Disclaimer- still dont own the guys. sadly. though i am borrowing them for a wee bit.

ok. i did NOT intend for it to take this long for the next bit to be uploaded. and even worse, this is more transistion than anything else...my muse had eluded me for a bit, but i think i have things back under control. which is good.... hopefully the next bit will make it here SOOOON. as always, reviews are appreciated, and flames will be given to Tatsumi to deal with...
-fireun
It was, all at once, comfortable and awkward to be working alongside Tatsumi once more. Slipping his jovial antics like a shed skin he walked silently down the street beside his old partner. He knew Tatsumi would not mistake his slouching posture for anything but the relaxed readiness to move in any direction that it was.

"You are looking rather serious today, Tsuzuki-san." Tatsumi's voice was placidly pleasant, more suited to an afternoon tea than a murder investigation.

"Do you need cheering up?" An adorably super-deformed Tsuzuki blinked impossibly huge purple eyes up at Tatsumi.

The older Shinigami chuckled quietly. "No, that's alright, Tsuzuki. I am feeling perfectly fine today."

Tsuzuki pulled a hand through his hair, grinning. "Anyway, I figured that I should earn my pay today."

"Excellent. Remind me to give Kurosaki-san a raise for inspiring such an admirable work ethic in such a hopeless case."

"TATSUMI!" Tsuzuki flailed in embarrassment.

Smiling, Tatsumi patted his friend on the shoulder and moved forward to take point. Tsuzuki sulked for another minute or so, then shoved his hands in deep pockets and returned to business. There had to be some explanation for the deaths…there was no apparent pattern apart from their sex, no connection between where and when the bodies were found. The killings themselves almost seemed as nonchalant as the faces of the deceased. "I hold to my previous analysis, Tatsumi. He is boring them to death."

"So we can count our usual suspect off of our so very short list."

"Tatsumi…Muraki was the list initially." Tsuzuki heaved a frustrated sigh. "If it weren't for some sort of emotional residue that inspired Hisoka to puke all over his favorite shoes I would hesitate to label these as murders at all. There is just nothing there."

"If only we could have Kurosaki-kun…"

"No." The vehement denial in Tsuzuki's voice startled Tatsumi into pausing and looking back. The younger Shinigami's face was set, his eyes hard. "I don't want 'Soka anywhere near this. It hurt him, Tatsumi." Tsuzuki shook his head once, frowning. "I don't want him hurt."

"You know he won't leave you alone on this case, Tsuzuki."

"Well, I figured that if I asked you to help out when he wasn't feeling well, he would stew over that long enough for us to figure things out." A half-smile danced across his face. "Watari tells me 'Soka is the jealous type." Tatsumi emitted a sound that Tsuzuki could only describe as a snicker, which was not at all the sort of reaction he expected from the usually aloof and conservative secretary. He blinked once or twice, verified that that was in face a smile on Tatsumi's face, and had the grace to blush. "I didn't mean it like that…"

"No, it's alright." Tatsumi brushed a hand across his face, composing his features. "You two are quite the pair. Stop blushing, I am being serious."

"Tatsumi, you are always serious." There was an all-suffering note to Tsuzuki's voice, a slight whine accompanied by watery eyes.

"Tsuzuki." Tatsumi sighed. "You can't stay serious for a minute, can you?"

"Well…"Whatever else Tsuzuki was planning to say died on his lips as erratic movement caught the corner of his eye. The two Shinigami were wandering through a park near where the last victim had been located, and despite the early hour, there was a figure hovering alongside one of the park benches, with not so much as a cigarette or dog to explain his early morning outing. Warning bells chiming madly in his head, Tsuzuki walked over, a smile plastered on his face. "Good morning! I was wondering…"

It is an unwritten law that time will slow to a splendid craw whenever something horrific is about to happen, almost as if to make sure the event will leave an impression on the intended victim, or that they will have that extra time to consider fully the tragedy that is about to transpire. Whatever the reason, the man raised his head ever so slowly, a bit of dew slinking off the rim of a baseball cap and hanging for a moment, catching the early morning sun in shimmering glory in front of pale eyes that met Tsuzuki's with a shock. 'Ah, shit…Sorry 'Soka…'

And Tsuzuki's world imploded.