A/n: WOW! I hit chapter 20 on my very first attempt at a real chapter fic! So let's do a recap. Tsuzuki and Tatsumi have left their partners for each other, leaving Hisoka and Watari hurt and angered in the midst of a new bout with Muraki. Oriya has developed a plan to win Muraki's love, but things are foiled yet again when the selfish Muraki kidnaps Hisoka instead of the girl, angering Tsuzuki further. Badly injured by the fight, Muraki is forced to live with Oriya until he heals. On a separate case, Muraki's fiancé may have been murdered, leaving their nine-year-old daughter in the hands of her deranged father. Will Muraki straighten up to raise the girl properly, or is she just as corrupted as he? Back at the bureau things may be heating up for Watari and Hisoka, but has Hisoka really gotten over Tsuzuki and what's that dream about? Find out in the chapters to come! XD and as if you couldn't guess, the story Oriya is telling the girl is completely made up because I have no idea about the Shinto religion. Also, I'm using one of Tsuzuki's shikigami. Aha, Hisoka meant he was free from Muraki. I've just come up with an extra screwed up plot. (Insane laugh) by the time I'm done, you may be feeling sorry for Muraki!

Follow Me

When Tatsumi returned from the kitchen he found no one.

He looked around for a moment until suddenly he was tackle glomped from behind.

"Since I passed my first lesson, er, well sort of, you're first romance lesson is tonight!"

The secretary blinked for a moment and pried Tsuzuki's paws loose from his waist to be able to turn to him.

"Okay than, where to begin?"

Tsuzuki was silent for a moment.

"Well you obviously don't need any kissing lessons, but you need to learn how to handle me better."

Tatsumi raised an eye brow with a evil smirk.

"Handle you?"

Tsuzuki rolled his eyes.

"Sex comes later. Working on being romantic first…"

Tatsumi shrugged.

"So what areas do I mishandle you?"

Tsuzuki looked down for a moment.

"Well your words for one thing. You're too harsh…you rarely ever tell me you love me."

Tatsumi was silent.

He just wasn't the type of man to say those things.

He sighed deeply as he watched Tsuzuki's forlorn eyes dart about the room uncomfortably.

"Tsuzuki…"

He immediately looked into his eyes.

"Yes?"

Tatsumi smiled softly and took Tsuzuki's face gently into his palm.

"I love you Tsuzuki."

And kissed him tenderly.

Tsuzuki closed his eyes as Tatsumi continued to kiss him.

He stopped the secretary and looked up into his eyes.

"It's not enough Tatsumi. I need you to tell me what I mean to you, not just show me."

Suddenly his eyes sparkled.

"For every time you say nice things to me, you may kiss me once."

He chuckled as Tatsumi scowled at this.

"Where will that get us?"

Tsuzuki rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Not to bed if you don't at least try. I may have royally screwed up the clams, but I at least made an effort."

It was hard for Tatsumi to think of words that reflected love, but when he finally found them, he couldn't stop saying them and Tsuzuki decided to reward him.

"Let's play a new game."

Tatsumi looked down into his eyes.

"Yes my beautiful violet."

Tsuzuki almost giggled at this and kissed him back.

"You know, I really think I like being the woman in this relationship."

Tatsumi rolled his eyes.

"Let's not start that again. So what new game?"

Tsuzuki grinned and pulled him onto their bed.

"For every time you say the word love, you get to undo one button on my shirt."

Tatsumi sat there for a moment.

"What do we do when I get to your pants?"

Tsuzuki grabbed Tatsumi's tie and pulled him down, kissing him roughly.

"You take them off of course!"

Tatsumi grinned.

"Sounds good to me."

Tsuzuki stared at him for a moment as he was silent.

"Tatsumi, aren't we going to start now?"

The secretary nodded with a sly smirk.

"I'm counting your buttons, love."

Tsuzuki was silent for a moment as Tatsumi pulled off his tie and reached for the first button.

"Though, love, I want to undo all the lovable buttons at once. So…"

Tsuzuki's eyes widened as Tatsumi pulled his pocket knife out.

"Now hold still…love, love, love, love, love…"

Tsuzuki closed his eyes with a content sigh.

"Well, at least you passed lesson one…"

''

Oriya sighed as the small child next to him started crying.

They had gone to Ukyou's house to collect the rest of her things, and pick up the girls clothes.

Muraki was too occupied with sadly going through some old photos to notice.

Not that he would have been much help anyway, so Oriya knelt down to her.

"I bet you miss her don't you."

She nodded, wiping away some of her tears.

"I'm sorry. Mommy told me not to cry but I want her to come back."

Oriya smiled softly.

"I was about your age when I lost my mother. You know what used to help me feel better?"

She shook her head and he pulled her over to the couch.

"My father used to tell me a story, and whenever you want to hear it, you come to me and I'll tell it to you. Do you want to hear it now?"

She nodded silent and he gently brushed her hair behind her ears.

"There's a great blue dragon that visits the souls of the newly dead. He takes them onto his back and up into the sky. Each star at night that you see is like a different planet and every soul goes to one of them where they can watch over the earth. Your mother is there, with mine, and they're making sure that we're happy. So next time you get sad, just look up at the stars and tell her you love her and everything will be alright."

She smiled a little but her tears remained.

"Is it okay if I still cry?"

Oriya smiled softly and nodded, pulling her closer.

"Of course it is. I cried for a long time too. But it will get better. As strange as he acts, your father does love you and I'm sure he'll do everything it takes to make you happy."

He was strangely content to sit there with her and let her cry.

In spite of his generally emotionless exterior, he was beginning to get attached to her.

The thought of having a child never crossed his mind before, but he wasn't minding too much that she was there.

This moment didn't last as Muraki approached them.

"It's time to gather your things. Let's go in your room."

She nodded silently, brushing away her tears and stood.

The look of complete shock on Oriya's face when she opened the door, was rivaled by the amusement on Muraki's.

"My, my, what wonderful toys you have!"

Oriya was getting scared.

The child had more than enough odds and ends to open a new age store, and there were no normal toys for a little girl in sight.

He grabbed Muraki by the collar and dragged him out of the room.

"We need to talk…alone."

Muraki winced as he straightened up.

"What?"

Oriya looked skyward for a moment and took a deep breath.

"There is something seriously wrong with this picture! What the hell is a nine-year-old girl doing with all that witchcraft stuff! Nine! Think about that for a minute!"

Muraki was silent as it finally began to seep into his head.

"Ukyou was never into that…not that I know of anyway."

He looked back at the child standing silently in the doorway and shivered.

Yes, he thought, there was definitely something very wrong with this picture…he just had to figure out what.

"Oriya, watch her…I'll be back shortly."

''

Hisoka walked into Watari's lab the next morning and smiled, pretending the dream didn't happen.

He was determined to push it as far back in his mind as possible.

"Good morning Watari. Konoe has a small case for us this afternoon."

Watari sighed and set aside the beaker he had just filled with a bluish sludge.

"Great, more paper work…"

He stared at Watari for a few moments.

"What's your problem? I don't even get a hello?"

Watari's anger was quickly rubbing off on Hisoka.

"Oh nothing, just that Tatsumi wouldn't shut up this morning about how he needs to learn to love vocally. Guess why."

Hisoka sighed.

"I guess that's my fault. I was so happy to be with Tsuzuki that I would just sit for hours and talk to him."

Watari was even more upset by this.

"Well at least your boyfriend loved you…I was just a toy to mine."

Hisoka was silent for a moment and turned.

"Fine then, I'll take Gushoshin on the case if you're in that bad of a mood!"

Watari sighed and caught Hisoka's wrist before he could leave.

"I…I'm sorry Hisoka…I'm…"

Hisoka turned back.

"I guess you're just having a bad day. It's okay. But we shouldn't spend time around each other when you're angry because it makes me angry and right now the last thing I need is out of control emotions."

Watari was silent for a moment, anger turning to concern.

"What's wrong?"

Hisoka looked away.

"Just…an odd dream, that's all."

Watari took hold of him around the waist and pulled him closer.

"This wasn't just a dream was it? Hisoka, I'm your partner now, please tell me any of these dreams you have."

Hisoka looked up into his eyes.

"It's too personal and I'm not sure if it's just a dream or something else. I need to think about it before I decide whether or not to tell you."

He smiled softly.

"Thank you for being concerned though."

Watari smiled back and held him closely for a moment.

Hisoka was actually feeling comfortable standing there like that, until he felt a familiar presence behind him.

If Watari had felt him trying to pull away, he ignored it.

And pressed Hisoka protectively closer, as if to dare the other person to take a step.

"How the hell did you get in here!"