Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei

Shout-outs:

Hikari Tsuki Chi: I really see Suzaku/Touda as Elizabeth/Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, more than UST. As for "Kansei"—it's mentioned in the Manga, so I'm guessing the city or the region.

jennamarie: Nope, no sword, thankfully! As for Count vs. Tatsumi…Count, definitely. Tatsumi can control himself in public.

Kiko812: Thank you.; I heart you too! And you're not crazy, so don't worry. And yes, Wakaba/Terazuma is adorable. Glad I'm portraying them to your liking. BTW, I went and saw your list of Favorite YnM fanfiction. Totally made my day. (Is happy)

Amethyst-eye Koneko: (Sniffles) I'm sorry! (Pats AEK's head) I told you, I put them all through Hell before I give them a happy ending. And they'll work it out themselves, mainly because 1) I have no idea what therapy entails since I thankfully have never had to take any, and 2) After listening to them, I think the therapist would need therapy. (Wink) And of course Tsusoka is a loving relationship. It's just not…well, happy, at the moment at least. I guess I should have had Tsuzuki point out how far they've actually gotten in the relationship—moving in together, sleeping in the same bed, etc. I so wish I could post the prologue of what happened to make Hisoka move in with Tsuzuki, but it's too risqué (I mean, it's not graphic or anything—I don't even mention any body parts and it's actually really tame—but…once a prude, always a prude, I guess).

When is the wedding? Chapter 12!

As for the anomaly…ah, man, I totally forgot about that! I was only thinking about the first couple paragraphs. See, this is what happens when you don't have an editor. (Beats self's head) I'll go back and change that to "Kyoto" later.

There's a website devoted to Byakko/Touda? Wow. B/T is one of those pairings that is oddly intriguing to me, but I can't get into. Like Draco/Harry in the Harry Potter fandom. I hang around at their SCUSA thread at Fiction Alley but I never post, and I can barely read D/H fanfiction.

As for who was yelling at Hisoka in the flashback. Remember, don't quote me on this, as I don't have any real source of confirmation. But I don't think this is a fandom creation either. Remember, 88 percent sure on this, okay?

WARNING! SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!

The girl shouting at Hisoka in his dream is his older (half) sister, who died before he was born.

No, she won't be in this fic since I don't have enough info about her.

END SPOILER!

Oh, and there's Tsubaki/Eileen in this chapter, but you can just skip over that if you're seriously not interested.

Stratus5: (Hugs back) You know, that Terazuma/Wakaba scene is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I got the idea from a Gundam Wing fanfiction called "It's A Small World." (Relena: Heero! Trowa is GAY. G-A-Y.) I'm so glad that someone else isn't in it for the smut. I hate PWPs. I was explaining over at a YnM LJ that its one of my squicks. Just look at the two people you're putting together in the pairing and think for a second. While I can handle it in Humor, I really dislike it when Tsuzuki and Hisoka take their love life flippantly and the author tries to pass it off as serious. It wins third place in my YnM Squick List, after consensual Hisoka/Muraki (1st place; come on—if you looked up "trauma" in the dictionary you would see Hisoka's face and biography; why would he willingly subject himself to that again?) and consensual Tsuzuki/Muraki (2nd place; Tsuzuki HATES him! HATES him!). (Realizes self probably just p-ssed off a couple fans) Er…sorry, that turned into a rant of sorts. (Bows in apology) You can write/read it, but I personally hate it.

Aacire: Everything coming together…now I know the virtue of planning a story instead of running with it. I'm actually so worried about the wedding scene and whether or not it'll be corny. That's why I'm just doing dialogue, because IMHO there's no way a just dialogue story can be corny. As for Muraki, he'll be mentioned next chapter but will make no further appearances. He said in chapter 4 that he's done with Tsuzuki, so there's no reason for him to keep appearing in Tsuzuki's life.

Eternity's Heir: Thank you! (Glomp) It's always great to make a fan like a character. I don't quite understand the fandom hate of Tsubaki—I cried when she died. Now, Manga Tsubaki kinda asked for it, but Anime Tsubaki was pretty innocent, if extremely naïve and idealistic, throughout the whole manipulation deal. But anywha…here's your update!

Pumpkin-Pie 4ever aka Lynn: The mind can only handle so much! This is the only one where I'm not having a writer's road block! As for the muffins…double chocolate with white chocolate chip. (Dies of happiness)

Side Note #1: ATTACK OF THE MINOR CHARACTERS! ("Run to the hills, run for your LIFE!") We get to see all the girls in this chapter, and we focus on them for the first half, if not the most part, in this chapter. Don't worry, I'll make it better than chapter 6, I promise. And we will get some angsty (flangsty?) Tsusoka throughout the chapter and at the end. And to make up for it, you'll get an entire completely dramatic and angsty and romantic Tsusoka (Hisoka-centric) plotline in Chapter 10, okay? Don't hurt me, please? (Has been scarred by disaster that was chapter 6 and still can't bring self to read all of AEK's review)

Side Note #2: Via Kotaro and Kojiro, I'm assuming Shiki can appear in Meifu in their human form.

Side Note #3: The Tarot spread Tsubaki uses is a real spread. I'm something of a Tarot reader—not an expert but I'm learning.

Magic Acts

To tell her story

About how she had been wronged

As she lay lifeless

He stole her innocence

And this is how she carried on

……………

Remember you're not alone

Well, if you just close your eyes

And just imagine everything's all right

But do not hide your tears

'Cause they were sent to wash away those years

- Creed, "Wash Away Those Years"

"Darling, have you heard the news?"

Saya and Yuma oft had the urge to play a lively game of Who Can Stick Their Tongue Further Down Their Lover's Throat?™ on their Sunday off. Also, they had a very handy couch on which to play this game. The little amusement had become rather a tradition for the two. So Yuma was utterly nonplussed when Saya suddenly declared a time-out to the game so she could speak.

"What's the news, angel-wings?" Yuma purred more than asked, nuzzling her head into Saya's neck.

"They've broken up!"

"Who?" Yuma demanded, suddenly rearing up. "Not our Hisoka-chan and Tsuzuki?"

"Of course not them, darling," Saya said reassuringly, patting Yuma's head as the more forceful of the two heaved a sigh of relief. "It's our flowers!"

Yuma gasped, completely scandalized. "Not Tsubaki-chan and Eileen-chan!"

"Yes, sadly."

"Why?"

"Eileen-chan wants to get married, but Tsubaki-chan doesn't want to, at least just yet. Eileen-chan was really hurt and they had a big fight. Maria-chan told me all about it on the phone today. Eileen-chan refuses to talk to Tsubaki-chan now."

"That girl—so stubborn," Yuma said disparagingly. "You know that it's our bounden duty to get them back together, right, angel-wings?"

"Of course, darling. We can use that party we were planning to do just that."

"Now that's why I like you, Saya. You're intelligent. I like that in people."

Saya giggled and pressed her finger against Yuma's nose. "Next Sunday then, darling?"

"Of course, angel-wings."

The game was back on, the ball in Yuma's court.

"Maria, I don't want to see her."

"Eileen, you have been ignoring her for a week. That's barely above cruelty," Maria admonished reproachfully.

"I don't want to see her."

"She obviously has been wanting to see you," Maria returned, insistent on not dropping the argument. She'd done that enough with her stepmother, and this time dying to get out of the situation was not an option.

"Why should she?" Eileen snorted. "She obviously doesn't care."

"Eileen!"

"Eileen-chan, Maria-chan!"

"Oh dear Lord…" Eileen and Maria whispered simultaneously, one aggravated and the other terror-struck.

"You really should lock your doors, you know," Yuma said, walking into the kitchen from where she and Saya had entered into the living room.

"It's not terribly safe," Saya added helpfully.

"I'm not in the mood," Eileen snapped.

"My, my! Temper, temper, Eileen-chan. No wonder Tsubaki-chan wanted to wait."

"Yuma-koi, that was mean," Saya protested, indignant on Eileen's behalf, though she needn't have been since Eileen's face was rapidly turning an interesting shade of pink.

"Yuma, Saya, what are you doing here?" Maria intervened, desperately seeking peace again.

"Well, remember the hag party we were talking about the last time we all got together?" Saya began.

"We're implementing it on Sunday!"

"It'll be really fun."

"And there'll be booze."

"And it'll be just us girls."

"Until we invade Tsuzuki's house."

"Will Tsubaki be there?" Maria and Eileen questioned unanimously, one hopeful and another suspicious.

"I don't know, will she, Saya?" Yuma asked, looking to her girlfriend.

"No, poor Tsubaki-chan isn't feeling her best," Saya said wistfully.

"Is she sick?" Eileen asked, more concern in her voice than she intended.

"Stomach virus, poor thing," Saya cooed matronly.

"Should we go see her?" Maria asked anxiously.

"No, no, it's highly contagious, can't go near unless you want to be puking your guts up for the next few days. She'll get over it with rest and space."

"But we simply don't want to wait much longer for this party, because before you know it they'll be up and married," Saya said. "It's Sunday or never, girls. Can we count on you?"

"I'll be there," Maria said. "Eileen?"

"Whatever," Eileen said, crossing her arms. "Yeah, sure."

"You know, Eileen-chan, you really reminded us of Terazuma just now," Yuma said.

"Wha…?"

But Yuma and Saya had transported themselves out of Maria and Eileen's Hong Kong apartment before Eileen could complete her first syllable.

"Tsubaki-chan, if you don't mind my saying so, you look like s—t on a stick."

Tsubaki laughed in self-derision, setting the teakettle on to the range and lighting the burner underneath it. "Well, with a stomachache, a cold, and a breaking relationship, I think it'd be weirder if I looked perfectly okay, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose," Yuma said, toying with her teabag. "So, Sunday is the hag party. Can we count on you?"

"Will Eileen be there?"

"Of course. This is a prime chance for a make-up," Saya advertised enticingly.

"Or a make-out."

"Yuma!" Tsubaki and Saya chastised at the same time.

"Excuse me. I'm rather a common girl," Yuma said. "Anyway, my dears, it's high time we had some merriment in Meifu. Have you noticed how everyone is so dark every time Saya and I come around to visit? Tsuzuki and Hisoka-chan obviously; they just ooze angst naturally. I don't know where Tatsumi's head is anymore, and Watari is so jumpy and air-headed. And now you're broken up with Eileen-chan. Good Lord, people, we are in the middle of an engagement that we have all waited to come to fruition for years! We are supposed to be joyous. Where is the love, Saya-koi, where is it?"

"I know, Yuma-koi," Saya affirmed sadly, shaking her head. "Tsubaki-chan, won't you please come to the party?"

"And if Eileen-chan won't get back together with you, you can drown your sorrows in sake."

Tsubaki gave them the Exasperated Eye™. They truly were like little sisters sometimes, even though they were quite obviously, by time of death and age upon said time of death, much older than her.

"Yes, yes, I'll go," Tsubaki promised, turning to her cabinet and pulling out some teacups. "Is there any kind of particular tea you…"

But when she turned around, Yuma and Saya had disappeared.

"Do you ever feel bad about lying to them, darling?"

"Of course not, angel-wings. You know what they say about fools and lies."

"No, what do they say?"

"Hmm…I'm not sure."

"Let's make up a saying!"

"How about…"Fools deserve to be lied to"?"

"That's a little harsh, darling. How about "Fools deserve to be lied to by their friends if it's to their benefit"?"

"Excellent. I knew you were smart."

"Thank you!"

Smooch.

"Taimou-san, Suzaku-san, Kouchin-san, Tenko-chan!" Wakaba said cheerily, waving her hand. "We're going to meet Saya-chan and Yuma-chan at their place in Hokkaido."

"Saya and Yuma…that's their names?" Taimou asked. When Wakaba had presented the invitation to Kansei there had been much confusion over the fact that none of them had any clear idea as to who the two girls were except for what Tsuzuki had told them. But Yuma had sent the message that if you were a girl and close to Tsuzuki and/or Hisoka you should appear at this party; be there or be squared.

Wakaba had had some trouble keeping a straight face when she delivered the last part of the message.

"Yes. Now, I have to warn you about them. They're a bit overzealous with…well, everything. So if they ask you about your love lives and deep personal secrets…that's just them, okay?"

Suzaku cocked an eyebrow. Tenko cocked her head, a little confused.

"You are quite possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen," Yuma said, clasping Tenko in a death grip against her chest, "aside from Kazusa when she was really little."

"Yuma-koi, I think Tenko-chan can't breathe," Saya cautioned, breezing past her to set something up.

"What? Oh, sorry, sweetie." Yuma unceremoniously plopped Tenko on the ground.

"You get used to it," Kazusa said, helping Tenko to her feet and pulling her away. "I'm Kazusa, by the way."

Kazusa scooted out of the way, taking Tenko with her, as a shimmering silver-blue light in the outline of a woman materialized in the middle of the living room.

"Hi, Maria!" Yuma said, waving. "Where's Eileen?"

"She said she had to pop in somewhere quickly before she appeared." A flicker of a smile graced Maria's mouth. "I think that she went in to check on Tsubaki…"

"Uh-oh," Yuma intoned, looking at Saya. "Well, it's not going exactly as planned, Saya."

"That's all well and good, darling," Saya assured.

A knock came at the door, and Tsubaki entered the room.

"Tsubaki!" Maria yelped. "You're supposed to be sick!"

"I'm what?" Tsubaki asked, confused. "I got over my cold two days ago."

"Just a cold?"

"Yeah. Why, what—?"

"Yuma!" The door banged open and a fairly irate Eileen walked in. "Just where is Tsuba…ki…"

"Eileen." Tsubaki started forward, an uneasy smile on her lips.

"You're supposed to be sick," Eileen said, almost accusingly.

Tsubaki's face was its own definition of flummoxed. "What's going on?"

"Yuma! Saya!" Eileen turned on the two girls, her face darkening to a rash-like red.

"Saya-koi, will you do the honors?" Yuma asked.

Saya cleared her throat and straightened her back importantly.

"Fools who break up because of a ridiculous misunderstanding and make each other miserable by not being in each other's lives deserve to be lied to by their friends about their respective significant others' health and attendance at social events if it's to the benefit of the recently broken up couple getting back together."

Suzaku summed up the general response in three simple words: "What the h—l?"

"If you want us, we'll be at Tsuzuki's!"

And once again, Saya and Yuma disappeared in an instant.

"Jeez you should really warn people if you're going to do that!" Hisoka yelled from his spot on the floor. He and Tsuzuki had been attempting to eat dinner—for it was Hisoka who had unfortunately been afflicted with the stomach virus and was just recovering from it—when Saya and Yuma had materialized on their kitchen table and thrown him off his chair.

"Sorry," Yuma apologized, standing on the tabletop. "We left in a bit of a hurry so we didn't plan our destination quite clearly."

"Yuma-koi, you have fish tempura on your rear end," Saya said, pointing to her unfortunate girlfriend's derriere.

"Oh, so I do."

"Please keep your skirt on!" Hisoka half-yelped half-hissed as Yuma hooked her fingers around her skirt and made to pull it down.

"Please," Yuma said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like there's anything there you particularly care about."

"Still, Yuma," Tsuzuki began reasonably. "It's not nice."

"And besides, you only take your skirt off for me," Saya protested.

"Must…bleach…brain…"

"Why are you here?" Tsuzuki asked quickly.

"Oh, we told a little white lie to Eileen-chan about Tsubaki-chan and when the truth was discovered she got a little angry. We left before she could get violent."

"But did you tell her where you were going?" Hisoka asked, dreading the inevitable.

"Oh, we did, didn't we?" Saya said worriedly, touching her chin.

"3…2…1…"

"Yuma! Saya! I know you're in there!"

"Ah, that would be Eileen-chan now," Yuma said carelessly. "Is your door locked?"

"No," Hisoka moaned, as Eileen pushed open the door and stepped inside the living room. If the phrase "mad as hornets" had dealings in reality, a throng of bees would have swarmed out of Eileen's ears.

"Yuma and Saya," Eileen fumed, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "How. Dare. You."

"No," Saya returned suddenly, more vicious than anyone could ever remember her being. "How dare you?"

A unanimous blink spread across the room. Unnoticed, more figures began drifting into the room.

"Your stubbornness has caused Tsubaki-chan a world of hurt," Saya said, with righteous and innocent indignity. "And you've been throwing every chance to make up back in her face. You are being downright cruel to Tsubaki-chan and I think that's a really s—tty thing to do!"

A bright streak of pink crossed from her left cheekbone to her right, straight across her nose, and her large eyes were hard and shining. She clambered off the table and stormed out of the dining room into the living room and then down the hall to Tsuzuki's bathroom.

"Did Saya-chan just…swear?" Wakaba asked, blinking.

"Well, I don't blame her," Yuma muttered huffily, jumping off the tabletop and straightening herself out. "It's about time Saya-koi snapped. She has firsthand experience in this sort of thing. So unless you want Tsubaki-chan to starve herself out of heartbreak, too, Eileen," Yuma pointed at Tsubaki, "you'd better make up." And with that, Yuma stomped out Saya's path to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Tsuzuki, we know some extremely strange people," Hisoka muttered.

Tsuzuki made a sympathetic noise and turned his attention towards the congregation of girls in his living room. "I guess you guys should…make yourselves comfortable," he announced to the room. "We've got some fish tempura…oh, wait…well, we'll get some ramen from the corner store. Hisoka? Let's go."

"Why should we—?" Hisoka stopped at the look Tsuzuki gave him. "Fine, whatever."

"What was the deal with Insane Girl Number 2 back there?"

"You mean Saya?"

"No, the other Insane Girl Number 2."

Tsuzuki gave Hisoka a little punch in the head. The Meifu sky was dotted with stars as the pair walked along the deserted street to the cheap ramen shop that Tsuzuki had so often frequented that he knew the way there forwards and backwards.

"Saya…well, you can tell she's the more sensitive and emotional of the pair," Tsuzuki began. "When she was alive she fell in love with this guy, and I mean hard. But they had a fight—I don't know what about—and he dumped her. Yuma told me that she worked her heart out trying to get him to take her back or at least to hear her out, but he refused. And that girl, she exists for affection. It got to her so badly that she stopped eating."

"So she died of self-induced starvation," Hisoka said slowly.

"I was lucky. I slashed my wrists so many times and so quickly and so forcefully, I was bound to hit the artery. I was dead within minutes. She starved herself…it took months."

Hisoka's hand slipped into Tsuzuki's.

"Did you know that what she looks like now is an optical illusion wrought by magic?" Tsuzuki asked rhetorically. "I've seen pictures of anorexic girls. That's what she actually looks like."

"You've seen her like that?"

"Once…accidentally. I walked into her bathroom when I was visiting and she had a towel around her from getting out of the shower. Water usually dispels any magical illusions, so I saw her. And I'll tell you, Hisoka, we both screamed and I don't know whose voice could have shattered more windows. Yuma pitched a fit when she came in to see what all the screaming was about. 15 ramen to go, please."

Hisoka hadn't even noticed that they had approached the take-out window of the ramen shop. The woman attendant nodded and disappeared to supervise the making.

"How does Yuma know about this?"

"Yuma was the one to cast the spell. She and Saya had been friends when they were alive; Yuma died soon after from pneumonia. Yuma said her biggest regrets were not murdering the guy who did that to Saya, and not letting Saya know about her feelings towards her."

"She's taken care of Regret Number 2, I've noticed."

"Well, Saya, she's…not exactly bisexual…she's "flexible". Yuma said that." Tsuzuki smiled softly at the thought of the two girls, vaguely knowing that they were, at that time, staring at Saya's bony form in his bathroom mirror, the spell removed for the moment. "More than anything, she's in love with love. I guess this deal with Tsubaki-hime and Eileen was getting to her and she just snapped. She's usually so sweet, so this must have really been eating at her. Thank you."

Tsuzuki let go of Hisoka's hand to take one paper bag from the take-out counter. Hisoka followed suite with the other.

Tsuzuki and Hisoka pushed open the door to find a relatively quiet and half-empty scene.

"Where is everyone?" Hisoka commented.

"Taimou and Suzaku took Tsubaki and Eileen to the guest room to talk," Maria explained from where she was sitting, hands-folded, on the living room counter. "Kazusa had to go home. Chizuru and Rika either couldn't make it or are stuck in Hokkaido wondering where everyone is. Saya and Yuma are still in the bathroom."

"No more!"

"We decided it was a good time to restart this party."

Saya and Yuma appeared in the doorframe of the kitchen. Hisoka immediately felt a sad parody of good cheer emitting from the two girls.

"Ooh, food!" Saya squealed, going towards the table. Hisoka blinked, taken aback. Hesitantly he sent out a bit of Empathy as she peeled open the lid to a container of ramen. An image of a skeleton barely covered by skin, limp, uncombed hair, and wide, sunken eyes greeted his conscious and he shut it out from his mind's eye immediately. No wonder she wanted food.

"How you feeling, Saya?" Tsuzuki asked delicately.

"A bit better," Saya admitted. "Definitely hungry." She picked a pair of cheap bamboo chopsticks out of the bag and eagerly stabbed her ramen noodles with them.

"I've got an idea," Yuma suddenly said.

"No," Hisoka said flatly, not even needing his Empathy to know what was on her mind.

"Oh, come on, Hisoka-chan, please?" Yuma begged. "This is our last opportunity to do it. It's my personal policy to never objectify a married person with my personal girlish fantasies. But I've known you for what, three years out of the four you've been here, and I've been patient long enough." Yuma's hand shot forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Let go of—"

"And besides," Yuma's voice said in his head, "it would make Saya feel better."

Hisoka immediately sent up a mental barrier. Yuma tugged on his wrist and disappeared into thin air, taking him with her.

"Let me understand this," Taimou said, rubbing her temples. "You two were best friends."

"Yes," Tsubaki and Eileen said, unintentionally simultaneous.

"Her," she pointed to Tsubaki, "father had you," she pointed to Eileen, "killed so he could transplant your heart into her."

"Yes."

"However, your spirit lingered, aging as it went because you were still alive inside her via your heart and some strange magic," Taimou continued, pointing at the respective girls with each emphasis. "And when she died, both your spirits went to Meifu. In two years you were reunited and began dating."

"Yes."

"Now, you, Eileen, want to be married, but you, Tsubaki, don't want to be."

"Yes," Eileen said, expecting Tsubaki's answer to end in "-s" and completely unprepared when her syllable ended in "-t".

Taimou rubbed her temples again. "Shinigami…they baffle me."

"That roughly translates into "you're being idiots"," Suzaku growled, crossing her arms. "Y'see, this is what happens when we have a breakdown of communication."

"Look who's talking."

"Shut up, Taimou," Suzaku snapped. "Now, it is time for you two to talk to each other, and time for us two to go and eat, because I'm starving and I smell ramen. We're going to lock you in this room until you kiss and make up."

"But…"

"Wait…"

Suzaku and Taimou stalked out the door and slammed it shut behind them. Eileen jolted forward and grabbed the doorknob. Twisting, jiggling, and smacking proved futile.

"They were really serious," she muttered furiously, kicking the door. This proved to be a less than intelligent idea, since she was barefoot as was Japanese custom, and her hopping up and down on one foot while holding the other and spitting out curse words was a testament to the fact.

"Eileen!" Tsubaki grabbed Eileen's injured foot from where she was sitting on the guest bed and pulled it towards her, resting it on her knee. Methodically she began rubbing Eileen's toes, trying to ease the pain.

Eileen stared. Tsubaki's hand slowed until it stopped, Eileen's foot resting in between her palms. Her eyes seemed locked on what she was holding.

"D-mn it, Tsubaki," Eileen snarled, pulling her leg away. "I'm mad at you."

"Eileen…"

"You hurt me, Tsubaki. Do you know what it was like, just watching you for 6 years and loving you every minute of it? And then to lose you for 2 years, and finally get you back for 1? And after all that, after 9 years, I find out that you don't care the way I do."

"That's not true!"

"B-llsh-t!"

"Well, if I hurt you so bad, why don't you just teleport out of here?" Tsubaki yelled, her face dark pink.

Eileen opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out except an unorganized grunt. Tsubaki bit on her bottom lip and looked away.

"Because, d-mn it, you can't give up 9 years in a few weeks," Eileen muttered, angry but soft.

Tsubaki turned her head back to look at Eileen. "Do you think it was easy for me?" Tsubaki asked. "You were my best—my only—friend. And you disappeared. Then I had to find out that you were still living inside of me. I tried to block that out. I couldn't stand knowing it was true. I tried to forget because that's all I could do. I fell in love with someone else just to forget about you. I made that doctor the object of my life and I got killed for it."

Eileen stared at her silently as Tsubaki took in a shuddering breath.

"I find you again here and I was so happy I thought I could die again. I began to forget about the Queen Camellia. And that's the last thing I want to do."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm always forgetting, Eileen! I forgot about my mother when she died when I saw that "angel" who was her doctor. I forgot about you when you died by falling in love. And what happened? I betrayed a friend and got four people killed, my own father included. And after only having you back for a year, I can't just forget again. No. It's too soon. I've done that twice before and I was stupid to do it." Tsubaki's lower lip was quivering. A teardrop hung dangerously from the corner of her eye.

Eileen crossed her arms and turned away, chewing her upper lip. She turned back, almost going to speak, but shut her mouth and turned away again.

"Tsubaki…"

But she was cut off by several squeals coming from the living room.

"That sounds like Saya," Tsubaki said, her attempt to alter the conversation blaringly obvious. "And the others…I guess it's the rest of them."

"What's making them squeal like tha…?"

"Yuma-koi…it's scary. I mean, I know we've dreamed about this since we practically met him, but…well…he's supposed to look like a drag queen, not an actual girl. It's…it's…weird when he's prettier than us."

"I'm out of here."

"Wait! Oh…Saya-koi, you ruined it!"

"Don't worry, Yuma-koi, all the good drag queens are in Kansei. We'll find him—that perfect woman-man—eventually!"

Tsubaki covered her face with her hands and breathed very sharply. Eileen couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying, or both.

"That was nice of you, Hisoka."

"We shall not speak of it again. Any conversation having to do with it is barred from this house from here on out."

"Or what?" Tsuzuki teased.

"Or you'll be sleeping outside for the next year."

Tsuzuki laughed and pulled Hisoka into an embrace from behind. "Still, it was nice of you. I have a feeling you only gave in because it would make a certain girl happy…"

"Silence."

The psuedo-party had fizzled out after Hisoka had disappeared; Maria had gone back to Hong Kong, Wakaba was accompanying the Shikigami back to the Suzaku Gates. Tsubaki and Eileen were still in the guest room, and as for the two instigators…

"They make it look so easy, don't they?"

Hisoka and Tsuzuki turned to look at Tsubaki. Her upper torso was cocked back, her arms folded against her stomach, her head tilted sideways with a small, sad smile on her lips. Her eyes went from Hisoka and Tsuzuki to the couch, where the more-than-slightly tipsy pair of overzealous fangirls had passed out. Saya was lying on her back, her one arm dangling over the cushions. Yuma was…well, the best words to use was "sprawled" over her girlfriend, lying on her stomach. Yuma's one arm was tucked neatly underneath Saya's head; likewise Saya's left hand was lightly cupping the back of Yuma's skull. Yuma's free arm was also dangling off the couch cushions. Her pinky finger was hooked lightly around Saya's.

"Where's Eileen?" Tsuzuki asked.

"She left. Teleported home," Tsubaki said, and in such a way that stopped any further inquiries. "What are we doing with Thelma and Louise over there?"

"With who?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Saya and Yuma," Tsubaki explained. "It's this old American pair of femme fatales…never mind."

"Well, we can teleport them, but I'm not particularly keen on taking them back to Hokkaido. First of all, we're not sure where exactly they live, second of all, it's freezing up there, and third of all, their house is the last place I want to go into at night."

Tsubaki laughed. "Okay…let's bring them to my place, then. There's nothing dangerous there. Just take hold of them and then grab my arm."

The trio dispatched to do just that.

"Are you and Eileen going to be okay?"

Hisoka and Tsubaki were alone—Tsuzuki had assigned himself the task of carrying the two drunken girls up the stairs to Tsubaki's guestroom. Tsubaki had just turned on the light switch to her kitchen when Hisoka asked the question.

Tsubaki turned to look at Hisoka with resigned eyes and a sad smile. "I don't know." She shrugged tightly. "She's looking me in the face again, and she heard what I had to say. It's all up to her now." She cocked the corner of her lip up in an attempt at cheer. "Maybe I should do a Tarot reading on us; give myself a heads-up."

"You actually use those things?" Hisoka asked disdainfully.

"I'll have you know, Kurosaki-san, that I am quite an expert at the task," Tsubaki said, gesturing playfully. "Personal spreads, Relationship spreads, Family spreads, you name it; I can do it."

A small thought of Muraki's cruel irony passed through Hisoka's brain but he quickly slapped it away. "Family spreads" she'd said…

"Father didn't like it," Tsubaki continued, rambling. "Thought I was dabbling too much in the occult. Well, maybe…but it's not like they're inherently demonic or anything…it's just how you use them…"

"You said you could do Family spreads?"

"Huh? Oh, yes."

"Like…Parent-Child spreads?"

"Yes. Why? Are you interested? Why are you interested?" Tsubaki combined her two questions.

Hisoka hesitated and bit his lip. "I'm…I'm asking because I'm…going to go topside and see my parents again."

"Oh…they're alive? I didn't know that…" Tsubaki looked worried at the unreadable expression on Hisoka's face. "Well, if you want to, I can do a reading for you. It's called a Codependency Spread. Let me go get my cards…"

Tsubaki disappeared into her living room and reappeared with a pack of blue-backed cards. She handed them to Hisoka.

"What am I…?"

"The Querent—that's you—is supposed to shuffle. Here, sit down. You can shuffle them any way you want; it's all about you."

Tsubaki pulled out a chair at her table and Hisoka sat at it, awkwardly rearranging the cards as Tsubaki stood over him.

"When you're done, hand me the pack."

Hisoka forked them over quickly, and Tsubaki murmured a few unintelligible words. Then she leaned over his shoulder and began laying cards out in front of him in the shape of a triangle, 9 cards in total.

"Now, this," she said, picking up the third card from the top on the left side of the triangle, "is your self-image." She turned it over. "The Five of Swords."

"That looks promising."

"Hmm. This means you feel you've lost to a sore winner."

"Ain't that the truth."

"And this one," she touched the card opposite the first, "is your parents' self-image." She turned it over. "Justice. They think they did what was necessary to order out their lives."

Hisoka bit his lip.

"This third one is how you feel about your parents…the King of Swords reversed. Oppression, gloom, miserliness, loss, cruelty…Wow, you must really hate them." Tsubaki gave a half-smile, not quite appreciating the truth her words were sounding.

"This fourth one is how they feel about you…the Five of Pentacles. They considered you as a loss…an expendable one." Tsubaki frowned and reached for the fifth card. "This one is outside influences on you…the Page of Cups. An emotional extremist, but one that is extremely kind."

"Okay, this is just d-mn freaky."

"That's why you shuffle the cards. It's your spirit being infused with them. This sixth one is outside influences on your parents…the Emperor reversed. Conflict with authority…"

"Sounds like my uncle."

"…or their own abuse of power. And this one is the present situation…the Five of Wands. Since this is Querent-centric, I'm guessing that you are the one working on a new project, and conflicts are hindering your progress. Am I right?"

"Absolutely."

"Now, this eighth one is advice for the Querent…the Star reversed. Uh-oh. It's warning you that nothing good can come of this meeting."

"And what's this last one?" Hisoka tapped the last unturned card.

"This one is the outcome…Death."

"Oh, fantastic."

"No, actually, Death is an excellent card," Tsubaki corrected. "It means a transition. Of course, it's probably going to be difficult and you're going to be hurt, but still…it's better than where you are now."

Hisoka stared at the triangle in front of him on the kitchen table. He pushed his chair back and stood.

"Well, what do you think? Accurate?"

"Freakishly. Thanks."

"If that wasn't sarcastic: It wasn't a problem. If that was sarcastic: Well, you asked for it." She smiled again. "Look, it really is getting late. You should probably head home." She hugged his head and kissed his cheek. "I hope the Star reversed is proved wrong."

"Probably won't be," Hisoka said pessimistically.

"Can't you let someone wish you good luck?" She punched his arm. "Go on, get yourself home."

"I think it's a bad idea."

"Aren't you asleep yet?" Hisoka rolled onto his other side to look Tsuzuki in the face. "What's a bad idea?"

"You going to see your parents."

"I knew I felt your presence when Tsubaki-hime gave me that reading. What, were you eavesdropping?"

"I was about to walk into the kitchen when I heard you two talking. So I hid and listened."

"That's called eavesdropping, moron."

"Hisoka."

Hisoka glared into Tsuzuki's deadly serious face.

"You don't need Star reversed to tell you that nothing is going to change between you and them. Seeing them is only going to hurt you."

"Look, you," Hisoka returned, almost angry. "When I summoned Ruka, it hurt you to see her. But at the same time, you were happy to see her because she told you and Shinji the truth, didn't she? You got at least some type of closure with her. It isn't complete closure, but it's something. And that's what I want. I'm sick of this little limbo I'm stuck in with them and Muraki. It's holding me back. I'm going to see them because I want to cut them off. You can come with me or you can stay here, but I'm going to go see them come hell or high water and nothing can stop that."

"D-mn, you're stubborn," Tsuzuki said after a pause.

"You're the same way."

"Suppose I am," Tsuzuki said, "because I still think it's a bad idea. But I also know…" he inched his way closer to Hisoka, "…that you won't stop for anything." He touched his forehead against Hisoka's. "And of course I'm going with you. There's no way I'd let you go up there alone."

"Good, because…"

"Because?"

"I want you there."

Well, (surveys chapter) a little patchy in spots but on the whole I think it was pretty good. I never thought I could get so angsty with Yuma and Saya…that was completely unexpected, by the way. I had other things planned for the chapter but it didn't come together, so I just kinda ran with new ideas.

I have the beginning of chapter 10 on the computer, and some other parts written on notebook paper, but it might take a while to get the chapter up because I have homework and exams up hill and down dale. Just content yourself with my foreshadowing for now, okay? Please?