Hisoka: I don't know why I'm doing this... -sigh- I'm here to introduce the next chapter of the story. I'm wondering why the other two idiots couldn't make it, but whatever. So this is chapter-
-Hisoka is tackled by something-
Hisoka: What the hell?
Puppy Tsuzuki: Yay! Hi 'Soka-chan!
Hisoka: Baka! what are you doing?
Puppy Tsuzuki: Giving you a hug! -smiles- I looooove you! -Hisoka blushes and Tsuzuki plants a kiss on his cheek-
-flash of a camera and both look up in alarm-
Cat-chan: If that isn't the most kawaii thing I've ever seen in my life! I'm making copies!
Hisoka: -very angry- S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E
Cat-chan: Hey! What did I say about using my real name?
Hisoka: GIVE ME THAT CAMERA! AND THE PICTURE!
Cat-chan: NEVER! -starts running- Wait-What do you want it for? -suggestive wink-
Hisoka: HENTAI! GET BACK HERE!
Tsuzuki: Heh heh... Uhh... well... I guess I'll introduce the chapter. Enjoy chappie number 11!

Chapter 11: Another petal lost

All that had occurred in those two weeks had not been just fun and games and bonding for the child. She had been required to spend minimal amounts of time with Watari and Tatsumi, who had been placed in charge of the case revolving around her. Tatsumi interrogated her, while Watari researched the information she provided for them. However, it was still blurry to her so it took an awful lot of probing and thought to get her to speak clearly and logically.

The secretary was not very patient at times, finding it very difficult to communicate with a small child who had no idea what was going on. This resulted in the scientist taking over for him, very understanding and easy to talk to. He got more information out of Setsuko than Tatsumi did on some occasions.

"Itsuki-chan, explain the first signs of when you noticed something was wrong." the secretary asked her calmly, sitting across from her.

"Anou…" she pressed a finger to her chin, looking thoughtful, "I had dreams… in the dreams there was a lady in all white and a lady in all black. They would be arguing about something, but I could never hear it. It was like I wasn't there. But they were talking about me, I think… they said my name sometimes. When I told Muraki-san about my dreams, he said that it was all going according to plan and that I shouldn't worry. When I told Okaa-san, she just laughed and said it was only a dream. Then the dreams got more scary, the ladies would fight more angrily, the black dressed one had a whip and hit the other with it sometimes. I could feel it actually hurting me. It was weird.

"Then, I started hearing voices. But, there was no one around talking. It was scarier than the fights. The voices would tell me mean things, they said I wasn't loved and I'd be left all alone. They said I would die alone. It made me sad, so I told Okaa-san about it. Soon after that she started yelling at me, Otou-san started hitting me and saying I was a bad girl. Then I got shut up in my room. The voices only got worse. Then things started breaking. Muraki-san came more and more, each time he came I hurt more. So I started running away. That's when the people started dying. Everyone said it was my fault. I was scared because I didn't know if they were right or not…"

Setsuko sighed, hanging her head in a way that was unlike her, Tatsumi looked on with slight sympathy, while Watari was already hugging her and offering reassurance.

"It's okay, chibi. It wasn't your fault." he smiled at the child, who nodded in reply.

Once she calmed down enough, Tatsumi would ask another question or two, depending on how well she was progressing or how much time Watari had to research. "Can you describe the two women you saw more?"

"Well, the first one was very pretty. She had long shiny, white hair. Her eyes were blue. And she wore a long, white dress." the girl mused, "The second one was pretty too, but in a scary kind of way. She had long black hair. Her eyes were reallyred, so were her lips. She wore a red and black shirt that showed a lot of her and a matching skirt that was too short." She frowned at this, as if reprimanding the woman, "Oh yeah, and she had big black boots and a black spiky whip and black gloves." She sighed, "Haruna was not very nice."

Tatsumi arched an eyebrow, "Who is this Haruna?"

Clasping her hands over her mouth, mocha eyes widened at what she had said. Extreme discomfort came upon the child. She paled considerably and looked to Watari, but he seemed just as interested as Tatsumi, his laptop poised and ready to start typing.

"Itsuki-chan…" Tatsumi stated again, "Who is Haruna?"

"I… I won't get in trouble, will I?" she asked hesitantly.

Watari shook his head, "Not at all chibi, now go on. You can tell us."

"Ha-Haruna… she's the lady dressed in black… she's a demon…" Setsuko's voice was small and timid, "She lives inside me. Well, that's what she tells me anyway. Haruna says mean things to me and lies a lot so I can't be sure. She told me that she's part of my curse, her and an angel named Kaori. I've never talked to the angel, I've tried, but it never seems to work. Then Haruna gets mad and feeds."

"Feeds? What does she feed off of?" Watari asked while typing away on his laptop.

She continued softly, "She feeds off of fear."

There was silence save for the scientist's frantic typing. Tatsumi looked from the distracted man to the shy girl, then sighed. "That's enough for today, thank you Itsuki-chan. You're free to go."

"H-hai… Arigatou Tatsumi-san. Yuu-chan." she bowed her head quickly.

Without another word, Setsuko leaped up from the chair and darted out of the room, the tension she had been feeling quickly faded. The secretary stayed silent, waiting for Watari to finish. When the clacking ceased, the scientist gazed at the screen intently, reading quickly and processing the information. His brow knit together in concentration, his lips pursed. Finally he spoke.

"A form of parasite demon." he stated, motioning Tatsumi over to look at his discovery, "From what chibi described and my findings, the demoness Haruna is a form of parasite demon. She embeds herself in another's body and devours their soul by eating away at their fears, making it unbearable for her victims to remain sane for very long. She is a very old demon, hasn't been heard of for about a century now, Muraki must've awakened her for some reason…"

"Hmm, this is very interesting. But why hasn't Itsuki-chan lost her sanity yet? She still seems perfectly normal." Tatsumi pondered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Watari scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Well, either one eyed and evil gave specific orders for her not to devour chibi's soul or there is some deeper motive in all of this. I say we call together a meeting!"

The scientist hopped off his chair and struck a dramatic, determined pose. The cobalt-eyed man sighed, clearly embarrassed by the man's behavior. "Watari-san, please. Let's be serious."

"I am being serious, Tatsumi!" the blonde protested, hands on his hips, "We should call a meeting, Wakaba and Tsuzuki and the others should definitely know about this. Don't you think? It could reeeaaally help with research."

"Fine, let's go gather up the others."

"Ooooh! 'Suko-chan, look at this!" Tsuzuki was hopping up and down as he displayed the various sugary confections he had purchased on his lunch break.

The man had carried them all to the office, to show Hisoka and Setsuko both and try to share, but only the boy had been there and he had been fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb his partner, the brunette had quietly slipped out before bounding away again, searching for the little girl in each room. He had finally found her sitting in the kitchen alone.

The familiar smile of hers was there when Tsuzuki entered, she perked up immediately, "What is it, Tsu-chan?"

"Dessert!" he sang out, setting the sweets on the counter, "Want some?"

"Hai!" she beamed, skipping over and looking at all the sugary goodness with wide eyes, "Sankyuu!"

Tsuzuki handed her a plate and piled on three cream puffs, two brownies, and a slice of cheesecake along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The scent of vanilla reminded him of Hisoka, he could do anything but suppress a smile at the thought, then decided to save some of the semi-sweet things for the boy. He was well-aware that Setsuko would not be able to finish all that he'd given her, but he wanted her to know that he didn't mind how much she took. He himself had much to much already.

It was when the two of them were eating did he realize she was alone in the kitchen. Setsuko was rarely alone, normally she was with Wakaba, himself, Tatsumi and Watari, or rarely Hisoka. But the kitchen was deserted.

He looked at her, wiping a bit of whipped cream off his face, he had to set a good example. "Setsuko-chan? Why were you sitting here alone?"

"Oh, umm…" she paused, setting down the cream puff she had taken a bit of, "Well, I was looking for someone to talk to, but you weren't here and nii-san was sleeping. So I went to the library, but the GuShoShin were busy. So I came here and decided to wait for someone to come back."

"Why didn't you go see Wakaba-chan?" the violet-eyed man asked, feeling saddened by the fact she felt alone.

Setsuko attempted to smile, "Oh, well, they left on a case this morning, remember?"

"Aw, I'm sorry Setsuko-chan, I forgot. If I remembered I would've waited until you were done with Watari and Tatsumi before going out and I would've taken you with me. You shouldn't be alone." Tsuzuki frowned, then set a hand on soft light brown locks.

The smile became more real, "Thanks for thinking about me, Tsu-chan. It means a lot to me. But really, I'm fine. You don't need to be sorry."

He smiled back and ruffled her hair playfully. She laughed, brown eyes twinkling, but they darkened and focused behind the man soon after. Tsuzuki turned around, surprised to see Tatsumi and Watari standing there. Both appeared normal, but Setsuko shivered and looked away as if ashamed.

"Tsuzuki-san, there's going to be a meeting now, we need you to come." Tatsumi spoke in his no nonsense tone.

Tsuzuki sprouted puppy ears and tail, "Awww! Tatsumii! I just got settled with my desserts!"

"Your desserts will be there when you get back." he frowned at the fake-weeping man, then his gaze softened upon seeing Setsuko, "Itsuki-chan, could you be so kind as to retrieve Kurosaki-kun?"

"Hai, Tatsumi-san." she stood up and bowed awkwardly before leaving for the office Hisoka and Tsuzuki shared.

Tsuzuki pouted, "How come she gets to get Hisoka and I don't?"

"Because we need to make sure that you don't take any detours on the way there or back." the secretary stated plainly, dragging a reluctant puppy behind him.

"Nii-san?" Setsuko opened the door to the office and peered in hesitantly.

It was dark, the blinds had been shut by Tsuzuki who thought that little sun would be good while his partner napped. A few rays of light seeped in, giving a distinct outline of the boy slumped over his desk. Tsuzuki's trench coat draped over his shoulders as a make-shift blanket. The girl smiled warmly at the sight of Hisoka so peaceful and she really hated to wake him, but duty calls.

"Nii-san, come on. You gotta wake up, there's a meeting." she told him, crossing the room to where his desk was. "Nii-san?"

Upon closer inspection, she could see that the blonde was indeed not sleeping. His emerald optics were wide and pupils dilated. His breathing was heavy and ragged. His shoulders trembling as whimpers issued forth from him. Tears clung to the edges of his eyes. His hair was in disarray and was damp with sweat.

"Nii-san," she gasped, then made a motion as if to shake him out of his reverie.

He pulled back instinctively and let out a terrified cry, curling into himself, "Tsuzuki! Make it stop!"

Setsuko recoiled, frightened by this display of panic the normally calm empath was showing her, "Ha-hang on nii-san! I'll go get Tsu-chan, okay? I'll be right back."

Hisoka nodded, eyes still wide with fear and pleading with her to go get him. She whirled around and bolted out of the office, sliding slightly on the smooth tiled floor. The rooms rushed past her, for a moment she paused, unsure of which direction to go. Soon she remembered, having gone into the briefing room twice before. Her tiny legs sprinted almost as fast as she had the day the dragon had come after her. She was worried and feared for Hisoka. Something had happened, something was wrong and Tsuzuki needed to know right away.

"So, what's this meeting about Tatsumi-san?" Konoe inquired, eyeing the secretary warily.

Tatsumi pushed his glasses up a little further, "Well, Konoe-kachou, it's about Itsuki-chan and her curse. Watari-san and I discovered something interesting that we think is of great importance to what Muraki's intentions are."

"Really?" Tsuzuki blinked in surprise for a moment, then took on a more serious attitude, "What exactly?"

"We should wait for bon," Watari interjected, "He would want to hear this too, I think."

Tatsumi nodded, "Hai, Itsuki-chan should be here with Kurosaki-kun any moment now."

"TSU-CHAAN!"

Suddenly the door burst open, causing all heads to turn in alarm to the owner of the disturbance. There in the doorway was an out of breath Setsuko, her face red and she was panting heavily. Her eyes wide with the knowledge of something and fearful of it. Tsuzuki rose from his seat and rushed to her side.

"Setsuko? Setsuko, what's wrong?" he prodded, straightening the child by supporting her shoulders.

Still panting, she managed to choke out, "S-some…thing's wrong…!"

"What's wrong?" the four shinigami had crowded around her, looking at her intently.

"N-n-nii…" she tried to collect herself to explain, but it proved to be rather difficult, "N-nii-sa…an! Something's wrong with Nii-san!"

The panic in her eyes and voice was more than enough to send Tsuzuki sprinting down the hall to the office he shared with his partner. With each step he took, he feared what he would see. Would the boy be drowning in a pool of his own blood? Would he be possessed by some demon? Would Muraki be making him relive that night? Concern for Hisoka grew more so as the door came into view.

Oh, 'Soka. Please be alright. If anything happened to you… I don't know what I'd do! Please Hisoka! Please be okay! Upon entering the room, Tsuzuki froze and looked around wildly. No blood. No signs of forced entry. Just the small, huddled form of his partner shivering and whimpering in his chair.

"Hisoka!" the brunette was immediately at his side, "Hisoka, what's wrong? Please tell me. Hisoka?"

The man was taken off guard as Hisoka wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his face into his chest. His breathing calmed and the tension left his body, causing him to relax. Tsuzuki blinked down at the mop of wheat-colored hair, confused and concerned, but returning the awkward embrace.

"Are you real?" the boy whispered, afraid of the answer he'd receive. "Are youreallyhere? Are you staying?"

Tsuzuki rubbed his back in soothing circles, "I'm here Hisoka, I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Hisoka sighed in a mixture of relief and contentment, but the hug didn't waver. Tsuzuki didn't mind, he was rather comfortable just holding him like that. The empath was alright, he assumed that it had only been another nightmare of Kyoto, one where he didn't come back. His hold tightened, shields strengthening to prevent any loose thoughts from entering Hisoka. He allowed only comforting emotions to enter his partner, which the boy seemed to appreciate.

"Tsuzuki-san."

Tsuzuki looked up, Hisoka clung tighter despite falling back asleep. Tatsumi was gazing down at them, Watari was peering over his shoulder whilst Setsuko was clinging to his legs. Konoe was also among them.

"Tsuzuki-san, I advise that you take both Kurosaki-kun and Itsuki-chan home. We'll have the meeting tomorrow." the secretary informed him, receiving a smile from the brunette and returning it.

Tsuzuki nodded, "Hai, Tatsumi. Thank you."

Laying Hisoka in his lap, he cradled the boy gently and lifted him up as he stood. The blonde's brow furrowed and he nuzzled his head beneath Tsuzuki's neck, hand clenching on the fabric of his dress shirt. The brunette motioned Setsuko over. The girl looked at them warily, but wrapped her arms around Tsuzuki's legs as he teleported them to his apartment.

1. Harriet: Well, I wanted something short that would make Hisoka uneasy and Setsuko remind him even more of it. To bring out how real Kyoto was and how much effect fire will have on him from now on.Thank you for reviewing!
2. lunarkitty14: Yes it's the apocalypse! Haha, did you like the intro 'Soka did?
3. Nana-Riiko: Ha, yesh it was quite funny. And it's not so much reading the names for me, as hearing them. Because then I think 'oh it's spelled like this' when it's not. lol. Thanks for the review
4. ffpanda: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
5. Sam: No, you do pronounce the H in Hisoka, just the Tsuzuki-dub didn't sometimes and it annoyed the crap outta me once I figured out it was Hisoka and not Isoka. Tsuzuki-dub confused me! lol, and I'm aware of Hisoka's little out of character moments. That might happen with them because it's going to start getting really... dramatic and angsty in the next few chapters. I'm completely aware of writers' block too! I despise writers' block! Currently, I'm suffering from a bad case of it. I actually have chapters 11, 12, and 13 doneand touching up on 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 and then starting on 19. I just don't want to get too far ahead of myself and then fall behind on updates. I'll start making the chapters longer too. Thanks for reviewing and your input was much appreciated!