluded. "Because I killed that monk." The scientist nodded.
"Really, we almost let the case go. It looked like nothing more than a stubborn spirit refusing to move on and the monk went with them easily enough. But then we dragged up an old case file listing other similar murders in the area. That and if they hadn't dug up that file, Tsuzuki and Hisoka would never have asked for my help…" Watari was rambling and he barely noticed. Goku just shook his head, more than a little confused.
"Why not?" he asked. Thinking for a moment, Watari pulled out a slightly wrinkled map from its place where it had been shoved between to cabinets. He spread it out in front of the boy, pointing to Nagasaki and the surrounding area.
"This is the district Tsuzuki and Hisoka are assigned to," he said, then pointed to Mt. Aso. "This is where we found you. Usually shinigami don't ask for help outside their district if they don't need it, but my district…" the scientist pointed to Kyoto and the surrounding area. "… is obscenely quiet at the best of times. The last big case there was around three months ago… and that was the first in a while." Goku couldn't help but note a guarded level in Watari's voice when he mentioned that case. "Because of my district, I usually stay here in Meifu, the land of the dead, for research and… other things… lab work, you know." Goku nodded, slightly less confused thanks to the erratic explination.
"Alright," he said, then stopped. "Where's your partner then?" he asked. Watari shrugged, a friendly grin on his face.
"I don't have an official partner because my district is so quiet," he explained. "If I do have a case, one of the GuShoShin usually goes with me."
"GuShoShin?" Goku asked. Watari nodded.
"It would be nice if I could introduce you to them but…" he paused. Goku nodded, sighing. His stomach grumbled.
"I'm hungry…" he moaned. Watari sighed as well.
"And bored no doubt," he muttered. He frowned, glancing around the room. "Maybe…" A knock sounded at the door. Watari panicked, gesturing for Goku to hide. Taking the hint, the youkai ducked under the lab table and into the small closet sized room behind where Watari kept his extra cot and a few changes of clothes. He had just barely made it out of sight when the door opened. Watari spun around, smiling awkwardly as Tatsumi entered the room.
Tat… Tatsumi?" he sputtered. The blue-eyed secretary eyed him carefully.
"I came to hear your personal report on the Aso case," he stated, closing the door behind him. His eyes were narrowed slightly at Watari's awkward reaction. "Watari-san… are you alright?" he asked. Watari nodded a little to quickly, laughing to cover his nervousness.
"I'm fine," he answered, grinning back. "Why don't we go to your office and discuss then…" Tatsumi gave him a strange look.
"This place is just as private as any…"
"Well…" Watari stopped, then laughed nervously. "The birds…" Though Tatsumi had to give him credit for trying, Watari had to be the worst liar in the entire division. The brunette sighed.
"Alright, we'll go to my office," he agreed finally. He'd find out what Watari was hiding soon enough anyway. As the two left, Goku popped out of the back room, 003 on his shoulder.
"That was close." He breathed a sigh of relief. 003 hooted in agreement.
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Tsuzuki let out a loud, relived sigh as he closed the door to his and Hisoka's cramped office.
"That was close," he noted, opening his eyes. He smiled at his partner, who was seated at one of the two desks, his head resting on his arms. Hisoka had left part of the way through their discussion with Tatsumi, claiming he had something to do. Apparently that something was still in progress.
Moving forward, Tsuzuki draped his long black coat over the slumbering boy's shoulders. "You should have told me you were tired," he murmured, watching the younger shinigami with an affectionate smile. "I know you haven't been sleeping well." Tsuzuki left the room, carefully making sure that he didn't wake his partner. It was probably a good time to go check on their new charge.
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"So, what were your findings?" Tatsumi asked the blonde scientist behind him as he set the file folder he had been carrying down on his neatly organized desk. Watari shrugged as the other man turned to him, his usual sunny smile hiding his anxiety.
"Nothing much," he replied vaguely. Tsuzuki had forgotten to discuss with him their exact plan of what to tell the chief and his diligent secretary. He was hoping that if he stayed vague enough the blue-eyed Kagetsukai wouldn't notice. Tatsumi's reaction, however, was to raise a skeptical eyebrow.
"And?" he asked. Watari flinched mentally.
"Well…" he started, pretending to think though he was really trying to grasp at a semi-decent story to tell. "We went to Mt. Aso…" The blonde frowned. "We managed to find a cave, possibly where the monk had fallen from, but it was empty." Tatsumi's eyes narrowed slightly. Tsuzuki and Hisoka had mentioned nothing of an empty cave in the cliffs of the mountain. Their story had been that the fog was too thick to see anything clearly. The three were definatly keeping something from him, but the question was what, and why.
"Is that all?" Tatsumi asked. Watari nodded a little too quickly.
"I need to get back to work…" he murmured. "Is that all you wanted?" Tatsumi nodded, turning back to his desk.
"You may go." Watari left the room, breathing a slightly forlorn sigh of relief before heading back to the safety of his lab.
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The bar was pleasantly filled with people that night; the din surrounding the two figures seated by a small table near the back created a comfortable background noise for them to bask in.
"Flush… hearts." Hateki looked up at his quietly smiling companion. Kuyo met his eyes, looking back at him as he flipped his cards over.
"I believe I win this round," he said smugly. Hateki just stared at him, then sighed, lighting another cigarette.
"How the hell do you do that?" he asked incredulously. Kuyo shrugged.
"I've always had a talent for games of luck," he answered. "They hated me for it at the University." Hateki laughed.
"Probably cause you were robbing them blind. I'm just glad we're not playing for money or I'd be broke by now." Kuyo's answering expression was a devilish smirk that looked as if it belonged to a less innocent seeming face. "So, you still hang around campus or did they finally boot you out?" he asked. Kuyo shrugged.
"I moved closer to the hospital when I started my internship," he answered. "It's nice really… quieter." Hateki was about to ask another question when a soft beeping noise caught both his attention and Kuyo's. The brunette started digging through his pockets, the noise growing louder as he pulled out his beeper. His face furrowed in a dark frown. "I have to get back," he said, standing and reaching for his coat. Hateki stood as well.
"I thought you were off for the night," he stated, confused.
"I am," Kuyo answered. "Apparently there's an emergency and they need me." Hateki was a bit unsure of what to do.
"Why the hell are they calling an intern for an emergency?" he asked. Kuyo shrugged, pulling on his coat and setting the money for his drinks on the table.
"I don't know," he answered finally. Hateki had a bad feeling about this. Something made him feel cold and he didn't know why, a feeling he really didn't like. He grabbed his own coat, moving to follow Kuyo.
"I'm coming with," he stated firmly. Kuyo stared at him.
"Why?" he asked, not bothering to tell him off.
"I have a bad feeling…" was Hateki's answer. Kuyo nodded.
"Alright."
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Author's note: Next chapter, Hateki and Kuyo get into a little trouble… The question is, who's going to bail them out? Please review. And keep on the lookout for new chapters… I'm an erratic updater… so you never know when something might show up!