Dark Adaptation – Dead Men Working.

Never Turning, Ever Unerring

DISCLAIMER: Yami no Matseui and its' affiliated characters, concepts and locations belong to Yoko Matsushita and I am earning nothing but the sole satisfaction of telling this story to you fine people.

A/N: More filler people! Still, I love the banter and I'm hoping it helps reader's feel a little more involved in the characters. Pointless conversations like the following flesh the character's in my humble opinion. Anyway, no warnings for this chapter. Unless you find goochy conversations to be offensive. If so, I do apologize. And you have been warned. Do not sue me for the root rot. God bless.

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." –Unknown

~ X ~

Tsuzuki

I ran into Watari as I was leaving the doctors office.

"How were things with Dr. Squirrel?" He asked with a smile, holding out a cup of coffee towards me. Watari… well, what can I say about him that you don't already know? A rather unusual looking guy; slightly taller than myself with a gentle, mischievous face and long blond wavy hair that he inherited from his gaijin(1) mother. Yutaka Watari was, and remains to this day a dynamic, upbeat, wholly undeniable force to be reckoned with. He wore wide, frameless glasses but sometimes, such as when we would go out, he would put in contacts. Having been born in Kyoto and then raised in part in Osaka, he possessed what he described as an 'inaccurate' Kansai dialect, which for lack of a better definition is informal, twangy and brash. He wasn't truly handsome, but he was so flashy and confident that it took awhile to figure that out.

We had always gotten along well. I suppose because we had a lot in common. We were both sort of laid back and didn't take things too seriously and whenever I did have a fit of the blues, Watari would simply crack a joke and a beer and get me back on track. We both preferred dating men to women, which had been welcome news to me since I had been the only certified bisexual in the Summons department before Watari came along. Believe you me; we'd had many deep and meaningful discussions concerning it. It was Watari who reassured me that those feelings were okay and that the gender of someone wasn't what we fell in love with; it was the person. I felt better about myself after that.

He had always been kind to me but it still came as a surprise to find that he'd waited until after work just to see me out of my appointment. I smiled, thinking how fortunate I was to be surrounded by such people.

Watari's taste in clothing was a little eccentric and he was in top form that night; a gray pair of fashionably ripped jeans, tied off at the hips with a wide belt, a black leather singlet top held together across the chest by thick cords (gaping open at the belly) and a pair of black lace up boots, which accentuated the length of his slender, already ridiculously long legs. As always, the entire unconventional ensemble was topped off with his trademark fingerless biker gloves.

During the past year or so, Watari's attire had become increasingly more unusual, to the point that I had to wonder if he was simply pushing his luck, to see if he could get away with it. Wouldn't have been the first time he'd tried to stir up trouble, just for the fun of it. (The Ministry had no dress code but the higher up's still preferred their staff to look 'presentable'.)

My wardrobe on the other hand, was far more work appropriate. Some might even say dull, in comparison. I usually wore a black suit (un-ironed, owing of course to my slovenly ways), with a white shirt and messily knotted tie; a pair smudged loafers and a much beloved ink-black trenchcoat thrown over top. The most effort I put into getting dressed of a morning was perhaps running a wet comb through my hair, to try and get my coif to stay down. Satirically, Watari nearly always made it to work before me, though his wardrobe mining had to take a good half hour in some cases. Just another of those unsolvable mysteries of the Summons Department.

I finished looking over his chosen attire and smiled as my eyes came into realignment with his own. "Hey Watari. You didn't have to wait around for me."

Watari smirked as he swayed his head to the side, conveying a coy, if entirely put upon expression of bashfulness. "Ya really don't know, do ya? Oh well… I suppose it can't be helped. I can only hope that one of these days, you'll understand why I do these things and reciprocate my feelings in kind."

"Cut it out." I scolded, accepting the still proffered coffee and spinning the mug about so that the handle rested in the cup of my left hand. "Anyway, I really appreciate it. I'm sure you had better things to be doing."

Watari shrugged. "Not really. Besides, I figured after a talk with the shrink, ya could always use some cheering up. What did he make you do; look at a bunch of ink blots and talk about ya toilet habits?"

"Ink blots, yes. Toilet habits no, thank god."

"Hnh. Well, I guess it'll take some time before he gets to the real crux of your problems. Come on, let's head out to the garden and have a chat." He noticed I wasn't partaking of my coffee and his dark brows furrowed a little. "You can drink that, you know. There's nothing in it."

As to why I was hesitating, Watari was considered by most and none so much as himself mind, to be something of a mad scientist and it was an infamously immoral habit of his to test out his potions and formula's on the ministry staff. This was often done through the spiking of any food and beverages he offered. Sometimes, even when you were feeling particularly vulnerable, (Especially may be the more appropriate adjective here) it was best to check.

"Are you sure?" I further questioned, gazing at him sidelong with mounting suspicion. He made a show of being embarrassed by deliberately avoiding eye contact with me.

"All right, you're onto me. I put a dash of scotch in." He hefted a greatly exaggerated sigh of defeat, dropping his arms downward. "I just thought ya might appreciate a little alcohol based therapy after a session with the Squirrel, is all. No hard feelin's, mate."

"None in the slightest. Cheers." I said, raising the cup in offering before then taking a sip. I relished the sharp taste of the scotch behind the coffee and felt my shoulders and upper back relax, almost mechanically. "Oh yeah… that's the ticket."

Watari winked, which was his well renowned trademark habit and hooked his arm through mine casually. "Figured ya would appreciate it. Now come on, let's go and relax for a while."

After attaining a cup of coffee for himself, Watari led me out to the Ministry Garden. Because Hades is an Intermediate realm, the cherry blossoms of the many Sakura trees exist in eternal bloom. We experience seasons, just the same as the Waking World but the temperature doesn't tend towards the extreme cold. Most thought we were fortunate because of this but I on the other hand was inclined to feel that the entire thing was just a little unnatural. All 'life' that existed within the Intermediate realm can be most acutely compared to the likes of the Hanged man of the tarot cards; the meaning of which, if you are unfamiliar, is eternal suspension. Nothing changed; not the seasons, not the trees, nor the faces of the once living that inhabited the Waking World. Nothing…

It did serve to remind me that we Shinigami possessed human emotions, if anything. Feelings, friendships… these were the things that turned and changed when nothing else did and so, as you can imagine, they were of extreme importance. I remembered my feelings concerning my waning relationship with Watari and that heavy sensation came to bear upon my chest once more. Little by little, I told myself, I would pick up the pieces that had fallen and set them right. I would rethread those buttons I had mistakenly slipped through the wrong holes and realign my life again. I would start here, one small step to reconnect with my dear friend whom I had seemingly neglected in favor of what was easy, comfortable and familiar.

"Watari, is there something troubling you?" I asked, once we had seated ourselves down on one of the many white decorative tables littered beneath the weeping Sakura. I suppose because the majority of Ministry employees are from an older generation, we are all in the habit of referring to one another by our family name. Hisoka, being the most recent Ministry addition was one of the very few who was addressed by his given name, simply because he was of the current generation, in which it was the norm.

Watari blinked at me from over the lip of his coffee cup, clearly confused. "Uh? Troubling me?" It is quite true that Watari never seemed troubled about much of anything. "I was gonna ask you the same question." He concluded, slipping a small bottle of scotch from his inside jacket pocket and adding a generous dollop to his own coffee.

Another thing Watari and I had in common; we both enjoyed throwing back a few. Perhaps a few too many on occasions, if I am to be brutally honest.

I took a moment to condense my thoughts appropriately, tracing my finger about the lip of my cup as I did so. "Ever since Kyoto," I began, hoping quite desperately that I would not insult Watari in my questioning his behavior. " I feel as though you and I have been drifting apart. I wonder… did I perhaps do something to offend you?"

Watari's eyebrow shot up into his forehead, to the degree where I thought it might have indeed launched itself directly into his hair. "What's this about all of a sudden?" He smiled knowingly, leaning across the table as though sharing small confidences and swirled his index finger in a circular motion. "Don't tell me the Squirrel is putting the old guilt treatment on you? Man, he really is a demon behind all that nice talk…"

I waved my hands to and fro, dissuading his assumption. "No, he hasn't been getting in my ear. We just talked about a few things that have been on my mind. And you and I… we really haven't seen much of each other, even less after I came back from the Shikigami world." I lowered my eyes towards the table, feeling suddenly and unaccountably ashamed of myself for having taken Watari's continued friendship for granted. "I thought maybe you were mad at me, or you weren't interested in being friends anymore."

I had intended to phrase myself with a greater degree of articulation, to say what I really felt but the expression that had suddenly unfurled on Watari's face disturbed my thought process and I faltered my wording. His irritation with me, if it had been only a bud until then, was bursting into full bloom before my eyes. He drew himself up, inhaling through his nose in such a way that I supposed he was forcefully restraining himself from reacting with impatience and leveled his finger at me.

"Stop right there." He ordered, his accented voice low and dangerous. "When in the Hell did I ever say such a thing to you?"

I had been afraid of this very reaction and as such found it quite impossible to reply until I had effectively calmed my nerves. "Well, you didn't but… it's just… I was worried."

"You're letting yer insecurities get the better of you again." Watari said, settling back in his seat and raising his cup in order to sip from it. I can't say exactly what he was thinking; but he seemed to be peering into nothingness with his angular face creased in the corners of his eyes and mouth from strain. And then he let out a heavy breath, and gazed down into his coffee cup with what I took as a look of great disconcertment. "We work in different areas, Tsuzuki. I'm holed up in the lab a great deal of the time. If we don't happen to see each other much, it's because our timetables don't exactly mesh. That doesn't mean I don't want to see you."

This was welcome news to me and I'm sure my delight at hearing it was written across my features. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Said Watari, speaking very gently as though addressing a distressed child. "You're the one who's hard to get a hold of. Back when ya first partnered up with the kid, I figured it was best to just take a step back and let that relationship find its' footing." He smiled in what I understood to be a wistful sort of manner as he gazed down towards the table, resting his cheek upon the ridges of his closed fist. "I admit… I'm kinda jealous. Until then I had ya all to myself."

I have always been a childish person; too often do I consider things only from my own point of view. It had never once occurred to me that perhaps Watari had felt the same way as I had. Oh sure, he'd mentioned it cavalierly but Watari was one of those frustrating people with whom you needed to read between the lines, otherwise their true thoughts and intentions were never brought to light. Though I will admit, this was somewhat hypocritical when you consider just how he had spoken to me, only moments ago.

"You've had similar concerns about us drifting apart and still you call me insecure?" I said, deciding not to beat about the bush. Watari, for whatever reason, didn't bite the provocatively dangling bait and continued directing his gaze ever downward, his smile uncharacteristically serious.

"I felt a little lonely, is all. The Kinki area is quiet, so I run it solo. I don't have a partner to fall back on when you're not around." He lifted his head in order to meet my eyes and waved his hand about. "Don't get me wrong, it's been great having Chikawa around the past few months but you and I… well… we got a different sort of connection, don't you think?"

Chikawa had just transferred into the Summons Department three months ago, from another area of the Ministry and was currently studying under Watari in order to assume the role of both medic and scientific analysis specialist, when Watari himself was unavailable. Chikawa had died at the age of either eighteen or nineteen and had a strange, rather endearing habit of following Watari about like a baby duckling. (I can't imagine Watari at all minded.)

"Mmm. Yeah, you're right." I agreed, locking eyes with Watari with naked sincerity. "I wish you would have told me this sooner, Watari."

The blond shrugged lazily, resting back in his chair with the coffee cup perched in hand and eyes shut. "Oi, you know me. I don't much like to complain." He sipped from his spiked beverage before continuing. "Besides, it would have been utterly juvenile of me, to be jealous of Bon! It's done you both a world of good to become so close. I'm damn happy to see that! I really am."

I nodded, clutching the steaming ceramic mug between both hands and feeling the heat from the steam press against the skin of my face. "It does do me so much good, Watari but Hisoka's not the only friend I want and need." I set the cup down suddenly and reached across the table to take Watari's free hand between both my own. I'm not sure to whom this came as more of a surprise. "I'm sorry. I've been neglecting you and I didn't even realize it."

I could tell that this act had made Watari slightly uncomfortable. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes had shifted sideways as though he had been suddenly and unaccountably consumed by interest in a weed to his immediate left. "'S'all right. Like I said, we've both been busy."

"It shouldn't matter!" I exclaimed, with a heavy feeling in my heart, which brought to mind a story my sister told me so many years ago. A fisherman, she said, learns of the betrayal of his wife and so he returns to the sea in his small boat, as it is in his nature to do and starts to fish by dragging his net through the water. The troubles of his heart are so great however that the fish speed away from him, slipping through his fingers before he is able to get a hold on them and his net becomes so entangled by weed that he is eventually pulled beneath the currents by its' immeasurable weight and drowned. To comb the reeds from our nets is to clear our minds of all sad and mournful thoughts, lest they do us in; that is the moral of that particular story. We must not follow our sadness down to whence such thoughts spring. Too long I had been lost beneath those stirring tides of the ocean and it had been only recently that I'd finally felt myself beginning to rise to the surface, my fingers grazing above the line of the waves and actually touch the air above. Looking at Watari that day, realizing just how far down I had been dragged, was like pulling free the last tendril of weed from the tangled mesh that had been my mind for the past year.

"I don't know about you but I've always thought of you as probably my very closest friend." I said, finding it incredibly important that he understand this; candid though it was. Strange though I'm sure you might find such a comparison, I had come to view Watari's presence in my afterlife, the same way in which you grow accustomed to a certain freckle or marking upon your skin; for better for worse, you always knew where you could find it. He was a dependable, stable element; the kind of friend you could not talk to for weeks and then pick right back up where you left off. In other words, the kind of friend you could all too easily take for granted.

Watari obviously had not been expecting to hear this and he stared at me for some time without saying anything, his face as soft and poised as usual but his mind whirring so quickly I imagined I could hear the faint stirring of distant machinery.

"Well… that's how I think of you too but I never said it aloud because I didn't ever suspect I meant the same to you." I was quite relieved to see him smile and it was probably as close to shyness as Watari was capable. "That's quite an admission."

I returned the smile, distributing a squeeze to Watari's gloved hand. "Let's promise here and now to always be honest with one another. And we'll spend more time together, just like the old days!"

Watari smirked mischievously as he gave my fingers an affectionate shake before then releasing them. "They were the best times, weren't they? Probably the best of my life." His amber eyes surveyed the horizon nostalgically before, with a chuckle, he ushered me in close. "You remember when we decided to spend New Years drinking in the Ministry?"

"How could I forget?!" I laughed, recalling both the overall hilarity of what we had done and the ever-present fear that we would be caught and stripped of our jobs. "You got stuck going through the transom and I thought we'd have to call the fire department to come get you out!"

"And then we got completely hammered and plastered all those pages from a couple of nudie magazines all over the walls of Tatsumi's office! The look on his face the next day!" Watari slapped the table with mirth, almost falling backwards off of his chair he was laughing so hard. "I didn't think his nose was ever going to clot! My sides almost burst for laughing!"

"Do you think he ever found out it was us?"

"I was surprised that we weren't caught actually." Watari confided, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes with his index finger before then sliding his glasses back on. "Knowing Tatsumi, I would have thought he'd have had that vomit you left behind DNA tested."

"Hey, don't make fun!" I grumbled, my face flushing so violently it could have reheated my coffee. Suffice to say, blushing was one of my very bad very frequent habits. "It was the turning around that did it!"

"We sure did get through a lot of tequila…" Watari said, placing a finger thoughtfully against his chin. And then he gave a very theatrical sigh, as though these particular recollections were indeed as lovely as any he had ever experienced. "How very young we were…"

In reality, I had been eighty-eight years of age at the time and Watari had been forty-one, though you wouldn't think so to look at us. Watari had died at twenty-eight, older than I had been and still somehow seemed more worldly than I. Though I was, in fact over forty years his senior. "We should do it again!" I blurted out, caught up in the excitement of our reminiscing. "To the Chief's office this time!"

The usually plucky and carefree Watari actually bit his lip with obvious reluctance at my suggestion. He may have been spirited but he certainly wasn't reckless. Not… most of the time anyway. "No thanks; not unless I think he deserves it." He lips slowly quirked up at the corners, taking on that familiar roguish grin he was ever so partial to. Watari was really rather expressive, on account of his wide mouth. Often he was quite unable to get away with the majority of schemes he pulled, simply because he couldn't contain his enthusiasm and or excitement. "Maybe if he fires us we'll go through with it."

"It's a deal!" I crowed, reaching across the table to slap Watari's open hand. "I won't back out!"

In all likelihood, if such a thing were to go ahead, I probably would back out lickity-split. Losing a job in the Summons Section, hardly meant you were likely to find employment elsewhere. If you were unable to reassume a position in another department, chances were you would be moved on, so to speak. And I wasn't quite ready to head off on that particular venture on account of having plastered my bosses' office with pictures of naked women, thankyou very much.

"Okay. But you can buy the magazines this time." Said Watari, in a rather caveat tone of voice. I felt my face go red just considering how I might have followed through with such a task!

"No way, that's not fair!" I whined, trying to ignore Watari as he patently laughed at my flushed features. "You borrowed most of them from your ex-boyfriend anyway! I don't wanna go into a newsagent and buy so much pornography! People will think I'm some sort of psycho perve!" I all but sobbed at the thought, covering my face with my hands as a means to veil my embarrassment.

Watari rolled his eyes, seeming amused by my childishness. "All right, we'll go half and half. He smiled slyly at me, just to show that he wasn't yet done teasing me. "You could always ask Aki. I'm sure he'd lend you some, especially if he knew what it was for."

Though I wasn't at all sure it was possible, my face grew increasingly hotter and I shrank down further into my seat, meaning to hide behind my raised knees. Aki, you see, was a guy that both Watari and I had previously dated. (On separate occasions, of course!) We'd been broken up for a long time now but a lot of those old feelings still remained. "I'm not asking Aki for porno's! He might get the wrong idea!"

"Well, if it ever comes to that, we'll figure something out." Watari laughed, finding obvious pleasure in my embarrassment. He could be malicious like that; he derived great pleasure from making other people squirm with embarrassment. The more reposed and refined the person, the bigger the laugh, so far as he was concerned. Tatsumi and I were his two favorite toys, for very different reasons.

I gradually felt the heat leave my face and I straightened up in my chair, curling my fingers about the handle of my coffee cup, raising the last few dregs of cooling beverage to flow back between my lips. "I don't know about you but that time might come for me sooner rather than later…" I said despondently, dabbing at my lips with the crumpled handkerchief that I kept in my pants pocket. "The last few years I've made quite a nuisance of myself."

It was quite true. During the course of the past three years, I had destroyed the Ministry library twice (though I'd had some help the second time around, thankyou very much Terazuma) been possessed by the powerful demon Saagatanasu (and decimated almost half of the Ministry as a result), broken about a dozen pot plants (and one incredibly stingy vending machine) and had brought the threat of Muraki into our afterlives. Was it any wonder that Tatsumi was marking off the days until my retirement?

Watari set down his coffee cup, surveying me with that expression he often wore when he thought I was perhaps getting a little carried away with feeling sorry for myself. I only knew this, because he often berated me for this very same thing afterwards. "I know the Chief gives you a drilling sometimes but I'm sure you realize just how fond of you he really is. You guys have known each other for seventy years after all. And he always goes to town for you when it really matters." He smiled supportively, twirling a thick strand of his hair about his thumb and finger. "Believe you me, if anyone was ta get fired for being a nuisance, I think it would be yours truly."

I wanted to insist that this wasn't any truth to this but sometimes Watari's laid back, do-as-I-please attitude made it difficult to argue in his favor. "Well, you do make it a point to use most of the staff as guinea pigs for your formula's." It seemed the most honest way to reply and really, if he were to be fired for such a thing, he would only have himself to blame.

Watari huffed, tossing his hair back out of his line of sight as though my words had no verity whatsoever and had been, to some extent, offensive. "If any of you philistines were as committed as I am to making this crazy world of ours a less confusing place, then you would be kind enough to offer yourselves up and then I wouldn't have to chase you about all the time." He ran a hand up through his bangs, giving them a little extra body and sighed in a manner that suggested this conversation just wasn't worth having. "Be that as it may, I'll have you informed that I've cut right back on the unapprised human participant testing in the last year, thankyou very much." Watari shook his finger at me, adopting a very stern expression that I still refused to buy into. "I'm trying my hand at being constructive in my tinkering endeavors now. Hence the all new and improved armory!"

"And Konoe has recognized that. I think he almost fell backwards off of his chair when you put forward that application."

"Why should it be such a surprise to anyone?" Said Watari, looking quite offended. "I do have a degree as a mechanical engineer. I only dabble in chemistry on the side…"

This was an outright lie and we both knew it. "Watari… be honest. It consumes most of your time."

He offered me a look of polite indignation. "What I have learnt in my time as head of the Kinki sector, Tsuzuki, is that you do, in fact, have quite a bit of time on your hands. Without a creative mind, one tends to lean ever so slightly into the realm of boredom." He gave a nonchalant shrug. "Whatever the case, it's a moot point. All chemical related endeavors are on hold for the immediate time being."

"Even… 'that' drug?" I questioned, with mounting skepticism. Watari glanced to the side and clenched his teeth. This was the classical 'guilt' gesture and I recognized it for what it was immediately. "Watari!"

"'That' drug… is an exception." He stated, clearly not caring to expand on it.

"It's the most useless formula of the lot!" I exclaimed without mercy, slapping my coffee cup against the table in order to accentuate my point. "An invisibility potion; fine. Body switching potion could come in useful maybe… but a sex-change potion?!"

"There are people in the world who do get sex-changes, Tsuzuki." Watari bluntly pointed out.

"Yes but are you, one of them?"

Now, he looked truly affronted. "I don't mean me personally… although I'm very intrigued to know how the female mind works. What man isn't?"

"Whatever." I huffed, leaning over to flick Watari directly in the center of his forehead. "Just don't test it on me, okay?"

He winked at me, smiling. "You got it."

I laughed and then looked at Watari in what I imagine was a tender sort of way. It felt good to talk about menial, stupid things again, something I wasn't able to do in the company of my more serious acquaintances, such as Hisoka and Tatsumi. "So, we're cool then?"

Watari returned my smile with interest. "Yeah, we're cool."

I wanted to choose my next words very carefully because when Watari was angry, he was a man who could hurl his words as cold and hard as stones. Some might have seen him as a foolish person but he truly wasn't ignorant of life's genial happenings, as many intellectuals are characteristically prone to being. I felt as though the thin tapestry that bound us together had been repaired, yet only loosely; so that the smallest tug might cause the entire thing to unravel yet again. But even knowing this, how could I simply ignore the erstwhile feeling in my stomach that screamed 'something still isn't right! You must make it right!' Because I could not let sleeping dogs lie, I suppose. I could not rest reassured if I suspected some cards lay hidden beneath the table. And Watari's mouth had not quite curved up at the corners, like it did when he was truly happy. This was his smile for other's benefit and he wanted to assure me that everything had been said. But I would not be deceived. I needed to know. Because to not know… would lead to bitter feelings and I couldn't stand having that stand between us.

I lowered my eyes and dipped my head, being purposefully formal and respectful so as to prevent him becoming agitated with me once more. I'm sure it sounds strange to you that I would address my close friend in such a manner because in this generation young people are accustomed to being blunt and simply saying how they feel. But in my day and even in Watari's youth, we denoted respect by lowering our eyes, our voice and our heads and if we believed ourselves to be causing some offense, apologized immediately for having caused such trouble. And though most of our interactions were not like this at all, it seemed to me the safest route to take and most assuredly the only means though which Watari would actually take my words seriously.

"Forgive me for being so troublesome," I began and Watari must have immediately recognized my tone for what it entailed because he certainly didn't look pleased by my persistence. "But Watari… I honestly feel as though there is something you still wish to say. The corners of your mouth look as though a loose string is holding them up! And there's a line between your eyebrows as deep as a rut in the road."

Watari was a little bit vain concerning his appearance and I saw him immediately reach up to feel the lines that had formed between his brows and I had to force myself not to laugh at his predictable reaction.

"Please Watari… I want you to be honest with me."

"Why, Tsuzuki! It sounds as if you want me to find a reason to be cross with you." Watari's lips quirked slightly, to indicate how amused he was by my behavior. I felt grateful that my carefully thought out words had made the impression I intended.

"Of course I don't want you to be cross with me." I said honestly, shaking my head. "That's just the point! From now on, we should be honest with one another. You're my friend, Watari. I wanna know what's on your mind."

Watari's gentle features shifted to adopt a more serious timbre and he leaned both elbows upon the table, delicately bridging his fingers together beneath his chin. It never ceased to amaze me just how incredibly patient and mature he was capable of being, when and if he chose to make the effort.

"Tsuzuki… I want you to understand that if perhaps I don't tell you things, it's only because I feel that they are things that do not need to be said." He reached across the table and gently patted the side of my chin. "You seem to feel that if something were to remain unsaid it will only grow and I'll wind up hating you, or some such nonsense."

I felt that old pressure upon my chest again and allowed my eyes to drop downward, as though I were appraising the inside of the now empty coffee cup. In reality, I simply didn't want Watari to bear witness to the pain I'm sure would have been so blatantly obvious in my gaze. "I've seen that sort of thing happen before, Watari. That's why I… if you ever want to tell me off for something or-"

Watari groaned, leaning back from me so he could liberally caress the lines of his forehead. "Tsuzuki, I wish you wouldn't speak like that. You're not a bad person and I would never tell you off. Not for no good reason anyway."

"Okay… okay I understand." I nodded gently, adhering to his comfort but still feeling distinctly unsatisfied. I was sure something more had been left unsaid! You just had to work it out of Watari, like lancing a boil if I'm to use such a crude reference. "But won't you please tell me what's on your mind? Don't deny that there isn't something there because I can see it in your face now! Please… what is it…?"

He ran a hand over his head, seemingly exasperated. I thought for a moment that he was going to try and put me in my place again but it seemed as though I had finally poked a hole through that irritatingly thick outer wall of his. "All right. All right." He muttered, setting his arms down on table and crossing one over the other. "You want to know what's on my mind? I'll tell you. Even though I think it is supremely childish to even mention." He sighed looking increasingly more annoyed at having to explain himself. "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry with everything that happened right after we left Kyoto and returned to the Ministry last year."

I nodded, quietly relieved to hear him speaking of these matters at last. "I can understand why… that was a horrible time for everyone-"

"It was a horrible time for you, Tsuzuki." Watari stated, cutting me off with a curt gesture of his hand. "We all know that. God knows, it must play through ya mind most nights. It sure as Hell does mine." He looked me in the eyes and I saw a true flash of sadder emotions whirling there. It surprised me because he wasn't in the habit of coddling or appearing weak. "There is somethin' that has been bugging me. And I hate myself for feeling this way because the most important thing to me is that you're safe. In fact, I was so relieved that everything turned out all right in the end, that I didn't even start ta feel this way at all until much, much later. During the investigation into Bon's family, as it were, when the genes of that blasted snake infiltrated my body and brought up every ounce of anger it could leach out of me."

"And what is it that you felt?" I softly enquired; clenching my coffee cup so tightly it was a wonder it did not shatter between my palms.

Watari still looked very uncomfortable to even be discussing this and he glanced to the side, breaking eye contact before allowing himself to continue speaking. "Tsuzuki… why didn't ya thank me?"

I admit, this was quite lost on me and I wasn't at all sure how to reply. "… I… what do you mean…?" I felt foolish for not realizing and even more upset that Watari may have been hurt in my not remembering. He pushed himself to meet my eyes again and I was startled to see that he was frowning and seemed truly annoyed with me.

"Hisoka saved you from the fire of Kyoto University and Tatsumi protected you both with a shadow vortex. Undeniably, you owe them for your life. Heck, even the Chief thanked Tatsumi for whisking you out of the fire. But what do you suppose I'd been doing that whole time? As far as anyone's concerned… I wasn't even there." He sipped from his mug and I was shocked to see his hand was trembling. I suppose he was more upset by this then he was actually letting on. "I've always been the most useless of the Shinigami."

"Watari, that's not true!" I said immediately.

"Like Hell it ain't. And answer my question; where do you suppose I was, while all that was going on?"

I shrank back in my seat a little, feeling quite intimidated by his attitude. I couldn't understand how our conversation had taken this potentially dangerous turn; but it was perfectly clear to me what answer I was expected to provide. "Judging from the tone of your voice, I'd say you were there the whole time."

He turned his upper body around so that we faced one another entirely, adding weight to what he was saying. "When you broke down in the Ministry ruins, Tatsumi and the Kid lost it too. The mental overload was too much for Bon and he collapsed. Tatsumi's overload was a mixture of things, mostly financial but he was about as useful as chicken nuggets at a vegetarian convention. I tried to reach you but there was so much rubble in the way." He bit his lip, quite possibly irritated at memories that were still so fresh in all of our minds and the futility of that entire situation. "And then Muraki appeared to take you away and I ran to try and get to you, to get you away from him. I ran so hard and I called for you… I kept my head when everyone else lost it. I was still useless in the end but I took the situation seriously enough to understand that I couldn't possibly lose it at that moment. It was way too important."

I confess to having no memory of that day at all. When Mariko Ikaruga had been killed by Suzaku's attempts to save my life, I felt an unexpected physical and quite literal snap reverberate through my skull and my body felt different. I may have lost my mind. No rational thought echoed in my head. I passed into a deranged, catatonic state, only coming to my senses within the bowels of Shion University's basement complex. I had no idea what might have occurred before then but it did seem greatly unfair for Watari to have not received any sort of recompense for his actions during the time of my kidnap. "And no one acknowledged that?"

Watari slapped the table, clearly frustrated. "I don't want it to be acknowledged. I don't need to be patted on the back for trying to save my friend. I want you to know that I didn't give up on you. I've never wanted you out of my life." He swallowed in something of a thoughtful manner, looking down towards the table. I guess he was embarrassed because he burst altogether too quickly back into recounting his version of events, stumbling over the first few words in the process. "When we reached the University and you tried to take your life in the Hellfire…" He must have noticed my emotion at this and reached across to take my hands. "I'm so sorry… if I had been quicker, if I'd done everything I possibly could have back at the Ministry, it never would have come down to that. I thought all this time, you must have resented me for it…"

I felt my eyes well until everything became blurry and the weight of the tears forced them down onto my cheeks. I didn't bother trying to hide them from Watari because I felt it said so much, when I could only say so little. The fact he hadn't spoken to anyone of it… that he was noble about not wanting to be rewarded for it… "I didn't even know that you tried for me. No one else was obviously comprehensive enough to have known and you… you never tell anyone these things."

Watari squeezed my hands and offered me a compassionate smile, before continuing onward with his version of events. "There in the university basement… I have… a bad history with fire. I was terrified… and I despise myself for not going in there after you. We stood there looking in, myself, Tatsumi and Bon. We reasoned that you had done this with the intent of taking your own life. And Tatsumi, he –" And this I'll admit was truly frightening because I knew Watari had a temper but I had never before seen him in a real rage. And this… this was only his memory of it and the rush of emotion I saw spreading out to take supremacy of his features was overwhelming. He looked positively ruthless in his anger. "– he said because it was what you wanted, it was okay to let you die! As though it's fine to allow a person in a severe emotional state go through with the taking of his or her own life! He didn't realize just how precious our time is here! I'm sure that you were in a lot of pain Tsuzuki. I do understand. I really do. Sometimes it just seems easier to let go. And I'm sorry I was so selfish. But in that moment, I could have knocked Tatsumi's bloody teeth from his mouth. I grabbed him by his collar and I screamed at him. The absolute shit he was coming out with! Using your death as his punishment, he said, I just couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe he would even think that letting you leave us was the better solution. And I was angry at you!" He narrowed his eyes at me. "That you didn't care about us enough to want to live. Even though I understood the state that you were in. I wanted you to fight and be strong because Goddammit, how would I get along in this goddamn place without you? No one else around here has a sense of humor!"

This elicited a smile from me and Watari unable to resist returned it. This seemed to ease the tension between us and I felt my shoulder's relax, as if cooling water had been poured down over my neck and back. "Tatsumi said… that he considered letting me die. That he hesitated in pulling me out of the fire." I looked into Watari's eyes, still so vulnerable in the face of his remaining anger. "Would he have done it at all, if you hadn't said anything?"

He shrugged, curling his lip disdainfully. "I can't say. Perhaps he would have… perhaps not. His feelings of love are different to mine."

I felt my face predictably flush with heat again; though I was quite sure Watari was not speaking of these emotions in a romantic sense. But then again, you never quite know with him… "Love…?"

"Yes, love, doofus." He smirked, reaching across to smack me across the head. "I didn't want my buddy to die. As soon as you got out of that fire, I stayed by your bed until you woke up. I just wanted to see the old Tsuzuki I knew."

"Yeah…" I murmured, smiling shyly as I soothed down my now ruffled hair. "You were the first person I saw when I woke up." I smirked at him, relieved to see that he no longer looked cross with me. Getting everything out on the table seemed to have done him some good. Like scooping out water from the bottom of a boat. His fingers, which had been so stiff and rigid, now gracefully unfurled from beneath his palms, releasing the tension he had clasped within to the surrounding breeze. "No wonder you looked so tired."

"Well, watching you snore beat completing the case notes. Not that I could have slept until I was sure you were going to be okay. My feelings since that day have been…" Apparently he couldn't decide exactly what his feelings had been so instead he just trailed off kind of uncomfortably. I got his meaning however.

"Watari, I'm so sorry…" I said. "Everything you did for me and I…"

He held up his hand, cutting me off. "I only did what I wanted to do for you, Tsuzuki. It was selfish too… because I didn't want to lose my best friend. I can't imagine the afterlife without you. But since then, our friendship hasn't been the same either." He gave me what I understood to be something of a pained smile, as though he were ashamed of himself for even admitting to this. "I wanted to tell you that I… that I didn't not try for you. I was worried that you… you might have thought that I stood by. Because the gestures Tatsumi and Hisoka made were so much more direct. So much grander in scale."

The wind changed direction, turning the warm breeze against my face and causing the longer strands of my hair to glide upward from the nape of my neck. I shut my eyes, savoring this pleasurable sensation, feeling that the breeze itself had not been the only thing to change in the past few minutes. Between two men who kept their friends close and their secrets closer, there are feelings that will always remain unsaid. Some things are too private to discuss with anyone. But I felt as though we had come a long way, Watari and I. We had been honest with one another, which opened up doors long since welded shut and out of use. As I opened my eyes again to take him in, I felt as though I were looking deeper into his mind and heart than I'd ever seen before. And the affection I felt for him swam through my veins like a pleasurable flush. Our friendship was something I had always taken for granted and that in itself said so much to me. I was secure in Watari. I trusted him with my friendship, with my feelings, more than I did anyone else. And it seemed imperative to me then, more than ever, that it was time I repaid him in kind, for having afforded me that piece of mind I had unknowingly relied upon for so many years.

"But now I understand… if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be here at all." I beamed at him; eyes swimming with tears that I suppose hadn't yet been afforded opportunity to fall. "You and Hisoka… you both didn't accept that my death would have been better for me. Watari…" The need to express my emotions in something other than words gripped me like a heart attack and without so much as thinking of it, I was climbing to my feet. Watari, seeming to sense what I was after, mirrored my movements and we met halfway around the table in a long overdue embrace. "Is this why you've kept your distance all this time? You thought I resented you…?"

"Didn't you?" Watari asked, his voice muffled against my hair.

I shook my head, gripping his shoulders still the more tightly. "No one told me what you did but… I never for a second thought that you did nothing." I leaned away, so that I could look him in the eyes again. "Watari, I know you. I knew even before now that you would have tried desperately for me." I ran my hand down the back of his head. "Thankyou. Thankyou so much for wanting me to live. I'm happy… that I mean enough to you that you thought life would be that much more difficult without me."

Watari's smile contested my own for the warmth and gratitude it expressed as he drew me close again, chin resting upon the parting of my hair. "You underestimate yourself, kiddo. You always have." He squeezed me tighter; as though we were not already embracing hard enough to cut off one another's blood flow entirely. "Dammit, I've missed you so much. You haven't been anywhere but I feel as though you and I have been opposing magnets for some time."

Opposing magnets… A simile only the science crazy Watari would use. "Let's spend more time together from now on, okay?"

"Sure. …" He chuckled under his breath, fingers patting my back as though assuaging the frustrated tempter of a child. "Hey, you're not gonna try and kiss me, are ya?"

"I almost feel like it." I murmured with a smile, snuggling closer.

Watari laughed, petting my head in a placating manner. "Poor bugger. You have been lonely."

"Well," I mused, twirling a strand of his hair about my finger introspectively. "We did pledge that if we were both still single by my 100th birthday, we'd try going on a date." Incidentally, I'm ninety-seven at the present time, so there's still a three year reprieve.

"I believe the deal was that I would deflower you but… yeah, same thing in my case really."

"Watari!" I shrieked pulling away from him and slapping his arm. "Don't be gross!"

He laughed as he ducked away from me, sliding himself back down into his seat, throwing his booted feet up onto the tabletop casually. "Hey, now I'm hurt. You don't find me attractive?"

He was trying now to embarrass me and I wasn't about to let him succeed. I adopted a cool expression as I seated myself again, swatting at his feet as they obscured my vision. "You rock my socks, Watari but I don't think it would do our friendship any good."

"We could be friends with benefits." The blond purred, offering me a casual, deliberately provocative wink. Just thinking about utilizing that particular aspect into our relationship made me uncomfortable to say the least.

"AHH! NO!" I cried, cowering behind my hands. "It's so sleazy!"

"You're right. What with your bloody old fashioned morals, we'd have to get married first." Watari laughed. "See? That sex-change potion could come in handy after all!"

"That's such a frightening thought, Watari! And I'm not even sure which one of us would be the girl!"

Watari scoffed, as though the answer was obvious. "You, of course. My arms are more muscular than yours and I'm taller."

"That's only because you swim all the time." I said, pouting, quite offended to think that I was so feminine it was only natural that I would be the one to wear the wedding dress. I had the shorter hair and the more toned upper torso!

"Swimming doesn't make you taller." Watari said, rolling his eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him and swatted at his feet again.

"I was talking about your arms, idiot! Besides, you're the one with the long hair!" Although, he didn't look so much a girl as he did a reincarnated (infinitely better groomed) Viking. A Viking with glasses, that is.

Watari waved a chunk of his hair at me. "And that automatically makes me a girl?"

"Well, it is usually only girls that have long hair." I said, leaning over to swish the errant waves from side to side. "Put two and two together."

Watari laughed. "You're right. I guess you and I are forever doomed to only and always be drinking buds."

"Yeah. Hey, speaking of drinking, you got any plans for tonight? Hisoka and I are making dinner together." It seemed as good an opportunity as any to bond. "You could… you know, pop in and lend a hand. We could throw back a few, smoke, catch up a bit more."

"That poor boy is never going to sleep again." Watari muttered, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with a rag he kept in one of his pockets for that very reason. I could understand where he was coming from. Whenever Watari and I got together, we did have a tendency to play up a bit… mostly to the annoyance and or embarrassment of everyone around us. Hisoka especially, whom we both loved to tease. "I would join you guys but I've already made plans."

"Oh really?" I smirked, resting my chin in my palm and waggling my eyebrows suggestively. "Hot date…?"

Watari smirked as he slid his glasses back on. "Date, yeah. Hot? …that remains to be seen. If the back of my hair is flat come tomorrow you'll know whether he was a winner or not."

I gave him a comradely punch in the upper arm, trying to appear entirely supportive and curious as good guy friends do. I'd be lying however, if I said that I wasn't just that teensy bit envious.

"You sly Shinigami! So… is it a guy or a gal?"

"A lad." Watari returned my earnest clout with interest and then shook his finger in my face like a stern parent. "That's all I'm gonna tell ya."

He could be secretive when it came to the people he was dating. Possibly because I wasn't the smartest guy around, I had a habit sometimes of just blurting stuff out without really meaning to. Even though I'm sure he would have liked to tell me, Watari understood what was in my nature. He didn't need the rest of the Ministry (Tatsumi especially) finding out his business. "I wish I had your luck when it comes to getting dates…" I admitted, the canine ears integrated into my human form appearing on my head and slumping over, adding effective weight to my self-pitying proclamation.

Watari huffed air out from between his upper and lower rows of teeth, showing his distaste of what I had just said. "What do you mean 'luck'?! Are you saying I need luck?"

I backpedaled so fast it was a wonder I didn't knock my chair over backwards. "No, that's not what I –"

He twisted his body sideways with an offended puff, exaggerating his offense for humors sake. I suppose he was trying to make me feel better. "I know I'm not the best looking guy around but I didn't realize I was such an abominable snow beast that I needed luck to get people to sit down to dinner with me."

His choice of words now had me laughing and I could see the corner of his own mouth betrayingly hitch upward. "Watari… you know what I mean. I wish I had your confidence. Maybe more people would approach me too."

"You're hardly a wilting wall flower, Tsuzuki." Watari exclaimed, with a deliberately overstated roll of his eyes. "The problem, if there is one, is that you seem unattainable. You may have picked up on this before now but the fact is my boy, that you are a rather good-looking sort." It may sound shallow, and it is but I liked hearing this. The individuals I usually received this sort of flattery from were… well, not the kinds of people you would ordinarily feel comfortable about accepting a compliment from without wondering what they might take in return. "So good looking in fact, that it makes other people feel insecure."

I sighed, not quite ready or willing to believe him at that stage. "I was just talking about this sort of thing with the doc. I keep wondering if I'm ever gonna find the right person for me…"

"When you least expect it." Watari looked at me with what I took to be a calculating smile and I suddenly felt like a pork chop being scrutinized by a famished hyena. "I can think of more than a few people who would be interested in filling the void in the meantime…"

"If you're talking about the Count, the answer is no." I said flatly, swiping my hands in front of myself to add emphasis. Watari smiled, pleased to find me so irritated and waggled his coffee cup in my direction.

"You never know… he could be quite studly under all that invisibility."

"He could look like Takeshi Kaneshiro for all I care." We both took a moment to sigh and bask in our appreciation of the aesthetic beauty otherwise known as Takeshi Kaneshiro. "Being attractive is not nearly important enough." I concluded, once we'd moved beyond drooling and giggling like prepubescent monkeys.

"Well, isn't that a blessing considering how abominably hideous I am." Watari sniped, unscrewing the cap from his mini-scotch bottle and throwing back a nip.

"One bad turn of phrase and he never lets me forget it." I grumbled, catching the bottle as Watari tossed it to me. (Cap back on, naturally). I took a sip, biting back the sharp taste of the whisky. "If you recall, Muraki for example is a grade-A knockout but he's got the personality of a jackal."

"A jackal, huh? …Now that certainly conjures up a bizarre image." Watari linked his fingers together, one thumb twirling around the other as he flashed me a half-embarrassed, half-cheeky smile. "I do love Kaneshiro-san. His mother was from Osaka, you know?"

"I know, Watari. I've been to see every one of his movies with you." In case it wasn't obvious by this stage, we were both big fans. "You have that headshot of him in the shower on your wall."

"Which you tried to steal!" He snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at me. I tossed the scotch bottle back towards him in a wide arc, forcing him to stretch way back in order to catch it successfully. "Careful, ya dumb monkey!"

"My point being," I continued, unfazed. "Is I'm sure that Kaneshiro-san is a lot lovelier in real life than either Muraki or the Count. But you can't always expect handsomeness and niceness to go hand in hand."

"That's for bloody sure!" Watari exclaimed, his eyes on some faraway point. I supposed he was thinking back on the good-looking guys he had been with who'd turned out to be nothing more than jerks and users. And I'm sorry to say, he wasn't the only one. I'd had my share of losers too, even if I'd never dedicated myself to much more than cuddling on the couch and necking round the necktie. Seeing my expression swim back towards the shore of despondency, Watari quickly dove across the table and roughly slapped my shoulder, hoisting me back above the surface, so to speak. "Cheer up, mate. There are plenty of nice, good-looking guys out there! Plenty of beautiful women for that matter, too! It will happen; you just gotta keep your chin up. And hey," He whacked his thumb confidently into the wall of his chest. "If you ever want me to set you up with someone, just let me know."

I grinned, pressing my hand against Watari's face and using this to push him back into his seat. "That's very generous Watari, but I don't need you to donate one of your exes to me."

He groaned ostentatiously. "People who don't know when to accept charity never get anywhere. Still, the offer stands." He sculled the last of his coffee, eyes flickering down to appraise something that apparently, had just appeared behind me. "Say, looks like we ain't the only ones burning the overtime oil." He gestured to the front entrance of the Ministry as someone came belting down the stairs like a bat out of Hades.

"Isn't that your trainee?" I asked.

Watari nodded. "Yep. Recognize that blue hair anywhere." Adding, in an offhand manner, "Why kids have to experiment with weird hair colors, I'll never know." He waved his arm in a wide arc, adopting a singsong tone of voice. "Yoo-hoo! Chikawa-chan!"

Yoshimitsu Chikawa responded to this somewhat debasing summons and came racing towards us, a sheet of paper clutched in his hand. Even from where I was sitting I could see that not an inch of space was blank and the typeface was minute and scrunched together. The entire aura of the paper boded ill will and my instincts have usually always been pretty much on the mark.

"Oh thank god! I didn't think I was going to catch ya before you left, Tsuzuki-san!" Chikawa exclaimed as he reached us. He paused for a moment, leaning over, hands pressed to his knees whilst he caught his breath. "Heya, Sempai! You're here too." He flashed a trademark toothy grin at his supervisor, which Watari naturally returned. "I thought all the Shinigami would have left for the day."

"All the sensible ones have, mate." Watari said, earning a laugh from Chikawa. It's quite true that Watari and I did not make it a regular habit to put in much overtime if we could otherwise avoid it. Overtime clashed with happy hour at our favorite watering hole… conflict of interest, you understand and priorities must always be made priority!

"What's up?" I asked, once I was sure the boy could talk without his face turning as blue as his hair.

Chikawa straightened up, even offering me a brief courteous bow before addressing me again. "Well, I was just filing away some last minute notes…" He glanced over at Watari pointedly. "You know… about 'that' thing."

Watari nodded seriously. "Of course. Go on."

Chikawa offered me an unconvincing sidelong smile, I suppose to assure me that they weren't in the midst of cooking up something that would soon find itself into the office coffee supply. I made a mental note to bring my own pot to work. "Well, I was just closing the file drawer, when I noticed that a fax had come in. It's marked 'Urgent'." He handed me the sheet of paper and I quickly donned my reading glasses, so I could skim through it. My eyesight is not bad for the most part but sometimes, especially of an evening, my eyes can become a little strained and so the glasses help me to focus. If I was doing a lot of reading, I would sometimes just leave them on after I was done without even really thinking about it, the magnification degree was so low. "I guess the Head Office just sent it straight over as soon as they were contacted."

"What does it say?" Watari asked, swinging his legs off of the table as though preparing to leap up and out of his seat at a moments notice.

"That the shit has hit the fan, big time." I said, continuing to pan over the details as I announced them. "There's been some sort of disturbance at the Tokyo Metropolitan Tachiagari (2) Library."

"Tachiagari?" Watari's brows quirked into a near perfect question mark. "I was there only last week. They have a pretty up to date science section." He scratched his chin thoughtfully with the tip of his index finger. "Not to mention the girl who worked at the front desk was something of a volume herself!"

I felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of my face. "Watari, that sort of behavior will get you arrested…"

Chikawa chuckled his appreciation of Watari's wit before turning back to me. "I called Chief Konoe and he said that Tsuzuki would probably still be around."

"And here I am." I stated with a complacent smile. Chikawa apparently missed the bluntness of my tone because he continued to smile at me in the manner of the never thwarted perpetually genki.

"Yep! Here you are." He grinned, displaying just about every tooth in his head. You'd think he'd just been sent out to invite me on a party his disposition was so sprightly. "Said he wants you over there ten minutes ago."

Watari smiled expectantly, awaiting whatever orders the Chief had delegated for him and received nothing other than a polite, vacant faced smile from Chikawa in return for his patience. I suppose it might have gone on for hours (Chikawa was the type of boy who could sit and smile cluelessly at someone until the cows came home, so enjoyable he found the activity) if Watari hadn't gotten sick up and fed of waiting. "Well? What about me? The boss knew I was staying behind too."

Chikawa jumped a little, as though rudely shaken out of dreamland. And though his smile didn't waver, I did not notice that his pupils had drifted sideways as though attempting to scrutinize the inside of his own skull. He tapped the tips of his index fingers together, obviously stalling for time. "Yes well… um… the Chief said Sempai is to go along as well. But… he's not expecting too much."

I hardly felt that Chikawa had been obligated to say this but sometimes the boy is so honest and direct, he can't help but regurgitate everything he's heard. Watari adopted an expression most akin to someone attending the bedside of a terminally ill relative.

"Gee, well that's sure a shot in the arm of self-esteem."

Chikawa laughed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sempai. I don't think the Chief meant for it to upset you."

Watari looked at the boy as though he'd just suggested he weave a magic carpet out of his own pubic hair. "Upset me? Why should it upset me? My own boss just said I'm about as useful as a fecal flavored Popsicle. I'll just walk it off."

I could only smile and pat Watari's arm in a conciliating manner, trying not to laugh at the sour expression on his face. "Chikawa, this really is an authentic Underdweller sighting, right?"

The boy shrugged, slinging both arms behind his back in a typical, nonchalant teenage gesture. "I couldn't say for certainty at this stage, Tsuzuki-san."

I groaned, sliding my glasses off and placing them delicately back within their case. "Look, I am not about to go running off after another bloody alcoholic or… druggie or a guy in a costume… or…" I struggled to think of another example of one of the many false-Underdwellers that I had been summoned to chase up during my time. "… an escaped… loony tune spouting crap about demonic possession and how their head spins 180 degrees whenever they get near a bible. That's a job for the human authorities."

Chikawa prodded the piece of paper in my hand. "According to the fax, that's not the case. The Restriction sector is reporting a break in the Tartarus barrier."

Watari spluttered, liberally spraying the surrounding area with the nip of scotch he'd been in the midst of imbibing. I frowned at him, wiping amber colored spittle from my forehead as he liberally rose out of his seat, an equally shocked and excited expression taking the place of his previously petulant one. "The Tartarus barrier? Tsuzuki, we're talking one mean mother here! No low level demon can tear through the Tartarus barrier so easily!"

Watari's fear and dislike of the roughish Underdwellers was equaled only by his incomparable fascination with them. This concerned me sometimes, I must admit. Scientific individuals have always struck me as being more invested in the study of something, then they are the human element behind it. Even at times when we have been faced with dangerous, abominable creatures, Watari's initial reaction has never been revulsion so much as fascination. Warm though he was, Watari found much to be admired in things that I, straightforward man I am, did not care for.

"It would be A class or higher…" I mused, drumming my fingers on the table, weighing up what options were currently available to us. A level A demon was considerably powerful… and this was perhaps the lesser of the evils I was considering. And with only the two of us at the Ministry's immediate disposal… I gave voice to my concerns, unable to satisfactorily qualm my thoughts. "Chikawa…? Did the Chief seem to think that Watari and I would be enough?"

The young novice scratched his head speculatively. "The Chief is going to try reaching some of the other Shinigami but in the meantime he wants you two over there, conducting damage control." He pointed to himself with the hand currently not occupied behind his head. "I'm to stay here and monitor any incoming info and forward it to you guys if it's relevant."

The table suddenly vibrated beneath my elbows and I glanced over at Watari to see that he had caused it by thumping his fist down childishly against it. "So I actually do have to go. Great." He grumbled mostly to himself. "The boss must think none of us have personal lives. Doesn't he realize I made plans?"

"I don't think he cares." I said, a little put out by Watari's unusually selfish attitude. "Watari, be responsible. Remember, this is our job. It says here there have been a number of casualties already."

Watari slowly smiled, indicating to me that he hadn't intended to sound so self-absorbed. "Oh, it's alright I just wanted to put that out there." He waved his hands at me in exaggerated surrender, serrating my half-hearted tirade directly in two. "I'm going. You know me, wherever there's demons, there I am!"

I appreciated his attempt to feign enthusiasm but got the feeling he might have been getting just a little bit ahead of himself. I let him know by contributing an admonishing shake of my finger. Hey, I was over fifty years older than him, I was allowed. "Okay but just because you're a little more combatative now doesn't mean you should be getting cocky." Watari just pulled down his eyelid and stuck out his tongue at me. Honestly… for a grown man (supposedly) he could behave like such a child when he wanted to.

"Speaking of combatative measures," Chikawa piped up before I could give Watari a liberal tongue thrashing for his behaviour. "I'm supposed to let you guys know that you're both cleared for entry as agents of the Special Investigations Team of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. (3) Conduct yourselves accordingly as such… What else was there…?" He examined the skyline thoughtfully, as though the answer might suddenly appear out of thin air and carbon exhaust fumes. "Oh and in regards to damage control; restrictive use of mana if you please. Firearms would be preferable in close combat if that were to occur."

Watari waved his gloved hand about smugly. "Suits me just fine. My powers are primarily non-confrontational anyway." He climbed to his feet, gathering both his and my coffee mug and gesturing for me to follow with a slight jerk of his head. "C'mon partner. Let's go suit up."

We walked with Chikawa to the entrance of the Ministry and then veered off towards a slightly more dilipidated and run down building on the far left hand corner of the annex. This small complex was currently rented out by Watari and had been converted from a storage area into lab space early on in his referel to the Summons Section. It was a bright area, with large windows, gadgets whirring here there and everywhere and usually one or two birds running (or flying) about the place.

Watari's particular power, was the ability to bring inanimate objects such as drawings or machinery to life. His drawing skills were none too good unfortunately but through much trial and error he'd created three pets for himself with this ability; 001, 002 and 003. 001 was a rockhopper penguin with a nappy orange quiff of hair that stuck right up off of the crown of his head. 002 was a Toucan with a brightly colored bill that made almost as much noise as Watari's various machines when she was excited. But the one to whom we are all most endeared, who comes and goes with Watari most everywhere was 003 and it was he that awaited us today as we walked into the lab.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, as what appeared to be a small, brown, feathery tennis ball collided with the side of my head. I looked around to see what had accosted me and sure enough saw a minute owl, small enough to fit into the palm of my hand, whizzing excitedly about the room like a loose firecracker.

"003, calm down!" Watari chided to little effect. The little owl hooted louder still and continued circling about the room, bouncing cartoonishly off of walls and then rebounding back and forth from the support beams. "Shut up, ya noisy little blighter!" I knew better than to take Watari seriously. He adored 003 and would have been quite lost without him, irritated though he often became with him.

003 was most often spotted either perched on Watari's shoulder or lounging in his hair, taking a nap. I was actually there the day that Watari animated 003 and as such I am something of an Uncle to him now, as reinforced by Watari himself. Having been chastisted, 003 careened obediently over to nip Watari affectionately on the ear, before landing on my shoulder and nuzzling his fuzzy head against my neck. I chuckled, brushing my cheek against his small feathery body to return the sentiment.

"Hey little guy. Sorry but you gotta stay home tonight. Daddy and I have dangerous business."

003 hooted, as if to say he was sorry he couldn't be joining us. I followed Watari deeper into the realms of the lab, chuckling a little as 003 affectionately preened my hair.

Watari waltzed past the coat rack, tossing his long jacket aside and then spinning about in order to spread his arms wide, begging the favor of my attention as always. "Welcome! To Watari's guns, ammo and all things bangin'!" He jerked his thumb towards a hand-written sign on the wall above his head, bearing this exact motif.

"Appropriate naming sense." I muttered to myself, smiling at Watari so he wouldn't clue in to what I had been thinking. "Since this is subterfuge, we should probably go subtle."

He nodded thoughtfully, discounting perhaps any of the louder, more robust long range weapons such as rifles and shotguns. "Pistols. 003, if you please?"

003 hooted in confirmation before vaulting free of my shoulder and flapping across the room to the far wall. He used his beak to tap something like morse code with a large black button. With the final tap, the wall distended itself with the heavy creak of moving machinery and spun in a circle two times, revealing a large impressive pistol display with track lighting. I was stunned because I had no idea just how Watari had been capable of building so many in such a short space of time. I later learned that he'd made a few under the table deals with milletia groups to procure a supply of faulty weaponry, which he then only had to repair, rather than build from the ground up. I swear… Watari always seems to be in the business of getting his thumbs broken. I think he truly believes that a life lived straight is a life not worth living!

"Whoa… you have been a busy boy." I murmured, awed by the degree of detail, the meticulous attention he had given each weapon. Tatsumi may say Watari doesn't pay for himself around the Ministry but looking at that magnificent display finally reassured me behind doubt that the departments science division grants were being put to good use. Well… some of the time, anyway. It made me wonder how he actually had time for a love-life… Unless of course he just combined work and play and brought his partners back to the lab with him. … I felt suddenly uncomfortable and squirmed on the spot to think of what might have been going on around me in nights long past. Watari, oblivious to my discomfort, appraised his Ministry improved 'artillery' with a proud and yet baleful eye.

"Yep. Had to put my sex-change potion on hold but… you know, I think creating things that kill people rather than enhance them was well worth it."

I smiled knowingly at him. "You still hate guns, don't you?"

He chewed his lip with obvious dislike. "Like a pervasive skin rash. Bust still… I can appreciate their usefulness at a time like this. Rashes on the other hand never really seem to serve much of a purpose." He examined the wall with an experienced eye before reaching out to unwind the bands of one particularly long and lean gun, which looked more like a minature rifle than a pistol, to me. He handed it to me and I took it uncertainly, still not entirely a hundred percent confident in my abilities. I'd had some training since the new hand to hand combat rules had been reinstated one year ago (they'd been compulsory for all field-agents) but I'd never been particular adept at using weapons of any nature.

Watari sighed, straightening my arms so that I held the gun correctly, bunting my elbow with the side of his hand until I'd raised it to the appropriate degree. "Carbon 15 pistol carbine rifle with a magazine feed. It's lightweight and extremely durable to the elements, so it should stand up to most mana spells. It uses 9 x 19 mm luger cartridges." He handed over a magazine and an ammunition belt, which I'd be able to conceal beneath my coat. "Perfect for you."

"Thanks." I said, clipping the magazine into the belt, which I then tied securely about my waist. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a light reflection and glanced over to find it was in fact a rather large gun in a mounted glass case on a steel pedastol. "Hey, what's this one?" I asked, going over to get a closer look.

"That one?" Watari repeated, distracted by the task of his own gun selection. "Oh, she's my own design and I'm afraid she's not finished yet." He came over to join me, slapping his hand down on the glass casing proudly. "Tsuzuki, meet the BiB3 81 mana Cannon. I like to call her Big Betsy. Big Betsy, meet Asato Tsuzuki. He's the other major explosive device around here." He patted my shoulder teasingly before slipping back over to appraise the artillery wall. My eyes in turn roved all over the strange weapon.

It had two triggers, possibly for shared usage and a thick rectangular barrel, much like a shotgun, only five times larger. It was made of sleek, shiny metal and looked like it was pump action to boot. It was about the same size as my upper torso and if appearances were anything to judge by, probably weighed a veritable tonne. Normal human beings wouldn't be able to carry it. A Shinigami however, has advanced, preternatural strength. With a great enough head of steam, we can throw a car from one side of the road to another. Not that we do that for fun mind… and if we do, we always put the car right back where we found it.

… Hey, can you guys account for every dumb thing you've ever done when you're drunk?

"This girl would have come in handy during the Saagatanasu raid." I said, finding myself quite enamored by the idea of what Big Betsy could have done to Saagatanasu after he all but tore out my spine. Not that I was in any fit state to do the firing but it was still a nice thought.

"That's the thinking behind it." Watari concurred from somewhere behind my shoulder. "She won't be any use to us today, unfortunately. The parts are jammed. But she's a little different from a normal gun." I moved around the case to quickly appraise the hand written notes Watari had made, listening to his voice in the background summarize what I was reading. "Betsy is a super accelerated mana force cannon. The stronger the spiritual power of the user, the more powerful the ammunition she expells when fired. There's no solid catridge. Betsy fires off compounded blasts of the wielders mana, converted through kinetic friction into compressed explosive pressure. Depending on who fires her…" He looked fondly at Betsy over his shoulder, like a proud mother glancing towards the crib of her newborn. "… she could just about blow a hole through a mountain."

"She's a beaut, Watari!" I said with honest enthusiasm.

"Yeah… shame she's defective." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "My powers aren't that strong but the gun should fire for anyone with even an inch of mana. But all I get when I pull her trigger is a clicking noise." I had to wonder just how and when Watari was testing this gun and what exactly he was meaning to blow a hole through when he did. "I guess I'm not her type."

"Really?" I said, turning my back on the impressive home made weapon and joining Watari by the artillery wall again. "That's a shame. If she wasn't such a big gal, we could have taken her with us tonight." I glanced back towards Betsy with what I suppose must have been a wistful expression. "You know… if she worked."

Watari gave a barking laugh. "With your powers? I might as well just nuke the goddamn world and be done with it!" Ignoring my offended expression, he unhooked two pistols of the same make and spun them about by the trigger nook, just to show off I suppose. I suppresed the urge to clip him behind the ear for it. "Check these babies out; Beretta Model 93R, a selective-fire machine pistol." He held them steady for a moment so that I could offer them the full courtesy of my appraisal. " It has a selector switch and a foldable foregrip which allows the pistol to fire three round bursts with each pull of the trigger for a cyclic rate of 1100 rounds per minute. The designers limited it to fixed three-round bursts to allow it to be more easily controlled." Adopting a satisfied smile, akin to how a cat might look upon finishing the cream, Watari slid on both the holsters and ammunition belt before holstering the twin Beretta's. I gaped at him, open mouthed.

"How come you get twins and I only get one?" I whined, like the little boy whose brother had recived the better truck at Christmas.

"Because yours is a bigger gun." Watari rationalized, rolling his eyes. I surveyed my own weapon and adopted a cockey air, sashaying my hip to and fro as though to demonstrate just how more 'well-endowed' I was. I felt significantly more masculine on account of it, which I'm sure was Watari's intention.

"Damn straight. And don't you forget it." I said, shouldering him as we both grabbed up our jackets. Watari laughed, setting out some food for his three birds before switching off the main lights and making sure each of his pets were set to rights.

"All right, we're all locked and loaded." He said as we stepped outside, locking the lab door behind us. "Let's swing by the lockers and grab the fake ID's."

"Well, well, look who's mister 'go-get-em' all of a sudden." I said, amused.

"I don't wanna feel like I'm a fucking tote bag anymore, kid." We stepped back into the Ministry proper and entered the locker area of the Summons Department. I had to hunt around for the light switch for a minute before finally stumbling across it and flooding the room with bright, irradascent light. "Back when I was alive, I used to be tough."

"You still are tough." I affirmed, referring to the shred of paper inside of my wallet that reminded me of my locker combination. "You're the only one around here who'll stand up to Tatsumi."

"Only when it really matters." Watari insisted, reaching into his locker and retrieving the fake ID of which all Summons Section employees are issued. "But I measure my own standards a little differently." He removed his glasses and stowed them away in a spare case, placing in his emergency contacts instead. Watari had more than one reason for wanting to keep his glasses out of harms way and so contacts were safest when it came to possible combat missions. "Ow… God these things take some getting used to." He closed the locker door, blinking consistently all the while. "In my day, I used to run about the streets of Osaka with no never mind what anyone thought or what might happen to me. I'd go to fisticuffs with anyone who had a go, regardless of how big they were. I'm not that young and stupid anymore I'd like to think but I'd still like to have that gutsiness back in the right context. I'm gonna prove to you all that I deserve to be here."

I was upset to hear him talking that way, as though he were expendable. I'd been called useless in my role but I'd also been called the number one Shinigami too. My ego never got too out of control but I never doubted myself entirely either… I had confidence in my abilities, if anything. I trusted my 12 Shikigami and that they would aid me when I needed them. And to hear Watari speak of himself in this fashion… it undermined who he was. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone, Watari. You do deserve to be here."

"Hey, don't ruin the moment." Watari smirked, puffing his chest out. "I thought I was kinda cool just then…"

I laughed, the tension broken. I closed the locker behind me and snapped the dial lock back into place. "How will we make our way there?"

"Flying would be too conspicuous… and it's too far to walk…" Watari gripped my inside elbow and led me, with some enthusiasm I might add, towards the Ministry garage. "Let's take one of the work cars."

"All righty then. So long as you're driving."

"Of course I'm driving." He exclaimed, shoving me hard in the arm. "Think I'd let an old fart like you take the wheel?"

My driving skills, on account of my family never having actually owned a car whilst I was alive, were pretty much negligable. I'd tried to learn with Tatsumi as my teacher when I became a Shinigami but I almost drove our favorite secretary into the lap of Dr. Squirrel myself, such was my ineptitude.

Watari and I headed for the garage and selected from our limited range Watari's favorite; a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass.(4) This particular car he had saved from the wrecking yard and restored himself. (With his own money, so technically it was his car but he was lending it out, so to speak, for general Ministry use. He was very attached to it). He even spent a moment greeting it before we were permitted to buckle in and be on our way. The inside was black freakin' leather. It was so much a swingers car it wasn't even funny. Half the time I was surprised to not find fuzzy dice dangling from the rear view mirror.

Watari eased the Cutlass out of the garage and we made haste to the Tachiagara library.

~ EC ~

(1) Gaijin – Foreigner.

(2) Tachiagari – A fictional library, created entirely for the purpose of DA. I researched a number of libraries situated in the Tokyo area and none I felt were suitable for the particular design I had in mind. The entire name 'Tokyo Metropolitan Tachiagari Library' is in reference to the real Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library, where I originally planned to have the latter part of this chapter set. Instead I decided to construct an original settting for the purpose of adding a very uncommon feature to the Library building, seen towards the end of the investigation. The name Tachiagari is a pun. It is a Japanese word for 'paper'. A paranormal event occurring in the library is a reference back to the film 'Ghostbusters'.

(3) Special Investigations Team of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police (SIT): A small number of anti-riot-trained police officers had been trained to handle incidents that can not be dealt with by regular police and riot police officers, but can operate independently or with SAT cooperation. These units include the Special Investigations Team of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the Osaka Police's Martial Arts Attack Team and the Chiba Police's Attack Response Team. By using their fake ID's, Watari and Tsuzuki are able to bypass the police officers already on scene and assume control of the situation.

(4) Oldsmobile Cutlass: Visual description – Yellow car, black roof. Not sure if vehicle was ever sold in Japan but oh well. If anyone could get a hold of one, it would be Watari! As for why it is featured; well, it's sort of a fixture for me. It's my dream car and is also a throwaway reference to 'Parasite Eve 2'. I just love the idea of Tsuzuki and Watari cruising around in one!

Hey! And speaking of; did anyone pick where Watari's outfit was plucked from? Special prize for those that work it out! (Great, now I've got to think of a prize…)

A/N: Part three up soon dear readers! Please R and R in the meantime and I hope to be seeing you all soon!