Author: J.J.
Warning: It's an AU. It contains some Japanese words (the Dictionary is at the bottom), not too descriptive rape and probably some OOC...
To the 2, 3 people who are reading this fic and want more... work keeps me quite busy. I almost never know if I've time to write or when I've time to write. Please be patient. I've almost everything planned out. I just need time to write it.
Extra Warning for this chapter: This chapter also contains a tiny reference to the 'YuYu Hakusho' anime series. You'll find more explanations about it in my notes (and also in the Dictionary) and it's NOT needed to know 'YuYu Hakusho' to understand the fic. This chapter has a good amount of Japanese terms. Many of them were already used in the previous chapters or are canon terms that probably YnM fans know already anyway I suggest you to read the Dictionary FIRST, just to be sure, so you can check if there's a term you never heard before and after read the fic. Also this time there are a lot of notes but you shouldn't have trouble reading them AFTER the fic. Oh, and in this chap Touda did some not too polite comments.
Notes: I've been inspired by what Hisoka thought in Vol. 3: 'No one... saved me... But maybe Tsuzuki... If you had been there... you would save me...'.
Warning over notes: This fic is filled with notes. You will find them at the bottom. Each time you see a number between brackets it means there's a note connected to the word/sentence that preceded it. Many of them explain references to other series, to YnM manga only or YnM anime only facts for who didn't get to read the manga or see the anime, explain apparently illogical things or warn you there's an explanation for illogical facts but that you'll get it later. However I suggest you to read the notes AFTER you finished the fic unless the word/sentence connected to the note is really troublesome for you to understand. Anyway the fic should be still understandable without the notes. Notes are merely extra explanations for who wants to know more or search for spoilers.
Disclaimer:
"Yami no Matsuei" belong to Matsushita Yoko. I'm merely using her characters because I love them... especially Touda, Tsuzuki and Hisoka...
"YuYu Hakusho" belong to Togashi Yoshihiro.
"Hohoemi no Bakudan" belong to Mawatari Matsuko.
Ehy, Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensible heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews... so please be honest but nice ok?
Thanks: To Larania Drake for betaing this! Thank you a lot!
Summary: 1993. Kamakura. A certain silver haired psycho was feeding himself with a poor woman's energy when the Kurosaki's heir spotted him. He had a plan for the boy but someone else was there and decided to interfere...
"Memories consume
Like opening the wound
I'm picking me apart again
You all assume
I'm safe here in my room
(Unless I try to start again)
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not alright
So I'm
Breaking the habit
Tonight."
(Linkin Park - "Breaking The Habit")
Darkness was all around him. Yet, at the time, it seemed to make sense to walk through it, to walk barefoot in that house he never saw and yet... knew.
The floor was cold. It was the first thing that broke into the numbness wrapped all around his mind. Somewhere in the distance a girl was singing a... lullaby he never heard before. He couldn't see her but her voice was soft and gentle and so filled with love and caring it almost made him cry. He looked around. Feelings were starting to come back to him and that dark place was starting to feel... scary as the song faded. He reached a room (But how he could know there was a room there in all that darkness? He had no idea...) and looked inside. It... there was no light in it just... a green glow, like a phosphorescence of some sort. There were people in the room but they were just too far for him to see their features, as the room was all of sudden, impossibly large and they were in the farthest corner from him. They looked like a man and two boys... and they were talking, he knew they were talking but he couldn't make out their words. Even their feelings were blurry to his senses... Then, all of sudden, the man vanished and the two boys were left alone. They... were still talking but the discussion had probably taken the wrong turn as they both were shouting words he couldn't make out. Their feelings, too, were... shouting in his mind, fear, hate, love, panic, disgust, anger, desperation, all of them raising and becoming a tangled mess with his own till he couldn't stand the sign no more and left the place screaming as if an Akuma was following him and in his mind, maybe, there was. He ran, ran without even looking where he was going, the world spinning around him as if it was... waving and he had no idea how he could keep his balance, only that he had to keep running. He ran for hours, days, or maybe they were only minutes or seconds, then he tripped as he planted one of his feet on something soft and warm. (He tripped, didn't he? So why he had felt as if tiny hands had gripped his feet?) He looked down and saw he had... (No, it couldn't be!) He had... walked over a naked baby, who now was laying on the floor, her purple eyes wide open, her dark brown longhaired head ripped from her smashed body. He screamed again, crawling backward, as a scent started filling the room, the room whose floor was now strangely wet. Dazedly he looked to one of his hand to see what was the wet, sticky substance. In the darkness he shouldn't have been able to see it as if he shouldn't have been able to see the baby and yet the red liquid, which now covered all his hand and part of his arm as if he had stuck it inside a basin filled with it, was clearly visible to his eyes. Blood. He was covered in blood. There was blood everywhere. He was a murder, a monster... He forced his paralyzed body to move, to turn- to run away. Yet as he was about to escape, he found himself facing a wall. A wall covered with dolls, all sitting in an ordinate way over shelves. They were all staring silently at him with those glass eyes and porcelain faces, with ruby painted lips that were half opened as if they were about to talk and yet they couldn't, frozen in that moment forever. So pretty and yet so western looking, all with honey blond curly hair and clear eyes and Victorian dresses with matching small hats and tiny shoes. He blinked, confused, then turned and looked down at the floor. The baby, the baby he believed he killed, was nothing else than a doll. Oddly, the doll's now honey-blond, short cropped head was back at its original place, but the doll was covered in scribbling he hadn't noticed before and her eyes were green, exactly like the ones of the other dolls. He allowed himself a hysterical laugh as he realized his mistake and was forced to lean on one of the shelves to support himself. Then, his laugh cut off as abruptly as it started as he fought back the desperate urge to start sobbing. He was lost and he wanted to go back home but... did he have a home? Someone who wanted him back? He couldn't tell and panic flared through him. He didn't want to stay forever in the dark. He screamed, screamed for help, screamed for his parents and was about to run away from the room when a figure showed up from the door. He paused and looked up at the man in front of him. He couldn't make out his features but he could clearly feel his anger.
"You... you discarded Veronica(1)," the man spat.
"Otousama?" he asked tentatively. "Otousama, I don't even know who this Veronica person is..." he said back walking.
"You discarded Veronica! You killed your own sister! You're a cursed monster who should have been strangled at birth!" The boy shacked his head in denial but the man hit him, hard, with the back of his hand, sending him flying against the shelves, causing the dolls over them to fall on the ground. He slid on the floor, the now dolls covered floor, sobbing.
"Otousama, Otousama, please... I'll promise I'll be good... don't abandon me you too..."(2) he begged.
"It's too late, Nyngyou(3). You discarded Veronica and now you'll take her place in my doll collection," the man said, his ice blue eyes shining and, finally, he realized he wasn't his father. He looked around and realized now all the dolls wore his face and were naked and were screaming and he was naked and he was screaming too as the man descended on him but he couldn't escape and he knew no one would came to save him and he knew he would hurt him horribly and he didn't want it and... and...
"Show me the gruesome brilliance of a dying soul departing..."(4) the man demanded but he didn't knew what it meant and he didn't want it so he screamed, struggling as hard as he could, he screamed till he believed he had no voice anymore as his arms were gripped and he... he heard his name being called... and there was no more darkness.
He was still screaming and waving his arms in a desperate attempt to free himself. An unknown voice was calling his name, loudly, as he was gripped and held still. He struggled more, terrified, screaming and kicking without result. The stranger's hold on him tightened but the emotions were just... wrong. There was no lust or malice, just kindness and worry. His eyes filled with tears as he squirmed pitifully and- and he slumped, limp against the stranger's body, breathing hard, sobbing desperately and trembling like mad as he waited for the worst to come.
Nothing happened. The unknown arms kept holding him gently, almost lulling him as he made out a gentle voice murmuring soothing words. A nightmare. It had been only a nightmare(5). He blinked twice, trying to make out his surroundings. He felt confused, sleepy, and sore. He also felt worried, sympathetic, and sorry. No, wait. Those weren't his emotions. He closed his eyes trying to... sort things out. He was the confused, sleepy, sore one. Then the one who was holding him must be... Holding him? Someone was holding him? He was actually resting in someone else's arms? And it didn't hurt?(6) He struggled again, trying to bolt up. His body protested loudly at this and he couldn't suppress an agonizing whimper. Pain flared through his brain. It hurt! And the places where he hurt... No, no, no it couldn't have happened... it couldn't... his mind protested weakly as yesterday night's memories were replayed in his brain. He screamed in denial then hid his face against the stranger's chest trying to hide himself against him, against his only source of comfort, wishing desperately to drown in those caring emotions he had never experienced in his life. He cried all his tears as those arms held him gently, cradling him against the man's chest then... He remembered who he was. Forcing himself to regain control over his emotions he bit his lips in attempt to force tears back and stopped clinging to the man. It wasn't proper for the Kurosaki heir to behave like that. He forced himself to divide from the stranger even if, inside his head, a voice was protesting so loudly it was almost deafening, and tried to sit up erect.
"Don't. It's better if you lay down," the man warned him, his voice gentle and caring as his emotions. Something inside him wanted to obey, wanted desperately to obey, to please in everything, this man who wasn't rejecting him but... but his dominant side had other ideas. He tried to rebel, to squirm and sit and ended up loosing the battle as the man forced him to lay down and he couldn't just summon the strengths to raise himself once again alone.
"Here, there you are. You'll feel better if you rest," the man commented as he... smoothed his hair with a kindness he didn't know possible to exist and that caused him to blink to force back those treacherous tears that were threatening to fall again. He searched with his gaze the man's face and blinked again in confusion as he stared at him. He had expected many things but he was caught completely unprepared by gentle eyes of the same colour of the amethyst earring his mother sometimes wore and a warm smile.
"Hisoka? How are you?" he asked gently. Hisoka turned away, without even bothering to answer. No one had asked him that in so long he had no idea how to behave and answering was only going to mean he had to deal with more memories of the past night. All he asked for was to curl up and forget everything. It didn't matter anymore if they closed him in the basement forever to rot as long as they let him forget and stop that thing from happening again.
"That awful, hm?" the man continued caressing his hair. He didn't sound mad for his lack of reply. He had no idea why he was allowing the man to touch him, why he wasn't squirming away and hiding in the farthest corner of the room. He only knew... he felt safe there, as if something inside him was absolutely sure the man wouldn't hurt him. He allowed the care the man radiated in waves to envelop him like a protective shield, then his eyes widened again as his brain provided to remember him when he saw amethyst eyes before and he turned abruptly, causing the pain to flare again and unwilling tears to rise in his eyes.
"You... you were there, weren't you?" he asked anxiously. The man sighed as he gently brushed his hair out of his green eyes and nodded sadly.
"I'm sorry I came too late. I wish... I could have spared you that..." Hisoka turned away trying to look uncaring as a certain person, in his situation, surely would.
"Where are we now?" he asked tiredly. The place looked familiar and yet... he couldn't remember it.
"Your home's guestroom," the man answered, surprise in his voice. "I guess it's not used that often if you don't recognize it."
"You've no idea which room I am familiar with," Hisoka commented before falling silent.(7)
"You are Kurosaki Hisoka, aren't you?" The man asked as if a sudden suspicion came to his mind.(8)
"Yeah, I'm Kurosaki Hisoka, son and heir of the 16th head of the house Kurosaki Nagare, descendant of the 'heroic' Kurosaki Ren and all that stuffs," he replied bitterly as if he hated the whole thing.(9) "Who are you anyway? You aren't one of our servants, are you?" He wasn't fully sure about it. Almost all the servants did their best to avoid him and anyway he wasn't allowed to interact with them more than necessary but, well, probably servants wouldn't get to stay in the guest room...
"No, I'm not. I'm Tsuzuki Asato and the grumpy guy behind me is Touda." Hisoka glanced toward his direction and realized in the room there was another person who, more than grumpy, looked threatening and ready to kill. Tsuzuki-san however didn't seem worried at all about it as he smiled affectionately at his companion. Hisoka blinked, surprised he hadn't 'felt' the man before, than realized that Tsuzuki-san's presence was so... overwhelming... he seemed to cover up everything else, even his own feelings felt... dimmed when Tsuzuki-san was close, not to mention when the man touched him...
"Tsuzuki. If you are quite finished with spoiling the kid maybe we could leave and take that damned train," the other man spat, interrupting Hisoka's thoughts, irritation evident in his voice. Tsuzuki sighed. He knew Touda had planned to leave at dawn. The man had a particular gift to wake up at whatever unholy hour he decided and, as soon as the sun showed up, he opened his eyes and insisted they leave the house. Of course he also knew that Touda, when he had just woken up, wasn't... fully functional... too sleepy to think coherently and moving mostly... on automatic.(10) Proof enough was that, on the last company trip, had Tsuzuki not stepped in, Yuma and Saya(11) would have managed to dress him in one of their weird outfits without him realizing a thing... Anyway, it wouldn't require much effort, really, to 'persuade' Touda to agree to wait till Hisoka woke up while he was in that state. Of course, when he later fully woke up, he wasn't exactly pleased to say the least... Anyway, after Tsuzuki had seen how miserable Hisoka had looked when he awoke, he decided that being there to take care of that poor child was worth dealing with a quite angry Touda later...
"I guess you've got to go," the child stated bitterly. Tsuzuki gave him a guilty look. Hisoka chewed his lower lip. He was used at being alone and yet now that he had found someone who wanted to stay he didn't want him to leave. Especially considering that now being alone looked ten times scarier than before... The man ruffled his hair affectionately as if he was really hesitant to leave him. Through that gentle contact Hisoka could clearly perceive waves of care, worry and regret as if the man really cared for him and he... No, he wasn't going to behave like a baby, cry and beg the man to stay, just five minutes more, just a second more, just the time it would take him to persuade himself that thing wouldn't happen again, that HE wouldn't find him again, that he was finally safe now. He wasn't going to do any of the sort as he felt the man removing his hand and... and tucking him up better and... and standing up and... and... he curled in a very tight ball refusing to look at him as he said him 'Goodbye and take care' and he felt him walk away and... and... and someone asked the permission to enter in the room. Now that Tsuzuki-san was far, his cursed, demonic power was filling him not only just with the man's strong emotions but also with the ones of the man's friend and with the ones of the maid whom he recognized as Miya. She was the one his parents trusted to do all the work they wanted to be done without other ears to be informed about it. Usually she was nice enough even if she was totally terrified by him as if a mere nearly 13 years old boy could manage to pose a threat to a woman. While Miya and Tsuzuki-san exchanged small chat on the door he tried snuggling under the covers. Why he had to be cursed with this demonic power of perceiving other people's emotions? Why? What did he do so wrong? His self-recrimination was interrupted when he felt Tsuzuki-san's emotions escalating to such a rapid pace he wondered how the man could deal with them.
"We're invited for breakfast? Really?" he exclaimed with the happily surprised tone of a 5 years old. No, make it a 3 year old.
"Tsuzuki. We must go back to Tokyo," his companion snapped, his annoyance barely perceptible compared to Tsuzuki-san's enthusiasm.
"But Touda! It's breakfast! We're not eaten since yesterday afternoon!" the man reasoned.
"Is filling your stomach the only thing you can think of?"(12) the other replied, apparently even more irritated and yet, Tsuzuki's enthusiasm increased, as if he just knew Touda was going to give up.
"No, obviously I also think about you," the man said innocently causing Miya to blush deeply unsure if the sentence had a... 'romantic' meaning or if it was merely a joke between friends.(13) "Can we stay, eh? Eh?" Tsuzuki insisted. Touda shrugged.
"Do as you prefer. I just know you'll drive me insane if we leave without you having this stupid breakfast." Tsuzuki merely grinned back. Miya forced back her embarrassment and announced to Hisoka-sama he too was waited downstairs for breakfast. Hisoka forced himself to sit.
"Otousama wants me to have breakfast downstairs?" he asked surprised. From when his... 'anomaly' had started to show he had been forced to stay away from his family, hidden, segregate, like a dirty secret no one wants to talk about. He didn't expect this invitation, especially after what had happened the night before. Came to think he didn't expect his father wouldn't send him straight in his cell in the basement after he had been brought back home.
"Wouldn't be better if he has breakfast in bed?" he heard Tsuzuki-san's gentle voice asking and this time the man's tone was not childish but adult and serious as if he possessed a switch that allowed him to move easily between the two.
"Danna-sama ordered..." Miya started obviously embarrassed.
"I'll come downstairs," Hisoka cut in, using a passable imitation of his father's authoritarian tone as he was stubbornly forcing his sore, weak body to stand up. He didn't have to do all the work alone. Tsuzuki-san, after sighing loudly and muttering something about stubbornness, moved toward him, untangled him from the cover and... picked him up. He immediately complained, at the same time holding tightly to Tsuzuki-san in fear to be dropped, unused at being carried around and fully conscious he was expected to walk, no matter what his conditions were. All his complains were answered with a: 'Don't worry, I'll carry you only till we're down the stairs...' and a friendly smile which, in Tsuzuki-san's opinion, settled the discussion. Hisoka didn't consider the discussion settled but he was so astonished by the man's response he couldn't think anything else to reply in the time it took Tsuzuki-san to carry him downstairs. He still managed to look offended in his own dignity as the man set him down and stoically refused to look at him as Miya escorted them, an act that Touda-san regarded with annoyance and Tsuzuki-san with amusement as if his proper indignation was merely a childish display. Truth to be told Tsuzuki wasn't just amused; he was also admiring the courage Hisoka was showing in... dealing with that had happened to him. Of course he didn't know the Kurosaki were experts into hiding their own emotions and that Hisoka had been trained from childhood to... ignore them- or pretend to. Surprising enough, Hisoka's cursed power for once, was helping him, in fact, concentrating on other people's emotions he could keep at bay the turmoil that was inside him.
The room in which they were escorted was wide for Tsuzuki's standards but pretty normal for a family as important as the Kurosaki. The open doors were showing him a well-cared-for garden that immediately caught his interest. He would have liked to give a look to the plants in it. Kurosaki Nagare and the woman he supposed was his wife were already seated, waiting for them. Hisoka greeted formally his parents and sat composedly as if nothing had happened. Tsuzuki greeted them as well, even if less formally, and sat next to the child. Touda merely sat down close to him, without bothering with greetings, his bad mood still clearly evident. Kurosaki-san introduced them to his wife, Rui. Apparently he had already informed her about what happened because she greeted them politely and thanked them formally for the help they gave to her son. A bit too much formally because, at least in Tsuzuki's opinion, she sounded like she was thanking him because he had passed her the salt... Anyway he forced the thought in the back of his mind and gave her a warm smile as he answered her thanks. She blinked at him as if she never saw someone smiling and then attempted a smile too. Tsuzuki noted she needed to work on it, but decided to avoid mentioning it, instead concentrating on more intriguing matters, like the breakfast the servants were placing in front of him. One of the most grandiose he had ever seen, second only to the ones he had in GenSoKai. If every time Touda punched a guy he gets a breakfast like that he had to make a note to remind him to hit people more often. Well... just not that hard... Without wasting time he attacked the food, fully enjoying every bit of it.
Even if Hisoka rarely had breakfast with his family and even more sporadically he was allowed to eat with his family when there was one or more guests he was sure the Kurosaki house didn't had such a 'singular' guest as Tsuzuki-san from the time in which the oh so great Ren woke up and decided to become a hero defeating the local Kami-sama. It was amazing how Tsuzuki-san could enjoy so much the breakfast in front of him and at the same time talk so much. Plus he complimented, often, on about how delicious the food was, pleasing greatly the maids who were all smiling happily at him and serving him in the same way they would have with a cute, starved child. Touda-san, on the contrary, had still to say a word even if Tsuzuki-san managed to persuade him to share part of his breakfast with him.
Nagare, probably realizing there was no way to keep Tsuzuki-san silent without rudely telling him to shut up, decided to move the topic from 'How good breakfast was' to something more interesting.
"Tsuzuki-san, yesterday night you mentioned you're an Onmyouji..." his father started. Hisoka caught the maids' disappointment at hearing their guests weren't singers(14) and all their interest and curiosity about this new development.
"Well... sort of..." the man replied.
"Sort... of?" his mother politely inquired. Hisoka looked up at Tsuzuki-san curiously as well.
"Well... being Onmyouji was my family tradition. Everyone had to be one. I was taught everything an Onmyouji had to know it's just... well, I know all the skills but all I do and I'm good at is to use Jujutsu," he explained. "If you would try relying on me to know your future... well, you're challenging fate. It's Ruka who has..." he trailed off and his expression turned serious and... sad? for just a second. "Never mind," he said waving a hand dismissively as if he had said something silly, apparently fully back in his good mood. "I'm sorry, I've interrupted you, Kurosaki-san. What were you going to say?"
His father started making questions about Onmyouji and Jujutsu. Strangely and surprising enough he seemed very interested in it. Hisoka wondered if it was a proper interest for the head of the family. Head of the family... he didn't even asked him how he was... His mother seemed curious too. Maybe they only wanted to know if his... 'anomaly' could be exorcised or if he really was some sort of Bakemono and Tsuzuki-san could... take care of him. Tsuzuki-san seemed to enjoy the conversation. Apparently he really knew a lot about this particular topic. It also turned out Tsuzuki-san used his knowledge working for a government organization(15). His parents were surprised at that.
"It's just a tiny department," Tsuzuki-san explained. "And we're mostly used to discover what's causing mass panic in a village isn't a Bakemono but... well, something else. You've no idea how many people believe they have a Yurei in their fridge."
"So, they're all false alarms?" his father asked in a weird tone, as if his life depended on Tsuzuki-san's answer.
"No, no, I've seen my share of Bakemono, Akuma and other weird things. If the Bakemono is real and not just the birth of some mass hysteria we're supposed to... dispose of it. We're just back from a quite messy case..." Tsuzuki-san's gaze lowered as his sadness became evident in his voice, yet the man forced it back and continued with his normal happy smile. "Anyway, it's just a thing that didn't happen that often and that's why we have the lowest salary and Tatsumi is always complaining about the fact we don't have to overspend... Which I guess is good because when it's a real Bakemono who's causing the problem, it gets really complicated to fix things... Anyway in the end we could be considered 'Bakemono no Taijiya'(16), Monster Terminators... even if some call us 'Ghostbusters'..." he said, pronouncing the western word with a bit of difficulty.(17) "And others... with a less nice name."
"And Shikigami(18)? Does they exist too?" Hisoka asked, his quiet tone a bit forced. His parents glared at him. He wasn't supposed to take part to the adults' discussion but he had read about the mythological creatures that lived in another world, extremely powerful deities that controlled the 4 elements and that sometimes chose to serve a human and they always intrigued him. It had to be amazing to have someone as powerful as a Kami as servant. Maybe, if he had one, a ferocious, powerful, dragon looking one if he could choose, what yesterday night facts would have never happened. Beside... he really needed a bit of attention and the chance to distract himself before he lost control and allowed his feeling to manifest.
"Oh, yes. Shikigami really exist," Tsuzuki-san said looking at him with open amusement as if he just made a funny joke. Touda-san just seemed even more annoyed than usual. "Some of them are also very cute when they've just woken up," the man added, chuckling and earning such a glare from Touda-san that Hisoka unconsciously shrank back. Tsuzuki-san instead merely turned toward the man and asked him if he was going to finish what he had in the plate or not. Touda-san simply said Tsuzuki-san was an idiot and gave his plate to him. The man thanked joyfully and proceeded to clean it.
It was then Kurosaki Iwao, Nagare's oldest brother, decided to show up, uncaring if he was welcomed or not.
"Nagare, who are those parasites with those horrible table manner?" he asked as soon as he noticed the two guests in his usual authoritarian tone as if he was the master of the house, impolitely pointing at them. Tsuzuki-san and Touda-san didn't seem to look insulted.
"We've horrible table manners?" Tsuzuki whispered to his friend.
"You, most surely, have them," the other stated coldly without even bothering to look at the newcomer.
"Meanie!" the man replied in a childish whine. Hisoka's expression softened as if, for the first time in only Kami-sama knew how many years, he felt tempted to smile. He didn't anyway, forcing himself to imitate his father's serious expression. He knew he wasn't allowed to do anything else. Iwao instead, fumed. He wasn't used at being ignored.
"Tsuzuki-san, Touda-san, I'm pleased to introduced to you my older brother, Kurosaki Iwao," Nagare said in his usual formal, cold tone causing Tsuzuki to wonder if the man ever showed something else beside that cold politeness. "Niisan, those men did a great service to our house rescuing Hisoka from an... unpleasant situation," Nagare continued in the same tone while his brother sat near to him. Tsuzuki gave him a curious glance.
Kurosaki Iwao seemed quite different from his brother. He was obviously older than Nagare, probably in his early 40 and with those thick glasses, beard, and long hair he couldn't definitely be considered as good looking as his younger brother. The contrast between the two was further marked by how Nagare was coldly formal and polite while Iwao was bossy, rude and passionate.
Well, brothers didn't necessary have to resemble each other, he and Ruka for example... His thoughts were rudely cut as he remembered the main, actual difference between he and his sister.
Hisoka, who had observed Tsuzuki-san studying his uncle, was surprised to see the man lower his head, heavy bangs covering his eyes as a deep feeling of sadness, regret and longing washed over the man, so deep, it seemed it was threatening to drown him too. Then, as if he too could feel the man's emotions, Touda-san placed a hand over Tsuzuki's arm. Hisoka caught the two exchanging a silent glance then Tsuzuki brushed off his sadness as easily as he would have done with dust and returned his attention on his uncle who, right now, was arguing with his father, as usual.
It was weird to see the two argue. His uncle would yell, wave his arms, be rude and offensive and his father would just stand there, his back straight as he answered politely to every accusation of incompetence in his leadership of the Kurosaki house. While his uncle clearly radiated hate he could perceive almost nothing from his father... only... tiredness... and something else he was never able to fully grasp.
He cringed as he caught Iwao-ojisama glancing at him with venom, finally realizing he was there as well, and then proceeded to move his complaints from what a pitiful leader Nagare was to what a shame for the whole family Hisoka was. The child lowered his gaze; heavy bangs covering his green eyes. He wasn't sure he could deal with it, right then, but he wasn't going to show it, no matter what.
It turned out someone managed to inform Iwao about Hisoka's last... escapade(19) and even if the man didn't knew all the details (but planned to find out them) it was clear the little he knew made him felt allowed to criticize the child for getting involved in a murder as if Hisoka actually tried to take part in it.
"That child has no capacity to carry on the family name!" he yelled pointing at Hisoka who was staring at the ground as if he had never seen anything more interesting- with his jaw tightly clenched to avoid any treacherous sob to escape. He almost jumped out of his skin when Tsuzuki-san took his hand into his and squeezed it comfortingly. He could only stare in shock at the kind man as his uncle continued to rant oblivious of the fact, his attention fully on Nagare. "He will not benefit this family! You should have disp..."(20) Iwao bit his tongue, remembering some topics weren't to be discussed in front of strangers, especially when one of the two strangers was looking at him in a very not friendly manner. "Anyway, I don't see what he is doing here, having breakfast with the family! You should already have closed him in his cage in the basement and let him there so he'll learn to not get out at night!" the man exclaimed. He never really liked Hisoka, even before he had found out about his 'curse'. The boy was going to inherit what should have been rightfully his, what Nagare stole from him years ago only Kami-sama knew how.
"You're going to close him in the basement?" It was the first time Hisoka heard Touda talking to someone who wasn't Tsuzuki-san. It was... scary. He didn't raise his voice or really move and yet... the amount of loathing and the anger in his tone made everyone expect he would kill Iwao-ojisama on the spot for merely suggesting it. For once his feelings were even stronger than Tsuzuki-san's.(21)
"But it sounds like you're closing him in a prison!" Tsuzuki-san didn't sound so 'murderous', more like... 'hurt' at the thought of someone being trapped, but he echoed Touda's disliking for the idea perfectly. "You can't do that, Nagare-san(22), it's..."
"Tsuzuki-san, Touda-san I would ask you to stay out of my family business," his father said in the cold, impersonal tone he always used and that Hisoka tried so hard to imitate and that would have probably heard for the last time, if Tsuzuki-san hadn't held Touda's arm to stop him from reacting. The man seemed positively set to kill whoever would consider trapping someone in a prison as an acceptable solution, and now was looking disappointed at Tsuzuki-san who had stopped him. However Tsuzuki-san wasn't paying him attention, his now cold gaze turned on his father.
"Then so, pray tell me, what will you do, Nagare-san, should he accidentally break a plate? You'll kill him on the spot? If being segregate is what he gets for such a small infraction..." he asked coldly, his anger rising dangerously and somehow managing to affect his father too.
"Tsuzuki-san, that has been how all the Kurosaki had been punished," he explained as if he was trying to make it look like a normal punishment for a disobedient kid. "Anyway," he added. "I don't plan to 'segregate him' as you put it."
"You don't plan to?" Hisoka and his uncle exclaimed simultaneously and Hisoka wouldn't be able to tell who was the most surprised. Anyway his uncle recovered fast and started complaining.
"Niisan, I would ask to you as well to stay out of my family business," his father replied. It was the first time Kurosaki Nagare didn't bow his head to his older brother's wishes and, no matter how loud Iwao complained, the man didn't change his mind. Iwao however, apparently knew when to admit defeat.
"The police need the description of the murder. They asked me to ask your so-called heir for one since he saw him,"(23) he said in apparent annoyance. Truth to be told he was very interested in having more details about what happened to Hisoka (all he knew was that the child had saw a murder and than had been carried back unconscious by a couple of strangers) and see if it could be used to his own advantage.
"What? I have to... to..." Hisoka paled and looked at his parents but they didn't look affected by it at all. They couldn't ask him that! He wasn't going to relive the scene no matter what!
"Hisoka, calm down right now," his mother ordered. "It's normal that the police want some information from you since you saw the murderer and he tried to attack you. It's their duty to capture who threatened the well being of the Kurosaki heir," his mother said apparently finding more serious that the man had tried to harm a Kurosaki than the fact that he killed a poor woman. Hisoka didn't care about it and shook his head, panicked, his hold on his self-control shattered, the memories of his previous ordeal too recent for him to be able to revive them.
"No, no, I won't do it... I can't..." He moved shakily to stand but a strong, gentle hand gripped his wrist. He turned toward the man with a betrayed expression on his face but the other held his gaze.
"Hey, calm down. You're tougher than you look, kiddo. Besides, don't you want that guy to be arrested?" He wanted the man arrested, he wanted him arrested and ripped into pieces slowly and painfully, all under his gaze. He swallowed, forcing himself to relax as he felt back into his place managing also to slide slightly toward Tsuzuki-san, willing he could hide himself behind the man's kindness, understanding and sympathy. He couldn't stop himself from trembling. "Good child," the man said ruffling his hair in an affectionate gesture. Hisoka stared at him in shock, green eyes open wide. He couldn't remember the last time he got a compliment. Tsuzuki-san blinked at him in confusion then turned toward the others to meet the same shocked and confused expression over Hisoka's relatives' faces.
"Ehm... did I do something wrong?" He asked as he retreated his hand, folding it in his lap uneasily. He got no answer at first, so he turned to Touda who simply shrugged.
"He let you touch him," the oldest of the Kurosaki brothers finally muttered as if this was an amazing thing. He didn't like it. If Hisoka's weird powers were gone the boy would have more chances to be considered an acceptable heir. Kurosaki Nagare cleared his throat, apparently to force himself out of his own stupor. He saw the man touching Hisoka before but then Hisoka hadn't been fully conscious. Now he was and yet the boy didn't go into hysterics or 'blasted him away'(24). As for Hisoka's mother... she looked like she had no idea what to think about what happened. If Hisoka was becoming 'normal' it would have been a good thing, wouldn't it, she asked herself looking almost pleading at Nagare for some sort of help.
Tsuzuki sighed, deciding the Kurosaki's weird habits were beyond his comprehension.
"Would it help if I tell what I saw of the guy?" he asked trying to sound helpful. "Not that I saw much of him since everything happened pretty fast and there wasn't that much light. Anyway... he was clothed in white, wasn't he?" he said turning to Touda as if for confirmation. The man nodded. "And he had white hair, I think. Or grey. He must have been taller than me. And older... not by much... And..." He paused as if he was about to say something then decided against it, his expression darkening. "Touda, you've better eye sight than me in the dark..." he said turning again to his companion for help. The other looked back at Tsuzuki as if the two were passing some silent communication between them then shrugged, crossed his arms over his chest and continued.
"Pale skin, clear eyes half covered by his hair, strong cologne. Musk(25)," he said scrunching his nose as if in disgust. "I bet one could follow his trail." Everyone turned toward Hisoka expectantly. The boy lowered his gaze, clenching his firsts in his lap. His lower lip was a bit swollen since he had keep biting it for the whole time Tsuzuki and Touda talked.
"I... I don't remember much, really..." he muttered trying to keep his voice firm and failing miserably.
"Come on boy, I'm sure you were the one who got the closer look after all. Don't tell me you are so dumb you didn't see anything useful!" his uncle exclaimed.
"I wasn't exactly enjoying the meeting, you know!" Hisoka shouted unable to held back as his green eyes shone even more due to the tears that were threatening to fall.
"You, cursed whelp..." Iwao said as he lunged at Hisoka aiming to yank him closer and give him a lesson about respect. The child cringed but didn't move, with a look of stubborn challenge. After what had happened to him he didn't really care about what his uncle could do to him. Iwao however never reached him since Tsuzuki gripped the man's arm before he managed to touch Hisoka.
"I think that's enough. He shouldn't have yelled but he had a rough time and we're only stressing him further." Iwao tried freeing himself but Tsuzuki didn't bulge. Touda made a tiny, little smirk. Evidently he was still angry with Iwao for the 'basement suggestion' and was enjoying seeing him in trouble. It didn't last long anyway. As he made his point Tsuzuki released the man who sat down rubbing his wrist and glaring back at him with venom.
"Your so called 'guests' are going to stay here for long?" Iwao asked to Nagare. It was bad enough the man stole his position and gave birth to a cursed child. Now had he to allow two strangers to stick their noses in the family business?
"No, we don't," Tsuzuki interjected before Nagare had the time to answer. He didn't want to abandon Hisoka but the Kurosaki family was starting to be too much for him too to deal with. "We plan to take the first train for Tokyo. We would be already gone if it wasn't for Nagare-san's kind invitation to join his family for breakfast. We really thank you for it, Nagare-san. It has been a delicious breakfast." As Tsuzuki was talking Hisoka opened his mouth to say something, realized it would be completely improper, stupid and useless to beg that kind foreigner to stay, muttered a fast request to be excused and, as soon as his mother nodded her head in agreement, he moved to stand and leave that cursed room but he tried to get up too fast and, in his weakened state, he tripped and ended right into Tsuzuki's arms. While his relatives were busy lecturing him about his behaviour, Tsuzuki-san smiled down at him suggesting him to 'slow down because he wasn't yet recovered enough'. He felt the kindness in his words, kindness no one ever used toward him, echoing in his feeling and swallowed, fighting to conserve the control on his own emotions. Before he could manage to untangle himself from the man's arms his father spoke again.
"You aren't going to leave today," Nagare stated gaining an incredulous glare from his brother. Touda also glared at him, causing Iwao and Rui to retreat a little as soon as they noticed. Hisoka too would have done the same, hadn't he been still in Tsuzuki's arms.
"Oh? Why not?" Tsuzuki asked with a tone of mild curiosity while he set the child back down but Hisoka wasn't going to be fooled. There was something hard, strong and somewhat dark in that kind man, something that cannot be bended to another will unless he allowed it. His father would do better to be even more cautious around Tsuzuki-san than Touda-san.
"You're going to be my guests for a while," Nagare continued. Hisoka would have admired his father's courage hadn't he been hurt by the man's coldness too many times to feel for him something different from hate.
"What if we don't want to?" There was such threat in Touda's voice everyone considered leaving the room. Fast. That guy had something... like a Ki radiating a dangerous power he wasn't afraid to use. Tsuzuki merely placed a hand on the man's arm.
"Be nice, Touda," he chided. The other glared at him but settled back. Hisoka wondered on their bizarre relationship. Somehow Tsuzuki-san seemed to be in charge even if he had nothing of the leader type.
"It doesn't matter what you want to do. When a Kurosaki orders, you obey!" Iwao said anyway in a commending tone. People had always bowed to the wishes of the Kurosaki family and they would continue to bow. But he wouldn't have missed seeing them in the future hadn't Tsuzuki managed to grip Touda stopping him in mid motion from striking at Iwao. Touda glared back at Tsuzuki.
"He has no right to order us around!" he stated angrily. He wouldn't allow anyone to trap them in that house! He had enough of being trapped! Tsuzuki looked back at him, understanding and caring clearly visible behind his firm façade.
"I know. Please, sit down, okay?" he asked him gently. Touda hesitated then left himself fall back to his place, frowning. Iwao started, quite shakily, to complain at the foreigners' hostile behaviour. Nagare ignored him.
"In Kamakura, a Kurosaki's request is something that can't be refused," he explained in a polite but firm tone. "Please, believe you will be treated with all the honours, as our important guests. I'll send my servants to retrieve the luggage you said you left to the station immediately," Nagare informed them taking Tsuzuki's silence as an agreement then simply stood and motioned to leave. Just to find his way blocked by Tsuzuki.
"Kurosaki-san. If you need something from us, ask it now and we'll try to see if we can help. If not, I assure you, you won't manage to keep us here against our will." The man's normally kind tone was cold as he stood, hands in his pockets, in front of his father. Nagare seemed to hesitate.
"I... hadn't decided yet if to require your assistance," he admitted. "But I still insist for you to stay." Tsuzuki frowned, considering. He didn't like to abandon people to their own destiny but he found himself liking the current situation even less. He saw Touda glaring and Hisoka looking at him almost pleading.
"We'll stay for a day. By tomorrow morning you'll better have made up your mind," he agreed reluctantly. Nagare's expression for a moment seemed so similar to Hisoka it impressed him. It was just like looking to an abandoned child. "I'm sorry, Nagare-san," he said more kindly, sighing. "But we really have to return to Tokyo soon." Which was undoubtedly true. Tatsumi was going to make him pay for this in more than one way and he had no idea about what Kobayashi would do alone. Probably nothing good if the way he behaved in the past case was a hint. He just wasn't cut for the job, plain and simple and it was Tsuzuki's duty to make sure the job didn't end up cutting him in pieces. Literally. And how long his flowers could survive with no one taking care of them? And he still had to pay this month rent and Touda didn't really want to stay here and...
Nagare sighed as well.
"I understand. I'll make you know my decision as soon as possible," the man said, and left the room. Kurosaki Iwao rose and ran after him immediately, exclaiming loudly he wanted to know what was going in his brother's mind. Kurosaki Rui excused herself as well and, apparently, Hisoka had somehow found a way to vanish while no one was looking. Touda was still there but, from the look in his face, he was far from pleased. Tsuzuki sat down, sighing.
"The next time a case will require we will leave Tokyo you'll hack the computer and we'll discretely add to the case file some lines that will imply it'll be better to pass it to someone else(26), possibly Terazuma(27). Lets him deal with this sort of mess." Touda didn't reply even if he wholeheartedly agreed in his mind.
Tsuzuki spent the following fifteen minutes watching the Kurosaki garden, pretending to not notice Touda was mad at him. He knew he had reason to be. Touda wanted to leave and Tsuzuki had deliberately ignored it, choosing to stay. Tsuzuki knew that despite his human look Touda was a Shikigami, one of the most powerful of them, who, for reasons beyond Tsuzuki's comprehension, chose him as his master giving him all the rights to impose his will. Yet Tsuzuki had never wanted to force him in a really unwanted situation. To him, Touda was a friend not a servant and he hadn't meant to boss him into staying. He just hadn't found the heart to leave.
"Are you going to be like that all the day?" Tsuzuki asked, looking honesty hurt. Touda turned his gaze away from him. Tsuzuki sighed. "I'm sorry I forced you to stay, I know you wanted to leave." No answer. Touda should have taken it worst than he thought. "Ne, Touda, I'm really, really sorry but you know I couldn't abandon them like that..." he insisted in an almost pleading tone. Touda didn't reply at first. Yes, he knew, but it didn't make it better. Tsuzuki sighed, sounding fully miserable as he came closer to him, seeking at least physical contact, if an answer was out of discussion. He sighed as well. He wasn't good at staying mad at Tsuzuki, especially when Tsuzuki was giving him the 'Abandoned Puppy' look.
"Why did you allow them to take us prisoners?" Touda asked, finally turning toward him, in full glaring mode.
"They aren't taking us prisoners, Touda. It was just their weird way to ask us to be their guests," Tsuzuki explained. He didn't really like the Kurosaki's manners either but he had seen worse. A lot worse.
"If you say so," Touda replied, disbelief evident in his voice. He didn't like how the Kurosaki tried to force them to stay there. He didn't like how Tsuzuki was taking to heart the Kurosaki's problems. He also didn't like how the Kurosaki, father and son, were looking at Tsuzuki, as if they had 'interests' in him.
"Hey, you know I won't let someone try to trap you somewhere, no matter what, don't you?" Tsuzuki asked him worriedly, hugging him tightly.
"I know..." the other replied reluctantly as he allowed Tsuzuki to held him. It wasn't like he didn't trust Tsuzuki; it was just he hated the whole situation. All those years spent in that dark cell made him not exactly sympathetic toward someone who was trying to keep him confined in a place- so he didn't understand why they had to stay to please the Kurosaki who did nothing but cause them troubles and order them around.
"Come on, Nagare-san is merely the head of an ancient house in a little village not our TouPouSyugoJyu friend!" Tsuzuki countered, after releasing him from his hug, trying to brighten up the situation, and failing.
"He looks close enough," the other replied. SoRyu had been the one who sentenced Touda to eternal imprisonment. In addition to this Touda knew SoRyu had 'interests' on Tsuzuki, even if Tsuzuki, apparently, was completely oblivious about them... There was enough to not like someone who resembled him. He frowned as Tsuzuki merely chuckled at his words.
"True, but he's not. Let's enjoy our permanence in an ancient house, okay?" the man asked him with a warm smile.
"What's to enjoy in this place? It can't even remotely compare to Tenku-kyuu(28)!" Touda insisted. The more he stayed there, the less he liked it.
"You don't like Tenku-kyuu anyway," Tsuzuki replied, dismissing his comment.
"What's Tenku-kyuu?" Hisoka, who had just arrived there, asked hoping his voice was normal enough. He shouldn't be there, really but he wanted, needed to see the only person who had been kind to him, even if only for a second.
"A nice palace that Touda hates," Tsuzuki replied smiling at him, causing Hisoka to blush and unconsciously remembering him he had to work to not get that nervous every time the man smiled at him. Touda snorted. The boy would do better not nosy into his conversations with Tsuzuki. "Where are you going dressed like a Budoka, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki then asked in a kind voice noticing the child changed himself. He also noticed Hisoka's eyes were a bit red and swollen but, suspecting the child didn't want him to know he cried, avoided to mention it.
"Practicing Kyudo(29)," he replied curtly, trying to gain back his proper, cold attitude, attitude that this man always seemed to manage to shatter, filling him with emotions that had never been directed toward him and causing him to have feelings he had never felt before, allowing him to also forget everything that went wrong in his life.
"Today?" Tsuzuki asked in disbelief. Geez, the child had just been abused and his father had to force him to train anyway? That household was insane.
"No reason to skip training," Hisoka replied firmly as if he fully agreed about it with his father, when instead he had felt fully miserable when Nagare informed him he expected him to train anyway. "Ah, Miya said Hazama Sensei will come to visit me. Apparently I have to 'thank you' for that, don't I?" he added then. Hisoka didn't look too happy about it really, if the sarcasm in his voice was a hint.
"Geez, don't sound so enthusiastic, it's for your well being, you know." Hisoka glared. He didn't seem to buy it. How could it be for his own well being having to expose his shame to another person even if it was a doctor? "Anyway, do you think we can use the phone? I've to inform my workmates I'm not going to show up in the office before Tatsumi will go rabid."
"The phone is in that room. Use it as you please. You're guests. The house motto is 'Abundance and Hospitality'(30)," he said imitating his mother's voice. "Didn't you noticed it at breakfast?" he asked darkly. Tsuzuki pretended he didn't hear the question. The food had been great but the general behaviour...
"Ne, Hisoka, can I come to see you training? I promise I won't bother you!" he asked instead. Hisoka blinked unsure. No one had ever manifested interest in what he was doing, unless they had to check if he was doing it properly.
"If... If Otousama agrees to it I don't think there will be problems..." The man cheered in a childlike demonstration of happiness and promised he would ask Kurosaki-san just after he finished his phone call. Hisoka blushed again to his own disappointment and, after informing Tsuzuki-san that he could find his father in the dojo with him and where the dojo was, hurried leaving the place ignoring the fact walking hurt especially if he did it fast. Today he was going to have an audience. A smile threatened to appear on his face. Today he had to give his best performance!
Tsuzuki said he could be considered a 'Bakemono no Taijiya' but what someone scribbled on the entrance door of their department was a lot less nice name.
'Shinigami'(31).
Gods of death.
It wasn't their section name, of course, but it was the name almost universally used to refer to them. Watari Yukata, one of Tsuzuki's co-workers, proud of his mad scientist reputation (even if he wasn't really a mad scientist, he just was the best engineering expert one could wish for, with the bad habit to tamper in fields that weren't his with, often, catastrophic results...), had even inserted the term in the recorded phone answering message once, as well as "Hohoemi no Bakudan" instrumental version and Botan's synthesized voice saying that: 'KoEnma's ReiKai Tantei are temporally unavailable but if the problem is really urgent Enma DaiOh's Shinigami will be happy to take care of it...'(32)
Despite Watari's jokes Tsuzuki had always looked at the nickname with distaste especially because it was fitting. Nearly all their cases were related to mysterious deaths or ended up with someone's death. Some treated them as if it was their presence that brought death and not whatever unnatural creature had been bothered by some irresponsible or chose to wander around by its own free will and, often, Tsuzuki was incline to agree. It didn't help their reputation the fact that many of them had 'uncommon' abilities that caused them to be considered as 'freak' at best, when people didn't openly called them 'Bakemono' or 'Akuma'.
The whole 'Shinigami' division was officially under the control of an old but kind man named Konoe (No one had ever found out the man's given name. The general idea was it had to be a very embarrassing name for their Kacho to work so hard to keep it hidden...(33)) but who was considered the real, unofficial, feared RULER of the division was his secretary, a charming, polite young man from a Kuge bloodline, whose blue eyes, almost always hidden by his eyeglasses, could either make girls moan dreamily or full grown up men tremble like little children and whose ability to use shadows as weapon as well as a shield made him one of the best Kageshi, or shadow users if you prefer, of the country. His name was Tatsumi Seiichiro and he was a perfectly reasonable man. This wasn't supposed to mean he was going to tolerate that one of his co-workers would show up late on work. In fact he immediately frowned as he entered in the main room and noticed that Tsuzuki-san's chair was still empty. Sadly, it wouldn't be the first time Tsuzuki-san was late, the man had no sense of time whatsoever, but his lateness never failed to irritate Tatsumi.(34) He glared at the other employees, making sure they all were working and not wasting time. Time WAS money(35) and he wasn't the type who would allow money to be wasted. The other workers were all looking busy or, at least, pretending to be. Good.
"Any idea why your partner isn't here yet, Kobayashi-san?" he asked politely to the black-haired man who sat on the chair near Tsuzuki's. Kobayashi was they latest entry and, since Tsuzuki-san was, as usual, without a partner, Konoe Kacho thought it could be a good idea to partner the two together.
It was never a good idea to partner someone with Tsuzuki-san.
Kobayashi-san turned toward Tatsumi and, laughing nervously, answered he had no idea where Tsuzuki-sempai could be. Tatsumi pushed back on his nose his eyeglasses, as he always did when he was truly mad at someone, and thanked him. He also remembered to Kobayashi-san, before leaving him to his paperwork, that one of the reasons he had a partner was because he should keep an eye on him. Not that Tatsumi hoped someone would manage to keep an eye on Tsuzuki-san; he had been one of the man's many partners and had failed as well but still...
Kobayashi-san's phone rang. Then it rang again. And again, till Kannuki-san whispered to Kobayashi-san it was his phone what was ringing. Kobayashi-san seemed to realize it only then, as he hurried to answer, causing half of the papers on his desk to fall on the floor as well as a couple of pens and other assorted items. Tatsumi rubbed his temples, willing his incoming headache to go away. Kobayashi-san was a nice guy and always made an effort to do his work well (differently from other people) but he was perpetually living in dreamland and completely clueless about electronic inventions.
"Tsuzuki! How glad I am to hear you! Tatsumi was just asking me where you were!" Kobayashi exclaimed cheerfully. He liked Tsuzuki, he really did. Oblivious as he was, he even managed to not notice anything threatening in Touda who, after wondering for a while if he should take it as an insult, decided the man was merely an idiot and didn't pay him attention anymore. Anyway Kobayashi would have enjoyed talking with his partner and he would have been happy to help him as well, hadn't Tatsumi-san tapped gently his shoulder and asked him with a wide smile if he could have the receiver. Kobayashi, after saying bye to Tsuzuki, handed it to him, smiling back. The man was really a newcomer, oblivious of his surroundings or he would have noticed the dangerous glint in Tatsumi's eyes.
Tsuzuki couldn't see Tatsumi's expression but the secretary's voice alone was scaring enough.
"Tatsumi! Of course I'm happy to hear you, why shouldn't I be?" he exclaimed anyway, with an embarrassed expression that was saying the exact opposite. Tsuzuki liked Tatsumi a lot and judged him one of his closest friends, but this didn't mean he enjoyed being on the receiving end of the man's fury. Touda rolled his eyes. He didn't like Tatsumi at all and he had nor the will or the patience to listen to the man's temper tantrums, especially when they were directed toward Tsuzuki. He really didn't understand why Tsuzuki tolerated them. The fact that Tsuzuki could have done something to deserve them wasn't a reason good enough for him but, after all, with the exception of Tsuzuki, Touda saw no reason to tolerate others. In the meantime Tsuzuki was continuing his phone call answering to Tatsumi's questions or trying to. "No, Tatsumi, we aren't wasting money... Well, not 'on purpose'... No, I mean... Yes, I know I should already be in office... Where am I then? Well, you see we're kinda in Kamakura... No, it's not a Tokyo district you never heard about... NO! IT'S NOT A CAKE SHOP EITHER!... It's just a village in the Kanagawa Prefecture...(36) What are we... Well, you see..." Touda frowned as the conversation went on. Tsuzuki was taking the whole blame for them not being back in Tokyo and Tatsumi was doing nothing but yelling at him in such a way that, even if he didn't have sharper than human hearing, he would have heard him anyway, uncaring (but in truth more oblivious than uncaring) of how being yelled at depressed Tsuzuki, especially when all he was doing was trying to help an insane family, which wasn't his duty and wasn't remunerative but it was something a caring person like him couldn't help but do. Now... in his book it was more than acceptable if he was the one complaining about them staying there, but it was out of question allow the Kageshi to do so. This was why he stole the receiver from Tsuzuki, learned against the wall and asked Tatsumi in a cold tone:
"Say Kageshi, do you get off yelling at who doesn't defend himself?" Tsuzuki groaned. He should have expected it. This was going to be hell to pay once they get back. He was grateful he could not hear Tatsumi's reply. To make up for it he heard Touda's, which more or less suggested to Tatsumi to deal with his sexual frustration by himself... then Touda slammed down the receiver and turned to Tsuzuki.
"You really had to say that?" Tsuzuki asked him. It was a rhetorical question. Touda and Tatsumi couldn't really have a civil discussion. It wasn't all Touda's fault (even if sometimes Tsuzuki really believed Touda could have tried keeping his opinion to himself or expressing it in a 'more delicate' way), Tatsumi also had his share of 'comments', all said in his own polite way, he could have avoided doing. Tsuzuki would have wondered if the two had fun insulting each other if it wasn't for the fact that, left unsupervised, they would move quickly from verbal assault to serious physical one in such a vicious way it almost scared him.(37)
"Why didn't you tell him it was my fault if we missed the train?" Touda asked, ignoring Tsuzuki's question. He didn't really think he had done something wrong informing the Kageshi about what the whole office was thinking even if they would never dare to tell him.
"Because it's my fault if we're still here, isn't it? No point in getting the two of us in trouble..." Touda cornered him against the wall, placed both his arms against it, effectively trapping Tsuzuki, and learned close to him.
"If you say ever again to someone I'm 'cute' when I've just woken up I'll strangle you," he stated in that cold, threatening, low voice that scared so many. It just didn't work with Tsuzuki.
"But I can't help if you are!" the man replied, smiling at him and looking at him with those warm, unafraid purple eyes, the same eyes that have held no fear looking at him in his true form. He learned close, resting his forehead against Tsuzuki's.
"I swear if you should ever be afraid of me I'll hate you forever," he would also hate himself forever but he wasn't going to discuss that with Tsuzuki.
"Idiot. We're friends. I would never be afraid of you," the man replied smiling.
"If I'll say I think we really should return home will you consider leaving this place?"
"Nope. But I can cuddle you to death to make it up to you the fact we'll be staying here." Touda snorted.
"I'll keep my opinion to myself then." Tsuzuki chuckled.
"You just know I'll cuddle you anyway," he commented, grinning widely.
"Don't remind me," the other said giving him a long-suffering look. Tsuzuki chuckled some more. His good mood was contagious. Maybe, just for Tsuzuki, he could deal with spending some more time in that cursed house. "Didn't you say to the boy you wanted to see his little 'show'?" he asked him. He didn't care about the boy's show but he knew Tsuzuki would whine later should he miss it.
"Be nice, Touda..." Tsuzuki remembered him. Touda merely rolled his eyes. Tsuzuki sighed, knowing he shouldn't really expect much from him on that side. "Let's go then," he stated, taking Touda's hand and starting to walk through the corridor.
"Tsuzuki," the man said, allowing him to drag him.
"What?"
"The boy said the dojo was in the opposite direction." Tsuzuki rolled his eyes exasperatedly muttering he will never manage to orientate himself in unknown places.(38)
"I'll lead the way?" Touda offered and Tsuzuki would have bet he was amused, even if nothing in his behaviour showed it.
"It'll be better," he agreed. The two started walking, this time for the right direction.
Meanwhile Hisoka spied for the nth time the door nervously. His father reproached him sharply for his lack of concentration. The boy sighed as he resigned himself. Tsuzuki-san wasn't going to come. Well, he considered as he aimed again, he should have expected it. Why a complete stranger would show some interest in his training when his own relatives could care less? He looked at the target in frustration as he noticed he missed the centre. His father was probably reproaching him again but he didn't really care. All the man wanted from him was an heir to continue the bloodline. He didn't care about how he was feeling right then, he was so distant and cold it was like he was a puppet talking to another puppet and Hisoka didn't think he could stand it anymore. He was about to do something he would have regretted later hadn't the room started filling with... happiness.
'Happiness'?
"We found it!" Tsuzuki-san's unmistakable enthusiastic voice exclaimed as he entered in the dojo with Touda-san who didn't look happy at all at the 'conquest'.
"I found it. You merely tagged along," the man pointed out. Tsuzuki-san ignored him and greeted, loudly and cheerfully, the Kurosaki duo. Evidently no one ever informed him people should be silent when entering in a dojo. Tsuzuki-san asked to Hisoka's father if they could stay because 'they' wanted to see Hisoka's training (Touda glared at that since he could care less about the boy's training) and that they won't disturb him at all, a thing Hisoka somehow doubted was possible. His father (Out of excessive politeness? Masochism? Wish to make things more complicate for his son?) agreed. Needless to say, as soon as Tsuzuki-san had the permission to stay, he sat on the floor and started chatting happily. Touda-san sat silently near him, not looking pleased at all. Hisoka's father asked Tsuzuki-san if he even been in a dojo before. It turned out the man wanted to peek at the one near his work place but his Kaicho and one of his workmates banned him from the place before he really managed to get a good look at it. It wasn't that hard to understand why really... yet the man's presence and his happy chattering were somehow... brightening the dojo, warming it and making it more welcoming, which was absurd and impossible of course, and yet even his father seemed to share the feeling. Tsuzuki-san was a weird man.
"Tsuzuki-san... wouldn't you try practicing with Hisoka?" his father asked, maybe hoping this would silence the man, causing Hisoka's eyes to go very wide in surprise. Kurosaki Nagare had NEVER invited a foreigner to practice in the almost sacred dojo where the oh so heroic Ren had trained. Tsuzuki-san seemed surprised as well.
"Me? Oh I won't be able to hit a single target, not even if it was right in front of me(39) but I bet Touda would do great, wouldn't you?" he said turning toward Touda whose glare was a clear sign Tsuzuki would do better to not even consider suggesting him to try. Tsuzuki ignored it and insisted. "Wouldn't you, Touda?"
"Tsuzuki. It's stupid," he stated realizing that trying to get the message to Tsuzuki simply with a glare was a lost cause. He didn't see what fun could come from hitting a target that didn't even move.
"Oh, please! I never saw you trying! I promise I wouldn't ask ever again! Just this once! Do it for me, eh? Eh?" It was obvious Tsuzuki wasn't going to stop unless he got what he wanted or someone hit him. Touda groaned.
"If it pleases you so much..." he said in clear annoyance. The things he did to please Tsuzuki... He grabbed hastily the bow and the arrow Nagare offered him while Tsuzuki was cheering enthusiastically. "At least shut up!" he ordered. Father and son's eyes widened in open wonder as Tsuzuki finally felt silent and remained apparently effortless silent the time Touda needed to aim and hit the farthest target right in the centre. "Happy now?" Touda asked then to the man. Taking the hint that he was allowed to talk again Tsuzuki proceeded to voice his enthusiasm. Loudly and with lots of details. Nagare also had to admit it was a good shot. Hisoka glared at the arrow, still straight in the centre. He knew it was a good shot but didn't see why Tsuzuki-san should do all that fuss over it. Especially considering he could do one as good as well. Probably. Not that he had ever tried such a far target. Anyway even if Touda-san didn't show it at all Hisoka had no problem perceiving his self-satisfaction. So, even if he didn't know what possessed him, he just picked an arrow and aimed at the same target as well. Doing so he forgot everything else, his father, the previous night, the pain and the shame, everything. Just hitting the target mattered. He shot. The arrow flied fast, drawing a nice parabola in the air and hit the target near enough to the point Touda hit. It wasn't a perfect centre but it was close enough. There was a moment of surprised silence then Tsuzuki cheered at Hisoka's shot as well. Hisoka blinked. To be honest he had been the most surprised of them all. He had never tried to hit such a far target before and yet he managed doing it! His father looked at him puzzled, surprised by this sudden progress. Hisoka turned to look at Touda who glared back at him. The man almost always glared but, this time, his glare had a different meaning. Maybe that guy could not talk much and glare a lot but he surely understood when someone challenged him and he didn't like it much. To be honest he didn't tolerate it at all. Hisoka blinked in surprise as he sensed the man's emotions shifting into apathy. Evidently, even if he didn't like to be challenged, he didn't judge Hisoka an opponent worthy enough to be considered. Hisoka frowned in frustration as he realized the man was about to return the bow and sit back down near to Tsuzuki. But apparently destiny, or someone else working for it, wanted him to get his competition anyway.
"It was a nice shot, wasn't it, Touda?" Tsuzuki asked innocently. The man looked at him and shrugged.
"If you say so. Beginners get lucky shots more often than you can think," he pointed out. He never liked when Tsuzuki praised others, especially when there was no real reason to.
"Be nice, Touda..." Tsuzuki said again. The man shrugged. No need to keep repeating him that. Didn't he merely say the truth?
"If I'll hit it another time you'll still call it a lucky shot?" the boy challenged. Touda wondered if the boy realized whom he was challenging. Probably not. He should have ignored the challenge really. A kid wasn't worth the trouble but Tsuzuki said to be nice...
"Wanna have a competition, kid?" he offered.
"It may be interesting... old man," the boy replied, his satisfaction almost tangible.
"Hisoka!" Nagare exclaimed. It was completely improper for Hisoka to address in such way to a guest.
"Oh, let them be. People really can't grow without the spirit of competition... plus I bet this will be an interesting source of distraction!" Tsuzuki exclaimed in the same innocent, cheerful tone he used few minutes before and yet there was a glint in his eyes that caused Nagare to wonder if his actions hadn't be carefully planned. Nagare wondered if it was possible the man was, for all his childish behaviour, way smarter than he looked. He had seemed much more... adult the past night... Anyway Hisoka had no chance to win. He wasn't used to such far targets, his constitution wasn't strong enough to last under prolonged work and Tsuzuki-san himself knew he had been weakened by what happened last night and yet here he was pushing his son into a competition with a man who looked strong, resilient and, apparently, with good martial training. He turned to look at his son and... blinked. Hisoka had never looked more determined, or focused. Not that usually he was a bad student he just... never had that... passion, as if from every shot depended his life, as if he forgot everything else. Comprehension dawned on him. Tsuzuki-san hadn't encouraged the competition to see a show of martial arts but merely to give a chance to Hisoka to... distract himself and to vent his frustration, anger and desperation in an- acceptable way. He blinked when Tsuzuki-san caught the speculative look he was giving at him and simply smiled back in reply. Nagare turned away his gaze; embarrassed he'd been caught studying his guest, a really unusual guest full of surprises. He wondered again if this man, who came there by accident, could make the difference, could be sent by some benevolent Kami-sama to save the Kurosaki household and... He didn't want, he didn't dare to hope and yet...
Meanwhile the 'competition', if so could be called, went on for a while. Hisoka was finding hard to keep up with the man and, even if he managed to always hit the target, many of his shots didn't reach its centre. He was starting to feel tired even if he was also starting to feel somehow relieved. Touda, on the other side, wasn't missing a single centre but he didn't seem that pleased about it. Archery was a quite mechanical act for him, something he had learned when he had been young, a soldier in the oh so great army of the KouTei KouRyu, ages ago. So young and so stupid in placing his trust in that man... He had risen fast, very fast and believed he would get all that he missed in 'childhood'. His fall has been fast as well. He'd been stripped of everything he gained. Only hate remained. Hate which was fuelling him as he aimed.(40)
"That's a nice hit, Touda!"
Touda was startled, his thoughts interrupted by Tsuzuki, who decided he HAD to cheer, at least a little. The man was grinning at him happily. The fool was really thinking what he said, really enthusiastic for something so banal like a centre.
"Shut up," he ordered him even if, weird enough, he didn't feel that bitter anymore. He didn't have only hate. He also had Tsuzuki to baby-sit. An idiot who would do anything to make him happy. The only one who cared. The least he could do was to give at least a good show for him, since it seemed he was enjoying the thing.
Hisoka felt the man's emotions shifting the second Tsuzuki spoke. Nothing in his behaviour showed it and yet he felt relieved, as if a weight had been lift from his shoulders. He felt envious. It must be nice to have someone like Tsuzuki-san who would cheer for you when you were in a competition... Hisoka's whole body was aching now and he was tired. He bit his lip. He knew he wouldn't last for long but he didn't plan to give up anytime soon. He preferred to faint on the floor. He felt insulted when Touda-san declared the competition finished and gave back the bow to his father.
"I'm not going to surrender yet!" he exclaimed heatedly. The man glanced at him.
"I don't care. Tsuzuki felt asleep," he said as if this explained it all. In fact it did, since the only reason he accepted to do the competition was to please Tsuzuki and now that he wasn't watching it anymore there was no reason for him to continue. Hisoka turned, seeing that the man had effectively quietly felt asleep and now was lying curled up on the floor with the same innocent expression a child would have. Touda-san knelt near him and brushed the man's forehead with his fingers, pushing back Tsuzuki's brown hair and causing Tsuzuki to mumble something. Touda looked at him fondly for a second, than simply picked him up as he would have done with a child and, without bothering to pay the Kurosaki duo further attention, carried him away.
JJ's Notes:
1. Veronica was one of the dolls Muraki owned when he was a child. His mother, apparently, discarded it.
2. In YnM part 63 Hisoka wonders if his father didn't help him because he had been a bad boy and asks him (and his mother) to not abandon him. My two cents over Hisoka's family are that probably Hisoka's mother was hard on him due to Hisoka's empathy (there's the dream in part 45 that said this and in part 63 in a flashback she said she wanted a normal child). Nagare instead (nightmares aside) seems to me maybe cold and uncaring but not openly against Hisoka (he was probably the one who taught him martial arts, I can't remember a flashback in which he said something against Hisoka, he wanted to die to join Kasane and the CHILDREN and in the dream in part 35 Nagare was holding little Hisoka's hand). However Hisoka declares he HATED him while he said nothing against is mother. My guess is that Hisoka hoped his father would help him but Nagare never did probably because for him Hisoka (as well as Rui) are less important than the family reputation. He doesn't hate them, he just doesn't care enough.
3. 'Nyngyou' (doll) is how in the manga Muraki called Hisoka and Tsubaki-hime.
4. This is what Muraki said to Hisoka in Hisoka's dream in Vol. 3. I'm assuming he also said it when he raped Hisoka and it wasn't just something Hisoka's nightmare created.
5. Hisoka's nightmare is purposely confusing because Hisoka's dream is 'contaminated' by facts related to Muraki (who's now connected to Hisoka due to the Juso) and Tsuzuki (who's sitting close to Hisoka, caring for him but allowing his mind to wander unaware Hisoka is empathic). Why Touda doesn't affect Hisoka's dream? Merely because Tsuzuki is closer to Hisoka and his feelings are 'stronger' so they kinda cover Touda's . In fact Hisoka's empathy allows him to perceive other people's emotions but strong feelings can somehow 'cover' less strong feelings, like a loud noise would cover weaker ones. I figure contact or closeness increase the strength of the perception of the feeling. That's why Tsuzuki's presence often 'shield' him from other people's feelings. In fact in Vol. 9 of the manga Hisoka said HakuShaku's consciousness was so strong he couldn't perceive anything else and in Vol. 1 Hisoka said Tsuzuki's anger was so strong it filled him and caused his power to backlash.
6. Due to the fact no one in the Kurosaki house has nice feelings toward Hisoka and they likely judge physical contact with him repulsive and that I think physical contact allows Hisoka to perceive the others' feelings better I'll say Hisoka's empathy probably caused him to perceive contact as something that 'hurt'. Of course since Tsuzuki's feelings are 'nice' they didn't cause unpleasant sensations, on the contrary they're almost pleasurable.
7. Hisoka is referring to the fact he gets often closed in the basement.
8. Can you blame Tsuzuki if he's not sure? Of course Hisoka and Nagare resemble each other quite a bit but the whole household seemed to care very little for Hisoka and Hisoka seems to feel out of place there so...
9. Hisoka had never stuck me like a person who's proud of his ancestors. In fact he seemed to judge his family's position more like a trouble than a positive thing probably because it was also due to it he was treated so badly.
10. In a Matsushita-san's pic Touda is portrayed after he had just woken up. It gave me the impression he's that sort of person who gets up when he has to but it's so sleepy he's not aware of what's going on around and manage to move only because what is doing are the same gestures he does each morning and therefore they don't require much thinking.
11. Fukiya Yuma and Torii Saya are YnM manga characters only. They are Shinigami assigned to Hokkaido with the weird obsession to try to dress Hisoka in female clothes made by the Pink House (they won't mind trying Pink House clothes over Chizuru, another manga only character, too). I figure they just like to pick up clothes for people and 'force them' to wear them.
12. Touda also said something similar to Tsuzuki in Vol. 10.
13. So you want to know if this sentence has a romantic meaning or it's just a joke between friends? Well... Tsuzuki in the manga often says things like that to various people. Is he in this case meaning something more than affection? I'm not telling...
14. I figure Tsuzuki and Touda's look would cause the maids to wonder who they are. My guess is they would suppose they were singers from the capital.
15. A Govern Department that investigate over Bakemono? Well, why not? Consider it the Japanese answer to the X-Files department. Oh, and for who hadn't realized it yet... no Tsuzuki and the others aren't Shinigami and yes, I'm guilty of changing all their birth dates. Shinigami however exist in this AU as well as Enma and you'll see them later.
16. 'Taijiya' was Sango's title in 'InuYasha', a manga by Rumiko Takahashi, so I figure it's possible to use it to define Tsuzuki's work as well. I guess the title can be compared to the one of 'Ghostbuster' but well... maybe due to the fact that the 'Ghostbusters' movie was amusing, calling Tsuzuki a Ghostbuster sounded to me like I was mocking him (plus he deals with monsters and demons too not just ghosts) and to tell he was an 'Onmyouji' wouldn't be true since it would require not only that he had Jujutsu knowledge but also that he followed the Onmyoudo Philosophy.
17. In the manga is said Tsuzuki didn't talk English.
18. Shikigami are part of Japanese myth. In it they figure mostly as familiar of Onmyouji or their astral projections. Hisoka of course read about this version of Shikigami and expects them to be like that but Shikigami in this fic will be exactly as Matsushita-san described them and therefore different by myth.
19. How Iwao knew about what happened to Hisoka? I won't be too surprised if Iwao has spies in the Kurosaki house plus I figure, since there was a murder, that Nagare HAD to inform the police even if he didn't give them all the details about what happened and asked them discretion about Hisoka's involvement. Since Iwao has connections with the police he get other info from them too.
20. In Hisoka's memories/nightmares Iwao often says things like that.
21. In this fic Touda got out from his prison fairly recently (3 years before) and in a way different from the manga, therefore he's still very sensitive about the issue. He's also very prone to react should he perceive someone as a threat for Tsuzuki or himself and quite bitter about his previous imprisonment.
22. I know, the most polite way to call Nagare would be Kurosaki-san and not Nagare-san. However Kurosaki-san, which, by the way, can be used to call Nagare, Iwao, Rui and Kasane, wasn't even used by Tatsumi who's the top in politeness (He called all the Kurosaki using their first name and the '-san' except for Nagare whom he also called 'GoTouShu-sama' ("Honourable Master")) so I figure in a house with more than one family member is still polite to call them with their first name and honorific to avoid confusion.
23. I don't think Hisoka, while he was alive, was able to 'blast people away' as he did with Tsuzuki in the 'Nagasaki Chapter'. It would require a strong Ki to do so and, while Shinigami are guaranteed it, I'm not sure young Hisoka would have the same ability. However I think the little he had (in Japanese philosophy every living being has Ki) would 'react' to physical contact a little like a tiny Electric Bolt. Other people's fear exaggerated it turning the tiny shock in a full blast.
24. Why the police ask Iwao to ask Nagare to ask Hisoka for the murder's description? Well... somehow Iwao seemed more connected than Nagare to the police in the manga, plus the police didn't want to bother the Kurosaki head and, more than anything, came close to Hisoka. In addition to this Iwao wanted to get the information personally so he discouraged the police from asking so he would have the chance to do it.
25. In Vol. 3 it was said Muraki wore Musk cologne. I'm supposing it wore it usually. As for why Touda's not too fond of it... To his better senses Muraki's cologne is too strong.
26. In YnM cases are assigned to the Shinigami who take care of the zone in which they happened unless they're unavailable (Tatsumi and Watari ended up in Kamakura because the Shinigami who take care of 10 sector were busy elsewhere). In this fic, on the contrary, Tsuzuki's office assigns cases at random unless specific characteristics are required. Oh yes, workers work in pair. Why Tsuzuki left Tokyo without Kobayashi then? It'll be explained later.
27. Terazuma Hajime is a YnM characters who had only a tiny role in the anime. He is a Shinigami partnered with Kannuki Wakaba and assigned to Chugoku. He and Tsuzuki don't get along.
28. Tenku is one of Tsuzuki's Shikigami in YnM canon story. He looks like an ancient Chinese palace and in his darkest, deepest room Touda was held prisoner. Tenku isn't happy Touda had been released and makes a point to remember Touda this.
29. Since Hisoka is the Kurosaki heir he is taught Kendo, Aikido, Iai, Kyudo and Naginata. The manga didn't say who taught him. I'm supposing it was Nagare himself.
30. In Vol. 10 Miya effectively said that the Kurosaki house motto is 'Abundance and Hospitality'. Now... ok for the abundance but the hospitality seemed decidedly lacking to me.
31. Shinigami exist in Japanese myth too but I guess while 'Shinigami' can be a cool battle name (See 'Gundam Wing') it won't look that nice to call like that Government employers.
32. 'Hohoemi no Bakudan' is 'YuYu Hakusho' first opening. 'YuYu Hakusho' it's a manga created by Togashi Yoshihiro in 1991 and after turned in an Anime series created in 1992. Basically the story is about a team of Spirit Detectives (the ReiKai Tantei) that works for KoEnma (Enma's son) dealing for him with Youkai and Akuma. Botan is a pretty girl who works for KoEnma escorting the souls of the dead to him and as connection between KoEnma and the ReiKai Taitei who live on ChiJou.
33. Konoe's name is never said in the manga, anime or books. After wondering if I had to make up one I decided to simply say no one knows it.
34. In Vol. 1 is said Tsuzuki is rarely on time at meetings.
35. 'Time is money' is Tatsumi's official motto in the manga.
36. Yes, Tatsumi studied history and geography and knows where Kamakura is. It's just that, when Tsuzuki said he was in Kamakura he didn't expect it to be that 'Kamakura'.
37. I don't think Tatsumi and Touda would like each other... anyway later will be explained why in this fic they can't stand to each other AT ALL. As for their dialogue... Touda, to me, looked always like the blunt type who doesn't regret it at all. As for Tatsumi... he's the one who seems to have a liking insulting in a very polite way the people he doesn't like (see his dialogues with Muraki and Hakushaku in the manga).
38. In the manga is often mentioned Tsuzuki has no sense of direction.
39. I can't have Tsuzuki trying Kyudo now, can I? Considering his 'ability' in the manga and the fact nor Nagare or Hisoka are Shinigami he would have ended up killing them after a couple of shots...
40. I'm supposing Touda just didn't 'born' ShinSho but that he had the Shikigami equivalent of a childhood in which he increased his power and learned how to fight as a soldier. Even if Shikigami don't age as humans it seems, in the manga, that they 'grow' with time (in the manga Kojiro & Kotaro are also showed as kids) and the same does their power. Plus there are army in GenSoKai (the KouTei KouRyu owned one and gave part of his soldiers to SoRyu).
JJ's Extra Notes:
When I started this AU one of the things I pondered the most was if to keep Tsuzuki and the others as Shinigami. I wanted them to be, really, but well it's not just that the relationship between a Shinigami and an human as been explored many times both in fiction and in the manga itself but that the possible finals end up to be:
a) Hisoka survives and he probably doesn't see Tsuzuki again till his death or sees him seldom (Shinigami shouldn't interact with humans but I guess Tsuzuki would find a way to bend rules) and we have the same situation Matsushita-san created with Hijiri.
b) Hisoka dies (at 13 or 16 it doesn't really matter) and he's judged by Enma who sends him in heaven, hell or whatever he's supposed to go and we've the same situation Matsushita-san created with Hisae and Tsubaki-hime.
c) Hisoka dies and becomes a Shinigami and we've the same situation Matsushita-san created with, well, Hisoka himself.
Since I wasn't interested in one of those endings and I don't think Enma would allow Tsuzuki to live again in the end I accepted the fact they were going to be alive. However Enma and his Shinigami will have a role as well.
Due to the fact Tsuzuki isn't a Shinigami he also met the Shikigami in a different way. How? It'll be revealed later.
I'm not sure how much IC Hisoka is and if there's a way to establish if he's IC or not. He's younger than in the manga/anime and lack of 3 years of torture/pain but he has a very traumatic rape experience. In all the scenes that showed him alive in the manga he's represented more like an unhappy, lonely child who wished friends so much he made them up so I tend to think it's acceptable to portray him as less bitter and a bit more needy of human contact but temporally with a frail balance due to what he went through. As for why exteriorly he looks so calm... I guess he's merely doing what was expected from him, showing a mask of 'proper behaviour' in front everyone else. I don't think he would be allowed to express his own desperation and, knowing this, I believe he would try to keep it hidden. Yet I think Hisoka had a bit of rebellious nature in it and that's why the mask crack sometimes...
As for why he searches closeness with Tsuzuki... physical contact with someone with strong feelings like Tsuzuki somehow shield him from his own emotions causing him to feel somewhat better. Plus I guess in his situation he desperately needed comfort. Add to this the fact he probably wasn't used to physical contact therefore he's 'less shielded' to it. Why Muraki's emotions didn't worked the same way? Because while Tsuzuki's feelings are somehow pleasurable, Muraki's one were scary, weird, shameful and aliens to Hisoka's young mind therefore he kind of 'fought' them. It didn't work well enough to shield him from them but it was enough to stop him from 'drowning' in them.
Dictionary:
-sama: "Lord" or "Lady"
-san: "Mr." or "Mrs."
Akuma: Demon
Bakemono: Monster
Bakemono no Taijiya: Terminator of Monsters
Botan: In 'YuYu Hakusho' she escorts the souls of the dead and works as connection between KoEnma and the ReiKai Taitei
Budoka: Martial Art Practising
ChiJou: Land of the Living
DaiOh: "Great King". Enma's title
Danna: Master (of the house)
Dojo: Training Place
Enma: "Demon of darkness". Ruler of the Land of Dead
Futon: Bed in Japanese Style
GenSoKai: "Illusory World". World in which the Shikigami reside
HakuShaku: "Earl". Master of the Rousoku no Yakata, he controls humans' life span
Hohoemi no Bakudan: "An explosion of smiles". 'YuYu Hakusho' opening theme
Jujutsu: Magic Art
Juso: Curse
Kacho: "Section Chief". Konoe's title
Kageshi: Shadow User
Kami: God
Ki: Aura
KoEnma: "Young Enma" or "Child Enma". In 'YuYu Hakusho' he is Enma's son. The ReiKai Tantei are under his orders
KouTei KouRyu: "Golden Emperor Golden Dragon". The highest authority in GenSoKai
Kuge: Japanese aristocratic family descendent by a Kami
Kyudo: Japanese Archery
Niisan: "Brother" or "Older Boy"
Nyngyou: Doll
Ojisama: "Uncle" or "Older Man"
Onmyoudo: "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based upon the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature
Onmyouji: "Person who practices Onmyoudo". Basically a magician, sorcerer, diviner and astrologer
Otousama: Father
ReiKai Tantei: "Spirit World Detectives". In 'YuYu Hakusho' it's a team who work for KoEnma dealing for him with YouKai and Akuma
Sempai: "Older Workmate" or "Older Classmate"
Sensei: "Doctor" or "Teacher"
Shikigami: "Ceremonial God". In YnM they are summoned creatures with two forms (usually one is animal looking while the other is human looking) that live in GenSoKai. In Japanese myth they're summoned creature that attends an Onmyouji
Shinigami: "God of Death" or "Death God". In Japanese myth two Shinigami are sent by Enma to retrieve the souls of the dead
ShinSho: Divine Commander
Tenku-Kyuu: "Sky Palace". Tenku's title
TouPouSyugoJyu: "Western Guardian Beast". SoRyu's title
YouKai: "Monster Ghost" or "Bewitching Apparition"
Yurei: "Ghost" or "Spirit of the Dead"
Replies to reviews:
To Everyone who reviewed: Thank you! You're a great encouragement for me!
To Black myst: It seems I didn't explain this well. I know Tsuzuki's eyes are purple. They're purple in this fic also.
Simply Nagare and all the Kamakura people didn't realize it because they either didn't get to give them a good glance (and therefore mistook them for another normal colour) or because they believed he was wearing coloured contact lenses (he is not and the same goes for Touda who has really red eyes).
I'm sorry I explained this badly, anyway I can assure you Tsuzuki's eyes are naturally purple in this story.
To Tenshiamanda: You know you made my day with your review, don't you? Thanks for it, really, expecially because it's the second time you review! To be honest in plotting stage I had considered having Tatsumi as partner for Tsuzuki in this fic... but for reasons I'll explain later in the end Touda ended up going with Tsuzuki. I hope you're not disappointed about this!
To E-san: I would love if you could make arts for this fic! Really!
I truly hope I'll manage to finish this even if it'll require a bit of time. The prelude and Chap. 1 & 2 were already written before I started posting the fic on and that's why they were posted so quickly. Chap. 3 is half done so is Chap. 4. For Chap. 5, 6 & 7 there are only bit and pieces. Unless I'll have to add something more, at Chap. 7 the first part of 'Somewhere I belong' will be finished. My goal right now is to finish at least the first part of this fic. So far I've planned 5 parts (and written bits and pieces of them all). As for the question about which pairing this fic is about... You'll see various people trying to get Tsuzuki's attention... the list is long... anyway so far Tsuzuki isn't sentimentally involved with anyone... Of course this is going to change in the future... but I'm not telling who's the lucky one who get him...
Someone wanna try to guess his identity?
Send me your comments!