Another day, another injury, and another lecture about the budget from Tatsumi. This time, Tsuzuki stood absolutely quiet as Tatsumi let out his frustrations on the man, who seemed not to be paying any attention. Tsuzuki stood lopsided and stared out into space. The exhaustion was far clearer than it has been earlier, as the man's head lolled up and down occasionally, almost like he was agreeing with the elder man. Hisoka watched, as the man didn't notice when Tatsumi had stopped lecturing and had started to stare at his blank expression, concerned.
"Tsuzuki? Hey, are you feeling okay?"
Tatsumi reached out his hand to touch the man's arm, but before it made it that far, Tsuzuki collapsed against the secretary. Hisoka ran to them as Tatsumi hoisted his partner up and started to carry him down the hall.
They went to get Watari, and the two of them followed Tatsumi to Tsuzuki's apartment. The doctor, of sorts, locked the other two out of the bedroom, and went to work trying to discover why the man had collapsed. Hisoka wasn't nearly as calm as the other, as he paced back and forth continually, almost cutting a path into the carpet.
"They're taking too long…"
"Calm down, Kurosaki. I'm sure Watari is taking good care of your partner."
Hisoka was about to protest, but the stare Tatsumi was pinning him with was strong, and got the boy to sit next to him on the couch. After a moment or two of silent waiting, Hisoka let a yawn escape and Tatsumi pulled the boy down slightly to lie on his lap. It wasn't too long after when Watari quietly left the confines of Tsuzuki's room and quietly padded to the living room. Tatsumi looked up and saw the sad look upon his friend's face; but it did seem to cheer up, seeing the boy soundly asleep there. They stayed for a while, but eventually left, leaving Hisoka asleep on the couch and Tsuzuki in his room.
The wind pounded outside and the rain against the roof above him. Hisoka Kurosaki stirred in his sleep, unable to stop the images of thrown sticks and stones and glass bottles from filtering into his dreams. He knew he had seen this image before, but he couldn't remember where. The dream felt so real, and he could feel the rocks cut into his skin, and he felt as his arms and legs scraped against the rocky ground. He could hardly move, but he managed to turn over onto his back. There stood a group of kids. One of them got close, holding a club over him, about to hit him in the chest. Suddenly, Hisoka gasped, as he looked into the reflection in the kid's eyes, and saw…
Jolting awake, Hisoka tried to grasp reality.
"Tsuzuki!"
