Title: The Room of 30
Prologue
By Tortulia
Pairings: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, MurakixHisoka
Summary: I might as well give you the rundown so as not to bring your hopes up for an intense plot-filled story, and then encountering a dark alley of scary debauchery crammed with potential kink. Dynamic duo investigate a supernatural auction-house - gets captured. Things ensue. Vaguely inspired by Okane ga Nai, and theme-centric content (along the lines of 
smut_69.)
Cross posted to hiraki and ynm_yaoi
***
There were wards everywhere. In all the hotel halls and rooms they could spot the ghostly strip of paper pinned to the ceiling. Archaic calligraphy webbed across it like blood, which momentarily hum to a soft glow when anyone passed.
Hisoka followed closely behind Tsuzuki as they approached a corner, only to be shoved back when they saw another person coming down the corridor. The partners stiffened and tried to look casual as an old man in a yukata, sporting a neatly trimmed beard strolled past. Probably a politician – this place was full of semi-influential people, minor celebrities, and others interested in dark matters.
Tsuzuki gave an exasperated sigh once they were out of earshot. "This would be so much easier invisible," he whined.
"Tsuzuki," Hisoka hissed. "If we use our powers, this whole floor will be full of guards."
"I know…" His head drooped. The small red flower pinned to his suit seemed to wilt likewise. Hisoka wore one, too, on his own dark green clothing. All the guests in the underground hotel had one, like an entry badge.
They quickened their pace, and continued searching. "What are we looking for, anyway? This looks like the last ten floors." Long, low-lit halls became longer and darker with each floor down – not because of any growing sense of threat, but because it was uniformly unchanging.
"I'm not sure. All Tatsumi said was it's in a room, very deep." Tsuzuki admitted. "But I bet we'll know when we come to it – it's probably pretty well guarded, right?"
"And do you have a plan for getting rid of all those guards?" the young man pressed.
"Well…" He gave a sheepish shrug.
"Right. Of course. You don't just walk into a supernatural auction house. This place is crawling with the rich and famous looking to own a useless magic sword, or six-toed cat, or…"
"Maybe even a cursed violin?" he added brightly. "I wonder how much that would'a fetched."
"It would cost the owner a lot more than any amount of money," Hisoka said, dryly as they reached the end of the floor." There are a lot of dangerous and desperate people here, too. Ones that toy with magic they don't know how to control. They'd give up everything to own something they think might change their lives."
"Most people would, if they think it could make their wishes come true," Tsuzuki murmured. They took the spiral stairwell down to the next floor – this place went deeper than any skyscraper's height. "Luckily, genies are hard to come by."
It wasn't any of those things that they were searching for. This newest case involved artifacts that they could not let anyone lay a hand on – namely, souls. Some times, tortured souls of the dead became trapped and encased in objects like dolls, or jewelry, or mirrors. These things could become warped and tainted, causing harm to both the owner and spirit trapped inside. Souls were powerful things no one should own.
Hisoka suspected Tsuzuki thought of it as a rescue mission. They were going to release them – Shinigami bursting in to free souls, rather than taking lives. His partner was eager to do it, but this place cast a shadow on Hisoka's senses, like being underwater. It made him edgy.
Several more floors, further downwards…
They were running into more people with red flowers, now. The halls were no longer plain but quite decorated, and the smell of burning incense floated through the air. Corridors had more turns and unexpected dead-ends, evolving into a labyrinth. An elevator dinged somewhere, and Hisoka wondered if they shouldn't just take it to the very bottom floor and work their way up.
"When is the auction?" he whispered.
"I think it's starting soon – see? Everyone's heading out."
They watched as a gaggle of women marched away in exotic and lavish kimonos. One of them had a bracelet with a gem set on it, shaped like a pale sapphire eye – with a shiver, Hisoka realized it was an eye. What's more, it blinked at him.
"There's an auction every night this week, right?" Hisoka asked as they passed a door with water pooling out onto the carpet from it. "How long has this been going on?"
"A while," Tsuzuki said, head tilted. "But I think it's only a week out of a year – they spend the rest of the year looking for things to sell."
One more floor.
This floor was silent. Unlike the last few, this batch of hallways looked the like ones on the upper floors – plain, mundane, and unoccupied.
"This is it.. well, no guards?" the man said, with good humor.
However, he spoke too soon. There was a creek as a door down the hall swung open, and men in gray suits exited, three in total. The partners ducked into a doorway, straining to listen.
"Got a plan, now?" Hisoka snorted.
"Don't you?" Tsuzuki drew out a slip of paper, and began folding it into careful, precise shapes.
"Don't tell me you're going to – "
"It's called a distraction!"
"There are wards all over the place!" he whispered angrily.
"The wards detect magic – doesn't look like they detect who it's coming from." Tsuzuki cupped his hand over the paper crane, and with a flourish he released an ethereal dove. It darted from their hiding spot, heading off like a white bolt down the hall.
Suddenly, all the wards it passed burned bright, and there was a sound like chimes. The men in suits spotted and shouted at the bird.
" - Did that just get out?!"
"You said you checked all the collars - "
"Get that before it sets off the alarms – "
The distraction worked like a charm. The guards dashed away, led on a chase.
"It worked," Hisoka said, stunned. That was almost too easy. Tsuzuki grinned, then motioned to go when it was clear.
Quickly, they slipped into the room. It was more like a small warehouse – there were boxes everywhere, some decorated, some like treasure chests, and others like simple wooden containers hiding objects with in. Veils draped fancy furniture, and trinkets hung from the walls, meticulously stacked – there were even birdcages, but they looked empty. One side of the room was covered with a thick curtain.
Tsuzuki's face fell. "How are we going to find it in here?"
Hisoka leaned down to the nearest object, a heavy leather book. It was neatly labeled with a piece of paper, and a short description – Book of Curses: Japanese, 1st to 3rd century. "Well… you can start by reading."
Tsuzuki looked almost offended by that suggestion.
---
They had to look quickly – who knew how long the dove would escape the guards. There was more that they thought, and a lot of the things sounded strange, bogus, and often useless.
Spelled photo frame: place photo within. Will reflect your best memory.
Blessed Rice: cook with the bath water of a virgin, during a new moon. Very strong aphrodisiac when eaten.
Hair of Bride: enchanted hair of a woman who died before her wedding.
Mirror: Break when your enemy's reflection is in it. Instant death.
And so on…
"I think I found it," Tsuzuki said at last.
"What is it?"
"A candle." His tone was rueful. "I'm sure the Count would like to examine it."
"Wouldn't he rather examine you?" Hisoka muttered, rolling his eyes.
The man made a face. "There might be more in here…" Tsuzuki was at the far wall, with the curtain. He lifted it for a peek – and gave a gasp. The feeling of horror was so strong and cut through his foggy perception so cleanly that Hisoka stumbled as he rushed over.
"What?!"
"There are… people in here!" was the harsh whisper. He pulled away the curtain – indeed, it was an enclosed room, like a jail cell. Maybe a dozen people, some half-asleep, as if drugged. Chains and collars trapped them to the wall and ground, and there was nothing magical about them. And, they were naked.
"Slaves? Do they auction humans, too?" Hisoka asked, slightly sickened. He fully anticipated Tsuzuki's next words:
"We have to get them out of here."
"But how?" he nearly snapped, without meaning to. "They're asleep and we can't drag people out of here without being noticed. We can't do anything, or the wards will go off."
"I know!" Tsuzuki said, voice getting higher as he let his emotions rage. The tone stung Hisoka. He had to take a step away as the man began to pace. "But we can't do nothing!"
"It doesn't have to be us," he offered. "We can call the authorities, give an anonymous tip. Give names of the people here."
He shook his head violently, "Too many people here with power. Cops are no match for some of the stuff here. Even if the authorities do come, what if it's too late? Who knows what will happen to these people." Purple eyes focused on green, overflowing with regret already.
"Tsuzuki…"
"Let me think. Just… give me a minute."
"…Make it quick." He sighed, nervous. "Those guards will be back."
Tsuzuki gripped the curtains to the cell, looking ashen and ready to tear it down.
The teen backed up around the room, inching towards to main door and listening for the return of the guards.
A boy? said a voice.
Hisoka turned around, startled. Was it one of the slaves? It sounded tired, almost bone-weary… except, it wasn't a sound. He could feel it.
Boy? This time, a little more curious. There was a noise from the center of the room, like a scrapping of a dagger against brick, from where a large golden cage rested.
Cautiously, Hisoka came close and peered into it.
It was a red fox. It wasn't like any fox he knew of… even in the shadows the fur wasn't orange-red, or coppery-red, but real, rich, blood red and he could see it was much larger than a wolf. Hisoka met its eyes for a moment and suddenly found he was unable to look away – its eyes glowed like embers.
You hear me. It staggered up on all fours, long claws clicking as it approached the bars. There was a sudden wild surge of hope, of frenzied desire for escape. It if had the energy to, Hisoka was sure it would be tearing at the box.
Free me, it ordered. It showed him a thin gold collar around its neck. There was no clasp.
Hisoka shook his head – his mind was drowning in static, and couldn't help but move forward.
"Hisoka?" That was Tsuzuki, but he sounded far.
Free me! And he could hear a furious howl behind the thought. Without thinking, he dove his hands through the bars of the cage. His hands dug into the thick fur of fox's neck, surprisingly soft and warm, and had a momentary fear that it would bite him. Instead his hands simply grasped the collar and he gave a thought - GO.
The gold collar shattered in his hands.
The weight on his mind lifted, and he could read the inscription on the cage. Fox: unknown. Possible Kitsune. Dangerous.
"Hisoka!" A pair of arms wrenched him away just as a nova of intense heat filled the room, and the metal cage simply… melted.
---
Wards all over the room burst to life. Hisoka could feel the bite of flames curling at his skin, turning it dark and turning his sleeves to ash, and he had a heart-stopping sense of déjà vu as fire spilled over them. Tsuzuki held him close. But the flames were short and didn't last long – he could sense that the fox (fire fox?) was weak.
The fox gave a roar and jumped. It disappeared in a sight-burning flash, leaving only a blackened ring on the ceiling, the smell of smoke and ozone, and the sound of a ringing alarm behind.
Tsuzuki and Hisoka sat there, stunned.
"Got a plan?" his partner asked, voice shaky.
"…No," he answered.
Then, the door opened.