Well, here it is, the third chapter. I was too busy with work this week and
it took me a while to write this down.
Thank you Literally Eagle for reviewing chapter two; you single handedly encouraged me to continue this story, and I promise that more than a Jam fight will happen next.
I'm still B.S.ing about all the mythical stuff. It seems to be working so I'll keep doing it for a while :) Thanks for reading.
The Trial - Chapter Three
Smoke was rising from behind one of the administration buildings when Tsuzuki and Hisoka finally found their way out of the hospital. The creature causing the havoc was still partly hidden behind the building but from where Hisoka stood, he could see the side of a large, rippling body - over 200 feet tall - moving behind the structure and trying to get around it. It seemed like in its effort to do so the creature had destroyed a part of the building and now alarms where going off all over JuOhCho.
"What is that thing?" Hisoka found himself asking. Behind them, the doors to the hospital burst open and an army of noisy kids spilled out to see what was going on. They heard the sound of trees being crushed and all eyes turned in that direction.
"I can't see it yet." Tsuzuki said, his eyebrows knitting together, "but if it keeps rampaging around like that, I sure as hell am going to stop it." Tsuzuki's face was serious, and there was a note of steel in his voice that Hisoka recognized from when his partner was ready to fight and protect other people. This was the other side of Tsuzuki Asato, the most powerful and practiced shinigami in Meifu.
"Stand back, Hisoka. I'll take care of this. Take the kids inside and close the doors. You better warn Wakaba-chan as well." He was already reaching into his pocket for a Fuda.
"What? Not a chance, you idiot. I'm not going to hide behind your back when the situation is like this. If we're partners - which we were last time I checked - we're gonna fight this thing together."
"But the kids..."
"That's why we have hospital staff. I'm not a babysitter either."
Tsuzuki shook his head. "Alright, alright. But make sure you stay--" He was cut off as the creature finally burst its way out of the obstructions and came into full view.
Hisoka's eyes went wide. It wasn't just the sheer size of the thing, or the fact that it was hovering 10 feet above the ground. The young shinigami wasn't sure he had seen anything like it before, and he and Tsuzuki had fought some very impressive demons in the past. But this thing..., Hisoka couldn't put a finger on it, there was just something disturbing about it. The whole shape of the monster was like a large, vibrant sheet thrown over some giant blimp, the edges of the curtain fluttering gently but consistently in the air. There was no head or tail or any other limbs, just a halo on the top that seemed to emit a glow. In fact, now that Hisoka could see it up close, the whole thing seemed to be glowing from within, its colors changing like an optical illusion. Like those bugs that reflected rainbow when they were touched by the sunlight. And what was more, the rippling curtain of body looked semi-transparent even though it crashed into anything it came into contact with.
"Hisoka...go back inside the building and close the doors." Tsuzuki's voice was uncharacteristically calm. Hisoka was startled. He looked up at his partner inquiringly. Tsuzuki's eyes were trained on the creature with a strange look - what was it exactly? fear? hesitation? despair? - clouding them. It was a rare look for the purple-eyed shinigami and it made Hisoka even more concerned.
"Why Tsuzuki? You said I could stay. What's going on?"
Tsuzuki turned to him, the same look, now tinged with worry, shadowing his face.
"Please, Hisoka. Just take the kids and go inside. I'll explain to you later, I'll promise. Just go. Please."
The pain-filled look on Tsuzuki's face and the way his eyes begged with him was enough for Hisoka to stop him from arguing any further. He turned and ushered the kids inside, closing the hospital door behind them.
There were protests from the kids who insisted they wanted to watch, but Hisoka' signature glare and commanding attitude stopped them right on the spot. They all rushed to the room Wakaba was occupying, which had the best view to the scene outside. A dozen faces plastered themselves against the windowpane, not wanting to miss a bit of the action. Hisoka had to squeeze himself in and yell at a couple of faces before he could get enough room to look outside. 'Brats' he thought to himself, for once agreeing with Tsuzuki. Finally he found a spot were he could see his partner clearly.
Tsuzuki was standing right were he had left him, facing the monster alone. Hisoka's heart clenched in his chest. He wasn't sure why he was worried so much about him. Tsuzuki was strong, much stronger than he could ever dream of being. He had faced monsters twice as big and three times as vicious as this one. He guessed it was the look in his partner's eyes, that look he gave him just before he asked him to leave, that worried Hisoka the most.
The monster - who had been frozen for a while - was now moving again. As silent and seamless as a floating balloon it approached the hospital building and a collective gasp was heard from the occupants of the room.
Tsuzuki threw a handful of Fuda paper slips at the hospital structure and right away, a translucent, humming barrier was created around it. The creature crashed into it and was momentarily stalled. Still, it didn't stop it from pursuing its goal. It moved back and rushed at the barrier again, and again. With each blow the whole building quaked and rumbled. The kids fled to the farthest corner of the room, cowering behind Wakaba's bed who - confined as she was - looked at the window with wide, frightened eyes. Now it was only Hisoka standing by the window.
Tsuzuki saw the barrier starting to cave in and reached inside his coat for more protective spells. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. Why was the creature attacking the hospital instead of him? As if hearing that thought, the monster turned toward the shinigami just as he was about to use the Ofudas again and a blinding blue blast shot out of the creature's body to hit Tsuzuki straight on. It happened so fast he didn't have time to dodge and was knocked down to his knees in excruciating pain.
"Tsuzuki!!!" Hisoka cried out.
"What is happening?" Wakaba yelled from her bed. A few muffled sobs and whimpers were heard from behind her. Hisoka's worried eyes remained on his partner who was bent over on the ground. But then he realized something else; the barrier was breaking. With Tsuzuki down, there was no strength to keep it up against the onslaught of the creature banging against it. Hisoka knew he had to think fast. "Come on!" he yelled at the others, "We have to get out of here." He helped Wakaba out of the bed, and together - Wakaba still limping - they lead the kids out of the hospital just as the creature succeeded destroying the last bit of the shield and demolished that side of the building where their room was.
Hisoka wanted go to Tsuzuki but he remembered what the older shinigami had asked him before and shepherd the kids as far away as he could to the safety of another building. They hid at its side, where he had a clear view of what was happening without being in the immediate path of danger.
Tsuzuki was up on his feet again, but for some reason he wasn't attacking the creature. He was just standing there. Before long, the thing noticed that the occupants had left the building and slowly turned to seek them. 'Why is it after us?' Hisoka thought restlessly as he watched the thing starting to float once again towards them.
'This isn't working.' He turned to take off with the kids again when he heard a blast behind him. He jerked back and saw the creature stopped dead in its track, smoke coming from its back and its form shimmering in an unpleasant way. At least it wasn't moving anymore. He was ready to spring out toward it when another blast, this one not as loud, sounded near him and the liquidy barrier that protected him and the group reappeared around them. Tsuzuki emerged from behind the creature, looking partly healed and his eyes set on the enemy.
"Leave them alone." He ordered it in a calm voice. Hisoka's mouth fell open. Why was Tsuzuki reasoning with it? Was he out of his mind? And he had only hit it once with an ordinary, harmless blast. Why hadn't he summoned any of his shikigami yet? Something was really, truly wrong here.
In any case, talking to the monster instead of attacking it appeared to be not the brightest idea as Hisoka noticed a moment later when the creature - seemingly coming out of its daze -whirled around and lashed out at Tsuzuki. This time, the close proximity made the shinigami go down on the spot, screaming in pain. The barrier shimmered and got as thin as a soap bubble. The giant body turned around and with a shocking speed of a fright train, rushed its body toward the group huddled inside.
The blast that followed this time was nothing short of earth shattering. It filled Hisoka's vision with a blinding white light that caused him to close his eyes for a couple of seconds. The earth underneath shook violently and he lost his footing even before he recognized what was going on. He fell to the ground, covering his ears against the roar of the explosion, distantly realizing how the barrier had strengthened again and was protecting them from whatever was happening outside. He was grateful for that because whatever *was* happening out there wasn't in any way small or pleasant.
When the noise finally died down and the earth stopped shaking Hisoka got to his feet, peering through the dust and smoke rising from the ground beyond the barrier he tried to see something but was unable to. He turned and found Wakaba kneeling next to the children, looking at him with terrified eyes. "Watch over them. I'm going to find Tsuzuki." And with that, he stepped out of the shield.
It was hard to see with all the smoke and debris that was all around him but, at last, he found his partner. Tsuzuki was on his knees, his head bent down and he was hugging himself tightly with his arms. Hisoka immediately ran toward him, falling to his knees next to him and searching for the face that was covered with blood and dust and chocolate colored hair. "Tsuzuki, what happened? Are you all right?"
Tsuzuki only lifted his head. His face was expressionless as he looked straight ahead. Hisoka stared at him dumbfounded, not knowing what the problem was. In the distant, he could hear the shouting of the rest of the division running towards them but he didn't want to pay them any attention. His whole focus was centered on the resigned and broken look on his partner's face. 'Like in that dream.' it disturbingly came to him. He desperately wanted to do something, speak, yell, throw himself at Tsuzuki, anything to break this uncomfortable, silent spell he and his partner seemed to have fallen under.
"I killed it, Hisoka." Tsuzuki's voice sounded frail, even more distant than his eyes.
"I know, Tsuzuki. You saved us. You should be proud of yourself." Hisoka babbled, feeling disturbed by the way Tsuzuki's voice trembled, as if he regretted killing that terrible thing. Timidly, he reached out with his senses to touch Tsuzuki's mind and see if he could recognize what was going on. He almost gasped when the other man abruptly slammed sturdy shields in his face, effectively blocking him from prying inside his head. Hisoka shuddered and closed his eyes. This was not good at all.
He heard footsteps approaching them and recognized Tatsumi's voice. Soon a group of coworkers were all around and he saw Tatsumi's tall form towering over them. Tsuzuki was still quiet, but he seemed to recognize the secretary too. "Tsuzuki-san, are you alright?" Tatsumi's voice was worried as he touched Tsuzuki's cheek in that tender way he always did when he was concerned for the amethyst-eyed man. Tsuzuki nodded his head and stood up, Hisoka following him suit. The secretary turned to the hospital staff that had come out of the building and were helping the children. "Take the patients inside, settle them in the undamaged part of the building and make sure they are all right." He then put an arm around Tsuzuki's shoulder, guiding him away. But before going, he turned to Hisoka and said, "Kurosaki- kun, please go to Enmacho and fill in a report about what happened."
Excuse me? Hisoka couldn't believe his ears. Here they were, barely recovering from a vicious attach from an unknown foe and all Tatsumi could think of was the freaking report? What would he have Tsuzuki do? Tally the damages?
Apparently, the secretary read his thoughts from his stance because his eyes softened a bit and he said, "Don't worry about Tsuzuki-san. I'll take care of him. Just go and do as I tell you. Believe me, at this moment, it is the most important thing you can do."
No one could argue against Enmacho's secretary for too long and Hisoka was no exception. With a nod of his head he walked toward the office, leaving carnage, smoke and a bunch of shell-shocked nurses trying to calm equally frightened children behind.
------------------
"Why wouldn't anyone answer me?"
"Don't yell like that, Bon. I'm only five feet away."
Hisoka balled his fists at his sides and glared at the scientist as if he wanted to rip his head off. He had been like that for the past hour, ever since Watari had taken him out of his office and into the lab under the pretense of helping him with some whacked out project. It wasn't hard to see that it was only a decoy to keep him away from the rest of the office.
"Everyone is so tense up they all look like walking Violin sticks. And nobody is saying anything as if I am the dumbest person around. I'm an empath for God's sake; I can read it from your minds if I have to. Or have you guys forgotten that small, insignificant detail?"
Watari waved his hands trying to dismiss the argument. "No, no. You shouldn't worry, Bon. No one thinks you are dumb. Just stick with me for a while and calm yourself down. I'm sure things will blow over soon."
Hisoka felt like exploding at any moment. "I don't want to calm myself down. I don't want things to blow over behind my back. I want to know what is going on. RIGHT NOW."
"Now that you insist, Hisoka-kun, then you should know this: the Shokan division is in deep trouble." A new voice come from the door saving the scientist from having to come up with another half-baked excuse. They both looked in that direction and saw the older GuShoShin with a load of books in its hands. The chicken-like creature floated toward the closest desk, dumping its burden on the surface and flexing its back.
Hisoka retorted angrily. "That much I've gathered. It's either that or something in the water is causing everyone to go constipated. So are you gonna tell me what it is? "
The beaked librarian hesitated for a while before slowly floating toward them. Watari was silent. He seemed upset as if he were told not to say anything himself but also not to prevent GuShoShin.
"Hisoka-kun, you remember that ... huge thing that attacked you and the others at the hospital this morning, right?"
Hisoka nodded.
"Tsuzuki-san killed it, didn't he?"
"Yeah, so?" Hisoka snapped.
GuShoShin took a deep breath, then, "Have you heard about the spirits of the Silent Temple?"
"No."
"They are some of the most respected and powerful beings in the underworld. Even Enma-sama holds high regards for them. Harming them in any way, even if it is only to disturb their meditation, could be punishable by death. Eternal death that is."
Hisoka gulped, he didn't like where this was going. "Ok?"
GuShoShin looked down and went silent. Even Watari was hanging his head. Hisoka felt his heart swell up to his throat. "Ok?" he asked again.
"The thing that Tsuzuki-san killed this morning.." The librarian finally continued, not looking Hisoka in the face, "was one of those beings, one of the high spirits from the Temple of Silence."
tbc
-------------
Phew, finally. We got to the actual plot. I'm trying so hard to get this to where I want it but setting everything up is taking a lotta time and I am sooooo tired :( Hope you all liked this chapter. Please let me know what you thought about it, even if it is that it was just crap :)
Thank you Literally Eagle for reviewing chapter two; you single handedly encouraged me to continue this story, and I promise that more than a Jam fight will happen next.
I'm still B.S.ing about all the mythical stuff. It seems to be working so I'll keep doing it for a while :) Thanks for reading.
The Trial - Chapter Three
Smoke was rising from behind one of the administration buildings when Tsuzuki and Hisoka finally found their way out of the hospital. The creature causing the havoc was still partly hidden behind the building but from where Hisoka stood, he could see the side of a large, rippling body - over 200 feet tall - moving behind the structure and trying to get around it. It seemed like in its effort to do so the creature had destroyed a part of the building and now alarms where going off all over JuOhCho.
"What is that thing?" Hisoka found himself asking. Behind them, the doors to the hospital burst open and an army of noisy kids spilled out to see what was going on. They heard the sound of trees being crushed and all eyes turned in that direction.
"I can't see it yet." Tsuzuki said, his eyebrows knitting together, "but if it keeps rampaging around like that, I sure as hell am going to stop it." Tsuzuki's face was serious, and there was a note of steel in his voice that Hisoka recognized from when his partner was ready to fight and protect other people. This was the other side of Tsuzuki Asato, the most powerful and practiced shinigami in Meifu.
"Stand back, Hisoka. I'll take care of this. Take the kids inside and close the doors. You better warn Wakaba-chan as well." He was already reaching into his pocket for a Fuda.
"What? Not a chance, you idiot. I'm not going to hide behind your back when the situation is like this. If we're partners - which we were last time I checked - we're gonna fight this thing together."
"But the kids..."
"That's why we have hospital staff. I'm not a babysitter either."
Tsuzuki shook his head. "Alright, alright. But make sure you stay--" He was cut off as the creature finally burst its way out of the obstructions and came into full view.
Hisoka's eyes went wide. It wasn't just the sheer size of the thing, or the fact that it was hovering 10 feet above the ground. The young shinigami wasn't sure he had seen anything like it before, and he and Tsuzuki had fought some very impressive demons in the past. But this thing..., Hisoka couldn't put a finger on it, there was just something disturbing about it. The whole shape of the monster was like a large, vibrant sheet thrown over some giant blimp, the edges of the curtain fluttering gently but consistently in the air. There was no head or tail or any other limbs, just a halo on the top that seemed to emit a glow. In fact, now that Hisoka could see it up close, the whole thing seemed to be glowing from within, its colors changing like an optical illusion. Like those bugs that reflected rainbow when they were touched by the sunlight. And what was more, the rippling curtain of body looked semi-transparent even though it crashed into anything it came into contact with.
"Hisoka...go back inside the building and close the doors." Tsuzuki's voice was uncharacteristically calm. Hisoka was startled. He looked up at his partner inquiringly. Tsuzuki's eyes were trained on the creature with a strange look - what was it exactly? fear? hesitation? despair? - clouding them. It was a rare look for the purple-eyed shinigami and it made Hisoka even more concerned.
"Why Tsuzuki? You said I could stay. What's going on?"
Tsuzuki turned to him, the same look, now tinged with worry, shadowing his face.
"Please, Hisoka. Just take the kids and go inside. I'll explain to you later, I'll promise. Just go. Please."
The pain-filled look on Tsuzuki's face and the way his eyes begged with him was enough for Hisoka to stop him from arguing any further. He turned and ushered the kids inside, closing the hospital door behind them.
There were protests from the kids who insisted they wanted to watch, but Hisoka' signature glare and commanding attitude stopped them right on the spot. They all rushed to the room Wakaba was occupying, which had the best view to the scene outside. A dozen faces plastered themselves against the windowpane, not wanting to miss a bit of the action. Hisoka had to squeeze himself in and yell at a couple of faces before he could get enough room to look outside. 'Brats' he thought to himself, for once agreeing with Tsuzuki. Finally he found a spot were he could see his partner clearly.
Tsuzuki was standing right were he had left him, facing the monster alone. Hisoka's heart clenched in his chest. He wasn't sure why he was worried so much about him. Tsuzuki was strong, much stronger than he could ever dream of being. He had faced monsters twice as big and three times as vicious as this one. He guessed it was the look in his partner's eyes, that look he gave him just before he asked him to leave, that worried Hisoka the most.
The monster - who had been frozen for a while - was now moving again. As silent and seamless as a floating balloon it approached the hospital building and a collective gasp was heard from the occupants of the room.
Tsuzuki threw a handful of Fuda paper slips at the hospital structure and right away, a translucent, humming barrier was created around it. The creature crashed into it and was momentarily stalled. Still, it didn't stop it from pursuing its goal. It moved back and rushed at the barrier again, and again. With each blow the whole building quaked and rumbled. The kids fled to the farthest corner of the room, cowering behind Wakaba's bed who - confined as she was - looked at the window with wide, frightened eyes. Now it was only Hisoka standing by the window.
Tsuzuki saw the barrier starting to cave in and reached inside his coat for more protective spells. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. Why was the creature attacking the hospital instead of him? As if hearing that thought, the monster turned toward the shinigami just as he was about to use the Ofudas again and a blinding blue blast shot out of the creature's body to hit Tsuzuki straight on. It happened so fast he didn't have time to dodge and was knocked down to his knees in excruciating pain.
"Tsuzuki!!!" Hisoka cried out.
"What is happening?" Wakaba yelled from her bed. A few muffled sobs and whimpers were heard from behind her. Hisoka's worried eyes remained on his partner who was bent over on the ground. But then he realized something else; the barrier was breaking. With Tsuzuki down, there was no strength to keep it up against the onslaught of the creature banging against it. Hisoka knew he had to think fast. "Come on!" he yelled at the others, "We have to get out of here." He helped Wakaba out of the bed, and together - Wakaba still limping - they lead the kids out of the hospital just as the creature succeeded destroying the last bit of the shield and demolished that side of the building where their room was.
Hisoka wanted go to Tsuzuki but he remembered what the older shinigami had asked him before and shepherd the kids as far away as he could to the safety of another building. They hid at its side, where he had a clear view of what was happening without being in the immediate path of danger.
Tsuzuki was up on his feet again, but for some reason he wasn't attacking the creature. He was just standing there. Before long, the thing noticed that the occupants had left the building and slowly turned to seek them. 'Why is it after us?' Hisoka thought restlessly as he watched the thing starting to float once again towards them.
'This isn't working.' He turned to take off with the kids again when he heard a blast behind him. He jerked back and saw the creature stopped dead in its track, smoke coming from its back and its form shimmering in an unpleasant way. At least it wasn't moving anymore. He was ready to spring out toward it when another blast, this one not as loud, sounded near him and the liquidy barrier that protected him and the group reappeared around them. Tsuzuki emerged from behind the creature, looking partly healed and his eyes set on the enemy.
"Leave them alone." He ordered it in a calm voice. Hisoka's mouth fell open. Why was Tsuzuki reasoning with it? Was he out of his mind? And he had only hit it once with an ordinary, harmless blast. Why hadn't he summoned any of his shikigami yet? Something was really, truly wrong here.
In any case, talking to the monster instead of attacking it appeared to be not the brightest idea as Hisoka noticed a moment later when the creature - seemingly coming out of its daze -whirled around and lashed out at Tsuzuki. This time, the close proximity made the shinigami go down on the spot, screaming in pain. The barrier shimmered and got as thin as a soap bubble. The giant body turned around and with a shocking speed of a fright train, rushed its body toward the group huddled inside.
The blast that followed this time was nothing short of earth shattering. It filled Hisoka's vision with a blinding white light that caused him to close his eyes for a couple of seconds. The earth underneath shook violently and he lost his footing even before he recognized what was going on. He fell to the ground, covering his ears against the roar of the explosion, distantly realizing how the barrier had strengthened again and was protecting them from whatever was happening outside. He was grateful for that because whatever *was* happening out there wasn't in any way small or pleasant.
When the noise finally died down and the earth stopped shaking Hisoka got to his feet, peering through the dust and smoke rising from the ground beyond the barrier he tried to see something but was unable to. He turned and found Wakaba kneeling next to the children, looking at him with terrified eyes. "Watch over them. I'm going to find Tsuzuki." And with that, he stepped out of the shield.
It was hard to see with all the smoke and debris that was all around him but, at last, he found his partner. Tsuzuki was on his knees, his head bent down and he was hugging himself tightly with his arms. Hisoka immediately ran toward him, falling to his knees next to him and searching for the face that was covered with blood and dust and chocolate colored hair. "Tsuzuki, what happened? Are you all right?"
Tsuzuki only lifted his head. His face was expressionless as he looked straight ahead. Hisoka stared at him dumbfounded, not knowing what the problem was. In the distant, he could hear the shouting of the rest of the division running towards them but he didn't want to pay them any attention. His whole focus was centered on the resigned and broken look on his partner's face. 'Like in that dream.' it disturbingly came to him. He desperately wanted to do something, speak, yell, throw himself at Tsuzuki, anything to break this uncomfortable, silent spell he and his partner seemed to have fallen under.
"I killed it, Hisoka." Tsuzuki's voice sounded frail, even more distant than his eyes.
"I know, Tsuzuki. You saved us. You should be proud of yourself." Hisoka babbled, feeling disturbed by the way Tsuzuki's voice trembled, as if he regretted killing that terrible thing. Timidly, he reached out with his senses to touch Tsuzuki's mind and see if he could recognize what was going on. He almost gasped when the other man abruptly slammed sturdy shields in his face, effectively blocking him from prying inside his head. Hisoka shuddered and closed his eyes. This was not good at all.
He heard footsteps approaching them and recognized Tatsumi's voice. Soon a group of coworkers were all around and he saw Tatsumi's tall form towering over them. Tsuzuki was still quiet, but he seemed to recognize the secretary too. "Tsuzuki-san, are you alright?" Tatsumi's voice was worried as he touched Tsuzuki's cheek in that tender way he always did when he was concerned for the amethyst-eyed man. Tsuzuki nodded his head and stood up, Hisoka following him suit. The secretary turned to the hospital staff that had come out of the building and were helping the children. "Take the patients inside, settle them in the undamaged part of the building and make sure they are all right." He then put an arm around Tsuzuki's shoulder, guiding him away. But before going, he turned to Hisoka and said, "Kurosaki- kun, please go to Enmacho and fill in a report about what happened."
Excuse me? Hisoka couldn't believe his ears. Here they were, barely recovering from a vicious attach from an unknown foe and all Tatsumi could think of was the freaking report? What would he have Tsuzuki do? Tally the damages?
Apparently, the secretary read his thoughts from his stance because his eyes softened a bit and he said, "Don't worry about Tsuzuki-san. I'll take care of him. Just go and do as I tell you. Believe me, at this moment, it is the most important thing you can do."
No one could argue against Enmacho's secretary for too long and Hisoka was no exception. With a nod of his head he walked toward the office, leaving carnage, smoke and a bunch of shell-shocked nurses trying to calm equally frightened children behind.
------------------
"Why wouldn't anyone answer me?"
"Don't yell like that, Bon. I'm only five feet away."
Hisoka balled his fists at his sides and glared at the scientist as if he wanted to rip his head off. He had been like that for the past hour, ever since Watari had taken him out of his office and into the lab under the pretense of helping him with some whacked out project. It wasn't hard to see that it was only a decoy to keep him away from the rest of the office.
"Everyone is so tense up they all look like walking Violin sticks. And nobody is saying anything as if I am the dumbest person around. I'm an empath for God's sake; I can read it from your minds if I have to. Or have you guys forgotten that small, insignificant detail?"
Watari waved his hands trying to dismiss the argument. "No, no. You shouldn't worry, Bon. No one thinks you are dumb. Just stick with me for a while and calm yourself down. I'm sure things will blow over soon."
Hisoka felt like exploding at any moment. "I don't want to calm myself down. I don't want things to blow over behind my back. I want to know what is going on. RIGHT NOW."
"Now that you insist, Hisoka-kun, then you should know this: the Shokan division is in deep trouble." A new voice come from the door saving the scientist from having to come up with another half-baked excuse. They both looked in that direction and saw the older GuShoShin with a load of books in its hands. The chicken-like creature floated toward the closest desk, dumping its burden on the surface and flexing its back.
Hisoka retorted angrily. "That much I've gathered. It's either that or something in the water is causing everyone to go constipated. So are you gonna tell me what it is? "
The beaked librarian hesitated for a while before slowly floating toward them. Watari was silent. He seemed upset as if he were told not to say anything himself but also not to prevent GuShoShin.
"Hisoka-kun, you remember that ... huge thing that attacked you and the others at the hospital this morning, right?"
Hisoka nodded.
"Tsuzuki-san killed it, didn't he?"
"Yeah, so?" Hisoka snapped.
GuShoShin took a deep breath, then, "Have you heard about the spirits of the Silent Temple?"
"No."
"They are some of the most respected and powerful beings in the underworld. Even Enma-sama holds high regards for them. Harming them in any way, even if it is only to disturb their meditation, could be punishable by death. Eternal death that is."
Hisoka gulped, he didn't like where this was going. "Ok?"
GuShoShin looked down and went silent. Even Watari was hanging his head. Hisoka felt his heart swell up to his throat. "Ok?" he asked again.
"The thing that Tsuzuki-san killed this morning.." The librarian finally continued, not looking Hisoka in the face, "was one of those beings, one of the high spirits from the Temple of Silence."
tbc
-------------
Phew, finally. We got to the actual plot. I'm trying so hard to get this to where I want it but setting everything up is taking a lotta time and I am sooooo tired :( Hope you all liked this chapter. Please let me know what you thought about it, even if it is that it was just crap :)