by Empath no Tenshi
Prologue
Author's Notes:
Say . . . what if Hisoka lost his memory and was told that Tsuzuki was his koibito? (side note: This author is really beginning to lose it. . . ‘it=sanity’) This was the thought that struck me and made me write a new fic. I think no one has tried this before (???) So I dared the challenge. Hehehe. >.< I added a bit of Hisoka losing his memory, because I think Tsuzuki will never have the courage to confess his feelings. So once again, some coworkers step in and help. You find out for yourself who they are . . . ^_~
Sorry if the later chapters might come out slowly, it’s because I’m working two fics right now (three if you count the other that’s non-yami) T.T I’m really, really sorry.
Also, I’m sorry for the grammatical errors. English just isn’t my first language. Third or second I think . . . *shrugs*
Thanks to my ever-wonderful beta-reader psy-chan!!! *heart* I know my writing is much MUCH worse without your help. DOMO ARIGATOU~~~~!!!!! *glomps psy-chan*
And so . . . the curtains open. .
~*~ Till After Forever ~*~
Prologue
It’s really no wonder that my partner calls me an idiot. I mean, look at me. Know what I’m doing right now? I’m running, not just anywhere, but on the halls of EnMaCho! I could almost imagine Tatsumi . . . Oh boy, if he sees me now, he’ll have my coffin done by tomorrow. Not a very scary thought considering I’m dead and all, but so is Tatsumi. Trust me, a shinigami has the power to kill another shinigami, so friendly advice folks! NEVER make an enemy of a powerful deathgod, and shadow masters fall under that category.
Ouch! I guess I bumped into someone. See me gracefully fall to the ground face first. I’m praying to all known deities that it isn’t Tatsumi. I look up. It’s Tatsumi. Uh-oh! He looks like he’s about to unleash the fury of hell on me.
“Tsuzuki-san, just what on EnMa’s name do you think you’re doing?”
*gulp* His voice is calm, and I don’t like that. He only uses that kind of tone on the accountants when we’re over-budget (mainly because of yours truly), and on Watari whenever the lab explodes. You know, it has a hidden message behind it screaming ‘I want to kill you, as in right now.’
I’m hoping with every ounce of my existence that I can charm my way out of this. Okay, calm down Tsuzuki. Just stand up, there you go. Smile! Smile!
“O. . . Ohayou! Tatsumi. I was . . . um . . . well. . .”
Really, why doesn’t it surprise me that I’m stammering and sweating all over?
He simply raises an eyebrow. Alarm bells go ringing on my head. I bet I’m about to receive a full-blown scolding from EnMaCho’s beloved secretary that’s enough to last my entire afterlife.
But NO! I really have no time for this. Beam wider and force a smile. I think my face looks hilarious with a distorted look torn between a guilty smile and a panicked expression.
“Sorry Tatsumi, but . . . gotta go!”
And I instantaneously scamper away from him, before he gets angrier. Okay, forget it. He DID get more furious because even now that I’m two floors away form him, I can still hear him screaming at me. Um, I kind of accidentally hit him and made him drop the stack of papers he was holding, I think those were the accounts that he did some adjustments to just this past few weeks. So, here’s another survival tip, NEVER go near Tatsumi when he’s carrying a stack of papers that happen to be the accountant’s ledgers.
Perfect. What a wonderful way to start the day. But I know it’ll get better. Heehee. Especially once I see him.
~)-0-(~
Phew! I made it! I skid to a halt in front of the door to the infirmary. My hand’s trembling as I reach for the doorknob. It’s just. . . I’m so excited! Watari told me that my partner would wake up any time today. I softly open the door and walk in as quietly as I can.
Watari’s already inside and greets me with his ever-childlike smile as soon as I enter.
“Ohayou, Tsuzuki-san!”
“Ohayou!” I answer with a genki grin.
Then I turn my attention at once to the figure lying on the bed. He still looks a bit pale, no doubt because of his lack of proper food and being bedridden for such a long time. He looks a lot smaller now, or much thinner I mean. (It’s not like he’s shrinking) Nevertheless he looks better than when I first brought him here.
“His breathing is more stable now and with a bit more of much-needed rest, he’ll feel a lot better.” Watari said, laying a hand on my shoulder reassuringly.
I sigh in relief. He’s been unconscious for almost a month now. I guess the last assignment wore him out pretty badly. It’s my fault though. If only I had been more careful, then it shouldn’t have been necessary for Hisoka to do that to save my ass. I should’ve just. . .
“Nnnn . . .”
A very soft and weak moan escape his lips, but loud enough to bring me back to reality.
“Hisoka . . .”
I gently take his smaller hand into my own and clasp it between my warm palms. He blearily opens his eyes, and, awwww. . . he’s so adorable. Emeralds meet amethysts as the first person he sees upon waking up is me.
“HISOKA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!” I wasn’t able to hold myself back form glomping him. How much did I miss my dear partner? I haven’t realized that until now that he’s back. I mean, sure, all the time he was just here in the infirmary, but it’s always different when I can be with him and he’s talking to me and he cutely scowls at me and he screams at me and he walks with me and OUCH!!!!!
There’s a big lump on my head. Where did that come from? I look at Hisoka only to see his eyebrows twitching . . . and fist tightly clenched.
“I can’t breathe you idiot.”
See? I told you he’s adorable.
My famous puppy ears sprout and inu-chibi Tsuzuki strikes again.
“Hidoi na~~~” I whine.
“Where . . . am I? What am I doing here?”
Now that startled me. Why would Hisoka wonder where he is when he’s supposed to be familiar with EnMaCho’s infirmary by now? I mean, hey, he’s been working here for almost two years now and it’s not exactly less than often that he ends up here. I’m not saying it’s his fault or something, but Hisoka, aside from having died young, also has quite a weak health. Shhhh!!!! Don’t EVER let it out that I said that. EVER!!!
Anyway, he might still be dazed so, I’ll just tell him.
“Hisoka, you’re in the infirmary. How are you feeling?” I ask him with the gentlest smile I can give.
“Well. . .”
“Oi, Tsuzuki! Kachou wants to see you.” Terazuma calls from outside, not even bothering to see if I heard him at all.
Argh! What a perfect time to interrupt. Why now?
“But . . . but. . .”
Come on! Think Tsuzuki think! There should be something, any lame excuse would do!
“Go on Tsuzuki, its okay. I’ll take care of bon for now.”
Watari’s voice startled me. I didn’t even notice that he was here the entire time.
“But . . . but. . .” I still insist.
“If you don’t go to the staff meeting in time, Tatsumi might get mad.”
Now THAT made another set of alarm bells ring on my head. After what happened this morning, I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to give Tatsumi another reason to be mad.
“I promise, I’ll come back as soon as I can.” I say, holding Hisoka’s hand.
And I dash out of the infirmary and into the meeting room.
~)-0-(~
“Well, it seems that we’re complete now, except for Kurosaki-kun and Watari who are in the infirmary at the moment.” Kachou announces upon seeing me walk in.
He gestures to Tatsumi and the staff meeting begins.
“Due to the hectic schedule of the people involved, this meeting was delayed. Now, it’s called for to hear the reports of Tsuzuki-san and Kurosaki-kun about the latest case they’ve handled. However, since Kurosaki-kun is not present at the moment, we will only have Tsuzuki-san’s report.”
He looks at my direction and signals for me to begin. Oh good, it looks like he’s not mad anymore.
It’s funny that I feel nervous about giving a report on my own. Maybe I got too used to having Hisoka by my side all the time.
So I give them a brief summary of what happened.
“To put it succinctly, we were assigned to go to Chijou to handle a case dealing with strange disappearances and mysterious deaths of those who went missing, as usual. Apparently, the creature behind this was somehow able to mentally manipulate those people into committing suicide so it can feed off the anguish and bitterness of its victims, slowly sucking up their souls. This explains why the names of the victims appeared in the kiseki, but their souls were never found. That creature devoured them all.” I end it at that; I can’t find the strength to continue knowing what they’ll ask next.
Kachou looks pensive, and Tatsumi seems like he’s still processing in his mind everything I’ve said, as if he’s spotted something wrong . . . or missing.
Kachou speaks up, finally breaking the silence.
“Alright, that would suffice. I’ll just summon you to my office if I need some more information. For now, go back to your partner. I hear that he’s already awake.”
I started at what Kachou just said. I know that he has already been informed of what happened during our actual encounter with the soul eater, but he left it at that. Maybe he doesn’t want to bring it up anymore. Thank goodness. I think I don’t have the energy to talk about it just yet.
“Hai.” I nod simply, then go out of the staff room and head to the infirmary. The thought of my partner washes away all the tension I’ve been feeling since back at the meeting.
~)-0-(~
I walk into the infirmary only to be ushered out by Watari.
“Tsuzuki-san, I need to talk to you for a minute.”
He looks around the hallway then opens the door to an office right across the infirmary. We go inside and he starts to explain.
“Tsuzuki-san, tell me and be honest about it. What happened in your last case?”
Watari . . . I’ve never heard this serious tone from him, except when once I nearly did something to hurt Hisoka. Come to think of it, maybe that’s it. This time, again, I almost had Hisoka killed.
It’s hard for me to do this, but Watari’s voice sounds like it’s crucial. So I take a deep breath and spill it out to him.
“Before I went to confront the enemy, I told Hisoka to stay at the apartment instead. I didn’t want to risk him being exposed to that soul eater, because knowing its capability, I was sure that Hisoka’s empathy would make him very vulnerable to it. Naturally, he didn’t agree, so I poured some sleeping powder in his tea. He started to feel drowsy right after he drank. Honestly, I didn’t know it was that strong. But anyway, he fell asleep at once and I carried him to bed.”
For a moment, remembering the feel of Hisoka in my arms makes me smile, and then I continue.
“After that, I left him there and went out to confront that soul eater. The thought of more victims having their souls devoured made me want to puke.”
I clench my fist upon remembering all those whose souls would never be able to rest in peace.
“When I came face-to-face with it, I realized at once why its victims were driven to madness. Memories that haunted me all came back and flooded into my mind. I couldn’t stand it. But it was only momentary. Suddenly I felt a kind of warmth envelope me, as if shielding me from the creature’s power. Then I knew at once what it was and who it was from. Hisoka was there, he was extremely exhausted and kept his arm on the wall for support. He looked at me fleetingly then nodded. I took that opportunity to attack and in a few moments, the creature was down. Or so I thought. . .”
I feel like I want to stop already. I really don’t want to relive this anymore . . . but I muster all the determination I have inside and force myself to continue.
“I rushed to Hisoka’s side at once, him being my first priority. He was panting so hard. All the searching and staying up late during the entire mission, and at that very moment using his empathy like that to protect me, were slowly taking its toll. He must’ve been pushing himself to his limits just to stay conscious.”
And the fact that I gave him a sleeping powder earlier wasn’t helping either.
“Just then, Hisoka abruptly got up and set up a shield. The soul eater was up and it rapidly attacked us. I tried to counter-attack again, but physical attacks were useless. It just kept on getting up after each time I tried to kill it. Hisoka then suggested that after I subdue it and weaken it to some extent, he’d seal it instead. And so he did, and I realized too late that he combined his spiritual powers and empathy to do so. He figured out that the only way to completely block that creature from using its ability was to seal it with his empathy. Right after dealing with it, he collapsed into my arms.”
Watari looks deep in thought as he ponders about everything I’ve said. After a very long moment of silence, he speaks again, looking at me straight in the eyes.
“Tsuzuki-san, I’m afraid that bon might’ve overloaded his empathy upon doing so, and now he’s facing the consequences. He doesn’t remember anything. It seems he lost his memories as an effect of overusing his ability.”
My eyes are currently concentrating at an invisible spot on the floor. I can’t speak; I don’t know what to say. I’ve done it again. I put Hisoka in trouble again . . . all because of my own carelessness.
Hisoka, I’m so sorry.
Author's Notes:
=^w^= I really don’t have a concrete plot for this yet. *shrugs* But the idea is more or less formed on my head already. And it’s a great help too that random scenes are popping up every now and then.
Comments and all will be appreciated. @_@
~)-0-(~
Translations:
Ř Ohayou ~ “Good Morning”
Ř genki ~ cheerful
Ř Hidoi na ~ (that’s) so mean
Ř Oi ~ Hey!
Ř Chijou ~ land of the living
Ř kiseki ~ death list
Ř ne ~ commonly used expression (?); I can’t think of an English equivalent T.T
Ř koibito ~ lover
(If I made mistakes in my translations, please feel free to correct me. It’ll be much appreciated. =^w^=)