YAMI NO MATSUEI - DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS

THE SHADOWS OF MY PAST

Chapter Twelve – The Mystery That Is Tsuzuki Asato

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Timeline - 1948

It was so hard to take my eyes off this man. It was exceptionally hard not to be mesmerized from those amethyst eyes of his. And so all I could do is genially smile while my heart rapidly beat. I was just glad that I did not stammer when I told him, "I'm pleased to meet you as well, Tsuzuki-san. So why don't we work on those expense reports of yours – starting with those receipts of yours?"

Chief Konoe then told me, "Tatsumi, feel free to use that office next to mine in case you need it. You could also use the desk facing Tsuzuki since that's dedicated for his partner. Right now, I don't have a secretary and Tsuzuki doesn't have a partner."

"Yes, Kacho…" was my reply. "We'll do the best that we can to work on what Tsuzuki-san has here."

The day had gone by very quickly due to three reasons. One was because there was so much to fix and organize in terms of Tsuzuki's paperwork, files, and filing system – this not including his expense reports. Two was the disaster called his expense reports since I found out based on his receipts that he had not filed an expense report for two years now.

The third reason – and probably the most important one – was that it was nice being around Tsuzuki-san. Sure he was lackadaisical but he was doing his best in terms of papers. He was sub-par in terms of organizational skills but I could feel my shadows and the dark aura fueling my shadows picking up such strong spiritual energies from him.

I did not know if two weeks would be enough to help Tsuzuki-san get organized, but I would do my best. I just hope that once it was fixed that he would be able to maintain it, although I would not be surprised if things went back to their chaotic state.

In turn, Tsuzuki-san was a gracious and a considerate man. There was no mistake that his gentle and amicable attitude towards everyone else around him was authentic. It seemed that everyone felt comfortable being around him.

And I also felt comfortable around Tsuzuki-san…there was no denying it…

If Tsuzuki-san was this friendly person, then I wonder what happened to his partner. How come he did not have a partner when shinigami must work in pairs as a "check and balance" mechanism within Ju-Oh-Cho, Enma-Cho, and the Shokan Division's respective systems – an assurance that no shinigami would abuse his or her privileges to dwell among the living?

Was there something about Tsuzuki-san that I was not aware about? Was there something that I was not seeing, and if that was the case then why was I not seeing it clearly?

That question lingered in my mind until Tsuzuki-san and I walked home. Although walking home with me meant that he would walk an additional 15 minutes to get home to his apartment, I could not say no to him.

Tsuzuki-san then smiled as he waited for me to open the fence. "I'll be on my way, Tatsumi. I really appreciate your help. So that I could repay you, I'll cook something special. Please have dinner at my home."

With a warm grin, I told Tsuzuki-san, "Sure. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll bring something to compliment what you have. What are you cooking?"

"I make great pasta. I hope that you love seafood linguini. It's one of my specialties."

"Really?" I said with such a grin on my face. "I love my fish and vegetables, but I love the variety that Italian dishes bring to the palate every now and then. I'll look forward to it."

"Great! We'll walk home tomorrow, but only this time we're heading to my place." Tsuzuki then said, his amethyst eyes reflecting the happiness that he had all day while working with me, "See you tomorrow, Tatsumi."

I watched Tsuzuki-san wave goodbye after my reply. I stayed outside, watching the figure that was Tsuzuki-san disappear as the distance between us grew wider.

Shortly before Tsuzuki-san was far gone from my field of vision, Mako-san went outside and asked, "Who was that?"

"Tsuzuki Asato – one of Konoe Kacho's shinigami."

"Hmm… Tsuzuki Asato, you say?"

There was something in Mako-san's voice that I could sense. It was as if he knew something about Tsuzuki-san that only a privileged few had known.

So I gazed at Mako-san and asked him, "Do you know him?"

Mako-san then motioned me to come inside and as we walked towards the door and eventually went inside, he told me, "Everyone in Meifu knows Tsuzuki Asato, Seii-kun. He is as popular as I am unknown."

I just found that matter-of-fact statement coming from Mako-san to be quite amusing. "What do you mean?"

As I helped the dear old man prepare the table for supper, I listened to him explain, "There are only a privileged few who knew about my existence – Lord Enma, Konoe, the Earl from the Castle of Candles, and you. They only know that there is a shadow master in Meifu but no one save the four of you knows that shadow master's real identity. You would be the first shadow master with an identity…mark my words on that…"

"And Tsuzuki-san?"

Mako-san gave me a light smile and he and I sat down for out meal and he handed me a bowl of soup with vegetables. "What's there not to say about Tsuzuki-san? Shinigami normally are lucky to have a command of two or three shikigami under his or her disposal. Most of the time, two of the three shikigami are under-utilized since it takes a great deal of psychic energy to keep a link with one. The more that a shikigami is utilized, the greater the link and the energy needed to sustain that relationship between the shikigami and its master…."

I was outwardly calm about gathering this information from Mako-san but I was inwardly excited to know someone who knew much about Tsuzuki-san. So I went about and quietly asked, "So Tsuzuki-san's one of the few who could control his two or three shikigami well? No wonder Kacho's impressed with him."

This time, Mako-san chuckled. "Tsuzuki-san doesn't control two or three shikigami. He controls twelve shikigami, Seii-kun. Four of those twelve shikigami are the Guardian Gods of the East, West, North, and South. He's close to all twelve of them and utilizes their powers to the fullest extent. Granted that he would never call two of them at the same time because that would cause much damage under his command…."

"Damage….?" I further asked as my forehead crinkled. I placed my bowl down after having some soup to warm up my stomach.

"Tsuzuki-san has other powers which remain unknown to us. Only Konoe knows the most about Tsuzuki-san. I handle confidential affairs for Enma-Cho just as you'll be doing, but I'm not privy to that information about Tsuzuki-san's powers. Only Lord Enma and Konoe know about that part of Tsuzuki-san. I wouldn't be surprised if only Lord Enma knows about it and kept Konoe in the dark."

Sensing the disgust from his tone, I dared ask, "You don't like Lord Enma very much, do you Mako-san?"

The dear old man let out a snort. "Am I that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so," I replied with a smile on my face. "I sensed it since we were in Lord Enma's throne room."

"He's too secretive for my taste. He's probably as bad as that scoundrel Ishino – maybe even worse." Mako-san then looked at me and told me, "All I ask is for two things, Seii-kun. Don't talk to anyone else about me except with Konoe. You could always refer to me as your teacher to everyone else but say nothing more about me. Also be very careful of letting others know who you really are. Give them that gift when you feel that you could trust them with your life."

"But why?" I asked Mako-san, the idea of not telling anyone save for Chief Konoe about him made me feel as if I was an ungrateful scoundrel.

Mako-san smiled empathetically and reached out his hand to rest it consolingly on my hand. "Seii-kun…you don't need to tell everyone about me as an affirmation that you care about me. There are reasons why I ask you to do such things. If you think that the world that you were in when you were Ishino's chief-of-staff was cutthroat, Meifu is much worse. As to your administrative and leadership skills, by all means let the Divisions know how good you are. It is to your advantage that no one knows who I am. It is also to your advantage that people know less about you – especially in terms of how powerful you could be. Let them know such information from you at the right time. Part of a shadow master's power comes from stealth and the element of surprise. You know that already from experience. That's why I totally understand why you didn't tell me about your powers until those moments."

"I've never been a braggart, Mako-san."

The old man's smile became even more consoling. "Yes, Son… I know that. I'm just merely reminding you to continue being vigilant about your surroundings. Makai's residents aren't the only enemies that we have to worry about but also the people within our realm. Konoe's the only person that you could trust here. And if Tsuzuki-san's such a high item on Lord Enma's radar then there's a high probability that he could be trusted as well."

"He's a good person," I said to Mako-san as I gazed into his eyes. I saw the old man smile – maybe he could sense how lighthearted I feel whenever I was around Tsuzuki-san.

After a long period of silence, Mako-san asked me, "Do you think that your inclinations made you so picky?"

"What do you mean?" I then took the glass of water to get a drink.

But as I went to get a sip of water, the water went down the wrong way as Mako-san clarified his question by rephrasing it as, "You don't happen to prefer the company of men better than women, do you Seii-kun?"

And then I started coughing violently because after that clarification, the rest of the water in my mouth really went down the wrong way. I turned beet-red not only from coughing but also due to the sheer embarrassment from the question.

I glared at the old man just as a deprived child would, which made him laugh – the laughter reminiscent of times when I was still a child and he would catch me off-guard with such questions. He then explained as he did his best to stifle his laughter, "There's nothing wrong about it, Seii-kun. Our culture respects the deep bond between two men. In fact, we uphold such deep-rooted relationships as sacred. It's prevalent in the ranks of the noble. It's common to have a vassal or one who serves to give his utmost loyalty, devotion, and love for his lord."

With a pursed-lipped pout and a displeased glare, I told the old man, "Funny… I didn't bother asking you that question all this time, Mako-san. You never married."

"Yes, but I didn't have the same spark in my eyes just as you have now while we talked about Tsuzuki Asato. I also saw how you two were talking outside. It's not just you. It's also him."

"You have a wild imagination, old man" I said as a chuckle escaped from my lips. "You couldn't find a woman to tease me about so now you find the first man who wanted to befriend me. Worse yet, you paired me up with him."

Mako-san shook his head in amusement. "You'll see, Seii-kun. The eyes are the windows to the soul. Your eyes as well as his wouldn't lie. Although I wasn't there to see Tsuzuki Asato's eyes up-close, I could tell from the way you two moved as to how you two were gazing at each other."

"We're just friends, Mako-san. As to his eyes, they're expressive and different. Purple eyes…just as if they were amethysts…so deep and expressive… I've never seen such eyes before. His eyes remind me of Mother's eyes, although Mother's eyes were not purple."

Blinking and then pondering about what I just said, Mako-san told me, "Purple… It's the color of nobility. It's also the color of sorrow that reaches to the very bottom of one's soul. The Christians share their story of how Jesus Christ was clothed in a purple cape by the Roman soldiers during His persecution. He suffered much under human hands, yet He found it in his heart to redeem man from sin."

After thinking about what Mako-san had just shared with me, I let out a soft sigh. "Tsuzuki-san seems to be a happy fellow. Everybody treats him as a friend at work."

I could tell from Mako-san's expression that he thought highly of Tsuzuki-san. He then remarked, "Appearances are never as they always seem to be, Seii-kun. If you're going to be a friend to Tsuzuki-san, be prepared to see what others would normally not see. Nobody stays in Lord Enma's scrutiny and earns happiness along the way. Remember my words well, Son. As your mentor, this is the very first lesson that I impart to you."

End of Chapter Twelve

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Normal Disclaimer

Yami No Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness) and its characters are copyrighted properties of Matsushita Yoko. This fan fiction and the original characters (Mako-san, Inari, Chief Satori) that appear within this fan fiction belong to PJ Zatken.