Chapter Thirty-Three
It took quite a few minutes, but eventually the wall gave into the pressure Fuuma was putting on it. He leapt into the air as a tidal wave came rushing out at him, floating above it until the waves had faded and the water was still. “Cool,” he said, admiring the symbolism, even though he didn’t really understand it. Then he began to make his way into Kakyou’s Dreamscape. Because he was, after all, a teenager possessed with phenomenal cosmic power, he amused himself by walking across the water.
Kakyou was sitting calmly on the beach, underneath a single palm tree. There were coconuts littered around on the sand. “Miss me?” Fuuma asked, walking onto the beach.
“Ah, aligning yourself with the great martyrs of history,” Kakyou said, amused.
Fuuma looked at the coconuts. “So what do those symbolize?”
Kakyou looked annoyed. He picked one up and threw it at him.
“Good to see you too.”
~~~~
“Go ahead,” Tsuzuki said calmly.
Hinoto just glared for a long minute. Then her whole body flinched away from something none of the rest of them could see. The tension was broken by the shrill ringing of Hisoka’s cell phone. He took it out of his pocket and held it up to his ear. “Kurosaki desu . . . aa . . . okay. Thanks.” He hung up and gave Tsuzuki a meaningful glance.
Tsuzuki just smiled.
Hinoto gasped for breath a few times, then straightened up. ((TAKESHI!)) Her mental call reverberated through the room.
Tsuzuki put his hand out like he was pushing her away. She went flying through the air and slammed against the back wall. The twins both screamed in unison, and her new bodyguard came running out to stand in front of Tsuzuki.
“Sit down,” Tsuzuki said, barely glancing at him. He ended up on his ass looking shocked. He tossed an ofuda into the air, putting a shield around the Seals, himself, and Hisoka, so Takeshi couldn’t get in. He could only assume that the other man had heard.
Hinoto struggled to her feet. She was still smiling, looking more than a little crazy. “He will kill you,” she gasped out. “He will kill all of you. He’ll kill Fuuma first, for being unable to -- ”
Tsuzuki slammed her into the wall again. “I think you need to be quiet now,” he said, his voice frighteningly gentle. For a minute, it looked like Kamui might say something or try to interfere, but Subaru’s arm around his shoulders held him still. He turned his face and hid it in the Sumeragi’s shoulder, not wanting to see what happened. Subaru pulled him into a hug. Similarly, Yuzuriha turned her face away, though she did not seek comfort. The other Seals watched impassively.
Hinoto did not try to get up. She simply knelt on the floor. Her hair had come undone and her face was bloody. Incredibly, she was laughing. “He’s coming,” she gasped out.
“If I let you live, you’re just going to keep trying, aren’t you,” Tsuzuki said quietly.
She smiled. “It’ll happen again,” she said. “I’ll do it then if I can’t do it now.”
“You’re right,” Tsuzuki said. “I can’t imagine what it was like being trapped down here, being used like you were. But I can respect your wishes.” His fingers twitched slightly. There were a long few seconds of complete silence, before Hinoto slumped forward without another word.
For a brief second, Hisoka felt it -- felt the return of the presence that had been there before Hinoto had locked him into the Dreamscape. The presence that wasn’t malevolent, that had trapped by the side that was. But then it was gone, with a faint whisper of gratitude and relief.
“What did you do?” Subaru asked, out of morbid curiosity.
“Stopped her heart.” Tsuzuki turned away, but he didn’t have a very long respite. Takeshi appeared just outside his kekkai.
“Asato,” he said, and bowed slightly. “Will you come with me now?”
Tsuzuki shook his head, not looking at him. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“Why not?” Takeshi didn’t look angry, not yet. Just confused.
“Because this is wrong,” Tsuzuki said, “and you shouldn’t be here. I’m sorry.”
Now anger was starting to glow in Takeshi’s eyes. They darted to Hisoka, then back to Tsuzuki. “It’s because of him,” he snarled.
“Partly,” Tsuzuki admitted.
“You can’t be happy here.”
“You wouldn’t spare them even if I did go with you,” Tsuzuki pointed out.
“You didn’t answer me.”
“I don’t know how to answer,” Tsuzuki said. “Sometimes I’m happy. Sometimes I’m not. Ending the world would certainly make me unhappy.”
“You don’t understand,” Takeshi stated. “You didn’t understand then and you don’t now. This world doesn’t deserve to live. Not after how it treated you. How it treated both of us, just for loving each other.”
“You’re right,” Tsuzuki said. “It was unfair. But I can’t take that happiness away from people who have it now.”
“I love you,” Takeshi said. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“That means a lot to me,” Tsuzuki said. “But other people love too. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
For a few seconds, Takeshi appeared to be at a loss. Then he smiled. “I know who Fuuma loves.”
“So do I,” Tsuzuki said, returning the smile. “He loves his Dreamgazer.”
Takeshi’s smile faded. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“A lot of people say things that they don’t really mean,” Tsuzuki said. He was aware that it didn’t really have much to do with the conversation. He just wanted Takeshi to shut up about it before he said something about Kamui.
“I’ll give you one more chance to come with me,” Takeshi said quietly.
“I appreciate the offer,” Tsuzuki said. “Had things turned out differently, I would have taken you up on it. But I can’t anymore.”
Takeshi shrugged, as if he wasn’t bothered by this at all. Then he turned to Kamui and bowed slightly. “See you on the Final Day,” he said, and walked out of the room.
~~~~
Fuuma pulled Kakyou into a hug so tight it felt like his ribs were going to break, burying his face in Kakyou’s hair. “You’re okay,” he whispered. “Thank . . . somebody. Tsuzuki, really.”
Kakyou hugged back. “How did you get me out?” he asked, looking at the hospital room and IV with distaste. “How long was I in the dream?”
“I dunno . . . two or three days. I lost track of time. Tsuzuki went to confront Hinoto while I rescued you.” Fuuma kissed the tip of his nose.
Kakyou hugged Fuuma again. “I love you,” he whispered. “And I missed you.”
Nataku walked over from the corner in which he had been sitting, forgotten. “Are you all right, Kakyou-san?”
Kakyou nodded and tried to give Nataku a hug too, which worked passably. Fuuma finally pulled away. “Ne, Kazuki, can you run and get Kakyou some food? He must be starved. I saw the coconuts.”
“I blame that palm tree on you,” Kakyou told him.
“What do you want?” Nataku asked Kakyou.
“Wonton soup,” Kakyou said decisively.
Fuuma pulled some money out of his wallet and handed it to Nataku. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Nataku gave Fuuma a look. “What do you want?”
Fuuma blinked. “Huh?”
Nataku looked as disgusted as he possibly could. He’d been taking pointers from Kakyou. “You’re not supposed to forget to eat,” he informed Fuuma.
“Didn’t I eat lunch?”
Nataku just shook his head.
“Oh. Uh. In that case, get me some General Tso’s chicken and some barbecue spareribs.” Fuuma pulled out some more money and handed it over. “And get whatever you want for yourself, too.”
“Now I don’t mind,” Nataku said, and left the room.
Fuuma returned his attention to Kakyou, running a hand through the Dreamgazer’s hair. “You okay? Really.”
“Yes, I am. Really.” Kakyou returned the hug. “You brought my blanket,” he said suddenly. “And my plant!”
“Well, yeah . . .” Fuuma looked vaguely and inexplicably guilty.
Kakyou smiled. “You, quite literally, have to be one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”
Fuuma actually blushed. “Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
~~~~
Tsuzuki sank down to plunk onto the middle of the floor. “I just killed her,” he stated numbly. “And my dead boyfriend just tried to walk off with me.”
Hisoka said nothing. He simply sat behind Tsuzuki and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his face against Tsuzuki’s back.
“He thinks I don’t love him,” Tsuzuki said.
Hisoka flinched. Fortunately, Tsuzuki didn’t see it. He turned around, putting his arms around Hisoka and pressing his face against Hisoka’s shoulder. “When did everything go so terribly wrong?” he asked, his voice barely audible.
Hisoka hugged him back, as hard as he could. With the touch, he could feel everything Tsuzuki was feeling, and it went a long way towards making him feel better. He knew that Tsuzuki still loved Takeshi, but that didn’t stop Tsuzuki from wanting to be with Hisoka. “I don’t know,” he said softly.
Subaru was slowly herding people out the door, starting with Kamui then moving on. He decided to take Kamui to his apartment to get him away from everyone, and give him a stiff drink. The others reluctantly followed him out the door.
Hisoka hugged Tsuzuki tighter as he started to cry. “I want to go home,” Tsuzuki managed.
“Okay,” Hisoka said, smoothing his hair. “Sure. Whatever you want.”
~~~~
“You look exhausted,” Seishirou remarked as Subaru came in with Kamui in tow. His eyebrows raised to see Kamui, but he didn’t question the teenager’s presence. “How’d it go?”
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
“Whichever you prefer.” Seishirou poured a mug of tea for Subaru and handed it to him, then poured another for Kamui and shoved it into the somewhat dazed boy’s hands. Kamui slumped into a chair, staring into the mug.
“Hinoto’s dead.”
“Was that the bad news or the good news?” Seishirou asked, lighting a cigarette and then handing it to Subaru.
“It’s both,” Subaru said, accepting the cigarette. “Thank you.”
“How’s Kakyou?”
“Presumably, he’s fine,” Subaru said, not wanting to seem that close to Kakyou in front of Kamui.
“And Tsuzuki?”
“That I’m really not sure about at the moment,” Subaru said. “But when I left, not so great.”
“Oh. Nervous breakdown?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh,” Seishirou repeated.
“And Hinoto’s handmaidens and bodyguard shrieking about it wasn’t helping much. “But I got them to be quiet and go home.” He had managed to do this by threatening their further livelihood. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the words ‘shut up and go home or you’ll never work in this city again’ might have escaped his lips.
“I see.” Seishirou looked at Kamui, lit a cigarette, and handed it to him. “How are you?”
Kamui puffed on it, then started coughing. “No, not helping this time either,” he said, handing it back to Seishirou. “And I’m . . . in shock.”
“Ah,” Seishirou said, taking a long drag on the cigarette.
“I’m wondering if all the kamuis have purple eyes,” Kamui said. “I feel like a dork for not really noticing earlier.”
“I must say that I have no idea,” Seishirou said.
“Where’s Seimei?” Subaru asked him. “Still at school?”
“Yeah. He’ll be home soon. Did either of you eat lunch?”
“No,” Kamui answered.
“Well, get some food,” Seishirou said. “I need to make a few phone calls.” He disappeared into the rest of the house to call Fuuma in order to make sure Kakyou was really okay.
It was about another half hour before Seimei came breezing in. The three of them were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch at that point. “Hi, Dad, Subaru-san,” he said cheerfully. “I’m going to the mall with Teiji and -- oh.” He blinked at Kamui. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Hello.” He looked at Seishirou. “Any news of Hisoka and Tsuzuki?”
“Having killed the blind bint, Tsuzuki’s off having a nervous breakdown.” Seishirou caught Kamui’s wince. “Uh, sorry.”
“Whatever,” Kamui muttered.
“You wanna come to the mall with us?” Seimei asked Kamui. “You look like you could use a distraction.”
“Uh . . . uh . . .”
“Yes, he does,” Subaru said firmly. He looked at Kamui. “Go out and be a teenager. It’ll do you good.”
“And give you time alone with Seishirou,” Kamui managed to tease.
“That’s it,” Subaru said. “Out.” But he was smiling. “Don’t forget to call Keiichi.”
“I have my cell.” Seimei latched onto Kamui’s wrist and began to tow him out of the house.
“Oi, Sei-kun,” Seishirou called as he attempted to bolt, “do you have homework?”
“Only a little! I’ll do it later, promise.”
“Okay. Are you going to be home for dinner?”
“No. Take Subaru-san someplace nice!”
Seishirou blinked. “As if I need the encouragement. Have fun.”
“We will.” And Seimei was gone, with Kamui close behind.
Seishirou blinked at Subaru. “Want to give me the details now that Kamui’s gone? Whatever possessed you to bring him here?”
“He was just going to go home and stare at the rest of the Seals and stew,” Subaru said. “I was assuming if I brought him here, either Seimei would have enough sense to do exactly what he did, or you could send the two of them out.” He went on to explain the situation to Seishirou.
“Well, at least one of them is gone,” Seishirou said.
“I think that’s awfully cold comfort to Tsuzuki.”
“I don’t think anything I could possibly say would be anything but. So what are we going to do until dinner?”
“What do you want to do?” Subaru asked, with a slight smile.
“Well, let me think . . .” Seishirou said slowly.
“Oh, shut up,” Subaru said, and started pulling him towards the bedroom.
~~~~
Keiichi met Kamui and the others at the mall. Seimei had managed to not only find Teiji, but to drag Hideki and Tsuki along as well. He figured that the more people that were there, the more distracted Kamui would be. Keiichi walked up behind Kamui and put his hands over Kamui’s eyes. “Guess who?” he asked.
Kamui paused with the French fry halfway to his mouth. “Gee, I wonder.”
Keiichi plopped down in the chair next to him, took the fry, and fed it to him. “How are you feeling?” he asked. He was determined to act as normal as possible, so Kamui wouldn’t mope any more than was strictly necessary.
“Very cottony,” Kamui said. Everyone blinked at him. “Detached,” he added.
“Oh.” Keiichi leaned over and gave him a brief kiss.
“I just saw one of the nicest people I know splatter one of the weirdest people I know,” Kamui said, seemingly bewildered. “Yet I’m sitting here in the mall, ogling my boyfriend, and wondering why, when I have the fate of humanity resting on my shoulders, that I’m broke.”
Everyone blinked at him again.
“Shut up and kiss me,” Keiichi said.
“Okay then,” Kamui said, and did so.
“I was really worried about you,” Keiichi said, when they broke apart. He pulled him into a tight hug. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”
“Keiichi,” Kamui said. “You’re being normal. That’s incredibly helpful.”
Seimei smiled, inordinately pleased with himself for getting Kamui to quit moping in his own roundabout way.
“So where are we going next?” Teiji asked, draping his arm around Seimei’s shoulders.
“Somewhere requiring little funding,” Kamui said.
~~~~
Hisoka took Tsuzuki home and plied him with liquor. It didn’t take long for the purple-eyed Shinigami to fall sound asleep in Hisoka’s lap. Hisoka was still sitting on the couch, running his fingers through Tsuzuki’s hair absently, when the door opened and Tatsumi came in. “Konban wa,” Tatsumi said. “How is he?”
“Hysterical, mostly. Currently drunk and asleep.” Hisoka motioned for Tatsumi to come in. They were in Tsuzuki’s apartment, but that didn’t stop Hisoka from acting like it was his own.
“What happened?” Tatsumi pulled over a chair and sat down, then waited quietly while Hisoka explained the events of the day. “Well,” he finally said, “at least Hinoto was taken care of.”
Hisoka laughed slightly. “Yeah. Way to go, us.”
Tatsumi shrugged, clearly implying that Hisoka should take what he could get. “And Takeshi doesn’t plan on directly assaulting Kamui. That much is clear from his parting comment.”
“Yeah, I know.” Hisoka rubbed his hands over his face. “He’s going to try to kill Fuuma instead. That’s almost worse. I’d go warn him, but I’m sure he already knows. We have a right to defend Kamui; it would be hard to explain why we were defending Fuuma. That’s if Tsuzuki can even fight him in the first place, which isn’t looking too likely.”
Tatsumi sighed. “Theoretically, Takeshi would be evenly matched with Fuuma.”
“Yeah, theoretically,” Hisoka said. “But he’s got more experience.”
“But Fuuma’s experience is more recent,” Tatsumi pointed out. “Takeshi’s been dead for eighty years. That has to have some sort of impact.”
“Yeah. It’s turned him into a lunatic.” Hisoka frowned thoughtfully. “Is there any way of finding out exactly where he’s been for the past century? I know it’s not really much, but there might be something there that can help. If nothing else, we’ll know what kind of lunatic we’re dealing with.”
“I’ll look into it,” Tatsumi said, “and call you tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’m sure I’ll still be here.”
“So I assumed,” Tatsumi said. “Or maybe I should say I hoped so.”
Hisoka managed a vulnerable smile. “Yeah, well . . . what can I say? I think I’m wrapped around his little finger.”
“I bet he doesn’t know that,” Tatsumi remarked.
“Nah. Not yet, anyway.”
“You want some help getting him into bed?”
Hisoka blushed slightly, then nodded. “Yeah, thanks. I’m not strong enough to carry him by myself. And I never will be, but let’s not think about that.”
Tatsumi rolled his eyes and picked Tsuzuki up. “You could lift weights,” he mentioned to Hisoka, carefully cradling Tsuzuki against his chest.
“Sure, and look like a gorilla.”
~~~~
The problem with Takeshi, the others discovered the next day, was that he didn’t see the point in taunting the Seals like Fuuma did. Normally this might not have been a problem, but what it resulted in was that he destroyed Kekkai before any of the Seals could get there to try to stop him.
Therefore it was with a certain amount of relief that they went to stop the earthquake that had been slowly building over the past few hours the next morning. Apparently Takeshi had gotten bored.
Sorata and Arashi were the first ones there. They put up their kekkai, double-layering them to make it stronger. They alighted on a nearby rooftop that was mostly untouched by the damage and looked around. “Where is he?” Sorata asked unnecessarily.
“Most likely hiding,” Arashi said coolly, drawing her sword.
Sorata shuddered. There was something really unnatural about a girl whose arm could spout a sword. I mean, really. He looked up quickly as Karen landed on the roof next to them. They nodded at each other, no words needing to be spoken, then all leapt in different directions as the building started to collapse.
Within minutes, all of the Seals were gathered there, including Kamui. There was still no sign of Takeshi, but he was keeping them busy by systematically collapsing all the buildings they were standing on.
“This is annoying,” Subaru said.
“Oh, you noticed?” Kamui snapped, struggling to keep his balance as the building listed to one side. “Where the hell is this guy?”
They all looked over as they heard a shrill scream.
“That was Yuzu -- ” Kamui leapt off the building before even finished her name. Subaru went with him; the other Seals were trying to determine the location of the scream.
They found Takeshi standing in the center of the tallest building; they’d so far been avoiding it because they didn’t want such a large one to collapse underneath them. He had Yuzuriha slung over one shoulder. Inuki was nowhere to be seen.
Kamui saw and understood; Takeshi must have destroyed Inuki, causing Yuzuriha to scream. But now what was he up to?
They gathered in a loose semi-circle around him, unsure.
“I’m sure you’ve all realized why I called you here,” Takeshi said. “Usually I just destroy and run, but I figured this would be a good opportunity to kill you all.” He delivered this statement flatly, with not a hint of humor behind his tone. Kamui realized with a chill that not only did he mean it, he believed himself capable of it as well.
He backed up a few steps, towards the edge of the roof, then let go of Yuzuriha. She slid off his shoulders and plummeted off the roof. Kamui let out a yell and dove after her. He wasn’t sure if he could make it in time, but managed to snag her just before she hit the ground. He leapt back up to the roof and landed next to Subaru. “Caught her,” he gasped out.
“Oh my God,” Karen said, and crossed herself. Yuzuriha’s face was covered in blood.
Kamui began to scream. He let go of Yuzuriha and let her drop to the roof of the building, getting to his feet and backing away in horror.
“Look out!” Sorata yelled, and knocked Arashi out of the way as Takeshi aimed a large energy blast in her direction.
Chaos broke out. Subaru lost sight of the others, and of Takeshi. He only saw one way to distract Takeshi long enough to make him give up a battle that he was obviously winning. He glanced around and found the doorway with the staircase leading into the building, and dodged behind it. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to concentrate, pressed his hands together, and began to chant. He doubted he could exorcise Takeshi now, but it would hurt enough that it might force him to retreat.
He chanted for what seemed like eternity, trying to block out the noise from outside. He heard Kamui yelling at one point, but no other shrieks like Yuzuriha’s had been. He was hoping that was a good sign; he could feel the exorcism partially working. Finally, the rumbling stopped.
Subaru hesitantly stepped out from behind the door and onto the roof. Debris had been scattered on the roof, and he couldn’t see anyone. A figure finally staggered to its feet and wandered over. “Subaru?” Kamui asked dazedly. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” Subaru said. There was a gash on Kamui’s arm that was bleeding, and his shirt was torn, but he looked all right other than that. “Takeshi’s gone?”
“Think so,” Kamui managed. He was looking around.
Arashi managed to pull herself out of the wreckage. She was dusty and bruised, and cradling her arm at an awkward angle. “I think I broke my arm,” she coughed out. Then her eyes fell on Sorata and she dropped to her knees beside him, shaking him.
Subaru hurried over. “Don’t move him,” he advised. He knelt down and checked for Sorata’s pulse. It was still there, but he was bleeding heavily from a head wound. Subaru peeled off his shirt and pressed it against the wound. “Hold this here,” he told Arashi, and stood up.
Karen and Seiichirou had stood by now; the former looking shaken but unhurt, the latter leaning heavily on her. Seiichirou didn’t seem to be able to walk, and his eyes weren’t focusing properly. Out of the six Kekkai they’d put up, three were gone. The others pulled theirs in and some of the damage disappeared.
Subaru didn’t bother to call for help. With all the damage the earthquake had done, there would be ambulances once they got down to ground level.
Right. Once they managed to do that.
Karen helped him get the injured Seals down to the ground, except for Sorata, whom he didn’t feel it was safe to move. He was trying to figure out exactly how he was going to explain Sorata being on the roof.
In the end, he didn’t. Kamui’s arm was bandaged, but he wasn’t taken to the hospital. Arashi was brought in for her broken arm; Seiichirou for his concussion and a broken ankle. Sorata’s condition was uncertain.
Kamui turned to Subaru, blinking at him. “Yuzuriha’s dead,” he said, sounding numb.
Subaru decided he’d better sit down. That spell had really taken it out of him. He just kind of nodded. “I know.”
Karen pulled Kamui into a hug. Subaru was trying to think if there was anything he could add that might sound a little less callous when his cell phone rang. He blinked for a minute, uncomprehending, then picked it up and answered. “Moshi moshi?”
“Subaru-kun?” Seishirou’s voice came over the line. “Are you all right?”
“It depends on your definition of all right,” Subaru said.
Seishirou was so relieved just to hear him alive that he took a minute to answer that. “Well, you’re obviously still breathing. How are you other than that?”
“Physically unhurt and very, very tired.”
“Do you want me to come pick you up?”
“Yes,” Subaru said. “Can you drop Kamui and Karen off at the hospital, too?”
“Sure.” Seishirou hesitated, then asked, “are you three the only ones left?”
“The only ones left standing,” Subaru confirmed.
“I’ll get the whole story when I see you,” Seishirou said. “I ought to be there soon. Uhm. Where are you?”
Subaru glanced around until he found an address and then gave that to Seishirou. The older man promised to be there within a half hour and hung up.
Kamui’s hand closed around Subaru’s wrist. “What are we going to do?” he whispered.
“We’re going to go to the hospital and wait for word on Sorata,” Subaru said, “and we’re going to do the best we can.”
~~~~
Kakyou was somehow not surprised to see Fuuma storming around the apartment, kicking everything that came within easy reach. He just walked around and tried to remove breakables from Fuuma’s path. He managed to save the Playstation. The stereo was not so lucky.
Fuuma had finally broken all he felt the need to and slumped onto the sofa. “This sucks,” he declared.
Kakyou just sort of looked at him.
Fuuma poked him in the ribs. “You’re supposed to be sympathetic and encouraging, damn you.”
“Maybe you can arrange things so you can Kamui can team up against him,” Kakyou suggested.
Fuuma snorted. “If all seven Seals can’t beat him, I’m not sure Kamui and I could either.”
“Six,” Kakyou corrected.
“Whatever.”
“This man must have a weakness,” Kakyou said. “We just haven’t found it yet.”
“Sure we have. It’s Tsuzuki. We know what it is; we just can’t use it.”
“Okay, we haven’t figured out how to use it yet.”
Fuuma sighed. “Tsuzuki won’t fight him, and I can’t even be the slightest bit irritated with him about it. I probably wouldn’t be able to either, if I were him. So there has to be some way we can use Tsuzuki without having them fight.”
“I feel pathetic saying this, but we need a strategist or something,” Kakyou said.
“Or an air raid squad.”
“We could ask Kusanagi. All else fails, we could bludgeon Takeshi to death with him.”
Fuuma couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t want to go near Kusanagi right now. His little girlfriend just died, and while it was a truly alarming relationship, that doesn’t mean that he’ll be any less upset.”
“Maybe you and Kamui would have a better chance if you laid a trap for him instead of the other way around,” Kakyou suggested.
“But I can’t arrange anything with Kamui. Evil, remember?”
“In your little evil contract, is there anything against you trying to save your own people?” Kakyou asked.
“Not that I’m aware of, but Takeshi isn’t the one who went after you. That was Hinoto, and Takeshi just came along for the ride.”
“Well, you can use it anyway,” Kakyou said. “Subaru and Seishirou would be a good target. You can go help Seishirou, and all the Seals and Kamui will come running to help Subaru. Then you can kick his ass together.”
“What the hell can I ask Subaru and Seishirou to do that will get Takeshi’s attention?” Fuuma asked, skeptical.
“I don’t know. Go ask them if they’ve got anything.”
“Oh, all right. Bossy prick.”
“That’s why you love me.”
~~~~~
Hisoka was pleased to see Tatsumi until he got a look at the secretary’s face. “Bad news?” he asked hesitantly, letting Tatsumi into the apartment. Tsuzuki was in his bedroom. Either he hadn’t woken up, or he was hiding. Hisoka wasn’t sure which.
“Aa,” Tatsumi said. “Takeshi destroyed another Kekkai last night, and came close to destroying another this morning. One of the Seals was killed in the attempt.”
“Oh.” Hisoka sat down. He had only met two of them, but was dreading that it might be Subaru. “Who?”
“Nekoi Yuzuriha.”
“Oh,” Hisoka repeated again, numbly. He didn’t want to sigh in relief. That would just be callous. “And her . . . her soul moved on properly?”
“Aa.”
“That’s good . . .” Hisoka shook himself slightly. “Let’s not tell Tsuzuki.”
“No, I wasn’t going to suggest that we do so,” Tatsumi replied. “I did find out where Takeshi was. I had to look in the records. He was judged unworthy of Heaven, but not evil enough for Hell. He has spent the century atoning for his sins so he may enter Heaven.”
“Oh,” Hisoka said. He was familiar with the Catholic concept of Purgatory, but had never before met anyone who’d been through it. He supposed that Takeshi, having nearly destroyed the world, was a prime candidate. “He did it for Tsuzuki.”
“Excuse me?”
Hisoka realized that while his train of thought had all made perfect sense to him, he hadn’t related any of it to Tatsumi. “Takeshi was trying to end the world for Tsuzuki. Because it had shunned him, because he was different. And because there had been so much prejudice against them, as lovers. He hated the world for treating his beloved like that. I’m not sure I can really blame him. He just wanted it all to be gone, so there could be a place where he and Tsuzuki could be happy.” His voice choked slightly. “And that’s how it was supposed to be . . . why Tsuzuki became a Shinigami. Takeshi would have gotten out of Purgatory and they could have been happy, if . . . if I hadn’t . . .”
“You shouldn’t think like that,” Tsuzuki said quietly, from his doorway. Both Hisoka and Tatsumi jumped.
“Why not?” Hisoka asked. “Don’t you regret that you’ve missed this chance?” Despite the emotion in the words, his voice was dull, almost dead.
“We missed the chance eighty years ago,” Tsuzuki said. “I don’t regret the time with you. When Takeshi got out of Purgatory, he would have just moved on.”
“And wouldn’t you have followed him?” Hisoka asked quietly. “If I hadn’t been here?”
“Maybe,” Tsuzuki said patiently. “But I’m happy having you.”
“You would be happier with him. And . . . and maybe he deserves you more, because he’s waited for you so long, and I’m . . .”
Tsuzuki pulled him into a hug, effectively cutting off his words. “Stop that.”
“How can I?” Hisoka asked, pulling away. “I can feel how much this hurts you!” His voice choked again and he looked steadfastly at the floor.
Tsuzuki took Hisoka by the chin and forced the younger Shinigami to look at him. “That’s Muraki’s fault, not yours.”
Hisoka stared at him for a second, then whispered, “But I can feel that it hurts Takeshi too . . . he still loves you . . . I don’t want to . . . to ruin that . . . he’s waited for so long . . .”
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Tsuzuki said forcefully. “You and I were supposed to be together, and he should have gone on to Heaven. Where he would have been happy, with or without me. This is Muraki’s fault.”
Hisoka closed his eyes, trying to stop the impending tears. “I . . . I know, but . . .”
“No more buts,” Tsuzuki said, pulling him into another hug.
“I just want you to be happy,” Hisoka whispered into his shoulder.
“We will straighten this out,” Tsuzuki said. “It’ll be hard, but we will. And when it’s all said and done, we’ll be together, and you will make me happy.”
Hisoka sniffled, and said nothing, but his arms twined around Tsuzuki’s waist and hugged back with surprising strength.
Tatsumi cleared his throat slightly, reminding them of his presence.
“Tatsumi!” Tsuzuki was reminded. And looked shocked. “Um . . . hi.”
“Ohayo,” Tatsumi replied. “I think I’ll be going now. If I find anything else, I’ll let you know. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Right,” Tsuzuki said, hearing the unspoken hint of ‘stay home and make each other feel better.’