5. Solution.
T: I'm not going to spoil the interesting development of this chapter, though I will warn that there is yet another cliff hanger. Other warnings remain the same and I still own nothing here apart (in part) for Myagi-san and his wonderful neurosis!
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He listens to Myagi-san's tale with an ever increasing sense of anger. It was not surprising to learn that Muraki had been chasing Tsuzuki's history, or that he had used his 'connection' to Hisoka to manipulate his dreams in order that the younger Shinigami might come to see Myagi-san, or indeed that he had known that Tsuzuki would eventually follow on Hisoka's heals.
The purpose behind setting up such a meeting is, however, lost on Hisoka and, once Myagi-san has concluded his tale, he enquires,
"Then what is the other way in which we might help Tsuzuki and why do you fear it?"
"It is possible for you to use your empathic powers to do what I can not and 'dive' into his heart. As to why I fear such a solution…" The other trails and Hisoka is swamped with an emotion he recognises well. He has want to distract himself from that feeling, from the complication it holds, and thus he enquires,
"Do you fear that I would become swamped by Tsuzuki's emotions?"
"Yes."
"That is a risk that only I need contemplate, Myagi-san."
"Then you mean to take up my suggestion, even though doing as such may place you in Muraki's control?"
"We are already firmly in Muraki's control, Myagi-san and my making this choice shall not affect that fact."
The other little likes this statement and, for one terrible moment, Hisoka believes that Myagi-san shall voice the blossoming care in his heart, that the other shall use that emotion to crumble his resolve. Myagi-san seems to think better of such a choice, however and, smiling, he says,
"If you believe this the only way, then allow me to even the odds a little."
"How?"
"By using my magic, however, I shall need you to trust me in order for the spell to take affect." He crouches down then so that their faces are level and, setting a hand upon his shoulder, he enquires, "Do you think that you can give me that trust, Kurosaki-kun?" The touch allows him to feel the other's confidence strongly enough that he could almost believe it his own, the distance this feeling gives him clearly the motive behind the unprompted contact.
After a moment thinking through the matter logically he meets Myagi-san's eyes and, smiling as best he can given the situation, he enquires,
"Do you need anything else from me, Asato-san?"
"No." The other's eyes fall closed then and his breathing evens out into a slow, soothing, rhythm.
He finds, after a moment, that he is breathing in tandem with the other, that as he focuses on the sound of their joined breath, he is loosing his awareness of the world about him, of everything other than that sound. He recalls, faintly, that this is how he had felt as the curse had begun to kill him and then a burning agony wipes away all coherent thought from his mind.
Flinching away from the source of that pain he balls himself into the headboard of the bed and, once he feels again 'himself' he enquires,
"What the hell was that?"
"That was the spell taking hold, I am sorry that I could not warn you that it would be painful, but it was imperative that your mind was completely free of all concerns."
"Will you tell me what the spell does now, or are you going to side step the issue again?"
"I have bound your soul to mine."
"What!"
"You needed a way to 'dive' into my uncle's heart without risk, a connection between your soul and one 'outside' the intense emotions caged within that spaced was as the most logical solution. I was aware of how evasive such a spell would seem to you, especially given your previous experience with such things, however…" The other's hope, intensified as it is by the bond that exists now between them, is all but choking in its intensity and, taking a shaky breath, he says,
"I understand that you did the best you could given the situation, Asato-san and I know that you shall not abuse this connection as Muraki has abused the connection that exists between us…however…" He pauses a moment to better compose himself and then he says, "However, if we are to continue on in this manner I would ask that you learn to shield your emotions, otherwise I'm going to be done in by the very thing that had been intended to help me."
"I shall try my best, Kurosaki-kun." Piece by piece the other's emotional landscape fades from his mind, until all that is left in his head is the vaguest impression of the other's general mood.
"Thank you." He returns, then, to his previous position at Tsuzuki's side and, placing a hand upon his partner's forehead, he enquires,
"So what do I do now, Asato-san?"
"Think about my uncle, Kurosaki-kun, about everything that he is to you and then stretch your empathy out towards him."
He closes his eyes then and begins to build a mental picture of Tsuzuki in his mind.
Confident and yet somehow shy, truthful and yet also a man gifted in the art of deception, trusting and yet suspicious of everyone and everything, passionate and passionless, conflicted and yet united also. These were the base truths of his partner's psyche, the elements that made him who he was, there was, of course, so much more and Hisoka presses for these aspects also.
He pictures his partner's every action from the moment they had met to that one terrible moment in Kyoto where he had truly believed the other lost to him.
Focused on the sweet intoxication of Tsuzuki's scent, his mind full of the image of the other languid within Touda's flames, he stretches his empathy out.
For a moment he meets nothing more than the terrible silence of the void and then the world falls away.
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Luka is stood in the kitchen cooking, this activity watched, intently, by the young child who shall grow up to become his partner. This set up is so akin to the other's he had encounter in the 'dreams' Muraki had provided him that it is only when the child registers his presence, and turning to look at him, enquires, "Who are you then?" that he realises that the process had worked and that he is viewing an illusionary world created to protect Tsuzuki from further harm.
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T: All inspiration for the idea of 'diving' into a person's consciousness has come from the wondrous ladies of Clamp…the psycho babble surrounding the idea is completely mine! Next chapter Tuesday, until then why not review and let me know what you think of this chapter/thus far.