A/N: All right, well, this is my first Yami No Matsuei fic . It's centered around the Buddhist-adapted holiday of Halloween, known in Japan as Obon. Before you get too far into the fic, you need to know about the Holiday, or you wont catch a lot of the symbolism.
So! Read below before going any further.
Obon Week/Festival: The week of Obon takes place during the Summer, in mid-July or August. Lanterns are lit outside of homes to guide dead ancestors to their living descendants' places of living, "lighting the way" for the souls. Families also travel to their ancestor's tombs, which usually reside in less urban areas (which makes Tsuzuki and Hisoka's visit to a Kyushu Innchoice ). At the end of the week, a festival takes place, where the streets are lined in lanterns and incense, and dances take place to celebrate the dead. When the festival ends, colored lanterns are lit and set on the coast of the sea, where they drift along the water and guide the souls back home.
So, read. Review for encouragement! I'll see you next chapter.
Disclaimer: Descendants of Darkness (Yami no Matsuei)does not belong to me. This storyline and all characters never mentioned in the manga/anime do.
It was the dawn of a hectic week for the Judgement Bureau of Hades. Chaos and confusion was nothing strange to this business, and this was especially true this week in particular. This was the week in which harbored the Obon Festival, a time in which many souls of the dead were beckoned back to their families. It was a very important week for all workers and Shinigami alike, making certain that the transition of souls ran smoothly as ever and remained closely monitored. As usual, the Shinigami were hard at work.
"Oh! My morning dessert, carrot cake and apple pie!" Tsuzuki nearly squealed, his body was seemingly struggling to contain his excitement. He looked like a trembling bomb.
"I can't imagine what state your gallbladder must be in," commented his partner, Hisoka Kurosaki, glancing away at the sight - it repulsed him how Tsuzuki savagely abused the deadly sin of gluttony.
"Oh, but Hisoka!" chirped a very happy Tsuzuki, his tone whimsical as a song, "This is carrot cake and apple pie. I don't know what all the fuss is about, incorporating fruits and vegetables into what you eat isn't so bad!"
Hisoka sighed.
"Tsuzuki, Kurosaki. Konoe needs a word." There was a flare on Tatsumi's face as his glasses caught the light's reflection and he adjusted them, stopping temporarily at the doorframe.
Tsuzuki moaned.
"But! I haven't finished my dessert!"
"It's nine A.M. I think dessert can wait ten hours."
"Tatsuuumi!" whined a crushed Tsuzuki, pleading violet eyes filling like pools, reflecting light like ripples. Tatsumi jerked his head as though he had been struck with a fatal blow, nearly cowering.
Those. Eyes.
"Ts-tsuzuki... I'll keep an eye on your breakfast, you can have them when you get back," Tatsumi reassured him, avoiding his facial expression at all costs as he strode to the table. Upon arriving he was greeted with the nauseating aroma of sugar smothered in more sugary essence. Tatsumi sighed. "This is what he calls breakfast..."
"Thanks Tatsumi," Tsuzuki sighed, trudging sluggishly out the door. Hisoka had long since proceeded down the hallway, and was now at the mercy of the Chief's impatient scowl.
"He's still coping with having to separate from his breakfast," Hisoka explained.
"Oh. Damn it. Better get comfortable, then," breathed Konoe, sinking in his seat.
"So?" Tsuzuki spoke up, entering through the door. "This better be good."
"What do you think I'm paying you for!" demanded a raging Chief Konoe, nearly sending the pair of Shinigami tumbling back. "To indulge in sweets? How ridiculous. I'm paying you to do your work, and to bring me back sweets. How difficult is that to comprehend?"
"Ahh!" Tsuzuki shrieked and took refuge behind his younger blond partner, a safe distance away from the sight of Konoe and that vein pulsating on his forehead.
"... And you call yourself a man," Hisoka squinted.
"Anyway, urgent business boys!" The Chief rose from his seat, palms forcefully meeting the desk, causing the two to forfeit attention from one another. "Apparently there has been a sinister plot underway - a barrier, if you will - that is preventing the spirits of lost guests at an Inn from passing on."
"A barrier?" inquired Tsuzuki, Konoe having been given all claims on the Shinigami's undivided attention. "Who could create such a force?"
"We're unsure. The owner of the Inn is Tamura Yutaka. Mr. Tamura's daughter, Yumiko, was the first to go missing. She was the only family that Mr. Tamura had after her birth, which resulted in his wife's death. According to our files, she's been deceased for twenty years now, but her demise has not yet been properly registered with the Bureau. This matter has only been drawn to the surface due to the recent disappearances that have now been brought to our attention. There is a very sinister, paranormal activity involved in this case that has prevented us from knowing."
"You mean to say," Tsuzuki interrupted, eyes concentrating on an absent spot upon Konoe's desktop, "that some force is trying desperately to keep Yumiko a spirit?"
"It would seem so, yes," Konoe replied airily. It seems the matter posed quite confusing to him, as well. "Apparently, rumors began to circulate that the home was haunted after Yumiko's death. The Mansion became somewhat of a tourist attraction. The transition of his Mansion from home into a Bed and Breakfast, if you will, began only several months ago at the peak of Mr. Tamura's retirement, and it seems as though guests have gone missing since. The Inn is especially popular during Obon, it seems they're booked."
"Phew!" breathed Tsuzuki in relief. "And here I was thinking that you were going to make us stay at that place."
"They're booked because we bought out the last room!" Konoe beamed.
Tsuzuki cried in desperation.
"Your job," Konoe managed to make his voice audible over Tsuzuki's wailing, "is to find those that have gone missing before it's too late. As of now, the only death that has taken place concerning the spiritual barrier is Yumiko's. If possible, you two need to keep it that way. Yumiko's soul needs to return as well, to be judged, and the barrier broken."
"Anything else?" asked a drained sounding Hisoka, coming to terms with the hefty load dumped onto his shoulders he was struggling from.
"Yes. Bring me back some Ichigo Daifuku!" the Chief's eyes went somewhat astral, an expression often witnessed on Tsuzuki. "This time of year gives me a hankering for strawberries!"
The Chief and Tsuzuki also had in common that they could use terms like hankering and not lower their heads in shame.
"I should have known," muttered Hisoka. A revolted glare was then spared in Tsuzuki's direction. Witnessing a grown man cry like this was too pathetic a sight to be dealt with. "Oh, you'll get over it. Come on, we don't have a lot of time to spare."
So, the duo set out for their mission. They were each decked in rather simple travelers attire, which meant the only very temporary absence of their coats.
The arch of cherry blossoms were nearly blinding overhead as the pair passed through in silence. The petals whimsically danced at their feet, twirling in the breath of summer. The aroma of warm mid-summer life, air thick and sticky with relief only granted by the occasional breeze. A setting like a pallet of pastel was no place for the dead, yet here they were.
"Tsuzuki!" Hollered a familiar voice, causing the two to turn their heads. A dark figure was quickly proceeding amidst all of the white, becoming recognizable once neared.
"Tatsumi?" Tsuzuki questioned, puzzled.
"You forgot something," Tatsumi responded breathlessly, handing Tsuzuki a wrapped plate.
"Tatsumi!" Squealed an ecstatic Tsuzuki, having revealed the plate's contents. There, for hungry eyes to fix on, his sweet apple pie and slice of carrot cake! "Thank you!"
Tatsumi chuckled, fixing the frame of his glasses to sit more securely on the bridge of his nose. There, the darkly clad man watched as the pair ventured through the arch of cherry blossoms, standing opposite from where their latest mission waited to embrace them on the other side.