Chapter 5

"I said," Tsuzuki began to repeat, "what…

And Rika burst into tears.

Hisoka took a step back, but Tsuzuki moved forward swiftly. Dropping a bag on the table beside the file folder, he moved to the bed and knelt down in front of Rika. "What happened? Are you…"

Rika stopped the question by throwing herself into his arms and knocking the breath out of him. He looked up at Hisoka with a brow raised questioningly.

Hisoka was glaring at them and scowling, but he shrugged. "I have no idea."

"How… how can you say that?" Rika gasped out between sobs, "you… you…"

"Oh, for God's sake…" Hisoka snapped, stepping forward, but Rika flinched back against Tsuzuki. Hisoka narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"What happened?" Tsuzuki demanded angrily, something had obviously happened between the two, and he wanted to know what!

Hisoka turned his regard to his partner, and whatever he saw there wiped the scowl off his face. Without a word, Hisoka turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door hard behind him.

Tsuzuki made a move to get up and follow; something in those green eye screamed at him, but Rika clung to him with iron tenacity, still sobbing.

Sighing heavily, Tsuzuki abandoned his attempt to get up, and settled for rocking Rika as she gradually quieted. It seemed a long time passed before she let out a hiccup and whispered "sorry."

"It's alright," Tsuzuki assured her as he continued to rock her gently.

"It's not really my fault, is it? That all this is happening?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Tsuzuki started. "Is that what Hisoka told you?" he asked, pulling back enough so that he could look into her face.

Rika gulped, a few more tears escaping and trickling down her cheeks.

Tsuzuki reached out and grabbed her a tissue to wipe her eyes. "No, it's not your fault, and I don't know why Hisoka would say such a thing." He pulled away, successfully this time. "I need to talk to him."

"He hates me," Rika said with a small, sad, rueful smile; so like one he had seen before, it made his chest tighten. He wondered why Hisoka wouldn't give Rika a chance. Granted the boy generally didn't get close to people on assignment, but he had never been openly hostile before either.

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Hisoka's hands clenched into fists as he walked down the street. Rage burned through his veins as he once again re-played the scene inside the hotel room. Rika had set him up; played him like a violin! She knew when Tsuzuki would be back, and she had deliberately placed herself so that she would see him come in, and he, Hisoka, wouldn't.

And the way Tsuzuki had looked at him!

Hisoka's shoulders slumped, his hands unfisting; he had seen Tsuzuki angry before, but never like that, and never at him! That anger-accusation mixed in those deep violet eyes.

It hurt to have Tsuzuki look at him the way his father had when he'd made his mother angry, the way his mother had most of the time. The way the help had looked at him when they'd had to enter the cold cellar to bring him food. That look that passed judgement, and blame.

To have Tsuzuki look at him the same way as the people who had hated him…

Did Tsuzuki hate him?

Hisoka shook his head violently and ruthlessly pushed the thought aside. Idol hands were the devils tools, and apparently idol thoughts weren't too far behind. Tsuzuki didn't have it in him to hate anyone, except maybe Muraki, who really, really deserved it.

Tsuzuki and he had been through too much together for Tsuzuki to ever hate him. Tsuzuki cared about him. Hisoka clung to that thought, repeating it over and over in his head until he reached Totohome's house.

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Searching through Totohome's house with a fine tooth comb was boring.

Starting in the kitchen, moving through the living room and finally into the bedroom, Hisoka had gone over every scrap of paper in the house, checked every floorboard, and looked in every nook and cranny; twice. He had been at it for hours with only his thoughts for company. They had whittled down to the basics; why? Why had Rika played him? What did she want?

Tsuzuki?

It was possible, and it wouldn't be the first time. It seemed that every second case they worked somebody fell for Tsuzuki. Luckily, most were content to moon after him or make goo goo eyes at him from afar, but one or two were more aggressive. Hisoka supposed that he should be glad that Rika wasn't like Muraki, who skipped right over aggressive and right into obsessive psychotic.

But if that was what Rika was about, maybe it would be best to avoid her games and broach the matter head on. It would make dealing with the rest of the investigation that much easier.

Speaking of the investigation… Hisoka slumped down on Totohome's bed, racking his brain; trying to think of anything, anywhere he might have missed.

His mind was totally blank.

With a sigh of frustration Hisoka let himself fall back across the bed. He rubbed a hand over his face before letting it fall to the mattress as well. It was late, and he knew that he should get up and get back to the hotel.

Five minutes later he was fast asleep.

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Tsuzuki was not having a good night. It had taken him another hour and a half to coax Rika out of her dejection and into eating some of the dinner he'd brought. As soon as she seemed to be feeling a little better Tsuzuki had slipped out of the hotel to look for his partner.

Several hours later he had nothing to show for his efforts but worry, frustration, and a headache.

Checking his watch, he decided to head back to the hotel; it was after midnight and maybe Hisoka had returned on his own.

Slipping quietly into the room, Tsuzuki quickly saw that there was only one occupant. Rika had draped a scarf over the lamp, giving the room a dim reddish cast, but it was enough to see Rika asleep in one of the beds, the other was empty.

Tsuzuki plopped down into one of the hard kitchenette chairs. He put his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands, his fingers knotting into his hair.

And then he blinked.

Directly in front of his face was a file folder.

Sitting up again, he flipped it open. Paging through the notes that Hisoka had made about the demon, what was required to summon it, control it, things Hisoka would have to return to Totohome's house to see if he had, to confirm that Totohome had summoned the thing.

Tsuzuki let out a sigh of relief. He knew where Hisoka was.

"Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki looked up with a start to find Rika standing right next to him, wrapped in his own robe. "what are you doing up?"

"I heard you thunk down in that chair," she said with a fond smile. "A ninja you are not. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Tsuzuki shook his head. "No, thanks. It's late and you should go back to bed."

Rika smiled again, but this time it seemed more fragile. "You'll stay with me, won't you?"

"I really should go and see what Hisoka…" Tsuzuki began.

"I lied," Rika interrupted, her smile becoming strained and tremulous. "It wasn't you that woke me up, I had a nightmare… about that demon, and I… I just don't want to be alone right now."

Tsuzuki took in her lowered head, the way her hands trembled, and let out a soft sigh. "Of course," he said, hoping that Hisoka would be alright on his own. "I'll stay."