Secrets
They found Hisoka unconscious on the floor, or so they told him. He woke up in another wing of the hospital, hooked up to monitors that had told the doctors of unusual brain activity. Other than that, he was merely exhausted.
That made sense, if he had walked all the way to the room at the end of the ward alone. At least, that's what he let them think, though they continued to run neurological tests on him. They considered it a breakthrough.
It was nothing of the sort - it wasn't the first time that his empathy used in this manner had made him lose consciousness, and it was hardly surprising for it to happen when he was as worn out as he had been. He wasn't going to explain it to them, though, or he'd hear more of the whispers throughout the ward, and this time they'd be about him.
Rumors spread regardless in the weeks to come, but they weren't derogatory ones.
He was allowed to go back and see Tsuzuki whenever he took his walks, much to his surprise. Not for any good reason, though - they thought of it as cute in a tragic, hopeless sort of way. So the boy thought he could make some kind of difference to the catatonic vegetable. Humor the boy - he's not doing any harm, and he's dying.
They had no idea, however, that Tsuzuki was in fact responding to Hisoka.
Nothing happened when the doctors were there. There was a glittering recognition somewhere deep within the emptiness, which never made it beyond the confines of the man's mind, but that was all. It was only after they left, and Hisoka crept closer to touch his hand, that Tsuzuki showed outward signs of improvement.
Hisoka didn't have to speak in words, but he did anyway. Sometimes he told Tsuzuki stories from books that he'd read. Sometimes he'd tell Tsuzuki the things that he didn't dare to tell anyone else. The first time Tsuzuki responded with a vague, distant smile instead of merely emotional activity, Hisoka was shocked.
Tsuzuki's eyes remained as empty as ever, the aura of desolation and depression continued to swallow him like shadows falling, but he smiled faintly at the sound of Hisoka's voice. Maybe he heard and understood what Hisoka was saying, maybe he didn't, maybe it was merely the emotional connection caused by Hisoka's empathy - but there was something building between the two of them nonetheless. Tsuzuki would keep the secrets Hisoka dared to tell him, and Hisoka kept Tsuzuki's secrets - all the things he'd felt in Tsuzuki's emotions. The smiles were their own special secret.
Perhaps his taking an interest had renewed the hospital staff's interest, however - there were times now that he entered Tsuzuki's room to find someone there, examining him. One such time, he was rather sure that he'd never seen the doctor before.
The man's face appeared stern, but there was a sadness and regret radiating from him as he looked down at the body of the man in the bed. It changed to surprise, as he sensed Hisoka's presence, and he turned around, peering at him with blue eyes that were not muted by his glasses. "And you are...?"
The doctors on this wing knew every patient, since there were few short stays, and Hisoka knew all the doctors. This was strange. "Kurosaki Hisoka. Who are you?"
The man smiled a tight smile at the protective tone in Hisoka's voice. "Tatsumi Seiichirou. I apologize if I startled you - I've come from another institution to examine Tsuzuki-san. His case has interested us for many years." The man hesitated for a moment. "Has he awakened for you?"
"No." It was half-true.
"Hmm..." Tatsumi said nothing more, just regarded Hisoka thoughtfully.
Hisoka was suspicious; why would a doctor from some other hospital know more about what happened between them than a doctor from their own hospital? "What?" he asked, growing defensive.
"How much do you know about Tsuzuki-san?" Tatsumi asked. "Do you know how long he's been here?"
Hisoka shook his head, glancing over to the bed. He didn't care how long Tsuzuki had been like this...
His eyes widened slightly when he realized that Tsuzuki didn't feel completely empty, like he usually did when they weren't alone. He already could sense recognition. ...Of Tatsumi-san?
"Sad as it may be," Tatsumi stated, "death is a natural part of life. Sometimes people cling to this world, but nearly always it brings them nothing but pain. It would be more merciful to let go."
Hisoka's eyes narrowed suddenly. How dare this man say things like that? He didn't know anything about Tsuzuki either!
"But on the other hand," Tatsumi continued, glancing back down at the bed, "if such a person finds a reason to live, it would become more unnatural for them to die. If you'll excuse me..."
Hisoka stepped aside as Tatsumi brushed past him to the door - and was it his imagination, or when the man reached up to nudge his glasses up the bridge of his nose, was he hiding a small smile? "Good luck, Kurosaki-kun."
"...Thanks..." Hisoka murmured, puzzled, as he watched the strange doctor go. Well... whatever. He'd come to see Tsuzuki, not talk to some weird doctor. He had enough of that as it was.
"Tsuzuki...?" Funny, Hisoka almost felt jealous of the doctor - he had thought that he was the only person that Tsuzuki seemed to recognize.
But if Tsuzuki was making progress, maybe someday he would wake up again. Maybe they would be able to talk in words, and then Tsuzuki would recognize lots of people. That would be a good thing, wouldn't it? Hisoka wondered, as he took Tsuzuki's hand and saw that faint, familiar little smile part his lips at the recognition of his empathic link, if losing the secrecy of this friendship they shared would ruin it.
Then again... Hisoka was going to die before long anyway, wasn't he? It would have been selfish to expect Tsuzuki to pine after only his friendship forever, when it couldn't last.
Even while he held out hope for Tsuzuki's recovery, Hisoka's was not progressing at all. Things hadn't gotten much worse, though he was tired more and more frequently and after less effort, and his body often ached; his condition definitely wasn't improving, and the doctors still had no idea what was wrong.
That was all right... Hisoka really hadn't wanted to live anyway. It was only that he had this strange urge to reach out to bring Tsuzuki back before he died. Just so he could have done one good thing.
That was what he told himself, anyway. It didn't explain his dismay when one day he pulled himself up to Tsuzuki's bedside, reached for his hand, and got no response whatsoever.
No smile, no flicker of recognition - no change at all in Tsuzuki's emotional emptiness. The only thing that colored it was a pain and fear which Hisoka thought might even be worse than when he had first encountered Tsuzuki. That didn't make any sense - Tsuzuki had been staying, as always, in this same room that he'd apparently been in for years. Doctors even checked on him more frequently. What could possibly have happened in this situation that would cause him to not only completely regress, but end up worse?
Maybe it was just Hisoka's imagination. Maybe he didn't remember Tsuzuki's pain as sharp as it really had been when they'd met. It had been months, almost a year, since they'd first crossed paths. Maybe Tsuzuki had just regressed, and that was all. Still, he couldn't understand why it would have happened, and why his efforts now seemed to make no difference.
Not until one day, when he felt strong enough to walk to the end of the hallway without assistance for another visit. He opened the door, and stared.
The sheets and blankets on the bed had been pushed down, the yukata Tsuzuki wore had been cast aside. Tsuzuki himself was on his stomach, and one of the doctors was atop him, white pants loose around his thighs as he turned with a start to the boy standing in the doorway.
At first, Hisoka was confused as to what was going on. As it started to dawn on him, and he was convinced that yes - this really was what it looked like - he was terrified.
Pale eyes bore into him as he stood frozen in the doorway, and Hisoka sensed chaos and darkness - a much more violent chaos and darkness than Tsuzuki's emotions. "Ah - you again, boy. I hadn't expected to find you here as well..."
...Again? Hisoka wanted to ask, but he couldn't find his voice. He knew this man with the silver hair was a newer doctor who had only recently transferred to the hospital, because he'd seen him in the ward in recent weeks, but they'd taken no real notice of each other...
"Oh, don't worry - I know you don't remember."
...In recent weeks. Hisoka couldn't remember exactly when he had first seen this man on the ward, but it seemed like it had been at about the time that he'd come to find Tsuzuki had regressed.
The doctor's expression was tense and manic, caught in a moment of sadistic pleasure - but below him, Tsuzuki's face held no expression at all. His eyes were blank, staring down at the bedsheets his head rested upon.
Somehow, the contrast between the two infuriated Hisoka to the point where he couldn't think. He didn't care if the doctor thought they had met before. He didn't care that the doctor was probably twice his age, with lawyers and important friends. He didn't care that the safest and wisest option was to call for help. What he cared about was punishing the bastard for doing this to Tsuzuki, who couldn't even defend himself.
Hisoka clenched a fist, raising it as he forgot his body's weakness and started to lunge forward. The doctor caught the feeble punch he threw easily, and twisted Hisoka's arm to push him down on the bed next to Tsuzuki, who still lay there limp and helpless.
Over his shoulder, Hisoka saw the doctor bend over him, smiling a sinister smile. "I see the curse is working as intended, or you'd never have been so foolish. In fact, I believe you'd have been paralyzed with terror if you'd remembered me. Another successful experiment... and one that I am not quite ready to abandon just yet."
His right eye, Hisoka saw, was not normal - it was like some kind of reptile's eye behind the sweep of silver hair, and suddenly he was paralyzed with terror as that eye moved closer...
The next day, Tsuzuki slit his wrist again, for some reason Hisoka didn't understand. It happened while Hisoka was asleep, and he woke to the buzz of fear and worry across the ward. He might have panicked, if one of the newer doctors, Dr. Muraki, hadn't assured him that Tsuzuki was already in stable condition. Tsuzuki-san would make a full recovery, he was sure, and soon he would return to his usual room. Hisoka could visit his friend again then, if he liked.
Seeing as it was the first time Hisoka had ever spoken to the silver-haired doctor, he was a little surprised at Dr. Muraki's kind words.