Tsuzuki was finally healed enough to stand on his own, and he stared at the spot where Watari was looking at. At first, there was nothing but silence and stillness, but then he heard heavy footsteps. The bushes rustled and the wind howled, setting an eerie mood between them. Watari prepared his flashlight for a battle, and Tsuzuki reached into his pocket for a fuda. Suddenly, a dark form appeared from the bushes, and Watari ran at him with his weapon, managing to stop only a few feet away as he saw that it was only Tatsumi. Watari slumped over and dropped the flashlight, sighing in relief, and Tsuzuki gasped at seeing his young partner unconscious in his friend's arms. He ran to him and took Hisoka, holding him protectively to him as he knelt on the ground.
"Hisoka? Hisoka, wake up, okay…? Tatsumi, what happened to him?"
"I had to knock him out."
"You did?"
"Whatever for?"
"Apparently… our young friend has met the spirit of Gabriel, who had planned on using his body for some purpose."
"Hisoka's possessed!"
"This is unreal…!"
"Tatsumi, can't we exorcise the spirit?"
"I've already tried… the spirit's hold is too strong for that."
"Then what can we do?"
"Talk to him; ask him what he wants."
Tsuzuki reluctantly nodded his head and they tied the boy up. Tsuzuki finished by putting a holding spell on the boy's forehead. The sudden energy usage awoke the boy, and cloudy blue eyes opened to look upon the group.
"There is no way to escape us. You have no choice but to sit there and cooperate."
"Guardians of death…"
"We are, and so is the boy whose body you have taken possession of."
"We want Hisoka back. NOW."
"I cannot."
"Why not?"
"I have something I need to do."
Watari set a hand on Tsuzuki's shoulder and removed the binding spell. The possessed boy shook his head and Gabriel stared back at the man. He and Watari stared deep into the other's eyes.
"Tell us why you need that body."
"I was a cruel man in life… I brought pain and chaos wherever I went, and hatred followed after me. I lived in constant turmoil only after I realized what I had done, but when I died, drowned in the lake of the day, I was alone."
"But you weren't for long."
"We know the legends; just get on with it."
"…The reason I need this body… is to return to the lake."
"Ah! Of course… to return to your loved one!"
"It makes sense now… Gabriel cannot return to the lake because his body failed him. Only when a person who could channel spirits was near could he reach it."
"Correct."
Tsuzuki knelt by the boy and untied him.
"Tsuzuki?"
"Listen… if I take you to the lake, you must return the kid to me."
"…I will do as you ask."
A fire flashed in the man's eyes, telling the spirit he was no one to double-cross, and as soon as the spirit was warned, the whole group made their way through the forest to return the spirit. They had been in that one spot often on the trip, and now they had returned to where the old log acted as a bridge to the world of rest, under the blue hues and green life. Hisoka stood at the very edge, ad Tsuzuki was not far away, ready to catch the boy, should he fall; the others waited on the shore.
"Gabriel… have you returned to me at last?"
"I have…"
Hisoka's eyes closed, and the spirit fell foreword, out of the small boy's body. Hisoka lightly gasped at the spirit too its' leave, and he was caught by Tsuzuki. Looking down into the water, the images of two long lost lovers could be seen embracing each other, and the lake glowed a bright color before settling. It was over. Tsuzuki looked down to the boy in his arms and hugged him tightly.
