Me: Oh my. Ok, my only excuse for this 'fluff' chapter is that I've been away for a while and needed to tie it up somehow. And OMG, the chapter breaks. And while I shouldn't be here, the temptation of a computer with open internet connection was too much for even me to resist.

Muse: Translation: she got her ass grounded again and began to feel guilty for not updating in so long.

Me: Thanks Muse. You're a freaking sweetheart.


Chapter Eleven

"I got it!" A cry of jubilation echoed through Watari's lab, but was shortly followed by a low groan. "No, that's not it."

"Come on Watari," Tsuzuki muttered half-heartedly from where he was sitting in one of Watari's office chairs, propping his chin on one hand. "That's the fifth false alarm in an hour."

"Well, looking through every archival record isn't easy," Watari shot back from where he was typing on his computer. "You would not believe how many records we have on gigantic wolves with glowing red eyes. This is a lot harder than I make it look."

"I didn't mean it like that; I just meant not to cry out before you look over every fact." Tsuzuki stood, exiting the room. "I'm going to check on Hisoka."

"Suit yourself, lover-boy," Watari muttered, before clicking on the next link on the screen.


Hisoka's dreams had taken a turn for the worse.

He was standing in the middle of the street, glancing around at the deserted alleys to the sides and wondering why no one else was there. He was wearing a light colored coat similar to the one he had during the Devil's Trill case, despite the fact that it reminded him too much of a straightjacket.

Hisoka was less surprised to find that he was armed; a pair of wakizashis strapped on his back. He would have liked a katana better, but the shorter variant was better in close combat. He did note with satisfaction that he had a handgun in the pocket of his coat.

He sensed Tsuzuki's presence before the older shinigami walked out of the mist behind him. There was something almost ghostly about his appearance, but Hisoka attributed that to the fog and the moonlight shining down on them. Tsuzuki stopped beside him, but made no move to acknowledge Hisoka.

All was well up until the moment the moon turned red. There was hardly any surprise for Hisoka there, but the fact that the scene had not melted into hellish cherry trees puzzled him. That was, before a searing pain assaulted his arms. He fell to his knees with a sharp yelp, the pain being even worse than usual.

All too quickly, the pain faded away. Hisoka picked himself up, glancing at Tsuzuki. His partner was looking at him, a sad expression on his face. Then, as Hisoka watched, he turned and faded away in a burst of mist.

"Tsuzuki!" Hisoka called into the night, hoping against hope that his partner would hear him. There was a sound behind him, but as he turned to look...

He had no time to react before the wolf was on him.


'Hisoka has no idea that you know about his injuries. Act natural and play along. It's better to ask him about it when we're alone and he's calm than when he might have a heart attack with too much stress.'

Even as Tsuzuki ran through his mental plan in his head, it was getting increasingly harder to adhere to the rules he had set up for himself. He was agitated and irritated, both from worry for his partner and the desire to grab him and shake some sense into his skinny little frame.

Tsuzuki knew Hisoka was a secretive person; it was even in his name. Plus his emotional abandonment by his parents and what had happened with Muraki... these things did not a trusting person make. And the boy had only been back at the office for the past three months, after five trying years during which many of the results of their partnership had unraveled.

Still, given their past history with one another and the fact that Hisoka had left intentionally to protect Tsuzuki and the other Shokan workers--not to mention himself--Tsuzuki would have hoped that he had retained a little bit of the trust they had held between them.

At the same time that he tried to stress patience with the boy, Tsuzuki couldn't help but feel that he wasn't getting any results. He wanted with all his heart for Hisoka to tell him about... well, his entire life if one got down to it, but only when the teen was ready.

Tsuzuki was beginning to think that the only way to get the point, and his feelings, across to the boy; he would have to confront Hisoka on these issues and try to talk it out. If it wasn't on even ground, then he at least wanted Hisoka to be able to control things.

Tsuzuki had very few illusions as to the results of a direct confrontation would be. These included yelling, beatings, a threat to an afterlife of pain and suffering... but he couldn't help but hope that if he backed Hisoka into a corner, the teen would finally have an opportunity to just... talk, without any fear of rejection.

'Okay, the next time I get him alone, I'll ask him.' Tsuzuki halted before the closed infirmary door, sighing and threading his hands through his dark hair in frustration. Steeling his resolve, once he realized that this technically was the next time he would be alone with his partner, he reached for the doorknob.

An instant later, something smashed against the window.

Hesitation and frustration instantly gone, Tsuzuki jerked open the door to reveal a maelstrom. Objects from all over the room were flying to and fro, and Hisoka was crouched in the midst of it all. He appeared to be fighting tooth and nail, and Tsuzuki realized with a start that he was sleeping.

Muraki was the first thought that came to mind, but even as the rage started to seep through his system Tsuzuki discarded it. For one thing, there was no screaming. Second, Hisoka was fighting, and while Tsuzuki would be overjoyed to learn that his partner had finally tried to stick up for himself in his nightmares, it just wasn't too likely.

Either way, he was going to hurt himself eventually with all of the hazardous materials flying around. So, fuda in hand and shield safely in place around him, Tsuzuki stepped into the room, heading straight for the eye of the storm.

His shield took a battering to say the least, and Tsuzuki wondered just why the hell Watari even kept so many breakable objects in his lab in the first damn place. He made a mental note to ask the scientist this as soon as physically possible, before focusing on picking a path through both the storm and the wreckage.

Hisoka's chest was heaving, one of the first signs of an impending panic attack, and he was getting tiny nicks and scratches all over his body from flying debris. If that in itself wasn't disturbing enough, he wasn't waking up. Tsuzuki knew that pain disrupted the boy's powers, but the damage Hisoka was receiving may not have been enough to break his concentration.

That was, until a glass beaker smashed into the side of Hisoka's head.


'It burns.' Hisoka panted as he grasped his head in his hands, twining his hands into his blonde hair. He was dazed and confused; dreams weren't supposed to hurt, and he thought he was holding up pretty well under the circumstances. The wolf may have caught him by surprise, but it was still no Muraki.

All around him, he could only see a blur. But as things began to focus, his heart nearly skipped a beat as he saw what loomed over him; a figure in a trench coat. 'Is it Muraki? No..."

Instead, Tsuzuki gradually came into focus, his face twisted with worry as he held the blonde tightly. A gentle hand smoothed away Hisoka's clenched fists, gently probing the damage to the blonde's head. His shields were lowered, and for a short time Hisoka could feel everything Tsuzuki felt: worry, frustration, affection, but the shields slammed back up the instant Hisoka began to probe further.

"Do not ever scare me like that again," Tsuzuki's voice still felt distant, but the intensity behind it rang out loud and clear.

"You know I can't keep promises like that," Hisoka murmured softly as the pain began to flow away, his healing abilities beginning the process of closing the jagged cut in his scalp.

"Yes, you can," Hisoka forced his eyes back into focus to see Tsuzuki's face about two inches away from his own. His partner's voice took on a gentler tone as he brushed the bangs from the teen's face. "Talk to me, Hisoka. That's all I'm asking from you. I... I want to be able to help. I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines."

Hisoka prepared to make a tired dismissal, but was unable to do so when Tsuzuki leaned forward and pressed their lips together. He blinked his brilliantly colored eyes in shock. Instinctively, his hands wound in Tsuzuki's hair, unconsciously moving closer to his partner.

It was odd, usually Tsuzuki could be goofy or hyper, but he was incredibly serious at the moment. His emotions took on a stern overtone as he pulled Hisoka closer to his body, before shifting into a more natural flow.

'Don't worry, Hisoka. I'll be here for you... always.'


"Tsuzuki, I think I found something for sure this time-." Watari began as he approached the door, before stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of all the glass on the floor.

Fearing another of Hisoka's temper tantrums, he eased his head around the doorframe, before darting back, clamping his hands over his mouth to halt a burst of maniacal laughter that threatened to burst from his throat at the sight of Tsuzuki and Hisoka lip-locked in the middle of his lab. Sure, it was trashed beyond all redemption, but it was no worse than anything Watari himself did on a regular basis.

Besides, this was far too juicy an opportunity to pass up. While Watari was sorely tempted to walk in the room and spoil the moment, he feared whatever lover boy (i.e. Tsuzuki) would do to him. He opted for a less direct approach.

'It's got to be in here somewhere... A-ha!' Watari gave a mental jump for joy as he produced a digital camera from the pockets of his lab coat. 'And Tatsumi said I would never need this.'

Certain that the pair was too distracted to notice, he angled the camera around the door, watching the screen as he quickly snapped a few photos. Grinning idiotically, Watari began to walk back in the direction he had come, twirling the camera on his finger by its lanyard. 'I knew they were an item! Should I buy them a nice little picture album to commemorate this occasion? Or should I just keep this around for ammo if I need it?'


Tsuzuki pulled back from Hisoka for a moment. "Did you hear something?"


Me: Ok, that ending was kinda pointless. Oh well. Almost every Watari fan would admit taht he'd be likely to do something like that. Plus, this is the first time I've tried writing a kissing scene, so go easy on me, please?

Muse: She finally got the guts to do it, and that's a miracle in itself.

Me: Right. Well, I may not be able to check my inbox for a while, but I hope I can head from you. -evil glare- All of you.

Muse: Or at least those who bothered to come back. After six months? -shakes head sadly- I don't blame them, especially with the quality of this chapter.