Part Three

Asato Tsuzuki & Yutaka Watari: Secret passions

Sunlight steals through a gap in the billowing curtains at the window, gradually warming the bedroom that cooled during the night. The bands of light reach the edge of a bed, playing over a worn, tattered book, fallen to the floor and left to stand on its pages, spread like an accordion. The rays move along the sheet, beneath which lies a man, yet to awaken, still trapped in his dream.

It is a pleasurable dream, of a nature this man regularly experiences. In these said dreams, the dreamer sees himself in various scenes of romantic overtures – being seduced by a voice thick with passion, smiled at by sensuous lips, stared at by lust-filled eyes, whispered to, teased by fleeting touches, embraced and caressed, kissed, and undressed.

The backdrops and settings of his dreams are always magnificent, the minutest details in them clearly perceived by the dreamer: He and his lover, standing upon the sands of a beach, the air saturated by sunshine and the salt of the ocean. Walking together among stalks of tall wind-blown grass, and looking up to see, when pointed to by his lover, majestic white cranes, each pair of their wide wings flapping in perfect unison with the others'. The wine they imbibe is richly scented, its color like that of liquefied rubies; his lover dipping his fingers into the glass, signaling the start of their foreplay, transmitting his desire with his eyes; and he, the dreamer, sees himself licking the droplets on his lover's fingers. The bedrooms he finds himself in are always opulent and richly decorated; the cool silk beneath his head and unclothed body caress his skin while he writhes from the assault of his lover's kisses and licks.

On the other hand and in striking contrast, the dreamer can never make out the face of his dream lover. Although the lover in his dreams is always a man - the dreamer has no difficulties with this, well aware and accepting of his preferences, his dream lover is always faceless. His voice is beyond description in its singular attractiveness. He is impeccably dressed, perfectly mannered, possesses a remarkably beautiful physique, but remains faceless in every dream in which he appears.

Invariably, the dreamer always wakes up at the same point, or the dreams end at the same point – without reaching any grand finales. As such, the dreamer is always dismayed, frustrated, and remains somewhat testy until he swallows his first sip of over sweetened coffee.

This morning however, this particular dream is continuing well beyond the point where the previous ones always came to abrupt ends and the dreamer always awoke. And so, the man still slumbers deeply, held captive by his dream… until some moments later, he jolts upright in the bed, gasping and wide-eyed.

"No way…! Over my dead body…! What am I saying…? I'm already dead…!"

Asato Tsuzuki rakes an agitated hand through his mussed hair and utters a sound of disgust before flinging himself backwards on the mattress, feeling as though he has not gotten any sleep at all. "No way," he hisses, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut to dispel the residual images of the last moments of his dream. When he opens his eyes, he frowns, and then winces, all too aware now of the evidence of his body's response to the events that took place in his most recent dream. With shame and self-revulsion, he leaps out of his bed and dashes to the bathroom, desperately in need of a thorough scrubbing.

Feeling somewhat calmer after a hot, leisurely shower, Asato Tsuzuki reaches for his robe. While tying the sash around his waist, he hears his doorbell chiming.

"Geez! Who could that be?" he mutters while toweling his hair. The doorbell begins to ring again, incessantly.

"All right! I'm coming!" he calls out, quickening his stride out of his bedroom. He opens the door to find his colleague, Watari, beaming at him.

"Good morning, Tsuzuki-san! How are you today? May I come in?"

"Um, good morning, Watari-san. I'm well, thank you. Er, what brings you here?"

"Well, um, you were somewhat late showing up at Shinigami headquarters, and I've been calling your phone but you failed to answer, so I…" Watari's lilting speech halts as he lifts his shoulders apologetically. The movement of his left shoulder stirs the little dozing owl perched there amid cascading honey-blond wavy locks and its round eyes pop open. With a flurry of brown wings, it launches itself off of Watari's shoulder and flies into Asato's living room, landing on the top of a cabinet and begins to hoot contentedly.

"Hey! Mind your manners! We haven't been given permission to enter yet," calls Watari to the bird, shrugging in apology as he faces Asato again.

A flustered Asato immediately steps backwards and sweeps his arm out in a welcoming gesture. "Ah, I'm sorry. Please come in, Watari, and forgive me for not answering your phone calls. I've been in the shower…"

Gesticulating wildly with his hands, Watari interrupts, "It's all right, Tsuzuki-san, but… Chief Konoe is a little, ah, bent out of shape because you are, um, late…"

"Damn! I'm in trouble with him again!" mumbles a crestfallen Asato.

"Well, if you don't want to be in more hot water, you'd better get a move on and get dressed, Tsuzuki-san. He wants us all gathered for a briefing in half an hour. There have been some, ah, happenings…"

Asato dashes into his bedroom, addressing Watari over his shoulder. "You can come in and bring me up to date while I change, Watari."

Watari trots after Asato, peering around at the Spartan furnishings of his colleague's lodgings and shakes his head in shared sympathy.

Such is the existence of an underpaid Shinigami. Hmm, I've been with the agency for almost two hundred years and haven't received a single raise in my salary since I joined them… perhaps I should put in a request for a transfer… I hear the chaps in the purgatorial levels are paid much more than us Shinigami… but then again, it's a pretty daunting place… I don't think I'm cut out for that kind of work… hmm, nah, I'd better stay put here for a while; the pay sure sucks, but I've grown awfully fond of the folks here…

"So tell me, Watari, what were these happenings?"

Looking around and not finding a chair in the room, Watari sits on Asato's unmade bed. He glances at the slender silhouette moving behind the dressing screen for a moment before looking away, focusing at a point in the distance as he collects his thoughts.

"Well, there were two incidents. The first one was an unexplained disturbance, a mysterious upheaval in the spirit realm felt by many, especially the more powerful beings. The Lord of Meifu sensed it, as did the Chief. Tatsumi and Bon felt something as well, although on a lesser scale, like some minor shockwaves, but I did not. Did you feel anything, Tsuzuki-san?"

"When did this phenomenon occur?" asks Asato, stepping into view from behind the screen, beginning to fasten his tie.

"Around midnight last night," Watari replies.

Asato frowns, shaking his head. "Hmm, midnight… I was reading… no, I didn't sense anything." Looking into the mirror atop a tallboy as he adjusts the knot of his tie, Asato continues. "And what else?"

Watari crosses his legs and intertwines his fingers over his knee, keeping his eyes trained on the back of Asato's head. "Ah. This should… interest you, Tsuzuki-san."

The mahogany-haired man at the dresser turns to face his colleague, puzzlement clouding his expression. "And why, may I ask?"

Watari's eyebrows rise in response. "Because it concerns the lifespan candle of a certain someone… who kept us fairly busy last year…"

Asato's stiffens, his expression becoming angered, amethyst eyes darkening. "Don't tell me," he snarls, gritting his teeth. "Muraki!"

"Spot on!" exclaims the bespectacled blond, clapping his hands together, a little surprised by the deep scarlet blush on Asato's cheeks and ears. "Exactly, my friend, that mad doctor's candle… its flame surged with amazing force and the candle itself now has a black aura surrounding it. This occurred immediately after the bizarre tumult, that rocking in the nether world. Our ruler himself is most puzzled by the candle's appearance; Chief Konoe saw it, summoned by the Count to view it. Chief remarked that nothing like it has ever been witnessed before."

"I… I see," murmurs the dark-haired guardian, his hands visibly trembling as he runs them over his hot, red face.

Watari tilts his head to squint at Tsuzuki out of concern for his colleague, since he knows what transpired between the man before him and that enigmatic, evil foe of his, Doctor Muraki.

"Tsuzuki-san, are you all right?"

"I… I'm fine. We ought to get going. Now, where did I put my wrist watch?" Asato looks around, distractedly scratching the top of his tousled head, making his hair even more mussed.

"There it is, on your nightstand," replies Watari, rising and moving to pick up the watch. His foot unintentionally kicks the book lying on the floor by the bed. "Oops, sorry!" After handing the watch to Asato, he bends to pick up the book; while closing it, he cannot help but glance at its cover. "Ah, I see you like romance novels, Tsuzuki-san," he quips as he places the paperback on the nightstand before turning around to see his colleague, clearly embarrassed and unable to look him in the eye. "Oh relax, my friend! I enjoy reading them myself! I find them thoroughly entertaining," he says exuberantly, nudging Asato's ribs with a cheeky wink. Lowering his voice and speaking close to Asato's ear conspiratorially, he adds, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your preferences in reading material if you promise not to squeal on me, especially to Tatsumi-san," Watari pauses to roll his eyes, "I'll never hear the end of it! Say, Tsuzuki-san, may I… borrow that book when you've finished with it?"

Asato responds, relieved at not being made fun of. "Sure. Take it, I've read it countless of times already. I've been too busy to pick up something new to read."

Watari grabs the book and inserts it in a pocket of his overcoat, thanking Asato with a delighted smile. Patting his pocket contentedly, he sighs. "Yes indeed, romance novels are like Prozac to an overworked Shinigami with no time for any love life," muses Watari regretfully.

Asato sighs in sympathy. "Yes, how true."

As the two Shinigami make they way out of the apartment, Asato asks, "By the way, where is Hisoka?"

"Ah, Bon is busy with his research as usual. He'll meet us at headquarters. Has he told you anything about what he's researching?"

"He wouldn't tell me when I asked… I guess he wants to keep it to himself."

"Ah! I see you've managed to drag yourself here, Tsuzuki! How nice of you to grace us with your presence! Have a seat you two, so we can finally begin."

Asato winces at his chief's icy tone, and scuttles to his chair. "I apologize, Chief, and to everyone, for keeping you waiting," he offers, glancing at his partner, Hisoka, and then at Tatsumi, who smiles at him with his eyes while his face remains unreadable.

"I presume Watari has filled you in. What I want to know, Tsuzuki, is what you think about it, since we may be in for more trouble from Kazutaka Muraki. I swear that man is a downright menace! Although I'm not supposed to harbor such thoughts, I sometimes wish that his candle would just extinguish, if only to spare more innocents from dying before their time is up." Konoe's face darkens, and his hands bunch into fists on the table. "Right, Tsuzuki, do you have any suggestions as to what we should do?"

"Well, I suggest we try to determine his whereabouts. He's definitely alive, that much we know. Watari tells me that investigations are being conducted to find out about the changed appearance of his lifespan candle and the shake-up in the spirit world last night. While we wait for some answers, it would be advisable to find him at once and at least keep an eye on him."

"Hmm… I agree with you. Do you have any idea where to start? Does anyone have any ideas?"

"I do, Chief," Watari replies, shifting Konoe's gaze from Asato to the blond, who returns his superior's enquiring look with a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps we can start with Muraki's old school mate; he might know something…"

"My question is," interrupts Tatsumi, "would he be willing to divulge anything that would help us?"

"Nothing to lose or gain if we don't try is my answer, Tatsumi," replies Watari. "The last time we encountered Oriya, I sensed something about him. There's no doubt that those two are pretty chummy – it's quite obvious he must have provided Muraki with some help with his, ah, 'hobbies'. He wouldn't have provided a place for that psycho to stay if they weren't particularly close, and he seemed to know a lot about his friend's activities, not to mention his motivations; that, and… what I sensed, a certain… despair, and deep sorrow. I'm pretty sure those have something to do with Muraki…" Watari's voice drops as he removes his glasses to place them on the table.

The others around the table remain silent as they watch him. The gesture is unfamiliar to them, as Watari hardly ever removes his spectacles; they've never even seen him take them off to wipe them – the only time he takes them off is before he goes to sleep. They've never known him to fidget either, and his action now of worrying at his upper lip with his finger is equally uncharacteristic of their usually composed colleague.

Completely oblivious to the fact that his colleagues are observing him closely, Watari's gaze falls to stare into the tea in his mug, vividly remembering the haunted expression he saw in a pair of arrestingly attractive hazel eyes, just before he, Tatsumi and Bon dashed off to save Asato that night in Kyoto.

'I'm just a ghost dwelling in the shadows…' was what he said. But what an enchanting ghost you are… I can't seem to forget you…

Konoe clears his throat, drawing the others' attention, including a considerably flustered Watari's, back to him. The blond hastily picks up his glasses and slides them back on into place, focusing on Konoe's craggy, lined face once more.

Meanwhile, Hisoka Kurosaki's thoughts have been brought back to that night as well, recalling his duel with that tall and lean, pale skinned man who had challenged him, cajoled him alongside the clashing of their blades into finding his strength, his confidence, to determine his reasons for his fight – was his fight fuelled by his hatred of Muraki or by his love for Tsuzuki? The whole thing and the outcome of that duel had been so unexpected, so surprising to Hisoka. Oh, he wanted to fight and win, that much was certain, but how it had transpired, and the lessons he had learned during that battle – those were not something Hisoka could have foreseen. His confusion had been crushed and replaced by a fierce determination to protect someone he cared for… by Oriya himself.

Oriya – he could have without a doubt trounced me with the very first swing of his katana, I know that. But he wanted me to fight - but for the right reasons, and to win - so I could save Tsuzuki… well, I don't know what his motivations were, but I never forgot the lessons I learned that night from a complete stranger, and a supposed enemy at that.

What was it he said before we left to rescue Tsuzuki? I think it was, 'everyone has their reasons for fighting, even a madman…' He must have been referring to Muraki.

A shiver runs along Hisoka's spine, remembering those dark, twisted emotions he had gleaned when he was held captive by that man in Nagasaki - he who had destroyed his innocence and condemned him to a slow and agonizing death. With an effort, he cuts off the stream of painful memories and images flowing through his mind and glances back at Watari, pondering about his recent remarks concerning Oriya, and sees the blond Shinigami fidgeting with his ballpoint pen, his expression uncharacteristically distracted and the scarlet flush on his cheeks, before turning his attentions to Konoe.

"All right, it's settled for now. I am ordering a change in partners for this current plan of action. Kurosaki, I do not want you partnering Tsuzuki at this point, since his objective is to search for Muraki, and something tells me he'll bump into him sooner than we expect. I cannot have you anywhere near that psychopathic murderer, do you understand, and I will not hear any objections from you." Konoe's glare bores into Hisoka's big, flashing peridot eyes, and he raises a warning finger when the youthful Shinigami opens his mouth.

The indignant youth looks over at Tatsumi, who placidly pushes up his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I agree with and support Chief's decision, Hisoka. Please accept it and take on the responsibility of providing both Tsuzuki and Watari with information gathering. They will stay in touch with you and you will be the liaison officer between them and us here at headquarters, all right, Hisoka?" Tatsumi flashes a kindly smile at his young colleague, and is pleased by his nod and murmured word of acceptance.

"Very well then." Konoe rises to his feet, addressing his blond subordinate, "Watari, you will team up with Tsuzuki until I decide otherwise. You two please prepare to leave for Kyoto at once. You are all dismissed, thank you all for coming."

End of part three

To be continued in Part Four,
Chapter One – Oriya: In the arms of darkness
Chapter Two – Yutaka Watari: Caught in a web of desire