Warnings: Um…very mild NCS, and some mention of certain stuff that’s deemed unsuitable for little toddlers. Whatever. It’s still kid-safe in my opinion.

 

Chapter Two

 

            Tatsumi wasn’t exaggerating when he defined this area as ‘unruly’. In fact, it was probably the understatement of the century.

 

            The dark alley that he and Tsuzuki were standing in right now appeared to be the territory of…

 

            Hisoka started blushing profusely. Thank gods that the dank alley had nothing to boast about in terms of lightings.

 

            The voices of women calling out seductively to um…prospective customers seemed to dominate the air of the place.

 

            That wasn’t all.

 

            There were men among them. Not men as in customers. Those men were doing exactly what the women did for a living.

 

            The thought of that brought back unwelcome memories.

 

            The night when the moon burned with a crimson glow, when the sakura petals were tainted with the colour of blood…

 

            Hisoka shut his eyes tightly to suppress the painful reminders of his past.

 

            He felt Tsuzuki’s hand brush lightly against his. Without asking, Tsuzuki clutched his hand in a grip so tight that it almost hurt.

 

            Hisoka certainly didn’t mind. In fact, he grasped Tsuzuki’s hand almost desperately. Tsuzuki had even lowered his mental shields by the merest fraction of an inch, just enough to allow that gentle worry and concern to wash over Hisoka like a soothing balm. Something that Hisoka urgently needed.

 

            As always, Tsuzuki understood what he was thinking, and he offered exactly what Hisoka needed to prevent him from collapsing.

 

            Again, Hisoka couldn’t help wincing at the thought of almost losing this steady pillar of support. He was already too dependent on Tsuzuki to be able to survive without him.

 

            Tsuzuki didn’t let go of his hand at all as they made their way down the alley. If anything, he pulled Hisoka closer protectively.

 

            They were stopped by a man who stood in the middle of their way, adamant in his refusal to move when Tsuzuki politely asked him to let them pass.

 

            The man had obviously been living in his clothes for days, and he had a stench of stale wine around him. Bloodshot and unfocused eyes due to the influence of alcohol blinked at them as the man fumbled his way closer. In short, a drunk.

 

            “And why should I let you pass?” the man slurred, leering at them.

 

            Tsuzuki ignored him and tried to push past him.

 

            “Such rudeness…” the man hissed, “I can pay for what I want, you know!”

 

            Hisoka yelped when the man suddenly made a grab for him.

 

            “Come on, pretty boy…how much do you want for a night? Name your price,” he drawled.

 

            Hisoka stiffened in fear.

 

            Come, my pretty toy…my beautiful doll.

 

            The emotions that he was receiving from the man only made the panic rise within him.

 

            :: lust desire hunger an almost animalistic need ::

 

            // Oh gods it’s no different from that night...do something. Must do something. Somebody please help me! Please!! //

 

            Hisoka stared vacantly as the man collapsed when Tsuzuki delivered a firm punch to the middle of his face.

 

            He vaguely felt Tsuzuki pull him into his arms, his mind only dimly registering the comforting litany that Tsuzuki was saying desperately.

 

            Why were his hands trembling? Oh wait, his entire body was quivering.

 

            Rough hands roamed his body…touching places that he wanted nobody to touch, intending to bring only pain…

 

            // The pain…it hurts. How it hurts… //

 

            “Hisoka!!!!” Somebody was shaking him roughly.

 

            // Tsuzuki //

 

            “Hisoka, snap out of it! Hisoka!” Tsuzuki’s sounded cracked with fear and alarm.

 

            Slowly, Hisoka brought his eyes to focus. Tsuzuki’s amethyst eyes came into view, the purple depths revealing that Tsuzuki was almost on the verge of panic.

 

            “Hisoka?” The hug tightened as Tsuzuki buried Hisoka in his chest in relief.

 

            Hisoka lifted his head to gaze at his partner.

 

            Tsuzuki looked so worried. All because of him.

 

            Hisoka cursed himself for being so utterly useless.

 

            “I’m fine,” he made himself say, “Why don’t we just go on…”

 

            “No,” Tsuzuki said firmly. “We’re going back. Right now.”

 

            Hisoka didn’t argue with that.

 

***

 

            “I’m not going to continue with this case,” Tsuzuki declared.

 

            “Tsuzuki, just because…” Hisoka attempted to talk him out of it.

 

            “It not ‘just because’! Look at what happened to you!” Tsuzuki cut in angrily. “This. Is. Just. Plain. Ridiculous.”

 

            “Look, if it’s just for the reason that I freaked out at the sight of a drunkard…” Hisoka retorted.

 

            “We’re quitting. Finished. End of story.” Tsuzuki stated, his voice rising slightly in volume.

 

            “You’re being unreasonable,” Hisoka snapped back. He hated himself for using that tone of voice even as he said those words. Tsuzuki was only being concerned, after all.

 

            “I’m not! I’m not going to stand by while you have to go through all of that! You know perfectly well that…”

 

            “Exactly! Don’t you understand? I need to get past that!”

 

            Tsuzuki fell silent.

 

            Hisoka sank back onto the bed in exhaustion. They were in the motel room that Tatsumi had booked for them in advance. Considering how tight-fisted Tatsumi was with his money, this room was actually…acceptable. At least, it offered all the basic necessities. Which was saying quite a lot since Tatsumi would dump his workers in an abandoned storehouse when it suited him.

 

            They have already been having this full-scale argument for the past half-an-hour. It was a wonder that none of their neighbours had come yelling at the door. The motel might be of high standards when you’re under Tatsumi Seiichirou’s supervision, but the walls are definitely more than a little flimsy. The room actually trembled if you raised your voice. And both of them have been doing that for a considerable number of times during their quarrel.

 

            “I need to get past that,” Hisoka repeated tiredly.

 

            Tsuzuki looked as if he had just suggested that they go for a vacation at Timbuktu.

 

            “Hisoka, no one’s blaming you for suffering from your past…” 

 

            “I know. But I don’t want to keep going through this…”

 

            Hisoka buried his face in his hands.

 

            “I don’t want to keep thinking of him, of what happened…I’m so sick of all of this.”

 

            This time Hisoka looked up to meet Tsuzuki’s eyes directly, his eyes exceptionally determined and defiant.

 

            “I said that I could defeat Muraki. You told me that we could do it together.” Hisoka was getting extremely angry with himself.

 

            “Then why am I still losing all sense of self-control when I see something that remotely reminds me of him?” he demanded.

 

            “Hisoka, it more than ‘remotely reminds’ you of him,” Tsuzuki argued heatedly, “That jerk just now was trying to force himself on you!”

 

            “That’s not the point.” Hisoka punched a pillow in frustration. “It’s far from it. I’m never going to get anywhere this way.”

 

            Tsuzuki looked ready to disagree with that. Hisoka staved off any arguments he was going to make.

 

            “I need to get on with my existence. And I’m not able to if I’m constantly haunted by my past. I need to prove to myself that I’m not going to let that bastard control my life.”

 

            Hisoka’s features firmed with a new sense of purpose.

 

            “And I’m going to start off with not letting some random drunk pervert freak me out.”

 

            He looked at Tsuzuki expectantly.

 

            “You promised me that we could do it together, after all,” Hisoka said quietly, but those emerald depths almost revealed the ever-conflicting emotions within him, the uncertainties that he faced. That promise meant a lot to him, and if Tsuzuki refused…

 

            Tsuzuki still looked unconvinced, and he almost seemed to want to argue with that. But the underlying expressions in Hisoka’s eyes must have told him not to, and he finally sighed in resignation, “Fine, but next time something like this happens, we’re definitely quitting.”

 

            Hisoka merely nodded, words once again failing him. Always, he had difficulty expressing his thoughts in words. He doubted he could ever tell Tsuzuki how important his every promise meant to him. The promise to protect him, the assurance that he would keep him safe…

 

            Tsuzuki always offered him the confidence and self-belief that he desperately needed. But would it ever be enough?

 

            He didn’t think it was wise to tell Tsuzuki that he had no idea at all on how he was supposed to overcome his fears.

 

***

 

            “Well, this is it,” Tsuzuki said, checking his directions for the hundredth time, mainly because Hisoka insisted that he did so. Hisoka had no love for this place at all, and he harboured no intentions to spend a few hours of his afterlife getting lost in this hellish place just because he was stuck with Tsuzuki Asato as a guide.

 

            They were currently at the entrance of a seedy-looking disco club. Tsuzuki’s ardent research had revealed this club to be frequently visited by all of the victims. That put it on the top of the list that labeled ‘suspicious’.

 

            Hisoka still couldn’t quite believe it. True, Tsuzuki could be a good worker when he put his mind to it, but his partner was now turning out to be a workaholic.

 

            And Tsuzuki made up thousands of excuses to not bring Hisoka along for investigations. That irritated Hisoka to no end. Now that Tsuzuki had finally accepted the fact that he couldn’t talk Hisoka out of it, he seemed to have it stuck firmly in his mind that he should get this done as soon as possible, close the damned case, and drag Hisoka back to Meifu.

 

            He sneaked off whenever Hisoka wasn’t there to watch him, be it when Hisoka was in the bathroom, out to get a breath of air, or even sleeping in the middle of the night.

 

            Then he turns up with all kinds of leads, every one of them already checked and either discarded or confirmed when he faces Hisoka. All done without Hisoka’s presence or knowledge.

 

            This kind of thing can get on one’s nerves after a while.

 

            Hisoka finally took to guarding Tsuzuki day and night. That displeased Tsuzuki immensely. So they ended up glowering at each other twenty-four hours a day, and Hisoka didn’t need his empathic powers to know that tempers were definitely fraying.

 

            It was obvious that Tsuzuki didn’t want to bring him along on this particular investigation. But with Hisoka doing nothing but watching him all day long, thus making it impossible to sneak off again, and Tsuzuki still wanted to get this case done as soon as possible, so…

 

            Here they are.

 

            And Tsuzuki was practically seething over the fact. Hisoka wasn’t in the best of moods either. After all, it is only normal that a person’s disposition deteriorate at an alarming pace if that person in concern can never get more than an hour’s sleep for the past three nights. And a fitful sleep at best.

 

            Tsuzuki naturally took it as a personal concern that Hisoka was practically tripping over his own feet from lack of sleep. At least, until Hisoka yelled at him and told him that it was all his fault that he couldn’t get any sleep. Tsuzuki did look a little guilty when Hisoka made that accusation.

 

            Only a little guilty. And he certainly didn’t make any promises about not going out without Hisoka.

 

            This was virtually a disaster just waiting to happen.

 

            Hisoka pulled his fuming mind back to present events. Tsuzuki was being barred by a man at the entrance of the disco. They weren’t allowed in, it seemed. 

 

            Tsuzuki finally turned around and started dragging Hisoka away from the place. Without the grace to even ask. Hisoka pulled his hand out from Tsuzuki’s grasp and glared at the older Shinigami.

 

            “Well?” he demanded.

 

            “Well what?” Tsuzuki asked innocently. The man practically radiated satisfaction.

 

            “What was the problem at the disco just now?” // Must calm down. Kicking up a fight with Tsuzuki in the middle of a job is not a good idea. //

 

            “Oh, that. The man said our type weren’t allowed in. I supposed we don’t look like the kind of people to frequent such places.”

 

            No wonder Tsuzuki seemed so pleased with himself. Hisoka wasn’t about to let that last, though. Tsuzuki had no right to confine him like some protected species.

 

            “So? We can look the part. We’re going to change and come back tomorrow night,” Hisoka told him tightly.

 

            That did it.

 

            Disaster happened.

 

***

 

            “NO! And that’s the LAST of it!”

 

            “You’re being ridiculous!”

 
            “You’re crazy!”

 

            “I don’t see what’s…”

 

            “I’m not going through with this, and THAT”S IT!”

 

            It was most fortunate that they managed to return to Meifu before the explosion struck. As it was, they were only disrupting the normal proceedings of the Shokan division of Juohcho.

 

            It started off as a private argument at first, but it was rather hard to keep something on such a large scale confidential.

 

            Naturally, everyone in the office had officially become gaping spectators.

 

            Of course, it was Tatsumi who put a stop to the fight before something really disastrous happened. Such as the library exploding for a third time or something similar. Or else Tsuzuki would have been working his back off to pay for the repairs. But then, that was what he was doing already, so it probably didn’t matter.

 

            “Before you progress any further with your discussion, may I have the honour of knowing the basis of this debate?” Tatsumi inquired dryly, his eyes glinting with that all too familiar gleam that said ‘Tatsumi Seiichirou’s exceedingly irritated’. Tatsumi was hardly angry, and his fury could only be sparked off if one of his colleagues were plunged into life-threatening danger, namely Tsuzuki.

 

            But Tatsumi had the ability to make the source of his irritation very, very uncomfortable for a rather long duration.

 

            Tsuzuki and Hisoka were in for big trouble.

 

            “Well?”

 

            Tsuzuki cringed under Tatsumi’s intense stare. It didn’t last long, though. In fact, he shot Hisoka a deprecating glare that seemed to make it appear as if Hisoka were the one that created this whole big fuss in the first place. In Hisoka’s opinion, he most certainly did not.

 

            “We were having a disagreement on one of Hisoka’s suggestions.”

 

            Tatsumi waited, but Tsuzuki obviously wasn’t going to supply anymore than that.

 

            Hisoka cursed the brunette silently. Why did he always end up with all the lousy work?

 

            “I suggested that we disguised ourselves to continue our investigations in the disco club.”

 

            Tatsumi nodded. He had read the files that Tsuzuki had given him, and that plan was really only a matter of course. After all, the club was one of their few leads.

 

It only took him a moment to register the reason of Tsuzuki’s disagreement.

 

            Given the reputation of that place, it was only to be expected that Tsuzuki would worry over his younger partner’s welfare. There was Hisoka’s past to take into consideration, after all.

 

            “Tsuzuki-san, if you are concerned about Kurosaki-kun’s safety…”

 

            “Exactly. Tatsumi, you know what kind of place that is.”

 

            Hisoka scowled.

 

            Tatsumi decided to go for a compromise. Those two might be a good working team, but they’ll never get anything done if they spend their time bickering. He didn’t think that either one would relent anytime in the near future. Both could be impossibly stubborn.

 

            In other words, they were wasting time. From Tatsumi’s point of view, time equals money. And money ranked almost the top of his importance list.

 

            “Tsuzuki-san, I feel you should proceed with the investigation if Kurosaki-kun has absolute confidence in his abilities.” Hisoka relaxed visibly at that. Tsuzuki looked betrayed.

 

            “Besides, I doubt he could come to any harm with you there,” Tatsumi said matter-of-factly. Inwardly, he was already pondering suitable covers for the duo. Maybe he should get someone to arrange it. Something clicked.

 

            “I’ll inform Saya and Yuma of your case. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to assist you in disguising yourselves.”

 

Hisoka’s skin turned a most unhealthy shade of green.

 

***

“Aww…Hisoka-san looks soooo cute,” Saya squealed.

 

“Positively adorable,” Yuma agreed enthusiastically.

 

On Hisoka’s part, he just wanted to fall over and die at that very instant.

 

            But since it was rather hard for a person who’s technically dead to die a second time, especially a Shinigami, Hisoka contented himself with furiously tugging down his shirt to cover more of his exposed stomach; if a piece of neon-green cloth less than eight inches wide could be considered a shirt.

 

He resolutely refused to think about the words sprawled over the front of that so-called shirt. They read ‘GET ME!’ in a bright, glaring red that could without doubt be clearly seen from a five-meter distance. Muraki would be infinitely pleased if he ever saw Hisoka wearing this. The psycho would probably take him up on the offer.

 

            The pants were a little better, if not by much. Also bright red, they were tight leather pants that barely covered his hips. If those pants were cream or beige, people might think that he was walking about without any pants on. And the sequins, how could he ever forget the sequins?

 

            Saya and Yuma had even taken special pains to highlight his hair with green tints. In fact, they were gushing over how much the dye matched his eyes. Hisoka wondered why they didn’t dye their hair blue and green if they were so supportive of matching eye and hair colours.

 

            “Now we have to get Hisoka-san cool accessories,” Yuma said dreamily, “pity we couldn’t make him wear the Pink House dress, isn’t it?”

 

            “Oh…” Saya sighed regretfully, “But this is the next best thing…”

 

            “Yeah, we’re getting Hisoka-san’s ears pierced!”

 

            Hisoka was getting more and more infuriated by the second. Those two crazed females were talking over his head as though he weren’t there…

 

            // Wait a minute…what did they just say?! //

 

            “You IDIOTS!” he yelled, “There is NO way I’m doing something like THAT!”

 

            The girls cowered under his fury. Two luminous pairs of eyes started brimming with tears. As if he cared about that.

 

            “But…Hisoka-san’s going to this club…” Saya held up a photo of the club.

 

            “And we’re dressing you according to these…” Yuma displayed the snapshots of the victims.

 

            Great. They were dressing him in dead people’s fashions. How auspicious. Oh, he forgot. He’s dead as well. Fine, every one of those teenagers wore earrings; he gave them that much credit. But…

           

            “I don’t need to pierce my ears to wear earrings,” he stated flatly.

 

            “It’s not the same!” Yuma protested vehemently, “You won’t fit in if you don’t pierce your ears!

 

            Saya nodded earnestly. “Yeah! I mean, anybody who wanted to wear earrings permanently would get their ears pierced! Trust us, we’re fully conversant in these matters!”

 

            Hisoka sank back into his seat in defeat.

 

            This was going to be long, long day.

 

***

 

            Saya and Yuma bounced up from where they have been fussing with Hisoka’s hair when the door clicked open.

 

            Tatsumi and Watari gaped at them. Or more accurately, they all gaped at Hisoka.

 

            This was the about the hundredth time that he wished that he was truly, thoroughly dead and not stuck in an eternal afterlife.       

 

            003 started flapping around him and tugging at the strands of green hair.

 

            The owl probably thought that those were pearl noodles or something.

 

            // What is Tsuzuki going to think when he sees me in these…he’ll freak. //

 

            Wait…why would he give a care to the world as to what that klutz would think of his outfit?

 

            003 finally gave up on his hair and flew off to welcome yet another new visitor.

 

            Which happened to be no other than Tsuzuki.

 

            // Oh gods. //

 

***

 

            They were having yet another glaring session. At least, they finally reached this stage after Tsuzuki got over his initial rage, which most unfortunately involved dragging Hisoka off and dressing him down in front of almost all of their colleagues.

 

            Hisoka’s cheeks burned from that memory, and this time it was from both anger and embarrassment.

           

            He was already having the hell of his day with being Saya and Yuma’s dressed-up doll and that idiot actually ticked him off in front of everybody like some…rebellious teen.

 

            Tatsumi’s presence was the only thing that managed to put a check on both of them.

 

            // Unfair. Why can he wear something so…normal when I’m stuck in this? //

 

            That thought was totally petty, but right now Hisoka was so teed off that he didn’t care.

 

            Fine, they can spend the whole day glowering at each other. It was Hisoka’s specialty, after all. He was bound to win this one eventually.

 

            It was Tsuzuki’s emotions that he was unprepared to deal with.

 

            They were very faint, with Tsuzuki keeping a tight control on them. But he could still feel them dimly, like very distant wisps of smoke just beyond his grasp. He wouldn’t have felt anything at all if he wasn’t probing on purpose.

 

            He had expected the anger and fury.

 

            But the strong, almost fiercely intense desire to protect took him completely aback.

 

            All of Tsuzuki’s other emotions paled in comparison. That surge of protectiveness was almost like a single ray of brilliant radiance in the hazy mist that was the rest of Tsuzuki’s feelings.    

 

            There was something else as well…something that he couldn’t quite define.

 

            He reached out for it…

 

            And Tsuzuki’s shields slammed down in place full force.

 

***

 

-- Just to mention it, Hisoka’s outfit was inspired from watching Gravitation, which also gave me the idea of them going undercover in this way. In fact, it spun off this whole club thing. If you have difficulty picturing how he looks like, think in terms of Shuichi in his performing attire with green tints and long leather jeans minus the coat. @-@

-- Saya and Yuma finally have their wish to dress Hisoka up granted. Although it isn’t the Pink House dress…but oh well.

-- Hisoka’s hair…pearl noodles. ^^ I ordered pearl noodles in a Japanese restaurant once (it was a long time ago), and they gave me green noodles. You’re supposed to eat it with soya sauce…and it tastes horrible. (in my opinion, but since I don’t like Japanese food…)

 

Chapter Three

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