"My...house..." Hisoka said in disbelief, staring at the wreckage that was once his home.

"I'm so sorry, Hisoka!"

Hisoka turned on Tsuzuki. "You're sorry? Sorry isn't going to fix my house, Tsuzuki! You wrecked it! I TOLD you to cut it out! And YOU!" he yelled, pointing at Terazuma. "Is this the thanks I get for trying to be nice?!"

Terazuma growled. "It's not my fault, he started it!"

"Oh, so you are going to blame this on me?!" Tsuzuki yelled back. "You were the one trying to get under my skin then transformed!"

"Well if you would have just left us alone for a couple more minutes like I asked you to!"

"SHUT! UP!" Hisoka yelled, silencing the two bickering Shinigami. "You are both complete idiots, and you are both responsible!"

Kannuki wasn't the least bit happy. "Hajime! Apologize to Kurosaki right now!"

"Sorry..." Came the mumbled reply.

"Louder! And look at him when you say it!"

Terazuma sighed, barely glancing at Hisoka. "Sorry, Kurosaki."

Kannuki bowed. "I'm so sorry, Kurosaki! I was going to come with Hajime, but I thought he'd be fine. If you want, you can stay with us until your house gets fixed."

"Thanks, Kannuki, but I don't want to inconvenience you, it wasn't your fault. It'll probably be a while..."

"It's not an inconvenience. We can't just leave you without a place to stay. Oh! I know! We can balance it out. You can stay with Tsuzuki for a little while and us for a little while!"

"I guess that would work..." It did make the most sense. While he didn't want to inconvenience Kannuki for Terazuma's mistake, if he switched between them and Tsuzuki, it wouldn't be as much trouble.

Kannuki smiled. "Great! We'll help you move your stuff then. So, which house first?"

"He can stay with me for now." Tsuzuki offered, feeling guilty for ruining his partner's house.

Hisoka shrugged. "Tsuzuki's I guess. You don't have to help, Kannuki. You have groceries to put away, don't you?"

Kannuki glanced at the bags on the ground. "Hajime, you take those home and start putting them away. Quickly, please, because I don't want things thawing. I'll help Kurosaki get his stuff to Tsuzuki's house."

Terazuma grumbled to himself as he grabbed the bags of food. Well, better than having to be around Tsuzuki and Kurosaki. He just hoped the boy wouldn't reveal his secret, though now that his house was destroyed, Terazuma couldn't really expect him not to. Well, so much for getting help. It might have worked out if Kurosaki had stayed with them, but he wasn't going to ask for his assistance now. He'd have to come up with a new plan.

The next forty-five minutes were spent gathering what was needed from Hisoka's house and transferring it to Tsuzuki's. Kannuki had managed to lighten Hisoka's mood a bit, it was hard to stay angry with her around, but he was still mad at Tsuzuki. After they were done, Tsuzuki invited Kannuki inside for a snack, but she politely declined, saying she had to get back home.

"Just let us know when you want to switch, Kurosaki." Kannuki said with a smile.

"Okay. Thanks for the help."

"No problem. See you two later!" With a wave, Kannuki skipped off, heading back to her and Terazuma's place, Tsuzuki waving after her.

Hisoka sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with." He tried to tell himself things wouldn't be so bad. Since they were partners, they'd spent plenty of time together, so it couldn't be that bad. Then he saw the inside of the house.

In the kitchen, the sink was full of dirty dishes, just waiting to be cleaned. Hisoka was convinced Tsuzuki waited until he had no more utensils to eat with before he started washing them. The bedroom floor was littered with clothes that Hisoka guessed were from the previous day that Tsuzuki never bothered to throw in the laundry basket. Then again, that looked pretty full, so maybe he just couldn't fit them in. The bed was a mess, with a pillow laying somewhere in the middle and the blankets half-hanging off. Hisoka could swear he saw the leg of a teddy bear sticking up from between the bed and the wall.

After putting down his luggage against the wall where Tsuzuki had left what he had been carrying, Hisoka turned to his partner. "Alright, if I'm going to be staying here for any period of time, there's going to have to be some serious changes. There is no way I am staying in a house this messy. The only reason I'm even staying here is because I don't want to inconvenience Kannuki by staying with them the whole time. Cancel whatever plans you had for today, because I'm sure it'll take all afternoon to get this place clean." He stopped when he saw what he thought was food on the floor. "Are those...crumbs? That's it. Tsuzuki, out. I will clean. Go wash your dishes or something."

Tsuzuki frowned. "But-"

"Out!" Hisoka yelled, pushing Tsuzuki out of the room and slamming the door, locking him out of his own bedroom. Tsuzuki sighed and slumped off to wash the dishes.

----------

When Kannuki got home, Terazuma had finished putting groceries away and was sitting on the couch, watching television.

"Kurosaki is moved into Tsuzuki's now. When he's ready to switch, he'll let us know and come spend some time with us." Kannuki sighed and sat on the other end of the couch. "Hajime, you really have to control yourself better. I don't care what kind of argument you and Tsuzuki were having, there was no reason for Kurosaki's house to have been destroyed because of it."

"He'll be fine. He's with Tsuzuki all the time anyway, living with him isn't a big deal."

"That's not the point, Hajime! You can't just brush it off like it's nothing! You barely even apologized!"

Terazuma took his eyes off the TV to face his partner. "It's not as easy as it sounds, Kannuki!" he said, raising his voice in aggravation. "Tsuzuki doesn't even realize what it's like to try to keep a parasitic Shikigami from breaking free because he can control twelve summoning Shiki with no problem! I tried not to argue with him but he has no clue!" He stopped, turning away and getting to his feet. "I'm going for a walk."

"Hajime..." Kannuki called, her tone soft, but Terazuma wasn't listening. He walked out the door without another word.

Terazuma didn't know where he was going, just that he was going there. He passed a restaurant that had just recently opened - Kannuki was still waiting for him to take her there; it was one of those fancy, upscale restaurants that was supposed to be perfect for dates, as well as very expensive -, a flower shop that was conveniently nearby, a bakery (which, much to Terazuma's dismay, reminded him of Tsuzuki), until he finally wound up at a park. He found an empty bench and took a seat.

So much for trying to surprise Kannuki. All that little trip had managed to do was destroy Kurosaki's house and make Kannuki angry. Why did it have to be so hard? If he had never been forced to tame a Shikigami, none of this would have happened. Terazuma sighed, dropping his face into his hands. This was never going to work. Kuroshungei was too strong. Dammit, he needed a cigarette. Terazuma pulled the pack out of his shirt pocket, grabbed a cigarette, lit it, and stuck it between his lips.

For a good fifteen minutes, Terazuma just sat there, smoking and watching people walk by. A couple holding hands passed him by. He wondered if they ever thought what it would be like if they couldn't touch each other. Most likely, they just reached for each other automatically, not having to worry about keeping a distance. The man would never know how it felt to stand back and watch as his partner danced with another man because he couldn't touch her.

Terazuma flicked the cigarette down then ground it out with his foot. He had to go apologize to Kannuki for his outburst. He walked out of the park, back past the bakery, the flower shop and the restaurant, and back to his and Kannuki's house.

"Hajime!" Kannuki said happily, bounding into the living room when she heard him close the door. "I'm sorry for getting you upset earlier."

Terazuma shook his head. "Nah, don't apologize, I'm sorry I yelled like that. I was just...aggravated."

"I understand. I know it's hard for you."

"It is...but you're right...that's still no reason to have gotten into that fight with Tsuzuki. Wasn't Kurosaki's fault, and he's the one that doesn't have a house now because of it. Damn, I'm probably going to have to hand in a report of what happened too so he can get his house repaired. There go my paychecks."

"Just make sure to give Kurosaki a proper apology the next time you see him, and be nice when he stays with us."

"I will."

Kannuki smiled. "Good. Now, we still have a while before dinner. Shall we entertain ourselves with a movie?"

Terazuma frowned. "Ah, actually, I should get working on that report. Tatsumi is going to have a hernia when he finds out what happened, and I don't want to have him all over me until I write up a detailed report." Of course, Terazuma was going to leave out the details as to why he was at Hisoka's to begin with. All he needed to say was that he was returning something to him. As long as Hisoka didn't say why he was really there, nobody would ever have to know.

"That's okay, we can watch it later. Movies are more fun at night anyway!"

"I'll be sure to finish before dinner then." Terazuma said with a small smile before heading to his room to type up his report.

----------

Tsuzuki plopped down on his couch and sighed. Other than the occasional instruction on what to clean next, Hisoka hadn't talked to him all day. Not that Tsuzuki could really blame him, seeing as he'd been partly to blame for destroying his partner's house. Okay, so maybe it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't argued with Terazuma. Though, Terazuma did have it coming to him with how he was purposely annoying Tsuzuki. Oh well, dwelling on it wasn't going to help. All Tsuzuki could do now was help get Hisoka's house fixed and make sure he had a comfortable place to stay in the meantime. At least the house was clean. In fact, Tsuzuki was sure this was the cleanest it had ever been. Hisoka had made him dust everything down after washing the dishes, and he had decided to vacuum afterwards.

"Done..."

Tsuzuki looked over to see Hisoka sit down on the opposite side of the couch. Hisoka put his head back, not bothering to look at Tsuzuki.

"Your bathroom is clean. Your bedroom is clean. The living room looks clean. I take it the kitchen is clean as well?" Hisoka asked, sparing a glance at Tsuzuki from the corner of his eye.

Tsuzuki nodded. "Yep. We'll have to pick up some food though, there isn't enough to last the two of us for long."

"There's enough for now, right? We'll pick some up tomorrow." It was silent for a moment as Hisoka tried to figure out what they'd do for the night's meal. He didn't particularly feel like cooking, but he certainly wasn't going to risk eating anything Tsuzuki made. He wasn't exactly sure how Tsuzuki got along on his own, maybe he was used to his own bad cooking, but Hisoka wasn't, nor did he want to attempt to get used to it.

"Want to go out for dinner?" Tsuzuki asked, as if he had read Hisoka's mind. That, or he didn't feel like cooking either. The latter seemed more likely given the situation.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Tsuzuki grinned. "Alright, get your jacket. My treat, since I'm the reason you are stuck here to begin with."

Hisoka raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't think you really have the money to be spending on eating out for yourself, never mind both of us."

"Positive. Money's not what's important. Just pick wherever you want to go. Now, hurry up, I'm hungry!"

Hisoka knew it was only a matter of time before he was the one who was going to have to pay for food for the both of them, but he wasn't going to argue. Tsuzuki really wanted to treat him, so Hisoka would let him. Despite the fact he shouldn't be the one trying to make Tsuzuki happy after what happened, he couldn't seem to reject the offer either. Oh well. As long as they didn't end up at a candy store or a bakery. After all, Tsuzuki did say it was Hisoka's choice. For a fleeting moment, Hisoka thought about choosing one of the more expensive restaurants around, but quickly decided against it. He wasn't that mean, not to mention he was going to be the one paying for it (literally) in the end when Tsuzuki was out of money. Cheap dinner out it was.

Grabbing his denim jacket, the younger Shinigami headed out the door, leaving Tsuzuki to close and lock the door behind them.

-------

"Terazuma, come to the Cheif's office."

Terazuma sighed as Tatsumi summoned him with an all too unfriendly tone. No sooner had he gotten to his desk and got settled in than had the secretary come in to drag him away. It wasn't even the Chief that Terazuma didn't want to deal with, it was Tatsumi. Even he had to admit that the secretary was scary when he was angry, and boy did he get angry when money was wasted. Yep...he was doomed.

"Good luck, Hajime!" Wakaba whispered to him as he walked by. Unfortunately, he didn't think that luck was going to get him anywhere in this situation.

When Terazuma got to Chief Konoe's office, Tsuzuki was already sitting in one of the chairs looking like a puppy that had just been scolded. The sad part was, Terazuma was sure nobody had even said anything to him yet, as they seemed to be waiting until they were both there.

"So..." The Chief began, staring the two men down, "You two got into another fight...and destroyed Kurosaki's house..."

"I didn't mean too!" Tsuzuki whined.

Terazuma rolled his eyes. "I certainly hope you didn't mean to ruin your partner's house, but you still did."

"Hey, you did too!"

"If you had just walked away to begin with!"

"ENOUGH!" Konoe yelled, stopping the two before another fight could break out. Last thing he needed was for them to destroy the office as well. "You are both going to pay the full extent of the damage. The cost will be split equally between you. Have living arrangements been worked out for Kurosaki in the meantime?"

"He's staying with me at the moment." Tsuzuki said meekly.

"Kannuki and I are also willing to have him live with us for a little while." Terazuma added, more for Kannuki's sake than anything.

"Good." The Chief said. "Terazuma, I have your report already. Tsuzuki, where is yours?"

Tsuzuki averted his gaze. "Err...almost done...I'm working on it now."

"I want it handed in before lunch break. If it's not done by then, you aren't getting a break until it is done!"

"Yes, Chief..."

Konoe waved a dismissive hand. "That is all."

Terazuma got to his feet and left Chief Konoe's office, Tsuzuki following behind him. Neither of them said anything to each other, which was for the better, and soon split ways to head back to their own desks.

"How'd it go?" Kannuki asked as Terazuma sat down.

"The Chief told us the cost of repairing Kurosaki's house would be split equally between us, asked what we were doing about living arrangements for Kurosaki, then dismissed us."

"Oh. Well, that seemed to go rather smoothly."

Terazuma shrugged. "Tatsumi was unusually quiet considering it was concerning money, but I guess since it's coming straight out of my and Tsuzuki's paychecks he couldn't complain."

The rest of the morning went by as normal. Terazuma did his work while Kannuki did hers. Tsuzuki seemed to be making a point not to cross paths with Terazuma, which Terazuma confirmed when he went on lunch break and Tsuzuki was nowhere to be seen. Then again, he was probably still working on his report, being the slacker that he was. Not that Terazuma really cared why Tsuzuki wasn't there, all that mattered was that he was, in fact, not there. Tsuzuki's partner, however, was, and, as much as Terazuma didn't really want to, he owed Hisoka a proper apology.

"Hey, Kurosaki, I'm really sorry about yesterday." Terazuma said low enough so that only Hisoka would hear, despite the fact nobody else was around to hear their conversation. "I can't imagine having to live with Tsuzuki is enjoyable."

Hisoka shrugged. "It's not too bad...after cleaning the place, that is."

"You can move in with us whenever you want to. Kannuki's more than happy to have you over."

Hisoka nodded, but otherwise said nothing. There was an awkward silence for a moment before Hisoka spoke. "I talked to Tsuzuki last night about your Shikigami."

Terazuma put down the can of soda he was about to take a drink from. "Oh?"

"No, I didn't tell him." Hisoka said, responding to Terazuma's thoughts.

"He wasn't suspicious? How'd you manage that?"

"It was easy, seeing as you two had fought. I just asked him why it was that you couldn't control Kuroshungei, but he could easily control twelve Shikigami."

Terazuma had to bite his tongue to refrain from insulting Tsuzuki and his Shikigami. "What did he say?"

"Well, basically that neither you nor your Shikigami wanted it. You didn't want a Shikigami but was forced into the test, so you had no choice but to fight through, and, when you passed, Kuroshungei had no choice but to become your Shikigami, so now you are both stuck with a partner that neither of you wants."

"Well, duh. I could have told you that. I know how it happened, what I want to know is how to control him."

Hisoka couldn't help but grin. He knew Terazuma was not going to like the answer Tsuzuki had given him. "He said you need to be more friendly to Kuroshungei. Since you dislike each other, you can't work together, so it's a matter of fighting for dominance rather than working together as a team."

Terazuma slammed his soda can down, spilling some of its contents onto the table. "Bullshit! Of course he's going to start spewing that friendship nonsense. I don't want to be the damn thing's friend, I want to control it!"

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just repeating what Tsuzuki told me."

Terazuma growled in frustration. He should have known Tsuzuki would come up with such a ridiculous answer.

"Tsuzuki does know a lot about Shikigami. I know next to nothing about them. You really would be better off talking to him about it, as much as I know you hate the idea of asking him for help." When Terazuma didn't say anything, Hisoka continued, "Look, I'm not going to keep acting as a messenger for you. I asked Tsuzuki, and that's what I got. If I keep asking, he's going to find out, he's not that stupid. I agreed to help you, for Kannuki, but I'm also not going to keep hanging around you if you are going to transform all the time. If you want my help, and if you really want to do this for her, you are going to have to swallow your pride and talk to somebody who actually knows a lot about Shikigami before doing anything else that will result in property damage. Now, I'm getting back to work." With that, Hisoka got to his feet and left the break room, leaving Terazuma at the table.

"Great...just great." Terazuma growled to himself. Tsuzuki was the last person he ever wanted to ask for help from for anything, but did he have a choice? What was more important: Kannuki's happiness, or his own pride? He really, really hated it, but he was going to have to give in and ask Tsuzuki for help eventually. He sighed. The things he'd do for his partner.

Finishing his lunch and cleaning up his mess, Terazuma headed back to his desk, where he knew Kannuki was eagerly awaiting to hear he apologized to Kurosaki. At least she'd smile knowing Terazuma had, in fact, apologized. That one smile was all the push he needed to finally decide on eventually talking to Tsuzuki.

Author's Note: Since this is a TerazumaxKannuki fic, I don't want to focus on other characters too much. While I couldn't pass up that little scene with Hisoka deciding Tsuzuki's house needed to be cleaned from top to bottom and having them involved with Terazuma's training is inevitable, interaction between them will be a bit more limited so that the focus of the story is on the relationship between Terazuma and Wakaba.

That said, feedback is greatly appreciated, and thank you to those that have reviewed so far. =)