Borrowed Empathy : Chapter 8.
Epilogue : Consequences.
Author's Notes :
Finally finished whoo-hoooo! ^^; This was hard to write hehe - I'm good at writing dark and creepy, but I love reading sweet and funny so I had to try it! I hope you liked it ! 3 :) But I haven't gotten any reviews (waaaa!) so I don't know what you think of it - good, bad, terrible, kind of okay, funny, sweet…? :( *cries* *goes off into emo corner* *hides in the dark* *plays with my shadows*
Tatsumi is my very favorite… and I got to write Byakko in there so double points yay!
Please pretty please with whip cream and cherries leave me a review - I need feedback yumm! 3 3 ^^; :)
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The next day found Tatsumi sitting at his desk again, diligently filling out stacks and stacks of paperwork, as usual. Everything was back to normal, and the secretary acted as if nothing had happened.
True, most of the Ministry employees were a bit more frightened of him than usual, but since everyone was always scared of the stern and stoic accountant, that wasn't much of a change.
Saya and Yuma had brought him a bouquet of flowers and a get-well card, which he had had accepted with a nod and a polite, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness." He had placed both the card and flowers on the windowsill and said nothing more about it.
Watari, who was more perceptive than most people gave him credit for, knew that Tatsumi prioritized work above all and that he would chose to return to his normal routine as quickly as possible. Wisely, the scientist chose to give the older shinigami his space.
Everyone, in fact, was hesitant to approach Tatsumi, who hadn't left his office all day, buried in his work. Everyone, except Hisoka…
Hisoka went directly to Tatsumi's office to make his apologies.
Tatsumi listened patiently with his hands folded on the desk in front of him.
The teenager felt awful. The entire fiasco was his fault. He never should have gotten involved. It wasn't any of his business. It wasn't Watari's fault. He was the one who asked Watari to make a potion. It was his powers of empathy that he shared with Tatsumi. It was his fault that Tatsumi got hurt. He put Tatsumi in danger, overloaded his psyche, almost made him lose his mind, even caused him to use his shadow magic to enormous extent, all in self-defense! He had been irresponsible…
It went on and on. The normally bottled-up teenager stood there, red with embarrassment, staring at his shoes, and apologizing over and over again.
Finally, Tatsumi sighed, shifted his glasses on his nose with one finger, and held up one hand to stop him.
"Kurosaki-kun, calm yourself. There is nothing to forgive. I understand what you were trying to do, and I respect you for it. Having experienced a little of your empathy, I congratulate you on your abilities and encourage you to keep developing them," the blue-eyed man stated firmly.
His tone was the same gentle but serious tone that he usually used with the younger shinigami, and he did not sound angry at all. Hisoka hung his head and listened respectfully.
"Tsuzuki is very important to both of us," Tatsumi went on, his voice low and quiet. "As his partner, I am grateful that you have his happiness and best interests at heart. However, in the future, if you have any questions regarding my relationships, simply come to me and ask."
Hisoka nodded. Tatsumi rose from his chair, buttoned his brown jacket and smoothed his suit with his hands quickly. He seemed pre-occupied with the papers on the desk in front of him.
The youngest shinigami turned to leave but paused at the door.
"May I ask you a question, now, Tatsumi-san?"
"Of course."
Despite being an empath, Hisoka still had a hard time understanding emotions, especially love, since he had been denied any kind of love during his entire lifetime.
"If you've loved him all this time… how long has it been? Almost a century? Well, why have you never acted on it?" he asked timidly.
Tatsumi smiled at him warmly. "Young people are always so impulsive," he murmured softly.
Hisoka bristled instinctively, because he didn't understand what that meant, but the older shinigami placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
Tatsumi's penetrating blue eyes, normally icy and hard or flashing with anger, softened into the colour of an ocean under the brightest sun. He looked down at the boy, smiling.
"Hisoka-kun… you haven't been dead for very long," he said in his most gentle tone of voice. "And you are so very young, after all…"
Something in his tone made Hisoka want to cry.
"Shinigami are immortal. We can still be killed or receive final judgment, but otherwise, we have eternity. A century or a thousand centuries means nothing to us," he continued softly.
"I never thought about that, and… I still don't understand," admitted the teenager, scowling as he tried to make sense of it. "You have eternity, but you don't want to be with the one you love?"
Tatsumi smiled again, but it was a vaguely sad smile. "Tsuzuki's safety is more important than my happiness. That's what love is, Hisoka-kun," he stated matter-of-factly. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have to deliver these grant requests to Watari-san."
The secretary brushed past him without another word.
Several minutes later, Hisoka heard Watari's voice raise in an overjoyed shriek of delight… which quickly turned to confusion and then fear.
"Approved! Really?! Tatsumi-san, thank you! Wait… WHAT?! You approved… ALL of them?!"
"Perhaps, this will be enough to keep you occupied!" Tatsumi snapped furiously. "If you put your skills to good use on these projects, you won't have time for any more of your IDIOTIC experiments!"
"I submitted fourteen projects!" argued the scientist.
"And all fourteen of those projects had merit and would be helpful to the Shokan division!" the secretary shot back. "Far more helpful than you drugging the employees!"
"This is advanced chemistry, Tatsumi-san! I can't just rush through… uh… I mean, it's going to take time and…" Watari stammered frantically.
"I have every faith in your intellect, Watari-san. Otherwise, I would not have approved such ambitious projects," Tatsumi responded logically.
There was a rustle of paper and Watari's lilting, nasal voice raised again, this time in horror. "What?! I can't possibly make this deadline!"
Tatsumi's stern voice raised again, and anger crackled in his normally level tones.
"Then I suggest you devote more time to your work and less time trying to test your ridiculous potions on everyone in Meifu, including myself!" he fairly shouted.
Hisoka heard Watari squeal with fear and whimper something, and then Tatsumi's low, firm voice answered mercilessly.
"Any expense reports submitted after the first of next month with not be reimbursed and you will have to cover the cost from your own pocket."
"TATSUMIIII, YOU ARE SO MEEEEEAANNN!" Watari whined.
Hisoka peeked around the corner just in time to see the tall man in the brown suit striding down the hallway with a decidedly evil smile on his face.
The blonde boy felt an icy chill go down his spine. He let out his breath slowly. Tatsumi could be terrifying when he wanted to be, especially when he used his authority against them… and Tatsumi had certainly dealt out his vengeance upon Watari!
Yet, he had been so kind and understanding towards Hisoka just minutes before. It didn't make sense.
The boy frowned, suddenly suspicious.
Tatsumi was unyielding. He was strict. He was severe. He was also ruthless and unforgiving. Any slight against him was paid back with interest. He was the kind of person to always have his revenge. It made him a formidable enemy.
In this case, Hisoka knew the secretary didn't feel any hostility towards him, but he still knew there had to be a consequence.
Well, Tatsumi's favorite method of punishment was to dock their pay…
He picked up his paycheck and opened the envelope, fully expecting to see that his pay had been cut in half.
Instead, to his great surprise, he saw that a rather large bonus had been added to his regular pay. Now extremely confused, he pulled out a small, folded piece of paper that was included in the envelope. He unfolded the note and read it aloud, muttering to himself.
"Kurosaki-kun, this is to inform you that your library privileges have been revoked until the end of the month, excepting research for investigations on active cases only. This should allow you more free time, which I want you to spend with your partner. He needs constant supervision and support. By my calculations, Tsuzuki-san will over-spend his budget by Thursday. You are to cover the cost of all his meals. Additionally, you are to buy him all the sweets and pastries he wants…"
Emerald green eyes blinked slowly in realization.
"ALL the sweets and pastries he wants…?" he repeated softly. "Well, there goes my ENTIRE paycheck."