Chapter 6:
Disclaimer: Same as always.
Author's Note: sob No reviews for the last chapter… either it was too fluffy to deserve them, or no one's reading this. I'm leaning toward the latter. Anyway, I'll make an exception this time, but, from now on, no reviews no more chapters. Even one will suffice, but more better. Because more inspiration to write more. And I've only got through chapter 11 written. Well, I do have the first paragraph of chapter 12 written… but… well, I know some of what I want to have happen, but not much. However, I do know how the fic's gonna END, and I want to do more stories with Mikan. However, those more stories hinge on the ending of this fic, so I have to finish this before I can do those.
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The next morning, Mikan walked down the street by herself, carrying a bag. She had volunteered to get food for the group. Well, not so much volunteered, as Hisoka had asked her to do it. Tsuzuki had offered, but Hisoka wouldn't let him go. Mikan was starting to understand why the boy treated his partner like a child. She smiled. True, they weren't like any of the shinigami she knew, but she was enjoying her time with them.
She turned the corner, knowing she was almost back to the hotel room, when she felt it. It was a hollow. Her eyes narrowed. She knew she should've felt it earlier, even with the rings causing the hollows to be harder to detect. She ran toward the source of the feeling, hoping that the other shinigami would feel it as well.
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"You feel that?" Hisoka asked Tsuzuki, glancing out the window. When he didn't receive a response, he looked at his partner, and saw him sleeping. Hisoka sighed. If whatever he had felt WAS the hollow, he hoped Mikan could take care of it on her own, because he doubted he could wake up Tsuzuki in time to be of much help.
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Mikan felt free as she left the gigai to fight. She tightened her grip on her zanpakutou, and leapt into the air. The hollow followed her with it's eyes, which, luckily, is just what she wanted it to do. As she came down, she brought her sword down before her, neatly slicing the hollow's mask in two. She smiled. The hollow's almost-victim had escaped, and she had taken the hollow down with no damage to herself.
She walked back to her gigai, and became nervous when a man was standing over it. Crap, she thought, as she slid beside him and back into the body. Green eyes opened, and peered up at the man through blond bangs. Mikan shuddered. She didn't like the way he was looking at her with his silver eyes.
"Sir?" she asked, and he held his hand out to help her up.
"Are you alright?" he asked her back. Mikan nodded. "I am a doctor, and I was worried about you. You were just lying there, like a doll."
"I'm fine," Mikan replied, eager to get away from this man. She picked up her bag, and walked away, not even turning around to see if she was being followed.
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"Yes," the man said aloud to himself, after the girl had fled. "You looked just like a doll… One particular doll, that I used to know…" He laughed, then disappeared into the crowd.
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((Author's Note: This was originally supposed to be the end of the chapter… but the next part was too short, and chapter 7 was already decently long, so I decided to include it as well. Let me know if I should separate it or not))
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Tsuzuki had woken up by the time Mikan returned. Privately, Hisoka figured that he sensed the food coming, and woke up for that.
"What took you so long?" Tsuzuki asked.
"Was it a hollow?" Hisoka questioned. Mikan nodded. "Any problems?"
Mikan was about to shake her head, when she remembered the man. "A strange man found the gigai while I was fighting. He was kinda creepy." Tsuzuki laughed, but Hisoka frowned. Mikan seemed to be a lot more distressed about what happened than she let on. "I think the creepiest part was when he said that the body looked like a doll…"
Mikan stopped, as she saw the expression on Hisoka's face. It was one of terror, and he was trembling. "Hisoka-kun? Hisoka-kun!"
Tsuzuki was by his side in an instant, shaking the boy and doing his best to emanate feelings of warmth and comfort to him. Mikan couldn't do anything but watch, concern leaking from her in large quantities.
"It's okay, Hisoka. He's not here. You're safe, he's not going to get you," Tsuzuki was whispering to his partner. Hisoka turned into his partner, letting the older shinigami wrap his arms firmly around the boy, a visible sign of the protection he was trying to project. Soon, Hisoka's body had calmed to the point that he wasn't shaking, and Tsuzuki helped him to his feet. He half-helped/half-carried the boy into the other room, laid him on the bed, and came back out, quietly closing the door.
Then he looked at Mikan. "This man," he asked. "Did he have silver hair and eyes?" Mikan nodded, and Tsuzuki swore under his breath. "I'm going out for a while… Hisoka should fall asleep pretty easily, an outburst of emotion taking him over like that usually tires him out. Try to keep a damper on your emotions, and he should sleep for a while. Hopefully, it'll be until I get back, but if it doesn't, tell him not to worry. I'm just going to check out a few things, I'm not going to try to pick a fight or anything. Whatever you do, keep him here."
Mikan nodded. "Tsuzuki…" she said quietly, as he was about to leave. "Be careful… You and Hisoka obviously have a past with this man, but even I could tell that he was dangerous."
"You have no idea," was his parting comment, as he closed the door.
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