3 - Scaredy
Cat
Tsuzuki woke up the next morning with a loud yawn, glad he was able to get
some sleep even with his partner missing. It had been fitful, and full of
nightmares that began but never went far. Each time he seemed to roll onto
the cat, causing it to give a loud protest (accented with claws), which awoke
him from the dream. He smiled softly at the puddle of fur, nestled close beside
him still.
"It's funny, how you seem to know just what I need," he murmured, scratching the sweet spot under its chin. "I hope you don't mind staying with me until Hisoka comes back... I'd get lonely without the company." All he got was a purr in return, but that was fine. The content cat was a strange comfort to him.
"I don't want to leave you here while I go out... you'd probably get scared, ne? I don't want to go to the office alone, either... not alone. Tatsumi will be so angry that I lost him..." The kitten made a grumpy noise, interrupting his thoughts. With a sigh, he sat up and prepared to report in.
The Shinigami threw on an outfit, snagged a stale doughnut, and dashed about looking for the case information. After the flurry of movement, he carried the load to the door, doing it a last minute check "Papers, files, coat, wallet, cat... all set!" he said with forced enthusiasm, preparing for the long day. Shut the door, turn the key, and off to Meifu they go.
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Riding around in a pocket is more than a little disorienting. Dark and bouncing up and down with no control at random speeds, thwacking against unidentified objects the whole time--not my idea of fun. I've refused to go to those "amusement park" things for good reason, as they contain two things I hate: large groups of people and rides that involve motion sickness. Being stuck in a dark cloth "bag" and flopping around isn't exactly the number one thing on my "To Do" list. Not like I can change anything... he won't stay still long enough for me to get a decent foothold. I suppose I'll just wait, and see what that idiot does.
I think he's back in JuuOuCho now, if the smells are right... not to mention his mood is tailspinning down into the inner depression he usually hides from the world. Great, just peachy, I can feel that dread and guilt and sadness forming a nice mass inside of him now. What can I do about it? Nothing. I hate this.
Voices, a hole in my empathy... Tatsumi. He's the only person I can't feel at all, so he'd be the only one to be a black hole of emotions. Damn that Reikan of his, it's creepy to feel nothing where there should be something! Wait, what am I doing? I need to hear this!
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"Tatsumi..." Tsuzuki whined, somewhere between lost
and hurt, his emotional state a mess. "Could I... talk to you for a minute?"
A long-suffering sigh and a shuffle of papers were his answer, followed by
glasses pushed back into the proper position and a sharp look from two very
blue eyes. The secretary had been hoping to get through the expense report
before lunch, but this "visit" smashed that idea. "What is
it, Tsuzuki-san?" he queried, one thin eyebrow arched upon noticing the
lack of the ever-present blonde partner.
"I... he..." in the face of his long-time friend, Tsuzuki's facade crumbled, the anguish he felt coming to the surface. "I lost him. I don't know what happened to him, but I losthimandit'sallmyfaultIcan'tfindhimanywhereI'msostupidI-" he stopped, a firm grip on his shoulders bringing him back to his senses.
"Tsuzuki-san," began Tatsumi gently, his eternal glare softening. "Just tell me what happened. It isn't necessarily your fault. Calm down."
That said, the events of the past day were slowly drawn out of Tsuzuki as he haltingly related it to his former partner. The cat was brought out as proof, squirming as it was finally released from the cloth prison. The stern man wore an almost bemused expression as he was handed a small fuzzy creature, before actually inspecting it The coloring screamed of something that might not be pure coincidence, in this situation.
"I think Watari-san should try seeing if this cat has any kind of... abnormalities. He might help us locate Hisoka."
"Really?" So much hope was put into that one word, it made Tatsumi worried about Tsuzuki's mental health. Hisoka had enough of an impact on his former partner that he wondered if he should keep an eye on him until the young Shinigami returned, for safetey's sake.
"There is a possibility the dissapearances have something to do with this animal. It wouldn't hurt to check it out." He paused, choosing his words carefully so as not to upset Tsuzuki, "If you'd like, I'm sure I could get Konoe-kachou to let Watari or myself accompany you while you look for him."
"No, that's ok. I'll just talk to Watari and take another look around... I'll find him!" With a forced grin and face full of fake hope, the violet-eyed man strolled off, kitten perched on his sholder like an oversized 003. Tatsumi shook his head sadly, letting out a long a sigh before returning to number-crunching.
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Watari's lab was always a hazardous place to be, no matter
what experiment he was working on. The blonde man was the only one who knew
what exactly was in the many bubbling beakers and mysterious unlabeled boxes:
the ominous mess of science.
Tsuzuki entered with caution, unsure what would greet him. Luckily it was
only the strong scent of sulphur--unpleasant but endurable. His nose wrinkled,
trying to stifle the smell as he called out into the dim room. "Watari?"
"Aa, Tsuzuki! Hold on a sec!" cried a suspiciously yellow bush, soon revealing itself to be the scientist's unruly mop of hair. Today he sported potting soil and green streaks on his labcoat with a few accents of twigs in his hair. Hastily wiping his hands off on the coat, he bounced away from his mini-jungle to greet the violet-eyed man. With a worried face, he inquired, "Tatsumi didn't send you about today's coffee, did he?"
"Well, he did send me, but it's about cats, not coffee."
"Cats?" Thin eyebrows arched in question.
"Aa," mumbled Tsuzuki, presenting the cat (which had been trying to sneak away) in front of Watari.
Puzzled, the golden-haired guy squinted and moved closer to the feline. "What about the cat? Last I knew, Tatsumi wasn't one to inquire on small furry animals."
Again the Shinigami was forced to tell of Hisoka's dissapearance, a bit less pained this time, and summarize the secretary's suggestions. The kitten was transferred to Watari during the telling, which prompted the appearance of 003 from somewhere within the nest of his hair.
"So, ya want me to see if there's anything funny about this critter so you can find Bon?" summarized the blonde in his everpresent Kansai accent. Hisoka was bon--boy, kiddo--in his mind. The green-eyed Shinigami had disliked the nickname at first, but eventually filed it as one of Watari's eccentricies. It wasn't derogatory, it was just another of the man's many quirks.
"I'm not sure what to say to look for, but it's all I've got to go on," murmured Tsuzuki, face solemn. It was his fault for loosing him, but he didn't even know where to begin looking. "I brought his clothes, too, in case those might help."
"Maa, maa, Tsuzuki! No need to be so glum! Since you shouldn't wander around alone, want to stay as my subj-err assistant?" A wide grin plastered on his face, the genki Shinigami hoped his slip went unnoticed.
"You'll let me stay?!" gasped Tsuzuki, hyperactivity returning. He couldn't sulk all day, not without having Tatsumi confront him about it after Watari gave up trying to make him smile. Distraction of any sort was better than falling back into depression. "But... what can I do?"
"How about holding the cat for a bit? I'll have to get
out some equipment before examining, and I don't want him to upset 003,"
Said owl had retreated to the relative safety of Tsuzuki's head, keeping an
eye on the feline in her owner's hands. "Don't worry sweetie, I'm not
trying to replace you," he cooed, coaxing her back to accompany him while
searching.
With a sigh the other man sat down on one of the chairs that seemed stable,
clutching the only clue he had to finding Hisoka. "I hope you can help
me, little guy... I don't know what else to do."
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Somewhere, there has to be some deity laughing his ass off at me. That's the only thing I can think of that would throw me into such an embarrassing situation. I don't think I could live it down if they find out I'm this cat... if nothing else I'd overheat from blushing. If he knew that it was me he was giving bellyrubs to...
No, I can't let Watari find out. Both of them are already suspicious because of my tell-tale coloring, it won't take much to convince them. Perhaps I could stand letting Watari know... but not Tsuzuki. The "while-you-were-in-my-bed" joke was bad enough, I don't want to endure anything else. What in Meifu would I say to him? No, this is better left alone. I'll enjoy sitting in his lap a while longer, before the poking and prodding begins.
I can't even figure out what half of the things that crazy blonde brought out are. The books are obvious, but things with tubing, buttons, and gleaming metal don't exactly comfort me. I had more than enough to do with doctors in my life, thankyouverymuch. I see no need to continue that into my afterlife, (with the exception of exacting revenge upon Muraki, of course.)
Wow... I never thought I'd see the day. That idiot willingly picked up a book! He's actually reading it! Ye gods, he really must be desperate to resort to reading. Not that I mind, of course, as I get to look too. Looks mostly like supernatural mumbo-jombo. I mean, cats have an ill spiritual reputation because they "didn't cry at Buddha's death?"I can understand the bewitching stuff it talks about for a page or two, since there's the same kind of thing with foxes. Seems like this book isn't going to be of much use, if all it can offer is legends.
Tsuzuki, on the other hand, is still reading on. The baka doesn't even see how useless this book is, reading on and on about cats in the spirit world, demons, dog's supernatural status, and so many other useless things. Not to mention he reads slow, but that's because he's so damn distractable. One phrase will run off into a thought-tangent that takes several minutes to wind down, then he must backtrack a bit and begin again. I have a headache from feeling his thoughts bounce around all over at this close range. His sheilds must have lowered, since he thinks I'm away. Yes, that explains why it's so much worse.
Oh, shit. Watari's done hunting. This is bad, this is bad... what in Meifu will he do to me? It's not that I doubt his scientific integrity or character, it's just... he's so... excited when experimenting. Overzealous, perhaps--the random potions found in the coffee have had some, shall I say, interesting outcomes. Ones that lasted for a while because he hadn't come up with an antidote, so it just had to wear off. Lab rat is not something I desire to be, with or without notice. I don't think anyone would want to have blue--
No! No, no please don't take me away from him yet I don't want tobetouchedno please WataribecarefulwithmebecauseI'mscarednodon'tholdmedownpleasepleasepleaseno...
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Finally got it finished! Whew... School has been evil and I've had trouble getting it written. (Gomen, Hisoka/Inu_Tsuzuki!)
How was this chapter? Is it too slow? I'm trying to get the plot moving, and it should be set in motion by the next chapter. I know it's a teensy bit of a cliffhanger, but no worries, right? It's just Watari.
Would people prefer longer chapters, perhaps? More/less of anything? All comments and suggestions are appreciated. ^-^
Imbrii