DISCLAIMER: Well, I read my fanfic again and realized I had a dilemma on my hands: Muraki won the bet. But, since Hearts was a K-K+ fanfic, I should keep any other sequel K too. Greatly limits me, but I think I can pull it off.

Hearts II

Knickel-Deal

"I appreciate you honoring our bet, Tsuzuki. The pleasure is all mine and yours to give." Muraki shut the door quietly, and then turned his gaze to Tsuzuki.

"Now, Muraki," Tsuzuki said, "Lets not jump to conclusions. I'm only here for a little bump and go, you know?"

"Nonsense, Tsuzuki," Muraki replied, "A bet is a consensual arrangement. While others can be paid in installments, I think this one must be paid in full." Muraki shrugged out of his dress coat and draped it over the back of the dinning chair.

The room held only one dinning chair, but there were several upholstery chairs. Besides the limited furniture, there was a single queen sized bed draped with heavy violet silk.

Muraki motioned to the draperies, "I always thought violet was your color. What do you think, Tsuzuki? Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki was bent nearly double, his hands clasped over his mouth.

"Now there," Muraki went to stand next to Tsuzuki, "the first time is always like this. A deep breath is all you need."

Muraki placed his arm around Tsuzuki's waist and led him to the bed. He sat him down on the edge and gazed intently at his bent head.

"Come now. Surely you're not going to ruin our very first time…"

Tsuzuki raised his tear stained face. His brow was furrowed in disbelief.

"Together," Muraki finished.

Tsuzuki gulped. This was going to be a very long night.

~()~()~

When Tsuzuki awoke the next morning, he was alone. He lifted himself into a sitting position. He wasn't even sore as he usually was in the morning. It was as if something had been stripped from him, a weight taken off of his shoulders. Tsuzuki double checked to make sure nothing was missing. He ran his hands over his chest and face, over his thighs. He checked between his legs. Nothing was missing. Not even a drop of his magic. It was bundled tightly into the center of his soul.

He came to the conclusion that nothing was wrong, but he still felt light and he still couldn't remember what had happened last night. Where was Muraki?

Tsuzuki slipped out of bed and began gathering his clothes. When he picked up his pants from next to the door, he felt in his pocket to make sure that his money was still there. Not that he didn't trust Muraki, he just had to be sure. His hand came into contact with a thin piece of paper. He pulled it out of his pocket and examined it.

The paper said:

Hope you enjoyed last night. Thank you for all of your entertainment and so much more.

-Muraki

Tsuzuki crumpled the note in his hand. If only he could remember what had happened last night.

~()~()~

"Tsuzuki, I need the report from the investigation for the meeting today."

Tzuzuki lifted a packet of papers from his desk and handed it to Tatsumi. "There's the full report."

Tatsumi stared at the shinigami, honestly surprised. He stood there for a few moments, just staring Tsuzuki downturned head. He felt the man sitting in front of him wasn't the one he knew a few weeks ago. This Tsuzuki was…put together.

"…Thank you," Tsuzuki said. He left before Tatsumi gave a reply, but if he had stayed just a moment longer, he would have seen the shadows under Tsuzuki's eyes.

Tsuzuki watched Tatsumi's back recede. He was glad for small miracles; like co-workers that don't meddle as long as they get what they want. He dropped his head down onto the desk, exhaustion wrinkling his face. He didn't know what had happened, but after that night, everything had been going right at work, but wrong too. He couldn't sleep anymore, and whenever he blacked out strange things would play out across his eyelids…

Tsuzuki lifted his head again and tried to concentrate. There were so many deaths to be solved and sorted through. Here, a woman died from mysterious death in Okinawa, and here, a man was unintentionally poisoned in Senegal. Then, another man was murdered in Connecticut and six women hung themselves, together, in Denmark.

Wait. Another death in Connecticut?

Tsuzuki studied the name, and then typed it into the search engine on the Hades' network. His computer hummed for several moments, then everything about Courtney Rodriguez appeared before his eyes. He died from mysterious death too, but this was the seventeenth man to die from such a death in the little town of New London with little more than twenty-thousand residents. This death, and the others, couldn't be just a coincidence. Tsuzuki typed up a report of his pre-investigation, then printed the report, placed it in a manila folder, and placed it under his arm.

He was on his way to Chief Kenoe's office.

~()~()~

"Tsuzuki, do you know the death rate of this town?"

"Yes!" Tsuzuki snapped at Tatsumi. "Yes," he said calmier to the chief, "I know the death rate there is very high, but I'm positive that these deaths aren't a coincidence."

"And let me guess," said Tatsumi sarcastically, "Muraki is behind it."

Tsuzuki ignored Tatsumi. Instead his said, "Chief Kenoe, whoever it is, is mass producing corpses."

Chief Kenoe leaned forward onto his desk, "our jurisdiction doesn't reach all the way to the Americas. We leave that to the people who do."

"We do," said Tsuzuki, "the last man to die was a man by the name of Courtney Rodriguez, under the protection of Joan Petes.

Tatsumi gasped, "Her soul was banished back to Hades this morning. And according to The Commandments…"

"Shinigami from other jurisdictions are allowed to interfere per request of the Hakushaku."

Tatsumi scowled.

~()~()~

"Tsuzuki, I greatly discourage you from going on this mission. There are other shinigami assigned to New London; let them investigate the deaths." Hakushaku, more commonly known as the Count, swirled the wine in his glass, "I fear for your safety. But! Won't you drink a glass of wine with me?"

"No, You Pervert!" Tsuzuki's shout threw the Count through the wall and into the horizon. A star winked into existence.

Tsuzuki tucked the Count's consent inside his coat, "time to go, Gushoshin."

"Yes, Tsuzuki-san, but shouldn't we wait for Kurosaki-san?"

"No need," said Tsuzuki.

"Ah?" Gushoshin gasped.

"This," the shinigami patted his coat pocket, "permits only me to go to New London. I'll write him a letter, explaining everything later." Tsuzuki turned and exited the manor house with Gushoshin, still gasping, but close at his heels.

"Oh, Kurosaki-san," Gushoshin mumbled, "Hurry."

Author's Note: I hope that wasn't a cliff hanger, but I felt Hearts II was way overdue. But, now you know there'll be a third installment; hopefully. Depends on how motivated I am…